Chapter 36: Entrance Ceremony

Oliver started looking for a training equipment store, though he didn't know if he would find one.

"Where can I find a store like that?" Oliver wondered.

He walked through the streets, seeing a large number of people browsing the shops.

"Maybe I could try selling the weapons I have?"

He checked his weapons and headed to a weapon shop to sell all of them except for the cannon he had.

"35,000 Belly, not a bad sale. And I also got a few training dummies that will be useful."

He noticed a small food stall nearby and decided to grab a bite.

"This smells good," Oliver said, until he noticed a scorpion skewered on a stick. "Do they sell scorpions?"

"That's right, they're not very popular, but I assure you they're delicious," the vendor said.

Oliver hesitated, unsure of how they were prepared and whether the venom had been removed, but then he remembered.

'Wait a second, I have poison resistance. It doesn't matter if it still has venom, and I've always wanted to try one,' Oliver thought. "I'll buy one."

"Five scorpions for 100 Belly," the vendor said.

He handed over the 100 Belly, and the vendor gave him five fried scorpions.

He took a bite of one, and it tasted somewhat like chicken but very crunchy.

"It's good," Oliver said as he ate another.

Oliver asked the vendor where he could buy ship parts and training equipment, and the vendor kindly gave him directions.

After thanking him, Oliver headed towards the dock area.

"It should be around here..."

Oliver fell silent as he felt someone watching him. He quickly turned around, trying to spot whoever it was.

'Hmmm... What was that?' Oliver thought.

He focused, trying to sense what—or who—was watching him.

'It's gone. Could it be Buggy's pirates?'

He continued walking through much of the city, buying everything he needed while sampling different foods.

"Thank you very much! Please come again!" a vendor called out.

"You sure can buy a lot in such big islands," Oliver said, carrying a large bag of ice.

He made his way toward the Going Merry to drop off his purchases before rejoining the rest of the crew.

As he walked, he once again felt like someone was watching him. Deciding to investigate, he looked for whoever was following him.

He spotted a narrow alleyway and stepped inside, storing the ice in his inventory.

As he walked through the alley, a group of people appeared.

"I highly doubt you're Marines. Who are you? Don't tell me you're members of the Black Cat Pirates?" Oliver said, trying to figure out who they were.

"Black Cat Pirates? Not at all," one of the men said as they drew their swords.

"We're the Buggy Pirates!"

Oliver looked at them, all dressed in those ridiculous clown outfits.

"The Buggy Pirates? HAHAHA! And here I was actually worried. I thought it was going to be a real threat," Oliver laughed, feeling much more at ease.

"You're alone now, and that Devil Fruit user isn't with you. Plus, we have some big help," one of the pirates said.

"You're really attractive. Perfect to be my partner," said a woman, completely covered.

Oliver heard her voice and his face twisted in disgust, immediately recognizing who it was.

"Alvida," Oliver said.

Alvida removed her cloak, revealing her new appearance. All her fat was gone, and she was now much slimmer.

"Surrender and become my partner," Alvida said.

"No, thanks, I don't date ugly women," Oliver replied.

The Buggy Pirates started complaining, outraged that he would say something like that.

"Ugly? Who?" Alvida asked, looking around. "Boys! Who is the most beautiful woman on the seas?!"

"You are, Alvida-sama!" the pirates shouted.

"I have a question for you. How do you know about me?" Oliver asked.

"My men told me about a handsome young man who attacked me, and after searching for a while, I finally found you," Alvida said. "Once I have you, I'll go after Straw Hat, and then I'll sail the seas gathering the most handsome men!"

Oliver held back his laughter, but he couldn't contain it and burst out laughing.

"I never thought I'd hear something so ridiculous," Oliver said, calming down. "You want to try? Go ahead, but I highly doubt anyone will go with you. You may have changed your appearance, but inside, you're still the same disgusting fat woman with a garbage personality."

With just a few quick moves, he defeated all the pirates.

"And that's that."

He tried to punch her, but his fist slipped right off, hitting a wall instead.

"You can't hurt me. I ate the Sube Sube no Mi, so all attacks just slide right off..."

Oliver activated Electro and attempted to punch her again, this time electrifying her.

"I may not be able to hit you, but I can definitely shock you," Oliver said. 'I hope they haven't started without me.'

He took off running, trying to reach the execution platform as quickly as possible.

As he ran, he spotted Mohji and Richie heading toward the dock.

"It's already started."

--

--

"What luck, finding this," Sanji said, holding a fish alongside Usopp.

"Why do I have to carry the heaviest part?!" Usopp shouted angrily.

"People around here seem to be fainting," Zoro said.

"The air pressure is really low. I think it'd be safer to return to the ship," Nami said.

Just then, the four of them found themselves in front of a large crowd.

"I made it," Oliver said, finally arriving.

"Where were you?" Usopp asked.

"Beating up a bear and a lion," Oliver replied.

"And Luffy?" Zoro asked.

"He said he was going to check out the execution platform," Nami said.

"Isn't this the square where the platform is?" Usopp asked.

"Well, I think that's it," Oliver said, looking toward the execution platform.

At that very moment, they heard Buggy shouting that he was about to execute Luffy, shocking everyone.

"What the hell is he doing on the execution platform?!" Zoro yelled, seeing what was happening.

"I don't think this is the time to question it. We need to rescue Luffy," Oliver said.

"He's right," Sanji agreed.

"Nami and Usopp should head to the Going Merry while we take care of saving Luffy," Oliver suggested.

"Fine. You better get Luffy out of there and come back to the ship," Nami said.

Nami and Usopp ran toward the Going Merry while the others charged toward Buggy's pirates to stop the execution of their captain.

Luffy was on the execution platform, trying to free himself.

"Do you have any last words?" Buggy asked, preparing to behead him. "There's a big crowd here to hear them. Though, even if you do have something to say, I doubt anyone would want to listen."

Luffy, slightly annoyed by Buggy's rambling, took a deep breath and shouted:

"!!! I'M GOING TO BE THE KING OF THE PIRATES!!!"

His voice echoed throughout the plaza.

"Wh-what did he just say?!"

"Did he say King of the Pirates?!"

"Of all places, he had to say it in this city..."

"What madness is this?"

The citizens were stunned to hear those words spoken in the same place where Gold Roger had met his end.

"Is that all you had to say, Rubber Man?!" Buggy said, raising his sword.

"Stop that execution!"

At that moment, Oliver, Zoro, and Sanji arrived at the plaza, clearing the way to reach Luffy.

"Oliver! Sanji! Zoro! Save me!" Luffy shouted, asking his nakamas for help.

Buggy's pirates stood in their way, but they were easily defeated as the trio tried to advance.

"Gyahahaha! Watch closely, boys! This is the end for your captain!" Buggy said, bringing his sword down at full speed.

The three kept advancing, striking down pirates as they tried to reach him.

"Zoro! Sanji! Usopp! Nami! Oliver! Sorry, but I think I'm dead," Luffy said with a smile.

Oliver jumped between the pirates, trying to get closer, just as a bolt of lightning struck the execution platform, completely destroying it.

Everyone was left in shock as they saw Luffy emerging from the rubble without a single scratch.

"In the end, I survived. What luck I have!" Luffy said, putting on his straw hat and laughing.

The crew approached after defeating a horde of pirates while the rain continued to fall.

"Hey, do you believe in God?" Sanji asked Zoro.

"Shut up. We need to get out of this city. Looks like another battle is about to happen," Zoro replied.

"I agree. We should head back to the Merry. The rain is getting really heavy," Oliver said. 'Was it really thanks to Dragon?'

They noticed the Marines arriving at the plaza, so they ran to escape.

"The rain is getting worse," Zoro said.

"Hey, the Marines are still chasing us. Shouldn't we stop and fight them?" Luffy asked.

"No, we'd never finish. Nami-san told us to return to the ship as soon as possible," Sanji replied.

Just then, in front of them, stood a woman that Zoro had encountered before.

"Roronoa Zoro!" the woman shouted angrily.

"Sergeant Major Tashigi!" the Marines shouted upon seeing their superior.

"You tricked me! You were Roronoa Zoro! And on top of that… you're a pirate! You're despicable!" Tashigi shouted, even angrier at Zoro.

"What the hell did you do to that girl?!" Sanji asked, furious at Zoro.

"And you're with the Marines?" Zoro replied.

"I will reclaim the Meito, Wado-Ichimonji," Tashigi said while unsheathing her sword.

"I'd like to see how you plan to do that," Zoro said, drawing his sword and clashing it against Tashigi's. "Keep going ahead."

"How dare that idiot attack a lady like—!" Sanji shouted, but Oliver held him back.

"No time," Oliver said.

"Let's go!" Luffy shouted.

They kept running, leaving Zoro behind so they could reach the Going Merry.

As they got closer to the dock, a man with grayish hair, wearing a Marine jacket with the word "Justice" on the back and a pair of jeans, stood in their way.

"There's someone ahead!" Luffy shouted upon seeing the person.

"Again?" Sanji asked.

"There you are. Mugiwara no Luffy," the gray-haired man said.

'Damn it, I forgot about Smoker,' Oliver thought.

"Who are you?!" Luffy asked.

"My name is Smoker. Captain of the Marine Headquarters. You won't escape back to the sea!" the Marine shouted as smoke emerged from his hands, trapping Luffy.

"What the hell?!" Luffy said, struggling against the smoke.

"Damn freak!" Sanji tried to kick Smoker, but it had no effect. "Huh?!"

"I'm not interested in weaklings," Smoker said. "White Blow."

Smoker's arm turned into smoke and shot forward, trapping Sanji.

Oliver charged at Smoker, using Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist to unleash a flurry of slashes, but Smoker reformed instantly.

"Damn it! It didn't work," Oliver said, delivering an Electro-enhanced punch, which managed to affect Smoker slightly.

"W-What?!" Smoker said, feeling the impact.

At that moment, a gust of wind made Smoker release Luffy, followed by a powerful burst of wind that sent everyone flying, allowing Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Oliver to escape toward the dock.

At the dock, Nami and Usopp were waiting until the rest finally arrived.

"Luffy! Hurry up! I can't hold the rope much longer!" Usopp shouted while holding the gate.

"This rain is crazy," Luffy said.

"Nami-san, I'm back!" Sanji shouted.

"Get on! We have to leave!" Nami yelled.

Everyone quickly boarded to get away from Loguetown.

Now that they were far from Loguetown, their only concern was keeping the ship from sinking in the waves.

"Whoaaa!! It looks like the ship is going to flip over!" Luffy said, watching the waves.

"The storm is really strong. It's impressive how the Merry is holding up," Oliver said.

"Look, a light!" Luffy shouted.

"It's the guiding light. The one that marks the entrance to the Grand Line. What do we do?" Nami asked her captain.

"But how will you manage in this storm?" Usopp asked fearfully.

"Let's celebrate our success at the entrance to the Grand Line!" Sanji shouted, placing a barrel down.

All the crew members smiled at the idea.

At that moment, Oliver's mission was complete, making him happy.

"To find the All Blue," Sanji said, placing his foot on the barrel.

"To become the King of the Pirates," Luffy said, doing the same.

"To become the world's greatest swordsman," Zoro said.

"To draw the map of the world," Nami said.

"T-To... To become a brave warrior of the sea!" Usopp shouted.

As everyone started their oath, Oliver thought about his own dream. He didn't know what to say since he had never had a fixed dream, even before appearing in One Piece.

'A dream. Well, what dream would any One Piece fan have in this world?' Oliver thought. "To discover what the One Piece is."

Everyone raised their feet and then brought them down, breaking the barrel.

"Let's go! To the Grand Line!" the six shouted in unison.