Straw Hat Luffy: The Black Fist

Chapter 40: The Longest of Barrels

AN:

Not much from me this time, other than I hope you enjoy this one and I appreciate all the feedback from you guys!

As always, lemme know what you think! The good, the bad, and the ugly... The whole nine yards.

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Chapter 40: The Longest of Barrels

"OH GOD!... OH GOD! MY ARM!... WE GOTTA GO BACK!... MY ARM'S STILL ON THE BEACH!".

"WALLEN! STAY WITH ME!... SOMEONE! HURRY! WALLEN'S BLEEDIN' OUT!".

"HE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE!... SOMEONE HELP ME CARRY SHAM INSIDE! HE CAN'T AFFORD TO LOSE ANY MORE BLOOD!".

"WAKE UP, RITTER!... DON'T YOU DIE ON ME!".

"BUCHI'S NOT LOOKIN' GOOD EITHER! TAKE HIM IN THERE TOO!".

"SAME WITH SHAM!".

"THERE'S NO MORE ROOM, DAMN IT! KEEP THE BASTARDS OUTSIDE, I'LL GET TO THEM IN A MINUTE! I'VE GOT OTHERS KNOCKING AT DEATH'S DOOR! THEY'LL HAVE TO WAIT FOR NOW!".

"OH GOD! WHY?!... WHY US?!... DAMN YOU, LONG-BARREL!... DAMN YOU, YOU BASTARD!".

Luffy watched the large pirate ship sail past them in bewilderment, light laughter beginning to sound from his lips... He'd forgotten about his sniper's funny name back from their days as bounty hunters... He really couldn't help it... It was just far too on the nose not to laugh... Heh... Nose...

"What the hell's going on out here?", asked Nami as she exited the storeroom. Her head shifted in the direction of the large ship while she approached the front deck, listening to the moans and screams coming from the vessel in morbid fascination... What the hell had happened to them?...

"I have no idea...", the straw-hatted teen answered blankly, his eyes staying glued to the retreating craft for another moment before once again facing their destination. A smile suddenly rose to his lips and he turned to face his navigator, "But we're definitely gonna find out!".

A stray thought hit the girl and she turned her gaze past Luffy, stepping up to the front railing to get a look at Gekko Island still a ways off in the distance... Had that been where the pirate ship had come from?... And if so... What the hell had Usopp done to make them sound like that?...

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"Alright, Levi! You can stop here!", Luffy yelled down to the water, dropping the reins held in his hands, "Go have some fun! But don't go too far! We won't be here long!". He smiled at his friend's rumbling response, hopping off the figurehead of the Merry, and made his way down the stairs, quickly running into the storage room underneath the front deck.

Nami followed her captain down the steps, heading for the railing facing Gekko while he dropped the anchor. She froze when her vision met the beach, eyes widening. "What the hell?...", she whispered to herself... A splash from below brought her out of her paralyzed state and she turned to find Luffy exiting the storage room with a big smile on his face.

"Let's go, Nami! I wanna go see Usopp!", the straw-hatted pirate captain exclaimed, quickly approaching the side railing. Almost as soon as he made it, his legs halted and bewilderment overtook him, eyes widening at the state of the shore.

Small craters littered the beach's surface along with a multitude of large red spots where the sand had been stained with blood. The dirt ramp leading up to the forest above was covered in some sort of black liquid and Luffy wasn't really sure what it was... Had Usopp done all this?... Speaking of his sniper... Where the heck was he?... His eyes continued to shift across the destruction and they eventually landed on a prone figure lying face down at the bottom of the ramp.