Stars Align (One Piece x Reader)

Chapter 19

"You guys live here too?" Luffy asked.

"Well, the old-timer's house is the headquarters of the Saruyama Alliance." Masira explained.

"But we sleep on our ships most of the time because this house is too small for us!" Shojo added.

"It's because you guys are too big! Well, to those giant guys we saw, you look like a ball of earwax, though." Luffy laughed, the two monkey-like men in front of him laughing along.

"Why are they getting along so well?" Usopp questioned, sitting against the wall of the house, Zoro sitting next to him.

"They can probably relate to each other..." The swordsman responded.

"Luffy! He's come around!" Chopper ran outside, informing those who were out there of the old man's status. Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp made their way into the house, spotting the old man Cricket sitting up on his bed.

"Hey old diamond-head! I wanna ask you something!" Luffy exclaimed. The old man took a drag from his cigarette, exhaling with a sigh.

"Sorry I caused you all trouble. I thought you were just more idiots after the gold." The man apologized, Nami coming to life at his last statement.

"What?! You have gold?!" She questioned, her eyes gleaming.

"Don't go after it..." Y/n scowled, flicking her ear softly.

"What is it you want to ask me?"

"Old guy, we wanna go to the sky island! Please tell us how to get there!" Luffy requested, the old man looking at him through the corner of his eye.

"Sky island?" He began to chuckle, the chuckle eventually turning into a full blown laugh. "You guys believe in the sky island?" Nami moved to punch the man, but y/n held her back.

"Oi, he's a sick person..."

"There's no sky island, old guy?!" Luffy questioned urgently.

"No one knows." The man replied curtly. "I know someone who said there is, but people call him a legendary big liar! His family became a laughing stock forever." Luffy turned his head towards Usopp, who scowled.

"It's not me!" The sniper spat.

"There's an old story that most North Blue people know. 'Noland the Liar' is the one." Luffy once again looked at Usopp.

"I told you it's not me! He's got a different name, right?!"

"Come to think of it, Noland's name is, if I'm not mistaken, Montblanc Noland." Sanji spoke up. "Could it be that you're Noland's..."

"Descendant?! Could this place be the island in the story?!" Nami cut off the chef.

"Hmph! He's my granddad's granddad's granddad's...He's my distant ancestor...What a nuisance." Cricket sighed. "I doubt there's a drop of his blood in my body. Although the Montblanc family was driven out of the country then, and has kept a low profile, people continue to denounce our family to this day. But no one in this family hates him."

"Why?" Chopper asked.

"Because Noland was an extraordinarily honest person." Everyone made an inquisitive sound at his response.

"But that picture book..." Nami trailed off.

"Noland's last excuse in the picture book is like this, 'That's right! The mountain of gold sank into the sea!' A stupid looking face is drawn in this book, but he shed many tears and died a regrettable death." Cricket explained. "He was sure that the island he reached was Jaya, where he found the wreckage of a city of gold. He felt that there was no way it was just an illusion. Noland was executed in front of the laughing onlookers, and only the name 'liar' remained."