Smoker

“Ah. Captain Smoker, how can I help you today?” The shop owner asked, when he spotted him.

“Can you tell me if a man with short black spiky hair, black eyes, a scar across his left eye, wearing an orange Martial Arts outfit, and a red pole tied to his back, came into this store?” Smoker asked.

“Ah, yeah said his name was… Gohan, came in bought a Log Pose, was really polite, even said please and thank you.” The shop owner replied, nodding his head. “Why did something happen to him?”

“…Can you tell me anything else about him?” Smoker asked ignoring the question.

“…yeah, he also bought a handful of books on different subjects.” The shop owner said, scratching his chin as he tried to remember.

“…Books?” Smoker asked, not believing his ears.

“Yeah, he said something about wanting to become a scholar.” The shop owner said, crossing his arms and nodding. 

Smoker blinked his eyes a couple of time wondering if the shop owner was messing with him, “A…scholar?” Smoker repeated.

“Yeah, I had the same reaction, but who am I to judge.” The shop owner replied shrugging, “Is there anything else you need Captain?”

“…No, thank you for your time.” Smoker replied, shaking his head and turning to leave.

 “No, problem… he’s not in trouble, is he?” The shop owner asked.

Smoker paused at the door, “…I don’t know yet.” Smoker answered, walking out the door.

Smoker decided to visit some of the more popular bookstores and ask around about Gohan, all the shop owners said the same thing that Gohan was nice and polite. Smoker found out Gohan bought a few books and journals on many different subjects. The subjects ranged from plants and wildlife found in the Grand Line to books on navigation, cooking, ship care and even some on different styles of martial arts. Smoker had no idea what to make of Gohan, based on the few seconds of interaction Smoker had with him, and everyone Smoker talked to. They all said Gohan was nice and polite and mentioned something about wanting to become a scholar. Which made Smoker question why someone like that was hanging around with wanted pirates like Straw Hat and Roronoa, it just didn’t make any sense to him unless they somehow tricked him into joining them. But Smoker didn’t believe that.  

Smoker sighed and took out the letter HQ had sent him, to read it again, ‘To all Marine Captain’s and above be on the lookout for a man with short black spiky hair, black eyes, with a scar across his left eye. No current picture available. The name of the subject is believed to be Gohan. No known last name. Gohan is believed to possesses unknown powers or abilities believed to be devil fruit related, but this is not confirmed. Based on eyewitness reports he has shown the ability to create small boats out of thin air and to create large explosions. Gohan has shown a strong sense of justice having stopped the pirate Buggy the Clown who had taken over Orange Town. Gohan left Buggy’s treasure behind so the town could rebuild. Gohan is also said to have killed Pirate Fleet Admiral Don Kreig with a large explosion type attack. Gohan has also beaten Man-Demon Gin, and Iron Wall Pearl with one punch each. This information was provided by Man-Demon Gin who was captured a few days after an interaction with Gohan. Gohan’s most recent feat is being rumored to have single handedly defeated Arlong The Saw and his entire crew. The Conomi Islands was Arlong’s base of operations for years, he had been forcing the residents to pay a ransom for their lives. Former Captain Nezumi of the 16^th branch was hiding Arlong’s activities (See attached report). Gohan is also believed to be travelling with two new upcoming pirates’ Straw Hat Luffy and Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro. Wanted Posters Included.  If you encounter Gohan assess to see if rumors are true.’ Signed Commander Brandnew, Marine HQ (Intel-Management Offices)

“Captain Smoker!” Tashigi called out running towards him.

“What is it Tashigi?” Smoker asked slowing down to let her catch up.

“Our ship is ready to go after Roronoa and the others.” Tashigi replied tightening her hold on her katana, she was clearly still shaken up from her encounter with Roronoa.

“Good. Pack essentials only we’re going after Straw Hat and his crew, once my replacement arrives.” Smoker replied.

“I-is that the letter from HQ?” Tashigi asked.

“Yeah.” Smoker replied.

“What’s it say?” Tashigi asked.

Smoker handed her the letter so she could read it, “…This Gohan… you said he helped Straw Hat and Roronoa escape from you?” she asked after reading it.

“…Yes, plus a blonde man.” Smoker replied, as they walked back to base to pack.

“…How did they escape?” Tashigi asked.

“…Gohan fired some sort of explosion from his hand to create a cloud of smoke to distract me and cover their escape.” Smoker answered.

“You think he has a devil fruit?” Tashigi asked.

“…it’s possible, at least that’s what HQ thinks.” Smoker replied, thinking back to the moment Gohan looked like he flew but it could have been the gust of wind that lifted him, “No matter, I’ll find out more when we catch them. Meet me on the ship in 30 mins.”

“Sir!” Tashigi saluted as Smoker walked away to pack.

--

Gohan

“The entrance to the Grand Line is a mountain.” Nami said placing a map down on the dining room table.

“What really!?” Usopp asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Yes, I found it hard to believe too but, after looking at the map, but here look.” Nami said pointing at the map where they would enter the Grand Line.

“A water way that’s crazy.” Usopp said looking at the map. “How can we go up the mountain on a waterway?”

“It’s probably because of the sea currents from the other four sea’s driving water up to the top of the mountain.” Gohan said pointing at the map where the four seas met around Reverse Mountain, “If the currents are strong enough, they would push water and anything else riding them up the mountain.”

“Yes, that what I think to.” Nami said smiling at Gohan, before looking back at the map, “We should probably correct our course before the currents pick up more. When that happens, it will be hard for us to change our course.” She added looking out the small port window to see the stormy weather.

“Alright you heard Nami, lets do this!” Sanji said putting out his cigarette and adjusting the rudder with Usopp’s help.

After a while the whole crew went outside to stand on the deck, even with the storm brewing outside they saw as the massive mountain appeared before them, with large archways in the middle leading up the mountain. “This is it guys!” Nami shouted to be heard over the rushing wind and raging waves. The Going Merry slowly started to pick up speed as it passed through the archways, the wind rushing by.

“Woohoo!” Luffy shouted happily as The Going Merry continued gaining speed until it launched itself into high into the air above the clouds. Everyone enjoyed the view of the calm sea on the other side of the mountain for a few seconds before they came back rushing down with a large splash of water, the ship started traveling down the mountain into dense mist.

“Buooh, Buooh!”

“Did anyone hear that?” Gohan asked, trying to look through the mist.

“Buooh, Buooh!” the sound repeated, growing louder as they neared the bottom of the mountain.

“…Yeah, what is that?” Zoro asked, stepping next to Gohan; looking for whatever was making the sound, but the mist was too thick.

“Nami! There’s a mountain ahead of us!” Sanji shouted, pointing from the top of the mast he had climbed.

“…That’s impossible! There should be nothing but open seas ahead!” Nami exclaimed looking up at Sanji.

“What is that!?” Usopp cried out pointing at a large dark figure appearing through the mist at the base of Reverse Mountain.

“Whatever it is it’s alive!” Gohan exclaimed sensing energy coming from it, “We should probably move so we don’t crash into it!”

“Go now! Unlock the rudder!” Nami shouted as Gohan, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Luffy all ran to unlock the rudder before they crashed into what was revealed to be a massive whale.

But the strength of the five trying to move the rudder ended up snapping it. All their eyes widened in shock as they held the top half of the rudder in their hands. “Buooh, Buooh!” the whale’s cries were so loud that they all had to cover their ears.

“WHAT DO WE DO NOW!?” Usopp cried out, as they started panicking.

“…I got an idea.” Gohan said, glancing towards the whale grew closer.

“What’s your plan!?” Usopp asked.

“I’m going to try and help move the ship out of the way from outside, while you guys use the oars to help me steer.” Gohan said rushing outside, flying to the side of Merry and started pushing.

--

Gohan was happy that he was still strong enough to do this because the seals on him didn’t say how much they would affect his strength but with the help of the others they were able to avoid the whale. Gohan sighed in relief as he saw them narrowly miss the whale, once he felt they were safe he landed on the deck of Merry, where he was hugged tightly by Nami who thanked him. The others clapped his back in thanks, “That was so close!” Luffy said laughing without a care in the world.

“That was a large whale.” Zoro said, shaking his head, looking back.

“Yeah, I’ve never seen a whale that big before.” Gohan replied, looking back to see the whale descended into the ocean, sending large waves that rocked Merry.

“I wonder what it’s doing at the bottom of Reverse Mountain?” Nami wondered standing next to Gohan.

“The better question is what caused those scars on it’s head.” Gohan said, gesturing towards the whale who was facing their ship.

“…Yeah, it’s a little scary that there’s something out there that could cause those scars on a whale that big.” Usopp said, nervously, “Wait! …what’s it doing?” he asked as the whale opened its mouth.

“I don’t…” Nami started saying but stopped as the Merry started sailing backwards quickly, “IT’S TRYING TO EAT US!” she shouted as the whale opened its mouth wider drawing them into its mouth alongside gallons of water.

“Grab onto something!” Gohan shouted grabbing the rail and pulling Nami towards him as they were all surrounded by darkness as the whale closed its mouth swallowing them.

--

“T-this isn’t what I expected, the inside of a whale to look like.” Gohan muttered looking around at the blue sky, seagulls, clouds and the small island in front of them.

“Are we sure we were swallowed by a whale?” Sanji asked, lighting a cigarette.

“Yeah, we were.” Gohan nodded eyeing the house on the small island, “if we weren’t then where did that house and island come from?”

“It’s a mystery island!” Luffy replied grinning as he tilted his head to the side.

“Hey, there’s something wrong with those clouds.” Usopp said pointing up.

Gohan and the others look up to see that the clouds weren’t moving, and neither were the seagulls, “Wait here.” Gohan said letting go of Nami to fly up to check them out. “…It’s a painting!” he called down to the group.

“Really!?” they called out, in surprise.

“Yeah…” Gohan answered just as the water in front of Merry exploded upwards and a giant squid emerged from the depths of the ocean.

Gohan charged up a ki blast but three harpoons were suddenly fired from the house hitting and killing the squid. “Someone is coming out of the house.” Gohan called out, as he placed a hand on the Power Pole. Gohan’s line of sight gave him a good look at the person, it was a relatively muscular partially bald man, with white hair, white beard and what looked like a flower shaped hat.

Gohan stayed flying in the air, the man glanced at him for a second before he started pulling the squid towards the island, pulling it ashore. The man then glanced at the rest of the crew before he walked away to sit on a lounge chair and opened a newspaper. Gohan almost fell out of the sky at the man’s actions and based on the crew’s reaction below they were also thrown off by the man’s actions.

“Hey! Say Something!” Sanji yelled at the man. This caused the man to tilt his head slightly to look at the crew.

“I-if… I-it’s a fight you want you should know we have a cannon on our side!” Usopp shouted pointing a shaky finger at the man.

The man gazed at them for a few seconds before responding, “I wouldn’t use that if I was you, or someone will die.”

“Oh! and who will that be?” Sanji asked. Gohan, Zoro, and Luffy prepared themselves in case the man turned out to be a threat.

“Me.” The man deadpanned, sending everyone face first into the deck of the ship, and Gohan almost crashing into the water below.

“Don’t play games with us!” Sanji yelled.

“Excuse me old man. Where are we? And who are you?” Luffy asked, chuckling.

“It’s rude not to introduce yourself first, before asking someone a question.” The man said gazing at them.

“Shishishi right.” Luffy laughed, “I’m…”

“I’m Crocus.” The man said cutting Luffy off, “I’m the lighthouse keeper of Twin Capes, I’m a Gemini, and I’m 71 years old.” 

“You’re a funny man.” Luffy said chuckling, not at all bothered by being interrupted.

“As for where you are, where do you think? You’re the one’s who came trespassing in my private resort.” Crocus said, looking at them. “Does this look like the stomach of some mouse?” he questioned eyes raised.

“So, we really were swallowed!?” Nami exclaimed looking at the water that everyone now knew was stomach acid. “I don’t want to be digested!?”

“Excuse me Crocus.” Gohan said landing on the deck of the Merry after seeing the man wasn’t a danger to them, “My name is Gohan. We’re sorry for intruding but is there way out of here?”

“…Yes, there’s one over there.” Crocus said pointing behind his little island where giant metal doors were, in the middle of the painted stomach.

“Did you paint all this?” Usopp asked, looking around them.

“Painting is a hobby.” Crocus replied indifferently, as he flipped the page of his newspaper.

“What are you even doing in here!?” Usopp shouted.

“Forget about him.” Zoro said grabbing Usopp’s shoulder and guiding him away, “We have a way out.”

Gohan was about to ask something else when the stomach acid started shaking sending waves into the air, “W-what’s going on!?” Nami exclaimed as she grabbed on to Gohan to steady herself.

“So, you’re back at it.” Crocus, muttered.

 “Look, that’s not an island, it’s a ship!” Usopp cried out, pointing at where Crocus was, “The bottom is covered in metal!”

“If we stay here much longer our ship will be dissolved!” Nami exclaimed as she glanced back at the stomach acid.

“Crocus can you tell us what’s going on?” Gohan asked seeing that he knew what was going on.

“This whale, is named Laboon, and he’s started ramming his head into The Red Line again.” Crocus said, suddenly getting serious.

 “That’s why it had all those scars on it’s head.” Gohan muttered. “Why is he doing that?”

“That’s not our responsibility; we need to get out of here now.” Zoro said, shaking his head.

“Moss head is right, if we stay here any longer, The Merry will be dissolved.” Sanji replied.

“What’s he doing?” Usopp questioned, making Gohan and the others look to see that Crocus had dived into the stomach acid, while they weren’t looking.

“Worry about that later, we need to get to the exit!” Sanji said, as the shaking got worse.

“Sanji is right, Crocus must have a plan, he wouldn’t dive into the stomach acid for no reason. Right now, we need to get to those doors.” Gohan said, holding Nami steady.

“It looks like he’s swimming towards the exit.” Usopp pointed out.

“Maybe he’s opening the doors for us.” Gohan said, pointing towards the platform by the large doors.

“Well, whatever he’s doing we need to get the oars to row out of here.” Zoro said, holding onto the railing to steady himself. “Before things get more violent.”

“Aghh! …yeah, let’s go.” Sanji said, grabbing hold of the railing too.

They began rowing towards the exit when they heard Crocus shout, “Get out of my way!” they looked up in time to see Crocus tossing two people off the platform into the stomach acid.

Gohan and the others looked toward the two people as they fell, “Ah…we’re going to land in the stomach acid!” they both screamed.

“…Gohan, can you rescue them?” Luffy asked pointing at them.

“…Sure.” Gohan said flying up and catching them before they landed in stomach acid.

“W…what!?” They both exclaimed when they didn’t land in stomach acid.

“Hold tight.” Gohan said as he flew them over to Merry.

“Y-Yes.” They said nodding their heads as they both whispered about how Gohan was flying.

“Nice job Gohan!” Sanji said smiling wide and giving him a thumb at the sight of the beautiful woman.

Gohan just nodded at him as Laboon started roaring. The sound was a lot louder making them cover their ears, but then Laboon started to calm down a few seconds later the roaring dyed down and the acid was no longer rolling. “It looks like things have calmed down.” Nami said looking up.

“Yeah, looks like it. Now who are you two?” Gohan asked, getting a better look at the two people he saved.

The woman was beautiful fair skinned, medium height, long wavy light blue hair that was tied in a ponytail, brown eyes, a slender but curvy body, and a prominent and large breasts which her spaghetti-strap made eye catching. This was something Gohan wouldn’t have normally noticed but after his night with Nami and Nojiko he did notice it, Gohan shook his head and looked at the man next. The man had red-orange hair, green clothes and was wearing a crown on his head with what looked like the number nine painted under his eyes.

“Mr. Nine…they’re pirates!” the woman whispered to the man as she leaned away from Sanji who was staring at her as heart shaped smoked came out of his cigarette.

“Yes…Miss Wednesday, but they saved us so maybe they’ll be understanding.” Mr. Nine whispered back.

Before anyone could ask anything, Crocus came back out and shouted at the two people Gohan had saved, “I won’t let any of you harm Laboon as long as I breathe!”

“It will be easier to blast a hole in the whale’s stomach from the inside!” Mr. Nine and Miss Wednesday said as they quickly stood up and pulled out two bazookas and fired at Laboon’s stomach.

Gohan seeing Crocus running towards the two rockets quickly moved disappearing from where he was standing and reappearing in front of the rockets, Gohan took the blasts with his chest surprising everyone, “Gohan!” the crew all shouted.

“I’m fine.” Gohan replied, emerging from the cloud of smoke unharmed.

“W-What!?” Crocus exclaimed in surprise.

“How did he do that?!” Mr. Nine and Miss Wednesday exclaimed, “No matter let’s see him block another!” the said aiming at another section of Laboon.

“Enough!” Nami shouted, swinging her staff and knocking Miss Wednesday and Mr. Nine out, “Someone hand me some rope so I can tie them both up!” she said glaring down at the unconsciousness forms of Miss Wednesday and Mr. Nine.

“Yes Nami-San!” Sanji replied, happy to help.  

“W-why did you do that?” Crocus asked, as he looked at Gohan with wide eyes.

“It was the right thing to do.” Gohan said, dusting himself off, when he saw Nami tying up the two people. “Need a lift?” he asked.

“…yeah, sure thanks.” Crocus said as Gohan picked him up and flew him towards the little island.

“Are you ok!?” Nami asked, rushing over to Gohan after they anchored the ship next to Crocus island was.

“…yeah, I’m fine.” Gohan said a warm feeling in his chest as she checked him over to make sure he wasn’t hurt.

 “…Don’t scare me like that!” Nami shouted, smacking him on the arm.

“Sorry.” Gohan said scratching his cheek.

“Hey, Old Man, what’s up with these people?” Luffy asked, looking down at Miss Wednesday and Mr. Nine who were now tied up and unconscious.

“They’ve been coming after Laboon for a while now.” Crocus replied.

“Why?” Luffy asked, tilting his head as he sat on Merry’s figurehead.

“Laboon’s an Island Whale. Island Whales are the largest known whale species. These two have been trying to hunt Laboon because his meat could feed their town for 2-3 years. Which is something I won’t allow to happen as long as I still draw breath.” Crocus declared.

“…But why does Laboon pound his head against the Red Line?” Nami asked.

“…Laboon came through Reverse Mountain following a group of friendly pirates after Laboon got separated from his pod. Laboon was rescued by that group of pirates in the West Blue which is where Island Whales are normally found. Laboon travelled with the pirates for a few months and had come to see the pirates as his family. Laboon was very small back then and the pirates didn’t want to risk Laboon’s life, so they left him here with me. I had gotten to know the pirates well after they stayed for a few months repairing their ship which was damaged when they came through Reverse Mountain. They promised Laboon that once they sailed around the world once they would come back for him, Laboon understood what they promised and waited for them, and he's been waiting ever since. It’s been fifty years since they made that promise.” Crocus explained shaking his head.

“…He’s loyal.” Gohan muttered, as Crocus nodded his head.

“…This waterway is cool.” Usopp said, looking around as they started sailing down a large metal waterway inside Laboon’s stomach. “Why did you build this?”

“Laboon’s too big to for me to treat from the outside.” Crocus said, shaking his head.

“Treat?” Gohan questioned, “Are you a doctor?” 

“Yeah, I used to run a clinic and was even a ship doctor for a few years.” Crocus nodded, a small smile on his face.

“A Doctor!?” Luffy repeated excitedly. “Join my crew! I need a doctor!”

“Don’t be stupid!” Crocus snorted shaking his head, “That’s a young man’s game.” He added as he opened the last gate to the outside.

“Come on join my crew!” Luffy said smiling at him.

 “Luffy he can’t.” Gohan said, turning towards him, “He’s taking care of Laboon, if he comes with us who will look after Laboon?”

“Hey, I can see the sky!” Luffy exclaimed, ignoring Gohan’s response and looking up to the open sky. Gohan just sighed and shook his head.

“What do we do with these two?” Zoro asked, looking at Miss Wednesday and Mr. Nine, who were still unconscious.

“Leave them tied up for now.” Gohan answered, “I wouldn’t feel comfortable tossing unconscious people into the ocean.”

“Alright.” Zoro answered shrugging, when Luffy didn’t bother answering.

The Crew disembarked and anchored nearby to talk with Crocus some more, “So, he’s been waiting for fifty years?” Luffy asked as he laid down near the light house where Crocus had a small house, “They’re really taking their time.”

“No, this is the Grand Line.” Sanji replied as he took a drag out of his cigarette, “If it’s been fifty years since they left then it’s most likely that they’re dead. The whale will be waiting here for the rest of his life.”

“Why do you have to be so cruel!” Usopp replied glaring at Sanji, “Why can’t you just appreciate a moving story about a whale believing in the promise his friends made.”

“…No, the truth is far crueler.” Crocus answered, looking at Laboon who was just floating there, “I received news from a reliable source that those pirates had escaped the Grand Line.”

“Wait!” Nami exclaimed looking towards Crocus, “Escaped…then that means that they had to go through the Calm Belt to leave!”

“Yes, that’s true.” Crocus nodded, “That’s the only reason why their fate is unknown. The Grand Line is an unpredictable nightmare. The seasons, climates, both ocean and air currents are all unpredictable, this place is chaotic, it tests the will of everyone who sails its seas. If you’re faint-hearted you won’t last long here.” He added looking at the crew.

“…So, they ran, instead keeping a promise made to a friend.” Sanji sighed.

 “So, they did abandon Laboon!” Usopp yelled. “Poor, Laboon has been waiting for fifty years how cruel.”

“…Laboon can understand you right?” Nami asked, Crocus nodded in response, “Then why haven’t you told him the truth.”

“I have told him, but he refuses to listen. It’s why he bellows towards the mountain and keeps bashing his head against the Red Line.” Crocus said gazing at Laboon.

“Man, that’s some loyalty still waiting even though he’s been betrayed.” Sanji muttered.

“He must believe because, if he doesn’t than there’s no meaning behind him waiting all this time. His home is back in the West Blue which is located on the other side of Reverse Mountain. Even if he were to find away to cross Reverse Mountain it would be almost impossible for him to find his original pod.” Crocus sighed, his voice wavering a little, “…I can’t leave him, if he keeps ramming his head into the mountain he’s going to die. We’ve been together for fifty years now, we’re all each other has, I can’t sit back and watch him kill himself. I’ll do everything I can to make sure he stays alive.”

Gohan had listened to everything in silence feeling a small connection with Laboon growing as he listened to Crocus. Gohan stood up and walked towards Laboon, “…Gohan where are you going?” Nami asked.

Gohan didn’t answer as walked over to the edge and then flew until he was eye level with Laboon, “…It hurts right?”

“Bawoo?” Laboon cried focusing on Gohan.

“…I’ve lost everyone too. My father. My Teacher. Friends who I considered family. Countless people I couldn’t protect… Even my entire world.” Gohan said softly, his fist trembling from the memories, but he exhaled and relaxed.

The crew looked somberly at Gohan as he told his story again, while they had already heard it, back after Arlong it still made them all sad hearing everything Gohan had lost. “You must have plenty of good memories with your crew, right?”

“Bawoo?” Laboon cried softly.

“Then stop hurting yourself ok, because ramming yourself against this wall won’t bring them back. All you’re doing is hurting yourself and you harming yourself is also hurting Crocus. He’s your friend too, right?” Gohan said.

“Bawoo!” Laboon cried his eyes focusing on Crocus who had walked over to the edge.

“It’s ok to miss them Laboon, but please stop hurting yourself.” Crocus said looking up at Laboon. “I’m running low on medicine to treat you. If you keep this up, you’re going to kill yourself. If that happens…I don’t know what, I’ll do.”

“You’ve done more than anyone else could or would in your position. You’ve waited for fifty years. You don’t have to break yourself to prove you love them. You’ve already proven it.” Gohan said, gently placing a hand on Laboon’s head. “They would want you to live, to be whole again. So, please stop hurting yourself, waiting doesn’t have to mean you stop living. You can keep their promise in your heart and still move forward. You can still make new friends and smile. Just like I did.” He added looking back at the crew and smiling at them. They smiled back.

“Bawoo?” Laboon cried.

“You’ve made a new friend today. My name is Gohan. It’s nice to meet you, Laboon.” Gohan said, smiling at him.

“Yeah, we’re your friends now!” Luffy shouted happily.

“Yeah, we promise you won’t be alone again!” Usopp said, nodding enthusiastically.

“We’ll come back and see you again. We promise.” Nami said, smiling at the sight.

Laboon’s eyes started to well up, “Bawoo!” he threw his head up and cried out as his tears started falling into the ocean.

“That’s good.” Gohan said softly, “Let it all out.”

“Thank you.” Crocus said, smiling at Gohan, as Laboon cried until he calmed down.

“…Alright! I’ve decided!” Luffy said smiling as Laboon floated peacefully next to Merry.

“…Decided what?” Nami asked.

“I’m gonna draw our Jolly Roger on Laboon’s head so he doesn’t forget his new friends.” Luffy exclaimed heading to the ship to get the brush and paint.

“Wait!” Gohan said stopping Luffy.

“What is it, Gohan?” Luffy asked.

“Let, Usopp draw it, he’s the better artist.” Gohan said looking at Luffy.

“What, that’s not fair! I can draw!” Luffy exclaimed.

“Sorry, Luffy but you can’t, remember when you tried to draw the Jolly Roger after Usopp joined the crew.” Gohan said, looking at Luffy.

“What that was a good drawing.” Luffy said, tilting his head.

“No, it wasn’t Luffy, let Usopp do it ok.” Gohan said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“…Fine.” Luffy pouted when no one else backed him up.

--

“…Finally done.” Usopp panted as Gohan placed Usopp back down on the ground. Usopp had finished painting the Straw Hat Jolly Roger on Laboon’s snout, Laboon cheered happily.

 “Great job, Usopp!” Luffy shouted happily, patting Usopp on the back.

“It was nothing.” Usopp said, grinning as he rubbed under his nose, “I couldn’t let our new friend down.”

Laboon cried out happily again at being called friend, Gohan flew up towards Laboon and smiled at him, “Now I need you to promise us not to mess that up, by bashing your head into this wall ok. Can you promise me that?” Gohan asked, looking into his eye.

Laboon’s response was to cry out and playfully splash Gohan with water, “Thank you.” Crocus said, smiling at the sight of a drenched but chucking Gohan land in front of him.

“It was nothing, I know what it’s like to carry a heavy burden like that. I did what I could to help him, he did the rest.” Gohan said, taking his shirt off and twisting it to get the water out, then he placed it on a nearby rock to dry.

“AHHHH!!!!” Nami’s sudden scream made them all turn around.

“What’s wrong!?” Gohan asked, appearing beside her in step, she was at the table looking at maps and her compass which was just spinning around.

“Nami-San! What’s wrong!?” Sanji asked, coming out of the ship carrying large plates of food in his hands, on his head, and on one leg, he placed the Elephant Tuna on the table.

“The compass is broken!” Nami exclaimed, panicking at the sight of the compass just spinning.

Miss Wednesday who had woken up at sometime started laughing from where she and Mr. Nine were still tied up, “I can’t believe you came to the Grand line without knowing anything. Are you really a navigator?” Miss Wednesday said condescendingly.

“She may be a prisoner, but she has a point.” Crocus said, glancing at Miss Wednesday who quickly went silent. “Did you not do any research before coming into the Grand Line?”

“I…no?” Nami sheepishly said.

“The compass isn’t broken, but it also won’t work in the Grand Line.” Crocus said, shaking his head.

“…Is it because of the magnetic field?” Nami asked.

“Yes.” Crocus nodded, “There are geomagnetic anomalies across the Grand Line, because many islands here are rich with various materials. Which makes it impossible for a normal compass to work here, and that’s not counting the unpredictable nature of the winds, and currents which is why you need a special compass called a Log Pose. You can usually get them on the last island before Reverse Mountain.”

“I didn’t know.” Nami muttered, chuckling nervously, as she scratched the back of her head.

“Oh! Right, I almost forgot!” Gohan said, as he quickly made his way towards where his shirt was drying, “I picked up a Log Pose before we left Loguetown.”

“You did!?” Nami asked excitedly.

“Yeah, someone mentioned I would need it when I asked around for books on the Grand Line.” Gohan said looking through his shirt. “It’s the thing I was looking for before we left.”

“I could kiss you, Gohan!” Nami said, smiling at him.

“Maybe later…” Gohan answered trailing off as he pulled out the Log Pose, he had stored it in a small pocket inside his shirt. When he got the quest to save Luffy and Sanji from Smoker.

“What’s wrong Gohan?” Nami and the others asked. Gohan didn’t answer, he just turned around holding the broken Log Pose in his hand.

“WHAT!!!!?” Nami yelled. “How did that happen?”

“…it must have broken when I protected Laboon when those two tried to shoot him earlier.” Gohan answered looking at Miss Wednesday and Mr. Nine, who started sweating at the murderous glare Nami was now giving them.

____

(AN: Here we go the first of two chapters for this fic, we have a little look at the letter Smoker received and his thoughts on Gohan. We also meet Crocus, Laboon, Miss Wednesday and Mr. Nine, who destroyed the Log Pose, what are the Straw Hats or more specifically Nami going to do? I was thinking of keeping the Laboon scene the same as canon, but I believe with Gohan there he would connect with Laboon after hearing his story, so he could get through to him.

Also, as you can probably tell I decided to make Gohan’s dream to become a scholar. I decided on this to help set up for when Gohan ends up in new worlds down the line. Becoming a scholar isn’t Gohan’s only dream, he has a second one which is hinted at in this chapter based on some of the books he bought. The next chapter will be uploaded next week so until then, thanks for reading and if you spot any mistakes please let me know.)