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[+200 power stones = +1 extra chapter]
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The execution platform loomed before Lucas, a stark steel structure against the sky. This was the very place where Gol D. Roger had met his end, a symbol of Loguetown's bloody history. He raised his phone, snapping pictures from different angles.
Click! Click!
"Huh. Doesn't look all that special up close," Lucas muttered, lowering his phone. He'd asked around and found the spot easily enough, but Monkey D. Luffy hadn't arrived yet.
'Good. If I get what I need before he shows up, I won't have to deal with the chaos that follows him everywhere.'
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a figure vaulted onto the platform above.
'No way. Seriously?'
Luffy stood at the top, gazing down with childlike wonder. "So this is where the Pirate King was executed! Twenty-two years ago today, right?" He grinned, then suddenly spotted Lucas retreating into the crowd.
"Lucas! Hey, you're here too! Take a picture of me!" Luffy struck a pose, arms crossed, straw hat tilted back.
Lucas blinked. 'How did he even notice me?'
Still, he obliged, raising his phone again.
Below, a Marine guard shouted, "Hey, kid! Get down from there! That's a World Government-controlled execution stand, unauthorized access is prohibited!"
Luffy scoffed. "That's stupid. Why can't I stand here?"
Before the Marine could respond, an iron rod cracked against his skull, dropping him instantly. A stunning woman stepped over his unconscious body, her presence commanding the square into silence.
'Whoa.' Lucas's breath hitched. 'She's gorgeous.'
Then it clicked. 'Wait...isn't she that huge woman Luffy fought when he first set out? Alvida? '
He frowned, struggling to recall. His memories of Earth were fading, details slipping like sand through his fingers.
'Doesn't matter. Right now, she's trouble.'
Alvida smirked up at Luffy. "Took me forever to find you, Straw Hat. Tell me you haven't forgotten me already?"
Luffy squinted. "Uh… should I know you?"
Her eye twitched. "I'm the first woman you ever punched!" She gestured to her now-slim waist. "Ring any bells?"
Lucas snorted. 'Hard to connect this bombshell to the hulking Alvida from before. Not that he'd complain, she was stunning.'
Alvida turned to the crowd, voice dripping with honey. "Who's the most beautiful woman in the world?"
"You are!" the crowd chorused, eyes glazed with adoration.
'Damn. Her Devil Fruit's charm effect is no joke.' Lucas's pulse quickened despite himself. 'Or maybe I'm just weak-willed.'
She faced Luffy again. "Every man on the sea falls at my feet. But I only want the strong, you, Monkey D. Luffy. Be mine."
Gasps rippled through the square.
Luffy scratched his nose. "Nah."
Alvida's smile froze. "What?"
"Not interested," Luffy said flatly. Then, after a pause: "Wait… Alvida?!"
"Finally recognize me?!" she shrieked.
"You look totally different!"
Alvida flung off her cloak, revealing a figure that made half the crowd faint. "The Smooth-Smooth Fruit reshaped me. My beauty's eternal now, no more 'Iron Mace' nonsense."
Lucas side-eyed her. 'She's like a discount Boa Hancock.'
A familiar cackle cut through the tension. Buggy the Clown emerged, face twisted in rage. "Straw Hat! You ruined my life! Today, we settle this!"
Luffy tilted his head. "Uh… Buggy?"
"YOU FORGOT ME TOO?!" Buggy howled.
Chaos erupted as Buggy's lackey, Cabaji, tackled Luffy onto the platform, pinning him down. "Not so tough now, huh?" Cabaji sneered.
Lucas tensed. 'Marines are definitely closing in. Should I wait for Zoro and Sanji? Or...'
He glanced toward the alley. 'Or just bail. Luffy always survives anyway.'
But something clenched in his chest. 'Running now would make me a coward.'
"System," he muttered. "Exchange for 30 minutes of Emotion Suppression."
[100 Emotional Points deducted. For the next 30 minutes, you will feel no fear, hesitation, or attachment. Confirm?]
"Do it."
A cold clarity washed over him. Fear evaporated. His grip tightened around the Kusanagi sword.
'This is… efficiency.'
Without a word, he lunged.
In the marine observation post, Smoker exhaled a plume of cigar smoke, watching the brawl unfold. "Pirates fighting pirates. Saves us the trouble."
Beside him, Tashigi adjusted her glasses. "That woman Alvida claims Luffy wronged her. And the boy with the sword… Is he with the Straw Hats?"
Smoker's eyes narrowed as Lucas cut through Buggy's crew like paper. "Vice-captain, maybe. Doesn't matter. They're all going to the brig."
In the execution platform, Alvida blocked Lucas's path, iron rod leveled. "Who the hell are you?"
Lucas's voice was ice. "Lucas. First Mate of the Straw Hat Pirates. You're holding our captain hostage. Move."
Reporters nearby snapped photos, murmuring: "Straw Hat's crew has a vice-captain?"
Alvida's lips curled. "Cute. But no one interrupts my reunion." She swung and Lucas parried, the Kusanagi humming.
'No emotions. No distractions.'
Just the fight.
....
T/N: Thanks for the support from: Lam Sha, Black Widow, Hamza Masfar, Lord Of the Mysteries, Andrew, Jiri Stehule, trey hill, Agustin Monti, Tightless, Impulsionimulsion.