Thunder Demon Luffy's

Chapter 108's

** back with Luffy **

Luffy and the crew were on the banks of the Sandora River, loading supplies onto the ship, while the king and Vivi along with several royal guards stood by the river. They had left the palace this morning before sunrise.

Luffy brought all of his crew using his crew coupled with some members of the supersonic duck squad to bring the king and the princess back to the palace. Luffy was currently standing beside the king looking at Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji loading supplies onto the ship.

Nami and Nojiko go to Luffy's right to say goodbye to Vivi, while Robin stands behind Luffy with Chopper standing next to his new friend.

"It's a pity that you can't stay here for Vivi's birthday party" the King said as he looked at Luffy.

"As I said last night, the world government will not sit idly by and let the alliance between Shanks and me take shape. They will try to stop us before they can make a bigger momentum" Luffy said with a sigh and began to remember the night before.

**flashback**

"For the alliance!" say both of them at the same time before sipping their drinks.

"What just happened?" Nami asked in a loud voice while staring at the transponder snail Luffy was holding in his hand

"It looks like we have just formed an alliance with one of the Four Yonkou," Usopp replied in a tone of disbelief. Everyone in the room was amazed at what had just happened.

Robin was probably the most surprised of all who was there. He had just been a part of the crew for a few days and on those few days, Luffy managed to defeat a Shichibukai, claiming the entire country as his territory, and now he formed an alliance with one of the Four Yonkou.

It was a strange day for Robin. The Red-Haired Pirate, on the other hand, is having a party at the New World while their two captains are doing a deal. Many beers clashed with the wooden table, along with shouts and cheers about their now-grown little Luffy.

"So, what advantage do I get from this alliance?" Luffy asked while ignoring the astonished gazes he got from his crew and the loud cheers that sounded from Shanks' crew.

"Oh, you know, as always," said Shanks casually, causing everyone who was with Luffy to sweat because of the Yonko's casual behavior. "All the areas under my protection are now also under your protection, which means that you have the same benefits as what I have gained from them" Shanks added, causing Luffy to nod while filling his glass with whiskey.

"And that means the same thing applies to my territory?" Luffy asked.

"Yup" Shanks replied. "Oii Ben! Bring me more sake!" Shanks shouted causing Luffy to chuckle and shake his head. "But the most important of all is the fact that if anyone attacks you, then it's the same as them attacking me, " Shanks added in a serious voice and sounded not drunk.

"That's the opposite, too" Luffy said in a low tone.

"Where's your next goal?" Shanks asked.

"Come on," Luffy replied with a shrug. "Honestly I don't really care, I went where Log Pose pointed to the next location," Luffy replied cheerfully.

"That's new spirit!" Shanks said with a laugh and everyone there heard him slamming his pitcher. "By the way, the thing you want me to keep an eye on on the black market (Underworld) has already appeared," Shanks added, leaving Luffy excited.

"Perfectly, we are currently about two more islands off Water 7" Luffy said, drawing the attention of his crew.

"Well, call me if you need anything" Shanks said.

"And you call me if you need anything" Luffy replied.

"I'll need your help right away," Shanks replied, causing Luffy to raise next to his eyebrows in curiosity. "But it was a conversation for another time" Shank added, making Luffy know that he had to wait for a call from Shanks on a safer channel.

"I'll talk to you later then" Luffy said.

"Yes, take care of yourself, Lu" replied Shanks.

"you too, and say hello to my friends there" Luffy said with a smile.

"What?" Luffy asked while looking at them.

"What do you mean by what !?" Nami and Usopp.

"you just formed an alliance with the Red-Haired Shanks! Don't you think we need to talk about that!" nami's words caused Luffy to laugh.

"The alliance has been around for a long time, it's just not official" Luffy replied as he sipped his drink. "This call is just to make it official, and announce it to the world," Luffy added before taking a few bites out of his food.

"What do you mean announce it to the world?" Zoro asked while looking at his captain. "The two of you spoke by phone and the only one who knew it was in this room" Zoro said, causing Luffy and Robin to laugh.

"Very naive, Master Swordsman," Robin chuckled. "The World Government and the Marine have a way of intercepting the call from the Snail Tranponder, surely they're tapping the call" Robin explained, while Luffy nodded.

"He's right" Luffy said, agreeing with the crew's latest remarks. "Since the call was on an unsafe path, there was a high chance that our conversation could be intercepted by anyone. This call will make headlines tomorrow morning" Luffy explained, causing everyone's eyes to widen. "However, it will also cause problems," Luffy added puzzling them.

"What problem?" Sanji asked.

"That means we can't stay in this country any longer" Luffy said, hearing Vivi's sad expression.

"What do you mean, Luffy," asked Nojiko.

"Marine won't sit idly by and let me and Shanks form an alliance. If that happens then the three major powers of the world become unbalanced," Luffy explained, causing the king to nod in understanding.

"So, they will try to prevent this alliance before it makes momentum in the world, and they will pursue the weakest link in the alliance, which in this case means us" he said, scare Usopp and Chopper.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Usopp who was very frightened. Luffy's expression turned serious before he replied.

"You will all sleep well tonight and tomorrow before the sun appears on our horizon heading straight for the ship" Luffy said, causing the princess to be shocked.

"W-Do you guys have to leave so soon?" Vivi asked and her tears almost came out of her eyes.

"Yes, this entire country will be filled with marine tomorrow morning" Luffy said as he looked at the princess. "It would be better if we dealt with them at sea rather than dragging this country into another conflict, especially after you guys have just experienced it" Luffy added, causing all his crew to agree.

"But ..my birthday ceremony will be held in a few days' time" Vivi said in tears. "I want you guys to be there," Vivi added, causing everyone to look at her with a face of sympathy.

"Sorry, princess, "reply Luffy while looking at the princess. "Although we wanted to be there, we couldn't" he said before sipping whiskey. "And you can't come with us either" Luffy added, causing everyone's eyes to widen.

"How are you ...," said Vivi as she looked down and clenched her palm.

"Whoever knows you can know what you're thinking" Luffy said with a grin. "The fact is, I don't need a princess on my ship" Luffy added, causing everyone to stare at her with eyes as big as plates. Everyone in the room had the same thought.

'How can you not have feelings?' thought everyone when they looked at Luffy.

"But I need a princess to oversee my operations here in Alabasta" Luffy said with a smile, causing Vivi to stare at Luffy with a hopeful glow shining from her eyes.

"You mean I'll be a part of your crew?" Vivi asked in an optimistic voice. Luffy stared strangely with one eyebrow raised before he replied.

"I think you're already part of my crew" Luffy said before he raised his hand and pulled his sleeve slightly, showing the symbol 'X'. When Vivi saw him, her eyes widened before tears began to flow down her face.

The entire crew looked at Vivi with smiles on their faces, and they also raised their hands, showing off their marks of friendship. "You all sleep well" said Luffy, lowering his arm. "We left before sunrise" he added, causing all the crew to nod their heads.

** End of Flashback **