Chapter Text
For a place supposedly known for its pleasant atmosphere, the air in the Sabaody Archipelago weighed heavy with anticipation. It felt like the mangroves themselves had started holding their breath in fear. Even the district known for its depravity and danger watched wearily at what was to come.
Rookie pirates. Each with a bounty of over one hundred million berries each. While super rookies appeared every generation, these particular supernovas took the Grand Line by storm. Hailing from every Blue, the few who were able to rise to the top funneled into the Grand Line with hopes of reaching further into greatness.
“Mad Monk” Urouge. One hundred eight million berries.
Capone “Gang” Bege. One hundred thirty-eight million berries.
Jewelry “Glutton” Bonney. One hundred forty million berries.
Scratchmen “Roar of the Sea” Apoo. One hundred ninety-eight million berries.
“Red Flag” X Drake. Two hundred twenty-two million berries.
“The Magician” Basil Hawkins. Two hundred forty-nine million berries.
Each of these pirates were feared on the Grand Line having fought hard for their recognition. Their bounties reflected combined years of effort and bloodshed that would make even hardened marines think twice about challenging them.
Despite this fact however, almost no citizen, criminal, nor marine spared a thought for these pirates. No matter the fear these bounties would usually inspire, no matter the danger a group this dangerous meeting would bring, this collection of pirates was just a second thought to those within the mangrove’s shade. They were a problem that could be managed, they didn’t need the same marine attention as other crews, not when their competitors could take entire crews in an instant.
Despite all meeting the qualifications to be considered supernovas, the world only truly paid attention to three crews in Paradise.
The world knew the least about the Heart Pirates. Even though they had been involved in multiple infamous incidents, not even Cipher Pol could figure out anything concrete about them.
The majority of the crew could be traced back to the North Blue where the first reported sightings of the Heart Pirates took place. Beyond that, nothing made sense. They were from the North, but no specific island could be found. Their apparent second in command was a mink, somehow lost from his ancestral home in the New World. Every attempt to trail them was unsuccessful as they could dive in their bright yellow submarine as soon as they realized they had a tail (which they did scarily quickly).
The marines had hoped that their captain’s distinctive tattoos would yield information, yet he was the most mysterious of the lot. The only definitive information available was his proficiency as a doctor, his habit of dismemberment, and his complete and utter hatred of Donquixote Doflamingo.
This crew alone held two supernovas.
“Wild Beast” Bepo. Two hundred forty million berries.
“Surgeon of Death” Trafalgar Law. Six Hundred fifty-five million berries.
The Kid Pirates were the exact opposite. Their history could be traced back to long before they became a proper crew.
The four oldest members began as rival gang leaders in the south blue, and like so many before them, they banded together to defeat a common enemy. Once they began to sail the seas as pirates, they set themselves apart with their brutality. They were brash, unapologetic, and violent, the poster children for a dangerous pirate crew. They fought who they wished, stole what they want, and aimed to stand above everyone around them.
Their captain exemplified all of these characteristics. Stories found themselves traveling across the waters of a brutal man with a wicked smile, whirlwinds of steel and pain surrounding him as he fought. His right-hand man held his same demeanor, moving in flashes of blades and blood, shielding his face from the viscera he left in his wake. Beyond that, his crew was strong, outclassing almost every other that had yet to reach the new world.
This crew held double the supernovas and double the public eye.
“Stone Wall” Wire. One hundred fifteen million berries.
“Flame Spitter” Heat. One hundred seventy-eight million berries.
“Massacre Soldier” Killer. Three hundred seventy million berries.
Eustass “Captain” Kid. Eight hundred seventy-five million berries.
The final pirate crew was the most unassuming. They didn’t have the same shrouded lives as the Heart Pirates. They also didn’t inspire the same fear and disgust as the Kid Pirates. They were just as likely to throw a week long party as they were to overthrow a government. The Straw Hat Pirates amassed fans and enemies in equal numbers. As other crews fought tooth and nail to make any progress forward on the Grand Line, the Straw Hats blitzed by.
In a matter of months, they had gone from complete unknowns to reaching the halfway point of the Grand Line. The weakest members of their crew could take hordes of marines on their own. Their sniper could reportedly hit targets from across an island, utilizing unconventional yet scarily effective ammunition. Their navigator could rob a battalion blind and could turn the weather itself against them if they ever found out. Rumors (that were handily dismissed) existed that claimed that even their pet could transform into a raging beast that could level buildings single-handedly. Their captain’s charisma roped in criminals with decades of experience who then seemed to grow exponentially in power. On the Grand Line alone he had recruited a metal crime boss with an invincible ship that could jet across the sky at moment’s notice, and the goddamn devil of Ohara to their merry little band. The newspapers dreaded the kind of pirate they would recruit next.
“Cyborg” Franky. One hundred million berries.
“Sniperking” Usopp. One hundred seven million berries.
“Weather Witch” Nami. One hundred eleven million berries.
“Devil Child” Nico Robin. Two hundred thirty million berries.
Beyond that, the crew's strongest members were like demons. Stories of their menace and their kindness existed in equal measure. Wherever they went, it was guaranteed a path of destruction, insanity, and joy followed.
Rumors traveled of a chef, a man who loved food and women in equal measure. He challenged some of the strongest opponents using only his legs, blazing like an inferno across the sky. Those who had tasted his cooking spoke with only admiration for the man who rivaled a team of master chefs in quality. He was seen as a gentleman, so different from what most people thought of as a pirate. (Whispers of a princely background fearfully stirred among those who recognized the signature look of Germa 66).
Word of a swordman spread far and wide, a man who fought with three swords with an unshakable determination. He could cower his opponents with his sheer bloodlust, appearing to leak it and something stronger with every strike. According to the claims of a few scared restaurant-goers in the East Blue, he seems to have been considered a future successor to Dracule Mihawk. (Little did the world know how near that position truly was).
“Black Leg” Sanji. Three hundred seventy-five million berries.
“Pirate Hunter” Roronoa Zoro. Four hundred twenty-five million berries.
Finally, their captain was the strangest of them all. His right and left hands could each amass a crew of their own, possessed wills that could rule on their own, yet they followed a boy not even eighteen. A boy who was physically dwarfed by most of his enemies and allies somehow managed to fight his way to the top without a second thought. He was magnetic. A pull existed around him that made people stop and look to see what he’d do next. He attracted unique individuals onto his crew, fitting into place like a family who knew each other for years (did they?), not the weeks or months since they joined.
He faced down the world and stood tall, liberating whoever he wanted to. He held a proficiency with his devil fruit seen but once in a blue moon, and more importantly, he was skilled enough in haki that he almost looked like he was holding back. Some of his crew had shown themselves to be knowledgeable at the very least (it’s not like most marines or pirates before Sabaody could even tell it was being used), but Straw Hat was a full Conqueror. A rookie, one who wasn’t even considered an adult by most, being able to wield the king’s spirit with ease was unthinkable. It seemed unthinkable was a word that didn’t exist in Straw Hat’s vocabulary, or perhaps he simply refused to let anything bind him from his greatest pursuit: Freedom.
Monkey D. “Straw Hat” Luffy. One billion berries.
The thirteen supernovas on these three crews towered over their peers in a way that hasn’t ever been seen before. If it wasn’t for each of these crews having histories traced back to their respective Blues, the marines would have believed them to be New World veterans.
Now, along with the other six supernovas, they would all collide on an archipelago known for its lawlessness and its ever-present rotating cast of world shaping figures.