Hello, my beloved readers, it has been a very long time. I'm sure you've been rather annoyed by me. I'll be honest I'm extremely sorry to have stalled this for so long. I had lost inspiration and many thing were happening with exams and all. I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter despite it being rather short compared to my previous ones.

My birthday's tomorrow so i'm celebrating it with you guys by finally updating this! Can't believe its already been a year...

Diclaimer: If i owned One PIece, I'd be the most irresponsible mangaka in the world and no one would ready One Piece T~T

ISLAND OF THE EXOTIC

'Land ahoy!' One of Alvida's crewmate shouted with vigour. It's had only been two days since they left the Organ islands and they had already found a new place to rest at – it was either their blessing or cursing. It was only the first day of Merry's hellish boot-camp treatment and no one could feel their muscles any longer, getting it to twitch was already fortunate enough. Now that they were able to reach an island, the dangers they might have to face was most likely going to be treated like sandbags for them to train with anyways, which was obviously not what they would want.

Merry stood at the railing of the Big Top, eyes squinting at the island which was rapidly increasing in size. He turned and mumbled to Nami, 'It's… unoccupied. There are some animals there but they are all rather docile. We'll drop on there and take a break.'

With a nod, Nami turned and screamed loudly, '10 degrees to starboard, raise the sails! No slacking off!'

The crew grunted, each still trying to revitalise from their training. Buggy managed to sit up slightly, 'Look whose telling us to stop slacking off… you're not doing anything either.' He justified weakly.

'You're half dead and are still willing to argue?' The silver haired peacemaker whispered under his breath, a cold grin surfacing on his thin cherry lips. 'It's seems you still have much energy to waste, don't you, Clown?'

Suddenly, Buggy's face turned almost as blue as his own hair, stuttering like a broken record he screeched frightfully, 'N-n-no, I'm not… I'm d-dying, no energy! I'm dead!' Then, frantically, he shouted to his lackeys, 'What are you slummers doing? Do you think we have forever? Get your arses moving! You useless mess!' His voice shook as he shouted up at top of his lungs, nostrils flaring.

On the companion ship, which was towed along the Big Top, Miss Love's Duck, had also became bustling with activity. The men were scrambling around, pulling strings and unravelling ropes. Meanwhile their captain was in a crisis of whether the mastery of her powers is more important than her cosmetic budgets. It had been an obviously gruelling decision to make. She had been sitting in the same position for more than four hours, staring blankly at the wall, looking like a half dead entity. Occasionally, she would let out long streams of inaudible words which even her comrade couldn't fathom.

'Do you think she'll be okay?' Kuina pondered, tying up her hair and draping on her yukata above the black tank-top and shorts. Then, wrapping the blue belt around her waist and inserting her sword in to its place by her side, she turned to Zoro. The swordsman, like usual, leaned against the wall with his elbow resting on his three swords protectively.

'I'm sure she'll be back to her old self soon enough!' Luffy answered in stead of Zoro, legs swinging as she sat on the ledge of the ship's cabin roof. She grinned as glanced towards the island, looking forward to her new adventure. Even though East Blue wasn't as mighty and awe inspiring as the Grandline, it was still the place where she recruited most of her nakama so she felt rather excited and curious of who was next in line. It was not until an hour later that they dropped their anchors and landed on the sandy beached of the abandoned island. The pirates took their time stretching and breathing in the earthy air of dry land. Relaxing themselves and bracing for the potential problems ahead of them. Merry hopped down from the deck of the Big Top, landing with a light thud, blowing the sand under his feet into the air. Showing his palm, he helped Nami down the rope ladder the Buggy Pirates had prepared. Then, soon after, Zoro, Luffy and Kuina followed suit, all landing gracefully on the beach.

Looking around for a moment, Luffy pondered, 'Where's Alvida?'

It was at that exact moment that a scream could be heard. They all turned to see the female captain on her bum, sliding slightly on the sand as she groaned painfully. 'Damn these powers!' She cursed, trying to stand up like a new born goat, legs clattering together.

Looking around, there was nothing much to see, mainly just lush green shrubs of leaves, sand and a few mountains further away. It was quite a simplistic and generic island in the East Blue, nothing much could be said about the little place. Kuina gave a glance and said dejectedly, 'Nothing much to see here, isn't there?'

'After all, it is an unpopulated island.' Nami stated as she opened up her map. 'I'll scale the coast to make a map.' She noticed Merry as her clicked her satchel open, taking out a pen and a compass.

Merry nodded in reply, 'There might be some problems around here so take Kuina and Zoro with you, they seemed quite bored anyways.'

'Sure, we'll be back in two to three hours I'd predict.' Nami said, checking her watch.

'I'll give a warning if anything happens.' Merry assured. After waving them goodbye and dismissing the trio, looking at their back disappear into the leaves, Luffy and him strolled back to the coast where all the extended crew members were gathered. She was rather dejected at how there didn't seem like anything interesting was happening. Luffy had noticed how they had all grouped together, looking exceptionally frightened at the sight of something up ahead. It was as if they had seen a ghost or monster of some kind.

"What's going on?" Luffy questioned, her head tilted aside. Startled, the crew jumped into the air, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"C-c-captain!" They screeched in unison with a mix of relief and caution. "And Merry…" They said dejectedly and dropped their guards.

"What's wrong with this difference in treatment?" Merry asked himself rhetorically.

They continued, teeth chattering, "There's a ghost!" They said, pointing ahead at the whatever hybrid animal that was staring at them from the distance. It was something similar to a cross between a fox and a cock. With fur covering its body but also donning a colourful feathered tail.

"That fox chicken things a ghost?" Luffy said, pointing at the ghost. She had seen many exotic animals in the world so the fox chicken hybrid didn't bother her much. "What you call that anyway? A ficken?"

"Don't ask stupid questions, Luffy." Merry said, narrowing his eyes, as he rested his hand on his rapier.

"I'm the guardian of this forest, I command you all to depart from this place and leave the animals alone." A voice commanded loudly.

"Something was shot at us when we didn't listen! It's a ghost!" The crewmembers explained, pointing at the ground. Merry walked over and poked his hand into the ruptured earth. Then slowly, he clawed out a round metallic bullet.

Luffy had already gone ahead and walked towards the direction of the fox chicken hybrid, then, with her palm, she brushed a bush aside a bush revealing a gun. Further ahead, there was something which looked rather similar to a bush in a typical treasure box. Either way, there was almost nothing typical about this situation. Let's simplify this together. A bush, in a treasure box, which could talk and has a gun, threatened to 'punish them all' if they do not leave the island.

"Well, this isn't the weirdest thing we've encountered, right?" Merry said as he picked up this gun. Then, with a click, he reloaded it and pointed it towards the bush in the treasure box with an evil smile on his face. With a menacingly commanding tone he interrogated, "Who are you and what do you want with our crew?" He sounded so calm it gave the crewmember's themselves shivers.

Suddenly, a scream erupted in the air and the box, magically grew two stubby feet and began to sprint away at astonishing speed.

"It's moving!" The crew exclaimed, staring at the 'object' running away from them. Then suddenly, the box fell over with a painful thud and a deep yelp. "It fell!" They exclaimed again while Luffy observed it amusingly and Merry stared at it emotionlessly.

"Stop staring and pick me up already!" The box screamed after a few moments of awkward silence. The crew came up and looked at the object with curiosity.

"It's a man!"

"What else could 'it' be?" Merry said with exasperation, suddenly drowned with a sense of regret for taking in such a walking comedy show.

"This island is really bland." Nami said with a sigh, already finished with her sketch of the island. She stashed away the sheets of sketches, her compasses and tools before glancing around dejectedly. "It's also very small. Well, not much to expect around here."

"Are you done already?" Kuina asked, leaning on Nami's shoulder intimately. They seemed to have developed a rather close relationship after a few days of travelling together and being roommates. Nami nodded in response, glancing around with a quirked eyebrow. Kuina pursed her lip and asked probingly, "Don't ask me where Zoro is, I don't know either. Now that you're done with your work, I'll go look for him. I'm sure you know how to go back to Luffy-san and Merry-san, right?"

"Does this happen often?" The navigator asked awkwardly.

"More often than you can imagine." Kuina answered dismissively with a sense of irritation before hopping off into the forest after giving Nami a slight wave. Giving one last glance back at where the swordswoman had vanished off to, Nami also began her trip back to the crew.

Kuina dashed through the forest like a lightning bolt, her observation Haki spreading in all direction, observing all of the movements. Soon, she located Zoro, who was lying on a coast on the south side of the island. She didn't know how he managed to get all the way there but no one really ever knows, so she didn't question much. Walking into the sandy beach, she dropped her speed, ignoring all the mutated animals curiously peeking at the swordsman. Finding her spot naturally next to Zoro, Kuina laxly leaned back and exhaled lightly. "Having a nice time?"

"There's a large ship approaching from this direction." Zoro replied, eyes still closed.

"Should I report to Luffy-san?" Kuina asked, still rather light hearted as she grinned calmingly. She looked forward, as if she was mentally marking the dot on the horizon her target.

"They aren't strong, we can probably deal with them ourselves."

"Well what if they're not here for trouble?" Kuina asked.

"Then there's no need for us to report to Luffy right?" Zoro reasoned, slightly opening his eyes and glancing as Kuina with his sharp gaze. She shrugged, closing her eyes as she hummed slightly. Though her observation wasn't absolutely high-level, it was enough for her to encase the entire island with her powers. She sent a mental warning to Luffy and Merry encase anything important happens in her area. Seconds later, Merry's figure appeared on the sea surface ahead of them. His blue eyes flickered as he whipped around, focusing on the ship approaching with great speed.

He turned around after a few minutes, saying with his slightly monotonous voice, "Luffy and I will come over when we're done over there, notice Luffy when they arrive on the shore."

Kuina nodded while Zoro exuded an agreeing grunt and Merry dissipated bad into a puddle of seawater.

"OH! It's such a sad story!" Buggy and his crew member cried rivers, hugging each other in consolation, along with some of Alvida's own crew members. "A man kept from his treasure, desperately protecting it from people who came after them. You're a great pirate, Box Guy!" Buggy croaked.

"How stupid." Nami said, nose wrinkling. She had just came back from her mapping session, only to encounter the group of pirates listening to a man with a large afro who was also oddly fitted into a treasure box. They sat in a large circle, almost covering up the entire small blank field. He told tales of treasures and maps and how he was trapped here, on this abandoned island, in a box. She wasn't really interested in the stories, of course, but rather her eyes glittered when the word 'treasure' was echoed.

"Old man! We'll get your treasure for you!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly. She felt rather a sense of pity for the man but was glad to help either way. And also, if she was able to help a man accomplish his dreams she wouldn't mind doing so.

"My name is Gaimon!" The man in the box exclaimed in helplessness, but a tinge of gratitude apparent in his voice. But then, he turned around and indicated the plateau near the centre of the islands. He spoke with resignation, "But I don't think you can help me. It's all the way up that mountain, are you willing to climb it for a man who has no future like me?"

"Never mind that! First let's get your treasure!" The young female captain insisted, swinging her arms around with enthusiasm.

"Don't try to convince her, it won't ever work." Nami said exasperatedly as she began to head in the direction of the plateau, already immune to the erratic captain and her similarly nonsensical crew. Gaimon soon followed her, not bothering to question anymore as he waddled forward, his treasure chest rocking side to side. The rest of the crew followed suit, mobilizing their army through the forest. It seems that Buggy's crew – though have only spent a night with the Strawhats, had unconsciously felt they belonged to them and was rather obedient. Most of them had have an epiphany, in which they realised how pirating is not necessarily pillaging and destroying.

It only took less than ten minutes for them all to gather at the foot of the mountain. It was rather red and muddy but reached the height of about twenty to thirty metres tall. It was a short climb, rather the bothersome thing was how steep the mountain was. To a normal person it would be quite a rough climb but to Luffy it was as easy as stepping over a rock. "This'll be easy." She mumbled to herself, coiling back before stretching her hands up with amazing speed.

Gaimon's eyes almost fell straight out of their sockets when the sight played before him. He was flabbergasted as his mouth flapped like a broken toy. He managed to mumble out, "w-what kind of…"

"It's a devil's fruit." Nami explained casually. "We have four users in our crew already. There's our white haired peacemaker, Merry, with his Umi Umi no Mi. The tassel haired clown over there has the Bara Bara no Mi and the last one is the prideful beauty who keeps having to lean on other people (literally) who has the Sube Sube no Mi. And our captain, that girl over there, has the Gomu Gomu no Mi." She listed like she was reading of a shopping list.

The boxed man was even more startled. "I've been a pirate for a long time, and have heard of many tales about the devil fruits. But this is the first time I've seen one with my own eyes, not even mentioning four of them at the same time!"

"And I'll be honest, I don't think anything can be weird anymore after working as a navigator for this crew." Nami said with exasperation, silently concluding that she'd lose her sanity soon enough if she continued staying in this pirate crew.

Luffy had already managed to shoot herself onto the top of the mountain. But to everyone's curiosity, there had been no response from the young captain. Merry however had been rather silent with a look of contemplation and slight traces of dread on his face. He had received a message from his sister and was pondering on how to break the news to the man trapped in the treasure box. But before Merry could say anything, Luffy had already peaked out from the edge of the plateau, hands holding a treasure chest in her arms. She shouted, "There really are treasure chests up here! There're five of 'em up here!"

An expression of ecstasy appeared on Gaimon's face as he replied, "That's great! Drop them down! But don't hit us!" He cackled.

"No way!" Luffy said with a grin, sticking her tongue out in distaste. This left most of the crew shocked.

Nami glowered, "Luffy, don't mess around! I know we're all tempted by the treasure but you can't possibly try to take all of them for yourself! Stop kidding around!"

"Yeah Captain!" Koto exclaimed, though feeling something rather fishy about what was happening.

"Damned you rubber idiot! You can't hoard the treasure to yourself, the man found his treasure, you've got to give him the credit!" Buggy screeched, feeling sympathy for Gaimon as a fellow treasure hunter – only slightly though. The other crew members also expressed their dissatisfaction.

"It's okay you guys. Forget about it. It's okay if she doesn't want to drop them." Gaimon said dejectedly, his face darkening. He looked up, tears filled his eyes as he mumbled. "You're a good person."

"What are you saying?!" The rest of the screamed, absolutely confused of the events playing before them.

Gaimon continued, eyes filled despair and melancholy, "I've thought of the possibility before, but have convinced myself opposite… The treasure chests… are empty, aren't they?"

Luffy silently nodded. The man, who had waited for twenty years, let his tears pour down his face like a waterfall. He cried into his palms as they crew stared at him with great pity, there was nothing worse than knowing you have wasted twenty years of your life on an empty dream. "So the treasure did exist… Rather someone had come and taken them away before I even found the map…"

The air was solemn, everyone kept quiet and gave the man space, letting him take in the devastating truth. It was a moment after that Luffy let out a large laugh, "It's okay! Ossan! Fortunately, we came to you pretty early!"

"Yes, it would've been quite horrible if we left you to guard empty chests for the next few decades and leave you to rot in this lonely island." Merry spoke with his calming voice, smiling slightly.

Luffy continued joyfully, "Don't worry! There's still the great treasure of One Piece ahead of us, the adventures of the Grandline and the great tales to be heard! Won't you join us, Ossan?"

"Are you inviting me?" Gaimon asked, eyes shining with wonder as he thought of the adventures which might be waiting in stall of him. Tears of joy and gratitude rolled down his cheeks as he smiled, it's has been so long since he had heard those words of wonder. Then, he pondered for a moment before sighing slightly. He wiped away his tears and looked up with resolution. "Sorry, kid, but I don't think I'll go with you. I have my job as the guardian of the forest. These rare animals depend on me. Many people had come and go on this island to gather my exotic animals to sell them for money. I need to protect them."

"You're a rare and exotic animal too, Ossan, so take care of yourself!" Luffy exclaimed from above, grinning goofily.

"Shut it!" He screeched in reply and the crew chuckled joyfully, seeing as the heavy atmosphere had been lifted.

The rubber female captain jumped down from the top of the plateau and grinned happily at the pirate trapped in the treasure box. Gaimon continued, "I hope to here news of your crew coming on all the way from Grandline. I feel like you group of misfits are destined for greatness. But be careful, I've seen many people return from the Grandline, their face etched with the pain and despair of the cursed waters, the Pirate's Graveyard." His voice grew grim as he continued, his eyes narrowing in warning.

"Don't worry, Ossan, I'll come visit you when I can!" Luffy said joyfully. "When I acquire One Piece, I'll bring some of it over to you and your animals! Shi shi shi shi shi!"

"Oi! That treasure's my!" Buggy claimed loudly, swinging his arms around like an angry young child. The rest of the crew chuckled as Alvida managed to lose her grip on Koto and fell flat on her face, feeding herself a mouthful of sand. Merry smiled lightly at the 'heart-warming' scene before he suddenly received a flare of power entering his Haki field. It seems that the unidentified ship has arrived to shore after a few hours of time. He walked through the crowd silently and rested a hand on Luffy's shoulder and she turned around with a knowing look, nodding silently as if they were communicating through their eyes. She seemed to have also recieved the same signal from Zoro and Kuina and was also planning to head over.

"Well, something pretty cools happening on the other side of the coast so Merry and I'll go see what's up!" Luffy reported to the crew as they seemingly celebrated the events which had just happened. "You guys go ahead and enjoy yourselves, we'll return with Zoro and Kuina-san before long! Nami, Buggy and Alvida are in charge!"

Merry nodded in agreement before the two seemed to disappear into thin air, as if they had teleported away. The two appeared again on the coast only two seconds after, where Kuina and Zoro was resting their foot each respectively on two men wearing cat claws and a cow costume. One of them was very slim, with green hair, slanty feline eyes and claws, while the other was extremely rotund with round eyes and fangs. They were both struggling under the sword duo's feet helplessly. Merry and Luffy entered the scene silently. Luffy was rather numb to all the meet up with pirates after experiencing so many of them trying to challenge her authority in her past life. She rather felt bored of them when knowing they were no one powerful or special.

"These people are?" Merry asked, eyes them with an ice-cold gaze which almost dropped the air's degrees by three or four times.

"They called themselves Kuroneko Pirates. When they arrived, we suggested they coexist with our crew on the island quietly and that we'll leave in a few hours but they insisted on fighting us and threatened to steal our treasure while they're at it." Kuina explained, turning to Merry with a smile as bright as daylight. "So we beat them to a pulp and called you over to see what you'll do with them."

Luffy nodded while Merry remain emotionless and still. The young female captain suggested cheerfully, "I'm bored and I don't really know how to deal with this so how about we let our Peace Maker deal with everything here? Zoro, Kuina, let's return, I'm sure Buggy has gone to break out the rum and sake! Let's celebrate!" She raised her hands up in excitement, feeling that she would rather have bonding time with her crewmates than deal with random strangers.

The duo nodded before they all disappeared into the forest, leaving Merry behind with the pirates. He spared them a glance before speaking with a light but clear and dominating tone, "Who're you leaders?"

"S-sir, please s-spare us-" The thin one lying on the sand said with a quivering voice only to by stopped halfway by Merry's glare.

"Answer the question."

The men shivered, they knew not whether the man ahead of them was powerful or not, but the people he who was his comrades certainly could beat them with a flick of their finger. If they didn't listen or answered they'd be inviting death upon themselves. The slim pirate on the ground stood up, fully revealing his bony figure which seemed as if it could be blown away by the wind, he spoke, "Sir, I'm the leader of our crew, my name is Sham."

"Where's your actually leader and who is he?" Merry said with a glare which almost seemed it could see through minds, a small smile crawling onto his lips.

Sham was quite shocked that the man ahead of him had managed to realise he was not the captain at first glance. He continued with a silent confidence brewing in his bowels. If he revealed how powerful his captain and vice-captain was to this silver haired man, he would certainly be able to scare him. He smiled wilily, "Our captain is Kuro of a Hundred Plans who we've come to assist at attacking the village which he is currently at. Our Vice-Captain is One-Two Jango who is extremely adept at the art of controlling minds."

Merry pondered for a moment, searching for the names in his mind. He remembered reading a news article three years ago mentioning a pirate of the name Kuro being hanged. He chuckled silently, for a man who had quitted on being a pirate once to summon his crew again, it must be rather 'important'. He was claimed to be the second most intelligent man in East Blue. This made Merry almost laugh aloud. Nami would probably outsmart this man when it came to capturing money and treasure once she matured.

Sham was rather taken aback when he saw that Merry was still as calm as ever and even smiled when he heard Sham's words. The peacemaker turned to the cat-like pirate and continued, "How about we make a deal. I'll not harm all of you if you allow our crew to follow you to your destination. And in that time, you must not send a word of warning to your leader about us and must absolutely obey us."

Sham listened and thought about it deeply, weighing the pros and cons before nodded with a trace of doubt. This man is crafty, he thought. Who would make a deal of such low importance when wielding such powers. This person is brewing up a plan, something that will change their lives. For a moment, he felt as if the man ahead of was even more foxy and crafty than his own captain. And even harder to see through. But he discarded the thought, thinking it was ridiculous. Sham reached out, grasping Merry's hand in agreement to the deal. "We have a deal."

Merry nodded, the playful smile still dancing on his lips. "Now, you'll all follow me back. You're ship will be brought next to ours, agree?"

They all nodded as the men climbed off they're ship, and joined Sham and Buchi down on the coast. Merry ushered them forward and showed them the direction. After they all entered the forest obediently, he glanced at the ship and with a wave of his hand sent it moving along the coast as if it was being blown away by a gust of wind. Silently, he continued behind the cat-eared pirates, eyeing them like a hawk. He reunited with Luffy and the others soon after. When they arrived, the crew had already set up a large bonfire as the sky turned dark in the dusks. None of the people, however, seemed surprise at the peacemaker's return with a large number of unknown people. Merry sat down in between Luffy and Nami, summoning a cup of tea and a book out of thin air and leaving the Kuroneko pirates stumped in their place.

They were expecting to meet with a glowering band of pirates, interrogating them and ordering them around. They'd even imagine being extorted off all their measly treasure. Sham was even sure that his deal would be backfired and he would be betrayed but he would never imagine a large group of pirates dancing, singing and drinking around a large bon fire.

"What are you few doing?" Merry asked without turning around. "I've asked you to accompany our group for the next day, are you going to stand there and stare at thin air for the rest of the night? Join the party, we only have to keep each other company for a few hours, enjoy yourselves."

"Shi shi shi shi! Have some Sake!" Luffy said, bite on her meat and throwing over a bottle of Sake.

"Do we really have to share alcohol with these people?" Zoro asked with a scowl. Kuina nudged him in the ribs and glared at him angrily, mouthing something. Zoro grumbled before reluctantly shutting up. Nami snickered before dowsing herself with her own pint of beer.

"Merry's planning something evil again, Luffy." She said teasingly.

Luffy grinned largely in return, "I was thirsting for an adventure anyways! This East Blue is rather boring me out! I want to go out and meet up with Ace and Sabo soon!"

Merry chuckled lightly, making almost the entire crew pause from their partying with the exotic animals and Gaimon. Their face wrinkled and paled like raisin. All of them, except for Luffy - who was used to Merry's lack of emotion and his occasional smiles or laughs - , wore an expression of fright, worry and slight disgust, as if they'd seen something they'll never be able to un-see. Nami let out a loud gasp as she pointed towards Merry with a hand covering her lips, "Merry…" She paused conspicuously, "You… You… You smiled and chuckled, with actual joy!"

"They world's going to fall!" Buggy screamed, hands raising to the heaven while the rest of the crew freaked out, running amok frantically like headless chickens.

The Kuroneko pirates glanced around completely flabbergasted. What the hell was wrong with this crew, they thought in unison. While Merry had to calm the urge to face palm and force them into another hellish training session. The rest of the night was full of partying and singing as they say goodbye to Gaimon and prepare their supply for the next trip. The story of meeting and helping their next crewmate however, would be a story told in another time.

Did you miss me? I mean, did you miss my fanfic? Either way leave a comment below, especially if you feel like there are things i could improve upon. Give a fav and a follow if you feel like i deserve it ;) and i might update some when soon (?) so hope me luck!

And also, i felt i shouldn't start a new fanfic without finishing this for you guys so...

Sincerely, the one who made u wait for one year (im sorry), KNOX