HELLO! Welcome to another one of my stories! Now this one is a crossover between two anime series I just freaking love! I've wanted to do this for a while now and I just said "to hell with it!" and started right away! Here is my crossover of Fairy Tail+One Piece: Demon of the Seas!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or One Piece. They each belong to their respective owners…sadly.

Out in the Ocean

A lone, grand ship sailed peacefully on the sea; passing beneath various sea life and fallen ships that were not strong enough to hold their own on the high seas. Aboard this ship were two sailors bored out of their minds just leaning on the railings. The tanned, robust sailor blankly looked down on the ocean, but was shocked to see a lone barrel floating. "Huh?" He said, staring at the mysterious barrel. The sailor wondered just what was in that barrel; booze, treasure, a person? Nah, the last one was just too weird so it had to be one of the first two.

Oh how little he knew…

The robust sailor tried throwing a rope to catch the barrel, but missed. He tried again, but missed again. "Aww missed again! Batter out!" His lanky, taller friend teased.

"What are you two doing? You freakin' suck!" Another sailor yelled from the crow's nest, chuckling to himself at his friend's lack of aim. Suddenly, a shudder climbed down his back and he turned behind to look at an island floating right beside them. He gulped. He had a bad feeling about that island.

The rotund sailor finally got ahold of the barrel and began pulling it upwards onto the ship. "Oi help me out here!" He called to his lanky friend. His friend quickly grabbed ahold of the rope and also began pulling upwards.

"Man, this thing is freaking heavy!" The lanky sailor grumbled as he exerted his muscles to pull up the barrel. "Hehe must be filled with booze, then! Dibs on the first drink!" He yelled, finally pulling up the barrel with his friend.

"It's all ours now!" The portly sailor said, laughing. "Oi, Jeffy, you want some?" He yelled to the sailor in the crow's nest. After a couple seconds of no response, "Jeffy? You there?"

Sweat trickled down Jeffy's face as he stared at the island. Or, not so much the island, but the pink ship sailing past the island. His eyes quickly zeroed in on one particular part of the ship, a jolly roger. "S-ship off the starboard stern!" Jeffy yelled to the sailors below him, his hat falling in the midst of his quick movements. "There's a pirate flag on its mast! It's a pirate ship! Enemy raid! Enemy raid!" He continued screaming at the top of his lungs. His two friends quickly dropped the barrel and ran off to go to their positions.

Suddenly, the pink pirate ship began firing at their ship with three large cannonballs; all missing the ship. 'Were those on purpose? Or just poor aim? I hope it's the latter' Jeffy thought to himself.

The civilians inside the cruise ship began shaking from the explosions from the cannonballs. However, only one person was calm throughout this entire ordeal. The two sailors from the deck both opened the door to the ballroom in haste, "Captain! It's a pirate attack!" They both yelled.

"W-what?!" The captain yelled, his sunglasses nearly falling from his head. After hearing that horrifying news, the passengers began screaming in fright at the impending pirate attack. "E-everyone, please stay calm!" The captain began yelling to keep his passengers calm before he solved this ordeal. As the passengers began running for the exits, one orange-haired woman pushed herself against the wall to avoid being seen. She smirked at all the people running away from the pirate attack and readied herself for what she came here to do.

Aboard the pirate ship, a large, freckle-faced woman with long wavy black hair watched as the cannonballs from her ship began to slowly decimate the cruise ship without causing it to sink into the bottom of the ocean. After all, she didn't want to lose all the valuable treasure that was surely aboard that ship. The woman wore a white cowgirl hat with a large red plume, a red neckerchief, a pink plaid shirt, and a blue captain's coat over it with the arms in the sleeves unlike many other pirates. She also wore rings on her fingers and her long sharp fingernails had red polish. She had a purple sash with a flintlock pistol tucked in it and some jewels and also wore graying pants and red shoes with gold buckles. Her eyes stared deeply at the far away cruise ship and quickly called for her cabin boy, "Coby!" She yelled.

"Y-yes, ma'am?!" A pink-haired bespectacled young boy asked. The cabin boy was wearing a blue and white shirt, black sweats with white socks and red slippers adorning his feet.

"Who's the most beautiful women of all on these seas?" She grinned, waiting for the obvious response. After all, there were no women on these seas…no, in this whole planet that could rival her beauty.

"T-this ship's captain, Alvida, of course!" Coby chuckled awkwardly, praying that she couldn't tell that he was lying through his teeth.

Suddenly the woman broke out in a fit of laughter at hearing the boy's answer. Her large club slammed on the wooden planks of her ship. "Well done!" She whispered, the young boy thanking her for her "kindness." Her crew behind her began to chuckle at seeing the young brat squirm under Alvida's fat thumb. It was a favorite pastime of theirs.

"Captain Alvida. This is our first prey in a while." A tanned, bearded pirate said behind her.

"That's right! Alright! Start pounding the ship!" She yelled, getting a roar of agreement from her crew.

Cannonballs began to rain down on the ship, destroying the sails so they could not flee. Coby flinched from watching this and prayed someone on that ship could finally put an end to Alvida's horrible reign. One cannonball slammed into the sail, causing it to break off and crash down into the sea below. The passengers continued to scream and panic at being unable to flee from the pirate attack and hoped the Marines would come to save them. On top of the deck, no one noticed the barrel rolling down the deck and fall down the steps leading to the other barrels below deck.

The orange-haired woman began sprinting down the hallway, cursing herself for putting herself in a stupid ballroom dress, and exited through a door to the upper deck. She checked to see if the coast was clear and was about to run until she felt a shockwave rock the ship. The woman ran towards the railing and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a large white goose with hearts for eyes come into her line of vision. Her eyes looked to the side to see that it was the ship head for the pirate ship and bit her lip in anger at seeing another pirate ship. 'I really hate pirates.' She thought to herself and sprinted back inside the ship. The pirate ship began slowly sailing to the side of the ship and anchored themselves right on the side of the cruise ship. The pirates threw rope to hook onto the railings and prepared themselves for the raid.

"Men! Show them the terror of Iron Club Alvida, the woman pirate!" Alvida yelled, pointing her large club towards the cruise ship. Her crew then roared in agreement and started running on the ropes to board the ship. The pirated howled with glee as they boarded the ship and ran amok seeking the pleasure of plundering from the weak.

Coby shivered in both grief and fear as he watched the pirates board the ship. He inwardly cursed himself for being too weak to stand up to the pirates and wished the Marines would step in and put a stop to them. Alvida noticed the young boy shivering and growled at him, "Coby! What are you doing?!"

"I-I'm not good at this sort of thing…can't I just stay here?" He whispered weakly, holding tightly onto the rope and hoped that there was at least a shred of goodness in the pirate's heart.

Unfortunately for him, there was no shred of goodness in this pirate woman's heart. "Hmm?! Are you tryin' to give me backtalk?!" She asked through gritted teeth, stomping closer to the weak cabin boy.

"P-please, anything but the club!" Coby begged, sweating profusely at the memories at being on the receiving end of that horrendous weapon.

"Then get yer ass in gear!" Alvida yelled, kicking Coby in the rear to push him onto the cruise ship.

Coby screamed as he was shot in the air and continued until his face hit the wall on top of the deck and slid down onto the deck. He held his face in pain and inwardly cried at being forced to plunder on innocent people. He suddenly heard screaming coming from above him and he looked up to see a large, fat Alvida speeding towards him with her club ready to swing. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Coby yelled as he ducked, barely missing Alvida and having her crash into one of the cabins on the deck.

Inside the ballroom, the passengers were backed into a corner by the pirates. "Now now, no need to fuss. We won't take yer lives, but we will take all yer valuables. I think that's a fair trade, right?" One of the pirates asked, pointing his sword at the crowd.

Stomping was heard inside the room. "Anyone who tries to fight back'll wind up at the bottom of the ocean!" Alvida told the crowd of people, gripping her club as a show of force.

Unbeknownst to everyone on the ship, the orange-haired woman was hiding on the top deck of the ship. She heard the laughs of the pirates coming from the ballroom and quickly grabbed the hem of her dress and threw it off of her, revealing her pirate outfit: a black bandana tied to her head, a navy shirt, and gray pants. She wished she could help the poor passengers, but she had more important things to do.

Coby slowly walked through the interior of the ship and poked his head through one of the door. "Hello…" He mumbled, looking in to see the kitchen of the ship. A large table was in the center of the room with plenty of food to spare on it, another table was tumbled over with spilt food everywhere, barrels were all shoved into one corner, but strangely one barrel was standing upright on the other side of the room. "T-there's no one in here, right?" Coby whispered, slowly walking into the room. Seeing no one was in here, he breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes then caught sight of a large barrel on the side where all the barrels were jammed into a corner. "That's a rather large barrel." He said to himself as he walked over to it. Something felt like it was calling to him as he moved closer to it. With every step he took, it felt like he was destined to meet this barrel.

What a strange destiny…

Unknown to anyone on the ship, the orange-haired woman used one of the ropes the pirates had used to board the ship to know board their own ship in the hopes of making off with whatever gold they had. She stealthily landed on the ship and slowly made her way to one of the doors on the deck. As she was about to open it, a pirate with a green shirt and horned hat opened the door. "Hey, who're you?! Never seen you before!" He growled as he saw the intruder. His face edged closer to hers and fear began to cloud her judgement. She was so close to her goal and there was no way she was gonna let some pirate stop her! Quickly, she swung her leg back and swung it back into the man's crotch making him groan in all sorts of pain and agony as he fell to the floor. She watched the man grab his crotch in pain and shrugged her shoulders as she made her way inside the ship.

While this was going on, Coby was rolling the large barrel out of the room, but was stopped by three pirates from Alvida's crew. "Hey, coward! Are you hidin' out in a place like this again?!" One of them said.

"N-No! I thought I'd haul this big barrel of alcohol over…" Coby stuttered out fearfully. The pirates smiled at seeing the big barrel the brat was rolling and wondered what was inside of it.

"Hehehe we'll lighten it for ya!" The fat pirate said.

"I was just feelin' thirsty!" The taller pirate yelled.

"You can't! Alvida will kill us if she finds out!" Coby yelled, fearing just what Alvida would do if him and the crew took whatever kind of booze or treasure she thought belonged to her.

"Then you just need to keep yer mouth shut or I'll sew it shut! Right, Coby?" The pirate with tattoo screamed back at him.

Coby began sweating and whimpered at the deadly stares he was getting. "Y-yes! You're right!"

"Thing's pretty heavy!" The rotund pirate said as he moved the barrel upright. "Alright, I'm gonna bust this thing wide open!" He said, cracking his knuckles. He readied his fist to break the barrel open and swung it down, but was stopped by a…boy?! A fist sped right at him and knocked him up into the air. All the pirates in the room and Coby screamed in fright at seeing a boy with a straw hat jump out of the barrel.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"The boy with the straw hat screamed as he awakened from his nap. "I slept great!" He yelled to himself. His eyes then began to wonder inquisitively over his surroundings. "Huh?" He looked down to see a knocked out pirate on the floor. His eyes then wandered to the two astonished-looking pirates looking right at him. "Who're you guys?" HE asked them.

"No, who are you?!" They both screamed at the boy with the straw hat.

He patted them on the cheeks. "Oi, that guy is gonna catch a cold is he sleeps there, y'know." The boy said, ignoring their bafflement.

"But you did that!" They both yelled at him again. "Are you toyin' with us even when you know we're pirates?!' The pirate with the tattoo growled at him.

"Hey, kid, I'm hungry! You got any food?" The straw hat boy asked Coby, again ignoring the two pirates.

"Listen when people are talking!" The pirate yelled at him.

"That's it you damn kid!" The taller pirate yelled, raising his sword along with the other pirate.

Coby screamed as he saw that the guy was about to be cut in half. The straw hat boy tilted his head at the pink-haired weird facial expression and turned around to see the two pirates swinging their sword at him. Coby couldn't look and covered his eyes to avoid the gruesome scene. After a couple of seconds, he looked to see…the guy was completely fine?! The two pirates lay in shock at seeing both of their swords breaking in half and having no effect on the boy with the straw hat. "What's the big idea? You could've really hurt someone like that." He said questioningly.

"W-who are you?!" One of the pirates asked.

"Me? I'm Monkey D. Luffy. Nice to meetcha!" He said with a big smile on his face. The two pirates then screamed as they grabbed their fallen comrade and sped out of the room. "Hmm…that was weird. Oh well!" The straw hat boy chuckled.

"What the…what just happened?" Coby stuttered out, still staring at the kid with the straw hat. Suddenly his senses returned to him and quickly tried to save the boy before anything bad happened to him. He had seen enough pain already at the hands of Alvoda. "R-run, hurry! If they come back with their friends, you'll be killed!" Coby yelled at him.

"Mmmmmm but man, I'm hungry!" He grumbled to himself.

"How can you be so carefree?! There are still lots more of them up on deck!" Coby asked, trying to pull the boy away from the door before he got himself killed. Unfortunately, the boy was far too strong and was instead being pulled by him. Luffy pushed open a door and squealed in delight at seeing food.

"Haha food! Yes! Food!" Luffy said as he began checking the storage room for any meat.

Coby gulped. "Actually, they might not find us in here." His eyes lowered to see Luffy checking the various boxes for any food.

"Oh which should I choose? Hmm…this one?" He opened the box to see a pile of apples inside. "Oh these look great! It's not meat, but these will do in a pinch!" Luffy yelled as he began stuffing his mouth full of apples.

"U-umm my name is Coby by the way. Your name is Luffy, right? That was incredible just now. How did you do that?!" Coby began asking just how Luffy had the power to overcome those pirates. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like Luffy was actually listening to him.

"Man, these things are great!" He yelled at Coby before turning back to the box full of apples. "Is this a pirate ship?" Luffy asked.

"No, it's a passenger ship that is being raided by Alvida." Coby said, sighing to himself.

Luffy shrugged indifferently at what Coby had just said. "Well that doesn't matter. Do you know if there are any boats onboard?" Luffy asked.

"I-I think so…" Coby replied.

"Ah that's good because my ship got swallowed by my arch nemesis, a giant whirlpool. I swear those things are the worst and have been just after me every time I used to go out on a boat. Stupid whirlpools…" Luffy muttered as he continued eating the apples.

"You mean those giant whirlpools?! But no one could survive that!" Coby exclaimed.

"Hahaha boy, was that a real surprise! That whirlpool almost had me, but I beat it shishishishi!" Luffy laughed, scratching the back of his head in triumphant. Coby sweatdropped at hearing Luffy's odd tale and chalked it up to possible delusions by being starved of food. "So are you one of those pirates?" Luffy asked Coby.

Coby's eyes widened and his head drooped at remembering his first meeting with Alvida. "It was on that fateful day…that day, I got in a boat on the outskirts of town to go fishing…but it turned out the boat was actually headed for a pirate ship. It's been two years since. In exchange for my life, I've been forced to be a chore boy." Coby said tearfully, gripping the legs of his pants in pain at remembering that horrible event.

Luffy nodded his head slowly at hearing the kid's tale. "I see…you're really dumb and stupid!" He simply said, staring at Coby.

Coby lowered his head in sadness. "You're brutally honest…"

Luffy shrugged. "Well, if you don't like it, then run away, duh."

Coby began fervently shaking his head. "I-I can't! No way! No way! Just the thought of Alvida finding me frightens me and makes me weak in the knees-"

"Oh, so you're a wimp, too? Man, I hate you!"Luffy said, laughing to himself.

Coby simply cried at hearing another bout of harsh words.

On top of the deck of the cruise ship, Alvida was furious at her men for taking forever with the loot they had stolen. "Hey, now! Quit dawdling! Move it, move it! Haul it all off before the navy gets here! Anyone caught dawdling gets a taste of my iron club!" Alvida yelled at her men.

Below the deck of Alvida's ship, a certain orange-haired woman was not dawdling, but simply stealing all the pirates had earned throughout their travels. She smiled at seeing how her plan was coming together and quickly stuffed all the gold into a large, gray sack.

Alvida glared at her men until she heard her named being called from behind her. She angrily turned to see two of her men fearfully looking at her "What is it?! You're annoying me!"

"A b-b-barrel!" One of them said.

"M-M-Monster!" The other yelled.

"Ehhhh?! Who're you calling a monster!" Alvida screamed as she raised her club to pummel the two of her men. She threw her club at the two men who barely ducked before the fat pirate that was knocked out by Luffy earlier was hit by it and launched into the ocean. Afterwards, the club simply fell and hit the two pirates on the head.

"N-no…some weird guy just popped out of a barrel…he might be…a bounty hunter…" The pirate with the tattoo mumbled.

"What?!" Alvida growled.

Back in the lower deck, Coby was still pouring his heart out to Luffy. "Yeah…if I only had the courage to drift the ocean in a barrel. Ahhh there's actually something I want to do, too. Umm, what compelled you to set out onto the sea, Luffy?" Coby asked the strange boy.

Luffy tilted his head and beamed at the pink-haired wimp. "I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!"

Coby's jaw dropped in shock at what he had just heard. "K-K-King of the Pirates?"

"Yep!" Luffy said.

"Are you serious?!" Coby asked in shock.

"Yeah" Luffy simply replied.

"Wait, you're a pirate, Luffy?!" Coby questioned.

"Yep." Luffy said.

"What about you're crew?" Coby asked.

"Don't got one. I'm just about to look for one. Although, I've got a good feeling today!" Luffy smiled back at Coby. Coby's face froze in shock at what he had just heard. Luffy tilted his head and waved his hand in front of Coby's face. "Oi, you still there?"

Coby quickly shot up. "King of the Pirates is the title given to the person who obtains everything in the world! That means seeking the great treasure of wealth, fame, and power of the One Piece!"

"Yup, pretty much!" Luffy chuckled.

"Yup?! Pirates all over the world are after that treasure!" Coby yelled.

"Me too!" Luffy said back to him.

"No way! No way! No way No way! Absolutely no way! There's no way you can stand at the apex of this Great Pirate Era!" Coby continued ranting. Luffy shook his head at the boy's pessimistic ranting and stood up and bopped him on the head to shut him up. "Why did you hit me?" Coby groaned.

Luffy shrugged. "I didn't like what you were saying so I hit you."

Coby whimpered as he got up and touched the part of his head where Luffy had hit him. "It's all right. I'm used to it by now." He chuckled sadly, remembering all the times the crew or Alvida would hit him for saying something they didn't like.

Luffy grabbed the straw hat that lay on his head and held it firmly. "It's not about whether I can or not. I'm gonna do it because I want to." Luffy took the straw hat off of his head and stared into it. "I've decided to be the King of the Pirates, so if I die fighting for that, then that's fine with me!" Coby stared in awe of Luffy's words and wondered if he could be that brave too. "Now, then! My belly's full so I guess I'll go get me a boat! I wonder if they'll give me one if I ask?" Luffy said, mumbling to himself as he walked to the door.

Coby stayed inside the room and stared at the floor in front of him. He raised his hands to his face. "I never once thought about it. Do you suppose I can do it, too? If I'm prepared to die for it?" Coby asked Luffy.

Luffy stopped his trek and turned back to look at Coby. "Do what?"

"Do you think…even I could join the navy?" Coby asked.

"Navy?" Luffy asked.

Coby shot up and turned back to look at Luffy. "Yes! Catching bad guys is my dream! It's been my dream ever since I was little!" Tears began to well up in his eyes. "Do you think I can do it?!"

Luffy chuckled as he saw the poor kid about to bawl his eyes out. "How should I know?"

"No! I'll do it! If I'm gonna be a chore boy for the rest of my life, then I'll break out of here and catch even Alvida!" Coby began yelling until a creaking noise was heard above them and the wooden planks above them broke apart. Coby quickly got out of the way, but his heart froze when he heard a familiar voice.

"You're gonna team up with him to catch who? Huh, Coby?!" The smoke began to part revealing an angry Alvida glaring right at him. Coby backed himself into a corner and began to sweat profusely at the angry look on Alvida's face. He knew that look anywhere. He still had nightmares about that look. As Alvida towered over the small boy, swords protruded from the wall behind Luffy. The noise shook Alvida from her glare and moved her eyes to the boy with straw hat. "You don't seem to be Zoro, the pirate hunter." Alvida said with a grin.

"Zoro?" Luffy asked.

"Coby! Who's the most beautiful of all on these seas?!" Alvida asked the chore boy.

Coby shuddered and whimpered as he looked at the cold, hard glare of the pirate woman. He knew what would happen if he said she wasn't, "O-of course that would be-"

"Oi, Coby, who's this big chunky lady?" Luffy asked, pointing at the behemoth woman.

Everyone dropped their jaw at what Luffy had just said and stared blankly at the audacity of his words. Alvida's crew trembled at what the kid had just said and knew just how angry the captain got when her looks were made fun of. Twitch marks began to form on Alvida's face as her anger grew. "You runt!" Alvida screamed as she swung her club at Luffy. Luffy quickly jumped out of the way and narrowly avoided the club. He landed in front of the cowering Coby and grabbed him and jumped upwards onto the top deck.

Luffy grinned as he looked at the pirates in front of him. "Why you!" One of them yelled, swinging their sword at him. Luffy swiftly took a step back and headbutted him to the ground. Behind him another pirate raised their sword to swing at him and received a punch in the face by the straw hat kid. Four other pirates appeared behind him and swung their swords downwards at him, causing him to jump up in the air to avoid them. Luffy beamed at the pirates and grabbed his arm in triumphant. Coby noticed another pirate above him about to jump on top of Luffy, but before he could warn him, Luffy simply dodged out of the way. Luffy then grabbed the pirate's head, "It's not fair to attack from behind!" and threw him back at the four other pirates causing them all to tumble onto the floor. Luffy then turned around to see several other pirates behind him and quickly sped off running. "Hey it's not fair to attack all at once!" He yelled as he ran away from the pirates. Luffy the grabbed ahold of a pillar and, strangely, his arm began to stretch far longer than any other normal arm could. The other pirates stopped chasing him and stared at the boy's stretching arm in fear. Luffy continued running until he had ran off the ship. "Hehe gotcha!" The pirates stared at the freakish kid and ran away from him. "Gum-Gum Rocket!" HE screamed as his body began to speed back towards the pirates and collided with them causing them all to scream in pain.

"What?!" Alvida screamed. The rest of the pirates began to slowly back away from the straw hat boy and hope he wouldn't use his weird powers on them too.

Coby stared in shock and awe at the crazy powers Luffy had just showcased. He slowly began to shakily walk towards Luffy. "Luffy…what are you?" He stuttered out.

"Me? I'm a rubber person!" Luffy said as he stretched the right side of his face.

"A rubber person? You can't be serious!" Coby said in shock. He then looked down to see a large shadow and scampered behind Luffy to see an angry Alvida glaring at them.

"You've eaten a Devil's Fruit, haven't you?" Alvida asked.

"Yeah! The Gum-Gum Fruit!" Luffy replied with a grin.

"I see! I'd heard the rumors, but I guess they really do exist. You also seem pretty skilled. You a bounty hunter?" Alvida asked.

"I'm a pirate!" Luffy said.

"A pirate?! Hah! All by yourself?!" Alvida laughed at that.

"It's just me right now, but I'll find some more sooner or later. Like I told Coby, I've got a good feeling about today. Why I might just meet my first crewmate here right now!" Luffy said, looking around to see for any volunteers.

Alvida laughed at that too. "You hear that, boys! He's looking for volunteers! Let's give him an answer, shall we!" Alvida yelled to the rest of her crew.

"Hell no!" They yelled to the straw hat boy.

Alvida sneered at the straw hat boy. "Well, I guess the only way you're getting a crew mate here is if they fall out of the- huh?" Alvida looked down to see a small shadow getting bigger and bigger as it appeared right on her. She looked up to see but by then it was too late.

CRASH!

Smoke billowed from where the shadowy figure crashed into Alvida. Her crew was flabbergasted at how she had just basically summoned that bout of irony on herself and wondered if she had always had that power. Suddenly a voice was heard from inside the smoke, "Ah crap! That was a really freakin' harsh landing. Shit, if I landed on someone, then I'm real sorry, but I just got really hungry and I just kinda lost my strength." The smoke began to park revealing salmon-haired boy clad in a gray and black tunic-like top that reached mid arm with gold outlines, black trousers, a gold belt with a pouch on the side, black wristbands, a black and white scarf tied to his head in a bandana fashion and sandals on his feet. The salmon-haired looked around and saw that he was on a ship and thanked heaven that it was anchored so it wasn't moving. He moved his eyes around to see a guy with a straw hat on and small kid with… "HEY! Nice hair, man! Granted it's a bit brighter than mine, but still nice!" The man said with a smile and a thumbs up. Coby stared with his jaw dropped as he just saw a guy fall from the sky and act like it was nothing.

What the heck was going on here?!

Suddenly, a roar erupted from beneath the man, causing him to jump and land right beside Luffy and Coby. He reached out both of his hand to shake theirs. "Nice to meet you both." Luffy took his hand with a grin while Coby stared shell-shocked at him, but still shook his hand anyway. "Hey any of you two have any food? I'm freakin' starving!" The man groaned, holding his stomach.

Luffy picked an apple from his pocket and showed to the salmon-haired guy. "I was going to save this for later, but you can have it." The man beamed at Luffy and reached for it before he moved it away from him. "If you join my crew!" Luffy beamed at the guy.

"What?! Come on. I'm freaking hungry here! Just give me the damn apple!" The man growled.

"Nope!" Luffy stated before biting into…his hand?! "Agh! Hey, what happened to my apple?!" Luffy looked all around for his apple before the man eating it before his eyes. "AHHHHH my apple! Give it back!' Luffy yelled, reaching for it.

"Nnnnnope! This is my apple. Finders keepers, losers weepers!" The man said, sticking his tongue at Luffy. Luffy growled and cried mock tears as he saw the guy that fell from the sky eat his last apple. Coby just stared wide-eyed at the man arguing with Luffy. He didn't even see him move a muscle yet the apple was now in his hand…

"Grrrr fine, but that means you're joining my crew!" Luffy said angrily.

"Yeah…no. That was if you gave me the apple and I took it. So…I'm still not on your crew…whoever you are." The salmon-haired man said, looking at him with squinted eyes.

"Grrr my name is Monkey D. Luffy and I'm going to be the King of the Pirates!" Luffy yelled at the top of his lungs.

The man gripped his ears shut as the boy just basically screamed right into his ear. "Yeah well NICE TO MEETCA! NOW STOP SCREAMING IN MY EAR!" The guy yelled right into Luffy's ear, causing Luffy to cover his ears too. Coby continued watching them with a weird look and turned his head to see a hand appear from the hole the man had created when he landed on…

"A-A-A-A-Alv-Al-Alvi-" Coby began to stutter out, pointing at the large woman emerging from the crater. The other two quit arguing and started staring at Alvida surface with an fuming look on her face.

"Ok…WHO'S THE ONE WHO LANDED ON ME!" Alvida screamed at the top of her lungs, gripping her club furiously.

Luffy pointed at the salmon-haired man. "He did."

"Oi, you damn tattletale!" The salmon-haired man screamed at Luffy, receiving a stuck out tongue from Luffy as a response.

As this was all happening, the orange-haired woman was silently creeping put of Alvida's ship, taking careful measures not to get caught with all her stolen loot. She peeked over her shoulder to see the commotion going on, but shook her head and made her way off of the ship.

Coby stared in fear and grabbed the man and Luffy's arm. "We've got to get out of here!"

"Eh why?" Luffy asked, scratching his head.

"Yeah I don't see what the big deal is. All this guy has is a big club. Big freakin' deal." The salmon-haired man said, pointing at the large woman.

Everyone's jaw dropped, except Luffy's because he was laughing his ass off, while Alvida gritted her teeth so hard she almost cracked her teeth. "Did you hear that?" One of Alvida's crew members asked.

"Y-yeah…that guy is so dead." Another of her crew members replied.

"A man? ….A MAN?! COBY! Tell this twerp who the most beautiful woman on all the seas is!" She yelled, pointing her club straight at Coby.

Coby sweated under the gaze of Alvida and began to sweat profusely. "A-Alvida is…is the…the…" He stopped himself as he raised his head to look at Luffy and remembered the inspirational words he had said.

"I've decided to be the King of the Pirates, so if I die fighting for that, then that's fine with me!"

Coby continued stuttering as he stared at Alvida. 'Why can't I just say it already? Why can't I be brave like Luffy and this other guy? Why can't I believe in myself?' All these thoughts continued swirling in Coby's head as he continued stuttering in front of Alvida. "T-T-The…" Coby gritted his teeth and remembered all the injustices he had to face on this damn ship and all the innocent people that suffered because he wasn't brave enough or strong enough to beat Alvida and her crew. But…enough was enough! "The most ugly, cragged old hag ever!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

All of Alvida's crew dropped their jaw at hearing what Coby had just said. Was this kid insane?!

Alvida's eyes darkened as she heard the words come out of Coby's mouth. Coby just closed his eyes shut and waited for the impending club that would certainly end his life. But at least…he finally did something brave in his life.

Luffy broke out into another fit of laughter as he heard Coby's words. "Man, who knew how funny pink-haired people! Hahahahaha!" Luffy said as he held his sides to try to continue his laughter. The salmon-haired man joined the straw hat pirate in his own fit of laughter too, holding Luffy's shoulder to stay upright as the laughter was just too much for him.

"What did you just say?" Alvida whispered vehemently, twitch marks adorning her face.

"I…I'm going to join the navy! And then I'm gonna beat up pirates! Mean, old, ugly pirates like you and stop all the injustices all pirates like you have done!" Coby yelled at Alvida.

"Do you even know what you are saying?!" Alvida asked the insane little chore boy.

"I do! I…I'm gonna do what I want to do! I'm gonna join the navy and be a Marine and catch your lousy ass!" Coby screamed.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Both Luffy and the salmon-haired man continued laughing, holding each other's shoulders as they continued laughing.

Alvida had finally heard enough and raised her club to swing it down on the little pipsqueak. "THAT'S IT!"

Coby screamed in fright as he saw the club about to swing down. "No regrets! No regrets! I said it! I fought for my dream!"

The salmon haired man suddenly stopped laughing and stood in front of Coby. "I like your style, kid!" He said, readying his fist. Alvida screamed as she swung her club down on the salmon-haired man, but was shocked to see that he had…caught it with his bare hand?! Coby laid there shocked as he saw the salmon-haired man just stand there with no scream of pain as he caught the spiked club.

"What?!" Alvida yelled, confused as to why this man wasn't dead.

"Hehe…better luck next time!" The salmon-haired ignited his fist with an orange flame. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" He yelled, colliding his fist with Alvida's stomach; sending her flying off into the distance which left a sparkle in the sky. "Oh…whoops. Hehe I may have put a little too much power in my hit…oh well! Hahahaha!" The salmon haired man laughed, scratching his head at his mistake.

Luffy's eyes sparkled as he saw the power this guy had. "Awesome! Join my crew!"

Coby just stood there flabbergasted at the way the man had ignited his fist. "W-wait! Did you eat a Devil Fruit too?!"

The salmon-haired man looked back to the small boy and chuckled. "Nope! That's all me, kid! No Devil Fruit required!"

The entire crew of Alvida stood with their mouths wide open. How strong were these two people?! "Oi, you guys!" Luffy called to them.

"Yes?!" They all responded in fright.

"Give Coby a small boat. He's gonna join the navy. Keep your mouths shut and let him go!" Luffy said to them.

"R-right!" They all responded back to him.

Coby stared in gratitude at both of the people that had helped him and was about to say something before cannonballs hit the water beside them and rocked the cruise ship, causing the three to wobble in place. The salmon-haired man grabbed his mouth closed and started muttering to himself. Finally, the boat stopped moving and they looked up to see three naval ships sailing towards them.

"It's the navy!" Coby yelled.

"Oh perfect timing! You should go see 'em!" Luffy said to the small boy. "But I'm a pirate so I'm outta here!" Luffy said as he retreated off of the ship.

The salmon-haired man sighed. "Guess I've got no choice. Hey, I'm heading with you, but this doesn't mean I'm on your crew!" He yelled to the straw hat pirate, but still received an exclamation of happiness from Luffy anyways.

"Wait, I just can't join the navy like this!" Coby yelled at them.

A small ship then lowered into the water carrying the orange-haired woman with all of the stolen loot she nabbed. Suddenly, another small ship fell onto the water beside her, rocking her ship. She closed one eye to keep water from splashing into her eye, but kept the left one open and saw a boy with a straw hat, a small pink-haired boy, and a salmon-haired guy on the same boat. Perhaps the small boy and older guy were siblings? If so, then the young boy had a cute older brother. She suddenly made eye contact with the salmon-haired young man and kept that same eye contact until another cannonball shot into the water, splashing water upwards. The two ships began sailing in different directions and parted ways, narrowly avoiding the line of sight from the naval ships. The salmon-haired man wondered if he would see that cute orange-haired pirate again…she had pretty eyes.

A couple hours later

The three lay bored on the ship with both Coby and Luffy laying back on the seats of the ship staring at the sky while the salmon-haired man sat stagnant on the ship just muttering to himself. "Oi, you ok over there?" Luffy asked the muttering man, who just gave him a thumbs up in return. Luffy then shrugged and continued staring at the sky.

Coby then sat up and moved to look behind them. "Looks like we managed to get away…" Coby said, staring behind them for any incoming naval ships.

Luffy then sat up when he heard that good news. "Whew, that was so fun!" Luffy said, laughing at his most recent adventure.

"Umm Luffy." Coby asked the straw hat pirate. Luffy turned to the small pink-haired boy. "If you're heading for the One Piece, then that means you're going to the Grand Line, right?"

"Yeah." Luffy replied.

"That place is referred to as a pirate graveyard, you know." Coby said to the straw hat pirate.

"Yeah. That's why I need a strong crew. Which is why I'm glad I met my first crew member! Uhh…hey what's your name?" Luffy asked the muttering salmon-haired man.

The man didn't turn around and muttered, "Nasgu Drgnalel."

Luffy and Coby tilted their heads at what he had just said. "Eh?"

The man took a deep inhale and breathed deeply several times. "Hrgh….I don't want to say. For now, you can just call me Natsu, ok?"

"Are you ok, Natsu?" Coby asked him.

"Y-Yeah. I just get…a little motion sickness when I'm on moving vehicles. Luckily, I've been able to better myself at being able to contain it, but it still kinda bugs me hehe." Natsu said with a grunt as the ship rocked a bit.

"Man, that sucks. Yeah, I kinda know what you mean. I can't swim." Luffy said to Natsu.

Coby tilted his head. "Eh why? Is it because of your Devil Fruit?"

"Kind of. Haha even before I ate it I never could really swim!" Luffy said, scratching his head bashfully. Coby sweatdropped at hearing that.

"You ate a Devil Fruit, eh? What kind?" Natsu asked.

"Gum-Gum Fruit. Now, I'm a rubber man!" Luffy replied.

Natsu looked at him strangely. "Wouldn't that make you a Gum man or something? I mean, you didn't eat the Rubber-Rubber Fruit, if there is such a thing, but still."

Luffy opened his mouth to reply, but immediately started scratching his head in thought. "Hmm….shut up!" He simply said.

Natsu's jaw dropped. "That's all you have to say?!"

"Yup! Shut up! It's my fruit so I can call myself whatever I want! Shishishishi" Luffy chuckled.

"Asshat." Natsu mumbled under his breath.

Coby chuckled awkwardly at their strange dynamic and turned to Natsu. "So wait, if you didn't eat a Devil Fruit, then why are you able to control flames?"

Natsu smirked. "Sorry, kid, that's a trade secret." He winked at him.

Coby opened his mouth to respond, but Luffy cut him off. "Who cares how he does it! It's just so cool! Now that you're in my crew things will really start to be even awesomer!" Luffy yelled.

"Yeah…still not on your crew. I'm just here for the free ride." Natsu replied.

Luffy stared at him blankly. He then put his hand on the side of the ship and started rocking it violently. "Join my crew! Join my crew! Join my crew! Join my crew!" Luffy continued to chant as he continued rocking the boat.

"Luffy, stop! You're gonna make him more sick and if you rock use even harder, you're gonna upturn the boat!" Coby yelled.

Natsu shut his mouth closed and held his stomach in nausea. "Hrgh…ok ok! If you stop shaking the boat, then I'll think about it ok!" Natsu yelled at the straw hat pirate.

Luffy stopped shaking the boat. "Hehe deal!"

"Little damn blackmailer…" Natsu muttered, turning to look away out into the distance.

Luffy turned to Coby again. "So, now that I've got one guy, I still need more people. Oi, Coby, what about that pirate hunter guy? What's he like? Uhh…Zolo?"

Coby stared confusingly at Luffy. "You mean Zoro? I heard he's being held prisoner at a naval base."

Luffy groaned. "Aw, so he's a weakling?"

Coby ran right up to Luffy. "Nothing like that! He's as terrifying as a demon!" Coby yelled, causing Natsu to snort at hearing Coby's last remarks. "Why are you asking about him?" The bespectacled boy asked Luffy.

Luffy chuckled. "Thought I might have him join my crew if he's a good guy!"

Coby stared slack jawed over at Luffy. "You're being reckless again!"

"C'mon, he might be a good guy!" Luffy argued.

"He's been caught because he's a bad guy! No! No way! No way! Absolutely-" Coby stopped yelling as Luffy bopped him on the head again. "Why did you hit me?"

"Just because." Luffy shrugged.

Natsu shook his head in bemusement and laid down on one of the benches on the ship. Might as well try to catch some Zzzz's before they made it to the navy base.

A couple hours later…again

Natsu felt the ship hit something and quickly shot up to see that they had just docked somewhere. He looked up to see several big buildings scattered around the island and raised his head even higher to see two humongous blue cylinder-like buildings that towered over the rest. "Oi you're finally awake!" Luffy said, jumping off of the ship onto solid ground. "We made it! The navy base city!" Luffy yelled as he began walking away to the look at the stalls of the city.

Coby suddenly pulled Luffy to him. "If you wander around at sea every time, you'll never become a pirate. You should at least find a navigator to join you."

"Alright let's eat!" Luffy yelled, blatantly ignoring Coby's good advice. Coby sighed as he saw the pirate walk towards small tavern. He then felt a small pat on his head and raised his head to see Natsu smiling at him.

"I'm sure he heard you. The kid is just too wrapped up in his own world to really respond to good advice when he hears it. Come on, let's go make sure he doesn't get killed along the way, huh?" Natsu said, patting the boy's shoulders. Coby smiled and walked after him and Luffy.

They entered the tavern called Food Foo and sat down at a table and ordered some food. After Coby stared blankly at Natsu and Luffy gorge themselves, he slowly picked at his food after losing his appetite.

Luffy suddenly burped. "We'll go our separate ways here! You do your best to be a great Marine, alright?"

Coby began brushing away tears from his eyes. "I will! Thank you both so much! Luffy, Natsu, you both have to become great pirates too!" Coby said to them. "Although we'll be enemies in the future." He muttered to himself.

"Hey probably, but that doesn't mean it has to be a bad rivalry. Think of it as a game of hide and seek or tag." Natsu chuckled.

"Say, I wonder if Zoro is still being kept at that Marine base." Luffy said awfully loud.

Suddenly, everyone began to freak out at just the mention of Zoro's name. Everyone inside the tavern flipped their tables in fright and retreated to the opposite side of the tavern to put as much distance between themselves and that boy with the straw hat. Coby leaned over to Luffy's side and whispered, "Looks like we can't just yell out the name 'Zoro.'" Luffy nodded in response. "I just saw a notice on the streets, there is someone called Lieutenant Morgan at the base," Coby said in an effort to change the subject.

The crowd instantly flipped out at the mention of the Morgan and retreated back to their corners in fright.

After walking out of that strange tavern, Luffy began laughing at remembering the events in there. "Hahahaha! What an interesting restaurant! I gotta go there again!"

Coby rubbed his chin in thought. "That's strange…I have a bad feeling about this!" Luffy and Natsu turned to listen to Coby. "I mean, I could understand why they'd be scared after hearing Roronoa Zoro's name, since he could escape at any time. But why would they be afraid of a Marine Lieutenant's name too?!"

"Well he could've done something bad, right?" Luffy stated.

"That's impossible!" Coby yelled.

"Luffy's got a point, Coby. No offense to Marines, or at least to the good Marines anyways, but most of the Marine's I've met in my life have been awfully corrupt." Natsu said.

Coby was about to reply angrily, but was stopped by the ginormous Marine base they had just arrived at. "Wow…" Coby muttered.

"Yeah…it looks pretty ugly up close." Luffy said, eliciting a shocked look by Coby and a chuckle from Natsu. Luffy motioned for Coby to go to the door. "Go ahead, Coby."

Coby shivered in fear. "B-But I'm not prepared yet…Besides, that incident at the restaurant got me thinking."

Luffy shrugged. "Suit yourself." He then hopped on top of the wall and slowly began pulling himself upwards.

"Ah! Luffy!" Coby yelled.

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Oh boy." The fire mage then followed Luffy's lead and hooped on top of the wall too.

"Monster. I wonder where he is?" Luffy muttered as he began scoping the place for where Zoro was located. Luffy then felt a tap on his shoulder and saw Natsu pointing to something in the distance. The straw hat pirate then hopped down to the floor and proceeded to jog down the way. "I just saw something over there. Come on, guys!" Luffy said. Natsu and Coby followed after him and hopped on top of the wall with Luffy. "Oi look at that person."

Coby slowly pulled himself up and squealed in fright and felt down onto the ground. Natsu looked down to see what was wrong. "What's wrong?"

"Th…That black bandana and cloth around his waist. It…It's him! It's Roronoa Zoro!" Coby yelled to the two.

Luffy stared at the man tied to the man tied to a cross in the middle of the square. "So, he's Zoro, huh? Looks to me those ropes are pretty easy to break." Luffy said, pointing at the weak ropes that barely binded Zoro to the wooden cross.

"Stop joking! If you free him, he could make a mess in the town and even kill you!" Coby told Luffy in fright.

"Hey you!" A voice yelled to the three leaning on the wall. They all looked to see that it was Zoro's voice calling to them. "Could you please…come over and untie me? I've been tied up for 9 days and I'm exhausted." He panted exhaustingly, blood dripping from his mouth onto his plain white shirt.

"Look, he's smiling." Luffy said.

"I'll repay you. I could hunt down a fugitive and give you the rewards. I'm not lying. I'll keep my word." Zoro said.

Natsu shrugged. "Sounds like a good deal to me. Seems like a cool guy to me."

Coby stared at the both of them crazily. "No! Don't do it! If you free him, he'll kill us and escape!"

"He can't kill me. Because I'm strong too!" Luffy said.

"Same here! Besides, the poor guy looks exhausted anyways." Natsu said, pointing at the panting look on Zoro's face.

'These two are really hopeless!' Coby thought to himself.

Unexpectedly, a ladder was placed right beside Coby by a small girl. The three looked at her strangely as she climbed up and shushed for them to be quiet. She then dropped down onto the small square where Zoro was tied up and quietly ran up to him. Zoro looked at the young girl inquisitively. "Hey, what are you doing here?" He asked her.

Coby bit his lip in fright. "Luffy, Natsu, go stop her! She could be killed!" Coby yelled to them.

Luffy turned to Coby. "Then go do it yourself." He said to Coby. Natsu, however, continued staring at the small girl and Zoro and listened to their conversation.

Zoro stared down at the girl intimidatingly. "Do you want to die or something? Get lost!"

The girl however was unphased by his glare and pulled out to big rice balls from her bag. "Umm, Mister, I made you some rice balls for you! You haven't eaten for a long time, right? This is the first time I made rice balls…"

"I'm not hungry! Go away!" Zoro yelled at the girl in the hopes that she would just get the message and leave before she got caught.

"But…" She mumbled.

"I don't want it! Leave me! I'll kill you if you don't go!" Zoro yelled back at her.

Suddenly, two gates creaked open revealing a blonde man in a purple suit walking in with two Marines at his side. "Don't pick on little kids or else I'll have to report to my father about it." Helmeppo said.

"Some weirdo came." Luffy mumbled.

"He must be someone important in the Marines. Thank goodness the girl is safe now." Coby said, breathing out a sigh of relief.

Natsu was still unconvinced that this nicely dress man was a nice guy. Something about him just rubbed him the wrong way. "We'll see." Natsu simply said, staring at the scene.

Zoro grunted as he saw Helmeppo walk cockily over to him. "Tch…if it isn't the Lieutenant's bastard son…"

"Bastard? Don't get cocky! My dad is a Marine Lieutenant!" Helmeppo screamed at him. He then looked down at the little girl and patted her head. "Well hello, little girl. These rice balls look pretty tasty." He said as he snatched one from her hands, eliciting an angry yell from the girl. He ignored it and popped the rice ball into his mouth and immediately spit it out. "Blegh! Horrible! You put too much sugar inside! You're supposed to put salt in these things!"

"But…but I thought they'll taste better if they're sweet!" She said to Helmeppo.

He then proceeded to smack the other girl's rice ball out of her hand and stomp it into the ground. "How could anyone eat something like this?!"

"Ah! Stop it! Stop! He can't eat this anymore!" She continued screaming at him, begging for him to stop.

Coby watched shocked as he saw a member of the Marine faculty do something so horrible. "T-That's so cruel! That girl worked so hard to make them!"

Finally, Helmeppo stopped stomping the rice ball into the dirt and smiled at the little girl. "Don't worry! The ants will eat them all up! Hehe."

The little girl began sniffling as tears fell from her eyes. "Why…I…I really tried hard to make them."

"Aww don't cry! It's no wonder I hate little brats so much." Helmeppo said as he rubbed his forehead. He then proceeded to crouch down and point to the sign next to him. "It's all your fault, you know? Didn't you see what was written here? It says, 'Anyone who helps a prisoner will be charged with the same crime.' And it's signed by my daddy, Marine Lieutenant Morgan." Helmeppo crouched down to glare at the girl. "You know how scary my daddy can be, right?" The little girl didn't answer as she continued to cry. Helmeppo then motioned to the Marine beside him, "Throw this brat out!"

"Huh?" The Marine replied.

Helmeppo turned to the Marine angrily. "I'm telling you to throw her outta here! Are you trying to disobey me?! I'm telling my dad!"

"A-Aye sir!" The Marine said. He then grabbed ahold of the girl and chucked her over the wall.

Luckily, Luffy quickly caught her before she could hit the ground. Coby ran to her and softly gripped her shoulders. "Are you alright?" He asked the little girl, getting a small nod from her.

Luffy looked to Natsu and saw him staring at the wall. "Luffy…I may not be real member of your crew, but I still feel I have to ask you this. Please…kick that guy's ass…or I will!" Natsu said, gripping his fists tightly. Luffy continued to stare at Natsu and hopped over the wall to see Zoro was alone now. Natsu quickly followed after him, leaving Coby with the small girl.

He walked over to Zoro and stared at him blankly. "You two still haven't left yet? Leave now, or else he'll go tell his Dad about it." Zoro said to them.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm looking for someone to join my pirate fleet. I've already got Natsu here, even though he won't admit it and now I want you to join my crew!" Luffy smiled at Zoro.

Natsu raised his hand. "For the record, I'm not on his crew. Just sayin'."

Zoro glared at the two. "Pirate? Heh…so you just gave up on life and became a crook?"

Luffy turned to stare right into Zoro's eyes. "It's my dream! There's nothing wrong with being a pirate!"

"Hm? Don't tell me you're gonna set me free and force me to join you." Zoro smirked.

"I haven't made up mind yet. Since everyone thinks you're a bad guy and stuff." Luffy chuckled, touching his beloved straw hat.

"A bad guy, huh? I'll never join you because I have something that I need to take care of! I could survive even if you don't help me! I just need to stay alive for one month. That bastard kid promised me that he would let me go afterwards. I'm gonna do everything I can to stay alive and fulfill my dreams!" Zoro valiantly told the two.

Luffy and Natsu continued staring at Zoro until Luffy broke the silence. "Really? If I were you I think I would starve to death in a week." Luffy smiled.

"That's why we're different. Go find someone else to join you." Zoro muttered.

Luffy stared at him until finally her turned away to leave. He stared over at Natsu who still hadn't moved. "You comin'?" He asked him.

Natsu continued staring at Zoro and turned to Luffy. "I think I'll stay here a bit. Perhaps try to persuade him to join you so you can stop hounding me to join your crew. " Natsu beamed at the straw hat pirate. Luffy nodded and smiled back and proceeded to leave until…

"Hold on!" Zoro said. Luffy turned to look back at Zoro. "That…can you pick it up for me?" He asked, motioning to the crushed rice ball on the ground.

Luffy crouched down and picked it up. "You want to eat this? But the rice ball is all muddy. Then again, I guess you can't be too picky about food when you're hungry…" He muttered to himself.

"Shut up! Just give it to me. Let me eat all of it!" Zoro said, opening his mouth for the rice ball. Luffy then shoved the dirty rice ball into his mouth and watched him try to chew and swallow it without throwing up.

"Neh do you want to kill yourself?" Luffy asked Zoro.

Zoro coughed in response and swallowed one last time. "Tell that little girl…"

Luffy tilted his head. "Tell her what?"

Zoro lowered his head. "The rice ball tasted very good. Thank you very much."

Luffy beamed and agreed to tell the girl and ran over to the wall and hopped over it. After he left, Natsu took a seat next to the cross where Zoro was binded against and closed his eyes. "Oi, what are you still doing here?" Zoro asked him.

"Waitin'." Natsu simply replied.

"Why? Shouldn't you be following your captain?" Zoro asked him.

"First off, I'm not a part of his crew. I'm just going along for the ride. Secondly, I'm here because I want to be here and if you want to get me to leave, then feel free to. Thirdly, I'm here to make sure you don't get killed." Natsu said.

Zoro stared down at the salmon-haired man. "I'm not gonna die here. I still have something I need to do."

"I know you're not. People like you will never stop until they've met their ambitions which is why I respect you. But if you really believe that that shit stain of a guy is just gonna let a notorious bounty hunter like you just up and leave…then you're even more naïve than I thought." Natsu said to the green-haired man.

Zoro stared down and thought about his words. Helmeppo didn't seem like the man who would keep his word and the fact that he also killed his pet wolf obviously didn't do him any favors either. Zoro sighed as he realized that the guy seemed to be right and Helmeppo wasn't just going to let him leave her unless it was in a body bag. "So…what should I do hmm? Become a crook and sail the seas plundering from innocent people?" He asked the salmon-haired man.

"Gee no offense, but it's not like all pirate hunters are essentially good guys either. I once heard of a guy that took a job and finished it and then killed the people who hired him just for a little extra cash in his pocket. So, don't be throwing those misdeeds on me because what I am is nothing even close to the regular assholes who sail the seas. You can become a pirate if you like or continue doing what you're doing. I could honestly care less. Live life the way you want to and not how other people want you to. All I want you to do is realize that the kid who asked you to join his crew is not like any other man you'll ever meet." Natsu told Zoro.

A loud uproar was then heard from the center of town after Natsu had finished talking. "A hundred Belis that was because of him right now doing what he does best…being Luffy." Natsu muttered.

Zoro stared at the guy who was sitting beside him and looked to where the commotion was heard. The kid was obviously different from other pirates. Other pirates probably would've just left him or killed him themselves for failing to agree to join them. But that didn't mean he would join him. No…but it did help to paint a more clearer picture as to who the man with the straw hat was really like. As if the boy's ears were burning, the boy with the straw hat jumped over the wall again and ran over to Zoro.

"Yo! So, did he agree to join us, Natsu?" Luffy asked the salmon-haired man.

"Mmmm not exactly, but I think I've gotten him to realize that you're no ordinary guy at least." Natsu replied.

Luffy groaned. "Awwww you suck, Natsu!"

"Ah shut up! Like you could do better!" Natsu yelled at him.

Zoro growled as he listened to the two of them talk about him as if he wasn't here. "Listen, I already told both of you that I don't wanna be a pirate!"

Luffy turned from arguing with Natsu and held out his hand. "I'm Luffy. If I loosen up the ropes, then you're gonna join me, okay?"

"I've told you clearly! I have things I need to do. Besides, I'm not going to be a bad guy like a pirate." Zoro told Luffy.

Luffy frowned. "That's the difference? Besides, everyone already thinks you are a bad guy."

Zoro growled under his breath. "I don't care what they say about me! I haven't done one thing that I regretted in the past and it will be the same for the future! I won't become a pirate!"

Luffy continues staring at Zoro and nodded. "I don't care! You are going to join me!"

"Don't decide for yourself!" Zoro yelled at him.

"Hey, I heard that you use a katana, is that right?" Luffy asked the swordsman.

"Hrm…if I'm not being tied up, I could use a katana." Zoro replied.

"Where is the katana?" Luffy asked, crossing his arms.

"That bastard kid took it. It's something that I treasure most…other than my life!" Zoro told him.

"Ohh? Treasure, huh? It must be something great!" Luffy exclaimed, pointing at the swordsman. "Okay! I'm gonna go to where the bastard kid is and get your katana back."

"What?!" Zoro shouted, surprised that this kid would still help him even after he refused to join his crew. Maybe he really was a better person than he thought…

"But if you want me to return it to you, you'll have to join me!" Luffy yelled, laughing.

"THAT'S DIRTY!" Zoro bellowed.

"Ai, Luffy, blackmailing again? And just before I was talking you up to Zoro." Natsu mumbled, slapping his forehead in exasperation. "Just go along with it, Zoro. Trust me."

"Hahaha ok! I'm going! Natsu, stay here and make sure he doesn't die!" Luffy said as he ran off to look for Zoro's sword.

"…is he planning on sneaking into the base? What a fool!" Zoro muttered.

"Gee what gave it away?" Natsu snarked.

Luffy continued running around the navy base, but strangely enough, did not run into any Marines anywhere. "That's strange. There aren't any Marines around. Are they having a meeting?" Luffy asked himself, scratching his head in thought. "Never mind the katana. I can't find the idiot son like this." Luffy raised his head to see one of the humongous blue cylinder-shaped buildings he saw when they had first arrived on this island. He heard voices yelling from up there and so he decided to investigate. "Hmm… sounds like there are people there. Let's go up and see!" He yelled as he stretched his arm upwards towards the top of the building; shooting him up high. However, Luffy shot too high and missed the opportunity to land on top of it. "Crap! I shot myself too high!"

"What is that?!" One of the Marines yelled.

Luffy stretched his arms to grab ahold of the large statue of a man with an axe for a hand. His hands grabbed the ropes that were attached to it and slammed down hard thanks to his high speed and accidentally ended up snapping the statue in half. "Yikes!" Luffy yelled, jumping off the statue and onto the solid floor. Luffy looked behind to see a plethora of Marines staring at him with both shocked and angry faces. "S-sorry." He plainly said.

As the statue finally crashed to the ground, Lieutenant Morgan gritted his teeth in anger and bellowed, "CAPTURE HIM! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!"

"Yes, Sir!" The Marines replied.

"Dad, it's him! He's the one who hit me! I told you he's no good!" Helmeppo yelled.

Luffy turned to see the idiot son was here and quickly grabbed ahold of him and ran away with him in tow. "I've been looking for you, idiot!"

"Waaaaaaah! Let me go! Dad, help me!" Helmeppo screeched as he was being kidnapped.

Before Morgan could chase after them, one of the Marines told them that three people were at the execution site. "Another traitor?! Have them all killed!" Morgan yelled at his men.

The Marine aimed his weapon at the people down in the execution square and noticed one of them was a young boy. "H-hey, sir, one of them is just a kid." The Marine said.

Morgan stomped over to the Marine and placed his axe right at the man's throat. "I will have no insubordination in my ranks. So, either you shoot them or I axe you." He growled at the Marine.

The Marine stared fearfully at the Lieutenant and could see in his eyes that he wasn't joking. He carefully aimed his gun and tried to stop his hands from trembling.

Coby stared at both Zoro and Natsu shocked. "What?! Luffy is inside the base? He's too hot-headed!" Coby gritted his teeth angrily and worked to quickly untie Zoro's bindings.

"Oi! If you help me, they are going to kill you!" Zoro yelled at him.

"You shouldn't be arrested! I heard what you did for that girl and that doesn't mean they should kill you! I can't stand those kinds of Marines. Natsu…you were right. There are bad Marines out there, but I'm going to become a real Marine! Just like the way Luffy is determined to become the Pirate King!" Coby yelled boldly.

"Good job, Coby! I'm glad you're finally seeing the truth!" Natsu said.

"Wait! P-Pirate King?! You're joking, right?" Zoro yelled out.

"Hehehe I was a bit shocked when I first heard him, but he's serious! So, I wi-" Blood spurted from Coby's left shoulder as a bullet sailed through it knocking the young boy to the ground.

"COBY!" Natsu yelled, running to the injured boy.

Zoro gritted his teeth in fury as he looked upwards and knew exactly where the shot came from.

Inside the Navy Base

Luffy continued running from the Marines chasing after him and continued questioning Helmeppo for the location of Zoro's sword. "Where's Zoro's katana?!" Luffy screamed at the lieutenant's son.

"I'll tell, I'll tell! Just stop dragging me!" Helmeppo yelled back.

Luffy immediately stopped and started shaking Helmeppo back and forth. "Okay! Spill it!"

"They're inside my room! We…we already walked past it." Helmeppo said tiredly, exhausted from the day he was having.

"Grrr…why didn't you say so earlier!" Luffy yelled, punching Helmeppo in the face.

"Ahhh! That hurts don't hit me!" Helmeppo screamed in pain.

Guns suddenly cocked inside the hallway. "Don't move! Raise your hands above their head!" The Marines yelled at Luffy.

Luffy slowly turned around. "No!" He said and pulled Helmeppo in front of him. "Ok, now go ahead and shoot!" Luffy yelled at the Marines.

"No! No! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Helmeppo screeched.

Execution Square

"AAAAAA! I've been shot! Bleeding! I'm bleeding!" Coby shouted in pain. Blood slowly gushing from his shoulder.

"I know! I know! I told you put pressure on the wound so the blood has a harder time coming out!" Natsu yelled back to him. Coby nodded and used his other hand to hold the wound. "N-now…this is gonna hurt, Coby, but I have to cauterize the wound." Natsu said, igniting his fist. Coby began shaking his head frantically, but Natsu grabbed his head. "Listen, if I don't close that wound then you're gonna lose that arm! So please just listen to me, ok? I'm your friend and I'm trying to help you." Natsu said, his mouth trying to will itself into a smile. Coby stopped shaking his head and slowly nodded. Natsu grabbed a piece of cloth from the bag on his belt and bundled it together and shoved it in Coby's mouth. "Bite that! Otherwise, you're gonna be biting off your tongue." Natsu said, slowly moving his hand towards the open wound. Coby moved his hand away from the wound and…

"MMMPHRM! MMMMPHR!" Coby began screaming in pain as Natsu's fire touched his wound and began to close it. Nothing in the world could top this. Not even Alvida's iron club could.

Zoro watched as the young boy was suffering and his eyes darkened as he realized why he was shot. He was trying to help him…why? Why were they all trying to help him?! He was fine! That bastard son was going to let him…he wasn't was he? Why else would they try so hard to keep him locked up here? To blatantly leave out here to suffer so other people could see what happened when you messed with the authority of this island. Zoro gritted his teeth in anger. When he got out of these bindings…

Suddenly, the screaming stopped and Coby was breathing in and out slowly. "Y-you're still awake?" Zoro exclaimed, surprised to how much pain this kid could endure.

"I-I've been through similar experiences hehe" Coby chuckled weakly, watching Natsu wrap another piece of cloth around his shoulder.

"That bastard son…he's not gonna let me go, is he?" Zoro growled.

Coby shook his head negatively. "No, they were gonna kill you in three days. He never intended to keep his promise. That's why Luffy punched him on your behalf. Because he was toying with you." Coby tiredly replied to Zoro.

Zoro's eyes widened in surprise. That straw hat kid… "Wh-What did you just say?"

"The navy will never let the three of you off! Please, after we set you free, please protect Luffy! I will not force you to become a pirate, however he's one of my saviors. Luffy is very strong! As long as you join forces with him and Natsu, you will definitely be able to escape this town definitely!" Coby screamed at the top of his lungs.

Natsu turned to Zoro and looked deep into his eyes. A silent understanding was exchanged between that eye contact.

Footsteps were heard behind them with guns being cocked. "That's enough! The three of you have betrayed Lieutenant Morgan! Die here!" The Marines yelled as they aimed their weapons.

'Luffy, you better get here quick...' Natsu slowly stood up.

One of the Marines pointed their weapons at him. "I'm warning you!"

Natsu's eyes stayed shut as he turned around to face the Marines. '…because if you don't…'

"Final warning!" Another of the Marines shouted.

'…then I'm gonna kill 'em!' Natsu's eyes shot open revealing black scleras with red slits in the middle of them, staring right through the Marines and promising nothing but pain.

Helmeppo's Room

"Is this the room?" Luffy asked his blonde captive. He received no response seeing as Helmeppo was unconscious due to screaming his head off from almost getting shot. He looked around the room and saw three swords leaning on the wall. "Alright! Found the katana!" Luffy ran to the swords and scratched his head as to which one was Zoro's. "Hmm…I'll just take all three just in case!" Luffy said to himself, grabbing the swords. Suddenly he heard gun shots being rang in the execution square. "Coby! Natsu! Zoro!" Luffy screamed and ran to the window to see what was going on. He saw Coby on the ground, Zoro still tied up and…Natsu was being shot!

Luffy quickly tied the swords to his back and grabbed the edge of the window and ran to the opposite side of the room. "Gum-Gum Rocket!" He yelled as his body shot through the glass window and took the remainder of the bullets that were fired. The bullets fired into Luffy and stretched his skin until they were fired back thanks to his skin's elasticity. Luffy then turned around to see Natsu bleeding from his gunshot wounds. "Natsu! Are you ok?! I-I'll get a doctor to fix you up right away jus-" Luffy stopped frantically yelling as he heard Natsu begin to chuckle.

"Maybe it was destiny that we met Luffy…because bullets don't affect me either." Natsu chuckled. Luffy looked down at his wounds to see them slowly healing.

"H-How?" Coby asked, a shocked look on his face.

Zoro just stared wide-eyed at both Luffy and Natsu. Both of them could take bullets no problem…just who were these people.

The Marines and Lieutenant Morgan all stood there with their jaws wide open at what just happened.

"Hehe…like I said Coby. It's a trade secret" Natsu said, pushing Luffy out of the way.

"W-who are you people?!" Zoro exclaimed.

Luffy turned to Zoro with a grin. "Hehe…I am the one who will become the Pirate King!"

Natsu looked to Zoro with a determined stare and a smile. "Me…I'm just a guy who knows right from wrong. And what's happening here is definitely wrong!" He then cracked his knuckles as he walked towards the cowering Marines. "Now you figure out which sword is his while I…properly introduce myself to these Marines!" Flame exuded from his skin as he walked closer to the Marines.

"H-He's summoning fire from himself. He's a Devil Fruit user!" One of the Marines yelled out.

Natsu chuckled as he heard that. "Devil Fruit? Oh no no. You see, I don't need to eat a fruit that was born from the Devil himself. No…because a demon like me already has enough Devil inside of him!" Natsu yelled as he summoned flames inside his mouth. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu then spewed flames onto the cowering Marines, burning some while other's fled to avoid the fire.

Zoro panted as he saw Natsu summon fire like it was nothing and remembered seeing the two fend of bullets like it was nothing. "I don't know if you're both the offspring of the devil, but I don't care. Rather than die here…I'd rather adhere to your request and become a pirate!"

Luffy raised his arms in a cheer. "Hooray! I've got my second companion!"

"Ok, ok! Now hurry up and get these damn bindings on me!" Zoro said.

"Oh yeah, so which of those swords are yours?" Luffy asked.

"They're all mine. I use three katanas when I fight." Zoro replied.

"Oh cool!" Luffy yelled, finally untying the bindings and handing Zoro his swords.

Zoro grinned as he felt the weight of his swords in his arms again. He sighed contented. "Now this though, I'm going to become the world's greatest swordsman! I no longer care if my name is clean or not…bad guy, good guy, it no longer matters! As long as my name is known worldwide! If you do something that ends up in the way of my goal, then I will you cut your own stomach to say sorry!" Zoro growled at Luffy.

Luffy returned his growl with a grin. "Good! To be the world's number one swordsman is someone the Pirate King should definitely have on his team. If you can't even accomplish something that small, then I would be very embarrassed as well!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Heh! Well said! Now we should probably help your friend over there before he gets overwhelmed…or he burns those Marines alive. Whichever comes first." Zoro said, motioning to Natsu using his flames to scare the Marines.

"Hehe good idea!" Luffy said.

Lieutenant Morgan gritted his teeth when he saw his Marines being decimated with that boy with the pink hair and made his way to lop his head off. "You weaklings! Can't you handle one man!"

Natsu grinned as he heard that. His hand wrapped around the front of someone's gun and pulled him in for a flaming fist and threw him into a group of other Marines. He then jumped up into the air and raised his foot up into the air, "Fire Dragon's Claw!" and slammed it down onto the ground, creating a shockwave that uprooted the Marines from the ground and caused them to crash to the floor. Natsu snickered as he saw how easy they fell and looked down to see a large shadow cover him. He looked up to see a fuming Morgan glare down at him.

"Any last words?" Morgan growled at the salmon-haired pirate.

Natsu raised four fingers in the air. "Just four…" He raised his arm up in the air, "Fire Dragon's Cock Shot!" and slammed his elbow straight into Morgan's unprotected jewels. Morgan's eyes bulged from his sockets as the flaming elbow collided with his jewels and slowly kneeled down to cover them. "Oooooo boy, that sounded like it hurt too. Maybe you should invest in another one of those iron helmets for your other head. You know, kinda like the one you got on your ugly mug right now. Also, I guess I kinda lied to you since I technically said six words instead of four…my bad." Natsu sheepishly chuckled with a shrug. Natsu then kneeled down to whisper in Morgan's ears, "You're really lucky the bullet went through his shoulder and not his heart. Perhaps that means that there are better Marines than you out there, or it means that you have lousy shots in your ranks. Either way, if I ever see you again…nothing will keep me from showing you true hell." Natsu noted the extra sweat pouring from Morgan's temple and took that as his cue to leave.

Morgan slowly raised his head and glared at the retreating salmon-haired pirate and slowly raised himself. He was going to kill him…kill him…KILL HIM! He raised his axe over his head until…

…three slash marks sliced into his skin and he collapsed to the floor.

"Hehe I almost didn't see you there, Zoro. You're pretty fast for a guy who has barely eaten in nine days." Natsu snarked.

"Hmph…and you've got pretty got big balls for a guy with pink hair." Zoro smirked at him.

Natsu nodded his head. "Touche. Thanks again."

"Don't thank me. Thank the captain." Zoro grunted through the sword in his mouth.

Natsu raised his head to see several other Marines getting their ass handed to them by the rambunctious straw hat pirate.

A Marine swung downwards at the kid, but missed and received a strong, rubbery punch to the jaw. Two Marines took his place and shot at Luffy, but the bullets ricocheted back at them and hit them in the legs. Luffy then stretched his leg backwards, "Gum-Gum Leg Sweep!" and swept the remaining Marines straight into a wall. Luffy blew out a breath of fresh air as he wiped his sweaty brow. "Phew, didn't think I'd fight this much before dinnertime." He chuckled to himself.

Suddenly he heard a gun being cocked and saw Helmeppo pointing a gun point blank at Coby's head. "If you want this guy to survive, then don't move! If either you or your friend's move, then I'll shoot." Helmeppo screamed.

Coby stood tall and didn't shiver once even though a gun was pointed directly at him. He saw how brave Luffy, Natsu and Zoro were and wanted to emulate them. "Luffy! I…I don't wanna be in your way. So…I won't be afraid to die!" Coby screamed at his friend.

Luffy grinned at his smaller friend. "Okay! I know! You stupid son, Coby's not afraid of death!" Luffy yelled at him, pulling his arm back.

Helmeppo pushed the gun deeper into Coby's temple. "Hey! You idiot I told you not to move or I'm gonna shoot!"

Luffy grinned. "Hehe go ahead and shoot! Because no pistol is faster than mine!" He then stretched his arm back as far as he could, "Gum-Gum…" and then his arm came sailing forward; colliding into Helmeppo's face, "Pistol!" Luffy yelled as his fist crunched bones inside Helmeppo's head. Helmeppo then flew back and fell to the floor unconscious.

"Hehe like father like son, eh?" Natsu yelled to Luffy and Coby.

"T-The Lieutenant lost! Lieutenant Morgan has been defeated!" The Marines shouted. All of them raised their heads from the downed Morgan to the pirates that had defeated him.

"If you still want to arrest us, come and get us." Zoro dared the Marines, giving them a glare akin to a demon's.

The Marines looked to each other…and celebrated. "We're free! We are out of Morgan's control! Long live the Marines!" They all shouted, hugging their brethren in celebration of this momentous occasion.

Luffy tilted his head. "What's going on? They seem to be happy that Morgan was defeated!?" Luffy said confusingly.

"Everyone hated Morgan!" Coby said happily.

Suddenly Zoro began to fall before Natsu caught him in his arms. "He must be exhausted! We need to take him somewhere quick!"

"Here follow me! I know where we can take him!" Luffy shouted, sprinting off to a certain little girl's house.

After Luffy, Natsu, Coby had brought the unconscious Zoro to the little girl's house and convinced her mother that they didn't need to fear them, Zoro quickly recovered from his days of starvation and exhaustion. "I'm full! Haven't eaten for nine days, almost starved to death!" Zoro bellowed happily.

"Then it's impossible for you to last a month!" Luffy muttered, stuffing his face full of food.

"Yeah, he's got a point, Zoro." Natsu said, his mouth also stuffed with food.

"Hey, how are you two able to eat so much? Neither of you were almost starved to death and yet here you are stuffing your faces like it's your last meal!" Zoro growled at them. Luffy and Natsu answered with a shrug and kept eating.

Coby rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly. "Sorry…even I ate quite a lot…"

"Don't worry! Keep eating, you saved our town!" The mother said happily.

The little girl walked up to Luffy. "You're so strong!"

"Yep! I'm strong! And I'll get stronger later on too!" Luffy replied.

"Oi, Luffy, what are your plans next after this?" Zoro asked.

"Hehe simple, I'm going to head for the Grand Line!" Luffy replied.

Coby sighed as he heard Luffy say more crazy things. "Aye…normally I'd try to stop you, but something tells you that no matter what I say you won't listen, will you?"

Luffy nodded in response with a smile.

Coby's head dropped at his response.

Natsu patted Coby's head. "Relax. With Luffy getting stronger and Zoro on his crew, there's much less to worry about."

Coby raised his head to look at Natsu. "Aren't you going with them?"

Natsu opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Luffy. "Of course he is! We're friends! Right, Natsu!" Luffy yelled happily.

Natsu rolled his eyes at Luffy's obvious trick. "Oh come on! That's not fair! If I say no, then that's like me saying we're not friends. That's almost worse than blackmailing!" Natsu screamed.

"Shishishishi I'll take that as a yes!" Luffy said.

"Hrgh…stupid freakin' asshat. Lucky I don't just throw ya in the ocean…" Natsu said, continuing to mutter to himself.

Luffy chuckled and looked at Coby. "But no matter where we are or what side we're on, we'll be friends, right Coby?"

Coby stared at Luffy with a happy look on his face. "I…I've never had friends before."

"Hehe well not anymore that is. You've got three good ones right here for ya!" Natsu beamed.

Coby lowered his head. "I never had friends growing up…every time I would be picked on…no one would stand up for me. But the three of you…taught me to live my dream! So…thank you very much!" Coby yelled, bowing to his new friends with tears in his eyes.

Zoro smirked at the kid. "Before you start worrying about us though, you'd better start worrying about yourself though."

"Huh? Why?" Coby asked.

"Even though you were just doing chores on a pirate ship, you're still a small pirate. Don't underestimate the Marine's ability to gather information. If they know your past, they won't let you join for sure!" Zoro said, tapping the handle of his sword on Coby's forehead.

The scene was abruptly interrupted when the front door was swung open, revealing several Marines outside. "Hello, I'm sorry to interrupt this gathering, but…we are wondering if you really are…pirates." One of them asked.

Luffy was the first one to speak up. "Yes, I just found my second crew member, so that would make us pirates now!"

"Oh come on I haven't even agreed to joining in your crew yet, Luffy! I don't count!" Natsu yelled.

"Yup! The three of us are pirates!" Luffy beamed at the Marine officer.

"Don't just ignore me!" Natsu screamed at Luffy.

The Marine officer coughed loudly to get their attention again. "Even though you are pirates, in reality…you saved our town and base. For that we are grateful. However, since you are pirates, as Marines we cannot allow you to stay longer. We ask that you please leave immediately and as for the events that occurred here, we will be reporting it to the headquarters."

Suddenly the townsfolk erupted into an uproar. "Hey, Marines, what kind of bullshit is this?! They are our town's saviors!"

Luffy sighed and picked himself off of his chair. "Hmmm, well then, let's go. Thank you for the food, ma'am."

Natsu bowed to the mother. "It was really good food."

"You have my thanks…both of you." Zoro said, looking to both the mother and her daughter.

The three of them then headed off without even a goodbye or anything to Coby. The Marine officer took note of that and questioned it. "Hey, kid, aren't you with their group?"

Coby stared at the floor and gritted his teeth.

'But no matter where we are or what side we're on, we'll be friends, right Coby?'

"I'm not…I'm not…I'm not with them!" Coby yelled out.

Luffy grinned and turned away about to leave until…

"Please hold on. Is he telling the truth?" The Marine officer asked Luffy.

Luffy stared blankly at both him and Coby. He raised his finger to point at him. "I know what that guy used to do."

"L-Luffy?" Coby asked, shocked.

"I can't remember where but, he used to be with this faaaaaaaat female pirate…I think her name was Albida or something." Luffy continued on.

"Stop…don't say anymore." Coby pleaded. 'If they know I worked on a pirate ship, then I won't be able to join the Marines'

Luffy stepped closer to Coby and tapped him on the head. "It was a ugly and fat female pirate. This guy spent two years there…"

"Please shut up!'

"SHUT UP!" Coby yelled as he punched his friend in the head.

Natsu and Zoro continued watching with grins on their faces.

Luffy grinned as he felt the fist collide with his face. "You deserve a beating!" Luffy yelled as he punched Coby in the face. He then repeatedly continued throwing weak punches to Coby until the Marine officer put a stop to it.

"Both of you stop it! I won't allow this town to get into any more fights!" He yelled at Luffy.

Zoro then proceeded to pull Luffy off of Coby, causing Coby to fall to the floor. "Hey! You went overboard! Stop it!"

"I know he isn't your friend now! Please leave this town immediately!" The Marine officer yelled.

Coby laid there on the floor as his friends left the town and gritted his teeth in anger. But not at Luffy…at his own self. 'He…he did it for me. He wanted to make me mad…make me hit him. Even in the very end…I still needed their care. I am so damn useless. I am…an imbecile.' He then slowly stood up and walked to the Marine officer and bowed. "Please let me join the Marine! Even if it's chores, I will still do them!"

One of the other officers then emerged from the crowd. "Captain! I'm against it! We cannot accept a person whose past is unclear to us!"

Coby gritted his teeth and yelled at the top of his lungs. "I AM A MAN WHOSE DREAM IS TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE MARINES!"

Everyone stared shocked at the young boy's outburst. The captain of the Marines continued to stare at Coby for a while. He then walked past the boy and muttered, "Don't think we don't know of your past as a pirate. You underestimate our power…but, I will still allow you to join!"

Coby stood firm even after he became elated from the captain's words. "Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Docks

"You know, I think Coby will become stronger and more independent in the future!" Luffy said to his crew.

"It wouldn't be such a big deal! Nice act though. This way, even though he's been a pirate before, they'll surely let him in now." Natsu said.

"Who knows. Maybe he'll even give you a run for your money, Luffy." Zoro chuckled.

"Hehe maybe!" Luffy replied.

"Alright. Time to go before anything else happens. Not leaving anything behind, that's what pirates are all about!" Zoro yelled.

"Haha that's what I'm talking about!" Luffy exclaimed.

"L-Luffy!" A voice yelled from behind them.

They all turned to see that Coby was standing right behind them. "Coby?" Luffy asked.

Coby raised his right hand and gave Luffy the proper Marine salute. "Thank you very much! I will never forget you three for the rest of my life!"

"Hmm…I've never seen a Marine saluting pirates before. I could get used to that!" Natsu yelled, giving a big thumbs up to Coby.

"Hehe Coby! We'll meet again someday!" Luffy yelled.

"Everyone! Group salute!" The Marine officer yelled to his subordinates, causing the other Marines to salute the pirates. He continued staring at the retreating boat as he told Coby, "You have great friends."

Coby sniffled as he watched them go. "Yes sir!"

The Marine officer then sighed. "We just saluted pirates and have violated the Marine's codes! So! The punishment will be no food for a week!" He yelled to the other Marines.

"Yes sir!" They yelled back.

Natsu took a seat in the back of the tiny ship and took several deep breaths. "Glad to see that there are no hard feelings between them and us."

"Yeah, well just wait till Morgan sees you again. Punching him in the crotch surely made him an enemy for life." Zoro snorted.

"Hehe well what's life without a few enemies?" Natsu laughed.

Luffy stretched his arms high above his head in joy. "Yahoo! We're off! Grand line! Here we come!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAND THAT'S A WRAP! Oh man that took a while to type, but hey I think it was worth it. I've wanted to do this crossover for a LOOOOOONG time and I'm glad I'm finally able to do it. Obviously, it's gonna take me a long time to get to the awesome arcs like the Arlong one and Enies Lobby, but I'll try to get there as soon as possible. Also, since I am a harem writer…guess what this will be? That's right! Single pairing….nah just kiddin'…HAREM! After all, their pirates so what's a little polyamory, right? The people I just know that are going to be in Natsu's harem are Nami, Robin, Alvida, and Hancock with some others possibly making it in.

If you liked this chapter or want to see someone else in the harem, please favorite/follow/and REVIEW!

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