"And the scars of her past, hidden

under her clothes,

are a roadmap to places,

That nobody knows"

- e.h.

x

Ch 3 | Her Resentment

"Get her!"

The sound of swords sliding out of their sheaths and incoming rush of footsteps warned Nami that she didn't have much time. Her boots pounded the ground as she wormed through the deserted alleys, hoping to lose her hunters in the brick maze.

The lumpy bag slung over her back clanged and jingled (like music to her ears), but Nami cared more for the dirty piece of paper stored between the rim of her pants, hidden beneath her dark blue shirt. Treasure in the Grand Line was a lot more abundant with those reckless pirates sailing out in packs, all in search of a fabled treasure.

Nami had heard many tales of the deceased Pirate King Roger and his discovery of the One Piece. But a treasure that no one but a dead guy and his disbanded crew had seen was a treasure that wasn't worth her time - and thief had very little of even that.

Arlong had expected her back two days ago, after all.

Nami cursed as she rounded the corner and almost ran into a brick wall. She panted, her mind working quickly to get out of the predicament she had landed herself in. It was supposed to be a grab-and-go job but once again, her greed got the best of her…

Still, she wasn't sorry. It's not like she was stealing from people in need.

The angry voices came nearer and, gently setting down her load of treasure, Nami whipped out three wooden batons from a strap on her thigh. Quickly assembling the pieces, she put down the stolen bag and pressed her back against the wall, hands tight on her bo staff.

She closed her eyes, inhaling then exhaling deeply.

She willed her heart to stop racing and focused on the heavy steps of her pursuers.

She could hear them quickly advancing but their feet were uncertain - they didn't know where she was.

...Three of them. One was heavier, stronger. She needed to take him out first. Thankfully, he was ahead of the other two.

Just as they were about to come around the corner, Nami swung her staff out with all her strength, her pivoting foot digging into the dirt and grunting as the wood made contact with the buffon's stomach.

He fell down hard on his knees, wheezing and holding his belly. His two companions stood in shock for a moment. The moment Nami needed.

Picking the bag up with her staff, she backed up a little before running towards the kneeling man, his head still bent and groaning.

As the other two goons growled and raised their swords to attack, she jumped. Her foot landed on the man's lowered shoulder - "Arigato!" she thanked with a smirk - to push against it to flip over the two other men.

She hit the ground running, the sack sliding down the length of her stick and bumping off her back. Her smirk widened as she reached a clearing. This didn't go exactly how she planned it but the job was a succe-

Something grabbed her ankle and Nami lost her balance, falling face first and biting her lip hard in the process. The bag and her weapon slid some feet away, out of her reach.

"And where do you think you're going, Cat Burglar Nami?" a squeaky voice came from above. Nami stiffened, wide eyes seeking the owner of the voice.

Buggy the Clown.

So she underestimated him. From first glance, he was exactly what his namesake implied. If he wasn't terrorizing small villages in the East Blue, Nami wouldn't even consider him a pirate.

It was easy, actually, to sneak into one of the houses he had pillaged and steal the map from right under his big red nose. She could've left with just that but couldn't ignore that glint of gold she had seen in one of the rooms. His goons, however, had stumbled across her gathering the treasure and were soon after her.

Now their captain was here. He sat on one of the rooftops, knives in one hand, the other hand…

Nami grimaced as the hand on her ankle grew tighter. "Taking off with my treasures are ya, Cat Burglar Nami?"

The pirate watched as she struggled to get the hand off, pushing at it with her foot while reaching for the treasure bag.

"Kyahahaha!" Buggy cackled. "With my bara bara no mi ability, I'm able to flashily split any part of my body and capture anyone who tries to steal my treasure!" He held up his knives and they gleamed in the light.

"No matter who they are," Buggy continued, spreading his arms to his sides, "I won't let them live!"

He suddenly dived off the roof, flying towards her with his sharp weapons in hand.

Nami finally managed to grab the end of her bo staff to slide the bag of treasure towards her. Just as Buggy swooped down to cut her, she lifted the sack so that the knives sliced through the thick cloth, pounds of gold coins and expensive metals spilling out onto Nami's face. She gritted her teeth as one particularly heavy goblet collided with her cheek. That was going to bruise.

Smartly reasoning that this pirate's treasure wasn't worth her life, Nami finally freed her ankle from Buggy's clutches when she realized his grip had loosened. She had what she really needed anyway, and patted the spot discreetly to make sure it was still there.

She struggled to get up but two pairs of hairy legs were suddenly blocking her view of her escape route. She looked up and made a face. The two goons had caught up.

Behind her, Buggy laughed his squeaky and hoarse laugh. "Thought you could get away, Nami? You shouldn't underestimate the flashy and intelligent Captain Buggy!"

"You're amazing, Captain Buggy!" exclaimed one member.

"Yeah! I'm so happy to follow a great captain like you! You even knew where she would try to go!"

Nami sweat-dropped as Buggy scratched his head abashedly, laughing off the compliments. "Well, of course, my flashy men! Why would you ever doubt me?"

He looked down at Nami. "Now, what should we do with this little cat thief?"

They all chuckled darkly, their shadows coming over the girl on the ground.

Nami lowered her head, her face contorting into different expressions before settling on one of angry acceptance. She dismantled her staff and slid them smoothly into their straps. As Buggy and his men advanced, her hand gripped on the long sleeve of the shirt she wore.

"Oh? Have a flashy trick up your sleeve?" Buggy cackled, lifting one of his knives.

Nami stayed silent, glaring up at him. She pulled up her sleeve and watched as their faces transformed.

X.

"Zooorrrooo."

"... What is it, Luffy?"

"I'm hungry," Luffy whined weakly.

Zoro's eyebrow twitched over his closed eyes. "You ate all of our provisions, dumbass," he stated.

The swordsman settled back onto the boat's side, arms cushioning his head. Not for the first time - and he was sure it wouldn't be the last - he wondered if he had made the right decision in choosing to follow this guy. He actually had almost turned back when he had seen the "ship" that his captain had sailed in and was expecting them to sail in to get to the next island.

After a moment, Zoro's eyes shot open. He turned to Luffy, who was sitting at the bowsprit of the boat.

"Oi. Do you even know where we're going?" he asked skeptically.

Luffy didn't even turn around. He looked up at the clear blue sky before replying, "Hmmm… nope!"

Before Zoro could yell, he continued, "We'll just go wherever the sea takes us. We'll find more adventures that way, shishishi."

Zoro sighed. This kid was too carefree. As far as he knew, they were supposed to be heading towards the Grand Line, where there were a bunch of pirates already waiting with ships bigger and better than the little skiff they had now. But that would be the least of their worries if they didn't even know how to get there.

"We need a navigator," he thought out loud. Luffy hummed in agreement.

"And a cook and a musician," Luffy added.

At the mention of a musician, Zoro laughed. "For what?"

"Every pirate ship needs one," Luffy explained. "For when we have parties or just to make us really happy as we sail."

"Alright," Zoro relented. "But we can't just drift around like this."

Zoro looked around but only saw blue all around them, the East Blue sea calm and quiet. Luffy turned to look at his First Mate as the former "Pirate Hunter" pointed in a random direction.

"How about we go this way?" Zoro asked.

Luffy cocked his head. "I didn't know you knew where the next island was."

"I don't," Zoro deadpanned, already taking out the paddles. "But maybe if we head West, we can find one. And maybe some food, too."

At the mention of food, Luffy got excited. "Yosh! Let's get going then!"

He placed a rubber hand on his straw hat and grinned as Zoro started rowing... South.

After an hour of the same landscape and still no sign of an island, Luffy grew bored. Zoro was still rowing, seeing it as a nice exercise to improve his arm strength.

"Ne, Zoro."

Zoro grunted.

"Tell me a story," Luffy said, lying on his stomach and kicking his feet up.

Zoro thought for a while. "I don't know any."

"Ehhh?" Luffy pouted. Then he piped up again, "What about your dream?"

At this Zoro smirked. "Dream?" he questioned.

"Hm," Luffy nodded.

"My dream… no, my ambition," the Pirate Hunter started, "Is to be the world's greatest swordsman. I made a promise to a friend..." he trailed off, scowling.

"To achieve that, though," Zoro continued, "I need to beat a certain man. I've been searching for him for a long time, but it turns out he only appears when he wants to. "

"Ooooh," Luffy let out in admiration. "You're gonna fight him, Zoro?"

"Yeah," Zoro affirmed. "And I won't let anyone stray me from my ambition. Not even you, Senchou."

"Well, I don't expect anything less from a nakama of the next Pirate King," Luffy stated, grinning ear-to-ear.

Zoro chuckled. "Aye aye, Captain."

They sailed some more in silence until Luffy's stomach growled. He rolled from his position at the front to lay beside Zoro, moaning and face exaggeratingly thin. Zoro ignored him, but couldn't deny the hunger gnawing at his stomach as well. They needed to find an island or they'd starve out here.

At that moment, a huge shadow swooped across their boat, blocking the sun. Zoro stopped rowing to look, Luffy already getting excited.

"That's a huge bird!" Luffy remarked, drooling. He turned to his companion.

"Zoro, let's eat it."

Zoro appraised the huge blue bird before shrugging. "Go for it."

Luffy had already stretched his arms up before he had even said 'go', grabbing onto the bird's beak like a grappling hook. Immediately, the bird started to freak out, wildly flapping its wings and moving side to side frantically to try and get away. The boat rocked dangerously to and fro.

"Oi, Luffy! Get a hold on that thing!"

"I'm try-y-ying!" The rubber boy was pulled roughly to the side. "Whoa! Baka bird, hold still so we can eat you!"

In danger of falling into the sea, Luffy snapped his body up to the flying creature, wrapping his hands around its neck.

"Shishishi! Gotcha!" he laughed, triumphant about his catch. But the bird kept flying, now with a rubber man on its back.

Luffy looked down and saw the mop of green hair hollering at him. He considered wrapping his arms around the bird's wings to stop it from flying but then he would fall into the ocean. And Zoro was far.

And getting farther.

Uh oh.

"Oi! Baka bird! Go back!"

The bird kept flying, and from this new height, Luffy could see an island not too far off from where Zoro was still drifting. An idea formed in his head.

"Zoro!" Luffy hollered down, before he got too far. "Follow the bird! He's going to an island!"

Luffy patted the bird's head. "Sorry for calling you stupid."

After a second, he sighed almost reluctantly. "And don't worry, I won't eat you anymore."

The bird cawed.

From below, Zoro had to resist facepalming. Still, he sat down and quickly started rowing, following the blue bird and the rubber boy. It wasn't like it was a choice. He had resigned to his fate, realizing now that he was binded (probably forever) with the straw hat-wearing idiot that was his captain.

X.

Buggy stumbled back, falling on his butt then scooting further away from the girl. He felt a cold sweat run down his back and fear encompass his body. This girl… so the rumors were true?!

No, no, no. How could she… but it was there, clear as day.

She's part of Arlong's crew? Buggy thought, gulping. This is bad! I didn't believe it before but...

He could hear his men start to grow confused at his behavior. They had initially been surprised at such a mark on the pretty girl's arm but held no knowledge of what it meant.

"Oi, Captain Buggy! What's going on? Aren't we going to teach her a lesson?"

"Yeah! We need to make sure she doesn't pull a stunt like that again!"

As they spoke, more men from Buggy's crew came running to the clearing, surrounding them.

"What's going, Captain Buggy?"

"Did this girly here do something?"

"Buggy-sama! Are you okay?"

Shiiiit! Buggy panicked internally. I can't act weak in front of my men!They view me as their great Captain, which I flashily am of course, but right now-! I can't do anything to this girl! What should I do, what should I do, dammit?!

As Buggy had a small meltdown, Nami pulled down her sleeve with a grunt. Eyes closed, she swallowed the resentment that climbed up her throat and fought the urge to deny her affiliation with the monster.

"I'll be leaving now, Big Red Nose," she stated coldly

Buggy abruptly turned to stone. His crew also turned still, mouths agape in shock.

As Nami got up, dusting her clothes off, she was startled to find a floating hand pointing a knife at her throat.

"What did you call me?" Buggy asked slowly. His voice dripped with annoyance, a feeling he greatly welcomed compared to the cold fear that had taken him before.

His own men backed up, but were snickering.

"Now you've done it, girly," one of them said.

"Get'er Buggy-senchou!"

Nami frowned at the men before turning to look at Buggy. She could feel the knife at the back of her neck now.

"Who… has… a big red nose?!" Buggy spat out. The crossbones on his forehead crinkled as he scowled, angry.

Nami, undeterred, crossed her arms. "I'm surprised you can't see it yourself with how big it is."

Buggy's men all dropped to the floor comically.

Captain Buggy himself gritted his teeth. "I can kill you right here, right now, Nami!"

Nami narrowed her eyes. "I dare you."

The knife pressed against her neck. Buggy's hand started trembling. His crew urged him on.

"What're you waiting for, Captain Buggy?"

"Do it! She's just your typical thief!"

Shut up, you fools! Buggy secretly shouted in his mind. Don't you all know anything? This girl is in Arlong's crew! Cat Burglar Nami… I heard she got her bounty after she and some fishman massacred a whole fleet of marines! And all for some money! If I touch her, Arlong's gonna know, and it's gonna be our heads! Gah! I can't do this!

Slowly, Buggy's hand lowered the knife. Nami released a shallow breath she had been holding. That was close. It was hard to keep the act when every fiber of her being said to forget everything and run. But things were bigger than just her, she had realized a long time ago.

Buggy faced his crew, who all looked at him suspiciously.

"Listen up you bunch o' savages! I, Captain Buggy," he proclaimed, trying to save face. "Have decided to flashily spare this girl's life. Our treasure is safe and sound, the thief surrounded. But men… are we not honorable pirates?"

Nami scoffed loudly and Buggy gave her a look. I'm trying to save your flashy ass, he gritted out in his mind.

Then continued out loud, "There is no need for violence here. This woman, after what we had threatened her with today, will run away with the inevitable fear of Captain Buggy and his flashily powerful crew. She will remember my name, my mercy - our mercy towards her- and will never dare to transgress against us again!"

After his flashy speech, Buggy raised his arms and waited.

The gullible crew burst into tears.

"Captain!"

"What a merciful Captain we have!"

"You better be grateful girl!"

Nami stared at them with a look of bewilderment.

"If that's all then," she said, watching as Buggy received praise for his cowardice, "I'll be on my way."

In a flash, she swiped the half-full, ripped bag of treasure, left the fallen ones on the ground, and ran away.

"Yeah that's right! Run away! Remember our mercy!" the crew jeered, then turned to their proud captain, who had his eyes closed and nodding along to his crew's words.

"You're so generous, Captain!"

"Letting her leave with the map and the treasure!"

"We don't deserve him!" they cried.

Buggy, in the haze of glorification, finally registered what they said. His eyes shot open just in time to see Nami, through the crowd of men, stick her tongue out and pull down an eyelid mockingly before disappearing behind a building.

"W-Wait! No!" he squawked, hands on his face. "You stupid men! She wasn't supposed to flashily make off with the treasure and definitely not the map! Stop her!"

After wasting more time with perplexed glances at each other, the group finally realized how they were tricked.

"N-nani?! So she wasn't supposed to go with them?!"

"NO!" Buggy howled, his voice rising a pitch. "Now after her!"

Just as they readied their weapons and started to go the direction Nami went, a deformed shadow suddenly passed over the sun. The faint sound of someone shouting followed. Some of the men looked up while Buggy grew even angrier.

"What are you all looking at?! You're letting her get away!" he shrieked.

The men's faces quickly turned into ones of surprise, then fright.

"B-Buggy-sama-!" one of them yelled, simply pointing up at the sky.

Their leader finally looked up.

The sun blinded him at first, but then, as if in slow motion, the Clown pirate could see a boy clutching a straw hat on his head while falling to the ground, shouting something he couldn't hear over his loud thoughts of, What in flashy hell?!

He had time to notice an enormous blue bird flying above the boy, cawing once then flying further away. Buggy then only had a moment to mutter a small, "Oh," as a response to his crew, before the boy came crashing down in a huge, dusty boom.

X.

Luffy had realized he had to take other measures since the bird didn't want to stop. He had done what he could to warn the tiny dots he assumed were people that he was coming down, yelling, "Look out below!" But they had only stared up at him as he came down.

Despite the rough landing on a few people, however, the overall flight was pretty fun.

Luffy looked at the shocked faces, and wondered why they were all staring at him (as if he hadn't dropped 60 feet from the ground to stand up unharmed like it was normal). He also didn't notice that he had wiped out half of their men instead of a "few."

… Huh?

Luffy blinked, staring at Buggy, who currently had his jaw on the floor as Luffy sweeped off the dust from his hat.

The rubber boy suddenly laughed, setting his precious hat on his head. "Wow! You have a really big red nose!"

The jaws of the men who weren't unconscious from Luffy's impromptu crash, dropped on the ground as they heavily perspired. Buggy could only grind his teeth in extreme annoyance. Two of these blasted kids in one day.

But as far as he knew, this kid wasn't a threat. He just got lucky with that fall, his men providing him a nice cushion. Meanwhile, that damn Cat Burglar was getting away.

"Move along, kid," Buggy spat out. "The villagers all ran away because I own this island now. I'm feeling merciful today so I'll spare your life, too. My priority right now is that Cat Burglar Nami - she has my only map to the Grand Line!"

He gestured to his men to continue running after her. "Let's go! We're wasting time! She can't go very far with that heavy treasure on her back! Her greed will be her downfall," he cackled.

Without warning, his upper body disconnected from his legs. Luffy's eyes widened.

"Ehhhh?! Are you a monster?!"

"You're wrong!" Buggy yelled at him even as he flew across the heads of his men. "I ate the bara bara no mi so now I'm a splitting man!"

"Sugee!" the rubber boy exclaimed. "That's a cool ability."

"Well now," Buggy stopped to look back with a blush, then realized the boy was distracting him.

"Stop that, Mugiwara!" he shouted, flabbergasted. His upper body went back to flying. "You can't get away, Nami!"

Buggy's lower body and crew also ran after the other half of him on foot, yelling obscenities, and leaving the rubber boy in their dust.

Luffy cocked his head.

"Nami...?" he wondered. Then slowly got excited, the clown's words echoing in his mind. "Grand Line map?!"

X.

Zoro cursed as he tied the boat to the post.

His captain's antics were already stressing him out. How could he just go flying off like that? And on a freaking bird?! The green-haired man sighed. Now he had to go look for the rubber man in this strange town.

He looked up from the rope he was tying after hearing someone's voice call out. He hadn't had a chance to explore the island, but judging by the almost vacant docks only containing a few other boats and the absence of people, this side of town seemed abandoned.

What he saw made him raise his brows in surprise and confusion.

It was that girl with orange hair. He remembered seeing her briefly back in Shells Town, coming to his execution post to take that little girl away. He had figured she was just another villager. What was she doing here? And why was she running?

"Y-yo-ou!" he heard her pant. "H-help!"

A second later, a knife sliced the air, just barely missing her shoulder.

Zoro followed the weapon's trajectory and let out a strangled noise.

What the hell?! he thought in disbelief.

A clown with only half a body was throwing knives down at the sprinting girl, and Zoro could hear him screaming at her to give something back. Several seconds later - in which Zoro is still trying to process the whole half-human-flying thing as Nami continues to dodge the clown's throws by running in predictable zig-zags - a horde of men cut around a house's corner and also ran straight for her.

Zoro briefly wondered what kind of trouble this girl got herself into even as he slowly advanced towards her and the flying clown.

The orange-haired girl glanced back to see her pursuers and Zoro watched as she tripped, landing hard on her stomach, unwilling to let go of the bag to catch herself.

Get up, get up, he found himself urging her silently. She was agonizingly slow.

He was conflicted on whether or not to put himself in the middle of this obvious mess as the girl started to pick herself up. He drummed his fingers on the hilts of his swords as he counted how many people caught up to her.

… It was a lot, and some looked strong. Well, he was aching for a good fight after the last disappointment.

An animalistic grin shaped his mouth as he finally ran forward, tying his black headband on tightly and unsheathing two of his katana before jumping in front of the girl to block several men's' swings. He heard their surprise and felt their astonishment turn into fear when he glowered up at them.

"All these men against one girl?" he growled disapprovingly.

From behind him he could hear the girl shift. Zoro turned his head slightly to the side. From the corner of his eye he could see her bottom lip slightly swollen and bleeding. A light bruise was starting to form on her left cheek and there were dirt streaks on her face from tripping.

"Oi, lady… are you okay?"

Nami took a while to answer, still a bit stunned. "Wh-wha…"

"Are you okay?" Zoro asked again, slightly louder. He faced the men again.

"U-un," she nodded her head despite him not able to see her.

Zoro smirked. "Alright, then. Stand back and let me fini-"

"Watch out!" Nami suddenly gasped, just as the sharp blade of Buggy's knife impaled hilt-deep into Zoro's thigh. He faltered back a step, but didn't break his hold on the men's swords.

"How dare you flashily ignore me?" the thrower hollered from above, outraged.

"I know who you are, Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro! I would have never thought you would be working with this lowlife thief... but then again, she is a member of the flashiest crew in the East Blue," he murmured the last part.

Zoro rolled his eyes up to the sky to glance at the floating clown before grunting and focusing back on his opponents.

Buggy acted like a sword struck his heart, reeling from the pain of casual dismissal. H-he just ignored me again!

Nami gazed worriedly at the spreading dark liquid around the imbedded knife on Zoro's dark green pants then looked up as he spoke.

"Present to me a challenge, and maybe I'll spare your lives," Zoro offered almost nonchalantly.

When no one responded, he brought all seven of the first row of men's swords down and swiftly jumped on the horizontal barrier their weapons created. He crouched down on the metals before catapulting himself into the air, scaring Buggy in the process when the pirate clown saw the airborne swordsman next to him.

"Nitoryuu…" Zoro started, arms crossing at his sides, body coiled in preparation for a strike.

Below, Nami's internal barometer of danger rose off the charts and she quickly moved to get out of the coming harm's way. Whatever the move, it was going to be strong. Buggy's men stood naively below Zoro.

"...Tobu Zangeki!"

A powerful gust of wind formed by the piercing slash of both katana whirled through the air before heading towards Buggy's crew. For a silent moment, there was no indication of a hit.

Then the ground below them exploded into particles of dust and dirt. They all screamed as the very air sliced through their clothing, thin gashes appearing on their arms, faces, and legs. Blood from their wounds spurted onto the broken ground.

Buggy shrieked as he too was blown up and away, dust flying into his eyes. He, however, was not affected by the move due to his devil fruit ability.

Nami, in the process of running away, was shoved violently forward from the immense blast, the back of her shirt shredding and her back suffering the aftershock of Zoro's attack. Thankfully, it was only a few cuts since she had moved far enough away. Still, she crawled until she felt the hard wood of the dock on her knees then stumbled to the boat, treasure bag first.

Just as she was going to set sail, she looked back for a second at the man with the green hair, or more specifically the knife wound on his thigh.

She shook her head. He was a pirate. She shouldn't forget that.

Her gaze wandered to the bandages and ointment by her foot and she cursed.

x.

As the dust settled, the scene found Zoro standing at the center of the crater on the ground. The knife was still in his thigh. No one else was standing.

"Eh? Don't tell me that's all it took?" he muttered disappointingly. He slid his katana back into their sheaths.

A whistle from his left prompted him to slide to the right, dodging the knife aimed at his back.

"Kyahahaha! You don't actually think that's all it take to defeat me, Buggy the Clown, Pirate Hunter Zoro?!" Buggy snickered, still in the air.

Shielding his eyes from the sun, Zoro looked up and fixed Buggy a challenging look.

"Ah?" Zoro smirked. "So you're not as weak as I thought."

"You're flashy attacks won't work on me!" Buggy revealed. "I'm a splitting man, so nothing can cut me!"

"In that case," came a new voice from below. "Gomu gomu no… Python!"

A pair of stretchy arms flew up towards Buggy, the appendages wrapping all around the length of the clown's upper torso as his eyes bugged out of his head. The hold tightened to a painful degree before Buggy was brought down hard to the ground.

"Gaugh!" Buggy howled, having not been hurt for a while.

"Shishishi! That was a good fight Zoro!" Luffy grinned at his First Mate, then frowned down at the clown. "That was a cowardly move, trying to attack from behind."

The floating hand that had been about to stab Zoro through the stomach strained open in pain and the silver weapon dropped with a clang to the ground.

Zoro acknowledged his captain's words with a nod and a smile. Then he fell to his good knee, suddenly panting hard. He took the knife roughly out of his thigh only to have more blood seep out of the wound.

Even while being constricted, Buggy choked out a raspy laugh. "I must've nicked an artery. It won't be long before he loses too much blood - he won't make it through the day."

Luffy examined Zoro's state before looking down at Buggy. "He's strong," the rubber boy replied confidently.

"What are you? A monster?" a familiar feminine voice asked disgustingly.

Luffy turned to find the same girl with the apricot hair he had met a few times before.

"He obviously needs to see a doctor," Nami continued, gesturing to Zoro. She tossed some items in front of Luffy before regarding all three of them coldly.

"But you won't find one here. This one," she pointed at the pirate with the round red nose, " and his band of pirates chased them away, along with the rest of the townspeople. And as if that wasn't enough, they destroyed their homes, took all their food and all their money - everything."

She huffed. "Pirates are all the same. They take away everything someone has, with no thought to how it affects them."

She unconsciously touched her shoulder. "How it scars them."

"You're a thief! You steal money, too," Buggy interjected.

"From no-good pirates like you," she responded. "It's different. I will never stoop to a pirate's level."

She leveled a look at Zoro, who had beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "I don't like owing people. So I've decided to repay the favor. Think nothing more of it."

Zoro met her eyes with an even look of his own even as he panted heavily. After a while, she turned around.

"You should put pressure on that, by the way, before it gets worse. It'd be a shameful as a swordsman to bleed to death from a wound like that."

With that as her last words, she ran back to her boat.

Luffy, who had stayed quiet during her spiel, watched as she ran with her shirt shredded in the back before gazing down at the alcohol, bandages and ointment she had thrown at his feet.

Buggy suddenly squirmed viciously in Luffy's hold. "Wait right there! Grrrr… Nami! Give me back my treasure you flashy thief! You'll pay for this!"

Luffy's neck almost snapped from how fast he whipped it back up, staring as the girl clambered her boat.

"Nami?" he repeated. Then, with more assurance, "Nami!"

He quickly looked down at the red-nosed pirate. "That girl has the map of the Grand Line, right? That means she can read it, right?" he asked excitedly.

Zoro, who had immediately grabbed the alcohol to take a swig before pouring it on his wound so it wouldn't get affected, stopped midway of swathing his thigh. He knew where his captain was going with this - and he wasn't sure he liked it.

"Wait, Luf-"

"YES!" Buggy answered Luffy's previous inquiries, interrupting Zoro. "And it's mine! Let go of me, Mugiwara - she's getting away!"

Just as he said this, Nami unfurled her sails and started to drift away. Luffy saw his future navigator slip away.

"Wait!" His arms unwrapped from Buggy to start sprinting towards the docks. "Nami!"

...

"Kyokugi: Yukemuri Satsujin Jiken!"

Luffy had taken only a few steps before a huge cloud of dust formed around him, blocking his view of the small boat and causing his eyes to water. A second later, something hard lands on his stomach, throwing him back a couple feet. He felt his hat fly off his head.

"Ack!" Luffy hacked, dust getting into his mouth. He started coughing. The sudden dust storm made it impossible to see anything. But he noticed it was going a certain direction.

Thinking quickly, Luffy twisted his body tightly all the way up like a rope, holding out his arms.

"Gomu gomu no… Twister!" he shouted as he let his body unravel back to its normal state, opposite of how the dust was spinning. With his arms at spread out and moving at a quick speed, his rubber movements created wind great enough to disperse the dirty cloud that had gathered around him. The crushed gravel settled back to the ground.

A quick glance at the sea told Luffy he was too late. He scratched his head, wondering who was the voice behind the annoying attack.

He turned to Zoro, remembering his condition and how the girl - Nami - had said he needed a professional's help.

What he found was Buggy. That is, all of him - his lower body had managed to find its counterpart - and a strange man who balanced on a bike with one wheel.

But no Zoro.

Luffy stared at the duo. "Hey, Big Red Nose-"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Where did Zoro go?"

"Oh?" Buggy's voice expressed deep satisfaction. "I just had one of my closest men take him somewhere more… peaceful to rest up."

"Oh, is that all?" Luffy smiled. "Maybe you're not so bad after all."

Buggy fell sideways comically.

How gullible is this kid?! He wondered in shock.

He came back up, appraising the boy. Right now, he looked like a lanky, weak, and idiotic kid. But Buggy knew there was something sinister behind that smile. He could feel it. Plus, he seemed to have eaten a Devil Fruit, and the clown could still remember the strength behind the constricting hold that same kid had on him not a minute ago.

There was more to this guy than met the eye.

Luffy picked his nose, flicking the booger to the side somewhere.

"Ne," Luffy started, "Could you show me where you put 'im? It's good that he rests and all, but we need to find a doctor first. Do you know where they might've gone? That Nami girl said they- … what's so funny?"

"You, Mugiwara!" Buggy cackled, slightly amused.

The acrobatic crewmate beside him stayed quiet, only his legs moving, balancing on his wheel.

Luffy scratched his head, confused, then started to panic.

Buggy noticed. "Ah, so you're not so thick-headed after all-"

"Where's my hat?!" Luffy suddenly demanded, his voice rising. "That weird dust storm blew it off!"

Buggy sweatdropped as the rubber boy searched the area frantically before seeing it hanging out on a tree branch above him.

"Ah, there it is! Mochi!" he called.

He stretched his arms up to it as Buggy looked on. He freaked out over a hat? But that particular hat looked familiar…

He looked from Luffy to the hat then back to Luffy as the boy happily picked it from the branch, dusted it off, then settled it on his head.

"Shishishi," Luffy chuckled, large grin on his face. That was familiar, too.

Buggy looked at the red ribbon circled around the base of the straw hat. Red ribbon. Red.

Luffy looked up at Buggy's sharp intake of air.

Damn that flashy Red-Haired pirate! No matter where I go, I can never get away from him! Buggy thought distastefully.

"Oi, Mugiwara."

"Hrm?" Luffy responded.

"Who gave you that hat? … Is he here now?"

Luffy took the said straw hat off his head to gaze at it, remembering the promise he made to a certain pirate.

"A friend entrusted me this hat when I was really little so it's precious to me. I promised to give it back one day, after I've become a great pirate. It's my treasure."

Buggy resisted rolling his eyes. Of course that Akagami would influence a kid to be a pirate at such a young age.

"Did this friend have red hair, a really snarky and arrogant attitude, and wore maybe a cape to show how flashy he was?" Buggy described bitterly.

Luffy shook his head. "The first and last part, yeah, but he was a really awesome guy."

Buggy pinched his red nose. "Was it Akagami no Shanks?"

"H-how do you know Shanks?!" Luffy exclaimed in surprise.

Buggy chuckled a little, hands on his hips. "Know him? He and I used to be friends on the Pirate King's ship!" he crowed, before growing solemn. "That is, before he ruined my dreams of finding a great amount of treasure and made me lose my ability to swim, that bastard!"

Luffy's eyes transformed into sparkles, then showed some skepticism. "No way! A weakling like you on the Pirate King's ship? Shanks, I can understand-"

"Hey!" Buggy yelled, indignant. "I'll have you know I can match up flashily to that Red-Haired anytime, any day!"

"Shanks is the coolest pirate ever! You'd need to be a lot stronger than-"

"Alright, enough!" Buggy huffed out, little spurts of angry ticks coming from his head.

He grinned slyly. "Since you're so cocky, Mugiwara, then I'm sure it won't come as a shock to you to know that your first crewmate, Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro... is dead!"

Luffy cocked his head, perplexed.

It wasn't the reaction Buggy was expecting.

"I thought you said-"

"Never mind what I said!" Buggy interjected, exasperated. "Your friend is dead, Mugiwara! And you will soon be too!"

"..."

"..."

"For a clown, your jokes are pretty lame," Luffy deadpanned.

"Nani?!" Buggy squeaked out.

"Zoro's not dead…"

The pirate clown shook his head in mock pity, finally understanding. "Listen, Mugiwara, denial is the first part of accepting-"

"He's right behind you."

"... WHAT?!"

Buggy swiveled only his top torso around to find Zoro leaning heavily against one of the buildings, eyes glaring at Buggy and promising a painful death.

"Gyahhhhh!" Buggy screamed, mouth gaping in absolute shock. His lower body came around to meet his upper one, facing the swordsman.

"Yo, Zoro," Luffy chirped. "I thought you were taking a nap. Did ya find a doctor?"

Zoro panted, blood seeping now from his freshly bandaged wound. He didn't say a word, just reached around the corner of the building to drag out a man wearing a fuzzy white onesie and a huge lion with a red mane.

Both of them had cut marks and bruises that could easily be traced back to Zoro's sheathed katana.

The lion whimpered and Zoro threw both companions at Buggy.

"Mohji! Richie!" Buggy shrieked, observing their wounds. "What happened?!"

Mohji spoke up as his lion cowered behind him in an effort to hide from Zoro's glare.

"Well…"

X.

[Six minutes earlier…]

"Guh! He's heavy!" Mohji cried out, holding his back in pain and hearing it crack when he bent back. Nonetheless, he had successfully put the wounded swordsman onto Richie's back.

Mohji cursed Cabaji once again. This was a simple plan, and yet it almost went all wrong.

Cabaji said he'd give them a few minutes - plenty of time - before the dust settled to get Roronoa while he was incapacitated. The quiet acrobat had then created the dust storm by twirling his swords.

While they would get the straw hat's only crewmate, Cabaji would return Buggy's lower half and the two would take care of the rest.

Simple enough.

But the small dust storm didn't even last a full minute - much less 30 seconds.

And the swordsman had certainly not been easy to deal with. Even with the dust all around him, he was fully alert and had even sliced a bit off Richie's mane before Mohji decided to play dirty. He had to put his full weight into Roronoa's wound, then had Richie sink his claws into it until the guy all but passed out from the pain.

They had escaped just as the straw hat boy turned around to look for his First Mate.

Now they were on their way to get rid of him. Mohji had kept a stone cage somewhere not too far from here… then they could drop him into the ocean.

This was the Buggy Pirates' territory, after all. Any trespassers would face the consequences, and having the Pirate Hunter here only meant trouble they didn't want.

What Mohji and Richie didn't know was that Zoro was very much awake… and extremely angry at being handled the way he was. He hung sideways on the lion's back, fingernails slightly scraping the ground.

As they walked through town, however, Zoro took note on how the town was not bustling with people as it should be. In fact, the homes that weren't destroyed were abandoned. Not a soul walked the paths of what appeared to be the marketplace. Wait… something moved in that building. A rock skittered into the street.

Zoro narrowed his eyes but was then distracted by something glinting in the sunlight and he inclined his head to the side just a little bit to see a cannon of some kind, placed on a rooftop. It was decorated grandly with red and blue stars, its mouth facing one of the buildings. He glanced at one of the houses in its range and confirmed what he had already suspected.

He went back to being limp.

"Once we get rid of Roronoa, Buggy will praise us, Richie," Mohji beamed, patting his lion's head. "We can finally get promoted to Vice Captains. Then we'll show that Cabaji, always thinking he's better than us… Ah-ha. Here we are."

Zoro opened one eye to see the corner of what seemed to be the cage that the lion tamer talked about. He closed his eye again.

Mohji stretched as Richie lowered his belly to the ground. "Thanks, Rich, but that'll do little to help. This guy's really heavy," he complained.

Zoro felt himself being lifted by the arms, then put across the man's back, his feet dragging on the floor.

He didn't waste any time.

His arms already in an opportune position, he quickly put the fuzzy guy in a choke hold.

Zoro heard the beast behind him move to attack and quickly turned around, using the guy as a shield. His thigh throbbed and he gritted his teeth. He had to end this quickly.

The lion roared, and Mohji quickly put his hand up to stop the incoming melee to his face. "Stay, Richie! It's me, your master! Don't attack!"

The lion abruptly did as he asked.

Zoro, in turn, shoved the man away, his back to the cage, then placed his hand non-discretely to his katana.

Mohji took up a shaky defensive stance beside his giant lion.

Zoro regarded them calmly, leaning against the cage, his gaze on the ground below him.

"So," Zoro finally said, and Mohji jumped.

Richie growled.

"You're a beast tamer, huh?"

Mohji narrowed his eyes and had a swell of confidence.

"The best," he answered in an even voice. "I can tame any beast. It's why Captain Buggy chose me to be in his crew. "

"Oh?" Zoro inquired.

Then a smirk that could only be described as beastly spread across his face. His eyes, partly covered by his black bandana, seemed to glow red like a demon's. He unsheathed his swords and put Wado Ichimonji to his mouth.

He spoke audibly despite the katana in his mouth. "See if you can tame this one..."

Mohji abruptly stepped back, unable to believe his eyes. Beside him, Richie lowered his head and whimpered in a sign of submission.

"Santoryu... Tora Gari!"

Mohji's screams and Richie's roars echoed through the vacant town.

X.

[In the present...]

Mohji shivered with barely concealed fear, remembering how the very aura of a tiger had appeared behind the swordsman as he executed his attack.

He didn't even have a chance in putting Roronoa Zoro in a cage.

Buggy gritted his teeth, hating how the tables had turned. He had thought they were at an advantage, but that Straw Hat and Pirate Hunter were foiling everything. He stepped back a little.

Zoro finally spoke, panting. "So… that's how… you did it."

He was staring straight at Buggy and the Clown Captain gulped, having an inkling as to what he was talking about.

"Your weapon… that cannon… the townspeople…" Zoro took a deep breath. "You used that cannon to destroy the town. I knew it had to be… something stronger… than you."

Buggy only grinded his teeth more, unsure of whether to be angry at all the insults to his unimaginable strength or panicked that they had figured everything out. If he found his special Buggy cannon…

"What are you talking about Zoro?" Luffy asked, puzzled.

When he had unceremoniously fallen to the town's center, he had noticed the abandoned buildings but figured that there had been a battle of some sort.

Zoro turned to him. "This clown and his crew aren't doing any good here, Luffy. The people are still here, but in hiding," he said, recalling the ghost of a figure he had seen behind the rubble.

"It's your call, but I think the only way to draw out a doc would be to get rid of them." The wounded swordsman pointed at Buggy and his diminished crew of three.

At his words, Buggy started to sweat. "W-wait just a second! There's no need to do such a thing," he chuckled nervously. "I can just show you to where the people are hiding! "

Luffy stared at them. "Really?"

I just need more time to think! Then I'll find a way to get rid of those two! Buggy thought, while he replied to Luffy, "W-well of course! Then we'll be on our way."

"Is this really okay, Captain Buggy?" Mohji whispered out of earshot of the two straw hats.

Then Cabaji finally spoke.

"There's no need, Buggy-sama. Outnumbered, and one weakened - I'll take care of these two right now."

He raised his two swords, and before Buggy can make a sound, the acrobat maneuvered to Zoro, who had sat down with his back to the wall of the building.

Quick as lightning, Zoro drew his katana with one hand and parried Cabaji's attack. They were locked for a second more before Zoro pushed him back, standing in the process and panting hard.

"Your strong," Cabaji acknowledged. "But that wound looks pretty bad. A while longer and you'll collapse."

His long legs pedaled back and forth on the unicycle. "Let's make this quick."

Zoro smirked. "That's my line."

He reached for his two other swords but found that he couldn't.

"What?" he thought aloud. Two gloved hands were holding his arms and were forcing them behind his back. Zoro grunted, pushing against them.

From behind Cabaji, Buggy started to snicker. His hands were missing, arms crossed in front of him. "Finish him, Cabaji!"

With a nod, Cabaji took a deep breath. Kyokugi: Kaji Oyagi, he thought silently as his chest and cheeks puffed out.

Zoro struggled in Buggy's hold. He looked up just in time to see a burst of red-orange fire come out of his opponent's mouth. He ducked just in time, the flames singing off the tops of his hair, and rolled away.

But that was proven useless as Cabaji's string of flames followed him. He rolled away again, standing made hard by the hands constricting his arms.

Buggy continued to snicker, watching the unfair battle. I knew I could count on Cabaji. Now all we need to take care of is that Mugi- GAUH!

Gasping at air but finding that he couldn't breath, Buggy choked before letting out a small squeak. A pain like no other originated from his groin until all he could focus on was the pain. Tiny tears gathered at the corners of his eyes as he unconsciously brought his hands back to him to hold his nether regions, freeing Zoro in the process.

Luffy huffed, eyes closed, stretching his leg back.

"Don't interfere," he stated simply, holding his hat.

Buggy dropped to the ground, scrunching in pain. Damn you, Mugiwaraaa!

The beaten Mohji and Richie held their own nether regions as they cringed, feeling the pain themselves.

Meanwhile, Zoro, with his hands free, unsheathed his swords when Cabaji ran out of fuel. He would end this with one move, one he'd been working on for his future opponent, the strongest swordsman in the world.

"If I can't beat people like you, then I should give up my dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman," he stated.

"I'm sorry to see that dream end," Cabaji responded. He wheeled powerfully towards Zoro, ready to end the duel. Zoro ran towards him, his two katana in each hand and one in his mouth.

"Ichirin Zashi!

"Oni Giri!"

They swung past each other, a powerful gust of wind flowing past the two. Zoro walked forward a few more steps, slowly sheathing his swords.

A second later, Cabaji's wheel split in half and the acrobat fell, his chest sustaining three deadly cuts through the skin. Despite the heavy bleeding, he seemed to be breathing, albeit shallowly.

"Guess I'm really motivated," Zoro said to the defeated man on the ground.

Luffy chuckled, having enjoyed the fight. "Nice, Zoro!"

Zoro shot him a tired smile. "And what've you been doing all day, Captain? Slacking off while I do all the work?"

He didn't wait for Luffy to answer, sinking down to his knees before lying down on the ground. "I need a nap," he said, before falling unconscious.

"Zoro!" Luffy called, running up to him. Beads of sweat were rolling down his face and his bandage was soaked red.

Luffy turned to Buggy, who was still hunched on the ground.

"Oi, Big Nose! You said you were going to bring us to a doctor. Show me the way," Luffy demanded.

He picked up his First Mate and swung his limp arm around his neck and wrapping a rubber arm around his torso - and holding up his weight effortlessly, Mohji bitterly noted.

Buggy snarled. "Like I actually would-"

He almost jumped when a pair of sandals came into his ground view. Luffy bent down to look down at Buggy, still carrying Zoro.

Without another word, he pinched the clown's nose roughly and held it. Buggy panicked immediately. Mohji could only look on, afraid of what the rubber captain could do after his First Mate defeated two of Buggy's strongest members.

"You promised," Luffy said.

I did no such thing! Buggy screamed internally.

"A-Anh! B-buait Boogirara! Albight, I'll boo it!" Buggy nasally gasped out.

Luffy promptly let go. Buggy's nose throbbed, even bigger and more scarlet than before.

"What's the big deal?!" he yelled, holding his nose, but Luffy had already started walking.

"Come on already," the rubber boy said impatiently.

Though Luffy's back was turned, Buggy didn't try to run away. He had a feeling the straw-hatted boy would have other means to get him to save his nakama.

For now, Buggy knew, there was only one way to beat Straw Hat. .

He whispered to Mohji a set of directions, making the beast tamer smirk.

"That'll get 'em, Captain Buggy," he snickered.

"Hey! Stop talking Big Nose! Let's go!"

"Alright, alright," Buggy replied, annoyed.

He ran past the rubber boy and begrudgingly led the way. Mohji and Richie stayed behind the two, grabbing the fallen Cabaji then slipping away silently.

X.

"Gahh, I should've eaten that bird," Luffy complained, tongue out in the hot sun. He hadn't eaten since the last island and his energy was quickly depleting.

Zoro stayed silent on his side, still unconscious.

"Oi, Big Nose, when are we getting to where the people are? I need food."

"It's Captain Buggy. Bug-gy," said the clown captain, "and we're almost there, Mugiwara."

He turned to the side, rubbing his hands together. And when we get there, I'll blast you and that flashy swordsman out of this island for good, gyahahaha, Buggy thought.

"Nani? Blast us?" Luffy asked, shooting the clown a strange look.

Shiiit! I said that outloud!

Buggy cleared his throat. "No, no, I said we need to go fast...er. For the good of your friend," he lied horribly.

Luffy stared at him as they walked, and a light sheen of sweat came from Buggy' forehead.

"Hmm… alright then. But you're the being really slow," Luffy said, speeding up slightly.

Buggy let out a slow breath. Thank goodness this kid's slow.

His eyes wandered discreetly up and down the rooftops of the destroyed homes. Where are they?

Noticing that they were getting close to the "hidden" place, Buggy started trailing back. Luffy noticed.

"Where are you going?" he asked, suspicious.

"It's better if I stay back here. If they see me, they'll think you're also pirate and won't treat your friend there." He kept backing up.

Luffy cocked his head. "But I am a pirate."

Buggy sighed, exasperated. "Listen, Mugiwara-"

A shout of surprise came from one of the bigger of the abandoned buildings. Luffy turned to the sound and Buggy quickly ducked around a corner, disappearing in an alley.

A short man with poofy white hair came strolling out of the broken doorway wearing bulky brown armor, his arms out in happiness. Luffy looked on with confusion as more people streamed out from other buildings to surround him and Zoro.

"What's going on?" the rubber boy wondered.

"So what Reo said was right! A green-haired swordsman! And you, boy!" the old man said.

"What are you talking about, Ossan? Do I know you?"

"Oh, excuse my manners! I am Boodle, mayor of Orange Town! We have been fighting the Buggy Pirates for a long time before you and your friend here saved us!"

"Ah, you're the mayor?" Luffy looked around at the people crowding around him. "Is there a doctor here that can take care of Zoro's wound?"

"Ah yes!" The man's eyes glanced at Zoro's state before hardening. "Forgive me for wasting time. He needs to see a doctor. Quickly now," he ushered Luffy into a narrow space between two wooden columns.

Upon entering the small space, Luffy could see the remainder of two beds in a corner of the makeshift room.

"Put him here," the mayor directed, pointing at one of the cots.

After setting him down, Luffy stepped back as two people with white gloves examined his wound.

"How did he survive this long?" one of them muttered. "He lost a lot of blood."

Luffy, hearing the comment, grinned. "Zoro's strong," he said simply.

The doctors sweatdropped, then went to work disinfecting and stitching the wound.

"In any case," the mayor said, "it's a good thing you got here in time."

The mayor explained to Luffy how one of their scouts had seen Zoro fight Mohji, then saw how a guy with a straw hat kicked Buggy the Pirate to the ground. The boy had all but sprinted back to the mayor and the people to tell them that they were being saved.

"Don't mention it," Luffy replied when the mayor thanked him. "Zoro did most of it, anyway."

At that moment, his stomach growled loudly.

"Ne, Ossan," he said weakly. "You have any meat I can eat?"

The mayor chuckled a little before calling one of the people who wanted to see their saviors. They went out and came back with two other people, carrying big plates of seafood - tuna, scallops, crab, and jumbo shrimp.

"It's not much," the mayor started as Luffy drooled, "and all we could do was fish when the pirates weren't at the island's coast."

Luffy was already on his second plate by the time he finished talking. "Ish delishious, ossan," he reassured. He swallowed and sighed in satisfaction, eating a bit slower, watching as the doctors worked.

"So that Big Nose Buggy did all this?" he asked, gulfing on crab meat.

The mayor nodded, solemn. "It's been a week since he came, him and all of his thugs, and bombed all of our homes with what he called his 'special Boggy cannon'."

"Special Boggy cannon?"

"Mm," Boodle affirmed. "It was destructive enough to destroy two houses on impact and crumble the surrounding ones. We fought back, but by then it was too late. We've been in hiding ever since."

The old man sighed. "You can't imagine my gratitude-"

He stopped when he heard a snore coming from the boy.

His stomach was inflated to the point that his hands could barely touch the other around it. His straw hat shaded his eyes but a small bubble appeared from underneath it.

The mayor smiled just as the doctors announced they were done. The mayor sent some more people to gather food for when the swordsman would wake up. After placing the food by the small cot, they all went out to leave Luffy and Zoro to rest.

x.

Nami adjusted the sails, nervously analyzing the position of the clouds and feeling the wind course through her hair. She sighed when she realized that, unless a miraculous draft came from the East, it would take a few more days to get to Cocoyashi. Right now, she was moving against both the wind and the sea.

She palmed the paddle in her hand, arms sore from paddling for what seemed like hours. A glance around her told her she was alone, drifting in the vast sea, but that still didn't stop her from being paranoid.

When she's gone for too long, Arlong sends his fishmen.

She's relieved then, when about a mile away, she sees a strip of land show up. A rest stop.

"Land Ho," she said quietly to herself.

She'll rest, but for a little while. It'd be better than sailing out in the open on this little boat. She needed it for the journey ahead,

It was honestly a wonder she didn't encounter any of the rare sea monsters. But the Grand Line would be worse in terms of that. She patted her stomach again, ensuring for the umpteenth time that it was there. One trip on the Grand Line amounted to several trips on the East Blue sea in terms of treasure, though.

The cuts on her back stung a little as she rowed, battling the current. When she got near land, She went around the island to land on a small beach with shallow water. She tied the boat to one of the big boulders and splashed her way to the sand.

A craggy cliff towered above her, and Nami began to search for another way up to the grassy top.

A voice stopped her search.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

She waited, holding her breath, unreasonably convincing herself she wasn't the one being called on. There was a silence and the voice spoke again.

"What business do you have on this island?"

Nami looked around, trying to find where the voice came from.

"Up here!" the voice hollered, sounding a little off-put. She squinted up, shading her eyes from the sun, to see at a guy standing at the top of the cliff.

"Who are you?" she asked.

He wore brown overalls and a white sash, a satchel slung over his shoulder. The first thing she remarked about him, however, was his nose, which was quite long, extending from his face and pointing up as the guy crossed his arms and raised his chin haughtily.

A black pirate flag with a jolly roger resembling someone screaming waved behind him.

So he 's a pirate, Nami thought. Immediately, she resented him, but she drowned her hate with positive thoughts of nabbing more treasure.

The young man began to laugh, goggles glinting in the sunlight.

"I am Captain Usopp, leader of the pirate crew that conquered this island. State your business, or face the wrath of my 80 million men!"

She sweatdropped at the obvious lie. Nevermind.

X.

Luffy woke to the sound of panicked shouting and a familiar squeaky laugh. He yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

He looked to the side to find his First Mate awake, good-as-new and stuffing his mouth with fish and booze. His pants also seemed to have been washed, the blood stains gone. A white cloth was wrapped tightly on his right thigh.

Luffy blinked. The noise outside escalated.

Zoro finally looked up to meet his captain's eyes. "Your turn," he said simply, before gorging more on the food.

Luffy laughed before getting up and ambling towards the exit. For a second he couldn't see. The sun was in his eyes until he moved to the right.

Then he was met with the sight of the united band of Buggy Pirates, up on a rooftop,

colorful cannon beside them. The smirked arrogantly down at the people, who were scrambling to get their families out of their hiding places. The mouth of the cannon pointed down at them.

"Gyahahaha! Mugiwara! So you're still here, too, huh? Even better," Buggy exclaimed with glee when he saw the familiar straw hat.

"Buggy? What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing you flashy fool? I'm going to destroy all of you!"

"Why?" Luffy asked simply. "Didn't you already take everything from them?"

"W-why?" Buggy repeated, stumped for a second. "B-because I'm a pirate!"

At his words, Luffy was suddenly reminded of the orange-haired girl's words: They take away everything someone has, with no thought to how it affects them.

Luffy clenched his fists, glaring up at Buggy. "I'm gonna blast your ass outta here."

Buggy didn't even falter. "Don't give such a scary look, Mugiwara. Aren't you a pirate yourself? I know that bastard Shanks probably said something different but this is life. It's good you got to learn early."

He signaled Mohji to light the fuse. "Unfortunately, you won't be able to enjoy that life. I'd like to flashily introduce you to my own special weapon, Mugiwara… behold! The Boggy Cannon!"

At his announcement, the cannon exploded with a flurry of sparks. It headed towards Luffy and the mayor, who had been watching the whole scene, gasped.

"Watch out, boy!"

"Gomu gomu no… fusen!"

Boodle gaped in shock as Luffy inflated his whole body even bigger than when he had finished eating. The people's mouths fell open, as well as Buggy's crew, when the cannon ball ricocheted harmlessly off of his rubber stomach.

Shock turned to fear and regret for Buggy and his crew when they saw the cannonball head right back toward them.

"Flashy hell."

The impact crumbled the roof under their feet and left them black with soot. Buggy groaned while trying to stand. He coughed a bit of smoke. His crew was also picking themselves up, still amazingly conscious.

Buggy then smartly realized that the boy would make good on his word and tried to run away. He hopped over the rocks but wasn't fast enough.

Luffy exhaled air, deflating. He wasted no time in preparing his next move.

"Oi, Buggy!" Luffy shouted.

"M-matte, Mugiwara!"

"Gomu gomu no… Bazooooookkkaaa!"

Luffy's arm stretched the distance, palms wide open, to propel Buggy along with his three companions so high and far up that they disappeared as a little star in the sky.

"Shishishi, bye Big Nose!"

After snapping his arms back, Luffy turned to the townspeople with a wide grin. Instead of joyful faces, however, he found ones that were fearful and anxious. Some even looked angry.

"Huh?" Luffy wondered, puzzled at the shift in moods.

"Luffy."

He glanced up at on of the broken doorways to find Zoro walking with his back towards him, hands light on his swords.

"I think we have to go," Zoro said cautiously.

The mayor, beside them, looked puzzled at the people's behavior.

"What's going on?" Boodle demanded. "This is no way to treat people that saved us from pirates."

"Weren't you listening, mayor?" one of them spoke up. "They are pirates. That pirate with the big nose said so."

The mayor was speechless for a moment. "W-well, yes, but…"

They were right, of course, but these pirates…

"Get away from them, mayor Boodle," a woman said.

"B-but-"

"Let's go, Zoro," Luffy finally said.

Zoro nodded.

"W-wait!" the mayor quickly shouted. "There's been a misunderstanding…"

Luffy stopped, turning to face the mayor with a grin. "There is no misunderstanding."

He looked at the crowd and gave them a large grin, touching the top of his hat, his treasure.

"We're pirates," he said firmly, clearly. Zoro ran ahead, hearing the words of his captain and smirking. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be the next Pirate King!"

With that, Luffy ran off, leaving the crowd as well as the mayor stunned. After a minute, the people started to run after the two, pickets and swords out with orders to capture them, leaving the mayor laughing at the strange boy with the straw hat.

"Thank you both," he muttered quietly. Never had he seen his people so fiercely protective and united. It made him have hope - this town could be built back up even stronger than before.

Luffy laughed, catching up to Zoro.

All of a sudden, the swordsman turned left. Luffy skidded to a stop.

"Oi, Zoro! You're going the wrong way!"

Needless to say, it took them a while to get back to their boat, but when they sailed off, Luffy waved back at the angry people on shore.

"They're good people," Luffy stated.

Zoro shot him a strange look, lying back at the edge of their boat in preparation for a nap. "Whatever you say, Cap," he yawned.

"Shishishi."

X.

End of Chapter 3

X.