8. Legacies Meet

Story Start: Sky Above Gecko Island

The Chinook had a 'normal' cruising ceiling of 20,000 feet, though its extreme maximum was 22,000. We were nowhere near that high at the moment though, circling at a much more reasonable 5,000 feet. We were still high enough that no one could hear our propellers or see our profile if they looked up. Well, Usopp might be able to see us, but the chances of that single person looking UP at the right time to see us as we circled the island were fairly low. Besides, I wasn't worried about HIM at the moment.

Using the zoom function on my mask, I spotted my target and I grinned as I said "Captain, I've found the Bezan Black."

Luffy came over and after i pointed out where I had spotted the ship she raised a set of high powered binoculars to her eyes. After a moment, she lowered them and said both to me and to the pilots through the radio "Alright, we'll see if there's a good spot to land on the other side of the island than make our way to Syrup Village on foot. If there isn't, we'll just use the ID trick to have a good landing spot on the water and come in by boat."

"Roger that." John said, the Chinook continuing its circuit around the island. Ten minutes later, the helicopter had finished it's curving descent that had taken it out to sea for a bit before coming in to stop on a section of cliff that was just wide enough for it to set down on, the Chinook spinning around a hundred and eighty degrees to put the rear towards the rest of the island before finally landing. Gibbs' team was the first down the ramp, pistols out but held low. Luffy literally bounced down the ramp after them, a megawatt grin on her face as she looked around while Kushina and I (with Tyrus wrapped across my shoulders )followed with Nami and Zorro bringing up the rear, the former not looking up from the sketching paper she was drawing on. She had immediately started mapping the island as soon as we had started our circuit overhead and to her credit she was almost finished with the detailed map.

A few moments later, the propellers stopped spinning and Sam and John joined us allowing me to store the Chinook. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, Luffy asked "So we're getting a new crew member here right? That's what you said on the way here after all!"

Grinning at the eager teen who looked just about ready to burst, I said "That's right, along with a proper ship."

"Yay, new ship!" Luffy said, throwing her hands up and her grin growing impossibly wider.

Zorro though frowned and asked "Why do we need a ship if we've already got that flying device?"

"Because while it's fast, the Chinook takes up fuel which costs money while a ship moves with the wind which is free." Nami said curtly, putting the last touch on her map before putting it and her drawing tools into her book bag.

"Exactly. Plus, I REALLY don't want the Marines or World Government getting their hands on flight technology. A person could be optimistic that they would share the technology with the rest of the world but I would call that person naive. After all, the World Government manages to keep its power thanks to how the world is set up geographically. If people can avoid traveling by sea and instead just hop on a plane to wherever they want, including bypassing the calm belts then they lose the ability of keeping problems in one area." I said, mentally thanking Tekking101 and his videos for bringing this exact 'way of life' to my attention. We were going to have to be VERY careful about keeping the Marines and the World Government ignorant about the Chinook. Who knew what lengths they'd go to acquire it if they learned about it, or even simply destroy it? Though I'd put the odds of the Latter much higher than the Former if only for how damn USEFUL mechanical flight could be.

"Blah, blah, blah. Less talking about government control, more getting our new crewmate and ship!" Luffy said, sticking her tongue out at first before her megawatt grin reappeared.

"Fair enough." I said with a smile, linking arms with her as we began walking inland and I continued "Just remember Luffy, no punching out the mean butler's lights out when you first see him. We want to get the dirt on him first THEN hit him with the shovel."

"Yeah, yeah I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it though." Luffy said, pouting up at me.

Kushina hooked her arm around Luffy's free one and grinned at her as she said "But just think of how funny his face will be when we play a recording of his meeting with Jango back for the Lady Kaya while he's trussed up like a turkey!"

Luffy giggled at the mental image then pouted again as her stomach gave a grumble and said "Kushinaaaa, you know not to mention food around me, it makes me hungry!"

Kushina laughed and held up her free hand at Luffy's pout and said "Sorry, sorry, I forgot!"

"Well don't forget again!" Luffy said, pout turning more childish after her words.

Behind us I heard Nami sigh and say to Zorro "Hard to think that SHE'S the one in charge and not Matt."

I glanced back in time to see Zorro shrug and say "Hey, so long as I get to have good fights I don't care who's the captain."

Nami put a hand to her forehead and sighed and I let out a small chuckle as I turned back around.

We had been walking for twenty minutes through the woods when our Observation Haki picked up on someone nearby. So when a teen suddenly appeared hanging from a tree branch by his knees, sling shot out, he rapidly paled at the sight of multiple pistols, two P-90s, a Wraith Stunner, a hissing snake literally rearing to go, and finally both Nami and Zoro with their melee weapons pointed towards him.

"Uh..." The formerly cocky looking teen said, now looking far less sure, sweat beginning to pour off his face.

"Stand down guys." Luffy said, stepping forward and actually putting a hand out to lower Gibbs' gun. She easily ignored the glare he gave her for that, instead grinning up at the teen and asked "You wouldn't happen to be Usopp, Yasopp's son would you?"

The teen blinked rapidly in surprise and asked "You know my dad?"

Luffy nodded with a grin and said "He's part of Shanks' crew. They used Foosha Village as a base for a year and he would take any chance he could to talk our ears off about the son that he was so proud of."

Usopp's eyes widened as he said to himself "Dad's part of a Yonko's crew."

The teen looked like his next twenty birthdays had all come at once. Quickly moving from his branch down to the ground, he asked "So what are you guys here for?"

Luffy grinned and said "We're here to acquire a proper ship and put the beat down on a butler."

Usopp frowned and asked "Why do you want to beat up a butler?"

"Because he's a coward who gave up on being a pirate but is still planning on causing trouble for others." Luffy said with a scowl and crossed arms.

At Usopp's continued confusion, I said "Alright, this could take a while to explain fully so let's get comfortable. ID Create: Ten Forward, Time Dilation 10X."

As the ID snapped into being around us Usopp looked around in confusion and asked "Wh-What just happened?!"

Nami walked over and patted his shoulder as she said "I know the feeling." She then made her way to the bar where Guinan was and said "Could I have one of those Negronis again Guinan?"

"Right away dear." Guinan said with a smile before she looked at the rest of us and asked "What about you guys?"

The rest of us gave our own orders and soon enough we were all settled at our tables, Usopp sitting at a table with me and Luffy on the other side as she pointed at me and said "Alright, so basically, Matt here is from another world where this one is the setting for a very popular story where the Straw Hat Pirates take on the world, led by a male version of me. He's been given the ability to create IDs, which can be whatever he wants like this area we are now in, generating enemies that we can train against which also drop loot. He also has access to a MASSIVE store where we can buy anything we want so long as we have the money. In the story, you became a member of that Luffy's crew after you fought with him and the rest of his crew against a pirate crew lead by one Captain Kuro who is currently masquerading as one of Kaya's butlers. Are you with me so far?"

Usopp's eyes crossed and he said "I...think so?"

I chuckled and said "Yeah, it's a little hard to grasp sometimes even for me." Taking a sip of my A&W Root Beer, (What? they make DAMN good root beer, so sue me) I leaned in and said "Let me give you the long version of what's going on."

One detailed explanation including the appropriate video clips later, Usopp had his arms crossed and was looking down with a pensive look in his eyes as he said "This is a lot to take in."

"Ain't that the truth." Nami said from the next table over, saluting Usopp with her glass before taking a sip.

Zorro gave a shrug as he drained his fourth sake bottle and said "Just look at it as an opportunity to help keep your friend safe then join us on one hell of an adventure."

Usopp shuddered a bit and said "A very DANGEROUS adventure." He then brightened up as he continued "But meeting and learning from GIANTS, going where few if any have gone before! Becoming a brave warrior of the sea that even the Marines and World Government acknowledge!" He turned hopeful eyes on Luffy and asked "You're really willing to let me come with you guys?"

"Shishishi, of course! I wouldn't dream otherwise. Besides, I'm pretty sure that Yasopp would tan my hide when I meet Shanks again and you're not with me if he knew I had visited your island." Luffy said, holding her hand out to Usopp.

Usopp's grin was almost as large as his new captain's as he reached over and shook her hand. And if there were tears in his eyes as he did so well, none of us were going to say anything about it.

Releasing Luffy's hand, Usopp's expression turned serious as he asked "So how are we going to deal with that lying bastard?"

Luffy and I looked at each other for a moment before we turned back with matching grins. Grins which Usopp mirrored when we told him how we were going to be dealing with the treacherous butler. Still on my shoulders Tyrus let out an amused hiss of laughter.

Time Skip: An Hour Later

All of the Einherjar bar Kushina were back in card form as we made our way up the hill to Kaya's residence. Usopp showed us the removable cube of shrubbery that allowed him to bypass the mansion gates, something I made a note of to tell Kaya to booby trap before we left the island. Just because it made for a good escape route didn't mean it should be left undefended from any Tom Dick and Harry that could use it to rob the place.

We quickly made our way to the tree next to Kaya's window and Usopp quickly scrambled up to the branch that was right next to it. Pulling out a small pebble tied to a length of string, he lightly tossed it against the window, pulling it back to him and putting it back in his messenger bag even as the window opened and Kaya smiled at him as she said "Usopp! It's so good to see you again!"

"Hey there Kaya." Usopp said with a matching smile before he gestured down at us and said "Before I tell you today's story, I was hoping that you could help my new friends here."

"Hm?" Kaya hummed in confusion, looking down at us with a cocked head and continued "Me? What can I do to help you?"

Luffy easily hopped up to the same branch Usopp was on, balancing on the tip to offer her hand as she said "Hi, my name's Luffy! We were told you were the best person to come to if we wanted to buy a ship around here!"

Looking slightly surprised at Luffy's jumping ability, (Girl hadn't even needed to grab the branch then pull herself up, just jump off ground land on branch) Kaya gave her a smile and shook her hand as she said "Nice to meet you Luffy, and yes, thanks to my parents' trading company I can help you acquire a ship, so long as it isn't too big of one. What kind of vessel were you looking for?"

"Well, everyone on my crew is here and I plan on going with quality over quantity from here on out, maybe about ten or so not counting me total so maybe...seventy feet or less?" Luffy asked, sounding unsure and glancing down at Nami with a tilted head.

Our Navigator pursed her lips, looking up in seeming thought before she nodded and said "Yes, I believe we could handle something around that size with our numbers fairly well."

'Especially if we bring out a few of the Einherjar to help during bad storms.' I thought to myself but outwardly remained silent.

Kaya nodded and said "Sounds like you people need a Caravel, that's fairly easy for me to acquire, and they are also rather affordable as well."

"Oh trust me, money won't be an issue." I said with a grin. When Kaya turned towards me, I gave her a wave which Tyrus idly imitated with the tip of his tail and said "Name's Matthew ma'am, I'm the First Mate slash Quartermaster of this crew. Thanks to a few encounters with some not so friendly people we have quite the nest egg gathered."

Kaya gained a slight frown and said "I see." Shaking her head, she returned to smiling and said "Well then, if you'll give me a few moments, I'll go find the ship catalogue."

Before she could pull away from the window though we heard a stern voice say "Here now, what's all this then?"

Turning, we all saw Kuro, or as the residents of Syrup Village knew him, Khaladore coming over. Soon as he was within ten feet, the tip of Tyrus' cloaked wing flicked at my nose. The pepper coating the feather went up into my nose and I drew back my nose before letting out a massive (and only half exaggerated) sneeze.

"AHHCCHOOOO!"

Everyone jerked in surprise while I sniffled, rubbing at my nose as I said "Sorry, allergies. Still, it's strange, normally it's only cats that make me sneeze that hard."

There was the barest twitch of Khaladore's right hand at that, which he covered up by lifting it up to his face and using its palm to adjust his glasses as he said "Be that as it may, I must insist that you leave the premises at once."

"I'm afraid we cannot do that." Luffy said, standing up from the crouch she had been in to be on proper level where Kaya was standing in the window. Now standing properly, one hand went up to her hat (noticeably to my eyes the same side that the top of her pipe poked over) and she continued "We are currently in the middle of a business transaction that you interrupted."

Khaladore's eyes narrowed and he asked "Is that so? And why might I ask couldn't you have this 'business transaction' inside like civilized people? And for that matter, why have the guards not informed me of your arrival?"

"I was not aware that you were the Master of the house, or the Lead Butler." I said, lifting my own hand up to scratch my scalp under my cap.

Khaladore's right eyebrow twitched just the slightest bit as he admitted "I am neither, but as Lady Kaya's caretaker, I still should have been informed." His eyes then narrowed just a little further as he continued "And I must say, the lot of you seem rather well armed for a simple 'business transaction'."

"It's a dangerous world out there." Luffy said with a shrug.

"Indeed. In fact, just recently we had to deal with a pirate crew that took over Orange Town." Kushina said, idly spinning a kunai around her finger.

Luffy actually pouted as she said "I still say that Buggy character's Devil Fruit was complete bull shit." She then flinched a little and glanced at Kaya as she said "Apologies for my language."

"Oh, it's quite alright." Kaya easily waved off.

"I see, so you're mercenaries." Khaladore said, once more palming his glasses in a way that made them glint with reflected sunlight and hiding his eyes.

"Now what gives you that idea?" Luffy asked with a smile. Easily hopping down from the tree branch, her knees not even bending the slightest on her landing, she finally dropped her hand from her hat and walked forward to stand beside me as she continued "We're simply a group looking to obtain a proper sailing vessel so that we can continue roaming these waters without having to worry about space for our supplies. After all, you never know when you might come across a lucky find and need more space than usual."

Khaladore's jaw twitched as he said "Indeed." He then turned his gaze back upwards and locked gazes on Usopp as he said "Ah, you must be Usopp, you have quite the reputation around town."

"Yeah?" Usopp asked, hand drifting down to his messenger bag. I was a little afraid he was going to grab his slingshot but thankfully all he did was pull out a small grapple that he easily hooked on the branch as he dropped down, a mechanism inside the bag keeping his descent at about half the speed his fall would have been otherwise. (And how that worked when the messenger bag was merely hanging from his shoulder by a strap and not attached to his waist I have no idea other than 'anime physics')

Easily landing with the barest bends of his knees, he idly gave the rope an upwards tug that freed the grapple, his mechanism quickly reeling it down through his lightly closed hand before he put the grapple back in and said "It's nice to know that I have fans."

Khaladore once more adjusted his glasses as he said "Oh, I wouldn't use the word 'fans'. After all, it's rather hard to be appreciative of someone of your heritage."

Usopp's eyes narrowed dangerously as he asked "What's that supposed to mean?" He wasn't the only one to react that way, Luffy's own eyes narrowed the slightest bit, the petite Captain's straw hat tilted juuust so to put them in shadow.

"Oh come now, everyone here knows that your father is just a filthy pirate, a treasure crazed barbarian that abandoned his own wife and child to loot and pillage since he's too pathetic to keep a proper job. Not that I'm surprised. After all, as much as people try, they can't deny who they really are. Really, it's probably for the best that he left these shores, otherwise who knows how much trouble he would have caused here?" Khaladore said.

Kaya gasped at that but before she could reprimand her butler, Luffy said "You seem pretty knowledgeable about pirates, did you maybe serve on a crew in your misspent youth?" Luffy's eyes were still shadowed but all of us with Observation Haki could feel the low simmering anger under her calm demeanor as Khaladore insulted a member of Shanks' crew.

Khaladore twitched again before he scowled at Luffy and said "Young girl, I am a civilized being, not a violent ruffian."

"What you are is an ignorant buffoon who can't get his facts straight." Luffy countered. Tilting her head to the side in a way that brought her left eye out of the shadows of her hat, she continued "After all, if you did your research properly, then you would know that Usopp's father is a member of Red Haired Shanks' Crew. And yes, I mean that Shanks, the Yonko, and the man who protects over a dozen islands in the Grand Line. Hardly the unwashed brute you make him out as."

Khaladore's eyes widened behind his glasses at this information before they narrowed again as he said "It doesn't matter what crew his father is a part of. He and Lady Kaya are of different worlds and he doesn't belong here."

"I believe that as a butler that is not your decision to make." I said, idly tapping one of the hilts of my Kukri knives even as my other hand scratched under my chin.

"Yeah, it's Lady Kaya's house so she gets to say who can be here or not right?" Luffy asked.

We could see a vein in the side of Khaladore's neck twitch as he said "This property does indeed belong to Lady Kaya. However, as a member of the staff, it is my duty to keep her from being bothered by the riff raff who clearly only want to get close to her for her money."

Usopp bristled at that but managed with impressive anger management to restrain himself to only clenching his fists tight enough to turn them white. The owner of the house however was quite vocal in her dismay.

"Khaladore, you go too far!" Kaya said with wide eyes, gripping the window seal, she continued "Usopp is my friend, all he wants is to see me happy, not my money!"

Khaladore gave a short bow and said "My apologies Lady Kaya, but I find that highly unlikely. Most likely, he's just trying to get close to you for selfish reasons."

"You know," I said, idly pulling out my right Kukri knife to clean my fingertips as I continued "in the stories, it's usually the butler that pulls that kind of thing, entering the service of a wealthy individual so that way they can get close to them, find out where they keep all their cash and jewels, then rob them blind." Switching hands, I kept my head bent while looking up at Khaladore and said "Really, if we look at the statistics then you're the one I would be suspicious of."

Khaladore flushed red in anger as he asked "How dare you?! I have faithfully served Lady Kaya's family for three years after they generously took me in when I had nowhere to go."

"Three years huh? And what were you doing before that? You're not exactly a teenager after all." I said, flicking the dirt off of the tip of my Kukri and re-sheathing it.

"That is none of your business." Khaladore said with a stern frown, once more adjusting his glasses with the palm of his hand.

"And yet you seem to have no problem nosing into other people's business. Not exactly the 'be seen but not heard' attitude a Butler should have, now is it?" Nami asked sweetly with a smile. Butter wouldn't melt in that lady's mouth at the moment.

Khaladore's frown grew but before he could say anything else, Kaya apparently decided that she had heard enough of this argument as she said "Khaladore, that is enough, please return to your duties."

Looking up at her, I thought for a moment that he would argue with her but he instead gave a slight dip of his head as he said "As you wish Lady Kaya." Giving us a gimlet eye, he said "Please vacate the premises as soon as your 'business' is concluded." With that, he turned on his heel and quickly walked away. Behind him, all of us Straw Hats bar Kushina relaxed the tension from our bodies, the kunoichi among us having been the only one to not have been tensed in any way since Khaladore had shown up.

Kaya gave a small sigh and said "I am sorry about him. He means well but I'm afraid he takes his duties rather seriously."

As we all turned towards her window, Luffy waved her hand in dismissal and said "Don't worry about it. Some people are just jerks like that."

I gave a wince and said "While I wouldn't have put it quite so bluntly, our Captain's right, some people are simply more uptight than others."

Kaya gave me a small smile before she shook her head and said "Well, if you'll excuse me, I shall go find that ship catalogue. If you will please make your way to the front of the building, I will join you at the front doors shortly."

"Sure thing!" Luffy said giving her a beaming smile before walking towards the front, with the rest of us following. Kaya traded a few words with Usopp before the sniper quickly caught up with us. Soon as we heard the window close, he glanced at me and Luffy and said "Did you see the way that Bastard was twitching? I half expected him to throw a punch then and there."

"Punching is not that man's style when it comes to fighting." I said before I smirked and said "But yes, it seems we were quite successful in riling him up."

Luffy Shishishi'd quietly under her breath as we turned the corner of the building then sat down on the benches that were conveniently placed by the double doors of the mansion. While we outwardly appeared relaxed as we waited for Kaya to join us, inwardly, I was worrying that our little skit had worked a little TOO well and we wouldn't wind up with the Going Merry after all. Not that that would be the end of the world if we did get another ship. After all, Luffy and the rest of the crew would love any ship we got, and say what you want about Merry the butler, a ship designer he was not. Seriously, who made it so that you had to be inside to steer a ship rather than having the wheel outside where you could properly see all around you, especially when it's a ship that can be sailed by one person as Canon Nami had shown when she took Merry from the Baratie? If we did wind up getting the Merry then I was DEFINITELY going to go the Grant Imahara route and RC the steering column.

I was drawn out of those thoughts when one of the mansion's doors opened and Kaya stepped out with a book in her hands as she said "I have the catalogue, shall we go over your options?"

Time Skip: Two Hours Later

Luffy, Nami, and I had looked over each of the ships in the catalogue that were eighty feet or below. Zorro didn't care what we got so long as it didn't leak and Kushina professed a complete lack of any aptitude when it came to knowing the pros and cons of sailing vessels. To be honest, when it came to sailing vessels my knowledge was primarily small boat sailing related but as I was the First Mate my input was still required.

Still, even after half an hour of looking over the book, Luffy had yet to come to a decision, citing that none of them really jumped out as OUR ship. Kaya was rather understanding, suggesting that we take a day or two to think it over. She was even kind enough to grab a visual den den mushi and take pictures of the pages containing Nami's Top 5 picks, the navigator being the one who had the more definitive idea of what we should look for in a ship.

Right now though our future ship was taking a place in the back of my head as I was lying down next to Usopp and Luffy with us hidden under Tyrus' cloak as we watched Khaladore and Jango walking towards each other on the beach below us. I had left Kirito flying over the mansion under a cloaking spell to trail the bad butler so that way if the meeting happened somewhere other than where it did in the show we could still know what was said. Thankfully though it was in the right place and as the pair reached each other I pointed a Parabolic Microphone at them. Said listening device was connected not only to headsets over our ears but also to a tape recorder.

"Jango, have you prepared everything necessary to carry out the plan?" Khaladore asked, adjusting his glasses with his palm.

"Of course I have. Operation 'Murder Miss Kaya' is ready to go any time." Jango said with a smirk. On Luffy's other side, Usopp's fists went white as he let out a soundless snarl of anger at the confirmation of what we had told him. Luffy was gritting her teeth as well while Tyrus and I merely frowned heavily.

"Jango, Jango. Don't say 'murder'. It sounds so sinister." Khaladore said as he turned to look out at the ocean.

"Oh, yeah. 'Accident'. It's going to be an 'Accident', right...Captain Kuro?" Jango asked.

Kuro spun around with a scowl and palmed his glasses again as he said "Quite fool! I discarded that name three years ago. Don't ever call me that. YOU'RE the captain now."

"Sorry, old habits and all that." Jango said, slightly nervous before he continued "To tell you the truth...I wasn't too sure about this plan."

"Oh no?" Kuro asked curiously.

"It was crazy. All of a sudden, you quit pirating. You taught us all to work without you...and we helped spread the rumor that you'd been executed." Jango said, making thumbs down with both hands as he continued "You came to this village...Now we're back, three years later, just like you ordered. You've never steered us wrong before so I've obeyed your orders. But my share of the spoils had better be worth it." As he finished Jango sat down on a boulder, crossing his right leg over his left and put his right hand down on his hat, tilting it down over his eyes.

Kuro looked at him coolly as he said "Yes...If my plan succeeds, you'll get what you deserve."

Jango smirked at him and said "If it's murder, then I'm your man!"

Kuro gave him a stern look and said "Remember, you can't just slit Miss Kaya's throat, or anything that crude. Her death must appear to have been an unfortunate Accident. Don't forget it. It appears you still don't fully grasp my plan."

"Don't be silly. I understand perfectly." Jango said, tipping his hat back up with a pointer finger as he continued "We wait for your signal, then we attack the village. We kill-uh, ACCIDENT the girl to death...and you inherit her fortune."

Kuro once again palmed his glasses with a frown as he said "Fool! Use your brain! How am I going to inherit her fortune?"

"You just have to serve her..." Jango said, a tone of uncertainty in his voice.

"Listen, idiot. This is the crucial part of the plan." Kuro said, walking over to Kuro and pointing at him as he said "Before you kill her, you hypnotize her! And you make her write a will that says she leaves her entire fortune to her faithful butler, Khaladore!" Putting a hand to his chest with a dark smile, Kuro continued "THAT'S how I will inherit her vast fortune! Very naturally. I've spent the last three years earning the trust of everyone around her. No one would question it if she left everything to me. I've earned it."

"So that's why you worked as a butler for three years." Jango said, looking down in thought as Kuro began pacing. Cocking his head a little, he asked "Wouldn't it have been easier to just bust in and take it all at gunpoint?"

Kuro scoffed and said "That's the crude thinking of a pirate. You get the money, but you have to live like a fugitive." Tapping his forehead with his left pointer finger he asked "What good are riches if you've always got the navy chasing you? I've gone legitimate. I'm a pacifist now."

Jango let out a loud laugh as he said "HAR HAR HAR! I guess there's all kinds of pacifists! And after you went and slaughtered the girl's whole family!"

Kuro frowned and said "I never slaughtered anyone! Kaya's parents' deaths...well, that wasn't part of my plan."

"Sure, whatever you say." Jango said, clearly not buying that as he continued "Just hurry up and give us the signal. We've been anchored offshore for a week now. Those cutthroats are ready to cut EACH OTHER'S throats by now."

"Well, tell them that they only have to wait one more night. When dawn comes, burn the village to the ground." Kuro said.

"Gotcha." Jango said, making finger guns at Kuro before he left.

"That absolute sonnovabitch!" Usopp said angrily.

"Yes, yes he is." I said, moving up into a crouch and pulling out my Wraith Stunner. As soon as Jango was out of sight, I lined up on Kuro and stunned him, the fake butler dropping to the ground, his glasses bouncing off of his face and landing with the soft cracking sound of glass.

Reaching down to stop the recorder from recording anything else, I put it in the back most pocket of my book bag, putting the rest of the equipment in the subspace pocket as I said "Alright, let's go secure the coward and drag him back to the mansion."

"Right, we've got a phone call to make after all." Luffy said, her and Usopp standing up while she put a finger to her right ear where there was a communications ear bud and said "Zorro, Nami, we've got the bastard, meet us back at the mansion."

"Roger that Captain." we all heard Zorro respond.

I brought Kushina out of card form and she helped me rappel down the cliff side with her chains, an action Usopp mimicked with his grapple line while Luffy simply hopped off the cliff and landed with crouched knees besides Kuro, quickly pulling out two sets of handcuffs and handcuffing his wrists and ankles before she patted him down for any and all weapons, though she only came up with a simple folding knife.

"I don't suppose I could give him a good kick in the nuts?" Usopp asked with anger raging in his eyes as he reached the ground.

"Save it for when he's awake to actually feel it." Kushina said and I nodded my agreement as I grabbed Kuro's glasses, a series of cracks in the right lens while Luffy easily hoisted Kuro on her left shoulder.

We stayed under Tyrus' cloak as we made our way through the village, only dropping it as we walked up the hill that the manor was on. Zorro and Nami were waiting at the gates with the guards who were understandably upset at the sight of Luffy carrying their coworker. Before they could actually say anything though she pinned them with a LOOK and said "This man was planning to kill your boss and we have proof. Let us in."

Any concern they might have had for their unconscious coworker vanished and one of the guards opened the gate before leading us into a sitting room where he left us to gather Kaya and Merry. He came back with the pair of them along with a Den Den Mushi that Luffy had requested he grab before he had left the room.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Kaya asked as she came in and saw Kuro laying on the floor unconscious, Zorro standing over him with Wado Ichimonji drawn but held loosely.

"We overheard a rather interesting conversation that we think you should hear." I said with a frown.

"Not just you either." Luffy said, accepting the Den Den Mushi from the guard with a quick word of thanks. Setting the snail on the table, she took off her hat and pulled an aged slip of folded paper from behind the band of the hat. Unfolding it, she quickly typed in a number on the snail and after a couple of 'Puru Puru's, there was a Ka-lick sound of a connection and the snail adopted a calm but serious expression as the person on the other end said "Marine Legacy Office, East Blue Branch; This call is currently being recorded; Please state your name."

"Monkey D. Luffy." Luffy said calmly, one eye remaining on Kuro.

"Alright, one moment please." The voice said and we heard the sound of a filing cabinet open up and the voice saying quietly "Monkey, Monkey, Monkey...here we go!" A moment later, his voice said at normal volume "Please give Legacy ID Number and Password."

"5507-2219-97." Luffy said, reading the numbers clearly before she rolled her eyes as she finished "And Password is Little Hellion." Under her breath, she muttered "Damn it Grandpa."

I let out a surprised snicker at that, something the others in the room mimicked, even Kaya and the guard. The only one not to laugh was Merry who simply raised an eyebrow at her words.

The Marine on the other end of the line remained professional as he said "ID and Password confirmed. What can the Marines help you with Ma'am?"

Luffy returned to full seriousness as she put the paper back in her hat and said "I've discovered a pirate by the name of Captain Kuro who managed to avoid capture by the Marines and planned to attack Syrup Village on Gecko Island. He is currently in my crew's custody while the Black Cat Pirates are currently anchored offshore, waiting for morning before they attack."

The eyes of the manor residents widened at that and they looked at Kuro with betrayal while the Marine stated "I see. Ma'am, Captain Kuro was supposedly captured by a now Captain Morgan three years ago, do you have proof that the man you have in your custody is in fact Captain Kuro?"

Luffy nodded and said "Yes, we have an audio recording, shall I play it?"

"Yes." The Marine stated.

"Hang on, I think the bastard in question should be awake for this." I said, pulling an Epy pen loaded with an 'Ennerverate' potion from my book bag and placed it against Kuro's neck before pushing the button on it.

Kuro jerked awake and quickly looked around. Feeling his hands and ankles bound, he asked "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Oh don't play innocent Kuro." Luffy said, glaring down at him, Usopp also glowering at him with actual hate in his eyes.

Kuro twitched and said "My name young lady is Khaladore, I've never heard of this Kuro person, but you clearly are mistaken."

"I'm sure. Matt, if you would?" Luffy asked.

"Right." I said, trading the Epy pen for the tape recorder. Setting it on the table, I pushed play and we all heard Kuro and Jango start talking.

"Jango, have you prepared everything necessary to carry out the plan?"

"Of course I have. Operation 'Murder Miss Kaya' is ready to go any time."

"Jango, Jango. Don't say 'murder'. It sounds so sinister."

"Oh, yeah. 'Accident'. It's going to be an 'Accident', right...Captain Kuro?"

"Quite fool! I discarded that name three years ago. Don't ever call me that. YOU'RE the captain now."

"Sorry, old habits and all that. To tell you the truth...I wasn't too sure about this plan."

"Oh no?"

"It was crazy. All of a sudden, you quit pirating. You taught us all to work without you...and we helped spread the rumor that you'd been executed. You came to this village...Now we're back, three years later, just like you ordered. You've never steered us wrong before so I've obeyed your orders. But my share of the spoils had better be worth it."

"Yes...If my plan succeeds, you'll get what you deserve."

"If it's murder, then I'm your man!"

"Remember, you can't just slit Miss Kaya's throat, or anything that crude. Her death must appear to have been an unfortunate Accident. Don't forget it. It appears you still don't fully grasp my plan."

"Don't be silly. I understand perfectly. We wait for your signal, then we attack the village. We kill-uh, ACCIDENT the girl to death...and you inherit her fortune."

"Fool! Use your brain! How am I going to inherit her fortune?"

"You just have to serve her..."

"Listen, idiot. This is the crucial part of the plan. Before you kill her, you hypnotize her! And you make her write a will that says she leaves her entire fortune to her faithful butler, Klahadore! THAT'S how I will inherit her vast fortune! Very naturally. I've spent the last three years earning the trust of everyone around her. No one would question it if she left everything to me. I've earned it."

"So that's why you worked as a butler for three years. Wouldn't it have been easier to just bust in and take it all at gunpoint?"

"That's the crude thinking of a pirate. You get the money, but you have to live like a fugitive. What good are riches if you've always got the navy chasing you? I've gone legitimate. I'm a pacifist now."

"HAR HAR HAR! I guess there's all kinds of pacifists! And after you went and slaughtered the girl's whole family!"

"I never slaughtered anyone! Kaya's parents' deaths...well, that wasn't part of my plan."

"Sure, whatever you say. Just hurry up and give us the signal. We've been anchored offshore for a week now. Those cutthroats are ready to cut EACH OTHER'S throats by now."

"Well, tell them that they only have to wait one more night. When dawn comes, burn the village to the ground."

"Gotcha."

Stopping the recording, I put it back in my book bag as Luffy asked "I trust that's enough proof Marine?" Merry and the mansion guard were scowling angrily at Kuro while Kaya had a look of absolute betrayal on her face. Kuro meanwhile was absolutely furious and it was only the tip of Wado Ichimonji held under his chin that kept him from saying anything.

"Yes it is Ma'am. We'll dispatch a ship to pick up Captain Kuro and you'll receive his bounty." The Marine said before he continued with a tone of hesitance "However, it most likely won't be able to reach your location before tomorrow morning, will you be able to defend the village from the pirates?"

Luffy had a worrying grin on her face as she said "Oh, I plan on doing more than just 'defending' the village. Those pirates won't know what hit them when they come ashore in the morning."

The Marine actually let out a single chuckle as he said "Heh, I don't why I was expecting anything else given who your grandfather is. Just remember Ma'am, we prefer Pirates being captured alive, though don't put yourself in needless danger to do so."

"Understood, we'll have them all tied up in nice ribbons and bows when that ship gets here." Luffy said, still grinning.

"Right." The Marine said, voice also still amused before he turned serious again and asked "Is there anything else I can do for you Ma'am?"

"No, we're good on this end." Luffy said.

"Then have a good day, and good luck. Ka-lick!"

As Luffy put the mic back on the now closed eyed snail, I pulled my Wraith Stunner out and aimed it at Kuro as I asked "Got anything to say before you go back to your nap?"

Kuro looked at us all with fury in his eyes before they focused on Luffy and he asked "How did you know who I am? Your recording began at the very beginning of my conversation with Jango. That implies you were waiting for it to begin."

Luffy gave him a vicious smirk and said "Funny thing, earlier this week we were in Shell Town which has a Marine Base that USED to be run by one Captain Morgan. He had a bounty poster with your ugly mug on it framed in his office. (He actually did too, talk about conceited) Imagine my surprise when I see a guy JUST like that picture serving as a butler who apparently has such a strong opinion on pirates. Rather hypocritical of you, don't you think?"

Kuro scowled as he said "Tsk, foiled by sheer happenstance, how infuriating."

"Ain't it just?" I asked with a grin before I stunned him, causing him to collapse back to the floor.

"So now what Captain?" Zorro asked as he sheathed his sword.

Luffy stared down at Kuro for a brief moment before she visibly dismissed him from her mind with a snort as she said "As tempting as it is to go straight to the pirates and just start knocking heads on their ship, that would give them home field advantage. So instead, we're going to figure out where they're most likely going to come ashore tomorrow morning and ambush them. Nami, let's see the map."

"Right." Nami said, pulling out the map from her book bag and spreading it out on the table.

Luffy studied the map before she tapped at two locations on it and said "It looks like the only way through the cliffs surrounding this part of the island are these two points. The north entrance is closest to the village so it's probably a good bet that they will land there. We'll trap the south entrance to hell and back with something noisy that will catch our attention if we're wrong and use the north entrance as a choke point." Her glance at me at the word 'trap' told me without words that she wanted Einherjar posted there and I nodded in understanding.

Jerking my thumb at our prisoner, I asked "What about him?"

Luffy turned her gaze to him with a scowl and said "I don't suppose you've got something to keep him knocked out for a day or so?"

"Yeah, I've got something." I said, reaching into my book bag and pulling out a vial with a purple potion and continued "This ought to keep him knocked out for the next twenty four hours." Moving over to the prone pirate, I lifted him up to a sitting position, angled his head upwards then pinched his nose and poured the contents into his mouth. A quick massaging of the throat had him swallow it and I laid him back down as I said "There, only thing he'll be doing now for a while is sawing logs."

Luffy glanced at Kaya and asked "Got a cellar you could put him in for now?"

"Oh, uh yes, we do." Kaya said, startling a little at her inclusion before she gestured for Merry and the guard to carry Kuro away.

Once he was out of the room, Luffy clapped her hands together and said "Alright, let's go to the southern entrance and see what we have to work with."

"Right." The rest of us said, all of us making out way out of the room, Kaya watching us go with worry in her eyes.

As we left the property, Luffy gave me a quick high five and said "All according to plan."

"I'm not sure I liked putting on a show like that with Kaya but I guess it all worked out for the best." Usopp said, looking over his shoulder for a moment before looking forward again as we made our way down the hill and around the village.

"Well we couldn't exactly let her know that we've got someone who knows the future on the crew since she won't be coming with us when we leave." Nami pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess so." Usopp said.

"Look at it this way, now she won't be putting herself in the same kind of danger as the Kaya from the show." I said.

"True enough." Usopp said with a nod, a determined look appearing in his eyes as we continued on our way.

Time Skip: That Evening

We left the southern entrance under the watch of Gibbs and Shepherd's teams, the two groups taking a side of the entrance each. Anyone going up that entrance was going to run head long into a storm of hot lead from either side.

Reaching the north cliff entrance, Luffy took a look around for a moment before she nodded and turned towards me as she said "Well, the entrance is at least two times wider than the south ramp but I think that we can still work with this. Matt, I want all of your melee weapon using Einherjar in a line at the halfway point of the cliff, Tyrus, can you cloak them until the pirates begin their charge?"

Tyrus nodded from his position on my shoulders, his body tensing in a way that showed he was stretching out his still cloaked wings before folding them back as he said "Yeah, I can hide them, though it'll be easier if they're in card form so there's less surface area to cover."

At Luffy's questioning look to me, I nodded and said "I can give them the mental command to activate no matter the distance Captain."

Luffy took that in, gave the ramp a considering look, then turned back to us and said "Alright, new plan, line them up at the bottom of the ramp and once the pirates are past, activate them to prevent them from retreating back to their ship." Pointing to the top corners of the cliff where the ramp met the beach, she continued "Usopp, I want you on one of those corners, Matt, place Innes on the opposite. They'll be in charge of making sure no one attacks the line from behind."

"I can do that." Usopp said with a determined nod, though there was also relief that he wouldn't be down on the ramp, not that we could blame him. Usopp was a long range combatant, not a short range fighter even IF he had a hammer.

Luffy gave him a nod before she continued "Zorro, Matt, Kushina and I will be three quarters of the way up the ramp. We'll let them come to us, thinking their numbers will give them the advantage, once they're close enough, I'll use my Gatling to take them out. Zoro, Matt, you two pick up any I miss. Kushina, I want a chain wall blocking the rest of the ramp off just in case any of them manage to get around us, don't raise it until after I start throwing punches. Do you all understand?"

"Got it Captain." Zorro said with an eager grin while Kushina and I nodded as I said "Sounds good."

Luffy matched Zorro's grin, though hers was much more mischievous as she turned to Nami who perked up at the look she was being given even as Luffy said "Nami, while we're keeping everyone busy, I want you to sneak aboard and take advantage of your inexplicably large bag by taking anything remotely valuable from the Black Cats' ship. Money, jewels, navigational charts, even food. If it has worth, grab it."

"Aye aye Captain." Nami said, giving a proper salute even as her eyes glimmered in anticipation. She LIKED working with this group, the boys (And yes, Kushina definitely counted as one of their number, actual gender or not) kept all of the opposition busy making her job all the more easier. And the stealth Haki technique she now could use made it even easier! Oh, if only she could have used that technique years ago, she would have robbed every World Government bank in the East Blue in a year! Forget buying Cocoyashi Village from Arlong, she'd have bought all of the Coconami Islands from him!

"Well, now that we've got a plan in mind, with your permission Captain, I want to take Usopp into a time dilation ID to work out how we can upgrade his equipment before the upcoming fight, maybe get him started on Haki as well." I said, idly fingering a hilt of my Kukri. (It was becoming a tick of mine to touch one of my weapons every once in a while, I really was going native in an anime world)

Luffy nodded and said "Just be back at least two hours before dawn for setup."

I gave her a two fingered salute before I put my hand on an interested looking Usopp and declared "ID Create: Firing Range, Time Dilation, 2x. 5x, 10x."

The world around me and Usopp shifted into a five hundred yard long, one hundred foot wide room. Usopp looked around and blinked as he asked "Um, don't firing ranges normally have targets? There's nothing here." Indeed, the room was completely empty bar a five gallon plastic bucket against the middle of the closest width wall. Well, that and a heat lamp in one corner that Tyrus immediately went to sleep under.

"Holographic projections." I said and a row of stereotypical pirates briefly shimmered into existence before us, completely motionless even as I reached over and knocked on the closest one's head showing that it was solid.

Stars shined in Usopp's eyes as he said "That is so COOL!"

"Ain't it just?" I said with a smirk before I turned serious and the holograms faded out only to be replaced with even more pirates spread throughout the room starting at fifty feet from us and all the way down to the end of the room as I said "Alright, if we have to we can extend the range past fifteen hundred feet but I figured this was a good distance to start with. When you hit a target, where you hit will light up in green, and they'll also react to the hit like a normal person. At the moment, these targets are stationary but soon they'll be moving around, doing their best to evade, and then they'll be moving towards us so you need to be both accurate AND fast. You'll have five minutes each round. Understand?"

"Gotcha." Usopp said, pulling his slingshot out and loading it with narrowed eyes. A timer appeared overhead next to a stop light, with the red light already lit. The yellow light lit up with a beep followed by the green light which let out a whistle and Usopp immediately hit the closest pirate in the forehead with his projectile, the buccaneer's forehead turning green as he fell to the floor with a shout of pain. Usopp flinched at that but it didn't actually stop his drawing and firing on the next target.

Fifteen minutes later, Usopp lowered his sling shot with a slightly shaky breath and said "I know that those targets were all fake, but when that last one managed to get so close it was terrifying."

"Better get used to it. For all that we have a small army on call thanks to my Einherjar, we're not going to be dealing with nice drawn out battle lines in our fights. Since there will be times when we have to move through enemy territory at a flat out run you're going to have to be able to both take out enemies at both long AND short range, as well as do so on the move." I said.

Usopp hummed to himself as he walked over to the bucket where his ammo always appeared after the timer hit zero. Loading it back into his messenger bag, he said "So I guess that's going to be the next test?"

"Yep, obstacle course time. We'll start off with a simple one first, with all of the targets visible as you move forwards but each successive course will either get more difficult with their obstacles, target placement, or both. Also, the beginning courses will have bullseye targets, but the latter ones will have people targets again," I then grinned evilly and finished "And if you get to high enough levels they'll shoot back." (With the equivalent of high powered NERF guns, but he didn't need to know that now did he?)

Usopp swallowed nervously at that but as sets of steps, both connected only to themselves and with platforms of various lengths (and widths) rose from the floor along with poles holding his bullseye targets he stiffened his shoulders and took a running start position. The stop light went from its red light down to green, and he was off!

Two hours later, the pair of us were lounging in a pair of camp chairs I took from my book bag eating a lunch bought through the store. I had a meatball sub and a pickle while Usopp was happily eating grilled pike (Thankfully the package didn't have bones in it when it came). Usopp had been doing pretty well so far. As shown in the anime even this early he was fast, but with his speed came a slight drop in his accuracy, the sniper used to being able to take at least a moment or two in order to be sure of his aim. It was something he would have to work on during our time at the Baratie, along with familiarizing himself with the new weapons he would be getting. Speaking of...

Finishing my sub, I pulled out my Galaxy 2 tablet and brought up the Shop app. Seeing the air between us shimmer into a hologram that copied what was on the screen, Usopp perked up, quickly finishing his own meal as I said "Alright Usopp, we've got a good idea of what you can do right now. And while I was serious about getting you started on Haki while we're here, I also wanted to upgrade your weapon choices. In the story, you upgraded your slingshot a few times and had some rather eccentric but effective ammunition but I want you to branch out a bit, have something that can drop a person with a single shot that doesn't require reloading after every shot like my wraith stunner, a long range rifle that could let you be accurate up to at least ten miles, and yes, there ARE guns you can buy on the shop with that kind of range though I'll admit that you'll probably have to work up to that in the years to come, if for no other reason than a lack of firearm knowledge. Finally, I think we should get you a paintball gun that can fire specialty projectiles." I then shrugged and said "Then there's the materials you need to make whatever crazily whacky but effective devices you can come up with yourself."

Usopp let out a grimace and said "I don't really like the thought of using a gun, bullets are a bit simplistic after all, but you're right that it would be useful having one of those weapons you used to knock out that Bastard Butler." He then cocked his head and said "A paintball gun sounds interesting. And I suppose I could cobble something together that lets me have both extreme range and versatility."

"Glad you agree. Before we start looking at what's available though, let's increase your bag's storage capacity. Ever heard of something called hammer space?" I asked, typing 'Subspace Pocket Generator' in the search bar.

Usopp perked up again and said "Are you kidding me? I don't think there's ever been anyone that uses a weapon that requires ammunition who hasn't dreamed of having infinite ammo, or at least more than they can normally carry."

"Then you're going to enjoy having this." I said, buying the standard three hundred slot generator that I had given to the others. Holding the generator in my hand, I said "This subspace generator has three hundred 'slots' in it. Each 'slot' can have up to ninety nine copies of the item in that slot, so you could have ninety nine apples in the slot but the hundredth would take up a second slot. With me so far?"

Usopp nodded his understanding and I continued "Now, by no means is this the biggest subspace generator. That honor goes to the TEN THOUSAND slot generator." Usopp actually had a drop of drool slip out of his mouth at the thought of so much space but I quickly disrupted his fantasy as I went on "However, buying one of those monsters will put you back a cool fifty Billion beris, and yes that's with a B." I could literally hear the sound of shattering glass to go with Usopp's shattered expression at that number and I fought the scheudenfraudulian urge to smirk at him as I said "That said, while this one's a freebie, if you want to upgrade to a higher slot count then you'll have to pay for it. Don't worry though, the enemies normally generated by my IDs leave loot, both money and items that you can collect and I don't mind helping you sell any unnecessary items. Just keep in mind that half of what you earn when taking out enemies goes into the crew funds."

Usopp blinked out of his sudden depression and said "That sounds fair." Catching the generator after I tossed it to him, he asked "So uh, how does it work?"

After I had talked him through installing the generator in his messenger bag and how to mentally access the inventory list since he didn't have a handy dandy tablet to do it for him he asked "Uh, you mentioned how I had to pay for an upgrade, what about those weapons you were talking about? Are those going to be freebies as well or am I going to owe you for their purchase?"

"The Wraith Stunner will be on me, consider it a 'Welcome to the crew' gift, everything else though will be coming out of the crew funds and so will have to be paid back though there's no real rush on that, just remember that to pay it off you'll have to give more than half of what you've earned, which is what everyone, even me, pays after we've done a grinding session." I said, quickly moving to the History part of the app and repeating the purchase of said weapon. I handed it and the included holster to Usopp.

"That's fair I guess." Usopp said as he accepted the items, pulling the weapon out of its holster and looking it over before he put it back in and stood up to strap the holster on the hip opposite where his messenger bag rested. Once he sat back down, we began going over everything else on our respective equipment wish lists, buying everything Usopp needed to make what I considered his 'canon' ammunition while everything else went on an actual wish list, Usopp deciding against buying everything at once and instead mastering what he had first then moving onto the next item to master etc. I was fine with that since he at least had the wraith stunner to fall back on.

With the matter of equipment addressed, it was a simple matter of giving Usopp the two Haki books, telling him to come find me when he was done with them, and then leaving him to read, shifting the ID into a 'monster mansion' set up, the room we were in having a 'no monster' field on each of the doorways. I left the study with Tyrus back on my shoulders and proceeded to do my best to emulate the Winchester Brothers for the next hour or so.

Time Skip: Two Hours Before Dawn

The ID around me and Usopp shattered, returning us back to the cliff where Kushina was nudging the other three flesh and blood members of the crew awake. Usopp and I were also well rested, having taken the last six of our one hundred hours under time dilation to rest. After a quick round of stretching the others all stood up and while Usopp quickly scurried off to the right side of the cliff to find a good hiding spot (Mirrored by Innes who went to do the same on the left) the rest of us walked down to the bottom of the ramp.

I split up the group of Einherjar cards we were going to deploy to everyone and we placed them in a way where when they came out of card form they would be standing shoulder to shoulder. Once we were done with that, Tyrus put the line of cards under illusion and we left my partner there, Nami slipping away and disappearing under her Haki Cloak while the rest of us made our way back up the ramp to the two thirds section. Once there, we pulled camp chairs out of our storage spaces and settled in to wait for the Bezan Black to come around the island and her crew to come ashore.

Just as the sun began to rise over the horizon I looked up from my game of Frogger on my Switch (Which I had upgraded to during my down time in the ID before we took on Buggy). What had caught my attention was Innes calling over the comms "Heads up, the Bevan Black is on final approach."

Luffy looked up from her book, a three volumes in one copy of the beginning of My Hero Academia that I had recommended to her while Zorro and Kushina opened their eyes, having simply been meditating as we waited. Standing up as one, we put away our chairs and everything else. While Kushina moved to be thirty feet behind us and raised her cloaking genjutsu to be out of sight of everyone, Luffy, Zorro, and I all took up equidistant positions from each other than crossed our arms as we waited. It wasn't anything planned previously, but it clearly made our stance clear: No one was getting past us without a fight.

Once the Bevan Black reached the shore, it disgorged its crew who immediately charged up the ramp at us. It seemed that unlike in most shows, we as the main characters weren't going to hear their discussion about people waiting for them when their attack was supposed to be a secret, who cares, it's only three, go kill them then get on it with it, yadda yadda yadda. As the roaring horde got closer, Zorro drew his swords, putting Wado Ichimonji in his mouth while I drew my Kukri Knives, not feeling quite comfortable enough with my own swords to use against multiple opponents just yet. Luffy merely cracked the knuckles of both hands and let out a short giggle to go with her eager smile.

If the pirates noticed her smile, they didn't realize what it meant for them. As soon as the front of the hoard was within thirty feet of her Luffy shifted her stance, planting her feet like a mighty oak and then with an eager shout of "Gum Gum Gatling Gun!" began launching her fists at the horde fast enough that it appeared they multiplied to the untrained eye.

Three things happened when Luffy started her attack. First, and most obvious, the pirates at the front of the horde began being launched backwards, most of them knocked out from the blows that landed on their heads while the rest struggled to draw breath after Luffy's punch to their chests forced all of the air out of their lungs. Second was Kushina immediately forming a six inch thick wall of chains. And Third and finally, I activated the line of Einherjar behind the group of pirates, all of the Fire Emblem and SAO members appearing with weapons already out.

I had just one moment to immortalized the dropped jaw and bugged eyed look on Jango's face from where he was standing in front of his crew's ship before I had to put my focus back on the fight, catching the downwards swing of a cutlass with my kukri before I groin shot the big pirate in front of me with my Haki tipped foot. The pirate fell backwards with eyes rolled back, forcing the two pirates behind him to go on either side of him. Tyrus got the one on my left, having quickly left his original position after dropping his cloak and his target screamed in pain as he was electrocuted. I deflected the thrust the one on the right sent at me with my left kukri before my hand came up and turned Armament black an instant before I slammed my uppercut into his chin. I had the satisfaction of lifting the bulky brute about six inches off the ground before he fell flat on his back just as out cold as his buddies.

On Luffy's other side, Zorro had just as easy a time of it, slicing down four pirates as easily as a farmer scything down wheat. Seeing this, the pirates still standing turned to retreat only to stumble to a stop in shock at the line of fighters that were behind them. From the middle of the line, Lyndis smiled a smile that sent shivers down all of their spines as she took her opening stance and said "Oh please, I'm begging you, give us a reason pirates."

"Or you could do the smart thing, drop all of your weapons and surrender." Asuna stated, rapier gleaming in the early morning light showing that she was more than ready to fight if they decided to do the dumb thing and try to fight their way out of this instead.

Back in front of the ship, Jango gritted his teeth before he called out "Black Cat Pirates!" When the pirates looked up at him, I said "Here we go, everyone get ready, Luffy, no offense, but close your eyes."

Luffy pouted but did as told while Jango pulled out his Chakram on a string and began swinging it as he said "When I say One, Two, Jango, you'll all become super humanly strong, and keep getting stronger and stronger One-" That was as far as Jango got before he was surrounded in an explosion, the force of which threw him off of his feet and into the stempost of the Bevan Black. He hung there for a few moments, just long enough to cough out a cloud of smoke and for us all to see his shattered sunglasses before he fell to the ground face first and unmoving.

Up on the right side of the cliff, Usopp rubbed a finger under his nose and said loud enough for us to hear "It looks like my new Exploding Star is a complete success!"

"Yeah, way to go Usopp!" Luffy cheered with arms raised up, having instinctively opened her eyes at the sound of the explosion, and now giving her sniper the double thumbs up.

I meanwhile huffed and rolled my eyes as I muttered "Like he hadn't fired at least fifty of them back in the ID." Tyrus snickered as he slithered up onto my shoulders and said "Aw, let the kid have his moment."

"C-Captain Jango." One of the Black Cats muttered in fear.

"What are we going to do now?" Another asked.

As the Black Cats asked this and more, another voice called out on the ship "Hey, what's going on down there?! What was that explosion just now?!" As the Bevan Black's ship guards moved up to the bow, they looked down with confusion only for both to go down with shouts of pain, the fat one Butchie from an arrow in each knee and elbow while the thin one Siam got an explosion to the face. The pair fell backwards back out of sight onto the deck of the ship and while Siam was silent, Butchie was screaming his head off from the pain.

Shaking my head, I said "Well, this may not be Skyrim but that is ONE pirate who won't be adventuring ever again."

Tyrus hissed in amusement at that before our attention was grabbed by Luffy as she walked down the ramp towards the remaining pirates and said "You all have ten seconds to give up before we continued kicking all of your asses. And this time, I won't be gentle." She drew her pipe off her back and began spinning it menacingly as she walked. Zorro and I began following her down, Zorro grinning eagerly around Wado Ichimonji's hilt while I decided to sheath my Kukri and draw my swords for intimidation purposes. Deciding to join in himself, Tyrus reared up on my shoulders and let out a menacing hiss.

That did it, the still awake Black Pirates were trembling in fear and it only took a few seconds for one of their number to toss down his cutlass and raise his hands in the air. Immediately after, all of the others did the same. Stopping her march down the ramp, Luffy smiled at them all and said "Well now, it seems like you lot do have a brain. Kushina, secure these ruffians if you please."

"With pleasure." Kushina said behind her chain wall, said wall leaning forward then over like a wave that rushed past us Straw Hats and towards the now panicking Black Cats, quickly wrapping each enemy pirate in a cocoon of chains, whether they were still conscious or not. Some of the chains continued onwards to the ship, first wrapping Jango up then going up the stempost and onto the deck to wrap up the ship guards bringing them down to the ground then with Jango over to the rest of the crew.

And with that, the fight was officially over.

Time Skip: 2:20 PM

"Marine Ship Spotted Captain!" Usopp called down from where he was positioned in a tree on the cliff. The Sniper adjusted the lenses of the goggles he had bought in the ID and after zooming in said "I think it must be the ship of someone pretty high up too, there's a dog's head at the front."

Luffy stiffened at that, a look of barely contained panic appearing on her face as she pulled out her pair of high powered binoculars and looked towards the ocean. Beside her, I muttered to myself "Aw Hell, of course it would be HIM that came."

"Who?" Nami asked, looking at a now very stiff looking Luffy with concern.

"Luffy's grandfather, Vice Admiral Monkey D Garp." I said, using the zoom function on my own mask to look towards the ocean and spotted the ship quickly approaching from the horizon. It wasn't one of the giant juggernaut battleships that I remembered seeing during the Buster Call of Enies Lobby but it did have four decks above the ocean water though for some reason the wall seperating the top deck from the water was another deck high, which made no sense to me. (Maybe it kept the number of sailors falling overboard in the rough weather found in the Grand Line down?)

Nami chocked on nothing before she asked with wide eyes "Luffy's grandfather is a Vice Admiral?!" Even Zorro had wide eyes at my answer.

"Yep." I said before I turned my head and lifted up my mask to glance at Luffy and asked "Should we go into an ID and just leave the Black Cats out for them to detain?"

Luffy's grip on her binoculars tightened for a moment before she sighed and let them fall from her face to hang from her right hand by her side as she said "No, Grandpa would stick around until he saw me, no matter what his orders and that would just make him angry." Taking in a deep breath, Luffy steeled her resolve and said "Leave Grandpa to me guys."

"Of course, after all, family should deal with family right?" Nami said with a shaky smile patting her captain on the shoulder and walking away from us as she said "I'll prey for your soul Captain!"

Luffy shuddered at that and I frowned as I asked "Seriously speaking here though, will he actually DO anything without being given specific orders?"

"As a Marine? Not likely, but as a Grandpa 'concerned' with how his granddaughter is coming along strength wise?" Luffy asked before giving another full body shudder and said "The last time he visited me, he left an entire ten acres of the jungle clear of any standing trees playing 'Tag'."

"Great." I muttered as I turned my head back towards the ocean and lowered my mask back over my eyes to watch as the ship pulled in closer. After a moment of thought, I decided against pointing out how at least this way we could see Koby again much earlier than in the show. Maybe her level of happy surprise would help her cope with dealing with Garp.

Soon enough, the ship came as close as it could and it turned sideways before dropping anchor. As rowboats were lowered, the figure on the figurehead leapt off of the ship and landed on the shore, no Geppo needed. As the figure strode towards where we were standing at the base of the ramp, Luffy gave a loud swallow before she smiled and began walking forward, dropping her binoculars back into her book bag then waving her right arm as she said "H-hi Grandpa, fancy meeting you here!"

"Luffy, good to see you again my lovable granddaughter!" Garp said with a booming laugh, taking quick strides to reach Luffy and pulling her into a massive bear hug that probably would have had Luffy's ribs cracking if her body wasn't made out of rubber. Placing her back on the ground, Garp looked at where the Black Cats were all tied up with rope along with a once more awake Kuro and his grin grew as he said "You've been a busy girl this last week. First kicking that corrupt Morgan's ass, then taking out Buggy's crew, and now you've dealt with these louts. Are you sure you haven't actually joined the Marines like I asked and are just not in uniform?"

Luffy actually gave an honest laugh at that and shrugged her shoulders as she said "These things just happen around me." She then cocked her head and asked "Wait, you heard about Buggy?"

Garp barked out a laugh and said "HA! Not only did I hear about him, I've got him locked up in my brig right now!" He then turned to give Luffy a hard look and asked "Speaking of, where might you have gotten not one but TWO pairs of Seastone Handcuffs? You didn't happen to raid the Shell Town Marine Base for 'supplies' while you were there now did you, HMM?"

Luffy raised her hands up and rapidly shook her head but before she said anything, I cleared my throat and (Probably quite unwisely) said "I provided them Vice Admiral. I managed to purchase them from a friend of a friend who happened to be a bounty hunter."

"Did you now?" Garp asked, turning his stern look on me as he asked "And who might you be?"

Luffy perked up and said "That's Matt, he's the First Mate of my crew!"

"'Crew' huh?" Garp said, the small frown he had formed growing larger as he began to glare at Luffy and said "You do realize that as a Marine it is my duty to bring in ALL pirates to Justice yes?"

I could SEE the sweat beginning to form on Luffy's face even as she smiled and said "But bringing someone to Justice implies that they have committed a crime, and we haven't done so. Even taking out Captain Morgan was done in self-defense of one of my crew mates."

'Just ignore the technicality that he wasn't a crew member YET when that happened.' I thought to myself.

Luffy then scowled and crossed her arms as she said "Besides, that bastard was as corrupt as that damn jackass hiding as an albatross in charge of the World Economic Journal. We did that town a favor kicking his ass."

I blinked a couple of times in surprise behind my mask before I lifted it up to my forehead again so that Luffy could see my surprised look as I asked "You know Morgan?"

Garp raised a fist to his mouth and coughed into it. When I turned my gaze to him, the old Marine rubbed at the back of his head and said "I may have told her a few stories about the times I had the 'pleasure' of being interviewed by him and what I actually think of him."

"Riiiight." I said, putting that little snippet of information in a mental folder labeled 'INTERESTING BUT NOT OBVIOUSLY IMPORTANT'. Given Oda's penchant for long term planning, that folder was probably going to be revisited quite often over the years to come.

"Anyways, like I said, we haven't actually committed any crimes. In fact, we don't even have a proper ship, never mind a flag so how are we pirates?" Luffy asked, smiling again.

Garp stared at her for a moment before he let out an amused snort and flicked her straw hat off so that it hang by its string around her neck. Luffy let out an indignant "HEY!" but went still as Garp ruffled the top of her head and said "You're lucky you're my cute granddaughter brat. I'll give you a pass this time, but if I ever run into you and you're flying a Jolly Roger, I WILL be bringing you in."

Both Luffy and I relaxed a bit at that as Garp removed his hand and turned around to begin barking orders at the Marines who had by this time brought their longboats ashore. By that time Usopp had made his way down to us and as Garp left, he nervously said behind us "So that's your grandpa huh? He seems nice."

Luffy and I turned our heads to look at him for a moment before we turned back to watch as the Marines hauled the Black Cat pirates into the long boats, five a piece, to start bringing them to the ship. Putting her hat back on her head, Luffy said "Nice is one way of putting it I suppose."

Despite myself, I let a snort out and said "Hey, at least he's giving us a freebie. I don't care how gung ho Zorro is and how many Einherjar I have, we are NOT ready to take on someone of his rank, and sure as hell not HIM in particular."

"DAMN STRAIGHT!" Garp shouted without turning around causing everyone on the beach, Marine and Pirate alike to jump in surprise. Even KURO had been startled, cursing up a storm at how his glasses had come loose.

"Well, safe to say his hearing's just fine." I said as I got my heartrate back under control.

"Sure looks that way." Usopp said in agreement. Seeing the Marines heading for Kuro, Usopp began striding purposefully over as he said "Excuse me for a moment, I have something to do."

"Oh, this should be good." I said with a grin, Luffy 'Shishishiing' as the pair of us followed our Sniper.

"Excuse me you two, can I have a moment with him before you take him away?" Usopp asked the Marines when he got close.

The two men traded a quick glance then a shrug as the one on the right said "Alright kid, but make it quick." They took a step back and entered parade rest.

"Thanks." Usopp said before he turned his attention to Kuro, anger simmering in his eyes.

Anger that was matched in Kuro's as he sneered at Usopp "Come to gloat?"

"Nah, I've just wanted to do this for a while now." Usopp said. The next instant, his foot flashed out, the very tip of his shoe black as he buried it as hard as he could into Kuro's nut sack. I swear I heard the sound of bubble wrap being popped as Kuro's eyes went blank and he fell to the side with a keening moan.

The Marine on the left gave a whistle of appreciation and said "Damn kid."

"Dare I ask what that was for?" The Marine on the right asked in amusement.

Usopp glared down at Kuro and said "He lied to my best friend, got close to her for three years for the sole purpose of having her killed and taking her fortune for his own. AND he insulted my father for being a pirate when he's one himself. I'm rather upset about that."

"Fair enough." The Marine on the left said, the pair apparently willing to ignore that last part as they moved forward and dragged Kuro to one of the long boats.

As they dragged him away, Luffy clapped a hand on Usopp's shoulder and said with a grin "Nice one."

"Thank you Captain." Usopp said with a matching grin.

I shook my head in amusement and said "Wish I had recorded that. Oh well, I guess I can always buy a pensieve later."

"What's a pensieve?" Luffy asked, cocking her head in confusion.

"Magical artifact that allows you to enter memories, let's you see, hear, even smell everything that happened but you can't actually interact with anything in the memory." I explained.

"Oh, that sounds neat, maybe we could spend a night going through funny memories from before everyone joined the crew." Luffy said, eyes lighting up at the idea.

"Certainly something to consider." I said in agreement.

Luffy's smile turned into a full grin as she took that topic of conversation and ran with it, telling Usopp and I the story of how her brother Ace and her were hunting a giant tiger only for the tiger to treat Ace as a cub and pinned him to the ground while giving him a tongue bath. Usopp and I were soon on our backs laughing hard enough tears formed in our eyes.

While Usopp and I were struggling to breath and get our laughter under control, Garp threw us a fast ball, or rather, a fast Koby as he called out "Oi Brat, I believe you know this one!"

Luffy had turned with a confused expression only to barely catch a screaming Koby as his 'mentor' carelessly tossed him our way. Realizing who was in her arms, Luffy's face split into a massive grin as she said "Koby! What are you doing here?!" She then spun around to point at me and said with an absolutely adorable pout "You! You knew he was here this whole time and didn't say anything didn't you?!"

Rolling backwards to put my feet under me (Not an easy thing to do with swords on your back, let me tell you) I gave Luffy an easy smile and said "Well, Captain, if you were using your Observation Haki you would have known that there was an excitable pipsqueak around here."

"Pipsqueak?" Koby asked with a sad air.

I gave him a pitying look and said "Kid, you're shorter than Luffy even though you're the same age as her, and you don't have a rubber devil fruit that effected your growth. So yes, right now, pipsqueak. Don't worry though, get some constant good meals in ya and a good exercise regimen and you'll start sprouting up like a weed."

"Really?" Koby asked, his face lighting up at my words.

"Oh yeah, you should hit at least five and a half feet easily in the next few years." I said with a thumbs up before I suddenly grinned evilly and continued "Assuming of course you survive the training at Marine HQ."

Koby gulped at that, sweat forming on his brow only to look up at Luffy who frowned at me and said "Matt, stop scaring the kid." Finally putting Koby down on the ground, Luffy ruffled his hair with a grin and said "Don't worry Koby, I'm sure that you'll turn into a great Marine."

"Guy made Captain in two years and became part of a secret Marine taskforce, I'd say he does pretty well for himself." I muttered lowly to Tyrus as he came to rest on my shoulders now that I wasn't laughing like a hyena in the dirt. Tyrus gave a nod of agreement at that and we watched as Usopp joined the conversation, asking about how we had met Koby.

We talked with the pink haired Marine until the last longboat was being pushed off the shore, Garp yelling for the brat to get moving or he would be left behind causing the kid to quickly scrabble for the longboat.

Watching the longboat head back to the ship, Luffy sighed softly to herself and asked "He's going to be alright, right?"

"Yeah, he's going to be fine." I said.

Luffy nodded and said "Good."

Time Skip: One Hour Later

We were now at the SOUTH entrance ramp at Kaya's request. She had asked us to close our eyes and join hands. Then leading us by taking Luffy's hand and leading us down the ramp, she lined us up then said "Alright, you can open your eyes now."

Opening them revealed the to me expected sight of the Going Merry with Merry the Butler standing proudly in front of her as Kaya said "In thanks for what you've done, I present to you the Going Merry. Merry designed and built her and has agreed to gift her to you." Her happy face turned a little bit uncertain as she said "None of the ships from the catalogue seemed to click with you Luffy so I hope that this is alright."

"Are you kidding, she's amazing! Look at that cool figurehead!" Luffy said excitedly as she stretched an arm up to the railing and rocketed up to the deck, looking around eagerly.

Laughing, I said "I think this one did in fact manage to 'click' with her Miss Kaya." Giving a small bow I said "Thank you for this."

Kaya's smile returned to her face as she said "You're Welcome. I'm glad my gift is taken so well by her. I have of course taken the opportunity to have her properly stocked for your journey."

Nodding my thanks to her, I turned to Merry and lightly nudged Nami forward as I said "Merry, if you could run Nami through her operation, I'm going to use a technique called Armament Haki to give her keel a bit of reinforcement. After all, the Grand Line's a rough place for a ship like this one."

"Oh, of course." Merry said, blinking at what I had said but easily agreeing. After all, there was a reason why the Grand Line was also known as the Pirate Graveyard.

Quickly climbing aboard, I made my way to the figurehead and placed both hands on it. Then with eyes closed behind my mask in concentration, I began pushing Armament Haki into the wood beneath me. A few moments later, I slightly jerked in surprise as I felt another person's hands beside my own and another person's Haki joining mine. Opening my eyes, I looked to my left and saw Luffy with a determined look of concentration on her face as she also pushed her Haki into the wood.

Seeing me looking at her, she smiled and softly said "You wouldn't be doing this right out the gate if something didn't happen to our ship in the story right?"

I gave out a sigh and said "Yeah, she took quite the beating out in the Grand Line, and her keel broke necessitating the need for us to get a stronger ship at a shipyard island. I'm hoping daily infusions of Armament Haki can strengthen her hull so that way we don't have to worry so much about her and maybe still use her either as a landing craft or part of our new ship when we reach that point. After all, as our ship, I'm sure she'll want to stay with us as long as possible." My Observation Haki picked up a small shiver of feeling at my words and I cocked my head slightly at it. Seems the Going Merry was already somewhat aware. Just showed how much Merry the Butler cared for her.

Luffy cocked her head at the small emotion she picked up on as well, giving a slight smile at the feeling, but then she frowned heavily and said "I want to know everything that happened to her in the show Matt, Merry's part of the crew now, we need to keep her safe."

There was another thrum of emotion from the wood under our hands and I nodded as I said "I'll run you through everything, but some of it's going to be damn near impossible to get around. For example, ever hear of the Knock Up stream?"

Luffy shook her head and said "No, but I can guess by its name what it does."

"Well, in the show, the Straw Hats rode it seven thousand feet straight up in order to reach a Sky Island." I said.

"Coooool." Luffy said, with stars in her eyes before she almost immediately frowned and said "But I bet that was hard on the ship."

"Extremely hard, do hard in fact that Merry formed a klabautermann that very night." I said with a heavy frown of my own. Luffy's hiss of a sucked in breath showed that she had heard of THAT term before and I nodded as I said "Yeah, and yet she STILL managed to keep herself together for the journey to at least three more islands before she finally snapped.

The ship quivered the slightest bit under us and I picked up faint traces of fear then determination. Lightly patting the stempost, I said "Don't worry Merry, this version of us has access to actual magic. A few sessions with a Repair staff and you'll be good as new."

There was a rush of gratitude from the ship, much stronger than anything else we had picked up before and Luffy smiled as she said "Yeah, you're going to be with us for a LONG time Merry, I promise."

Another thrum of gratitude came at Luffy's words. We continued to push our Haki into the ship for another minute before we removed our hands from the stempost. Turning around, we watched as Nami joined us on the deck, Zorro climbing up the rope ladder after her followed by Kushina. Usopp was saying his final farewells to Kaya and I snapped my fingers in remembrance and said "Be right back."

Quickly hopping over the railing and back onto the beach, (And man, did it feel GREAT being able to do that without worrying about breaking any bones) I walked over to the pair and said "By the way you two, I almost forgot about this, but I have a way for you to stay in contact."

"You do?" The pair asked together, then turned to look at each other and laugh.

I nodded and pulled a pair of large journals out of my book bag and said "These books are special. They've been treated by the user of the Connect-Connect fruit. Write in one, and your words will appear in the other. And if you start to reach the end of the journal all you have to do is push paper against the inside of the spine and you have more pages."

Kaya's eyes lit up as she took her journal and said "That's amazing! These must have been very expensive!"

Usopp too was looking at his journal with awe and said "Thanks Matt, this is perfect! Now I can tell Kaya about all of the adventures we'll be going on."

I waved Kaya off and said "Think nothing of it Kaya, I was able to buy several copies of them for a good deal."

"Still, thank you." Kaya said, hugging the journal to her chest.

I nodded and clapped Usopp on the shoulder before I turned and made my way back to the ship. Usopp joined me as I reached the rope ladder and as we climbed up he quietly asked "These books weren't made by a Devil Fruit user were they?"

"Nope. Magic made them, but she doesn't need to know that now does she?" I asked.

Usopp hummed and said "Guess not, no need to complicate things."

"Exactly." I said as I reached the deck and then helped Usopp over the railing as I continued "I'll see if Zorro or Luffy want a set to send back to their homes. We'll be heading to Nami's home soon enough so I'll give her a set then."

"Give me what?" Nami asked with a raised eyebrow.

Usopp grinned eagerly and pulled his journal out of his messenger bag and said "Matt gave me a way to stay in touch with Kaya. I just write in this book and she can see it in her own."

"Huh, neat." Nami said with slightly raised eyebrows.

"You mean I could talk with Makino with that?" Luffy asked with a grin.

"Yep. We just need to mail her the partner of the one you use." I said with a nod.

"Nice!" Luffy said excitedly before she shook her head and said "That's going to have to wait though." Turning to point dramatically out to sea, she continued "Because it's time to continue! Weigh anchor, and onwards! TO ADVENTURE!"

"Aye, aye Captain." Nami said with a grin, beginning to bark orders at the rest of us.

Soon enough, the Going Merry pulled away from the Gecko Island and we were headed out to sea and to our next adventure.

END

Author's Notes: Whew! This was a real monster to write. I'm starting to dread the Grand Line Islands. (Alabasta is DEFINITELY going to be multiple parts.) Still, my other Straw Hat SI stories are episode/fight stories so they should be able to come out a bit quicker than this one. See you then.