A/N: Hi, I'm back with a new chapter! I know this chapter is pretty late but I did not anticipate real life to through so much at me this month. For now, the one-week schedule will be paused until I get a grip of my life. I will still post chapters once in a while though, don't worry. This fic is not in danger.

Chapter 9

~*Z*~

Zeff was a proud man. He was proud that he had accomplished his dream and was now living it every day. He was proud of how his ship looked, keeping it in the best shape possible. He was proud about his crew of cooks even if they were a bit rowdy sometimes and he was proud that he managed to keep his rules enforced day by day, no matter how annoying any of his customers were. Sure, he missed the little eggplant but he wouldn't start weeping over it or anything like that. He was a proud man and couldn't show any sort of weakness or he wouldn't forgive himself, you see.

Carne made his way to the kitchen and dropped off the orders he had taken from the guests. They were short on waiters again but there was nothing they could do about it if no one was up to the job.

Today was a good day for Zeff. He almost did not take the reservation and would've told Fullbody to shove it up his special place but he was glad he considered otherwise. He couldn't let entire crews go unfed just because of a personal grudge he held.

Patty was also very happy about this decision because the money was flowing today as well. Probably because Fullbody was paying for everything and there were some people here that used the chance for a subtle payback. Zeff knew that that prick was the type to make people dislike him.

Zeff took a look at the newest orders.

All the meat!

He snorted. There was only one family that would order that. Considering that the youngest Monkey left only a few days ago and took one of his best cooks – he won't admit it out loud, of course – there was only one option left. Zeff just knew who must've placed that order.

A black line separated it from the next order,

Something with seaking

And there goes the idiotic mummy man.

Just a glass of water

Zeff huffed, the fake James Bond still didn't appreciate good food. Someday he'll learn.

The next items on the list were completely normal, sometimes adding an aperitif or dessert. He began to frown when suddenly the list became a jumbled mess of too many orders.

"Carne! Get back here now!"

When the cook appeared, Zeff bonked him with his large hat.

"What's this about? How are we supposed to keep track of who ordered what if you don't make clear when one order ends? Just because you don't like waiting doesn't mean you can do a shitty job."

Carne was still rubbing his head where he was growing a little bump. "But Chef, I am doing my job right! That is only one person's order."

Zeff was about to tell the cook to stop lying to save himself from chastising when their newest addition to the team popped up. Too bad that their only competent waiter would leave today. He could've stayed longer.

Gin handed Zeff another piece of paper with hastily scribbled orders. "That's part two and part three should get here sooner or later."

Zeff took a look at the long list of items and stomped toward the table it was jotted down at. He was not going to take someone breaking his one of his important rules: Don't waste food. It couldn't be anything but an attempt to get back on Fullbody on the cost of countless ingredients. There should be no one left in the East Blue that could eat that much.

When he got to the right table – finding it didn't take long, he knew what to look for – he encountered Patty still taking orders. Something about two scoops of sesame ice cream. And coconut pudding. It was not that clear because the woman who ordered all the food talked a tad too fast and managed to stumble over every second syllable. Something told him that she always spoke that way. She looked like a weaker version of a normal East Blue citizen and the old sword on her belt didn't help make her seem intimidating or capable in the least. The Marine must be in big trouble if they take people like her. Zeff was not sure if he could hit her with his hat without accidentally putting a dent in her skull. Maybe this required a verbal beatdown.

~*G*~

Gin was more than amazed. He had been part of the workforce on the Baratie since the Strawhats had left, he had seen Zeff kick out customers with more than a few scratches. He had not yet seen him try the diplomatic approach. Not that he didn't understand his chef's decision. The girl was not scrawny or anything but she looked like anything more extreme than a bonk on the head could injure her. He didn't know where he got that impression from but it was one of his instincts that told him that.

"Will you ever finish that order?" Zeff snarled.

Gin set a dish with a grilled steak in front of the old man who seemed to be the highest-ranked of the ones sitting at that particular table.

The girl blinked at Zeff before giving him a very short reply, "Huh?" If Gin had to guess that 'huh' was not really directed at what the chef had just asked her but was more a reaction to being interrupted. Since she was still placing orders and all.

"You're wasting food. In my restaurant. You better make up your mind what of that you really want and can eat before I throw you out of my restaurant."

"…but I can eat all of that."

Gin almost choked on his laughter. Better not laugh at customers, he had learned that lesson a while ago. You can only do that when they were thrown out already.

A blond kid tried to hide under the table but a pink-hair one pulled him up again, hissing something about friendship and the old marine man was watching with an amused smile.

Zeff stared at the girl for a while longer and then turned to the old marine man who… had already finished his steak?

"Is that girl one of your shitty grandkids, Garp?" Zeff asked and Gin could hear the amusement in his voice. "After that Luffy kid showed up and ate half of my storage, I wouldn't put it past you to have another hungry brat."

This was Gin's cue to leave. As soon as Zeff started talking about Luffy and his crew, the conversation would drag on and on and would ultimately lead to Zeff reminiscing about his past with Sanji. He also did not want to get involved with the marines if Zeff asked him to give his opinion on the unique pirate crew. He couldn't risk marines finding out about his past when he had already planned out his future. Of course, the Fullbody idiot already knew but there was a big chance he would not openly admit his defeat and the way he fled from the restaurant after he was kicked out by a cook and then failed miserably against Don Krieg.

Gin stopped at the kitchen and shouted with no particular listener in mind, "I'm going on break for the next few minutes!" He then left the restaurant and sat down in the back of it. this place held a certain meaning for him. Retreat, relief, new hope. Here, he could breathe freely and feel like his past didn't matter anymore since he has freed himself of the baggage that was Don Krieg.

Quietly, a door closed behind him and Gin tensed, knowing full well that he had closed it before, so it couldn't have been pushed shut by the wind.

"Hey," someone said behind Gin. He slowly turned around to face the intruder.

Gin glanced at the female marine who had gotten in trouble with Zeff warily, ready to jump into action if needed. He hoped that he didn't need to use any violence but he was prepared to in the worst case scenario.

"What?" he hissed.

"Aren't you Don Krieg's right-hand man?", she asked with a wavering voice.

Gin's eyes widened a bit. Damn, someone has recognized him.

The girl seemed to sense his thoughts as she put up her arms quickly and waved them in front of her while taking a step back. "I won't say anything to the people inside, don't worry. If Fullbody didn't say anything, I surely don't want to. The owner is scary, you know."

Gin relaxed a bit but still kept his eyes trained on her movements. "So, what do you want?"

The female marine shrugged and then said, "Just wondering if you want to meet the Strawhats again. They were the ones that beat your captain, after all."

Gin took his time before he answered, "You think I want to take revenge on them?"

"Not really, but maybe you want a chance to catch up with them and join their crew?", she proposed, "Since you're free from your old captain now. There's no reason you can't."

Gin blinked and barked out a short laugh, "A marine who wants me to take up pirating again? And people say all the strange things happen on the Grandline."

Gin had now completely dropped his guard and grinned at the young woman. He found this situation to be very funny and somewhere deep within, he was glad that it did not turn out the way he had assumed. Or at least it had not yet turned out the way he had thought. He knew enough about the world not to be too enthusiastic about people and their hidden motives.

"So, if you want me to join the Strawhat pirates, how would I catch up to them? They must be on the Grandline already," Gin stated, humored.

"Luffy took a detour to save Nami's village, Cocoyashi. They are headed to Loguetown now and will take a while to reach Reverse Mountain," she told Gin and then after a short pause added, "Coincidentally, we're headed to Loguetown as well, so if you want to catch a ride… Together we'd have a better chance of finding Luffy."

Gin wasn't sure how the girl could state that with such an absolute certainty. He might not have heard about Strawhats adventures since he had started working at the Baratie - he was not as good with rumors as Yosaku and Johnny and news traveled slowly in the Blues, especially the East Blue – but he did not trust the marine fully yet either.

"And you know that how?"

She shrugged. "Been there, seen it."

Gin huffed. Sure, he thought, that might be true. But even if everything was true, he already had something else to do. It was his last day at the Baratie and he had to get to Loguetown someway before the night came to make it to their meeting.

"This isn't about me, is it? You're after something else, aren't you?", he could see a flash of irritation in her eyes but she did not answer. So he continued, "But I have to disappoint you. I already have something else in mind. But I will take you up on the offer on the free ride to Loguetown."

He grinned at her and the angles of her mouth dropped. As Gin walked past her, he reminded her, "Better explain your new passenger to your superior, huh? See you later."

It was time to start his last shift at the restaurant and make the most money in tip he ever had. Gin found himself whistling a tune he had thought forgotten in all the years under Krieg. But maybe music doesn't die, just like Luffy's will to get what he wants, he thought to himself.

~*H*~

Helmeppo yawned as he sat in the crow's nest, his feet resting on the wood, completely relaxed. Coby was training below him, running his daily laps around the ship. People cleared his way when they saw him come at them fiercely. Helmeppo decided that he could not do much after such a big and delicious lunch.

He also decided if Jayna could eat herself in a food coma and no one would wake her, he could take the day off as well. He had done a lot of training in the last weeks already, more than he had ever moved his muscles before.

The time when he was the son of Morgan and could do whatever he wanted seemed so far away even if it had been not that long ago. At least that's what the calendar next to his bed said.

A news coo landed next to him and crowed at the blond boy. Lazily, Helmeppo searched for the beri in his pocket and found just what he needed. As he threw it into the pouch on the news coo's leg, the bird bonked him with its hard beak on the head.

"Ouch! What's wrong with you, you damn-", hissed Helmeppo while he held the spot that was already swelling. The bird really didn't hold back.

He saw how a wing pointed at a piece of paper bound to the other leg and Helmeppo took it. "What do you mean, it costs more now?! What are you, greedy capitalists?"

The bird shot him a dangerous look that could only be interpreted as 'take it or leave it' and Helmeppo decided against being the idiot that argued with a bird, so he grumbled and looked for the rest of the money in his uniform pockets.

When the bird took off, Helmeppo opened the paper but put it aside as he noticed the papers falling down on the ground. He bowed down to take it but the wind carried it off, down to the rest of the ship, right in front of Coby's feet.

Helmeppo leaned over and shouted down, "Hey, Coby! Mind picking that up!"

Coby came to a halt and look up in confusion, then followed Helmeppo's outstretched hand until he noticed the paper. Helmeppo saw Coby leaning down, picking it up and, suddenly, Coby startled.

Helmeppo frowned and leaned over the crow's nest as far as he could to see what was going on down there just as Coby jumped into the air, fists pumped upwards and shouted, "HE REALLY DID IT!"

Helmeppo startled and lost his grip on the nest, falling down and barely keeping himself clawed to the wooden basket he had been relaxing in a few minutes prior.

~*T*~

Today was going to be a good day. Tashigi wanted to patrol her part of Loguetown, go get her sword from maintenance at the shop and continue training. As a good marine, she wanted to be an example for everyone. A good citizen, a good soldier, just as good as any male member of the marine force would be. It may be her day off but that did not mean that she could just ignore her daily schedule and not help other people.

Today she looked quite good. Her makeup got done in a few minutes and she did not have to restart because she accidentally drew a wrong line. Looking good while you cannot see anything during your daily morning routine was not easy. Now where were her glasses… ah, there!

Suddenly the door flew open. "Petty officer!"

Tashigi flinched and yelped as she turned around immediately. "Y-Yes!"

It was one of her colleagues who stood in front of her, breathing heavily. We just received a call! Vice-admiral Garp will be arriving today! Probably in the next half an hour!"

"What?!", Tashigi shrieked, "Did you inform Captain Smoker already?!"

The man scratched the back of his head and avoided any eye contact with her as he dilly dallied around an answer, "Ah… you see… there is a problem. We've tried to… but we couldn't… Captain Smoker is currently after some pirate… Monkey D. Luffy, I think… and we can't reach him. He… seems to have left his den-den mushi back in his office and… none of the marines with him have one either… we thought we'd better inform you, so you can decide what to do…"

Tashigi was about to bang her head against the next solid surface because she could not believe how her day had turned around. It was not exactly a bad day, no, of course not. It was always an honor to meet higher ups and it was an opportunity to shine. But! She did not want to have this experience with the thrill of finding Smoker at the right time. She knew her boss and she knew that it was almost impossible to find him if he bolted off to his job.

"We need to prepare, no matter if Captain Smoker is present or not. Clean the base as good as you can and then prepare to greet Vice-admiral Garp properly.", she ordered with a firm voice and the soldier saluted and took off.

Now, where was she. Right, her glasses. She needed to find them again. Tashigi remembered that she had picked them up already yet they were not in her hands. She knelt down and… oh god, was that a glass fragment?!

~*S*~

Even though he was the boss of the marine base in Loguetown, Smoker sure didn't feel like he was the boss of anything. Yes, he had the power to make decisions and everyone listened to his orders. Yes, he was the one in charge and every pirate knew he was going to be their end. Yes, people left him alone most of the time. The thing that bugged him though where the soldiers with their reports, urging him to take certain actions, never letting him time to do his own thing. Well, in the end they did listen to his orders but before they would start giving him advice on actions he needed to take.

His soldiers while he liked them were also a pile of headless chickens, losing their calm way too early. This was not what he had expected of his life in the East Blue when he first got stationed here but he was not going to whine. He did his job, he caught every pirate who passed through his town and wanted to get to the Grandline. He was also going to catch Monkey D. Luffy no matter what. If he was heading to Smoker's town, it would be the last town he would terrorize, period. One particular soldier asked him to wait for the wanted poster to arrive but really, Smoker knew how to spot pirates, he didn't need any poster to tell him which person was a pirate and who was an upstanding citizen. He was not blind and he did this job long enough.

He had taken out some of the trash that arrived at his harbor and began terrorizing people not shortly after without getting the picture, after all. One should never underestimate Smoker, he thought. Pirates never learned that lesson, though, it seemed.

"Congratulations, Captain Smoker! You've caught Monkey D. Luffy!", one of his men cheered.

Smoker growled. "That was not Strawhat. That guy was too weak to be worth 30 million beri." Before anyone could say anything, he went on, patrolling his town, keeping the scum away from the citizens.

Some men were buzzing around him, giving him information for what to be on the lookout for. Rumors travel fast and the fact that Strawhat had taken out Arlong before he even had an official bounty was terrifying a lot of marines in these waters. Smoker didn't think it was that uncommon for a strong pirate to debut that way. Maybe in the East Blue, yes, but not elsewhere. And pirates taking out pirates wasn't unheard of either.

"Woooh! What a view!"

Smoker halted and blinked in confusion. Before him stood a teenager with a straw hat who was looking at the port and his eyes shone like stars, admiration for everything and anything apparent.

The black-haired boy turned to him with an 'ah!' as he finally noticed him. Smoker wasn't used to being treated in entirely different ways. He was not blind, he knew that the people of Loguetown were scared of him and rather cleared the way for him than risk getting into a conflict over something as trivial as bumping in to him. Pirates would show disrespect in various forms and his subordinates were always watching their words when they talked to him. This kid did neither. He was just standing there, grinning at the Captain as if he was just another human being and they were on the same level. No fear, just a normal, healthy dose of respect you show towards anyone else, too.

"Hey, can you help me?", the teenager asked with an open smile.

Smoker blinked again. "What do you need?"

"Directions," The boy's eyes lightened up, "I want to see the place where the pirate king died! I want to see what he saw in his last moments."

The marine captain was taken aback by the kid. A tourist? No, it couldn't be. No tourists came for that part of Loguetown's history. Even if they wanted to visit, no one would dare ask for it that directly because everyone feared to be marked as a pirate-sympathizer and get on the marine's bad side. And here, this boy asked for it so directly without any fear or anxiety, Smoker didn't know how to react at first.

"Follow the smoke, it will show you the way to the platform," he pointed at the smoke trail that was already forming and led down a street.

The kid leaned to his side, inspecting the smoke fascinated. "Thanks, smokey guy!" The grin got even more sparkly than before. Smoker just nodded as reply.

In a fraction of a second, the kid had already passed him and run through a group of marines, following the trail of smoke. His men whispered to themselves and Smoker could understand why. You only meet a kid like that once.

Maybe he should go by a certain bar to reminisce over that one time he saw someone with a similar aura to the kid… it was almost funny.

~*B*~

Bartolomeo was about to enter his favorite bar when he heard the old man inside talking animatedly and a younger voice cheer for more tales about the famous Gol D. Roger.

"The Killer Giant… this gash is what killed him," the old man told one of the many tales he loved so much, "But he was really something. His last words were: Roger. No one can touch you…"

The mobster leaned against the wall instead of going into the bar. He liked to listen to the tales but he did have a reputation to keep up. He couldn't be seen listening to the tales about a pirate long gone when he had a job to do that needed him to look as evil and threatening as he could. And that image just wouldn't come from sitting at the old man's feet, listening attentively to the animatedly told tales.

"Gol D. Roger," the old bar keeper continued, voice now muffled since he turned down his volume. He had to strain his ears to hear him say, "He's the only pirate that truly didn't fear the dangers of the Grandline."

And he'll be the only one who would in the near future, Bartolomeo thought, lost in thought. If only there were someone brave enough to continue on the pirate king's path. He'd love to hear the tales come to live once again.

"…but now, everyone has passed on."

Yes, and with them any real pirate spirit. It was best to just stay out of that mess that people called piracy. No one there was worth risking his life for.

"I'm going to the Grandline."

Bartolomeo looked up, straight at the wall before him. "Huh?", he mumbled just as the old man did the same.

"Pirates really should be like him. That's why I went out to sea… to go and find the One Piece. I'm gonna be Pirate King!"

He wasn't sure who had stumbled into the old fool's bar but the kid definitely had spunk. He liked him although he was sure that he was just a dreamer without any kind of future. The dreamers never had any chance for a future out on the Grandline; hell, most didn't even make it farther than Loguetown on their way out. The smoke-man that guarded the city like a well-trained dog was picking them off like flowers and he was starting to crack down on the mafia and gangs as well, now that most pirates do no longer dare to stop in his territory.

The old man wheezed, "That's a crazy thing to say!" and he could only agree with the old man. But he wondered where the happiness in his voice came from, considering that he just told the kid off.

"Drinks on the house!"

Bartolomeo huffed. He never got drinks on the house. The geezer never gave him any. The old man needed his priorities set straight – after this, maybe. He should know who protected his ass from the gangs swarming around the place.

Faster than he could blink, he saw a young boy flit past him, up the stairs that led down to this god-forsaken bar, clutching a straw hat so that it would not fly away.

The mobster could not help but let his gaze linger on the figure until he disappeared. Then he decided to enter the bar.

"Did I hear 'drinks on the house'?", he growled at the old man who only waved him off.

"Not for you they aren't." There was still a bit off happiness left in his voice. No, not happiness… more like excitement. As if he was expecting something interesting to happen soon.

Bartolomeo sat down on one of the old wooden chairs. They felt like they'd break any moment under his weight just like he loved it. "No wonder you don't make any money and have to close the bar."

The old man started laughing. "Not if I take all your money, I don't."

He cackled, "I'll take the rum then."

While he sat there, drinking, he could even hear the old bar keeper hum while he polished up some glasses. He left the money on the table just like he always did and he expected the bartender to ignore his departure like he always did but today was just too off for a normal scene like that.

"Kiddo," the old man called out, "Today, something special will happen. I have a feeling in my old bones, they never lie. If you got time, you might wanna spend it at the execution platform."

He blinked, unsure what to say. When he turned around, he waved the old man goodbye.

~*Z*~

"I'll give you two hundred thousand beli for this sword! You'll then have a total of three hundred thousand beli! You could buy three swords for that money!", the shop clerk pushed zealously.

Zoro on the other hand was running out of patience quickly. Why couldn't people just accept 'no' for an answer?! First Luffy, then the shit cook that always had to rope him into some conflict and now this wannabe salesman. "I won't sell the sword," he snarled. That didn't keep the man shut up for long though. "I'll give you three hundred thousand beli?"

"Huh?" he used his 'stop-talking-shit' tone of voice that he used to shut up the swirly eyebrow but the guy still wouldn't back down.

"Five hundred thousand beli?"

Zoro was about to tell the guy where he could cram his money into because he was not going to sell his most important possession, not in a lifetime and not to some strange guy he had just met when the bell rang as the door opened.

That's when his luck turned even worse and he froze in his place with his mouth wide open as a girl walked in. A girl that he remembered should've been dead for years. Why was Kuina walking around like nothing ever happened to her?!

"I've come to pick up my sword. Is Shigure ready?", she asked cheerfully, completely ignoring Zoro standing next to her.

The old man flicked his tongue at the young woman, eyes darting between her and Zoro, having trouble to decide which of these people to cater to first. In the end, he must've decided that it was smarter to get rid of the woman first and then get back to the deal of his lifetime.

"Wait here, I'll be back with your sword soon", he growled at the blue-haired woman and left his counter unwillingly. "You! Don't move!", he pointed at Zoro and gave him a glare that was supposed to be intimidating but that had no effect on the already turned-to-stone swordsman.

That's when 'Kuina' finally noticed Zoro standing next to her and began smiling. "Hello, are you new in town? I visit this store quite often but I have never seen you here."

Zoro gulped. He was not ready for any kind of conversation, not now, not here, not in this situation. "Uh, well, I'm just… passing by."

"You are? Well, where are you headed? There are not many trav-"

CRASH!

Zoro would've normally not liked any disrespect to swords, but when a barrel full of them hit the ground, he was more than happy to not be the center of Kuina's attention anymore. The woman turned around and stared wide-eyed at the mess in the shop and at the girl in the middle of it all, holding one of the crappy swords in her hands, half-sheathed.

"JAYNA! What have you done?!"

The girl in question winced and grabbed the sword even tighter. "Sor-ry, Tashi-shigi…I ju-just thought I-I'd look a-at one and th-then…" she waved down at the swords scattered on the ground. An awkward smile on her lips, Jayna put the barrel back into its correct position and let the sword she had looked at glide into it with a 'thunk'. The Marines really had useless personnel in the East Blue.

Kuina… no, Tashigi, sighed heavily and started to berate the girl. Zoro didn't listen to what she was saying because it was just too much to process all at once. And he also didn't want to listen because she was just too similar to his friend. That one liked to rant sometimes, too. he slipped his sword back into its position before he started moving towards the mess and the girl that already started picking up swords. "I'll help her. I wanted to sift through that barrel, anyway."

"Eh? but don't you already have a swo-"

"GAH! MY SWORDS!", the shopkeeper yelled and almost dropped Shigure when he reentered the public part of his shop, "You better pray nothing got damaged! I'll make you pay for that!"

Zoro couldn't have been happier when Ku-Tashigi turned around and had her hands full with calming down the shopkeeper. He turned his attention back to the girl that did not look like a living version of dead childhood memories.

"You need to be more careful. Swords are no toys and that could've gone wrong easily. If one of those swords had unsheathed itself and cut you on its fall, you wouldn't get away unscathed." He put three swords in the barrel. All three of them were of a poor quality. Nothing that would survive more than a few rounds against anyone stronger than your usual thug.

He went to grab the next sword – shitty again – but couldn't put it in the barrel because the girl had leaned over the wooden cylinder, leaning towards him. "I didn't think you'd care so much about a stranger, Roronoa Zoro."

Jayna was grinning at him in a way that reminded Zoro too much of corrupt Marine officials. He had his run-ins with them often before, he knew the warning signs. She could've been intimidating if it weren't for all the times she bit her own tongue in that one sentence. Not intimidating in the way that a good fighter was but she was damn close to the way Nami had him on edge. It must be a woman thing.

Her eyes flitted down as she saw his hands tense around the sword that he was holding. She leaned back, "No worries, I won't tell Officer Tashigi."

Officer? So the Kuina look-a-like was a marine, too? He had some rotten luck today.

"But tell me, how is your captain doing? Is he at the execution platform yet?" Zoro tensed at the knowing smile she shot him. These women meant trouble. One made him uneasy and the other knew way too much for it to be good for them. He sincerely hoped that nothing had happened to Luffy.

Thu-thu-thunk!

Three more swords landed back in the barrel. All three didn't seem to be what Zoro was looking for. he was slowly wishing for the other woman to interrupt their conversation but the shopkeeper was really nagging at her.

"Hey, do you have place for one more member on your crew?"

Zoro watched Jayna suspiciously. "The captain decides that."

She put some other swords into the barrel while humming. "Five people going up against the Grandline? You think that is wise?"

Zoro's eyes narrowed. "Well, good thing our crew has six members."

Maybe he shouldn't have told a marine how many members there were. Maybe that meant consequences later on. But Zoro didn't care. It was just too satisfying to watch the know-it-all startle and drop the sword she was holding ("Hey! Watch it, young lady!"). She caught herself too quickly for Zoro's taste.

"Of course. The Going Merry is a member, too." Her smirk grew in size.

She even knew their ship's name? What was up with that marine? He made a note not to give her even more information.

When the girl leaned down to pick up the last sword that was left on the ground, she seemed to hesitate. It was a feint movement, just the fingertips flinching back from the sword's hilt, but Zoro caught it.

"What are you doing? Pick it up al-"

"DON'T TOUCH THE SWORD!" the shopkeeper yelled from the opposite site of the room, Tashigi jerking away from his extended arm that pointed straight at Jayna who stumbled back from the sword, looking... excited?

Zoro cocked an eyebrow. Now this was interesting. Maybe he would go home with a good sword. He leaned down and picked up the sword that the girl did not dare touch. "Hoh?", he smirked when he felt almost electrified by the touch on the hilt. "That sword…"

The shopkeeper yelped and started shaking badly.

"That sword…!"

Tashigi ignored the state the man was in, focused on the sword in Zoro's hand as she stumbled over and started turning pages in a book until she found the right one. "Found it! It's really Sandai Kitetsu!"

The woman started ranting about the different degrees of swords and how they were classified but the only thing Zoro could hear… could see, no, the only thing he could feel in that very moment was its aura and its energy, radiating off the blade. Malevolent and blood-thirsty as could be.

"No way! I won't sell it!" the shop clerk yelled at them, hiding his face as good as he could behind his upper body.

"This sword…", Zoro breathed solemnly, "is cursed."

The man behind the counter gulped audibly, "You knew?"

Jayna snickered quietly. Did she know that, too? Zoro was sure that she had not felt it but rather known about it beforehand. Clever girl. The sword could've cut her arm off if it really wanted to.

"No. I feel it." Zoro answered the question.

"Starting with the first generation, the sword were all great blades but they were also cursed ones. The swordsmen who have used the Kitetsu over the years all met a bloody fate. Tragic and mysterious deaths, none of them desirable. No swordsman nowadays would take the risk to wield a Kitetsu in battle anymore.", the shop owner explained, guilt pressing down on him as it took him all of his strength to keep standing. His arms trembled like they were made of sticks that were about to snap under his weight.

Tashigi breathed in air heavily and immediately bowed to Zoro. "I am sorry! I didn't know about the curse! I should not have recommended it to you! Please forgive me!"

"It's still a good sword. You just have to know how to use it right," Jayna commented flatly from the sidelines and earned a glare from Tashigi.

"Jayna, you can't possibly-"

"No", Zoro interrupted Tashigi, "She's right. I'll take it." Zoro held the sword up and it reflected the light in a dark purple gleam back to his face. With a wide grin he said, "I like it."

The sword seller slammed his hands on the counter, "NO! I won't sell it! I won't be responsible for your death! That's blood that I do not want on my hands."

Zoro chuckled, "I just need to be lucky enough for the curse not to get me." With those words, he threw the sword into the air and extended his arm. Tashigi gasped in horror while Jayna's smirk was now reaching from one ear to the other. Zoro didn't mind as long as he could concentrate enough on the sword.

Sandai Kitetsu reached the highest point and began to descent, spinning and spinning and spinning, down, toward Zoro's arm.

It was absolutely quiet when the blade came close enough to cut his arm off but it slid past. Zoro felt the back of the sword grazing his arm but then in the next moment, the sensation was gone and the sword had sunk into the wooden floor.

Zoro grinned as Tashigi sank to the floor. Those two girls knew how to pick a good sword. "Hey, you two, go and pick out another one for me."

"W-Wait!" the owner yelled and ran into the back of his store only to return fast as the wind with another katana. He pulled away the cloth and revealed a black lacquered sheath and hilt, wonderfully crafted and probably way too expensive for Zoro.

"This is the best piece I have in my store!" the middle-aged man took the sword and pulled it from its cover. The blade looked wonderful and Zoro felt like it was calling for him.

"It's one of the fifty Ryouwazamono, Yubashiri.", he sounded proud as a father who was showing off his children.

Zoro turned around to face the shop keeper. "I can't afford it."

Jayna's laugh in the background irritated him. it's not his fault that he had no money, damnit!

"It's a present, you idiot!", she explained in an annoying tone.

The middle-aged man grinned, "That young one is right about that. I give this to you as a gift. And I don't want any money for Sandai Kitetsu, either."

Zoro grinned. Now this was something he could get used to.

"With that you have three well-known swords at your side, young man. I hope you use them efficiently.", the man told him and grinned back.

Tashigi blinked confusedly. "Three swords?"

~*B*~

Buggy liked it flashy. He liked his ship flashy, he liked his crew flashy, and he liked the places where he'd hang to be just as flashy. Of course he would choose a café that was situated on the main road and use it for his strategy meetings. No matter what Alvida said, it was a brilliant idea of him.

"I am going to collect all of the famous swords. I will free them from pirates and people like Roronoa Zoro who will only use them for their own gains."

"Oh? So are you going to take away my swords as well?"

Buggy recognized that voice. That was one flashy swordsman that was part of the Strawhat crew. He didn't know the women but he had made bad experiences with women that hung around the Strawhats. They could pay, too.

"Ah? A-ah! No! I don't want them for myself and you seem to be a nice person! There is absolutely no reason for me to take away any of your swords…"

As he looked up he saw them sit down at the table next to him. It really was Zoro, that flashy bastard. The guy was apparently building a harem because he was escorted by two women, one with blue hair, the other purple.

"Hey boss, isn't tha-"

"Quiet! I don't want them to notice us! You hear? We attack them once they have let their guard down," Buggy snapped at his subordinate.

He observed the group as they ordered something to drink and the blue-haired woman kept on talking and talking and talking. When everyone began to laugh a little at something she said, he gave the signal. "Go get the blue one."

He felt so good when his plan went off without any problems and the blue-haired woman was held by knife point by one of his lower subjects.

Buggy ripped off his cloak and put a foot on the table to look flashier, "KYAHAHAHA! RORONOA ZORO, WE MEET AGAIN! I WI-"

"You are Roronoa Zoro?", the blue-haired one blurted out.

"…Hello?" Buggy was not happy with the shift of events. He was supposed to be the center and now, he suddenly wasn't anymore? Because the woman was now shooting death glares toward Zoro as if the knife at her throat did not exist at all.

His subordinate looked over to him, wanting orders, advice, anything he could get on how to react but Buggy himself had no clue what was going on.

"You dared to trick me?! I thought you were a nice guy?! But you were Roronoa Zoro all along?!"

The said swordsman muttered something along the lines of 'shit' before he bolted out of the café as fast as he could and left Buggy with a hostage that was no longer needed. "Eh?"

The purple-haired girl was the next one to stand up and run away, shouting, "I will try to catch him, Tashigi! You go take on Buggy the clown!"

Now, a woman vs his whole crew? What a stupi- a man flew by and barely missed his head. As Buggy turned, he saw how only half of his crewmate was visible because the other was buried in the wall of the café. When he turned back, he saw that half of his crew was lying on the ground, some bleeding. The woman stood in the middle of the fallen, demonic aura playing around her very being as she slowly moved through the ranks of Buggy's mooks and cut them down one by one.

"Captain Buggy, please help!", one guy shouted as he was penetrated by a sword. Buggy flinched. It looked painful. He had seen worse but that didn't mean he forgot how painful a sword in your stomach could be.

He only had one choice left. He didn't want to use it now but he had already blown his cover, he needed something to make sure he and his crew could disappear until they were ready for the main spectacle.

Nervously, he pulled out his secret escape strategy: a smoke bomb. "Everyone, grab a wounded mate and prepare to get the flashy hell out of here!", he yelled and put his hand in the air, ready to drop the bomb as soon as everyone was able to run.

3…

2…

1…

POOF!

~*A*~

Suddenly a cloud of smoke filled the lady's rest room and Alvida started to panic because there was one person in town who was known for smoking out pirates left and right. She did not think that he'd be as much of an asshole and attack a lady while she was unguarded and doing her business.

She immediately ran out and the one thing she saw throughout the smoke was a flash of green that darted past the door and then something crashed into the door and sent Alvida jerking forward and face-landing on the ground. The female pirate captain was. Not. Pleased.

She jolted up and stalked over to the other person lying on the ground. Alvida grabbed the next bit of cloth she got her fingers on and pulled the person that send her down closer to her face. "You! Do you have anything to say before I send you to an early grave?"

Through the smoke she could make out a pair of eyes staring back at her. She definitely didn't like the tone of voice the girl used, "Get out of the way, ugly. I need to catch up with Zoro."

A vein popped on her forehead. Her grin took on malevolent overtones. "Who are you calling ugly, you chubby shit?" She let the girl plummet down to the ground again and Alvida stomped down on what she hoped was the girl's face.

Her foot was kicked away by the girl she still could not clearly see, closely followed by a wannabe punch that was directed away from Alvida's perfect body via her powers. She laughed as loudly and obnoxiously as she could.

Someone opened a window and the smoke was clearing out. Alvida could see that the person facing her was wearing a marine uniform that looked beat up. There was an imprint of her heels on the shoulder part of the uniform. Her mouth dropped a bit. Not what she wanted to hit.

The marine girl slowly got up and scanned Alvida from toe to hair. "You call me chubby, old lady? Wasn't it you who was so fat that it would insult whales to compare 'em to you? Sure, you may have lost that weight but have you heard of the yo-yo effect?"

That was it, Alvida did not want to hear any more of it. She was going to do some pounding.

She grabbed behind her only to find that her bat was nowhere to be found. Tch. She had left it with Buggy. Speaking of which, where was that clown…?

"Buggy! Where are you?!"

Alvida did not think that her infuriated shout would cause the clown to crash through a wall and swipe her off her feet and continue running. That was not what she wanted to do right now and she was confused as to what has caused that action.

Before she could demand an answer though, another woman climbed out of the hole in the wall and looked possessed. The bloody sword in her hand and her glare did not help create a more positive image.

"Sorry, babe, but we have to bail right now!", the clown yelled in her face.

Alvida wanted to object but the crazy swordshag did not help in the least. "I will bash your face in later, chubby!", she shouted over the rumble of collapsing walls and pumped a fist into the air to intimidate the stupid girl she left behind. She was so going to make her pay for ever comparing her to a whale!... It was bad enough that that had happened once before.

~*C*~

Coby didn't know how he got lost. He was following Helmeppo and Garp and the others one moment and then the next, he found himself alone in a street bustling with strangers. He also had no clue how he managed to walk to the one place where a building was destroyed and an angry Tashigi yelled for more marines to follow a mad clown who was escaping. He wanted to help, of course, but Tashigi just waved him off and before he could follow, she was already gone.

"Wow, what has happened here?", Coby heard someone gasp near him, "It's like the one time I fought a fishman and he had this crazy exploding tentacles."

"If you are so mighty, why don't you carry my shopping bags for me? It shouldn't be too heavy for you then.", a woman snapped back at the incredulous tale.

"Ah, bu-but Nami, why… that's not fair! You know I have I-can't-carry-bags-disease. Do you want my arms to swell to the size of balloons?", the former voice complained. It did not help much because the same guy groaned wearily a while after. When Coby turned around, he saw that a long-nosed guy with curly black hair was carrying several bags stuffed to the brink with clothing articles.

A woman with short orange hair stood next to him, looking very happy.

Coby did not expect a third person to be in the group but there was also a very charming-looking blond man with a swirly eyebrow who was puffing out a small ball of smoke.

"I wonder what happened here…", the curly eyebrow guy contemplated.

"Anyway," the woman took the command, "we don't have much time. We should start sailing before the storm gets here and for that, we need to find that stupid idiot we call captain…"

Coby was a bit shocked to see the blond man turn into a spaghetti – that was the only way he could describe the sudden boneless structure that allowed the man to move like a piece of noodle in a wind, creating waves that travelled through his whole body.

"Nami-swan~! I'll do anything for you~! I will go look for the shitty captain and the moss head this instaaaaant! No need to worry!", sang the blond guy.

Nami sighed and kneaded her temples. "Look, Sanji, that's nice of you but I better join you in the search. You never know what those morons might be up to. Usopp?", pronouncing the name of the long-nosed man, Nami's voice went from irritated to so sugary, it could only mean danger was approaching, "you carry that fish back to the ship."

Usopp almost dropped the bags he was carrying when Sanji got closer and heaved a very big tuna onto Usopp's shoulders. "Are you crazy, woman?!"

Sanji already started growling, "What did you just call Nami-swan?" when Nami clapped in her hands and got the attention of her companions back onto her.

"Who else could carry that fish back? I and Sanji have to go look for the rest of our crew, so you're the only one left," she reasoned flatly.

Usopp was still not happy with his job as he belted out, "Nonsense, witch! Just help me get this back to the ship and all three of us can go looking!"

Coby had seen enough to know that these people needed some help. They might not be the friendliest but at least they were trying. "Um, do you need any help?", he asked them with a smile.

When the three faces turned to him, he suddenly felt so small, confronted with the intense heat of their discussion. Before they could ask any questions that would make Coby take back his decision to do a good deed, he offered, "I could help carry that tuna and you can go look for the rest of your friends. I… don't have a lot to do right now anyways…"

He saw their gazes wandering down to his uniform. They frowned and Coby thought they would decline when Nami pushed through her two friends to get to Coby and shook his hand. "Oh, what a nice offer! Of course we'll take it. but you really don't have to carry it all the way to our ship, it's totally okay if you help Usopp here carry it till the outskirts of the town."

"Nami-swan, are you sure about this?", Sanji asked looking not all too sure about that decision. Coby wondered why. Did these people have bad experiences with marines before? It's not like he hadn't heard of and met with some very corrupt officials but would that really be enough to make citizens doubt every marine they met?

Nami just gave Sanji and Usopp a… warning? Scowl before turning back to Coby and smiling as usual. "Thanks again! Usopp will show you the way, right, Usopp?"

Usopp's reply was more a mumbling than agreeing to the task ahead of him. He seemed eager to load some of Nami's shopping bags on Coby, too, though.

Coby felt how his breath temporarily left his lungs when the fish got heaved onto his shoulders. Moreover, he was not happy with how he could not see a lot because Usopp gave him the tail and it constantly got in the way, yanking off his glasses.

They walked a bit in silence, the way cleared itself when people saw the big fish approaching them. No one wanted to get bashed out of the way by the dead animal. After Coby finally got used to all the weight, he collected his people skills and asked, "Are you guys merchants?"

Usopp almost tripped over air before he caught himself, "No! No, we are…uh, adventurers. We're headed for the Grandline to find us some unknown island and solve all the mysteries and take the gold if there is any."

Coby oohed now fully invested, "Have you had adventures before?"

Usopp pushed out his breast as good as he could in his current situation and held his chin up high. "Kid, we had so many adventures, I can't even remember them all. Once, I and my friends found an island in the sky, you know?"

Coby was not whether he should believe that or not. That was when he remembered that he never believed in devil fruits as well and then he met Luffy who proved that it was no myth but reality. Then he even found out that Luffy was the grandson of Garp the Hero! Garp the marine Vice-Admiral! Even though Luffy himself was a pirate! Talk about impossible, right? So, why wouldn't there be islands in the sky right?

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he crashed into Usopp's back. "Oof! Why are we stopping?", he asked disoriented.

Usopp took a while to answer, "Sorry, there was just a girl blocking the path. Looked like someone had stomped on her. I didn't want to get in her way. She had this evil stare that Nami gives us all the time…"

Coby looked around but he couldn't see anything unusual – well, maybe that was also because his glasses had been knocked off again.

They began moving again and as Usopp did not want to talk more about that incident, Coby decided not to bring it up and ask questions about it either. Instead, he went back to the previous topic. "So, you visit a sky island?"

"Oh yes, and there were a lot of beautiful angels sitting on a beach and playing their harps. We also met god; he's not as nice as people make him out to be. My captain got into trouble with him, so how could I not jump into the battle and help him out? I shot god in the face and then he fell backwards down a cloud…"

Coby wondered if that was the reason why Luffy wanted to set sail as a pirate: to be free to experience such great adventures that only pirates and adventurers can see with their own eyes. It must be a great life and he'd like to go on an adventure in the sky himself one time in his life, too. Maybe he could. Who knows where the Marine had their bases, maybe they had one on such a sky island, too.

"Oh, shoot…"

Suddenly, Coby could feel the weight of the fish shift and his part becoming way heavier than it had been just a moment ago. He caught his glasses before they could be knocked off but it didn't do him any good because the massive fish was blocking his entire view. "Usopp?!"

"Sorry, Coby!", he heard Usopp's voice from a distance, "S-s-someone suspicious is near our ship and I have to check on it!"

Coby was about to drag the fish behind him, "Wait for me! I can help you!"

Usopp's footsteps stopped. "A-ah, thanks. Sure… Wait! NO! He's got a l-l-lion with him! the g-great Usopp can't p-p-possibly let you enda-danger yourself like that!" The long-nosed sniper began sprinting away at high speeds again, his shoes clacking on the stone ground.

Lion?! Coby would not let Usopp run into that kind of danger alone. He might be an adventurer like the world has never seen a second of but he could need some help for sure. Now, what was he going to do with the fish? He wouldn't be able to carry it all the way, not with Usopp picking up speed and him not knowing which ship to look for…

~*J&Y*~

"Hey punks! Get out of the way! What's your problem?", the big imposing figure of a fat pirate loomed over the bounty hunters. Johnny took a deep breath and glanced at his partner who was in turn looking back at the girl behind them.

Splattered all over the street were the remains of five scoops of various ice cream types. Johnny could see the strawberry flavored one dripping from the pirate's pants on to the floor.

Yosaku saw the girl who was petrified and could not even cry. Her father stood at the inner circle of the crowd they had attracted and did not dare come any closer.

"Get out of the way? Then what? Let you hurt the girl?", Johnny growled. The slightly smaller pirate behind the looming, grinning fat shadow took a step back but still did not let go of his sword.

"We don't think so!", the bounty hunters bellowed out in unison and unsheathed their swords, crossing them in their middle.

Sadly, the pirates did not seem very impressed if their snorts were anything to go by. "Are you going to play the heroes? Really? We will end you here, you know? Now's your chance to leave and we will forget anything that happened here."

Yosaku could hear the father shout something from the sidelines but he shut up when one of the two pirates glared at him.

"Oh shut up, old fart," growled the bigger pirate and contorted his already ugly face into a grimace, "Even if they win by luck, don't think they'll let you off the hook for free. There's no such thing as selflessness."

That was Johnny and Yosaku's signal to grin back, "Don't worry, we'll just cash in on your bounty afterwards."

"Oh?", the pirates' stance shifted and they lowered themselves into a much more aggressive position. Like animals about to pounce their prey, their hands glided to the swords' hilt and was about to draw any moment.

The bounty hunters stiffened for a short moment before they took on the same positions. One pirate for each of them. Seven million for the one, five million for the other. It was their chance to cash in and make their real journey possible. This was not only about the money; this was a test whether or not they can do it. Could they take on someone who was ready to leave for the Grandline? Someone who thought they were a big shot and ready to wreck some havoc where the big fish play. This was their chance to proof themselves and gather the resolve needed…

SLASH!

"AH! MY HEEL?!" the pirate worth less started to scream in agony and fell to his knees, traumatized by the blood seeping to the ground. Just when he was about to turn around, the knob of a rusty old sword collided with his temple, knocking him out straight. As he fell to the ground, his face hit the ground dead on and some of his teethe went flying.

Yosaku stared at the poor guy who had just been attacked from behind and had gone down without even a chance of fighting back.

Johnny on the other hand stared at the woman sporting a blood-thirsty grin. In his shock he wondered why she looked like she had been in an exploding building. It was a question he did not want to be answered, because really, he expected the answer to be 'because she blew it up'. She swiped her sword to the side and the blood drew a line whose color clashed with the peppery mint green ice cream on the ground.

The remaining pirate turned and stared at his fallen friend and back to the woman. "How could you… HOW DO YOU DARE HURT MY BROTHER! YOU'LL PAY, MARINE!"

Johnny and Yosaku both watched frozen how the pirate stormed at the marine woman, holding his sword high over his head. Some of the citizens on that part of the spectators' circle ran away screaming.

"Don't we know that big sis from somewhere?", asked Johnny puzzled.

Yosaku furrowed his brows before he answered, "Yeaaah, I think we do… wasn't she one of the marines at Cocoyashi?"

Johnny nodded. "That makes sense to me."

The woman took a step toward the pirate running at her and simply rammed her sword into his leg when he passed her in his miscalculations. "AGH!", he spat and his sword fell onto the ground.

The woman watched amusedly how the guy struggled to his feet again, fighting against the gashing wound that was now also decorating his strawberry ice cream pants. "I'm going to kill you for this!" With those words he stormed towards her once again. She waited until he got close enough and then sidestepped and rammed her sword hilt into his back so he tripped over.

Before the pirate could get up, the marine started to stomp on the back of his head.

Ones.

Twice.

Thrice.

Four times.

Johnny and Yosaku watched on, horrified by the way someone dedicated to the sword would treat her enemies but also kind of impressed because they did not think anyone in the marine could be so brutal and not be ranked a captain, at least.

They got to seven stomps on the pirate they were already feeling empathy with when the marine finally stopped. Johnny's heart almost stopped when he saw that the girl they were protecting as sneaked around them and got to the marine, pulling on her trouser leg. "What?", the marine asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"Thank you for saving the two men!", the girl said and pointed at the bounty hunters.

"…Did she just say we were saved by the crazy big sis?" Yosaku did not want to answer Johnny's question. He really did not want to.

The marine stared at the girl, "Yeah, no problem. Now go to your dad, he seems worried."

That snapped the bounty hunters out of their trance like state and they promptly stomped their way over to the marine.

"HEY YOU!", Yosaku called out indignantly. His finger pointed straight to the woman.

Johnny barked out with the same courage, "You stole our catch!"

The marine glared at the bounty hunters and then down at her foot that was still placed on the head of the unconscious pirate. "So?"

Both bounty hunters gulped heavily. "So?! You took our kill! That was our money!"

Slowly the marine lifted her foot. Yosaku was not too happy to see that blodd was dripping from its sole. He kind of hoped that the blood had already been there before any stomping action had occurred.

The woman looked at them, contemplating. What, Johnny didn't know. He was not eager to find out either.

"How much?", she then simply asked.

"… twelve million."

"Great," she simply commented dryly and reached out with one hand, "I take six million and you get those two," she pointed to the beat-up pirates.

Yosaku and Johnny couldn't believe their ears. Was this woman serious?! "Look, big sis. We will not hand over that much money. Why do you even think we have that much on us?"

"Arlong."

"…Right. But still, no six million. We'd give you one million though."

She belted out an unamused laugh, "One? Are you kidding? I did most of the work here! Five and a half."

"Two."

"Five."

"Three!"

"Four and a half."

"Three and a half."

The marine looked straight into Johnny's eyes and then into Yosaku's. "Four million and not one beri less if you want to get your hands on those two idiots."

The way she said that did not comfort Yosaku in the least. He glanced over to his partner and he sure as hell was also not ready to bargain anymore, so they just nodded and handed over the money.

The marine big sis took the money and suspiciously counted every beri of it until she was satisfied and smiled a very fake plastic smile. "Nice doing business with you," she chirped and began walking away.

The bounty hunters were about to let go of their breath they didn't realize they had been holding when she stopped walking and turned around again. "Hey, which way to the execution platform?" The bounty hunters quickly pointed at the next turn and watched the marine disappear.

"…Hey Johnny?"

"Yeah Yosaku?"

One turned to face the other, "I just realized something."

The other cocked an eyebrow, "Yeah, what is it?"

"As a marine, she would've turned in the pirates without getting any money…"

Both blinked at each other and were sprinting down the street toward the corner they had earlier indicated but the woman had disappeared in the crowd of people, nowhere to be seen.

"…shit."

~*L*~

The execution platform was one of the greatest places that Luffy had ever seen. After he climbed it, he could view the whole of the plaza and all the people on it. He howled of sheer happiness and excitement that he was able to see the same view that the king of pirates had seen when he had died. And it was beautiful, Luffy could understand why someone would be okay with dying here.

Not that he planned on that. He was going to have an adventure, so he'd have to get past this place and go to other islands and find the mystery stuff that made them worth exploring. He wanted his adventure. An adventure no one else had ever gone on before.

He also couldn't really tell you, how this situation came to be either. All he knew was that suddenly he could feel something heavy hit his neck and he was sailing toward the wooden structure and slammed into it head first.

Maybe it was because he made Bufoon - ah no, Buggy – mad by getting his name wrong? It was a bit off an overkill that he wanted to kill him for that.

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again," he drawled in a bored tone of voice, hoping that the clown would calm down now.

"THAT WON'T SAVE YOU, BRAT!", the clown screeched furiously.

Well, Luffy had tried at least. He was not happy when Buggy put more force on his foot that was pressing down on Luffy's hat. He hoped that Shanks' present wouldn't get damaged.

"Looks like you won't amount to anything, after all."

Something in Luffy stirred at those words. No one would define what he was supposed to do and how far he could go. That was something that only Luffy himself would ever decide for himself. "I AM THE MAN WHO WILL BE KING OF THE PIRATES!", he bellowed and his words vibrated over the plaza through the solemn atmosphere.

The crowd began to murmur but Luffy didn't care what they might think about him or his dream. He told them what he was going to do and they would watch him do it. he didn't even notice how Buggy held his sabre up high, ready to cut down on his neck.

"THIS EXECUTION IS CANCELLED!", Luffy's shout was answered by a just as fierce group he knew all too well.

Buggy was breaking into one of his monologues again that Luffy couldn't care less about. "

"ZORO! SANJI! NA-ghb!", he garbled as his face hit the ground and he tasted the wood and dust beneath him.

"Shut it!", Buggy hissed at him and continued to flashily tell his plan to Luffy's crew who already started to take out the clown's crew and cut their way through the crowd towards their captain.

When Luffy got his head back up, he watched in admiration as his crew fought their way towards him bravely. He briefly thought about his childhood and his two brothers who would've done the same thing. Luffy was sure that he had found the right members for his crew; not that he has ever doubted it to begin with.

"This is where it ends for your captain!", the clown laughed in glee.

Luffy thought that maybe, he was right. Sabo didn't make it to complete his dream either. He wouldn't be all too sad though because if there was one thing he knew, it was that he had chosen the right crew and they could make it without him as well if they chose to. And he had found a family in them and that was more than he could've ever hoped for. a grin spread from one of his ears to the other. He should at least apologize in earnest that he wouldn't be there on their adventure.

~*S*~

Sanji didn't quite believe that this particular day was real. it was just too extraordinary to not be imagined. First he saw a beautiful woman that had no equal then he won a fine piece of fish. Afterwards, he witnessed his captain being favored by god because there is no other explanation of the lightning strike hitting at the perfect moment and Luffy getting out of the wooden pile of trash that was burning ghostly blue without any harm.

They also got rid of the shitty moss head down the line. That event had been hard on Sanji as the shitty swordsman was confronted by a cute woman who seemed to have been wronged by him. Sanji wanted to help her out and beat the idiot into a pulp but he also understood that it was not his place. Someone needed to protect Nami, too, and he didn't trust his captain or the other idiot with that job.

When they ran into another lady, Sanji was no longer certain if he had chosen the right career path – the marine seemed to be loaded with women… not that he would ever leave his Nami-swan behind. He was just contemplating an alternate universe version's choice, of course.

"Monkey D. Luffy! Wait up!", the woman shouted after them.

His joy received a damper. "Hey, shitty captain! Did you do something to this woman?!", he snarled, reminded of the scenario they had just passed.

His captain turned to him and blinked, "I have never seen her!"

"She's probably after our bounty or just very dedicated to her job. Let's just continue running," Nami-swan offered in her never-ending wisdom.

Sanji could feel his legs turn into spaghetti. "Yes, of course, Nami-swan~!", he sung.

"It doesn't look like she'll lose our trail anytime soon. You guys keep going straight and I'll deal with this," the other male dumbass offered neutrally.

"HEY! Don't hurt any wom-!"

"Sanji.", Nami warned in her charming no-nonsense voice and he shut up promptly.

Luffy looked at the idiot contemplatively before he asked, "You think you can manage?"

"Of course I can. She doesn't look like much."

Sanji resented that comment; no one should ever talk down on women like that. The marine was clearly trying her best. Yet Sanji didn't dare say that out loud because Nami was still giving him a warning glare. It was okay, Sanji consoled himself, he'd have plenty of time to kick that message into the thick skull of that one particular male mess.

Luffy nodded and a grin spread over his face, "Okay. We'll meet back at the Merry. See ya!"

The dumbass smiled and nodded and fell back. Sanji tried to look back but Nami took a sharp left turn and the walls of the old, pristine houses blocked his view.

~*ROB*~

When Jayna slid to a halt on the wet ground in front of me with a dumbfounded expression decorating her face, I could not stop the shit-eating smirk spreading on my lips. I had been looking forward to this moment for such a long time and I was going to have as much fun as I could get out of it.

"Hi there," I greeted her.

"Who the hell are you?!", she blurted simultaneously.

Yes, this had definitely been the right choice. I pulled out my notebook from my pocket and prepared to write down whatever great lines she would throw at me.

"Oh? You don't remember me?", my grin got even wider. I don't know how that could be possible when your facial expressions were bound to a body that should have its limits but it definitely enlarged. "We might have not met vis-à-vis before but you should be able to recognize me."

She continued to blankly stare at me. It reminded me of Luffy in his stupid moments.

"Okay, I know I got a new haircut and all but since you read my fic and thought you could criticize me, you should recognize the rest of the character design."

All I got was a cocked eyebrow and a suspicious look. I thought that girl would be a bit faster on the pickup.

"I've been sending you letters ever since I promoted you to ascended fan."

If this were an anime episode, you could've stopped right now and pinpointed the exact frame she understood that implication and had her 'oooh' moment.

"You're that shitty ROB!?", she shrieked and her hand instantly moved to her sword but didn't draw it immediately.

"Yup, I am that guy," I confirmed still smiling. It took her long enough, "Took you long enough to catch up." I laughed and leaned against a nearby wall.

"YOU'RE THE ASSHOLE I HAVE TO THANK FOR THIS SHITTY TRIP HERE?!"

I was not fast enough to cover my ears on time. What's this with women and their sudden volume? Nami did that all the time, too.

"AND WHY THE HELL ARE YOU WRITING EVERYTHING DOWN?!", she demanded.

Note to self: don't ignore women with swords. The blade buried at least ten centimeters next to my head was not a good sign and I halted my pen, clutching my notebook and getting out of her reach. As soon as she noticed that she could not get me with her kicks while also trying to pull out her sword, she focused her strength and energy on the wall, pulling and kicking and shoving the sword. She even growled at the house as if it was at fault for her predicament.

"You do make a better comic relief character than I anticipated," I told her, stroking my chin thoughtfully.

Her actions halted and she looked at me, still keeping her death grip on the sword. "What?"

"I didn't think you could pull off that kind of humor," I shrugged and waved a hand at her current situation, "I thought I'd have to work with less."

She turned her attention back to her sword but kept an eye on me nonetheless, "You don't seem to be interested in working with me in any way. You ass told me to go and rock the boat but you put me in a situation that makes it more than difficult to catch up with Luffy." She gave up on her sword and turned back to me. she looked at me warily and was tense all over. "Now I got here and could get this story started and then you show up and hinder me at making this story interesting while also telling me to be ENTERTAINING!"

"Skehehehe!", I held my stomach while I doubled over, laughing with tears in my eyes. Oh that girl. I needed to get that written down in exactly that wording before I forgot it, so I scribbled it down and hoped I could read it later on. "I never said you should join the Strawhats."

Jayna began to sound like a fish that had just been pulled out of the water. Which I found to be quite ironic.

"Look, why would you ever think you would join the Strawhats? In a version of this story where I already am with them?", I kept my body upright with an arm pressed against the building because I was not sure if I could stand on my own while my body was still shaking this much from laughter.

Jayna seemed lost like a puppy that couldn't find its owner anymore. "But… you're no One Piece character... this doesn't make any sense…"

"You haven't been listening, have you? You're not in the original One Piece. You're in my version of it – the one you criticized and signed up to help out with. That means I am the main character here, not you."

"But…"

"You just show up from time to time and play the antagonistic, evil marine role. Hilarity ensues. I go back to regular Strawhat shenanigans and you disappear for a while again."

"…Not my story?"

"Nope. It never was your story and it will never be the case. Maybe you get some chapters focusing on what you do in the meantime, but you're really not that important."

Jayna looked like her knees would give in any moment and she'd fall onto the wet stones, contemplating every life choice she ever made.

"You could've noticed the changes beforehand, you know? Why do you think so many details were different? Surely you couldn't have believed that your presence was enough of a butterfly effect to cause so many tweaks to the story?"

She looked at me, stupefied. And then at her sword and back at me. She sighed and- okay, I crossed that part out furiously a moment before I hit the ground and landed on my back forcefully, the air getting knocked out of my lungs. Shitty human bodies.

Jayna was sitting on my chest with… a sword in her hand pointed at my neck? Damn, when did she get that out of the wall? I need to look up more when writing.

"If I get rid of your condescending butt that means there would be a vacant spot on the crew, doesn't it?", she snarled with a blood-thirsty grin plastered on her face.

I gulped, this was not what I planned. Luckily, I was an omnipotent being and the author of this story. I could just erase this part later on and come up with something humanly possible to escape this situation. The blade pressed down with more pressure and drew droplets of blood from my wonderfully crafted throat. "And you think this would be a smart move why?"

She shrugged lightly, "No one needs to know what happened between the two of us."

I really chose someone good for this role yet I was not sure if I should be excited about the future… if I were a normal human being. "Try it."

Jayna frowned before she actually went for it… something was definitely wrong with that girl if she took the life of others so lightly. She grew more and more frustrated when her sword did not move an inch even though she put all her muscle into it. My grin came back with full force as I slipped away and got back on my feet in a same distance. Ugh, wet pants felt so disgusting.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU GODDAMN CHEATING R.O.B.?!"

I crossed my arms in front of me, "That's called self-defense, I believe. What, you thought I would let you cut me down here and now? The story is just kicking off!"

Jayna fell on her face when I unfroze her body again and her force catapulted her forwards. I watched her and then began slowly walking away and back to the Merry. Jayna took her time shouting something dramatic after me. I anticipated a 'Damn you, Readi-!' Oh, I forgot to give her my name, she couldn't curse me. If she didn't even recognize me, I could not just work on the assumption that she remembered my name. My fault, I apologize.

I looked over my shoulder. "I believe that I haven't introduced myself yet. The name's Reading Oleander Blake. Reading of course being the last name. You can call me Oleander if you want."

She answered my civilized introduction with a stone that flew by at least an arm-length from hitting me. I chuckled lightly. "You're aim is terrible, Jayna. Better polish that until we meet again." I turned back to the street and lazily waved at her while walking.

I heard a building come tumbling down. Who left in the East Blue would even be able to-? …oh. Garp. And that sound means he most likely ran into Luffy…

I turned on my heels and jogged over to Jayna again who wobbled back onto her feet. I better play this right. i ran through the town layout in my mind, looking for the next water source where a person could be submerged effortlessly. She better be grateful at the end of this all because I was going to teach her the most important lesson a devilfruit user needed to learn, even if they have not realized yet that they belonged to that category: you can't move underwater.

~*D*~

He had expected to see his son running around town because he kept an eye on development all around the world and albeit a new upstarting, promising pirate was not something that caught his eye, he made an exception for his son and his progress. He still had a lot to learn and there was room for development but everyone starts out small and he didn't mind lending a hand if it didn't interfere with his priorities.

He was about to interfere after Smoker has caught his son and gave him no leeway to escape yet he hesitated in jumping into action when he began to feel his father's presence nearing. Soon enough the old man appeared. He looked like he always did. He really never changed, no matter what happened. Dragon looked on while Garp exchanged some words with Captain Smoker and the latter left. Luffy was still sprawled over the floor and Garp crouched down to the kid. Dragon heard his father's rough voice say something and Luffy jumped up instantly panicking and trying to run away from his grandfather. When Garp caught Luffy at his shoulder and pulled his arm back to give the boy on of his famous fist of love's, Dragon decided to intervene, jumped into action and within a second hold back his father's fist.

Garp instantly turned his head to see who was able to stop his punches and his eyes widened in surprise. "You…?"

"Don't try to stop fate from unfolding… and don't you have someone else to worry about?", he interrupted his father.

The old marine looked confused at first. He had clearly not been using his haki, else he would've known that one of his subordinates was not in the best condition. His weathered face hardened after he, too, felt what Dragon had been alluding to. Garp's eyes flitted to Luffy again before the old man sighed and slowly released his iron grip on the kid. "Next time-"

"There won't be a next time," Dragon interrupted harshly and reciprocated his father's stare until the old man finally jerked his fist out of Dragon's grip and disappeared the next moment using shave.

"Who are you? Do you know Gramps?", asked his son in confusion, stretching his shoulder.

Dragon smiled mysteriously. "You don't need to know that yet."

Luffy's head fell to one side and he looked unsatisfied with the answer but still smiled and simply said, "Okay."

~*S*~

A gentleman clad in a coat and a big hat walked through the city whose streets where eerily empty because of the sudden storm. He was about to leave the narrow street he had been wandering in for the last few minutes to enter a small plaza but he hastily retreated into the shadows when he saw that he was no longer alone.

In the center of the open plaza next to a fountain that was still spewing water as if competing with the rain crouched an elderly high-ranked marine next to a younger woman who was completely drenched and coughing up water. The elderly marine took of his coat and dropped it on the shoulders of the woman who immediately pulled it close, still shivering underneath the heavy cloth.

Sabo knew he had no time to lose; he needed to find the person who so mysteriously had sent him a letter. He wasn't sure how someone knew about his childhood and about his supposed brothers – as he read their names, he had been sure that he somehow had heard those names before. As if they had meant something to him once. Yet he couldn't stop staring at the old marine with that wide grin and how he patted the girl's shoulder enthusiastically. Sabo felt like something about that old man had triggered a wave of nostalgia but he wasn't sure why. Maybe he had run into him once before? That certainly didn't explain the positive emotions welling up in him, though. If he had met the marine once it would've been on a battlefield.

The girl yelped when the old man picked her up princess style and began carrying her off. Sabo let out a sigh as they turned into the opposite direction of him. He took a step forward and looked after them. He chuckled lightly as the young woman hammered her fists against the old man's chest.

"Let me down, I can walk on my own! I am not some stupid child that needs mothering! I'm serious, old man!"

Sabo's laughter abruptly stopped just as the old man's began. Garp? He knew that name, he was sure of it. The hero Garp, the one who caught Gol D. Roger. He never ran into that man on the battlefield, that would've been a fight he'd remember clearly for sure… but where had he met him before?

The blond gentleman shook his head to free himself of all the lingering thoughts. This was not the time to think about all that. He was here to find one of his supposed brothers, Straw Hat Luffy, as the letter mentioned. The new pirate should be here somewhere.

Maybe he'd need to head out to the port, maybe his baby brother was already heading out. Sabo began running towards the town gates he knew well enough now. After all, he spend the entire day asking people if they had seen a boy with a straw hat around.

He had expected to find a lot at the town gates. He had expected marine presence since they might want to stop any of the pirates from leaving after they had caused such a ruckus on the execution platform. Sadly, Sabo had gotten there too late to run into the one person he was looking for. he had expected said pirates, too. he had not expected his superior to be standing there with his arms wide spread.

Before Sabo could say anything, Dragon dropped his arms slowly and simply said, "You're too late, the boy has already set sails. His adventure already began."

Sabo was about to retort something and question why exactly Dragon did not wait for him or didn't tell Luffy to wait. But the wide smile Dragon was sporting was enough for him to drop the matter. Something great must've happened for him to be that excited. And Sabo would most likely get another chance to run into the Luffy kid.

A/N: Welcome to the real start of the fic. I hope you buckled up because we're heading into wild waters.