~Croquant~
They'd finished the tour, with some more antics thrown in between, and he was seriously impressed.
The interior was tastefully decorated with a homely yet luxurious touch.
The rooms wouldn't be out of place in an upper class hotel.
The kitchen was well equipped with everything, that a seafaring cook might need.
The weaponsystems were creatively designed and pretty effective, all things considered.
They even had an 'Oh shit!' button with the Coup de Burst.
The implemented workshops fit their respective owner's personalities.
But the things, that really impressed Croquant were the Aquarium Bar and the upper deck.
The bar had a fantastic ambiente and showed off the flair of the designer, while the upper deck was so playfully innocent, that it should feel completely out of place on a pirate ship.
Instead, it just strengthened the notion, that the strawhats were more adventurers than pirates, but thanks to the unforgiving stance of the World Government, they'd been labeled in the same way as all those distasteful pillagers and rapists out in the sea.
Well, that and Luffy's Ambition.
To become the Pirate King, you have to be a pirate, after all.
As they made their way back to the resort, he located Garp and told Robin.
"I have to discuss something with the old man, we'll meet at the resort?"
He'd just have to make a small detour to get the bribe for Garp before seeking him out.
She nodded sedately, as she shifted Merry slightly. The former ship fell asleep in the lull and comfort after their little play fight and instead of waking her unnecessarily, they'd let her sleep with Robin carrying her.
He pressed a kiss to both their foreheads before soruing away in Garp's direction.
Had he looked back, he'd have seen a lovely little blush and a small smile on Robin's face.
~Garp~
'If they don't leave soon, I'll have to catch them.'
He thought with some annoyance.
Suddenly, he picked up the signature of the little brat, Croccy, within his Kenbonshoku range.
'Since he seems to want to meet me, I'll meet him... With my fist.'
Already, Garp was planning to air his anger with violence against a fairly innocent and unwitting bystander.
And so he did.
His fist crashed into a hastily mounted defense as his target shouted.
"What the hell? Why'd you suddenly attack me you senile fossil?!"
"Bwahahaha, I just felt someone strong coming in my direction and acted on instinct!"
While he said that, he charged up another punch with even more force.
"If you say it's instinct, don't go around throwing punches with clear battle intent!
Also, I have a bribe, *cough*, a gift for you!
You'll smash it to pieces if you continue!"
That stopped him from unleashing the barrage of justice fists he'd planned.
He'd noticed the big backpack he was carrying, so it was for him?
"A gift?"
He observed the young monster in front of him and nodded with a laugh.
"Bwahahaha, I like the way you think, kid. Give this grandpa a gift, show your respect for this esteemed marine!"
Croquant's left eye twitched.
"If I give you the gift, you may not have the time to apprehend the strawhats for, lets say, a week?"
"Don't be silly, I'm an energetic man in my best years!
The most it'll take me to... work through your gift is a day!"
Croquant shook his head left and right.
"Believe me, even someone as energetic as you will need 5 days at least, what do you say?"
Garp snorted.
"As if, don't measure me by your poor performance.
3 days, I'll need, and not a day more."
The diplomat clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"You drive a hard bargain, old man, but alright.
Three days it is."
He threw the backpack and Garp caught it.
He curiously sniffed at the package within, only to start salivating as soon as he did.
"Are those your selfmade ricecrackers?!"
There was a fervour in his voice, that was absent before.
Croquant nodded smugly and threw in another bomb.
"Not just that. There are three new flavours in there as well.
Also: at the end of the three days, you'll get two more flavours and some other stuff, that you'll probably like. If you keep your end of the deal, of course."
Garp nodded seriously.
Five entirely new, never seen before flavours of rice crackers?
That's at least as important as a code yellow from Sengoku.
~Croquant~
After successful negotiations and a short spar without major techniques, he was on his way to the resort, whistling all the while.
It was obvious, that he was in a good mood.
Which made the scene he arrived to all the more irritating.
'Are those bounty hunters?
They aren't very strong, though.'
~General~
"Mates, it seems we caught ourselves a devil child!"
The first one cheered while holding a Wanted Poster in his hands.
The others chuckled while watching Robin.
And then, one of them said something unforgivable.
"We might even have enough time to have some fun before the marine collects her."
He signed his death warrant with a lecherous expression, that left no doubt about what he meant.
~Croquant~
He sighed, a headache already forming, and stepped purposefully through the group of bounty hunters until he stood between them and the mother-daughter pair.
"And who do you think you are, you clown?!"
One of them asked with hostility in his voice.
"Do you guys have the relevant posters of the New World?"
He answered the question with one of his own.
Although confused about the non-answer, the yet unnamed bounty hunter had a bad feeling and asked the fellow, who held their poster copies for the New World ones.
It didn't take him long to find what he was searching for as he pulled out the bounty of a true powerhouse with shaking hands.
One, that was standing in front of them while striking the same pose, that could be seen on the poster.
Bounty: Dead or Alive
'Devil's Tongue' Charlotte Croquant
1.300.000.057 Beli
Known for his silver tongue, he managed to talk down even upstanding marines from attacking savage pirates.
Don't believe a single word out of the mouth of this Devil in human form!
"O-o-one point three billion?!"
The most likely to remean unnamed bounty hunter stuttered out in awe and fear as he looked at the poster with bulging eyes.
"Oh, it seems you have one of the older ones."
The pirate in question mused as he rummaged around in his coat pockets until he let out a sound of accomplishment and pulled out another bounty poster.
The only thing different was the bounty.
It read 1.700.000.057 instead.
With a cheeky grin on his face and smoldering rage in his eyes, he said.
"Basically, run."
~Robin~
Croquant was whistling a cheery tune while walking beside her, who looked at him from the corner of her eyes.
"I could have handled them."
She stated.
He nodded with a musing expression on his face.
"You could have. Easily at that."
"Then why did you step in?"
She asked him as she turned her head completely, giving him a curious gaze.
He held up three fingers.
"Three reasons."
He stated as he lowered the first finger.
"One: you could have jostled little Merry, which may have woken her up.
Didn't want to risk it."
She nodded at that, as that was the reason she didn't instantly annihilate them.
They were also near-whispering because of the same reason.
That they were walking without distance between them was just an added benefit.
He lowered the next one.
"Second: They kinda ruined my good mood and making a cool entrance restored it."
She deadpanned at that.
It was the reason she expected, but having it confirmed was a different thing entirely.
He lowered the last finger, making a fist in the process.
His knuckles cracked as he clenched it.
"And third."
He stated with a serious and somewhat savage expression on his face.
"That fella, who wanted to have 'some fun' with you had to die.
The others didn't object, so they had to die too."
His words, brutal as they were, really shouldn't send a thrill through her.
The butterflies, that she managed to somewhat mute in his near permanent presence, were flying and frolicking through her stomach again and a shy smile, unbidden by her, had made it's appearance on her slightly rosy face.
This man was the only one she knew, that could make recountings of violence and murder seem like a positively romantic gesture.
She wouldn't change a thing about him, though.