While watching the show of internal conflict, the rubber boy is still snoring away despite being within range of crossfire.
"Aw, damn it" Zoro grumbled, looking down from the rooftop adobe. A near front-row seat of all the carnage and drama.
"Looks like our captain seems to be trapped," Ghin remarked while smirking. "We'd better go save him, shouldn't we?"
"It can't be helped. I don't want us to get involved with their silly little squabble so might as well" you sighed.
The three of you climbed off your rooftop before taking refuge behind the building, awaiting an opportunity for either of you to regain your rubber boy/captain from the startling situation.
While they're distracted, you signal Zoro to snatch Luffy away. He ran so subtly between the fight and dragged the sleeping Luffy behind him. Fortunately, the Baroque Works agents care less about you guys as they had a more pressing mission. They fought and some weird came out of Mr 5's nose and exploded.
From within a nearby valley, Zoro and Ghin watched the fight with disbelief.
"I knew I was gonna see some strange stuff here on the Grand Line, but explosive snot??" Even that's something I did not count on witnessing" Ghin eyes the event in subtle shock.
"Tell me about it" Zoro agreed. "Did that just come out of his nose??"
"I got to admit it, it's a new one for me too. Out of all the weird things I've seen on the Grand Line, it had to be this" you added.
"What do you think?? Devil Fruit user??" Ghin theorized.
"Most likely. It's a common thing on the Grand Line so it should be it" Your discussion was cut short when you felt something grab onto your ankle. You looked down to see the injured Mr 8. You care less about his real name. He looked at you with pleading eyes.
"Hey!! What are you doing?!" Zoro demanded.
"Take your hands off her!!" Ghin reached for his tonfas.
You held your hand out to stop them and knelt to hear the man's pleas.
"Arsene, please!! I have the most unreasonable request, but I need someone with strength such as yours!!"
"Yeah, right!! You gotta be kidding!! Would you let go of her!!" Zoro growled.
"And what would that be??" you questioned, tilting your head a little.
"Both of those villains possess Devil Fruit powers and there's nothing I can do to stop them!! That is why I am begging you now: Protect Vivi of Alabasta in my place!! Please!!"
"Forget it!! We're not helping you!! Until a few minutes ago, you were still trying to kill us!! What do you think we are?! Fools?!"
"Oh? And what would we get in exchange for bringing the princess back home? Cuz I'm doing this for free" you asked with a bored expression. If you agree to this deal, you have a bad feeling about this, so you decide to play safe for now.
"I'll help myself to that reward"
Everyone turned to look up to see Nami sitting atop the adobe, watching the whole thing, a sly smirk in the mischievous gleam in her eyes at the prospect of money.
"How does a billion berries sound?"
"Nami?!" Zoro and Ghin gawked at their thought-to-be unconscious navigator.
"Huh? What did you say?" the injured guy coughed out blood as his voice cracked. "Ma Ma Maaaa!!"
"Weren't you passed out drunk earlier?" Ghin inquired. "Leave it to you to pop out of nowhere when money is the subject of discussion"
"Give me some credit" the navigator hopped down to the ground level. "Who in their right mind would sleep in a town that welcomes pirates like Whiskey Peak? It was all an act, a charade, a pretense"
Zoro groaned. "Whatever"
"So why don't you go ahead and promise us the billion beri reward, huh captain?? Cuz if we don't agree to help your precious princess, then she's probably gonna die" Nami gives a Cheshire grin, knowing full well that the pirates were the girl's only hope of survival.
"I'm just a simple soldier" Igaram admitted. "I cannot promise such an immense reward"
"Surely you aren't suggesting that your princess's life is worth less than that, right??" Nami hummed sneakily.
The poor bodyguard sputtered, at a loss for words.
"Doesn't fight fair, does she??" Zoro remarked with his arms crossed.
"Extortionist, thy name is Nami" Ghin muttered.
"I can't promise anything!! But if you're willing to deliver the princess to Alabasta, then you had best negotiate the terms of the reward directly with her!!" Igaram stated.
Nami's eyes narrowed but kept her cheeky gleam and her smile dropped from her lips. "Which means I have to save her first, huh??"
"Please understand; Her life is in danger" he urged.
"Oh, alright" Nami sighed, unhappy with the arrangement. "We'll go ahead and save your princess, for now"
"Well, Zoro, Ghin, go get her!!" She passed off the job to the swordsman and the quartermaster, purposely leaving out the Shichibukai.
"Screw that!! No!!" Zoro and Ghin protested.
"If you want to make money, then fine!! But you don't involve us in it!!" The swordsman argued.
"In case you didn't know, they're the ones who tried to kill us before so why do we need to go??" Ghin added.
"Don't be stupid and stubborn. The money I make is certainly mine but the contracts that I land benefit all of us. Why can you both not see that??"
"Do you seriously expect me to buy into that crap?!" Zoro snapped.
"What? All you two do here is beat up a few guys" Nami reasoned.
You decided to keep your mouth shut and watch the arguments of these humans of the crew. You'll intervene when necessary. To tell the truth, you don't want to intervene in Alabasta's affairs and their little civil war.
"I gave you the 100,000 back almost right away" Zoro argued. "Someone gave me the swords so I didn't even need your stupid berries"
"Maybe so, but you agreed to pay me 300%, bringing your total to 300,000 berries. And you agreed to it. You still owe me interest"
"I gave the money back to you on the same day!! You can't expect me to pay you interest"
"Sure can"
Okay, it seems now is the time you can intervene. "Hey now. When did you ever say that he has to pay the interest? I was there when you handed the money to him and you didn't say that he has to pay the interest" you recalled causing Nami to flinch.
"I also paid for my weapons with your money so does that mean I have to pay back the interest as well??" you placed your hand on your chin in a thinking manner.
"No, no, no!! That's not it!! Also, I didn't give you my money, you stole it!!" Nami pointed at you accusingly.
"My, my. When did I ever do such a thing? Do you have proof that I stole it?" you replied with your hand covering your mouth while smirking behind it.
"I-"
"How about this? Once we get the situation and info between Alabasta and Baroque Works, we'll consider the deal. If we help the princess, Nami can get her money and get the princess back home safely. If we don't help, we'll ignore all this and pretend that it never happened. Sound good?" you negotiated.
Nami thought it over for a moment then reluctantly agreed. "I guess . . .its a win-win deal for us"
Zoro sighed in relief.
You turned to them and wrapped your arms around them as you took off in the direction of the runaway princess.
"Thanks for that," Zoro said.
You hummed in response. "Well, I've seen these kinds of tricks everywhere as a thief myself. How do you think I haven't gotten tricked or scammed yet?"
"Well, now I know to not mess with our navigator when money is involved" Ghin added.
"You'll learn in due time. For now, we have a princess to save"
____________________________________________________________
Okay, I'm not dealing with this stupidity right now cuz what I'm seeing in front of me is one of the purest stupidities I have ever seen in Luffy. Not even Ace or Sabo can handle it back then . . .
"Just a sec!! What's going on here?! I thought you guys were on the same side!!" Vivi's head then snapped to you and Ghin. "And you two, shouldn't you stop them before they kill each other?"
"If you haven't noticed, my captain is a stubborn one" Ghin responded. "Words just go over his head; He only understands actions, or rather fighting. He won't stop unless someone makes him"
You nodded in agreement. "Even if he listens to me, I doubt the truth will ever get into that thick skull of his so it's best to let it run its course. I will stop the fight if it gets too far"
The captain and the first mate clashed their attacks against each other, neither willing to give the other an edge. They sent another one of their attacks, causing them to be sent flying against the opposing walls.
"Should I be glad that I'm not a part of this crew?" you questioned yourself.
"Maybe" Ghin replied.
"Just what the hell am I gonna do with these idiots for the rest of the journey?"