so here's a new chapter, enjoy:)
Flashback
Luffy clung on to Aokiji's shoulders as the latter rode his bicycle through the waves. He watched as the ice path extended underneath the bicycle wheels as they cut through the sea. Aokiji was humming a tune as he pedaled the bicycle as though it was an everyday occurrence.
"Teacher, where are we going?" Luffy asked, not taking his eyes of the ice.
"Mmmm… There's an island nearby that some pirates are rampaging around, we're going to check it out." Aokiji replied offhandedly.
Luffy nodded before a gust of wind blew past them, blowing out a piece of paper that had been under Aokiji's cloak.
Luffy managed to catch it before it drifted away, looking down at it, he realized it was a wanted poster of a girl.
"Teacher, who's this?" Luffy poked Aokiji's back.
He turned to look over his shoulder, spotting the poster Luffy was holding in his hands.
"Oh… That girl… She's a wanted criminal," Aokiji turned back to the front casually.
"Eh? Isn't she like, really young? What did she do?" Luffy stared wide eyed at the poster. The girl in the picture couldn't be more than eight years old but yet the reward for her was a stunning seventy-nine million berries.
"She knows things that she shouldn't," Aokiji said simply. "And the things she knows are a threat to the world."
"Oh… What should I do if I see her?" Luffy continued to stare at the poster.
Aokiji stopped the bicycle to turn and look at Luffy in the eye, "This girl is the one exception I will make for you, Luffy…"
"Exception? The holding back and accidentally killing people you kept telling me?" Luffy gasped.
"Yes, if you ever see this girl…" Aokiji grasped Luffy by his shoulders, leaning close to him.
Aokiji's eyes were dead cold, even colder than the ice he makes. Luffy gulped as he knew his teacher was absolutely serious now.
"Kill her."
"Hey, so who are you guys, actually?" Usopp asked Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday.
"Yeah, you never really told us who you were," Sanji nodded, puffing on his cigarette.
All of them were sitting on the deck waiting for Nami's next commands. The weather had so many dramatic changes the moment the crew had left Twin Cape that there was absolutely no time to rest. It could be snowing for a few minutes before a sudden lightning storm struck and a hurricane might be included into the mix. Nami had worked the whole crew to the bones doing her best to keep the ship afloat with her navigation skills.
After what seemed like hours of pulling up and letting down sails, repairing holes caused by icebergs and constantly turning the ship around, they finally had a moment's rest when they hit calmer waters.
"We already told you, I'm Mr. 9!" Mr. 9 thumped his chest proudly.
"And I'm Wiss Wednesday," Miss Wednesday flicked her hair back.
Usopp face palmed, "No, really, who are you guys actually?"
"We can't say, we come from an organization that's all hush, hush," Mr. 9 raised his index finger to his lips.
"Yes, even if you're Marines, we still can't tell you because that's our motto," Miss Wednesday shook her head sadly.
"Oh really now?" Zoro stepped up to them. "Now what's this organization you're talking about?"
"We… We can't say…" Mr. 9 sweated a little.
"Yes… Yes… It's our policy…" Miss Wednesday tried to smile.
"Hmmm… This policy sounds rather familiar to me… But I just can't put my finger on it…" Zoro scratched his chin, smirking at them.
"You must be mistaken then…" Mr. 9 tried.
"Yes, we're nothing but honest bounty hunters…" Miss Wednesday glanced away.
"Hmph, I'll be watching you," Zoro's smirk grew wider before walking away.
Usopp watched Zoro walk away with a raised eyebrow, "What was that about?"
"Nothing, absolutely nothing!" Mr. 9 shook his hands at him.
"Indeed, absolutely nothing at all!" Miss Wednesday nodded her head.
"Suspicious…" Both Usopp and Sanji mouthed.
Nami stood at the back of the ship watching the clouds with Luffy beside her. Luffy seemed to be having a blast with all the chaos that was going around just now and that annoyed Nami.
"How were you even so calm back there?" Nami glared at Luffy. "This whole place is crazy! All of my navigation skills have failed to work! If it weren't for the crash course I got from Captain Smoker that time in Loguetown, we'll all be in trouble!"
"Shishishishi, relax Nami, we'll be fine!" Luffy laughed. "I've been here for the last three years after all! The weather will be the least of our worries once we hit the latter half of Paradise!"
"Paradise?" Nami stared at Luffy incredulously.
"Yeah! That's what the first half of Grand Line is called!"
"This place is called Paradise?" Nami cried, tears spilling down her cheeks. "How can such a hellish place be called Paradise?"
"So how far away are we, Nami?" Luffy grinned, leaning against the railing.
"I don't know…" Nami sighed, checking her log pose to make sure they were still sailing in the right direction. "After everything that happened just now, we could be an hour, maybe even a week away… This place is scary…"
"That's what makes this place so fun!" Luffy chuckled.
"You… You monster…" Nami wailed, slumping herself on the railing.
Luffy patted Nami on the shoulder with a huge grin on his face before walking down the stairs to join the rest of the crew.
"Luffy!" Zoro called out from the kitchen, beckoning him over.
Zoro closed the door behind him as Luffy entered the room, "What is it, Zoro?"
"Luffy, ever heard of this organization called Baroque Works?" Zoro folded his arms.
"Baroque Works?" Luffy scratched his chin. "Is it some kind of company for water pipes?"
"No," Zoro sighed. "It's some kind of underground criminal organization. It's an organization that no one knows about each other's real identities and demands absolute obedience from its members."
"Criminal organization?" Luffy gasped.
Zoro nodded grimly.
"What's a criminal organization?" Luffy tilted his head.
Zoro face palmed, "Just take it that they are a bunch of criminals that slapped a name on themselves, alright?"
Luffy nodded dumbly.
"Anyway, these guys tried to recruit me once way back when I was a bounty hunter before, I refused of course," Zoro snorted. "I couldn't agree with the 'absolute obedience' part… The whole thing is all about secrecy and everyone in it has their own code name that they must use."
"What about the boss?" Luffy tilted his head.
"That's also a secret that no one in the organization knows either. In fact, it's the most closely guarded secret of the organization." Zoro frowned.
"Hmmm… So why did you bring this up now?" Luffy crossed his arms.
"Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday are both code names, Luffy…" Zoro pointed out.
"Oh… So those two are part of the organization huh…" Luffy nodded in understanding.
"Indeed… We need to be wary…" Zoro glanced towards the door leading to the deck.
A few seconds passed by silently.
"EHHH?! So those two are bad guys?!" Luffy yelled.
"You just realized?!" Zoro yelled back at him.
Luffy began panicking, waving his arms in the air, "Oh no! We let criminals on the ship! What should we do?! Should we arrest them?! But we promised to help them! Do I report this to HQ? What if they attack us?"
"Calm down, damn it!" Zoro knocked Luffy on the head. "They don't know we know that yet, let's just see what happens and we'll decide what we'll do with them."
Luffy nodded, clutching his head where Zoro had hit him.
"Luffy! Zoro!" Usopp flung the kitchen door open. "Hey! Come out guys, we're here!"
"Here? Where?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"Whiskey Peak of course! Our first island on the Grand Line!" Usopp pointed outside.
Both of them rushed out after Usopp to the prow of the ship where everyone else was gathered. Right in front of the ship the silhouettes of giant cactuses could be seen.
"That's Cactus Island!" Mr. 9 grinned.
"Whiskey Peak is just up ahead!" Miss Wednesday pointed at the river opening.
"Full speed ahead!" Luffy cheered, undoubtedly the most excited out of everyone.
"Welcome to Whiskey Peak!" Miss Wednesday gestured towards the cheering town.
The whole crew had received a warmer than expected welcome to the town, it seemed as though everyone in the town had specially came out to receive them.
"Hear this my friends!" Mr. 9 jumped up on to the railings of the ship, waving his hands at the crowd. "These kind Marines have graciously decided to aid us in our food shortage problem!"
The town cheered even louder than before.
"All hail the Marines! Heroes of the sea!" Mr. 9 cheered.
"Hail the Marines! Heroes of the sea!" The town echoed.
"Wow! This place is awesome!" Usopp grinned.
"Look at all the pretty ladies!" Sanji waved, his eyes turning into heart shapes.
As the ship lowered the gangplank for the crew to disembark, a tall gentleman with blonde curly hair stepped up to them with a broad smile.
"I welcome you Marines! I am Igarappoi, the mayor of this town of Whiskey Peak!" The man bowed to them. "On behalf of this town, I humbly thank you for your generosity."
"There's no need to be so formal," Luffy laughed, scratching his head in embarrassment. "How much do you need?"
"We couldn't ask much from our saviors, a measly twenty million would suffice for us to last," Igarappoi bowed again.
"TWENTY MILLION?" Nami cried.
She pulled Luffy away, her arm around his neck as she leaned close to whisper, "Luffy… Do we really have to help these people? He's asking for a third of all our money!"
"We're Marines right? We help people when they need help," Luffy raised an eyebrow as though he just said the most obvious thing in the world.
Nami bit her finger, "Is there anyway we can help them without giving them our money, please?" Nami pleaded with teary eyes.
"Well… What do you propose?" Luffy scratched his head.
"They just need food right? There's plenty of fish in the sea! We can just organize a fishing party out to get enough fish for the whole town!"
"Ok," Luffy said simply.
"No, you don't understand, he's asking a whole third of our money! What if we meet some problems on the way? What if… Wait? Did you say ok?" Nami stopped herself.
"Yeah, I mean, you did make sense there, right?" Luffy grinned at her, turning to walk back to Igarappoi.
"Is there a problem, sir?" The mayor sweated slightly.
"Yeah… My Navigator did not agree to your terms, so she came up with a counter-proposal." Luffy grinned.
"What kind of counter-proposal?" Igarappoi raised an eyebrow.
"I'll go help you guys catch some fish to eat!" Luffy placed his hands on his hips.
"Fish? That would be a problem you see, Mr…" Igarappoi gestured a hand towards Luffy.
"Luffy, Commodore Monkey D. Luffy," he finished for him.
"Yes, that would be quite a problem you see, Mr Luffy." Igarappoi gave a slight cough as he gestured to the town.
"Even though it is a possibility, the sea outside our town is quite dangerous." He looked towards the sea sadly.
"Indeed, Sea Kings are quite common in this area," Miss Wednesday shook her head sadly.
"Even if we went out to fish, we risk incurring the wrath of one," Mr. 9 sighed.
"Ugh… There's no other way then…" Nami sighed.
Sanji nodded, "This explains everything."
"Oh? Then isn't your food problem solved then?" Luffy tilted his head.
"Huh? Weren't you listening? There's Sea Kings out there, Mr. Luffy," Igarappoi narrowed his eyes at him.
"Yeah, why don't you just get one for food?" Luffy grinned.
"DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!" Everyone yelled at him.
Luffy pouted, "Give me five minutes."
"Luffy? What are you planning?" Zoro raised an eyebrow at him.
"You're not actually going to fish are you?" Usopp shook slightly.
"Don't be ridiculous, Usopp," Luffy grinned at him.
"Oh good, for a moment there, I thought-"
"I'm gonna go get a Sea King!" Luffy interrupted Usopp. "Nami! Hold this for me!"
Luffy handed both his straw hat and Marine cloak to her.
"WHAT?!" Everyone yelled.
"Geppo!"
Luffy launched himself out towards the sea, disappearing to a speck on the horizon within a second before diving into the sea.
"He's… Not actually going to do that… Is he?" Miss Wednesday gasped.
"That's the scary thing… We don't know…" Nami groaned.
The crowd waited in silence, watching the calm sea as the minutes ticked by. A serpentine Sea King exploded out from the water without warning, roaring up at a tiny figure that jumped out in front of it. The Sea King easily matched up with Laboon in size, only that its mouth stretched open wider and its teeth were especially razor sharp.
"HE'S DOING IT!" Everyone cried, eyes popping out of their heads.
They watched with open mouth shock as both the Sea King and Luffy crashed back into the water in an explosion of spray, they could hear Luffy's laughter all the way from here.
"The crazy bastard's actually enjoying it…" Sanji gasped.
"And Mihawk's stronger than this guy…." Zoro gritted his teeth.
"Is he human?" Miss Wednesday covered her mouth.
A few moments later, everyone gasped as the carcass of a giant Sea King emerged in the bay. A soaked and chuckling Luffy climbed up onto land beside their ship.
"You guys ordered a Sea King?" Luffy grinned at them.
"You… How?" Igarappoi gasped in open mouthed wonder.
"Shishishishi, back when I was training with my Gra- Trainer, he had me tossed into the sea to fight with Sea Kings. That was also how I learned to swim, eventually," Luffy chuckled.
All the Straw Hats face palmed.
"He's really not human…" Nami groaned.
"Do all Marines have to go through this training, or is it just you?" Sanji frowned, wondering how many actually survive past training if everyone had to go through that.
"I'm still so far from being a great warrior of the seas…" Usopp sighed.
"This is the power that is common in the Grand Line..." Zoro grinned.
"You're… not hurt…" Mr. 9 noted.
"Indeed… Not a single scratch… against a Sea King…" Miss Wednesday paled.
"So I guess your food problem's solved with this right?" Luffy jerked his thumb at the Sea King with a huge grin plastered on his face.
"In… Indeed, Mr. Luffy… That thing can feed us for at least two years, if not more! I thank you again for your help," Igarappoi bowed to the Marine in gratitude.
"Shishishi! Don't mention it!" Luffy laughed.
"This calls for a feast! We have more food than we can finish now! Throw a feast for our heroes!" The mayor announced, the whole town cheered in agreement.
"And they were so worried about not having enough food moments ago…" Sanji shook his head.
The party began in earnest right after they had secured the Sea King to the harbor. There was plenty of food for everyone now and the people of Whiskey Peak wasted no effort to show their heroes the best hospitality they had ever seen.
Both Zoro and Nami found themselves participating in rowdy drinking contests with the various townspeople including Mr. 9. Usopp managed to find a group of wide eyed admirers listening on his tales of being a brave warrior of the seas. Sanji found himself in heaven surrounded by a group of ladies that were doing their best to entertain him and Luffy got to eat as much as he wanted from the Sea King he had defeated.
"Hahaha! It truly is a great day for us! Enjoy yourselves to your hearts' content!" Igarappoi laughed.
The party carried on late into the night until most of the town had fallen asleep.
Igarappoi stepped out of the tavern where most of the town had retired to, smiling to himself. Miss Wednesday followed him out, staring out to the bay where the Marine ship was docked.
"That Marine is strong…" Miss Wednesday sighed.
"Indeed… I never thought I'll meet someone like that all the way out here…" Igarappoi glanced back at the tavern's open door. Many of the bounty hunters that had disguised themselves to be town folks are sprawled all over the place, fast asleep.
"You're not thinking of… recruiting him, are you?" Miss Wednesday whispered to him.
"Recruiting who for what?" A voice asked from behind them. Both turned to see a very muscular woman with dark colored skin approach them, her face was flushed, showing she had been drinking.
"Oh, Miss Monday!" Miss Wednesday gasped.
"Mr. 8, you didn't join us in celebrating! Miss Wednesday too! Why don't you come drink with me!" Miss Monday grinned at them, showing the three bottles of wine she held in her hands.
"It's alright, Miss Monday, go enjoy yourself," Igarappoi, otherwise Mr. 8, smiled at her.
"Suit yourselves," Miss Monday grinned, walking off to enjoy her alcohol in another part of town.
"Back on the topic, you're not actually thinking of asking him for help, are you?" Miss Wednesday stared at Mr. 8.
"Why not? In fact, we should already report this to the Marines! We already know who's behind all this, don't we?" Mr. 8 whispered.
Miss Wednesday bit her thumb, "But we still don't have proof… The Marines won't listen to us if we don't show them proof…"
"Nonsense," Mr. 8 grasped Miss Wednesday's shoulders. "You're the princess! Of course they'll listen to you!"
"Shhh! Igaram! Shhh! You'll blow our cover!" Miss Wednesday covered his mouth frantically.
"Princess… If we just report it to the Marines, we won't need to hide it anymore…" Mr. 8/ Igarappoi/ Igaram sighed.
"Igaram, we're still among enemies here… If they were to find out, we'll be finished before even going back!" Miss Wednesday cried.
Igaram turned back to check the tavern again, "It's fine princess, they're all passed out from partying after all…"
"You guys really have me all confused now, so are you bounty hunters or not?" A voice called out from above them.
Both looked up fearfully to see a smirking Zoro sitting at the edge of the roof, a bottle of sake in his hand.
"You… You're one of the Marines…" Igaram gasped. "Didn't you pass out from drinking?"
"A true swordsman never allows alcohol to take control of himself," He grinned, jumping down the building to join them.
"So how can I help you, Baroque Works?" Zoro smirked at them.
Both Igaram and Miss Wednesday gasped, "You know?"
Zoro nodded, one of his hands at his swords, "Back when I was still a bounty hunter, they approached me and offered me a place among them. I refused of course, but I'd never thought I'll meet you guys here…"
"This makes things easier," Igaram stepped forward, not worried about Zoro's unclasped sword. "Let me reintroduce ourselves, I am Igaram, Captain of the Alabasta Royal Guards."
"Royal Guards?" Zoro raised an eyebrow, his hand leaving his swords.
"Yes, and here is Nefertari Vivi, princess of the Alabasta Kingdom."
"Princess?!" Nami gasped from behind Zoro.
"You're awake too?" Zoro turned to her.
Nami grinned, "Of course! You think that little alcohol is able to knock me out? Heh, I'm up for more!"
Zoro rolled his eyes and turned back to them, "So what's a princess and the Captain of the Royal Guards doing in a criminal organization?"
Vivi lowered her head, "My country, Alabasta, is currently torn by civil war. We managed to track down the organization that has been instigating the revolutionaries, but we couldn't find out who was leading it."
"I take it the organization is?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
Both Igaram and Vivi nodded.
"So you infiltrated it as one of them?" Nami asked.
Vivi nodded, "Indeed, I had Igaram and I join the organization as one of their own to find out their secrets from the inside."
"And what did you find?" Zoro crossed his arms.
"The boss of this organization spread lies to his subordinates about building an ideal nation, but in reality he aims to take over the kingdom of Alabasta. If I don't return with this information, my country will fall into his hands…" Vivi gritted her teeth.
"My, aren't you the brave princess," Zoro smirked at her.
"Princess Vivi cares for her country more than herself," Igaram sighed. "I was originally against the idea... But she had said that she would go regardless of whether I followed or not."
"Did you say, princess Vivi?" Luffy stepped out from the tavern.
"Oh, you're actually awake, what a surprise," Nami grinned at Luffy.
Luffy stared at Vivi, "You're Nefertari Vivi, princess of Alabasta?"
"Ye… Yes…" Vivi stuttered, seeing the serious looks in his eyes.
"You've been reported missing for quite some time now…" Luffy noted, not taking his eyes off her.
"Yes, we never informed anyone of our plans," Igaram answered for her.
"I see… So who's the one behind all this?" Luffy's eyes stayed serious.
Vivi clenched her fists, "It's one of the Seven Warlords… Crocodile…"
"The Seven Warlords?!" Nami gasped.
Luffy furrowed his brows at the mention of the name.
"Luffy, you know him?" Zoro glanced at his Commodore.
Luffy shook his head, "I never met him… But my trainer never had anything good to say about him…"
"So what do you plan to do?" Nami turned back to Vivi.
"We both need to get back to Alabasta to warn my people about Baroque Works' intentions… I cannot allow my people to play into Crocodile's hands!" Vivi cried.
Luffy, Nami and Zoro turned to look at one another, nodding.
"I guess, that's that, we'll escort you back to your home." Nami grinned.
"I'll report to Headquarters about Crocodile's treachery too," Luffy smirked.
Footsteps echoed down a dirt path just as they were about to leave. Everyone turned to see a couple walking towards them confidently.
"More bounty hunters?" Zoro crossed his arms.
Igaram and Vivi both took a frightful step back.
"Those two… they're Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine…" Vivi gasped.
Zoro narrowed his eyes, hands going to his swords again, "More Baroque Works agents?"
"The lower the number, the stronger the agent…" Igaram stepped in front of Vivi protectively.
"Kyahahaha! My, my, my, what have we here? Do I see Mr. 8 and Miss Wednesday collaborating with Marines?" Miss Valentine snickered, twirling the umbrella in her hand.
"Why are you here?" Vivi demanded.
"We received a report from the boss saying his secret got found out. Though what secret it was, we have no clue," Mr. 5 said simply, his eyes unreadable beneath his sunglasses.
"And we have information that two little rats from a certain kingdom has infiltrated our organization," Miss Valentine sneered.
Both Vivi and Igaram gasped.
"And you know what we do with rats?" Mr. 5 picked his nose casually.
Everyone tensed.
"We dispose of them," He flicked his booger at the group. Just as the projectile neared them, it exploded suddenly, engulfing all of them in the blast.
"Kyahahaha! That was easier than I thought," Miss Valentine snickered.
They were about to turn their backs when the smoke cleared to reveal Luffy standing still with his right palm raised towards them, smoke clearing from his palm.
"Tch, at least tell us if you're gonna do something like that," Zoro frowned, his swords already drawn.
"Heh? You're not bad for a Marine," Miss Valentine snickered.
"What's going on?" A few bounty hunters stuck their head out of the tavern.
"Perfect timing, agents! Those two are spies from the Kingdom of Alabasta, the boss has ordered their execution!" Mr. 5 pointed towards Vivi and Igaram.
The bounty hunters looked between the two groups, hesitating.
"Mr. 8? Miss Wednesday?"
"They're spies?"
"What should we do?"
"The boss ordered it after all…"
"Go wake the rest!"
The bounty hunters poured out of the tavern, each with a weapon in hand.
Luffy frowned at this, the people who he had just been feasting with moments ago have drawn their weapons against them.
"Nami, go wake Usopp and Sanji and take Vivi and Igaram to our ship," Luffy cracked his knuckles.
"Aye, sir!" Nami grinned, running into the tavern.
"Zoro, I'll leave the small fries to you."
Zoro smirked, his swords ready, "With pleasure."
"You stupid Marines, can't you see you're outnumbered?" One of the bounty hunters waved his weapon at them.
Zoro stepped out, his bandana already tied around his head, "Only weaklings care about numbers."
He charged towards them, swords by his side.
"Shoot him!" The bounty hunters fired their guns.
Zoro zigzagged through the hail of bullets, reaching the first guy before they could fire their second rounds.
"Oni Giri!"
Zoro slashed his swords at them, cutting through their weapons and flinging them away from him.
"Meddlesome brats…" Mr. 5 flung another of his booger at him.
Luffy appeared in front of Zoro, blocking another explosion, "Your opponent is me."
"So be it, Marine," Mr. 5 rolled up his sleeves, cracking his knuckles.
Nami appeared from the tavern, dragging a still groggy Usopp and Sanji with her hands.
"Vivi, Igaram! Let's go!" Nami sprinted down towards the bay where their ship was anchored.
"They're getting away! Get them!" The bounty hunters of Baroque Works picked up their weapons to follow them.
Zoro dashed out in front of them, swords pointed menacingly at them, "You'll have to get through me first! Taka Nami!"
Dashing in front of the crowd, he slashed his swords in an arc causing a gust of wind to cut through the bounty hunters, blood spraying from those that had been cut. He looked down at his bloodied sword with disapproval.
"Sandai Kitetsu… A sword should only cut what it's master wants to cut, I still have a long way to go to be the best…"
Zoro flinched back as a bounty hunter slashed his sword at him, bringing the sword in his other hand forward to parry before swinging his head downwards, cutting the man down with Wado Ichimonji in his mouth.
"All of you are just small fires to me, don't get ahead of yourselves," Zoro smirked at them.
One of the bounty hunters smirked back at him, "It doesn't matter, we just needed to keep you here!"
"What?" Zoro raised his eyebrow.
"We already sent a group ahead to lie in ambush for them, there's no where to run," The bounty hunter's smirk got wider.
"You bastards!" Zoro turned to the direction where Nami had ran off to.
"You shouldn't turn your back to us!" The bounty hunters leaped towards him.
Zoro's eyes flashed, "I don't have time for you guys if that's the case…"
He slashed out with all three of his swords before turning around to chase after Nami. The bounty hunters that had leapt towards him all collapsed in a pile, already unconscious.
"And now you're alone," Mr. 5 smirked.
"Kyahahaha! Maybe I should go take care of them too?" Miss Valentine laughed, leaping into the air and using her umbrella to float towards the bay.
Mr. 5 charged at Luffy, his arm raised to hit Luffy.
"Just so you know, I ate the Bomu Bomu fruit. I can make any parts of my body explode! Bomb Punch!"
Luffy grabbed the exploding fist with his hand, his eyes glared straight at Mr. 5.
"You… How?" Mr. 5 stuttered, unable to pull his hand back from Luffy.
Luffy grinned devilishly, "Now that I'm in the Grand Line, my restrictions are lifted."
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Mr. 5 yelled at him. He reached forward with his other hand to grab on to Luffy's shoulder and pull him into a bear hug.
"But it's still your mistake to let me come so close! Zenshin Kibaku!"
Mr. 5's whole body detonated in a huge explosion, tossing a miniature mushroom cloud into the air.
"What was that?" Usopp turned his head to see the mushroom cloud.
"I don't know, just keep running! They're going to catch up!" Nami yelled , turning to glance at the mob of bounty hunters currently chasing them.
"Tch… I should be able to take them all on, no problems…" Sanji frowned.
"No, our priority is to get the princess to safety first!" Nami yelled back at him.
Sanji leaped forward with hearts in his eyes, "Understood, Nami-swaaan! I shall do my best to escort Vivi-chwaan!"
A girl crashed down in front of them, creating a crater in the ground.
"Miss Valentine!" Vivi gasped, coming to a stop.
"Kyahahaha! You're not going anywhere, princess!" Miss Valentine laughed.
"Princess! Get back!" Igaram pulled his necktie strings, revealing gun barrels hidden in the curls of his hair.
"Igarappappa!" Igaram pulled the loops of the stings, firing the six rounds of explosive bullets at her.
The bullets exploded in a cloud of dust just as she leaped up into the air.
"Kyahahaha! You can't get me that easily!" Miss Valentine laughed. "With the power of my Kilo Kilo fruit, I can freely change my weight from one to ten thousand kilograms! Now taste the weight of five thousand kilograms!"
She closed her umbrella and dropped down from the air suddenly, smashing Igaram into the ground.
"Igaram!" Vivi cried, brandishing a small sharp jewel attached to a long wire. Nami took out her staff as well, twirling it to point at Miss Valentine.
"Tch… those guys already caught up to us!" Sanji turned to see the bounty hunters approaching them.
"Kyahaha! You think you fools stand a chance? You guys are surrounded!" Miss Valentine laughed, lifting her foot off the groaning Igaram. "None of you will be getting of this island!"
"Exploding Star!"
A small projectile flew towards her and exploded, causing Miss Valentine to be blasted back a few meters.
"Tch… So meddlesome…" Miss Valentine spat, having used the knockback of the blast to escape into the air again, unseen by the rest.
"All of you go ahead, I'll take on these bounty hunters," Sanji lit a cigarette as he stepped in front of the charging mob.
"I'll stay with you too!" Usopp stood beside Sanji, already drawing his slingshot.
Nami nodded at him before pulling Vivi away.
"No! What about Igaram?!" Vivi cried.
Sanji gave her a thumbs up, "We'll carry him back after we're done, no worries!"
Sanji turned back to face the mob alongside a shaking Usopp, "I'd say there are about fifty or so of them, you think you can take them?"
"I… I'm a great warrior! Fif… Fifty is nothing!" Usopp held his sling shot steady.
"Heh, then back me up!" Sanji leaped towards the crowd, legs poised ready to strike.
"How are you still alive?!" Mr. 5 gasped as he stepped back from Luffy.
His whole body was smoking from the explosion, but no visible burns were present, not even on his clothes. On closer inspection, Mr. 5 noticed the whole of Luffy's body had turned black.
"Who are you?!" Mr. 5 demanded.
"Commodore Monkey D. Luffy of the Marines," Luffy said simply, walking towards Mr. 5 calmly.
"Nose Fancy Cannon!"
Mr. 5 flicks another piece of explosive snot at Luffy, exploding harmlessly against his haki infused skin.
"You… Stay away! I… I'll-"
Luffy dashed forward and released his haki,his skin turning back to normal. He gritted his teeth as he punched Mr. 5 in the gut and sent him crashing into a nearby building.
Luffy dusted his cloak, "You talk too much."
Luffy turned as a crashing sound resounded from the bay, "It must be the other agent…" Luffy frowned, running to catch up with his crew.
"Lead Star!"
Usopp shot his projectile cleanly in between the bounty hunter's eyes.
"You bastard!" The bounty hunter screamed, dropping his gun and clutching at his eye. From the side, Sanji jumped out towards him, legs aimed at the bounty hunter.
"Collier Shoot!"
The other bounty hunters watched as their comrade was kicked into a nearby building, smashing through the wall.
"Heh, you guys aren't much after all!" Sanji smirked, landing on his feet.
"Damn… I didn't know these Marines are this strong…"
"But if we don't kill them, the boss will kill us anyway…"
"We have no choice but to fight then!"
The bounty hunters charged towards the two Marines.
"It wouldn't do if you turn your backs on me, you know?" Zoro grinned from behind, having finally caught up to them.
"Another Marine?!" A bounty hunter gasped.
Sanji smirked, "Heh, what took you so long stupid marimo? Got lost?"
"Shut up shitty cook, let's do this!" Zoro unsheathed his swords.
"Usopp! Give us some cover!" Sanji grinned, leaping towards the bounty hunters again.
Usopp returned the grin, "You got it! Smoke Star!"
Usopp fired a ball towards the bounty hunters that exploded into a thick cloud of smoke. Sanji lands on top of a bounty hunter with his hands, spinning himself on his head.
"Party Table Kick Course!"
Every bounty hunter that was near him received a nasty kick in the face, sending them flying out of the smoke. With a final spin, Sanji flips himself back up and kicks the bounty hunter below him away as well.
"Tatsu Maki!"
Zoro slashed through the smoke, a miniature tornado forming and blowing both the smoke and the rest of the bounty hunters away. Sanji and Zoro both turned away from the carnage just as the last bounty hunter hit the floor, unconscious.
"Heh, not too shabby marimo," Sanji grinned.
"Same to you, shitty cook," Zoro grinned back.
Nami continued to run as their ship came into view, "There it is, Vivi! We're almost there!"
A person crashed out of the sky, bringing the two to a stop.
"Miss Valentine?!" Vivi gasped.
Nami frowned, whipping out her staff, "Didn't she get blown away by Usopp just now?!"
"Kyahahaha! You fools think you can match up to Baroque Works?" Miss Valentine laughed.
Vivi frowned, "Carue! Give me a hand here!"
A large duck jumped out from an alley, quacking loudly and sticking out one of his wings to Vivi.
"I didn't mean literally!" Vivi cried.
"Kyahahaha! What a bunch of fools! I'll have all of you die here now!" Miss Valentine leaped into the air again.
"Miss Wednesday!" a pair of footsteps rushed towards them.
Vivi turned to see the approaching figures of Mr. 9 and Miss Monday waving at her.
"Was what I heard true? Are you really the princess of Alabasta?!" Mr. 9 gaped.
"Yes, it's all true! Your organization has been looking to destroy my country all this while!" Vivi yelled towards him, tears in her eyes.
"One thousand kilograms!" Miss Valentine yelled from above, crashing down towards Vivi.
"Look out!" Nami gasped.
Vivi looked up just as Mr. 9 pushed her away, taking the brunt of the impact.
"Mr. 9!" Vivi gasped. "Why?"
"Miss Wednesday…." Miss Monday stepped in front of her, facing Miss Valentine. "We've been working together for quite awhile. We may have been here for different agendas, but I know Mr. 9 and I feel the same."
Miss Monday turned to grin at her, "You're our friend no matter what."
"Huh, so you are all betraying us just for that? Kyahahaha! How foolish!" Miss Valentine laughed.
Miss Monday gritted her teeth as she charged towards her, aiming to tackle her on to the ground.
"Useless!" Miss Valentine flipped herself up and over on top of Miss Monday, holding on to her head. "Let's see that super strength of yours, Miss Monday! ten thousand kilograms!"
Miss Monday was smashed into the ground by the sheer weight of Miss Valentine.
"Miss… Monday…" Mr. 9 gasped, crawling out of the crater he had been smashed into, coughing up blood.
Miss Monday groaned weakly as Miss Valentine stepped off her, turning to face Vivi again.
"You're not going anywhere, princess," Miss Valentine grinned.
Both Nami and Vivi gasped, staring at her.
Miss Valentine smirked until a hand rested on her shoulders. She turned to come face to face with a Marine Commodore and his three Commanders behind him.
"You! What happened to Mr. 5?!" Miss Valentine gasped, flinging herself away from him.
"The same thing that's going to happen to you," Luffy said simply, advancing towards her.
Miss Valentine leaped up into the air again, "Don't get so full of yourself Marine! Ten thousand kilograms!"
Miss Valentine laughed as she plummeted towards Luffy, leg poised to strike him.
"Armament," Luffy clenched his black colored right hand and punched towards her foot. There was no contest as Miss Valentine was flung back into the sky until she disappeared.
"The strength to defeat a Sea King…" Vivi gasped at the sky.
"Princess…" Igaram gasped, his head was bleeding profusely. Sanji and Zoro had him propped up in between them, that's when she realized Igaram had changed his clothes and hair to resemble hers.
"Igaram! Why are you dressed like that?!" Vivi frowned.
Igaram stepped towards her with shaky legs, "Princess, I have a plan… Once Baroque Works learns of what happened here… They will no doubt send pursuers after us…"
"What do you intend to do?"
"If you will… Pass me the eternal log for Alabasta, I will lure the pursuers away from you… While you travel the normal route towards Alabasta…" Igaram said in between gasps.
"But you'll be in danger!" Vivi protested.
Igaram smiled a little at that, "I'm the Captain of the Royal Guards… If I can't place my life on the line… To protect you… I can never face your father again…"
"Igaram…" Vivi gasped.
"Relax, Miss Wednesday…" Miss Monday limped towards Vivi with Mr. 9 by her side. "We'll go with him as well."
"Miss Monday, Mr. 9…" Vivi felt tears streaming down her cheeks.
"If you will, princess… the eternal pose, please…" Igaram stuck his hand towards her.
"What's an eternal pose?" Nami tilted her head.
Taking the eternal pose from Vivi, Igaram showed it to her, "An eternal pose is like your log pose except it only points to a single island no matter where you go."
"I… I see…" Nami nodded, making another mental note in her mind.
"I'll see you again in Alabasta, princess…" Igaram smiled at Vivi.
"Stay safe, Igaram. Mr 9, Miss Monday, you too."
Both Miss Monday and Mr. 9 gave her a thumbs up.
As the they watched Igaram alongside with Miss Monday and Mr. 9 set sail on the boat, Nami turned to her Commodore, "Aren't you going to report this back to Headquarters?"
Luffy scratched his head, smiling awkwardly, "About that… That Mr. 5 guy's explosion kinda… blew up my den den mushi…"
"WHAT?!" his crew gasped at him.
"So we're on our own?" Usopp cried.
"Er… Well… Until I can get my hands on another one…" Luffy smiled sheepishly.
"I can't believe you…" Nami face palmed.
Just as they turned to leave for their ship, a huge explosion set off in the horizon, consuming the decoy ship in a sea of flames.
"Pursuers already?!" Zoro yelled.
"We have to leave now!" Sanji raced towards their ship.
"Nami! Is the log pose set?" Usopp turned to Nami.
Nami glanced down at her log pose, "Yes! We're ready to set sail! Vivi!"
Nami looked at Vivi to see a trickle of blood flowing down her lips. Nami grabbed her hand and pulled her away, "It's alright Vivi! We promise you we'll bring you back to your home!"
"Luffy! We have to go!" Zoro yelled at his stationary Commodore.
"CROCODILE!" Luffy yelled towards the sea.
The crew watched solemnly on their ship as the flames slowly died down. Vivi was doing her best to hold back her tears as Carue tried his best to comfort her.
"It's almost morning…" Zoro pointed out.
The crew looked towards the horizon as the sun just began to peek out from the sea.
"Be careful of the rocks, and congratulations on your escape." A voice sounded behind them.
The crew turned to see a woman wearing a cowgirl outfit complete with knee high leather boots and a cowgirl hat sitting on the railing above them.
Vivi stepped back in fear, "What… What are you doing out here? Miss All-Sunday!"
"Well, I must say, I never expected to see Miss Monday and Mr. 9 alongside Mr. 8." Miss All-Sunday smirked.
"You… You're the one who did that?!" Vivi screamed at her.
"Who's her partner?" Nami asked.
Vivi furrowed her eyebrows, "Crocodile's… She's the only one in the whole organization that knows this… Igaram and I had to tail her to find this out…"
Miss All-Sunday giggled, "Technically, I let you tail me."
"I already knew that! You told him that his identity was leaked too, didn't you?! What do you want from us?!"
"Don't need to get so worked up little princess, I only let you follow me because you looked so desperate." She narrowed her eyes at Vivi with a wicked smile. "And it was just too amusing to watch a single lonely princess fight a futile battle against our organization to save her homeland. Though it seems you have finally managed to contact the Marines."
"You…" Vivi glared at her.
Before anyone could respond, Luffy had appeared on the railing beside her. Miss All-Sunday gasped as she was lifted up by her collar to face the Commodore.
"You…" Luffy began, just as hands sprouted out from his shoulders to chop at his neck.
"Armament," Luffy said simply, not even flinching as the hands struck him. "Why did you lie?"
"What are you talking about?" Miss All-Sunday gasped at the Marine.
"I know you didn't kill the ones on the ship, I can still hear their voices." Luffy stared hard at her, not letting go.
"Is that true? Luffy?!" Vivi cried.
"Ugh… Who are you?" Miss All-Sunday winced.
"Commodore Monkey D. Luffy, a Marine."
"Monkey D.?" Miss All-Sunday raised an eyebrow at him, just as Luffy let go of her.
"So you're Crocodile's partner?" Luffy stared at her.
She nodded at him slowly.
"I want you to send a message to him, tell him we're coming to kick his ass."
Miss All-Sunday widened her eyes, "You're serious? You do know he's one of the Seven Warlords? Even if you have evidence against him, you can't do anything to him."
"What do you mean?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"I heard you lost your den den mushi, without any reinforcements, there's no way any of you are actually able to beat him... He's just too strong." Miss All-Sunday frowned at them.
Luffy grinned, "So you actually want him to be beaten?"
Miss All-Sunday flinched back, "I… No, I… Perhaps…"
Luffy's grin grew wider, "You're not a bad girl after all huh?"
Everyone stared at Luffy incredulously.
"Bring my message to Crocodile, then we'll come and kick his ass for you!"
Miss All-Sunday looked at the Marine's eyes, he was absolutely serious.
She slumped her shoulders, pulling out an eternal pose, "This is an eternal to an uninhabited island near Alabasta, you can use it to get there instead."
"Don't want it," Luffy crossed his arms.
"WHY?!" His crew shouted at him.
"Even if we're helping you, don't think you can choose the path of our journey," Luffy pouted at her.
Miss All-Sunday revealed a slight grin, "I see… You're different from the other Marines."
"Of course!" Luffy huffed.
"Alright then, I shall await your arrival on Alabasta."
She jumped over the side of the ship, landing on a waiting giant tortoise.
"Don't die on the next island," She flashed him a grin.
"You better deliver my message!" Luffy waved after her.
______________________________________________
And cut. so this is it for this chapter hope you guys enjoyed and here's the introduction of miss all-sunday aka Nico Robin,and well see you in the next chapter
Chapter 13:Great Warriors Of The Sea