Rating: T
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters. They are copyright Eiichiro Oda.

"Woo-hoo!" The cry of excitement echoed through-out the hollowed cave, bouncing off the walls and amplifying the volume by a good hundred decibels. "Look at all this treasure!" The wide eyes of pirate captain Monkey D. Luffy expanded with his grin.

"Look at all this treasure!" echoed the orange-haired woman beside him, her brown eyes converted into belli signs. "Gold, silver, jewels! Money, money, money!" Nami's frame was shaking with delight, her hands eager to reach the vast amounts of valuables.

A happy sigh of cigarette smoke drifted over, shaped like hearts. "Nami-san is even more beautiful when she's greedy!" Sanji's smile erupted into a goofy grin, his only visible eye mimicking his death-stick waste.

"Ero-cook." grumbled the large, green-haired man. "Can't even stay serious for once..." Roronoa Zoro folded his arms, the three katanas strapped to his waist not moving even the slightest.

"The One Piece has to be here, right?" asked the weedy-looking, long-nosed boy, his voice steady despite his knees shaking. "W-we finally reached Raftel, but I don't see Gold Roger's treasure..."

"This is probably his treasure, Usopp." said the even-larger-than-Zoro man, his very large arms flexing slightly. Franky pushed his sunglasses up and ran large fingers through his blue smokestack 'do. "I mean, Mugiwara's treasure is his hat, so this whole island would be Gold Roger's--"

"Gol D. Roger." corrected the dark-haired women, staring at the now brawling cook and swordsman in amusement. "That's his real name. Perhaps I can find the Rio Poneglyph here, after what the one in Skypiea told me..."

"R-robin..." squeaked the little reindeer from behind her legs, peeking out in reverse, his blue nose twitching. "D-did the Poneglyph say how dangerous this place is?" Tony-Tony Chopper glanced out from his pink hat at the historian and was answered by a smile and the word "no".

"Yo ho ho ho! How exciting this is!" cackled the afro-hearing skeleton, his cane spinning on his arm. "Raftel, the last island on the Grand Line!" Brook's skin-less face made no movement, but one could tell he was smiling.

Luffy turned to his crew, the wide smile still over his face. "We've made it! One Piece is here somewhere! Let's look for it!"

"AYE!"

Luffy turned–and without a second thought to where his nakama were going–leapt down to floor level of Raftel's center room and through the first tunnel he found.

"Wait, Luffy!" called Nami, leaping down after him. "What are you thinking?!"

"Big treasure's always in the center of the island!" echoed her captain's voice. "So, One Piece is going to be there, too!" But Nami was already following the dim-witting rubber-man at the words "big treasure".

Zoro looked around. "I'm gonna look for a place to train... maybe this left way will take me someplace..."

"Oi, oi." said Franky, following him. "I'm coming with you. If you get lost, how're you gonna get out?"

"Shut up!"

"Robin-chwan, where are you going?" swooned Sanji, directing his lust to the other female of the crew. "To find the Polneglyph?"

"Yes, cook-san." Robin replied, not looking at him. "You are free to accompany me if you wish."

"Yo ho ho ho! I shall join you!" said Brook, adjusting his top hat. "I have never seen a Poneglyph... but then again, I have never seen a person of flesh and bone for over fifty years! Yo ho ho..."

"O-oi!" called Usopp fearfully. "D-don't leave Chopper and me here!"

"'Chopper and I'," corrected Robin, smiling at them. "I'm sure you two can fend for yourselves. Ne, Nanahana-kun?"

"I-I guess..." The sniper looked down at Chopper, who watched Robin, Sanji and Brook disappear through the right tunnel. "W-well, no one's gonna come after us here, right? J-just a defenseless liar and reindeer alone in the treasure room."

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" called a voice from no-where, which scared Chopper enough to leap into the arms of Usopp.

"W-who's there?!"

A tall man stepped out of the center passage, his black cloak billowing behind him. A large firearm was draped over his shoulder. His right eye was covered by a targeting device. "I am Van Auger, gunman of the Blackbeard Pirates. Pleased to meet you."

A second man riding–or lying on–a horse followed behind Auger, wheezing. "I-I am Doc Q. This is Stronger." He indicated his horse, who coughed hoarsely.

"The horse looks just as sick." said Chopper, wondering if he should help this man instead of fighting him.

"Luffy! Wait!" Nami ran after him, then punched the back of his head.

"Oww! What was that for?!" demanded Luffy, eyes watering, one hand on the bulge erupting from his skull.

Nami glared at him, hands on her hips. "Don't wander off like that! I could get killed if I'm left behind!"

"Keep up, Nami. I can't have you killed! Then how will we find our way back of the Grand Line?" Luffy grinned at her and walked further down the passage, Nami at his heels.

"Well," said Franky, folding his arms. "Maybe I can trust you to find our way out."

"Shut up!" shouted Zoro. "At least I found a decent place to train!" He breathed and shut his eyes. "Now, if I can just concentrate..."

Far from silence, however, a booming laugh burst through the room. "Gahahaha! Our captain was right! You guys would be here!"

"Hmm?" Franky pushed his sunglasses back up and his eyes narrowed. "Who the hell are you?"

The large man grinned from behind his wrestling mask, flexing his biceps. "Gahahaha! Jesus Burgess, helmsman of the Blackbeard Pirates!"

Zoro stared at Burgess for a moment. "Ah, you're that guy from Jaya. The Champion."

"Yeah, that's right!" said Burgess, leaping down to the floor, the ground cracking beneath his feet. "You two wanna fight?"

"There! Up ahead!" Robin signaled to her companions to the room ahead. In the center was a raised segment of rock, with a large, rectangular stone bathed in light. "The Rio Poneglyph!"

The three dashed inside and stopped, staring–not at the Poneglyph–but at the figure standing in front of it. Sanji reached into his pocket and pulled out another cigarette, the lit it.

"So," he sighed. "How are you?"

The pale and sickly looking man tipped his hat, twirling his cane. "I am Laffite. Nice to meet you." He tapped his shoes as he spoke. "I am a member of the Blackbeard Pirates. My captain said we should come here to dispose of your crew."

"Is that right?"

Luffy looked around the large, empty room. "There's nothing here."

"That's what you get for just strolling down a tunnel!" Nami growled, shaking her fists. "There's no treasure! You lied!"

"No, there's treasure!" replied Luffy. "One Piece is here, too!"

"Ze ha ha ha ha! Your captain's right, missy!"

"W-wha? I know that voice..." said Nami quietly, backing towards the entrance.

"You do?" asked Luffy.

"Yeah... on Jaya. H-him!" She pointed across the room to where a large man was sitting, cross-legged on the floor. The man smiled, revealing several missing teeth.

"Fancy meetin' you here, Mugiwara." his deep voice rumbled, shaking his beard.

Luffy blinked. "Ah, Messed-up Mouth Ossan. What are you doing here?"

"The name's Blackbeard. And I'm here for the same reason you are." said Blackbeard, standing up. It was a wonder how he could do so; his legs looked like they could break very easily. "To find One Piece."

"Ah," Luffy cracked his knuckles. "You wanna fight for it?"

"Ze ha ha ha ha! What else were we gonna do? Talk like gentlemen?"

To be continued...