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"What's that?" Kid said, slamming down his mug and turning in Killer's direction. The group behind Killer, the rowdiest in the dim bar, laughed at something their leader had said. The bartender tried to ignore the argument in the corner, and a young woman in a red cheongsam across the room eyed Kid, drumming her fingers on the table.

"I said, the navigator told me to tell you the Log Pose is set," Killer repeated. "We can leave whenever you're—"

"Not you. Move." Killer scooted aside as Kid stood and approached the rowdy group, darting a hand forward and shoving their leader to the ground by his shoulder in one swift motion. The rest of the group backed off as their leader stared at Kid, shocked.

"You wanna repeat that, asshole?" Kid snarled, leaning into the man's face. "What'd you just say about the one piece?"

"Nothing," the man whispered.

"You sure? My ears must be going bad. I could've sworn I heard you say it was fake. Isn't that what your friends were laughing about?" He looked back and nodded to Killer, who blocked the door to the bar. The friends of the man backed up against the bar counter, and the bartender ducked underneath it.

"No, no, I didn't say that," the man said, his words becoming strangled as Kid's hand moved to his neck and began to squeeze. "I swear—"

"Who the fuck are you, to laugh at someone's dream like that?!" Kid yelled, his face twisted in rage. He raised his other hand, using his magnetic ability to draw forks and knives to his fingers. He had just started to plunge his hand towards the man's chest when it froze in midair, caught by a thin, pale hand.

Kid looked up, his other hand still on the man's throat. The hand belonged to the woman from the other side of the bar—he didn't know how she had gotten so close without a hint of presence, but here she was, staring at him with pale green eyes and a face framed by short, petal-pink hair.

"You mentioned the one piece?" she said, her hand still on his wrist.

"I sure did," Kid snapped, trying to move the hand she had caught. "And until you came along, I was about to kill this jackass for making fun of my dream!"

"So you're looking for the one piece," the woman said. Kid was still unable to remove her grip—how was she so strong?

"Captain, need any help?" Killer called from the door.

"Everything's under control!" Kid spat, mood dropping by the second. "Get your hand off me, wench, unless you—"

"I'm interested in the one piece, too," the woman said, ignoring him. There was something intense behind her eyes despite her neutral expression. "You're a pirate captain, aren't you? Interested in teaming up?"

Kid let out a laugh while the man underneath him turned blue. "I don't just let anyone onto my crew. Who the hell are you, anyway? You seem strong—" He tried to move his arm again— "but can you fight?"

Killer stumbled away from the door as it swung open, allowing five Marines into the room. Kid and the woman whipped around.

"Eustass Kid," one of them said. "We got a call from here. You're under arrest for threatening bodily harm and death, destruction of several cities across the world, and being a pirate."

Kid glared at the bartender, who ducked underneath the counter again. Killer stood and moved towards him, but Kid held up a hand as the woman turned to him again.

"If I can take out these Marines, you'll let me join your crew," she stated.

Kid laughed. "All by yourself? Sure, whatever!"

She finally released his wrist and he checked it as he stood, finding not a single mark. She stood and approached the Marines while the man underneath Kid recovered and crawled away.

"Hey, lady, move," the Marine at the front said, holding up his hands with a gentle smile. "That guy behind you, he's really dangerous, see? We're going to arrest him, so don't be scared."

"She looks familiar," one of the other ones said, but went dead silent as the woman rushed forward and punched the Marine at the front with perfect form. She settled back into a stance as he collapsed, bleeding from his nose, and the others stared in shock.

"Subdue her!" one of them cried at last, and he and one of his comrades rushed forwards. But they stumbled over each other, looking around to find the woman had vanished. Each felt a sharp pain in the back of their necks before collapsing.

"A pressure point," the woman said, turning around as the last two Marines raised their guns and aimed. "It was too easy to find . . ."

The Marines fired and she ducked. Kid barely dodged in time, spinning out of the way, and the woman raised her hands and clasped them together, her index fingers touching. She murmured something and stared hard at the Marines, who stared at their guns, and raised their hands, opening their palms to allow the guns to drop to the floor.

"What kind of technique—?!" one of them exclaimed. "The rifles, they're floating! Floating!"

"I can't . . . move . . . my body," his companion got out, and the first one found himself in the same position. They gazed up at the ceiling, frozen, and stumbled backwards as if shot, fainting to the floor.

The woman released her hands and turned back to Kid. "They call me Cherry Bomb Sakura," she said, intense gaze focused on his stunned face, "and I'm a jutsu user. Not too long ago, I was a mercenary, but I quit to find the one piece. To do that, I need a partner. So, Eustass Kid, will you keep your promise?"

Kid blinked, stared, and straightened up as his face split into a grin. "You little minx," he said, laughing. "You've got spirit, don't you? Very well! Welcome aboard! But know that if you die, I won't take responsibility, you got that?!"

Sakura's face burst into a grin and she pumped a fist in the air. "Shannaro! Let's go, captain!"

"Is this really okay?" Killer whispered, approaching Kid as Sakura composed herself, still smiling. "To take on such a spirited woman . . ."

"Like I said, it's her own fault if she can't handle the Grand Line," Kid said. "I'm sure we can handle one more crewmember . . . even someone as intriguing as her."

"Intriguing?"

"Never mind." Kid beckoned to Killer and Sakura, and they followed him out the door, letting it swing shut on stunned silence.