"Where is it, where is it, where is it?" Luffy raced around the vacant town. The lights were out as everyone had gone to bed. After the Straw Hat pirates had docked into the new island, they had taken rest at a nearby hotel.

"Remember, Luffy," Nami told him as the others readied for bed, "no wandering around. Robin told me that on this island, there are ancestors of one of the Royal Families, who are apparently as mysterious as the History Gap itself. We can't go getting caught until we know what we're dealing with."

"I know what she told me," Luffy mumbled to himself, "but that hotel wasn't serving enough meat! Good thing I left my window open, or I would have never smelled the meaty scent coming from outside. Now if I can just locate it..."

He sniffed the air again. "...I know!" He pointed further ahead to the large castle that loomed over the town. "It's coming from that palace!" Examining the front of the building, he found an open window on the top floor. "Great, an entrance!"

He targeted the window and stretched back his arm. "Gommu Gommu no-" Throwing his arm out he grabbed the far off window with his hand,

"slingshot!"

"Luffy!"

"Huh?" Luffy looked down to see Chopper hugging his leg, wearing a tiny blue sleeping cap and blue shorts. He was sniffling and sobbing. "D-don't go w-wandering around like t-that! I-I thought that y-you had been t-taken! Y-you weren't i-in your b-b-b-bed!"

"Ah, don't worry, Chopper," Luffy smiled, "you were just having a nightmare. Now hang on!"

"Hm?" Chopper looked down at Luffy's feet to see them lift off the ground. "Gah! Where are we going?!"

"To get some meat!"

"Ahhh!" Chopper screamed as they flew off into the sky, straight at the window. "We're going to crash into the wall!"

"No way! We can make it! I'm not Zoro!"

Closing in on the window, Luffy chuckled. "Almost there!...hm?"

From inside the castle, a young man with dirty brown hair and a blue t-shirt over black pants walked into view. He seemed to be reading some sort of book. "I wonder who he is...oh!" He panicked. "Look out! We're gonna crash into you!"

"I told you, Luffy, I told you!"

The boy looked up at them, and his eyes widened in surprise.

Too late! Here we come!

"Yahoo!"

In an instant, Luffy crashed into the man, and all three of them tumbled through the room and into the wall, the book flying out of reach and chopper's sleeping cap on top of it. Luffy hit the wall on his back, while the boy landed in front of him, Chopper on his chest.

"Yeah!" Luffy jumped to his feet and laughed, holding his hat on his head. "That was brilliant!"

Chopper sat up. "That wasn't brilliant! You nearly killed us all!"

"Aw, you're overreacting."

"Uhg..."

Chopper made an 'eep' sound. "Oops, sorry!" He hopped off of the young man, who sat up and rubbed his deep blue eyes of a baby blue shade. "What...happened?" He glanced around and caught sight of Chopper. "...A dog?"

"I have antlers, you idiot!"

"Ha-ha!" Luffy crouched down beside the man. "You're funny!...Uh, who are you?"

The young man turned to face him. "Me? I suppose you are outsiders, then. Everyone I meet seems to know my name – not bragging, or anything."

He stood up and dusted off his pants. "My name is Deity. Prince Deity of Jupiter Island and heir to the throne of the Jupiter Kingdom, to be exact, but you can call me Deity."

Chopper gawked. "You're a Prince?!...Oh, well, you do live in a castle...wait a minute! That means that you're an ancestor of one of the Royal families!"

Deity sighed. "You've heard the rumours. Well, yes, I am one of the ancestors, but to be honest, I don't know about them at all. My parents don't ever tell me anything about who they are or what they did. I know as much as you two do...which reminds me," he scratched the back of his head, "why did you two fly into my room?"

"Never mind that," Luffy licked his lips, "I smelled meat! You're rich, right? You've gotta have the best meat around!"

"Oh," Deity blushed, "I didn't know the smell would reach so far into town. My parents are away on a business trip, and I let the servants off for the weekend, leaving me the only one in the Kingdom, so I took a chance and tried to teach myself how to cook."

"Who cares," Luffy shook Deity by his shoulders, "where's the meat?!"

"In the kitchen...do you want some?"

"YES!"

As Luffy gobbled down hamburger after hamburger, Deity handed Chopper a cup of warm coffee. "Here in Jupiter, we usually add a hint of mint or honey to our coffee, but as a treat, I've given you a touch of the Jupiter flower, the plant that our island is named after."

Chopper gratefully took the drink and sipped it down. "...Wow! This taste excellent!" He felt his cheeks go warm. "it's so soothing yet tingly!"

"The Jupiter flower is the finest plant in the New World," Deity explained, "it looks a lot like a dragon-snap, only much larger and filled with nutrients and a dew that tastes as delicious as fresh honey. I grow a garden of them myself out back."

"It's way better than fresh honey!"

"More meat, please!" Luffy finally spoke after nonstop eating. Deity nodded, and opened the ginormous fridge. "I have plenty to work with here, so I don't mind giving out a bit." He pulled out a large crate of meat. "Shall I warm it up for you?"

"Don't bother!" Luffy grabbed the entire crate and placed it in front of himself at the long, wooden table. Opening it up from the side he began to chomping down again, chills running through him every once in a while.

"Say, Prince Deity," Chopper began,

"Please, just call me Deity."

"Okay. Deity, how were you able to get the castle all to yourself? You're a royal family member, right? Shouldn't you be constantly protected, just like the castle? It doesn't make sense for everyone to leave you alone like this."

Deity sat down beside Chopper. "I know it sounds strange, but Jupiter is one of the most peaceful islands in the world. We rarely ever have trouble. Once in a blue moon do we get pirates, and even then they stay near the docks. Ever since the tales of us being ancestors of the Royal families came out, we haven't had many visitors, so we stay to ourselves."

"Everyone is a friend to everyone in this Kingdom. Beyond the town is nothing but forestry and farming. We have no enemies, only allies. My parents never worry when they leave, and I can easily convince the servants to take a break once in a while. They deserve it, after all, with all the work they do in this enormous establishment."

"Say, Deity," Luffy spoke between bites, "what do you think about pirates?"

"I can't really say I have an opinion on them yet. I've only met the occasional, rare pirate before. Mostly whenever they come to the docks mother and father keep me inside until they leave. Don't want me getting too interested in sailing the high seas."

"Have you ever seen the wanted posters?"

"No."

"Well then," Luffy grinned, "this is a first time experience. Cool."

"I don't think I follow."

Chopper took another sip of his coffee. "We're members of the Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy is our captain, and we're a band of villainous, low-life scum that hunts for treasure and the One Piece."

"...No you're not."

"What?"

"You don't act like low life scum."

"...Okay, I lied."

"You're a funny dog."

"I'm a reindeer!"

"Ha-ha-ha!" Luffy gulped down the last of the meat. "This is great! You're a cool guy, Deity."

"Thank, Luffy...hm?"

"Oh?" Luffy felt someone move up behind him. Before he could turn around, his face was planted into the table's surface.

"OW!" He snapped his neck back up and held his cheeks. "That hurt, Sanji!"

Sanji stood behind him, fully dressed, his leg high above Luffy's head. "That's what you get for breaking into a royal castle and stealing all the meat! That could have been used to make some delicious meals for Nami and Robin!"

"It isn't yours to use, either, Sanji."

Sanji turned back to the doorway, his heart ablaze. "Nami-swan! You came to find me!"

Nami entered the kitchen, followed by the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates. Deity noticed the vast diversity of each member, from a robot man to a walking skeleton. "Luffy, is this your crew?"

"Yup!"

"Luffy," Usopp spoke in a dignified voice, "you shouldn't be randomly entering people's homes, it's wrong."

"But we're pirates."

"Still, he didn't do anything to us."

"Anyway, we have to leave soon," Robin said, "or the Marines will be onto us. They're sure to notice our ship soon."

Deity felt his heart sink. "You're...leaving so soon?"

Nami nodded. "It was so nice of you to care for Luffy and Chopper. I don't know how we can repay you, but since we're pirates, I'll just use the excuse that we don't have to, okay?"

Luffy frowned. "Aw, no way, Nami! I don't wanna leave!" He let his head drop back onto the table. "This reeks..."

Chopper drank the rest of his coffee in silence.

"Sorry, guys," Usopp added, "but let's find somewhere better to hide and rest up."

"...You need to rest, right?"

All heads turned to Deity, who stood up and smiled.

"I do have the entire castle to myself for the weekend."

Luffy grinned. "That's it! We'll dock in the castle's secret harbour and stay here for the entire weekend to rest! It'll be great!"

"Luffy!" Nami hit him upside the head. "You can't go inviting yourself into other people's homes!"

"It's fine." Deity chuckled. "I'd rather enjoy the company, if it's not too much trouble for you guys. I've never met pirates before."

Luffy smirked. "Where's the best place to eat?"

"Luffy!" Nami urged them towards the exit.

"That would be the kitchen right here."

"How about a library?"

"Robin?"

"Of course."

"A sniping area?"

"Usopp, please!"

"On the roof."

Nami gave up. "Fine! As long as he says it's okay, we'll stay." She studied his face. "Can we trust you?"

Deity bowed. "On my honour, I won't tell a single soul know you're here."

After a moment, she smiled. "Well, alright then! Looks like we have a place to stay!"

"YAY!"

"Now, let's get some sleep!"

"Aww!"

"NOW, LUFFY!"