A/N: Oh hello, didn't see you there. No, no don't mind me… just updating this story after a month or three. Hey that sort of rhymed, is that an excuse for making this update so ill timed?... Okay, I'll stop.

In all seriousness, I haven't been able to update for so long because well life had pretty much been bringing me down the last few months. My grades were dropping, work was going bad and if that wasn't bad enough out of frustration I sort of started to neglect my friends. So to make time to fix my mistakes I had to let go of writing for a little while. Good news though my grades a going up again and all was forgiven after a few beers with the guys. However this will not stop me from taking another 2 week absence from writing, since exams are coming once more and I intend to keep my grades up this time.

Finally, when the two weeks are over I will try to make up for my absence. I'm going to start a second story here, one that will follow the canon One Piece world. Ya know, pirates and stuff. (secretly I just had a good idea for a story and don't want to limit myself to writing for one story the entire time. But hey you don't know that :P)

Anyway enjoy chapter 3, even though the writing can be a bit rusty.

Chapter 3

"I'll make a deal with you then… one hundred million Beri."

"O-o-one hundred?"

"Ah, one hundred million Beri. That is what this neighborhood and its inhabitants are worth to me. I enjoy ruling over you all, but there is nothing in this world more important to me than money. So bring one hundred million Beri's before me and I will gladly give control of it to you."

"A-a-and you'll release her?"

"Ah, of course. When I say I'll do something I do it. I am a man who keeps his promise after all."

…

"Excuse me" the innocent question called her back to reality."May I have your attention please."

Her scribbling at the half torn piece of paper stopped, as the attention now went to the voice that had seized the attention of the entire room. It was a man, and judging by his clothing he was an assumed teacher. Though that was debatable. His slim frame was covered with a cheap suit that seemed like it hadn't been cleaned in a while, and the shirt underneath decorated with numerous coffee stains that barely got covered by the worn-out tie around his neck. Whoever he was, he didn't seem very wealthy or hygienic. He wore round glasses that were a bit too large for him, as it kept slipping of his nose every now and then. "Being a teacher here apparently doesn't pay that well" she thought. His eyes may have looked somewhat empty, but she could see right past that and into confidence that hid behind it. She looked at him, half interested while resting her head on the palm of her hand.

"Ah good, now that I have your limited span of concentration.." He smiled a little excessive, the odd confidence shining a bit more brightly. He was acting really weird, as if his thoughts were elsewhere and he could care less about what they thought of him. "Then allow me to introduce myself." The palm of his right hand was brought up, readjusting the glasses that had started to slip from his nose once again. "My name is dr. Kurahadol, and as the name suggests I have a professional masters degree in the art of chemistry. Something which at least the half of you will not accomplish." He then turned to his desk, and took out a small notebook from his suitcase after taking a seat. "Now that we have introductions out of the way, open your books at page thirty-one and make the following assignments. Or do whatever you want, I don't really care."

She was taken aback by the harsh tone in his words, sure most teachers wouldn't actually bother holding their students hand unless they needed help, but this guy didn't seem the least bit interested in his teaching job. The one thing he did was stand there and tell them how much he didn't care about what they did. Not that she minded, she never needed help.

A half an hour passed, most of which was spent finishing her drawing at the paper. Her phone went off, and immediately she cursed. "did he have to call now of all times?" Apparently Kurahadol had noticed too, since the completely void of emotion gaze went from the small book to her. For just a teacher he sure had sharp senses. A scowl formed on his face. "Out." He barked.

She was willing to argue, but decided not to at the last second. The tone in his voice had said enough, he wasn't set on changing his mind. Besides if that someone was calling she couldn't afford to miss it. So instead of throwing a fit she accepted defeat for now and left.

Once outside she quickly pulled out her phone, and went to answer one of her latest worshippers. One of the things she hated doing most about doing this job. The mission was simple enough. Go step up to the idiot in question, make him crazy about you, convince him to do something stupid that brings in a ton of dough, then rob him blind just after the police pins everything on said person. She didn't know exactly why she had to go and keep this local loser wrapped around her finger though, there were much richer and more capable gang leaders she would be able to seduce no problem. But if Arlong wanted her to do something she did it, no questions asked. She was in no position to defy him anyway. So swallowing her pride and a good part of her dignity she went over to what she called her 'bimbo mode.'

"Hello?" she asked, knowing full well who was on the other side.

"Hey there hotness, guess who?" she could puke at the lustfulness in his voice.

"Buggy-sama~! How is my favorite crime-boss in the whole wide world doing?"

"You weren't returning my calls" He hadn't listened to her, just like he always did. "what's up with that?"

"I'm so sorry Buggy-sama~" she made the quick excuse. "Isn't there anyway I can make it up to you?"

"I know how you can make it up to me. Why not come over to the hideout tonight? The men are out by then, so it would just be the two of us…"

"Gee, I don't know~" she swooned, the fake embarrassment in her behavior preformed perfectly. "I'm a woman who is used to being treated by wealthy men after all. But I've heard of this little place called the Extol bank, if you robbed for me I would be ever so grateful, I would do anything to repay you~" It was a dull and horrible line she knew, but it was enough. His perverted thoughts would take care of the rest.

And sure enough they did. She could hear the obvious snickering on the other side of the line and the presumable sound of a hand wiping away at a bloody nose. "Oh you bet I will. Come meet me and the guys by that Extol bank later, I'll steal as much money as you want. Yosh Cabaji, Mohji get ready for the score of a lifetime!"

With that the girl hung up, the phone dropping back into her bag as she had the fight back the nausea. Though slight smirk tread her face as the idea of robbing a bank came into view, seeing how she would leave those circus-wannabe's penniless at the end of the afternoon.

Zoro didn't understand at all. Why did they even make it so freakishly huge, there was no way they could ever take up all that space. There was a limit for how big a place was allowed to be. It was all a waste of money in his opinion, and it was starting to work on his nerves not being able to find his place of destination. The school building was new and for some reason kept changing its corridors every five minutes just to bug him.

He was lost. The green-haired swordsman who rarely felt embarrassed or the need to adjust himself to flaws had ironically in no way the sense to get from point A to B. He had psychology first period, and he hadn't the slightest clue where. When he went for the roof he ended up in the east wing of the school and when heading for the first floor he would end up outside. He groaned out in pure frustration, finally reaching the limits of his patience. "Why the hell did those guys have to get lost in the first place!" He yelled in denial, completely blaming his lack of direction on no one in particular. "Are they idiots?"

A small chuckle reached his ears, immediately alerting the young swordsman. Hands immediately went to his side, ready to counter a possible ambush. Only to have a shock of realization go through him as the familiar feeling of the sword hilt didn't brush against his hands. He momentarily cursed himself. "Right, at school… no katana."

"I see you still haven't changed over these years…" her calm, elegant voice spoke to him, the tone making him nearly drop down. A voice too familiar, too well known to have him relax. If she was here, her 'specialty' could spell more than just trouble for him.

Arms sprouted from his chest, back and shoulders, disembodied arms from which shape looked like they belonged to a female. So it really was her. He produced a surprised sound as they started to roam his over his frame, small delicate hands, feeling his skin, touching his muscles. Making him grunt as a single hand traced the small scar on his eye. "No… I might have to take it back, maybe you've changed a bit after all."

"What do you want?" It wasn't really a question, more a demand for an answer.

"hmm… what do I want?" the female voice chuckled.

A slight pain emitted from his neck, attacking his senses with long forgotten fervor. Lips brushing past his skin, nipping it greedily. The sensation of it all was far too familiar to him. He could feel them curl upwards against him, her finding some distinct entertainment in this situation.

He brought his hand up abruptly, swinging it towards his neck in the same motion that would be used to swat a fly. He knew her ability's well, having seen them in action many, many times. Through that he had noted the interesting fact that even if the limbs she summoned weren't permanent and could be erased in the blink of an eye, they would still make the user endure the same pain as they would if the genuine one was hurt. It wouldn't hurt her body physically, but her brain would still register the signal of her nerves and pain would be felt.

His open palm hit nothing though, and only slapped against the tanned skin of his neck. From the corner of his eye he could see the pinkish-white sakura petals drop onto the floor and dissolve into nothingness. He grunted in pure annoyance.

The petals appeared once again, a fully grown female torso sprouting from the nearby wall this time, head lifted to meet the eyes of her target. She smiled, reserved but honestly, one that fit her character well enough. "fu fu fu… Giving me the cold shoulder now, are you?" she chuckled "How horrible of you, considering our past."

"Stop trying my patience… woman" he glared at her "What do you want?"

"My, my, straightforward, aren't we?" Legs sprouted from under her, making her feminine frame complete. She walked to him, unaffected by the dark presence that radiated from the green haired man. She stopped a few inches away from him, standing toe to toe now. He noted now, that she had changed as well. Her body was curved more beautifully, shaped like an hourglass-figure that would be envied even by top models. Her raven black hair was now pulled back, revealing a mature and attractive face which was decorated by two icy-deep blue eyes that stared back into his. She didn't wear a uniform like him, so either she wasn't enrolled here or she just didn't care to put one on. Instead a long pinkish colored sari-skirt covered most of her legs, while a purple leather vest decorated her torso. Casting a glance down he could see it was only partially zipped up, revealing a great deal of cleavage. He gulped, silently cursing the fact that his defenses had slipped for a second. "I want back in." she demanded, dropping her playfulness, but still remaining relatively calm.

"You know I don't decide that." He answered obviously , feeling like it wasn't necessary to ask something like that this up close.

"Yes, I know" she said interesting enough. She placed a hand on his cheek, without having one sprout with her ability. "But you have connections to the one who does. "

"You want to talk to Luffy… through me" He stated matter-of-factly, not even fazed by the physical contact.

"Yes… If I went to him just like that he would outright reject my offer, but with you.. he trusts you and Sanji, listens to you… I'm not asking you to force him into inviting me back, just to let him hear me out."

"What makes you think I'll do that?" he growled at her.

She turned away from him, hand leaving his face. "Because I know you Zoro" she spoke "I know you'll do it." With that she walked away, letting him become even more agitated with her.

"If this is so important to you why not assault the ero-cook?!" he yelled, finally losing his patience. "Why go through that much trouble to have me say it, when that idiot wouldn't deny you even for an instant?"

She glanced back, the playful tint in her eyes clearly visible. "And let you get away with what you did to me those two years ago? Not on your life.. Bushido-san." With that her entire body dissolved into the same sakura-like petals from before. He stood agape as she completely vanished away, finally realizing that she too trained her ability. "just fucking great."

The thought of spending the entire afternoon stealing a criminals money seemed a pleasant thought, but for the reasons it was needed didn't earn her affections. Of course this guy had to be broke, and of course he was more than willing to rob a bank if it meant the slightest of chances with her. Well things weren't as bad as they could get, sure that Buggy guy was an idiot for letting himself be fooled by her charms but he at least was stupid enough to not suspect a thing. And anyway the guy didn't nearly seem as annoying as…

"Hey babe!"

…That guy. "What do you want Sarkies?" she asked, not even bothering to turn around and face him.

"Bellamy is looking for you." He spoke , the menacing tone giving reason for the irritation to turn to anger. "And where's that cute little friend of yours, Kaya was it?"

"What do you want from Kaya?" the girl asked, now finding a reason to turn her attention towards the blue-haired man. Her voice was no longer annoyed or irritated, just plain threatening. Looking at him then she could see a new tattoo decorating his bare chest, one that hadn't been there before. The cancel symbol crossed through a smiley face seemed somewhat familiar, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it. Well it didn't matter, she knew Sarkies wasn't the kind of guy who was capable enough to actually have some kind of influence on his fellow nakama.

"Nothing, nothing" he laughed, while bringing his hands up in defense. "She just aroused my interest is all, being the cute little thing she is."

She didn't care that this guy found himself a gang to hide behind or that she was a criminal herself, the intentions this guy had with her friend obviously weren't friendly. "You stay away from her." She threatened him.

He laughed, the ignorant mocking laughter bringing her anger to whole new levels. "I don't know what's funnier, the fact that you're trying your friend the best thing that'll ever happen to her, or that you think you can actually threaten me."

'calm down girl' the voice of reason in her mind called out. The guy was just trying to be intimidating, something he didn't exactly succeed in. He more pissed her off than make her scared of him. So staying calm and collective was the logical course of action.

"No worry's though, I won't hurt you. Bellamy seems to have taken an interest you." He smirked, leaning forward until he their faces came to the same height "And who could blame him with that smoking body of yours. I wouldn't mind taking a swing at that myself… He doesn't need to know what happens between the two of us… C'mon how much, everyone has their price."

Okay, forget calm and collective for now. A vein popped on her forehead, as her now clenched fists began to itch in irritation. Angry was an understatement of how she felt towards this man. So she struck forward, planting a punch firmly between his eyes. And catching him off guard, he stumbled backwards while a hand went to the blinding pain in his face. "You bitch!" his angry scream sounded "You will regret that!"

"Whatever smurf" she scolded annoyed, having to restrain herself from punching him again. "just tell that pig of a Bellamy to leave me the hell alone." A sigh escaped her lips as the anger slowly deflated. And having quite enough of the guy she left, walking off to anywhere she seemed fit.

Nami faltered as her eyes met familiar ones, belonging to the man she had seen this morning. "him again" He was smiling at her, a smile so devious that it seemed to infuriate her in the same way as earlier today. Even when smiling, he seemed to bring her off of her game. 'he's mocking me' She thought. Even worse, from the looks of things he had witnessed the little scene between her and Sarkies. Face red in a mixture of embarrassment and anger she brushed past him, failing to keep up the stature she had a few seconds ago.

Her pace diminished as she caught the sight of blonde hair, the locks belonging to a rather small and delicate girl. She wore the same uniform as Nami, but didn't fill out as well in certain places and didn't quite look as confident as her. The girl smiled nervously at her, in a somewhat apologizing manner.

"Nami, I'm sorry a-"

"No need to worry" the orange-haired woman dismissed her apology with a simple wave of the hand. "I know that guy freaks you out, and that he keeps bothering you."

"B-but he doesn't seem like someone who you can talk out of things with words alone."

"I can take him." She stated, not finding any reason to feel intimidated by someone like him.

"A-arigatou." The blonde smiled, more reassured and maybe even a tad safer now."I-I was planning on going shopping this afternoon with Vivi. Would you like to join us? It's been a while since we hung out."

"I'm sorry" the orange-haired girl returned with genuine sadness. "But I'm kind of swamped with other activities this afternoon."

"Buggy the clown, you will regret entering Baroque Works territory. "

She could only gape at the seemingly limitless amount of confidence he seemed to emit. His voice had been so sure, so completely void of doubt or hesitation. The intent behind it had been sure enough, he was planning to make every last one of them pay for their actions, and no one was going to stop him. And she felt compelled to believe him.

The entire audience was now focused on the two new people that had just entered the building. Their presence alone being the source of attention. To make things worse there was someone with him this time, and by the looks of things the new guy wasn't just to increase the sheer numbers on his side. His outfit seemed somewhat alike to the Mugiwara's, a black suit that decorated his frame like a second skin. Instead of the latter though his attire was without the cloak, and instead of a red blouse, a white one was worn. A pitch-bandana covered the top of his head, while a scarf covered the lower half of his face. The only thing visible of it was the one unscarred eye. Three swords were latched trough a belt at his side, all of which seemed quite expensive. They weren't to be messed with, that much was visible to everybody.

"Who the hell are you two!" Well almost everybody. Of course the clown had to have missed the obvious blood lust that practically leaked out of them. "What do you even think you're doing here anyway, this is our score!"

Still this change of situation could have its advantages. One of the bystanders had decided to try and be brave and had tried to call the officials on their little robbery. Buggy hadn't taken kindly towards such an action and much to her displeasure he had shot her. This could be the perfect distraction she needed. While those two groups fought it out, she could tend to the woman if it was still possible. It was too late for the security guard though, she had known that the second he was shot. The look in his eyes had said it all, the gunshot had been fatal. She knew that kind of look far too well.

The Mugiwara's head shifted slightly, the straw-hat covering his face never giving away an inch. There was no immediate reply, only a movement if the eyes. He was taking in the situation. His vision scanned past the newly recruited hostages, the security guard who showed no sign of life, until it reached the sight of a bleeding woman on the floor where it froze for a second, before its full coldness turned towards Buggy. "Why are we here?" he repeated, a voice completely void of emotion. "That's what we should be asking you. I'm having a lot of questions for you actually.". The grin that seemed to emit madness vanished, and was replaced with a serious frown. "But I can't bring myself to question scum like you."

"Scum?! Who the hell do you think you a-"

"Shigan" There was no intent to let him finish, no restraint in his attack. In a single motion an index finger tore through skin, muscle, flesh, until it finally came out his back, successfully impaling the clown on his arm.

The audience held in their breath, knowing not how to process what just happened. The suit wearing man with the straw-hat had come out of nowhere, stepped in and stabbed someone barehanded.

His own eyes widened in shock. He hadn't gone easy on him with his powers, but he never had intended to impale the person. It just seemed off. Never once did the ordinary shigan technique have this much power in it. Buggy's jaw had dropped, the life draining from him entirely as the part of his body split apart from his torso. He hadn't meant to go this far.

"Just kidding."

A sharp pain emitted from his side, one that made him ground his teeth in agony. How had he missed it, there had been no sound of movement and no feeling of ill intent coming from anyone around them.

Casting a glance to the side, his eyes turned wide as saucers. A detached hand holding a dagger floated through the air, it having plunged itself into his back and making blood start to stain his already crimson blouse. "W-what the"

"Gyhahahaha" Buggy's laughter howled trough the room, a now surprising grin present on his detached upper body as that now too floated through the air. The hand pulled out the sharp knife causing more blood to spill. "That sure was a shock, you having a such a flashy technique that could cut a man barehanded. Would've worked too, had you not been up against me."

Mugiwara clutched his side in pain, a half attempt to stop the bleeding. "Damnit, I was too careless." After a moment realization struck him finally. "Ah, I see. You're a devil fruit user." the raven-haired spoke, still struggling against the pain. "Should've known."

"That's right. The Bara Bara no mi." The clown laughed more broadly, reveling in his victory. "For any attack that cuts, pierces or slices, I'm its worst enemy. I'll just split apart at the contact, making it ineffectual. For you see, I am a splitting human." His vision shifted towards the green-haired man who still stood in the freshly made doorpost. "You there. Not gonna save your friend over here? Not that those swords will do you any good."

The Swordsman kept his stature, and focused his one good eye on the newly appointed challenge. "And interrupt your fight?" he said with a bored expression. "No way in hell. He'd never let me live it down."

"What the heck are you talking about, your friend is down for the count. He'll flashy die."

"Another one, huh?" The Mugiwara nearly laughed out of pure excitement. "That suuure~ is interesting"

"Again, what are you talking ab-bleugh~"

He was interrupted by a fist hitting him square on the cheek. "Pistol" The entirety of the room's jaws dropped as the boy's arm stretched further than should ever be possible, the momentum of it alone sending Buggy flying through the nearby door.

Mugiwara coughed up a little blood as he straightened himself , the full extent of the wound wearing down. "Damnit he got me good." He pondered aloud "I don't think he pierced any vitals but it's still bleeding quite a lot."

"That's because you rushed in too damn fast, ahou." Zoro scolded him from a distance.

She lost her voice, the supernatural fight being too much to process in her brain. Things were complicated enough as they were, even without clowns splitting apart into pieces and straw-hat wearing criminals stretching their limbs. In the confusion her legs had given out, and now she basically had collapsed to her knees. "How the hell did he just stretch out his arm?! That shouldn't be humanly possible! just what the hell is he?"

She needed to calm down… She needed to focus and-

"Watch out!" She screamed when a new attacker appeared, one that had decided to ambush the Mugiwara from behind. He did neither move nor flinch however, and kept his back towards the attacker to let the initial sneak attack continue.

'he's not even going to dodge?'

It never connected though. Before the sword could hit its target another blocked it's path, a pitch black katana decorated with a distinct red edge.

"Attacking someone in the back isn't exactly honorable." The green-haired man spoke, now standing in-between the friend and his attacker. The uninterested expression was replaced with a serious one. "What's your name, seppuku-kun?"

"Seppuku-kun?" the acrobat asked surprised. A large blue and white checkered scarf decorated most of his lower face, while a sleeveless purple coat was worn that reached down to his knees. His hair was parallel to itself, one half being long and reaching down where the other half was shaved. A single katana was held in his hand. "It's Cabaji, and don't think I haven't recognized you Bushido-san." Wild slashes were send the swordsman's way, however he deflected them with gracious ease. "If I were to defeat you then my name will surely become better known throughout the district!"

The swordsman smirked at the challenge. "Oi boss, I'll take care of this guy. You can handle the clown."

"Yosh, I'll leave it to you." The Mugiwara replied seriously. She had to admit his persistence to keep his identity a secret was praiseworthy. Not once had the ordeal against Buggy caused him to reveal an inch of his face that was shadowed by the brim of his hat.

"That flashy fool! How dare he punch me?!" Speaking of Buggy, it seemed he had finally recovered from the previous attack. And judging by the shouting behavior that came from outside he was angry to say the least.

He walked towards the door, a little slow considering the speed he could actually travel. When passing by, he cast a glance of indifference towards her before grinning like a madman once again and bringing his attention back to the main objective.

She was confused by this, he knew she was part of a gang herself. So why did he ignore her being there? She could be considered a threat, couldn't she? What was his aim at this? Discovering it would have to wait, there was still business she had to take care of at this moment. She was in luck that, excluding herself, Buggy's group only consisted of three people. With two occupied in battle and the third waiting outside, this was the perfect moment to strike.

A whimpering sound reached Nami's ears, to which she regretted having thought to just steal money. She would have to take care of the other woman first.

Stepping outside, the expected situation was found though. Buggy's little flight lesson had presumably come to an end when he met with another building across the street, were he had left more than just a dent in the wall. People were disorientated and mostly confused because of it, and let's face it he couldn't blame them. 'T wasn't everyday people saw someone fly into a building, especially a clown for that matter. That he was now standing and rambling like a madman about killing a certain someone didn't exactly make the situation any more relaxed.

"There you are, you Mugiwara-bastard!" Buggy yelled, finally having spotted the young suit wearing man. Daggers were now placed between the space of each of his fingers "Who was it that put you up to this, was it that cat-burglar bitch?! This was all her idea, wasn't it? I never trusted that woman to begin with, should have known that a big chested broad like her would betray me! I'll make her pay real good!"

He would ignore that one, since the clown was spouting pure nonsense at the moment. He didn't know how the connection was made between him attacking the man and the cat burglar's apparent betrayal. And what did boobs have to do with betrayal anyway?

"…But before that I'll need to go through you won't I?! Because…aargh!"

"Rankyaku" the compressed air missile hit him full in the chest, but because of the ability he possessed merely made him split apart at contact.

"You weren't listening before were you?" the straw-hat wearer spoke with a threatening tone to the still startled clown. "Don't make me repeat myself. You attacked Baroque Works territory on my watch and now you're going to pay the price Red nose."

Cabaji could not believe how easy this was going. Their battle had just started a few moments ago and already he had the new opponent on the ropes. All he did was deflect his blows, nothing but staying on the defensive as he had no time to counter the furious blows dealt by the acrobat.

Their swords clashed together multiple times, sparks emitting every time. This wasn't worth his time. The bored expression on his face had returned as soon as their battle started, there was no strength to back up his challenge. He had known since the first strike was dealt. 'tch. Just this level of power, huh?'

"What's wrong Bushido, you can't seem to strike back! Is my full power to much for you? Don't tell you want me to go easy on you!" He brought his sword down much harder now, striking him at full power. His visible eye widened however, when the blade was once again blocked effortlessly. Out of frustration he attempted to apply more pressure, but the sword would not budge one inch.

"That was your full power? What a bore.." The pressure was returned, but it was far greater than Cabaji's, enough to push the acrobat back a few feet.

"A bore?" He repeated after finding his balance again. People had called him a few things over the years, they had mocked his hair, maybe his stunts and even his behavior. Of course he killed all the people who had the guts to insult him, but that was a different matter. But boring, no one had ever had the courage to call his swordsmanship boring. "You... take…that …back!"

Okay that was the final straw. The scarred man lowered his sword, completely dropping his defenses in the process. "Enough of this, I'm tired now."

"Hah?" the black haired man was completely abashed by his opponents new statement. However after composing himself he said. "I see, you put all of your power into surpassing my own for a second and push me back. Such a rookie mistake you made."

"I meant I'm tired of fighting an opponent as weak as you." Bushido said bluntly. His free hand went to the hilts of the remaining swords, and for a moment it seemed like he was considering his next action. "Ittoryu should be enough to beat you… But I'll show you, just how much our power's differ." A second sword was drawn, it's unique white hilt being placed between his teeth. A third one came into his left hand, this one having a fire like edge to it.

"I heard of this" someone from the crowd said in surprise."This is the East blue's Bushido famous Santoryu style"

"Oni…" His arms crossed, taking on a stance he had perfected over the years.

Cabaji surged forward, rage blinding his judgment of the situation. "No matter if you use three swords or one! The outcome will be no different!"

"…Giri!" For an instant he vanished, before reappearing a few feet behind Cabaji. A second Three large gashes were slashed into the acrobat's torso, his vision going black as he fell to the ground.

"You're a fool" The standing swordsman muttered while sheathing his swords. "With me, the difference between using one or three swords is worlds apart."

Mohji for one was not amused. Stealing money had been a good idea for once, but it hadn't been for the big score their boss had promised. Both he and Cabaji knew the only reason Buggy was robbing the bank right now was because of his intentions with the orange-haired woman. The woman had him completely wrapped around her finger. As of how, he hadn't the slightest clue though. She had shown up a week ago at their hideout, proclaiming all sorts of sweet compliments for his red nosed boss all the while swaying her body in the most seductive manners. Throw in an extra bottle of sake and boom… Buggy's reason had completely gone out the window. And of course the decision that he had to stay in the car instead of the woman they just met hadn't been up for debate.

"you'd listen to me, wouldn't you Richie?" he spoke while patting the dashboard. "One day we'll take down Buggy and then I'll be the boss. I'll rule the entire East Blue district, something that red nosed idiot could never ac-"

A tap on the car window snapped him out of his rants. "Aaargh! B-B-Buggy-sama, I-I-I was just j-joking around and, and…Who the hell are you!" he snapped at the blonde man that had tapped.

The man only smiled and made a downward motion with his index finger. Reluctantly he lowered the window, scowling at his new visitor. "what" he grumbled, more annoyed than embarrassed.

The blonde kept smiling despite the sheep-man's obvious lack of manners. "Sorry it's just the shitty me." An unlit cigarette was brought up to attention, it being held between his index finger and thumb. "I was kind of in a hurry to when I left home, so unfortunately I have no fire to light this one. Might I use your car lighter?"

The sheep-man grumbled under his breath before reaching out to said lighter, all the while keeping his gaze on the new man. He was in a bad mood as he was and wasn't exactly in the mood for friendly conversation. And he couldn't be chatting with people anyway since any minute now Buggy and Cabaji could rush around the corner along with the orange-haired harlot. So perhaps if he kept glaring at the visitor, he would get the hint and leave after lighting that damn cancer-stick of his.

"Ah, that hits the spot" The blonde sighed in relief as his cigarette finally caught fire. "lovely weather we are having, isn't it?"

Or maybe the man would just keep on talking. Was this guy just acting stupid? The sheep-man grumbled, he didn't have time for this. "listen buddy, I'm kind of in a hurry here and I'm not in the mood for small-talk. So could you just give back my lighter and piss off?" There, he had to understand that. Being anti-social should make him get the hint.

However the man still kept his smile. "This thing?" he said "sure… Here catch." In a motion, the lighter was flicked back through the car window, dropping toward the ground, were it safely landed… right in Mohji's lap.

He screamed as the lighter burned through the fabric of his pants "Ow, what the h-"

Before the sentence could be finished a strong hand seized him by the neck, and slammed his head into the steering wheel face-first. He lost consciousness a second later.

Sanji's smile turned into a scowl before he took another drag of his freshly lit cigarette. "Tch. Why did I have to do all the boring work?"

"That kind of attack won't work on me you idiot!" Buggy yelled angrily "What part of splitting-man did you not understand!"

"Huh, cutting you really won't do any good" the Mugiwara said as if he had just noted something. "Well if I can't cut you into pieces, I'll just have to pound you into a pulp."

"As if you could you little punk! Bara bara ho!" his arm launched itself straight at the boys face, which he avoided quite easily by catching the arm before impact. However the hand stuck to the arm detached itself, and not being prepared for something like that, he had barely time to dodge it.

"That ability of yours is can be a real pain you know" Mugiwara said. He could feel a small stream of blood slide down his cheek. One of the knifes had grazed his face, a shallow wound at most, but he had still hit him.

"You haven't even seen half of it asshole!" the red nose yelled. Without warning the hand made another swipe, this time striking at him from behind. Not making the same mistake twice he dodged it, before it flew back and reattached itself to Buggy.

Things were getting out of hand he noticed. Their fight was attracting attention and citizens had gathered around the area of their fight. They kept their distance, but things would get nasty soon. First off they could get seriously hurt if they got caught up in their battle. Secondly if this many people knew, the police were bound to show up soon. This needed to end as soon as possible. He ran forward, throwing a punch in his opponents direction. "Gomu gomu no… Pistol!"

"Bara bara quick escape!" Buggy's head split apart from his body, quickly dodging the attack. "hah, you suck Mugiwara!" he yelled, before an immense pressure in his chest knocked the air out of him.

Not having wasted any time, the raven-haired had kicked the clown full in the ribs. "Stamp!"

Buggy tumbled away from him, clutching his chest while panting heavily. "I'll have to admit I underestimated you kid." He said, still trying to catch his breath. "There's a lot more to you than the eye shows. But it's not enough!" The clown coughed up some blood "With that amount of power you wouldn't last a second against the true gang leaders of this town, let alone me!"

"We've fought on the same level until now." The Mugiwara stated obviously "And it's not like I've used my full power. Up to this point I've been toying with you Buggy. I've held back most of my power to avoid hurting bystanders and cause collateral damage…"

A vein popped on the clown's head, his rage reaching new levels entirely. "You have the guts to tell me, that you've been going easy on me?! I'll show you just how far you're in over your head! Bara Bara festival!" Buggy split apart, making the audience gasp in surprise as literary his entire body split into separated floating pieces. "How about this, you won't be able to hurt me if I've split in such tiny parts!" with that, literary every piece of Buggy went towards attacking the boy with the hat. "Now die!"

Mugiwara was unmovable as a storm of body parts flew towards him with the intent to kill, an undeniable smirk growing on his face. "Is that all? You've just given me more targets to hit."

"eh?"

"Gatling!"

A barrage of punches hit Buggy almost instantly after that, multiple blows nearly hitting every target simultaneously. He couldn't react, he couldn't even see the fists that kept raining down from the other man. What the hell was with this sudden increase of power? Had he really held back this much? In desperation his attention went to the crowd, seeing as they might be his final hope. 'He had said he was holding back to avoid hurting bystanders right?'

A scream of pain made the attack stop in its tracks. Bringing his eyes over to the source of it, his eyes widened in shock. Standing at the front of the crowd stood a boy, a disconnected hand holding a knife to his throat. "Bastard… You'd sink that low?"

"That's right" Buggy laughed when his theory was proven correct, though the pain of the previous attack was severe enough to stifle it. "I figured out your weakness... Come together!" his limbs reformed at the newly found hostage, which he made sure to keep behind, using the poor child as a shield. "You're soft! Can't hurt any innocent bystanders can you?!"

"Let him go" the raven-haired growled. "He's got nothing to do with our fight!"

"Gyhahaha, you can't get over your heart can you?" the knife was dug deeper into the child's skin, making him whimper in agony as a small stream of blood tickled down his neck. Luffy could only ground his teeth as tears started to stream down the boy's face.

"Let. Him. go."

"If you don't want to see this child hurt you'd better keep still! Your power surprised me, but in the end it just turns out you don't have what it takes!"

A pressure hit him full to on the back almost immediately after that, enough to make him loosen his grip for just a second. Thieves hands quickly swooped in and an instant later Buggy had lost his hostage to the new attacker. Realization struck a second later as a lock of orange hair came into view. It was the cat burglar, the woman for whom he had robbed this bank for in the first place. And in her hand she dragged along by the collar of his shirt the clown's ticket to freedom, namely the child he had snatched a few moments ago. "So you betrayed me after all, you bitch!"

She couldn't believe how low those criminals would sink just to keep themselves from getting hurt. Robbing banks, committing crimes and then letting other people take the pain they deserved. It didn't matter who they were or how trustworthy they seemed, in the end they would always turn out to be just like Buggy, just like him. With a quick swipe the kid was thrown back into the crowd, where luckily people were able to catch him. Keeping him close would only bring more harm towards the kid than permit safety. Judging by the clown's rage filled expression he was going after her now.

She was proven correct.

His hand shot out, the knife aimed at her back. She jumped aside at the last second to avoid it, but having it come as a surprise she couldn't move aside quickly enough. She hissed in pain and had to stifle a scream as the blade cut through her skin, ripped away at the soft muscle of her heel. "Damnit" she cursed after she fell quite ungraciously on her bum. Buggy finally managed to hit target.

"It's already too late to make excuses." He said while looming over her, the evil grin on his face present. It seemed to widen as his hand reattached itself. "Attacking me, betraying me after all I've done for you. I'm going to cut you up real nice girly…"

She planted the heel of her foot firmly between his eyes, ignoring the terrible pain it caused her leg. "Who the hell would ever apologize to someone like you asshole! What kind of coward uses children as a shield to protect himself?!"

The clown stumbled back, the pointy high-heel she had kicked him with leaving quite a painful mark on his face. "Vile Whore, I'll rip your guts out!" He brought his arm forward again, ready to launch it at her.

Her eyes widened in shock, she wouldn't be able to dodge if he was at this range.

"Die!"

In a flash Mugiwara appeared between them, both his arms stretched backwards. "You should focus on your opponent 'Red nose.'" He said, a voice completely filled with hatred toward the opponent. He had seen enough. Both arms shot forward, the open palms slamming into Buggy's chest with bone shattering momentum, enough to send the man flying. "Bazooka!"

Buggy coughed up a considerable amount of blood as the single attack of power hit him full on, and made him soar throughout the air. He flew past buildings, the last noting that he was airborne before everything went black.

She was frozen for a second, not being able to speak. She knew he was strong, that much was obvious, but launching people into the sky was something she hadn't seen happen before. She looked at the man before her, the hat still managing shield off his identity, his black coat flowing ever so graciously in the small breeze. He almost seemed like some sort of a hero in that moment. "T-thanks, you saved my life." She finally managed to mutter out.

"Ah, don't mention it." He didn't turn to face her immediately, but kept his eyes on the direction Buggy had flown off to. He felt a rather faint disappointment that the attack had sent the opponent flying that far. He lingered for a moment, before turning towards her. Looking closer now he could see her damaged leg. "Are you hurt?"

'What does he care?' She only shook her head though, he had saved her after all so she at least owed to tell him he did a good job. "It's only a scratch" she said. A flat out lie, but it wasn't like she would be needing his help... again.

"That's good to hear" he said, smiling a bit relieved at her. She had impressed him again, not only taking the risk of protecting an innocent bystander, a child for that matter, but also attacking a gang leader like Buggy without a second of hesitation. She was stunning, a beautiful woman with the potential to manipulate even gang leaders and having the brains and brawl to back up her behavior. And to top it off she had a kind heart underneath. How truly interesting she was. Almost too good to be a criminal.

She was completely caught off guard when he smiled at her. There seemed to be no madness or taunting towards it and was meant to be joyful. But it didn't feel completely honest either, if almost a bit forced. Looking a bit upwards their eyes met, and she had to hold back the sharp intake of breath as her brown orbs stared into charcoal ones. Instead of the lifeless or cold eyes she had expected from him, they seemed warm and almost a bit kind towards her. She felt like she could drown in those black voids, they felt so secure and even inviting. She wouldn't mind staring into them for just a few more moments.

Wait a minute… She was staring at him? She could look him in the eyes? She mentally slapped herself for just realizing that his face was now in full view. And she recognized him. The raven-black hair, the small scar under his eye… it was unmistakable. It was the same person she had met in the bus earlier today, the guy that had laughed at her fit in the school corridors. "Y-you!" she shrieked in astonishment.

His eyes widened at the realization of his blunder. "Crap"

And that's chapter three, ain't I a motherf*cker with those cliffhangers.

Did you like this chapter, favorite and/or decide to follow it. Thought something was off or do you just feel like giving feedback? Leave a review, they are always appreciated.

On to the chapter.

First off, let me apologize to Sanji for not letting him fight this chapter… but hey he never did so in the actual series at this point, so I thought to keep that the same way. Also if people are wondering where Richie (Mohji's lion) was, I made him a car, because where the hell would you hide a giant lion in a city? And I kind of got the idea from Logue Town, where Mohji rides the lion like a motorcycle.

Zoro calling Cabaji Seppuku-kun. Seppuku is the art of suicide originally reserved for samurai to die with honor, or to commit suicide if they commit an act that is completely dishonorable. By attacking Luffy in the back he is being dishonorable, so I kinda made the joke that Zoro gives him a nickname suggesting he should just end his life for being a dishonorable swordsman.

Also about Nami discovering his identity, I had in mind to make some big reveal, him finally exposing himself as the crime lord known as the Mugiwara after countless of meeting occasions. But that's kind of weird isn't it. It would be more like Luffy to just screw up, and accidently have him reveal his secret identity to her. Yeah I know what you're going to say about my story not really portraying an in character Luffy, but hey I have a reason for that. Wanna know why? Ya gotta be patient and let me think of it myself.

If you want me to add the list of attacks this chapter, I'll do it later. Right now I'm just really tired. Peace off.