Chapter 3 - Captain's Orders

"Why are you a pirate?" the man demanded at Luffy. The rubber man scrambled to his feet. The captain's attacker was twice the height and size of Luffy and he towered over the rubber man but Luffy did not look intimidated in the slightest.

Luffy rubbed his chin with the back of his arm and gave a confident smile. "To become the Pirate King."

That was the last thing the man wanted to hear. The sounds of pistons and gears filled the air and he clenched his robotic fingers. He raised his fist and slammed it down at Luffy. "Pirate King?!"

Luffy dodged at the last second to avoid being smashed. The man's attack broke the dining table and left a significant hole on the floor.

"Nami-san, get outside!" Sanji ordered.

"Take care of it, please," Nami responded as she rushed out with her Clima Tact. She was surprised to see Rei at the doorway. Rei's back was turned and she was looking out at the sea. "Rei!"

"We need to get down to the lawn deck," Rei called out without turning to look at Nami, "Usopp! Brook! Chopper! I'll need you out here too."

"But what about this guy?" Usopp exclaimed.

"Let the others handle him," Rei said, "We have to worry about his friends."

"His friends?!" Usopp and Brook cried out in horror.

Suddenly, the Thousand Sunny skidded off course as a black ship slammed against its side. It was twice the size of the Thousand Sunny and it formed a dark shadow over the Straw Hats. Nami, Chopper, Brook, and Usopp raced past Rei to get down to the lawn deck, where Robin and Franky stood. Rei remained on the upper deck and she leaned over the banister to get a better look. She had promised she wouldn't fight but she was fighting every cell of her body to do so.

Two figures jumped off from the attacking ship and they gracefully landed on the Thousand Sunny. One was a woman with blue wavy hair and red eyes. She wore a blue cloak that waved behind her when she was in the air. Next to her was a tall lanky man who had abnormally long limbs. He wore a black ninja suit with yellow clouds on it while black mesh covered his pink sleeves. His head was wrapped in a pink headband.

"I am a Vice-Admiral of the Neo Navy, Ain," the woman stated, focusing her attention on the occupants on the lawn deck.

Ain?! Rei almost broke the bannister with her fist as her grip tightened at the woman's voice. What is she doing here? And what in the world is the "Neo Navy"?!

"We are confiscating this pirate ship. Do not resist. You will only shorten your lives," Ain continued.

Rei looked around and realized that there were other ships around them. They were closing in. The Straw Hats were very much outnumbered.

"Ow! Ow!" Franky shouted, "There is no pirate that doesn't resist when he's asked not to!" He charged forward and threw a punch at the tall man. The man easily somersaulted over Franky's large body and landed directly behind him in an angular pose.

"Mosa mosa," the man chanted as he did a little dance. Vines started to grow out from the lawn deck and they wrapped themselves around the cyborg.

"He's a devil fruit user?!" Nami gasped.

"The Mosa Mosa Fruit," the tall man jeered, "can control every plant there is! Mosa mosa!"

He danced some more and new vines started to grow and wrap around Usopp, Brook, and Chopper. They were bounded by the vines, just like Franky.

The sound of metal clashing made Rei turn around. It looked like the castaway was putting up quite a fight with Sanji, Luffy, and Zoro. As soon as she spotted her captain, Rei got an idea.

"This guy," Zoro huffed as the man deflected another one of Zoro's attacks.

"Things look dangerous out there as well," Sanji commented.

"Let's end this now!" Luffy said as he pushed his Straw Hat lower on his head.

"Captain!" Rei shouted from the doorway, interrupting the men for a second, "Permission to fight, sir?"

Luffy turned to Rei in surprise, "Of course. Why are you asking me?"

"What?! No-" Zoro started to say but Rei was already at her utility belt, which Zoro had flung to the side of the room.

She looked over at the swordsman as she pulled out her daggers from the belt. "Captain's orders are absolute."

Before the swordsman or cook could argue, she was already out the door with her chains flying behind her. When she got the lawn deck, the situation had worsened. The vines had spread over the guys and clamped firmly over the their mouths, making it hard for them to speak or breathe. Robin was trying to capture the Mosa Mosa fruit user but he was too fast and would vanish right before her grasp.

On the other side of the deck, Nami was entangled in a battle with Ain. Ain had two daggers drawn out and Nami was trying her best to block each attack with her Clima Tact.

"Gus sword!" Nami cried as a strong wind bursted through her Clima-Tact but Ain was also too fast for her.

"Moda Moda," Ain said calmly as she ducked down. A purple hue encased her hand and she placed her palm on Nami's chest.

Immediately, it looked as if Nami shrank into the ground. Her clothes lay in a heap as if the body had disappeared.

"Nami!" Brook, Usopp, and Chopper shouted.

"How dare you do that with Nami!" Chopper cried, "Heavy Point!"

Chopper's enlarged size broke through the vines and he charged at Ain.

"Modo Modo," Ain stated as the purple hue returned on her hands.

"Dr. Reindeer!" Rei cried as she dashed over to Chopper in a dark blur. She pushed him out of the way just in time as Ain's palms hit Rei on the head.

Her mask fell to the ground and she felt herself shrink inside her cloak. The Modo Modo Fruit...

"Rei!" Usopp and Brook screamed.

"Rei?!" Ain gasped, recognizing the cloak. Robin took this opportunity, while Ain's guard was down. Rei's head popped out of from under her hood just in time to see Robin's arms branch out of Ain's body.

"Robin, stop!" Nami cried. She had also poked her head out of her clothes. Rei knew it was Nami but it definitely did not look like the Nami she saw everyday. Instead, it was a child version of Nami. "Don't let her touch you!" Nami warned.

"Modo Modo," Ain said calmly as she reached over to touch Robin's hands.

Robin gasped and started to withdraw but there was no time. Ain's hand reached over and just when she was about to make contact...

Thwack!

Ain cried out in pain as Rei's dagger was lodged firmly into the back of her hand. The purplish hue around her hand disappeared almost instantaneously and Robin's arms went away as well.

Rei stood up from her position. She looked down at her new formed body. She had reverted back to her eight year old body. She was a lot shorter and less lean. She was eye level to Chopper and the mask had now fallen off her face.

"Rei?" Chopper asked in horror.

Ain fell to her knees, weakened by the Sea Prism Stone in Rei's dagger but Ain still had enough strength to pull it out with her other hand. It dropped to her side. The purple hue returned to her uninjured hand and she launched it forward at Rei. "Moda-" she started to say but then stopped when her palm was just inches away from Rei's face. She lowered her hand, looking with widened eyes as Rei's calm, green ones stared back at her. Ain's face went pale and her whole arm went limp.

"Hello, Ain," Rei said calmly.

"Hello...Rei-senpai."


Flashback. Rei - 8 years old. Beffi Island

"Again," King Tannenbay ordered. He raised his wooden sword in front of his face, coated it with a light Armament Haki, and bent his knees in preparation, "Just because you're the youngest in your class does not mean they'll take it easy on you. No excuses."

Shing! Thwack! Thwack!

Rei breathed heavily as she swung her two metal daggers at King Tannenbay. Sweat dripped down her face and even more sweat soaked through her shirt. She hadn't even made a chip on the wooden sword and they had been training for hours now. Her body ached but she was far from calling it a day. If she couldn't even cut a wood, then how could she cut metal?

Rei raised her daggers again but this time the king held up his hands, motioning for her to lower her weapons. Rei straightened and tilted her head to the side. Her hair was cut short and it was slicked back from her face. It was soaked from her sweat, giving her already bright red hair an extra glossy finish.

"We have company," King Tannenbay said to the child.

Rei turned to look around her. They were in the training ground of the academy. The morning sun was barely up and the only people that were usually awake were Rei, the king, and the morning guards along the Wall. The rest of the island was supposed to be asleep so it was quite surprising for Rei to see a young girl with long blue hair peeking at them from behind a sword rack. The girl looked to be ten years old and was taller than Rei by a full head. The girl was wearing an academy uniform just like the one Rei was wearing except the girl's uniform had blue buttons, indicating she was a first year, while Rei's was silver, indicating she was in her third. Rei was only two years away from graduation but she was determined to shorten it to one. After all, she was able to skip her first year so why can't she skip her fourth?

Thud!

Rei's dagger lodged squarely in one of the sword rack's wooden legs. It just so happened to be where the girl was looking out from. The blade dangled just inches away from her head. She gave a small shriek of terror and fell backwards.

"You're a first year, right? The academy trains fighters, not spies," Rei called out to the girl, "Come out from there."

The girl scrambled forward and she wiped the grass stains from her pants. "I'm so sorry, Ren-senpai. I wasn't spying. I just didn't want to interrupt you."

She hurriedly gave a salute to the king. "My apologies, Your Majesty."

King Tannenbay signaled for her to be at ease and he gave her a soft smile. "That's okay. You're too early for training. I believe classes don't begin for another two hours."

"I wanted to get some extra practice in," the girl said in a rushing tone, "I want to get stronger."

"We all do," Rei said tersely. She walked past the girl and pulled her dagger out from the sword rack. She was not in the mood to get to know the girl. The king, however, did not feel the same way.

"Why?" King Tannenbay asked.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Why do you want to get stronger? Everyone has their reasons. What is yours?"

"So the boys will stop teasing me," the girl said.

Rei scoffed and placed her daggers in two holsters that hung by her side. The girl took offense to Rei's reaction and glared her soft, red eyes at Rei.

"Do you look down on me because I'm a girl too?" the girl demanded.

"No," Rei said, "I look down on you because your reason is stupid." She turned to the king and bowed her head. "If you don't mind, Your Highness, I'm going to go back and do some more training on my own."

"Who are you to ignore me?! I'm at least two years older than you." the girl yelled at Rei. She lunged at Rei and Rei caught her by the wrists before her fists could connect. The girl feebly struggled against Rei's hold.

"You're wasting my time," Rei said coolly, "And you're wasting yours too if that's your reason to train." Rei threw the girl on the ground and went back on her way.

"You wouldn't understand," the girl cried, "You're a boy and a genius. Nobody questions the fact that you're the top of the class. They don't think of you as inferior just because of your gender."

Rei blinked back at the girl before releasing her hold. The girl dropped to the ground. "You're right. I don't understand and to be frank I don't want to," Rei stated simply, "But I want you to know this. I think of you as inferior not because you are a girl." She loomed over the girl and looked at her solemnly. "You will always remain weak and inferior to me if your reason to be stronger is based on other people's opinions. Did you join the academy just so you could win some boys in a fight?"

"No," the girl sniffed, "I joined because I want to be a marine and help people."

"Then train for that," Rei said, "Someone who gets distracted from their goals is someone who is not strong enough to achieve them. That goes for everyone, boy and girl."

Rei glanced up at the training ground and then out to the sea. She pointed to the water and the girl followed her gaze. "If you become a marine, that will be your battle ground."

Rei looked down at the girl and waited for the girl to look back at her before continuing. "And a battle ground does not care about your gender. All it cares about is your strength and your will."

The girl gulped and took in Rei's words as she watched the genius make her way to the Wall. "Rei-senpai!" she called out after her, "My name is Ain! Remember my name! I'm going to be an Admiral someday. You wait and see!"

Rei didn't say anything and she didn't even turn back but she gave a short wave with her hand to indicate she heard what the girl had said.