Apologies for the length of this chapter; it just turned out that way.

If I owned One Piece, it wouldn't be half as good as it is.


Chapter 3 – The Scuffle

"And why can't you go into town with him and get this stuff?" Zolo asked, waving the list Nami had given him.

"Because I'm busy!" Nami snapped, snatching the list off him and passing it to Sanji instead. She'd been working on automatic and had given the shopping list to Sanji, who usually did the shopping in port. "And there's no way I'm letting those two go into town," she added, pointing at Luffy and Usopp, who were singing and dancing together.

"Of course, my Nami!" Sanji said, his eyes turning into hearts. It was still so strange watching Zolo with heart-eyes, even after several days of it. "We'll get it all for you! Come on," he added curtly to Zolo, and headed for the ladder.


"Do we really need this much stuff?" Zolo asked. His arms were getting tired carrying all the shopping, but Sanji was using the excuse of choosing fresh vegetables to avoid carrying any of it.

Sanji snorted in amusement. "You've seen Luffy eat; what do you think?" he replied.

He turned back to the vegetables, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. "Did you say 'Luffy'?" a deep voice asked. "As in Straw-hat Luffy, wanted dead or alive?"

Sanji turned to face the speaker, who recoiled in shock. "It's Zolo, the ex-pirate hunter!" the man shouted, drawing his sword.

"And the other is Sanji, one of the fighting Baratie chefs!" called another voice from the slowly gathering crowd.

"Ah, a fan!" Sanji said in delight, and looked around for the source of the voice.

Zolo hit Sanji round the back of the head and glared at him. "Don't you dare lose, shit-cook. If you do, my reputation is ruined."

"Make you a deal. I won't lose this fight if you don't lose my groceries," Sanji sighed as he drew Zolo's swords. For the sake of disguise, they had continued wearing each other's clothes and Sanji had continued to carry Zolo's blades, though his clothes had gotten a wash. It had been hoped that anyone looking to trouble them would be scared off by their appearances, but it seemed that their reputations had caught up with them.

"Can I at least put them down?" Zolo growled, keeping an eye on the crowd. Others among them were coming forward with weapons, all intent on the two pirates.

"As long as you don't damage them!" Sanji warned, and charged in to attack.

Zolo put the bags against a wall and turned to face his adversaries; two men with bared blades. "We are Michio and Tamasine, right and left-hand men of Seiji, bounty hunter extraordinaire!" they claimed, striking a dramatic pose.

"Like I care who you are," Zolo snorted, and lashed out at them lightning-fast with a kick. They went down in a heap, and Zolo was impressed despite himself. There really was some power behind these legs…


Sanji was having a slightly harder time of it. Seiji hadn't stopped for ridiculous introductions, but had gone straight to hammering away at him, forcing Sanji to parry desperately. There has to be a way out of this, he thought grimly as he blocked. I promised the shit-head that I wouldn't lose…

Suddenly, Sanji realised that every time Seiji attacked, he left himself wide open to a counter-attack from… over here…

Seiji screamed as Sanji slid away and attacked from another angle, slicing deep into his side. He dropped to the ground, and Sanji smiled triumphantly before sheathing the swords.

"Hey, you bastard. You don't put blades away when they're covered in blood!" Zolo said angrily, turning from the other men he had felled and snatching the swords away from Sanji. "You'll ruin them!" He began examining his blades for damage as Sanji sputtered in fury. Without thinking, he kicked Zolo into a wall.

From there, it was all downhill as Zolo got up and attacked with his swords and Sanji met him in a whirlwind of fury at Zolo's complete lack of gratitude.


Further up the hill above the market, Sergeant-Major Tashigi of the Marines sipped her cocktail and sighed. While it was nice to have a day off in port once in a while, she felt lost without her work. Which is why, when she heard the sound of battle and a scream, she took off down the hill without a second thought, her hand on the hilt of her sword and her straw still bobbing about in her drink.


"…Sanji, one of the fighting Baratie chefs!" Carmen heard drifting on the wind.

With a satisfied cry, the elegant cook snapped her fan shut and hurried towards the voice, so eager to meet her rival and challenge him again that she left her two assistants well behind.