Chapter 9

Grand Line, at the border to the northern Calm Belt

On board of the Thousand Sunny the Strawhat Pirates were preparing for the first part of their exploration.

The short battle with the unknown pirate crew was a few days ago now and the ship from Alabasta was still lying next to them in the sea.

They, that meant most of the crew beside Nami who was sitting on the calculations for their route and Chopper who was helping the doctor of the Alabasta crew with their wounded, were currently working on the paddle-wheel drive of the Sunny that Frankie wanted to upgrade for their newest adventure.

"Are you sure that this will work?" Pell who had been watching their efforts for a few minutes now was asking Franky with light scepticism.

"If this will work?" The shipwright of the Strawhat Pirates turned as if he could barely believe that someone would actually thinking about asking this question.

"Do you know who you are talking to? I was one of the two apprentices of the great Tom himself, the man who had built the ship of the first Pirate Kind and I have personally designed the one of the second, the one that you are standing on now", Franky proclaimed proudly.

"If it will work? Of course it will", he shouted and made one of his typical trademark poses.

"Hey Franky", they heard someone yell behind them.

They saw that Luffy and Zoro were still lifting up one of the giant paddle-wheels that were normally mounted on the side of the Sunny. Normally that wouldn´t be a big deal, if they weren´t already carrying it for over a half hour by now.

"Oh yes, you can let it down now", Franky told them.

They let the large device down and then let themselves fall to the deck. Both were visible stressed. While the weight was as good as nothing for them, standing still in the same twisted pose with the thing on their shoulders for so long was hell.

"Okay okay, I only wanted to ask", Pell said.

"If you say so. You look a bit nervous", Sanji told him.

"Well, it is only that, Princess Vivi has asked to accompany you."

"Vivi?" Luffy asked loud.

"Yes, her ship will arrive in the next days. I hope you can wait so long."

"Of course, Vivi is our friend after all."

"You see", the alabastian warrior continued, "this ship here was originally meant to start a certain expedition into the Calm Belt. For this we had a special engine on board that we had lend from the New World Government. But during the fight with this pirates it had been destroyed."

"So you wanted to the Calm Belt too?" Franky questioned.

"Yes, for a certain reason."

xxxxxxx

A unknown island in the Calm Belt

The ship had just anchored at the coast and a group of the pirates was stepping on the land where a single figure was waiting for them while they approached.

Behind him they could make out the walls of a large fortress that was covering a great part of the island.

The man was wearing a long black cloak and his hood was concealing his face.

"What do you have to tell me?" he asked them.

"We found the ship on the course that you told us", the captain told him, "but", he continued nervously, "but then the Strawhat Pirates appeared and we were attacked ourselves. We had no chance. We had to flee", he explained.

While he and his men were officially and in first line pirates, they were also something else, part of the organization of the man standing before him and in everything they had done in the last weeks they had merely been following his orders. And he knew failing him could mean certain death.

"I know you had no chance", the man in black responded, "not against Strawhat and his crew."

The captain relaxed a bit, but not by much.

"That is it not I want to know. You have already told me all that on the den den mushi. Tell me from that course did the Strawhats came from? Was it a coincidence that they were there or were they with the alabastians? Were you able to hear something about their plans, anything?"

"We, we couldn´t see where they came from. Their ship had appeared right in the middle of the battle. They were definitely not with the alabastians. Their plans, we couldn´t hear anything about their plans", he stammered. "When they showed up they just attacked us and..."

The man before him lifted his left hand. From one moment to the other the pirate captain froze in fear.

He knew all too well that this man could with a single finger not only destroy him but his entire crew.

"I am sorry Shadow, we have disappointed you", he said terrified.

"When you disappoint me I will tell it to you", the man replied coldly. "You have done everything that could be expected of you. If it were different you would already be dead", he assured him.

"Are you sure that the Strawhats have not been following you?"

"A...Absolutely." The captain was now shaking in fear.

"You are right. My scouts report too that you have obviously not been followed. Have you succeeded in destroying the engine?"

"What? Oh yes, we have."

"That means you have done good work after all", the dark man said.

The captain was now visible more relaxed.

"But it might be that the Strawhats will still come in our direction. If they were not with the alabastians it is possible that they were heading for the Calm Belt by themselves. That means if they really come close to our place here we will be prepared."

xxxxxxx

A few days later

The second ship from the Alabasta kingdom had just arrived.

Princess Vivi was just coming on board of the Sunny over a gangplank, followed by her bodyguard Igaram. In opposite to the elegant dress you would expect from a princess she was wearing a green shirt, shorts and boots, very similar to the first time they had met. It was quite obvious that she was planning to be a part of their new adventure.

"Hey Vivi." Luffy was the first who shouted his greeting.

"Guys", she said, "it is wonderful to see you all again."

"Vivi." Nami welcomed her first with a handshake then with a hug, Zoro greeted her her more casually, Chopper loudly said his welcome to her and Sanji reacted like always he saw a woman.

The princess meanwhile looked as if she was nearly burst out into laughter.

"It is good to see that you guys haven´t changed", she said. "And you, I am glad to meet you the first time." She turned to the crew-members she didn´t know before.

"Nice to meet you", Franky told her.

"My lady." Brook greeted her with a bow.

For a moment the living skeleton wrestled with himself if he should ask her his usual question. But he decided against it.

Even he would not ask a princess in right in front of two ships full of her soldiers if he could see her panties, he had better manners. It could wait until they were alone.

"Miss All Sunday", Vivi now spoke to the last member of the crew, "or rather Nico Robin now right? I have already seen from your wanted posters that you are now part of this crew."

"I, uhm..." Robin wasn´t quite sure what to say. What was there to say anyway? She had after all nearly helped a madman to destroy her home-land.

"As I said before", Vivi replied, "if you are okay for Luffy you are okay for me. But that doesn´t mean we won´t have a lot to talk about."

"of course princess, thank you."

"Call me Vivi, every member of this crew does."

"Thank you", she repeated.

"What do you think about our new ship?" Nami asked her.

"It is great, really impressive, but I am sad about the Merry."

"We all were", the navigator replied. "The Going Merry was a part of us and her loss was the loss of a comrade. But that was a long time ago."

"I have to tell you something", Vivi said loud so that the entire Strawhat crew could hear her. "I am not only here because I wanted to see you. There is something you should know, something important."

"You mean the reason why your ship wanted to sail into the Calm Belt?" Zoro asked her.

"Yes, exactly that."