Sooo...Things are going to slow down just a bit, I'm adding in a couple more of OCs. Welcome to the first Arc.

Chapter 10: The Very, Very Strongest

Marco watched in a mesmerized amusement as Thatch took two spoons and began hitting one of the tables in a rhythm as if he were a drummer. Which he clearly wasn't. They were waiting for Ace, who the had assigned to find Jenn so they can finalize the battle plans.

Instead, the second division commander had disappeared somewhere and didn't return. There was no doubt in Marco's mind that the idiot had probably had a narcoleptic fit or was fooling around somewhere and got distracted. It was one or the other.

"I knew I should have asked someone else, yoi." Marco muttered to himself, not expecting Thatch to have heard him. Thatch stopped tapping away at the table for a moment.

"Then go ask someone else." Thatch said simply before tapping away at the table again to kill his boredom.

Marco sighed, getting slightly annoyed at the obnoxious clang of metal against wood. He closed his eyes as if to tune out the sound but instead he heard something else. It was a distant sound, very faint but he could hear the slight rise and fall. It was actual music, not Thatch.

It was fast, and sounded kind of happy. It had a weird rhythm and often cut in and out of Marco's hearing. He wasn't too sure if he was imagining it or not.

"Thatch, shut up. Do you hear that, yoi?"

Pouting at being stopped Thatch puts his dual spoons down and listens carefully. "Ya, it's music, so what?"

The first division commander shot him a glare. "It's a piano, yoi. Nobody's played that thing for years."

"You're not thinking what I'm thinking are you?"

"Usually not. But this time I think we are." Marco got up, followed by Thatch as they seeked out their music room. Marco quickened his pace as he heard the music start to fade away. When it started up again, the music was more like an amateur tapping at the keys.

Walking down the hallway, the two commanders could see the music room door wide open, piano keys being gently played. And they were able to hear voices, easily recognizable as Ace and Jenn.

"Hehe, this is funny, I've never taught piano before."

"Nerd, this is so weird, how did you do that cool arm smashy thing?"

"Oh quiet Flamebrain, you've only been at it for a couple of minutes and you want to play as good as me? I've been practicing for years."

"Man, I didn't think you could play piano though. That's pretty high class."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Marco leaned against the doorway, watching in amusement. Thatch had run off saying that he needed to get a picture dial for good blackmail material. Since the piano was faced away from the door, Jenn and Ace were unaware of his presence. Marco knew exactly what Ace was talking about, he had known that not many people played piano for a reason, that's why their old and creaky hadn't been used for years.

"Well, only nobles play piano. Not many other people are able to afford a piano and its just a high class only instrument. There's only one or two people that can play it but aren't nobles so it's rare for a pirate crew to have someone that can play piano." Ace tried to explain.

"Hmm, I guess you could kind of call me a noble, considering my upbringing."

"A noble going out in the world to be a pirate. You remind me of someone I knew a long time ago."

"You remind me of someone too."

It was quiet as both of them sat there accompanied by their thoughts. Marco didn't really want to butt in but they had things to get done before they reached the next island. "Hate to break your moment, yoi. But I do believe that you were supposed to be doing something, Ace."

Jenn turned around an greeted Marco cheerfully while Ace paled, turning around slowly as if he were a child caught stealing from the cookie jar.

"I got..a bit distracted?" Ace chuckled nervously. The first division commander just sighed, not having the heart to yell at them at the moment. He had better things to do anyways. "I know it was a simple job but seriously Marco! You should have heard the music, it was like the angels were calling for me!"

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get this over with."

"Okay. Let's talk stratz." Jenn spread a map of the small cluster of islands that they had their eye on. In her mind, the plan was simple. Go undercover into the bandit's hideout and then tear it apart from the inside. But that was too predictable and unstable so instead a few twists had to be added.

"If we have a couple of people at each island for just a reconnaissance mission while the rest of the crew goes to wreck havoc somewhere else away from the territory. That way it seems like we aren't targeting them yet and that we're being kept busy somewhere else."

"But then whoever we leave on those island are in serious danger if they are ever found out, we wouldn't be anywhere near them so they can't expect any help from us." Ace points out.

"There's a greater chance that they won't be suspected though." Jenn said, trying to weigh out the options. She didn't want to put someone in danger but it was practically impossible not to.

"We don't need to worry too much about that because in case you forgot Ace, we have ex-assassins in our crew, yoi. Not to mention, from what I've heard, the majority of the members in this bandit gang are just villagers that turned when they heard about the profit that was being made."

"I'm assuming that our crew will be able to handle a couple of greedy villagers but I still don't want to take the risk."

"It's the only choice we have." Ace said. "I think I know a couple of people that I would nominate to be scouts."

"Another thing we have to take into consideration is the mark." Jenn said pointing at Marco's chest. The bold mark of the Whitebeard pirates stood out clearly identifying who Marco was. "I know that Jaffar and I don't have our marks yet."

"We could cover it up. But there are two others that I would definitely suggest for this." Ace said, holding up two fingers. "There's Sain and Melissa. Both are experienced fighters and assassins."

"That's a good choice. We'll need more than just two people though, and we definitely aren't sending Jenn and Jaffar in. You're both too inexperienced, yoi."

"I wouldn't have volunteered anyways. But Jaffar. His devil fruit would be extremely helpful. Illusions. How much better can you get for gathering information?"

"We can talk it over with Oyaji. For now, let's see if Sain and Melissa are up for the job." Ace decided.

"If I remember correctly then Sain is a crazy banana dude."

It turns out that Sain was a crazy banana dude. He has light brown hair, short in the back and longer in the front so that it slightly shagged over his eyes, held up by a headband just a shade darker than his hair. He wore a tight green t-shirt that showed off his toned muscles. Along with his loose khaki pants, he had black boots similar to Ace's and was holding a banana.

The first thing that he had asked them was, "would you like a banana?"

He looked to be around 24 and had innocent looking hazel eyes that decieved his profession. Jenn would never have guess that this guy was an assassin. Way too cheery to go around killing people.

"Sounds like fun." He said when Jenn had explained the situation to him.

"Are you sure that you'll be alright?" Jenn was concerned that this plan wasn't a great idea when she had to actually ask the people to put themselves in danger.

"You said that Melissa was going to be my partner, right? If she accepts, which she will, then we'll be fine."

"Alright, if you say so." Jenn was hesitant about this plan even though she was the one to think it up.

"Ha! No worries! Just put your trust on the Dynamic Duo!" Sain said, striking a heroic pose, putting Jenn at abit more ease and making her laugh.

"What?"

"Oh nothing. I'm starting to believe that Marco is the only mature one on this crew."

"I'm think we're going to put Jaffar on the reconnaissance team. It turns out that he can fight really well with dual daggers." Ace bounded up to Jenn to report the new couple of people that he had chosen.

Melissa had wholeheartedly agreed the second that she heard that there was action that she could take part in. She had long wavy red hair reaching midway down her back that almost turned a shade of pink in the sunlight. Slightly more mature than Sain although she was slightly younger, she seemed more careful and not as reckless. Her eyes had a certain 'don't mess with me look' that made her look dangerous.

By now the commanders were all asking their different divisions about who wanted to go undercover for this. Sain was from the third division and Melissa was from the twelfth.

Approximately forty people had been chosen since they had planned to spread out in small teams over seven islands.

Somehow along the way, Whitebeard had suggested that Jenn joined with Sain's team and go undercover.

"What? Are you serious, Oyaji?" Jenn was really not okay with that idea. It was a big self confidence thing plus she knew she couldn't fight.

"Gurarara! Trust me, brat. It'll be alright." The old man was adamant about it. There was a twinkle of knowledge in his eyes that made it almost feel right.

Jenn still paled at the thought of it though. "If you say so. I'll do my best but I guarantee nothing."

A week later, Jenn found herself standing on the dock of an island with Sain, Melissa, and Jaffar. "How did this happen?" Jenn mumbled to herself, still not quite believing that she had somehow got pulled into this mission with absolutely no experience of fighting. "This is ridiculous, I'm no help here."

The island that they were assigned to was fairly large, surrounded by forests. The civilization was in the heart of the island, it was known for the huge hotel built right in the middle of the town. When they had reached the town it was obviously a newer style of building, more similar to what Jenn was used to. The big concrete buildings towered above them.

"Whoa, we're gonna have fun scouting this place down." Sain said loudly.

"Quiet, you idiot! People are going to hear us!" Melissa promptly smacked Sain on the head. Hitching her backpack higher up on her shoulder, she takes the lead. The first place they decide to visit is the local bar. It'd be a great place to gather information.

The sun was starting to set when they set foot in the place. It stank of liquor and there were a bunch of notorious looking men there. The setting was dark and the group of four took a seat at an open table trying to look innocent. There was playful banter between Jenn, Sain, and Melissa while Jaffar stayed stoic as ever.

Nobody spared them a second glance. They were fitting into the atmosphere quite well. A waitress came to take their orders.

"I'll have the strongest thing that you have."

"Ditto."

Jenn gawked at Sain and Melissa respectively. They were going to get so drunk!

"I'll have, umm, orange...juice." Jenn said.

"Are you serious? You're such a kid!" Sain and Melissa laughed. Jenn scowled at them. So what if she didn't drink? Their hysterical laughter was cut off by Jaffar's voice.

"I'll have the same thing."

"Oi, Jaf! are you serious?" It was Sain and Melissa's turn to gawk. The waitress raised an eyebrow at them but doesn't comment. She writes down the order and leaves, her shoulders shook slightly with laughter.

"We're on a mission, we don't need alcohol to influence our decisions."

"Yeah! What he said." Jenn jumped in. "You guys better be able to hold your liquor!"

"Relax a bit there Tact. We're just getting in character here." Sain said, leaning back in his chair.

"Did you just call me Tact?"

"It's short for tactician! Like it?"

"Suuuure."

Sain chuckled and his eyes lit up at the sight of their order coming towards them (it was hard to miss, it was the only order in the bar with two orange juices). He quickly snatches up his mug before the waitress even manages to put the tray down on the table. "C'mon let's find someone to have a drinking contest with."

The 'Dynamic Duo' go off to have a drinking contest with an old man while Jenn and Jaffar sit back and watch, listening carefully for spilled info. Thankfully, the rest of the night went smoothly, everybody seemed to buy Jenn's story of shipwrecked travelling merchants. Sain had extremely high alcohol tolerance because by the end of his third drinking competition he was still sober and going strong. Melissa was no different.

Meanwhile, Jenn would occasionally take a sip out of her orange juice while listening for clues.

They eventually checked into the island's famous hotel, 'The Dragon's Keep', and called it a night.

"Wan' meh to take f'rst watch?" Sain asked stumbling up the stairs of the hotel.

"No, go to sleep. You're drunk."

"Nah, 'm fine (hic)"

"Just shut up and sleep."

"So the main base is obviously in the middle island." Jenn mumbled to herself. A map was spread out in front of her as she inspected the chart in the dim light of a candle. Behind her was her team, sound asleep accompanied by Sain's soft snoring. "We have scouts for these six islands. That would leave us with 3 unoccupied island."

She had offered to take first watch, being on an enemy island made her extra cautious. It was unlikely that they'd be attacked but Jenn had things that she wanted to do and she could never be too careful. "That was a smart choice, makes it harder for us to invade. But there's a gap here, probably well guarded. If we put the third division here, and have them move here..."

By the time the sun started to rise the map was filled with meaningless lines to anybody who read it. Except Jenn, who was still scribbling all over it.

"Are you still up?" Melissa had rose before the other two, the sunlight just barely peeking in through the windows.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'll go to sleep soon." Jenn yawned, gathering up the mess of papers that she had scattered all over the tiny desk. "I was just going to-"

"So you know how this island's is under the protection of the Whitebeards?" Some other residents were walking down the hallway of the hotel, speaking loudly. They stopped in front of the group's room door, almost as if mocking them.

"Yeah. He's doing a horrible job at protecting it."

"That's what I mean! I'm telling ya, Whitebeard is just an old geezer living off some past achievements now. The guy probably isn't even dangerous anymore, him and his crew are just a bunch of old farts!"

"I thought that he would have dealt with these bandits by now. But it seems like not so I'm thinking of joining them. How about you? It's a better profit than what we're making anyways."

"I'm definitely joining! And don't worry, if that old geezer comes we'll be able to deal with him!"

"Ha! No kidding, everybody's making such a big deal out of a small problem." The voices began to fade and the footsteps were getting farther away. Jenn almost had to tackle Melissa to prevent her from going out and killing those villagers.

"Lemme at 'em!"

"No, you're going to blow our cover!"

The ruckus that Jenn and Melissa were making woke Sain and Jaffar up. "What's going on?" Sain asked groggily.

"A bunch of villagers were making fun of us Whitebeard Pirates!" Jenn explained.

"And that ain't all! They called us 'old farts' too!"

"Hey I ain't old! They are so getting it!" Sain quickly sat up, grabbing his backpack. " I haven't even seen my thirties yet and they're calling me old?!" He gets a banana out of nowhere and begins to peel it.

"Where do you even..nevermind I don't want to know." Jenn was amazed by how Sain never ran out of bananas to eat. He had eaten then the whole trip back from the bar.

Sain opens up his backpack, revealing the whole bag to be filled with bundles of bananas. "I pack efficiently."

Jenn facepalms. "Why am I not surprised? Just go and gather some information without blowing our cover, will ya?"

"You got it, Tact!" Sain said in a loud voice, swinging the door wide open. "You just get some rest and leave the rest to us! Now who wants to participate in Sain the Great's Story time? I'll narrate what our mission will be like! It starts with how we show these bandits not to mess with THE VERY, VERY STRONGEST! That's us by the way."

He could be heard thundering down the hall and for the hundredth time Jenn wondered how that guy was an assassin.

"I know that his name is Sain, but that guy is definitely not sane."

Animegirl1279: I like the way you think! I was planning to add Marco into the mix from the very beginning so I hope this chapter was satisfactory!

Itachi: Hehe... I'm going to give the award of 'Best timed review' to you! Because that's twice in a row now! My phone going off in the middle of my band concert was probably the best thing ever! This doesn't mean that you are allowed to stop reviewing though! (Extreme dictatorship...) I love reading your reviews and it turns out that we're like the exact same person! Jenn was supposed to be based off of me (I'm not as cool though, I'll admit that now.) No need to apologize for the spelling mistakes, I've had reviews in Spanish before. Thanks again for reviewing! I hope this chapter was as good as the rest.