Sorry about not updating for a while! Sometimes I just can't get motivated to write. By that I mean I opened this story up, stared at the screen, and closed it again. (Repeat several times)

"Ah . . . thanks, Robin!" Nami said gratefully, rubbing her wrists. Robin had finally unlocked the cell and removed the handcuffs from Nami's and Chopper's wrists.

"It was nothing," Robin said, inclining her head slightly. "I also took care of the guards, so there's no need to worry there."

"I can always count on you!" Nami said, grinning. "Now we need a plan. Chopper, what do you think?"

"What? Me?" Chopper asked in surprise. "Um, well, I want to stay with Zoro just in c—oh! Robin!" he said suddenly, turning to her. "Those guys took away the cure for the Psyllos! We need to get it b—"

Robin held up a box. "This is the one, yes?"

"You're amazing!" Nami said happily. "Okay, so Chopper's going back to Zoro and Dr. Mayi. We should go there first and talk about the plan with the doctor before deciding anything else."

"Why?" Usopp asked as he and Sanji ran down the street after Luffy, keeping an eye out for guards.

"Why what?" Sanji asked irritably, kicking down a guard they passed.

"Why does he always have the same plan every time?" Usopp asked. "'Beat up the person in charge' . . . as if we didn't have enough problems!"

"Yeah, but it usually works, doesn't it?" Sanji pointed out, glancing down an alleyway. "The Krieg Pirates attack Baratie, Luffy beats up Krieg, problem solved. The Fishmen Pirates threaten the Conomi Islands, Luffy beats up Arlong, problem solved. Baroque Works tries to take over Alabasta—"

"Okay, fine, point taken!" Usopp said, firing a Tabasco Star expertly into a guard's mouth. "It's just . . . maybe things could be worked out by talking to each other! Personally, I think I'd make a great ambassador or diplomat."

"Oh yeah?" Sanji asked skeptically. "So you're saying that you'd be willing to sit down and have a chat with Crocodile, or Arlong, or Krieg?"

Usopp shivered. "Not a chance!"

"That's what I thought," Sanji muttered. "Well, don't worry about it. Luffy knows what he's doing when the situation gets dire."

"I guess so . . ." Usopp mumbled. "Where is he, anyway? You don't think we're going the wrong way?"

"Usopp, let's think about this for a moment," Sanji said exasperatedly, slowing his pace. "Luffy said that he's going to beat up the person in charge."

"Right."

"We know that the person in charge is a king."

"Right."

"Where do kings live, Usopp?"

"Castles, I guess?"

"Exactly. Do you see the castle up ahead?"

Usopp glanced up. "It's hard to miss, really."

"Right again. Now, thinking like Luffy for a moment; if you saw your target, would you try to take your time and find the shortest route, or head in the straightest path possible towards it?"

"Straightest . . . path?"

"Gold star for you. And aren't we taking the straightest path?"

"Yeah—"

"Good job, Usopp! Therefore, in this case, we are most likely going the same way that Luffy went. So QUIT ASKING STUPID QUESTIONS AND RUN BECAUSE WE'VE GOT AN ENTIRE PLATOON OF OFFICIALS ON OUR HEELS!"

Usopp looked back and shrieked at the number of guards. "SANJI, WAIT FOR ME, YOU JERK!"

". . . so is it okay if Chopper stays here?" Nami finished.

Dr. Mayi looked down at Chopper. "Of course. And frankly, I—wait—" he looked more closely at Chopper. "You're not a little boy at all! You're some kind of raccoon!"

"You just noticed?" Chopper asked. "Wait, I'm not a raccoon! I'm a reindeer!"

"How—oh, never mind," Dr. Mayi said with a resigned sigh. "I'll ask later. I've seen stranger things than a talking reindeer . . . as I was saying, I'd rather remain here as well. This young man needs all the help he can get. By the way, should I bother asking why he looks like the criminal Mijat?"

"Let's just say we have an idiot for a captain," Nami said. "And speaking of which, he and a couple of our other friends have probably gotten themselves thrown in jail on the other side of the wall by now."

"How did they end up in the Gray Kingdom?" Dr. Mayi said, alarmed.

"Long story short, Devil Fruit," Nami said. "I'm thinking that if they are in jail, which is the most likely scenario, Robin and I should go over there and help them out. Robin, are you okay with that?" she added, glancing at the raven-haired woman.

"The decision is yours, navigator-captain-san."

"But how will you get over?" Dr. Mayi asked.

"Leave that to me," Robin said calmly. "I have an idea."

Luffy ran towards the castle, focusing only on the large building up ahead and ignoring the soldiers he passed.

"Kings live in castles, right?" he muttered to himself. "Yeah, so that stupid king's gotta be in there. Wait, maybe that's where those girls are being kept too!"

"You think so?" said a voice by his side.

Luffy twisted around, ready to punch someone, when he saw Mijat running next to him, struggling to keep pace.

"Hey, Zoro!" Luffy said cheerfully. "You're awake—oh, wait, you're not Zoro. You're Zoro-guy! Zoro-guy, where'd you come from?"

"Who's Zoro?" Mijat asked with a small frown. "Never mind that—when I got out of there, there were guards everywhere! I had to knock them out . . . damn, now I feel bad about it."

Luffy laughed. "It's okay, they're the bad guys!"

Mijat stared at him. "Uh-huh. Anyway, I was heading towards my secondary hideout when I saw you. I remembered that I'd seen your wanted poster, and I realized that you were really strong, so . . . I figured that it was safest to go with you."

Luffy laughed again. "Yeah, 30 million is really good, isn't it?"

"30 million? But the sum I saw was—well, maybe I'm mistaken. By the way, where are we headed?"

"The castle! I'm gonna beat up the king!"

"Oh, okay—WHAT? Wait just a minute!"