Another release of Oncoming Storm!

Oh, and just so you know, it's my birthday today, on the 19 of September! Yay! Now I'm officially 14!

School's been busy so the update's a few days late, sorry. Like always, hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry for all the mistakes, and have a good reading time.

Disclamer: the day i own One Piece would be the day Ace willingly confesses his feelings to Fem Luffy and that day would surely never happen. One Piece belongs to Oda Eiichiro!

LOYALTY GAIN

'I'm hungry…' Luffy said as she dangled on the railing of the ship, sticking out her tongue as she stared at the water below yearningly.

'We're hungry too!' A group of three Alvida Pirates shouted into her ear angrily. They were sitting on the railing, fishing rods that don't seem to attract any fish in their grips. The two crews had been starving for an entire day and no one have had any luck in catching even a scratch of food.

Nami started as she pushed herself to her feet with a loud sigh, her hair swaying lightly. 'It was your fault after all, Luffy. Who'd expect that you would finish everything in the fridge in ten freaking minutes!' Her voice abruptly changed into a roar as she pulled the rubber girl's cheek violently. Then, she sighed again as she let it go with a snap and turned to a certain silver haired young man who was reading a book while leaning against the ship's mast. Nami snarled angrily, 'And some annoying grey haired, stone faced jerk didn't take the consideration to warn me about it!'

Merry lowered the book enough in order for his eyes to be seen and stared at her unfazedly through the multi-coloured sunglasses. She could slightly make out the smirk on his lips as he turned to another direction and continued reading. Then, he turned around suddenly and said with a smile, 'the hair colour's silver, not grey.'

Nami's eye twitched uncontrollably. 'And my hair's red, not orange…' She said mockingly before whipping around and shouted with the devil's fangs, 'Is he fucking kidding with me?! When I signed up for this crew, I didn't sign up to starve to death! YOU KNOW?!'

'Well, he did tell us the food is endangered.' Zoro grumbled aloud, naming his presence at the opposite railing of the ship. His eyes were half lidded, as if he had just awoken for a nap. One of his hands ran through his bright green hair as the other flapped his loose seaweed coloured t-shirt as if trying to push the humid air out. He was obviously affected by the heat.

'But it sounded more like a riddle to me.' Kuina said with her tongue stuck out slightly. She was lying on a beach bench, tanning herself under the tropical sun. Unlike her usual fighting uniform - the yukata - today, she was only wearing a simple white tank top and grey denim shorts. Her blue hair draping on her shoulders instead of being tied up.

Nami sighed as she narrowed her eyes. Merry is quite the reliable person but he could be so annoying when he wanted to. Nami looked over the crew one more time. Luffy had expectedly fallen into the water, only to be shot back onto the ship head first by one of Merry's water cannons, laughing like a crazy person all the way through.

She sighed as she looked down at the map and compass placed on the coffee table next to her. They should be reaching Orange Town soon enough if they continued at this speed. Then, after that, she'll be done with her deal and will be allowed to leave peacefully. Though, it was not really her thing to leave peacefully, she'd usually betray them before leaving. Why did she feel like she shouldn't do it? No, she couldn't bring herself to do it. They were the first pirate crew who had ever proven to be trustworthy; they were the first people to break open her emotional shield. She couldn't bring herself to get them involved not matter how strong they are. Maybe they're…

'A BIRD!'

'Yes, a bird…' Nami said and nodded without thinking. 'Wait… WHAT?!'

Luffy pointed to the sky making the crew, including Nami glance up and they brightened as their eyes caught sight of the arrow like figure gliding on the sky above. The crew stared at the animal cravingly as they had just found their first source of food. Even from such a distance, it was clearly shown that the bird felt uncomfortable under the bloodthirsty gazes. Its confident flight line slightly faltered as it flew above the ship.

'Let's shoot it down…' Koto, who was one of the few decent looking members of the crew, who doesn't look that much like a thug that Alvida had picked up from the streets, said with a very cruel and unlikely grin on his face.

'You'll ruin the meal then.' The young captain said as she licked her lips hungrily, 'I'll catch it!' Luffy announced as she wiped away the drool dripping down from the corners of her mouth. Before anyone could react, she grabbed onto the mast with her right hand and shot herself into the air while shouting: 'Gomu Gomu no Rocket!' No one had registered what happened until they hear the distant scream of a certain orange haired girl flying away with the spontaneous captain.

'SAVE MEEEE~!' Nami's shout could be heard shrinking away from the distance, a trail of her tears was left behind when they flew off. When did Luffy even took the time to grab onto the navigator?

The crew stared at the scene, they're jaws slackening as Luffy hit the bird with much force, throwing the bird off its course and straight into the island far in the distant. It stayed like that for a long time, the entire extended crew silence with shock. It wasn't until Merry shot out of his seat, with a grumble and started barking out order did they started to move again.

'Everyone! Unfurl the sails, get the paddles! We're going after them to that island and I don't want to miss a beat. Get it going!' He shouted. It was rare to see him shout but this was urgent problems. He'd want to save that island before Luffy does the impossible and set the entire place on fire. Happened many times before.

'I hope she doesn't get into any trouble.' Kuina said, fixing her slacked jaw while she was at it.

Merry scoffed slightly when he heard her, then, he shot Kuina a smug smirk, 'The day when trouble and Luffy doesn't come hand in hand is the day the world flares up in eternal flames. That's why he needs us worry warts at his tail to make sure he doesn't end up killing himself before his goal is accomplish.' His smirk turned rather fond as he said the words and Kuina she stared at him along with Zoro, slightly surprised look on their faces. Then, their expression shifted into similar excited and content smiles.

'I get what you mean.' Zoro said under his breath, the smirk only growing wider.

They stayed in a longwinded, calming silence until a one of the Alvida Pirates who was manning the crow's nest came shouting about three pirates demanding the ship to stop and hand over all the treasure they have. It was also said that the little ship that the three pirates was on was adorned with the jolly roger of Buggy the Clown. Well Nami would've murdered someone if she heard that someone wanted her treasure. Kuina thought with a scoff.

'You're blocking our way.' Merry said as he looked over the railing with cold eyes and an unreadable smile. Though, he sounded extremely threatening.

'Don't you know, we are the subordinate of Buggy the Clown, and our captain won't hesitate to kill you with his devil fruit powers?' They said, completely ignorant to his subtle warning.

Merry clicked his tongue slightly then peered over his shoulder at the other duo who was starting to approach him out of curiosity. Zoro looked over the handrail with his usual scowl, making the three 'fearless' pirates take a slight step back. Then, Kuina followed his example, her sharp eyes glaring at them intimidatingly. Merry chuckled at their taken aback form. 'You should know who you're messing with before starting a fight, Buggy pirate's subordinates.'

*five minutes later*

'Hehe…hehehe~' The leader of the three pirates said as he rubbed his hands together with a stupid smile on their faces. 'We didn't know this ship was under the custody of the Wind Blade Duo. You all know that we did not mean all the things we've said before didn't you?'

'Shut up and paddle. We don't have time for your bullshit and we've just lost out navigator and captain.' Zoro said threatening, leaning against the wall of the paddle room, hugging his swords threateningly. He couldn't believe that Merry had just tossed him into the place and told him they were his responsibility like that. Curse that damned devil… to all with his bet and dares and unshakable smiles. Zoro clicked his tongue menacingly, making the three pirates visibly jolt in fear.

'Uhm…' One of the pirates spoke up.

'Hmm?' Zoro turned around, his sharp glare making them jolt yet again.

'Well, uhm, where are you heading towards anyways?' He spoke again, clearly uncomfortable underneath the man's scowl and huge presence.

'Organ Islands.'

The three pirate's eyes widened, then, smug smiles took over their faces, clearly showing that they think they know something the others didn't know. Well, let's just emphasis on the word 'think' here. Zoro spared the three another look then speaking aloud with a smirk. 'If you think we don't know Buggy is at Organ Islands than you must be more stupid that you make yourselves to be.'

Zoro continued, satisfied with the bullet-of-a-sweat-bead the other three were breaking out in, 'Our captain has some unfinished business with yours.'

The trio bit their lips nervously, trying to shut up their frightened cries. What are they planning to do with captain? It seems that they know a lot about Buggy-sama… What is going to happen to them? Unwilling tears streamed down the three pirate's cheeks. BUGGY-SAMA~! HELP US…

'KYAAAA!' Nami shouted as she braced herself for impact. She was free falling in the air with her stupid, reckless, numbskull captain laughing heartily next to her and a badly bled gigantic bird. Something is seriously wrong with that sentence and her life in general, isn't there? Before anything else could happen, a thin rubbery arm wrapped around her waist and the three figures landed onto the little town without a hitch.

'Damn it, Luffy! Warn me before you do stupid things! You scared the fucking wits out of my heart!' Nami shouted as she rammed her fist onto the black-haired captain, making the teenage girl fall face first into the paved road. Even with that, Luffy still laughed.

'What are you fussing about, Nami?' The girl said with a smile. 'We arrived at Orange Town and also get the bird. No harm done!' The way Luffy said was like she was implying that shooting herself of a ship and onto land was one of the most normal things in the world. Well, it was certainly normal for Luffy, anyways.

'Then why did you bring me with you?' Nami said as she rested her hand on her hips, an eyebrow raised expectantly.

'Because you can cook.' Luffy said bluntly. It was simple. She was definitely going to catch the bird and she needed someone to cook it for her and coincidentally, Nami was the closest person to her who could cook. The answer made Nami's lips twitch violently as her hand constantly form into a fist then loosened. She sighed and face-palmed. It wasn't worth it.

'Well, guess I'll just have to look to the positive side.' Nami said as she looked around. She didn't have the chance to notice it before but, the town was deserted. There was not even a single shadow of a human around here, though the town still have its breath of life, well, except for the rows of houses which were seemingly destroyed by some kind of firepower. She's just going to take a wild guess and say that Buggy was responsible for that. Pirate scums. Destroying innocent people's houses and driving them out of their own village. Nami but her lip and dug her nails into her palms. Then, she turned to Luffy.

Luffy had… no reaction. She was just staring blankly at the destroyed houses. It was so unlike Luffy to be unresponsive since she was the kind of idiot who shows what she thinks. But, inside, hidden beneath that façade was a raging anger towards the other Captain. How dare he destroy people's home, their treasure, like that? That jerk! If Merry is ever able to convince that man into her crew, she is going to teach him a lesson about pirates and their dreams. She doesn't mind if her allies go hunting for treasure or whatever, but they are never allowed to do reckless destroying, pillaging and murder just because they feel like it.

She stooped her hat a little lower to cover her angered eyes. Before Nami could show her concerns over the action, Luffy looked up again, the bright grin returning to its rightful place on her face. Luffy shouted; her hand waving for Nami to come with her after she picked up the unconscious bird. 'Come on let's go! I know we're both starving and it's not really likely that any of the people would mind if we borrowed some stuff, right?'

Nami smiled slightly. At least Luffy's back to her usual idiotic self now. 'Yeah, let's go. Oh, and what we're going to do is called trespassing and robbery.'

'I'm hungry!' Luffy shouted as she sprinted straight into one of the civilian's house, completely ignoring what Nami has just told her about. The orange-haired navigator just sighed again as she followed her temporary captain into the house.

It didn't take long before Luffy had begun chowing down on her food like a starved beast, while Nami ate quietly. Suddenly, Luffy looked up, her mouth still full of food. 'Hey, Nami, what are you going to do after this?'

It was clearly visible that the Navigator was hesitant to answer. She bit her lips slightly then exhaled, 'I guess… I guess I could tell you a little bit.'

Luffy swallowed then dropped her food onto the table, showing that she is going to pay attention. Luffy knew she would never put food down when she was this age but, she knows better now. Her friends are but more precious than meat could ever possibly be. She stared straight into her eyes, making Nami even more tentative. They stayed silent for a few moments, as if waiting for the other to react first.

'I need 100 million Beli to save my village...' Nami said, biting on her lip while clenching her hands so tightly that nails had dug into her palms. She had finally said it. It made her chest light, so light she felt like she could float but then the anxiousness and expectations to the others reaction had started to weigh down on her again. What if Luffy abandoned her for her debt? What if they don't trust her anymore for keeping quiet from them?

'…Why didn't you just say so then?' Luffy asked bluntly, breaking the tense silence. Then, she began chugging herself with food again. 'We'll help you if you need it!' She continued, even through stuffed lips, it was clear how determined her words were.

Nami's mouth was hanging agape, staring at the female captain. It wasn't that simple, it couldn't be that simple. A pirate helping someone without asking for something in return. That's must be a lie. Her ears must be tricking her, her eyes must be blurred by something. Someone couldn't just go and shatter her life view like that! It took a long time before Nami voice returned and she questioned, her eyes narrowing, 'Why are you so willing to help then?'

'Why?' Luffy asked, dumbstruck. 'Do I even need a reason? If you want one then let's just say that it's because you're my friend!' She smiled widely at her. A pure smile with no darkness, no hidden reason, no motive.

That can't be. It isn't true! Nami could start to feel tears fill up in her eyes. 'You're lying!' The navigator suddenly shouted, head bowed down in an attempt to hide her crying. 'You are a pirate and pirates lie! You don't want to help me. You just want to get on my good side so you could use me!' Nami said. Though, it was more like she was lying to herself, deluding herself.

Luffy suddenly stopped her eating. Then she dropped her food slowly then looked up, straight into the other girl's eyes. Anger was clearly radiating from her. 'I don't lie to my friends!' She declared, making Nami back away with fear at the sudden action.

Nami then collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face non-stop no matter how hard she tries to wipe them away. She sobbed, sobbed to her heart's content, more than she had done for the past ten years. She couldn't really believe her ears when she heard those words. She didn't really believe there was someone out there who could save her, her town. It was as if this was a dream come true. She wiped away the tears even more profusely and soon her cries were reduced to hiccups. She spoke quietly, 'Thank you… Cap'n.' And along with those words were a truthful, bo-money-involved smile that hadn't been shown since the day her mother had passed away.

Luffy only grinned at her cheerily before shouting, 'Our pleasure!'

'But, I'll have to decline you.' Nami said with a smile, efficiently stopping the raven head in her tracks. Luffy stared at her comrade with confused and Nami continued. 'It's too dangerous.'

'What do mean it's too dangerous?!' Luffy broke out in anger. 'I don't care if it's dangerous! You, our nakama, needed help and that's all I need to know!'

'I don't need your help! I'm almost finish with my deal to get 100 million Beli!'

'Then we'll help you collect your money!' Luffy insisted, making Nami even more infuriated than she was before, her brows furrowing and her expression shifting to a scowl.

'YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOURSELVES KILLED!' She screeched at the top of her lungs.

'I DON'T CARE! I WON'T LET MYSELF DIE YET!' Luffy argued back, just as loudly and as strongly as Nami had just been.

The orange haired navigator was frozen as she broke down in tears again, 'I don't want you to die…' She murmured into her palms as she wiped away her tears again. 'I don't want someone precious to me die again…' She looked up as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

'Then, we promise we won't die.' The young captain said with an assuring tone and her trademark wide, sunny grin. It shown on Nami like the fire starting outside the window.

…

Wait a minute. THE FIRE STARTING OUTSIDE THE WINDOW?! Both Nami and Luffy charged to the windowsill and stared at the scene on the other side of stained glass. The raging flames was burning, dying the area around it blood red and deep auburn, like the leaves in fall draped with a scent of gore. The howling of a canine could be heard echoing through the area, a cry of pain and sorrow and lost memories. Nami whipped her head around, towards where her captain was but the girl was already out of sight.

'What the hell?! Luffy, where did you go again?' Nami shouted to herself, her easily-incensed demeanour returning. She glance around frantically and soon, had found her captain sitting next to the dog which was howling at the burning block of house. Nami took a sprint towards the other girl and stationed next to her. 'What are you planning on doing now?'

'Huh?' Luffy hummed questioningly, turning her head towards the navigator while she was at it.

'Don't "huh?" me! I know that blank, far-away look anywhere. What kind of stupid plan did you came up with this time, my captain?'

'Ah, it's nothing. I just suddenly want to beat the crap out of some idiot with a weird haircut and his stupid pet cat.' Luffy snarled as she cracked her knuckles.

-A certain man riding on a gigantic feline fell off his seat as his ride suddenly let out an animalistic sneeze and a huge shiver of fright-

'Well, that was specific.' Nami said as she backed away with an awkward smile. Anger was clear in the young captain's voice, and whatever she was planning to do with those individuals Luffy had named, it was going to be excruciating. Nami looked around. There was nothing much to look at anyways, well, except for the gigantic paw marks left on the ground.

'Oi! You kids! What have you done to Chou Chou!?' a gruff, worn out voice shouted, mixing along with the clinking of metal and wood. The old man with an odd looking hair style waddled towards the two pirates. He stopped and rested his hands on his knees, breathing heavily from the stress his makeshift armour had put on him. He looked like any other normal citizen with circular glasses and creases on his skin that showed how much he had age. Everything about the man was normal, other than the armour and his furious scowl.

'We didn't do anything.' Nami said calmly.

'Then, how do you explain the bruises and bleeding that Chou Chou got?' He asked, his voice getting angrier as he raised his fist up threateningly. Though, the gesture did not make either Luffy or Nami or even Chou Chou scared or taken aback.

'He was already like that when we saw him. He was probably harmed by one of the Buggy Pirates.' Nami continued, making the man's scowl look even more furious. Well, it's quite relatable actually, if you look at the damage those pirates had down to his town.

'Hey, old man! Is this dog's name Chou Chou?' Luffy asked, her head bent back in an impossible way, a face splitting grin on her lips and a finger pointing at the injured dog who was observing the conversation quietly.

'Yes, his name is Chou Chou.'

'Then, what's your name?' Luffy asked again.

'My name is Boodle! I am the Mayor of this town and I refuse to let anyone hurt my people like that!' He said, puffing up his chest. Then began charging off towards the direction of the paw prints. 'This town is my treasure! Our treasure! I won't let them ruin it no matter what! I don't even care if the man I oppose is a notorious pirate!'

'Wait, old man!' Nami shouted. Running towards him and pulling him back by the arm. 'You can't go! You'll get yourself killed!'

'I don't care! I need to get Chou Chou's revenge! That man has destroyed his treasure. Everything that he had treasured! I will not, in anyway, tolerate myself letting this go!' He said as he continued to struggle in the young navigator's grip.

'Shishishishi!' Luffy suddenly laughed. 'I like you, old man!'

'DON'T YOU GO "SHISHISHI" ON ME! COME AND HELP ME STOP HIM ALREADY YOU RUBBER BRAIN IDIOT!'

Ignoring Nami entirely, Luffy continued. 'I'll help you, old man. I'll defeat whoever destroyed Chou Chou's treasure and get Buggy out of your town for you.' She stood up and wiped the specks of dust off her pants, a hand reaching out to put her favoured straw hat on her head. 'Are you okay with that?'

It was silent. Nami had thought that Luffy was kind to help her but she would also help an unknown man in an unknown town just like that? This idiot never ceases to amaze her. Unlike, Nami, Mayor Boodle was absolutely torn between how to feel. Should he be happy that someone still had a heart kind enough to help or angry that a kid would sacrifice her life to help someone she had never met before? After a while of continuously opening his mouth and then opening it, the elderly Mayor grumbled, 'Thank you, kid, but I'm doing this on my own. This is my town, my responsibility and it's my job to protect it.'

Luffy hummed, leaning her head to aside as if she was thinking about something then perked up again, 'I refuse!'

'You refuse what?' Nami and Boodle said at the same time with the exact same confused tone.

'I refuse your refusal! We're going no matter what! And Merry also had some business with the Buggy whatever guy. So I'm going!' Luffy said with a determined tone, sound as if her decision wouldn't change even if the world was to collapse on her because of her choice.

Boodle looked infuriated, but thankful at the same time. 'Fine!' He grumbled out though he smiling to his heart's content. 'If you die, I won't be of any responsibility of it!'

'It's fine, old man. I won't die; I have a promise to keep.' Luffy said with a bright grin. Luffy turned back towards the sea. I wonder what Merry and the guys are doing right now. Hope she's already reached the island shore. She smiled before grabbing onto her hat and jumping up ahead, shouting, 'LET'S GO!'

Nami shook her head as she face palmed exasperatedly. How come this idiot always gets whatever she wants when she wanted it? She's probably not even going to ask since, like the sadistic Peace Maker said, Luffy Logic cannot be fought against. Nami looked up again, smile fondly as she followed her Captain's example and following behind them both with a hyperventilating Mayor Boodle.

'Hmm…' The pirate captain hummed, hiding behind the shadow of curtains. He was sitting in a throne like chair inside a circus tent which was heavily guarded by snarling and growling pirates. Well, let's just say that they were growling and snarling until Zoro and Kuina stepped into the scene.

Merry stared at the shadow covered figure ahead of him, his straight and expressionless face unchanging. Buggy stared back, his eyes slightly glinting in the light. He jumped up to his feet and shouted, 'If you want to start an alliance with the great Buggy-sama, you'll have to flashily bring your Captain here! How dare you come into my territory and try to get an alliance with me without your leader directly contacting me?!'

'Well, as you can see, our Captain is currently lost in your "territory".' Merry said as he pointed into town, a sly smile on his face. 'You see that bird that came falling into town earlier?'

'So, what of it?'

'That bird was a government surveillance bird, it has a den den mushi that is attached to its leg which I've already caught on the way here…' He rose up a baby surveillance den den mushi with the Marine's mark imbedded on its shell and showed it out to Buggy. 'You don't want this to be exposed to the world right? What you did to this town? You said you're proud of your bounty but you want it to remain the same, don't you? That's why you fled to the weakest sea after your captain's execution.

So, I want to make a deal with you, Buggy. When our captain returns, your crew and our crew will have a… friendly face off. I won't move one step in order to even everything out. If we win, you become our underlings. We'll train you into shape for the Grand Line and supply you with information needed to get through it safely. In return, you come to us whenever we need your help and our treasurer, who would be coming here soon along with our captain, would be dealing with all the money problems.'

Buggy was visibly tense but he still let a feral smile etch on his lips. The captain leaned forward slightly. 'Then what do I get when I win?'

'We'll give you all our money, a treasure map and this den den mushi.' He held up the snail in his hand. Though people might think it's a wild bet, it's definitely not. Since there is pretty much no chance of them losing this bet. And even if Buggy somehow magically wins, they won't have any drastic losses… other than facing the uncontrollable rage of their treasurer. After all, the den den mushi Merry is holding is just something he stolen from one of Garp's ship.

Buggy thought for a little while longer before grinning like a mad man. He stood up from his throne and revealed himself to the crew. He wore am orange captain cape which matches his captain hat, had a red nose and wore clown like make up. His skin was pale and blue tassel like hair hung from the two rims of his hat, which just make him look much more pathetic than he made out to be. He stepped towards the Peace Maker and shook the man's hand with a grin nearly as smug as Zoro's smirk. 'Pleasure working with you.'

'You too.'

'Now, lock him up, men!' Buggy ordered, pointing at Merry.

'WHAT?' Kuina and Zoro snarled. They were trying to stay silent and let Merry deal with everything but this is getting out of hand. They're going to lock one of their nakama up? There's no way they'll let that happen. Kuina took fighting stance and tightened her grip on the Wado Ichimonji while Zoro obviously tried to kill them with his glare – and it actually might be working for that matter.

'Don't get so flashy, kids.' Buggy said as he raised up his hand. 'We're just following the rules. What if something bad happens to you all and your Peace Maker decided to make a move?'

'He's right.' Merry said with a nod and a smirk. Zoro and Kuina relaxed and took a step back. He has a plan. 'Better safe than sorry, isn't that right?'

'Good, now that we've come to an agreement… TIE HIM UP!' He barked again and a few men came scrambling in with ropes and a huge iron cage. About ten minutes later, the silver haired Peace Maker was wrapped up and boxed like a present. And that was spoken quite literally, for your information. Merry sat in the middle of the cage, which was decorated with long strips of multiple coloured ribbons, and to add to that, his ropes were also wrapped in a huge bow with glitters. Merry himself was also quite decorated, with a very horrible scowl, that is.

'Why is there a bow? And what's with the ribbon?' Zoro questioned with an eyebrow raised, while his partner was covering her mouth in an attempt to stop laughing.

'For flashy reasons.' Buggy said proudly, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked up with a reminiscing look.

'FUHAHAHAHA!' Kuina blurted out, not even attempting to hide her laughter anymore. She pointed at Merry and said through snorts and laughter. 'Merry, you look pathetic!'

'Why, thank you for the compliment.' The Peace Maker said with a flat glare, his eye twitching uncontrollably. 'When this is all over, I'll remind myself to give all of you appropriate punishments.'

That was when Kuina and Zoro both physically paled and backed away quietly. They both turned to their back and latched onto the railing, mumbling out through sighs. 'God bless you, Luffy, for the sooner you return, the less the chance of Merry murdering us all with his anger…'

Buggy's crewmembers' jaws hung. 'Is he that dangerous?'

'You'll never know… unless you experience it yourself…' Zoro said with a sorrowful look that he probably have never worn before. He shuddered as he remembered the torturous experience he faced under Merry's wrath.

The entire crew turned towards their boss with pleading expressions, rivers of tears flowing out from their eyes. 'Captain Buggy~!'

'I'm not freeing him.' Buggy said in a stern tone. 'That's breaking the deal's conditions.'

'BUUGGGYYYYY!' A loud voice screamed from below, catching all of the Clown-themed pirate's attention. They made a dash for the railing and stared down at the individual shouting her head off below. She was a young girl who was in her late teens. She was relatively small and lanky for her age group, adorned with a straw hat, bright yellow tank top and denim shorts with furry rims. She had very short, messy jet black hair and a scar under her left eye. Oh, and let's not forget the sneer she had on her lips.

The orange hair girl following her had a cocky smile on her lips but she was no less angry than the girl before. She wore a blue coloured unbuttoned shirt with a striped bikini top underneath and a pair of knee length trouser. She held a metallic bo staff and her bright neon hair was tied up into a pony tail. And let's just say that if looks could kill, then the Buggy pirates would've died three thousand times over.

The first girl, who was Luffy, carried herself with pride as she pointed towards the building and straight towards the opposing pirates. 'COME DOWN HERE, BUGGY! I WON'T FORGIVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO THIS TOWN UNTIL YOU GET A BEATING!' With her hat shadowing a part of her face, Luffy gave of an intimidating air that had made multiple of the Buggy pirates back away. She flung her arms slightly and the sound of something colliding with the building's roof could be heard. The clown themed pirate crew whipped their head around to see one of their nakama, Mohji, and his pet, Ritchie, flat on the ground, unmoving and bloodied.

'What did she so to Mohji?' One of the pirates screeched his hand pulling down his own face on either shock or fear… or maybe both.

'He was one of our most powerful men and he just crushed him like this? I don't think this is going to be a good idea to challenge them like this…' Another man cowered, backing away profusely from the other crew. They had to deal with someone as powerful Luffy and there was also Zoro and Kuina, who are known across the sea as one of the strongest swordsmen. How could they possibly win?

'IF ANY OF YOU DARE TO BACK AWAY RIGHT NOW, I'LL DEAL WITH YOU GUYS MYSELF! NOW PREPARE THE BUGGY BALLS!' Buggy roared, pointing at the canon to his left and all of the men scrambled towards the object. They prepared the canon and dropped in a red canon ball. This caught the Wind Blade Duo's attention. One of the men ordered. 'Prepare to fire!'

'The game's about to start.' Merry said with a smug grin, leaning back against his cage's bars. If his hands were free, he would probably be crossing his arms. He turned to the swordsmen duo and said, 'You two better return to Luffy's side.'

'Sure thing.' They both said dismissively before charging towards the canon, swords in their grip. In a blink of an eye, the canon was reduced into multiple metal rings, looking like a sausage sliced into pieces. The duo then, after destroying the canon, hopped of the building and landed next to Luffy, unscathed.

'They sliced the canon to pieces!' One of the men screeched.

'We've lost our fire power!'

'That's crazy! They just jumped off a five floor building and they don't even seem injured!'

'Monsters! THEY'RE MONSTERS!'

The Buggy pirates screamed in panic. Running around, frantic. They know they're not going to win. Merry sat in his place, chuckling at the scene. It was interesting to see Buggy's face when he realised that he was going to lose this bet. Buggy the Clown, himself, was staring jaw slack at the scene, dumb-stricken with snot hanging from his nostril. He shook his head and ran to the railing. 'Y-you! You used Haki!' He pointed at both Kuina and Zoro, legs shaking wildly. He had thought he could win the bet with his Bara Bara no mi's powers but now that he knew they had Haki, all of his chances were gone.

'So?' Zoro looked up, eyebrow raised.

There was a moment of silence before all of the Buggy pirates were on their knees. They bowed so low that their noses were in contact with the ground. They all pleaded, 'WE SURRENDER!'

'OI! I haven't agreed on this yet!' Buggy shouted at his men.

'Buggy-sama~!' They turned to their boss with tearful eyes and pouts. 'We don't want to die~!'

'You're not going to.' Merry said with a yawn. 'Now that you've surrendered, you're all part of our alliance. We won't kill you.'

'I'M NOT PART OF YOUR ALLIANCE YET! COME ON, CABAJI! LET'S GIVE THESE GUYS A TASTE OF OUR POWER!' Buggy shouted before flying down the building. Then, a shadow flew throw they air and landed in front of the Straw Hat. He had long hair which covered parts of his face while the other half of his head was closed shaved. He wore a long scarf, open sleeveless vest and baggy pants. The oddest thing was that we was balancing atop of a unicycle. He twirled around with his sword scraping the ground, shouting, 'Kyokugi! Yukemuri Satsujin Jiken!' And from his twirling, he created a gigantic smokescreen

'Bara Bara…' Buggy shouted in the smoke. 'EVASION!'

'He's running away?!' All of the remaining pirates shouted comically, their jaw's hitting the ground.

'I won't let you get away!' Luffy shouted. She rested a palm on her bicep and reeled back, letting her arm stretch at least ten metres backwards. 'Gomu Gomu no…' She announced as she stepped forward. The fist snapped forward, breaking through the air. 'Pistol!' The fist travelled into the dust, and a sound of a jaw breaking could be heard. Buggy broke free from the cloud of dust and slammed into one of the house's walls, breaking it into rubbles.

Cabaji, in contrary to his captain, was praying next to his crewmates, knees on the ground and begging to join the crew. 'WE SURRENDER!' They chanted.

It was a usual day in the Orange Town. The citizens had returned to their homes, seeing that the pirates who were occupying the roof of one of the bars had been defeated. Oh wait… I mean, it was one of the unusual days in the Orange Town. The citizens had returned to their homes after seeing a giant explosion in town only to find an unconscious Buggy and their mayor in the similar state. They went rampage and tried to attack the people who had injured their leader only to find the said pirates fixing their homes, the same homes which they had destroyed to splinters only a few days ago. What was happening? Things just got weirder when a young man in a purple coat and matching bowler hat – who claims to be a pirate – came over and apologised to them profusely and also gave them a decent amount of money to supply themselves for the next few weeks.

A few hours after all the oddities had happened; their beloved Mayor had woken up again and explained to them what had happened. The Straw Hat pirates, as they had claimed themselves to be, had, under the whim of the Mayor himself, took down the Buggy pirates and protected the town. They had also guaranteed that Buggy will not cause any more harm to the town now that he is the Captain's, Luffy's, subordinate. After that, they insisted on having a party to celebrate their heroes but were denied by the pirates who said they are in urgent times and had to leave.

By the time the collateral damages were all fixed, it was night. The temporary ship of the Straw Hats, Miss Love's Duck, came to take them off, with the Buggy pirates following closely behind with their own Big Top.

'They better come back to visit us when Luffy becomes Pirate Queen.' Mayor Boodle grumbled with a fond grin.

'I'm sure they will. And if that time comes, they won't be able to deny the party.' The town's doctor said, hands in his pockets. He had ended up having to tend Buggy, which infuriated him to no end, but in return he was promised by Merry that when they return they will accept any offer from the town.

'What a weird band of pirates, I wonder how they'll survive in the Grand Line!' Mayor Boodle said with a hearty laugh before heading off into the once-again calming town, unknown to the events happening on the ship sailing away from their docks. On the said ship, a certain blue haired, red nosed captain was thrown of the ship by an infuriated Peace Maker. It was all back to normal, with their usual crazy life, crazy world…

'Someone go get the Clown.' Merry said with a grunt as he sat down on his usual beach bench, book already in his hand and a cup of tea next to him. A few of the men dived into the sea to help their drowning Captain. After Buggy was revived, he let a wrath on Merry only to be ignored and called Clown again. 'Listen, you Clown; I won't tolerate being treated like a present wrapped up in bows and such. It ruins my pride. I'm sure you would've even tried to kill someone who tried to ruin your pried too. Now that I'm done with lecturing you, we have to get to more important matters, such as the alliance.'

'STOP CALLING ME CLOWN! IT'S AN INSULT ON MY NOSE YOU BASTARD!' Buggy screeched.

'Go sue the Marines for giving the bounty poster that says "Buggy the Clown" Clown.' Merry said dismissively. 'Now this is your end of the deal, so listen. We won't visibly show any sign of ownership over your crew but if you do something that even remotely shows that you are betraying us, you'll have to deal with me and Luffy, do I have myself clear?'

The Clown themed pirates nodded. The Peace Maker continued, 'We'll part at the Twin Capes and you're allowed to go anywhere you want as long as you promise to come to our side whenever we call for you. We'll also take a part of your monthly income, as our permanent Treasurer had stated, and in return, we'll supply you with treasure maps. So that said, you'll be our Treasure Hunting department. Do you agree with that?'

They all nodded. Buggy even looked quite excited for it. 'But, you're no longer allowed to attack towns and pillage from innocent citizens. Only fight people when they took the initiative, that's this crew's motto. If you break that rule, I'll be sure to deal with you properly.' Shivers ran down their spin as the voice as cold as the seventh layer of hell resonated through their minds.

'We'll also train your body and mind in this short period of time enough in order for you to survive the Grand Line unscathed. Are we clear?' The crew nodded again. 'Now, soon, our other captain will return with her subordinates. You'll all get along and tell her that the training would start tomorrow morning. Don't wake up late and set your clock to 5 a.m.' they all nodded again and Merry smiled warmly. 'Now that we're clear on that matter, return to your posts and get a good rest.'

They all gaped at the man for a moment before Ritchie raised his paw. He growled something that most people couldn't understand. Luffy look down from her special seat, shouting, 'He said "What's the catch?".'

'The catch to what?' Merry asked innocently.

'To your sudden nice demeanour.' The entire extended crew asked.

'Oh, I just thought that you'll need some calm time before you won't even be able to feel comfortable breathing anymore.' Merry said with the same innocent smile, though, through the eyes of the crew it looked more like a grin of a devil towards its victim. They all shuddered uncontrollably. Now, they won't even be able to sleep peacefully anymore without dreaming about what horrible fate they would face tomorrow.

'Ah, I feel lucky that I won't have to face all of that tomorrow.' Zoro said with the back of his head resting on his palm, leaning against the railing as if he was getting ready for a nap. Kuina nodded along with him. She didn't want to experience it either. It sounded even worse than her father's, Koshiro-sensei's, Haki training.

Luffy laughed heartily. 'What are you two talking about? You're doing the endurance training too! And then we'll also do the Defence and Attack training! I'm doing it to. It's good practice ya know.' She suddenly looked around as if she was searching for someone. 'Wait, where's Nami?'

'She ran.' Kuina said, pointing at the figure attempting to dive into the water with a bag of gold. How she planned to swim with such heavy object weighing her down? God knows. After all, man could become blinded by money. And Nami could become even blinder than that.

'NAMI!' The entire crew shouted, only to get a sheepish chuckle in return.

By the time Alvida had returned with her henchmen, she was an entirely different person. Her messy, frizzy black hair had now turned slick, shiny and wavy like ebony silk. Her body was now twice as tall and four times as thin. And she was very unstable, very very unstable. And this is spoken both physically and mentally. She would slip and fall flat on her face every five seconds and instead of getting hurt, she just slid it off uncontrollably. Alvida also would show off her new body in this second only to switch to crying about being complimented in the next and in the end, she concluded with having a constant internal fight with herself.

So, truly spoken, everyone in the original crew thought it was hilarious. Some of them such as Merry, Kuina and Nami would silently chuckle to themselves while others via. Zoro and Luffy would get a good laugh from it as soon as they could.

It was then that the extended crew woke up, getting (mentally) ready for their training. One of them shouted. 'It's a bishoujo!' Pointing at the woman ahead of them. Alvida, who had heard what they had said, blushed, turned and pointed at them shouting, 'Who is the prettiest woman on the seas?'

'You are!' All the man who had seen the female captain's face said with drool dripping from their mouths and hearts in their eyes. She squealed in happiness before literally collapsing on the ground with a happiness overdrive… or maybe she just tripped.

Merry grumbled aloud. 'Go wake the others up! We're getting ready for the training and just so you know, that "prettiest woman on the seas" looked like this before she ate her devil's fruit.' He said as he showed a picture of the previous Alvida and the few present men paled immediately.

'How dare you do that to me?!' She shouted, snatching the picture from him.

He shrugged before grinning at the woman slightly. 'You wouldn't want to get cocky now, would you? Wait until you beat Hancock to it to claim the title.'

'Hancock?' She questioned.

Nami spoke up through a yawn. 'Labelled the prettiest woman on the five seas. Her beauty is natural, be the way, unlike yours. Thousand men swoon over her only to become statues at her disposal. Quite literally even.'

'What does that mean?' Alvida asked, looking as dumbfounded as she was before.

'She has a devil's fruit ability.' Luffy shouted from her special seat.

'Why are you all up so early?' Alvida asked again, clinging onto the railing for better balance, though she was still slipping like she was standing on oiled ground.

'Today's training day.' Merry said blandly.

'TRAINING DAY?!' Alvida screeched, only to lose her grip and fall flat on the ground again. She tried to steady herself on her mace before continuing her screaming, 'who's doing the training then?'

'Merry.' The other's said sorrowfully, making the female captain turn as white as a sheet. She slipped again before collapsing on the ground, motionless but still slipping.

'It's okay, Alvida, I've already came up with a perfect training session for you.' Merry said with a smile. 'And, as a memorandum, you could keep that picture of your former self. I've already photocopied it and asked Koto to give it out to every one of the ship. Preparations for your welcoming party, you know?'

'Cruel…' The other members, not including the in-state-of-depression Alvida, said with a sweat-drop rolling down the back of their head.

A few hours later, the only remaining people who were standing was Luffy, Zoro, Kuina, Merry and Alvida. All the other crew members were on the floor, feeling too tired to even move a finger. Nope, make that too tired to even breathe properly. Alvida was standing for a different reason. She stood on one foot while all of her other limbs were carrying tall stacks of plates. She was… struggling.

'If you break any of those plates, I'll make sure to ask Nami to add their cost into your cosmetic fees.' Merry reminded her, using a small napkin to wipe away the sweat beads he gained from one of the running exercise. 'That is if she wakes up anytime soon.' He pointed towards the red head who was on the ground and grumbling something not understandable under her breath.

'Torture…' Alvida grumbled out under her breath, trying to keep her powers from activating. Zoro, who was already back in his napping position, let out a yawn before asking, 'Do these trainings continue every day from now until Loguetown?'

'OF COURSE!' Luffy shouted from her seat. 'If I'm going to have more nakama, I'm going to make sure they could all survive! And, after all those months, I was starting to miss Merry's training! Fighting East Blue pirates are too easy!'

The crewmembers who were still conscious let out a loud, simultaneous sigh and Alvida just took that exact moment to slip and fell flat on her face, breaking two plates before Merry caught the others off from the air. 'You let those to fall while you could've caught it.' Alvida said with her face still in the ground.

'Punishment, punishment.' Merry said with a smile, making Zoro, Kuina and Luffy chuckle. It was another normal day in the adventures of the renewed Straw Hat crew. It was a normal day indeed.

'NORMAL DAY MY ARSE!' the entire extended crew, who was trying their best to even breathe, said to my face… Wait, WHAT?

OMAKE

BUGGY BARGAIN

Nami: So, have you had the talk with Merry?

Buggy: Yeah, I couldn't believe he threw me off the ship.

Nami: I know right? *chuckling*

Buggy: So, you're the flashy treasurer?

Nami: Yep. Nice to meet you, I'm Nami. I like mikan and money. *Showing of an 'okay' sign with her finger while winking*

Buggy: Yeah, you too. So, what do you want to discuss about?

Nami: Money issues of course.

Buggy: *raises his eyebrows*

Nami: Let's get straight to the point shall we, the scale is 2:8.

Buggy: Nice deal, we get 8, you get 2, right?

Nami: *Chuckles* no no no. I think you're misunderstanding something here, we get eight. (translation: I get eight eight) And you get two.

Buggy: WHAT?! What do you mean, you flashy bastard?

Nami: so you agree with the deal? *Wink wink*

Buggy: No way in hell!

Nami: How about 1:9?

Buggy: Only if we get 9

Nami: okay, you'll get 1 *said in a tone of finality*

Buggy: are you deaf?!

Nami: Then what do you want? 0.5:9.5?

Buggy: NO!

Nami: Then that's the final deal

Buggy: At least 5:5

Nami: in your dreams

Buggy: 4:6?

Nami: No

Buggy: How about-

Nami: *raises a hand at his face* We also want your Grand Line map

Buggy: DAMN YOU ALL, YOU FLASHY BASTARDS! AT LEAST LET IT BE 3:7.

Nami: Aren't you getting greedy here? *scowl*

Buggy: ARGGHHH! *Jumped off the ship's railing*

Merry: Nice. *Looked overboard, whistling impressively* He jumped off it willingly. Maybe giving you job as treasurer was a right choice after all.

Nami: Aren't you darn right? Now give me my pay. *Showed out her palm*

Merry: you don't have a pay, but I'll let you have the crew's money. The scale's 0.5:9.5.

Nami: How generous of you, Merry, you're going to give me 9.5? Then I will accept your offer willingly

Merry: Have a nice time shopping with 5% of the crew's money *evil smirk*

Nami: DAMN IT! COME BACK HERE, YOU!

*the next morning*

Alvida: how did it go with Nami?

Buggy: I got 10% of the profit

Alvida: Good for you, I got 0.1%

Guess who watched One Piece Movie 13: Film Gold? I did! I'm so happy! But still, let's get back to the main matter: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS CHAPTER? Give me a review, and if you like the story so far, give a fav. Of you're curious to what'll be happening in the future, give a follow.

And check our my new story Paintbucket Spiral if you're interested. I was planning to release the second chapter today but i was a little busy so...

Look forward to the next chapter!

Sincerely, KNOX