A/N: hope you enjoy the longest chapter yet!

Updated 6/4/19

Baroque Works Saga; Arc 7, Whiskey Peak: The Demon Who Hunts Bounties

It took a week to get to Whiskey Peak. A week of freaky weather, short fuses, and increasingly large meals. First a typhoon had appeared out of nowhere, and with just two crewmates, it was a near thing. Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9- as Bonney had learned they called each other- had made a few snide comments that were quickly silenced. Bonney, while still not happy about helping strangers for no gain of their own, had accepted her captain was an idiot and had gone ahead and tied up their new "companions", and, after their comments about not being prepared, had gagged them as well. Luffy, while he frowned for a moment, didn't protest and allowed the restraints.

Bonney was… confused. That was the nicest word she could use to describe herself at the moment. She respected Luffy- something she had only realized at Loguetown. Sure, she'd respected the fact that he was her captain as soon as she stepped aboard the ship at the Baratie, but she'd never really thought to respect him. He was annoying, childish, naïve. Everything a pirate captain should never be. But at the moment the sword was about to fall at Loguetown, it hit her that she actually liked the boy. He was goofy, yes, but he had also grown on her and Bonney found herself rather attached. It made sense, considering he was her captain. But the realization that she wasn't just travelling with him because she had nothing else to do but because she actually liked him was rather startling. Which had led to some self-reflections which had in turn led to the conclusion that she respected the man.

Syrup Village, Orange Town, the Baratie. At all these places he had shown strength that Bonney had to admire. And not just physical strength. At Syrup especially, Luffy has shown that he knew what it meant to be a pirate captain.

And then he went and decided to help strangers. It was different then Syrup Village, Bonney told herself. Syrup Village was being attacked by that sad excuse that was ruining the name of pirates. She could understand getting involved there. But here? Where they had no connection to these people other than some freak coincidence? Bonney couldn't make sense of it. Which is why she tied up the two strangers even though the chances were that they couldn't hurt the Straw Hats. No, she was not being passive aggressive.

It was perhaps the third day when it happened. Bonney had removed the gags to feed the guests, only for an unprecedented gale to catch the sail and nearly send them flying. After that, Bonney was a little busy trying to keep from capsizing to replace the gags. Afterwards, when they were finally calming down, she heard the two snickering about how unprepared the two were. Before she could go slap them upside the head, flapping wings filled the air and a news-coo landed on the railing of the Wolf.

Ignoring the idiots, Bonney paid for the paper, the bird flying off, and opened it up. Papers flew to the ground and Bonney picked up the newest bounty posters.

"Holyshit!" she yelled, her voice high in her surprise. Luffy came down from his seat on the figure head, looking over Bonney's shoulder at the papers in her hand.

"Oh! That's awesome, shishishi!"

In Bonney's hands were two slips of paper that had the World Government's emblem on the bottom, text and an image filling the rest of the pages.

Wanted

Dead or Alive

Monkey D. "Straw Hat" Luffy

35,000,000 Beries

The image was of Luffy grinning on the execution stand, the tip of the sword that was swinging down just barely visible on the edge and Buggy's foot on the stockade in the background. The straw hat was clearly visible and revealed his scar on his face.

Wanted

Dead or Alive

"Age Witch" Jewelry Bonney

15,000,000 Beries

Her image was one from when she'd been fighting Buggy's men, her arms spread out and her hands parallel to the ground as she was surrounded by small children and old men, her face set in determined lines as she crouched to avoid a sword above her.

"You rookies realizing that there are big fish in the sea?" Mr. 9 snickered off to the side. Wednesday joined in with the laughing.

"I hope you'll drop us off before you run for the hills." Smirking to herself, Bonney turned the papers around and held them in front of the agents.

"What were you saying about bounties?" Both went immediately pale, looking from the photos to the pirates.

"Y-you h-have bounties?!" Wednesday's voice went high and she tried scooting back, only to hit the white railing of the Wolf.

"H-how are you worth more than thirty million?!" 9 added, his voice going several octaves higher.

"Shishishi! I guess someone decided that we were worth a lot."

"My guess," Bonney began, smirking down as their two captives tried to regain their composure, "Is that we pissed off Smoker and he decided we were a threat."

"Oh, Smokey! I wonder if we'll see him again."

"W-well, this is the Grand Line. A measly thirty million is nothing compared to some of the other pirates out here." Bonney rolled her eyes at Wednesday's bravado, turning on her heal and heading into the kitchen to start a meal to celebrate.

After another meal that caused the two whalers to cringe in disgust, Bonney settled next to Luffy on the figure head.

"So, Captain."

"Yeah Bonney?"

"What's the plan?"

Luffy's head tilted to the side, his hat shifting in the wind as he did so. "Plan?"

"Yeah. You decided to take these guys to their island, but what about after that?"

"We'll find an adventure." Bonney sighed, so confused about her captain that she simply decided to go along with it.

"Whatever you say, Captain."

When Whiskey Peak came into sight, Luffy was practically hanging off the figure head he was so excited. While busy trying to stop her captain from falling into the ocean, Bonney didn't notice their captives untying themselves until she heard the splash and looked over the railing to see them swimming to shore.

"Bye guys!" Luffy said when he, too, noticed their guests leaving.

Bonney rolled her eyes- an action that was becoming increasingly common on the ship- and, with the help of Luffy, began pulling the ship into the small river that took them inland. The mist was cast over the island, large, indistinguishable mounds that Bonney guessed were mountains filling in the background.

"Hello!" Luffy called into the mist, his voice disappearing with no response.

"I can make out the shoreline, Luffy," Bonney reported, using the helm to guide the ship into port. With a loud splash, the ship stopped and Bonney, again with Luffy's help, dropped the anchor, the mist and unnatural silence that had persisted dissolving into a clear view of the shore and the events taking place on it.

Several bodies seemed to be lying, prone, on the ground, blood traveling in rivulets around them. What appeared to be an angry horde stood facing the shore. Or rather, facing the single man that stood on the shore with three swords drawn. Even in the low light of the overcast day, his green hair and now-red blades glinted. The man lunged, his blades moving with speed and grace that even Luffy- who knew nothing about sword fighting- had to admire.

"In the name of Davy Jones! How the hell do we keep stumbling onto battle grounds?!" Bonney cursed again for good measure, even as she followed her laughing captain in jumping onto the shore.

"Shit, pirates!" Someone in the crowd shouted and the mass of people quickly formed a crescent to trap the three intruders against the beach.

"They're the ones we warned you about," a very familiar voice pointed out, and the pirates heard more cursing.

"H-he has a 35,000,000 bounty?"

"That's not possible!"

The green haired man turned to eye Luffy with interest, and Luffy stared at him blankly as he tried to place why he looked so familiar.

"List- ma ma ma!- listen here. While we may not have had time to set a trap, there are only three enemies. We can handle it."

"Wow, we literally just landed. How are we enemies already?" Bonney stretched her arms above her head, followed by twisting her torso and letting her back pop. "Whatever, guess we are pirates. Most civilians just wouldn't want to fight us."

"They aren't civilians," the green haired man said around the hilt of a sword. Wait, Bonney paused in her stretching that Luffy had joined her in, who puts a sword in their mouth? "They're bounty hunters."

"Oh, does that mean you have a bounty Mr. Green Guy?" Bonney snickered at the nickname and Luffy grinned even wider. He loved making his crewmates happy.

"The name's Roronoa Zoro. And no, I'm a bounty hunter. They just aren't very pleased with me."

"I'm afraid you'll have to die now. You seem to know too much about our organization. 'Mystery' is our policy, you understand," Ms. Wednesday said, coming forward next to her partner and another couple, one a large black woman in a checkered dress and the other a man with large rolls of blonde hair. Wait, how was she caught up with the situation, Bonney wondered. They had left the ship barely fifteen minutes ago.

"I told you I would join if I could be the boss." Zoro smirked and seemed to relish the way they went red with fury. That seemed to be the end of their leashes, because in the next instant the hoard was charging forward, swords and guns pointing towards their enemies. Luffy grinned from ear to ear, not bothered in the slightest by the sudden onslaught of attacks.

Straw Hat stepped in front of Zoro, his arms and legs spread as a volley of bullets hit him.

"What are yo-" Zoro cut off abruptly as Luffy's skin stretched to accommodate the projectiles, only for it to return to normal with a snap and screams of pain as the bullets hit those wielding guns.

"He has Devil Fruit powers!" Someone called, and those wielding rifles quickly backed off, a hoard of swordsmen taking their places. Before Luffy could launch a counter attack, the green haired man stepped up and his blades swiped across the charging forms, pausing to look at Luffy when it was clear those who could still stand were regrouping and not attacking immediately.

"You ate a Devil Fruit?"

"Yep!" Luffy grinned, "I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit so now I'm a rubber man." A yawn from off to the side made them turn, only to see Bonney leaning against a nearby building, completely at ease and surrounded by old men and crying toddlers.

"Are you two done? I've been waiting for you to finish." Luffy pouted and stuck out his tongue at his cook.

"Making it so they can't fight is cheating."

"How is using my Devil Fruit cheating? That would mean you stretching is cheating!"

"Nuh-uh. People can still fight back against me, so it's not cheating."

"Ugh, even if you were right- which you're not- we're pirates! It doesn't matter if we cheat!"

Luffy pouted when he had no good response to that and let the matter slide, both pirates effectively ignoring Zoro who sweat dropped at their little display.

"So," Bonney began, looking at Zoro after finishing her argument with Luffy. "What's going on here?"

"Baroque Works. It's a secret organization of bounty hunters where they know nothing about each other or their boss. They tried to recruit me. Weren't too happy when I refused." The man grinned again, and Bonney decided that he looked like a demon, what with the wispy light casting shadows and his swords- he'd sheathed the white one but the other two were still held loosely in his hands- dripping blood onto the ground.

"Ah, so a mystery group," Luffy added, head nodding as if this all made perfect sense. Of course, this meant that it actually didn't. Bonney hit him upside the head and a lump quickly formed as he rubbed his head meekly.

"Why'd you hit me?"

"Felt like it."

"Oh. Okay." Zoro's head tilted to the side and he wondered again if these two were a comedy act and not pirates at all.

"I suppose we'll have to take care of this ourselves."

With less than fifty members assisting them, the four numbered members advanced. Zoro broke away easily from the advancing forms, many of them falling to the ground and not getting up any time soon. A barrel lashed out at him from somewhere, though it was cut into several pieces before it came anywhere near him.

"What a waste of good alcohol." Before he had time to refocus on fighting, he hit the ground to avoid a punch, only for an arm thick with muscles to come down and hold his body pinned as a hand wearing a pair of brass knuckles punched him in the face. While he didn't feel anything break, blood dribbled down his face as he stood with sudden speed and began crushing a woman- Ms. Monday, he remembered her being called- in his hand. She passed out with a sudden gurgle.

Zoro vs Ms. Monday

Winner: Zoro

"Who's next?" Zoro asked, his tongue flicking out to lick the blood falling down his face, his eyes bright and excited. Suddenly, everyone understood why this bounty hunter was known as a demon.

While Zoro took down Ms. Monday and the remaining grunts that filled the town, Luffy and Bonney dealt with their own opponents.

Bonney dodged bullets, rolling out of the way as Luffy blocked for her.

"Did shotguns just come out of his hair?!" Bonney screeched, her own voice over powering Luffy's "So cool!"

In the next moment, a quack filled the air and Bonney again had to duck, only this time to avoid an actual duck.

"Carue! I told you to turn!" Wednesday and the duck she was riding on went flying past a very confused Bonney, only for the rosette to be distracted by Mr. 9 flying at her with two metal bats. Bonney bent her upper body and, after Mr. 9 had past her, kicked out at his back, sending him into the now returning Wednesday. Meanwhile, Luffy sent out a punch that Mr. 8 barely had time to dodge sending the man skittering back. Bullets began firing but had no effect on Straw Hat and Mr. 8 cursed at Devil Fruits for making his life so much harder. He heard crying and turned to see two toddlers wearing clothes much too large for their frames. His moment of distraction cost him and in the next instant a fist landed squarely in his face. His head hit the ground with a crack and blackness covered him within moments, much like the now fully grown Wednesday and Mr. 9 team.

Luffy and Bonney vs Mr. 9 Team and Mr. 8

Winner: Luffy and Bonney

Zoro walked over to the grinning Luffy and Bonney, looking at them with begrudging respect.

"So, you're both Devil Fruit users?"

"Yep," Luffy began, pulling his cheek out past its normal length. "Hey, Mr. Zoro dude, you should join my crew!"

"Why would I do that?" Zoro wiped the blood off his swords and sheathed them, making a comment under his breath about "dealing with problem children later", he turned to regard Luffy again. He scoffed before he continued. "Pirates are scum, there's no reason for me to become one."

"Captain," Bonney began, picking up a green hat from where it lay on the ground and putting it on after a moment's consideration. "You sure you want him on our crew?"

Luffy was silent for a moment, his face blank as he looked at the bounty hunter in front of him. Abruptly, his face broke into a grin that seemed too big for his face.

"Yep. I've decided that he's joining the crew!"

"You can't just go around deciding that!" Anything else Zoro was about to say was interrupted by the sound of moving bodies. They turned to see Mr. 8 and Ms. Wednesday stand up but were again distracted by the light sound of laughter.

"Kyahaha, this entire outpost was taken out by three measly rookies? How pathetic!" Walking down the street, the click click of their heels accompanying them in the otherwise quiet evening, a man wearing a red trench coat with the number five emblazoned on it and a woman whose dress and accessories betrayed her love of lemons came closer, a sneer painted on each of their faces.

"M-Mr. 5, Ms. Valentine." Mr. 8 stood up, swallowing thickly as he raised himself from the rubble of his previous battle. "It wasn't necessary for you to come out here. We can handle this."

"You think we came all this way out here to help you?" Mr. 5's face curled into an even deeper sneer. "Stop joking. The boss' words were 'someone has found out my secret'. Turns out, a few spies managed to infiltrate Baroque Works." From where they stood off to the side, the pirates could see Mr. 9 come to as his partner and Mr. 8 paled considerably.

"The spies came from a certain kingdom, and we just can't let that pass." In a flash of movement, Mr. 8 was standing up and had his hair pointed towards the officers. Bullets flew only to be interrupted by an explosion.

"That's right," Mr. 5 said over the sounds of falling rubble and fire, "The spies are none other than Igaram, Head of Alabasta's Royal Guard," Valentine disappeared in the smoke, revealing herself as she fell from the sky and lashed out at Wednesday, the woman's blue hair falling around her shoulders as her hair piece broke. "And Crown Princess of Alabasta, Nefertari Vivi!"

Wednesday, or rather, Princess Vivi allowed her face to contort in rage even as Valentine settled herself next to her partner.

"You're a princess?!" Mr. 9 exclaimed looking at Vivi- who quickly yelled at him that now was not the time- in bewilderment. Despite his apparent naivety, when Valentine stepped forward, Mr. 9 was quick to come in between her and his partner.

"I don't really know what's going on, but you're still the same partner I've worked with. Get going and I'll hold them off." Vivi protested but was pushed towards the slowly rising Igaram.

"Bye-bye, Baby." Despite rushing at the officer agents with surprising speed, Mr. 9 was hit with what appeared to be Mr. 5's booger before another explosion enveloped him and sent the recovering Igaram flying again, this time towards the three pirates.

"What a loud night," Zoro commented drily, his hand twitching towards his swords. Bonney nodded her head in agreement. Luffy made a small, startled noise and they all looked down at their feet to find Igaram with his arms wrapped around Luffy's feet.

"Please! You all have shown such strength. These two are ability users. I can't stop them, but you can. Protect Princess Vivi in my stead! Take her back to Alabasta and you'll be rewarded."

"Dude, I'm not a part of this pirate crew," Zoro said only for Luffy to contradict him the next instant.

"Yes, you are. I said you're joining my crew, so you are." Before they derailed into an argument that Bonney knew Zoro would lose, she spoke up.

"Reward? How about a couple hundred thousand beries?"

"But Bonney. I thought you didn't want us helping people."

"I don't help people for free. If they promise to pay us though… that's a different story." The chef grinned at the pale man before her and Luffy nodded his head in understanding.

Meanwhile, Vivi mounted Carue and sped off into the town. "I can't promise that much," Igaram began, his voice shaking much like his body. "But if you take her to Alabasta, I'm sure the King will reward you." Bonney regarded him for a moment before looking to Luffy.

"Decision is yours, Captain."

Luffy simply grinned, one hand on his hat. "It's an adventure." Bonney nodded and stood, beginning to head in the direction Vivi had run off to.

"Come on, Zoro. We got a princess to save."

"What point of I'm not part of this crew don't you understand?!"

"If you won't come willingly, then we'll just have to make you." The tick marks over Zoro's face disappeared as he stared at the goofy looking kid in front of him. Did he just… threaten me?! Luffy grinned widely and lunged, Zoro dodged on instinct and the rubber boy went off to the side where he…

Grabbed Zoro's swords and ran, shouting "If you want your swords back you'll have to join us!" Bonney sighed but bolted after her captain nonetheless, Zoro chasing them after a moment of dumbstruck confusion.

By the time Zoro reached Luffy, Straw Hat was standing in the middle of the street waiting for him, his three swords held in one rubbery hand.

"Give back my swords."

"Join my crew." It seemed the boys had interrupted some typical antagonists' dialogue, as Mr. 5 and his partner both grew agitated and stepped forward only to be sent back by the shock wave created from Zoro and Luffy's fists meeting. Zoro used the opportunity of being close to lunge for his sword, but Luffy saw the attack coming and moved out of the way. Mr. 5, who was behind him, pulled his arm back for a punch only for Luffy to side step it and kick him so fast that the bomb man didn't have time to explode.

Zoro lunged again, this time stopping short and narrowly missing something landing on him from the sky. Valentine stepped up from the crater in the ground, facing Zoro and Luffy as her partner came up beside her. The two men turned towards them, their faces set in angry scowls, even as they spoke in unison.

"Gods you two are annoying. STOP GETTING IN THE WAY!" Two fists flew forward, the officer agents, too slow to dodge, were sent flying backwards into a building.

"H-how…?" Vivi said where she stood a few feet behind where the fighting was happening, her duck shifting uneasily under her.

"Don't worry, Princess," Bonney began, coming up next to her with the leg of some poor animal in her hand. "We've been promised a reward in exchange for taking you home so that's what we're going to do. Just let the captain finish recruiting green head over there and we'll be on our way." Vivi seemed extremely confused about a lot of things in that but settled for one thing first.

"This… is how he recruits members?"

"Mine was a lot more peaceful, if that makes you feel better."

Surprisingly, it didn't. But Vivi returned to watching the… recruitment process anyway.

Zoro paused in his attacks, ignoring the groans and moving rubble coming from the building he'd just sent a woman flying into, he regarded the boy in front of him.

"Are you the son of the devil?" Luffy grinned, somehow knowing he'd won.

"Monkey D. Luffy, future King of the Pirates!"

Zoro held out his hands even as the click click of Valentine's heels and the grumbling threats of Mr. 5 brought them closer. Luffy held out the three sheathes in his hands and, if it was possible, grinned even wider.

Pulling his three swords out, Zoro matched the pirate's grin with his own smirk around the hilt of the Wado Ichimonji. "I have my own goals." Luffy cocked his head to the side ever so slightly and Bonney stood up straighter, waiting to see what her newest crewmate was hoping to achieve.

"I will become the World's Greatest Swordsman! I don't care if my name is clean or not… Good guy, bad guy, it no longer matters so long as I can spread the name Roronoa Zoro!" I will be so great my name reaches the heavens. "I will not stop, and if you get in the way of that," Promise me one of us will become the World's Greatest, "I will cut your stomach open and you'll have to apologize." I will not stop, Kuina. Not for anyone.

"Sounds good. If you want to sail with the Pirate King, I'd be embarrassed if you couldn't even become something as easy as the World's Greatest Swordsman." Zoro twirled on his feet, his swords lashing out and sending the two agents who had been coming closer flying before he once again faced his captain.

"Well said, Captain." Bonney came closer as Zoro spoke, whacking them both upside the head as she did so.

"Great, real touching. Can we get out of here now? You seem to have forgotten we've just been hired to return a princess to her country. I want to get this done within the fortnight."

"Wh-why would you take me back to my home?" Vivi said, removing herself from Carue and coming closer.

Bonney grinned widely at the princess, her entire face the picture of pirate wickedness. "For the reward of course." Vivi blushed and sputtered for a few moments before finally settling into some form of dignity.

"I don't think you understand. My kingdom is in disarray. We can't afford to pay a hefty reward."

"What's wrong with your country, Princess chick?" Luffy asked, walking into a building only to return with a pile of apples in his hands, devouring them while glaring at Zoro after he tried to take one.

"I come from the kingdom of Alabasta. It's highly civilized and peaceful… or it was, long ago." Here she took a breath, setting her shoulders as she did so. "In recent years, radical revolutionaries have gained steam, and it has thrown my country into chaos. One day, I heard of a group called Baroque Works. They were the ones causing the revolts, but I couldn't find anything else out. So, I infiltrated the group with Igaram." Luffy nodded along as if he understood all of this, which Bonney was seriously doubting.

"Well, aren't you a brave princess." Bonney looked to Zoro as he spoke, surprised to find no sarcasm in his tone or face, instead it was set in surprised lines with just a hint of respect.

Stopping herself from continuing to observe her new comrade- who was taking this all surprisingly well for someone who hadn't wanted to join two minutes ago- Bonney turned back to Vivi, looking at her expectantly. "So, what's Baroque Works doing starting a revolution?"

Vivi's head tilted forward, her bangs swinging in front of her face and Zoro registered her hands clenching. The swordsman looked to his new captain, Luffy munching on apples noisily as he watched on with a blank face. While most would have missed it, Zoro was not most people and he noticed the rubber man's eyes darting to Vivi's hands. Based on the almost-too-quiet-to-hear sigh that Bonney released, Zoro guessed she saw it too and it meant they were about to do something that the woman had resigned herself to.

"They want to take over Alabasta to make a Utopia. The higher ranked you are in Baroque Works, the better your standing in this Utopia."

"So, they want to take over your kingdom?" Luffy's head tilted at the tight tone that Bonney used, the last of the apple cores disappearing down his throat.

"Yes, and I need to hurry back, or they'll succeed." Bonney and Zoro nodded, the former looking strangely agitated, and both turning to look at Luffy for his thoughts on the matter.

"Who's this boss guy?" Vivi's face paled instantly, her head shaking back and forth causing her blue pony tail to swing.

"You mean the boss of Baroque Works?! No no no no. I can't tell you that." Luffy seemed about to protest when Vivi calmed some and continued. "No matter how strong you guys are, you're not equipped to face up against Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea." There was a single beat of silence before Vivi's eyes widened and her hands went up to cover her mouth.

"Didn't you just tell us?" Zoro said, leaning back on his hands and looking slightly amused.

"What's a Warlord of the Sea?" Luffy asked, looking around for an answer.

"Idiot. I'll explain on the ship. I think we should get going, considering the bird and otter that just flew off." Bonney stood up straighter and Luffy and Zoro followed suit. Vivi looked even more horrified at the two forms that had quickly become small dots in the sky.

"Those are the Unluckies! They'll report this to the boss."

"So, you're saying that your big mouth just got us targeted by a Warlord?!" Bonney slapped the princess on the head, words growling under her breath as she turned to her captain. "I won't forgive you for this."

"So, Luffy." Zoro said, breaking the tension. "What's the plan?"

"Bonney said boss guy will come after us, right? So, we go to him and kick his ass first. We can bring Vivi home on the way."

"Oh, if we're going to stop the war by defeating Crocodile, I can discuss rewards with the King afterwards." Bonney looked much more satisfied knowing they would get their payment and she turned to Vivi with a satisfied smirk on her face. "What do you say, Princess?"

"This is satisfactory," another voice said, an oddly dressed Igaram coming up beside them.

"Igaram!" Vivi turned to hug him, stopping short at his attire. "Wh-what are you wearing?"

"Princess, please go with these pirates. If you follow the Log Pose normally, you should arrive at Alabasta Kingdom in a few islands. In the meantime, I'll take the Eternal Pose and serve as a distraction. Please, don't worry about me and we'll meet again in Alabasta."

"But Igar-!" Igaram placed his hands on the princess's shoulder, shaking her ever so lightly.

"You must make it back to Alabasta. No matter what Princess, you are the hope of the Kingdom!" Vivi nodded and they said their farewells, Igaram boarding a small boat and setting out to sea. The four companions turned on their heels, Bonney opening her mouth to make a comment only to stop.

BOOM.

Heat enveloped the area, bright flames rising from the ocean where a small boat had been moments ago.

"IGARAM!" Vivi tried lunging towards the water, but a thin arm stopped her.

"We gotta get going," Bonney said, face set in grim lines. "We can't let his sacrifice be in vain."

"He was a good man!" Bonney turned to Luffy, her captain's face set and angry. It reminded her, suddenly, of Syrup Village. This time, she could understand the anger.

"I won't forgive them for this." Bonney added, pulling on Vivi to take her away from the water's edge.

"We need to get to the ship," Zoro said, taking a step in the direction of what he thought was the ship.

"You're going the wrong way, idiot!" Bonney shouted, starting to run in the right direction with her comrades close behind her. Gods, he better not be as stupid as he looked.

"Igaram…" Vivi whispered, her lips bleeding from where she'd bitten them. Zoro left the princess to Bonney and jumped on board the ship he'd seen them come on, Luffy and Bonney joining him only to stop short at what they saw in front of them.

"A… duck?" Luffy said, tilting his head so far his hat nearly fell off.

"Carue!" Vivi shouted, running up to her pet.

Accepting the duck as another guest, the pirates quickly begun setting off from the dock and heading towards the ocean. After a few stumbles and running into Bonney once or twice, Zoro fell into the swing of things, learning the mechanics of the ship easily.

"There's too much mist, I can't see shit! Someone, get up top and give me directions," Bonney called out from the helm, Zoro tying down the rope he held and quickly climbing up the mast and ending up in the crow's nest. The mist was thick near the water but Zoro could see well enough.

"Rocks at two o'clock!" He called down, the ship shifting to avoid them just before contact. "Shallows on the port side!" Bonney again directed the ship and Luffy let out a "Whoop!" of joy at the water spray in his face at his seat on the figure head. They thus made their way down the river and towards the sea, Zoro calling out obstacles and Vivi occasionally piping in with information she had on the rivers. Soon enough the mouth of the river was visible and the White Wolf sailed out into the blue waters of the ocean.

"Oh my, congratulations on your escape. I'm glad someone stayed lookout for the rocks," a lilting voice said from the banister overlooking the deck of the Wolf.

"Miss All Sunday!" At the pure hatred in Vivi's voice, Zoro jumped off the crow's nest, landing lightly next to the dark haired woman with Wado leveled at her neck.

"Care to tell me who you are?" Zoro said, his voice low and calm.

"And why are you on our ship?!" Luffy shouted up at the woman from where he now stood by the mast and the other two women on the ship.

"Fufufu, how entertaining you all are." The intruder gave a light smile, some cross between a smirk and a grin, even as Vivi spoke.

"She's Miss All Sunday, she's the partner of Mr. 0 and the only one who knows his identity."

"So, she's a bad guy," Luffy said, Bonney sighing deeply at him as he did.

"Yes, idiot. She is. Want us to take her out now?" Zoro's sword glinted even more in the fading evening light. All Sunday gave another light laugh.

"Please don't point such a vulgar weapon at me." Something too quick for Zoro to identify slapped his wrist, hard. In his shock, his hand loosened and his sword clattered to the ground. In the next moment, something pushed him over the railing and he hit the deck next to Bonney. "And why would you fight me now, I am under no orders and I have no intention to attack you." She paused here, her eyes flicking over to the captain of the ship.

"So, you're the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates." Out of nowhere, Luffy's hat flitted up to the Baroque Works agent.

"Oi! Give me back my hat!" Luffy's face contorted in anger, which All Sunday ignored.

"How adorable," she began, the straw hat twirling around her fingers. "A rookie crew going up against Baroque Works for a single princess, and a single princess enlisting a rookie crew." Another small smile was sent towards them. "It's funny. Especially since you'll never make it to Alabasta with the way your Log is pointing. The next island is called Little Garden. You'll all die without ever even meeting Crocodile." Vivi's face paled considerably and she barely caught the small object that was thrown at her. She gazed at the small needle in front of her as Luffy's hat landed on his head.

"That," All Sunday said, "Is an Eternal Pose to the uninhabited island right before Alabasta. If you take that, you'll be safe."

"And why," Bonney said, looking at the woman sitting on the rails of her ship, "Should we trust you?" The amused smile disappeared, replaced by cool indifference.

"Do what you will, just don't say I wasn't friendly." Before anyone could come up with a response to that, Luffy grabbed the Eternal Pose from Vivi, his rubber hands wrapping around and crushing it in one smooth move.

"Idiot," Bonney mumbled, Zoro raising his eyes at the action.

"Don't you dare think you can chose the path of our journey!" Luffy yelled as Miss All Sunday lifted her brows and hopped over the side of the ship, landing on a large turtle.

"How amusing. Do as you wish, Straw Hat." With that, the enemy disappeared into the quickly darkening night.

"Are you sure you're okay with me being here?" Vivi said, looking slightly put out and worried about the situation. "I could be leading you into danger."

Bonney snorted, "Too late for that. They know our faces now, we're in this." Something small fluttered from the railing and Bonney bent down to pick up a small piece of paper with neat handwriting on it.

"What is it?" Luffy asked, coming up next to her.

"A note. You have an ally waiting for you at Nanohana. What the hell does that mean?"

"Eh, who knows. Oh, it's night time. BONNEY! FOOD!" The chef made her way to the kitchen and soon enough the three pirates, princess and duck were all seated around the gallery of the Wolf, some stuffing their faces more than others.

"Do they always eat like this?" Vivi asked, trying in vain to hide her disgust as Bonney and Luffy fought over food like wild animals.

"Probably." Zoro, seemingly having no problem with the table manners of his crewmates, downed a fourth bottle of sake, reaching for another.

"Oh," Bonney said suddenly, grabbing another slice of pizza and not pausing as she spoke. "Thanks Zoro, for the guiding in the river."

"Oh yeah!" Luffy piped up, swallowing a leg of meat, bones and all. "You did great. I hereby vote that you become our new lookout!" Bonney nodded her agreement and Zoro shrugged his.

"You know," Bonney leaned back against the wall, whipping her face on her hand. "It's all fun and good we have a lookout, but there are some important roles on this ship that need to be filled, too."

"I agree," Luffy said, also finishing his meal. "We need a musician."

Bonney slapped his head again, cursing him as she did so. "There are more important things. Like a navigator."

"I thought you were the navigator," Zoro added.

"I'm the cook, damnit! I only know basic navigation skills. We also need a doctor, and a helmsman wouldn't hurt either. It'd also be nice to have a shipwright."

"You don't have a navigator?" Vivi looked horrified at the prospect. "That's the number one way to guarantee you die in the Grand Line. These waters are dangerous."

Luffy nodded, looking serious for once. "Then on the next island we'll find a navigator."

"Speaking of navigation," Bonney turned to look at Vivi, "What's an Eternal Pose?"

"Oh! It's like a Log Pose but it remembers the island it points to. Most get one of their home island so they can find their way back." Bonney nodded in understanding, standing up to begin picking up plates. Normally, she wouldn't have even considered doing it, but she'd learned that on this ship, if she didn't clean, then no one would. And if she had no clean dishes, they didn't eat. Which simply wasn't a possibility.

"What's a Log Pose?" Everyone turned to look at Zoro, Luffy confused and the other two dumbfounded.

"I-if you don't know what a Log Pose is," Vivi began, her voice a little shaky.

"Then how the hell did you get to Whiskey Peak?" Bonney finished, abandoning her dishes for the moment.

"What do you mean? I sailed there." Bonney through her hands up in the air.

"You can't have sailed there. To find an island in the Grand Line without a Log Pose is a one in a billion chance."

Zoro shrugged, finishing the last bottle he had and leaning back more fully against the table. "A pink haired midget from my home sea told me someone I was looking for was near the entrance to the Grand Line. I set out, went through a couple really weird events, and landed at the bounty hunter camp. End of story." Vivi and Bonney stared blankly at the man, not registering what he said. Luckily, Luffy provided a distracting.

"Pink haired midget…?" His face scrunched up and went red before breaking out in a wide grin. "Oh! That's why you seem familiar, I saw you in Shells Town!"

Zoro's head tilted to the side, eyebrows raised. "When were you in Shells Town?"

"I kicked the axe hand guy's ass. While we were there, Koby freed a green haired guy, that must have been you." The swordsman hummed in acceptance, not nearly as outraged as Bonney.

"Wa-wait wait wait. Does that mean you're from the East Blue?!" Zoro nodded, still slightly confused at Bonney's expression. "Did you cross Reverse Mountain?"

"Why would I cross a mountain?" Bonney's face went pale and she slapped her hand to her face, the smack echoing in the sudden silence.

"Oh! Does that mean that there was another way to go?" Luffy seemed dejected at the idea that there was a path he hadn't even known about.

"The only other way is through the Calm Belt." Vivi turned to Zoro. "Mr. Bushido, when you went sailing did you go south?" He paused for a moment to consider the question.

"Now that you mention it, it did get way warmer."

"So, he did go south. Is that a bad thing?" Luffy asked, turning to face the blank stares of his companions.

At the women's silence, Zoro added, "And there were also a bunch of Sea Kings but I managed to avoid most of them."

"Yo-you made it to the Grand Line by pure chance." Bonney began mumbling, pulling her hair as she did so. "He got so lost that he made it to where he wanted to go." She kept shaking her head as she returned to the dishes, movements sluggish as if she was doing it by pure muscle memory. "What kind of person can do that?"

"Err, someone care to explain?" Zoro looked to Vivi and she humored the man, her own head spinning. After explaining the way the four Blues collided at Reverse Mountain and the different oceans including the Calm Belts and Grand Line, Viv paused to catch her breath. Zoro nodded to himself.

"So, I'm just awesome." For some reason, the thought pleased Zoro immensely and he had the sudden urge to brag to someone, though he wasn't sure who.

Baratie

"ACHOO!" Everyone in the kitchen paused to stare at the blonde sous chef.

"Damn Sanji. You okay?" One of the cooks asked.

"Yeah…" he paused, rubbing his nose as his eyebrows furrowed. "For some reason, I have the strong urge to kick someone's ass."

White Wolf

"It means you're an idiot. No one is lucky enough to survive this sea like that." Bonney mumbled.

"Oh, that's right. You guys need to know what you're getting into." Seeing she had their attention, Vivi explained the Warlord system and how Crocodile was seen as a hero despite really being a pirate. Afterwards they all settled into a comfortable silence, accompanied by the sound of water and dishes. Eventually the princess's soft voice rose up.

"The note that was left… what do you think it means?"

"Who knows? I don't even know what Nanohana is." Zoro got up and headed towards where he knew they kept the sake. A quick slap from Bonney, however, sent him grumbling back to his seat.

"It's a port in Alabasta. I was actually planning on us stopping there."

"Then it's simple," Luffy piped up. "We have a friend waiting in Nanohono."

"Nanohana," Vivi corrected on instinct, "And I wouldn't be so sure. The note was left by All Sunday."

"Eh, we'll deal with it when it comes up." Zoro rose with a stretch and a yawn. "So where do I sleep?"

"Oh yay! Someone new to come sleep with me!" Luffy grinned widely, ignoring the gaping faces of Vivi and Zoro.

Bonney sighed and rolled her eyes at her captain. "You mean someone else. Now that Zoro's here, I'm moving my stuff to the girl's room." At the looks she received from the others she added, "He doesn't like sleeping in a room by himself. Hell if I know why, but just set up one of the extra hammocks and you'll be fine." She turned to Vivi with a smile. "You can either sleep with them, or share a bed with me in what is supposed to be the captain's quarters." Choosing to follow Bonney out of the galley, Vivi said her goodnights.

As she dressed for bed, the princess's mind kept on a loop, flitting from the odd crew that now escorted her to the note that she kept having uneasy feelings about to the thoughts of Igaram she tried to push away.

The sea rocked her as she tried in vain to sleep. It wasn't until Bonney threw an arm over her, snores ruffling her blue locks, that her mind finally shut off.

A/N: The long awaited Zoro has arrived! What did y'all think about his introduction? Please review and comment, love hearing from you guys!

Guest (chapter 1): Great story and a very interesting premise. That crew tho would be unstoppable in the current one piece story.

If you mean pre time-skip, then yes I think that all of them together are a little over the top. Post time skip though… with how things went in Whole Cake Island I think they kinda need to be over powered.

Micheal: Will a supernova possibly be a baroque works agent or at least a ally of the group.

WE HAVE A WINNER. You are right, one of the supernovas (not telling you which but feel free to throw out guesses) will in fact be showing up in Alabasta. As a reward for your great guess, let me give you another pearl of information: by the supernova in Alabasta will be the seventh supernova we meet, including Luffy, Bonney, and now Zoro.

Matt: Meh. I mean while I do like the story, so far there's only two people on the crew compared to the five in canon. Also thanks for the compliments.

Nice to see you again man, and I know, having a cast of two is kinda… eh? I've been having trouble with it myself but I thought having too many of the Supernovas in East Blue would kinda cause East Blue to become a blood bath. Can you imagine Kidd and Bege in the East Blue? But fear not! From now on, we will be getting more members fairly quickly.

Guest (chapter 9): Short transition chapter but fun and well written.

Yep! Twin Capes was always really short in cannon so I kept it similar to that. Next chapter will be short too, I'm afraid.

NEXT TIME:

Mini Series- Checking in with the World, Chapter 4; A New Creation