Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

"normal conversation"

"remembering a quote from someone else"

There won't be special dialogue setting for individual thoughts because you are hearing their thoughts in their POV.

Fights at Alubarna

8 Hours after Operation Utopia

Usopp and Chopper vs. Mr. 4, Ms. Merry Christmas, and Lasso

Usopp POV

I had just run outside the gate where I heard Chopper fighting.

I see that Chopper was in heavy point was panting heavily.

"Chopper." I yelled. "I'm here to help. Who are you fighting?"

"The Mr. 4 pair." He responded. "I'm glad you're ok." After a pause, he continued, "Careful, they're still here."

"That's the strong guy with the mole woman right?"

"You forgot about his dog." Chopper said plainly.

Up popped a hole, we saw a cannonball and we both ran away from each other. It then exploded.

Right. Vivi said that the dog shoots cannonballs.

That wasn't scary at all.

I had considered what to do with the situations. Because I didn't think I could win against these people without the knowledge before hand. I probably would have ran away if I didn't know about their abilities.

How can I run away if I wanted to become a great warrior?

For example, a mole had to dig underground. Therefore that should mean...

"Chopper, the holes have to be connected together." I yelled out.

"Are you sure?" he wondered.

"Well. I'm not 100% sure. But did you notice the mole woman leave her hole?"

Just as I spoke, we saw her.

"It's a mole! There it is!" I screamed in fright.

"I haven't transformed yet!" the mole yelled back.

Oh, so she naturally looked like a mole.

She continued, "Now listen up. You boys aren't getting outta here alive." She slowly began transforming.

Me and Chopper both said, "A penguin?" looking at her flipper.

"I'm a mole" she snarled out.

Oh. That flipper was supposed to be her claws. I don't think moles are supposed to snarl. Honestly, her human form looked more like a mole than her current form.

She dug underground. I began running because I couldn't see her.

The dog popped up in one hole and fired a cannonball. I dodged it.

However, Chopper cried out, "Mr. 4 carries a 4 ton bat to hit those cannonballs."

I looked and saw Mr. 4 ready to bat them toward me. I needed to keep running toward those holes.

I was planning on using explosives in the hole. Hopefully, those explosives could also hurt them as the fire spread. However, the mole woman soon caught me and started dragging me to Mr. 4

Shoot. I was going to get clobbered by Mr.4's bat. I start screaming

Thankfully, Chopper had hit Mr. 4 from behind, so he couldn't hit me in time.

However, the mole woman still dragged me and found a wall to drag me through. She soon let me go after that.

I looked and saw a hole in the wall that looked like me with my arms flailing out.

Great. Just a reminder of how scared I can be. I need to win.

I saw open hole available for me and fired an explosive bullet.

That wasn't enough as Mr. 4 still survived the attack. However, the dog that was underground was unconscious. Mr. 4 came up and hit a cannonball at me.

Why are there these monsters in the Grand Line?

I was starting to be afraid because I had already used what I thought would be the best plan to beat them.

I started running away. That might give me time to think.

That's when I felt my legs getting grabbed again. It must have been that stupid mole.

"Running away? If the captain is this weak, then so are his crew members." she goaded me.

"What about my captain?" She just insulted my captain.

I'm ok being called weak. But to insult Luffy, my best friend, maliciously is a different story.

True, everyone in the crew called Luffy idiot, but we said that lovingly.

Most of the time.

Luffy is not weak. He's strong. That's why he's always been able to beat people like Kuro, Krieg, and Arlong. I know he'll beat Crocodile too.

"Straw Hat Luffy has been killed."

I was in shock. I looked at Chopper; he could only say, "Luffy's dead?" There was a look of dismay on his face.

I shook my head. Luffy is going to be Pirate King. How could I believe such a lie?

"Don't give me that you ugly mole bitch!" I exclaimed. I needed to defend my captain's honor. "I know him!" I yelled out. "He won't die to that stupid gator."

I continued ranting. "He's going to be Pirate King! He won't die in a place like this."

After that statement, I heard a laugh. My eyes narrowed.

Was she mocking my captain's ambition?

I can't run away in this case. I have to defend my captain's honor when he's not here.

I don't care if I don't stand a chance. This is my friend's dream.

She started mocking him. "You don't ever say anything as stupid as that on the Grand Line."

She then started dragging me again.

I whipped out a 8 kg hammer and started whacking her arms. She cried in pain, letting me go. I fell crashing forward to a nearby wall.

"Listen Chopper!" I slowly stood up. "There comes a time when a man has to stand and fight. That time is when his friend's dreams are laughed at." Chopper nodded at me, understanding the situation.

I looked at both Miss Merry Christmas and Mr. 4. I pointed at both of them and declared, "Luffy won't die. I KNOW he will become Pirate King. And I can't let you laugh at that."

Chopper then transformed. "Let me show you my horn point."

I ran so I was behind Chopper. I then took out my new slingshot Kabuto. The larger the slingshot, the farther the shots can be. The five supportive stems also made my aim accurate and increased my firing range.

Unfortunately, it was heavy for me to use consistently. I needed to get stronger to get used to carrying it.

Chopper started running and when he saw the mole woman, he tossed her up with his hooves. I then fired my 8 kg hammer at her, knocking her out.

With both the dog and her partner gone, we just had to fight Mr. 4.

Mr. 4 was too slow to catch up to us as I kept firing at him. Chopper then tossed him up underground, and I fired a spicy heat sauce bullet at his mouth. He fainted at that.

I was almost running out of ammo, but I was glad we had won.

I looked at the sky. Luffy. I know you're still alive.

Sanji Vs. Mr. 2

Sanji POV

My lady in danger sense is tingling. I look around.

There was the beautiful Vivi being chased by some okama.

How horrible it must be to be chased by an okama!

I shudder at the thought of being chased by okamas. It must be a living hell. It gave me goosebumps

Being chased by women on the other hand would be paradise. Maybe after I save Vivi, I would have princesses chasing after me.

Wait! That okama was the Mr. 2 guy who could transform to us. He's a very high priority target.

I hurried my way over, intercepting his kick.

Even though he was an okama, he did have a very strong kick, almost matching me in strength.

"Sanji!" Vivi cried out.

"I'll take on that okama for you." I said. I'll be Vivi's knight in shining armor. Take that Yuuto.

As Mr. 2 got up, I told Vivi, "Go!"

As our kicks collided, I threatened him, "You took my sniper's goggles. Why don't you give them back?" Usopp had mentioned to me when I met with him.

"I won't go down as easily as he did." I declared.

I gritted a little bit in frustration. Come on Usopp, you can last longer than 3 second in a fight.

"You're one of straw hat's friends. You must be the famous Mr. Prince? Or are you that fox?" He asked.

I smirked. I forgot that he didn't see me. To be called that Fox would be lying and I couldn't respond to being Mr. Prince.

I abandoned that lifestyle a long time ago.

"No. My name is Sanji! I'm a first rate cook of the sea."

He smiled and tried to suddenly kick me. My kick met his kick.

So far, we had been parrying each other's attacks with our kicks. It seemed that it was going to be a test of stamina or a test of who had an unpredictable move.

I smirked. I remembered seeing a move from Yuuto's training book.

I faked a punch, moving in a circle; the okama dodged as I expected. However, I continued going in the circle and kicked as I completed the circle and hit him.

I scored the first hit.

There was no way I was going to actually punch the guy. My hands were made to cook.

I only kicked his gut but that should make him feel a little queasy.

He then shouted something about his okama kenpo and started jabbing me.

I dodged them. When I thought he finished, I sent out a barrage of kicks. He met every kick.

I decided to risk my body and take his next blow for my mutton shot. I flew back a bit. I noticed that he coughed out blood.

If it continued, I would win, and I'd be ok to continue fighting someone else. It was a good thing that I started training more. If I didn't, I would have been in bad shape after this fight.

Mr. 2 then spouted out some nonsense and claimed that he could form the world's funniest head.

When I saw his face, it was just his face with Usopp's nose.

I then kicked him again.

He was a resilient bastard. I'll give him that.

"Are you done?" I asked him.

Mr. 2 then said, "I'm going to use your friend's face."

I scoffed. "As if that would work."

He became Usopp and I kicked him.

Usopp deserved that kick for stealing food back on the ship.

"Damn you! That is your friend's face!"

I sneered at that. "Yeah, but it's still you! People are made of heart!" As if I could be fooled by such an obvious trick.

Mr. 2's eyes widened and quickly transformed to Nami.

I heard Nami's angelic voice. "I understand. Not even her nor the rest of your friends will have any effect on you."

I wanted to say no, but I looked at him and couldn't help but have hearts in my eyes. He did look and sound like her. I quickly shook my head and he became normal.

He stared at me, and I tried to have a poker face on. There was no way he saw my reaction.

He became Nami again, and I drooled.

I heard Nami's voice. "You fool!"

Damn it. I was going to win so easily too.

He then began his assault. My reaction was slower in blocking those attacks because of Nami's beauty.

As he kicked me to the ground, he boasted. "You're not as strong as you say you are."

I was angry. No matter what you look on the outside you're still an okama. He's a guy not a girl.

Just as I was about to kick him, I looked and saw Nami's gorgeous face.

I couldn't kick Nami, so I hesitated.

He then taunted me, "This country is way too hot! So I'll just take off my clothes." He revealed part of Nami's chest.

"Want my help?" I couldn't help but ask.

From what I saw, the chest he had was the same size as the real one.

Mr. 2 attacked me. However, in that moment, he reverted back to his original self.

I was able to dodge his attack and tried to kick him.

Just as I was able to land a kick, he changed back.

Damn him! I held my leg back. I refuse to kick anyone who is a woman!

His ability really does make him become a woman.

My real dad would be disappointed in me if I kicked a woman.

However, I noticed he always put his hand to his cheek just to change back. I just needed to observe which hand it was.

He then kicked with his foot with the beak. I dodged and saw it kick through a wall.

That kick was powerful. I couldn't catch many of those. I might need to fight more people.

I ran to him. He had changed back to Nami in preparation of my attack. I called out, "Hey, something's on your left cheek?" I took a guess.

Luckily, he fell for it. I grinned and kicked.

Collier!

He laid on the ground, tired. "I lost!" He wasn't bleeding anywhere visibly.

For a weird guy, he did have some honor.

I looked at him. "If you want to kill me, just do it. My life will be ended by the organization later anyway."

I looked at him and held out my hand.

This was a sign of respect. He wasn't that bad.

"That was a good fight."

He stood up and started crying. I heard something about friendship.

Still, I took back Usopp's goggles and left Mr. 2 with a broken jaw with blood coming out of his mouth.

He had it coming to him for wanting to hurt Vivi.

Nami vs. Ms. Doublefinger

Nami POV

I had just separated myself from Zoro, Mr. 1, and Ms. Doublefinger.

I was really nervous because this would be my first actual fight.

Yuuto and Luffy have been helping me train physically. Usopp had created a staff that could help me manipulate the weather.

When I first tried the staff out, Usopp had put some cheap parlor tricks in there. However, Yuuto made Usopp remove them because he didn't want me to make the wrong move just because I mixed up the combination.

Looking back on it, Yuuto was right. I could die right now because I messed up the moves.

Unfortunately, this staff was limited in capabilities, but it did what I needed it to do.

I heard footsteps and began blowing cool balls.

I was going to be defensive first. Soon enough, Ms. Doublefinger came and tried to stab me.

She hit the mirage tempo that I had formed with the cold air. I quickly hit her with the blunt end of my staff. I then quickly ran away to get some more distance.

I couldn't fight so close against her seeing her power.

"So you can fight." She was mocking me.

I smirked. "These 8 years, I've been a thief. Now, it's my turn to fight."

She began running to me. I smirked; I put the heat pole and the cool pole together like an x. I then threw it like a boomerang. When it hit her, it blew her away making her land on the wall.

The cold air and the hot air will bump each other creating an explosive wind.

"Hm. Looks like I can't underestimate you." She said.

I grinned.

She then ran up to me trapping me when I got caught off guard. "Although you got an interesting weapon, it doesn't have much attacking power." I couldn't help but think how much she was underestimating me.

"You can only use it as a toy. If it's made for a purpose, specifically for killing people, then it can be called a weapon." She then made her nose a spike and tried to headbutt me.

I ducked and hit her stomach with my staff. I then tried to increase some distance again.

In order to use this technique, I was going to need to blow some heat bubbles. I heard her run toward me again.

I got punched this time.

My weapon wasn't reliable yet, but as I practice more with this I'm sure I will get the hang of it.

I looked up and saw a bubble.

The heat balls will suck up the moisture made from my cool balls from earlier. The air will then condense and form a cloud. Eventually, I'll have enough clouds to use my electric pole on them thus creating thunderbolts.

I knew I could win.

She approached me and I used my electric balls. Thunder struck her.

She was still standing and she looked pissed.

That's what you get for making fun of me.

She still ran to me. She can still move?

I used my foot to block it.

"I don't feel a damn thing! Do you know that person's pain?" I yelled.

Vivi had been suffering the most. This was nothing to what she could have felt about her country.

I then used the only technique that Usopp kept. It was useful even though I couldn't control it directly.

I shot my staff out on her. I saw two doves trap her. My staff started spinning.

Tornado tempo.

The force swept her off her feet and caused her to crash through a wall.

I looked over and saw that she was unconscious.

I looked over my staff. I think I'll call this weapon Clima-tact.

Zoro vs Mr. 1

A few moments earlier

Zoro Pov

I saw Nami being chased across the street by two people.

That troublesome woman always getting herself into trouble.

I was going to use a shortcut to intercept them, so I turned left going through the alley way.

I ran towards and saw Nami tripping. Just as Nami tripped, the man was about to kick her.

I blocked it with my sword and noticed the pillar was split apart.

That wasn't me. Was it him?

Looking closer, the pillar was actually cut apart.

This must be Mr. 1, the one who ate the Supa Supa fruit.

I tried cutting him to confirm. It sounded like my sword clash another sword. I smirked.

"So it's you. The one who killed over 50 at Whiskey Peak."

I grinned. "Well, I would have killed 100 if my crewmate didn't help me out." Yuuto should have killed the survivors.

We then started clashing against each other.

"Miss Doublefinger."

"I'll finish that guy. Is that what you were going to say? Sure have it your way." His partner walked off. "As for me, I'll finish off the little girl."

I turned to look after Nami, but she had run away. I hope her training pulled off.

I put on my bandana. I needed to finish this quick.

We continued fighting for a good two minutes. He didn't cut me, but I didn't cut him.

I did see that I nicked him a little bit, but that wasn't good enough.

"Your body is as hard as iron. If I can't cut iron, then I can't hurt you." I stated as a fact.

"Correct" he said.

"As long as I can't cut metal, I can't beat you right now." I take off my robe.

"What are you going to do about it?" he asked.

"I am in a dangerous situation. Danger can force a swordsman to be stronger." I stated. I then get in my santoryu stance. "When I've beaten you, I'll be a man who can slash through metal."

Or a man who can use this Haki that Yuuto's been talking about.

"Sorry to ruin your mood, but since I've earned these powers. No one has ever been able to hurt me."

I smirked. "That may change because you have never met me."

We continued our fight. I was trying to remember what Yuuto explained about Haki and what my master said about cutting metal.

"The 'strongest sword' can protect and destroy anything it wants."

That doesn't make any sense to me.

What did Yuuto say about Haki?

"The best way for me to descirbe Haki in one word is willpower. You can also think of it as spiritual energy." [AN: from Chapter 2]

Do I need more willpower to cut iron?

"Haki is a power that is found in every living organism. Plants, animals, and humans all have haki. You just need to awaken it." [AN: also from Chapter 2]

Suddenly, Mr. 1 cut me during my thoughts.

Damn it. I should have been focused on the battle. I coughed up some blood.

I wasn't close to death. However, I knew if Mr.1 hit me one more time, then it would be life threatening. Mr. 1 continued his assault and cut a nearby pillar.

I didn't move because I knew those rocks wouldn't hit me.

I closed my eyes. I connected the ideas what was said to me. In that moment, I had heard a sense of life for the rocks falling.

No, not a sense of life but breathing.

Is this breathing Haki?

I looked at him.

I can hear his metal breathing. I can sense it.

I look at my sword. I'm going to transfer my will through Wado Ichimonji and see if I truly gained the power to cut through metal.

Mr. 1 ran toward me.

This was going to be our final attack.

Shishi son son.

As we clashed, I cut him before he touched me. I smiled.

I had gotten stronger and closer to my dream.

I look back and Mr. 1 had come crashing down with blood.

I would have to ask Yuuto whether I unlocked Haki or if I could cut through metal.

Either way, I made progress toward my dream.

Yuuto vs. ?

Yuuto POV

I was focused on protecting the king at his palace. I think I had set everything up for my plan. I already sensed one extremely strong presence enter the city. It had to be Crocodile. My crew except Luffy were already inside the city; they seemed that they were fighting against the agents.

Chaka was outside, ordering the army to have the white flag out. The royal army was ready to defend itself outside but not start a fight.

I could only pace back and forth. Trying to remember what Nami and the rest of them said. Crocodile and the rest of the agents were coming here. It seemed that Crocodile didn't know that the royal army was not going to fight but surrender immediately.

More importantly, I could only hope that Luffy didn't get killed from Crocodile.

As I closed my eyes, I couldn't help but remember Loguetown.

He wasn't going to do die. He was still alive. Crocodile just didn't know it yet.

I quickly cursed. Two people had entered the castle.

I quickly ran toward where the king would be in his chambers. I intercepted both Crocodile and Nico Robin in the hallway. Thankfully, the Duck Claw Squad, the king's special guard, stood around the corner outside his chambers ready.

"Geez more pests just keep coming. I'll take care of the king's special guard. You take care of the man with the stupid fox mask. " He tried to walk past me.

I tried to punch him, but I saw a hand held me back. Crocodile then pushed me away with his sand and turned the corner.

I heard the Duck Claw squad yell.

I needed to hurry. The Duck Claw squad would only delay him. As I tried running, I tripped over a leg.

I looked over at Nico Robin who ran ahead of me. I carefully analyzed her. It seemed that her ability was to produce extra body parts. She was clever to have hidden the ability from me last time.

I wonder if she could...

Focus Yuuto. Do not think about her body.

She looked at me. This was going to be an interesting rematch since 5 years ago. "Careful Fox-kun, you need to get through me."

This time, I had observation Haki and seastone gloves ready.

I scowled at her. "Now's not the time."

As I saw her sprout three extra hands throughout my body, I quickly touched them with my gloves.

She flinched, and they quickly disappeared.

I grinned. Seastone does have its use.

"Don't get in my way." she warned.

I looked at her eyes. "I tried 5 years ago."

She said, "I know."

I tried running to her, but she tripped me again and spouted many hands so my body couldn't move. I was lying on the ground, but she flipped me. She approached me, and I could only look at her defiantly.

"Why?" I asked. She only held me down but not hurt me.

"What?" she asked back.

"Why did you join Crocodile? And why did you try to help us?"

She looked in surprise. I was right. She took out a knife as if ready to kill me. She didn't seem like she was.

I continued. "You don't want Crocodile to take control of this country do you? That's why you've been helping us." I speculated.

"Shut up! You don't understand anything." She was furious. However, I could sense some truth in that statement.

"You're right. I don't."

She paused, surprised I said that.

I continued. "I remember the reports about you. It told of how we were always told to watch out for you as you seemed to always join a different group each time. You always betrayed your group. Now, you have been trying to help us." I looked at her. It seemed that she was conflicted.

I continued, "You knew who Vivi and Igaram were since they joined." I looked at her and she didn't deny that.

"You tried helping us by not offering a different path other than Little Garden. You knew it would take one year to reset the log post." I again looked at her and she didn't deny that.

"Why are you helping us and him? You never attacked us when you had the chance. Until right now. In front of Crocodile." I asked.

She became silent. "Let's say that his goal and my dream might happen to be the same thing. We just have different agendas with it."

What does that even mean?

She looked at me. "Your captain's still alive. Also Igaram."

I had already feared the worst when Crocodile came and I didn't sense Luffy. "Why should I trust you?" Maybe, she was trying to lower my guard.

A voice cut us off. "I'm disappointed in you Miss All Sunday. I thought you would have finished him off." We both turned and saw Crocodile with the king. It seemed that he didn't hear our conversation.

"Sorry, it became a little personal." She looked at me angrily. I kept my mouth shut.

"Who is he? That mask design does look familiar now that I look closer at it. It has an interesting spiral."

I stayed quiet. "Not gonna talk to me eh? Well, I guess I'll kill you."

"Stop. We have the king. Let's go." Robin intervened. I looked in surprised again. Even now, she didn't want to kill me. An obstacle to their goal.

He smiled. "Yes. Let's." They walked out to the courtyard. As they did, the hands tying me up disappeared.

I wasn't going to let them go so easily. Our fight didn't hurt me that bad. I sensed Vivi was at the courtyard.

As I ran out, I saw the king nailed to a wall. Crocodile had approached him. "Where is the Pluton?"

I quickly hid behind a wall. Maybe, I could learn more about his goal and get him to confess.

King Cobra's eyes widened in shock. "How did you hear about that name?"

"I heard using it once would make a whole island disappear. That thing should be somewhere in this country." He then gloated. "I can build the strongest military force here using it."

Vivi asked out loud, "A weapon? That powerful? In this country?"

I never heard of this before. If what he's saying is true, that means Robin is also after this too.

What did she mean by different agendas?

The king said, "I don't know where you heard that name. I don't know where that thing is."

Crocodile then threatened. "That's fine. This afternoon, a powerful cannon will fire here. The blast will have a 5 kilometer radius."

Damn it. A cannon fire here. You need to a cannon to be high up to aim here. Crocodile really thinks of everything.

Vivi really started arguing. Crocodile ignored her and faced the king. "Where is the thing that has true history?"

Seeing the king's face, I saw his good nature acting up. "If I take you there,... Alright... I will take you there."

I decided to run out. I couldn't let Crocodile win. "I'm stopping you Crocodile."

"You don't seem to give up. Who are you?"

"I'm the Scheming Fox. I'm a member of the Strawhat crew." I said defiantly. I didn't let him know about my other alias.

He laughed. "I already killed your captain."

I froze for a moment. I remembered what Robin had said and stared at her. She stared at me straight back.

Dang it. I don't know who to believe.

"I don't believe you. I refuse to believe that you killed him." I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince myself of that.

"Are you mocking me boy? Just like your captain did."

"Who are you exactly? Some nobody who lost to Whitebeard?" I jeered at him seeing if he would take my taunt.

He roared, irritated at the insult I threw at him. "I am Crocodile. You want to know what I've done. I'm the hero of this country. The one who framed the King and took water from this country. It was all set up by me and my company Baroque Works for the last three years. Who are you?"

Perfect. "That's what I wanted to hear." I ignored his question.

"What?"

I revealed a hidden visual Den Den mushi I had set up at the courtyard. It was broadcasting to a recorder with the royal army. The royal army would show this what happened to the rebel forces.

Flashback

When I had went to buy Den Den mushis at Nanohana, I saw that they also had a visual Den Den mushi. It was worth a decent amount . I decided to buy it.

Maybe this Den Den Mushi could help expose Crocodile.

In order to stop the people from fighting, I would need an actual confession from Crocodile.

End Flashback

This country wasn't going to continue fighting now that they knew the truth.

Crocodile looked pissed. I was probably going to die, but at least this country would know the truth.

I looked at Robin and she looked impressed at what I just did.

I then prepared myself in a fighting stance and got my finger claws out.

Vivi called out, "Don't fight!" Not right now.

Crocodile looked at her annoyed, and went after her. I ran as fast as I could.

I made it in time. He was about to pierce her with his hook but I stopped him with my gloves.

"Vivi run. Stop the cannon. I'll hold him off." I said seriously.

"But Mr. Fox. -" She was worried.

"We don't have much time."

She nodded and started running away. She cried out, "Don't die!"

I looked back at her, knowing what my feelings for her were. I shook my head and prepared to face him.

"You've been really annoying." He stated.

"You shouldn't underestimate us." I said. I just sensed Luffy coming back. I smiled. He was alive like Robin said he was. He was about 7 minutes away.

I could hold him off until Luffy comes back. I'll give Luffy my gloves.

I then punched Crocodile in the face. He looked at me.

I taunted, "It's been a while since you've actually felt pain isn't it?"

"Do you have -"

I interrupted his question and scratched him in the stomach. He bled a little bit.

"I see. You're using seastone." He began analyzing me.

I then ran to him and continued punching him. He actually had to try and dodge them. I got 6 hits in.

"That fox mask design with the downward spiral. Seastone gloves with claws? Could you be -"

"Shut up!" I punched him in the face. Angry with the possibility of what he was about to say.

"So I am correct." He smirked at that.

I shook my head. I shouldn't have been surprised that he knew about my previous job. Still, I needed to calm down. Otherwise, I couldn't use Observation Haki. He hadn't been attacking me yet. I needed to make sure my attacks counted while I had the chance.

Crocodile continued "What's someone like you joining a group of small time pirates?"

"They're not small time pirates. Trust me." I countered.

"Someone with your talents should join me instead."

I ran to punch him in the stomach.

"Sorry. I'm not interested." I then quickly tried to give him a concussion with a blow to his head.

He then turned to sand and got away from me.

I sensed him using some sand to cut me, so I dodged at the last minute.

"You have good reflexes. Or is it something else?"

Breathe Yuuto. He's trying make me lose my cool.

"No response eh? Well, I never expected someone like you to be here. I have to go all out." He then put his hand on the ground. He turned to Robin and yelled "Leave unless you want to get caught!"

Robin took the king away. I needed to focus on Crocodile then I'll chase after them.

He plans on sucking up all the water in the whole land.

The ground collapsed. I jumped the falling rocks getting closer to him.

He was about to turn to sand and go behind me. I swung backward at him right as he did so. He coughed out some blood.

"So it's not just good reflexes I'm dealing with eh?"

Just as I was about to punch him again, he grabbed my right arm with his right hand.

Crap. I should have fought more defensively. I tried to scratch his arm with my left hand immediately.

I made it in time because he had to let go because of the pain and I jumped away.

I need to fight a little more defensively and stall for Luffy. I panted.

I looked at Crocodile. He was getting tired, but not as much as me. The cuts I made on him weren't life threatening, just annoying.

He was about to cause a sandstorm. He then transformed to sand and traveled along the sandstorm.

I jumped out of the way again ready to strike him when I could.

I felt that he was ready to come below me. I jumped back again. He then went behind me.

It's so annoying fighting sand.

I punched him with my right out of relex, but he grabbed my other hand just as I moved forward.

I winced knowing what was going to happen. That was not a fair trade. He intentionally let himself get hit by me. I really should have fought more defensively.

He then absorbed all the water in my body and left me there. He looked at me, "You lose you piece of trash."

As I was clinging on to life, I looked at Crocodile. He had some blood on him, but he looked like he could keep fighting. Crocodile soon left, following where Robin and the king had gone.

In two minutes, Luffy and Pell finally arrived, and Luffy threw some water on me.

"Yuuto, are you ok?" Luffy asked worriedly.

"You're late." I said as angry as I could.

"Sorry. I was busy eating some meat. Where's Crocodile?"

I sighed. Could he take this seriously?

"I'll lead you to him. Pell go help Vivi. There's a powerful cannon that's going to fire here. Look in the tall buildings."

Pell nodded and flew away.

I used some of my remaining observation Haki and led Luffy to the tomb. It was a 5 minute run.

I told him that I had weakened Crocodile. Luffy would need a couple of good hits. I asked if he wanted my gloves but he said no.

He told me that water or blood can hurt him. It would make the sand stick together. I then realized that's why Luffy was carrying a barrel next to him.

That explains why he took away all the rain. He wanted to make sure it wouldn't randomly rain on him. He really did come up with a lot of plans. Using Dance Powder killed two birds with one stone.

As I led him to the tomb, he told me to stay outside. I refused. I was going to go with him. I sensed that he was about to attack me.

However, his attack was too fast for me to dodge completely. I had to block it and was pushed back. He had gotten noticeably stronger since I had seen him two days ago.

What a scary growth compared to the times we trained at Going Merry.

I looked at him wondering how he grew so much.

I remember a conversation I had with Nami. Luffy would grow stronger when he has to protect someone.

It did seem that he was taking my advice more seriously now.

Luffy reminded me of my left leg injury and ordered me to stay outside. I could come in if he lost again.

I made a small smile. I had controlled my left leg during the entire fight. The physical therapy was helping. It didn't bother me as much as before.

I groaned and decided to meditate outside when I noticed he walked in without me.

I noticed that Robin's presence started to fade a little bit. What happened?

I wanted to go back in, but captain's orders are captain's orders.

Luffy vs Crocodile Round 2

Luffy POV

I needed to hurry. This place was falling apart.

I found Crocodile." I caught up!"

His eyes bulged out, "You. You're supposed to be dead."

I'm not dead Crocodile idiot.

"Why are you still alive? I thought I killed you back at Rainbase." He continued asking me.

The king looked at me. "Why is he here?"

The nice woman who saved me earlier was lying face down. "Straw hat kid." She looked beaten up.

"Why don't you just give up?" Crocodile called out.

"Because you have taken something away and you haven't returned it." I became more serious.

"I took a lot of things? You're going to have to be more specific." He seemed to snarl at me.

"Country."

"Country? I'm not going to be king thanks to your stupid fox servant." He was irritated.

I ignored the last remark.

"By the time I came here, that guy's kingdom was gone."

I then charged at him with water dripping over.

I had finally hit him. He hit the wall.

"Could you have -?" He stopped when he noticed the water dripping from my hand.

I then continued my Gomu Gomu machine gun.

He stood up. "All right. Your crew's stubbornness should have some kind of reward." He dodged my kick.

He took off his hook and I saw it drip something.

"This is the last fight." He coldly said.

"Bring it!" I challenged.

We kept trading blows. I was careful not to let his hook hurt me or for him to dry up the water.

Eventually, he got me with his hook.

He looked at me and smiled. "Eventually that poison will kill you."

"I don't care. I need to beat you."

"Why?"

"It's for Vivi. Even though she tries to throw her life away to save others, she'll die because of you guys."

I continued my Gomu Gomu machine gun, focused on beating him.

I suddenly fell to the floor, feeling exhausted.

I heard laughter and saw Crocodile still standing. "What about now? Do you still think you can win? If you don't win this fight, it's meaningless. Even if you stop the cannon from firing, it will become a bomb."

I got up again. "Crocodile. If it's just you against me..." I was getting a little dizzy "You cannot defeat me!"

He looked at me. "You could barely speak those words. How can you say such things?"

"Because I will be Pirate King!" I then focused my entire energy on the next couple punches I had left.

I used my Gomu Gomu machine gun again.

"Do you know who I am?" Crocodile called out once more.

"I will exceed you!" Yuuto had told me about his accomplishments. He was just a stepping stone for me to beat in order to become Pirate King.

I then unleashed my Gomu Gomu storm sending him through the roof.

I looked at him. He was mouthing something, but it was too far for me to tell.

I heard footsteps coming down and saw Yuuto with his mask on.

"You did it Luffy!" he exclaimed.

The king looked at me and Yuuto. "I will have to thank both of you."

"No need for it." I said.

"Luffy. Let's get out of here." I heard Yuuto say.

I couldn't move anymore and collapsed. Yuuto came over me.

I heard a bottle roll close to me. "Here. Apply that to him." It was that nice woman again.

"It will get rid of Crocodile's poison." Yuuto had looked at her suspiciously.

"Don't worry. She's not as bad as you think. She saved my life earlier." I said. Yuuto hesitated but applied it.

"Why did you lie to him?" The king asked her.

What was going on?

"So you knew."

"There is no history written on the stone. It's only about the weapon and its location." The king said.

"I don't really care. I never planned on giving the "weapon" to Crocodile from the beginning."

Yuuto then folded his hands. He was probably thinking about the entire situation.

"Why did you come down here then?" the king asked her.

"Hoping and expecting are two different matters. I have always been looking for Rio Poneglyph."

"I don't understand. What is the Rio Poneglyph?"

"Forget it. It's been 20 years since I started searching for it. Here lies my last hope. Even if I die here, it was inevitable." The woman had sat down looking defeated.

"All I wanted to know was history. My dream... hat too many enemies." She started crying.

I had gotten up and grabbed both the king and the woman. This woman had a dream like I did.

"Wait a second, Luffy. She's the enemy." I heard Yuuto cry out.

"I've lost what I wanted in life. Leave me here. Just go!" The woman also cried out.

"Why should I listen to your ranting?"

I was paying her back for saving my life twice. I saw Yuuto about to say something, but I gave him a look.

Yuuto decided not to argue. He motioned that he would help carry the king, while I would still carry the woman.

I let him do so. As we made our way up, I was feeling exhausted.

I let the woman go on the ground nicely. Me, Yuuto, and her shared a look.

She walked away slowly.

"You're welcome to join our crew Miss." I yelled and collapsed on the floor.

I ignored the looks Yuuto and the king gave me. I was so tired. I closed my eyes and began to sleep.

Yuuto POV

I can't believe he said that. I was about to beat him up, but he fell asleep.

Robin gave a confused look. I gave her a fierce look as to tell her that no way she was joining our crew.

I don't care if she helped us the entire time. She has obviously betrayed people before. I won't let the crew fall to that. It was only a matter of time before she would do the same thing to us.

This crew was built on trust. Trust in Luffy and in each other.

She could very easily break that trust.

Robin walked away to an alleyway. Before she entered the alley, she stopped.

"Good-bye. Tell your captain I reject his offer. It was nice seeing you again Fox-kun. You win this time."

I didn't say anything and let her go. I sighed. At least, she respected that. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

I went against captain's orders in refusing her join us, and she did help us in the end.

The rain began to fall interrupting my thoughts.

The king said that he could walk. I let go of him and I put Luffy in a piggyback position. I had to meet up with my crew. We walked along for five minutes, not saying a word to each other.

We had an awkward conversation yesterday.

"Oh!" I heard Sanji's voice.

"There they are!" Chopper exclaimed.

"Will you stop pulling me?" That sounded like Usopp.

I looked and saw Zoro dragging Usopp. He was fully bandaged.

King Cobra asked, "Who are you?" to my crew.

"That's my crew." I answered.

Sanji pointed and asked, "Who are you mister?"

"Papa. Everyone?" That was Vivi.

Sanji immediately bowed down and apologized for pointing.

I laughed at him. Suckup.

We all sat down. I motioned for Vivi to go. "Vivi. You guys need to go and explain to the citizens. We're pirates. We won't do well with politics."

The crew agreed and soon we all ran out of adrenaline. One by one, we all went to sleep.

Before I went to sleep, I wondered how the World Government was going to cover this up.

AN:

I decided to delete what I wrote how they helped stop the bomb. I wasn't satisfied with the way I wrote it

The only key difference is that Usopp has grappling hooks, so Vivi, Nami, Chopper, and Usopp all make it to the top. Sanji and Zoro joined along the way. Mr. 7 and Miss Father's Day quickly lost. They do find the bomb earlier because of grappling hooks. However, Pell still "sacrificed" himself.

Key differences now according to the battle order I wrote

[1] Usopp has Kabuto now but not physically strong to use it consistently. In the manga, the Kabuto also has dials. He also has a more versatile arsenal. He is also physically stronger than before. In the manga, at that time, he could only carry 5 kg, now he can carry 8 kg!

Chopper, on the other hand, just started training. His changes will be seen more in the next arc.

According to my time frame, he joined the crew 7 days ago. He's not going to improve as much as the others who had been training for an extra 2 weeks.

[2] Sanji is physically stronger than he was in the manga. He didn't have broken ribs this time.

[3] Nami's climatact is more serious now. It's not the perfect climatact yet because that needs dials. Nami is also physically stronger because she helps Luffy train for observation Haki.

[4] Zoro possibly unlocked armament Haki or cut metal. This does not mean he can use it consistently.

[5] Luffy's just physically stronger and faster.

Please leave a review about something you liked or disliked. Just as a reminder, if you do leave a story idea, that does not necessarily mean that it will happen. I may or may not use it. I just use your ideas to connect some parts of my plot.