AN: Nakamura Jirokichi is the actual name of Nezumi Kozô, the Japanese Robin Hood.

Please enjoy everyone ^_^

We do not own One Piece - That is property of Eiichiro Oda

Chapter 21: Shuzo's Bad Day

Andrea sighed as she lounged on the deck of the Inaieu grimly. Normally, she loved any excuse to get out on the open seas with her ship and crew, as it had been a gift presented to her not only by her crew but by her sensei as well, who had presented the ship's wood: Kurokaya, normally an admiral's privilege. However her musing was interrupted as she noticed Kalifa nudge her. "Ma'am, we're almost at our destination."

"Is everyone ready or are Kaku and Lucci still cleaning the ship's decks?" the vice admiral asked dryly.

"One of the admiral's messenger birds jettisoned its cargo," the blonde secretary sighed as she pushed up her glasses. "Disregarding the fact that the ship still looks pristine and that the rain would wash it off, they found it absolutely unacceptable."

"It is a beautiful ship," Andrea admitted as she ran her hands along the wood. "Still surprised that you lot hid the fact this was being constructed after the cruise ship makes me embarrassed that I didn't pay more attention." Leaning on the chair a bit further back, she got a good look at the vessel. "Such a beautiful wood and so rare too. It truly is a privilege to even ride on this ship yet alone to actually have it be mine…"

"Normally an admiral's privilege for certain," the secretary confirmed. "Remember how annoyed Miyako was? You can guess what her next birthday present was."

"I don't know who was more pleased at such a magnificent ship, myself or Bonney. I'm still in disbelief that my sensei allowed this."

"Damn it, Kalifa. You knew I was going to tell her!" a certain pinkette groaned as she stormed onto the deck, her captain's coat swishing with the motion. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"All the paperwork is caught up and Lucci won't stop cleaning the ship," the blonde muttered with vague annoyance. "And my familiar is locked in its cage since they are paranoid of my poor bird causing a mess. At least Hattori is also locked up or it would be unfair."

The two marines exchanged an amused glance before Bonney spoke up. "So any specific orders from senpai yet or are we just following her lead?"

"We're heading to G-5, but she mentioned that she planned to rendezvous with Vice Admiral Momonga." Andrea shuddered. "I am so not looking forward to that particular part of navigation."

"Any reason why?" Bonney asked curiously as she noticed her superior officer sigh.

"Momonga-san is transporting a captured pirate giant… through the Ill-Temper Sea," she admitted, causing gasps and dropped jaws around her.

Bonney hung her head. "That explains why Theresa is so wound up – if she doesn't predict the weather right, we're done for."

"I have faith in her abilities. She makes my navigating pale in comparison." But then again, she's a compass maker to boot. Not like sensei or her family, but more than just 'good'.

"Well, she is Sengoku-sama's granddaughter. But she said we should stick to what the Timeless does like glue. Given that Shiroyoru-taishô is a Rank XII navigator, that doesn't surprise me," Bonney admitted. "What that admiral does with a Pose Compass is unreal."

"Ill-Temper Sea ahead," Commander Keimô Theresa called from her perch behind them. "I suggest everyone putting on rain cloaks and have something ready to get rid of giant hail."

-A bit later-

Ship ahoy!

"Raise the signal," Theodora ordered. It's time if some of the things I've been looking for are as bad as they sound.

Aye-aye! Raising signal No. 488 (Meeting/Rendezvous), the answer came in promptly. Whenever you wish, Admiral. Soon, they had synchronized course and speed, and the small group was now accompanied by a destroyer-class Man-of-War (Inaieu) and the admiral's frigate.

Down on the raft that held Panz Fry, Momonga snorted to suppress a smile. Always so correct, but then again, legal loopholes are what protect the Navy. "Admiral," he greeted as the two flag officers came over on a longboat.

"Mo-yan," Theo answered with a grin. "Seems like you scored big time, hm?"

"I told you not to call me that."

"Prefer flying squirrel?"

"On the other hand, let's leave it at that." He chuckled, finishing the joke. "How are you, old friend?"

"Polite or for real?"

"Since when do I care about platitudes?"

"Right. Stressed out of my mind. Oh, I think you have never been formally introduced…" Waving her head at Andrea, she continued, "Andrea-kun, may I introduce Vice Admiral Momonga, commander of G-1 and STOC unit 03-02, and one of my very best friends. Mo-yan, meet my personal doormat and student, Vice Admiral Gol D. Andrea."

"Sensei, he doesn't have to know that," the grumbling younger vice admiral responded as she nodded politely at Momonga. "Nice to actually meet you."

"Oh, I knew already, Andrea-san. People on the black list of Theo-hime are well known to me." The Mohawk wearer smiled before turning serious. "I take it you wish to talk to the prisoner?"

"First one thing. Whose idea was it to put a 'criminal' bag over his head? That's against protocol – he's not going to his execution after all," the admiral commented.

"Not my idea. The World Government cargo captain he tried to raid insisted, and I have a family to think of," he answered sourly. "And you know what my crew is like."

"Why you do not change them is beyond me. – Andrea-kun."

Without asking, Andrea acted on the unspoken order, taking the bag from the giant's head with the help of a Kamisori. "Damn, I really am a doormat at times," she murmured softly under her breath.

"You marines are strange," Panz Fry commented. "Oh, little missy, thank you for taking that off."

"No problem," Andrea shrugged as she glanced at her superior and her senior.

"Contrary to what some pirates like to believe, the Navy has its standards. And I am their enforcer." Theo turned to her old friend. "So, what exactly happened? I know you have little trouble even taking on military-trained giants like Lacroix, but still. What did our double-extra-large size Nakamura Jirokichi do this time?"

Andrea glanced with worry as well although she knew better than to voice it out loud. "It actually is an interesting story," the older vice admiral said as he looked at the giant. "And at least it was not a selfish crime. But still in a way, a crime. He attacked a cargo ship of the World Government and tried to steal all the food they had on board. When I refused to get out of his way, he tried to crush me with his ladle, so I took him down with two cuts."

"Was it a license freighter or an agency ship?"

"Licensed, why?"

"Because I am investigating a few things, but continue please."

Nodding curtly, Momonga turned to the giant. "I have never seen or heard of a pirate who so brazenly boarded a World-Government-owned cargo ship before. Why did you do that?"

"I just wanted to take back what you took from them–"

Haki, angry and cold silenced the giant. "Do not mistake the Navy for the World Government," Theo hissed suddenly. "Or have you ever seen a Navy crew plunder with impunity?"

"The punishment for plundering – which is a form of theft absolue – is death by hanging," Andy added seriously. "Offenders don't even get a firing squad or the right to commit suicide since they betrayed the peoples' trust."

Catching his breath and trying to fight off the shudders, Panz nodded numbly. "Still. Since you Marines killed Whitebeard and Marco retreated to their core territory to rebuilt the crew strength, the New World is in chaos."

"Edward Newgate committed suicide," Andrea corrected. "The biggest, bloodiest he could manage."

The giant was visibly shocked. "What? You say he picked a fight and provoked an all-out battle with Navy HQ just for his own death?"

"And secure a new age. But what was so peculiarly offensive about that cargo ship? And how is it connected to Whitebeard's death?" Theo asked, reeling in her Sovereign's Haki.

"The island where the Government ship was moored was no exception. It was once an outpost for the Whitebeard Pirates. The people didn't have that much in the first place – and then… these government dogs stole all of their food," he spat bitterly. "And for what? To provide for the nightly feasts of the World Nobles! I am a cook! I have to feed the starving!"

"WHAT?!" was the collective outraged cry of the officers around the giant, both on the raft and on the ships, much to Panz' surprise.

"I thought you Marines and the World Nobles…"

"Don't finish that sentence," both Theo and Momonga warned. "We're Dai Senmeibukai."

Oh. Military nobility? Panz Fry knew enough about the Dai Senmei to know that they disliked even being mentioned in the same sentence as the Tenryûbito, since they were as different as day and night – the Dai Senmei actually worked for their status – and so he shut up. "Sorry."

Momonga sighed and crossed his arms again. "So, you boarded that ship to steal their food back? You are aware that the chaos comes from pirates fighting over Whitebeard's old outposts. Whitebeard chose to die without making sure there wouldn't be trouble afterwards, so don't shift the blame. Opportunists will use every hole in a system to get their way."

"And in the end, we are still too different. We will never be the same," Panz lamented.

"That's right." Momonga wanted to turn away to shove the Seigi into the giant's face, but since Theo didn't, he didn't.

"You could have gone about this differently," the admiral commented coolly. "But that is an Elbaf giant for you – jump in before you look. Lacroix or Bastille would never have gone that way." She turned to Andy. "That story fits with our investigation of these criminal license holders plundering islands in the name of the World Government, doesn't it."

"I believe so, sensei. The reports make sense now despite how garbled they appeared at the time they were sent to us."

"It is like pulling weeds. Put an end to one of these assholes, and another ten show up," the admiral complained. "And the worst is, they're not really organized. They are just a bunch of opportunists all doing the same stupid crime." Suddenly, she floated in front of the giant's face, using her devil fruit in a manner similar to Borsalino by clinging to the latent heat in the air. "But that does not excuse that you doom soldiers on the front to starve by stealing their hard-rationed and paid supplies. Navy bases are usually core to an island's economy if there is one, or even the entire island itself, but some things have still to be shipped. I get why you raid other pirates and even these goons who issued your bounty, but I draw the line at starving the soldiers I am responsible for."

Panz, being both warrior and cook, had enough honor and decency to look ashamed. "I didn't think."

"I noticed," Shiroyoru muttered as she let herself sink back to the raft. "We talk later, I might need some information."

"Why?"

"I might be able to cut you a deal."

Insecure, the giant cook looked from one flag officer to another, and then noticed the bottle in the younger woman's hands. "Lily?! What are you doing here?"

"She was panicking upon being caught but we could not let her be unrestrained either," Andrea explained as she motioned to the bottle. "Safety precautions we assure you." She then motioned towards the admiral. "I would not deviate from an order from sensei after all or harm someone unnecessarily."

"Daddy, trust Shiroyoru-sa, she isn't lying!" the shrunk-down giantess called.

"What did they do to you?"

"Seastone glass bottle and a Seastone ring around my neck to seal my Mini Mini no Mi powers – I can't change my size – but otherwise I'm fine. They caught me when I tried to plunder the admiral's kitchen, tried being the imperative word," she sheepishly admitted as Andy put the bottle down before him. "Figures my gluttony would one day get me caught."

"Lily…" Shaking his head, Panz Fry sighed. "Alright admiral. I will talk to you later."

"Thank you. – Mo-yan. I think you know what you have to warn the others of."

"That other investigation. Right." Turning away from their prisoner, he went to address his crew. "Listen up. Someone is raiding pirates these days. Since we have pirates with us, we are a possible target, so stay alert and for once, shoot first and ask questions later!"

"Yes sir!"

"There. Anything else?"

In answer, Theo held out a half-bottle of ice wine. "I know you usually don't drink on the job, but…"

Momonga simply held out an ochoko. "With this mess, I think we all agree we need one right now."

-Flashback-

"It went well?" Sakazuki asked over the Den Den Mushi as he looked over the papers that his wife asked him to glance over.

"As well as could be expected but it seems there is more to be unearthed," she sighed as she rubbed her forehead, wondering if her disgruntled look was showing on the snail but she pushed that thought out of her mind as she thought on the situation. "Wish I sipped a bit more of that wine before thinking on this again, Sakazuki-kun. It is most frustrating but I know what is expected of me. If sensei decides I am able to do something like this, it saves her from it."

"Hence you investigating the paper trail," he sighed as he rustled through more of the papers he had been asked to look through. "There have been a few sightings of activity besides that giant after all. But it isn't necessarily pirate either."

Andrea frowned for a moment before sighing. "Still unfriendly isn't it?" The pause and lack of immediate response made her worry.

The magma logia scowled as he put down a couple of files with the seal of the General Inspector's Department. "Worse. It's corruption apparently. These came straight from Flynn-sama. She said 'Read, enjoy and despair'. As if the world wasn't bleak enough."

"Sakazuki-kun, Flynn is a pessimist, a Kumori doctor and the most paranoid marine in HQ. It can't be that bad…" Blinking, she wondered, "Can it?" She paused before groaning. "Of course it would be that bad… So, what do the files say?"

"What do you know about the specific crimes in that area?"

Andrea did not know how to respond other than groaning, causing her forehead to collide with the desk the Den Den Mushi was resting on. "I'm going to need more alcohol for this, aren't I?"

"We're both STOC, so what's the correct thing to drink?" he gave back tiredly before making some tea. "Black or green?"

"Let me check what's on stock," she replied as she dug around the pantry, causing the magma logia to chuckle on hearing the shelves on the cabin being rifled through. "Looks like green here, love. What about you?"

"I got black dragon well tea." Setting it to steep, he sat back down. "Reports of corrupt government officials and license holders of the government who plunder islands once under Whitebeard's protection. The trouble is, they're too many, and the World Nobles pay too well. Bloody bastards."

At him mentioning the world nobility, Andrea simply groaned. This isn't our day.

-Present time-

The moment the bottle and the ochoko cups were gone, the quiet was broken by a pair of shell torpedoes, one striking the ship behind the raft, and the other hitting Momonga's personal battleship in the stern, high above the rudder. "What the…!" Another two, and this time, they hit the giant pirate himself. Reaching for his Baby Den Den Mushi, Momonga got to his feet. "Damage report!" he barked.

"Minor damage to superstructure, sir. No casualties," his own captain answered.

"Vice Admiral, torpedo hit in the right-hand aft section! It broke the hull and we're taking on water!" the engineer of the fourth ship answered.

"Where the hell is the enemy?" Andy wondered.

"Submarine," Theo answered grimly before taking charge. "This is Shiroyoru. Move everyone to the higher decks, I make sure you will not take any more water."

"Aye-aye!" A pause, and then, the engineer called again. "Lower decks cleared, Admiral."

"Alright." Gathering some of her element in a sphere, she threw it at the water line of the ship behind the giant, freezing the water around and in the ship. "Chill Out, Disk Freeze!" Then, she lifted her arm again, using the Green Den Den Mushi to call her own ship. "This is Shiroyoru. Take down the pennon and my flag."

"Got it, boss," the captain of the Timeless, Kahuna Cairn replied before hanging up.

"Why the flag?" Momonga wondered.

Theodora turned away to face their still submerged enemy. "If they think they can just challenge an admiral and two STOCs like that, they've got another thing coming, or what do you think?"

"Let me get Lily," Andrea said as she went towards the bottle that contained the shrunken giantess. "After all, sensei, if they are provoking us, no point to hold back is there?"

Momonga reached for his sword. "Let's see who these mysterious pirate raiders are."

"Mo-yan, you're left-handed, so stop the antics of handling that wrong way," Theo joked.

"If it warrants it, I will, Theo-hime." Just then, a submarine surfaced. "Well, seems like the party got started."

"That's going to hurt," Andy remarked, unholstering her staff. "Let them come."