A Fruitless Start

by Apprendice of Life

Luffy start his jorney on the East Blue but a twist of fate makes so he can't eat a devil fruit. How this change shapes the world? Join him on a new journey. 1st story.

8. Chapter 8

A Fruitless Start

One Piece belongs to Oda.

Chapter 8- The War on the East.

…..

Luffy is having fun on the Conomi Island so far, besides the 'hero treatment' that forced him to avoid most of it. Nojiko was kind enough to let him stay on her couch and since Nami is also living there, she had no escape from training. To be fair, she is the one doing most of the chase now, trying to get him while dodging his water balloons.

When Nami leaves to see other people or do business with the locals, Luffy stays to help Nojiko with the tangerines and any other job she may have, mostly because if he goes to a village or town he will be mobbed again and the blue headed had no problem on him using some of the jobs to help train his body either by doing it faster or carrying a lot of weight at once.

"Luffy, when we are going to leave?" Asked Zoro, he just showed up that morning and hasn't left yet, laying on the ground he looks like he is about to doze off.

"If you are bored, you could help with some of the work." Commented Nojiko, tending to the grove.

"Luffy may consider that training," he said referring to the fact that his captain had to carry a lot of boxes "but they are all too light, even if he says that is training it's not about muscles."

The girl raises an eyebrow "It's not?"

"I'm not training my strength." He carefully put the boxes on a cart, soon he will end up pulling it close to the town where Nojiko employees will sell them. "It's about balance. I'm getting used to carrying lots of weight around."

"Why?" Asked Nojiko.

"So I can throw cannonballs like my gramps."

"Don't ask." Zoro interrupted her before she did. "His grandfather is a monster that all pirates fear, if he said that this will help getting as strong as that guy then let him."

"As he used to say 'you can't start at cannonballs, first you start with small weights and you work your way there' or something like it." Luffy explains, Nojiko just tilts her head and comments.

"There is logic there…..I suppose." Zoro then asks his own question.

"Don't you have other people to move this much stuff?"

"I could have them here like I did on the first day." Nojiko paused and smiled while looking at Luffy "What do you think, Luffy? Should we have a repeat of day one?"

Luffy still remembers how they started asking questions and didn't stop until the day was over….eight hours later. "No, thank you." He can do most of the work, for the housing and because Nojiko is nice, just not with those 'Hero Worshipers' around. "Zoro, we will leave in two or three days. Nami said she was working on getting some stuff to help us."

And that was all Luffy needed to know. If Nami had stuff to do then she had stuff to do.

Finishing loading the last box on the cart and arranging them in a good position, Luffy gets ready to take it closer to Cocoyashi. Zoro gets up, ready to follow. Nojiko already has a meeting point to leave her tangerines with trusting people and to go to local stores.

"Let's get moving then." Nojiko started moving on the front, a bag on her back "I have groceries to buy and my clients will want their deliveries." She starts walking knowing that Luffy, at least, was going behind and Zoro decides to just go with them.

"Zoro, why aren't you training?" If Luffy remembers right, Zoro still can't use Haki on his swords. "You don't need to stay if you are bored."

"He probably hit a wall." Said Nojiko.

"I hate to admit but you are half right." Zoro confirmed, Luffy was feeling a certain confusion.

"What does that mean? You can break walls." Both of the others take a look at Luffy as he was generally not good at understanding metaphors.

"It means he doesn't know what to do at that point, he is not seeing a solution." Tried to explain Nojiko. "Ever had something that you couldn't do, no matter how much you wanted or tried?" Luffy nods, remembering his own days trying to get his Haki to work. "That is Zoro's current problem."

"But it makes no sense, I told him what to do and so did Ana." Part of Luffy felt sad remembering the old woman but he would respect her, that has been her most sincere wish. "Besides I can do it and Zoro is strong, he should be doing it easily."

"While I appreciate the vote of confidence," Zoro began saying, "it's more a mental problem than a physical one." Luffy found that strange.

"So you are an idiot?" Zoro didn't hesitate to hit him for that.

"YOU ARE THE IDIOT!" Zoro really looked like he didn't like being called an idiot, Luffy will remember that. "It's less a matter of wisdom and more of a 'state of mind'" he made it sound like a quote or something. "I just need to figure out the best way to do it, I think…."

"Maybe the problem is the swords." Suggested Nojiko.

"Nah, Haki doesn't care about what you use it on" tried to explain Luffy. "Haki can be used on anything, the more you know how to use it, the stronger you can make anything be". He raised his fist, "Using it in your body is easier than using in a weapon. And even then it's exhausting." Luffy goes back to just pulling the cart while Nojiko places a hand on her chin before asking.

"But if the weapon is better doesn't it help?" Both guys look at her confused. "I mean, the goal is to make a weapon stronger right?" After they nod at her question she continues "Then, by that logic, the better the weapon, the less energy you have to use right?"

After that the boys stop for a bit. Luffy couldn't help but think that made sense and even Zoro didn't argue the logic, if the human body is also a weapon, the stronger you are the easier it is to use Haki. "You are saying that Zoro can't use Haki on his swords cause they are too weak and he has to compensate more?" But Ana said that the weapon made no difference...could she be wrong?

"Would it hurt to get other swords and try it?" The guys look at each other.

"You are the swordsman, what do you think?" Luffy was curious, because it also could mean he needs a better staff. Where would he get one?

"Don't know, but it doesn't hurt to check." Zoro looked pensive. "I could try and focus more on just my Wado, it's my best sword by far." He affirmed with a hand on his white katana. "But I'm and always will be a Santoryu user. I created this style to help me become the strongest swordsman, I will need two other blades up to par with my Wado."

"Are they hard to find?" Luffy knew the white katana was an heirloom from Zoro's precious friend, but the others were just a pair he brought from a store. "We could look on the town if there is a good sword for you."

Zoro just shook his head "I took a look the other day, there weren't any stores selling weapons. This is a resort island now, only weapons we can find are with traveling merchants or with the police force."

"Or a marine patrol," comments Nojiko "after Arlong there is always one patrol passing around once by week at the very least." Luffy thinks the government is just trying to save face after the fishman problem was dealt with but that was not his problem anyway.

They walked for a bit, Cocoyashi is not far from Nojiko's home and the delivery would be done properly with extra time. After that, Luffy may spar with Zoro for a bit, Haki grows with fights and maybe by fighting him, the swordsman will be able to use the power properly.

The entrance of the town is already visible, it had no gate or a marker saying it was a town but the buildings, all of them new, made within less than a year, were the only indicators of the end of the farmland and beginning of the tourist trap. Luffy still would prefer a good mountain or forest anyday. Or the sea, definitively the sea. Even though he hadn't started his pirate journey he knows for sure that is the life for him, he loves the sea, the waves and the adventure.

Zoro and Nojiko kept talking in the background while they walked, Luffy completely lost in his own thoughts. When they approached Cocoyashi, Menma was there, running in their direction "BOSS, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" He reached them and stopped a bit to catch his breath, all the while the others were waiting for him to say what was bothering. "We need you back on the ship."

"Why? What's wrong?" Maybe there was a fight or someone was sick. He needs to remember to get a proper doctor still. A doctor and a musician are too important on a ship.

"Pirates!" When neither Luffy or Zoro showed any reaction Menma elaborated. "Krieg's pirates." That got a reaction.

…..

Nami is following Genzo to one of the warehouses of the town…..she still feels strange by the fact that her village now has warehouses and even needed some. Besides spending time with her sister, talking to her mother and dodging Luffy(or trying to kill him) she has been talking with Genzo and some natives of her home on what they can do to help their endeavours.

For starters, the island is now part of the company. All businesses on Conomi are and will always belong to the Straw Hat Company until revision of the contract. Since Luffy saved the place and all inhabitants respect him, there were no problems as far as she knows(the fact that Luffy owns the island may attract more tourists is also a nice bonus).

"Are you sure that a guy owning the whole island is not going to bring any troubles?" Nami really didn't want her home to get in a bad situation, not after Arlong.

"Nami, there are kingdoms and other big places that could provoke the government more than us, besides, soon we will have enough strength to defend ourselves." Genzo was confident in his plan, which calms Nami a bit.

"And what was the plan again?" On the other hand, he has not explained to her his ideas properly.

"No rush Nami, you will see the fruits of our labor, an idea that me and the representatives of many small islands were working on for a few months and your company gave us an opportunity to work on it." He turns and looks at her, smiling excitedly. "Just wait, you will like it. I hope." He whispered the final part but she heard it anyway.

They finally reach the place they were going for, a small building with three floors. There were some people, going in and out but they made way for them to enter easily. Inside she could see some people work in desks, others going up on stairs and she wondered what was that building where that many people worked.

Reaching the last floor, there were plenty of people working but they let the two pass without questions until they reached a room full of den den mushis where some people were conversing and Genzo explained, "This is the heart of the new Conomi Islands, all business and all security runs here." he passed by the man who had stopped talking to the snails and looked at him, after they shook hands, the other guy left. "And this den den mushis are connected to all the leaders, mayors and chiefs of many smaller islands."

There were at least twenty of them and Nami has to say, "Fine, I'm impressed. Will you tell me what this is all about now?" she is fine waiting but Genzo must have brought her to this place for a reason. "Are we finally getting the big reveal?"

Nami can't see his face as he looks at the snails "Yes Nami, this is the reveal." he turns around, spreading his arms with a smile on his face. "Welcome to the first grand meeting of all clients for the 'Straw Hat Company'."

"Wait?" Nami has a shocked look on her face, full of doubt. "Clients? We have barely made contact with three other islands besides this one" she counted the snails, many of them had smiles while others looked just bored or uninterested. "That is way more than three."

"OF COURSE IT IS!" Genzo shouted and she jumped a little back "YOU THINK ARLONG WAS THE ONLY PROBLEM OF THE EAST BLUE? YOU THINK THAT THE LACK OF CONTACTS AMONG THE SMALL ISLANDS GIVE CHANCE FOR MORE THAN JUST A SINGLE PIRATE?" He stopped to catch his breath and focused on composing himself for a bit. "The World Government doesn't care about small islands or any place that doesn't pay a 'Royal Tax'. "The sarcasm on his voice was paupable to her and she could feel his anger. "After all that, why do you think there isn't a marine base on this island?"

Nami hasn't asked herself and no one else that question, she thought that it was…"It isn't because of the patrols?"

"We are growing rich now Nami." It was good news but Genzo's sad smile said it was anything but. "We are growing, there are lots of people coming here to see the place where a pirate like Arlong was beaten by the descendent of a legend. Using the money from that we became a place for relaxation and commerce, all that made us relevant. And we also received an ultimatum because of that relevance".

"What kind of ultimatum? And who sent it?"

"A high member of the World Government comes around and says that for now we weren't paying the most important tax, a tribute to the world nobles." he moves to sit on a chair. Nami hadn't even noticed that they were there, five in total, made of simple wood. "Once we are considered big enough we are expected to choose a system, either monarchy or any other we can come up with to choose our leadership, but either way we shall have to pay the tax, a 'heavenly tribute' to the World Government. If we do this, we can have a marine base on the premises if we want, the right of participation on the Levely or Reverie and have our voice heard by another fifty representatives of as many nations, this island would be officially a nation of the World Government."

Hard to believe her small island would be a full nation, but there is something wrong there, "You said it was an ultimatum, so don't beat around the bush and tell me what it is about."

He looks Nami in the eyes and just says " To quote the bastard 'this are the benefits of being part of the World Government, if you chose to not be a member, any possible benefits will be unavailable." Genzo let the sentence to sit for a bit, he knew Nami was smart enough to realize the truth out of it.

"No marines or help, is that what they are saying?" she grew angry at that, especially when Genzo nodded affirmatively. "They don't care about us, do they?"

"If they did, you think Arlong would have been a problem?" the sheriff raised an eyebrow. "To them we are just cash cows or something similar, after what you told me about Tequila Wolf, I had no doubt the threat of no more marines was real."

Nami looked at the snails, seeing no reactions at the mentining of the bridge "You shouldn't be talking about it." she kept looking at him getting read to complain about his comment when she was interrupted.

"GIRL!" Called one of the snails, it had a small black bowler hat on it's eyes, not covering them for Nami could see the hard expression on its face. The caller was angry and continued. "We knew something was wrong for a long time now, too many islands on the sea and too little security, except on that blasted Grand Line." The snail spitted the ground, meaning the caller did the same. "I could care less if you are a criminal or not, what I want is the security of my people, the existence of that bridge just proves we can't trust the government, it's the reason why we all agreed to this meeting."

Another one talked, this one had a banda on his mouth and kept his left eye closed. "Your name is Nami right?" asked in a woman in a gruff voice.

"Yes, it is." She didn't know what Genzo told these people yet, depending on it she may have to run. The only reason she hasn't yet was her trust in her father figure.

"My name is Madine," she introduced herself with the snail lowering its head a bit. "After what happened with Arlong, some of us entered in contact with mister Genzo here." Genzo confirms with a nod and Madine continued. "We were afraid what would happen to us if a pirate like Arlong showed up, but after some time we noticed a pattern and realized we are already in an 'Arlong like' situation."

"The government had done nothing about Krieg for a few years already," bowler hat talked again. "And, when someone pointed out that he only attacked isolated islands or small communities it became clear: Krieg has more than enough power to threaten the great kingdoms, yet there wasn't a single attack."

Nami could believe the government is underhanded and would make deals with pirates and after the bridge, she is sure Krieg has some kind of deal. "And…." The problem is not Krieg alone "what does that mean?"

"Nami," Genzo started. "the marines only have a presence where there is money or something that the government cares about." She knows that and raises an eyebrow which Genzo sees and just sighs at it. "They, I mean, we came up with a plan that will let us go around the government."

"You won't have to change your plans girl." Said the bowler hat again. "Be a pirate or whatever, we don't need to fear what your future actions will do in the future, what we need is to build a power base on the present."

"What my colleague wants to say…." Madine entered in the conversation. "...is that unless the Revolutionaries decide to show up, we, the small communities and individual islands, are going to be open for pirates for years to come." She paused and Nami knew that wasn't the end of it. "We are already vulnerable and it won't take long before another pirate comes and do the same thing as Arlong did in any of our own villages and we may not get as lucky for someone to come and save us."

"We need someone to fight for us." Said a snail with small round glasses. "The marines are more focused on the Grand Line than any other sea, yet, there are pirates like Buggy and Krieg running around freely and their most powerful captain is only in Loguetown instead of patrolling the seas. All this 'Smoker' does is stop the pirates from going to the Grand Line and leaving them for us here." He paused and Nami had the impression that, by the way the snail closed his eyes, he was nursing a headache. "If they have someone capable of escorting Arlong from there already on the East Blue then why in hell's name isn't him helping us?"

"If they don't want to do it, we do it ourselves." Said Genzo with eyes full of determination. "We aren't going to pay for our survival or protection without guarantees, especially if Krieg really does have a deal with them. That is why we need your help, the help of your company or better yet Monkey D. Luffy's help."

Nami had no problems in helping, she wanted to, "And how can we help? We are just starting and even if we count with the people we have on our secret base, we number less than three hundred." She already did the math and in a little more than a year she can get the company big enough that the East Blue will depend on it and use it. But she needs that time, to get people, resources and expand. The addition of the Conomi island helps but not to the point of being able to cover the other twenty islands "If there was a way, I would do it but right now my hands are tied."

"They aren't," said the small glasses. "You have a couple of things we need and we have what you need to become a great company."

"And what is that?" There is only one resource that can accelerate her timetable. If she suggests it they may hate the idea but if they are going to put it on the table themselves….

"The creation of our own 'marines' per say. Our own security force to patrol and protect all the East Blue." Glasses stopped and Genzo finished.

"The marine trains their people to fight, we have numbers but no fighters or trainers," he looks at Nami. "You have both, and we can do this. The members of our alliance are going to offer volunteers to learn to fight and you will lead them. Give them employment and weapons. When you leave they stay and stop any bad pirate from getting too cocky."

"Bad pirate huh?" Nami was worried they may want to use their good will against them. She feels she can't trust the others in this meeting. "I'm a pirate for all the intents and purposes. Are you going to use my creation on me?" she can let them have it if they don't try to turn on her and her friends.

"NO!" Genzo screamed and many of the snails looked full of resolve. "We have another solution for it."

"Once you leave the East Blue." Started the bowler hat. "You may want to come back or even run here if things get really bad on the Grand Line. What I offer, from me AND all the others in this meeting is our loyalty."

Nami almost fell on the ground there "WHAT?"

At her question, and the first time on this whole meeting, the bowler hat smiled. "For protecting us, all our islands will swear their allegiance to Monkey D. Luffy before the government itself. He shall be the king of a kingdom with small lands but many seas."

She wanted to say something but she passed out after that one.

…..

They moved fast to the ship, Nojiko decided to follow them, even with some difficulty to keep up with the other three. Getting to the galleon of the company they moved fast to know the situation.

"Boss," started Shinzo, the captain wearing a jacket similar to Luffy's and even had added a straw hat but the farmers type, lots of the crew were using a straw hat of some kind while others opted to not to. "Some of our boys saw a ship at a distance while exploring the island. A few miles into the sea we managed to find that there were a couple of ships, they just stood there for a few days and yesterday two of ours went to investigate. They saw Krieg's jolly roger on the sails." He makes a grim face before mentioning to two members of the crew. "Tell the boss what you found out."

The two looked young and just a bit older than Luffy himself. "Nojiko," Luffy calls her to attention, "these are Ichibo and Renti, they are really good with swords and spar with Zoro a lot." He pointed to the men stepping forward.

Ichibo had red hair and carried a giant knife like sword on his back, it had bandages that seemed to work like an improvised sheat, the other one, Renti had orange hair with a ponytail tied on top of his head, the sword at his side was weird on her point of view, she had seen some swords on her life and knows how to use one just in case but his had some kind of teeth spread through the blade that she never saw alike. Both were dressed in black shirts with short sleeves and pants.

"Right boss, I will start," said Ichibo with a hard scowl on his face. "Me and pineapple head manage to get mixed with that bunch easily, there were a lot of people on that ship, easily over fifty." Renti interrupted.

"What strawberry is not saying is that the other ship also carried almost the same numbers, maybe more."

"I WAS GETTING THERE YOU BASTARD PINEAPPLE!"

"SCREW YOU STRAWBERRY!" The two of them started to hit each other and it looked like a fight was about to start.

"GUYS!" Screamed Luffy and the two immediately stopped, "Not now, you can have fun later. Now is time for work." Nojiko watched as the two young adults stood ready, listening to Luffy's orders as a soldier would to a general's.

"Right, sorry boss." Ichibo then hit his friend with his elbow.

"Yes, sorry sir." Renti apologized and took the following silence as a sign that he should continue the debriefing. "We managed to mingle for a bit, there were only men on the ships and every single one of them looked ready to fight, they were anxious and acted with a lot of pent up energy."

"After a time we figured it out they planned to either raid the island or one other closer." Without missing a beat the redhead proceeded with the report. "By listening in to conversations we managed to learn that they are waiting for at least another ship, maybe two or more." Everyone knew about the fleet of Don Krieg, if they are waiting for reinforcements, Cocoya- no, all the Conomi islands may be in danger.

"We don't know what their target is, sir". Renti continued from there. "But we know that if they come with even one more ship we will have to contend with over two hundred maybe even three hundred man." He stopped to think for a bit before deciding to offer a suggestion. "Either we call the marines and hope for reinforcements ourselves and we could also gather everyone on this island in a defensive position with as many weapons as we can carry."

At his words, many on the ship started to offer their own thoughts with a huge variety of ideas going around. Some wanted to do exactly what the orange guy suggested and move to secure a safe place, others did disagree with the idea of calling the marines and some, just a few suggested to run.

"THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE HERE! WE CAN'T RUN!" "I DON'T WANT TO BE A SLAVE AGAIN!"

The situation was starting to get bad, this time lots of fights looked to be about to break out and the nerves of the crew were at the limit. Before the first punch could be thrown however ..."EVERYONE! SHUT UP!" Luffy screamed and all got quiet in a minute. It didn't matter if they were man or woman, everyone on the ship stopped talking and looked at the straw hat man. "Zoro." Luffy called.

"Yes captain?" Zoro had a smile on his face and something on his eyes Nojiko was certain it was bloodlust.

"We are attacking those ships." Nojiko felt like a bad person, looking at the faces of everyone else having their jaws hit the floor and the panic that was starting to set in on their faces and finding it funny.

"But boss…." The captain of the vessel started to protest. "They have an army, we are not ready for this-"

"Then when you will be?" Asked Luffy. "You are not slaves anymore, I will not force you all to fight, if you don't want to, then don't." Luffy looked around to all the members of his crew. Some had their heads low but Luffy had no anger or contempt on his eyes. "I will fight, because I want to, nothing more or less than that. They can be Krieg's pirates or whatever, I don't care and I won't let them attack this island because my friend cares about this island."

Nojiko was stunned and she was not the only one, beside Zoro, everyone else was as well. His reason is simple and almost she can't comprehend, almost. She gets his attitude, he cares for her sister then he will help her, Nami did the same once, trying to buy the village even at the cost of looking like a coward that didn't care for her mother to the people she was trying to save.

In this situation Nojiko felt she only had one choice. "If you give me a sword or a gun I can also help out." She won't hesitate to defend her home herself.

Seeing her determination the captain turns to his comrades "Well, you all heard the boss. Whoever doesn't want to fight, go to the village and warn the authorities, those staying, get you weapons. No one is going to blame you for leaving." Not a single member of the crew left the ship. "Great." Said a smiling Luffy. "Now we just need to go there and punch them." All roared in approval and got ready on their positions to move the galleon.

…..

Zoro was itching for a fight, the last time he faced Krieg's pirates it was on the bridge among the guards of the place, they are stronger than the common pirate and the idea of facing over two hundred in a close space of a ship makes his blood pump and at the possibilities of the fights that are coming.

Approaching with a galleon is possible, especially if the enemy isn't expecting it or is anchored and in this case it's both, so Shinzo just said to trust on their skills and they will be on the fight without troubles. From what he could understand, there are plenty of nuances on fighting on the sea, depending on the vessels of both sides of the conflict lots of strategies could be employed.

In this case size is a valid document, the basic plan is simple, go around and hammer the galleon against one of the smaller ships, knocking out of the fight while the other is boarded. The problems are the enemy cannons and the fact that they may be able to react depending on their scouts.

"GUYS, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" Shouted Yuve from the crow nest. With her vision she was the best to take the position and her eyes were amazing to pick details from a decent distance. The tall black haired woman jumped and used ropes to descend from her post. "BOSS! CAPTAIN! THEY ARE FOLLOWING OUR SHIP!"

The other moved fast to approach the woman and Shinzo asked "You sure Yuve?"

She nods, "Absolutely, the moment we left, they started moving and haven't left my vision all that time. It has been half an hour since we left port and the ocean is huge, they shouldn't be behind us."

"They are after us if they want the ship back," whispered Shinzo and everyone looked at each other. Truly their ship was once Krieg's.

"That changes nothing." Said Zoro, he noticed the mood of the crew and acted before someone said something stupid. "That just means they are after us and not the island, we still have to fight. Or are you all willing to let Krieg's pirates get away from doing more harm?"

This fired up the crew, as Zoro guessed it would do. These people may be fearful of fighting because of their past but their jailors are not the mens on those ships, they may be weaker or stronger and the only way of knowing is fighting them.

"TURN AROUND!" Shinzo commanded, the plan had changed. "IF THEY WANT THE SHIP BACK WE DON'T NEED TO FEAR CANNONS! GET READY TO FIGHT! WE WILL BOARD THEM!"

Zoro liked the sound of that, no cannons meant a fair fight. Luffy says his pirate friend(Shanks or something) once told him of a man capable of cutting cannon balls on the air, Zoro don't know if that is true but he was going to try that one day….right after he gets the Haki thing that he knows for a fact that works.

It takes time to turn a ship around and the enemy hadn't stopped their advance, they had to know that they realized their intentions and now there can only be a fight if no side was going to retreat. He started to draw his swords but stopped and looked at the wado, remembering his talk with Nojiko previously. Maybe if he focused on a single weapon he would have an easier time, however Luffy trained with only one weapon everyday and no progress as far as he could see.

Shrugging his shoulders he drew all three blades, he created Santoryu and he would be damned if he gave up on it just because it is harder to master a new form of attack. It's HIS style and he will grow with it and become the strongest, there is not a single doubt in Zoro's mind.

The ships are starting to get close, it will be a hard fight, outnumbered and surrounded but it will also be a challenge and that is what will help him grow. Since the galleon is taller he won't need a rope to jump and once he sees one of the ships is close enough he guns for it, the pirates are surprised from his sudden assault obviously not expecting.

They were armed with pistols, rifles and swords of the cheapest kind. He didn't care, getting in the middle of many of the pirates he starts spinning "TATSUMAKI!" The attack sends many men to deck or the sea, Zoro does a fast count and finds at least ten down on the deck, for he can't count the ones on the water yet. He doesn't care anyway and gets to work.

Since he is the first one of his side on the offensive his opponents hesitate on using their guns, which is fine with him as he starts to decimate the pirates. He uses his blades with all his skill, every swing and attack hits a pirate without fail. He heard someone trying to attack him from the back and turn around fast to get the guy before he was able and he notices some of his crew jumping and attacking as well, they don't seem to be having any trouble with the pirates.

Zoro noticed for a while that the crew was strong, stronger than any pirate he faced in the East Blue and was confident that they could win by themselves but they weren't. They were once the victims and prisoners of Krieg's, even if indirectly and because of that there was a deep fear inside their hearts. Luffy could tell that as well but decided to not pressure them on it, giving them a choice to fight or run. Zoro is happy they chose fighting and now he can compare the might of the inhabitants of the Grand Line against the pirates of the East Blue directly for he knows that both him and Luffy are exceptions to the rule and not the norm of the power level of their sea.

He is satisfied with what he watches, he could see Ichibo swing his giant knife getting three men down before charging another. A little to the side Sherry, the okama, kicks and uses a mace to knock down many adversaries. He can't find Luffy or Shinzo on the mess and deduces they must be on the other ship…..at least Luffy is, that guy can be really impatient when he wants.

Turning back on the pirates Zoro finds a pace he can be comfortable in and gets to work moving fast, left and right always keeping an eye to the sides trusting his friends to watch his back. Soon some pirates started to panic and shoot their guns at the straw hats. They hit their own allies more often than not as Zoro and many on his side dodge easily, used to the speed of warriors faster than the bullets of the weapons being used.

But there is always the risk of someone being hit so Zoro decides to stop the danger by charging at the mass of pirates. He cuts as many guns as he can until a giant sword goes in his direction and he ends up dodging on reflex.

The swordsman is a giant of a man with purple hair and a captain coat, he has a hard voice as he starts to talk. "Three swords with a green haramaki….you must be the pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro."

Pirate hunter, a title given to him, if Yosaku was right, for being the best bounty hunter on the East Blue. "You know my name" he answers crossing his swords in front of his face "but I don't know yours."

"The name is Calit, one of the commanders of the fleet of the mighty Don Krieg." He raised his sword, a double edge blade of huge size, Zoro is sure that the blade is about the same size as Ichibo's but to the giant of a man it seemed a normal blade. "It shouldn't be a surprise that you took our galleon. By your reputation, it was a matter of time before you challenged us." He points his blade at the Santoryu user. "But, even if you have allies, you are a fool. Joining a company didn't make you strong and challenging Don Krieg will be your last mistake."

At this point Zoro was starting to lose his patience. "Are we going to fight or what?" Around them, the fighting had diminished but not ended and he wanted to make sure his friends got away from this alive.

Calit looked angry at the green haired man but didn't attack. "Why did you take our galleon?"

Zoro found it weird that this pirate wanted to chat in the middle of a warzone. "We needed a boat and it was on hand." He was ready for any attacks and kept his eyes on his opponent.

The pirate just sighed, "Fine, if you aren't telling me now then you will once you are my prisoner." The man charged with a wild swing, as if the idea of capturing Zoro was thrown out of the window mid charge. He starts to attack and on the second swing Zoro decides to go for a competition of strength blocking the strike with two of his blades.

They clash and Zoro notices his opponent has only size at his side for his sparring partners of the last few months, comparing to them this guy was a joke. He wonders: Is that the difference between the seas? He can't help but think how fun it will be when they finally go to the Grand Line. Zoro is now sure Mihawk can only be there.

Repelling Calit, the pirate is forced back and looks shocked by Zoro's strength.. The shock lasts only a few seconds and Zoro can see the emotions in his opponents eyes, first comes fear and, following that, resolve, the Santoryu user can notices he was resolute and blocks the next strike turning the blade to the side and cutting Calit on the right shoulder following with another cut on the chest.

Stumbling back, the pirate just came back for more. Another block followed by another cut, the process repeats two more times "You are persistent but you can't win." This situation is familiar to him but in reverse, he was once the guy being beaten by someone he missed dearly. "All you have is strength. Your swings are amateurish and your posture is just you being comfortable using that sword." The pirate attacks again, this time with a horizontal slash but Zoro repeats the process, blocks with his two blades and uses the opening for a counter, this time with both of his blades trying to cut his arms just enough for the guy to stop fighting.

It fails and the man starts attacking more madly and with more speed, all Zoro can do is block unless he decides to kill the guy. If this was a fight that the man was putting his all willingly he would, death plays a big part in a warrior's life but there was a problem.

"What are you so afraid of?" Zoro can't help but ask and the man doesn't answer or maybe didn't even hear him and just kept swinging his sword. Zoro stops the blade with his two and tries again. "WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?" He deflects his opponent's attack and hits him with the back of his swords. To the former bounty hunter this wasn't a fight anymore and he was trying to knock the guy out. But the pirate was resilient, maybe it was despair because yes Zoro is seeing his face and there is not an ounce of doubt on his mind now.

This isn't a fight anymore, this is a desperate struggle of a dead man walking and Zoro is not the real reason for that, it has been a while now that he stopped trying to harm the guy further and he must have noticed that because his eyes weren't mad anymore but completely terrified. Zoro just deflected his blows, now the plan was to let him tire himself or something because the Santoryu user heart wasn't in the fight anymore.

"This is sad, you know?" Zoro deflects another swing, always being careful so the guy attacks didn't hit another person on the boat. "I'm barely moving at this point and you are just swinging, your heart is not even on it." Stopping the sword again he looks straight on the guy's eye and asks again. "What are you afraid of?"

The pirate retreats a few steps and is breathing heavily, there was blood all over his body and he looked like he had fought for days, his coat was ruined and his hair was a mess. While gulping some air he answered. "Krieg doesn't like failure." He stopped to breathe a little more, Zoro had no problem letting him, feeling that his opponent wasn't a treat. "If I come back in defeat, I'm going to be punished, lose my command to another guy and lose all the benefits. Once I defeat you there won't be no one else to stop us, I will take the galleon and you and the other prisoners are going to tell Krieg what happened and, more importantly, I won't lose my ship."

Zoro knew that there were a lot of problems with the guy's plan and decided to say some of them. "Even if by some miracle you manage to defeat me there are plenty of other people on our side and many of them are strong. Besides…." Zoro looks around which prompts Calit to look too. What he saw made Zoro smile and the pirate cringe. "...if Krieg is going to punish everyone that fails then he will have to go after a lot of people."

All around the ship, the Krieg's pirates were beaten and bruised, some were visibly dead but they were a minority. The place was full of guys passing out or bleeding on the floor. "HOW? AREN'T YOU ALL A SIMPLE COMPANY OR SOMETHING? HOW CAN YOU BEAT THE STRONGEST OF THE EAST BLUE?" Zoro was mistaken before, now he sees the man going into full panic mode.

"Either way I advise you to surrender, else I won't be able to guarantee you life." It wasn't that Zoro wanted to kill a broken man but he was bleeding a lot and without treatment he will die for real.

"SHUT UP!" The pirate looks around, positioning his blade multiple times while he is surrounded by all sides. The straw hats are not attacking for the moment and neither would they if Zoro told them to not to. The problem is that, for him, there was no point in fighting such an opponent, broken as the man was. There was no conviction, no honor and, for Zoro, no point. "I JUST HAVE TO KILL YOU!" He points his sword to all "ALL OF YOU!"

He launched himself again and Zoro finally lost the last of his patience and after stopping the sword of his enemy he gave a final warning. "If you give up now, I won't harm you anymore. You can be treated and won't have to worry about Krieg either, we can take care of him." He looks the pirate on the eyes. "If you insist on fighting, then, I won't be this nice again."

"YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT KRIEG?" The man pushes harder putting his whole weight on his blade. Zoro didn't even twitch "HE HAS OVER 5000 MAN AND 50 SHIPS! THE STRONGEST ON THE EAST BLUE, DON KRIEG! EVEN IF YOU WIN HERE THERE IS STILL AN ARMY FOR YOU TO DEAL WITH!"

Raising his eyebrow, Zoro asked "And this is why you have no problems dying for him?" Truly this was the wrong opponent for Zoro. Strong of body but zero technique and spirit, he won't figure out Haki from this. "Besides, once we finish here he will have 47 ships and less men won't he?" And even if he did have that many men multiply zero with anything and it's still zero. This guys are light weights for Zoro.

"YOU!" He swings, breaking the hold. Just blocks "KNOW!" Again he swings and again Zoro blocks like nothing. "NOTHING!" Finally Zoro pushes the pirate back and gets ready to finish the fight, positioning his two other swords with his Wado to the side.

"ONI GIRI!" It's over, in the next second. Zoro looks as his opponent falls to the ground. "GET THE MEDICS ON THIS! WE NEED THIS GUYS ALIVE FOR ANSWERS!" Zoro feels a hand on his leg and looks down to the captain of the pirates, holding him in place. "Are you still kicking?" He waits for a bit and the hand lets him go. Zoro checks and the guy is still breathing. "Well, he may know something." He picks the guy up and looks for where the doctors were working on the ship.

Their galleon was at the side covering the other side but Zoro can't hear any fighting noises which could only mean one thing. This was over even if this problem with Krieg wasn't. Soon enough celebratory noises were heard and he recognized the voices, it was the straw hats victory.

…..

Shinzo had fun like he hadn't in a while, fighting at the sea is complicated and hard but it's really fun to hop in another ship and start to swing around the other crew. They shouldn't have been scared of the Krieg's pirates, compared to those on the Grand Line this was child's play.

What impressed him was his boss and his second immediate(right hand man? No, that is Nami...but Nami is a woman so... bah who cares?) jumped at their opponents before it was properly safe and their enemies were still a little distance away. Shinzo remembers screaming to his crew to get the boarding going and, since some were pirates in the past, it wasn't that hard.

When he finally made his way to his boss' side he was stunned, Luffy was like lightning swinging his staff like mad and knocking out people like nobody's business. They tried to stop him with swords, guns and even a small guy throwing knives with good accuracy. And Luffy just didn't care, he blocked, dodged and hit back with little to no troubles at all.

Shinzo ended up just fighting two or three guys in total and they were weak. He was even offended. THAT was the pirate crew that transported him and his own crew to be slaves? Those wimps? He didn't know who he should be mad with for that.

"I didn't even fight." Returning to their galleon he sees the blue headed girl, Nami's sister lamenting that she didn't get a piece of the action. They gave her a gun and a sword and there were two of their best fighters, Yuve and Menma with her just to be safe….no one wanted to tell Nami her sister got hurt. Not that she would with these weaklings and her bodyguards.

Luffy jumped back to the main vessel completely ignoring the ropes. "Did you want to?" Oh good he heard her.

"I mean…." She looks at the ships that are being tied up to the galleon and see the many beated pirates on the decks. "I was ready to help, but I had no idea they were that weak."

Luffy nods as if he understood exactly what she was saying. "To us they are weak. Most of us spar with each other every day or do other stuff to grow stronger….these guys don't."

Okay that was not a good enough explanation, he can tell by Nami's sister's face. "Lady, not all pirates are like us, most pirates don't want to have a single day of hard work." He points to the now prisoners. "Those down there are that kind of pirates. But if you want to make it far on the Grand Line you need to be strong, pirate or not. Most guards of royalty on there can take armies all by themselves, some of the strongest pirates are rulers of their own territories and the marines have numbers with every captain level and up having a devil fruit or just being strong as fuck."

"But then, how are you all so strong?" That is a fair question, Shinzo would gladly explain that.

"Most here are former soldiers or pirates of the Grand Line." Shinzo adjusted his hat a bit, it's really useful when the sun is all up. "We were also defeated, there are plenty of stronger guys all over the seas, and we don't want to lose ever again, so we train. Personally where I was born I didn't have a luxurious life and had to grow stronger for it." Wasn't enough to avoid his defeat and capture but he learned from his defeat. "Those born on that kind of island learn to be strong or die, many pirates coming from islands like that are the most dangerous kind. WE learned early that strength is the way of this world, it may exist in many forms but being weak can be fatal all the same."

Luffy just nods at the explanation, maybe someone else told him something similar in his life but he truly understood all that was said.

"It's that why you train? Why do you insist on Nami's training?" The girl sounded impressed and to be fair the boss is not as dumb as he acts…...on certain stuff.

"Yep." Luffy only nods and smiles a bit, a small smile. "I know how it is to be weak and I tried to fix that. Nami can be strong if she wants but she is happy being just smart and I have no problem with it but, just to make sure she is safe, I try to make her really good at dodging."

"I really am not complaining about your methods now. Nami can suffer a bit if it will help her." The girl only nods accepting that Luffy knows what he is talking about about growing stronger. "So? What now?"

"I have no idea." Luffy says, his smile growing bigger. "We can't keep these guys here, best to call the marines anyway. So we will do that, Shinzo." He looks at the captain of his ship. "Can we take them all to the island to call the marines?"

"Pulling another ship with our galleon is not hard when ours is bigger and some of the crew can use theirs with no problems." They could transport all of them to the Straw Hat Tiger but that would take too long and the ships can travel the short distance with just a small crew. "Anyway, the ones that surrendered are being tied up and the wounded are being transported to their quarters under guard, they try anything and there will be no second chances."

"Right then we call the marines to clean up this mess-"

"Wait a bit Luffy!" Called aloud Zoro, he was approaching with a giant on his shoulder and putting him on the deck of the galleon. "GET A DOCTOR HERE, THIS GUY NEEDS ONE URGENTILY!" Soon a doctor of the enemy ship came to work on his former captain. Got to love the rules of engagement, the medics can't be harmed if it is avoidable and the defeated can treat their comrades if the winner is feeling generous. Krieg is known for not caring about common decency but they were the winners and the few medics they had, just three for their ships, got to work with the help of their own five.

"What's wrong Zoro? Did you fight a strong guy?" Luffy looked curiously at the man Zoro had brought. The guy was big, Shinzo will give him that, but Zoro had not a scratch. "What is the problem?"

"Krieg is!" Short and to the point, Zoro looked pensive for a bit before saying. "The marines had done nothing to Krieg in years and the guy is attacking us. We should go get him ourselves."

"Okay." And as usual Luffy is all for something crazy without a second thought.

"Boss, think for a bit." Shinzo needed to convince Luffy to not go gunning without some plan, they MAY be able to defeat a few hundred men but he was not sure about thousands. "We have no idea where Krieg is or have the numbers to chase him if he runs."

"We could ask them." The blue headed said pointing to the prisoners. Damned it woman, don't give the boss ideas.

"If they talk," he prayed they wouldn't.

"Believe me I can convince them," Zoro said with a smile that had Shinzo shivering, he knew Zoro would break them, one or more and, if Krieg had only one base, the attack would happen. The captain of the galleon pulled out his last resort.

"Who will tell Nami that we are planning war with the biggest fleet of the East Blue?" That took the wind of their sails quickly. The vice president of the company is not a woman that anyone wants mad, after all you don't piss off the person who controls the budget of the company, the payments and supplies.

"Does my sister scare you all that much?" At the question everyone flinched.

"It's not that she is scary by herself." Zoro started. "But when she can control what is brought and what is not, you can suddenly see yourself without your favorite food, then you need money to buy some of it and ask for a loan from her."

Menma at the side got on his knees and started crying, he only wanted some ramen and now he has a debt he can't ever pay. Everyone looks at him for a bit and the girl makes an attempt to ask what happened but Luffy stops her.

"Just accept that your sister has a temper and go with that."

"What are you afraid of?" Asked Zoro. "She doesn't do anything to you, it's the rest of us that have to worry about that witch."

Luffy shrugs. "She has other ways to punish me if I 'miss behave' as she calls it."

With a smile the sister of said witch asked. "Aren't you her boss?"

"Yes, but it wouldn't be fair with my friends if I could screw up and nothing happened." Luffy may not want the company but he cares about those in it. "And her punishments are not that bad."

"He says that because she won't touch his food." Explained Zoro. "Actually, what does she do to you? I swear that you are the one tormenting her for training and that was it."

Everyone looks at him waiting for an answer. "Do you really want to know?" Luffy asked a bit detached. "Because Nami said to not tell anyone and if I tell you I will have to tell her I told you."

"NEVER MIND!" The guys said in a chorus but the sister just keeps smiling and it is obvious she won't let that go.

Following the little debriefing of the situation the galleon made way to the port of the town with two ships full of pirates. members of the crew would have to stay on guard constantly to make sure that no one escaped and made a mess of Cocoyashi either.

Getting to the port, some of the ships there moved to intercept, guards of nobles and bounty hunters who were hired to protect the tourist ships. Took Luffy five minutes to explain the situation and get it all sorted out and someone to call the authorities on the port.

What followed next was a parade, the prisoners that could walk were escorted to warehouses that would serve as prisons with the wounded among them being pushed on carts and other means, all happening before the eyes of all the visitors elevating his boss legend to new highs and giving the company more good press. Many of the company and future prospects in bounty hunters wanting a more stable income offered to guard, something which was necessary considering the island didn't have enough of a police force to watch over 200 pirates and also keep order.

The time to interrogation would have to be cut short, the marines were called almost immediately by a noble and he bragged to Luffy to make sure he was contributing and falling on his good graces. After said noble left the president of the company said to those around him. "I'm starting to really dislike ass kissers like that." Shinzo was glad even if his boss wasn't, they were not ready to fight an army. Not yet at least.

Soon enough they moved to a building, it was just the boss, Zoro, the sister of the witch and Shinzo himself to find Nami and starting to plan the next move they would make.

…..

The sun was setting when they found Nami, Luffy and his friends were taken to the center of the Conomis Island, where all important stuff was done and she was the one escorting them there. Most members of the crew were going to guard the pirates and the few left were going to keep any annoying noble from barging on the meeting, Luffy is tired of dealing with them already. He still needs to deal with the Krieg guy and with the marines already coming all time is precious, if he had a choice Zoro would be getting where the guy is hiding and they would be off.

The problem was Shinzo was still afraid of fighting and he doesn't know if others are like that too. He can deal with that later anyway, Nami said that she had urgent news….the way she is not saying anything while escorting them to the meeting room is making him worried. Every instinct that he had was telling him he wouldn't like what he would hear. Finally they reach a room with a desk and a lot of den den mushis. Nami turns around looking at him.

"Luffy." Started Nami with a huge smile. "These people want to make you a king."

Okay, so far no problem. "Yes Nami, I will be King of the Pirates, if they want to join or something-"

"No," she interrupts him. "They want to make you a king, not necessarily King of the Pirates."

He is not liking this. "But I will be-"

She interrupts again. "Luffy, just listen to their idea for a bit okay?" She looked at him, her smile diminished but it was still there. "It will help our company more than we could in the year we have and by the time we leave everyone will be safe."

She then stopped to give him time to think, whatever happened had to be his decision. He can at least hear them out, if they don't get in the way of his dream. "I still can be King of the Pirates, right?"

"Mister Luffy." Started a gruff voice on one of the snails. "We don't need you to be our king forever but what we need is a kingdom, a government that can last and receive benefits that the World Government has to give or set a dangerous precedent."

Luffy had no idea what he was talking about, he never cared for politics. "Why a king?" That is the important question for him. "Why not go for something else?"

"Kingdoms," Interjects a woman's voice. "receive many benefits. In the present government there are plenty of kings and nobles and because of that there are advantages in that form of government."

"Let me explain to him will you?" Nami said and Luffy would feel better if she did, she knows how he thinks and wouldn't agree with anything if she felt that he had any real issue.

After a few minutes and the orange head explanations, Luffy had the picture. "So: The government is corrupt and we can't do anything about that. Your solution, use their corruption." Luffy nods in understanding, it's really simple when you think about it.

"There are a few more details but you are essentially correct." Said Genzo, sitting in one of the seats of the meeting room along with the rest, there was no point in standing. "Because of how the world works, even your company can be limited, but a kingdom can have it's own standing army 'for defence' they say, like there are no warlords and wannabe conquerors in the world."

Nami decided to say her piece. "Luffy, all we need to do is train enough people to look after themselves and then we go. Sure we will get some benefits of it but it won't mess with our journey. We can get a ship and other stuff-"

"No." Luffy cuts her before that line of thought could keep going. "Same rules as the company, nothing on it will go to our pirate journey and unless someone says they want to go with us to the Grand Line FOR THEM AND NOT FOR ME, we take no one else."

For a while nobody said anything until the bowler hat snail let out a laugh full of happiness. "Yes, this is the king we need: Someone who won't care about our affairs if we don't mess with his." The laugh lasted a few more minutes after that comment until he finally said. "Okay, I agree and give sovereignty to Monkey D. Luffy with all the powers and supports I can give." No one said anything, most stunned that the bowler hat accepted that so quickly. "Long may he reign."

"I haven't said yes yet." Luffy wanted to be king sure but King of the Pirates, not king of whatever they want him to be.

"HA! You all heard the kid. 'I haven't said yes yet'. HA!" The man definitivally sounds like he is having fun. "Kid, tell me something. Do you care for the people you saved?" Luffy nods and the snail must have shown that for the man continued. "I care for my people, we found a small island to escape our dick of a king that liked parties more than he cared for us. I saw many die of sickness or hungry because of that asshole." He stops a bit to breathe the snail staring directly at Luffy. "After we found a home, we builded our community and we lived on ignorance. Then Arlong happened on Conomi Islands and trade with the place changed, we thought nothing of it, people that some of us met and that we traded with even if indirectly were suffering and we didn't know anything."

All was quiet for a while there was some surprise on the speech from many but Luffy knew that something like this moved that man, the way he talked was of someone used to see a problem and go about solving it. Luffy can relate even if most of his solutions involve a lot of punching. "You hate kings then?"

"No. I hate selfish idiots that don't realize that their own wishes can harm others without consideration." The man was smiling. "We know your ambition and we don't care. Whatever happens on the Grand Line is not going to be our problem anyway. You help us to grow strong and in return whenever you feel that you are needing a rest or need a break on your journey our doors will always be open. Afterall….." He made a pause but Luffy felt it was more for drama than anything. "A king will always be the king if the people want him. Even, or better yet, ESPECIALLY when he doesn't want to be the king himself."

"Fabian, are you insane?" Asked Genzo.

"Am I wrong?" The man asked and no one disputed. "Blood may put one in a throne but anyone needs support to keep that throne, one way or another. A company alone is not going to cut it, they are going to use some excuse to weaken it and the only hope we have is using their own rules against them."

"He is right." Said a snail speaking with the voice of a woman introduced to him as Madine. "Even if he is the only king we will ever have, even if we rule in his name while he does nothing, the kingdom itself will be protected by the existence of the actual World Government."

"They can't break their own rules that easily." The now named Fabian continued. "Since much of our kingdom will be split in many islands, attacking one without provocation can give time for the others to react, prepare and even counter. Besides there is an advantage of having so many under a single banner."

"Money, food and many types of resources." Said a snail with glasses. "I didn't introduce myself yet, my name is Boodle and my town was created once my people and I were ruined from pirates. What will the marines do if a pirate shows up there? As far as I know nothing and my friends and I are growing more worried each passing day since we learned of Arlong."

"It's not a perfect solution," said Nami. "But they are willing to stand against the World Government one day if needed, you have to respect that Luffy." She knew what to say to make him really consider all that mess.

He can't argue that. "So... I won't have to stay for long right? Because in a year and a few months we are going to the Grand Line."

"We can do much with that time." Genzo standed and approached Luffy, raising his hand for a shake. "We may be small but we are many so help us stand on our feet and I guarantee that if you need us we will be there."

Luffy stands and thinks for a bit before he comes to a decision-

*BAM!*

A loud explosion is heard across the room and everyone scrambles to the windows. "LOOK! THE PORT!" Shouted Shinzo. All the eyes were there and Luffy didn't like what he saw. More pirates, Krieg's pirates were attacking. One of the ships was shelling the buildings while the other two were moving fast, anyone could see that this was a full raid.

"HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE!" "MORE PIRATES!" "IT'S KRIEG'S FLEET!"

Luffy jumped advancing in the direction of the mess, he could hear Zoro close. "Looks like their reinforcements are here." Next time they caught any pirate Luffy will make a point of interrogating first.

Rushing to the port they see an army of people trying to run away, either to as far as possible or where the fighters would be guarding the prisoners of the previous battle. There were so many trying to escape that no one was being able to get to the battle from outside.

"What do we do?" Zoro asked. If they took too long then the pirates will do even more damage. And who knows how many had already got hurt or died because of the attack….because of him.

He isn't liking this situation at all, the fact that Krieg wanting the galleon back was not the problem….it's what his men were doing that was and that spoke a lot about the man himself. A pirate of the worse kind and not a bit like Shanks or himself when he begins his journey.

Looking at the panic around him, the officers trying to help and the situation getting even worse Luffy goes for the simple solution, "Zoro I'm going ahead, caught up when you can." And he charged but not at the crowd but at a building, and he jumped to a window using it as a step to go to the next one and the next one.

He keeps the rhythm jumping from window to window and wall to wall, constantly going in the direction of the pirates. He had his straw hat on his head and draw his staff from his back to use it to correct himself and to keep going and soon enough he sees fire and the pirates, many with Krieg's jolly roger on their clothes or as tattoos and armed with swords and spears in the majority with few true guns on the mix. Just like he likes.

With a last vault over the running crowd he goes straight to the fight and swings the pole with all his strength and hits one of the men on his face, seeding the pirate to two of his companions, knocking the three out.

Seeing him one of the pirates shouts, "IS THE ARLONG'S BANE! GET HIM!" All the men around him converge to try and take him out but Luffy doesn't care, he just starts attacking going to his opponents before they could get to him holding his weapon on both of his hands he goes to the motions that Shinzo helped him learn but also keeping a punching motion behind them.

Left and right he attacks getting two more before using his right hand alone to hit the other four that tried to surround him. One pirate with a sword tried to cut him but Luffy blocks and hits him back twice, first to take him off balance and second to send him to another behind him.

Even if this time the fight is in a city, where there is definitivally more space than the deck of a boat, the pirate crew was reckless and disorganized. The ones in that area just keep attacking Luffy directly without a plan and the straw hat just beats him back. After defeating the twentieth pirate he sees no more enemies around but still hears the explosions and screams of fighting and violence.

He wanted to help everyone but he needed to focus on the main priority of the attack, the ships and their cannons. Two were already on the port and the third was close shooting from time to time either to confuse the defenders or to impose panic. It didn't matter because the shooting had to stop so he ran to the water.

On the way he bested every pirate he passed by and tried to look for stranglers or those unable to run from the invaders, he saw some two man trying to stop five pirates and he jumped to help hitting one fast from above dropping to the ground and hitting the other four on their legs giving the town defenders a chance to cut the enemies with their swords. "Thank you mister Luffy-"

"NO TIME! HELP ANYONE YOU FIND I WILL DEAL WITH THE SHIPS!" He told them and left to reach the port. Once there he jumped to the closest ship where there were some pirates still on guard, they looked surprised seeing him as they didn't expect anyone to reach their boat so fast or at all which gave Luffy the chance of just beating them fast.

He cleaned up the pirates of the ship as fast as he could using all he learned on how to use his staff and was hitting them with sequences either on their faces or their legs and chests. Parring a blow from a blade he jumps a bit and hits the pirate on the head knocking his face on the ground using his arms strength he lift himself and spins to get another one on the shoulders but soon he overextends himself and was attacked from behind while his right hand had the pole hitting a armed pirate a few paces away from him, he crouched dodging the sword that would cut his head and countered. "RISING HAWK!" That sended his attacker flying and dissuaded many of his enemies who jumped ship either to the town or their allies' vessels to get reinforcements.

Part of him didn't want to use his full power in case there was someone strong leading the attack but he is pressed for time because he still needs to deal with the third ship keeping it's distance and after hitting the last pirate on the head he looks around for cannonballs. He picks one with his left hand and goes to the end of the deck to face the shooting ship.

Pulling his arm back he uses Haki to enhance his arm for the throw to make sure it would cover the distance. When he finally launched the big sphere of metal he missed falling a bit short. Going back he picks five more and moves again to throw them and getting the aiming better this time, he fixes his staff on his back but he is in a rush and ends dropping it.

Forgetting about it for a while and letting it fall to the ground he raises his arm to his new attempt of cannonball throwing. The ship wasn't moving much and the distance was the same, he knows he can hit it with absolute certainty and he will focus on his Haki and a little more on his aim to get his target.

He prepares his right arm and puts his back into it, remembering his gramps telling him about the art of throwing cannonballs. The old man didn't brag much(lie he does but Luffy isn't allowed to say that) and when he told the young man about this attacking method the straw hat loved the idea for it would be easier than loading a cannon.

He started with just one aiming carefully and using the previous throw as reference and this time he hits the enemy ship. Smiling a small smile he gets one in each hand "TAKE THIS!" Launching first with his right and then with his left having both his arms reinforced to guarantee that the attack flew forward and strike his target which both did.

One ball hits the mast with the second getting the ship to the side. Luffy may not know much about ships and how they are built but he knows that the actual damage was not enough and quickly launches the final three hitting the ship in plenty of places but it was still floating and in position to shoot, he needed more cannonballs and when he descended to get some he sees more of Krieg's men invading the boat coming from the other one with hooks and ropes.

"THERE HE IS!" Shouted a pirate, "GET HIM BOYS, THE DON WILL REWARD US WELL!" They charged at him and he got ready to defend himself without his weapon, to some that would be a disadvantage but he is still more used to using his hands alone anyway.

"CATCHING LEAVES!" He advances hitting as many pirates he can reach but they are still pouring in. He kicks another that tries to get him from behind and spins to repel some more he needs to move faster before the other ship recovers and shoots the town even more. Punching another pirate he shouts "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" but his opponents didn't answer him directly and instead focus on trying to kill him.

He is mid dodging a sword and grabbing a spear when he gets a sudden bad feeling on the back of his mind making him look in the direction of the damaged vessel that he was shelling with cannonballs just a few minutes ago.

What he saw made his blood run cold because he saw one of the few laws of piracy ready to be broken right before his eyes, "RUN!" He shouted and jumped out of the ship right before it was blown up to smithereens. He managed to catch himself on the other ship of Krieg having jumped a fair distance but was not thinking of that at the moment.

He attacked the ship that was firing on the town with the goal to force it to investigate their allies and to stop the damages on Cocoyashi all that based on the basic rules of piracy because criminals or not, scum or not, all pirates knew or had a basic understanding of the rules of the pirates: The Pirate Code.

Shanks taught him the Code when he was little, after the bandit incident he spent days just telling Luffy stories and teaching all that a pirate needed to know about other pirates especially the Code. It includes fun stuff like Davy Back Fights and 'how to cheer your crewmates' but there was a lot of serious stuff, some which he doesn't like to think about and others he can agree with and even support the Code on them.

These pirat- no they can't be called pirates for they don't care about the Code and broke its most sacred rule: Never kill a crewmate. You can fight, disagree or even hate each other but while you are under the command of the same captain you are like family. You fight together, live together and die together so attacking a crewmate with the intent of killing is frowned upon with the punishment of exile and if you do kill one there is only one punishment acceptable by any true pirate.

Climbing the ship he reaches the deck and this time no one attacks him, he could see on their faces that they were confused and afraid, these were men who knew the Code and had their comrades killed by their own. Friends and family annihilated without mercy or any real reason by people on your side is a moral killer and for pirates who are rejected and hated for the most part it is the ultimate stopper to any action.

"Anyone else want to fight?" He knew the answer just looking at their eyes and postures, these men are not Krieg's pirates anymore they are just simple men afraid and without no one to turn to.

"Why did they shoot? The Code-" one of them started before another cut him out.

"Even the Don….no he also cares little for the Code most of the time but he never would shoot his own men."

Luffy can see that the people there were confused and afraid but ultimately would do nothing to stop him, "Our captain is also known as 'Foul Play Krieg' he probably also doesn't give a fuck about the Code."

Luffy lets them talk and discuss while gathering some cannonballs and this time he will throw them with all his power to destroy the codebreakers. "Krieg is cruel and never had any solidarity with women or children but even then he is….our leader."

"What makes a person a leader?" Luffy asked the men around him and all turned to look at the man who picked his straw hat from his head and looked at it, "What makes someone a king? Or a pirate?" He looked at all the broken pirates around him and asked louder, "WHAT MAKES A PERSON ANYTHING?"

They just looked at him and said nothing all the while there was a somber silence around the port since most pirates of the advanced force would already be in the town while many guarding the ships had died in the friendly fire and the ship that shoot them was possible recovering from the damage that Luffy had already made on it maybe for a retreat or to advance the attack, either way Luffy won't give the chance. He put his hat on his head and got to work.

"I don't know," finally someone answered "what makes anyone anything?" Asked one pirate and he was not the only waiting for an answer to the question for all the survivors were looking at him all the while he gets cannonballs and prepares to finish his enemies.

There will be no tomorrow for the people on the other ship, Luffy won't allow those who broke the Code to see another day "It's choice," he picks a single cannonball letting go of the others he prepared since he knew that one would be enough now, the rest is close just in case. "The choices that one makes to lead," he gets ready "the choices that others make to follow," he will use his back but not to throw in an arc but directly at his target "one can only be king if others want him there".

And Luffy absolutely believes in the idea that a person is only a leader if someone wants him to be a leader not with fear or with lies but with the confidence of others and himself. If someone says they can do everything alone then they are fools and idiots and when you are working together with others someone needs to take responsibility and the rest needs to choose if they want to give that power to someone it needs to be of their own will.

"If you follow someone that you don't believe in," he looks at them not knowing if they knew about Krieg's deals "what is the difference between you and a slave then?" For him nothing else needed to be said since they chose to follow Krieg they should be aware of his defects and if they didn't that spoke badly to both the men and their captain.

Maybe it was because of fear or ambition but whatever their reasons to follow it won't change the fact that they follow such a man and once Luffy finds the bastard he is going to punch him really hard for his incompetence to instill discipline and teach the Pirate Code to his crew properly. If he dares to say that he doesn't care for the Code then Luffy will make sure that the bastard can't be a pirate for the rest of his life.

But that is for another day, the now is dealing with the final enemy ship and since not a single one of the pirates on this ship want to stop him he has some time before the next bombardment or before they run or attack, either way the raid is almost done and later he will have to make sure his people weren't harm in it.

For that he needs to finish this invasion once and for all, almost all the ships on the port were damaged, even if just a little, in some way but there were two that could run with minimum repair besides the galleon which they hadn't shot, probably to try and take it for Krieg, they was the ship he was in that was not damaged at all and the damaged one soon to be sunk.

The time had come, "This is for the ones you killed and for breaking the Code." He whispered gently, Luffy didn't like to kill and even after Ana's death he sees little value in it but this was an absolute exception for there is no way to predict what they may do and if Krieg allows this makes him even madder.

The Code exists to stop pirates of becoming monsters of the worst kind, sure there are those that pillage, murder and worse but they were not the majority and there were plenty that just wanted to be free or find their own place to live away from the cruelty of the world. Not all wanted to be criminals and many had no other choice, that is one of the reasons that breaking the Code was unforgivable and breaking it by killing comrades was the worst offense. In some crews, Shanks told him, the Code is the only thing keeping many alive and sane.

So Luffy has no choice but to deliver the justice it was due, one that he has no problem delivering, "BEAR THROW!" Using his palm the ball in his hand flew straight above the water, like an arrow ready to pierce the target and it did, all looking at the ship could see the sea through the ship that now sported a huge hole on its side.

The damage was too much and the vessel started to sink, from the distance between the ship and the island the stronger swimmers would be able to reach the port but most would die and those who reach it won't be able to put up a fight.

The pirates around him were also defeated, not of body but of spirit, the breaking of the Code shook the confidence they had on their captain and the rest of their crew. Once the ones in the town were captured then the raid would be officially done. "LUFFY!" He heard Zoro call for him and that brought a smile to his face.

He goes to the deck to have a better view of the port "ZORO! IS ALL OVER?" He asks but there was no need since around Zoro there were several members of the company and other fighters that he couldn't recognize together ready to attack the ship he was in and that could only mean the threats on the town were taken care of.

"YES! WE CATCH MOST OF THE PIRATES!" Zoro looked at the horizon to see the final moments of the town's attacker, "DID YOU DO THAT?"

Luffy says nothing for a bit before looking to the sky, it was already night and he was still angry, "THEY ATTACKED THEIR OWN COMPANIONS!" Speaking about the Code without being a pirate could spell trouble but no one liked the idea of betrayal, "I SHOT THEM DOWN!"

Zoro nods and looks at the warriors beside him, "Send search teams, we want the survivors caught."

There is a reason why Zoro is respected in the company, he is able to keep a cool head under pressure and is the most indicated to give orders when Luffy or Nami weren't around. If the positions of the crew were defined already then Zoro is the real first mate while Nami is the quartermaster and navigator because, and even the woman herself knew, while she has a commanding attitude she was too skittish to lead fights as her options would always be to retreat first. Zoro is more pragmatic in this case.

Besides the Quartermaster has more privileges anyway and she already likes to keep tabs on treasures, splitting profits and being the law in general even outside a ship….He really should tell his comrades their positions before they start their journey.

"Boss you alright?" someone(Flint he recognized) asked him while entering the taken ship. He must have lost himself again in his thoughts.

"These guys surrendered once their former crew broke the Code," they may be guilty of the crimes of the government but not a single crime for a pirate and they would be treated as such "Have them transported to the….prisons with the rest, we will surrender them to the marines. No one is to molest them in any way."

Flint saluted and gave his words to the others, the knowledge he will be a pirate one day is common on their crew so they all knew he was following the Code all the way, any bounty hunter that asked questions would just be told he was being nice to the ones who surrendered, "What we do now?" Zoro and Luffy know he is referring to Krieg.

"We will make sure that the scum of the seas won't pollute it much longer," Krieg is guilty of many crimes of the government and that is already bad when you are a pirate but when you have crewmates that break the Code even pirates go after you. Besides Krieg dealt with slaves, that was enough reason for Luffy to deal with the bastard.

"Then…." Zoro hesitated for a moment. "Are you going to accept being the king of these people?" Suddenly all movement stops as all look at Luffy waiting for him to say something. How did they all hear Zoro's question when he didn't shout?

"Yes," he wanted to be King of the Pirates so being a simple king doesn't seem to be a big deal, especially if it can help him get to Krieg and punch him in the face for all the things he did. "I will be the king for all of those who wanted to follow. And my first act will be to get this coward called Krieg and make sure he regrets even being born."

If Krieg wants to be a great pirate and still harm inocents and bystanders then Luffy has a problem with the man, add slavery and his lack of care for his crew and there is plenty of things to Luffy use as reasons to beat the man down and take away his fredom.

For a moment all was quiet and then someone shouted "LONG LIVE THE KING!" "KING LUFFY WHOHOOO!" "SO WE CALL HIM 'HIS MAJESTY NOW?" Okay he needs to cut that one on the bud before everyone starts treating him differently.

"LISTEN GUYS!" He calls the attention and all on the ship and outside stays silent "WE NEED TO KICK KRIEG'S BUTT, AND THE ONLY WAY TO DO IT IS WITH MORE PEOPLE!" Everyone was looking at him, friends, foes and strangers alike, on the distance he could see some of the townspeople returning. Someone must have sent a messenger to say that the fight was over. "KRIEG RULED THE EAST FOR TOO LONG AND I WON'T LET A COWARD LIKE THAT TO KEEP BULLYING ANYONE ANYMORE!"

Luffy watched as many celebrated his words, his practice on being a president made itself worth it when he can speak in a way that many can understand and also make them see his point of view.

"KRIEG IS NOT GOING TO HARM ANYONE ELSE ANYMORE!" The right words can make or break a person and with this declaration he will challenge Krieg and also force the pirate to either focus on him and stop harassing innocents or, if Krieg really won't attack a kingdom, he will ignore Luffy until the straw hat can find him and beat him up. "I WILL FIND THE COWARD AND BEAT HIM UP! WHO IS WITH ME?"

The roar and cheer of the crowds raise on the night air confirming that many are ready to fight. Deep down Luffy feels a bit guilty, Krieg attacked because of his actions and him taking the main ship of his armada but if Luffy didn't do that the prisoners of Tequila Wolf would have more difficulties to hide from the government.

Now to protect them and also to deal with the leader of the ones who broke the Code of Piracy Luffy needs to go and find him and the best way is giving what the people of the East need, a good leader.

And with all that in mind, fifteen almost sixteen years old Monkey D. Luffy declares "TO WAR! LET'S KICK DON KRIEG'S ASS!"

All the while those on the port roared "KING LUFFY! KING LUFFY! KING LUFFY!"

…..

As usual thanks for the comments and support, feel free to leave your doubts or say if the work is good or bad. Also trying a new method of writing. This may be the last chapter of the year, I'm both busy and my shoulder hurts after a small acidente. Now about the chapter.

I did it, I reached a point where Luffy becomes a king…..just not the right kind of king. Okay to be fair if you read the original or watch the anime it's possible to see that every action has a reaction either from the opposition or for those left behind from the battles of said actions. The fact that people are acting and doing stuff even if the Straw Hats haven't met them yet gives more life to the world. Want an example? What are the Yonkou doing at this point of the story? Kaido is on Wano and negotiating with Mingo, Big Mom is trying to get an alliance with the giants, Shanks is…..honestly at this point in time we don't know on the main story so here is also blank but we know that Whitebeard is actually doing most of the marines job for them, beating up bad pirates and trying to improve the situation of many poorer or in a bad position countries.

Why did I say all that? Because of every new development in the story I ask, analise and try to figure out what a character would do after anything. After the attack on Tequila Wolf what the slaves would do, try to live in peace. Problem? They have nothing on a strange area of the sea that none of them had knowledge about or allies to help. On these conditions what the straw hats would do? This story has my answer, They had resources, Nami would steal from nobles using Luffy's reputation as a door for high end places all the while also bounty hunting and, because they are good people, they wouldn't hesitate to use their money to help.

What will the small islands do now that one of them figured out that the World Government doesn't care about them? Try to get in a position to protect themselves, and since the WG is run by dicks they will have to be clever about it and all of that is possible because Luffy is not a pirate yet. When I started this Luffy was not going to be a king of a country like that but things happened in the story that made it possible and valid, the company was going to be big anyway and that actually gives me more opportunities to do some fun stuff. Most importantly thought is that since the world of One Piece is what it is, any author can pretty much do anything on any of the four seas and when they get to the Grand Line most of it doesn't affect the plot….much. You will see why I say this when I get there. It doesn't change the main plans but add details that I think most people will like, I know I do but author bias is a thing.

Another thing that we need to talk about since we are not in the Grand Line yet...power levels. While writing this I read the original East Blue arc to check a thing I knew but checked anyway to make sure I would not screw this up and the result is….Luffy and Zoro only had any difficulty on their fights on the East on a technicality. To be fair the Arlong Pirates were a challenge to all but Zoro when they could go 100% and Hachi wouldn't have been a challenge to Zoro if Mihawk hadn't cut him almost in half. Seriously check the fights, Buggy does minimal damage and needs to help Cabaji so the guy has a chance vs Zoro, Kuro was fast but had no power and Zoro's difficult was him losing his swords for a bit, a mistake he learned how to correct by fighting more with a single blade when needed and just getting stronger. On Krieg just think about this: where are they fighting that a devil fruit user like canon Luffy would- They are in the middle of the SEA. if it was on land Krieg was toast in a few seconds, a minute at most. The Arlong pirates barely count since they come from the Grand Line and even then they suck in comparison to most pirates there except Arlong that had a bigger power then his crew.

With all that in mind, pretty much all the fights until the Grand Line are more character driven because no one on that sea can compete even with the former slaves that came from there. Does that mean they can beat Krieg already? Kinda but they don't know that and numbers have a quality of their own therefore some stuff needs to be done in preparation for both the war vs Krieg and the time post war when Luffy leaves for his journey even if it is a year ahead still.

Also a small important detail, the Code of Piracy or the Pirate Code existed in real life and while a fountain of inspiration for the one of this story it's not the same word for word together with some other differences like the fact that there is a general one around. It's something that explains why some crews have structures that allow clashing personalities to cooperate, for now the relevant rule is the one Whitebeard died for in the canon: You kill your family, you die.

About the country that is about to be formed….I haven't thought on a name yet but will probably be another Sun Wukong homage or maybe one of your suggestions changes my mind. I could spend 3 or 4 chapters explaining it's structure but just call it a constitutional monarchy or something similar because the king(Luffy) technically can do anything...but it's Luffy can you see him being evil or a tyrant? After him depending on the world's condition either his descendants can inherit the throne or a new leader can be elected, the important thing is using Luffy's name for the time being and if it's necessary to keep that going….then Luffy will probably say that it would be up to his children if he has any because he is big on personal liberty.

Questions? Thoughts? Please ask if there are any doubts.

Next Chapter: Is There a Cook in the Army?