"What time do we leave?" A question came from Luffia directed at Nami who is busy talking to Sanji. The leader of the group is in front of the fridge, taking out a bucket of ice cream that she's been dying to eat.
"In 10 minutes, so put that back where it should be." The answer made Luffia pout but decided to put the food back.
"Everything is prepared now. We should be okay to leave anytime soon." Sanji said.
The group will be raiding one of Doflamingo's hideouts and warehouses to check what they can salvage. There may be nothing there considering that they put off the raid plans a week after Doflamingo's imprisonment, but this is for safety measures and to give them time to investigate if the World Government knows about the place.
Fortunately for them, in the days that they left the warehouse alone, no World Government officials raided the place, so safe to say that they may not know that it existed.
It's in the middle of the night, the streets are filled with people hidden behind the shadows, no doubt commencing their illegal activities and trades. These kinds of activities are fairly normal at this hour. Often you will see groups of people meeting up to beat each other because of a turf war.
Just like now, when they pass by a certain street east of Dressrosa, they saw several motorbikes parked nearby with about a dozen men fighting each other, fists thrown at their faces, legs kicking. Some of them even have knives in their hands, swinging them at the people they see as their enemies.
Luffia blinks as their car passes by the battle royale, eyes blank, devoid of any emotions except for that glint of innocence and curiosity that a child usually has. This expression fooled many, her family members lost count of how many thought that Luffia is a naive woman who has been recluse from the events of the real world. How foolish of them to think that she is not aware of the world hidden behind the facade of prosperity this country provides.
They arrived at their destination. The place is eerily quiet devoid of any human as they expected. It will pose a problem should there be anyone around while they raid this place.
They parked their cars somewhere hidden from the eyes of anyone who may pass by on the road.
As they get off, Luffia can't help but look at the entrance, eager to enter the place and explore it. The area is fairly big with the warehouse about 50 meters away from the main gate while the manor is just right in front of them. Leave it to someone like Doflamingo to have a spare house for him to use.
"Let's go!" Luffia said, her voice came out as raspy, like a man because of the voice changer she wears underneath the mask.
She walks inside, disregarding the warnings from her members. The gate is fairly high but she can climb on it just fine.
"Let's open it normally, okay? We can unlock it." Nami said, thumb pointing to Usopp who is already in front of the system-locked gate.
"Wouldn't it be more fun if we just climb over?"
"No, Leader." Robin's calm voice resonated, prompting Luffia to look at the tall dark-haired woman. "That may trigger the security system in this place, so it's best not to."
"Fine." She shrugs.
They call her 'Leader' when they're outside, careful not to call her by her name. Her identity will remain a secret for as long as possible.
"Aha!" The triumphant voice of Usopp took everyone's attention, eyes on the gate that is now unlocked.
"Hehe! Let's go." Luffia was the first one to enter the gate, her grin s hidden underneath her mask, a child-like glinted eyes as she surveys the area while walking towards the warehouse, followed by Franky and Chopper. Sanji, Brook, and Usopp remained outside to keep an eye on anyone who may be snooping around. Nami and Robin went inside the manor to check look for anything valuable to them.
Franky opened the locked room, creating noises as he forcefully opens the door using one of his tools, metals clanking, making Luffia scrunches her nose in annoyance at the noise produced. It was fine because it only lasted for less than a minute.
As soon as the door opens, they turned on the lights to see what could be inside. Franky whistles in admiration upon seeing two sports cars, boxes of firearms.
"They have these." Chopper suddenly said, lifting a bag of white powder for everyone to see.
"Figures." Franky answered, shrugging the sight. "Maybe we could just drop those in the trash." Their group doesn't sell drugs. Mafia groups often deal with illegal activities, they're not an exemption to that, but this is out of their zone because Luffia doesn't like it.
"Yeah, we can let Sanji deal with those." Luffia shrugs, opting to walk away in favor of looking around. Her footsteps echoed in the room, sending vibrations while she walks around, looking for nothing in particular.
There's nothing but firearms, grenades, drugs, and cars in the warehouse, which they think are useable for them.
"I will load these babies in the truck." The second vehicle they used is a mini dumb-truck that Franky drove. It looks like your regular delivery truck in Grandline, but its usage is anything but legal.
Chopper helped Franky load the boxes of firearms in the truck while Luffia remains inside, staring at the car that she wants to drive. It's a black Maserati sports car that only millionaires can afford. It's barely used given how it still looks brand new.
Luffia nods to herself, thinking how cool it will be to drive this baby, smirking underneath her mask that soon faded away when she heard a rustle coming from the bushes outside of the storehouse. She remains still, moving slightly to the right side, eyes are on the reflection of the car, using it to see what's behind her.
The car's glass window only reflects the seethrough glass window behind her, nothing else, but she could have sworn that she heard a rustle, so she remains still, waiting for anything to happen, and there it is. A small movement coming from the bushes that are hardly caused by the wind.
Someone's there.
"Leader, I think we can get these back the next day. We've got all we need except for the boxes of drugs and the cars." Franky said.
"Sure. Let's go." Luffia immediately stepped outside, alarmed and guarded. Her guarded expression did not escape the eyes of her members, so they all looked at her, waiting for commands.
She didn't get to utter any warning to them because as soon as she was outside, a few meters away from their vehicles, a sword came swinging at her neck, aiming to kill her in one move.
Unfortunately for the assassin, she is quick on her feet, ducking her head as soon as she heard the man's footsteps.
"Enemies!" Franky shouted, alarming everyone who took out their weapons as they scurried off to leave the place. They can't fight them when they don't know how many enemies they have. That will only result in disaster.
Bang! It's the first shot aimed at the Straw Hats only for it to make contact with none of them.
Bang! Another shot.
"Let's get out of here!" Nami shouted for Luffia who is busy fighting the man with two swords.
Luffia's eyes widen at the man who kept on attacking her. The sword tip made contact with her arms, ripping her coat apart. She winced when she felt the sting coming from the open wound on her arm, soaking the coat with her blood.
She stepped back to regain her footing only to be attacked again by this man, thrusting his sword. Luffia fought back, maneuvering her body with great ease to kick the man on his stomach. She made solid contact but didn't stop there. She twisted her body to deliver another kick aimed at the man's face.
"Damn it." The man in a green coat muttered a curse under his breath, hand slightly pressing the are where Luffia kicked him. "You're one hell of a fighter."
"So are you." Luffia answered, looking at the man who she calls her best friend. He stands before her, holding two swords, his third sword still sheathed on his hips, grinning at the sheer joy of the fight, an expression that looks foreign to Luffia. His face is hidden under the hood of the coat, but this did not hinder Luffia to recognize Zoro.
The area is dimly lit by the lights from the streetlamps several meters away from them. Her members are already in their vehicles, ready to leave anytime now.
"Leader! We have to go now!" Luffia knows this without being told by her members. The bullets came raining down on them and it surprised Luffia that none of those shots are aimed at her considering she's the leader.
Luffia sees from her peripheral views two or three more people coming out of their hiding spots, guns pointing at her members. This made her twitch in annoyance, worried taking over her mind for her members. Even if she worries, she knows they will be fine.
What is not fine is her situation as she sees a man wearing a white suit, approaching them while holding a knife using his right hand while the other is holding a revolver, no doubt will be pointed to Luffia any second now.
Target the leader, this has always been the rule of the Mafia World. If you take out the head, the group will slowly fall apart. Luffia cannot think of any Mafia Groups that will hire Zoro to hunt her down so it could only be one organization - The World Government.
"Sorry, but can't let you leave this place alive." The green-haired man said, swinging the black sword on his hand, shaking off the droplets of blood - Luffia's blood.
"Mafia Hunter." She calls out to him.
"Straw Hat."
"Didn't think you will be hunting us in a group." She told him.
"Does it matter?" He closes in, one step at a time as she steps back, matching his movements. Their eyes never left one another, just watching each other to see who's going to make a move first.
"Sorry, but today is not the day that we will die." She smirks under her mask before she shouts for Usopp's name.
This alarmed the green-haired man. He rushes to Straw Hat only to be met by a smoke bomb that blinded him for about a minute. The next thing he heard is the noise of the vehicles running away.
"Had you used a gun to kill him, Straw Hat wouldn't have gotten away." Kaku approached Zoro, a disappointed scowl written on his face.
"I was testing how good he is in a fight." Zoro answers, shrugging off that one of the most infamous Mafia leaders got away. At the back of his mind, he knows that Straw Hat won't go down that easily even if they used guns. They could be wearing a bullet-proof vest inside.
"Testing Straw Hat is not our goal. Killing him is." Kaku reminded Zoro who remains silent. The tension between the two men is evident from the way they stare at each other.
This is the reason why Zoro prefers to work alone. No one will restrict his movements or tell him what to do, demanding him to stop being whimsical, this he cannot do. As much as he enjoys hunting Mafia Groups, he loves a good fight. He just doesn't hunt for money, he hunts to quench the thirst of adventure running in his veins, to seek opponents to test himself against, whether it's a fistfight or using his swords.
Straw Hat proved to be a worthy opponent, his movements are something Zoro did not expect a Mafia Leader has. Granted, most Mafia Leaders are good fighters, but he's on a different level, Zoro can tell even with just the brief exchange they did.
He can feel that there's something with Straw Hat that he can't point out.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"How did not one notice those people? And who are they?" Nami was asking no one in particular but Usopp somehow felt obligated to answer.
"We didn't notice them at all. We checked the vicinity when all of you were inside but saw nothing."
"They must be World Government agents. There's no way any Mafia Groups will be there to ambush us just like they did." Robin said.
"That was pretty scary. Good thing that they didn't get any of us." Sanji breathed out the smoke he inhaled earlier, clouding the air with that familiar smell of cigarettes. Had they not been equipped with guns, those people would have killed most of them.
"Only Luffia's injured." Chopper shakes his head while attending to the shallow wound on Luffia's right arm. The cut is not deep, thank goodness. "We were busy with the other people so we didn't see your opponent. How large is the knife they're holding to cut you like this?" The wound starts from her shoulder blades down to her biceps.
"Hmm, was just surprised with his attack." She shrugs, disregarding the sting coming from the wound.
"You should be careful. You know they will target you firsthand, Luffia-san." Brook reminded her.
"Don't worry. I will!" She smiles, a little relieved that none of them managed to see who she was fighting. It shouldn't hurt them if she hides that the one she fought earlier is her best friend, the world-famous Mafia Hunter.
At least this is what she thinks.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"Eustass. Out." The man in uniform signaled Kidd to walk out of the prison cell. "Congratulations." He said, but there's nothing but sneer in his voice.
Kidd stopped right at the prison bar, standing beside the smaller man in uniform. He looks down before he smirks, hinting at the man with a dangerous warning.
The man shivered, stepping backward in a poor attempt to escape Kidd's menacing glare - a reaction that made Kidd swell with satisfaction, but he supposes it's enough for now.
Satisfied, he steps away, walking out of the shitty prison cell for 2 years. The inmates' cheers got louder after seeing Kidd walking in the hallway with a bag on his shoulder, ready to go out of this damnable place.
The officers guided him to the exit of the building where his men are waiting for him, all smiles as soon as they saw Kidd carrying his bag.
"Finally." Wire said, patting Kidd on the back before pulling their leader into a brief hug.
"Indeed. Finally." He hugged him back before doing the same to Killer and Heat. "Shall we get out of this place?"
"The men are waiting in our hideout, ready to celebrate your return, Boss." Heat answered.
"Good. Let's go."
They stepped out of the building, heading to the car that is parked nearby. Kidd looked at the place one last time, reminding himself that he's never going back there again.
Looking at the scenery outside of the car feels odd for Kidd. It's been two years since he's seen the outside world and it feels damn good to be back to where he belongs, on the streets.
There are a lot of things he must do now that he's back. One of them is to hunt down Apoo and his group. After the blown up deal and the betrayal, Kidd tasked Killer and the others to gather information about Apoo. They plan to get their revenge sooner than later.
This is not the only thing he will do now that he's free... Sab will be next, of course.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"Hey, Marco. Do you want to drop by at the bar again?" The blond-haired man lifts his head to look at the annoying face of his brother, Thatch, who is wiggling his eyebrows at Marco, a knowing smile on his lips. He can only sigh as he shakes his head, exasperated at the neverending teases coming from his siblings.
"Thatch, need I remind you we have a lot of things to do rather than dropping off somewhere, yoi?"
"But it's not just somewhere. It's in a specific bar with a beautiful singer that caught your eyes, yeah?"
"You will never let me live that down, do you?" Marco stands up from his seat to get a cup of tea from his cupboard. Looks like he may need this.
"Come on, live a little will you?"
"The investigation about that incident is still not over, yoi. That should be one of our priorities."
"We have our people keeping an eye on that investigation, okay?"
Marco did not answer and just ignored Thatch all together. Good thing someone knock on the door to make Thatch shut up about his ramblings.
"Hey, Marco! We got confirmation from Akagami. The goods should be ready for us to pick up." It was Haruta who stepped inside to inform Marco of the ongoing deals with Akagami's group.
"When?"
"This afternoon."
"That's perfect!" Thatch clapped his hand twice, standing up to go to Marco, placing his arm over the blond's shoulder, shaking it off a little. "We can drop by at the bar!"
"Bar? Oh, you mean the one near the borders? Can I come too?" Haruta smirks, no doubt that she's getting what Thatch is referring to. Izou and Thatch must have told all of their siblings about the beautiful bar singer that caught Marco's eyes, and they're treating it as entertainment to tease him non-stop. Most of them are now curious about this woman.
"Can you two stop, yoi? It's Tuesday." Marco regretted mentioning the date today.
"Ah-ha! You remember the days she's working there! No wonder you don't want to drop by!" Thatch was having the time of his life teasing the hell out of Marco.
"Hmm... We can reschedule the pickup tomorrow if you'd like." Marco rolled his eyes at Haruta. He's not going to delay this any further just because of a mild curiosity over someone he just saw.
Although he's quite tempted to do it, there are priorities he must do first.
"No, let's pick that up now. Thatch, get someone to drive the truck over this afternoon."
"Boring." The whines got ignored by Marco as they all proceed with their daily activities. By 3:00 PM, they left the building with the truck not far behind them.
They entered a remote building in Akagami's territory. Most of Akagami's men knew what the Whitebeards came here for, that's no secret, which is why they got past the main entrance of the building which serves at the Headquarters of the Akagamis.
"Marco! Good to see you again, my friend!" They were greeted by Akagami who is all smiling at them. "Do you want to join - "
"Never, yoi." There's a clear irritation written on Marco's face, eyebrow raised at Shanks' smiling face. This invitation is always part of his greeting whenever he sees Marco. Maybe it's a joke, maybe it's not. Regardless, Marco's answer will remain the same.
"HAHAHA! Damn, I thought I have the chance this time."
"Can we get the goods now?"
"Sure! It's all ready for you to pick them up." Marco nodded when Shanks guided them to the storehouse where the firearms and bullets are stored. A few men loaded them onto the truck while they are discussing the payment and sealing the deal.
It was fairly easy for them to complete the deal. After all, they've been doing this for a long time now.
After the transaction, the truck left the vicinity followed by a car that Vista is driving. This is to make sure that it will arrive at its destination safely. Marco is with Thatch and Haruta. As usual, they've been teasing Marco nonstop.
"We can go back this Friday, though." Haruta suggested, looking at Marco who is comfortably sitting at the backseat, trying his best to ignore the two idiots.
They traveled for about 20 minutes from Shanks' headquarters when their car suddenly stopped.
"What happened?" He asks Thatch.
"Hmm... I don't know. Let me check." They all got out of the car to check what happened. Thatch opened the hood only to be welcomed by a cloud of smoke coming from the machine. "Damn."
"Don't tell me you forgot to get your car checked?" Haruta crossed her arms in front of her chest, her unamused face staring at Thatch.
"I was about to! I didn't know that it's this worse." He points at the machine.
"Well, what do we do?" Haruta asks.
"There should be a car repair shop somewhere here?" They are in the borders between their territories and Akagami's. It's not the main road as Thatch wants to avoid the traffic going back to their headquarters.
"I think there's one there." Haruta points at the shabby sign a few meters from where they are.
"Hmm, I hope they have someone who knows how to check my car." Thatch frowns while looking at the old car repair shop. His car is well taken care of by one of the best mechanics in Grandline. He's not too keen on letting anyone touch his baby.
"We don't have a choice. If they don't know, then we can just call the guys to pick us up, yoi."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll go and ask them first." Thatch walked towards the shop, wincing at the old building and how small it is. Well, he can't complain now, can he? "Excuse me?"
"Yes? Anything I can help?" A tall, well-muscled man approached Thatch. They're about the same height and Thatch feels like he's a decent man judging from the tone in his voice.
"Yes. There's something wrong with my car and I wonder if there's anyone here who knows how to check on it?"
"Where's your car?"
"Over there." Thatch points to the direction where his car is temporarily parked.
"Can you bring it over here so I can check what type of engine it has?" The man asks politely.
"Sure." Thatch quickly jogged to where Marco and Haruta is. "I'll push the car there. Haruta, get on the driver's seat." He asks. Marco was talking to someone over the phone so Thatch did not bother asking him, besides, the distance is not that far.
After a few minutes of pushing the car, they stopped just right in front of the shabby car repair shop.
"Whew. Fancy car you got there."
"Well, yeah. It's my baby." Thatch proudly answered. "I am Thatch, by the way. This is Haruta."
"Oh, sorry! Forgot to introduce myself, but the name's Deuce. Do you mind if I open the hood?"
"Nah, sure, go ahead." Thatch permitted the man named Deuce. "Do you know this engine?" He doesn't want to be rude, but he wants to make sure if this man knows what kind of engine his car has. If not, they have no choice but to call their men to pick them up along with the car.
"Yeah, I know this but I'll be honest, racing cars like these are not my specialty." Deuce said after looking at the car. Marco arrived in time just to hear the man's words, nodding to Thatch that they will proceed with Plan B.
"Oh, what a bummer. I guess we have no choice but to ask the guys back at home to pick us up." Thatch said, fetching his cellphone from his pockets.
"Sports cars are my boss' specialty. Hold up and I'll ask." The three of them looked at the car mechanic who stepped inside the shop as he shouts for his boss.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Meanwhile... Ann is at her office, staring at the old computer monitor with the live feed from the security cameras she installed in the place.
She bites her lower lip nervously while looking at the familiar faces of the people outside of her shop. Of course, she knows who those people are. No sane people in the underground world will fail to recognize those faces.
After all, the three of them are infamous in the streets, especially the blond-haired man - Whitebeard's heir, nicknamed the Phoenix.
She wonders if they are there to investigate or something, but judging from what is happening, it looks like it's just a coincidence. This made Ann heaved a sigh of relief. At least they're not here for anything other than a coincidental car repair.
As much as possible, she wants to keep herself hidden from any of these people, but it seems that fate is not on her side because a few minutes after Deuce checked the car, he stepped inside the shop, calling for Ann.
"Damn it." She muttered to herself before turning off the monitor and busied herself with something else.
"Boss!"
"Deuce! What's up?"
"There's an engine you might know about. Can you check it for me? The car's upfront."
"Yeah. Sure. I'll be right there in a sec." She answers with a smile. Deuce acknowledged it before leaving.
Ann can only sigh, trying to calm herself, erasing any kind of suspicious emotions on her face, just like what she's trained to do. Acting has never been her forte, that was Sab's, and even worse, Luffia's.
Well, Luffia was always a natural when it comes to acting innocent, anyway, so Ann is the one who usually fails to hide her emotions. But this is a must, especially if she's going to face three commanders of the Whitebeard Mafia Group.
"Yeah. It's showtime."