Alright guys, I don't know what the fuck happened with Fanfic last week, but I tried two separate times to post this chapter, and both times it didn't go through. Which was weird considering I was still getting the notifications, and I guessing so were you guys by the PMs I got. Anyways, I'm sure its been a very hectic week for everyone with all the stuff going on, but I'm still really sorry about this. I broke my schedule, and that doers not feel good at all. Hope you guys can forgive me. And I really hope you can enjoy this long awaited chapter 48 :)

Wealth, Fame, Power…

Chapter 48: Whiskey Peak

It was a couple of days after Vivi's big fiasco that the Straw Hat Pirates and their two guests arrived at their destination known as Whiskey Peak. Excitement could be felt in the air by all as the odd looking spherical slopes that made up the land came into view.

No one however, was more thrilled than the blue haired princess of Alabasta. She was done playing games, she was gonna get off and go straight to Igaram. He would know what to do in this situation, and she was sure he would welcome the help of her new friends with open arms.

They were friends now, right? The blunette was afraid at first that her connection with Luffy would be at least slightly damaged, but that didn't seem like the case at all. In fact, she was now enjoying even more friendliness from the pleasant rubber man. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was just something about him that drew her in and forced her to confide in him. It was uncanny, but she knew with her heart that he meant well. Now all she had to do was convince Igaram of that fact.

It was truly refreshing to be so transparent with someone for once. Heck, she even told the straw hats all about the special ambush that Baroque Works loved pulling on any pirates that traveled through Whiskey Peak. And when the pirates all seemed confused, she went on to explain the method of partying them into unconsciousness and taking all of their stuff.

Vivi was indeed very relieved when most of the crew appeared to trust her even more after she revealed this critical information. The only one who still looked skeptical at her admission was the only girl on the crew.

The navigator, Nami, why was she the suspicious one? They'd had a couple of days and nights of slight bonding, didn't they? She had been very polite in these last few days since they'd met. And it's not like Vivi had anything against her in the first place, right?

Well, other than her weird haircut. You could totally do something better with that Nami! The princess thought to herself in amusement.

"What's wrong Nami?" Luffy asked, sensing something off with the mood on the ship.

With all eyes now on her, Nami didn't hesitate to speak her mind, revealing the truth behind her inquisitive look. "Huh? Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking that it's pretty interesting that Baroque Works use one of the oldest tricks in the book. I used to pull that gag off all the time back when I was on my own, but it was never really that reliable considering pirates can party for weeks on end if they wanted to."

Vivi's eyes widened in shock at the navigator's revelation. She was never skeptical of her at all, she was just connecting dots in her mind…

Stop being so paranoid! Vivi scolded herself in her head before speaking. "Yeah, that's true. Sometimes it ends up not being worth it because of all the resources we have to use to keep them all happy."

"Yep," Nami nodded. "The way I got around it was just working on my alcohol tolerance. I don't think there's too many pirates that can outlast me in drinking anymore."

Obviously more than a little irritated and amused, Zoro was quick to remark. "Pftt, yeah right witch. No way in hell am I losing to a one hundred forty pound girl in a drinking contest."

"What the hell did you just say that I weighed!?" Nami screeched angrily, her teeth sharpening as she raised her fist. It was very obvious that she no longer cared for her declaration of superior alcohol tolerance.

And unexpectedly, the proud swordsman seemed to shrink a bit under the navigator's furious glare. "Jeez witch! Calm down! It was just a guess!"

Meanwhile, the clueless pair of Luffy and Usopp sat right next to the two tense crewmates, very confused on what the problem was.

And this was where Sanji stepped in. "Ehem," the cook cleared his throat, taking a seat in between the two boys on the deck and wrapping his arms around each of their shoulders. "Alright you two listen up. What you see here in front of us right now is a man who has broken cardinal rule number one about women. And that is bringing up their weight in any way shape or form, that's a big nono for them."

"What the hell? Why? Seems like something dumb to get so mad about," Luffy mumbled to himself. "But then again, Nami does get worked up over little stuff all the time…"

"I heard that!" The orange haired teen yelled, turning her furious gaze onto the poor rubber man.

"Ahhh! Sorry!" Luffy spat out, almost panicking.

"Ohhhhhhhh," Usopp slapped his forehead, having a massive realization apparently. "That's why Kaya slapped me for no reason that one time!"

With a heavy sigh, Sanji lit up a cigarette and stood up. "You guys are hopeless, all three of you."

"Ughhhhh, are we there yet Miss Wednesday?"

The brand new voice on the deck brought the blue haired princess back to reality in no time at all. "Oh, um, yes Mister Nine, you can see the shore from here already. It won't be much longer now."

"Phew, that's great. I can't wait to get off this rotten tub and back on land. We really need to straighten out this crazy situation."

"Hey! What'd you say about our ship!?" Usopp cried passionately.

However, the meek sniper was promptly ignored as Nami and Zoro wrapped up their bickering and Mister Nine looked to Vivi for her next actions.

And to be honest… She wasn't sure what her next move was when it came to her crown wearing partner. That day when she explained everything to the straw hats, he had stayed unconscious and missed everything. So right now, she was teetering on the decision of whether or not to explain it all over again.

This had been her main dilemma for days now. She trusted her partner and thought he was a decent person, despite him working for Baroque Works, so she felt really bad lying to him while she opened up to a bunch of strangers.

But again, this was something she could work out later. Everything would be clear after she spoke with Igaram…

Or at least, that's what she told herself.

"Alright, enough," Nami huffed, turning away from Zoro and preparing an order for her crewmates. "We're approaching the shore, so everyone get ready to dock!"

"Yes my love! I'll do anything you say!" Sanji swooned as he made his way for the rudder.

"Tch, crappy love cook. There's a certain word for guys like you, you're just lucky I don't remember what it is," Zoro grumbled as he climbed the mast and tugged on the sails.

"Woohoo! Let's do this guys! Our first island in the Grand Line! This is gonna be sweet!" Luffy jumped up on his newly repaired seat, getting a small glare from Nami for getting out of helping with the ship.

"Pfft, whatever kid, I'm still gonna kick your ass later once you drop off Miss Wednesday and I."

But Luffy only stuck out his tongue and sneered at the orange haired man.


A short while later, the Going Merry was happily cruising into the docks of Whiskey Peak with many relieved passengers on board. And you could be sure that one certain blue haired princess was the first off the ship, kissing the ground as she touched down on it.

"Finally! I need to go find-"

"HOORAY! PIRATES!"

Vivi, along with all of the Straw Hat Pirates all looked to see an enormous crowd gathered at the start of the docks, and they all looked absolutely ecstatic.

"WELCOME TO WHISKEY PEAK PIRATES! ENJOY ALL THE FOOD AND DRINK YOU WANT!"

"Wow! Really!?" Luffy shouted out in excitement as he began his dash off the ship.

And he might have succeeded in his endeavor if it weren't for his bright navigator grabbing him by his shirt before he could take off. "Hold it you moron. Something's wrong. This is exactly what Vivi warned us about, remember?"

"She did what!?" Mister Nine choked, now a part of the group at the edge of the ship.

"Nothing," Sanji pitched in gravely, lifting his leg without hesitating. "Now get your ungrateful ass off this ship!" He yelled out, sending a swift kick into the agent's behind, knocking him off the Going Merry entirely.

Mister Nine landed with a significant thud onto the cold hard ground below, and when he looked up, all he could see was a look of horror on his partner's pretty face. "W-what's this all about Miss Wednesday?"

"I… I-I don't…" Vivi stuttered, obviously very baffled by the sight before her. This was awful! Right when she was finally gaining the trust of her new friends! "I… I need to speak to Igaram!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, though it didn't make any difference. The large gathered crowd easily blared over her singular voice. She didn't care one bit though, taking off in a dead sprint right into the crowd and disappearing.

And such a sight only managed to further confuse the straw hats, who now had no idea how to proceed.

"Uh, Luffy? Now what?" Usopp chimed in.

"Hmm, I'm not really sure. Something's definitely off with Vivi though, we should probably try to help right?"

"No," Nami put her foot down. "Let her be for now. She said she needed to talk to someone for now, so we either stay here on the ship or go in there and see what happens. But chasing her down isn't the smart play right now."

"Wait, I thought you said this was a basic trap for pirates?" Zoro remembered. "Why the hell is there an option?"

"Hmph" Nami grinned devilishly. "Don't be stupid Zoro, it's not a trap if you know it's coming. As far as I'm concerned, it's just free hospitality."

The swordsman married his eyes at the jagged response that he received from the navigator. It still didn't sound like such a great option.

"Oh what's wrong Zoro? Don't tell me your iron liver was all talk after all?"

"Fine! Let's go, I could care less, but I'm staying prepared!"

Nami giggled at how easily the pirate hunter was baited and manipulated. "That's the spirit, just don't get too wasted and we'll be fine. And be ready for anything. Got it guys?"

Luffy gave the only response that anyone needed. "Yeah! FOOD!"


Vivi ran as fast as her legs could carry her, and even then, it took her almost a whole hour to find her beloved royal guard.

"Igaram!" She cheered when she spotted him at last. Why in the hell was he way out here at the edge of town? This was a question that the princess let slip away in her mind as emotion took over and tears settled in.

The man was very tall and wide, and he had a very luscious head of long blonde hair in a powdered style. Though he was currently sitting on a bench on the outskirts of town with a very grim expression plastered on his face. An expression that only worsened when he heard the cry of his princess heading right towards him.

"Pri- I mean, Miss Wednesday! What are you doing here!? You need to-"

"No Igaram! What the heck is going on!? I told you to call off the ambush!? I found some strong friends that can help our kingdom! Do you know how bad it looked for me when we showed up and the trap was still on!? I specifically told you over the transponder snail that-"

"SHUT UP!" The large man cracked, completely breaking character in the princess's eyes.

His panicked screech was immediately followed by his hand shooting up to cover his mouth, but Vivi didn't have time to shed the tears she was holding back, because right behind her loyal guard, she saw something.

And suddenly everything made sense

Flying away from their location in a hurry was a vulture with an otter on its back.


"Yeah, I'm here, what do you need Mister Zero?" A dark skinned man asked into a transponder snail with a bored tone.

"We just got confirmation, abort mission on Whiskey Peak. I have new orders for you."

"Oh? And what might those be?"

"You and Miss Valentine are to fall back to Little Garden and wait there for our guests. Mister Three could use your help with a couple of sizeable problems over there to pass the time. I'll send more reinforcements soon, I don't want our agents spread thin on this one. Understood?"

"You got it boss. Not a problem for us."

"Good, call me again when you reach Little Garden. Mister Zero out."

A small click was heard as the snail's responder was placed back onto its shell.

"So? What's the plan?" A high pitched female voice asked demandingly.

"We retreat for now. I don't think the boss wants to play his cards too early right now."

"Ugh, right when I thought I would finally get some action! Fine, let's get off this dump!"

"Woah, relax Miss Valentine. I haven't even told you where we're going yet. You aren't gonna like it."

"Screw you Mister Five!"

"Heh, anytime you want, I'm ready."

Again, sorry this was a bit late. But we definitely have some interesting developments going on, don't we?