Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball or One Piece

-Speaking of filler characters

NightmareKnight: I agree with ya still. Starting from Yakuza 0 and working my way from it to Yakuza Kiwami 2 and Judgement completely jarred me going into Yakuza 3. It's a shame that they didn't have enough time to fully remake at least Yakuza 3 if not Yakuza 4, too (Although, 4's aged pretty decently I'd say) The age of time has not been kind to Yakuza 3, that's for sure. It was so annoying to play with bosses having nigh-unbreakable super armour and recovering so fast from their misses it made it almost impossible to land a hit on them. I can't see myself ever revisiting that clunky mess

A Warrior on the Unknown Seas

The anthropomorphic monkey warrior of Goku's still unnamed crew sauntered with a casual swagger through the stoned streets of Loguetown, hands draped in his pockets. He received curious gazes from random civilians passing him by, but he was used to that. No one ever really left the safety of Zunesha's back much less took the plunge of travelling all the way to the four seas of North, South, East and West. He was a complete anomaly. The only reason he even traversed all the way to these seas was to realise his potential.

He wasn't strong enough to last in the second half of the Grand Line back when he first left Zou as a skinny, slender fifteen-year-old monkey lad. He needed to go all the way to the starting line and slowly work his way back to the New World. That took him far longer than he expected, probably predictably so considering he never used a boat. He just swam, washing up on more than a few islands when storms hit. He even climbed the red line more than a few times.

He had planned on finally setting trek back home but… well, he inadvertently ate his Devil Fruit and lost his ability to swim.

Really, it was a good thing he encountered Goku when he did because he had been stuck on that godforsaken island for a whole year.

"Ouch." Renji peered down at the sounds of a feminine cry of pain, spotting a slender young woman flattened on the floor. She sat up on her knees, hurriedly patting the concrete ground with squinted eyes in search of her glasses which sat right in front of her, "I lost my glasses again."

Renji rolled his eyes, squatting down and handing the clumsy-looking woman her glasses, "Here."

"Oh, thank you." She accepted, standing up. A crop of midnight blue hair cut low crowned her head, embellishing her thick blue and white jacket over a donned yellow and pink patterned dress shirt with blue slacks and brown shoes over her shapely legs and feet. Situated on her hip, which was what Renji really noticed, was a katana.

"Don't mention it." He said coolly, propping his hands back in his pockets.

"You know, you look kind of familiar, but I can't quite place my finger on it," She said earnestly, propping a finger on her chin.

The wanted criminal rolled his eyes, "I should be. I'm a wanted monkey with a bounty worth seventy million beil."

Rage manifested in the swordwoman's eyes at his casual admittance, "What? You're a criminal!?" She levelled an accusing finger at his dismissive visage, "Were you trying to trick me because I'm a marine sergeant major."

Renji palmed his face in exasperation, "Put your fuckin' glasses on and look at me, you dumb bitch."

Tashigi flushed but did as advised, gaze widening in recognition, "Your-!" She gasped, "Bodybuilder Bananas with a bounty worth seventy million beil."

"About damned time you recognized me." The ill-tempered monkey impatiently crossed his arms.

Tashigi resolutely grasped her sword and set herself into a stance, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know. Just getting ready to head to the Grand Line with my crew, but I gotta pick up something for my captain."

Tashigi eyed him in disbelief, "No way. You've joined a crew. The same Bodybuilder Bananas who's been a loner for the past eight years since you received your first bounty."

"Would really appreciate it If you didn't call me by that name."

Tashiigi's gaze turned askance, "I don't believe it. What would someone like you have to gain from joining forces with other pirates now? You've always been a vicious loner."

"Yeah, well, these things change, swordswoman-san," He shrugged, "Just figured I wouldn't have anything to lose and everything to gain if I joined Goku-san's crew."

Tashigi paled, "No way. You don't mean Bare-Fisted Son Goku, the new rookie who emerged out of nowhere here in East Blue just three days ago, do you?"

"The one and only," He clarified proudly.

Tashigi gnashed her teeth, "This information changes everything, then. If what you're saying is true that you really have joined forces with Bare-Fist, then I really can't allow you to leave and regroup with him." She staunchly extended her sword toward his non-changing scowl, "Bodybuilder Bananas, I'm arresting you on direct evidence of assault and destruction of countless marine property. "

"Yeah, good luck with that."

"Sergeant Major Tashigi!" Reinforcements arrived in short order, appearing over the horizon like a stampede kicking up an immense amount of dust. The group paled when they spotted their target already due to engage with their superior at a moment's notice, "Shit! Bodybuilder's right there!"

Renji blithely waved a hand at the army, further unsettling them at his utter indifference, "Yo."

"Stay calm, men! He's just trying t-." A dashing blur like that of a Tasmanian devil abruptly whizzed past her, stunning her senseless and knocking her clothes and hair about in the ferocious gale storm it produced, "No way…" She blenched, as the strained cries of her allies tremendously echoed behind her. She shakily turned, biting down on her lip to stifle her dread seeing her men already sprawled out on the ground haphazardly like dirty laundry, "Why you."

"You were saying, Tashigi-san?" Renji mocked.

Another grit and a fierce glare hardened her expression, "Fine! I'll just have to arrest you by myself then!" She charged him with a war-cry, lunging in on him with a straight strike of her quickly unsheathed katana. A furred hand easily ensnarled it mid-flight, "What?"

"You're just not strong enough," He remarked.

She sneered angrily, digging in her heels to free her katana from his lackadaisical but still surprisingly powerful grip, squeezing her eyes shut tightly in the exertion. Renji's grip never looked like weakening, "Don't look down on me just because I'm a woman!" She screeched, absolutely stringing Renji where it hurt the most.

That accusation strung, far harder and sharper than any little stab wound she could inflict on him ever could. He shook, eyes opening and grip loosing enough for the marine sergeant to yank her blade free, launching herself at him once more with a determined war-cry.

"You're wrong," He murmured firmly, the bangs of his head fur shadowing his eyes. He caught Tashigi's sword again, peering into her heated gaze with his most serious, straight-faced expression, "I'm not lookin' down on ya just because you're a woman. I'm lookin' down on ya because you're weak."

"What?" She replied in confusion right before she given a hard shove into her midriff by the monkey's leg, causing her to vanquish control of her blade as she flew back against a concrete wall. A deep gasp escaped her lungs, back sliding down the stoned barrier until she was sitting on her knees, "Damn it." She glared hatefully at her enemy, even more so when she watched him break her beloved katana in two over his knee as if it were a twig, "Bastard. What would you know about it?!" She clutched a handful of her chest, tears forming in her eyes. Renji was more than a little ashamed to admit he blushed awkwardly at the sight, "The pain of being a woman in a man's world! What would you know what it feels like to be looked down upon just because you're a woman being a strong man! I wish I were born a man, too!"

Renji calmly approached her, squatting down and looking into her tearful gaze with no sense of hostility, "I understand more than you know," He assured softly, drawing a puzzled teary-eyed look from her, "I was considered just some mangy animal when I first became wanted eight years ago. Wanna know what my first bounty was? Go on. Have a guess."

She stared in utter bewilderment to what she was hearing, a million questions running through her mind like a high-powered computer. She didn't know why this dangerous, wanted criminal was empathizing with her for nor did she have a clue, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't the least bit curious, "Uh, one million beli?" She asked, against her better judgement.

Renji tittered in bitter amusement and made a single zero with his middle finger and thumb, "Fifty."

Tashigi gasped in horrified incredulity, "…No way. You can't be serious. Everything after you've done your initial bounty was only fifty beli?" She said breathlessly, "Are you sure you just didn't read it right?"

"Nope." He answered, popping the P in his reply, shocking the swordswoman to the core. Another bitter laugh rasped out of his throat like grated cheese, "You know how it felt to be looked upon as just some mangy weak-little monkey not worth the time of day?" He reflected back at her, "It was fuckin' humiliating." She flinched at the belligerence seeping into his soft tone, "That's when I said 'fuck it, I'm sticking it to the man' and did everything within my power to get stronger. I pumped iron and consumed a fuck ton amount of protein to transform my body." His reasoning being he would rather be considered a monster than a mere animal not worth the government's time to properly track down. That was what eventually coined him the nickname "Bodybuilder."

"Then I raided marine base after marine base, wrecking house and beating the daylights out of everyone in there before burning their ships to the ground. Didn't kill them, though," He even still felt a little bit remorseful to this day even though he had done his level best to ensure he didn't destroy any of their communication devices to call for help.

He just needed to send out a message to the World Government that he wasn't to be taken lightly.

Tashigi processed all of Renji's tale of vengeance against society with a vacant stare of dumbfounded confusion plastered all over her countenance, "That's so," She paused, struggling to gather her words. "...Petty. You've caused so much destruction and peril to my fellow marines just to be acknowledged?!"

Renji nodded, eyes subtly watering with some measure of regret, "Yeah. Can't disagree with you."

"But." She continued, bitterly clinching pebbles inside a balled fist on the ground, every fibre of her being screaming at her to not say what she was about to say, "I understand," She admitted with surprising sincerity considering her reluctance to empathize with the infamous criminal, "About your plight of inferiority, I mean." She peered into his eyes, "As a female swordsman, I feel inferior to men and I hate it." Her face crinkled in frustrated resentment at the circumstances she had been born into, "So believe me when I tell you, I know all too well what it feels like to be looked down upon."

Renji studied the sincerity of her unwavering gaze and straightened after, satisfied with what he had seen. He turned his back on the defeated swordswoman, "Sweet."

"But that doesn't mean I'm just going to let you do as you please." Renji didn't need to face her to feel the tenacious fire blazing in her eyes just then. He could sense it in her words alone, "I swear on my honour as a marine and a swordswoman I'll do whatever it takes to apprehend you, Bodybuilder Bananas!"

He wasn't sure why but hearing her say his real name didn't annoy him nearly as much just then. He merely smirked, tossing a hand over his shoulder, "Cool. Meet me on the Grand Line when you're ready, Tashigi-san." He began to retreat in a relaxed amble with Tashigi trying to burn a hole through his back.

"Just you wait, Bodybuilder. I swear I'll catch you and bring you to justice someday."

C

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SEVEN

Enter the Logia Part 2

XxX

(Later - With Goku and Nojiko)

XxX

"Oh, boy! I'm stuffed," Goku stated, happily patting his filled stomach with a contented sigh, face dirtied with sauce and grease. Just the dozen hundred plates stacked in front of him like piles of garbage in a wasteland, "I couldn't eat another bite." Somehow Nojiko very much doubted that seeing him pick his teeth of any leftover meat, "Thanks for the grub."

"You're gonna get so fat by the time you hit thirty," She teased, resting a cheek against a fist, a dry smile decorating her lips, "And you're paying, remember? Don't thank me."

"Oh, right." He chuckled gleefully.

Nojiko's gaze warmed. She got the sense she would never be able to stay mad or even reprimand the cheerful adult-teenager. His childlike innocence was just too adorable, shielding him from any such permanent ire.

The two paid for their meals through Goku's funds and vacated the premises. Nojiko hadn't bought any clothes did this time, although she did troll the unfortunate store clerk by trying on a whole heap of the store's clothes before mirthfully stating she wanted something more casual, leaving him crying in despair.

"We really do need a cook, come to think of it," Nojiko brought up. After they finished clothes shopping, the two rummaged the market for food, only to realize they couldn't buy much other than a few food rations and fish because neither of them could cook. "We can't live off grilled fish and restaurants forever, you know? We need a cook to make sure we eat healthy, so we don't get sick."

Goku folded his arms, furrowing his brow thoughtfully, "Think we can find one around here."

"I don't know," She shrugged, a dry smile emerging across her face, "But considering Renji's about to unleash all hell on the local marines, if he hasn't already, I doubt we would get the chance."

"Yeah, that's true," Goku agreed, racking his brain for half a second before ultimately deciding to be optimistic. "Oh, well! It'll probably work out eventually. I'm sure there's loads of cooks we can find in the Grand Line."

Nojiko sighed with a tired, affectionate smile, "Of course you would say that." She blinked when she found their path barricaded by an extravagant-looking woman, "Oh?"

"Pardon the interruption." The mature, high-class looking woman said in an alluring voice, dressed in an luxurious crimson-red flamenco dress decorated with white frills, complementing her fiery, cherry-blossomed gravity-defying hair and the red rose situated on her hip. A green jewel rested above her open, gorgeous cleavage and she held a yellow fan bearing a kanji-marking, "But I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. You acquire the services of a chef. Am I correct to assume?"

"That's right." Goku admitted, feeling a bit weirded out by the woman's eloquent way of speaking, "D'ya where we can find one?"

The two woman's two strange looking companions, dressed like two musketeers, gasped dramatically.

The woman laughed theatrically, hiding her elegantly red-painted lips with the back of her hand in a classy fashion, "Ohhohohohoho. Pardon me, I suppose you've never heard of the East Blue's most renown chef, Carmen!" She announced, popping a ladle in her mouth and spinning in place as her jester-like companions danced with her.

Goku and Nojiko gawked at the trio as if they had all grown third heads, eyes completely dilated wide.

"No," The captain said bluntly in a spooked tone of voice.

To her credit, Carmen didn't falter despite Goku's unceremonious response even as her companions glared bloody murder at the spiky-headed teenager was not recognizing her, "Well, yes. I suppose East Blue is but a small sea in the wider world, but I digress," She presented herself in a flourishing, overly dramatic bow, legs-crossed and dress held up, "I would be more than willing to offer you the services of one such as I."

Goku's gaze lit up and he immediately leaped toward her, fists pumped in front of his excited eyes, "I don't really understand most of what you're saying but if you're saying you can join us then you're in!" He straightened, placing his hands on his hips, "We were just talking about needing a cook to stay healthy and stuff."

Carmen humoured the boy's enthusiasm with her trademark laugh, "My, you are an overzealous one but do pay attention, dearie. I said 'would' for a specific reason." Goku blinked, "To specify, I mean I will only join your crew if you pass my test, Bare-Fisted Goku-san."

"You know me?"

"Why, but of course! You now have one of the highest bounties in all of East Blue." She smirked, "Word spreads extraordinarily quick in the world, I will have you know."

"And about this test?" He cocked his head, "How come you can't just join us?"

"If I am to devote my livelihood to your cause it would be wise to evaluate your skillset, would it not? Surely, you must understand?" She pierced him with a hard glare, "I have to ensure the safety of my wellbeing first and foremost before I even consider devoting myself to piracy."

Goku considered all this, a smirk adorning his features, "So, you just want me to fight someone to prove my strength, is that it?"

"You catch on fast." She complimented, "Yes, I would prefer if you proved your strength first to decide if you're worthy enough to help me achieve my dream of becoming the world's greatest chef and, to find a certain man."

"Fine by me. You just keep your end of the bargain after I win."

"I assure you, a lady of my station always keeps her promises."

"Who do you even want Goku-chan to fight anyway?" Nojiko chimed in. "I seriously doubt it's your two... uh, friends there."

The two slumped at being written off as no more than mere fodder.

"You are correct to assume such..." She trailed off, hinting toward her name.

Nojiko was on hand to oblige quickly enough with a smile, "Nojiko."

"Nojiko-san. Those two are not the fighting sort." She said, shaking her head, "No, the opponent I have in mind for Goku-san is a man who has never once received even a single blow, White Chase Hunter Smoker."

"Gee. He sounds pretty tough."

"Humph. You don't sound surprised even in the slightest."

"Oh, I am. I just know Goku-chan will win either way. He always wins."

"I see. Your unwavering conviction in Goku-san's power is reassuring," She began, making Nojiko preen with delight. "But I am afraid it is not so straightforward as a simple matter of strength." Nojiko sobered, feeling unsettled at the grim aura around the apparent chef elite, "For you see, Smoker's Devil Fruit powers grants him total invulnerability from all attacks."

"Oh, I remember now!" Goku realized, slamming a fist into a palm, "Yeah, you must be talking about one of those Logia-types I heard from that Buggy-guy."

"I presume you mean Buggy the Clown, infamous pirate with a bounty worth ten million beil?"

"Yeah! I fought him a while back."

"I see. If you are already familiar with Logias, you should know even your most destructive, hardest-hitting punch would be nullified against Smoker's intangibility," She smirked, "I am intrigued. How do you plan to defeat an adversary you cannot hit? I see it on your face. You still believe you can win."

"Oh, I'll figure it out." He said, smiling with all his signature inextinguishable drive to fight, going through several stretches in preparation for his latest combatant, "Besides, I've been itching to try my luck against a Logia since hearing of 'em from Buggy. This just gives me the perfect excuse." Not that he ever needed an excuse to leap into action.

"Is that so?" She laughed wholesomely at Goku's determined nod, "Well, you're confident. I suppose I can give you that much," Her purple eye-lined gaze suddenly darkened in an aura of smug amusement, "But I do hope for your sake that it is not just bravado speaking." It was at that point that the combined familiar sounds of marching, weighty boot-clad footsteps drumming off of the concrete floor in unison thundered in their ears, bringing a flinch from Nojiko, "Because it would seem Smoker-san has already been aware of your presence in Loguetown and has been on the search for you ever since."

She was vaguely impressed to see the orange-clad teenager's composure remaining unfazed in spite of the danger that presented him and his crewmate, instead calmly poising his body, "Yeah. Been sensing 'em getting closer since we started talkin'." He explained, donning his usual hardened mask of intent.

"Oh. Part of your powers, I presume?"

Goku nodded.

"You are a fascinating specimen, Bare-Fisted Goku-san." She poised herself, propping the ladle in her mouth and lifting up the side of her dress across her body, "I look forward to seeing the results but, for now, I bid you adieu." She turned, prancing down the street like an elegant ballerina toward the assembled marines, "Oh, marines!~ This dastardly pirate was attempting to ransom me."

Goku and Nojiko gawked.

"Uh, she sure knows how to put on a show," The first lady commented.

"Yeah, no kidding."

"I thought Renji was supposed to deal with these guys."

Goku regained his stoic mask, "Guess they found us before he could find 'em."

Nojiko sighed, "Makes sense, I guess. I mean, if they knew we were here from the moment we arrived they were probably already on the search. Renji might have missed them."

They soon found themselves surrounded by the marines, sounds of rifles being hoisted whistling through the air. A distinctive cigar-smoking man stepped forward, acknowledging him in a deathly calm tone of voice promising all sorts of pain, "Bare-Fisted Son Goku."

"That's right." Goku admitted, not that there was any sense hiding it given that they had his face plastered on every well, "I take it you're Smoker."

"Yep."

"Cool," He smirked, much to the awkward discomfort of Smoker's men, "A little birdie told me if I can beat your butt I would nail myself a cook."

"What are you babbling about, Bare-Fist? The only thing you'll be nailing is a free unpaid cell in one of our one-star high security prisons," He quipped, "I assure you, you'll experience a time worse than hell itself. Get used to three meals a day."

"Well, that's not very nice."

"It wasn't supposed to be," Smoker replied, chomping down on his two cigars, "Come quietly and you might not get hurt." His tone grew increasingly acidic, "I'd hate to see your pretty little lady friend bloodied at your expense."

Goku pulled down his eyelid, "Nah. I think I'll fight."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." He said, one strong arm thrown out in command, "FIRE!"

The centre circle of Goku's and Nojiko's standing spot was swarmed; grey fishing nets piling up one after the other in quick succession in mere seconds. The pile ended up resembling that of a miniature hill. It was a most glorious sight to behold.

But it would've been even more glorious if the two they had been aiming at was actually entrapped in its hill-like walls.

"WHAT?" Smoker bellowed, microphoning everyone's confusion aloud as he frantically searched his surroundings for any sign of the wayward pirate and his crewmate, "Where the hell did they go? Spread out, men! They-." He cut off by an startling burst of instantaneous-esque movement materializing behind him, gaze widening in horrified recognition.

"Over here." Goku snarked, flipping above his head, circling around him to flying kick most of his men into the sweet bliss of unconsciousness before his leg flew through Smoker's head, temporarily dissipating it into pure smoke itself. He flied that fact on the backburner to deal with the last of Smoker's men, flipping him in the air with a kick delivered unto his chin and burying his knees into his sternum with bone-crushing force.

"ARGH!" He cried out in a moment of agony he was shortly relieved of, letting the merciful feel of sleep wash over him.

"Okay, wow," Nojiko wobbled from where Goku had placed her, atop a rooftop just below the encounter. She sunk to her knees, feeling terribly lightheaded from the whole experience of dematerializing in an usage of teleportation-esque super speed, "A little warning would've been appreciated, Goku-chan."

The chain-smoking marine captain tightly clenched his fists, balling up his anger at the treatment of his men, "You're a fast one, aren't you?" He stated, masking his concern for his subordinates in a guise of deathly, restrained calm.

Goku eagerly bounced on his toes and set himself into a stance, "So that's what it feels like to hit a Logia. You really are untouchable."

"Exactly, brat." He clarified, extending both arms forward like a pair of rocket cannons. His gloved fists flew toward him like missiles, led by the now flowing, thick plume of cloudy smoke that were Smoker's arms, "I ate the Moku-Moku (Plume-Plume) fruit and became a smoke man!" The thick smoke ensnared Goku's body like a bubbly suit of armour, one that restricted all his movements, "Just give it up, brat. You have no chance of defeating me."

"Oh, we'll see about that!" Goku tensed, drawing upon the reservoir of his own power and pulling it to the surface. A tangible aura of white erupted around his body, effortlessly blowing the smoke from him in a dose of wind knocking his clothes about.

"What?!" Smoker's eyes involuntarily widened in stunned, terrified awe, 'What the hell kind of Devil Fruit is that?' He found the boy's satisfied smirk grafting irritably on his nerves, "Don't think you can all of sudden win just because you can negate my powers, brat! You still can't touch me." He rushed him, gripping the handle of his weapon. He threw his jitte in a wild, wide overarching strike at the boy, missing him by a hair's inch when he leaned out of the way, 'Just have to hit him once.'

This time it was Goku's turn to go on the offensive, instantly appearing before his startled gaze with the use of his superhuman speed, open palm aimed at his face, "Take this!" He roared, unleashing the heavy, concessive force of his air-based technique, violently launching the seemingly intangible marine captain several feet from him with enough force to cause him to vomit blood.

The gears turned with frightening efficiency inside Goku's head, "I think I'm starting to figure out how this guy's powers work, but," He formed a beautiful sapphire-coloured orb on his palm, "Just to be sure." He dematerialized.

Smoker was just about coming out of his disorientation, slowly sitting up on the concrete ground and wiping the blood from his lips, "He actually managed to wound me. What the hell kind of attack was that? Just what th-." He could rationalize no more. A glowing sphere drilling into his stomach ended all rationality, drowning him in true, real physical pain he hadn't felt since consuming his Devil Fruit. He bellowed, writhing in agony as the orb seared into his ribcage.

It only lasted three seconds, but Smoker swore on his mother's life those were the worse three seconds he had ever experienced in his life. Words couldn't express his gratitude to the heavens when it ended.

Goku righted himself, looking all sorts of smug with a massive wide grin threatening to engulf his entire face. One could've essentially taken a knife and sliced through Goku's satisfaction at that point, "I figured you out!" He raised a fist like he was holding the Olympic torch, "You may be smoke, but you're still made outta energy," And energy affected energy, was his reasoning, cladding his fist in a shroud of his ki, "And that means I can hit you! Now that I know that I can beat you in one punch like the rest."

A shroud of dark irritation cladded Smoker's gaze, one hand caressing the searing circle-shaped wound now engraved on his six-pack, "Don't get cocky just because your Devil Fruit conveniently counters mine. You still won't win," He assured and painstakingly stood, refusing to hunch over, "because you lack one thing. Wanna know what that is, Bare-Fist?"

Goku humoured him, "Sure, why not?"

"Experience!" The lower half of Smoker's body morphed into smoke, lending him the look of a ghostly, chain-smoking, wish-granting genie. He surged toward the overconfident pirate and lunged, slicing through the air with his jitte; refusing to be deterred when Bare-Fist evaded it with a casual sidestep. What followed was a desperate period of Smoker tenaciously trying to hit Goku, convinced that if he could just land a single blow it would all but guarantee his victory. Hitting him seemed to be another insurmountable challenge all on its own, though. No matter which angles he struck at the teen from, down below, to the side, from the behind or even above, Goku was effortlessly able to escape each strike barely moving an inch from his initial spot.

"Stand still!" Smoker demanded in irritation, sweating up a storm.

Goku disappeared without a truce.

"Hiding again, are we, brat? I thought you were going to be finish me off in one blow! Or was that all bluster?!" Smoker mocked, trying to bait him out. Feeling a cool shadow looming above his head, he looked up, eyes widening in horror finding his adversary hurtling toward him poised to strike with a glowing clenched fist, "Shit."

Accurate summarization.

That was the hardest punch he had ever taken, not that he taken a lot to compare it to. He swore he had been struck by a gigantic galleon ship, right cheek curving in from the fist slammed against it. A few of his teeth shattered from the raw, bone-shattering force and that wasn't even the worst of it. No, that happened to be the generated force that ferociously slammed him against a concrete wall, burying him into a deep crater.

"ARGH!"

Needlessly to say, he was more than happy to surrender to the merciful sensation of unconsciousness, eyes lolling.

"And stay down!" Goku grinned triumphantly.

"Goku-chan!" He looked up at Nojiko's cry of elation, the young woman waving her arm from the rooftop. He was forced to react quickly when the athletic girl hopped off the roof, and into his waiting, warm embrace.

"Whoa!"

"You were awesome, as always," She gushed, warmly grasping his neck and pecking him on the cheek. "I just knew you were going to do something cool to beat that weird marine-guy."

Goku laughed, "He was actually pretty easy to beat once I figured out how his weird powers worked."

"I'll say. You beat him in one punch!"

A round of applause drawn their attention to the recent trio of Carmen and her devote followers, all of three clapping dramatically, "I must say, I am very impressed, Goku-san. You succeeded in doing what no other pirate has accomplished before you and not only escaped but defeated White Chase Smoker of the marines singlehandedly," She lauded, crossing an arm over her mouth and propping a hand on her hip, "I must say, I never expected Bare-Fist to be the user of the cursed fruit."

"I don't have Devil Fruit powers." Goku admitted.

"Is that so?" She asked, drawing an earnest nod from her soon-to-be captain, "Well I believe that just makes your feat all the more impressive, does it not?"

Goku levelled a finger at her, "Now it's your turn to uphold your end of the bargain."

She gave a lavish shrug, "Very well. A deal is a deal," She struck a pose, ladle in her mouth, "I, Carmen-sama, offer my divine services to the greatest pirate in all of East Blue, Bare-Fisted Son Goku-san." She ended with a bow, holding up her dress, "I assure you, you shalt never starve or suffer malnutrition for the duration of our journey together."

"You really don't do things half-assed, do you?" Nojiko deadpanned, eliciting a smirk from the overly-dramatic young woman. She had a feeling things were going to be a lot more lively aboard the S.S Fist of Justice with the quirky, dramatic young woman aboard, "Oh, I should warn you our captain here eats like a whale. I'm not exaggerating when I say he eats more than a whole village put together."

That was just one meal.

"Ohohohoho. It matters not. For a cook of my calibre Goku-san's appetite will hardly be a challenge."

"Awesome! Then it's good to have ya on board, Carmen."

"The feeling's mutual, captain. I look forward to working alongside you to achieve both our goals."

XxX

(Omake- two days later)

XxX

'Feast your eyes on that, Bellmere,' The orange-haired navigator mused, a cheeky, spirited smile of true elation lighting up her face – The Going Merry nearing the sight of their former tormentor's previous hangout completely disintegrated as if it never existed to begin with. A phantom image of her nightmarish prison and all the miserable memories it brought her briefly flashed behind her softening gaze as she leaned on the ship's railing. Banishing the haunted holographic tower to behold it's 'remnants' – a huge circular patch of dirt with no debris – felt like discarding a bad dream.

Her nightmare had been dismissed before her very eyes.

"What're we doing here, Nami?" Luffy asked, folded arms and a cocked head.

A gentle breeze swept Nami's hair over her shoulder, embellishing her serene expression, "You'll see." She teased when she turned away from her view, drawing a deep sigh of dismay from her captain. She giggled with a loose fist against her mouth, deciding to take pity on the rubbery teenager, "I came to collect some money I'd been saving up for the past eight years."

"Some money?" Usopp queried, standing aside his captain.

"That's right. I made a deal with Arlong that If I could gather up the sum of one hundred million beils he would sell me my island," Nami explained, utterly stunning Luffy, Usopp and Zoro at that bombshell. Their latest recruit – a suave blonde – might have had his jaw dropped, too, but he was too busy gushing over her sheer competence to accumulate such a wealth to be shocked over it.

"No way! Seriously!" Usopp yelled in enquiry, drawing a look of amusement from the cat burglar. Considering how young she was now, Usopp just had to further pry, face turning a shade of nervy purple, "Uh, how old were you when you started saving up money?"

"I'm eighteen now, so you do the maths," Nami sassed. Luffy began counting on his fingers.

"No way! You were ten!" Usopp gaped. He didn't think his jaw could get any lower after the last admission but suffice to say, his expectations were defied again. That raised a further few questions, though, "How in the earth were you ever supposed to make a hundred million beils as a ten-year-old?"

"Oh, you know, lying, stealing, swindling," She said with a bold nonchalance before sticking her tongue out. Usopp continued to gape openly at her in a mystified fashion. Nami turned back toward her hometown to reflect on all she had done since the day Arlong marched into her life, "I did everything I could to get my hands on a hundred million belis." She swept a hand over her fangs, a look of melancholy in her gaze, "I even betrayed more than a few people."

"Humph. Don't just get any ideas of betraying us," Zoro grumbled, instantly dodging a snap kick from a long, slick black clad leg and glaring murderously at the offender, "You got a problem, shitty cook?"

"As a matter of fact, I do, moss head," The mocked chef retorted coolly, sporting a black suit complete with a onyx-coloured tie and a blue under dress shirt. A handsome blonde young man the crew had recruited from their latest adventure squared off with the moss head, distinctive curly eyebrows doing nothing to lessen his ferocious glare, "Don't go accusing our beautiful navigator of shit like that."

"Eh?! You heard her yourself. She's betrayed people before."

"Idiot! She had a damned good reason and you know it!"

"NO WAY! You were ten!"

"Idiot! You only now just figured it out after I already said it!"

Another true, serene smile Nami felt from the bottom of her heart eclipsed her face as the sun's radiance shined upon her, 'This is nice.' She mused, walking over to the steering wheel as the boys argued among themselves. 'Thank you again, Goku-san.' She pulled the ship up port and glanced up at the heavens, seeing her saviour's infectiously smiling face reflected off the clouds, 'I never would've gotten to smile and laugh like this if it aren't for you.'

The anchor was dropped with a heavy splash.

"Well, guys. This is my hometown."

"Alright! We made it!" Luffy said excitably.

"Ah! Nami-swan's hometown!~" Sanji gushed, heart-shaped eyes surveying their surroundings in a rose-tinted view, "I bet the ladies are just as beautiful as her!"

"Is that all you ever think about?" Usopp deadpanned.

"Hope there's a good place to take a nap," Zoro yawned.

Nami giggled, following the boys off the ship in a leap and into her hometown of Cocoyashi village where the crew were visited by the hollowing echoes of many metal objects clattering nosily to the ground, "Oh." Before them, a myriad of household items and garden materials laid scattered on the dirt floor, gawking gazes solely on the crew, or more specifically, their lone female.

"Guess they were expecting someone else," Sanji ascertained coolly, lighting up a cigarette. Given what he had heard from his beloved Nami-chan regarding her village's eight-year imprisonment it was entirely understandable that they would be hostile seeing an evident pirate ship approaching their small island.

"Nacchan." A nondescript village resident murmured as though he had seen a ghost.

Nami plated on a nervous smile, caressing her left arm, "Hey, everyone. Long-time no see."

Without warning, a tremendous chorus of warm-hearted cheers echoed throughout the sea, startling the crew. They were swarmed, greeted by a mob with a warm reception.

"You're amazing, Nami!"

"Thank you for sending us our saviour, Nami!"

"We owe you our lives."

"Uh, I guess they're really happy," Usopp murmured, feeling little hands pawing at his trousers in excited delight.

"Yeah, no kidding," Luffy concurred.

"Well, what do you expect?" Sanji reasoned, regaining his composure despite being bombarded by Nami's adoring fans, "Nami-chan sent them their saviour to rid them of their nightmare. Of course they're gonna be grateful as hell."

As if to validate Sanji's point, Nami felt a pair of small hands pawing at the brim of her skirt like a dog standing on its legs to gain its master's attention, getting her to look down into the vibrant eyes of a young boy, "Thank you for sending Goku-oniisan here, oneechan. You saved my dad's life."

Nami stared at his wide smile brimming with such serene gratitude before looking all over her at similar grateful eyes shining so brightly, they threatened to blind her, 'Everyone.' She mused quietly, bending down to pat the boy on his green-woolly hat covered head with a reluctant smile, "You don't have to thank me. Goku-san's the one who insisted he fight Arlong. I just pointed him in the right direction," She ruffled his hair affectionately, grin widening, "So please, save your thanks for him, okay?"

He nodded peppily, "Right!"

The crowd abruptly parted like the red sea, allowing entry to a familiar ever present presence in Nami's early adolescence, "Coming through! Coming though!" The scar-faced general alerted in his usual gruff voice, causing Nami's heart to swell with emotion.

"…Gen." She murmured, standing up straight to greet her father-figure.

Genzo bestowed her a gentle smile, "You did good, Nami."

Nami lowered her head to hide the unshed tears beginning to form in her eyes at hearing such a simple acknowledgement of her eight-year hardwork to free their island of their plight, a teary smile emerging on her lips born from that overwhelming emotion enlarging her heart, "Yeah..." Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp all looked on silently, serene smiles of their own on their faces.

xXx

(A few moments later)

xXx

"No way! You mean Goku kicked all those fish guys's asses without even getting touched?! That's so cool!" Luffy gushed.

The crew were currently joining the village residents on a leisured stroll downtown. During this period, Genzo decided to retell the events of the Fishmen's severe ass whooping handed out by Goku with his second-hand knowledge.

"Yeah! According to Nojiko, those damned Fishmen couldn't get near Goku-san!" He said with a hearty, uproarious laugh, "She did everything to try and stop him at first, not knowing how powerful he was, but that damn boy wouldn't be deterred. He just kept marching forward until finally, he reached Arlong's domain. He broke through the gate with one punch and preceded to clean house. Even Arlong's three officers were obliterated in one shot."

Usopp's mouth had practically resembled a cave with how much his jaw had plummeted to the floor, "You're kidding…" He murmured in horrified awe. Genzo could only laugh heartily. He probably wouldn't have believed Goku's complete landslide victory over their once larger than life tormentors had he not seen Goku's explicitly untouched and pristine state at the end of the battle. Never mind not having a scratch on him, his clothes weren't torn despite battling a dozen inhuman entities, "No wonder they're calling him 'Bare-Fist'."

"Speaking of Nojiko," Nami chimed in, scrutinizing the crowd surrounding them with a keen eye in search of said purple-haired sister, "Where is my sister?" She would've assumed the young woman would've been the first one out on the front lines to greet her, but the longer she looked on the more certain she became that she wasn't in Cocoyashi Village at present.

"Nami-chan's sister!~" Sanji gushed, body turning to goo as he flopped from side to side with a heart-struck gaze, "I bet she's just as beautiful as Nami-chan!"

Genzo smirked, pushing the brim of his cap down to cover his eyes, "That damned Nojiko," He said affectionately, "She's fallen in love with Goku-san and chose to become a pirate and join his crew just to be with him."

Sanji felt his world shatter like fine China, dropping to his knees and beating the ground in despair, "That lucky bastard."

"Oh." Nami blinked.

"So THAT'S why Goku didn't want to join my crew," Luffy realized, loosing a giggle, "He wanted to form his own crew and be the captain of his own ship." He could certainly relate to that. There was a time when he and his brothers used to argue over who would be the captain of their crew before tragedy forced their hand. Instead, Luffy and his brother opted to set out from their homeland when they were seventeen to build their own respective crews.

"He said he got the idea from you," Genzo said, turning his head over his shoulder to look at Luffy's blinking face with a knowing smirk, "He said he wouldn't mind making his own crew like his pirate friend Luffy."

"He did?" Luffy asked, cocking his head to the side and Genzo nodded, smile softening, "Shishishishishi. That Goku." He chuckled, "I can't wait to meet him again in the Grand Line. We're gonna be the most famous pirates ever." Genzo laughed to himself.

"I look forward to seeing it, kid."

xXx

(Sometime later)

xXx

Nami sat on an operating bed on her belly, arms folded beneath her chin and a fresh scar on her left arm; the last resides of her eight-year nightmarish ordeal. Beside her stood an elder decked out in a long, white trench coat and a bandana covering his receding hairline.

"You're gonna have a scar," He informed her, not sugarcoating his words, "That's just how tattoos are."

"Yeah." Nami murmured solemnly, "Tattoos aren't things you can just get rid of," A flashback played through her mind just then like an old film, reminding her of the time Nojiko tattooed her arms and chest all to comfort her. A smile came to her face as she handed a folded piece of paper to the good doctor, "Hey, Doc. There is something else I'd like you to tattoo for me."

The good doctor unfolded the paper and held it up to study its contents, eyes widening behind his shades at the distinctive markings inked across the sheet, 'This is it…' An image of their village saviour's back floated through his mind's eye. He grinned warmly, "Of course."

One chapter ended up becoming two due to the length so you get two chapters this time, my friends. And yes, Carmen is indeed a filler character. She appeared in one episode which is episode 51 of the Loguetown arc so she's pretty much a blank state all things considered. Ki does indeed equal Haki. Makes sense considering the similarities. Armament Haki is basically a Z-Warrior cladding his arm in a shroud of Ki. Observation Haki is an advanced form of Ki-sensing. Just need a comparison for Conqueror's Haki to complete the set. I supposed Killing Intent would make for a pretty decent comparison ^^

Also, good news! Our girl Jolyne Kujo's part in the JoJo's story is now getting an adaptation. Can't wait for that. Just started reading the manga. Completed half so far and it's been a fun and intense ride so far.