[Quick note: Sorry for the likely huge amount of notifications you may have recieved as I re-uploaded every chapter by hand! I proofread the fic again before writing new chapters, because I haven't touched the plot in what... More than a year? I needed to get back into the swing of things, and what better way to do that than to give the writing a facelift? Anyway, if anything is up with the chapters, I always recommend looking for the fic on ao3 instead, because the editing tools on ff are a lot more difficult, and unfortunately that sometimes leads to upload errors. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story as much as I enjoy writing this!]
Zoro had returned (albeit with the guidance of Robin's envious clone hands).
"Zoro! We have a plan! Luffy sprinted past him up the stairs."
"Yea."
He regained his balance after having been shoved by the sheer force of his captain's running.
One by one, the Mugiwaras filed past him up the stairs. He startled as something had popped out of the wall of the stairway passage and grabbed his buttock.
"GOD dammit woman." He hissed.
Everyone was in too close of a proximity to him to have caught a glimpse of what happened. Chopper, who was the appropriate height to have spotted the action, was jauntily skipping at the start of the line, right after Luffy.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Nami stared at him briefly as she walked by.
Robin was last to pass him, he waited until she was in front of him and grabbed her behind in a similarly in a discreet but strong fisted fashion, he employed both his hands as she suppressed a startled shriek. Her face turned red again at what she had knowingly brought upon herself.
He straightened out and kept walking normally.
"Y-!" Zoro searched for words to shout to Nami, who was pacing several steps in front of them, with her head turned towards the exit.
"You left me out of planning." He said without enough conviction.
"Not my fault you were in the bathroom for so long, the hell did you eat? And since when are you this into strategizing? I always took you for more of a 'charge right into the fray' kind of guy."
He gritted his teeth.
Robin's sweet laugh echoed down the corridor.
"Just go with the flow, Zoro!"
Her perfume taunted him.
"The flow" took the crew through the quaint walls of the town, and towards the docks, where a monumental navy ship loomed. Its shadow shielded them from the sun, along with the large army of men in uniform, the place was crawling with them. Most of them a similar stature and general appearance, they differed most of all in uniforms and weaponry.
Most notable were the ones walking around in tall mechanical suits of armor. Bordering on robots. Pristine white metal plating with rivets near each cyborglike joint. There were men inside, but they were comfortably secured in a half-seated position in the torso of the things. The threat of the robotic armor was enhanced by what they were carrying.
"UWAH, FLAME THROWERS!" Luffy admired them too loudly.
All marines within a twenty meter radius turned toward the pirates, who were standing in a large cobblestone passage that lead to the dock area. The nearby rundown market stalls would hardly work as cover, but they did add a certain decorative flavor to what was to come.
"HAH. Let's go GET 'EM!" Luffy shouted.
Zoro's eye gleamed with bloodlust, as he popped a sword in his mouth, tying his bandana onto his head. He drew his other two swords.
"ROGER THAT!" He roared.
Sanji had already coolly leapt into battle after his captain.
Nami was accompanied by Chopper, they had long before the attack headed west, snail phone and map in tow.
The two remaining Straw Hat Pirates on the island were stationed in the belltower of a large nearby church. Brook hid himself behind a pillar as Robin surveyed the area for tactical strengths and weaknesses.
"Ok." Said the skeleton…
"Once I leave my body I will become a lifeless skeleton. Please take care of me until I come back, Robin-san."
"Leave it to me." She nodded at him with confidence, crossing her arms across her chest.
With a mysterious and paranormal noise, Brook began his separation, as his spirit soared out of his mouth, into the subtly salty seaside air.
The sensation of flight over the large market square, and the aerial view of his three fellow men below fended off huge waves of marines and officers was enough to make him chuckle with glee.
"YOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOOOoOOoOoo~"