Memoirs of a Suicidal Pirate Chapter 15: Doesn't it feel good, an one piece fanfic

…it's alive :)

One long chapter to mark the return of this story, HAHA.

Thank you all so much for waiting. I hope it was worth it ;-;

I do not own One Piece.

Memoirs of a Suicidal Pirate

Chapter Fifteen:

Doesn't it feel good

Vivi knew her options were limited.

The moment Vivi, young and hopeful and angry, knew what was happening to her home, she'd known. The moment she'd entered Baroque Works and realized the amount of people against her, she'd known. Since she'd left her home—the thought still weighed heavy on her heart, slowing her movements, clouding her head—she knew the odds were going to be stacked against her. Saving Alabasta, saving her country, her home was a race against time and Vivi was short allies and even more so of time.

"Wow, Sanji!" Nami said, touching her fingers to her lips. "You've outdone yourself this time. It's so nice and refreshing."

"Thank you, Nami-swan!" Sanji sang, practically leaping off the second railing of the ship's deck. "I can't just accept such wonderful praise from you, I'll do even better!"

Vivi ignored the sweet, refreshing scent wafting up from the drink in her hand for the moment, turning her eyes down towards the deck.

"Man, if it snowed again that'd be awesome," Luffy said, looking out over the railing with Usopp. "I want to play in the snow some more!"

"Maybe we can do some fishing instead!" Usopp suggested. Luffy's eyes brightened eagerly, lips stretching into a huge grin. "Let's go get the rods!"

"I want Hoku to draw mine! She draws the best rods. Hoku! Draw me a fishing rod!"

Karoo eyed the drink in her hands, licking at his beak. Vivi calmly moved the straw closer to him, finally following Luffy and Usopp's race to the bow of the ship.

Zoro sat with his legs crossed, one hand propping his head up as he watched the young woman beside him work. His gaze appeared lazy, but the way he watched her hands move was sharp, following each motion curiously and occasionally looking up to her concentrated face. His side was absent of two of his swords—three was a strange amount to Vivi but she guessed there were even stranger ways of fighting out there in this vast sea.

In his own lap, however, was the short sword Vivi had seen Hoku use and carry. He'd been observing it earlier, examining the blade and giving it an experimental swing. It seemed the two of them were… trading swords? Vivi wasn't quite sure. Perhaps some kind of ritual between swordsmen?

Two of the three blades were currently allocated to Hoku's lap, cushioned by black cloth. One of them was cradled gingerly in Hoku's hand, the hilt rested on her shoulder, propped up with the blade pointing downwards as she grabbed the blade with her bare fingers.

Bare? Vivi thought, growing a bit pale. She's going to cut herself.

Hoku's face was almost relaxed in her concentration. Hair pulled back neatly into a braid woven in with her red ribbon, save for some unruly strands. The sash she normally wore around her hip was being used instead as a bandana, keeping the stray strands away. She seemed almost peaceful, Vivi realized. The most relaxed she'd seen the woman since boarding this ship. If anything, her expression was actually a bit… too relaxed. Pleased? Vivi couldn't quite put her finger on what was different but—

"Hoku!" Luffy shouted, launching himself across the ship towards them. "Fishing rod, please!"

"Me too!" Usopp said, running after him. "Please!"

The relaxed look was broken instantly. Hoku's brow twitched, she quickly threw out her left hand, warding her crew off.

"Watch it, chumps!" Hoku snapped, holding Yubashiri out of the way. "I'm coating over here! This is a delicate process, okay!"

Luffy skidded to an immediate halt before Hoku and Zoro. Usopp slammed into Luffy's back, his nose popping out over his shoulder. "Hoku, fishing rod, please."

Hoku looked annoyed, but her left hand was already reaching for the brush tucked behind her ear. Vivi watched, almost amazed as Luffy shuffled on his feet, waiting eagerly as Hoku quickly drew something into the wooden boards beside her. Within seconds she was pulling two rods out of the wood. Vivi blinked in disbelief while Hoku inspected them, nodding resolutely to herself before she handed them off to her crew.

"You have to use your own line," Hoku said. "And don't drop them into the water."

Zoro watched the entire exchange in silence, looking almost vaguely amused as Luffy cheered, taking the fishing rods with care, then thrusting one into Usopp's hands. "Yahoo! Thanks, Hoku! Your rods are the best!"

Hoku made a face, but the corners of mouth pulled up at the corners in a smug sort of way. Zoro pointedly tapped her thigh with his foot and Hoku instantly straightened to attention again.

For a group of pirates, they didn't quite act the way Vivi was expecting. For a group of outlaws, even, compared to what she'd known of Baroque Works and their ruthlessness… none of them acted the same at all. Her eyes turned to the bright straw hat, staring at Luffy's back. Vivi wasn't quite sure how this group of people had found themselves collected all together. She supposed it all started with the young man in the straw hat currently waving his fishing rod around like a sword—but still…

Vivi glanced back to Hoku, a small, curious frown on her lips. And how they managed to find someone like her too…

"You know, I noticed this earlier too," Nami said casually beside Vivi, almost scaring the princess-in-hiding out of her skin. Karoo squawked instead. "You've been eyeing our little artist quite a bit. Something going on?"

"What?" Vivi flushed in surprise at being caught. Nami sipped on her drink. "N-No! There's nothing. I was just, I wasn't looking at her in particular!"

Nami hummed, making Vivi feel more nervous than she should've felt. "I-I… I'm just surprised you have someone like her on your crew!"

Nami's gaze looked less sly and more curious. "Someone like her? You mean an artist?"

"No! Well, I suppose an artist on a pirate ship is rather curious too—what I meant was," Vivi touched her hair, looking at Hoku and back to Nami. "That she's Pokian…"

"Are Pokians not supposed to be pirates?" Nami said in wonder. "We seem to get that a lot with her…"

"No—I, I don't think so," Vivi mumbled. "It's just… It's been a long time since I've seen someone from her country and after what happened to their island, I thought… I guess I'm surprised she's willing to be so open about her heritage."

The sight of Hoku's hair was…soothing, to be honest. It made it easy for Vivi to recall one of her fonder memories from her childhood. She still saw it so clearly—the hair, whiter than any sand Vivi had ever seen—peeking between her father's legs as they set to work. One of them turned to her with a smile, pressing a finger to his lips.

"What story will you tell, princess?"

Vivi's fingers curled tight into a fist, holding it close to her heart.

"Her island, huh?" Vivi stiffened when Sanji came up the steps, pulling his cigarette away from his lips to exhale politely away from them. "That's something else we've heard a little bit about before too."

Both of them watched Vivi expectantly. She nervously fiddled with her cup. "I-I'm not quite sure it's my place to tell… I suppose I was just surprised because… most people like her have decided to go into hiding instead of joining pirate crews…"

"Hoku hasn't really said much about those kinds of things herself," Nami said, looking thoughtful as she used her straw to move an ice cube around. "She's not very generous with information about her past yet."

Yet. Vivi blinked, feeling a bead of sweat roll down her temple while looking at Nami. The navigator's tone was… a bit unnerving. What is that supposed to mean?

"But it seems like there's a reason people are always a little surprised to see people like her," Nami said. "And if it's something Hoku should be worried about, I would say she's not very worried because, well…"

Nami turned away from Vivi, flashing her a cheeky smile over her shoulder. "The people on this ship are pretty strong, you know?"

"That's my Nami-swan! So attractive when you talk like that!"

Vivi stared after Nami, blinking in surprise. Nami called Sanji over and he came running, refilling her drink in less than a second. Vivi's shoulders slumped in defeat, watching Karoo sip at her juice. The wind played with her hair.

Vivi knew she was pressed for time. Nami had already debriefed their crew and explained everything to them. They were on course to the next island where Miss All Sunday had already warned them of potential dangers to come, so why was it that…

Vivi felt so… content with them?

There were careful steps one had to take when coating a weapon.

Sacred steps Hoku had ingrained into her memory, watching with curious eyes over the top of Mahina's lap as her mother worked. Most of Hoku's memories of her mother were in the forge, coating a sword or spear tip or some other sharp end or another, so that part came easy. Every Pokian who trained themselves in coating followed the basic tradition first, and then instilled their own practice after that. What they used in their coating, what motion they took—even the essence of their blood needed for the coating changed the style and the effectiveness.

Mahina always told her no Pokian coated the same way because no one's blood was ever the same. Hoku had guiltily hoped for an exception when it came to family, but even as much as she'd wanted to emulate her mother's formula, she was lacking in ingredients and skill.

Where her mother's favorite core in her coats were sea lotuses, Hoku had spent the past years experimenting on her own mixtures. The sea lotuses were too few when she'd last visited Artopoki, still recovering with the island, so Hoku had botched the idea of copying her mother. She'd only been able to store and keep one of the buds for a different project. Hoku kept one last little jar of her mother's formula for reference, finding her own substitute was a little tricky.

"Too thick," Mihawk would critique after watching her coat Yoru's side.

"Too thin."

"It smells too sweet."

I was trying hard okay. Hoku held back the tears, lovingly caressing Yubashiri's blade and ignoring the disgruntled look Zoro was giving her for fondling his sword. My mother can't be beat!

Coats always started with the Pokian's blood as a base. Different amounts changed the thickness and effectiveness, so balance was important. Next came refined oil for blades, then soot, per Mahina's and Manu's recommendation, heated together with a small bit of sand from Artopoki, Mahina's secret trick and then finally, Hoku's own secret ingredient.

"You have Manu's blood in you," Mahina would say, always looking curious. "I wonder if your coats will be just as pretty then."

She was probably just teasing. Hoku had taken dyed black cloth from her kit in the room, settling it over her lap. She didn't have any idea how pretty blood could transfer through. Hoku could've drawn up a table, but she liked to do it the way her mother did the best. Yubashiri glided between her fingers, a low, pleasant sigh in Hoku's ears as she moved her slicked fingers up against the side of the blade, watching the coat seep into the metal.

She liked to think it worked like a massage for the swords.

And honestly, it worked the same for Hoku. She didn't really know when coating had started to become therapeutic for her, but it sure did wonders. Something about the motion, about knowing what each moment would go towards was comforting. I could use a second after everything that just happened.

"You really get a kick out of this, don't you?"

Hoku flinched, feeling caught. She flicked her gaze Zoro's way, grimacing more when he kept his cool gaze on her, unrelenting and vague in its expression. I can't tell what he's thinking.

"...it's sort of therapeutic," Hoku admitted, running her slick fingers down Yubashiri's side. "That's all."

Zoro dragged out a sort of hum like sound. Hoku was willing to bet he didn't quite buy that alone. "You spend all that time drawing but you're pretty obsessed with this."

"I mean, isn't it nice to switch some things up a bit?" Hoku muttered. "And it's not that I'm obsessed… I'm just… appreciative." Hoku nodded to herself. Zoro raised a brow. "It's like appreciating art work, that's all!"

And I finally get to touch some good swords. Hoku sighed, eyes shining with hearts as she gingerly laid Yubashiri over her lap on the cloth and set to careful work on Kitetsu. He greeted her with a sneer, and her fingers eagerly and smoothly slid across his blade. So different from Yoru. I wonder if all the graded swords would be this fun to coat. What would they sound like? I bet feeling your fingers against the metal would be like heaven—

"Careful, wench," Kitetsu whispered. "I bite."

"What are you," Zoro's voice caught her off guard, forcing her to look up from her dreamy smile to his raised brow. "Some kind of pervert?"

Hoku blinked once at his question, confused. Zoro leaned back against the deck railing, one leg propped up as he simply tapped one finger to his upper lip.

Something wet dripped from her lip and onto the black cloth, stain disappearing permanently into the inky fabric. Hoku blinked again and touched a finger to her lip, trailing just below her nose.

Hoku glanced at her reflection against Kitetsu's blade, staring back at the nosebleed currently working its way down her lip.

"If your reaction is going to be the same as that shitty cook's," Zoro drawled. "I don't know if I should let you near 'em again."

"No!" Hoku cried, quickly ripping off a piece of cloth and swiping up her nose, stuffing it inside. "Not at all! It was just—it's because I'm tired! That's all, vahahaha! Tired! H-How could it be anything else?"

Zoro didn't look convinced.

"L-Let me keep working!" Hoku said defensively, fingers wrapping tighter around Kitetsu's blade. "You need to keep good swords in good condition anyway!"

Wado Ichimonji hummed.

"Hoku's always been a perv for weird stuff," Luffy said conversationally, sitting on the railing as he and Usopp waited for a bite. "What a weirdo."

"Ka! Shut up, Luffy! You're making it sound worse than it is!"

"She did the same thing to a pot once," Luffy said. "Said it sounded nice." He shrugged his shoulders at Usopp's bewildered look. "Pretty weird, huh?"

"It was a vase! A vase! Not a pot! And it was crafted extremely well and—"

"Well," Nami said slowly, making her way down the steps. "Weird kinks for swords aside—"

"It's not a kink!" Hoku spluttered.

"Hoku Honey, I'll love you for all your quirks and—"

"I," Vivi looked stunned, "I never realized Mr. Bushido and Hoku had such a relationship…"

"It looks like we've made it," Nami said, pointing one elegant finger forward. All their eyes followed the fog clearing out in the distance, thick foliage sprouting high over mountaintops. "To our next island."

Hoku pouted to herself, cloth poking out of her nose as she kept dutifully coating Kitetsu's blade, avoiding his threatening little nips by tapping her fingers along like a piano. A wide grin stretched over Luffy's lips as the Merry began to follow the flow of an inner current, a riverway between the island opening deeper inland.

"Woohoo! Our second island on the Grand Line!"

Hoku peeked one eye up, finishing up the coat with a polishing of the hilt. The mountains she'd previously seen sloped upwards together into a sturdier rock formation—was that… a volcano? She blinked once in disbelief, looking around as the riverway thrust them completely into thick foliage, not unlike rainforests on either side of them. There was a low rustle of voices in the back of Hoku's head, the tell-tale sound of life on the island. And plenty of it too. A bit different though from the usual chatter of birds or whispers of smaller creatures. Hoku couldn't put her finger on it.

"We should be careful," Vivi said slowly, "I'm still worried about what Miss All-Sunday said about this island."

"Y-You don't think there's monsters here, do you?" Usopp questioned. "Maybe she was just… trying to scare us?"

"There's definitely animals of some kind," Hoku said, frowning as she tried to listen in a bit. "I can't really make out what they're saying—"

"Stop! I don't want to hear anymore!"

"That's good news then," Sanji said. "We need to stock up on food pretty soon. I didn't get a chance to get anything in the last town."

"Too busy sleeping," Zoro said.

"Shut it, mosshead! Stop making Hoku Honey slave away for you!"

"I'm all finished now anyway," Hoku said, wiping her hands clean of her coating residue and setting newly polished, fully minted and coated Yubashiri and Kitetsu down onto the black cloth. Zoro carefully picked the two of them up, appraising her work. It's more of a win for me anyway since I get such a kick out of it.

Hoku stopped, suddenly a bit mortified. It's not… it's not actually a kink or something, right?

"But man, just look at this place," Sanji lit a new cigarette, shaking his head in disbelief. "It seems completely unexplored. Look at all this jungle."

"So this is Little Garden," Usopp tried to say bravely.

"I can't see anything that would give it such a cute name," Nami said in disbelief. "Just what about this island is little?"

"Not bad," Zoro said finally. Mau dropped cleanly into her lap and Hoku perked up, watching him with keen eyes. "They sure look new. We'll see how they cut though."

"They'll cut like nothing before!" Hoku promised, eyes shining. "My coating mixture is only second to the best in the world!"

"Is that the way you should really be advertising yourself?" Zoro tucked the two swords back beside Wado Ichimonji, which Hoku eyed with unrestrained want. "Now we're even for that blood."

"If you like the way they feel," Hoku said, the cloth in her nose growing a darker shade of red. "Just say the word and I can always coat them again—"

"You make your wants too apparent," Mau said amused.

A loud screech broke through the air, cutting through all their chatter. Nami shrieked, covering her head. "Food! Food!" Hoku looked up at the thundering voice, eyes wide in surprise. That doesn't sound small.

"What was that?" Nami said tearfully. "And these plants, I've never seen any of them in my encyclopedia before!"

"Terrified Nami is still cute too," Sanji said warmly, taking out his cigarette. "Don't worry, it's just a normal bird. Even on this island, this is nothing but your average jungle!"

Luffy turned his gaze skywards, blinking. "A lizard?"

Hoku came to stand beside Luffy, finally unplugging her no longer bleeding nose. She tried to follow his gaze, frowning when she didn't see anything. "You saw a lizard?"

"Yeah," Luffy said, stretching his arms abnormally wide. "This big!"

"Huh, was it a cloud—"

A large tremor suddenly rocked the entire river, forcing all the swaying trees and foliage to shudder. The Merry swayed a bit from the force of the vibration, all of them turning in the direction of the mountains they'd seen sloping earlier.

"D-Does that sound like your average jungle?" Nami shouted in disbelief.

"It sounded like a volcano going off!" Usopp cried, clapping his hands over his ears. Vivi looked concerned, but her eyes were shining with a bit of fascination, curious as she looked over the railing of the ship.

A low growl whispered in Hoku's ears and she set one hand on Mau's handle, turning toward the shoreline. That didn't sound very lively. Was that—

The outline of a massive tiger stumbled its way into the clearing. Its eyes glazed over, blood pouring around its paws before it collapsed onto its side.

"This is definitely not normal!" Nami cried. "Why would a tiger, the king of the jungle, collapse covered in its own blood? Something's wrong!"

"Free food!" Luffy said.

"It's decided then," Usopp said seriously, sweat dripping down the side of his face. "We shouldn't set a single foot on this island."

Nami glanced to the log pose around her wrist, tapping nervously on the glass orb. "Let's just wait quietly on the ship until the log pose finishes recording! After all, we have to hurry to Alabasta as soon as we can anyway—"

"Sanji!" Luffy hooked an arm around Hoku's shoulders, leaping onto the top of the railing. Hoku eyed his arm suspiciously. "Prepare a lunchbox!"

"A lunchbox?" Sanji said.

"Yeah!" Hoku balked at Luffy's expression, bright and vibrant, the eager smile on his lips nothing short of dangerous. "I smell adventure ahead!"

"W-Wait a second!" Nami said hurriedly, rushing over to them. Hoku started her careful attempt of prying each of Luffy's rubbery fingers off of her to make her own escape. "Where do you think you're going?"

"On an adventure!" Luffy said simply, grinning from ear to ear. Nami already began to slump in defeat at the sight of Luffy's expression. "Shishishi, wanna come along? Sanji! Prepare my lunchbox! Please!"

"Alright, alright, just hold on—"

"Could I come along too?" Hoku turned to Vivi in surprise while Luffy whirled around eagerly, eyes shining.

"Sure! Sure!"

"Even you?" Nami said in disbelief.

"Yes," Vivi said, looking a bit excited herself. "Just standing around here doing nothing is only going to make me think about my worries again. I may as well try to clear my head until the log pose finishes recording!"

Vivi beamed, setting her hands on her hips. "It'll be fine! Karoo will be by my side after all."

Karoo's beak parted in disbelief, unable to utter a single word.

"Three actually!" Luffy's fingers readjusted their grip and Hoku squawked as they tugged her smack into Luffy's side, nearly throwing her over the railing. "Hoku's coming along!"

"When did we decide something like that?" Hoku snapped, pulling roughly at Luffy's cheek, stretching it down toward her hip. He blinked at her. "What if I wanna stay on the ship, huh? Going with you sounds like a pain!"

"Buw yuh wove shtuf ruhk dis!"

Hoku mulled over his words, glancing discreetly over the railing to observe the jungle herself. He wasn't… wrong. If Nami hadn't recognized any of the plants, what other kind of flora could exist on this island? What if there were some views that she should draw and…

"How did she understand any of that?" Usopp murmured in disbelief.

"Idiot speak," Zoro said.

But I don't know what happens on this island. Hoku tried not to let the lack of knowledge bother her. It wasn't as if anyone else in this world could possibly know either—she was just at the same place as all of them. What was important about Little Garden? Why do I feel like it has something to do with the name too? Ka! I don't know! This place could be dangerous and then—

Hoku stopped, blinking.

A dangerous island meant…

"Actually," Hoku said, releasing Luffy's cheek with a twang. He grunted, rubbing his sore cheek. "Can I get a lunchbox too, please?"

This place really does seem like no one's been here for years. Hoku swayed a bit, legs clamped over the leafy back of the panther she'd drawn out from the foliage. Its tail swayed in tune with Luffy's jolly steps, eyes watching the pirate ahead of her tromp through the jungle with a pleased purr. Vivi followed beside them on Karoo, eyes wide with awe as she surveyed the jungle all around them. Not a single trail in sight. Are we really the only people here?

Robin mentioned it like she was familiar though, so maybe not. Her pencil moved restlessly across the blank page, filling up corners with illustrations and smaller details of any flora she didn't recognize. It made her think a bit about the old encyclopedias once tucked behind the waterfall—the work of older illustrators before her and her father.

But now they're all gone, aren't they. Or at least hoarded away somewhere. Hoku frowned at the thought. She was sure one of them was supposed to accompany some kind of book that was popular in circulation… what was it again? Arrogant men? Braggers? No, no, something like that…

Her brush was tucked neatly behind her ears, bandana tightened over her head with Mau snug against her back as the three of them made their way deeper into the jungle and further into the island, following blindly at Luffy's lead.

Noise tampered at Hoku's ears, a bit louder than she was used to. There's a lot of living things here but they all seem like they're hiding from something. The trees were thick with foliage, vines interlacing across the floor, nearly tripping her drawing and Karoo on several occasions while Luffy forged his own trail through anything.

Being the first person to explore somewhere… It's kind of fun. She made the pointed choice not to say it out loud though. Better to keep it to herself or Luffy would never let her live it down.

"You really do draw well," Vivi said, voice tinged a bit with awe as she peeked, leaning over Karoo. Hoku glanced her way. "It's so lifelike! It's almost like a photo."

"You didn't think I could draw well?"

"N-No! I didn't mean it like that," Vivi said quickly, reeling Karoo around, unknowingly pulling his beak away from his drink. "Not at all! I meant—I've just never actually seen you draw and—"

"I'm just pullin' your hair," Hoku teased. Vivi blinked, touching the ends of her ponytail. "Thanks, I appreciate it." I guess?

"When you say stuff like that, Hoku gets a huge head," Luffy chimed in.

"What are you talking about, punk?"

"Do you… enjoy drawing?" Vivi asked curiously. It was Hoku's turn to blink at her in faint surprise, pausing her pencil. Vivi stopped Karoo, abruptly pulling him away from his drink again. "No, wait. That must sound like a stupid question—"

"No, it's not stupid," Hoku said easily. Vivi's more… curious than I thought. Well, I mean, it's not like she wouldn't be a friendly person considering she joins a crew like this, right? Hoku figured she'd be doing the same to the rest of the crew, just trying to understand the people helping her out more or something. Or maybe she's trying to keep her mind off things. "Sometimes people do things and don't seem to enjoy it a lot, right?"

Vivi nodded quickly. Karoo slowly tried to close his beak around his juice again, looking relieved when Vivi didn't unconsciously pull him aside.

"Do you enjoy drawing?"

"I've been at odds and ends with it before," Hoku admitted. She looked down at her sketchbook, staring at the drawings looking back at her. For a moment it wasn't her sketchbook and pencil. It was hard and metallic, smooth and glaring light back at her. "I think there was a time I didn't want to do it either."

And maybe even if she didn't say it out loud, she knew her fondness for running away to Mahina's forge wasn't always just to catch curious glimpses of her mother. Maybe Manu was too soft on her after all by never calling her out on it. He'd always just wait there by that desk, drawing until she came inching back.

"...But I do," Hoku said. Maybe she tried to sound casual about it, but she didn't think it sounded that way at all. "I'm not good at too many things in life, but art… I think art's one of the things I can say I'm pretty good at."

"Hoku's lying," Luffy said. "She thinks she's really good."

"Hey!" Hoku snapped. Her panther snickered beneath her and Mau hummed with amusement. "She wasn't talking to you."

"That's wonderful," Vivi said, sounding earnest. Hoku looked her way and blinked at the pleased smile on Vivi's lips. She looked strangely happy about Hoku's answer. "It's a great skill to have."

Oh! I get it now. Hoku almost snapped her fingers in understanding. Does Vivi… want to learn how to draw? Damn, that must be it! She's probably had to do tons of politics her whole life, maybe she wanted to learn how to do something different on the side. Like stress relief or a hobby. It all makes sense now—

She's just like the other Pokians. Vivi thought happily. Just like the stories father used to tell…

"I must say, Miss Hoku," Vivi added amiably, watching Hoku draw with curious eyes. The princess brought Karoo closer, the duck eyeing Hoku's leaf animal suspiciously. The panther bared impish teeth and Karoo paled. "That ability seems really useful."

"Only when they decide to behave," Hoku said pointedly. The panther lashed its tail in annoyance. "Want me to draw you one?"

Karoo started to nod his head rapidly, but Vivi politely waved the notion away. "We'll be just fine. Karoo wants to stretch his legs!"

"Princess!"

He does, does he? Hoku dodged a giant branch Luffy shoved her way, waving the strange, lip looking flowers around so she could get a closer look.

"How did you come upon such a fruit?" Vivi asked. "I always thought it was a little interesting how certain fruits found their ways to certain people. Two close companions of mine have powers that suit them very well."

"Ah, well," Hoku started, lips curling in disgust at the memory. "It was sort of… an unwanted gift from a relative of mine."

"Oh, I see," Vivi looked a bit uncertain after her answer, or maybe awkward was the better word? Hoku eyed her sideways for a bit before slowing her drawing down to a light sketch, shading in an already filled spot.

"Are they family?" Hoku offered, throwing the girl a bone. Vivi looked up, confused. "Your two companions."

Vivi's eyes brightened instantly at the change of topic. "We're not blood related, but they might as well be family! I wouldn't consider them anything less. It's been my father and I for a long time, and the two of them have always had a hand in raising me along with…"

Vivi trailed off, her eyes growing glassy. Hoku bit the inside of her cheek, realizing it was her fault this time for a bad turn in topic. Vivi shook her head, a bright expression returning as she faced Hoku with a warm smile. "Do you have a big family? Any siblings?"

Hoku tried not to think too hard about how to answer that question, ignoring the answer she would've given in another life. "Not really. It was just my mother and father in the past."

Vivi suddenly looked guilty after hearing her answer, turning her eyes back to the uncharted path ahead of them. Hoku raised a curious brow, eyeing her. Why so sheepish? She didn't ask anything… oh. Hoku blinked, looking at Vivi with more clarity. She most know more than I thought.

Maybe the two of them were more awkward than she thought.

"Well," Hoku started, coughing into her fist. Vivi looked at her again. "I'm the same though. You know, having people you'd sorta consider family… even though we're not blood related or anything. Just a few. I got along with some people on Artopoki too."

"Sure she does!" Luffy said suddenly, interjecting on Hoku's answer. "Hoku just doesn't know how to count—her family's huge!"

Vivi blinked, smile growing wider. "It is, is it?"

"She's not talking about stuff like that," Hoku muttered. "She means it in a different way."

"Blood doesn't matter when it comes to that stuff!"

"Hey, the blood doesn't—"

"Hey!" Luffy shouted obnoxiously, thrusting himself into a bush and suddenly lifting a wriggling creature into the air. "Check out this clam! It looks like a squid!"

Hoku stared at the creature with wide eyes, pausing in her sketch. Vivi looked startled beside her, confused. "That looks like… an ammonite if you ask me…"

"That just means clam-squid, right?"

Well, that's not exactly something you see everyday. Hoku frowned. But then again, there tended to be plenty of things in this world Hoku wasn't used to seeing every day either. Maybe they never went extinct in this world—

The ground suddenly trembled beneath them. Hoku's panther turned its ears forward and Karoo let out a fearful squawk. "What's—"

"Weather good. More food today."

Hoku clapped a hand over her ears, startled by the sheer volume of that single voice. That sounded way too close—

"Woah!" Luffy hollered, stretching his neck back. "What's a sea king doing on land?"

Now that didn't sound right.

Hoku followed his finger and almost dropped her pencil, jaw dropping in disbelief. Vivi's eyes went wide beside her, steadying Karoo before he tipped over and fainted with the both of them. "That's—that's a dinosaur!"

"A dinosaur?" Luffy shouted, eyes brightening with unrestrained, dangerous excitement. It turned the question around into an exclamation instead. A dinosaur!

The massive creature appeared unfazed by all their hollering. Its neck stretched long, far over the towering trees and thickened vines, mouth grinding back and forth as it chewed peacefully to itself, content. Hoku already knew she'd had to understand the existence of crazier creatures—sea kings and more, but seeing something she'd only read about in books, seen in museums, and watched animated across a big screen in real, breathing life before her—

"You've gotta be kidding me," Hoku mumbled.

A living, breathing, dinosaur.

"Our job never ends," Manu said, laughing. "There's too much to see!"

"It's… It's not impossible," Vivi said slowly in realization. "There are hundreds of islands on the Grand Line, and the ocean makes it possible so that some remain completely isolated from contact from the rest of the world… the same way some islands could be years ahead in development, that must mean some are stuck all the way back to the prehistoric age!"

"Woohoo!" Luffy hollered, throwing his arms around the dinosaur's neck and launching himself onto his back, already starting to clamber up towards the top. "This is awesome!"

"Don't climb it!" Vivi shouted in disbelief. "It's a dinosaur!"

"Itchy," the dinosaur began. "Itchy."

"It truly seems," Mau said against her back. "There is much left to see in this world."

Hoku kept silent at that, hesitating to find the right words. There was a faint whisper in the back of her head and she frowned, keeping silent for a different reason as she cupped her hands around her ears, twisting in her seat and looking around them. Was that another voice? It didn't sound like an animal or dinosaur… but it feels big too.

"This view is awesome!" Luffy shouted down to them, already making his way to the top of the dinosaur's head. "We should have our lunch up here!"

"Luffy, you should get down!" Vivi shouted. "It might look docile now, but it's still a dinosaur!"

"It's fine, it's fine," Luffy said. "It's only been eating leaves. Let's go check out that spot over—"

The dinosaur tipped its head back, tossing Luffy up into the air. It opened its mouth, letting the boy fall in before it clamped its jaws shut, audibly swallowing.

"Luffy!" Vivi and Hoku shouted in unison, one more in fear than the clear annoyance in the other.

Hoku started to tighten her bandana, moving forward menacingly with her drawing beneath her. "W-Wait, Hoku! We can't possibly take down a dinosaur—"

"Hey!" Hoku shouted, "Spit him out! You can't eat that!"

The brachiosaurus turned its head, massive jaws turning downwards into a sort of frown. "Who speaks?"

"Me!" Hoku shouted. Its eyes turned downwards toward them, unamused. Hoku shook her fist at it. "He won't taste good! He's rubber, spit him out!"

Vivi blinked.

"Food is food."

"It'll be a real pain if you swallow him," Hoku continued, waving her hands. "Spit him out now and we'll—we'll get you some leaves or something!"

"M-Miss Hoku," Vivi started, looking increasingly concerned. "Are you… talking to the dinosaur?"

"How else are we gonna get it to spit him out?" Hoku said. "Hey! I'm still talking to you!"

Vivi stared.

"Crazy," Karoo quacked.

"I'm not crazy, I'm just—"

A sweet, quick holler of a war cry pierced Hoku's ears and she stopped, whirling her head around to the side as a massive gust of wind threatened to blow them back. The voice echoed around in her ears, the voice she'd just heard whispers of before and her eyes went round as the wind subsided and within seconds blood splattered to the floor, the dinosaur's freshly chopped head falling to the jungle floor with a thunderous thud.

Holy shit! Hoku's panthered jumped backwards. What just—

"You're lively ones!" a voice boomed, wide lips turning upwards into an eager grin. "It's been a long time since I've had any guests!"

Luffy blinked once, completely unharmed save for the faint glistening of saliva on his skin. Hoku and Vivi gaped up at him in disbelief, eyes nearly bulging from their heads as Luffy fixed his hat and looked down from the massive hand currently holding him up. He met gazes with the giant of a man, grinning widely back at Luffy as he swung his sword over his shoulder.

"I-It's—" Vivi started.

"Woah!" Luffy said. "You're huge! Are you human?"

The man tipped his head back, laughter shaking the palm trees around them. The giant sword across his shoulders shared his mirth, ringing loudly in Hoku's ears, though her voice was a bit weak.

Old, Hoku realized. The weapon sounded old to her ears.

"I'm Elbalf's strongest warrior!" he said proudly. "Dorry!"

Hoku only knew so much—it was part of Usopp's dream, wasn't it? To visit their hometown, their island draped in marvelous tales of their bravery, their fierceness in battle. She'd never once thought she'd actually meet one of them in person. Hoku remembered there'd been a particular illustrator back on Artopoki who probably shared Usopp's passion. Manu always told her it was never good to have a singular fixation as an illustrator, but it was fine to have favorites. And that illustrator in particular, no matter how harrowing the journey, her favorite illustration were always the giant tapestries she hung up in the workshops, woven and inked of colossal warriors who bowed to no one and boasted the title of—

"I am a giant!"

"I've never seen one in person before," Vivi said in disbelief, slowly trying to rouse Karoo who'd fainted out of shock, spilling his juice.

"Me… neither," Hoku said a bit breathlessly, staring at the entirely and utterly ginormous man in front of them.

Dorry slid his sword back into his sheathe, stretching longer than half of the palm tree's length, and reached down with his free hand and grabbed the newly beheaded dinosaur corpse. With a single huff, he slung the massive body over his shoulder, adjusting his grip once before grinning at all of them.

"Let me invite you into my home!"

Hot fat from the freshly cooked slab of meat trickled a bit over Hoku's fingers, her hands gripping the base of its crispy skin firmly.

Never once in any of her lives did she ever consider eating a dinosaur.

Never in any of her lives did she ever consider eating a dinosaur with a giant.

Said giant seemed to be having an extremely grand time, laughing as Luffy began to carve his way around a hunk of charred dinosaur meat with his mouth alone. Vivi watched on beside them in a mix of frozen awe and mild disgust, blinking repeatedly while Karoo shook beside her, trying to make himself smaller so he wouldn't appear anything close to dessert.

It smells fine. Hoku felt her stomach growl at the marbled and charred meat. Sea king had this salted, steak-like quality to it, but this particular dinosaur smelled a bit like chicken? Luffy was already half way through his own massive hunk off a glistening bone while Dorry ate from their offered lunchboxes in exchange for the meal.

Well, Hoku did believe when it came to most food, everything was worth trying at least once.

Hoku opened her mouth, biting deeply into the charred meat.

Chicken flavor with the texture of pork exploded against her tongue. Hoku's eyes went round, chewing as she licked her lips and stared at Dorry in amazement.

"It's good, isn't it?" Dorry laughed, noticing her awestruck expression. "You won't get the chance to say you've eaten a dinosaur often!"

Somewhere in another life, a paleontologist was crying their eyes out, she was sure of it.

Hoku took another bite.

Vivi politely offered Hoku more of her own, handing Hoku a small handkerchief to wipe the grease staining her lips and fingers as well.

"Thanks for the meal!" Luffy exclaimed, shoveling more meat into his mouth. "Are all giants this polite?"

"Gegyagya! It depends on the giant!" Dorry said. "You're a strange bunch yourself!" Dorry pointed his empty little lunchbox toward Hoku. "I haven't seen one of you in over a hundred or so years!"

Hoku blinked over the chunk of meat. Dorry stroked his beard. "Yes, that's right! Feisty little warriors, your kind! You never went down in a fight!"

"Warriors?" Hoku said, lowering her food. "People like me?"

"Aye!" Dorry said. "The battles your kind apparently fought even before my time—your goddess smiles on you, doesn't she? Gegyagya! But she pales in comparison to our Elbaf!"

"Against giants?" Hoku said in disbelief. That can't be right.

"Not quite," Dorry said boastfully. "Though what great warrior hasn't faced against a giant or two in his lifetime? Hah! It's the stories! Back home, we have grand tapestries, telling all sorts of stories about our history illustrated by your kind!"

Dorry pointed a finger at her, dwarfing her completely. "But we have some, far back in our grand hall, that tell a few stories about your battles as well! Elbaf blesses all righteous warriors, no matter the size!"

That was something Hoku hadn't heard before. From what she'd learned as a kid, Artopoki had always been a peaceful island that kept mostly to itself. They were more spectators than… warriors. She knew there were plenty of fierce or battle-hardened Pokians, her mother had been one of them, but Dorry's depiction made it seem like fighting was what they were… known for.

"Mr. Dorry," Hoku started. "What do you mean by—"

Luffy laughed. "I know! Hoku's great. You're the first giant I've ever met!"

"Am I?" Dorru laughed. "Then I'll be the best one as well!"

"They seem like they're getting along well," Vivi said, looking a bit amazed. Hoku wiped the grease off her fingers.

"That's just how Luffy is," Hoku sighed, making a note to ask Dorry more about it later. Maybe there was a group he knew independent from the island? But over a hundred years ago…

"Why are you by yourself?" Luffy asked, licking his fingers. "Don't you have a village to live in?"

"I do," Dorry answered proudly. "It's the place I just mentioned, Elbaf, a village for warriors. It's located somewhere on the Grand Line, but my village has a certain law…"

Dorry's lips curved up a bit. "If a quarrel breaks out in my village and you can't settle it on your own, then we beseech our God Elbaf for judgment. Elbaf if just and bestows divine protection on the right, so he'll ensure the survival of the righteous."

Hoku coughed a bit, swallowing hard on a piece of meat. I guess that's not unlike the rowdy ones back on Artopoki who'd bet lives over things. Some Pokians had what Manu said was a bad habit of staking their own claims with their lives. Senseless, he'd say.

Mahina was a bit infamous for being one.

"So whoever wins is right?" Vivi said disbelievingly. "That's it?"

"Of course!" Dorry said proudly. "What need is there for anything else? I've gotten myself involved in a quarrel on this island, so it's served as a battleground between me and another certain giant. The one who's in the right will triumph and survive."

Dorry tossed his head back. A booming laugh left his lips, shaking the palm trees around them. The rocks at Hoku's feet trembled, jumping around. "But it's been a hundred years since! We just can't seem to settle our duel!"

One—

"You've been fighting for over a hundred years?" Luffy shouted.

"It's nothing to be surprised about," Dorry said. "Our lifespan is three hundred years. Gegyagya!"

"Goddess," Hoku muttered, pressing the back of her hand to her head. "Living that long…"

Having nine lives was one thing—but having multiple lives didn't mean you had to live beyond a normal human lifespan. Actually, how long is a normal lifespan in this world? Hoku stopped, brows furrowing. Is it… short? It must be, right? There's all these dangerous things and crazy people… what's the life expectancy? No, no, but one of the eldest people on Artopoki was over a hundred… She didn't even want to think about it.

Luffy's hand shot out, grabbing a fistful of her cheek. Hoku swiped at his hand, "Ka! What the hell was that for?"

"Shishi, you were thinkin' about something dumb again, weren't you?"

"I wasn't!"

"Even if you do live longer, how could you still continue to fight for one hundred years?" Vivi started, alarmed. "Is there any reason for continuing this fight?"

"You guys couldn't have talked it out a bit?" Hoku added, rubbing her sore cheek. "See if you could come to an agreement?"

"At this point, we can only talk with our weapons!" Dorry said, laughing. Hoku glanced to the sword resting by his side, radiating a happy sense of contentment. But still, that sword seems a bit…

"Mr. Dorry," Hoku said. "I don't know if you've noticed, but when was the last time someone gave that sword a tune up? Or you know, a coating?"

"Coating?" Dorry laughed. "Words I haven't heard in years! My old friend and I simply fight with what we have!"

I might be wrong, Hoku rubbed the back of her neck. But that old gal sounds like she's on her last legs. Should she offer to give it a look? She'd never once thought about coating the weapon of a giant before, but then again, how much coating would she need for something of that size? All the blood in her body?

Hoku blinked. Huh, maybe that'd be one way to go—

Luffy smacked the back of Hoku's head with a piece of his bone. "Oops. My bad, Hoku. I was just trying to move this."

"Damn it, Luffy—"

"You're trying to kill each other then, aren't you?" Vivi said in disbelief.

The ground beneath them rumbled in time with her words. Hoku steadied herself on the rock, looking up as large plumes of smoke started to billow out from the mountain miles away beside them—no, mountain isn't right. That thing has to be a—

The volcano erupted, hot plumes filling the sky. Hoku's eyes went round in surprise and Luffy let out a cheer of excitement. "Hoku! Draw that!"

"Looks like it's about time," Dorry put his hands on his knees, rising to stand. "I don't remember when we decided it, but that volcano in the middle is our signal to start."

"What? You two can't possibly hate each other so much you'd try to keep killing each other for a hundred years!" Vivi said, trying to reason with the giant. "Just what exactly was the cause—"

Luffy's hand stretched out, palm smacking into Vivi's lips. She blinked at him in surprise, startled but quiet as Luffy said, "Nah, it's not about that anymore."

"That's right!" Dorry raised his sword and it let out a cheerful bellow, ringing through the air. Hoku quickly turned, eyes growing rounder as another figure moved, parting through the massive trees and raising a glistening axe above his head. Two giants. "It's about pride now."

Dorry leapt over the three of them, clearing miles of ground in single steps. The other giant from across the clearing finally became visible, burly and rounder than Dorry, with his beard cut shorter along his chin and two horns jutting from his helmet. He matched Dorry's expression, grinning from ear to ear. The two giants laughed, bellowing a war cry.

Hoku clapped her hands over her ears in surprise. The entire island trembled, shaking everything around them.

Ringing metal clashed against each other, resounding, Hoku felt her fingers start to itch.

The two aging weapons greeted each other like old friends.

"We forgot the reason a long time ago!"

To think somewhere out there across the sea, there was an island like this, tucking away two giants for over a century. An island like this, serving as their battleground and home, hiding their own wild, ridiculous story. She wondered what that illustrator would have thought of all this, what kind of tapestries she would've woven.

This world, Hoku thought dumbly, lowering her hands from her ears and reaching for her sketchbook beside her, never ceases to surprise me.

Luffy threw himself back against the ground with a loud exhale. Vivi turned his way and Luffy laughed, tossing his hands up into the air. "I'm beat! These guys are just too big!"

Karoo squawked beside them when the two giants clashed weapons once more, sending a gust of wind across half the island clearing. "Vivi!" The princess looked a bit concerned, wind whipping her hair back. "S-Should we move somewhere else?"

Vivi blinked in surprise. Hoku was completely hunched over, eyes watching the colossal scene unfolding before her while her hand moved, directed by unknown motions. Vivi turned to Luffy, watching the fight with bright eyes, lips twisted into a wild sort of grin.

Vivi swallowed, feeling a chill run up her spine—not unfriendly, not fearful, it was almost—

Exciting?

"Here, Vivi," Cobra held his daughter up, lifting her high enough to sit beside the balcony railings. Together the two of them stared out over their kingdom, their world. "Alabasta is big, isn't it?"

"Very!" Vivi said, throwing her hands out wide. "The biggest!"

Her father laughed. Vivi turned to him in confusion, blinking as he stretched his own hands out beside hers, larger and longer, encompassing more.

"But you know what Vivi, this world is even bigger!"

Cobra smiled, grabbing his daughter's hand.

"I hope one day you can see more and more of it!"

"Vivi is my favorite person!"

"He said you're his favorite person," Hoku said.

"My favorite food is cold water!"

"His—cold water? That's your favorite food? Water?"

"And volti!"

"And volti," Hoku repeated. Vivi stared at Hoku in awe, Karoo squawking happily beside them while Luffy flipped through Hoku's sketchbook, oooh-ing at her drawings so far from Little Garden and making demands Hoku pretended to ignore but kept mental note of. "I'm not really sure what that is."

"It's a dish famous in Alabasta," Vivi said. "It uses pasta and lentils and onions and—you really can speak with animals!"

"I try not to make it a habit," Hoku said. "Because they usually don't have anything nice to say."

Karoo looked offended, sitting down with an unhappy squawk. I'm pretty sure he hasn't turned on me because I'm on Vivi's side. Vivi sat back on her heels, blinking in disbelief.

"But still," Vivi said. "I know you guys mentioned it when you spoke with that whale but… is this normal?"

Hoku rubbed her chin in thought. "Well, define normal."

"Is this part of your devil fruit?" Vivi said.

"No, nothing like that," Hoku twirled her brush around between her fingers. "It's like… It's something a few people from my hometown tended to be good at to a certain degree and it's usually not just animals. My mother always said things made with love or spirit tended to have a voice and it was just something you could sort of… hear."

"A voice," Vivi repeated, looking curious. "Things having a voice… Why does that sound a bit familiar…"

"I think it's just an extension of a skill people can develop," Hoku said simply. Vivi blinked. "It's usually better if you don't think too hard about it. I mean, you can understand Karoo pretty well, can't you?"

"Of course," Vivi said. "But that's because Karoo mostly understands me—most of the time." Karoo's beaks parted, eyes watering. "We grew up together and he's my closest friend. But what you're saying sounds a bit—"

"Good!" Dorry bellowed, pushing aside several palm trees with his free hand and to tower over the three of them. He had several barrels tucked between his fingers. Karoo let out a fearful squawk, almost fainting once more. "You're still here! I've got rum from Broggy's guests!"

"That fight was too huge," Luffy said. "You guys are giant!"

"Well," Dorry said. "That's because we're giants. So of course we'd have a giant fight!"

"Is this always how your fights end?" Hoku asked, holding up her sketchbook for Dorry to see. He squinted, picking up her now miniscule sketchbook between the tips of his fingers and bringing it up to his eyes. "It's a little difficult to draw to scale without the right sized canvas. Does everyone on Elbaf fight with weapons like that? Do you ever coat them? What does—"

"Gegyagya! You have a lot of questions, little girl! I like this drawing! But I think I look more handsome than Broggy."

Hoku considered the feedback carefully, a little troubled. More handsome… I guess I can give him more muscles here and then a scar there…

"Guests?" Vivi said curiously. "The other giant, your… friend, he has guests too?"

"Yes! Ah, could his guests be your crewmates? He said his guests were a long-nosed man and a woman," Dorry said.

"That must be Usopp and Nami!" Luffy said. "What's with them? They made such a fuss about not leaving the ship, maybe those two really do like adventures!"

"Maybe they got scared and had to run from the Merry," Hoku said, reaching up on her tiptoes when Dorry bent down to hand her back her sketchbook. The giant laughed, taking a seat on one of the rocks and grabbing a barrel, bringing it up to his lips for a long drink.

"If that's the case, then I guess I should be thanking you as well for these drinks!" Dorry said cheerfully.

"Oh, that's nice of them," Luffy said. "Very polite."

Or maybe it was some sort of sacrificial offering to not be eaten? Hoku watched Dorry take a long drink. Did we even have that many barrels of alcohol to begin with? Sanji normally hides all the alcohol…

"Sorry to change the topic," Vivi said. "But earlier you said that it takes a year for the log to finish recording on this island. Is that really true?"

"Haven't you seen the skeletons of little humans lying on the ground in these parts?" Dorry said. Vivi paled. "Most humans who come here end up dying before their log sets."

Dorry laughed. "Some are eaten by the dinosaurs, others give in to heat or starvation. And some even try to attack us, but whatever the case, they all end up perishing on this island."

Hoku sighed. None of those deaths sounded particularly fun or quick.

"Seems that spending even a year on this island is a little too long for you humans," Dorry said, amused.

Vivi's face paled further, running her hands through her hair. "What do I do… even if we survive on this island, who knows what would become of my country during that time…"

"Yeah, and spending a whole year here would get kinda boring," Luffy said loudly, leaning back onto his hands. "Isn't there some other way, mister?"

Vivi looked up hopefully. Dorry rubbed his beard in thought. "I do have one eternal pose, but that's to my home, Elbaf. In a way, Brogy and I are fighting over that pose, so if you want you can try to steal it from us!"

Hoku awkwardly rubbed Vivi's back in comfort, blinking when she touched feathers and she and Karoo both turned to look at each other.

"Nah, that won't do," Luffy said. "We're not trying to go to Elbaf, just the next island, right?"

"Yes, if we veer off our current course to Alabasta, then there's no meaning in sailing at all," Vivi said.

"Gegyagya!" Dorry tipped his head back. "Then why don't you just try your luck and sail ahead? If it's fate's will, you'll reach your destination!"

Luffy laughed alongside the giant, startling Vivi. "You think? Ahahaha! You know what? It just might work!"

"Gegyagya! You really are one interesting little human!"

Hoku couldn't really argue with his logic either—it made the most sense if they couldn't finish the log here, and it wouldn't have been her first time sailing out a bit aimlessly through the ocean. But the next island's gotta be Chopper's, right? Or is there one more before that? Do they really just try their luck?

Hoku blinked suddenly. Isn't Chopper's island… cold? Like, really cold? Maybe I should just offer to stay here and wait for the pose to finish and just—

Dorry's hand twitched. He stopped for a moment, looking confused as he opened his mouth—

Boom!

Blood splattered across the floor. The acrid scent of burning flesh filled the air and all three of them looked up, frozen as smoke began to trail from Dorry's lips. He coughed, entire body trembling as he tipped over, the lingering explosion in his body subsiding into smoky, red tinted clouds escaping his mouth.

Hoku's sketchbook slipped from her fingers, dropping with a soft thud on the floor. Her eyes went wide, mouth parting in shock as Dorry's eyes rolled to the back of his head. An explosion? In his mouth? What—

"The ale exploded from the inside!" Vivi cried. "Mr. Dorry!"

"Mr. Giant!" Luffy shouted.

Hoku quickly hurried to the side of his head, watching in horror as blood started to bubble in his throat, spilling past his lips. "His mouth's covered in blood—it must've burned his throat!" What the hell just happened? The alcohol was explosive?

"What happened?" Luffy said. "Why did the rum suddenly explode? Isn't this rum from our ship?"

"It exploded from inside his stomach!" Vivi said. "How horrible—it couldn't… do you think the other giant—"

"Are you blind? Why would two warriors who've been fighting with each other for over a hundred years stoop to something like that?" Luffy whirled around to Vivi, her eyes widening. Guilt flashed quickly across her face.

"Then who could it have been—"

"It's… you little runts…"

Hoku froze, quickly back pedaling as Dorry shifted beside her.

Dorry dragged himself up onto his feet, baring down at them. "It wasn't… Broggy… we're proud warriors of… Elbaf. Who else would it be… if not you!"

Shit. "It wasn't us, Mr. Dorry!" Hoku waved her hands, trying to appease him. "We've been with you this whole time—we'd never do something like that! There must be someone else on this island. Is there anyone after you?"

Dorry's massive hand came down, its shadow completely engulfing Hoku as she stared up with wide eyes. Oh. Her hands tightened into fists at her sides, bracing herself. I guess this island was dangerous enough after all—

Luffy's arm wrapped loops around her waist, jerking her backwards as Dorry's hand slammed into the earth, pushing himself up.

"Hey!" Luffy shouted. Hoku smacked into his side. "You could've squashed Hoku!"

"You planned it… before…" Dorry groaned, eyes narrowing dangerously as he towered over all three of them. Luffy's face hardened. "You dare…"

Vivi grabbed Hoku's wrist, tugging her back towards a shaking Karoo. "Let's run away for now! He won't listen to anything we say!"

"Seems like trying to run away would also be useless against him," Luffy said simply. Hoku straightened to attention, watching his back. She held her brush tightly in one hand, ready to draw.

"Foul play," Mau said against her back. "You are not alone, my star."

"Here, hold this." Luffy gently took his straw hat off his head, handing it to Vivi. She looked surprised by the gesture. "Just stand back."

"Are you seriously planning to fight him?" Vivi said incredulously. Her eyes were wide with worry, sweat dripped down the side of her brow. "That's beyond reckless! The size difference is too much!"

"Luffy's right," Hoku said grimly. Vivi looked at her in disbelief. "He's got a good… sense for these kinds of things. If Dorry won't listen to us, we have to find out what just happened ourselves."

Because this definitely means we're not alone on this island. Hoku gripped her brush harder, turning around and quickly starting to draw into the grass in front of them. Is it more people from Baroque works? Robin said they sent a bunch of people after Smoker and Glasses already, but maybe she already cleared up the misunderstanding?

Luffy cracked his knuckles.

"Sorry about this, mister, but I'm gonna have to shut you up for a bit."

Dorry seethed above them. Blood dripped from his lips, creating wide puddles against the ground. Karoo watched Hoku fearfully as she ran across the grass, dragging her brush through the ground to try to get a bigger scale.

"Listen to us, Mr. Dorry!" Vivi pleaded. "We didn't know anything about the explosive rum! And if you don't rest, you'll get worse because you're seriously injured!"

"You humans dare… to trick the mighty Dorry!" Dorry roared. He swung his bristling sword down towards Luffy, raising his shield. Blood gushed out from between his teeth in another haggard cough and Luffy jumped high into the air, running over the top of his blade before he threw his arm back.

"Gum Gum—"

Dorry smashed his shield into Luffy, knocking him out of the air. Vivi gasped while Hoku strained, pulling her drawing from the ground. Luffy bounced quickly off the ground, stretching his arms to grab the palm trees across as he wound back. Dorry's eyes went wide. His lips pulled back in a decisive moment of understanding as Luffy's eyes locked on to him.

"Gum Gum Rocket!"

Luffy launched himself forward, smashing into the giant.

Dorry's eyes rolled into the back of his head. Luffy colliding full force into his abdomen. Blood spilled once more from his lips, legs shaking for a moment as his sword fell with a cry from his hand.

"Times ten!" Hoku shouted.

The foliage unfolded, a resounding pop splitting the air from the rapid size increase. A massive bed spread itself across the floor, Dorry's knees hitting the back of it as he slumped over from Luffy's attack, falling over and crashing into the bed.

Hoku exhaled in relief. I need to get quicker at drawing things that big. She stood up, tucking her brush behind her ear. Luffy popped up from a small crater in the ground with a soft twang. Vivi rushed over, offering him his hat. "You're alright!"

"How's the giant?" Luffy said.

Vivi frowned, looking over to Hoku's makeshift bed. "He's alright, I think. On the bright side, I think this was the only way we could get him to rest."

Luffy carefully placed his hat back over his head, casting a shadow across his face. "Now I'm mad."

"Yes," Vivi said hesitantly. "But who…"

"He was right, somebody spiked that ale," Luffy said gruffly. "And my friends would never do that!"

"If there's more people on this island, then it seems like they're after the giants," Hoku said. She bent down toward the dirt, dragging her brush across the ground. "Since it sounds like Usopp and Nami are with the other giant, we should get everybody together and figure this out." Someone's ass needs to be kicked. They're playing dirty.

"Oh, good job Hoku!" Luffy praised. "You sounded smart just now!"

"I don't wanna hear that from you!" Hoku snapped, ears turning red regardless as she finished her drawing, standing up.

Hoku tapped four fingers and a giant hawk popped free of the earth, unfurling its wings. Hoku breathed through her hollowed fist and it parted its beak, eyes glowing with life. She climbed onto its back, turning to Luffy and Vivi. "I'll find them from above and try to bring them here. Maybe this Broggy can help Dorry out!"

"Sounds like a plan," Vivi said, stepping back as the hawk began to pound its wings against the air, slowly gaining wind beneath it. "Thank you, Miss Hoku. Please be careful!"

Vivi's brows creased in concern. "Even if they're targeting the giants, I'm worried that it might be…"

Hoku nodded, her hawk coiled underneath her, talons digging into the earth before they took off together, shooting upwards toward the air. Wind whipped her braid back, fluttering it about as Hoku took to the sky.

"And Hokuuuuu!" Luffy called after her, waving his arm in the air. She glanced down. "Don't be stupid!"

Vivi and Karoo looked at Luffy in surprise. Hoku pursed her lips, ignoring Luffy as she took off.

Her hawk let out an affirmative cry beneath her.

Luffy grinned.

I thought finding a giant would be easy! Hoku squinted against the wind, scanning over the clearing the two had fought miles away from them less than an hour before. Is he sitting down? Where are Nami and Usopp?

Little Garden from an aerial view was larger than she expected. Larger and denser. The foliage was thick like a rainforest, only opening up by the base of the volcano and the clearing. Hoku realized the short trip she, Luffy and Vivi had made from the ship only seemed to cover a small length of the island's inner riverway. The clearing where Dorry and Broggy had fought was still a fair distance away, more than she originally thought. Dorry made it seem so short with his damn legs.

She'd try the Merry first to find Sanji and Zoro and get them to follow her to the clearing. Broggy can't be too far. Hoku kept scanning the skies and the tops of palm trees for any other signs of foul play, but it'd seemed only Dorry had been the victim of that attack.

Hoku spotted the familiar mast post over the water, banking her hawk downwards. Maybe there's more bounty hunters? I don't know if they're with Baroque Works or not, but if Robin cleared up the misunderstanding then we might not get as much of a break as I thought.

Another rumble forced the entire island to tremble. Hoku's eyes went wide and she whipped her head around, lava exploding into the air as the volcano from before erupted once more. Didn't Dorry say that's their signal? They shouldn't be able to fight since he's down, but I gotta hurry!

"Sanji! Zoro!" Hoku called. Her hawk landed over the deck, ruffling dirt-cold feathers as Hoku scanned the ship, listening for the familiar sounds of Zoro's swords. "Guys?"

The Merry bobbed, anchored to the riverbed. A soft hum of worry filtered through Hoku, a voice not her own. "Not here."

Hoku cupped her hands over her ears.

Nothing? Hoku bit her lip. Where'd they go? She didn't even know where to start looking. She could try listening for Zoro's swords while she flew, but where did Sanji go? Or should I just find Nami and Usopp? Go back to Luffy? No, I can't do that empty handed.

"Come on," Hoku urged. Her hawk clacked its beak once but gathered up its wings. "Let's go—"

"Wait!"

Hoku immediately froze, almost toppling off her bird. She whirled around, looking every which way across the deck. She tried to ignore the little chill down her spine, recalling the last time she heard this particular voice. Was that…?

"I'm stuck!"

"Stuck?" Hoku repeated. She jumped down from her hawk, walking over to the side of the deck. "Where?"

"Here! Help, please!"

Hoku peered over the side of the railing. Her eyes went round, following a white spear embedded deep into the Merry's side, anchoring it to a neighboring tree. What the hell is this shit? Who hurt the Merry!

"I don't want to be a burden!" Hoku jumped, almost falling completely over the railing. She quickly steadied herself, turning back toward Merry's head. "What if you need to get away?"

"Okay, okay, I hear you," Hoku said. She quickly leapt onto the other bank, hurrying over toward the spear. "Don't worry, I'll get this out. It must hurt, right?"

Merry fell silent, as though refusing to answer. Hoku's lips twisted into a dark frown, fingers itching at her sides. Hurting a sweet ship like this… a hupo is going to pay.

They must've done this so we couldn't run. It had a sheen to it—wax? Hoku dragged her hand over the white spear, grimacing when she realized it was hardened wax. How did they even… Something about this seemed a bit familiar to Hoku, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it either.

Hoku drew Mau from his sheathe, holding him tight between her fingers. She readied her stance, bracing herself. She imagined a more graceful stance, emulating a specific swordsman's grip. One clean cut. We got this! "Hang on, Merry. I'll get rid of this right now."

Hoku raised her arms, shouting as she brought her sword down.

Mau let out a noise of disgust. Hoku almost tripped, jerking in surprise when Mau only sunk deeper into the wax, hardly carving through it. Ugh, it's like trying to cut through fat! Hoku braced one foot against the spear, heaving as she wrenched Mau free. Damn it.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize!" Hoku said, waving Mau's now waxy tip at the Merry. "This isn't your fault! Some bastard did this to you and they're gonna pay!"

Merry fell silent in worry and Hoku growled, examining Mau's blade for any damage. Wax this thick and of this quality was going to be a problem.

If it's wax, I can't just keep hacking at it, that'll take too long and I need to get back to the others. Hoku glanced down to Mau's blade, frowning. I can try—

"Think again, my star," Hoku held Mau up, listening. "We are forged of star fire. This substance is of nothing to us."

Hoku stared at Mau a second longer before it clicked. She kissed her blade. "What would I do without you?"

Mau chuckled as Hoku quickly spun around, grabbing a rock from the shore and checking its sides. She got on her knees, pulling a specific jar of oil mixtures from her pouch and pouring it across Mau's blade. Hoku struck quickly with the rock, watching sparks scatter once, twice—

They caught—flames burning a deep red, almost pinkish hue from the resin encased along Mau's blade ignited. Hoku shied from the heat for a second before her skin quickly warmed to it, gripping Mau's hilt tight in her hands as she whirled around with her now flaming sword, facing the Merry.

A nearby frog leapt out of the way at the sight of Hoku's almost eerie expression, flames casting dark shadows over her face. The Merry bobbed uncertainly over the riverbank.

"One cut," Hoku promised the ship.

She raised Mau's flaming blade over the top of her head, grinning.

The Merry's mast continued to smile, a bead of water rolling down the side of its head.

I've got a nasty feeling about all of this. Hoku pressed Mau against the side of her hawk, its wings beating quickly in the air as they took off from the Merry, gaining altitude higher over the palm trees. I'll go straight to Nami and Usopp—

Hoku blinked. She squinted, banking her bird down to the left, closer again towards the clearing where Dorry and Broggy had first fought. What the hell is that?

A giant smile that had definitely not been there a few minutes ago greeted Hoku's sight only a short distance away. It rose up high enough over several palm trees, smoke trailing up into the sky from the wide flames burning steadily at the top. The structure was curved, shaped almost like a holder or chalice—candelabra! That's the stupid word.

The design was a bit gaudy for her tastes. A bit early for Halloween. Looking closer Hoku realized the jack-o-lantern looking top piece was beginning a rotation, swinging around and scattering a soft white mist below it. Hoku blinked again in confusion, circling once around the clearing as she squinted down below.

"There, my star."

Hold on, hold on. Hoku blinked in disbelief, spotting Zoro, Nami and Vivi all standing in the midst of the candelabra. What the hell is going on over—

Her eyes went wide. Hoku's grip on Mau tightened. Blood and wax splattered across the grassy plain, filling the air with the acrid smell of iron and smoke. Dorry laid completely on his stomach, unmoving and encased in with more wax. Broggy's body laid beside him, the giant straining against thickened white, waxy restraints encasing his body.

Three other figures stood before the giants, two men and a woman Hoku didn't recognize. The one with the ridiculous hair was laughing, throwing his hands up in the air and gloating. Is that supposed to be… the number three? Hoku grimaced, figuring she could make some good money on betting who these people were.

I'm gone for a few minutes. Hoku rubbed the back of her neck with a sigh. Goddess…

The man with hair shaped into a three raised one hand up. Wax collected over his fingertips, forming into the shape of a dagger. He approached a struggling Broggy, saying something Hoku couldn't hear.

Wax. Hoku lathered Mau's blade with more oil. Alright then.

Her eyes narrowed into slits as her hawk coasted higher, bringing them to an optimal diving point. Hoku raised Mau up at her side and without another word, her drawing dove.

"With this, you won't be able to—what the hell is that?" the wax man screeched, eyes bulging from his head as Hoku's drawing flew through one of the swinging flames.

Mau's blade ignited from the flames and Hoku leapt from her drawing, letting out a war cry as she brought him down. The man screamed in surprise, ducking. The flames licking across Mau cut clean through the wax, melting it on either side as her blade sank deeper and deeper, slowly pushing through the thickest middle before Mau pierced the ground. Wax pooled across the grass, dripping as the dagger sunk completely in the middle, chopped in half.

Hoku stood, wax melting around her feet as she whisked Mau once to the side. Melted wax scattered off his blade, flames flickering across the popo metal. A bit of smoke still clung to her hair and Hoku scowled, raising Mau's burning blade as she pointed it toward the three Baroque agents.

"Alright," Hoku snapped. "Which one of you hupos went after an innocent ship?"

"Hoku!" Nami cried, waving her hands frantically. "My savior!"

"Guess she wasn't lost after all," Zoro said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Miss Hoku, you're alright!" Vivi said in relief.

Hoku ignored her frantically beating heart, attempting to keep her expression neutral. That was… that was a little cool, right? Maybe just a bit? I didn't even trip! Haha, go me! Die like a badass!

Hoku's foot slipped against a chunk of wax. She squawked, almost toppling over backwards. Mau's flaming blade swung past her nose in her flailing, barely steadying herself with her other foot.

"Hokuuuu," Nami sobbed at the sight.

"Crazy klutz."

"There was another one of them?" the woman snapped, taking a few wary steps back. The man beside her scowled, hands in his pockets while the wax man scrambled to his feet. "I thought we got them all!"

"Okay!" Hoku barked, waving a flaming Mau threateningly at all three agents. "I need to know what's going on in five words or less!"

"We're gonna die!" Nami cried. "Help!"

"Bad guys," Zoro said. "Beat them up."

"They're Baroque Works!" Vivi explained quickly. "Luffy and Mr. Bushido fought with them on Whiskey Peak. Miss Valentine, Mr. Five and Mr. Three! They're the ones who gave Dorry the explosive ale!"

Hoku turned to Vivi.

"Dorry trapped Luffy so he could go fight, even though he was injured!" Vivi cried. "They put Broggy and Dorry against each other!"

"Hey, she said five words or less," Zoro said. "She's too dumb for more than that."

Hoku scanned the entire clearing. "Where's Luffy and the others?"

"They attacked Luffy, Usopp and Karoo!" Vivi pulled desperately at her legs. "They're all devil fruit users, be careful!"

"I'm tired of all these unexpected improvisations!" Mr. Three snapped. Hoku turned to him, blinking repeatedly at his familiar appearance. Is this the guy that… "Only the giants were supposed to be on this island! Then you two say there's pirates… I thought the Unluckies said it was a couple of marines who found out about Mr. Zero's identity?"

"They did, but somehow there's some kind of misinformation," Miss Valentine said. "It's no mistake that they were the ones of Whiskey Peak. I don't know how they got that info about marines."

Miss Valentine narrowed her eyes. "But if we just end these pirates here, then there's no problem."

"Luffy and I kicked their asses once," Zoro said. Miss Valentine glared, whirling around on him. His lips merely curled into a vicious smirk. "You can get one in too."

"Little Pokian warrior!" Hoku's eyes glanced at Dorry's friend. She looked quietly at where two wax daggers were stabbed through his feet, similar to the one she'd stopped earlier from going into his hands. Broggy had tears streaming down his face, hands digging pits into the earth from where he strained against his bindings. "Free me! I will… avenge… Dorry!"

"What can you do now?" Mr. Three taunted. "If you move you'll tear your feet off! Just stay still and become my new masterpiece!"

"Forget your twisted art, you stupid top knot!" Nami shouted. She coughed, grabbing at her throat. "Look at what you did to Broggy! You'll pay for this!"

"Shout all you want, you'll be wax in minutes!" Miss Valentine sneered. "And your friend here is going to join you."

Broggy's tearful eyes continued to spill over into the ground. His face twisted into one of agony and Mr. Three laughed louder. "Perfect! That's the face I wa—ahhh!"

Mau's flaming blade swung, whistling as it nearly sliced Mr. Three's symbol of identity clean off the top of his head. Wax blocked the area he'd previously been, skidding as he toppled onto his ass and gaped at Hoku in disbelief. "You! How dare you—"

Hoku's foot swung out, catching Mr. Three's arm instead of his face as the man narrowly brought his hand up to block. The kick sent him skidding sideways, wax shooting out from his palms to catch him. Mr. Three floundered on the floor before shooting up, fixing one of his broken lenses. "You!"

"I've got a couple things I need to kick your ass for," Hoku said darkly. Mau burned at her side, embers crackling in the air. "Grit your teeth."

"How impudent!" Mr. Three threw out his hand, wax gathering along his fingertips and shooting toward Hoku. "Candle lock—"

Hoku brought Mau's flaming blade down with both hands, slicing the block of wax clean before it could wrap around her. Mr. Three blinked, eyes bulging from his head.

"It's not as much of a pain when it's not hard yet," Hoku flexed her fingers against Mau's hilt, raising her sword up to her face. "The fires from our forge are some of the hottest in the Blues, you know."

Zoro's eyes narrowed. He tipped his head to the side, visibly frowning as he examined Hoku's grip, watching her stance change as she moved Mau. That move is… Mr. Three threw another wave of wax her way and once more she struck, slicing clean through the glob.

"Miss Hoku, watch out!"

Hoku ducked to the side. Air snapped by her ear, heels nearly slicing across her cheek as Miss Valentine went sailing past her. Miss Valentine smirked and braced herself against the ground, swinging her left foot around and slamming it into the side of Hoku's head.

Shit! Hoku went flying, smashing into the ground several feet away. Pain exploded across her skull as she grabbed at her throbbing head. She touched her fingers to her temple and cheek, grimacing as blood dripped down. That hurt! How much does she weigh?

"Hoku!" Nami shouted.

Her eyes narrowed as the woman stood, wiping dust off her dress. A crater appeared beneath her feet.

"I thought your skull would've cracked with that one," Miss Valentine said. "Be a dear and stand still, will you?"

Hoku wiped her blood off on her pants. "I'm known to be hard headed."

Miss Valentine leapt up into the air, raising her foot high before she quickly dropped down. Hoku lunged for her right and Miss Valentine smirked, swinging her arm across instead.

"Down, little Pokian!"

Hoku instantly hit the floor. A wide hand swung outwards, flying over Hoku's flattened body. Miss Valentine let out a shriek, Broggy's now freed hand smashing straight into her and sending her body flying across the clearing.

"Miss Valentine!" Mr. Five shouted. "You damn giant!"

"Thanks!" Hoku quickly leapt to her feet and Broggy grinned, more and more of his body beginning to coat with wax. "We'll help you too, I promise!"

Mr. Three shot wax out at Hoku's feet. She jumped, bringing Mau around her in one clean arch. Fire followed the movement, circling around Hoku and melting the wax.

"Fire Wheel," Zoro said. Hoku ducked another of Mr. Five's explosives. Mr. Three charged at her with a wax shield and Hoku steadied herself against the ground, turning Mau upwards as she stood in one swift motion, slicing through the shield and cutting off Mr. Three's bowtie. "Crescent Cut."

"Are you really naming her attacks?" Nami screeched.

"It's no good unless she names them."

"Why, you…" Miss Valentine heaved at the edge of the clearing, adjusting her hat and glaring at them. "No more playing around!"

Hoku dragged her brush through the ground with her free hand. She peeled several walls from the wax below her, throwing them up as Miss Valentine threw another weighted kick her way. "Times five!"

"My foot! Mr. Three!"

"That wasn't me! She's a devil fruit user too!"

Hoku's own foot slipped against a block of wax. She let out a garbled shout of surprise, hitting the floor with her back the same time an explosive shot over her head, erupting against a palm tree instead.

"Fool's Luck," Zoro said.

"Stop naming them!" Nami and Vivi snapped.

"Will you guys be alright?" Hoku shouted, running across the clearing as she dived to dodge another explosive launched over her head. How is that guy making those? She painted another wall from the ground, throwing it up in front of her.

"I think you should be asking yourself that," Zoro said simply, watching her dodge another explosive as he gripped the hilt of his sword.

"No!" Nami said. "He's going to turn us into wax statues! I don't wanna die!"

"You have to take down the pillar behind us," Vivi said quickly. "But don't let Mr. Three catch you!"

Three on one is a little messy. Hoku slashed Mau across from her, melting through another of Mr. Three's attacks. She quickly drew against the hardening wax beside her, pulling two items into her hand. I'm just running at this rate. I need to keep two of them busy and go after one.

"Your captain and friends are already out of commission," Mr. Five cracked his knuckles. "It's better if you stop now."

Hoku waved Mau tauntingly. "You shouldn't count your eggs before they hatch, brat."

Mr. Five flicked his finger and Hoku threw up her drawings, breathing through her hand. "Times five!"

Two smaller dinosaurs popped into the air with angered roars, waxy jaws parting. Mr. Three gaped in disbelief as the t-rexes turned to Mr. Five and Miss Valentine, another roar shaking the jungle around them. Miss Valentine dodged, the other t-rex's tail nearly catching Mr. Five in the middle as he launched another explosive at Hoku's drawing.

"Stop using my wax, you poser!"

"Stop using my pals then!" Hoku snapped back. "Get your own materials!"

"This is true art!" Mr. Three said. "It emulates real life!"

"Real art," Hoku sneered. "Shouldn't come at the expense of others. Only yourself!"

"Shut it!" Mr. Three shouted. "I won't have you critiquing my artistic vision!"

"Come here and I'll show you a vision—"

"Hoku!" Nami wailed. "Cut us free! Do what you did earlier!"

"She can't cut through this with that tiny sword," Zoro said. Hoku spat in his direction, chasing Mr. Three with a burning Mau raised threateningly over her head. "All this wax will put the fire out. We have to break out ourselves."

"How?" Nami said.

Zoro calmly examined his legs, embedded deep into the wax.

"I'll hack my legs off."

"You can't do that!" Vivi said, eyes wide with horror. "How do you expect to fight without your legs? You'll bleed to death!"

"I don't really feel like lying down and dying for them," Zoro said simply. He watched Hoku trip, barely missing another block of wax thrown her way. "Or leaving my life in the hands of a klutz."

Zoro grinned, eyes glinting. "If we're gonna die, why not go out putting up the ugliest fight we can?"

"Are you crazy?" Mr. Three screeched, ducking as Hoku swiped at his head, almost cutting off his flame. "You're bluffing!"

Broggy laughed, wax beginning to cloud over half of his face. Hoku skidded to a halt. I need more fire, something bigger! "You're a cocky lad! I almost lost my will to fight… but I'm with you! I like your spirit!"

Hoku hissed in pain, grabbing her arm. She snapped her head and Miss Valentine smashed her entire body into one of her drawings, forcing it deeper and deeper into the earth. "Release!"

"Wax Wax Fist!"

Hoku quickly brought Mau's blade up, bracing herself as Mr. Three's waxed fist slammed into the side of her sword. The flames flickered against the massive clump of wax, melting it down around her.

"Outta my way, ya piece of shit!" Hoku snarled. She lunged to the side, racing again toward the candelabra.

"Zoro!" Nami shouted. "Hoku, he's going to do it!"

"I'm with you too!" Vivi said quickly.

"Good," Zoro said, tightening his grip on his blades.

"You guys!"

"No one's cutting off anything!" Hoku snapped. She dodged Mr. Three's shot of wax, running quickly toward the three of them. Even if this fire isn't enough, I just need to melt the spot by their legs!

"No, you don't!" Mr. Three said. "Do it, Miss Goldenweek!"

Something wet splattered against Hoku's back. She stumbled, whirling around. "What—"

Hoku blinked, sniffing the air. Paint? She touched her back and pulled away, blinking in confusion at the splatter of white across her skin. "Not wax—"

"White is the color of a truce," a soft voice said. Hoku felt her entire body still, all anger and tension unwinding. Her eyes went wide and she looked to her right, a young girl she hadn't even noticed standing a few feet away from her. She carried a palette in one hand and a brush in the other, a sketchbook tucked under her arm. A large backpack was strapped to her shoulders, another larger bag at her feet, similar to the kind artists would carry. Who the hell is this kid? "Please stop all your attacks."

Hoku started to sweat, watching in disbelief as her own arm plunged Mau deep into the earth, extinguishing his flame. "My star?" Hoku's fingers tapped her palm. "Release!"

The last wax t-rex stilled immediately, mouth open to grab Mr. Five's head. The man quickly threw a barrage of explosives against it, watching it melt under the onslaught.

"Miss Goldenweek!" Vivi said. "I didn't know she was here too—cough!"

"Hello Miss Pokian," Miss Goldenweek said calmly. Hoku blinked rapidly at her, unable to move. "I'm… very happy I got to meet you today. I'm a big fan."

"What are ya talkin' about, brat?" Hoku said. "What is this? Wipe it off me!"

"Finish her off, Miss Goldenweek!" Mr. Three snapped. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I want to talk to her first," Miss Goldenweek said. She set her backpack down, unfolding a picnic blanket. With practiced ease she set up a few cups, taking a thermos out and looking up.

"Please," she took a seat, gesturing for Hoku to sit as well. "I think we have a lot to talk about."

Hoku obediently took a seat.

"Don't just listen to her!" Nami said. "Hoku!"

"I can't help myself!" Hoku shouted, politely folding her knees under her. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Every aspiring artist knows they have to study the masters to become one," Miss Goldenweek said. "The people of Artopoki are those masters."

Hoku blinked at her in surprise, mouth falling open.

"Well, I mean, of course we're good, but, I mean…"

Miss Goldenweek carefully painted a golden heart over Hoku's hand. "Gold is the color of knowledge. Would you please give me a lesson about the artists of Artopoki?"

"Oh, of course," Hoku said immediately. "I wouldn't boast so much to say I'm as knowledgeable as all the teachers you could've learned from, but I studied shortly under one of the best and will do what I can."

"Hoku!"

"I appreciate that," Miss Goldenweek said. She took out her sketchbook. "How did you know you wanted to be an artist?"

"It was…a bit of a calling from another life," Hoku said awkwardly. "My father however saw my potential and decided to raise me to become an illustrator like himself."

"Interesting. Do you prefer traditional or a more modern approach to art?"

"I respect the fundamentals of tradition but I'm not afraid to explore the unconventional," Hoku said matter-of-factly. "I experiment every now and then."

"How did the artists train?"

"Everyone was required to understand the basics, color theory and the works," Hoku said. "Children were encouraged to practice first with pencil and ink before using their blood. There were group lessons and individual studies. The better your skills as an artist, the more accurate your blood could draw."

"We need to do something!" Nami cried. "Hoku's just going to give an entire art lesson at this rate!"

"She doesn't seem like she's having a bad time though," Vivi said thoughtfully.

"Crazy klutz," Zoro muttered.

"What's the best way to become a better artist?" Miss Goldenweek asked, gripping her sketchbook tightly.

"Practice," Hoku answered instantly. "Practice, practice, practice. The more you draw, the better you get! My papa always said if artists didn't draw, the goddess would come for one of their lives."

"Would you mind critiquing some of my pieces?" Miss Goldenweek said, holding out her sketchbook.

"Sure! Let me see here—"

"Hoku!"

"She can't do this alone," Zoro raised his swords high above his head, eyes narrowing in concentration. Nami's face went pale and Vivi steeled herself. Hoku grabbed the picnic blanket with her fists, sweat dripping down her brow. Ka! I can't stop talking, where did Crocodile find all these artists?

"GRAAAAAAAAAH!"

Hoku's heart leapt into her mouth, lips splitting into a breathless grin. The trees around them splintered at their entrance, two fierce cries and one fierce quack spilling into the clearing. Miss Goldenweek quickly repainted white over Hoku's hand, keeping her there.

"Hey, you jerks!" Luffy shouted, tumbling sideways with Karoo and Usopp in tow. "Get ready to die!"

Mr. Three's mouth fell open in disbelief. Mr. Five and Miss Valentine scowled, tensing as the three of them came to a rumbling halt across the clearing. Luffy quickly stood up, fixing his hat. "Usopp! Bird! Get 'em!"

"All right!" Usopp roared.

"Yes, Captain!" Karoo quacked.

"Luffy!" Nami cried. "Usopp!"

"Karoo!" Vivi shouted. "You're okay!"

"I'll save you, Vivi!"

"Master Broggy, we'll avenge you!" Usopp declared, pulling his goggles down over his eyes.

"Usopp!"

"Luffy!" Hoku said, wriggling in her spot and turning her head around. Miss Goldenweek frowned.

"Beat these creeps beyond recognition and blow them far away!" Nami shouted.

"You got it!" Luffy cracked his knuckles, lips pulling back into a fierce grin. "These guys spoiled the giants' battle—hey! What the heck did you do to my friends? Hoku! What're you sitting around for?"

"I can't control my body!" Hoku said. "Don't let this girl paint you—"

"Colors Trap," Miss Goldenweek said, painting over Hoku's left pant leg. "Affectionate pink."

Hoku grabbed Miss Goldenweek's head, pressing the girl against her chest. Miss Goldenweek blinked over the top of Hoku's breasts as she smothered the little girl, rubbing her cheek over the top of her head. "Goddess, you know how precious you are? I love that you're an artist! Everything you say has been sweet and kind to me, I just want to see you succeed! Ah! Do you want to paint something together? Let's do a drawing session!"

"Hey!" Luffy shouted, "What'd you do to my Hoku!"

Hoku ground her teeth above Miss Goldenweek's head. The little girl wrapped her arms around Hoku as well, enjoying the embrace. Ka! How am I supposed to break out of this? She always prided herself on trying to be original with most of her works, it left a bad taste in her mouth to be controlled by someone else's art like this.

But… Hoku looked over Miss Goldenweek's head to the discarded sketchbook beside them. Bright, vivid colors depicting locations Hoku hadn't seen before and imaginative scenery popped out across the pages. She means it when she says she's an artist.

"These are the people you lost to? This is the highest bounty in the East Blue?" Mr. Three said. "I guess the Navy's lowered their standards."

"Yow!" Luffy's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Look at that hair! And it's on fire!"

"Shut up, you!"

"Never mind that, Luffy!" Nami said. "You need to break the pillar behind us! We're getting turned into wax figures!"

"Oh," Luffy turned to them. "You're in danger?"

"Nope," Zoro said simply. He placed Wado Ichimonji over his shoulder. "No problem here."

"No problem?" Nami said. "Your legs are bleeding!"

Zoro grinned, unbothered. Blood spilled from the gashes against the side of his knees. Vivi stared at Zoro's legs, shaken by the sight. He was really ready to… Zoro met Luffy's gaze evenly. Wax slowly coated the sides of their faces. "Anyway Luffy… could you break the pillar? We'll let you finish up here."

Luffy's lips pulled up into a wide grin. "Sure!"

"I can't let you do that," Mr. Three said, raising his hands threateningly. Mr. Five and Miss Valentine tensed behind him.

Zoro examined the clearing before him, glancing to where Hoku was slowly inching her fingers to her side. He smirked, raising his blade up into the air as he set his free hand on his hip. Nami blinked, looking over at him. "What are you doing?"

"If I'm going to be a statue, I want a cool pose."

"T-This isn't the time to be playing!" Vivi said.

"Forget that, do something to stop the bleeding in your legs first," Nami said. Her creased brows betrayed the bit of worry. "Just looking at it hurts me."

"Then don't look at it."

"Idiot! How was cutting your legs off going to solve anything?"

"It's better than being stuck on a picnic blanket by some brat."

"Hey!" Hoku said, frustrated tears pricking the corners of her eyes as she hugged Miss Goldenweek tighter. "I can't help it!"

"It's hypnosis, Miss Hoku!" Vivi said. "Do you think you can break free from it? You just have to be unwilling to accept any kind of suggestions!"

"It's no good," Nami and Zoro said. "She might seem smarter, but she and Luffy are both—"

"Don't compare me to him!"

"Mr. Three," Mr. Five began, "Let us finish him off."

"Don't be ridiculous. Just look at him, your attacks failed miserably and he's still very much alive. Obviously, your team can't deal with him." Mr. Three raised his hands, wax beginning to drip from his fingertips. "You two clean up the trash behind him. I'm going to add this pirate to my collection of wax figures."

Mr. Three wagged a finger Hoku's way. "And then prove my art!"

"You call this art? I knew candle makers waaaaay better than you."

"Shut it!"

"You scumbags talk too much," Usopp said darkly. He raised his slingshot up, slowly backing deeper into the jungle with Karoo at his side as they waited behind a set of sturdy palm trees. "You went too far, now rest in pieces. We'll back you up, Luffy!"

"That's right!" Karoo said.

"Enough!" Mr. Three cast a glob of wax Luffy's way. Her captain jumped, blinking in surprise when it still locked firmly around his ankles. "Candle Lock!"

"He's caught!" Vivi said. Zoro looked unconcerned. "Luffy!"

Luffy toppled over onto his back, blinking as he flexed his legs experimentally. "What's this? It's like my legs are stuck in a hammer!" Luffy swung his feet around, tapping them against the ground. A wide grin began to split across his face, eyes twinkling with excitement. "Oh! This is perfect."

"Too easy," Mr. Three said. "Now, the hands! Candle Lock—"

Luffy sprung off the floor, bouncing away with his locked feet. Mr. Three gaped in disbelief. Luffy grinned, laughing cheerfully as he launched himself higher into the air. "Hoku! A pillar!"

In an instant Hoku dragged her brush across the dirt, tugging a cylinder up into the air over her shoulder towards Luffy. Miss Goldenweek stiffened in her arms, quickly turning around to face her with her paintbrush ready. Hoku grinned back at her, holding the hand she'd painted over with her own paint up. "A truce goes both ways, right?"

Hoku tapped her fingers. "Times six!"

Miss Goldenweek quickly drew a splash of green across Hoku's stomach too late. A dirt pillar rose up, settling firmly against the floor. Hoku instantly relaxed, slumping a bit with a sigh of relief. Luffy's grin widened, arms wrapping over and over around the pillar as he swung himself around. Mr. Three's eyes went wide in horror as Luffy cheered, unwinding his arms rapidly from the pillar as his entire body swung, air whistling by the wax lock on his feet. "Gum Gum Hammer!"

A thunderous crack filled the clearing as Mr. Three's creation shattered under impact. The jack-o-lantern top crumbled downwards, smashing onto the next layer of the tiered candelabra. "You!"

Zoro frowned, tugging at his still stiffened arm. Nami and Vivi paled, a shade paler than the wax increasingly coating the edges of their cheeks.

"Woohoo! We did it," Luffy said happily. "And it broke the stuff off my legs too! Now…huh? Why don't you guys run?"

"Because we can't move!" the three of them shouted, wax gathering rapidly across their bodies, hardening further. The flames above them gathered together, burning hotter and brighter.

Luffy blinked. "How come?"

"Are we really trusting our lives to this doofus, Mr. Bushido?" Vivi cried incredulously. Zoro attempted a shrug, grimacing when he found his shoulders immobile.

"No choice. My arms are already hard."

"You just brought the candle closer!" Mr. Three sneered. "You've sped up the process!"

"What?" Luffy squawked. "You guys are turning into wax?"

"That's what we've been saying!"

"That's no good," Luffy leapt down, cracking his neck as he reeled his fist back. "I'll get you guys out right now!"

"No, you won't!" Mr. Three launched another wave of wax Luffy's way, forcing him back. "Don't talk like I'm not here!"

"Hey!" Luffy smacked his fists together. "Stop getting in my way!"

"I just said I would, you imbecile!"

"Don't worry, Luffy!" Usopp cried, charging forward on Karoo. The duck quacked beneath him, attempting bravery as Usopp readied his slingshot. "We just need to—eeek!"

"Don't get so cocky!" Miss Valentine snapped, swinging her foot across the air. "Five hundred—"

Usopp and Karoo jumped, higher than they expected and took off running once more across the clearing, Mr. Five and Miss Valentine rushing after them. "Cowards!"

"They run too fast!"

Broggy laid stiff against the floor, hands clenched into fists.

"This is it," Nami whimpered, wax slowly crawling over toward her mouth. "I'm going to die a pretty wax statue…"

"You'll be fine," Zoro said flatly. "It'll be like taking a nap."

"That doesn't sound any better!"

"We have no choice," Vivi shut her eyes, clenching her teeth. "Everyone, good luck!"

Mr. Three laughed victoriously, sweeping his hand out in a grand gesture toward their friends' newly waxed figures. "See! It's complete! They're—"

Luffy snorted through his nose. He braced his feet apart, stretching his arms back, fingertips stretching towards the farthest palm tree. Mr. Three scowled, shooting up a wall of wax. "You don't have any fire! My wax is as hard as—"

"Gum Gum Bazooka!"

The wax splintered under the force of Luffy's attack. Mr. Three's eyes bulged from his head, lips parting in disbelief as Luffy's hands broke clear of the wax, rushing forward and smashing directly into Mr. Three's face. A resounding crack echoed across the clearing, knocking the man backwards into a bundle of shrubs.

"I'm mad! Stop trying to kill my friends!" Luffy shouted.

"Who cares if you're mad?" Miss Valentine sneered. "Look at them! Once Miss Goldenweek finishes them up, they'll be magnificent wax figures!"

"You're too late, Straw Hat!"

"We just need a bigger fire!" Usopp said, propping himself up on Karoo. "Hoku, can't you draw something?"

"We won't let you," Mr. Five said dangerously.

Not when I'm stuck feeling like I could fall asleep on the beach! Hoku strained, slowly raising her hand. Her entire body felt calm, sluggish as Miss Goldenweek finished a final swatch of calming green over her stomach. But I have more oil in my pouch, if I could just…

"Uh oh," Miss Goldenweek frowned, grabbing her paintbrush as she stood. "Sorry, Teacher. I have to go stop your friends."

Teacher?

"No," Hoku said calmly, unable to help her slowed speech from Miss Goldenweek's painting. Her fingers grabbed the edge of Miss Goldenweek's shirt. The little girl blinked, looking at Hoku. "I mean, didn't you say you wanted to know more about art?"

Miss Goldenweek hesitated at the edge of the picnic blanket. Around them Usopp and Karoo were squawking, alternating their screeches as they were chased around by Miss Valentine and Mr. Five. Luffy grabbed Hoku's dirt pillar, raising it over his head as he tossed it into the candelabra. The dirt crushed upon impact, falling uselessly to the floor and Luffy blew through his lips. "Hoku! Something stronger!"

"...The artwork of your people has always been my muse," Miss Goldenweek said. "You can't lie about the things you really want to draw… it puts your dreams into pictures others can see."

"Miss Goldenweek!" Miss Valentine and Mr. Five shouted. "What are you waiting for?"

Miss Goldenweek looked at Hoku, almost adoringly. "I aspire to paint the way you do."

Hoku flushed a bit, taken aback. "I, I mean—" Is Baroque Works just full of tortured artists? What's up with these people? I mean, the world can always use more artists, but still!

"Hey!" Luffy shouted, stomping his foot against the ground. "Stop hogging, Hoku! I need her help!"

"No one's helping you, Straw Hat!" a rumble erupted from the jungle as Mr. Three burst into the clearing. Hoku blinked in disbelief, jaw dropping at the sight of the monstrous creation. Wax gleamed from either side, massive curves and hardened spikes wrapping entirely around Mr. Three in the form of armor. He raised waxed fists, a huge flame flickering back and forth at the wick on top of his head. "Taste the brunt of my Candle Champion!"

He became a robot? Hoku bit her lip. That might be the coolest thing he's done this entire time. Should I make Luffy one too?

"Whoa!" Usopp cried, backing up a few steps. Luffy's eyes shone with stars.

"What is it?"

"He once took down a criminal worth 42 million beli with that thing," Mr. Five said.

"That's Mr. Three's masterpiece!" Miss Valentine said.

"Cool!" Luffy cheered.

"Don't admire him!" Usopp shouted. Karoo quacked angrily in agreement. "Fight!"

"Once Miss Goldenweek finishes me off with a paint—Miss Goldenweek?"

The Baroque Works agents turned, watching in disbelief as Miss Goldenweek remained standing beside Hoku, listening to her words with care.

"Listen," Hoku said. "I'm more than happy to talk about artistry, especially the kind from my hometown."

Miss Goldenweek paused, holding up her paintbrush.

"I'd love to tell you more and more," Hoku said, earnest. "I love hearing that people want to be artists! I think you should pursue your dreams, no matter how unconventional it might be or whatever people might say."

Miss Goldenweek's eyes started to shine a bit, losing their monotone sheen. Hoku clapped her hands together, pleading. "But these people are my muse, you see. I'm working on my biggest project yet with them. If I stay here, I'm going to lose that, you understand?"

Miss Goldenweek started to lower her brush. She looked at Hoku's sketchbook discarded to the side, flipped open to one of her previous pages—the ferocious sketch of Luffy amidst the rubble at Loguetown, gazing back out across the crowd as rain pelted the plaza.

"And it would be a lot better," Hoku said. "If it wasn't under, you know, these circumstances. If you want to learn real art, it's not going to be from this piece of shit over here."

"Excuse me?" Mr. Three shrilled.

Miss Goldenweek looked thoughtful, frowning at the floor. She held her sketchbook tightly.

"Please?" Hoku begged. "From one artist to another!"

"Colors Trap," Miss Goldenweek said quietly. Orange paint dripped onto the top of Hoku's hand. "Energetic orange."

Energy rushed through Hoku's body with a snap! She cheered, shooting to her feet and grabbing Miss Goldenweek's hands. She swung the girl around, laughing brightly while Miss Goldenweek blushed until she set her down. "You might wanna stay out of the way, it's going to get a bit messy!"

Miss Goldenweek nodded, trotting off into the jungle and waiting behind a rock as she took her sketchbook out, paintbrush ready.

Hoku grabbed Mau, turning on her heel and running madly toward the fray. "THANK YOU!"

"Miss Goldenweek, you traitor!" Miss Valentine cried. "What do you think you're—hey!"

Miss Valentine dove for the floor, narrowly missing Hoku's strike as she swung Mau clean over the top of her head, slicing into her rounded hat. "You!"

Hoku stepped onto Miss Valentine's shoulders, shoving her heavy weight further into the ground and jumping over to where Usopp and Karoo were. Hoku brandished Mau in front of her, taking a practiced stance. "You might be heavy but you still get cut, right?"

"Hoku!" Usopp cried, grabbing onto her leg while Karoo wrapped his wings around the other.

"Weirdo!"

"Who're you calling weird?" Hoku snapped at the duck. "You got this, Luffy!"

"Of course!" Luffy shouted, winding his arm back and rushing forward. "Gum Gum Pistol!"

Mr. Three pushed Luffy's hand aside, bracing his robot and moving into fighting position. "I don't need a paint job! You still won't be able to take me down!"

Luffy frowned, pushing himself off the floor as Mr. Three smashed both his fists downwards. Luffy swung his body, bringing his feet down into Mr. Three's head. "Gum Gum Stamp!"

Heat flared out from the massive wick over his head, brushing outwards into the air as Mr. Three blocked Luffy's strike, rushing at the rubber man and attacking quickly with his fists.

"Usopp," Hoku said, watching Mr. Five and Miss Valentine circled the three of them. "Do you have anything that can start a big fire?"

"I have my explosives!" Usopp said, digging into his bag. "But I can't get a clean shot with those two coming after us!"

"A few might not be enough to melt their wax either," Hoku said. She tossed Usopp her oil jar. "I have this, but Mau isn't big enough to take it down either. Do you think you could spread this over the wax or—"

Usopp paused, bringing a coil of rope out into the open. He, Karoo and Hoku all looked at each other for a moment, blinking before their mouths curved into wide grins.

"Breath Blast!"

Usopp shrieked as Hoku quickly threw up another wax wall, blood dripping from her paintbrush. Her eyes narrowed and she braced Mau as Miss Valentine's foot came smashing through, heel catching against Mau's blade as Hoku took a step back, refusing to drop her stance. "What are you three plotting!"

"You got this!" Hoku said. "I'll keep them busy!"

"R-Right!" Usopp gathered up the rope, dousing it in oil as he jumped onto Karoo. The two of them saluted Hoku, rushing off screeching as they raced for the candelabra.

Mr. Five scowled, pointing his pistol their way. Miss Valentine smirked, adding weight to her body. Hoku grunted, slicing clean through Miss Valentine's heel instead and ducking as the older woman went flying over her head. "My shoe!"

Hoku dragged her brush along the floor, ripping a long strip of dirt out and blocking his aim of Usopp and Karoo. "Times four!"

Miss Valentine chucked off her heels, tearing her ripped hat off her head as well. Hoku grimaced at her fuming expression, painting a shield from the dirt beside her and pulling it up over her other arm, holding Mau in the other.

"Breath Blast!"

"Crescendo Kick!"

Hoku wheezed, ears ringing from the force of Mr. Five's explosives against her shield. Miss Valentine brought her foot down. Hoku stepped left, tossing the melted shield at her and grabbing Mau with both hands as she sliced upwards. Miss Valentine skidded back, knocking the shield out of the way.

"You can't even take one of them down?" Mr. Three shrilled, pummeling another fist into the ground as Luffy jumped up and out of reach, landing on his shoulder. "Pathetic!"

"You're one to talk, Mr. Three!"

"Just give it up already!" Mr. Three said, grabbing at his shoulder. His entire armor twisted, bending from the uneven weight as he struggled to grab Luffy, slipping and bouncing between his fingers with a snickering grin. "Your friends are long gone now!"

"Forget it! I'm not losing my friends…" Luffy said. His feet smashed into Mr. Three's gauntlet, knocking it down as he leapt forward. growled, bringing his left hand down. His gauntlet paused mid-air and he blinked, jaw dropping as Luffy appeared beneath it, grinning impishly. "To someone like you."

Luffy's hands snatched Mr. Three's wick, tugging his head forward. Mr. Three let out in incoherent speech, entire body toppling forward as Luffy laughed, pulling him around like a sack of potatoes. "You—unhand me!"

"I've got fire!" Luffy declared, waving Mr. Three's head around as the man screeched, Luffy dragging him across the clearing. Mr. Five and Miss Valentine gasped, whirling around. "This will melt it, right? Yahoo!"

"It's too small!" Usopp shouted. He and Karoo appeared around the corner of the candelabra. Usopp held up the end of his rope, riding Karoo towards Luffy. It pulled taut, showing itself wrapped in thorough circles and loops all throughout the entire wax figure. "Light this rope!"

"Your rope? Alright!" Luffy raced forward, dragging Mr. Three with him.

"We won't let you!" Miss Valentine and Mr. Five rushed forward, staggering when a large shadow overlapped their own. The two of them turned, eyes growing wide as Hoku panted at the top of a massive dirt figure. Dorry's face, etched in perfect detail from the dirt grinned down at them, the entire statue teetering as Hoku wiped sweat from her brow. Dorry's foot raised up above them.

"Release," Hoku wheezed, tapping her fingers. Light faded from Dirt Dorry's eyes and she relaxed against the top of his head as the entire statue came crashing down. Miss Valentine and Mr. Five paled, running as clods of dirt crumbled, smashing every which way into them.

"Wait, stop!" Mr. Three said. "Stop this right now—"

"It's gonna get hot!" Usopp shouted. "So grit your teeth!"

"Wake up, everybody!" Luffy cheered.

Luffy pressed Mr. Three's flame to Usopp and Karoo's rope. The three grinned triumphantly, whipping their heads around as the oil soaked rope instantly caught. Fire raced quickly along the stretch of rope, sizzling as it rushed toward the candelabra and—

A massive flame whooshed out from the giant wax figure, enveloping the entire clearing in red and orange. Hoku's eyes glowed with the fire, catching against the gold in her eyes and warming her skin. She jumped off a mound of dirt, stepping back a bit as she exhaled, fanning her face. It dimmed to a rapid warmth, flickering outwards in gaping licks before smoke began to trail upwards toward the sky, clouding the blue with gray.

"I-It's bigger than I thought!" Usopp said, backing up with Karoo. "Are they gonna be okay?"

"I'm burning up!" Mr. Three cried, emerging with a pop from a puddle of melted wax. "Blast you, Straw Hat!"

The top of his wick was thoroughly singed, the ends of his clothes all burnt at the edges. He smashed a puddle of wax, dragging himself to his feet and beginning to run towards the jungle. "How dare you ruin my special candelabra!"

"Nhat gan," Hoku muttered.

"Hey!" Luffy shouted. He leapt off the melting wax, chasing after Mr. Three. "Oh, no you don't!"

"Coward!" Karoo quacked, racing after Luffy and into the jungle behind him.

The dirt beneath Hoku's feet trembled and she choked, flailing in surprise as a hand grabbed her ankle. She fell over, catching herself before her face smacked into the floor. Hoku quickly turned, grimacing when Miss Valentine and Mr. Five emerged, dirtied and covered in muck. "No more fun and games!"

"Hoku!" Usopp shouted, aiming his slingshot. Mr. Five aimed his pistol back at him. "Let her go!"

Hoku grabbed Mau's hilt, twisting her ankle painfully in Miss Valentine's grip as the woman raised her foot high into the air. "10,000-kilo-Guillotine—"

Miss Valentine's eyes widened. A pole staff swung outwards in unison with a feather etched blade, the two of them crashing into her. Miss Valentine coughed, eyes rolling toward the back of her head as her body collapsed. Hoku scrambled backwards, narrowly missing the weighted body sinking a crater into the earth as Miss Valentine crashed completely to the floor, unconscious.

"That was a little too hot for my liking," Nami said. Smoke trailed off the ends of her singed skirt, left in nothing but her bra top.

Vivi pushed her ponytail out of the way, the ends of her clothes all burnt and charred at the corners as well. "I can't believe we're still alive…"

"Nice timing!" Hoku grinned. The two girls smiled back at her, extending their hands. Hoku grabbed them both, letting them hoist her back onto her feet. "Very cool."

"Well," Nami said, pushing a strand of hair from her face as she smirked mischievously at Hoku. "It'll make for a bit sexier of a drawing, right?"

"Nami!"

"I only draw true to rendition," Hoku said cheekily. "Now there should be one more—"

"You're underestimating me, idiots!" the three of them turned with a frown toward Mr. Five. Vivi dropped her peacock slashers, swinging them between her fingertips while Nami readied her staff. "We can't afford to fail our mission again!"

"It's my turn!" Usopp said, pulling his slingshot back. "Death Blow! Exploding Star!"

Mr. Five smirked, snatching the explosive out of the air and chomping down with his teeth. "Don't you learn? Explosives don't work on me!"

Usopp returned Mr. Five's smirk in kind, wiping at a spot under his nose. "Sorry, I'm a fibber. That wasn't an explosive, it was my deluxe pepper sauce star!"

Mr. Five's cheeks flushed red. Sweat began to drip down the sides of his face and he hacked, coughing as he grabbed at his throat. Tears started to drop beneath his glasses. "W-Water!"

Usopp grinned, thrusting his slingshot into the air. "I've personally checked its effectiveness!"

Nami, Vivi and Hoku began to clap, waving their weapons to cheer the sniper on.

"You—ugh—you lousy pirates!" Mr. Five snapped. Smoke began to rise off his body and Hoku readied Mau, Nami and Vivi tensing with their weapons beside her. "I'll blow you all to bits with my—"

"Flaming—"

A calm whisper followed by a ferocious sneer tickled Hoku's ears. She grinned, a single figure rushing through the last of the flames. Three blades caught the fire, burning hot as they glistened red.

"Onigiri!"

Mr. Five hacked, blood splattering across the clearing from the clean, singular cuts crossing over his chest. Flames followed the wounds, wrapping like a vortex across his body as he slumped, falling onto his knees before he crashed forward onto his face.

Zoro braced himself on one knee against the floor, smoke trailing off his clothes as he calmly sheathed one of his blades, looking up. "A burning sword. Not bad…"

Hoku gave Mau a fond pat, sliding her hand across the back of his blade before she slid him back into his sheath. The ground beside them trembled and they turned, Usopp letting out a shout of relief as the giant Broggy slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. Beside him Dorry remained listless, blood no longer pooling out from beneath his wounds.

"Only one left to fight…" Broggy said, staring into the jungle where Luffy had raced off.

"Luffy's got it handled," Zoro said. He pinched an ember off the edge of his shirt, swatting a glob of dried wax off his shoulder. "The next problem is…"

"Mr. Dorry…" Hoku said, standing beside the giant's body. She tugged at a piece of his clothing, apologizing as she drew a large pattern into its side and pulled a patch of cloth free. "Times six!"

The cloth folded up in massive heaps before her. Hoku pushed loosened strands of hair back away from her face, pulling her bandana down to her neck and frowning at the ashen smell. Hopefully those stains come out…

"Is he…" Nami started, unable to continue.

"Dead?" Zoro said. Vivi smacked the back of his head.

"Don't be so brash!"

"Master Broggy…" Usopp said, looking up to the silent giant as he watched the jungle, waiting for Luffy's return.

Hoku held up the mounds of cloth. "We won't know until we try. Somehow it looks like the bleeding stopped, so there might be a chance—"

"Vivi!" Karoo came barreling into the clearing, tears in his eyes as he launched himself into the air. Vivi quickly opened her arms, falling over with a squeak as her duck pecked her softly with his bill, quacking his praises and asking to be praised in return.

"Karoo! Then that means—"

Luffy stepped calmly into the clearing. They all turned towards him as he made his way over to their group. Broggy was silent, watching as Luffy calmly dusted off his hat, fixing it over the top of his head before he turned his gaze up toward the giant.

Luffy grinned.

Tears erupted from Broggy's eyes. Massive globs of water pelting down and crashing into the floor. Hoku squawked, jumping out of the way as several poured down, creating giant puddles all around them. Broggy opened his mouth, openly sobbing. "Dorry! My friend! Oh, Dorry!"

"Even his tears are huge!" Nami said.

"He's making a rainbow!" Luffy said.

"They're like a waterfall," Zoro said, grabbing the back of Hoku's top before she slipped into a puddle.

"I know how he feels!" Usopp wailed, tears pouring down his cheeks as he huffed, trying to stifle his sobs. "Master Broggy, I'm so sorry for you—"

The ground shook beside them as Dorry slowly pushed himself up from the floor, holding onto his injured stomach. The giant grimaced, shaking his head free of any dirt. He looked down at all of them.

Broggy's eyes almost shot from their sockets, the giant almost falling over and crushing all of them.

"... I must've passed out," Dorry said. He cracked his neck. "My…"

"Dorry?" Broggy cried in disbelief. "B-But how?"

"Mr. Giant!" Luffy and Vivi cheered. "You're okay!"

"It must… have been the weapons," Dorry said. Hoku's eyes widened in realization as Broggy blinked in disbelief.

"The weapons?" Usopp said, wiping viciously at his tears. "No, I get it now… even weapons forged in Elbaf, after a hundred years without anyone caring for them…"

"Would get worn down," Hoku finished. It makes sense since their voices sounded so old too… it's a good thing I never got a chance to try to coat that thing then.

"It's incredible," Usopp said, lips pulling up into a breathless smile. "It's a miracle!"

"Hohoho, Broggy, don't hug me so hard…" Dorry laughed, patting his friend's back as Broggy pulled him tightly to his chest, unwilling to let go. "My wound…"

"I'm so happy you're alive, my friend!" Broggy cried cheerfully. "Ohoho!"

"What miracle?" Zoro grinned. "It's no surprise. These weapons haven't been cared for for over a century, and neither have their owners."

Dorry grinned, a few tears gathering along the corners of his eyes. The two giants tossed their heads back with a laugh.

"It's a glorious day!" Broggy said. "I give thanks to the Gods of Elbaf!"

"Are you that proud of yourself… just for knocking me out?" Dorry said. Broggy laughed harder, punching Dorry's shoulder.

"Idiot! That's not what I meant!"

"You hit my wound!"

"Heh heh heh…"

The two giants jumped to their feet. The entire jungle trembled, shaking under their weight. "Are you trying to start a fight?"

"Cut it out!" Nami and Vivi snapped.

Hoku sighed in satisfaction, dropping down onto the floor to sit with a small smile turning up on her lips. She blinked in realization, turning quickly over her shoulder. "Where's…"

The shape of Miss Goldenweek behind the boulder was no longer there. Hoku paused, staring at that empty space as a small frown touched her lips and she sank back to the ground. Did she go back to the others? I wanted to at least make good on my promise…

"Let's move back to my spot," Dorry suggested. "I have some medicine there."

"That sounds like a good idea," Vivi said. "We should get your wounds treated."

A hand dropped on top of Hoku's head. She blinked, turning upwards curiously as Zoro stood over her, a lazy expression across his face. Hoku's brows creased, curious. "Somethin' up?"

"You know," Zoro said slowly, fingers digging harder into Hoku's scalp. Hoku hissed, swatting at his hands.

"Hey! What gives—"

"When I was watching you fight earlier, one of my scars started to throb a bit."

Hoku stopped fighting back, becoming strangely docile as she sheepishly turned her eyes to the floor.

"It was this one," Zoro said, tapping a finger against his chest. "Right here."

"That's, uh," Hoku started. "That's unfortunate. I think you were just a bit banged up from the fighting, you know?"

Zoro squatted down beside her. He rigidly forced Hoku's head to turn despite the resistance she gave his hand, sweating bullets and avoiding all eye contact as Zoro grinned a bit devilishly.

"Who did you say," Zoro drawled, "you learned swordsmanship from again?"

Hoku pressed her fingertips together, purposefully staring at her boots. Knock offs to match with another pair.

"Let's uh… I think that's a nice story… for another time…"

"Nami-swan! Vivi-chan! Hoku Honey!" Sanji cried, hearts in his eye as he came bounding across the clearing towards them, looking relatively unscathed as hearts popped out from the smoke from his cigarette. "You guys are okay! And the rest of you too."

"Hey, Sanji!" Luffy greeted cheerfully. Hoku sat at his feet, carefully going through her sketchbook for any damage from the recent scuffle. Zoro seemed satiated a few feet away, comfortable with the knowledge that Hoku would have to spill her guts to him later back on the ship or face them being cut out by his sword.

"He's been missing this whole time and has the nerve to show up now!" Usopp said.

Sanji skidded to a halt at the sight of Dorry and Broggy, cigarette nearly spilling from his lips.
"W-What the? Are you Mr. Three?"

"Hey!" Nami said. "How do you know about Mr. Three?"

"Nami!" Sanji cheered at the sight of Nami's lack of clothes, courtesy of the fire. "You're beautiful!"

"Ka!"

"What's wrong?" Zoro said, turning around to face her.

Hoku grumbled to herself, rubbing at a now swelling mark on the side of her stomach. In her free hand she clutched the crushed remains of some kind of hard shell insect. Hoku grimaced in disgust, tossing the remains to the side and rubbing it off the side of her pants. "Something bit me… damn bastard."

She inspected the bite with a frown, gingerly poking at it. That doesn't look nice. It was red and angry looking, swelling up in size faster than she expected. I think there's balm or something on the ship I can use.

"Strong people don't get bit by bugs," Zoro said simply.

"Aw, shut it," Hoku snapped. "It's just bad luck."

"It sensed you were the weak link."

"Sure, Mr. Birthday Candle."

Zoro threateningly reached for her head again. Hoku fended him off, waving her hands and forming a cross with her fingers.

"You should be careful," Nami said. "What if you got sick from that or something?"

Considering the million other things that could take me out in this world, a bug being the one to do it seems a little unlikely. Hoku sighed through her nose before she stopped. She blinked once, looking at her bite mark and then looking over to where Nami was turning back to Sanji and Vivi, completely unbothered.

Hoku squinted, looking again at her bite. Her mouth slowly opened, brain whirring to life before it short circuited and Hoku shook her head.

…nah. Hoku looked at her sketchbook again. There's no way, right?

"Sanji, how did you know about Mr. Three?" Vivi repeated, looking startled. "Miss Hoku went back to find you but you were missing from the ship…"

"Hoku Honey! You went to find me? How could I have left you all alone—"

"Just shut up and speak," Zoro said.

"Don't tell me to—" Sanji coughed, clearing his throat. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, taking a seat on a slab of stone. "After I went to hunt down the biggest piece of meat, I brought it back to ship and saw no one was there so I went back into the jungle to look for you guys."

"Just missed each other, huh," Hoku said, leaning back against Luffy's legs. He took her sketchbook from her, flipping through it.

"But then I found this strange house made of wax in the middle of the jungle," Sanji said. "There was a lovely tea set inside along with a transponder snail."

Sanji flicked his cigarette. "And then the snail got a very interesting call…"

"That means…" Vivi said in disbelief, "You talked to Mr. Zero?"

"That's right," Sanji exhaled a cloud of smoke. "He thought I was Mr. Three."

"And you told him we were dead?" Vivi said.

Sanji nodded. "That's what I told him. He wasn't very happy so many of his men were chasing after marines, but it sounds like he and Miss All Sunday put a few things together when the navy wasn't knocking on his door asking why a warlord was breaking their requirements."

"So they still don't know what we look like except for Vivi," Nami said.

"Unless Miss All Sunday's clued him in, he'll only know Luffy's face from the poster," Sanji said. "But he thinks we're all dead now so…"

It doesn't sound like Robin gave us away then… Hoku stared at the floor in thought. But she didn't help us either to keep Crocodile from the truth. I guess a farce like that could only do us so much. She did wonder a bit just how much Smoker and Tashigi had to deal with, but maybe it wasn't that bad at all. So there probably isn't a reason for them to hold a grudge.

Smoker spat onto the ground, wiping sweat from his brow.

A pile of over a dozen men laid before him, unconscious and battered purple. Another dozen more glared, ready to attempt the suicidal mission of trying to overtake their naval ship.

"Tashigi," Smoker growled. "This better be the last of them."

"I-I think it is, sir!"

"Baroque Works is off our trail but we're still stuck on this island!" Usopp cried, grabbing his head in his hands.

"Stuck?" Sanji said. "How come?"

"The log pose will take a year to set," Nami said, slumping down onto the floor. "We don't know what to do…"

"We're gonna sail on anyways," Luffy said simply, handing Hoku back her sketchbook. "Leave it to luck!"

"We can't do that!" Nami protested. "What if it leads us off course? We have to get to Alabasta somehow and—"

"You can have this."

Hoku instantly turned, looking around once before glancing upwards. Miss Goldenweek stood before her, calmly holding something in her hands as she faced all of them.

…

"M-M-Miss Goldenweek!" Vivi said, jumping back. All of them tensed, looking at the little girl while Hoku blinked in surprise, a bit of a smile starting to touch her lips. "You're still here!"

"Who's this?" Sanji said. "A kid?"

"Hey!" Luffy said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're the kid who hogged Hoku!"

Miss Goldenweek offered Luffy a wicker basket. She opened the top, revealing several rice crackers and a small tea set. "This is my peace offering."

"Oooh! Food!"

"Don't be so easily sold!" Usopp snapped, taking a rice cracker anyway as Luffy happily dug in.

"Goldie!" Hoku said, standing up and ruffling the top of the girl's hat. Miss Goldenweek's face remained impassive, but her eyes turned shyly downwards. "You came back! I'm glad! I wanted to keep good on my word—"

"Here."

Hoku frowned, turning her head to the side as Miss Goldenweek opened up her palms to reveal a log pose to them. An eternal pose? "You're giving this to us? Where is it for?"

"Alabasta."

Hoku's eyes bulged from her head. The rest of the crew's jaws dropped, save for Luffy, unbothered as he formed his lips instead into a little ooooh!

Vivi almost collapsed in relief, Nami catching her. Sanji blinked, turning over to Zoro. "Well, I guess that solved itself fine."

"You missed out, stupid cook."

"What'd you say, stupid mosshead?"

Miss Goldenweek shyly offered the eternal pose to her. Hoku took it with gentle hands, blinking at it in disbelief.

"Miss All Sunday said we would need it," she said. "But we can get back another way."

"You're really giving this to us?" Vivi said, eyes wide. "But you were…"

Miss Goldenweek shrugged. She fiddled with the tip of her brush.

"You're gonna go back there?" Hoku said in disbelief. "But what if—"

"I'll follow Mr. Three," Miss Goldenweek said. "Because he's my partner. They won't tattle on me, but I'll leave if I think it's dangerous."

"Miss Goldenweek," Vivi started. The Baroque Works agent turned to her. "Please… is there anything you know about what Mr. Zero is doing in Alabasta now? Is there anything about Baroque Works you could tell me at all? Anything?"

Miss Goldenweek looked a bit uncertain, fiddling with her brush tip once more. "Mr. Three and I don't get as much information as Mr. Two or One, but I think we've all been kept in the dark about the Boss' plans."

Vivi's shoulders slumped. Her eyes turned downwards, lips pulling into a tight line at the lack of news. Nami reached over, touching her shoulder comfortingly.

"The only thing I do know though," Miss Goldenweek said. "Is that we're all supposed to meet very, very soon. I think whatever the Boss is planning is finally about to start."

Vivi looked up at her words, eyes hardening. Miss Goldenweek carefully put her backpack onto her shoulders, wiping dust off her shorts. "...it was the least I could do since you guys didn't beat me up too."

"Hey, kid, you're pretty nice!" Luffy said.

Miss Goldenweek bowed to Broggy and Dorry. "Sorry about what happened."

"Goldie," Hoku said. "I don't know how to thank you… I know my crew's gotta get going now, but is there anything…"

Miss Goldenweek hesitated. She looked at the floor for a second longer before she quickly trotted back up to Hoku.

"Could you please just…" Miss Goldenweek offered Hoku her sketchbook. "Draw something for me?"

Hoku opened up her arms, wrapping Miss Goldenweek's head tight and squishing her to her chest. She gave the child a hard hug, lifting her up off her feet. "You—ya really know the right thing to say, don't you?"

Miss Goldenweek's small hands reached around her, tightening into her top. The young artist shut her eyes, hiding her small smile beneath her bushy braids.

"It sounds like it's time to party!" Luffy cheered, thrusting his fists into the air. "Rice cracker part time it is!"

Nami pushed Luffy's rice cracker aside. "We'll have to hold off on the party, captain. Now that we can go, we should set sail as soon as we can!"

"Oh, right," Luffy shoved the rice crackers into his mouth. "Gotta finish these then."

"Save them for later!"

Hoku sat a few paces away with Miss Goldenweek, quietly sliding her hand across the pages of the young girl's sketchbook. Miss Goldenweek watched, a rice cracker between her lips as her eyes shone a little, watching the colors unfold across the page. She paused for a moment, blinking in surprise before she turned to Hoku who grinned, pressing a finger to her lips.

"By the way," Sanji started, waving his cigarette towards Zoro. "You haven't forgotten about our hunting competition, have you?"

"Oh, that? I won," Zoro said simply, stretching his arms as wide as he could. "I bagged a huge rhino."

"A rhino?" Sanji said. "I hope it's edible."

Dorry and Broggy frowned, curious looks flashing over their faces as they turned toward each other.

"Hey, you roly-poly giants," Luffy said cheerfully, fixing his hat over his head. Sanji and Zoro started to walk toward the treeline, bickering over the size of their hunted prizes. "We have to go!"

"It sounds like you're all in a hurry," Broggy said with a grin.

"It's sad to see you go, but I won't stop you!" Dorry said. "I hope you're able to save your kingdom."

"Thank you," Vivi said earnestly. Sanji offered Nami his jacket, politely laying it over her shoulders. "I wish you two nothing but the best!"

Hoku ruffled the top of Miss Goldenweek's hat one last time, leaving the girl behind with a few jars of her own paint. Miss Goldenweek waved as Hoku rejoined the rest of the crew, watching her walk beside Karoo who began to peck curiously at her feet, forcing Hoku to swat at his face each time.

"Goodbye Masters!" Usopp shouted, "One day, I shall go to Elbaf!"

"Don't kill each other, giants!" Luffy said, waving his arms cheerfully.

"Thank you for everything!" Nami said.

"If you get new weapons, make sure you take care of them!" Hoku said. "Or don't! Either is fine, just for this occasion! Good luck, Goldie! Keep drawing!"

Miss Goldenweek came to sit beside the giants, offering the two of them a rice cracker each. The giants blinked, looking at each other before they laughed, gingerly pinching it between their fingers and bringing it to their mouths.

"My teacher said she left something behind for you two," Miss Goldenweek said. Broggy and Dorry paused, looking back down at the little girl. "On the side of the skull."

"The little Pokian warrior did?"

"From the Straw Hats, she said," Miss Goldenweek bit into her own rice cracker. "It should last another hundred years."

"Who did this to the Merry?"

"Mr. Three," Hoku said, holding a wooden plank up for Usopp as he hammered it into Merry's breached side, sobbing all the while for the poor ship. "The spearhead was small, so luckily the hole wasn't too big."

"Hoku!" Hoku flinched, blinking as Usopp threw his arms around her, nose jabbing into her cheek as he hugged her tight, dragging his body weight along the floor. "Thank you for caring about the Merry! Truly!"

"I get it! I get it! You don't have to hug me for it!"

"Take a good look!" Sanji snapped, pointing down to the massive hunk of meat now lying deceased beneath his feet, tongue rolling out beside the Merry. "My lizard wins."

"Are you blind?" Zoro snapped back. "My rhino's bigger!"

"Who cares?" Luffy said, resting his chin on his hands as he leaned over the Merry's side. "They both look good to eat."

"You shut up!"

"How long are you two going to keep bickering?" Nami called, coming out to stand over the top of the second deck as she surveyed the skies. "Just cut 'em up and load as much as you can. It's time to set sail!"

"All right, Nami~"

"Right, Usopp? Mine's bigger, right?"

"Huh? I don't care," Usopp said, tucking away his tools.

"Can't you two call it a draw?" Vivi suggested.

"There are no draws in a challenge," Zoro and Sanji answered in unison. The two of them scowled, whirling on each other.

"I guess time really flies," Hoku sighed, climbing back up onto the Merry's deck and tucking a few unruly strands back into her braid. "Felt like forever but we couldn't have been on this island for more than half a day."

"Are you going to miss it?" Vivi questioned curiously. Hoku pursed her lips at the thought.

"I wouldn't say miss," Hoku said. She did curse the fact that for all that was going on on this damn island, it didn't seem any of it was quite enough to knock another life down. "But I'll definitely remember this one."

"Bring up the anchors!" Nami called. Zoro set to work as Sanji headed over to the sails, unfurling them. The Merry caught a gust in an instant, the ship creaking cheerfully as it banked away from the shoreline, trailing down the riverway. "If we sail straight ahead, that'll take us to the east of the island."

"Hey," Luffy said, surveying the massive hunks of meat waiting to be stored away in the fridges. "Can't we carry any more meat?"

"That's all the ship will hold!" Sanji said.

"You wanna sink us?" Zoro said.

The Merry quietly rounded the corner of the river. Nami surveyed the current beginning to gather along beneath them, nodding in satisfaction. Vivi moved to stand beside Hoku, holding onto the railing as the two of them watched the island begin to open up, trees growing sparser.

"Hey!" Luffy shouted. "Look! The giants!"

Usopp's eyes widened in excitement, rushing up to the bow of the ship. "They came to see us off!"

Dorry and Broggy stood across from each other, their backs to the ship as they faced the wide ocean stretching out at the opening of the island. The wind blew, hard enough to drag their sturdy capes up and billow out beside them. They flanked each island bank like guardian statues at the entrance to some grand temple.

Hoku stared a bit in awe, fingers twitching as she shuffled for her pencil. Vivi blinked, pulling it out of Hoku's braid and offering it to her.

"There's one big reason that you little people," Broggy started.

"Can't reach the next island," Dorry finished.

"What?" Nami said in surprise. Luffy and Usopp blinked, looking at each other and back toward the giants.

The wind pulled harder, taking the Merry along with it as the giants' capes flew up with the gust.

"You risked your lives to defend our honor," Dorry said.

"Now, no matter what…"

"We will allow no enemy to trample on our friends' pride!"

"Have faith in us!" Broggy declared. "Sail straight ahead! No matter what happens, sail straight ahead!"

"What are they talking about?" Zoro said.

Hoku blinked, cupping her hands around her ears. She turned at the soft chuckles, spotting the worn weapons in each of Broggy and Dorry's hands. They whispered to each other, little laughs and traded memories. Her eyes went wide.

"Okay!" Luffy and Usopp promised. "We'll sail straight ahead!"

"It's time to say goodbye," Dorry grinned, raising his sword. "I hope we meet again."

"Yes, I hope so too!" Broggy grinned, raising his axe in time with his friend.

"Wait!" Nami's eyes went wide, finger shaking. "L-Look up ahead!"

"New ship…" a voice droned. Hoku's eyes went round, jaw going slack as the water around them began to part. Two eyes blinked open, staring first at the sky and slowly rolling down to gaze at them. The massive sea monster began to rise, higher and higher out of the water, jaws parting open. "Food…"

"There it is," Dorry smirked. "The island eater."

"You will give way," Broggy announced. "The honor of Elbaf is at stake!"

"Turn the ship!" Nami cried. The waves rocked roughly against the Merry, jostling them. "Hurry or we'll be eaten!"

"What the?" Usopp exclaimed. "It's a huge… goldfish? No… wait, I think I've heard of this somewhere…"

Hoku wobbled, grabbing tightly onto the railing and paling at the sight of the ocean coming up to meet her. She skittered backwards, tripping on her heel and squawking when her head smacked into the back of the mast. Vivi hurried over to help her.

"Usopp, turn the wheel!" Nami said.

"I… I can't!" Usopp shouted. Nami blinked in disbelief. "We're gonna sail straight ahead…. R-Right, Luffy?"

Luffy grinned. Salt water splashed, light against his cheeks. Hoku stared at the sight, almost missing the chance to grab Vivi's hand before she toppled sideways again.

"Right. Of course."

"Don't be insane!" Nami pleaded. "This isn't like Laboon! Hoku's not even trying to talk to this one!"

"Just because I can talk doesn't mean they listen!"

"I know," Luffy said, uncharacteristically calm. His smile widened instead. "Don't panic. Here, have the last rice cracker."

"No, thank you!" Nami cried. "Forget that and turn the ship around or we'll—"

"Nami," Zoro said simply. "Resign yourself."

Nami's eyes filled with tears as she chomped down pitifully onto the rice cracker. "Buh…"

"Luffy!" Sanji said. "Are you sure we can trust those giants?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Are you serious about this?" Vivi said. "We're going to sail straight into the monster's mouth?"

"He's made up his mind," Hoku said, tugging out a piece of paper from her pants. She bit the corner of her thumb, drawing blood underneath her canine and pressing it to the page. Vivi blinked in amazement. "It's better to just watch."

The Merry rocked forward, water rushing beneath them as the giant goldfish parted its jaws. Their ship sailed in, rows of shiny teeth stuck with beds of seaweed rising up high above their heads. Nami grabbed onto the mast post behind Hoku, tears in her eyes while Usopp and Luffy faced forward, grinning as the goldish closed its mouth around them.

"Straight ahead!" Usopp cried. "Straight ahead! Straight!"

"It's too late!" Nami wailed. "We've already been eaten!"

Hoku readied her hand in the darkness, eyes catching a faint bit of light and glowing.

"Straight ahead!" Luffy shouted. "Straight ahead!"

The rushing of the water quieted for only a second.

Hoku heard the soft sigh of farewell. Two weapons fell silent.

"Hakoku Sovereignty!"

The wind snapped beside them. A massive gust blew forward, blasting a whole clean through the giant goldfish, spiraling out into the other side. Light flooded the cavern of the sea monster's mouth, its eyes rolling to the back of its head as the Merry sailed forward, straight and undeterred as water rushed into the newly opened cavern.

"YAHOO!" Luffy and Usopp cheered. "We're flying out!"

"Don't turn!" Usopp shouted. "Go straight ahead!"

Luffy's grin stretched hard from ear to ear, eyes catching sunlight. "So huge!"

"They blasted a whole… right through it!" Usopp managed, tears pouring down his face as he trembled, fear and excitement. "That's the power… of warriors of Elbaf!"

Merry escaped the confines of its mouth, leaping out straight into the sea. Sunlight coasted over the entire ship, catching the glistening drops of salt water before she crashed back into the waves, winds picking up against her sails and throwing the Merry forward.

Hoku quickly stood, rushing to the side of the ship as she faced the ocean and the island behind them. Dorry and Broggy tipped their heads back, laughing as they tossed their weapons up high into the air. Her pulse throbbed against her skin, heart thundering in her ears.

"MAY GOOD FORTUNE ACCOMPANY YOU!" the giants cheered.

Hoku felt a grin split her lips. She cupped her hands over her mouth.

"I HOPE YOU LIKE THE DRAWING!"

Miss Goldenweek dutifully bit into another rice cracker. Her pencil moved carefully across a brand new page in her sketchbook, eyes occasionally looking up for reference before glancing back down. In a few more moments when she was done, she'd go back to the clearing and find Mr. Three's unconscious body and see what their next move was.

Across the once stark white expanse of a massive skeleton, namely the largest, longest part of the skull—some huge monster beyond Miss Goldenweek's imagination—now laid an entire canvas of vivid colors. Bright, vibrant green colored the faith background, coupled with the shining, clear blue sky illuminating the entire focus. Two colossal figures took up the subject matter of the painting, etched in permanently into the side of the skull. They raised their weapons, caught mid-swing and mid-clash for another century longer, ginormous grins stretched wide across their faces.

A small, humble little mark, unable to escape the chance to belong, was printed neatly into the very corner at the bottom of the skull's painting, smeared down to the last detail.

"You know, Dorry," Broggy said, examining the painting with care. "I think I look more handsome than you."

Dorry blinked, turning over to his dear friend.

"Broggy," Dorry said. "I think I'm hard of hearing. Surely you meant to say I looked more handsome in this, no?"

Broggy and Dorry stared at each other.

Miss Goldenweek bit into her rice cracker, beginning another practice session of drawing.

Well, Hoku thought, rather content with herself. She flopped down onto the deck, taking a second to let the sun soak up over her skin. She needed a shower soon too, she was getting a bit chilly. Crisis averted, right?

I guess everything worked out.

Even without an umbrella, the pouring rain can't hit our eyes.

Famous last words, right? Hahahaha…

I HAVE SO. MUCH. TO. SAY.

BUT I CAN'T SAY IT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I REALLY HAVE TO FINISH THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE AND I WANTED TO GET THIS CHAPTER UP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND HOLY SHIT I HAVE SOOOOO MUCH TO SAY TO YOU GUYS BUT ITS ALWAYS LIKE THIS AT THE END I'M RUNNING ON FUMES HAHAHA.

I'M SO SORRY THIS CHAPTER ENDED UP BEING SO DAMN LONG, I THOUGHT ABOUT CUTTING IT IN HALF SO YOU GUYS COULD HAVE TWO THEN BUT IT JUST DIDN'T FEEL AS SMOOTH TO ME WHEN I BROKE THEM UP SO I LEFT IT AS ONE CHAPTER. HOPEFULLY IT WAS A FUN READ I NEVER EXPECTED LITTLE GARDEN TO TAKE ME THIS FAR LIKE THIS LOLOL.

I'm so sorry for being gone so long. I'm so sorry I can't answer more questions in this corner like I wanted to, I basically had a lot going on and I'll explain it more next chapter which an update for is coming much sooner than y'all had to wait for this one T-T i swear.

I'm also sorry if any of this chapter seems a little choppy, I was reacquainting myself a bit with writing this and hopefully nothing was too jarring or dragged out. Hopefully the fight scenes were good and it's okay if they're not, I'm always looking to improve! I'll go back and make some edits because I'm posting this a little rushed so I might not comb over little mistakes as much but—

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR ENDLESS SUPPORT, YOUR PATIENCE, YOUR KIND WORDS AND YOUR SUPPORTIVE MESSAGES DURING SOME ROUGH TIMES, THANK YOU FOR READING. IF YOU'RE STILL AROUND, I HOPE IT WAS A GOOD ONE!

WELCOME BACK EVERYBODY!

Marshmellow-

-OUT!