Chapter 1

The Sea-Traveling Circus, the Shining Sea Circus!

The Straw Hat Pirates, along with a sick patient, the mysterious lady, were heading to the Shining Sea Circus' ship, aided by the clown duo, Mitch, and Jerry for direction.

"Oi! I see a ship ahead!" Zoro yelled aloud from the crow's nest.

"It looks like we're almost there, bubs," Mitch the short clown said. Everyone walked up to the front side of the ship to see the destination. When they did, they were amazed to see.

"Yoo-hoo! It's huge!" Luffy exclaimed.

Indeed, the ship was excessively big. Like Merry Go, but differently, it had the face of the lion while on the back was the head of the elephant. The ship was reddish-pink color with a huge dome-like structure over the deck. It was like five times bigger than their ship, and maybe even bigger than Marines' battleship. In the middle of the ship was to be the mast, and at the top of the mast was the circus' flag, which was a fancy gold and red emblem, with one golden lion on one side and other side was a silver tiger while an eagle held the emblem with its feet on the top. It had the letters "S.C." on the emblem/

"What a ship!" Usopp gasped.

"It's so big!" Chopper stated.

"I never have seen such a huge ship like this before!" Sanji said.

"It must be even bigger than the Marines' battleship," Robin added.

"Impressive, eh, bubs? We're the only circus to sail the old girl," Mitch explained.

"It is one of its kind. You should see it when we do our show!" Jerry noted.

"Cool! Do you guys have like lions, tiger, elephants, and panda?" Luffy asked with wonders sparking in his eyes.

"What's with the panda at the end? Never heard of circus owning a panda," Usopp commented.

"We have all of them, except for panda," Mitch said.

"So, where do we dock?" Nami asked.

"Just around the corner, Miss. There's a ladder that we can climb on to get on board," Mitch explained.

They sailed around the ship until they saw a ladder just as Mitch said. They safely anchored Merry Go just near enough the ship for hands to reach the ladder.

"I feel so excited, so excited." Chopper whispered to himself as Robin noticed, and grinned to the little doctor's excitement.

"If you all don't mind, we will climb up the ladder first and ask the boss permission to get you all on board first," Jerry said.

"Ew? We can't get on board?" Luffy said, looking a bit disappointed.

"Luffy, don't be so rude!" Nami scolded before she turned to the clown duo. "Sure thing. We can wait first."

"Thanks, Miss. We will be back soon," Mitch said as he began climbing up the ladder with Jerry following after him.

"I have to say. This is one huge ship," Zoro commented as he looked up at the massive behemoth of a ship.

"It's very impressive," Nami said. "I wonder what's the dome is for."

"It must be used for their circus show. Normally, circuses use a tent, but what I heard about Shining Sea Circus, they don't use tents. Rather, their ship is the circus tent itself," Robin explained.

"Eww! What does that mean?" Chopper asked.

"It means that they use their ship to do their show," Sanji said. "It reminds me of how Sea Bailey and how it works."

"That's so awesome!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper's eyes twinkled like stars.

"I can't wait to get on the ship!" Luffy said excitedly.

30 minutes have passed, and the Straw-Hat Pirates were still waiting on the ship.

"Hey, guys. Are those clown guys coming back yet?" Luffy moaned, looking a bit impatient as he laid on the floor.

"Those clowns are taking long to ask their Boss," Usopp said. "I wonder if something happened."

"Who knows? We just have to wait," Zoro said as he was relaxing.

"But the patient needs something to eat. If they are taking too long, then…" Chopper said worriedly.

"That's a good point," Nami noted.

"Maybe we should go up and check?" Sanji suggested.

"I don't think that's necessary." Everyone looked at Robin. "It seems like our Captain already went to check."

"Huh?" Everyone looked at where Luffy was, but he was nowhere in sight. "That can't be…." Everyone was thinking the same thing. They looked up and saw Luffy stretched his arm, jumping onboard the circus' ship.

"Luffy! What are you doing up there?! Get back down here!" Nami yelled at him.

"Oi, guys! Come up here! Let's explore the place and find the clown duo!" Luffy yelled back.

"I can't believe it!" Nami face palmed herself.

"Well, I guess we have no choice," Sanji said as he began climbing up the rope ladder.

"Sanji-Kun? You too?!" Nami asked, surprisingly.

"If the captain says so, then we have to follow an order, right?" Sanji replied. "But don't worry, Nami-san, if you are coming with me, then I will make sure I will protect you!"

"Rrr…Fine. I guess I will go to," Nami shrugged as she joined in.

"I would like to go, but I have to keep an eye on the patient, so I will stay here," Chopper said.

"Then, I will stay, too," Robin said. "What about you, Long-Nose Kun?"

"Me? Ewww…I…." He looked up at the huge ship, looking very massive and intimidating due to its size. "Urgh! Oh no! My doesn't want to get on a big circus ship disease is taking an effect on me!"

"There's no such thing!" Zoro yelled. Zoro, along with the scared Usopp, joined Sanji and Nami as the four climbed up the rope ladder.

Chopper watched them as they climbed up the ladder, looking worried and sort of jealous.

"If you want to go, you can go, Doctor," Robin suggested.

"Huh?! Oh, no! I can't do that! I mean, I do want to go with Luffy and others to explore the ship and all, but I am the ship doctor and I have a patient on board! I can't just go…." Chopper explained.

"Don't worry. I am fine alone, and I can keep an eye on her for you," Robin said.

"Really? Well…. I guess I can go with others just a bit," Chopper said. "Maybe I can ask the clown duo or their Boss if they have any medicine. Um, OK then…." Chopper moved slowly and slowly until he was already touching the end of the ladder rope.

'He wants to go. He's so cute….' Robin said in her thought.

All members except for one were onboard the ship. Strangely, it was very quiet. There was no sign of Mitch or Jerry. In a matter of fact, there seems to be no sign of anyone except themselves.

"Strange. There is nobody here!" Nami pointed out.

"Where did those clowns go?" Sanji asked.

"Who knows. Maybe we should look for them," Zoro said.

"I don't know about this, guys. I mean, we may be guests and all, but we should not even be here, snooping around without permission! Besides, with no one around, this place feels creepy!" Usopp shivered.

"Don't be such a scaredy-cat!" Sanji stated. "Let's just find the clowns and see what's going on."

"Speaking of which, where did the captain goes?" Zoro asked.

Nami sighed greatly. "Great! Now we have to find him, too," Nami groused.

"So, we're on the ship. This feels so cool!" Chopper said excitedly as he just got on board.

"Maybe we should split up to find Luffy and the clowns," Zoro suggested.

"For once, I agree with you on that," Sanji nodded as he stepped closer with Nami. "I'll be with Nami-chan!"

"Fine, fine," Nami shrugged. "Just follow me."

"Yes, madam!" Sanji tagged along with the navigator while Zoro, Usopp, and Chopper stayed together and walked the other way. Little did they knew that they were being watched.

Meanwhile, Luffy was on his little adventure on the mysterious circus ship. "Yo-ho! This place is huge! Somebody can get lost here so easily! I wonder where Mitch and Jerry went," Luffy thought aloud until his stomach growled.

"Uuuuh, I'm getting hungry. I wonder if I can find food anywhere on this ship," Luffy asked.

That was when he caught the scent of something delicious.

"Mm? This smell… This aroma…. It is food!" Luffy said excitedly as his eyes brightened with saliva falling from the side of his mouth.

He followed the aroma down the hallway and found the door to the kitchen. He opened up the door and saw that the kitchen was empty, well empty as in no other people except himself. There was a cooking pot already boiling something. Maybe it was soup. There was a chopped off carrot on the cooking board. It appeared that somebody was here a moment ago, but Luffy didn't care and the only thing he was thinking was chowing down whatever was cooking in the pot.

"This is it! I wonder what's cooking?" Luffy asked as he opened the pot.

"Phooooo…" Luffy stopped as he opened the pot. He heard a strange noise and wondered what it was.

"Grrrr…" He heard a roaring sound. He thought it was his stomach, but the sound was coming from somewhere else and it was near. Then, he noticed something. There was a hatch just next to the counter. He pulled it forward to open and looked down through.

"What is this for?" He said curiously.

Then, without noticing, somebody pushed behind him, and he fell through.

"Woah!" He exclaimed as he fell through the hatch.

- One Piece -

Sanji and Nami were exploring the deck area of the ship. The ship was enormous if you were standing on another ship away from it, but when on board, it felt almost like a maze.

"Man, this place is huger in-person when onboard!" Nami commented as she was impressed by its structure.

"She is a real beauty. I have never seen a ship this big before in my entire life. It's probably big or even bigger than the Navy's battleship," Sanji added.

Nami and Sanji walked around until they came near to a big door for the dome-like structure.

'I wonder what's behind here,' Nami pondered before she turned to Sanji. "Hey, Sanji-Kun. Could you please open this door for me?"

"Yes, Nami-san!" Sanji followed her request or rather order. He casually opened the door and like a gentleman he is, he allowed the lady to go in first.

When they were in together, the inside of the dome structure was the circus ring, where many performers and animals do their performance show.

"Wow. This must be the circus ring!" Nami stated as she looked around.

"It looks like so, Nami-san. There are poles for trapeze, and other circus stuff," Sanji said as he looked around. Inside the circus ring was dark, but they did not know that somebody else was also inside.

Suddenly, a light turned on, blinding the two temporarily.

"Ah! Who turned on the lights?!" Nami screamed.

"Are you OK, Nami-san?!" Sanji asked.

Suddenly, a black rope tied around Nami like a knot.

"Ah!" Nami gasped as she took in a sudden surprise.

"Nami-san!" Sanji shouted.

Suddenly, a fire was shot at Sanji, but thanks to his quick thinking and reflexes, he jumped away from it.

The fire was caused by a fire-breather. It revealed to be a tan-skinned man with dark tattoos all over his body and partial part of his face. He was half-naked, only wearing a red robe of some kind around his waist as it acted like pants. His eyes were angry-looking with eyebrows that went outward and looked sharpen like a pencil.

"Who the hell are you?!" Sanji asked madly.

"We should be asking the same thing to you both," said a female voice.

Nami and Sanji turned their attention to the source of the voice. A tall, voluptuous woman with a long, black ponytail came out of the shadows while holding a black whip that was tying Nami. She wore a white shirt with black buttons, black shorts, and black high-heel boots. From the look of it, she looked like the animal tamer.

"Who are you?!" Nami and Sanji said at the same time, though the latter looked more pleased with heart-shaped eyes.

"That won't matter once we kick you and your friends out of this ship!" The woman responded. "We'll teach you, pirates, scum to not mess with us!"

"That's right! Kick this!" The man shouted. "Flamethrower!"

The man breathed out more fires at Sanji, but he quickly dodged it.

"Wait! Hold on! This is all just a big misunderstanding! We are just…. Aaah!" Nami was pulled by the woman with the whip, making her trip.

"Nami-san!" Sanji wanted to save Nami, but he could not at the moment as he was busy with the man who he assumed to be the fire performer.

- One Piece –

Zoro, Usopp, and Chopper were searching for Luffy in the other area of the ship. Currently, they were just below the deck.

They walked down the hallway.

"Geez. This place is so creepy! Why is there no one on board the ship?" Usopp shivered.

"I should've stayed with Robin back on Merry," Chopper said as he was walking closely behind Usopp.

"Quit being so close to me, will you?!" Zoro scolded them. "There's nothing scary about this ship despites being so damn big!"

They came to the end of the hallway, which there was a door.

Zoro opened the door, leading them inside to what appeared to be a dressing room.

"Where are we now?" Usopp asked, feeling scared.

"It looks like a dressing room," Zoro answered.

"Wow! Check this out!" Chopper said as he approached all the clothes. "There are so many clothes! I wonder if these are used by the performers."

"Most likely, but there seems to be no sign of Luffy," Usopp said as he looked around the room.

"Well, if he is not here, then let's go and look for him somewhere else," Zoro said as he was looking the other way.

However, when he turned around, Usopp and Chopper disappeared.

Zoro stood still, not because he was in shock, but he sensed someone was here. In the matter of fact, he sensed that the moment they got on this ship, someone was watching them.

"Hmph. I guess looking for our captain won't be an easy task as we thought," Zoro said as he slightly opened his sword for the sheath.

- One Piece –

Meanwhile, Robin was on the deck of Merry Go. She was casually reading one of her books at the small table. She took a glance up at the behemoth of a circus ship.

"I wondered if they found the two clown gentlemen. If they are taking this long, they must be searching for the captain, who went on his own for personal exploration," Robin thought aloud as she grinned to herself before she continued reading.

However, a shadowy figure approached behind her and then….

WHACK!

"Ah!" Robin gasped as she fell over from her chair and fainted.

"I….. I'm starving…" said a tired, desperate female voice.

Hello, guys and gals! Sorry for the long wait!

I know that this chapter is short, but I just want to first make an introduction of the setting for the rest of this story arc, and then the next chapter will be a longer chapter with some fight scenes as well as what happened to Luffy, and proper introduction of the new protagonist OC character for my One Piece fanfic project.

Please leave any review and I hope you all stay safe and healthy. See ya later!