EDIT (3/22/2021): Added extra dialogue

Chapter 3

The Great Magician, Aster Houdini!

A single spotlight shined over the top of the trapeze tower. Everyone looked up to see what the light was shining at, which revealed to be a young boy on the platform with his hat covering his face.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girl! Welcome to the Shining Sea Circus!" The young boy grabbed on the trapeze. He let go of the first trapeze swing, performing a triple spin, and then grabbed the second trapeze swing that came towards him. He landed on the second platform.

"For today's show, we have unexpected, yet special guests today!" He threw a smoke bomb over himself, disappearing in the smoke.

Then, he reappeared in the middle of the Straw-Hat group out of the smoke, surprising them in the process.

"Our guest today is the infamous pirates from an unknown place, who we know have kidnapped our beloved members of the circus!" The boy disappeared again in a cloud of smoke.

Then, he reappeared in front of them.

"But fear not! For I, Aster Houdini is here to save the day!" Aster declared with a smile.

Sanji, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp were surprised. However, Chopper and Luffy especially were impressed and interested as their eyes glittered like a star.

"Cool!" Luffy and Chopper awed as they thought Aster looked cool.

"Who the hell is this kid?" Zoro asked, looking confused.

"Beat me," Sanji said.

"Whoever he is, be careful!" Usopp exclaimed.

"For my first act, I will begin my first attack with some cards!" Aster declared as he showed off his shuffling skill, which impressed Luffy and Chopper.

"Whoa!" Luffy gasped.

"That's so cool!" Chopper's eyes sparkled.

"Why are you impressed about it?!" Nami yelled.

"Shuffle Shuriken!" Aster threw his card like a shuriken.

"Watch out!" Sanji warned as everyone dodged away.

"Kyaah!" Nami screamed.

"Eek!" Usopp screeched.

"Usopp!" Luffy shouted as he looked over his friend, who luckily missed all the cards, but trapped around him in his exact position.

"I'm alive…" Usopp said, looking relieved.

"Next up is going to be a bit of risky, but I am going to pull out my hat here to perform my next attack!" Aster announced, getting the Straw Hats' attention back at him while he put his arm into his small top hat deeply.

"Wow! Just how deep is that hat?" Luffy asked, looking excited.

"Why are you even asking him that?" Zoro questioned.

"What do we have… here!" He pointed his hat at him and then a flock of birds flew out of it, flying towards Luffy and the others.

"Whoa! Where did these birds coming from?!" Luffy gasped as he covered himself.

"What's going on?!" Nami panicked as she covered herself.

"Don't worry, Nami-swan! I will protect you!" Sanji used himself as a shield over Nami.

"Just exactly how these birds fit in that hat!?" Usopp stated.

"Stupid birds!" Zoro sliced up all the birds flying over him.

"Woah!" Chopper was caught by some of the birds and they carried him away.

"Chopper!" Luffy grabbed his friend safely from the birds.

"I have pulled off a nice trick. Next up…."

"Is it just me or Aster's just showing off his tricks?" Mira asked.

"That seems like so, hunk," one clown whispered to her.

"Aster!" The woman with a black ponytail shouted. "Just finish them off!"

"Tch! Tch!" Aster wagged his finger at her. "Oh, Tina, you should know well enough to never interrupt the magician's show."

"This is no time to fool around!" Tina scolded, but then Boss raised his arm, stopping her. "Boss?"

"Let's just watch a little longer," Boss suggested firmly as he looked straight at Aster with a calm look.

Aster nodded and turned back to the Straw Hats with a genuine smile. "Sorry for the wait, folks!"

"Why is he smiling at us like that?" Nami asked, looking a bit creeped out.

"Kind of creeps me out! Who knows what he is planning to do next!" Usopp stated.

"For my next trick, I will make one of you disappears!" He announced.

"What?! Really?" Luffy asked, looking excited and Chopper had the same facial expression as him.

"Just why the hell are you excited?!" Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Zoro yelled at him with the same angry expression.

"Let's see now…" Aster looked at each member of the Straw Hats until he stopped at one of them. "I choose you!"

"Huh?" Suddenly, a smoke bomb exploded, covering the Straw Hats.

"What just happened?" Chopper asked.

"A smoke bomb!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Nami-san! Are you OK? Where are you, Nami-san?" Sanji shouted, looking around to find her.

"Hey, look! Up there!" Zoro pointed, making them look up to the trapeze platform.

"Huh? What happened?" Nami looked around until she looked down, noticing how high she was at. Her face turned blue until she gave her loudest scream.

"Kyaaaaaaahh! Help me!" Nami screamed as she held on to the pole.

"Nami-swan!" Sanji exclaimed.

"Nami!" Luffy shouted.

"How did she get up there?!" Usopp questioned.

"Holy cow!" Chopper gasped.

"Ha, ha, ha!" They heard an echo of laughter. Aster showed himself at a different platform, exactly right across from Nami. "How did you like my tricks?"

"Give back Nami!" Luffy stretched his arm to Aster's platform, which surprised him and the circus group.

"He's a Devil Fruit user!" Boss realized.

"Aster, watch out!" Mira warned him.

"Nami-swan, your Prince Charming is coming to save you soon! Stay put!" Sanji began climbing up the ladder.

"Hurry up! I don't want to stay up here forever!" Nami complained.

"Why can't she just come down herself?" Zoro asked.

"I heard that!" She yelled angrily.

Luffy reached and landed on the platform that Aster was standing on. "Hee, hee! I am here!"

"And then you are gone." Aster simply pushed him very easily off the platform.

"Whoa!" Luffy fell off.

"Luffy!" Usopp, Chopper, and Zoro exclaimed.

Luffy quickly saw the trapeze's swing and stretched his arm again to grab on the pole. He successfully did.

"Whoa! Whoa! Wow! This is fun! AAaaaaaaah!" Luffy awed as he enjoyed himself.

"Wow! Look at Luffy!" Chopper amazed.

"Hmm, not bad. Not bad at all," Aster commented.

He saw another swinging trapeze's pole and quickly grabbed on it when it came near him.

"Luffy, watch out! That kid is coming toward you!" Usopp warned him.

Luffy watched as what Usopp said was right. Aster smirked and then let go of the swing and then a backflip and grabbed on Luffy's feet.

"Whoa!" Luffy's legs stretched as Aster was grabbing on him.

"Wow! You are made of rubber!" Aster exclaimed.

"Yup! I am a rubber man who ate the Gomu-Gomu Fruit," Luffy admitted.

Just then, Sanji reached the top to greet Nami charmingly. "Nami-san, your Prince Charming has arrived."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! Just get me out of here," Nami ordered. However, that was when Aster noticed them.

Thanks to Luffy's stretchy legs, he was able to grab onto the other swing, which headed toward the platform that Nami and Sanji were at. He quickly grabbed Nami.

"Kyaaaah!" She screamed.

"Nami-swan!" Sanji jumped to grab her, but couldn't reach and fell off. "Aaah!"

"Sanji!" Usopp yelled.

"Hey, that Moss Head is going to crash!" Zoro pointed but then noticed something. On the ground, four clowns were carrying frantically a big trampoline. Sanji landed safely on the trampoline, which made him jump a couple of times before he slowed down.

"Uuh, that was close," Sanji admitted, looking very relieved before he looked around to notice his saviors. "Huh? Oh, um, thanks for saving me."

"Hunk, hunk!" One of the clowns replied with his horn.

"Kyaaah! Let go of me!" Nami struggled to get off of Aster as he tried to keep holding her.

"Hey, Miss! Don't move so much! Or else we'll!"

"Nami!" He turned to see Luffy heading towards them. He grabbed and tightened around them like a rubber he is, but due to their combined weight, the rope of the swing started to rip until it tore off completely.

"Asterrrr!" Mira screamed.

"Kyaaaahh!" Nami screamed as she and the boy watched in horror, falling to their demise.

"Nami!" Luffy used one arm to grab both her and Aster safely while using his other arm to grab on the platform.

Nami, closing her eyes, stopped until she opened it to see the ground was near her face just in time. Aster was also safe.

"Phew! That was close," Luffy said.

"That was close," Aster noted as Luffy grinned at that.

A little bit later, the Straw Hats regrouped together while the entire circus group surrounded them. The members of Straw Hats have already introduced themselves to the group.

Boss was in the front along with Aster standing beside him and Mira next to Aster.

"Thank you for saving our clown here," Boss said as he padded strongly over Aster's head with his hand. "He can be a bit of troublemaker, but he was no way in harm you people."

"Harm us?" Nami looked upset. "You all are the ones who attacked us first! Just exactly why did you do that?!"

"Then, where are my two other clowns, and I mean literal ones?" Boss asked seriously.

"Clowns?" Luffy wondered.

"I think he means by Mitch and Jerry, Luffy," Usopp reminded him.

"Oh yeah! We were looking for them," Luffy remembered as he laughed.

"Looking for them? You are the ones who kidnapped them!" Mira argued.

"Kidnap? That's absurd!" Nami countered. "They're the ones who invited us to this ship!"

"Wait what?" Everyone gasped as one of the clowns honked the horn.

"Hold on!" Tina stated. "If that is true, then where are they?"

"That's what we want to know," Sanji said as he started his cigarette. "Nonetheless, what is your name, mademoiselle?"

Tina jumped and looked in surprise. "Ah, my name is Tina."

"Tina-san is your name? That's a pretty name, melody!" Sanji awed as he was being too close to Tina.

"While at it, let me properly introduce myself and the crew," Boss noted. "I am the boss and ringmaster of the Shining Sea Circus. The name's Boss. As you already know, this is Tina, our animal tamer."

"Next, we have the Clown Family, starting with Hobo, Momo, Jojo, Gogo, Susu, and Polly." Hobo was a man with a skinny body in black and white clothes, black straight hair, a black hat, and makeup who looked more like a mime than a clown. Next to him was a female clown with fluffy pink hair, mild body with mild-size chest, big red nose, two pink hearts for makeup, red overall shirt with oversized pants, and big red shoes. Next was a short, chubby male clown with blue afro hair, red nose, red lipsticks, and raindrop for makeup that make him look sad. He was the one with the clown honk. Gogo was the tallest male clown with extended legs, but with normal arm lengths, wearing a purple and yellow stripe clown outfit, a dark purple top hat, rainbow-colored hair, and big white gloves for hands. Susu was the smaller clown girl with red pigtails for her hair, white makeup with purple eyelashes, colorful polka-dot costume, rainbow-striped pants, and red high-heels. Lastly, Polly was a baby clown held by Susu in her arms. He wore simple white baby clothes with red polka-dots all over him, white make-ups, a red nose, and a yellow pacifier in his mouth.

"They are Mitch and Jerry's family," Boss explained.

"That's a big clown family," Usopp commented.

"Then, we have our strongman, Samson Strong." The man was wearing a skin-tight red costume with a bare, hairy chest, bold head, very muscular body, and fine brown mustache.

"Pleasure to meet you all! I am Samson Strong, the strongest member of the circus!" The man introduced himself as he poses in many ways to show off his muscles.

"Then, of course, you already met Bobo, our fire performer, and Violet, our beard okama and makeup & dress artist. They're our bodyguards, too in a sense, but I guess you proved that you are stronger than them." The mentioned duo was patched with bandages, but they looked fine.

"I hate to admit it, but I am quite impressed by your fighting skill, Blond Boy," Bobo said, praising Sanji.

"I am quite impressed of you, too, Sword Boy. Maybe we can hang out more often after this," Violet suggested, which Zoro shriveled in response.

"Then, we have our shipwright Jack." Jack was another muscular man but looked younger than Samson Strong and unlike him, this man wore a full-on T-shirt and pants. "One of our younger members and helper around, Mira."

"Nice to meet you all. My name is Mira," Mira introduced kindly.

"Our cook, Ham." Ham was a literal humanoid pig who stood like a human with his two legs. He wore a chef's hat and apron that says, "Don't Roast the Cook."

"For pirates, you showed us quite a show," Ham commented.

"It's a talking pig!" Usopp and Luffy gasped before Luffy turned to Chopper. "Look, Chopper. Another talking animal!"

"I see! …Ah!" Chopper remembered something important, which is the very reason they all came here. "There is something important! We have a very starving patient that needs food right now! It is the reason why we are here!"

"Foods you say?" Chef Ham said. "We have some food."

"Foods! I want some food, too!" Luffy's stomach growled.

"Luffy, you'll get a chance to eat until we feed that woman on our ship! The patient comes first," Nami scolded him.

"But I am so hungry…" Luffy complained as his stomach growled.

"Ha, ha!" Ham laughed. "Don't worry about it. There will be plenty of food for you all."

"Hey, what's the ruckus?" Everyone turned to a voice. They saw an elderly man with a cane walking over and dragging something big and there were two of them.

"And that man is Mr. P. Teller. He is our retired ringmaster, and a former magician himself," Boss noted.

"Hmph! I am still a magician for your information. And don't forget about these two clowns!" Mr. P. Teller revealed the two things he was dragging, and it happened to be the clown duo, Mitch, and Jerry in an unconscious state.

"Hey, it's Mitch and Jerry! What happened to them?" Usopp asked.

"Well, it seems like they fell accidentally into one of our trapdoors," the old man explained.

"That was the reason?!" Straw Hats were surprised and sweat-dropped in response to that.

"I think they're alive and will wake up again soon," Mr. P. Teller explained as the rest of the Clown family took Mitch and Jerry to the infirmary room while one member, Jojo pretended to be an ambulance.

Nami sighed. "Just what the heck is up with this ship?"

"Isn't it neat?" Aster spoke up. "This is the famous, Shining Sea Circus's ship and once you're on board, it's always entertainment everywhere, and something always happens."

"Yes, and the next something that will happen is for you to go and do your cleaning duty, Chore Boy!" Boss ordered as he gave him a mop and bucket.

"But, I already clean the ship like an hour ago!" Aster complained.

"Stop yapping and get to work! You have a lot to go to have your show, boy!" Boss ordered as he kicked Aster out.

"What a bossy ringmaster!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Now then." He turned back to the Straw Hats with a friendlier look. "Why don't my sweet gal, Mira here to show you all around our fine ship? Ham, you and Mr. Racoon Dog here and check on that patient they have on their ship."

"Aye, aye, sir!" Ham and Mira saluted.

"If anyone needs me, I will be back in my quarter. Enjoy the tour, Straw Hats," Boss said as he walked off.

"I will be attending Mr. Yum-Yum here," Tina said as she helped her lion to get back to his cage.

"Jack and I will fix this giant hole here!" Samson Strong declared, mention the same hole that Luffy made from the last chapter.

"Mmm." Jack nodded as he agreed to that.

"I will help, too," Bobo said.

"Come on, everyone. Let me show you around the place," Mira stated.

"I will tag along, too," Violet joined.

"The kitchen is this way," Ham said as he led Chopper in the other direction.

"I will be going with Mr. Chef Ham for the kitchen," Chopper said.

"OK." Nami gave a hand sign.

"I will go, too. I am curious to see what the kitchen looks like, and I like to help," Sanji said.

"Sure thing," Chopper agreed.

"I will go with Chopper and Sanji, too," Luffy decided until he was yanked on his face.

"Oh no, you will be staying with us, Luffy." Nami pulled him by his face.

"But, but!" Luffy tried to fight it, but Nami continued to yank his face to drag him by force.

"Ah, Nami-san is so beautiful. I wish my face can be yanked by her," Sanji pondered.

"Seriously…" Zoro looked disbelieved.

As Mira took Straw Hats on a tour around the ship, Aster watched them go by.

"You're curious about them, aren't you?" Mr. P. Teller spoke up as he approached over to him.

"Huh? Oh, well yeah. They seem to be interesting people and I admit that I want to talk more with them, especially about their adventures if they have any!" Aster said excitedly.

"Hmph! Then why don't you join them? I will cover for you," Mr. P. Teller offered.

"Really Mr. P. Teller?" Aster questioned.

"Just go already," Mr. P. Teller stated.

"Thank you!" Aster handed him the mop and the bucket and then ran off.

The old man smirked and then turned around in the opposite direction.

- One Piece –

Meanwhile, back on Merry Go….

"Mmmm…. Uuuuu…." Nico Robin slowly opened her eyes. She still felt a bit dazed, but soon recovered from it as she regained consciousness.

She looked around, noticing that her book was on the floor. She remembered that she was reading while drinking some teas until something knocked her from behind.

She quickly checked the sleeping patient. When she entered the room, she noticed that the patient was gone. Another thing she noticed was how the room was in a mess, especially the kitchen area. The refrigerator was wide opened.

"It looks even worse than how Luffy usually ransacked it," Robin wondered as she checked the refrigerator and closed it. "Well, if my suspicion is correct, there is only one place where our patient could've gone to."

She went out to the deck and looked up to the Shining Sea Circus's ship. Just on the deck of the ship, the mysterious woman who was the patient stood on the deck.

"Need…Food…. Now!" She held tightly around her stomach, which was growling.

Hello, everyone!

I am back to finally updating this story and I apologize for the long, long wait for like over half a year. I didn't meant to, but I was busy and occupied with other stories I am working on, and other matters in life, but this year will be different because I have a feeling there will be more updates for this story more often this year.

Please leave any reviews, comments, and whatnot and I will see you all again. Stay safe and see you later.