"LUFFY!" Usopp cried as he watched his best friend engulfed in flames from the beetle's mouth. He grabbed his slingshot, ready to fire into Boss' wings - but he looked at the little girl standing next to him, who even in this seeming victory move for the beetle was intensely worried for her friend. Her fists were balled up again, but there was more desperation behind them as she clutched them tight to her chest. She bit her lip. Usopp wondered if she knew how strong Luffy was before Usopp could remember.

Luffy roared through the pain and swiveled his hips around in a twist, rising ten feet higher in the air in body height, before unleashing it, whirling Boss overhead in great spinning rounds before plastering him into the ground behind him head first. Luffy panted, all blackened; his clothes smoldered still in small patches. "I was gonna ask you to join my crew, cause you're so cool . . . but now I just want to defeat you."

He's not defeated? Usopp thought as Boss leapt up, roaring again as his wings unfolded. He flew in a spiral right at Luffy, blasting into him with a blunt attack - that indeed injured Luffy. Usopp's jaw dropped as he watched Luffy spit up blood from internal wounds. "Yes! Go Boss!" Talisa screamed at Usopp's side. "Use all your special powers!"

Special powers? Usopp wondered. And how is she communicating with him? It's almost like with Luffy and Crocus with Laboon. What was that all about? "How'd ya do that, beetle?" Luffy glowered as he was drilled into the ground, but Luffy again held a grip on his face with a foot and a hand now. His other hand shot up to Boss' wing, where it connected to his body, jerking him backwards at an angle that threatened to break his wing if he didn't let his body give way and take the blow.

"He calls it Mantra," Talisa told Usopp, sensing his curiosity. She viewed him not as a pirate for a moment, but instead as an intrigued playmate, beaming up at Usopp. "He said he just woke up one day and was able to use it!"

"Amazing," Usopp said. "Luffy's a rubberman, he's never taken blunt damage in all the time I've traveled with him." He kneeled down to get to eye level with Talisa. "Say, little girl . . . how is it you can communicate so well with this beetle?"

"His name's Boss and my name's Talisa!" the girl began indignantly, scowling again at Usopp like the pirate he was. "My dada says I have special attunement, I think, but he says all kids have it and that it goes away as you get older."

"That's not true. I could never talk to animals as a child," Usopp said.

"I can't talk to animals either. I can only really talk to Boss," Talisa explained. "He's been my best friend since he showed up a few months ago."

"So he's new here?" Usopp asked.

"Yep. But I don't know exactly where he came from," Talisa said. "He gets nervous when I ask, so I stopped asking. And also . . . he leaves sometimes when I'm doing okay. He goes away for a couple days or so. He told me he visits a friend sometimes who also needs him."

Also needs him, Usopp reflected, feeling a certain sympathy for this girl. "Your father's in the Navy. I take it your mom is, too?"

She grew somber here, stoic faced far beyond her years for a poor girl that young. "My mom was killed by pirates on a voyage. My father killed the pirate crew that did it. He protects this part of the Grand Line."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Usopp said empathetically, reflecting that she was even younger for her mother to have died and her father to have gone away for work. He saw the similarities between them and sat down beside her. "So who's this friend Boss goes to visit?"

"He won't really tell me. I just know it's a man, and he might be a lot older than me," Talisa said, placing a hand on her chin in wonder.

All the while, Luffy had pinned Boss down, his legs wrapped around his neck as he held on tight to his face and his wing. "Say uncle!" Luffy shouted at Boss. Boss grumbled back. "What'd you just call me?!" He tugged on Boss' wing harder, causing the beetle to wince out in pain.

"This isn't even half your full strength, Boss! Come on, finish him!" Talisa called out, and Usopp felt silly for getting affectionate with her as she readily called for the death of his captain. Yet he felt the battle would take a different turn in Luffy's favor. I don't want him to go too far, but how do I tell him that when he's like this, fighting to the max? he thought.

Yet suddenly, Boss felt a tingle in his senses and he heard panic coming from his friend across the sea that Talisa had mentioned. No! He's in danger! I can hear you, I'm coming! Boss called out to his friend. Talisa heard him, furrowing her brow. "Who's in danger? Boss?" she said.

Boss suddenly sprang up, easily breaking free of Luffy and flying high into the air as Luffy was tossed to his back. "What the Hell?" Luffy exclaimed. "You were going easy on me! No fair!" But Boss flew away without a second glance back to him. He spared Talisa a look and a small farewell: Be back soon, Talisa! And then he was off over the treetop and the thrum of his wings grew distant.

"Boss! Come back! Don't leave the fight unfinished! At least take me with you this time!" Talisa screamed, cupping her hands around her mouth in vain. Boss was already far gone out of sight. Usopp took a step toward her to comfort her, but before he could even think of what to say, he was focused on something else.

"Come on, Usopp! We gotta get the others and follow him! This fight's not over!" Luffy screamed, running off through the forest blindly, determined to get back to Banaro post-haste. Usopp looked between him and Talisa frantically, unsure what to do.

"Come on! I'm not letting you get back to town alone!" Usopp said, scooping Talisa up and running off through the forest after Luffy, worried about any predators coming out of the woods now that the great fight was over.

"Let me down! I can run!" Talisa protested, hitting Usopp in the head.

Sanji, Nami, and Zoro's pub crawl was going quite well; it was bar nineteen, and in one more, they would have enough punches to enter for that raffle. "Apparently, most of the top contenders are passing out, which means they're disqualified," the last bartender told them as the day was wearing on. "Looks like y'all stand a chance!"

"Ooh, I wonder what the prize could be!" Nami chanted gleefully but slurred, burping from the dozens of beers they had shared together now. There was one more bar they had to visit to complete the punch cards; they even had all the bonus punches by now. Sanji was stumbling everywhere he went, having used up all his cigarettes to sober himself up as he had. Zoro was steady on his feet, though. This was half of what he was capable of drinking.

"I might go grab some more stigarettes," Sanji stammered, pointing around at a non-existent shop he was referring to stop at. Pointing down the street, he saw Luffy round the corner, scanning the streets every which way at the four way he was at. "Is dat Luffy? Hey! Luffy!" Sanji called, waving both his arms high over his head.

"Guys!" Luffy screamed, deadly serious. "Back to the Merry! We're going after that beetle!" They were confused at what he was saying from how drunk they were, especially considering that Usopp arrived behind Luffy shortly after, setting down a girl he'd been carrying.

"Okay, here you go, safe in town," Usopp said, panting as he watched Luffy grab Sanji and Zoro, running off with them both dragging behind by their collar. "Bye, Talisa! Stay safe! Sorry about how everything went down!"

Talisa grumbled as she watched the Straw Hats run off, Nami alongside Usopp, and she had an idea grow in her mind as she similarly felt angry with Boss for leaving her behind with once again, and this time with pirates. And who is his other friend? Why does he always fly off to him at a moment's notice, leaving me even when we're in the middle of playing? It honestly hurt her; she felt like she mattered less than Boss' other friend.

So she ran after the Straw Hats.

Galdino arrived home as evening began to set into Banaro and he immediately felt an off presence in his home. The shades were drawn and it had grown darker in here; he was not alone. He shut the door closed behind him and cleared his throat, wondering where they could be hiding. "We're in here," came a voice from his kitchenette.

He walked into the tiny room and found who else was here; Mr. 7 was using his stove, boiling a single egg inside of it. Ms. Independence Day was sitting at his little breakfast table, sipping at a glass of water she'd helped herself to. She grinned at Galdino as he entered the room; Mr. 7 didn't so much as glance his way.

"Well, well?" Galdino sauntered in, feeling more at ease now that he knew it was just his colleagues. "What have we here? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You're leaving tomorrow morning," Mr. 7 grumbled. The man was formidable, he stooped over in Galdino's kitchenette ever so slightly to boil his egg gingerly with a small wooden spoon. "Remember?" He ever so slightly cocked his head in Galdino's direction.

"T-tomorrow? I thought it wasn't until next week," Galdino stuttered, wishing he could scamper off to check his monthly itinerary.

"Think again. We've heard reports that Roronoa Zoro has arrived on the Grand Line, and the boss wants him. We're kicking operations ahead of schedule slightly," Ms. Independence Day tittered from Galdino's side. "Mr. 0 has need of the Wax Wax Man post haste. Your powers are going to come in handy to the organization."

"Roronoa Zoro?" Galdino thought, recalling when he'd first seen the Straw Hats sit at Nokimup's: Roronoa had been there! Of course, that had drawn his eyes back then. "Why, he's gone and joined up with a pirate crew."

Ms. Indy Day scoffed, uncrossing her legs. "Fat chance. He's the Pirate Hunter."

"And so it is. I talked with his captain, Straw Hat Luffy, not but today," Galdino declared to them. "I wouldn't lie to you. The captain wants to recruit Roronoa, huh?" Galdino shook his head, chuckling. "That power would be good to have on our side if the rumors about him are true."

Mr. 7 pulled the pot off the boil so his egg could finish cooking and rounded on Galdino, towering over him. "Are you saying Roronoa Zoro is here with the B25 bounty, Straw Hat? Together?"

Galdino nodded, not too scared of Mr. 7 this up close because he was in perfect range of his wax abilities. He felt his flesh start to loosen into the wax form, ready to attack and freeze both of Baroque Works' recruitment agents in one fell swoop if need be; after all they may have recruited him, but he was already appointed to a far higher rank than they were.

"They're undoubtedly still here," Galdino assured them, pointing out the window over Banaro. "There's only four docks on this island, it can't be hard to find their ship."

"Indy, we should go. Mr. 3, we'll be back for you tomorrow morning," Mr. 7 announced to Galdino as he fished the egg out of the water that was surely still piping hot, biting into the very hard boiled egg as he led Ms. Indy Day out of Galdino's apartment. Freaks. Just helping yourselves to my things, he complained to himself as he dumped the boiling water down the sink.

"I don't understand! What's going on? Where are we going? I'm gonna be sick!" Sanji complained as Luffy lobbed himself over the hill, bound back for the Going Merry to depart after Boss. He was still fairly visible on the skyline, but who knew how much longer that would be the case. "Please, just let me walk."

"That makes two of us," Zoro said, grabbing Luffy's hand and prying his fingers off his collars. Luffy let go of Sanji at that point, and continued sprinting down the hill back toward the Merry, sitting calmly at dock. They followed after Luffy still, with Usopp and Nami bringing up the rear.

"What's going on, Usopp? Will you at least explain?" Nami asked.

"We found that fire breathing beetle we saw and Luffy wanted to fight him, but the beetle had to run off. Some friend of his was apparently in danger," Usopp said, trying to explain as best as he could but not fully comprehending what was going on himself. "Luffy wants to finish the fight fair and square."

Nami sighed, her pace slowing up at the sound of that. "Not even here a week and we're picking fights with animals because things aren't adventurous enough. Goodness gracious."

Usopp scrunched his face up, looking at Nami from the side and saying, "Okay, Nami. The beetle was breathing fire. Come on." The rest of their run was spent in silence at the bridge in their estimation of this endeavor.

"Helpmeuntiethis!" Luffy said so fast it became one word as he undid the rigging to the Merry. "Help me untie this!" he said a second time to be properly heard, worried they would lose Boss at this rate.

"Okay, jeez!" Zoro complained, undoing the rigging while Sanji ran on deck to excuse himself silently to the bathroom; his stomach was doing somersaults inside of him and he didn't want to vomit in front of anybody now.

Usopp helped them as well while Nami ran on deck to ready the sails, her drinks already wearing off. "Luffy, are you sure about this? If we lose that beetle, we're done for. The Log Pose is still pointing to this island! I didn't even learn how long it takes to set here."

"Don't mind that! We'll have it set at the next island," Luffy declared as the Merry began to drift off from Banaro's South Dock. He leapt on, then stretched his arms out and hauled Usopp and Zoro up. Yet there was no time for them to grab the gangplank as the Merry separated from the dock and the gangplank gave way, falling into the sea.

"Well, great! Just look at that," Usopp said. "I know we're in a hurry, but there's an order of operations to these things, Luffy."

"We'll buy a new one! Hell, even I could make a new one of those!" Luffy said as he ran to the helm, taking it and steering the ship away from Banaro. Boss was already out of sight from this vantage point on the island, but if they could just round the bend of the shore, Luffy was positive they'd be able to see Boss again. "I was us to be ready to man the oars until we're on him! I don't want to lose this beetle!"

"Aye aye," Zoro replied, heading into the cabin to find Sanji for rowing duty. He heard him puking his guts up in the latrine, and banged on the door, shouting through it, "Hey, cook! Once you're done, we're on oars. Come meet me down there ASAP!"

Luffy had the helm but when Usopp and Nami walked over to stand by him, he motioned for Nami to take the wheel. "Usopp and I will head down and man some oars, too. Keep us steady on him, Nami! He's a tough foe - my first real test in the Grand Line!" Luffy said, barely able to speak through his excited laughter.

"So this is what pirates do, huh?" said the fourth person with them - Talisa, who seemed to appear suddenly beside Usopp like he'd done to her earlier. He and Nami freaked out, jumping back in fright at her sudden appearance.

"What's a little kid doing here?!" Nami shrieked.

"Talisa! How did you get on the ship?!" Usopp cried, clapping his hands to the side of his face.

"I grabbed on to the back! I'm the daughter of a Navy man! I ain't no Shirley Temple," she said, flexing her right arm and gripping it with her left. "I'm Talisa, by the way." She was totally focused on Nami now, gazing up at her with starlight in her eyes. "You're pretty!"

Nami giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "Well, thank you, Talisa. You're very sweet." She sobered her expression up and got steely serious with the child now, totally concerned as to the ramifications of committing crimes with children present. "Now what are you doing here?"

Talisa shuddered at the sudden change in demeanor, scared of Nami all of a sudden. Grown ups are so serious! she thought before responding, "Well, this big shot pirate wants to beat up my friend, Boss. I'm not just gonna stay back, chewing my nails and wondering what's going on."

She looked around the deck of the Merry, smiling as she focused on the figurehead and the Jolly Roger on the sail in particular. "I really like your ship! You guys aren't scary like other pirates."

Sanji burst out on deck, stumbling as he still felt his cups quite deeply. He looked around the deck for everyone before whipping around to find them on the helm deck, pointing a finger up at them. "Mosshead ordered me around! Now, now, now . . ." He burped. "I tell you, I'm - I am NOT gonna take orders from him. I am NOT." He waved his finger back and forth in the air, shaking his head emphatically.

He noticed that there was a child in their midst now and furrowed his brow, placing his hands on his hips. "Luffy, please tell me you didn't recruit a child," he said dryly, even through his inebriation quite annoyed with Luffy's decision making cortext.

"No, she's a Marine's brat," Luffy shot back.

"This is so fun! Is this what it's like to be a pirate? To travel around and see new places?" Talisa said as they departed from Banaro's shores. "I've never been away from home before! This feels like my maiden voyage!"

Nami waved her hands back and forth. "No, no, no. Okay, I'm vetoing this. We are not bringing a child along into unspeakable dangers like fire breathing beetles and whatever else the Grand Line threatens to throw our way. We need to turn back, stay at Banaro until our Log Pose sets, and not get this little girl into trouble, or hurt."

"Well, what if we don't let that happen and we don't lose the beetle? Cause he's already getting away!" Luffy hollered, jumping over the railing to land in front of the cabin door.

"Sanji! Usopp! Come on below deck! We're manning the oars!" He ran inside, followed by Sanji then Usopp, one quite drunken and the other feeling the beating he'd taken from Boss just an hour earlier now.

This is a terrible idea, Usopp thought in regards to bringing a child younger than his Usopp Pirates had been along on a pirate journey.

Nami was left with Talisa on deck, who climbed on the rail in front of the helm and stared ahead as she swung her legs in midair. Nami fought with herself on what to say; if she were this young instead of an adult of eighteen, she likely would have dissuaded her from stowing away on a pirate ship. Luffy! Usopp! What did you two get us into, dammit? she thought, finally able to say, "So, Talisa, look, if you're uncomfortable at all, you just say the word and I'll turn this ship right around and head back to your home. This is a lot for a girl your age."

Talisa looked over her shoulder with an enraged glare, finding she was more annoyed with Nami than she expected to be upon first impressions. "I'm not going back! There's no one there for me anyway! I'm going after Boss and that's final. You don't have to accept me, but if you don't do what I say, I'll phone my Vice Admiral daddy and have him sink you guys!"

"V-Vice Admiral daddy?" Nami asked. Sure, they had Luffy's grandfather to deal with being the biggest Navy officer in waking history, but this was too much. Some random Vice Admiral would never forgive us for taking his daughter hostage. I know that's how they'll frame it, at least, she thought, confused on how to handle their first stowaway being a young child.

"I just think this isn't the best idea, that's all," Nami finished, backing down to man the helm instead of worrying about whoever Talisa's dad would happent o be. Eventually, once night began to fall upon the Grand Line, Talisa began humming and hopped off the railing, entering the Merry's cabin and trekking down to the underbelly where the other Straw Hats rowed the ship forward.

"It's getting night out. Are you guys gonna row until morning?" she asked Luffy and the other men, her hands clasped dutifully behind her back.

"What? No," Usopp said, incredulous.

"If that's what it takes, yes!" Luffy declared. While Usopp and Sanji had not been contributing much to the rowing effort for fatigue and drunkenness, Luffy and Zoro behind them were powering their oars back and forth, driving the Merry forward as if two rows were pumping hard by themselves.

"But if the sun's setting, why don't you guys go get some rest," Luffy suggested to Usopp and Sanji. "Sanji, you look rough. You've done enough, thanks."

"No, thank you," Sanji declared as he promptly left his oar and stood, slumped over as he walked out of the underbelly to crawl into a bed in the men's quarters. He groaned the whole way, and Luffy could have sworn his stomach had cried, "Help!" to Luffy personally as he passed.

"Talisa, are you really staying with us? Luffy, I have to double check that this is really okay with you. I can't lie," Usopp said earnestly by the captain, "I feel weird about this one. This girl is young."

"I was that age when I pledged to be a pirate and sail the world. She can make decisions of her own," Luffy affirmed, rowing and looking forward as sweat dappled across his brow. Usopp noticed Talisa spread a wide smile at that, unable to hide her gratitude at Luffy's subtle praise.

"Well, okay. I know you're good for it, but I just have to ask . . . let's take special care while she's with us, yeah? Get her to Boss, and then he can take her home safe and sound," Usopp implored, extending his hand to get Luffy's word on that. Luffy finally looked at Usopp, grinning despite his staunch stance, and he shook Usopp's hand.

"Go get some sleep, Partner," Luffy said, clapping him on the back as he passed.

"Talisa, if you need a place to sleep, don't hesitate to ask one of us," Usopp said as he left the underbelly of the Merry to crawl into bed himself and recover a bit from Boss' attack.

"Is it hard?" Talisa asked Luffy, referring to their rowing of the Merry.

"No," Luffy replied. "Wanna try?" He scooted over, and helped Talisa hold the oar right. The two began paddling together, Talisa on the inner side so her arms wouldn't swing so high up. She wasn't really helping much at all between Luffy and Zoro's strength, but the swordsman watched the exchange, wondering where such a childlike tenderness had come from Luffy. Childlike was right, but this tenderness was strange for him. He laughed, encouraging Talisa that she was a natural sailor if she could row this easily at her age. "I couldn't even swim when I was your age," Luffy revealed to her.

Talisa eventually fell asleep in the underbelly while Luffy and Zoro continued rowing ahead, sweating long into the night. Usopp and Sanji slept inside the men's quarters, snoring loudly until they were called again to man the Merry; Nami spent her time alone on deck, holding onto the helm and steering them after Boss the beetle. The moon was far from full still, but the light was helpful in her tracking Boss. If not for it, he might well have been lost by now. He was closer on the horizon than he'd been earlier and Nami decided to go relieve Luffy and Zoro from the oars.

"Hey, we're hot on his trails and the wind's at our back," Nami said as she reported to the two. "I'm nervous about our Log Pose, but at least it's still just pointing back at Banaro. I wonder if the time resets if you leave the island's magnetic range," she wondered aloud, observing the Log Pose on her wrist.

"Nami, get this kid to bed, will ya?" Zoro asked, nodding his head to Talisa who slept in the row in front of him and Luffy. "I think we'll keep at it a while longer still."

Nami nodded and went to gather the little Talisa up to tuck her into a bed in the women's quarters, but noticed as she stood that while Luffy continued rowing the Merry ahead, his eyes were shut and he snored peacefully. She chuckled quietly so as not to wake him or Talisa. "How does he do it?"

Zoro chuckled, too, still rowing hard and quite awake himself. "I couldn't tell ya. I'm excited to get to know more about Captain Straw Hat."

"That makes two of us," Nami said as she left the underbelly to deposit Talisa in a bed.

"Everyone wake up! We're here!" Luffy cried as he burst into the second floor of the Merry where the quarters were. Everyone jolted awake; Zoro didn't even remember getting to bed from oars duty, but his muscles ached from the intense work out they had generated. Usopp felt bad for having missed trading off shifts for rowing or manning the helm, wondering what time it could be.

Sanji was terribly hungover and he rose with a groan, clutching his head as he looked around for his cigarettes. "Oh, no . . . I smoked them all," he said hollowly as he fell from the bed to his knees, deep dark circles rounding under his eyes. "Why did I ever do a pub crawl? I hate beer."

Nami and Talisa awoke in the women's quarters, too. At some point, Nami had been relieved by Luffy, who'd had enough sleep and had told her he would man the entire ship himself while the others rested. It would seem indeed he had as everyone stumbled out into the light of late morning, having slept in one way or another. Sanji's eyes stung violently as he was exposed to the light, but as everyone's eyes adjusted, they saw another island ahead.

This was a jungle, though. Quite different and already more vicious than the island of Banaro. The jungle was a deep green and extended far within the island, which was also likely double the size of Banaro. Talisa was out of breath at the sight of it. "There are places like this in the world?" she said aloud, her voice a breathy rasp at the wonder of it all to her young mind.

"I don't see Boss anywhere," Usopp said, scanning the sky. "Are you sure this is the place?"

"I saw him descend into that jungle right before I came to call you guys. I was hoping this was the island he was headed for, and we got lucky, I guess! It is," Luffy reported back. "There's a nice beach right ahead of us. I say we just shore up there and explore the island." He looked at Talisa. "Doesn't that sound fun? We're gonna find Boss and check out a cool new land."

Talisa gave Luffy a thumbs up. "This is super cool, Mr. Captain!" She waited until they sanded the Merry on the shore to bound over the side first, her fall cushioned by the sand. She ran about the beach, unsure where to plunge into the jungle first.

"Wait for us, Talisa! This place could be dangerous!" Nami called down to the little girl, anxious to get down to the beach with her.

"I'm getting strange vibes about this place," Zoro told the others as they gathered by the prow, shaking his head. "I'll stay here and guard the ship. You guys find this beetle, and call if you need anything."

Luffy nodded. "Sounds good to me. Thanks, Zoro!" He hopped over the side of the railing, landing in the sand beside Talisa. "Which way do you want to explore first? That way?" Talisa pointed another direction, and the two began fighting about which to take.

Usopp, Sanji, and Nami decided to head into the jungle island along with Luffy and Talisa, each of them more worried about the young girl than about themselves or even the Going Merry. "We'll be back before too long. If sunset begins and we're not back, come search for us," Usopp called up to Zoro.

"You've got it," Zoro said slightly condescendingly, turning to his training equipment to spend a nice day in solitude, working out and getting stronger for the fights ahead. He estimated there would be little avenue to get stronger on this island, and while he was getting strange vibes from the day in general, he wanted to spend it most productively instead of buying into that.

"Okay! Let's find Boss and finish this duel already," Luffy said as he led the plunge through the overgrowth of the forest. Behind him was Talisa and then the other three Straw Hats, yet before they could even step through the vegetation, a snarl broke through the relative quiet of before and a massive hyena jumped out of the undergrowth right at Talisa. She screamed out, cowering in a kneeling position as she saw the great, slobbery fangs poised to clamp down upon her.

Sanji spun and brought his kick slamming into the beast. Though he was the first to identify it was no mere hyena; the face and head were that of a hyena, but the body was that of a peacock, flaring it's brilliant feathers out as it cooed at Sanji like a bird before slinking off. The other hyena part about it was its tail, which now tucked between his legs as he trotted away in pain.

"Was that animal . . . even real?" Usopp muttered, unsure of what sort of monstrosity he'd just seen. Even Luffy's eyes were furrowed together; in all his years, even knowing about the Devil Fruit powers of the world, nothing had been so strange as that animal.

"Well, guys, it's been fun, but maybe we should just head back for Banaro and get Talisa back to safety!" Nami suggested, throwing her hands up in a sheepish chuckle.

"Might not be a bad idea," even Sanji agreed, freaked out by the strange hybrid creature he'd just been forced to kick to the floor. "Are we even sure we saw a fire breathing beetle?" Sanji asked everyone suddenly.

"How do you think my clothes got all scorched?" Luffy asked in a slightly offended tone, and waved his arms back and forth. "No, let's journey forward and find Boss. We're already here!" He walked off into the jungle and Talisa followed almost dutifully behind him, humming merrily along the way.

"It's no use. You should follow him or stay with me," Zoro called from the deck of the Merry, already lifting his weights up and down. "They're not gonna wait on you."

"Come on," Sanji said sourly, not wanting to spend a day on a jungle island full of strange creatures with Zoro. He led Usopp and Nami further into the jungle as they plodded ahead into the strange green that chirped, growled, roared, and rang back at them with the wildlife that was already promised to be found here.

ATB

Early chapter because I will be working from sun up to sun down tomorrow and I'd rather it be early than late - enjoy!

Hope you all are keeping up with the manga. Oda is going crazy right now. If you read official, all I'll say is 1066 is gonna break the bank. Egghead Arc is going amazing! So excited to see where One Piece is going.

Until next time

ATB