Hey everyone,

I had the opportunity to watch Film Red and it was a phenomenal experience. I hope y'all get a chance to see it.

Anyways, the Ship Acquisition Arc is over and the crew has a shipwright and a new ship, still lacking a name… or a flag. Let's see how Yuuna and the others get along.

11/13/22

Log 8: Pit-stop at Loguetown! To the Grandline

The Marina was an excellent ship and the pirates settled in quickly equally as fast as Mary settled into the crew. Yuuna felt a little bit more like a pirate now that they were no longer sailing on a dinghy but their ship was still missing a pirate flag.

Valker gathered them after dinner for a meeting. "If we keep this speed, we'll reach Loguetown late morning. We'll resupply there and then head for Reverse Mountain."

"Is that smart?" Yuuna asked. "Don't get me wrong, I would love to go to the Grandline, …. But… we only have four-" Hebi hissed, annoyed. "Okay, five members if you count Hebi and we don't even have a navigator."

"Who needs a navigator?" Agni said. "I want to see what the Grandline."

"I want to see it too!" Mary piped. "And I'm good at manning a helm. If there is trouble, I'll get us out of it."

"It might be too late if we get caught up in trouble." Yuuna argued.

"While we are few, I have confidence in each of your strengths." Valker replied. "I have enough knowledge in navigation to get us into the Grandline then we'll pick up a navigator." Valker stood up. "I'm going to start first watch."

"Neh, captain. I think we should have a sleepover and get to know each other." Mary said, vibrating with excitement.

Valker was quiet for a moment. "Go ahead. I'm going to start first watch."

Mary pouted after Valker left the galley. "Laaame."

"Don't cry over it," Agni said. "Captain Constipated would ruin our fun. I'll make us popcorn."

Armed with all the spare blankets, pillows and two large bowls overflowing with popcorn, Mary, Yuuna and Agni went under the deck to their sleeping quarters. Throwing the blankets over their hammocks and anchoring them with the pillows, the three pirates made a decent fort. Lounging on the rest of the pillows and blankets, they settled in and talked about their lives, taking turn asking questions.

"Your dad's the God Usopp!" Mary said in utter awe after Yuuna explained her family lineage. "He's famous!"

"He is part of the Pirate King's crew." Agni commented with a chuckle.

Yuuna smiled, proudly. "My dad has toppled giants as tall as mountains, wrangled giant sea beast to do his bidding and challenged gods. He is the greatest sniper in the world!"

"Really!?" Mary exclaimed.

"Prove it." Agni asked.

Yuuna leveled him a look. "How? Dad told me these stories years ago."

"It's probably not true."

"My dad didn't lie. He's traveled all over the world and gone on crazy adventures!" Yuuna defended.

Agni just shrugged. "Parents lie to their kids all the time."

Yuuna stuck her tongue out at him and turned to Mary. "You're turn. How'd you get your devil fruit?"

"In a poker game," Mary replied, her hand diving into the popcorn bowl. "Whenever the shipyard was really short on cash, Pompom would take me gambling."

"You must be good at it."

Mary laughed. "I can't lie to save my life but I've been told I have an unnerving stare. Poker's pretty boring but Pompom let me keep a quarter of what I earned or one item. I thought it would be cool to eat."

"Did you know it was a sheep zoan fruit?" Agni asked.

Mary smiled back. "Nope."

"That's unlucky, all you get with your powers is to become a bigger sheep."

Mary smiled. "I get to become a huge sheep and I'm super fluffy."

"But you're a shipwright, doesn't your inability to swim get in the way?" Yuuna asked.

"I see it as extra motivation to make even better ships." Mary ran a hand over the wooden boards. "I love sailing. You can go anywhere on this endless blue sea, especially pirates. No rules hold them back." The light of the lantern accented Mary's face as she smiled at them. "It's freedom."

"I'll toast to that," Agni agreed. "I became a pirate so I could do what I want. Anyone who tried to tell me what to do, I beat them to a pulp."

"That's why you have the second highest bounty in the East Blue," remarked Yuuna, munching on the snack. "Burning Crackerjack, it reminds me of the Emperor's crew, the Crackerjack Pirates."

"That's my dad's crew."

"Oh?" Yuuna grinned. Agni nodded, nonchalantly, as if he didn't just admit to being the son of one the five reigning powers in the New World. "I'm not the only legacy pirate here."

Agni shrugged. "My dad has nothing to do with why I became a pirate. He dumped me at an apothecary when I was five. Apparently the owner owed him a life debt or something. It got boring sorting whatever weird concoctions my caretaker cooked up so I got my pals together and we set sail."

"I've been meaning to ask. What made you give up being captain of your own ship to join Valker's crew? You two don't get along." Yuuna asked.

Though the grin never left Agni's face, there was an unwelcome tension in his expression. "Not much to tell, he asked me to join and I joined."

"That's boring." said Mary.

"Yeah."

"That's basically what happened with you." Agni pointed out. "He just showed up out of nowhere and asked me to join. He definitely stood out with his use of haki."

"That's another thing, how does he know haki?" Yuuna asked.

Agni shrugged. "You got me. As you can tell, the captain isn't really the kind of guy to share anything about himself."

Yuuna nodded. "It's a wonder how he got any kind of crew being as big of a jerk as he is."

"I think he's nice." Mary hummed.

"I doubt nice is in his dictionary." Yuuna grumbled.

The pirates talked for a little longer about the captain they hardly knew until Mary had to go relieve Valker from watch duty.

-VP-

Loguetown came into their view sometime after Agni cooked a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs. Yuuna was the first to spot it from the crow's nest and called down to the rest of crew. Once they were docked at the merchant docks, Valker, Mary and Yuuna departed. Agni was put on ship guarding duty.

"Come on, captain!" Agni had complained. "It's Loguetown, the home of the first Pirate King!"

"And a marine den known for stopping rookies from ever reaching the Grandline." Valker refuted. "We need these supplies so we can't start any trouble in town and you're the only one with a bounty. The last thing we need is for you start a commotion."

With that settled, Yuuna was dragged off by Mary to go shopping the supplies needed for the ship while Valker handled medicine.

Yuuna had to admit, as strange as Mary was for talking to ships it was hard not to like her sunny deposition. She couldn't help but smile as the mink rambled on about the tools she would need to maintain Marina yet she was easily distracted by the marvels of the marketplace that brought commodities around all the Blues to one street.

"Check this out," Yuuna said, bring Mary over to a snail shop.

The shop's display window hosted a variety of snails of different shapes, colors and size. Near the center of the display to draw the customer's attention were a snail Mary had not seen. It was slightly larger than the average transponder snail. The snail also had a unique device installed to the back of its shell which had speakers on either side and a knob on its back.

"Oooo, what's this one do?"

"It's a Radio Transponder Snail. Most transponder snails have a limited distance and how many other transponder snails they can connect to but these ones are really sensitive to radio waves. I've heard that these little guys can pick up frequencies from the Grandline. Of course it's all public but some people have claimed frequencies."

"Why?"

"To talk, share information, play music, whatever they want. My mom owns one and she has this one station that plays music and the cool thing is that you can write to the station and request a song."

"Woah. I don't really get how it works."

"Are you familiar with engineering?" Yuuna asked.

"Nah, but I'm really good at woodcarving."

"That's fair."

"We should buy one."

Yuuna sighed longingly. "I wish. Radio Snails are pricey and we only have enough money to buy supplies."

Mary looked at the list. "….Do we really need meat? We could always fish."

"I'd rather not get to the Grandline and starve to death."

"Bahaehae! That would suck!"

Continuing on with shopping, Yuuna restocked on lead bullets and whatever tools she would need to make her special bullets.

It obvious that she was much weaker than most of the big names in the East Blue even Mary that – despite her petite size – could bench press a ship. It worried Yuuna that they were heading straight for the Grandline.

The Grandline was the ocean she's been dreaming about for years. While she longed to go on grand adventures, she couldn't even keep up with the misadventures her crew has already gotten into. How was she going to make it in an ocean had was home to dangers that make all four Blues pale in comparison?

It made Yuuna wonder why Valker had her join in the first place.

Maybe Naim was right. She wasn't cut out to be a pirate.

Mary's ear twitched as she seemed to pick up on Yuuna's sad mood. "Hey Yuuna,"

"What?!" Yuuna nearly jumped seeing Mary so close to her pulled at her cheeks to make a funny face. "What are you doing?"

"You should cheer up," Mary said, letting go of her cheeks.

"Kind of hard, thinking about what my brother said."

"You have brothers?"

"Yeah, Kgosi and Naim. I told you last night."

"I forgot. What are they like?" Mary asked.

"Kgosi is the oldest, he's part of the Usopp Pirates. He's even got a bounty!"

"Wow!"

Yuuna smiled with pride. "He's crazy skilled with his pistols."

"Is he the one you're mad at?"

"No!" Yuuna exclaimed. "It's Naim. My other brother."

"Is he a pirate?"

Yuuna snorted. "He won't even admit piracy is in our family."

"Mmm,"

"I get why he thinks like that, he treated people who've been hurt by pirates but he's heard Dad's stories. He has to know that not all pirates are bad." Yuuna rambled.

Mary leaned back to look at the sky and said. "I like stories but nothing beats being in a story."

Yuuna scrunched her brow trying to understand Mary's leap in logic, she waited for her to elaborate but the mink had already taken interest in a nearby stall. Was Mary trying to say that Naim hadn't met enough good pirates? It couldn't be the reason. Their Dad was their first exposure to piracy which honestly should have inspired all of them to be pirates but as long as Yuuna could remember, Naim always had a negative attitude towards Dad's chosen profession. Was Naim just disillusioned by piracy as a child?

Thinking about Naim still annoyed her so Yuuna went to join Mary and focus on shopping.

-VP-

Agni whistled a sea shanty as he pulled out a brownie pan out of the oven. While he let the desert cool, he went out onto the deck. He looked out over the town. Agni was a bit disappointed that this may be his only chance to see Loguetown. He bet Valker didn't just single him out for guard duty because of his bounty, it was probably payback for the extra sweet snack Agni served him yesterday. Valker may not seem bothered by Agni's immature antics but he sure was passively vindictive. Agni was tempted to ditch guard duty out of spite.

The news coo bird cawed to catch Agni's attention before it dropped a newspaper on him. The title read, "Marines Uproots Prison Garden." Curious, Agni unrolled the paper and flipped through it.

The article was about the marines taking Crime Boss Nede into custody and freeing the innocent prisoners, the photograph was of a green hair woman hugging a man who shared her hair color tightly. There was no mention of Captain Weseal but some marine had temporarily taken her position as base captain.

Typical of the marines to cover up the corruption in the Navy.

What caught Agni's attention was what the newspaper detailed the events prior to Nede's arrest. According to the newspaper, attention was brought to the shipyard island when Nede got in a fight with a new pirate crew, the Viper Pirates.

Several posters dropped out from the newspaper when Agni crinkled the paper. Picking one of them up, he was greeted with Valker's scowling face on the newly issued bounty poster.

"That's not good." Agni mulled over this information for a moment before looking back over the town. "It's getting close to Valker's snack time."

-VP-

As Mary and Yuuna finished up shopping in the town, Yuuna still couldn't get what her brother had said out of her head. She really did not want to be thinking about Naim but she couldn't see how she was going to keep up with her crew. In her peripheral vision, she saw a familiar white and blue cap and green snake. Standing in the middle of the plaza and looking up at the execution platform was Valker.

"Yuuna," said Mary to get her attention. "I'm heading back to the ship."

"Go ahead, I'll catch up."

"Okay." Mary hauled up their large supply bundled precariously with rope and walked off, getting astonished glances from nearby shoppers.

Yuuna made her way over to Valker who noticed her approach but didn't greet her. She quietly came to stand beside him and look at the execution platform. The original platform was destroyed when Strawhat Luffy was nearly executed by Buggy the Clown and a stray lightning strike hit. The platform was eventually rebuilt for its historic value and the reminder what piracy leads to. Yuuna wondered if she would end up like Gol D Roger.

"If you were arrested and were going to be executed what would you think about?" Valker asked.

"That's morbid." Yuuna grumbled. "How can you know what you'd think before you die?"

"…. Would it be worth it? Dying as a pirate?"

Yuuna gave Valker a strange look, trying to figure out what Valker was thinking. "I want to live my life being true to who I am, so I guess so."

"Not certain?"

"I want to think that I would be content." Yuuna stated firmly. "…. Why are you asking?"

Valker looked back up at the execution platform. "I'm just trying to figure out some things. Pirates are criminals who break the rules in order to pursue freedom but eventually this life leads to death or imprisonment. Neither are very freeing."

Yuuna rolled a lead bullet between her fingers. "Everything dies so if death is the opposite of freedom then we'll all get chained down eventually," Yuuna tried her best to smile. "So why not live our freest while we can?"

Valker finally took his attention off the platform and to his gunner, letting her stare into his half-lidded eyes, searching for something. "Do you believe that?"

"Better than think about how we're all going to die one day." Yuuna refuted.

"Hn,"

Yuuna thought for a moment. "And even if you're imprisoned there's still hope of escaping."

"True," A new voice said right between Valker and Yuuna. "But let's be honest, once you're caught, there's very little chance of escape."

Both pirates whirled around to see a marine captain standing behind them. A pelt of a cocker spaniel shaded his eyes and he grinned ear to ear. Yuuna instinctively stepped back while Valker held his ground.

"It's rude to eavesdrop." Valker said, bluntly.

The marine laughed. "My bad. Nice snake." He gestured to Hebi who was snoozing on Valker's shoulder and body wrapped several times around the pirate. The marine reached up and petted the paw of the dog pelt draped over his chest. "A lover of animals, I see."

"What do you want?" Valker asked.

"Straight to the point. The name's Captain Walter. Thought you should know the marine who would arrest you, Backstabber Valker, captain of the Viper Pirates." The marine held up the bounty poster for emphasis.

Valker merely frowned as Yuuna instinctively inched away to create a suitable distance between her and the marine. "Hebi is a constrictor."

"That's seriously what you're hung up about?!" Yuuna yelled, pulling out her slingshot. The situation was getting tense, should she dare get the first shot off? If she used a smoke bomb, they could escape. But before Yuuna could reach into her pocket, a hand grabbed hers and yanked her away. "HEY!"

Valker whirled around at her distressed call to see a flash of blond drag Yuuna away. "Yuuna!"

Valker made to pursue but found his limbs pinned to his body by what felt like a blanket. Valker realized that the dog pelt that the marine had wasn't as dead as he thought.

As soon as he had turned around the dog sprung from her owner's head and wrapped him up like a burrito. Valker managed to remain standing as he looked back at the grinning marine.

During Valker's struggle, a squad of marines had filed into the plaza, surrounding Valker and the marine.

"Meet Cloud, my partner. She ate the Flag-Flag fruit." Walter introduced. "She's very good about subduing her opponents. Right, girl? Who catches all the baddies? You do! Yes, you do!"

The cocker spaniel panted happily in Valker's ear and barked in response. The commotion awoke Hebi who, for a drowsy, old snake, quickly evaluated the dog and decided she needed to go. Coating his body in haki, Hebi wrapped himself around the dog's neck. With a squeeze and tug, Valker had enough to break free of the trap, taking Hebi with him to arm himself.

Cloud inflated to the form of a regular health spaniel and ran back to her owner. Walter bent down to thread his fingers through Cloud's fur to check her neck for damage. Finding none, Walter brought his full attention to a wary Valker.

"That's a cruel snake you got," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulled out a thick rope with a ball attached to the end wrapped up in the rope.

"A slugfist." Valker named. "If you didn't have your coat, I'd say you're an ordinary sailor."

"It's a simple weapon," Walter admitted, whisking his wrist to make the end of the ball swing rapidly in a circle. "But it does the job. Cloud, sick'em!"

Walter and Cloud charged at Valker. Cloud went to bite Valker's leg but was smacked by his staff. Valker barely had time to react to raise his staff when Walter came from above, bringing his slugfist down like a hammer. The rope wrapped around Hebi and Walter tugged hard to pull the snake from Valker's hand. Valker managed to hold on but it made him unbalanced, missing kicking the spaniel and earning a bite to the leg.

Cloud's fur rippled as her body flattened and she tried to wrap around Valker's legs but he pivoted on his free foot and used his trapped one to kick Walter with his dog.

A wave of vertigo hit Valker in the gut causing his vision to whirl and blur. Trying to blink away the fuzzy vision, Valker wondered how he ended up on one kneel, putting his face in the perfect position for Walter's slugfist to swing right into his chin. Valker reeled back, feet stumbling on the cobblestone plaza.

"I can't fight like this." Valker muttered, bending his knees to try and hide how his body wanted to sway.

The next time Cloud leapt to take a bite, Valker allowed her to bite down on Hebi who remained protected by his haki. Using her momentum, he sent her flying back at Walter too knock him over. Apparently, this duo had experienced this tactic before because Cloud transformed into her pelt form and was caught effortlessly by Walter. There was still a brief moment when Cloud's body blocked Walter's view and by the time he grabbed his dog, Valker and Hebi were long gone but the path of prone marines indicated their direction.

Walter frowned. "Crap. Cloud, here girl."

Cloud bounded over, bitting the slugfist and viciously shook her head, leading to a short impromptu tug-of-war battle between the marine and his dog.

"Sir!" One marine who was still standing. "We need to go after the pirate!"

"Give me a minute." Walter said, tugging on his weapon.

"The pirates are getting away."

"Lieutenant will stop them."

"But sir, the Lieutenant went shopping."

"… Crap. Don't worry. Sniffing out pirates is what Cloud does best." Walter said and managed to win the game. Cloud barked as Walter ruffled her head. "Playtime later. Cloud, seek!"

-VP-

Agni thanked that Mary, as a white sheep mink that could carry enough supplies to stock a store, stuck out like a sore thumb in the East Blue. It also helped she was walking back to the ship so it was inevitable they'd run into each other.

"Hi Carrot-Head!" Mary greeted.

"How come you know everyone's name except mine?" Agni complained. "Never mind that, we got a problem, I need to find Valker. Valker's got a bounty and the marines know we're here." Agni explained.

"Captain can handle it." Mary assured. "And he's got Yuuna."

"Just get the supplies to the ship and wait for us," Agni ordered and ran off.

Unfazed, Mary went to keep walking but then realized she wasn't entirely sure where to go. She had been wandering before and thought she was going to eventually find the Marina.

"I'm lost... When you're lost… you…. Got to stay still and wait to be found but I can't wait so…." Mary looked around and noticed a group of marines, she grabbed one. "Hey, how do you get to the harbor?"

The marine tried to jerk free but Mary has a very strong grip. "Hands off!"

"But I need help. I'm lost."

"I don't have time for this!"

"Make time." Mary said, innocently, like it was the simple thing to do.

"I'm ordering you to let go or I'll arrest you for assault! You damn animal."

"Honey, is that any way to treat a civilian?" A deep, sugary voice asked.

The marine whirled around. "Sir! I uh- Ma'am! Sorry, Lieutenant!"

The lieutenant was a broad shoulder woman dressed in a mustard, plaid, swing dress, accessorized with short heels and belt. Distinctly, she had a bee hive hairstyle stacked high several feet. Three marines followed behind her, burdened down by large, square, paper shopping bags. The lieutenant had a strong confidence to her posture as she looked down at the marine.

"Don't sweat it, honey. Stop harassing that poor girl and make yourself useful." The lieutenant said, flicking her hand. One of the three marines dumped half of the shopping bags of him. Satisfied, the lieutenant turned back to Mary and her stack of supplies, resting her hand on her hips. "Hi sugar, seems like we both had a successful day."

Mary shifted the weight of her load a little to a more comfortable position. "I'm lost."

"I heard. Where are you trying to get to?"

"My ship."

"You're on the right trail, keep going down this street and take a right when it forks."

"Okay. Thanks Sir-Ma'am."

"Just Ma'am, you dig?"

Mary glanced at the ground, confused. "I don't think you should dig up the street."

The lieutenant smiled. "Aren't you the cutest, denser than pound cake. Do you want an escort to the harbor?"

"Nah, thanks Ma'am Hair-Nest." Mary said and continued on her way, with a little pep in her step.

"Lieutenant Queenie!" a marine called as she ran over. "The Viper Pirates are on the move!"

Queenie gave a dramatic sigh. "What a drag."

-VP-

Naim held a firm grasp on Yuuna's wrist as he guided them through the bustling streets, trying to put as much distance between them and the plaza.

"Hey! Stop! Naim! Wait!" Yuuna yelled. "NAIM!"

Naim skidded a halt when Yuuna yanked her arm free. He backtracked to her, saying. "Yuuna, we have to get going. If Walter failed to subdue Backstabber, he could come after us."

He looked around, uneasy. The lieutenant should have set up a barrier to catch the pirates if they escaped. Where was she?

"You mean Valker? Of course he's coming," Yuuna stopped herself for a second at how confident she was by the statement. Thinking about it, Valker has gotten her out most of the trouble she found herself in. "What are you doing here, Naim?"

"What am I—I'm here to rescue you!" Naim exclaimed.

Yuuna's eyebrows furrowed as her mind connected the dots. "That was your marine friend!" she let out a frustrated groan. "You called your marine friend?!"

"You were kidnapped by pirates!" Naim exclaimed. "What else was I supposed to do!?"

Yuuna looked affronted. "I wasn't kidnapped! We made a deal."

Naim leveled an unbelievable glare. "You mean when our island was in danger?" he scoffed. "What a fair deal."

"He kept his word." Yuuna grumbled.

"So he's an honorable pirate. I'm sure that clears him of all the crimes he's committed." Naim said, sarcasm dripping off each word, bitterly.

"It doesn't matter. I'm a pirate and I'm going to the Grandline." Yuuna stated. "I'm going to become the greatest sniper in the world."

Naim brought up his hand to massage his forehead. "Yuuna. You couldn't do anything against Stanker and it only gets more dangerous going forward. You're going to get yourself killed."

Yuuna opened her mouth to argue but found that she couldn't say anything. It was true, she was weak.

Naim placed he hands on her shoulders. "Mom's worried sick." She tensed. "Let's go home."

Yuuna slapped Naim's hands away, "No. If I go home, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. I don't care if Valker's using me, I'm using him too. I want to be a pirate!"

"You're going to get yourself killed!" Naim shouted.

This well-worn argument wasn't getting anywhere but she couldn't stay. She had to find her crew. She had to make Naim let her go.

"AH!" Yuuna screamed, pointing over his shoulder.

Naim whirled around and saw nothing but a normal street filled with people. When he looked over back at his sister she was long gone.

"Yuu- I can't believe it. You're so immature!" Naim screamed to the sky.

Yuuna heart pounded in her chest as she ran away from Naim. In all the years she's pulled one over on her brother, none had resonated in her as it does now. At the same time, the warm feeling she felt when she ran off with Agni and Valker for the first time bubbled up in her chest. Yuuna felt like she could fly with every step. It was a hand grapping her arm that grounded her.

"You could have said my name," Yuuna grumbled, rubbing her butt. Valker sank against the alley wall, letting out a heavy breath. When he didn't give her any snark, Yuuna realized how much effort it was taking Valker just to breathe. "That guy really did a number on you."

"Like… I'd let… him… get one over on me." Valker panted out.

Hebi twitched nervously and tightened around his waist.

"You don't look good!" said Yuuna, scooting over to his side.

"I'll get over it once I nap." Valker dismissed, pushing against the wall. He only got half way before he sank back down.

"There you guys are!" Agni exclaimed as his large frame appeared at the alley's entrance. Valker nearly choked when the cook shoved a brownie down his throat. Agni patted his back as he coughed, "This is what you get for trying to skip out on snack time."

"You're going to kill him!" Yuuna yelled.

"He's tough," was Agni's reply and he slapped Valker's back harder.

Valker brought his hand to his head, "The vertigo's gone."

Several marines appeared at the alley's entrance. "Freeze, pirates!"

Instinctively, Yuuna fired a smoke bomb. With the smoke as cover, Agni hauled Yuuna and Valker onto his shoulders and sprinted away.

"Why aren't you on the ship?" Valker demanded.

"Oh, thanks for saving us back there. What would we do without you, Agni?" Agni replied sarcastically.

"Should I thank you for leaving the ship undefended too?"

"There's no pleasing you." Agni said, ducking into the main street to avoid a barrage of gun shots. From this street it was a straight shot for the docks. People pressed to the sides of the streets as Agni barreled through anyone who stood in his way.

From a distance tower, Walter watched the pirates run through some binoculars, Cloud draped over his back, head resting upon her owner's.

"We can't have you escaping, now can we?" Walter said to his dog. Taking a running jump, Walter was caught by a large gust of wind. "Cloud, glide!"

Cloud clutched onto the marine's shoulders and just below his knees. Her body rippled as it became flat, catching the wind in her blanket like form and becoming essentially a parachute. The next draft of wind sped up their glide towards the pirates.

Yuuna pointed to the growing dark blotch in the distance, "Is that a bird?"

Valker frowned, "It's that damn marine. I'll knock him down." He unholstered his gun and took aim.

"Woah! Isn't that a bit too much? And you couldn't even stand a minute ago." Yuuna warned, pulling out her slingshot.

"I'm better," Valker rebuffed.

Yuuna scoffed and took aim. "Yeah, right. Lead Star!"

The bullet whizzed through the air and, though small, she aimed right for the left, front paw. Cloud yelped when the bullet hit, Walter's shoulder slipping from her grasp. Walter reached out and grasped her leg, providing stability but they had already lost most of their speed and were now gliding off course.

Mary was waiting for them at the ship, waving cheerfully. "Marina's all ready to goooo!"

Valker made for helm as Hebi slither up into the rigging. "Set sail!"

As the Marina sailed into the open waters, Valker walked back out onto the deck with posters in his hands. "Is this what caused all the commotion?"

Yuuna and Mary took a closer look he turned the posters around.

Backstabber Valker

30,000 Beris

"You look like a villain." Yuuna commented. "And what's with that name?"

"Makes sense to me, you did pretend to be a marine." Mary said.

"Yeah, but he'd more of a mole or chameleon then."

"I see," Mary turned to Valker. "You should ask for a new one."

Valker rolled his eyes, "You don't get to choose."

"I got a bounty raise too." Agni said, pulling out his poster.

Burning Crackerjack

25,000 Beris

Star sparkled in Mary's eyes, "Oooohhhh! I want a bounty."

"The last one's gotta be mine." Yuuna guessed, taking the last poster. Her mouth dropped in shock and her eye twitched. Mary peered over her shoulder to read the bounty. Then the mink burst into laughter and collapsed. "It's not funny!"

Mary just continued to laugh and rolled around on the deck. Agni, having seen the poster, joined in. Yuuna hung her head in defeat. "How is this fair?"

"You can't control what the marine's put out for bounties," Valker grumbled.

"How does a snake get a bounty before me!?" Yuuna shouted, shoving the poster in Valker's face.

Gallows Noose Hebi

300 Beris

Angi and Mary laughed harder making Yuuna's nose flush a bright red in embarrassment. Mary patted Yuuna on the back. "Don't feel too bad, pirate number 1."

"Listen to pirate number 2, pirate 1." Agni chimed and was then tackled by Mary and put into a headlock.

Valker left his crew to brawl on the deck and walked up to the cabin. Yuuna came to join him. She found her captain rummaging around in the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Yuuna asked.

"Agni keeps moving the jerky stash." Valker grumbled, opening a jar and grinning in victory. He stuffed a handful of jerky into his pocket and shoved one into his mouth. Between chewing on the meat, Valker noticed Yuuna staring at him. "What?"

"Why did you recruit me into your crew?" Yuuna asked.

"I heard rumors that God Usopp had family in the East Blue. Anyone related to the pirate king's crew would be a valuable asset."

"Oh," Yuuna said, hating how disappointed she sounded. "So it was because of my Dad."

Valker looked unsure how to address Yuuna's mood. "Haven't you been the one that's so proud to be daddy's girl?"

"Yeah, I am. But, right now, not as much." Yuuna admitted. "I still don't get why you recruited me. You went to Gecko Island to find someone who could measure up to a member of the Pirate King's crew but I'm not a strong fighter like Agni or Mary."

"I was expecting someone…. Not like you,"

Yuuna rolled her eyes, "Thanks.'

"You have the wrong idea." Valker stated. "Perhaps you didn't meet my initial expectation but I didn't recruit you because you can demolish ships or take down marine admirals."

"Then why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Valker asked. Yuuna tried to think about what her captain was referring to. It couldn't be her shooting ability that was related to how she fought. "The gas, Nede's devil fruit, the flying marine," Valker listed but Yuuna felt even more lost.

The sound of cannon's sounded in the distance and Mary ran in. "We're under attack!"

"Those marines do not give up." Yuuna grumbled.

"Take the helm, Mary." Valker ordered and ran outside followed by Yuuna. Agni already had the cannons ready and was firing at the marine ship which sails depicted a happy looking dog. Valker grimaced in distaste for the ship.

Upon the marine ship, Naim watched as they assaulted the pirate ship that carried his sister. Walter came to stand beside him, "Don't look so worried."

"But what if she gets hurt?" Naim asked.

"Don't worry. We'll overtake them soon."

The next cannon shot went right towards the mast. Hebi leapt into air, curling into a flat disk and coating his scales in haki. The cannon exploded on contact but the mast and Hebi were fine.

"They're gaining on us!"

"We could use a gunner on our only long range weapon!" Agni yelled.

"I'm coming!"

Valker stopped her, grabbing her by the collar. "I need you in the crow's nest."

"I can fight!" Yuuna said, quickly.

"That's not what I need you to do." Valker stated. "Figure out how we're going to lose them."

"We can't. That's Walter, a marine captain that specializes in pursuit and capture. His ship is literally made to out speed everything in the sea! It's impossible!" Yuuna exclaimed.

"Think of something! You always do!" Valker ordered and joined Agni at the cannons.

Letting out a frustrated sounded, Yuuna scaled the ropes. From the crow's nest she had a clear view of the entire battle. Sure enough the marine ship was closing in, they didn't have long. They were going to be in a direct and violent sea battle with an opponent that outgunned them. Yuuna scanned the horizon and noticed the water swirling.

"There's a whirlpool on the starboard side!" Yuuna shouted down.

"Great, add it to the list of problems we have!" Agni shouted back.

"No, we can lose them with the whirlpool." Yuuna explained. "If we gain speed if we ride the edge. It's risky but if we hit it just right…"

"…We can lose them," Valker finished. "You hear that, Mary?"

Mary grasped the steering stick. "Let's go, Marina!"

The pirates held on as the Marina veered towards the whirlpool.

"What are they doing?" Queenie asked from where she was perched on the railing of the marine ship.

Walter grinned. "They must be trying to lose us with that whirlpool. I can't say if that's super dumb or smart but it's ballsy. KEEP ON HER!"

The ocean current grew stronger as the ships approached, pulling them into the whirlpool. Mary kept a steady hand on the rudder stick as the waves pushed against the ship. Everyone clung onto dear life as the ships rounded around the edge of the whirlpool. Mary pulled hard for the rudder to redirect them, the Marina groaned in resistance but they burst through the waves and out of the whirlpool.

Agni jumped to his feet. "Woo-WHOO! That was fun!"

Mary came out on the deck, vibrating with excitement. "Do you see that? Marina handled that like a beautiful swan!" She hugged the mast. "Marina, I'm so proud of you!"

Agni chuckled, awkwardly, and looked back, the marine ship hadn't been as fortunate as the pirates and was sailing in circles. Walter barked orders to his men to pull them out of the whirlpool. His ship was big enough to break free and avoid capsizing but they had lost all their speed and they were sure to lose the pirates.

"They got to have talented helmsman." Walter muttered to himself. "You win this time, Backstabber."

Yuuna joined them on the deck and was promptly scooped up into a hug by Mary. "WOAH!"

"Using a whirlpool to slingshot us was such a cool idea!" Mary exclaimed.

"Thanks!" Yuuna wheezed. "You're crushing me."

"We don't have time to celebrate. As soon as they recover, the marines will be after us." Valker stated.

"We always have time to celebrate! Let me go make lunch!" Agni said and walked off. Mary wandered off to search the ship for any damage leaving Yuuna alone with Valker.

"Do you understand now?" Valker asked, picking up as if the fight was just part of the conversation. "Agni and Mary are fighters but strength alone doesn't carry you through the Grandline. That's where I need you and your talent to back it up."

"So I'm the problem solver."

"Essentially," Valker said. "Fight smart, you aren't ready to take on the Grandline but that's fine. I'll fight for you."

-VP-

Yuuna spent most of the day up in the crow's nest. She said it was to keep an eye out for the marines but the crow's nest also gave her some privacy to think about what Valker said and absentmindedly paint on black fabric. Naim was right, she could not fight strong opponents that awaited her in the Grandline but Valker was also right, she had the ability to find a way out of any dangers that face her. That's how she'll contribute to the crew, with her creativity.

In the distance she could a massive mountain range rising in the distance shrouded in mist. They were nearing the Redline. Tucking the fabric under her arm, Yuuna climbed down the rigging, "We're approaching the Redline and Reverse Mountain."

"We're making good time," Valker remarked, checking the maps again. Yuuna smiled obnoxiously at him but he humored her, "What is it?"

"Seeing as the Navy was gracious to name our crew and we're about to enter the Grandline, I figured it was time we officially sailed under the black flag. Everyone! I give you the jolly roger of the Viper Pirates!"

Yuuna dramatically unfolded the fabric with a flourish. Depicted on the flag was a skull and, unlike a standard pirate flag, there was only one bone diagonally behind the skull. Replacing the other bone was a green snake which ends curled slightly to make downward pointed crescent.

Valker frowned. "Hebi is a constrictor."

Yuuna leveled him a glare. "There's no pleasing you."

Mary shoved Valker out of the way, "You're really talented!"

"Finally feels like a pirate crew," Agni remarked with satisfaction.

Hebi slithered up to the flag to inspect it and then tried to mimic what the snake on the flag was doing.

They looked at Valker who relented. "Raise the flag, the rest of you prepare for rough waters or we'll end up smashed against the Redline."

"Aye!"

The Viper pirates split up to prepare for their next trial. When the entire ship was jostled as the Marina was caught in the currents, there was no turning back. Because of the sheer height of the mountains it often rained nearby because of the air. It so happened to be a day that the clouds consolidated enough moisture to rain. And it rained heavy.

With Mary at the helm, they sailed cleanly around the boulders and away from the currents that would have smashed their vessel against the rock monolith.

The ship tilled as it began its upward climb and the pirates hung onto the railing for dear life. Agni was the first to let out an elated scream followed by Mary and Yuuna, even Valker couldn't keep the grin off his face.

The sun shone on them when they burst through the cloud cove. They screamed all the way to the peak and the Marina was launched into the air.

"This is it!" Valker shouted, sounding just as excited as the rest of them. For the short instant suspended in air, Yuuna took in the endless ocean of clouds and sky. The ship landed back down in the water and they plummeted into the clouds once again.

Yuuna knew their adventure was truly beginning.

To Be Continued

CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT

Name: Naim
Age: 21
Species: Human
Origin: Gecko Island
Occupation: Navy Doctor

Goal: Bring Yuuna home before she gets a bounty.

Description: Naim takes after Kaya, with fair skin and blonde, straight hair, cut at shoulder length. He wears a green vest, a white button-up shirts, navy slacks and polished shoes. His general appearance is generally leans towards a well-groomed gentleman.

Personality: Naim considers himself to be the responsible one of his siblings. He is very cordial and composed though Naim is known to lose his temper if pushed. Naim is a studious and smart individual but he is also quite cautious and does like risks. He has a strong sense of family duty and is willing to lie to protect his siblings. Unlike his other siblings, Naim was not interested in becoming in pirate, in fact, he seems to be ashamed of his heritage.

Notes:

- Non-Combatant (beware when he throws heavy medical books)
- Each of Usopp's children take after a personality trait, Naim inherited Usopp's tendency to lie

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