Lambo ran alongside the group, not even close to being out of breath. Used to running for long periods of time because of his missions as a hitman, running away from Bakadera and his dynamite, and whenever he's playing with I-Pin.

But all of that was all just good fun in Lambo's eyes, nothing dangerous to him, and if it was, he'd ran away.

This time he had a goal and was determined to stay put even if he's afraid, his five minutes should be up soon, he just has to keep the creepy weird guy away from this group for as long as he can.

"Is that guy still behind us?", shouted pepper, the nickname Lambo thought of the green kid.

"I don't know! I don't see him anymore!", onion called back, the kid with glasses, "Let's make sure we lose him for good!"

"There's no way that nut job can catch up to us in our own forest!", carrot states confidently, the tall kid with freckles.

(I know these are their actual names but Lambo doesn't know this, so he thinks it's just nicknames he came up with, and even though it's written in 3rd person, this is still mostly in his point of view.)

"Don't you worry Miss Kaya, little Lambo, us Usopp Pirates are going to keep you two safe and sound!", Onion reassured the two.

"That's right! The Usopp Pirates stand by their word!", Pepper agreed.

"Thank you so much.", Kaya said breathlessly, her voice so quiet so she could focus more on breathing as regularly as she can as the small group ran through the forest.

As they ran, Lambo heard a weird sound, along with the trees shaking moments after the sound passed on their right. The group stopped and turned around in surprise. They watched as piles of leaves began to fall from the branches, the trees began to shake more violently before falling one by one.

Lambo and the kid's diving out of the way, dragging Kaya along with them to the ground.

Five minutes is taking a lot longer than usual, did the bazooka malfunction and Lambo's stuck here for a little longer than usual? He's not sure if that's a good thing or not.

Right now, he and these people he's with are in danger, he needs his older self to protect them. On the other hand, there's a chance his older self is injured and needs treatment, thus the bazooka malfunctioning is a great relief for more time to treat and rest his wounds he may or may not have gotten.

As stated before, good or bad. And it's all based on speculation of a five-year-old.

If Lambo was older and knew about swears, he would be swearing left and right at his luck. But he's not, so he's just growling in frustration and desperately wanting to take it out on the weird guy chasing after them.

Caution thrown out the window.

But the older kids won't let him.

"FOOLS I'M GOING TO GET YOU!", Lambo could hear the weird man screaming at them, hiding behind one of the bigger fallen trees and out of his sight, "DO YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN FROM ME!?

Yes, yes, they do. If not. They'll run for as long as they can, and then they'll fight for as long as they can.

Carrot, Pepper, and then, Onion all peeked over the trunk of the fallen tree at the weird man. Lambo went to go up and look too, but Carrot pushed down on his afro, making him sit back down next to an exhausted and out of breath Kaya.

"We can do this the easy way!? OR I COULD JUST LEVEL THE ENTIRE FOREST!"

"Woah, that guy is really mad.", Carrot commented shakily.

"And he can do a lot more than just hypnotize people.", Pepper pointed out.

The three boys quickly ducked down, pressing their backs tightly against the fallen tree, Pepper held out his arm protectively over Lambo, also making sure he doesn't jump out and ruin their hiding spot.

"Where could those brats be?", the weird man questions in frustration before leaving.

Pepper, Carrot, and Onion breathed a huge sigh of relief, Kaya was breathing heavily, looking to be too tired to move, and Lambo huffed angrily, crossing his small arms over his chest.

"Lambo-san could've taken him.", he mumbled huffily, but was ignored as Pepper and Onion dived for Carrot and his nose to stop him from sneezing and giving away their cover.

After that, the Veggie kids began planning. Now knowing that the weird man could easily find them by just cutting down a few trees. They can't keep doing what they've been doing, they got lucky. And their luck would sooner or later run out if they continued with a similar strategy.

"COME OUT! COME OUT! WHERE EVER YOU ARE!"

If this guy thinks he's funny, he's really not.

Once Kaya caught her breath enough to continue forward, the group agreed it would be best to keep moving until they come up with a different plan.

But it wasn't long after that Kaya collapsed, hunched over, her breathing ragged and unsteady.

"Miss Kaya!", Onion called out worriedly as the group fell to a immediate halt from the older girl's collapse.

Lambo ran forward, placing his hands on her leg comfortingly, his chin just reached the top of her thigh.

"I'm sorry.", Kaya whimpered, out of breath, "You should go on without me."

"No!", Lambo shook his head furiously, "No. No. No. No! Lambo-san says no!"

"What are you talking about?", Pepper denies frantically, "We are under strict orders to protect you and Little Lambo!"

Onion feels Kaya's forehead with the back of his hand.

"Oh no, she's got a really bad fever.", Onion says worriedly.

Lambo stared up at Kaya with wide eyes.

"Sick girl can't be moved. Sick girl must stay!", he orders as seriously as a five year old could.

"What!? Doctor! We need a doctor!", Carrot exclaims panickily.

"You idiot! We don't have time for that!", Pepper yells at the taller boy, "Someone is trying to kill her!"

"But it's dangerous for her to run anymore.", Carrot argues back.

"SHOW YOURSELVES YOU RUNTS!", Lambo can hear the weird man demand close by, shortly followed by more crashing sounds from falling trees.

They're running out of time.

So, once the group quieted in fear, Lambo immediately grabbed their attention.

"Lambo-san distract weird man while you protect sick girl!", Lambo declares confidently.

"But you're just a kid!", the Veggie trio whispered screamed in shock and panic.

"You can't be no more than five.", Kaya agreed quietly.

"Lambo-san five.", Lambo agreed with a nod.

"Don't worry. Lambo-san strong.", Lambo reassured the group, "Lambo-san great hitman."

"There's no way you're a great hitman liar.", Onion protests vehemently, "You're only five!"

Lambo reached into his hair and removed two belts filled with multiple grenades, placing them on his shoulder so they crossed over his chest in a X, then reached back into his hair and grabbed out a bazooka in one hand, a real bazooka, and three grenades in the other.

The Vegetable kids and Kaya gaped at Lambo in shock. How the heck did he fit that in his hair? Why does he have all that in his hair?

"See! Lambo-san will be fine. Lambo-san great hitman.", Lambo reassured them again before placing the items back in his hair, "Lambo-san distracts weird man and you protect sick girl. Ciao!"

Lambo waved before the pitter pattering of his running feet was the only indication that he sped into the woods, leaving no trace that he was ever even there, behind.

The kids and Kaya were worried, but the kids decided to trust the younger boy, and brought their attention back to Kaya, all three thinking about the best way to protect the sick girl without her having to move much.

With Lambo, he knew he had to go into this all in, he can't mess up. There're no take backs. He understands this isn't a game. There are other lives beside his own that are on the line. With just one mistake, he'll get taken out, dead or not, the weird man will go after Kaya and the boys, kill them, then all of this will be for nothing.

He can't rely on the hope that the older him will replace him in time to win the battle. Lambo will have to drag this out for as long as he can while annoying the weird man just as much too, in order to keep his full attention on him.

And in order to do that, Lambo must do what Lambo does best.

Be annoying.

As annoying and pesty as possible, keeping all eyes on him with all his irritating antics.

It wasn't long before he found the weird man with the heart glasses. As soon as he did, he climbed up a tall tree walked out on a tree branch, carefully balanced right above the weird man, before dropping down on his shoulders, shoving the hat deep over his eyes so he couldn't see.

Jango reached up and swatted at empty air as he stumbled and ran through the small area, they were in, so as to not hit any trees.

He could hear a high pitch laughter that belonged to none other than a small child who giggled in glee as he shouted and yee-hawed like a cowboy. Laughing as he rode on Jango as if he was a bull or a bucking horse.

Despite Jango's best efforts, the boy remained perfectly stable right where he is, hanging tightly to his hat and coat collar in order to not fall off.

In a last-ditch effort, Jango threw his chakrams and listened to them whizz through the air while he stood perfectly still. He felt satisfied as he heard a pained squeal then a yelp and the child fell off his back and landed harshly on the floor.

Lambo received a cut to his cheek and side, they weren't deep, they were shallow like a paper cut, but the minor injuries still burned. No matter what Lambo did, he knew that it wasn't poisoned, he knows what that feels like, but it just hurts.

The weird man, after much tugging, finally removed the hat from over his eyes and placed it back where it properly goes, on top of his head. Lambo shifted around and felt inside his hair before withdrawing a bazooka, a real one not the ten year one, and pointed, it right at the weird man's face as he turned towards his direction.

The man froze before jumping back while screeching, "WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET THAT FROM!?"

Lambo aimed for the weird man's chest, tears visibly pricking the corners of his eyes, but he had a determined frown on his face.

"Gotta... stay... calm...", Lambo whimpered to himself before pulling the trigger.

A 'Boom' sounded loudly throughout the forest, a cannister left the barrel of the weapon, it's aim true, and it struck Jango where it was intended. Upon impact, the canister exploded into confetti, falling harmlessly over Jango. The impact itself wasn't the same story.

With, at least, a bruised chest, and hopefully some cracked ribs, maybe even a broken one, Jango flew back, ramming through several trees before painfully rolling to a stop with a loud pained groan.

"You better not mess with Lambo-san. Lambo-san is strong! Lambo-san is great hitman!", Lambo declared, his chest swelling with pride as his ego grew more, if possible.

Slowly, angrily, the weird man got back to his feet, and with a blink of an eye, the chakrams were no longer in his hands, but instead, imbedded deep in the bazooka, rendering it useless.

"Uh oh.", Lambo muttered worriedly.

Jango took the tiny boy's distraction to his advantage, with a hard stomp, the bazooka broke cleanly in half beneath his foot, causing Lambo to frantically scramble back in hopes to try and put some distance between the two. Jango wouldn't let him.

Jango went for a swift kick, but Lambo managed to step back s=just enough for the kick to miss, and then hop on to the leg, clinging tightly refusing to let go. Jango growled in frustration, lifting his leg up as he went to grab the young boy off it.

But Lambo was too quick from him, quickly leaping from his leg to Jango's chest, wiggling underneath his shirt.

"Hey! Get Out Of There!", shouts Jango as he tries to reach for Lambo only to jump and freeze.

His entire body began to vibrate, his shoulders shaking, and then Jango burst out laughing as he hops up and down, switching between his two feet as he frantically tried to grab the big lump that swiftly traveled all around Jango as he couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"S-ss-Stop!", screams Jango as he laughs, "I-I M-mm-M-MEan iT!"

Lambo popped his head from Jango's collar, about to jump down, but Jango was faster this time. Managing to grab Lambo and through him down roughly to the ground. Lambo tried to get back up to his feet, but Jango had him where he wanted him, he wasn't going to let the little boy get the better of him this time.

With a swift backhanded fist, Lambo was sent rolling and tumbling away, clutching his face in pain, body shaking, tears appearing in the corner of his eyes again.

"Gotta... stay... calm...", Lambo mumbled insistently to himself, despite the mantra not working as well as it did last time.

With no hesitation, Jango kicked the kid as hard as he could, much like kicking a football, sending Lambo flying deeper into the woods.

The kick seemed to be the last straw, because as he flew, a waterfall of tears fell from his closed lids as he wailed.

"I CAAANNNN'TTT!", he sobbed as he flew out of sight.

"I have to remember to go looking for him so I can kill him when I'm done.", Jango mutters before cruelly smirking, "After I give him a world of pain to enjoy first, before his untimely death."

No one knew that as soon as Lambo landed, he was consumed in pink smoke once more. And with a small 'poof', present Lambo stood in his younger counter-part's place looking over his surroundings wondering where the heck he was.

He just jogged in a random direction hoping he went the right way. Luckily, he has better sense of direction than a certain swordsman, or so he hears at least.

Lambo has yet to see Zoro's lack of direction in action.

He is also lucky that Jango likes to shout, his voice sure does carry. It also helped that Lambo found the exact same footprints that Jango did, knowing they belonged to none other than Kaya and the Usopp pirates, but another set was behind them.

"They're in trouble.", Lambo mutters to himself.

He doesn't know the fine details, but he can deduce what the main happenings are. He also knows he should hurry and follow the footprints.

Thanks to Shamal, he feels good as new, albeit a little sore.

"COME OUT YOU BRAAATTTSS!", Lambo winced at the loud, but thankfully close, and familiar, voice of Jango, he sped up a little faster, "I KNOW YOU'RE HIDING! GIVE YOURSELVES UP!"

Lambo knows he is far behind Jango and the others, he also knows he has to hurry to catch up before Kaya and those kids are killed, and he knows that he can't rush, or else he might lose track of the footprints.

"No!"

"Miss Kaya run for your life!"

"Run!"

Lambo's ears picked the familiar voices of three boys, his heartbeat sounded loud in his ears, and he rushed forward to the sounds of their panicked voices. He didn't know when or how, maybe his past self had something to do with it too, but at one point in this journey, Lambo grew found of those young pirates.

It felt like it took too long for Lambo to get there, but he did, panting heavily, he looked up to see Kaya standing in front of Jango while the weird man himself checked over a piece of paper, her will most likely.

But what really caught his attention, were the three downed forms of the Usopp pirates.

It looked like they tried to fight from the looks of it, a small part of Lambo hoped that they gave Jango a good old dose of pain before he took them out.

Great, now he sounded like Hibari.

Jango chuckled as he folded the piece of paper and tucked it away in the folds of his jacket before clutching Kaya by the neck and thrusting her harshly against the tree behind her, pinning her there by her neck.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing."

Jango felt himself freeze in fear from a menacing aura from behind him.

"Lambo!", the kid's cried out for joy in unison.

"You're not tiny anymore.", Pepper said in awe.

"And your wounds...", Onion trailed off.

"... They've been treated!", Carrot said happily.

Jango slowly looked over his shoulder to see the teen before he was consumed by the weird smoke. The kids weren't lying, he was all patched up, his shirt and suit jacket remained unbuttoned and open to reveal his heavily bandaged chest.

His glare though, if looks could kill, Jango would be long dead years ago, his body nothing but ash.

Before the two adults could do anything, the three kids refused to give up, running forward towards Jango with a shovel, holding it as if it were a battering ram, running straight into Jango's back who howled in pain.

"You stupid snot nosed brats!", Jango yells, kicking them away.

Lambo heard thundering footsteps and looked over to see Zoro running forward, hand on one of his swords, ready to be drawn out for a single strike.

Panicking, Jango clutched Kaya's neck tightly, the other hand held the chakram high above their heads in order to try and deliver a killing blow.

Zoro wasn't going to make it, but something told Lambo he wasn't trying to reach the duo.

"Looks like your one step too late swordsman!", Jango gloated, Zoro just smirked.

"Forgetting someone?"

There was a flash of green light and Jango shouted in pain, dropping his chakram and Kaya, stumbling backwards while clutching his hand to his chest. His hand felt like it was on fire, and it kept twitching uncontrollably.

He looked over to see Lambo smirking in satisfaction, his arm still raised up, green sparks dying down from his quick small attack.

Or distraction.

Zoro sliced through a tree branch.

"Excellent, that branch was getting in the way of my shot.", Usopp comments gratefully, expertly pulling back the slingshot, loaded and ready...

"Take this, you hypnotists!"

"Usopp, help me!", Kaya pleaded.

"Do it Captain!", the Vegetable trio shouted with wide smiles.

….. and released.

It was over before it barely even began.

Zoro sheathed his sword and walked over to Lambo who was leaning heavily against the tree closest to him. His injuries may have been treated and he was rejuvenated, but he was easily exhausted, especially when using his Dying Will Flames.

"You took longer this time.", Zoro comments, slinging Lambo's arm over his shoulder, helping to support his weight, as they slowly walked past Jango's prone body.

"I think this was one of the few times that the bazooka malfunctioned, making the time last longer, sometimes shorter.", Lambo commented unworriedly, "I got lucky this was one of the longer ones, it gave Shamal, the doctor treating my wounds, more time to heal me properly. Enough so that I just have to take things a little easy for a while."

Zoro nodded, "Your right, that was lucky. Let's just hope luck continues to flow in your favor like that in the future."