Italics indicate thinking

Bold is for attacks

Rose's POV

"You got Robin a job as a stripper?!" I yelled shaking Usopp around "Is this some kind of joke to you?!"

"She's not a stripper she's an exotic dancer."

"What's the difference?!"

"It was her idea!" he screamed "I can get you in if you want."

"First Ewww, Second did you forget I have a metal arm?" I wiggled my fingers "I don't exactly blend in."

The boys, minus Chopper and Usopp, had gone to the hot spring and the rest of us went into town. Since I would be easy to spot if I just walked around I had been hiding out in an alley not too far from where Chopper was shining shoes.

"And you're letting Nami and Lil wait tables?" I added "Steve is gonna kill you."

"It's like Nami said, we're here for information and that's the easiest way to get it." Usopp told me.

"You're right…" I said "I'll go do some scouting from up on the roofs, you guys keep up the work inside the club."

Usopp headed across the street and I started to climb up the wall to get on top of the building. I stood on the edge of the building and looked out over the town. I took shallow breaths and focused my mind.

"Where are you…"

I listened to the wind and watched the crowd below. I saw a few Navy cadets but they said nothing that would help to me.

"There are a lot of Marines here." I wondered out loud "But why?"

I listened and spied upon everyone from the rooftops, you could see a lot of the town from here due to it's layered structure, and my observational skills were sharper than more.

"The view's always better from the rooftops." I said.

I saw the door to the club fly open and saw my friends come running out.

"I hope they got something." I said moving out.

I followed them from above and ran across the roofs.

"Nail Gun." I flipped my finger open and shot a few stunning needles at the marines following the gang "I hope we find the boys."

Steve's POV

"Hmmm" I moaned "Wahhhhh."

I was sitting in a vat of hot water, my body slipping away.

"Uhh." Brook and Luffy moaned.

"If you three can't even handle a bath why bother coming?" Sanji said.

"If it's only our lower body the sensation is almost pleasant." Brook explained.

"It's numbing." I sighed "Like pins and needles."

"How many days have we been here?" Brook asked.

"Feels like a week or two." I mumbled.

"Oh yeah we gotta go beat up Zed!" Luffy yelled.

"Okay and where?" Sanji said "Don't you remember why we're here in the first place? The island is crawling with Marines and we don't have any information."

"For now we trust in Nami's plan…" I sighed "Franky and Wyper are repairing the Sunny and the others are looking for answers so we need to wait."

I got sick of sitting in the one bath so I got out; stumbled around for a bit before I fell into the next one. Zoro pulled me up by my hair.

"Try not to drown."

"I hate…everything." I sighed "I hate that the ships wrecked, I hate what happened to Robin and I hate that just sitting here is making me tired. Word of advice Zoro, never eat a Devil Fruit."

He just rolled his eyes.

"But It's not like I ate it, I just woke up with it in me…yay. And now my arms are all black or on fire…and sometimes I look like a monster…" I sighed "I need a drink."

"Bad!" Sanji whacked me.

"Thanks."

"This may be a cliché but I am soaked to the bone." Brook said.

"I'm gonna get Zed next time we see him." Luffy said.

"They you need to find a way around that arm." Sanji told him "You're better off letting me or Mosshead fight him."

"No deal." Luffy told him "I have to be the one to do this. If I can't touch his arm I just gotta smash through it."

"You have just as much energy as ever." A man said "I've been soaking a while waiting for you."

The guy behind us lifted his head.

"AHH!" Luffy, Zoro and Sanji stumbled back and fell out of the bath.

I just stared back, holding my ground.

"Aokiji…" I mumbled.

Why is he here?

"That was a rather extreme reaction." Brook said "Do you perhaps no this man?"

"Yeah he's a Marine." I said "an Admiral…or ex-Admiral now…"

"It's been a while." He waved.

"Not long enough as far as I'm concerned." I told him "Leave before I start burning something."

I felt the air get a little colder.

"You're still not ready, boy." Aokiji rubbed his eyes "Let's take it easy, I ain't here to fight ya."

"So why are you here, to arrest us?" Sanji asked.

"That'd be quite the feat." The man smirked "Didn't you hear your friend, I quit my job."

"If you're not a marine what are you?" Brook asked him.

"That's odd coming from a talking skeleton…If I'm not a Marine maybe…a hero of justice. Okay that just sounded lame." Aokiji shook his head "Why don't you tell me."

"HOW WOULD WE KNOW?!"

"Point is I ain't here to fight you." The man explained "I have nothing to gain from it, and why would I attack you in a place where I'm weakened?"

He has a good point.

"Then why were you waiting for us?" I asked.

"I don't remember…I'm kinda lightheaded." He said standing up.

"HA!" I gasped.

I got a good look at him. His right side was burned and scared, and the left leg was missing.

"Oh this." He said as ice formed into a leg "It's nothing. I got a little out of hand, and paid the price."

What could do something like that to a person like him…?

We exited the bath and changed back into our clothes before going outside.

What does he want, why is he here?

"So what happened to your leg?" Luffy asked when we got out into the hall.

"Haven't you ever heard there are just some questions you don't ask?" Aokiji told him "Because that is one of 'em."

"Okay then why did you fight Akainu?" Luffy said.

"Wow you're really bad at this whole question thing." Aokiji said "No comment on that."

"Then will you at least tell us what you're doing here?" I chimed in.

"I came to relax in the tub but I keep passing out…okay obviously that's not true." He said.

"Grrrr." I gritted my teeth; my patience was wearing thin.

"I'm looking for someone, and I think you know who."

"Robin?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No, this guy's a beast, and I hear you all were on the receiving end of his anger."

"Zed, huh."

"Bingo." Aokiji nodded his head "That Old Man's strong, you gotta admit that…and like me he was a Navy Admiral before he quit. Finish getting dressed, we can talk more outside."

We did as he said and went outside for a walk. The outfits Brook had picked out were mostly khakis and leather suit jacket. I ripped the arms off mine, much to his disapproval.

"The time we live in is known as The Great Pirate Era. All over the world people are taking to the sea, looking for the One Piece. Was it the One Piece that gave rise to the pirates, or the Pirates that gave rise to The One Piece?"

Excellent Question.

"Does the man make the dream or the dream make the man?" Aokiji proposed "Sometimes when pirates follow their dream people get hurt, others' dreams are shattered. Does that mean we should crush their dream to? Now former Admiral Zed is trying to answer that question. If the One Piece disappears so will the pirates. A rough conclusion but a conclusion none the less. I know you'll follow your dream, even if it means you have to go up against Zed, Me or even the Navy."

Aokiji stared out at the sea.

"I'm glad I met you here today…I know Zed's conclusion but I wonder what yours is."

Aokiji walked away "See ya. You can find Zed on this island by the way."

Aokiji left us there to ponder his questions.

Sometimes I forget he's pretty philosophical. What a strange man. One day he tries to chill me to the bone and the next he acts like we're buddies. The way he always says that one line…

"You're not ready yet…"

What does he mean, and why does he sound so mentor-ish when he says it? He always gives me a look, like he's waiting for me to do something. Maybe he's right, we got crushed by Zed a day into the New World, am I still not ready for something like this?

I heard some commotion and saw the ones who had gone out for information running towards us, tailed by a platoon of Marines.

"Luffy don't knock them all down." I said "We need to know where Zed is."

Luffy looked at them and the Marines dropped to the ground.

"Where's Zed?"

"The other side of the island." The Marine captain said "At the Sand dunes."

"Go back to the train." I told Robin "Take Lil, Nami and Chopper with you. I have work to do."

"Please be careful." She whispered.

I gave her a quick kiss "I will. Let's go!"

AN

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Till Next Time!