The Straw Hat Wolf

by KrazeeBeagle

Luffy sets out to achieve his dream of becoming the Pirate King, form the best crew to sail the seas and help them all achieve their dreams as well. Standard One Piece. Differences? A non-canon Mythical Zoan fruit, with a power and history the Five Elders has no interest in dealing with again. Vastly-Slightly Different Luffy and co. Rated M for Violence, Implied Smut Only

6. Goodbye Syrup Village

A/N : Just gonna throw this in now, Nami, while better, is still reeling with mental issues from being under Arlong for 10 years. She's going to have an OOC and contradictory character development moment in this chapter but I set it up that way on purpose. Admittedly I am no expert on what Nami would be experiencing and only know the basically; outbursts due to unclear thinking, no brain to mouth filter, and strange random jumping to conclusions. In short, She's still broken and insecure about her relationship with Luffy. Yes they are Lovey Dovey as all heck but they have known each other for DAYS and are already basically engaged. I'm not so oblivious as to say their complete soulmates already without doubts which is why scenes like the one in this chapter and further along in the story occur. Aside from that heads up/rant, enjoy the chapter!

'Thoughts'

"Speaking"

'Quotes/Emphasis'

"Techniques/Emphasis"

'The Wolf Within'

"Luffy's words are echoed/amplified by the Wolf Within"

'Luffy's thoughts are overlapped by the Wolf Within'

FLASHBACK START

FLASHBACK END

Goodbye Syrup Village

The Merry Sets Sail & The Training Begins

LUFFY'S POV

I couldn't help the satisfied purr like sound that escaped my throat as Zoro scrubbed my ear, a small smirk coming to my face knowing my swordsman's face probably formed a tick mark because of it.

"You could've gotten Nami to do this, you know." Zoro grumbled.

"Yeah, but that would've run the risk of Kaya seeing me in Kuro's blood." Glancing behind me I watched as Zoro sighed realizing it probably wouldn't have ended well if the Lady had indeed seen such a sight.

"I guess you have a point there… does it really feel that good?" Zoro conceded before I think I ended up enjoying the scrubbing a little too much.

I coughed into my fist standing up and turning to my first mate with a stony expression. "… We do not speak about my tongue lolling out happily. Got it?"

"No promises." Zoro smirked as he turned and walked off towards the village, I glared and pouted before smiling mischievously seeing where the man was walking towards. "Have a nice trip Zoro!"

"Eh? What tri-" CRACK! "OH SH-" BOOM! And there goes my first mate, down into one of the few pitfalls the Black Cat Pirates didn't trigger. Laughing at his expense I made my way over to Kuro's remains, igniting my hand once more. "Better Kaya never sees this." I crouched and grabbed hold of the butler's mangled leg letting the fire consume him till nothing was left, standing up I looked over at the sea of corpses only to notice the lack of one hypnotist. "Zoro… where's Jango?"

The swordsman who'd climbed out of the pitfall and silently glared at me as I cremated the enemy pirate's carcass now looked around noticing that the hypnotist really wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Guess he got away… You don't think he'd go after Ussop and the others would ya?"

"I doubt it. He'd already feared Kuro a great deal and he was probably here to see what quick work I made out of him so… the cowards probably turned and ran." Activating my observation haki, I extended my range of perception to see if I could sense him anywhere on the island but no such luck. "Yeah… he's definitely run. He isn't anywhere on the island anymore." Zoro turned to me with a questioning look. "How'd you know that?"

"Observation Haki."

"The Mental Haki?"

"Yeah that's the one. It's defensive and supportive in that it increases an individual's senses of perception, the more you train the more details you get and the wider the area your perception reaches." As I explained I began cremating the rest of the pirates, no sense in making mass graves for these bodies, better to just let them be carried off in the wind than go through the trouble. "Mind explaining Conqueror's Haki while you're at it, Captain?"

"Conqueror's Haki is a special form of Haki that allows the wielder to impose their will onto others, the weaker the will of the opponent, the more potent one's Conqueror's Haki is. I used it back on Buggy's ship to knock out his men before I engaged the clown myself." Tossing the bag of treasure to Zoro, the two of us began our trip back into the village. "Conqueror's Haki is also the only Haki that not everyone has, only one in a million can actually be born with it… and before you ask I don't know if you have it or not. Unless you fight back against my Conqueror's with your own or awaken it and use it in battle yourself I can't say if you actually have it or not."

"Mmm… how do you train the two basic ones then?" Zoro asked, figuring there was no point continuing the topic of Conqueror's Haki. "Well for armament it's mostly just battle experience, the tougher your opponents the faster you'll be able to awaken it. For Observation Haki we can start your foundation with meditation, after that I can train you the same way Gramps trained me."

"How's that?" I laughed inside seeing Zoro pale slightly at my, honestly, malicious grin. "You sit cross-legged like you were meditating, keep your eyes closed and focus your other senses to the extreme so you can dodge the incoming attacks."

"You're telling me Observation Haki training, is you playing Whack-a-Mole with my head?!" I couldn't help laughing outwardly seeing the disbelieving and furious face Zoro made. "Yep!" My amusement calmed as Zoro just sighed in resignation knowing if he wanted to get stronger and achieve his goal he'd have to deal with being whacked by his captain, me. "Don't worry about it, Zoro! You've already got a solid foundation as a swordsman and your increased senses from the blessing also help in the process. The ones you should be worried about are Nami and Ussop… want to be the one whacking them?" The swordsman looked like he was considering the offer before he declined. "Nah. Better let those two train with each other since they're pretty evenly matched. Only reason Ussop had a bit of an edge in the fight earlier is he's a long ranged combatant while Nami wasn't. Those Black Kittens were mostly melee fighters as well so they outclassed Nami who's more skilled at stealth and thievery rather than full out brawling."

"Oh? Didn't think you could actually think that far." Ignoring his rebukes about the jab to his intelligence I continued. "You're right of course, Nami was really at a disadvantage with the match up. Her life up to this point has been mostly as a thief. She was never trained for an actual head-on fights. That's why you and I will be training both her and Ussop in those areas whenever we can."

"You want them to get used to close quarters combat through sparring don't you? Learning how to deal with blades from me and how to confront hand-to-hand combatants from yourself?" I nodded with a smile, Zoro was more than just a battle junkie after all…Ok still a battle junkie but not a crazed one.

"You're having degrading thoughts about me again aren't you?" Woops, looks like Zoro's gotten used to my facial expressions already.

"Yeah, kind of. Mostly it's out of surprise for how much more thought you give into things than I was expecting." The swordsman just rolled his eyes as the village came into view, Nami standing outside by the only restaurant around, Food, running towards us once she'd spotted us.

"Thank god you guys are ok. What took you so long?" Nami asked once she reached us, giving us both once-overs before spotting the bag slung over Zoro's shoulder. "Is that?" I nodded, chuckling fondly as her eyes lit up like it was her birthday.

"Zoro thought you might want it so he bagged all their treasure for you in advance." Nami jumped Zoro and hugged the swordsman who looked very uncomfortable with the unfamiliar form of contact.

"Thank you, Zoro!"

"If you're really thankful get off of me woman!" Shishishishishishishi! I couldn't help clutching my stomach as I doubled over in laughter watching Zoro struggle to pry a happy Nami off of him.

Soon enough Nami did let go and began inspecting the haul, pouting slightly afterwards. "This is pretty pathetic for a pirate ship."

"Huh so I was right." Nami gave a questioning glance at the swordsman's comment waiting for him to elaborate but Zoro just walked into the restaurant figuring Usopp was probably inside.

"Zoro made a similar comment after he looted the ship. You must be rubbing off on him." Teasing Nami was always a delight as her pouty face always accompanied it but instead of that she looked down, frustrated. "Nami?"

"Luffy… can you train me?" Nami still didn't look at me but she continued. "I wasn't able to do anything in that last fight. If anything I was a hindrance especially since you had to step in and save me when that hypnotist threw that chakram at me…" I kept my silence watching as she looked at me with doubt in her eyes. "You want me to stand by your side but I can't even defend myself… how am I supposed to be your queen…"

"… Not exactly a fair comparison, Nami." She looked confused before glaring.

"Even if you have a devil fruit I should still be able to-"

"Gramps threw me in the jungle at night and ordered me to survive for a week against the creatures that lived there without ever returning to the village or leaving the forest." Her mouth parted and closed as if unsure what to make of my sudden revelation but I ignored it and continued. "He also threw me into a 10 km deep ravine and told me to make do, eating whatever I could find while also evading anything that could eat me." Now Nami was pale as a sheet, horrified at the tale, 'Oh I haven't even told her the best part yet.' "Then he tied a bunch of balloons on me and sent me flying to the sky, only to come crashing down into the ocean from 100 feet in the air because a flock of birds came and burst all the balloons." Now that she's properly scared out of her mind, it's time for the clincher. "That was my training, Nami… since I was 4." And her jaw dropped in disbelief before she began sputtering incoherently, I just laughed and pulled her closer, one hand resting on her waist, the other tilting her chin up to face me. "Unless you mean to tell me you also had a crazy grandpa who did all that to you in hopes of making you the best marine there ever was since you were 4, I suggest you stop selling yourself short, babe." Pressing my head to hers I breathed in her scent, tangerines and parchment, a surprisingly addicting combination.

"… I'm still no good as I am now, even Ussop was able to contribute to the fight earlier."

"The fight earlier was a poor matchup for you in every way. You're a navigator foremost and a thief second; neither of those professions you've trained yourself in offers much in the ways of direct confrontations." I cut off whatever futile argument she was gonna give with a peck on the lips. "Zoro and I already discussed. Once we set sail on the Going Merry your training begins. You won't become a monster like Zoro or I overnight but you'll probably get there… not entirely sure I want you on my or his level specifically but that's up to you." Nami frowned at that last comment.

"How exactly am I worthy as your queen if I can't even match you?"

"Just be strong enough to protect the kids and you'll be more than worthy enough." Smirking, I watched as whatever doubts lingering Nami had were buried under the shock and embarrassment of that declaration. Not giving her time to comment on that, I picked her up bridal style and walked into the restaurant, Nami burying her face in my chest, flushed. When I got in I saw Ussop and Kaya giving Zoro a confused look as the swordsman looked like he'd just been bonked on the head with a fist of love staring in my direction. 'Ah he heard that huh.' I just smirked as Kaya and Ussop flushed seeing me carrying Nami like a bride as if it was the most natural thing in the world, the two blushed harder after their eyes met and Zoro's shock at my earlier declaration was replaced by disgust as the former two individuals scents changed. "I need more sake." Zoro claimed, downing the whole bottle, not even bothering to use the sake cup.

I joined them and enjoyed our breakfast, keeping Nami on my lap as there weren't any more seats available, well I could've gotten a wooden chair so someone could sit at the head of the table like Ussop had yesterday but I liked this arrangement more. Nami tried to get out but she sighed and decided to enjoy the intimacy after I kept holding her back. Ussop and Zoro both looked uncomfortable about the PDA but the former's was increased as Kaya ended up switching between looking at Nami and I longingly then at the archer shyly. Zoro just groaned and drank faster, aiming to get drunk as quickly as possible so he wouldn't have to deal with the new fragrance wafting through the air sober.

---

Much later, Zoro, Nami and I boarded the Going Merry, now tuned up and clean thanks to Merry. The poor butler sporting quite the number of bandages from Kuro's attack but aside from those looked no worse for wear. "Thank you once again Sir Luffy for protecting Lady Kaya from… him." The sheep haired man's complexion darkened as he brought up Kuro before a curious light shined in his eyes. "Did you drive him off? He hasn't been anywhere to be seen since the skirmish between you two."

"Yeah, something like that." I said vaguely as I turned my attention to Ussop talking with Kaya. Nami and Zoro also showed interest in the conversation between the two young adults as they listened in discreetly.

"Well, I'm off to follow in my Dad's footsteps Kaya, to live the life of a pirate!" Kaya's eyes watered but tears didn't fall as she gazed on the young man who'd become an integral part of her life, visiting and lifting her spirits with his ridiculous tall tales filled with insanity and wonder.

"I can see that, Ussop…" The marksman tilted his head as Kaya suddenly turned away from him looking down as if shy but grinned widely.

"When I come back I'll be sure to share all my adventures with you! And they'll be even more unbelievable but this time they'll be true!"

"I look forward to them!" Kaya looked up with resolve in her eyes as she moved closer to the archer. Nami covered her mouth as she gasped while Zoro and I had shit eating grins plastered on our faces, Merry… Merry looked like he was experiencing unfathomable joy and a seizure at the same time. 'Not sure if Zoro and I are more amused at Kaya's boldness or Merry's predicament.' I mused as Ussop's eyes bugged out in disbelief while Kaya's were closed as she pressed her lips against his. The marksman's shock only lasted a second though before he brought the Lady closer and deepened their kiss, much to her delight.

"I didn't think he had it in him." Nami whispered as a small smile played on her lips.

"Kaya still had to be the one to initiate it." Zoro commented off-handedly, probably preferring it if Usopp had been the one to buck up instead of his girl having to take the reigns."

"USSOP UNHAND LADY KAYA AT ONCE!" Merry screeched, but I doubted the legitimacy of his anger.

"Merry you'd be more convincing if there weren't tears of joy running down your face." I couldn't help sweatdrop as I watched Merry's face

"THEY'RE TEARS OF ANGUISH FOR THIS…THIS…THIS!" Merry exclaimed gesturing towards the two who were lost in their own little world even after they'd separated. "Shishi, is it really that bad? They do look really happy." Merry grumbled, half-heartedly, about how the two clash more than they match but I just ignored them to continue watching the show.

"Promise you'll return to me?" Ussop grinned and gestured to himself striking an arrogant pose with his nose pointed high to the sky.

"But of course! I am the Great Captain Usopp after all!" Kaya just laughed in delight, already accustomed to his antics. The rest of us just rolled our eyes as the two shared one more kiss before Ussop boarded the ship and we set sail.

After giving the others an hour to get themselves settled in their own rooms, Nami set up her work room and the Captain's quarters, yes she decided we'd share a room from the get-go, I called for all of them to meet me on deck. Sitting on the Going Merry's figurehead with two long bamboo shoots in my lap I watched as Zoro and Ussop came out the Men's quarters and Nami out the kitchen 'What was she doing in there?'.

"Well first things first, clarifications." Jumping down from the figurehead I looked at my crew with a face devoid of my usual cheerfulness, Usopp clearly not used to the sudden shift or unfamiliar expression shifted uncomfortably while Nami just stiffened and Zoro glared with determination getting ready for whatever I was going to say.

"In the privacy of our own ship or anywhere the like when battle or danger is not afoot I am your best friend, your brother, etc. we share laughs, we don't take things seriously, generally we have fun and party." The three nodded, Ussop relaxing slightly. "In meetings, battles, or out in unfamiliar or even more so hostile lands I am your captain, your leader, your alpha. What I say goes, unless you have important, crucial or relevant information that may require a change in the orders I issue. Got it?" The three nodded once more, Zoro's eyes slowly filling with respect, while Ussop and Nami steeled with resolve. "When I'm not there to give orders you turn to Zoro, he's First Mate and the second strongest combatant on this crew thus far, he's also the one most experienced with battle in general after myself. However." The three tensed. "…When it comes to directions or finances, only turn to Nami. Zoro's unfortunately deadweight in matters like those."

"OI!" Zoro cried indignantly only to grumble under his breath after I raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to say it wasn't true. Nami and Ussop couldn't help but chuckle at the swordsman's expense who shot both of them a death glare.

"That's all for clarifications, now let's start with training." Tossing one of the bamboo shoots to Nami, I sat down on the center of the deck cross-legged, offering the other bamboo shoot to Zoro. "All right Zoro just like I said back in the village." I closed my eyes and waited before moving my head to the right as the bamboo shoot rushed past me, smirking as Nami and Ussop yelled at Zoro.

"WHAT THE HELL, ZORO?!"

"WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING HIM?!"

"This is training for Observation's Haki." I said calmly still keeping my eyes closed as I dodged more of Zoro's attacks, the swordsman's swings getting faster with each failed collision. "You'll be doing this to one another, that is to say, one will meditate and extend their sense of perception while the other swings the bamboo shoot towards their head. This particular section, where the swinging occurs can apply to the two of you after about two days of meditation, so for today and tomorrow just focus on meditating, emptying your mind and enhancing your focus and senses." Stopping Zoro's blade from its downward slash, I opened my eyes and stood up, chuckling at both Nami and Usopp's shocked faces. "Zoro will be dealing with this right from the get go since he's already gone through swordsmanship training and thus already has enhanced senses of perception. Switch Zoro." The swordsman nodded and took up his own meditating position. "Clear your mind for now Zoro, I'll start and continue attacking at random so you can get a feel for Observation Haki for now." The swordsman nodded again evened out his breath, clearing his mind of everything else.

Walking away from the meditating swordsman I looked at the other two while tapping my bamboo shoot against my shoulder. Three and a half fists of love later they got the message and sat down cross-legged beginning to meditate. "We continue this training till lunch. After lunch, you have an hour of rest and recreation, and then we move on to Armament Haki training, basically sparring. For the first hour and a half it will be Ussop against myself and Nami against Zoro, then the next hour and a half Nami against myself and Usopp against Zoro, finally one last hour of sparring, Nami against Ussop and Zoro against myself. Look forward to crushing all of you later." With that I took my first swing at Zoro who, to my delight, successfully dodged it, his face completely impassive whereas the other two… well the other two would probably turn a lake into an ocean with that amount of sweat. Shrugging their reactions off with a laugh I continued to strike at Zoro at random intervals, only grazing him twice which was honestly a pleasant surprise. An hour into training however, I began eyeing Ussop and Nami, thinking I might as well try a poke. I was both surprised and not at the same time. Ussop had tilted his head away but unsurprisingly lost his meditation and focus immediately as he shot me a glare. Nami, however, had surprised me greatly and had swayed only slightly from the thrust. 'Paper Art? It can't be…' Poking a few more times I had to blink and rub my eyes at what I was seeing, not only was Nami keeping her focus and meditation she was using Paper Art! 'I mean it's obviously a good thing but… wait, is her sense of perception just this busted to begin with?! It would explain how she's able to read the weather like an open book…'

Deciding to ramp it up a bit I started swinging at random intervals for both her and Zoro, Ussop having left after requesting time to go maintain and fine tune his weapons and tools. Zoro and Nami continued to dodge and sway from the attacks sent their way but instead of being entirely elated by her development I was befuddled. 'If she can use Paper Art why'd she freeze when Jango throws his chakram? Was it because she wasn't expecting it and got frazzled?' If that was indeed the case then aside from a confidence boost Nami just needed more experience battling. 'More experience fighting will make her less susceptible to getting frazzled in the heat of battle, so I guess there won't be a need to change our training regiment after all.'

When the sun almost reached its highest peak I told them Observation Training was over. Zoro exhaled deeply before standing up and stretching his body with a yawn, Nami also stretched before she made her way into the kitchen, Ussop already having gone in. "Who's cooking?" Zoro inquired, sporting one hell of a bored unimpressed resting bitch face.

I turned to my swordsman with a contemplating look for a moment considering his question before sighing. "Me, I guess. If you cook I get the feeling we'll be eating unseasoned burnt meat."

"…Yeah pretty much." Zoro answered with a shrug.

"You're not even going to deny it?" I raised my eyebrow at that, it was kinda Zoro's thing to blow up at every jab for comedic effect after all.

"Nami mentioned you were making a delicious Sea King steak before so why complain?" My Vice Captain chuckled and walked into the kitchen ignoring the glower I sent his way. Grumbling, I went inside the kitchen to see Ussop tinkering with some stuff on one corner of the room, Nami plotting a course towards our next destination, her hometown Cocoyashi Village, on the dining table and Zoro sitting down to polish his blades next to her. The former two looked up to me with a smile in greeting before returning to their tasks, the latter smirked before turning to eye the slab of meat, vegetables and assortment of spices laid on the kitchen counter. "Looks like Nami pulled out some ingredients for you in advance Captain." Shaking my head in resignation I smiled and gave Nami a kiss on her scalp before heading over the kitchen counter to start making our lunch.

'Merry and Kaya didn't spare any expense with the food or spices they stocked the ship up with.' I thought as I examined the pristine slab of beef in my hands, turning to observe the fresh vegetables and spices I spotted carrots, potatoes and… is that rosemary? Bringing the plant closer I took a whiff and smiled at the aroma. 'Baked Brisket. I could make Baked Brisket but…' Turning to my crew I noticed that aside from Zoro, the other two didn't appear to be that hungry and could probably wait for a late lunch, it was about 11:45 now so if I used the Abyssal Flames I could probably insta-cook the vegetables and beef to the point of only leaving them to finish up in the oven for another hour, spend maybe 10 minutes on the sauces and preparation before letting it slow cook to perfection and we'll be having lunch at about 1. Grabbing an apple from the fruit basket near me, I tossed it to Zoro who didn't even look up to grab it but I could tell he was looking at it apprehensively. "I'm making Baked Beef Brisket. We'll be having lunch a bit late so munch on that for now." Nodding to indicate he understood, Zoro started munching on his apple while examining his blades.

"Doesn't Brisket take like 3 hours to cook or something?" Ussop asked, looking up from his tinkering with his didgeridoo.

"Typically it does, but I have my ways." Ussop gave me a suspicious look before shrugging it off and returning to tinkering with… I'll be honest I have no idea what it is. Nami stood up and joined me with a smile.

"Need any help, Lu?" Smiling, I handed her a peeler and pushed the potatoes and carrots towards her which she took happily. Leaving that task to her I went and drizzled some salt and pepper on the meat, giving it a good rub all-round before flipping it and rubbing the bottom as well. Next came the marinade so I went through what sauces we had, 'Some chili to add a kick to it, some honey would be good to sweeten it, oh definitely want some garlic to add to the aroma, and lets see… oh barbeque sauce!' Smiling I grabbed all the new discoveries before I diced the garlic down into small little cubes, about the size of rock salt, and put it in a bowl along with a few bits and pieces of chili, drizzles of honey and the main ingredient of the marinade, the barbeque sauce. Everything was looking good, Nami had even gone ahead and began chopping the peeled potatoes and carrots while I continued mixing the sauce, flashing me a grin that mimicked my own.

NO ONE'S POV

Zoro, having sheathed his blades after cleaning and inspection, decided to take a nap while waiting for lunch. Unfortunately it seemed Luffy was being quite literal when he said accepting the blessing would make him seek more activity rather than rest when it wasn't time to be getting any so the best he could do was meditate on the side of the room next to Ussop. The meditation however was broken as Ussop finally decided to break the comfortable silence that had been blessed to the crew.

"… They act like they've already been married for years." Ussop commented pausing in his tinkering to watch his captain and navigator working side by side in the kitchen. With a sigh, Zoro cracked one eye open to see Luffy and Nami indeed going around the kitchen fixing up lunch like they'd done it so many times it was second nature. "And?" Ussop turned to Zoro who looked at him with a bored look as if wondering what the hell it mattered to him. Ussop was of course spot on, to Zoro his Captain's romance was that, his Captain's not his own and it certainly wasn't going to interfere with his goal… wait a minute.

"Oi Luffy!" Zoro called out with a glare, recalling his Captain's declaration from this morning.

"Yeah, Zoro?"

"… Make sure Nami isn't popping out brats till after we achieve our goals all right?"

CLATTER! THUNK!

"Sounds fair, I'll try." Luffy said back in reply not fazed in the slightest, 'Wondered when he'd bring that up.' The wolfman mused to himself as Nami spluttered out incoherently beet red in embarrassment while Ussop struggled to say anything comprehensive, ignorant of the device he'd been tinkering with now completely disassembled.

"YOU HEARD THAT?! AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'I'LL TRY'?" Nami cried indignantly at the swordsman and her boyfriend, the former ignoring her in favor of frowning at his captain's response. Knowing a bit more explanation was in order Luffy decided to shed some light on why he didn't completely agree.

"Depending on how long it takes to achieve our goals, Nami and I may end up having a kid or two along the way. Definitely not any time soon but I can't make any promises after I turn 20. My Devil Fruit… well after 20 it forces me to at least sire one child by then." Nami and Ussop looked confused by the final statement but Zoro only groaned and grumbled under his breath. "For all the power that fruit gives you it's pretty inconvenient as well isn't it?"

"Yeah, you becoming the greatest swordsman in the world is plausible in three years time, becoming King of the Pirates on the other hand… well that will certainly be pushing it." Luffy said wryly as he assembled the Beef Brisket into a tray, already partially cooked as he had flash fired the ingredients while Nami was sputtering earlier. "I'd prefer if I was already the Pirate King but… I doubt it." Luffy smiled sullenly knowing that if it was just a journey towards Raftel it would definitely be possible but when taking into account the three emperors aside from his father… three years would certainly be damn near impossible. 'That's not even factoring in the Navy or the Celestial Dragons.'

"… You… We need to have a kid by the time you're 20? Because of your devil fruit?" Nami asked, staring down to the floor, clearly not on board with the prospect. "Yeah… maybe it's high time I tell you what specifically my devil fruit is and why it needs me to… well force me to do that." Putting the Beef Brisket into the oven Luffy took Nami's hand and brought her out the kitchen and towards their shared bedroom, the Captain's Quarters. "Wait, shouldn't you also explain it to me?!" Ussop cried standing up to catch up to the two but was held back by Zoro. "I can fill you in. Luffy took Nami aside because she's on a 'need to know' basis on how the fruit would affect her and whoever else she accepts."

"Whoever else she accepts for what?" Zoro blinked before he shifted uncomfortably, scratching the back of his head as if unsure how to answer that question delicately. 'Ah fuck it blunt is best.'

"Aside from the deadline for raising a child at the age of 20… Luffy's devil fruit also demands at least two more mates." Blinking slowly as if the words did not compute in the archer's head he asked Zoro if he could repeat that. "Luffy's gonna have more than one wife, at least two more." The swordsman had returned to his meditating position once more, figuring he might as well train as much as he can now that a deadline was put in place for achieving his goal before he had to watch over a kid. One Fist of Love, Two Fists of Love, Three Fists of Love, Four Fists of-

"HE'S GONNA HAVE WHAT?!"

BONK!

And that's why when Luffy and Nami returned later on they were treated to the sight of Ussop's head sporting a steaming lump as the marksman was sprawled on the floor unconscious, Zoro opening his eyes to glare at Luffy, ending his meditation. "You're right. Screaming in close quarters hurts like a bitch." Luffy blinked before shooting his vice captain a sympathetic look before turning his head to the oven which dinged indicating lunch was ready. "Well, let's eat!"

"You ok?" Zoro asked the orangette who gave him a small smile with a nod. "Yeah… it's just a lot to take in." Zoro gave a nod in return, dropping the subject as it was clear the navigator was still processing the new information. Usopp meanwhile rose from the dead with a vengeance as the mouth watering aroma permeated from the delicious, tender, juicy, Beef Brisket, its accompanied potatoes and carrots moist, thoroughly filled and coated in the marinade and juices. The marksman couldn't even voice his anger at the swordsman for knocking him out and not explaining anything because his stomach demanded he consume the delicacy in front of him right this instant. While Zoro, Luffy and Ussop began consuming their meals without much thought aside from the explosively delectable flavors, Nami thought back to what Luffy had revealed about himself earlier.

NAMI'S POV

Closing the door behind him, Luffy placed the chair by his desk in front of me so he could sit opposite to me, who he'd planted on the edge of the bed. "Luffy… you're 17, I'm 18, I don't plan on being a mom at 21! Or until I'm 28 at the very least for that matter!" The wolfman sighed and hung his head, scratching the back of his head, contemplating how to answer me, but I wasn't finished. "I'm not saying no to us having kids, I know I signed up for that when I agreed to be your queen but… damn it Luffy! We can't raise a child on a pirate ship! Much less a pirate ship with a Captain still sailing for the One Piece!"

"I know, Nami. Hell I agree with all your points, if I had my way I'd not even entertain the idea until I was around my late twenties as well." That placated me slightly, at least this was one of the things Luffy actually thought through. Honestly I love him but for everything he plans for, he has just as many things he leaves to fate or does on a whim. "Then why? You're devil fruit? What even is your devil fruit? I know it's a Mythical Zoan. Standard and even Ancient Zoans don't grant their user's the ability to summon black flames but forcing you to have children? That seems a bit too much of a stretch even for a Mythical."

"… It's not exactly that my devil fruit 'wants' it, or even 'demands' it, it's… sigh heat."

"… Heat? You mean like mating season? You're saying that applies to you?!" I looked at him incredulously, filling with dread as he nodded in resignation, as if this was a fact he'd accepted was inevitable. While I gathered my thoughts on that, Luffy decided to drop another bombshell on me. "You… won't be my only mate…" My mind froze before I was filled with hot searing anger and pain. "So what, I'm just your first in a long line of incubators?! Is that it?!" That was the wrong thing to say because the next thing I knew, I was on my back on the bed as Luffy glowered down at me, but I just glared back defiantly, honestly more broken than I'd ever admit learning I was going to be nothing more than a vessel for him. 'Nothing changed… I just went from one monster's pet to another monster's whore.' I thought bitterly, but before I could attempt to struggle out of his grip Luffy dropped his full body weight on me and just lay on top of me, his chin resting on my chest, a sad look in his eyes, his earlier fury gone without a trace.

"I want you as my queen, Nami. Not a… broodmare or whatever else you cooked up in that head of yours." Glaring down at him, I scoffed.

"Sure sounds like what you have in mind for whomever else you bring in for your harem; I'll just have a fancy title and probably better treatment but still a whore all the same." I tried pushing him off but he wouldn't budge and despite all my anger towards him I couldn't help the pang of guilt that ran through me as he flinched and his eyes filled with hurt. Luffy raised himself but still kept his hands on my arms, locking me into place as he adjusted his position so he was on all fours as his face hovered over my own.

"You will be my queen, Nami, my wife, my love, my equal." Luffy pressed his lips against mine and try as I might to deny him I couldn't and pushed back, reciprocating his affections. Memories of his proposal replaying in my mind, his actions, his morals, his values, all flooding back. "You're not a whore or a vessel just for birthing children. If I could have only one mate it would be you and you alone." Luffy's head dipped underneath my own so he could plant kisses along my neck, my skin flushed and my heart raced as my mind screamed in approval. 'Luffy… Luffy's telling the truth. He would never use someone like that, he would never just force someone for something like that… he'd never use me or see me as that.' Through half-lidded eyes no doubt clouded with desire, I watched as my wolfman returned to face me from above, his eyes however were clouded with resignation. "Nami… my fruit is modeled after -," My breath hitched and my heart stopped briefly as, even in this lust ridden state, my mind recognized that name, that myth, that … that demon. "It's why I'm able to summon black flames that eat away at other's resolve, strength, and even life, it's why I'm the monstrous combatant I am today, why I'm able to get through almost anything unscathed, why I'm able to promise you, you're vengeance and why I'll be able to keep it… it's why when I do reach adulthood I will be forced into… well the bare minimum of my desires, both as a human and as a wolf."

I was quiet after that, slowly processing everything he said. It would make sense why he was so nonsensically powerful and perceptive of the world around him, it would also explain why he would have to answer to his desires when he reaches adulthood, but… "Why do you need others? Am I not good enough for… it? For you?" Luffy glared at me once more before picking me up and changing our positions. Now I was straddling him as he kept his hands on my hips, holding me down. My chest heaving as I kept my hands on his chest, his back resting on the bed's headboard. "You are worth more than all the stars in the skies, you hear me Nami." I gulped at his assertiveness as I nodded my head. "You will be the one I truly love with all my heart, the one I see as my queen. The others…" Luffy seemed to be pained as he continued, burying his face in my chest. "The others are there so I don't break you."

"Break me? Luffy you would never even-"

"You're only human, Nami." Luffy cut me off, and I was a little miffed at his comment but before I could retort he went on. "Even when I take you into my pack and give you the blessing, you're body won't be able to handle… normal humans aren't meant to go on that long...or that aggressively" I wanted to question him on what exactly he meant but it didn't take a genius to figure out what he was getting at, and my face flushed crimson as soon as it hit me.

"Oh… OH!" Luffy grit his teeth as he pulled away and looked at me clearly pained by the fact he'd have to take on other mates for something like that. "… Will… Will you fall in love with them as well?"

"… Honestly I'd prefer it if whoever else you accept does also have affection for me and I them, but like I said before and I will say again and again until you no longer doubt it, YOU are my queen. They may have my affections and I theirs but they will never be YOU." I contemplated that before my brain hung on to one particular detail.

"Wait… whoever else I accept?" Luffy nodded in affirmation, his eyes actually looked tired, as if this conversation was harder than any battle he'd ever had. 'I guess it could be…'

"You're my Luna wolf, my alpha female, my queen. You decide whoever you want to share me with." I glared at Luffy who had the audacity to smirk at me at the end.

"… I'm still not happy you kept this from me till now… and we are definitely not having a kid before you're Pirate King."

Luffy sighed before planting his face between my breasts, pouting at me with big puppy dog eyes. I bit my cheek so I wouldn't fall victim to them this time, firm about those two but I relented on the unspoken one with a sigh. "But I will share you with others… well first I'll have to see if I really can't handle it." I grinned lasciviously, enjoying seeing Luffy stiffen before shooting me the same look.

"You'll find out soon won't you?"

"Not now? Not tonight~?" I teased, my lust changing to confusion as Luffy pouted at me looking at me like I was being mean. "I can't claim you till I deal with Arlong, Nami. That's your condition for becoming my queen, remember?" I couldn't help but laugh at Luffy's puffed up cheeks as he pouted childishly at me, his ears and tail having popped out for added effect certainly not helping. "Right, right, sorry babe I forgot… I wouldn't mind if you did it earlier though~" Leaning down I bit his ear and chuckled slightly seeing his tail become ramrod straight. "There isn't really any doubt in my mind that you're not going to obliterate him now. Especially since I know who you keep inside…" Pausing at that I let go of his ear and looked at Luffy seriously, his face falling as he guessed what had popped into my mind.

"… Yes he can see you… yes he's no doubt listening to this and every other interaction we ever had and ever will have… sigh and no I don't know any way of stopping him." Well that certainly dampens the mood… or does it? Uh oh, I think Luffy noticed.

"That's your kink?" Shit, he noticed. Son of a bitch he's giving his stupid smug grin and wagging his tail like he's won the lottery.

"Shut up. I'm hungry, let's go grab lunch." I got off Luffy, pushing him off the bed in the process with a smile, "Last one there has to do the dishes!" I added and laughed when he yelped as he landed on the floor.

"Oi! no fair!"

"Maybe you should train your Observation Haki more! Isn't it supposed to give you an idea of what someone plans on doing?!" I yelled back with a giggle as Luffy sputtered incoherently before rushing out the room to catch up to me, already halfway back to the kitchen. I smirked at him triumphantly as I slowly hovered my hand on the handle, yeah that was a mistake.

"SHAVE!" Groaning I glared up behind me to see Luffy's face split into a wide shit eating grin. "Shouldn't have taunted me, babe." I harrumphed looking away from him, defiantly, but he just laughed and wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulders. "All right, all right you win. I'll get the dishes."

"… Together. We'll split the work." I decided, Luffy's smile widened even more in delight as he let go of me so he could open the door for us. Turning to face the door I paused at the scene in front of me. Zoro mentioned something about screaming in close quarters hurts like hell and Luffy sent him a sympathetic look. It was then that I realized that despite learning about the identity of Luffy's devil fruit model and how it affected me specifically we hadn't discussed what it actually did for everyone else.

'Well, going with how Zoro started to complain about scents and noises, it must be some sort of buff he received by joining Luffy's pack… Is it about the blessing Luffy mentioned when I, and I guess by extension anyone else, joins his pack?' Taking a seat next to Luffy I stewed a bit more into my thoughts, throwing Zoro a smile and a short reply, "Yeah… it's just a lot to take in.", before returning to my meal and pondering.

NO ONE'S POV

After lunch, Luffy and Nami took the dishes and utensils over to the sink for washing. Zoro and Usopp were dismissed to do whatever they wanted till it was 3:00 pm.

"We had a late lunch so we'll just start our training at a later time. We'll just be having a late dinner as well." Luffy said without turning around to face them. Both men accepted the order with a shrug and went out the kitchen, Ussop taking his tools and the disassembled thingamajig out onto the deck while Zoro started doing stretches before jumping straight into push-ups.

"We're going to be sparring later anyway, you know." Ussop commented off-handedly to the swordsman who was starting to build up a sweat, working out under the hot sun. "Let's just say training is my hobby, like playing around with junk is yours." Shooting the smirking swordsman a reproachful look, Ussop opened his mouth to explain he wasn't playing around with junk and was actually working on a secret weapon but Zoro just tuned him out as he switched out to sit-ups. Shaking his head, the archer returned to his tinkering, the thingamajig starting to take shape. Where it was once just a mess of gears and wires now it looked like a-

"Is that a bomb?" Luffy asked, wiping his hands with a rag. Nami and he had finished a few moments ago and the navigator went to her work room after making sure the Going Merry was still en route.

"Yeah, kind of. It's not lethal or even explosive for that matter, instead I thought I could use it as a feint to throw people off. The idea is that the thing breaks apart sending pieces flying with a loud pop, scaring people into thinking it was real while I reposition myself or just get the hell outta their way." Luffy looked conflicted, on one hand it was a pretty decent get away tool… on the other "Isn't that kind of contradictory? I mean for a brave warrior of the sea?"

Ussop stopped in his tinkering, the archer turned to retort but took a little time to consider his captain's words. "I guess it is pretty cowardly… you could also say that about my choice of weapons…" Luffy was undeterred by his friend's last comment and corrected him. "Using long range weapons isn't cowardly in and of itself, you know. It becomes cowardly and unbecoming of a brave warrior if you start hiding and attacking from behind or where they can't reach you and fight back." Walking towards the marksman, Luffy pulled out his hunting knife and offered it to him. "If you're worried about how you defend yourself with your bow at close range, consider training in other weapons as well."

Ussop took the knife and looked it over thoughtfully. "You're not wrong… attacking from behind is dishonorable and using tricks isn't any different… kind of makes me frustrated though…"

"Why's that?" Luffy asked curiously as he took a seat by the marksman. Zoro, knowing this was a private bonding moment of sorts between the two moved farther to give them some space but remained within earshot in case Luffy wanted his opinions or input or something along those lines.

"Well the arrows I have for my bow are pretty standard, some being dull and thus non-lethal and others actually meant to injure and kill. My stars or slingshot ammo on the other hand…" Usopp smiled wryly as he dug around his satchel a bit before pulling out an assortment of different colored pellets, a red one in particular catching Luffy's eyes and nose.

"Is that tabasco?" Luffy said, eyeing the red pellet emanating a hot and spicy odor.

Ussop blinked in surprise before confirming it. "Yeah, it is actually… you can smell that?"

"The nose knows." Luffy answered, tapping his nose with an amused smile as he continued to gaze on the remaining ammunition, some being normal lead, others emanating different smells that had him chuckling to himself before narrowing in on a yellow one and stepping back in disgust. "A fart star? Seriously?"

Laughing sheepishly, Ussop took the yellow pellets and stuffed them back in his satchel. "Yeah, pretty funny when I made them and pranked others with them… not really the weapons of what I aspire to be though."

"The fart star? Definitely not. Your tabasco star… well elemental fused ammunition would be fine, hell you'll actually be needing it later on down the line." Luffy looked ahead to the ocean with a displeased look, piquing Ussop's curiosity. "Devil Fruit Users are common in the Grand Line, and other species that have immunities or protection against typical ammunition exist there as well though usually past Paradise."

"Different species?" Ussop repeated, not quite sure he heard that right. "Yeah, fishmen, minks, and the like. You can coat or enhance your ammo with haki but similarly they can also protect themselves with it, so making things like explosive, incendiary, corrosive, or if you could manage it conductive ammunition would be preferable." The marksman took his captain's words into consideration. 'Well it certainly wouldn't be cowardly to use special types of ammos to deal with opponents like those… actually any ammo should technically be fair game. It just depends on how I use them, yeah being brave doesn't mean being arrogant. If I end up using ammunition that just bounces off my enemies like a cotton ball then it's just common sense I'd switch to an actually viable option.'

As Usopp got lost in his thoughts, Luffy decided to approach Zoro who'd started doing burpees only stopping once the captain arrived at his side. "What's up, Luffy?" Zoro said, glancing up at the sun's position. "It isn't 3:00 yet…right?"

"No, it isn't. I came to get your opinion on what melee weapon would suit our brave marksman. I was thinking about a hunting knife since it seems like he had a history of hunting game back in Syrup Village but…" Luffy trailed off, leaving Zoro to fill in the rest for himself.

"But he most likely didn't use a hunting knife in any capacity." Zoro finished internally cringing at the practice swings Ussop was doing. "A knife isn't a sword… especially a hunting knife like that meant for carving and cutting up game."

"His form is surprisingly fitting for short swords though wouldn't you say? Maybe strap two of them at his back, above his satchel to switch over to when an enemy gets too close?" Luffy added, watching as Ussop, while doing the wrong motions for the blade he had been given, was performing the basic, rudimentary swordplay meant for short swords or daggers

"Maybe twin machetes or kukris?" Zoro offered after a moment of contemplation as Ussop turned towards them, noticing he was being observed. Walking over the marksman called out to them. "What are you guys talking about behind my back?"

"We aren't behind your back, so we're talking about you in front of your oblivious face." Luffy retorted snarkily prompting an amused snort from Zoro and a jaded look from Ussop who laughed sarcastically. "Very funny, Luffy. Seriously though, what are you guys talking about while watching me like a pair of hawks… or wolves."

"Discussing what kind of melee weapon would suit you." Luffy answered before turning to Zoro. "Both of those are relatively similar in shape and serve the same function so either will be fine. Do you happen to know how to train someone to use them?"

"Not anything advanced, but I could probably give Usopp some tips and practice for refining his form." Zoro said back as he picked up one of the bamboo shoots before breaking it in half, each half the length of 3 feet. "Machetes are usually 2 and a half feet in length but these will have to do." Tossing the two bamboo shoots to Ussop, Zoro took out two of his three blades, leaving his most precious one in its sheath. "I'll show Ussop a few forms and motions he can practice with. You should probably grab Nami and bring her up so we can figure out what to have her practice as well."

Luffy nodded, agreeing with Zoro's suggestion, and walked off to get his paramour. Ussop meanwhile blinked blankly. "What the hell just happened?"

"You saying that cuz you didn't give any of your own input or because you didn't actually get anything that we discussed?" Zoro sweatdropped.

"…Yes." Ussop said with an apologetic smile leaving Zoro to just groan and shake his head in exasperation. Noticing this Luffy chuckled, seeing a silhouette of a tall man smoking a cigar with his long raven hair in a ponytail equally exasperated. 'Oh good ol' Uncle Benn. Wonder what dad has him exasperated with now… probably alcoholic antics.'

And so the rest of Zoro and Usopp's free time was spent with the swordsman posing certain forms and attacks, adjusting the marksman's attempts to replicate them patiently and throwing in comments such as:

"Remember to always keep your blades between you and your opponent."

"Never turn away from your opponent even in retreat; exposing your back is not only a fatal mistake but an eternal shame if you survive."

"Scars on the back are a swordsman's shame. I imagine it's not much different for a brave warrior of the seas."

Nami and Luffy conversed with one another, occasionally glancing towards the two men practicing on deck. "Since you've been using a staff for most of your thieving career I'd wager you've gotten quite adept at wielding it." Luffy said, watching as Nami brought out her collapsible staff and assembled it.

"I don't know about being 'adept' but… yeah I don't see myself switching or adding additional weapons like Ussop has." Nami said back, looking away from Luffy to watch Zoro perform a downward slash with his right blade, followed by a thrust from his left, before finishing the combo with an upward slash using the right blade once more.

"Zoro's knowledge of combat is mostly limited to swordplay. Ussop definitely has his father's blood as a marksman and some history as a huntsman if those traps and his archery and tracking skills are anything to go off of. I, myself, am mostly well versed in hand to hand combat if I'm not doing anything flashy with my powers." Luffy summarized his, Zoro's and Ussop's combat background to Nami. "Gramps did teach me a bit about using weapons but I was never adept at any of them except the ones that just enhanced brawling capabilities like gauntlets or claws. Even then when Gramps taught me how to use a staff it was mostly just using it like a really long baseball bat."

"So there won't be any formal training for me when it comes to using my staff, is basically what you're getting at." Nami sighed

"Yeah, unfortunately. Although…say Nami, have you ever considered consuming a devil fruit of your own?" Luffy asked as he thought back to his girlfriend's unique affinity with weather.

"Can't say I have… not entirely sure I even want one even if they don't have the ridiculous drawbacks or conditions yours does." Nami replied with a frown. "Devil Fruits do give you some pretty crazy powers but… losing the ability to swim? As a pirate that's a pretty dangerous move. If I consume one that means we'd have to rely on Zoro or Ussop or whoever else you bring on board to help us if we end up overboard, and we don't know how many of our future crewmates end up being Devil Fruit users as well." Shaking her head, Nami made her position on the matter very clear. No matter how powerful the devil fruit may end up being, losing the ability to swim was too much of a price for her.

"I see… well it was just a thought. Usopp might be able to do something for you though since he loves tinkering with stuff a lot. How he made a timer bomb with just random gears and wires I can't even begin to explain, the guy didn't even have any black powder in the thing." Luffy wondered what Usopp might be able to cook up for Nami that would appeal to her gifts.

"You mean like having Ussop make me a staff that would influence the weather?" Nami turned to Luffy incredulously at first but soon it faded into silent contemplation. "You know… it may not be as crazy as it sounds… rain clouds can be formed because of an abundance of heat and thunderclouds are created by friction of the…"

Luffy was smart. He could do pretty decent math and plan ahead for a lot of things like how and what to cook, how much money would be required to purchase things down the line for their journey, etc. This science lesson on meteorology though? Yeah, forget it! He lost track of what was coming out his now ecstatic girlfriend's mouth and just nodded along with a smile. 'She's really pretty when she smiles brightly like that.'

Down below on the deck Zoro and Ussop stopped practicing in favor of sweatdropping, watching their Captain nodding along with whatever came out of his paramour's lips, not understanding anything in the slightest.

"It isn't even that complex of a subject." Ussop muttered, wondering how his Captain could be so cool some moments then be a complete dunce in others.

"It is? Sounds like gibberish black magic to me… You don't think Nami's a witch do ya?" Ussop wasn't sure how to answer Zoro's question so he just ignored it and asked if Zoro had any other forms to show him.

A few more minutes pass by like this, Nami knowing she was mainly muttering only to herself as Luffy just nodded along encouragingly, clearly not understanding but supportive nonetheless. Zoro ends up being the one seeing the position of the sun and calling out to the others. "It's three guys! Our hour of fun and relaxation is over!"

"This was fun for you?" Ussop asked incredulously, already sweating bullets despite having taken off his overalls and just remaining in a white sleeveless undershirt.

"Like I said, training is my hobby." 'Especially since napping the day away is no longer an option.' Zoro added mentally, still bittersweet about Luffy's gift.

Acknowledging Zoro's declaration with a grin, Luffy jumps down from the balcony onto the deck, landing with surprising silence. "Aight, Usopp against me and Nami against Zoro for the first hour and a half." Straightening up, Luffy cracked his neck and flexed his arms before putting them up in a typical boxer's stance.

"Nami we'll be having our spar on the front deck. Get over there before Luffy beats Ussop to a pulp." Zoro ordered with a wolfish grin, clearly reveling in Ussop's indignant sputtering. The navigator wasn't much better and flashed Usopp a pitying look before joining Zoro on the front deck.

---

Zoro vs Nami

"Don't expect me to hold back just because you're Luffy's girl."

"I expect you to grind me to the dust." Zoro staggered briefly, not expecting the resolve on the woman's face, but soon grinned with newfound respect for the thief.

"We begin when the coin hits the ground." Zoro said, bringing out a coin, tossing it up after Nami nodded with fire in her eyes. The two stared the other down as the coin seemingly descended at a snail's pace. Both subconsciously activating Observation Haki, neither noticed but their Captain did and grinned wider before returning his focus to the downed archer jumping back his feet.

THUNK!

In the time it takes one to blink, Zoro had gotten right in front of Nami, and swung a blade towards her neck. The swordsman's eyes narrowed as the tangerine haired woman didn't back away but rushed forward instead bringing her arm up to my sword arm's wrist. 'Good choice.' Zoro complimented mentally.

A normal person's reaction would be to back away or try to block the blades, the former was usually a death sentence while the latter depended on where the blades were blocked and what was used to block them. What Nami had chosen to do was close the distance between the two of them, putting her out of the blade edge's reach while also placing her in an advantageous position to attack Zoro with an upward swing or thrust from her staff. Unfortunately for Nami, Zoro wasn't just some pirate who attacked wildly.

As Nami thrusted her staff towards Zoro's midsection, the swordsman used the momentum of his swing to deliver a spin kick knocking the staff away from its initial trajectory. Zoro then, still making use of his momentum, swung two blades towards Nami in an upward slash only to be blocked by the staff.

After the spin kick knocked her staff's thrust off course, Nami used the momentum to bring her staff over her shoulder to rest behind her back, anticipating a follow up attack, while keeping her eyes on the swordsman. 'Zoro's throwing an upward slash with two blades.'

'You're a lot more skilled than I gave you credit for.' Zoro grinned with his precious memento held between his teeth as Nami lifted her staff up, propped on her shoulder, like a lever sending Zoro's arms upwards leaving him exposed. A chance Nami was aiming for. Her staff pointing downwards after the force she exerted to push away Zoro's blades and give her the opening, now gripped with two hands was swung towards the swordsman's sides as Nami stepped forward, pushing for an assault without giving Zoro time to recover and be forced on the defensive. Her left hand holding the section of the staff closer to her and her right hand holding the section furthest, Nami gripped tightly thrusting forward as Zoro evaded the swing. Narrowing her eyes in frustration, Nami's left hand pushed the staff upwards towards Zoro's torso and hopefully head, but the swordsman twisted his upper body to the side. 'Last shot!' The thief thought, her right hand lifting the staff end that rested on her shoulder and swinging it back down with as much strength as possible but instead of impacting Zoro's cranium it was blocked by the swordsman's crossed blades.

Zoro stepped back to evade the swing to his side, sidestepping to avoid the follow up thrust aimed at his stomach, and twisting his body to the side once again to narrowly dodge the upward swing that would've hit his torso and possibly his head. 'Pretty good Nami…' Crossing the blades he held in hands above him to stop the downward swing. 'Not good enough.'

The two froze knowing the swordsman had won their skirmish. Wado Ichimonji's edge millimeters away from Nami's neck. "You're a lot better than you give yourself credit for." Zoro said, backing away from the staff wielding navigator. "So why'd you end up in that situation with the hypnotist weirdo? Didn't expect him to actually be a fighter?"

"Something like that… I was careless and let my emotions cloud my judgment." Nami replied, backing away so the two were back in the same positions as last time.

"Well we can't have that now, can we? Keep your cool in any battle; the moment you lose it, you've already lost." Zoro said sagely, raising his swords into a stance, indicating he was ready for their next skirmish.

"You going to be one of those teachers that keep drilling the basics into my head so I never forget them?" Nami asked with a smile, obviously teasing.

"Tried and true, works every time." Zoro said back, taking the coin and tossing it up once more, waiting for it to hit the deck before the two rushed at each other and engaged in 'battle' once more.

---

Luffy vs Ussop

"You're not actually beating me to a pulp right?" Ussop asked his Captain nervously, but only gulped when Luffy's grin widened.

"Pain is the best teacher." And with that Luffy rushed the marksman, not even giving the man time to notch an arrow.

Ussop dodged the right jab towards his head by side stepping towards the right, giving him a precious few moments to bring out his 'machetes', the bamboo shoots. Before Ussop could put them in front of himself however, Luffy had done a little jump twist, throwing a left uppercut, lifting the huntsman off his feet. While Ussop crashed back down onto the deck on his back, Luffy took a glance at Nami and Zoro's sparring session. The captain grinned in satisfaction seeing the two had activated Observation Haki albeit subconsciously. 'Any progress is good progress.'

Jumping back on his feet, Ussop quickly notched a blunt arrow and let it loose, aiming for Luffy's head. The Wolfman just smiled smugly as he caught the arrow head in between his fingertips, getting on the marksman's nerves. 'Smug bastard!' Running around his captain, Ussop shot volleys of arrows at the man in rapid succession but to his ire, Luffy just continued catching the arrows in his left hand's finger tips, his right hand slowly accumulating more and more arrows. 'How is he even tossing the arrows to his right hand without me seeing it?!' Reaching for another arrow, Ussop grimaced as his hand grabbed at thin air.

"You're all out." Luffy said, dropping all the arrows in his right hand to his feet.

"No kidding." Ussop said, bringing out his bamboo shoots and crossing them in front of himself. 'Screw it!' Throwing caution into the wind, Ussop rushed Luffy, performing the three combo frontal assault Zoro taught him earlier. Ussop raised his right 'machete' high in an upward arc before bringing it down with as much strength and speed as he could muster.

'You're letting your frustration blind you so easily, disappointing.' Closing the distance between them in an instant, they were nose to nose as Luffy delivered an uppercut to Ussop's stomach. The archer gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, but the wolfman wasn't anywhere close to being finished. Another uppercut from the left, leaving Ussop to curl in on himself, putting his body in a 90 degree angle, closing his eyes in pain, only for his head to be both knees and elbowed from below and above at the same time. Disoriented from the brain rattling attack, Ussop stumbled backwards a few steps before falling on his back and looking at the sky in a daze.

"Don't let your opponent's taunting rile you up in the heat of battle, otherwise the next time you lose it instead of being a daze it'll be your severed head on a pike." Luffy said coldly, all traces of smug arrogance gone like it was never there, and in a way it never was. "If you can't keep your cool with a few smug smiles and visual taunts from me, how the hell do you plan on not losing it against your foes?"

Ussop breathed heavily, still sprawled on the floorboards of the deck, taking his captain's harsh words to heart. 'He's right… this isn't how a brave warrior of the sea should be… they would never lose their cool to arrogant pricks, no they'd laugh and take it in stride!' Fixing a glare on his face, Ussop stood back up, his eyes burning with resolve like a wildfire. "You're right. That was pretty shameful of me."

"Heh. Least you aren't so prideful you're willing to admit it." Luffy replied, his mind wandering to a certain hot headed older brother with freckles. Tossing the arrows back to his marksman, Luffy and Ussop returned to their original positions, a few feet away from each other before the captain took his coat of his shoulders. "When this hits the ground we go again."

---

Luffy vs Nami

"So, how was your sparring session with Zoro?" Luffy asked, stretching his legs and arms a bit.

"Insightful." Nami responded, out of breath but still burning with resolve.

"Good. Don't expect any mercy, love." Luffy said crouching low in a wrestler's stance, ready to pounce.

"You and Zoro brothers or something? The directionless bloke said the same thing earlier." Nami questioned with a smirk, twirling her staff around before holding it out in front of her, diagonally.

"Great minds think alike." Luffy ended their little chat with that, leaping forward with his arms spread wide. 'Don't think I was just going to keep it at boxing.'

Nami didn't miss a beat, undeterred by the different fighting style and thrust her staff towards her captain's face. Luffy responded by tilting his head to the side at the last moment, letting the staff graze his hair, still smirking. Lifting her staff towards his chest for an upward swing follow up, Nami staggered as her grip on her staff faltered. 'WHAT THE?!'

Anticipating the upward swing, Luffy raised his right foot in preparation and stomped down in it, pushing the staff with all his might not only stopping the attack but propelling himself forward as well.

Nami grunted out in pain as Luffy tackled her to the ground, and sent a punch to her face. Shutting her eyes in anticipation for the pain, Nami peeked unsurely as save for a brief gust of wind towards her face no other feeling came. Opening her eyes she saw Luffy's fist an inch away from her face and pouted with a glare at her boyfriend. "What happened to no mercy? Didn't you beat the crap out of Ussop?"

"I did the first time since he was screwing up on one of the most basic rules there was and I needed to hammer the lesson home. You on the other hand just made the wrong call, going for a straight upward swing instead of a downward diagonal one was your downfall…" Luffy explained as he offered his fiance, let's be honest that's what they are at this point, a hand.

"…Because a downward swing wouldn't have been blocked by your foot, forcing you to grab it with one or both of your hands, stopping your tackle." Nami continued taking her beloved's offered hand. "And if it was just one hand that was used we could have still continued our skirmish for maybe… 4 more moves?"

"I was prepared for 3 different ways it could devolve into with about 4 to 5 moves each." Luffy said now taking up a similar stance to a hopping stance similar to his boxing one but his hands were more relaxed, as if he wasn't planning on using them. "I prefer the use of my hands but that doesn't mean I didn't learn any kick based martial arts and techniques."

"How much training did your grandpa put you through?" Nami asked honestly, wondering if she actually wanted to know.

"My gramps trained me alongside my two older brothers; one was a hot head with next to zero patience and the other an analytical genius." Luffy answered fondly. "The hot head would fight back with brute force while Brainiac made convoluted yet unbreakable battle plans whenever we sparred during training."

"Please tell you weren't also 4 when you had to deal with your brothers?" Nami already felt dread feeling her boyfriend was gonna say yes or worse, was made convoluted yet unbreakable battle plans whenever we sparred during training."

"Please tell me you weren't also 4 when you had to deal with your brothers?" Nami already felt dread, feeling her boyfriend was gonna say yes or worse, was younger!

"I was 7." Nami sighed in relief. "They were 10." Nami groaned in exasperation. "But I already had my devil fruit by the time sparring started." Now Nami was paling, feeling bad for the older brothers instead. Luffy chuckled seeing her change of expression before putting on a cold mask of sadism.

"If you have time to feel bad for others, you have time to worry and protect yourself." Luffy said cooly before hopping forward and twisting his body for a roundhouse kick, forcing Nami to once again trigger Observation Haki as she raised her staff to block it but the force was too much so she followed the momentum instead twirling her staff above her head before bring it down for a downward slam. Luffy just proceeded to meet the staff with a high kick, coating his leg in a black sheen. "Armament haki can be used not only to increase the destructive capabilities of one's attacks but their body's natural defenses or weapon's sturdiness as well."

Jumping away from each other, Nami observed Luffy thoughtfully, wondering how to proceed but her boyfriend delivered on his promise and engaged her with a flurry of kicks not even giving her the time to gather her thoughts.

---

Zoro vs Ussop

"Ready for your next beatdown, coward?" Zoro sneered, but his face was contorted awkwardly as if it hurt him to say those words.

"… You can't bring yourself to act like a jerk or degrade someone in that way can you?" Ussop asked with a sweatdrop at the swordsman's terrible performance of trying to be a condescending arrogant prick.

"… No… least Luffy's lesson seems to have hammered home though." Zoro smiled, honestly relieved he wouldn't have to belittle his friend in such a way. 'Friendly or brotherly shots at one another are one thing, deliberately degrading someone's honor is a whole other ballpark, especially on someone with resolve.'

"Yeah, real painful way to get 'don't lose your temper' stuck in my head though." Ussop chuckled, wincing as he patted his stomach which was no doubt bruised, as was many other parts of his body, Luffy didn't really hold back a lot unless it was the finishing attack, which was the only reason Ussop didn't have any injuries on his face.

"If it works, it works." Zoro said simply, like that justified Luffy's rough treatment of Ussop.

'Well… these two are basically two peas in a pod.' Ussop mused as he notched an arrow while Zoro tossed a coin up in the air, rushing forward once the coin clattered on the deck.

Releasing arrow after arrow at the swordsman while running around him, forcing the two to be in a slowly narrowing circle of sorts, Ussop rapidly exhausted his supply of ammunition, each arrow being deflected by the flat of Zoro's blade as the man did a dance of sorts towards him, a slash followed by a parry into a twirl to avoid two arrows at once that flew off into the seas. Ussop's plan for making some distance between them when he ran out ammunition however did come to fruition and gave him the opening he needed to unsheathe his machete substitutes, the bamboo shoots, and swung towards Zoro's face, forcing the swordsman to lean backwards before swing an upward diagonal slash towards the marksman who spun away.

Not wasting the opportunity, Ussop tightened his grip right bamboo shoot and with the momentum of his spin, performed the horizontal backslash Zoro showed him earlier. Of course since Zoro was the one who taught him the move, the swordsman also knew how to respond to it, tilting his head slightly to the side Zoro positioned Wado Ichimonji and another blade to form a cross block while thrusting his other blade at Ussop, stopping before he broke through skin. At the same time Zoro thrust his chest outwardly, arching his back causing the bamboo shoot aimed at his side to slide past his back by a hair's width.

"Nice try, Ussop." Zoro said proudly. Admittedly it was a rather rudimentary plan and execution could've been carried out better but it was definitely progress. 'Considering the fact he's never even wielded machetes until today he's made quite a bit of development.'

"Thanks, you and Nami really took to Observation Haki real quick didn't cha?" Ussop remarked with a tinge of jealousy.

"Well to be fair, I've had formal training as a swordsman and Nami has some gift for reading weather conditions through the tiniest shifts. It's only natural that our senses of perception would be higher than yours." Zoro said, attempting to placate the grumbling archer.

"Guess you're right, though I was a hunter back in the village so by your logic I should also be pretty good with observation haki." Ussop countered.

"Didn't you say you set traps and ran off to have fun, only coming back at night to see if you caught anything?" Zoro asked, recalling the tales Ussop shared back in Food. "Pretty sure you also mentioned not actually actively hunting anything, just whenever the opportunity presented itself."

"…Shut up, Zoro." Ussop's grumble just drew a laugh from the swordsman. "How do you even remember that? I didn't think you were even remotely listening…"

"It was either focus as much as I could on your tales of your life or be driven insane by Luffy and Nami's PDA." Zoro said coldly, smirking as he spotted Nami blushed red, stumbled and thus ruined what had been her closest shot at victory yet.

---

Ussop vs Nami

The two weakest members of the crew so far stared each other down, each sporting more than a few scrapes and bruises, beads of sweat running down their faces, but not for the battle to come between them. No. They sweat nervously for the raging aura of their Captain and Vice Captain on the front deck, both grinning like drug addicts who'd found a whole smorgasbord of weed.

"…Your boyfriend is terrifying." Ussop offered scooting to the side away from the two monsters ever so slightly.

"He hasn't even done anything yet." Nami replied gulping anxiously as she eyed Luffy. "He's just standing there… menacingly."

Sensing the looks being sent their way, Zoro and Luffy both turned to their companions with manic gleams. "Want to make it a 2v2 or are you going to get started?"

"NOPE!"

"WE'RE GOOD!"

Ussop and Nami exclaimed respectively, before the marksman began shooting arrows left and right, leaving the navigator to weave around or bat them away. Unlike last time however, Ussop was charging forward with each shot and when he reached close enough he took a swing with his bow at Nami who twirled away.

'Nice! She fell for it! Now for my-' Ussop's mental victory cheer ended as he was knocked into the ground by the swing Nami enhanced with the momentum from the twirl she used as a dodge.

"Going for a feint so you can reclaim your arrows isn't a bad strategy, but eyeing the arrows the entire time of the charge towards me for the feint?" Nami shook her head exasperatedly, "I figured out what you were planning without even needing Observation Haki."

"Ugh…Fair point." Ussop conceded as he went about picking his arrows back up before glancing to the Captain and Vice Captain who were exchanging blows so quickly it was just a blur to him. "Any chance your Observation Haki is good enough to understand what the hell they're doing right now?"

"Luffy's arms are coated in Armament Haki as he meets each one of Zoro's slashes with his own punches." Nami said after narrowing her eyes in focusing for a moment, concentrating as much as she could on slowing down the two monsters' blurred exchange of blows.

"Zoro unlocked Armament yet?" Ussop followed up curiously.

"No, it doesn't look like it…" Nami said unsurely, as while there were flashes of black appearing on the blades where they connected with fists she could not tell if it was actually the beginnings of armament or reflections of Luffy's own on Zoro's blades. "But he is keeping up with Luffy… That in itself is surprising considering no one's ever kept up with Luffy when he's entered that state." Nami answered watching her beloved's 9 foot 5 stature rippling with thick, powerful robust muscles, fists erupting with black flames. 'Fuck. I wish we were at Cocoyashi already.'

It was after Nami had that thought, that the skirmish between the Captain and Vice Captain ended, as in the one moment Zoro faltered, wind carrying Nami's desire breezing past, Luffy seized the opening with a powerful jab that hit the swordsman's nose dead center.

"AGH!" Zoro grunted in pain as he was knocked onto his back, skidding to and crashing against the railing of the ship. The swordsman shook his head, clutching his bleeding nose, before fixing a withering glare on Nami. "FOR FUCKS SAKE WOMAN, CONTROL YOURSELF!"

Luffy laughed rambunctiously as Ussop alternated between looking at Nami and Zoro in confusion, the former mortified realizing what Zoro had caught a whiff of and the latter throwing his captain's paramour a withering glare.

---

Zoro vs Luffy

After teasing their crewmates, Zoro and Luffy returned to facing each other with battle crazed grins.

"I don't suppose you'll be able to give it your all." Zoro said rhetorically, already knowing the answer.

"No, I can't." Luffy said yet the crazed light in his eyes never wavered. "But I will push you past your breaking point."

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Zoro said, tying his bandana around his head. The swordsman did keep his promise and went all out against Nami and Usopp as their mentor of sorts. In this skirmish though, Zoro knew if he wanted to push not only himself but also get Luffy to sweat he'd have to go in with the intent to kill.

"Well said." Luffy bounced around on his feet before rolling his shoulders and putting his fists up, his right in front of his left. "Bathed in Blood" Sprouting out his wolf ears and tail, the wolfman grew to his 9 foot 5 height with bigger, powerful, robust muscles bursting forth, replacing his toned lean ones. "Armament" Finally both his arms from the tips of his fingers up to where his forearms disappeared into his red cardigan took on a black sheen.

No further words were exchanged between the two as they leapt forward and collided at the midpoint between them, sword against fist. From the first collision hundreds more followed, uppercut met downward swing, right hook met sideward slash, straight jab met crossed blades, and so forth. Each impact caused between the two combatants caused gusts of wind to ripple outwards, making their hair flow in the wind.

The two came to a stop as a fist coated in black flames met a three bladed advance. Zoro and Luffy eyed each other and, both seeing the desire for unrestrained carnage, grinned maniacally like the battle junkies they were before they once again engaged in exchanging blow after blow.

'Armament… he's creating Armament where our blows collide at the last moment!' Luffy observed with glee. 'If you can already muster this much on the first day with me staying on this form how far would you go if I went into 3RD GEAR!'

'THIS! THIS POWER!' Zoro's warrior spirit roared in joy, how long had it been since he'd found an opponent actually capable of trading blows with him for this long. 'This is the power of a true monster! And he hasn't even shown his full power yet!' That realization planted a seed of doubt in his heart. If this wasn't even Luffy at his strongest then was the gap between himself and his truly that far away? Was his goal of becoming the world's greatest swordsman that far beyond his reach?

A memory of a young girl with dark blue hair flashed through the swordsman's head, Kuina. 'No…No it was never going to be that easy!' Zoro crushed the seed and began attacking with new vigor as memories of what he went through to get here replayed in his mind, of his promise made with the inheritance of Wado Ichimonji. 'So what if the gap is still a chasm! I trained until I became the best in the East Blue, I'll train until I become the best in the world! My name will reach the heavens! They will reach you, Kuina!'

Luffy could see the shifts in Zoro's thoughts through the man's eyes. The doubt and inferiority that was birthed within them, destined to only live for not more than a few fleeting moments as his drive was lit anew. 'This resolve!' The wolfman mentally cheered. 'From now on it's either he becomes the greatest swordsman in the world and lives to pass on the legacy or he dies attaining it! To not become the greatest is no longer an option! Grasp this drive Zoro! This will is what you need to harness to awaken-'

The scent of arousal wafted through the air and while Luffy noticed it he did not pay it any mind, the same could not be said for his opponent though. Zoro's attacks faltered and an opening came, an opening Luffy did not waste.

POW!

Zoro was knocked off his feet and sent skidding across the deck, only stopping when he crashed against the railing, "AGH!" grunting out in pain. The green haired man shook his head to get his bearings, clutching his bleeding nose, before sending a withering glare to the crew's navigator. ""FOR FUCKS SAKE WOMAN, CONTROL YOURSELF!"

Nami looked mortified as she deduced what Zoro had noticed while Luffy bust out in belly aching laughter. Oblivious Ussop just flicked his gaze between the mortified Nami and the aggravated Zoro wondering what the heck just happened.