Long Term Hearts

by Trafalgar's Pet

Law's childhood friend has gone through thick and thin with him, now after many years of separation, they've found each other in the one place where Straw Hat Luffy slugs a Dragon. Now that the Straw Hats have been split up by the Warlord Bartholomew Kuma, Yukimi ends up in the care of the one and only Surgeon of Death.

11. Trouble at the Auction House

~Hey guys... Let me just say something before you start reading this next chapter. Cherish your time with your family members/friends before it's too late. My gran'mother from my dad's side just passed away a few days ago and today was her funeral. She lived a full life to the ripe age of 91 and passed away peacefully in loving company. I loved her so much and am at peace with her passing knowing she's been reunited with her soulmate who passed away 23 years ago Dec 10th, 1997. It was perfect timing that Gran'mother decided to go near the anniversary of his passing. It's beautiful. I know they are overjoyed to be together again after so many years apart and are in the Good company of God and celebrating the upcoming birthday of Jesus Christ.

I had intended to post this chapter this morning but time got away from me. Anyway, stay safe, enjoy this long awaited chapter of LTH and I wonder if you could spot the Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl reference I've left in here! And as a possible Christmas gift...please leave a review? Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Years guys!

Long Term Hearts

Chapter 11: Trouble at the Auction House

**********^.^**********

Peterman, the archer dressed kidnapper smirked as he walked into the Human Auction House on Grove 01. He carried the bagged mermaid he caught back in the amusement park on his right shoulder while he carried the bagged kitsune he ambushed back in Grove 15 under his left arm. He hoped he was in time to submit the two in for the auction that day. Peterman paused at the doorway as some staff walked away with a human slave from the submitting desk.

"Oh! It's Peterman!" The man wearing a jester like outfit behind the desk grinned at the well known kidnapper. "You have something you wanna auction off?"

"Yeah if there's still time to submit a couple of entries."

"Sure, but we have a giant today. Your entries may not fetch a very high price unless it's really something!" the man said as Peterman put down the two bags on the floor.

"Why don't you have a look for yourself!" Peterman suggested as he opened up one of the bags.

Camie let out a whimper as she tumbled out as the kidnapper took away the sack.

"Woah! It's a mermaid!" the man behind the desk exclaimed. "I can't believe it! Where the heck did you catch that?!"

"That's a secret," Peterman said as the man chuckled with glee as he walked over to inspect the frightened mermaid.

"Forget the giant, this is more like it!"

"If you think this is great, look what else I brought," Peterman said as he opened the other bag.

Yukimi grunted when she fell out of the stuffy bag. Her eyes squinted shut from the sudden bright lights after being inside that very uncomfortable bag.

The jester looking man gasped at the sight of her. "A kitsune! You caught a mermaid and a kitsune?! But not only that, isn't she a wanted pirate?!" The man absolutely couldn't believe his eyes. A kitsune! Here to be auctioned off! They have never had the opportunity to sell one before!

Yukimi looked up glaring at the jester looking guy. Her ears strained forward as the fur on her tails bristled trying to make her look bigger and meaner.

"And she's a young one too! It's said that kitsunes become more powerful as they gain more tails with age. But you aren't so tough with only two centuries under your belt, huh?" The man mocked the kitsune as he leaned closer to her.

Yukimi tried cussing the bastard off through her gag. When that didn't work she decided to headbutt him instead.

"Ow! Why you damn vermin!" The man kicked Yukimi back as he rubbed his bruised forehead.

"She may be young but she's got spirit. If it weren't for a skirt she was hiding her tails in, she would've been harder to catch," Peterman chuckled.

Yukimi groaned as she curled into her stomach where she was kicked. The kitsune looked up next to her when she heard a different sound. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of Camie. Now Yukimi did overhear the men talking about a mermaid, but she had hoped it wasn't her friend.

Camie wiggled closer to the bound kitsune as the men talked to themselves about profits. She couldn't believe Yukimi had been captured. Oh, how Camie wished she could speak to her.

Yukimi wrapped her tails around the mermaid in a protective manner, trying to comfort her. If she could keep her mind busy and not focus on what's about to happen to them, Yukimi wasn't likely to have a panic attack. She let Camie lean into her scared as she glared back at the men as Peterman began to leave.

"Alright I'm expecting some good results this time," the kidnapper said with a wave.

"Oh don't worry, you're gonna make a killing! They'll love these! And with White Fox Ninja's bounty, we'll have a bonus for ya! Come by in a few hours and we'll have your money ready!" the man in the jester outfit said cheerfully.

"I'm counting on it."

*^.^*

Inside the entrance of the Human Auction House came Saint Roswald and Saint Shalria. They sauntered their way inside like they owned the place as they made their way to the VIP section near the stage.

Eustass Kid and some of his crew stood off to the side from the entrance. "Celestial Dragons...slaves, human shops, heh... When the people in power act as cruel and greedy, it makes us common criminals look pretty humane by comparison. When scum like that writing the rules, it creates more scum. They hate pirates, but they were the ones who made them. At least we're as endearing as we are mean, right Killer? Seems fair." Kid grinned wickedly as the World Nobles took their seats.

"Agreed," the Massacre Soldier said.

"If we see someone interesting, think we should try and buy 'em?" Kid laughed.

"Hey Boss, take a look," Heat whispered in the large redhead's ear, bringing his attention down a few rows to a small group.

"Well I'll be damned, that's Trafalgar Law from the North Blue, worth 200,000,000. I've heard some pretty ugly rumors about him," Kid observed as the Surgeon of Death himself looked over his shoulder at him, smirked, and flipped him off before facing the front again. Kid's grin grew exponentially at Law's greeting. "He must be a fan of mine too!"

Law's smirk faded as he tried to relax in his seat. Besides feeling Eustass Kid's gaze on him, he didn't feel like there was anyone else there that would cause him trouble. Well, there was the scum of the world in the VIP section below. But besides them, it seemed no one else there would fit the bill. Which was good since the building belonged to that maniac. Law's eyes narrowed as he glared at the two canceled grinning jolly rogers on the wall adjacent to him.

He had to remain calm and not cause a scene or else Doflamingo would find out he was in this place. That was the last thing he needed, letting the Warlord know he was snooping around where he shouldn't. Of course, the news of all the Supernovas arriving at the archipelago at the same time would give him away no matter what. But that didn't mean he could let himself be known he was inside Doflamingo's human shop, looking for any kind of information to use as an advantage over that bastard. Not only that but now he had to figure out a way to get Yukimi out of this wretched place.

"So your old friend is here, Captain?" Penguin asked subtly, not wanting to draw any more attention to them from the Kid Pirates.

"Unfortunately she is, without a doubt," Law answered frowning deeply.

"Are you gonna try and buy her back?" Shachi asked, trying to get a feel on how his captain planned on rescuing his friend.

Law glanced at his nodachi in Bepo's grasp, holding it for him. Tied in a knot through the weapon's loop by one of his red tassels, was Yukimi's kunai, now cleaned of blood. The surgeon glared back at the stage, clearly unhappy. "No. I will not play by their rules. When there's an opportunity, I'll take her myself," Law said in a finality tone. He won't allow her to slip through his fingers again.

Law slid his thumb inside his jean pocket, running his finger over the D.Y. initials. If only he could have gone back to where Yukimi was later that day so long ago. He could have brought her with him to Swallow Island where he eventually met his closest friends, Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi. If only he had hidden himself until an opportune moment to go back to where Yukimi had fled, instead of following the plan and running away. 'If Yukimi-ya was in my crew, she wouldn't be in this mess!' But it was no use in thinking about the 'what ifs', he can now only wait.

*^.^*

"Let me go! You're hurting me!" Camie cried out as she struggled against the two staff members carrying her. "Why are you doing this?! Stop it please! No!" Camie started to thrash around, even more, making the men struggle to keep hold of the mermaid.

"Stop thrashing around so much, dammit! We still have to figure out your collar size!"

Behind them came two more staff members who were having a very difficult time with Yukimi. "Like hell, I'm staying here you good for nothing douchebags! I'll fucking kill ya! Let go!" Yukimi tried lurching forward to make the men lose their balance, but only ended up almost falling flat on her face from their tight grip.

"Tough luck foxy! You're not going anywhere!"

Yukimi growled before trying to twist her way out when she paused noticing how another staff member was walking toward Camie with a collar. The pirate with the exploding collar earlier that day rushed back into her mind. "No! Camie!" All thoughts of her phobia disappeared as she only thought of protecting the mermaid. Yukimi let out a snarl before turning on the two men holding her and kicked the man on her right's feet out from beneath him, causing him to let go of her. The other man on her left was too slow from his surprise to avoid a high kick to his chin, knocking him flat on his back out cold. Now free, the enraged kitsune leaped onto the back of the man with the collar, quickly putting him in a chokehold.

"Hey what the-!" The man dropped the explosive collar with a loud clatter. He tried in vain to get free from the kitsune's iron grip.

Yukimi looked up when the man who was carrying Camie's tail, came charging at her with a staff. The ninja then spun around the body of the man she was choking, easily causing him to flip and land on his head on the stone floor, knocking him out. Yukimi sidestepped the staff coming at her, grabbed it, then ran around the man fast enough to make him trip on his own feet. The kitsune gave him a roundhouse kick, launching him into the bars of the large cage housing the people who were about to become slaves.

"Yukimichin look out!" Camie called out from the floor where she was dropped.

Before Yukimi could outmaneuver whatever was behind her, the butt of a staff slammed into the back of her head, stunning her. Yukimi collapsed to the cold floor dazed as someone new walked into the large room. The kitsune groaned as she was picked up by two new staff members and then a third to carry her legs, preventing her from trying to fight again.

"Yukimichin! Yukimichin are you okay?!" Camie called out concerned.

"So, these are the stars of our show?" A man dressed up with a tall yellow hat walked up to the group, noticing how everything seemed to be back in order after the kitsune's attempt at freedom. He turned to the mermaid first as he inspected her, turning her head this way and that, all the while smiling like the creep he was. "Oh, this is splendid! What a cute one you are. You'll fetch a high price indeed!" Then the man, Disco, walked over to the panting kitsune. He slowly walked around the held kitsune, inspecting her closely. "Who submitted them?"

"The Hound Pets, sir."

"Of course, Peterman. He always does fine work. The Flying Fish Riders on the other hand haven't turned in a thing this time. Well, in any case, this is sure to be the biggest auction in ages!" Disco said quite pleased as he observed White Fox Ninja carefully. "Oh, you'll definitely bring in the cash."

Yukimi's glaring red eyes followed his every movement as he walked behind her, before roughly grabbing one of her tails tightly. Yukimi gasped before she started thrashing about again, whipping her other tail harshly into Disco's face. The man stumbled back from the unexpected force, letting go of her. "Don't you fucking dare touch me you low life piece of shit!" Yukimi shouted baring her fangs at him.

Disco stood up straight before making his way to her front, having a dark expression on his face. He suddenly slapped Yukimi hard enough to make the three men holding her up, lose their grip on the kitsune, letting her tumble to the floor. "How dare you speak to me in such a filthy manner! I could kill you!" Disco then tried to stomp on her tails when he was quickly pulled away by his men. "You're nothing but vermin! Don't forget that!"

"I know she's awful, sir! But she's valuable merchandise like you said!"

"Yeah! We need her in good shape for the auction!"

"At least kick her in the stomach or somewhere that's covered up by clothes!"

Yukimi rubbed her eye where Disco had almost scratched it. Her ears twitched and turned from the commotion behind her, drawing her attention back to where she truly was. The kitsune looked back in time to see Disco throw the men holding him back away. Yukimi, however briefly, forgot what that dark dark place was for when she tried to defend Camie and get them the hell out. Yukimi flinched from Disco's glare. But the kitsune forced out her own angry glare, trying her damndest to not show fear as she was picked back up.

"So you're going to defy me again eh?!" Disco looked like he was about to blow a gasket. He looked at a staff member near the kitsune, before jabbing his finger at the man. "You there! Give me that collar!"

"Oh uh, here sir." The staff member quickly gave the collar to him.

"I'll put this on you myself, vermin!" Disco hissed as he opened the collar up, walking to the kitsune as his men quickly held her down. "Now don't you move an inch."

Yukimi's eyes widened in horror as the killer collar closed in on her. Yukimi immediately started to struggle in the men's hold, trying so desperately to get away. The kitsune didn't even realize she had begun to hyperventilate for the second time that afternoon. "No! No! Stay away!" Yukimi cried out as tears trailed down her cheeks.

Disco grinned in glee as he inched the deadly collar around the terrified kitsune's neck. He was just about to latch the metal contraption closed when he was suddenly hit by an unexplainable powerful wave of...something. Still holding the collar in his hands, Disco fell flat on his back, unconscious.

The staff members stared at the downed MC in confusion. "Disco...?"

Yukimi was dropped to the floor as the men quickly surrounded their boss, one of them calling for a doctor. Yukimi's mind had registered that wave of energy. She knew what it was. But that didn't really matter as her hyperventilation wasn't going to stop.

Camie crawled as fast as she could over to the gasping kitsune. "Yukimichin! Are you okay?!" Just as the mermaid reached her side, Yukimi stopped hyperventilating, only to collapse. Camie just had enough time to catch her before she could hit her head on the stone floor. "Yukimichin! Yukimichin!"

*^.^*

"Duval...is this list what I think it is?" Sanji asked riding on the back of the gang leader's water buffalo. The cook clinched a sheet of paper with prices on many different species, all the while smoking way too many cigarettes at once. The two were speeding, slowly, between the mangrove tree roots while the rest of the Rosy Life Riders went searching for the rest of the Straw Hats, hoping to find Camie. Though no one was currently aware that Yukimi had also been captured.

"Yes, market prices," Duval answered.

"This is insane! The standard starting price for a human is 500,000 beris, male giants start at 50,000,000... HOLY CRAP! Female mermaids are worth 70,000,000 beris?!"

"That's why everyone goes after mermaids, it's their get rich quick scheme. That's a lot of beris. Naturally once bought, they lose every ounce of their freedom. They usually wind up as decorations for some rich snob living out their lives in cramp fish tanks as exotic eye candy," Duval finished explaining.

"Why the hell are you telling me this?!"

"Well, I say living but you can't really call it that, can you?" Duval stated in a matter of fact way, not bothered by the atrocities of his former career.

"If that's how you feel, hurry up and find her!" Sanji was just about to shred the paper up into pieces in his rage when he noticed a species he somehow overlooked on the horrible paper. "Oh no...! Kitsunes are worth 80,000,000 beris?! Dammit! You've got to be kidding! I hope Yukimi is safe with the others!"

Elsewhere with the rest of the Rosy Life Riders who had finished gathering up the rest of the Straw Hats...

"We've done a search of all the kidnapping rings in Grove number 20, sir! They seem clean, no one's heard anything about a mermaid getting taken!" one of the riders called into his transponder snail.

"Nothing on the grapevine here either!"

"Nope, same here!"

"Nothing getting close to a lead."

Nami grabbed the receiver from the man in front of her. "Hey, does anyone have Yukimi with them?"

"Isn't she with Straw Hat?" asked one of the riders.

"No, she went looking for her friend we heard was here," replied Chopper. "But I'm getting worried for her on her own!"

Nami stared at the receiver for a moment. "You guys let Yukimi go on her own in a place like this?!"

*^.^*

"It pisses me off! Geeze! It was a damn giant! How often do you find a giant sleeping?!" A red faced baboon looking man ranted in anger at Usopp and the fish rider he was with. "It was the easiest catch of my life! But it was still a pain hauling the thing here!" the man said slamming his fist on his knee. The red staff resting on his shoulder rolled side to side from his erratic drunken movements while he clenched his whiskey bottle tightly. "Ugh! A giant like that would normally be the main attraction and we'd all be billionaires! But nooo, some jerk's gotta come and bring a mermaid at the last minute before the auction starts!" The man groaned heavily from his long winded rant. "I need a drink!"

"Hey, now hold on! Now, who brought in the mermaid?!" Usopp asked desperately as the man continued to drink himself under.

The kidnapper sighed as he took his whiskey bottle and shoved it in the pirate's face. "Oh, I'm not done yet, buddy! Not only did that bastard bring in a young beautiful mermaid, that Peterman bastard caught a kitsune! A young one too! I saw it had two tails! Who gets that fucking lucky!? A mermaid and a kitsune?!"

Usopp froze when the drunken man started describing the kitsune. He didn't want to believe that the kitsune he was referring to was Yukimi. It couldn't have been her! But then that changed when one of the kidnapper's men offhandedly mentioned that she was a wanted pirate from the infamous Straw Hat crew. The sniper felt like he was about to go into a full blown panic!

The fish rider with the Straw Hat pirate nudged him, "Hey we got our lead, let's go!"

Not wasting a moment more, Usopp scrambled after the guy and before he knew it, they were back in the air calling back to the others with the news. "This is Fish number 5 here, attention all Rosy Life Riders. Come in Riders! We've got an ID on the kidnapper, it was Peterman! Word is he sold the mermaid to the auction house on Grove number 01! But that's not all, Peterman als-"

Usopp took the receiver from the fish rider. "Guys! That guy took Yukimi!"

"WHAAAT!?" Came the collective Straw Hat response.

*^.^*

"I'll kill that guy! How dare he touch her and Camie! I'll fillet him!" Sanji fumed at the news that not only was Camie kidnapped, but Yukimi as well.

*^.^*

"Yukimi was taken too?! They're gonna pay!" Luffy exclaimed as the fish rider he was with steered toward Grove 01.

*^.^*

"This is terrible!" Chopper cried out in distress for the kitsune's well being. The auction house was the worst place for someone with her phobia!

*^.^*

Yukimi groaned a bit as she slowly woke up from her collapse from earlier. She blinked in the dark room, noticing the bars in front of her. There was a clanking sound coming from behind her to the right.

"Oh my gosh! Yukimichin!"

The kitsune looked over her shoulder to find Camie sitting on a crate, shackled and collared. "C-Camie!" Just as Yukimi moved to get up, she froze hearing a clanking sound coming from her. She slowly looked down at her wrists to find shackles and a chain connecting to a collar around her throat, connecting to the wall behind her. Her ears dropped at the realization of being chained up like an animal.

Camie sat there helpless as the kitsune started to breathe heavily again, going into another panic attack. She didn't know what to do.

"Hey now, a pretty young girl shouldn't cry," came a deep old voice. "Take a deep breath and slowly breath out a few times. That should help."

Yukimi looked up to where the voice came from. It was then she noticed that there was a giant sitting next to Camie. But that voice definitely didn't come from him. She looked further to find an old man with a white cloak over his shoulders. Yukimi swallowed before trying to control her breathing. The man somehow looked familiar, like she's seen him somewhere before, but couldn't quite recall where.

Rayleigh smiled as the kitsune seemed to have calmed down a little.

Yukimi sat up on the floor, still trying to slow her heart down. It seemed to work until she glanced up and saw something she wished she wasn't anywhere near. It was that unmistakable canceled smiley jolly roger, stamped smackdab across from her on the adjacent wall. "That...that symbol...! Don't tell me he owns this place!"

Rayleigh glanced at the jolly roger the kitsune was staring at then back to her. "Hm? Do you know who's pirate insignia that is?" He watched interested in how the kitsune's brief spooked expression disappear as an angry look took its place.

"Yeah... I know him. After all, I've had a brief entanglement with that bastard in the past. Tch!" Yukimi flashed her fangs at the image of Doflamingo's grinning face.

"Oh? You fought Donquixote Doflamingo?" Rayleigh asked.

Yukimi half shrugged as she leaned back against the crate behind her, "More or less. It was only a brief fight. I wasn't exactly looking to fight him, but I was acting as a diversion for a close friend of mine to get away to safety. And because of that rotten good for nothing bastard, I haven't been able to find him since. Just earlier, I heard from a former pirate turned bar owner said that he was spotted here at Sabaody Archipelago."

The old man smirked, glad that he was able to distract the young kitsune from her predicament. "So, if you don't mind indulging an old timer like me, who's the lucky fellow you're searching for?"

Yukimi quirked a brow at the older man. "'Lucky fellow'? Er, well, believe it or not, but," the kitsune gave a lopsided grin, "he's the Supernova known as the Surgeon of Death!"

The old man's face brightened at her grin, seeing her obvious glee at the fact her friend had become such an infamous pirate. "Well now! That's one famous young pirate! So, how did you meet Trafalgar Law, if I may ask?" Rayleigh wanted to keep the kitsune and her mermaid friend occupied for as long as he could to ease their minds before they were sold off to who knows who. The young mermaid seemed quite comfortable listening to her friend talk almost carefree after the fiasco from before.

"How I met Law? Well, you could say he found me and helped me out when I was down on my luck. He took good care of me when he was only a child!" Yukimi grinned happily at the memory. Talking to this old man somehow made her feel very comfortable. So comfortable, that even for a moment, Yukimi forgot where she was or the fact that she was shackled and had an explosive collar around her neck.

"So young lady, you look like you're from the Straw Hat crew. Am I right, White Fox Ninja Yukimi?" the old ex pirate asked slyly.

Yukimi paused for a moment as her grin faded away. She craned her neck to look at the old man better. "...Yeah that's me. Why do ya wanna know?"

Rayleigh smirked back at the kitsune. "You could say, I would like to meet your captain if you'll let me later."

Yukimi narrowed her eyes at him as her tails flicked to one side as her ears pointed forward. "Now why do you want to meet him?"

Camie looked between the two curiously before she and Yukimi looked up to see a few staff members walking over to the cell's door. They unlocked it and walked in. Yukimi tensed as the men walked closer before they took the pirate and dancer girl next to them. The pirate quickly began to plead for mercy, wanting to stay inside the cage or be sent to prison, anything but to be sold off. Camie shrunk into herself as reality sank back in.

Yukimi trembled as the men locked the door and dragged the two away. 'Camie and I are next! No! I don't want to be sold off! I can't...!' Yukimi curled into a tight ball as her tails wrapped around her feet like a security blanket. Yukimi's hands fisted her hair next to her ears tightly.

Rayleigh glared at the staff members as they walked away. "Don't give up quite yet, White Fox Ninja. The courage you displayed earlier was strong willed. I wouldn't be surprised if things go your way soon."

Yukimi didn't reply to the old man. She lowered her arms to look at the chained shackles on her wrists. The chain was short, but not too short. 'If only I was a little older! I could possibly have the skillset for ninjutsu, then these shackles wouldn't matter. As long as I could weave signs, I could possibly get out! But...' Yukimi shakily stood up and sat on the crate she had been leaning against the entire time. The kitsune pulled her knees up as she wrapped her arms and tails around herself, trying to find comfort as her ears folded back in defeat.

The kitsune glanced to her side at Camie. She had noticed a few minutes ago during the conversation she was having with the old man had calmed the mermaid. But now she looked distant. If it weren't for the chains keeping them to their designated crates, Yukimi would've been hugging the mermaid for both of their comfort. Yukimi felt along her hips where her combat and first aid bags were supposed to be along with her kunai holster on her thigh. At some point after being dumped off by Peterman, all her things had been confiscated. If there was one thing the kitsune wished she had at that moment, besides the key to her collar, it was her missing ocarina.

It wasn't too long before more staff members came back grinning menacingly. "Alright let's get numbers seventeen and eighteen ready."

Camie trembled as two men stalked toward her while Yukimi bared her fangs at the others approaching her. The kitsune raised her feet up and kicked out at one man, catching him in the gut.

"Get that sedative in it already!" the man groaned as the other grabbed the resisting kitsune.

"I'm on it! I'm on it! But it's not going to last for long, you know. It ain't for kitsunes," the staff member pinning Yukimi down grunted as he jabbed a needle into her arm.

"What the fuck are you putting in me?!" Yukimi headbutted the man holding her down. As he loosened his grip, she immediately yanked the needle out and smashed it to the ground. But after that, her vision became slightly blurred as what sedative did make it into her system kicked into effect, slowing her movements down.

"Ugh great, the only sedative we have left is for that giant. If we give it to her, it'll kill her!" The man Yukimi had kicked grumbled as the other staff member unlocked the kitsune's chain from the wall.

"Let's just hope it'll last at least until she's been sold. Then we won't have to worry. She won't be our problem afterward."

Camie struggled in the men's grasp as they took her out of the area first since they needed to put her in a large fishbowl. She looked over her shoulder past the men as Yukimi was taken out of the cell after her. But something was wrong, the kitsune wasn't fighting back. "Yukimichin! Yukimichin what's wrong?! Yukimichin!"

"Pipe down you stinking fish!" One of the men barked getting annoyed by her struggling.

Yukimi trudged after the man holding her chain as her mind was clouded. She was half aware of what was going on but couldn't move her limbs like she wanted to, they were just too heavy. The kitsune knew that if she hadn't taken that needle out fast enough, she would've been worse off. Yukimi looked up from hearing a commotion up ahead. It was that MC from before, it seemed he was angry at a fallen man at his feet. The kitsune then recalled that the man on the floor was the pirate that was taken with the dancer girl. Yukimi then smelled blood coming from the man. She could make out in the shadows that he was bleeding from his mouth. 'That man...he bit his tongue off...!'

Disco looked up from the sound of one of his men running over to him.

"Mr. Disco! Good news sir, a doctor's on his way," the man reported.

"Bastard!" Disco practically shouted at the wounded pirate. "Do you have any idea how much it'll cost to fix you?!" Disco looked over to Yukimi as Camie was rolled up behind her, chained inside her display bowl. "The kitsune's next, right?"

"Yes sir, and everything's all set for the mermaid's turn."

"Good, high profile items like them should clear away any stink this walking piece of excrement has left in the air! Get her on stage now!" Disco ordered.

"Yes sir!"

Camie banged on the glass of her bowl, trying to get Yukimi's attention but she barely made a sound from the thick glass. But then Camie perked up when she noticed the kitsune's ears twitching back toward her slightly. 'That's right! Kitsunes have a higher sense of hearing than humans!' The mermaid started beating the glass again, "Don't worry Yukimichin! Hatchin and the others will save us! I know they will!" Camie smiled a little when the kitsune looked back at her.

Yukimi swallowed as she subtly nodded toward the mermaid. It wasn't much but it helped her mentally. And even better, Yukimi could already tell whatever those bastards tried injecting her with earlier was beginning to fade. Even if she was chained and collared, Yukimi would only need to keep her focus on her fight mode. As long as she wasn't chained down to something or the effects wore off too slowly, she could easily take her chain from whoever was holding it and fight. Yukimi was kicked out of her thoughts when she was jerked toward the edge of the stage where a white curtain was hanging from a metal ring. The ring was attached to a pole connected to a small platform on wheels that was about 3x3 feet.

"Get in there," the man leading her pushed her in before shutting the curtain around her.

Yukimi's eyes widened when she realized she was being chained down to the pole, keeping her in place.

"It seems that entry number sixteen, Captain Rakyuba was so nervous to see you all, that he collapsed from a nose bleed. His auction will have to wait. We apologize for any inconvenience. But ladies and gentlemen, for today we have two incredible items for you. This one is a never before seen specimen here at our auction house! Let's bring it out!" Disco gestured to his staff to bring out the kitsune. The staff member quickly rolled out the covered platform for the audience. "This amazing piece hales all the way from the mysterious island of Kitsun, a former pirate of the Straw Hat Pirates, with the bounty of 28,000,000 beris, iiiits White Fox Ninja Yukimi~!"

Yukimi flinched when the curtain was suddenly pulled back and a spotlight glared down on her. Yukimi blinked from the bright light as she heard exclamations coming from the audience. The kitsune stood there frozen like a deer caught in headlights as the crowd cheered.

"That's right! We have a kitsune! How exciting is this? Kitsunes are known for their many tails, and by the looks of it, this one is at least two hundred years old! This cutie here may outlive you, but she'll stay by your family's side for centuries to come! And did you know that a kitsune's fur is as soft as velvet?" Disco stepped over to Yukimi, grabbed one of her tails and held it up. "Wow! Now that's soft fur! And let's not forget folks, this is the first time we have ever had the opportunity to bring out a highly sought after kitsune to the table."

In the back of the auction room, Kid chuckled at the display. "Well, well, a Straw Hat huh? Wonder if that crazy kid knows if she's here," Kid grinned.

"Given from his track record in the papers, if he's aware of one of his own is about to be sold off, he'll probably go ballistic," Killer replied.

"Hey Killer, I think I might buy her. Think she'll fit right in?" Kid asked his first mate as he nudged him with his elbow.

Rows below the Kid Pirates, Law frowned deeply. He overheard what Eustass had suggested doing. He glared at the redhead over his shoulder, catching the man's attention.

Finding Trafalgar glaring at him, Kid grinned even bigger. "Oh? Now, why would someone like you be looking at me like that for?" Kid murmured now interested in the Surgeon of Death's reaction.

Law narrowed his eyes at the fellow pirate captain before turning his attention back to Yukimi. All he wanted to do was disembowel the creep who was stalking his old friend in circles as if she were nothing but livestock. He couldn't stand seeing her put on display in front of so many powerful and influential people. Or in front of anyone for that matter. Law stilled when he noticed something was off about Yukimi. Besides the fact that she should be on the verge of a panic attack due to her phobia, the kitsune was acting odd and the surgeon did not like it one bit.

Penguin and Shachi glanced at each other after Law refocused back on the Straw Hat pirate on the stage. Was this the friend the captain was going to rescue?

"Now if you don't want her like this and only want an exotic pet, then all you have to do is grab one of her tails tightly and..." Disco paused as he grabbed the base of one of the kitsune's tails.

Yukimi gasped as she whipped her head toward the MC in shock before she was forced into her fox form.

"Viola! An instant pet fox!" Disco announced cheerfully as he dangled Yukimi in the air. Instead of the shackles and collar staying the same size as they should have been before, they had shrunk to accommodate her smaller size. Disco maneuvered the fox until he was holding her up by her scruff. "Buy her now, and we'll throw in these special shackles and collar for free! Now, doesn't she look quite obedient with these accessories?" Disco dropped Yukimi back onto the platform as he faced the ravenous human vultures. "Now then, let's begin at 80,000,000 beris!"

An older looking man to the far right section raised his auctioning paddle excitedly, "I bid 85,000,000 beris!"

"90,000,000," shouted a young woman in the midsection.

"100,000,000 beris!"

"100,500,000 beris!"

"110,000,000!"

Law clenched his hand next to Yukimi's ocarina tightly. Just hearing these people keep raising the price on Yukimi higher and higher made his stomach turn.

"195,000,000 beris!"

"Well, what do you think, Shalria? I remember you mentioning one time how you wanted a playmate for Saruu," Saint Roswald turned to his daughter.

"Hm true, father. He could use a playmate. Hmm, I could also have that fox skinned for its fur. I would love to have a velvet fox scarf," Saint Shalria thought aloud as people kept fighting over the high priced kitsune.

"True. But if we keep it well enough, it can last for generations to come. No other species in the world could top that," the elder Celestial Dragon suggested.

"Oh you're right, father!" Saint Shalria grinned excitedly.

"220,500,000 beris!"

"I bid 300,500,000 beris!" Saint Shalria shouted with her auction paddle raised.

The whole room quieted down at the World Noble's bid. No one wanted to bid against them. There weren't many bidders left who could go that far, not like they could win against the Celestial Dragon anyway.

Yukimi stared at the woman at the front. She started shaking as the sedative was wearing off, letting her mind become clearer. '...No... That's the same woman...who shot that pirate earlier!'

Disco stared at Saint Shalria as everyone in the room abruptly stopped bidding. "Well uh...would anyone else like to bid higher than 300,500,000 beris...?" A solid minute passed as no one tried to bid. Disco walked over to his stand, raised his mallet before striking it three times. "The bidding has ended ladies and gentlemen. The first of our two showcased items, former pirate White Fox Ninja Yukimi, goes to the World Noble Saint Shalria for her bid of 3.5 million beris!"

Yukimi's whole body seemingly deflated as her ears folded back as reality dawned on her once again. If it weren't for the last of the sedative in her system, Yukimi would have been hyperventilating again. The tuff of fur over her left eye cast a shadow over it as her tails wrapped around her front as her security blanket as she was rolled away. Throughout her time on stage, she did not see her old friend, Trafalgar D. Water Law, sitting among the audience, a quiet storm raging within his narrowed gray eyes.

It was then some of the Straw Hat crew finally made it inside the Human Auction House, just missing their friend. They stopped just after entering to take in the foul place, hoping they weren't too late. Unbeknownst to them, they drew the Kid Pirate crew's attention.

"Hey Boss, isn't that the Straw Hat crew that just walked in?" Heat asked as Kid looked on pleased to confirm that the Straw Hat crew was indeed on the archipelago, not just the kitsune.

"Yeah, but the Straw Hat captain ain't with them. Shame since I would like to see if that bastard is as crazy as they say. But," Kid laughed, drawing Sanji's attention, "they just missed that cutie being sold off!"

Sanji narrowed his eyes at the pirate crew further away from them. 'Just missed someone being sold off? Why does it sound like he's connecting us to someone who was just...sold off...?!'

"Sanji what's wrong?" Nami asked noticing how the cook suddenly tensed up like he figured something out.

"Hold on, I want to confirm something," the blonde said. But before he could turn to the Kid Pirates, Sanji heard the door behind them open.

Saint Charloss had walked in with his slaves, bodyguards, and government official. The World Noble started kicking his human slave he was riding up until that moment.

"A Celestial Dragon," Chopper whispered looking over his shoulder in his heavy point form.

"Another one huh? Lots of nobility here," Nami murmured.

"And a Navy Admiral would come to the rescue if we defy one of them," Sanji responded.

A staff member quickly scrambled over to Saint Charloss and kneeled at the World Noble's feet. "Saint Charloss! What a surprise!"

"Yes I'm sure it is, just take me to my seat," Saint Charloss said in a clearly bored tone.

"Of course, right away!"

As the Celestial Dragon walked down the steps toward his family, the entire room stilled. As powerful as they all were in their own countries or businesses or what have you, they were but ants to the three people with bubbles surrounding their heads.

Saint Shalria looked back over her shoulder to see her sibling lumbering down to the VIP section. "I see my brother's here. Well, better late than never," she smirked as Saint Charloss finally took a seat next to their father. "Oh dear brother, it's too bad you just missed the specimen I just acquired," she smirked.

"Hm? Did you find something for Saruu or something else?" Saint Charloss asked turning to her.

Saint Shalria giggled behind her hand. "Even better~. I'll show you my new pet when we pick it up after the auction."

Saint Charloss raised a brow curiously at his sister before he turned back to the stage to see the next auction piece.

"Alright then, let's get the show rolling!" Disco announced getting everyone's attention back on him. The crowd cheered at the prospect of seeing the second showcased item the MC had up his sleeve. "The next item I have in store for you is nothing short of incredible! This highly sought after prize is sure to be on everyone's wishlist! Now~" Disco did a spin with an extra flare before extending his arm to his right. "Bring it to the stage!"

Drums started playing as the lights dimmed as fancy party spotlights filled the room in pretty colors. Then a cymbal clashed, halting the drums as a screen with the canceled smiley was rolled away as stage smoke covered the stage floor. Slightly hidden in the smoke a large covered something can be seen. As it came to a stop, the smoke cleared and the spotlights turned off.

"This item is too amazing to reveal all at once. So we'll take it in steps. Observe, the silhouette!" Disco swung his arm out toward the large white curtain, grinning away greedily.

Large spotlights shined down brightly onto the item, silhouetting what looked like someone in a bowl. The crowd murmured excitedly at what they were seeing.

"That whet your appetite? Well, try not to drool folks, 'cuz here comes the real deal! It's time for the unveiling. Feast your eyes on this!" Disco grabbed the curtain and yanked it off, revealing Camie. The crowd erupted into a loud thundering cheer at the sight of a young female mermaid. The lighting in the room came back to normal as Disco started up again as a staff member took the curtain away. "All the way from Fishman Island, the mermaid Camie!"

"She's incredible!"

"It's real! A real mermaid!"

"What an amazing find!"

But as loud as the crowd was, Camie couldn't hear a thing. She looked around the audience until she found the people she wanted to see. "It's Hatchin and the Straw Hats! They came here to rescue us!" Camie said at the sight of the group in the far back. Camie glanced to her right where Yukimi had just been taken away. "Oh Yukimichin, they're here! I wish you could see them!"

"Camie!" Hatchi called out to the mermaid as Pappagu cried at the sight of her in a cramped fishbowl. "They're selling her! Do something!"

"Don't worry, we'll get her back no problem!" Nami replied holding up her number 73 auction paddle. "200,000,000 beris is going to be more than enough! And we'll have plenty of spare cash to buy back Yukimi too!"

"I can't believe it! A mermaid! They're selling a mermaid!" Saint Charloss exclaimed.

Disco whacked his auctioneer stand with his mallet as the bidders calmed down a little. "I see there's a lot of interest in this item. It is our first mermaid in quite sometime now after all. Now then, at what price should we start the bidding?!"

"Whatever it is, I'll top it! We're not leaving here without you or Yukimi!" Nami declared ready.

Disco walked next to Camie's bowl, itching for the money to roll in, "Let's get this show on the road. We'll start at..."

"500,000,000!" Saint Charloss suddenly shouted. "I bid 500,000,000!"

The entire room went silent at the World Noble's enormous bid. Then murmurings began. All the filthy rich attendees deflated in disappointment at not being able to compete with that starting price.

Nami dropped her bidding paddle in utter shock. "How could this have happened?! We don't have nearly that much!"

"That's a waste of money. Did you forget the piranhas in your aquarium? She won't last an hour in there," Saint Roswald chided his son.

"It'll be fun to watch her try though," Saint Charloss remarked as he looked over to his father then back to the stage. "Merfolk are the fastest swimmers in the world, or so they say."

'I wish I could hear what's going on out there.' Camie started beating the glass again, trying to make any kind of sound. "Hatchin please! Help!"

"Camie! The Celestial Dragon's gonna buy her! And there's nothing we can do about it!" Pappagu cried.

Behind the weeping starfish, Hatchi was incredibly tense. He was just itching to go down there and grab the mermaid and run for safety.

No one could hear her but Camie kept beating against the thick glass, trying her hardest as she began to cry.

"E-everyone appears to be at a loss for words but, I'll ask just the same. Does anyone out there have a bid higher than...500,000,000 beris?" Disco asked slowly still in a state of shock himself.

Saint Charloss grinned triumphantly as no other bidder dared to raise their paddle against his steep price.

"Can't we do anything about this? I mean there's gotta be something right? C'mon Sanji! What's the plan?!" Chopper shook the blonde's shoulder trying to get something going in order to save their friend. He looked over to their navigator for help. "Nami?" But she only gritted her teeth as she glared at the Celestial Dragon who had placed his bid on Camie. "There isn't any time left! If we don't do something now, they'll take her away and we'll never get her back!"

"This is bad. We should've known we couldn't compete with them. Those creeps throw money around like it grows on trees. This just isn't our game," Sanji said through his bent cigarette.

"But what about Yukimi?! Do you think they haven't brought her out yet?" Chopper asked.

Sanji glanced over to the Kid Pirates, 'I hope what I heard was wrong...'

"If not, then I'll bring things straight to a close now," Disco said gleefully, soon to be rich.

Hatchi gripped the red cushion of an empty seat in front of him harshly. "I won't let this happen! I'll have to help her escape to the ocean by force!"

"Don't be stupid! What about the collar?! Do you want her head to explode?!" Pappagu reminded the octo-fishman.

"Well, then I...I guess I'll just have to find the key too!"

Three clangs rang out as the MC whacked his mallet. "And that's it, time's up!"

"I did it," Saint Charloss said, proud of himself.

"This is just a taste of what the world holds," Kid said with a slightly stiff grin. "It's all a damn farce. Let's go men." The Kid Pirates started to leave as Disco continued on.

"The bidding has ended, ladies and gentlemen. Today's second showcased item, the young mermaid Camie..."

"The second!?" Chopper squeaked in alarm.

"...goes to the World Noble Saint Charloss to his bid of 500,000,000 beris!" As soon as the MC slammed his mallet down, there was an explosion of flying audience members from something that had come crashing through the front doors. "What the heck?!" Disco looked up toward the back where there was smoke rising from the crash site.

"What is all that racket?!" Saint Roswald grumbled not bothering to look up at the commotion.

Sanji stared at the sight of his extremely reckless captain standing up. "Ah-! Luffy?!"

"Don't you know how to drive?!" Luffy yelled at the fish rider who had brought him there. "What kind of crappy landing was that?!"

"Give me a break! I'm on a fish! Fish are no good at landing!" The fish rider argued back as he knocked away some debris.

"Dammit, Luffy!" Zoro walked over holding his head, probably from a developing headache. "'Hurry! We gotta get to Grove 01!'" Zoro mimicked what his captain had said to him when picking him up. "What's so damn important that you had to grab me by the neck, and send me crashing into...what is the place?"

"Zoro?!"

"Huh?" The swordsman looked over to see some of the crew was there along with Hatchi and Pappagu. "Oh, it's you guys."

Law looked up at the sight of the infamous crazy Straw Hat kid who had decided to crash the party. Now things were going to get very interesting with him there. Not to mention, the boy would surely cause a major ruckus. A distraction was just what the Supernova needed.

Kid's eyes widened as he looked over his shoulder at the rubber boy, "Well damn. If it isn't Straw Hat Luffy!"

Luffy started looking around. "Yukimi! Camie!"

"Who are those kids? And where did they come from?!" some rich nobleman demanded at the sight of the unruly bunch.

Luffy turned toward the stage and saw Camie in the large fishbowl. "Camie!"

Camie pressed her hands against the glass at the sight of the Straw Hat, "Luffychin help!"

Luffy immediately began charging down the stairs to the stage. "Camie! I've been looking for you and Yukimi everywhere! Is she here?!"

Hatchi quickly pursued Luffy, grabbing him by his shoulders to slow him down, but the boy kept going. "Hold on Straw Hat! What do you think you're doing?!"

"What's it look like?! I'm getting Camie and Yukimi out of here!"

"Camie's wearing an explosive collar! She'll never make it out of here alive! Plus the Celestial Dragons are here! Don't do anything rash!" Hatchi pleaded.

"See if I care!" Luffy retorted.

The stunned audience began murmuring to each other at the name Straw Hat, the infamous pirate.

"I'm coming guys!"

"Straw Hat stop this!" Hatchi suddenly whipped out his extra four arms and grabbed Luffy, successfully slowing the boy down. But the octo-fishman forgot something crucial...

A woman let out a shriek at the sight of the extra arms. "His arms! His arms! He's a fishman!"

Startled, Hatchi let go of Luffy as people started ridiculing him.

"Hold on Camie! I'm on my way!" Luffy shouted as he continued his charge down to the stage.

"Seize him at once!" Disco ordered pointing at the pirate.

"Camie is my friend! Where's Yukimi?! They're not for sale!" Luffy shouted.

"Keep him away from the stage!" Disco shouted as Luffy came closer unimpeded.

"What's a fishman doing on land?!"

"Ew! I bet he spreads diseases!"

"Of course he does! Apprehend him already!"

"Gross! Stay away!"

"Go back to where you belong! We don't want you here!"

Pappagu scrambled over to Hatchi and hopped onto his shoulder. "Hatchi! You're the one who's in danger now!"

Hatchi blocked a book that had come flying at him. "You're telling me to let Camie go?! No way!"

"Why are the people here hate them so much?" Sanji asked confused.

"It's just like what Robin said before..." Nami said quietly drawing the others' attention. "They discriminate against fishmen and merfolk on these islands. They even discriminate against kitsunes too. They hate every last one of them."

"But why?" Chopper asked not understanding those people. "They're not any different from us!"

Luffy grabbed and threw off four staff men easily before he froze in midstep from the sound of a gunshot. He looked back in time to witness Hatchi tumble down the stairs, bleeding from a wound.

Saint Charloss laughed as he hopped on one foot to the other and back again in glee. "I did it! I shot it! I took down a fishman!"

"Hatchi!" Nami cried out.

"Thank goodness. If that awful sea beast got any closer it would have made us all ill," a woman said relieved.

"True, but it was definitely plotting something," replied a man sitting next to her. "It couldn't have been much though, even if it can walk. It still has a fish's brain."

Camie was beating the glass of the fishbowl as hard as she could, screaming for her hurt friend. The only sound that came from her was the soft thuds from her fists.

"Look, father! I got a fishman! I shot it and caught it all by myself! That means I can have it for free!" Saint Charloss sang happily. "It's free, it's free! An octopus for me! I caught a fishman by myself! An octopus for free! What a deal, what a deal! An octopus for free! Free free free free free~!"

Throughout the World Noble's bragging, Luffy was slowly marching back up the stairs to give the Dragon a piece of his mind. But Luffy was stopped when two large hands grabbed him in a weak grip.

"Wait...Straw Hat...don't do this... It's my fault, I'm the one who screwed up...okay?" Hatchi said hoarsely as Luffy looked down at him with a wrath for the man who shot his friend. "Please don't forget your promise! Like I said, you can't defy the Celestial Dragons even if they kill someone!" Hatchi stressed. "There was a time I was a pirate, a criminal! This is the punishment I deserve for doing all those horrible things...! I'm so sorry... I didn't mean for everything to turn out like this. I just wanted to...make amends with Nami however I could." Hatchi looked away for a moment as he coughed before looking back at Straw Hat. "Even if it wasn't much, I wanted to be helpful to you and your crew... But I screwed that up I guess. Just like every other time..."

Luffy took the octo-fishman's hands into his own. He knelt down next to Hatchi, and placed his hands down gently.

"I wanted to do something right for once...to show Nami how sorry I am..."

Nami felt tears prick her eyes from Hatchi's confession. "Hatchi...!"

"All my life, all I've ever done is cause trouble! I'm sorry! Forgive me!" Hatchi cried.

"That's enough!" Saint Charloss commanded. "Stop all that annoying babbling you fish! Before I shut you up for good!" He yelled raising his solid gold gun at the defenseless octo-fishman but was blocked by Luffy. "Ah! How dare you?! Don't look at me like that!"

Luffy stood then continued his way up the stairs, his eyes filled with hardened resolve. Pappagu tried to stop him but he kept on walking.

"You're gonna get in big trouble! Don't do it!"

"Easy, you see this?!" Saint Charloss raised his gun and took aim.

But Luffy only made his right hand into a tight fist.

"What is that boy doing?! He's crazy!" A wealthy man stared at the young pirate nervously.

"Straw Hat Luffy..." Law murmured.

"He's serious!" Kid hissed under his breath.

"Now you're annoying me too!" Saint Charloss shouted before he opened fire on the pirate. But every shot that was fired, missed as Luffy didn't pause a single step. Instead, he stopped just inches from the Celestial Dragon, pulled his fist back, then threw a mighty punch his grandpa would be proud of right, into the fat man's kisser! Saint Charloss was launched through the air, slamming through multiple rows of seating before coming to a crashing stop at the back of the large room. The entire audience sat there in complete and utter shock at what the pirate had just done. That kid had just assaulted a Celestial Dragon! It was unheard of! Saint Charloss was out cold for sure as his eyes were rolled back, and blood dribbled from his oversized bruised mouth. He even had some missing teeth. But not only that, there where he was slugged, was the fist print of Monkey D. Luffy.

"He...he hit Saint Charloss!" a stunned armored guard gasped.

Luffy placed his straw hat back on his head from where it hung around his neck. He cracked his knuckles loudly still angry.

"Ch-Charloss...!" Saint Roswald uttered shocked that his son was sent flying by a lowly pirate.

Law smirked, clearly impressed by his fellow Supernova's display of reckless behavior. Kid grinned at what Luffy just did. What the boy did took guts!

"Sorry everybody, now that I've punched this guy there's gonna be a Navy Admiral coming with a warship," Luffy apologized to his crew.

"I'm just pissed I didn't get to cut him down." Zoro sheathed Shusui. "You beat me to it."

Nami ran over to the downed octo-fishman, "Hatchi! Hang in there!"

"Do you know how much trouble you're all in now?!" he groaned out.

"Oh, that's just Luffy. What can you do?" the navigator smiled.

"Whelp, that's that. I guess we're fighting," Franky concluded.

"First off, we gotta get the key to Camie's collar. It's probably backstage. I'm betting Yukimi is back there too. In the meantime, I'll tend to Hatchi's wound," Chopper said.

"Charloss...!"

"Dear brother! What have they done to you?! No one has ever laid a hand on him, not even you, father!" Saint Shalria remarked in astonishment.

"You scum! How dare you raise your hand to my son!" Saint Roswald shouted. He raised his thick and twisted walking stick, now a rifle, and opened fire at Luffy, but all the shots missed. With the Celestial Dragon shooting, the people in the remaining seats scrambled to get out of the building as quickly as possible. Saint Roswald kept shooting and missing even though Luffy hadn't moved an inch. "Our righteous bloodline is directly descended from the creators of this world! You'll suffer for your insolence!"

"No one gives a damn who you're related to!" Sanji shouted as he kicked the walking stick rifle away from the World Noble. Sanji looked back as two guards charged at him. "Back off!" The blonde quickly disposed of them. "Hey! Get going, Franky! Free Camie and find Yukimi!"

The cyborg stood back to back with the cook, knocking a guard out. "I'm on it, you just leave it to me!"

Chopper looked behind himself at a large group of armored guards rushing at him and Hatchi. "Ah! There's tons of them!"

"What kind of idiot would risk their life for a lousy fish?!" an armored guard shouted.

"Gum Gum Whip!" Luffy swung his leg out, extending it to the side, and knocked over a bunch of armored guards.

Zoro slashed at multiple guards away when a whole group jumped on him. Zoro growled in irritation before he let rip a Tatsumaki, sending the men up in a mini tornado.

Franky threw off a couple of guards who were hanging on him, pivoted, and aimed his right arm at more guards. "Strong Right!" His fist shot out of his arm on a chain and knocked away the enemy. Franky then turned back to more guards behind him. "Fresh Fire!" Flames came out of the cyborg's mouth, quickly chasing away the burnt men.

"What senseless violence!" Saint Shalria said as Luffy pummeled more guards.

"The scum!" Saint Roswald growled.

Meanwhile, Nami was running away screaming at the guards to leave her alone when she tripped, and started tumbling down the steps until she was stopped by a seat. The navigator groaned from her fall as two armored guards cornered her. Nami looked up at them grinning mischievously. "Armor in a storm? Not so smart." The men looked up in time to be viciously electrocuted by a thundercloud from the navigator's Clima-Tact. Nami stood up and stuck out her tongue, "Sorry~."

Saint Roswald growled in anger at all the pirates beating up the guards like it was child's play. Totally not caring one bit that they were mocking the Celestial Dragons there. "You won't stop defying us to the very end! Why can't you just accept your fate!?"

"Gum Gum Battle Ax!" Luffy extended his leg up in the air before slamming it down on the guards near the enraged Dragon. Luffy faced the two World Nobles with an angry look of his own. "Back down! Our friends aren't for sale!"

Saint Roswald gritted his teeth at the pirate's defiance. He turned to the government agent next to him. "Summon the Navy Admiral and the warships!" He then grabbed the man's suit collar and jerked him closer. "We'll make those pirates suffer!"

Law chuckled as the chaos consumed the building as guards went flying everywhere from sword attacks to being kicked, and knocked away by rubber limbs, and everything else in between. "Alright," the surgeon murmured as he too got up, taking his nodachi from Bepo.

"Are we going to go find your friend, Captain?" Penguin asked about to get up as well.

"Yeah, but stay here. I won't be long," Law said leaving his men behind. Law rested his long scabbard against his shoulder as he walked away.

Kid looked over at the sudden movement of Trafalgar, wondering where he was going. "Yo Trafalgar!"

Law paused midstep when he was called out. He looked back over to Eustass.

"And where are you going? You're missing the show!" Kid laughed, nodding his head at the battle royale going on.

"Mind your own business, Eustass-ya," the Supernova said turning away from the grinning redhead. Law ducked when a guard came flying his way, not bothered at all if the man had just died from the way his neck bent sideways indicated. After jogging down the steps next to the far wall and hopping onto the stage, Law walked into the backstage area.

The smirk he had from enjoying the spectacle in the auction room soon faded as he navigated through the large darkened hallway. Hearing whimpering and crying coming from his left, Law paused at the sight of all the people that had been bought before Yukimi. They were all chained up to the wall behind them, all within another large cell. There was a sign at the top that read, 'SOLD'. Law quickly spotted the dancer girl, Pathea. The girl was trembling from being sold as a slave when he walked over to the bars, but upon seeing him close in on her, she whimpered under his piercing gaze. "Tell me where they took the kitsune," he demanded not wanting to waste time on her.

The girl swallowed before shakily pointing down the hallway where a small cage rested on a stack of crates just outside the large cage she and the others were in. The cage was separated from the other bought slaves in the large cell since Saint Shalria had purchased the kitsune. The stack of crates the cage sat on reached to his waist from the looks of them.

Without another word to the dancer, Law quickly walked down the hall, ignoring the pleas for help from the other newly bought slaves as he passed them. His gray eyes narrowed at the sight of Yukimi curled tightly into a ball in the undersized cage. It wasn't even a proper cage to hold a medium sized animal! It was instead a small trapper's cage for rodents, making it impossible for the fox to turn or even back away from the entrance. The sides, back, and top were pressed against her, causing her white fur to stick out through the small crisscross openings. It looked as though someone had quickly put the cage together on short notice. It was an understatement of how angry Law felt to see Yukimi in the state she was in. As he stepped closer to her he began to hear her softly crying, though muffled by her two bushy tails camouflaging her face from the cruel outside world. Law took a breath to calm down, aware of the delicate situation in front of him. His grip on his nodachi relaxed as he cautiously reached out, his hand hovering at the side of the cage closest to her face, hoping his familiar scent would calm her down. It took a minute or two before the fox stopped crying and begin to sniff the air next to her.

Yukimi slowly moved one tail away from her bloodshot rubies to see a blurry tan...something next to her. But it smelled somehow familiar, like pine and...disinfectant? She blinked away her tears to reveal it was a tan hand next to the cage, with a black virus and the word DEATH tattooed on it. You'd think she would've jumped in her skin at the sight, but she didn't. That familiar scent was what kept her from being frightened.

"Yukimi-ya."

The named fox looked up to meet a pair of very familiar gray eyes. "L-Law...?"

The pirate captain glanced around the area, looking to see if there was anything he could use to exchange his old friend out of that despicable cage. Upon finding nothing useful, Law leaned his nodachi against the wall behind Yukimi then rummaged through his jean pocket.

Yukimi raised her brow as he pulled out a scalpel.

"Hold still Yukimi-ya." Doing as she was told Yukimi watched as a blue film enveloped the cage as Law muttered, "Room." The sound of metal being cut around her made her ears twitch as the top of the cage was detached then tossed away, clattering loudly on the floor behind them.

Yukimi immediately tried to jump through the opening to get out, only to stumble and have her neck get yanked down. The fox had briefly forgotten she still had shackles attached to her forelegs to her collar. She had been too focused on Law.

Law quickly caught her before she could crash to the floor. "Easy Yukimi-ya." Law placed the white fox on the floor before him as he knelt down.

Yukimi looked up at the man before her with wide eyes. "Is that really you, Law?" She couldn't quite believe the boy she had to protect years ago was this very same man before her. Even though the kitsune has seen him in the papers before, she wanted to make sure this was truly him. After meeting Mr. 2, Bon Clay, back in Alabasta, who could turn himself into anyone he chooses so long he had physically touched them, there could always be some kind of Devil Fruit like the Clone Clone Fruit being used like that. Yukimi tilted her head slightly, causing the tuft over her left eye to shift to the side. "D. Water...?"

Law smirked at what the fox was trying to do. She was testing him. "The one and only from Flevance, Dew Yukimi-ya," Law smirked but replied quietly of his hometown.

Yukimi smiled at his answer. No one but Doflamingo and his crew knew where Law had come from. And of course, Yukimi was the only one who knew his true full name. Well, besides Baby 5 and Buffalo, but they weren't really paying attention back then. Not to mention dear Cora, bless his soul. Yukimi almost started wagging her tails like an excited pooch.

"Now let's get these things off. I'm sure you'll look and feel much better without them," Law said tapping his scalpel against the chain hanging from her collar.

Yukimi faltered from being reminded of her situation.

Still having his Room in effect, Law cut through the metal easily and in no time the fox was free. Law tossed the cut up pieces of the chain, shackles, and collar into the growing pile of cut metal behind them, joining the trapper cage's top.

The two hundred ninety-eight year old kitsune couldn't contain her happiness. As soon as she was completely free, Yukimi poofed back into her human form, and practically tackled the Surgeon of Death.

Law toppled over onto his back from the kitsune's sudden hug, almost losing his hat. "Take it easy Yukimi-ya!" Law grunted.

"Law! Thank you, thank you! Oh, I've missed you, ya twerp!"

Law felt himself smile at her as he rested his arm over her back. The kitsune had no idea how much he had missed her. "'Twerp'? How can you still call me that when I'm no longer a kid?" Law half chided as he pushed the grinning kitsune up so he could at least sit up.

Yukimi leaned into his face, wanting to poke fun at him. "'Cuuuz I said so, that's why. You'll always be a little twerp in my eyes!" Yukimi poked his forehead almost giggling.

Law ended up rolling his eyes at Yukimi's mirth. He did miss her mischievous ways, so he'll put up with it for now. Law then frowned remembering something important. He nudged Yukimi off of him so he could stand up.

Yukimi stood up as well but took a step back when she realized just how tall Law had become.

Law picked up the scalpel Yukimi had made him drop, pocketed it, then grabbed his nodachi. "Yukimi-ya, did those men inject you with anything?"

Yukimi glanced to the side as her hand went up to the spot on her left arm where she was drugged. "...Yeah, it was some sedative. Apparently, it wasn't for kitsunes but they still used it on me. I managed to kick the creep who stuck it in me as fast as I could when I realized what he was doing. Only a small amount made it inside me before I had yanked it out, and smashed it on the floor. For a moment, one guy thought they could use the only sedative they had left. But since it was for the giant, it would've killed me before I would've made it on stage."

Law frowned from hearing what she had said. If someone had been stupid enough to have gone through with that idea, Yukimi would be dead now. Law partially inched out Kikoku, making the kitsune look back at him startled. "Don't worry, I'm only going to Scan you to make sure it's completely out of your system." Getting a curious nod from her, Law reopened his Room around them and Scanned the kitsune. Law sighed as he sheathed his sword and let his Room fade. "It's all gone now. It must have been very little yet potent enough to have even you subdued for a little while."

Yukimi's eyes narrowed, "What's that supposed to mean?" Before she could get an answer from him, her ears twitched from a crash. Yukimi turned away from Law and listened to the ruckus back toward the stage. "How have I not heard of that racket until now?!"

"Perhaps the last of the sedative kept you from concentrating on your senses," Law suggested as he rested his nodachi against his shoulder. "I believe you'll be very pleased to know that your captain and crew have come to rescue you, and that mermaid."

Yukimi spun around with wide eyes. "Luffy and the others are here?! That's great!"

"Not only that, but Straw Hat-ya even decked the Celestial Dragon who tried to buy the mermaid," Law grinned at Yukimi's shocked expression.

"He did what?!" Yukimi's shocked look quickly turned into laughter. "Of course he would do that! He's the best at being an idiot for caring so much!" The kitsune then gave the Supernova a wicked grin, similar to the one on her wanted poster. "I think it's time I get a little revenge!"

Law chuckled as he began walking back to the chaos, "This I would like to see."

"Not without my effects!"

Law watched Yukimi as she jogged over to an open crate of confiscated items in the far back. As the kitsune began to equip her things back on, he walked over to her.

As Yukimi strapped her kunai holster back around her thigh, she noticed that it was missing the kunai that was usually there. "Tch, right. I lost it when I was ambushed," Yukimi muttered annoyed as she started to grab another kunai to replace it.

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Law said holding out the top end of his nodachi where her kunai hung from the red tassels.

Yukimi blinked at the sight of her kunai innocently swinging back and forth slightly. "Where...?"

"I do apologize for not acting quickly enough when you were taken, Yukimi-ya. If I was there sooner, you wouldn't have been put through your ordeal," Law said as she untied the kunai and replaced it back in her holster.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You couldn't have known. In fact, I had seen you just before that bastard caught me off guard. If I had called you out as soon as he came at me..." Yukimi shook her head smiling softly. "It's in the past."

"I also found this," Law said as he took out her ocarina from his jean pocket.

Yukimi's ears shot straight up at the sight of her precious ceramic instrument. "You...you found it!"

"I know how much it means to you. It was also how I knew you were just kidnapped," Law murmured as he clipped the brass chain back together around her neck.

Yukimi lightly touched her ocarina before putting it back inside her shirt. She looked back up to the Supernova with tears pricking in her eyes. "Thank you," Yukimi said softly. She was just about to give Law another hug in thanks when more screaming resounded from the auction room.

Law looked over his shoulder as a cloud of debris floated just to the entrance of the large room they were in. "I think that's our cue to return to our crews."

Yukimi cracked her knuckles, getting excited. "Hell yeah!" The kitsune grinned before jogging to the doorway and peeked out. The scream that just erupted was from Saint Shalria watching her father get smashed by Usopp's untimely fall from the roof. Yukimi laughed at the sight while the sniper quickly apologized.

"Did I miss something?"

Yukimi smirked at Law as he came up behind her, "Usopp just landed on that Celestial Dragon bitch from that hole in the ceiling!"

Law glanced up noticing multiple holes in the ceiling that hadn't been there when he went looking for the kitsune. He looked back to Yukimi just as she whipped out a few kunai.

A guard charged at Luffy preparing to cut him down while the pirate also prepared to punch him away. But before he could fully pull back his fist, the guard was hit with two kunai, letting out a cry as he fell over. Another guard who was charging at Chopper and Hatchi was also hit by a kunai, killing him quickly.

The Straw Hats paused in their fighting at the sight of their kitsune ninja grinning away as she cut down an armed staff member who tried to attack her from behind.

"Yukimi! You're okay!" Luffy exclaimed happily.

"No thanks to these fucked up wisecracks, Luffy!" Yukimi replied kicking back another armed staff member. Yukimi looked over her shoulder in time to witness a guard get electrocuted by Nami.

"It's so good to see you're doing alright!" Nami grinned at her in relief.

Usopp was relieved at the sight of Yukimi fighting. So he turned his attention to his captain, "Luffy, where's Camie?"

"She's right there!" Luffy pointed at the stage where Camie was still chained in her fishbowl, albeit sliced open by Zoro. "Thing is, we gotta get that collar off her before we can go!"

"You better hurry! The Navy is gonna show up at any minute now!" Nami urged as she shocked a guard behind her.

Usopp let out a wimpy shriek at the news.

"I hate to tell you this, but the Navy is already here, Straw Hat-ya," Law announced back in his seat with his crew, enjoying the show.

Luffy glanced over his shoulder at the man, "Who the hell are you? And what's with the bear?"

"You picked a bad time to revolt. The Navy had this place surrounded since before the auction even began. They've got a base in the archipelago. I'm guessing they're after someone. I don't know who exactly they're hoping to catch in here but, I sincerely doubt they were expecting someone to go kick a Celestial Dragon's ass," Law chuckled before grinning at the rubber boy. "That was a helluva show you guys put on. I'm impressed Straw Hat-ya."

Yukimi smirked as she hopped on the backs of the seats, making her way up to the surgeon. She stopped on the row in front of Law. "Allow me to introduce you, Doc."

Law raised his hand slightly toward the kitsune, "By all means, Yukimi-ya."

Yukimi looked back down at Luffy, giving him a happy toothy grin. "Luffy, this is the long lost friend I've told ya about that I've been looking for." Yukimi paused as she changed into her fox form and hopped onto Law's shoulder. "This is Trafalgar Law. He's also one of the Supernovas whose bounty has exceeded 100,000,000 beris!" Yukimi smirked at Law, "200,000,000 beris, not bad for a twerp."

"28,000,000 isn't a bad start either, Yukimi-ya," Law smirked back not minding the old familiar weight on his shoulder.

"Oh, so you're Yukimi's friend!"

The rest of the Straw Hats looked on in apprehension after hearing the man's bounty. Even if he was Yukimi's old friend, he still seemed quite dangerous.

"Oh, and the guy standing in the back, that's Eustass 'Captain' Kid," Robin added gesturing toward the grinning redhead at the back with his men.

"You mean the one who has a higher bounty than Luffy?!" Brook asked.

"Oh great, the wisecrack who enjoys attacking innocent civilians is here? How lovely," Yukimi openly scoffed as she wrapped her tails around the back of Law's neck, draping them over his other shoulder.

Kid chuckled looking over at Trafalgar as the fox rolled her eyes. "So that's where you disappeared to, Trafalgar. Wanted that kitsune all to yourself, huh? Is that why you snuck off? So you could get her for free?"

Yukimi immediately rounded on the redhead with a heated glare. "FUCK OFF!" Yukimi fired off causing the polar bear mink and man in the row behind Law to flinch from her sudden outburst. Law on the other hand wasn't surprised by her sudden change in attitude. "You don't know a thing about us!"

Yukimi was about to go off more but was held back by Law reaching back and rubbed her ear, calming her down. "No need to scare my men any more than you already have, Yukimi-ya."

"Woah! Look how fast that guy calmed Yukimi down!" Usopp gasped in surprise. Usually, whenever Yukimi got riled up by someone in a certain way, it took them a while before they could calm her down. But never this fast!

Back on stage Saint Shalria placed a step ladder at Camie's fishbowl, scaring the mermaid to the bottom of the glass. "Enough of this," the World Noble started as she pointed a gun at Camie. "If this worthless fish threw them to such extremes, I've no choice but to kill it!"

Disco gasped coming out from hiding behind his auctioneer stand. "She's not worthless! Please don't! I beg you to stop Saint Shalria!" The MC inched closer, hands raised cautiously. "Could you maybe wait until the merchandise has been paid for? I beg of you, please stop, have mercy! I just wanna be rich!"

"Enough commoner! Silence!"

Disco yelped before he was shot.

Saint Shalria turned back to Camie, pointing her gun at the mermaid again. "Alright fish! It's time for you to pay!"

"Crap Camie!" Sanji yelled noticing what was about to happen.

"Quit moving around, I'm trying to aim!" Saint Shalria demanded as she tried to get a fix on the moving mermaid.

"Shit!" Yukimi jumped off Law's shoulder transforming back into her human body, landing on the seat in front of them in a crouch. She pulled out her scroll as the others tried to intervene the woman.

That was when something happened to the Celestial Dragon that no one expected. The woman dropped the gun and collapsed to the stage floor unconscious.

"What...? Saint Shalria!" The government agent who escorted the Celestial Dragons stared at the stage in shock.

That was when the stage's back wall was pierced through by two very large hands, ripping it open like it was nothing but paper. After the wall was finished being ripped apart, creating an opening, an old man came walking out. The man stopped about a foot away from the out cold woman as he looked around at everybody with interest. "What did I tell ya? I know a ruckus when I hear one. Looks like the auction's over. I got the money I came here for, now I guess I'll head back to the gambling house and throw it all away," the old man said to the giant behind him.

"You are one messed up old man. You got yourself locked up just so you could steal money?" the giant asked.

"That was the plan. And if it worked out, I was gonna rob whoever bought me too. Heh, but I guess it wasn't meant to be," the man said as he brought out a whiskey flask before recalling he was out of booze. "Now that I think about it, that plan stinks! Who in the hell would spend money on an old fart like me for a slave?" The old man laughed at the thought before he noticed all the people staring at him in shock. "Oh boy, I didn't realize we had such a captive audience."

"Where did that old man and the giant come from?" a guard asked an armed employee next to him.

"They're supposed to be merchandise for the auction. But they were all locked up! How in the heck did they get out of there?!" Then the man noticed the two weren't wearing their explosive collars anymore. "Their collars are gone! There's no way they could've gotten them off! Wait, that kitsune! She had a collar but it's gone now too!" The man recalled when the kitsune rejoined the room to fight.

"Ra-Rayleigh?!"

Chopper turned to Hatchi in surprise. "Wait, the Rayleigh?! The coating mechanic?!"

The old man looked over to see the octo-fishman. "Hey! Is that you Hatchi? It sure is! I'll be damned! So pal, what are you doing here?" Rayleigh's grin vanished when he realized his friend was harmed. "Did someone hurt you? No no, don't speak! Save your energy," he said when Hatchi tried to talk. Rayleigh stroked his beard as he observed the people around in the room quietly. He took notes on the unconscious Celestial Dragons, the pirates, and the fact that Hatchi was hurt while a mermaid was trapped in the large fishbowl on the stage. "I see now, plain as day," the man observed as he stopped stroking his beard. "Terrible situation. Well, you were fighting for what you believed was right, Hatchi. You must be the good folks who stood by them." Rayleigh nodded in thanks to the Straw Hats. "Alright."

Yukimi blinked in surprise when the old man sent a strong energy wave out to all the remaining guards and auction house staff. She recognized it from before back when the MC was trying to put the explosive collar on her. It was Conqueror's Haki. It was then she finally realized why that old man looked familiar.

"Is he...?" Kid started.

"No way...!" Law muttered, causing the kitsune's ears to flick back toward him then forward again.

"What? But how? What did you do to them?!" Usopp demanded looking around at all the unconscious people. How could everybody just lose consciousness all of the sudden and at the same time?

"Okay... Who is this guy?" Sanji hissed, very much on edge.

Rayleigh then looked directly at Luffy, eyeing his hat. "That straw hat you wear, it suits a fearless man quite like yourself. Yes, I've wanted to meet you, Monkey D. Luffy." The old man smirked in amusement from Luffy's uneasy look. Rayleigh turned away and walked over to Camie, taking a step up on the step ladder that was left by the unconscious Celestial Dragon on the stage floor. "I'm going to remove your collar now," he spoke softly to the nervous mermaid. "Are you ready young lady?"

Some of the Straw Hats immediately began to protest at the removal of Camie's collar without a key. "Hey wait a second! Isn't Franky off looking for the key as we speak? Why don't we just wait for him to bring it back!" Usopp suggested.

Yukimi slid her eyes over to the sniper. "If what Doc Smarty Pants here said is true, then we really don't have much time due to the amassing Navy presence outside. In fact, I can hear them from in here," the kitsune said pointing to her ears. Fox ears twitched back at the Supernova's chuckle behind her. She didn't look back at him. "Oh yeah, you're not getting away from those nicknames either, Doc," she grinned slightly.

Usopp quieted down from what Yukimi had said. After all, if she says she can hear something they can't, then most of the time it's correct.

"It'll be alright, just don't flinch," Rayleigh told Camie calmly, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"I have no idea what kind of power that guy used earlier. But one thing I know for sure is that he's no ordinary man," Zoro observed on edge from the old man's display moments before.

"So that makes it okay to risk Camie's life?" Sanji asked before looking around for their cyborg friend. "Dammit! Where's Franky with that key? What's he doing?!"

"I'm telling you just wait! This is a big mistake!" Pappagu pleaded.

Rayleigh raised his hand to the explosive collar, causing a ticking sound to start from his soft touch.

"He's set it off! It's gonna blow! What are we gonna do?!" Pappagu cried out as everyone either started panicking or went still from anticipation as the timer kept going faster and faster until an explosion finally erupted on the stage. Pappagu started crying, "Nooo Camie! I told you! Noo!" But then the starfish stopped as the dust cleared to reveal Rayleigh and an unharmed Camie.

Camie stared at the man in shock that she wasn't hurt at all.

Franky walked up to Rayleigh from backstage, twirling a keyring with many keys. "Hey don't scare me like that. Thought I was too late! It was a lot of trouble finding these."

Yukimi sighed as she squatted from on top of the back of the seat she was still on. Her scroll was now put away as she watched the crying starfish scramble down the stairs and into Camie's arms, utterly relieved she was safe. Yukimi glanced at the broken collar on the opposite side of the stage, still smoking from its own bomb.

"What the hell? How'd you do that?" Franky asked Rayleigh, holding up the keyring he had found. "Look, these weren't easy to find you know."

"Ah, nicely done. Better luck next time then. Here carry her," Rayleigh said before turning back to the mermaid. "Camie, you're safe now. Nothing to worry about."

"How did you...? Thank you," Camie replied softly.

"What's going on here? Look man I appreciate the help but, seriously, who the hell are you?" Franky asked confused.

"What the... How did he do that?" Usopp peaked over the top of a seat from hiding. "The old geezer got some freaky power!"

Both furry ears lowered slightly from Usopp's freaked out expression. "Oh boy, looks like I oughta explain what haki is to them. And with the New World right in front of us...damn. Shoulda said something beforehand," Yukimi groaned running her hand through her hair annoyed with herself.

"Heh, so you know about haki, huh?"

Yukimi twisted her upper body to look back at Law from her crouched position. She gave him an annoyed look. "Who do you think I am, Law? Don't you remember how old I am? I'm almost-"

"I know. Don't get your tails in a twist, Yukimi-ya."

Yukimi's tails flicked at his comment, feeling a little irritated now. "Tch, damn twerp," she muttered under her breath looking back at the stage. It wasn't like she had always known about haki. She, just like everybody else, had to learn that haki existed at some point. And back when she had fought Vergo, it was her first time seeing haki. If she had more knowledge of haki back then, she wouldn't have confronted the man like she had but would've gone with a different approach.

Franky walked around the fishbowl toward the slaves who were still behind the 'SOLD' cell backstage. He unlocked the door. "Hey, today's your lucky day. All the buyers took off. Unless you like being a slave, you better get out of here while you still can," he said tossing the keys to them.

"That geezer took out all these guards at once! All by himself!" Usopp looked around the room at the fallen enemy. "He must know how to use magic! Maybe he's a sorcerer! Well, whatever he is, he's powerful! And he said something about Luffy's hat too!"

Yukimi recalled back to the conversation she had with the old man before she and Camie were taken away. He had expressed how he wanted to meet her captain.

"How do you know of him, Luffy?" the sniper asked.

"I haven't even met him. He just said."

Rayleigh looked up toward the other pirates in the room. "Oh, I'm sorry about that everyone. I didn't realize there were other pirates here as well. You all must be quite strong to be able to withstand something like that with no trouble."

"Well, well. I never expected to meet such a big shot out here," Kid grinned. "Dark King Silvers Rayleigh, you're a legend old man. What are you doing in a place like this?"

"On these islands, I'm just Ray, the coating craftsman. Don't go calling me by that other name. I'm retired now, I just want a quiet peaceful life." The former pirate responded then looked over to the Heart Pirates, eyeing the Straw Hat kitsune with them. "Yukimi, good to see you found your friend."

The corner of Yukimi's lips twitched upward. "And what a fine place for a reunion," she half grinned at the old man.

"You know this guy, Yukimi-ya?" Law asked, curious if she actually knew the infamous man personally or otherwise.

"Not personally but of course I know who he is. I only just met him earlier," Yukimi answered as she faced Law and sat down on the back of the seat she was perched on. Her ears and tails lowered as she leaned a little toward the Supernova, a frown beginning to form. "He helped me a lot back there when my phobia came back in a nasty way. We talked for a while, and it really helped. Got my mind off of where I was..." Yukimi quietly spoke as Rayleigh talked to Hatchi and Luffy. "If he hadn't been there... I don't know..." the kitsune muttered looking away hugging herself.

Law furrowed his brows, hating to hear what she had to go through. Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo looked at each other from the exchanges between their captain and this Straw Hat pirate. They were very curious about this kitsune and wondered what she meant by her phobia. What kind of phobia did she have? "Well, it won't happen again, not while I'm here. I can promise you that," Law said firmly, making Yukimi's ears rise up as she smiled back at him.

"Testing, one, two... Alright, you criminals! Release the Roswald family! The Admiral will be arriving shortly. I recommend you surrender immediately. And don't blame us for whatever happens, you rookies!"

"Yeesh, sounds like he's ticked, whoever he is," Yukimi grinned swinging her legs side to side as she looked toward the light coming from the busted front door.

"Come on, we're just innocent bystanders. Why is the Navy treating us like a couple of accomplices?" Law remarked making the kitsune in front of him stick her tongue out at him in humor. She totally wasn't buying his 'innocent bystanders' act. Maybe in this case, but definitely not in the past from what the papers had said.

"On the upside, I got to see Straw Hat Luffy do something crazy. So no complaints there. Still, I'd rather avoid fighting an Admiral," Kid stated.

"Sure, but if you're expecting me to help, I've used my power enough for today. It's all up to you now," Rayleigh replied. "It'll be hard for me to stay if the Navy discovers who I am."

"I don't need a senior citizen to fight for me. The longer we wait, the worse it'll get. I'm out of here," Kid said walking away toward the entrance. "If you babies can't handle a few marines, then sit here while I show you how a real man takes care of things."

Both Luffy and Law turned back toward Kid, angry that he dared to mock them like that. Yukimi smirked as Law grabbed his nodachi and quickly walked out as her captain did the same. "The Surgeon of Death, now how does his Ope Ope Fruit work I wonder..."

"How do you know our Captain, miss?"

Yukimi looked away from the three arguing captains toward the man wearing shades and a green and red hat.

"And how do you know of his Devil Fruit?" the man with the word PENGUIN stitched on his hat asked, a little wary.

Yukimi glanced between the two as her ears twitched from hearing a battle commence outside. She waved her hand at them, not bothered. "Please, I'm no threat if that's what you're thinking. I just know how and why he consumed the Ope Ope Fruit when he was a kid," she answered the slightly wary man next to her.

"You've known him that long?" the polar bear mink asked.

"Even a few years before that, yeah." Yukimi gave them a mischievous look. "You could even say I was his ba-"

"Yukimi, what are you doing over there?" Zoro interrupted the kitsune, making her and the Heart Pirates look over at the other Supernova.

'...bysitter,' Yukimi finished in her head. "What? You think I'm giving away our secrets~?" Yukimi grinned mischievously at his annoyed face. "Oh cool it Mr. Toughy. I'm only talking to them while our captains..." Yukimi paused putting her hand next to her ear toward Nami. "What was that I heard? While the captains act like children?" Yukimi chuckled at the image of the three captains trying to best each other in a little game. "Oh, that's rich." Yukimi stood back up on the seat and stretched. "To be honest guys," she turned back to the Heart Pirates, "I think I'll cut our little conversation short. You don't wanna know what's going through my head right now, and I absolutely need to vent." With that being said, she started hopping up the rows of seats, catching Brook's attention.

"Oh Yukimi, where are you going?" the skeleton asked.

Yukimi paused on the top row as the rest of the Straw Hats looked up at her. "Oh nowhere really. I'm just going to go vent out my horrible experience from here!" the kitsune said lightly with a smile. But the Straw Hats that Yukimi was with the longest knew that she actually felt anxious and needed something to release those feelings. Yukimi turned away from her friends and proceeded to walk out the busted door.

Yukimi started to laugh at the sight of Eustass Kid trying to block Luffy and Law from fighting. Her laughter brought Kid and Law's attention to her. "That ain't gonna work on Luffy, ya know!" She grinned pointing at her captain as he ducked under Kid's outstretched arm and started fighting the marines.

"Leave it to me!" Luffy charged head on as the mortars were fired. "Gum Gum Finger Net!" The rubber boy stretched out his arms and hands, catching all the cannonballs in his fingers. He started to spin around, accidentally letting a cannonball slip from his grasp.

Kid and Law had to quickly get out of the way as the cannonball landed right where they were. Kid turned back toward the crazy boy from the East Blue. "What the hell are you doing?!"

After turning back toward the enemy and Luffy while catching the marine's head he had, Law glanced back toward the entrance where Yukimi was. He smirked at how she was just leaning against the wall grinning, clearly amused by her captain's antics. But overall the kitsune looked like she wasn't harmed by the wayward weapon.

"Hah haha! Sorry!" Luffy apologized grinning as he continued to spin around.

"Damn you! You're really screwed up in the head, you know that?!" Kid shouted irritated.

Luffy looked back over to the charging marines laughing as he let go of the cannonballs, dropping them right above the soldiers. The men scrambled to get out of the way, some lucky some not.

"Damn you! Now fire! Fire!" shouted the brigadier general as the mortars began firing at Luffy again, causing him to hop around in order to dodge them. "We've got him on the run men. Go get him!"

Luffy turned back toward the marines charging at him. "Now Gum Gum Whip!" He swung out his leg and knocked away the group of marines. That was when a cannonball landed close to Luffy, knocking his hat away. "Ah! My hat!" Luffy quickly extended his arm, caught his precious hat, and retracted himself over to where he could get it. "Phew, that was a close one," he said putting it back on.

"Tch," Kid raised his arm out toward the marines. All the metal weapons on the ground, and in the hands of the soldiers, came flying to him on command.

Luffy looked up from the ground at the airborne weaponry. "What the heck?"

All the weapons slowed down when they came close to Kid. He grinned, "Repel!" The weapons then quickly shot back toward the stunned marines, dodging bullets and wayward swords.

The three captains joined back up together at the entrance of the Human Auction House, Luffy being the last. "Wait a minute! What's going on?! Somebody help me!" cried out the marine head Law kept tossing up and down.

"Look at that, there's a lot more of these guys than I expected," Law observed as he stopped tossing the poor head.

"Man, you guys have some weird powers," Luffy commented as he faced the mass of marines.

"That rubber crap you do is way weirder," Kid shot back.

"Huh, you think so?"

Yukimi pushed off the wall, walking over to the Supernovas. "What a show!" The kitsune clapped a little, bringing their attention back on her. "Luffy, you're as reckless as ever!"

"But it's just so much fun!" the Straw Hat laughed.

Yukimi glanced over at Law, eyeing the marine he had been tossing around. "Geeze, is that one of your abilities Law?"

"Sure is. Here, catch," Law grinned as he tossed the poor marine's head over to the kitsune.

Yukimi jumped in her boots as the head landed in her hands. She let out a yelp when the man's head let out a shout from being tossed around so much. Yukimi immediately threw the poor guy's head back to Law. "What the fuck?! He's still alive! He's not even bleeding out!"

Law chuckled at her reaction as he caught the distraught head. "Maybe if you stick around, you'll learn a thing or two," he said tilting his head in a sly manner.

"I don't believe it. The mortars didn't have an effect on any of them!" A marine complained as the pirates talked amongst each other as if the Navy wasn't even there. Talk about infuriating!

"Yeah, these guys really live up to their reputation!"

"This isn't the time to be impressed! It's our job to hold these bastards until the Admiral arrives!" Another marine shot back at the other two, catching a certain surgeon's attention.

"Like we're gonna wait that long," Law said smoothly as he tossed the marine head back to the other Navy soldiers.

"And how long do you suppose it'll take for an Admiral to get here, Doc?" Yukimi asked as she cracked her knuckles, watching the marines panic over a live head in amusement.

"Probably not very long. We are right next door to the Marine Headquarters after all," he replied as the marines regrouped in front of him.

"Listen everybody! Be careful! That guy makes weird circles! Don't get caught inside them!" warned the marine head in another soldier's grasp.

Law hunched over slightly as Yukimi walked over next to him, "Now Room." The same blue film like ring grew out from his open faced down hand, extending out into a sphere, and encircled the marines and the two pirates. "I hope you'll enjoy the show, Yukimi-ya."

"Well then, better make it a good one," Yukimi smirked nudging him with her hip.

"So...do you mean like this?" asked the soldier holding up the talking head, looking around at the sphere.

"That's right, exactly like this..." the marine head answered before the two realized they were in trouble.

Law took out Kikoku and slice 'n' diced the marines into many pieces, and began to scatter the men into a whirlpool of screaming human body parts. He then waved his hands from side to side as he played with them, putting them back together all in the wrong way.

"Ah, man! This is just...just sick!"

"Sick huh? Is that good or bad?" Law looked down at the kitsune's disturbed expression.

Yukimi looked back at him, giving the surgeon a wiry grin. "Both."

"Think they're comfortable now?"

"Hah! I think they look very comfortable! Heh, the papers got it right. You've become quite sadistic and cruel, at least to the marines!" Yukimi chuckled at the men's horror. "But... I think I have an idea to improve their situation." At Law's quirked brow, she ran off toward Luffy where he was just about to go into his third gear. "Luffy, if you don't mind, allow me to participate in this fun looking activity. I've got some pent up emotions I gotta release..." Yukimi said stopping next to him.

Luffy nodded, "Go for it!"

"Great! Then would you mind giving me a lift?" Yukimi pointed over her shoulder back toward Law's Room.

"Sure thing!" Luffy wrapped his arm around her waist then threw her up into the air back in the direction she had come from.

Law observed curiously as Yukimi was sent flying back to him, spinning until she stopped midair just within his Room above all the mismatched marines.

Yukimi took out her scroll, whipped it open, and faced down at the mixed up jigsaw puzzle the Surgeon of Death had created. "How about a taste of Zoro's Tatsumaki!" She channeled her chakra into the runic circle on the scroll, making it glow its soft blue color just before Zoro's attack erupted from it. All the men floating in Law's sphere were quickly sent flying as if they were inside a tornado, constantly getting cut and slashed by the wind as if it had blades flying around with them.

Yukimi landed below the whirlwind of screaming body parts. Her glee at her handiwork was cut short when she was suddenly tugged back by something. The ninja looked back in time to witness her black weapons bag go flying off her hip toward a growing mass of metal weapons. "What?! No!" At that moment, due to being distracted, Yukimi barely dodged a stray bullet where it grazed under her right eye. "Tch!" Yukimi ran after her bag, trying to get it back.

At Yukimi's shout, Law took his eyes off the kitsune's successful attack, catching sight of her bag flying away toward Eustass. He reached out and turned his fingers, "Shambles!"

Yukimi slid to a stop when her bag suddenly became a barrel with a screaming marine head and arms.

"Hey Yukimi-ya, I think you lost something," Law called over to her. He held up the black bag with the Straw Hat Pirates jolly roger on it. He tested the feel and weight to it, easily pinpointing as to why her bag was sent flying out of nowhere. It was the bag where she kept her shuriken and kunai if he recalled correctly. Although in a completely different bag than when he was a kid.

Yukimi jogged over to Law noticing how her bag kept trying to escape his grasp. She looked to where it was trying to head off to, only for her eyes to widen at Kid's giant metal arm made of stolen weapons. He and Luffy were plowing through a large group of marines. Yukimi glanced down at the holster on her thigh, noticing how it was open and her kunai was missing. The kitsune clenched her teeth. "Dammit! And I just got that back too!"

Law held her bag toward her when it stopped trying to fly away. "It seems I keep handing your things back to you today, Yukimi-ya."

"Mh." Yukimi took back the bag and equipped it again. It was then she remembered how her brass chain was magnetic like all the other weapons that had been sent flying. Yukimi looked out the corner of her eye at Kid laughing at the marines' panic. 'Perhaps he was only focusing on metal weapons.'

Law released his Room, letting all the mangled marines fall to the ground in a heap. He began walking back to where the other two captains were as they finished up their front.

Yukimi followed after him, looking at the piles of the unconscious and, or dead marines. 'Wow, these two are powerhouses in their own right, just like Luffy. They definitely deserve their huge bounties.'

Back at the entrance, all three crews came running out to see the disaster the captains had made. With a little help from Yukimi's part.

"Great, it's already come to this?!" Zoro said as he looked out at the many wrecked bodies.

"What a sight! And I don't even have eyes!" exclaimed Brook.

The three Heart pirates walked out, easily spotting Law's usual horrors. "Captain's lost it. No surprise," Shachi commented.

Rayleigh laughed at the sight of the three Supernovas' work. "These rookies are quite reliable indeed!"

"Heh, awful impatient aren't they?" said Killer.

Law looked over at Luffy, finding him much smaller than before. "What's up with your body, Straw Hat-ya? Not a cool finish."

"It isn't?" Luffy asked looking up at him. Luffy looked over to Yukimi next to the much taller man. "Hey Yukimi, doing better?"

Yukimi nodded, "Yeah, thanks."

Kid smirked at the disorganized marines, "Doesn't matter what they do. Their formations don't amount to crap now."

Yukimi spotted her missing kunai among some discarded rifles a few feet away from Kid. She walked over to the gun pile and picked up her kunai. The kitsune's ears tilted back as she walked back over to the captains, going straight to Eustass 'Captain' Kid. "Hey! Do you mind not taking my weapons next time, if there's a next time? Kunai and shuriken are hard to come by!" Yukimi growled as she shook her kunai at him.

Kid shrugged laughing. "Not my problem, foxy. By the way, shouldn't you have been inside with the rest of your crew?"

Yukimi glared at him, getting angry. "Don't call me foxy. And unlike you and plenty of others, I've got pent up emotions from almost being sol-!" Yukimi was interrupted midsentence when a hand was planted on her shoulder before pulling her back to a solid body.

Law rubbed her ear, causing her to relax against him. He turned his own glare against the smirking redhead before looking back down at the ninja. "You need to calm down, Yukimi-ya."

Yukimi rubbed her arms occasionally brushing up against Law's hand as she took deep breaths. The kitsune was trying to calm down after realizing her body was shaking a little. While this was happening, Yukimi didn't notice how Law looked at the cut under her right eye. She swallowed as Law continued to rub her ear in a calming manner. Yukimi glanced toward the marines, hearing the brigadier general commanding his men to charge once again.

"You see? They've broken rank and are totally disorganized. They're running in a blind attack," Kid calmly observed as the marines made war cries as they charged head on.

"Phew! Back to normal!" Luffy chuckled to himself as he stood to his full height again.

"Heh, hey Straw Hat," Kid started making the rubber boy look up at him. "I'm glad I had this little chance to meet you. But next time I won't show you any mercy, you understand?"

Yukimi's ears folded back out of Law's soothing fingers, annoyed that the bastard between her and her captain just clearly threatened him.

But Luffy didn't seem to care too much as he grinned. "Fair enough, but I'm gonna be the one who'll find the One Piece," Luffy stated as a fact.

Yukimi's ears perked back up as she grinned. She transformed into her fox form and got onto Law's shoulder, "Heh, he's right Doc. Sorry, but even if you do wanna be King, I'm not gonna help ya." She then hopped onto Kid's head getting a 'Hey!' out of him. The fox dodged the man's swat then landed on Luffy's shoulder. "He's gonna be the King!"

A large marine with a battle ax came swinging at Eustass 'Captain' Kid, but was quickly struck down by the Massacre Soldier. "Hey, Captain! What're you standing around for?"

"...Killer, you know what? On our journey up until this point, we've been ridiculed whenever we mentioned the One Piece. They said we were on a fool's errand for it. And each time that happened, I slaughtered everyone who even snickered," Kid said in a serious tone.

'Well, that explains his killing sprees of civilians,' Yukimi thought as she wrapped her tails around the back of Luffy's neck.

"What lies ahead is a sea of death to those who think it's something to laugh at. Let's meet again, in the New World," Kid grinned. "MOVE OUT MEN!"

"Yes, sir!" the Kid Pirates responded before going all out fighting the marines.

As the Kid Pirates began attacking the marines Yukimi hopped off of Luffy's shoulder and transformed back into her human form as a marine jabbed a long spear toward them. Yukimi sidestepped as Luffy jumped away, then she grabbed the spear's neck with both hands and ran circles around the man. The marine soon had to let go of his weapon as he tilted where he stood completely dizzy. Yukimi stabbed the spear into the ground as she used it to launch her body upright and kicked the man's chin, snapping his head up. The marine dropped to the ground knocked out. The ninja took out her kunai as more Navy soldiers charged. Yukimi glanced back to see how Law was doing only to find that polar bear mink fighting in his place. She looked further away to see that Law was talking to the large man who had been sitting obediently outside the Human Auction House, waiting on his World Noble master.

"Hey! Luffy!" Usopp called as he and the other Straw Hats ran over to Luffy as he knocked away another marine.

"Oh, there you guys are. Right, time for us to get out of here!" Luffy grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "Let's go!"

Yukimi slashed a few marines down before jogging over to her friends. "Man, it's gonna be tough to break through if more marines get here."

"Hey Luffy, look over there," Sanji said pointing over to a hill beyond the wall of soldiers. It was Duval and his gang.

"Looks like we might have a getaway ride," Yukimi smirked as Luffy debunked the gang leader's inquiry on if the rubber boy had called him handsome.

"Wasn't really looking for help from those clowns again, but since we're in a hurry so..." Sanji trailed off as his captain started jogging in place grinning.

"Whatever, it'll be fun!"

"If you say so," Sanji said reluctantly.

Yukimi chuckled at Luffy's childish behavior as he and some of the others began running. Brook used his violin to put the marines to sleep...including Luffy.

"You pirate scum won't get away with this!"

Yukimi's ears twitched at a marine shouting at her from behind. The ninja waited until the man was a yard from her then slid to his side and stabbed into his waist with her kunai. As he fell, she whipped out some paper bombs and flicked them at the ground in front of more charging marines. The men didn't even notice them until it was too late. Yukimi held up her pointer and middle fingers with a deviant grin. "You should've been more aware fellas! Kasai!" The marines looked down at the sizzling slips of paper before they were blown sky high.

Yukimi looked over her shoulder as her friends began to move through an opening in the marine's blockade. She looked to her other side where Law had just freed the Celestial Dragons' slave. "Crap, oh well. Better do it now." Yukimi took out a small handful of her paper bombs and flicked a couple at some soldiers. She continued to do so as she ran over to Law, snickering at how the men couldn't take off the papers.

Jean Bart swatted away marine after marine before they could get close to him and Law. "If it means I could be free of the Celestial Dragons, and leave this place?" The former slave was saying as he swatted away the remaining marine who was near them. "Then I will be happy to call you my Captain."

Law grinned up at the former pirate captain, now his subordinate. "I'm glad to hear it, half the thanks goes to Straw Hat-ya though." The Supernova looked over noticing a certain ninja was jogging over to him. "Ah Yukimi-ya, maybe you would like to join my crew too?"

The kitsune tripped slightly but she recovered quickly from hearing the Surgeon of Death's proposition. "Eh-what now...?!" Yukimi glanced at the huge man who Law had just freed then back to him. One ear flicked back then forth slightly as she gave the captain a wiry grin. "Sorry Doc, as much as I would love to become a Heart Pirate," Yukimi nodded her head toward her retreating friends. "I can't abandon my friends like that," she said with a snap of her fingers.

Law chuckled as he shrugged. "It was worth a shot though. But isn't your crew leaving? Pirate Hunter-ya over there seems to be getting impatient," Law nodded toward where Zoro was fighting off a marine while he kept glancing her way.

"Er-right right, I just came back to thank you again for what you did in there." Yukimi rubbed the back of her neck while glancing at the moss covered building next to them with disdain.

But Law shook his head. "You don't need to thank me anymore. You helped me out more than you realize back then," Law answered back not wanting to go further on the subject. Where they were wasn't exactly private, not to mention they were very short on time before an Admiral would arrive.

"Yukimi! What the hell are you doing?! Let's go already!" Zoro shouted as he killed off another small group of soldiers.

"Ah dammit!" Yukimi gritted her teeth as she noticed more marines were coming.

"You're all under arrest, you damn pirates!" a marine shouted, brandishing a sword before he was thrown away by Jean Bart.

Yukimi turned back to Law with a sigh. "I really wish we could catch up properly, but this is definitely not the time nor place." The kitsune transformed, hopped up, and landed on Law's shoulder. "I'm glad to see you're doing well, even without me looking after your sorry ass!" The fox grinned at him before pressing the side of her face to his. "Hope we see each other soon!"

"Same here, Yukimi-ya. Now you better get going before Pirate Hunter-ya drags you away," Law said as he scratched between her ears.

The white fox smirked at him but got off, changing back. Then she raised her two fingers up, grinning deviantly. "Then as a parting gift from yours truly," Yukimi said not looking back at the group of frustrated marines who were still trying to get her paper bombs off their bodies. "I think this shall help you and your crew get a head start. Kasai!"

Law looked up as a somewhat large group of marines screamed as multiple explosions erupted from their bodies.

"Captain! What's going on?!" Penguin asked as he, Shachi, and Bepo ran over from defeating their opponents.

"Heh, our opening. Let's get going!" Law commanded his men.

"Aye Captain!" the crew shouted.

Law glanced back to Yukimi only to find she was gone. He looked back over to where the other Supernova was, but he was running toward where Straw Hat had run off to.

*^.^*

"Geeze why did you take so long?!" Zoro grumbled out as he cut down a marine.

Yukimi shrugged not at all sorry as the two caught up with the others with the Rosy Life Riders. "What, are you jealous or something, Zoro?"

"What?! Why would I be jealous?!" Zoro nearly squawked making the kitsune laugh.

*^.^*