Hello,

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and is still healthy with everything going. I'm sorry that I didn't upload for so long and I'm sorry that it isn't really a complete chapter. But I didn't want to keep you waiting... I'll explain everything at the end of the chapter.

Also, there might more mistake in this chapter as I only checked this part very quickly. But I will try to correct them later maybe. It can be helpful if you point them out when you see one because I might forget it...

But I hope you enjoy this short chapter.

~Chapter 24 – A difficult way to heaven - Part 1~

Bepo looked at the sky. The sky seemed clear. It was quite a nice day to sail.

"Where does the Log Pose point to, Bepo?", Law's voice interrupted his thoughts and he looked down at their navigation tool. "It points up. That means we must be closeby Conis-san's home. But how do we get up? I have tried to study every map we have… But there wasn't any kind of hint how to get into the sky… I'm sorry", he said and let his head hang sadly.

He felt like he disappointed the others a bit. After all, his job was the navigation. So not being able to do that made him kinda worthless… especially since it didn't help Conis who had always stayed on the ship with him.

In his depressive state, Bepo didn't notice how Robin stepped next to him.

"Excuse me, Bear-san. But is there another island closeby? If there is, we could investigate there. Maybe we will find out how to get the sky", she said with the slight hint of a smile.

Bepo blinked once, then twice before he started to think. "There is one. Jaya. It should be closeby. If we go there, you probably have around four days until the Log Pose reset its course", the mink said.

He watched the others. Would this information be helpful? Ain had said something about being a little careful for now despite Luffy now being an unofficial Shichibukai. He hadn't really understood it, but he trusted Luffy, Ace and Law who in turn trusted the judgement of the former marine.

"I heard that the only town there is Mock Town which is in the hand of pirates. So you can say it is a lawless island", Ain said. "It would be best if Luffy stays on board during our time there. We don't know when the official announcement will be made. But it may be out when we reach it. I can't say for sure but they will probably attack because they have some kind of home advantage. At least, Luffy might get attack so that they can boost their status for defeating a Shichibukai."

"Huh? What? I'm not going to lose! And even if they would hit me, it wouldn't hurt as much as a hit from Ji-chan", Luffy spoke up with a pout on his face. That sounded like there would be some kind of a ramble when they will read the island.

"We want to bring Conis home safely, right?", Law suddenly said. The eyes fixed on Luffy. Their young captain seemed to think a bit before nodding.

"Then we can't get into much trouble as long as we are on Jaya. It would be an obstacle during the investigation. Meaning it might be that we have to leave the island without any information which would lead to us not being able to go up to Skypia."

Bepo looked from Law to Luffy. Would this be enough to convince the young captain to stay low? It was possible their best bet. After all, even if Conis hadn't been on the ship for a long time and interacted mostly with, she was a crew member. Conis was Nakama.

Therefore she was under Luffy's protection.

"So there might be an obstacle which can block us from going to Skypia?", the captain then asked. He seemed to think because he weighted his head from one side to the other and back.

"Yes, it is possible", Ain confirmed.

Luffy wrinkled his nose slightly. Was that a good reaction?

Despite knowing the boy for a long time now, he wasn't able to read him well enough. Humans were quite complicated for him. Even if he had gotten better thanks to Law helping him.

"Okay. I will stay on board with Bepo and Conis and will not start a possible fight. Only if they come to Shippy themselves I will beat them up", Luffy then decided.

Well, that looked like it worked.

Sanji was pouting. He couldn't help but feel jealous. Why was it that the stupid marimo was in a group with Ain-chan and Robin-chan?

Not that Bartolomeo was a bad company. In general, the male members of the crew weren't that bad. Which meant a lot, when that came from him because of his strongly distrust in every male person.

But… who wouldn't be able to build some kind of trust towards their captain, when they get to know Luffy? Even if he had been sceptic at the beginning. At least towards Luffy, it had vanished. Because Luffy was simple, he said what was on his mind and did what he wants to. Also, the way Luffy put his trust on him and others made him not want to disappoint the younger one.

He was kinda special.

"Apple?", a voice interrupted his thoughts. The voice sounded weak like the person was ill or something.

Sanji turned his head to look at them. It was a man, who really didn't look very healthy, on a horse in the same condition. There was a basket with apples dangling in the hand of the stranger.

"Do you want one?", the man asked again.

Sanji studied the apples carefully. They did look okay. But this man didn't look like a vendor. It wasn't like he was really picky or something. But if the man was as ill as he looked, then wouldn't it better to eat the apple himself or stay at home in bed? It made him sceptic.

Suddenly a loud noise interrupted his thoughts.

"Ah! He exploded!"

Someone screamed ahead of him where the explosion had taken place.

The ill-looking man coughed laughing. "Looks like someone didn't have any luck."

Was… was this man responsible for the explosion?

"Do you want to try your luck?"

This question was the answer. His hands tightened to fists to control his anger. How could this man do it? He wasted food just to kill people?! The man went against everything the old man had taught him.

"How dare you to misuse food for that purpose?", Sanji asked. His voice shaking with anger. He really wanted to teach this guy a lesson.

"Hey, Doc, come over here. Bellamy beats up some weaklings again. It's fun to watch." Another male voice shouted for the man on the horse.

Maybe he should …

"Let us go, Sanji-san. We have promised Ain-san to not get into any fights and stay focus on our investigation", Bartolomeo said and pulled him with him.

He really wanted to teach this guy a lesson. But… he did promise what Bartolomeo had said. It was a conflict inside of him. One part screamed because it was an insult to his honour as a cook if he just went away. But the other reminded him that he would disappoint the others who put their trust into him.

A strange smell also hit his nose. It led to a strange sensation he couldn't really describe.

Suddenly Bartolomeo stopped.

"Sorry, Sanji-san. I hadn't noticed that I used it… I'm sorry I shouldn't have used it", the green-haired started to apologize.

This confused him. What had happened?

"Did you do something?", he asked confused.

"Oh… I accidentally used pheromones… You know… that there different ones. Alphas do have one which also influences Betas. I kinda got worried because you seemed so angry… so I used them to make sure that you would go with me when I want to go on. I'm sorry that I did it without your consent… I must have used them on instinct. I promise that I won't use them again if I can control it", the taller one explained. He did seem sorry.

It kinda surprised him. In his early childhood, the time which he wanted to forget… there had been only one Alpha. And this one had made his life hell by overlooking everything his brothers had done. This alpha was the reason for his trust issues with the man. For his hatred.

But… Bartolomeo seemed really sorry.

"It's…" He felt unsure of what he should say. "It's fine… It actually helped since I was in a bit of a conflict regarding the promise and my honour as a chef… So I guess it's okay. And you said you won't do it again."

It was reasonable. And to be true, he would have to thank Bartolomeo for ending his conflict so he wouldn't disappoint the other's trust into him.

Maybe… the other male members of the crew were reliable as much as Jeff was.

So again I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Especially when some people are a bit impatient because they want Marco/Luffy to finally meet. But I have decided when they will meet and I'm not that far away with writing it. But here is the thing. I have only written it on paper meaning I still have to type it. And for that, I do often lack the time or can't really focus to translate the chapters into English while typing them. So this is helpful for me to get closer to the point where Luffy and Marco will finally meet. But since I have to translate it from German to English and maybe to some changes while writing it, it does take some more time than I thought it would. But I'll try to finish the second half of the chapter a little bit more quickly and then we will see how fast I can upload.

And I wish you all a happy new year =)