A/N: re-edited 8/6. *sigh* It's days like this I wonder two things. 1) why did I write 20+ chapters without better proofreading, and 2) why am I such a perfectionist that I had to rewrite every chapter of this story? Anyway, onward!
A/N 9/2: Good grief, I had to rewrite right before moving. It's been a chore, but here I am again!
Question Corner
King0fP0wer: What can I say, I like to recycle. Expect a lot of that sooner and later. As for each of the players: Kuro – ex-captain, Jango – second mate, Siam – one-half of the Nyaban Brothers, ship guards. On the matter of Carina, oh do I have plans for her!
And since it was brought up, I will reveal Abu and Iago's powers... they're guns. But guns that ate the Human-Human Fruit Model: Capuchin, and the Bird-Bird Fruit Model: Parrot. My apologies if you thought they were the same!
As for Arlong Park... we will get to it... heh heh.
Now, with that out of the way...
Chapter 14: Quicksilver
"…and that's everything I heard. God, my fingers hurt!" Yosaku said as he dabbed at his nose. "I wish I could have been more helpful! I even lost my sword…"
Despite the bad news, Hook laughed it off and lightly punched Yosaku's shoulder, much to the surrounding group's confusion, even to the ten Krieg pirates that had been rescued. "Dude, you did fine! Now we know Nami didn't just run off! You keep this up you might be part of the crew by tomorrow!"
"Eh! You can't invite a bounty hunter to join your crew!" Yosaku said.
"Hm?" Silk tilted her head. "But I thought We were going to have Zoro join?"
Zoro nodded. "Yeah, that was impressive! Just what I expect from-WHAT THE HELL!? I'M NOT JOINING A PIRATE CREW!"
Silk sighed condescendingly. "Heh, such a slow response time."
"No one wants to hear that from you!" The whole group deadpanned, which only made the girl laugh.
"Anyway, Hook? Let me get Nami! Until Zoro and Sanji join, I'm your best bet!" Silk offered, in a casual but firm manner.
Hook nodded without hesitation. "Great thinking! Summon!" In no time, one of the small boats Hook had absorbed at Syrup appeared. (Nami had never really asked for them back-only the gold inside the ships.) "And while I'm at it…" Concentrating on his arm, Hook used some of Kuro's claws to whip up a new sword for Yosaku. "I'm not much of a blacksmith, so the blade is mostly the same as it went in! Sorry about the fuzzy handle though!"
It didn't look like Yosaku heard him though, since he was mooning over the new blade. "Whoa! So cool! Thank you, Captain Hook!"
"Clakakakakaka! It was nothing! Knock it off!" Hook scratched his cheek, covering up his blush from the compliment. Shaking it off, he turned to Silk as she got on the dinghy. "Silk! Bring Nami back safe! I'd wish you luck, but I know you don't need it!"
Silk just matched his grin. "You'd better stay safe, too! Rip Krieg apart, and I'll save you some Kuro ass to kick!"
As Silk began to sail over the slightly calmer waters, Ussop looked over to see one of Krieg's rescued men shivering and pointing. "Eh? Are you alright?"
"No…No! NO!" The panicked pirate screamed as he grabbed at his hair. "It's him! He chased all the way from the Grand Line!"
Sure enough, there was a small coffin-shaped boat flowing next to Krieg's shipwreck. There was only one man, but the atmosphere he gave off felt like the eyes of a lion…or a hawk.
When one of Krieg's men further out in the debris-filled water asked why the quiet man was chasing them, he seemed to say 'for fun.' That didn't sit well with the pirate; he shot at the man, but he whipped out his sword, a two meters long monster, and…well, it was hard to describe, but it made the bullets miss. Wide.
Hook blinked; he had looked right at it, and still wasn't sure what he saw! "Did he... there's just no way! It shouldn't be possible! It almost looked like-"
"He deflected them…" Zoro, who had somehow gotten all the way over to that platform, illuminated those who had no clue. "I didn't know such swordplay was possible…"
The man regarded Zoro. "A sword without grace is an iron bar."
As it turned out, this exchange between Zoro and "Hawk-Eyes" Mihawk, who was only at the Baratie by chance, was just a prelude to the most awesome swordfight Hook and the crowd of chefs and pirates had ever seen…it was also the most one-sided swordfight they'd ever seen. Zoro swung, slashed, stabbed…and it was all blocked by Hawk-Eyes, and his…dinner knife.
In the end, the gap was just too wide; Zoro's blades and his body were sliced with no effort! Only the one sword in his mouth was still whole. To top it off, instead of retreat or surrender, he opened himself up for the last strike! His reasoning: "Wounds on the back are a swordman's shame." Hawk-Eyes couldn't stop grinning as he carved Zoro from shoulder to hip.
"BIG BRO!" Yosaku cried.
"HOLY CRAP!" Sanji exclaimed.
"WHY YOU…!" Silk, her boat floating next to the driftwood, jumped out to attack the Grand Line native.
As Silk charged, Hook glared at the world's greatest swordsman. Strangely, instead of looking at Silk with her ax raised to attack, Hawk-Eyes turned to look... right at Hook. "Interesting. You seem strong. Wish to battle, do you?"
Hook swallowed as the piercing gaze went through him, a cold shock tightening his throat. 'This guy...he's nothing like Kuro or Buggy...' Aloud, he said, "Silk! Forget him! Treat Zoro!"
Said blonde stopped mid-swing, to turn and see Zoro sliding into the ocean. "Shit!" She dived and slid on the driftwood platform, grabbing his legs and dragging him back up. As she ripped off her shirt to expose her sarashi, she stemmed Zoro's bleeding with the torn top. The moment a shadow passed over her, she finished tying up the wrappings, then whipped around, Dorado in hand. "Back off, you freaking vampire! You've done plenty!"
Mihawk gave her an unimpressed look. "He is still alive. I've never had such fun in a long time." He looked back over to the comatose swordsman, and then: "My name is Dracule Mihawk! It's too soon for you to die. Discover yourself. See the world! And grow strong, Zoro! However long it may take... I shall await you at the top. Strive with your whole heart and mind to best this blade, fierce one! Strive to surpass me, Roronoa Zoro!"
"He's passed out though…" Silk murmured, as Hawk-Eyes looked toward her.
"That determination you showed earlier? What is your goal, girl?" he asks casually.
Silk hummed, standing up to glare at him. "The name is Silk! You're looking at the World's Strongest Woman!" She glanced Hook's way with a wink. "And on the side, I'll make James Hook the next Pirate King!"
Sanji's cig dropped from his mouth. "Strongest Woman!? Why's that whole group so…?"
"P-pirate King!?" The Krieg pirates rescued by said man looked at him in an absolutely spooked light.
Mihawk raised an eyebrow. "You would willingly put someone's dreams in front of your own?"
Silk crossed her arms, not standing down. "No one's dreams are above the other! I'll help him reach his goals, and he'll help me reach mine!"
Mihawk stared hard at Silk, before he chuckled, the most emotion he'd shown beside his wide grin. "If your partners are anything like you, this one is in good hands."
"What…are you talking about?" A raspy voice sounded amidst the conversation. Zoro cracked open his eyes, his gaze slightly unfocused. "I won't become…a pirate. What makes you think…I'll even agree?"
Hook's answer was a chuckle and a small smile, drawing Zoro's attention. "Because you've got a dream. Just like me. Just like Silk. Just like Ussop. Just like Nami and Sanji."
"What!?" Sanji roared. "Hey, shit-rate! I never told you my dream-" His eyes widened as his voice cut out in a gurgle, his mind catching up with what he said.
"See? You'll fit right in!" Hook laughed. "Plus, World's Strongest Swordsman sounds like the kind of epic that would be on the Pirate King's crew! Where else are you gonna find a stronger sparring partner than me?"
Zoro just looked in Hook's general direction, muted by his earnest words. Then he just chortled, before resting his head and closing his eyes. "Conscripted, huh? I'm still gonna think about it. And you…" He opened one eye to look at Mihawk. "I accept your challenge! Next time we meet, I will take your title!"
Silk squatted down to poke his forehead. "Not anytime soon, I bet! You can't even stand, right?"
Zoro side-eyed the blonde. "Stop. Ruining. My. Moment." He said through clenched teeth.
Mihawk shook his head as he jumped back on his grim dinghy. "You three are quite interesting. I look forward to when we meet again." As he sat down, his boat began to drift into the fog again.
"FORGETTING SOMETHING, YOU DANDY!" Krieg yelled at the swordsman (No really; I'm reading the Viz translation, and that is what he called him. I'll change it though if it offends anyone. Back to the story.) as pulls out a pistol to shoot him. By the time he fires, the bullets go through nothing but fog. "Tch. He's gone…"
"And so are we!" Silk grabs Zoro and leaps into the boat. "We'll catch up to Nami and bring her back! Finish this up so we can have a grand adventure, Hook!"
You hold up a peace sign with one hand. "You bet! And don't let Zoro smoke!" While your other hand smacks the cig approaching Yosaku's mouth.
"Good luck, Silk! Be careful!" Ussop called as her boat disappeared over the horizon.
Once Silk and Zoro sailed out of sight, Hook began shadow boxing, bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Alright! Once I clobber those assholes, our debt's fully paid! Come on! Let's do this, Krieg!"
Ussop smiled with relief. "Phew! I'm glad to be here with you, Hook! All you need to do is use your Devil Fruit, and we can get out of here quick!"
One of the men Hook rescued blinked at that bit of news. "Devil Fruit!? Shit, you're one of those monsters, too!?"
His comrade looked disheartened. "S-so, you're gonna wreck Don Krieg just like the Grand Line? We can't catch a break-"
"No, no. I won't be using any powers." Hook waved his hand in front of his face, cutting them off.
"Eh?" the pirates said.
"What!" Yosaku's eyes bulged.
"WHAT!?" Ussop's jaw dropped. "Whaddya mean 'no powers!?' How can you win without…"
"I just will." Hook stated it as a fact, not remotely phased at the thought of the task before him.
"T-that makes no sense!" One of Krieg's survivors bellowed. "If you have an upper hand, you use it! That's what Don Krieg would do!"
Hook gave the speaking man a cool look. "Do I look like that scum-sucking, backstabbing coward?" The pirates froze at that dig and even Ussop immediately shut his mouth to listen. "I have my pride and honor staked on everything I say. I promised if that dumbass attacked the Baratie, I'd beat him barehanded, even if I have to go through his men!" Hook glared at the men, shivering under such a serious stare. "I don't make light on my threats."
"WHAT ARE YOU LOT STANDING AROUND FOR!?" Krieg finally realized some of his men weren't nearby and screamed at the men near Hook.
The shortest of them gritted his teeth before answering. "C-captain! We can explain…"
But Krieg was having none of it. "That mouthy brat's right there! Either you kill him now, or-"
One of the braver ones, the first one to speak up before, looked disgruntled. "Listen, damnit! This kid's got a-" was as far as he got before Krieg pulled out a pistol from his cloak and shot the man through his head.
"The one who doesn't attack right now will be next!" the madman roared even as the body of his former crewmate fell onto the deck lifelessly.
Ussop watched the proceedings, white as a sheet. Yosaku clenched his new sword, though he kept it undrawn. "This guy would kill his own subordinates? Shit," the bounty hunter muttered. "That is…" He paused when he realized Hook hadn't said anything, his brow under a heavy shadow, and his face unreadable.
He looked at Krieg's men with a side-eye, the remaining rescued looking split between who they are more afraid of fighting to the startling loss of their vocal comrade. Finally, he said, "He can't get you all." One of the more talkative ones blinked at the sentence. "If he's focused on me, he can't get all of you. Especially if you all chose to run at the same time."
And like that, the spell was broken; all nine of Krieg's followers ran to the back of the restaurant before any more shots were fired. As Krieg shouted after them about cowardly nature, Hook fixed him a blank look. "Hey." A single word was enough to cut him off and catch everyone's attention. "I'm gonna make you pay for that, you piece of trash captain."
"WHA-!" Krieg looked like his brain was overheating from how angry he was, his red face clashing with the purple sideburns. Before he could form a coherent word-
"Raising the fins!" A chef called out, and with the announcement, a large platform rose to the surface. Connecting with the docks, it made a full stage perfect for fighting.
As Hook made his way over to it, Ussop and Yosaku stayed where they were while Sanji came over to join Hook on the 'fin,' while loosening his tie. "You may have convinced Chef Zeff to let you defend our home, but I'm not so senile." Cracking his neck from one side to another, Sanji concluded, "I'm fighting! So, don't stop me!"
Hook considered his words for a minute before nodding. "You can fight Gin, but everyone else, especially Krieg, is mine!" As the young pirate spoke, Kreig's men literally howled as they prepared for battle.
Sanji lit a cancer stick and breathed out a cloud of vapors. "That's over 50 assholes by yourself. You can handle that?"
Hook grinned with reckless abandon. "Oh, I can handle that."
As the roaring crowd swung, jumped, or clambered onto the deck, Sanji gave Hook a glance, unfazed by the bloodlust of their attackers. "I hope you have a plan besides 'smash 'em.'"
Equally unsettled, Hook reassured him with a hand wave. "Nah, it's a three-point plan. One," he cracked one set of knuckles. "Kick ass. Two," he cracked the knuckles on his other hand. "Break every bone in Krieg's body. And Three!" Getting into a fighting stance, as the Krieg Pirates charge, Hook declared, "You'll join my crew!"
"THAT'S NOT THE TIME FOR THAT, DUMBASS!" Sanji yelled.
As the pirates fall on the pair, Hook began blocking punches, ducking under blades, and deflecting clubs. As the superior numbers seemed to have backed him into a defensive position, two men with rifles took aim from outside the crowd. "Ha! We got 'em!"
"How'd he do that?" Hook asked himself.
"Huh?" Ussop muttered, barely listening as he tinkered on some project with a serious overabundance of gunpowder.
"Ussop~ Focus, man!" Hook chided the sniper with his half-assed listening.
"H-huh!? Oh, right! Sorry," Looking up, Ussop glanced at the strangely contemplative pirate. "What are you asking, Hook?"
"Not asking. I'm..." He struggled for the right word. "Rousing? Wondering?"
"Musing."
"Yeah, that!" Hook snapped his fingers. "I'm musing on how Kuro could move so fast! How do ya think he did that?"
"How should I know?" Ussop snorted at the mention of the man cooling his heels in a makeshift cell below. "And why would you care?"
Hook stared off toward the horizon, standing up and trying to mimic Kuro's foot placements. "Just wondering... If I can figure it out..."
Hook smirked as he noticed the guns trained on him, before looking at the shrinking gap in the crowd to his right. "Quicksilver." As the men fire, all they hit is a few of their own men. The riflemen had just enough time to question what happened when Hook suddenly appeared behind them, grabbed them by the backs of their heads, and slammed them to the wooden deck.
"Wrong, Sanji!" With a heave, Hook tossed his two human-shaped projectiles into a group of human-shaped pins! "There's always time for that!"
Sanji blinked at the turnaround in battle. "What the..."
"Whoa! He figured it out!? When!?" Ussop gasped, as Yosaku looked puzzled.
"Figured what out? Is it the reason he teleported from one place to the other?" he asked the long-nose, who shook his head hard enough for his nose to wobble in the breeze.
"No, no! Remember Kuro? He had this technique to move so fast, he appeared out of nowhere too!" Ussop scratched his chin in thought. "Hook was trying to figure it out some time ago... if he cracked it, he might be able to move as fast as Kuro!"
Back in the thick of it, the pirates were thunderstruck as one guy kept disappearing and reappearing across the skirmish! "Crap!" One sea thug stepped back. "This guy's running circles around us! What are we gonna do!?"
"INCOMPETENTS!" Krieg roared. "He's just one kid! Get in there, and kill him!"
Sadly for them, while they did try to organize, Krieg's men just weren't fast enough to stop Hook- "Quicksilver!"
...as clothesline two thugs- " Quicksilver!"
...sent one fighter into three others with a high kick- "Quicksilver!"
...and finished with a single charge blowing five opponents into the drink! "Barrage!"
Sanji, Yosaku, and a lot of chefs were speechless; beating up a thug or two was hardly impressive. Taking down 20 in such a short amount of time? That was rapidly encroaching on spectacular! "WOO HOO! GO, HOOK!" Ussop cheered, pumping his fists in the air!
Hook wiped the sweat off his nose, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Come on! Who's next! I'm not even winded! Is this your best, you trash captain!"
Krieg's eyelid twitched. "PEARL! FLATTEN THIS BRAT, AND SHOW HIM OUR PRIDE!"
As the pirates cheered, a man wearing two giant shields, and a bunch of smaller ones, climbed out of the water. "Ha Ha Ha! The invincible Pearl is here!" He looked down at Hook with a sneer. "You're the one giving Krieg trouble? I can't imagine how. PEARL PRESENT-huh?!" The prideful man brought his fist down, but all he hit was deck; he didn't even realize where Hook was standing after the dodge.
"Lousy present…" the young pirate huffed, making the glass cannon gape at how close Hook had gotten to him without notice. "Have it back!" With that, Hook slammed the flat of his foot into Pearl's chin! As the armored foe stumbled, Hook grabbed his arm and used his dizziness to flip him onto a group of slow pirates.
"PEARL!" The group of pirates cried out fearfully as Hook grinned viciously. As Pearl rose, he touched some blood on his lip, which only made the Krieg Pirates panic even more, to almost everyone's confusion.
"Oh crap! He's bleeding!" One of the pirates screamed in terror.
"So? It's just blood…" Sanji shrugged, confused about the reaction-
And then Pearl yelled, "DANGER! I'M IN DANGER!" and began slamming his shields together, getting faster, until-
FOOSH!
The S.O.B. caught on fire! "STAY AWAY! FIRE PEARLS!" And now he was throwing orbs of fire - at Hook, Sanji - hell, everyone really! While Hook was able to catch two of the flaming pearls heading his way, he could only dodge the other six aimed at him...
"AH! HOT!"
"I'M ON FIRE!"
"HEAD FOR THE OCEAN!"
…which hit the crowd of opponents behind him. "Ouch," Hook winced, less for his enemies and more at the flaming projectiles in his hands.
Sanji grimaced. "Idiot! You're only hurting yourself! Why…"
Sweating from enduring the fire, Hook still grinned through the pain. "Isn't the Baratie the old man's treasure? Clakakaka…besides, it's stupid to burn the ground we're standing on…" Hook looked away from Sanji's astonished face to glare at the maniac still screaming about danger. "And you! Quicksilver!" Speeding at the raving lunatic, Hook used both (still on fire!) fists to strike him dead center in his mass. "Get off of this ship!"
Unable to take the push, Pearl slipped backward onto half-submerged driftwood, head first! It was damp enough to not catch fire, buoyant enough to keep him afloat, and dense enough to hopefully knock some sense into him...or preferably knock him out. With the threat handled, Hook immediately jammed his hands into the ocean. "Ahhhh…thank God!" he sighed around the steam coming up from the water's surface.
"Don't just stand there!" Krieg roared at his remaining crew. "Get him!"
As they charged, Hook looked over at Sanji as he shook off the excess water on his hands. "Hey, about that help? I could use, like, three minutes to rest, 'K?" With little more than that, he turned around and ran at the crowd barring his way. "Hey, chefs!"
One of the incoming attackers sneered. "You idiot! Don't go ignoring-" He was summarily cut off when Sanji's shoe leather met his teeth.
In a single handstand, Sanji kicked the mob into unconsciousness. "Anti-Manners Kick Course!"
As Hook kept running like nothing was even threatening him, he finished his statement. "Get me some food and a pitcher of water!"
"What!?" Patty snarled, a comically large fork in one hand. "Eating in the middle of battle is-!"
"Thank you for volunteering, Patty," Zeff said nonplussed, as he stood among a pile of Pearl's pearls, smoldering but not aflame any longer. "Grab something from the tables."
"Ha-wuh!?" Patty gaped at the order but followed it anyway.
Meanwhile, the mooks left standing lamented their bad luck at this point. "What the hell! Why is some two-bit chef this strong!?"
Sanji just grinned back. "Don't you know? Challenging a chef at sea is bad luck."
Soon Patty came back with food, water, and a glass, all balanced on a tray. "Well, boy, I hope you like leftovers, because there's little time to…" Hook ignored him as he scarfed in earnest, ignoring the glass and drinking straight from the pitcher.
"You burn through a lot of stamina with all those incomplete steps of yours, huh?" Zeff muttered, causing Hook to give him a confused look.
"Hm? Incomplete..." Hook questioned before shaking it off and saying, "It's not just that. I'm still trying to figure out how to not burn through my stamina! My techniques are..."
"Too advanced, I'd say," Zeff commented as he watched Sanji whale into another three combatants. "You don't slow down and polish the ones you got, your current tactics will always wear you out."
"Can't afford to slow it down," Hook said after he chugged some more water. "I can't be Pirate King unless I'm unparalleled-the strongest out there!"
Zeff considered the statement, not noting Patty's expression at Hook's causal comments of such a lofty goal. "That so? Sounds like a troublesome burden then..."
"That's enough!" Their conversation was interrupted when a familiar figure jumped onto the deck: Gin, spinning tonfa tipped with metal spheres. Landing on deck, he took off at a sprint.
"Eh? Gin!?" Sanji was surprised enough that Gin was even able to get past his guard…and blaze right past him. Rather than the blonde-haired chef, Gin made a beeline for the crowd of chefs...and specifically the head chef himself.
'Enough of this!' Gin thought. 'If I can take the old man hostage, we can end this with no more fighting! Our men-this crew!-has suffered more than enough!'
The Man Demon of the Kriegs's charge was cut off as Hook jumped in front of him, still eating. "Hey Gin, came for seconds?" The comment was enough to slow him down in confusion, which gave Hook the opportunity to go for his legs. Gin recovered quick enough to jump over, retaliating by bringing his tonfa down on Hook had he not sidestepped. "Careful with those! I almost spilled my lunch!"
Seemingly ignoring him now, Gin pressed the assault, even as Hook dodged every hit. "We just want the ship! Just stand down!"
Hook swallowed his last bite before responding. "Before I say anything on that, quick question…" Hook fixed him with a serious glare, his blase attitude once more performing a 180. "Why would you follow that trash?"
Whether it was the question or the change of tone, Gin fumbled his next hit, forcing him to step back from a shoulder check Hook almost connected with. "I know he seems heartless-"
"He shot his own crew!" Hook cut him off with a snarl.
Gin winced but ultimately kept going. "…he wasn't always like that! He was – is! - a good captain! He cares for his crew! He wouldn't hurt us arbitrarily!"
Hook looked over at Krieg, the unyielding asshole grinding his teeth as he stood on his little floating platform. "You're in denial, Gin." Hook stepped back at a lunge for his gut with tonfa, before chewing and swallowing. "The first thing he did after being served a meal out of the goodness of Sanji's heart? Attack him and hurt you."
Gin paused at that. "He may not have kept his promise…but we were devoid of hope for so long! He was…he was…"
"So, when he shot that man who only hesitated to attack, was that also because of his hopeless situation, or was that just a…what did Silk call it? Oh right! Occupational hazard?"
Gin's last spin-and-swipe went wide. "He…a captain has to keep his crew in line-"
Hook cut off the delusional man with a scoff as he finished his in-battle meal. "Gin, God himself could be hanging down on his shoulders and it wouldn't be an excuse for what he did! Punishment is one thing, killing is another!"
At this point, Gin was not even attacking, barely holding onto his tonfa. "I…but, he…"
"Gin!" Krieg growled, his face darkening by the second.
Hook approached the open combatant with a much softer expression than before. "Most importantly, if he was a real Captain, he'd be the one fighting this battle. Not you, not his men who he threatened, not that fatass I knocked out. But him? He's a coward who uses fear to keep you all in line, nothing more." Hook placed a hand on Gin's shoulder, said man not even flinching as his gaze was miles away. "Gin, I can understand being indebted to someone who may have saved you, but he is not that man anymore. If you still see that, then it's just a façade he's putting on to keep your loyalty. Don Krieg isn't just heartless; he's ripped his own heart out and crushed it." By the time he had got to 'façade,' Gin was openly weeping; there were no audible sobs, but honestly, his face spoke volumes with an expression that didn't need any more emphasis. Hook gave the emotional pirate a sad smile…
Before shoving him to the side from a bullet that was aiming for Gin's back! Gin looked around like he was trying to find any other place else it could have come from; Hook's eyes were fixed firmly on where it did come from – Don Krieg, who had ripped off his coat to exhibit gleaming armor. From his wrist was a gun barrel poking out from a panel on his arm. Without looking away, Hook stated, "He hurts people, Gin. It's all he ever does, and if he gets this ship, he'll just hurt more… SO HE'S NOT TOUCHING IT!"
Krieg sniffed as if unphased by the youth's word. "Hm. Brat." Instead, he began to take off one of his shoulder pauldrons. "I can take whatever I want…because the strong will always rule over the weak." Aiming the giant plate at the Baratie, he added with a scowl, "Let me show you…"
And that was when Pearl jumped out of the water, looking more refreshed than ever! "Don't you dare…forget about me!"
Sanji, who had just finished the last of the Krieg pirates, sighed with a put-upon expression. "And then there's this asshole again."
A/N: Thanks for reading!
