I do not own One Piece.

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Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has written some pretty amazing stuff for One Piece.

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Rise from the Ashes

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Chapter 13: Dressrosa

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The next morning…

"EVERYONE WAKE UP! STRAW HAT'S DONE IT AGAIN!"

Stumbling out of his private cabin, which was festooned with paperwork and maps, the First Division Commander made his way to where the early-morning watch of his Sisters and Brothers were huddled around the morning paper. Oh, what now!? he wondered with something approaching despair.

He had been up all night doing planning sessions, he had not had his coffee yet, and he had been having a pleasant dream —a sadly rare occurrence— involving beautiful women from an exotic island whose male population had died out, fried potatoes, and broomsticks that helped you fly, and it had all made total sense!

"It's been only one day!" Marco groaned. "Not even a week since he came to the New World!"

Then he saw the headline:

"Doflamingo Arrested!

"Pitched Battle with Straw Hat Luffy and Law!"

Below in smaller print were the titles for smaller articles:

"The Dark Truth of Dressrosa!"

"Naval Admiral Fujitora and Marines Prostrate in Apology!"

"King Riku Dold III Absolved and Returns to Throne!"

"Straw Hat's Alliance with the Traitor Trafalgar Law Confirmed!"

"Royals held Captive within Dressrosa by Returning Home!"

Marco blinked, and began reading from the start again. He opened his mouth, only nothing came out. Finally he weakly uttered.

"Wha . . . ?"

He looked around, and everyone else was as stupefied as him. Marco had not seen so many dropping jaws since Big Mom had sent that marriage proposal. Unlike last time, there were no following hysterical laughter, or blood as the emissary had taken offense.

Is it going to be like this every day when I wake up to get the morning paper?

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Buzzing with adrenaline, the pirates impatiently waited for Marco to finish reading each and every article aloud.

Even as his words carried across the deck, the newest wanted posters for the Straw Hat Pirates were passed around with near reverence. All of their bounties had jumped up, including by a 100 million for three of them! Straw Hat Luffy was now worth 500 million, almost as much as Ace had been!

Ah, thought Marco with a mixture of pride and sorrow, he'd have been so proud.

Just as importantly, all of the photos had been updated from two years ago, generating a new storm of speculation.

"Wonder what happened to the Pirate Hunter's eye."

"Wow! These ladies have only become even more gorgeous!"

"What's with Blackfoot's bounty? 'Only Alive'? What's with that?"

"Dunno, never seen that before."

"Tony-Tony Chopper's not a pet!"
"Then explain his bounty poster, man!"

"He looks even more cuter here"

"They only added another fifty."

They were especially confused with the newest image of 'Cyborg' Franky, and how his face now appeared to be entirely made of metal.

"What'd he do!?" Haruta blanched. "Turn his whole body into robot or something?" He paused. "That's awesome!"

"And improbable," Jozu rumbled, while absently rubbing his own diamond limb, being unable to find a prosthetic strong enough to replace his previous arm. "How'd he get that sort of technology? Unless that's a helmet?"

"EEEEEEEEEEE! THE SOUL KING IS ONE OF HIS CREWMATES!?" shrieked a high-pitched voice.

Massaging their ears, everyone turned to glare at Curiel until what he had said sunk in.

"Wait? You mean the international musical sensation . . . was one of Straw Hat's crew the whole time? What the heck were they doing during those two years!?"

"And the skeleton is 'Dead Bones' Brook? What the heck? Did he have that epithet before or after, well, he became a skeleton? What kind of Devil Fruit did he even eat?"

"The World Government will probably ban his music."

"Which only means the value for copies of it are going to skyrocket now!" At that, some slunk off to hide their own Tone Dials.

On reflex, someone starting singing 'On Wild, Free Waves,' one of Soul King's bit hits.

"And they will carry you from adventure, to adventure~~!"

"Shut up! You're tone deaf!"

"Huh, and to think it was a pirate singing that this whole time! Gah ha ha ha! Imagine what the Navy's thinking right now!"

"Har har har!"

'God' Usopp had also attracted heavy attention, as individuals went over his poster and confirmed that his nose indicated he was originally Sniper King—whose bounty had skyrocketed up the most by 170 million.

"Man is he ugly. No wonder he wore a mask before."

"Yeah, but the Navy is calling him 'God'? What on the Seas for? He must be incredibly strong to pull of that kind of bounty raise. Maybe it's a powerful devil fruit?"

The older and more mature Foss and Blenheim were concerned for Blackfoot however. "You ever see an 'Only Alive' before?" Fossa asked between his cigar.

"Yeah," his fellow swordsman rumbled. "Whenever the World Government wanted someone very specific for something, and only that person. Usually, even when they want them badly, they still say 'Dead or Alive' because they hope their own marines will do it, or count on people wanted the full price as opposed to the 30% cut for just a corpse. Yet here they're desperate to get their hands on him, and are all but screaming that to the world."

"My thoughts exactly." Both men resolved to discuss this with Marco at length later. In hindsight, they realized they did not really know too much about the man, outside of persistent rumours of him being the former sous chef of a famous East Blue restaurant. Something about the idiot cooks there boasting about being affiliated with an infamous criminal and handing out copies of his poster . . .

"Their bounties are getting kinda weird if you ask me," 'Speed' Jiru noted to Namur, gently patting a stunned Atmos on the back. "I mean, have you ever heard of an entire crew getting a bounty? Even if it's just nine of them." For most pirate crews it was usually just the captain and his first-mate who warranted one. Even amongst the infamous Whitebeard Pirates it was only the Division Commanders and some of their stronger subordinates who had a price on their head.

"What I want to know is how they managed to do everything the papers are claiming, with only a crew of nine and Law. And yeah, I know one is an ex-Warlord and the other Straw Hat, it still almost too incredible to believe," Namur said, shooting Atmos another worried look. The 'Water Buffalo' was still trying to wrap his head around the fate of the man who had haunted his dreams nearly as much as the Traitor.

That the man who had reaped so many of their brothers at Marineford was now stripped of his title and imprisoned.

By Straw Hat Luffy, the very one the Whitebeard Pirates were trying to find so that he could help them strike bloody vengeance against Blackbeard.

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The anticipated rumblings spread across the covert channels of the underworld at the news that its foremost broker —the one man trusted to enact fair deals between the bloodthirsty cutthroats of the seas, and ensure delivery— had fallen. The man that so many depended upon to gain power, or hold onto it. The means to protect their lifeblood, or fight their wars.

Gone. All gone.

"Ha, ha, ha! Serves them right!" Vista crowed as he and the others listened to the newest reports.

"It's just like we feared," Marco said, scratching his forehead. "You can bet everyone wants a pound of Straw Hat and Law's flesh now."

"At least that alliance of theirs appears to be holding up," Izo pointed out. "Of course, after being stripped of his Warlord status and angering Kaido, Law doesn't really have many other options."

"That's two of the seven the Government's going to need to replace soon, or the whole system will be put to shame," Jozu smirked, while the others crowed with a distinct lack of sympathy.

"That system really has taken a beating over the last few years," Marco nodded. "But that's only going to make them hate Straw Hat even more." He started ticking off his fingers. "Crocodile we think, then Jinbe and Crocodile fight alongside Straw Hat—"

"And Jinbe beat Moriah without breaking a sweat!" someone yelled.

"That too, and some said they saw Straw Hat beat Hancock while he was at it. Now Law's abandoned his title to ally with him, and together they both brought down another Warlord."

"Serves 'em right for being dogs!" spat Atmos.

"Agreed, but it's not going to raise the pressure against Straw Hat."

Unsaid was the existence of the Warlord named Weevil, who had been hunting down both them and their allies.

"Back to the matter at hand," their ally Captain 'Thunder' McGuy reminded them. "The New World's in an uproar right now, and Straw Hat's made a lot of people with grudges against him right now. We've got to get to Dressrosa and find some sort of clue as to where he's going next!"

"He won't be stupid enough to stick around," Haruta moaned. "With the navy and enemy pirates after him, he probably left first thing. He could be anywhere by now."

Vista gave a bark of laughter. "Maybe to go see Big Mom and wreck one of her tea parties after all!" Then he paled as he processed what he had just said. "Knock on wood!"

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They had been forced to start writing lists now of questions to later ask Straw Hat when they finally met him. His actions were causing too many riddles and mysteries to buzz around in their brains, and the rumours flying across the waters were only making it worse:

Straw Hat had defeated Doflamingo single-handily.

Mighty pirates and kings had sworn themselves as his subordinates at Dressrosa.

Straw Hat had battled an admiral and had won.

He had kidnapped a beautiful princess.

He had an identical twin brother running around helping.

The Navy had invaded Dressrosa in force during the chaos and tried to kill Straw Hat, before being repulsed.

Pirate Hunter Zoro had cut down a mountain man (or a living, moving mountain, the stories conflicted) that was largest thing ever.

That Straw Hat had invoked a guardian deity to fight on his behalf

He was not eight meters tall, but twenty, and round —or fat— like a balloon.

He had seduced one of Doflamingo's assassins —the one with provocative maid outfit— to fight on his behalf. Others said that it was an exotic dancer of some kind.

That a cult worshipping the Straw Hat Pirates had appeared in Dressrosa.

Cotton Candy Loving Chopper could turn into a fearsome bull to fight on his Captain's behalf in the colosseum arena.

A one legged soldier and actual fairies had joined the Straw Hat in his top secret mission.

Some rumors floating across the seas claimed 'Fire Fist' Ace had risen from the grave to rain fire and blood upon their enemies.

That Straw hat and Law were joined at the hip, some said literally, while others were implying that they were some kind of lovers.

(The Whitebeard Pirates had no issue with the latter, and even discovered themselves joking that Law should be glad Ace was no longer able to go Overprotective Big Brother)

The fairies had brought the champions to Straw Hat to save them from the dolls.

Etcetera.

Frankly, it was getting a bit overwhelming, and just adding to everyone's confusion.

So now the Whitebeard Pirates were writing down everything they had to ask to organize and clean up the questions they wanted to throw at him when he finally sat still long enough for them to catch up!

"We'll put all our other questions from before Dressrosa on this wall," Rakuyo explained as he tacked on another large sheet of paper while another crewmember held a large pallet or more sheets.

"Think that'll be enough?"

"Eh, we've got more hallways. Only trick'll be making sure everyone keeps their questions in order."

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The island of Dressrosa was now a dot upon the horizon as they approached.

I have to go there, the place of Doflamingo's power, Jozu thought, suppressing any reaction at even thinking of the nation's former ruler. The memory of how he had been held helpless by that man's powers, while the Warlord casually chatted with Crocodile and tried to recruit the ex-Warlord.

"You sure you'll be okay?" Vista asked.

Grunting, Jozu just shot his brother a look as he adjusted his cloak, and put on the hat to hide his distinctive hairstyle. "Sorry, but I'm not sitting out. 'Sides, you got the last island."

Well aware of the turmoil beneath the surface for Jozu, Vista made a show of twirling his mustache and making a 'tch' of disappointment.

Under the Third Division Commander's leadership, they would be joined by Esmirel of the former nurses, and Seventh Division Commander Rakuyo, who was gently putting his spiked ball into his knapsack. Finally, they would be accompanied by their ally and Brother, Captain 'Bohemian Knight' Doma, for his more extensive understanding of the underworld, which would likely prove relevant here. The man's pet monkey was hiding in a knapsack, hefting a miniature pistol.

"Alright," Jozu said, walking to the smaller boat they would be using to make landfall. "Let's get going."

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Upon landfall, the scouts took in the sight of what had been hidden by the nation's encircling rock formations.

The island's devastation was a chilling testament to the power of a Warlord; one who had held his title despite making his home in waters infested with violent and greedy pirates who would have leapt at the chance to kill him and claim his title for themselves . . . if they thought they could.

Jozu was silent as he slowly he took in the state of Dressrosa. No surprise given the quality of the fighters, but neither Straw Hat nor Doflamingo displayed such power two years ago.

That the former had gotten stronger was no surprise. However, that the Division Commanders had been incapable of forcing the madman to unveil this level of power, so the knowledge that Straw Hat had, was . . . awe inspiring.

Of course it had obviously been horrifying for the inhabitants, as it appeared the nation had escaped total destruction by a hair's breadth.

While buildings were springing up in the center of the capital city and moving outwards, everything else had been leveled, and rock formations around the massive structure that the palace rested upon looked altered in a disturbing and unnatural manner. Strange straight lines cut through the ground, rock, and buildings, pointing inwards, which they were told were the instrument of Dressrosa's near-genocide by Doflamingo.

In fact, it was a miracle that half the country was not dead, and Jozu and company assumed the death toll had still been hideous.

The one who had explained this to them was one of the various local soldiers —metal helmets, capes, and spears—who were providing security at the docks during this time of uncertainty. He had answered the 'merchants'' questions without issue, yet visibly still a bit wary of the disguised pirates. While understandable, that concern was unnecessary as Jozu and the others were not here to raise attention.

As a precaution, the guard made a point of mentioning there was an ongoing marine presence. Fortunately, it appeared they were also mainly focused upon securing the underground harbor the deposed tyrant had created, and ensuring it was not a safety hazard. At that, the soldier pointed towards a dark hole in the ground that was visible even from this distance. "Straw Hat Luffy raised up the ground itself when he punched Doflamingo down," he neutrally said.

"Where's all the debris?" Rakuyo asked.

The soldier scowled at that. "The marine admiral was here swept it all up to throw at Straw Hat. It cleaned everything up, but he dumped all those potential building materials into the ocean!"

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The pirates casually made their away around the city, being careful not to attract attention.

Given the number of powerful fighters —or at least powerful anywhere outside of the New World— who were still present in Dressrosa at the moment, Jozu's height and bulk did not stand out as it would elsewhere. Moreover, they went out of their way not to cause trouble.

Jozu made a point of purchasing something whenever he spotted any soldiers, usually a snack or something that would serve as a minor souvenir, to reassure everyone these newcomers were not here to cause trouble. A few times they even stopped to help some of the citizens move a heavy load.

Still, Jozu noted, those soldiers move as if they have been well trained. And given how everyone acts around them, they're also popular with the people.

Moreover, despite the devastation, the populace appeared happy, alternating between maintaining their businesses and rebuilding their country whenever they had a spare moment.

"Luffyland! This way!"

Jozu blinked and looked down to see a stream of Dwarves of all creatures rushing by, miniature straw hats on their heads, followed by a crowd of cheerfully laughing children running after them, similar hats on their heads. "Yaaaay!"

"Awwww!" cooed Esmirel, the former nurse. "They're so adorable!" Yet her eyes were still sharp as she took in the hats, and they all heard the word "Luffy."

So he's beloved here as well, the pirates all wordlessly said as they shared a knowing look.

Jozu however was only briefly entertained. It's not a question of whether or not the locals like him, but where we can find him.

Still, asking about the new fad amongst the children seemed like a safe way to begin inquiries.

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They stopped to eat at a pleasant looking restaurant, with a sturdy looking roof and a repaired kitchen. It was also free for locals to help support everyone. People of all occupations and social standings were present, bolting down their food with gusto after a hard day's work of repairing their homeland.

Once more Jozu made a point of appearing extra-friendly by offering to pay for two given how much food he had to eat, before cashier could even say anything. He still took up a lot of space at the tables, but there was not much he could do about that. It was just him, Esmirel, Doma, and Rakuyo at the table after the others finished eating, and there was no hostility in the air. From snatches that could be overheard, it appeared that the kingdom was overflowing with optimism as they discussed tasks to complete, the upcoming Reverie, their returned king, the rebuilding of the army, and how the Dwarves were helping after coming out of hiding.

Then she came.

Bright and cheerful with pink hair, she walked in with most of the other guests stopping to smile and wave.

"Had a good day?" one man asked.

"Yep!" she chirped, pulling off her dirty gloves as she got into the lineup. "We've gotten all the hospitals fixed now!"
"Excellent!"

The beautiful young lady got her tray of food and looked around for a place to sit, and Jozu belatedly realized that their table was the last one with a free space. The rest of the people dining here had picked up on that too late, as before they could finish standing up to make room for her, she had settled down across from the pirates with surprising speed and grace.

Except she doesn't know we're pirates, does she, Jozu thought with resignation. We're dressed as regular, unarmed merchants. She seems friendly though, since I think she deliberately sat down so fast so that none of the others would give up their spots.

Then he registered the Dwarf on her shoulder, with curly blonde hair. Oh, she is just too adorable.

At that very moment the tension in the room skyrocketed as all the other occupants fully processed what had just happened, and the pirates instinctively knew it was directed towards themselves. Esmirel immediately took the initiative to break the ice. "It's good to see more women fighters," she complimented.

"Pardon?" the pink-haired beauty asked, looking up from her food.

The nurse-turned-fighter lazily gestured. "Your muscles, the way you move, callouses on your fingers, you're a fighter, aren't you? And a pretty decent one I'd guess."

Blinking, the teenager looked strangely downcast. "I was," and then her face was beaming, "but not anymore, now that we're free!"

Maybe a former gladiator slave from the arena? Jozu wondered. He knew that 'Joker' had been involved in slavery, which might explain the aura of protectiveness all of the other customers were projecting.

"Indeed," Doma agreed. "It's amazing how Doflamingo was defeated and your true king restored!"

For some reason now the rest of the patrons were looking at them with even greater suspicion, and a few whispers that the pirates caught made it seem like they were worried Jozu and the others were searching for this girl in particular.

New track. "What is with all of those straw hats the children were wearing?" Jozu rumbled. "Is it some new fad with them?"

Oh what is wrong with these people? Rakuyo internally moaned at the growing number of glinting eyes they were getting, and even the pretty young lady was looking at them strangely.

"It's just something they all like," she shrugged, except the pirates could sniff the lie, and now dimly they understood. Whoever she was, she had some connection to Monkey D. Luffy, and she and everyone else in the restaurant was afraid that these strangers were after clues to track him down to capture or kill him.

On the one hand, revealing their identities was dangerous, while on the other . . . "We're asking because we're looking for Straw Hat Luffy," Jozu admitted. "And not because we're marines or bounty hunters," twisting his mouth in distaste at the last four word.

"We're hoping he can help us with something," Esmirel added. "Unfortunately, he moves around too much."

"Well you won't find him here!" one person yelled.

"How dare you insinuate that our kids wear those hats because of him!?"

"Yeah! We thought he was a hero but then he stole our precious Princess! Who knows what happened to her!"

There were more agitated cries, but none of the veteran warriors sensed any real hostile intent behind those accusations. Moreover, Esmirel noted a slight blush on the young girl's cheeks, who had not introduce herself so far at that, and she had a sinking suspicion that despite their attempts to avoid attention, the Whitebeard Pirates were now sitting beside someone who was guaranteed to put a spotlight on the former nurse and her siblings.

"One of Blackbeard's captains was here recently."

None of the pirates could hide their reaction to that name, the sheer hatred they felt leaking through their disguises. Surprisingly, their reactions and the sound of that voice, the pink-haired girl seemed to relax as she turned towards the speaker who had just arrived.

The woman who had said that, was older than the young lady with them, yet also strikingly beautiful, especially with her rare, dark olive-skin. The way she moved and the look in her eyes reminded them more of an assassin however, and they did not lower their guard. "Jesus Burgess of the Blackbeard Pirates participated in the competition, and later made a point of hunting for Straw Hat to kill him. Afterwards, some of their ships came by, but their crews did not come ashore and left shortly afterwards. Burgess did not join them, and he is no longer on the island."

"Was Straw Hat alright?" Jozu quietly asked, dimly noting that some of the other customers were calming down now, but his haki detected what he believed were dwarves taking position nearby as a precaution. Whoever this is, these people respect her. Trust her. She can mobilize support, and she's dangerous herself. Just not Division Commander-level obviously. I don't think she's lying, which leaves the question of why she's telling us this? What's her angle?

"Straw Hat was badly hurt beating Doflamingo. He was saved from Burgess by his brother, Sabo, the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army, who ate the Flame-Flame Fruit like 'Fire Fist' Ace.

That news was punch to the gut.

They had known the Fruit would be in Dressrosa, and had dismissed it. As much as it would have been a memento to Ace, it had been both too risky, and too obviously a trap set by Doflamingo; he would never had let such a prize escape his hands, and challenging him would have brought Kaido after them. The identity of the new wielder however . . .

"I, I was unaware that there was another brother," Doma said.

"As was I," said Esmirel, with Rakuyo and Jozu nodding in agreement.

"They are quite the family indeed," the mysterious newcomer agreed. "Although I suspect you know something about family. No, don't worry," she hastily reassured them as they tensed, a drop of nervous sweat appearing on her brow. "I wish you all good fortune in finding Straw Hat."

Seeing the sincerity in her expression, they relaxed, as did everyone else in the restaurant, but then the beautiful lady became more serious. "There's something else. Some of the Straw Hats, under the command of 'Black Leg' Sanji," and here she blushed, "were forced to sail away from Dressrosa to protect both a passenger and a hostage, but also to lead off Big Mom's ships. One of the large, singing ones."

"Those are only used by her most senior crew members," Rakuyu hissed with dread. Straw Hat challenged her, an Emperor. Is this her response!?

"The Straw Hats escaped," the woman continued, "and I've heard that their Captain planned to meet up with them, although I don't know exactly where." Then she gave a melodramatic sigh. "Unfortunately, since Straw Hat successfully escaped, we have no idea where he is now," and then as if in afterthought, "nor Princess Rebecca." Then she sobered up again. "Nonetheless, I do not think you will find anything more of value here, so you would be best to meet with the others," jerking her thumb over her shoulder in the exact direction of where Marco and the others were waiting out of sight offshore, "and try somewhere else."

She knows who we are and why we're here, Jozu calmly thought. How? Is it Observation Haki taken to an immense level, or maybe a Devil Fruit? Still, I think she's right. He and the others were using their own haki for confirmation after all. Would also explain why she knows so much, since it looks like she's telling the truth.

"Thank you," he gravely said, and quickly finished what was left of his meal. The others followed suit, but then Esmirel tapped her chin. "Is there a message that you might like us to pass onto him?"
"She means a message that some traitorous scoundrel might want a dirty pirate to know," Doma corrected with a knowing grin.

"Just, just tell him that his friend from the colosseum, and everyone else, are still happy," the pink-haired girl smiled.

"Yes indeed," the older woman nodded with a small grin of her own. "And maybe that we hope to see more of Blackfoot next time," she added with another light blush.

Without another word the pirates made to make their leave, when an older man still finishing his food called after them, "Make sure to see the statues before you leave!"

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"Gah!" Rakuyu screeched, putting them all on guard. "We should've asked those women if they knew if Chopper was a pet or not!"

"This is getting ridiculous," sighed Esmirel.

"Should we go back and ask?" Doma hesitantly asked.

"No," Jozu growled. He could see the statues up ahead —if not the details— and wanted to get off of this island as soon as possible. The increasing number of knowing glances the locals were shooting him made it clear that word about them was spreading, and it was only a matter of time before the wrong ears overheard. Taking advantage of this, he walked over to one man in particular who had been staring at him. "Excuse me, may I ask you a quick question?"

"Perhaps?" was the wary response.

"My companions and I have been wondering if 'Cotton Candy Loving' Tony-Tony Chopper of the Straw Hat Pirates is really a pet or not. I don't suppose you've heard any rumours about him from when he was on Dressrosa?"

The man blinked in surprise at the question for a few heartbeats, before regretfully shaking his head. "Sorry, but I don't think I ever even heard of him setting foot on the island."

Groaning, Jozu glanced around at the other citizens, who only shook their heads in response.

"Are you KIDDING ME!?" shrieked Rakuyu.

"Guess we'll just have to try at the next island," Esmirel wearily concluded.

"Thank you," Jozu politely said before continuing on their way.

Two minutes later they were at the statues.

"Okay, all I see are carvings of a guy with a helmet and sword looking cool, a man with a chestnut on his head," observed Doma, "some sort of goblin sticking its tongue out, and, wait, is that—?"

"We went over those Wanted Posters carefully," Rakuyu said with authority. "That 'goblin' is undoubtedly 'God' Usopp. I just have no idea why they did it like that. While the fourth must be 'Straw Hat.' Lucy being an alias for Luffy!" he triumphantly decreed.

"He grew a beard that long in two years?" Doma asked in surprise.

"Impressive," Jozu solemnly nodded.

"A sign of grieving?" Esmirel pondered aloud.

"Uhm, no, it's a fake," Rakuyu corrected. "He didn't have a beard on his Wanted Poster."

"Definitely understandable that he would overlook shaving if he was upset or training," Jozu continued. "Rayleigh probably took him to some isolated place were there wasn't any razors anyways."

"Oh come on," Rakuyu said incredulously. "Hey, I am telling you, in his picture there was no beard. For crying out loud, we all saw him punching Caesar on the Den-Den days ago, and he didn't have a beard then either!"

"Wow! Then he must have grown it in only a few days!" Esmirel gasped. "That's a serious medical condition! If left untreated it will be his armpit hairs next!"

"What!? Wait . . . You're all just messing with me, aren't you?"

"Yep," Jozu's lips twitched into the briefest smirk. "Now let's get back to Marco. We can add 'How to disguise yourself' to the list of things we've got to teach him."

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Author Notes:

Thanks Kingrii for your suggestion about Marco being afraid to sleep and wake up to more madness! :-P

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The scene with the straw hats and the children actually happened in the anime, episode 778. Not the Jozu part however :-P

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Yes, that was Rebecca and Viola that the WBP met.

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Will the Whitebeard Pirates ever learn Chopper's true status!?

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Recommended fics:

"Cat and Dog on a Whale" by MeanderCat

"Shanks's Hair Trouble" by rose7anne101

"My Family Can Beat Up Your Family" by rose7anne101

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Next chapter: 'Looking for Marco'

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Please Review, and I will get back to you!