Only moments after leaving Kyuka's shores, outrunning the reach of Hina Squad's guns, the Straw Hats breathed easier and finally gained a moment to turn their attention even away from Robin's binding to the Unluckies. None of them knew who exactly the two animals were, but the consensus was divided.

"Who are they?" Sanji asked Zoro.

"Dunno. Thought they might be old friends of yours or something," Zoro responded snarkily.

"What is that even supposed to mean?" Sanji threw back, realizing the time away from Zoro at the resort had not been appreciated nearly enough.

"Ooh, they're so cute!" Nami said as she left the helm and rushed over to them. She looked the sea otter up and down with a wide smile, and then beheld the turkey vulture. She tried her best to not let her smile waver, but it was obvious Miss Friday was not nearly as adorable to her as Mr. 13 to everyone on board.

Though Mr. 13 wanted badly to dwell in the praise in his cuteness, his fear over Mr. 0's orders and expectations won out. He rushed over to his bag laying nearby and grabbed his pen and pad out, sketching out in rapid fire a rough but accurate sketch of Nami. He flashed it to all the Straw Hats, even Robin all tied up. "Wow, that's really good! I wish I'da known you two on that island," Gaimon remarked as they flashed the drawing to him. In response, Mr. 13 quickly sketched out a full scale drawing of Gaimon, even more accurate than the one he'd done of Nami. Gaimon's eyes went wide in admiration. "Wow!"

Luffy rummaged around in Mr. 13's sack and found the already completed drawing of Zoro. "This one of you is pretty good, Zoro!" Mr. 13 bustled over to Luffy, studying his face intensely, and drew it out as accurately as the others. "Ooh, nice! That's so good! You even got my hair right." He pointed at Usopp, giggling. "Do Usopp!"

Mr. 13 sketched out a mostly accurate picture of Usopp, except that his nose was almost twice as long as it was in real life. He even took to drawing it horizontal to fit the entire thing. Usopp even overcame his pain to groan at the depiction, sitting down and laying on his back to stare at the blue sky instead. "He's not that good."

Last but not least, Mr. 13 scampered over to Sanji and Robin, quickly sketching them both out and flashing it to them to see their reactions. Sanji was trying to wrestle Robin from the Black Cage, but they both focused on Mr. 13's efforts all the same for a moment, silent though they were. "Really good stuff," Robin finally managed to respond, unsure what else to say.

Mr. 13 and Miss Friday bowed at the compliment, gathered the drawings up, then went about from one crewmate to another, hand or wing outstretched. The Straw Hats each raised an eyebrow. The cute factor wore off at the blatant begging for tips. "We don't even get to keep them, though," Zoro pointed out.

Mr. 13 mounted Miss Friday's back as they realized the Straw Hats were not about to tip, and he gave a salute to Zoro before the turkey vulture's wings took off, beating against the deck up and into the air before taking off into the wide blue sky. There was barely a cloud in the sky, so they watched the pair of Unluckies drift off into a small dot in the air. Little could the Straw Hats or even Nico Robin guess who those two talented animals were connected with.

Luffy broke the silence and said, "Those two were pretty cool. I wish I coulda asked them to join the crew!"

Sanji groaned and made for the cabin door. "You've gotta stop trying to recruit every semi-interesting person we meet."

"You liked the last person I brought on board," Luffy teased as Sanji wandered wordlessly into the cabin.

Even the minor teasing Luffy had tossed his way was instantly dispelled upon seeing the state of the kitchen. Sanji's eyes went wide as he saw wrappers, packaging, and crumbs lying all about the mess hall area and his kitchen. "What did you do, Mosshead?!" Sanji cried out as he went about to inspect the cabinets and refrigerator a little more closely.

Luffy, Zoro, and Gaimon stepped inside at the commotion. "Woah, what happened here, Zoro?" Gaimon asked innocently enough.

"Oh yeah," Zoro replied all too nonchalantly. "It was those two animals probably. I think they also tossed your comforter in the ocean at one point," he added for good measure, feigning like he was trying to be helpful.

Sanji felt hot breath flow from his nostrils as he rounded on Zoro, pointing a finger right in his face. "When you stay behind to guard the ship, it includes my kitchen from weird, marauding animals! We barely have enough for three days left between all seven of us now, do you realize that?"

Luffy crumbled to the floor on his knees, his face stricken with heartbreak as he finally understood the gravity of the situation. "That means we won't last two days!" He ran back outside to the fresh air and looked about in the blue sky, calling out, "Get back here, you dumb dog and bird! You ate all our food!" Unfortunately, the Unluckies were already too far off to even see anymore.

Additionally, Kyuka Island was receding in the background. Lucky enough for them, the Navy was not chasing them as of yet, and if they weren't yet, it made Nami feel more at ease. "I think we're in the clear," she announced to everyone on deck. "I think we got away."

Usopp gestured down at Robin's predicament. The Black Cage was still holding strong as when Hina had placed Robin inside of it, though they could no longer even see Kyuka Resort from here. "I have no idea what to do about this."

"I told you to stop worrying about me," Robin responded. "Uncomfortable as this is, it'll wear off any minute now."

Nami placed her hands on her hips, personally between comfort at seeing Robin locked up tight and confusion over how the Navy had been able to attack them at Kyuka. This Nico Robin . . . quite a dangerous item, she thought before saying out loud, "How'd you wind up like this? Didn't you try to use your Devil Fruit?"

"I did use my powers," Robin replied, and there might have been a hint of true bitterness there in her voice for once. "It wasn't for fault of the Flower Flower Fruit I wound up like this. User error, I guess."

Nami nodded as sagely as she could, chewing on the inside of her lip. "Usopp, we should go take stock of the weaponry below deck. I heard those Marines talking, and apparently this whole stretch of the Grand Line from end to end is covered in Marines that tough or tougher."

Usopp took a deep breath, annoyed at first that the day's work wasn't already done despite it only being 1:45 at this point, but he followed Nami mostly without reply to the cabin. He glanced back at Robin before he left and told her, "Be right back."

Nami led the way this time, and they wound their way past Sanji, Zoro, and Gaimon. Nami walked behind Sanji, who was still lecturing Zoro over his kitchen, and nodded her head at her fellow conspirators. "Gotta go. Let's finish this later," Zoro told Sanji with a demeaning palm in the air to signal the end of this conversation. He followed Nami and Usopp into the underbelly, leaving Gaimon there awkwardly.

"Well, uh," Gaimon said, chuckling as he looked between the door the others had left through and Sanji. "Guess as quartermaster, I should go see what that's all about. Inside the cabin, inside my duties, isn't that the phrase?"

Sanji furrowed his brow as Gaimon continued to chuckle uncomfortably. He wrung his hands as he walked to the door that led to the underbelly, his back to Sanji. All the better, he thought, daring not to turn back as his eyes were wide. Oh, I can't believe we're already playing 'Tight Lipped.'

In the underbelly, the four Straw Hats convened, Gaimon walking in last. He breathed a sigh of relief as he shut the door behind him. "Geez, guys, that was about as awkward as you could make it. Sanji suspects something's up."

"Whatever. He can suspect what he likes," Zoro said, crossing his arms and sitting on a barrel. He looked between the three of them. "Anything to report from your time away with Miss Nico?"

Usopp, too, crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. Nami and Gaimon glanced between each other and at him briefly, but they shrugged. "I didn't see much of her, to be honest," Nami replied.

"Me, either," Gaimon said. "She seemed to just want her alone time."

Zoro scoffed. "As if." He looked at Usopp, notably quiet but also reflective as he stared deep into the floorboards. "Usopp. What about you?" He suddenly recalled where everyone was in the lobby when he'd arrived. "You were carrying her."

Usopp shut his eyes, bracing himself for impact, and nodded. "Yeah. I . . . followed her around the whole time we were here." He remembered first the conversation they had in the cafe, remembering the awful feeling he'd had to think of Robin making off with the Going Merry in the middle of the night like some sneak thief. How can I word this? He decided on some form of the truth as he continued speaking. "She knew the Navy was onto us, but . . . and I'm not sure, but I think she was trying to lure them away from us."

Nami and Zoro in particular furrowed their brow. "What do you mean?" Zoro asked.

Usopp sighed, slapping his hands against his thighs. "She was acting weird the whole time we were there, pretty much since we walked in the doors to the resort. After breakfast today, I followed her to her room, but she instead entered the servicemens' tunnel. Where they work the pipes," he clarified. "She was being followed by some Navy captain with a really powerful Devil Fruit." He decided to leave out the part where he broke free from Hina's Cage Cage Fruit; they would never believe him. "It took everything I had, but I got her back from the Navy."

"What?" Zoro said derisively. He waved his arms wide. "You coulda just let the Navy get her and we coulda gotten away, back to normal."

Usopp shook his head for most of Zoro's words. "No, no, Zoro, I don't think it would have happened like that. They were bagging us, too."

"But, I mean, it's true. We're pirates, and she's a World Criminal or whatever," Nami interjected a bit softer, though her point aligned with Zoro's. "Surely, with how low on the totem pole we are, we could have worked something out? For our own safety?"

Gaimon suddenly felt nauseous and shook his head, waving his hands from the lip of his box. "Woah, woah, no, no. What are we talking about her? Could you all really live with yourselves if our journey was bought through dirty means? She's still our crewmate, after all. How would Luffy have reacted?"

"We're already in agreement that Luffy isn't the best judge of character for this predicament," Zoro snapped at Gaimon, and Usopp as well.

"Okay, well, he is our captain so that should really weigh in for more here," Gaimon threw back as simply but as forcefully as he could.

There was a moment of silence as Zoro and Nami realized Usopp and Gaimon did not feel as on the same page as they had when Robin had first joined. It was Zoro that broke the silence with a scoff as a sarcastic smirk opened on his face. "What happened all of a sudden? Now you're taking her side?"

"We're not taking sides, we're looking at it from all angles," Usopp said.

"But, Usopp, you hear the way she refers to us? She doesn't give a damn about us," Nami objected, taking a kinder approach than Zoro was. "Do you think if the roles were reversed she'd have helped you or any of us out from under a Navy captain's thumb?"

Usopp shrugged after a moment's consideration. "I don't know. Maybe not then, but now? I don't know."

Here, Nami hardened, straightening her back out to the fullest and taking a quarter step back from Usopp. "I do know."

"We're lucky she's tied up in that mess," Zoro said harshly. "Wish it never wore off."

Usopp sighed and pushed himself off the wall. Even before he said it, he wondered if it were the full truth. "Guys, I don't think she means us any harm. She may not be loyal to Luffy or this crew, but -."

Zoro walked toward the door, too riled up to hear any more though trying his best to remain calm. "I've traveled the seas a lot longer than you and met a lot more people. I get a feeling about these kinds of things." He opened the door and barely looked Usopp in the eye from the corner of his own to throw out, "Some First Mate." That stung Usopp as Zoro made his leave.

Despite the disagreement, Nami shook her head and muttered, "Jerk." as she placed a reassuring hand on Usopp's shoulder. Looking him right in the eye, she still did have to say, "He's right, though. I don't know what it is, but I just get the worst feeling from her. I do."

Nami left the underbelly next, leaving Usopp and Gaimon. They stood in silence for a moment, though Gaimon desperately wanted to know what to say. Damn social exclusion of any kind. It's a silent killer, he thought to himself, punctuated when Usopp was the first to speak: "Do you get that same feeling?"

Gaimon took a deep breath in through his nose. "No."

Usopp nodded and opened the door for him to leave. The two returned to the upper levels to find Robin had been freed from her binds; indeed, distance was all it took for the Cage Cage Fruit to wear off. Everyone but Sanji was now on deck, staring at the course the Merry was charging ahead. Usopp spotted Luffy sitting on the figurehead; he walked the distance over to him alone.

"How you doing?" Usopp asked as he came to lean on the railing.

Luffy was all smiles as he turned to look back at Usopp. "Hey! Great! It's a wonderful day to start a new adventure!"

Usopp couldn't help but laugh. "We're only just finishing one, I think." His mind drifted already back to the conversation just had in the Merry's underbelly, and it made him think, There are always too many adventures happening at once, Luffy.


The Unluckies eventually returned to Kyuka Island, as it proved to easily be the nearest island around. The island was in chaos after news spread of what had happened in the resort. Not that it mattered to Mr. 13 or Miss Friday, but they heard from passers by as they landed on the main street that Hina Squad were the perpetrators of this strange attack. They were healing up in the resort until the absolute soonest minute they could leave. Then, they would never be welcome back on Kyuka Island.

The Unluckies crept into an alley to establish a connection with their Transponder Snail back to Mr. 0. Before even phoning in, Mr. 13 was scurrying to have the Snail scan the drawings he'd made of the Straw Hats and send them to the boss. He'd only sent two over by the time Mr. 0 called them. Miss Friday held up the receiver to her and 13's ear both while the sea otter continued scanning the drawings.

"Good," his silky voice crooned at them. "I was waiting for your report." The way he said it suggested his patience was running out. "Now let's see what we've got here."

On Mr. 0's end, he was receiving scans of the drawings Mr. 13 had done, examining them one by one. Those that meant nothing to him he simply set aside to a pile. Even Zoro and Straw Hat he set in that pile. Yet there were two very curious faces he had not intended to see among these drawings. One was of a young man with those distinctive features anyone would recognize as someone of note. I'm not sure how you're connected, but it's good to know, he thought as he set Sanji's drawing aside.

The second drawing was far more bone chilling, even less expected, and perhaps a bit thrilling. Nico Robin stared back at him from the simple etching his officer had done, yet Mr. 0's mind whirled in thought. How fortuitous for you, Straw Hat, Mr. 0 thought. The Unluckies waited on the other end of the line as the last of the scans were finished. Mr. 0 looked at the drawing of Nami and set it aside on the pile.

"Nico Robin," he growled into the microphone. Mr. 13 and Miss Friday of course had no way to respond; he appreciated that. That was why, even more than Mr. 1, they were the only agents able to know his true identity thus far. "Thank you, Mr. 13. Miss Friday. Deliver orders, company wide: The Straw Hat Pirates are to be left alone. Period."

He knew the Unluckies would follow their orders no matter what, so he hung up there, dwelling on the ramifications of such a decision. Some of his employees might leave the organization; he could understand why, though the ones under suspicion of such action were no one he intended on keeping around for the end game, anyway. Too soon to be brought down by loudmouths, he thought as his fingers worked at the Snail dial.


It had been a few days now that Koala had been Mr. 1's prisoner inside this dark, dismal shack. She'd grown to notice that the windows were not just boarded up, but dismantled and paneled over completely. Only the faint form of where a window used to be remained in the wood of different ages. There was a cot in the corner where Mr. 1 would sleep; he'd take his mask off while facing away from her and then slip into bed facing the wall, his blanket over his face. Koala was tied to a chair, bolted to the floor, facing the complete opposite way. She could crane her neck enough to see his precautions, but she would never be able to make out details from this angle.

In the day, Mr. 1 might step outside for a time before he came back. Other times, he sat around in the shack, either napping behind that mask or staring at nothing. Sometimes, he would stare at her, and his cold, dead eyes would chill Koala to the bone. That was the only time she balked, and the only time they interacted. Mr. 1 was not mistreating her; nor was he feeding or watering her, or even letting her up to use the bathroom, but that was no longer an issue five days in. Or was it four? Six? Seven? No way was it eight . . .

The Den Den Mushi in the corner rang. Mr. 1 lifted up quickly but calmly from his seat and stomped across the floor to the Snail, picking up the microphone. "Yeah, boss?"

"I got what I needed. I just have one last question for Miss Independence Day," Mr. 0 grumbled from the other end. Koala's blood itself shivered throughout every vein and artery in her body.

Mr. 1 took the Snail and brought it over to Koala for her to speak into. "Here she is," he said before sticking the microphone in her face.

"Miss Independence Day," Mr. 0 crooned. "I hope you're still doing alright. Fret not, I have good news for you today. If you can answer me this. Was the World Criminal, Nico Robin, a part of the Straw Hat crew when you encountered them?"

Koala's eyes went wide a moment before she furrowed her brow in complete confusion. "What? No. What a ridiculous idea."

There was silence. "Are you sure?" Mr. 0 said after a measured moment. Something about the cold way he said it, the length of the pause, and the enunciation of his words made Koala envision the end of her life. Her breathing started to grow haggard, worse by the second.

"I swear," she said almost hollowly. "I'd have given the act up right then and there. You and I both know that."

Mr. 0 chuckled from the other end. "Very well. I believe you. Mr. 1, she can go." Koala's eyes went wide with relief, and she made eye contact with Mr. 1. "Miss Independence Day - or Agent Orange, or Koala, or Shimsa, or whatever it takes to get through to you," he said, and Koala's blood suddenly ran cold once more as he rattled off almost all her identities. How could he know all that?! "Do not report any of this to your superiors. You will find your waiver safe outside. Return to Guanhao. Tell your boss Mr. 7 died in a hurricane or something. You had no way of getting in contact with me again. Mission failure. Deal?"

Koala bit her lip and gritted her teeth. If her superiors, if her predecessors, could hear her now, see her now . . . Well, they would surely kill her. She realized suddenly she hated Mr. 0 for this act of mercy, though she might still have respected it. "Deal," she forced out from her lips. She hoped her eye contact with Mr. 1 had gone from a look of hope to a look of raw hatred, though deep down, she knew her emotions were futile against someone like him.


Seven days after the Straw Hats battled Hina Squad on Kyuka Island, the warship belonging to Captain Smoker plowed through the sea toward Navy Base G8. It was here that Hina Squad had retreated after being booted off Kyuka Island. Vice Admiral Johnathan had been happy to accommodate the squad's recovery. As soon as Smoker had heard the news, he turned course immediately for G8 - it had been sheer luck they were still within its seas, but Smoker did not want to lose the chance to speak with old Hina.

It had boiled his blood a bit to discover Hina would do such a thing when word had surely reached her ear that Straw Hat was his. Yet the news of Nico Robin joining the crew . . . Smoker hadn't been able to come to terms with that. He becomes more amazing every day, Smoker thought, using "amazing" in a purely objective way. For days on the trip to G8, he'd ruminated on it, and forgiven Hina already for doing what she did. Yet since he'd heard the news of Ohara when he was a boy, he doubted in a young girl's ability to accrue such a bounty all the same.

Word spread fast in the Navy. His superiors at Marineford heard of his change of course to convene with Hina, and from Vice Admiral Doberman himself, he'd laid orders for Smoker to "insure Captain Hina still has her wits about her as a Naval officer. Conduct is of the utmost importance to our cause, whatever the mission! For now, we have not only let Nico Robin slip away - again - but we have made ourselves look a fool in doing so. And we can issue no bounty increases for the most part."

The one exception had been that it was momentous that Nico Robin should be seen again for the first time in almost a full year. It was the longest she'd gone without being spotted, and the World Government and the Navy suspected that might mean she was nearing her endgame. After this stint at Kyuka, I doubt that very much, Smoker thought to himself. But he was still captain; he'd get paid to speak his thoughts soon enough.

Nico Robin's new bounty was B80m, only one million above but the encounter had been such a failure. The World Government had something to say about the destruction at Kyuka Resort, unhappy to hear it was the Navy that had done so, and even though permission had really been granted Hina, no one in the Government or Navy owned up to saying so. Not only were Hina Squad banned from Kyuka Island, all Navy Watchdog-class squads were allowed there anymore. That had upset much of Smoker's squad, the newest Watchdog squad.

The great stone wall that separated the main base of G8 had two gates on the East and West; Smoker's warship entered from the West. The gate was raised high enough to let the ship pass in, but not fully, and then lowered promptly behind them. Long regarded as the most defendable Navy Base in the world, G8 was once Naval Headquarters, and Smoker was impressed to lay eyes on it. It was those days of the Marines that had inspired Smoker to raise arms with this side of the law.

Smoker Squad docked among many other Navy ships, some smaller and some larger among them. Smoker watched the crew ready the ship, tying them up to the docks. "Come with me, Tashigi. I'd like you to meet my old classmate," Smoker asked the sergeant, and the pair along with a small retinue of five other Marines who knew folks from Hina Squad came along down the gangplank.

"Captain Smoker, an honor to meet you," came the greeting from executive officer Lieutenant Commander Joshua, saluting Smoker despite his rank over him. Smoker humbly saluted back and offered the man a cigar wordlessly, but Joshua declined. "Welcome to G8, all of you. Hina Squad is recovering in our infirmary slowly but steadily."

"How is the old girl?" Smoker asked as he motioned for them to move on. Joshua led the way along with his fellow host, escorting the seven from Smoker Squad to their infirmary. Smoker lit his cigar, a bit nervous for the response. Nico Robin was known to leave folks in bad shape.

"Alive, and sure to recover, but still out cold, I'm afraid," Joshua reported. "Many of her men are still unconscious, but a few have awakened. The CPO is still out cold. He went up against Roronoa Zoro, from the sound of things." Smoker felt Tashigi tighten from his right even without looking at her. She gripped the hilt of her sword. "Funny, I always heard he was on our side."

"He's a rat like most bounty hunters, that's all," Smoker replied. "Who took out the Black Cage?" He figured he already knew the answer would be Straw Hat.

"They don't know. They found her alone, beaten and looking like she'd been lit on fire," Joshua told him. "In this building here, everyone." He held the door open to the infirmary ward on the West shore.

Hina Squad took up most of the beds here, and Smoker observed them all as he passed. A few were healthy and simply spending time with their comrades who were healing up from broken limbs or other such wounds. Yet a great many were knocked out cold. "If we ever meet those guys on our own terms, I'm killing 'em all," Smoker heard a Marine say as he held his friend's hand, unconscious in a gurney.

Hina was near the end of the row of gurneys, and Joshua was taken aback to see that she was sitting up. The medic was checking her senses to make sure she wasn't discombobulated or further injured. She was exhausted, more than anything, but she totally ignored the tests when she saw Smoker coming. Her eyes widened a moment as Naval pride flowed through her and she felt shame at her friend seeing her like this; but she soon smiled to see that Smoker had the rather out of character expression of pure worry on his face.

"You look terrible," Smoker said, interrupting Joshua before he could say something else. The others from his squad were visiting the others they were connected to; two of them went to Commander Glove's side, the rest to others from Hina's squad. Tashigi remained nearby with Joshua and his fellow escort, plus the medic. Smoker sat across from the medic, not taking his eyes off Hina's face.

"I feel terrible," Hina said. "And I haven't even heard what the brass has to say about all this."

Smoker narrowed his eyes kindly. "It's not good."

Hina swallowed. "I know." She turned to the medic and placed a hand on his warmly, something Smoker felt was uncharacteristic of her. But her turning her head made the bruises on her neck all the more visible. He had to avert his gaze. "I think I'm fine. Can we finish this later? I'd love to catch up with an old friend."

The medic considered things a moment, but Joshua tapped him on the shoulder and nodded his own approval. "Let me know if you need anything," the medic told Hina as he stood and made his leave.

"That goes for us as well. You three take as long as you need," Joshua told them, bowing his head slightly before turning with his other man and heading off to leave the infirmary. Smoker motioned to the now vacant seat for Tashigi to sit.

Hina looked at Tashigi and extended a hand. "Sergeant Tashigi, a pleasure. It's good to see there's still a woman to keep Smoker in line."

Tashigi seemed taken aback, even looking at Smoker wide-eyed at the comment while he just looked back at her with a half chuckle. "Oh, no, Captain! Smoker-san is a really great commander. I've learned a lot from him."

Hina winced from the pain but laughed plenty, ignoring it. "I'm just kidding. Come on, I know better than anyone he's a stick in the mud." She patted Smoker on the shoulder. "Thanks for stopping by, Cap."

Smoker took a deep breath. He was relieved to see Hina safe and awake, but now that he could tell she would recover fine, he was boiling inside to know everything about the fight against the Straw Hats. "So what happened?"

Hina looked between Smoker and Tashigi before drawing a long, beleaguered sigh. "Glove and Asahija are still out cold, along with most of my men . . . what a mess. A mess is what happened."

Smoker leaned in close, and even though there was little reason to, hushed his voice to say, "Is Nico Robin really part of Straw Hat's crew now?"

Hina shrugged after a moment, staring at her bed sheets. "It would appear that way." She looked back in Smoker's eyes. "I know you're after them, too. I was too scared of what command'd do if I saw Nico Robin and just let her go. I failed."

Smoker took Hina's hand. "I failed many times in E5 because of the Straw Hats. That's why I'm pursuing them now."

Hina narrowed her eyes, already feeling the weight of whatever punishment would be coming her way. She was glad to have Smoker here and now, but she was quite curious about it. "Then what are you doing wasting time here? Hoping to get lucky?" Tashigi went red in the face and avoided the captains' gaze.

"I'm not wasting time. Being able to check on you is a bonus, ya jerk," Smoker said. "I came to propose something to you. A sort of . . . class reunion, I guess." He motioned toward Hina with his hand. "You know more about the Straw Hats now." He motioned toward himself and Tashigi. "And we know more about the Straw Hats now." He leaned in even closer, leaning on his knees. "I know Nico Robin might be the big beef, but I see it different. I see Straw Hat as the big dog there. He may only have B25m to his name now, but give it time. Within the year, who knows where he'll be?"

"Or what Nico Robin could do in that time," Hina added.

Smoker waved his hand about. "Sure. Whatever she could do, too. She can be your white whale, as far as I'm concerned. It doesn't matter for what I'm proposing." He took a deep breath. "I think we've both got pretty tough customers, but I don't know if we have what it takes to handle the Straw Hats alone. I've . . . let them slip away twice now. I don't want it to happen a third time."

Hina nodded sagely. "And, logically speaking, the only way I can really make amends for Kyuka is to bag Nico Robin."

Smoker chuckled, glazing toward the sergeant. "Take notes, Tashigi. She's right when it comes to higher command." Back to Hina, he said, "So you're seeing what I'm saying."

"A conjoined Watchdog squad? It's never been done, but it's never been shot down, either," Hina thought with a wry grin. "Of course, Watchdogs have worked together before -."

"No. We're one squad, under your command as much as mine," Smoker said. He could feel Tashigi's eyes back on him now. "What do you say, Black Cage?"

Hina's grin turned from wry to steadfast, cocky even. "I say, you're on, White Fang. So long as you can handle the paperwork, seeing as I need my bedrest and everything." Smoker just scoffed, hiding a laugh, and stood with a nod that he would handle the logistics of such a merger.

"When your men wake up, get them used to answering to me as much as you," Smoker requested. "I think this could be a really lucrative alliance we've just made." He stood and patted Hina's wrist. "You get some rest, Hina. I'll check in later."

"Good to see you, Smokey," Hina said, taking his hand with a quick grip before letting her hand fall back to her side. Tashigi rose, too, and Hina nodded to her kindly. "And quite nice to meet you, Sergeant. Looks like we could be coworkers soon."

Tashigi saluted her superior and replied, "I look forward to it, Captain." With that, Smoker gave one last wave and walked off through the infirmary with Tashigi at his side. He waved, too, at the Marines from their squad for them to remain here as long as they saw fit. Tashigi was a bit confused, though. "We came here to team up? I thought you just wanted to check on your friend, maybe learn a thing or two about Straw Hat."

Smoker kept walking forward, facing ahead as he replied, "I'm just thinking on my toes, Tashigi."