A/N: Hey, here's a fun fact! I almost considered cutting Age of Wonder off at Arlong Park, and everything from Loguetown to a certain point would be a Book 2 or sorts. Due to a lack of creative naming for it, I'm keeping the story in one piece. Although, I might add an Arc Guide to my profile so people can skip around if they like. The idea has potential...


Chapter 31: Sweet Treat

Standing among the tenderized gangsters, Kaito gave their assailant a furious glare. "Juzo! This is way too much!"

The green-haired man in question, Juzo, looked down at Kaito, blood spattered on his sleeveless shirt, as his the man currently in his grip struggled weakly. "These crapsacks deserve it! Mugging Rantaro like that… over some money? They're lucky I let most of 'em keep their teeth!"

Noting the mess on Juzo's clothing, Hook asked, "Hey, you got blood on you. You alright?"

Juzo scoffed as he looked down at the stain. "What, this? Nah, it ain't mine. This nasty bastard," Juzo shook his prisoner, "spat blood on me after I busted his nose." Juzo blinked, then looked Hook back over again. "Hey, Kaito. Who's this? Some tourist you roped into your craziness?"

Kaito laughed off the comment. "Nah, Juzo! You don't recognize him? It's James Hook, from the Baratie!" Kaito even lifted the gag glasses to show the large man Hook's hidden face.

"Oh, you're disguised, huh? Good thinking." Wiping his brow with the back of his arm while holding onto the mugger with his other hand, the rough-houser said, "Name's Juzo Sakakura. Sorry we couldn't meet in better circumstances."

"Don't worry about it!" Hook laughed off the apology before getting serious. "So, these are the guys who mugged Rantaro?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it. I'm handling-"

"Doesn't matter if you have it handled," Hook pointed out as he leveled a cold look at the fallen muggers. "Any attack on my crew is an attack on me! Whatever you don't finish… I will!" The two newest members regarded the teen with a lot of respect while the floored men began sweating, even though most of them should have been unconscious. "So, where's the ringleader?"

"Uh… this guy?" Juzo raised his captive, barely alive enough to speak for himself.

Hook clicked his tongue. "Well, that's no good. Can you wake him?" Juzo's response was to dunk the man's head repeatedly into the nearest barrel of water until he awoke. "Now, who are you, and why'd you take that money!?"

The thug coughed up some water before speaking, "J-just following orders! Our boss is the biggest gangster in Loguetown, and when he heard the kind of money that was passing through-"

By the time the chattering fool had said 'biggest gangster,' both Juzo and Kaito groaned. "Not the damn rooster again…"

"Huh?" Hook asked. "Rooster?"

"Bartolomeo," Juzo supplied. "Guy won't rest until every gang's under his thumb."

"He's rude, and really brutal when it comes to handling things," Kaito added. "When you got no prospects left, it's either work for him, join the Navy, or become a pirate! Unless you're us, anyway – 'cause there's no way he'd let us join!"

"No way?" Hook said. "Why? What happened?"

"It's more who we're friends with," Juzo said as he dropped the stool pigeon. "Mondo Owada, leader of the Crazy Diamonds – the only gang who still fights against the cocky bastard – our friend, and one of your new recruits. Knowing Mondo, he already knows what happened and is already trying to rip down Bartolomeo's headquarters to get the cash back."

"Well, what are we waiting for!?" Hook cracked his knuckles. "Let's join him and tear it up!"

"Damn right!" Kaito said with a fist pump. "Good luck, you two! I'm sure we can take 'em!"

"You realize you should be fighting too?" Juzo pointed out as he stretched to pop a few joints in his back. "The Rooster's Nest is this way, so let's go." The three charged to their next destination, with every intent to take back the bounty reward.

Juzo and Kaito were so focused, neither of them noticed Hook had suddenly stopped running, looking thoughtful. "Oh, yeah! We're supposed to keep a low profile… geez, so we have to stop the fighting instead of joining in."

"Oh no! Come back, Sabo!" a voice called out.

"Huh-" Hook barely looked toward the call before something smacked him in the face! Catching it, he pulled the object back to see a blue top hat with goggles sitting on the brim.

"Sabo? SABO! Where are you!?" A cloaked figure ran through the crowd yelling like a madman, their unyielding speed sending everyone sprawling out of their way to avoid being run over. Finally, they stopped and looked over at Hook, pointing right at him. "Ah-ha! There you are!" Hook hardly had time to wonder if he'd been made before the cloaked person appeared in front of him and, in an impressive show of speed, took off the hood and put the hat back on their head before sliding the hood back on fast enough Hook couldn't even see it happen. "Thanks a bunch! I don't know what'd happen if I lost Sabo! Name's Lucy! Who are you?"

Hook blinked at the rapid-fire sentences as they hit. 'It's like talking to Silk on a sugar high,' he thought bemused. "Name's Hook. Nice to meetcha." Hook provided his hand to shake, to which Lucy responded by slapping it.

"Hook, huh? Cool name! Guess I owe you one – ah, damnit! I forgot!" Lucy turned around and began scanning the rooftops. "I'm looking for someone, and I just lost him when Sabo blew off my head!"

"Sabo?" Hook muttered as he tilted his head. "Ya mean your hat?"

"Yo, Captain!" Kaito called from up the street. "We gotta go, remember?"

"Shit! Right, I don't have time to be hanging around!" Hook began running off as he called back. "See ya, man! Don't worry about paying me back!"

Hook ran into the crowd, leaving the hooded Lucy to cock his head after him. "Don't worry about it? What an idiot. If I said I owe you, I owe you. I'll figure out how to help him later."


The Rooster's Nest, as it turned out, was not some vague insult Hook didn't understand; in fact, it was the name of the watering hole this mob boss called home. As Hook and company got close, it was easy to spot the 15 rough-looking men standing outside across from a group mixed with men and women, and carrying a flag with a symbol on it: a circle overlapped with an eight-pointed star. "What's with the compass rose?" Hook asked, recognizing it from Nami's charts. "Are these guys pirates?"

Juzo gave Hook a confused look, while Kaito explained, "Yeah, I guess to a pirate like you, you wouldn't see it, but it's actually the mark of the Crazy Diamonds gang."

"And we're too late," Juzo pointed out, as he noted the number of onlookers blocking their path. "Mondo's already got wind of this crap storm, and this crowd's got all eyes on it, too."

Leading Bartolomeo's group was a man with messy white hair, grinning at Diamonds in a demeaning way. "Hey, you Crazy Bastards! What were you thinking, coming to pick a fight with us!? We'll end you morons!"

On the opposite side of the street, a man in a dark coat with a pompadour glared back with a snarl. "You wanna say that again, Gambia, but this time to my face? I thought I told your weak-ass boss to stop harassing my friends or I'd give that ugly mug of his a free makeover!"

Gambia laughed like the man told a joke. "You're in no position to be bad-mouthing our boss's looks, Mondo! If I had a face like yours, I'd never leave my house!"

Despite the insult, Mondo, as he was now introduced, just chuckled. "Really, you big-mouth. Is that the best you got? Look, just tell that hen-pecked coward to get out here and apo-"

"Don't you go acting all high and mighty!" Gambia and his gang yelled back.

"Trying to boss around our boss like you're a big guy," Gambia muttered. "Did running away to sea warp your brain?"

One guy to Gambia's left snickered. "Yeah, it must've. Only a 'Crazy' person would wear hair like that."

The silence that settled over the street was almost suffocating, as everyone – Gambia, his men, the other Diamonds, the nosy citizens, and even Kaito – became painfully pale. "Hoo boy," Juzo muttered. "Now they've done it…"

Hook looked around, confused at the emotional 180 of the crowd. "Huh? Done what? What's going…"

"You…" Mondo's calm expression had collapsed to reveal a red-faced, snarling demon. "What did you just say about my hair!?"

As the stupid thug sweated bullets, Gambia and few of the others got in front of the guy. "H-hey! Wait a second, he's new, Mondo! He didn't know! There's no need to…"

"Nobody…" Mondo took off his jacket and threw it into the frozen crowd behind him, "I mean nobody… insults my hair!" Taking off like a bullet, Mondo rammed into the crowd sending them flying! The resulting explosion of people sent many of the bystanders running and screaming.

As Hook looked at the scene with wide eyes, Juzo explained, "Mondo loves that haircut, and anyone who insults it is likely to lose teeth for the slight.

Kaito sighed as he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well, so much for laying low. Once Mondo gets started, it won't end until the police get here to arrest him and let him run out for the next few days… hm?" Kaito blinked as he watched Hook walk toward Mondo, an unafraid expression now on his face.

As Mondo grabbed the real target of his ire by the face, he reared back to throw him, but was stopped by a hand on his arm. He turned his attention to Hook… he hit with Decree, everyone in the vicinity getting a healthy splash-back with the gang leader. "Cool it already! We don't have time for this!"

As Juzo and Kaito had to fight back the urge to run for the sea and swim for the next island, many of the Diamonds and Gambia's group were not so brave, as they ran like their asses were on fire from Hook's intimidation. As for Mondo, the blast of anger was enough to counter his own; Hook's Decree actually calmed him down enough that his eyes were no longer pinpricks, and he dropped the poor schmoe in his clutches. "Huh.. hey, who the hell are you?"

"I believe that's our captain, Mondo." Both Mondo and Hook turned to see a pale blonde man with brown eyes and a no-nonsense expression as he stepped out of the rival gang's building… eating a muffin before grimacing. "That presence was the same one from Baratie, I think.

Mondo blinked as he looked at Hook again. "Oh, a disguise! Hey, that's some pretty sneaky shit. Clever."

"Thanks, but," Hook stepped back from Mondo to address the newcomer, as he finished the muffin with a pained expression, "who are you again?"

Wiping his hands off, the man in the short red coat replied, "Sonosuke Izayoi. It's an honor to sail with you, Captain Hook."

"Hey, So-so!" Kaito yelled as he came over. "What the hell are you doing coming out of the enemy's base? You couldn't have been captured, were you!"

"Enemy?" Juzo muttered as he stepped on the downed thug's hand and ignored the scream. "Shouldn't we be avoiding making a scene?"

"Ran into Ryuji as he went to get Rantaro patched up," Sonosuke explained. "I figured I go off the usual suspects and come here to ask Barto if he had the money." At Hook's questioning look, he added, "I made Barto's knife, so he owes me a favor. Wanted to avoid causing any turmoil for a smooth departure. I figured with Hook's bounty..."

"Bounty?" Mondo muttered before looking at Hook. "You have a bounty now? That's freakin' metal, man."

"Clakakaka! Thanks!" Hook turned back to Sonosuke. "Wish we would've known that before, probably would have saved us some time."

"And us some bruises!" Gambia groaned as he stood up. "If you were here about the damn lie spreading around, you coulda just asked!"

Mondo and the other remaining Diamonds looked a little sheepish. Speaking for the group, Mondo said, "I… was so caught up about Rantaro, I kinda forgot about the money."

"Whadda ya mean 'forgot!?'" Kaito tapped the gangster's forehead, eliciting irritation from him. "That bounty is super important-!"

"Don't go poking me!" Mondo yelled back. "And don't go lecturing me, you-!"

"So, do they have it?" Hook asked Sonosuke, leaving Kaito and Mondo to their spat.

"Sadly, no," Sonosuke looked away with a little frustration. "Which means we have no clue who does have it…"

"Well, we better think of something," Juzo pointed out. "Rotten thing for our first mission on our new crew to fail so spectacularly… hm?" Juzo trailed off as he looked over at something. Hook and Sonosuke looked over to see what caught Juzo's gaze, and found a hamster with tan-and-peach fur waving over to them on a barrel. Once it had their attention, it began pointing off the street.

"...well," Hook noted, "That's not something I see every day."


Placed in charge of stocking up food and water for the journey ahead, Sanji was determined to make sure he accomplished his task… but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the view as he strolled the stands, looking for good deals. "Wow~ the ladies in the big city are all so beautiful~! My heart aches, for I have but so much time, and none of it to devote to so precious creatures~!"

Sanji's musings were interrupted with a loud exclamation of, "Mmmm~! So good!" Sanji glanced over to a cafe as he passed and found a woman so beautiful he almost thought he was looking at a supermodel. Wavy hair tied into ponytails, eyes as blue as the sea, and a figure Sanji couldn't stop tracing with his eyes. Despite being dressed conservatively in a long blue shirt, white skirt, and black tights, as well as her cheeks stuffed with cake, the girl's beauty was unmistakable.

"So you said after the fifth sample," a harried waiter said, "and the seventh. Could you please pick one already?"

The girl paused a moment, seemingly mulling over the waiter's suggestion, before saying cheerily, "I can't decide! It's all so good, though!"

"Miss!" the man all but yelled. "You have tried every cake on the menu! Are you going to buy a full one or not!?"

"Buy?" Blue Eyes gasped. "But, the store gives out free samples! What do you mean 'buy?'"

"The full ad said 'Sample the cake before purchase!' It's right there at the bottom of the flyer!"

"Oh…" the poor girl winced. "I never to the bottom. I just thought it was a promotional event. Sorry, but we don't have any money yet! If I didn't buy anything… could you take a rain check?"

"R-rain check!?" the man threw up his hands in exasperation and stalked off, leaving the girl alone.

"Oh no…" she sighed. "I guess I should have waited for everyone to show up first…"

"...sure he's in town?"

"Hm?" the girl perked up as she heard a conversation a few tables over. Leaning in discreetly, she waited for more.

"...where he said. A small cove where no one would look," a hooded figure said to another hooded figure.

"Heh heh heh~" a sinister cackle sounded from one of the group. He spoke loud enough that Sweets Girl didn't even need to eavesdrop. "I knew that bastard would come here! Tell those two to get ready! We're gonna corner that flashy bastard, and get 'em right where I want 'im!"

The first hidden figure saluted with a, "Yes sir, Cap'n-!"

"Keep it down!" The Captain yelled in a manner that only drew more attention. "And don't call me that! This is Marine Country, you idiot!"

"S-sorry…" the man replied as the whole of his table got up – all shrouded and masked for extra emphasis they were trying to blend in – and wandered off, leaving the samples girl to her thoughts.

"Hmm… 'Corner him?'" she mused out loud. "They'll want to hear about this…"


In a darkened alleyway, a man took a shallow breath through broken ribs as he trudged through garbage laying on the ground. Leaning on the wall to minimize the pain, he looked out of his hideaway to see if anyone was still chasing him. "Heh… heh… Guess I… beat the last of 'em… No time... to pat myself… on the back."

Taking a step out, he walked into the crowd, trying to look as normal as possible. "Gotta find… Hook fast! If I don't… those bastards could cause him real trouble!" With only a slight visible limp, Man-Demon Gin moved with purpose. That purpose: make sure his captain survived a trap fit for him to be tied.


A/N: I was going to add more, but considering the amount of new characters I'm adding to the crew, I thought it better to not overwhelm the chapter, and make them seem like faceless toss-ins. Please tell me what you think! I am fed on positive feedback!