"I have to say, Captain-san..."

Buggy groaned as light leaked through his eyelids, hand reaching up to cover his face, only to miss entirely, dully feeling his palm pass his neck and move into empty space.

"This is morbid."

Buggy's eyes snapped open to the sight of clear blue skies, sounds of waves getting cut through and sails flapping gently in the wind.

His head was in a dinghy, and he was surrounded by Zoro the pirate hunter, some orange-haired bitch that looked too sea-sick to be worth anything on a boat, and the pirate that had managed to knock him out with one punch.

His pride hurt more than his chest, but that might've been caused by his head being outside of his fruits range. Everything felt dull after he got this far out.

He attempted to shake his head, only to wiggle left and right on the seat his head was perched on, attracting the attention of the young black-haired captain to him.

The kid looked no older than eighteen, even with the scar on his left cheek, and that only made the Haki he possessed so much more impressive. Even he and Shanks, who had been in the Pirate king's crew, couldn't imagine someone so wet behind the ears that could manage that.

"A-are you going to kill me?" Buggy shuddered, looking at the man.

His captor looked offended at the thought. "Why would we do that?"

"Why did you grab his head before we left!?" The orange-haired skank screamed, punching her captain in the shoulder, before glancing back at Buggy and fighting an urge to throw up.

He took offense to that, but he could scream about that when he was more than a simple toss away from death.

The captain grabbed her wrist, then her hand and gently patted her head in a calming gesture. He ended up ignoring the clown for a bit longer than was comfortable, before finally turning back to face him. "I just wanted to know what this 'Armament Haki' was, and Buggy here took too long to wake up."

"...wait, you don't know what it is!?" Buggy screeched "Bu-but you can coat your whole arm! How did you do that without years of training?"

"Huh?" The young captain blinked, then held an arm up and coated it in black again. "You mean this?"

"Yeah th-" Buggy's eyes bulged as he finally got a closer look at the limb.

He knew Armament Haki, he had lived in a crew where they showed it off like it was new shoes for most of his formative years, there was no chance of him ever forgetting how it looked, be it on a sword, a hand, entire body or an arrow.

That wasn't Armament.

Armament covered whatever it was covering like a second skin, clinging to it without a seam. Even as the colors of it could vary, that fact remained the same.

The other captain's arm, now that he was looking at it properly, was not coated in the willpower that rivaled fate. It was mutated, joints bulky and layered, fingertips almost clawed with spurs jutting from the backside of his knuckles that looked dangerous as he clutched them into a fist.

"I'm just using my Devil Fruit, though?"

"I CAN SEE THAT YOU FLASHY BASTARD!" Buggy screamed, the force of it making his head topple back and into the deck of the big dinghy. He wanted to cry, how could he fall for something so simple?

The hand that had tricked him gently grabbed his head and pulled him back onto his place, the young captain looking sheepish "So… what is Haki then?"

"Why would I ever tell you, Straw-hat!?" he screamed back, unhappy with the current turn of events.

"Cause if you don't, we can drop you into the ocean?" Zoro offered, before yawning. "Keep it down, I'm trying to nap here."

Buggy froze, snot running down his nose, remembering how utterly fucked he was. Even if Devil Fruits didn't render him helpless in the sea, he would've drowned in the state he was in.

"...ok, fine," he hissed, glaring at the straw-hatted teen. "You know about Gol D. Rodger?"

"The first King of the Pirates? Of course I do!" He paused as if suddenly realizing something, face scrunching. "Wait, 'Gol D. Rodger'? I thought it was just 'Gold Rodger'."

"Does that really matter, Captain?" Another woman's voice chimed in, Buggy only able to see her head from where he was placed. Is she on another boat?

"I mean, yeah-" the young man shrugged. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and he's Gol D. Rodger."

Buggy's eyes bulged, but he managed to not say anything. He would rather die than tell this bastard anything else. He bit his tongue, grumbled and coughed, pulling the attention back on himself. "Anyway! He taught me about it! Well, he showed it to me anyway!"

"You were a part of the Pirate King's crew?!" Luffy beamed, eyes sparkling, then paused again and gave the clown's head a suspicious frown. "But you're so weak, though…"

"Well, to be fair, he was probably only fourteen while the captain was alive, right, Head-san?" The elegant beauty offered with what felt like a fake smile.

"I'm not old! " he screeched, almost falling over in the process once again. "I was just nine!"

"Yeaaah, the pirate king had nine-year-olds in his ship." The ginger woman commented, looking down at him with pity, seemingly over her sea-sickness. "...try and lie better?"

"I'm not lying!"


"Ok so." Nami sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as they finally anchored at their next destination, the closest island that might have a ship they could buy, that'd be big enough to suit their needs. "You are claiming there is a force that any person can tap into, where your own will turns into armor?"

Buggy attempted to nod from his position, tied to Luffy's hip with some spare rope they had on the dinghy, which they had stolen from him to begin with. "I swear on my life, you crazy bitch!"

"Luffy."

The clown screamed as her captain pinched his nose.

Zoro yawned, stretching as he got out of the boat too. "So, what did he say?"

"That there is a mysterious power that can make you stronger and protect you." Luffy offered, a hand on his own chin, scratching idly in thought. "...It sounds really cool, doesn't it?"

Zoro rolled his eyes "sounds made up to me."

"...you have a talking head hanging from your captain's hip, you flashy bastard, and said captain can warp his body's shape at will." Buggy growled, trying to bite Zoro angrily from his spot.

"Not to mention Robin can grow hands on people," Luffy added, gesturing at the woman that was considering putting her hood up or not, deciding to keep it down and enjoy the gentle breeze of the coast.

"Not just on people, Luffy," Robin added, sounding very intrigued compared to her usual detached and aloof tone. Honestly, Nami was impressed she could tell that much with how little she knew the woman. "I think I've read about other people having able to do something along those lines… not called 'Haki' though, that's a novelty."

Luffy shot her a curious look before smiling, "... you like figuring stuff out, huh Robin?"

The woman waved him off with one of her fake smiles. "Perhaps, Captain-san."

Nami squinted at the interaction but didn't speak up.

That's when a pebble shot out from the cliff-face, landing in between Luffy's feet, stopping them all in their tracks.

"I! Captain Usopp! Will stop you, pirates!"

Everyone slowly looked up at the cliff face, seeing a tanned, scrawny teen with a long nose glaring down at them.

"Oh yeah, with what army!?" Buggy screamed back, first to break the silence.

Multiple pirate flags shot out from the bushes, waving left and right with just a little bit of too much symmetry.

"With my army of eight hundred, I shall defeat you!" Long-nose screamed back, aiming his slingshot back at Luffy's chest. "So you better surrender before it gets ugly!"

"Oh!" Buggy grinned from his spot on Luffy's hip. "Now you're gonna get it straw-hat bwahaha!"

Luffy grinned, shooting a look at Zoro, "What d'you think? Wanna have a little warm-up?"

"With only eight hundred?" Zoro scoffed. "What's the point, I wouldn't even break a sweat."

Nami knew the two were just screwing around, but part of her was sure they could probably handle a small army on their own. She could see that 'Captain Usopp' didn't need her insight to fear that reality, his legs and hands shaking like they were about to pop off at her crewmates' boasting.

"Oh my, Captain-san, looks like your warm-up is running away," Robin observed, laughing gently as the flags behind Usopp fell to the ground, three young boys dashing off into the forest behind them, leaving the man with the slingshot behind.

Luffy's shoulders sagged as he sighed out, "Aw, maaaan…" He quickly perked up with a laugh, "Maybe next time! Hey, what was your name again?"

"I—I am Captain Usopp! If you don't leave now my armada of pirates will-"

"Do you know a man named Yassop?"

Whatever the sniper was gonna say died in his throat, the man stumbling and actually falling down the cliff.

Nami would've been actually concerned if he didn't immediately scramble to his feet and rush to get in Luffy's face, "You know my father?!"

"Wait is that a head tied to your hip?!"


It never ceased to amaze Robin just how much the young man she was following back to the Grand Line could eat, even as she watched him almost swallow another plate-full of meat, adding to the growing pile of plates and bones at his side.

She chuckled gently as he began another story about the boy that had greeted them on the cliff-side, of a seemingly endless supply he'd been told growing up by the boy's father in another pirate crew. She briefly tuned out of the conversation to giggle at Zoro, who was struggling to share some booze with Buggy's head, grumbling and whining throughout the entire process. The clown didn't seem that enthused about it either, but he simmered down as the ale hit his lips.

Slowly, Robin realized that she was getting attached to the crew, and that scared her.

In less than a day and half, she had grown fond of the three that she met in the marine town.

Before more dark thoughts could cloud her mind, Luffy's foot poked her leg.

She never thought the armored-looking knee-high boots he wore would be warm, until it dawned on her that those were his legs.

"Robin, you ok?" the young captain offered, face twisting in a gentle pout. "You haven't eaten anything yet."

"Not that hungry, Captain-san," she murmured, faking a smile as she slid her plate towards him. "Want it?"

Luffy accepted the plate, but for the first time since she met him, looked unhappy about getting food. He opened his mouth to comment on something, before Usopp shot to his feet, seeing the clock on the wall.

The table grew quiet, Nami yelping in protest as the young sniper hopped over her, rushing out the door with an abrupt goodbye.

Nami scooted closer to Luffy as Zoro frowned, downing another mug of ale. "What's his deal, huh?"

Three kids appeared in the window and answered her rhetorical question.

"He's going up to the mansion to lie to Lady Kaya!"

Luffy blinked, Nami scowled, Buggy and Zoro didn't care.

Robin only smiled softly. "Ah, the 800 men are here…"


"I know we said that we wanted to buy a ship here…" Nami started, not enjoying her time as the group walked up to the mansion facing the cliff. "But, is there no one else? I don't feel comfortable taking from the sick…"

A mutter came from Luffy's waist, "Wow, she does have a heart."

"Luffy."

Buggy screeched in pain again.

"I'm sure she doesn't need it," Luffy offered, shrugging slightly. "Besides, we wanna buy it, not take it."

"Captain's right," Zoro agreed. "You're whining an awful lot, first mate."

"I never wanted that title!" Nami screamed back, glaring daggers at Zoro. Zoro grinned while thumbing the hilt of one of his blades.

Luffy just laughed, merry with how lively his crew was. Robin couldn't help but genuinely smile for the first time in a while.

They came to the fence surrounding the mansion, and before anyone could stop him, Luffy's arms turned into large octopus tendrils, wrapping around everyone's waists and pulling them close, bounding over the ten-meter wall with a single leap.

And just like that, the arms retracted, leaving them on their feet as Luffy clenched his fingers, as if trying to get the feeling back in them.

"I-" Nami's eyes twitched, and Robin swore she could see her anger materialize around the ginger, before a right hook sent Luffy flying to the side, slamming face down and making a crater on the lawn. "Never touch me like that again!"

Luffy pulled his head out, shaking the dirt off his hair. "Ah- sorry, Nami."

The genuine apology helped little, but the woman just pouted and avoided his gaze, rather than kicking the man while he was down.

"Women." Zoro scoffed, rolling his eyes.

That earned him a punch into the lawn all on its own.

"What do you think you're doing?" A sharply dressed butler with dark hair and a pair of glasses that looked close to falling off his face asked, using his palm to adjust them back onto his nose. "I must ask you to leave, before you damage Lady Kaya's garden any further."

The four pirates just blinked up at him, then looked at each other, then back at the butler.

Luffy stood up from his crater and tapped on the ground, acting like it was going to fix the man-sized hole that he had left behind, Buggy coughing out dirt as the straw-hat captain finally got out of the waist-high hole and he could breathe again.

The detached head's eyes landed on the butler, as Luffy and Nami attempted to get him to let them talk to Kaya. Unfortunately, the butler refused to give an inch on his stance of not allowing them near the young mistress.

Buggy would swear this tightwad looked familiar from somewhere.

Then, the butler adjusted his glasses again.

Buggy's jaw hit Luffy's thigh, and he shouted out impulsively, "Kuro!? Kuro of a hundred plans!?"

The butler stiffened, and everyone stared at the head tied to the young captain's hip.

"I don't know what you're talking abou…" The butler blinked at the actual source of the sound. "...head?"

Then Nami recognized him too, gasping loudly "Yeah! Weren't you executed three years ago?"

Kuro looked like his world was falling apart at the seams, shuddering with rage. "Who are you all? Actually, no." he breathed out slowly, his composure coming back together. "it doesn't matter. You will die here and now. I've sunk too much time into this plan to fail by the hands of such idiots."

The air around them turned cold, and Kuro disappeared.

"...who?" Luffy mumbled, looking between Nami and the head on his waist.

"Kuro! Don't you know him? He was a pirate captain with one of the highest bounties in East Blue! He's the reason why Morgan was promoted to the rank of Captain!" Buggy spat out, shaking around in the ropes that bound him to Luffy's shorts. "I was gonna kill him myself for the notoriety, but I could never pin him down!"

"Oh yeah, he uses swords, doesn't he?" Nami looked down at the head. "So you were gonna bank on your Devil Power to kill him?"

Buggy grumbled, but didn't answer.

"...where did he go?" Zoro asked, his hands on his swords already. He didn't like how much killing intent the apparent pirate in disguise had in his last statement.

"Rushed to the back of the mansion," Luffy answered with a shrug, turning to Robin. "You wanna kick his ass?"

"I'll skip on this one, Captain-san" she mused, smiling gently. "What about you?"

"Ehhhh, I don't wanna hog all the fights… Nami?"

" Were you dropped on your head as a child? " she shot back, shuddering at the thought of facing such a notorious pirate.

"...dropped into a ravine by my gramps', actually." He shivered at the memory, scratching his head with his straw hat. "I forgot how many times…"

Buggy swore he heard necks snapping as everyone turned to face the straw-hat.

"I—Luffy are you making that up?"

"That would explain a lot, to be fair."

That's when Kuro appeared again, wearing two gloves with katana-blades hanging off from all fingers.

"Now where were we?" he asked, unaware where the conversation had gone in his absence.

The pirate crew looked at him, shrugged, and went back to questioning Luffy on his childhood.

"Didn't your parents ever step in and try to keep you safe?"

"I never knew my parents, Gramps, Makino, and Mountain bandits looked after me."

Veins bulged in Kuro's forehead and his shoulders shook with rage.

"Take me seriously, damn you!"

"Clutch."

Arms sprouted from all over his body, then gripped all around him and twisted, breaking his knees and elbows in ways that would never truly heal.

Kuro's world went dark even before he could scream in pain, falling backwards into the ground.

The motley pirate crew glanced at Robin, who shrugged, "I changed my mind."

Luffy nodded sagely, and Zoro looked slightly disappointed that he didn't get to fight.

Nami came to the slow realization that she was currently the only normal person in a crew of monsters.

A scream came from the mansion, and the crew grew alert again; Usopp rushing out from the trees and pointing his slingshot at them before dropping it and looking down onto the broken form of Kuro, blades still in his hands. "...Luffy, what is this?"

"Mystery pirate butler?" he offered dumbly, then looked at Nami. "Can you explain it again?"

"...oh my God Luffy."


Luffy blinked, sitting on a high-quality couch inside the mansion, not knowing where to look as Kaya, Kaya's non-pirate butler Merry, and Usopp stared at Buggy and Nami, all three of the island's residents going through various stages of grief.

"H-he was a pirate!? How- he's been such a good butler for three years!" Kaya protested, before coughing violently and shuddering, "You're lying!"

"Missy, I'm a flashily decapitated head on a table, I don't need to lie about this," Buggy grumbled, rolling his eyes. "He's been a pirate for ten damn years, don't you guys have any wanted posters you kept?"

"Ah! The archives!" Merry bounced to his feet, rushing off towards the library of the small town. Luffy shot a glance over at Robin.

She took a second longer than she should've to realize he was looking at her, "...yes?"

"Wanna take a look at the town's history?"

Robin stiffened a bit, glaring at the man, "...do you know something about me, Captain?"

"You like learning about the world?" he offered with a tilt of his head. "How else would you know about the Haki thing, and that it's called different stuff in different places?"

She shook her head and smiled softly, a relieved sigh escaping her lips. "If we could spare a day, I wouldn't mind, Luffy"

Usopp hummed softly, tone one of realization.

"...Guys, if he was still secretly a pirate, wouldn't he still have a crew?"

They all looked at the sniper, and then at each other.

Luffy grinned. "Y'know Zoro, we might get that warm-up after all!"