Guess who is back, folks? sorry I took so long to update, things spiraled down last semester, being undoubtedly the worst semester I have ever went through in my life so far, and it didn't help I had no break between that and the semester before it, it took me two month to recover mentally from it... anyways, ranting aside, let's bring this story back, I hope I won't take a long break like that again! I might be a bit rusty since I haven't written anything in months, but I will try to get back on track throughout this chapter, anyways, hope you enjoy! let me reply to the reviews before I start, they are the reason I am continuing this story after all!

DagonDragomir - Do I dare to speak ill will of the great Con D. Oriano? I wish I could add him to the crew, but he is too strong and will end the story too soon by intimidating the competition.

DoubleM7 - Hope you enjoyed my 'Mischievous Adventures of Buggy The Clown' story, where he humbly let Shanks take the spotlight. hmm, the Big Mom idea doesn't sound too bad.

NoaRien - thank you sir, glad you are enjoying the story and I appreciate your reviews.

00DBLO0 - and I most definitely appreciate your reviews, my friend! you are part of the reason I decided to bring back this story, I appreciate your continuous support, and I hope I can keep meeting your expectations! it's okay to make grammar mistakes, this is not LinkedIn! as for Moria, I do have some plans for him in mind, but it will be a while until he appears in the story probably. Crocodile's role in the crew is Strategist, Mihawk is the official Navigator, but that doesn't mean he will trai any less, Mihawk is a man capable of multitasking.

Guest - glad you like the concept. exactly, we only get Luffy forming a new crew! which is what motivated me to write this story.

PPultra - I am not saying Benn Beckman is weak, nor is anyone on Shanks' crew, they are a Yonko crew after all, and are hyped to be the strongest crew among the Yonko, I just wanted a story with a different crew for Shanks, and the in-story reason for why Shanks thinks recruiting Crocodile and Buggy gives him a stronger crew, he just never met Benn Beckman and has no way of knowing how strong his 'old' crew is. if you are talking about Shanks saying there isn't anyone else strong in the East Blue, it's because Beckman is from North Blue and Roux is from South Blue, so Yasopp is the only person from the East Blue from his original crew.

0ODBLO0 - thanks for replying on my behalf, and yes I was joking about Kaido, and I can confirm Kaido is definitely not joining any time soon, lol. even if Kaido was weaker than he is now, he'd still be a lot stronger than Shanks and his entire crew, so it's impossible for them to beat him at their current level.

anyways, let's just jump into it!

East Blue - Open Seas - Red Hair Pirates' Ship

Shortly after the crew made their way back to the ship, the crew decided to once again hold a party to celebrate their new teammates, though this time they decided not to involve drinking, as it was a bad idea the first time they did it. The party had a different feeling to it this time as it was their first after this hellish training period.

"Belle-mere..." Buggy entered the kitchen sniffing, he smells something real nice, and he sees a smile on Belle-mere's face. "DON'T TELL ME YOU ARE IN GOOD MOOD RIGHT NOW!" Buggy shouts comically at the self-appointed cook.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that, Buggy?" Belle-mere chuckled.

"Aren't you worried...?" Buggy's legs were shaking as he sought protection in the kitchen. "This Crocodile guy... he has a hook for his hand, he is gonna kill us all!" Buggy said in a scared voice.

"Relax, Buggy. I get that he looks intimidating, but we didn't get to know him yet, so we should be building bridges instead of casting him away." Belle-mere was uncharacteristically wise and calm, which is how she is when she is in a good mood, almost as if she has some sort of split personality.

"Haha, what a funny girl!" Shanks was leaning next to the kitchen door on the outside, listening to their conversation. "Never a dull moment with her." Shanks chuckled, but he wasn't talking to himself as in front of him were two men, sitting on two barrels, facing each other as if they were in a break during a boxing match, their eyes staring daggers into each other. Shanks tried to lighten the mood with his comment but to no avail.

"What are you looking at, Hawkeye?"

"At someone who doesn't belong here."

"I agree with you on this one for change." Shanks could almost see electricity coming from their eyes clashing with each other.

"Now now guys, let's not get too hasty." Shanks chuckled nervously as he tried to calm the two men but no matter how much effort he was making, it wasn't working. Maybe it was a bad idea to force Crocodile into the crew? But as he was thinking, Belle-mere exited the kitchen with bowls of tomato soup in her hand, Buggy was behind her holding more bowls. Belle-mere placed them on the table then noticed Mihawk and Crocodile's staring contest.

"STOP STARING AT EACH OTHER LIKE MORONS AND GET OVER HERE." Belle-mere's attitude reverted back to her usual hot-headedness and she decided to use force instead of the diplomacy that Shanks was trying to use. Crocodile and Mihawk both felt humiliated from the fact they were shouted at by an angry teenage girl, but they felt powerless to do anything. The five crewmates sat at the table. Shanks and Buggy started eating right away like they haven't eaten for weeks, Mihawk calmly started eating too.

"Come on, Crocodile, eat up!" Belle-mere said with an inviting smile on her face.

"I'll pass." Crocodile looked away, refusing to get along with his new crew so easily, the scar left by his crewmates still burns. However, he changes his mind as his tummy rumbles from the lack of food it got for the past few days. Crocodile then sneaked a look at the bowl to see what they cooked for him. "Tomato Soup?!" Crocodile raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah, don't like it? I can cook something else for you if you want."

"Quite the contrary, it's my favorite food." Crocodile said. 'I haven't eaten it since she last cooked it for me...' Crocodile looked down as he started reminiscing. 'I doubt that this brat could cook it the same quality as her though, but whatever fills me." Crocodile took the spoon and started sipping on the soup. And with his first sip, Crocodile froze in his place for a bit. Belle-mere noticed a slight glint in his eye with a tear building up, Crocodile started eating more and more and was apparently enjoying this meal. Belle-mere watched him with a smile on her face.

'Maybe Shanks was right... he is not a bad guy after all.' Belle-mere grinned and started eating too. After the crew were finished with their meal, Buggy was left to wash the dishes. Normally he'd hate it, but he doesn't mind this time since it meant less time spent with Crocodile. Shanks and Belle-mere went to the cabin where they started their daily training routine. Which left Crocodile who was leaning on the railing watching the ocean, and Mihawk who took the wheel, as he was both the navigator and helmsman for the time being. Mihawk caught a few glances at Crocodile, noticing that he is less smug than he remembered, he is now more sad and broken. He decided to take the first step and try to bond, they were on the same crew after all despite the fact he didn't like him.

"Desert King, what seems to be on your mind?" Mihawk asked without turning to face him, he was pretending to focus on the road but he was hesitant to start a conversation with the man he didn't like, but since he was going to see him on daily basis, it would be better if there was less animosity between them.

"Mind your own business, Hawkeye." Crocodile didn't make it easy for Mihawk though, as he replied similarly without turning to face him. Mihawk wasn't fazed by it and didn't even react to his rude words, as if he got used to it by now. Crocodile sighed and he continued, "Last time we met, I offered you a place in my crew, and you said you don't work for anybody, what changed your mind anyhow?"

"Mind your own business, Crocy." Mihawk chuckled to himself in victory, he was expecting Crocodile to get angry but he seemed amused by the irony, albeit slightly under his state of sadness, so Mihawk kept the flow of the conversation, "Red Hair is quite the interesting personality, I don't know why, but my instinct told me that if I refused his offer to join the crew, I would regret it later. Besides, his crazy goals will inevitably get me into tough fights, which will only get me closer to my goal, so no harm in sailing with him, at least for the time being, until he dies that is."

"Idiots like him always die young." Crocodile said as both men chuckled, maybe they are on the same wavelength after all? From behind the cabin door, Shanks and Belle-mere were eavesdropping at the two men with a stupid smile on their faces, they looked at each other and chuckled too, they were happy to see the crew starting to get along.

"AAAH, THE MARINES!" their bonding time was cut short by three Marine Ships heading their way. Buggy just finished washing the dishes and went back to his post at the crow's nest, and he spotted the Marine Ships before he even got to rest. Shanks and Belle-mere got out of the cabin to rejoin with the other two.

"Orders, Captain?" Mihawk asked, as he remained unfazed by the clown's alert. Belle-mere watched nervously, but she and Buggy were the only nervous ones, the other three were not nervous at all, in fact, they were...

"Exactly what you are thinking." they were smirking. The three of them, as if by some telepathy, had the exact same thought. Shanks gripped his Straw Hat, Mihawk gripped the handle of his sword, and Crocodile raised his hook.

"We fight." the three of them said in the same breath.

"EEEEH?!" Belle-mere and Buggy were not thrilled to hear that. But it was too late, Mihawk steered the ship towards the three Marine Ships. At the helm of each of the three ships was an important looking Marine with the trademark Marine Coat worn by high ranking Marines. "These guys look too strong for us, let's escape before it's too late." Buggy stuttered.

"Give it up pirates, you are no match for us!" in the middle ship, was the man who spoke, wearing a yellow and black stripped suit and a distinctive handlebar mustache, the ship on the left was led by a dark skinned man in brown suit and scar on the left side of his face, and the right one had a mysterious looking Marine with a veil covering his moth and a ridiculous looking cap.

"Captain Stainless, the ship has the pirate 'Desert King' Sir Crocodile, the bounty hunter 'Hawkeye' Dracule Mihawk and three kids." a Marine on the crow's nest looking into binoculars, earning gasps from a lot of the lower ranked Marines, and even two of the captains looked a bit distraught too.

"HEY! INTRODUCE US TOO!" Shanks, Buggy and Belle-mere shouted in unison, but they were ignored by the Marines.

"Why is the B-rank bounty hunter, the strongest in the East Blue, on the same ship as the notorious rookie pirate from the Grand Line?!" the Captain on the left, named Mozambia, said in distraught.

"No matter, Hawkeye made us his enemies by attacking a Marine Captain. It will be a matter of time before he is issued a bounty." the Captain on the right, named Shu, said in a deep mysterious voice.

"He was irritating me." Mihawk said nonchalantly, which irritated the Marines.

"Hey, why don't you talk to the Ship's Captain?" Shanks said with a smirk on his face.

"Good idea, kid. Hand over the hostages, Sir Crocodile!" Mozambia asked in a firm voice.

"You don't seem to understand, I am Shanks, this ship's captain." Shanks stated, his crewmates stared without saying a word. The Marines then looked at each other and started laughing hysterically. Shanks was unfazed and neither was his crew, they kept a straight face.

"Listen kid, we will let you go with a warning this time, but don't go around playing pirate and hanging around notorious ones. It's bad influence on you." Stainless said clearly not taking Shanks seriously. Shanks walks slowly towards to the Marine Ship with his hat covering his eyes.

"This is no joke, I am the captain of this crew, so don't underestimate me." Shanks said, pausing a bit before staring dead in the eyes of Stainless. "Give us your worst!" Stainless was a bit intimidated by Shanks serious look, starting to believe this person could be the Captain after all. And without thinking, controlled by his sudden fear from this youngster.

"ATTACK!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. The Marines pause a bit before swarming the Red Hair Pirates' ship. Stainless charged at Shanks with his sword in hand, swinging it at him, but Mihawk blocked the attack with his sword.

"Dammit Mihawk, at least let me show off a bit!" Shanks said while chuckling.

"Silence, Red Hair. I have been training for a month, and yet I never had a real battle since crossing swords with you at Loguetown. My sword is craving a good duel." Mihawk said with a smirk on his face.

"Of course, I thought for a moment you were protecting your captain." Shanks laughed, but Mihawk didn't respond as he kept blocking Stainless' attacks. Mozambia tried to attack Mihawk but Mihawk blocked his attack too, seemingly handling the two captains quite well.

The other weaker Marines aimed at the other four pirates. Shanks slashed some of the Marines quickly with his sword. Crocodile swung his hook around slashing a few Marines. Buggy was uncharacteristically fearless, since these weaker Marines were not a threat to him, he split his hands and feet from his body and used the dagger claws on them to slash through the Marines. Belle-mere grabbed her rifle and started blasting, a Marine Soldier came at her from behind but she dodged, wrapping her legs around his neck, using him as an axis of rotation as she keeps firing her rifle while spinning around the Marine's neck while she is upside down, she seems to handle the rifle better now. She then swung her body a bit before doing a handstand hurricanrana on the poor Marine.

Just as Mihawk was fighting the two Captains, the third one aimed at Mihawk too. Mihawk swung his sword at him but Shu grabbed his sword with his hands. "I grow bored of this fight, none of you are worthy to be my opponents." but Mihawk's taunt was cut short as he noticed his sword starting to rust. "What is happening?! Why is my sword rusting away very rapidly?" Mihawk cried in surprise. Shu answered with a creepy smile.

"I ate the Rust-Rust Fruit, it allows me to rust any metal. Simply put, I am a swordsman's worst enemy." Shu smirked as he saw Mihawk's slightly panicked face. Shu went to grab Mihawk, who tried to block the attack with his arm, but Shu grabbed Mihawk's arm. Mihawk's arm started rusting.

"What is this?! I can't move."

"I've rusted all your joints. Now I will rust your entire body!" Shu starts laughing in victory but before the rust reached Mihawk's neck, a sand stream pushed Shu away, shoving him into the wall of the ship.

"You can't rust sand though, can you?" the sand reformed back into Crocodile, who stood there, looking as smug as ever. Shu looked on with an angered look on his face. "Hawkeye, leave this guy to me."

"Don't order me around, Desert King." Mihawk said with an irritated tone as the rust started to fade, though it's hard to tell whether he was angry because of Crocodile interrupting his fight, being almost beaten by this guy or losing his trusty sword. Mihawk turned around into a slash across his chest from Mozambia, Mihawk tried to block it with his sword instinctively, but Mozambia's sword easily broke Mihawk's rusty one, effectively hitting him as blood splattered from his chest.

"Don't let your guard down when you are fighting a Marine Captain, Hawkeye." Mozambia mocked triumphantly as Mihawk got on one knee recovering from the attack. "You are an impressive swordsman, Hawkeye. But without a sword, you are nothing."

"Only amateur swordsmen are helpless without a sword." Mihawk defended himself. 'Although, I am not at the stage where I can fight a strong enemy without a sword yet, so this might be a predicament.' Mihawk admitted to himself.

Meanwhile Shanks took half of the enemy's number down by himself, which caught Captain Stainless' eyes. Stainless tried to stab Shanks with his sword from behind, but Shanks used Observation Haki to dodge the cowardly attack.

"I guess you are not a man who fights with honor." Shanks said before turning around to block Stainless' second swing.

"Shut your mouth, you filthy pirate! There's no such thing as honor when fighting lowlife criminals like you." Stainless shouted, attacking Shanks more and more with his sword, but the Pirate King's apprentice was able to block his attacks.

"Very well, have it your way." Shanks gripped his sword, starting to get serious.

Crocodile and Shu's fight was pretty one sided, Crocodile being a Logia was ironically a bad match for Shu, who always tries to fight Swordsmen since he has advantage against them with his Rust Fruit. "Where did your confidence from earlier go?" Crocodile said before Shu punched him, but his fist went right through the sandman.

"You... what are you?! This guy is a monster!" Shu said in a shaky voice, terrified by his overwhelming opponent. Shu started slowly backing away.

"You never fought a Logia before? How disappointing. And here I thought you would be a challenge for me. You are merely a one-move cowardly street rat. Get out of my sight." Crocodile said in a menacing voice, forcing Shu to run away with his life. "Too easy."

On the other hand, Mihawk was having a bit of a struggle, having to fight without a sword. Mozambia swung his sword at Mihawk. Mihawk caught the blade with his left hand, as it started bleeding a bit, but Mihawk was unfazed by the blood. "You speak big words for a low-class swordsman." Mozambia was intimidated by Mihawk's cold nature, he tried to pull his sword back, but Mihawk punched him in the face, sending him into the wall of the ship.

"How dare you call me that, Bounty Hunter?!" Mozambia said as he got up and dusted off his clothes. He then charged at Mihawk again with all his might.

"Oi, Mihawk!" Shanks called for his crewmate, grabbing his attention. "Catch that!" Shanks threw his sword at Mihawk. Mihawk smiled and raised his hand to catch the sword, but Mozambia already cut the difference between them and was inches away from cutting Mihawk. 'One Sword Style: Wolf Slayer!' Mihawk slashed threw Mozambia as soon as he grabbed the sword. Within a split second, both men were on one knee, a few feet from each other, gripping their swords.

'Whose attack landed?' just as the observing Marine Soldiers were wondering, blood splattered from Mozambia's chest before he lost his balance and fell on his face. Mihawk's red jacket was slightly cut through, but Mihawk himself was undamaged by the recent clash. Mihawk got up and put the sword in his sheath.

"You... how did you not get cut by my attack...?" Mozambia stuttered under his breath, barely grabbing Mihawk's attention.

"Swordsmanship isn't about physical strength, it's about precision and focus. The same swordsman who can slash through a rock, can't cut a paper if he hesitated." Mihawk said as he walked away from his fallen foe. Mozambia passes out after hearing the swordsman's lesson.

Shanks and Stainless' fight didn't get any easier for Stainless even after Shanks gave his sword to Mihawk. Shanks decided it's a good opportunity to practice his new fighting style further, maybe it will prove more useful to him than swordsmanship at times. Shanks dodged Stainless' attacks with no difficulty. "I will just finish this fight with one punch."

"Your bluffs won't work on me, kid." Stainless said in the least confident tone ever.

"Let's see who's bluffing here." Shanks smirked as he ducked an attack from Stainless. 'Red Force...' Shanks stayed ducked, stretching his fist down as far as he can. 'Uppercut!' Shanks gave Stainless a devastating Uppercut, sending him away, into the crow nest of one of the Marine Ships.

Buggy was making an easy work of the other Marine Soldiers, throwing everything at them, and he finished the remaining soldiers who landed on their ship. The four pirates were standing in the middle of the ship, looking at each other triumphantly. "Wait a minute, where's Belle-mere?!" Buggy cried in concern. The four of them looked around but their partner was nowhere to be seen.

"Don't move or I will rust this girl's neck." a deep voice grabbed their attention, they looked around for the source, until they saw the person on a Marine Ship. It was Marine Captain Shu, he was holding Belle-mere in a choke hold. Belle-mere was struggling but the Marine Captain was in an advantageous position and he was physically stronger than the younger girl who was new to fighting.

"Let me go, you coward!" despite being held captive, Belle-mere hasn't lost her rebellious spirit. She tried to bite his arm but Shu saw it coming and forcefully moved her chin upwards so she wouldn't bite.

"I knew you would be the easy target here. The clown is too cowardly to fall into my trap, but you are hot-headed and reckless. All I had to do was lure you into our ship by taunting you." Shu explained as he explained his plan like every villain loves to do. The Red Hair Pirates gritted their teeth in anger, they were all concerned for their crewmate, even the newest addition, Crocodile, who was the first to make a move.

"Let the girl go or your friend dies." Crocodile said menacingly as he held his hook to the unconscious Mozambia's neck, threatening to take his life. Shu was unfazed and started laughing.

"You really think this weakling's life matters to me?" Shu said with an amused tone. "Unlike you, I am mature enough to know that in this world, every man is for himself. If you bother yourself with comradery and these childish concepts, it will only hold you back, like I am doing for you now."

"For a Marine, you have less honor than some pirates." Shanks commented in anger.

"This man's rust powers are fast-acting." Mihawk interrupted, looking as cold as ever with closed eyes, though it could be him masking his concerns. "All four of us are in his line of vision. Any suspicious move and he won't hesitate to hurt her. And none of us are fast enough to cover this distance before he reacts by hurting her. In other words..." he opens his eyes "We have no choice but to listen to him."

"What are you saying?! We can't just let him capture her!" Buggy shouted angrily at Mihawk's cold remarks.

"As much as I hate to admit it, what Mihawk said is true. Stand back, everyone." Shanks gave an order to his crew to which the complied, even Buggy didn't protest.

"That's right, you are at my mercy, rookies." Shu laughs "I am taking this girl to Commodore Onigumo. He would kill us if he found out a rookie crew beat 3 Marine Captains. Well, he could kill these two, but not me."

"Did you say Onigumo?!" Mihawk exclaimed.

"Who's that, Mihawk?" Buggy asked.

"Commodore Onigumo is the strongest Marine Official in the East Blue. Most of the Marine Officials request to be moved to the Grand Line once they reach Commodore or Captain. However, Onigumo decided to stay and rule the East Blue with an 'iron fist', at least that's why I hear at local taverns." Mihawk explained.

"That's right, now you know who you are dealing with. Commodore Onigumo is a monster, he never let a criminal escape, and no one is able to touch him." Shu said, trying to scare the rookie pirates "Here's what I will do, I will take this girl to the Commodore, and if you want to get her back, you can find him at the 153rd Branch Marine Base, located in the Yotsuba Region in a place called Shells Town."

"Captain, aren't you telling them too much?!" one of the Marine Soldiers standing behind Shu voiced his concern.

"Don't worry, they will die before they can free her anyways. It's a trap to lure them into the spider's web." Shu said confidently to the soldier before turning back to the opposing ship. "Good luck trying to get your friend back from him!" Shu said mockingly while laughing. The Marine ships started moving away from the crew.

"There was nothing we could have done." Shanks said, frowning upon the fact their friend was captured and they were so careless. But what happened next caught everyone by surprise. Shanks was suddenly taken down and pinned by his neck by a certain man.

"You bastard Captain dare make a mockery out of me?!" it was Crocodile, he was very angry. Shanks, Mihawk and Buggy were too taken by surprise to react.

"What is this all about, Crocodile?" Shanks said in a calm voice.

"Once again, I was a fool to even slightly trust anyone after killing my crew. I saw my younger self in you. I thought you were this hot headed bastard that I was who would never let his crewmates be hurt no matter the cost." Crocodile was fuming, his cigar was making an awful lot of smoke that filled the ship. "What were you thinking dragging this naive girl into your crew if you couldn't even protect her?!" Crocodile shouted with determination.

Shanks didn't respond, he knew the wound in Crocodile's heart was still fresh. Any other version of Crocodile wouldn't have had this outburst. Mihawk waited to see where this was going, and he saw Crocodile wasn't using his power so he knew his Captain wasn't in serious danger. Buggy on the other hand was panicking, he was begging Mihawk to do something, he never trusted Crocodile, so this was something he was expecting to happen.

"Listen, brat." Crocodile said as he got up, walking away from the crew. "You can take Hawkeye and your clown friend to hell for all I care. I am going to save this stupid girl you dragged into this mess and give her another chance to live a normal life on a peaceful island, away from the cruelties of the sea." Crocodile then stopped a few feet from the crew and turned around. "And after that... I am going to leave this sorry excuse of a crew you gathered to play pirates. I got no time to waste on this ship." Crocodile then walked into the cabin and shut the door behind him, leaving the crew in their silence.

The three starting members of the crew stood there, or rather, two stood and one was on the floor. Suddenly, it felt like the only thing that changed from when they left Logue Town was getting a bigger ship. Belle-mere was arrested and Crocodile stopped trusting the crew just as he was starting to open up to them. The wind blew into the three men staring at each other.

"Shanks, what are we going to do?" Buggy looked at the fallen Captain, who had his straw hat covering his face, making it hard to read his expressions. Shanks grabbed his hat and got up, dusting off his clothes, he then paced his hat on his face anD had a determined look in his eyes.

"Mihawk, set sail to... Shells Town."

"Roger."

With that, the crew set sail into the aforementioned Spider's Web. Their objective was to save Belle-mere, and get everything back together. Shanks didn't say a word about the Crocodile situation, no words could convince him. After all, actions speak louder than words.

To Be Continued

Red Hair Pirates

'Red Hair' Shanks (15) - Captain

Buggy 'The Clown' (15) - Lookout

'Hawkeye' Dracule Mihawk (19) - Swordsman/Navigator

Belle-mere (16) - Cook

'Desert King' Sir Crocodile (22) - ? - 27,000,000 Beri

Loguetown - Cocoyashi Village - Goat Island - Shells Town -

That's it for the chapter folks, I hope you enjoyed! Sorry this chapter felt a bit less eventful than the previous ones, but I felt it was necessary to take a step back and focus on the current crew's dynamic before they start moving forward. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long. Anyways, with that said, hopefully you leave a review, they are always appreciated and keep me oing, any constructive criticism, ideas, predictions or any thoughts are appreciated! That's all for today, I bid you farewell for now!