Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eichiro Oda and Rising of the Shield Hero belongs to Aneko Yusagi. I own nothing but the plot.

A Smoky Vice-admiral, a Small Captain

The next day started out like the previous ones: Naofumi would open shop while Raphtalia and Filo looked around for a ship that could take them to the next island. As usual, people were already making line to buy the miracle medicine and some magic accessories. Naofumi was a little worried his stock would deplete soon; most of the ingredients he used in his potions came from his world. If worse came to worst, bounty hunting seemed profitable enough; Pozole's reward was a good example as the hero was not worried about needing money for the time being.

"So, boy, ever been to Shishano Kingdom?" One of the customers asked in idle chat. "Your accessories remind me of it. Beautiful country."

"Yes, I have. That's where I got the design idea from," Naofumi answered. "We were just there, actually."

"I heard they were having a rough time with some pirates. I really hope the rumors about Straw Hat's return are fake."

"Is he that infamous?" Naofumi asked. "I saw some pirates get absolutely terrified of him."

"Have you been living under a rock?" the customer asked in genuine surprise. "Two years ago, he and his crew destroyed the island of justice and declared war on the world government! You can't get more infamous than that! Not unless you're an Emperor of the Sea. Fortunately, the Straw Hat pirates met their end at the hands of Kuma, one of the Seven Warlords."

"Must've been a pretty powerful crew, then," Naofumi commented. "That'll be 2000 berries."

"Thank you," the customer paid for the small pin, then continued. "The most amazing part is they were only 9 members strong. Each member has a pretty high bounty, though. Their total bounty is over 800,000,000 berries! Here, this is the captain." He took out a poster from his pocket.

"He doesn't look too dangerous," the shielder commented as he looked at the wanted poster the man showed him. "But I know looks can be deceiving."

Purchase completed, the man waved goodbye while Naofumi thanked him for the business. He looked down at his stand and frowned a bit. His merchandise had been sold out, which meant disappointing all the people making line.

"I'm very sorry, everybody, but I have run out. I have no more medicine or accessories to sell."

His announcement was met with several voices of complaint and disappointment, but there was nothing that could be done. He had used up most of his ingredients and stock, and whatever was left was stored exclusively for his party once they resumed adventuring. With not much else to do, he figured he could help Raphtalia and Filo look for a ship that could take them. He briefly considered Filo's new friends, but they did not cause a good first impression so he would rather avoid pervert blondes and slutty redheads. He paused for a moment, then his mood soured. He really hated pervert blondes and slutty redheads.

He was wandering aimlessly and eventually entered a forest when the sound of a man screaming was heard. He turned and dashed to the source of the noise. His run was short as he found the cause of the noise. His beloved giant ostrich/owl was being attacked by what looked like a group of bandits. He thought of helping, but the joyous smirk on Filo, plus the giddiness with which she kicked another attacker told him she had everything under control.

"Screw that! No amount of meat is worth this beating!" one of the bandits yelled before he and his partners all ran away. "I prefer pork anyway!"

"Aww, they were too weak…" Filo lamented. "I wanted to fight more."

"Meat?" as if to grant the filolial's wish, a young, straw-hat wearing boy came running into view. His eyes grew and sparkled at the sight of the giant bird. "Whooaaa! That's a really big bird! And it looks delicious!"

Naofumi's eyes widened in surprise as he recognized the boy as Straw Hat Luffy. Surprise turned to rage as Luffy stretched his arm like rubber and punched Filo right in the cheek.

"Yes! I got it!" Luffy celebrated when his arm regained its natural length. "Oh, wait. That bird is tough!"

Filo took a while to reorient herself after the powerful punch, so she didn't have time to dodge the second attack. Lucky for her, her master jumped right between the rubbery fist and herself, blocking the attack. "Master!"

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Luffy yelled. "I saw that bird first. It's mine! I'm not sharing!"

"Like hell you are! Touch her again and I'll kill you," Naofumi retorted, furious. He then turned to Filo. "Are you ok?"

She nodded her answer, then stood ready to go on the offensive. A second later, she seemed to disappear from sight, rushing towards the strawhat-wearing pirate to attack. He jumped to the side, barely avoiding the powerful kick, but she spun in the air and kicked again, landing a devastating attack on his chest and sending him flying toward a big tree.

Or it would have been a devastating attack if he wasn't made of rubber. He bounced off the tree and into the ground hard, but didn't seem too damaged. "Whoa! You're a pretty strong bird!" He grinned in excitement at the prospect of a strong fighter and got in a fighting stance.

As if to respond to the challenging spirit, Filo grinned and prepared as well. It was a change in her demeanor that did not escape Naofumi's attention. He sighed in resignation, but prepared to fight nonetheless.

"LUUUUUFFYYYYYY!"

The fight was interrupted before it formally began. Out of nowhere a decently muscular guy came running towards the pirate. He wore yellowish beige overalls, red goggles on his neck, a sun hat, and headphones. His hair was black and poofy, but his most distinctive feature was his very long nose. He has an air of panic and urgency around him.

"Huh? Ussop? What's the matter?"

"Luffy! We have to leave this island right now!" Ussop answered. "The marines are coming here! We have to escape before they get here!"

"I can't!" Luffy responded. "I'm in a fight!"

"Hey! I don't care about that," Naofumi said, butting into the conversation. "You can leave for all we care. You'll spare me some trouble if you do."

Filo just tilted her head in confusion.

"He's right!" Ussop exclaimed. He then draped an arm around Luffy in a conspiratorial gesture. "Besides, you don't want the fish we caught to spoil, right? Imagine all those possible dishes, just wasted."

"AH! You're right! We have to hurry!" Luffy stretched his arm and gripped two distant trees, with his sniper positioned right between his arms. He turned to Naofumi and Filo. "We'll continue our fight later. I have to go! Gum Gum Rocket!"

"Wait! No! Luffy, I'm still-"

Whatever Ussop was about to say, he didn't get a chance as his words turned to an unholy scream when Luffy dropped his footing and both him and his partner went flying into whatever direction he aimed.

Naofumi stood there, utterly confused at the sheer randomness of the situation. After what felt like hours, but was only half a minute, he sighed. He made his way to where Filo stood, head tilted and just as confused as he was. "Are you hurt?"

"Nope! Filo is fine," the filolial answered. "But he was very strong! Filo wants to stretch like him! Then she could kick enemies from afar! And eat more!"

"You eat enough as is…" Naofumi sighed again. "Anyways, let's find Raphtlia. Speaking of food, I want to eat something and rest. It's been a busy and weird few days."

"Okaaaay!"

They headed over to the town, and began their search. Filo walked without a care in the world while the legendary hero mused over the recent events. He was used to quick and sudden changes, but even he was taken aback by how…childish the so-called infamous Luffy was. Then again, it was exactly childish but powerful people that made the world so chaotic.

"Please, sir. We could pay for the ride. Just let us-"

"I said no. I'm sorry, but I have no more room for strangers to ride and we're on a tight schedule as is."

"I…thank you," Raphtalia deflated as her attempt to find a ride failed again.

"Raphtalia," Naofumi called. "Let's take a break and eat something. Then we can take the rest of the day off. We'll find transportation later."

"Mr. Naofumi! Yes, of course."

"Yaaay! Food!" Filo happily cheered, turning back to her human form.

The group headed to the commercial part of town and looked for a place to have lunch. Their search didn't last long and they settled on a decent seafood place, where they ate and rested in silence.

"If we can't get any merchants to take us, we could steal a pirate ship," Naofumi said, planning their course of action once the food was finished. "We can keep an eye out for any pirates with low bounties, as higher bounties mean stronger pirates and bigger trouble. This island is a common place for pirates to stop at, from what I've heard."

"Fighting pirates is fun!" Filo said.

"That sounds dangerous, Mr. Naofumi," Raphtalia countered. She then put a finger on her cheek. "Then again, the ones that have attacked me were pretty weak."

"You've been attacked?"

"Yes, but I took care of them. Don't worry about me."

"You're very dependable," Naofumi smiled, which got a flustered reaction from the raccoon girl.

Their meal lasted a couple of hours, after which they continued looking around for potential rides. Luck was not on their side during the negotiations, however, as every person they asked was either distrustful or too busy to pay them any mind. Money, sadly, was not too big of an incentive. Eventually, they reached a quieter part of town.

"I hear you're looking for rides. I'll let you ride all night long. Hehehehe," a shady-looking man approached the traveling group, making sure to ogle Raphtalia. Three more men joined him and took menacing steps towards the party, each carrying a large knife. "It won't be free, of course. But I'm sure mister merchant over here has more than enough to cover the costs."

Raphtalia sighed. "They just keep popping up." Her sword was drawn.

"Halt!" Before anyone could start the fight that was sure to ensue, a dorky-looking woman entered the scene. Her hair was dark and somewhat long, tied in a bun on the back of her head. She wore jeans and a pink floral shirt, with a white coat over her shoulders with the characters for 'justice', and red-rimmed glasses on her face. Her face was stern and her hand rested on a sheathed katana on her waist. "May I ask what exactly you people are doing with those weapons? It would seem you are threatening this family here."

"Don't be jealous, dolly," one of the thugs sneered. "You can join in on the fun. Just play nice and let the men handle the swords, okay?"

"Don't look down on me!" the woman yelled and drew her sword.

"Wait…" another one of the thugs paused. His eyes then widened in dread as he seemed to recognize the woman. "Shit! That's Captain Tashigi, from the G-5 branch of the Marines!"

"Did you say G-5?!" the first thug cowered.

None of the other thugs could respond after that, since in the blink of an eye they were cut down by the woman known as Tashigi. Her demeanor quickly turned friendly and she turned to the trio of adventurers. "Are you ok?"

"We could have handled ourselves, but thank you," Naofumi replied.

"Always happy to help!" the woman said. "I'm Captain Tashigi. Nice to meet you"

"I'm Naofumi. These are Raphtalia and Filo. You are quite the fighter!"

"Whoa! What a unique sword! I don't think I've seen one quite like it!" Tashigi completely ignored the shielder and fangirled over Raphtalia's sword once she saw it, which prompted a nervous reaction from the raccoon girl.

"Tashigi! Control yourself!" A large and muscular man approached the group, followed by several dangerous-looking men. They all have the same coat as Tashigi, letting the trio know they were her peers. The man in question had his chest visible, his hair was white and combed backwards, wore a pair of slim shades, and was smoking two cigars. Upon closer look, he had a whole bandolier of cigars on his sleeve. "We still have a job to do. Capture the bandits and get back to it."

"Ah! Smoker-san!" Tashigi regained her composure, then saluted the man. "Yes, sir!"

"Like hell I'm going to prison. Die!" One of the thugs managed to get up and lunged for an attack. His knife cut right through Smoker's neck, making his severed head fall to the ground.

Naofumi could only watch in awe as the thugs beheaded the large marine. However, he noticed no blood oozing from the wound, but smoke instead. The headless body then grabbed the jitte on its back and crushed the bandit under it. A moment later, Smoker reformed his head with smoke. "Stop wasting my time. Be useful for once in your life and tell me if you've seen Straw Hat Luffy instead."

The man was unconscious.

"Tch. Tie them up and call HQ to pick them up," Smoker ordered his men. "We can't lose more time. We don't want Straw Hat to escape."

"Hey," Naofumi interjected. "If you're looking for Straw Hat, he left hours ago."

"Shit!" the vice-admiral cursed. "We were too late."

"Can't you follow them?" Naofumi asked.

"There was a pod of island whales travelling near the island. Navigating through it is suicide." Smoker finally gave the shielder his full attention, sizing him up. His attention was drawn to the small shield on his arm. "I heard of a shielder messing up some pirates a little while ago. Was that you?"

"What if I am?" the shielder challenged.

"Nothing. You just made my work a little easier. Anyway…" he Smoker turned back to his subordinates. "Back to our job. Knowing Straw Hat, he's heading to Raijin Island. We'll ambush him there. Everyone, move your asses! We can't waste more time here!"

"Um, excuse me," Raphtalia spoke. "Would you mind taking us to the next island? We need to get moving as well."

"Lady, we are on a mission to pursue pirates. I can't waste time playing taxi."

"We can compensate you! Please!" the raccoon girl insisted.

"Raphtalia," Naofumi intervened. "They are busy. We already discussed that we could steal a pirate's ship to advance."

"Boo…" Filo complained. "Filo is bored of this island. She wants to go to the next one…"

"Smoker-san…" Tashigi pleaded.

He sighed. "We're leaving in 20 minutes. My ship is on the south dock. We can take you to the next island, but I expect you to work for your trip."

"Thank you so much!" Raphtalia happily said.

"Thank you," Naofumi added. "I'll make sure we don't cause any trouble."

"Yaay! Thank you, smokey guy!" Filo hugged Smoker's leg. "Now Filo can fight the rubber boy! She's getting the cart!" She let go of the marine's leg and transformed into a bird, picked up Raphtalia and Naofumi, and dashed toward the inn they were staying at.

"I already regret this," Smoker said as he watched them leave, then started making his way to the docks. "Let's go, you assholes. Move out!"

"Hahahaha! Smoke-bro, that was uncharacteristic of you!"

"Vice-admiral Smoker is going soft!"

"I bet he just wanted that cute lady aboard! Poor captain-chan..."

"Silence, you idiots! I said move your asses! We're leaving in 20 minutes." Smoker barked, and his men immediately clamped their mouths and made their way to the docks. "Bunch of morons."

"You really have a soft spot for young children, don't you, Smoker-san?" Tashigi smiled.

"Shut up," Smoker replied. "They aren't ordinary people. They look strong and already ruined some pirates' plans. I figured taking them to the next island wasn't gonna slow us down."

"I see!" Tashigi said in understanding.

"Let's go."

Meanwhile, Filo and her riders had reached the inn, where they had left their belongings. Everything was neatly organized in the cart King Tacos had gifted them. They paid and left in a hurry, Filo's excitement overpowering any reason or argument Naofumi or Raphtalia could muster. The shielder and demihuman had to hold onto the cart for dear life, but in Filo's defense, the whole trip took less than 15 minutes. By the time they reached the docks, Smoker and his men were barely making their way there.

"Smoky guy!" Filo, who was still in her giant bird form, cheered when she saw the vice-admiral. "We got here in time!"

"Whaaaa?" You're the little girl that was with them?" Tashigi asked, clearly surprised. Smoker didn't seem surprised in the slightest.

"She probably ate a devil fruit. Anyway," he turned back to his men. "As promised, we will be taking these people to the next island. Be on your best behavior or I will personally deal with you myself."

"Yes, smoke bro!" his men answered.

"These men are very rowdy," Tashigi told Raphtalia. "If they bother you, I'll deal with them."

"Thank you."

"Same goes for you," Smoker said, now turning to the three travelers. "The moment you cause me any trouble, I won't hesitate to throw you to the sea. I also expect you to help around the ship."

"Don't worry," Naofumi replied. "I said we would pay for the ride and we will."

"Good. Now then, let's set sail."

And so they did.

Once they left the island, the ship got active pretty quickly. The G-5 men brought several of the prisoners they had captured above deck, where they were tied up and hanged. The sadistic marines began to laugh as they began torturing the criminals.

"Hahahahahaha," Naofumi laughed when he saw one of the hanged pirates. "Look who it is. Not looking so bright now, huh?"

"Shut up!" a beaten-up Blast spat.

"You know him, shield bro?" one of the marines asked.

"Yeah. This bastard attacked me. Serves him right."

"I'm going to kill each and every one of you!" Blast angrily yelled. His anger turned to anguish when the marines proceeded to torture him. Naofumi actually joined them, clearly enjoying some payback.

"Master, can I eat him?" Filo asked, drooling a bit from her beak. This resulted in more screams from the captive criminals.

"Mr. Naofumi, you are acting like a villain…" Raphtalia lamented as she watched her protector fit right in with the savage marine rejects.

Tashigi sat beside Raphtalia, offering her sympathy while also stating the men weren't so bad. They could at least be depended on and were much more loyal than their attitude would suggest. The cries of agony coming from the tortured pirates and their mocking laughter did nothing to sell the image, however. Tashigi just laughed nervously, but then her attention was drawn back to Raphtalia's weapon. The raccoon girl offered to show her weapon, which the captain happily accepted.

"Wow! The design is quite unique! However…" The captain inspected the blade much more meticulously, adjusting her glasses and running a finger along the blade. "I get the feeling it's in pretty bad shape."

"Yes, it is. We have been in constant battles and have not had the time to give it some maintenance. I have a spare, but I still haven't gotten used to it."

"If you'd like, I can repair it for you. I know all there is about sword repair and maintenance."

"Really? Yes, I would really appreciate it!"

"How about in return, we spar a little? I'd love to see you use this sword!"

"Sure!"

The two ladies went inside the ship, probably to where Tashigi gave maintenance to her sword collection.

"Well played, Tashigi," Smoker said to himself as he watched them go.

"Uwaaaah!"

One of his men slammed into the floor right beside him. This caused the rest of the crew to burst out in laughter.

"Bwahahahaha! You got your ass kicked by a little girl," one of the laughing marines mocked.

"Filo told you she was strong," the angel girl casually said. This only caused more laughter to erupt, including the one that was sent flying.

"That's enough!" Smoker barked. "You scumbags remember you're on the job, right? Move your asses and get to work!"

Nightfall soon came, and with it dinner time. In order to show his group was not a burden, Naofumi offered to cook dinner, which got the vice-admiral's ok once Tashigi offered to help him. The ship was quite lively during dinner too, but soon it was time to get some rest. Despite how well they got along with the crazy marines, the trio were told to sleep on their own cart since there were no spare bunks, Tashigi explained. The shielder figured she didn't want to say they weren't that trusted yet in their faces, but he could understand that.

Next morning's entertainment came in the form of a friendly spar between Raphtalia and Tashigi. The marines all looked excited to see the ladies fight. Even Smoker was curious to see what the raccoon girl would offer in a fight.

Tashigi and Raphtalia stood some feet apart from each other. They looked at each other intensely, sizing up their opponent. They stood like that for a few moments until Raphtalia broke the stare and went on the offensive. Her overhead swing was deftly blocked by Tashigi's sword, who seemed to read the attack like an open book. Another low-to-high diagonal slice was parried, which Tashigi followed with a thrust. Raphtalia dodged to the side and sent a counterattack, but the marine jumped back and avoided it. Raphtalia rushed in again, keeping the offensive up which pushed Tashigi on the defensive, blocking and dodging sword swings.

"Kiri Shigure!" In a quick and fluid motion, Tashigi disarmed and apparently cut Raphtalia, but her sword was held backwards in order to avoid injuring the raccoon girl.

Raphtalia fell on her butt and looked in awe at her quick defeat, then looked up to Tashigi offering a hand. She humbly took it and got up to her feet. "You're very strong!"

"You're very strong yourself," Tashigi replied. "I can tell you're quite skilled, but you lack technique."

"Technique?"

"You mastered basic swordplay, but you don't use any complex moves," the swordswoman lectured. "You will easily win against unskilled swordsmen, but you won't beat anyone that has mastered sword play on an advanced level. If you don't want to come off as amateurish, you need to improve your technique."

"Like the move you used?"

"Yes."

"I see…"

The raccoon girl mused over her opponent's words for a bit, then nodded with a smile. Both girls shaked hands, signaling the end of their spar. Raphtalia in particular looked determined to get stronger, while Tashigi simply looked happy to see another swordswoman. Cheers erupted around them, letting them know the marines liked the show.

"Vice-admiral Smoker!" a marine with an expression of urgency came running toward Smoker. "We spotted a pirate ship approaching! It appears to be 'Cannoneer' Burst!"

"Tch. So he's come to rescue his brother, huh?" Smoker said as he turned toward the attacking ship. "Man the cannons! Get the warship close to theirs! Burst's cannons have superior reach, so unless we get closer, we'll just get sniped from afar!

"Yes, sir!"

Large splashes of water burst from the sea near the warship where the enemy's cannonballs barely missed the marines. One of those cannonballs was about to hit its target, but Tashigi jumped and unsheathed her sword. With a fluid motion of the blade, she redirected the shot out of harm's way, where it exploded without hurting anybody.

"She's incredible!" Raphtalia said in complete awe at what she now saw was superior technique.

"Air Strike Shield! Second Shield!" Naofumi called his skills, making two green shields materialize in the air and protect the warship from the enemy artillery. "Filo! Let's go!"

"Okaaay!" Filo, in her bird form, scooped Naofumi up and jumped off the ship.

"That idiot!" Smoker cursed when he saw the bird girl jump into the water. He ran toward the rail, but his urgency was replaced by confusion when he saw Filo swim toward the enemy ship. "She can swim? More importantly, what are they planning?"

Naofumi and Filo swam as fast as they could to the pirate ship. Since they were not expecting to be boarded by the marines at that distance, the pirates didn't notice when the duo jumped out of the water and got on the ship. At least not until it was too late.

"Who the hell are you?" asked one of the men. Filo quickly kicked him and knocked him out. However, the pirates now knew they'd been boarded. They quickly surrounded them.

"Hey hey hey. Don't tell me you're that shield guy that ruined our plans back at Shihano Kingdom!" the captain said when he looked at the intruders. He was an identical copy to Blast, who had attacked them at Limbo Island, with the difference being the yellow colors were replaced by orange. That, and the two massive bazookas we wielded. "I can't believe I get to punish you on top of rescuing my brother AND sinking that nasty vice-admiral! Can today get any better?"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Naofumi got ready for battle. "I have a tendency to ruin other people's days."

"Zweitte Tornado!" with a flap of her wings, Filo used her magic power to summon forth a powerful gust that half of the pirates off the ship.

"You bastards! Die!" Burst said as he aimed his bazookas at Naofumi.

"Shield Prison!" Right before Burst fired his weapons, a spherical barrier made of shields and chains surrounded him. Two explosions were immediately heard from within the barrier. A few seconds later, the barrier disappeared and there stood the pirate captain, dark with soot and looking very hurt from his own attack.

"Captain Burst!" one of the pirates yelled in fright! He was quickly defeated by the giant bird. Another went after Naofumi, but he blocked the sword that was aimed at his neck. The shield that blocked it had changed from pipe shield to a dark shield with two dog heads. The heads came to life and bit down on the pirate.

"Damn you!" Burst was not yet defeated. He aimed his bazookas again, but this time he was interrupted by a flying glove leaving behind a trail of smoke. The glove grabbed him by the neck and slammed him on the ground. A second later, a jitte was pressed on the back of his head, pinning him down.

"Stay down, you lowlife," Smoker commanded as the smoke condensed and reformed his body. He turned to Filo and Naofumi, who were just about done fighting off the subordinates. "You idiots could've gotten yourselves killed."

"We are used to fighting," Naofumi replied. "Consider this a favor for taking us to the next island."

"Hmph."

After defeating all the pirates aboard the ship and stopping the cannon fire, the marine warship finally got close. The marines apprehended the defeated pirates and got them on board to be locked in the warship's cells. At least most of them. The very unlucky pirates not to be locked up ended up being tortured by the barbaric marines, laughing maniacally as they did.

After cleaning up after their sudden battle, Smoker ordered his men to once again take the wheel and steer the warship to their next destination. At least that was the intention.

"Puohohooooohohoho!" Everyone's cheery demeanor gave way to curious and confused looks at the crying heard from the black snail on the table where Smoker was sitting.

"The black den-den mushi has tapped into a conversation! What could it be about?" one of the marines asked.

"Why is that snail crying?" Naofumi asked Tashigi, who instead of looking surprised or shocked, explained what den-den mushi were and why the black one in particular was special.

"So they're basically like phones from my world…" he said more to himself.

"What's a phone?" Raphtalia asked this time.

"It doesn't matter," he responded. "I am curious about the conversation they're spying on."

"Hello? I'm Luffy. I'm gonna be the Pirate King," the snail said in a younger-sounding voice. Then it went back to the original panicked one. "Help me! I-it's so cold… Is that you, boss? No, this isn't your boss! Is it cold there? Our crewmates keep getting killed one after the other. They keep getting killed by that samurai. Haa… What's your name? Where are you? I don't care who comes, just please...someone help us! We're on Punk Hazard! Gyaaaa! He stabbed me! Uwaaaaah! Bzzt."

If Naofumi was interested in the tapped conversation, he got outright invested at the mention of the word 'samurai'. Something about it just made the gears in his head spin. He remembered the words of the fortune-teller: 'In a distant land of history's warriors, you must heal heaven's wound. Only then will a loyal monster show you the way.' He had figured 'heaven's wound' probably meant the waves. The 'loyal monster' part sounded like something to be figured out only after he 'healed the wound'. The part that had gotten him a little lost was 'history's warriors'. Now that knew samurais existed here, he figured 'history' meant his own country's history, as the Japan he came from had had samurais in the past. In other words, its history. They were even very popular in the media he liked to consume. Figuring getting to the samurai was his way home at best and a detour from no actual destination at worst, the decision wasn't hard to make.

"Smoker-san! Did you hear that?" Tashigi asked, visibly agitated.

"Dammit! Just what kind of route did they take?" the vice-admiral cursed. "The three islands that the pose would point to from here are Risky Red Island, Raijin Island, and Mystoria Island."

"What's the matter?" Naofumi asked, seeing the reaction of the marine officials at the conversation.

"I had bet on the fact that Straw Hat would have chosen Raijin Island since that'd be the island targeted by the needle shaking the most violently." The hero listened intently, remembering what Princess Adelita had explained to him about navigating the Grand Line and the New World. "I never thought he would ignore them all…"

"But Smoker-san!" Tashigi exclaimed. "Punk Hazard is a deserted island that's been closed off ever since the incident that happened four years ago! It's strange that there would be people there!"

"True. It doesn't seem like the kind of place where any creature would exist now… But it's our only clue." Smoker then turned to his men. "We're moving!"

"Whaaat?! Vice-admiral Smoker! Don't you know it's prohibited to disembark there?" one of the marines argued.

"You low-lifes have no right to talk about the law with me!" Smoker barked back. "Now move the damn ship, you scum!"

"Yes, sir!" all the subordinates yelled at once.

Smoker then turned to his three stowaways in what almost passed for an apologetic expression. "I won't leave you at the next island as expected. Just stay on-"

"We're going too," Naofumi interrupted. "We have business with the samurai, so this works even better for us."

"And what the hell kind of business do you have with the samurai?" the vice-admiral asked rather aggressively.

"That's what we're going to find out," the shielder replied simply.

Smoker regarded him for a moment, but didn't press the issue further. Instead, he turned and started barking more orders, making sure his men got them to their destination as soon as possible.

"Mr. Naofumi, why are we going after this samurai thing?" Raphtalia asked.

"In the past, samurais were the equivalent of knights back in my world," he explained. "The fortune mentioned warriors of history, and samurais may be what it means."

"So we now have a clue to follow the fortune."

"Indeed."

"Yaaay!" Filo chimed in. "We're going back home!"

Naofumi smiled a bit at her cheerful attitude and put a hand on her head affectionately. "Yes, we are. Now come on, let's help out."

"Yes, sir."

"Okaaay!"

The trio moved to help around the ship. It was Raphtalia who proved the most useful, given she knew a little about fishing vessels. Before long, the battleship they were in changed direction and they headed to Punk Hazard.

"Vice-admiral Smoker! It's impossible!" one of the marines complained. They had reached a cold sea filled with icebergs and a weird mist. "There's gas leaking out!"

"Thanks to that old geezer Vegapunk's chemical weaponry experiment failing 4 years ago this island has become a wasteland!" another marine added.

"First of all, I don't even see Straw Hat Luffy's ship around here," a third marine said. "No one can set foot on an island so contaminated with poisonous gas!"

"No, actually, it's unnatural for there to be this much gas," Smoker noted as he looked around. "2 years ago this was just a wasteland without any fire or ice. Surprisingly, at that time most of the poisonous matter had already vanished. That's why Aokiji and Akainu chose this spot for their decisive battle. This was the scene of a battle so enormous it changed the weather!"

"Are you for real?" Naofumi asked loudly, not believing what he was hearing but still getting the feeling Smoker was being 100% serious.

"Can fights really get that immensely powerful?" Raphtalia commented.

"Filo wants to change the weather!" the cheery girl yelled.

"Alright, everyone!" The vice-admiral again took command. "Go get the gas masks. There's something suspicious going on here and we need to find out what."

"Yes, sir!"

The men quickly brought gas masks for everyone, including some spares for Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Filo, who had to stay in human form to wear it. Naofumi quickly explained to them what they were and how to use them.

"Woah! It's erupting!" They noticed a volcanic eruption in the distance, somewhere on the island. "When we're on this island, it feels like Akainu and Aokiji are glaring at us. It gives me the chills!"

"Who are Akainu and Aokiji?" the hero asked.

"They were two of the three admirals, the greatest military power of the marines," Tashigi explained. "They fought to see who would become Fleet Admiral. Akainu won the fight, and Aokiji left the marines after his loss."

"They must be very powerful..." he commented. "...if they can change the weather of an island."

"Fire!" Smoker ordered, breaking Noafumi out of his thoughts. The ship's cannons fired at a nearby iceberg. The giant block of ice was blasted to pieces, revealing a river behind it.

"Ooh! There was a river behind that block of ice!" the marines marveled. "How'd you know there was a river behind the ice, Smo-yan?" Naofumi also wondered, looking at Smoker for answers.

"Do you even pay attention? Just look at the currents," Smoker said. Naofumi didn't really have any nautical experience outside the battle of the last wave, so he just trusted the vice-admiral on this. A little hard considering he was smoking his two cigars through his gas mask. The smoking addict continued. "Besides, the problem isn't that there was a river, but whether that iceberg blocking it was natural or artificially made."

"At this gas-ridden island?!" a marine asked, surprised. "You mean there's people living here?! Ridiculous! They'd have to live wearing masks!"

"The voice on the signal definitely mentioned the name of this island," Tashigi reminded.

"You must've misheard, Tashigi-chan!" a subordinate said. "Even a den-den mushi would die in a place like this."

"Dahahaha that's true!" laughed another one.

"If you have time to laugh, then shoot down the next chunk of ice," the swordswoman commanded.

"Gyaaah! What is that? There's a wall of ice floating our way!"

"Fire! Fire!"

"If it hits us, even this warship will capsize!"

The marines operated the cannons and shot any ice that got too close to the ship. One of the icebergs was too big, however, so a rather big chunk of ice broke off the top of the iceberg and was about to crush several men on the cannons.

"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi yelled. His trademark green translucid shield materialized above the men, deflecting the ice that was about to crush them.

"Whoa! That's a lot, shield-bro! You saved us!"

"Focus your attention on the ice!" the shielder barked, giving off the impression he was also a superior officer. "Filo! Help me deal with the ice falling from above."

"Okaaay!" Filo, in human form, jumped and destroyed another chunk that was about to hit the ship with a punch. The hero's pragmatic orders sat right with Smoker, who now saw his burdens were no burdens at all.

The G-5 warship eventually managed to navigate the treacherous river until they got to shore. Leaving only some men behind to guard the ship, Smoker, Tashigi, and the rest of them disembarked. Naofumi, Raphtalia and Filo went with them, claiming they had business with the samurai. While Naofumi said they could go their own separate ways, Tashigi convinced him to travel together; at least until they got more information on what was happening. Besides, they had an advantage in numbers should something happen. It only took a glance at Raphtalia to finish convincing him.

"This is unreal…" one of the marines commented. "There's really no gas on the island."

"So what was up with the amount of gas around it, then?" another one asked.

"Must've been done by someone who doesn't want to welcome us in," Smoker theorized.

"They must have a very good reason not to," Naofumi added. "The lengths they go to keep people away seem excessive."

They reached a pair of massive metal doors, which looked like an entrance to the huge building in front of them. Smoker went first and casually rang the bell.

"We can just blast the doors with the warship's cannons, Smoker-san. Hahahahaaha!" one of the men laughed. "Don't be politely pressing the buzzer for a guy that's scared of us!"

"No one can enter this island!"

"We'll arrest you no matter who you are! Come out, you bastard!"

"You better be prepared! This is the marines!"

It was then when the doors opened and out came a man. Judging by the yells or fear and surprise coming from all the marines when they saw him, Naofumi figured this guy was well-known and very strong.

"What business do you have at my vacation house, White Hunter?" the man asked in a calm but still very sinister tone. His evil smile did not help his case. He was wearing a long trench coat and a spotted white fluffy hat. He also carried a rather long katana in his hand, but it was sheathed.

"Trafalgar Law!" the marines yelled in united surprise. "What is one of the Seven Warlords doing here?"

"Smoker-san, let's go!" one man pleaded. "We don't want to be involved with him!"

"He's insane!" another said. "He sent the hearts of 100 pirates to HQ in order to become a Warlordi! That's really creepy!"

Now Noafumi was familiar with rumors blown out of proportion, but even he had to seriously consider the possibility when he gave the man in question a good look. He wondered what kind of person would do something so horrible, but remembered people even worse back in Melromarc. He immediately found himself hating the man before him.

"This island is off limits even to those concerned with the government, Law." Smoker, unlike the rest of his subordinates, showed no signs of fear. He gave off quite an angry vibe, actually.

"Well," Trafalgar Law casually replied, "that means to you too."

This time it was Tashigi who walked to the front and confronted the man. She brought out the black den-den mushi and replayed the conversation that was tapped into before. This seemed to irritate the man on the door.

"This island's name… cold weather…" Tashigi recounted. "I don't think there's any question this person sent their signal from this island."

"You know 'Straw Hat' Luffy, right? At the Celestial Dragon Oswald incident." Smoker recalled. "2 years ago, you, 'Kid', and 'Straw Hat' fought together. Furthermore, when 'Straw Hat' was chased by Akainu during the war at Marineford, you helped him escape."

"What do you want?" Law tried to deflect, but he was visibly uncomfortable. "Forging emergency calls is a specialty of you marines, right?"

"Sorry to say, but this isn't a trap set by us," Smoker retorted.

"Well then… since I don't know anything either, we can end this talk."

"Don't make me ask stupid questions. Show me the inside of the research facility." Smoker demanded.

"This is my vacation house right now, so no." Law stood his ground. "What's so bad about a pirate like me being at an island you disposed of? There's only me here. If Straw Hat comes here, I'll hunt him down. So if that's all you wanted, leave."

Smoker and Law stood there glaring at each other, neither backing down. They were like that for a few moments until several voices were starting to be heard. They were mostly cries, but then a particular one spoke. "It's a door! We can get out of here!"

"Someone's in there after all!" one of the marines pointed out.

"Look! What's that creature?" another one asked.

"Hachaaa! We're out!" Kicking the door open, a strange creature jumped out from the building. Its voice was weirdly familiar to the shielder.

"Out… Nooo!" another voice joined. This proved to belong to a woman Naofumi definitely knew. "It's so cold!"

"That woman!" he exclaimed. "What is she doing here?"

"The Straw Hats!" At last, a marine cleared who they were.

Right after her, many children of very different sizes quickly joined her, along with a robotic-looking huge man (who was singing something about tanks), the perverted blond from Limbo Island, and a severed head. The kids were saying things along the lines of "we're finally out" and "I wanna see mommy and daddy". Most bizarrely, they all ended their exit by making a strange pose and yelling 'SUPER'. The whole scene was so random and strange it took everyone present quite some time to regain their bearings.

"Ahhh! I remember you!" Finally, the weird creature reacted to Law's presence.

"That's right! He was at Sabaody!" Nami added. "Did you lock these kids in here?! You fiend! We won't give those kids back!"

"I was wondering what kind of atrocious villain we'd meet!" Sanji then said. "You're Smoker! The shield bastard! And the lovely ladies!"

"Why are there kids here?" Tashigi managed to ask.

"This is bad! It's the marines!" the weird creature, which the shielder assumed was Chopper, exclaimed. "We can't get through this! Let's take a different exit! Everyone, back inside!"

"Waaaa? Aren't the marines good people?!" one of the giant kids asked.

"Ah, that's right. Then let's go!"

"No way! Those people look like crooks!"

"What 'alone'?! They're here!" If Smoker looked angry before, he was now downright furious.

"They were…" Law said rather confused as well. "I'm still surprised."

As the Straw Hats and the kids attempted to flee, Tashigi gave the order to pursue and capture the pirates. The marines quickly moved to follow.

"Hey! Wait" Smoker tried to warn.

"Those guys sure bring a lot of trouble. Room!" Law said. He extended his arm and a small translucent ball formed in his hand. It quickly grew so big it covered the entrance to the building and the whole warship tied to the shore of the island. "Tact!" He lifted his finger and the entire warship began floating in midair.

"The warship is floating in the air!"

"The river too!"

"What the hell is this?!"

The marines panicked. Not that Naofumi could blame them as he himself was pretty shocked at the power of that man. He instinctively pushed Raphtaila and Filo behind him and raised his shield.

"I can't let you leave this island anymore," Law menacingly said. "I shouldn't have said there was no one there."

"Stay back!" Smoker ordered his men and drew his jitte. Naofumi made sure to follow that particular command.

"People like you will be disassembled," Law declared. With a simple swing of his sword, the warship that was floating in the air was sliced in two. He then turned his attention to the fleeing children and pirates and stabbed the air. What that did, Naofumi couldn't tell, but he saw enough to know it wasn't just for show. "Shambles."

Pieces of rock, sea, warship and ground were floating around and assembling in very unnatural ways. As the marines around them cowered and begged their superior to flee, Smoker and Tashigi just glared at the creepy pirate. "You Warlords are under direct government control! Attacking us is a breach of the agreement. We'll report you to HQ and they'll revoke your title!"

"No need for me to worry," Law calmly said with a sinister grin. He made a movement with his sword as if observing the men before him. "Scan." He then moved his hand as if he were grabbing something. Immediately after, several snails materialized a few feet behind him. The hero recognized them as the den-den mushi the marines used for communication.

"Huh? It's gone!"

"Mine too!"

"Those are ours! He stole our den-den mushi!"

"I won't let you report anything you've seen on this island," the warlord said menacingly. "Not to HQ. Not to the government."

"The Ope Ope Fruit is one that makes the user be able to modify," Smoker explained as he turned to smoke and moved in to attack. His smoky arm shot forward in an attempt to strike Law with his jitte. Law dodged the attack and positioned himself to cut down. Smoker realized what he was about to do and warned his men with urgency. "Don't enter his sword's reach!"

A group of marines stood there trying to make sense of the vice-admiral's words when they were cut in half. "We've been cut!"

"Ahh! Huh? I'm alive?"

Indeed, despite being sliced in half, the men were alive. Not only that, there was no blood or gore anywhere. It was as if they were toys being disassembled rather than humans made of flesh. It was something Naofumi made sure to notice. For now, he kept his distance and observed. It was important to know what your opponent was able to do.

"You're in the way! Get out of that circle!" Smoker ordered. "As long as you're within Law's circle, consider yourself a patient in an operating table. This is his 'operating room'. He has complete control and will operate anything inside it. He's the 'Surgeon of Death'."

"If you're going to be like that, I'll take you on, Trafalgar Law!" Tashigi declared. Despite the warning words from Smoker, she moved in to attack and was promptly sliced in half by the Surgeon of Death.

"Captain-chaaan!"

A/N: And after all this time, a new chapter finally arrives! I want to make up for the time with not one, but TWO chapters! Rejoice!

Now to give some backstory you don't care about. I introduced Shield Hero to my girlfriend and we started watching it together. Then we made plans to cosplay Raphtalia and Naofumi. Then we broke up before we did that or even finished the anime. So yeah, I wanted to stay away from it for a time, which meant I couldn't pick up the story. I am fine now, so don't worry. I rewatched the anime to be motivated to continue writing, so here I am happy and excited!

So please let me know what you think by leaving a review. I greatly enjoy reading the feedback I get. I'm always interested in hearing your thoughts, opinions and ideas, even if I'm not likely to implement them in the story. But hey! You never know. Please take care, peeps. See you next chapter.