Zoro glared at Nami. He couldn't believe she had that gall to drag him down that stupid oil slick and then use him as a rug to escape herself! "Don't be such a baby! Better that only one of us fell than both of us getting stuck."

"It should have just been you!" Luffy was next to him, yelling at Usopp for not telling him which way North was. He turned to his captain in annoyance. "I thought you said you could tell where people were!"

Luffy huffed. "Only when they're nearby!" They were distracted when the pirates they'd sent flying down the cliff started getting up. "Oh, they're still alive."

Zoro side eyed his captain. "Luffy." He ignored whatever the pirates were doing down below, waiting for his captain to turn to him. "You sit this one out."

"What? Why?" He wasn't sure if the younger boy was frowning our pouting.

"You took out everyone during the last two fights, remember? So leave this one to us." He gestured towards Nami and Usopp who didn't look happy in the least. He grinned, itching for a good fight. Now the boy was fully pouting, but thankfully he nodded and shuffled over towards a tree near the top of the cliff, plopping down and sulking. Zoro would deal with the huffy teen later. For now, he'd get rid of these pirates while showing his captain just what he could do.

Zoro's attention was drawn back to the pirates below when they all let out a loud roar. One of them walked over to the cliff wall and pulled his fist back. Nami and Usopp screamed when the guy's punch managed to break part of the cliff off. Gripping his swords, Zoro pulled out the Wado Ichimonji and put it in his mouth.

He waited as the crew charged, settling into his stance and spinning his remaining two swords. "Three sword style. Tatsu…" He waited an extra second, making sure they were all close enough, before charging forward. "Maki!" All the enemy pirates were forced back towards their ship on a large whirlwind, either hurt or dead from the cuts of his sword.

Surveying his work, he took the Wado Ichimonji from his mouth. He was disappointed that it was over so fast. He was hoping after seeing one of them break the cliff that they would put up a better fight.

"That was awesome!" Zoro smirked as he glanced back at Luffy. It seemed his performance had gotten his captain to forget about his sulking. "They all went flying! You're really strong!" Zoro wondered why Luffy had made him part of the crew if he didn't know how strong he was.

"COME DOWN! NYABAN BROTHERS!"

Zoro raised an eyebrow as he turned back towards the fallen pirates. "Guess there's still some left." He wasn't expecting the two weirdos that jumped down from the ship. The freaky hypno guy told them to fight, but rather than charge like Zoro was expecting, the two started shaking and yelling about how they couldn't because Zoro looked too strong.

"SHAM! GO NOW!" The skinnier of the freaky two actually started crying as he ran towards Zoro. He was screaming something about his claws being really sharp.

"What can you do to me with those claws?" Zoro clenched his katana tighter. He hated being forced to cut down weaklings. There was no honor in that. "If you don't stop now I'll attack you!"

Zoro's eyes widened as he saw the weakling grab his unsheathed katana and steal his other two. He blinked and found the skinny cat-like guy almost upon him and automatically turned away, using his one hand to swing his katana at the weirdo and moving his other to protect the ones at his waist. He jumped back a few paces, eyes narrowing. Was that…? Luffy laughed behind him, and he spared a brief glace back to see the wide smile on his face, hat shadowing his eyes. "Looks like you finally unlocked it."

Zoro grinned, eyes turning back to his now way opponent as he pout the Wado Ichimonji back into his mouth and took his third katana into his left hand. He'd been overconfident, and that had almost cost him his swords. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

Settling into his stance, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Three sword style. Oni…" He moved towards the thin bastard. "Giri!" He flicked his swords to get rid of any blood that may have gotten on them as he turned to make sure there weren't any more surprises. He wasn't about to let these weirdos get the drop on him again. He brought up his swords to block the sudden strike from the bigger cat-looking guy, grunting at the power behind the strike.

His arms buckled a little, but he held strong before pushing the large guy off him. He shook his arms out. That guy was a weirdo, but he was strong. If he let that guy get a clean hit, his bones would shatter! He got back into his stance, ready to finish the big guy, but frowned in confusion when his opponent suddenly froze in fear and the hypno guy below started yelling, "I…I…I can explain! Ca-Cap-Captain Kuro!"

Zoro glanced back at the man standing at the top of the slope but made sure to keep the big guy he was fighting in his sights in case he tried something. "It has been pretty long since dawn. I was wondering why the plan wasn't carried out. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!" The man glared down at everyone. "I didn't expect you to be held up by these children. The Kuro Neko Pirate fleet has been reduced to a truly sad state. Isn't that right Jango?!"

"B-But you said we could let that kid go…because he couldn't affect our plans!"

"Yes…I did say that. So what?! He still cannot affect our plans! I expected he would come after us. What I didn't expect was your uselessness! No more excuses!"

Zoro's attention returned to his opponent when the big guy started shaking. "We've attacked many villages and sank many ships. You've been inactive for three years! Sham may have been defeated, but I can still beat you! You're no longer our captain! Instead of getting killed by you silently, I should kill you first!" He raced past Zoro and towards the man at the top of the cliff.

Taking the Wado Ichimonji out of his mouth, he waited to see where this would go. The glasses wearing guy – Kuro? – vanished right as the cat freak tried to slice him and reappeared behind him. "Who did you say you were going to kill?" Zoro frowned at the odd gloves Kuro was wearing. Each finger had a sword attached to it. He'd never seen anything like it before. The big guy turned towards Kuro, only for him to vanish and reappear behind him again, weird looking weapon held threateningly to his throat. "You're right. I really don't feel too active. You're also right that I'm no longer your captain. I am only the client in this plan. A client who will kill if the plan fails!"

Zoro could hear the hypno freak at the bottom mumbling something to himself, but he ignored it in favor for what was happening in front of him. Kuro stabbed the tip of one of the swords into the big guy's neck, causing screams of pain. "After three quiet years it seems that I've become more generous. I give you five minutes. If you can't settle this in five minutes…I'll kill you all."

Zoro grit his teeth when he heard that. Was this guy really willing to kill his entire crew for not being able to finish the fight in a few minutes? The big guy wasted no time in coming after him again, so Zoro put the Wado Ichimonji back into his mouth and held the other two up and behind it. "Tora…Gari!" He slashed downwards, sending the creepy cay-guy tumbling down to the bottom of the cliff with multiple slashes in his stomach. He held the katana in his right hand out towards the Kuro guy. "Don't worry. In five minutes, I'll kill you all. No exceptions!"

Kuro used the base of his palm to push his glasses back up. "Let's see you try it."

"CAPTAIN JANGO! HYPNOTIZE ME!"

Kuro sneered at him. "He's still alive. You were too nice."

Zoro grunted and turned back towards the big guy. "Must have been all that blubber." He should have cut deeper. His eyes widened slightly when the cat-guy stood up with a yell. "Hypnotism again?" That guy's punches were strong before. Powered up they'd probably be even worse!

"CLAHADOR! STOP IT!"

"What now?" Zoro turned back around, annoyed at all the back and forth going on, and his eyes narrowed at the sight of the rich girl standing behind the fake butler.

"Kaya! Why…why are you here?!"

"Isn't that the ojou-sama of the mansion?! She's the target of the mission!"

"We don't have to go to the village!"

"We can just kill her now!"

Kuro looked shocked as he used the base of his palm to push his glasses up again. "You surprised me…ojou-sama. What are you doing here?"

"Merry told me everything."

"Oh? He didn't die? I didn't show him any mercy…"

The girl looked shocked by those words, and Zoro sheathed the Wado Ichimonji for now. He could defend against a surprise attack with two swords, but it seemed like the fighting was on hold for the moment. "I'm really sorry Usopp! Maybe you can't forgive me so easily, but I…really can't believe…that Clahador is a pirate!"

"Never mind that! Why are you here?! Didn't I tell you to run away?! These pirates are after your life!"

"Aren't you fighting as well?!" Zoro squinted a little. He was pretty sure she was crying now. "We treated you so badly…and yet you're here fighting, even with those wounds…"

"We're different! I…I'm a brave warrior of-"

"CLAHADOR! If you want my money, I will give it all to you! Please! Leave the village!"

Zoro didn't like the look on the fake butlers face. "You're wrong ojou-sama. It's not only money I'm after. I also was piece of mind. I spent three years here to gain the villager's trust. I feel at peace here. Only when I have obtained piece and money will my plans be complete. That's why having my crew attack the village, and making you leave a will at your death is essential."

"KAYA RUN! Don't bother negotiating with him! He's no longer the butler you knew!"

Rather than run, the girl pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Kuro, or Clahador, or whatever his name was. "LEAVE THIS VILLAGE!" He had to give the girl some credit. She had guts.

"So…you've become stronger in these years. Do you still remember? A lot has happened in the last three years. Since your parents passed away, we've been together for quite some time. We took boat rides together, went to town together…when you were sick with a fever I always stayed by you to take care of you." Zoro didn't think this guy could get any worse. "We've shared our troubles, and our joy. I've served you tirelessly!" The pistol in her hands was shaking now as she bit her lip. "I suffered taking care of this nosy little ojou-sama. I suffered waiting for so long. All this is so that I can kill you today!" The tears she'd tried to hold back were now fully streaming down her face.

A glance towards Usopp showed he was ready to kill. "BASTARD!"

"I was a captain in the past, and I had to serve such a young, naïve little girl obsequiously…deliberately to make her like me. Can you understand how demeaning my days have been?!" Usopp screamed as he threw his fist back, but the scream alerted Kuro and allowed him to dodge. "Usopp…now that I think about it, I still haven't thanked you for that punch you gave me last time. You hit me really hard." He held out his arms, spreading his fingers as well as his swords. Before he could move, Luffy was in front of Kuro, punching him so hard the ground where his head hit cracked.

Zoro hadn't even seen him move. There was silence as everyone waited to see if Kuro would get back up, but the man stayed down. Zoro was half convinced the man was dead. Easily hefting the man by his jacket, Luffy threw him down at the pirates still alive. "Take him back! Don't ever come here again!" Those who could still move grabbed the unconscious, wounded, or dead and loaded back onto their ship before sailing away faster than Zoro thought a ship could move.

Sheathing all this swords, he grinned at his captain. "I thought I told you to leave these guys to me."

Luffy huffed. "He was pissing me off."

"Captain!" The three kids who had been at the restaurant came charging out of the woods, looking around at everyone and all the destruction to the cliff in confusion. "What happened?"

"Captain! You're hurt!"

Usopp laughed and waved them off. "These are nothing! What are you three doing here?"

"We saw Kaya running towards the shore and followed her! We heard screaming and shouting and loud noises!" Zoro yawned and moved to sit against the cliffs wall as Usopp spun some lie while the rich girl wiped her eyes and explained what really happened. It took a while, but eventually the kids and the rich girl left.

Usopp turned to them and smiled. "Thank you! If it weren't for you guys…the village couldn't have been protected!"

Zoro smirked. "What are you saying? If you hadn't done anything, I wouldn't have either."

"Same here." Luffy frowned. "Though I didn't really do anything anyway."

Nami laughed as she hugged a bag that Zoro was positive she hadn't had earlier. "That doesn't matter! I was able to get the treasure!" His eyebrow twitched. When the hell had she done that?

Usopp put his hands on his hips. "In light of this, there's a decision I've made!"

Luffy's mouth dropped open as he stared at the ship in front of him. I was awesome! The cool goat looking guy started talking about things he didn't really understand, but one thing was clear. "You're giving it to us?!"

Kaya nodded. "I insist."

"I'll explain the steering system. First of all, in order to adjust the yards…" Luffy didn't understand a word of what the cool goat guy was saying. He was saved when Nami lightly pushed him out of the way, saying he could explain it to her instead. He didn't care, he was just excited that they had an awesome ship now!

Kaya laughed a little. "I had everything you would need for a voyage loaded on to the ship."

Luffy grinned. "Thanks for causing all this trouble!"

Zoro sighed next to him. "It's for going through all this trouble."

Luffy's ears twitched at the sound of yelling at the same time he sensed something approaching fast. He turned to find Usopp and a huge bag rolling towards them at a high speed. "What's he doing?"

"I think we should stop him before he hits the ship." Luffy nodded and walked over next to Zoro, both of them lifting a foot for Usopp to run into instead.

"T…Thank you."

"No problem."

Luffy turned and ran towards his new ship, jumping up to explore the inside. It had everything! A kitchen, a big deck, and a place to sleep! He moved towards the railing to get the other two to hurry up, since Zoro had already climbed aboard. Usopp stood next to the boat they'd come in, huge pack at his side. "Well, safe voyage guys! Hope to see you again somewhere!"

"Why?" Usopp was going with them, so why would he say that?

"You such a cold-hearted man. We're both going to be pirates now, so we might meet again on the high seas…"

Zoro frowned and pointed towards the deck. "What are you talking about? Get on already!"

Usopp seemed stumped. "What?"

Luffy folded his arms on the railing and put his head on top of them. "You're already our companion, aren't you?"

"I…I'M THE CAPTAIN RIGHT?!"

Luffy frowned and jumped up. "I'M THE CAPTAIN!" Usopp laughed as he hauled the giant bag onto the ship and they finally set off! While he wasn't a fan of booze, Luffy made an exception and grabbed a bottle along with four mugs. He grinned as he poured it, tossing the empty bottle and hoisting his mug. "To a new ship and a new crew member!" Everyone else raised their mugs as well. "CHEERS!"

Usopp stared at the monstrosity before him. "I put a lot of thought in to making our symbol!" Luffy seemed so proud of it, but it was…terrible.

"Calling him artistically challenged would be an understatement."

Nami was staring intently at the mark. "No…this could be some sort of abstract art." Usopp disagreed. It wasn't art in any sense.

Zoro seemed like he didn't know what to think. "A pirate's flag should be a symbol of death, but this flag is…well…I guess it's quite terrifying in a sense." He had to agree. It was terrifying in its own horrible way.

The grin on Luffy's face was so wide and happy. "Whaddya think?"

"You're beyond terrible! Leave the drawing to me!" He took the paint and flag and quickly drew a work of true art! He held it up proudly, head ringing when Luffy and Zoro smacked him for changing it. He huffed and went to redo it, muttering about how they couldn't take a joke. So what if it looked a little bit like him?

"That's perfect!" He grinned as he looked at his handywork. It was much better than that…thing…Luffy had drawn earlier.

Zoro looked back and forth between the one Luffy had drawn and the one he'd done. "It doesn't look even remotely like the other one." Usopp was just glad he could tell what Luffy had been trying to paint.

"Draw one on the sail later too!"

When he was finally done with the painting, he fell onto his back on the deck. Painting the symbol on a flag or two was one thing but painting it on the sail had taken forever! He jumped when a loud bang came from the side of the ship, sitting up and finding Luffy standing next to their cannon. Zoro raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing all the sudden?!"

"Testing the cannon! It'd be a waste not to make good use of it!" Usopp was secretly surprised Luffy even knew how to work a cannon. "I can't get it to fire well though…"

Standing up, he marched over towards the other teen. "Stand aside! Let a professional show you how it's done!"

Luffy pointed towards a tall rock in the distance. "Try aiming for that rock!"

"Okay!" He had Luffy load it once more before he started aiming towards the rock. "Judging the distance between here and the target…this should about do it…" He fired, watching as the cannonball flew through the air and hit the rock dead on. He couldn't believe it. He'd actually hit it!

"Holy crap! You hit it on your first shot!"

"You're right, I did!" He cleared his throat and grinned proudly. "I mean, of course I did! I'm an expert when it comes to all things aiming! Feel free to bow down before me and address me as captain!"

Luffy frowned for a split second before grinning widely. Usopp wondered if he imagined it. "I've decided! You can be our sniper!" They made their way into the kitchen area with Zoro and Nami.

"Alright. I guess I can settle for that for the time being. But, if you ever chicken out from your duties, I'll take charge as the ship's captain."

Usopp wondered at the smile that appeared on Luffy's face. It wasn't the same as his normal ones. "Alright, fine." He paused and looked up before nodding to himself. "I just had an idea! There's still one crucial position of a pirate crew we need to fill before entering the grand line!"

Nami smiled and rested her hand on her head. "You're right. We do have a fantastic kitchen after all. Of course, I could do it as long as I get paid."

"An indispensable crew member for long voyages."

Luffy pointed towards Zoro with a wide grin. "You think so too, right? Yup, what a pirate ship crew really needs is a musician!"

Usopp let his head fall to hit the table. "ARE YOU RETARTED?!"

"AND HERE I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO SAY SOMETHING SMART FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YOUR LIFE!"

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT SAILING ON THE SEAS IS LIKE?!"

Luffy blinked, looking honestly confused. "B-But a pirate's gotta sing!" Usopp wondered what he'd signed up for when he agreed to join this crew.

Luffy hopped up and down excitedly. They were gonna get a cook! He could see the restaurant in the distance, and it looked awesome! It was like a giant floating fish! That was just so awesome!

He turned when a ship came up next to them. He'd ignored it since it didn't really have anyone strong on it, but his eyes narrowed slightly when he saw it was a marine ship.

Usopp clenched his teeth next to him. "They're not going to attack us now, are they?"

Luffy didn't answer. Someone on the marine ship came up to the railing. "I'm the lieutenant of the marine headquarters knows as 'Ironfist Fullbody'. Who's you're captain? Name yourself."

"I'm Luffy. I just finished making my pirate flag the day before yesterday."

"And I'm Usopp." Luffy frowned slightly, side eyeing the long nosed male next to him. This was the third time now Usopp had tried to stake his claim as the captain since joining.

The marine looked past him and his eyebrow rose. "I think I've seen you two before. You frequent the government offices on some business. If I remember correctly, you're…small time bounty hunters. Yosaku and Johnny I think your names were."

"Hey, Yosaku, I think this bro's sticking it to us."

"Well, we can't just let some guy walk around calling us small time. This ain't gonna net us a single beli, but I think we oughta teach this kid how to keep his mouth shut." Johnny and Yosaku raced forward, sabers drawn, but the marine easily beat them back. Luffy wasn't surprised. The two were really weak.

"Consider yourselves lucky pirates, because I'm on break today. I only came here to eat at the restaurant. But consider your lives forfeit the next time you run into me when I'm not off-duty." Luffy glared at him.

"GUYS! WE'RE IN DEEP SHIT! THAT BASTARD'S AIMING HIS CANNON AT US!"

Hopping up onto the railing, Luffy held up a fist and hit the cannonball down into the water. He wasn't about to let this asshole sink his brand-new ship! Cracking his knuckles, he tilted his head down slightly and glared at the marines. "Try that again. I dare you." He snorted when they scrambled to move the ship away, hopping down and ignoring the shocked looks from his crew, Johnny and Yosaku. He grinned and patted his stomach. "I'm hungry! Let's eat!"

Usopp is officially part of the crew, and they're at the Baratie! Zoro has started to awaken his haki. It's not 100% yet, but he's officially awaked the first type! As for Luffy getting upset at Usopp claiming to be the captain - it'll be relevant later on in the story. And for me having Luffy hit the cannonball into the water - he did the same thing (in the anime at least, not sure about the manga yet) when escaping Garp at Water 7. If you haven't noticed, I'm not having him use his rubber powers much right now. My reasoning for this is as follows:

1) He's working on his staff skills because he's still getting used to the heavier material
2) He hasn't had a need to use it yet - like I said, OP until somewhere on the grand line

Whether or not his crew knows about it...

And did you know that in the manga when Jango throws his hypno ring as Nami and hits Luffy instead, he hits the back of Luffy's head?! In the anime Luffy catches it with his teeth! I haven't gotten too far in the manga yet, but it's got some real gems that the anime either did differently or changed the lines for. So glad I'm finally reading it. I've put it off for so long, that I have a lot of catching up to do. Boy am I not looking forward to certain arcs.

Anyway, let me know what you thought!

~Akirafanatic