"Wealth, fame, power. The man, who once owned everything, the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The words he said before his death sent all the people of the world out to the seas."

"My treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Find it! I left everything in that place."

"Men, searching for romance, pushed forward towards the Grand Line. The world is now in the Grand Age of Pirates!"

Chapter 17: Hina and Sanji, Unlikely Allies Unite

"Straw Hat Luffy?" Don Krieg leaned back in his large stone chair as he peered out towards his gathered crew, criss-crossing her fingers as he rested his chin against his hands, grinning slightly from behind his fingers. "On this very island?"

"I said that he was wearing a straw hat, didn't I?" Sabrina's voice was laced with sarcasm as she crossed her arms. "I thought you said he had a crew, though? The only one with him was the fat man from the cafe that I told you about."

"He has a crew." Krieg lowered his hands, his grin evident. "Straw Hat Luffy, hmph! That is one rematch that I will relish! Word is that the boy's worth three hundred thousand now. Sounds like he's gotten stronger, heh heh... but so have I."

"Then that must mean... Roronoa Zoro?" Morgan's eyes shifted back and forth in thought before he rested his good hand on the back of his axe-hand. "I scheduled his execution long ago, but that gnat was freed by Monkey D. Luffy. I will see to it that his execution is carried out."

Krieg raised a hand to signal for Morgan to exercise patience. "In time, Morgan. Our ship is almost complete and, when it is, we will bury the Straw Hat crew along with the rest of this disgusting island!"

"Bury it?" Bonne Blight looked at Krieg curiously, not following what he was planning. "How will we bury an entire island?"

"Isn't it obvious? Chocolate Volcano!" After hearty laugh, Krieg looked towards the corner of the room where a lightly bruised Conis had been brought and shackled to the wall. "And the icing on the cake? We have the perfect bait to lure them in with!"

"Ugh, what... ?" Sanji's eyebrows furrowed at the sensation of being dragged through fine powder, causing his eyes to open. Above him, clouds lazily drifted overhead. He let his head hang to the side, watching the sand of the beach slowly moving past him. "Huh?"

"Don't start again." Sanji peered up to the the back of Hina as she dragged him along through the sand. "I am not going to repeat what I did again."

"What do you..." Sanji tried to recall what she meant, and it didn't take him long to remember, prompting him to become lovestruck again.

Without warning, Hina quickly snapped around and kicked Sanji's side, sending him rolling away several feet. "SILENCE!" As she approached him, she leaned down and grabbed him by the hair, pulling his head up and glaring at him. "This is not supposed to be a fun experience for you! I'm bringing you to your captain, if I can find him, and I am going to offer to turn you over in exchange for his arrest! As he approaches, I plan on feigning your release, instead restraining Monkey D. Luffy. From there, the rest of your crew should not be difficult to arrest."

"Heh." Sanji grinned as a light stream of blood trickled from his mouth. "You haven't seen our crew for a while, have you?"

Hina merely sneered in response before reaching down and dragging Sanji along once more. "You underestimate my Ori Ori no Mi powers, Black Leg Sanji."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't, but... oi!" Sanji was silent until Hina paused and looked back to him. He peered back, looking at the cigarette sitting between her lips. "Can I have a smoke?"

There was silence for a moment between the two as Hina simply stared at him before she removed her cigarette and checked the length. It was already half gone. Shrugging lightly, she leaned down and stuck it between Sanji's lips. "You're not deserving of a full cigarette."

"Yeah, whatever. Thanks." Sanji averted his gaze, trying to keep himself in check due to the fact that the cigarette he now had was previously touching Hina's lips. Keeping his eyes focused on everything but her would be the best things for both of them right now.

"AROOOO!?"

"I said shut up!" Hina snapped around, glaring at Sanji who was busily looking around for the souce of the sound to reply. Hina, realizing that it wasn't Sanji, raised her gaze and looked around. Just then, she was suddenly whipped hard in the back, sending for falling onto the ground. "What the!?"

Hina and Sanji both turned their gaze to glimpse one of the strangest creatures either of them had ever seen. Standing before them was something that resembled a large but slender iguana covered in a molasses-like substance. Hina growled as she climbed to her feet. "Must I really fight animals now? Hina angry."

Darting forward, Hina whipped her hand at the lizard, wrapping a large restraint around the animal. As she then swung her foot in an attempt to kick it in the head, the iguana slipped itself out from the restraint and delivered a strong head butt to Hina's chest, sending her spiraling back and into a tree. She groaned lightly before looking up through one eye. "H-How did it slip out of my restraint? What's coating that lizard!?"

Crawling to her feet once more, Hina leaped forward and waved her hands in a frenzy, attempting to wrap numerous restraints on the lizard. Despite having its arms bound to its chest and its legs and tail restrained together, the lizard still slipped out and promptly whipped Hina several times in the face with its tail, sending her face-first into the ground. For a moment, she laid still until she finally raised her head and coughed up a small amount of blood. "D-Damn it! My abilities won't work on this thing!?"

Scurrying over to Hina, the iguana rose upright and stepped on her. "AROOOO!?"

Sanji's eyes widened as the lizard's tail raised, the molasses on the end receding to reveal a sharply pointed nail. Without warning, it suddenly drove its tail into Hina's back as it hissed excitedly, Hina crying out loudly as a result and desperately trying to claw herself away. Sanji bounced himself into a sitting position before shouting at Hina. "Oi! Marine woman! Get these off of me, or that thing's gonna beat both of us! I can help!"

As the iguana brought a heavy foot down on Hina's head, she resisted the urge to cry out as she stared at Sanji through one eye, her vision becoming blurry as a result of her attempt to ignore the pain in her back. Hina held up an arm weakly towards him and clenched her fist, the restraints that bound him suddenly falling off. Standing up straight, Sanji readjusted the cigarette as he glared at the iguana. "Oi, lizard. Get away from the girl."

The iguana stared back at him before suddenly leaping at him. Sanji glared back and, when it was within range, he leaped forward. "Poitrine Shoot!" Delivering a swift kick to the iguana's belly, it was launched in the air with an angry hiss. As it approached the ground, Sanji hopped onto one leg and prepared his follow-up attack.

"Cotelette!"

As Sanji's legs hammered the iguana over and over again, it appeared to lose consciousness and then suddenly flew dozens of feet away, landing on its head and slowly falling over. Sanji stared at it for a moment to make sure it did not get up before turning his gaze to the injured Hina. Running over, he knelt beside her and helped her into a sitting position. "Oi! Are you okay!?"

Hina, badly battered, looked up at him as she coughed up a trickle of blood before responding through gritted teeth. "What do you think, pirate!? Hina hurt."

Without a second thought, Sanji suddenly scooped her up in his arms and looked around wildly. "Hang on! We're gonna get help! Damn it, where are we!?"

All Hina could do was lifeless stare up at Sanji, confusd over being saved by a pirate. She did not like this outcome one bit, but she was powerless to resist. Not wanting to endure the pain, she closed her eyes tightly and did prayed to lose consciousness.

TO BE CONTINUED