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It actually took almost a day and a half before the Going Merry and the Straw Hat's arrived. This information was relayed to me and Franky by a member of the family. One of several members that were scattered around the city for that very purpose.

Events seemed to proceed as they should including the attempted theft of the money. Instead of beating Usopp up however the members that had been given that job were to give him directions to the Franky House. Assuming that everything had gone according to plan then they were due to show up any minute now. My nerves were completely shot from waiting, so many things could end up going wrong. If that did happen I'd have to scramble to come up with a back up plan.

I blew a sigh of relief when the doors were flung open and the Straw Hat's marched in. They had at least been curious enough to want to look into things. Luffy was in the lead dressed in his red vest, sandals, and the ever present straw hat. It was strange not to see the scar on his chest just one more thing that I hoped I could prevent or change.

Following just slightly behind him were Sanji and Zoro positioned to his left and right. Considering the way that they were snarking at each other they weren't worried. Bringing up the rear were Nami, Usopp, and Chopper. They didn't seem to be worried but it was hard for me to tell.

Since me and Franky had dragged a table into the middle of the massive room we were the first thing that the Straw Hat's spotted. It was obvious when they did so as the entire group stopped. It was hard to tell who Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp were looking at more. Me or Franky since their sparkling eyes bounced back and forth between us rapidly.

Zoro was eyeing my sword which I had left resting alongside the table near me. When he did look up at me I could tell that he was sizing up how much of a challenge that I would be, his hands tightening on the hilts of his katana. Sanji who had noticed Zoro's attention fixing on me huffed as he turned his gaze to the rest of the room.

Nami was actually the odd one out of the crew, she had a look on her face as if she was trying to remember something. Since she was looking nowhere else but me it must have had something to due with me. Of course I had no idea as to what she could be trying to remember so I dismissed the thought from my mind.

"Ooh look look everyone it's our 5 meter tall shipwright!" Luffy shouted as he half bounced over to where I was sitting and flopped down into one of the available chairs around the table.

"Actually he's the shipwright. I'm here because we shared a similar interest. I was the one that sent the note about her whereabouts." I said as I pointed over at Franky who in my brief moment of distraction had jumped up and started posing. Much to the amusement of Chopper and Usopp. Spotlights flicked no as Franky continued to pose and I could feel a massive sweat drop forming on the side of my head.

"Yow, who's the master of disaster, it's Franky the shipwright!" He shouted as the spotlights lit him up. I was tempted to drag one hand down my face as the Kiddy Trio cheered and clapped. I thanked whoever was watching over me when the lights finally turned off and Franky dropped back into his chair expression becoming grim.

"I'm guessing by now that you've all heard that your ship won't make it to the next island. I wish I could say ice-for-brains is wrong but he isn't. Galley-La has some of the best shipwrights in the city and if they say that she can't go on then that's a fact. If what I heard is true then the fact that she managed to carry you this far with a cracked keel is nothing short of a miracle"

At those words the mood in the room did a complete 180 and any hope that the Straw hats had harbored crashed to the ground at those words. All except for Usopp who stood up and started shouting.

"But she said she was fine! That she would carry us! On Skypeia, Merry's soul appeared to me and helped me fix up the ship! She said that she'd carry us just a bit longer!" The rest of the crew looked at Usopp with a mixture of confusion and despair.

Franky's jaw dropped, I don't think that he actually fully believed that a klabautermann had appeared to them before now. It was one thing to hear it from a relative stranger and another to hear it from a member of the crew that had sailed on the ship. He sniffed loudly before speaking, voice quavering.

"A klabautermann only appears to a crew that truly loves their ship however they also mean that the ship is doomed. You will need a new ship if you wish to continue your journey."

The Straw Hat's slumped even further down into their seats. Usopp had dropped to his knees crying and Luffy pulled the brim of his straw hat down to shield his eyes. Franky looked at me concerned but I gestured for him to keep going. The words needed to be said but it was cruel to let them suffer any longer then they had to.

"Ah, but I do have some good news! I've got connections with the black market and can get you an item that will make it so your new ship won't ever have a problem like that again. An item that only one other ship has ever been made from, The Oro Jackson. I can think of no better item for a ship that will carry the future king of pirates."

By the end of his speech the whole room had fallen silent and were leaning in towards Franky, hanging on his every word. Even I was drawn in by his words and in my mind's eye I could see the silhouette of a ship confronting the worst that the sea's could bring.

"Nami, give Franky whatever money he needs to buy this item."

"But Luffy!"

"No Nami! I've already decided I don't want to ever have to leave a friend behind like this ever again!."

Nami who had opened her mouth to argue snapped it just with a click before stepping off to the side to speak with Franky in private. They seemed to argue a bit before the price was eventually settled upon and she had Usopp and Sanji had over 2 of their 5 briefcases of money. Wait 5? I blinked and rubbed my eyes but when I looked again there was still 5 briefcases full of money there.

While I wondered how I had ended up changing things that should have happen before I arrived Franky started to say good bye to the group before remembering something.

"Ah before I go and purchase the wood I need we should get the Going Merry moved to one of my safe houses. No need to let it get smashed up by Aqua Laguna when it hits."

"...I'll go with you. Merry deserves to have me with her right now " Usopp responded before Franky could leave and the pair departed together. It was nice to see them getting off on the right foot this time and I couldn't help but smile. A smile that quickly dropped from my face when I realized that everyone left was now staring at me. Sanji was the first to speak.

"You said that you were here because of the note. I held off on asking about it because of Merry but now I'm going to ask you. How do you know that Robin is missing?"

I held up my hands defensively as I fought back the urge to gulp. The rest of the Straw Hat's had grown tense at the question and it felt like one wrong move would lead to violence. This had been so much easier when I had just been explaining everything to Franky and didn't have everyone glaring at me.

"I'll tell you where Robin is but first let me tell you a tale. This way you'll understand better how I know what I know. It's a tale that probably sounds quite familiar to you

This is the tale of the man who would become king of the pirates. Monkey D. Luffy and his companions the Straw Hats."

I started off at the very beginning, telling them everything that I could remember from the story of One Piece. They were skeptical at first and in some cases rightfully angry. But as I laid out fact after fact that I couldn't possibly know they started to believe me. I think what really sold it was mentioning times when only the crew should have know about.

"Then the crew reached the city of Water 7, Zoro while furling the sail caused the mast to snap. He, Robin, Chopper, and Sanji stayed behind on the ship as Usopp, Nami, and Luffy headed into the city. There they hoped to exchange the gold from Skypeia and find a shipwright to repair the Going Merry.

While all of this was happening Robin and Chopper went shopping in the city only to vanish when Chopper went into a book store. He tried to track her scent only to find it mysteriously vanish into thin air. I'm not sure where she has ended up but I do know that she is currently in the company of the World Government's Cipher Pol 9."

The crews reactions were everything that I should have expected. Luffy and Chopper had question marks floating over their heads. Zoro and Nami both were wearing looks of surprise mingled with a little bit of confusion. Sanji's cigarette almost fell from his mouth.

"Ummm, what's Cipher Pol 9?" Luffy eventually asked when it became clear that no one else was going to do so.

"Officially their are only 8 branches of Cipher Pol each one a separate agency that does the World Government's dirty work. However that isn't true, there are 2 more branches. CP9 who work as assassins and are raised from birth to be weapons. The other branch is Cipher Pol 0, they work directly for the World Nobles. They are extremely dangerous but that's all I know.

Tonight CP9 is going to try and assassinate Iceberg with the help of Nico Robin. They hope that by nearly killing Iceberg that he will try to pass the plans for the Ancient Weapon Pluton along to someone else. The only reason that they would fail normally is because he doesn't have the plans.

Because Robin is there Iceberg will end up thinking that the Straw Hat pirates are the ones that tried to kill him."

I was forced to stop as Luffy extended his arm and wrapped it around my mouth. As I glanced at him I could see that he was frowning as if torn between wanting to know more about where Robin was. After a moment his face cleared and he nodded as if deciding on something.

"Sorry I just didn't want you spoiling the surprises of what's to come. What I do want to know however is why Robin's working with them."

I nodded in response and once his arm had retracted I cleared my throat before speaking again.

"My apologies I got caught up in my explanation I will do my best not to spoil things. The reason that Robin is working with CP9 is because of a nightmare from her past. The complete destruction of the island of Ohara by a Buster Call. She believes that you can't stand up to the World Government and by leaving his trying to spare your lives."

"That's ridiculous! Robin is our friend she should know that we'll doing anything to protect her. Even if we have to take on the World to do it!"

Luffy's shouting drew the eyes of the entire crew to him and I sat staring in wonder. That passion and fierceness was captivating, making one believe that they truly could do anything with his help. It resonated with me and I couldn't help but get swept up in the feeling.

Before I knew it I had risen to my feet and thrust my fist in the air as I cheered. The rest of the crew weren't far behind me in adding their own cheers and fists as well. Once the echoes had started to fade I could see that the crew was ready to face what was to come.

"We've got time before the assassination is due to occur and I think the time can best be spent with training. Umm if it's alright with you Luffy I'll share some knowledge to let you get stronger. It's stuff that you would only partially learn without my help."

I watched with baited breath as Luffy considered what I had just said. Face screwed up in concentration I let out my breath with a whoosh when he nodded.

"Alright I'll start by telling you about the 6 arts that once learned will increase your strength quite a bit. They are iron body, shave, moonwalk, finger pistol, paper arts, and tempest kick. I'll tell you a bit about each of them and suggest who should probably focus on them as well.

The first is Iron Body where one tightens their muscles to be as strong as iron to nullify attacks. It can still be broken however by very strong forces. While using this ability your unable to move but if you time it right it can be used to improve the damage of your blows. Zoro will get the most benefit from this but Sanji and Chopper in his heavy point might want to think about it as well.

Shave is next where one kicks off the ground ten times in the blink of an eye. It has a myriad of uses from dodging to surprise attacks. It's the easiest to learn and eventually you'll all want to know how to do it. Sanji and Luffy are probably the closest to mastering this. Usopp may have accidentally mastered it as well.

Third is Moonwalk where one kicks so hard they basically walk on air. Sanji to no surprise is the closest to mastering this and is probably the only one in the crew that can at this point. Since it requires a huge amount of leg strength."

I was forced to pause at this point and to take a drink of cola as my throat had started to become dry from all of the talking. The Straw Hat's were hanging off of my every word and some were already trying to put the techniques into practice.

Beneath his shirt I could see that Zoro was tightening and then loosening his muscles and each time they seemed to be a little stronger. Chopper had switched into his heavy point but seemed to be focusing only on one arm at the moment. Sanji had one foot tapping against the ground so fast that it was starting to blur.

Luffy was just standing there occasionally a wisp of steam would pour off of him. Looking down I could see that he was working one leg like a bellows. The motion wasn't quite what it would be for second gear but he was working on it.

"Finger Pistol is a close range technique where one stabs there finger into a foe at high speeds. No one in the crew is very close to mastery this one. Chopper may get some use out of it with his blows.

Paper arts is about making ones body flexible enough to avoid any attacks, float, and bend their body like paper. Both Luffy and I believe Nami are flexible enough to master this.

Finally Tempest Kick is all about kicking so strong and fast that compressed blades of wind are sent flying at ones enemies. It can really be done with any appendage but it takes a lot more skill to do so. Sanji this is pretty much another you move."

My lecture finally finished the group began to split up to practice what I had told them. I did snag Luffy and Chopper for a moment before they could really get started. Since I wanted to have Chopper explain to him why Gear Second wasn't the greatest thing for his health.

"Chopper I want you to watch what Luffy is going to do and well suggest ways that probably will be better for his health in the long run."

Chopper looked at me with his head tilted quizzically before looking over at Luffy just has he had started to pump his legs. The shriek that Chopper then let out was deafening. So much so that I missed all of his ranting at Luffy as my ears were still ringing.

Well at least whatever functioned for a lizards ears. I'd never had any reason to look into how reptiles perceived sound. When I had finally gotten my hearing back, partially owing to a liberal patting on the sides of my head I turned to see how everyone else was doing. Usopp returned at that moment waving at everyone.

"Merry's been moved everyone and Franky headed off to get the item he needed for the ship."

Usopp shouted as he jogged over to everyone else. I thought about telling him about what I knew but decided to let the crew inform him of what I knew. I did give him a quick run down of the 6 powers along with information about how to use Shave before moving over to where Zoro was after I had grabbed my sword from where it had been resting against the table.

Zoro clearly saw me coming as he stopped practicing Iron Body and a wide grin broke across his face. I paused several feet across from him as I secured the sheath to its spot on my belt, Zoro tied his bandanna around his head. I drew my blade as he placed the hilt of Wado Ichimonji in his mouth. I readied my shield as I watched for an opening.

Since Zoro didn't look like he was going to be making the first move I took it upon myself to do so. I charged to deliver a simple slash at Zoro to see how he would react to it. He parried my blow easily and then countered with both of his blades at an angle that forced me to twist my shield and body into an awkward position to block it.

Inwardly I cursed as I realized that compared to Tashigi and me, Zoro really was in a whole other league of skill. It didn't help that I was still relying on the body's in built muscle memories rather then my own training. As we continued to exchange blows I could tell that Zoro was as strong as I was, even faster than Tashigi which seemed to just be a thing in the world of One Piece.

We did seem to be equal in stamina at least as after 30 straight minutes of back and forth battle we called it quits. Sweat was pouring off of Zoro's body and the both of us were panting to regain our breath. We were also covered in nicks and shallow cuts from when one of us had slipped by the others guard.

"Your not bad. You need more practice though and to stop hesitating with your strikes. You end up holding back with your blows rather then completing them."

There really wasn't anything I could do other then to nod at Zoro's words. All the things that he had said were true and I needed to fix them before I ended up in a fight for my life again. What I needed was a teacher so I could start from the basics and work my way up through them.

"Thank you for the spar, I'll keep in mind your words in the future."

I gave a short bow and was starting to walk away when Zoro turned to look at me. More accurately he was looking at the sword that was resting at in its sheath on my hip.

"That sword of yours what's its name?" I stifled a groan with effort since I still hadn't come up with a name for the sword and then an idea struck me sheer out of the blue. I turned back to Zoro and smiled as I pulled the sword from its sheath.

"Her name is Kintsugi." As I spoke the sword seemed to hum and then settled into the grip of my hand just a bit better then it had been. It seemed that she approved of her name. Zoro's grin matched my own as he looked at the blade.

"A good name, my she serve you well."

My conversation with Zoro done I turned my attention once more to the rest of the Straw Hat's. I had gifts to give to some of them after all in addition to the knowledge that I had already given them. Deciding to start off with Usopp I made my way over to where he was relaxing after practicing Shaving. He looked up at me warily before plastering a fake smile onto his face. Likely he had seen me sparring with Zoro and well I was a 13 foot tall lizardman decked out in armor I was scary.

"Don't worry I come bearing gifts. I've got a small number of items that I think would be best suited for your hands. Where I come from their called beads of force, when struck hard against a surface they explode then create a sphere around those struck. This sphere as far as I know is indestructible except for an item I have it but it does fade after 10 minutes." I crouched down as I spoke so that our heads were on something more of an even level. As I was speaking I also reached into the bag at my side to pull out the 3 beads that I was expecting. When I withdrew my hand however it was full of glowing blue marbles.

"Not to say your bad at counting but didn't you say you only had a small number of these?" Usopp questioned as I stared blankly at the beads in my hand. I nodded dumbly and then remembered to shut my jaw as it had been hanging open. After counting all of the marbles it turned out that instead of 3 I had 50 of the things. I gave most of them to Usopp except for 3 that I held onto just in case.

Once Usopp had been given his gift I headed over to where Nami was practicing with her staff. As I walked up she still had that expression on her face like she was seconds away from remembering something. Three briefcases of money were resting near where she had been practicing.

"I come bearing gifts an item that should prove useful in any fights you get into in the future. It's called a naga-scale bindi you place it on your forehead and it sticks there till needed. When you activate it you'll take on the characteristics of the naga the scale is from. Think of it as a kind of Zoan transformation but with keeping your ability to swim. When activated you'll gain a venomous bite and the ability to try and charm people into being your friend. Scales will also cover your body making you more resistant to damage. The scale also will let you see in complete darkness which could come in handy someday." As I talked I pulled out the small silver scale from inside of my bag, as I handed it over Nami held it up to the light admiring the way that it shimmered across the scale. After a moment she palmed the scale and I lost sight of it.

"Giving us this information and these items I can't help but wonder what your getting out of all of this. I doubt its money since your just giving away items that could easily fetch a fortune if you sold them."

She didn't seem to be angry just perplexed about my motives. I could see why she was confused since what I was doing really didn't follow any sense of logic. That thought was enough to cause me to break out into laughter.

"Sssssssssssss, I can understand why your confused. You know how I come from another world in which One Piece is just a story, by adding me into the narrative my patron you could call them is seeking to shake things up. They want me to be here in order to see what changes I'll cause."

Nami studied me for a long moment before she finally spoke.
"It's not just Merry's fate that your planning on changing is it? Something else is coming up in the future that you'd risk your life to change."

I tried to fight down a frown but some of the expression must have made it to my face as Nami's face darkened and she scowled.

"It's not important yet but after Robin is rescued I'll tell everyone what I'm trying to change. Luffy will listen spoilers or no because what's coming is too important to all of you not to be talked about. I swear this on everything that I hold dear."

Once more I found Nami studying my face and for the longest moment it seemed to that was going to make an issue of it. Instead she frowned and gave me a curt nod of agreement. I debated asking her about the extra money but it didn't feel like the proper time for that kind of conversation.

My final gift was for Chopper so I headed over to where he had been berating Luffy earlier. Chopper was by himself and had changed into his base form. As I approached he looked up from the book that he had been taking notes in.

"Thank you for showing me what my captain was planning, I know I can't change his mind but at least this way I was able to give him some advice on how to improve it."

"Not a problem, I just thought it was better for you to learn about it now then later. I do have something to give to you though. A gift for the coming battles."

I held out a clear glass bottle bound with silver and capped by a silver stopper. The inside of the bottle seemed to be filled with a roiling black fog. Chopper took it from me and then brought it up to one eye to peer inside of it.

"It's called the Bottle of Shadows, when your in trouble in a fight you can pull the stopper off of this bottle and pour out what's inside. It will turn into a shadowy creature that drains the strength from those it hits. It doesn't last very long but if it completely drains the strength from someone it lasts just a little longer. It takes days for someone to recover the strength that they've lost."

Chopper's grip on the bottle tightened before he carefully tucked it into his bag.

"Thank you for this gift Tii'chia, I must say that the items you have seem to very close to."

I didn't get to hear whatever Chopper had been planning on saying as Luffy took that exact moment to shout.

"Sanji, food!"

Following that statement Luffy's stomach let out a growl that I could hear from several feet away. At that training seemed to be over as the Straw Hat's gathered up to head off to both get food and go to where the Merry was stashed.

I trailed along behind them as Luffy led the way despite not having any idea where he as going. I let out a contented sigh as I watched them interact. While training they had seemed to be so serious but now they were goofing and joking around carefree as could be.

As they were clambering onto the Yagaras I smelled something strangely familiar. Confused I looked around my nostrils flaring as I tried to figure out the source of the smell.

"Chia! Chia! C'mon food!" Luffy's shouting brought my focus back onto the Straw Hat's who it seemed were waiting for me.

"I'll catch up, I know where Franky stashed Merry. I'm just going to look into something." I shot the crew a smile and they shrugged as the Yagaras took off down the waterways. I watched them go until they turned a corner and left my sight. I turned my attention back to the familiar smell and began to follow after it.

I'm not sure why I was following the smell just that I was. There was something about it that niggled at the back of my mind like an itch that you just can't quite scratch.

"Tii'chia!"

"Wha!?"

I was quite rudely yanked from my thoughts by someone shouting my name. It was also the last person I could have ever possibly expected. Standing across from me on the other side of a stone bridge that crossed the water was Nico Robin.

She wore the black leather vest and spotted undershirt as was typical for the arc but she also wore things that I was sure she hadn't. One was a black cowboy hat that was tilted back far enough that it just shaded her eyes. Around her waist she wore a belt from which hung a whip that seemed to be made from metal scales that were the same color as my armor. The strangest item was what she casually held in one hand. A glaive nearly as tall as her the blade of which was wreathed in fire. The whole outfit seemed to be somehow fitting for Robin.

Also she appeared to be crying which I really should have noticed before anything else. Before I could react Robin had dash across the bridge and slammed into my chest, arms trying to wrap around me as she cried.

"I cant believe your alive, I saw him freeze you into a block of ice. I was so sure that you had died that I would never see one of my few friends ever again"

As she clutched at me I felt something in the back of my mind break before being overwhelmed by a flood of memories. These memories were both mine and yet not mine, a mix of who I was now and who I had been.

Standing guard as I had done for countless years since my creation protecting the remains of the rune lord of greed. Commanded to wait until a seeker of knowledge appeared. A young black haired girl making her way into the chamber and staring up at me in awe. She couldn't have been older then 5 at the time.

Answering her countless questions about the past and the secrets of the poneglyphs. Judging the young Robin as worthy of the glaive of greed. Explaining to her that my name was Tii'chia de Xin and then hearing her stumble over the words and rename me as Tii'chia D. Xin.

Following her from the ruins beneath Ohara and learning about what scholars called the Void Century. The area of time that I had been created in. Staying by Robin's side as she grew, slowly learning that I was not just a weapon but that I was her friend. Robin's surprise when she discovered that I couldn't read and the hours she had spent forcing me to learn.

Trying and failing to protect Ohara from the Buster Call as the land burned around me. Battling against Aokiji before being frozen into a massive chunk of ice and sent plummeting into the ocean. 20 years of fuzzy recollections as I drifted through the Grand Line fighting off Sea Kings that attempted to eat me.

The slow degradation of my identity due to the damage I had suffered during the Buster Call. Washing up somewhere with a figure in a grey robe looking down at me. The figure saying that they could fix me but that I would have to host a being from another world inside of me. Agreeing to the figures demands and feeling as a soul was poured into me, like gold being used to repair pottery. True life being breathed into me instead of the unliving construct that I had been. Finally the pain as I was remade and my memory slipping away into the yawning void. A need to rest, heal, and recover. Seeking to dream about the future and seeing Robin once more. The unvoiced promise between me and the soul that filled the cracks of my being.

As the flow of memories finally began to ebb I felt tears running down my cheeks. The warmth from where her arms had held me. The smell that I now knew to be Robin's scent. The lingering sound of three words that lit a fire in me.

"Please, save me!"

Robin was gone by the time I could look for her, the smell that I had followed to this point vanishing suddenly in the hallway she had stood in front of. Blueno and his Air Door's work then, she could be anywhere in the city by now. But there was one thing that I did know, where she would be tonight and tomorrow. I doubted that I could convince Iceberg to let me see him before the assassination tonight which just left tomorrow. Which meant that I needed to see Luffy.

It felt like it didn't take anytime at all to reach the safe house but the sun was starting to set by the time I arrived. I threw the door to the safe house open as I ran inside, eyes frantically scanning for Luffy. The crew were all looking at me with varying degrees of surprise, though even then it didn't stop Luffy from trying to steal food off of other people's plates.

Eyes fixed I closed the door behind me as I walked over until I was directly in front of the captain. The crew jumped back as I threw myself prostrate at Luffy's feet, my forehead touching the ground.

"Strawhat Luffy! Please take me with you to rescue Robin!"

"Okay." He responded as if there had never been any doubt in his mind that I was going to come along with them. I looked up into his smiling face as he extended one hand out to me.

"Welcome to the crew, Tii'chia!"