The hunt starts with Zoro eagerly showing them his determination. The last conversation they had about Strawhats triggered the green-haired man to action. No one threatens the person he cares for or there will be hell to pay.
While they can hold it as his weakness, it also serves as a bomb in waking a monster in Zoro. It's a double-edged sword that they might not able to take.
For now, it serves as their advantage for Zoro is willingly leading the hunt tonight, determined to get one of the Strawhats.
"Why are we here? Our goal is their leader, not the members." Kalifa voices out her irritation.
"I thought the goal of this hunt is to get rid of the group? You are naive to think you can simply kill an Emperor-level leader like her." Zoro scoffs. Years of being in this line of work made him realize the depth of the waters in the underground world.
No answer follows after his words. All of them are in an abandoned building, looking outside and waiting for their prey to come. News of the movements of Strawhats is very rare. They are very slippery to a point of giving headaches to anyone else targeting them.
Other Mafia Groups like to show off to gain territories, but not Strawhats. They show off using the results of their prowess. Years of being in this world, none of them ever managed to unveil what the leader looks like with only Nico Robin's face known to the public.
From the recent events they gathered, it seems like strange activities are happening in the area near Kaido's territory. Kaido has a lot of enemies, but no one is as crazy as Strawhats when it comes to challenging them.
And from the looks of it, they are starting to target the affiliated groups under Kaido's banner. Apoo, for one, had been the receiving end of such events caused by Strawhats. At first, they didn't know that it was them stealing their guns. When they traced back to where the missing guns had been sold, they found out the connection to Strawhats.
Now, Zoro's group will be working with them to catch one of the members of the Strawhats. Zoro is no stranger to working with Mafia Groups but this does not sit well with him. He knows how the Apoo thinks. The cruelty he saw in that man's eyes is something he'd like to exterminate if he can.
Series of deaths are associated with Apoo, not just ordinary deaths, but most of them were tortured till their last breaths. It's mad. The disgust Zoro feels makes his skin crawl. When he heard that the World Government Agents are working with Apoo in catching Strawhats or at least one of the members, he wonders why they are so fixated on Strawhats when they have done lesser crimes than Apoo's group?
There's more to this mission than what they let on. Zoro wants to know but since he accepted it, he will see through this mission to get it over with. He will cut ties with these agents as soon as possible. He's not scared for himself, but for someone else.
"Someone is coming," Kaku calls them out. All eyes are on the streets. Three men are walking side by side, hoods covering their faces. One of them has a notable good quality suit, blonde hair, and his mask pulled down to his chin so he can inhale the nicotine in his hand.
Blackleg. That's one of the members of the Strawhats and if they are not mistaken, the other two are also members. Perhaps the one nicknamed God and Cyborg are with him.
"Let's all move." Zoro and the others are quick to follow the three men in the streets, careful not to alert them. They plan to capture one of them and use it as leverage to draw out Strawhat from his hiding.
Maintaining their distance, they observe what these three are about to do. They catch them messing around the building as if they are looking for something.
The building had almost no lights so it is hard to see what they all look like, but it's not like it matters anyway. Their goal remains the same.
From the way Zoro sees it, the three are just here to look around, scouting the perimeter. Just as they are about to leave, Apoo's men suddenly appeared, startling the three men.
"We should act now," Kaku says.
"No," Zoro refuses. "We will wait for a moment." Even though he likes fighting, it does not mean he wants to be reckless and launch an attack without knowing what his enemies are capable of. Who knows how many people died because they fail to understand the capabilities of their enemies. Underestimating anyone can be deadly.
"Damn, deadly indeed," He mutters to himself, catching the attention of his companions. His eyes are glued to the three men. Despite being outnumbered, they manage to defeat most of their opponents. That is no easy feat. Only experienced fighters can do that. One of them has an unconventional way of fighting, tricking opponents that Zoro can only describe as cowardly.
The tallest of the three is somehow fairing well, punching the hell out of the enemies and using bombs that Zoro knows are not available in the market. Using a pocket-sized flamethrower is very unconventional indeed, but very smart.
And the last one, Blackleg. His nickname alone gives way to how he fights. He kicks opponents like cockroaches on the ground. They never used guns for fear of being discovered by the World Government Officials. That will not be good at all.
"Prepare to move." Zoro signals his companions the moment he senses that the three are starting to get away now.
And he's right. The three Strawhat members are running away after God threw a smoke bomb in the middle of the ground. Zoro is prepared for that trick and now, they're hot on their heels.
At least one member is enough. If they cannot kidnap one member, then might as well kill them.
With that in mind, Zoro runs after them, followed by Kaku, Kalifa, and Jabra. With a shark-like grin, he takes a knife out of his pocket and throws it at one of the men in front.
"Ugh... Shit!" The knife hit the man at the back.
"Fuck!"
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Sanji should have known that something is not right when they were surveying the area. It's too quiet, devoid of security. He's right to be suspicious because the moment he saw Apoo's men surrounding them, he knows it is going to be one hell of a mess.
They manage to get away from them, hell, they managed to break a few bones in the process but what they didn't account for is the presence of another group that is the constant nuisance to them these past few weeks.
"Damn it!" Sanji curses. He'd rather avoid a clash here. They're outnumbered and that can mean death to them. Running away, for now, is their only choice but that will not come easy, it seems.
Their car is parked quite far away from where they are. All they need to do is to cross the distance and run away, hopefully alive.
'Damn this bastard' Sanji curses, looking back a little only to see a familiar face that's been bothering him for a long time now. He knows that man, the man that Luffia considers her best friend.
All members knew that this is one of Luffia's most important people in her life and they respect that until this hunt started. They're all adamant in accepting Luffia's decision to turn a blind eye on Zoro. It is clear that she wants him unharmed should it come to a point of a confrontation.
As much as Sanji wants to smack him in the head, he cannot. Running away is the option for now.
"Ugh!" A groan escapes Usopp's mouth, taking Sanji's attention. Instantly, the blond man's eyes turn murderous upon seeing a knife stuck at his friend's back. The bleeding starts, dripping down his clothes, staining them red. He clicks his tongue at the sight, muttering incoherent curses and murderous intent directed to the approaching people - annoying people he'd like to kill now and that includes Luffia's best friend.
"For fuck's sake!" He mutters another curse. "Get him to safety now. I will delay them."
"You can't be serious." Franky shakes his head.
"I am. Hurry the fuck up. I can run away on my own." His voice may be reassuring but the situation is not.
Sanji is quick to pull his gun out, pointing it to the approaching group. Zoro is the one at the lead, the easier target but as much as he wants to pull the trigger, he cannot and will not. For Luffia's sake.
So, he points it to the others instead, making them scatter to take cover. This allows his companions to run away to safety, leaving Sanji behind to fend for himself.
He carries two guns with him with 8 bullets each. He just fired 4, and that leaves him with 12 bullets to use. As soon as he saw his friends far away enough, Sanji uses this chance to run in a different direction, drawing the four people chasing after them.
It didn't take long before Sanji hears gunshots all directed at him. That's good, at least they're taking the bait. Taking cover, he readies himself before returning the favor, shooting one of the men whose face he's seen before.
'Cipher Pol, eh?' He muses to himself, cursing the World Government for setting their eyes on them. On the other note, it is not surprising as Robin used to be one of their most wanted criminals. Now that she's part of their group, it is only a matter of time before World Government makes a move on them.
But why now? Why now, when the waters of Grandline are getting murkier? That's one of their biggest questions but for now, Sanji should focus on running away.
"Nowhere to run now, Blackleg. Why don't you stay till and let us capture you? Or maybe you can call that cowardly leader of yours." One of the men shouts, still chasing after him.
Bang! Sanji had to roll over the ground to avoid being shot and that slows him down, allowing Zoro to catch up with his sword drawn. The blonde-haired man is alarmed at the speed this man exhibited and more so at the blade that is swinging his way, directed to his throat. Had it not been for his quick reflexes, Sanji's neck would have been sliced off his body. That sword is dangerous, making his skin crawl just the thought of it touching his body.
"Nicely done." The man's voice is so deep as if Sanji is facing the demon incarnate. When he looks into his eyes, what is reflected is nothing but sheer determination of killing the person in front of him - that is Sanji. How did Luffia befriend this kind of beast?
With a sword swinging at him, Sanji is having a hard time getting away. If he gets at a safe distance from that sword, the man's companions will bombard him with bullets. Looking around the alley, he looks for another means to run away. The distraction costs him a wound inflected by the sword.
"Motherfucker." He spits out a curse to the man.
"Kill him already!" A woman's voice echoes from the back, a gun pointing at Sanji.
"Shut up!" Zoro answers back, not daring to take his eyes off Blackleg. "We need him to draw out Strawhat."
The mention of his leader's name had Sanji laughing hysterically.
"What's funny?" Zoro asks.
"You. You're funny. You don't even know Strawhat at all. If you had known..." Sanji's voice trails off. As much as he wants to see the look on this man's face when he finds out who Strawhat is, he wouldn't do it. He will never betray Luffia.
"What do you mean?"
Sanji only smirks before subtlely takes a smoke bomb from his pockets and throws it between him and Zoro. Immediately, the man reacts, swinging his sword in hopes of catching Sanji off guard. The rain of bullets soon follows but Sanji is quick to run away, leaving them in the dust.
The smokescreen contains sleeping drugs. It is one of Usopp's inventions. Since they wore a mask, as long as they hold their breath till they are out of range, they will be safe from the effects of the drugs.
And just like that, he's able to run away to a safe distance to call for someone in Bartolomeo's group to pick him up. He can steal a bike or a car, but that is risky too. He'd rather not invite unnecessary trouble should they track the vehicle.
"Damn! That's a nasty wound! Where are those fuckers so I can kill them?!"
"Shut up, Bartolomeo! Just drive away, will you?" The blood flows freely on his forearm, staining the expensive car Bartolomeo owns. Instinctively, Sanji touches his neck. This encounter is too dangerous and they need to do something about this.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
The tension is clear, all eyes are on Luffia the moment she steps into their base. Her eyes dart to Usopp who's lying on the couch while Chopper tends to wound at his back.
"What happened?" She dares to ask, turning grim at the sight of a pale Usopp.
"They hunted them. That Mafia hunter did this." Nami's voice is spiteful, not bothering to hide her dissatisfaction and anger that made Luffia wince as soon as she heard it. "You know this cannot go on. We need to take care of them once and for all. We cannot move against our enemies if we have to worry about World Government agents and a hunter who wants all of us dead."
"They collaborated with Apoo's group." Sanji voices out, taking Luffia's attention and that's when she sees the bandage on his arm. "We were caught off guard when they arrived. They attack to kill us. To kill you."
The silence is deafening as they wait for Luffia to say something about their situation. Their plans to deal with Apoo will not be easy if they have the Cipher Pol to worry about. And Zoro.
It won't be too bad if it's only Cipher Pol because they can deal with them. If the situation will require it, they will deal a deadly blow to them without worrying about anything. But this is not the case. They are being careful not to hurt someone from that side in consideration of Luffia's feelings.
Luffia is aware of this. Seeing his friends hurt makes her angry, making her blood boil. The conflict in her makes things worse because the person who had hurt them is someone important to her.
"We will hunt them down."
"Them? Does that include your best friend?" Nami never stops the pressure. Luffia needs to make a decision now before making things worse.
A sigh leaves her beautiful lips before she meets Nami's gaze.
"No." A conviction from her. The disappointment in her members' eyes is evident, gnawing into her soul but she accepts it nonetheless. This is her decision. "I will deal with him myself. You all deal with the others."
No one knows what she's planning but they just have to trust that she will do the right thing.
"If you can, don't leave anyone alive."
And that's what shocked them.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"The list. Give it to me." Blue is back again to where Kidd's base is. She asked herself many times before coming here, but this is a must. She must end this deal as soon as she can before he discovers her identity.
The last time they met was in front of her burned apartment. His eyes are still the same. They never changed. The hatred is still there directed at her.
"Pretty demanding of you." He spats but signals his men to give her what she needs. "So, when do you raid them? Are you going to burn their base?"
"Unlike you, I have other methods than just waltzing my way to the base in hopes of shooting my enemies to death." She fires back after looking at the list.
"Bastard." He glares at her. "Apoo is still out there."
"Our deal is done. I told you where their base was, and you give me the lists of the officials from the south. Dealing with Apoo's group is none of my concern."
"Even if they have a deal with the Cipher Pol?" That attracts Sab's attention.
"What do you mean?"
"You're late in the news. Near Dressrosa, they were dealing with Strawhats. I don't know why Strawhats are sticking their noses to Apoo's business but I sure as hell won't sit still and let them have a go with those fuckers."
Sab takes a mental note to call Luffia later and ask what happened. Despite being sisters, it does not mean that they know everything about each other's affairs. It seems like the hunt against Strawhats is at a larger scale than they imagined it to be for the World Government to make a deal with Apoo's group out of all Mafia Groups out there.
"That doesn't concern me. I have few matters to attend to." She's about to leave when Kidd speaks again.
"That bomb that Apoo had..." He starts. "It caused that bombing incident in the New World City. In one of the apartments."
Sab's heart quickens for she knows what he's referring to.
"And?"
"Are you not curious if he placed more bombs somewhere else? That's terrorism, isn't it?" Kidd is now standing in front of her. Sometimes he hates how he's so tall that she has to look up to meet his eyes.
"That doesn't explain what you want to tell me."
"I thought Revolutionary Army has more humanity than the fucked up World Government. Don't you care about the innocent people Apoo can kill anytime?"
Sab almost scoffs at him. If she didn't know him any better, she would be thinking that he's trying to get back at Apoo for almost killing her.
"We do. But that is not our goal. We have bigger fishes to catch. Dealing with Apoo and Cipher Pol will not achieve what we're hoping for, and that is to end the corruption from the World Government that is supposed to protect innocent lives. Our deal ends here. Nice working with you, Eustass Kidd."
Then she leaves his base, not daring to look back. Hopefully, this will be the last time they will cross paths in the Underground World.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"Busy?" The voice startles Ann, taking her attention from the testing they've been conducting on a new model of car the company plan to release this year.
"Oh, hey. A little bit. What are you doing here?" She asks, shutting the notes down to turn her attention to Marco who's standing in the doorway, hands crossed in front of his chest.
"Visiting, yoi."
"I thought you're busy."
"Not really. I have free time - "
"He's escaping his work to see you." Blenheim sings from the background, teasing the two of them. "It's business hours lover boy. Don't distract Ann."
"Business hours are over now, Blenheim. So, shut up." The banter is quite friendly. The older man laughs at his foster brother before walking away. The other employees keep their mouths shut, just observing their situation. Some of them are looking at Ann.
It's not a secret that the two are an item now. Marco's frequent visits to the hangar prove that. Some of the onlookers are quite envious of Ann, especially the women in the same building. After all, it is not every day that they see someone enjoys the liberty of Marco's attention.
"You could have just sent me a text message, you know." Ann approaches him and what she receives is a shrug from him. "Let me just change."
Ann quickly showers and changes into her regular clothes, simple jeans paired with a tank top and leather jacket. When she steps out, she sees Marco talking to one of the regular employees in the lobby. Since she started working here, she noticed how approachable the management is. Even Blenheim whose position is almost the same as Marco's.
They're respectable. A few times, she heard stories from colleagues about how they help their employees in times of need. It's almost unheard of for a Mafia Group to be like this - to be so kind to their employees.
'This could just be a facade' she reminds herself.
"Ready to go?"
"Sure." She answers, throwing the thoughts away from her mind. When she decided to go through this plan of hers, she committed to set aside anything that may distract her. Simple carelessness is not allowed. For now, she will act as naturally as possible.
Marco bids his farewell to one of the employees who also nodded at Ann.
"Where are you taking me this time?"
"How about a pizza parlor?"
"Sounds good to me!" Marco smiles back, taking her hand to intertwine with his. They step outside of the building, hands clasped that garners the attention of many employees.
Looking at their hands, Ann's heart starts beating faster. It's odd to feel like this when this is supposed to be fake, to be nothing. She blames Marco for making her feel like this - wanted, taken care of. He never makes her feel like he has the upper hand in this relationship, that her voice is equal to his, heck, she even feels as if he's prioritizing her.
He's an intelligent man, always making her laugh. Their conversation always makes her feel like she can talk to him anytime at all.
This is getting dangerous for her, but she cannot back away now.
"Ann..." He calls out to her. After their dinner, he drove to her shabby apartment as always.
"Hmm?"
"I don't want to offend you with this, yoi. But, I feel like I want to suggest this." She's confused about what he means. "I mean, this area here is too secluded. It's dangerous."
"I'm used to staying here and it had always been safe for me."
"I know that, it's just..." Marco hesitates for a while. "You know what my family is, right?"
Ann blinks a few times, nervous as to where this conversation is threading.
"We're a Mafia Group. We have illegal activities, sometimes dangerous, yoi. And we have enemies."
Ann is shocked to hear these words from Marco, someone who's from one of the strongest Mafia Groups out there.
"I am afraid those enemies might harm you. I don't want that. They will use any weakness we have against us and as I said, I don't want any harm coming your way if I can help it."
"Marco, I am nobody. Why would they focus their attention on me?"
"Because you are not nobody to me, yoi. I worry every day that they might get you. The past few weeks have been nothing but hectic, dangerous. Troublesome bastards are targeting us. I want to protect you. If you can move somewhere closer to where I am, that will make me at ease."
Ann grimaces at the suggestion. The reason she chose this place is because of her freedom here. She cannot move at night when she knows that some of Whitebeard's eyes will be on hers.
"Marco, I don't like that idea."
"Fine. I know you don't like it, but perhaps I can assign bodyguards - "
"Don't you dare." She takes her hands off his grip, stepping back a little, surprising Marco a little. "If you do that, I feel like a prisoner instead. That's... that's suffocating." Her nervousness is rising now. Should Marco assign bodyguards to watch her moves all the time, it will risk her identity being exposed.
Seeing her reaction, Marco sighs, calming down a little. He's been overreacting about this and might have scared her.
"Look, sorry. I am just worried about your safety. I don't want anything bad to happen to you which is why I offered that not knowing you will feel like you are a prisoner, which you are not, yoi."
Ann allows Marco to approach her and hold her hands again. There, under the dimly lit lamp of the streets, she sees his blue eyes reflecting the sincerity and worries. This makes her realize that he's just looking after her. Had he been suspicious of her, he wouldn't have told her his plans and intention to assign bodyguards to her.
"I agreed to this relationship knowing the danger it will pose to me." She's referring to her plans of getting close to Marco to kill Whitebeard or at least she believes she is. "I am not fragile, Marco. I can take care of myself."
"I am still worried."
"Worried that your weakness will be used against you?" She means it as a joke to lighten the mood.
"Ann..."
"Okay! Okay! Believe me, I won't get kidnapped and whatever to be used as blackmail material to you, okay? I will be careful."
"Please, don't joke about that. If that were to happen, I don't know what I'll do to whoever will harm you."
She feels her breath hitch at the coldness in his eyes. She's seen this kind of look, the look of the beast willing to wreak havoc to protect they hold dear. She knows this look because she's seen it when she looks at herself in the mirror.
"You're so serious. Come on - "
"Is it wrong of me to protect the person I like?"
"You sound like you're..." falling in love with me is what she wants to say but held her words.
"You make it easier for me to fall."
"You as well."
Ann doesn't know what prompted her to answer like that, but she did. For a moment, she forgets everything and just crosses the distance between them. Marco welcomes her lips with his own as his arms automatically embrace Ann closer to his.
They succumb to the feel of their tongues against each other not knowing that this is the start of what will become a tragedy to both of them.