Kia rubbed her eyes as she stood up. "You're doing great Kia!" Chopper said excitedly. "You've come leaps and bounds ahead in such a short time!"

She smiled at him. "Must be my amazing teacher," she said, only to grin as he started doing his happy dance.

"It's not like that makes me happy, you jerk…" he said with a giggle.

"Of course not…" she replied. She reached for her bag, and handed it down to him. "Can you check my bag for me?" she asked. "I want to make sure I'm not forgetting anything."

He took a few moments, looking through the first aid contents of her bag. "Actually I think you would be all right without a few of these," he replied, pulling out a few of the medicines she had packed. "I carry these, and they aren't necessary for trauma care, so you won't use them."

"Okay," she responded. "I just worry about having what I might need."

"That's always a worry, but the best thing to do is prepare for the most likely scenarios. We can always make what we need as we need it for the unexpected," he told her as he handed her bag back. "Hey, what's that?" he asked, noticing the white mark on the front of her bag.

"This?" she said, pointing to the X she had Usopp paint on her bag to match Chopper's. "Just making sure the crew knows what this bag is, just like they do yours."

"Get out of here," he said waving his arms across his body. She giggled, as she never could get enough of his happy dance.

Kia stepped outside, and looked around the deck. She had been with Chopper longer than she normally was, and barely had time to change before she should be working out with Zoro. She ran downstairs, changing into her workout outfit, which was basically her most comfortable pair of pants and a baggy t-shirt. She left her bag, and made her way back topside where she met Zoro who was sleeping.

She went over to his storage box, pulling out the small rings of metal that Usopp had made for her from his scrap pieces, and put them on her wrists. Then she began her breathing exercises. The metal didn't weigh more than a pound or two, but they were great as resistance during her workouts.

As she finished her stretching, she noticed that Zoro was on his feet, and lifting his weights from the storage box, so she made her way over to grab her own. He purposefully had her weights under his own, telling her that she could lift weights on her own once she was able to get them without his help. Seeing the way his weights grew each time she saw them, she determined she would be lifting weights with him for forever.

Not that that was a hardship either… she thought. The man had muscles for days that bulged as he worked out.

She looked up as his arm stopped moving to see him glaring at her. She smiled sheepishly at being caught ogling him again, and quickly started her own reps.

I have got to stop this, Kia thought as she flopped onto her mattress. Her arms were aching, her legs were shaking, and her abs were burning. The man can be seriously sadistic when it comes to workouts, especially when he catches you staring…

Kia grinned to herself. Worth it though… She let loose a giggle even as she felt the ship change course sharply. Sitting up, she listened for a moment. Hearing a shout, she decided she had better go up and see what the problem was.

The sounds of cannonballs streaking through the air and splashing near the ship is what greeted her as she went up the stairs to the deck.

Nami was shouting orders, and the boys were running around to obey them. Robin was staring out at the ship that was following them, trying to glean some information as to where the next attack would come from, and Luffy kept close in case he needed to use his gum-gum balloon in order to protect the ship.

The ship was rocking, and the rain started lightly as Kia made her way to Nami. She stayed quiet, seeing that Nami noticed her, and waited for a direction.

"Nami my love! What can I do?" Sanji called from the rudder controls.

"Keep on course!" she shouted back. She continued to look at the sky. "This storm…" she said under her breath, "we'll be able to lose those marines in this…"

"It's going to get worse?" Kia asked, and Nami turned, finally looking away from the sky.

"Much worse," she replied, then gave Kia a wink and smile. "But that's good for us!"

As the storm worsened, just as Nami said it would, Kia was left with nothing to do but wait. The navy ships kept up their attacks, but as the waves became choppier, the sky blackened and the rain increased; the Going Merry was able to increase the distance between them until the pursuing ships could no longer be seen.

Kia spent her time practicing keeping her feet throughout the rocking of the vessel, and was proud that even though she stumbled a few times, she was able to stay upright. She knew her sea-legs were better than a novice sailor, but she hadn't willingly been through many storms such as this, so it was still a somewhat new experience.

Night had fallen by the time they made it out of the storm, but luckily, they saw lights in the distance from a nearby island. As the ship came closer, Luffy became increasingly more excited as the huge mountain behind the town came into view.

"Look at that Kia! I feel adventure, don't you?"

"I do," she replied, combing through her mental files. The mountain seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. The moonlit night shined off the many water canals that ran down the mountain making her think of reverse mountain, but she knew that wasn't it. She worried that this was something unexpected.

Luffy followed his nose around the town while the others followed behind him. Finally entering a tavern that actually smelled decent, Kia stopped at the threshold smiling at a wanted poster on the wall. She pointed it out to Zoro, who just smirked and followed their captain inside.

Nami also looked at the poster of Luffy, shaking her head at his lack of self preservation. But, knowing her crew, she also blocked the poster as Usopp and Chopper walked past her. Kia gave her a smile, and chuckling, they followed their friends.

Sitting down at a large round table, the crew waited for Nami to order the food, knowing that she was the one with the money to pay. Sighing in resignation, she handed over a small pile of beri, and asked for as much food in a variety as that would cover. Luffy of course, ate the majority, but the tavern offered simple, tasty food for very low prices, and they were able to get enough that even Luffy said he was full. Of course, when Sanji asked the girls if they wanted dessert, Luffy insisted he had room for more.

"No!" Nami told him, and he gave her a hurt look.

"But Nami-" he started, and she interrupted him.

"No buts Luffy," she said. "If I didn't stop you, you'd eat until we had nothing left!"

"Here you go Robin," Sanji said as he placed a cup of coffee in front of her. Sitting back down between her and Nami, Sanji asked, "Are we really in such dire straits Nami dear?"

"We don't have much cash left," she said, and this time, Luffy interjected.

"We just got tons from Sky-!" His voice stopped suddenly as Usopp covered his mouth.

"Don't shout that out, idiot!" Usopp hissed at him. "We don't want people to know!"

"Besides, that's not ours," Kia added. "That's for Merry first."

"Exactly," Nami agreed with a nod. "We can't count it as ours until after the repairs are made. Since we don't know how much that will take, we can't count it. Once we restock our supplies… we'll basically be broke."

"Oh," Luffy said dejectedly, before looking around at the crew. "Listen you guys, as captain, I've got to say… you spend way too much money!"

Kia leaned away, as the three other guys all hit Luffy and he face-planted on the table. "It's mostly for your food!" they shouted at him.

"It is a problem," Sanji said as he sat back down and puffed on his cigarette.

Kia marveled once again that the smell coming from the little stick didn't make her sick. It was almost as if there were nothing but spices in them by the way they smelled, and who knew, maybe that's really all there was, she thought.

"We need a way to make some quick cash," Nami said. "Is there anything we can do here?" she asked Sanji.

"There are no casinos, no," he replied. "We'll have to hope we get lucky on the next island." He looked at Nami to see she was glancing toward the bartender. "What is it?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," she replied. Kia leaned back, subtly watching the bartender. If Nami was paying attention to him… something was definitely up.

She watched as a man came in and ordered a drink, spoke to the barkeeper, and then followed him around the corner. She looked over at Nami and their eyes met, and Kia gave a smirk.

"What's going on?" Sanji asked.

"I'm not sure… yet," Nami answered.

"The man who just came in was probably a pirate," Zoro said. "Something suspicious happened between him and the owner, right?" he asked, almost as if he were bored.

Kia looked over as Usopp and Luffy started arguing, and Chopper, not wanting to be left out, joined in. She turned back to focus on the conversation.

"Zoro, you were listening?" Nami asked, almost impressed.

"Nah," he replied. "Just caught a glimpse," he said giving a large smirk. "What do you think it is?"

Kia almost laughed as Usopp threw a bone from dinner at Luffy, who dodged. The bone hit Zoro right on the forehead, and he didn't even react.

"What do you mean?" Nami asked innocently. Another bone flew over and hit Zoro again.

"You smell something," he replied. "Money." Now Luffy and Usopp were purposefully throwing them at Zoro to see how long he would ignore them. Chopper was yelling that he wanted a turn, and all three of them began fighting.

"Money?" Nami said. "You think that's all I care about?" she asked.

"Don't you?" he retorted.

"Watch what you say to her…" Sanji threatened.

"Yeah!" Nami said with a grin. "Money and tangerines that is!" Sanji stopped glaring at Zoro and just shrugged at her response. "Of course I saw what happened. How about you Kia?" she asked.

"I saw it," Kia replied, and Zoro gave her an approving look.

"Hey, Luffy, Usopp, Chopper!" Nami called over their ruckus, and they turned to look at her mid-fight. "I smell adventure!" she said as she stood and walked over to the bar.

"Adventure!" Luffy called, and the boys began wondering what adventure they would find on the island.

For herself, Kia sat quietly wondering why she was at such a loss in remembering what was coming. It was like a sense of deja vu, knowing she had seen this… but not able to remember the specifics.

Zoro stood not a minute later, and began putting on his swords. Sanji followed, helping Robin to her feet and what not. Zoro tapped Kia to get her attention, and motioned toward the bar, walking over and hitting Luffy on the head on the way. Kia was the last to arrive and heard Nami's ending statement.

"So please, won't you help us? Tell us where we can find some money."

The bartender looked at the crew, and sighed. "There's no cure for fools and pirates." He stood up straight.

"Whoa… he called Zoro a fool," Luffy said.

"What? Why me?" Zoro asked, turning to Luffy.

"Well I'm the pirate," Luffy answered, as if that made perfect sense.

"Follow me," the man said, and the crew followed him to a locked door. He opened it, and gestured them inside where it was pitch black. After closing the door, he lit a lantern and handed it to Zoro.

"Keep going to the end," the man told them.

"You better not be lying about the money," Nami frowned.

"I'm not lying," he replied.

"This looks like a trap!" Usopp said warily.

"Let's go!" Luffy said, grabbing Kia's hand. "I smell adventure!"

"No!" Usopp wailed. "I have don't-go-into-the-tunnel syndrome…"

"Give it up Usopp," Zoro muttered. "The captain has already decided."

Sanji put an arm around Usopp's shoulders dragging him along as the crew began following after Zoro.

"Is there really adventure down there?" Chopper asked.

"It would seem so," Robin answered.

Kia let go of Luffy's hand as the man asked him why he became a pirate. She walked slowly, listening to him explain about the fun he could have. The man seemed bewildered, but finally gave a chuckle. "Stay safe," he said, and he went back through the door to the bar.

Luffy caught up quickly, excited for the adventure he was going to have. "Let's go get some money, so I can eat!" he told Kia.

"Is that all you think about?!" Usopp demanded.

The tunnel was long, and it was slow going with only the one light. Suddenly Zoro yelped, and they all looked around him to see a large man wearing a mask. Then Zoro yelled again, falling over and blowing on his hands. Kia looked up to see Sanji with his leg out, having caught the lantern that had been thrown in the air with his shin.

"Impressive Sanji," she said.

"Thank you Kia my sweet," he cooed.

"I've got this," Nami said, ducking under Sanji's leg. "Move it, Zoro…" she muttered as she stepped over him. He glared at her while he continued blowing on his burnt fingers, where he had accidentally grabbed the lantern's heated glass.

Nami held up two small silver coins, and the man in the mask stepped back and opened another door, gesturing the crew through. They looked around in awe, squinting at the brightness of the room compared to the darkness of the tunnel.

There were people everywhere, talking, laughing, drinking… Luffy, Usopp and Chopper ran forward to a railing, the others following behind them. Looking over, they saw many floors filled with people who were all having fun. Kia glanced around, noting the many different pirate flags hanging around on the walls, and looking up, saw a large ship hanging from the ceiling.

"Ow… that was hot," Zoro muttered as he came up to the rest of them.

"Hey girlie!" a voice called, and they all turned to it. "Did you come here to place a bet?" a man in a bandanna asked. He was playing cards with a table full of men. "The bookie's upstairs."

"Bookie?" Nami asked.

"Whoa," the man next to him chimed in. "You're not going to actually enter the race… are you?" He smiled and chuckled a bit. "Don't make me laugh! You all would never live through it!"

"Ah! Now I remember!" Robin said suddenly. "It's been such a long time since I was here before."

The crew turned to her as she explained. "I was here once before with the captain of a pirate ship I was on. Once every few years, there is a race. It's by pirates, for pirates. A dead end, anything goes race."

"By pirates?" Sanji asked.

"Well, ex-pirates to be exact," she answered. "This town is full of ex-pirates, which is why we haven't had any trouble. Every time the goal of the race is different, but it always starts here in this town, with an eternal pose to point you to the finish. You can do anything to get there, anything to win, and the first ones there get all the prize money."

"Seems easy enough to understand," Zoro said.

"Yeah, like what will happen next…" Sanji added.

"Sounds wild…" Nami said, looking nervous. "But I'm sure Luffy will want to enter."

Nami changed her own tune as soon as Robin asked how much the prize was, and she decided they were definitely entering the race. Sanji accompanied her upstairs to the bookie, to officially enter. Zoro and Robin found a table to sit at, and Luffy asked about food.

"Kia! Kia!" Luffy called to her at the railing. "Come on, the food's free!" he yelled grabbing her hand to pull her along.

"I guess we'll meet up later!" Kia shouted to Robin, who gave a little wave and smile. She then started jogging so that Luffy didn't have to drag her, and they went looking downstairs for the food, Usopp and Chopper behind them, and Zoro trailing behind, deciding to follow for when Luffy found trouble- as he always did.

"Chopper, I didn't realize you were so hungry," Kia said. Concern for the reindeer was only part of it. Watching him and Luffy eat through plate after plate without pause had her own stomach feeling overfull.

"Yeah Luffy," Zoro added. "Didn't you just eat until you were full?"

Luffy didn't pause, just spoke while chewing. "Nah, I was only half full!"

"You know Luffy," Kia said wryly. "Just because your body stretches to fit all the food, doesn't mean you have to keep eating until you pop."

Luffy swallowed, and spoke quickly while cutting up another bite. "The race is tomorrow, and we need stamina!" he said.

"Uh-huh!" Chopper agreed, looking a little green.

Usopp rolled his eyes at Chopper. "You know, you don't have to do everything he does."

Chopper froze with another bite on the way to his mouth, then dropped the fork back to the plate. "I don't?!" he exclaimed to Usopp, looking shocked and thrilled, and Kia chuckled.

"No, you never need to try to keep eating just because Luffy is," she answered, and Chopper sighed in relief as he abandoned his plate.

Kia watched as Luffy's hands disappeared, and then reappeared with more food. "You're getting better at that, but the other diners may be upset to lose their food," she warned.

"So good," Luffy mumbled and continued to eat, swiping plates from the servers as soon as they exited the kitchen. "This place is great!" he said. "The food just keeps coming and coming!"

"Your stomach must be bottomless," Zoro muttered. He glanced at Kia, then around the room. It calmed her slightly to know she wasn't the only one that noticed the angry people surrounding them. Suddenly he jumped up, grabbing the hilt of his sword.

"Eh?" Luffy grunted, just as his face was slammed down into the table in front of them so hard that the table broke in two. Usopp and Chopper were frozen in their seats as the dishes fell to the floor, the noise causing everyone in the room to stop and look over.

Kia grabbed the napkin from her lap, and used it to wipe off the gravy running down her leg.

"What was that for?" Zoro asked calmly. Luffy obviously wasn't hurt, and Zoro waited to see what his captain would do.

"What was that for?" the man who stood over Luffy asked Zoro in shock. "What was that for?!" he demanded in anger. Kia could see that Usopp and Chopper were trying not to move, hoping to be invisible. She said nothing, just studied the man. He wore black pants and a gold zip up sweater with his sleeves pushed up to his elbows. His hair was a light brown, falling around his face in layers.

The napkin tied around his neck like a bib, told her that he was also a messy eater, and his lanky build and the strength with which he slammed Luffy's face through the table suggested he was very strong and most likely ate a lot to keep up with his metabolism, just like Luffy. She could hardly fault him for being angry at having his food stolen. Most of the crew had reacted the same at one point or another.

"That's what I want to know!" the man shouted at Zoro.

"You're not making any sense!" Zoro yelled back, annoyed.

"Shut up! He was stealing my food! Just because he can stretch his arms across the room, doesn't mean…" the man stopped as he realized what he had just said. "Stretch… his… arms…?" he repeated slowly. He stared at Luffy for a moment before freaking out. "HIS ARMS STRETCHED!" he shouted.

"Duh," Usopp muttered.

Luffy then began to stand up, and Kia stared at the strange man wondering why she couldn't remember him. His tattoo is very memorable, so why? What adventure was this?! she asked herself as she studied the hook across his left cheek. I wonder what it means?

"You're asking for it," Luffy said, frowning at the man in front of him, and bringing his hand up to wipe food from his face.

"You ate the devil's fruit?" the man asked.

"Yeah. So what?" Luffy asked.

The man glared at him, but was interrupted by several men from nearby tables coming over and shouting. "Hey! You're the one that stole all our food!" one yelled. "Yeah, we saw you!" another said as they came closer.

"Don't you know who we are?" the man in front asked.

Kia looked around the man next to Luffy so see about thirty men standing in front of them, with weapons in their hands and sneers on their faces. The man in front had pink hair, and oddly enough… a facial tattoo on his left cheek of a marine symbol with swords crossed in front of it. What… is going on? she thought.

"We're with General Gasparde," the pink-haired man said with a smirk. "Which means, you can't get away with this insult."

The man next to Luffy reached up and tore the napkin from his neck. Kia noticed his sweater had the same picture of a hook as his tattoo, which she found strange. He strode over to the man with the pink hair, getting right up in his face without saying a word.

"What?" the pink-haired man sneered. "You gonna apologize? Too late! You're out before the race even starts!"

"Hey!" Luffy called, following and grabbing the man in gold's shoulder. "You're still fighting with me!"

"Luffy, look out!" Kia called as another pirate shot his gun directly at Luffy's chest. Everyone froze at the sound of the gunshot, and watched as Luffy stumbled back. He stopped and held his ground, the bullet making his skin stretch extremely far back.

The patrons sitting behind where Luffy was were freaking out, and Luffy called to the men in front of him. "That won't work! Cause I'm made of rubber!" His skin retracted, and the bullet shot forward, missing the men and making a hole in the wall behind them.

Kia smirked at the terrorized looks on their faces. "Serves them right," she muttered to Zoro.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Luffy demanded of the man who had shot at him. "You surprised me!"

"Uh… normally people are more than just surprised…" the man answered in fear.

"What ARE you?" another man asked.

Kia watched the men across from them, noting that the man in gold still hadn't moved or spoken. The pirates around him were yelling and waving swords and guns around, while he was still- and listening to Luffy answer their questions.

Then suddenly Luffy reared back, his arm stretching far behind him. "Gum-gum… pistol!" he shouted, as his arm rocketed forward and punched the man who had shot him, taking him and three others slamming back into the wall. The pink haired man, and the man in gold looked down in shock at the arm in front them.

"How was that?" Luffy asked with a grin, as his arm came back to normal. The group of pirates in front of him were now staring at him with gaping mouths… all except the man in the gold sweater. And they began shouting.

"Monster!"

"He ate a devil's fruit!"

"He's just like the general!"

"We should leave him alone!"

"You idiots!" the pink-haired man shouted to them. "He's just a kid! Everyone, get him!" he shouted, and the pirates raised their weapons once again, ready to fight.

The leader raised his own sword, and swung it at the man in gold, who used his napkin to divert the blade away. Kia noticed the smile on his face as he began to fight, and turning, saw the same look on Luffy's face. It seemed they had found a kindred spirit in the guy.

The entire room was now in on the brawl, and it seemed to be all of them against Luffy and the man in gold. Kia watched in awe as he used a table, and then food to avoid being shot, then threw a chair up in the air. The men who were attacking him looked up, and he pounced. Punching one in the face, and kicking another, he grabbed the third and moved him into place just as the chair crashed on his head, and Kia giggled. He threw another chair in front of a charging man, stopping him in his tracks, and did a slide tackle with a kick upward, nailing the man in the face, and taking his sword.

The pirates around him all stepped back in fear, even though it was still twenty swords to one. Kia looked over at Luffy, as he dodged attack after attack while watching the other man fight, and she laughed again.

Usopp pulled her with him behind Zoro, as several men had heard her laugh, and were now headed for their little group. Zoro looked bored, but as the nine men came at them, he jumped into action with his swords out, blocking all of their attacks at once. "At least give me a challenge," he sneered.

"Who is this guy?" one of the pirates asked.

"Way to go Zoro!" Usopp cheered, and Kia looked behind her, to see him and Chopper hiding behind a pillar. She smiled and shook her head, even as Zoro took care of the men in front of him.

"I told you not to move," he grumbled at the boys, but kept his eyes on Kia. She was back to watching the fight, and had followed the group out towards the center railing of the hall. It seemed the pirates were more interested in the man in gold, and had followed him out there. There was a huge loop of chain that was used to carry items to each floor, and it continuously moved in its circle. The man grabbed onto the chain, riding it upwards to get away, and the remaining pirates did the same.

"Kia! Come on!" Luffy called, grabbing her arm, and practically throwing her on his back. She grinned in excitement, wanting to see the end of the fight, and Luffy grabbed on to the chain, and they started moving upward.

"I wonder where he's going?" Kia asked, and Luffy laughed.

"All that's up there is a ship, hanging from the ceiling!" he answered.

They both turned as they heard their names being called. "Luffy, Kia!" What are you doing?" Nami asked, as she, Robin, and Sanji stared at them.

"Just watching a fight!" Kia called back.

"Oh, okay. Just don't get lost!" Nami replied.

"You got it!" Kia yelled with a grin, and looked back up. "Hey Luffy, he jumped to the ship!" she told him.

"Shi, shi, shi…" Luffy laughed. "And all the other guys too!"

"We're almost there!" she said, and they looked up as all the men went flying out of the ship, and hurtling down to the water several stories below. "Wow! He took them all out?" she said exuberantly.

"Hold on!" Luffy said, and he stretched his arm over to the ship, pulling them inside. Kia didn't want to fall out like the pirates, so she stayed where she was on Luffy's back. "That was excellent!" Luffy told the man in gold. "You're really good!"

"It was fun just watching!" Kia added, noticing the pink-haired man was still in the ship, but he looked terrified.

"Oh, well thank you," the man in gold answered with a smirk. "I never thought I'd come face to face with a man with such a high bounty." Kia could hear the return smirk Luffy gave, even though she couldn't see it.

"So, what's your name?" Kia asked.

"Me?" the man teased. "I'm -"

"HEY!" the pink- haired man shouted as he finally stood up. "Don't ignore me!"

"Haven't you had enough?" Luffy asked him.

"It's not over yet!" he shouted. "A high bounty? You?!" he sneered. "Don't make me laugh. Our boss has a 95 million beri bounty! He's the real deal!"

"Wow, that's cool!" Luffy grinned. "That's more than Crocodile was!"

Kia smirked, wondering if Luffy even remembered how much his own bounty had gone up to.

"Do you think his crewman is going to let you get away with this?" the pink-haired man asked, his sword pointing at Luffy and Kia.

"Maybe!" Luffy answered with a smile, infuriating the man.

"Of course not!" he shouted, swinging the sword.

Luffy threw Kia to the side, as he stretched back to avoid the blow, and the man's sword went through the ropes that were holding the ship up. The ship immediately tilted and Kia reached out for Luffy, as he fell over the side with the pink-haired man.

"Luffy!" she yelled, grasping for a hand hold.

"Hold on!" she heard in her ear, as she was grabbed, and suddenly airborne. When she felt the landing, she realized she was being held by the man in gold, who had literally picked her up as he jumped from the ship. She looked over his shoulder at the railing, just as Luffy swung back over, carting the pink-haired man with him.

"You saved him?" the man in gold asked. "You're a strange one."

"And you saved Kia!" Luffy grinned. "Thanks!"

"So… shall we continue?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Luffy said eagerly. He stood up and brought his fists up. "You ready?" he asked.

"Maybe, put me down before fighting?" Kia deadpanned.

"It seems he wants another go," the man told Luffy, who turned to see the pink-haired man standing up with his sword in hand.

"Let it go," Luffy told him.

"What's all the ruckus?" Another voice called from inside the room behind Luffy, and Kia looked to the man holding her as his eyes lit up and he grinned in anticipation.

She looked back, seeing the pink-haired man looking like he was having a stroke, as two men stood in the aftermath of a huge fight. There were bodies strewn everywhere, swords and daggers sticking out of furniture and walls, and these two men looked as if they hadn't been involved, their clothes not even mussed in the slightest.

"General Gasparde?" the pink-haired man asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Gasparde?" Luffy asked.

"Am I not supposed to be here?" the general asked.

"No, no, of course! You can be wherever you want!" the man replied in terror. "I'm so sorry, I just thought you were drinking on the ship today!"

"Who are you?" the general asked.

"What? Who am I?" the pink-haired man asked in confusion. "I'm part of your crew."

"I don't know you," the general replied. "I don't know a pirate who gets beaten by some nobody. I have no need for that kind of pirate on my crew."

Kia flinched as the man next to the general suddenly appeared next to the pink-haired man. He grabbed the blubbering man by the shoulder, and he yelped in pain. He then flung the man away with one hand, and he flew over their heads, dropping down into the water below. Luffy went over to the railing, wanting to ensure the man was all right. Kia could see the anger on his face, at a captain treating his crew so callously.

"Who is that?" Kia said softly, as the other man reappeared next to the general a moment later. She felt herself being moved, as the man in gold slowly lowered her feet to the ground, and she stood. She moved to the side, over towards Luffy, and the man walked forward toward the general.

"Who are you?" the general asked.

"My name, is Shryer…" the man in gold replied, as he pulled his sleeves down. "A bounty hunter. The nobody." He smirked, even as he pulled out a hat, and placed it on his head.

"Shryer the pirate hunter?" Kia could hear someone say. "Shryer Bascudo?"

"You're a bounty hunter?" Luffy asked as he put Kia slightly behind himself.

"A rather famous one," Shryer answered.

"I know you as well," the general said to Luffy. "You don't look like you should even have a bounty at all, but I suppose you did okay. You've got potential." He smiled, and Kia shivered. "Why don't you two come work for me?" he asked.

Shryer smirked. "I work for the other side. I'm supposed to bring you in."

"I used to be a marine myself," Gasparde replied. "I don't care, as long as you have skill. I like a strong crew."

"That's bold," Shryer said. He looked back at Luffy. "What do you think?" he asked.

"No," Luffy answered, and Shryer frowned.

"Like Luffy would ever join a traitor," Kia said quietly to herself, holding onto Luffy's shoulder.

"Ack!" she yelped as she was suddenly taken hold of, the movement of the general's man so fast that Luffy's hat fell off his head. She froze, feeling something sharp at her throat.

"My hat!" Luffy said as he reached down for it. Standing back up, he saw the man with large claws at Kia's neck, droplets of blood running down her neck, and he got angry. "Let. My. Sister. Go. NOW." he growled.

Kia saw the look of shock and anger cross Shryer's face, and wondered what that was about. She wanted to see Luffy's face too, but she didn't dare move a muscle.

The general laughed, "I like spunk…" he said. "but don't be a smart ass." He stood then, looking over at Luffy and Shryer. "Do whatever you want," he said nonchalantly. "But what can you do if you're dead?" He started to walk away. "Come see me on my ship, when you change your mind," he said over his shoulder. "Needles, let them go."

The man threw Kia to the side, right into Luffy, who lost his hat yet again. The man called Needles bent to grab it, and Luffy shouted, "DON'T!" Which stopped everyone in their tracks.

Luffy stormed over, grabbing his hat, and dusting it off. "No one touches my treasure!" he stated.

"That hat… is your treasure?" Shryer asked in disbelief, looking between him and Kia.

"I'm holding it for Shanks, so it's precious to me," Luffy answered.

"Shanks?" Shryer asked in shock. "He's a great pirate!"

"Yeah."

"You're no ordinary pirate, are you?" he asked.

"Yeah I am," Luffy answered, but then thought about it. "Well, I guess once I find the One Piece and become pirate king, then I won't be a regular pirate anymore."

The general started laughing. "You talk big, kid. Too bad you're a liar." He stepped through the door, and Kia and Luffy were surprised that Needles was next to him to shut it.

"That guy moves seriously fast," Kia said.

"Are you okay?" Luffy asked as he turned to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry to have gotten them mad at you," she replied, angry at her herself for her big mouth.

"I don't care about that," Luffy replied.

"Hey," Shryer said, getting their attention. He glanced at Kia sadly. "I don't feel like fighting you anymore," he said, finally looking at Luffy. "Let's continue this some other time."

"Sure," Luffy said with a smile, and Shryer turned and walked away.