A/N:

the death bringer779: Chap 20 ends where jhonny says he'll lead them to baratie n chap 21 starts off where luffy is an erand boy.

M: I know that I skipped the chapter xD Like I said, I didn't want to make the pace slower.

I might also make a story, again, I don't know if it'll be angst or not… Anyways, like yesterday, can everyone either review or pm me what the majority likes more, long or short chapter?

Disclaimer: Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece

Last time in Chapter 21...

"Did… Did they just say, 'Zeff'!?" Don Krieg says as he was still sweating, the cooks complained of why Zeff gave Don Krieg food until Zeff answered their questions.

"That's only if, they still have any fighting spirit left at all…" Zeff says as he pauses and looks at Don Krieg "Isn't that right, defeated warriors of 'Grand Line'?" Zeff says as the cooks gave appalled gasps.

"W-WHAT!? DON KRIEG DEFEATED!?"

"THE STRONGEST MAN OF EAST BLUE…! THE PIRATE FLEET ADMIRAL OF 50 SHIPS…!" the cooks paused as Gin held his tears. "EVEN HE WAS UTTERLY DEFEATED BY 'GRAND LINE'!?"

Luffy huffed as the shouts really felt like it was a cacophony, he sat in the chair nearby, in case the cooks and the others need help, his Nakama notices this but keeps quiet, Luffy was cranky today. "You're… 'Red-Leg' Zeff!" Don Krieg says as he sweats and his eyes widen. "So you were alive, 'Red-leg' Zeff… The peerless captain and cook of his own Pirate Crew." Don Krieg says as he looks at Zeff.

"So what if I'm alive? It's got nothing to do with you." Zeff says as he pauses "As you can see, I'm living as a mere cook right now." Zeff adds as Don Krieg crosses his arms.

"Hahaha… Interesting to hear it that way…" Don Krieg pauses as he smirks "But from the way I see it, you're living as a cook not by choice, but because that's the only thing you can do." Don Krieg adds as Zeff stayed quiet. "To speak of 'Red-leg' Zeff, is to speak of the master of kicking who refused to use his hands in battle! The pirate whose destructive kicks could pulverize bedrock, and leave a clear imprint on steel!" Don Krieg pauses "Your nickname 'Red-leg' refers to your legs, that would dyed in the blood of your enemies after a fight. Though I've heard from rumors that you died in a shipwreck, it seems you've managed to survive, though at the cost of one of your precious legs. With one of your legs gone, you shouldn't be able to fight anymore." Sanji flinches while Zeff wasn't unfazed in the slightest.

"I may not be able to fight anymore, but I can still cook as long as I have these hands." Zeff pauses "But just what are you getting at, exactly?" Don Krieg smirks.

"'Red-leg' Zeff, you're a man who once braved the waters of the devil's hideout, the 'Grand Line' itself! Not only that, you returned without an injury." Don Krieg says as he pauses "You must've kept a log during your time in 'Grand Line', so what I'm getting is…" Don Krieg pauses again as he inhales "HAND OVER THAT LOG TO ME!" Zeff remains his blank expression.

"You are certainly correct to assume that I kept a log, and I indeed have it to this day. But I shan't hand over that to you." Zeff pauses "That log is the pride of me and my men who bravely ventured 'Grand Line' together, it's too much valuable to give it to the likes of you!" Don Krieg loses his smirk.

"THEN I'LL JUST STEAL IT FROM YOU! It's true that I came back defeated from Grand Line…! But even so, I'm still the mighty Don Krieg!" Don Krieg pauses "THAT OCEAN SHROUDED BY DARKNESS, THE MENTION OF WHICH ALONE CAUSES WEAK MEN TO TREMBLE IN THEIR BOOTS…! I HAD ENOUGH POWER TO CONQUER THAT SEA! ENOUGH MANPOWER! ENOUGH AMBITION! THE ONLY THING I LACKED WAS INFORMATION! THAT WAS MY ONLY FLAW! I simply did not know enough… which is why I'll steal your travel log and this ship!" After Don Krieg's declaration, the cooks complained.

"LIKE HELL WE'LL LET YOU! IF WE LOSE THIS SHIP, WE'VE GOT NOWHERE TO GO!" Patty shouts as the others followed.

"THAT'S RIGHT! ALL THE COOKS HERE WERE CHASED OUT BY OTHER RESTAURANTS BEFORE FINALLY FINDING THEIR HOME IN THIS PLACE!"

"OWNER ZEFF IS THE ONLY ONE WHO ACCEPTED US! HE'S OUR SAVIOR!"

"WE AIN'T LETTING YOU PIRATES STEAL OUR HOME AWAY!"

Don Krieg yells "SILENCE! THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU AND I IS CLEAR AS NIGHT AND DAY! I EVEN PROVED IT TO YOU JUST NOW! DON'T YOU DARE FORGET THAT I'M THE STRONGEST!" Don Krieg pauses "ONCE I OBTAIN ZEFF'S TRAVEL LOG, I'LL REASSEMBLE MY PIRATE FLEET," When Don Krieg pauses, Luffy made a dark smirk and a scary expression, which didn't go unnoticed by his Nakama "AND FIND ONE PIECE TO BECOME THE GREATEST PIRATE OF THIS ERA!" As Don Krieg finished, Luffy stood up, which gave all the attention to him, he made a grin with his eyes closed like a Cheshire cat.

"Oi oi oi, the one who'll become the Pirate King is ME." Luffy says with a grin and a dangerously slow tone as the cooks were surprised.

"W-what did the errand-boy just say right now!?" A cook says as Sanji wasn't surprised, he

"Hey! Stand back down Errand-boy! Or you'll be killed!" Patty shouts as Luffy ignored all of them, he also ignored Don Krieg's words, until Zoro, Usopp, and Nami talked and grinned at him.

"Gonna fight?" Zoro says as he places a hand on his katanas, while Usopp grinned and took his weapon secretly.

"Oi oi oi, you planning to rumble the place, Luffy?" Usopp says as he remembers the time where Luffy was a merciless bastard at training. Luffy saved his village, Luffy's strong, he wouldn't lose.

"I'm going to do my job, if you guys fight!" Nami says as she also smiles and ready to take out her weapon if Luffy decides to fight.

"Huh? Nah, you guys can just relax there. And don't need to do your job, Nami. They're empty." Luffy says as Nami sighs in displeasure, Don Krieg laughs.

"Ahahahahaha! Those are your crewmates? A rather small bunch aren't they!?" Don Krieg says as Luffy sighs and places his weight again in his right.

"Well… I have another crewmember as well." Luffy says as Sanji complains and sweatdrops at the background.

"DON'T JOKE WITH ME, PUNK! EVEN MY FLEET OF 50 SHIPS AND 5000 PIRATES, WERE UTTERLY DECIMATED BY THAT DEVILISH SEA IN JUST SEVEN DAYS ONLY BECAUSE WE LACKED INFORMATION!" Don Krieg shouts as the cooks were, once again, surprised as Luffy huffed and was disinterested. "Even as a bluff, your comments just now show how completely ignorant you are to reality! If there's one thing I hate, it's empty boasting like yours!" Don Krieg pauses "Keep saying that and I'll kill you on the spot once I get back from unloading this food!" Don Krieg pauses as he grips the sack. "As for the rest of you… I'll give you a little extension. I'm going to go give this food to my subordinates, and then return back here. I'd suggest you leave this place within that time if you don't want to die. The only things I need are this ship and Zeff's travel log." Don Krieg pauses "If any of you still feel like dying even after I warned you, Then so beat it! I'll bury you to the bottom of the sea for eternity!" By that, he leaves the ship.

'That's what he says…' Luffy thinks as he had a disinterested expression of what Don Krieg was saying in front of him. Luffy goes to his nakama's table and leans on the wall as his arms were crossed. "Maybe I should take a nap for a minute?" Luffy says jokingly as his Nakama looks at him and shouts 'no' loudly. He laughs because he wants to forget the part where Zoro almost dies, but he can't, and it's driving him crazy on the inside.

OPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPO

When the cooks finally went out, they were ready to fight the pirates. Suddenly, the ship was cut in half. "Wha-!" The cooks shouts in disbelief as they watch the ship cut into half, Luffy's expression only darkened.

"WHAT WAS THAT JUST NOW!?" Don Krieg shouts in disbelief as he sees his ship was cut into half, the others panicked.

"Zoro, check where Johnny and Yosaku is. Nami and Usopp, check and secure the ship, after that, all of you come back here." Luffy says calmly as his Nakama looks at him, they nodded and does what their captain said.

OPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPO

Once his Nakama did what they had to do and successfully made it to the rendezvous point with Luffy, someone suddenly shouted. "IT'S HIM!" Someone yells in a terrified voice that made Luffy and his Nakama turn to the person who shouted. "DON KRIEG IT'S HIM! THE ONE WHO DESTROYED OUR FLEET!" The others followed.

"HE FOLLOWED US ALL THE WAY OUT HERE!"

"HE CAME TO KILL US ALL!"

"That bastard…" Don Krieg mutters as his eyes were wide, Zoro looks at the distance with disbelief all over his face.

"I-it can't be… Is that… The 'hawk-eyed' man…!?" Zoro mutters as the cooks look at the 'Hawk-eyed' man.

"He's… The one who sank, a fleet of 50 ships…!?" Patty says in disbelief as the cooks followed.

"Then… He's the one who destroyed Don Krieg's ship just now!?" A cook says as one tries to get a clear vision of the 'Hawk-eyed' man.

"He looks like any normal guy… And it doesn't seem like he's carrying any special weapon…" A cook says as Zeff crosses his arms.

"If you're looking for his weapon, then it's on his back…!" Zeff says as the cooks look at him in disbelief.

"Y-you mean he cut that gigantic galleon by swinging that!?" A cook shouts as he looks at the 'Hawk-eyed' man.

"Yes… That 'Hawk-eyed' man is a renowned swordsman. More renowned than any swordsman in this world…" Zeff says as he keeps his calm façade. As they finally got a clear vision of the 'Hawk-eyed' man, or known as Dracule Mihawk, what they saw was a tall lean man with black hair, a short beard, mustache and sideburns that point upwards. His nickname comes from his strangely colored yellow eyes, which resemble a hawk's eyes. He wears black and red ornate clothing with a crucifix pendant that hides a little dagger, which gives him the appearance of a Spanish swordsman. His attire consists of a wide-brimmed black hat decorated with a large plume, and a long, open black coat with no shirt underneath, with red, flower-patterned sleeves and collar. He wears white purple pants held up by a decorated belt and tucked inside overly large boots in comparison to his leg size. He wears a kogatana around his neck, appearing as a golden cross-shaped necklace, and carries his sword at the back.

The Pirates fell on their knees as they lost all hope, one stood up and shouted. "DAMN IT! WHAT DID WE EVER DO TO YOU! WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW US ALL THE WAY OUT HERE!" The pirate shouted as Mihawk looked at them sideways.

"Just to kill some time." Mihawk calmly says as the pirate takes out guns, one in each hand.

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" the pirate shouts as he fires, but Mihawk took out his gigantic sword, Yoru, and deflected it gracefully. "WHAT!? I-IT MISSED!?" The pirate shouts, suddenly, Zoro was behind them with his eyes covered by the shadows.

"He deflected it. It'll be the same no matter how many times you shoot. He changes the bullet's trajectory with the tip of his sword." Zoro says and explains as the pirates jumped from surprise.

"And who're you, you bastard!?" The pirate shouts, but Zoro ignored them and stepped forward.

"I've never seen such graceful movement." Zoro says as he looks at Mihawk

"A sword with no grace is no strong sword." Mihawk says as he sheathes his sword behind him.

"Did you cut this ship as well with that sword?" Zoro asks, even though he already knew.

"Yes, indeed." Mihawk responds calmly as Zoro was visibly sweating but he smiles.

"No wonder…" Zoro says as he pauses "You really are the strongest." Zoro adds as the pirates notice his three swords and starts knowing him as the 'Roronoa Zoro of the three sword style' and stars panicking. "I set sail to meet you!" Zoro says as he starts wearing his bandana.

"… What do you aim for?" Mihawk calmly asks as Zoro finished wearing his bandana and had a small grin.

"To be the strongest." Zoro says as he pauses. "You said you're free, right? So let's have a duel." Zoro adds as he draws his sword towards Mihawk.

"… I see, very well then." Mihawk says as Luffy raises his eyebrow, Mihawk takes a glance at Luffy, who raised his eyebrow more. 'This swordsman can use Haki, but that man… He's suppressing his power.' Mihawk thinks as he steps up to the deck of a broken-down ship that he cut. "Even if you learned ambition, you and I can demonstrate the clear difference in strength between you and I, without needing to cross blades at all. But still, you dare to challenge me. Does your bravery come from your conviction…?" Mihawk says as he crosses his arms "Or from ignorance…?" Mihawk adds.

"It comes from my ambition, and a promise to a friend." Zoro explains as he readies to take the position to fight.

A/N: I guess the next chapter is where Luffy…. $&^$%^

Bye! Hahahaha!

The Kogatana is one of Dracule Mihawk's weapons. It is a dagger pendant shaped like a cross that is worn on his neck. Mihawk says he uses this weapon only to defeat weak opponents and is the smallest known blade he has. Mihawk uses it is as more of an accessory than a weapon. Though it appears to have no value, in the hands of Mihawk, it was able to defeat Zoro with the slightest bit of pressure and was able to stay close to his heart. He has also been shown eating with it. Otherwise, it is an ordinary knife, so bland and small that Mihawk enjoys demonstrating his skill with it.