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"...You join my crew."

Her reaction was worthy of a picture. Her entire demeanor changed. She had been angry for a while, and then indignant when I accused her of stealing from a village. Now though, it was pure unadulterated shock. One of her hands dropped from the map she was holding up, and it rolled up on its own. Unfortunately, it only lasted a moment. Soon she had a hand on her hip and she had composed herself.

"I became a pirate to be truly free in this world. I didn't do it to take orders from someone I don't know!" Alvida replied. It wasn't a direct denial, but it was fairly close to one.

A couple of things became fairly apparent to me at that moment. One, I was not dealing with the same character from the anime. Anime Alvida was a self absorbed woman that abused her crew and loved to lord her power over others. In the beginning of the anime, she did it with fear because of her size and brutality. After she ate her devil fruit, a special fruit that grants different powers in this world depending on which one you eat, she used her beauty and charm to get what she wanted.

Although charm was a bit of a stretch for Alvida. She was still very cruel, as she always thought she was beautiful, despite being a whale of a woman.

This Alvida seems different. More… normal.

"It seems we have something in common then." I responded, as I thought about how to convince her to join the crew. Because as I continued to think about it, it was obvious she was a resourceful woman and could provide value to the crew. Even if it was something as simple as navigation, treasurer, or information gatherer. A woman could go many places a man couldn't, and come out unscathed simply because of her gender. Not that I would put her in danger, but she could be valuable.

"I'm not a tyrant of a captain. I won't force you to join. But I know you could bring value to the crew! I'm going to see everything this world has to offer and have an adventure on par with the legends of this world! We'll travel wherever we want! We'll party with fishmen, pirates, giants, you name it! We'll help those in need, and tear down those who abuse their power. At the end of our journey, whether it's at the end of a smoking barrel, in Impel Down, or dying of old age on the ship, we'll have a life fully lived!" I told her.

In the middle of my speech, I realized that I should probably practice my recruitment pitch. I was happy with how it came out, but I had to admit that it was a little rambly and not well polished. However, I did see that her demeanor changed slightly. Her face softened, and her body relaxed slightly.

And then a switch flipped. Her body became tense again before her face hardened once more.

"And if I don't join, you'll kill me and take all the loot we have here…" She responded as she gripped her club hard and frowned at me. She thought I was full of shit because I threatened her earlier.

"Oh I won't kill you. If I thought you were stealing from weak civilians and villages then I would have seriously maimed you. But now that I know this is Don Krieg's loot, the most I'll do is take his treasure and leave. You and your crew will survive." I responded truthfully. I could understand how she thought that after I held my sword to her throat. But that was in the past, under different circumstances.

She relaxed again, and broke eye contact before pacing around the deck of the ship. I could tell she wouldn't make a decision so soon. It would take time for her to think about the offer. I couldn't help but think my speech did move her a little bit though and I was proud about that.

What pirate captain can't move people with their words?

"I need time to think it over." Alvida finally said, facing me again. The crewmates that were still on their feet, on the deck, looked at her like she had grown a second head.

I clapped, happy with the result. I could understand someone wanting time to think it over. Luffy didn't convince some of his crew as soon as they met. He had to prove himself to them.

"Why don't you give me the night? We have a base setup here with shelter and food. You're more than welcome to stay here while I decide." Alvida told me. She didn't wait for an answer and turned before jumping straight off of her ship and onto the beach some ways away. I couldn't help but be impressed with her physicality.

I turned around and faced Paulie. He was still in the crows nest of our ship with his rifle resting on his shoulder. He shrugged at my unasked question. I knew he wouldn't mind staying the night. A warm meal was always welcome to a sailor, and even more so by a pirate.

I made my decision then and crouched before I jumped off of Alvida's ship, following her onto the island. "Set the anchor Paulie!" I told him as I flew through the air and landed next to her.

Alvida glanced at me out of the side of her eye before waving me forward. I knew I needed something else to convince her to join the crew. Luffy always managed to do it by fighting someone with that person. Nothing like a common enemy to bring people together.

If only we had someone to fight. Too bad we're on a secluded island…

I sat up abruptly. I recognized the cackling of a fire to my left immediately. I ignored it through a slightly foggy mind. My bladder was screaming at me and demanded that I go relieve it. So I stood up, and sand cascaded off of me from my position on the beach. The world turned slightly, signifying that I had drank entirely too much the night before.

But I was familiar with my body. I was already in the hungover stage if the headache I had was anything to go by. I stepped around the various sleeping bodies on the ground, including Paulie, before I made my way to the treeline.

I got so drunk I fell asleep on the sand, instead of my nice captain's bed?

I groaned as I leaned against a tree and actually relieved myself. The horizon was starting to become slightly pink. It was barely enough to where I could see where I was going. In another few minutes, the sun would be in the sky. It seems that I was awake, and with my headache, I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.

I sighed as I finished doing my business.

When's the last time I took a dip in the sea?

I smiled as I immediately began walking down the beach. It didn't take long for my feet to feel the water lapping against them. I hissed, as the ocean proved to be very very cold. But I had always loved the water I swam in to be cold. Like borderline unbearably cold.

Soon I was up to my waist in the cold water, and on a spontaneous thought, I dove into the ocean headfirst.

That shit woke me up better than Coffee ever had.

I came out of the ocean and wiped the water off of my head and hair. I was already fairly close to the two ships anchored side by side and tied together. I pondered sneaking to my captains quarters and finding a little more rest. In the end I decided against it and moved towards the beach again, fully awake and not really feeling the headache from before.

"MMMMMHHHHHFFFFFF!"

I paused as I heard what sounded like muffled screaming. And then it was gone, drowned out by the crashing waves on the beach. I frowned as I turned in the direction it came from. It was something on the ships, of that much I was sure.

"...cut you if you don't…"

The voice I heard was fading, and sounded far away. It was hard to make out with the ocean so close to me. But it was threatening, and I knew that I had to investigate it.

Soru

I flew out of the ocean, over to the railing of the closest ship near me, Alvida's. As soon as I did that, I heard the voices even more.

"You look nothing like your bounty posters. I'm glad I get to have some fun!"

The door to the captain's quarters was open on Alvida's ship, and what I saw made the blood in my veins boil with rage. I could see the back of a man in a gray suit with purple accents. But it was what he was doing that was the most disgusting thing a man could ever do.

Alvida was currently bent over her bed. The man was standing on her feet so that she couldn't move. Her legs had the tatters of her pants falling off of them, but I couldn't see anything provocative from my position. I could see that the man had his hands on her throat though. Luckily, I could tell that I arrived in time for the man to get any further in his disgusting deed.

I didn't announce my presence. I didn't shout at him to stop, I just acted.

My fist hit directly where his spine and his skull met, but I didn't stop there. He folded forward for a moment, but I didn't let him hit the bed. I was already grabbing him by his waist with both of my arms. I lifted him high into the air, and wasted no time in slamming him on the ground behind me.

"Gah!"

I didn't let him have any reprieve. I swiftly got full mount while the man was dazed and sent another right hook that hit him in the nose, breaking it severely. I was not pulling my punches today. My left fell on top of him swiftly after that.

Somehow, the man could take a beating. It was the first person that stayed conscious after multiple hits from me. His left hand reached up and touched my left cheekbone. I could feel his unnaturally long nails sticking out of his hand scratch me slightly. Unfortunately, I decided to stop caring for his well being.

I moved with the full speed and force of my body and sent punch after punch raining down on him. After the fifth, he went limp. After the sixth, I felt his orbital bone on his left side crack. I punched him seven more times before I cared enough to stop and get off of his body.

I didn't turn around to look at Alvida, so as to give her some privacy.

"Are you dressed?" I asked as I felt liquid falling down my face and onto the floor. A quick glance told me that it was blood, but I wasn't sure if it was mine or not. I could also feel blood dripping down my fists.

The body on the ground was unmoving, but I could see the rise and fall of his chest. I wanted to reach into his chest and rip his heart out. But I also wanted to give the opportunity to his would-be victim. I was only happy that I had arrived before it got too far.

"Y-yes…" Alvida's voice was shaky, and I turned to her.

Her lip was quivering, but no tears fell down her face. Her jaw was clenched so hard that I could see it. She was not dressed with clothes, but rather had grabbed the sheets from the bed and wrapped them around her.

"I left him alive for you. He will die today. Will it be by your hand, or by mine?" I asked as I pointed to the body on the ground.

She didn't answer me directly, but her eyes moved to her massive club resting against her bed. She didn't even hesitate. She grabbed it with one hand and in the same motion swung it towards the man on the ground.

If the situation wasn't what it was, I would have smiled as I saw it impact the man's pelvis. She had swung it so hard that he was little more than ground up bone and flesh where his pelvis used to be.

He woke up after that, because of the pain or some other reason.

"AHHHHHH!"

She swung again, and this time it was at his right knee. Then again, and again, and again. All at different parts of his body. Slowly she turned her assaulter into minced meat. Blood splattered against everything, even me. And I felt no remorse for the man laying on the ground. I had thoughts of gelding him myself, before allowing him to bleed out.

Eventually my hand reached forward and I grabbed the wrist of Alvida as she went to swing again. He was well and truly dead, and it was shock keeping her swinging. She didn't fight me on it and allowed her bloodied club to fall to the deck of the ship.

I wasn't sure what to do, but Alvida folded into my chest and sobbed. I just stood there and rubbed her back. What could I say to help her? I didn't know how that situation felt. So I didn't say anything and I think she was just fine with that.

Eventually her tears dried up and she composed herself before pushing herself off of me.

"Why don't you take a shower on my ship and get cleaned up while I deal with this?" I asked as I pointed to the mess on the floor.

She nodded before she mindlessly began walking forward. She stepped over the bloody pulp on the ground with an almost dead look in her eyes. The sheet trailed behind her, dragging blood and gore along the ship with her. I just shook my head, ashamed for my fellow males that were willing to do such despicable deeds.

He'll never do that again.

"Let's find a mop…"

I dumped the bucket over the side of the ship with disgust on my face. Paulie was resting his chin on top of a mop that used to be white in color. Now it was an ugly pink. It would need to be burned.

Paulie had quickly found me on the deck of Alvida's ship once he woke up. I didn't explain anything to him, and he didn't ask why there was little more than gore where a man used to be. He just grabbed a mop and began to help me clean the mess up. He saw Alvida come out of my ship and head down to the beach for the breakfast that her crew was making.

I think he put two and two together. His jaw clenched tight and his eyes narrowed at the blood he was mopping after that. After all, the evidence was all over the room. There were obvious signs of a scuffle before I arrived to save Alvida.

"Let's go eat." I told my first mate as I threw the bucket over the side of the ship, uncaringly.

"You hungry Captain?"

Paulie and I looked at each other questioningly. It wasn't him or I that asked that question. In fact, it was a female voice and I knew who it was immediately. I moved to the edge of the ship and looked over the edge. Alvida was standing down there, in clothes that were from my closet and her black trench coat, with a plate in her hand full of bacon and scrambled eggs.

Neither Paulie or I missed how she addressed me. Nor did either of us need an explanation. She had accepted my offer to join the crew, and that meant she was family now.

"Yes ma'am I am!" I answered her as I jumped off of the deck of the ship. I landed next to her with a 'thump'. "But you don't have to make my plate for me from now on. I'm a big boy." I mumbled to her, where the others couldn't hear, and took the plat of food from her.

She ignored me, but I knew she heard me. Instead she frowned as she raised her hands to the left side of my face. It was the same place I could feel dried blood all day. Everytime I smiled, it sent a shock of pain through my face.

"He got you…" She mumbled as she drew a line with her finger on my face. She started at the top of my cheekbone, and dipped almost all the way to my chin. "…that's going to scar." She finished as she turned around. "Come on, we've got some first aid kits in the camp."

I shoved some of the back on the plate down my throat, trying not to care enough about my new scar.

He scratched me enough to scar?

She glanced at me and saw my confused look. "He had a devil fruit. He called it the sickle-sickle fruit. It allowed him to create air slashes with a thought." She told me, explaining the situation a little bit.

I followed after her, as I realized who it was that we had just killed. The sickle-sickle fruit was the devil fruit that was only in the anime, and wielded by an East Blue mercenary called Eric, a minor antagonist. He would eventually run into Luffy in southwestern East Blue right before the Strawhats made it to the Grand Line.

Oh shit…

Even knowing that some part of Luffy's adventures would change, I couldn't bring it in myself to care. He would have done unspeakable things to Alvida had I not intervened. He didn't deserve to breathe my air.

I began to look around, curious if there was any fruit to be had nearby. Sure enough I found a cluster of coconut trees near the tree line. I immediately began walking in that direction.

"A devil fruit huh? You know those spawn close to the user's death location. Normally they take over an existing fruit nearby." I told Alvida as I closed the distance to the coconut trees.

"I did not know that. There isn't much known about Devil Fruits where I'm from…" Alvida said as she turned and followed me.

The first tree didn't have any fruit on it that could be considered a devil fruit. Neither did the second, or third, or fourth. I actually hadn't expected to find the devil fruit so quickly.

Imagine my surprise when I looked up to the fifth coconut tree to find one coconut didn't look like the others. It wasn't brown, and all the hair was gone on the outside. Instead it was gray and had black swirls throughout the coconut. It also had a swirly stem.

Wow, seeing my first devil fruit…

"I didn't expect to find it so fast…" I told her as I handed her the now empty plate in my hands. With a flex of my legs, I was eye to eye with the devil fruit. I snatched it off of the coconut tree, and landed next to her once again.

"Are you going to eat it?" Alvida asked, as she looked at the fruit curiously.

"I don't think so. It didn't seem very strong." I answered, already knowing my answer. I was not interested in the sickle-sickle fruit.

My logic was very simple. I used a cutlass as my main weapon, which was a sword. Swordsmen of this world were capable of delivering 'air slashes' with ease. In fact, it seemed to be a requirement at the extremely high levels of combat. Mihawk could create them so powerful that he could cut massive ships in half, and it didn't even look like he needed Armament Haki to do it.

Why would I eat a fruit that would take away my ability to swim and give me a weakness to seastone, when I could train harder to achieve the fruit's powers.

Not to mention the fact that one of the Rokushiki, or six powers, was called rankyaku. Rankyaku involved throwing a kick so hard that it created an air slash, the exact thing this devil fruit allowed one to do.

So the answer was an extremely easy one for me.

There is no way I will eat the sickle-sickle fruit.

It was worth a lot of money though, and I could give it to someone in my crew if I thought they could utilize it properly. Not that I would recommend it.

Now that I think about it, could Paulie use it in any way?

I shelved the thought, and turned my attention back to Alvida.

"It didn't seem to help that man…" She told me as she turned around and began walking back to the camp.

"Do you know who sent him?" I asked, now that I had her alone, and she had calmed down from earlier.

She froze, but she did not shake or show any sign of weakness. All she did was narrow her eyes.

"Don Krieg got wind of me. He's currently sailing for the Grand Line. That's why I have been working so hard on this loot. I knew he wouldn't be able to come after me. It seems he didn't didn't have to though. He promised that man all the treasure that I had stolen as long as I was taken out." She answered.

I wasn't actually sure that she knew, but it made sense. Don Krieg ran a tight crew. I thought it was weird that one of his stashes had been discovered in the first place. I was also suspicious of Alvida's crew now, as she might have a rat aboard. That would be the most obvious answer for how he found out about it.

Wasn't planning on letting them join my crew anyway.

"Come on." Alvida called out, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Let's get that cut cleaned up."

"Final count is 2,258,000 Beri." Paulie told me and Alvida as he finished up his calculations. "Not including the gold and gems." He added at the end, once he knew I would be disappointed in the beri count. "Including everything, closer to 10,000,000 I'd say."

We were standing on the deck of my ship, and had just finished loading up the treasure from the island. Apparently, Alvida hadn't had access to Don Krieg's stash for very long. But it wasn't a complete bust. I got a valuable crew member, and even a Devil Fruit to sell.

"And then the Devil Fruit could be another 100 million and up, depending on the buyer." I added as I pointed to my captains quarters, where the fruit would stay as a desk ornament for now.

"That'll set us up for a while. We'll be able to restock the ship many times if that's all we spent the beri on. Of course, it'll run out soon." I continued, thinking out loud the effect it would have on my plans for the future.

"We need to sell the treasure." Alvida responded, saying exactly what I was thinking.

"How do we do that?" I asked, completely unfamiliar with the process.

"You don't know?" Alvida asked. I could read her mind from the way she looked at me. She was wondering why she agreed to follow me as a captain. "We need to get to a broker, a black market one considering our pirate status. We'll have to pay a fee, but they can get it done."

"You know one?" I asked curious. If she knew the information, chances were she knew a broker.

She sighed heavily. "Yes, but he's no longer available." She answered.

I waited patiently for her to explain a little bit more, but when she didn't offer the information, I knew I had to ask. "…why?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Our last meeting ended badly. Marines busted in after I got the money. We escaped, he didn't…" She answered, as if she had tried to forget the memory. "…he also mentioned he would kill me if he ever saw me again. He thought I was the reason he got busted."

"Hmmm, where was this at?" I asked, curious as to what marine captain was the one who got credit.

"His base wasn't too far from here, but the marine that captured him was from the 77th branch. Commodore something." Alvida told me as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

I heard the sound of sails being lowered and looked to see that Alvida's former crew was getting ready to set sail. We had left them some money to get on their feet, but I was willing to bet they'd be in Impel Down, or another prison, fairly quickly. I didn't think much of them once I saw their ship begin to pull away from the island.

"Commodore Pudding." I told her, knowing the man quite well. He was one of the only good marines, even if he was weak. "In charge of Mirror Ball Island. He's gotten some fame after cleaning the place up."

"Oh yea, I remember him. Prefers to blow his opponents away with cannon fire once they don't surrender, right?" Paulie asked. He had a toothpick in his mouth and was messing with it.

"Bingo." I answered as a thought sparked in my mind. "You know, a broker would be someone with a lot of contacts in the world wouldn't he?" I asked, as I let a smile cut across my face.

"Oh god I'm starting to know that look." Paulie groaned as he looked at me.

"He'll never join the crew. He hates me!" Alvida exclaimed, already knowing where I was going with my rhetorical question. She knew I was looking for crew members, and it wasn't that hard to deduce that's what I was talking about.

"A simple misunderstanding. I'm sure he'll understand, this… What was his name again?" I asked, realizing she never told me the name of the man. I might know who it was, as it could be someone from the anime.

Alvida sent me a glare that held no weight behind it. "...Little John is the only name I've ever known."

My eyebrows rose in interest. I smiled, as I gave my crew a command that they knew was coming and were probably dreading. After all, what pirate would willingly sail straight into an island that held a Marine Base.

"Well in that case, set a course for Mirror Ball Island. I hear they throw one hell of a party!"

A/N: Boom!

We're up to chapter 11 on the Pat()reon! That's 7 more chapters in advance!

Sorry that got so dark guys, I did not expect that. I was actually thinking that Eric would show up and fight them in the middle of the night when they were drunk, thinking he could overpower them. But it didn't seem to write that way when I sat down.

Alvida is a part of the crew though, just like y'all voted for her to be.

So yea he showed up, got shit on and is now food for the fishes. And his useless devil fruit is on the ship!

What did y'all think about it? Too dark? Unnecessary to win Alvida's loyalty? A great way to win her loyalty, despite how awful it could have been?

Also, what are some ideas that could be done with the sickle-sickle fruit?

What if you gave it to a weapon, like a sword or a rifle or something? Worth it or no?

Let's talk about it.