Alright here is chapter 6, uploaded 9/25/17.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

[Creature speech]

/Radio communication/

:Demonic Speech:

Disclaimer: See heading to chapter 1.

Reviews:

Midnightscar17: Where have you been the last two books? Of course Nami and Luffy are the main pairing!

Namespike: Your answer is in the next chapter.

Captain Jame H00k: Thank you for those ideas for some ships. I will think about them and try to add them in in my fanfic.

Chapter 6: Jaya Part II

The Going Merry met up with the Iowa and the Straw Hats followed Shojo's ship as they circled around to the other side of the island, with Nami holding the map of Jaya up and making sure that they matched up. When they got there, Usopp and Chopper screamed out in amazement at what they saw. Right on the edge of the cliff was an enormous and elaborate castle. Shojo began to laugh as he told them to take a closer look while Luffy looked with a smile, which was soon followed by other members of the crew.

"IT'S NOTHING BUT A BOARD!" Usopp yelled.

"REALLY?!" Chopper yelled in shock.

"This is your base?" Sanji asked Shojo.

"That's right." Shojo said from his ship. "This is the base of the Saruyama Alliance!"

"Not impressed." Luna said.

"So, this Cricket guy lives in there?" Chris asked.

"Precisely." Shojo said as his ship began to sail away. "I'm gonna go look for my brother Masira. If the old man's not in, then he's diving right now. Stick around and he'll appear soon."

"Thanks!" Elizabeth yelled as a few of them waved him goodbye.

"So, what kind of dreams did this Cricket guy talk about that got him banished from town?" Nami asked.

"I don't know the details," Robin said. "But he spoke of a mountain of gold right here on Jaya Island."

"Gold?" Usopp asked.

"Like a mountain of pirate treasure?!" Nami asked.

"Who knows." Robin said before Nami started ordering the men to dig up the island.

"Why'd you have to say that Robin?" Nojiko groaned as everyone began looking around. Luffy walked over and sat on the ledge of the cliff while the others found an old story called Norland the Liar.

"What are you doing?" Luffy turned to see Anna walking towards him.

"Hey Anna." Luffy greeted as Anna sat down next to him.

"What are you doing over here?" She asked.

"Just watching the sea." Luffy answered. "Hey, can I ask you something?" Luffy said. "About your outfit?" Anna looked at him with a slight grin at his words.

"You like it? I wore it for someone, but he is too dense." She said as she stretched her arms up and her chest out. "What about you?" Luffy starts to sweat.

"Yeah." Luffy said with a faint blush. "But you do know that I am married right?" Anna sighed, but nodded. "So who's attention you trying to get?"

"Gin." Anna said with a blush.

"Really? Mr. gloomy eh?" Luffy asks with a smirk, to which Anna nods. "Don't worry Anna, if you continue in trying to get his attention, he is bound to notice."

"Yeah." She said as she walked away.

"Something wrong Anna?" Anna looked up to see Elizabeth looking at her with a canvas in her hands.

"It's nothing." Anna said. "You finished your painting?"

"Yep!" Elizabeth said with a smile as she showed Anna. "It's the Rainbow Mist. What do you think?"

"Wow!" She said. "It's like I'm staring at the real thing! Nice job!" The smile on Elizabeth's face was like a kid at Christmas.

"Heads up!" Luffy shouted as he backed away from the water as a muscular blonde man wearing only pants jumped out of the water.

"WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?!" He shouted before shifting into a fighting stance. "You punks have some nerve acting like you own this place. This part of the sea is MY turf!"

"Is that Cricket?" Gin asked before Cricket started to attack Luffy.

"Whoa! Hold it!" Luffy shouted as he dodged and blocked the man's fists and kicks before Cricket pulled out a gun and shot at Luffy, who dodged. Cricket only glared at Luffy as he kept on shooting, with Luffy dodging each shot without any problems.

"Why's he shooting?!" Usopp yelled before Cricket dropped his gun and collapsed in pain. After the initial shock, Chopper examined him before ordering everyone to help bring Cricket inside the house. He told them that Cricket was sick with Decompression Sickness, which was usually caused in divers who constantly dove under the water for days without rest and that death could come from severe cases. He had just finished explaining that Cricket would live when Masira and Shojo stuck their heads through the door and began yelling.

"HEY, YOU OKAY OLD TIMER?!" They yelled, which startled a few of the Straw Hats.

"Shh!" Vivi said with a finger to her lips. "Mr. Cricket is sick and needs rest!" Both of the monkey men looked at Cricket as he laid there in bed with cool cloths on him before crying.

"You people are so kind!" They said.

-Some time later-

Cricket had woken up and was told that Luffy and his crew wished to go to Sky Island, which made him laugh that they would want to go to a place that most said didn't exist.

"Don't! He's sick!" Usopp yelled as he, Johnny, and Yosaku restrained Nami so she didn't hit him.

"Well, about Sky Island," Cricket said as he took a puff from his cigarette. "I only know of one man who says it exists, but he's famous for being a liar. And his family's been a laughing stock ever since."

"Don't look at me!" Usopp yelled as a few of them looked at him.

"It's an old tale from North Blue called Norland the Liar." Cricket explained.

"MY NAME IS NOT NORLAND!" Usopp yelled as they looked at him again. Cricket then told them all that he was Norland's descendant, despite the fact that there wasn't any of Norland's blood in his veins, and that Jaya was the place where the City of Gold was supposed to be. He then told them that the Montblanc family was exiled from the country and lived in shame, yet none of them hated Norland because he was indeed an honest man. When the Straw Hats mentioned the picture book, Cricket told them that he was crying at his death and not smiling like an idiot as depicted in the book. "So you're here to find the City of Gold and bring honor to your family name!" Usopp shouted.

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME!" Cricket yelled as he shot his pistol above Usopp's head, startling the Straw Hats that were listening. "I DON'T CARE IF HE WAS A LIAR, OR IF HE WAS TELLING THE TRUTH! I DON'T CARE IF HE WAS A GREAT EXPLORER EITHER! NONE OF THAT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH ME! DO ANY OF YOU HAVE THE FAINTEST IDEA WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE A KID OF THE MONTBLANC FAMILY?! TO BE LAUGHED AT BY EVERYONE AROUND BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE BLOOD OF AN IDIOT RUNNING THROUGH THEIR VEINS?! IT'S NOT A LIFE ONE WANTS WHILE GROWING UP!" All of them looked at Cricket as he calmed down and explained that his family line spent their lives searching for the City of Gold, but none of them even found this island. He told them about how he ran away and became a pirate to escape his family's name and had many adventures, but ended up on this very island 10 years ago. He then decided that him landing there was fate, and decided to search for the City of Gold while his pirate crew abandoned him. "If it exists, that's fine. If it doesn't exist, that's fine too. I'm not doing this to prove his innocence. This is a battle with the man who ruined my life. I want to settle things with him, before I die." Many of the Straw Hats were struck by his words, including the two swordsman and sharpshooter who were crying their eyes out.

"Y-You're a true man." Usopp said through his tears.

"And the big apes?" Elizabeth asked.

"I bet there's a grand story behind that as well." Johnny said as he wiped his eyes.

"One of hardships and such that only true men could face." Yosaku cried out.

"They're fans of the book." Cricket said.

"FANS?!" The trio yelled, their tears dried instantly. Cricket explained that 5 or 6 years ago, the two of them barged onto his land after hearing rumors about him, saying that they believe that Norland was telling the truth about the gold. He told them that before they arrived, the isolation he suffered from diving into the cold, dark depths of the sea had become unbearable, and that they saved his life by proclaiming themselves as his followers and rampaging around.

"My life was saved by those two simple-hearted idiots." Cricket said, earning more tears from the trio earlier. Luffy smiled at his story, having also once suffered that lonely feeling and glad that his friends drove it away.

"So, can you help us get to Sky Island?" Luffy asked, earning a chuckle from Cricket as he pulled out Norland's Log book and had Nami read a few lines. Nami began to read the entry that Cricket pointed out, which talked about wavers and skyfish. Practically all of the crew were enthralled with the idea of going to Sky Island as Cricket stepped outside and walked towards Masira and Shojo, who were fighting for some weird reason. He asked if they liked them and that they were set on going to Sky Island. The both of them were stretching as he asked if they wanted to help them get there. Cricket then called the crew out to explain earlier all that he knew about Sky Island. About a cloud called Cumuloregalis that didn't have air current, didn't produce rain that floated in the sky for thousands of years, like a fossilized cloud. How it didn't let any sunlight through, causing day to turn to night, and that Sky Island was probably on that cloud. He told them about the Knock-Up Stream and how it could connect the sea and sky for a full minute. The crew began to have second thoughts about it, thinking that the random Knock-Up Stream and the cloud wouldn't align before their Log Pose reset. Cricket then explained that the Knock-Up Stream would happen tomorrow in the south, and that the cloud would be in that area as well, shocking the crew. Usopp was about to run his mouth off at all these coincidences, causing Usopp to instead ask how Cricket knew all this would happen when Masira, Shojo, and Sanji began calling everyone inside for food. Cricket explained that Masira recorded that whenever night suddenly fell in his territory, he always sees a Cumuloregalis cloud in the sky to the south. He also said that based on the cycle of five times a month, the Knock-Up Stream will most likely occur tomorrow in the south as well.

"I'm not 100% on it, but there's a chance that both events will coincide." Cricket said. "I'm happy to have met a bunch of dream chasing idiots like you. Now, let's go inside and eat, my friends."

-Much later-

Cricket's house was noisy that night with the party going on. The Straw Hats and Saruyama Alliance were eating, drinking, laughing, and falling over themselves. The Saruyama alliance was stunned to hear that Vivi was a princess after she removed her mask due to Luffy saying they could be trusted. As they partied, Cricket told them all about Norland's final entry in his Logbook, stating that he saw the gold in the Skull's Right Eye. He knew not what it meant after all the years he had been on Jaya, but it didn't bother him at all and that he would dive because he had a dream before taking another drink. Everyone laughed and partied as Cricket told them of another Log entry about a strange bird and a the sound of a huge, golden bell. Shortly after, he showed everyone three small bell shaped ingots made of gold, and a statue of gold in the shape of a Southbird.

"People back then used to bring Southbirds along on their ships to-" Masira began before he, Shojo, and Cricket all seemed to realize something.

"OH SHIT!" They yelled.

"What? What's wrong?" Usopp asked.

"Listen here you guys. You gotta get to the forest to the south and find a Southbird." Cricket yelled. He explained that since this was the Grand Line, regular compasses wouldn't work, and that the area they were going was out at sea, rendering the Log Pose useless. He told them that the Southbird's always point towards the south no matter what, and that if they didn't get one then they'd have to forget about going to Sky Island.

"AND YOU'RE TELLING US NOW?!" Most of them shouted before they ran out of the house.

"It's the middle of the night, and you want us to go trudging around in the forest?" Usopp yelled.

"Here, you forgot these!" Cricket yelled as he threw three nets towards them. "You guys have until dawn to catch a Southbird and bring it back here. We'll enhance your ship to withstand the journey while you're gone. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea to have a party."

"Now you tell us?!" Ussop yelled as they started for the forest.

"Hey, Luffy!" Zoro yelled. Everyone looked to see that Luffy was facing out towards the sea. "The forest is this way."

"I'm amazed you could tell, Moss Head." Sanji said as he lit a cigarette. Zoro glared at him as Anna walked towards Luffy.

"Something wrong Luffy?" she asked.

"There's a ship coming this way." Luffy said.

"A ship?" Vivi asked.

"He's right." Usopp said as he looked out towards the sea with his goggles down. "It's a pirate ship!"

"Tch. Probably some punks wanting my gold." Cricket said. "We'll handle them."

"It's Bellamy." Luffy said.

"Bellamy?!" Most of them said.

"That asshole that thrashed you guys at the bar earlier?" Anna asked.

"You mean the crew that likes to buy women?" Sanji asked with a dark glare.

"Hope you don't mind, but a few of us will stay and help just in case." Jones said.

"I said we'd handle it." Cricket said. "You guys need to find that bird."

"Our Captain has other ideas." Gin said as Luffy crossed his arms as he stood out near the ledge next to the water.

"Fine. But if he's here to fight us, stay out of it." Cricket said. In the end, Luffy, Zoro, Gin, Anna, Jones, Arlong, Kuro, Luna, Johnny, and Yosaku stayed behind while everyone else decided to hunt for the bird.

"Knock em dead guys!" Nami yelled as they ran into the forest.

"If they so much as hurt one hair on Anna-swan's or Luna-chan's head, you shitheads are gonna answer to me!" Sanji yelled.

"Go get that bird!" Masira yelled.

"You'll need it to get to Sky Island." Shojo yelled. The group then disappeared into the woods while the others stayed to fight Bellamy.

-On Bellamy's ship-

"Hey Bellamy." Said their navigator. "Look who's there to greet us."

"Huh?" Bellamy asked as he was given the binoculars. He looked before he started busting up laughing. "It's that Straw Hat punk and his crew of dreamers!"

"No surprise that he's here! That Cricket guy and his monkeys are a bunch of dumb dreamers too!" Sarquiss said before the whole crew began to laugh.

"Let's show those dreamers the cruelty of reality." Bellamy said with a grin.

-At Cricket's house-

Bellamy and his crew stood across from Luffy's group and the Saruyama Alliance, each of them either smiling or smirking.

"Nice to see you cowards again!" Bellamy laughed. "Though considering that this is a home to fellow dreamers, I can't say I'm surprised!"

"What do you punks want?" Cricket demanded.

"That's simple." Bellamy said. "We heard that you and your monkeys found some gold. Hand it over."

"You should consider leaving before you get us angry." Shojo stated.

"Coming here in the middle of the night and demanding gold?" Masira asked before laughing and cracking his knuckles. "Get lost. We got work to do."

"Those monkeys and cowards your bodyguards?" Bellamy asked before laughing. "I heard of the sad tale of the Montblanc family. Brought a tear to my eye. Let me tell you all what they call me. They HYENA!" He yelled with his tongue sticking out and laughing.

"Are you gonna brag about your dumb name, or are you gonna fight?" Gin asked. Bellamy only grinned as Sarquiss and most of Bellamy's ran towards them.

"Kill the cowards, then the monkeys!" Sarquiss yelled as they brought out their weapons and attacked.

"They're after you first." Cricket said. "Guess you guys get first crack."

-Zoro Vs. Sarquiss-

Sarquiss charged towards Zoro while brandishing his weapon, a sword that looked like a giant bent knife.

"Time to die!" Sarquiss yelled with a grin on his face as he swung his at Zoro. The sound of metal striking metal was heard as Zoro lifted his white blade and unsheathed only fraction of it, stopping Sarquiss's blade dead. "What?!" Sarquiss yelled as he pushed with all his strength, while Zoro merely stood there and stared at Sarquiss. He smirked before he swiftly brought his blade out, disarmed Sarquiss, slashed acrossed his chest, and resheated the blade all before Sarquiss hit the ground. He stared at Sarquiss before turning to watch Johnny and Yosaku fight their battles, while also remaining on guard in case anyone tried to attack him while his back was turned.

-Johnny Vs. Hewitt-

Johnny was fending off Hewitt's slashes, looking for an opening to strike. Hewitt was relentless, but sloppy as all he did was blindly swing at Johnny, who either dodged or blocked with his own blade. The two of them were deadlocked before Johnny knocked Hewitt's blade aside, allowing Johnny to give Hewitt a quick slash across his chest. Hewitt fumbled as he grasped at his wound while glaring at Johnny.

"What happened?" Johnny asked with a smile. "Considering you didn't break a sweat while pummeling me at the pub earlier, I thought you'd be tougher."

"SCREW YOU!" Hewitt yelled as he lunged at Johnny, only for Johnny to smash his face in with the hilt of his blade. Hewitt stumbled before he dropped his blade and fell to the ground.

'Either he's really weak," Johnny thought as he took a few deep breaths and looked down at himself. 'Or I'm actually starting to get stronger.'

-Yosaku Vs. Ross-

Ross was giving Yosaku a hard time as he was pushing his blade against Yosaku's, both of them using all their strength to keep their opponent from gutting the other.

"Give it up." Ross said. "You and your crew are nothing but pathetic dreamers."

"It's because we've been chasing our dreams," Yosaku grunted before the two of them jumped back. "That we've even made it this far!"

"Then your dreams end here!" Ross yelled as the two of them charged at each other.

'Our dreams,' Yosaku thought as their blades clashed before his blade broke Ross's blade and slashed Ross. 'Won't die!'

-Gin Vs. Rivers-

Gin was duking it out with Rivers, with Rivers looking like a bloody mess.

'Where'd this speed and strength come from?!' Rivers thought before Gin landed a solid blow at his ribs.

"You and your crew should've listened and left." Gin said with an evil glare. Rivers's only response was a dark chuckle as he glared right back at Gin.

"Like we'd run from you weaklings!" He said. "Our captain's got a 55,000,000 berry bounty on his head! Even if we lose, he'll still crush you little termites!"

"Maybe," Gin said before landing a swift kick to his chin, knocking him out. "But I highly doubt it."

-Anna Vs. Mani-

Mani was growing more and more frustrated with each punch of hers that missed Anna, who was laughing all the time. Anna popped her umbrella open and twirled it at Mani, who responded by grabbing the end and throwing it skyward. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw that Anna wasn't behind the umbrella.

"What the- Where'd that bitch go?!" She yelled, not noticing that Anna had changed her weight to 1 kilo and was curled up inside her umbrella right above her.

"Right here!" Mani turned just in time to see Anna fall right on top of her at 100 kilos, smashing and pinning her to the ground. Mani struggled under her weight while Anna sat on Mani's belly, laughing while looking down at her. "How do you like my Kilo-Kilo fruit?"

"A Devil Fruit?" Mani asked in shock as she struggled.

"That's right." Anna said. "Crescendo Stone! How many kilos can you handle?" She asked as she slowly began to increase her weight. "Right now, I'm at 100 kilos." Mani struggled to get Anna off of her, but it was all in vain as she felt the increased pressure on her midsection. "150...200...250...300."

"Stop!" Mani yelled, finally at her limit. "I give! I give!"

"Only at 300 kilos?" Anna asked with a laugh. "You wimp."

-Luffy Vs. Bellamy-

Bellamy only watched as his crew got beaten with a grin while Luffy glared at Bellamy.

"Last warning." Luffy said. "Take your crew and leave."

"HAHA!" Bellamy laughed as he glared at Luffy. "Why would I leave when the real show hasn't started?" Luffy only sighed and closed his eyes, which prompted another fit of laughter from Bellamy. "Just gonna stand there and take it like earlier, huh?! Alright then, I"ll make this quick!" He then crouched down as his legs coiled up.

"It's over for that shrimp!" Sarquiss said as he started getting to his feet. "He's gonna wipe the floor with Straw Hat with his Spring Spring Fruit." Bellamy then launched himself towards Luffy, laughing like a maniac as he prepared to finish Luffy off.

Luffy's eyes flew open. Bellamy was a foot away from Luffy before a giant cloud of dust kicked up, blocking Luffy and Bellamy from everyone's view. The Straw Hats looked with neutral expressions while the Bellamy Pirates were cheering.

"That shrimp's dead now!" Sarquiss yelled as the dust started to clear. "No one can stand up t-" His words died in his throat as he and the Bellamy pirates stared in horror. Their captain, who had won every fight he'd fought, was now in a 8 foot wide by 3 foot deep crater in the ground with a black mark on his face from Luffy slamming the staff part of his scythe into Bellamy. Luffy looked down at Bellamy as he placed his hat back on his head.

"Not bad." Cricket said as he, Shojo, and Masira smiled.

"Bellamy...lost?" Lily asked in disbelief while the Straw Hats slowly began to smile at the scene.

"No way." Sarquiss said as he trembled. "It's a joke, right? Come on Bellamy. Stand up and show him what you're made of!" Bellamy didn't move from where he lay unconscious, which served to irk Sarquiss. "This is not funny anymore Bellamy! Stand up already! You're the 55,000,000 berry Big-Time Rookie, remember?!"

"Just admit defeat." Jones said.

"SHUT UP!" Sarquiss yelled as he glared at Luffy. "THE LITTLE BRAT JUST GOT A LUCKY HIT! NOTHING MORE!"

"You've lost." Luffy said as he looked towards the Bellamy Pirates, both beaten and watching from the sidelines. "Leave."

"Fuck you!" Sarquiss growled before he grabbed his knife and charged at Luffy. "THERE'S NO WAY WE'RE LOSING TO A BUNCH OF DREAM CHASING WANNA-BE PIRATES!" Sarquiss roared as he slashed at Luffy, who easily caught the blade mid-swing. Luffy glared at Sarquiss before releasing a small wave of Haki, clearly no longer tolerating them being there. Everyone felt the power as the Straw Hats remained the same and the Saruyama Alliance's eyes widened in surprise. The Bellamy Pirates however, were staring in utter terror.

'That feeling!' Sarquiss thought as an image of Doflamingo came to his mind for a split second. That was all he needed to finally realize that they were screwed. "RUN!" He yelled as he and the rest of the Bellamy Pirates gathered their fallen friends and retreated to their ship before sailing away.

"One hit?" Anna asked in disappointment. "I know you're strong Luffy, but that guy was pathetic. Still, glad to see him gone."

"That was awesome Big Bro!" Johnny said.

"Just up and WHAM, one hit!" Yosaku added.

"Yes not bad indeed, captain." Kuro says with a smirk

"Not bad kid." Cricket said. "Now, GET OUT THERE AND HELP YOUR FRIENDS FIND THAT SOUTHBIRD!" Luffy and his friends jumped at Cricket's words before they all scrambled towards the forest. Cricket sighed before turning to Masira and Shojo. "Get your crews you two. We got a ship to enhance."

- Meanwhile in the forest-

Nami, Nojiko, Sanji, Usopp, Chris, Chopper, Elizabeth, Kaya, Merry, Robin, Vivi, and Carue were walking in the forest looking for the Southbird that they needed to capture.

'If only Usopp, Chris and Merry weren't here.' Sanji thought as he looked at all the ladies. 'Then it'd just be a romantic walk through the forest with me and all these ladies...and a lady-to-be.' He thought when he saw Elizabeth. He turned his attention to the other women before a big grin came to his face.

"Why couldn't we have done this during the day?" Usopp asked fearfully as he clung to Sanji's back, which annoyed Sanji as it was interrupting his thoughts of the women.

"Stop being a baby." Chris said. "I don't want to be out here looking for dumb birds either."

"The faster we catch it, the faster we can get out of here." Nojiko said.

"From what Mr. Cricket said, the Southbird constantly points towards the South and has a very strange call."

JYOOOO~

"That has to be it." Nami said.

"Now that we know what it sounds like, we should split up and search for it." Robin suggested.

"Right. Three nets, three teams." Sanji suggested. "Let's get that bird!"

"YEAH!" They all shouted before splitting. Usopp, Nami, and Sanji were one team. Vivi, Carue, Chopper, and Elizabeth were another. Chris, Nojiko, and Robin formed the final team before they all split.

-Team 1-

Usopp, Nami, and Sanji were looking for the bird while keeping their ears open.

"Jyooo~! Come out bird! Jyooo~!" Usopp called, which annoyed the other two before Sanji threw the net over his face. "Why'd you do that? Hey, where'd you get that thing Nami?"

"What thing?" Nami asked as she looked at her butt, which had a huge tarantula on it. "YAAAAH! SPIDER! GET IT AWAY!" She yelled as she and Sanji ran off.

"Aw, come here little guy." Usopp said as he carefully picked the spider up.

"I hate spiders!" Nami yelled before a few started raining on her and Sanji, making them run again while Usopp just smiled.

"Don't worry guys. These guys don't bite if you don't anger or frighten them." He said as he gently petted the one on his arm with his finger.

"GET IT AWAY! I HATE THOSE LITTLE THINGS!" Nami yelled.

"I HATE LITTLE HAIRY BUGS! THROW IT AWAY!" Sanji yelled.

"Really? Then you're okay with those moths and centipedes behind you?" Usopp asked. Nami and Sanji's jaws dropped in horror before turning around.

"AHHHHH!" They screamed as the bugs started moving before they ran off.

"WAIT UP!" Usopp shouted.

-Team 2-

"That sounded like screaming." Robin said as she, Nojiko, and Chris searched for a Southbird.

"Probably being attacked by something like we are." Chris said as he punched a giant centipede, blowing it up.

"Big, aren't they?" Robin asked, making Nojiko snicker. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Nojiko said before stepping in a quagmire and began to sink. "CRAP!"

-Team 3-

Vivi and Elizabeth were riding on Carue and Chopper, who were running for their very lives after a Southbird dropped a bee's nest down near them. They finally got away, albeit with a few bee stings before another nest was dropped near them.

"I AM SERIOUSLY HATING THIS FOREST!" Elizabeth yelled as Chopper looked up at the trees.

"There it is!" He said, causing them all to look at the strange bird as it made noises. "He said 'I'll kill anyone who disturbs this forest'!"

-With Johnny and Yosaku-

Luffy's group entered the forest to aid in the search of the Southbird before splitting into teams themselves. Johnny and Yosaku spotted a Southbird before running for their lives when a horde of pigs ran at them.

"I HATE THAT BIRD!" They shouted as they ran for it. They kept on running until they heard screams approaching them.

"Make way! Coming through!" Usopp yelled as he, Sanji, and Nami ran by them with a legion of cockroaches following.

"GROSS! GROSS! GROSS! GROSS!" Nami shrieked as all six of them ran.

-With Gin and Zoro-

Both men were taking out anything that came towards them, from mantises to centipedes, before the two of them began hacking away at the forest.

"Fucking little flying rat!" Gin snarled.

"When I get my hands on it, I'm gonna cut it's wings off!" Zoro growled.

"That's not a very nice thing to do to a bird." Both men looked to see Robin smiling at them, with Nojiko and Chris approaching them.

"So, how'd the fight go?" Robin asked.

"What fight?" Gin asked as if he'd heard a lame joke.

"I thought I felt Luffy's Haki earlier." Nojiko said.

"Just scaring off those who still thought they had a chance of beating us." Zoro answered before he started walking.

"We just came from that direction." Gin said, stopping Zoro in his tracks.

"Still no sense of direction." Nojiko said before they all started looking for the Southbird.

"Shut up!"

-With Luffy and Anna-

"Look!" Luffy yelled as he dug under a tree.

"The Southbird?" Anna asked. "They live in the ground?"

"No, this!" Luffy said in excitement as he pulled out a big kabuto beetle. "It's Hercules!"

"A kabuto beetle?!" Anna yelled as he pulled off his shirt to wrap the beetle in so it couldn't get away. Anna stared at his torso as his muscles moved around under his skin, drawing a smile on her face. They soon heard some rustling nearby. She whipped around while Luffy smiled.

"Hey guys." Luffy called as Chopper, Elizabeth, Vivi, and Carue sped past them, followed by a swarm of poisonous hornets. Luffy decided to speed up the search and use his Haki on everything besides his friends. Soon, everything was falling unconscious around him, including a Southbird that was directing the hornets. "Got it!" Luffy yelled as he picked the bird up. "Let's get back to the house!"

"That was easy." Anna laughed as the two of them began walking away with the others slowly following them.

"Sometimes, I really hate how easy Luffy can do all that." Chopper said.

Luffy, Anna, Chopper, Vivi, Elizabeth, and Carue all walked out of the forest and towards Cricket's house, where they saw Cricket, Masira, Shojo, and both ape men's crews, and sailors from the Iowa working together to enhance their ship.

"Wow! You guys are really working!" Chopper said in awe.

"Of course." Cricket said before he spotted the Southbird and smiled. "But not as fast as you guys though."

"Yeah, after those bees and everything chased us around the forest." Elizabeth said in irritation.

"And I got you guys something cool for helping us!" Luffy said before carefully picking up the Hercules beetle out of his rolled up shirt and showing it to them all. "It's Hercules!"

"Ohhh!" Shojo said from where he was working as he and Masira smiled. "Thank you! Men, prepare a cage for it!" He ordered, to which they replied.

"Still, we should probably let the others know that we have the Southbird." Vivi said before looking at the forest.

"I got it." Luffy said before releasing another wave of Haki towards the forest. "Now, we wait."

"Pardon me." Anna said before dragging Chopper away and onto their ship.

"What's she doing?" Luffy asked as Shojo's men took the beetle and put it in a cage.

"Dunno." Elizabeth said before walking a few feet away and lying down on the grass. "Wake me when we get ready to leave." She said while Cricket laughed.

"I guess I forgot to say, but Southbirds don't take kindly to intruders." He said.

"I wish you had told us that before we went in there!" Vivi yelled while Luffy laughed. "It's not funny!"

"It's not that!" Luffy said as he put his shirt back on. "They may be smaller, but all those things in the forest reminded me of home! There were giant animals and stuff there as well!"

'No wonder he's so strong.' Vivi thought as she and Carue had sweatdrops on their heads. They waited for a few moments before the rest of the crew began showing up.

"Hey, Luffy!" Usopp called as the others walked towards them.

"You already got the Southbird?" Gin asked.

"Yeah." Luffy said before pointing at Vivi's group. "These guys were being chased by bees, so I used my Haki to knock the bees out and accidentally knocked the Southbird out cold."

"Very impressive." Robin said with a smile before Nami ran to Luffy, who was not quite prepared. He wrapped his arms around her once he noticed that she was trembling.

"What's wrong love?" Luffy asked as he embraced her.

"I wish you had been in there with me." She said quietly, which concerned him.

"Nami, what happened." He asked as he used his pointer finger and thumb to lift her chin.

"She apparently is scared of bugs." Usopp said in passing. "But also is Sanji." Usopp says, gaining the attention of Zoro, Gin, Jones and some sailors from the Iowa.

"Is that so?" Kelly Kroger asks with a gleam in his eyes, as well as Gin, Jones, and Zoro, that makes Sanji start to sweat and have a chill run down his spine.

"Here love, I think you need to sit down, can't have you getting worked up." Luffy says making a chair appear out of black mist shocking Cricket, Shojo, and Masira.

"I-I think that is a good idea." She says pushing Luffy into the chair and sitting on his lap.

"Regardless, we now have a Southbird." Sanji said as he looked down at the bird that was still out cold, trying to ignore the looks from Zoro, Jones, Gin, Kroger and some soldiers. "So after our ship's upgraded, we'll be all set to go to Sky Island."

"We'll have the ship ready long before we have to leave," Masira said. "In the meantime, you guys relax or whatever!"

"I'll lend a hand!" Usopp said as he picked up some wood and a hammer.

"Johnny! Yosaku!" Zoro called as he unsheathed his white blade. "Come on you two! We're gonna get some training in before we go!"

"Right!" They both yelled as they got out their own blades. Soon, each of the Straw Hats were either training, helping with the ship, or just relaxing.

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ElderH