One Piece - Tales of the Pirate King

Disclaimer: One Piece is property of Eiichiro Oda. I am not Eiichiro Oda

Chapter 8 - The First Obstacles

"Woohoo!" - Came down the mountain

The Going Merry, the little caravel, had just finished climbing the Red Line, through mysterious channels that linked all four oceans of the world into one spot, before being funnelled to another channel by the currents powerful enough to climb the massive mountain, into the Grand Line, also known as 'the Pirate Graveyard' and by a select few, 'Paradise'

Spirits were flying high, literally too, as they flew into the clouds again, appearing below them, fortunately without rain, unlike their entrance. Gin was the only one not celebrating their first step into the greatest adventure in the real world, instead stroking his chin as he tried to remind something really important

Nothing came up, yet 'the Ogre' still believed something really important was coming up, and he finally remembered, as a loud moaning noise, making all pause: - "Fuck!"

"What is it, Gin!?" - Asked the captain of the crew, seeing the almost stricken look on his fighter's face

Gin pointed forward, and spoke, his face frozen in an expression of panic: - "There's an island whale living at the end of the channel!"

A beat, and an echoed shout of: - "What!?"

"Stop the Merry!" - "How, you nitwit!?" - Called Luffy, receiving a dope slap from Nami, the girl almost falling as Luffy was hanging on his seat; the crew more or less ran around like headless chickens, until another moan had them clutching their heads, as the sound stunned them with its sheer loudness

"Luffy!" - Called Usopp, using his glasses to spy forward, and scared out of his mind: - "T-the channel is ex-expanding, a-and there's s-something blue o-o-on the w-way that I-I don't think it is w-water!"

From his coat, the captain drew a spyglass, because what pirate captain wouldn't have one, and also looked forward, and blanched, as indeed a blue something that was not water stood in front of them. And it was massive

"That's a whale!?" - Came from Nami, drawing Luffy from his stupor, the boy, spying an opening, pointing at the cabin: - "Crew! Maximum force to port!"

And the crew tried, they really did; but with Merry's steering post broken and the violent currents, it was an impossible battle, Zoro, Gin and Sanji trying at the same time to move the stump that remained, the rudder staying as straight as the channel itself

As the ship approached, Luffy had one of those moments of brilliance that only he could have, as the simplest solution presented itself; entering the chamber below the figurehead, Luffy put his hands on the cannon present there, and thanked whatever god existed that he bothered Usopp into teaching him how to fire it

The blast echoed and slowed the ship severely, especially as it finally collided with the giant whale, breaking its figurehead, drawing a frown from Luffy, but fortunately, they had more important things to think about: - "T-the cannon" - "We stopped?"

"Oi, you idiots" - Shouted Usopp: - "What are you doing! Row! Row the Merry away from that thing!"

And the crew didn't hesitate, as, while being ordered around by Usopp of all people felt rather weird, the other alternative was staying in the face of a giant whale, who could easily dive and capsize their little caravel, the crew hastily rowing their ship away from the massive cetacean

They rested a little, and the crew realized something: - "… Luffy?" - Their captain, their boisterous, happy-go-lucky captain, was weeping openly, hugging the fallen head of the Merry, as apparently, quote: - "Merry lost her head~"

Though, the crew didn't quite understand the repeated mantra, as the tears and sobs made translation into their language impossible. Fortunately, they had metal plates and said head fell on the ship, so it was only a matter of time to repair the Merry's figurehead and put it back in its proper place

It did end with Luffy hugging Usopp, the repairman, much to his discomfort, as Luffy declared Usopp his most favourite person on the ship

Then the whale dived, the waves almost sunk the Merry, and the 'Straw Hats' desperately rowed away from the beast

"Woo, that was scary" - The crew found a small port village, completely deserted, the inhabitants running away from the mysterious pirate crew, as it is better to be safe than sorry

Nami stretched, wearing a cyan shirt with a blue heart, and commented, agreeing with her captain: - "Uhum, I fear what'd happen if Gin had forgotten"

"Knowing our luck, we'd be eaten and still find a way to get out" - The man, hearing his name being spoken, spoke too

The crew was more or less relaxing, after their brush with a very unusual death, and all looked baffled as the whale emerged, and they realized there was a massive door on its side, a door that a few moments later opened, much to their surprise, an iron boat that resembled an island sailing from it

That was how they met Crocus, caretaker of the lighthouse of Twin Peaks, as the man glared at them from within his boat. The man was bald at the top of his head, but with white hair at the sides of his head and what appeared to be blue and yellow petals around his head, with a white beard split into two bards; stocky and muscular, the man was also wearing a pink shirt with a yellow and green stripe in the middle, blue-grey shorts, and sandals, with three golden bracelets and another with green gems on his left arm

And finishing the look, glasses, from which he glared above of, staring into the very soul of the 'Straw Hat' pirates

"Who… are you?" - Asked Nami, hiding behind Gin, much to his amusement

A beat, as the man glared at them, and the crew, sweating, stared in turn

After a few seconds of serious silence: - "You know, it is just polite to introduce yourself when you want to know about someone"

"Ah, hahaha, sure, I'm Nami, and-" - "My name is Crocus, I was born on the fourth of January, my type blood is AB-"

"Are you serious!" - Exclaimed the ginger, as Gin hastily stopped her from jumping at him: - "Let go of me! I'll beat the crap out of him!"

"I recommend you don't do that. Somebody might-" - "Stop laughing, you jerk!" - Crocus' implied threat went unheard, as Gin finally gave in, laughing in Nami's face and receiving a slap in turn, finally releasing the tangerine-haired girl

The flower-like old man squinted his eyes, and finally spoke: - "I recognize you from somewhere"

Nodding, Gin reintroduced himself: - "I'm Gin, I was here with 'Don' Krieg a month ago"

"Really? What are you doing here now?" - And as 'the Ogre' spoke easily with the caretaker of the whale, Nami giving him the stink eye, the crew truly learned of Crocus, caretaker not only of the lighthouse, but also Laboon, the whale abandoned fifty years ago by its adoptive crew, the cetacean now crying to the Red Line, refusing to believe he was abandoned and repeatedly ramming onto the mountain, desiring to break it in two and go to the other side to meet his family, believing it to be stuck on the other side

Nami and Usopp cried openly, much to Gin's awkwardness, as the girl did so on his shoulder, while the rest of the crew was sombre, except Luffy. Luffy was planning to jump in the air, and punch the whale in the face, to challenge it into a duel and give it something else to focus on, but Zoro knew his captain and Usopp his best friend, and thus Luffy found himself jumping inside a barrel and quickly hammered into place, Zoro standing on Usopp's shoulders to catch their captain

Some small talk followed, Crocus teaching how to actually use the Log Pose, the unique compass needed to navigate the Grand Line; it would lock down on the magnetic field of a neighbour island, and would guide the travellers to the next island in a trail of island to island, allowing for the actual navigation on the Grand Line and its insane weather, until its final destination, Raftel and, supposedly, One Piece

"Hm, almost forgot" - Finally, as he said goodbye, Crocus dumped two people in front of him. One was a woman with cyan hair and sharp features, dressed in a rather provocative blue top with lighter concentric circles on her breasts and belly, white short shorts, all under a pale green coat with white fur lining around the neck; the other was a man wearing a golden crown over his red hair, two nines on his cheeks, wearing a green suit with white lace and a red ruffled scarf

"When you sail away, do dump these two far away into the ocean, okay? I've grown tired of these two trying to hurt Laboon" - And he went back into his boat, rowing back into the opening on the side of Laboon, closing it and going away

His comment clearly drew outrage of the pair, but they bottled up their anger and simply stared sullenly at the crew in front of them, tied up and extremely flustered, having fired bazookas at the old coot and the man not only living, but trouncing them too!

"So, who are you? I'm Luffy" - Finally, after an awkward staring contest, Luffy broke free from his barrel, gaining an incredulous stare from the pair: - "I'm Miss Wednesday…" - "And I am Mister Nine" - "What… were you doing in the barrel?"

"I/He wanted to fight the whale" - Glibly answered Luffy, Zoro also giving his own, more deadpan answer, drawing further incredulity from the pair, and a comment from Usopp: - "Yeah, our captain is insane. But only we can call him that!"

"So, Miss Wednesday" - Then the lass flinched, as Luffy appeared dangerously close to her: - "What 'cha doing?" - "W-What?" - "What did you do to piss off the flower-guy?"

"… Whaling" - "What?" - "… We were trying to hunt down the whale. It would feed our city for at least a year" - Humming his understanding, Luffy could see what was the cause of the conflict; no way in hell would old man Crocus let anyone hurt his friend! But as he looked at the tied-up couple in front of him, Luffy couldn't get himself to be angry

Finally, Luffy decided: - "You know, you aren't bad people, are you?" - "Eh?" - "I like you two. Shishishishi"

"Say, what do you two think of joining my crew?" - Their exclamation of confusion was much louder this time, the sharp-faced lass recovering first

"E-even if we wanted, we could not. We already are part of an organization that prizes itself in its secrecy. Please, don't make me say anything more" - She spoke, sharply and looking away from Luffy, refusing to see his pout

"Perhaps you could help us instead, if you like us so much?" - Started Mister Nine, Miss Wednesday continuing right after

"You see, our boat was quite damaged by the many storms one suffers while travelling through the Grand Line" - "And with the disapproval of the caretaker, there's little chance we'll find someone willing to repair it"

"So, if perhaps you could offer us a ride home~?" - Finished the lass, pouting cutely as she stared at Luffy, bending a little to flash some cleavage

Luffy, naturally, didn't even notice it: - "Hm? Sure! Say, how do we know we're locked in the right magnetic field, though?"

"Eh, I have a map with me" - And Miss Wednesday did pull a map from her coat, containing instructions to reach Whiskey Peak, the sole city in Cactus Island

And as Sanji fawned over Miss Wednesday and more or less poked Mister Nine onto the Going Merry, Nami, with the map and the Log Pose pointing at the right direction, approached her captain, asked: - "Do you really think this is a good idea?"

"Yeah, they aren't bad people, so I don't expect anything" - "Hm. If you say so, Luffy, I'll trust you" - But it was clear from her face that, while she might trust her captain, she didn't trust them

Of course, the real challenge was reaching Cactus Island. The weather could only be described as…

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THE WEATHER!?" - Nami outright stomped on Zoro's sleeping head, forcing him awake and already barking orders: - "Help Usopp with the sails! Turn hard to star- Wait, turn only slightly to starboard! And- Oh the snowstorm is abating and- Ignore previous order Usopp! Turn hard to port!"

… Complete and utter unmitigated chaos. One moment, the ocean was relatively peaceful, if slightly wavy, then the waves became so great they almost ate the little caravel, the raindrops as big as full buckets, then the rain giving way to a snowstorm of colossal proportions, followed by a massive hurricane appearing out of nowhere, followed by a heat stroke that almost incinerated the sails

And it repeated and looped and alternated in many ways, and mixed too, the entire crew and guests pausing for the memorable sight of the heat stroke igniting the hurricane. Usopp and Nami's panicked screams soon followed

Still, the chaotic weather soon passed, the ship swaying under the gentle waves of a summer breeze, Zoro stretching his neck as he scratched his chin: - "Did you really need to wake me up? It seemed like something you could deal on your-" - "Shut up shut up shut up!"

Nami didn't approve of the comment, and the swordsman was left blinking dazed as the waif slapped him silly, the green-haired man baffled with the situation and growling as Sanji fawned over his 'Nami dear' and how cute she was when angry

"Indeed, all help is necessary for survival on this sea. The Grand Line is not known for its mercy" - Commented Miss Wednesday, swaying her hips as she walked, Mister Nine right behind her, the man also commenting: - "Basically, you deserved that"

"And what are you two doing here?" - Muttered Zoro angrily, interrupted, this time, by his captain: - "Woah! Those cactus are massive!"

"The plural of cactus is cacti, captain" - Pointed out Usopp

"Well well~" - "It was indeed an arduous journey" - "But we are afraid this is goodbye" - Spoke the pair, synchronized like any good team, the pair then saying together: - "Bye bye baby~!" - Before jumping backwards from their position on the railing of the Merry and into the ocean and swimming away

"Welp, that happened" - Commented Luffy, before pointing: - "Alright, forward! After we put some non-drenched clothes" - Which was only sane, considering the sheer chaos they faced

Luffy went back to an outfit similar to the one he started, his red vest under a black coat with gold linings, and blue shorts alongside sandals and his ever-present straw hat. Nami changed into a black shirt with 'NODE' written in pink on her chest. Usopp changed from his overalls for a white shirt and brown pants filled with pockets, not changing his brown boots and the glasses he bought in Loguetown

Sanji simply traded his suit for a dry one, through at least changing his dress shirt from the blue one to a white one. Gin, without the shadows under his eyes after weeks of good sleep, wore now a long sleeved black shirt, to better hide blood splatters, khaki trousers, and black shoes

Even Zoro changed clothes, wearing a dark green shirt forced onto him by Nami, alongside actually black pants and shoes, though not even the ginger could make him abandon his green haramaki and bandana, both which he insisted in wringing out dry, his swords resting on his side

And so, they approached Cactus Island, the island covered by mist as they entered into a river that, from what Usopp could spy through the mist, cut through the entire island. The rocks were huge, each one indeed resembling a cactus, but they were rather nervous, especially as Usopp identified the thorns as several tombstones, triggering his 'I can't go into this island' Disease

Luffy questioned his sniper about such a strangely named and specific disease, but, to the tanned teen's reprieve, the mist faded, and the many shades alongside the coast revealed themselves. As if timed just for that, the shouts and screams of approval and delight washed over the crew

"Wah! So many cute girls!" - Sanji was instantly conquered, and even Usopp miraculously recovered: - "Holy crap, they like us!" - But the rest of the crew looked at each other, instincts of a bounty hunter, a cat burglar, a human demon and a wild beast all screaming the same thing: trap

Even if they did appear rather genuine. The party that celebrated their arrival was led by a man who introduced himself as Igarappoi, who had an irritating habit of clearing his throat every few words, the mayor of Whiskey Peak, and that the city celebrated 'brave warriors of the sea', also known as pirates, for their bravery and courage in facing the Grand Line

As Usopp more or less gushed at the specific wording, desiring to be recognized as a brave warrior of the sea himself, he was practically conquered already, joining the people in their silly dance. Sanji himself was surrounded by cute ladies, all wanting to drag him away to dance and date on their own, the cook somehow making them accept all twenty something of them in a group date

And just because the crew was aware that it was a trap, didn't mean they did not join it. Gin and Zoro out-drunk everyone in Whiskey Peak, 'fainting' after drinking twenty kegs each of what was probably absinthe, considering the alcohol content and taking almost a quarter of the male population and some of the female with them, in a drinking competition that ended with Nami as the winner, drinking the keg number twenty-one and 'sleeping' with her prize, a pouch filled with golden coins

Luffy himself drank only a little, lying and saying that his Devil Fruit made him super vulnerable to poisons, including alcohol, when the opposite was true, and practically ended the party when he said: - "Good night!" - Took a keg for himself, and fell, the entire crew long asleep, even if less than half actually were knocked out

It was more because his devil form was really attention catching, and he needed a little of stealth for this to work: - "Nami, you're awake?"

"Yup" - The ginger was not only awake, she was downright chirpy, as she cuddled with her bag: - "What's the plan, captain?"

"Can you take Usopp and Sanji back to the Merry? Gin, Zoro and I will deal with things here"

"I'll… need to take them one at a time, but as long as you make a good enough distraction, sure!" - And as the tangerine-haired lass gave him a thumbs-up, the ones named by Luffy also standing up

Zoro was the one who asked: - "That didn't actually answer her question, captain" - Indeed, Nami actually paused from her act of dragging Sanji in a fireman's carry to stare quizzically at Luffy

Nodding, Luffy grinned: - "After she puts Sanji and Usopp in a safe place, she'll rob everything that's not nailed down, then the nails and everything that's not nailed anymore" - And the ginger hastily ran, carrying the blond cook in the blink of an eye, loving the plan already

"Then, to ensure she succeeds, we'll cause the biggest distraction we can. Let's go boys"

"Captain" - Zoro, however, still had words to say: - "About Mister Nine and Miss Wednesday, there's some info I think you'll like to have"

"So they were the ones to bring you here after you failed your mission" - Igarappoi spoke, fingering the saxophone on his hand. He is a relatively large and big man, with a red nose not as large as Buggy's but still prominent, and was dressed in a blue suit over a white shirt, his hair an almost white blond made of large curls: - "Almost a shame to have them killed then, but business is business"

"Are they even worth anything? They seemed more like kids having fun than actual pirates" - Pointed out Miss Wednesday, the lass and her partner staring together at the man more commonly known as Mister Eight. She could only gape as he withdrew not one, but two papers

One was of Gin, 'the Ogre', the man with a wicked grin on his face as he spun one of his tonfas in the background, preparing to crush a hapless target, with the value of five million Bellys: - "According to this, he is actually from the crew of 'Foul Play' Krieg, worthy seventeen million Bellys, but clearly something happened and the poster wasn't updated yet"

The words were unheard by the pair in front of him, both staring in surprise at the second poster, one containing a grinning teen with a straw hat on his head, his hands brushing together to clear then of dirt, the photo taken when he dumped the corrupt Nezumi and the band of defeated fishmen into the small pot used by Hachi, the really attention catching detail being the bounty of thirty million Bellys that 'Straw Hat' Luffy had

"Surprising, isn't it? He defeated all the big names of the East Blue, including a fishman worthy twenty million" - Declared Mister Eight, drawing a snort from behind him

"Well, at least they're all fast asleep. We had to spike the drinks so much our own men are out" - The woman, identified by twin queries of 'Miss Monday', was dark-skinned, and even bigger and more muscular than her partner, Mister Eight, removing a nun outfit to reveal a short red and white dress with a diamond pattern and pink hair in short twin-tails

Unfortunately, her words were heard by those they least expected: - "And why would you spike the drinks?"

Behind them, was no one other than Luffy, sitting in the edge of a building, looking like an amused parent waiting to hear a child's excuse after catching them with the hand on the cookie jar

"A-aren't you supposed to be super weak to alcohol!? We gave you one of the spiked kegs!" - Exclaimed the mayor of the city, as shady individuals slowly exited buildings and houses, all with a weapon of sort, all in position to attack: - "Didn't you say your Devil Fruit made you weak to poisons!?"

"I lied" - Admitted Luffy: - "Instincts told me this was a trap, and it appear it was, really. Are you all bounty hunters?"

"Looks like, captain" - The main quartet, and almost all other bounty hunters, turned to face Gin, standing alongside Zoro on the rooftops of the bar they had partied

Zoro continued, the green-haired swordsman drawing Yubashiri: - "Only one thing left to know, then. Right, Baroque Works?"

Everyone below flinched, and Zoro and Gin grinned wickedly at having the swordsman's suspicions confirmed, even Luffy's smile gaining a more vicious edge. Baroque Works was an organization that tried to recruit Zoro long ago, but the bounty hunter refused, unless he was made the boss; the man who tried to recruit him, known then only as Mister Seven, met his end then at Zoro's blade, having tried to silence Zoro and keep Baroque Works a secret, even though the swordsman couldn't care less about it

"Still keeping the same silly number naming system, I see" - Muttered Zoro, as he dived head first into combat, Gin cackling manically, spinning his tonfas and following the first mate of the 'Straw Hats', as Luffy jumped, going away from the fight, into the tallest building of Whiskey Peak

"What are you doing!?" - "Well, Zoro and Gin are easily the strongest members of the crew" - Right behind himself and drawing with Sanji, if Luffy was completely honest: - "If they actually need any help, I'll be genuinely surprised; so I'll just watch. Also, behind you"

Mister Eight actually heeded the warning, pointing his saxophone behind him and shouting: - "Igarappa" - And, to the surprise of Luffy, from it was fired a spray of bullets, much like a shotgun or blunderbuss

Not that it helped much; Gin had literally trampled most on his path or smashed them aside with his weapons, and the spread barely fazed him, who just twitched as the bullets grazed his body, his opponent having fired too early with 'the Ogre' too far away to actually hit

Miss Monday acted in defence of her partner, however, swinging a massive ladder with a mook still hanging on at the charging man; Gin ducked under the massive improvised weapon, and slammed his own forward, crushing the ladder and nearly crushing Mister Eight

As Gin, ahem, entertained the quartet of agents, Zoro called out, blocking a cutlass with his own katana: - "Oi, captain! Sure you don't want to join?"

"Nah, you two got it" - Besides, Luffy actually had a reason for staying out. He noticed the vulture and otter shadowing the crew ever since they left Twin Capes, so he was understandably wary of them; trained small animals were actually the worst sort of opponent the captain of the 'Straw Hats' could think of, simply because their small size and unusual proportions made it a complete bitch to hit them

He had some pebbles with himself, and he was a good thrower; and while the type of beast he hunted tended to be bigger than a house, he believed he had enough skill to strike down the animals that shadowed them

That, and he knew that his crew's more bloodthirsty fighters needed to get said bloodlust out of their system. Gin was a monster on the battlefield, having already sent Mister Nine flying and contending with Mister Eight, Miss Monday and Miss Wednesday at the same time, the last woman riding a giant duck, of all things, while Zoro toyed with his enemies, testing his newly gained swords in the many weak opponents

The green-haired swordsman even had the gall to make a snack pause mid-fight, entering and exiting the bar with a piece of meat on hands, Kitetsu the Third on his left hand, frowning as he slashed away: - "Hm, sharp, aren't you?" - The fact that he slashed at a hammer and the man wielding it with the same motion had him frowning: - "Too sharp! What an unruly blade…"

Snorting at hearing the comment, Luffy started looking around, coming face to face with a ladder with a few hapless bounty hunters, all who cried in despair as Luffy simply pushed the ladder down. Seeing the gunshots coming towards him, all missing, Luffy muttered: - "Well… you were the ones who dragged me into the fight, not the other way around"

Then he grinned a sickly, maniac grin, also in place on Gin's face, and jumped

If it was already a slaughter between Zoro's swords and Gin's wrecking balls, Luffy's arsenal of techniques just made it more unfair; in no time at all, one hundred bounty hunters were defeated by the trio, Zoro taking the majority as his captain joined later and Gin focused mostly on the numbered agents

Said agents still had a bit of fight in then, even as Mister Eight's strange weapon was crushed, standing with a cutlass taken from a fallen comrade in hands, blood dripping from his forehead from a mere glancing blow; Miss Monday right behind, a knuckleduster in hands, even as only one of them could be raised, the other a bruised, bloody mess

Through, the lesser team had much less luck. The duck had long ran away, carrying his unconscious mistress on his back, the lass practically missing her left arm, having her weapon, a jewelled blade on a string, the tiny flail ensnared by Gin's tonfas and the poor girl bodily flung on a building, her partner also meeting the weapon much more directly, a direct blow to the face that left him toothless and luckily only knocked out

"Kyahaha, so much trouble with a merry band of pirates!? How pathetic!" - "Indeed. One would expect better from frontier agents"

"Are you trying to reveal more secrets!?" - Shouted Mister Eight, as he, and everyone still conscious turned to stare at the pair he shouted at, the ones of Baroque Works cheering, even as the duck of Miss Wednesday, still carrying its unconscious rider, ran past them as fast as it could. Which is pretty damn fast

The one who laughed was a pretty fair-skinned woman, with blonde short hair under a yellow and orange hat, as well as a yellow dress with a lemon-like pattern, with lemon earrings completing the motif and white heeled shoes, a yellow umbrella with blue stripes on her shoulder. And if the woman looked rather cheery, her partner simply did not, a dark-skinned man with short dreadlocks, dressed in a brown trench coat with a pink cravat and a five written over his heart and on his left shoulder

"Mister Five, Miss Valentine! Help us! These pirates already know of Baroque Works, somehow!" - Exclaimed the mayor. The answer wasn't the one he desired, but one that kept him awake for long nights

"The boss had a word about you, Mister Eight. Or should I say, Igaram, captain of the royal guard of the Alabasta royal family? He said, 'Someone knows my secret'"

"W-what-" - "Kyahaha, he didn't send us a support for you weaklings" - Laughed Miss Valentine: - "He send us to kill you and the other pesky spy!" - And in her partner hands, was a photo of Miss Wednesday, much softer and younger looking, but still recognizable

"Your time has come, Igaram and princess Vivi Nefertari"

"Igarappappa!" - The answer of Igaram had even Gin blinking through his haze, as the man pulled on his red necktie, gun barrels poking out of his hair culls and firing, blasts surrounding the Baroque Works affiliated pair: - "I, Igaram, as long as I live, will not let you touch a single hair of princess Vivi!"

"And is Nefeltari, your ignoramus!" - He followed up by firing up, the explosions causing laugher from above, strangely enough

"Wait, so I was right and Miss Wednesday is not a bad guy?" - And in the middle of the confusion, Luffy regrouped with his fighting crew and muttered to himself. Zoro answered still: - "So it seems. Last I remember, this Baroque Works is based around secrecy. Perhaps because their work is illegal?"

"Ah, so Miss Wednesday and Mister Mayor are outright good guys!" - Declared Luffy, even as a petite weight cratered the ground in front of said Mister Mayor, the man hastily retreating, Miss Monday swinging her good arm into the crater to find the lariat deflected by Miss Valentine's delicate umbrella

It somewhat inspired the crew, realizing that the quartet that Gin beat up was ultimately friendly, even towards each other, willing to lay their lives on the line for a pair of practically strangers, if they did address each other by their codename only

Grunting, Gin asked: - "So, we change targets?" - And he barely received an affirmative from his captain before he roared, charging at Mister Five, who revealed himself unscathed from the explosive munitions from Igaram

"Zoro, I know you're not Sanji, but could you check on Miss Wednesday?" - "Sure thing, captain" - And as the swordsman, satisfied with the test for his new swords, rushed after the panicked duck, much to his bemusement; Luffy charged into the battlefield, even as Mister Five exploded and actually sent Gin back a few steps

Those steps were meaningless, 'the Ogre' covering the distance with a single leap and exploding again alongside his opponent. Luffy, meanwhile, launched a candy pistol at his opponent, Miss Valentine just having gotten herself out of her crater

Miss Valentine did so by punting aside the much bigger Miss Monday, and was caught completely off guard by the slimy substance that Luffy could produce: - "Kya~! Gross, what the hell is this!?" - Then Luffy let go, his legs twisting as he prepared to land feet first on the lady. She was not expecting the assault at all, and the first technique glued itself at her when she was standing on one foot, having just kicked Miss Monday, and was thus completely unprepared to defend herself

She was much more prepared, after rolling to a stop, to at least evade from Luffy's follow-up, a lengthened heel kick: - "Candy Candy Axe!"

Rolling further away, the woman stood up, laughing and taunting Luffy: - "Kyahaha, my, looking for a fight, little boy?"

"Yeah; I kinda like Miss Wednesday" - He said, scratching his cheek, drawing further guffaws from the lass: - "So I'll protect them and kick your ass"

Sneering, she asked: - "And what makes you think you stand a chance against me?" - And the answer was interrupted by a blast right behind the pair: - "Woah, look out, Mister Five!"

"S-sorry! But this one just don't die!" - Exclaimed said man, far closer to the blonde than she expected. Gin himself was laughing like a maniac, slamming down his weights on the ground, Mister Five stepping back and calling out: - "Snipe him!" - Before exploding, the girl taken away by the blast and flying high in the sky with her umbrella

"On it! Kyahaha! Ten Thousand Kilo Press!" - And she fell, right on top of Gin: - "Geh!?" - And right on time to receive a tonfa to her stomach, 'the Ogre' twisting and spinning to slam his weapon with force, sending the girl bouncing, in spite of her supposed weight

"Two Devil Fruit users, huh?" - Noted Gin, as Mister Five exclaimed: - "M-miss Valentine! Out of the way!" - And he exploded, as Luffy tried to get him

"So, what are you?" - Asked the boy, a punch being evaded by the dark-skinned, the man trying to touch Luffy but failing as he was forced to retreat from a heel kick: - "I'm a candy man. And I heard them all, so don't even try"

"I'm a bomb man, and I'm going to blow you to smithereens!" - Declared Mister Five with a snort, preparing to jump forward and explode his entire body to kill Luffy… only to be punched aside mid-flight, the captain of the 'Straw Hats' not even paying attention

"Hm, nice. Hey Gin! Dealt with her!?" - The only answer he received was a grunt, through soon after 'the Ogre' calmed down, and gave a real answer: - "She broke one of my tonfas…" - "… What?"

"I think her power was to made herself heavier, so instead of striking what appeared to be a fifty kilograms' waif, I slammed my weapon in a slab of meat weighting a few tons. My tonfa didn't support the impact" - He raised said weapon and, sure enough, the cannonball at the tip was gone

"How did that happen?" - Asked Luffy, baffled with the situation

Shrugging his shoulders, Gin actually answered: - "I smashed her face in. Knocked her out in one blow"

"Hm, me too… that was disappointing"

"At least we dealt with them, then" - Declared Gin, rotating his shoulders

"Ahem, mah~ mah~ mah~" - Came from behind them: - "Indeed, you did" - "Mister Mayor!"

"Call me Igaram, 'Straw Hat'. Thank you for the help"

"Shishishi, no problem! I knew you weren't really bad guys!" - "Though, who exactly are you?" - Laughed Luffy, and asked Gin

"I am Igaram, captain of the royal guard of the royal family of Alabasta-"

"No offence, but we did hear that. You weren't particularly quiet" - Luffy interrupted: - "It would be more accurate to ask what are you, and why; a bounty hunter, the captain of Alabasta, something else"

"Ah, well, before I forget… did you see princess Vivi? I haven't since your brute" - He glared, surprisingly nastily, at Gin: - "Threw her at a building"

"Well, I sent Zoro after her, and-" - And here Luffy realized a flaw on his plan. He sent Zoro after a duck, one that was scared out of his mind

And he laughed, as Zoro came calling: - "Somebody stop that bloody duck!" - And ran as fast as he could, left behind in the dust by said duck, who ran with the unconscious girl still on his back

And that was how 'Straw Hat' Luffy got himself into the biggest mess possible on the first quarter of Paradise

AN: And that's a chapter. Now, unfortunately, I have some bad news

University is coming up. It starts for me on the Friday the sixth; thankfully, I won't have classes on Saturday, so I believe I'll be able to release at least another chapter before classes bog me down

Oh well, there are things one must do, even if we don't particularly like them

Also, completely unrelated, Nefeltari, or Nefertari? The wiki uses both

Review time: sudhush, thank you for your review, and yeah, Logia fights are... interesting, to write. Which is just a polite way to say they're a pain

And Elfyliane, don't worry about Smokey, he's a big man and, more importantly, a marine; they have reserve weapons by the bulk. And Zoro... isn't quite embarrassed by Tashigi, but to him it was like facing a child Kuina; even more than just a physical resemblance, Tashigi acts just like Kuina did before her death; if anything, he's extremely unsettled

Canon Divergence time: There's only one this time, and poor poor Laboon, not having the 'Straw Hats' jolly roger to stop his grief. Don't worry, fans of the whale and of Brook, while the crew refused to let Luffy be suicidally reckless, there's no way in hell I'll kill Laboon. Brook would find a way to manifest on the real world and kill me if I did

And surprisingly, the Battle of Whiskey Peak is not divergent. Zoro did curbstomp one hundred bounty hunters alone before, and he and Luffy, while fighting, didn't even notice the Mister Five pair, defeating them in one blow; the addition of Gin and later, Luffy, just made the fight easier, especially as the two strongest 'Straw Hats' weren't at each other throats, instead focusing on the poor sods

And that's the author notes. Leave a comment and review, thank you for your attention, and 'till next time

Peace!