The sharks that had moments ago been savagely berating their ships had now scurried away in a hurry, obviously terrified by the ship and its crew that were currently guiding the Straw Hats to the island. Luffy sat cross legged on Sunny's figurehead while the rest of the crew remained on deck, keeping a watchful eye on their new 'friends'.
They eventually docked; they quickly jumped off the ship and landed on the harbor. They took in their surroundings: the island seemed to have a very small population that lived – to put it delicately – in bearable terms: their 'houses' were nearly broken down huts and all the inhabitants were clad in torn clothing. This distressed all of them, including the crew they had docked with. Speaking off…
There was a mix of tapping sounds coming from their right so the Straw Hats naturally turned towards it. They saw the captain, Alexander, walking towards them with two of his men by his side. The one on his left was a thin man with dark colored skin and pale yellow hair. He walked with his shoulders slumped, an air of melancholy surrounding him; he seemed to be the exact opposite of his jubilant captain. The one of the captain's right was a rather young looking man with puffy cheeks and wide eyes. His features made him look like a child in a candy store. His hair was black and neatly kept; he seemed a little too innocent.
"Hello, hello!" The captain hollered out. "Straw Hats! I'd like to introduce you to my crew mates. This here is my first mate: Dizo!" He waved towards the thin man.
"Bye." Dizo casually said which puzzled the Straw Hats.
"You're supposed to say hello, Dizo" The captain corrected without even turning to him. "Oh, I meant to say hi." Dizo corrected himself.
"And this lovable oaf here is Mizolo!" Alexander then pointed to his other man. "He's our navigator." This made Nami's ears perk up. There weren't many navigators she had had the chance to talk to.
"Hello! I am the-" Mizolo stood there with his mouth hanging open. This made the Straw Hats feel slightly awkward when all of a sudden, "- navigator!"
"What's with that pause?!" The Straw Hats(minus one archaeologist) yelled out.
Alexander grabs Mizolo and tucks him under his arm, rustling his hair. "Don't mind Mizolo, he can be a bit slow at times. Rihahahaha!"
Luffy steps forward, his arms crossed and he flashes a bright, large grin at his new friend. "I'm Luffy, the man who'll become the pirate king, and this is my crew." Luffy proudly presents.
"I know of you lot, I've read enough about you all. Though I'm not sure on that one; is he new?" Alexander points to Sanji, who is perplexed. He tilts his head to the side until realization hits him.
"THOSE DAMN MARINE BASTARDS COULDN'T GET A DECENT PICTURE OF ME!" Sanji screams with the utmost rage.
"Ah, he must not be 'Black Leg' Sanji." Dizo wrongly informed. "Wait… I mean he must be 'Black Leg' Sanji." He corrected himself.
They all turn around when they hear a very loud thud. They see that Alexander's crew had dropped some of the shark carcasses on the deck. Seeing this, some of the residents gathered round the dead catch, the hunger visible in their eyes. Alexander smiles at them sadly. He grabs the large axe from his back and holds it up high.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the beautiful little island of Requin, you have been very kind in letting us stay here and for that we are very grateful. In honor of new friends and comrades…" He turns and smiles to the Straw Hats. "I say we have a large feast tonight and you're all invited!" Alexander finished his short speech. At first the residents didn't know how to respond; they stared at one another, contemplating what to say or do.
"Get the Joji brothers, tell 'em to make whatever they can! We're feeding an entire village after all!" Alexander was beaming as he commanded his navigator who saluted and skipped away.
"These 'Joji brothers', they your cooks?" Sanji inquired.
"Why yes, they are. They're the best you'll find anywhere near here." Alexander proudly exclaimed.
"Yeah." Sanji loosened his tie. "That was before I showed up. Oi, Luffy, since we'll be staying here, partying with these guys, I'll at least make sure we'll be eating some quality food." Sanji informed his captain who simply laughed in return. Sanji then ran after Mizolo.
"Come on, let's have us some fun." Alexander yelled out.
An hour later…
The feast was in full swing: Sanji and the Joji Brothers – a pair of red haired twins – had created an assortment of dishes with shark as the main ingredient, and it was, judging by the ravenous way the villagers were eating, very good; Dizo and Zoro were partaking in a friendly drinking competition, a mile away from the rest of the festivities; Nami had gotten into friendly chatter with Mizolo; Franky, Brook, Chopper and Usopp were dancing and singing with the rest of Alexander's crew while Robin sat on the side, a drink in hand and a content smile plastered on her face.
The captains of both crews were in the middle of the festivities: Luffy was quickly devouring anything that came into his reach while Alexander, unlike his counterpart, was slowly eating his portion with a fork and knife.
"Wooh, you sure can handle your liquor." Zoro complimented his new drinking buddy.
"Hey, punk, you got a problem?" Dizo said back. "What?" Zoro asked, obviously confused.
"Oh, wait, I'm sorry, I meant to say thanks." Dizo corrected himself. Zoro chuckles at his quirk.
"You guys are odd, but I like you. Hmm, that captain of yours is an odd one too." Zoro fell back as Dizo pulled out a small dagger and tried attacking Zoro. "What the –"
"Don't you dare compliment the captain. I mean, don't you dare insult him!" Dizo lunged forward once more, his movement was groggy and very uncoordinated which made predicting his movement without haki very difficult.
Zoro held up his arms in defense, knowing that he had unintentionally insulted the captain and thus, in turn, him. "Wait, I wasn't insulting him! I'm sorry if it sounded like it." Zoro offered his apology which Dizo was quick to accept.
"I'm sorry." Dizo said as he sat back down. "I'm a bit overprotective of the captain, even a statement as meaningless as that can set me off. I mean, you're a first mate, you can understand."
Zoro sat across from him. "I'm not the first mate."
"Maybe not officially but the way I look at your crew, it's obvious that everyone despises you."
"What?!" Zoro sweat dropped.
"I'm sorry, I meant they obviously respect you. May not be official but if anyone were to be the first mate, I'm guessing the crew would pick you."
Zoro huffs as he grabs another bottle of sake and chugs it down.
Elsewhere…
Nami and Mizolo were sharing stories of their exploits were their respective crews. Mizolo was, in a way, very much like Chopper and Luffy: very naïve and innocent, but he was also exceptionally intelligent.
"Hey, I have a question and I hope you don't take any offence to it." Nami stated, slightly anxious as to his response.
"Sure, go…" After a few seconds. "Ahead."
Nami snickered at his behavior. "Well, it's about that pausing of yours…"
"Oh, what about it?"
"Well, it's just that, you're the navigator. Meaning you have to give a lot of orders and tell the crew what to do in the middle of storms and cyclones, doesn't it ever get in the way? Aren't you afraid that you just might pause for a little too long?" Nami finished. This was a question that was to quench her own curiosity but it was also there to give her some sort of peace of mind. She wondered day in and day out of whether she'll make a mistake one day that would result in the ship capsizing and the crew falling overboard. This thought haunted her and she always assured herself that it could never happen. She wanted to know if others, such as Mizolo, had similar thoughts and, if they did, how they coped with it.
"Hmmm, I do, actually." Mizolo answered after a few long seconds.
"Really…" Nami asked in a small voice.
"Uh-huh, but it doesn't bother me. I think of it like a possibility. Like how I also think that the captain's thirst for fun and adventure might cause us to end up in the middle of a war zone or that Dizo's somber demeanor might just be nothing more than a distraction…" Mizolo took another long; Nami patiently awaited for the rest of the answer. "What was I talking about?" Mizolo finished, earning him a smack on the top of the head from an impatient red head.
"Ah, sorry, as I was saying. Bad things can always happen, there's always a chance, but don't ever add to it by doubting yourself. What's that gonna get ya? Just believe in your abilities and always say 'We'll make it'" Mizolo grinned at her and Nami nodded her head in understanding.
"I like you, Mizolo. Sorry bout the bump"
"It's al…" Mizolo paused again. Nami shook her head in amusement.
Luffy patted his now inflated belly as he burped loudly. "Ah, that was good. Oi, color-ossan, thanks for the meal. This is a fun party."
"Don't think anything about it." Alexander raised his glass and stood atop the table he was eating on a moment ago. "Everyone! Things have gotten a bit too quiet! Come on, party, have fun. It's not a party without some noise!" He loudly exclaimed and this earned him a thunderous set of cheers as he drank the sake in his glass.
"Hey, ossan, you really like to party, huh?" Luffy asked as he picked through his teeth.
"I like to live. Life's about living; you can do it however you want, but the way I see it, the best way for me to live is to have people I love by my side, having fun, eating, drinking, dancin' and singin'. If anybody tells me I'm wrong then I'll take pride in me being wrong! Straw hat, you see life as an adventure, right?!"
Luffy nods, "Yep."
"Well, I see it as a party! Would you ever let somebody tell you any different?!" Alexander howled the question.
"Never."
"Exactly! We're all here to live life the way we want! That's what pirates do and damn anyway who says we can't do that! Rihahahahaha!"
Luffy joined in the laughter as the night dissolved into a blur of food, drink and pure joy.
It was one of the best nights anyone of them had ever had.
A danger loomed near the loud and colorful party.
"What the heck's going on over there?" A stranger dressed in a dark suit asked the man besides him.
"It's a crew of pirates. They've been docked here for a few days now. They party, a lot! Guess they got some company now." The second actor, who is dressed similarly to the first, responds. "Just leave them be, don't wanna cause any trouble, not when we're about to strike some big deal." He continued.
"Yeah, come on." The first one ordered as they both marched away quietly.