Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of its characters.

II. The Pirate hunter and the Pirate

The Straw Hats minus their captain glanced at the ragged man who staggered into the tavern, his shirt torn and sandals dirtied.

Sanji made a noise of disapproval at the man's heavy scent of alcohol and steel. Usopp gulped at the sight of one white sword hanging from the man's waist, a hand casually resting on the hilt. Nami returned to her food, though her eyes flicked briefly towards the man as he sat down in front of the bar.

Luffy continued to eat, oblivious to everything else.

" Give me whatever's on the menu," the man said, his voice hoarse as if he hadn't drank anything in days.

The bartender dubiously looked at the shabby state of his clothes. " You got the money?"

" I will, once I get the bounty on that kid's head."

Sanji immediately stood up, meal forgotten, and Usopp and Nami tensed as the man casually jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards them. The rest of the tavern went quiet. Luffy was still happily eating.

" What makes you think you can take us on?" Sanji asked coolly.

The man swung his legs over to face him so his back now rested against the bar. " I doubt a prissy guy like you would even land a hit on me," he shrugged.

Sanji bristled and was about to snap a retort when Nami raised a hand to silence him. Over Sanji's coos of "Yes, Nami-swan! I'll do whatever you want!", she scoffed at the man, who she decided was one of the craziest idiots she had ever seen. And her list of crazy idiots happened to include the three men that sat with her.

" Do you know who our captain is?" she pointed out, matching his flippant demeanour.

" Yeah! Haven't you heard of the great captain Usopp who is the leader of 800 men from all over the seas?"

" Oi!" – ("ouch!") – " Nami-san is asking a question!"

The man raised an eyebrow at Sanji and Usopp's antics, the corners of his mouth curling in annoyance, before answering. " I know who he is. Monkey D. Luffy. Thirty million belli for the defeat of Arlong."

" So you know this guy is the most dangerous man in East Blue?"

Now, the man grinned. It made Nami recoil slightly. His smile reminded her of a shark waiting to strike at his unsuspecting prey.

" Most dangerous man or not, I'll fight him."

Sanji snorted contemptuously. The man turned to glare at the chef. " You got a problem with that, eyebrow freak?"

" Who are you calling a freak, marimo?"

Within seconds, Sanji swung a kick at the man's face. In retaliation, the man whipped out his sword to counter it. They remained in position for another few seconds, Sanji frozen in midair and the man half-raising from his chair. Then, they moved.

Sanji grabbed the counter, flinging his body over to gain enough momentum to send multiple kicks at the man's undefended side. With frightening speed, the man managed to dodge all the kicks, duck under and slash his sword at Sanji's open flank.

Grunting, the chef twisted his body, hands moving rapidly to accommodate, and his legs flew to parry the rapid jabs from the sword.

Falling back into the roll, the man bumped gracelessly into a table where he noticed two swords resting on the surface. " I'll be borrowing these," he casually said to its terrified owners.

" And how are you suppose to hold three swords?" Sanji sneered as he sent a flying kick towards the man, not waiting for a reply.

Too quickly for the normal eye to see, the man tossed his white sword up into the air, taking the other two and somehow, managed to fit them neatly in the palm of his hands.

While catching the white sword in his mouth.

Not missing a beat, he met Sanji's incoming kicks headfirst, swinging his three blades towards Sanji's chest, ready to rip into skin and bone.

" Whoa! That's cool!"

To the bar's surprise, the two men actually stopped and simultaneously turned to stare at the Straw Hats' captain who was now done eating and currently gazing at the swordsman in wide eyed idolism.

" How did you do that?" the boy exclaimed, staring rapturously at the three swords the man held. " And how do you hold a sword in your mouth?"

The man appeared to be struggling to find an answer to that. It appeared that he never encountered anyone who was more concerned with his method of wielding his swords than with his own life.

" If you're done eating, we can start our fight," he finally said, much to everyone's surprise. They didn't think he would be able to speak with a sword clenched between his teeth.

" I decided," Luffy continued, as if the swordsman had not spoken a word. " I want him to join my crew."

This time, the bar's occupants doubled over in shock. " Luffy, are you insane?" Usopp incredulously exclaimed. " This man wants your head!"

" But he's the coolest swordsman I've ever seen!"

" He is trying to kill us!"

" But he can talk with a sword in his mouth!"

" Are you out of your damn mind? There's no way I'm letting this marimo join us."

" Nobody asked you, stupid cook."

Sanji snarled out a barrage of curses and swears that Zoro violently matched point for point. Luffy was laughing hard like it was the most amusing thing in the world. Nami slapped a palm to her face while Usopp wished the arriving marines and the rest of the tavern would stop staring at them like they had all gone mad.

~.~.~.~

Author's Notes:

No matter what universe, Zoro and Sanji will end up fighting.