[rolls around on ground]

A few hours passed before the Strawhats managed to dock at Opale Island. As usual, after Zoro had lowered the anchor, he, Luffy, and Sanji leapt off the ship onto the dock, while Usopp tossed down a ladder for himself.

"Let's go!" Luffy exclaimed. He tried to run off but was stopped by Zoro's hand on his shoulder.

"We're sticking together," he said sternly.

Luffy pouted. "But wouldn't it be faster if we all went separately?"

The others considered this.

"Y'know, I think he's right," Usopp said. "How about we split into teams of two?"

"Yeah!" Luffy said. "Me 'n Zoro'll be a team!"

Zoro shrugged. "Sure. Usopp, Sanji, you guys look somewhere else."

"Okay, Sanji, you listen to any orders I give you," Luffy and Zoro heard Usopp saying as the teams split up. "First order: Call me 'Captain Uso'—"

"No."

"I've been on this crew longer than you!"

"Do you think that means I'm going to follow your orders . . . ?"

It had been over an hour and Luffy's team had had no luck with finding the man named Kevin.

"This is boring," Luffy whined as he and Zoro wandered down a street. "Where the heck is that Kevin guy?"

"Did you say Kevin?" said someone passing by.

"You know him?" Zoro asked quickly.

"I do," said the woman, smiling. "He's always so nice and friendly when I go to visit . . . if you're looking for him, he lives in that gray house over there." She pointed to it and waved farewell.

"Awesome, let's go!" Luffy exclaimed, running to the house with Zoro close behind.

Luffy pounded on the door. He and Zoro waited for a few minutes. They were about to turn and leave when someone opened the door.

"Hello," the man said with a friendly smile. "May I help you?"

"Are you Kevin?" Luffy demanded.

"My name is Kevin, yes," the man said, still smiling. "What is it?"

"We're with the Marines," Zoro said. "Uh—we were asked to wear civilian clothes today."

"What?" Luffy said, looking at Zoro. "We're not Marines."

Zoro glared at Luffy.

"Oh, wait!" Luffy said. "Right, we're Marines!"

"I see . . ." Kevin said slowly. "Come in, gentlemen."

He opened the door wider and Luffy and Zoro strode in. They sat on a couch and Kevin sat in a chair perpendicular to them.

"So what can I do for you two today?" he said, smiling.

"We're looking for Erika," Luffy said bluntly.

"Uh—yes," Zoro said. "We . . . got a report that she's missing and we think that . . . look, do you know where she is?"

"Erika?" Kevin said without the slightest change in expression. "I'm afraid I don't know anybody by that name."

"Aw, okay," Luffy said dejectedly. "Let's go."

He stood, but Zoro put a hand on his shoulder. "Can we search your house? I mean—not that we're—accusing you, but—uh, she might be on the run and have . . . snuck in without you noticing . . ."

The excuse sounded lame, even to Luffy, who frowned. Kevin, however, seemed to accept it after a moment. "Well, certainly. Take as much time as you need, gentlemen, though I'm positive that I have no one hiding in this house."

"Awesome, let's do it!" Luffy exclaimed. He ran off to some corner of the house. Kevin looked at Zoro.

"That man is the oddest soldier I've ever met," he commented.

"Yeah, he's pretty rowdy," Zoro said quickly. "The superiors can hardly keep him under control."

He too went to search through the house.

It had taken them several minutes to search the house. Though they had opened every door, searched every human-sized nook, and even peeked outside around the house, they had seen no sign that Princess Erika had ever been there.

"Thanks for helping," Zoro said as he and Luffy made to leave. "We'll look somewhere else."

"Good luck, gentlemen!" Kevin exclaimed, smiling. "May the gods smile upon you!"

He shut the door behind them.

Luffy kicked the ground. "She wasn't there . . . maybe Usopp and Sanji found something. Let's go back to the dock."

They headed back to the ship and saw Usopp and Sanji already there, milling around.

"Hey!" Zoro yelled. The two looked up and waved.

"Did you guys find anything?" Usopp asked hopefully.

"No," Zoro said. "You?"

Sanji shook his head. "Nothing."

"We found Kevin," Luffy said.

Sanji and Usopp stared at him.

"So . . ." Usopp said eagerly.

"But Erika wasn't there," Luffy finished. "Zoro and me searched the whole house and everything."

"Damn," Sanji muttered. "Oh, Princess Erika, where could you be . . . ?"

"You sure you searched the whole house?" Usopp asked skeptically. "I mean, everything?"

"Yeah!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Everything where someone could have been," Zoro said.

Usopp sighed. "What now?"

"Go back to the ship and rethink our plan?" Zoro suggested.

"Yeah," Luffy agreed.

The four started heading back, but Usopp suddenly said, "Zoro, wait . . ."

Zoro stopped. "What?"

". . . Start walking again."

Zoro started walking.

"Okay, stop."

"What kind of game are you playing!?"

"No, I heard something—I think you have something on your shoe," Usopp explained.

"Oh," Zoro said. He lifted his boot and checked. "What the . . . ?"

A white square of paper was stuck to his sole. He peeled it off and looked at it; his eyes widened.

"What is it?" Luffy said, coming around to look. "Wait . . ."

Sanji and Usopp came to look as well.

"If I picked this up in that guy Kevin's house," Zoro said, "then we need to go back there ASAP."

The piece of paper said, in shaky handwriting, 'BASEMENT OF HIS HOUSE HELP'.