Restructer Revolution

I feel very upset.

Recently, a long-time fan of my work, Deviate's Fish has given their feedback on this fic:

Okay, what the hell is this? I read 4 chapters already and nothing has happened! It's like all you did was copy the manga scene for scene and the drew in a Yusei in the background. Frankly, this is rather disappointing. I can't read anymore of this; I gave it a chance for each chapter I read, but if it takes this long to get to any good parts, then it's obviously not worth reading.

...that's kinda upsetting, isn't it?

I suppose that, compared to my previous work where the action's immediate, I took my time building it up here. It was my first time exploring the One Piece fandom after all... and this was the best-selling manga of the century! If I took my time on it, it'll ruin the art! The feelings! The comedy!

Therefore, my faithful readers, bear with me in some places. I haven't failed you... right?

XIII: Natural Tune

Previously:

"He offered a place on the crew, and I accepted." Aki strolled out to the deck.

"Then, what about-?"

"They know and they understand," Aki looked into those blue eyes deeply. "I'll be joining your crew today. Please take care of me, Yusei."

"O- of course..." Yusei was blushing slightly at their proximity.

Completely unseen to the cheering crew who were occupied with the sight of a shouting Zoro and an Usopp screaming about witches, Aki brushed her lips against Yusei's own.

"Yosh!" Luffy ordered, completely oblivious to Yusei's colouring up. "You guys! We're having a Kampai to celebrate our new nakama! For tonight, let's party!"

"YEAH!"

This was how the infamous second of the monster-controlling pair of the Straw Hat Pirates, the one woman, whose name would be known far and wide as the Black Rose Witch, appeared to the Straw Hats, and was accepted.

The Holy Land, Mariejois:

"Master Bartholomew Kuma has returned!"

An old man with a wide jaw, the impassive Kuma, and oddly enough, a baby goat, sat silently in their meeting room.

"You've got to be kidding me!" someone screamed. This man had a black moustache, black hair over which he wore a Marine cap despite his position as Fleet Admiral, the one named Sengoku. "Bartholomew Kuma, are you telling me that they managed to escape from your powers? I want a better explanation than that! I'm the one who has to report this to the higher-ups!"

The old man began laughing madly. "Just what I expected from my grandson!"

"Be quiet, Garp!" Sengoku hollered at the Vice Admiral, Monkey D. Garp, before turning to Kuma. "I ave you a special Government order to eliminate the whole crew, yet you couldn't even bring back Straw Hat Luffy's head? This is a disgrace!"

Garp continued laughing. "Don't worry about that, Sengoku!"

The Fleet Admiral started.

"Luffy isn't the kind of guy who would go around bragging about defeating Moria anyway!" Garp laughed.

"Hmph!" Sengoku gave up. "Kuma, I hope you didn't take pity on those pirates just because they were injured. Because you've failed to take it seriously, this game of cat-of-mouse will have no end. If they continue to follow the Log, as they are now, they will draw ever closer to the Navy Headquarters."

All people present had impassive expressions, even the normally laid-back Garp, as the tension in the air rose.

It was Garp who broke the sudden silence. "Oh yeah, by the way... I brought the new tea!" He held up the bag of tea-leaves. "Get out the crackers!"

"Will you be quiet, Garp, you bastard!" Sengoku took on that glaze-eyed expression most common to anyone who had been dealing with a D. for a ridiculously long time.

Kuma merely watched their conversation, his expression ever impassive in his own thoughts.

The crew of the Straw Hat Pirates may be varied and unique in their own way, but could roughly be divided into two broad categories based on their reactions to certain situations; the widely exaggerated reaction sort and the only marginally reacting sort. The former consisted of the captain, the sniper, the doctor, the shipwright, and the musician, while the latter was made up of the swordsman, the cook, the researcher, occasionally the navigator, and now the handyman and second doctor.

"Chopper, you bastard!" Zoro raged, wielding all three swords. "I'm going to cut you for allowing that witch to tie me to the bed!"

…granted, that was under most situations, otherwise it would be the entire crew sans Robin, and now Yusei, who would yell at the captain for his stupidity... Aki was still an unknown entity, even after a few days...

"How dare you call Aki San a witch, shitty swordsman!"

"I'm gonna be killed!" Chopper screamed from his place on the deck, where he was fishing with Luffy and Usopp.

"Oi, Zoro, you needed the rest anyway!" Chopper screamed.

Luffy sighed. "What exactly is going on...?"

"This is no good..." Usopp mumbled.

"Indeed..." Brook added.

Seagulls chirped overhead as the fishing lines trailed into the waters of the Grand Line uselessly.

"I can't catch anything!" Luffy declared.

"We've hit a rough patch!" Usopp muttered.

"This is strange..." Chopper sighed beside them.

All the others fishing gave him odd looks.

"Where's Zoro?" Luffy asked.

Chopper pointed to where the swordsman was untangling himself from a pile of vines and thorns binding him to the giant tree in the middle of the deck.

"...never mind." All of them went back to fishing.

Yusei sighed as he held up a pair of shears pulled from his belt. The Marine battle of a few days ago had taught him the importance of having any and all necessities on hand. "You know that I am clearly capable of cutting you. I know you are clearly going to lose to anything I can pull out. Therefore, let go of Zoro San now, please."

After a few moments, the living vines retreated, leaving a pissed-off Zoro muttering about freaky plants.

"Yusei!" Aki pouted from her place beside Nami at the coffee-table Franky had just built. In her usual attire of a white shirt and red skirt with a black corset and long black stockings and fingerless gloves, she looked every bit as elegant as Robin in the archaeologist's purple sleeveless shirt and three-quarters denim. "Why did you free him?"

"Mainly because the roots were poking into the engine room, Aki," he shrugged as he put away the shears and got back to his tea.

"Thanks," the green-haired swordsman growled before closing his eyes again.

"You're too good to him, Yusei," Nami called, sipping her tea poured by Sanji as the rest of the crew sans Zoro enjoyed afternoon tea. "If it were me, I'd leave him to defend himself."

"This is so boring!" Luffy complained at about the same time.

"Well, let us be patient," Brook advised.

"Aah, Nami!" Luffy bent over so that he was looking at the navigator upside down. "Are we gonna reach Fishman Island soon? Are we?"

"Oh, shut up!" Nami snapped back. "We're definitely getting closer!"

"Fishmen... Mermaids!" Sanji declared, spinning around in a hallucination-induced fit of love. "Those beautiful mermaids! We're going to meet the mermaids I've always wanted to see!"

Zoro glared at the spinning cook before looking away, frowning.

"Aah, I'm tired of this!" Luffy threw up the fishing rod. "Sanji! Food!"

It was then that Usopp noticed something. "Huh? Is that...? Awesome! It's a fish school!"

Chopper giggled and Brook chuckled. "See? Good things come to those who wait!"

Luffy was back at his place, fishing. "Eheeheehee! Now we'll get something! Wow, they're headed straight towards us!"

"Nami, do you want to try?" Chopper offered as Nami walked over. The reindeer's smile faltered as Nami looked over the deck. "What's wrong?"

"Something feels off here..." Nami commented.

Luffy began to panic as the school of fish swam past the Sunny. "Hey, wait up, fish!"

Zoro and Yusei looked up around the same time.

"Those are..." Zoro commented.

Nami looked up to see the dark nimbus clouds covering the skies. "Could it be...?"

Usopp started. "What's up with that overt 'this is bad, Captain' face?"

Just as he spoke, the skies darkened and the seas turned choppy, multiple whirlpools appearing in the middle of the ocean around the Sunny.

"Serpent Currents!" Nami declared.

"Serpent... Currents?" Chopper echoed.

"Everyone, be careful!" Nami warned, just before from the midst of the whirlpools burst forth pillars of water that reached up to the skies, ever spinning, and present in every direction around the Sunny.

Usopp began screaming in panic.

"It's almost like they're alive," Zoro commented.

"This is really bad, alright!" Franky started.

"This kind of weather..." Aki frowned lightly.

"Ah," Yusei commented.

Brook laughed. "Well, well..."

Robin and Sanji looked concerned at the giant currents.

"Awesome~!" Luffy declared.

"Sanji Kun!" Nami called to Sanji, who had already taken the wheel.

"Leave it to me, Nami San!" he answered.

One of the currents began to dive for the Sunny.

"It won't move..." Sanji growled.

Chopper panicked as Zoro leapt up, swords drawn to chop it up, salt water raining over the deck as a result.

"Weapons Left!" Franky shot the next current.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Zoro hollered to Sanji. "Steer the ship!"

"Shut up!" Sanji retorted. "With all these waves, it's impossible to navigate properly!"

"Gomu Gomu no... Pistol!"

"Rose Tentacles, summon!" Aki ordered the rose Monster. "Thorn Whip!" the tentacles took out the next current in a flurry of tentacles.

Brook slashed at the next wave that was heading for the deck. "are you alright?"

"You saved us!" Chopper exclaimed.

Brook then turned to survey the currents. "I must say, I have heard the term 'playful snakes' before... What a perfect sense of naming! Yohohoho!"

"Hey, you!" Usopp yelled. "Is this really the right time for you to be impressed?"

"Gomu Gomu no Gatling Gun!"

"Rapid Warrior, attack!"

"Star Shield!"

"I can't keep cutting them forever!" Zoro growled.

Robin wordlessly summoned arms to defend her from the next current.

"How long is this storm gonna continue?" Usopp was holding onto the deck's wooden pillars for dear life.

"How far does it go?" Chopper screamed, clinging onto the wood too.

"Should we try to escape with the Coup de Burst?" Franky was still defending the Sunny from the crow's nest.

"We can do that, huh?"

"It won't work!" Nami's declaration cut that option off. "I can't see an end to the currents. Even if we used the Coup de Burst... we wouldn't be able to escape!"

"EEEHHHHHH!" Chopper screamed. "No way!"

"Then, we have no choice but to wait it out," Yusei shrugged.

Brook laughed as he produced a violin. "Shall we sing a song?"

All of them looked at him.

"At times like this, you just have to remember that no matter how dangerous a storm or current is, it'll pass eventually," Brook explained. "So let us just sing our way through!"

"Great idea, Brook!" Luffy called from aboard the figurehead. "Let's do it!"

"Well then..." Brook was interrupted as a great current rose, the Sunny riding it up, and Chopper screaming as he went overboard.

"Chopper!" It was only Robin's action that saved the tiny doctor from a watery death.

"I thought I was gonna die..." Chopper panted as he was pulled aboard.

The Straw Hats watched, and waited, as their navigator observed through binoculars.

Nami finally put down her binoculars, smiling. "Look at that!"

Usopp started. "That's...!"

The Straw Hats all watched, awed.

"I can see it... I can see it!" Luffy declared, at the sight of the glimpse of light past the darkness, all the way to the view of a cliff of reddish stone. "It's the Red Line!"

"The Red Line!" Usopp echoed.

"We've finally made it here!" Nami declared.

"There was a nasty storm back on that day, too," Sanji muttered.

"it has taken me fifty years..." Brook nostalgically commented.

Luffy grinned. "Let's go, you guys!"

Most of the crew started as what must be the mother of all currents rose before them.

Sparkles shone in the captain's eyes. "It's huge!"

Brook drew his sword.

Zoro prepared to jump. 'Make sure to steer properly!"

"I don't want you to give me any orders!" Sanji retorted.

Think we can escape with the paddles?" Franky commented as the current prepared to crash down on them.

"We wouldn't make it on time," Robin commented.

"We wouldn't," Yusei confirmed.

"Sanji Kun! Ride that wave!" Nami called.

"Understood!"

"Hey!" Franky yelled. "What do you mean, ride it?"

"Leave it to me!" Nami smiled. "When we went to Sky Island, I experienced a much more amazing one!"

"The Knock-Up Stream, huh?" Sanji muttered.

"That sure was fun, huh?" Luffy chuckled.

"It wasn't fun at all!" Chopper retorted.

"Of course... We'll make it... this time, too!" Usopp latched onto the wood grain of the floorboards.

"I know I should be panicking..." Aki commented. "But somehow, I can't help but smile and laugh..."

"Let's go!" Luffy cheered as the Sunny rode the giant current up, all the while standing on its prow, smiling.

"I'm sure the Coup de Burst will work now!" Franky had taken over the wheel.

"Everyone, pull in the sails!" Nami called, holding onto the deck railings for dear life.

Brook, Zoro and Yusei jumped on her orders, reeling in the sails bearing the Jolly Roger of the Straw Hats.

"Aki, hold onto something!" Yusei called as he touched the railings.

Aki latched onto the deck, helped by Rose Tentacles who also latched onto Nami.

"Let's go!" Franky yelled as the Sunny flew off the current onto thin air. "Coup de Burst!"

Amidst the crew's laughter, smiles and some panic, Aki could not help but laugh, alongside a smiling Yusei, as the Thousand Sunny victoriously flew out of the storm.

"We're saved..." Chopper sighed once the Sunny had landed and the sails unfurled and they were sailing on their merry way.

"Man, that was dangerous," Usopp commented.

Luffy just laughed. "We're here... we've finally made it this far!"

"I can't see the top!" Chopper murmured in awe as the cliffs came into view. "It's huge! So this is the Red Line?"

Nami smiled at the wall that separated the world. "It feels kind of nostalgic..."

Sanji merely lit a cigarette in answer.

"I wonder if we've matured since then?" Zoro commented.

"I kinda feel like crying!" Usopp sobbed. "A lot of stuff has happened, huh?"

Luffy giggled. "Anyway, now we're halfway there! The Twin Capes on the other side of the world, where we met Laboon, is connected to this spot! It's great that we've all made it this far, huh?"

"Apparently, I came over Reverse Mountain from South Blue when I was just a kid," Franky commented. "But I guess that's a thirty-year old story."

"I came to this sea from West Blue, five years ago," Robin contributed.

"I don't know anything about this wall," Yusei contributed. "But to have reached it is impressive anyway."

"When we've crossed the other half of the world, and see this wall again... at that time..." Luffy bore a huge grin on his face. "I'll be the Pirate King!"

"We've got to be careful," Nami commented. "This place is close to the 'holy land' of the World Government and the Navy HQ, Mariejois."

As Usopp and Chopper played in the 'surprise pool' made by Franky, and Zoro was training, the rest of the crew sans Luffy, Brook and Yusei waited by a DenDen Mushi. Aki blinked as Nami took the speaker-piece attached to the snail and spoke as the rest of the crew went down undersea in the Shark Submerge III.

"How is it, Brook, Luffy, Yusei?" Nami asked.

"No use," Yusei's voice came through. "It's completely black."

Luffy's voice was next. "It's totally black out there! Hey, I think I saw something there!"

Brook's vice came through as panicked. "Was that the eyeball of a monster?"

"A monster?" Chopper started.

"We're going to die!" Brook panicked.

The rest of the crew tensed up, awaiting the rest.

"... although I am already dead!" Brook completed the punchline. "Yohohoho!"

They all sighed in relief.

"Oh, by the way, Nami San?" Brook continued. "I have a request to ask of you... what panties are you wearing today?"

"SHUT UP!" Nami hollered. "TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!"

"Does he do this all the time?" Aki enquired.

"Yes," Robin's answer was dead-pan.

"Scary...!" Chopper freaked.

"He's a plucky guy, isn't he?" Usopp muttered.

"Hey, you guys!" Franky hollered. "The Shark Submerge can't go any deeper than five thousand metres, so be careful! Yusei, make sure those two don't monkey around with it!"

"What happens if it does?" Luffy innocently asked.

"We'll all be crushed by the water pressure in a metal coffin," Yusei answered, dead-pan.

"That's terrible!" Brook exclaimed.

"Oh! The monster from earlier! It's still here!" Luffy grinned at the sight.

"What a big mouth it has," Yusei dead-panned as he steered the Shark Submerge III up and away from it.

"Watch out!" Luffy and Brook screamed. "It's gonna eat us!"

"Here it comes again!" Brook called, his voice relayed to the surface via DenDen Mushi, Luffy laughing in the background.

"How can you as a captain continue laughing when you're about to be eaten?" Aki yelled at the DenDen Mushi.

"This sounds pretty bad..." Franky commented.

"I don't want to ride the Shark Submerge..." Chopper whimpered.

"Me neither..." Usopp added.

"Nami Swan~! Aki Sensei~!" Sanji came out in a tizzy of hearts. "The 'Horror-Nashi Tarte' from Thriller Bark is done!"

"Oh, it looks good!" Nami exclaimed as Sanji set the tart done.

"Oh! Look behind us!" Brook's voice poured from the DenDen Mushi.

"Here it comes!" Luffy's voice switched over. "We're gonna be eaten!"

"Somehow, I've just lost my appetite..." Aki glumly looked down at the tart.

"But, this is a problem..." Nami took a bite of the tart. "It tastes great!"

"It's good!" Usopp, Chopper and Franky celebrated from the background.

Robin merely smiled as she ate her tart.

Aki took a bite. "Yes, it's good... but the thought that Yusei could be eaten..."

"Luffy San, stop hogging the DenDen Mushi," Yusei's calm voice poured through. "Nami San, I see nothing but black, and we're currently under pursuit by a sea-rabbit... thing. I'll try to shake it off before we break surface."

"It's the same problem we had with Sky Island," Sanji commented.

"That's right..." Nami sighed, looking at the Log Pose on her wrist. "We know the direction we have to take, but we have no idea how we're gonna get there. How are we gonna reach Fishman Island?"

The blue Shark Submerge III finally broke the water surface as the hatch opened. "We're back!" Luffy called.

"That was fun!" Brook added.

"That was the first time I drove a submarine..." Yusei commented.

"Welcome back! Good work!" Nami called from the deck.

"It's no use!" Luffy said. "We can't see anything on the bottom of the sea at all. Is Fishman Island really there?"

Brook laughed, throwing his arms up. "That was my first time riding a submarine."

"If we'd gone further down at the captain's suggestion, the pressure would really have killed us," Yusei dead-panned.

"There's tarts waiting for you!" Aki called, to the three cheers.

"The Log Pose is certainly pointing straight down, but..." Nami mused. "This is no good... I should have gotten more info from Lola and the others."

A part of the water began bubbling, before a giant rabid-looking rabbit with a fist-tail leapt from the water.

"IT'S THAT THING FROM EARLIER!" Luffy freaked.

"IT FOLLOWED US!" Brook screamed with him.

"So my dodging skills didn't manage to shake it off..." Yusei commented, dead-pan.

"Poker face!" the rest of the crew screamed at him.

The Sea King roared at them in answer.

"Don't think you can beat me when we're above the water!" Luffy grinned as he leapt to the figurehead.

It merely roared in answer.

"Gomu Gomu no... Rifle!" the impact hit true on the Sea King, which went down quickly.

"Somehow, it didn't seem all that huge," Usopp commented.

"Because we dealt with Oz!" Chopper pointed out, laughing. "Seems like we're fine."

Two figures fell out of the Sea King's mouth as it toppled over back.

Sanji was the first to notice. "Something came out."

"A fish?" Luffy looked up.

A scream rang through as the figures approached.

"A person?" Usopp shouted.

"No, that is wrong..." Brook commented as the scream got louder.

Robin looked up. "That's a..."

Sanji had hearts on his eyes. "Could it be?"

Almost in slow-motion, the mermaid collapsed into him as the other, much tinier figure, landed on its feet. It wobbled slightly like a jelly before it recovered. "We're here!"

The pink-tailed mermaid with short green hair panted as she got to her hands, recovering. "We're saved!" She then noticed her surroundings. "That was incredible!"

"Don't act impressed!" the tiny orange... starfish scolded. "A little longer in there, and we would've been goners. How could you not run away from a monster like that?"

The mermaid now looked chastised. "Well, I didn't notice it..."

"How can you not notice something as huge as that?" the starfish yelled. It then blinked as it noticed something. "Hey, not like it matters to me, but it looks like there's something under you..."

"Huh?" the mermaid looked down to see Sanji. "AAAHH! I CRUSHED A HUMAN! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"Oh, don't worry about it~!" Sanji crooned. "Anyway, who are...~"

The rest of the Straw Hat Pirates merely looked at the scene, surprised.

"Please pull yourself together!" The mermaid was shaking a Sanji with hearts flying from him in panic. "Are you okay?"

Nami was the first to recover. "That's..."

"I can't believe I did something like that! Please pull yourself together!"

"Could it really be...?"

"Fins, tail, check," Aki noted.

"It's a mermaid." Yusei dead-panned.

"A mermaid?" the rest except the stunned and love-slave Sanji yelled.

"That's important!" Luffy was yelling. "Men! Even if it costs you your lives, we're gonna save the takoyaki!"

"..." Yusei held up a hand. "Isn't it 'save Hachi' instead?"

"Yeah!" Luffy raged. "We're going to save the person making the takoyaki! Then we can have takoyaki! Men! Save the person that's gonna make us takoyaki, even if it costs you your lives!"

"YEAH!"

"Is food the only thing you can think about...?" Aki sighed.

After the initial introduction between the mermaid Caimie and the talking orange starfish that looked like a glove, Pappagg, involving depression in the form of a starfish, a repayment confused with a selling attempt and more confusingly comic scenes, Caimie tried to contact her boss, Hachi, to repay the Straw Hats in takoyaki.

"Hello, Hachi?" Caimie spoke into a tiny DenDen Mushi. "This is Caimie! Sorry I got kinda lost. Where are you right now?"

"Oh, that voice must be Caimie, right?" a strange voice laughed.

"Hachi?"

"Do you know who're you talking to? This ain't Hachi, y'know.!"

"EEEH! YOU'RE NOT Hachi!"

"This is Makuro! From the simple-minded Makuro crew! Wait, I shouldn't say that of myself..."

"Seems like trouble..." Robin commented.

"Why do you guys have Hachi's DenDen Mushi?" Caimie demanded.

The voice laughed. "'Cause we beat up Hachi! Isn't that obvious?"

"Liar! There's no way Hachi would lose to you guys!"

"Yeah, you have a point. Usually we'd be no match for him, but this time, we had the Flying Fish Riders on our side!"

The voice on the DenDen Mushi then changed. "Nyuu... Caimie, you're still alright? Thank goodness."

"H- Hachi! Did they really beat you!"

"Nyuu... I let my guard down. Don't come here! I'll take these guys out and come straight back! It'll be fine!"

"Hachi..."

The voice on the DenDen Mushi changed again. "Y'know, Caimie, we're just about to sell this guy. Octopus Fishmen are pretty rare, so he should fetch us quite the price. Feel free to come and save him! We're at the Sabaody Archipelago, in the waters five kilometres east of Grove 44. This is where the Flying Fish Riders' base is!"

"Nyuu! No! Caimie! Don't come here!"

"Shut up, you damn octopus!" a sound of blunt impact could be heard. "See ya..." the call ominously ended.

"Hachi..." Caimie bowed her head.

"O- Oi..."

"Caimie Chan..."

Luffy still seemed as oblivious as ever. "So, where's the takoyaki?"

He received a kick and a punch to the head from Sanji and Franky respectively. "This isn't the time for that!"

"That voice seems familiar..." Nami mused. "It seemed kinda familiar... It's just my imagination, right? There's no way..."

"Sorry, Luffy," Caimie was apologising. "Can we do takoyaki later? I've got to go save my friend!"

"Heh...?" Luffy complained.

"Hey!" he was promptly punched and kicked in the head.

"Wait, Caimie," Nami answered. "We shouldn't be meddling here, but if you want to save your friend, then we'll help you! No, that's wrong! I mean, they'll help you!"

"Why, you...!" Usopp and Franky complained.

"And in exchange, how about you help us get to Fishman Island?" Nami ignored both of them.

"Really, Nami?" Caimie exclaimed.

"Of course! Right, Luffy?"

"Huh? Sure." Luffy answered, confused.

"You're gonna help me save Hachi, Luffy?"

"Well, I'm fine with it," Luffy shrugged. "But, who is this Hachi anyway?"

"He runs the takoyaki store I work at. Our takoyaki is the best in the world!"

And that was how the Straw Hats' route towards saving Hachi was decided.

"Zoro!"

The first mate finally descended from the crow's nest. "Are we already setting off? Does it look like we can get to Fishman Island?"

"Forget that, and look here! It's Caimie the mermaid! She's real! Awesome, right?"

"Hello!"

"A mermaid, huh?" a thought bubble was quickly extinguished. "First time I've seen one."

"He erased it!" Chopper freaked. "He just... erased his memory!"

"We're taking a short detour to save her friend's takoyaki," Luffy explained.

On the way to Grove 44 of the Sabaody Archipelago, following the arrow pointed by a school of fish called by Caimie, Nami was frowning.

"Those guys, I can get..." Nami pointed to the laughing Luffy, Usopp and Chopper, who were horsing around under the eye of Robin. "Those guys as well..." Franky, Brook and Sanji were celebrating the existence of mermaids, in front of the mermaid whose name was Caimie, and her starfish pet-master Pappagg, "And Zoro's busy training, but what I don't get... is this face!"

Yusei lightly touched the mark on his left cheek, where Nami was poking. "Yes, Nami San?"

"Look at it!" Nami raged at a wide-eyed Aki. "This irritating poker face with completely no expression whatsoever! No matter if he's lost in a new world, facing Thriller Bark, facing a giant zombie, facing certain death in a Shichibukai, facing currents that could capsize Sunny, it doesn't change!" She poked it for emphasis. "How? How? This completely expressionless face that's set in stone! Even when he's about to be eaten by a Sea King, or confronted by a mermaid, it still doesn't change!"

"Nami San, I was born with this face...?" Yusei warbled, rubbing his cheek from where it had dented under her pokes. "Nami San, please stop..."

"Oi, everyone!" Nami called to the rest of the crew. "Does everyone think that Yusei is stone-faced?"

"True, he shows so little expression as to be expressionless..." Sanji considered.

"Yeah, even against the zombies of Thriller Bark it doesn't change..." Usopp considered.

"Yusei's facial muscles must be frozen!" Chopper poked Yusei's cheeks with his hooves.

"To stoically walk to face death is the mark of a true man," Zoro advised. "Good job."

"Handyman San's face is almost like a stone bust..." Robin commented.

"Yohohoho, Yusei Kun's bone structure must be permanently fixed like this," Brook commented. "Just like my face... although, being a skeleton, I have no face! Yohoho!"

"Nii Chan, I'd advise that you get out a bit more," Franky grinned. "See? Super! Your eyes are twitching!"

"Franky San, your posing is causing the light to hurt my eyes..." Yusei shielded his eyes.

"Heehee, Yusei's face can be carved into cliffs!" Luffy chuckled.

"Even if he lies, there's no way to tell if he's lying," Aki sighed. "You see, Nami San, how much trouble I go to keep him?"

"I feel your pain," Nami sighed beside her. "To keep a reliable man like that must be a lot of work, Aki..."

"...I'm still right here, Aki..."

"Anyway, you guys are quick to offer your help," Pappagg stated. "But, are you sure you can handle this?"

"Yeah!" Luffy grinned. "We're strong, you know!"

"I should warn you, there's not just one gang of kidnappers around here," the starfish grimly stated. "There are plenty of these guys on the Sabaody Archipelago. Human trading is big business around here."

"It seems like, even in this world, such a thing as inequality will exist," Yusei sighed.

"Selling human lives?" Sanji growled. "That's horrible!"

"And seeing how mermaids are particularly valuable, the Makuro crew, a gang of three Fishmen, have been after Caimie for a while now." Pappagg continued to explain. Hachi from the takoyaki shop, probably thought that we had been kidnapped by the Makuro crew and went after them since we've been missing for a while after being eaten by that monster."

"That's probably it," Caimie looked forlorn. "Hachi is a kind, straightforward person after all. It's my fault..."

Zoro downed a cup of water. "Hearing about this octopus named Hachi, I can't help but think of that stupid Fishman."

Sanji blew a plume of smoke. "If it's him, then we're not gonna help. Well, there's no way..."

"Usually, Hachi could beat those guys easily, but who'd have thought that the Flying Fish Riders would help them?"

"Who're they?" Franky drawled.

"Another kidnapping gang who started causing a lot of trouble around these parts recently," Pappagg volunteered. "They say that if they target you, you're doomed. Their boss, Duval, is a guy with an iron mask. Nobody knows what he really looks like. It seems like they're searching for someone, since they check every ship that passes this area."

"What an annoying guy," Franky commented.

"Well, anyway, there's no need for you to worry, Caimie." Luffy smiled. "We'll definitely save the takoyaki!"

"It's the takoyaki seller!" Pappagg and Yusei pointed out.

"Thank you, Luffy -chin!"

"Sure! Well then, Brook! Play a song to get us in the mood!"

Brook chuckled as he produced his violin. "With pleasure!"

As the strains of 'Bink's Sake' filled the air, everything seemed peaceful.

And then, the flying fishes rained down on them.

"The fish are flying!" Usopp yelled.

"So cool~!" Luffy gazed in awe.

"Is this the time to be impressed?" Zoro yelled at him.

"Damn, they're gonna attack us!" Franky swore.

"So the Flying Fish really CAN fly?" Chopper exclaimed.

"Don't come any closer!" Usopp hurriedly spun the wheel to avoid the diving fish, as small torpedoes dropped on them.

"Black Garden, activate!" Aki's voice rang true as the Sunny's deck was covered in vines bearing black roses, more roses blooming every moment. "Shadowpriestess of Ohm, summon! Tribute, Dark Urumi!"

The priestess cut off the heads of one of the flowers, the blossoming petals making its way up to shred at one of the flying fishes.

"Someone get these killer flowers away from me!" the yells could be heard all the way to sea level.

"Gomu Gomu no... Pistol!"

"Nana Juu Ni Pound Hou!"

"That was close..." Usopp wiped his brow.

"Be careful!" Caimie screeched. "Once the flying fish jump out of the water, they can stay in the air for five minutes!"

"We won't lose in aerial combat," Yusei answered. "Right, Aki?"

The red-haired woman smiled in answer as she held up a card. "Blue Rose Dragon, summon!"

Usopp looked up at around the same time the tiny dragon, as in large enough to carry Aki and maybe more, appeared. "They're... running away?"

"What the...?" Luffy blinked from his place on the figurehead.

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