"What's the name of the next island, Nami?" Penny asked.

"It's called Shuriken Island. I don't know anything about it, though, except that it's got a lot of forest and mountains." Nami explained, and the crew looked at Vivi to see if she knew.

"Well, it's an island that's guarded by ninja. From what I've heard, though, it's become corrupt, and that it's not the best place to live anymore. There are two or three fishing villages there, that's all, and they are all over taxed and bullied by the ninja." She explained.

"Ninja? COOL!" Luffy had stars in his eyes. "YOSHA! Lets set sail for Shuriken Island!"

Penny sighed. This was going to be another interesting adventure, she already knew it.

"Nah, Nami. What's our current money situation?"

Everyone froze at Pennys' question, and Penny inwardly hit herself for asking. Who was stupid enough to question Nami of all people about money? She was lucky to not be in the navigators' debt as it was!

"Actually, we're running a bit low, now that you mention it. Why?" Nami asked, her eyes narrowing a bit suspiciously.

The crew was on their way to Shuriken Island, and Luffy could hardly sit still in his impatience to get there. And he was hungry. They were low on food, so of course Sanji was being stingy with it, letting the ladies eat first.

"Well, I was just thinking, when we get to Shuriken Island, I, or we, could… you know, replenish our treasure pile a bit." Penny said with a slight smile causing Nami to smirk a bit.

"Of course, of course. You know, I haven't really seen your thieving skills, and you haven't really contributed to the crew… money-wise, I mean. This is a good chance to prove yourself."

A spark of annoyance ran through Penny at Namis' words.

"I've been a thief all my life, Nami. Are you doubting my skills?" she said a bit coldly. Nami returned the look, though the navigator had a smirk on her face.

"Can you blame me? It's obvious who the better thief between us is, but you have yet to actually-"

"Ladies, ladies! Calm down, lets not argue - WHA!" Usopp promptly stumbled back as a knife was thrown at him and landed at his feet as a warning to keep his mouth shut.

"Hmph. If you're so eager to prove yourself, then, how about this? At Shuriken Island, we will see just how good of a thief you are." Nami said, a smirk painted on her face. Penny returned the smirk, hers' just as cold, and sparks flew between the girls as they shook hands.

"Deal."

"Do you have any idea what you've gotten yourself into?" Zoro asked a few hours later as the two spared, Zoro with two swords drawn and Penny with her two daggers.

"It's not me that should be worrying; it's Nami. I know she's a good thief, but so am I!" She said stubbornly, and Zoro shook his head.

"If you say so."

The girl smirked at him as she ducked, dodging a would-be lethal blow had he not been using the dull side of his swords.

"Besides, this is different. We're going to an island that's guarded by ninjas. This is going to take a lot of skill, stealth, and possibly combat experience to get to the big loot. She's a good thief, yes, but she's not good at combat." The rouge explained, and Zoro smirked.

"True. The bitch can be sneaky, though." He warned, and she smirked as she jumped backwards and threw about ten knives in succession at him, which was suppose to be against the rules. Zoro cursed as he deflected them and dodged.

"So am I."

"So this is Shuriken Island, huh?" Sanji asked as he looked around one of the small villages they had docked near. Zoro had stayed behind on the ship to guard.

"Sugoi!! Where are the ninjas?!" Luffy asked loudly, and the crowd around them gasped silently and began muttering quietly. Usopp looked around, confused.

"What's the big idea?" the sniper asked, and Vivi shook her head.

"I explained before that the ninjas here are tyrants that control this island unfairly and tax the people ruthlessly. Mentioning them like that is probably some sort of taboo." The princess said as Luffy frowned.

"Aww, that's the only reason why I came. I want to fight a real ninja!" He said, once again loudly, and Namis' fist met his face.

"SHUT UP, IDIOT! You're drawing too much attention to us!!" She yelled, and then smirked at Penny. "So, Penny-chan, are you ready to start?"

Penny blinked innocently at her rival thief.

"Oh? I thought we already started." the rouge said as she reached into a pouch behind her back and pulled out three large, fat looking wallets. Nami smirked.

"We did." She reached between her chest and pulled out a fist full of cash, much larger then Penny's. Penny grinned at the competition.

The boys and Vivi watched, a sense of impending doom coming from the two thieves.

Penny hummed to herself as she walked along the edge of a roof, one hand holding a large, heavy looking bag over one shoulder, the other on her hip.

'I hit the jackpot at that last house! How the heck did those people get a hold of genuine gold music box like that? That's going in my personal collection!' She thought happily to herself before she leaped across to another roof top. The rouge obviously was in the more wealthy part of town.

She looked down, and raised an eyebrow when she spotted Nami slinking out of a window, a grin on her face. Penny was planning on getting that house, too.

'Guess Nami already got this end of town. Damn! Her bags the same size as mine!'

"Hey, Nami, not being to secretive, are you? The ninjas are going to catch you if you don't be a bit more stealthy!" She called down, causing the navigator to jump a bit in surprise. She glared up, fire in her eyes.

"Don't sneak up on me like that, damn it!" Nami yelled, and Penny let out a light snicker, before her eyes narrowed. She felt herself being watched.

Suddenly a kunai knife flew towards her at an almost unseen speed. The rouge had a knife out and deflected it just as quickly, along with the two other kunai knives that followed. Penny jumped back and crouched down a bit to get a better holding.

"Penny-chan? What's going on?!" Nami yelled, and Penny cursed lightly to herself as she leapt down beside the rich establishment and handed her bag to Nami.

"My knots tied three times, yours' is tied twice. That's how we will know the difference. No cheating! Take them both and get back to the ship or one of the others, got it? I'll make sure your covered!" She barked. Namis' eyes widened but she nodded as she took the other bag, and grunted at the heaviness, though her eyes lit up, then took off.

"Come out!" Penny called. She sighed when no one came out and looked around, then picked up two of the discarded kunai.

"Fine. If you don't want to come out, then I'll make you!" With that, she threw one in front of her, and one to her right. They hit nothing but shaded house tops, but two shadowed figures darted out. Before her two men stood, both crouched a bit, kunai drawn.

"To be able to sense and discover our presence. Tell me: Are you a ninja from another island? And your skill with the kunai as well… it is remarkable." One praised coldly. Penny only grinned as she pulled out a throwing knife that had a loop on the handle, one of her personal favorites, and twirled it.

" 'Fraid not. I'm a former thief from East Blue, and now I'm a Musician for a pirate crew. That's all there is to me. Though, I'm just as fast as a ninja, and have better aim." She said as she stopped twirling the knife and pointed it at the two.

"Pirate, huh? That's what we thought. So you were stealing those goods!" The other ninja said, and Penny rolled her eyes.

"Erm, obviously. Aren't ninjas supposed to be observant?" She asked. By his voice, he sounded young, around thirteen maybe.

"Stay back. She's a seasoned fighter, not something that you want to get mixed in with." the "leader" of the two said, and the boy scoffed.

"I could take her any day. No one can defy the Ninja Guard of Shuriken Island and get away with it!" He said, before he charged with his kunai ready. Penny frowned as she went on the defense, easily using her one throwing knife to deflect his kunai.

"He's right, kiddo. I'm a bit of a match for you."

"SHUT UP, OLD HAG!! I'LL KILL YOU FOR- oof!!" before he could finish his sentence, she brought her booted foot up straight into his stomach and sent him flying back. He went through a window and landed on something that sounded expensive. He didn't even groan; he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

"Poor kid, hated to do that. Now that chibi-kun's out of the way…well shit." She said as she looked around, and realized that there was about twenty ninja around her, all with a variety of weapons drawn.

"Penny-chaaaaaaan!!" She looked up, and grinned when she saw her reinforcements on the way, Sanji leading the charge. One of the ninja looked up, and scoffed. "A bunch of kids? This will be easy - ARG!"

"How dare you attack a girl with such an outrageous number!?" Sanji yelled as he began his attack. Penny grinned. Luffy launched his own attack, and Zoro drew his swords. She turned to the one she had first talked to, and smirked.

"Like I was saying, now that chibi-kun's out of the way, along with the rest of your little guard, shall we?"

He growled and threw a kunai at her, only for it to be deflected.

"You will never beat me in long range!" she said smugly, then her eyes widened when he seemed to vanish and reappear next to her, a sword a bit shorter then Zoros' drawn.

"Thanks for the tip!" The nameless ninja snarled coldly, and she grunted as she used one of her knives to dodge last minute. Penny was pushed back a few yards, and as she was, the rouge reached down and drew out her daggers.

"That's the last tip you'll be getting from me." she grumbled as the ninja rushed at her. She met him head on, matching him blow for blow. To those watching, they were a blur of color.

Then, to Pennys' shock, her opponent seemed to vanish, only to reappear from underground and behind her. She jumped out of the way, avoiding a fatal blow, but still received a large gash on her back. She grunted in pain.

"Penny-chan!!" she heard Sanji and Luffy call out in worry, though they had their own opponents to deal with.

"I'm fine! Nothing vital was hit!" She called back, then turned back and crossed her daggers in front of her.

"Cool trick. Think you could teach me?" she asked with a teasing grin, and received a growl. He rushed at her again, vanishing. She tensed, and this time felt him coming from her right. Instead of dodging left, right, or behind, she dropped to the ground, and he completely missed his intended target.

"GOTCHA!" With that, she tackled him around the waist, and he grunted, and then screamed in pain when one of her daggers pierced his stomach. He stumbled backwards, and as he did, Penny took out a knife. It hit him right between the eyes.

"Oi, good job." Zoro said as the rouge turned, and saw that the others had finished. She grinned, swaying a bit. Sanji was at her side immediately, and swept her off her feet. Her eyes went wide with shock.

"S-Sanji-kun! What do you think you're doing?" She demanded. Sure, he was a flirt, but she had never seen him so forward-

"Penny-chan, you're losing blood fast. We have to get you back to the ship and that wound wrapped now." he said, and as they turned, realized they were surrounded by a crowd.

"Shit." The cook cursed, and she tensed in his arms.

Then the crowd began to cheer.

"Where were you guys before all this happened?" Penny asked after she had been treated by a local doctor. Apparently, they had defeated the entire guard, and now the villages were free from the ninjas' reign.

"There were Baroque Works officers all over the place. I'm surprised you didn't run into any!" Usopp said, and she grinned.

"I was too busy getting enough loot to beat Nami down to size. Speaking of loot, Sanji-kun, have you finished counting that money yet?" she asked, and the blonde beamed.

"Haaaaai! In the bag with three knots, there was about four million belli worth, and in the bag with two, there was about four million three thousand!" He said cheerfully, and the rouges' face fell. Nami grinned widely.

"Good thing I robbed a few extra houses while you were fighting those ninjas, Penny-chan, or else you would have almost beaten me. Almost, but not quiet. I still had over four million. But we did great! 8 million belli out of this poor town!"

Penny sighed. "Alright, Nami, you're the better thief. Better, but that doesn't mean I'm not a good thief! Got it?"

Nami grinned.

"Got it. Stick around me, and you will become an even better one, one day!" she said, and the girls looked at each other and laughed. Vivi shook her head.

"Nah, Penny, you haven't sung for us in a long time! Sing a song about ninjas!" Luffy said, and the girl frowned.

"I don't know any songs about ninjas…"

He blinked. "Hm…me neither… Then sing a song about pirates!" He said, and she looked at her captain and crew, and then laughed as she opened her mouth and begin to sing.