Zoro followed along at the back of the group with Ketto leading the way, and Sanji and Usopp walking behind him. He didn't trust this guy at all, but Usopp did have a point. They had no idea where the rest of the crew was and following Ketto seemed like their only lead. But if he did anything to harm any of them, Zoro would be ready to take him out. Ketto turned his head – almost as if sensing the animosity- to give them all a cheery smile; Zoro glared in response.

"Where are you leading us?" Zoro asked. While Ketto had repeated over and over that he knew where the crew was, and that he'd show them, he never mentioned an actual location. For all they knew, this man could be leading them straight into a trap.

"What do you mean? To your crew, of course," he chuckled.

"I mean the location," Zoro growled. Was he messing with him?

"Oh..." Ketto awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, "well it's hard to describe, but it's just this way," he pointed in the direction they were all walking.

Of course he couldn't describe it. It must be a trap. Zoro was ready to just end this here, but there was still that off chance they really were being led to the rest of the crew. Even if it did end up being a trap, Zoro knew, between the three of them, they could handle it. The risk was worth the potential reward.

The fog had been slowly growing thicker the longer they walked on, and after a while Zoro couldn't see much of anything. The only indication he was even still following the others were the sounds of their footsteps, though even those were quiet. Then he tripped over a hidden root and smacked face first into the ground. He grumbled under his breath, pushing himself back to his feet and spitting dirt out of his mouth. Reaching up, he pulled a wet covered leaf off his forehead with a scowl.

"Oi, wait up," he said, no longer hearing any footsteps. But he got no response.

"Hey!" he called a little louder, still with no result. Had they really gotten that far away in the short time he'd been on the ground? He started walking in the direction he remembered they had been going, a bit more briskly than before. There was more risk of tripping again, but he didn't want to leave them alone. Not when that guy could turn on them at any moment. Sure, he trusted Sanji - he grudgingly had to admit- to handle anything that may happen. And even Usopp could handle his own against some pretty strong enemies. But it would still be better if Zoro were there. He didn't want anyone getting hurt because he wasn't there to help.

"Hey, where'd Zoro go?" Usopp asked, stopping to look around. Sanji also paused, looking behind them at where the swordsman had been. There was nothing, not even a sound or a rustle of plants.

"I'll bet he got lost. Again," Sanji sighed, turning to walk back where they'd came from.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Ketto asked, reaching out after them. Sanji glared at him, blowing out a stream of smoke.

"To find our lost marimo."

"That's not really that important… right? I'm showing you to the rest of your crew," he insisted, seeming almost agitated.

"If we don't go back for him now, he'll be harder to find," Sanji reasoned. He and Usopp began to walk away, but before they could go out of sight, Ketto ran after them.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. I really think it'd be best for me to bring you to your crew first, they've been looking four you too," Ketto tried to block their path. But they simply walked around him, Sanji watching him cautiously.

"We're going to find him first."

"F-fine," Ketto mumbled, staring at his feet, "we can find him first. But let's just hurry."

At this point Sanji knew it would not be a good idea to go where Ketto wanted them to. He had been nothing but suspicious since they met him, but now it was on a whole new level. The way he absolutely insisted that they follow him. The almost desperate tone in his voice and persistence in getting them to listen.

Besides, Sanji knew that if the others really had met up with this guy, they wouldn't just wait around for him to bring them back. They would have followed so they could all meet up. Either this guy actually had no idea where their crew was, or he'd done something… he couldn't be trusted. It felt too much like he was leading them into a trap. As much as Sanji hated to admit it, getting out of whatever trap they were being led into would be a lot easier with Zoro around. Especially since he still felt slightly light headed from all the blood he'd lost earlier.

"What was that?" Usopp suddenly squeaked, jumping to hide behind Sanji. He stopped and listened, now noticing a faint rustling coming from the foliage up ahead. Then a low growling noise rumbled from the same direction.

"Oh no…" Ketto's face went pale, "we need to get out of here, now!" he turned and ran. Only seconds later large yellow eyes became visible through the fog, followed by a large almost bear like body. The creature snarled, its off-white teeth grinding against each other in a grating sound.

"Shit," Sanji cursed, narrowing his eyes at the beast. This must have been the thing that attacked him earlier. He had been hoping not to run into it again.

"Usopp, run," Sanji lit a cigarette, stuffing his hands in his pockets. The sniper was trembling so hard it was clearly visible, but he did not move from his spot.

"N-n-n-no!" he stutter, shakily pulling out his weapon.

"Usopp, I don't have time to argue with you," Sanji ground out, briefly turning his glare to the sniper. He didn't want Usopp to get hurt like he already had, and they had no idea what this beast was capable of. It would be best if he could just face it alone.

"I-if I run away now, I'll n-never become a brave warrior of the sea!" Usopp stared wide eyed as the monster stalked closer and closer to them. Sanji sighed, blowing a long stream of smoke from his mouth. He couldn't get in the way of his nakama's dream.

The beast lunged at them and Sanji jumped a few feet away, while Usopp skittered behind a nearby tree, loading a few tabasco stars into his Kabuto. He launched them out, hitting the beat right in the eyes. It let out a screeching sound, swinging its large claws all around.

Sanji dodged the swipes, jumping up and slamming his foot into the beast's neck. It barely flinched, only continued to blindly swing while making that awful noise. Sanji quickly put some distance between it and himself, examining the creature. It must be very strong or have some sort of armor to barely even flinch at his attack. He was still feeling a little lightheaded; the best tactic might be to…

"Usopp," he called out, "let's scare this thing away!" He wasn't entirely sure how to go about this, the monster didn't look easily startled, but it was their best option. He had a feeling they wouldn't be able to outrun it either. Yes, this was definitely their best option.

"Alright!" Usopp responded, digging around in his ammo pouch. He then quickly loaded his Kabuto and launched the ammo at the monster. Gunpowder exploded in its face and it let out another howl. Sanji's eyes widened. He had a plan.

"Do that again!" he shouted, beginning to spin as fast as he could, feeling his feet flame up. Usopp hit the beast once again with his gunpowder ammo, and Sanji launched himself through the air towards it, smashing his flaming foot into its face. The fire and powder combined in an explosion, sending him flying back through the air. He tumbled across the hard ground for several feet, rolling to a stop.

"Shit…" he cursed, painfully climbing back to his feet. The monster was still standing and glaring him down, its face smoldering. Sanji prepared to attack once again, when it suddenly turned and ran off.

"I-It worked!" Usopp exclaimed, running up to Sanji.

"Yea…" he stared at the spot where it had disappeared into the woods. That monster had some ridiculous armor, or endurance. Either way, it could take a lot of damage and seemed completely unfazed by it. He wasn't so sure they actually scared it off. More likely, it decided they weren't worth the trouble at the moment. He frowned.

"Let's head back to the village," he finally said after a while. Ketto had fled before the fight, and they still hadn't found Zoro. It seemed like the most likely place to find both of them. Maybe then they could finally make it to the rest of the crew and be off this damn island.

Nami's head snapped up when she heard footsteps echoing down the hallway towards the cell. Luffy also perked up, tiredly pulling himself into a sitting position next to her. She'd been wracking her brain, trying to think of anything that could help them escape this place, but she'd had no luck yet. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Higeki come into view. The chains rattled around her wrists as she stood up to glare him down.

"What do you want?" she spat.

"A physical examination. It'll be important later," he had his clipboard held against his chest along with what seemed to be some measuring tape. Nami's eyes widened slightly as she watched him pull a key out of his pocket and begin to unlock the cell door. This might be her chance. She could rush him; push her way out of the cell, fight.

The second the door was open she ran, charging straight for the man. But faster than she could see, his hand shot out, grabbing the chain between her wrists. She gasped as he slammed her hard against the wall, locking her chains into a hook above her head.

"Hey!" Luffy shouted, staggering to his feet. Higeki chuckled, doing the same to him, before going back and closing the cell door.

"You two sure do have spirit," he hummed. "I'm just here for some measurements now, there will be a more in depth examination later," he walked over to Luffy, wrapping the measuring tape around his chest. Luffy shouted and even tried to bite him several times, but the man continued on with his examination like nothing was happening.

Nami watched carefully, trying to notice anything about this man she could use against him, anything to help them escape. She gave and experimental tug on her cuffs. They didn't budge from where he'd hooked them into the wall. But her feet weren't chained. She was nowhere near as strong as someone like Sanji, but if she could kick this guy just right she might be able to do enough damage to knock him out. She waited, trying not to give away her plan in her expression until finally Higeki finished with Luffy and made his way over to her.

He was in front of her, about the wrap the measuring tape around her waist, when she struck out, kicking her leg out for his head. Almost casually, he reached a hand up and caught her ankle, before throwing her foot back to the floor. He stepped uncomfortably close, standing on her feet, and leaning into her. His hand shot out, roughly gripping her chin between his thumb and index finger.

"That's cute. You thought that would actually work against me," he sneered, his breath ghosting over Nami's face. She jerked her chin away, gritting her teeth. He suddenly, put more pressure on her feet, nearly grinding the heels of his shoes into them. She winced, trying the pull them out from under him.

"Hey, stop that!" Luffy yelled, tugging at his chains and completely ignoring the way they dug into his wrists.

"You won't be trying that again, right?" he gave a vicious twist of his heel. She bit her bottom lip to hold in a pained sound, meeting his eyes with her glare. He wrapped the tape measure around her waist. He stepped back for a moment, as he wrote something down. He moved back onto her feet, this time wrapping the measure around her chest.

"Hey watch it!" she snapped as one of his hands squeezed on her breast. He just smirked at her, doing it again. She brought her knee up, this time making contact. He stumbled back a few steps, giving her an evil look.

"I thought I told you not to try that again," he hissed, reaching out and slapping her hard across the face.

Zoro had wandered back into the village. He'd been unable to find them again and figured this would be the best place to wait for them. He slowly walked through roads, gazing at the old empty houses. Then he saw that building again; the one that was larger and looked newer than all the others. Except this time the door was open.

Zoro frowned, walking up to the ajar door and peeking inside. He couldn't see anyone inside, but he still rested a hand on his swords as he stepped inside. The lights had been left on, completely lighting up the sterile white room. There were metal tables set up all over the single room overflowing with stacks of papers. A quick glance showed what looked like various medical charts and other scientific papers. Zoro didn't really understand much of it.

But the back wall was what caught his attention the most. It was covered with various bounty posters, though most of them low bounty and barely known pirates. But what was strange was the large green check covering drawn across all of them. In the table just under them, he saw another small stack as he approached.

His eyes widened. On the top of the stack was Luffy's bounty poster, a large green check across his face. He quickly flicked through the posters. It was their entire crew, all of them with large green checks except for himself, Usopp, and Sanji. His teeth ground together and he clenched the papers tightly in his hand. That guy – he knew it was him, he was the only one on the island- was doing something to their crew. He must have them somewhere. And right now he was leading Sanji and Usopp to that same place.

He threw the papers down and dashed from the room. He had to warn them.

Thanks for reading! And please leave a review if you can, I love all feedback.