THE CHILDREN Set Sail!
Disclaimer: No ownership over One Piece or Zettai Karen Children.
Luffy: "… … … … … … … …! That's it!?"
Normama: "Yep!"
"… …Zoro," Nami sounded off, "Aoi, stop it. You're wasting energy…"
"Shut up," Zoro huffed in annoyance as he lifts Aoi up and down with his sheathed sword.
"I got to get stronger, even if it's just a little bit, as fast as I can," Aoi reasoned as she lifted Eyelash up and down with her own set of sheathed swords.
"Leave them be, Nami," Shiho sighed, "They need something to do to occupy their minds…"
"Yeah," Sanji puffed on his cigarette, "They're unskilled…especially that Muscle-Head. He's feeling his weakness compared to the level of a Warlord…"
"…That's a bit over the top, Sanji…"
"I agree," Aoi frowned.
"…What are you implying?" Zoro growled from where he sat, putting Aoi down, "Out with it…"
"All right, I'll tell you," Sanji replied, "You're afraid that Luffy might have lost…"
"Sanji!" Shiho hissed, "Don't add-!"
"Me!?" Zoro growled dangerously, causing Aoi and Eyelash to back up on instinct, "Afraid!? Are you sure you're not talking about yourself, Magic-Eye!?"
"Z-Zoro-han," Aoi pleaded in worry, "C-Calm down-!"
"HAH~!?" Sanji hissed at Zoro hissed at Zoro's choice of words, "Ka-Chin~! Now I'm pissed! I dare you to say that again, Seaweed Head!"
"WHAT~!?" Zoro began to draw one of his Katanas, "You want to fi-!?"
BONK! BONK!
"Stop your stupid bickering!" Nami ordered after giving the two painful lumps on their heads, knocking them out.
"An argument between men," Kaoru awed in fear, "With a woman asserted on top in the end…"
"Since when did you become so poetic?" Aoi sweat dropped.
"…I'm still wondering how this is possible," Shiho commented on the lump on Sanji head, which has taken the form of a heart.
"It's okay, everybody! Luffy-san won't lose!" Vivi commented loudly, but her sweating face said otherwise, "…He promised! We just have to wait for him in Arubana…"
"You're the most worried among us!" The Children comically exclaimed.
"Vivi~~!" Nami sighed, giving Vivi a slight knock on the forehead, "Why don't you just stick with worry about the uprising, okay!?"
"Ow," Vivi yelped, but it didn't look like it hurt so much since she also sweat dropped.
"Sorry Vivi-chan," Sanji rubbed his head in shame.
"It's the end for me if you get the last word in," Zoro sighed.
"You should have start it then~!" Kaoru giggled teasingly.
"…I'm going to chop you up!" Zoro warned as he got ready to draw his sword.
"… … …I'm against violence…"
"Don't hide behind me!" Aoi lectured comically to the said person behind her.
"Well, in any case," Shiho sighed to stop any further escalation, "Let's just focus on battle ahead without self-destructing, shall we?"
"Agree," Nami nodded before calling to the Moving Crab, "Speed up, Scissor!"
"… …Who Scissor?"
"It's the crab's name…"
"SCISSORS!?" Everyone exclaimed in shock.
"Seriously?" Shiho palmed her face.
"What!?" Usopp and Aoi exclaimed, "This crab can't cross water!?"
"Moving Crabs are creatures of the sand," Vivi explained, "Thus they can't stand water…"
"But it's a crab~!" Kaoru palmed her face in exhaustion, "I mean, come on~! Even I know that when you think of crabs water comes naturally afterwards~!"
There was only four more hours left before the clash between the Royal Army and the Rebel Force happens and the Straw Hats had made surprising progress. Unfortunately, as they approach the Sandora River, it was then that Vivi informed them of the Scissor's shortcoming.
"According this map," Shiho frowned uncomfortably, displaying a map for all to see, "it'll take us all day just to float across the huge river. And look, once we cross the river there's still at least several more kilometers of desert left to go!"
"…Meaning," Nami frowned in the same manner, leaning over Shiho to look at the map, "If Scissor can't make it to the other side…then we'll have to run the rest of the way~!"
"There's no way we can make in time like that!" Usopp yelped in conclusion.
"Oi, there's the river!" Sanji suddenly alerted, "I see the Sandora!"
"What?" Usopp and Shiho crawled closer to the front to see the glittering reflecting lights from the river.
"Ah-! Yeah, that's definitely the river," Shiho nodded.
"Please do something, Scissors-kun~!" Nami pleaded.
"…! That's right!" Chopper suddenly sounded.
"Chopper," Aoi noted, "Did you think of something?"
"Yeah! Scissors loves dancing girls!"
"Seriously!?" Kaoru exclaimed, comically puffing cloud from her nostrils, "Oh! He and I can get along just fine after all!"
"Of course~ you would," Aoi backhanded her friend with a sweat drop.
"Yosh! If that's the case…Nami, show off your dancing clothes!"
"Eh? Are you sure!?" Nami glance at Kaoru skeptically.
"Trust me! I know it would work!"
"Of course~ you know that it'll work," Aoi tired shrugged knowingly.
"Well~," With that, Nami removed the cloak that covers her dancing clothing, "Is this enough?"
"OH MY~!" Sanji and Kaoru swooned (Eyelash the camel as well) and it wasn't long before Scissors also saw it.
Once he did, his eyes flashed hearts and his movement sped up considerably.
"He accelerated!" Chopper cheered.
"NAMI-SWAN~~~!" Sanji cheered as well.
"You managed to break two animals with your dumb routine!" Zoro commented.
"It's NOT stupid!" Kaoru countered, "This is ERO-Power!"
"Yosh!" Chopper cheered, "ERO-Power!"
"Don't copy her," Shiho and Aoi sweat dropped, "And speaking of which, how is this supposed to help!?"
Despite the screaming, no one could do anything as Scissor finally reached the river. But it was then that a remarkable thing happened: Scissor didn't sink, instead it continued run on top of the water.
"…Holy crab," Sanji managed, "This thing's amazing!"
"I don't believe it!" Usopp wowed, "It's a miracle! He's running on top of the water~!"
"Yeah~!" Kaoru cheered, "Don't underestimate ERO-Power~!"
"…Somehow that doesn't make me happy," Aoi sweat dropped.
"…And you're right," Shiho sweat dropped as Scissor slowly began to sink beneath the water, "…It didn't last…"
"GYAH~~~!" Everyone screamed in shock as waves of water consumed them.
"Looks like we'll be trudging water through water from this point on," Sanji sighed.
"Thanks for getting us this far at least Scissor~!" Chopper called back to the Moving Crab back on shore from on top of Zoro's head.
"Wait a sec," Usopp exclaimed as they began to swim on, "How far is it to the other side?"
"About 50 km," Vivi informed.
"We can't swim that!" Usopp cried before feeling his entire body lifting out of the water, "Huh!?"
"What the-!?" Nami yelped in shock as everyone found themselves floating a meter above the water, glowing faintly red "How-!?"
"That's my doing," Kaoru informed, with her hand glowing bright red, "Unfortunately, to get everyone out of the water, this is as high I can lift you without putting strain on me…"
"You can do that!?" Everyone exclaimed.
"Yeah," Shiho shrugged, "But to conserve power, Kaoru won't be able to make us go any faster than how people would normally run…"
"Considering how many people Kaoru has to lift and carry," Aoi added as they began to float their way to the other side.
"Better than swimming," Nami laughed, "Good job, you three…"
"Looks like we still have a chance," Zoro smirked, "Go as fast as you can, Kaoru…"
"I'll do my best!" Kaoru nodded…just as the water rose in front of them. A huge catfish creature now blocked their way. "WHAAH~!"
"A 'Sandora Rare-Catfish!" Vivi exclaimed, "Named because it's extremely rare!"
"Who cares about that!?" Usopp exclaimed.
"Ugh!" Kaoru grunted as she slowly made the group back off from the approaching catfish, "I can't defend myself while carrying everyone!"
"Why is it coming at us!?" Chopper squealed as he huge Zoro's face in panic.
"The Sandora Rare-Catfish loves to eat humans!" Vivi managed in panic.
"You should have said that first!" Usopp comically cried.
"Save me~!" Nami exclaimed as she embrace Sanji in terror.
"Don't worry Nami-swan~!" Sanji swooned from the embrace, "I'll protect you~!"
"Then DO it!" Shiho exclaimed as the Catfish open its wide mouth to devour them, "No time to flirt!"
"Chopper, let Zoro-han go!" Aoi exclaimed as she try to pull the panicked Chopper off of the suffocating Zoro.
POW! BAM! BOOM! KAPOOW!
"…!" Kaoru managed before seeing the catfish sent flying into unconsciousness…by some familiar creatures. "Ah-! The Kung-Fu Dugongs~!"
"I'm not saying that I don't appreciate them for coming to our rescue," Aoi managed as she and everyone else sat on top of the out cold catfish, with the Dugongs pushing and pulling it along to the other side of the river. "But why are they here?"
"…Uh," Chopper managed after asking one of the Dugongs, "They said, 'We cannot let our fellow students perish'…"
"… …I see," Shiho sweat dropped as Kaoru shout commands at the Dugongs.
"But, uh, it's not like we're Luffy or Kaoru's students or anything," Nami sweat dropped as well.
"At least we're alive!" Usopp cheered, "That's all that counts!"
"Yeah!" Kaoru snickered, "And we're traveling much faster now, so let's not complain!"
"…I suppose you two have a point," Nami sighed.
Saved by the animals of the kingdom, the Straw Hats somehow managed to cross the Sandora River and reached the Arubana coast. Time left: 3 Hours.
"Thanks!" The girls called back to the Kung-Fu Dugongs, waving goodbye.
"We're doing good," Zoro noted, "Think we can make it in time, Vivi?"
"I don't know," Vivi replied, "Even with Eyelash and Kaoru here, it'll be tough…"
"But Eyelash can only hold two people, three if it's just either Shiho or Aoi, and from here on the Baroque Works will be trying to trap us!"
"That's true," Shiho hummed, "And if we need Kaoru to fly as fast as possible, she can only carry at most five people…"
"Either way," Aoi scratched her head in frustration, "Someone is going to be left behind at this rate. Isn't there any way we can travel as an entire group?"
"…! Wait!" Nami suddenly exclaimed, pointing ahead, "Over there!"
"What now!?" Usopp comically shivered, seeing a dust cloud heading for them, "Enemies!? M-M-More of them!?"
"…! No!" Vivi suddenly cried out in relief once she identify the approaching creatures, "It's…Carue! And…the 'Super Sonic Duck Squad'!"
"…The what?" the Children sweat dropped as seven ducks, one of them being Carue, came to a halt in front of them and salute them. Each of them had different accessories to tell them apart.
"They're the fastest troops in Arabasta," Vivi informed.
"Oh~!"
"At this rate, we'll reach Arubana just before they could engage," Nami called.
"It's definitely going to be a close call," Shiho hummed in thought. She and her childhood friends were floating above the rest of the Straw Hats, keeping up with the Super Sonic Duck they were riding. "Think it's still possible to stop them?"
"Yes," Vivi nodded, "I'll make sure of it!"
"That's great and all," Aoi noted, "But if memory serves me correctly, we'll be facing some top-notch agent as soon as we get there, right? They'll no doubt try to stall Vivi, or worse get rid of her. How do we counter that?"
"We'll take care of that," Sanji puffed, "And while we keep them busy, Vivi-chan can go stop the rebellion…"
"Sounds like a plan," Kaoru smirked as she accelerated a bit.
"…Wait," Shiho suddenly noted, "Vivi, how many agents are we expecting?"
"Well," Vivi ran through her memory, "There should be at least five…"
"Five," Shiho repeated, "Considering this is the finale to them, they're all tough. And those with the most chance to distract them in a direct confrontation are…"
"…Zoro," Usopp managed, "Sanji and Kaoru…"
"…No, we can't count Kaoru…"
"Eh!?" Kaoru frowned, "Why not!?"
"The three of us are still inexperience. And Vivi said that these agents may possess Devil Fruit powers, right?"
"…Ah~…"
"Putting all of that into the equation, there's a chance even just one agent can slip by and endanger Vivi with only two people a large enough threat…"
"You do have a point," Zoro nodded with a frown, "In order to ensure that Vivi can stop the rebel army, we need a way to ensure none of the agents can reach Vivi quickly. Charging ahead won't do that…"
"And what about Vivi's dad?" Aoi added after thinking, "I just remember, in order for this rebellion to work in their favor, the real king has to remain missing, according to what you all told us…"
"Oh yeah," Usopp slapped his head, "We still need to find Vivi's dad…"
"But what can we do?" Chopper wondered.
"That's…uh," Zoro broke off, having nothing solid to offer.
Kaoru hummed in thought. 'What would Minamoto do? … … …Ah-!' "Ah, I got it, why don't we just charge!"
"…Huh?" Aoi and Shiho turn with a sweat drop, "Kaoru, we just-!"
"I'm not finish! Here's what I got in mind: There are seven Super Sonic Ducks right? Carue will remain with Vivi and take her to stop the rebellion. The remaining six will carry one of us, cloaked and cover and charge onward. That'll get the agents attention, thinking that Vivi will be among the six while she is actually a ways back. Once they try to stop us, the six will split up, force the agents to spit up or risk letting Vivi get away. Once they're gone, Vivi is in the clear to stop the rebel army…"
"… …Oh~!" Nami wowed after taking a minute to think about it, "That might just work!"
"Not bad of plan," Sanji complimented.
"…I'm shocked," Aoi blinked at Kaoru, "That's a pretty solid plan…"
Kaoru giggled before poking her head. "Hide the truth within the truth, that's what Minamoto did every time he comes up with those strategic plans…like that one time he had a mock battle against us…"
"Ah~!"
"…Well, the only problem now is to decide who among the three of us would play as the sixth decoy-…"
"Wait," Shiho suddenly called, "I got a better idea! We'll let somebody else play the sixth decoy…"
"Eh!? Why!?"
"It wouldn't matter which of us goes, we're too short so they won't be fooled. Instead, the three of us will go find Vivi's dad…"
"Ah!" Aoi thumped her palm, "With the agents busy with the decoy, we can find the King!"
"But," Usopp managed, "If I'm going to be involve, who's left to be the sixth decoy?"
"…Him," Shiho replied with a sinister smile…pointing down at Eyelash.
"…!?" Eyelash jolted a bit once he realized everyone was staring at him.
"…Ah~!" Everyone thumped their palm, "Good one~!"
Eyelash immediately shook his head in fear.
"Eyelash-kun~!" Nami pleaded, "Please help us~!"
Seeing that, Eyelash's eyes turn to hearts and he nodded vigorously.
"How easily convinced…" Sanji sweat dropped.
Sometime later, they could finally see the capital of Arabasta in the distant.
"Alright," Zoro called, now covered, "everyone remembers the plan?"
"Yep!" Everyone nodded.
"…But why do I have to be with Eyelash!?" Usopp suddenly complained.
"Nothing we can do about it," Sanji shrugged, "You got the unlucky draw…"
"… …Well, in that case, please promise me that you'll come save us immediately afterwards!"
"Stupid, I only save women…"
"I'm counting on you!"
"He's not listening," Shiho sweat dropped.
"Vivi, and you three," Zoro continued, "Remember not to move until they start chasing us…"
"Got it!" Vivi and the Children nodded.
"…Also," Zoro suddenly called, rising up his left arm, "Don't forget this, understand?"
Everyone nodded, remembering what they discuss about a couple of days ago…
"Listen up, the transformations of this Okama is absolute," Zoro instructed, "He could turn into one of us and try to get Vivi at any moment. If you feel any of us are being the slightest bit suspicious, have them take off their bandage and show you this mark!" Zoro unwrap the bandages around his arm, exposing an X. "If they can't do it, they're an imposter…"
"Oh~!" Aoi awed, "Nice Zoro-han!"
Even Sanji whistle in admiration. "It's not like you to think up something as clever as a double mark. That must mean…you're that pervert bastard-!"
"I'll CUT you up!" Zoro comically roared back, clearly offended.
"Nope, it's Zoro," Luffy affirmed.
"Yep," Kaoru nodded, "That's Zoro…"
"Good," Usopp wiped the sweat off his forehead in relief, "It is Zoro…"
"You people," Aoi backhanded them with an annoyed frown, "are rude!"
"We haven't even set out yet…" Shiho sighed.
"…With this, even if that Mr. 2 try to trick us, we'll know," Kaoru smirked.
Zoro nodded. "Well then, let it begin!"
"Yeah," Vivi nodded, "Thank you everyone…"
"It's still too early to thank us…"
"Yeah~," Nami grinned in anticipation, make a money sign with her hand, "What pirates want is a reward…not cheap thanks…"
"What are you going to try to get from this country!?" Usopp gawked.
"Alright, the show's on," Zoro called, having his duck ready to dash forward, "Don't mess up!"
"Let's go!" Kaoru grinned determinedly, "Everyone meets at Arubana Palace!"
With that, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Nami, Chopper, and Eyelash (now sitting on top of one of the Ducks) bolt off. Even from the distant, Vivi and the Children could tell what was happening. Five agents, supposedly, spotted the six decoys and engage them. The six decoys promptly split off into pairs, creating the illusion that one of the pair was Vivi and the other was her body guard. Not wishing to risk one of them actually being Vivi, the agents split off to give chase to each pair. They were soon out of sight.
"It went perfectly," Shiho smirked, "Right, we can move now…"
Vivi nodded. "Good luck in your mission, you three!"
"No," Aoi shook her head, "Good luck to you!"
With those final words, Vivi sprint off with Carue and the Children teleported into the City.
Kaoru: "Is it just me, or was this chapter rather short?"
Normama: "Really? It didn't feel like it to me..."
Minamoto: "Oi, Normama, don't let them do something dangerous in the next chapter okay?"
Normama: "Sorry, no promises..."
Minamoto: "Hey~~~!"
Normama: "La la lala~~! I can't hear you~! Anyway, this is it for today~! See you all next time...I hope~! Review please~!"