Chimera Luffy

by mellra

What if Luffy ate a different Devil's Fruit as a child? Not just any fruit, but the most powerful of the Zoan fruits, the Chimera-Chimera Fruit. It is a legendary Zoan fruit that allows the user to take on the forms of any Zoan fruit users, as well a true form as the mythical chimera. How will this change the course of the One Piece world? Pairing most likely Luffy/Boa Hancock, but

19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: The following is a fan based parody with kudos to the actual creator and RoseDragonWitch.

AN: Been a little while hasn't it? I had some technical issues getting this chapter out, but I hopefully won't have said issues in the future so I may be able to go back to weekly updates (don't quote me on that). A few things before we get started: I'm going to be skipping over the Davy Back Fight arc as that was without a doubt the most pointless moment in One Piece history. For those of you who like said arc, I'm sorry but I cannot and will not write that piece of crap that had no major role to the main story whatsoever. Instead I will be going right to the fight with Aokiji. Some major fights are on the horizon, and with it I hope to make some changes to I'm not, as one person put it, 'canon tit-sucking', and it will have the nay sayers off my freaking back. Also, I'm going to ignore the anime only arcs for the most part, as they annoy me and leave way too many plot holes in otherwise good shows and before you know it you have the first version of Fullmetal Alchemist that everyone regrets. Anyway, on with the show!

Chapter 19

It had been a hectic few weeks from the crew. After nearly crashing into the ocean after the air in the balloon octopus went out (largely Luffy's fault but he made up for it by becoming a second octopus balloon to help the Merry float down), the crew encountered some violent storms, enemy pirate crews, and a strange old man who lived on an island full of elongated items including a pair of stilts he was stuck on for 10 years and his best friend a giraffe like horse, the crew was now faced with one of their biggest challenges ever: the marine admiral Aokiji. At first he man didn't seem anything like a standard marine. He was incredibly lazy and seemed quite mellow despite encountering what was an enemy pirate crew. He even went out of his way to form a path of ice for the previously mentioned old man in the ocean so he could meet up with his family on a neighboring island.

After saying their goodbyes to the old man and playing in the snow for a while that was created by the admiral's Ice Ice Fruit powers, they eventually went over to where the man was. Aokiji was sitting there on the ground, cross-legged, and his head bent to one side as if he was trying to figure out a hard problem.

Though he was sitting down, if he standing up he'd be taller than every member of the crew. He had black, curly hair cut to chin length and fanned out at the tips, his skin was tanned and he was dressed like any other Marine, only with a blue sleeping mask on his forehead.

Luffy, who was still enjoying himself, finally noticed that Aokiji was giving him a strange look and stopped laughing to look at him. Aokiji didn't say anything as he sighed and scratched his head, as if wondering what he should do.

"What is it?" Luffy asked him curiously, a slight frown coming to his face.

Aokiji was silent for a few more moments as he thought over what to say. "How should I put this?" he asked at last, seemingly talking more to himself than to them, "You're the spitting image of your grandpa, Monkey D. Luffy." Luffy looked startled at hearing his grandfather's name as Aokiji finished, "Or maybe I should say. You're just as reckless and hard to figure out."

At those words, Luffy froze as a look of anxiety washed over his face and he began to sweat. "You knew… my grandpa?" he choked out, and he looked like his was reliving some childhood trauma, which wasn't far from the truth.

Usopp looked astonished at hearing Aokiji mention Luffy's grandfather. "Seriously?" he asked, "Luffy's?" He looked to Luffy, as if about to ask him something before he noticed his face and they could all see how edgy he looked. "Hey, Luffy, what's wrong? You're sweating."

Luffy seemed to have snapped himself out of the past and looked at Usopp, saying a little too quickly as he waved his hands in front of him like he was trying to stop someone from running into him, "Ah… nothing! Really! I'm fine!"

"Your grandfather helped me out once, a long time ago," Aokiji went on as if they hadn't said anything. "That's why I'm here, I wanted to see you and Nico Robin together with my own eyes."

Robin who had been fairly tense since the admiral arrived, now looked fearful, standing farther back than the others—as if torn between staying and running.

Aokiji spoke again. "On second thought… maybe… I should just kill you.

"The government still doesn't consider you a threat, but I know enough of your history to see you are a formidable crew," Aokiji stated calmly, looking at them all with polite curiosity. But his eyes lingered on Robin the longest. "You may be few in number, but with the shrewd rouges gathered here, this crew will likely be a problem later on."

"Should we take that as a compliment or an insult?" Usopp asked nervously.

"Either way, he's trying to figure out if it is a good idea to let us live or not," Sanji said frowning.

"Considering the circumstances regarding your initial bounty… the numerous daring actions you've taken, and the speed of your overall progress…" Aokiji went on, before he shook his head. "I've fought outlaws for most of my life, but thinking about how you'll turn out scares the hell outta me."

All of the Straw Hats looking tense at this.

"HEY WAIT! HOLD ON A SECOND!" Usopp cried out, shaking his hands like how Luffy had been doing before when asked about his grandpa. "YOU SAID YOU HERE JUST TO CHECK THINGS OUT! NOT TO KILL ANYONE!"

"One among you I consider the most dangerous," Aokiji stated, glancing towards Robin and added, "That would be you… Nico Robin."

"So despite everything you are here for Robin!" Luffy yelled, his eyes narrowed dangerously and he looked angry. "Now I'm really gonna kick your butt!"

But Aokiji didn't seem bothered by Luffy's words. "The size of her bounty isn't merely a reflection of her strength and power," he informed them calmly, "It also represents something else; that would be the level of threat and danger that she poses to the World Government. That's why a seventy-nine million bounty was place on her head at the tender young age of eight.

"I'm impressed you were able to survive, especially as a child," Aokiji stated, now sounding like he had just read the paper and was telling them what tomorrow's weather was supposed to be like. "You managed to betray, sidestep and escape from everyone in your path and then found yourself a new partner to make use of.

"You survived in the underworld by being quick to switch sides and now you've chosen this crew as your next haven," Aokiji finished and Robin's eyes widen in horror at his words, like he had just given her a deadly threat… though maybe in a sense, he was…

"That's enough jerk!" Sanji yelled out, no longer able to stop himself from walking forward and let him go on. "I'm not just gonna let you stand there and speak to a lady like that! What kind of ridiculous grudge are you holding against Robin?!"

Usopp was holding him back, preventing him from launching himself at Aokiji, trying to get him not to do something that he would regret. He may not look tough, but an admiral isn't someone they wanted to mess with right now.

"I don't have anything against her," Aokiji informed them calmly. "The only connection we have between us… is that I let her escape from me one time… that's about it. It was a long time ago." He glanced at each one of them in turn, with that same wondering look on his face, as if trying to figure out what they were thinking. "You will all learn soon enough that protecting this troublesome woman leads to nothing but regret.

"If you need proof, consider this… every organization… that she's had something to do with in the past has been annihilated," Aokiji went on. He then stood up and walked a few steps closer. "Not one solitary member escaped except for her." He looked at her, "Why is that? Nico Robin?"

Robin took a few steps back, biting her lower lip—clearly knowing what he was talking about.

Seeing how afraid she was made Luffy even angrier. "SHUT UP JERK! THE PAST DOESN'T MATTER!" he screamed at him. Everyone was backing him up at those words, even Zoro, though he didn't say anything—his face held anger as he glared at Aokiji.

"That's right," Usopp yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him. "If it did, we wouldn't have a dangerous former pirate hunter guy or a degenerate, conniving ex-thief woman on our crew would we?!"

Nami gave him a hard bonk on the head, snapping at him not to go overboard.

"You can't say it's not true!" Usopp whimpered as he rubbed the spot on his head where she hit him.

"Maybe, but you don't have to bring it up!" she shouted.

Sanji then added, "Who we are now more important than who we were!"

"Yeah! That's right! Robin is our friend!" Chopper yelled out, now waving his arms around angrily—and no longer showing any fear at Aokiji, "Don't you dare say anything bad about her! You hear me?!"

Robin looked too stunned to be able to say anything to their words. Hearing those words felt as if someone was wrapping a warm blanket around her. Even though she was terrified of Aokiji, those words alone made her so happy…

"I see," Aokiji said, looking a little disappointed as he turned back to Robin. "So these poor fools don't suspect a thing."

Something inside Robin seemed to have snapped. "JUST GET TO THE POINT!" she screamed out, her hands held up, "IF YOU WANT TO ARREST ME THEN WHY DON'T YOU JUST DO IT ALREADY?!"

They could all count on one hand how many times that Robin had lost control of her emotions since meeting her, but here the fear was replaced with pure anger. For the first time since joining the crew, she looked truly angry. And despite Usopp screaming at her not to do it, she caused about thirty hands to appear and grab hold of Aokiji from all over.

"My, my, my," Aokiji said indifferently, his eyes looking at her shaking arms. "Did something I say strike a nerve? That's too bad, guess I must've overestimated how reasonable a woman you were."

"And CLUTCH!" she screamed, thus breaking him right in half and his body shattered like glass…

The Straw Hats screamed and began to freak out. Not that her attack did any good. Aokiji was reforming from the ice… first an arm, and then his head and upper body began to emerge, as if like a growing plant.

"It didn't work!" Usopp croaked out. "We're screwed!" and as Aokiji's body was growing larger and longer, with most of his body was still made of ice he began to freak out. "LET'S GET OUTTA HERE! EVERYBODY RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

Usopp and Chopper were both screaming in terror as Robin panted for breath. Though crouching down, about to get up, he was still taller than them.

"Now, now," he said, like a parent to a child who had been misbehaving, "That wasn't a very nice thing to do."

They were all tense, knowing that they did it now. Aokiji then reached down to pull out a handful of grass and then he threw them into the air. As they watched, he blew on them with an ice breath that froze them into a large, jagged ice sword.

"ICE SABER!" he said as he looked back to Robin.

"I didn't wanna have to kill you but now…" he declared as he held up the saber.

Swinging the sword like how one would with a bat, Robin shut her eyes, looking ready to die fighting, but just then, Zoro had charged in from the background and stopped the blade himself.

Sanji than came running in, ready for a fight himself, and was able to kick the saber out of his hand. As Usopp cheered them on, Luffy was running in to fight as well.

Zoro smirked mockingly at Sanji. "Ha! I don't recall asking for your help, cook," he told him.

Sanji smirked right back. "Funny," he said, "I was just gonna say the same thing to you Moss Head."

Luffy had come up and threw back his arm as it bulked up and became that of a gorilla. "Gorilla…!"

But just before he finished his attack, Aokiji grabbed hold of Zoro's arm and Sanji's leg just as Luffy threw the punch—"SHOT!" and punched him right in the gut. It was like watching a nightmare… the Monster Trio… all three who had lived up to their titles every single day, were all stopped dead in their tracks with one attack. Luffy's and Zoro's arms as well as Sanji's leg were all frozen, covered in a thick coating of ice, and when Aokiji let them go they fell to the ground in agony.

Usopp and Chopper were on the ground, screaming so loudly that they couldn't make out what they were saying, but Nami was the one who looked the most freaked out.

"HE GOT ALL THREE OF THEM! AT ONCE!" she screamed and the three were writhing on the ground, holding onto their limbs as if hoping to keep those parts from falling off.

"H-he's freezing them solid! I have to help them quickly!" Chopper screamed out, his eyes wide and he was trembling like a leaf—looking completely lost as to how to help. "If they get frostbite, their limbs will start to rot!" He turned towards Usopp who was also shaking and dripping with sweat. His eyes were twitching and his entire body seemed to be on the verge of spazzing out. "USOPP!" Chopper screamed at him, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WE HAVE TO HELP THEM NOW!"

"I want to help!" he stuttered jerkily, "I'm trying! But I can't seem to move! Did he freeze me too?"

Chopper screamed that he was just too scared to move. They broke down completely and were screaming out that they would help and to just hold on.

"ROBIN! RUN AWAY!" Nami yelled at their friend, but Robin didn't move, looking torn at what she should do. Wanting to run away, but seemed unable to bring herself to.

Aokiji smirked at Robin, not the least bit surprised. "You have some very loyal friends," he said as she was now breathing hard as if she had just run away now, "but you will never change, Nico Robin."

"NO!" she yelled back, "That's not true!"

But she didn't get a chance to finish for Aokiji towered over her and fell, embracing her in what looked like a hug, but as soon as he touched her, her entire body began to freeze.

"ROBIN! GET AWAY FROM HIM! WATCH OUT!" Luffy yelled, getting up from the ground.

But nothing he said changed what happened. They stared in horror as Robin's body froze over. With her last breath she gasped out, "I'm not… who I…" but then the ice spread up to her face and her voice died as the others stared in shock.

Sanji screamed out her name as the others were too horrified at what they were seeing, staring with eyes wide and gapping like fish. By the time that Aokiji pulled away, she was frozen solid… like a perfect ice sculpture, her face still capturing the fear and hesitation that she held before… it was like they were back at Little Garden and they had been turned to wax statues.

Luffy stepped forward, too stunned to speak. But the shock was quickly changed to rage and hatred.

"YOU CREEP!" he screamed, looking ready to kill.

Aokiji opened his mouth and they could see a cloud of his breath showing them how cold it was. "Stop yelling," he said in a bored way, as if explaining what was going on was a chore to him. "If you thaw her out carefully she'll live. However, her body is extremely fragile in this state so you'll have to handle her with care." He raised up a fist, "If any part of her breaks, she'll die!"

They all gasped, knowing what he was going to do. "For example, if I were to smash her apart like this!" he cried out, and they looked ready to jump in and stop it.

"SSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!" Luffy screamed, running ahead of everyone on cheetah legs… he managed to save Robin but just barely. He grabbed hold of her frozen body like how one would grab a manikin in a clothing store and was forced to bend back to avoid Aokiji's attack.

Aokiji looked mildly annoyed at this as Luffy gasped how close that was. But instead, he raised a leg and was about to stop on her anyway… Usopp seemed to have finally gotten control of his legs again and charged in out of nowhere. He grabbed Robin's body and ran so that Luffy was hit instead.

Aokiji was looking deeply annoyed as he looked over at them. "What in the hell are you doing?" he asked, irritation clear in his voice.

Luffy yelled out at them as Aokiji removed his foot, "Usopp! Chopper! Take Robin and run back to the ship!" Once free, he rolled over onto his stomach and added, "Thaw her out and keep her safe!"

The other two didn't seem to have any problems with that order. They didn't stand a chance against Aokiji and they knew that Robin was the one who needed their attention right now. "Right!" they cried at the same time, "You got it, captain!"

And so, carefully picking her up, stiff as board, they picked her up and began to carry her away. As they ran, they could hear them arguing… "Hurry!" Usopp yelled, "But be gentle ok?!"

"It's cold!" Chopper gasped.

"I know! But Robin's even colder genius!" he retorted as they disappeared into the distance.

Aokiji was walking calmly along, heading in the same direction where Usopp and Chopper went running off in, every step he made, there was a slight mist coming up from his cold body. "Don't bother," he said, holding up on of his own ice-covered hands, "The world would be a much better place without that woman in it."

Nami stepped in and tried to hit him with her Clima-Tact, only for him to catch it and look down at her with an amused look.

"Not to split hairs," she exclaimed to him, "But a pirate crew pretty much consists of people just like that!"

But Aokiji didn't even break stride as he answered her, "You got that right lady. Now if you don't mind… kindly step aside." He pulled Nami's weapon with such force that she was pulled straight to the ground. The boys just couldn't stop themselves—knowing if they didn't do something, someone was gonna die.

"Nami!" Sanji called in worry as he and Zoro both jumped up, ready for a fight to the death—for once, not wasting time fighting each other. Sanji yelled "You're not cut out…"

"To mess with this crew!" Zoro finished, both ready to strike, but then Luffy got back up, stopping them dead.

"WAIT! NOBODY ATTACK HIM!" he screamed at them and they skidded to a stop before staring back at him.

"Stay back and don't interfere," Luffy commanded them, "I'm gonna fight him one-on-one."

Aokiji was glancing back at Luffy, watching him hold up both arms—both frozen and unfrozen. "What do you say?" he asked him, "The two of us can settle this on our own!" He then flexed his frozen arm and suddenly the ice broke apart, the arm itself becoming the translucent furred paw of a polar bear. The admiral raised an eyebrow at this before turning to face his opponent.

Aokiji's body began to freeze over with eyes. "Fine by me," he said simply, "But… since I don't have a ship to take you back, then I'll just have to kill ya."

The Straw Hats all looked upset at the order, but after a few extra-long seconds, they all got up and began to head back to the ship, with Nami helping Sanji to walk with his leg still half frozen.

"Luffy!" Zoro added quickly and there was a stern look and a hard silence between them.

Zoro finally turned and followed after the others, leaving the two to face each other. All he was trying to do was make sure he knew that his captain wasn't going to do something to get him killed. He was silently telling him that they would be coming back so that he better stay alive until then. Luffy must've gotten the message and gave a jerk of the head as they honored his role as captain and did what he told them.

Once they were gone, the two faced each other—both of them waiting for the other to make a move. For a few moments, neither did anything, but then Aokiji threw a dart made of ice right at him, throwing it like a knife, which Luffy dodge. When Luffy got back into a ready stance, he now towered over the Ice Man as a human polar bear hybrid, his long teeth and claws bared for battle. With a roar, the Polar Bear Man charged his adversary.

That was how the battle went on. Now that Luffy knew that just touching this guy was dangerous, even with the extra protection of his fur and muscles, any punches that he did throw didn't remain contact with Aokiji's body for too long—though this spared him from being frozen for the most part, it hardly did any real good. Aokiji leapt into the air and sent a blizzard down at him, starting to create large shards of ice across their battlefield. Aokiji froze water in the air above them and sent a giant block of ice down at Luffy. The straw hat wearing polar bear caught the ice using both arms and, with a grunt of exertion, crushed it into cubes before charging once more at Aokiji trying to get him on the defensive.

After several minutes of this, Luffy was now panting hard—though Aokiji wasn't able to get a real hit, the battle was already taken its toll on him. Luffy's white colored fur was now stained red from being either too slow or bulky to dodge some of the lazy man's ice weaponry.

"You really are persistent aren't you?" Aokiji asked him causally, not even out of breath yet. Luffy knew that things were getting desperate, so he decided to go for a desperate move. Taking on his chimera form he ran ahead, dodging as Aokiji reached out to touch him. He ducked and was able to kick him high into the air.

"Chimera's… FIRESTORM!" Luffy screamed out as he sent out a stream of flames from his mouth. When the flames cleared they showed Aokiji in a half melted state. Pressing the advantage, Luffy closed in and began walloping on the man like a heavy bag until he broke apart. The boy landed on the ground breathing hard when he suddenly felt a pair of hands clutch his shoulders. Out of the corner of his eye, Luffy noticed Aokiji looming over him. Shocked, the boy looked over to the melting form of Aokiji only to see the 'admiral' he beat lacked all color had left behind as it melted. Figuring the real Aokiji replaced himself with an ice duplicate most likely from the time the fire went up. With Aokiji too close to dodge Luffy knew that it was over as his eyes widen in realization…

"ICE TIME!" Aokiji's attack came out and in seconds, Luffy's body was now covered with a thick coating of ice, just like Robin. It looked he was trying to escape, but like a hot tongue to a frozen pole, he couldn't seem to move. When he was completely frozen, Luffy looked like an ice sculpture of a Chimera with his mouth opened in a final roar.

Around him, the surroundings became blurred and distorted, like a bunch of watercolors mixed together—though he could still hear everything, the sound was muffled like the Straw Hat's captain was wearing earmuffs, and suddenly he could hear a strange beating, one so faint that he could barely hear it: his heartbeat.

Through the swirl of colors and shapes, he could see the tall shape of what had to be Aokiji there. He placed Luffy's frozen body right in front of himself as if it weighed nothing before he sat down, looking at him curiously.

"Aww man," Aokiji suddenly said. "You tricked me. The moment I agreed to fight you one-on-one, I settled on defeating you and you alone. But that your plan wasn't it?" Aokiji asked him, "If I were to attack your crew now, I'd be the bad guy here. Isn't that right, captain?

"Or, maybe… you actually thought you could beat me?" Aokiji asked, sounding amused at the very thought. Through the ever-growing blurry vision, he could just make out Aokiji standing up and dusting off his clothes.

He looked right up at Luffy and said seriously, "Let me give you a piece of advice. Keep a close eye on Nico Robin."

Luffy's vision was fading and as the sound of his heart got louder, starting to drown out Aokiji's voice, before it sounded like it was starting to slow down.

"Eventually, she'll grow to be more than you can handle," Aokiji's voice growing ever more faint. "The nature of the violent fate she was born into will be a greater danger than you can imagine. More of a burden than you could ever hope to bear.

"That's what it means to have that woman as part of your crew," he said and they saw he was raising up his foot and their hearts froze—knowing that he had his chance… just one kick and their captain was gone forever. "You have been warned…" he said before he changed direction and ended up shattering a pillar of ice next to them. "Mr. Monkey D. Luffy!

"It would be easy to break you and kill you right here and now," he said, his voice now so muffled that that even Luffy's super sensitive hearing could hardly make any words out. "But I have a debt to honor."

The tall man bent down to pick up something off the ground, his coat most likely, before his faint voice said, "Consider us even for you taking care of Crocodile. As well as…" Aokiji's voice added before he paused, "Ah… never mind. Something to do with Smoker. See ya!"

There was nothing going on around him, the shapes had blackened so that there was nothing but darkness. Luffy's heart had almost stopped now. And by the time it did, he could make out Zoro and Sanji's voices in the distance. Luffy couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was definitely their voices—and it sounded like they were arguing. But Luffy's heart had stopped right then and there as he finally lost consciousness for darkness took him.

Perspective Change: Nico Robin

It was cold. That was all she was truly aware of, this terrible cold. But there was also warmth around her, she could feel warm water on her face, trying to heat up her frozen insides. There was a terrible ache inside her chest as if she had been kicked by a wild animal or something. She soon realized that she was soaked through and could hear the sound of running water.

After a few more minutes, she heard voices around her, familiar and worried voices…

She opened her eyes.

"ROBIN!" Chopper's voice screamed out and she focused her vision on his terrified face. He was also soaked as well, his fur smelling of a wet dog.

She blinked, not understanding what was going on, or why she was freezing, her body shaking violently even with the gallons of water being dropped on her head. She was in the shower room, she could see that much, but she couldn't remember how she got there. Her head had felt stiff, as if it hadn't moved in a long time and was vaguely surprised to see that the room was flooded and she was sitting in the tub, full-clothed and soaked to the bone.

"Doctor…?" she asked in confusion, not understanding why she was so cold when the water was so warm. But then it suddenly came back, Aokiji… he was here. He attacked her and her crew…

She sat up so suddenly she splashed even more water on the floor, but she cried out in pain as she gripped her chest.

"Don't push yourself!" Chopper commanded, "I only just got your heart beating again!"

"My… my heart?" she croaked in confusion. "What happened? I was frozen… I…"

"Yeah, you were," Chopper said, "But we can explain more later! I'll make sure that you'll be alright! But you need to stay still."

She had been frozen, she remembered that much. And she could just remember hearing her captain's voice calling for them to take her back to the ship and get her treated. So that was what happened. She was frozen and her heart stopped beating… and that was why she hurt so much.

But then she saw something that almost scared her heart into stopping a second time. Chopper transformed and was carrying Luffy over. Most of his body was out of the ice as well, but he was still half frozen as he moved him more so that he was under the falling water. Fortunately after he had thawed enough, Luffy's body had shrunken back to its human form making it easier to carry than his bulkier Chimera form.

"Luffy…?" she asked anxiously as her teeth chattered together.

"Keep this towel on your head, it will keep more heat in your body," Chopper commanded.

"But Luffy…?" she asked, what little energy she had left leaving her quickly.

"He'll be alright!" Chopper said determining. "He's strong! Once we get all the ice off him, I'm sure that he'll be just fine! I'm just moving you so that we can get him under the water."

She didn't say a word, too tired to move or say anything else as guilt racked her insides. Aokiji was here… normally she would just run away like she always had done, leaving her 'protectors' behind to deal with the enemy. But she couldn't do. She couldn't bring herself to run…

After travelling with them for only a short time, she knew they were strong, but they were no match for an admiral, this she knew. Even twenty years ago, Aokiji was a monster… she shut her eyes and remembered Saul's face. She had come so close to sharing his fate after all these years… and Luffy as well. Another man with the middle initial D…

Instead of running however, she chose to stay. Hearing him say that she would one day betray the Straw Hats made her angry… but more than anything, she felt fear. Because she had seen this before in the past countless times. Yes, she had betrayed people and they had betrayed her… that was just her life. That was how she had lived up till now. She opened her eyes again and looked at Luffy's face as Chopper was trying to wake him up, looking encouraged with Luffy let out a strangled gasp and was breathing again. She let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. He and the others had protected her, defended her, and said that he would fight a man who had haunted nightmares for twenty years… and what did he get out of it? Almost freezing to death for her.

She looked away. What happened? What happened to the others after she was frozen?

"Chopper?" she asked weakly.

"Huh?" he asked, "Don't try to talk now! You're too weak! We're not out of the woods yet!"

"I'll listen," she croaked out, "What happened? After… after I was…?"

She couldn't finish, she was too tired to do so, but Chopper seemed to understand. He had quickly told her that Luffy ordered them to take her back to the ship and get her treated. Zoro and Sanji had to jump into the ocean to get the ice off their limbs and had them bandaged up before they went running back to Luffy who had challenged Aokiji to a one-on-one fight. According to Zoro, he said that they just found him frozen there before they brought him back.

He then leaned his head against Luffy's chest and his eyes brightened, tears burning.

"I can hear it!" he gasped out, jumping down and went running to the door. "His heart! His heart's going again!"

She sighed in relief as she watched him go running out to tell the others the good news and to start bringing in warm towels for them. She leaned back against the tub, feeling so tired she knew she couldn't fight the urge to sleep for much longer.

She looked to Luffy's blue face and knew that she must look a lot like that as well. But right now, she was sick with worry for what happened. It was all her fault, she knew that… she remembered Aokiji's words and they hit her with the speed of a cannonball. She was using this crew for protection… just like she used every other crew and organization in the past. Just being here with her was constantly putting their lives in danger.

They've done nothing but accept her and treated her well since she arrived even though she had been their enemy. And here she was repaying them by having them risk their lives for her. Two sides of her were conflicting with each other. A part of her wanted to just leave the crew, it would be best for them all if she did decide to leave. But the other part…

She didn't know what to do, she hated not knowing why she was feeling like this. Just then, the door opened and Chopper and Nami both came in, with Chopper giving Nami orders what to do. She could feel her muscles in her face working again as her lips curled up into a smile… for the first time in a long time, feeling safe and was able to drift off to sleep, leaving herself to their care.

She woke up much later—she glanced at the window and could see the night sky. She had been moved to the galley and was laying on a warm mattress. She had been changed out of her soaking wet clothes and in one of her long dresses. The others were all there as well… Nami was at the cooktop with Sanji, laying blankets near the stove so that they could get hot as Sanji was filling the entire room with a warmth from whatever he was cooking.

She could hear snoring next to her and glanced to her side to see that Luffy was lying on a separate mattress and out like a light. She smiled a little at that, her whole body stiff and sore, her face feeling as if she had a bad sunburn—but everyone was alright.

"Robin?" Usopp's voice came and she looked over to see that the others were glancing at her.

"Robin!" Choppers said happily, running over to her and checking her temperature. "How are you? Are you still feeling cold? Are you in any pain?"

"No," she said, her voice faint and weak, "Not pain really… just stiff."

"I got something that'll help you," Sanji said and he came over with a steaming mug of hot chocolate. "Something to help you get that beautiful smile back on that face of yours where it belongs."

It was pretty much a blur after that. Nami came over to help her sit up and she grateful took the drink, feeling her insides warm up even more and felt better at once. They told her that Aokiji was gone, apparently after he froze Luffy, he just up and left.

After she finished her drink and Nami gave her a few hot towels, Chopper gave her one last check-up before he told they all decided to turn in. They were all exhausted and didn't have the strength to even go downstairs to their rooms. They all ended up sleeping in that galley with them, wanting to be close by should something happen to the two who lay recovering. She lay awake though, long into the night, staring up at the ceiling, and unable to think of what to do… trying to fight the tears that wanted to come to her eyes.

Main Perspective

The crew had to wait several days before Luffy and Robin were strong enough to travel again. Things had been pretty much smooth sailing since then. Suddenly, the ship jerked to a hault. The crew was scattered on the Merry do to the force from the abrupt stop—but were in a strange place. There was a large lighthouse, but they were still out in the middle of the ocean.

Just then the Straw Hats were all getting to their feet as they looked around, wondering if they had come ashore and were stuck on something. But at that moment, they suddenly heard a loud clanging of what sounded like bells going off, and a post with flashing lights was going off so loudly that it made their eardrums ache.

They heard what had to be a loud whistle in the distance along with the sounds of something big and heavy coming at them at a great speed. They all looked up to the starboard side and there it was…

Hurtling towards them was a large metal monster, steam billowing out of a chimney-like stand on its head, and coming so fast that there was no way that they could stop even if it saw them.

"Full reverse right now!" Nami screamed, "Turn one hundred and eighty degrees!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Sanji yelled.

Nami began screaming orders that they had to get out of its path since clearly wasn't stopping. The Straw Hats went to the oars and were working hard to try and get the Merry to move… with a great heave, they managed to get off just in the nick of time, almost flying away to avoid getting run over. The wind was so strong that it almost ended up blowing them over—but as they glanced back, they could see a giant frog—about the size of a bull—with yellow-brown skin and black hair worn up in a chonmage. He was covered with large scars on his body and stood there, somehow standing on the water as he faced the train. The train collided with the frog and he was sent flying backwards before diving into the water.

After recovering from their near heart-attacks, the Straw Hats were gaping like fish as they stared ahead at the disappearing train in shock.

"It looked like it was spitting out smoke!" Chopper gasped out. They were all stunned, trying to figure out what just happened, but then they heard a child's voice cry out, "GRANNY! GRANNY! COME QUICK! PIRATES!"

There were two figures on the platform that led inside the station. A young girl with her long hair tied up in pigtails that seemed to stand upwards, and a loud mouth that was curled up into a smile despite the alarm in her voice… while next to her was a large, light blue and cream-colored rabbit…

At that moment they heard a slurred voice calling out from inside, "Bah? Is that true Chimney? Okie dokie then!"

Suddenly an old woman came out of the station, her facial features making it look as if she was always smiling, with a body that made her look like a frog, and thick green hair tied back in messy pigtails. Her face was red, and there was a bottle of alcohol in her hands. "In that case," she hiccupped, "better bring Granny that Transponder Snail!"

The girl meanwhile was doing what granny told her and went back inside. The Straw Hats all glanced at each other worriedly, wondering if they could make it away or no—knowing that if they called for help and the Marines showed up, then they'd all be in for another fight. But it turned out they didn't need to worry. For when the girl came running back with a Transponder Snail and gave it to her grandma…

"Um… hello?" the old lady asked drunkenly into the receiver, "Who is this? Sorry, you've got the wrong number."

"SHE'S TOTALLY DRUNK!" Usopp yelled out. However, that probably worked in their favor. Because if she had been sober, she actually might've asked called for backup. They came onboard the platform and even shared some food with them to show that they meant them no harm. After seeing the food, the trio seemed to warm right up to them and even introduced themselves. The little girl was Chimney, and their pet rabbit who thinks he's a cat was named Gonbe—and finally their grandmother Kokoro who was the station conductor.

"My name's Luffy," Luffy said seriously, folding his arms. "And I'm gonna be King of the Pirates."

"Really?" Chimney asked interestedly.

"Yep," he answered and Kokoro laughed.

"I like you, you're funny," she said.

Nami stepped forward then once she felt that it was safe to talk to them without fear of them calling for help. "By the way Chimney," she said curiously, jerking her thumb in the direction where the Sea Train went. "That thing's a steam boat right? Seems awfully long to me, can't imagine it getting very far."

"You probably never seen anything like this," she said proudly. "Seeing that it's the only one in the world! It's not a steam boat it's a Sea Train known as the Puffing Tom!"

"How does it work?" Nami asked her.

"It uses a steam engine to turn its paddle-wheels and run on a railway," she answered brightly as she finished swallowing.

"Railway?" Usopp repeated, sounding lost.

"Ah huh," she answered, pointing to the water, "If you look closely you can see the tracks right beneath the waves. The train goes the same route every day! Taking people from one island to the next! It can even carry ships and packages too!"

They all looked down and they could see what she was talking about. Indeed there were iron tracks just below the water so that they couldn't be seen. Luffy and Usopp looked over the side to see what she was talking about. "Oh wow!" Luffy said impressed, "Funny we didn't notice it before!"

"No kidding," Sanji stated, "We ran right into it!"

"You should be more careful!" Chimney scolded them, pointing up at the signal that had been blazing a moment ago, "Didn't you see the signal? It had a bell ringing and everything!"

"Is that what that thing is for?!" Usopp asked, pointing up to it as well. "I thought it was just here to welcome us! How were we supposed to know?!"

"And if we couldn't figure it out, then that frog sure wouldn't get it would he?" Luffy asked them grumpily, "It was awful rude of you to hit him like that! We were gonna catch him and cook him you know!"

"Oh?" Chimney asked calmly, "You saw the frog? That's Yokozuna!"

"Sure was an awesome swimmer," Luffy said, glancing back at the tracks were they last saw the frog.

"Either way I wouldn't worry about him, he's pretty tough," Chimney answered, not at all surprised by Luffy telling her that their train just ran over a giant frog, "In fact, that isn't the first time he's challenged the train and lost."

"He's really kinda a pain," Chimney added, "If you wanna see him again just hang around here, I'm sure he'll pop up."

"Wow," Luffy said in understanding, "That's why he didn't run. I thought that frog was just stupid but it turns out he was just being super manly."

"Easy for you to say!" Chimney yelled, and for the first time she sounded frustrated, "You don't have to put up with him all the time! I can't even count how many times he's broken the rail guard! And just imagine what it's like for the passengers when he slams into the train!"

"That's crazy," Luffy said before he declared, "Alright! Since that frog is a fighter like me, then I'm not gonna eat him after all!"

Once that was out of the way, Granny Kokoro asked them where they were planning on going to next, telling them that the Sea Train was connected to several of the nearby islands and started to tell them a little about each of them. Nami thanked her for that, but said that they didn't need to take the train… they would just follow their log.

"Oh?" Chimney asked curiously, "Where's it pointing to?"

She held up her wrist and answered, "Should be someplace east of here."

Kokoro said, "I see… well, in that case its Water 7 for sure. The train you saw on your way here just came from Blue Station on that island. They call it the city of water. I think you'll like it."

Kokoro started telling them about Water 7's shipwrights and shipyards… how they wouldn't be able to find better shipwrights if they looked. The Straw Hats were all excited at hearing about Water 7's shipyards. They couldn't have asked for anything better and couldn't wait to get going.

"Aright then!" Luffy said loudly, beaming happily at them all, "It's settled! We're gonna find the best shipwright in Water 7 and get him to join our crew!"

"Oh, is that so?" Kokoro asked, who seemed to have taken a liking to them, "In that case hold on a sec." She forced herself to stand up from the stool and went inside the station for a moment. They all looked confused, wondering what she was gonna do, but a few minutes later she came back with a couple sheets of paper and handed it over to them.

"I got a little present for ya," she slurred, "This is a little map of the city and a reference letter. Just give this to a fella named Iceberg and I promise he'll fix your ship up good. Water 7 is a pretty confusing place, so try not to get lost."

The pirates were ecstatic at Kokoro's kindness and were thanking her over and over as they got back on the Merry.

"We'll be heading back to Water 7 soon," Chimney told them brightly as they leaned over the edge to say goodbye to them, "Maybe we'll see you there!"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Kokoro said agreeably, holding up her bottle of whiskey in her hands, "And if you like, I'll even give you guys a tour of all my favorite drinking holes!" She laughed.

"Sounds good!" Luffy smiled down at them, "We'll try to keep a lookout for you!"

"It'll take about a week for the log to log onto the next island so you'll have plenty of time to do some sight-seeing!" Kokoro informed them with a final wave.

"Great! Sounds like fun," Luffy said before he turned back to them all, "Okay! Everyone ready? TIME TO SET SAIL!"

They were all on deck and Nami was just talking about the nice wind and at this rate, they'll make it to Water 7 sooner than they thought. Meanwhile, Sanji was telling the others that he'd find the hottest looking girl in Water 7 for their shipwright.

"What do I care if the shipwright's hot?" Luffy demanded, "I want a huge manly dude! Like even bigger than a bear! Like sixteen feet tall!"

"A guy that big wouldn't even fit on our ship!" Usopp said. "And who knows how much food he'll have to eat!"

"All that matters is that he's good at his job," Zoro said in his usual bored tone. "If you ask me, the real problem is trying to find someone crazy enough to go out to sea with a bunch of pirates."

"That is always the hard part," Sanji nodded, "Then again, we all joined a pirate crew so what does that make us I wonder?"

"Crazy," Usopp sighed, "But… I hope the good kind of crazy."

"Size doesn't matter!" Chopper chirped up with a big smile, "I'm just happy we're gonna be making a new friend."

"We're lucky we ran into that train station on the way," Nami said, holding up paper. "This map should be a big help. All we have to do is follow Kokoro's direction to that Iceberg guy and we're set."

But when she opened the paper, it looked like it had been drawn in crayon by a three-year-old. In anger, she crumpled it up and threw it on the deck, yelling out insults before Chopper picked it up and said that it looked like one of Luffy's drawings. Speaking of Luffy, he was holding up a badly drawn picture and telling them that he wanted their shipwright to look like that.

"If I saw a guy like that I'd run!" Usopp said, looking freaked out at the paper.

"I wouldn't just run! I'd jump into the sea to get away from that freak!" Sanji said as he looked at it closely, "But he looks like he might be part octopus so even that might not save me."

"Don't you have anything better to talk about?" Zoro called in annoyance as Robin just smiled as she listened to them all talk and argue with each other. There was a very strange look of peace in her eyes as she watched them all work. But suddenly, Usopp went running and jumped up to the mast, hugging it tightly and looking a little sad as Luffy asked him, "Why are you hugging the ship Usopp?"

"I know that all these tin plates may not seem like much to you," he said, rubbing his cheek against the wood and steel plating, "But they bring back a lot of fond memories for me." He smiled as he finally looked up, "I almost hate to see them go, but it'll all be worth it if the Merry can finally get the repairs she needs."

"I feel the same way," Sanji said and they glanced back to see him coming up from below deck, after a change of clothes. "I'm proud of her battle like everyone else, but she's taken a real beating since we've entered the Grand Line."

Sanji looked down at the deck and stepped to hear the boards squeak. "The deck squeaks and we've got leaks popping up everywhere. Nobody wants to admit it, but if we don't fix this up soon we're as good as sunk."

"Yeah," Luffy said, "But even if we can't get a shipwright for the crew we still have plenty of money! We can do more than just fix her! We can power her up too!"

Zoro called out that he could see the island and Luffy was the first one up the deck to get a look.

"He's right!" Luffy called happily, "I can see Water 7!" and he wanted to break out the oars and row the rest of the way, with the others telling him that he shouldn't wear them out before they get there. When they got closer, they could get a full look at it.

They were all amazed, their eyes wide and struck dumb. At the very top of the city they could see an enormous fountain in a volcano shape and water was pouring down into canals. The buildings surrounding the fountain was very colorful, with tan or peach color for the walls and roofs of the houses which are many time red and semi-circular.

The Straw Hats were all amazed, staring around as they went right up front—and to their surprise, several people gave them direction to head right down the backstreet entrances. No one seemed the least bit worried that there were pirates in town…

But they were busy looking at the city. Heading down the canals and water-ways that were surrounded by sidewalks and buildings. There were boats of all sizes covering the canals, and there were ramps of water that they were travelling along like streets.

After sailing around the backstreets for a short time, the Straw Hats ended up coming to the outskirts of the city and anchored at a small cape. Everyone was thrilled at the thought of going in and were impatient to get going… but as Zoro was pulling up the sails on the mast, just as he pulled to tighten it, to everyone's horror, the mast snapped almost right in half and he was forced to grab hold of it to keep it from falling.

The others screamed at him, Usopp loudest of them all, "ARE YOU TRYING TO BREAK THE SHIP?!"

"No!" Zoro gasped, just as surprised as the rest of them. "All I did was pull the rope like I always do!" And with a great heave, he began to stand it upright once again. "Holy crap," he cursed, after they heard the loud creaking sound of the wood, "If the Merry's falling apart this easy we're lucky we made it here at all!"

Nami frowned in worry up at the mast before she turned back to the others and said, "By the way, they aren't scared of pirates here are they? Don't you think that's kinda strange?"

"That's cause we're shipyard customers just like everyone else!" Zoro grunted as he continued to push the mast, not needing Usopp there hitting him and telling him to put it upright.

"They probably aren't concerned about pirates because they have enough security to deal with them if they misbehave," Robin offered and Sanji grinned at that.

"Bet there's plenty of Marines here too," he said eagerly, "Comes with the territory huh?"

But at their words, Usopp looked close to freaking out. "WHAT ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" he yelled out, "YOU MEAN THEY'RE GONNA HAVE US ARRESTED?!"

"I don't think that's a problem since we're paying customers and all," Sanji pointed out and they calmed down at once.

Now comforted that they didn't have to worry Luffy and Usopp were the first to jump ship, but before they could run off, Nami called them back, telling them that they were to come with her so that they could cash in their gold and get a look at the shipyard.

Later Luffy, Nami, and Usopp were somewhere in the city where people were coming and going all around them. They smiled at the boats coming up and down the canals, being pulled by some of the strangest looking creatures they've seen yet. They looked and acted like horses as they pulled the boats, the creatures themselves called Yagara Bulls.

Soon though, the three were coming out of a large building behind them, each of them carrying large black cases. The three were each filled to the brim with 100 million Beri, making the crews' new treasury come to a grand total of 300 million! They were able to find someone to convert the gold they found on Skypeia into money and, thanks to Nami's 'persuasive' bargaining tactics, the crew was now considerably richer.

"I don't feel comfortable having all this money in one place guys," Usopp said nervously, hugging his case tightly to his chest. "It's scary! I mean… what if I trip and it all falls out or something?"

"That was great!" Luffy laughed, swinging his case around, "You sure were scary back there, Nami!"

"I estimated three hundred million from the start," she answered with a smile. "But I figured that he wouldn't give it up easy," Nami said, "You really gotta work on your game face…" She looked back smugly, "Good thing I was there!"

"Cut it out!" Usopp hissed to Luffy, glancing around, "You're making me nervous swinging that around!"

"Well, whatever!" Luffy said happily, "We got our money now and that's all that matters!" But at those words, he accidently ended up letting the case go and it went flying out over the canal. At that, the other two screamed in horror and actually went jumping over, ready to catch it. But as they were about to grab it, Luffy grew out a long lizard tail and used it to snatch it back. "Whew…" he called, "That would've been bad if the money got wet huh?"

The other two fell into the water. And when they climbed out, they gave him a hard beating for doing that—promising that if he lost that money he would be paying in blood. Luffy promised that he'd be more careful if they would just stop hurting him. After that, Nami gave Luffy's case to Usopp and they got into their boats, and let their Yagara's pull them along. They followed after them, Usopp staring around nervously with his hands wrapped around the black cases. Luffy pouted at how far away they were choosing to stay away from him.

"I don't know Nami," Usopp whimpered behind her, "Maybe we should've taken the money back to the ship after all."

"That'd be a complete waste of time!" she retorted, "The shipyard is right around the corner!"

Luffy was moaning from his Yagara, "Come on! You don't have to ride so far away! Let me play with the money!"

"Anyway," Nami went on as if she hadn't heard him moan, "We'll probably be heading back to the Merry soon enough. After we'll meet with the shipwrights. They'll probably need to look at the damages before they can give us a quote."

"I didn't think of it that way," Usopp said smiling, "I guess I can look after the money until then. I've never carried this much cash at once that's all! I don't know how to handle it!"

They soon sailed on to the large steel door marked with the Number 1. They could see and hear people working in there, moving large lumber, rolling cannons, and raising up sails. The sounds of hammers and saws were constantly going—they could see the forms of ships… all the way from just a pile of boards and nails to halfway finished ships, and even some already done. It was very impressive as they all stepped forward to get a look at it. The three pirates climbed out of the boat and began looking around for Iceberg, at least until they realized that they didn't have a clue to who he was or how to find him—they didn't even know what he looked like. Naturally however, Luffy was just gonna waltz right in and ask, but as he began to climb over the fence, someone came out of nowhere and stopped him.

"Hold it right there," the man said, a single finger to Luffy's forehead and pushing him back. "You've got a lot of gumption just waltzing in like that. Why don't we take a step over here and then we can talk." He raised his head, "Don't worry. It's not personal. You're outsiders is all, so you're not allowed inside the plant."

But they hardly heard anything else that he said as they stared at his face. He had big black eyes and a long nose so similar to Usopp that they looked like they might've been related, only his nose was rectangular in shape. He climbed over the little fence and walked over to them, dressed in simple workmen's clothes and a tool belt at his belt.

"Alright champ," he said casually, as if they were old friends, "What brings you to the docks today?"

"Come on Usopp, I know it's you!" Luffy said with a smile, with the Usopp next to him smacking at him, reminding him that he was right there.

Nami came out of her shock at the man's appearance and began asking him about Iceberg. The man, named Kaku, was looking surprised by the request and was asking them if they were customers before Nami held out Kokoro's letter.

"Oh, that's nifty," Kaku said reading it, "Not every day that youngsters come here with a letter of introduction from Granny Kokoro."

Luffy rather bluntly asked how old he was after hearing his odd manner of speaking.

"I'm twenty-three, why do you ask?" Kaku asked politely.

"You know for someone who's hardly any older than us, you sure do talk like an old man," Usopp couldn't stop himself from saying.

Rather than be offended, Kaku just laughed and answered, "I get that a lot."

"So do you know Iceberg or did we come to wrong place?" Nami asked and Kaku told them a little more about his 'boss'. How he was the Mayor of Water 7 as well as the CEO of the Galley-La company and manager of the Sea Train the Puffing Tom.

Kaku then confessed that because he's always so busy, finding him can be difficult at times so he offered to go and look over their ship for them himself. After putting his tool belt down and asking them where their ship was moored at, he went running off… and literally at that. He was amazing, running and jumping right over the edge, practically flying through the air.

The three Straw Hats looked freaked out at seeing him go over the wall until a calm voice behind them spoke up, "Don't worry. He's always soaring through town."

Everyone turned around to see two people standing there; a man and a young woman.

The man was rather tall with blue hair and dark lips and a faint beard starting to grow in. He was wearing a red and orange stripped jacket where he was caressing the little head of a small white mouse from his front pocket.

Standing next to him was a slim, pretty woman with blue eyes and glasses, with her long blond hair tied up in a bun at the back of her head.

The man then finished speaking to them, "They call him… The Mountain Wind. If you didn't know, he the Galley-La's Dock 1 carpentry foreman… Kaku."

"Jeez, that was a big surprise," Usopp sighed in relief, knowing that guy was alright.

"I've never seen someone jump that far before!" Luffy said in awe.

"Well," the man said, trying not to sound smug, "My craftsmen are the best in the business for a reason."

There was some silence between them before Luffy whispered to Usopp, "Who is this guy?"

"Don't ask me," he answered back

"Extraordinary ships are not born from ordinary circumstances," the stranger continued, as he looked over them all, "They require nearly a superhuman level of skill."

The man then turned the woman and asked, "By the way, Kalifa…?"

"I've already finished the background check," the now named Kalifa answered him, adjusting her glasses before she began to read from a clipboard, "The one in the middle is Straw Hat Luffy. His crew also includes Pirate Hunter Zoro and Nico Robin."

Most people didn't notice the change, but some of them spotted it on the man's face—a slight look of anxiety and surprise. However it passed quickly as she went on to read, "Their combined bounties are two-hundred and thirty nine million. They have four others currently without bounties and their crew was formed in the East Blue. Named after their captain, they're known simply as the Straw Hat Pirates."

Usopp was looking freaked at how they knew all this information on them before they even introduced themselves.

"I see, welcome… my name is Iceberg," the now identified Iceberg said, sounding a little impressed as he continued to bet the little mouse. "I'm the boss here. And this is a mouse I just picked up. His name is… let's see… Tyrannosaurs. I'll need some rodent food and a cage."

Kalifa already informed Iceberg that she had already taken the liberty of ordering those for him. Iceberg complimented her on doing that before he even asked her to.

"Speaking of which," Kalifa, looking back at her notes, she began to list all the things that he had to do today. Such as a lunch meeting with an hotel in Chiza with the glassware executive, then after that he was set to make a speech at the Liguria Square, followed by a meeting with the Mayor from Puchi and give an interview before he was to overlook some paperwork when he got back to the office.

Iceberg whined out, like a kid who was told to go to bed early, "I don't wanna!"

Kalifa didn't seem the least bit surprised as she began crossing them off the list and said casually, "Very well, I will cancel everything here for you."

Usopp yelled out, "HOLD ON! YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS ARE YOU?!"

"What's the point in having power if I don't get to do what I want?" Iceberg asked them calmly.

"If that's how you run things you gotta be the most irresponsible mayor in the world!" Usopp informed him.

"Yeah pops, that's pretty lazy," Luffy said.

"That's rich coming from you, Luffy," Nami said with a roll of her eyes as he turned to look at her and asked her, "You sure this is the guy that old lady was talking about?"

"Ah ha, he's the guy alright," Nami stated—but at those words, Kalifa suddenly charged and began kicking them all so fast that they didn't realize what had happened until it was all over. "HOW DARE YOU?!"

"What's the big idea lady!?" Luffy shouted at her angrily as Nami and Usopp were both trying to recover from the shock. Funny enough, Luffy and Nami appeared to be just fine having dodged a majority of the blows, but it was Usopp who seemed to be the one who had taken the hits and was now on the ground with a dented face.

"I won't stand here and let you insolent louts and insult one of the world's leading ship engineers!" Kalifa told them all angrily, pushing her glasses back up her face.

Thanks to Kalifa losing her temper, several citizens in the area heard what was going on and began to draw a crowd. Noticing this, she seemed to remember where she was before she apologized, "Pardon me, I get a bit carried away from time to time. Still, Iceberg is a respected figure here in Water 7, so try to show some courtesy."

"Yes, please don't provoke, Kalifa. When she lashes out in anger…" Iceberg warned, and when they looked they could see that he was covered with lumps and bruised like a banana—tears of pain were even in his eyes. "She doesn't discriminate."

Usopp then yelled it outrage, "We might've hurt his feelings, but you hurt his face!"

"You're way meaner than us!" Luffy added in equal outrage.

Nami said suddenly, "Putting all that behind us, if you're Iceberg then you're the man we're looking for." She took out Kokoro's letter and handed it to him. "Here, we brought a Letter of Introduction for you to look at."

Iceberg carefully took it from her and read it out. "From Granny Kokoro? 'Take a look at the ship' it says…" He nodded in understanding before he tore the paper to shreds.

"What? Are you serious!?" Nami exclaimed startled. "There has to be something we can do to change your mind?" She held up a black case so that he couldn't hope to miss it. "If money's the issue, we can pay."

"If you're really the best then you gotta be the one to fix our Merry!" Luffy pleaded with him, "Come on, we're begging!"

"Okay," Iceberg answered casually.

"THAT'S IT?!" Usopp yelled at him, looking ready to fall over, "YOU DON'T EVEN NEED TO THINK ABOUT IT?!"

"No," Iceberg said disinterestedly.

"Then why did you tear up the letter!?" the sniper demanded hotly.

"The lipstick mark was creeping me out," he answered as if it was obvious. "Even so, Granny Kokoro and I have been drinking buddies for years," Iceberg explained. "Well, and since Kaku has already gone to make an estimate for me it would seem like a waste to turn you down now, wouldn't you say?" He stretched out his arms and even began to pick his nose in boredom. "Besides, it's not like I had anything else to do, I'll show you around the shipyard… sound good?"

"Did he serious cancel all of his meetings just to give us a tour!?" Usopp asked.

Luffy happily began to follow Iceberg and Kalifa into the shipyard, but as they were getting closer, they heard Nami's voice screaming out behind them, "DID YOU DROP IT SOMEWHERE?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Usopp yelled out, sounding terrified and they all turned around to see the two there, staring around wildly. Just then Usopp pointed out towards the water and when they followed their gaze, on a couple Yagara's, there were a few men wearing some of the strangest outfits they could think of. Some kind of roundish, metal lederhosen with a pink star on it that they wore like overalls, as well as covered in tattoos and specialized goggles.

Usopp realized something. "WAIT!" he yelled after them angrily. "WHO ARE YOU?! WHY ARE YOU TAKING OUR MONEY?! GIVE IT BACK! WE NEED IT YOU JERKS! DO YOU HEAR ME?! HEEEEEYYYYYYY!"

"Thanks for the cash!" one the men mocked.

Usopp was now chasing after the boat on the sidewalk, looking ready to jump into the canal and swim up to them. But when Luffy caught up to him and asked him why he gave the money to them, Usopp was yelling at him for that—telling him that they stole it.

However, just as Luffy was about to go after the money himself, a man jumped from the bridge directly above them. He had blond hair that was slicked back and a pair of orange goggles as well as having a cigar in his mouth, he wore a flame detailed denim jacket with cigars strapped to it like how Smoker wore his. As he jumped a set of ropes came out from his sleeves, and using them like whips, he was able to knock the Franky Family right into the river.

Usopp thanking him for getting their money back. However as soon as the man, named Paulie, heard the word 'money' and looked at the cases, his face brightened and he was the one sailing off this time.

"You got to be kidding me," Usopp groaned out, "HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

Finally tired of waiting, Luffy held his arms up, ready to sprout wings and go after it himself, although just as he was about to fly off, someone stopped him. A very tall and slim, yet muscular man with arched eyebrows and a close-shaved goatee was standing there. He had a shoulder length wavy hair, and a large black top hat on his head that seemed to clash with the causal workmen clothes he was wearing. His face held no emotion as the white pigeon, wearing a light red tie, on his shoulder spoke up, "I'll get your money back," he said in a rough voice. He then ran off after the boat at incredible speeds.

Shortly after that the rest of the group caught up and they could see that the boat was coming back with the man with the bird was there, holding onto Paulie's ear like a child who had severely misbehaved and his mother was hauling up to bed.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, OW! Okay you can let me go!" Paulie yelled, "Let me go! Take it easy, geez! I'm not gonna run away! You got me! Alright?! You can stop pinching my ear now!" he added as he pushed the man away from him and nursed his red ear, "OW! I was lucky enough to find that money and you screw it up! Better watch your back Lucci, I'll remember this!"

"Don't pay back your debt with somebody else's money, you idiot!" the pigeon said, "Have you no shame?!"

"HEY! I HAPPENED UPON THAT MONEY FAIR AND SQUARE!" Paulie yelled.

"Stealing from thieves is still stealing! Ba-caw!" the pigeon said as the man, Lucci, grabbed him by the ear again.

"I didn't steal anything! I was just borrowing their Yagara for a while!" he retorted.

"Looks like they're back," Iceberg answered next to them. Luffy sighed in relief, saying how happy he was for Usopp. At those words, Usopp and Nami began to pull his cheeks out, snapping at him that was their two-hundred million to fix the Merry. And Nami demanded to know why he didn't get it back himself and Luffy just answered that the pigeon said that he'd take care of it.

"Well," Iceberg said as he held the little mouse in his hands for a moment before he slipped him back into his breast pocket. "That was embarrassing. Rest assure we will deal with our employee appropriately. Allow us to handle this so that there is no bad blood between you."

"Although Paulie's behavior was apprehensible," Kalifa added, "It's fortunate he saved your money from the Franky Family."

"Well, I guess you can look at it that way," Nami nodded thoughtfully.

"No harm done, right?!" Luffy said and the two of them finally let go of Luffy's stretched out cheeks and let him fall to the ground.

But Nami had more important things to talk about. She turned back to Iceberg and Kalifa, asking them, "So who is this Franky Family? Do they rob from everyone they run into, or just us?"

"Well, that depends," Kalifa said, pushing her glasses back up, "But normally, they dismantle ships."

"You mean they're workmen?" Nami asked in surprise as Luffy stood up. "I don't know about you but I'd never hire a team that looks like that."

Kalifa and Iceberg explained that the Franky Family were a public nuisance, that they dismantled ships for a living, but were also bounty hunters. Whenever they hear that pirates were in town, they go after them and try to collect the bounties on their heads. After that, they take their ships, dismantle them, and then sell them on the black market. Though underhanded, it's just good business to them… and Iceberg finished by warning them that if they catch them, they'll bleed them dry.

"I don't know," Luffy said with a smile, "Those guys looked too weak to do anything to us!"

Iceberg gently petted the mouse's head before he said softly, "The men you saw were underlings. Franky, the leader of the group, is not nearly so harmless. If I were you, I'd avoid him at any cost."

The two had just got back and were getting out of the boat, with Lucci carrying the two cases in one hand, and dragging Paulie over by his ear in the other one.

"Here you are, Iceberg!" the pigeon said when they got up to him, "Do with him as you will."

"I'm here! You can let go!" Paulie yelled, finally getting himself free from Lucci's grasp as Iceberg complimented him on his good work.

"Truly!" the pigeon said to the three Straw Hats, "I can't apologize enough for the actions of this oaf! Koo-koo!"

"Ah!" Luffy yelled, eyes wide in shock, "It is talking!"

Lucci threw Paulie on the ground and tossed him the cases. "Tell the nice people you're sorry, oaf!"

"That pigeon really has it out for that dude doesn't he?!" Luffy gasped, pointing to the bird and then to Paulie on the ground.

"So the little bird talk, but the guy doesn't?" Usopp asked in bewilderment before he smiled, "Anyway, I'm just glad that we got all our money back!"

"Oh," Paulie said, getting up and walking over to them with the cases to them, "So this money belongs to you huh?" Paulie passed them into Luffy's arms, "Good thing I was around."

"Yeah," Luffy agreed, "Thanks a lot!"

Paulie put his hands on his shoulders and told him, "If you really wanna thank me, give me ten percent!"

"Not gonna happen," Nami said and almost glad to see Lucci hit him over the head with a hammer and added, "Again, I'm quite sorry."

The pigeon went on to tell them that Paulie had a gambling problem and was in so much debt, he lost sight of everything but money. At those words, Paulie lost his temper and began to fight him—after Lucci's pet pigeon got out of the way, the rope wrapped around Lucci's arm and when he pulled, he swung him around like a ball and chain. Lucci was able to stop his head getting slammed into the cement with his arm, his fingers digging into the ground and holding him up as straight as an arrow.

The fight ended soon after that, and the Straw Hats found out about Lucci's Ventriloquism act with his bird Hattori. Luffy and Usopp were especially impressed and were applauding him as Paulie seemed to calm down enough to start laughing again.

"He's just a weirdo who doesn't know how to talk to people on his own!" he said as he pulled out a cigar. But then Paulie spotted Nami and freaked out. "HOLD ON A SECOND!" he shouted out, turning red and pointing a finger at her. "WHAT DOES THAT WOMAN THINK SHE'S DOING?!"

Nami looked confused and asked what he was talking about as he yelled out, "Have you no shame?" and when she continued to look confused he added, "Don't play dumb with me you Harlot! I can see waaaay to much leg! Cover up and show a little decency would ya?! This place is a man's workplace you know!"

Kalifa stepped in front of Nami, trying to calm Paulie down, but he freaked out when he saw her as well. "YOU TOO KALIFA!" he yelled as Lucci grabbed his arm to stop him from doing something stupid, "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU THOSE CLOTHES OF YOURS ARE NOT APPROPIRATE?! IF YOU WANNA LOOK PROFESSONAL, YOU SHOULD WEAR PANTS! OR AT LEAST ANKLE-LENGTH SKIRTS!"

"This guy's got issues," Usopp whispered.

"He's serious isn't he?" Nami asked them and they only shrugged alone with her as Iceberg told them to come with him. After everything was said and done, they opened the door and Iceberg began to show them around the yard—all of them staring around in amazement at every little thing they could see.

Watching the hustle and bustle of the shipwrights working, seeing the ship being built from the ground up was truly an amazing sight to see. Iceberg gave them a tour, everyone was glad to see him and Kalifa explained that there had been several shipbuilding companies, and about five years ago, they all united under him as Galley-La. Luffy even offered for Iceberg to join, which he politely refused, but told him that they had plenty of shipwrights, and though he doubted any of them would be willing to join a pirate crew, if they found someone, he wouldn't get in the way.

"By the way," Iceberg mentioned to Luffy after a short time, "Kalifa mentioned that Nico Robin was part of your crew, is that correct?"

"Sure is," he confirmed, "She's nice to have around since she's so smart!" But then he noticed the serious look on Iceberg's face and the smile faded from his own. "What's up?" he asked. "There's not something wrong with her is there?"

"Oh no," Iceberg said suddenly, and though he did a good job of hiding it, they could see the lie in his eyes. However Luffy seemed to buy that as he went running over to look and climb up some of the ships, becoming a monkey as he did so. Soon Nami was yelling up at Luffy to get down from the large galleon that he was walking around on.

"OK! BE RIGHT THERE!" Luffy yelled as he jumped down and landed light on his feet next to them all, quickly becoming a human as he straightened up. But he frowned a little as he looked around and asked Nami where Usopp was. Nami exclaimed that the last time she saw him was when he was looking at the cannons. As they looked in the direction, one of the shipwrights spotted them. "Hey! You there!" he called to them and walked over, "These bags are yours right?!"

It was true, he was carrying the two black cases with him. He put it down next to the other one and Nami looked angry as she said that Usopp was supposed to be taking care of those. Luffy thanked him as Nami looked around again for Usopp in frustration about leaving their money behind. The shipwright looked surprised and Luffy told them that the two bags he found had two-hundred million in them. The shipwright laughed, as if he thought for sure that they were pulling his leg before he left and Luffy waved after him in a friendly way.

Nami looked startled at the laughing shipwright but seemed to let it go.

"So," Luffy said, turning back to the others, going back to the matter at hand, "How much do you think the repairs are gonna cost? We got plenty of money to spend!" and he patted each bag fondly, "No price is too high for our Merry!"

Kaku went to sit down on a large pyramid of lumber, acting like bleachers. "And while you're at it," Luffy added, "Why don't you make her stronger, faster, tough as nails and of course… decked out with cannons!"

"I'd like some pretty engravings or some kind of decorations along the hull," Nami added eagerly, "Also, can you guys renovate the inside?"

"Not so fast," he said, his expression unusually grim, and Luffy and Nami's smiles faded at his tone, sensing that something was wrong. "That ship of yours…" Kaku began, "She's gone on some really extraordinary journeys hasn't she?"

"Yeah, you bet!" Luffy agreed at once, "We've done it all! A while back we flew to the sky, fell back down, we climbed a big mountain too! So, you have to work hard to fix her up extra good ok?"

Kaku however hadn't said anything as he listened. Noticing this, Luffy frowned a little and asked, almost like a dare, "You don't think I'm lying do you?"

"That's not the issue," Kaku said with a slight pause. He then turned his head and finally glanced back up at them as he informed them. "Her battle scars are far worse than you think."

"Um… then you're saying it's gonna take a long time for you to fix her?" Nami asked, sounding a little surprised at that.

"No, ma'am," Kaku said bluntly, "It's not about the time… it's not about skill either…. I'm saying no one can fix her… not even us."

Both Luffy and Nami looked stunned—so convinced that they were finally about to get their ship fixed up, only to be told that it was already too late.

Paulie came over to sit down on the timber as well before he puffed on his cigar and asked them, "So that means that the keel was damaged huh?"

"That's right," Kaku answered. "It looks like it's taken a real wallop."

"No way," Nami gasped out, stepping forward before she explained, "We… we've gone everywhere without any problems up until now!"

"In theory," Kaku went on, "Even if we did everything we could… the probability of your ship lasting till the next island… is zero."

Luffy looked at them in pure disbelief, staring at them as if he couldn't believe what he was saying.

"WHAT?! You can't fix the going Merry!?" Luffy cried out, clearly not wanting to believe it. "Why not!? I thought all of you were supposed to be awesome shipwrights!" he smacked one of the cases and told them, "Don't worry about the money! Look! We got plenty!"

"It's not about the money son," Kaku informed him. "No matter how much you pay, that ship can't be restored to how she used to be."

Luffy and Nami were both looking heartbroken at the news.

"To be honest, I'm rather impressed you were able to get that old girl this far," Kaku stated, a little bit of a impressed tone coming through on his voice, "Considering the condition that she's currently in."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Nami demanded hotly. "What exactly is going on with the Merry?"

"Do you know what the keel is, immoral girl?" Paulie asked the navigator.

"Immor…?" Nami began hotly before she asked, "The thing on the bottom of the boat?"

"Yeah," Paulie confirmed, breathing out some smoke, "It's the most important part of lumber on a ship. It crosses from stern to bow, and provides support. When you build a ship, you start off by placing the keel. Then you set the wood for the steam, the stern, the frame, frame brackets and deck beams. All of the pieces are carefully assembled together with the keel serving as the core. It's the very backbone, framework, and life of every vessel constructed. And when it's severely damaged then that's the end of it. You can't just replace it with a new one. That'd be the same thing as building a new ship from scratch."

"That's the reason we, or anyone, won't be able to fix her," Paulie finished up dismally, "Your ship is just a bunch of wood stuck together, awaiting her end."

"Hey, you! Don't say just horrible things!" Nami yelled out, obviously feeling the sting of what they were saying. Luffy however, didn't say anything as he just looked at them, as if trying to hold back what he really thought of their assessment.

"Horrible or not, it's the truth," Paulie said indifferently and they all glared at him.

"Ok, fine then!" Luffy yelled at them. "Just rebuild her from the ground up like you said before! Build another Going Merry!"

"Koo-koo! Sorry! Not possible," Lucci's pigeon said.

"Why not?" Luffy asked in frustration.

"We could build you a very similar ship," the pigeon explained, holding up his wings like hands. "But no one can build you one that's exactly the same! Nowhere in the world are there two completely identical ships! It simply can't be done!"

Nami, who looked lost as to who she should be looking at—Lucci or the pigeon, asked, "What do you mean? Why?"

"Tell me, are there any two trees in the world that grow exactly the same way?" the bird, Hattori, asked them and she blinked as she thought that over, everyone knowing the answer there.

"A sailing ship is mostly built out of lumber," Hattori went on. "So the overall size and shape of a vessel is determined by the type of wood used. That's why a complete duplicate of your ship can't be built by us or anyone! Even when using the same blueprints! If we made a ship like that with those specifications, the ones who would notice the difference and feel like it's a completely different ship… would be all of you guys! Ka-ka!"

Nami's hands curled into fists. "No way," she said, sounding like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So you're saying it's absolutely impossible for us to continue sailing on the Going Merry?!"

"Unfortunately, yes," Kaku confessed, "You can either wait around for her to sink… or… you can dismantle her immediately."

Luffy however was still glaring at the shipwrights as Iceberg told them that it sounded like the Merry was on her last legs. But if they had so much money, they couldn't ask for a better opportunity to get a new ship. They were in the best place in the world for a new model.

"I understand your ship was a carvel…" Iceberg informed them. "So sailing on the Grand Line with an old ship like that would've been difficult to begin with."

"No way," Luffy said firmly, "We're not getting a new ship!"

Nami whispered his name. But Luffy had already got one talking. "The Merry is…" he paused for a moment before he looked up and proclaimed loudly, "The Going Merry is the ship of the Straw Hat Pirates! If she's repaired, she can still sail!"

"She'll be fine! You'll see! She got us here today didn't she?!" he asked, "And you tell us out of nowhere she can't sail anymore?! I can't believe that! I won't! You guys are saying that cause you don't know her! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW STRONG SHE IS!"

Iceberg just looked at him. "Then your plan is to just keep sailing her until she sinks?" he asked as Nami looked surprised by the coldness in his voice. "I'm shocked. So… this is a decision of the ship's captain?"

Luffy looked startled that he would ask something like that, now shaking and looking confused as to what to do.

Iceberg sighed and shut his eyes. "This discussion is over for now," he told them, "Just think about it. If you decide to buy a ship, let me know, my people can help." He looked back up, "If you're able to spend three-hundred million we can build you a state-of-the-art ship." He turned to Kalifa, who handed him a catalog of all their used and new models to use as a price reference.

Luffy was still looking lost as to what to do as Nami took it miserably. She was just telling Luffy that they should head back to the ship and tell everyone the bad news when someone came walking over towards them. A muscular man with black hair, a mustache, and thick sunglasses came walking towards him. His chest was covered with intricate tattoos, and on his head, there was a part of his hair that stuck up like a spike.

The man named Lulu called to Iceberg, "There's someone at the front gate who wants to see you!"

Iceberg looked to Kalifa who looked at her notes. "There doesn't appear to be anyone on your appointment schedule for today," she said in surprise.

"It looks like those World Government officials again," Lulu said. "Should I tell them you're unavailable?"

Iceberg nodded, telling Lulu to tell them that he wasn't here, but it was too late for several men in suits were heading towards them. Paulie warned Luffy and Nami to hide, and they went behind the large stack of lumber as they heard them all talk. What worried them all was the fact that the middle man claimed that he could smell pirates around, but told him that wasn't important, he just wanted to talk to him.

It was funny watching Iceberg acting like a child, telling him to go away as he picked his nose. In the end, he walked away with the government men however, leaving the other shipwrights talking with each other.

They moved back to Luffy and Nami, who was muttering to Luffy that they should leave now before they're spotted. But when Luffy didn't answer, she looked back to see that he was frowning heavily at the two cases he grabbed.

"What?" hissed Nami, "What's wrong?"

"Something seemed weird about these bags when I grabbed them," Luffy said as he lifted one of the cases and looked at her. "They're really light."

"Huh, what do you mean?" Nami asked him, putting on a fake smile. "Oh, come on! Stop kidding around! How could they be with all that money inside?" As if to prove her point, she took her case and weighed one of Luffy's cases in her hands. But then she stopped and stared at them as if she realized that he was right—Luffy's case seemed to be much lighter. They took the two cases and opened them, they only peeked inside them before they screamed. They screamed so loud that it seemed to shake the entire shipyard and all the shipwrights were turned in their direction, startled.

"You idiots!" Paulie yelled as he walked around to glare at them. "What the hell are you…!?" His eyes widen and he turned red when he saw how Nami was sitting on the ground. "HEY LADY! HOW DARE YOU SIT LIKE THAT?!"

Nami completely ignored Paulie as she crawled over to the two bags, almost afraid if she spoke too loudly, it would make it true, "Don't tell me… there's no way…"

"I don't wanna look…" Luffy also stuttered, but they looked anyway. Though the outsides were glossy and looked new, the insides were all patched and sewed together, and most importantly, they were empty.

"TWO HUNDRED MILLION!" Luffy yelled.

"GONE! IT'S REALLY GONE!" Nami screamed. "WAIT! LOOK AT THESE BAGS! THEY AREN'T EVEN OURS!"

"Hey! Hey! Keep it down!" Hattori said as Lucci came over to see what the yelling was all about, "What's wrong?"

"Our money is… our money is gone!" Luffy croaked out.

"Vanished… gone… disappeared!" Nami whimpered, sounding close to tears. Paulie looked alarmed at that and asked what they were talking about.

Hattori looked at him and asked, "Paulie was it you again?"

"Huh? NO!" Paulie yelled back at him.

"Honest?" Hattori pressed him.

"Why would I lie!?" Paulie demanded.

"You mean it?" Hattori again. And soon they had gotten into a slight argument as Lulu asked Kaku what he was doing with the Franky Family. Kaku looked confused at the question, claiming that he hadn't been anywhere near the Franky Family all day. Lulu seemed baffled too as he mentioned that he could've sworn that he saw his long nose.

But at the words 'long nose' Luffy and Nami both stuck their heads around the corner to stare at him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a sec!" Nami yelled, running out and asking what he was talking about.

Lulu looked surprised by their sudden interest and said, "Just outside the gate I saw someone who looked like Kaku with the Franky Family. They had four cases with them, but they left two of them behind. And the guy with them looked like he was about to cry."

"THAT'S USOPP!" Luffy exclaimed.

"You saw him with the Franky Family!" Nami yelled at them.

"Well, you could say he was with them," Lulu admitted as he pushed the spike of hair into his head to get it to behave, it ended up being pushed out in his mustache. "Or maybe you could say they were dragging him away.

"THAT'S CALLED KIDNAPPING!" Nami yelled at him. She then turned to Luffy, telling him they had to find him. But Luffy had already took off so fast that he was leaving a cloud of dust behind him.

It took hours of searching for the missing Straw Hat member. Even with Luffy being able to cover land, sky, and sea through his various animal forms, Water 7 was a huge city causing the search to be difficult. Eventually Luffy was able to meet up with Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper who had heard from Nami what had happened and came to join him in his search for Usopp. With the combined usage of Luffy and Chopper's sense of smell (Luffy even turning into a bloodhound for extra nose power), the crew was soon on the right track. They only had to travel a couple miles from where they met up before they found it… and as soon as they spotted it, there was no doubt who it belonged to. Sitting on the cove, there was a large, colorful house. The front held the words 'FRANKY HOUSE' in giant golden letters, and there were large, robot-like arms hanging off the sides that reminded them all of a workshop.

But the four Straw Hats weren't even looking at it, all of them were gathered around something laying on the ground. When they approached, some of them gasped. It was Usopp…

His body was all mangled and twisted. He was covered with bruises, cuts, and his face was dripping blood; he looked like a pretzel all twisted up… but the worst part was seeing the dust imprints of footprints covering his body, as if he had been used as a doormat and the dried tears that made tracks down his face.

Luffy's voice sounded almost far away to him, but he listened anyway, asking Chopper if he was still breathing.

Chopper was examining Usopp, turning his body over very gently so that he could see him. "He's unconscious, but…" he began, sounding close to crying, "Yes, he's breathing. He'll live, I can still save him."

Once he heard that Usopp would live, Luffy lowered his hat down so that they couldn't see his eyes. He then said softly, "You wait out here for us, ok Usopp?"

Everyone seemed to ready themselves for what they were gonna do. Sanji just lit up another cigarette as Zoro tied his bandana over his head—you could almost see the steam coming out of Chopper's nose. And though Luffy's face was oddly blank, there was a deep anger emanating from his body. And if there was one thing they knew, it was when you couldn't see Luffy's eyes before a fight… something bad was about to go down. Walking side by side, they headed to the house without another word.

"We're going to level that stupid house to the ground," Luffy promised and they all slowly walked, and the closer they got, they could hear the sounds of laughter and partying going on inside the building. They stood out the front door for only a short minute. Just then, the door opened and a large man had appeared, with his head turned over his shoulder and seemed to be laughing at someone. He turned, ready to leave until he looked down and spotted them all there.

He looked baffled, but Luffy had already changed his arm into that of a tiger's stripped paw and, curling it up into a fist, took him out with a single punch, sending him flying back and breaking the door clean off its hinges. At the sound, all the other members stopped partying and were freaking out at what was going on.

"WHAT… WHAT WAS THAT? WHAT HAPPENED!?"

"Who the hell are those guys!?"

"YOU JERKS! YOU GOT A DEATH WISH?!"

The four of them just stood in the doorway and glared at every single one of them. It was clear that this was no longer about the money… they had just made this little grudge personal. All the members of the Franky Family had been enjoying themselves, there was booze and cards laying all over the place—but they were now staring at who came knocking with terror on their faces and they gulped.

"I recognize them!" the one of them shouted, pointing at Luffy, "It's that pirate… Straw Hat Luffy!"

"So you came to get your money back did ya?" one of the largest guys said, marching forward, and slipping armor around his upper half. "Bad move. Just take a look around you. You really think the four of you are enough to handle all of us? Ha, Ha, Ha… but since you're here, might as well take those big bounties on your heads."

Once everyone calmed down, they all began to smirk and already seemed to be making plans what to do with the reward money for turning them in.

The temporary leader, a man named Zambai, grinned. "He's the captain of that long-nose weakling we took care of earlier," he mocked at them and Luffy's eye twitched before becoming slits at those words and his anger seemed to grow even more so when the others laughed.

"With that pitiful excuse for a pirate on his crew he can't possibly be that strong!" someone laughed.

The giant of the man came over, daring him to attack, which Luffy was only too happy to do so. He marched up to the man before turning around, causing the gang members to blink in confusion. "Horse…" Luffy muttered ominously as he got into positon.

"Whadda think you're doing?" he taunted him with a laugh.

"Are you going him with your back turned?!" another guy laughed, "Not that it matter, as even a bombardment of battleships can't put a dent in that armor!"

"Ha! What a joke!" someone sneered. But Luffy simply got onto his hands, resembling a sprinter's positon. The guy raised a giant axe, ready to take him out here… but at that moment, Luffy's legs transformed into that of a horse and he sent out a rapid fire series of donkey kicks right into the man's gut. The hooves which could crush solid steel hit so hard and fast, that sparks weren't even produced as the metal got superheated from the blows. As the last kick landed, a bright light came bursting, burning hot, and blasting through the armor with a giant hole.

"BURNING RODEO!" Luffy screamed out as his opponent was sent flying back, a giant hole in the armor. For a moment no one moved but then the Franky Family began to scream in panic as they stared at their friend on the ground.

"HE KICKED A HOLE RIGHT THROUGH IT!" someone yelled, but Luffy didn't have any trace of enjoyment on his face. He was ticked off and he was going to make sure that these guys pay for it.

Zambai held his hands out in what looked like surrender. "Hey, hold on! Just wait a second guys! Let's talk about this first! Ok…? Guys…?" But then he turned to the others who had their cannons out, "Ok guys! Fire the cannons!"

His men then fired their cannons at him, but Zoro was the one who ran ahead. "Now… Three Swords Style… Karasuma…" he cried out before sticking the sword in his mouth, he cut through each one of the cannonballs and finished… "RAVEN HUNT!"

And as he seemed to hover in the air, the cannons split clean in half and exploded safely away from the others behind him. The Franky Family screamed in terror as Zoro looked up at them dangerously, looking like some sort of demon.

"WHAT?!" Zambai screamed, his eyes practically popping out of his head, "IMPOSSIBLE! THOSE CANNONBALLS ARE MADE OF IRON!"

As if he wanted to prove a point, Zoro went and sliced through one of their cannons clean in half, and scared them worse than ever.

"HOLY CRAP!" someone screamed, "THESE GUYS ARE SERIOUSLY BAD NEWS!"

"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE! EVERYONE RUN FOR THE BACK DOOR!" another yelled, but as they tried to run, Sanji jumped over them, doing a one-hand stand on one guy's face.

"You guys started this fight," the cook said darkly, "It's kinda pathetic to run from it like cowards."

Sanji was far from over. "Party Table… KICK COURSE!" He then spun around rapidly to deliver a savage kick to the face of anyone within range. After he ran out of targets, he jumped down and kicked the poor guy he was spinning on so hard that he went flying. Now the rest of the Franky Family were getting ready to do just about anything to get out now. But through all the smoke, Chopper was there to stop them from jumping through the windows. He had swallowed a Rumble Ball and went into Horn Point before he charged ahead.

"Roseo Coronedo!" he cried and he chased them all down, tossing them all up in the air with his horns, and to see them land on their heads, embedded in the ground with their bodies sticking straight up out of the ground and their body sticking straight up like a column.

"Waaait!" Zambai cried out, trying to stop the destruction, only now he didn't have any cannons to back him up. He was close to crying here as he begged, "You guys! It's… it's the money right? You just want the money back! The two-hundred million that long-nose guy had?!"

Luffy's eye twitched once again when they mentioned Usopp, a nonhuman growl escaping his lips that reverberated all the way to his chest.

"Is that right? I'm sorry to be the one to tell you but that pile of money isn't here anymore!" Zambai shouted a smile coming back to his face. "Franky! The Family Boss took it all and went on a shopping spree! And since he's buying something on the black market, we don't have any idea where he is or even how to find him!"

He went on, "So no matter how much of a rampage you go on, that two-hundred million won't be coming back! So why don't you just go on and…"

But Luffy heard enough. He punched him, sent him flying back and crashing into the wall.

"Zambai!" one of them yelled in fear. But they were far from done.

"Shut up! That's enough outta you," Sanji snarled. "This has nothing to do with the money."

"Got that right," Zoro added. "It's too late for that."

"Not even your ashes will be left when we're done," Luffy said darkly cracking his knuckles as he glared at them with distain. "We're gonna leave no bone unbroken."

It was all over at those words. The Franky Family panicked worse than ever as they pulled out a giant cannon, the 'Fire Anything Ya Got Cannon'. But nothing they fired out of it, which consisted with everything from clothes to a kitchen sink, worked against them. They were easily able to dodge every attack they had to throw at them before they gave them the beating of a lifetime. Luffy unleashed the fury of the animal kingdom upon their collective behinds, Zoro slashed them like he was cutting weeds, Sanji served them a heaping helping of his foot to their faces, and Chopper showed why it's a bad idea for doctors to make house calls. None of the men were killed, but it was a close call. Like Luffy had said, no one seemed willing to leave until they broke each and every bone they could get their hands on.

They ended up blowing up the house, and his men all laying on the ground beaten and bloodied. Among the smoking wreckage of the house lay all of the Franky Family… Sanji and Zoro sat there, both of them looking bored, but their anger seemed to have mostly disappeared as Chopper went back to Usopp and began to treat him.

With their anger spent, they were all talking about what they should do, Luffy didn't join in their talk as he jumped up higher on the burnt crescent moon that had once hung on the outside of the house, and looked out at the sea, as if lost in thought.

Sanji kicked at a piece of shrapnel near his feet and asked stiffly, "Should we go after Franky?"

"And start looking where?" Zoro asked him dully as he retired his bandana around his arm.

"Aw man, looks like these idiots really didn't know where he took the money," Sanji spat as he glanced with antipathy down at some of the men. They all followed his gaze to where Chopper was still bandaging Usopp up. "And if we do find him, if he's spent it, then there's no getting it back."

Zoro was looking up to where Luffy was standing and asking, "What now? Even if we wait around for him, he may not be back for quite a while."

Chopper was yelling at them that he had finished the first aid treatment for Usopp but he needed help to carry him back to the ship. Sanji and Zoro both got up saying that sticking around this dump wouldn't help matters anymore. Sanji added that they left Nami alone at the ship and they still didn't know where Robin was… as well as the whole matter with the ship. Sanji then turned back to Luffy and called to him, "Hey, Luffy!"

Luff just continued to stand there for a short time as if coming to a painful choice.

Without turning to look at them, he said, "I've made a decision…" both Sanji and Zoro looked at him curiously, wondering what he was talking about. "About the ship," he added after a slight pause, "It's time we part ways with the Merry. We'll say goodbye to her here."