Alex discarded the piece of paper he was holding and made a note in his booklet. The time on the sea was so boring that he had to find some way to entertain himself so he went to do some calculations.

He still didn't understand what went wrong with the AG device. Without another try it will remain a mystery, but he could at least make some more blueprints for a few new toys.

A knock on the door made him look up "Come in."

One of the marines entered, holding a tray of food "Sorry to disturb you sir" said the man as he placed it on the end of the table.

Mercer nodded "Thank you" it was typical for Shu to eat his meals in the cabin alone, and that suited him perfectly. He didn't really need to eat, but it would be suspicious if he never ate anything.

The soldier nodded and left.

Mercer didn't bother with the food as he returned to his number crunching.

It was a few hours later that Alex decided that it was enough for today, and that he should eat the food and be done with it. He glanced to the tray and frowned.

He remembered that yesterdays meal was a fried fish, rice and a sauce he could not identify if you killed him. Frankly he thought that chewing melted plastic would have a similar taste.

And to his great surprise, today's meal was...fish...again. Why doesn't that surprise me...

He finished the meal fast and proceeded to return the tray to the kitchen, but before he managed one step to the door it swung open and a marine saluted "Captain, there's a navy ship tailing us."

Navy?To his knowledge he didn't slip up anywhere, so its far more probable that its related to something else entirely.

"Thank you, and next time you rush into my cabin – knock" Mercer said as he exited his cabin.

He pointed to a nearby marine "Give me the spyglass."

The soldier nodded and handed it over.

Looking through, he scanned the sea and found indeed a navy ship approaching them at full speed Perhaps we are simply going in the same direction...

"Reduce our speed."

"Ay captain!" said the marine as he rushed to the helmsman.

Alex watched keenly as the other ship started to slow down as it came parallel to his own. He easily identified the captain staring at him.

"Captain Hina, what do I owe the pleasure" he asked in his usual monotone voice.

From what he knew from Shu, the woman was an ability user, but her fruit was of no interest to him. He also knew that after Smoker got promoted to Vice-Admiral she became rather frustrated. Something about a friendly competition...frankly he couldn't care less.

"Shu, Hina's been looking for you."

Mercer suppressed the urge to roll his eyes What imbecile refers to himself in third person, if she thinks its cute...its not "What for?"

"Hina has been given the assignment to help that creep Spandam eliminate the renegade CP9 members" she said lighting a cigarette "we managed to find their location, but we need more muscle on our side. They weren't idle for the past two years."

CP9? The assassins? At first he wanted to refuse, but then he remembered that one of them was a useful fruit user...Blueno.

He was already getting annoyed by the things that got in the way of his vice-admiral hunt, but if he let this opportunity slide it was very unlikely that he could find the man again.

He nodded "Indeed, the CP9 are not enemies to underestimate. Who else will be going after them?"

She exhaled a ring of smoke before answering "The creep and his father trained a new group of operatives that will assist us and three more navy captains."

"Will we have more fruit user or are we the only ones?"

"The agents use rokushiki, and captain Very Good has eaten the Beri Beri No Mi. So it's not like we are heading unprepared."

That looks to me very much like going unprepared"Then let us depart, the longer we wait the greater the chance of them leaving."

"Hina agrees" she threw the cigar into the water "Our informants have spotted them on Foolshout Island."

That's a rather big detour Alex turned to his crew "You heard her, full speed to Foolshout Island!"

The marines quickly rushed to do their jobs leaving him alone on the deck.

With a single jump he landed on the other ship "I hope I'm not intruding too much, it gets rather boring and a conversation would be welcomed."

She didn't look like she cared "Hina agrees, spending too much time on sea can get rather dull."

Alex nodded "Anything interesting happened on your part?"

She shook her head „No, but the Straw Hats have again stirred up trouble on the Sabaody Archipelago" she pushed her hair aside "guess Smoker will be busy now in the New world."

That actually made Mercer chuckled "I can only imagine the chaos they will create."

"At least they are one of the better crews, most pirates are simply trash" she said as she lit another cigarette "our job would be far easier if there was no One Piece...it attracts the worst kind of greedy bastards."

"Honestly I don't believe that the One Piece is what most people imagine it" said Mercer.

"What do you mean?"

"From what I know of Roger he was a person that loved freedom and parties over all" Mercer said, amusement evident in his voice "I can only imagine him spending all the gold away."

That made Hina raise an eyebrow "You mean Roger lied? I don't think so, Whitebeard also confirmed its existence."

He shook his head "No, it exists but I think it's not what people think it is. Think about it, what did Roger value the most? It wasn't gold and jewels – it was the freedom to live out his dreams."

"The One Piece is the experience, the adventure you had traveling the seas, the time spend with your comrades, even your adversaries."

Hina snorted "Didn't think of you as a philosopher."

His smile was hidden by the veil "I'm many things, including a philosopher."

Hina snorted "If that's your pick up line, I heard better."

"No, only stating the facts" he said before looking at the sky "in the end every person is a painting, and a painting of only one color is something nobody wants on their wall"

"Hina annoyed with you now" she said "Its time for Hinas bath and for you to return to your ship."

Mercer spread his hand to the sea "Well you are free to take a swim, what's the point of being on the sea if you don't jump once or twice."

That actually made her glare at Shu "Sure, after you."

Mercer laughed "Perhaps I will hold you to that one day" he said before jumping back to his ship.

So the Straw Hats are on the move again...well I wish them the best of luck, they will need it where they are going.