Hi guys! Thank you all SOO much for your patience! I absolutely hate having to make you wait this long. Fingers crossed that I'm going to be able to return to my once a month posting schedule! You guys have been a huge inspiration to me and I cherish every review that you post.

Big thanks to my new readers and even more so to the readers who have stuck with me this whole time! You all make this worthwhile.

Unfortunately, there is not a lot of ZoLu in this chapter. I wasn't really able to fit in a flashback in a way that fit as Zoro is currently not on the Baratie. Thankfully, there is only one more chapter of the Baratie fight and then I shall be reuniting Zoro and Luffy at Arlong Park! Tons of good ZoLu moments planned for that little saga and after that is LogueTown.

To make it up to you guys at least a little bit, I posted some of my very rough dialogue possibilities for a scene that I intend to write between Zoro and Luffy at LogueTown at the end of this chapter. Enjoy and feel free to post up your own ideas or suggestions as I am always open to changing my ideas for future chapters.

Without any further ado, please enjoy the chapter!

One Piece (c) Eiichiro Oda

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The Battle Commander Strikes

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Krieg scoffed as he watched Gin face the blond chef and the straw-hatted girl, a shark-like smirk coming to his face.

"The final result of this fight will be what decides who is strong and who's not. By the end of this, I will be the one left standing."

Luffy rolled her eyes, a little fed up with how the purple-haired pirate was acting. She had dealt with people like him before but his arrogance was really starting to grate on her last nerve.

"Talk about leadership..." Patty whistled, appearing grudgingly impressed by the pirate commander's self-assured words.

"His title 'Don' as the fleet admiral of 50 ships isn't just for show." Carne agreed with a nod.

"So, little girl..." Krieg turned his full attention to Luffy, chuckling when he noticed the raven-haired girl glaring at him. "Tell me, who do you think is more fit to become the Pirate King? You or me...?"

"Me." Luffy stuck out her tongue at Don Krieg, ignoring the shouts from Patty and Carne telling her not to egg on the pirate commander any further. Krieg's confident smirk dropped and he snarled before forcing himself up from his seat even as he grabbed the shield attached to his left shoulder.

"Alright, that's it. Move it, men."

"It can't be...!" A few of the pirates in the water near the destroyed galleon flinched back as they watched Don Krieg heft the shield. The pirate commander shifted so that the face of the shield was pointing towards Luffy and the Baratie, the man's jolly roger clearly visible on the golden surface.

"It's time to teach that little bitch over there, the true meaning of 'strength'..."

At this point, the rest of the pirates in the water had noticed what Don Krieg was doing and they began to panic as well. "It's... the MH5!"

"Wha..." Gin flinched, turning his attention from Sanji to look back at his captain as Sanji and Luffy just stared on curiously. "Don, wait!"

"Huh?" The various chefs of the Baratie began to notice something was wrong based on the reactions of Gin and the other pirates and even Patty and Carne were staring at the shield with semi-worried expressions.

"MH..."

"5...?"

Luffy crossed her arms over her chest and shifted all her weight to one leg, watching the shield with a curious, if slightly bored, expression. "If it's a cannonball, I'll just bounce it back you know!"

She watched as Gin turned to fully face his captain and the dark-haired battle commander spread his arms wide."Please, Don! Allow me to kill this man with my own h..."

"Whether you kill him or I do the result is the same." Don Krieg interrupted, turning his glare to the brunet even as he kept talking. "You know that there's nothing I hate more, than foolishly naïve things like 'honor' or 'compassion'. Listen well. This is a battle we're in. And in a battle, you fight to win." Gin flinched back slightly at Krieg's words, his arms falling back to his side even as he loosely continued to hold onto his tonfa.

The skull in the center of the shield opened it's mouth, revealing a hole in the center that resembled a large gun barrel. "So all you have to do is win! Even if it means using a poison gas bomb!"

"P-poison gas!?" Sanji gaped at the pirate commander as the man's words sunk into his head, his eyes wide with shock.

"Don!" Gin protested.

"One whiff of this'll be enough to render your entire body immobile. THIS IS STRENGTH!" With those shouted words and one last glare towards the raven-haired she-pirate, Krieg launched his attack. The shell exploded from the center of the shield with a large bang, causing everyone around the destroyed galleon to flinch. Krieg's pirates pulled metal gas masks from pockets and bags and quickly placed them over their faces, indicating that they were familiar with this kind of attack. Seeing this, the chefs in the water began to swim backwards and away from both the galleon and the Baratie, hoping to put enough distance between themselves and the incoming attack.

"Crap! Dive into the sea!"

"It's coming!"

Luffy just smirked, dropping her arms to her side and clenching her fists as she watched the incoming shell. "Hmph! I'll just knock it down into the sea!"

"Luffyko-chan!" Sanji protested, reaching out to grab the back of her uniform. His fingers brushed the white fabric of her top but the girl easily shifted her weight and slipped past the blond chef. "Come back!"

Luffy smirked back at him as she ran. "I ain't afraid of a little poison gas..." As she neared the edge of the platform, Luffy leapt up and brought her leg back, intending to kick the shell away as it neared her.

Gin frowned as he took in the shape of the shell. "No, that's not it..." The brunet shifted his gaze from the she-pirate to his captain and froze at the confident smirk that graced the other man's face. It was a smirk that said, 'I know something you don't.'

Gin quickly swung back to Luffy right as the shell exploded in front of the girl's face. Over one hundred small, metal throwing stars shot from the exploded shell forcing Luffy to brace herself as the sharp spikes sliced at her arms and legs.

Sanji and Gin were both forced to jump back to avoid being hit by the throwing stars that were quickly embedding themselves into the wooden deck.

"What is this!?" One of the chefs in the water asked, staring wide eyed at the unexpected attack. "Shrapnel!?"

Luffy dropped to the ground amidst the metal stars with a slight cry of pain and the chefs could see at least one throwing star sticking out of her left shoulder. "Ugh!" Luffy winced, yanking out the star and quickly covering the wound with her free hand even as blood dripped from other cuts along her legs. "OWWWW!"

"Ha! A shrapnel shell!? It was just a trick!" The pirate's cheered, removing their masks as they did.

"You suck..." Luffy muttered, pouting even as she glared over at Krieg.

"Hahaha! A single poison gas bomb is enough to entirely wipe out a small town. As if I'd waste it to kill you two pieces of trash!"

"He's a real bastard, isn't he?" Sanji sighed, kneeling down next to Luffy and pulling a handkerchief from his suit pocket to press against her shoulder. Luffy nodded her agreement before waving the blond chef off and standing back up, patting down her navy blue skirt as she did.

"I'll admit though," She sighed. "He got me good."

"Why is she agreeing with him?" Carne whispered, shaking his head in disbelief as Patty slapped his forehead.

"This is what a battle is!" Don Krieg shouted, gearing himself up for another speech. "I've got more ways to kill you than I can count! Now, I'll ask you again! Which one of us do you think is more fit to become Pirate King!?"

"Me, obviously! It definitely can't be you!"

Krieg ground his teeth together at the girl's calm statement and glared before turning to his battle commander. "GIN! You're responsible for killing that cook! Leave this insolent little bitch to me! I will take great pleasure in breaking her!"

"Don Krieg is really pissed off now."

Gin smirked at the pirate's whispered words and shifted to face Sanji, hefting his tonfa. "Understood, Don." He began to spin one of his weapons slowly, building up speed as both waited for the other to make the first move. After a few seconds, Gin shifted his hold and dug his feet into the wood, the brunet planning on taking the initiative in the coming fight.

Gin tensing up gave Sanji a few milliseconds of heads-up before the battle commander charged, the tonfa in his right hand still spinning dangerously fast.

"Here I come!"

With his hands still in his pockets, Sanji leaned back slightly and raised his left leg, shooting out with a high kick as Gin neared him. However, the battle commander had anticipated the movement and was able to shift back, just out of the blond chef's reach. The grin on Gin's face was almost sadistic as his opponent fell right into his trap and Sanji cursed silently as he was forced to use his hands to avoid a downward swing of the heavy ball-shaped end of the tonfa. The weapon slammed into the wooden deck, creating a hole in the ground where Sanji had been only moments before. The blond's teeth gritted around his cigarette as he stared into Gin's grinning face before he realized that the other man's attack wasn't done just yet. His eyes widened slightly as Gin angled the part of the tonfa that was buried in the deck and used this new angle to uproot the deck directly under Sanji.

Sanji was forced to jump back, splinters of wood from the broken deck obscuring his vision slightly but thankfully, the debris also seemed to affect Gin's visibility. The blond chef used this slight advantage to launch a kick at the brunet pirate and gritted his teeth in frustration when Gin dodged it effortlessly. The pirate flipped himself up into the air with a grin before using his momentum to slam his right tonfa down onto Sanji's neck, pining the assistant head chef to the ground. Gin settled himself down into a cross-legged position, his other tonfa braced against his shoulder and his eyes hidden in the shadow under his bandana.

"I did tell you," Gin finally said, smirking darkly down at Sanji as the blond chef struggled to take a breath with the shaft of the tonfa pressing against his throat. "I don't have a shred of sympathy for you anymore. Farewell."

The brunet began to spin his second tonfa, building up speed as he prepared his next, and final attack. "Just disappear from this world."

Both Krieg's pirates and the chefs of the Baratie watched the scene with rapt attention, the former cheering their battle commander on. Sanji just took a drag of his cigarette, looking for all the world like he was not about to die, the sight seeming to irritate the Krieg commander.

"Die!" Gin swung his tonfa down in an arc, aiming straight for Sanji's head and at that moment the blond spit out the still lit cigarette. The end of the nicotine stick hit Gin almost perfectly between his eyes, not really hurting the other man but causing him to flinch slightly and close his eyes, his grip on the tonfa against Sanji's neck loosening. This small opening allowed Sanji to slide himself under the tonfa's shaft and lift himself up into a handstand, already preparing a counterattack. With as much strength as he could muster, Sanji slammed one leg straight down onto the top of Gin's head, forcing the brunet's face forward and into the hard wood of the deck.

The ricochet knocked Gin back and everyone could see the blood dripping from the battle commander's nose and mouth, showcasing his injury, but before he could collapse fully he lashed out, intending to take Sanji with him. His grip on the tonfa in his right hand tightened and he swung it out blindly, the large metal ball connecting solidly with Sanji's side. The blond chef let out a loud cry, feeling a few of his ribs crack at the impact before he too collapsed back against the deck.

Neither the Krieg pirates or the Baratie chefs could believe what they had just seen. Their two strongest fighters had just gone head to head with some of their strongest attacks, taking each other out in the process. It was an unbelievable sight.

Some of the Krieg pirates began to whisper amongst themselves from their places in the water. "That cook defeated Gin with only a kick?!"

"He landed a hit on him. You don't think Gin'll be done in by him, do you?"

"Idiots!" Krieg snarled, glaring down at his pathetic excuse for men. "You all have seen for yourselves what Gin is capable of. Seen the very reasons he is called a demon. He'll show his abilities soon and you'll see why he is my fleet battle commander."

Even as Krieg spoke, the brunet pirate began to force himself to his feet, licking at the blood on the edge of his mouth with an almost sadistic smirk. A few feet away from him, Sanji was also struggling to right himself, one hand pressed bracingly against his ribs.

"Do you think Sanji's ok?" Patty asked, watching the blond chef with an almost worried expression. "That attack looks like it cracked a few ribs."

Carne made a quiet noise of agreement. "He won't be able to take many more hits like that."

"This is nothing great," Sanji scoffed, smirking slightly over at Gin. "You're surprisingly weak Mr. Battle Commander. Guess the mighty Krieg pirates are all talk and no substance."

Luffy frowned slightly as she watched the two prepare for another showdown before her attention was drawn to Krieg's makeshift seat on the destroyed galleon across from where she stood. He was looking at the ongoing fight between Gin and Sanji but his gaze appeared to be off in the distance, as if he wasn't truly paying attention.

"Ah. He's looking away," She noted, eyes moving to the toppled mast of the galleon that connected the Baratie to Krieg's platform. "Now's my opportunity to kick his ass!" The raven-haired girl slipped past Sanji and Gin's stare down and hopped up onto the makeshift bridge before running full tilt towards the purple-haired pirate captain. Luffy began to yell as she charged, the noise drawing Krieg's gaze to her and the man smirked.

"Now now, no need to be impatient." He chuckled, shifting slightly so that he could heft the shield he still held in his left hand and aim it towards the raven-haired girl. As he held it out in the same defensive position as earlier, the golden edges of the large shield began to separate, revealing an outer ring lined with small holes.

Luffy didn't stop in her run but gave the shield a curious and slightly confused look as she continued. Krieg just scoffed and raised his other hand, a small cannonball like object held between his fingers. With a grin, he flicked the object towards the raven-haired girl, the black ball landing in the water below the makeshift mast bridge.

"Hmm...?" Luffy's eyes darted down to the water for a split second. 'What is he planning?'

Suddenly, the area just in front of the raven-haired girl exploded, a large spray of water shooting up and forcing Luffy to come to a halt, one hand braced against her straw hat as the mist obscured her view of Krieg and the other platform.

"I'll deal with you in due time!" Luffy could hear Don Krieg's voice echoing from somewhere in front of her but before she could move forward, a clicking noise sounded and a sharpened spike shot through the wall of water, just barely missing the she-pirate's face.

"Spears?!" Luffy attempted to dive to the side as more and more spikes shot through the mist with a frequency that rivaled her gatling gun attack. A stray spike slammed into her leg and Luffy let out a shriek of pain as she was forced back away from the destroyed galleon. As she struggled to dodge the seemingly endless barrage of spears, Luffy was forced too far to one side. Her foot slipped on the slope of the mast, sending her pinwheeling back at an angle.

"Crap, not the ocean again." With a quick kick with her good leg, Luffy pushed herself back far enough to land heavily on the Baratie's destroyed fin, her breath escaping in a loud huff.

"So you managed to get away, anchor girl."

"OWW!" Luffy shrieked, yanking out the spike in her leg and slamming it against the deck loudly. "That hurt, you bastard! The hell is this? Do you want to fight or not?!"

"Heh, fight?" Krieg snorted slightly, watching as Luffy forced herself to one knee with a slightly annoyed expression. "I don't need to, little girl. The only thing I need in a battle are methods with which to kill you. That is true might as a human!"

The pirate commander smirked, his expression one of smug satisfaction. "I'll make sure to beat that lesson into your skin and bones, little monkey."

"What?" Luffy snapped, glaring back at the man as she regained her footing. "Underestimate this monkey and I'll kick your ass to the bottom of the ocean."

Suddenly, Krieg began to chuckle, his gaze moving to look at something behind Luffy and the girl opened her mouth to snap at Krieg for ignoring her when she heard a sharp sound that sounded like bones cracking and a cheer went up from the surrounding pirates. Luffy quickly spun around, wincing as she took in the obvious pain etched on Sanji's face. The blond chef was on the ground, one hand braced against his chest as he struggled to take a deep breath, his wheezes and gasps just causing more blood to drip from his mouth.

A few feet away, Gin hefted one of his tonfa, blood dripping from the metal ball at the end. The brunet pirate stared down at Sanji with an unreadable expression on his face and spit a bit of blood from his mouth. The pirates in the water began to cheer their commander on, laughing at the obvious pain on the blond chef's face. Gin began to spin one of the tonfas again as Sanji shifted himself into a sitting position and wiped at his mouth.

"Psh. That didn't hurt at all, small fry." Sanji groaned slightly as his ribs twinged but he forced a smirk onto his face. 'Shit, this guy is freaking strong. I'm beaten...'

Gin just straightened his posture, his eyes shadowed by his bandana as he spun the tonfa faster, readying his next attack. "Time to put an end to this. Don't bother struggling anymore." The brunet charged forward, swinging his right arm with the spinning tonfa in a wide arc. The attack would have slammed into the side of Sanji's head but the blond man threw himself to the side, shifting his roll into a handstand.

"The hell kinda attack was that?!" Sanji shouted, angrily. "Your mercy?" Sanji immediately followed up his words with a kick, the attack slamming into Gin's back and sending the pirate commander faceplanting to the deck.

Luffy cheered, glad that Sanji seemed to be getting the upper hand but her smile quickly faded when the blond chef let out a cry of pain and fell to his knees, clutching at his chest. "Sanji!"

"Sanji!" Patty and Carne yelled, watching as Sanji fell to the deck with a cry. "This is bad. He can't even withstand the shock of his own attacks!"

Behind Sanji, Gin was slowly pushing himself to his knees, his teeth clenched angrily. Sanji turned slightly, one hand pressed against his damaged ribs as he tried to breathe through the pain, and regarded Gin with a frustrated expression. The Krieg pirate was finally on his feet and moved towards Sanji, leaving one of his tonfa behind and instead reaching for the blond chef with his now free hand. The brunet wrapped his hand around Sanji's throat and pushed the blond chef onto his back, kneeling above him as his other hand gripped the handle of his tonfa.

The Baratie chefs watched Gin with bated breath, ignoring the cheers and catcalling of the Krieg pirates as they waited for the brunet's next move.

"Shit. I can't." Luffy's eyes widened slightly at the soft words, knowing that Gin hadn't meant for anyone to hear them. Even though his eyes were still shaded by his headband, the she-pirate could see the conflicted look on the other pirate's face.

Luffy wasn't the only one to notice Gin's inner conflict. A few drops of clear liquid dripped onto Sanji's cheek and the blond chef shifted his eyes in an unconscious effort to see the liquid before shifting his gaze back to the man above him. Sanji's frustrated glare faltered as he stared up at Gin, eyes widening in shock at the tears that cascaded down the brunet's face.

"I... Don Krieg." Gin began, his voice faltering slightly. Luffy turned her head slightly so that she could take in the pirate general's expression and, if it wasn't for the seriousness of the current situation, she would have laughed at the look of confusion and surprise on the purple-haired man's face.

"I really..." She turned back to Gin and Sanji at the sound of sniffling and smiled softly. Gin let go of Sanji's neck and sat back, letting his tonfa drop to the ground next to him. "I CAN'T KILL THIS MAN! DON KRIEG!"

Sanji's eyes widened in shock and Luffy's smile widened.

"Gin." She had known that Gin was a good person. Though Don Krieg pissed off the raven-haired girl to no end, from the moment she met Gin she had known that he was different from the pirate commander.

"I really... I really can't kill him."

"What did you say?!" Krieg's shout caused Luffy to jump slightly and she turned to glare back at Don Krieg, the pirate's own glare aimed at his battle commander. "Say that to me one more time!"

"Because..." The brunet sobbed, clutching his headband and pulling it down over his eyes. "I've never been treated so kindly by another person, in my entire life...

Gin could remember the look on Sanji's face when he first handed Gin the plate of food.

'You can die for your dignity. But isn't it better to eat and live to see tomorrow?'

'Damn good, right?'

'I'm sorry, you're gonna get in trouble...'

'There's no evidence now, is there?'

"This is the first time anyone has ever been kind to me..." Gin continued, pulling his thoughts back to the present, one hand moving to pull at his hair. "That's why, I can't kill this man."

"Coward..." Krieg snarled, the anger clearly shown on his face as he silently removed one of his circular shoulder shields and hefted it in his hand. "You can't kill him? That's quiet disappointing, Gin. And here I had thought that you were the one of my subordinates that was most like me. That you were willing to win no matter what." He scoffed in disappointment, staring at Gin as if the other man was a bug he was prepared to crush under his boot.

"I know, Don. I don't plan on ever betraying you, nor do I think that anything that we've done so dar is wrong. I deeply respect your strength and I'm grateful to you. Grateful that you let me be your battle commander. It's why I do whatever you say. But... Don Krieg... if it's at all possible..."

Gin took a deep breath, wiping his face so he could see a little clearer, before he glanced up at the purple-haired commander and grinned shakily. "Couldn't we just let this ship go?"

Immediately following Gin's words, the other Krieg pirates began to yell and shout, berating their battle commander and causing Gin to lower his head, embarrassed. Across the water on the destroyed galleon, Don Krieg had pushed himself to his feet, his expression completely livid.

"You bastard!" He screamed. "Not only do you defy my orders... But then you try and tell me what to do?! Have you completely lost your mind, Gin?!"

Don Krieg hefted the large circular shield in his hand, once more, attaching it to the golden armor on his forearm. As he did, the mouth of the jolly roger's skull separated again to reveal the cannon-like center.

"Don!"

"That's the MH5!"

"For real, this time!"

The pirates in the water began to panic, many of them reaching into pockets and bags and producing metal gas masks. "Quick, put on your masks! It's the poison gas!" One pirate shouted, slipping his own mask onto his face.

"The poison gas?" One of the chefs asked flinching back away from the galleon when Don Krieg was.

"That bastard..." Luffy hissed, clenching her fingers into fists angrily as she turned to glare at Don Krieg. This was starting to get really old and the girl was just about completely fed up with this so-called pirate commander.

"But Don!" Gin protested, gesturing loosely behind him. "We were saved because of this restaurant!"

Krieg turned his gaze from the panicking pirates and chefs in the water to glare darkly at his battle commander. "Throw away your gas mask, Gin. You're no longer one of my crew."

Gin started, his eyes wide. "Wha...!? Don... Krieg..."

"... The Don's really planning on killing even Gin!" One of the pirate's muttered, turning towards his other crew-mates.

"What! That's impossible!" Another shouted, shaking his head. "Gin's his Right-Hand Man!" The pirate grabbed his right arm and shook his hand for emphasis as another pirate nodded in agreement.

"That's right. There's not a single man who's more loyal to the Don than Gin. Even during that time too...! Back when we had just escaped the Grand Line only to be suddenly ambushed by Fullbody. Gin alone, disguised as our Don, lured Fullbody and the Marines away!"

"He's a man who always risked his life fighting for the Don's sake. A man who became a demon to carry out the Don's orders! There's just no way Don Krieg could kill Commander Gin...!"

"Throw away your mask!" Don Krieg shouted again, watching as Gin slowly pulled the metal mask from an inside jacket pocket and stared down at it silently.

Luffy was done listening to these pirates, done hearing about how loyal Gin had been to a man willing to kill him at the first sign of disobedience. With a growl, she turned back to the broken mast that provided her with a way to take down the asshole purple-haired man.

"As if I'd let you fire your poison gas bomb!" Luffy shouted, sprinting down the makeshift bridge, causing Don Krieg's angry expression to shift from Gin to the raven-haired girl.

"You little bitch! A pathetic little hammer. I told you I'd deal with you in due time, didn't I?" Krieg smirked slightly before lifting the arm not holding the MH5 gun and slammed it into the broken mast. This caused the even more broken mast to slip off of its place on the destroyed galleon and it began to sink into the water.

Luffy lost her balance and tumbled forward, doing a front roll and sliding to a stop a few inches from the water. Her eyes widened as she watched Don Krieg heft the MH5 shield, the sides reopening to reveal the outer ring of small holes. "Shit..." More of the sharpened spikes began to shoot from the openings and the she-pirate was forced to scramble to her feet and start running back along the sinking mast, dodging spikes as she moved. Finally, Luffy let out a breath of relief as she spied the broken remains of the Baratie fin and quickly dove off the broken mast, doing a midair roll and dropping heavily to the deck. Luffy's dark blue waitress skirt had a few spikes sticking out of it that had gotten stuck as she was running and the raven-haired girl forced herself into a sitting position before muttering under her breath about annoying purple-haired assholes and cheap attacks.

Luffy's subsequent return and quiet mutterings pulled Gin from his self-loathing contemplation and he looked up from the mask in his hand to stare at the she-pirate.

"Damn it!" Luffy finally snapped, rising angrily to her feet and ripping at the spike-infested, shredded navy blue skirt. She finally just huffed in annoyance and unzipped the side of the skirt and stepped out of it. Her white blouse was no longer tucked in and hung loosely on her frame, almost covering the black bicycle shorts that Nami had given her. Luffy just tossed the ruined skirt to the side and put her hands on her hips before glaring over at Don Krieg.

"Gin!" She shouted, not turning to look at the brunet. "There's no need to listen to a big coward like him! I'm gonna send him flying in an instant!"

"Luffyko-chan..." Sanji breathed.

Gin's teeth ground together. "Girl! Don't you dare insult Don Krieg! Don Krieg is the strongest man alive! It's impossible for you to beat him."

Sanji pulled his eyes away from Luffy's frame, having been staring at the half-dressed girl, to glare at Gin. "You idiot! Open your eyes! That guy's trying to kill you!"

"Of course he is." Gin chuckled, the sound self-deprecating. "I'm just a failure who broke the crew's code of law because my compassion got in the way." He hefted the mask in his hands and glanced down at it one more time before tossing it off the side of the broken deck and into the water. "This is what I deserve!"

"Gin!" Luffy shouted, her eyes wide and disbelieving.

"Why? Why!" Sanji shouted, sitting up and grabbing the edges of the brunet's jacket before shaking the other man.

Don Krieg smirked slightly, the expression causing Luffy to shake with anger. "You realize this at the end, eh? But it's too late. Die together with that blasted cook."

The purple-haired pirate lifted his arm, readying his attack and Luffy moved to block his view of Gin and Sanji and held her arms out.

"Hey, idiot! I'm over here too. Weren't you going to try, and fail, to make me a member of your crew? How's shooting a gas bomb over here gonna help you?!"

Don Krieg growled angrily at Luffy, his eyes narrowing as he took in her frame without the frilly skirt.

"I have no use for you anymore, you little bitch. I'm fed up with your little resistance to me. Either this kills you or it leaves you just barely alive enough for me to deal with you then. Now...!"

He aimed the weapon again and shifted into a ready stance. "Poisonous gas... MH5!"

A large ball that looked almost like a purplish cannon ball shot from the hole in the center of the shield, aimed straight towards the destroyed fin of the Baratie. In the water around the restaurant, pirate's began to press their masks to their faces as they waited for the coming explosion of gas. The chefs all began to swim away from the Baratie.

"Crap, dive ans swim as far away as you can!" One shouted, following his own advice after a second.

Luffy watched as Don Krieg pulled his own mask from a pocket in his cape and pressed it to his face, still glaring at the raven-haired girl. She stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation before glancing around. The she-pirate quickly found two pirates near the edge of the wooden fin and quickly stretched her arms out, yanking the masks from them.

"I'm borrowing these!" She shouted, retracting her arms before tossing the masks in Sanji and Gin's directions. "Here, you two! Use these!" Gin stared at her in shock and she grinned cheekily before turning back to the water, intending to get a mask for herself.

Luffy froze at the sight of the clear water in front of her, the pirates having followed the chefs example and dove underwater. "Crap! Crap, crap... They all dove underwater! Dammit, I still need a mask." She glanced around quickly, double checking that all the pirates with masks were gone before sighing.

"Dammit. Maybe I can just hold my breath?!" Luffy swore she could hear Zoro in her head, shouting at her for being a reckless idiot and she glanced down, eyes widening as she took in the sight of a lone mask rocking slightly next to her feet. "Ah! A mask!"

"This is might." Luffy heard Don Krieg mutter under his breath and she frowned before quickly placing the mask to her face seconds before the bomb flew over the deck and exploded.

Purple smoke covered the deck and floated past the destroyed galleon, carried by the sea breeze. Luffy held the mask tightly against her face, glancing around as she tried to see through the weaving tendrils of smoke. Hopefully the chefs had managed to get far enough away from the blast. Her eyes narrowed when she caught a glimpse of Don Krieg through the fog, the man watching the restaurant with a smug expression visible even through his mask.

The poisonous gas began to slowly dissipate, and Luffy was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the body of a seagull dropped to the deck next to her, causing the raven-haired girl to jump slightly.

'Stupid idiot,' Luffy cursed, watching as Krieg removed his mask and smirked over at her. 'I'm gonna kick his ass.'

"Gin... Let-... Let go!"

Luffy turned her head at Sanji's cry, eyes widening and chest clenching tightly. "GIN!"

The pirate commander was kneeling above Sanji, pressing a gas mask roughly to the blond chef's face even as his own skin began to take on a sickly gray color.

"Where's... Where's your mask?" Gin didn't respond, just coughed weakly as blood began to drip from his nose. His eyes were open but Luffy could tell that he wasn't looking at anything in particular. "Mask... Gin..."

'He gave it to me. Why?'

Gin's arms began to shake and Luffy watched as the brunet let out a bloody cough before falling off of Sanji.

"Gin!" Luffy shouted, running over to the two men as Sanji quickly sat up and caught the half-dead pirate commander. She froze a few feet away when Don Krieg began to laugh, the sound causing her to clench her hands angrily.

"What an idiot." Krieg scoffed. "This happened because you made such a big deal out of one meal. I guess an idiot like you won't learn till he dies."

Luffy refused to look back at Krieg, kept her eyes on Gin's heaving frame as she listened to the chefs in the water talk quietly to each other.

"That son of a bitch... He threw away his gas mask as commanded."

"To go that far..."

Gin was gasping, struggling to draw air into his lungs. Blood dripped steadily from his mouth and nose and tears streamed down his face. "Don..." He gasped, his voice barely audible. "Don-... Krieg!"

"Gin." Sanji sighed, staring down at the brunet for a few more seconds before turning to glare at the purple-haired pirate. "You chose the wrong man to follow."

Don Krieg began to laugh again, this time louder than before. "Are you sympathizing with my little scumbag?"

"Scumbag?!" Sanji snarled.

"Of course. What else would you call a useless idiot who refuses my order without thought of the consequences and is no good for anything. Isn't killing him before he makes the same mistake again a sign of my love?"

"I can't believe it," One of the pirate's said, his eyes wide with shock. "The Don is really going to kill our Battle Commander!"

"Look! Sanji and the waitress are ok!" A chef yelled from inside the restaurant, sighing in relief.

The doors to the Baraite burst open and Patty and Carne pushed their way outside, breathing their own sighs of relief as they took in the sight of Sanji and the small she-pirate both looking unharmed.

"Sanji!?"

"Ahh!" Carne's gaze shifted from examining Luffy's now skirt-less attire to take in the dying brunet in Sanji's hold. "It looks like Krieg's Battle Commander got a full blast of that poison gas."

Sanji perked up slightly at the sound of his crew-mates and quickly spun his head and glared at the other chefs. "Patty! Don't you have some antidote?!"

"U-uhh yeah..." The thuggish chef stammered. "I think so. But that's for food poisoning. And besides, he's the enem-"

"Whatever!" The blond snapped. "Just bring it over now!"

"Idiot!" Zeff pushed himself past Patty and Carne and fixed Sanji with a serious expression. "Put that mask on his face, quickly! It should detoxify some of the poison in his lungs and clear up the air he breathes." The Head Chef gestured behind him. "Take him to the upper balcony and have him breathe the air up there. If there's any chance for him to survive, that should be your first step."

Sanji nodded slightly, even as he grabbed the gas mask and carefully placed it over Gin's face. Once he was sure it was secure the blonde glanced up and glared back at the other two chefs. "Patty! Carne! Move your asses!"

"I got it already!" Patty snapped, running forward. "Quit yelling, asshole."

"Me too?"

Krieg scoffed. "Useless. At most he's got an hour."

"Don't die, Gin." Everyone froze and turned their gazes towards the raven-haired girl, her expression unreadable even as her hair shadowed her eyes. Her words were soft, but there was a bite to them that caused shivers to slide down Sanji's back. "Don't you dare die for that guy."

"You have to survive, okay?" She continued, her voice growing louder as she continued to talk. "Cause I'm gonna send this asshole flying!"

"N-... No, stop... you can't..." Gin gasped, his voice muffled by the gas mask..

"Shut up! I can and I will!"

"Calm down, Luffyko-chan." Sanji quickly moved forward and grabbed onto one of the girl's arms, feeling her muscles tense under his hold. "If you go straight at him, you'll fall into his trap! That's exactly what he wants! You'll die!"

"I won't die." Sanji felt himself freeze at the look in the small girl's eyes. His chest tightened and his heart seemed to come to a complete standstill. Luffy's signature straw-hat had been tilted back slightly and loose strands of hair whipped around her face. In the chef's opinion, she looked like an avenging angel, her untucked shirt fluttering around her legs cutely while her dark brown eyes promised death for the purple-haired pirate that dared to laugh at her.

Sanji's grip on her arm loosened and in that instant Luffy was gone, charging straight at Krieg even as she screamed at the man.

"If you wanna shoot me, then take your best shot!"

"Fool..." Krieg scoffed. "Nothing's easier to kill than a worked up idiot. So come on, little girl. Let's see how long it takes for you to lose that cocky attitude and bend to my will." He flicked his wrist, 5 or 6 little black balls dropping into the water around the mast/

"He's launching more bombs," a chef in the water hissed, watching Luffy jump nimbly onto the broken and half sunken mast. "He's gonna make another water screen!"

"The ocean is your doom, little anchor!"Krieg laughed darkly. "Try and jump and my spears will make mincemeat out of you! Ahead of you lies your grave!"

"My grave?" Luffy repeated, practically spitting out the words as she ran along the wooden mast. The bombs began to explode one by one, creating a veil of water and separating Luffy and Krieg. The raven-haired girl continued to run, disappearing straight into the wall of water, her steps never faltering.

Krieg hefted his shield weapon, the sides spreading, as spikes began to shoot from the weapon and into the wall of water. The chefs watching listened fearfully and winced ever time they heard a small grunt or the sound of a spike embedding itself in something.

"Shit! She's hurt!" Sanji cried, forcing himself to his feet and stumbling forward. Before he could get more than a few steps, a hand latched onto his shoulder and forced him back into a sitting position. The blond chef glanced up in confusion, his expression turning annoyed when he saw that it was Head-Chef Zeff who had stopped him.

"Geezer! What're you... she-..."

"The lass will be fine. Just sit and watch, eggplant." With a grumble Sanji turned his gaze back to the wall of water right as the raven-haired girl emerged from the mist. The chef could easily see the metal spikes embedded in her left shoulder, right thigh, and was that one stuck in her stomach?! His hands clenched into fists but he forced himself to watch quietly as Luffy flipped back into a handstand before slamming her feet down onto the end of the broken mast. Her movement sent a spray of water up onto the destroyed galleon, blocking Krieg from seeing the kneeling girl.

The purple-haired pirate snorted. "Using my own trick against me...?"

Luffy just stretched her arm back, preparing her actual attack as she jumped forward into the new veil of water.

"Bitch! You really want to hit me? Come on then!" From his cape Krieg pulled a large piece of thick fabric completely covered in metal spikes.

"He brought it out!" One of the pirates shouted. "It's the Kenzan* cape!"

"That dirty son of a bitch!" Sanji snarled, eyes widening with worry. "It's a damn spike covered cape! How the hell is she supposed to hit him now?!"

"What'll you do now, hammer? You can't touch me!"

"Gum-Gum..." Luffy's eyes narrowed as she took in the sight of the cape, her expression one of calm fury as she stepped onto the galleon. Two more steps and she was in front of Krieg, her right arm cocked back and her other hand braced against her bicep.

"BULLET!"

Luffy's hand slammed into the side of the spiked cape and pushed beyond, catching Don Krieg on the side of his jaw and sending him flying back. Sanji's jaw dropped in shock and next to him, Zeff also wore a similar expression of surprise, although there was a flickering of pride in his eyes.

"WHHHHAAAAATTTTT?! SHE HIT DON KRIEG!"

*A tool used in flower arrangement where a small base has many needles sticking out from it.

.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Again, I sincerely apologize for making you wait this long and I will hopefully have the next chapter up within the next month.

Below I have listed a little of rough dialogue I have started creating for a scene in LogueTown when Zoro and Luffy run in to each other as well as a partially done scene as they are escaping after Luffy's 'execution'. I am hoping to have Luffy and Zoro admit their feelings during LogueTown and am still throwing around ways that I want them to do that.

Please take note that these are very rough drafts and I may completely change or not even use these later on, the former in particular. I feel like I owe you guys at least a little ZoLu though because there isn't any in this chapter.

So the first one is a possible dialogue between Luffy and Zoro where they can start to mention their feelings to each other after Zoro gets his new swords. They do actually meet up at this time in the show so I was thinking of changing their words a bit and using it to my favor in this scene.

The second is a partially written scene of a confrontation between Tashigi and Zoro after he and Luffy escape from the square after her almost execution.

When Luffy runs into Zoro at Loguetown

"Shishishi. Did yow get lost Zoro?"

"No! What about you? I thought you were going to the execution platform?"

"I got turned around."

"You mean lost."

Luffy pokes Zoro's side

"Ow."

"Meanie... Hey Zoro, I-is your wound healing? You took off the bandages so..."

laughs "I'm fine Lu. What's with this worrying? It's not like you."

"I always worry about you." blush

'Luffy's far too open. She does what she wants and never thinks twice about it. Just following those damned instincts of hers. For her to be hesitant... I don't want her to hesitate, to stop and give a single thought to not continuing her adventure. My feelings... they might take her away from that. That's something I never want. To me, telling her "I love you" is too selfish. And yet, at the same time, I see my feelings reflected in her eyes sometimes. I don't know if we can keep ignoring these feelings.'

ruffles Luffy's hair and grins

"Don't worry about me. I've never been better, Lu."

'And yet... I want to believe that no matter what happens, she won't change. I hope so, cause I can't keep going on like this.'

"Hey, Lu... Did you know, I really, really love you. Luffyko."

"Damn, they're persistent," Zoro growled, blinking against the rain hitting his face, his eyes completely focused on the small raven-haired girl running in front of him. 'Luffy... My Luffy...' He shook his head and kept running. "Wanna stop and fight them?" He asked Sanji, not turning his head to look at the blonde chef.

"No time. We need to go," The other man replied, squinting as a shadow appeared on the street in front of them. "Wait... Who is that lady?!"

Zoro reluctantly pulled his eyes away from Luffy to follow Sanji's gaze to the dark-blue haired woman, recognizing the blue and white furred coat and the pale yellow button up shirt.

"So you're Roronoa Zoro. A pirate." She muttered, the words just loud enough for the three straw-hat members to hear.

"I... You lied to me!" Luffy slid to a stop at her words, eying the woman in front of her curiously. She was obviously angry at Zoro, but her Zoro wouldn't intentionally lie to an innocent person if he didn't have to. Sanji, on the other hand, was furious and he turned to the green-haired swordsman.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER?!" He screamed, both him and Zoro stopping in front of the female marine as well.

"You never asked my name, that's all." Zoro smirked, looking for all the world like he was completely calm. He moved to step past Luffy, placing his hand on his captain's shoulder and squeezing it reassuringly. "I never lied to you." As his hand dropped from Luffy's shoulder though, the she-pirate grabbed it between both of hers, stopping the swordsman from going any further.

"Lu?" Zoro asked, turning to glance at her worriedly. She had never really done anything like this before and he was a little concerned. The swordsman was already on edge after her near brush with death -stop thinking about it!- and he was worried she was hurt.

Luffy just shook her head, her eyes shadowed under her wet hair and refused to speak. Zoro opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong when the marine lady began to talk again.

"A scoundrel like you wielding such a magnificent katana... unforgivable! Your meitou, the Wado Ichimonji, shall be confiscated!"

Luffy's head snapped up at that and she glared at the woman in front of her, stepping up until she was in front of her swordsman but refusing to let go of his hand. "Don't you dare!" She yelled, growling slightly. "You will not take Zoro's katana! I WON'T LET YOU!"

Tashigi reared back a little bit at that, her eyes widening when she took in the small she-pirate and the straw-hat on her back.

"Stay out of this Straw-Hat Luffyko! I will deal with you after!"

Luffy hissed and opened her mouth to shout back when Zoro's other arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling the raven-haired girl against his chest. His hand slid into her hair and pulled her close until her head was resting against his collarbone.

"Shh, Lu. It's ok Captain. You think I'll lose to someone like her?" He chuckled slightly, dropping a small kiss to the top of the girl's head. "Have faith, Captain."

Luffy pouted, finally letting go of Zoro's hand and instead wrapping her arms around his torso. "I know," she sighed, shaking her head. "But I don't like her yelling at you... and Wado... and... and you're MY swordsman." She buried her face in Zoro's chest at that, feeling the heat on her cheeks spread to her ears when she heard the small laugh that the swordsman tried to fight back.

Tashigi watched their exchange, too far away to hear what they were whispering to each other but when she saw the green-haired swordsman grin she grew angry again. "Enough of this!" She shouted. "I will take the Wado Ichimonji from your undeserving hands and then I will turn Straw Hat Luffyko in to Captain Smoker."

Zoro tucked Luffy more against him, shifting his hold so he could rest his hand on Wado's sheathe, flicking the blade up and out of the sheathe slightly with his thumb. "Just try it." He smirked, amused by the woman's outburst. With a yell, Tashigi drew her sword and charged Zoro, her downward swing clashing against Wado. She was a little surprised, having not seen the swordsman draw it with one arm still wrapped around the small she-pirate. He easily shoved her back, changing his one handed grip on Wado to a more comfortable one before smirking cockily.

"Zoro! How dare you attack a lady! You could hurt her or Luffyko-chan!" Sanji yelled, stomping his foot angrily.

"Please stay out of this!" Tashigi's voice echoed along the street. "This is between Roronoa and myself."

Zoro gave a short nod, accepting her challenge before pulling Luffy back from him.

"Lu, get going ok? I'll handle things here and meet up with you at the ship."

Luffy opened her mouth to protest but froze, sighing after a second and nodding her head. "Ok Zoro." She rose onto her tiptoes and gave him a chaste peck on the cheek before grinning. "Don't get lost after you beat her." She teased, moving back to where Sanji was standing. Zoro stared after his captain, dumbfounded. She had just... A grin split his face and he nodded, tightening his grip on Wado and turning to face Tashigi. He wouldn't lose here, he wouldn't lose ever!

"Zoro! If you hurt her, you're a dead man!" Sanji yelled, grabbing Luffy's arm and pulling the girl past the two combatants, pointing his finger at the green-haired swordsman in warning as he passed.

"Same to you idiot cook!"

Hope you enjoyed these little insights to future chapters and look forward to the end of the Baratie fight soon!

Till next chapter!