I don't own One-Piece, it belongs to Eiichiro Oda.

Sorry for the long wait, but here it is, the new Chapter!

NAFNAF509: 1) Here is is! 2) Thank you!

lpfreek: Thank you!

Thorndsword: 1) Thank you! 2) Oh, she will try and fail in the beginning.

serpentguy: 1) I aim to surprise! 2) I'm not very good with descriptions, but I'll try! 3) Oh, well, I try to fix it, thanks for advise! 4) Well, they are going to disappear pretty soon, so don't worry. 5) A little bit of AU, all Marines that reached the Rank of a Captain are given a choice to learn this Style, like an admission of their achievements during their career. Morgan was an arrogant asshole and thought that it wasn't worth his time to learn it, the name of the story gives you an insight on the whole ordeal if you think about it! 6) Well, you're going to be pleasantly surprised! 7) Here it is!

OnePieceFan2: 1) I didn't too, the crab-asshole doesn't get much love in Fics for some reason. 2) Oh, this will be different, it's a fact! Nami will have a different introduction to Luffy and with how much things are different, just wait and see! 3) Well, here it is, I hope you'll like it!

R .D. T: Thanks for reading and I gave them this boost specifically to make the story more interesting.

karthik9: Thanks and here it is!

Storylover213: 'Captain' in Japanese Navi.

Cloud Narukami: 1) Thank you! 2) Yes! 3) Sorry, but the setting is already finished.

zolydck: 1) You wouldn't be disappointed! 2) Zoro's death will create a serious ripple that wouldn't be just limited to the East Blue! 3) Thank you and I will!

Swanboy: 1) Tank you! 2) It's with Tashigi, she took it from the Base.

newtonian: And get hit harder for asking? You know how Garp is and there wouldn't be a any mercy.

serialkeller: Thank you for support! He will, just not right of the bat, they still aren't strong enough to actually learn them as you know.

Destrark: Nope, here is more!

Lucem Yoru: Thank you and it will change a lot, I really hope you'll keep reading till the end!

amerdism: Thank you, here is more!

ObsessivelyObsessiveObsession: Yeah, but considering that some of them came not from the East Blue from the beginning...? Also, backstory can be a really good thing to exploit when you're running out of options for opponents, think about someone who can have something more than East Blue under their belt.

Chapter 005: When Circus Came to Town...

Wealth, fame, power... Gold Rodger, the King of the Pirates obtained this and everything else the world had to offer. And his dying words drove countless souls to seas.

"You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place! Now you just have to find it!"

These words lured men to the Grand Line in pursuit of dreams greater than they've ever dared to imagine! This is the time known as 'The Great Pirate Era'!

Nami was never slow on the uptake, without the superb ability to think on your feet you would end up dead before even completing the tiniest heist. While her plan on stealing the map of the Grand Line encountered a small hitch, who knew that the guards were sleeping inside the barrels, she still managed to get the map and even leave the perimeter of the pirates' base. The part where she was chased by three enraged grunts was not part of the plan, shaking them off was also not as easy as many would think. While lacking in their collective brain-capacity they certainly weren't handicapped when it came to speed and endurance and without some kind of a distraction or trick it would be almost impossible for her to outran them, she was faster but in the long run she wouldn't be able to outlast them and she knew it.

And then, like a miracle or even Karmic justice, it depended on your point of view, she literally ran into two people who could probably serve as a decent distraction for her pursuers, if the quality of the sword that the blue-haired girl had was any indication she wasn't a complete amateur if she managed to keep it with herself this far, a bodyguard maybe? It didn't matter in the end really.

Jumping up on her feet she put on the friendliest and happiest smile she could.

"Oh, Boss!" She made sure to put a little extra accent onto the last word, all for the sake of escape through creation of a scapegoat. "You came to save me!" She rushed past the stunned couple, making sure to leave before they would be able to formulate an answer and burst her bluff. "I'm leaving everything to you!" Nami managed to reach the next turn before anyone managed to utter even a word, disappearing from the sense.

Luffy was staring at the spot where not a moment ago the orange haired girl was standing, calling him Boss of all things and then leaving without waiting for a reply. He had a nagging feeling in the back of his head that he met this particular orange-haired girl somewhere not long ago, he just wasn't sure where and when. Well, it wasn't really that important then if he couldn't remember it, maybe some other time.

"Hey, she's getting away!" Finally getting out of stupor one of the hugs called out.

"No problem, her Boss is still here." The one with an unhealthy amount of around-stitches said with an evil smirk.

"... Who are you?" Luffy asked the three armed men, cocking his head to the side.

"We should be asking you this question!" Barked the three pirates.

"I'm Luffy, a pirate." Answered the teen nonchalantly. "And she's Tashigi, my First Mate."

"Oh, a pirate, eh?" Started one of the grunts. "And what are pirates doing on Buggy-Senchō's turf?"

"Maybe he came to back-up that bitch that stole the map?" Asked the other one.

"Well, then lets make sure to demonstrate what happens with brats that cross us!" The third one finished and stepped closer to Luffy.

While not being exactly strong in the true definition of the word, the trio knew that when compared to the simple civilians populating this city they were pretty decent. Considering that their Senchō was one of the rare in East Blue users of the legendary Akuma no Mi and had a double-digit bounty on his head, there was not many who could really oppose them nowadays, and as it usually goes the lack of resistance lead to arrogance and the atrophy of their survival-instincts. While not of a very impressive statue Luffy was certainly not an ordinary person that could be just dismissed from the first glance, the muscular build and an abnormal height for a person of his age were just an obvious hints. Neither was Tashigi with Shigure at her side, people who carried swords like that around were either skilled fighters or very rich snobs who liked to show-off, and Tashigi didn't looked well off in the slightest.

If not the appearance then the dangerous aura that was radiating from the duo should have warned the pirates that they were not to be messed with, alas they were not known to be that smart due to the lack of need to develop their minds above the level of simple grunts. So, when one of them decided to intimidate the straw-hat wearing boy with violence and raised his fist to punch him in the face...

*Shink*

Only for his arm to explode in blood, a huge gash going from his wrist right down to his armpit appeared in an instant.

*Click*

"Don't threaten my Senchō." Said Tashigi as she sheathed her sword, her voice cold as an arctic wind.

The now bleeding grunt blinked slowly as he turned his head slightly to be able to see he frozen and heavily wounded hand with both eyes. It looked quite gruesome but in reality was not as serious as many would think, Tashigi meant it only as a warning in the language that the trio of pirates would understand, not as an actual attack or his whole arm would've been simply gone.

"... You wench!" Screamed the other two, still unharmed, men.

"Argh!" Screamed the wounded one as he grabbed his now almost carved open limb, trying to close the part of the wound that was going over the veins on his wrist. "Whaeo!" Apparently he couldn't quite manage his speech at the moment as he lunged at Tashigi with pain, anger and murder in his eyes.

Interesting enough he was the only one who wasn't armed with a sword, the other two followed his lead and jumped forward, trying to use their weigh and momentum to empower their attacks. While it would have worked against any vanilla-mortals that never fought in their lives, against Luffy it wasn't very effective. The straw-hat wearing boy didn't even bother to use his power and decided on the more sophisticated method of defense against the attackers. Two fists, two faces, their meeting at high velocity solved the problem for Luffy while introducing the pirates to the short sensation of flight and then darkness from their heads' connection with the stone pavement of the street.

Tashigi didn't even bother to unsheathe Shigure, a lightning fast blow with the pommel of her sword to the enemy's chin knocked the taller man out like a light, a couple of broken teeth weren't a bad thing too. But before she could ask Senchō about finding the store that sold the requirements they came for the sound of clapping made her head snap in the direction of the nearby roof. The orange-haired thief that set them up for this situation was applauding them, which either showed how much guts she had or how little common sense. Was she baiting them to attack her for the shit that she pulled?

Nami was pretty sure that she finally lost it, after climbing the building nearby to see of the strangely familiar boy and his companion would get beaten by the Buggy Pirates she was shocked into silence by what actually transpired. She didn't manage to catch the actual conversation, and it was pure luck and her incredible speed earned through the years of running away that she only missed that much, but the incredible ease with which the pair dealt with Buggy's goons made her sweat.

The sheer ease that the duo displayed in dealing with the three of Buggy's strongest non-Officers made her rethink her earlier actions, she just tried to set-up a pair of really strong people.

'Crap...' Sure, she could try and run away but without the treasures that she was here to steal it would be a major set-back in her plan. She was so close to finally achieving her goal, it would take her only a couple of months to finally... She suppressed her urge to sigh, without the money that she saw in Buggy's possession it would take significantly longer, she didn't have the luxury to prolong her leave and such an opportunity could never be in her reach again. 'For them...'

Nami steeled herself and put on the best friendly face she could manage. Silently sliding from the roof down on the second-floor balcony she started clapping, instantly gaining the swordswoman attention while the teen cocked his head to the side and looked at her from the corner of his eye. While Nami had no real idea just why did they appeared here, the straw-hat wearing boy was vague familiar but she pushed that thought away for the moment, there was a small possibility that they were either Bounty Hunters or just really skilled travelers and that was the best option for her at the moment.

Sitting up one the tiles, making sure to look as friendly and as relaxed as she could, Nami started clapping. Everyone like prises, a good complement in a right moment could save people a lot of grief and in her case stop the two people in front of her from inflicting any kind of serious physical harm upon her person. Hopefully...

"You two are strong, aren't ya?" Nami resisted the urge to facepalm, her nerves were grinding on her ability to make a proper conversation.

"That we are, and we're also don't like to be used." Answered the swordswoman, her eyes narrowed and her hand on the hilt of her weapon.

"Maa, maa, sorry about it." Nami waved her accusing tone off, trying very hard not to flinch from the glare she was receiving. "I couldn't beat them and outrunning them wasn't an option either..." She scratched the back of her hear sheepishly.

"So you decided to used the bystanders as a diversion to win yourself some time to escape?" The hand on the handle of the sword tightened.

'Not good...' She was used to being able to weasel her way out of almost any situations, a little bit of her womanly charm and sweet-talk and almost anything was possible. Her her opponent was female and armed with a sharp and pointy object, which was a combination that Nami wasn't sure she could win against.

"Who are you?" The suit-wearing teen in a straw-hat asked, before now he was standing there and staring at her blankly without even a hint of an emotion on his face.

"Oh, my name is Nami." Happy to change the topic she looked at the teen directly. "I'm the thief that robs pirates." While normally she would cover her real profession with some obscure lie, this time she had no choice but to reveal it due to the circumstances. She would need freedom in her actions if she wanted to steal from Buggy and his crew, there was no way she would be able to come up with a cover good enough on the spot that would justify her actions. "And seeing as you already earned the ire from Buggy himself for assaulting his crew..." She motioned towards three unconscious pirates, on of whom was still bleeding on the ground. "... I think we can work out an agreement, what do you think?"

"I have no interest in deals." Answered the teen and then started walking forward, the swordswoman following him after sending one last glance in Nami's direction.

'... Shit.' While she wasn't sure that these two could match Buggy, she heard some pretty nasty rumours about clown-themed pirate, they were the only ones who could act as a distraction, this town severely lacked in manpower due to the invasion of pirates. She wasn't sure if they were her only chance but at least these two were the most convenient chance she had at the moment, which meant that she should put some effort into persuading them.

Nami jumped down from the balcony and trotted after the duo.

"Wait!" She called out, making the pair stop and look at her over their shoulders. "Can I at least repay you for helping me with these three?" She made a gesture towards the unconscious pirates.

*Gurgle*Gurgle*

The sound very similar to wild animal came from the tall teen's stomach, the swordswoman just sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose under her glasses.

"I can treat you lunch." Nami couldn't help but smirk, while swordswoman appeared to be a bit rough around the edges the teen was simple enough to figure out.

"Senchō, what do you think?" She sounded like she already knew the answer.

On one of the tallest building in the city you could see a large tent surrounded by people dressed in something that strongly resembled circus' gear, the flag that was attached to the main pole of the tent was black with Jolly Rodger on it. This particular mark had a big round red clown-nose and black crosses on the eye sockets, the mark of Buggy 'The Clown'.

"What do you mean that the thief wasn't caught yet?!" Growled Buggy from the shadows of the tent, his features were hidden with the exception of his eyes which could be seen were filled with rage. "Superhuman Domingos were sent after her and you're telling me that they couldn't handle some puny bitch?!" He wasn't in the best of moods and putting up with his underlings' incompetence was more than enough for him to start drawing blood. He just needed a good target to venture his anger on, it would be either this guy who was standing in front of him or that bitch that dared to steal from him, both were acceptable targets at the moment.

"They didn't report back yet, sir." The somewhat fat, bland-haired thug in a red vest and with a beard answered nervously. "Maybe they're taking their time to show her just how wrong she was about stealing something from you?" His suggestion had merit, but...

"I can understand their initiative, as long as they do it when following orders." He told them to bring the bitch alive and mostly intact so he would be able to personally deal with her in his own way. Maybe good old 'Post and Cannon' execution? He loved the classics, they were the best when it came to dealing with wannabes that thought that they could go against him and also showed his own old-ways' roots. "I will deal with them after they will come back." His eyes narrowed. "Also, can you explain to me just how that wench got her hands on the Map in the first place?!"

"Well..." The man stuttered. "You see..."

"We were just about to lift our anchor and enter Grand Line,..." Which was a complete and utter lie, Buggy would never come back to those two Seas no matter how much treasures he may acquire there. While working under his old Senchō he visited both and then swore to never come back, people who had any form of standing there were monsters and he didn't have even a snowball chance in hell to beat them in a direct confrontation. "... a demonstration of our Power that we accumulated during our stay here." Which, honestly, wasn't much, East Blue was more or less the weakest Sea there is without any actual competition.

"Sir, while the Map was locked we still didn't find a safe place to keep the key..." His face was becoming paler and paler with each moment. "... while we still don't know how did she managed to steal it..."

"Are you telling me that..." Buggy's voice was a low growl now. "... that you failed to hide the key!?" The last part was a high-pitched hysterical scream of rage and disbelief.

"Well, it was hard to find one to..." He didn't finish as a white blur smashed into his throat and cut off his access to air by slowly and painfully crushing his windpipe.

The surrounding crew-members were staring in shock and fear at the display of paranormal abilities. While they were indeed on of the strongest crews in East Blue, they never left it and therefore weren't able to witness many people with the abilities gained from Akuma no Mi. Even if their Senchō had it, they still were a bit scared by the sheer ease with which he could use the seemingly impossible Power, even after all these years.

"It's happening again..." One muttered.

"Senchō's Power, the mystical Akuma no Mi..."

Others were either agreeing or adding their own two Belly to the general murmur of voiced opinions and impressions.

Buggy slowly stood up from his chair and walked forward, the sun finally reaching his and showing everyone his appearance. He was a slim, yet muscular blue-haired man with an appearance resembling that of a clown, as to mirror his epithet. The big, red nose on his face was, in fact, his real nose. Buggy's face was covered with make up, just like a clown. He had crossbones going down his face forming an 'X'; he also had two blue lines near both of his eyes, red lipstick and his Jolly Roger on his hat.

He was dressed in a striped white and red shirt with short sleeves, white gloves reminiscent of the ones worn by clowns, a green sash around his waist like many other pirates, and a pair of loose light-green pants reaching to his calves, just above a pair of striped socks and pointy shoes. He also had a scarf around his neck. Hanging from his shoulders there was an orange, fur-lined captain's coat with green epaulets. On his head he has an orange hat with his Jolly Roger on it, over a bandanna with the same pattern of his shirt.

WANTED
Dead or Alive

"The Clown"
BUGGY

15,000,000 ฿

"Remind me..." Buggy said with a wide cruel grin on his face. "... what happens with people who disappoint me?!" At the end his voice become shrilly and slightly hysterical.

"They... *Cough*..." It was really hard to answer when you're being chocked. "... die."

"Right." Buggy's grin became wider. "So what do you think will happen with you now?" He wasn't going to kill him, not because he was indispensable, everyone in the crew bar two and himself were expendable due to the lack of actual worth other than as cannon-fodder. The numbers of his crew didn't bother him too, he had over a couple of dozens of similar grunts all around him, this one was no different from the others. Right now he needed his crew in high spirit, the city they were based in was slowly running low on supplies and soon they would need to move onto the next island, it always payed up to keep the working force happy in the long run and especially when he was preparing to the next raid. "And now, after your brought me such a terrible news, what do you think I'm going to do with you?"

"Please... *Cough*... spare... *Whizl*... me..." His face was turning an unhealthy shade of blue, suddenly the white object that the pirate was trying to fruitfully pull away from his throat released its hold and shot back right under Buggy's coat on the right side.

"I'll spare you, but only this time." Buggy turner around with a flare of his coat and walked back into his tent. "Find this pathetic thief, or else!" His voice became a bit high-pitched at the end. "You get that?"

"Hai, Buggy-Senchō!" Came back the chorus of his crew.

"At least the meal is decent." Muttered Tashigi as she took one more bite out of a sandwich that Nami prepared for them.

Considering that they were technically marauders with Nami basically robbing the abandoned house of its food, there was no way this place actually belonged to the orange-haired girl in the first place, Tashigi had to admit that they weren't all that high on supplies and their need to ration the food due to not being able to tell when they would reach land... Senchō had a big appetite due to his Akuma no Mi making his metabolism faster, he actually ate about trice the amount she herself consumed and due to constant training she wasn't all that reserved about wolfing down her fair share of provision.

"Delicious!" Came Senchō's voice as he finished the third helping, as soon as he heard about free food all cautious was thrown out of the window by his ravenous hunger. "Damn, it's far better than the staff that we were eating till now." There was no way they would've been able to cook anything decent while swimming around on their little dingy so most of the food they ate was raw or prepared in advance, considering how much they took and how long it was there the taste wasn't something that could have been salvaged after the second day.

"So, you're living here alone?" Asked Tashigi, while her first impression of the red-head wasn't all that good, at least they got a meal out of it and therefore the girl deserved at least a civil level of politeness. "This is a big house for only one person."

"I don't live in this town." The red-head, Nami as she introduced herself earlier, said as she took a gulp from her own mug of water. "The locals were chased out of their homes by Buggy's crew, this town doesn't have any Marines in it and therefore nobody had any way of defending their homes. I heard that they built a small temporary stockade no far away from the town's border, tents and all that."

"Then you're breaking and entering." Deadpanned both Tashigi and her Senchō.

"That's rude!" Shot back Nami. "And I don't see you complaining about your food, maybe you want for me to take it back?" Her mouth formed into a smirk as the pair instantly swallowed their meals with the speed that made her blink. "I'm a thief that robs pirates, don't compare me to some lowly robbers." She actually puffed her chest in pride a little.

Tashigi looked at Nami with a smirk that was hidden behind her mug of tea, the way that the girl said that last part was actually pretty funny in context. While cat burglars like her weren't really all that common, the battles between pirates and Marines were often visited by vultures that would take whatever was not attached to the floor while the crews were distracted by the ongoing conflict. They didn't live long, sooner or later they were found by the pirates or by the Marines and then their fate were decided by the crew, the pirates often killed them or just robbed them dry and the left them to float around in their boat tied up and without any way to control the thing which lead to death through starvation, Marines were better because they simply locked those up in the cells and left them be. Tashigi actually wanted to see the expression on Nami's face when she will find out that she and Senchō were actually pirates, that would be something to loot forward to.

"Is there a difference?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course there is!" Nami huffed. "I don't steal from everyone, only from the scum like Buggy and other pirates. Their riches are stolen anyway and by stealing from them I'm making sure that they wouldn't be able to use what they too from innocent people. They don't deserve to have a rusty coin, none of these cutthroats are."

"Well, at least you're honest about it. But what about that little chase that you was involved in out there?" Tashigi motioned towards the window. "If you're a thief than wouldn't it be more prudent for you to simply avoid notice?"

"Don't patronize me." The red-head grumbled.

"Why did you even try to steal from Buggy in the first place? You should know about his reputation and that even in East Blue his not a pushover, his crew is numerous and I'm sure that there were some much safer targets for you in the area." Tashigi mentally went through the list. "Like for example the 'Crescent-Moon Brothers', Gally and Galley, they are barely above the lowest bar and usually have some pretty decent catches."

She ran into the duo a couple of time during her travels, one thing about them that she could honestly same was outstanding was their ability to escape. They somehow managed to slip away every damn time that she encountered them and even after taking down their whole crew she only had what was left on their ship after they evacuated, meagre scraps that weren't even worth the efforts she had to put into the fight. Even being a pair of cowards that only hid behind their bounties to intimidate the civilians and rob them dry, they still managed to float somehow around without disturbing any of the big fish in the East Blue.

"I tried, but the reward is not worth the effort, they barely have anything these days because I heard that they are aiming to enter Grand Line soon." Nami finished her own mug and refilled it.

"Oh? Really?" This information got Senchō's interest.

"Yeah, I overheard from them that there was a map of Grand Line..." She reached into her shirt's collar and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. "... and after some work I managed to liberate it from Buggy and his band." She said with a proud smirk.

'... Where the hell was she keeping it?' Tashigi blinked but shook her head, some thing were not meant to be asked about.

"So you're a thief and a navigator?" Senchō's smile made Tashigi feel a shiver going down her spine.

"Of course, my skills are far superior when compared to other navigators'." She actually had a proud smile on her face.

"That's great!" Senchō stood up with a grin. "Why not join our crew as a navigator?"

"Really?" Nami actually sounded eager.

'I wonder why.' Tashigi managed not to scoff.

"We're going to eventually enter the legendary Grand Line, having a good navigator with us is a requirement." She added. "Senchō isn't really good at navigation and I'm barely above basics in reading maps and making the boat go where I need it to, you help would be greatly appreciated." She wasn't joking, half of the time they spent in the see they actually floated around without any real idea of where they were going, Tashigi had only the vague idea where the next island was and she just tried to point the ship in its general direction.

While Tashigi wasn't really comfortable with inviting a thief of all people into a pirate crew, in the end it wasn't her decision to make. The only thing she could actually do was to watch and be on-guard in case the red head was going to betray them, while she didn't see any actual muscles on Nami's frame that would mark her as a fighter there were too many other ways to incapacitate a person without an actual need for a physical fight.

"Yep! So what do you say?" Senchō was still smiling.

"Alright, but only temporary for the moment." Nami's smile became bigger. "I currently in the process of collecting money and this..." She waved the map. "... is a key for me to get some really good income going."

"How much do you actually want to amass?" Tashigi did a little mental calculation, even selling copies of said map to the rookies going to Grand Line for a minimal price Nami would be able to get herself some pretty decent pile of money. "With the map you wouldn't have to worry about any long-term problems..."

"I want to collect on hundred millions Belli." Nami's face soured when she said it.

"And what are going to with such a big pile of money?" Asked Senchō after swallowing another mouthful of food.

"Secret." Nami finished her own mug and stood up. "Well, if we're done talking and you don't have any more questions..."

"Actually, I have one." All three turned to look at the source of the voice. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

In the doorway stood an elderly looking man with gray hair that has been arranged in three lumps: two on the sides, and the front. He wore a yellow lined shirt with dark green pants, and added a brown armor chest-plate with gauntlets and standard-shaped glasses over his narrowed eyes. From his back was sticking the tip of a polearm with a black head.

"Well..." Nami blinked at the sudden interruption.

"What the hell happened here?" Asked a very annoyed voice.

"Well, sir... We..." One of the Domingos answered while trembling and pressing himself against the building.

"Spill already." His direct superior asked again.

*Graour*

The rumbling growl came and the pirate paled even more while praying to all higher being from above that he wasn't as appetizing as the meat they usually fed to the beast in front of him.

"We... chased her..." He swallowed and tried to make his voice as even as possible, no need to annoy the the only person who was between him and a huge number of very sharp teeth. "She managed to out-pace us for some time but when we almost managed to grab her we were interrupted by a pair of newcomers. A teen in a black coat and a straw hat and a lady with a sword, they beat us up and even severely wounded him..." He nodded slightly towards the groaning pirate on the ground, the blood was still leaking from his wound and he look unhealthy pale. "The thief identified the duo as her friends and the teen in a straw-hat as her boss, they were really strong and didn't even break a sweat from beating us up."

"I see." The man sitting on the back of the beast rubbed his chin in thought. "Could they be Bounty Hunters?"

"I... I don't think so?" He really couldn't tell, their faces weren't familiar and with them not tying any of the trio up...

"The only ones in the East Blue they would've been stupid enough to come here would be that pair of losers but..." He looked at the still wounded member of the crew. "They usually attack together and both guys. Maybe someone new?" He voice dropped to a mumble. "Whoever this is they are not very bright to attack us here or at all, Buggy's Pirates wouldn't be beaten by a pair of greenhorns without any reputation to speak of." He mouth stretched in a smirk. "Well, whoever you are, it was some time since I had to hunt someone down, I hope you will be worth the time." He chuckled as his mount moved away from the terrified pirate and started backtracking towards the place of the encounter by following the tray of blood that the wounded Domingo left.

"... and that's how we ended here." Tashigi finished her explanation. "We're sorry for the inconvenience we cause and will gladly pay for all the food that we ate." Nami was sending her a light glare for not letting her weasel out of the situation.

"Eh." Mayor Boodle, as he introduced himself rubbed the bridge of his nose and waved her off with the other one. "No need, girl. For taking down those three I'm more than happy to let you eat all the food you would want and cover the cost."

"No problem, Ossan!" Called out Luffy as her took another bite from a big piece of bread. "They were kind of weak, why didn't you kicked them out of the town already?"

"It's easy for you to say." The old man huffed as he sat down on the empty chair. "This is a peaceful town, or at least was one before the pirates came here, we didn't have means to fight them off and had to evacuate to the nearby forest while our homes were ransacked by them. On my memory this is the first time something like this happened and even during earlier years we never had any troubles with pirates as a whole." Boodle sighed. "I never even considered the possibility and therefore never even signed for a Marine placed for the town, we were defenseless when they attacked."

Luffy looked at the old man, while not being very knowledgeable about anything connected with bureaucracy he heard enough of his Gramp's rants to remember that any town that had a Marine base in some way or form had to actually agree and sign up for it. His home village wasn't on the list for the reason that Garp himself was a visitor and seeing the ship of a Vice-Admiral docking in it was far more intimidating than a shabby building with a Marine's mark on it, the presence of that place on the island was also a factor due to the scum living there being cowards and trash they were prone on sending off the Guards to deal with threats to their lifestyles.

"Why not to call the Marines here?" Tashigi raised an eyebrow, there just wasn't any other option from what she understood and the nearest base was actually not that far away, a day by sea at most. "Surely they would be more than capable to deal with the threat like Buggy and his goons."

"It's not that easy." The Mayor looked at her with a grim expression. "We don't have a Den Den Mushi and the only one working on this island is in Buggy's possession at the moment. You have to understand, we're not warriors and I don't know anyone on this island who can fight, if we were to try and retrieve it we would be killed. Buggy isn't very forgiving and I'm here because I can't abound my town and I would never send someone to towards the danger of being hurt of worse." Luffy noticed the determination in the eyes of the old man at the end of his speech, his respect for the Mayor went up a notch.

"What about..." But Tashigi wasn't able to finish her questions as...

*Boom*

The windows in the house rattled from the force of the explosion and you could see the column of fire and smoke rising from somewhere behind the nearby buildings. Nami instantly dashed towards the window and looked with horror when she understood just where the explosion happened and what was currently burning to ash.

'No...' If her estimations were correct, and they rarely weren't, then the point of detonation was her own little ship. 'All the treasures, everything I collected...' She felt anger and horror inside herself, all the work she had done, all the progress disappeared in one second.

"... and you brought them here?!" Buggy glared at the three stooges that were now on their hands and knees and trembling with terror as he inspected the bags full of treasures that they decided to bring as an apology. "You brought not one, but two possible Bounty Hunters into my town without a second thought just because they were stronger than you!?" The vein on his forehead pulsed with anger, he already regretted not shooting them the moment they opened their mouths. "While the treasures are all good and nice, the fact that you also managed to lost them first to the same thief that stole the map of the Grand Line is the fact that matters here!"

"We're... sorry?" They said together.

"Are you asking me or telling me?!" Buggy's voice raised to shrike. "You brought three very undesirable people onto my territory, one of who already managed to ruin our reputation by managing to rob us!" He could already feel the headache coming. It didn't matter that the moment he knew the way that that wench managed to come upon his island he shot her boat with a cannon-blast, at least it let him feel better, even if just a little, about the whole situation. While they manage to bring the money, his three subordinates weren't off the hook and he was going to use them as an example so nobody would dare to make such an idiotic mistake ever again. "You made this mess, you are going to fix it." He finally declared.

"Huh?" All three rose from their positions on the ground and looked at him.

"You're going to go into town and hunt them down, all three of them and bring me their heads." Buggy made sure to meet each one of their eyes to make sure they knew that he meant the next words. "Today three head will roll, would it be their or yours if for you to decide." His subordinates slowly paled from his cold tone. "Cabaji will make sure that you'll finish your job."

"Of course, Buggy-Senchō." Acknowledged the man suddenly appearing behind the stooges. Cabaji was a tall slender man with a unique hairstyle that covers half of his face. He wore a large blue and white checkered scarf that covered the lower portion of his face, a sleeveless purple coat reaching down to his knees, white pants larger near the end and held up by a light blue sash, and white shoes. His hair was particularly interesting in its design, long on one side and a parallel shaved design on the other. "Your anger is my anger, these three invaders won't last long." He put his left hand on the pommel of his long saber.

WANTED
Dead or Alive

"Acrobat"
CABAJI

8,000,000 ฿

"Oh, and while you're at it, find Mōji, he didn't reported back yet and I really dislike people that disappoint me." Buggy added. "At the moment I'm really not in the mood to deal with his bouts of exploration around the town."

"As you wish." The swordsman nodded and walked away towards the ladder the lead down from the roof of the building.

The three stooges trailing behind him.

'Well, at least something will go according to plan today.' Buggy sat and watched his Chief of Staff was leading the three thugs towards their doom. He had no illusions about their chances of victory, the whole thing was nothing but a lesson to them and the chance for Cabaji to see just what the trespassers were capable of before engaging them in combat. 'At least they wouldn't be uselessly roaming around.' He them looked at the three big bags full of treasures in front of him, he had to admit that the loot was a pleasant surprise and not unwelcome one too. Even the broken clocks shows the right time twice a day, even the three hopeless cases can theoretically pull out a miracle once or twice during their lives. 'Oh, and what do we have here?' He pulled out from one of the bags a beautiful katana with a white sheath and white handle.

Nami was leaning against the building that she and her temporal partners occupied not so long ago, her eyes were locked on the sky but not focused as she was deeply in thoughts.

Pirates, these two people who she stuck temporal alliance with were pirates and she was going to work with them. It was like someone punched her in the guts leaving her gasping for air on the ground, she had no idea how to operate in a situation like this. Normally she would've been already leaving and letting the two groups just kill each other, Luffy and Tashigi were only two people, how long would they be able to hold themselves against the whole crew? They deceived her, hiding the fact of their true nature as a scum of the earth, Nami knew that they were going to sooner or later show their true colors and probably kill the poor Mayor or the citizens for the loot...

"Greeting and salutations, my little inferior humans!"

Pirates were scum, they were murdering trash that had nothing but their greed and their little black hearts. Nami knew pirates, she always felt their presence when she was around them and understood that there was nothing good coming out of interacting with them. She stole from pirates, she never felt guilty because there simply was no reason for her to, the money they had on them were already stolen and she knew that pirates would just spend them on booze, weapons and other forms of entertainment. Stealing the money meant that the bastards wouldn't be able to spend them and make their disgusting lives better through someone else's sufferings, she preferred to never think about the small red strains that she sometimes saw on the gold or banknotes, it just meant that breaking their rudder or cutting their sails was a justified act on her part.

"From this moment on, this village..."

How could she trust them?

How could she even work with them?

She knew the answer, she just didn't want to acknowledge it even to herself. There was things that she lived with, truths that she hold upon to make herself keep going no matter how much it turned her inside, no matter how much she hated herself for what she had done. The pain in her left shoulder was still there, even after years she still could feel the pain of the mark being carved into her skin and flesh, she knew that logically the pain was only inside her mind but even then she couldn't deny the fact that it still hurt.

Luffy and Tashigi, the two pirates that she encountered, set-up and then tried to con into helping her.

She knew why she was still here, why she didn't leave them behind and just sailed off on her own towards the next island. She was even willing to abound the money, she would be able to collect them again, it wasn't the issue. She just didn't want to, something was different about the two and she didn't know how or why but for the first time she felt like they were different from the normal scum that she met during her travels. She didn't see any malice, any greed or any other usual character trait that she associated with pirates, if they didn't tell her she would never figure out that they were anything other than a stronger than normal wanderers.

"No, this whole island will be part of my domain!"

Nami shook her head to clear it from thoughts, she couldn't hesitate now, couldn't let herself get distracted by something she couldn't explain. Fruitless wondering wouldn't get her money back, would help her collect the needed amount to let her accomplish her dream, there were thing more important than her own world-view. She would simply ignore it, oddities were not something that she should concern herself with, they came and they will leave sooner or later and they wouldn't affect her in the slightest, she would get the most out of the situation and then move on like she did hundreds of times before.

She will do everything in her power to reach her goal...

"Shahahahahahaha!"

"Will they be alright?" She blinked and looked at the Mayor. "These two are going against a whole crew of pirates, I should be there with them..."

"Don't be stupid." Nami cut him off. "This town is your responsibility, without a Mayor what do think will happen to it? You're not a warrior, you admitted it yourself and they are far from helpless." She didn't know how to answer herself, she honestly didn't want to think that she was responsible for the death of those two.

She was not a heartless monster to simply let people die, she was not a murderer and as far as she knew they didn't do anything wrong so far. Even if they were pirates it didn't mean that they deserved to die, she never let herself fall so low that someone's life stopped having a meaning for her, she would never become a monster like them.

*Thumb*

"... What?" Nami looked around, the strange sound...

*Thumb*

... that reminded her of...

*Thumb*

... footsteps?

'Impossible. It would make this person weight more than half a ton at least...' As a thief with enough experience under her belt she could even if vague recognize the footsteps of people and what she heard was nothing even remotely human.

*Thumb*

*Thumb*

*Thumb*

*Thumb*

"What? What is this sound?" Mayor also heard it and started looking around, looking for the source. Suddenly he paled and started shaking. "Oh, no..."

"You know what it is?" Nami watched as Boodle started trembling.

"This is..." He looked at the nearby alleyway, the footsteps were now loud enough to distinguish the direction they were coming from. "He is here." Nami was feeling an ice-cold knot forming in her gut, she sure as hell didn't like his reaction. "We should..."

*Thumb*

*Thumb*

*Thumb*

*Thumb*

*Thumb*

*Thumb*

*Thumb*

*Thumb*Thumb*

"You should... what exactly?" A cold voice asked right behind Nami.

She watched a Boodle's face lost all color and he took a shaky step back, her breath hitched as her hair was ruffled by a rush of warm air.

*Groulrl*

"Mōji..." Stammered Boodle.

Nami slowly turned around and looked at the newly arrived individual. He was a man with white hair and a short beard, with lean build and thick black eyebrows and thick lips. He was wearing furry top, blue pants held by a yellow sash with furry paw-like shoes. What made Nami do a double-take was his hairstyle, making it look like two teddy-bear ears on top of his head.

WANTED
Dead or Alive

"Beast Tamer"
MŌJI

10,000,000 ฿

What made Nami gain the same unhealthy shade of white was the huge beast that the man was sitting on. It was a lion with light-green fur and light-purple main, its eyes had red sclerae that made the image all more terrifying. And that was not counting the fact that the beast was easily the size of a small adult elephant with its maw big enough to probably bit her into in one go, it was a monster more than an animal.

"So, if what those three told me is right the you're the thief that managed to steal from us." He looked her over. "I'm not impressed, I don't even want to know what were you trying to accomplish with such a stunt." He stood up and then jumped down from his mount, landing on the pavement graciously. "But seeing as you're not really worth my attention I will be generous and grant you a swift and painless death if you will return what you stole from us right now." He then reached behind his back and pulled out a rolled-up whip. "The other option is far more painful and a lot less merciful so I wouldn't advise taking it, but in the end it's your choice, so...?" His lips twisted in an arrogant smirk.

Nami's eyes widened, he came after her.

Orange Town South Block
'Burning Wick' Pub: Battle on Market Street

Nami vs. Mōji & Richie

'What I'm gonna do?' She swallowed a lump in her throat as she looked at her two opponents.

"Well, well..." Tashigi looked at the man that was currently balancing on a unicycle, Cabaji, as he introduced himself. "I didn't think that they were actually so worthless that they couldn't even slow down one kid and a girl." He looked at the trio of thugs that were lying on the ground, Senchō just smacked them away without even bothering to slow down. "But what can you do? It's so hard to find a competent help these days, right?" He then looked at Tashigi and she could see the corners of his lips raising from behind his scarf indicating a wide grin. "So, you're that girl that thought of herself as swordswoman? I failed to be impressed."

Tashigi slowly reached for Shigure and pulled her loyal partner from its sheath. They were standing in the center of a large square with a fountain and several short buildings around it, she and Senchō followed the direction of Mayor Boodle and managed to reach this place only stumble upon the familiar trio and a swordsman.

"So, I presume that you're the strongest swordsman of the crew then?" Only a person who thought himself superior in the field would try and insult someone else's skill.

"That's right." He lifted his sword and pointed at her. "You're not going to just give up, are you? I was some time since I was able to get a decent work out and even then that person fell before my masterful skill. Kyokugi is not something an average person can beat, the possibility of you winning this fight is next to none."

"And what makes you so sure of that?" Tashigi took her usual stance.

"Experience, others tried and failed, you won't be any different." He slowly assumed what Tashigi could understand was his version of a battle-stance. "What makes you think that you can win against me?"

"Beat this guy Tashigi! I'm going after Buggy!"

"My Senchō gave me an order, how can I fail him?" She tensed.

Orange Town East Block
Mayor's House: Battle on Main Square

Tashigi vs. Cabaji

As if by an invisible signal both combatants charge at each other with an incredible speed.

"Damn it!" Luffy ran down the street while looking around. "Where is that bar?!" He was running around for ten minutes already and could honestly say that he got lost.

After knocking away those three stooges he decided to just run forward until he would get any hint of the bar, Poodle-Head-Ossan said that it was the direction towards the place where Buggy and his grunts were currently stationed. He rushed forward without even noticing the grunts and leaving this weird guy on the unicycle to Tashigi, he had a sword so it was a right thing to do, at least by Luffy's logic. But now he had his doubts about actually leaving her behind because she was far better at directions and finding places than he was, he knew it but the promise of all-he-could-eat buffet along with a free boat and provision for several weeks made him charge blindly forward.

It wasn't like he had any better option, their boat was destroyed by Buggy, he was already planning on beating the clown-themed bastard up for destroying all their belongings and one of Tashigi's swords but Mayor's deal only made him a lot more determined to do it as fast as possible. Hence why he was currently running in random directions and trying to find the pirates' base, not one of his best moments but who could blame him?

'Damn it!' Luffy looked around again. 'This is going to take forever!'

Also, he had an annoying feeling in the back of his mind like he should know who Buggy was but for some reason he just couldn't put his finger on it. It was annoying and he did his best to ignore the feeling to the best of his abilities, if he couldn't remember it it couldn't be that important, right? Right now his main goal was to deal with Buggy and his crew, get the boat and food and then leave towards the next island and even maybe Grand Line. Well, he and Tashigi just couldn't go there without a proper ship, they would look weird and without a ship they couldn't even have their own Jolly Roger which was an absolute 'must' when it came to thing that Luffy thought were important for his journey.

'Alright, what did Ossan said? They are on the tallest building in this part of the town so the right way to do it would be...' He looked up and grinned. '... from the rooftops!'

Looking around to make sure that nobody was in range and would get hurt he crouched a little as the lower part of his body morphed into magma.

[Kazan Kanketsusen]

With a short burst, and turning his legs back to normal immediately after, he launched himself upwards and onto the nearest rooftop, landing with out trouble he straightened and looked around. While he couldn't see very far due to the building being simply not tall enough he still managed to spot a big colorful tent on the roof of one of the taller building. Grinning from his success he took a running start and then jumped with all his might, he coat flopping on the wind as he all but flew over to the next roof and then towards the other one. Luffy was moving towards the main camp of Buggy's crew at a decent speed, leaving behind a small pool of magma that marked the spot of his initial take-off.

Techniques used in the chapter:

-Monkey D. Luffy:

Kazan Kanketsusen - Volcanic Geyser.

Well, here it is! Please leave your Review and tell me what do you think! I know that I didn't show you what deal Luffy made with Boodle but it will be shown in later Chapter, this one is more of a base-building one.

I know that the first part was close to Canon but I honestly couldn't make it better even if I tried so I honestly didn't bother changing much because it all fit neatly with the plot. Please also understand that something are a little bit off here due to the Characters having a different background, like Tashigi's lack of purpose and Nami's slight shift in personality and priorities.

Also, please tell me about the Characterization of Nami, I know she sounds OOC and there is a good reason for it so give her some slack at least until you will find out more about her past and her reasons. In my Story her life is both a bit brighter and a bit darker from different angles, she's a bit harder as a person but a bit softer too when it comes to trusting others due to her life being slightly different from Canon.

Next, Buggy. I know that I made him a bit too dry and I honestly have no idea how to fix it, my goal was to make him appear more competent and a bit more level-headed but not cynical enough to make people start hating him. He's a bit screwed due to him being a New World Veteran and after seeing all those battles where Monsters were fighting Monsters his perception became a bit out of whack with the levels of power that usually populate East Blue. Honestly, he was there during the fucking 'Battle of Edd War', there simply nothing that could top that with the exception of the 'War of the Best' but it didn't happen yet.

About Cabaji's and Mōji's bounties... Why the fuck not? They were the officers of the Crew and were actually decently strong by the East Blue standards without over-thinking it. While they didn't actually have the level of Power to fight someone like Luffy they could probable each beat almost any number of grunts from any Crew or Marine Division in East Blue. And yes I'm counting Arlong's troops too, while they would probably be slaughtered by the Officers they wouldn't go down so easily when fighting against the canon-fodder.

Also, the whole deal about Battle Tags came from the ones that were used in 'Arabasta Arc' when Straw-Hats were fighting against Baroque Works Agents. I honestly like them and decided to use them when the battles will be more than a simple One-Shots, Luffy wouldn't have many of those and mostly will be marked simply out of respect and convenience.

But I'm rumbling again, so I awaiting your Reviews and also asking you to use my Forum, please note that there is a specific Thread for this Story and any questions you have you can ask there! Also who can guess the next crew-member that will be added to the crew(Nami is already in, even if only technically)?