Author's Note: And, now, we get to see Ban, Kuro, Chernyi, and Shiro make their move. Anybody prepared for the avalance?

Disclaimer: Eichiiro Oda owns One Piece. Oh, 3D2Y will be on October 2nd. Feel free to do tons of One Piece-related activites and eat meat and mikans on that day.

Ch. 23: "The Tuxedo Penguin Pirates."

With the rest of the Capricorn Pirates, they were exploring Appenzell Island. Yuki-Rin and Kazuma were walking arm-in-arm down the main drag of the village.

"This is so awesome, Yuki-Rin. We've never gotten a moment alone since the whole debacle with Roscoe," Kazuma explained. Yuki-Rin smiled.

"Glad to be with you, Kazuma," Yuki-Rin said before giving Kazuma a kiss on the cheek. Then, Kuro walked up to them.

"Good day to you," Kuro told a confused Kazuma and Yuki-Rin.

"Good day to you, too," Yuki-Rin greeted back.

"Do you kids know what to do when an anvalance strikes?" Kuro asked them. Yuki-Rin got out her katana and Kazuma got out her nodachi.

"Don't tell me you plan on causing one," Yuki-Rin said smugly. Kuro chuckled as he pulled out a rapier.

"You know too much. You're a smart girl, you know that?" Kuro commented.

"Why are you planning this avalance?" Kazuma asked Kuro.

"My crew about to set sail to look for One Piece, and we need some supplies. Unfortunately, we're dirt poor. But, what better way to get supplies than to cause an anvalance and steal from the town?" Kuro asked as he tried to slash Yuki-Rin, who blocked the attack with her sword. However, Kuro overpowered her and Yuki-Rin fell to the ground. Yuki-Rin grabbed her katana and used it to help herself up onto her feet.

"Stubborn, aren't you?" Kuro asked Yuki-Rin. "Just wait a few moments, and magic will happen."

Just as Kuro finished speaking, the ground began to rattle. Kuro smirked as Yuki-Rin held onto Kazuma to avoid falling down. It seemed as soon as the shaking began, it stopped.

"Awww! The headstrong girl has to hold on tight to her boyfriend to avoid falling down! How pitiful!" Kuro said sarcastically. Then, a loud rumbling was heard.

"Yuki-Rin, how are you going to defeat this guy?" Kazuma asked Yuki-Rin as Kuro began walking away. Yuki-Rin then ran up to Kuro and tapped him on the shouled.

"What do you want, annoying brat?" Kuro asked Yuki-Rin, who pinched his shoulder at a pressure point.

"Good night!" Yuki-Rin said to Kuro before he passed out.

"Yuki-Rin, we have to head inside!" Kazuma cried as he pointed to the mountain, where a barrage of snow was tumbling down.

"Take my hand! We'll go somewhere!" Yuki-Rin yelled as Kazuma grabbed her hand. They then ran into a large building right before the avalance buried the doors shut.

"That was a close one," Kazuma said as he and Yuki-Rin studied the interior, which looked like it was a mix of a ski lodge and an office building.

"Excuse me, sir, what is this place?" Kazuma asked a passing business man, who had black hair and black eyes. He wore a black suit with a matching coat over it and black ski boots. He also carried a briefcase.

"This is the Appenzell Island embassy. We serve as a bridge to the islands of the Grand Line and the Four Blues and we oversee the welfare of the individuals on this island. My name's Yuki, and I'm in charge of the island's affairs with pirates," Yuki introduced himself. Yuki-Rin's eyes grew wide.

"Neat! My name is Yuki-Rin!" Yuki-Rin introduced herself. Yuki laughed.

"Small world, huh? Say, who's the guy you're with?" Yuki the businessman asked Yuki-Rin the pirate.

"This is Kazuma Miyafuji, and he's my boyfriend. We got caught up in the avalance, and we sought refuge here," Yuki-Rin explained.

"Avalanche? Is that why the building just shook?" Yuki asked Yuki-Rin and Kazuma.

"Yeah. We were out shopping with some of our crew, and my girlfriend-slash-captain and we split off from the group to look for some sword supplies. We met this strange man who said that he was going to cause an anvalance and steal from the town. He and Yuki-Rin battled it out before Yuki-Rin was the victor of the battle," Kazuma explained.

"Hmmm…" Yuki said to himself as he pulled out a few pieces of paper. "Is this the guy you were talking about?"

Yuki-Rin then studied the papers, which were wanted posters of Kuro, Shiro, Ban, and Chernyi.

Wanted: Dead or Alive

"Wintertime Thief" Kuro

25,000 beri reward

Wanted: Dead or Alive

"Girl of the Snowy Mist" Shiro

23,000 beri reward

Wanted: Dead or Alive

"Mush Dog" Ban

19,500 beri reward

Wanted: Dead or Alive

"Poison Precipice" Chernyi

25,500 beri reward

"All four of these pirates are wanted for thivery and holding people hostage and the Marines are investigating Chernyi and Kuro for a murder committed six weeks ago. Be careful if you dare to battle them," Yuki advised.

"How can we get back to Doctor Ageha's clinic if the avalance is blocking our path and the four pirates are causing danger?" Kazuma asked Yuki.

"Follow me. I can show you the way to the island's underground tunnels that we use in blizzard and avalance conditions," Yuki said as he led Yuki-Rin and Kazuma toward the back of the building.

"What do you mean you don't sell swimsuits?" Karin asked the clerk of a clothing store. Currently, the ex-CP5 members were shopping for clothes. (Or rather, Karin is shopping for herself and dragged Drusilla and Z.G. along to carry her bags and boxes.)

"Ma'am, we're a winter island that rarely gets above 40 degrees. We don't carry swimsuits because of the weather of this island," The clerk explained.

"Do you carry cocktail dresses?" Karin asked the clerk. Z.G. sighed.

"Karin, why won't you learn that this store probably doesn't carry anything that shows off your cleavage?" Z.G. asked himself. Drusilla sighed.

"I just remembered that Karin also has the lowest Douriki levels out of the three of us," Drusilla commented. Z.G. chuckled.

"I can see why," Z.G. said as Karin walked up to them with more bags and boxes to carry.

"Alright, guys, now we're going to buy some books and expensive food for Kartik, and then we can go visit him! Doesn't that sound fun?" Karin asked her bored co-workers.

"Can we get ice cream?" Drusilla asked Karin.

"No! It will go straight to my thighs and Kartik will think less of me and more of that Matsu girl!" Karin answered.

"Well, can we at least buy stuff for our weapons?" Z.G. asked Karin.

"No, Z.G., you have enough ammo," Karin answered. Z.G. and Drusilla sighed. "Cheer up, guys! Maybe we can go out drinking later!"

"Excuse me? Are you forgetting that Drusilla is FOURTEEN?" Z.G. asked Karin, who patted Drusilla on the head.

"She can order off of the kids' menu while we get drunk," Karin explained before she skipped off to the exit. But, she failed to open the door due to all of the snow blocking the door.

"Hey, who locked us in?" Karin asked everyone. Z.G. just facepalmed.

"Karin, we're trapped because of an avalance," Z.G. pointed out.

At a nearby food market, Sebastian, Hatori, Kaoru, and Mina were finishing up with buying the food for the crew. They were in an area that wasn't affected by the avalance.

"Where did all of this snow come from?" Sebastian asked the three as he picked up a handful of fresh snow.

"It looks like an avalanche happened," Hatori commented as he picked up some snow. But, he grabbed onto a piece of fabric.

"Hey! That's my jacket!"

Hatori and Sebastian looked down to see Yulia and Daisuke buried in the snow.

"Yo," Daisuke greeted the four.

"Hello," Sebastian greeted back.

"Can you help us out? Some crazy girl named Shiro kicked our asses," Daisuke asked the four.

Ending Note: Personally, I liked the scene with Drusilla, Z.G., and Karin. It gave me a good chuckle.

For some weird reason, Kuro's motivation and goals remind me of Isao from Night Raid 1931. (I see no connection between Isao and Kuro, but, whatever.)

The next chapter will most likely be the last chapter of the arc before the Baba Yaga Arc gets going. I personally can't wait to start the arc.

Review so a battle between Capricorns and Tuxedo Penguins can begin!