Okay, so this chapter is a little more serious than my previous ones. Sorry, no crabs. Anyway, I had to establish a reason why Nunya went from merchant to battleship. Also needed to have a way for the "sisters" to gain Sabo's approval. It can't be fun and games all the time.

Disclaimer: I do not own One-Piece nor any of it's characters. Those belong to Oda Eiichiro.

Nunya Bizniz

Chapter Sixteen: Government

Missy returned to the bridge, which Rachel happily left afterwards. Ace was smirking at her when she returned to the turrets. "What's up with the look?" she asked.

"You're in a rush to return to your guns," Ace teased.

"I'm more in a rush to see if we catch up to the Sunny," Rachel grinned. Since no one had told them the crew on the Sunny were fighting Big Ma'am she couldn't very well express why she was excited. "The sooner Missy and I loose the risk of being associated with pirates the more secure our business will be."

"Go ahead and keep thinking that," Ace shrugged. "You know as well as I do that now Dressrosa has King Riku on the throne things are going to start changing drastically. The entire country feels betrayed by the government. On top of that, they've always had some pretty strong allies. With the injustice that's been done, none of them will overlook this quite so easily. I would even go so far as to say they would join the Revolutionary Army just to see the current government loose it's power. It's just a matter of time before people start thinking that us pirates are heroes. Not to mention that top fighters and heroes from other countries were caught up in that mess. Word is going to spread about what the government allowed. They're going to have to come up with a really good lie as to why they let the people there suffer. Hopefully this is the beginning of their fall."

"The government needs to fall. At the very least, you and the Straw Hats are pirates worthy of being heroes," Rachel sobered quietly. She was thinking back to her own lessons on American Government and History. Things were far different here then back home. Not that things were looking great with the current office, but it was still better than here. "The best system for a government is not only a constant rotation of leadership, but to let the people decide who is better suited to lead them." Zoro, who had been lightly dozing, opened his eye and was staring at Rachel's back. He's never heard an idea like that before. Even Sabo was paying more attention. "A system of checks and balances." Rachel nodded as if agreeing with herself. "There should be two political parties to keep each other in check. Made by the people, for the people and with the people. One person is voted as a spokesman, president if you will. He has final say in what laws are passed to the people. None of these people should have an ounce of royal or noble blood in them, that way they know what's best for the common people."

The sound of clapping drew Rachel and Ace's attention. Sabo was the one that was clapping, a grin on his face. Hack stood next to him, nodding in approval. "That was very well said," he praised. "I can see why Ace decided to accept you as a sister. I must admit, your leadership system sounds very intriguing. How did you come up with it?"

Rachel blushed and blinked. She couldn't admit that it was or wasn't her idea. To say that it was the current ruling government where she came from would invite questions. She wasn't about to take credit for something that she didn't do. She glanced at Ace, who was avoiding making eye contact. 'Traitor,' she thought. "Well it would only make sense," Rachel smiled. 'Okay, time to bullshit.' "If you think about it, what could nobility and royalty possibly know what's best for the common people? On top of that, if you keep the same people in power too long it's bound to go to their heads. There's a saying, I'm not sure you've heard it. It says, 'Absolute power corrupts absolutely'. The current government is a perfect example of that at work, if you were to ask me. Allowing the circumstances of Dressrosa, wanting to kill innocent children based on who their parents are and killing civilians if they look at you? If that doesn't prove corruption and tyranny then I don't know what does."

Sabo closed his eyes and was nodding his head. He opened them and approached Rachel. He clapped a hand on her shoulder, a grin on his face. "I wasn't sure if we could trust you and your sister at first," he started. "But it seems like you've got a good head on your shoulders. Since Ace accepted you as his sisters, I do too. Now if only we could get you to be a little more agressive to the World Government we could build a family legacy," he joked.

Rachel laughed wholeheartedly and spread out her arms. "What do you think the Nunya Bizniz was built for?" she asked. "Sure, it's a great ship for defending against raids and such." Rachel patted her hand on one of the turrets. "But the guns and shells that are produced out of this baby are beyond the World Government's realm of understanding. Cannons are not on this ship, nor will you find any cannon balls. But she's not a helpless little waif in the water. Over the years, Missy and I, well I, have turned this one of a kind ship into a battleship."

"Nothing like modesty," Ace teased.

"Why shouldn't I be proud?" Rachel demanded. "The range of the guns, the new weapon we just installed. The range this ship can reach is unimaginable. You know just as well as I do that the government needs to be brought down. This whole ship and traveling idea was mine from the get go. Yes, Melissa is older and has a higher IQ, or so she claims, but she lacks the vision and imagination. The government doesn't like things that defy it. We've been supplying villages not only with security against pirates, but it's there for all circumstances. What if a village is targeted just because a pirate was born from there? It's happened in the past. The government raids with no remorse, all in the name of their so called justice. We'll sell peace of mind from this ship. Some of the villages we've sold to have had run-ins with the government before. They know it could happen again. We've told the villagers to be ready for it. We've been subtle in our defiance against the government, not idle. That means we've been defying the government since this ship's been built. It's only a matter of time before they put two and two together. It's best to be ready with a ship that can go toe to toe with them."

Luffy was right next to Rachel, putting an arm around her. "There's nothing wrong with your ship," he declared. "It's a really cool ship. Not as cool as the Sunny, but it's still pretty cool. I just think that Ace is more worried it makes you a target."

There was silence in the area for a while. Zoro broke it by making a laughing noise. He stood up and approached the gathered people. "You shouldn't be so surprised," he announced. "Our captain has insightful moments every now and then."

"Not to mention it'll look cool sailing next to Sunny," Luffy grinned.

"When did we agree to that?" Rachel demanded. "We're getting you to the Sunny and then we're going our separate ways."

"That's no fun," Luffy frowned. "We've only just met after two years. You can't leave right away like that. You have to celebrate with us."

"Oh no," Rachel shook her head. "It doesn't quite work like that. Missy and I still have to keep a low profile."

"Why?"

"Because we want to keep the government off of our backs for a while."

"That's going to be kind of hard," Luffy tilted his head to the side.

"Why do you say that?" Rachel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because of that," Luffy nodded his head forward this time.

Rachel slowly turned her head in the direction he gestured to. As the Nunya was rounding the coast to sail between Green Bit and Dressrosa, a Navy ship had been on the other side. Rachel let out a sigh in defeat. Of course the other ships would have contacted them using those damn snails. She wanted to know if they would start firing on them.

Missy noticed the ship and did her best to steer clear of it's range. It didn't work so well since the ship was heading in a path to cut them off. If they got close enough they would notice that Ace was still alive. It wasn't her decision on if they knew or not though. Poking her head out the window, she called out. "Ace, did you want them to know about your return? If not, we could sink them now."

Ace thought for a second, then turned so he could look at both women. Rachel was in front of him, but Missy was a bit far so he had to raise his voice. "What about the two of you?" he asked. "You don't want them to know of our relation, right?"

Rachel blinked and then looked to Missy. They didn't miss the pain that shot through Ace's features when he hinted they would deny him as their brother. Missy's eyes went to the ceiling above her, then to the side. Then they looked Rachel dead on. The two had an uncanny way of talking without talking and it creeped Ace out sometimes. Rachel turned to Ace with a charming smile. "Ah screw it," she said. She went to the turret and aimed it at the approaching ship. "I'll let them get closer so that you all can see close up what Nunya can do."

Luffy let out a cheer as Rachel aimed the gun at the Marine ship. Sabo was curious about what the ship could do. The marines weren't even in range yet. It was close enough, however, for the crew to be spotted if someone was using a telescope on the marine ship. He continued to watch as she and Ace stuffed cotton in their ears. Ace looked at everyone with a grin. "You might want to plug your ears," he said loudly. "These things can blow your ear drums if you're too close."

Rachel set and locked the turret onto the marine ship. She aimed for the spot where the ship and water met. A nice hole will either sink them or cripple them. Either way, they wouldn't be pursuing the Nunya. A slow smirk crept across her face. This was the moment she craved when dealing with her guns. The slow pull of a trigger or push of a button. The proof that she had succeeded despite not having the full resources from her home. This was her mark on the world, it was time to change the way people thought.

Rachel squeezed the trigger, bracing herself for the noise. Yes she had plugs in and she hoped the others listened to Ace, but without something more substantial for hearing protection, her ears would still be ringing after this. The turret went off with a loud noise that had everyone that was conscious wincing, ears plugged or not. Even Law, tied below as he was, wondered what was going on. Bortolomeo had fallen onto the deck. He didn't think he needed to plug his ears since cannons didn't bother him. Now he regretted that decision as his ears hurt like they never had before.

Ace had made sure that Luffy had taken his advice. Stubborn he may be, but he was still the younger of the brothers. Zoro, Sabo and Hack had also plugged their ears. If Ace was this serious about it, then it was not something they should ignore.

Before any knew what happened, the marine ship started sinking. Luffy lowered his hands as Rachel moved away from the turret. Wanting to see what happened, Luffy ran to the rail to see if he could get a better look. Sabo was next to him, telescope in hand. He handed it to Luffy once he got his view of the ship. Luffy looked through the optical device. A large hole had been blown into the side of the ship. It was much larger than what a cannon could have done. The ship was taking in a lot of water and sinking.

"Just a single shot," Hack muttered. Sabo silently agreed with what was unspoken. What kind of guns did this ship have? Rachel refused to call them cannons or let anyone else call them as such. If they weren't cannons, what exactly did they use for ammo? Sabo and Hack hadn't seen Rachel load the barrel.

Curious now, Sabo went to Rachel as she took the cotton out of her ears. "I've never seen anything like that," he said. "What did you fire out of it?"

Rachel had stared at him as he talked. Once it was clear he was done she loudly spoke, "What?"

Ace went up to Sabo and patted his shoulder. "Don't get upset," he said. "Rachel had some hearing protection, but it wasn't as good as distance and double protection. We used both cotton and our hands to block the noise." Ace then looked at a crying Bortolomeo. "Of course, at least she's not like that." Ace then made a few hand gestures. He pointed to Sabo, then pointed to the turret and shrugged his shoulders.

Understanding dawned on Rachel's features. "Give me a few minutes," she almost yelled. "Let the ringing in my ears go away so I'm not yelling at you." Sabo was satisfied with that answer for now.

Rachel was tapping a hand to her ear when she spotted it. The Sunny and a giant ship were in a heated battle. A grin spread across her face at the implications. The men on deck turned to see what she was looking at. "We made it in time," Luffy cheered.

Rachel and Ace rushed below deck as Missy made sure to keep the Nunya carefully pointed at Big Ma'am's ship. Sabo, curious about what his two siblings were up to, followed below. Zoro and Hack weren't too far behind. Bortolomeo was left crying on the deck while Luffy was too busy trying to gain the Sunny's attention to notice their disappearance.

Rachel opened the loading hatch as Ace hefted the large torpedo into it. "What is that?" Sabo was asking.

"Rachel calls this a torpedo," Ace answered. Rachel still wasn't able to hear that well. He pointed towards the back of it. "She built it as a self propelled cannon ball, so to speak. It will travel through the water, looking like a fast fish at first. The enemy will never see it coming until it's too late."

"How much damage can it do?" Hack asked.

"We haven't actually tested it yet," Ace admitted. "If it's anything like the turrets up top and the shells they fire, then it's going to be big." He moved out of the way when Rachel made a gesture to them. They headed back to the deck, though Rachel separated and went up to the bridge with Missy.

Rachel, ringing in her ears somewhat lessened, stood by the helm. Once the Nunya was perfectly centered against Big Ma'am's ship she pushed a bottom labeled with the letter 'L'. A sort of grinding sound was heard, followed by some sort of splash from up front. The two watched as a silvery streak just under the water's surface shot out from their ship. Rachel had her fingers crossed. There was an explosion of water, blocking the sight.

Sanji was at his limit. He was defending the Sunny from cannon fire. That was pretty much what he had been reduced to. He had tried to take on the pirates of the on coming ship, but that proved to be an endless task. When he tried to find a way to sink the ship, the pirates attacked him with a vengeance. He had been knocked back, into the water when it happened. An explosion and the sudden spray of water caused him to shield his eyes. When he looked up, the enemy ship was crying and the crew were running around, screaming about putting out the fires and stopping the water.

"Sanji," Nami called out. She had lowered a rope ladder for Sanji to return to Sunny. He quickly climbed on board and Brook guided the ship away from the apparently sinking one.

"What happened?" Sanji asked.

"We don't know," Chopper admitted. He was looking Sanji over with the careful eyes of a trained professional. "You were falling into the water and that explosion happened. We were hoping that you had a new technique that you were testing."

"I know I'm a good fighter," Sanji said. "But I don't think I could cause an explosion like that."

"Look over there," Momonosuke shouted. He was pointing to the side. All eyes turned to a ship that was quickly approaching. He, Chopper and Brook started panicking.

"Wait just a minute," Nami said. She took the telescope that was sitting nearby. She stared through it for a moment. "There's nothing to worry about," she announced. "I recognize that ship from Fishman Island. Besides, I can see Luffy waving his hands around. Zoro is also on the deck of that ship."

"Then everythings fine," Sanji said. He lit a cigarette and inhaled. As he released the smoke he relaxed a bit. "It's about time they finally showed up."

Nami stiffening caught his attention. "I don't believe it," she whispered. "Sanji, look through the scope. Is that Ace?"

"What?" Sanji took the telescope and also looked. He was just as shocked as Nami was. Right next to Luffy, Ace was standing. He appeared to be talking cheerfully with a blonde male wearing a top hat. "It is, but how?"