Disclaimer – One Piece is written by Eiichiro Oda and published by Shueisha.

[Rusukaina Island, Seven Hours Ago]

Whenever Salvia found a great man, she wanted him to join her harem. How nice would it be for men like "Super Rookie" Cavendish and "Surgeon of Death" Trafalgar Law to fall in love with her, to fight for her affections, and to obey her every whim? It was better than falling in love, only to be ignored, used, or rejected.

She walked through the jungle on Rusukaina Island. Its earthy and damp smell reminded her of Amazon Lily, and as the cold air grew hot, she missed her home even more. Unlike her birthplace, the seasons on this island changed weekly from rain showers to sub-zero blizzards to desert-like heat. She unzipped her jacket to allow the heat to touch her skin and tossed it to one of the two crewmen that followed behind her.

Together they climbed trees. Some stood oddly shaped and nearly as massive as the volcanoes in the distance that coughed smoke into the evening sky, and on a smaller tree, branches creaked under Salvia's boots. There, her Observation Haki sensed voices below, and one belonged to Straw Hat Luffy.

He bounced on one foot, and it sounded like a rubber ball striking the earth. His broad muscles flexed, and his arms and legs hardened. Scratches and bruises covered his skin. A tattered shirt and shorts hung from his body as a giant lion, gorilla, and tiger pounded toward him.

The beasts closed the distance, and the ground and trees trembled. Such beasts roamed Amazon Lily, but the ones here were three times as large. They roared, and rodents scampered and birds flapped away, and Luffy squeezed his fists against his shoulders.

"GUM-GUM KONG ORGAN!" he shouted.

His fists sprang back and forth hundreds of times and pummeled the beasts. Grunting, they flew and slammed against a boulder and struck the ground battered, bloodied, and fangless.

The beasts went still, and air blasted from Luffy's mouth. He zipped and shrank as he ricocheted off trees and rocks. He smacked the ground and his tongue lolled out of his mouth near a tree under Salvia's perch.

"I wonder how nice it would be if Straw Hat fell in love with me," she said.

Her crewmen almost fell off their tree branches.

"Did you forget the plan?" One whispered. "There're better men out there, and what about us?"

"I wish I could have him, too," she said. "It's too bad he belongs to the Snake Princess."

"What makes you think she'll come after you anyway?"

She exhaled. "I want men who are infamous, high-ranked, or royalty. I doubt the marines would be happy if I stole them away. Since I'm a Kuja, they'll hold the Snake Princess responsible.

"She's sent others, but sooner or later, she'll come find me herself. I'm afraid her Gorgon's curse will turn me to stone."

Her body trembled. If she used Straw Hat as a bargaining chip against the Snake Princess, she would have the freedom to make a harem, but this would be the first time she tried her powers on someone as strong-willed as Straw Hat.

Light huddled by her chest and formed a gold bow and heart-tipped arrow. She seized them and aimed downward.

"CUPID-CUPID ARROW!" she said.

She fired the arrow, and it whistled through the air and impaled Luffy's heart. He shouted, and the arrow, protruding from his chest, burst into motes of light. As those lights disappeared, she glanced at her crewmen, whose names she failed to remember.

"Stay here," she said. "I'll make sure he falls in love with the Snake Princess."

She jumped off the tree, and her cape fluttered above her as she descended. Her boots thumped the ground, and she fell into a crouch near Luffy, who blinked awake.

"Where am I?" He glanced around. "What's going on?"

"Everything's—stop Peony!" shouted Salvia.

Coiled on her arm and hissing, the snake named Peony rubbed Salvia's face and knocked off her glasses. They fell and clattered near her boots, and her vision blurred.

She groped for her glasses. "Peony, could you have picked a better time!?"

Luffy pointed. "Your glasses are—"

"I know, can't you see I'm stretching?"

She "stretched" for an eternity before she touched her glasses and returned them to her face, and she glared at Peony, who hissed.

"Shishishishi," laughed Luffy. "You're silly."

Her cheeks burned. "I-I haven't introduced myself. I'm a Kuja warrior. You can call me Salvia."

"Your name's Saliva?"

"SAL-VI-A! I wanted to ask how you felt about the Snake Princess."

"Why do you—ow!" He seized his shirt. "Why's my chest hurting?"

She hid her smile. The arrow's working. A little coaxing is all he needs.

"Maybe it's Love Sickness," she said, doubting he knew outsiders were immune. "Elder Nyon told us how empresses had fallen in love with men and suffered extreme pain and emotions. Maybe you're feeling that for the Snake Princess."

"I want to see Hancock," he said, "but I promised my nakama I'd get stronger. I've only got a few weeks left."

She crouched beside him. "You might have less than that. In the past, Love Sickness killed empresses. I think you'd better come with me and see the Snake Princess if you care about your life."

"Don't worry, I'll feel better after I eat meat."

She frowned. Did he hit his head?

"Being with the person you love is the only way to cure Love Sickness," she said. "You want to be with her, don't you?"

"I do." He stuck out his tongue. "But I'm staying here."

"You'll die! Wait, where do you think you're going?"

"You're wasting my time." He walked away from her. "I'm going to eat meat and get stronger."

She knotted Peony around her arm, and the snake wheezed. The arrow's working, but Straw Hat's resisting. If she let this happen, he would return to his training and she would lose her bargaining chip against the Snake Princess and her freedom to make a harem. She could use force, but if the Snake Princess discovered the man she loved was taken against his will….

The air hummed as a bow and arrow appeared in Salvia's hands. "Maybe another dose will change your mind, CUPID-CUPID ARROW!"

She fired the arrow, and Luffy dodged.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"You seem tired," she said. "I waited for you to finish off those beasts. Seems like my patience paid off."

She shot a second arrow, only for Luffy to dodge again, but it grazed his shirt.

"GUM-GUM PISTOL!" he shouted.

His attack blasted toward her with enough power to knock her unconscious, but his arm fell short and flopped against the ground at her boots. He panted with his tongue hanging outside his mouth.

Salvia released another arrow, and it pierced his heart. He shouted as she fired two more arrows that struck the same spot.

The arrows burst into specks of light, and beside him, the light transformed into floating locks and chains and a heart. With a click, a chain locked around the heart.

"Now," said Salvia, "why not come with me?"

Luffy seized his chest. "I want to see Hancock, but I'm staying here!"

Salvia ground her teeth. He's still resisting. There's plan B, but for now, I'll end this before he regains his strength.

Her leg turned black and she kicked him. He flew and smashed against a tree that cracked and leaned. It slammed against the ground with a quaking thump, and next to it, he went still, blood trailing from his lips.

"Kyukyukyukyukyu," she laughed. "Soon, the Snake Princess will understand love is about binding others to your will."