The strawhats landed in the open ocean, just like Koby had predicted. The first thing Nami did was check her log poses, to determine their effectiveness.
It seemed that just as Koby had predicted, her log poses didn't disappear. She was pretty sure, they wouldn't but a navigator always has to check twice.
"It seems like we are on the grandline, however we are only in Paradise. Little Garden should be the closest island to us." Nami is quick to give the crew a status report. With the eternal poses of all the islands they visited, and the current weather patterns, she is able to accurately guess their current location.
Luffy gathered the crew's attention. He had a very important message.
"All right everyone, group up, grab a Minnie Merry dinghy, and travel Paradise. The first thing we have to do is determine whether the Rocks are a pirate crew yet. If not, cause hell with corrupt marine bases and make sure the strawhat tattoos are visible in your bounty posters. If we are lucky, he hasn't really started yet, and I can gain a higher rank in the crew to start the mission. Do not get captured. We reconvene in a week, understood?" Luffy lists his orders and the strawhats hang on every word.
"Yes!" With that joint shout, the strawhats go to complete their mission. Some with preferred islands in mind. Vivi planned on heading to Alabasta, and is dragging Hancock with her. This is so she can start mastering her Haki, as one of the few without a good grasp on it.
The Minnie Merry dinghies were the Thousand Sunny's scouting boats named in honour of their old ship.
Nami dragged Yamato with her as the oni was one of the stronger females on the crew. Plus Nami can attempt to fix her fashion sense. Yamato cannot wear a Yukata the whole time; it's just not too practical for maneuverability and comfort.
Zoro and Sanji decided to head straight for a marine base. Wano taught these two to work together for the sake of the captain. However, outside of that, expect them to fight at any given moment. This obviously includes the trip to the marine base. Luffy just laughs as he watches them go.
Franky and Robin decided to see if they could find any current bounty posters of the unformed Rocks Crew. When compared to the usual bounties of this time, it would be a starting point to gauge strength. Brook and Chopper decided to cause their trouble underhandedly as there was no reason to charge head first into battle on their own.
Usopp and Kaya headed straight for another marine base and decided to repeat the previous stunt of burning the world government flag. They'll take a more subtle approach and paint the strawhat logo to announce their presence as a threat.
The only two who remained were Koby and Luffy. It was then that Luffy remembered something.
"Would you like to join the crew Koby? You have nowhere else to go, and you can't really be a marine anymore." Luffy did not mince his words.
"Blunt and straight to the point. As always. You really haven't changed at all, Luffy." Koby just gave his deadpanned response.
"Shishishishishishishishi" Luffy gave his trademark laugh, a sound that will soon haunt marines and pirates alike. The King has arrived and he bows to none below him.
"What do you plan to do? The others will get their jobs done, and will be back eventually. We can't just sit idly until then." Koby gave Luffy a questioning look.
"Well I plan to announce myself and get attention by getting the highest starting bounty in history. My name also has to be different, or Jiji will chase me to the ends of the earth in search of an explanation." He will settle for nothing less. If the plan has to work, there must be no room for error. He needs a name that everyone in the know would recognize. "It's time to pay Umi a visit." Nika's grin was damn near menacing now, Koby couldn't help but shiver.