A.n I own Nothing
The Straw Hats were sitting around the kitchen table discussing what they should do. During their attempt to leave Navore they had discovered that there supply's and cannon balls had been confiscated, unfortunately so had all the gold they had got from Skypiea. Nami had instantly freaked out and ordered a change of course, thanks to the left over smoke from the deflected cannon balls and the destroyed sea gate they had been able to slip away and hide in a nearby abandoned dock.
Once they were docked the whole crew had moved inside to discus their next move, unfortunately Connor had to be carried in and because he was still having his panic attack it made it worse. He had squirmed and resisted but once inside he ran off to the corner farthest away from the crew and back himself in a corner still shaking in fear.
Nami naturally did not want to leave without the crew's gold, but the others were more concerned with escaping with their lives and the Merry intact.
"Hey Nami are you sure it's safe for us to still be here?" Usopp asked.
"He's right, we should head for open water and get away from here as soon as possible," Zoro agreed.
"We can't, they took my gold," Nami claimed.
"You mean our gold right?" Usopp asked "as in the crews,"
Nami gave Usopp a scary look that made the sniper instantly regret what he had said.
"He's right, we can only hide here for so long," Robin agreed "it won't be long until the bases commander figures out we haven't left and the security will be tighter,"
"So in other words it will be harder to get away," Sanji sighed "if that's the case we should escape while we can, it won't take long to set ships up to block our only exit,"
"Don't you care about the gold? After everything we went through to get it," Nami demanded.
"Well it's not like you did much to help get it...except run away, get eaten by a giant snake and side with Enel," Zoro pointed out "Plus if you think about it, technically Luffy was the one who found it in the first place,"
Zoro very quickly found himself in the receiving end of Nami's anger as she punched the swordsman hard in the head causing several large bumps to appear.
"Any other comments?" Nami asked harshly and glared at the rest of the crew.
'Nami your scary,' Chopper and Usopp thought together.
"Good, now let me make this clear. We are not leaving until we get that gold back," Nami said seriously.
Chopper looked over at Luffy.
"Luffy what do you think about this, should we
"I want the gold...but I also want food," Luffy said "SANJI FEED ME!"
"The Marines took all of our supplies you idiot, we don't have any food left," Sanji pointed out.
"What? Okay guys we can't leave," Luffy declared.
"Finally," Nami said in relief.
"Not until we get our food back and raid there kitchen," Luffy announced.
Nami hit him on the head for that.
"GOLD IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FOOD!" Nami yelled angrily.
"But Nami...you can't eat gold," Luffy whined "it tastes bad,"
"He is right though, even if we were to leave we wouldn't get far nor survive very long with no food on board," Robin pointed out.
"I'll see if the marines missed something," Sanji said and stood up and began to search the kitchen.
"See food is more important than gold," Luffy said.
Nami sighed.
"Okay then," Nami said "I mean if you really want to leave Luffy we'll leave,"
"Wait…are you just going to give up the gold?" Usopp asked suspiciously "Who are you and what have you done with Nami?"
"Well Luffy is the captain so his word is law," Nami said.
"I mean if he is okay with letting a vast fortune like that be stolen from pirates by the marines and not do anything to get it back that's his decision," Nami explained "and i was going to divide that up equally between us too,"
"You were?" Chopper asked.
"Well once it was traded in for Beli of course," Nami confirmed.
Luffy looked over at Robin.
"Robin how much would gold have given us?" Luffy asked.
"Hard to say...but considering its value and the amount we had...adding in the current exchange rate," Robin started "I would say..."
She did a quick calculation in her head.
"At least two hundred million Beli," Robin estimated.
the Straw Hats jaws dropped.
"THAT MUCH?!" All but Nami, Robin and Connor yelled.
"Well like I said I can't be sure, you would need to get it appraised properly for an exact number but that would be a good estimate. Depending on where we exchange it we may even get more," Robin explained "Some islands are richer than others after all,"
"If we had that much money I could buy some up to date medical equipment," Chopper said happily "and more medicine books,"
"I could get a new fridge with a lock on it...hell i could re-furbish this whole kitchen," Sanji said thoughtfully.
"I could finally get a big bronze statue," Luffy said excitedly.
"Idiot, why would you trade gold for bronze?" Usopp asked.
"Hold on there, before you get too carried away we don't have the gold anymore," Nami pointed out "and since Luffy would rather focus on getting food and running of leaving all that money to the marines, no one will be getting any spending money,"
"I mean what kind of pirate lets the marines take their loot without a fight?" Nami asked.
Luffy instantly stood up.
"Yosh, alright guys change of plan let's get that gold back," Luffy declared "so I can buy a bronze statue,"
"Again that is a downgrade," Usopp said.
"You can spend your share on whatever you want...after the gold has been traded in for Beli and I take 80% of it for my own personal savings," Nami said.
"Yeah after you...WAIT WHATTTT!" Luffy and the others yelled.
"You do not need that much money," Usopp yelled angrily.
"Yeah how is that dividing it up equally?" Chopper demanded.
"Calm down, I was joking. That 80% isn't for personal use, it's for the Merry," Nami claimed.
This seemed to calm everyone down, but the crew looked at her in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Usopp asked.
"Well the Merry has been carrying us all the way from the East Blue. We have been through so much together and with our recent trip up and back from the sky I think it's time we got her looked at," Nami said.
"I see, Usopp's been doing the repairs but they are really only patch jobs," Zoro said.
"It's not my fault, I keep telling you guys I'm not a carpenter or a ship wright," Usopp defended.
"Right so I think we should have the Merry looked at by a professorial and use that 80% to pay for any and all repairs that need to be done," Nami proposed.
"The merry has taken us so far...she's taken care of us all this time. I think it's time we took care of her," Nami said.
"Yeah the Merry is our home," Luffy agreed.
Suddenly he got an idea.
"Hey I know, let's find a ship wright to join us. That way the Merry will always be at her best," Luffy said.
"That's a good idea, I wonder if there are any good places to recruit people like that," Sanji agreed.
"I know one," Robin said.
"Really?" Zoro asked.
Robin nodded.
"Yes it's called Water 7, it's an island that is renowned for having the most talented shipwrights in the world," Robin claimed.
"Really?" Chopper asked with stars in his eyes.
"Yes they take on any kind of job, whether it be from repairs to building new ships. In fact they are the ones the government goes to get there ships built,"
"Should we go there then?" Usopp asked in concern.
"Don't worry they also serve prates as well, basically if you can pay you would be considered a customer," Robin assured.
"How do you know about this place?" Zoro asked.
"Crocodile was often in contact with them and a lot of other organisations I worked for before had business with Water 7 too. I have never been there myself but there ships are said to last far longer than those that are built from other ship yards," Robin claimed.
"Huh...that is a tall claim to be the best ship wrights in the world. Are they really that good?" Luffy asked.
"Well it's said that Rodgers ship, the Oro Jackson was built by a ship wright from Water 7," Robin claimed.
"REALLY?!" Luffy responded with stars in his eyes.
"According to the government yes," Robin confirmed.
"I want the Merry looked at by the guy who built Rodgers ship and I want him on my crew," Luffy said.
"I don't know if that's possible, Rodgers ship was built over 20yrs ago so the person who built it may not be around anymore...they could be retired," Robin said.
"Oh...right," Luffy said disappointingly "but we can still ask right?"
"Luffy these are all good ideas and all bit the fact is we need our gold back first," Nami pointed out.
"And there is the risk that the marines might find the Merry while we're searching for it," Usopp said.
"Where would the Marines even hide the gold anyway?" Chopper asked.
Robin unrolled the map on the table and looked over it, she could see a few places that someone would use to hide gold or stolen good from pirates but only one place really stood out.
"How about here?" She asked and pointed to a storage room that had one entrance.
"It has one entrance and several locks, it could be a vault," Robin said.
"Then that's our best bet, we'll head there and get the gold back," Nami declared.
"What about the Merry?" Usopp asked.
"This is an abandoned dock, I saw some abandoned building supply's," Robin said.
"Abandoned...hey I just had a great idea," Usopp said.
Usopp told the crew his plan and they all got to work, it took the rest of the day to do; Connor recovered from his episode and he then helped the crew out...though he didn't say much but that was normal behaviour for him. Once it was complete the crew looked up and a very fake marine battle ship.
"You really think this is going to work?" Sanji asked sceptically.
"Why not? this is an abandoned dock right it's not out of place," Usopp claimed.
"Still it looks fake," Zoro said.
"Yeah well it's built around the merry and it's really just painted boards of wood put together and attached to the ships railing," Usopp claimed "it's not supposed to be perfect,"
"I guess...I still don't think they would fall for it though," Sanji said.
"Either way, whoever looks at it will just see a marine ship," Luffy said proudly "Hide a tree in a forest; hide a ship amongst ships,"
The crew looked at him in shock.
'Did he just say something smart and profound?' they all thought.
"What...why is everyone looking at me?" Luffy asked when he noticed how everyone was looking at him.
"Alright now that the ship is safe lets go get my gold back," Nami declared.
"Hold on Nami," Robin said "it would best we wait,"
"Why?" Connor asked.
"While I was investigating the base I read the docking logs, there are no ships out on the water between 9pm and 1am," Robin claimed.
This caught the other Straw Hats by surprise, considering the size of the marine base they were in it seemed not only illogical but also downright stupid to not have ships on the water at all times.
"No ships?" Nami asked in surprise.
"No, I don't know why but every night it was the same. It would be best if we waited till later and get the gold and get out during that time," Robin advised.
"I see, if there are no ships then there is nothing to stop us from escaping," Nami said.
"Exactly, if all ships need to be off the water by 9pm that is when we should escape. Let's head out around 8pm, that should give us plenty of time to find the gold and get back here," Robin suggested.
"Right, I'll need to retrieve the waver too," Nami said.
"Okay then lets split up, Nami and Sanji will get the waver while the rest of us except Chopper go after the gold," Usopp said.
"Wait...why aren't I coming?" Chopper asked.
"You're going to stay here and guard the ship," Usopp said.
"Why?" Chopper whined.
"If anyone gets hurt we will have to come back here. It would be better if we knew where you were rather than going to find you in a marine base," Robin explained.
"Oh okay, that makes sense," Chopper agreed.
"Um…how are we going to get across the water?" Nami asked "going through the base would be dangerous and take too long,"
"Uh….well….." Usopp fumbled and looked around the dock quickly.
He noticed a small rowboat that was not in the best condition but it would float.
"How about you use that," Usopp suggested and pointed to the boat.
Nami and Sanji looked at it.
"You're kidding right?" Nami asked.
"If you're carful you can pass by the marine ships without being seen," Usopp said.
"That…doesn't look very safe, it doesn't look like it will float let alone hold two people," Nami said, she then turned to Sanji for help "right Sanji?"
Sanji however was lost in his own little world with hearts in his eyes.
"A romantic night-time boat ride over crystal clear water that shines in the moonlight with Nami-swan….IT'S MY DREAM COME TRUE!" Sanji cried out in happiness as hearts came out of his head.
Nami started at Sanji disgusted, she then turned to Usopp.
"Is there someone else I can go with?" She asked.
Unfortunately for Nami the only other people who could go with her were Zoro and Luffy, however Luffy would attract all kinds of unwanted attention and she did not trust Zoro to row the boat in the opposite direction and robin was needed to read the map, so that left just Sanji. So Nami really had no choice but to put up with the perverted and flirtatious cook.
The rest of the crew minus Chopper also headed out to achieve their respective objectives.
The Straw Hats made their way through the base heading towards the vault, Robin was reading the map and guiding them. They were all on guard and were expecting marines to jump out and stop them at any moment but so far they had not met a single one. There was the odd marine doing some cleaning but that was it.
No one was around and no one tried to stop them.
"Hey is it weird that we haven't come across any marines?" Connor asked as he looked down an empty hallway.
"Nah there probably looking for us elsewhere," Usopp said "plus there are a lot of ships out on the water so there most likely all out there,"
"I hope your right," Robin said.
"Huh...what do you mean?" Luffy asked.
"Never mind, the vault is up ahead," Robin said and rolled up the map.
The continued down the corridor and passed a very large open steel door and inside they were greeted with a giant open room, the only thing inside was a equally giant shiny black vault. It had five enormous gears bronze coloured gears running across the middle and a small grave stone shape control with five knobs at the base.
"Wow...that is a big vault," Luffy said in awe.
"It seems appropriate that they would put our gold in such a location," Zoro said.
The Straw Hats approached the vault and looked up at it.
"So...how do we open it?" Connor asked.
"Easy we break it open," Zoro answered.
"Okay guys, leave this to me," Luffy said.
He wound his arm up and let loose a strong punch at the vaults door, however as soon as his fist hit the vault door it was reflected and bounced off and hit Zoro square in the face. The swords man was thrown backwards and once he had recovered from the attack he grabbed Luffy by the shirt and pulled the captain up to his face.
He was not happy.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Zoro yelled.
"Sorry," Luffy said.
"NO YOUR NOT!" Zoro yelled.
Robin chuckled at the boys antics.
"You can't just force your way through in," Usopp explained as he walked up to the control with the knobs on it.
He looked at it critically and then pulled turned one, one of the gears moved as he turned it. Usopp smiled.
"You have to use these to open it, there's no other way in," Usopp claimed.
"Too bad Nami didn't come with us," Connor said "I bet she could get in easily,"
"I think you'll find that not even pirates would be able to get into that vault easily," a new voice said.
The crew turned and saw that Drake was standing at the entrance and several squads of Marines ran in and pointed there weapons at the crew. None of the Straw Hats seemed particularly bothered by this except Usopp.
Once all the Marines were inside the giant steel doors closed sealing the Straw Hats and the Marines in together.
"This looks familiar," Luffy observed.
"It should, didn't he already try this before?" Zoro asked.
"They say a sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result," Robin stated.
"You pirates will not get away with humiliating me, this won't be the same as last time as there are no fake hostages for you to take," Drake said.
Drake then noticed Connor and how close he was standing to Zoro.
"Wait...is that a child...where did he come from?" Drake asked.
Zoro instantly got an idea. He grabbed Connor by the back of his jacket and pulled him close to him.
"This is our hostage," Zoro said "I picked him up while escaping last time,"
"What...another hostage?" Drake gasped.
'He can't be seriously buying this again can he?' Usopp wondered.
"Oi you pirate scum let that boy go now," Drake demanded.
"And loose our leverage? I don't think so," Zoro said with a smirk.
"You did not think we would infiltrate this base without some kind of insurance to keep you at bay did you?" Robin asked.
"Damn pirates," Drake hissed.
"Hey kid are you really there hostage?" Drake called out.
Connor looked at Drake with sad tear filled eyes.
"I...I just want to go home," Connor cried "Please save me,"
The crew could see that Drake was very clearly believing them and considering what to do. Last time it had been a female nurse and this time it was a child, Drake wondered where these people kept coming from.
"Huh...what are you talking about? Connors not a hostage, he's part of my crew," Luffy said.
"LUFFYYYYY!" Zoro, Usopp and Connor all yelled at the same time.
"Wait what?" Drake asked and then he realised what was going on.
"Hang on…this is like last time...you're not really a hostage are you?" Drake accused.
Connor sighed and Zoro let the boys jacket go.
"Oh well...worth a try I suppose," Connor shrugged, his voice went back to normal.
A look of shock and disbelief appeared on Drakes face.
"YOU LIED...YOUR TIRED TO TRICK ME AGAIN DIDN'T YOU!" Drake yelled.
"Well...it's not that hard," Zoro shrugged.
Anger flashed across the Lieutenant's face.
"THERE IS NO HOSTAGE, MEN ATTACK," Drake commanded angrily.
The Marines were happy to oblige and charged at the pirates, Luffy, Robin, Zoro and Connor met them head on.
"Usopp we'll take care of this, get that vault open," Luffy ordered.
"Uh...right, leave it to me," Usopp said.
Usopp pulled out a stethoscope from his bag and put it on; he listened carefully as he turned the first nob. He guessed that this was a combination lock and while he agreed with Connor that Nami would be better suited to opening it he also knew what to listen for as he knew exactly how these kinds of locks worked.
After he herd the first click suddenly one the first Bronze gear came lose and fell to the ground with a loud thud. It nearly landed on Luffy. Usopp looked over his shoulder at the gear in fear.
"Hey watch it Usopp," Luffy said.
"Ahh...sorry," Usopp called back, he then turned back to the vaults controls.
"If I mess up even once...I'll be crushed," Usopp gulped.
He got back to working on cracking the vault and it was not long before the second gear fell followed by the third. Usopp looked up at the forth gear and it was clearly the largest one of the lot, he then looked back over to the battle and was relieved that the rest of the crew were still keeping the maries at bay.
He refocused on his task and the fourth gear fell and finally so did the fifth.
"I did it," Usopp cheered.
However his celebration was short lived as he the door of the vault suddenly started to moan.
"Hmm..." Usopp said and looked up at the door. It was only now that he realised it was not opening.
"Why isn't it opening?" Usopp asked.
Suddenly the door looked like it was off balance and Usopp's eyes went wide.
"Hang on...if the gears fell after they were unlocked...that means...OH CRAP!" Usopp yelled and he shot up and ran.
"RUN AWAY!" Usopp cried as he ran straight through the middle of the battle at top speed.
The crew and the Marines stared stopped fighting and stared watched Usopp run past, it was only when a large shadow fell over them did they too realise what was going to happen. The Marines instantly began to retreat as did Robin, Zoro and Connor.
Luffy however stayed where he was and looked up at the massive vault door that was falling towards him. He didn't move the door crashed on him with a loud thud. the straw hats and the marines stared at the door. However Luffy's laugh could be herd.
"Ha Ha ha...that nearly crushed me," Luffy laughed.
Luffy was in one of the holes that held the gears in place, the heavy door had landed on him but he had stood in one of the few spots and by sheer dumb luck the vault door had not crushed him.
"Idiot," Zoro muttered.
Luffy climbed out of the hole and turned to look at the inside of the vault, his and the rest of the crews faces fell when they saw what was inside. The vault was empty, the only thing that was inside was a picture of a large rare fish hanging of the back of the vault.
"Hey...where's the gold?" Luffy asked.
"It appears we have been tricked," Robin stated.
"What you mean we came here for nothing?" Luffy asked.
"Indeed, it is likely that we were lured here so the marines could ambush us," Robin said "and with or exit blocked and sealed we can't leave. Reinforcements are more than likely on their way,"
"No problem let's just cut the door open and beat up all who try to stop us," Luffy suggested.
"We can't do that;" Usopp yelled "there's way too many of them, not to mention the steel door blocking our way,"
"Sure we can, it's just steel," Zoro pointed out "not that tough if you ask me,"
"Still don't you think that fish up there looks tasty?" Luffy asked and pointed to the picture "I sure would like to eat one someday,"
"THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO THINK ABOUT FOOD!" Usopp yelled.
"That's right you pirates have nowhere to go," Drake said confidently.
Suddenly the steel door behind Drake started to open; the lieutenant turned and looked at the door in shock.
"What? Why is the door opening?" Drake asked "I gave no such order for it to be re-opened.
Once the door was completely opened a smug slimy greyish skinned man with a ponytail walked in. He wore an official Marine over coat and purple clothes underneath; he was flanked by several marines on either side.
"Hey it's Condoriano," Usopp said happily.
"Oi who are you? Who gave you permission to open that door?" Drake demanded.
The man looked at Drake with slimy eyes, he clearly did not care for Drakes outburst despite the fact he was only doing his job.
"Hold your tongue," the man snapped "I am special investigator Commander Shepard from Marine Hq. I am here to conduct official business with your Vice Admiral Jonathans permission,"
"C...C...Commander," Drake stuttered.
"Indeed, don't think I've forgotten how you treated me," Shepard sneered "If you don't want me to court martial you for it then stay back and let me do my job,"
"And what is that...sir?" Drake asked, he had to force the Sir out.
"I am here to apprehend these pirates of course," Shepard said proudly.
"I appreciate your help but it unnecessary my men have the situation under control," Drake assured.
"Oh I am not here to help you; I am here to take over. My men are the best elites Marine Hq has to offer, they are a far superior to your riff-raff you call solders here," Shepard claimed.
"Hey!" A marine yelled out in offence.
"You little boys playing soldiers can just sit back and let the grownups take care of things from here on out," Shepard said ignoring the outburst and the angry looks on the offended solder's faces under drakes command.
Drake glanced around at his men and he could see they were not happy at the commander, he also saw that Shepard had not brought very many men with him.
"Commander I noticed that you did not bring many men with you...would you like us to give you a hand?" Drake asked "I advise you to not underestimate them,"
"Shut up, not one more word!" Shepard shouted "I order you to stay out of this and watch, if you or any of your men disobey then you will all be arrested and taken in for obstructing a senior officer,"
Drake glared at Shepard but he knew he had no choice.
"Very well...Men do not interfere with the commander, his men or the pirates," Drake ordered.
The marines all looked at each other but complied and put their weapons away. Shepard walked towards the pirates with his Marine escort and stopped when he was in the centre of the room.
"We meet again Straw Hat," Shepard said.
"Huh…who are you?" Luffy asked.
Anger flashed across the Commanders face.
"How do you not remember me? I suffered humiliation after humiliation at your crew's hands," Shepard yelled.
"Oh…I remember you, you were in the brig with Zoro and Usopp," Luffy said.
"Yo, Condoriano. It's great to see that you escaped," Usopp said happily and waved at the commander.
"It's good to see your no worse for wear," Robin smiled.
"Why are you on the Marines side Condoriano?" Zoro asked "there is no need for disguises anymore,"
"Disguise?" Drake asked "Wait are you part of their crew too?"
"NO I AM NOT!" Shepard yelled.
Connor had no clue what was going on but he could see whatever the other Straw Hats were doing was annoying him and making him angry.
"Well it doesn't matter, your all going to die here," Shepard claimed.
He snapped his fingers and one of the Maries flanking him holding a large carry case moved forward, he put the case down and opened it revealing parts of something. The Marine quickly put the parts together and they made a comically large bazooka.
Shepard took the Bazooka and aimed it at the Straw Hats.
"Impressed? This is a new Bazooka that the boys back at Hq whipped up. It has the fire power of a small battle ship and they gave it to me to test," Shepard bragged.
"Why would they do that?" Connor asked.
"Yeah dangerous weapons and power don't mix with pure stupidly," Zoro agreed.
"Really?" Connor asked.
"WHOA…THAT'S A BIG GUN! I WANT ONE!" Luffy cried out with stars in his eyes.
"I know right…this thing is huge and it packs a real punch," Shepard said.
"Really...you're so lucky you get to use that," Luffy said.
"I know I have wanted to use it since I first saw the plans for it," Shepard said giddily.
"So cool," Luffy sighed.
"See," Zoro said.
"Okay…point taken," Connor agreed.
"Enough talk I will personally show you this weapons power," Shepard declared.
He pulled the trigger and there was a loud explosion behind him and the marines were blown off their feet. The Straw Hats tilted their heads in confusion.
"Did he just fire on his own men?" Usopp asked.
"Yeah…how did he do that?" Connor asked.
"Commander! Your holding it the wrong way," an annoyed marine said and held up the instruction manual.
Shepard looked at it and realised that he was indeed holding the bazooka back to front.
"Opps," Shepard said.
He then put the Bazooka down, turned it around and pointed at the crew again, however before he could fire it arms sprouted from Shepard's body and took control of him. Shepard turned to the marines and began firing the weapon wildly.
Shepard's marines were blown away and once the path was clear, the arms held the commander next to the Bazooka that was pointing to the ground.
"Wait if you fire it like that…." Shepard started.
But Robin commanded her arms to pull the trigger and the commander and the bazooka shot straight up like a rocket.
"Right shall we go?" Robin asked.
The crew took the opportunity to run out of the vault and pass Drakes remaining Marines, though he did not purse them as they escaped.
"Lieutenant Drake, shall we purse them?" a marine asked.
"No, do not purse those pirates," Drake responded.
"Why not?" The Marine asked.
"Because we have our orders, those are to stand by and watch. We are not allowed to interfere with the Straw Hats or the Commanders operation to capture them," Drake said "these orders came from a special inspector of Marine Hq after all,"
"I suppose but…" the marine said hesitantly.
Suddenly Shepard crash landed from his Bazooka powered flight. He and his Marines took a moment to gather their wits.
"That is what we are doing, besides we should take this opportunity to see just how the best of the best get things done," Drake said with a smirk.
The Bazooka came back down hitting Shepard on the head.
"So far I am not impressed," Drake commented dryly.
