Descent

by JustAProblem

Scars are a sign of pride and strength. A sign of survival. Naturally, this only applies to the physical scars and not the mental scars. No, mental scars are almost universally agreed to be negative and for good reason. Physical scars merely change how your body looks. Mental scars change how a person thinks. Rosan just wants to enjoy life. He didn't ask for all this. OC! Not-Si!

33. Chapter 33: Too Much Sand

Descent

Chapter 33: Too Much Sand

"Haki?" Maro asked in fascination.

Everyone watched Sabo demonstrate it with curious eyes.

To the Queen. Things that didn't make sense, suddenly did. Her and Master's fight with Judge, suddenly made so much more sense with this unknown power added into the mix. It was no wonder nothing was working against him... Wow, if he had his Raid Suit they would have gotten obliterated.

Just how reliant on it were the Germa Family? Judge was certainly strong as all hell, but without his suit he didn't feel even close to someone like say, Garp.

Haki seemed super strong but clearly it wasn't unbeatable... but still, Observation and Armament... the ability to predict, hit Logias and gain an armor?

...THAT WAS SO COOL! IF SHE LEARNED THIS, NO ONE IN THE NORTH BLUE COULD STOP HER! NOT EVEN THAT STUPID JUDGE!

"I wanna learn it! I wanna learn it! How can I learn it?!" Maro jumped up and down eagerly, not noticing Sanji's eyes bugging at her actions.

Angel did and she swiftly delivered a fist to the chef's face.

"We're gonna start training in it after we liberate Alabasta," Rosan mused.

Maro and Luffy instinctively shuddered, backing away from their demonic teacher and getting looks of worry from everyone else.

What exactly did Rosan do to those two?

The redhead in question, blinked at their fearful expressions. "I don't know the techniques either you know? I won't be teaching you. We're all at the same level so we'll all learn with the methods Ace left us."

"If anything, Sabo will teach us and Rosan will just enforce that training when he leaves," Robin supplied helpfully, giggling at their antics.

The looks of relief on their face, made the Straw Hats laugh and Rosan tilt his head.

"Sabo's much nicer then Ace and Rosan," Luffy exclaimed, looking pleased with the concerned blonde.

"Is your training really that bad…?" Sabo couldn't help but ask, getting a fearful nod of agreement out of Nami and Usopp.

Zoro nodded with a snort. "It wasn't nearly as bad before we got Chopper but afterwards, he went full psycho mode on me and Robin."

The Devil Child nodded in agreement. "I felt sore in places I didn't think were possible. I even told him I haven't trained for a long while and he called that the beginner workout..."

"Join the club," Maro whimpered. "Our first time sparring ended up with me in the infirmary! He totally didn't realize I wasn't a monster like him!"

"Good luck," Demon said to a concerned Chopper. "Master is effective but completely ruthless... and I know that best. At least everyone is pretty developed unlike Maro and Luffy who he built up from zero."

"Please don't hurt them too bad! I'm only one person," the reindeer pleaded.

"I blame Mod-chan for him turning out like this. Those two are incredibly unaware of people's limits," Robin said shamelessly, shaking her head.

That woman was an absolute slave driver and it sometimes didn't occur to her that her two children were human and she wasn't.

Rosan tried to warn her with his gaze when they were kids but Robin wasn't aware that Mod-chan was that unaware. She foolishly agreed to join them on their training, thinking that her best friend was over exaggerating but for once, he wasn't and Robin had her sore body to remind her.

"Y-You blame me too?!" Mod gaped in disbelief, red eyes wide at Robin of all people blaming her.

U-Unaware?! Her?! W-Was she truly that harsh on the two growing up?!

"I'm sorry... but it's the truth," Robin said, smiling slightly at her shock.

Nami gawked at that. "Mod-chan?! Really?"

She didn't expect the motherly woman to be so cruel!

Rosan nodded triumphantly, neutral expression managing to come off as smug. "Mod-chan was my only ever teacher and I picked up nearly all her methods considering I was four when she began torturing me."

He was her perfect little soldier, absorbing everything she taught him with a speed that truly did make them look like a mother son duo.

Mod crossed her arms and began sulking in a corner. "It's not my fault… I only had emotions for a few weeks a-and I was barely human in nature! Plus you handled it just fine!"

"I know Mod-chan," he soothed through their connection.

Rosan was hardly a good example to base something on, considering his natural gifts but he wouldn't say that.

"I can't believe I'm actually learning something at the same time as Master," Maro muttered in awe.

He was always five million steps ahead of her and displayed such mastery over his Devil Fruit, compared to her, that she was jealous.

Well, that was in the past. Maro was an incredible user of her own Devil Fruit too! Modification felt like it was Rosan's Devil Fruit to have and she felt the same way about being a Dokkaebi!

It wasn't as versatile but the queen wasn't as creative as her teacher and it was still plenty resourceful. She had always preferred to keep it simple and transforming into a Dokkaebi kept things simple (smashing her club into their skulls).

The group was making their way through the scalding desert and they conversed with each other about various topics.

"Because Maro is training with you guys, that means we get to see Master and Luffy more!" Angel cheered, grabbing her little brother and squeezing him happily.

"Woohoo!" Luffy cheered, squeezing the taller woman back gleefully.

Sanji glared at his captain returning the hug jealously and grumbled to himself.

Rosan and Luffy got to spend years around these two! YEARS!

Both Maro and Angel were incredibly beautiful yet they casually called Rosan Master, initiating contact at any given moment for the hell of it with either the captain or the scout.

Angel especially was either latched to Luffy, Rosan or Sabo and it filled Sanji with pure envy.

The redhead's beauty was not one you saw often. Mature and beautiful, with curves in all the right places (just look at her hips!) and an outfit that she was aware showed it off, Angel was easily one of the most beautiful women he had seen.

Still, acknowledging her beauty felt like he was acknowledging Rosan's own because the two looked remarkably similar and he couldn't acknowledge his love rival's good looks.

No! He wouldn't let his love rival stop him from appreciating beauty in any capacity!

Angel was a beauty and it didn't matter if she looked like Rosan! She was still one of the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen!

To be honest, the only people who Sanji had seen so far that surpassed her natural beauty, were Mod-chan and the female form of —

Everyone paused in confusion, at the sight of Sanji letting out a strangled yell of horror. Without any prompting, the chef fainted.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Sabo asked in concern, watching the chef collapse in the scalding sand with wide eyes.

Nami shrugged, unbothered by the sight. "Eh, he'll be fine. He's been fainting a lot recently."

Demon's own face turned concerned at that. "Why? Is he sick? Does he need a checkup."

Robin shook her head with an amused smile. "No he doesn't need any of that. I believe it's an after effect of seeing Rosan's female form."

The three leaders of Celadon's eyes immediately turned into one of sympathetic understanding and they nodded sagely.

No one reacted normally to seeing Rosan's transformation for the first time.

"Master's overwhelming in more ways then one," Demon nodded sagely. He could freely admit how good looking his older brother was in both forms.

It's not like his male form looked worse… It was just his female form was so… noticeable. It was hard to miss someone walking around with all that...

"Who actually convinced Master to transform? He normally only does it to help me!" Angel gasped in a bit of jealousy. She actually… she actually managed to miss one of Rosan's transformations?! B-But those were meant for her!

"Robin," Rosan grunted in confusion.

Why on Earth was his female transformation causing Sanji to faint? He was aware that she was widely considered attractive but wasn't this a bit much?

A figure collapsing into him, made him pause and he looked down to see a teary eyed Maro looking up at him.

The Queen's lips were wobbling and everyone, barring Angel, Demon, Luffy and Robin, wondered what got her so upset.

"Y-You're telling me I missed out on seeing that hot piece of ass?" Maro whimpered, gripping Rosan's shirt pleadingly. "N-No fair! Please Master, transform again for me! You don't understand how much I look forward to this! We only see it once a year! ONCE! IT'S INJUSTICE!"

The Straw Hats collapsed, not expecting that to be the reason she was so distraught. Queen Maro sure was… shameless and perverted.

"H-Hot piece of…?" Vivi turned scarlet at the queen's crass words, not expecting it out of nobility and the poor princess began steaming in embarrassment as she was forced to remember said hot piece of ass.

"No," Rosan replied blandly, despite Maro getting increasingly grabbier. Was she climbing him? She was climbing him. His student was currently crawling atop his body like some incessant spider.

Sometimes he wondered where he went wrong with his student. It was probably when she asked him if h preferred butts or breasts and he answered butts, much to her delight.

Kindred spirits, she had called them. That's what should have alerted him to the fact that she had a serious problem.

"Robiiiiiin," Maro whined, clambering on Rosan so he didn't think to escape from her. She expertly maneuvered herself on his back, wrapped her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist so he didn't get any funny ideas of escaping her.

"Yes, Maro?" Robin asked, amusement glittering in her eyes at the Dokkaebi's antics.

Rosan looked wholly unbothered, just letting the goblin do what she wanted.

"Make Master transform again please," the queen requested, fixing adorable puppy dog eyes on the Devil Child.

Before Robin could even open her mouth, Rosan decided to call his trump card.

"Angel. Maro is crushing your boobs on me."

The squeak Maro let out, was instantaneous and the Dokkaebi went white in fear.

Angel's expression immediately turned unamused and the redhead stared at her wife calmly. "Dear," she said serenely.

The Queen began spluttering and the Straw Hats couldn't stamp down their amusement, as she tried to shrink behind her teacher.

"Angel, you need to stop letting Master control you like this! He has you eating out of the palm of his hands!" Maro gaped.

If Master said something, Angel listened! This was ridiculous! He managed to trigger her so easily and she suffered for it!

"So what! Get my boobs off of him!" She barked, marching up to her wife with a scowl. "Honestly, you really should stop being a pervert right now! Stop ruining Robin's perception of you!"

"That's okay. My perception of her won't change," Robin assured, only to blink as the redhead rounded on her.

"Don't even think about encouraging her, Robin!" Angel barked to the Devil Child. "Maro is the type of idiot who only needs one person to enable her bad habits and I won't allow even you to do it!"

Robin was a bit taken aback but Angel was never afraid to speak her mind, no matter her undying respect for the person.

"Understood. I will not say anything next time," she nodded eventually, getting a pleased smile out of the clone.

That smile was quickly wiped off her face as she rounded on her perverted wife. "Hot piece of ass, Maro?! Could you not talk about my sister like that! It doesn't matter how hot and sexy she is!"

"I'm not your sister. And please don't call me hot or sexy, you're my sister you know?" Rosan replied calmly.

They ignored him.

"B-But she looks like you and you're also a hot piece of ass!" Maro whined pleadingly, clambering off the redhead to stand in front of her slightly taller wife. "Can you blame me for wanting to see two of you?! Look at you!"

The Straw Hats don't know how it worked, but Rosan and Luffy's family proved to be just as weird as their captain and scout.

Angel blushed beet red, anger forgotten and she immediately jumped on a pleased Maro. "O-Oh you! Don't go trying to worm your way out with compliments!"

Maro beamed and nuzzled her wife. "I'm just speaking the truth!"

"How did that work?" They all thought in disbelief.

"Sanji's been face first in that sand for a while now," Sabo pointed out in concern, confused by everything going around him but not minding that disturbingly familiar exasperation.

"OH NO, SANJI!"

---

"So our opponent is Crocodile?"

Rosan raised a brow. "Our? You're not fighting, Maro. You're not even supposed to be here. Do not reveal yourself. Not you, not Angel and not Demon."

Maro stuck out her tongue and blew him a raspberry. "Bah, you're no fun. Queen this pirate that… you owe me a serious fight after this is over!"

The Straw Hats watched Rosan and Maro argue with sweat. Why was the Queen upset that their scout was trying to not jeopardize her position?

Rosan knew Maro was willing to throw a tantrum about this (and then he'd have to discipline her), so he decided to appease her in another way. "Maro, did you know Chopper developed some medicine called the Rumble Ball exclusively for his Devil Fruit that you happen to share a name with?"

Chopper, Demon and Maro perked up at that.

Chopper because he was suddenly mentioned, Demon because developing medicine for Devil Fruits sounded fascinating, Maro because her and Chopper both shared the Hito Hito no mi.

The reindeer blushed at the attention of 2/3 of the leader's of Celadon and decided to speak up.

"It uh… The Rumble Ball is a drug that distorts my biochemistry that's enhanced by the Hito Hito no mi so that I gain more transformations. I get four additional forms because of it..."

Demon's eyes glittered in fascination while Maro's glittered in awe and confusion.

"You tamper with your own buildup to get full use out of your zoan…? That's so fascinating!" The purple haired doctor awed, staring at the genius with shining eyes. "Would you mind explaining it in detail to me later? I'd love to understand how you managed to come up with it!"

Chopper balked, not expecting anyone to be interested in his Rumble Balls but he nodded eagerly with a happy blush on his face.

It was clear the doctor was pleased to share his knowledge with anyone interested in knowing.

"Could you explain it like you were explaining it to Luffy but just a little smarter? Please?" Maro asked shamelessly. She didn't understand that explanation very well but she did understand that he was using more than human, animal and hybrid using some type of drug.

The doctor sweat a little and blushed bright at being the center of attention to everyone right now. He wasn't used to such eyes being filled with interest beyond his appearance and he realized this was Rosan's way of getting him out of his shell.

He would need to thank the scout later… after attacking him for making the reindeer the center of attention.

"Um… Basically the best way to explain it… You know how we have 3 forms of Zoan, right?" Chopper began, getting a nod out of his fellow zoan. "Right now, you're in your default form, which I call 0% and I'm in my hybrid, which I call 50%!"

Transforming into his animal (or human form since that was his Devil Fruit) the muscular humanoid looked at a curious Maro and said, "This is my 100% form, my "human" transformation like how your 100% form is the Dokkaebi!"

Maro transformed into her own 100% and the massive Dokkaebi inspected herself. "OH! I GET IT NOW!" She roared. "You're basically using combinations of your human and animal form! Like... 20% human, 80% animal to get different hybrid forms?!"

Chopper blinked, not expecting her to understand before he began nodding at his fellow Zoan in excitement. "Exactly! I have a Jump Point that lets me keep my reindeer legs in a human form for example!"

The doctor yelped in fear as the Dokkaebi instantly closed the distance and Maro grabbed his massive hands with her own large ones.

"That's INCREDIBLE!" She squealed. "I never thought of doing that! Using mixed percentages of certain forms... I'd be so fucking strong and it'll let me keep up with all the monsters in my family! Oh, oh! But do you really need the drugs for that? I feel like with enough practice, you can naturally achieve it!"

Chopper opened his mouth, but then closed it as a contemplative expression made its way to his face. "No, I never considered trying to transform into those forms without the Rumble Ball... In theory, that should be possible though... The Rumble Balls don't give me new forms, they just let me alter and combine forms I already have..."

Actually, he was pretty interested about that now. He'd have to find out more about that later.

For now though... he really needed to stop looking at Maro. She was scary!

"You're scaring him," Demon admonished, gently removing Maro's much larger hands out of Chopper's.

Honestly, his queen was so overwhelming and it matched perfectly with Angel's overbearing nature.

"O-Oh! Sorry! I tend to do that a lot," Maro said sheepishly, transforming back to her human form. "I was just so excited because you gave me so much ideas that I need to start practicing immediately! That's genius of you Chopper!"

The reindeer blushed at her praise and began dancing. "S-Stop complimenting me you damn goblin!" He said happily.

"I have to agree though on how genius it is… Could you tell me how you make Rumble Balls? I want to try and make one for Maro so she doesn't pester you until you give in. Obviously you're a reindeer and it'll be different but it'd be an interesting project to make it work on her."

Watching the genuine interest in the kind doctor's eyes and the excited gleam in Maro's eyes filled Chopper with a delighted feeling.

"Okay! I'd like to help. My Rumble Balls are exclusively for me, even with our similar fruits but maybe I can steer you in the right direction…" The equally excited reindeer mused.

Hoisting up the tiny Chopper, Maro hugged him ecstatically much to Sanji and Angel's rage.

"You're the best Chopper!" She gushed happily.

"D-Don't think your compliments will make me happy, you bastard!" Chopper beamed happily, accepting the hug despite her words. But then the reindeer sobered up as a thought came to him.

"If you do succeed in making the Rumble Balls... make sure you don't eat three," he warned Maro.

Her eyes widened in confusion at that. "Three? Why? What happens if I eat two or three?"

The reindeer frowned. "When I eat two, I lose control of the transformations that I use... When I eat three... I don't know what happens but apparently I lost control and went on a rampage, then I was left paralyzed for days."

Maro frowned at that and cupped her chin. "Got it... I'll keep that in mind. Maybe we can experiment it in a controlled environment to see just what happens and if there's a way to stop it."

Chopper gazed at her with slightly wide eyes, taken aback by her total lack of fear. It was a far cry from him, who was deathly afraid of using 3 Rumble Balls once more unless given no other choice.

She... She was kinda cool.

"We can also inspect Sabo before he has to leave," Demon mused. He wasn't expecting to be learning something from another doctor but one who had lived in the Grand Line would be so helpful to grow his knowledge.

Also, he'd get to spend more time with Rosan and Luffy while learning. This was a golden opportunity!

"Sounds good to me, I don't have to leave immediately and you two seem like experts in your craft," the blonde replied with a smile on his face.

"SABO'S TRAVELING WITH US?!" Luffy beamed, jumping excitedly and landing on Rosan's back. "See Rosan, we were right! They should have just joined my crew and let me be captain!"

Rosan nodded along with him. "They ended up following other people anyways. You're the only one who's still a captain so we should have just all sailed under your ship."

"Not a chance! I'd never follow Luffy!" Sabo retorted like it was second nature, pausing as he realized that.

Huh, seems like they had this conversation more than once.

Judging by the look on Rosan's face, he realized that too, letting a tiny smile replace his neutral expression.

"Maybe I'll travel with them too while Demon is learning and leave Maro by herself. This sounds like too much fun to pass up," Angel mused with a look of contemplation on her features.

"!" Maro's jaw dropped at that and she began shaking Angel incessantly. "I don't care if I'm queen! I will not be left out of any type of fun! I can accept Demon going out occasionally to learn but if my wife tries to go too, then I'm joining with my paperwork! What the fuck is wrong with you guys!"

Nearly everyone sweatdropped at the look of outrage on Maro's face, already quickly growing used to her antics.

"You should all just join my crew!" Luffy beamed.

They were basically already apart so just make it official!

Maro sadly draped her taller body over the rubber boy. "I'd love to Luffy but I have my duties as queen and I really do love what I do. I couldn't just leave my citizens like that! I made a promise to them and I love them as much as I love you two."

Luffy laughed and waved her off with total ease. "That's okay! I know you have your responsibilities! You're like an honorary member anyways!"

The azure haired queen just crooned and began fussing over the rubber boy. "Why the hell are you so damn cute?!" She demanded, hugging him.

The Straw Hats watched Maro gush over how adorable the rubber boy was with fond smiles, while Vivi listened with a contemplative expression.

"Angel was just kidding anyways," Demon snorted. "She'd start missing you after about 5 minutes and I'd have to deal with it at the same time as me learning from Chopper."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, DEMON!" Angel roared, tackling her brother who easily rebuffed her efforts with a peaceful smile.

That peaceful smile turned into one of rare annoyance (that was alot more common when dealing with his sister) at the fact that she began biting him and he put much more effort into pushing his rabid older sister off of him.

"Get off of me, you animal!" Demon demanded.

"Not until you apologize!" Angel snarled.

Soon, the twins began brawling and Maro shot Rosan a pleading look, not willing to break them up herself and thrusting the duty off onto the oldest brother.

She should have known how bad of an idea that was.

Rosan nodded at her look and calmly approached his fellow triplets, before delivering a swift punch to the both of their skulls and immediately stopping their fight.

"O-Ow! What the fuck, Master?!" Angel whined, holding her head with tears brimming in her eyes.

S-Sometimes she hated that he made her and Demon practically human over the years because that hurt.

"I didn't deserve to get hit," Demon groaned, nursing his head with a pained expression.

"Stop fighting, you're scaring Maro and you know how she gets with her overreactions," Rosan admonished the two, hoisting them both up and away from each other.

Maro gaped at his sheer audacity, mouth opening in shock. "I-I just wanted you to break them up because you're the best at that! What the fuck do you mean I'm scared?!"

"...You aren't?"

"FUCK OFF!"

Without any hesitation, Maro tackled Rosan to the floor and the redhead rebuffed her efforts easily, raising a brow as she began biting him.

"Where have you and Angel gotten the habit of biting from? You've been hanging around Aiko too much. She bit me just the other day," he commented idly, watching the goblin glare up at him with his finger in her mouth.

"Do you guys bite often? When I first started my journey, she had quite the bite mark on her neck. Should I begin checking Angel for them too?"

Every gawked at his forwardness, while Angel and Maro turned bright red.

"M-MASTER!" They shrieked in unison. "STOP EMBARRASSING US!"

Kami, he was just the worst! Why did he say such terrible things so calmly?!

"Don't bite me, I do not share your kinks," he replied coolly, watching as they nearly combusted on the spot from his shamelessness.

"I'm surprised though… that one time I accidentally walked in on you guys, there didn't seem to be any biting going —"

He summoned his wings and quickly flew out of reach of the two lunatics trying to end his existence.

"You are the worst brother in existence," Angel snarled, steaming from embarrassment and wanting to bury herself in the sand.

"I-I knew he saw something that one time!" Maro moaned in misery.

Ugh that day was the most embarrassing day ever and somehow, her and Angel ended up suffering from it more because Master was utterly shameless and didn't let the event phase him at all.

It must have been karma for all the times she shamelessly walked in on him changing.

"Rosan's a menace," Nami said flatly, watching him terrorize the two wives with a look of sympathy.

"No one knows that better than I do," Robin sighed.

Everyone glanced at her forlorn expression in sympathy.

"Wait a second…" Sanji said in horror.

"HE WALKED IN ON THEM?! WHY IS IT ALWAYS HIM?! WHY IS IT NEVER ME?!"

"Dumbass," everyone sighed in unison.

---

"Sir Crocodile is quite the conniving one," Rosan mused, listening to Robin and Vivi explain what was happening in Alabasta.

To put it bluntly, the Warlord was putting up a masterclass performance against the citizens of Alabasta that the redhead couldn't help but admire.

Not a single soul was aware of Crocodile's hand in ruining this, thinking it was all the king's doing. He manipulated in entire country into thinking he was their hero, all while running the organization that was sending them into ruin.

It was rather impressive. It was such a shame he didn't have loyal soldiers, else he'd have a real chance of succeeding.

That was why he valued loyalty above all. Traitors costed you more then anyone else.

Judging by the looks of sheer anger on everyone's face, Rosan probably was not going to let anyone besides Robin know that he was going to force the sandman to submit to him.

It was a good thing he didn't plan on sending him over to Maro. The Queen looked like she wanted to commit murder and the redhead instinctively threw up a disguise on the rulers of Celadon, making sure their faces were hidden with the desert cloaks he had given them.

"My kimono!" Maro protested halfheartedly as her short kimono vanished in favor of the light blue desert cloak. At least it was comfortable.

"Don't show your pretty little faces even once, you three," Rosan commanded, getting grumbles out of the wives and a nod out of the doctor.

"No fair, if you're gonna ruin my outfit, then you need to ruin yours too!" Angel complained, stamping her feet like the spoiled brat she was.

The redhead's stared at each other for a bit before the older one waved his hand, causing the armband on it to seamlessly transform into a long black robe that covered him from the neck down.

"Better?" He asked.

Angel beamed. "Better!"

"I'm going to start disciplining you and your spoiled streak," Rosan muttered.

His sister's mouth opened a bit at that and a flash of fear crossed her face. "Y-You don't have to do that! I'll behave!"

The scout snorted and mussed up her long hair, wiping the fear off her face and making it shift into one of rage instead.

He irnogred it.

"What exactly is your Devil Fruit?" Sabo asked in wonder. Flying, ability to change clothes, teleporting massive amounts of distance… Alternating your voice into a females?

It seemed exceedingly useful and something the World Government would absolutely want to keep in their hands!

"I'd prefer if you keep it a secret but it's called the Mod Mod no mi. It turns me into a computer man and I'm allowed to modify what I please... and generally do things similar to a computer," Rosan explained.

Modification… That vaguely rang a bell…

"For some reason, when you said the word Modification, the color purple pops up in my mind. You know the reason for that?" Sabo asked curiously.

"!" Mod's eyes widened. "Is he talking about me?! Maybe his memories aren't as buried as we thought it was!"

Oh she felt so happy!

"Maybe…" Rosan mused, nodding to himself. "You might be subconsciously thinking of Mod-chan, she's my Devil Fruit and you've met plenty of times before. I guess she left a lasting impression on you."

"Can you blame him?" Maro and Sanji muttered at the same time, before getting hit by Angel and Nami respectively.

"Oh! Was that the voice you used earlier today? When you claimed everyone?" Vivi asked in realization.

"That's right. She's very popular with everyone who knows her," Rosan commented.

"I like her way more then you!" Nami beamed.

"I do too," Sanji nodded in agreement.

Mod blushed brightly at that, resisting the urge to grin due to the gleam in Ram's eyes.

Rosan shrugged. "She's beautiful, kind and motherly in nature so I can imagine that she's more popular."

His Devil Fruit spluttered at his compliments and tried to curl into herself, lest she die of happiness.

Sabo had seen plenty of Devil Fruits in his time but one that had a gender and seemed to be conscious?

"I'd like to meet her after we're done with Alabasta, we've gotta stay focused for now so my memories can wait," the Chief of Staff decided. Even though he didn't plan on interfering, if he had to he would.

It wouldn't be difficult if things went south. No one on this island was stronger then him after all.

"Alright," Rosan nodded, nearly snorting at the happiness Mod was exuding.

"I-I can't be happy that someone wants to see me?!"

"No, you can only be happy when it's me."

"Y-You… stop being such a possessive little brat! Ugh, you can be so insufferable sometimes!"

"This is what you signed up for. No complaining now."

"WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR?! YOU ATE MY DEVIL FRUIT WITHOUT CONSENT AND PRACTICALLY FORCED ME TO BE YOUR FRIEND! WHAT EXACTLY DID I SIGN UP FOR?!"

"No one told you to spawn there. You clearly wanted me to be the one to eat it. It must have been your Zoan half."

"Surely you don't believe the nonsense you are spouting… right?"

"Mod-chan... I think he does," Robin said calmly, dearly resisting the urge to laugh.

Rosan said nothing, prompting Ram to laugh heartily, Mod to begin stewing, and Robin to stifle her giggle, lest she face the woman's wrath next.

The redhead hummed in confusion. Was he perhaps wrong?

No, Mod-chan was clearly meant to be his Devil Fruit. She was part Zoan after all so she chose him and he reacted accordingly.

"You are absolutely unbelievable. I hope you understand that you can only get away with this because I love you."

---

"I'm so hottttt."

"Me tooo."

"Are you going to complain the entire time?" Rosan asked Maro and Luffy.

"Yesssss," they said in unison.

The queen had already taken the liberty of resting on his back and he was now carrying her through the desert but she still felt the need to complain.

Celadon was practically a summer island up until winter where it got incredibly cold, so why was Maro complaining so much about the heat?

The only one who should actually be complaining this much about the heat, was the comatose Chopper being dragged by Zoro.

"Are you seriously not even a little hot?" Sabo asked incredulously, glancing at the utterly unfazed redhead carrying the queen. Even Vivi, whose country this was, had a slight amount of sweat.

Maro looked jealous at that question and began grumbling.

"No. My body's temperature is constantly being regulated so as to shield me from the weather. I cannot feel hot or cold unless I want to," Rosan informed him, ignoring Maro pathetically draping her head on his shoulder.

He was used to this. She did this all the time when he finished training her and especially loved to hold him tight.

"Shameless pervert," Ram grunted with a hard glare. Oh Maro better hope she didn't find her one on one or else the ring would remind her just what mission they were trying to do right now.

How could she even be so utterly perverted to both genders?! Or... was it her just being shameless to Father? Ram had never once seen Maro flirting with Demon after all...

Rosan hummed. His allies, barring Vivi and Robin, were clearly not having a good time right now.

They were traveling through the scorching heat of the desert and it was already taking its toll on them. The crew was suffering something fierce and they sent more then one jealous look towards The triplets, Vivi and Robin.

"Shouldn't you regulate their temperature like you did with me?" Robin asked in amusement.

The redhead thought about it and said, "No. They need to get used to all temperatures. They won't always have me and besides, you've lived in this country for years. You'd be fine regardless."

"You are something else," Robin giggled. She couldn't help the swell of appreciation at basically hearing him imply she would always have him. It was super endearing and adorable.

The duo watched a fed up Luffy beg Vivi to let them have a lunch break.

The kind princess finally relented, saying that they could stop at the nearest crag and Luffy took those words to heart…

Which brought them to their current situation.

"All our supplies were stolen?" Rosan blinked, listening to Luffy and Vivi's explanation about how some birds were playing dead and took all the supplies that Luffy forgot in his haste to get help for them.

"I told you guys not to let Luffy hold onto the supplies," the redhead sighed, watching them hold their heads at his truthful statement.

"THAT WAS THREE DAYS WORTH OF FOOD!" Sanji roared in disbelief, throttling Luffy back and forth.

"THEY TRICKED ME! I CAN'T HELP IT!"

"STOP CHOKING LUFFY! HE CAN'T HELP BEING SO NICE!" Angel roared in fury, tackling Sanji and throttling the chef in return.

"Of course, Angel!" Sanji gushed despite running out of breath.

"I imagine it's those birds right there?" Rosan asked, pointing at the group of avians drinking their water and carrying their packs.

Luffy's eyes bugged in recognition and he immediately took off with a "GET BACK HERE".

"WAIT LUFFY, YOU'LL GET LOST!"

Rosan sighed. "I'll get the supplies," he said calmly, plopping a sullen Maro down and sprouting his draconic wings.

"W-What about Luffy?!" Vivi asked in concern.

"He'll be fine. The supplies are more important."

With that, the redhead rocketed off and quickly vanished from their sight.

"What a surprise, he actually didn't take me with him this time," Robin commented in surprise.

They all nodded, only to blink as the redhead suddenly appeared again, grabbed a visibly amused Robin, and rocketed off for a second time.

The group couldn't dwell on Rosan's eccentrics because Luffy came sprinting back with a gigantic sand dragon chasing him and a camel next to him.

"Isn't this a bit much?" Sabo asked, watching all the chaos unfold with a slight sweatdrop. He knew he was a headache for his allies at the revolutionary but he wasn't this bad.

"This is just a normal day with Master and Luffy," Maro nodded sagely.

Angel hoisted the Dokkaebi up and placed the bluenette on her back, much to Maro's joy. "Those two are probably the most chaotic people on the planet. Every single action they take seems to support it too, without exception. Even with no emotions, Master and Luffy have scary compatibility."

"The twin incarnates of chaos who march to their own beats," Demon joined with a wry smile.

"Tell us about it," the Straw Hats groaned. Those two were too much sometimes.

---

Rosan effortlessly caught up to the thieving birds and delivered swift justice onto them, grabbing all their supplies and dumping it in his Pocket Dimension in the process.

He did notice Luffy getting chased by some large sand lizard while he was chasing them... but he decided his brother would be fine and ignored him to continue pursuing the bird.

"You really didn't have to drag me with you to do this," Robin said, amusement clear on her features.

"You've lost freedom privileges, remember? This is your punishment for making Maro, Demon, and Angel hound me."

As if making his point clear, the man dragged the, currently white haired, woman closer to him and began crushing her in a hug, leaving her no room to escape.

"Stop!" Robin protested, squirming to escape his unbelievable grip and failing spectacularly.

Were him and Mod-chan just freaks of nature with their strength? Why was it so hard to escape their grasp?

"No," Rosan replied calmly, watching her struggle with a mockingly smug smirk.

Eventually, she gave up and just slumped in his grasp, glaring at him halfheartedly because she was never the type to get angry.

"How would you like to approach this?" He asked her suddenly, holding her bridal style so that they could slowly fly back to the crew.

Ram grinned in a wolfish manner at that and practically picked up an amused Mod in her happiness.

Robin hummed, not minding being held like this, and got comfortable for the slow flight back.

"Crocodile still thinks we're dead so we can use that to our advantage. Mr. 3 is the only one who could have told him otherwise and he's more than likely dead on Little Giant since we destroyed all their ships…"

Rosan nodded. "What about Mr. 2? Do you think he's recognized us yet?"

"Mr. 2… is a bit stupid," Robin admitted. "I doubt he thought twice about our crew and unless Crocodile brings us up, which he has no reason to considering we're "dead", I don't think he'll mention us but we should prepare for that scenario in case."

"It's good to account for everything," Mod mused.

The redhead hummed and Robin closed her eyes at the gentle tune. "It's only a matter of time before Luffy reveals that we're alive. Before that happens, we should try and sabotage Sir Crocodile."

"It won't be easy… Crocodile has planted many agents in both the rebel and royal army. It will be difficult to capture them all," Robin informed him.

"Leave them be then. I don't really care what the moles stir up and it'll be impossible to stop everyone of them. We're just here to liberate Vivi's country, destroy Baroque Works, give my cute student a soldier or two and force a Crocodile to submit."

Robin rolled her eyes. He really was planning on forcing Crocodile to his side wasn't he? If he could actually keep the man on a leash, he'd be an incredibly useful ally, she would never deny that but it would be difficult with someone like the Warlord.

"I'll support you in anyway possible," the Devil Child replied.

Rosan squeezed her gently. "That's all I can ask for."

"Please just fucking kiss already I'm losing my mind," Ram mouthed to herself, making sure neither heard it.

"Language," Mod mouthed back, struggling terribly to hold back her laughter.

Honestly, all her children were so special.

---

Rosan grunted at being mobbed by most of his allies.

"Y-You really got all our supplies back?!" Usopp sobbed happily.

"Now we don't have to starve!" Luffy cried.

"I take back everything I said, you're the best big bro!" Nami joined.

"You can't possibly be a monster! You're like an Angel!" Chopper wept.

"If only you knew," everyone who knew of Rosan's alias thought.

The redhead sighed, ignoring Robin and Sabo's amused look and wondering why the hell Maro and Angel joined the group hug.

"I just like hugging you," Angel beamed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Ditto!" Maro grinned, shamelessly groping his muscles.

Rosan ignored them all for now, focusing on where they were currently located. "This is Yuba? I thought it was supposed to be an oasis. Why is there only sand and this old man wasting away here?"

"Why is he so rude?" they all thought in disbelief, before explaining the situation to him.

Yuba used to be an oasis but it had been wracked by constant sandstorms, leading the rebellion to relocate to Katorea. They had come here for no reason then because the only person here was this old guy digging away for water.

"Constant sandstorms for three years out of nowhere?" Rosan mused suspiciously, glancing at Robin. The Devil Child caught his eye and nodded to confirm his thoughts.

Their allies didn't miss that notion and all came to the same conclusion.

Crocodile.

Vivi grit her teeth in rage. "He… When will he stop this madness?!"

When they crushed him, obviously. Even with his Devil Fruit, no one suspected Crocodile of anything... This wasn't even to the Warlord's point anymore, the people were just incredibly stupid for not even throwing a hint of suspicion onto him.

"There's no use dwelling on it now," Rosan said calmly. "Let's all get some rest and continue our planning tomorrow."

They all chorused in agreement and prepared to get some much needed sleep.

"GROUP SLEEP!" Maro cheered, causing everyone outside of their family, and Sabo, to jump in confusion.

"WOOHOO!" Luffy jumped up and down in excitement.

"Group sleep?" Nami muttered in confusion. What were they talking about and why did Rosan suddenly exhale so tiredly?

She soon found out why.

"I call Master's left arm!" Maro grinned.

"I call his right!" Angel beamed.

Ah, so that's why. The two wives were utterly unhinged when it came to their scout.

"Can we not?" Rosan sighed in annoyance as he took his hair out of its bun to let it fall free, cloak transforming into a pair of sweatpants and a sleeveless tee that showed his tattoo. "I don't see why you guys need me to be at the bottom of our piles every single time and now you're renting parts of my body? You all are so shameless."

"Shouldn't have been the tallest," Maro sniffed, crossing her arms under her bust as she had the scout modify her outfit into some blue and white pajamas. "I'm cold and you're warm. I need your body heat!"

"Modify the bed! It's too uncomfortable and sandy and overall gross," Angel complained as Rosan transformed her outfit into some shorts and a sleeveless tee.

"This can't be real," Sanji gaped. "Please tell me this isn't real?!"

Demon, trying to be a good younger brother, decided to intervene as Rosan transformed his Yukata into a night robe. "You two are forgetting about Robin, aren't you? Don't go taking her spot now."

He should have known how greedy the two most important people in his life were, even with the fact that they were playing matchmaker.

"Robin will sleep on his chest," Angel decided bluntly, smiling in satisfaction at watching Rosan modify all the beds in the room. "Hurry up, I'm tired!"

"You don't need sleep."

"Who are you to decide that?!"

"Your creator."

"You're the only one focusing on such irrelevant details!"

Robin sweatdropped a bit at how demanding Angel was and had Rosan change her outfit into some comfy shorts and a sweater. "Don't I have any say in this?"

"Nope!" Maro chirped, jumping on the bed excitedly. "Luffy you're sleeping next to me!"

The rubber boy was way ahead of her, already leaping on the bed with visible excitement and the Dokkaebi followed suit.

"Sabo, c'mere!" Angel demanded, watching the revolutionary try and claim a bed for himself. "You thought you were getting out of this?! You're sleeping next to me!"

The blonde tried to protest. "But —"

"No buts!"

The harsh glare from the redhead silenced his complaints and he reluctantly walked over to the budding pile.

Angel was way too demanding. It was insane!

"Sorry Master, I tried," Demon apologized, laying next to Luffy with a sympathetic smile and patting the rubber boy on his head.

"That's okay. This is why you're my favorite of the three," Rosan said easily, lying on the bed and beckoning them all to get it over with and surround him.

Maro and Angel gawked despite clambering to their claimed sides and crushing him.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW, ASSHOLE!" They both shouted in anger, nestling in.

"This is too much chaos for one crew to handle," Nami muttered in awe. Poor Rosan (he deserved it) looked tired of his families antics.

"Isn't this chaos a bit too organized though?" Vivi joined, watching them quickly get situated despite the bickering going on. There was so much going on but it was incredibly seamless.

Luffy was already comfortably sleeping, draping himself across both Maro and Demon, with his head just reaching the resigned Rosan.

"Rosan's always been smart with his chaos… we all just picked up on it," Robin shrugged helplessly. The way the two wives were glaring at her made it clear that they weren't sleeping until she joined the pile so the Devil Child made her way over and took her spot atop of Rosan.

At least they normally slept with each other. She was normally to his left but this was fine too she supposed.

The redhead sighed. "I'm sorry for them. We've been doing these for years now," he muttered.

"It's fine. This is surprisingly comfortable," Robin muttered, listening to the steady heartbeat of Rosan and quickly falling tired, brushing his chin with her black hair.

"I was going to kill you two, Auntie Angel and Maro, but this is the best outcome," Ram nodded in approval, watching the proximity of Robin and Rosan in glee.

"Come to the mindscape so we can cuddle you both as well!" Mod beamed shamelessly.

Sabo thought it was pretty bad that he was way to comfortable with this for his liking but he attributed that to his lost memories. It did actually feel pretty nice despite the chaos and their collective warmth was quickly helping him fall asleep.

Rosan sighed in annoyance and dragged both him and Robin into the mindscape to give the Devil Fruit what she wanted.

"Yay!" Mod cheered as the four got ready.

"Woohoo!" Ram beamed.

"I know what I need to do now," Sanji said with a serene expression on his face. It was a far cry from how the crew expected him to act at the sight of the three beautiful women surrounding his so called "Love Rival".

"What is that…?" Usopp asked warily. He didn't like that look on the chef's face one bit.

"I'm going to kill him of course," the chef smiled. "He has too much of a head start on me so it's only fair."

They balked at his admittance, listening to how serious he sounded saying it and backed away from the unhinged chef.

Zoro smirked. "If you kill him, that means you'd kill Mod too you know? And don't even get me started on that psychopath Ram."

Sanji froze at that, jaw dropping at the realization that yes, Mod and Rosan did share a body with each other and if he died, the chef would probably never see her beautiful face again.

Not to mention, if he killed Ram's Father... how could he ever live with himself if the beauty cried because of him?

Like he had gotten shot, the blonde collapsed on his knees and held his chest.

"It's not fair! I can't even get my revenge! C-Can I even hit him?!" Sanji cried, crawling into his modified bed in misery and crying himself to sleep.

"He is such an idiot," Nami sighed, sliding into her own bed and letting out another sigh, this time of relief. The bed was incredibly comfortable. It felt far more luxurious then it looked.

Modification was so useful.

"Least he doesn't have such dumbass ideas floating through his head anymore. He'd probably regret not seeing that female form of Rosan again," Zoro snorted.

"What did you just say, shitty marimo?" Sanji snarled, waking up instantly and closing the distance between him and the swordsman.

"I said our scouts got you confused, dumbass love cook," the swordsman snarled back.

The two looked like they were rearing for a fight right now in the middle of their room.

"Seriously?" Nami groaned in exasperation. She really didn't wanna get out of bed right now to deal with these two idiots.

Luckily, she didn't have to.

"I swear to all that is fucking holy, if you two wake Maro or Luffy up, I'm going to rip your balls off and feed it to the other," Angel hissed, pushing herself up and glaring at the two dumbasses with a look that promised pain.

The two began sweating slightly and slowly made their way back to their respective beds, Angel glaring at both all the while until she huffed in satisfaction and tucked herself back into Rosan.

She sighed in bliss and fell right back asleep next to Rosan and Sabo, peaceful smile on her face contrasting the womanly fury from earlier.

Nami sighed in bliss herself and fell asleep.

It felt good to have someone else to deal with all the idiots.

---

"I quit."

Rosan couldn't say he was too surprised that Luffy said it and he was sure his family was the same way.

His captain wasn't a man of words. He was a man of action and he followed his own whims much like Rosan did.

Luffy didn't want to talk anyone down. What purpose did a pirate have trying to talk negotiations? It's not like anyone would listen to them.

He wanted to kick Crocodile's ass, plain and simple.

All of this talk about negotiations and talking people down just wasn't exciting enough. Luffy and Rosan were both people who hated being bored so the redhead wasn't even remotely surprised to see his brother lying on his back with a serious expression on his face.

Vivi thought simply talking to her childhood friend was going to solve everything but did she really think Crocodile was going to just stop? Even without Nico Robin, he seemed hellbent on continuing his plans so naturally people would die.

"You don't want anyone to die in this fight even when we're up against a Warlord and millions of people are going wild but you still think everyone will make it out safe…?"

"That's naive," Luffy said bluntly, much to the agreement of his family and some Straw Hats.

Vivi's eyes widened before narrowing at his uncharacteristically harsh statement.

Nami tried to stand up for the princess despite seeing where he was coming from.

"Shut up, Luffy! Of course Vivi cares about her people," the navigator defended.

"But he's right, Nami," Rosan interjected calmly, causing her to wilt a bit in surprise. "You shouldn't go into such a situation thinking everyone will survive… It hits much harder if you fail to save even one."

The Straw Hats and Sabo didn't miss the nods that came out of the three leaders of Celadon and were a little surprised they so readily agreed with Luffy and Rosan.

They wondered just how much they all had to go through.

Sabo wondered if he was one of the reason they were so pragmatic sometimes.

"So what?!" Vivi responded with a look of anger directed towards the two. Her face was slowly morphing into an angrier expression and the upset princess was close to erupting. "Why is it so bad that I don't want anyone to die?!"

"There's nothing wrong with not wanting anyone to die..." Rosan began neutrally.

"But people die," Luffy finished calmly.

Maro swiftly intercepted a furious Angel due to the fact that Vivi viciously slapped both Rosan and Luffy, sending the rubber boy sprawling and turning the head of the computer man.

"LEMME GO MARO! I'LL FUCKING KILL HER AND SEE HOW SHE LIKES SLAPPING A DAMN KAMI!" Angel snarled, fruitlessly trying to escape the impossible grip of her too strong wife and flailing wildly.

"I know you will that's why I'm not letting you go!" Maro sighed, effortlessly holding the angry redhead back by the waist. It was a good thing she was so strong because there was absolutely nothing weak about Angel's physical, not human, strength.

"LEMME GO AUNTIE! I'LL FUCKING RIP HER SPINE OUT AND SHOVE IT UP HER ASS!" Ram roared, flailing herself in Mod's grasp. Who did this idiot fucking human think she was, putting a hand on her Father for speaking the truth?! Oh Ram would definitely show her a different truth alright.

"That's not necessary, Ram," Mod sighed.

It was rare to see Rosan get slapped... in fact, she couldn't recall a time someone did slap him which was a good thing because everyone in their family, including herself, would attempt to rip that person to shreds.

Despite being so strong, Rosan sure did have a lot of people who were protective of him.

"Are you alright?" Robin asked, grasping his cheek and straightening his head.

"It was just a slap. I hardly felt it," Rosan muttered.

Vivi was so caught up in her anger, she didn't even look bothered by Angel's fury. No, the princess was staring daggers at the captain at the scout.

"DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT! I WON'T LET YOU SAY THINGS LIKE THAT!" The princess screamed angrily, glaring at the two.

"I DON'T WANT THERE TO BE BLOODSHED! I WANT TO SAVE THE REBELS AND I WANT TO SAVE THE ROYAL ARMY! WHY DO THEY HAVE TO DIE WHEN IT'S ALL CROCODILE'S FAULT?! WHY DO THEY HAVE TO SUFFER BECAUSE OF ONE PERSON?!"

Luffy glared at her and delivered a punch of his own, flooring the princess.

"THEN WHY ARE YOU RISKING YOUR OWN LIFE?!" He roared.

"Luffy you're going too far!" Usopp yelled, holding back a furious Sanji.

The two began brawling in earnest at that, throwing punches and slaps left and right.

"Just one look at this country and I can tell what needs to be done!" Luffy growled, accepting her punches with a deep frown on the ground.

He thought about how Yuba was being ravaged by sandstorms and how that man had been digging nonstop just to find a drop of water that he gratefully gave to the rubber boy and his glare hardened.

"YOU CAN'T DO EVERYTHING ALONE! WHY ARE YOU PUTTING YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE?"

"WHAT CHOICE DO I HAVE?! I… I don't have anything else.."

Vivi's anger tapered off and her voice entered a near whisper, as tears of defeat began forming in her eyes.

"THEN PUT OUR LIVES ON THE LINE TOO! WE'RE FRIENDS AREN'T WE?!" Luffy roared holding the princess up.

"!?" The princess sniffed at the overwhelming feeling coursing through her and tears began falling in earnest.

"We're your friends too, aren't we?" Their captain asked seriously. "The truth is, you want to kick Crocodile's ass more then anyone, don't you?"

Vivi did. Deep down, she wanted nothing more then to get her hands on Crocodile and make him pay for years of suffering. For years of trickery and Luffy knew that.

All it took was for someone to point it out to bring it to the forefront and it was too much for her to handle.

She began crying. To hear the truth was as liberating as it was heartbreaking, so she cried and cried. The princess curled into herself and sobbed freely.

They all watched with sullen gazes and Angel's anger tapered off, replaced by sympathy at watching the, too young, girl shoulder so much responsibility.

Sabo's gaze hardened and he clenched his fist. This is why he was a revolutionary. To stop people from feeling this helpless in a hopeless situation. No one should ever have to feel this crushed due to the whims of another person.

It wasn't right.

Robin couldn't prevent the stab of guilt at causing Vivi to end up like this. After all, Crocodile used the Devil Child for everything involving Baroque Works. She was his mouthpiece, the one who showed their face, the one giving out all the orders.

It wouldn't be so wrong to say that she was as much as the leader of this organization as the Warlord was. It didn't matter if she wasn't given much of a choice, she had still done it.

Rosan gazed at her from the corner of his eye and frowned.

Robin had enough to deal with, he wouldn't let this affect her either.

"It must have been hard, feeling so helpless for all these years," Rosan spoke up softly, grabbing their attention. "No one should ever feel like that which is why you should put a little faith in us... A wise person once told me that if you can't trust even one person in your life, you can't call that living and they were right. Can you really claim to be living if the only person you trust is yourself?"

No one missed how hard Robin, Demon and Angel flinched.

Bending down on one knee in front of the princess, Rosan gently pat her head in a soothing manner.

"I'm not a person worthy of trust but I can tell you that Luffy absolutely is so you should trust him, Vivi," he assured, refreshing the tears in her eyes at the absolute faith everyone had in the rubber boy.

The princess could say nothing so she only nodded tightly.

Everyone stared at the calm redhead in awe, especially the ones who weren't aware he was capable of being… encouraging.

It was… nice. They never expected their apathetic scout to have a heart but it was endearing.

Robin felt her guilt wilt away at his speech, feeling uplifted and being reminded that she wasn't alone anymore and that there was someone alive worth trusting staring right at her with reassuring and beautiful eyes.

Ah, Rosan always knew the right thing to say. She wouldn't be surprised if he did this speech because of her and that made her incredibly pleased.

Luffy looked at the crying Vivi and clutched his straw hat. "Tell us where this Crocodile is, Vivi."

---

"I still can't believe Mr. 0 is Sir Crocodile," Miss Doublefinger remarked.

"It changes nothing. He's been the one giving us missions all this time through Miss All Sunday so learning his identity shouldn't affect things," Mr. 1 grunted.

"Speaking of which… Where is Miss All Sunday?" Miss Merry Christmas asked. The mouthpiece of Mr. 0 had been missing for quite a long time now but they were never sure who to ask of her whereabouts.

Crocodile bit his cigar in annoyance. "Miss All Sunday, along with Mr. 3 and the Unluckies betrayed me for whatever reason and I am unaware of their location… Mr. 2, what is with that look of confusion?"

The okama scratched his head. "That's right I never did report my findings because I didn't see the Unluckies again. Mr. 3 is dead."

"What? You killed him?" Crocodile asked, stamping his annoyance down at just being told. Not only was Mr. 2 the most pivotal part to his plans (as of now with Nico Robin missing), he had no one to report that too so it wasn't the agent's fault.

"Nope, he was already dead when I found him on Little Garden," Bon Clay shrugged.

This didn't make any sense at all to Crocodile. "… So where is Nico Robin? Is she dead as well? What killed them? What about all the other agents?"

According to the Unluckies, only Mr. 3 had survived but they betrayed him so everything could have been a lie… but that didn't make sense... What reason did they have to lie to him?

Was passive, broken, Miss All Sunday suddenly going rogue?

That was not in line with her character.

"Mr. 3 was the only body I found. There was no one else on Little Garden," Mr. 2 informed him.

The agents grew more and more confused at the agitated expression on Crocodile's face.

The Warlord was deep in thought at the new information and it was giving him a clearer and clearer picture that was making him more and more furious because it was partially his fault.

He just needed one more confirmation.

"Mr. 2," he began gravely, making the okama go white in fear. "Did you intercept any groups on the way back to Alabasta?"

Bon Clay cupped his chin at the abrupt question before nodding. "I did! I ran into a crew who saved my life! Hold on, I even got pictures of them."

Crocodile's gaze darkened into something thunderous, watching Bon Clay transform into the Straw Hat Crew and Princess Vivi with some extras, including a long nose and some raccoon animal.

The Warlord was beginning to understand more and more why things weren't making sense.

Mr. 3 didn't betray him. Mr. 3 didn't even win the battle. Every Straw Hat was alive and they appeared to have far more members then accounted for.

In fact, he probably hadn't even been talking to Mr. 3 over the phone… which meant the Unluckies betrayed him even before Little Garden.

He hazarded a guess that whoever caused the Unluckies to betray him, managed to convince Nico Robin going against a Warlord was a good idea.

Just who was in that crew that managed to do so…? None of who he had seen so far looked like they were capable of doing such a thing and Mr. 2 insisted that none of the ones he saw seemed like they would do something like that.

Someone had been manipulating him through the Unluckies. Someone with enough knowledge to know who CP9 was and to use that against him.

He withheld the urge to turn this entire room into sand and took a deep breath.

The question was who of the Straw Hats was this cunning? To recruit his agents and trick him so thoroughly, demanded respect from even him.

That's when he noticed something.

"Mr. 2, there wasn't anyone else on that ship?" Crocodile asked.

"I'm not sure. I only stayed on the deck and we did make quite a ruckus but no one else showed up," the agent replied.

No one else showed up…

Crocodile took out all the photos the Unluckies had given him back when he first learned of the Straw Hats.

Straw Hat Luffy and Roronoa Zoro were the only ones he recognized at a glance. The first for his bounty and the second due to trying to recruit him and failing.

He ignored the picture of the orange haired girl and instead focused on the only one who had not been accounted for by Mr. 2 or himself.

An empty gaze, captured even by the picture stared up at Crocodile and he realized that this person looked more then capable of doing everything his crew wouldn't do.

After all, the Unluckies pinned the death on Miss Goldenweek, Valentine and Mr. 5 on him right here before his alleged "death".

But according to Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, they had been effortlessly dealt with by the redhead who's hair color was not captured by the picture.

That's why he had believed the Unluckies when they said he killed all but Mr. 3. But the man accounted for that and even included CP9, which the Unluckies should not even know about.

That should have been his first tip but he had been so gone in his anger he didn't even notice.

How sloppy of him. Because of that, the Unluckies managed to get away from him but the expressionless man must have known it was going to work.

But what did he have that would persuade Nico Robin? That is what left Crocodile truly stumped.

Was it a case of threatening her? Did he catch her off guard?

What had become of her then?

This supposed redhead knew the answer and Crocodile was going to find out one way or another just what happened to her.

After all, Nico Robin was essential to his plans.

"You all, there's another mission added on top of your others," Crocodile intoned, catching all their attention. Placing the photos of all of them in front of his agents he pointed at each one except for two.

"Stop the Straw Hats and Princess Vivi from meeting with the Rebel Army at all costs."

They nodded, noting that he left two pictures to himself.

"And what about those two?" Miss Merry Christmas asked.

The Warlord glared darkly at the photos of Luffy and Rosan, consuming them in sand and reducing it to dust.

"Avoid these two at all costs. I'll deal with them personally."

---

"That was a nice speech, Rosan," Nami smiled.

The big group was currently on their way to Rainbase to confront Crocodile and they were back in their cycle of complaining about the desert heat.

The redhead, who was finally allowed to walk without baggage, glanced over at his navigator.

"I only try and speak the truth," Rosan replied softly.

"Thank you for speaking your truth, Rosan and Luffy," Vivi smiled gratefully. "I'm sure that wise person you mentioned is proud of you!"

Rosan actually paused at that, causing them all to stop in confusion as his expression turned uncharacteristically wistful.

"...If she is proud of me… that's all I can ask for. Thank you, Vivi," he eventually said, beginning to walk again.

"She?"

Who was "she"? Why did Rosan sound so… sad? Maybe it was a trick of the brain because he generally sounded the same but… they felt their hearts pang regardless.

"She…?" Sabo asked quietly, concern set on his features. Seemed like he was the only one unaware of her identity, who was willing to ask.

The redhead stopped again and regarded his younger brother. "Right, you don't remember."

The revolutionary was really beginning to find that losing his memories carried far more problems then he initially thought.

"…"She" is Meiko," Rosan said aloud, making all of them reel in surprise.

He was… He was sharing information?!

So willingly?!

Wait a second... Meiko… they knew that name!

"If you were anyone else… except for Meiko, I'd have buried your head underground by now."

That was what Rosan had said to Robin when she demanded he transform into a female for them.

"Meiko was my other half… my better half," the redhead said quietly. "Gentle and kind… She was everything that I was not. My complete opposite but it made us all the more compatible."

"Y-Your better half…? You mean…?" Nami whispered, dread welling up inside of her.

"Yes. Meiko was my lover," he nodded.

"She was amazing. I've never met a more gentle and beautiful soul," Demon said softly, shutting his eyes.

"Mei was truly one of a kind... patient, smart, humble... she was too sweet for a world like this," Angel admitted bitterly.

Was.

Every single one of them used that word when describing the girl who they wished to meet.

Watching the distraught look on the twin's face, along with the crushing sadness on Robin's own told them everything they needed to know.

"She died when I was 12 but I still hold her words very close to me," Rosan confirmed.

The redhead tapped his earrings and displayed his ring. "These are her earrings and this is her ring... I wear them to honor her in any way I know how... Ram even looks like her."

"If you ever see me without my accessories, it's not me. I will never take them off."

So that was why he always had them on... they had jokingly said he even showered with them but now they felt guilty for making light of something so depressing.

"Is that... is that why Ram calls you Father?" Nami asked quietly, heart breaking in sympathy.

Rosan closed his eyes and nodded. "Ram's official name R.A.M, stands for Rosan and Meiko. It's what I had engraved on the ring when I promised her that we'd get married."

"H-He wanted to get married with her?!" Everyone thought in horror. T-They really did love each other didn't they...

He showed them all the intricate engraving on the beautiful ring with so much history behind it and they couldn't stop the pain from hearing that Rosan of all people, was so in love that he was willing to get married and settle down with someone.

It was so sad... they couldn't even begin to imagine the pain the robotic (it made so much sense) redhead must have been in.

Rosan pulled Robin close to him to reassure her.

Her memories of Meiko were the freshest so he wasn't fond of bringing it up around her.

She smiled thankfully and tucked herself deeper in his frame, trying to calm herself to the best of her abilities.

"S-She… She died when you were 12?" Vivi asked in shocked horror, staring at his expressionless feature with a teary gaze.

A lightbulb went off at the same time with Nami and Zoro.

They recalled the conversation they had with the redhead back on Syrup Village. When they saw the unhinged redhead in all his glory and the aftermath of that... When he told them why he acted so differently when hypnotized.

"My emotions are locked away and they are rather difficult to get back."

"I lost my emotions about 12 years ago when I was still a child and I've clearly grown since then."

Rosan was 24… 12 years ago would make him 12... the same age when Meiko died.

Everything made sense.

His lack of emotions, how little he cared for other people, how he didn't even seem human at times! Her death had to have been what sparked his loss of emotions...

It all made sense and for Nami especially, who knew more about his past then the other members.

She was beginning to realize that Rosan's life was looking more and more hellish the more they learned. The redhead went through so much...

The more they learned, the more they realized that it was no wonder he had no emotions.

Sabo felt awful for remembering nothing about his family's life. Rosan had trusted him enough to tell him this once already and he forgot about it like he forgot everything else.

"Sorry…" the revolutionary said quietly. For everything.

"Don't apologize for something that isn't your fault," Rosan chided. "Amnesia is not something you can control and I already told you once. I don't mind telling you again."

Sabo nodded tightly, still not happy with the situation.

The redhead let his blonde brother stew with his thoughts, only to grunt at the amount of people suddenly tackling him.

"I-I'm sorry for slapping you! I had no idea what you went through!" Vivi sobbed. She felt terrible! No wonder he was trying to advise her to stop being so naive, he experienced it himself!

"It must have been so hard… at only 12?! I'm sorry, Rosan," Nami soothed with a sad frown.

Sailing the seas at 4, being kidnapped and turned into a slave and then losing your lover… that was just so terrible and Nami didn't know if she could handle so much trauma.

Chopper said nothing, just clutching the redhead with teary eyes.

Sanji remained silent as he bit his cigarette harshly.

The chef realized now why Rosan was hardly every interested in women throwing themselves at him. To lose the love of your life at such a young age... it was probably difficult to express any interest in another person after that.

He must have seriously loved her to still value her words after this long…

"That's why your emotions are locked away, right?" Zoro asked their scout. He wanted to confirm it.

"That's right," Rosan replied calmly. "I'm an emotional person who does a terrible job handling loss. For my, Angel and Demon's safety, Modification saw it fit to lock them away and neither Mod or I can manually unlock it."

He now knew why they couldn't. It was not only the castle's will, but the virus was likely resisting as well.

The twins wilted at that, refusing to make eye contact with anyone there.

Maro saw this and quickly moved over to the duo, soothing the two with reassuring words and tender hugs in which they sunk into.

Mod, despite her crushing sadness, was so glad that he was revealing this information with his crew. Rosan set up near impenetrable barriers (that grew a lot more cracks as he spent time with his family) with everyone he met simply because he didn't want to forge bonds anymore.

The redhead didn't seen the point in doing so. He couldn't see the good in people due to what Doc had done to him and lost all his trust in the world.

To him, any person with an ounce of kindness, was just someone who wanted to use him.

Forming bonds as he was now was just a waste and she wanted nothing more for that to not be the case.

But maybe just maybe… he was slowly forging bonds with the Straw Hats that weren't Robin and Luffy?

No, he definitely was.

Rosan and Nami had formed a sibling like bond that only the two shared and Mod was shocked to see that he actually liked her. The two clearly enjoyed arguing (but refused to admit it) with each other and found almost any opportunity to do so!

He chose to put his trust in Zoro incredibly early and the swordsman had not let him down yet!

Outside of Luffy and Robin, Zoro was the Straw Hat member that Rosan trusted the most and they even frequently trained with each other due to her son being intrigued by his ambition

Usopp should have been everything the redhead hated in a person but their relationship had evolved far past what she ever expected it to. The redhead had given the sniper advice that he seemed to take to heart and it was a far cry from the neutral disdain he had for him before.

Sanji was the only one in the crew who knew Rosan was Reaper! Though he pretended to dislike his self proclaimed "Love Rival" there was few people alive who the blonde respected more and it was obvious.

After all, Rosan had been the one to save him, encouraged him to follow his dream and inspired him in more ways then one! One of the chef's goals, was to create the best meal for the redhead and it was a goal he tackled every single day!

Chopper might have been new but it was partly with Rosan's assistance that the reindeer was convinced to join the crew!

It was clear the little animal felt most comfortable around Robin and Rosan and the scout was even going out of his way to have him break out of his shell by forcing him in uncomfortable situations.

It wasn't glaringly obvious and maybe it wasn't as much as she thought, but Mod was sure that Rosan was beginning to value his crewmates whether he wanted to or not. They were incredible and deserved it.

At the very least, he valued them enough to reveal more of his past... something he would have never done. He also would have never told them about his Devil Fruit, or revealed who she was but he did and that told her everything she needed to know.

Little by little, her boy would realize that people cared for him and that he could rely on others.

"So this isn't the real you…" Chopper said sadly, hugging the top of Rosan's head as he lay there. "Is there any way we can help you?"

They all looked at him with their undivided attention.

Anyway to help him? Weren't they just adorable.

"To be honest, I'm not sure... It seems that I have to come to some realizations about myself," Rosan admitted, glancing at his unblemished skin that didn't tell the story of what he went through at all.

"It seems there are layers to my emotions being locked and there seems to be different things needed to unlock them. Meeting and talking to Robin helped me unlock one of those chains..."

He smiled softly and squeezed the Devil Child, who happily returned the hug with a pleased smile of her own. The two just basked in the other's presence for a moment.

If just meeting Nico Robin was enough to partially help, it was clear the two were even closer then the crew initially thought.

"If you noticed, my eyes are glowing slightly since reuniting with her. Zoro, Nami and Usopp... do you remember how brightly my eyes were glowing back at Syrup Village?"

The trio nodded at that, remembering vividly how his dual eyes glowed as bright as the sun.

"I thought that was because of Modification..." Zoro pondered, brows furrowed.

The redhead shook his head and activated his Devil Fruit, eyes pulsing crimson red. "This is how I look when I activate Modification. Both my eyes glow red and if I put in even more power, my sclera glow red as well... with my emotions, my eyes shine more. It used to glow purple, but now it glows red for my left and purple for my right," he explained.

"So your glowing eyes, tie into your emotion," Nami observed.

"Queen Raisa also had glowing purple eyes… It was much brighter then yours but now I understand," Vivi mused.

"Raisa's eyes glow bright as well?" Rosan asked.

Did he actually inherit everything from her? What did he inherit from his father besides his spiky hair? Raisa had powerful genes.

"...How nice. Yes, my eyes glow depending on my emotional state. When I'm happy or excited, they glow brightest. When I'm sad they get dimmer... After Meiko died, they stopped glowing completely but the day they fully glow, is the day I've been "saved". As for how that happens…? I'm not sure." He shrugged.

Once his eyes fully glowed… he'd be saved?

"Right!" They chorused.

They would all make sure that day comes. Rosan had done a lot for them and they finally saw a way to repay him.

They would not let him down.

Maro, Angel and Demon looked at them all with pride in their eyes and wide smiles, touched by the conviction in their eyes.

They liked this crew. Master and Luffy did a good job recruiting them.

"Aren't you all just adorable?" Rosan mused, closing his eyes. "Thank you, all of you. I mean that and I can be a difficult person, so please put up with me."

"We already put up with you! You're kind of insufferable," Nami said cheekily.

"Ironic coming from you," Rosan replied calmly. "All you do is milk me of my money. You're a leech."

"S-SHUT UP!" She roared.

Robin gazed at the crew who wanted to save her favorite person and thought that… maybe she could try and trust them a little too.

Mod grinned brightly. Her two original children were finally opening up more and more and she couldn't be happier!

"I have this feeling that I already said I was going to help you," Sabo spoke up, grinning wryly. "It would explain why I feel so determined every time I look into your eyes. But just in case, I'll try and help you unlock your emotions too, Rosan!"

"Just you being alive is a step in the right direction, Sabo," the redhead assured. "And you did say that already, at the same time as Ace and Luffy 10 years ago."

Luffy beamed and Sabo rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I'll help when I can but I still have my duties to attend to," Sabo explained with an apologetic smile.

Rosan waved him off. "Of course. Just do what you can."

They all nodded before the redhead snapped a finger.

"Let's stay focused. This isn't about me. This is about saving this kingdom so let's do that."

Everyone nodded at once.

"Actually… Master could you bring us back to Celadon? We shouldn't get in your way anymore and you can always just stream the action to us!" Maro requested seriously.

He had managed to massively increase the range of his streams so they could watch it all the way over at Celadon! It was awesome! She should abuse that more often... it would allow her to see some of their adventures.

Rosan blinked. "My little spoiled student is being mature for once? I'll stream it for you but I'm genuinely surprised."

"Don't make me fucking take it back," Maro snarled. "We'll be coming right back after this is done so hurry up and finish it! Since I'm not allowed to fight, we'd just be getting in the way and I won't cost you guys anything!"

"In that case… I'll go with them too," Sabo said much to their surprise. "My mission is to make sure Alabasta is saved but I can trust you guys to complete it so this gives Demon a chance to run his checkup on me."

"Sounds good to me," Demon smiled, pleased to be spending more time with the blonde.

"Yeah! We have Sabo to ourselves!" Angel beamed, grabbing the blonde and hugging him ecstatically.

"You've never actually been to Celadon! You can see just how awesome we are and how much effort we put into it," Maro gushed, before turning towards the crew. "That applies to you guys too! You're always welcome on my island!"

They smiled at the outgoing Queen. Over the short span they knew her, they already found themselves liking all of Luffy and Rosan's family.

"OH! THAT REMINDS ME!" The Queen suddenly exclaimed.

Turning towards Vivi, the Dokkaebi quickly closed the distance and grasped her small hands.

Vivi balked at the Queen's distance and Maro shot her an easygoing grin.

"I know Alabasta must be going through some hard times right now and I totally get that so when all is said and done, Celadon will find a way to help you guys to the best of our ability," she promised before her expression turned a little sheepish.

"It'll be a bit hard considering I'm in the North Blue and you're in the Grand Line but I'm pretty good at accelerating the growth of crops! Celadon is the #1 fastest crop growing island in the world and that's because of me! Also, before Master leaves, I can give you a few resources, we can set up a couple of green houses, maybe make a few buildings in some areas and —," .

"Why?" Vivi interrupted in a tiny whisper.

Maro paused in confusion. "Why?"

"Why are you doing this? What do you gain?!" Vivi couldn't help but ask, backing away from the Queen slightly with quite a bit of panic on her face.

"Do you want to exploit Alabasta to increase your prestige even further? What reason could the leader of Celadon, the most popular island in the North Blue, have to want to give things to my dying country?!"

The rush of emotions she was currently going through were clouding her judgment at the moment and so she lashed out at the too generous (in her eyes) offer from the Queen.

"Ah!" Maro's face turned into one of understanding. "I don't want anything out of this, honest! I just find myself relating a bit..."

The Queen's expression turned a bit serious at that. "It's not easy getting a beaten down country back on its feet. I was only 13 when Master and I killed the previous king of Celadon and I took over."

They did what?!

Everyone who was unaware, had looks of shock on their at the reveal that Maro killed the previous king of the island.

Glancing between Maro and Rosan, they had to wonder just how crazy these two were to kill and usurp a king. Were they completely nuts?!

Vivi especially had slack jaws at the reveal, going pale in disbelief.

"That king was a terrible person and he drove that island into the ground for no good reason but to satisfy his own greed," Maro frowned heavily. That damn former king had completely ruined Celadon. He had burned so many bridges and was only allied with other terrible nations that had not been happy when she had taken over.

The amount of assassination attempts sent her way... it had been a short affair considering her and Master had quickly gone to the other islands to get rid of the aggressors permanently, but it had still been exhausting.

"It took a lot of work to turn Celadon into the island I know and love today but I never would have been able to do it alone! I had Master, Angel, Demon, Aiko and Akemi helping me all the time and without them, it never would have worked out."

The queen stared softly at Vivi. "You're only 16 years old and your trying to do all of this alone. As someone who's also felt responsible for her country at such a young age, I don't really wanna see someone else who doesn't have a cheat code like Master, struggle! You deserve a little help, Vivi and I want to be the one to help you in anyway I know how," She finished smiling gently at the young princess and dragging the rattled girl back to her.

"I'm here for you, don't worry. I promise we'll make it look like your country never even ended up like this," she murmured gently, running a hand through the girl's bright blue hair.

Vivi didn't know why everyone wanted to see her cry so badly. It was unbefitting of her to show her tears so freely but she just couldn't help it!

"T-Thank you," she sobbed, crashing into Maro and hugging her for dear life. "Thank you so much!"

Maro smiled a motherly smile and returned it gently. "Of course, us bluenettes are rare y'know? Gotta stick together even if yours is a worse shade then mine," she teased.

"Is not," Vivi grumbled with a glare, wiping her tears as she gazed up at the amazing Queen.

It was no wonder Celadon was such a prestigious island. It didn't matter how much help Maro had, a kingdom could be good, but it would never be great without a great ruler and Maro was everything an island wanted.

"I find it hard to believe Maro is your student. She's sweet, down to earth and just an amazing person," Nami teased.

They all watched the exchange with fond eyes and looked at the eccentric Queen with a newfound respect.

"Despite the conditions I found her in… Maro still manages to impress me by being such an incredible person. It's why she is universally beloved in Celadon," Rosan replied softly.

Angel was looking at Maro with pure bliss in her eyes. It never ceased to amaze her that she fell in love with and married such an awesome person and decided the blacksmith decided that her wife deserved some days of leeway along with some heavy spoiling.

"Alright, let's not delay any longer! See you guys after this is all over," Maro waved happily, blushing rosily as Angel planted a chaste kiss on her cheek.

"I'm glad to have met you guys. You're all incredible people," Demon bowed.

"If you ever need anything, feel free to ask me… I might not do it though," Angel beamed, dragging a complacent Sabo.

"Make sure you save this country!" The revolutionary grinned.

"Right!" They all said before Rosan grabbed the group and they vanished.

---

"Robin and I will split up from you all."

They looked at Rosan in confusion but he vanished a lot so they weren't too surprised.

They were surprised that he was informing them though.

"Crocodile still wants Robin and I don't really want that to happen so while you guys directly attack, we'll lay low and support in the background," Rosan explain softly.

"Ah! Okay!" Vivi nodded. With those two working in the background, that would be great!

"That reminds me… Rosan do you have that thing me you and Usopp talked about?" Nami asked suddenly.

The redhead nodded, recalling the memory well.

---

Flashback

"Rosan, could you do me a favor?" Nami asked the redhead weapons expert.

He glanced up from his conversation with Robin and hummed. "It depends. What do you need? Money? Did you manage to waste the allowance I already gave you, irresponsible little child?"

"I'M NOT A CHILD AND I DIDN'T WASTE IT!" Nami roared, resisting the urge to throttle him.

Robin giggled at their interaction, content to watch them with amused eyes.

The navigator took a deep breath and calmed herself. "I want a new specialized staff. Can you make me one?" She asked abruptly.

The scout blinked at that. "You want me to create you a specialized staff? I could but I'm not really good at stuff like that. I'm much better at modifying things that already exist, Ram being the exception of course but she's… unique."

"AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!" Ram cheered.

Nami frowned at that. That made sense… Rosan didn't normally create, he altered things.

"So if I give you a specialized staff, you can make it even more specialized?" She asked curiously. She already had a staff but it wasn't good enough and while Rosan could make it strong, he wouldn't be able to apply what she wanted to it very easily.

"The better it is, the better I can make it and the faster I can do it," Rosan confirmed. "Ram is so impressive because I modified the best materials to create her. If you can start it, I can finish it."

"I have a solution!" A voice called.

Nami, Robin and Rosan paused at that and turned towards a triumphant Usopp.

"How about I create your specialized staff for you!" The liar pointed to himself cockily. "Captain Usopp assures that it'll be the best staff ever!"

Nami didn't really know what to think about that…

On one hand, Usopp was quite crafty but on the other… he was a bit of a coward so maybe her weapon wouldn't be too effective?

"This works out fine," Rosan spoke up, much to their surprise. "Make the staff and give it to me afterwards. Then I'll refine and make it as close to your image as possible."

"You'll be refining the most impressive staff ever!" the liar grinned confidently.

"I look forward to it," the scout nodded, returning back to his conversation with Robin.

Nami thought about it more and decided that this was perfect. Rosan and Usopp were two extremes on different ends of their respective spectrum.

Rosan's cold killer disposition would balance out well with Usopp's goofiness, giving her a weapon that didn't err too much to one side.

She didn't think she could handle a weapon made solely from Rosan. The redhead would give her nightmares.

"Thanks, you two!" She beamed.

"Of course!" Usopp grinned.

"Thank me when you actually get and like it," Rosan said simply.

---

Flashback end.

Nami grabbed the 3 pieces thrown at her with a contemplative expression.

"Behold, the clima-tact!" Usopp grinned. "What do you think Rosan, super impressive, right?"

The redhead nodded. "Honestly, it's quite creative… as a party tool," he replied calmly. "Usopp, I think you misunderstood what Nami wanted."

Usopp began sweating a bit. "Uh, she didn't want an entertainment tool, for parties?"

The liar squealed at the punch to his nose sending him flying.

"WHY DO YOU THINK I'D ASK ROSAN OF ALL PEOPLE TO MAKE ME A PARTY TOOL?!" Nami roared in fury, grateful that the redhead asked to see it.

He was such a moron!

"You shouldn't be too upset with him. Despite it's usages, the clima-tact, with a bit of work, could be a formidable weapon. I quite liked the idea behind what he crafted and when the idea is perfectly executed, you will have formidable firepower," the redhead defended their liar.

"With a bit of work, I'm sure he can turn it into a formidable weapon but until then, I added a few extra functions that turn it into a weapon," Rosan finished.

He liked Usopp's vision of the weapon so he didn't change anything about it. In fact, he expanded on the idea and added some things that she could use to actually fight.

It actually worked out perfectly with one of his goals in the future, so Rosan would be keeping a vested interest in Nami's new weapon.

Despite his mistake, Usopp couldn't help but preen at the compliment from Rosan. "Now that I know what you actually want, I'll work up upgrading my half as soon as possible!" He promised.

Nami sighed. If it were being praised by Rosan, it had to have been decent.

"Wait, which is yours and which is Usopp's?" She asked, sensing a headache already.

"Usopp can explain his half. As for me? I think it's more fun if you find out what I added yourself. I'm sure you'll be able to tell what's mine," Rosan replied calmly, getting a giggle out of Robin and a snarl of fury out of Nami.

"I hate you," she said flatly, strapping the three pieces to her waist.

"You'd be #1210 to say that."

Robin couldn't help the tiny snort at that. "I can't believe you're actually keeping track. There is something wrong with you. Also, wouldn't it be 1211, since Ace said it to you before leaving?"

"I'm a computer man and it's fun and easy to keep track of small little statistics like that... And I don't count it every time someone says it, that would be too easy. It's each individual person and Ace said he hates me long ago," he explained.

They sweatdropped.

"Here's another one... Mod-chan, how many people have flirted with me in my lifetime?"

Everyone watched as Rosan's eyes turned blood red.

"I will kill you. I'm serious. I will seriously kill you."

Then they turned back to normal.

"See? She only says that because she knows the exact number."

"There's something wrong with you," every Straw Hat said.

"?" Rosan tilted his head. "Should I add "There's something wrong with you" to my statistics as well? It will take me a bit to update since I've heard that quite often but I'll be sure to tell you when I'm done."

They groaned.

---

"I'm glad I suggested splitting up," Rosan muttered, honestly in awe at how wild their luck was.

Luffy simultaneously had the best and worst luck on the planet.

Almost immediately after entering Rainbase, their captain and Usopp quickly found themselves encountering Captain Smoker and Hina while securing water and now all his dear crewmates were getting chased down by the Marines.

"If they thought we were dead before, they definitely don't think so now," Robin muttered in her disguise. Her white hair flowed to her shoulder and her shades did a wonderful job hiding her exasperated blue gaze.

"This is why I tend to vanish before they start their business," Rosan shrugged, adjusting his strawberry blonde hair and slightly widening his honey brown eyes and forming a small smile so that he didn't look as lifeless as the picture they took of him depicted.

"That's incredibly ironic, considering I had to deal with this exact same thing when it came to you," Robin retorted, glancing unimpressed at the man who chose to disguise as his deceased mother.

He was honestly very good at pretending he had all his emotions. Years of practice turned him into an expert it seemed.

Though, she did prefer him with his red hair and heterochromatic eyes. He was handsome regardless of his disguises but she was fond of the colors that made him unique.

"I was training you to be more flexible in your thinking, that's all. Look at you now, no change in plans phase you anymore," Rosan praised, patting her on the head.

"Only you can make my blood pressure rise," she retorted. "Will we be interfering right now?"

"...No," Rosan replied eventually. "We observe for now and interfere when the opportunity arises."

She nodded. "What will we do in the meantime?"

The redhead hummed. "Well we're near a casino. I should show you how "lucky" I am."

Robin sighed. He was such an ass sometimes. Gambling in the casino that Crocodile was casually staying in?

"You know Rosan, you actually are rather lucky outside of life situations. You don't have to use my Devil Fruit and I'm sure you'd still win."

That was true. His luck wasn't always terrible... in fact, it erred more so on the good side as long as his mental health was not involved...

"Don't feel like it. Let's drain them for all their money until they try to get me kicked out. It's actually happened before, then I snuck back in and robbed them dry… Meiko was not pleased with me for multiple reasons."

"You were gambling at 11 years old, you robbed them for all they had and you cheated... of course she wasn't pleased."

"Irrelevant details. She certainly enjoyed the gift I got her right after with the money I stole."

"WE'RE RICH!"

Robin giggled at the two. "Never change, Rosan. Never change."

"You say there's something wrong with me but tell me to never change? I guess there's something wrong with all of us," Rosan snorted.

"Of course there's something wrong with me! I'm your daughter!"

"Anything that is wrong with me is because of you."

"Ditto," Robin replied.

"All I hear are excuses. Learn to take some accountability," Rosan shrugged.

They groaned.

---

Staring at the pirate crew (and Marines) trapped in the cage, it was very easy for Crocodile to come to the conclusion that it was absolutely the redhead who had been actively sabotaging him.

Inside of the cage were, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Smoker and Hina.

The Warlord stared at the pirates joking around, while the Marines conversed with each other and immediately dismissed them as a threat.

This was who he was somewhat worried about? Pathetic.

It seemed like his only problem would be the redhead.

"Straw Hat, where is your redheaded crewmate?" Crocodile asked. "I have some business with him and if you answer, I'll give you all a chance to survive."

"Don't tell him anything, Luffy!" Nami barked, shoving both hands over her captain's mouth.

Crocodile withheld a snort. "I don't think you understand your position. I could kill you all at any given moment but only my interest in your mysterious crew member, is keeping you alive."

Smoker and Hina's brows furrowed at that. Were they talking about the redhead who had saved Straw Hat? What interest did Crocodile have in him when the captain was right here?

"YOU DON'T GOTTA WORRY ABOUT ROSAN! I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!" Luffy roared.

"I SAID DON'T TELL HIM ANYTHING!" Nami shouted, punching her captain on the head.

"Idiots," Zoro sighed, getting in a comfortable position to get some sleep.

Rosan eh? Well that was something.

He wouldn't kill these people just yet. He needed this Rosan to show up but in the meantime, Princess Vivi should be getting captured right about —

"Oh? You must be Sir Crocodile," a deep voice called out from atop the flight of stairs. "Aren't you a bit too fascinated by someone you don't even know? I'm flattered."

Rosan stared down at the Warlord who he had been thwarting with a neutral expression on his face.

"I'm sure you were expecting Vivi but I thwarted that part of your plan too…"

Crocodile stared up darkly at the enigma, sand seeping off of his body at the one who was interfering with his business.

"...So just why are you so interested in me, Crocodile?"

---

Rosan showed himself for a reason and it wasn't to fight Crocodile.

It wasn't time to fight him.

He showed himself to piss the Warlord off of course.

Oh and to save his crew. He couldn't forget that part.

Robin, along with Sanji and Chopper, were currently assisting Vivi on his orders because she was getting overwhelmed by the agents sent her way so he decided to come save his crew.

It was such a shame. He had been racking up quite the money from the slots and the employees were minutes away from kicking him out.

Luckily for them, he called it quits (of course he got his money) and seemingly left the establishment.

Well, his strawberry blonde persona did. Shifting back to his red hair and neutral expression made him look like a completely different person and no one, apart from some flirty women, paid him any mind.

Crocodile was planning on forcing him to show himself from the start by using his captured crew. Rosan accounted for that and prepared accordingly.

What was interesting, was the focus Crocodile seemed to have on him specifically.

How did the Warlord know to zero in on him? It's not like he was the only Straw Hat not inside the cage. Chopper and Sanji were both free but the man was looking for him...

Was it a hunch? Was it a logical deduction?

He must have clearly known he was being sabotaged by someone so perhaps he just assumed it was the stony demeanored Rosan.

It's not like his crew gave off the impression that they'd do something so underhanded.

Ah, well. It's not like he truly cared at the moment.

"You're the one who's been sabotaging me, right?" Crocodile snarled. "Tell me, where is Nico Robin?"

Smoker and Hina's eyes widened in shock at that question.

The redhead simply hummed in disinterest.

"As much as I'd love to answer your questions, I don't really feel like answering your questions." Rosan stated softly, eyes beginning to glow brightly as he idly touched the wall next to him.

Crocodile's snarl of annoyance was very short lived because without any warning at all, the entire room began to shift and change, wiping his anger off in favor of shock.

The sandman watched as the floor surged and moved, surrounding him in the process completely and obscuring his vision.

Did he think this was going to stop him?! Did that redhead understand who he was dealing with?!

The modified floor stood no chance against the sand bursting out of Crocodile and crumbled into pieces, revealing a scowling warlord.

He'd show him for treating him so light —

There was no one else in the room but him.

No redhead, no caged enemies, no one.

Just him, the steadily increasing flow of water that had been activated and the sight of the Banawani crawling out of the hold and eyeing him hungrily.

Crocodile felt a litter of veins forming on his head as his rage mounted to unprecedented levels.

Not only did they manage to fucking escape him and get him drenched in water, he heard one last thing before the redhead seemingly vanished.

"Nico Robin is mine you silly little reptile."

The Warlord began slowly transforming into sand and eyed the Banana Crocs with white hot rage.

---

Rosan had a sword out and measured it evenly towards the two unwanted presences there.

His expression was unnaturally cold and it was clear that he was seconds away from attacking them. Some of his crew glanced nervously at him but he ignored them for now.

"Who said you could touch me, Marines?" He asked quietly.

After surrounding Crocodile with the environment, Rosan activated Luffy's save point, teleported inside of the cage, grabbed them all and then activated Robin's save point to quickly vanish from the casino.

Unfortunately, the two Marines in that cage jumped at that chance to escape and actually touched him.

A Marine? Actually touching him?

They were dead.

"Hina understands that we tried to capture you earlier but as of right now, we have a bigger problem. If we didn't grab onto you, we would have died," Hina said in a placating manner.

It was clear the two groups had a mutual enemy in Crocodile. Was he seriously making a big deal about this right now?

"Then you should have died," Rosan replied coldly, eyes beginning to glow menacingly.

The pink haired Marine captain gaped at his words. He was serious.

"Hina doesn't understand! Crocodile is—," she tried to say before the redhead rudely interrupted her.

"I don't like Marines. I will never like Marines. I would never save a Marine and I'd never let a Marine touch me," the redhead said, eyes never leaving the two.

"Rosan now's not the time," Vivi pleaded. They needed to stop the rebellion!

Hina saw her opportunity to try and defuse the situation and took it. "Hina thinks the princess is right! Now is not the time for us to fight with each other! We can deal with Crocodile and decide what to do from there!"

Unfortunately, her partner was Smoker.

"No, this is the perfect time. Stop trying to negotiate with them, Hina," Smoker intoned gruffly, grabbing his own weapon and making Hina groan in exasperation.

"Straw Hat, what are you doing with Nico Robin? We've had a bounty on her head for over 20 years now and according to some sources, this is Crocodile's partner. What do you have planned with the Devil Child?"

"Oh no," the Straw Hats thought, feeling the already scalding temperature spike around them.

Rosan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"...All of you, go on ahead. Baroque Works has already begun and it's nearly at the point of no return," The scout instructed softly.

"What about you?" Zoro asked, knowing what he was going to hear.

"...It's best if we deal with this loose end now. Marines will never have the best interest of anyone but themselves in mind so the idea of negotiations was impossible from the start," Rosan replied.

Hina bit back the noise of frustration at the situation and glared at the unapologetic Smoker.

Rosan would make him apologetic soon enough.

The Straw Hats were about to protest but surprisingly, Robin stopped them.

"I'll be here with him. They're interested in me after all so we'll deal with them and catch up to you guys quickly, okay?" The Devil Child assured.

Honestly, Rosan was so jealously protective of her. Perhaps he would have been willing to hear them out before, but now that they mentioned her name... well, they were about to fight the bigger Devil between the two.

Best if she stay here and make sure they don't get too sidetracked.

"Let's go!" Luffy declared, already running off.

"We can trust them!" Vivi agreed, joining him. She hoped Chopper did that thing she told him to do...

They balked at the fact that Vivi of all people trusted the two but that was enough to get them moving.

"BE CAREFUL!"

"D-DONT DIE!"

"KEEP ROBIN-CHAN SAFE!"

Rosan said nothing, eyes trained on the two Marines the entire time. He only took his eyes off of them for a brief second to regard Robin.

"I didn't tell you to stay here."

Robin rolled her eyes. "As if I'd leave you alone. Freedom privileges revoked, remember?"

"...Fine but be careful, I have no clue how to deal with a Logia. I don't have armament yet."

"We'll find a way… Besides, it's been a while since we teamed up!"

"Let's show them what Robin and Rosan are capable of doing then."

---

Smoker glared at the retreating Straw Hats. None of them were getting away from him so he shot a plume of smoke at them.

His eyes widened minutely, as an unnatural red flame crashed into it immediately and the two attacks stalemated until they cancelled out.

"Fire? I thought he had an earth Devil Fruit..." Smoker thought.

He wasn't able to dwell on his thoughts for long because Rosan was already on the move.

Hina's eyes widened, as the redhead appeared in front of her in a burst of speed, sword poised to cut deeply into her.

The woman only had a split second to defend the attack with her Devil Fruit and used the iron bindings as a shield, gasping as the strength behind his attack made her knees buckle.

A flurry of arms sprouted over her body and began pulling threatening to bend her in extremely painful ways.

She grunted in pain and the split second of diversion was all Rosan needed to break through her guard and land a cut on her abdomen.

"!" she hunched over as blood began pooling at the shredded spot and the captain clutched her stomach.

Rosan didn't spare her a glance. He vanished from his spot, only to appear directly in front of Nico Robin so he could summon a wall of flame that neutralized Smoker's attack once more.

Once the flame died down, both Marines could only blink in confusion as neither was there.

Their curiosities were soon sated as movement from behind, alerted Hina to the rapidly approaching figure behind her.

The woman turned just in time to see that demonic redhead lunging at her with speeds that belied how thick the sand under them was.

She stumbled backwards and summoned her bindings once more...

"Trip."

Only to trip on her butt as a flurry of hands grabbed onto her feet.

A brutal kick shattered her weakened defense and she was sent flying until she landed flat on her back on the scorching sand.

A shadow over her, allowed Hina to see her life flashing before her very eyes, as that silver sword gleamed in malicious delight.

She tried to move out of the way, as that silver sword prepared to plunge through her stomach, but Nico Robin made her presence known once more as they held her down with incredible strength.

Right before the sword plunged through her stomach, a plume of smoke appeared directly above her and absorbed the blow trying to end her life.

At the same times, the arms vanished as Robin deftly moved away from the smoke coming her way.

Smoker glared in fury at the duo. They were completely ignoring him and focusing their onslaught on Hina. They were like a group of hounds, with how they circled the pink haired woman.

"Your teamwork is terrifying. It feels almost unfair how little room you give your opponents and that's not even considering the fact Modification isn't being used actively at the moment."

Robin smiled coyly. With age, her and Rosan's teamwork turned from two children restraining their opponents and using the opening to overpower them, to two monsters overwhelming their foes with an onslaught of attack.

Age had made the two significantly stronger in just the physical department. Robin and Rosan were no longer 8 and 4 year old children, using their size and abilities to outwit their foes. They were grown adults with physical power to match their opponents now, along with their abilities that they already used to such an effective degree.

It almost wasn't fair. Only truly formidable foes could hope to withstand their onslaught and even then, their teamwork hadn't degraded at all over the years. It was as seamless as ever.

Everyone always tried to go after her in a fight. They always assumed she was the bigger threat when that was very far from the truth. As a result though, both her and Rosan thought up quite a bit of ways to help her evade capture.

Case in point, the Robin that Smoker was currently shooting attacks at, was just a clone. The real Robin was currently being camouflaged by Modification some ways away from the battle.

Scratch that. It definitely was not fair.

"Hina doesn't think this is necessary! We all have a common enemy in Crocodile and should focus on that at the moment!" Hina panted a bit of fear tinging her at the amount of near death moments she narrowly avoided.

She was bruised and battered after being the sole target of Robin and Rosan's onslaught and her exhaustion was showing clear as day.

The pink haired marine barely jumped back to dodge the lazy swing aimed her way that would have almost certainly killed her and retaliated by summoning her bindings to try and capture the redhead, failing to do so and suffering a teasing slap from a sprouted arm as a result, sending her tumbling across the sand once more.

"We are not allies. We can deal with Crocodile ourselves. You can die here for choosing the wrong career path," Rosan assured, effortlessly jumping over the rush of white smoke aiming for him and returning fire to another puff with his draconic flames, stopping it from hitting Robin's clone and canceling it out.

Smoker scowled at yet another of his attacks being neutralized. He wasn't sure what Devil Fruit this redhead had, but along with Nico Robin, he was giving them quite a bit of trouble that made capturing the two exceedingly difficult.

The redhead was aware of his Logia advantages too, scarcely ever targeting Smoker and pressuring Hina nonstop, leading the Smoke man to protect her to the best of his abilities, all while being forced to focus on making sure Nico Robin didn't fully restrain Hina and allow Rosan to deliver the killing blow.

"White Out!" He bellowed, shooting out a cloud of smoke to try and detain the Devil Child.

It finally grasped her and quickly converged on the women but that quick burst of victory immediately vanished at watching the women disperse into petals.

He had been attacking a copy this entire time?! But why did that Rosan go through such lengths to protect her?!

...To further fool him of course. These two were dangerous. They were very dangerous.

It made sense that Nico Robin would have such good evasion tactics, the woman had been on the run for 20 years but it was truly annoying right now and this mysterious redhead was making it no better.

He was forced to summon another plume to protect Hina, scowling as it only partially neutralized the swipe, giving yet another cut to Hina.

Smoker's attention being grabbed didn't go unpunished, as Nico Robin once more summoned a flurry of arms on the woman and restrained her fully, allowing Rosan to deliver a violent punch to her rib and making him wince at the crack.

Hina's eyes rolled to the back of her head momentarily, at the brutal strength behind Rosan's blow and she couldn't hold back the whine of agony from the power.

He had a dreadful amount of physical strength and her broken rib could attest to that.

The way these two fought… It was as if they were sharks that smelled blood in the water and acted accordingly.

it was glaringly clear that they were punishing him for being a Logia by focusing their onslaught on the Paramecia that was Hina.

The duo were ruthless predators, not stopping for even a second and running the woman ragged as a result.

No matter what he did, the two avoided it. Whenever he went on the offensive, they punished him by making her suffer.

It also made a detail apparent to the Marine.

They were stronger then him, particularly the redhead who countered him at every given opportunity. It was only his Logia that left him unharmed but if not for it, he'd be in the same condition as Hina, if not worse.

It was a bitter pill to swallow, especially considering not only were they individually stronger, the two worked in perfect tandem with each other.

Smoker and Hina knew each other for a very long time and their own teamwork was getting torn to shreds by the seamless combination of these two devils.

Nico Robin provided stellar support for the redhead and her skillset meant that she could very well defend and escape if she so pleased.

This was humiliating. He was intending to capture the entirety of the Straw Hats and Crocodile, but he couldn't even make it past these two—

Rosan dashed towards the exhausted Hina, katana in hand, with speeds that she wouldn't be able to handle in her state and prepared to finish her off.

Smoker wasn't going to let that happen and with a rare desperation he sent a massive plume of smoke that surrounded Hina and prevented Rosan from finishing her off.

"Oh?" Rosan hummed, pausing in his dash and taking a step backwards to avoid the smoke .

Transforming into his element, Smoker dashed over to his old friend, who collapsed to the floor.

"Hina… didn't expect him to be so strong," she huffed, breathing harshly as she clutched her rib. The women's outfit was shredded, littered in shallow cuts, knowing they weren't any deeper because the redhead terror was toying with her.

She shakily gulped in air and winced at the pain of doing so.

Never did she feel so helpless in a battle before… Every moment was one of intense struggle. No step was safe for her. No attack was allowed. She wasn't even allowed to defend herself...

It was… She hadn't been this outclassed against pirates ever and to know he could have killed her at any time, terrified her truthfully.

She just didn't know why he hadn't killed her yet. He was planning something.

Smoker glanced at her injuries "You can't do anything with those injuries. I'll cover you so you need to —"

"Run?" Rosan interrupted calmly, making them both freeze at that daunting presence. "Do you really think you can protect her and yourself? Enough for her to run away?"

Smoker grunted in confusion. The whole point of this fight was that they couldn't damage him and focused their efforts into dismantling Hina, but now he should suddenly be worried about himself?

Rosan hummed as his eyes flashed. "Ah, it's about time. I was getting tired of resisting the urge to kill you."

Hina shuddered at the blatant admittance that he was leaving her alive on purpose.

Smoker was confused.

What was he talking abou—

"CAPTAIN SMOKER! CAPTAIN HINA!" Tashigi screamed, a platoon of soldiers behind her at the ready.

Smoker's eyes widened in uncharacteristic horror.

Tashigi?! But how did they know where he…? Was that what the redhead was talking about?!

"Yes, that's exactly what I was talking about. I led them here with some "suspicious" leads," Rosan replied calmly, reading the man's body language with startling ease.

When he said he wanted to clean up all loose ends, he meant all of them and that included every Marine on this island. It's why he hadn't outright killed Hina because Smoker might have had the idea to flee and he wouldn't be able to stop the smoke man.

But now, he knew exactly how to stop him.

"Robin, let's finish this up."

The Devil Child giggled as she materialized (where did she come from?!) next to the redhead. "It's good to know your hatred for the Marines is still as strong as ever."

"That is something that will never die. I will make them all pay," Rosan replied, eyes glowing brightly.

Hina and Smoker felt dread welling up in their bodies at the intelligent demon named Rosan.

This sadistic… How was he possibly apart of the Straw Hats?!

"ALL OF YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Smoker barked, turning into smoke to try and stop whatever it was Rosan was doing.

He charged the redhead with a single minded focus and so, he was completely unable to account and deal with what happened next.

His flight was halted as his form abruptly vanished and his smoke dissipated. He crashed stomach first onto the floor due to that and felt all the energy drain from his body.

Smoker only had time to let out a confused noise, before a multitude of arms surrounded his body, trapping his suddenly tangible form...

"Clutch."

"CAPTAIN SMOKER!" His allies screamed in horror as they were forced to watch the man's body bend awkwardly from the force of Robin's clutch, bones breaking from the strength behind it.

Robin grabbed Smoker's weapon out of her clones hand and inspected the jitte curiously. "I can't believe he never noticed that I stole it while he was protecting Hina-san."

"Not used to getting hit? You Logias must think you're invincible," Rosan muttered.

When Rosan made that dash to finish off Hina, he only did it to bait Smoker into focusing all his attention on him.

Once the Captain did that, Robin summoned two arms and stole the jitte from him, waiting for the opportune moment to use it and using her clone to deliver the draining blow.

Hina felt a tremor shoot through her body at the casualness displayed by the two devils and slowly felt the hope draining out of her body.

For one reason or another, the redhead named Rosan despised the World Government and would even ignore a temporary alliance to rid the world of them.

"You all need to run, now! Hina has given an order! Get out of here now!" She coughed, dragging herself up to try and at least delay the two.

Transforming her arm, the woman prepared to let out a long cage that would capture the two visible pirates.

She was too slow. Hina felt all the energy drain out of her at what she was currently witnessing and the Captain fell on her knees.

"Run? No one can run from me," Rosan commented, eyes still glowing brightly as they jumped out of the way of the iron cage.

Sand shifted nonstop and there was too much of it so it was a tad difficult to get a firm grasp and modify but he was already getting accustomed to it.

Case in point, any hopes the Marines had of escaping, vanished at the sight of massive walls erecting themselves up and cutting off all routes.

Hina sagged in defeat. There was nothing left they could do. Smoker was their only hope and the two were aware of it, using her to get an opening on him and taking the Logia out first despite not having any notable injuries besides the brutal contortion attack from Nico Robin.

Tashigi glanced around wildly, realizing that there was nowhere to go and gazing at the one responsible for it.

Gripping her sword tightly, she glared at Robin and Rosan and set her stance.

"Another swordsman of the Straw Hat? I don't know where you pirates get off on stealing such quality blades, but they don't belong in your hands. Once I defeat you both, I'll confiscate it out of your hand!" Tashigi said, breathing in and out as she prepared to fight with everything she had.

Even despite the unfavorable odds.

"CONFISCATE ME?! SEPARATE ME FROM FATHER?! KILL! SLAUGHTER! MURDER! RIP HER APART!" Ram howled, going feral at the mere thought of not being with Rosan.

Mod sighed at the look of primal anger on Ram's face and held her back with a patient expression.

Rosan ignored his weapon, tilting his head at the idiotic woman filling herself with bravado. "We've just sapped the will to fight out of one of your captains and defeated the other but you think that you and your fodder gang can stop us? Are you stupid?"

"No. I'm a Marine and it's my job to detain pirate scum like you no matter the situation!" She retorted with a growl.

Rosan closed his eyes and nodded thoughtfully. "That's an interesting answer."

He vanished from his spot in a burst of speed and appeared in front of Tashigi, Ram raised high to cut her in half.

"It's not even the wrong answer and I commend you for sticking to your values. You're probably one of the good Marines..." he replied.

His eyes sharpened. "Too bad you're a Marine."

Tashigi wasn't quick enough to throw up her sword but she was saved from certain death due to Rosan's blade connecting with shackles. They were unable to withstand the sheer strength behind the blow and shattered but that gave her more then enough time to step back and gaze wildly at the broken pieces of Hina's ability.

"S-Such strength?!"

The redhead glanced behind him and was greeted by Hina holding out one hand that had transformed into the same iron like material that had blocked his swing.

Her face was morphed into an expression of pain, most likely due to him shattering her ability, and she shot him a pleading look.

"Please… Smoker and Hina are the ones who agitated you so leave them out of this. They are not a threat to you so just kill us and leave them be," the pink haired captain begged.

Robin raised a brow but remained silent, arms cross and awaiting Rosan's orders.

How admirable. Quite the stand up Marine they had here. Perhaps... Maybe he should kill them all and force this one to be a mole for him.

But first.

"You think I'm doing this only because you touched me?" Rosan asked as he stared at the pink haired captain with a tilted head.

He idly diverted a swing from Tashigi and caught the stumbling girl by the wrist of her dominant hand.

Without any effort at all, he hoisted her up and snapped it clean before dropping her on the floor.

The effects were immediate.

"AGHHHHH!" She screeched, crumpling into herself and clutching her wrist with tears in her eyes, weapon clattering uselessly to the floor.

Hina watched the merciless act with wide eyes. Did the Straw Hats really have such a Devil lurking in their midst?! Monkey D. Luffy was nothing at all like the redhead in his crew.

"I cannot stand Marines," Rosan informed her, turning fully towards the Captain and ignoring the screaming mess in front of him. "I despise your organization with every fiber of my being and if I could, I would tear it all down immediately."

She shuddered at his matter of fact statement.

"W-What did the Marines do to you?" Hina asked quietly.

To have this much hatred for them that he'd get upset just by being touched…

"Everything but your job," Rosan replied immediately, causing her to flinch. "I know you're awake over there, Smoker. You are a prime example of a scumbag Marine."

Smoker couldn't move any part of his body but his head and he looked up to glare at Rosan in slight confusion, unable to get out a word as his body screamed at him.

"You are deployed in the East Blue with a Logia of all Devil Fruits and what do you do instead of going around to capture legitimate threats? You stay on one little island to prevent anyone from going to the Grand Line," Rosan replied calmly.

Buggy, Arlong, Alvida… All of these pirates would have been nothing to the man with the Smoke Logia but yet it was left to pirates to deal with them.

"That's not even the bad part. It makes sense that they would have a Logia stationed around the area closest to the Grand Line. Would you like to know the bad part?" The redhead asked rhetorically, grabbing Robin by the waist and floating upwards.

"Your ego was so hurt from us escaping, that you abandoned your station and chased us into the Grand Line," Rosan informed him coldly. "You, the strongest Marine stationed in the East Blue, couldn't be bothered to sail and deal with the severe problems in the East Blue but one little pirate crew set you off all because they escaped."

Smoker could say nothing, both because he had no power to and because the words shocked him.

"You Marines are all on a power trip and have no interest in doing your actual job. None of you care about upholding justice. You just do whatever satisfies yourself. Honestly, you're no better then pirates. You're just allowed to flex your power legally."

"Not all of us are like that," Hina protested.

He was right, there was a plethora of corrupt Marines in their midst but some truly did care about upholding justice and he refused to see that.

"When the top of your chain is corrupt, all of you are, no matter what beliefs you think you're fighting for," Rosan replied coldly, pupils transforming into draconic slits.

Charging up a massive amount of flames, that would consume every Marine trapped in the walled cage he created, the redhead glanced down at them with that ever present apathy, bright gaze being blocked by the glare of the desert sun.

"You're still as vengeful as ever," Robin commented, gazing down at the soon to be dead Marines neutrally, uncaring of their fate.

Rosan got what Rosan wanted unless she or Mod-chan said no and neither liked the Marines either.

The redhead opened his mouth, preparing to unleash his Annihilation so that he could catch up with his crew —

Only to instantly straighten his head and fire it straight ahead instead.

The terrified Marines looked on in confusion, not understanding why the monster had redirected his blast.

That was soon revealed however, as the blisteringly hot flames crashed into a wave of sand, boiling it and turning the material into glass immediately.

The heat of the flames were so strong that the glass shattered and rained down on the Marines below, cutting into a few and injuring them.

"What…?" Smoker muttered in shock, trying and failing to push himself up.

This was bad. That sand could only belong to one person and if he and his allies were caught in the crossfire, they'd be buried in the desert here.

Rosan glanced at the raining glass and sighed.

"Mod-chan, be sure to punish me after this is over so that I don't make such a mistake again. I cannot believe I allowed myself to monologue like some stupid villain."

He let his vindictive nature get the best of him. When Rosan hated something, killing them immediately wasn't enough. He needed them to understand so he tortured them but that was only when he was guaranteed to not be interrupted.

He accounted for Crocodile's appearance but still did it because at most, the Warlord wouldn't have showed up for at least 10 more minutes. Rosan didn't think the man would immediately charge and find his location but he should have accounted for every possibility.

That was sloppy. He was not like these idiot pirates, who would brag and cage their enemies, instead of immediately killing them.

He needed to be better then that.

Mod frowned at his demand. "We didn't expect Crocodile to be so reckless. I won't punish you because he made a mistake coming here with his weakness exposing him."

"We all make mistakes every once in a while and this is more Crocodile's mistake then yours," Robin reassured. "That's what makes us human, remember?"

He remembered the words of Meiko well and nodded, glancing at the furious Crocodile with a neutral expression.

The man was still soaked from his trip in his base no doubt and looked more akin to a grumpy cat then his namesake.

He was currently glaring at Rosan with a palpable fury that only turned into a storm when he saw just who was next to him.

The cocky demeanor was gone, Crocodile was pissed.

"I take it you didn't enjoy the gift I left you?" Rosan greeted with a short nod, taking some of his attention off the Marines.

Because of his mistake, they'd likely make it out alive today...

As if. He'd take some out if he could.

The redhead had Ram transform into his favorite gloves and began charging up a ball of energy.

Crocodile stiffened at the strange attack but his worries were for naught, as the redhead dropped it into the prison he had created.

The Marines could only watch with wide eyes as a red ball dropped into their pit.

The noise of the explosion deafened out the screaming.

Rosan took his attention off of the Marines fully.

"This is why I didn't want you here by the way. I accounted for Crocodile showing up but I figured it would be fine if I just sped up the time it took me to slaughter the Marines... he's more reckless then I thought so be careful," the redhead hummed.

"I won't die," Robin assured, gazing coolly at the man staring a hole into her.

Crocodile gazed at the disguised Nico Robin and saw how the redhead held her close.

"Nico Robin is Mine."

"Miss All Sunday, what is the meaning of this?" The Warlord asked calmly, despite the boiling rage he was feeling. "What does this man have that could possibly cause you to betray me?"

Robin raised a brow, unwilling to divulge in her and Rosan's past.

"No worries, I'll give him a satisfactory response," Rosan commented, getting a curious nod out of the woman.

Trusting Rosan to do things normally never turned out well for her but it worked out eventually… his way of thinking was just too much.

Being with him for 4 years also made her morbidly curious about what disasters he could cook up so despite the headaches, she typically let him do it regardless and deal with the consequences after.

"You still can't figure out why she betrayed you in favor of some random person?" Rosan jumped in with a raised brow, playing on Crocodile's ego to trick him. "I'd have expected you to be able to tell by now with your experience but since you can't I'll tell you."

Crocodile stamped down his annoyance at that insult. Him? Not knowing? Of course he already had his suspicions!

"I brainwashed her of course," he finished calmly. "Why do you think your Unluckies betrayed you so effortlessly? Why do you think they informed you of information they shouldn't know?"

Brainwash? Is that how he got three members (as far as he knew) to betray him so easily?

That made sense. So this redhead over here had some type of Devil Fruit that allowed you to hypno—

"What are you talking about, Rosan?" Robin frowned, catching onto his game immediately.

Was he serious right now? Why was he trying to protect her from Crocodile?

She didn't ask him to do this so she wouldn't let this work. Robin had no interest in letting Rosan take the brunt of Crocodile's aggression.

Robin's perplexed expression was enough to somewhat dissuade Crocodile from that silly notion, if the scowl of annoyance meant anything.

Rosan's outward expression didn't change even a little but on the inside he was pursing his lips in annoyance.

So she caught on to that plan quickly and didn't approve.

That was too bad. He refused to let her be the main target of Crocodile's ire while they were in the middle of the desert. She was not nearly as durable as he was so he wouldn't let her get hit.

Surprisingly, Ram and Mod were in full agreement.

Good, now he just needed to convince Crocodile that no matter what Robin said, she was brainwashed by him.

Ram grinned so violently, Mod actually took a step back with sweat.

What was their violent little ring planning and why did she look like she just won the lottery?

"I know what you can do, Father!"

"Isn't this a bit excessive?"

"The more excessive it is, the more convincing!"

Rosan tilted his head and nodded. That would work fine.

"It's quite impressive isn't it? Even with me saying it outright, she still thinks she hasn't been. It's very potent," the redhead said idly, gripping Robin's waist a bit tighter and catching her attention.

Robin glanced at his arm in confusion.

"I don't normally do this but I guess I can give you definitive proof."

Robin raised a brow at the fact that he was still trying to convince Crocodile and prepared to speak up again—

Only to let out a noise of surprise as Rosan promptly whirled her around, allowing her to look him directly in his heterochromatic gaze, grabbed her chin , cupped her butt of all things and planted a kiss directly on her lips.

Mod's jaw dropped in disbelief and her eyes widened to epic proportions, as a brilliant blush made its way to her face at the utterly shameless action of her utterly shameless son.

For some reason, she hadn't been privy to Ram and Rosan's plan because the two managed to abuse the connection they had to instantly convey their intentions and her son had put it into plan immediately.

Perhaps she should talk to them about informing her of their plans next time because this was maniacal.

What was wrong with Ram?! This was why she wasn't allowed to participate in their planning because she was unhinged!

"WOOHOO!" Ram cheered ecstatically jumping around her mortified auntie with unrestrained glee, completely unaware of Mod's awed horror.

---

"My Kami," Maro gaped, watching the screen with a dark red blush and blocking the vision of a severely confused Gladiolus and Anemone.

Who the hell taught Master how to kiss so well? And the way he was groping her ass so... holy shit!

She was currently watching Rosan's stream with Angel, Demon, Sabo, Kaori and the Baroque Works agents (along with her pets!) but she never expected to see live view of her teacher sucking someone's face off and being so grabby!

Angel and Demon's mouth dropped to the floor, dark twin blushes donning the twin's faces as they watched their creator and older brother make out with and grope Nico Robin with a level of shamelessness that only he and Luffy had.

W-What the hell...? T-Their innocent master?! T-The one who went beet red at just being kissed by Meiko?!

Sabo raised a brow. "What's the surprise for? Aren't those two dating each other? They're never far apart and almost always touching. Why is it so surprising to see them being lovey dovey?"

"B-Because they aren't dating," Angel wheezed, face turning progressively red as her eyes remained glued onto the screen with fascinated horror.

"Oh," Sabo gaped. Seriously? Koala told him only couples did things like this! The two had kissed before but that was only when they went undercover on missions!

(Sabo was just as oblivious as his brothers)

Kaori, who put her massive hands over a blushing Marianne's eyes (she was too young to see this!), blushed in embarrassment. "S-Should we really be watching this? I feel like a pervert."

"I-I agree," Marianne squeaked, shamefully peering through a gap in Kaori's fingers in morbid curiosity. D-Did people really kiss like that?! She only saw light pecks from Maro and Angel!

One second, he was going out of his way to torture and slaughter a group of Marines, the next he was locking lips with his fellow demon a-and squeezing her butt!

How inappropriate!

"Miss All Sunday n-never struck me as the type to let this happen," Mikita stammered, face scarlet.

Despite the smile she carried on her face, everyone knew not to test Miss All Sunday and anyone dumb enough to even put a hand on her, paid the price in bone.

The former agent chanced a glance at Demon and idly wondered if he was that good of a kisser as well.

"That's probably Rosan-sama's plan," a cool headed Gem replied, unfazed by what was happening. "Miss All Sunday doesn't show interest in anyone. I've never seen her have a conversation with anyone outside of mission debrief and the last person who touched her ended up with bones broken beyond repair."

They sweat a little at that.

Robin was scary.

"Ah!" Maro said, features still red as she reluctantly tore her gaze away from the screen (what?! they were both hot!). "Mr. 0 being her partner, should be aware of this more then anyone then! Master's using the information Crocodile should know about Robin to manipulate the situation in his favor! How crafty!"

Gem nodded proudly. "Exactly, Queen Maro. It's working too because Robin-sama and Rosan-sama are excellently playing their parts."

"Something tells me, Robin had no idea this was going to happen," Demon said dryly, noticing Mikita's gaze and flashing a small smile towards her.

The agent flushed even more and averted her gaze, smiling to herself in the process.

"W-Well, based on how she's melting into it, I'd say it won't be as hard as we thought to get them together," Angel croaked, mouth dry as she stared at the screen with a stunned expression.

S-Sure she supported the two of them getting together b-but this was still her beloved Master and she had been defending his chastity for so long, her instincts were screaming!

W-Why was he so proficient?! H-How much of his chastity did she fail to protect?! H-How shameless was he to grab her butt? DID MARO TEACH HIM THAT?!

"This was absolutely Ram's idea," Maro sighed tiredly.

She knew it was a bad idea for the ring to be the main orchestrator of getting these two together. Her best friend was terribly unsubtle and incredibly forward. Doing all these discreet things was really not her cup of tea and it was obvious she'd do something dumb soon.

She had to hand it to Mod-chan for keeping her in check for this long.

"Still… I-I never expected the Warlord Crocodile to be our former boss…" Mikita pondered nervously.

To think that someone so dangerous had been the one to oversee their missions and everyone was none the wiser... that was a scary thought.

"Why isn't Rosan trying to flee?" Marianne asked curiously. He was up against a Warlord of the Sea! Though he still terrified her, her Queens and Demon still loved him with all their heart and she didn't want to see them cry.

"He's buying time for his crew. If Vivi shows herself, there's a chance she can stop the rebellion," Sabo informed them.

Kaori patted her gently on the head. "If you're worried about his safety… you shouldn't be, Rosan is a monster."

They watched the tall fishman shudder idly. "We fought and well... he toyed with me the entire time. I thought I was strong, the strongest in the East Blue actually but he showed me that there are bigger monsters out there."

That fight had done more then just humble her. It had lit a fire under her that Maro fueled every single time they fought.

Her queen was also outrageously strong and Kaori learned that underneath the genuinely kind student of Rosan, was a bloodthirsty monster who showcased exactly who her teacher was.

The woman felt unstoppable in a similar yet different way then Rosan. The two weathered blows largely the same, but whereas Rosan felt like an immortal demon who would just regenerate anything done to him, Maro felt like an invincible tank, unflinching from every blow and firing back with devastating force.

Even with the knowledge that only one side of her was immune to damage, she still tanked blows on the other with seemingly no effort.

She still had yet to defeat the Dokkaebi… but Kaori was improving much faster then when she traveled with the Arlong Pirates. She was the second strongest on Celadon, a spot that Gem was eager to take.

Mikita shuddered fearfully at that, horror filling her body as she recalled that terrible day. "H-He toyed with us too. Not once did he take us serious..."

Demon soothingly pat her shoulder and she instinctively relaxed, shooting him a grateful look.

"You should be grateful he found a use in you guys… getting killed by Master is a terrible fate," Angel sighed.

"Yeah and don't worry about it! I never beat him either," Maro beamed.

"N-Never?!" Marianne gaped along with her allies.

Queen Maro was a complete monster in battle.

None of her soldiers had ever defeated the Dokkaebi in a fight. Her sheer prowess in and out of her Devil Fruit, combined with her unreal durability and versatility made it impossible for them to beat her.

The few times she deigned (begged because she was bored and her soldiers were too good) to deal with invaders, they quickly awed at how powerful she was when she didn't care about the person's wellbeing.

It made sense that she was so powerful, considering she was the prodigious student of an even bigger monster.

"Have I ever beat you or Rosan?" Sabo asked curiously.

"Nope!" Maro chirped. "Master and I were way too strong for you when you were a kid! But based on what we saw against Ace, you'd probably beat us now I bet?"

He nodded. "Most likely but it's no big deal. Ace and I have just been in the Grand Line way longer. It's only a matter of time before all of you guys catch up to us... that's if you train up," he added cheekily.

Maybe he'd spar with the both of them while hanging out with the crew.

"Bah! I don't need to sail through the Grand Line to get as strong as you bastards," Maro exclaimed, sticking out her tongue.

"I wonder if Crocodile can make Rosan fight a little serious," Kaori mused.

They all saw how effortlessly the two dealt with the Marine Captain duo and realized that there was very little they knew about the redhead who terrorized each and every one of them.

"You guys are excited to see Master fight, huh?" Maro grinned knowingly. "Well, sit back and enjoy, we might not see this often!"

They all nodded and got comfortable. Angel began resting her head in Maro's lap and the queen hummed as she raked a hand through her red hair.

which prompted Mikita to sidle a bit closer to the Doctor who was so pleasant to her.

Demon shot her a side glance at the physical contact but said nothing, focusing back on the screen after simply shooting her a reassuring smile.

She flushed. Ah, Mikita had it so bad.

"KANNA, STOP MAKING OUT WITH RIN AND MAKE US SOME POPCORN!" Maro screamed.

"STOP EMBARRASSING ME, MY QUEEN!" A voice roared back.

"WHERE'S THE FUN IN THAT?!" The Queen shouted.

"You two act more and more like mother and daughter," Angel said dryly, burying herself deeper into Maro with a pleased sigh at those strong but tender hands.

"Oh please! If Kanna was my daughter, Rin's pretty little bones would be paste already! My child won't be dating until they're 30!" Maro grinned shamelessly.

They all sweatdropped at her honesty.

"That reminds me… Sabo, you don't happen to have a girlfriend, do you?" Angel asked with narrowed eyes.

The blonde blinked at that. Girlfriend? A Revolutionary didn't really have time for that... the closest thing he had to one was probably Koala but she was just a girl that was his friend so he guess that was out of the window.

"No, I don't. Would it be a problem if I did?"

"Of course! You haven't even introduced us to her!" Angel scowled.

"...I've had amnesia for ten years."

"And? You're the only one agonizing over the small details!"

Sabo blinked once more.

Small... details?

They sweatdropped at Angel, deciding that acknowledging the utterly unreasonable queen was not worth it.

"Don't you fucking ignore me!"

---

Nico Robin was confused.

Why was she confused exactly?

Well that was an easy question to answer.

She was confused because her best friend was currently groping and kissing her in front of their enemies.

It was as inappropriate as it sounded too. Rosan was full on making out with her in a way that would have most people blushing scarlet. It was a long sensual kiss that gave absolutely no illusions… which is probably what her scheming partner had in mind.

Not to mention, the grip he had on her... butt was baffling. He knew exactly what he was doing currently.

Robin's childish crush on Rosan had long since dissipated. She was glad that they were together again but a relationship was not something either of them needed right now, so currently, she had no interest in furthering their relationship and she was sure he was the exact same.

After all, of course they both realized how they looked to other people. They were never far from each other, slept in the same bed... Rosan was the person who saw her naked the most and vice versa so it was normal to assume they were dating.

But they weren't. They had a private talk about it and came to a mutual agreement that neither needed it at the moment.

It seemed like he was trying to throw all of that out of the window with how well he was kissing her.

She knew what he was planning and she tried to resist, she really did.

Rosan and Mod made the girl very confident in herself in their 4 years together and made sure she knew her worth, so she made sure that part of her stayed as she traveled alone.

She may have been the Devil Child, but even the Devil had standards.

No one was allowed to touch her and that had remained true over the years. She was too caught up in her grief and showed a genuine lack of interest in anyone else so debasing herself was not an option.

Crocodile was well aware of this aspect of her, considering they had been partners for years. He saw what she had done to anyone dumb enough to try and make a move on the beautiful woman and made no comment on it besides showing slight amusement and understanding her boundaries.

Good, she was fairly sure the Warlord was partially attracted to her and that was not a thought she liked entertaining. It was a good thing he was also a narcissist and far too caught up in his own schemes.

Rosan truly did know her too well because by making out with her like this, and the fact that she had yet to push him off (much less remove his hand!), he would either shatter Crocodile's perception of her or reinforce the idea that she was brainwashed.

Robin realized this and tried to push him off, but she only weakly grasped his cloak instead, when the conniving redhead immediately caught her intentions and began using his tongue, preventing any and all resistance immediately as it melted in the desert heat.

Oh he was in so much trouble after they were done here.

Gone her crush may be, Rosan was still the person she trusted most in the world and he had grown up to be as handsome as he knew he was.

She also had a terrible habit of letting him get away with nearly everything because of her passive tendencies... something he was clearly well aware of…

The Devil Child was also not used to such intimate affection so she was rather stunned by his actions.

She didn't know how long he kissed her for, but by the time he broke it she distantly realized she had melted in his grasp, while he held her up by the waist with a satisfied glint.

The dazed women stared into his glowing eyes and she was glad (for once) that he didn't have emotions because the amount of teasing he would have submitted her to…

"You are in so much trouble. Count your days," Robin eventually said, cheeks red in mortification as she tried and failed to gather her thoughts.

Did he really have to grope her butt? That was excessive!

"Ram told me the more excessive, the more convincing so that's what I did. Punish her," Rosan replied calmly, turning his glowing gaze towards Crocodile, who looked convinced off that action.

"I'm sorry for them Robin, it was too fast for me to deny it. I didn't even know that was their plan," Mod moaned in disbelief, face scarlet as she buried her face in the nearest pillow.

What was wrong with these two? How did she consistently prove that she was the most normal?

"I will accept any punishment!" Ram beamed, grinning so widely that her cheeks began to hurt.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. That was a fantastic kiss and I'm sure anyone would be glad to feel you up," Rosan reassured.

"I don't need to hear that right now. You didn't even warn me and you grabbed my butt," Robin said flatly, ignoring the part where he said someone would be glad to feel her up for her own sake.

His plan undoubtedly worked and she made it no better. He knew what he was doing by kissing her for that long. Any shorter and she might have been coherent enough to potentially dissuade Crocodile but with how silent she currently was…

Robin sighed in annoyance. He didn't need to try so hard to protect her. She was strong too.

"We're in the desert fighting a sand man. I won't risk losing you again and having him think you're brainwashed will keep you safer. We just need to stall him. We're not here to finish him off because Luffy has dibs," Rosan grunted.

Crocodile had been in the Grand Line and fought his share of Devil Fruit users so predicting his thought process would be pretty easy.

Kill or knock Rosan unconscious to undo the effects of his Devil Fruit and free Nico Robin so Utopia can continue.

Most emission type Devil Fruits that affected another person's body, were undone when that person was knocked unconscious or killed. It was natural to assume that Rosan's was the same.

It wasn't but it was a logical conclusion.

Modifications changes were permanent unless he himself undid it. Even if you knocked him unconscious or killed him, the modification would remain on a person…

But it hadn't always been like that.

Modification used to actually be temporary according to Mod-chan. Due to Vegapunk combining it with a blank zoan the transformation aspect of the Zoan integrated itself into the Fruit and made it's changes permanent.

It was why the fruit was so desired. It had been fundamentally changed from a strong, but temporary, Devil Fruit, into a weapon of war with unmatched versatility.

It was like how Mythical Zoan's felt like they were Zoan combined with Paramecia/Logia due to the extra abilities it granted. Mod was basically a Special, or Mythical, Paramecia fruit and probably the only of her kind.

And she was his.

He locked his glowing eyes onto Crocodile to further solidify the idea that Nico Robin was hypnotized and was satisfied to see he was a majority of the man's focus.

"A Devil Fruit that can hypnotize people, allows you to float and use fire? Not to mention everything else you're capable of..." Crocodile rumbled, sand seeping off of his soaked body. "Killing you would be a waste. After I defeat you, I'll have you and Nico Robin join my side."

How funny, Rosan thought the same thing but he wouldn't say that aloud.

"You plan on fighting me while wet?" Rosan asked curiously, getting into position. Luffy still had dibs so he was just here to stall. "Maybe you should have dried off to give yourself invulnerability again… not that I haven't prepared for this already."

Robin crossed her arms in preparation for the upcoming battle.

Crocodile scoffed. "Don't get cocky because you have a strong Devil Fruit, rookie. I'll show you our difference soon enough."

Rosan's eyes glowed brighter. "You're wasting away in this country and you think you can beat me? I look forward to it."

"Are you ready for the performance, Robin?"

"Lead the way, Rosan. I'll match every step."

---

Watching these three battle, Smoker was made starkly aware of just how out of his league they were.

If that didn't make it clear, the explosion earlier, courtesy of Rosan, that took out a vast majority of their men did.

There were hardly any survivors. Smoker and Hina had tried to the best of their abilities to negate the blow but they were just too weak to save everyone.

The charred bodies of his subordinates surrounded him and he couldn't bite back the snarl of anger at the damage done by that explosion.

He hated to admit it, but this outcome was better then every single one of them dying so Crocodile had inadvertently saved their lives.

Well... some. Most of his soldiers were dead and the rest were injured but would survive.

"Monsters," Hina gasped out, body screaming in agony. She had gotten a little marred from the explosion but her Devil Fruit had managed to protect her and the whimpering Tashigi from the brunt of it.

She had tried to spread it out to the best of its abilities but it wasn't enough because her own injuries were the most extensive and would need further checkup if they made it out of here alive…

Which was looking more and more likely because the fighting pirates were not even paying attention to the remaining Marines. It would have been insulting, if they weren't so out of her league.

Right now she could only call it a blessing that at least some were alive... the fight was drawing away from them as well so it looked like they'd actually be able to escape... something they'd need to do now because they would become collateral otherwise.

"Desert Spada."

Rosan's eyes narrowed at the torpedo of sand careening their way and leapt to the left, while Robin jumped to the right.

Dashing forward, the redhead charged Crocodile with a speed the Warlord was not expecting, if his slightly surprised gaze was anything to go by.

Ram, who was in the form of a katana, crashed into Crocodile's golden hook with crushing force, immediately pushing the Warlord back.

Crocodile grunted at the surprising amount of strength displayed and tried to make distance, only to let out another grunt at the multitude of arms keeping him in place.

Rosan ruthlessly took advantage of that.

Transforming his katana into his trusty gloves, the redhead placed a glowing hand flat on Crocodile's chest and said, "Retribution."

The Warlord spat out a mix of blood and spit at the explosive energy erupting on his chest and he was rocketed backwards from the force of the blow.

"You shouldn't underestimate me," Rosan advised calmly, gloves smoking from the technique. "I'm a lot stronger then you think."

He could have ended the fight right then and there... Oh well. He'd give it a bit more time before Vivi and the rest managed to quell the rebellion.

When Rosan accounted for Crocodile showing up, he didn't expect the man to forgo drying himself in his rage. It meant he couldn't kill the Marines but it also made battling him much easier.

"If we buy maybe 10 - 20 more minutes, it should be enough for them. Stay on your toes," Robin advised.

"Of course."

Crocodile narrowed his eyes at the redhead, wiping the blood from his mouth.

He had been underestimating him. After all, who could defeat him in his own domain? Inside of the desert, he was unstoppable and some no name redhead wouldn't be able to change that.

But he was much stronger then he looked. Close quarters combat wouldn't favor Crocodile if it got to that point and he did himself no favors allowing himself to remain wet.

They even knew of his weakness to moisture. Knowing the redhead, he had a backup to deal with the Logia.

Sand began seeping from his body and it coalesced on top of his outstretched arm.

As if his sudden tangibility would suddenly give these fools an advantage.

"Sables."

---

"A SANDSTORM AND IT'S HUGE! WATCH OUT!"

"WAIT…? ITS NOT MOVING?!"

"WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

The sound of the concerned citizens rang through the air as they witnessed the giant sandstorm laying waste far into the desert.

---

"That has to be Crocodile," Vivi muttered, watching the massive sandstorm with a stony gaze.

They were all atop the crab that was quickly headed to Alubarna.

"He must be fighting Robin and Rosan," Nami said worriedly.

After what Rosan did, the Warlord must have been furious with the redhead.

"That bastard better keep Robin-chan safe," Sanji swore. If anything happened to her, he'd have his former hero's head on a silver platter.

"He has the Marines to deal with too…" Zoro frowned at the sandstorm. Maybe Luffy should have stayed behind with the two,

"Don't worry you guys! Rosan's really strong," Luffy assured, looking wholly unbothered by the fact his brother was fighting a Warlord. "He's the reason all of us are strong so they'll be fine!"

Vivi nodded in determination. "The fact that their fighting Crocodile when they could easily escape, means they're buying time for us! We can't let this opportunity go to waste so let's meet them at Alubarna!"

"RIGHT!" They all chorused.

---

Rosan was expecting this. For the Warlord to further transform the battlefield to favor him even more. He was already formidable in the desert but with an active sandstorm…?

"Modify: Vision," Rosan thought to himself. The sand flying around didn't bother him but it did obscure his vision and that wouldn't do so he modified his vision to view heat sources.

He quickly dashed over to Robin's side and applied the vision to her as well, placing a comfortable mask on her face in the process.

"Thank you," she replied.

Before he could say anything, he grabbed the woman and immediately jumped out of the way of the golden hook flying towards them.

"Find cover," he grunted, dashing to meet Crocodile again.

He wasn't permitted to get close this time though, due to Crocodile actively wanting to keep his distance.

The sandstorm picked up in intensity and began buffering him with even stronger winds, making him pause slightly. Frowning a bit at that, Rosan grabbed the hoodie of his cloak and threw it over his head to better protect him.

That split second of distraction was all Crocodile needed.

The Warlord appeared directly to the left of Rosan with his right arm raised, a crescent of sand following him, and said, "Barjan."

It connected solidly with the redhead's left arm and drained all the moisture out of it.

Then, Crocodile grabbed his hook and tried to stab it into Rosan's chest, grunting in confusion at connecting with the raid cloak.

Not dwelling too long on it, he dipped back into the sandstorm to avoid the swift swipe of the katana that was only a second to slow due to being swung with that dehydrated left arm.

"Are you alright? I've seen with that dehydration does," Robin asked worriedly.

"I'll survive as long as he doesn't drain all of me. Mod-chan," Rosan replied.

"Right."

The Devil Fruit, with her intricate control of Rosan's body, distributed the moisture in his body back into his left arm, returning life into it.

He clenched his fist and nodded in satisfaction.

Crocodile watched it all in shock. Without drinking any water… he managed to get his arm back to normal?!

Just who was this greenhorn? Would it even be right to call him a greenhorn?

His thoughts were cut short at the multitude of arms trying to force him into submission, positioned in a way to avoid his hook.

Crocodile struggled to escape and he was making good progress, until a gloved fist connected solidly with his face and sent him soaring through the sky.

The Warlord tumbled on the sandy floor unceremoniously, groaning at the power behind that blow.

"Not used to getting hit huh, Mr. Logia?" Rosan asked quietly, appearing on top of him with a sneakered foot raised high, poised to stomp his skull into the desert sand.

Crocodile tried to move out of the way, but those damned arms formed again and held him in place, ensuring he didn't have enough time to avoid the attack.

These two…

With his quick thinking, the Sandman palmed the floor and used another of his techniques to get him out of this pinch.

"Desert Girasole," he intoned, stabbing the ground and causing a pitfall to begin forming beneath them all.

It disrupted Rosan's balance for just enough time for the Warlord to deal with the arms surrounding him.

"Release him," Rosan ordered, watching sand begin to seep off the Warlords body in order to damage Robin from a distance.

She immediately listened to his order and released the Warlord just in time to avoid the spiky sand technique.

The redhead would not be deterred at his attack being disrupted, dashing forward once again to capitalize on Crocodile still not getting up—

"Desert Grande Espada."

—Only to stop at the blade of sand stabbing him at speeds too quick for him to react. If not for the Raid Suit, it'd have pierced right through his body (and be rather annoying to heal) but it managed to stop it from doing so.

"ROSAN!" Robin gasped, resisting the urge to rush out and grab him.

"I'm fine," Rosan grunted, spitting out blood. That would have been much more troublesome if he didn't have his Raid Suit donned on but it still hurt a tad.

"Relentless aggression backed up by impressive durability," Crocodile praised. "But you're too aggressive, rookie. Fighting like that will get you killed in the Grand Line. You'd do best to learn some defense."

He begrudgingly found himself respecting this redhead's skill set.

"I don't need to take advice from a Logia struggling in his domain," Rosan replied, allowing the Philosophers Stone to heal his slight injury back up.

"He's been training," Robin informed him. Crocodile wasn't this strong before. It wasn't too big of a change but he was stronger then before.

"I've seen what I've needed to see. We are stronger," Rosan replied calmly.

He was strong. But he was not as strong as he should be. Even in a 1v1 Rosan would have defeated him with difficulty.

Rosan transformed Ram into his signature gloves once more and activated his sneakers so he could float above the field.

Then he held out a palm flat up.

An orb of red energy formed and Rosan gazed down at the field below him. Releasing the orb, it began rotating faster and faster and he let his attack remain there in the sky.

"Discern."

The orb pulsed and Crocodile immediately morphed his lower half into sand, to avoid the sudden hail of red projectiles aiming for him. The orb spun as it remained in the sky and repeatedly shot out beam after beam in hopes of filling his body with holes and the Warlord grunted as the numbers increased.

A plethora of hands formed right atop and tried to shatter every bone in his body.

This allowed some of the hail of projectiles to catch up to him and he summoned a wall of sand to weather the hail, getting ready to let loose the spikes once more to dissuade Nico Robin from grasping him.

He grit his teeth in annoyance. If not for the moisture, Nico Robin would be a non factor right now but in his rage, he had foregone drying himself up and the desert wasn't doing a nearly fast enough job.

Due to his tangibility, the hypnotized Devil Child was providing fantastic coverage for the redhead and it was nullifying the advantage he gained by surrounded by so much sand.

Rosan rocketed down and slashed downward with a set of gauntlets but it was barely blocked by Crocodile's hook. The momentum of the fall caused the Sandman to buckle slightly and he grunted in exertion.

Then the hands made their presence known again and began strangling him, cutting off his wind and allowing Rosan to quickly gain an advantage.

Thanks to a quick and shoddy sand armor, Crocodile didn't suffer nearly as much as he should have from the force of those gauntlets almost caving him into the ground beneath, forming a very visible crater.

Capitalizing on the close proximity, Crocodile swiftly removed the golden part of his weapon, revealing the poisonous hook underneath and swiftly slashed inside the hole of the hoodie, connecting with the man's cheek and injecting his lethal venom inside of him.

"Poison," Rosan hummed, leaping back to assess his bleeding cheek.

"I have an antidote for it. Do you need it?" Robin asked worriedly.

He shook his head. "No, I am mostly immune. My body is purging it as we speak."

It wouldn't be too long now. Crocodile had acquired quite a bit of injuries and if he were smart, he'd go back and tend to himself. By then, it should be too late.

"Let's finish this and meet back up with them," he commented, eyeing Crocodile's panting body.

He clenched his gauntlets into a fist and began sprinting to the Warlord's location.

As he rocketed forward at speeds too quick to react to, Rosan prepared to land a non lethal finisher on him and mercilessly slammed the gauntlets into his gut, connecting cleanly and causing a burst of sand to spray everywhere.

…

Wait.

Sand?

A gasp of pain made Rosan's blood run cold and he watched the Crocodile (the man made a clone...?) he attacked, dissolve into sand.

Turning around towards the noise of distress, Rosan saw Robin being ruthlessly impaled through the stomach by Crocodile's poisonous hook. He held her up with a sneer, as blood pooled from her mouth and stomach.

"There, now the nuisance is dealt with," Crocodile grunted, tossing her aside uncaringly and watching her tumble into the sand.

It was a good thing Nico Robin used that clone of hers so frequently. He found the idea behind them quite useful and decided to learn how to make sand clones himself.

"MOTHER!" Ram screamed, eyes going wide in terror as tears began leaking from them.

"ROBIN!" Mod shouted in horror as she resisted the urge to take over and rush the woman's body.

"You can keep fighting me and she'll die from the poison or you can submit right now and join my side. If you do that, I'll give her the antidote," Crocodile offered. "You hypnotized her for a reason. You know how useful Nico Robin is. It would be a waste to let her die here."

Rosan said nothing, staring at Robin's body with a shocked gaze that began slowly shifting into a familiar rage that he had long forgotten. A snarl of rage made its way to his face, eyes glowing with bloody murder.

She wasn't moving right now because of this man right here. Robin wasn't moving. Robin wasn't moving. Robin wasn't movin—

"NO!" Mod yelled in genuine terror, turning white as a sheet. She felt it.

Mod felt it. Mod felt them. She felt P—

If this kept on, Rosan was going to use the Virus and then Robin would never be saved.

"Rosan, remember what we learned from our failures! Ensure your target is always safe! Don't fall victim to your own anger and seek to relieve it when we can still help Robin."

Rosan snapped out of that foggy rage and briskly nodded, anger melting off his face in favor of blatant concern as he quickly came to his senses.

Crocodile jumped to the left to avoid the massive column of flames aimed his way, that blocked Miss All Sunday from his view, and realized that the redhead probably didn't care what happened to Nico Robin if the fates of his other agents meant anything.

That was no good. He'd need to quickly defeat him then so he could administer the antidote to her. He still needed the Devil Child to tell him of Pluton's location—

He realized too late what the redhead was planning. Summoning another sandstorm, he quickly banished the flames and his face morphed into one of rage, at seeing both Rosan and Nico Robin missing.

Twice now. Twice he had gotten away from him. And this time he took someone who was pivotal to his plans…

Again.

Crocodile turned towards the direction of Alubarna with murder in his eyes and vanished in a gust of sand.

---

"Demon, heal her please."

The onlookers jumped at how swiftly the Rosan on their screen vanished, only to appear right next to them.

In his arms, he was holding the steadily bleeding Nico Robin who was just poisoned from Crocodile himself and didn't seem to register the blood making its way onto his body.

"R-Right!" The Doctor swiftly pushed himself up, alarm on his features at the raw desperation in Rosan's voice and he dashed off, redhead hot on his heels.

The onlookers were quick to follow after the trio.

"She was poisoned but she mentioned having the antidote on her," Rosan informed him, quickly and gently placing the woman down on the table.

"Right, thank you for informing me about that." Demon prepared everything with a speed and meticulousness that spoke of years of experience. After doing so, he quickly rummaged through Robin's clothing, until he found the antidote mentioned and quickly prepared to apply it to the woman.

"Mikita, could you help me? I don't know where Rin is and an extra hand would be helpful," He requested, not glancing up from what he was doing and gently removing the injured women's clothing so as to assess her injuries.

"Oh! O-Okay!" She stammered slightly, shooting Rosan a fearful glance but pushing through due to her admiration for Demon.

"Master I wouldn't dare kick you out so could you find a seat somewhere?" The doctor requested softly.

"…"

"Master?" Demon glanced up in confusion and gazed at his older brother.

The Doctor went pale and shakily took a step away, fear making its way onto his face.

Rosan, who paid Demon no mind, was staring at Robin's bleeding body with a dark glare on his face. His handsome visage had shifted into a terrifyingly rare scowl that they hadn't seen in years and though it was not directed towards the youngest triplet, it still evoked a deep rooted trauma out of him.

Why?

Because the last time Rosan made a face like this, it was directed towards the twins.

"Demon?" Maro said quietly, watching the terror on the clones face and stepping forward in worry.

A shaky gasp, alerted her to the presence of her wife and the Queen glanced to her right and saw an equal level of terror on Angel's own face.

"I-I'm sorry, M-Master," she said instinctively, taking a step back as tears formed in her eyes from that deeply buried fear that she thought she had done so well dealing with.

But as soon as he glared at them like that, it brought it all to the forefront. It reminded her that at the end of the day, a part of her would always be terrified of her older brother because they had killed Meiko.

"I-It was so stupid on our part to l-leave Meiko alone a-and I know we deserve anything you do b-but please! We really are sorry!"

Maro and Sabo both furrowed their brows in noticeable concern and the queen realized both the twins were zoning her out completely, too focused on appeasing the creator who wasn't even paying attention to them.

What was happening? Why were they reacting like Rosan was upset with them —

Oh.

Rosan didn't notice the twin's distress, simply staring at Robin's prone body with a boiling dark anger that made Mod nervously quiet.

Robin was hurt. Robin was hurt under his watch. He was supposed to keep her safe but she was still harmed because of him.

Worst of all, he nearly let his anger get the best of him again. He was about to throw caution to the wind and just eliminate Crocodile right then and there if not for Mod-chan reminding him about a more important goal.

But if it had just been him… What was wrong with him? Was he incapable of changing his negative traits?

Of course he wasn't. That's why Meiko was dead. That's why they thought Sabo had died for 10 years. That's why Robin was lying on the bed with a hole in her stoma—

Two hands touched his shoulder and his gaze snapped up.

Maro and Sabo both looked at him with clear concern on their features.

"It's gonna be alright, Rosan. Robin's safe here," Sabo explained calmly.

That deep sense of self loathing… It wasn't healthy at all. He could feel clear as day how much Rosan despised himself.

"Yeah Master she's fine... but Demon can't attend to her while he's this scared… of you," Maro explained softly, engulfing him with a tender expression in her eyes as she tried to calm her teacher down.

Rosan's anger tapered off and he glanced at his purple triplet in question, fury vanishing completely at Demon's teary visage. Mikita was desperately trying to soothe him but he was utterly unresponsive, just staring at his creator with clear terror in his eyes as he shuddered.

A quick look over at Angel showed that she was curled up into herself with a concerned Kaori rubbing her shoulder.

"They saw that look on your face and it reminded them of just how angry you were with them on the day everything went wrong…" Mod whispered, sounding subdued.

She had been soothing a sobbing Ram the entire time. The ring wasn't used to being concerned about someone's well being and her first time was when Rosan had gotten sick.

Now Robin, her designated mother, was injured? It was safe to say she was a rightful mess and Mod had quickly put her to sleep with a gentle song.

Afterwards, she quickly departed to the castle to ensure nothing was amiss.

There was nothing but… but that familiar destructive energy was getting more and more oppressive…

Mod bit her lip and remained silent.

Rosan came to a realization as he stared at their tear streaked faces.

His clones were still afraid of facing a version of him who was fully emotional. Even after all these years, they still were uncertain about just what he'd do to them after gaining all his emotions. Even after he showered them in love and care, their trauma was too prevalent.

They weren't sure what to expect from their unpredictable Master and Rosan had always been a vindictive person.

Seeing that anger in their eyes reminded them of a possible future where he remembered what they did and destroyed them.

…

"Angel. Demon," he called the two.

They went ramrod straight at his voice and began breathing heavily. The two began panicking as they recalled that day that he changed for the worst. The day when they thought they would lose their lives, but their Master ended up losing his instead.

The day that would forever haunt every single one of the triplet in different, but so similar ways.

"HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID?!" A 12 year old Rosan snarled in pure, overwhelming anger. They didn't miss the sinister glow in his eyes, shining so brightly it could have replaced the sun.

They didn't miss how he directed that murderous glare towards them.

"YOU DIDN'T WANT TO CAUSE A SCENE? I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAD TO DESTROY AN ENTIRE ISLAND TO DO SO, I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE TO RUIN MILLIONS OF LIVES AT ONCE, MEIKO ALWAYS COMES FIRST, YOU FUCKING IDIOTS."

That's right. They were idiots. Complete fucking idiots.

"Y-Yes, Master?!" They said in unison, fearing the worst. Was he going to finally fulfill his wish and destroy them like he planned on doing? A-After all this time was he going to kill them—

"Please."

The two blinked.

"I'm so sorry for traumatizing you two. On that day… when I said those things, I was angry and not thinking straight but even despite that, I was never going to destroy you two," he told them honestly, eyes closed in pain. "I loved you guys even then and I love you guys even now. That's why I'm here asking for help. Because I trust you two with my life."

Much to their utter surprise and awe, the redhead uncharacteristically bowed his head low to them.

"You have my word that no harm will befall you guys when I get my emotions back if I can help it, so please help Robin heal from my stupid mistake," he said softly, a hint of desperation in his voice that made their heart wrench.

"Oh Rosan," Mod said sadly.

The twins were shell shocked, snapped out of their fear with wide eyes.

Master was… bowing to them…? He said that he always loved them? H-He trusted them with his life? Even after their mistake caused the death of someone they all loved with their heart?!

Then Demon heard his final request and snapped out of his daze.

"I-I'm sorry, Master! I don't know what got over me!" He apologized, quickly whirring back into action. "Please just find a seat somewhere close and watch the procedure. I promise you that Robin will be fine!"

Angel let out a choked sob at the overwhelming happiness she felt and nodded, pushing herself up in the process. "Please don't bow, Master! That's unbefitting of you! We should be sorry for still fearing you after you went out of your way these years to show you love us!"

Rushing the prone redhead, she hastily straightened him and guided him to a seat that would keep Robin in his view.

Rosan said nothing, thankful that he managed to snap them out of their fear and remained stationary in his spot, staring at Robin's body the whole while.

Maro scooped up Angel in a reassuring hug and let her wife sob in her chest, shooting Sabo a grateful look all the while.

The revolutionary tipped his hat, frowning slightly at the image of how much Rosan seemed to loathe himself.

It wasn't just that he was missing his emotions. It was being walled up by an unhealthy amount of negativity.

"We should clear out the room," Maro said softly, turning on a heel and marching out with Angel in her hands. "Let's give them some space and go watch what's happening in Alabasta."

Everyone not involved nodded and shuffled out but not before gazing at the mysterious redhead who's actions only gave them more questions then answers.

Sabo placed a reassuring hand on Rosan's shoulder again and was satisfied to see the redhead acknowledging him with a short nod.

"Don't beat yourself up too much for something that's not your fault. You strike me as the type of person to do that," the revolutionary advised, departing moments after.

"He's right. Robin knew the danger she was in and would be furious if she realized you were pampering her to the point of your own detriment," Mod said softly.

The best way to get through to Rosan, was to have him see it through another's perspective instead of his own while being blunt.

"…" Rosan took a deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah you're right. She'd be upset if I blamed myself for this so I won't and we'll just continue to train so that it doesn't happen again."

"Of course!" Mod smiled gently, pleased that he was seeing reason. He was much more receptive to things like this over the years due to their family and she was so glad.

"Will you be going back to Alabasta?"

Surprisingly, he shook his head. "No, I want to be there for Robin when she wakes up. Luffy will save that kingdom, Robin needs me right now."

"...Right," Mod said, smiling even brighter. He was forgoing his vindictive nature to be with his best friend and that touched her heart.

Mod always did think they'd be a cute couple when they were kids and they even had a crush on each other!

It was natural considering the two were close in age and spent time traveling together in isolation. Not to mention, Rosan was incredibly possessive of Robin and showered her with attention and vice versa.

Alas, only Robin fully realized her crush. Rosan was too young to fully get a grasp on his own and they got separated just when he was about to. His crush is probably what the Virus used to fully turn him against her and then he met Meiko…

Perhaps what he needed was to find someone to love again. If they got him and Robin together… If they got Rosan to admit that he was in love with her, would he finally be saved?

Well, she was all aboard getting her two emotionally stunted idiots together.

"We've… We stabilized her Master," Demon said softly, snapping the dazed Rosan out of his reverie. "If you want, you can get closer to her."

The redhead immediately took that invitation and moved his seat right next to the sleeping Robin.

"Thank you, Demon, Mikita. You have no idea how much this means to me," Rosan said softly, turning towards the two and allowing them to see the slight tension drain from his face.

For once, he wasn't a stone wall. The Rosan who looked like he had everything under control at all times was gone, replaced by the weary man who had too much on his plate from such a young age.

He didn't look like the demon everyone thought he was. He just looked tired.

"I'm sorry for scaring you and yet you still did this for me… I won't forget this," Rosan assured quietly, closing his eyes and grabbing one of Robin's hand.

Mikita stepped back in shock, eyes wide in surprise. Though it wasn't specific, Rosan apologized to the both of them and not only that, he thanked them too! The former agent never expected to be thanked by the one person who made her feel worthless…

Did that mean… Did that mean she was useful…?

For once, Rosan didn't look like the Devil she thought he was.

"You don't have to do anything, Master," Demon assured in return, grabbing his brother in a tentative hug. "Her injuries weren't life threatening. Only the poison was truly a problem and she had the antidote ready at hand. We simply patched her up and thanks to being a Devil Fruit user, she's already healing faster then normal."

"Still. If you want something just ask," Rosan requested quietly, returning the hug and ending the conversation there. He turned his gaze back to Robin with intense focus and clutched her hand, idly applying Modification to her to alleviate some pain.

"We'll keep that in mind… C'mon Mikita," Demon urged, delicately grabbing the women and escorting her out the room.

"R-Right!" She said, lighting red at the touch.

"Thank you for helping me on such short notice. Remind me to treat you to dinner sometime this week. You did a fantastic job," the doctor said, smiling gently down at her and patting her blonde head.

The woman turned scarlet at that, looking at Demon like he just offered her the world and nodded rapidly.

Demon seemed out of her league but maybe just maybe… If she continued to prove her worth, he'd see value in her?

It was worth a shot.

Mod blinked at the interaction.

Was Mikita crushing on her little Demon? Mod had quite the soft spot for him, considering he opted to have purple hair and red eyes like her, and the youngest triplet never expressed any sort of interest in anyone outside of hookups with both genders.

She honestly thought he and Rin were going to get together but Angel informed her that Demon only thought of him as an assistant and maybe he had been attracted at one point but the doctor never did forget how willing he was to snap the boy's neck at a moment's notice... or for not mentioning what really happened to his father.

Demon was also afraid of commitment and didn't want to truly open his heart for anyone.

Rin had understandably not taken it very well (Angel mentioned him crying) and the two had become much more distant, something Demon didn't seem to mind at all, which only made his assistant more upset.

Well, at least he and Kanna seemed to be a thing now. Demon was quite the cold heartbreaker without realizing it sometimes because even that didn't bother him at all, only granting them a congratulatory smile when it was revealed.

Now that he was so experienced with his work, the purple haired clone was allowing himself much more liberties but he still never committed to anyone, much preferring to fool around instead.

Mod hoped he found someone worth settling down with. The most popular person in Celadon deserved it.

Maybe he'd end up liking Mikita?

Or maybe he'd break her heart like dozens of others on Celadon. Demon was quite difficult to chain down, something he did not share with his twin sister who was as loyal as could be to Maro.

Perhaps he was afraid of opening up his heart fully like Rosan had done… perhaps he didn't want to go through that potential pain.

It was a thought for another time. For now, she would make sure Ram was alright and keep an eye on Robin (and Alabasta) as well.

She sent a soothing pulse to her charge who had not taken his eyes off Robin once and assured him that everything would be fine.

Rosan didn't reply, too focused on the Devil Child to do so. He idly raked her hair before registering Mod's reassurance.

"She will be fine," he agreed quietly.

Of course she would. If she wasn't going to be fine, he wouldn't be so artificially calm right now.

No, if Robin was deeply injured, there'd have been hell to pay and the world would finally understand that there was a Demon that they had been nourishing.

---

The Straw Hats were making incredible progress through the desert right now.

They ran into an issue with crossing the river in a timely manner but after the Dugongs Luffy defeated much earlier in their journey came to assist them (much to Nami's annoyance) in crossing the river, they were making fantastic progress to Alubarna.

"I see some of the agents up ahead!" Usopp hissed, using his goggles that Rosan modified some time ago to spot a group of people, presumably, waiting for them.

They were desert proof now and granted him even better vision then he already had (they even had heat vision)! The redhead also offered to upgrade his slingshot but Usopp had rather fearfully denied it.

His hammer was good enough...

Nami, with her quick thinking, instructed them all to place their hoodies on so that they could confuse them and split up in order to let Vivi gain free access into Alubarna.

Based on the confusion in their eyes, it was working out well for them and soon, they'd be able to divert their attention and lead them away from all the entrances.

Of course, things were never quite that simple.

Without warning, Luffy turned on his spot-billed duck and launched his fist out, colliding with a wave of sand and mostly neutralizing the attack.

"That attack…!" Vivi whispered in horror.

Crocodile?! What happened to Robin and Rosan? Weren't they fighting him? Were they all right?!

The Warlord appeared in their vision and it was clear that he had been in quite the fight. He was soaked, with some dried blood and his outfit was torn in places.

But most interesting was the hot rage on his face. Despite, presumably, winning his fight, the Warlord didn't look pleased whatsoever.

"D-Did he kill Robin and Rosan?!" Usopp stammered in fear.

The Straw Hats didn't want to think about that possibility but Usopp had brought it to attention and now they couldn't stop dwelling on it.

Was Rosan actually… was he dea—

"Of course he didn't!" Luffy scowled. "Rosan wouldn't lose here! Something happened that made him leave."

They glanced in a bit of awe at the absolute faith Luffy had in his scout and realized he was right, there was no way Rosan would lose here!

Right on cue, a blue bird flew into view and landed on Luffy's shoulder, chirping all the while to the rubbery boy.

"Robin got hurt so Rosan took her away?" the captain frowned.

The bird trilled at that, nodding rapidly.

The crew paused at that. Robin was hurt?! What happened to her? Was she alright?!

"Don't worry, I'll kick Crocodile's ass," Luffy assured confidently, glaring at the furious sandman.

"How does he understand the bird?" Everyone thought in confusion. It was just chirping and not even Chopper could understand it because it wasn't actually speaking in animal tongue.

Rosan's little scout chirped happily and rubbed its cheeks against Luffy's in satisfaction before flying off. They watched it fly into the sky where it seemed to meet up with two other birds.

Just how much birds did Rosan have out at a time?

Crocodile's teeth were creaking due to how hard his jaw was clenched.

That redhead had ruined his plans one too many times.

Nico Robin was right there and now she was out of his grasp again. Over and over again, Rosan one upped him and now he had no idea where he was.

Well, no matter. He'd lure him out again by dismantling his crew this time.

"You guys go ahead and distract the others," Luffy ordered as he stared down the Warlord. "I'll keep this guy right here to stop him from interfering anymore."

The Straw Hats were much more hesitant to leave Luffy behind by himself but the captain shot them a reassuring grin.

"Don't worry! Rosan didn't lose and I won't lose either! We need to stop the rebellion," He beamed, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

Not wanting to reveal their identities any further, they simply nodded and urged their respective ducks forward, leaving Luffy and Crocodile behind.

"You think I'll let them get away for free?" Crocodile snarled. Holding out his hand, he summoned a miniature sandstorm in his palm and prepared to let it fly.

"Sable—"

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"

The Warlord was forced to cancel his technique in order to block the rubbery fist careening his way. Using his hook (that was still fully exposed from his previous battle) he blocked the attack and focused his attention on the rubber boy.

"You and that redhead just love getting in my way and I'm getting tired of it," Crocodile rumbled. He'd make this quick. If this was really the captain of their crew, the redhead would make sure Straw Hat Luffy didn't die.

"You made Vivi cry so I'm gonna kick your ass," Luffy said simply, putting up his fists to do just that.

The Warlord snorted, not taking the rubber boy serious at all. "You really think you can beat me without that redhead?"

"I don't need Rosan to beat you and Rosan doesn't need me to beat you!" Luffy grinned challengingly,.

Crocodile felt a litter of veins riddle his face at that statement. This one wouldn't be getting away if he had anything to say about it. He was fed up with this random rookie crew.

"Let's see how confident you are after I'm done with you," The leader of Baroque Works muttered darkly.

---

The Straw Hats had a simple plan to let Vivi freely enter Alubarna without interference.

Throw up a simple disguise and go to every single exit, distracting the agents at the same time and splitting them up by pairs.

The sudden arrival of Crocodile threw them out of sorts but Luffy choosing to stay behind actually worked out well for them.

Usopp offered to go deeper into the desert due to his newfound goggles and Chopper opted to follow him, concerned for his well being.

Nami and Zoro went the other, mostly so that the navigator could keep the swordsman on track and be protected by him as well.

Sanji, Vivi and the camel went in another direction. By hiding her form, they made it appear as if it was only two of them and made the princess hide but on the off chance she was discovered, Sanji would go and save her.

The Agents didn't stay idle of course, splitting up into their own pairs to give chase.

"Alright. Time to see what this things made of," Nami muttered, facing off Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger with Zoro next to her.

W-Why did she have to go up against the two strongest agents?! W-Where was her bodyguard when she needed him!

Well… At least he worked on this clima-tact for her. She just needed to figure out how to activate Rosan's part.

It shouldn't be too hard. Rosan was much more… bloodthirsty then Usopp was.

"Can I leave the girl to you?" Zoro grunted, staring down Mr. 1 with a calm glare.

"Y-Yeah! Leave it to me!" Nami said nervously, eyeing the two killers.

If she ran now, Rosan would never let her live it down. If he heard that she ran after he went through the effort of modifying her weapon—

"If you have to fight someone, you better win or else, Nami," Rosan had told her calmly.

Nami whitened at the idea of him forcefully training her.

She needed to avoid that outcome at all costs.

"Let's split up," Nami instructed. If they fought them 2 on 2 they'd get slaughtered by the partners for years. Her and Zoro didn't have great teamwork at all.

Robin informed all of them of what each agent was capable of and these two were the most dangerous next to Mr. 2. Based on what she heard about all of them, Nami reluctantly came to the conclusion that she was one of the few choices in the crew who would be facing Miss Doublefinger.

Mr. 1 would probably handle most of their crewmates with little issue due to his Devil Fruit so they all agreed that if it came down to it, Zoro would fight the human swordsman.

The other's were up for grab, but Sanji would never hit a woman so that ruled him out and they doubted Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger would go into the desert where Usopp and Chopper went…

Nami understood all of that but why did she have to fight the strongest female in Baroque Works besides Robin?!

"Both her and Mr. 1 have Devil Fruits that do well against my own. I can still defeat her but it would be easier if someone else did the job instead," Robin had told her apologetically.

Right, she could do this. She knew about Miss Doublefinger because of Robin (she loved that woman) and the best way to fight her, would be to keep a safe distance.

Luckily for her, she had the clima-tact.

Zoro raised a brow at her. "You want to split up?" He asked in disbelief, looking at the other coward of the crew like she had grown a second head.

Just who was this person? This couldn't possibly be the Nami he knew. Zoro was expecting to deal with Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger, while the coward ran away.

"S-SHUT UP!" She barked, fumbling for the clima-tact and preparing to run off.

"Why would we split up?" Mr. 1 asked with a raised brow, making her freeze at his intelligent question. "What's the point? We'll just kill you both right here and complete our mission."

Zoro snorted at that answer. "Look at this mindless slave with no will of his own. Content to follow your bosses orders until you die? Know you can't win alone so you're gonna rely on your partner to help you outta a tough spot?" He taunted.

Miss Doublefinger sighed in amusement at watching Mr. 1 twitch.

Crocodile's strongest male agent glanced at Zoro with a dark glare on his features.

Right, this was the little bounty hunter who got offered a position in Baroque Works but denied it and killed Mr. 7 in the process after making an outrageous claim that he'd join if they made him the boss.

Now he was here calling him a mindless slave?

"Miss Doublefinger, don't interfere with my battle," Mr. 1 rumbled, focusing his full attention on Zoro.

"You're falling right into their trap, you know?" She shrugged helplessly, focusing on the fleeing Nami.

"Falling into their trap implies they can challenge us. Go deal with the other one," he instructed.

Miss Doublefinger was already on the move, following after Nami with a roll of her eyes.

The moment she vanished from their sight, Mr. 1 dashed into Zoro, blade arms gleaming as they collided with the swordsman own swords.

---

Usopp and Chopper were not having a fun time right now.

Miss Merry Christmas and Mr. 4 were in their element with the terrain and they used it to a vicious degree.

The two were bruised and battered, Usopp to a much greater degree as they tried to locate the mole woman's location.

There were holes in the battleground, courtesy of the female agent and she was currently camped out in one of them.

This was what had been happening the entire fight. She would pop out, grap Usopp and drag him over to Mr. 4, so that he could deliver a hellish blow to him.

Usopp in question, was a bloodied and battered mess. He had been taking the full brunt of their onslaught and he was sure most of his bones were broken.

But he couldn't fall yet. He wouldn't leave Chopper alone with these two.

"You have potential."

"Chopper, I have a plan," Usopp muttered, spitting out blood as he steeled himself.

The reindeer looked at him in confusion but nodded at the sudden confidence.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT OVER THERE!" Miss Merry Christmas howled, bursting out of a hole and charging Usopp and Chopper.

Before she could approach them, Chopper transformed into his walk point and Usopp leapt atop as the two rocketed off towards Mr. 4.

The agent and his bazooka dog, gazed at the two charging them and prepared to silence them.

At the same time, Miss Merry Christmas growled in annoyance and jumped back into one of the many holes she created.

"Now!" Chopper shouted as he grounded himself to a halt right in front of the dog and his master and launched Usopp through the air at the same time he transformed into his heavy point.

Usopp took aim and the moment Lassoo opened his mouth, the sniper shot a pellet inside.

"Special Attack: Pepper Star!" The sniper shouted hitting home.

Chopper lunged and grabbed the dog, before forcefully aiming it at Mr. 4 and making a mad dash away from them.

The effects were immediate.

The Dog began unleashing sneeze after sneeze and because of its nature, each sneeze meant it was unleashing a salvo of exploding baseballs directly onto Mr. 4's body.

The explosion that followed suit was deafening as everyone of Lassoo's cannonballs connected.

"MR. 4!" Miss Merry Christmas shouted in horror as she tunneled to his position.

The man was unconscious and charred, body smoking as he twitched.

"Y-You..." the woman stewed as she gazed at her defeated partner. "I'll make you two pay for that!"

With that declaration, Merry Christmas dove back into her tunnel system.

That mistake would prove costly.

Usopp grinned in victory as she went underground again, ignoring the pain at landing awkwardly, and pushed himself up.

Grabbing his slingshot once more, the sniper made a mad dash over to one of the holes with a gleam in his eyes.

Then, he painstakingly took aim inside and shot his specialized pellet.

---

Sometime Ago

"You want me to give you some new type of pellets?"Rosan asked curiously.

"Yeah! I need something that packs a real punch!" Usopp nodded.

The redhead tilted his head. "Sure, why not. Just remember my warning, I'm a rather lethal person."

The sniper wilted a bit at that ominous warning but pushed through. "Sometimes, we have to do things we don't want to do! If I want to catch up with you guys, I need to be able to push through the discomfort!"

Rosan stared at him for a while, expression impossible to read, before the redhead nodded in approval.

"You're well on your way to becoming a brave warrior of the sea. Very well, I'll create something worth firing on that slingshot."

---

"Special Attack: Explosive Mine Star!" Usopp shouted, using his newly created ammo.

He aimed into the hole and fired.

Mine Star (he just thought of that name mind you!) utilized a new type of pellet created by his scout himself.

Usopp had no idea what was differences were in these pellets and Rosan had said it would be more fun if he figured it out himself and to not use it unless he felt like he needed to.

"It has a lot of firepower," Rosan had said cryptically. "Feel free to use it in tough situations... If you dont wanna be a murderer make sure your opponent is somewhat strong or far away."

He had went a bit pale at that warning and nodded hesitantly, taking the unassuming bag of red pellets out of Rosan's hand and stuffing it in his satchel.

It was a good thing he heeded the redhead's warning.

Chopper and Usopp's jaw went slack, as a light filled the tunnel created by Miss Merry Christmas due to the massive explosion that erupted from the pellet he just fired.

It engulfed every tunnel and they watched as Miss Merry Christmas was forcefully ejected from one of the holes with a howl of pain, skin burned and smoking as she was caught in the attack.

She was so far from the hole he fired in but still got caught...

"D-Did he fill up my pellets with his fire?" Usopp whispered to himself in disbelief as he saw the woman desperately role around in pain.

Rosan did. He had formed a super condensed orb of fire and modified it into a small pellet that Usopp could fire, giving the sniper about 2 dozen for his first round.

It was like an explosive star on steroids... what the hell...

He gazed at Miss Merry Christmas rolling around in an effort to stamp her burns but she eventually succumbed to the pain and with one last whimper, fell unconscious.

A quick glance over at Mr. 4 made Usopp hastily gaze away from the man.

Yeah... they definitely won their fight.

"I didn't even have to use my special technique, whack-a-mole," he muttered, falling back and letting out a groan of pain as the adrenaline wore off.

Everything hurt. Mr. 4 didn't hit soft. Miss Merry Christmas didn't hit soft. That damn dog gun didn't hit soft. No one hit soft and he had been the target of their aggression for the entirety of the fight.

Chopper jumped at the noises of pain coming out of Usopp, before remembering he was a doctor and dashing over to tend to him.

"You're not as useless as Rosan made you out to be, Usopp!" Chopper praised enthusiastically, wrapping him up with bandages.

"He's such an ass. A useful ass, but still an ass," Usopp groaned.

But he won! The Great Captain Usopp beat two agents from Baroque Works! He actually did it!

These pellets from Rosan actually gave him quite a few ideas too! He would consult more with the redhead to see if he could put them into practice.

"Oh you guys won? I thought I'd have to help you out," A bloodied Sanji muttered in surprise.

He glanced at the two defeated agents and balked at both their conditions.

Damn, he didn't think they had it in them!

His fight with Mr. 2 had been… complicated to say the least. He shouldn't have struggled as much as he did but the agent had a very powerful counter to Sanji…

Namely, being able to transform into Nami.

Sanji would never lay a hand on Nami and there were no exceptions, even if it wasn't actually his beloved navigator.

That wasn't to say that was the only issue… Mr. 2 wasn't weak whatsoever, packing a punch that made his counter to Sanji legitimately deadly.

Luckily the man was an idiot and had a key weakness in which he couldn't fight unless he was in his actual body. After realizing that, Sanji made quick work of the okama and left him lying unconscious in the middle of the streets.

"What happened to Vivi?" Chopper asked in concern, noticing the princess wasn't with him.

Sanji waved off his concerns. "I held Mr. 2 off so she could run ahead. She wasn't able to stop the rebellion yet but she should be about to soon."

Right now, Vivi should be at the castle right now so that everyone could know she was alive and well.

The way things were going, Baroque Works would be defeated without even remotely completing their goal—

The three straw hats froze in horror, as the most massive sandstorm they ever saw slammed right into Alubarna, engulfing the entire capital with gusts of sands that battered all in their path.

Worst, it seemed like as time passed, it was getting stronger.

"Is that bastard trying to kill everyone in there?" Sanji muttered with a bead of sweat, watching the power Crocodile displayed and biting his cigarette hard.

"Is Luffy gonna be okay?" Chopper asked worriedly, looking in the direction where their captain was fighting Crocodile.

"He'll be fine, I need to find Nami then go check if Vivi is alright. Chopper stay here with Usopp," Sanji ordered, already running off to go do that.

"D-Don't you mean Nami and Zoro?" Usopp groaned. He couldn't really move right now considering he was in a full body cast.

But maybe that was a good idea… he didn't really fancy going into the sandstorm riddled city right now.

Yeah… he did his part! It was up to them now to do theirs!

---

Vivi had no idea what was going on right now.

It seemed like every step of the way, someone was trying to screw her over because whenever she planned on doing something, it all went to shit.

(Excuse her language).

She failed to alert the rebellion of her presence due to the explosions kicking up sand and they ran right past her.

Then, she got separated from Sanji and before he found her, Karoo was injured protecting the princess from Mr. 2.

Luckily the blonde did manage to make it in time and he quickly had her run off to finish her job which she was doing an admirable job of!

Well, up until that really rude someone made their presence known once more.

She had just managed to reach Chaka, one of the two head guards of Alabasta's army, when a freak sandstorm hit the entirety of Alubarna with such force, that Vivi was sure there were already casualties on both sides.

It had hit the area with so much strength, she had been flung to the ground.

The princess grit her teeth in rage and worry. Only Crocodile would do that but… was Luffy alright? Did the Warlord perhaps defeat him and decide to focus his attention on Alubarna?

But why…?

Wasn't his goal to take over Alabasta? Why would he try and kill so much people? There were millions of people currently in Alubarna and the sandy wind buffeting them was getting even stronger.

Vivi shook her head violently. There was no time for her to be doubting Luffy. He was alive and fine and the fact that Crocodile had to summon a sandstorm instead of showing his face, told her he was still occupied.

She needed to focus on her own mission and what Robin had told her before they all separated.

---

Flashback

"There's a bomb in Alubarna and it's big enough to take out the entire city,"Robin informed Vivi.

On Rosan's orders, the Devil Child had swiftly departed from the casino to assist the princess with the Baroque Works agents, while distancing herself far away from Crocodile in the process so Rosan had a way to gain a large distance when activating Save Point.

It had been painfully easy for her to deal with all the agents converging on her and with the help of a very confused Pell, they made great distance and even picked up Sanji and Chopper in the process.

"I'll go find the bomb," Pell said, knowing now was not the time for questions when so much was at stake.

"Unfortunately, Crocodile didn't give me the exact whereabouts, so you'll have to find it on your own," Robin apologized, tugging her pendant idly to inform Rosan they were far enough and getting a swoon out of Sanji in the process.

"Leave it to me," the hawk man stated, transforming back into his Zoan and flying off quickly to go and retrieve the bomb before something disastrous happened.

"Thank you so much for telling us about this, Robin!" Vivi thanked, bowing to the woman and getting a kind smile out of her.

"Thank me when the bomb is neutralized," she replied.

---

Flashback End

Right about now, Pell should have been tracking the bomb but with the sudden surge of sand in the air, it would only be all the more difficult for him, especially considering how powerful the sandstorm was getting…

No doubt he was suffering great damage from the buffeting winds.

Vivi bit her lip in concern and looked in the direction she left Luffy at.

He was fine. She needed to focus on making sure as much people were safe as possible. Hopefully this freak sandstorm stopped them all from fighting but knowing the rebels, it likely only invigorated them.

They'd never be able to hear her like this either…

This was impossible… What happened to make Crocodile decide to do this? Was Luffy giving him a hard time…?

---

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"

Crocodile leaned to left to dodge the incoming fist and scowled at this joke of a captain.

This was who the redhead chose to follow? How disappointing.

After managing to begrudgingly earn his respect, almost all of it was being dashed away by this rookie.

"Desert Spada," the Warlord intoned lazily.

Fine, he'd make the redhead regret leaving it up to this idiot. Even if he was currently tangible, this fight would be nothing to him.

"W-Woah!" Luffy said, quickly calling his fist back and leaping out of the way of the torpedo of sand in time to avoid being cut in half.

The rubber boy was given no respite because Crocodile quickly appeared in his guard to swing that poisonous hook at him.

Luffy performed an expert backflip to avoid the swing of the hook and said, "Gomu Gomu no Stamp," mid flip.

His sandal collided with the weapon and Crocodile grunted in annoyance at the fact he couldn't hit this weak nuisance.

Before Straw Hat could withdraw his sandal, Crocodile swiftly reached out and grabbed the appendage with his good hand, draining all the moisture out of it immediately and slamming Luffy on the floor.

The rubber boy recovered disturbingly quick, catching the fall with his arms and pushing himself into a handstand, punishing Crocodile's action by launching his good foot into the man's gut that made him skid back a good distance.

It was then he noticed the leg that Crocodile grabbed.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH MY LEG!" Luffy screeched, eyes bugged at the flabby piece of skin hanging uselessly there.

The rubber boy began rolling in panic, wondering how he could salvage this and go back to normal before his eyes lit up.

"Here," Rosan's memory replayed in his head. "Water so that you can make contact with Crocodile. As long as you hit him while you're wet, you'll be able to connect to him."

"Oh and something else," Robin chimed in, ensuring the water supply was secure on Luffy's person. "Crocodile can dehydrate you with just a touch but if you drink water, you can counteract its effects."

Ah, Robin and Rosan were the best!

Crocodile watched the idiot with a scowl on his face, not believing he was wasting his time with this and not believing he actually got hit by him in the process.

That scowl only got deeper, at watching Straw Hat take a deep gulp of his supply of water and regain his previously lost leg.

So everyone knew how to counter him… Nico Robin completely sold him out.

"Why would Nico Robin choose to follow a group of idiots like you all?" Crocodile couldn't help but snarl aloud, mostly speaking to himself.

Just how potent was that redhead's hypnotism? To so thoroughly fool her even after stating she was hypnotized? What was he fully capable of?

He couldn't believe he let them both get away from—

"Because Robin's our friend and Rosan's best friend!" Luffy retorted with a glare, not realizing he was sabotaging his older brother's plan in the process.

Crocodile raised a brow in disbelief. "Friend? Best friend? What the hell are you talking about, rookie?" He asked the moron.

"Robin and Rosan have been friends since they were kids! Of course she'd pick him over you, stupid!" The rubber boy retorted, shaking his leg to make sure it was alright.

The Warlord actually froze at that.

It was as if a key piece to the puzzle had been missing the entire time and Monkey D. Luffy had gracefully placed it into his palm. No doubt the only intelligent member in his crew would have been thoroughly annoyed but it was too late because now Crocodile knew everything.

Nico Robin really did betray him of her own volition and she didn't care whatsoever, which was why she tried to convince him she wasn't hypnotized.

There was no hypnotism in play but that cunning redhead managed to still convince him because he had key information Crocodile did not.

Crocodile could never quite place a finger as to why Nico Robin would ever betray him with how much protection he gifted her. No one even knew she was on Alabasta because of him so why would she ever throw that away?

He knew there was absolutely nothing Mr. 3 could offer her and hearing he was dead solidified that for him.

That was why he so easily believed in the redhead's claims of hypnotizing her. By using all the information he fed to Crocodile, he came to a logical and sound answer that would effortlessly fool him.

It wasn't possible for him to be able to see through that because the redhead was able to get away with things not a single person was able to, when dealing with Nico Robin.

Now it all made sense. Crocodile had first met Robin when she was 21 and she had a broken look in her eyes.

When he proposed they joined forces, there was no complaint from the woman and she readily accepted and that had been the birth of Mr. 0 and Miss All Sunday.

The broken look in her eyes, that made her so compliant and useful, was no longer there. He thought it was due to the hypnotism but no, it was because the woman had been reunited with someone important to her…

Crocodile grit his teeth, eyes smoldering with rage.

That Rosan had thoroughly tricked him every step of the way. He spent years building up this intricate plan and he was getting foiled at the tail end of it by something completely out of his control.

Nico Robin never once indicated anything about this Rosan. How was he supposed to know they were lovers? It was nonsense and now he couldn't even use her to decipher the Poneglyph.

Since entering the Grand Line, the Straw Hat pirates had done nothing but piss him off and he was tired of it.

Nico Robin, Rosan, Straw Hat, they could all go to hell.

"You must care a lot about your friends," Crocodile suddenly said gravely.

"Of course I do!" Luffy replied. What was he talking about—

Luffy's confusion turned into horror as he watched Crocodile form a sandstorm in his palms.

"Sables Grande."

Without any hesitation, Crocodile launched the technique towards Alubarna and they both watched as it very quickly became massive before crashing into the country.

"Unlike my normal Sables, that one progressively gets stronger so the longer it stays, the more dangerous it gets. But if you defeat me in time you can stop it. You're on a timer now, Straw Hat," Crocodile taunted.

"What?! But your friends are in there too!" Luffy gasped in horror.

He glared hard at the Warlord and immediately began his assault anew…

...To little success. Luffy looked down in disbelief at the crescent of sand stabbing him through his gut.

Crocodile let out a low, menacing, laughter as he watched the blood begin seeping into the sand and dispersed his own attack.

"Friends? I don't have any friends, Straw Hat," the warlord said coldly. "I don't need anything so stupid when I could have disposable servants instead. If they die or not… none of that matters to me because I can just get more."

Luffy held his bloody belly and glared at Crocodile with hot rage, furious at his callous attitude.

Crocodile grinned mockingly at the injured rubber boy. "Going to fight me with that injury? You're too eager, just like that redhead of yours. Come on then, I'll show you the gap in our skills and we can watch my sandstorm engulf all of Alubarna while you struggle."

"Gomu Gomu no Rifle!" Luffy roared, throwing out his twisted fit. He paid no mind to the blood or injuries on his body and pushed on without hesitation.

His attack was largely unsuccessful though, due to the wave of sand blocking his path from Crocodile.

"Just because I'm suddenly tangible, doesn't mean it's easy to defeat me," He grinned mockingly, launching another Desert Spada at the rubber boy.

Luffy barely managed to dodge the full effects and grit his teeth at getting nicked slightly, blood pouring from his leg now.

"Gomu Gomu no Gatling!"

He rapidly punched the air over and over again, pounding the sand repeatedly until he finally began to make headway—

"You're too slow, Straw Hat," a voice mocked behind him.

—Only to get blasted away by a wave of sand from behind.

The rubber boy grunted in surprise and began tumbling across the sand before stopping and shakily pulling himself up.

"I don't want to kill you immediately, Straw Hat," Crocodile informed him calmly, grinning smugly at the rookie.

"I want you to watch as my sandstorm destroys everyone in Alubarna. I want you to see all your friends perish to my might. Then, I want that redhead crewmate of yours to try and save you, only to fail as I get rid of the both of you."

The Warlord began laughing darkly at the struggling Luffy.

"As long as I'm in the desert, no one can beat—"

"Shut up."

Crocodile gained a vein of annoyance at that. He watched the rubber boy push himself up to fix him with a glare and nearly discarded the idea of making him suffer.

"For Vivi's sake, I'm gonna kick your ass, Crocodile," Luffy began, crouching down and placing a fist on the floor.

"You've made this country suffer for too long and I'm gonna stop it right now," he promised, pumping his legs.

Crocodile stared on in confusion. What the hell was he doing?

"Rosan didn't need help beating you and I don't either," Luffy said gravely, looking up and fixing Crocodile with a hard glare.

These injuries didn't matter when Vivi was suffering for so much longer. When she was hurting so much more.

None of what he was dealing with right now was anything compared to what the princess endured for years.

And it was all this man's fault.

"You lose now, Crocodile," The rubber boy declared.

"Gear Second."

---

Nami was finally beginning to realize that Rosan and Luffy weren't the exact same levels of chaotic.

How did she come to that conclusion?

Well, it was actually because she came to a new one.

Rosan was absolutely more insane.

Of course he was more insane. How could she never see that before?

Luffy was a complete idiot! He had no choice but to be the way he was!

Rosan on the other hand, was one of the smartest people she knew and still chose to be this chaotic. Controlled chaos could be far more dangerous then uncontrolled and her scout finally opened her eyes to that.

You might be wondering what caused her to come to this new conclusion.

Well, it was simple really—

"It is unwise to lose focus on the enemy, Master Nami," Clima supplied helpfully.

"I KNOW THAT!" She roared, making Miss Doublefinger furrow her eyes in concern.

"Are you alright?" The agent asked. It seemed like fighting her had finally caused the girl to lose her mind…

Poor thing.

"Oh I'm completely fine," Nami waved her off, smiling politely at the woman. She then immediately glared ferociously at the weapon she was holding again.

Miss Doublefinger sweatdropped.

In her quest to find out what exactly Rosan had done to her weapon (and realizing how useless Usopp made her weapon in the first place), Nami discovered some things.

It all started when she first connected all three pieces of the Clima-tact. The moment she did so, Nami let out a short gasp of pain at getting pricked by something from her weapon.

She ignored it but there was absolutely no way to explain what happened next.

"Greetings, Master Nami," a male voice suddenly sounded in her mind, making her jump 10 feet into the air with a shriek.

(This was also the beginning of Miss Doublefinger thinking Nami had mental issues)

"W-W-What the hell?!" Nami said in confusion. Was that… Oh Kami please don't tell her that was the weapon who said that.

"Correct, Master Nami! I don't understand why Master Rosan insisted you were so stupid, you caught on quite quickly," the staff praised.

She was going to kill that stupid redhead next time she saw him.

"I am the Creation of Local Instantaneous Modified Ambiance or Clima for short! I'm an AI created alongside your weapon to help assist you in battle and dissuade you of cowardice," Clima greeted politely.

Nami felt a headache forming at that.

So Rosan gave her a weapon with an AI… that could now speak to her—

"Jump to the left."

Without any hesitation, she followed the voices command and leapt to the left, avoiding a spiked drop kick from Miss Doublefinger in the process.

"See! I can be helpful!" The weapon preened. "And you don't have to speak to me aloud. It would make you appear crazier then you already are!"

Rosan was so dead.

"So… are you the surprise addition Rosan didn't want to tell me about?" Nami asked, keeping an eye on her opponent the entire time.

Despite her annoyance… Clima did just save her life.

"I am one of them!" He replied, sounding as if he were smiling.

Nami's headache got worse.

"We can discuss the perks Master Rosan gave me as the battle goes on. Let us focus on defeating this unruly, scandalous, less attractive then my wielder villain!" Clima said.

Despite sweatdropping at his words, the navigator nodded. Clima (Oh Kami maybe she was going crazy) was right. She had an opponent to beat and despite her annoyance, Rosan never let her down before.

Sure he may have given her weapon a voice to almost certainly piss her off, but at the end of the day this was still a weapon made by Portgas D. Rosan, her redheaded scout who was one of the most versatile people on the planet.

It would not disappoint.

"Now, you wanted to be able to control the weather and the liar created this weapon with that in mind. Master Rosan expanded on that but focused on making the weapon itself useful. Block this incoming attack."

Nami did just that and marveled as Clima collided perfectly with Miss Doublefinger's spiked fingers.

Not only that, the woman actually hissed and recalled it, stepping back and regarding Nami warily.

"Enhanced reinforcement courtesy of Modification along with some temperature tampering alongside the whole weapon. This turns you into both a formidable close ranged battler and soon, a far ranged one as well."

Nami couldn't help but grin at that. Temperature tampering along with enhanced durability? Maybe she wouldn't kill Rosan after all.

"Why doesn't the temperature change affect me?" Nami couldn't help but ask.

"Because I am your weapon of course," Clima replied like it was common sense. "But seeing as you won't accept that reply due to your fiery temper… Right as you pieced me together, I bonded myself to you so now you're immune to most of what I can do!"

Modification was pure nonsense. Nami didn't even think the World Government fully understood what the scope of that fruit did because if they did, they'd be a lot more concerned that someone like Rosan, who despised their organization, had it.

"Most of what you can do?" She couldn't help but ask.

She immediately regret her decision as the Clima-tact drenched her in water.

Nami threw the weapon onto the floor with a furious scowl. "I HATE THAT STUPID REDHEAD!"

"Are you sure you're alright?" Miss Doublefinger asked warily. Was she dealing with split personality right now? One second she was dangerous, the next… this.

"I'm totally fine!" Nami assured, smiling at the women.

"Please pick me back up, Master Nami. I'm very sorry for showing you what I'm capable of despite you asking me."

The navigator grit her teeth but bent over to pick the weapon back up. "Don't do that again. Next time just tell me."

"Understood."

"I feel bad for you… using a weapon that's clearly malfunctioned… I'll put you out of your misery soon enough," the agent said, sounding genuinely apologetic as she watched the girl pick her weapon up.

Nami was about to retort, but the sudden drop of temperature from Clima made her pause in confusion.

"Malfunctioned? This worthless agent thinks I've malfunctioned?" Her new weapon asked incredulously. "Unacceptable. Let us teach her just who created me, Master Nami."

All hints of playfulness her weapon had vanished and it caused Nami to straighten up.

It seemed this weapon had Rosan's ego as well… That was good for her.

That meant she was going to win this fight.

"I am able to rapidly change my temperature between hot and cold, and I can store a large amount of water for your use. Using your genius of the weather, I'm sure you can utilize me to my fullest."

Rapidly change his temperature? Along with some of the functions Usopp added, such as the Heat Ball, Cool Ball and Thunder Ball…

She could make this work.

Much to Miss Doublefinger's surprise, Nami charged her to begin a close quarters battle and it caused the woman to narrow her eyes.

Did this girl really think she could defeat her in close combat because she could heat up her staff?

The agent quickly morphed her hand into one giant spike and ducked into the charging girl's guard, ruthlessly stabbing her through the stomach.

She gained a look of confusion at the lack of blood and watched in shock, as the figure of the girl wavered and vanished.

"Ah!" Miss Doublefinger gasped in surprise at the feeling of cool water drenching her form.

That surprise quickly morphed into pain and she was sent tumbling at the positively icy pole that crashed into her wet form. She couldn't help but writhe at the extreme change in temperature her body just went through.

From the scalding heat of the desert to the sudden freeze… it felt like her body was about to go into shock!

Nami gazed at her weapon with a delighted look in her eyes. "You can summon Cool Balls for me without me having to blow it out of the pole!"

She requested that Clima summon Cool Balls so that they could clash with the heat of the desert and allow her to form mirages. Then, she had him drench Miss Doublefinger in water while reducing his own temperature and she ruthlessly smacked the woman with her staff.

This… This was incredibly useful!

"Controlling the Liar's half is a simple matter for me. I am the entirety of the Clima-tact after all. Now let's continue our assault."

Nami nodded and shot out a Thunder Ball at the soaked woman, getting a shriek out of her as it collided with the water and sent spasms throughout her entire body.

The Thunder Ball was very weak, but combined with the water, the effects were devastating and Miss Doublefinger shakily pulled herself back up, tremors shooting through her body all the while.

"What is that weapon?" She thought to herself in disbelief. She thought it was some broken toy but it was anything but, inflicting punishment on her that made her think twice about approaching her like this.

It was difficult to move her body right now but not impossible. She needed to somehow cripple that girl…

Miss Doublefinger made a show of collapsing on the floor again, unable to keep her form straight and she waited with bated breath as Nami slowly let her guard down.

"Wait! Don't let your guard down! Strike her!" Clima shouted but it was too late.

Nami was confused at the panic in Clima's voice but it was soon revealed, as the agent leapt forward with a spiked hand, ready to impale the navigator.

It was only the warning her weapon shouted that allowed her to keep her guard up enough to avoid serious injury.

The navigator leapt back but wasn't quick enough to dodge the attack in full and Miss Doublefinger pierced the woman's arm successfully.

Fighting through her pain, Miss Doublefinger mercilessly grabbed her needle like arm and made sure to stab it right through Nami's other good arm, rendering it completely useless for this battle.

"AGHHHH!" Nami screamed at the pain of being impaled and uselessly swung Clima with the arm she could barely swing. Despite the fact that it lacked any sort of power, Miss Doublefinger leapt away from it, wary of the other things it could do.

The agent shook again as jolts went through her body but stared at Nami with fury, occasionally twitching.

"Why on Earth did you let your guard down?" Clima asked curiously. Was this what Master Rosan meant when he said they were all slightly naive?

Nami huffed in pain, one arm hanging uselessly to the side as blood poured down her exposed body. "I thought she was done for… I didn't want to beat on a dead horse."

"But this isn't a horse. These are assassins, murderers, killers. They will kill anyone in their way if it means completing their mission, Master Nami. Now look at you. She used your good will against you and the fight that was overwhelmingly in your favor, is now looking bad for us," Clima chided sternly, trying to teach her despite the dire situation before them.

The navigator bit back a yelp of pain as she leapt back from the nearly feral Miss Doublefinger. The woman was no longer playing any games with her and her whole body was riddled in spikes that were trying to tear her apart.

"I-I know, okay! Please channel your inner Rosan after we get out of this situation!" Nami yelped, turning a foot and beelining away from the porcupine while she racked up some plans.

Her arms were practically useless right now. She couldn't swing them with any force, much less use any technique she was currently thinking of. Maybe she could throw up a mirage but her other moves were out of the question.

"Stand. Still!" Miss Doublefinger grit out, repeatedly stabbing out and missing as the thief continuously dodged her attacks with constant yelps.

Her arms were a useless bloody mess right now so how was she able to ignore that and keep running?!

She was at her wits end with this orange haired idiot.

"We are in quite the predicament…" Clima hummed. "Very well, there is still one surprise that I have not revealed yet that you should be able to do even despite the state of your arms… Consider it a gift from Master Rosan himself and proof that he does in fact like you."

Nami couldn't hold in her curiosity at that. What else could Rosan have given her that was worth keeping as a surprise?

Well, hopefully it would save her.

Nami ran as fast as possible, turning corners, running through buildings throwing Cool and Heat Balls in any direction due to not being able to aim them properly but Miss Doublefinger was never too far.

The only reason she hadn't gotten caught yet was because the agent was still suffering from the aftereffects of getting shocked while soaked. She would periodically freeze up and twitch, which allowed Nami to make great headway but never for long.

The agent clearly had enough of this game of cat and mouse because with a snarl, she stabbed herself right on the legs.

"Toge Toge Doping!"

Nami looked back for just a moment to see the sight of Miss Doublefinger's legs becoming incredibly muscular and she paled as the woman crouched lowly.

The ground cracked beneath her as the human pincushion soared through the air, intent on impaling every crevice of Nami's body with her own using brutal momentum.

She grinned in satisfaction at the wide eyed look of helplessness from Nami and braced herself for impact—

Only to let out a noise of confusion as she flew right through it.

"Oh no, the mirage again," Miss Doublefinger thought, bracing herself to be shocked once more.

It would hurt but she'd be able to survive and continue the fight—

"WILDFIRE!" Nami roared, appearing a safe distance away and aiming Clima at the shocked woman.

Miss Doublefinger paled at the sight of an absolute massive amount of red flames flying towards her, burning even the stone around it.

I-If that hit her—

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" The woman shrieked as they slammed into her, shoving her out of the room and burning her ruthlessly.

Nami watched in slight awe and horror at the damage she managed to do, staring at Clima with a fascinated gaze.

"Wildfire fits your weather motif. Of course a wildfire doesn't hold a candle to Ragnarok's flames but I quite like the name," Clima praised, pleased with the results.

Unfortunately (or fortunately for Master Rosan) Nami's injury and their close vicinity meant he wouldn't dare use the full force of Ragnarok's flame which meant that agent was likely still alive.

Ah well. Those burns would remind her just who was malfunctioned.

Nami continued to stare at her weapon in awe.

Rosan implemented his own flames into her Clima-tact. Those destructive flames that burned anything in their path… and she could now use them!

"I can hold quite a lot but it is finite. Be sure to check with Master Rosan occasionally so that he may refill it back up for you," Clima advised smugly.

Nami nodded hesitantly.

Such dangerous flames shouldn't be used so carelessly. Even without using it's full effects, Miss Doublefinger suffered severe burns to her body and was lying unconscious on the floor, smoke wafting off of her unmoving form.

She could kill someone with these flames if she wasn't careful… This was the power Rosan so easily threw around?

Maybe she'd have to ask him for some more tips. He seemed just as interested in the elements as her.

She wondered if he was trying to gain control of them as well. If he was, there was no way she was getting left out of that.

"I like the way you think! Continuing to receive help on me from Master Rosan will only serve to make you stronger!"

Stronger… Yes, she'd be able to fight for herself! With Clima (who she could begrudgingly admit was incredibly useful) at her side, she'd be able to compete in the big leagues with her much stronger crew mates.

She managed to defeat one of the strongest members of Baroque Works!

By herself!

Nami looked at the body of Miss Doublefinger and felt a well of sympathy at her state, that was ruthlessly stamped down by the knowledge of how much Vivi had been suffering.

"I need to get patched up… I don't suppose you have anything that could heal me?" She asked, trudging away from the battleground.

"Of course not! Perhaps this knowledge will help you approach battles with a level of ruthlessness I expect from you! The best medicine is making sure your enemies are dead so they can't hurt you after all!" Clima responded cheerfully.

Nami felt her headache deepen at that very Rosan statement. She now had her very own nuisance.

Just great.

Things were never simple when it came to her and the scout of their crew so she wasn't even surprised her brother figure decided to give her weapon a personality that would immensely annoy her.

She needed to make sure to get her revenge on him after this… right after thanking him for giving her such a useful weapon—

Nami stumbled and yelped in surprise, as the area she was in was suddenly consumed by a powerful sandstorm. She swiftly dove for cover and watched in terror as it nearly broke a building in half.

W-Was this Crocodile? What was he doing right now? D-Didn't he want to take over Alabasta? Why was he trying to destroy an entire city?!

"Staying here will be dangerous. You need to find better cover," Clima urged.

Nami nodded and reached for her cloak, putting it back on and placing the hoodie over her head.

She watched in fascination as Clima formed a sort of shield of water for her so as to protect her from the vicious sands and looked at the weapon again with delighted eyes.

"Perks of being created by a Computer Man, I have slight Modification as well!"

She really needed to make up her mind on whether she was going to kill Rosan or not because he kept changing it on the fly.

---

As Zoro clashed with Mr. 1. He recalled a conversation he had with Rosan once while they were training.

"Forget Mihawk, you aren't even a better swordsman then me. Your three sword style is nothing to scoff at but your one sword and two sword are severely lacking," the redhead said harshly, glancing down at the panting swordsman.

Zoro hated to admit it, but he was right. The redhead absolutely thrashed him in a sword fight just now.

It made him wonder why the redhead refused to call himself a swordsman.

"I do not have the drive that swordsman have that makes them hone their craft," Rosan replied calmly, transforming Ram into a beautiful silver and black katana. "I refuse to limit myself to only one weapon. The sword is simply one of the weapons I happen to use and I happen to be proficient with every weapon. That is why it's unacceptable that I'm better at using it then you are."

He hoisted the swordsman up with a contemplative expression. Robin watched the two curiously, resting after her training with Rosan and calmly sipping a cup of water.

"How can he improve?" She asked the redhead, getting up to perform some stretches.

"Fighting strong opponents," Rosan replied and Zoro nodded along with him. "He already trains like a workhorse. Fighting me constantly should also help you improve by miles like it did with Luffy."

"That reminds me, Zoro's opponent is Mr. 1 and he's a man made out of steel. Do you know how to cut steel?" Robin spoke up once more.

Rosan nodded but Zoro shook his head no.

"How do you cut steel?" The swordsman asked the redhead in shock.

Rosan opened his mouth, before closing it. "I'm not sure? I just cut it. I've been able to cut it since I was 13 but I never really put thought into accomplishing it. I just could."

"Monster," Robin said offhandedly. She was fairly sure Rosan just used brute strength to do it. The man was just bludgeoning the material and abusing the fact that Ram was practically unbreakable.

Zoro groaned. That didn't help him at all. Rosan was basically just admitting to being a freak of nature. He wanted to be able to cut through steel like it were a person and their scout was not doing it like that.

"My teacher once told me that there are swordsman in the world who are able to not cut anything and that these same swordsman have the ability to cut steel," the green haired man suddenly said, recalling that conversation from when he were a kid.

Rosan hummed. The ability to cut without cutting? Perhaps that was not only exclusive to swordsman… he'd like to learn something like that.

"This is a perfect challenge for you then," Rosan said calmly, readying himself up for another round. "Your opponent will be Mr. 1. Your challenge will be to cut his steel body. Your goal is to win. Doing this will bring you one step closer to being better then me and being closer to Mihawk."

"And if I fail?" Zoro asked, turning his screaming body towards the redhead.

"You won't," Rosan replied calmly. "If you ever find yourself in a losing position think to yourself, "Would Rosan lose to this?" until you are a better swordsman then me. Until you are better then me, you are not allowed to lose. And then, when you're better then me, I won't accept you losing unless it's to me."

The swordsman grinned viciously, placing Wado Ichimonji in his mouth and dashing forward, poised to clash with the steady redhead.

"Sounds good to me!"

Zoro's swords collided with Mr. 1's arm until he disengaged and leapt back.

"I need to be able to cut steel to beat him but how do I do that?" He contemplated, staring at the unscathed man with a glare.

It was not his time to lose here. Rosan would trash this agent and if he were able to cut steel, he'd be able to do so too.

But he just didn't know how.

A sword that doesn't cut anything…

Well, there was no point pondering about it now. He wouldn't get anywhere just thinking about it.

It was time to do.

Zoro dashed forward again, swords set in a bull pose.

"Bull Needles!"

His attack connected solidly to the agent… to little effect. Mr. 1 stared neutrally at him and began his own assault.

The two continuously clashed with sword and arm respectively.

Zoro swung with his left and collided with Mr. 1's right, then he attempted to do the same with his right, colliding with the man's left instead.

They began to exchange a flurry of strikes, colliding over and over again but despite that, Zoro was making no headway on the man.

"Is that all, Roronoa Zoro?" Mr. 1 asked calmly, forcing the man back with a chop that shattered the ground beneath him.

Zoro said nothing, crouching lowly and dashing directly into the man.

"Oni Giri!" He roared, ending up behind him and sending the dice man tumbling backwards.

Not allowing the man to catch his breath, Zoro jumped and stopped right over Mr. 1, grabbing his swords and driving them right into his gut and causing him to crash into the ground.

"Tiger Trap!"

He stared at the debris falling and as the smoke settled, Zoro scowled in annoyance.

"Didn't I tell you that I've never been harmed by a swordsman since eating this fruit?" A completely unharmed Mr. 1 asked, leaping towards the green haired swordsman with deadly intent.

Zoro hastily blocked the bladed drop kick flying his way and grunted at the force behind it, reminding himself that the man's entire body was a weapon and being prepared for the possibility of fighting every single part of him.

Luckily his training partner was Rosan… that man was also a living weapon in battle.

Mr. 1 spun and delivered a heel kick with his other leg, sending Zoro skidding after he was forced to block that one again, and dashed forward with his hands connected wrist to wrist.

"Sparkling Daisy," he intoned, crashing into Zoro.

The force of the blow was so powerful that the wall behind him was sliced as well.

"Fall," Mr. 1 said, sending his opponent flying into the cut building.

He watched with a cool gaze as the structure collapsed directly on top of him only to raise a brow at watching the swordsman cut right through the stone.

Zoro huffed slightly, avoiding the falling debris with a focused glare.

He was getting nowhere like this but that didn't matter. He'd win this battle because that was his duty. It wasn't a matter of losing after a hard fought battle. It was a matter of fighting until he won.

Mr. 1's eyes widened a bit at the rapid increase in Zoro's speed and found that it was getting a bit difficult to keep up with him.

That mattered little though because the swordsman still couldn't scratch him.

His forearms turned into drills with the speed he was spinning them at and he began swinging at Zoro ferociously.

Despite that though, Mr. 1 couldn't stop the bead of sweat at watching the swordsman completely keep pace with him and even deflect his powerful drills with little effort.

Zoro said absolutely nothing, focused on one thing and one thing only. He swung his blades over and over again, causing sparks to fly over and over again between the two.

He struggled against the increased power of the drills on Mr. 1's forearms but he refused to let that deter him and pressed on.

Mr. 1 bit back of grunt of annoyance. He could not cut him but with that perseverance…

He shouldn't risk it.

Zoro noticed too late that Mr. 1 applied the drill to his legs as well. Only his training with the flexible Rosan made him notice it quick enough but it mattered little.

He tried to block the upswing of Mr. 1's leg but the moment he diverted his attention to his lower half, the man struck with one of his drilled forearms and drew a spurt of blood from Zoro's shredded chest.

Zoro's eyes rolled to the back of his skull as he doubled over from the follow-up punch from Mr. 1 to his gut.

Then, the agent reeled his drilled leg back and smashed it against Zoro's ribs, sending him flying into a tall spiral building.

Zoro let out a bloody rasp as his body went slightly limp before he regained coherence.

"You're still alive?" Mr. 1 asked, staring at the bloody mess that was Zoro.

The swordsman began pushing himself up but collapsed and the agent almost sighed aloud.

Without any hesitation, the agent crossed his bladed arms and swung horizontally, cutting through Zoro and the building behind him as if they were made of butter.

"Spar Break," Mr. 1 said coldly, a tone of finality in his voice.

He stood up and glanced away from the building collapsing on the green haired swordsman.

How effortless. Roronoa Zoro was formidable but as he said many times, he wouldn't lose to any swordsman.

The agent suddenly grunted in surprise at the sudden surge of a sandstorm and began sweating a bit nervously at the power behind the sandy winds.

Was Mr. 0 displeased with them all? What was the meaning of this? This sandstorm was not apart of the pla—

Mr. 1 froze at the feeling of movement behind him and he stared in disbelief at the figure of Roronoa Zoro staring at him.

Zoro looked like a dead man walking. Blood was pouring from every crevice of his body, his green hair was soaked red, and his clothes was almost completely shredded. One small gust looked like it would send him into the grave.

But despite that, he had a serene air around him.

"W-What?! How are you still able to move?! How did you dodge the building?! I cut you to ribbons!" Mr. 1 said in disbelief.

Dodge? No, he didn't dodge.

He knew.

He knew where they wouldn't land. He knew where his swords were. He knew that this battle was over.

What was this feeling? What was this sensation?

The power to not cut anything… was that related to this sensation? The sensation of hearing?

Could he cut through the steel he could hear breathing right now?

He could. His goal was far above cutting steel.

His goal was to be the best after all.

"Would Rosan lose to this? No. He wouldn't," Zoro thought, his resolve setting in as he gripped his lone sword.

Mr. 1 stared at the living corpse with wild eyes.

He shouldn't be alive right now. He was cut up in all places. He was a corpse for all intents and purposes!

How was this even possible?!

"It doesn't matter. I'll finish you off here!" The agent snarled as he lost his composure and dashed forward on steel skates to deliver his final attack.

Zoro stared at him calmly and placed his sheathed sword upright, watching the man approach with a cool gaze.

"Atomic Bracer!"

The ability to cut steel…

"One Sword Style: Lion Strike."

Quicker then Mr. 1 could blink, Zoro unsheathed his sword, dashed through him, and sheathed his blade again.

...He'd have to remember this feeling for the future. Perhaps Rosan would be able to help him.

Mr. 1's eyes rolled to the back of his skull as a river of blood began pouring from the cut on his chest and his mouth.

To improve so much…

"Are you... going to cut through… a diamond next?" The agent couldn't help but ask, respect for his opponent mounting at the fact that he achieved what he set out to do.

"That would just be a waste," Zoro muttered.

Mr. 1 huffed repeatedly, blood pouring from his mouth as a wry smile made its way on his face.

"Hah, you got me."

With that, he fainted to the floor with a resounding thud.

Zoro glanced back at the defeated man, unmindful of the withering winds and began the process of finding his swords before collapsing on his knees and clutching one of his many wounds.

How shameful, he should not have taken so much damage in this fight. But, he learned something from it and he was even stronger now.

With this fight, he was getting closer and closer to the monsters known as Portgas D. Rosan and Monkey D. Luf—

A figure, one that looked disturbingly like Crocodile, sailed past the near dead swordsman for a split second before crashing through building after building and continuing on its path.

Another one soon showed up, clearly in pursuit of the first one and Zoro regarded them in shock.

"Oh, Zoro!" Luffy grinned, bloodied and steaming red. "You need to get some sleep! I'll handle the rest!"

Not waiting for a response, Monkey D. Luffy vanished from his sight with speeds he couldn't even track.

The swordsman of the crew collapsed at that, not quite believing his eyes.

Did those two still have more in their arsenal?!

Seems he still had a long way to go…

Rosan and Luffy's full power… Zoro couldn't hold back the eager shudder at finding out the limits of their strength.

---

Crocodile was confused.

Why? Well, it was simple really.

Since hearing the words "Gear Second" uttered from Straw Hats mouth, he had been reduced to a living punching bag.

In his arrogance, he didn't realize just how much stronger this technique made Straw Hat, content to insult him for steaming up.

That was a mistake.

"Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol," Luffy uttered, holding out a palm as if taking aim and throwing out his other fist.

Before he could hurl out another insult, spit flew out Crocodile's mouth, due to the fist impacting with his gut at speeds he wasn't able to react to.

He was launched back a few feet and held his stomach in disbelief gazing up at the one who did it—

There was no one ther—

"Gomu Gomu no Jet Bullet."

Another fist impacted with his face and sent him soaring through the air but not before a rubbery appendage snaked around his leg, gripped him and began slamming him up and down at speeds he couldn't keep up with, blood spurting out of his mouth at the continuous impact.

"What the hell is this?" Crocodile grunted, back whining in agony from the excessive slams that seemed too fast.

This speed, this power… Who was Straw Hat Luff—

"Gomu Gomu no Jet Rifle."

His eyes flickered as his gut caved in from the punch and he hastily formed a sandstorm to hide his body, desperately trying to catch his breath from the overwhelming onslaught threatening to knock him unconscious.

This wasn't what he was expecting. He wasn't able to keep up with him at all right now, just getting constantly bombarded by the rubber boy and his strange new ability.

The rubber boy was so much faster then him now, it was baffling. Crocodile had been toying with him before and now he couldn't even track him...

This was bad. He needed to think of something and quick.

"Ground Death," He groused, draining the floor of all moisture and drying it up completely.

But that's not all.

Luffy watched the entire floor crumble up and realized he'd probably be joining it next so without any hesitation, he began rapidly kicking his legs until he began to fly.

It was a good thing Rosan made Garp show him techniques he could add to his arsenal! It served him really well learning Soru and Geppo!

Now… he needed to get Crocodile out of the desert because he was pretty strong in here!

Crocodile couldn't believe his eyes at seeing the rubber nuisance actually fly.

Was he capable of flying just like the redhead too?! Just who the fuck were these pirates?!

He only had a moment to brace himself before Luffy rocketed towards him at speeds he couldn't react to.

"Gomu Gomu no Jet Bazooka!" The captain of the straw hats roared, planting both his hands into Crocodile's gut.

Pain bloomed into something overwhelming almost immediately.

Crocodile's body contorted awkwardly, as he went soaring from the sheer force of the blow and the Warlord was nearly knocked fully unconscious, only managing to wake up when he went through the first building of many.

He lost count of how much material he flew through but by the time he was done, he realized he was in a sandstorm free Alubarna.

The Warlord had never felt so humiliated, at realizing that he lost control of the technique while getting sent flying by Straw Hat.

Crocodile crashed onto the floor and began tumbling repeatedly until his body crashed into yet another building, this time not breaking it and resting back first (his back was a bruised mess) against it.

He vomited up blood and came to the conclusion he had internal damage currently.

It was a miracle he was even still awake. He hadn't taken damage in a long time and only the training he did in the past few days kept him conscious.

As Straw Hat appeared in his vicinity, Crocodile blearily looked up at him and began sweating in disbelief.

Was he… Was he going to lose here? To this greenhorn? All of his careful planning… His goal to amass an army… His plan to find the Poneglyph... his goal to find and utilize Pluton to force the world into submission...

All of that was about to go up in smokes by this deceptively monstrous rubber boy?

That just couldn't be.

Luffy glared stonily at him, skin steaming hot from Gear 2 and aimed an open palm at him, ready to take out the defeated man with one more attack.

"Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol."

Crocodile braced himself but knew there was no way he could take this attack and began cursing Straw Hat, the redhead, and Nico Robin.

He felt himself snap at the actions of the three.

Damn them. Damn them. Damn them!

They ruined everything! He had accounted for so much, he had gathered useful pawns, he even had someone to read the Poneglyph and NONE OF IT MATTERED BECAUSE OF THIS CREW!

DAMN THEM!

He didn't even see the attack fly out but he already knew how fast it was… The Warlord snarled in rage at the look of finality in Luffy's eyes and vowed to get his revenge on Straw Hat in any way he knew how...

...

Something wasn't right.

Why was he still awake?

Crocodile watched his sandy stomach turn back into its original state and grinned violently despite the excruciating pain he was in.

He was dry.

Luffy's eyes went wide as the Warlord instantly vanished from his sight in a gust of sand and a bloody laugh.

"WAIT! COME BACK HERE!" He roared looking left and right wildly.

Where did he go?!

---

A bloodied Pell panted over the bodies of the defeated Baroque Work agents that were guarding the bomb that would blow up all of Alubarna if allowed to set off.

He looked at how much time was left and let out a sigh of relief, holding his ribs in pain.

6 minutes. That was more then enough time to fly it somewhere that wouldn't result in the casualties of millions.

The agents had done quite a number on him, shooting him repeatedly while he flew to the clock tower and combined with that freak sandstorm that showed up battering him every step of the way, he was quite beat up but he was still capable of moving the bomb far enough.

Not wasting any time, he transformed into his hawk form and grabbed onto the bomb with his talons, flying off into an isolated area in the desert.

As long as he got far enough from Alubarna he could just leave it there and everyone would be saved from its effects.

The hawk man flew off with the bomb in tow, flying as fast as his injured body could take him and soon, he was out of Alubarna.

As he flew, Pell allowed himself the time to think.

Right about now, Princess Vivi should be in the process of stopping the rebellion. Crocodile was being preoccupied by one of her allies and the missing King Cobra should have now been accounted for.

There was just actually defeating the Warlord, fully stopping and explaining the rebellion and dealing with this bomb—

Pell froze as the bomb began suddenly beeping.

What?

He had only been flying for about a minute? The royal guard had just flown out of Alubarna when the bomb began beeping.

There was still supposed to be five minutes left and not only that, it hadn't even been lit up!

What was happening?

Why was it about to explode—

A deafening explosion went off.

---

"So Crocodile is the one who orchestrated all of this and not the King?" Koza asked in disbelief.

Their guardian of Alabasta… was the one behind all of this?

They had all been tricked?

But... King Cobra had... and he... when they...

What...?

"Yes. For years now, Crocodile has been sabotaging our entire kingdom and pinning the blame on the royal family," Vivi explained patiently, glad that Koza was capable of listening to reason.

An injured Cobra nodded along, glad that they were able to talk this out. After the arrival of the sandstorm he thought all hope was lost and Alabasta was doomed to collapse.

Vivi had already tried to announce her presence and get them to stop fighting but the sandstorm stopped her voice from reaching them and she was forced to take cover, lest it deal real damage to her.

The rebels and guards were caught off guard by the strength of the sandy weather but they ignored it and continued to fight, heedless of the fact that their injury tolls were rising from Crocodile's attack.

Koza, using that monstrous sandstorm, snuck onto the top of the kingdom to understand just why the king was doing all of this, but the shock of seeing Vivi had stopped him from doing something reckless.

She then took the chance to explain everything to him and to say he was shocked, would be a vast understatement.

In the midst of explaining to him that Crocodile was the one who was doing all of this, the sandstorm abruptly stopped and further proved her point.

Vivi glanced in awe as the weather turned back to normal like it was never there in the first place.

It was impossible for Koza to prevent the stab of guilt from piercing him through his heart as the princess explained everything to him.

All this time… All this fucking time he had been getting strung along, playing right into the palms of that… of that bastard!

The king didn't forsake his people… Koza did by doubting him and bringing it to this point.

All because of Crocodile.

"Where is he? Where's Crocodile? He needs to pay!" Koza snarled, unable to believe he had been tricked so thoroughly.

He would pay for this. Crocodile would be dealt justice for trying to bring ruin to their countr—

"Who needs to pay, boy?"

Everyone froze at that voice and Koza hesitantly looked down at the poisoned hook piercing his chest and slowly lifting him.

Crocodile sneered down at the idiot pawn and ruthlessly removed his hook from the man, discarding him to the side and not paying any more attention to his fallen body.

Koza did not move.

"K-KOZA!" Vivi screamed in shock, unable to believe her eyes.

This couldn't be real… In just a matter of seconds he was… No, please no.

Crocodile stared at them all with a crazed look in his eyes, looking like he had been through a war.

His normally neat appearance was gone, clothes torn in multiple places and blood pouring from different spots of his battered body.

"Your use ran out long ago, rebel boy," the Warlord intoned, staring Vivi down. "You've brought along quite the pesky crew, Princess. I don't know where you found them but they've managed to unravel my plans by quite a bit."

Straw Hat Luffy and Rosan… those two ruined everything for him. A greenhorn rookie worth 35 million and his scout who didn't even have a bounty.

They were both monsters in their own right and Crocodile begrudgingly acknowledged that they could very well defeat him today.

But he wouldn't make it easy for them.

No, he'd make them suffer every step of the way until he won.

"It seems like you were tipped off about my bomb too," he remarked calmly, disturbingly calm despite the situation he was in. If Straw Hat showed up... even if he were dry again, he'd be in trouble.

"I assume that hawkman… Pell was it? Has it," Crocodile commented, utterly unbothered by the tears streaming down Vivi's face. "I wonder if he knows the timer on it is wrong."

Everyone's gaze snapped up to him at that.

"W-What do you mean?!" Cobra asked in hesitation. If the bomb's timer was wrong then that meant…

"Pell…" Chaka said, rage forming on his features. "WHAT DID YOU DO, CROCODILE?!"

The Warlord sneered, sand seeping off of his body. "I don't trust a soul on the planet but myself. After some thinking and more then enough failure, I decided to speed up the detonation of the bomb by 5 minutes on the off chance that it never gets set off."

This was exactly why he never expected anything out of his allies. They couldn't even light up a hidden bomb.

Oh well, that 15 minute timer was actually on a 10 minute one but the timer hadn't been updated.

If that Pell took too long to retrieve and get rid of it, he'd likely be caught off guard by the explosion and die.

Vivi fell on her knees at that, eyes white with shock as the tears continued to fall.

Pell… too? No. No. N-Not Pell...

"CROCODILE!" Chaka roared, transforming into his Jackal form and charging the sandman with a single minded fury.

"CHAKA NO!" Cobra cried out. He wouldn't be able to defeat him even with the injuries sustained!

The jackal hit nothing, phasing through the man who absentmindedly grabbed him and drained him of all his moisture before tossing him aside like yesterday's trash.

The mummified form of Chaka fell on the floor without a noise, defeated in an instant.

It didn't matter how injured Crocodile was. All of these people were weak. They were so weak that they should have never been able to challenge his takeover of Alabasta.

Princess Vivi got lucky managing to find an upstart pirate crew full of freaks but they weren't here to save her right now.

He brandished his hook and began walking towards the frozen princess.

"No more games. I've had enough of today so I'm going to kill you now and bury this country in the desert, retreat and regroup with the few useful agents I have, then make every single Straw Hat pay," Crocodile grunted, raising his hook up high.

Vivi let out a choked sob, staring into the eyes of her bloodied tormentor.

She hated him. She hated Crocodile. She hated him. Hated him. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate.

Crocodile swung down his scythe and blood soared through the air, as his attack struck true.

"!" Vivi let out a teary gasp.

Crocodile's face morphed into one of shock.

"But how?! How did you find me so quickly?!"

Monkey D. Luffy glared at Crocodile with barely suppressed fury. "Because I heard Vivi's cries loud and clear."

"L-Luffy!" She sobbed heavily, both in relief and horror.

Luffy turned back towards her and grinned reassuringly. "It's okay Vivi, I'll finish this!"

Vivi didn't stop crying though. How could she?

After all, there was a massive wound across Luffy's chest, courtesy of the hook that Crocodile threw out to kill her.

Crocodile's shock soon turned into a dark satisfaction as he took in the wound.

Oh this was good.

"It's only a matter of time until you die now, Straw Hat. Not only are you poisoned… but that technique of yours speeds up your blood flow doesn't it?" He asked knowingly.

The poison was going to course through his body even faster now if he kept it up. Crocodile just needed to outlast him and with his intangibility back, it would be simple.

Already, Luffy was breathing harder and harder, audibly panting now.

Crocodile's grin widened and he began laughing maniacally. Straw Hat would die here before the redhead could interfere. Then, he'd bury this place in sand and be done with this filthy country—

"You just don't get it," Luffy said lowly. "As long as Vivi keeps fighting to save her kingdom… THEN SO WILL WE BECAUSE SHE'S MY FRIEND!"

Cobra's eyes widened at that and he looked at the rubber boy in shock.

Who was he? This was the person Vivi chose to put her trust in?

Vivi covered her mouth at his conviction. If possible, even more tears began falling and combined with all the events of today, she finally let it all out.

"WAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Vivi cried freely, throwing her head back and screaming to the heavens. "L-LUFFY, PLEASE SAVE US! P-PLEASE SAVE ALABASTA! PLEASE STOP CROCODILE!"

Luffy, who had fallen on one knee, shakily pushed himself back up and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Of course I will. I won't lose to a creep like this," was all he said.

Crocodile felt a vein form. "WHAT CAN YOU DO? YOU'RE PRACTICALLY DEAD STRAW HAT! YOU CAN'T TOUCH ME LIKE THIS!"

He was a dead man walking! The poison was working even faster then he expected and combined with his extensive injuries and that no doubt draining technique, he should be unconscious.

He was just full of bullshit! Crocodile wasn't going to lose to this dead greenhorn!

HE WASN'T GOING TO LOSE HERE UNTIL THEY ALL PAID IN BLOOD.

"Sables: Pesado!" Crocodile roared, launching the dense swirling sand at the stubborn NUISANCE.

"FALL WITH THIS KINGDOM, STRAW HAT!" The warlord announced victoriously, watching the ensuing shock wave that took out the entire section of floor it connected to and then some.

That was it. There was no way he could have dodged that. Straw Hat was finished—

A bloodied hand gripped his shirt.

Crocodile froze in disbelief, realizing the rubber boy was using his blood to grasp him.

He looked at the Luffy who was red now not only because of his Gear Second, but because of the sheer amount of blood that was currently on him.

"I'm going to become the King of the Pirates," Luffy declared simply, powering through the agony he was currently in.

With that, he heaved Crocodile dozens of feet into the air.

Crocodile couldn't believe it. Who was this? What was this boy? How could he continue to fight? What drove him?!

WHY DID HE PISS HIM OFF SO MUCH?!

"YOU KING OF THE PIRATES? DON'T MAKE SUCH AN IMPOSSIBLE CLAIM!" The warlord roared, unable to comprehend the anomaly that was Monkey D. Luffy.

"MEN WITH MORE STRENGTH THEN YOU COULD IMAGINE CAN'T EVEN ACHIEVE THAT TITLE!"

Crocodile would know. He was one of them at one point.

"THE MORE YOU KNOW ABOUT THE SEA, THE MORE IMPOSSIBLE SUCH DREAMS WILL SEEM AND I'LL BE THE FIRST TO SHOW YOU."

Forming several bladed fans of sand, Crocodile prepared for this to be his final attack and got ready to launch it towards Straw Hat, Vivi and Cobra.

"Desert La Spada—"

He never got the chance.

The steaming Luffy appeared right next to him with a look of finality in his gaze, bloody fist cocked back.

"Gomu Gomu no Missile Strike."

Crocodile's eyes rolled to the back of his skull as Luffy delivered a rubbery punch that carried him through the sky, only to appear behind him and deliver another, sending him in another direction, only to appear yet again in his flight direction to deliver another.

Utilizing his Devil Fruit and speed, Luffy sent Crocodile in every single direction and followed after.

Soon, Crocodile was turned into a human pinball and all Vivi could see was a shockwave and the occasional rubbery fist flying through the air.

There was nothing the Warlord could do about it but accept the punishment and he felt bones breaking from the impact.

Over and over again, Luffy delivered blow after blow on him untrackable with the human eye as he seemingly teleported from one end to the other, battering Crocodile all the while with punch after punch.

Cobra watched it all with wonder in his eyes, not knowing how someone such as Monkey D. Luffy could exist. He was… He was doing it!

He was defeating Crocodile!

Vivi, even despite the fact that she was crying so heavily, watched Luffy do what he promised her he would do.

He was… He was incredible.

Luffy… he really was the man who was going to become the Pirate King. Vivi had no doubt about it.

Because of him, she was allowed to cry freely. Because she could trust him. Trust that he would make things better.

Finally, mercifully, Luffy stopped his unstoppable onslaught and appeared above the prone Crocodile.

Kicking his leg far into the sky, Luffy stretched and stretched and stretched and stretched until they couldn't see the end of his foot anymore.

Without any hesitation, he swung that extended foot down and crashed the sole of his sandal right into Crocodile's gut.

The effects were immediate.

The Warlord of the Sea, Sir Crocodile, was sent plummeting towards the ground with unforgiving force like he were a meteor.

As he fell, knocked unconscious from Luffy's relentless assault, the rebel and royal army were stunned still as rain droplets began to hit their bodies.

"What…?"

"Rain?!"

"It's raining?!"

They were further shocked as a figure plummeted directly in between both parties.

Crocodile lay there on the ground, utterly defeated. The Warlord was bloodied and battered, with no sign of waking up anytime soon.

"What happened to Sir Crocodile?!"

Then they heard it.

Crying.

"WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Vivi let her cries be heard throughout the whole kingdom. "PLEASE! STOP FIGHTING! THE NIGHTMARE HAS FINALLY ENDED!"

The princess was crying?! Princess Vivi was crying?! Why?!

Was it… Was it because of them?!

What… What were they even doing...?

One by one, the royal guard and the rebels began dropping their weapons, losing the will to fight due to the sight of their beloved princess crying so freely.

Luffy's eyes fluttered as he allowed his, no longer steaming, body to fall and he landed right next to King Cobra.

Cobra looked at the one who saved their kingdom and bowed his head low. "You have my thanks, Luffy."

The bloodied boy grinned widely. "It was nothing."

The birds watching chirped in satisfaction, pleased with the job done.

---

Before Luffy Activated Gear Second

Robin awoke to protective and warm presence near her and a soft hand holding her own.

Opening her eyes slightly, she let out a slight gasp at the sensation of being immediately engulfed by strong and safe arms, relaxing almost instantly in their grasp when she smelt the familiar scent of roses.

Fully awake now, she saw a shock of red hair and her gaze softened as the memories came rushing back.

No doubt, her idiot partner was blaming himself from her error. She hadn't been expecting Crocodile to so ruthlessly take her out the battle with the looming knowledge that she could translate the Poneglyph for him and had let her guard down slightly as a result.

But he did and now Rosan was absolutely blaming himself.

"Rosan…" Robin began gently, stroking his hair gently.

"I'm sorry," Rosan said, voice muffled due to burying himself in her hair. "I… I told myself that I'd keep you safe at all costs but you got hurt in our first fight together."

No matter how he was, or what he tried to cover, Rosan would never be able to hide that self critical nature of his from Robin.

Narrowing her eyes, she gently grabbed his cheeks and forced him to look at her.

The look in his heterochromatic eyes… she didn't like it one bit.

"I know what I signed up for staying behind with you, Rosan. I knew of the dangers of fighting Crocodile and I prepared myself for an outcome like this. Don't you dare get upset with yourself because I messed up," she scolded, frowning warningly at him.

None of what happened in that fight was Rosan's fault. The fact that he took the blame was utterly insane!

She knew he was self critical but this was too much. If something bad even happened to his loved ones, he would automatically think about what he could have done better.

The woman sighed and tested her body a bit.

Her body felt sore but that was it. She guessed that she had been treated by Demon because this looked like Maro's castle.

Rosan still frowned deeply. "I almost let anger rule me again, Robin. When I saw you get hurt… I nearly forewent getting you medical attention immediately so that I could kill Crocodile. If not for Mod-chan, you could have been in even worse condition."

Robin sighed at her idiot, smiling fondly. "You got that angry on my behalf? That's a fantastic first step Rosan. Remember, we're taking this slowly and you haven't had your emotions for years. Of course it will be difficult to gain control of them when they surprise you like that."

She pulled the redhead onto the bed and hugged him close, not minding her severe lack of clothing. "It's alright, Rosan. Please stop criticizing yourself when you did nothing wrong. We can't make any progress when you're like this."

"She's right Rosan. Remember what she said all those years ago when you had that nightmare? You can't just go hating yourself because of what you think, when all facts point to something else," Mod joined quietly, stroking the sleeping Ram's hair gently.

"We'll solve our issues together, okay? No more deciding things on your own… okay?" Robin demanded reassuringly.

Rosan's self critical nature was only enhanced by the fact that he had no emotions so having him decide everything on his own was a recipe for disaster.

Rosan said nothing for a long moment, before the tension bled out of his body and he squeezed Robin back with all his might, burying himself into her.

"...Okay. Okay," he repeated softly.

It was times like this, that reminded Robin that Rosan had been emotionally stunted since he was 12 years old.

Devil this, monster that... Rosan was just someone that needed help. When he got all his emotions back... he would be no better then when he was still a child.

The development would hit him all at once and he might get overwhelmed by it.

They hugged for a bit, before breaking it up and Robin decided now would be a great time to put some more clothes on.

"What's happening in Alabasta?" The Devil Child asked, thanking Rosan for handing over the comfy purple blouse to her.

"I'm not sure," Rosan admitted, much to her surprise. "My birds are currently Streaming the action to everyone but I've been here with you the whole time, so I haven't seen anything since I left."

Robin blinked at that before a tiny flush made its way onto her cheeks and she smiled a small smile.

"That boy didn't take his eyes off of you for a second. I'm pretty sure he didn't even blink! He wanted to be sure he was there for you the moment you woke up," Mod supplied helpfully, grinning fondly at the two.

She had been watching the events of Alabasta through the stream, content to let Rosan stare at Robin the entire time and digesting the information for herself so she could update him when he wanted to know.

The Devil Child couldn't help but stare at Rosan in appreciation at that, touched that he still cared so much for her.

The level of care for her… the fact that he had so much even with so much of his emotions missing…

She wondered how much he'd care for them all when they were all unlocked.

A tiny part of her recalled the way he kissed her and she immediately banished it.

He still needed to pay for that.

"Let's go join the others watching it then," Robin decided.

Rosan was immediately by her side. "Are you fine to move on your own?" He asked softly, watching her every movement with a searching gaze.

"Yes," she replied, knowing that wouldn't satisfy him.

He was such a worrywart sometimes… he must have inherited that from Mod.

True to her point, the redhead picked her up and placed her on his back with no effort, walking off to where he left his stream with calm and careful steps so as to not jostle her too much.

"Just to be safe," he said, making sure she was secure.

Robin rolled her eyes but just let it be, wrapping her arms around his neck and getting comfortable.

It didn't take them long to make it to the lounge area where they were watching the events of Alabasta and Sabo immediately locked eyes with the two, a relieved smile making its way on his face.

Maro caught the slight movement of Sabo's head and whirled around, eyes lighting up in joy at seeing Robin awake and well.

"ROBIN!" She cheered, hugging the surprised woman (and Rosan by proxy) and jumping in glee. "I can't believe you're already awake!"

The bluenette carefully pulled the woman off of Rosan, who looked close to attacking her but stopped at her pleading glance, and engulfed her once more.

Angel and Demon quickly joined the group hug and squeezed Robin tight. "We're so glad you're okay!"

"How are you feeling? You're moving faster then I anticipated so I'll be running a check-up on you later," Demon prodded, inspecting her body up and down and noting that she seemed fine, if not a little sore, at a glance.

"I'm just a little sore but Rosan won't let me move alone anyways, so I'm fine," Robin assured, a little floored to be on the receiving end of so much affection.

She wasn't really used to this. Her sole sources of affection for the longest, were Rosan and Mod-chan so for so much different people to suddenly be so affectionate…

It felt nice.

"I have to admit… seeing Crocodile so ruthlessly attack you, made me very upset," Marianne said quietly.

After all, to the Baroque Works Agents, Miss All Sunday (learning that she was the Nico Robin threw them all for a loop) may as well have been their actual boss. They never saw Mr. 0 and she was his proxy, speaking for him instead and being the face they saw most often.

Seeing Crocodile so ruthlessly stab her, his supposed partner, made them glad that they had betrayed him. He didn't give a damn about any of them, only caring about furthering himself and achieving his plans. They wouldn't be surprised if he threw them away after finally winning.

He was nothing like Queen Maro, who genuinely cared for them despite meeting them so recently.

Gem and Mikita both nodded at that, not believing Crocodile was so ruthless. After spending so much time around their Queen, they realized that they didn't deserve to be treated the way they were in Baroque Works and promised to do everything to help Maro and Celadon out.

Robin was surprised by that. The agents respected her more then Crocodile? Well, she supposed that made sense.

All things considered, she may as well have been Mr. 0.

"I'm fine now," she smiled at them all reassuringly. "Thanks to you all, I was able to quickly get patched up and the poison didn't even get a chance to be life threatening."

They sighed in relief at that, pleased that she was doing fine.

"Now, what's going on in Alabasta? How are the others?" Robin asked, taking a seat next to Rosan and let out a pleased sigh as he tucked her into his frame, not even allowing her to put the slightest of strain on her body.

It felt good to be pampered.

"Usopp, Chopper, Sanji, Nami and Zoro all won their fights," Sabo began, listing off each Straw Hat.

"Oh! I noticed Nami and Usopp using some very familiar flames," Maro said, eyes glinting as she stared at Rosan.

Kaori nodded along with Maro's statement. "Those flames look the exact same as the ones you used on me," the fishman pointed out.

She instinctively shuddered at the sight of those destructive red flames rushing towards that agent.

"That's right. I gave her weapon the ability to store and use my flames. As for Usopp, I created some ammo for him," Rosan replied, tilting his head to the side. "I take it Nami fought Miss Doublefinger? That's the only agent she should need to use it on, lest she somehow got in a fight with Mr. 2."

They all nodded at his assessment.

"They all looked really injured…" Marianne frowned, biting her lip in worry at the sight of the burned woman.

The former agent couldn't stop the well of sadness at seeing the state Mr. 4 was in (he was almost certainly dead) and felt concern for both Miss Merry Christmas and Miss Doublefinger.

All the agents had been soundly defeated barring Crocodile himself… She didn't want any of them to go to jail.

Maro eyed the little girl from the corner of her eye and nodded to herself.

Sabo was surprised to learn that these three were also apart of Baroque Works and he had his slight suspicions on them, but they swore that they were loyal to Maro now and wouldn't do anything that would displease her.

Maro herself had vouched for them and that was good enough for him. If they had their uses, they had their uses.

"Ah that reminds me," Rosan muttered, eyeing Maro. "Did any of the agents catch your fancy? I can go retrieve the ones who did since you saw what they were all capable of."

He was only intending to recruit 1, 2 and Doublefinger but Maro saw them all so she could make the decision on her own if she wanted any or none.

Maro, without hesitation, said, "All of the remaining ones if you can... Besides Mr 4. I think he's dead."

Rosan blinked.

Marianne jolted at that, looking wildly at the queen due to her response.

"You want the rest of them?" The redhead asked, raising a brow.

Maro nodded rapidly, smiling widely. She wasn't really interested in them (her current agents were awesome!) but she saw the look in Marianne's eyes and decided recruiting some more of them wouldn't hurt.

Besides there was one of them that she wanted above all.

"I want that Bazooka Dog especially!" The Queen beamed greedily.

Oh just imagine! Her very own Bazooka, that could transform into a dog! That was so cool! Just call her the collector of unique pets!

Everyone sweatdropped at that.

"Right. I'll go retrieve them after this then," Rosan replied.

Maro nodded eagerly and glanced down at the feeling of someone tugging her sleeve.

Marianne looked up at her with pure adoration and said, "Thank you, my queen."

The Dokkaebi smiled gently and hugged the little girl to her side. "Anything for my cute little citizens."

"What about Zoro?" Robin asked curiously. "Did he manage to defeat Mr. 1?"

Everyone there nodded with a hint of awe on their faces, recalling the battle with varying expressions.

They retold it to the two who just listened with calm expressions.

"He's a real damage sponge," Rosan nodded. Zoro was capable of taking plenty of punishment and it was something that served him well. Unless he was well and truly dead, he would keep fighting.

Rosan liked that. The two were remarkably similar in battles.

"So he did manage to cut steel… I wonder how? Was it brute strength like Rosan?" Robin muttered.

"No, it was haki," Sabo replied calmly.

Everyone froze at that.

"What?" Rosan and Robin asked, slightly stunned.

"In the final moments of that battle, after Zoro got up, he began subconsciously using Armament and Observation," the revolutionary explained.

He didn't get hit by a single piece of that building, knowing where it was going to fall. That was definitely Observation Haki at hand.

He also managed to effortlessly cut through the steel body of Mr. 1 with just one attack. Sabo was confident, that if he used that exact same attack on Crocodile, it would have connected.

Rosan hummed at that. "So Zoro was the first one of us to begin using Haki... that's unexpected."

"It's a good thing we managed to catch it, otherwise he might have taken much longer to begin tapping into it," Sabo said, cupping his chin.

There were plenty of people who subconsciously used Armament or Observation in dire times but due to not knowing anything about it, they tended to never actually unlock the ability to consciously use it.

It would still be pretty difficult, but Zoro already had one foot in so it was good for him, especially considering he knew about Haki already.

"I'll be sure to inform him. It'll be a boon if he begins consciously using it," Rosan said, pleased with this outcome.

"Haki?" Kaori asked curiously, glancing at an eager Maro.

"I'll explain it to you guys later. It would be great if I could get you all started on a routine too," the queen informed them.

The soldiers nodded at that.

"There's just Luffy and Crocodile left…" Angel said, glancing at the screen in worry.

Crocodile was in the midst of summoning a massive sandstorm in Alubarna and not only that, he managed to stab Luffy right through his stomach with a crescent blade of sand.

She began gnawing her teeth in concern, chancing a glance at Rosan to see if he was going to save their youngest brother.

"Trust Luffy, Angel," Rosan said calmly. "Didn't I tell you? He's gotten strong over the years. He won't lose here."

She wanted to protest, but stopped at the sight of Luffy placing his fist on the ground and immediately calmed down.

"What's he doing?" Kaori asked, watching as the rubber boy's legs began… pumping?

"Ah! Gear Second!" Maro beamed, sitting upright to see this.

Luffy had never used the technique on anyone else but her and Master so she wanted to see just how good it was against a person who hadn't spent years fighting him.

"Gear Second?" Sabo asked, noticing Demon's face shift into one of slight displeasure.

"Gear Second is a technique Luffy developed to keep up with my speed and Maro's teleportation," Rosan began as Maro nodded along eagerly. "He speeds up the blood flow in his body and it makes him much faster and stronger as a result."

He began developing the technique when he was around 16 years old.

One day (when Ace had already left), Garp had visited to deliver his beat down quota and Rosan managed to get him to use a technique called Soru. With that technique, he was able to achieve massive speeds instantly that made it hard (absolutely impossible) to keep up with him.

"You could probably keep up with other users of it but not me," the old man bragged, sticking a finger up his nose as he puffed up at the blatant interest on Luffy's face.

Luffy, seeing the technique, instantly developed an interest in it and, with Rosan's assistance, began reverse engineering the technique for his own use (they all hated asking Garp for help).

This was in order to keep up with the immense speeds Rosan achieved when he applied a Boost to himself or when Maro decided to be particularly annoying and displace herself all over the field.

At x2, Luffy found it nearly impossible to match him and whenever Rosan activated it, their fights would end quickly.

That's where Gear Second came in.

Learning Soru wasn't enough for the rubber boy (Rosan technically knew it too but he refused to use it… he wanted nothing from Garp and he was already fast enough). The battle genius quickly connected the dots and used his foundation of Soru, to learn Geppo (in order to reach Rosan when he was flying) and his trump card, Gear Second.

It was a stunning technique that pushed his Devil Fruit creativity to the limits and both Rosan and Maro had praised him for coming up with something so ingenious... right before Demon chewed him out for developing such a dangerous technique.

The doctor demanded he find a way to reduce its strain on his body and with some help, they managed to get it to levels that made Demon's hair not go gray.

Everyone watched in awe as Luffy threw out a fist so fast, it blurred on the screen.

Crocodile couldn't react in nearly enough time and what followed next, was a thrashing they weren't expecting to ever see.

Robin was in a bit of awe. She never expected little Luffy to be handling Crocodile like this! She knew that the captain was incredibly strong, but this was something else!

"He's gotten better at using it," Maro grinned, watching him pummel Crocodile with a look of glee.

"We basically exclusively practiced with not making it so strenuous the last few months before setting sail," Rosan said calmly.

"Good, that technique is bad on his body. The more he develops and masters it, the better I'll feel," Demon frowned.

"He developed this to keep up with you two?" Sabo asked, impressed by the battle genius Luffy displayed. He was proud of the rubber boy but he couldn't really explain why.

Rosan nodded.

"Could you have beaten Crocodile?" The revolutionary prodded.

"Yes," he replied nonplussed. "His Logia intangibility is his greatest advantage but otherwise, I can beat him and so can Luffy. Maro most likely can too. I don't think Crocodile has the power needed to pierce her defenses and she's also versatile."

The agents looked at their Queen with wide eyes and saw the smug grin on her face.

They knew she was strong... but had they really never seen her go all out?

"I'm the most naturally durable in our family!" She preened, slapping her chest heartily. "Maybe I'll show you guys what I'm fully capable of against Master one of these days!"

They nodded eagerly, curious to see just how capable their carefree leader was, before focusing on the one sided beatdown.

Seriously, it wasn't even close.

"His rate of growth is insane," Maro muttered, shaking her head as she perfectly tracked the fight. She was a prodigy but Luffy was a true genius in battle like Master.

It was only her years of experience and absurd Devil Fruit (she was a very good matchup into Luffy and any close combat fighter really) that gave her the edge but even then, Maro found it hard pressed to beat Luffy when they were going all out.

It was only a matter of time before the youngest fully surpassed most of them. After seeing what he turned the Gomu Gomu no Mi into, there was no doubt in her mind that eventually, Luffy would be standing near the top of their little ranking list.

Most of them couldn't even keep up with what Straw Hat was doing.

Rosan, Sabo, Maro and Robin watched the battle like it were happening normally, tracking every movement with an easy gaze.

Everyone else only saw Crocodile getting battered. Luffy was moving too fast for them currently and it filled them with as much awe as it did envy at the fact that the former four were capable of doing so.

But right as it appeared that Luffy was going to finish the fight, Crocodile gained his intangibility back and promptly vanished with a maniacal laugh.

"Oh no," Maro said, watching Luffy glance back and forth wildly before the rubber boy took off in a direction.

Not only that, another of Rosan's bird had been keeping track of the bomb that the Hawkman was holding, so it did not miss how he was caught in the crossfire of the explosion.

He did not survive.

"He's psychotic," Maro muttered, eyes smoldering as she beheld the madness of Crocodile. A man who wanted only power and trusted no one but himself to achieve it.

People like him were dangerous because they truly didn't care about anyone but themselves. Everyone else's life was insignificant in their own eyes so they didn't care who died in their p.

It didn't take very long for them to find Crocodile (made easier by the lack of a sandstorm) but the damage had been done.

Koza (who was the leader of the rebellion and Vivi's best friend) lay there, dead and unmoving from a stab wound that could only be from Crocodile.

The Warlord himself had clearly dipped a bit into madness at the trashing Luffy gave him and was acting accordingly.

"He's been trying to lure you out this whole time," Sabo scowled, staring at the sandman with repressed fury.

Alabasta may have been allied with the World Government but that didn't mean this man was free to do what he pleased with it and Sabo would let it slide.

Rosan said nothing. Crocodile would see him soon enough. But… he'd probably leave the fact that he was going to recruit the man to just Robin (if she had no problem with it of course).

"I don't. I can see the use of having him as an ally," Robin said.

His anger had tapered off and that allowed him to see how immensely useful having this man as an ally would be.

Yes, Crocodile going to prison would be a waste when Rosan could make him submit.

Despite trying to strike Vivi down, Luffy managed to show up in time and took the blow in her stead, getting greatly injured and poisoned on top of it.

Demon was already standing up, eyes focused on Luffy's injured body. "Crocodile is right, Gear Second accelerates his blood flow by a lot and with the poison in his system, he'll be in trouble."

"Right, let's go." Rosan said softly, watching the conclusion of the battle with a… proud look in his eyes.

Good. Well done, Straw Hats. All of them did a good job today.

Maro nodded eagerly and launched herself up, removing her tiara and placing it on a surprised Marianne's head. "Keep that safe for me so that I can come back, okay?"

The artist nodded just as eagerly, tenderly touching the tiara.

Robin was silent for a long while, watching the end of the battle with unreadable eyes and prompting her best friend to look at her.

"Impressive isn't he? My weak youngest brother isn't so weak anymore," Rosan said quietly, gently hoisting her up and placing her on his back again.

"Yes… he's even stronger then I thought," she replied softly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

They all were rather impressive actually… fighting that hard for someone who wasn't even apart of their crew.

She found it quite admirable.

"Gotta say, I'm looking forward to traveling with you guys for a bit," Sabo chuckled. They looked like a lot of fun to be around and he found himself liking everyone quite a bit.

"An adventure with Luffy is never boring, that's what we tried to tell you before but someone wanted to be his own captain and isn't even that," Rosan chided with a shake of his head, eyes glowing as everyone grabbed onto him.

"As if I'd ever sail under Luffy's flag!" Sabo retorted instinctively, eyes widening at that reply.

"Even amnesia can't hide your repulsion at sailing under Luffy," Rosan snorted, activating his Save Point.

They all vanished, leaving Kaori and the agents to watch through the lens of the bird.

"They're all monstrous," Kaori muttered with a shake of her head. It was truly unfortunate that Arlong ran into quite possibly the strongest crew in East Blue and that they had a vested interest in Nami.

Straw Hat Luffy and Rosan still had so much they could do… to know that they had been defeated by them without even pushing them…

The others nodded in agreement, remembering the trashing they received clearly.

They needed to train harder.

---

"Y-You guys," Vivi whimpered in surprise, watching everyone appear right next to the sleeping Straw Hats.

King Cobra was out there explaining to everyone what part Crocodile had played in the ruin of their country. Igaram (who Vivi had immediately teared up at seeing alive and well) was there as well to help explain.

They were currently in the King's castle, with Chopper working on each member of the crew. Demon wasted no time and went to go assist the reindeer, offering a smile at him and getting the young Doctor to light up in happiness.

Maro immediately engulfed the princess in a tender hug. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that Vivi but everything's gonna be alright now. It's over, okay? You're so strong for someone so young but I'll be here to help in any way I can."

Vivi sniffed and nodded in the crook of the queen's neck, returning the hug fiercely and allowing the comfort of the Dokkaebi to soothe her.

"It hurts… a lot," she said through shaky breaths, tears spilling onto Maro's frame.

All that happened… it was so overwhelming. She still couldn't even come to terms that Pell and Koza were both d-dead...

Not only that, even now they were finding a plethora of moles in both the royal and rebel army who were apart of Baroque Works.

It was just so much...

"I know," Maro soothed. "It's going to hurt but we're all here for you and not just us, your citizens too. Just the sight of you crying drained the energy to battle out of them. Your people love you and for good reason, Vivi."

They watched Maro soothe the crying princess with soft eyes.

Vivi had lost so much so quickly but she was still capable of moving forward. She truly was strong.

"I'm sorry," Rosan said quietly. "I wanted to hold off Crocodile long enough for you to stop all this but I let him get away."

"It's because I let my guard down and got poisoned," Robin joined, frowning slightly.

The princess peeked out from Maro's shoulder so that she could shake her head vigorously. "You guys did so much! None of this would have even been possible without you two intervening so much so thank you," she retorted, truly meaning it.

Robin was surprised but eventually it transformed into a tiny smile.

Vivi truly was a kind person. She would be a fine queen.

Rosan stabbed that tiny amount of paranoia telling him that no one was this kind and regarded her with a hint of curiosity.

Eventually, he nodded and said, "A lot of your buildings were destroyed, I will go repair them now."

Not waiting for a response, he swiftly departed from the confused people and Robin followed after.

"Don't worry, he's not upset… it's just in that moment, your kindness reminded him of Meiko and he didn't know how to deal with that," the Devil Child informed her, making sure she didn't get the wrong idea.

"Ah!" Vivi's features turned sympathetic as she looked at the spot Rosan was just at. "I understand, please thank him for going out of his way to repair the buildings for us!"

Robin nodded and quickly left the room before Rosan got too far.

"I should go make a call as well," Sabo muttered, tipping his hat to the occupants before exiting the room to inform Dragon of what transpired.

Angel frowned at having nothing to do and just shrugged, sitting down in a comfy seat and eyeing her wife.

She should get into knitting. Then she could make ugly sweaters for all of her family and force them to wear it.

---

Those pesky Marines managed to recover quick and managed to call for backup too.

It was annoying.

Already, Crocodile had been arrested by them and they were beginning the search for the other incapacitated agents.

"I should have killed all of them," he muttered in annoyance.

That was okay. He'd just kill two birds with one stone later.

"I still remember how often you used to incorrectly say that quote," Mod said lightly, utterly unbothered by his slight annoyance.

"Two stones with one bird… only Rosan," Robin laughed lightly.

He ignored them both, grabbing onto Robin and quietly moving away from the Marines.

Mr. 1 and Crocodile were already in cuffs while Mr. 2 was missing… They were still searching for the other 3 but they wouldn't find them.

Rosan knew exactly where they were so he'd go for them first.

First, Miss Doublefinger. She was the most injured due to being attacked by his flames (the ones in Clima were weaker until Nami got stronger and needed them to be stronger as a result) directly and if left alone for longer, she'd die.

Mr. 1 was far too loyal to Crocodile so perhaps after speaking to the sandman, he'd force his subservience by using the former Warlord.

Rosan glanced down at Miss Doublefinger's burned body and nodded in satisfaction.

He would need to praise Nami and Clima later for a job well done. He hoped she enjoyed having a weapon that could help her out.

The redhead walked up to the scantily clad woman and nudged her.

Seeing as Miss Merry Christmas was far enough and Mr. 4 was dead, he figured he could learn more about this one.

The agent gasped in agony as soon as he made contact and tried to shoot up, only to let out a whine of pain as her body flared.

Everything hurt.

Her body was in so much pain. She couldn't think straight right now due to her blistering skin and tried desperately to bite back her tears.

"Are you going to destroy her self worth?" Robin asked curiously, wondering how he was going to convince Miss Doublefinger to join their side.

"There is no need."

"You look like you're in pain," Rosan said quietly, managing to break through the woman's hazy fog with his voice.

Bending down, he placed a hand on her and idly numbed her body.

The effects were immediate. Miss Doublefinger let out a shaky sigh of relief and finally focused her attention on the two new arrivals.

That relief and gratefulness swiftly turned into horror as she realized who they were.

"Y-You're—," the woman immediately stopped talking as she realized just how dry her throat was but she knew these two and it caused her to go pale in fear.

One was the redhead that Crocodile himself said he would deal with and that same redhead was staring down at her without a single injury on his body.

The other was the more surprising one because this was the missing Miss All Sunday.

Was this why Crocodile wanted to deal with the redhead himself…? Did he understand just how dangerous the man before her was?

If he was standing before her uninjured, what could she possibly do?

Robin offered her a glass of water and despite her wariness, it was so hot and she felt so parched so she drank it with far less hesitation then was befitting of her.

"Miss Doublefinger, it's nice to meet you. I'm Rosan," the redhead greeted, never taking those unnerving eyes off of her for a second.

She noticed her burned attire and hastily covered some of her modesty, warily staring at the two the whole time.

"W-What do you want?" The woman asked, unable to hide her fears fully.

Rosan hummed, taking a step forward (which made her try to crawl back… to little success).

"Let's start with your real name," he said quietly. "I gave you mine after all, wouldn't it be rude not to return the favor?"

She shuddered at that quiet order and began fearing the consequences of not doing so.

His words demanded respect and she found herself quickly submitting to them.

"Zala…" The woman replied, averting her gaze towards the ground.

Rosan nodded and crouched in front of her, making the woman shudder once more. "Zala, are you aware that the Marine's are looking for you as we speak?" He asked softly.

Her eyes widened at that. "S-So it's over… we—"

"Lost? Yes, you did," he replied calmly. "I think it would be a waste for you to get tortured in Impel Down though, so I'd like you to join my side."

Impel down… Zala heard of that hell like prison and someone with her bounty, would be sent there without hesitation.

She shuddered at that. Going to Impel Down was probably the worst thing that could happen to a pirate.

"Y-You'll really save me from that if I join your side?" She asked hesitantly.

"I wouldn't have approached you otherwise," he replied bluntly, offering her his hand. "Crocodile didn't know how to utilize you and that is why you all lost. Join my side instead of wasting away in a prison. Of course, I'll have someone heal your burns as well."

Zala looked at the bronze hand with a conflicted expression but that didn't last long. She grasped it and the redhead gently pulled her up, inspecting her wounds all the while.

Looking into the eyes of the one who offered her safety, she couldn't keep the admiration out of them.

"You… you have so much different ways of manipulating people," Robin said, a little shock in her tone at how easily Rosan made her submit.

"At the end of the day, these people are inherently followers. It's all about understanding the correct buttons to push but they will all submit to a stronger force in time. It's in their nature to flock to someone who will lead them," Rosan replied.

That's why he was looking forward to recruiting Crocodile. That man wasn't a follower. He wasn't the type of person to take orders from someone but he would be taking orders from Rosan.

Was it risky? Yes, but it was beneficial and most of all, it was fun.

"Come, we still have one more to approach. Unfortunately, they've already captured Crocodile and Mr. 1 and I cannot find Mr. 2 anywhere," Rosan said softly, eyes flickering towards the desert.

The agent might have been utilizing his Devil Fruit at the moment. How unfortunate...

Zala paled a bit at hearing that the two strongest in their organization were already captured and felt her loyalty to Rosan grow.

That could have been her… She was glad it was not her.

"Who else is there?" She asked, trudging slowly behind the duo (she was stunned to see Miss All Sunday of all people allowing someone to carry her on their back).

"Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas. Although, Mr. 4 is just a corpse at this point." Rosan took one look at her and grabbed the injured woman, much to her surprise. With a slight glow, her outfit repaired itself and he began carrying her bridal style.

"Aren't you a gentleman?" Zala couldn't help but say despite shuddering at hearing how casually he mentioned Mr. 4's death. What was that technique he just used? How did he manage to completely repair her outfit?

He didn't even spare her a glance. "You're moving too slow is all. It'd take hours if I allowed you to walk on your own."

The redhead looked utterly unbothered at having to carry both the tall women, swiftly making his way towards the location of Usopp and Chopper's battle.

"I imagine we won't be traveling with your crew?" The spike woman asked. They were enemies after all.

"Correct. You will be staying on an island in the North Blue run by my student. Your other agent friends are there too," Rosan replied softly.

The other agents?! Which ones were he talking about? Wasn't Mr. 3 dead?

"We're here."

Robin was about to get off his back but the fabric of his shirt was far too comfortable and she was more sore then she thought, so she just opted to lie there instead on his rumbling body.

Zala wanted to question Miss All Sunday but thought better of it after Rosan glanced at her warningly.

She simply nodded hastily and let the woman doze off.

It was just odd to see her so… comfortable around a person. It was honestly the weirdest thing the former agent had seen in a while and she just fought a girl with split personality.

Rosan made sure Robin was comfortable and glanced at the bodies of Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas.

True to his words, Mr. 4 was dead and Miss Merry Christmas was probably only alive due to her Zoan physiology...

What a crew of monsters. Were they all pyromaniacs?

"Miss Merry Christmas is stubborn so she might put up a fight," Zala informed helpfully.

"Noted," he responded, glancing at the bazooka lying there. He picked it up and observed it, running a quick scan on the weapon in the process.

So it was actually a bazooka with a dog devil fruit… He wonder if he should—

No, not yet. He still needed to practice that some more and Maro wanted this anyways. Besides it would be useless to try that here.

"?" Mod tilted her head in confusion.

Was… Was Rosan practicing a technique that she didn't know about? When did he have the time to do that and why wasn't she privy to it?

"Because he doesn't trust you like you think he does," a voice in the back of her mind whispered cruelly.

The Devil Fruit bit her lip and banished that thought immediately, subtly tightening her grip on the sleeping Ram's hair.

"She doesn't seem like she's going to be waking up anytime soon," Rosan muttered. "Fine, I'll just bring you all to your new location now and you can explain the situation to her when she wakes up. I imagine as one of the highest ranked females in the organization, your words hold weight?"

Zala nodded. "I might need some medical attention in the meantime."

"That will be arranged."

Demon was here right now helping Chopper out but there were plenty of doctors on Celadon that could help them.

Rosan dragged Miss Merry Christmas over before glancing at the male agent who was dead.

Outstretching his hand, he shot a simple burst of red flames that consumed the body and swiftly reduced him to ashes.

Zala felt a surge of primal fear, as she realized where the girl with mental issues got access to such hellish flames.

She was looking right at him.

Memories of those flames crashing into her, made the woman take a step back from the demon before her and she felt her breath hitch.

"Where are you going?" Rosan asked calmly, rooting her in place with that cold expression of his. "I need you to be touching me, not backing away. I've already recruited you, there is no reason to think I'd turn my flames on you, unless you thought of betraying me."

Robin continued to rest, head nestled in the crook of his neck. The sight was honestly adorable but it didn't help alleviate Zala's fears at all.

She shuddered and nodded hesitantly, moving closer to the duo and grabbing onto him.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Rosan activated his Save Point and they all vanished.

---

"Mr. 5, Miss Valentine and Miss Goldenweek!" Zala gasped in surprise, staring at the agents with wide eyes.

They looked different now, likely due to not wanting to match their bounty posters, but she could still tell that it was them due to knowing them for so long.

"I go by Gem. Not Mr. 5," Mr. 5 said coolly, unfazed by her arrival and nodding towards Rosan.

His shades were gone, replaced by visor sunglasses instead and his spiky dreadlocks grew longer, stopping at the bottom of his ears and spilling past his new eyewear.

"And I'm Mikita…" Miss Valentine interjected quietly.

She was a far cry from the over confident and sadistic women, trying to shrink into herself instead.

The woman also looked different, getting rid of her entire lemon themed outfit (including that hat at Angel's behest) in favor of a yellow turtleneck and jean combo. Her hair seemed to also be growing past the chin now.

"I'm Marianne," Miss Goldenweek finished, idly clutching a tiara in her hand. She had the most changes appearance wise and was the hardest for Miss Doublefinger to pinpoint.

Only her childish appearance and the fact that the other agents were there made her recognizable.

Angel had taken one look at the girl's outfit, made exaggerated gagging noises and summarily burned it into cinders (literally, Marianne watched in disbelief as she had an apologetic Maro do the deed), leaving only her pink hat in the process.

She then proceeded to use her own money to update the girl's wardrobe, an excursion that took them the whole day.

Despite the slight injustice at getting her outfit destroyed, watching Angel dip into her own funds just to update it more then made up for it and she was incredibly touched.

"That just means she's adopted you basically!" Maro had assured, grinning widely at the satisfied look in her wife's eyes.

Currently, she was dressed in a white and pink shirt and skirt combo that complimented her hat (she had gotten different colors too!) well.

It was honestly the most thoughtful act someone had ever done for Marianne which was why it was so surprising Angel was the one to do it.

Adopted was pretty accurate, Angel seemed to very much like her for whatever reason.

"Kaori, could you and Gem bring these two to the hospital?" Rosan asked politely. They could catch up when he wasn't here and Maro was. They were her soldiers, not his.

The two, being Maro's strongest soldiers, caught his desire immediately and nodded.

His message was simple, make sure they don't do anything stupid.

Formerly, the two would have slaughtered the former Mr. 5 but they had no idea how much more proficient he had become with his powerful Devil Fruit.

He could undoubtedly deal with the agents individually now if they proved to be rowdy.

"Marianne. This is the Bazooka Dog. Make sure it doesn't cause a mess and use your paint if you have to. I'm off," Rosan muttered, adjusting Robin. It seemed that she was more exhausted then she let show because the women was fully asleep now, breath even and quiet on his neck.

He handed the bazooka to the girl (it was comical how they were practically the same size) before waving at them all and vanishing.

Zala blinked at his abrupt departure, staring at the spot he was just at before gasping as the pain in her body returned. She doubled over and desperately tried to hold back her tears.

Kaori coated her body in some water and gently picked the women up.

"Can someone explain what's happening after I get healed?" The spiked agent asked, shooting a grateful look towards the fishman and stabbing down her slight discomfort.

"It's a lot to explain…" Marianne said truthfully.

"I suddenly have time," she replied, clenching her eyes shut.

What the hell was in the schizophrenic navigator's fire?

---

His crew was still asleep and he had repaired many of the destroyed buildings (to the tearful joy of Cobra and Vivi) so Rosan and Robin decided to pay Mod and Ram a visit.

"MOTHER!" Ram cried, tackling Robin over and beginning to immediately cry on her. "I'm so glad you're okay! I was so scared a-and I couldn't stop crying but I hate crying and now that you're okay I'm crying again and I'm so confused!" She blabbered.

"Ah, this really is Rosan's daughter," Robin thought for the umpteenth time.

Their similarities were too apparent and it was honestly super adorable.

...She had been using adorable a lot lately. No wonder Rosan teased her.

"I'm fine, Ram. It was a slight mistake but I'm good!" she assured, stroking the woman's silver hair in assurance.

"D-Don't worry me like that again," Ram whimpered, burying herself deeper in Robin's frame.

"Does Ram actually consider Robin her mother?" Rosan mused, watching the exchange with a curious gaze.

"Her desire for a mother caught me by surprise too. I was unaware that she wanted one," Mod replied, smiling softly as she tucked herself into Rosan.

Despite slight hiccups, it was an overwhelming victory for the Straw Hats and she smiled proudly at them all.

Rosan raked a hand through her lustrous hair and she sighed happily, pleased that they were all doing fine.

"If she truly wants one and Robin doesn't mind, then I see no problem with it," Rosan said, watching as she easily calmed the ring down.

Huh, that was far easier then he managed to do.

Mod wanted to tell him that saying things like that carried heavy implications but just kept her mouth shut with an amused smile.

"That reminds me…" Robin muttered, fixing Rosan with a heavy stare. "You must think you're awfully funny, don't you Rosan?"

The redhead raised a brow, Mod went scarlet and Ram grinned brightly.

"I've been told on some occasion that I'm funny despite thinking otherwise," he said dryly, watching as his best friend marched up to him with a purpose.

She gazed into his heterochromatic eyes with a flat gaze. "You kissed me in front of all of our enemies and you squeezed my butt for a very long time," she stressed, flushing slightly at the memory.

"You were trying to ruin my plan. I refused to let you be Crocodile's target and Ram had a good idea so I implemented it."

Ram grinned brighter at that, looking utterly shameless at being exposed.

"Of course I was trying to ruin your plan! I don't need to be babied by you and that's what you were trying to do," Robin frowned slightly.

Rosan stood up from the comfy couch he and Mod were sitting on to regard the Devil Child.

"I'm not trying to baby you, Robin. Crocodile would absolutely target you after realizing you betrayed him for me," the redhead said softly. "I'm stronger then him but even I would be wary fighting a person in their own domain. It's just… I just got you back and I don't want to lose you already."

Her eyes softened at the rare vulnerability in his eyes and she immediately hugged him.

Robin sighed, she was still incredibly whipped it seemed. For all intents and purposes, she should be completely upset with the redhead but she hardly paid any stock to the fact that he groped her so shamelessly and instead focused on the fact that he was being overprotective.

"I understand but we're partners and that means we should be equals. I don't want to hold you back in a fight because you're stuck worrying about me. I want you to only look forward with the knowledge that you have fantastic backup keeping you safe," she said, gazing up at those mesmerizing orbs of his.

It still filled her with a guilty satisfaction that just reconciling with her, managed to make them spark with a bit of life.

Rosan returned the hug and nodded. "I'll try not to overprotect you too much but you'll have to become much stronger to put my mind at ease," he told her.

"Of course. I have you here to motivate me," she replied, enjoying his natural flowery smell.

They embraced for a while before it was broken up by the most obvious source.

"So, Mother! What did you think about the kiss?" Ram prodded, pleased to see that light dust of red. For someone like Robin, that was the same as a normal person going scarlet.

Robin enjoyed it more then she would like to admit but there was no way she was going to inflate the redhead's ego more then it already was (she didn't actually think it was possible to inflate it more but she wouldn't risk it).

Instead, she'd make good on her promise.

"Ram, I think you need to be disciplined by someone else besides Mod-chan for once. Telling him to squeeze my butt? That's not something a daughter should be thinking about in regards to her parents," Robin smiled at the problematic ring.

Ram squeaked and went white. "Y-You have a nice ass though! I wouldn't be embarrassed about that!"

"You've completely missed the point, exactly like Rosan. That means I have to teach you exactly like I taught him." Robin let out a mock sigh of sadness.

"I'm in a lot of danger!" Ram balked.

Before she could even turn, arms sprouted over her body and she let out a noise of protest as they brought her to the floor.

"Y-YOU'RE ALL CHEATERS!" The ring protested, struggling violently in her grip to no avail.

No fair! They all had ways to instantly catch her!

"I wouldn't want to go through the trouble of chasing you. You seem like you run pretty fast," Robin smiled, approaching the ring with a look that promised bad things.

Mod giggled, pleased that she wasn't the one who had to discipline Ram this time.

That giggled turned into a laugh at the betrayed look the ring shot her.

Rosan snorted as he shamelessly allowed her to take full blame. It was Ram's idea so let her take the hit.

Better her then him.

---

"You wish to see our secret Poneglyph? Of course! Anything for our saviors," Cobra nodded at the duo.

Rosan and Maro especially, were helping Alabasta out so much in these past few days.

Robin and Rosan followed after the King with short nods of their own.

"Someone who can read the Poneglyphs… an almost impossible thing to see," the king remarked idly.

Robin smiled thinly at that.

Rosan, sensing her slight discomfort, chose to jump in the conversation.

"I heard you and Maro have been having some discussions?" He asked the king, not missing the grateful look Robin shot him.

"Ah! Yes. Queen Maro is an incredible person," Cobra began, smile making its way onto his face at the mention of his student. "I hear you have trained her? I don't know what circumstances brought a pirate and royalty together but you did a fantastic job raising her."

Maro had introduced herself as the ruler of Celadon to Cobra and to say the king was surprised, was an understatement. After all, Celadon was an island whose prestige had grown so quickly, they had almost immediately been identified as an official kingdom by the World Government and were granted access to the Levely.

The duo of Rosan and Maro had picked out an empty area in their kingdom and within a matter of hours, had created a few greenhouses for Alabasta, filled with a plethora of fruits and vegetables that were growing at an insane rate.

They understood why Celadon was so prestigious now. These two were incredible and had managed to solve some of their issues instantly.

"These are my specially grown crops as well, consider them a gift!" Maro beamed as she absentmindedly hugged the grateful Vivi.

To be so kind with no ulterior motives... it was only right Cobra did something as small as show them the Poneglyph. It would be shameful if he could not grant them one of their requests.

Rosan dismissed his praise. "All I did was make her strong and make sure she doesn't use that kindness for the wrong people. That is just her inherent nature."

Cobra laughed. "You should give yourself more credit. She would disagree with you based on how much praise I hear from her."

"And I'd be chopping her head for bragging about a pirate so much despite being a queen," Rosan sighed.

The king laughed merrily at that. "Don't worry, I would never think of outing such a kind and gentle queen who's trying to help our country."

"I'd kill you if you did," Rosan told him, gazing at the secret passageway the king revealed.

"It's down here, right this way."

The three made their way to the Poneglyph and Rosan looked at it with a raised brow.

"So this is a Poneglyph…" Rosan mused, glancing at the large rock. It was his first time seeing one.

He idly remembered the time Robin offered to teach him how to read them...

"This giant rock is what you're so impressed by? Nerd."

...It was a good thing he said no. They were so lame.

Robin idly summoned a hand on top of Rosan's hair and yanked it harshly, getting a grunt out of him.

"You all need to stop trying to find out my kinks, perverts," he retorted, promising he'd get his revenge on her later.

"The one who reads just as much as me is calling me a nerd," she countered, sighing at how aggressive she became around him.

She couldn't help it. Rosan infuriated her too easily.

Running her hand through the Poneglyph, Robin focused on its words and remained silent…

She took a step back and frowned slightly.

"Found out where it is?" Rosan hummed, tilting his head to the side.

"Yes. But I was hoping it had something else on it. I don't much care for the ancient weapons."

Robin informed the redhead of the location and saw him tilt his head.

"I see," he said. He wasn't very interested in Pluton in general but this was good to know.

"Is that all?" Cobra asked, eyes a bit fascinated at watching her rove her fingers over the ancient stone.

"Yes, thank you," Robin said, smiling in satisfaction.

That smile quickly turned into a yelp as Rosan yanked her hair with that smug expression of his.

"Oh? I suppose that's not your kink either," he shrugged, smirking at her glower.

Without any hesitation, almost like they were kids again, Robin lunged on Rosan and began choking him, a brawl quickly ensuing between the two.

"I've put up with you enough these past few days!" Robin said with a glare.

Rosan scoffed slightly at her and immediately flipped her so that he was on top. "Cry about it. Don't apologize now when I teach you a lesson."

Cobra sweatdropped and watched the two roll around. "Could you two not have a lover's spat in Alabasta's secret chamber? It's a rather sacred area and I wouldn't want any damage to fall on it…"

They ignored him. Completely.

"Only Rosan can irritate Robin to such a degree that she'd actually attack them first," Mod smiled fondly.

They used to fight all the time as kids and it was always Rosan's fault. The redhead was infuriating on the best of days.

Not a single person on the planet but him managed to rile young Robin up so effortlessly... It seemed intentional at times on his part.

It was good to know that held true.

"GO MOTHER! GO FATHER!" Ram cheered. Fighting was like the most intimate form of love right for someone like her Father right?

Mod sweatdropped.

---

"Captain Smoker, Hina and Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi are all being promoted by two ranks for the defeat and capture of former Warlord, Sir Crocodile."

The injured Smoker snarled in disbelief, ignoring the warning glare a bandaged Hina shot him.

"Did you not get the report?!" He barked in annoyance. "We were soundly defeated by two people, most of our men died and the Straw Hats dealt with Crocodile. Why exactly are we being rewarded?!"

This was humiliating. Tashigi had been deeply depressed ever since the redhead had effortlessly broken her arm, Smoker was in a body cast because of Nico Robin, and Hina had to receive a blood transfusion due to all the blood she lost from the various cuts on her body, not to mention the bones they broke and the burns they suffered.

Most of their men died in that one-sided slaughter.

Yet, they were being promoted? Was this some type of sick joke?

The Marines contributed nothing to Alabasta being saved besides assisting in picking out Baroque Work members inside of the rebel and royal army. They were just caught in the middle of two overwhelmingly stronger forces, so why were they taking credit for everything?

"We received your report and the necessary steps will be taken to ensure the world is aware of the Straw Hats threat due to evading the Marines that managed to capture Crocodile."

So this is what they were doing?

Memories of two apathetic gazes looking down at them, words as sharp as a razor piercing into them all the whole while.

"You Marines are all on a power trip and have no interest in doing your actual job. None of you care about upholding justice. You just do whatever satisfies yourself. Honestly, you're no better then pirates. You're just allowed to flex your power legally."

"When the top of your chain is corrupt, all of you are, no matter what beliefs you think you're fighting for."

If they accepted this, they'd just be proving that vengeful redhead right. Listening to what they had to say, Smoker realized that the one named Rosan may very well have a good reason for hating the World Government.

Covering the truth, general corruptness… it wouldn't be shocking if he was at the tail end of one of the underhanded tactics of the Marines.

"I don't want your promotion," Smoker growled, slamming the call shut with a deep scowl.

All they did was clean up the aftermath of the Straw Hat's victory.

Two members. Just two members managed to dismantle them like that. By the time they were finished escaping and tending to their injuries, the battle had long been over.

They were only alive due to how pathetic they were. Rosan simply prioritized a higher threat and treated them like an afterthought.

Smoker grunted in disdain. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"We're done here. Another ship will come and escort the captured agents while we recuperate at headquarters."

"W-What about the missing agents? We were unable to locate multiple."

"Hina thinks they're dead," Hina said quietly, deep in contemplation after her near death experience. It was very possible that the terrifying redhead dealt with them.

"We got the most important ones anyways," Smoker grumbled. "Tashigi, let's go."

The dazed woman shot up at being called before hesitantly saluting with her good arm. Her dominant hand was wrapped up in a sling and more then once, they saw her staring at it with tears brimming in her eyes.

"Don't allow one defeat to drag you down, Tashigi," Smoker advised gruffly. "Just train and get stronger so that it doesn't happen again."

She sniffed before nodding resolutely, making sure to burn that red and purple gaze into her mind and having it fuel her.

Never again would she rely on the pirates who defeated her. The Straw Hats not only saved Alabasta, they made sure every Marine was a non factor in the process.

She never wanted to feel this helpless again.

"To think the Devil Child had such a powerful partner… This can't bode well for the world," Hina muttered.

They weren't just allies either. Those two were almost perfectly in sync with each other and not only that… they were lovers too.

The Marine sighed and gazed at her injured body, shuddering a bit as a tremor shot through her.

Smoker and Tashigi didn't have to deal with what she did in that fight, being constant prey the entire time and knowing you could die at any given moment... Only surviving because they were using you as bait...

Hina didn't want to run into that monster again anytime soon. Someone like him would be very displeased that he didn't get to kill them and would make sure to finish the job next time.

---

Sengoku stared at the report of Alabasta with a deep frown on his face.

This was yet another report on the Straw Hats… but this time there was even more urgent information.

They had the Devil Child in their midst and not only that, the Devil Child had a partner who she took orders from.

A blank gaze stared at him, expression lifeless through the pictures and Sengoku grunted in confusion at the familiarity coursing through him.

Had he seen this boy before? Where did he remember him...

Rosan was his name. The one who had seemingly perfect synergy with Nico Robin.

If Sengoku was right, then this was the mysterious person who had been traveling with her all those years ago. The same person who had been with her in not only the South Blue… but the North Blue as well…

He was dangerous, with an unknown Devil Fruit that they weren't able to identify. According to that one Captain, Smoker, he was speculated to have some type of Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, due to his ability to manipulate the terrain, fly, and breathe fire…

Sengoku froze.

Mythical Zoan… Breathe... Fire…

"Based on evidence, we suspect that… it was someone with some type of mythical zoan… most likely one that can breathe fire."

...Red Demon.

Snapping his finger to grab the attention of the Marine there, Sengoku said, "Increase the intended price for the one named Rosan. He is far more dangerous then we were led to believe."

"Sir…?" The Marine questioned. They were already planning on giving him quite the price but the Fleet Admiral wanted to increase it?

"I gave you an order!" Sengoku barked.

His subordinate jumped and saluted hesitantly, departing from the room quickly.

The Fleet Admiral gazed back at the paper with a contemplative expression.

If he was right, this was the same "Red Demon" who had burned down the entire Marine Base back in East Blue.

No, he was certain of it. This boy was a member of the Straw Hats, the Straw Hats had just defeated the Arlong Pirates and that Marine base had been colluding with the Fishman.

It all lined up too well. This Rosan was almost certainly the culprit... and the verification of a Mythical Zoan made another thing clear to him.

He knew why the boy was so familiar now.

Sengoku also had reason to believe that this same redhead was Nico Robin's partner and lover? The one who managed to help her navigate two seas that she should not be able to reach normally? This man, who hated the World Government, had one of the few who could read the Poneglyphs in his palm?

And not only that, he had an unknown Devil Fruit. That wouldn't be too much of an issue but Sengoku knew how dangerous a Mythical Zoan could be. They were the rarest class of Devil Fruits for a reason.

One that allowed him to do all those things… If left unchecked, Rosan could be quite the problem.

The fact that he was choosing to follow Monkey D. Luffy, made the rubber boy all the more dangerous as well.

After all, he was the son of Dragon.

…

Was Rosan also the son of Dragon? The report mentioned that he had a particularly strong hatred for the World Government, calling them corrupt in the process so perhaps…

There were too many mysteries surrounding this sudden threat. The one named Rosan suddenly burst out of nowhere and it left him reeling once he realized how much things were connected to this, at first, unassuming redhead.

He needed to find any and all information about this man.

Yes, that's what he'd do but for now, he'd settle for increasing his bounty price past what it was going to be.

---

"There's no way I'm bathing with you all," Rosan said calmly, fully clothed. Turning towards the king, he asked, "Do you have another bath? I'll go there instead."

"Oh, yes we do!" Cobra said, slightly confused but not questioning it too much.

After some instructions of where to go, Rosan glanced at Robin and she nodded, moving to follow him.

"WAIT HOLD ON!" Sanji roared. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, ROSAN?!"

The redhead tilted his head. "To bathe. Did you not hear me? Did Mr. 2 give you brain damage?" He asked genuinely, leaning forward slightly and placing a hand on Sanji's forehead.

The chef swatted the man's hand away and his teeth turned serrated.

"I KNOW DUMBASS! WHY IS ROBIN-CHAN GOING WITH YOU?"

Now it was Robin's turn to tilt her head. "I would like to bathe as well," she answered calmly.

Sanji's jaw dropped in disbelief. "W-With him?"

They both blinked at that.

"I thought that was obvious?" Rosan muttered, brows furrowed.

Mod struggled to hold back her laughter at their genuine confusion. Robin and Rosan bathed so often together they didn't see it the way others did.

Vivi decided to just be the one to ask the looming question that had been on their minds since Robin and Rosan reunited. "Are you two dating?"

"No," they replied in unison, wholly unbothered by the question.

"Y-YOU AREN'T?!" Everyone asked in confusion.

"All this because we bathe together?" Rosan muttered. He bathed with Luffy all the time but no one ever asked if they were dating.

"I told you guys we bathe together," Robin said with a small smile. "It gave me peace of mind knowing Rosan was accounted for instead of going off by himself to cause chaos and then it became routine."

"She's very good at washing my hair," the redhead chimed in, already walking off.

"He's very good at washing mine too," the brunette smiled softly at that and went to follow.

Sanji collapsed on his knees. "H-Have they been bathing together this whole time…?"

R-Robin's voluptuous body… you were telling him that Rosan got to see it every single day?

"It's. Not. Fair!" Sanji bawled, slamming a fist against the ground with each word.

"I can't even say I blame Sanji for that reaction," Nami sighed. She, along with Luffy, were the only ones there not surprised to hear Robin and Rosan weren't dating.

After all, Maro (who was back on Celadon) had filled her in on the plan to get them together and as Rosan's annoying little sister (and the only intelligent one on the ship besides them), it was her duty to progressively get them together.

Though… it may be harder then she thought because they did everything that couples did… but didn't acknowledge their relationship as one of couples.

For being so smart… Robin and Rosan were being quite stupid.

---

Robin hummed in delight as Rosan lathered her hair with shampoo, summoning two hands to do the same to his own red spikes.

"We should be going on our next journey soon," Rosan mused, humming a gentle tune as he dutifully cleaned Robin's hair.

"I wonder where we'll go? This one was quite eventful," Mod pondered.

"We still have some business to wrap up here," Robin said, glancing back at Rosan. "Is Vivi coming with us?"

Rosan shook his head. "I don't think so. She loves us but this kingdom needs her," he replied.

Maro played a big influence on the princess as well. He was sure that she would stay here but the crew would wait for her response regardless.

"I figured. Hopefully it doesn't hurt the crew too much when they find out," Robin replied, sighing as he rubbed a particularly nice spot. "What about Crocodile? He's getting further and further as we speak."

"That's fine by me. I've been tracking his ship the entire time. I can attack them soon," Rosan muttered.

The further the ship got, the better it would be. Sinking in the middle of the ocean could just be attributed to a freak storm in the Grand Line.

"I?" Robin raised a brow. "Don't you mean we? Do you think I'm letting you go alone?"

Rosan grunted. He wasn't sure if she wanted to see Crocodile so soon but if she did then that was fine.

"So sorry dear, how could I ever make this up to you?" Rosan mocked, washing her hair down with water.

The two hands cleaning his hair dispersed, only for two more to pour a bucket of water of him, wiping the small smirk off of his face.

Robin smiled in amusement as Ram began cackling. "You can stop annoying me for 1 day."

"You're very lucky that you're naked," Rosan said dryly.

"And you're very lucky that you're not a pervert," Robin returned.

The Devil Child let out a surprised yell, as the floor shifted into a ramp and dumped way too much water on her.

"Kahahaha! You two are so childish," Mod laughed, watching Robin glare at Rosan with a look that promised yet another brawl was going to break out between them.

It seemed that with the threat of Baroque Works dealt with, Robin was very quickly allowing herself to fall back into her old habits with Rosan.

Good, she was happy as can be that they were fully relaxed now.

"You're very lucky that you're naked," Robin threatened.

"I'd say you're lucky you aren't a pervert, but after watching you shamelessly grope my female form, I'm beginning to think otherwise. Now that I think about it, we can just call it even," Rosan returned, smirk back on his face.

"You want to talk about groping? Perhaps we won't shower together anymore unless you're in your female form since your male form is so grabby," Robin said, getting up to go dry herself off.

Her redheaded best friend snorted. "Do you have a crush on my female form? Maybe you wouldn't have been so upset if she was the one kissing you."

"Who said I was upset?" Robin thought to herself, before banishing that thought. "You always come to conclusions that boost your ego."

"I simply come to the most logical conclusion and that conclusion happens to make me look good."

"Egomaniac."

Robin nodded. "It's good to know that your unwarranted confidence as a child still remains."

"Father is super skilled but he is pretty arrogant."

Rosan's expression turned neutral. "I'm not a child anymore so this ganging up on me will be punished accordingly. I'll see you three tonight."

They immediately began protesting at that.

"I don't think that's really necessary," Robin informed him. She could only defeat him in tickle wars when utilizing her Devil Fruit but that also involved being a safe distance from him.

The last time they had a war, she used her Devil Fruit and then Rosan used his.

Getting tickled with heightened sensitivity went about how you expected.

"I hardly said a thing!" Mod said, panic set on her features.

Oh dear, if he tickled her again she wasn't going to make it.

"Ah shit," Ram said, going off to look for one of her hiding spots that never hid her from Auntie.

"Should have thought twice messing with an "egomaniac's" ego," Rosan snorted.

"You can be utterly insufferable," Robin groaned, accepting her fate.

---

"Nico Robin is with the Straw Hats and is under the protection of Rosan?" Dragon asked in surprise, eyes widening slightly over the Den Den Mushi.

"Yeah, I know you were interested in meeting her but he's not gonna even think about letting her go," Sabo replied calmly, adjusting his hat.

"Right, I'll keep that noted then… And what about you? How are you feeling?"

The Chief of Staff removed his hat and raked a hand through his hair.

"It's… complicated. I don't know them but it feels like my body does," he admitted. "More then once, I'm responding in ways that makes it feel like I know them but I still can't remember anything."

"You've had amnesia for 10 years. It's to be expected that it wouldn't be so easy."

"Yeah…"

He wanted to remember. The familiarity that his alleged family acted with each other… dragging him into it like he had never left… how he seemingly slotted perfectly in their antics…

"You don't mind if I travel with the Straw Hats for a bit longer, do you?" Sabo asked suddenly.

"Of course not. This is your family after all. You've earned the vacation after your contributions over the years. Give Rosan my regards."

"Right. Thanks, Dragon," he nodded, smiling at the thought of spending more time with them all and hanging up the call.

Luffy, Rosan, Robin, Maro, Angel and Demon… if only Ace were still here, he wanted to spar with his alleged best friend again.

Maybe he really should have just joined Luffy's crew…

Nah never in a million years.

---

Vivi was conflicted.

That was a nice way of putting it really. Vivi was extremely torn.

The Straw Hats were gone, leaving in the dark of night and making their way back to the ship.

There were more and more Marines converging on the island in light of Captain Hina and Smoker being injured so to avoid conflict, they decided now was the time to leave.

Maro, Demon and Angel were gone too, promising to visit whenever they could (once they found out a solution to sailing into the Grand Line) and being given an eternal pose to Alabasta for the future.

They had all done so much for her but there was still one last thing…

Would she be joining them?

"We'll wait for you to make your decision but it won't be for long," Nami informed her.

"We'll stay until 12!" Luffy beamed, munching happily on some meat.

Would she go with them…?

Memories of Koza and Pell sprung in her mind and she immediately teared up.

For Koza and Pell… She knew what she needed to do now.

Igaram burst through the door with a panicked look in his eyes, holding four bounty posters in his hand.

"BAD NEWS!" The man shouted, glancing wildly around the room in confusion at seeing only Vivi. "W-Where did they go?!"

"They're already gone," Vivi said, staring at the posters in his hand. "Those bounties… I'm sure at least two of them will be happy but the other two… not so much."

"This is no laughing matter! These prices for a rookie crew…" Igaram said, staring at the four of them.

The first two were of Luffy and Zoro respectively (these were the two that would be pleased).

Wanted: "Straw Hat" Monkey D. Luffy – 140,000,000 Beris

Wanted: "Pirate Hunter" Roronoa Zoro – 70,000,000 Beris

The last two would not be as happy… in fact, Vivi was sure they'd be quite displeased.

Vivi had no idea what Rosan did to deserve a starting bounty this high but the most secretive member of the Straw Hats would be very annoyed to know that he was officially on the World Government's radar.

They even had pictures (well updated for Robin's case) of them now! That nearly lifeless gaze of the scout stared into her soul through the poster, exposing all her fears and failures.

She already missed that gaze of his. She missed all their gazes and wanted nothing more then to see how they'd react to their new bounties...

"I'm going to sleep Igaram, I need to prepare for my coming of age ceremony tomorrow," Vivi said.

Igaram nervously looked at that contemplative expression on her face but nodded, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Vivi stared into the night sky for a little longer before getting in bed and staring at the sleeping Karoo…

Eventually, she went to sleep, resolve set.

---

Rosan gazed at the Marine ships with contempt, still displeased by letting that other squad escape.

They were currently waiting for Vivi and it seemed the Marine's had been waiting for them.

That was stupid. That was really stupid to show their faces while he was still very deeply annoyed that the other ones got away.

The Straw Hats watched in disbelief as Rosan held a hand out and obliterated one of the Marine ships trying to capture them with a gigantic red ball that was clearly not his fire.

"I'm in no mood to play with any Marines," the redhead said coldly.

Without any hesitation, he leapt on to the top of Merry's sail and transformed Ram into his gloves, before holding his hand up into the sky.

Everyone's jaw slackened as it began raining dozens of red beams into each ship their, tiny but packing enough force to put holes in everything.

"He's in a bad mood," Zoro pointed out, watching him deal with the ship with far too much ease.

The others nodded in agreement, balking at the screams going on right now and finding themselves thankful that Rosan chose to work in the shadows so often.

"The Marine's we were fighting managed to make it out alive because he underestimated Crocodile's anger. He considers that a loss and Rosan's a very sore loser," Robin sighed, watching him land next to them, Ram back in ring form.

"That should be all of them. Now we can peacefully wait for Vivi," he muttered.

They sweatdropped in fear.

"Is she even gonna show up?" Usopp questioned. They had been waiting for quite a bit…

"She'll come!" Luffy said resolutely, staring at the shore with a set expression.

Despite the captain's confidence, more and more time passed until even Luffy looked a bit unsure.

It looked as if she wasn't coming after all...

Finally, when they called it quits and began setting sail, a voice yelled out to them in the distance.

"YOU GUYS!"

They all perked up in joy as Vivi appeared in their line of sight, looking stunning in her coming of age attire.

"VIVI!" They screamed back, excited to actually see her.

"Turn the ship around!" Luffy beamed.

He knew she was gonna show up!

Rosan raised a brow but said nothing.

Vivi looked at all of them, tears brimming in her eyes but a smile on her face. "I've come to say goodbye!"

They all blinked owlishly.

"What?" Luffy said in confusion.

"I love you guys and I'd love to continue traveling but… I love this kingdom so I can't go!" Vivi shouted grinning brightly at them all.

The captain's confusion turned into one of understanding and an equally large grin made its way onto his face.

Memories of traveling with them all ran through her mind and Vivi let out a choked sob.

She really was going to miss them all.

"I-If we ever see each other again... WILL YOU CALL ME YOUR CREWMATE?" She asked, allowing her tears to fall freely.

All the Straw Hats smiled fondly at her vulnerable question and turned away from her.

The sadness in Vivi's eyes only lasted a second, as all of them raised their hands to the sky and showed off the X mark that showed they were all friends.

That's right, they would always be friends.

Vivi smiled beautifully and raised her own arm, showing off the X mark on it as well.

"LET'S SET SAIL!" Luffy yelled and the Straw Hats quickly dissolved into a flurry of action.

The princess of Alabasta watched them go, before sitting on Karoo and racing back to give her speech.

"I'm going to miss them…" She sighed fondly.

She really did want to see Luffy become the Pirate King. Maybe one day she'd use Maro's connection to Rosan to meet them again.

---

"Hey did you hear? The Straw Hats completely wiped out every single ship waiting for them on Alabasta," Jatt, a rookie Marine, whispered to his night shift buddy.

"Seriously?!" Logan, the buddy in question, replied. "I don't know why they even tried to capture them honestly! This is the same crew that managed to defeat Captain Smoker and Hina who just defeated our prisoner!"

"We're lucky we got the mission to escort him… imagine if we had to stay back and fight those monsters…" Jatt shuddered.

"Yeah, I think only our ship and the one escorting that agent captured late… Bentham I think his name was? Are alive… It's nuts! They're being called super rookies already…"

"Yeah, 4 members with bounties that—," Jatt paused as he saw something flicker in the distance. "Hey, did you see that?"

It was dark but underneath the pale moon, he swear he saw something move for a split second.

But now he couldn't see anything...

What was that?

"See what?" Logan said, puzzled.

Jatt scrambled for his binoculars and hastily placed them over his eyes to get a better look and let out a sigh of relief at the fact that there really was nothing there.

"Must have been because I'm sleepy or maybe I've been thinkin of the Captain and her "assets" too much," the Marine joked.

Commodore Emma was a complete babe and he thanked the lucky stars that he was allowed to work under her.

He continued to laugh at his own joke before coming to the realization that Logan was not laughing with him.

"Not funny?" Jatt asked rhetorically. "I thought it was pretty good…"

…

"Logan?"

The Marine finally turned around to regard his friend, wondering why he was being ignored—

There was no one next to him.

Why was there no one next to him?

He nervously began glancing around, a cold feeling seeping into his bones that made him begin shuddering.

Where was Logan? He was just next to him… Where did he end up going?

S-Should he go call the Commodore? Y-Yeah... that s-sounded like a good—

Splash.

The jittery Marine whirled around fully at what he thought was a noise and let out a shaky breath at seeing nothing there once more.

His mind was playing games with him. Logan probably went to the bathroom while he was thinking about Emma's amazing body.

Yeah… that had to be it.

Sighing to himself, he turned to sit back down and keep up with his night shift—

And came face to face with an all black figure, looming over him.

"AHHHHH! W-WHAT THE FU — mmgh!" Jatt tried to scream but two fucking arms sprouted from his shoulder and immediately covered his mouth.

He tried hard to struggle but it was for naught.

"You really thought your friend disappeared without a word?" Rosan asked calmly, raising a brow at the idiot. "Well, I can't say I blame you. I'd also come to such a stupid conclusion if I wanted to work off my fear."

"MGMMHM!" Jatt tried to scream for help to no avail.

He knew this person. Oh Kami he knew this person. They were making waves across the whole world with their incredible starting bounty and that handsome visage.

W-What was he doing here? How did he get here?! Wasn't the Red Devil supposed to just be leaving Alabasta?! What was the second most dangerous member of the Straw Hats doing here?!

"It's disappointing that your first option is to scream for help instead of trying to fight but I can't expect much from a Marine," the redhead muttered.

Without any hesitation, Rosan took a step forward and gently plunged a silver tanto into his chest, watching neutrally as blood bloomed from the injury and began seeping into his white uniform.

The hands covering his mouth vanished just in time for him to vomit blood and before he could scream, a gloved hand, courtesy of Rosan this time, replaced the previous pair and successfully muffled him again.

"Shhh," he murmured gently, watching the man fail to grip the tanto stabbing through him, cutting his hand in the process. "There's no need to struggle. Just close your eyes and rest. It'll all be over soon."

Jatt's struggles lessened over time and the soft, gentle whisper of Rosan began lulling him to a sleep that he wasn't going to wake up from.

"That's right. There's no need to be so noisy. Isn't that inconvenient? You wouldn't want to wake up your allies would you?" He asked, finally removing the blade from his chest and staring coldly at the bleeding body.

Right… noisy… wouldn't that be bad? H-He should join his sleeping allies… but wasn't he doing something…? He couldn't remember…

So… tired…

"I have to agree with Mod-chan, you are terrifying," Robin said with a shake of her head, watching the body drop with an uncaring gaze. She wasn't keen on feeling blood spill on her arms so she had dissolved them after Rosan stabbed him.

One thing she noticed about this version of Rosan, was that he had a tendency of questioning a person in a way that made them unsure of themselves.

He would ask you something in such a calm and genuine tone, that it really made the person have no choice but to question if he was right or not.

It was horrifically manipulative and incredibly effective but above all, it was terrifying. To make a person question what they knew... it was subtle but it was honestly scarier to her then a person who was blatantly imposing.

Her best friend hardly gave off that intimidating air. He was handsome and unassuming most days... and then you heard what he said and saw what he did and you realized he was even scarier.

Rosan wiped the blood on his gloves off with the Marine's outfit and regarded her. "You guys should never be afraid of me, unless I'm angry with you of course."

"Considering you were so quick to anger with emotions, that doesn't sound very reassuring," Mod said dryly.

"She's right, anger seems to be your most used emotion," Robin teased.

"Father's never gotten angry with me so I'm safe!" Ram beamed.

"Hm, we can discuss this later. We have more pressing matters," Rosan said, tossing the Marine's body overboard so he could join his friend.

"Let's kill the rest. We only need the Captain alive for now," the redhead said softly.

He needed her for one thing then she could join her soon to be dead crew.

"Right," Robin said, unbothered by his actions and content to be his support. She had seen too much memories of his as Reaper and compared to that, this was timid.

He was a complete demon as a child and the years truly did mellow him out.

Not by much though. It was in his nature to be their little monster.

---

Despite being imprisoned in the same room together, Crocodile and Daz Bones didn't bother speaking to each other.

What was there to say? They both lost their respective battles and their plans crumbled right before them due to the hands of one crew.

Besides the acknowledgment of each other's presence, they both chose to remain completely silent.

The two Devil Fruit users were chained up with seastone and accepted their fate, content to wait until they were shoved into Impel Down.

They had gotten used to the utter silence of the night so it was a complete surprise to the both of them, when the door to their holding room burst open.

That surprise turned immediately into contempt, when Crocodile realized who it was.

"You didn't think that fight in the desert would be the last we saw of each other, right? After all, there was so much more to be done, Crocodile," Rosan greeted, stepping into the room like he owned the place.

"Nico Robin and Rosan…" Crocodile grunted, anger immediately subsiding.

There was no point in being angry. His rage had tapered off with the knowledge that he had been utterly defeated by Straw Hat.

Robin and Rosan stared at the Warlord without emotion on their features. They didn't even spare a glance at the other presence in the room, focusing on the former Warlord.

"How did you find me?" Crocodile couldn't help but ask.

"I've been watching you since our battle and I never stopped," Rosan replied calmly. "Would you like to know why?" he asked rhetorically.

Crocodile grunted uncaringly. It was likely that this boy had taken out all the Marines on the ship which meant he was at the complete mercy of the duo. "I'll bite then. Why?"

"Because I was curious on how you managed to become such a disappointment."

That roused Crocodile from his apathetic mood, if the scowl on his face indicated anything.

"You were a supernova. A notorious pirate when Robin and I were just children. Luffy wasn't even born yet when you were making a name for yourself," Rosan began calmly, piercing a hole through Crocodile with his gaze alone.

"You even traveled through the second half of the Grand Line… the New World. You have a strong Devil Fruit, a cunning nature and good head on your shoulders with years of experience..." the redhead praised.

"…You should be strong. So, why did you lose to a crew who had just entered the Grand Line? Don't you find that a little disappointing? Shouldn't you feel more ashamed?"

All the apathy was gone. Crocodile's momentary ego boost at his former accolades, was sent crashing at the realization that he should have never lost to this crew.

"Now you realize? You should have dominated every single one of us. In the desert, the Marines would have had to send an Admiral or an exceptionally strong Vice Admiral to defeat you. Your claims of being invincible in the desert should be true but it isn't because you're far weaker then you should be, Sir Crocodile," Rosan finished mockingly.

It was a bitter pill to swallow, but Rosan was right. He never was the same after suffering such a humiliating defeat at the hands of Whitebeard and it led to him losing to a rookie crew.

No matter how strong they were, Crocodile, if he had stayed in shape, should never in a million years have lost that fight, even if they all ganged up on him.

Yet he lost one on one against Straw Hat and likely would lose to this redhead too.

That was unacceptable.

Rosan saw the fire in his eyes and knew he won.

Now, he could strike.

"That was a great dissection of me, redhead but that doesn't explain why you're here," Crocodile rumbled with a deep glare of annoyance.

Was he here to finish him off? Bragging before landing the finishing blow? The redhead seemed spiteful enough to do that—

"Join me."

Crocodile and Daz Bones (who was slightly annoyed at being treated like a non factor) blinked in genuine surprise at that statement.

"What?!" The former Warlord asked in disbelief.

Rosan looked nonplussed by their surprise. "I said join me. I've already killed all but one Marine so you aren't going to Impel Down. I've had plans for you from the start."

Crocodile snorted.

Was this redhead insane? After everything he had done, he was being invited to work with him? They weren't just enemies, this was two of the three who ruined all of his hard work.

The former Warlord would admit, he garnered a respect for the redhead for being just as cunning as him but this was too ambitious.

"You're insane redhead. I have no interest in being friends with you."

Robin shook her head, much to their confusion, and finally spoke. "That, was the wrong thing to say, Crocodile."

"Wrong thing to say? What are you talking about Nico Rob—"

Crocodile wasn't able to finish his sentence as a fist planted itself into his gut with brutal force and a glowing gaze bored into him without remorse.

The Warlord, who was still not even remotely closed to healed from the thrashing Luffy gave him, threw up blood at the strength behind the blow, before a searing hot hand wrapped around his throat.

"Don't speak to Robin unless I say you can," Rosan intoned, heating up Crocodile's body with no mercy.

He watched the man try to hold back his pain but he was failing miserably.

"I think you're sorely mistaken, Crocodile," the redhead whispered dangerously. "I want to use you and your skills for my own benefit. That's all."

"Friends? With you? After what you did to Robin? You should be glad I'm even giving you this alternative because one way or another, you will be useful to me," the redhead promised him, eyes flickering slightly.

If at any point in time, Robin asked him to kill Crocodile. He would do it. It didn't matter what the man was up to, Rosan would get rid of him.

His life lie in Robin's hand. And well, if he refused to join their side, there were plenty of other things he could experiment on the man with.

He would be the perfect subject to practice his technique on.

After all, there's no way he'd let the Suna Suna no mi go free.

Crocodile couldn't hide the flinch from the pain he was currently in and he spat out another glob of spit.

"You… You don't plan on killing me if I refuse," the Warlord huffed.

"You are smart," was all Rosan replied. "Surely you didn't think I'd kill you immediately, right? It's either you join me or suffer the consequences of attacking Robin."

Robin shuddered a bit at that protectiveness, gazing piercingly at Rosan with an unreadable look in her eyes.

Not only would he kill Crocodile on a dime if she requested it, he never forgot that the man attacked her and would punish him if they didn't exploit the sandman…

All for her…? Just how far was Rosan willing to go for her...

Crocodile didn't fancy getting tortured by this apathetic redhead. He didn't miss the hot rage on his face during their last encounter and realized that the redhead probably wouldn't have extended this offer if he truly didn't see his value.

Tch…

"What do you want from me?" The former leader of Baroque Works finally asked, voice full of hate.

Rosan stared at him for a moment. "With your experience, you will be a valuable source of information. You are free to do as you please most of the time. But when I ask something of you, you will do it. It doesn't matter what it is, you will do it without complaint. Make no mistake, you are my subordinate."

"Other then that, you can do whatever but do not go back to Alabasta. You can even take Daz Bones and this ship if you want."

All things considered, Crocodile expected to be a slave but this wasn't terrible. It was still awful by his standards but he could work with this.

"Good. If you can get stronger then me, then by all means free yourself but until then, I'll beat you into submission as much times as it takes until you understand who's in charge," Rosan promised.

Despite everything, the redhead's words were lighting a fire under him that he hadn't felt in a long time.

He didn't feel like dying out right after being reignited.

Besides, he could grudgingly respect how the redhead handled business.

"Fine," Crocodile grunted.

Rosan released his grip and stood up. "I look forward to working with you."

Robin smiled in amusement, no hint of animosity in her eyes. "We're the only ones who are aware of this. Let's keep it like that."

That made sense. Crocodile was very sure the Straw Hats hated him with every fiber in their being. They did care for that princess after all.

This would be kept under wraps...

He was used to that. He preferred this actually. If anyone found out he was answering to this damn redhead...

"How will we keep contact with each other?" Daz Bones asked curiously.

Since he was being permitted, he saw no reason to not follow Crocodile. He had a healthy respect for the Warlord so he would do so.

"I've already handled it. I will visit you when I feel like it," Rosan replied. Wouldn't want him to be ambushed after all.

While burning him, Rosan placed a Save Point on his hook and left it at that…

But that wasn't all.

Rosan hated traitors. He hated them with a passion that was badly expressed due to his limited emotions.

So of course he had countermeasures in place. The very tiny mechanical fly resting inside of Crocodile was proof of that.

He had even taken his intangibility into count and the mechanical fly would secrete water before exploding, instantly killing the former Warlord.

Crocodile didn't need to know that though. Perhaps if he proved his use, Rosan would disable the fly but for now, it was glued to his heart.

The former Warlord snorted, not aware of what Rosan had done and just accepted his response.

"Now, there's just one last thing to do and then you're free to remind the world who you are," Rosan commented.

---

A ringing Den Den was swiftly picked up by the busy Marine there.

"This is Marine Headquarters."

"T-This is Commodore Emma! We're currently under attack b-by an unknown enemy!"

Commodore Emma… Wasn't she the one escorting Crocodile?! Who was attacking them?!

"Commodore Emma, what's going on?!"

Emma seemed to gain her composure at hearing the urgency on the other line. "I… There was a storm and it struck our ship, leaving it severely… leaving it severely damaged and then an unknown assailant began attacking our ship!"

The Marine grew worried at that. An unknown assailant? Who was tracking them? How did they even know where their ship was?

"Are you alright? Did you deal with them?" He asked.

"No. I called to let you know that they're here to free Crocodile and that they will probably succeed. Most of my men are down but are doing their best to hold them back," Emma said grimly. "Before they get me, I need to let you be aware that there is probably a mole in our ranks."

A mole…? That made sense considering someone managed to find their ship but he would need to see if she had proof.

"Do you have proof, Commodore?" He prodded.

"Yes I have proo—"

Shlick.

The other line went silent after that wet noise and the Marine grew concerned at the gruesome noise.

"Commodore Emma?! Are you there?! Speak to me!" He asked, paling slightly.

There was nothing on the other line for a moment, before the noise was broken up by a weak, wet gasp.

"Help… me," Emma gasped out before the call hung up.

---

Crocodile underestimated Rosan. In fact, he underestimated everything about him but now he could see loud and clear why things went so haywire on Alabasta.

The redhead was more then just cunning. He was a demon. To so effortlessly manipulate the information the Marines were getting...

Perhaps crossing him wasn't in his best interest at the moment.

"Well done, Commodore Emma," Rosan whispered, removing the blade from her chest and staring at the blonde Marine beauty with a tilted head. "It's such a shame you weren't Captain Hina or Commodore Smoker. Now you have to take the fall for them."

Her response was to gag, cough up blood and collapse on the floor.

The Marine Captain (who had finally regained control of her body) stared at the monster with terror in her eyes, not understanding why he did this and what he gained from it.

He… He killed all her men right under her nose, attacked and tied her up, went to recruit Crocodile and then… and then he took control of her body and fed the Marines with lies that would throw suspicion onto their own allies instead of the rightful culprit.

Never in her life had she ever felt so violated...

The Straw Hats would never be suspected. They were just in the middle of a battle with the former Warlord after all which made this all the more confusing.

Why? Why did the Red Devil free his enemy? What was the point?!

Robin was so very glad that she was on Rosan's side and that he cared this much about her. The things he did to people he didn't care about… to be blunt, it was horrifying.

If they thought she was the Devil Child… Rosan would look like hell itself to the world.

"That should be all. I'll revamp this ship in your image and then I'll be on my way. Don't try and keep track of my visits, they will be random," Rosan said softly, glancing back at Crocodile and the visibly nervous Daz Bones.

Crocodile merely felt his respect for the redhead begrudgingly grow.

He was someone willing to do whatever he needed to do to win.

Looking at this display… He'd need to get stronger on the off chance this uncaring redhead thought to get rid of him.

To him, most people were just pawns to be used.

Not exactly like Crocodile (who treated everyone like a pawn) but respectable enough.

He couldn't help but think he made a deal with the Devil though.

"Very well," the sandman said, testing his body and nodding in satisfaction after being freed. "Watch your back. Don't think you can control me forever."

"Thinking like that will only make you more useful to me," Rosan countered.

He didn't care about acquiring Crocodile's loyalty. It would literally never happen and they were all aware of it.

Earning his compliance while the sandman trained to get stronger, would just make him do tasks easier for the redhead.

He wouldn't dissuade that. He'd encourage it as long as he benefited off of it.

If Crocodile grew too strong (which wouldn't happen) then Rosan would just blow up the bug.

There was no escaping this. No one escaped him.

Before the redhead could begin on the ship, a wet gurgle caught their attention and everyone's eyes roamed to the struggling Commodore.

She tried to push herself up to grab the Den Den Mushi and Rosan had to respect her. Even in her final moments, she was trying.

An admirable Marine…

He cut off her course and hoisted the women up with one hand, gripping her neck tighter and tighter.

...It was such a shame that she was a Marine.

"You are not needed anymore. You performed your job admirably, so you may rest with your allies," Rosan told her kindly, walking over to the railing and hanging her right above the ocean.

Crocodile and Daz Bones watched, reminding themselves that this could happen to them at any point.

Robin watched with a neutral gaze, no empathy in her eyes.

Emma struggled for naught and could only stare at that merciless gaze with defeat, accepting her fate.

"Why? Why did you do this...?" She rasped.

"Why?" Rosan tilted his head. "You won't understand what goes through my head. Why should I explain my rationale to you, Emma?" He said eventually.

She shuddered at the uncaring reply and gripped his arm weakly.

"You're a monster..." Emma said limply, tone helpless as those soulless eyes drained all the hope out of her.

Rosan's response was to crush her windpipe and drop her in the unforgiving water below, no hesitation at all in his stance.

Just that cruel, empty gaze as he watched her sink into the cold water below.

He stared at the splash with a neutral eye before snorting to himself.

"You'd be #4171 to say that."

---

Memory Viewing With Robin and Rosan - 3

Continued!

Time frame is before they land on Alabasta.

---

Robin had to admit, she was thoroughly enjoying viewing Rosan's memories.

It was never boring, especially with Maro becoming more and more outgoing.

Right now, the future Queen was proposing that they invade the kingdom of Germa and Rosan, pleased to see that she had come to a decision on her own, agreed readily with her.

The redhead quickly sought out to find information on the elusive kingdom and consulted Aiko with it.

"You are incredibly effective," Robin muttered.

It didn't take him long at all to pinpoint and find out where Germa was located and after a meeting, Rosan and Maro had a good enough plan on what they'd be doing.

"I'm not one to waste time," Rosan replied calmly as the memory version of him flew the two over the kingdom located in the East Blue.

They chose a great time to attack because Germa was currently in the midst of invading some kingdom.

Maro's excitement rang true because without wasting anytime, she cloaked herself and flew straight into the kingdom.

"So you guys weren't even sure what you were raiding them for?" Robin asked in amusement, as Rosan walked through the castle with no set purpose.

Mod rolled her eyes. "No, they just assumed that it would have something valuable in there."

"It's called the Kingdom of Science... surely it would have something great. You have to take risks sometimes, Mod-chan... you're far too cautious all the time," Rosan replied calmly.

The Devil Fruit opened her mouth to refute his claim and then closed it.

He... was kind of right. She was a bit too cautious wasn't she?

"Don't worry, Mod-chan... someone has to be cautious in Rosan's head. We all know it isn't him or Ram," Robin reassured, running a hand through her hair with a slight smile.

Mod sighed in bliss and nodded at her words.

They watched Reaper enter some child's room, who was fond of the color green, only to find a strange canister with the number 4 on it.

The Angel of Death tilted his head and Maro, who had went another way, chose that moment to speak with him again.

"So Maro is the one who found the blueprints of the Raid Suit," Robin said, rolling her eyes at how excited she sounded to have one eventually.

After some discussion, the two both agreed to have the suit created and Rosan made the very immoral decision to kidnap a scientist to work for them way too easily.

"You are a trip," Robin sighed in exasperation as she watched Rosan knock out and kidnap a scientist, before stealing all of the technology in their cloning room.

So Germa had clones... that would explain why they were such a dominant kingdom. If their technology allowed them to even create clones, it was a great thing Rosan and Maro chose to invade them because now Celadon had the means to it...

"Germa must truly hate you. I wouldn't be surprised if you are the greatest enemy they have," Robin couldn't help the tiny laughter at that.

"Based on what we did to Judge, I'm inclined to believe that," Rosan muttered, eyes glimmering in a bit of amusement. "Reaper has a lot of enemies to be wary of. Both Marines, Pirates and Kingdoms dislike me."

Robin raised a brow. "Judge? I thought your main point of this mission, was to avoid Judge at all costs... you guys ended up finding him anyways?"

Mod smiled brightly. "Things went a little haywire..."

Haywire was one way to put it... Robin couldn't keep the surprise off her face at seeing a very familiar face there.

"Is... that Sanji?" She asked in shock. The woman glanced at all the other children there and realized that it was almost certainly Sanji locked in that prison with the strange head piece on.

After all, every kid there had a swirly brow.

"Oh right... I was supposed to keep that a secret," Rosan muttered, furrowing his brows. "Well, it's fine. I won't hide anything from you so Sanji will just have to accept it."

"Sanji knows your Reaper?" Robin mused.

Rosan nodded. "I revealed it to him before he officially joined our crew. I trusted him enough to do so."

She had no idea Sanji's past was so sad... the blonde was being constantly bullied by his modified quadruplet brothers and even his father treated him like dirt!

His sister feared what would happen to her so she stayed out of it... but at least she didn't actively bully him...

Still didn't stop Rosan from tearing into her though. Her best friend really had a way with words.

Her heart went out for their chef, at seeing the tears of sadness spilling out of his eyes.

Being told he was a failure because his Father's sick experiment failed on him... and then being relentlessly bullied by his emotionless brothers...

She was glad that he was doing so well now on the Straw Hats. This was too cruel.

Evidently, Rosan agreed because he proceeded to beatdown Sanji's brothers with no remorse, before choosing to free the blonde himself, much to everyone's shock.

"It's not in my nature to make fun of a person with such conviction. No matter what their dream may be," Reaper informed the confused blonde. "You fully believe that you can become a cook after being imprisoned for an unknown amount of time, why would I not believe you if this can't change your resolve?"

Robin smiled as the tears formed in Sanji's eyes and the blonde looked up at Reaper with clear worship in his eyes.

"I had no idea Sanji went through that," she remarked softly.

Another child with a difficult life... Sanji was rather similar to both her and Rosan.

"And look how he turned out now," Rosan commented. "He didn't let this drag him down. No longer is he weak and he's a fantastic chef. I knew I did the right thing freeing him," the redhead smiled slightly.

"And I'm all the more proud of you for it," Robin smiled, stroking his hair in a pleased manner.

"Me too!" Mod smiled brightly, before her mouth formed into a scowl. "I'm glad you managed to get him out of such a hellish environment... Judge is a terrible person."

Robin didn't think a parent could be as terrible as Mod and Rosan made them out to be... until she actually saw Judge.

The man... he was so callous. He truly didn't care at all about Sanji, to the point where he was relieved that the blonde was running away from him.

"Don't ever admit that I'm your father…," Judge had said gravely, closing his eyes. "...in front of other people!"

"What type of parent is he?" Robin frowned deeply, watching as poor Sanji burst into tears and began truly sobbing in anguish.

She just... all because he wasn't afflicted by the modifications his other children had? All because he was kind? What type of human being was Judge, to forsake his own child at the age of 8?

"If I ever see him again and I'm strong enough, I will kill him," Rosan commented. "Sanji may not want him dead, but I do. Someone so callous shouldn't be a father."

Robin found herself nodding at his words. "The world would be a better place without him. I can't believe him..."

What would cause someone to act so cruel with their child? Robin would never have the heart to tell her own flesh and blood to refrain from admitting she was their mother, even with the knowledge that she was the Devil Child.

It was just awful...

Thankfully, Sanji did manage to get away from him and Reaper stayed behind to ensure that Judge had no intention of pursuing.

The duo of Grim and Reaper stared off with the giant of a man and the battle ensued.

Even without the Raid Suit to greatly enhance his capabilities, Judge was still dealing with the bounty hunters with a startling ease.

Predicting all their moves, weathering all their blows...

He was handling them well and looked none the bothered.

"I don't even know how we won this fight," Rosan admitted honestly. "He was too arrogant, didn't take us serious enough."

"Spoilers much?" Robin asked with a raised brow. "I'm still watching the battle you know."

"...My bad," he muttered.

She cracked a smile at that. "Kidding. Kidding. I'm still rather curious how you even managed to break through... this looks like an unwinnable battle."

Despite how unfavorable the battle was for them, Rosan and Maro abused the enclosed terrain to slowly but surely overwhelm the close ranged specialist.

It was like catching lightning in a bottle. All the stars aligned well for Maro and Rosan to win the battle.

The enclosed environment that favored the flying duo more. The fact that Judge didn't have his suit or his weapon and was forced to rely his much worse hand to hand combat...

And of course, their utterly nonsense Devil Fruits.

After realizing they were at such a heavy disadvantage, the duo decided it was time to cheat.

You never wanted Rosan to cheat.

The very first thing Rosan did, was modify Judge's sensitivity and as someone who had been on the receiving end of that so much, Robin would never want to take damage while that ability was on her.

She was proven correct, because everything snowballed out of control for the leader of Germa the moment that happened.

Grim and Reaper were utterly relentless, as they repeatedly attacked the man, who was desperately trying to account for two mobile demons.

Judge tried to go back on the offensive, but the moment he hit Maro, the tempo of the match increased even further.

"I can't believe your teamwork evolved to this level in a matter of months," Robin muttered in awe.

Was it just the effect Rosan had on people? Was he actually adaptable despite the stubborn front he put up?

After all, Rosan and Robin reached such levels of teamwork this quickly too and it was the same with Meiko and Rosan as well...

How polarizing...

The duo continuously attacked and made sure to counteract Judge's precognitive abilities, by giving him no room to move.

Finally he made a fatal error and a pillar of fire erupted from underneath him, shooting him up into Reaper's merciless grasp.

They took full advantage of it. Rosan cut continuously into the man until launching him down.

Into a full Zoan Maro's club.

"Monsters... I can't believe you and Maro actually managed to make a both of your unnatural aggression cohesive," Robin complimented.

It was very different from the way her and Rosan fought. Robin was fine being ranged support for the redhead.

Her style of fighting, was actually why Rosan became so partial to close combat. It was to balance out their skills. Mod-chan utilized far ranged options much more then her son.

Huh, he really was adaptable.

Rosan smiled slightly. "Yeah, teaming up with Maro is for a relentless assault with no breaks at all. My most aggressive partner by far."

She nodded at his assessment, frowning at seeing the duo flee as they were about to kill Judge.

Such a shame...

But they got everything they came there for so she wasn't to disappointed. She was even getting a Raid Suit far into the future because of this trip.

How pleasant.

"I'm excited to see my Raid Suit now," Robin smiled eagerly.

"I am too... I wonder what ability it will derive from your Devil Fruit?" Rosan mused.

"We should find out soon enough. I'm looking forward to it," the Devil Child responded.

After revelling in their victory and converting the scientist to their side, Rosan and Maro quickly made their way back to the ship.

It was there that Maro saw Rosan's female form for the first time.

"I regret showing her this form. She's been obsessed with it ever since," Rosan sighed with a shake of his head, staring at his female counterpart with a neutral gaze.

He could see why so many people were attracted to her, but then again he could see why so many people were attracted to him.

"She looks like she's died and gone to heaven," Robin laughed, watching Maro shamelessly stare at the woman's large breast.

She had to admit, 13 year old female Rosan was adorable. She could see why the Dokkaebi was so attracted to her.

"Well, I guess her seeing this form turned out for the best. It's how we found out Maro and Angel had crushes on each other," Mod giggled.

Robin joined her because it was adorable!

The look of horror on Maro's face when she realized just who she had a crush on, cemented to Robin that the girl truly was Rosan's student.

Angel herself probably didn't realize she had a crush on Maro, but based on interactions, the redhead had liked the bluenette for quite a while.

"How did those two manage to get together?" Robin asked curiously.

Rosan snorted and shrugged. "Apparently, Angel confessed to her the moment Maro was about to confess and she ended up fainting."

That got the three others to giggle before Robin paused.

"Apparently? You weren't there?" Robin asked.

The redhead's small smile vanished and he shook his head slowly. "No, it was right after I left them on Celadon..."

Robin frowned in anticipation at that. "That's coming up soon I imagine."

The redhead nodded. "Are you hungry? Let's go eat first before continuing."

The brunette thought about it before nodding. "A light snack please. I can't go getting fat off of your cooking."

"Just work it off. Your figure is already incredible though so you have nothing to worry about," Rosan complimented.

Robin blinked at his compliment and looked down at herself. "Incredible you say? Aren't you just the flatterer?"

"I just speak the truth," he nodded.

The Devil Child rolled her eyes in amusement. "It's no wonder you're so popular with the opposite gender. Why if I were any easier you might have wooed me over."

"Please be a little easier!" Ram thought shamelessly.

"Wow, passive Robin doesn't do with every flow? Color me shocked," Rosan snorted as they began vanishing.

"Don't imply such a dangerous thing. I'll hurt you," she said flatly.

"...My bad."

"Forgiven."

Ram collapsed on the floor in despair. "Auntie, this is impossible. I'm about to start acting really reckless."

"Ram, please don't," Mod said patiently.

Ram nodded but she wasn't truly listening.

No, the ring wouldn't be satisfied until she at least saw them kiss.

She just needed the opportunity to arise.

---

So like I promised, the biggest chapter to date haha... hope you guys enjoy the read! It's a bit more then what I normally write but Alabasta covered a lot of stuff and I really liked this arc.

We're done though! Onto the next journey!

Hopefully my alternate Alabasta was up to standards and just as exciting! Something that made no sense to met at all, was the massive jump in power Crocodile got from Alabasta to Marineford. I didn't really think it made sense but since it happened I had to work with it.

Since he lost his ambition of being Pirate King after Whitebeard stomped him, Crocodile got weaker and let himself waste away. He's like Moriah. Even then, I thought canon Alabasta Croco was a bit disappointing so I gave him a bit more stuff because I like Crocodile.

Also, he needed it considering I gave Luffy Gear Second...

Oh yeah. Luffy has Gear Second. Considering he made the technique after seeing Soru, and he's had to deal with a speed demon like Rosan or a teleporter like Maro his whole time training, I figured he'd come up with it way faster then in canon because he has someone pushing him to his limits long before getting to the Grand Line!

Fun fact, I teased it back at Whiskey Peak! I was about to make him use it against Rosan before they got interrupted haha.

I think this works out fine for both Luffy and Crocodile. Canon Luffy got way too lucky fighting him and I didn't really like it. This also has the benefit of making Crocodile look stronger (even though he got kinda stomped for the most part).

Hopefully you guys also like my developments for Nami and Usopp! I thought it would be very in character for Rosan to give Nami's weapon a voice that would piss her off, so I did it.

Next chapter we get Jaya and some bounty reveals... Not to mention, we get to see our good ol Rosan's bounty!

Haha we'll be having reactions too, after all some people very much will recognize his face. He looks just like his mother after all!

That's all for this chapter, here's the title for the next one!

Chapter 34: The Red Devil