The moment Izuku set foot on Littlegarden, he felt hostile eyes on him. He looked around, suddenly on edge, but he saw no sign of anyone watching.

"I don't get it," Usopp said. "What's so scary about this place?"

A bestial roar answered him. Thunderous steps shook the ground, and trees snapped like twigs. From the overgrowth, an enormous T-Rex burst onto the sandy beach, snapped its jaws, and glared down at the Straw Hats.

Luffy shot towards the dinosaur and shouted, "Meat!"

The dinosaur yelped and ran back into the forest. Luffy, clinging to its tail by his teeth, got dragged along for the ride.

Nami facepalmed. "And there goes Luffy."

Vivi stepped up and said, "We should split up to find a Log Pose."

Zoro raised an eyebrow at her, but otherwise said nothing. Izuku looked around, wondering if he felt the dinosaur's gaze on him. The uneasy feeling remained.

"S-s-s-split up?" Usopp asked, ashen-faced. "In there?"

"And we'll need a few people to guard the boat."

"I will!" Usopp and Nami simultaneously shouted.

"Then why don't we split up in pairs?" Igaram suggested. "You and I, Izuku and Mei, and Zoro and Sanji."

"Go with Mosshead?" "With idiot Marimo, are you out of your mind?"

"I'm not sure that's safe," Izuku said. "I feel like there's something else here."

"Can you tell what it is?"

"No," Izuku admitted.

Igaram peered over the treetops and cupped his ear. "The island isn't that big. If we run into trouble, the other groups will hear it."

Izuku looked around and reluctantly agreed. He could still hear the T-Rex wailing in pain as Luffy bit through its tail.

"Then that settles it. Izuku, since you have a Devil Fruit, you should search the jungle. Vivi and I will sweep down one coast, while Zoro and Sanji can cover the other half."

Igaram looked around. "Zoro? Sanji? Did they leave already?"

Usopp pointed and deadpanned, "They started a competition for who could find the Log Pose first."

"Ah. Well, it's most likely along the coast, so we'll split the beaches between us."

Dessicated husks of beached ships littered the shoreline, bedecked with the strewn skeletons of their former crew, bones picked clean and gnawed on by the fauna of the island. Izuku hung back, searching for any sign of hostile eyes, while Mei picked through the fragile wreckage. She came back with armloads of clasps, nails, and screws she thought might come in handy, but no Log Pose.

"So, how long are you going to wear that for?"

Izuku looked down at his wrists. The Sea Prism felt like a heavy weight clasped to his arm, but the memory of Whiskey Peaks blasted apart beneath him weighed heavier upon his mind.

"As long as I need to. I can't save anyone with power I can't control. I'd just hurt everyone."

Mei trudged along, shouldering the pile of scrap she had found. "I don't get it. You finally get a Quirk and you're giving up on it?"

Izuku bit down on the anger bubbling up inside him. It felt too much like what he felt while throwing lightning everywhere. "I wasn't in control, Mei. I felt like I could do anything I wanted. Someone pissed me off? Throw lightning at them. Someone tried to hide from me? I blew up the whole damn building. People died, Mei!"

"You killed that one other guy," Mei said quietly.

"That - that was different. He said that he killed you, and I - but those guys? Sure, they were bad, but heroes aren't supposed to kill villains."

"Someone ought to tell Endeavor."

Izuku snorted. "Mei, really? I mean sure, he has the highest kill-count out of the top ten, but he also responds to a far higher number of homicides and hostage situations than any other hero in the top ten, not to mention there are plenty of lower-ranked heroes with higher-"

"If it's okay for Endeavor to kill those people, doesn't that make it okay for you too?"

Izuku closed his eyes and breathed in. "I don't want to be like that."

"Then don't."

"I don't think I can." Izuku held up the Sea Prism cuffs. "Not without these on. I just - I'll try again after a while, okay?"

"And if you need it, I'll make something to snap you out of it. Alright?"

Izuku smiled. "Deal."

A loud crash shook the trees. Izuku turned and asked, "Is that another T-Rex? Or is it the one Luffy tried to eat?"

The sand leapt as a massive footstep shook the ground. Izuku nervously glanced at Mei and said, "I think this dinosaur's a lot bigger."

What broke through the treeline was no dinosaur. Humanoid in shape, but tall enough to compete with the largest of Quirked people, the giant lumbered onto the beach and scanned the coastline. Izuku grabbed Mei and Soru'd into cover behind the ship.

"Do you think you can beat him without your power?" Mei asked.

"I'm not even sure I could beat him with my power. They're supposed to be the best fighters out on the sea."

The wood creaked as enormous fingers clasped around it. Frozen in panic, Izuku could only watch as the ship they hid inside lifted off the ground. The giant stared down at them, like a curious child watching ants hiding under a rock.

"Hmm? Humans on the island? If you're looking for a seaworthy boat, I'm afraid the vessels along this coast have all gone to rot long ago, gegyagyagyagya!" The giant's laughter set birds flying across half the island. "The name's Dorry. What's yours?"

Finding his voice, Izuku introduced himself and said, "We actually have a boat, but we need a Log Pose?"

"Really? Did you lose yours?"

"Well, no, but we can't exactly wait a hundred years until it resets."

"Why not? I've been here that long. There's plenty of game to hunt, and the water's fresh enough."

"We, uh, don't live that long."

Dorry face-palmed, and the shockwave nearly swept Mei off her feet. "Right, humans, of course. Always forget you're not as long-lived as us. Shorter folk, shorter lives. Right. Well, I do have an old Log Pose lying around somewhere. With how long it's been, it should be set by now."

"Really?"

"Yep! But I'll need something from you in return."

Izuku's fledgling hope died. "And what is that?"

"Booze! Haven't had a stiff drink in a hundred years! Any self-respecting pirate is bound to have a barrel or two on board, right? Get me enough to wet my whistle, and my Log Pose is yours."

Izuku wasn't sure how much booze it would take to satisfy a giant, but they had plenty of barrels from Whiskey Peaks stocked in their hold. "I think we have enough. Why don't we show you?"

Dorry peered at the sun. "Can't. I have to get ready."

"Ready for what?"

"The morning duel, of course. Won't be long before the volcano blows its top again."

"But what about-"

"Just build a fire later. Brogy and I will follow the smoke trail."

With that, the giant lumbered off. As Izuku watched the giant disappear into the treeline, he asked, "Did he say someone else would come with him?"

"Yes, yes he did."

"Do you think they're also a giant?"

"Given that he's going to duel someone, probably."

Izuku examined the trail of broken trees and sighed. "I really hope they have enough booze. And I hope Zoro won't try to fight them for it."

"I'd be more worried about Nami trying to charge them for it."

When they got back to the Going Merry, Usopp gave a cheery wave from atop the crow's nest. "Ahoy! How wonderful to see you, my friend!"

"Uh, thanks?" Izuku felt unnerved by Usopp's cheery attitude. "Did anything happen while we were away?"

"Nope! Nuh-uh, all quiet along the starboard side, sir!"

"Where's Nami? We're going to have guests soon."

"Her? Oh, she, uh, went to powder her nose. You know how girls are."

Izuku felt his suspicions rising, but he didn't know the Straw Hats well enough to pin down exactly what was going on. "Right. So, we need to get all that booze from Whiskey Peaks out. We're trading it for a Log Pose."

"Trading? With who?"

The forest rang with the clamor of steel on steel. A tree toppled in the distance as the two giants commenced their duel.

"With them. I'll grab the barrels."

"Why don't we wait?" Usopp hastily asked. "We don't want anything to happen to the liquor before we trade it, right?"

"It'll take a while to get it out. We might as well start now."

As Izuku headed downstairs, followed closely by Mei, a loud thump rang on the deck. Usopp sheepishly rubbed his backside as he sat up. "Whoops, I tripped. Clumsy me, wa yo!"

Izuku shrugged and entered the cargo hold. As he looked around, the feeling of being watched intensified. He could practically feel eyes on him from one side of the room. He walked closer, feeling hairs prickle on his arms, until he stood facing the wooden planks of the ship's hull. Looking closer, he couldn't figure out what bothered him. He ran a hand over the planks, and they felt slightly waxy to the touch.

"Something wrong?" Mei asked. Her crosshair eyes flicked across the room.

"I don't know. I'm still getting that weird feeling, but I guess it's nothing."

Shrugging, Izuku kept an eye on the spot while he picked up a barrel. His hand got wet, and he held it up to the faint light from above deck. A red smear coated his palm.

"The paint's still wet on these barrels?" Izuku asked, confused. "I suppose it is a bit damp down here."

Ignoring the paint on his clothes, Izuku hauled a barrel over each shoulder. Usopp looked slightly nervous as he returned, and his eyes darted over the red smears coating his person, then the Sea Prism cuffs on his wrists.

"Uh, careful with that stuff! I just got my clothes washed."

Before Izuku can think further on all the strangeness going on, Dorry stomps up to their ship, with another giant trailing behind him. They all but sprint over at the sight of the barrels lined up on shore. While Broggy introduced himself, Dorry picked up a barrel, took a big swig, then clubbed broggy in the jaw.

Distracted by the furious giant, Izuku was trying to piece together what had happened when he heard Usopp shout, "Okama kenpo!"

Izuku flew across the beach and carved a furrow in the sand. As he blearily sat up, he saw Usopp advancing menacingly while Mei backed away and aimed a gauntlet at him. She swung, but Usopp leapt gracefully over her palm thrust and lashed out with a foot.

Faster than the eye can track, Izuku darted across the beach and caught the kick on his forearm. Usopp's foot landed on the Sea Prism cuff, and his face transformed.

"Oho! Very well done, my boy! Yes, it is I, Bon Kurei, or as my friends in Baroque Works call me, Mr. Two."

Izuku didn't feel much like introducing himself. He threw a flurry of punches at the intruder. Bon Kurei yelped and pirouetted away.

"Now hold on! You want to know what happened to your friends, right? Like, long-nose?" He tapped his face and took on Usopp's appearance. "Or the princess?" Another tap, and Vivi's face took its place. "Clock's ticking, Midoriya. If you don't find them soon, they'll be turned into wax statues."

Izuku froze mid-punch. Gritting his teeth, he snapped, "Where?"

"Center of the island, by those two giant skeletons. Can't miss them."

Izuku's fist snapped forward. Mr. Two went out like a light and crumpled to the ground. As Izuku strode towards the beach, Mei grabbed his wrist.

"It's a trap. Has to be."

"I know."

"And he probably wasn't telling the truth."

Izuku froze. "We don't have time to find them if they're anywhere else."

"So you're going to walk right into their trap and hope they're telling the truth? Or are you going to figure out where they actually put them?"

Izuku frowned thoughtfully at that. "You thought of something?"

"When we went down into the cargo hold, the dimensions didn't match. The ship was too narrow."

Izuku's brain skitters through everything he felt unusual down in the cargo hold. The paint on the barrels. The weird feeling coming from the walls. The waxy texture on the side.

Wax statues.

Izuku sprinted downstairs and plunged his fist into the wall. A terrified, spectacled face looked out at him before a glob of wax shot towards him.

"Well that's just great," Mr. Three huffed, hands raised as Izuku readied a punch. "I knew Mr. Two would botch it up. Well, you got me. Your crewmates are in here too."

Izuku examined the man, taken aback by how easily he had surrendered. "Where?"

Mr. Three peeled back the wax shell on the side of the ship, letting four bodies tumble to the floor. Izuku noted that all the wax is white, with a thin coat of paint to make it blend in with the ship. Usopp and the others had a splash of silver paint on their faces, glowing like moonlight. They were riddled with circular bruises, and Usopp's face was nearly unrecognizable from all the lumps on his head.

"So," Izuku said. "Your plan was to lure us to the center of the island into a trap, while you stashed our crewmates in our own ship, where we would never think to look for them."

Mr. Three offered him an uneasy smile. "Brilliant, isn't it? But, well, no harm done, and all that, so would you mind letting us go? I promise we won't come after you again, honest."

Between the way Mr. Three's eyes darted aside and how at ease he seemed, Izuku didn't trust his smile. All the paint smeared around, which didn't match the man's wax, suggested a partner lurking nearby. Izuku grabbed the edges of the wax shell and yanked, but he only revealed the rest of the ship's hull.

"Where's your partner?" Izuku asked.

"M-my partner?"

"The one with the paint."

Mr. Three gulped and nodded towards a barrel. When Izuku popped the lid off, revealing rum sloshing around inside, Izuku heard another barrel pop its lid behind him.

"Black betrayal!"

A paintbrush lashed out. Izuku tried leaping aside, but black paint smeared itself all along his arm.

"Now," Mr. Three said, grinning maliciously, "You're going to help us round up the rest of your friends."

Izuku looked down at the paint. He looked back up at Mr. Three. Drawing a finger through the paint, Izuku examined it closely and said, "You evoke different emotions with different colors, right? Does the composition of the paint affect the intensity of said emotion?"

The little girl in the barrel cocked her head. "I haven't tried other types."

Mr. Three gritted his teeth. "Did you not hear me? Get moving, now!"

"What about tattoos?" Izuku asked, ignoring him. "Could you make permanent changes with ink in someone's skin?"

Miss Goldenweek's eyes widened. "That's kinda messed up. How did you think of that so fast?"

"Hey!" Mr. Three stomped his foot. "Stop ignoring me!"

"Well, I mean, I kinda make a habit of analyzing Quirks. There's a lot you could do with an ability like that. For example, someone with chronic depression could get something tattoo'd to improve their mood, right? What about mixing colors? Does that change the effect?"

"It does, though it can get a bit too precise for some mixtures. I'm having problems with certain mixtures."

"Enough!" Mr. Three roared. "Knock out the girl, and go get the rest of your friends!"

Izuku punched. Mr. Three's glasses shattered as the man flipped backwards and slammed into a row of barrels. Sitting up woozily, Mr. Three asked, "How is the paint not working? Is it because you consider me a friend for some reason?"

Izuku held up his wrists and grinned. Mr. Three took in the Sea Prism with a dumbfounded expression.

"You're a Logia, wearing Sea Prism. Why? It's your biggest advantage?"

"I don't need it to be strong."

"That's just stupid. Why not encase your feet in cement? Why not glue your hands together and tie a blindfold over your eyes?"

Izuku thought for a moment. "That might help me with Observation Haki."

Mr. Three facepalmed, and winced when he hit his bruised face. "How did I lose to an idiot like you?"

Izuku stepped closer and cracked his knuckles. Are you going to tell me why you attacked us?"

"Y-yes, of course! Just come a bit closer," Mr. Three rasped, "My throat hurts quite a bit. Can't speak up." He made a few half-hearted coughs and rubbed his throat.

Rolling his eyes, Izuku leaned forward. Mr. Three's hand swiped across the floor, sending wax around his ankles.

"Your cuffs protect you against the effects of Miss Goldenweek's paint, I'll admit that, but it does nothing to my wax! Now you're powerless to resist us!"

Meanwhile, Miss Goldenweek lashed out with her brush, painting a black symbol across Mei's chest. The moment the paint settled, Mei stood still and waited.

"And she's not wearing any. Perfect. Now, kill him!"

Mei cocked her gauntlet. She aimed for Izuku's chest, but he leaned aside bonelessly, using Kami-e to dodge every one of Mei's attacks.

"Break his shins!" Mr. Three called out. "He can't move those!"

Izuku braced himself. The Impact Dial sent a shockwave through his leg, but braced with Tekkai, it held under the blow. That same blow cracked the wax around his foot, and Izuku yanked his leg free. Another kick dislodged the rest of the wax, leaving Izuku free to move. Before Mei could try attacking him again, Izuku punched clean through a barrel, sloshing its alcoholic contents around, and splashed a handful onto the mark on Mei's arm. As the paint faded and dripped to the ground, Mei's eyes blinked and went back into focus.

"That was weird." Mei shook herself off and took a closer look at Miss Goldenweek's easel. "Does that paint work if you're not the one applying it? There's tons of cool babies I could make if I had a can or two of that paint."

"B-babies?"

While Mei babbled on excitedly about spray painting and ink stamps, Izuku turned his attention back to Mr. Three. As the bounty hunter was in the midst of crawling into a stack of barrels, Izuku grabbed his ankle and yanked him back out.

"Are you done yet, or do I have to beat you up some more?"

Mr. Three ground his teeth as he tried to find a way out. Izuku answered for him, clapping a Sea Prism cuff Mei handed him around his wrist.

"We don't have too many of those, so the two of you will have to share." He clapped the other end on Miss Goldenweek's wrist. The two of them slumped bonelessly as Izuku carried them under each arm.

Binding them and Mr. Two to the mast, making sure all three were in contact with the Sea Prism, Izuku turned his attention to the island. The woods rang with the clash of steel against steel. Izuku turned to the two giants sitting on the beach, chugging barrels they had cleaned off.

"Anyone else on the island?" Izuku asked.

"Should be just you guys. Don't know who these people are."

"Right. Can you keep an eye on these three?"

Dorry and Broggy hefted their worn, cracked weapons. "They won't be going anywhere."

Following the sounds of battle, Izuku shortly came upon a clearing of felled trees, sliced cleanly at their trunks, with others still standing but perforated with neat holes. Following a trail of blood on the forest floor, Izuku eventually ran into Zoro, leaning against a tree, two swords standing upright in the ground, with the third loosely gripped between his teeth. Rasping breaths hissed out as he stared down the giant, bladed man bearing down at him.

"Nicely done," Mr. One said. He tore up his shirt and wrapped it around the slash wound running across his chest. "You got me with that last one."

Zoro's fingers twitched. He grabbed his blades and staggered to his feet. "Who said I'm done yet?"

"Then by all means, come try again."

As Zoro staggered forward, Izuku put a hand on his shoulder. Zoro's eyes glared daggers back at him.

"Those need stitches."

"I can't lose. Not again."

"You didn't. I just poached your win, that's all."

Mr. One raised an eyebrow as Izuku stepped closer. "Where's your weapon, kid?"

"Don't need one."

With a gut-busting laugh, the bounty hunter's body sprouted blades all over. "What, going to punch me? I'd love to see you try."

Izuku blurred forward. His fist, hardened by Tekkai, slammed into his chin. Mr. One spat blood as he flew back into a tree.

"Look, I've already had to deal with two weirdos today. Can you please just call it quits with that?"

Mr. One looked him over. "Boss will kill me if I fail."

"And who is your boss?"

Mr. One rolled his eyes. "Kid, we're Baroque Works. You think I'm going to tell you?"

"Ah. Crocodile."

Mr. One flinched. "No wonder he sent all of us after you."

"Yeah, well lucky you, we're off to beat up your boss. So, we'll deal with him, then you won't have any problems, right?"

Mr. One stood up and rolled his shoulders. "Bold of you to assume you'll have any chance against him."

Izuku cracked his knuckles. "Guess I'll have to prove it then."

The bounty hunter's arms turned into razor-sharp scythes. Trees toppled and branches flew as Mr. One hacked and slashed at Izuku, but with a combination of Kami-e and Soru, Izuku darted around each strike. When Mr. One overreached with a two-handed chop, Izuku darted to his back and punched at his kidneys. Mr. One's back sprouted blades, but the steel shattered against Izuku's fists.

Mr. One tried to stand again, but the cut along his chest spurted blood. Groaning, he fell over and said, "Just finish me off. I'm no use to the boss like this."

Izuku grimaced. Turning around, he said, "Heroes don't kill people."

Picking up Zoro, he set off to find Sanji. The trail of perforated trees led him to Mei, binding Sanji's puncture wounds, with a woman bound with iron cloud.

"So, if what Vivi said is right, that was Mr. One, Two, and Three, with their partners. Where is Mr. Four?"

On cue, a corpulent man in a green shirt came falling from the sky. As he sat up, he said, "Watch… out… for…"

A mole-faced woman faceplanted in the ground next to him. Leaping to her feet, she shouted at him, "What, what did you say? You need to speak faster when we're-"

"That…"

"-getting attacked by a Roger Pirate, do you have any idea how mad boss is going to be-"

"Underground…"

"-when he finds out we didn't finish off the Straw Hat brat?"

"Punch."

Luffy leapt out of the sky, leaving a crater in the ground. Snorting steam, he glared at Miss Merry Christmas and said, "Why'd you have to scare off my lunch, you jerks! I wanted that meat!"

Then he looked around and saw Izuku and everyone else. "Oh, hi guys! Did you find the mystery ball yet?"

Izuku sighed. "Yes, Luffy. We found the mystery ball."

A few punches later, Izuku and Luffy brought back the remaining Baroque Works bounty hunters. Dorry and Broggy were both out cold, with yellow-green paint on their legs, while cut ropes and Sea Prism cuffs littered the deck.

"Aw come on! How did they get out?"

"Mr. Three keeps a spare lockpick on him."

Izuku turned to find Mr. Three and others bound up with disembodied hands at the feet of Nico Robin. Mr. Nine nervously twiddled his bat while hiding behind her.

Izuku threw up his hands. "Were you guys hiding on the ship too? How many others are there?"

From onboard the Merry, one of the barrels quacked.

A/N: writer's block is the absolute worst. I spent weeks wanting nothing to do with this chapter until I decided to bribe my brain with chocolate. Write 250 words? Chocolate. Just like that, I had 3k written in 2 days.

In other news, I swapped out the buckets of sea water with buckets of Sea Prism sand in the last chapter. Thought that it was something dissolved in the seawater that messed with Devil Fruits, with said substance also being encased in Sea Prism. But nope! It's not sea water, it's standing water. Doesn't even have to be salty. Which… ugh. Glad it got caught before I made it a major plot point or something. Just give it the ole' 4K localization treatment, swapping water with sand, blood with ketchup packets, and guns with walkie talkies and slingshots.

So, it's late, I don't have enough chocolate to give this a more thorough look-over, and I'm really hoping no one will notice that Miss Goldenweek actually doesn't have a Devil Fruit, because of course I only find that out after I made it important twice over this chapter. So, yeah, she's got a fruit now because that makes more sense than 'paint hypnotizes people'. Why.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to stuff my face with chocolate and sleep.