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!

28. Chapter 28: Is This Fate?

Descent

Chapter 28: Is This Fate?

When Rosan was just 9 years old, he had participated as a slave in a tournament called Ash and Dust on Daybreak Island and steamrolled his way to the finals, fighting disappointing foe after disappointing foe.

Just as he gave up on finding anyone worth his time, he met and fought an actual fishman by the name of Kenzo.

Before the fight began, he had assured the fishman that he would send his family his regards, due to the fact that Rosan would be winning this fight.

For his sake, He'd tell Kenzo's family that he died with honor instead of the death Rosan gave him because Rosan humiliated him. The then 9 year old, overwhelmed his fellow slave with relentless aggression, only paying for it once the whole fight.

As he came flying down to deliver the final blow, he heard Kenzo utter the names of his wife and child, Masumi and Kaori, so he stored those two names in the back of his mind on the off chance he saw either of them.

Rosan wasn't expecting to ever run into even one of them but if he did, he'd tell them of his fate out of his respect for the only good fight he had that night.

You could imagine his surprise, when he actually ran into the man's daughter.

The world was a huge place. Rosan didn't think he'd ever run into the man's wife or kid but apparently someone saw it fit to do so.

Maybe he should start believing in fate in that case...

...No, it would never happen. He didn't think life was decided by such things. They forged their own path, free of the confines of this so called destiny because if destiny saw it fit to take Rosan's love away, then destiny would see it fit to watch him destroy the entire world.

He stared neutrally at Kaori, the daughter of Kenzo, with Usopp slung over his shoulder.

Rosan could see some slight resemblances between her and Kenzo but it wasn't very much. She had light blue skin and was clearly a type of pufferfish but her features must have been inherited from her mother.

The fishman was currently staring at him like she had just seen a ghost. She was sweating heavily, her mouth was open in shock and her eyes were wide and shaky. No doubt, thoughts of who he was were running through her mind and she was finding it hard to process his words properly.

Kaori couldn't hear the words of concern from her pirate crew. No, all she could hear were the words of this random redhead. This random redhead who knew the name of her mother and father.

To say that she wasn't curious about the fate of her father, would be a bold faced lie. After all, she was only in the Blue Seas to find information on him. She'd much rather prefer to be traveling with Jinbe but she needed answers.

She had spent many a sleepless night wondering just what happened to her dad and their former slave master.

Now, there was seemingly a source of information right here in front of her.

The only problem? The redhead was claiming to have allegedly killed her father.

She had to have misheard him. There was no way.

Before she could further question him, the redhead suddenly began sprinting right towards the large group of fishman blocking the exit, ignoring Usopp's squeal of distress.

A suicidal charge?! Was he completely insane? No! He couldn't be killed before she got to question him... Kaori needed answers first! She spent years looking for a clue and the one with them was about to die!

Before Kaori could get in the way to intercept him, the redhead jumped over all of them, landing on the stone gate and leaping off of that one too, cracking the wall and disappearing from their sight without looking back even once.

Everyone balked at the show of athleticism, too dazed to give chase due to the fact that he escaped right in their face.

Kaori made to immediately pursue him, but Arlong intervened with a, "Wait, Kaori."

"What do you mean wait, Arlong?!" She snarled, rounding on Arlong in barely restrained fury. "What if he tries and leaves the island?! How did he even get here without any of us detecting him?! He might have a means to escape and I'm not risking losing such a big lead on such a cold case!"

Arlong looked just as pissed at her. His eyes were rooted on the spot the man just vanished from and there were so much veins littered across his head, it was a surprise the captain with anger issues didn't break anything into pieces.

"He's lying to you. There's no way a human would be capable of killing a fishman," Arlong snarled, cracking his seat slightly. "He's trying to goad you into chasing him right now and it's working. Don't worry, we won't be letting him escape the island."

He ordered some of his crew to begin lurking the waters surrounding the island and some others to search for that redheaded nuisance.

"THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT HE KNOWS ABOUT MY FATHER! WHY ARE YOU STOPPING ME FROM CHASING HIM?" Kaori barked in clear annoyance. She had no real loyalty to this man. All the woman wanted was answers and she could only get that in the North Blue.

Jinbe was in the Grand Line and showed no interest in coming to the weaker seas so she settled for Arlong because the man actually was planning on coming here and he hired her in the process, continuously giving her money...

Not like she got much out of traveling with them anyways (the money was good. She was not cheap). She was no closer to finding out just what happened to her father and it was driving her insane.

Now, there was a lead right in front of her and he was telling her to wait? She would pulverize him if he kept saying such stupid things.

"We'll bring him to you and you'll get all the answer you need," Kuroobi assured. "You aren't thinking straight right now and whoever that human is, might be looking to catch you off guard. Wait here until we bring him back. He won't be getting off this island."

Kaori growled lowly but nodded, stomping off to an area to gather her thoughts and warning them not to bother her unless it was for something good.

She needed to think of what she was going to ask that redhead… Arlong was right about one thing, there was no way that human killed her father. He was much too young to have done that but she had no reason why he was opting on keeping the real reason from her.

Hopefully he'd be reasonable, lest she had to crush the answers out of him.

Kuroobi turned towards the petrified Nami and said, "We're sorry for doubting you Nami. You're our friend and we won't let that human get away with putting his hands on you."

The navigator scoffed and pushed herself back up. "I have no friends, you're just my business partners. I'm only here to buy Cocoyashi Village so keep up your end of the bargain."

She snatched the map out of his hand and walked away with a neutral expression. On the inside though, she was broiling with turmoil.

"Rosan, you idiot! When you said you were gonna help I didn't think you'd make the situation so much worse!"

Her only respite, was that Rosan knew how to fly and so even if they lurked the waters, the redhead would still be able to escape the island if things went from bad to worse.

Not that they weren't already at worse...

At least he got their suspicion off of her like he said he would. He took full blame for releasing Zoro and managed to escape with Usopp too so now the fishman didn't suspect her at all.

Ugh, this was getting too complicated. She couldn't buy her village back yet either. Nami needed two million more beri and would need to go on another voyage, but she wasn't sure Rosan or the other Straw Hats would be leaving yet.

As Nami entered the room that Arlong had dubbed hers, her musing was cut short due to the entire area shaking.

She stumbled around a bit but managed to catch herself and the shaking soon stopped.

"Now what?" The thief thought in annoyance.

---

"Y-You saved me!" Usopp sobbed over Rosan's shoulder. He hadn't expected the redhead to be able to get him out of that situation so easily but he was alive!

"Stop crying," Rosan muttered, landing on a branch and leaping off of it with crushing force, sending the piece flying. "Do not get snot on my shirt. I can't stand boogers."

"R-right!" The liar saluted. "But man! How did you manage to guess that girl's dad name correct? Did she have like a tattoo of his name that you saw? I don't even think I could pull off a lie like that!"

He was genuinely impressed with his fellow liar! He thought of something quick in such a short amount of time!

"I don't lie," the redhead retorted calmly, eyes forward as he leapt from tree to tree. "The only thing I lied about, was the honorable death I gave him because I promised him that's what I'd say when I ever saw them. I actually humiliated him in his last moments but I didn't want him to lose face."

Usopp laughed at that. "Of course you lie! You don't gotta worry, believe it or not, the great Captain Usopp lies too!"

There was nothing to be ashamed of. Sure, Rosan lied more then him but that wasn't a bad thing! He just needed to sound a bit more believable!

"Are you just going to label everything I say as a lie?" Rosan hummed curiously. "I'm not you. Lies are for people too weak to deal with the consequences of facing the truth. There is no point in me exaggerating my life because it's not worth exaggerating."

Why would he ever want to exaggerate all the things that happened to him? Did Usopp think he was lying to make himself look better? Rosan wasn't proud of the life he had been forced into so why would the liar assume that he was?

"Hey that's not why I lie!" Usopp said, voice tinged with a bit of anger at being called out like that.

"Your reasoning for lying means very little to me. If you find comfort in deluding yourself to reality, be my guest. Just don't apply the same thing to me. I'm not such a coward that I'd run away from the truth of my life," the redhead retorted.

"You're acting a bit out of hand right now, Rosan."

"You wanted us to talk. This is how I talk."

"...Just... just try not to cause any rifts."

Usopp's frown deepened. What was his deal?

"I told you that's not why I lie. Just because you're this cool and strong guy doesn't mean you get to act like an ass," the sniper scowled.

"Act? You think I'm acting?" Rosan actually stopped moving and placed the sniper down to regard him. "To be completely honest with you, I'm not your biggest fan," the redhead said honestly, staring neutrally into the coward's eyes.

Usopp flinched at his bluntness and inched away from the dead look in the redhead's eyes.

Rosan ignored all of that. "You represent a lot of things that I would normally hate in a person. You lie nonstop about even the simplest of things, you're a complete coward and it makes you a liability and most of all, you adore a man who abandoned you and your mother to your fate."

The sniper's eyes darkened at that and he stopped moving.

"You see?" The redhead said quietly. "The only time that cowardice flies out of the window, is when someone mentions your father. Why is that? Are you that in love with being a pirate that you'd ignore the fact that Yasopp left you and your mother behind?"

"Shut up," Usopp warned.

"I change my mind, you two do not have to talk," Mod pleaded but once Rosan got like this, it was impossible to stop him.

"I'm sure I'd envy you Usopp," Rosan admitted, ignoring Mod's request.

The sniper paused. "Envy? Why?" He asked, dumbfounded. He was just gearing up to punch Rosan but now he was left stumped by that admittance.

"My father also happened to be a pirate and he left my mom for dead too," the redhead replied, much to Usopp's surprise. "He's dead now but if he wasn't, I'd have done everything in my power to make him suffer."

The sniper froze at that declaration. Rosan... he would have tried to kill his own father?!

Those dead eyes continued to bore into the liar without a hint of feeling. "I envy you because you're so naive. If I knew my dad was partying while my mother was dying, well I wouldn't try so hard to defend him because I'd be too busy hunting him down. That's the difference between you and I. You're an idiot and I'm not."

"Rosan! That's enough!" Mod barked. She understood that Usopp's traits were practically his antithesis but this was too much!

"Is it though?"

"Yes! You don't have to dig at his wounds like that!"

"Why shouldn't I?" He asked calmly.

"This is you're crewmate!"

"And?" Rosan said darkly.

Mod went quiet, shuddering at that simple, heartless, question and regarded Rosan with wide red eyes.

"SHUT UP!" Usopp roared, throwing out a punch that the redhead effortlessly caught.

"You're misdirecting your anger," Rosan chided. "You aren't mad at me. You're mad that someone is telling you the truth."

He was willing to act neutral with the sniper, he really was, but this was what Mod-chan wanted and since Usopp thought he was a liar, he'd tell him the truth.

The coward began swinging repeatedly at his crewmate, growling at failing completely and he felt his anger mounting at that expression regarding him like he wasn't even remotely a threat.

Damnit... DAMNIT!

Rosan understood now. He just needed to push a few buttons to understand Usopp's core issue.

"You're insecure," he said softly, grabbing Usopp's fist and forcing him to the ground effortlessly. "Insecure because you're weak. That's why you lie. That's why you're a coward. You don't believe in yourself," the redhead pointed out.

Usopp struggled before lying there in defeat. "And so what if I am? It's true isn't it? I'm not a monster like you, or Luffy, or Zoro. Hell, even Nami was about to beat me..."

Rosan's words stabbed into him and it only hurt more now that he was lying here in defeat. The redhead, for all his cruelty, was right.

He was insecure and why wouldn't he be? He didn't have any lofty dreams like Luffy or Zoro. He wasn't immensely useful like Nami or Rosan... He wasn't as strong as any of them...

What could he do besides care for Merry?

"If you hate your current self, why don't you try and change?" Rosan asked simply.

"How can I change?" Usopp asked bitterly. "Nothing I do will let me catch up to you guys."

The redhead tilted his head at that. "How can you be so sure about that? You are so insecure about what you can't do, that you don't even realize what you can do."

Usopp perked up at that. "What I can do...?"

What could he do...?

"You are a fantastic shot and one of the most resourceful in the crew. Instead of trying to compete with us, find your own strengths and focus on them," Rosan instructed him, hoisting the sniper up.

"Work on your body so that it can keep up with your mind. You have a good head on your shoulders but you don't see that because you only focus on the negatives. With just scraps, you've shown that you can invent workable gadgets. You are not as useless as you make yourself out to be," the redhead finished.

Usopp was a genius in his own right. He inherited his father's shot and had his own creativity added to the mix. If he put his mind to use, he'd be a force to be reckoned with but he just needed to see that.

The liar was stunned at Rosan's deduction of him, not expecting anyone to ever compliment the things he was good at. He thought the negatives far outweighed the positives but in Rosan's eyes, that couldn't be any farther then the truth.

How did it turn into this? One second Usopp was trying to punch Rosan's eye black, the next, he was getting dissected like he were an open book.

"You really think I'm not useless? You think I can be something more?" Usopp asked quietly.

Rosan shook his head. "It doesn't matter what I think, Usopp. You have to think that. My words mean nothing if you yourself don't believe what you're capable of."

The redhead began walking away before pausing suddenly, turning to face his sniper. "You want to be a brave warrior of the sea right? How about you lie to yourself until you genuinely begin to believe it? If you do that, you'll see how impressive you can be."

Rummaging in his shirt, Usopp watched Rosan pull out a blank white mask. "Here. Every liar hides behind a mask, physical or mental, because it helps them better convince themselves. When you put that mask on, envision yourself as a brave warrior of the sea. When you truly believe what you are, you won't need it anymore. You have potential."

"You have potential."

Usopp's eyes widened at that and he stared at his enigmatic crewmate with shock and... admiration, accepting the mask gently. This whole time... was Rosan trying to anger him on purpose so that he could properly dissect the liar?

If someone as cruel and harsh as Rosan could see it... Maybe Usopp was being too negative. "I... I was wrong about you, Rosan. You're a good guy!"

Sure he talked bad about his father but... Usopp could admit that hearing about his dad partying of all things did fill him up with a large amount of bitterness. He understood that the pirate life was for him but... Yasopp really did just leave him behind without any hesitation while his mother got sick...

"I'm not a good guy or anything like that," the scout disagreed calmly. "I just speak my mind."

"Satisfied?" Rosan asked.

Mod was silent in shock. She had no idea this was Rosan's plan but he had executed it flawlessly. "You are one of the most charismatic people I know."

"You're super awesome, Father!" Ram crowed, grinning brightly at him.

"I simply want useful crewmates. If he had no potential I wouldn't have bothered and I have no interest in training him if he doesn't want me to. But, I'll point him in the right direction."

Usopp looked at the blank white mask with contemplation and nodded resolutely, storing it in his bag.

Maybe there was some merit in his words... If he could lie to himself enough, maybe he'd begin to truly believe it.

There was a short silence as the sniper digested his words before he suddenly went pale. "So you really don't lie…?"

"Not unless I feel like it's necessary and I rarely feel that way anymore."

"You've actually been fighting since you were four?"

"Yes. I fought a pirate crew and stole their ship"

"And your sister is really married to a queen?"

"She's also a blacksmith, I'll have you two meet one day and maybe she can help you with your trinkets."

"And… you really did kill that fishman's dad?!"

"That was when I was nine. He got some good hits on me but he wasn't able to handle my onslaught."

Usopp's eyes bugged. So… this whole time… Rosan had been telling the truth?! J-Just who was this guy?! Where did Luffy find a monster like this to call him brother?!

He knew a queen?! He killed one of those dangerous fishman at just nine?! He fought an entire pirate crew at FOUR?!

Holy shit… Maybe Usopp could learn a thing or two from him... If Rosan really was traveling the sea for so long, he was definitely a step in the right direction to being a brave warrior of the sea!

Rosan stealthily snuck the hammer back in the man's satchel and nodded in satisfaction, continuing to trek through the forest.

They walked in silence for a couple more minutes, Rosan letting Usopp stew in his thoughts, before the redhead suddenly stopped moving and said, "Oh? Nice to see that you're finally here, Luffy. And it looks like you found Zoro too."

Usopp's head shot up as he heard that and he had to stifle a laugh at the sight of Zoro under the ship that their captain brought here.

"Oh, Rosan!" Luffy beamed, launching himself at his older brother excitedly.

The redhead caught his little brother easily and they exchanged a hug.

"I missed you!"

"We've been together for 10 years and you miss me after a few days?" Rosan questioned with a raised brow.

Luffy beamed and the two stared at each other for a moment until Rosan sighed.

"...I missed you too, Luffy."

"Whipped," Ram muttered. Father should only be spoiling her but nooo, everyone wants to be spoiled! Ugh, how greedy were some people? Maro, Angel and Luffy sure were trips!

"You're heavier then normal," Rosan mused.

Glancing fully at his brother, he took note of the weapon attached to his back and tilted his head. "Oh? You found a weapon you like?"

He doubted it. Luffy had 0 affinity with weapons.

"Nope! It's for you," the rubber boy said, removing the bindings and handing it to his brother. "I got it from that stupid captain! It explodes when you hit something!"

For him?

"Thank you, Luffy," Rosan hummed, taking the weapon out of his hand with ease and inspecting it.

The battle spear itself wasn't really useful to him or Ram so he'd just tinker on it and make it more impressive, before handing it to someone else to use.

Everyone watched with dropped jaws, as Rosan's eyes began glowing brightly and the weapon vanished from their sight, going who knows where.

W-What the fuck was that?!

"I will never turn down a free gift. I'll have to give you a reward later," Rosan promised, getting a starry look from his captain.

He then noticed that Luffy had brought a familiar face and nodded in satisfaction. "Ah, you managed to recruit Sanji. Good job."

Sanji scoffed a bit but nodded in respect to the redhead. "We both have foolish dreams so I figured I'd go with him. Besides, I still owe you that best meal and we'd probably never meet again."

"How thoughtful of you," Rosan hummed. This was a good addition to their crew, the redhead had no complaints. "We can talk later after this whole situation is sorted, if you want."

Sanji nodded coolly (or what he thought was cool...) and said, "Yeah. Later. Right."

Ram snorted. He was such a fan.

"So, where's Nami?" Luffy asked curiously. "She's here right? Did you guys get her back?"

"About that..." Rosan began.

"I'm right here."

All eyes turned towards the source and they found Nami herself, eyeing the group with a look of disdain.

Johnny, who had just shown up, was the first to speak. "You've got a lot of nerve showing your face around here when you're apart of Arlong's crew! Rosan you should finish what you started!"

"Where did you come from?" Rosan asked curiously. "Were you watching that exchange the entire time?"

Johnny's words quickly caught up with the crew and they turned towards the neutral faced redhead with varying expressions.

"ROSAN, DID YOU TRY TO KILL NAMI?!" Luffy roared, anger clear on his face. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT! SHE'S OUR NAKAMA!"

"YOU SHITTY REDHEAD!" Sanji roared in agreement, hero worship forgotten at the moment due to this injustice. "HOW DARE YOU LAY A HAND ON NAMI? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"

Rosan sighed at the sight of the two getting ready to attack him. "I wasn't actually trying to kill her. I was doing her a favor."

There was a pause at that, only Zoro seemed to be unsurprised that Rosan wasn't actually trying to kill her.

"Huh?" The rubber boy asked dumbly.

Sanji calmed down slightly at hearing that.

Reaper hunted both genders without a shred of mercy in his stance. It did not matter to him what you were, he'd end your life without hesitation so the chef wasn't even slightly surprised to hear that the redhead tried to kill the beautiful navigator.

Rosan regarded Nami with a tilted head. "How's your throat? Did I squeeze too hard?" The redhead asked.

Everyone began blinking owlishly at that question. Usopp and Johnny especially, were confused that Rosan was asking such a question because just moments earlier, he had been about to choke her to death.

"It's fine. But when you said you'd take suspicion off of me…" Nami began and everyone's eyes went wide in confusion.

Didn't Nami betray them? What was going on? Why was Rosan asking such a question?

"...I didn't think you'd MAKE. IT. WORSE!" She barked in fury, walking up and pressing a finger on Rosan's chest with each punctuated word.

"I got the suspicion off of you, right?" Rosan asked, nonplussed by her reaction. "Now you don't have to worry about the Fishman thinking you betrayed them."

She nearly yanked her hair out at the unbothered words of the redhead. He was totally missing the point!

"I knew you were as bad as Luffy!" She growled. This is why she told him to stay with Nojiko! The redhead's perception of how chaotic he was, was clouded by how strong he was and how well he could handle a situation.

Since he was so confident in his ability to deal with problems, he didn't perceive his actions as chaotic but that wasn't how it worked. He didn't see it like that because he was insane and stubborn and nothing you said to him would change his mind!

Rosan was just as chaotic as his brother and right now he was proving it! It was no wonder they were crewmates, those two psychos were made for each other!

"You're exaggerating, I'm not as bad as Luffy," Rosan dismissed her and she held her head while gritting her teeth as he proved her right.

It was even worse because he genuinely believed he wasn't.

"Arlong wants your head now because of what you did and he has fishman all around the island. This is what I wanted to avoid… You guys need to find a way to leave now," Nami stressed.

Everyone else, barring Luffy and Zoro, were surprised to see that Nami was worried for them. Usopp had been totally convinced that she actually betrayed them and Johnny was right there with him.

The two were going to tell Luffy to just get the Merry and leave but apparently they were wrong!

Just what was going on right now? What did Rosan know?

"Nami! We came to get you," Luffy smiled cheerfully, happy to see that his navigator was doing fine. "I'm glad Rosan didn't kill you!"

Nami sweatdropped at that. To avoid any unnecessary trouble, she wouldn't tell them what happened on the ship.

It was mostly her fault anyways...

"I'm not coming back with you guys… I still have some business I need to do," Nami told everyone there. "Once I'm done… I'll seek you guys out. Hopefully you haven't gone to the Grand Line by then but you guys need to go before they find you."

"Eh?" Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "No way! We came to get you and we're not leaving without you!" He declared bluntly, falling on his back and closing his eyes.

"Tired?" Rosan asked knowingly.

"Yeah, I'm not leaving this island and I don't care what's going on, so I'm going to sleep," the rubber boy decided, falling asleep immediately.

Nami grit her teeth in annoyance, anger mounting at the antics of her insufferable crew.

First, Rosan had made direct contact and utterly pissed off the fishman. Now, Luffy was being completely impossible like he always was. He wouldn't even pretend to listen to her demands like the redhead had.

She was so close, she didn't need them interfering right now!

"UGH! FINE! Just stay here and don't do anything then! SEE IF I CARE!" Nami growled, turning on her heels and stomping off.

They were so arrogant! She just wanted to keep them safe but they were hellbent on pulling her teeth the entire time. Fine, let them do whatever they wanted! She didn't give a damn anymore. All she wanted to do right now, was throw a tantrum and take a nap.

Almost as soon as she disappeared from their sight, Rosan got up and began walking away.

"Where are you going?" Zoro asked with a raised brow.

"The Fishman might come this way, I want Luffy to enjoy his sleep so I'll go deal with the ones looking for me," Rosan hummed.

They sweatdropped and watched the redhead vanish, heedless of what Nami had just said to them.

Rosan spoiled Luffy too much... And he really didn't listen to anyone.

---

Kaori paced back and forth in her room, impatience clear on her face as a multitude of thoughts went through her head.

Kenzo, her father, disappeared more than 15 years ago. He and their former owner went to a place called Daybreak Island, so that they could participate in some type of tournament on an island that she didn't know about.

But neither of them ever returned… Kaori and her mother waited for weeks, unwilling to go far. The two didn't have the bomb collar that Kenzo had, but only one was necessary to keep all three in check and if Kenzo died, the mother and daughter, who were not fighters, would stand no chance against the slew of their owners guards, even if they were Fishman.

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months before the mother and daughter realized something had gone horribly wrong.

Where was Kenzo? Where was their owner? They had no idea but it wasn't looking hopeful that they survived whatever it was they ran into.

Her mother had tearfully come to the decision that Kenzo wasn't coming back after the guards began abandoning their post, no longer willing to stay there after not getting paid in so long and all the slaves without collars, managed to escape (the ones with them couldn't leave... they were most likely dead now), including Kaori and Masumi.

They regretfully fled to Fishman Island and, after seeing the look of despair on her mother's face... After waking up in the middle of the night to hear her crying on so much occasions, Kaori came to the decision to find out what happened to her father at all costs.

She would find closure. Even if her mother disapproved of her goal. Even if they got into a huge fight about it... Even if she didn't speak to her in years because of it, Kaori would still find the answers to a question that prevented her from moving on with her life.

So she tried training… to very little success. She wanted to find out quickly what happened but there wasn't much she could accomplish alone.

The royal guards refused her for her age and no one wanted to train her due to her perceived fragility at being a former slave.

That pissed Kaori off to no end. So what? She was a slave to humans but if she wanted to avoid that, she needed to get as strong as possible. Why did no one see that?

When Fisher Tiger announced the creation of the Sun Pirates, Kaori saw it as her chance to finally become strong enough to get answers and so, she jumped at the chance.

Namely, by begging them to let her aboard.

It was only thanks to Jinbe, who seemed to sympathize with her plight as a slave, that allowed her to be accepted and he had taken it upon himself to train the little girl up.

Kaori missed Jinbe… she hoped the Warlord was doing fine wherever he was in the Grand Line. She never agreed with Arlong's violent philosophy, much preferring to follow Fisher and her teacher, but the Shark Fishman was the only one traversing the Blue Seas and her goal never changed even once.

"Your one track obsession with finding answers will drive you to ruin, Kaori," Jinbe advised wisely. "You can't allow this to lead you for the rest of your life. What will you do if you never find answers?"

She snorted to herself. He didn't understand what she went through. All those nights... No one could understand how desperate she was to just know what went wrong. Why was she free? Where was her father? What happened to him that night?

Now, she could finally find answers about what happened to her father… if only she wasn't being kept in this fucking base!

"Kaori-sama!" One of the lower ranked fishman called, opening her door without knocking.

Her head snapped up and she immediately closed the distance between the two, glowering at her cowering ally. "What? What is it?! Did you find the human? Where is he?!"

He began shaking nervously and her scowl deepened at the head shaking no.

"A-Arlong wants you and the other officers to deal with a Marine ship…" he squeaked out and she snarled.

"They don't need my help to sink one ship. Tell him to stop calling me until the redhead is here," Kaori barked out.

Despite her clear dismissal, her "crewmate" didn't leave. No, he stood there to insist that she join because Arlong wanted her to blow off some steam.

The woman didn't answer, shoving the poor guy aside (and into a wall) while stomping out of the room with a ferocious scowl.

The female fishman began bee lining towards the ship.

"Waste of my fucking time when I could be looking for the damn human right now!" She growled to herself.

Blow off some steam? Fine. She would go blow off some damn steam.

Kaori ignored the calls of her fellow officers and dove straight into the water, swimming at amazing speeds towards the Marine ship in her sight.

"After her," Arlong commanded with a sigh. He had never seen Kaori so worked up before but it was to be expected. "She can handle it on her own but make sure she doesn't waste too much energy."

His officers saluted and dove in the water, pursuing the female fishman.

When Kaori reached the surface of the ocean again, she saw that the Marines were getting ready to fire another cannon and sought to stop that immediately.

She burst out of the water and landed right on the cannon, crushing the weapon beneath her with with minimal effort and garnering the attention of everyone there.

The officer ignored the panicking fodder and instead focused on, what appeared to be, the most important Marine there.

He was about to introduce himself as commodore Purinpurin, but the fishman didn't even let him open his mouth and delivered a brutal elbow to his gut.

"No hard feelings," Kaori muttered, spinning on her heel and crushing the ribs of another unlucky Marine who charged her. "I didn't really want to do this so I wanna be done as soon as possible."

The ship began shuddering. No doubt, it was because Kuroobi probably just removed its rudder.

Why did they even need her here? This was such a waste.

Kaori let out an annoyed sigh and cocked back her fist, gathering the water vapor from around her, before casually saying, "Thousand Tile True Punch."

The fishman punched downward, connecting with the deck of the ship.

The effects were immediate.

The entire ship began crumbling from the force of her blow and the screams of the Marines, reached increasingly high volumes. They tried to grasp onto anything, losing their footing but it seems their life was only getting worse because a whirlpool began forming, dragging the ship into the depths without a hint of mercy.

"What a waste of my time," Kaori scoffed, diving back into the water and swimming to Arlong Park. It hadn't even "cooled" her down. The only thing that would cool her down, would be finding the redhead with answers.

It seems that her patience was paying off because one of her crewmates who had been sent to look for the humans was currently back and he looked terrified.

The poor guy was shaking like a leaf, jumping at the slightest of sounds and looking like he just got finished throwing up.

"Arlong… we can't catch that thing!" The fishman exclaimed, eyes wide in genuine horror. They were not chasing an inferior human. That thing may have had the appearance of one, but he was not human.

"H-He's just toying with us! We jumped him with 6 people and it wasn't even close! He... He made some disappear t-to their deaths a-and he slaughtered the others. T-The only reason I'm not dead like the others, is because he told me to relay a message to you!"

"Dead like the others?!" Arlong thought in hot rage. He crushed the armrest beneath him at the thought that one human was causing them this much trouble and began audibly snarling.

Forget all of this, he was about to go hunt that man down himself.

"What did he say?" Kaori interrupted, schooling her features into something neutral.

She knew it was a bad idea to send the lower ranked crew members after that man but Arlong was too full of himself. The woman wasn't so arrogant to think that all fishman were superior to all humans and that redhead in particular, stared every one of them down without a hint of fear on his face before rocketing away at speeds they couldn't react to.

The terrified fishman flinched. "H-He said, "Unless you plan on sending everyone of your officers after me, sit tight. I will come to you soon enough. For once, exercise some patience you racist idiot." a-and then he shooed me off."

"Arrogant son of a bitch," Arlong snarled, head throbbing in rage. He was getting fed up with those humans. First Roronoa Zoro, then the long nose, now the redhead?

How dare that human kill his BROTHERS?! That was his family and he would dare?!

"Fine. The cocky human wants to die? We'll wait here for him then," the captain replied, expression stony despite the boiling hot rage inside of him. "Once he gets here, I'll make sure death is a pleasant experience and he'll regret ever messing with a superior species."

"Don't do anything to him until I get my answers," Kaori warned sharply to her fellow Sun Pirate with a hard glare. "He's probably the only person who knows anything and I won't let him die yet."

"Kaori," Kuroobi said, placing a hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "You need to relax. You've been steadily getting out of control since you've seen that redhead. Arlong is our captain, don't disrespect him."

"Why do you think I stayed in my room!" She snarled, rounding on the ray fishman and slapping his hand off her shoulder. "Besides, I'm just a hired gun. Jinbe is my captain; Arlong is my boss. You gave me the money so I joined you all because it was convenient for me. My father's fate is top priority to me and I will find those answers."

"She's right," Chew jumped in, leering at Kaori. "You guys shouldn't be surprised that she's so on edge. This is her father after all."

Kaori glared at the man and successfully shut him up, biting back a snarl of annoyance in the process.

She never did like Arlong. He was cruel and full of himself without even having all the strength to show for it. Jinbe was light years stronger then him and the shark even got captured by the Vice Admiral turned Admiral, Kizaru, yet he found solace in bullying people in the East Blue of all places?

Besides, he was one of the main people who protested her desire to join the Sun Pirates, calling her a "weak little girl" in the process and now look at him. He didn't even train anymore! He was wasting himself away right about now and he'd regret it soon enough.

Her and Kuroobi glared deeply at each other but Arlong broke it up.

"Enough you two. Kaori is right, she's just a hired gun," the shark fishman said, glaring into the distance at the thought of the redhead. "We had a business transaction and I'd rather die, then break money related promises. She's free to do whatever she wants as long as it doesn't interfere with us negatively."

Kaori nodded stiffly at that. It was why she hadn't gone after the redhead yet. Chasing after him could potentially qualify as interfering negatively when Arlong clearly wanted otherwise and she was a woman of integrity.

"That reminds me," Chew said. "Do you actually plan on letting Nami go after she gives you the 100 million?"

That would be extremely stupid of him. Nami's skills were invaluable to the crew and she was a genius that you wouldn't meet anywhere else without an obscene amount of luck.

"But of course. I'm a man of my word." Arlong shrugged in a "what can you do" motion. "If Nami can give me the money, she's free to go. Those were the terms we agreed to."

"Such a shame, she's very valuable to the Arlong Empire."

Kaori's eyes narrowed minutely at that. She didn't miss the smug undertone of Arlong and wondered idly what he was planning.

She sympathized with Nami. Being a slave at such a young age to such a cruel person, was an experience she was familiar with and she secretly loathed Arlong for stooping to the levels of the humans that he loudly proclaimed to be superior to.

They were supposed to be better than them weren't they? Why replicate their actions? Arlong was no better than the humans he despised and it made him a supreme hypocrite.

He had something planned and try as she might, there was nothing she could do about it. She was stronger than them but not all at once.

Jinbe could deal with them all at once… she wished she had stayed and trained with him more. There was still more he could have taught her and the Grand Line was the perfect place to get stronger but her father took priority.

As long as Arlong payed her and as long as she was still searching for clues on her father, she'd stay here and be a neutral bystander.

It was a good thing she hadn't taken one of her many trips to the North Blue, that answer was right here today.

Once Kaori dealt with the redhead, she'd be free to go back to the Grand Line but for now, she couldn't jeopardize not getting the answers she desperately longed for.

"Sorry Nami… my hands are tied," the puffer fishman apologized, genuinely meaning it.

Something told her, Arlong would not be letting her go.

---

Rosan hummed and tossed the broken body of another one of the Fishman who tried to attack him. It landed on top of the large pile of his fellow crewmates and the redhead didn't even hesitate to obliterate the group of fallen enemies with a red energy blast.

Nothing remained after the smoke cleared.

Job done, he decided to go find his crew again. That one fishman he had sent off should have relayed the message by now and if Arlong was smart, he'd stop sending his crew (he might have run out honestly) to their deaths.

He made sure to capture some Fishman alive so that Hiroshi could potentially clone them and take whatever he wanted from them. After defeating the pirates, he'd go after the officers and Arlong next (in secret of course).

They would be good cloning subjects... He heard the scientist mentioning something about speeding up the process too so the fodder Fishman should help him figure that out.

"Nami shouldn't be so afraid of them to the point where she won't even risk asking us for help," Mod sighed sadly. Watching your mother get killed in front of you and 8 years of torture would do that but she needed to have some faith in them.

Rosan nodded in agreement. Based on what he had seen, Arlong's crew was nothing serious. They may have been terrifying to the standard East Blue inhabitants, but the redhead had seen stronger.

Like that monster Garp. An old man should not be able to move like that. Over the 10 years, he didn't feel the Vice Admiral's strength diminish at all. The man actually began displaying even more skills due to that one day where the brother's had shown interest in one of his techniques that he used to catch Rosan often, Geppo.

He must have been extremely pleased that the three boys who generally showed little to no interest in learning from him, did for once. Shameless old man.

But he digressed. Their navigator should believe in their strengths more but unfortunately, Nami's scars ran deep and she was clinging to that one last thread, chasing it oh so desperately.

She was in for a rude surprise; He'd seen too much to have any hopes that a pirate would keep his word.

"Oh, Rosan you're back!" Usopp waved in relief. The redhead disappeared for quite a while and, after their talk, he naturally began to assume the worst and worry for the guy he had pegged all wrong.

Rosan waved back and tilted his head at the sight of Nojiko but said nothing. He glanced around and noticed that Luffy was missing while Zoro woke up from his nap.

"Where have you been?" Nojiko asked, strangely relieved that the redhead was doing fine. Last time she saw him, he said he went off to actively make an enemy of the fishman.

Seems like he had thought better of that —

"I was off disposing some fishman who were pursuing me in particular," Rosan replied bluntly. It wasn't even remotely difficult. Arlong was beginning to disappoint him which was funny because he had no expectations in the first place.

Nojiko's eyes bugged at that statement and she gawked at the insane redhead.

He was what?! What was wrong with him?! His plans sounded logical on paper but his execution was utterly psychotic and left no room or regard of how others might be affected!

"Don't you realize that Arlong might take his anger out on us?!" Nojiko gasped in disbelief.

"Arlong attacked my crew first and he's made it clear that we aren't making it off this island until we encounter him. Whether you like it or not, when a pirate attacks another pirate, that's war," Rosan countered calmly, patting the glowering woman on her head.

Zoro grinned challengingly at his words. "Exactly. Who are we to take an attack lying down? This isn't about Nami anymore. Arlong caused a problem with us and nearly killed one of our own. We can't let that slide."

Nojiko looked at the two speaking and it dawned on her just what Nami had to deal with. 3 stubbornly insane idiots who didn't know when to quit. It was no wonder she didn't want them here, they were fully intending on getting in a fight with Arlong whether she wanted them to or not.

"Since when have you started being so concerned about me?" Rosan whispered softly in her ears.

Nojiko didn't even realize he had gotten this close to him and shuddered at the deep and soft voice.

"I'm not weak enough to need a weakling to worry about me. Worry more about yourself and the Marine's converging on your home. They are looking for Nami, by the way."

Nojiko's eyes widened in dread as she heard that and without wasting a moment, she took off in the direction of her home.

"What's the rush?" Usopp asked in confusion.

"Did you scare her off?!" Sanji barked.

"She has more things to worry about than us. I just made that clear to her," Rosan offered vaguely. "Things are about to get interesting. I hope you guys are ready for a fight."

"Of course!" Zoro grinned in a feral manner, heedless of the injury he still had from Mihawk.

"Anything to save Nami!" Sanji swooned but inside, he was utterly furious. Those damn fishman had the audacity to kill Nami's mother in front of her? They were in for it when he got his hands on them and he'd make sure they fell today.

"T-The great captain Usopp never backs down, not even against fishman!" Usopp said nervously, legs shaking despite his words. With herculean effort, he managed to stop one and shot Rosan a thumbs up.

Mod sweatdropped at the other leg shaking nonstop. At least he was trying...

Rosan simply hummed and nodded. "Now let's go find Luffy."

---

When she was alive, Bellemere used to always tell her that as long as she lived, fun things would happen.

But right now, Nami wanted nothing more then to die.

Eight years of hell… Eight years of living with the people who killed her mother, watching as they dared to treat her like an ally. The only thing driving her, was the knowledge that at the end of this road, lie freedom.

But that was a lie. There was no road to freedom. It was a never ending road of misery.

Because Arlong tricked her.

He was never intending to free her. He was always intending to find a way around their deal and he had done it.

She was trapped. So completely trapped and there was nothing she could do about it.

Worst of all, the villagers knew.

This entire time... This entire fucking time, they knew about the pain she was enduring for them and now they were marching to their deaths, heedless of her cries for them to stop.

Gen, Nojiko, the doctor… all of them were about to die and there was not a damn thing she could do about it.

It was all Arlong's fault...

Arlong. Arlong. Arlong. Arlong. Arlong. ARLONG! ARLONG! ARLONG!

Without even thinking, Nami gripped the knife she had been holding and began viciously stabbing the Arlong Pirates tattoo on her arm, heedless of the pain it was causing her. Heedless of the amount of blood pouring from it, due to the rage and sadness and hatred and tears.

She just stabbed and stabbed and stabbed and stabbed and—

A hand suddenly stopped her from continuing the self harm.

Nami slowly looked up and was forced to meet the eyes of Monkey D. Luffy himself.

"All those villagers of yours are about to die," the familiar voice of Rosan called out neutrally. He was staring at her with a tilted head and those dual eyes of his bore knowingly into her own.

He knew Arlong was never going to keep his word. That's why he kept offering to kill him for her. Nojiko had admitted that the redhead already spoke to her about the fishman not keeping his promise but she was desperately hoping that he was wrong.

He was not.

"You guys don't know anything!" Nami scowled through tears. "Just leave! This is for me to deal with!"

The two just stared at her, content to let her rant.

"JUST LEAVE!" She screamed.

She hated this. Hated how stubborn they were. Hated how they wanted to throw themself into the jaws of danger for her.

Hated how they were so willing to sacrifice their lives, just like Bellemere.

"Just… just leave…"

Hated how her only real chance at freedom, could die, just like Bellemere.

"Luffy..." Nami sobbed in defeat, all the hope sucked out of her body as she slumped over. "Help me…"

Luffy simply took his straw hat off, placed it on Nami's head, took a deep breath and screamed, "OF COURSE I WILL!"

"He's a good captain," Rosan thought idly, walking up to the fallen Nami. "Since you finally want help, here."

Nami watched through teary eyes, as the redhead summoned a black briefcase and placed it in front of her.

"That's 100 million. Now you're free," he said simply.

Her eyes widened in teary confusion.

He had the money the whole time? If that were the case… why did he never offer to give it to her? W-What were his motives?!

"That man has enslaved you for 8 years after killing your mother in front of you. He was never making it out of this in one piece. I just gave you the money so that all your hard work didn't go down the drain. Besides, Arlong attacked us so we'll deal with him."

Her tears began falling in earnest and she sobbed quietly.

They... They were so... Nami didn't think she'd ever be able to love a group of people like them but she was wrong.

"Please don't die..." she whimpered, clutching the straw hat and briefcase tightly.

"Don't be so dumb. Of course we won't die," Rosan said quietly.

The pirates left her there, all with varying expressions but the same motive.

"Let's go," Luffy said resolutely.

"Yeah!" They said in unison.

Rosan stared ahead, head already stewing with plans of the aftermath.

---

"Do you plan on fighting with only one sword, Zoro?" Rosan asked quietly, remembering how that worked for him against those two dead cat brothers.

"My other swords got smashed by Mihawk so there's not much I can do about it…" Zoro muttered. Only the sword Kuina gave him managed to survive the clash against Mihawk. His other swords were in pieces now.

With only one sword and that hellish injury, Zoro could very likely lose in his battle...

That wouldn't do. He found the man's resolve admirable so he wanted to see where that took him.

"Ram."

"Absolutely. Fucking. Not."

"Ram."

"I said NO."

"Ram."

"No, Father! I don't wanna!"

"...Ram."

"...But I'm your weapon! No one should be allowed to touch me except for you!"

"I know and normally I'd agree but Zoro is too interesting to let die here."

Ram was about to protest more but this was an order from her father and she grumbled in defeat. "You're letting me do whatever I want for a week. And you're not letting Auntie bully me for that entire time either."

"Deal."

"I don't think that deal is very fair. Don't you realize how much problems she's going to cause because of this?!"

"Don't you realize how much problems I have being held by someone who isn't Father?!"

It would be fine. He would just shower his weapon in a lot more attention then normal and she'd melt. It would work about 50% of the time until she decided to drag Luffy into her antics.

"Do you really think that it will only work 50% of the time?!"

"Here," Rosan said, taking off Ram and having her transform into dual katanas, before handing it off to Zoro. "You can use her for this fight only. Treat her even better than you treat your own sword or I'm going to break every bone in your body one at a time."

Zoro could only watch with wide eyes, as Rosan handed his most precious accessory to him and grabbed the blades. The one the redhead was holding with his left hand had a purple hilt while the other had a black hilt. Both the silver blades gleamed sharply, despite them being in the shade and it gave off an unnatural air.

It was clear these weapons were not normal.

They were impossibly light to the touch and Zoro couldn't help but awe at that fact. He had seen how much damage the redhead was capable of doing with Ram so to know they were this light…

"I'll treat her like she's one of my own," the swordsman promised, experimentally swinging with one of the silver blades and grinning wildly. Maybe her claims of being the ultimate weren't far off.

"You better treat me right," Ram's voice suddenly spoke through his mind, making him jump in surprise. "You are the only person besides Father to ever touch me in my weapon form. Be honored and don't let me down!"

He was never going to get used to hearing another voice inside of his head.

"And don't even think about putting me in your mouth! I'm not that type of woman!"

Maybe this wasn't a great idea.

"What are you gonna use?" Sanji asked in concern. That ring was his main weapon and he might struggle without it.

Rosan tilted his head. "Ram is amazing, but I am not even remotely helpless without her," he replied softly.

Contrary to belief, there was nothing Rosan enjoyed more then punching someone in the face and that was his primary fighting style as a child. Ram frequently took the form of his gloves for a reason but with his young age, a weapon would bolster his offense to deadly levels and he spent a majority of his childhood training with one. It would be foolish to discard that skill.

"Besides, you probably have a lot of questions for me, right? I won't die until then."

Sanji nodded, assuaged by the man's confidence. He had a lot of things to talk to the redhead about so he better not die.

"Luffy," Rosan suddenly called. "You don't know how Arlong looks, right?"

His younger shook his head immediately. "Nope," Luffy replied.

"I'll show you."

The straw hats, minus Luffy, watched in disbelief as Rosan tensed his legs and vanished from their sight. The floor cracked beneath him and that was the only sign that let them know he was running.

Luffy immediately sprinted after the redhead and they gawked at the rubber boy's speed.

"YOU BETTER LEAVE SOME FOR ME, ROSAN!" He roared, vanishing from their sight too.

"Should we follow them?" Usopp asked nervously. Honestly, he was pretty sure those two could handle everything.

"...I think so," Sanji replied with a sweatdrop.

"If we don't… the fight might be over," Zoro sighed.

"AFTER THEM TEMPORARY SLAVE!" Ram barked, forcing Zoro to take off after the two brothers.

"Alright, alright," he groaned.

Maybe he should have just used one sword… was this what Rosan had to deal with all the time?

---

Johnny and Yosaku were both guarding the gates, waiting for the Straw Hats to show up and preventing the villagers from entering at the same time for their own sake.

All was going well, until a sudden red and black blur almost knocked them into dreamland. Before the figure could crash into them however, it leapt over the duo and effortlessly shattered the gigantic gate separating them from Arlong by ramming into it, momentum not halted whatsoever by the act of strength.

The duo actually did get knocked into dreamland at the appearance of a second blur mowing them over without any regards of their well-being like the first blur did.

Nojiko's jaw dropped in disbelief. Those blurs couldn't have been who she thought they were.

Oh who was she kidding, she knew exactly who they were.

---

Kaori knew Alrong was a scumbag but this was just too much to ignore.

She thought that maybe he had an ounce of honor but the man was completely unsalvageable. He was truly scum of the world and the depths that he had fallen, were not even levels a fishman could survive.

She didn't care anymore, the money wasn't enough to keep her in this crew because if she ignored this for any longer, she'd be just as bad as them.

Lying to that poor little girl for eight years and shattering her dreams without a hint of remorse…

Did he learn nothing from his time on the Sun Pirates? Did Tiger's death really do this to him? He was bad but never this terrible...

Well, no matter. Arlong had already been proven to be untrustworthy when it came to keeping promises so she couldn't trust that he'd keep the redhead alive.

That just meant she would just have to seek him out firs —

The gate to Arlong Park crumbled under the force of a red and black blur, shocking everyone there and the unknown figure darted right for the captain himself at speeds to fast to react to.

A black blur was hot on their heels and Kaori could only watch in disbelief, as the red one punched Arlong's body through his seat, cracking the floor beneath him from the impact and denting the man's nose brutally.

Arlong's eyes momentarily went white, at the force of the blow before he regained consciousness again.

"That's Arlong," the red blur said, revealing themselves to be the redhead she had just been thinking about. He glanced at Arlong's fallen body with a dispassionate gaze and turned away from him.

"Ugh..." The fishman groaned, holding his head in disbelief. Was... Was that the damned redhead who hit him?

"I appreciate you waiting for me, Arlong. Unfortunately, we won't be spending too much time together. You get to enjoy my little brother instead," Rosan hummed. He should have put more power into that hit but Luffy did have dibs.

One of these days he would call dibs on someone and there would be nothing his brother could do about it.

Over the years, as the brothers and Maro got more and more competitive, they all came to the consensus that whoever called dibs first, got the first crack at it and if they lost, someone else could call dibs.

Ace and Luffy had taken to calling dibs first very quickly, because Maro and Rosan normally defeated things on their first attempt. It got so bad, that there was a period of time where the four actually went to the North Blue and got rid of some bounties.

"Ah, you four are way too competitive. Ace is going to be a monster next time you meet him," Mod giggled.

"He's had all that time in the Grand Line and he's become a Whitebeard Pirate... my days as strongest have long passed," Rosan sighed.

No matter, he'd surpass his little brother again once he entered the Grand Line.

"Are you satisfied?" the black blur asked, revealing themselves to be a somewhat scrawny kid wearing a red vest. He was glaring at the floored fishman with a look of disdain on his face and it was clear he wanted nothing more than to pulverize him.

"Yeah, he's all yours," Rosan said softly, locking eyes with a stunned Kaori. "Don't play around with him like you did with Buggy or Kuro. I have my own things to deal with so I won't be monitoring you for a bit."

"You don't gotta tell me twice," Luffy growled, cracking his knuckles.

The shark fishman grunted in confusion as he began to regain awareness. "Who the hell are —" Arlong tried to speak but another fist, courtesy of Luffy this time, connected to his cheek, sending him crashing into a wall and shattering a layer of it, leaving the man embedded firmly into it.

"You made our navigator cry," The rubber boy snarled in fury. He was going to pulverize this sharp nose and teach him a valuable lesson about messing with Luffy's friends.

The citizens of Cocoyashi froze in disbelief as they gazed down at the wrecked entrance, and then up at the suicidal humans who showed up and punched Arlong of all people.

"Who are these guys?!" A villager asked in shocked.

Both of them just floored Arlong with no effort at all. This was the same man who effortlessly held a stranglehold over them for 8 years now and he was currently lying on the ground not once, but twice!

"Running ahead like that ahead? Leave some for us," Zoro scowled at the duo. They were fast.

"I expected there to be more fishman," Sanji muttered, glancing around and noticing how little there were. Only the officers were actually here...

"I told you that I was dealing with them," Rosan replied calmly, eyes never leaving the female fishman staring him down. He tilted his head and shot a wave at her that she didn't return.

Kaori's eyes narrowed deeper and she nearly took a step forward at his casual attitude but held herself.

"Arlong won't have to worry about you guys!" Hatchan said confidently, before grabbing his mouth and blowing out a tune. "Come on out, Momoo!"

The earth began shaking, much to the horror of the citizens and Rosan took his eyes off the woman, at the sight of the massive sea beast which resembled a cow.

It looked quite beat up and the moment it made eye contact with Sanji and Luffy, it went white in terror and decided that fleeing from the scene was the best course of action. It seems that the two had already encountered it before and it had gone less then stellar for the sea beast.

"Where are you going, Momoo?" Arlong suddenly asked, making it freeze on the spot. "I mean, if you wanna run away, I won't stop you. Do you understand, Momoo?"

The sea beast felt true terror at that underlying threat, before its face morphed into rage and it turned towards the pirates.

With a roar, it charged the pirate group —

And promptly froze at the redhead stepping forward to stare at it.

Everyone (besides Luffy) witnessing, gaped at the sight of the creature suddenly stopping dead in its tracks.

It... stopped?

What was wrong with it? This was the dreaded beast that took out Gosa with little to no effort! This was the monster that turned over every building as a show of dominance! Now it was suddenly looking fearful for its life...?

Why?

Rosan released some of his pressure and stared evenly at the sea monster called Momoo. His eyes were set into familiar slits and he walked up to the frozen beast, before stretching out his left hand.

"Bow, let me pet you," he instructed.

Momoo listened without hesitation and the redhead pat its head gently, much to the open mouthed disbelief of onlookers.

"Who was this guy?!" Everyone thought. T-This redhead... Where exactly did he come from?

Arlong's eyes widened in confusion and he clenched his fists tight. What was this human doing right now? More and more, he just kept adding onto the pile of reasons he needed to be slaughtered and the shark man ached to do it.

"Did my crewmates hurt you?" Rosan asked softly, glancing curiously at the bruises on its body. "I'm sorry for them. They are quite brutal when they want to be..."

"...But can I be honest with you for a second?"

Momoo began shaking terribly as that grip became steely and his right horn began to subtly crack at the strength displayed by the alpha animal.

"I'm much more ruthless then they are. I'm even more of a demon then your owner," he assured loudly. "Now, if you want to avoid annoying me, you'll dive back in that water and act like you don't hear anyone calling you unless it's me."

"Okay?"

Rosan released the creature and stepped back, waving farewell at it. "Run along now, Momoo."

Momoo didn't even think twice this time. He turned around and fled the entire area with all the speed he could muster, heedless of Arlong's underlying threat.

Fighting stronger creature not worth it, he was outta here.

Rosan watched it probably flee the East Blue (he didn't want it anyways) with a neutral expression, ignoring the gaping looks shot his way.

Over the years, the redhead discovered that a lot of creatures were terrified of the dominating might that was Ragnarok and understood exactly where he stood on the food chain. Only Sea Kings seemed to be largely unaffected by his draconic transformation, probably due to the fact that they likely had no natural predators, but that mattered little when he could just burn them alive the moment they stopped lurking underwater.

Combined with his pressure, he could order most animals around like he did with Ritchie. It was a good thing his pressure was actually still able to do something because it had gotten tremendously weaker ever since Meiko died, requiring much more focus and energy to reach what he used to be capable of.

These days, he barely found it worth using.

"W-What the fuck?" Someone asked intelligently.

"Did he just… scare that sea beast away?"

"Who the hell is that…?!"

Arlong's eyes bugged in rage at watching Momoo take orders from someone else and he promised to deal with him after he got his hands on the redhead... Just as soon as he found out where he fled too.

But, how did he do that? Surely the Sea Cow knew who was stronger between the two so why did he choose to disobey Arlong?

"Kaori, you look like you're dying to ask me questions. Follow me if you want answers."

Without waiting for a response, Rosan turned on his heel and began walking through the shocked onlookers watching him with awe and fear.

He was treating this like a normal afternoon... was this bravado or was this guy the real deal...?

Nojiko stopped him momentarily by grabbing onto his wrist and the redhead glanced down at her with a tilt.

"You… you were right about Arlong," she said shakily, still utterly baffled by what he just did.

That same creature that destroyed Gosa and would destroy them if it so pleased... This mysterious redhead right here, who she couldn't get a single read on, managed to effortlessly cow him.

Just who was Rosan?

Rosan made a show of raising a brow. "I tend to be right when it comes to a person's nature," he replied. "People just tend to not listen to me because they choose to live in their fairy tale world. At that point, it no longer matters to me and I just wait for the inevitable moment where I say, I told you so."

Nojiko took a deep breath and gazed evenly at the enigma. "Please… please save us and please make sure you don't die," she pleaded to the redhead. This crew was their only hope and she was putting all of her trust in them.

"Didn't I tell you not to worry about me so much?" Rosan asked softly, patting her on the head in a patronizing manner and tilting his head at seeing her not even attempt to remove it.

Was she truly that worried about his safety? How touching. Rosan wished he could put so much faith in a person he just met.

"There's not a single person on this island who can kill me. I won't be dying anytime soon so you can sit pretty and watch my crew fight, Nojiko."

With that, he continued walking to who knows where and Nami's older sister could only watch his trailing back.

Kaori didn't even hesitate to follow after the redhead. She ignored all the people calling her (and the humans watching her fearfully) and gave chase to the walking redhead, parting the crowd of people like she carried the plague.

This was perfect. She could question him without any of the other fishman interfering and the two of them didn't have to worry about someone getting in the way.

"Wait, Kaori! It could be a trap! You heard what he did to the other crew members! He must have a trick that he used to kill them!" Chew tried to call her back but she ignored him and he let out a frustrated sigh.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING, REDHEAD?!" Arlong roared, clambering himself back up. "I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU —"

A sandal planted itself right on his forcefully adjusted nose and sent him flying, breaking it again.

"You don't gotta worry about Rosan," Luffy said simply, cracking his knuckles. "I'm your opponent."

"All of this for one lousy girl?" Kuroobi asked, grunting in annoyance at Kaori's retreating figure.

"Lousy girl?" Sanji asked threateningly. "Talk about Nami like that again and I'll fry you up, fish."

"I'd like to see you try, human," Kuroobi smirked challengingly.

"Roronoa Zoro… you and that redhead tricked me and you hurt my crew too!" Hatchan growled in fury.

"So what? You guys tried to destroy me and now, we're here to destroy you," Zoro grinned eagerly, pointing Wado Ichimonji at the man.

Usopp was content to let them battle the fishman. That was until he felt someone grab the back of his suspenders.

"Oh yeah!" Luffy beamed, holding Usopp tightly. "Rosan told me to do this. I dunno why but he said you'd understand."

"W-WAIT!" Usopp screeched. If Rosan told Luffy to do this… then —

The rubber boy tossed Usopp right into an unsuspecting Chew's chest, causing them both to collapse on the floor.

Usopp pushed himself up nervously and smiled apologetically to the fishman, before he spun on his heel and took off.

"GET BACK HERE, LONG NOSE!" Chew roared, taking chase.

"WELL YOU HAVE A BIG MOUTH!" Usopp screamed in terror.

He was so going to get revenge on Rosan after this. Sure he wanted to be a brave warrior of the sea but this was too fast!

---

"Wait!" Kaori called, finally catching up to the strange redhead. "How much further do you plan on going?"

"Until you chose to stop me."

She snarled at the man after that response. "Are you just fucking around with me?"

This was important to her. There was a reason she wasn't going out of her way to turn the redhead into paste but it was getting really tempting right about now.

"There is information you want to know, and there is information that I don't really feel like letting everyone else know," Rosan replied, stopping and turning to face her. "I can see how desperately you want to know about your father's fate so I'll throw you a bone. I don't normally do this but you've proven that you aren't like the other fishman, else I'd have just killed you."

"Don't compare me to them," Kaori grunted, unfazed by his threat. After what they did to Nami… she couldn't respect the pirates anymore. She'd need to go back to the Grand Line and inform Jinbe of this so he could deal with them accordingly. It was his responsibility since he released them into this sea in the first place.

Rosan simply hummed and she shifted uncomfortably at the shorter man's expressionless gaze. "What do you want to know?" He asked knowingly.

He was messing with her. She didn't like that.

"What happened to my father?" She asked bluntly. "You said you fought him, right?"

"Yeah, I fought him when I was nine," the redhead confirmed. "As for what happened to him… he died, like I said."

"But how?" Kaori pressed. It wasn't making any sense… had her father been set up by their former master? Did they use the redhead to do it? What purpose would they have to use a nine year old to set up a slave? By banking on his morals?

It didn't make any sense.

Rosan tilted his head. What was she not understand —

Oh.

"Didn't I tell you? I killed him," Rosan replied bluntly. "We were opponents in the finals of the Ash and Dust tournament. We fought, I won and he died as a result."

Kaori froze at that and she tilted her head in disbelief. "You…? You expect me to believe that? Can you just stop fucking with me for one second and answer my questions truthfully?" She snarled in a burst of fury, taking a threatening step forward.

All these years of searching and the one actual source she found, was just playing around with her emotions.

It was seriously pissing her off.

The redhead raised a brow at her denial.

"You choose what you want to believe," Rosan replied. "I'm sure you know he participated in a tournament, I'm sure you know what that tournament entailed and I'm sure you know that I undoubtedly met him. What you choose to fabricate afterwards has nothing to do with me."

"You expect me to believe that at just nine, you killed my father?!" Kaori hissed, taking a shaky step forward.

"You sound surprised. It's not like your father was strong," Rosan hummed mockingly (to her ears). "I was the strongest person on that island and because of that, I won. He fought valiantly but it wasn't enough to beat me..."

"...It was never going to be enough."

"FUCK. OFF!" Kaori roared, fed up with him. She dashed forward and attempted to pulverize his insides with a vicious punch downwards.

The redhead simply leapt back and raised a brow at the utterly destroyed ground.

Oh? Seems like there was a decent Fishman here.

"It's clear you want me to beat the truth out of you so that's what I'm gonna do," she snarled. This asshole was antagonizing her on purpose and kept telling lies. One person would never have been enough to kill her dad, much less a fucking child.

"I can't say I'm surprised by this outcome. Though, I expected you to attack me for murdering your father, not because you thought I was telling lies."

"Perhaps you should have delivered it in a more accepting manner?"

"This is not my friend. I have no obligation to."

The redhead tried to be nice and give her the answers she desperately wanted but now she was in denial.

Perhaps she thought he died bravely in an attempt to keep his family safe. Perhaps her childish eyes glorified her father more then he deserved to be. To her, he must have been so strong but to Rosan, Kenzo was weak.

"Fine, I'll show you what I showed Kenzo that night," Rosan hummed, eyes glowing dimly in preparation for battle. "Don't worry. After you see what I'm capable of, you'll have no choice but to believe my words."

"Even if you did beat my father, I'm much stronger than he is now," Kaori stated with a deep glare.

"How funny…" Rosan replied, staring evenly at the furious puffer fishman.

"…I'm much stronger than he is too."

---

"GAHHHHHHH!" Usopp squealed, running from his opponent as fast as he could.

"STAND STILL!" Chew roared, sprinting after him and wondering how a human could run so fast.

Why did Rosan tell Luffy to do this?! What was wrong with him?! WAS HE TRYING TO GET USOPP KILLED?!

OF COURSE HE WAS! Their redheaded crewmate was vindictive and cruel and he never forgot that Usopp had him labelled as a liar this entire time! This was his way of getting the coward eliminated from the crew without doing it himself!

Well, jokes on him! Usopp had been running since before he was even born! This was nothing to hi—

A water shot collided with his back, cutting off his train of thought and Usopp gasped in agony as blood began blooming from the spot hit.

Chew snorted in disbelief at watching the idiot collapse dead. "Seriously? After all that running, he goes down in one hit?"

What a complete waste of his time. He needed to go back to Arlong to deal with the rest of the troublesome pirates.

Perhaps he'd go find Kaori... If he helped her out with the redhead, maybe she'd finally give him a taste of her. There was really no reason for her to be such a prude.

Usopp peaked open an eye at the sight of the fishman walking away and let out a sigh of relief.

"I'll just tell them I fought valiantly to the end but he was too much! Luffy should be able to handle him and Arlong and if not, Rosan will get him—"

"You have potential."

The coward froze.

What... What was he doing right now? While everyone was willing to risk their lives, he was lying here, pretending to be dead. Their navigator, was living in pure hell for 8 years and realized none of it mattered and he was lying here, pretending to be dead.

That was so pathetic.

"HEY, FAT LIPS!" Usopp yelled.

Chew stopped in his tracks. What? He was still alive?

Wait... WHAT DID HE JUST CALL HIM?!

The fishman turned around, fury painted on his features—

Only to get 3 eggs splashed in his face, courtesy of his opponent.

"Ugh!" The fishman grunted, wiping his face repeatedly to get them out of his eyes.

By the time he managed to do so, that damn human was nowhere in sight, vanishing into the forest and making Chew all the more annoyed.

"When I get my hands on him..." Chew said darkly, taking a step forward—

And slipping into a numerous amount of caltrops. They dug into his skin and only served to infuriate him deeper. The fishman tried to push himself up, only to slip once more into the traps and realized that the floor was oiled of all things.

He was dead.

Usopp, hidden in the forest, stared at the mask nervously, fear wracking his body at what he just did.

It was blank white, Rosan's invitation for him to change it into his image, with a slot in the middle for his nose and two lens in the eye hole to replicate sniper goggles. It was almost like the redhead made this for him in advance. How thoughtful!

(Rosan didn't. He modified it as he was giving it to Usopp)

"When you put that mask on, envision yourself as a brave warrior of the sea."

Brave warrior of the sea... he could try and do that.

The coward placed the blank mask on, all while repeating the mantra of "You have potential" in the back of his mind, and composed himself.

Miraculously, it worked.

One thing he realized while traveling with Rosan and the Straw Hats, was the supreme ability of the Captain and Scout to annoy anyone they battled into a frenzy.

Usopp realized now that Rosan did it because it made them much sloppier when they got annoyed and allowed for more mistakes.

For someone like him, a long ranged sniper, that was crucial. Rosan did it because he was sadistic and loved to torment his enemies, but Usopp could use that to get even more hits and finish the battle with minimal injury due to errors, all while building their annoyance with his various gadgets...

By the roar of frustration, he was largely successful.

By progressively annoying his opponent, the fishman would make a crucial mistake that would give him the opening he needed.

Chancing a glance in the direction he came from, Usopp marveled at how clear everything was. The mask didn't limit his vision, it enhanced it! He could see so much further now and wondered just where Rosan got this mask from.

He'd have to thank him if— No. When he won this battle.

Currently, his opponent was furiously marching towards the forest with a look of hot rage on his face. He clearly didn't appreciate all the stuff Usopp left behind because the man looked like he wanted to do nothing more then pulverize him.

Perfect.

Chew, in his rage, had forgone the much smarter idea of inhaling the water from the nearby lake to obliterate the forest, revealing Usopp, in favor of getting his hands on the slimy bastard.

That would prove costly for him.

The moment he stepped into the forest, he activated a trap that shot a bottle of rum at him. Chew immediately turned towards the direction, heedless of the fact that he was covered in the liquid and fired off another of his Water Gun's in the direction.

He watched in confusion, and more annoyance, as the attack sailed through nothing.

How the hell did that coward have enough time to set up all these tra—

Chew grunted in annoyance as three pellets collided with his back and he turned around immediately, making eye contact with the Usopp in the tree. He raised a brow at the addition of a white mask and let loose a satisfied snarl that cowed the idiot.

"Nice mask, human. You think that'll save you?"

"S-STAY AWAY!" Usopp yelled nervously.

The damn coward squealed at being spotted and began desperately firing those useless pellets at him.

All those did was annoy him. They didn't even hurt and he dared to continue shooting such useless things at him?

Chew began sprinting towards the human with rage on his features. So lost was he in his rage, he didn't even realize Usopp stopped squealing.

Perhaps the fishman would have noticed the smirk on the liars face ... if he didn't have that mask on and he would have approached more cautiously as a result, but he didn't because Usopp did have it on.

The fishman began charging after him, ignoring and barging through every single pellet that the coward fired at him. All they did was serve to infuriate him further and turn his charge into a one man stampede.

You could imagine his surprise, when one of those pellets he kept running through, exploded on his alcoholic covered body.

The effects were immediate.

"GRAGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Chew squealed in agony as his body ignited upon contact.

Usopp smiled victoriously. He was firing those pellets to test if the Fishman would bother dodging anymore of them but since he didn't, he just added a Flame Star into the mix.

It was sneaky and crafty and it worked out well for him.

What didn't work out well, was how much he underestimated the fishman's desire to hit him. He'd have to remember in the future that people who you annoyed, turned really crazy.

Chew looked like a man out of hell as he bull rushed Usopp while covered in fire.

Usopp's eyes widened in horror at that and he pulled out his trump card right before the man punched him in the face with that fiery fist.

Earlier, while he was rummaging through his bag to get the traps ready, he noticed that there was an impossibly neat note on one of his weapons.

"Use this if they ever close the distance. They shouldn't but you're an idiot so it'll happen," it said.

He sweatdropped at the note that was obviously from Rosan but nodded to himself and grabbed it.

Seems like the redhead was right... he seemed to have a knack for that but right now it could potentially save his life.

"USOPP HAMMER!" He roared, right as two fist smashed into him. One connected with his injured chest, getting a pained wheeze out of him and the other hit his nose and mask.

But his attack connected too.

Usopp watched with bugged eyes, as his hammer connected to Chew and exploded on impact, igniting the man even further and sending him soaring out of the forest with raw concussive force.

Mercifully, the man landed in the pool but he was knocked unconscious, burns littering his steaming body.

The sniper expected his face to be hurting way more but besides his nose being broken (which really, really hurt), the mask did an absolute fantastic job at keeping it safe...

What the hell was it made out of?!

Speaking of which, why the hell was his hammer suddenly so... goddamn... heavy?! The sniper collapsed on the floor, removing his left hand from his nose so that it could join his right in trying to life up the mallet.

"Work on your body so that it can keep up with your mind."

Damn... Rosan was really trying to motivate him whether he wanted it or not wasn't he?!

But it was working! Usopp felt like a whole new person while in that battle and it felt so... so AWESOME!

HE WON! HE ACTUALLY WON AND IT WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY EASY BESIDES A FEW MISTAKES!

Usopp whooped in joy, before wheezing at the injury on his chest. He clutched the aggravated wound and decided to go meet up with his crew.

The sniper pushed himself back up and with herculean effort, he began dragging the explosive... force(?)... hammer.

He had no clue what Rosan did to his hammer or when he did it but it was incredibly useful. He would definitely be keeping this in his arsenal but if he wanted to use it, he'd have to get strong enough to carry it...

What a way to motivate him... He was probably going to need a new work hammer too. He didn't fancy blowing up his gadgets.

---

"How the fuck have you not killed this clown yet?!" Ram snarled in disbelief. "You're still not healed from the injury Hawk Eye gave you?!"

"Who the hell is supposed to heal from something like that so quickly?!" Zoro barked back in equal amounts of disbelief.

"Father!" She retorted back like clockwork, scowling deeply and making him groan.

This was how the fight had been going nearly the whole time. Zoro would attempt to do something, Ram would not approve, then she would bring up how Rosan could do it better and he'd snarl at her in aggravation.

To her, their redheaded scout may as well have been Kami because she was asking for completely unreasonable things that he could do apparently.

Between wielding two katanas that nagged him constantly, the stupid antics of the octopus fishman in front of him and the near fatal injury Hawk Eye had given him, Zoro was not having a very fun time.

If this is what Rosan had to deal with all the time, the swordsman understood why he was as brutal as he was. The things Ram told him to do, bordered on insanity and she clearly had no regard for if he lived or not in the process.

Whenever he didn't do something she said (which was very very often), the psychotic weapon would respond, "Father would have done it!" and he'd heard it so much, he was turning dizzy.

He vowed to get two new swords after this, Ram and Rosan were clearly meant for each other.

Zoro clashed Ram against Hatchan's six blades and despite his annoyance with her, he couldn't help but marvel at how smooth it felt to use the ring. She was light to hold but that's all that was light about her.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT, YOU GRASSY PIECE OF SHIT?!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP AND LET ME HAVE MY THOUGHTS TO MYSELF!"

"FUCK YOU!"

"You can't beat me, Roronoa Zoro!" Hatchan grinned, despite the fact that he was failing to push the man back. "I have six blades to your three so that means I win!"

Zoro was trying to push back but his wounds flaring up, stopped any current thought process and he groaned in agony.

Hatchan took ruthless advantage of that.

"Tentacle Sword Overload!" He called, swinging his swords rapidly and charging the green haired man.

"Why did Father pair me with a half dead dumbass?" Ram moaned sadly. She wanted to hold her head but she kind of couldn't considering she could only exist in the mindscape when Rosan was holding her.

If she fell in that fucking water, everyone here was going to die the moment Father got someone to save her!

Zoro almost didn't react in time but Ram barked out a, "Block!" and he instinctively listened to her. The swordsman blocked the swings and groaned at the pressure it was putting on his body.

"He's swinging with a lot of force right now. Use that against the bigger dumbass and take advantage of the opening to use one of your stronger techniques."

Zoro grunted in affirmation, diverting the direction of Hatchan's swing and using the weight of his blow against him.

The octopus yelped in surprise, as he stumbled and the green haired man quickly took his opening with no remorse.

"Tiger Trap!" Zoro said, driving all three blades into Hatchan's chest. He marveled at how easily the blades dug into him and was reminded that Ram was no ordinary weapon.

"O-Ow!" Hachi roared in pain at the deep cut.

"Press your advantage! We're finishing this before your wound becomes too much of a problem! Attack, attack, attack! Overwhelm him and show me that resolve that Father is so interested in!" Ram ordered confidently.

Zoro did just that. He crossed his swords across his chest and glared deeply at the octopus fishman before saying, "Oni Giri!" and slashing right through the man effortlessly, ending up behind him in the process.

He didn't have time to think about his injuries. He didn't have time to question if he was going to lose. Even if someone else would die from these, that would not be him.

He was not someone else.

He wouldn't lose no matter what, not until he crossed blades with Dracule Mihawk again. Until he crossed blades with the World's Greatest Swordsman, he couldn't afford to lose against anyone else calling themselves one.

Zoro began spinning with the three blades until the wind began picking up around him.

"Finish it!" Ram bellowed, grinning savagely. It didn't matter what it was, she loved being used to destroy an opponent.

"Dragon Twister!" He roared, conjuring a dragon-like tornado to strike Hachi.

The octopus didn't stand a chance. He, along with the surrounding debris, were flung into the air and struck repeatedly by the attack. All six of his blades broke from the impact and as he fell into the realm of dreams, he could only say, "But how did my six swords style lose to a human?"

"Your swords don't have the same weight as mine," Zoro replied simply, sheathing Wado Ichimonji in its hilt. "You can see that now, right octo-man?"

The fishman crashed into the floor with a thud, already unconscious.

"Hachi!" Kuroobi shouted in concern, charging Zoro in fury, before being forced to block a kick from Sanji.

"Didn't you say pay attention?" the somewhat bloodied chef smirked. He had taken quite the punch in the chest due to his concern for the idiot swordsman but it was nothing serious.

"Y-You," Kuroobi snarled in annoyance.

Zoro collapsed on his knees and clutched his wound tightly.

"Sloppy but well done," Ram said, satisfied by his performance.

"You're an even harsher critic then Rosan," Zoro snorted internally but if not for the weapon's guidance, he'd have been in a lot more trouble. She was incredibly useful and her claims of being the ultimate weapon, didn't sound so far-fetched.

"Father doesn't want you dead just yet and what Father wants, Father gets. But, you need to improve even more… After this is over, ask him to start training with you," Ram demanded.

It would be good for the both of them which is why Ram requested it. Zoro, with his ambition, would get stronger training with her Father and Rosan would steadily have to put more and more effort into their fights!

Her father wasn't a swordsman but right now, he was undeniably a better swordsman then Zoro. But that would only be temporary. As long as Zoro survived long enough, he'd eventually surpass Father's sword skills and they'd have awesome fights as a result!

"That's not a bad idea," Zoro muttered, nodding in agreement and groaning as his wound flared up again, collapsing in a puddle of his blood that was getting increasingly larger.

Ram groaned. Did she have to do everything around here?

She instructed Zoro to place her a moderate distance away from him and he did so with slight confusion.

The already stunned onlookers, jaws dropped to the floor as the katana's began shuddering before transforming into a silver haired woman of all things.

"Who is that?!"

"Where the hell did she come from?!"

"She's gorgeous!"

"Oh! Ram!" Luffy beamed ecstatically, ignoring Arlong momentarily and rocketing over to the silver haired woman. She easily caught the shorter rubber boy and the two exchanged in a hug.

"Sup, rubber squirt," she greeted cheerfully. "I'm free to cause trouble for a week so we've gotta do something fun in the meantime!"

The captain's eyes lit up excitedly at that. "Yeah! Let's go raid a meat store and then a weapon store and then a meat and weapon store!" he laughed cheerfully, before suddenly grabbing the taller woman and jumping out of the way.

Arlong's fist crashed into nothing and he was greeted with a stray rubbery punch to the cheek as a result. The fishman snarled in aggravation and glared hatefully at the still laughing Luffy.

"I won't get in your way anymore," Ram grinned eagerly, unfazed by the sight of Arlong trying to turn the both of them into paste. "Give that shitty fish hell while I get this shitty swordsman outta here!"

"Leave it to me!" Luffy nodded confidently, turning his attention back onto Arlong.

Ram picked the bloody Zoro up by the scruff of his shirt effortlessly (Father didn't get blood on him, she'd be damned if she did!) and waltzed over to the group of stunned onlookers eyeing her with shock. Without any further concern for his well-being, she unceremoniously dropped him on the unforgiving ground, getting a groan of pain out of him.

"Big bro Zoro!" Johnny and Yosaku shouted in concern, before rounding on Ram with a glare. They were getting ready to tear into the woman for being so rough with him...

All thoughts of doing that stopped as she glared ferociously at them, daring the two to open their mouths and successfully cowing them.

"He should be thankful I'm not stomping on his wound right now!" Ram snarled, much to their fear. "Be glad that Father instructed me to keep you alive!"

"You're psychotic," Zoro groaned.

"And don't you forget it!" She humphed, cocking her foot back and kicking his ribs. "AND THAT'S FOR CALLING ME FAT! I DIDN'T ASK FOR THESE NUISANCES!" She roared, pointing at her breast.

The green haired man's eyes bugged at being kicked and the swordsman could only wheeze.

"She's insane!" Everyone balked, inching away from the furious beauty.

Ram stomped off to an isolated area so she could sulk in peace, tugging at her twintails with a scowl. "Stupid Father and his stupid crew and wanting to separate us even though I'm his weapon."

Zoro was never going to use Ram again no matter how nice she felt to wield. It was better for his sanity (and body) if he didn't touch the unhinged weapon.

"Scary…" Johnny and Yosaku shuddered, watching the beautiful woman march off. Someone so hot, should not be so terrifying.

"Who the hell is that?" Nojiko asked in confusion. Had she just been a sword? Father…? No one on the Straw Hat crew looked old enough to be her Father... Hell, she looked like one of the oldest members in the crew!

The Straw Hats were by far the strangest crew she had ever met.

---

Sanji watched the stunning beauty carry Zoro away with a look of jealousy on his face.

He didn't have a single clue who that was but she was drop dead gorgeous, with a unique shade of silver and purple hair and incredibly distinct purple and red eyes... and don't even get him started on the body that her double breasted coat did nothing to hide.

It should have been him getting carried away! That idiot swordsman didn't know how to appreciate her!

Then he paused as he processed the full scope of what he just watched.

"Hey Luffy…" Sanji called slowly.

"Yeah?"

"That gorgeous woman… was she just the swords that Zoro were using?"

"Yep!"

"The same swords… that Rosan gave him to use?"

"Uh huh!"

"So she's the ring that Rosan always has on…"

"Ram belongs to Rosan! I'm surprised she even wanted to leave him! She doesn't like being far from him!"

Sanji puffed out a smoke and remained dead silent, much to the confusion of Luffy and the steadily mounting annoyance of Kuroobi.

The fishman glared at his opponent and cocked his fist back, prepared to do his ultimate attack for this idiots transgressions. "Pay attention, you inferior human!" He growled.

"Ultimate Fist: Thousand Tile—,"

"Collier."

Whatever technique Kuroobi was about to do, was cut off as a kick to the neck smashed him into the ground.

Sanji's looked up and his formerly hooded eyes, were blazing in pure fury. He snapped the cigarette he was smoking in half and let out a yell of emotional pain as he drove his foot even harder down on Kuroobi.

"THAT SUNNOVA BITCH HAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN AROUND HIM AT ALL TIMES?!" He roared in disbelief. That stunning beauty was literally wrapped around his fingers 24/7 and she was exclusively his?

"Epaule!"

"WHY CAN'T I BE THAT LUCKY?!"

Kuroobi tried to get back up but the Epaule connected firmly with his shoulder and drove him right back into the ground.

"WHY CAN'T IT BE ME?!"

"Cotellete!"

"Selle!"

"Poitrine!"

"Gigot!"

Sanji channeled all the rage he was feeling towards Rosan, into a poor Kuroobi who was forced to accept the overwhelming attacks.

He dropped into a one-handed handstand and kicked Kuroobi hard in the ribs before using the momentum to spin around in the opposite direction to deliver a fast kick to his lower back.

Then, pushing himself in an upward position, he slammed his foot into the ray fishman's chest and delivered a sweeping kick to his kneecaps that sent him tumbling across the ground.

Everyone watching, gasped in awe (and sweatdropped at his reasoning for delivering such a beating) at the performance by Sanji. He was tossing that fishman around like no ones business and the fight didn't even look close once he got serious...

Well, as serious as a jealous man could be...

Kuroobi couldn't believe he was being embarrassed by some human that was jealous of another one. This was the most humiliating moment of his life and he refused to accept it.

Eyes white in rage and pain, the fishman once again tried to use his ultimate technique —

"Mouton Shot!"

— But he never got the chance.

When Kuroobi tried to swing, there was no one there because Sanji had jumped into the air and out of his sight. The fishman couldn't even find the chef before the attack began.

A flurry of kicks came out so quickly, Kuroobi could do nothing to prevent it from hitting. They repeatedly slammed into his body with unforgiving force until the chef finished him off with one final kick to his chest.

His body went flying and he crashed into the front of the main building of Arlong Park, but it didn't stop there. Kuroobi went through wall after wall until his body was deposited behind the building.

He did not get back up.

"Don't get in my way when I'm grieving, shitty fish," Sanji said grimly, placing his foot on the floor and reaching for another cigarette.

He was going to kick Rosan's ass for using such a beautiful woman as a weapon. Then, she'd be so grateful by his act of selflessness, that she would stay with him instead of the redhead.

Yes, it was foolproof.

"They defeated two of Arlong's officers…" An onlooker said in awe.

"Who are these guys?"

"In one on one combat too?!"

Nojiko's mouth dropped in disbelief at what she was seeing. "They're amazing… to think they could take down to leaders of the Arlong Pirates…"

Maybe… Maybe they could actually be saved? She thought back to how effortlessly Rosan had defeated and killed one of the fishman and realized that she shouldn't have underestimated him.

They were all monsters! With them… hope was really possible... They really could make it out of this never ending nightmare...

Arlong looked at the wreckage with thinly veiled rage. "Kuroobi… Hachi… you bastards took out my precious brothers one after the other," he said, clenching his fist in barely restrained fury.

"You should worry more about yourself," Luffy grinned eagerly. "You're gonna be joining them soon!"

The veins on his head became even more pronounced, as the fishman stared the rubber captain down.

"Just try it," Arlong said gravely.

"You asked for it," Luffy retorted confidently.

Any further dialog was cut short, due to the sight of an absolutely, massive amount of flames suddenly appearing in the distance.

"WOAH!"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"FIRE? FROM THE SKY?!"

"Wasn't that the direction the redhead and Kaori headed?"

"Rosan looks like he's having fun," Luffy grinned knowingly.

Everyone felt a headache forming at that statement.

---

At around the same time of Zoro and Sanji's fight

After crying in relief at having people to rely on, Nami went and properly bandaged herself up and prepared to head back to Arlong Park.

Well, that was the plan at least, until she heard the sounds of combat and decided to check it out.

What she saw, surprised her greatly.

Kaori and Rosan were locked in combat and the two were exchanging furiously quick blows. They threw out punch after punch and it was clear that the redhead was the victor in most of these exchanges, if the steadily panting fishman meant anything.

The woman threw a punch that Rosan sidestepped, throwing out a punch of his own in the process that she was forced to block.

The force of the blow sent her skidding back but not for long and she quickly dove back into the action.

Her hidden spikes burst out of her body and she immediately rushed him once more, attempting to grab him and failing as he jumped over her spiky leap.

Rosan landed behind her and planted a boot on her back that sent her tumbling for a bit before she quickly regained her balanced.

Dipping her hand into the river behind her, Kaori growled and began launching a salvo of water droplets at the redhead.

"Water Shot: Machine Gun!"

He immediately began dashing away from each one, raising a brow at watching three droplets pierce through a boulder like it were made of paper.

He ducked under two more, pushed himself into a handstand and launched himself upwards.

Kaori's grin at seeing the airborne target, transformed into stupefied confusion as she watched him maneuver his body through the air to continue to avoid her machine gun assault.

"How is he moving through the air so easily?" She thought, watching him twist, turn and push himself forward to avoid getting hit. While dodging, he aimed himself in a downward trajectory towards her and began rocketing towards the fishman with merciless eyes.

She abandoned the machine gun technique and instead sought to intercept his attack with one of her own.

"Two Thousand Tile True Punch!" She roared, throwing out a swift punch to catch the descending man.

It collided with his own fist and a stalemate ensued for only a split second before the momentum from Rosan's drop quickly began to overpower her.

Kaori sought to rectify this before it got bad for her and threw out a punch with her left hand on the still airborne man.

Rosan used the fist against her and got into a one handstand by balancing himself atop her left arm. Then, in an incredible display of flexibility, the shorter man delivered a heel kick directly to her skull.

Kaori's eyes went white in pain as she face planted on the floor and the woman began grinding her teeth in rage at the foot keeping her there.

The redhead, who was forcing her head into the dirt with his foot, took the time to address the new source.

"Oh, Nami," Rosan greeted, jumping away from the fishman and landing closer to their navigator. "Are you headed to Arlong's Park?"

"Don't ignore me, you bastard!" Kaori roared, snapping out of her pain from the sheer rage she felt at being stepped on. She pushed herself back up and immediately closed the distance between the two, throwing out a punch that Rosan blocked with his forearm.

The satisfaction at landing a hit only lasted a moment, at not seeing his arm snap in two from her punch. Her eyes went wide in confusion and then they blanked momentarily at the kick to her stomach that sent her flying back.

The woman fell on one knee and began coughing harshly. W-What was that strength? What was his body made of...? That hit should have snapped his arm in half...

"Be patient," Rosan instructed, unfazed by her aggression.

Nami realized at that moment that her scout was toying with Kaori. He wasn't taking her serious at all, from conversing with the navigator, to speaking to the fishman in a patronizing tone.

He didn't even have a weapon out right now!

How strong was Rosan really…? She figured that his words were just the unwarranted confidence that both he and Luffy seemed to carry at all times but... maybe it wasn't unwarranted after all...

Maybe his words carried far more weight then she realized.

"If you're interested, you can stand a little further back. I'll show you that it's okay to put more faith in us in the future," Rosan offered.

She hesitantly nodded and moved backwards, jumping in shock as a the ground morphed into a comfortable seat for her to sit on.

Modification was so useful.

The redhead nodded in return and pulled his long sleeve shirt back, revealing that he was wearing an armband.

"Right, I guess I should get a bit more comfortable for combat then."

A stumbling Kaori and Nami watched in surprise as the armband they didn't know he had, glowed and began wrapping around his body in a smooth fashion.

Rosan's expensive, all black outfit was replaced with a plain black bodysuit that had a red tank top and some red laced black shorts. To finish off, he had some red combat sneakers on that were laced in black.

"You…" Kaori felt her rage mounting to levels she didn't think possible and it wasn't because of her father. "Are you even taking me serious?"

Rosan tilted his head to the side. "What a stupid question…" He began softly.

"...Of course I'm not."

Kaori cracked the ground underneath her with the speed that she took off with and began her assault anew. She gathered the surrounding water vapor in her fist and spikes before punching forward.

"Thousand Tile True Puffer Punch!"

Rosan blocked it effortlessly but she grinned in a feral manner.

She was nowhere near Jinbei's level of proficiency when it came to Fishman Karate but he still taught her some of what she knew.

Case in point, she used the fact that the cocky Rosan blocked her blow against him and manipulated the water inside of him to make what would have normally been an ineffective attack, much more dangerous due to piercing through his defenses.

The redhead grunted and immediately jumped back, glancing down at his body from her strange attack.

What was that? That attack sent his body into quite a bit of disarray at the moment and he was a bit dazed, unfamiliar with the feeling of Modification scrambling.

Kaori didn't want him to have the time to think of what she had just done and kept up her assault, renewed by seeing how effective the blow was.

She charged Rosan and grinned as he leapt back a bit, forgoing blocking her again.

He was steadily getting closer to a water source that she could use.

"Water Shot: Cannon!" She barked, forming a condensed glob of water and letting it fly forward like a cannonball.

The fishman knew he was getting ready to jump over her attack, so when he did, she made a grab at his legs to force him back down.

With brutal force, Kaori slammed the redhead to the ground, forming a crater beneath him before hoisting him up and capturing him in a bear hug.

Then without any hesitation, she allowed her spikes to reveal themselves and began to squeeze, frowning as they failed to pierce the outfit he had on.

Not deterred, the woman leaned back slightly and slammed her head directly on Rosan's own.

The redhead's head flew back from the brutal blow and his head began to spin. The blow itself stung but that's not what the problem was. The problem was she was doing something to scramble his body.

He blinked a bit as blood began leaking from his head. "Mod-chan."

"Right."

"You have the same spikes as he does. Let me guess, poisonous and detachable, right?" Rosan asked knowingly, head beginning to steam due to the Philosopher's Stone. "Unfortunately, I've already built up my tolerance to them after my battle with Kenzo so that won't work."

She shuddered at his knowledge and only squeezed harder.

Was this guy even human? Kaori was squeezing hard enough to permanently disable a normal person and this guy wasn't even letting out a peep! What were his clothes made out of because they seemed downright impenetrable...

It just didn't make any—

Kaori stumbled backwards as Rosan returned the favor and slammed a head into her own. She released Rosan in the process and before she could stumble too far, the redhead grabbed her gi and pulled her forward, delivering another headbutt directly on her skull, scrambling her brain and cutting off all her current thoughts.

The woman tried to blindly throw out a punch but it hit nothing but air due to Rosan's next maneuver.

Still gripping her gi, Rosan flipped himself over her and used the momentum to deliver a devastating knee to her back.

Nami winced at the sight of Kaori letting out a strangled wheeze of agony, throwing up spit and blood in the process.

Rosan didn't let her go. Instead, the redhead wrapped his hands around her waist, glanced up and jumped with her still in his grasp.

"A fishman in the sky… what a surreal sight," Rosan mused, glancing down at the incoherent woman.

"What absurd strength," Kaori thought, slowly regaining her senses and struggling fruitlessly in his hold. Just h-how high were they going to go —

Something shadowed her view and she finally realized the gigantic wings growing out of his back, bringing them higher and higher and making her turn white.

He was a Devil Fruit user…?!

"So you finally realized," Rosan hummed, turning her around to face him and showing the taller woman his slitted eyes. "Still think I'm lying? Fine, I can show you the move I used to destroy that entire island. Maybe then you'll believe me."

If he was a devil fruit user… then his chances of defeating Kenzo skyrocketed, especially considering the fact that those wings looked draconic in nature.

Wait… destroyed that island? What did he mea —

"A fish shouldn't try and fight a dragon in its domain. You should have jumped in the water and stalled me out," Rosan advised calmly.

Kaori's eyes widened in horror and her struggling increased tenfold. She desperately cocked a fist back and roared, "TWO THOUSAND TILE TRUE PUFFER PUNCH!"

The attack actually connected with Rosan's face, knocking his head back brutally, lodging some spikes deep into his skin and causing a spurt of blood to begin flowing from her powerful punch.

But to her increasing fear, the redhead didn't stumble like the previous two hits when she bypassed his defenses. Her mind was not in that much disarray to misuse her technique and this was directly on his face... Why was he acting completely fine?!

"Your tolerance to that strange attack has been built up to workably resistant levels."

Such was the nonsense that was his Devil Fruit.

"Well, not like hiding out in the water would have worked against me anyways. You'd need to go to the ocean to have a chance."

"Thank you, Mod-chan. I'll give you a massage later."

"!" Mod's face split into a grin and the woman let out a pleased noise at that.

Her horror turned into true genuine terror as that demon stared back at her with an unfazed expression, face already healing from the injury. She watched him open his mouth to spit out a tooth and then another, this time razor sharp in nature, replaced it, along with all his other.

D-Did her Father really have to fight someone like this?!

Rosan tensed up and launched the vulnerable puffer fishman down at breakneck speeds to the water.

Then, he reared his head back and built up the required energy, razor sharp teeth gleaming as the temperature around him turned blistering.

"Annihilation."

Nami's jaw dropped to the floor, as an absolutely gigantic amount of red flames erupted from Rosan's mouth and rushed towards Kaori. The navigator couldn't help but take an instinctive step back at the overwhelming display of power from their scout.

She was sure everyone on the island could see the fire.

"Holy shit," she whispered in awe. Rosan was not joking. He really could have just saved her at any point but she had been to scared to see it.

What the hell was a monster like this doing in the East Blue?

Kaori used the surrounding moisture to cover her body, hoping that it would protect her from those unnaturally red flames.

It did not.

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kaori screeched in agony as those red flames slammed into her and the only thing that saved her life, was that Rosan had mercifully thrown her towards the water. The flames carried her into the water source and granted her a moment of reprieve, as they began to turn the surrounding water into steam.

T-This was excruciating! All Kaori could think about, was the agonizing pain she was currently in.

How... How could anyone withstand this? It felt like her entire body was peeling.

The part of the pond that didn't transform into steam, became uncomfortably hot and the woman bit back tears at the searing pain that hardly diminished while submerged.

Rosan floated down and gently landed on the floor, staring at the rising steam with a tilted head. "You should be grateful. I didn't want to kill you yet," he said softly.

Kaori let out a soundless gasp from the blistering pain and tried her best not to move too much. If she aggravated these burns even more, she didn't think she'd be able to stay awake.

"Do you believe me now?" He asked softly, now standing right in front of her with that same expressionless face he always had on.

It was like he was mocking her… He didn't take her serious even once.

D-Did he take her dad serious?

She doubted it...

Tears of defeat sprung up in her eyes and she let out a shaky sob. "W-Why? Why did you kill him…?"

"I was merely defending myself," Rosan said quietly as his wings slowly retreated back into his body and he returned to normal. "In that tournament, defeat meant death and I just happened to meet your father in the final round. One of us were destined to die that day and it wasn't going to be me."

Kaori sobbed as she was forced to accept the reality that her father's end had been at the hand of this man.

Deep down, she knew he died but to hear that it was at the whims of those cruel slave masters. It was too much.

The redhead let her cry and idly began pulling out the spikes embedded to his face. She had just found out the fate of her father after all. It was understandable that she reacted like this.

Nami couldn't help but soften her eyes in sympathy as the fishman cried and cried. It was a testament to her kindness that she was even able to feel bad for one of them.

"S-So you were really a slave too? And they made you fight in that hellhole?" She couldn't help but ask through the tears.

"That's right. I was conditioned and tortured so I could compete in that tournament," the redhead responded, much to her shock.

Didn't he say he was nine? What type of sick bastards tortured a child to put him in a tournament where he could die?!

"After I defeated Kenzo. I chose to escape the island and then I killed every single slave owner there, including your own I'm guessing."

How funny... The murderer of her father was the one who freed her. Kaori would cry at the irony of it if she weren't already doing so...

"I hate you," Kaori eventually said.

"Many people do," the redhead replied, unfazed by her declaration.

"Even though you inadvertently freed me… you still killed my father."

"The fight would have gone differently if he had a water source."

"I spent years looking for answers and this entire time, you mocked and belittled me."

"You are apart of the crew that made my navigator suffer."

He... He had a point.

"...Did he really think about me and Mom in his last moments…?"

"He did. He apologized to you two and I made a vow to him that I'd remember your names and tell you of his honorable death."

Kaori wasn't stupid. She knew that the redhead before her had no choice but to kill her father in that fight. It was very likely, that Kenzo had been actively trying to kill him too.

She had traveled around with the Sun Pirates… with Fisher Tiger and Jinbe and the two had given her a much broader look on life. She wasn't immature enough to blindly blame one person for being put in a similar situation to her.

Slaves didn't have much choices in what they did. Kaori still hated him but that was just not something that logic could ever change.

"...Thank you for killing my former master," she grunted, pulling herself up and wincing at the pain.

"How unorthodox of you to thank me," Rosan replied softly, grabbing the fishman and hauling her up. "Do you plan on continuing to fight for this crew? If so, I will kill you."

"No," Kaori replied honestly, assessing the severe damage done to her body. "I'm a hired gun and after I heal up, I'm going to go to the Grand Line to call my teacher so he can deal with them. After seeing their actions… I can't stand here and let them do what they want anymore."

Nami's eyes widened at the revelation. She was going to go get help to deal with Arlong? Was she really serious?!

"You don't have to worry. Arlong will fall today," Rosan said simply, glancing at her wounds with a tilted head.

"I can believe it… you're way stronger than he is— u-ugh," Kaori grunted, dabbing at a wound and holding back a howl. The water (thank Kami it wasn't salt water) was a small moment of comfort but now the pain was out in full force.

That red fire... Those hellish flames weren't normal. Flames didn't become that shade of red.

"You won't be getting any medical treatment here from people who hate you and those wounds aren't going to heal naturally… Come with me if you want," Rosan offered.

Mod smiled to herself. Rosan may not have realized it, but his family was making him become a better person. Not only did he spare the girl, he was even offering to get her healed!

"S-Shouldn't we be going to help the crew?" Nami asked in concern. She didn't have a problem with Rosan going to heal Kaori, but didn't they need him to finish off Arlong?

"Go to Arlong Park, Nami. Our captain will show you what he's capable of," Rosan said softly. "I'm not the only one you can rely on. Have some faith in all of them."

She was going to protest, but Rosan shot her a firm (by his standards) look and she nodded reluctantly, running off to Arlong Park to go see what he was talking about.

"You're… offering to get me medical attention?" Kaori whispered in disbelief, glancing at the human before her with a startled gaze.

"Yeah, grab onto my hand and close your eyes," the redhead replied to the fishman.

She wasn't used to being treated normal by humans. They didn't really wanna look at her, much less touch her.

This guy was… pretty respectable.

She clasped his hand without hesitation, wincing at the pain it brought her, and the two vanished from their spots.

---

"Demon, Maro. Perfect timing," Rosan greeted the two surprised people with a short wave. "Heal this person for me? She has some severe burns. I'll be back later today."

Not even waiting for a response, the redhead vanished again.

"Huh?" Maro blinked dumbly, glancing between the fishman and the spot her Master had been at repeatedly.

"Come with me, let's get these burns checked out," Demon said, utterly unfazed by the antics of Master and gently pushing her along.

"R-Right," Kaori nodded, allowing herself to get escorted by the purple haired man who looked like the brother of her opponent.

The two promptly left and Maro's jaw began dropping more and more in confusion.

"What the fuck just happened?" The queen mumbled in confusion. She had just been having a conversation with Demon about upgrading the hospital when… a fishman was deposited in front of her to be attended to and now the one who did it was gone.

He didn't even offer an explanation before just leaving...

Ugh, she seriously hated Master sometimes.

---

"Shark on Darts!"

"Woah!" Luffy said, grabbing onto a part of Arlong's building and leaping over the lunging attack.

"Gomu Gomu no Stamp!" He retaliated, stomping both his feet into the back of Arlong and sending the man careening into a wall.

The rubber boy landed neatly on his feet.

"You…" Arlong snarled in fury. "Is this some type of game to you?! Don't you realize the difference between us?!"

"Nose," Luffy replied bluntly.

…

"Jaw?" He asked questioningly.

…

"Oh! Webbed Hands!"

"RAHHHH!" Arlong roared, throwing caution to the wind and trying to bite Luffy in half.

He chomped at the rubber boy repeatedly and his irritation only grow at each failure. Eventually, he tried to grab at Luffy but the rubber boy was too quick for him and leapt sideways.

"Gomu Gomu no Whip!"

A rubbery leg smashed into Arlong's cheek and sent him crashing, breaking another wall in the process and flooring him for what felt like the umpteenth time.

He burst out the rubbery with a roar of fury, only to be greeted by a fist that smashed and shattered his teeth in the process.

He went crashing back into the building and it began creaking uncomfortably at all the punishment it had been dealt with.

"Water Shot!"

Luffy wasn't fast enough to avoid the surprise attack and it connected solidly with his midsection.

He was sent flying back and landed with a thud on his stomach.

"LUFFY!" Nami screamed in horror, watching his unmoving body and the blood blooming on his red vest. She just knew Rosan should have come to help but she had let him sway her with his words.

Damn that devilish redhead and his way with words!

"SHAHAHAHAHA! NOW YOU GET IT RIGHT?! YOU INFERIOR HUMANS CAN'T DO ANYTHING!" Arlong cackled, growing back his shattered teeth with no effort.

"Yeah, that's right!" Luffy nodded, pushing himself back up with no effort and brushing off his outfit. "I can't scout! I don't know how to use a sword! I can't navigate! I can't cook and I can't tell lies!"

Everyone listened to his speech with a confused expression. Why was he needlessly putting himself down like this? Was he secretly really depressed?

"I know I can't live without help from a lot of people!" The rubber boy declared, glaring at Arlong.

The shark fishman simply roared in laughter. This human had no dignity!

"Shahahahaha! I feel bad for your crew! Having to save an idiot like you must be tiring!" He mocked. "Just what can you do?!"

"I can beat you," Luffy grinned confidently.

"You only have to worry about the things you can do and I'll handle the things you can't," A calm voice spoke up.

Rosan looked at the scenery before him with a tilted head. "Beating this man before I show up is absolutely something you can do. Are you messing around again even though I told you not to?"

His brother was seriously way too playful. His fights would honestly be so much easier if he took them even 5% more serious but unless one of his friends were in immediate danger, he wouldn't do that and would instead put himself in a very stupid situation.

The onlookers looked at the redhead in clear surprise. Not only had he shown up out of nowhere, making them jump in fright, there wasn't a single scratch or injury on his body after walking away with one of, if not, the strongest fishman on the island!

"FATHER!" Ram cheered, leaping on the redhead with expert accuracy and nuzzling him. "I did what you wanted! Are you happy? Pleased? Proud?! Never ask me to do that again or I'll be really fucking pissed with you!"

"Well done, Ram," Rosan said idly, rubbing her silver hair in a soothing manner and getting a happy sigh out of her. She morphed back into a ring and wrapped perfectly around his finger, gleaming unnaturally.

"AUNTIE DID YOU MISS MEEEE?!"

"No. It was so peaceful and quiet until you decided to barge in."

"I MISSED YOU TOO!"

"Please slow dow— oof. R-RAM! LET ME GO!"

"Nope! Nuh uh! And you can't hurt me neither!"

"I hate this already."

"You're the one she calls Father?!" Nojiko gasped. Why did that gorgeous woman call him that? Was that their kink? They looked the same age... Did she just TRANSFORM INTO A RING?!

What the FUCK?!

She began looking for any sign of injury and sighed in relief at seeing none. Did his previous outfit get destroyed in the fight…? He sure changed fast.

"THAT SCARY GIRL IS YOUR RING?! THAT SCARY GIRL IS A RING?!" Onlookers screamed in shock.

How the fuck did that make sense?! Was she a human that could transform into a ring... or a ring that could transform into a human?! Wait, WHY WAS THIS THE QUESTION THEY WERE WONDERING ABOUT? THAT GORGEOUS WOMAN JUST TRANSFORMED INTO A RING AFTER CALLING THE REDHEAD FATHER!

Nami didn't even know Rosan could bring Ram into the physical world! Could he do that with Mod-chan? She desperately wanted to talk to the woman more to just discuss anything really. The Devil Fruit's words were incredibly insightful and it showed where Rosan inherited his intelligence from.

Rosan nodded at Nojiko's question, before leaning back slightly to avoid a kick from Sanji. He glanced at the injured blonde and tilted his head curiously.

"What was that for?"

"Justice."

"...Enact your justice after this battle," Rosan said dismissively, not even bothering to question the chef. "Luffy, do I have to continue your training? I knew I should have kept it up even after we set sail but I had faith that I managed to get my point across."

The captain's eyes widened in rare fear at that statement because if that happened… Rosan would steal all his meat!

"Trying to give your useless captain a pep talk?" Arlong mocked. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten what you've done, redhead human. After I'm done with him, you're nex —"

"Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!"

Arlong's eyes rolled to the back of his head momentarily, at the heavy double strike to his gut and he went soaring into the building. The shark man tried to pull himself back up but he spat out a glob of blood as another fist shattered his newly grown teeth again.

"Gomu Gomu no Bullet!"

"Hey… Luffy is a lot more aggressive now," Sanji pointed out, reminded of the overwhelming onslaught he had done against Krieg.

"I've never seen Luffy scared of anything," Zoro grunted, glancing back at Rosan and wondering just what hellish training he put the rubber boy through.

"I've been with Luffy for 10 years, I know how to properly motivate him," the redhead muttered. "Well done on winning your battles, even you Usopp."

"SPEAKING OF WHICH! WHY DID YOU TELL LUFFY TO PUSH ME INTO ONE OF THEM AND WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HAMMER?" The sniper screamed, mostly angry, somewhat curious.

"I made your hammer an actual effective weapon by giving it an explosive feature and adding a blunt force trauma effect. The moment you activate it for the first time though, it will rapidly increase in weight so your motivated to get strong enough in order to carry it normally. Also, I made Luffy push you into one of them so you didn't think about running off," Rosan explained quietly.

The explosive feature and blunt force feature was actually from one of his techniques when Ram was in glove form. It was called Retribution and he performed it by placing his glove directly on your body and forming an explosive effect, while building up its own kinetic energy. It was very fun to use and he very much enjoyed annoying Ace and Maro with it.

Everyone blinked at that. How the fuck did he do all that? Was it his unknown Devil Fruit?

Usopp's eyes glittered at the explanation. Rosan's ability to craft seemed incredibly useful! They could brainstorm some things together in the future!

Then, he registered the second part of his statement.

"JOKES ON YOU! I RAN AWAY ANYWAYS!"

"You surpassed my expectations," Rosan praised.

"That… sounds like an insult."

They sweatdropped at their interaction.

"What about you? You don't look injured," Zoro commented with a raised brow.

"I'm not injured because the fight wasn't hard. That's all," he replied softly. Kaori was good but not enough to ever worry him.

Everyone went into shocked silence at hearing his declaration. Not hard? Just who was this guy? Kaori rarely displayed feats of strength but she didn't need to because it wasn't necessary. The female fishman was a monster in combat and the fact that he completely brushed off her battle...

"YOU DAMN HUMANS!" Arlong roared, bursting out of the rubble with a gigantic sword. It was a giant black pole with six shark tooth-shaped black blades on one side.

The shark fishman's eyes were narrowed into slits and he was breathing heavily. His anger at Luffy had reached its boiling point and his skin was bulging with veins.

"I'LL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!"

"Oh no, it's his Kiribachi," Nami muttered, fearful for Luffy's life. That was Arlong's personal weapon and she had never seen anyone survive its onslaught.

"Observe," Rosan muttered to her, making her jump slightly. "The only thing stopping this fight from being over, is Luffy's playful nature. Even with that weapon, he will win."

"How can you be so confident?" Nami asked in wonder. Rosan never doubted Luffy and it was awe inspiring.

"I expect nothing less from someone who managed to become my captain," he replied easily.

Luffy jumped back from a downward swing that completely shattered the floor he had been standing on.

Arlong swung with reckless abandon, chasing Luffy all around the Park and destroying everything in his path with no regard.

"Oh, is that what he's doing?"

"He's trying to get Arlong to destroy his own dream. How ruthless."

Rosan smiled at that.

The fishman eventually chased Luffy into the building and the rubber boy deftly dodged everything launched his way. This only served to make the bruised fishman angrier and his swings became even more reckless.

"That room…" Nami whispered, recognizing it immediately with a nervous expression.

"Modification: Stream," Rosan thought to himself, placing his palm up and showing everyone there what was currently happening.

"So useful!" everyone thought.

Luffy ducked under a vicious swing that tore one of the walls of the building straight off and sent an array of paper scattering.

"Shit," Arlong cursed at his mistake, snapping out of his rage when he realized whose room he was in the process of destroying.

"Hm? What is this place?" Luffy asked in confusion, noting all the papers and the marked pen.

Despite his rage, Arlong couldn't keep the proud, smug smile off his face.

"This is where I made Nami draw sea charts for the past 8 years," he revealed, grinning savagely at the memories. "We fishman can gather oceanic data excellently, but without a skilled cartographer, it's worthless."

"Nami's a genius. She's doing what she loves and I get a valuable tool."

Luffy wasn't listening to him. He picked up a pen with shadowed eyes.

"There's blood on this pen."

Arlong ignored him, too caught up in his maniacal tirade.

"Once Nami draws charts of all the world's oceans, nothing will be able to stop the Fishman! THE WHOLE WORLD WILL BE MY KINGDOM AND WE'RE STARTING WITH THE EAST BLUE!"

Arlong measured Kiribachi at the rubber boy. "You think you can use Nami better than us?"

"Tool? Use?" Luffy whispered lowly, placing the bloodied pen on the floor gently.

The rubber boy suddenly grabbed Arlong's blade and though the fishman tried, he could not budge it an inch.

Much to his disbelief, the rubber boy's grip shattered his weapon in half.

"Just what do you take Nami for?" Luffy snarled, glaring at Arlong with barely repressed fury.

Despite his surprise, Arlong never lost his confidence.

That was a mistake.

"She's an inferior species, but a smart one. If you humans were sewer rats, Nami would be a cheeky-as-hell cat," the shark said smugly.

Arlong was gonna keep buying her clothes and everything she wanted. She would never have a single complaint and she would be doing what she loved.

Of course he'd look out for her, they were crewmates after all —

A hand grabbed the side of his head, before slamming Arlong into the desk and sending it flying through a wall.

He was lifted up and brutally thrown into a stack of paper, not stopping until yet another wall caved under his weight.

Before he could go flying, a rubbery hand grabbed him and dragged him back into the room, tossing him into a cabinet of books this time.

Arlong tried to struggle in his grasp, but Luffy's grip was unforgiving.

"W-What the fuck are you doing?!" Arlong gasped out. "M-My charts? You're destroying eight years of hard work? Do you have any idea how much effort Nami has put into those?!"

The fishman was forcefully brought face to face with Luffy's cold glare by his nose and the fishman tried to break out of it with futile effort. "I don't care how great you are. I don't care about any sea charts. None of that means anything to me but I finally know how to save her."

Arlong screeched in agony as his unbreakable nose was bent again and Luffy tossed him aside.

"As long as this room exists. Nami is stuck here so I'm going to destroy it all," he finished coldly.

"L-Luffy," Nami sobbed, tears forming in her eyes. "Thank you!"

Everyone watched her cry with a fond smile.

Rosan said nothing as he watched the battle reach its climax.

"Gomu Gomu no…"

Luffy shot his leg high up into the air and it stretched until it broke through the ceiling.

Arlong's eyes bugged as he realized what that filthy human was trying to do.

No. NO. NOT ALL HIS YEARS OF HARD WORK! WHO DID THIS HUMAN THINK HE WAS? WHAT DID HE THINK HE WAS DOING?!

"A HUMAN CAN'T DESTROY FISHMAN ISLAND! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! YOU'LL DIE HERE AND NOW!" Arlong roared hysterically, fixing his nose and charging the rubber boy.

"SHARK TOOTH DRILL!"

The fishman began spinning rapidly at full speed, with his mouth wide open. He reached the vulnerable captain and sunk every single tooth into the boy's sides, drawing a river of blood from the rubber boy.

It was not enough.

"...BATTLE AXE!" Luffy roared, ignoring the pain and bringing his foot down.

Arlong's eyes rolled to the back of his head as the foot crashed into his body and he was knocked unconscious.

But that wasn't all.

So great was the impact, that Luffy's foot drove the fishman through every single floor of the building until his body was firmly embedded into the pavement.

Luffy gingerly touched the area where Arlong had sunk his fangs into and grunted at the sting.

That was gonna need to be patched up.

The shaking of the building caught his attention and he completely ignored a piece of debris bouncing off his head.

"OH NO! ARLONG PARKS ABOUT TO FALL ON US!"

"EVERYONE RUN!"

"NAMI? ROSAN? C'MON LET'S GO!" Johnny tried to urge them both.

"No," Rosan said blandly, uncaring of the destruction going on. He had since shut off his connection with the bird and stood stationary, watching the building collapse with a neutral expression.

Nami nodded in panic. "L-Luffy's still in there! We can't just leave him!"

But there was nothing she could do currently. She could only watch in horror, as the entire building crashed with a thunderous THUD, shaking the very Earth around them.

"LUFFY!" Nami screamed in panic.

Rosan remained silent, a picture perfect depiction of unbothered. Somehow the redhead managed to avoid getting hit by every single piece of flying debris and that left them stumped.

(He just summoned a wall to block it from hitting him. Nothing so outrageous)

Everyone could only watch in anticipation as the smoke began to settle. They were unsure of what happened at the end of the battle and the rising tension was killing them.

"NAMIIIIII!" A voice screamed, bringing tears of relief to her eyes.

Standing on top of the ruins of Arlong Park, one Monkey D. Luffy looked Nami directly in her eyes and she let out a strangled sob at his victory.

"YOU'RE MY FRIEND!" He roared to the heavens.

Nami tried desperately wiping her eyes and when that failed, she gave up and smiled brightly.

"Yeah!" She beamed, tears falling freely.

That seemed to disperse all the tension, as realization finally set in.

"ARLONG PARK HAS FALLEN!"

"WE WON!"

"HE DID IT!"

Relief flooded through every single person's body and they began cheering in earnest. Tears of joy overwhelmed nearly all the citizens who had been subject to Arlong's rule for so long.

Their neverending nightmare was over. They were free.

Rosan silently moved away from the crowd converging around his brother and found a nice and secluded spot to relax in.

"Well?"

"He did good," Rosan whispered softly, gazing at the crowd throwing his brother up in the air.

"He could have finished it faster," Mod pointed out but she was smiling a proud smile.

"That's true but, I think this resulted in a better outcome."

"I agree."

Everyone's celebration was cut short, as the same Marine who had stolen Nami's money, Nezumi, showed up to confiscate all the treasure that Arlong had amassed.

He loudly proclaimed that he would be taking all the credit as well and it was a wonder how he didn't sense all the distaste directed towards him.

He sure was confident in his ability. Typical of a Marine.

All that confidence flew out of the window, as Zoro grabbed ahold of him.

"Don't ruin people's fun when they're finally happy," the swordsman said coldly.

What followed next, was a pummeling by the other male straw hats onto the corrupt Marines that was not even remotely close, despite the battles they were just in.

After that, Nami delivered a brutal strike with her staff to his cheek that sent him flying.

She then threatened him into promising to get help with reparations of Gosa and sent him on his way (not without him listing numerous threats onto the pirate crew).

Rosan's dual eyes never left the retreating Marine.

Then the celebration began in earnest. The villagers went to go tell everyone else the good news and they ran off with cheers.

"Rosan! What are you doing all the way over there!" His crew called, grabbing his attention.

"Letting you guys hog all the spotlight," he muttered, standing up to meet them. "Good job, Luffy. You can have your food."

"YAY!" Luffy cheered happily.

"Oh, Rosan!" Nami's eyes lit up. "Do you think you can help us with reparations?"

"Sure. I'll be done quickly," he replied easily. Modification would make it easy if that was what he focused on.

She smiled gratefully at him. Then another thought made her eyes widen in horror.

"Since we won… does that mean you want your money back?" Nami asked, thinking of the 100 million he gave her.

"Keep it or give it to your villagers. I don't care either way."

"You're the best big bro!" Nami sobbed, throwing herself on the redhead and wetting his outfit with her crocodile tears.

"You need help," Rosan muttered, tilting his head in confusion at the steely glare Sanji was shooting his way.

Since when were they on bad terms?

---

Rosan stared at the unconscious bodies of the Fishman Pirates, ignoring the dead bodies of the Marines around him with an apathetic gaze.

He inspected each one and nodded in satisfaction.

His crew did good. He was particularly impressed with the damage done to the one with the big mouth because it showed that Usopp actually put up a good fight.

Perhaps he was worth a little of his attention.

"Where is the octopus?" Mod asked in confusion.

"Bah, he probably escaped. Green shits injuries were holding him back plenty so he probably couldn't use his full power to take him out."

It didn't matter. That octopus was an idiot who was easily manipulated. If he used him as a baseline, some clones would be very... peculiar.

These would do fine. Arlong in particular, was much stronger then the others here so he'd serve as a good baseline for Hiroshi.

A Grand Line level crew of Fishman patrolling both Fregate and Celadon's waters... They'd be impenetrable and that's exactly what he wanted.

They were the islands of his dear allies after all. He would provide them all the protection they needed in case he wasn't able to protect them.

Decision made, he deepened their sleep further and sent them off to his Pocket Dimension so that they could be properly transported.

"Now," he thought, eyes transforming into slits as he flew up to stare down at the ship filled with corpses. "It's time to erase evidence."

They never saw him coming. Rosan was on business so he forewent torturing them and instead opted for assasination.

One hit. One kill. Not even a call went through. They would be the victims of a freak storm.

He contemplated framing something but he didn't want the Marines to connect what he was about to do next so let them think this one just vanished.

With that, he charged his dragon's signature flames and fired.

---

Something was wrong, Nezumi could feel it in his bones because his bones were turning downright frosty.

"Captain Nezumi? You were talking to us about a pirate named Luffy?" The Marine on the other line called.

Nezumi shook his head rapidly and focused back on the topic at hand. Yes, that was right. That damn straw hat had ruined everything and he was going to get a bounty placed on his head, courtesy of him for being so annoying.

He was currently in the process of sending over his picture, when he felt an unspeakable chill crawl down his spine.

Something fell behind him and he quickly turned around to see what it was—

Nothing. He was just being paranoid right now. The only other person in the room, was the Marine that was listening to him report Luffy. He was currently standing guard at the door and regarded Nezumi with a confused expression at being stared at.

Yeah, that's right. His head was still hurting from the beating the pirates gave him so it was likely that he was hallucinating stuff.

That's right.

"Captain Nezu — gacha."

...

The call ended.

Nezumi wasn't the one who ended the call.

Who just ended the call?

The man's heart began slamming against his chest as he slowly turned back around to regard the sleeping snail.

W-What was going on—

"AHHHH!" He let out a shrill scream.

Staring at him, clad in all black, was a redhead stranger with a lifeless expression. He idly pet the sleeping snail and hummed a gentle tune.

"Greetings, Captain Nezumi," the man said politely, standing up and making a show of stretching. "While I was busy, it seems like you gave my dear little brother a bounty..."

"He'll be happy about that," Rosan hummed.

"Y-You!" Nezumi called in surprise, recognizing him immediately. "You're apart of that Luffy's crew! W-What are you all doing here? Come to raid a navy base?!"

"You don't have to worry. It's just me here," Rosan assured, disappearing momentarily and grabbing the one other shocked Marine in the room with the two conversing.

The grunt was taking aim at the redhead, shocked to see him appear so suddenly but his plans of shooting him were put on halt as the pirate appeared right in front of him.

He held the grunt up by the neck and stared at him.

"You shouldn't point such dangerous weapons at people. It might put your life in danger," he advised calmly.

The poor Marine began struggling in his grasp, eyes going wide in terror as the redhead began to steadily squeeze.

"H-Help! Please help me!" He rasped, tears flooding his eyes as his pants grew wet.

Rosan nodded kindly. "Don't worry. I'll help you find a better profession in your next life. Consider not working for such corrupt people again."

With that, the redead effortlessly snapped the man's neck with a brutal crack and tossed him to the side like he were a piece of trash.

"A-A-Ah no. No. No. No..." Nezumi watched in horror as his subordinates lifeless body flew through the air and landed like he were just a simple ragdoll.

He felt that cold chill in his body, transform into a blizzard as he gazed at the nightmare in human flesh.

W-What was even going on? Why… why was this redhead here? W-Was this really happening?!

Why was he staring right at him?!

"Can I tell you something?" Rosan asked softly, unmoved by his casual act of murder. He stared at the discarded body with apathy.

"Since I was four years old, I've always hated the Marines," Rosan admitted, not waiting for Nezumi's response. "I doubt someone like you would ever understand but they took something very important from me."

"But do you want to know what I hate more than a normal Marine?" The redhead whispered.

He pinned Nezumi to the table with his gaze alone and said, "I really hate the corrupt Marines."

Nezumi began shaking in true terror as the stench of blood finally reached him.

"You asked what I'm doing here? Well, while you were giving my captain a bounty, I was out there slaughtering all of your troops. Every single one of them are dead."

He inclined his head to the still body right there. "That was the last one of your guys. It's just you and me and whoever was on the other line of that call. I suspect their getting ready to call you back soon."

"Wait!" Nezumi screeched, stepping back in terror as the redhead slowly approached him. "What do you want? Money? I have plenty I can give you!"

Rosan's response, was to simply grab him by the neck and body slam him onto the table.

"Trying to collaborate with yet another pirate? You should know by now that your corruptness is the reason you're about to die," he whispered and Nezumi tried to struggle in his impossibly strong grasp but he was helpless to stop what happened next.

Rosan skewered him through the table with a silver sword, cutting off any thought processes and making the man squeal.

"UGHHHHHHHHHHH SOMEONE HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!" Nezumi howled, grasping weakly at the sword gluing him to the table.

It hurt. It hurt so bad! He didn't want to die. HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE!

"You serve no purpose beyond making other's lives more difficult. You have no right to be alive," the redhead declared, staring into his soul as the life drained out of them.

"You can understand right? Wouldn't the world be a better place without you? Don't you get that your greed is an inconvenience to people?" Rosan asked softly, genuinely.

The redhead buried the blade deeper and deeper, making sure to miss anywhere that would instantly kill him.

"I'm just here to help you figure that out. It's not like I personally hate you. I just want you to realize that you're doing us all a favor. You understand, right?"

Nezumi flailed about weakly at the words of the demon before him. There were tears streaming down his face as Rosan got closer and closer until he was face to face with hell itself.

The redhead stared at him and watched as the life slowly but surely left his eyes. He was content to let the man suffer for a bit but a death like this just wouldn't do.

After a moment, he withdrew his sword from the man's chest, ignoring the fountain of blood that didn't touch him and sprouted his draconic wings.

With one flap, he burst through the ceiling and rubble began to fall everywhere.

The Den Den Mushi chose that moment to begin ringing and unbeknownst to Rosan (who would have cursed at his slight mistake), Nezumi's desperate flailing, managed to miraculously cause it to pick up.

"Captain Nezumi!" The Marine on the other side said in annoyance. "Hanging up before the conversation is over, is ru —"

Nezumi coughing up a river a blood, cut him off. The sound was wet and raspy and it filled the Marine with a cold feeling.

"Captain Nezumi? What's going on? Are you alright?" He asked in concern

"Red… Demon… Killed—" Nezumi tried to say through a river of blood, desperately trying to convey a message through the den den and failing miserably.

He needed to inform them… of another member of the… Straw Hats… the redhead… demon.

"CAPTAIN NEZUMI? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" The Marine on the other line repeated. "Red Demon…? We're dispatching another branch to your base right now. Hang in there!"

"Ragnarok."

Nezumi wasn't listening anymore. No, his eyes were latched onto the massive shadow looming above him.

The massive shadow looking at him.

He should have given more warnings about the Straw Hats. Straw Hat didn't deserve such a low bounty in hindsight. If he could properly control something like this... Straw Hat needed something even higher.

T-This wasn't something that an average Marine could deal with. Not even the fishman would have been able to protect him from this… this thing.

Straw Hat Luffy wasn't the only problem in that crew. Perhaps Straw Hat wasn't even the biggest problem.

How could he be the biggest problem when there was a Devil lurking in their midst?

"Destroy all evidence before they get suspicious," Rosan thought to himself, glancing down at the Marine Base.

"RAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Was the last thing Nezumi and the Marine on the other line heard.

---

"Rosan! I told you not to spend too much time repairing Gosa," Nami admonished the redhead, gazing at all the fixed buildings with awe on her features.

He even flipped them back upright! Her scout was seriously incredible!

"Apologies, I wanted to make sure I was thoroughly finished," the redhead replied, double checking to make sure he didn't have any blood on him.

It was unlikely but he could never be too sure.

"Don't worry, I told everyone not to visit while you were working on it. Wouldn't want anyone else to figure out your Devil Fruit," Nami informed him and he nodded thankfully at their useful navigator while absentmindedly pulling her into a hug.

"Well done," he praised her, patting her on the head and getting it slapped away in return.

"Don't ruin my hair," she grumbled in annoyance.

She didn't break the hug though.

The hug felt nice.

"Oh, I thought that was the look you were going for and was just trying to help."

He dodged the wild swing aimed at him and deftly tossed the fuming navigator over his shoulder.

"Why is everyone trying to hard to hit me lately… Keep it up and I'll start training you," Rosan told her.

"NO THANKS! NOW PUT ME DOWN!" She answered swiftly, repeatedly beating his back to no success and struggling in his grip... to no success. He wasn't even flinching slightly from her blows! What was this guy made of?!

Goddamnit she hated Rosan.

---

Rosan sat a ways away from all the celebrating with a cup of sake that had been forcefully shoved in his hands by one of the increasingly grabby women.

The celebration was in full swing right now and he had excused himself from the more… touchy ones. They had been forcing him to dance with them near nonstop and not seeing any fault in it, he said yes.

That was a mistake. He wasn't sure how many people he danced with but they were surely trying to test his near limitless stamina. Men and women alike seemed to want a piece of him and it was rather startling.

Perhaps he should have never learned how to dance but his pride (and the memories of Robin laughing repeatedly at his horrible dancing while she did a fantastic job herself) demanded he master such a skill in case he needed it for infiltration.

Well, that's what he told himself at least. He hardly did a infiltration mission that required him to be undercover. He definitely mastered dancing for his wounded childish pride.

Alas, he finally managed to slink away so that he could enjoy a moment of peace.

He had no idea defeating one of the officers would net him so much popularity but his social skills were never the greatest.

"That's a lie! Don't you remember that one woman whose house you broke into when Robin was sick? You two became friends after speaking for two minutes!"

"Ah, you mean Hana. I wonder how she's doing?" Rosan hummed in curiosity.

That was a fun day. He hoped Goro had no side effects from the very gentle jam he did to him.

A figure sat next to him and he inclined his head to regard the person. "Sanji."

"Rosan," the chef replied back calmly, handing the redhead a plate of rice and shrimp.

Rosan accepted it with a thank you and said, "Is this my best meal?"

Surprisingly, the chef shook his head. "I tried cooking it up but I felt like I could do better if I keep improving so no. Until I feel proud of that dish I promised you, you can enjoy my frequent failures once a day."

The redhead nodded and took a bite of the rice and shrimp combination, humming at the taste.

Sanji didn't want to make it too obvious but he eyed the redhead's reaction in anticipation.

"You know, this is actually my first time eating your food, considering you avoided me nonstop at the Baratie."

The blonde blushed in embarrassment. "There was a lot going on okay! How does the food taste, shitty redhead?!"

The redhead didn't answer him, taking another bite and humming again. His voice was surprisingly pleasant but Sanji couldn't really enjoy that because of how nervous he suddenly felt.

"Why do you call this dish a failure?" Rosan asked suddenly.

"...Why? Because it's not the best dish I promised you," the chef replied bluntly.

It was his best work currently, that was for sure. But his best work currently wasn't the limit of what he could do. He could get better. He would continuously strive to make that dish and Rosan would be his test subject every day if he had to be.

"...If that's the case, I look forward to eating something you consider a success. This is the best meal I've ever had," Rosan said, smiling softly and polishing the rest of the meal off. "You've grown Sanji. I'm proud to see you striving closer to your dreams. I knew you could do it."

Sanji felt his heart soar at that declaration and the chef was unable to hide the blinding grin that made its way onto his face.

He said it! He really did remember Sanji's promise all those years ago!

"See! I told you! It's good eh and I can get even better!" The blonde bragged.

"And you plan on giving me my own meal every day? I feel so spoiled," Rosan responded. Having such a good chef on the crew was a great thing for them all. He'd have to make sure the fridge was always fully stocked up on food.

"So how has life been treating you?" The redhead asked calmly, glancing down into his cup and downing it. The moment he finished it off, someone replaced it with another and he raised a brow at the lingering touch on him.

Were... Were they watching him this whole time?

"You need to get away soon, my danger senses are going off," Mod said nervously. By danger senses, she meant Rosan's chastity of course. The threat to that was far more important to her then someone attacking him.

"It'll be fine... I think."

"A little tough, but mostly good… What about you? From Bounty Hunter to Pirate…" Sanji replied, taking a seat next to the redhead.

Rosan hummed softly. "It's been eventful since we met. We beat your father, you know? Grim and I. Unfortunately, we weren't able to fully get rid of him before his soldiers appeared."

Sanji froze at that. "You two… beat him?"

"Yeah, he deserved it," the redhead responded simply. "Though… he didn't have his raid suit with him so that made it easier for us."

Sanji remained silent. To be honest, a part of him was relieved that Reaper didn't kill his father. He didn't want Judge dead, he just wanted to escape from him.

"You're a kind kid, to be relieved by your abuser's safety," Rosan remarked softly.

"Don't call me kid like that damn old man... Why were you guys raiding Germa anyways?"

"Grim wanted a challenge and we chose Germa. Then, we stole the blueprints to the Raid Suit."

Sanji quirked a brow in clear surprise. "You have the blueprints to the Raid Suit?!"

The redhead nodded and revealed his armband. "This is it. It's very useful."

Sanji nodded in agreement, confused as to why it wasn't in a canister but not doubting the redhead's claim. He knew all about the raid suit due to his upbringing and to know Rosan had one, made him all the more powerful.

"Does anyone know of your ties with Germa?"

"Just you and Grim… speaking of which, where are they?" Sanji asked in return.

"Running a kingdom in the North Blue. She's currently married to my sister."

"Grim's a she and she's married to your sister?!"

He wondered how they look?

"For 5 years now. You'll meet her one day, she's been getting more and more eager to meet you all plus she'll recognize you. Also, my sister looks like a female version of me."

A female version of Rosan... Sanji could begrudgingly admit that the redhead was not ugly so his sister must be gorgeous.

"She is. Maro is quite beautiful as well and the two are constantly receiving attention wherever they go."

"By the way... what did you do to be forcefully retired?"

"Killed someone very important for trying to enslave me," Rosan replied instantly, face neutral.

"He tried to what?!" Sanji barked in fury, making sure his voice didn't get too loud.

Enslave Reaper?! What the fuck?! You couldn't just try and trap the Angel of Death! No wonder the Shinigami went and killed him!

But he wondered just who the man killed... had to have been some type of noble or Marine or something.

Eh, he didn't care. Good riddance.

The two continued to talk to each other and Sanji couldn't keep the smile off his face. To think he'd be in a crew with the one who he admired for so long and they were having a normal conversation.

The world worked in funny ways.

Speaking of which…

"That beautiful woman… Ram," Sanji said gravely. "She's your… weapon? That you have on 24/7? Who never wants to leave your side? Who you use for combat?"

Rosan tilted his head at the sudden topic switch but nodded. "That's right. She is only loyal to me. We've been together for around 12 years."

He and that woman had been together for 12 years. That gorgeous, jaw dropping beauty only answered to him... Lucky son of a —

"There you are! I thought they were never gonna leave you alone!" Nojiko beamed. Her face was flushed red and it was clear that she had one drink too many.

"Big sis!" Sanji swooned, walking up to meet her.

His jaw dropped as she completely ignored him.

The woman dove onto a stationary Rosan and began tugging him insistently. "I'm gonna borrow your friend for the rest of the night! See ya~" She called, not letting either refuse.

"Nojiko… you're drunk. Do you know what you're doing right now? Do you know who I am?" Rosan asked, resisting her pull a bit.

"I'm pulling away a hot redhead named Rosan. Duh. Have you seen the way you've been getting eyed by everyone?" Nojiko slurred, raising a brow as she continued tugging his sleeve. "I've got dibs and I'm cashing in before someone else does or I blackout from the alcohol!"

Rosan simply sighed and allowed her to drag him away. Eventually, the two vanished from a stunned Sanji's gaze.

He fell to his knees and punched the floor in despair.

"It should have been me!" He sobbed, clutching his heart.

He hated Rosan. Why?! WHY WAS THAT DAMN ROBOT SO POPULAR?! WHAT WASN'T HE UNDERSTANDING?!

Unknown to him, a certain purple haired woman shared the same sentiment as the chef.

"Why are you so popular?" Mod moaned sadly, covering her face with both hands. She just knew he should have gotten away.

---

"Take care of my little sister, alright?" An exhausted Nojiko requested, staring at the nonchalant Rosan with a glare.

She had seen Genzo talking to the rubber captain before getting a bit... drunk, so she decided to talk to the first one of the straw hats she had met and trusted the most.

"Why are you telling this to me? I'm not the captain, just a humble scout," Rosan said softly, idly holding the woman upright so she didn't fall.

Nojiko raised a brow at his self proclaimed title.

He was anything but normal (or humble) but for some reason, he wasn't keen on showing anyone his true capabilities.

The Straw Hats were currently packing and getting ready to leave, when she pulled the redhead to the side to have a talk with him.

"I'm telling you because you're the one I trust the most," Nojiko admitted. He forced her to open her eyes to the truth of Arlong lying, protected her from their potential wrath and completely repaired a destroyed Gosa all by himself.

And he wondered why he was suddenly so popular with their citizens. What would have taken them months or years, he finished instantly.

Who was Rosan, really?

"I'm not someone worthy of trust but… I'll see what I can do," the redhead replied. He liked Nami. She was someone who knew about the darkness of the world, just like him and they formed... a bond from that.

He'd keep her safe.

"Anything else you want to say to me before I board the ship?"

Nojiko was about to say no before a mischievous grin made its way onto her face. "That's a really gorgeous tattoo you have. You shouldn't be so reluctant to show it off like you're doing right now."

Rosan glanced down slightly at his long sleeved purple shirt and hummed. "My sister would appreciate that comment... After killing you of course. I'll keep that in mind for the future. I'm quite fond of wearing long sleeved clothing."

"Booo, you're no fun. At least feel the slightest bit embarrassed," Nojiko pouted, rolling her eyes in the process. His sister would kill her? He sure had quite the crazy family.

The redhead snorted quietly and walked away with a short wave, making her stumble from the loss of support. "As if you could ever embarrass me when this is how you are after one night."

"I WAS CAUGHT OFF GUARD AND DRUNK!"

"Whatever helps you sleep better at night."

"FUCK OFF!"

"I hate you," Sanji said to the redhead, staring lifelessly at him.

"Is that all you're going to say now whenever we speak?" Rosan asked with a tilted head.

"I hate you."

"Right. Figured," he nodded. He was about to go retreat further into the ship, when he realized their navigator hadn't boarded yet.

Almost as if on cue, Nami showed up behind all the waving villagers and ordered for them to set sail, before running through all of the citizens without pausing.

"YOU'RE GONNA LEAVE WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE?!"

"LET US THANK YOU AT LEAST!"

Nami ignored it all, weaving and dodging everyone in her path before she leapt to the sailing ship.

Back facing her old village, the navigator pushed up her shirt and an array of wallets fell out.

"She didn't…" Genzo gaped.

"MY WALLET'S GONE!"

"MINE TOO?"

"SHE STOLE IT?"

"She did…" Nojiko sighed fondly.

"Take care, everyone!" Nami grinned smugly, waving at them with a stolen bill in her hand.

"YOU DAMN SNEAK THIEF!" They roared.

"That was impressive," Mod smiled fondly.

"She's good," Rosan nodded.

"GET BACK HERE!"

"GIVE US BACK OUR WALLETS!"

"COME BACK SOON!"

"WE'RE GRATEFUL TO YOU ALL!"

"BYE EVERYONE! I'LL BE BACK!" Nami grinned ear to ear, waving both arms.

---

Rosan expected Maro to be glaring at him when he showed up and he was aware that lately she had begun chucking stuff in her annoyance...

The redhead caught the table thrown at him and skidded back a few steps from the force behind it.

...But wasn't this a bit much?

"People normally throw their shoes. Not tables," Rosan commented, walking up to place it down in front of the annoyed queen. It was a good thing she had finished up her paperwork else they'd have to spend some time rearranging it.

"Not only did you not even explain the situation to me… you left me with the duty of telling Angel you visited without seeing her," Maro snarled, fury painted all over her features.

"You've been growing your hair out?" Rosan asked, grabbing a strand of white and blue and inspecting it. It was going a bit past her chin now, which was a surprise considering she kept it at chin length since she was 11.

His student liked her hair short so that it didn't get in the way. It was a surprise to see one of her bangs flowing a bit past her eyes now.

"Don't change the subject!" The Dokkaebi barked, not moving his hand out of the way. "...But yes, I wanted to grow it a bit past my shoulders. Angel thought I'd look cute with longer hair and I haven't gotten into too much of a serious fight lately so I figured I'd give it a shot."

"I think it'd look good on you so long as it doesn't impede," Rosan agreed, getting a happy scowl out of her. "Sorry for leaving so abruptly the other day, I was in the middle of a battle with the Arlong Pirates."

The 23 year old's eyes widened in interest and she pushed herself up so that they could walk around the castle together.

"So Kaori was apart of their crew, right? Those burns looked like they were done by your dragon," she pointed out and the redhead nodded.

"She was my opponent. A long time ago, when I was captured, I fought and killed her father," he informed her. He didn't miss how affectionately the queen referred to her so he guessed they were getting along.

What a pleasant surprise. Rosan was sure the fishman would have tried to attack them and Maro would have had to put her out of her misery.

Maro's mouth opened. "You mean that fishman you fought when you were imprisoned?! That was her dad?! Wow, considering she allowed you to bring her here and didn't cause a fuss… She's really mature!"

"I thought the same thing."

The two approached Demon's room and entered without knocking, seeing as the door was slightly ajar.

"Oh, hi Master," the younger clone greeted, standing up to hug his older brother.

"Greetings, Demon," Rosan hummed, patting the shorter clone on his purple head. "Thank you for healing my guest with no questions."

"Of course. As a doctor, its my job to care for my patients," he grinned.

A snarl of irritation alerted Rosan to the table flying at him and he deftly caught it before it could crash and break on his body.

"Why are you all throwing tables at me?" Rosan asked in curiosity.

"Cause you visited without telling me," Angel growled, marching up to her older brother with a look that promised pain.

"I was in quite the rush. We were in the middle of a pirate battle so that I could free my navigator," the Mod Mod no Mi user explained, holding her by the shoulders to placate her.

"He's right," a voice said. "What was happening over there needed to be dealt with quickly. Seeing as you're alive… I take it Arlong's been defeated?"

"Ah, Kaori," Rosan greeted. "Yes, Arlong's been defeated by my captain. We've freed Nami and the villagers from his clutches. How are your injuries?"

"I'm mostly just sore now… Demon is really good at what he does," Kaori praised. The purple haired clone didn't even bat an eye at the fact that she was a fishman that stood nearly a foot taller than him.

The doctor just diligently worked on her body while tutting his teeth and saying, "Master really needs to learn to hold back more. Just because he thinks he's holding back a sufficient amount doesn't mean he actually is..."

He even made small talk with her! It's like he didn't care that she was an intimidating fishman.

Actually, none of them cared that she was a fishman… she had never met such weird humans before. The queen immediately apologized for Rosan's behavior and the two hit it off from there once Kaori cracked a smile at her complaints about the redhead being a complete ass.

She… she liked them. Even the female redhead who was rude at first but warmed up to her after realizing she was being unintentionally hostile.

"Arlong Pirates?" Angel raised a brow. "Isn't that the crew of fishmen Maro was talking to me about one day? You guys got in a brawl with them? Tell us all about it!"

"Right," Rosan nodded but before he could do that, he glanced towards Kaori. "What will you do now, Kaori? You said you wanted to find your Master?"

"Yes, his names Jinbe… I wanted to find him but since everything's been dealt with… if your majesty doesn't mind, I'd like to stay here for a little longer," the fishman stated, looking a bit embarrassed to be asking.

"Awww!" Maro gushed in happiness and glomped the fishman, much to her surprise. "You can stay here as long as you like, Kaori! Everyone in the castle already likes you and you're really nice so we'd be happy to have you! We can even spar together! It'll be soooo fun! You know, I have a Devil Fruit! I can turn into a giant green goblin called a Dokkaebi and it lets me do so much things like grow plants faster! Oh! But that doesn't really help me with combat! I can use fire too! But I'm not as rude with it as Master is so you don't gotta worry!"

Kaori felt her head spinning at how rapidly Maro was speaking but she couldn't keep the fond smile off her face at the Queen's antics and slowly returned the hug. They didn't care at all that she was a fishman… maybe, maybe these were the type of humans that Jinbe were talking about? The ones that made him strive for peace between both races...

She had a Devil Fruit too? That would be fun to spar with but if she was anywhere near her opponent's strength... Kaori might find it difficult to get a win.

"Unexpected, but I'm glad you guys are getting along," Rosan hummed. He wasn't really expecting her to want to stay here but that worked out fine. Maro now had a clear strongest soldier at her disposal.

Wait. Did she say her Master's name was Jinbe? The Warlord and probably the strongest fishman alive currently?

Hm... He'd have to keep that in mind. Kaori was quite reasonable despite what he did to her. He had no doubt that she still hated him but she was doing a good job masking it.

"She's very pleasant and I have to admit, I've never actually worked on a fishman before. I expected it to be difficult but there really were not much differences between you and a human," Demon shrugged.

"I've been… trying to be more accepting of everyone instead of automatically hating them," Angel admitted with an embarrassed expression. "I realize that my personality can make it a bit difficult for you guys so I'm trying to change and Kaori's not someone who deserves my rudeness…"

It was hard but it was something that she had been working on since her and Maro announced that they were getting married. She had a much easier time with the citizens of their Celadon but when going out and meeting others, her old habits came back with a vengeance.

Especially if they were political meetings... She was pretty sure Maro only liked bringing her to those so she had an excuse to bail.

Maro happily glomped Angel and snuggled her. "I'm so proud of you! You do whatever makes you happy!"

"S-Shut up," she grumbled with a red face. Without hesitation, she returned the hug and sighed happily at the floral scent of her wife.

"Wow, my older sister is actually maturing? I never thought I'd see the day," Demon teased, grinning at her and immediately wiping the small smile off her face.

"S-SHUT UP!" She said louder, getting ready to charge her stupid little brother.

Rosan watched them interact with a tiny smile that Kaori didn't miss.

"You must really love them, don't you?" She asked the redhead and he nodded his head without hesitation.

"Yes, they're my family. I'm sure if you spend enough time with them, you'll see why. They aren't at all like me."

Kaori went deep into thought at that, glancing at the three leaders of Celadon with a curious eye.

Rosan cleared his throat and gathered their attention instantly. "You guys want to know what happened with Arlong right? I'll tell you all about it."

They nodded eagerly and Maro had Kanna bring them snacks while he told the tale.

Kaori… Kaori could get used to this.

---

"The 16th branch base has been completely destroyed?"

"Yes… the late Captain Nezumi had been calling about a pirate named Straw Hat Luffy before the call abruptly ended… when we called back, all we could hear were his wet gurgles and him mentioning a Red Demon. We suspect that he had been brutally attacked."

"...Was it this Luffy to do it?"

"We don't think so. Based on evidence, we suspect that… it was either someone with some type of mythical zoan… most likely one that can breathe fire."

His grip on the dial tightened. "A Mythical Zoan that can breathe fire? What are you implying? That Kaido just randomly showed up and destroyed a Marine Base?"

It was too random even for the drunken Yonko. Flying all the way over to the East Blue and destroying a random Marine Base?

"That's not what we're implying! It couldn't have been Kaido," he said quickly, shivering at the memory. At the sheer terror he had felt listening over the line. Captain Nezumi didn't say much but there was nothing that could hide the amount of fear he had in his final moments.

"Well, it's just… in his dying moments, Captain Nezumi said, "Red. Demon. Killed," and then I… I heard an absolutely terrifying roar before, what we suspect to be, a rush of flames cut the connection. Here, we have it recorded for you to hear."

"RAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGHHHHHHHHH!" The memory of the creature roared, before a different noise washed over everything and abruptly cut the connection.

It didn't even sound human.

"…" There was a tense silence that prompted the Marine to speak up again.

"A-After some deeper inspection, we found out that Captain Nezumi had been collaborating with the Arlong Pirates for years not to keep the pirates actions hidden. The Fishmen also went missing so perhaps it was a coded message? Red could mean blood, demon could be the Fishman and killed is obvious. The roar is more difficult to explain but I was told they had possession of a sea beast so maybe?"

He clenched a fist at that. Collaborating with pirates and hiding his threat? How completely shameful.

"...Garp should currently be in the East Blue, I'll inform him of the situation and see if he has any clues. Dismissed."

"Sir… what will we do about Nezumi's last words?"

"We don't have enough conclusive information to inquire what he was talking about. Be on the lookout for the missing fishman and distribute Straw Hat Luffy's bounty as planned."

"Right!"

Sengoku sighed in annoyance as his subordinate left. Corrupt Marines were running amok in the Blue Seas it seemed. Even now, Garp was currently in the East Blue to capture and deliver the former Captain, Morgan to his court martial.

Maybe the Vice Admiral would have a clue on just what attacked the deceased Nezumi…

Replaying that clip in his head, the Fleet Admiral frowned in confusion.

That roar didn't even sound like it belonged on a human. Zoans could very much speak while transformed so perhaps this was a creature that showed up from the Grand Line?

If it was a sea beast that belonged to the Arlong Pirates... It made sense but the rush of flames were far more confusing.

There was one Mythical Zoan user he knew about in the Blue Seas but she would never roar like that. It was beneath her and she had no reason to attack a Marine Base all the way in the East Blue...

He was getting too old for this shit. He never thought he'd have to be concerned about things happening outside the Grand Line.

---

"Nope, I don't know anything about that," Garp said bluntly, idly digging in his nose and taking a bite out of his rice crackers. "If I see the fishman, I'll deal with it but it could have just been a bored zoan user from the Grand Line. I heard Mihawk was in the East Blue recently so maybe they know somethin we don't."

"Just be on the lookout," Sengoku grunted in annoyance, hanging up the call. Dealing with Garp when he wasn't in person was too much of a headache and he already had one.

Garp took another rice cracker and munched on it, as the call ended.

The moment that happened, his face turned uncharacteristically serious.

A red demon, speculated to have a Mythical Zoan, with fire, attacking a Marine who had jurisdiction over Cocoyashi Village… the place where the pirate Straw Hat Luffy had just finished defeating Arlong.

It was too much to call it a coincidence. Only one person could have done this and it wasn't the Arlong Pirates and their Sea Beast.

Portgas D. Rosan.

The redhead made it abundantly clear that he could not stand the Marines, but since starting his journey, he didn't go out of his way to attack the normal ones.

The corrupt ones however? Garp doubted they were as lucky.

On one hand, Rosan had attacked and destroyed a Marine Base… On the other, that was the only Marine Base to have been destroyed in the East Blue…

Even after 10 years, Garp still didn't have the slightest clue what Rosan's Devil Fruit was. He himself thought it was a mythical too but the redhead very politely told him, "Fuck off. I'd rather get tortured for 10,000 years then divulge information about myself with a Marine. Don't ask me anything anymore."

They then got in a fight right after because Luffy and Ace began laughing at him and he decided to deliver justice on all three.

Damn brats.

Luffy and Rosan had been sailing together for a while now and it didn't seem like it was in the redhead's interest to needlessly attack the World Government.

That's why Garp chose not to inform Sengoku of what he knew. Rosan had been doing the Marines a favor by getting rid of such a corrupt person, who was willing to subject an entire village to 8 years of torment just for some money.

"I would rather die then put my trust in a group of people who would condemn a newborn for the sins of their parent. I was 4 and I had to watch my innocent mother die because of your organization. You think I don't know the cause of my mother's death? You think I don't know who caused it?"

Memories of a younger Rosan sprung up in his mind and the Vice Admiral grunted.

Good riddance. He was exactly what Rosan hated in a Marine and nothing would have been able to save him from his oldest brats wrath.

While he and the redhead's relationship did improve, it was not by much. He would still do him this one favor though, only because Rosan attacked one Marine Base and it was a corrupt one. If it continued to happen, they'd find out on their own it was Rosan and then there'd be nothing Garp could do at that point.

All his grandchildren choosing to become pirates...

Curse his Marine Duty clashing with his family.

He hoped this didn't become too prevalent in the future.

---

Bonus

"Miss All Sunday, what did I tell you about having one of your clones speak to me?" Mr. Zero asked with a raised brow, stamping down his annoyance due to knowing that it wouldn't achieve anything with her.

Frosty blue eyes stared uncaringly at their partner, unfazed by the question and offering them a placid smile. "I have more pressing matters to attend to. All you want, is for me to deliver a message for you anyways."

"More pressing matters?" He asked threateningly, eyes narrowing. "What matters are more pressing then taking my orders?"

The warning was clear in his tone. If she was planning something, he would find out and she'd regret every decision she ever made.

Still, she did not falter. The woman just raised a single brow at him.

Crocodile respected that. Ever since they first met, Miss All Sunday hadn't shown an ounce of fear towards him.

Well, not like she showed anything besides that fake smile. The woman seemed almost programmed at times.

Not like he cared. She did her job and she did it well.

"My business. Are you going to kill me if I don't tell you? Don't forget the rules we made. Do not pry into my life," she warned, fake smile still on her face.

"Be glad this is not something important, Nico Robin," Crocodile grunted, handing her a set of letters. "The next set of orders for the agents. Thanks to you, we have a nice lead on the location of the Princess."

She accepted them without hesitation, placing them in her cloak and walking off. "I'm just doing my job. Also, don't call me that name."

With that, Nico Robin left without so much as a wave.

Crocodile stared at her retreating back and took a puff out of his cigar.

He didn't know what that women was thinking most the time but as long as she continued to serve him, he didn't care.

"Princess Vivi of Alabasta... to think you managed to infiltrate my organization and find out my identity," the man muttered.

No matter, she'd be dead soon enough with no one ever figuring out he was Mr. Zero.

Then, he could fully commence his plans.

Crocodile's dark laughter rang throughout his base, for no one to hear.

---

Frosty blue eyes melted a bit, as they gazed tenderly at a picture of her best friend.

Nico Robin wasn't sure how long she had been staring at the picture of her and Rosan for, but she didn't really plan on moving anytime soon. She just continued to stare and reminisce.

If he were alive, he'd be 24 right about now. That little boy, so much shorter then her, would have been a grown man now. She wondered if his childish claims of being taller then her would be true?

Her heart ached at the thought that she'd never be able to find out how he would look with adulthood but despite that, she didn't shed a tear.

Robin wasn't sure when the last time she cried was. Perhaps it was the day she vowed to live on for the both of them? The day where she put a mask on and hid herself from the world.

What was the point in showing anyone anything? The world seemed so much darker without her sun.

Memories of all their moments began flowing and Robin abruptly stood up, lest she remain here for the rest of the day.

It would do her no good to just sulk here for hours on end.

Rosan would be furious if she did that.

So perhaps she'd do something he would like. Something productive. Coming to the Grand Line when she hit 18 meant she could always find something productive to do.

Rosan would really have loved this place. He'd have gotten so strong here...

"Princess Vivi knows your identity, Mr. Zero."

Perhaps she'd pay a visit to the naive princess currently stationed in Whiskey Peak. The same one who thought she had done such a good job infiltrating Baroque Works.

Unfortunately for her, Robin had her figured out immediately. Seeing as she was the only one who did, the Devil Child saw no reason to spoil her fun because it reminded her of when she herself used to do infiltration missions as a child.

Watching that princess naively navigate through such an impossible task...

Perhaps that's why she assisted the princess a bit in finding out Mr. Zero's identity. That naivety reminded her of her dear little friend. The same boy who deemed her his best friend almost immediately after meeting her.

Perhaps that's why she also leaked that the princess knew of Crocodile's identity. Being so naive did no one any favors. She needed a wake up call before her entire life got shattered.

Such gullible hopefulness, shouldn't try and shine in a world so dark.

She shouldn't be leaving her clone to do all the work for her. It was time to be productive.

The Devil Child stared at the picture of her and Rosan again and gently tucked it away.

"I… I don't want to be the reason you give up, so please keep fighting until we see each other again because I won't die," little Rosan, so adorable as he stared at her so resolutely, told her.

Robin sighed before her frozen mask appeared again and the woman idly stroked the single red strand of her hair that lay gently on her shoulder. It was her memento to him and the only reason her entire hair wasn't red, was because of how much Rosan adored the original color.

He liked everything about her. To him, Robin was perfect and vice versa...

She'd do anything to see Rosan again. Even once.

Even if it meant dying to reunite with him. Life really wasn't worth living right now anyways.

---

We're finished with Arlong Park! This was a fun one to write!

I actually didn't intend to add Usopp's battle with Chew, but then I heavily altered that conversation he had with Rosan earlier and I couldn't not show it at that point because it was no longer exactly like Canon! If it happens the same or nearly the same as Canon, I'll probably just shortly describe what happened instead of writing it out fully...

Rosan's normally so meticulous but unfortunately, he didn't realize that Nezumi miraculously managed to pick up the call again and now he's unknowingly on the Marine's radar. It won't have any effect now but it'll come to bite him eventually.

Next chapter will be covering, Loguetown, Laboon and Whiskey Peak so look forward to it! Our first taste of Baroque Works! Alabasta saga will have the largest canon divergences from the original so far so I hope you look forward to it!