I don't own Naruto or One Piece, there is no witty comment here.

"Talk"

'Think'

Authors Note: To my fans...again, I'm sorry about making you all wait. It's been a year of tragedies for me, for those who know why, well you know why. I'll do better from now on, for those who still follow, read, review and enjoy this story I thank you with every fiber of my being.


You ever dream of something so lubricious that you wake up thinking what the absolute hell was that? That was me in my half-dead state. At least I think it was, after all how could I not see Queen Otohime?

Uh, let me start from the beginning. I found myself in some white plane of existence and Hody Jones was there. He cursed, berated, and quite frankly was awful to me...seriously, as I write this I think back when I was a kid after meeting him and then me joining his crew a couple years ago. I was so full of anger and resentment that I never thought about it too much. But I snapped at him this time, now I don't know if it was a dream or not, but I kicked his ass and sent him flying with several of my techniques that are usually proven to be deadly. I mean they killed Kuroobi, Arlong and a great many other people too. Hell, they worked against Capone Beige...ugh, I'm getting ahead of myself and rambling. More on that later I promise.

Anyways Queen Otohime was there after I swore at Hody's flying figure. She punched me and hugged me, and it just felt so real. Heh, she called me a handsome young man. She asked me if there were any grandkids, geez I'm pretty sure my face was red. But she also told me that she was disappointed in me for a good lot of stuff I had done, and a lot of stuff she was proud of me for. We talked for a little bit, and she asked me about the people I picked up...my crew. I think this was the first time I fully admitted to calling them that, hell I think I fully admitted that I kinda liked them, or something like that.

She also made me make her a promise. She wanted me to use my best judgement, after all I was no longer a little kid who needed someone to hold my hand. I promised her that I would, I think I have been keeping that promise ever since. She gave me a kiss on the forehead, and I found myself back in the land of the living. I do remember seeing a flash of red and yellow before returning...I can't remember why that makes me fully with a sense of longing and sadness.

When I woke up I found myself in a water tank. That was honestly the last thing I expected, I saw Vivi slumped over a chair next to my tank fast asleep- apparently, she stayed by my side the entire time. Soon I greeted by this guy named Gaara who looked like he had not slept in years. He was very anti-social, monotone, and in total honesty kind of creepy. He had the power over sand like Crocodile but not to the point it was considered a Logia type. There is a story behind that, but I really don't think it's my decision to reveal it, especially when it's mostly a theory.

Anyways, he took me to his leader who was assigned a mission to keep an eye on Crocodile and kill him should he succeed in taking over Alabasta. His name was Hack, and he was a fishman like me. I was honestly surprised to see another person of my species in the desert of all places, that Dragon...yes, THE Dragon assigned him there. We did a few katas and stuff before he gave me a device that allowed water to flow into my gills and make it easier for me to function.

But then I got into a sparring match with a girl named Koala after Hack and I argued over the style I used while fighting. I fully admit I rely of Fishman Jujutsu a little too much, that was apparent in the match with this girl who couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds soaking wet. She was tough, real tough and I fully admit that. Hack trained her well in the style of Fishman Karate (I didn't even know a human could even learn it, that was more shocking than anything else.), the spar didn't last too long due to me being in my underwear, destroying lots of the area, and frankly Hack stopped the fight before it could escalate.

It also didn't help that Vivi and Nami saw me in my boxers. I'm not a shy person, that goes right out the window after living on Fishman Island, but I was embarrassed when they started blushing. Well, at least I wasn't naked, that has to count for something right?

After getting dressed and given some supplies we departed the Revolutionaries camp towards Rainbase. To make a long story short we made it there by evening, I cleared out a poker table to get money for our rooms and met up with everyone else who was split up from us after Crocodile pulled his dick move. Apparently, I inadvertently stopped Gin from pulling a casino heist.

Sometimes I have the oddest luck in the world.


"For the last time Gin, we are not bringing Usopp into our crew." Naruto said to his First Mate in irritation after the fifth time he asked.

"Come on, the kid has nowhere else to go. From what I saw he's not a bad shot, even though using a slingshot is pretty stupid." Gin argued with his Captain as they walked down the streets of Water 7.

"Well for one, I don't want any more people to join us right now. Our ship is in the beginning stages of getting repaired and he wasn't with us during our meetings on how to improve it. Secondly, He's an annoying, loud-mouthed liar that not only has gotten on Bashura's bad side, but mine as well. And lastly, he is bound and determined to stay with that dying ship and sail it back home." The blonde fishman countered. Honestly, he felt for the long-nosed liar on that last part. He had been sailing home ever since his fight with Arlong, but each encounter, each fight, he never felt further from home.

"Donovan looked at their ship before helping with the moving, you know." Gin said with a frown. "She's in bad shape, won't even make it to the next island."

"If he is dead set on going down with his ship trying to get home, then I'm not going to-"

Bang

Bang

Bang

The both of them stopped and turned to view the street they turned down. All the shops were in stages of being boarded up, which was a bit alarming. From what they could see at least two dozen buildings were in the process of having wood and nails hammered over the windows and doors.

"Hey what's going on here?" Gin stepped towards one of the residents. "Did the market crash or something and this entire street went out of business?"

"Oh you must be a visitor. It's nothing like that, stranger, it's just us getting ready for Aqua Laguna." The resident replied.

"Aqua Laguna?" Naruto asked.

"Oh yeah, it's an annual storm Water 7 gets every single year. It engulfs the lower part of the city with a huge wave and causes a lot of property damage. I'd suggest you guys seek higher ground tonight before the storm hits." Another resident chimed in, carrying a load of planks on his shoulder.

"Well, this is just our luck." Gin complained. "Seriously. How the hell does this keep happening to us? What should be a nice repair job with a small vacation mixed together has turned into a natural disaster."

"It's just one day." Naruto said. He too was annoyed by their bad luck, but as far as he knew their ship would be okay and be delayed by a day or two. They had the money to spare and frankly a small vacation on Water 7 would give them all a much-needed break.

"Ahhh!" They heard a pathetic scream and saw a very familiar, very skinny fellow wearing an orange Mack hat running down the street. He honestly looked like he was about to keel over and die. "It's horrible! It's the worst thing to ever happen to this island!"

"Dammit Dale, what's going on now?" Another citizen demanded. Apparently, this wasn't the first time this man came screaming down the streets.

Panting and moaning, Dale shakily pulled out a cigarette and lit it. After taking several puffs he seemed to calm down, but still was shaking like a scared chihuahua. "It's Iceberg! He's been shot! Someone tried to kill him last night!"

Immediately pandemonium erupted in the streets, citizens began barking in outrage, people demanded answers, and even a few brought out pitchforks and torches. Where they got those on such short notice was a mystery.

"One day, huh?" Gin said.

"Shut up Gin." Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I can't believe this…alright, let's split up. We need to get our crew together and hold up in the hotel. Everyone is on the edge of rioting, and I would rather not get in the middle of it."

"I know a few of them are still at the Hotel. Kotetsu is in the shopping district, and I think Bashura went with him. You head to the marketplace, I know Kujaku and Carmen are there."

"Got it, if you guys can't get back to the hotel tonight for whatever reason, get somewhere safe. Hold out for the night, and most importantly don't drown."

"Heh, that will be easy." Gin said with a smirk. He may have forgone all his weapons with the exception of his tonfas and gauntlets, but he was far from defenseless. He worked with less in the past. "Good luck."

"Same to you." Naruto said before he began running to the area Vivi and Carmen would be in.

Around the same time within the marketplace Carmen was finishing up gathering fresh ingredients with Vivi. The news of Aqua Laguna hit their ears from the locals, and they knew that time was running out fast, especially if it was rumored to be super bad this year.

"Hmm…ripe. This will do." Carmen said, holding a melon to her ear she tapped on it with her fingers and nodded in approval.

"I'm honestly amazed you can tell a fruit is ripe with just a tap." Vivi said. They had been at this for roughly an hour, and the keen eye Carmen had when it came to food was astounding.

"I've been trained as a chef since I was a little girl. If I couldn't figure out how good ingredients are by a glance or a tap, I would hang up my apron." The pink-haired woman said. "After all I'm a chef first, a fighter second."

"I'm still getting used to the fact you ate a devil fruit." Vivi replied. Rubbing the bottom of her cloth mask she peered at the fruit stand that was in the middle of closing up. "Were you scared about losing the ability to swim?"

"Honestly, I was. Swimming is a key to survival out here." Checking over some strawberries Carmen looked at them intently and put them down. "But there are many other factors I had to think about. After all, I was captured by that candle jerk with barely a struggle, then there was that incident with Gotti where we won by the skin of our teeth. Then the Davy Back Fight…"

"Ugh, please don't remind me. I swear Foxy had his eyes on me next." The Heiress to Alabasta shivered. She had nothing against Donovan, but she was not a fan of the Foxy Pirates. They bluntly cheated, Foxy himself was ugly, and frankly they couldn't compare to the Straw Hats or her crew.

"Well, if that happened, I'm sure the Captain would have wiped the crew out to get you back." Carmen cheekily said.

"Wh-what do you mean by that?" Stumbling over her words, Vivi was grateful for her face being covered up.

"It's just as I said." Carmen replied, paying what was owed to the stall owner and getting a bag for their latest purchase. "He would have come back with that giant tuna fish slung over his shoulders, asked where you were and when we told him the bad news, he would have sunk Foxy's ship and carried you back."

"He would do that for anyone!" Vivi exclaimed. "I mean Naruto can be insensitive at times, and grumpy but he does look after us. If it wasn't me and it was Kotetsu or even Marianne, he would have done the same thing."

"Perhaps…" Their chef gave Vivi a teasing grin before putting on a dreamy look. "Maybe me, I can imagine him coming with his shirt off, Foxy bloodied and beat up, and then whisking me in his strong arms to-"

"Stop it!" Steam was practically coming from Vivi's head. "You're not in love with the Captain…are you?"

The unsureness of her voice made Carmen snicker on the inside. The girl was just so adorable when riled up. "Absolutely not. I respect our Captain, but I don't see him in that sort of light. I would rather have someone who's around my age, perhaps a little taller than me, and can cook of course…"

"That honestly sounds like Sanji." Vivi giggled.

"Not him. Never him." The pink-haired woman growled. "He's too much of a pervert for me to even consider."

"There you are!" Naruto's voice stopped their conversation right in their tracks. They watched as the blonde tiger shark fishman skidded to a stop in front of them, breathing a little hard but not even remotely exhausted.

"Ah, Captain, I didn't expect you to find us here." Carmen greeted him.

"What's wrong? It looks like you just saw a ghost." Vivi asked.

"Don't even joke about that Kujaku." Naruto shivered from the thought of ghosts roaming around. "Listen, something bad has happened. It's about-"

"ICEBERG HAS BEEN SHOT! THE ASSASSIN IS STILL ON THE LOOSE!" One of the shipwrights, Tilestone if they recalled correctly, ran through the streets screaming his head off.

"That! That has happened. We need to get to the hotel now before pandemonium spreads throughout the island. They'll start pointing fingers soon and frankly I don't want to deal with a lynch mob." He said before turning to where their hotel was. "Grab on and don't let go."

Carmen was about to protest, but the people were getting riled up, many were shouting and demanding answers. Worst of all she did not bring her fan, she could have at last burgeoned people if they got too close.

"I'm not helpless. If we need to run, I can at least make our escape easier with my oil." She said before grabbing onto the back of his captain's coat.

"I have my Peacock Slashers hidden up my sleeves. I can deter anyone if needed." Vivi grabbed onto his shoulder.

"Good enough. Let's go." Without another word the blonde began walking through the throng of people crowding the streets. A lot of them were very pissed off over Iceberg getting shot, women were crying, some were screaming, and many builders were gnashing their teeth to the point sparks were coming out.

"Excuse us, coming through." Naruto bumped past several people. It didn't take much for them to stumble away with how solidly built he was.

"Watch where you're going!" One of them yelled.

"Yeah, we have as much right to this street as anyone!"

"Please, we're just trying to get through." Vivi had to play the peacemaker. "Sorry about our rudeness."

"Bill, what did you say again?" One of the workers demanded.

"I only heard it briefly." The shipwright who was tasked with repairing their ship said. The obese man, Bill, was eating a hotdog while surrounded by over a dozen people. "He was shot three times. They say pirates are responsible."

"Oh God damn it." Naruto quietly said.

"Hold on! I know those three. They are pirates who showed up yesterday!" One of the workers pointed at Naruto.

"Pirates!? Yeah, they were with Iceberg as well!"

"They must have done something!"

"Get them! They need to be questioned by the police!"

"Screw the police, they did it!"

"Hold it! Hold it!" Naruto yelled out. "We only learned what happened to Iceberg just like you guys. Please calm down and think this over, we're paying the man nearly everything to get our ship fixed. Nothing has been started yet either, we have no need to do anything to the guy."

"Think rationally please. We're not out to harm anyone." Vivi pleaded with the gathering mob.

Everyone seemed to slowly calm down. Some were beginning to think that they were acting too rash, it was only hearsay from Bill of all people. Carmen let out a deep sigh of relief, common sense won the day.

"Aw hell no them pirates is guilty!" A dark-skinned, obese man with one bulging eyeball, and balding gray hair tied back into a ponytail yelled. He stomped towards them in a red shirt, blue overalls and brown work shoes. Spittle erupted from his mouth, droplets landing on his small soul patch and crappy small mustache. "Them no good pirates shot Mister Iceberg because they are a bunch of murderous thieves who don't know no better!"

"Now Ruckus calm down." Bill said.

"I'm not calming down with them murderous cutthroats right in front of us! Screw the police I say we grab them right now and hang them on the nearest lamp post! I got the rope right here!" Ruckus pulled three nooses from his overalls and snapped the rope back and forth a few times.

"Yeah! Hang them!"

"Hang them!"

"Hang them!"

"Girls…prepare to run. Carmen, do what you need to do."

Naruto used his powerful leg muscles to run headfirst into the crowd, bull rushing them. Bodies immediately flew away from them and tumbled like bowling pins. As he pushed through the throng of people Carmen, unfortunately, threw her bag of groceries and watched as it smacked into Ruckus' face and knocked a few teeth out. She then swiped her arm back and forth, yellowish oil soaking her sleeve, but spilling a great amount of it onto the ground.

Members of the newly formed lynch mob either got hit by the oil or began sliding on the ground. If it weren't for such a serious situation, it would have been considered slapstick hilarious watching people slip and fly three feet into the air before landing harshly on the ground.

"Damn pirates! Get over here!" Ruckus threw one of his ropes with surprising efficiency for a man of his size. Before it could hook around Naruto's neck the rope was cut by one of Vivi's slashers. "Gah! Damn pirates, that was my favorite hanging rope! Wait until I get another one and some more bricks!"

"Do that after fixing your filthy mouth!" Vivi cried out before their blonde Captain jumped to one of the many roofs, he did warn them to hold on tight after all. Gunshots rang out after them, the bullets hitting the buildings and slicing through the air near them.

It didn't take long for Naruto to scoop both women up and place them on his shoulders, they covered his back while he took the front. Vivi felt her face head up a bit but kept her eyes out for anyone trying to pursue them from the streets, Carmen was felt annoyed for being treated as cargo, but didn't comment on it due to being chased.

"Answer me something. Why is it that every single time we run into the Straw Hats things go crazy?" Naruto asked the two of them after landing on the roof of another building.

"I think you're exaggerating Captain, we've only ran into them twice." Carmen said.

"I ran into them more than you, and here are some prime examples! In Logue Town we got chased by Marines and then weird stuff happened. Cactus Island we get attacked by bounty hunters and practically guilt tripped into going to Alabasta to stop Crocodile." Naruto felt Vivi smack his back over that, it didn't hurt but she got the message through. "Then Alabasta where my group got separated because of Crocodile creating a sandstorm! Now here we are dealing with their crew losing a member, Gin wanting him, Aqua Laguna hours away, and us being attacked because everyone thinks we shot Iceberg!"

"When you say it like that, I guess it is bad." Carmen replied, her voice brimming with disbelief. "But the same can be said for you, after all since we started sailing with you crazy things have happened as well."

"From what I heard you encountered a thought to be dead Kuro, fought in a competition against Whitebeard's commanders, ran into just as many Baroque Works members as Luffy's crew did, and you brought us into a fight with the Fire Tank Pirates." Vivi seconded, recalling a few things that had happened since the blonde started his journey. "You honestly should have seen this coming; you know?"

"I would argue this, but I really don't want to waste the energy when we have more important things to deal with." Naruto spotted their hotel and seeing that it was free of anyone wanting to hang them, he jumped from the roof and landed near the entrance.

Setting both women on their feet, he let out a sigh and looked towards where he last saw Gin. Dark clouds began gathering over the area and he could feel a shift in pressure from the weather beginning to change.

"We need to get inside and stay inside. I told Gin that if he couldn't get Kotetsu and Bashura back, they were to hold up somewhere."

"Do you think they will be okay?" Vivi asked.

"I trust Gin to do what needs to be done. Bashura and Kotetsu know to follow his orders, and with being devil fruit-users they know to steer clear of water. Donovan's strange new floating device he put in their clothing might help, but with this Aqua Laguna I'm unsure how it will hold up." Naruto rubbed the back of his head out of habit.

"I'm trusting Donovan's invention. He's very strange but so far has proven to be reliable." Rain soon began to pour from the sky even though it was still sunny out. Carmen soon covered her head and groaned. "We need to get inside now. I'm not ready to deal with this!"

It didn't take much convincing to run into the hotel. From there they would explain what was going on to Shizune, Donovan and Marianne along with Carue. They just hoped nothing bad would happen.


"Well, this sucks." Kotetsu sighed.

That was an understatement. Before Gin found them there was an outcry of anger over Iceberg being shot, and then some very angry black guy had a mob of very angry people to try and be vigilantes. Lucky for them Bashura and Kotetsu knew it was a bad idea to harm them and ran.

Bashura morphed into his full panther form and leaped to the rooftops, Kotetsu himself tapped into the Quick-Quick Fruit and practically vanished to the naked eye. Gin managed to find them much later, after managing to escape the lynch mob led by angry shipwrights and the hateful man called Ruckus.

But by the time they reunited it was nearly dark out and becoming pitch black with the threat of Aqua Laguna hanging over their heads. With no other choice they snuck their way around Water 7 and found themselves in a small hideaway.

But by some twisted act of fate or just plain old bad luck on their part the trio found themselves in a hideout for a certain speedo-wearing weirdo.

Said weirdo was a man who stood seven foot five, his forearms were relatively enormous while his biceps were comparably small. His chest was well-toned with large abs and pectoral muscles. He had brightly colored blue hair in the shape of a slicked back pompadour and blue star tattoos on his forearms. His eyebrows were rather long and stern, and he had three prominent lower Matsuge on each eye. His chin was very angular and tapered off in three pointed clefts. He even had an equally angular prosthetic nose made of iron with several rivets and jagged edges.

Attire-wise, well, there really wasn't much. He only wore an open purple and yellow-flowered Hawaiian shirt, a gold chain, and a black pair of swim briefs. He didn't even wear shoes! He was barefoot!

And next to him were two strange women, they looked to be twins but in fact weren't. Both had pointed noses and square shaped black hair.

Apparently, one was named Mozu, who had straight-edged hair, a white fur collar, yellow goggles that covered her brown eyes, a bikini-top, slacks, and yellow high-heels.

The second one was Kiwi who had curly-edged hair, a lilac pearl necklace, pink cropped top, pink bikini-bottom, gloves, and pink high-heels.

As for the weirdo, apparently, he was the infamous Franky of the Franky Family.

And of course, they had Usopp along with the Going Merry hidden with them to ride out the storm. For the past few hours, they watched as the long-nosed liar worked on the dying ship. They were also there for when he explained his situation to Franky, and they watched him and the two sisters cry.

All three were huge weirdos.

"Better than being out in the storm. It's rough out there, the wind is howling, and the sea is angry." Bashura said from his sitting position. He opened his eyes and felt the hair stand on the back of his neck. "It's going to get worse."

"You got that right. Aqua Laguna comes every single year, and each time she hits more of this island begins to sink." Franky informed them of the grim situation the island was facing. "You guys have some bad timing coming here."

"Damned if we do, damned if we don't." Gin said with an annoyed huff. "Our ship was in dire need of repairs. If we didn't come when we did, we would have capsized. Those two would definitely have drowned." He thumbed his two crewmates.

"Devil fruit-users, huh?" Franky eyed them over and found himself less than impressed. As a bounty hunter he knew all the faces on the wanted posters, both Kotetsu and Gin had bounties based in the East Blue where the weakest pirates came from. He could take them, especially with his various trump cards. Even Kotetsu with his high bounty, he had a good feeling he could take him down.

"Indeed, we ate the accursed fruits that rob our abilities to swim." Bashura said after closing his eyes again. "It is unfortunate that I will never be able to swim again, but I don't regret eating it."

"Speak for yourself, mine was shaped like a pineapple and a dumb five-year-old me who's favorite fruit was pineapple ate it without thinking about the odd colors and markings on it." Kotetsu spat to the side. "Next thing I know I nearly drowned after diving from a pier and my dad had to fish me out of the sea."

"Is your favorite fruit still the pineapple?" Kiwi asked.

"I haven't looked at a pineapple since then." The sandy-haired swordsman said.

"Now that's just some bad luck there brother!" Franky laughed. "That is why I don't mess with those things. I know that they may be powerful, but if it's not compatible with you, or just a bad devil fruit you basically have wasted your life. Not everyone can get a devil fruit like Whitebeard or the Admirals in the Marines."

Kotetsu's face soured after hearing that. Personally, he didn't want to think about Admiral Kuzan Boluro or Akinu with what they had done over the years. In fact, ever since he joined up with Naruto's crew as its first member, he had seen more corruption in the World Government and the Marines than he cared to imagine. Sure, there were good Marines out there like Smoker, T-bone, and Vice-Admiral Jonathan, but the bad outweighed the good and he personally knew a lot of bad Marines who were just like Onigumo, Doberman and Nazumi.

"Hey, wipe that sour look off your face or you'll be stuck with it." Franky snapped Kotetsu out of his trance. "Mozu, Kiwi is there a chance you can make some tea? I'm starting to get thirsty, and I'm sure our guests are too."

"Sure thing bro!" The sisters happily chimed.

Kotetsu watched at the sisters left and got nudged in the ribs by a smirking Gin. "I see one of them caught your attention. Or was it both of them?"

"Ah! Sh-shut up Gin." Kotetsu growled. He tried to look intimidating, but instead looked like a cherry.

"Hey nothing wrong with that, why when I was in the East Blue there were these two sisters who-" Gin snapped his hand up and coughed a thrown piece of wood. He glared at the offender and snapped the thrown weapon in half.

"Listen, you best mind your manners. I'm allowing you to stay here because I'm a good guy, but I won't hesitate to throw your ass outside and have Aqua Laguna tear you apart. Got it?" Franky growled.

"Whatever." Gin scoffed before turning away.

"Ahh…is the tea ready yet I'm dying of thirst here!?" Franky complained after several minutes passed.

"It's almost ready!"

"Thank goodness, I'm starting to get parched myself." Kotetsu said.

"I'm more hungry than thirsty." Bashura rubbed his stomach. "I really wish we got some lunch before we went into hiding."

"Blame the stupid lynch mob. I just hope this doesn't foul up us getting our ship fixed." That was the biggest thing Gin was worried about. Between all the money that was owed to them, their ship literally docked in a dry port, and being hunted down over something that wasn't their fault for once they were trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Now he didn't doubt that they could fight their way out of Water 7. They could steal a ship and leave, but without money or supplies they would be in for a tough time. Sure, they could go back to where Cricket was salvaging; he doubted the man was even fifty percent finished yet, but it would take weeks off their planned route, not to mention they would be hunted more thoroughly than ever before.

What a pain in the ass.

Mozu and Kiwi then exited from an area that looked to be a kitchen, neither of them got a good look since the door closed seconds later. Holding a tray with seven cups of steaming hot tea, Mozu smiled at the leader of the Franky Family.

"Here you go bro. Be careful, it's really hot." Kiwi said after taking one of the cups and setting it onto the table.

"The same goes for you guys, it's really hot." Mozu said when she served up the glasses to the opposing pirate crew.

"Thanks." Gin said.

"Appreciated." Bashura carefully took the cup up in his large hands.

"Ah…sure, thanks." Kotetsu looked away with a blush on his face, he ignored Gin's snickering.

"Thank you so much." Franky thanked Kiwi before picking up the steaming cup. "Okay I understand what's what brother, what happened with your crew…well…" He took a sip from the cup and screamed before falling over backwards with the couch. "Ah hot!"

"She just told you that! Calm down!" Usopp yelled with an angry face and sharp teeth.

"Hehe sorry about that bro, you okay?" Kiwi sheepishly laughed, peering over where Franky had fallen.

"Hey, how about you take a break and have some tea as well?" Mozu asked Usopp. It was a nice gesture, but the long-nosed former Straw Hat Pirate glared at them and went back to hammering the hall of the Going Merry.

"That's rude." Bashura commented after sipping from his cup. "Mmm…this is good."

"Eh, I don't blame him. He must be holding quite the grudge against us for stealing his two-hundred million beli and all. Especially since it led to such a big fight with his Captain." Franky said before slowly getting to his feet and dusting himself off.

"Eh whatever. What happens happens, no sense in holding a grudge about it." Usopp said as he hammered away.

"Not me. I would have shot them." Gin replied.

"That doesn't stop you anyways." Kotetsu remarked before sipping his tea. "Mmm honey."

"Taking the highroad, how manly." Franky said, ignoring the banter between Gin and Kotetsu. "About that money…" For some odd reason him, Mozu and Kiwi got into a pose and he sang, "I spent all of it! ~"

"I'm gonna knock you flat." Usopp threatened him.

"I'd kill him." Gin seconded.

"Of course you would." Bashura said upon finishing his tea. Like everyone in the crew they were used to Gin's mannerisms by now.

"Now, now don't get so worked up, especially after you showed me how dignified and forgiving you are." Franky said with a cheery smile. He lifted up his glasses with his huge thumb before continuing. "Come on brother can't we let bygones be bygones? I mean I haven't flipped out on you for destroying my home and demolition factory, have I?"

He then gained a tic mark on his right cheek. "On top of that you guys annihilated my subordinates…YOU BASTARDS HOW DARE YOU I'LL KILL YOU!" Franky had to be held back by his subordinates when his eyes bulged in anger and started threatening the former Straw Hat pirate.

The members of the Ocean Sword pirates were unimpressed. They had more to fear from Carmen and Shizune when they got mad. Gin and Kotetsu even finished their tea while Franky was ranting over what was clearly his fault and getting his comeuppance.

Franky did calm down; it took a minute, but he sat on his couch with Mozu and Kiwi with a cup of tea in hand.

"Yep, a lot has happened these few days. But I do think we're good at putting it behind us, so what do you say we just put the axe in the ground, bury it, and then call it a day?" The cyborg said.

"I think you mean bury the hatchet." Mozu said.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's bury the hatchet bro." Kiwi seconded.

"Hmm…heh, yeah what they said." Franky corrected himself with a laugh. He got no answer from Usopp and dull looks from his other three guests making it a little awkward. "So, what's next, what will you do now that you're on your own? It honestly doesn't seem like you have anywhere to go. Tell you what, why don't you let me take care of ya, join the Franky Family! You seem like a good guy a-"

"Forget it! I have no intention of becoming a ship dismantler. I may no longer be a Straw Hat but I'm still a pirate, got it?" Usopp snapped.

"So manly, this made me think of a song called The Pirate Code!"

"Yeah, sing it bro!"

"What the hell is going on here?" Gin asked his two crewmates after seeing…whatever the hell was going on in front of them.

"I see nothing, know nothing." Bashura replied.

"Same here." Kotetsu seconded.

"Fair enough. This is going to get interesting soon, I can feel it."

"Look I'm just concerned, that's all. I'm thinking about your future." Franky said after finishing up his strange song that really disturbed everyone.

"My future is none of your business, besides there are other things you should be concerned with right now like that huge storm heading this way." Usopp said after putting his wooden mallet down.

"That's true, but we're safe here. When Aqua Laguna hits it can be pretty devastating, that is when we all pull together." Franky said. Outside they could hear the wind picking up even through the stone walls. "From now until late in the night houses will be flooded until the second level, if you're stuck on the backstreets until that time, you don't stand a chance. But this place is safe, your ship will be safe too if you want to keep it here."

"Wow thanks…" Usopp was stunned by the generosity, he still felt some bitterness over being robbed and beat up by his family, but it was still the nicest thing that had happened to him since breaking from his former crew. "I can't imagine how you deal with this storm and the chaos that comes with it every year."

"Ah it's not so bad." Franky took up his cup of tea and took a sip from it. "We've all got used to the annual evacuation. But the real problem is the water level, it increases little by little every single year. The backstreets you see all throughout on Water 7 are built on the rooftops of an old town that existed several hundreds of years ago. It's said that the ship building island and the backstreets used to be the same piece of land, but now so much of it has sunk under the sea it's now called The Floating City. All the sidewalks became canals and waterways."

"If you want to be technical about it, the water level isn't rising but the foundation level is sinking." Mozu said.

"If this keeps up the city will become harder and harder to live in." Kiwi sadly continued.

"Geez, who knew that this beautiful city had these kinds of hardships?" Gin said.

"Donovan knows, he was born and raised here. I think that's terrible knowing your home will slowly become inhabitable." Kotetsu fiddled with his empty glass.

"But if worse comes to worse you can just take the sea train to go somewhere else, right?" Usopp asked.

"You can say that now, but not always. The sea train has only been around for ten years, before that time we were totally out of luck and having to cross the ocean without it is no easy task even if you have a boat." Franky explained the circumstances of the sea train. "Besides, this island is completely isolated. There was never much traffic to or from it, people who lived here carried the looming fear that this entire city would sink into the sea and became hopeless."

Sighing, Franky looked up at the ceiling, his eyes holding nostalgia. "That one fear was put away when the sea train was built, the Puffing Tom."

"Now anyone can cross the sea without a logpose." Mozu said as she fondly remembered being one of the first people to board the train and cross the ocean in it. "This was a huge step for the island."

"Shit, the more I hear about it, the more I find myself impressed at this invention." Gin kicked up his feet and set them onto the table in front of them.

"Yeah, no kidding! What a wonderful invention." Usopp said after hearing the uplifting story.

"It was like Water 7 was reborn. And we owe everything to one man, a brilliant shipwright by the name of Tom who created that sea train. He saved us all and gave this island new life."

While Franky looked nostalgic, and both Mozu and Kiwi thinking back on happier times, Kotetsu was doing his best to not throw up the tea he drank. He looked paler than usual and found himself tightening his hands into fists at his sides.

Another hour would pass with little to no conversation being made. The only sounds were of the wind howling outside and Usopp hammering nails into wood to cover the Going Merry's damaged spots. Mozu and Kiwi made some more tea and refilled everyone's cups, Gin, Bashura and Kotetsu thanked the sisters and enjoyed the taste.

"Hey mister, I made another batch of tea. Take a little break and have some." Kiwi said.

"You really should have some. It's very easy on the tongue." Bashura seconded with a happy blush on his cheeks.

"Thanks, I'll have some when I'm finished repairing this spot." He said, pulling another nail from between his lips and hammering away until he hit his thumb with it.

"Hey, I got a question for you brother." Franky interrupted Usopp prancing around to dull the pain in his thumb. "I'll just get right to the point, what are you going to do after you fix that ship?"

"I can answer that." Gin slowly stood up to pop his back. "Ugh, shit I sat too long. Ooof, anyways my Captain told me he's bound and determined to head back to the East Blue on it."

"After a couple of adventures of course! The Merry and I have been together since day one, sure we may not have gone around the world, but we got through to the Grand Line. I can call that a successful voyage and will end with a triumphant return. So, with our heads held high-"

"Nope, sorry not gonna happen." Franky interrupted him. "You can't go all the way back to the East Blue, it's too far away."

"What do you mean by that bro?" Mozu asked.

"Aw crap…here we go again." Gin muttered under his breath.

Setting his cup down Franky got to his feet and walked over to the hall itself. "When we were bringing your ship up here earlier I managed to get a close look at her from every angle. That ship is at the end of her life, Galley-La's assessment was correct. As an expert in the dismantling business I suggest you dismantle her."

"What did you say?" Usopp demanded with bated breath.

"I said she should be dismantled; I'll even help you with it." Franky cracked his knuckles. "Trust me, I'm an expert."

"What are you saying…" Franky took two steps towards him, and immediately the long-nosed sniper pulled out his slingshot. "Stay back you jerk; you stay away from the Merry!"

"What's the matter with you? I'm offering to help you here."

"Stop screwing around! I told you to stay away! Get lost the Merry is my ship and I won't let anyone touch her!"

Kotetsu and Bashura moved to stand up to intervene until they felt a rough pair of hands gripping their arms. "Don't interfere." Gin ordered them.

"But Gin…" Bashura opened his mouth to protest. He was silenced with the First Mate gave him a glare.

"I said don't interfere. This is not our problem."

"You're wrong. Listen, that old girl is no longer a ship. Earlier I asked you what you were planning to do once you fixed the ship. Now if you said you were going to cast your life away to the sea and go along with her then…I would not have had anything to say about it. There would be no questions." Franky continued, glaring at his guest from behind his glasses. "But since you told me you were planning on going all the way back to the East Blue with her. Well, now I have to stop you, brother."

"Shut up…" Usopp growled.

"She's at the end, she won't even make it to the next island. Listen, a ship is born with one promise and that is to carry you across the sea from one shore to the other. That is her sole purpose, that is the reason for her existence. So that is why when the time comes that a ship can no longer carry you across the sea..." He trailed off and jumped onto the side of the Going Merry.

"Wait, stop! Don't do anything to her!" Usopp's screams vibrated off the walls.

With impressive strength everyone watched as Franky pulled on the section of the ship he was grabbing. The sound of wood cracking and breaking filled the space, ropes snapped, and the cyborg roared at the top of his lungs, "Then that promise if broken, and she is no longer a shiiiip!"

He tore a chunk off the small vessel and tossed it onto the ground. Usopp stood in horror before screaming at the top of his lungs and fired his slingshot. He hit Franky right in his chest and a loud explosion knocked off several years of dust from the ceiling and caused the cyborg to fly in the opposite direction until he crashed into the wall.

"Stay away from the Merry you bastard!"

"Son of a bitch!" With astounding speed and no damage on his body Franky closed the distance between him and Usopp in seconds. One of his large hands grabbed the sniper by his overalls and he literally threw him up into the air over the Going Merry's mast. "If you don't understand…"

He soon jumped after Usopp and jumped so he was just slightly above him he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Then take a look with your own damn eyes!" Clenching both hands together, he struck Usopp in the torso and sent him hurtling down into the water with a splash that soaked the entire area they were fighting in.

It didn't take long for Usopp to float back up to the surface completely soaked to the bone. He was panting and coughing as he walked over to the broken piece of her ship and grabbed it with his injured hands. He used all of his strength to lift the piece and drag it over to the broken section.

Usopp dropped it a few times before getting it over to his destination, he actually coughed up spit and blood before getting back to working on her. "Don't worry Merry…I'll fix you up, no matter how many times…whenever you need. I'll take care of you…"

"What the hell are you doing? You saw her keel; it's cracked right down the middle! The outer panels are slipping off and the frame is shot!" Franky yelled at him. He was honestly starting to get mad over the stubbornness of this guy. "With a hull like that the hull will be ripped apart! And you think that a complete amateur like you can just grab a hammer and fix her?"

Usopp threw the hammer to the ground, knocking his bucket of nails to the side and spilling them all over the floor. "You shut your damn mouth! If you so much as even breathe, I will kick your teeth in!"

"I already knew…" He collapsed onto his knees and began crying. "To be honest I knew it all along…I knew the truth, I knew the Merry was at the end of her life!"

"Then why did you go through all this if you already knew?" Franky quietly asked.

"When I heard the assessment, I knew…I knew what I saw on Skypiea wasn't a dream." The confused glances of the Ocean Sword Pirates were completely ignored by his admission. "There was no way it could be real, but on a foggy night completely lit in nothing but moonlight I I heard the cracks of a wood mallet. At the time there shouldn't have been anyone on board. I crept closer and I saw someone there striking her hull with a wooden mallet, and on the morning of the next day she was haphazardly repaired. Everything was in rough condition, but whatever it was knew what she looked like even with the modifications we did to her."

Usopp coughed a few times, clearing his lungs of mucus and water. "But for some reason I heard these words…don't worry I'll carry everyone for a little bit longer. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I thought she was…she was…that's why I…God you must think I'm out of my mind."

Bashura went to speak up only to have his arm smacked by Gin. He looked at the veteran pirate and saw him shake his head. The words were unspoken but clear, Don't talk.

"Whether I believe it or not doesn't matter." Franky turned back and sat on his couch. "You said it was a figure that was holding a wooden mallet, right?"

"Yeah! Does it mean something?" Usopp asked in surprise. He honestly thought Franky would think he was crazy, to berate him or something. He did not expect this.

"Yeah, it does. It means you saw a Klabautermann." Seeing the look of confusion Franky knew it was best to explain it. "It's an old legend that passes from sailor to sailor. It's a particular type of fairy that dwells on ships that are treated with great care, you can even say it's the ship's spirit. It's said to carry a wooden mallet and carry a sailor's raincoat, they say that when the vessel is in the greatest danger it runs around the ship in order to warn everyone. I also heard people day that they help sailors in other ways, but this is the first time I ever heard someone outright admitting they saw one."

Taking his glasses off Franky rubbed his eyes, he was beginning to feel moisture build up in them. "This ship of yours must have been determined to get you to the next island. Just think about it, this ship had a crew that was so caring to it that she was willing to appear in human form to assure them that everything was going to be alright. I bet you she has been very happy."

"Then why would you have a big fight with your crew over this if you knew she was at the end of her life?" Bashura stood up to yell at Usopp. "You and the rubber guy nearly killed each other over her."

"It's not that simple…I-"

Without given another second to try and explain himself the bell by the door began to ring. Mozu and Kiwi went to answer it thinking it was one of their friends. In the span of thirty seconds Usopp went to try and explain himself before the body of Mozu flew backwards and landed between the two of them.

"M-Mozu?" Franky asked before the sound of a body hit the floor. "Kiwi!?"

"I apologize for the interruption." A female voice broke everyone from looking at the unconscious Mozu. "But those two ladies were not very accommodating towards us."

The woman was remarkably tall, slim, and curvaceous with blue eyes and glasses with strawberry-blonde hair that went to her lower back. She wore a long-sleeved short black dress over a fishnet shirt and stockings along with black gloves and high-heels.

The second was a tall man standing at eight foot five with big lips, a black beard, and black hair in which his hairstyle resembled the horns of a bull. He wore a black two-piece suit with a white handkerchief in his breast pocket and a sweater undershirt.

The third was a young man, who had big black eyes with three eyelashes on top of his eye, and a long nose similar to Usopp's, only rectangular in shape. He wore a black cap, a black suit jacket with an orange handkerchief in the breast-pocket over a high-collared black shirt, pants and shoes.

The fourth and final person was a tall and slim, yet muscular man with arched eyebrows and a close-shaved goatee. He had shoulder length wavy black hair and black top hat with a sepia band and wore a two-piece black suit with the sleeves normally rolled up, complete with black leather shoes and a white tie and handkerchief in the breast pocket. On his right shoulder was a white pigeon with a black tie.

"What the hell, you bastards? Blueno what's the meaning of this!?" Franky threw himself at the ox horned man and punched him. The man blocked it and was unconcerned with it. "Hey what's with that outfit, why aren't you at the bar pouring me a drink, and what's with you attacking my cute little sisters!"

Blueno glared in irritation and grabbed Franky by the face, and the cyborg retaliated by grabbing him and his arm began to literally puff up like he was going to launch something. Blueno glared and moved one finger towards him before Franky was literally kicked out of his hand by the pigeon guy.

"Not yet we need him alive." He coldly said.

"Right…sorry Lucci." Bluno apologized.

By now Gin, Kotetsu and Bashura were on their feet. They were by Franky and Usopp's side with their weapons drawn.

"That's far enough you freaks! I don't know how you got here, or where you came from, but you're not welcome here." Gin growled.

"Hold on…that's Iceburg's secretary. Kalifa if I recall correctly." Bashura noted after viewing the woman.

"How unexpected. Kalifa, those pirates you reported are with our target." The long-nosed guy remarked.

"Indeed." Pushing up her glasses Kalifa glared at the three pirates. "Our orders said nothing about them. Lucci, what do you suggest?"

"They are members of Uzumaki's crew. The First Mate, Navigator and…a very troublesome one." Rob Lucci looked at Kotetsu. "Yes, Kaku, Blueno, Kalifa. Our second objective is to capture all three."

"With pleasure." Kaku launched himself forward and threw out a kick. Gin blocked the kick with his tonfa's, to the First Mate's surprise his guard was completely destroyed, and he was knocked through a wall.

"Soru (Shave)…" Kaku whispered before he appeared in front of Bashura and raised an arm to block his hatchet strike. The blow would normally slice through his arm, but instead it shattered on impact. "Tekkai (Iron Body)..."

"How in the world…" Bashura didn't get a chance to finish when Blueno appeared behind him from a door that wasn't even there. His eyes widened when a fist slammed into his face.

It was not the first time Bashura had ever been struck in the head, it hurt but he always got up from it. But this punch felt like someone punched him with a steel battering ram, he could practically feel his brain rattling inside his head as he fell unconscious.

"Bastard, how dare you attack my crew!" Bursting out from the hole in the wall, Gin twirled both tonfa at high speeds and kicked up dust and debris. He attacked Blueno and watched in disbelief as he literally bent his body at an unnatural angle.

"Kami-e (Paper Arts)." Blueno smugly said before lashing out with his fist. "Tekkai!"

Gin moved to attack him again, his tonfa moving to block the strike again, but Blueno's arm practically moved around it and struck him in the face. Hot blood escaped from his nose and mouth; Gin's arms went slack but he didn't drop his weapons.

"Stubborn. You really are a Man-Demon, aren't you?" Blueno remarked.

"Heh…I'm something more than that. I'm not going to go down so easily you buffalo son of a bitch." Gnashing his teeth Gin let out a loud roar and swung his arms to attack once more. He was then punched in the face several more times in rapid succession.

It was only then did Gin fall unconscious, weapons still in hand.

"Who the hell…" Franky looked at the intruders in horror. "Who the hell are you people?"

"You should know who we are, Franky or should I say Cutty Flam?" Rob Lucci said, the cold look in his eyes sending chills down his spine. "Iceburg must have warned you about us. About the secrets he told you to keep from us. You should have known better than to think about escaping from us."

"Cipher Pol Nine…" Kotetsu felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"Indeed…"Blood-Soaked" Kotetsu." Kalifa appeared behind the sandy-haired teen. "Tekkai…" She smirked before chopping the back of his neck with a strike of her hand. "You're such a naughty boy disobeying orders, and naughty boys need to be made an example of." She said as he collapsed into a crumpled heap.

"No way…how strong are these guys?" Usopp backed away in fear.

Rob Lucci gave the former Straw Hat pirate a predatory glare. "Stronger than you will ever be."


"Geez this storm is terrible." Naruto said looking out the window of their hotel.

"This entire situation is terrible." Carmen frowned after taking a seat near the window. "Gin, Kotetsu and Bashura haven't returned."

"I told them to hide and take shelter. I don't like this anymore than you guys." The blonde fishman said.

"I'm sure they're alright. Those three are strong after all, stubborn but strong." Shizune said before picking up a small vial of poison and pointed at it. "Now this poison is something I use to paralyze people. It's one of the non-lethal ones I used to try and defend myself or use on unruly patients who need to stay still for surgery."

"How long can someone be paralyzed for?" Vivi curiously asked. "I mean with this poison?"

"I created it so it would be an hour, that's how long my surgeries last if I need to do anything." Shizune replied. "I coat my senbon needles with a thin layer and have them dry for an hour. Here, let me show you how to safely coat your slashers. I can also teach you how to brew it later once things have calmed down."

"I would like that thank you."

"I'm not a fan of this storm, it really makes it hard to be inspired." Marianne said from the bed she was laying on.

"The space is a little cramped too, but I understand why. We'll be safe with higher numbers in one place." Donovan said from his position in the room. "This is a bad omen, Captain. Aqua Laguna, Iceberg's assassination attempt, all that's left is for it to be Friday the thirteenth and a new moon for it to be even worse."

"How about a gigantic mansion fire?" Naruto dully pointed at the window.

"Mansion fire? What do you mean…Oh my God!" Donovan collapsed to his knees in shock. "That's Iceburg's mansion!"

"Captain, what are your orders?" Marianne dully asked.

"We stay here, we lie low, and we don't do anything until the storm passes. We're going to ride this out and get the hell out of here."

"You don't really believe that do you?" Shizune asked.

"No…damn it." Running his hands through his hair, Naruto moved away from the window. "Everyone get ready. Load up on your weapons, get the supplies you need ready, we're going to leave in ten minutes."

"Aye, aye Captain."


(Omake)

"Um, is everything okay in here?" Vivi asked once she entered with Bashura and Kotetsu flanking her.

"Yes ma'am, everything is fine. We were just working out a disagreement." Hank said in an assured voice.

The area certainly didn't look like it. Barely an hour had passed since Carmen and Shizune left, and their table had an ashtray filled with snubbed out cigarette butts, several beer cans were either on it or on the floor, there was even a bottle of hard whiskey near the fat one. Dale was literally sitting on a bag of ice from the literal ass kicking he got, and Boomhauer looked thoroughly chastised. It didn't help that a lot of notes and pieces of paper were either crumpled up or discarded onto the floor.

"Are you sure you're up to this, I can see a lot of stress is going on in here. It's not good for your health." Bashura said.

"We'll be fine, now what can we do for your ship?"

"I personally want a dojo and workout area. And if possible, a sauna and shower area as well in the same space." Kotetsu voiced his desire for improving the ship.

"For me I need a map room in a certain part of the ship." Bashura handed Hand a piece of paper. "The ancestors spoke to me and said this is the place I must settle in for my journey."

"Dangol'...wha?" Boomhauer asked.

"Don't think too much about it Boomhauer, pirates are a different breed than those in the Marines. Let him have that room of his." Bill said as he slowly swayed back and forth in his chair, one eye drooping and the other struggling to stay open.

"Uh, sure I can see this happening no problem. It might be one of the easier builds." Hank put the piece of paper into a folder he kept by him for later. "Ma'am what do you need? If it's about a woman's only bathroom and showers we already went over that with your chef and doctor."

"It's nothing like that." Vivi politely said. "I just want my room to be remodeled. I just need it to be bigger for a nest." She handed her own piece of paper over.

"A nest? Why do you need one of those in there. Do you have some sort of bird to take care of?" Dale asked after finishing his cigarette.

"It's more of a giant duck. He is my pet."

"I got a pet too. Falcon come to me!" Dale raised his hand and out from the rafter of their room shot down a brown falcon. But instead of landing on his arm it attacked Bill causing him to scream as the bird of prey to claw and peck at him.

"Damn it Dale! I thought I told you to get rid of that thing!" Hank yelled over Bill's screaming.

"He found his way home." The chain-smoker defended himself uncaringly.

"I'll go get Shizune. She has got to see this." Kotetsu rubbed the bridge of his eyes. He really hoped these guys were more competent in their building skills than sitting around and taking their requests.