"I'm sowwy..."

Nami was angrily standing above a kneeling Luffy, bruises inflaming his face.

"And WHY are you sorry?!"

"I shouldn't attack a cwewmate and I shouldn't just believe anybody who gives me food." he subserviently replied to her. Nami then redirected her gaze towards the kneeling princess beside an oversized duck. She then flashed her a very bright and friendly smile, totally opposite to how she looked when she brutally mauled and lectured her own captain.

"So princess, want to make a contract with us?"

"What are the terms of this contract exactly?" Vivi managed to calm herself enough to start communicating with her savior/captors.

"Well, in return for transporting you back to Alabasta safely, with food and accommodations for a fee. A billion Beri is a fair price, no?"

"You have my gratitude for saving me, and your offer, but I must refuse."

"Why, surely a billion Beri would be nothing for a princess?"

"Are your familiar with the Kingdom of Alabasta?"

"I've heard of it before and I've heard that's where you're from according to your guard, but I'm not really familiar with it, no."

"It's a highly civilized country within the Grand Line, and it used to be a peaceful one at that too...not too long ago..."

"Long ago?"

"Due to radical Alabastan revolutionaries, my country currently is in a state of chaos. One day, I overheard a meeting with my father's intelligence officers about an organization named Baroque Works. Apparently they were the one instigating the revolutionaries, but they couldn't properly pinpoint what or who they were. All their infiltration attempts were either stone-walled or the operatives who went in were never seen again, which caused them to suspect that their identities were all likely compromised. That's when I decided to ask for Igaram's help in infiltrating the group, and discover how and what exactly do they plan to do, which was the supposed "creation of an ideal nation"." she explained.

"How is instigating a civil war going to create an ideal...So the ideal nation is..."

"Yes, as you've already guessed, though Baroque Works' stated goal is the creation of an ideal nation, it would be made by destroying Alabasta, and it would only be made ideal for Baroque Works. And if I don't come back and reveal them, it would go exactly as they planned."

"I see, so a country in civil war wouldn't exactly have the most money to spare."

"So who exactly is the boss dude anyways?" Luffy was quite interested on what type of person would do all of that.

"You mean the boss' true identity?! You're better off not knowing! If you knew, they'd come hunt you down."

"Yeah, a guy planning on taking over an entire country must be a really dangerous guy." Nami added.

"Yeah, you guys might be strong, but you guys are no match for a Warlord like Crocodile..." Vivi let slip the Baroque Works' boss' identity by accident, and the silence that ensued was deafening, till it was broken by a snicker by Zoro and the sound of an otter and a vulture on the roof of a nearby building. The two animals with glasses then flew away, with the vulture carrying the otter.

"Who were those just now?!" Nami immediate grabbed Vivi and started violently shaking her.

"I-I'm rea-really sorry! It just accidenta-tally slipped out!"

"You think saying it was ACCIDENTAL makes this better?! We're gonna get hunted down because of YOU!...We just entered the Grand Line and we're already on a Walord's shit list! I can't even run away because they know my face!" she kept angrily shaking Vivi, then she fell on her knees crying.

"Calm down Nami. We're going to be fine." Zoro told her when he went to her and pat her back.

"Really?" Nami asked, her cries fading away.

"Yeah, even if we were surrounded by all of Baroque Works' forces and fought, we would win ten out of ten times. It's only a matter of how injured you guys would be by the end of it." Zoro told her, with no empathy for the fact that he just insinuated that they would be injured in the process.

"What do you mean?!" Nami then became angry at Zoro instead.

"Well naturally in a fight, unless the level of difference is insanely high, anyone is likely to get some injuries. But depending on how much you guys improve and how you play your cards, everyone could come out of this unscathed. And besides, doesn't this solve our problem?"

"How, exactly?" Nami finally calmed down.

"Well, the reason Alabasta can't pay us is because of the civil war. If we destroy Baroque Works, they can't kill us, the civil war would stop, and we could get paid. Plus, surely a world famous Warlord that is also running this operation would surely have a lot of money." Zoro tried to pacify her with a compromise.

"Every- Mi~mi~mi~ Everyone! I have a plan!" Igaram who has recovered enough to move around, came back towards them.

"Igaram! What's with the outfit?!" Vivi asked him, staring incredulously at his ill-fitting dress that was designed very similarly to Vivi's dress.

"Shishishi! You can definitely pull off that look!" Luffy laughed at Igaram.

"Once the Baroque Works learns of what happened, they'll be sure to send pursuers right away, more so since you even defeated Mr. 5 and Ms. Valentine. And just to let you know, although Crocodile doesn't have a bounty currently, he had an 80 million bounty before it was frozen...By the way, have you decided on whether or not to safely escort the princess back to Alabasta yet?"

"Oh sure, fine by me." Luffy thoughtlessly replied.

"80 million?! That's 4 times Arlong's bounty." Nami cried.

"I could take 4 Arlongs by myself." Luffy assured her.

"Now then, princess. Please hand me the Eternal Pose to Alabasta." Igaram asked her, and she gave him an object that looked like a bigger Log Pose.

"What's that" Nami's interest were piqued at the mention and sight of an object similar to a Log Pose.

"Simply put, it's a Log Pose that eternally records an island's magnetic field, always pointing towards that specific island. This one specifically has recorded Alabasta." he explained with it on his hand. It had 2 wooden disks on opposite sides with the 3 pillars supporting around it.

"With it, I'll travel straight towards Alabasta and all the pursuers would go after me, and these 3 decoys while you travel on the normal route. If I remember correctly there should only be 2-3 to record along the way...Your journey might be perilous, so please take care princess."

"Promise me that you'll come back."

"I'll do my best, princess." he promised her, even with his wounds still fresh on his face.

"Instead of doing that, why don't you try to head back first before us." Zoro cut in their conversation. "Sail to Alabasta as quickly as possible. Your disguise wouldn't work anyway. Just focus more on informing everybody, and also rooting out possible Baroque Works. Not only would they be be forced to lay rushed traps for you, it'll also reduce the time they have to lay traps for us."

"Thus reducing the chances of danger for the princess...Understood, I'll follow your suggestion, Sir Swordsman." Igaram nodded and hurried packing for his journey. Soon his ship left the dock and started moving further and further away.

"So he's left huh...that old man was pretty funny."

"I always could depend on him." Vivi reminisced with a nostalgic look on her face, which was dashed away when an explosion engulfed Igaram's ship.

Morning came and fog covering the island lifted. After gathering everybody and looting whatever they could, the Straw Hats soon set sailed.

"Be careful not to crash your ship into the rocks near the shore. And congratulations on your escape." a silky mysterious voice said.

"Wha?!" "Who's that?!"

"I must tell you Ms. Wednesday, I met up with Mr. 8 just a little while ago..." said the provocatively dressed woman that suddenly showed up on Merry. She was dressed in purple with a matching cowboy hat.

"Are you saying...Igaram?!"

"Why are you on our ship anyways?!" Luffy shouted at her.

"Can you stop being so sadistic and macabre for a second, Robin?" Zoro finally decided to talk to his past/future crewmate. When Zoro uttered her name, Robin's ambience then went from sadistically playful to coldly guarded. Her eyes narrowed and the slightly smirking face she showed became an emotionless poker face.

"Do I know you?" she directed all her focus on the green haired swordsman whom she identified as the most dangerous person on the ship.

"I'm not actually sure, because I think I killed one of your officers before...But I definitely know you." Zoro maintained eye contact with her while he was answering her question, and he stpped her when she tried to hold unto his swords using arms that she sprouted on him. "Don't touch my swords."

"Who is it this time? Who's her partner?" Nami asked.

"Whoa! She's a real beauty!"

"She's Mr. 0's partner and the only who knew Mr. 0's identity, which is why we tailed after her to discover his identity."

"Well technically, I let you guys follow me."

"Oh, so she's a good guy."

"I already knew that! I bet you were the one who told the boss that his identity got leaked!"

"I wouldn't have had to it if you guys were better at hiding yourselves."

"Oh, so she's a bad guy."

"Can you stop doing that, Robin? Vivi, if she wanted to kill you both, she's more than capable of doing it herself. She searching for something, right Robin?"

"What could that possibly be?" Robin asked him, now genuinely curious on what exactly does this unusually knowledgeable man know.

"History." he replied, and her perfect facade was betrayed by a small crack of shock. She then subconsciously started to strongly gripping on the rail after she heard his answer. "Which you won't find in Alabasta."

"And why is that." she hastily replied, the perfect mask now showing a hint of desperation.

"In order to explain that, I'd have to divulge a few personal information of yours that you probably won't want to be revealed to everybody willy-nilly on here." he hoped to have a proper conversation with her. In order to show his sincerity, he unclipped his scabbards and left his swords on the railing beside her. He then opened entered the dining room and held the door for her.

Robin paused, assessing the situation and the people around her. She believed she could at least delay if not incapacitate most of them fast enough to run away, except for Zoro, who voluntarily disarmed himself. Her curiosity won out, and she decided to join Zoro inside, closing the door behind her. 'Now, how do I deal with you...stiff, but looks respectful, probably spent his childhood mostly training...highly disciplined, but young and...inexperienced.'

Zoro sat himself on the couch, and he watched as Robin ruminated and eventually decide to follow him. 'How much do I tell her?...She's still technically an enemy, but even now, she's not actively trying to stop us. But she likely won't join us till she sees the Poneglyph for herself first. But then again, she's not exactly likely to actually report her coming to our ship anyways.'

"So big boy, you already know my name, but I still don't know yours. Don't you think it's only polite to introduce yourself first?" she softly asked him while she sat cross-legged right beside him, her foot grazing his shin.

'Awfully quick of her to get physically close that quickly.' he thought before answering. "My name is Roronoa Zoro. You might know me from when you guys tried to recruit me before, through that Mr. 7 guy you sent to East Blue."

"Hooh...The one with the spiky red mohawk? Now I remember, I replaced that man a few months ago. That was you?" she said as she softly poked his arm and crept closer to Zoro.

"Yeah, he was a dual wielder if I remember correctly. A bit better than the usual scum I clean up, but in the end, nothing really special." he reminisced one of the fight he actually remembered fighting while he was in East Blue. After he felt Robin subtly placing her hand on his forearm, only was he then made aware of how close Robin really was, physically.

"So...What did you mean when you said that I wouldn't find 'History' in Alabasta?" she asked him, as she inched even closer to the increasingly flustered Zoro, who can slightly feel her breathe literally on his neck.

"U-um, what I mean is that the only relevant information in the Poneglyph was, if I remember correctly, the location of the Ancient Weapon Pluton." he said, never made more aware of how much his former/incoming crewmate smelled like freshly bloomed flowers in springtime. A very sweet tempting flower.

"Huhh...you even know about the Ancient Weapons...just because it's primarily about the Ancient Weapons, doesn't mean there's no other historical facts that could be derived from it." she spoke, almost whispering, as she traced shapes around Zoro's shoulder. But her words rang very clearly inside Zoro's ear. "Where else am I suppose to look?" she now whispered, her head now laying on his shoulder.

'What the fuck is happening?!' he thought, his entire body going completely rigid as his mind is disarrayed. "Well, I-I know of a bunch of places where there are Poneglyphs, but those also aren't the ones you're really trying to find." he was barely able to talk straight to her while his mind was being scrambled by a couple of things confusing him at once.

He was confused if he was being seduced, or not, as Robin might've acted a bit too overly familiar with him, but she hasn't done anything truly sexual. He was also confused on whether to tell her everything he knows or not. 'This is not the same situation as Nami. As a friend, it pains to deprive her of a clue that will help lead her to her life's goal, on the other hand, she's likely to run off, not only away from the crew, but likely to more people who will continue to use her for their ends, or worse...Sorry, but not yet, Robin.'

"But you know more, don't you?" she whispered even more to Zoro, who could now feel the tip of her nose touch his ear. She could him running hot on his face, with the slight reddish pink now emerging.

"Yes, I have my suspicions of where it could be...but I'm not going to tell you that!" he answered as he finally shrugged her off his shoulders. But Robin wasn't totally rebuffed, so she kept trying to dig.

"Surely, telling me wouldn't hurt?" she asked again, now emphasizing her frontal weaponry that felled far worldlier men than Zoro. "Or can you at least tell me your source of information?" she charmed Zoro deeper to her spell, with a small tilt of her head, and showing sincerity in her request.

"You were the one who told me these things, or more specifically you told us. I'm from the future." he admitted to her. She couldn't help but let out a short giggle.

"Are you serious? It appears that you really don't want to reveal who they are." she said as she proceeded to crawl above and now blatantly press her breasts on him. "Are you sure there's nothing I could do to persuade you?"

"Ok, you just went over the line!" he said with a red face. He then awkwardly tried to get her off him without touching anywhere inappropriately ."This is extremely weird for me! We didn't have that type of relationship! Stop! Doing that!"

"How cute...But seriously, time travel? You couldn't have thought of a more plausible excuse?"

"Do I look like I'm trying to lie to you?" Zoro said as he kneeled at her level to look her dead in the eye.

"I'm...not sure." she said, though even she wasn't confident. She didn't see any sign of deception on Zoro, but she also couldn't just believe such an absurd thing as time travel. "Hmmm...It seems we're at an impasse...Well, I was originally here to give you guys this." she declared, as she handed Zoro an Eternal Pose, with the words written "Nanimonai Islands" on it.

"Yeah, I remember you gave us an Eternal Pose, after implying that you killed gun hair guy, daring Luffy by saying we wouldn't reach Alabasta by ourselves, and just overall being intentionally facetious about your allegiances, or in your case, lack thereof."

"Oh, really now? Pray tell then, oh swordsman lost in time, which side am I on?"

"Yourself. You want Crocodile to win enough to get to read the Poneglyph in Alabasta, but you're not really loyal to his cause and wouldn't really give him the information if it came down to it. You'd prefer if he was stopped after you gained access to that information, or at least be so occupied long enough in order for you to be able to run away."

"Excellent judge of character. Even if you had access to all the information the World Government had on me, anyone would still be hard-pressed to be able to read into me that accurately. Except if you had knowledge from the future, maybe." she said sarcastically, but she was starting to lend credence to the idea that maybe, he might actually be a sort of acquaintance in the future.

"Well I do have a more personal experience with you, compared to whatever report of you they have."

"But then, if I were to grant that all of what you've told me is more or less true...why did I kill Igaram then?"

"You didn't. It could be implied that you killed Igaram, but technically, all you really told us was that you talked to him. It's so much like your dark humor to imply that you blew a man up." he told her, now just remembering Igaram's name, while Robin lightly giggled and raised her arms as a sign of confession. "You wouldn't have done it for Crocodile as you meeting with us would be seen as treason, so he likely doesn't even know you're here. Also, explosions aren't really a tool you usually utilize, nor an ability that you have. Generally, you really only use your fruit to get unfair grappling position, then finish the fight quickly and quietly. That leaves those animals, or the booger bomb guy, or potentially a cooperation of both, as both are allies."

"Good work, detective. I was talking with Mr. 8, before we were rudely interrupted by the Unluckies dropping a bomb on the boat, enhanced by Mr. 5's blood. The fate of such a truly loyal knight is quite tragic, don't you think?"

"You're doing it again. Stop being so dark, I already know that you saved him." he revealed, and she raised her eyebrows at him, as if telling him to elaborate. "Just before the explosion went off, you pushed him out and into the water, sparing him of the worst. He's on your turtle isn't he?"

"You haven't eaten a devil fruit, have you Mr. Roronoa?"

"No."

"Were you using a 'Haki' ability? It seems incredibly useful."

"I'll teach you a thing or two after this entire civil war issue blows out."

"Confident are we? Maybe even, too confident? Crocodile is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, you know."

"There's only a single Warlord I wouldn't bet myself against, and his name isn't Crocodile...Anyways, instead of this can I ask you for something else..."