Author's Notes: Right, right, right! So, we have a new supporter to add to our crew. Thank you, jacqueline. 6, for stumbling upon my humble short story. I apologize for the out of order additions after the main story concluded. It probably felt confusing after a while. I'm trying not to expose the political stuff until I get enough interest in this story, but I will go ahead and expose a fraction of it with this clip. I decided not to wait on a third review because I, personally, am interested in the privateers and there's very limited works about them. If you're into historically accurate works, you're more than welcome to stick around while I draft actual episodes. The title will remain the same and a lot of what's here now will also stay. You're just seeing something "extra".

~... They Who Serve the Country...~

Along the coasts of the South Blue, men were transporting and loading deHart & Baker cannons onto Navy ships for the upcoming war against the Republic of Lignoa. For an unsuspecting stranger, one would think the entire country was going to be separated from the continent. A foundry of cannon balls was on either side of the cannon manufacturing station. It was a rather large complex between the coast and main city. A special group of cannonballs was being set to the side for pirates, but they were extremely experimental and extremely sensitive to touch. One false move and a haki user could either suffer from overload or from drainage in a rapid amount of time. Inspectors were testing the artillery before marking them ready for combat. As soldiers hustled to hoist and load approved weaponry, the leader of the privateering unit wrote the last updates for the 1824-iota-epsilon route and rode his horse to his camp. The eastern and western troops were the main ones who needed to know of any changes in formation or shipments.

As he approached his base, he pulled the reigns of his horse back to slow his steed and dismounted. Apprentices and soldiers alike helped the man lead his horse to water troughs and waited for his command. For now, they were on standby until the Navy was ready for their assistance. The privateering unit run by Ebollant Carpenter and Pieter van der Does was going to be monitored for pirates. Though there typically was no problem during wars, Pieter had his concerns this time because of the recent developments along the Grand Line with the new generation of pirates. He simply wasn't willing to risk losing the anti-haki cannons while they were still in development. They had to be brought to a different testing site altogether that was along the cannon shipment route, so all privateers on active duty on the southernmost parts of the ocean had to keep an eye out and be on standby. This war was crucial in maintaining some manner of peace with the nobles, but it was also a very important mission for the privateers. Success in guarding the shipment of the cannons aided their leader in developing new laws and a refined system for the troop.

Currently, the battle against Lignoa and Siege of Harebell Cove convinced the Admiralty to allow the privateers to develop their own set of politics in dealing with pirates and the countries alike. A new law called the Rogue Offense Act was in draft mode to date, and it allowed them the right to claim allegiance only to the country and not the World Nobles. This was what young Nesi Llandala, the starlet of van der Does's army, was hoping to do and see. That's the only reason she had left the Spades to pursue this work. Pieter smiled when he received Ebollant's updates. Nesi was supposed to be training under the Cipher Pol right now. Hopefully, they could send her this message in time to review her strategy maps. She was quite good at detecting minute details detrimental to advancements in combat. Writing out specific details for all of his apprentices and troops, Pieter got to work in turning on radio transmissions and handing off different scrolls for all war participants.

"Soooo ttiiiirrreeeddd!" Nesi said with a long stretch and yawn.

"Sweeping the ship is not an excuse for another nap, brat," Benn remarked, walking passed Nesi in muddied shoes.

"WHY!? Why are you tracking mud on my clean floors?" Nesi whined, pointing a finger at the gunner.

"Dahahaha!" Shanks laughed.

Nesi flopped onto her stomach in defeat and cried in misery at the dirty deck floors she just cleaned. So sad. At least Ace appreciated her cleaning efforts! She actually missed the freckled jerk. She still wasn't sure why Shanks wanted her to be his apprentice, but she didn't question it either. He was one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, after all. It must have taken some serious skill to impress him. Maybe she impressed him somehow. This was just torture to Nesi, though. Baragon squawked at her before cuddling her to cheer her up. Nesi took out a handkerchief and just wiped her tears as she sat up. She had the unfortunate luxury of cleaning the Red Force... all over again!

"Maybe they found some nice treasure on the shore," Nesi hoped, sniffing up her tears.

"Not this time, scrub," Yasopp said, twirling around a red towel with an evil grin.

"Huh?"

SNAP!

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Nesi screamed. Her butt was on fire as smoke came from the pop of a wet towel stinging her. "Why am I being punished for your incompetence?"

"Who're you callin' incompetent?" the other crewmates questioned.

"Men, stop bullying the girl. She's a friend to us," Shanks said cheerfully. "'Sides, this island is a great place to relax. Enjoy the peace while it lasts."

"I wanna go home!" Nesi whined, flopping onto her stomach again before crawling over to her luggage corner and flopping onto her side to fake cry.

"I thought you wanted a rank as a pirate, Llandala. Don't tell me a dirty floor changed your mind," Shanks teased with a big, mischievous smile.

"You still didn't sign the contract. I can't do pirate work without a signature, captain," Nesi reminded him, remaining on her side.

"You stole my signatures for everything else. That's how you wound up with a spanking penalty," Shanks purred, still displeased with Nesi's sneakiness but teasing her about it now that she was vulnerable.

"I'm never making rank beyond a floor scrubber..." Nesi grumbled. "What was the point? I'm getting my pillow and blankey."

"No naps on the job, twerp," Benn remarked, poking Nesi's butt with the toe of his boot.

Nesi rolled around like a kicked, empty bottle and laid on her back to look at Benn and say, "If I don't get his signature, I can't take any more jobs. Even my apprenticeship goes void."

"Should we dump her on this island then, cap?" Benn asked in a teasing manner. "That sounds pretty incompetent to me."

"Hmm... she hasn't been cuddling me lately," Shanks replied with a mischievous purr.

Nesi rolled around like a kicked bottle again until she was on her back in front of Shanks. She then sighed and asked, "Why don't you wanna sign a contract, your lordship? It's not hard to understand and there's no confusing fine print. What's the actual problem?"

"I'm not signing anything that doesn't have cuddles as part of the agreement," Shanks replied with a seductive grin.

"I hate it here..." Nesi groaned, making the men laugh.

Familiar splashing alerted the privateer's attention and made her sit up quickly. Her eyes changed from civilian grey to reptilian silver and Baragon started growling and walking slowly to her. Nesi stood up slowly before walking to the other side of the Red Force and waiting. In the distance, she caught sight of the Cipher Pol and a privateer headed towards them. The Cipher Pol member was on a ship while the privateer had broad jumped. Leaping off the Red Force acrobatically, Nesi landed in the shallow waters with a soft splash and thud and walked forward to a certain spot before she stopped. The Reds were calling her and questioning what was going on with exception to Benn and Shanks. Within a few moments, the Reds saw both Cipher Pol and privateer land in front of Nesi. They spoke very quietly, made some kind of exchange, and informed Nesi of something that seemed to concern her. Shanks thought for sure that the Cipher Pol member was coming to retrieve her, but neither man that came to her did. In fact, they left her behind. Why?

Nesi didn't return to the Red Force for a while. She instead read the scroll she was handed before the privateer returned to her side again. He had a device in his hand, spoke to Nesi again, and left with the Cipher Pol member. She was told something unsettling. It was enough to make her stare out into the open sea. Shanks and Benn walked up to her with suspicion before they started asking questions.

"What the hell was that about?" Shanks asked with an unusual seriousness.

"Artillery ships are being pushed out sooner than anticipated. The route has been changed by extension. About three or four nautical miles was added to the circumference of the route. Something happened..." Nesi said more to herself than anything. She looked at the scroll again, rolled it back up, and then started thinking more critically. "Enemy troops are headed north-northwest at the intended end coordinates... but why? What's out that way?"

"You're a killer for the countries then?" Shanks asked, showing his distaste for war efforts.

"You're a killer for peace on the seas. What's the difference?" Nesi asked, turning to Shanks to read his body language. She hummed in response when she saw him shift and said, "You can dump me here if you want. I'll understand if you don't want to be involved with the countries' affairs."

"Why did a war break out anyway? Aren't the nobles at peace with each other?" Benn asked, folding his arms.

"You wanna know something funny?" Nesi asked, smirking at the silence she received as a response. "This revolt is actually for the reinstatement of the Charter of Compassion. It was an old concept in human history that sought peace among individuals by celebrating community and this singular virtue that was shared among all religious institutions at one point. Though small in number, towns, villages, and other civilizations united to form this charter and the union formed a stronger community by accepting people in all walks of life. The Republic of Lignoa is against it because that means communities who accept pirates or wayward criminals into their towns, villages, or otherwise will also have to be accepted. Slave revolts would also start and refuge into these communities would decimate their foundations. Men like you and women born from pirates like me would be safe with such a charter legally and without having to bribe, charm or befriend certain people to sneak into a safe house. Are you saying you agree with the nobles and would rather have the separation? There are men and women willing to die to keep you on the seas destitute and drunk. Am I wrong for risking my life to give you a chance to live your life on sea and land or retire on land with a stable community that can help you in your old age?"

"... ..."

"You're an odd pacifist if that's the case, captain," Nesi replied, looking out at sea again. "You can dump my stuff wherever you like. Maybe the scavenger hunt will give me time to think about a few things. I don't understand this anyway."

"Why are those men coming to you about these changes? You're too young to be in wars," Shanks commented, not removing his frown.

"This isn't my first time on a battlefront, captain," Nesi replied, looking at the redhead with a soft smile. "And it won't be my last. Thanks for worrying about me, though! Being a Red was fun!"

"... Dinner's almost ready. You can think it over then," Shanks said quietly, walking away from Nesi and Benn.

"I thought you were throwing me out, captain," Nesi replied with genuine confusion in her voice.

"You have a lot of potential... Plus..., I'm supposed to be signing some paperwork. I can't believe I just said that!" Shanks griped with a visible cringe.

"You're gonna sign the contract?" Nesi asked, eyes sparkling with hope and joy.

"Don't make me say it twice!" Shanks complained. "I hate paperwork!"

"A-a-aye, captain!" Nesi replied excitedly, hopping up and down and pulling on Benn's arm. "He's really going to do it, Uncle Benn!"

"I'm not Uncle Benn! I'm just Benn!"

Scribble, scribble, scribble. Shift, shift. Watching the young girl work and draw up movements was an interesting sight. She scoured through each map of the blues, closed her eyes to feel the terrain under her fingertips, and pulled out information for the different civilizations that were close to certain locations. When Nesi came to that same fork in the road, she tapped the deck with the end of her chalk piece before bringing her hand to her lips to think. Something wasn't adding up. She went through the archives of her mind to describe every detail of the villages she had come across, but another blank came up.

"What am I missing? What's there? What's there? What's there?" she kept repeating. "It doesn't make any sense."