Straw Hat Sisters

by germanwarrior96

Follow Lea and Raven as they travel with their brother Monkey. D. Luffy to help him gain the title of King of the Pirates. ***We DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE***

5. Catastrophe

The two boats were gliding side by side in the crystal blue water. Nami looked over to where the others were as she sat in her boat. "There is absolutely no way we'll make it to the Grand Line in this condition."

Zoro was lounging on the side of the boat while Luffy was sitting on the extended bow of the ship. The two girls were sitting next to each other at the stern. Raven was sketching ideas to black smith. Lea was resting with Luffy's straw hat covering her eyes. Luffy looked over his shoulder and in his mouth was an apple core. He took it out and said through a stuffed mouth, "You're right. We're gonna need a whole lot more meat." He then ate the core which made Raven raise a brow. "Eating fruit everyday is for the birds."

Lea lifted the brim of the hat up so she could look at Luffy, "What have we told you about eating more than just meat?" She said sternly.

"I know, but I am not going to like it," Luffy hissed a bit annoyed at being treated like a child.

"I never said you have to, I'm just looking after you," Lea said with a sigh.

"We also need some booze~" Zorro said with a smirk before getting hit by an apple that was thrown by Nami on the other boat.

"Shut up you boneheads," Nami hissed before seeing Luffy catch the apple with his outstretched arm before throwing the apple at the two girls. Raven didn't look up before catching it and taking a bite out of it. "That's not what I mean, the Grand Line is a dangerous place. We'll need more than beer and meat to survive there," She said as she grabbed another apple. "Not to mention there are other pirates in search of the One PIece and they all have ships that are way better than this."

"And we don't have a full crew," Luffy said.

"We don't have a crew, we don't have any equipment or even a real ship for that matter. There is no way we can ever make it like this," Namu listed as she stood up.

"Yep, we'll need a cook, and a musician to keep us entertained!" Luffy said excitedly.

Zoro huffed,"A musician?" He asked before he started to laugh.

Namu muttered under her breath, "So stupid…."

"Don't worry about it, he's been mentioning getting a musician on this crew since we were kids. There are a bunch of stuff you'll need to know before we get to Paradise." Lea said.

"Paradise? What's that?" Nami asked as she leaned on the mast.

"It's the first half of the Grand Line, the islands that you first encounter. The latter half of the Grand Line is known as the New World, since not a lot of people have explored it."

"How do you know that?" Nami asked a bit quizzically.

"I guess I forgot that you weren't there when I mentioned it before, but I was born on the Grand Line. Me, Luffy and Raven aren't blood related. I was brought to the East Blue for protection by my uncle."

"We three have been brought up by mountain bandits on the same island," Raven said as she peaked up from her drawings.

"How about your parents?" Nami asked.

"Orphans," Raven said simply as she made a quick sketch on her paper as she was adjusting a few things.

Nami shook a bit as she felt a bit of sympathy as she had a similar experience, "Oh…" She then coughed a bit before changing the subject, "A little south of here is an island that has some settlements on it and it looks like we might to be able to get our ship and supplies that we need there."

Luffy then stretched with a wide grin, "Fresh meat at last!" He said excitedly.

"A lot of booze as well~" Zoro said with a grin.

Lea had stood up and walked up to the front of the boat. She hits Zoro slightly in the back of the head before making her way to Luffy. As she got there, she hit him a bit harder than expected before shoving the straw hat onto his head, "You two really need to listen more," She hissed before looking out into the sea.

It wasn't long before the two boats were brought onto the sandy beach. As they all climbed out of the ships, Zoro was stretching, Nami was looking around curiously, and Luffy was getting excited. Raven smiled as she felt the sand under her shoes as she looked around, her hammer 'Lucy' was strapped to her back. Lea was grinning as she gave herself a nice big stretch.

"Finally we can move around, that's one thing I hate about small boats," Lea said.

"Yeah," Raven said with a nod.

"I agree, it feels good to be on dry land again~" Zoro said with a smirk.

"There's a village around here somewhere, right?" Luffy asked before they spotted a stone incline to go up to higher ground.

"Yeah, but a small one though," Nami replied.

"Ooo~ Then there's meat! There's meat-" Luffy was saying as he got into Nami's face with a crazed look in his eyes. Before he could continue, Lea got up and grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him away.

"Stop that," Lea hissed. "Have some self control."

In mid-yawn, Zoro heard a rustle in the bushes. His thumb flicked his sword a bit as he looked around. "Careful, we're being watched…" He then went wide eyed, "LOOK OUT!" Then a barrage of stones started to hit the ground around Luffy's feet like gunshots. He started to dance around to dodge. Raven growled as she took out Lucy from her back. Soon pirate flags were popping out of the bushes all around the incline.

"What the…." Raven muttered.

"Are you kidding me," Lea sighed as laughter erupted from the cliff side.

There stood a very lanky kid with a long nose and curly black hair. "I am Usopp! Leader of the sovereign nation of pirates that reign over this island. You stand before a living legend, the most revered pirate that ever lived. I am the Great Captain Usopp!"

Lea facepalmed while Raven raised a brow unamused. Luffy had a big grin on his face before Ussopp continued.

"Surely you'll know that plotting an attack on this island would mean certain death. My army of eighty million super mean pirates would squash you like bugs!" Usopp said dramatically as he threw open his arms.

Lea sighed, "Like father like son," She muttered under her breath.

"You expect us to believe that?" Nami asked with a smirk.

"Ah! She knows!" Usopp said with a shocked face.

Nami smirked, "Well now I know~" Usopp started to panic and wiggle around like a worm. "Uh…?" She said confused by his actions.

"Curse you crafty tactician!" Usopp said. "Eighty million might have been an exaggeration."

"Might've been?" Lea said flatly.

"Ok was," Usopp said, "But! I have a great many men under my control!" He said with a grin.

"My guess is three," Lea said with a smirk.

The flags stopped moving and three boys came out screaming, "AHHH! SHE DOES KNOW!" The three boys dropped the flags and fled.

"Hey! Where are you guys going?! Come back!" Usopp yelled before looking at the group.

"A pirate using a slingshot, now I've seen it all," Raven said as she picked up the small pellet out of the sand and dusted it off.

Luffy started to laugh,"That's pretty cool!"

"Shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you!" Ussopp cried out as he fumbled around for his slingshot. "I'm a proud man and I won't stand for it." He then stretched his sling shot and aimed it at Luffy. "This is your last warning or you'll get to see why they call me Proud Usopp instead of Pushover Usopp," He said as Luffy placed a hand on his hat as his laughter died down. "Is that clear? You already saw for yourself how good I am with this thing, so you know I can rival anyone with a pistol."

Luffy kept holding his hat and started to say, "Now that you brought out your pistol, are you going to use it." He looked at him from under his hat. That phrase started to freak Usopp out as he stared at the group.

Lea then walked up to Luffy's side as she spun one of her daggers on her fingers, "Guns aren't for threats, they are for actions," She said as she showed her fanged smile.

Soon Raven went on the other side of Luffy and grinned as she took out Ol' Lucy with a smirk. "Are you willing to risk your life?" She asked with a chuckle.

Zoro used his thumb to unsheath his one sword a bit while chuckling, "I can assure you that we are real pirates, consider your next move very carefully." Usopp was trembling as his hold on his slingshot was quivering. Luffy continued to give his intimidating stare.

Usopp finally relented and eased his hand, making the slingshot go forward but the ball dropped at his feet. He dropped to his knees, "Real pirates have a lot more punch behind their words because they can actually back them up...that's so cool," He whimpered to himself. Luffy just stared up at him before he started to laugh with the rest of his crew.

"I stole that," Luffy said as he returned his gaze up to Usopp. "I stole those words from Red-Haired Shanks." He explained. "A pirate I know," He said.

"You more than just know him," Lea said to Luffy as she folded her arms.

Usopp looked at them in surprise, "What?! You know Red-Haired Shanks?" He asked.

"Of course we do! He's my Uncle!" Lea called back. "And besides, Yassop wouldn't stop talking about you when I lived on the ship."

Usopp got up excitedly but misstepped and fell down the small cliff and landed on his head, causing both Lea and Raven to wince. Once he sat up he said, "You're right my old man's name is Yassop but how….how do you know him?"

Lea sighed, "As I said before, we lived on the same ship. It's hard not to know someone when you lived on the same ship for years.'

Before anyone could say another syllable out, Luffy's stomach growled loudly. That made them stop and turn to him. "Do you know anywhere we can get something to eat? I'm starving!"

"You're always starving," Lea muttered with a sigh and a shake of her head.

Usopp nodded still a bit dazed from the conversation, "Yeah, I can bring you there." He said as he got up and motioned them to follow. It wasn't long before they got to a restaurant and got seated in a booth. They then ordered their meal. Luffy took no time at all to dig into a giant ham bone.

"Don't forget to eat the vegetables Luffy," Lea said as she had her own little smorgasbord of the various food from the table on her plate. Ussopp was eating rice from the end of the table. While Nami was enjoying her own plate. Zoro was just drinking a big glass of Sake. Raven was having her own serving of ham. She just chuckled seeing the massive stack of plates beside Luffy.

"This is good huh?" Usopop asked as he finished up his plate.

Luffy started to talk with his mouth full, "I met your dad when I was a little kid," He said.

"That was an interesting day alright," Lea said as she sipped from her drink.

Usopp looked at him, "Hold on does my old man really know Shanks?" He asked.

As Luffy swallowed his mouthful, Lea, Raven and him all sighed in exasperation before giving each other a look before looking back at Usopp. "YES!" They all said in annoyance.

"I can't believe it! My old man is sailing the high seas with famous pirates!" Usopp said excitedly.

"We haven't heard from him in a while but I'm pretty sure he's still with him," Luffy said.

"I would be surprised if he wasn't," Lea said.

"Yeah, he's Shank's Sniper," Raven said as she took a good gulp of her Sake.

"He's a great pirate," Luffy said as he finished up his meal.

"A little bit of an idiot sometimes, but good hearted," Lea whispered to Raven as the blacksmith nodded.

"I'm really proud of my old man, he chose a life of real adventure," Usopp said lovingly.

"Maybe you can help us," Nami said before asking, "Do you know someone who can provide us with a decent ship? Or anyone who knows how to sail for that matter?"

Usopp sighed, "Well...it's a pretty small village, sorry but I just don't think we can help you," He said.

Nami and the girls all caught the strange look on his face and figured something was obviously up.

"How about that huge mansion?" Zoro asked which made Usopp react in a very nervous manner. "The one on top of that hill over there?" He asked gauntly as he looked out the window and towards the mansion.

"Hey! Do you know them Usopp?" Nami asked with her hands clasped in hope. "With all that money they could probably help us get a boat." Usopp's face kept falling and falling into nervousness.

"You stay away from there!" Usopp demanded angrily. Seeing their strange faces made him freeze up in realization that he slipped up. "Uh! I just remembered something I really gotta do!" He then stood up and placed a hand to his chest. "Everyone knows me here, so uh, stay here and eat as much as you want," He said before leaving in a hurry. "Well I gotta go!"

Nami looked at him fleeing before saying, "I wonder why he left in such a hurry?"

"In my opinion, he said something that he didn't want to," Lea said before going back to her food.

"Maybe protecting a certain lady friend," Raven said as she took a swig of her drink.

All of a sudden the doors slammed open and the three small children from earlier appeared with their wooden swords to the sky. "THE USOPP PIRATES ARE HERE!" The loud outburst got the attention from the owner of the establishment for a second before he went back to reading his newspaper.

The Straw-hat crew blinked in surprise as Nami looked over her shoulder, "Who are these guys?" She asked.

Lea looked over from beside Luffy and raised a brow, "Aren't they the kids from earlier?" She asked.

After a moment of awkward silence, Carrot spoke up, "Captain Usopp is gone?"

"Did they…" The rotund boy, Onion, said with a bit of fear.

The green haired boy, Pepper, ran to the table, "Fess up you filthy pirates! What have you done with our beloved captain? Tell us now!" He yelled as Onion and Carrot joined him at the edge of the table.

"YEAH TELL US NOW!" The three yelled in unison.

Luffy, who's stomach had inflated due to how much he ate, looked over and patted his belly, "Ah that meat sure was good!" The three boys had a look of disgust and fear as they thought that Luffy ate their friend.

"What meat?" Carrot asked as he and Onion cowered behind Pepper.

"Pirates are cannibals!" Onion said which made Nami chuckle out loud while Lea and Raven were snickering out loud.

"You savages!" Pepper said as he cowers.

"If you're looking for your Captain, we ate him!" Zoro said with a crazed smirk. Lea and Raven couldn't hide their laughter anymore and it filled the air.

"AHHH! CANNIBALS!" The three yelled as they looked at Nami.

"Why are you looking at me for?!" Nami spat angrily. The three then fell back while Zoro and Luffy joined the girls in their laughter. "You had to say something stupid didn't you!" She yelled at Zoro.

Lea soon came out of her fit of laughter and leaned over Luffy to look at the kids, "It's fine guys, we didn't eat him. He ran off somewhere saying he had something to do."

"You really had us going there," Pepper said as he got up and helped his two friends up.

"So now that you know the truth, I'm assuming you know where he is," Lea said as she folded her arms.

Carrot and Onion nodded, "Yeah, we can show you." The group then finished up their meal and followed the three boys towards the mansion.

"WOAH! This place is HUGE!" Luffy said as he gazed up at the brilliant white structure.

"If our Captain ran off at this hour then this is the place he would be," Onion said.

"Oh? Why does Usopp come here?" Luffy asked.

Carrot folded his arms behind his head, before answering Luffy's question, "He comes here to lie."

"To lie! That's terrible," Nami scolded as she placed her hands on her hips and bent down to their level.

"He's not a bad guy, he's great isn't he," Pepper said as he looked to his companions. The two others nodded.

"Yeah! He's awesome!" Onion said with a smile.

"How is a liar awesome?" Zoro asked.

"Well Kaya, the girl who lives here, has been in a terrible depression since her parents had passed away, which has made her sick in bed. They died a year ago-" Pepper said but was cut off by Lea.

"Yeah, it's not easy getting over a parent's death, I lost both of mine when I was four years old," Lea said as she rubbed her arm. That got the attention of Nami and she felt a pang of sadness as she remembered her own mother and the events that had happened around when she died.

"She is very rich, but all the money couldn't help her out of sadness," Pepper continued when Carrot intervened.

"That's when our Captain started to make up stories to make her laugh and cheer her up," Carrot said.

"Yeah, Captain Usopp is the best at telling lies," Onion said.

"Well that's pretty nice of him," Luffy said.

Lea nodded, "I'll say."

Raven had her hands on her face and swayed side to side, "How sweet!" She cooed with a grin.

"Yeah!" The three boys said in unison.

"The best side to him is his mischievous side," Carrot said, "He's always up to something."

"My favorite part is that he's not afraid to be silly," Pepper said with a smile.

Onion joined in, "And I like his crazy lies!" Lea snorted at the blunt words of the kids. Raven chuckled.

Nami, who was still bent over, "So when he tells her those stories, it makes her feel better?" She asked.

"Yup! Lots better!" Carrot said happily.

Luffy then stood up and raised his fist with a giant grin, "Great! We should ask her for a ship after all!"

"We're not the ones who make her feel better, Usopp is," Zoro said in a deadpan tone which resulted in making Lea laugh. The outburst made Zoro smirk a bit.

"Getting in is impossible, those guards at the gate won't let anyone through," Onion said as he pointed out the two stern looking men in suits.

Raven got a sly idea, "Maybe I can use my womanly charms to try to make them open the gates-" But her voice was drowned out by the kids asking where Luffy went.

Lea sighed and grabbed the back of Raven's shirt, "Don't even think about it and he's up there," She said as she pointed to him climbing the gate.

"I'll go ask her!" Luffy said as he was at the top. He squeezed the iron scallops at the top of the gate tight enough to clench them together and he started to lean back. "Gum Gum-"

The trio of boys started to scream in horror as they saw him stretch. "What is he!" "Is he some kind of monster!" The boys yelled intermittently..

"Not again…"Raven sighed as she watched him.

"Pardon the intrusion!" Luffy called as he was about to launch himself, but everyone ran over to try and hold him back. Then he released, which made the whole group fly into the air and down into the yard below where Usopp was in the tree. Luffy and Zoro had slammed into the pavement. The girls landed in the grass while the trio of young boys landed head first into a bush.

"You boys ok?" Lea asked as she dusted herself off and stood up as if it was nothing. Raven got up and stretched. "Luffy...for that stunt, I'm getting the hat for the rest of the day," She said as she swiped the hat off his head and placed it on hers.

"My goodness are you ok?" Asked the gentle voice of the young girl that Usopp was talking to.

"Yeah, we're fine. We are used to it," Lea said and Raven nodded.

"Speak for yourselves," Nami said as she rubbed her knees.

"Don't mind them Kaya, things like this happen to me all the time. It's just the price of being a famous adventurer. They are just new recruits hoping to join my crew!"

Lea's eye twitched and looked at Raven as she whispered, "Is he serious?"

Raven sighed and shook her head, "What a liar," She muttered.

Luffy finally got up and sighed, "Nope, not me. I actually came to see you," He said to Kaya. "I wanted to ask you a favor.."

"A favor from me?" Kaya asked curiously.

"I was wondering if there was any way you can help us get a boat?" Luffy asked before hearing another voice.

"You there!" Came an abrupt voice as a tall man in a suit came walking up to them. "What are you doing here?"

"Klahadore," Kaya sighed from her window.

Lea narrowed her eyes a bit as she looked at the newcomer, "Raven..is it just me, or does he look familiar to you," She whispered to the blacksmith.

Raven was already narrowing her eyes as she was trying to focus. "Yeah...but I can't put my finger on it.." She bit her lip in frustration.

"Get out!" He said gruffly before using his palm to lift glasses up. "I'll have you know this is unlawful trespassing!" Usopp narrowed his eyes.

Luffy sighed, "Hey guys, who's he?"

"That's what I want to know," Lea said with a huff.

"Uh, actually, these people are…" Kaya said rather timidly, but she was cut short by Klahadore.

"Not now Miss Kaya, you can tell me all about this riff raff after they've left, now get out," Klahadore ordered as he walked closer to the group, "All of you, leave now unless you have some business with me."

"Well alright, maybe you can help us get a ship?" Luffy asked the butler.

Klahadore pushed up his glasses and scoffed, "Certainly not." Luffy sighed softly from the rejection before Klahadore looked up at the tree, "Usopp you have quite the reputation, you are very well known in the village. "

Usopp chuckled nervously, "Sure am.."

"I hear you have been on many adventures, impressive for someone as young as you," The butler said sarcastically.

"Usually people who admire me call me Captain," Usopp said a bit proudly as he stood up on the tree branch.

"Uh, Usopp, he was being sarcastic," Lea sighed.

"The girl's not wrong, your father also had quite the reputation," Klahadore said with a smirk.

"Klahadore please stop!" Kaya asked feebly yet with a hint of force.

"You'll never be anything more than the son of a filthy pirate," Klahadore said as he looked up at Usopp sternly. Luffy looked at Klahadore with a stern gaze, with the girls following in suit. "Who knows what sort of trouble you are up to now. All I ask is that you and your kind leave this respectable young lady alone." Raven looked up to see Kaya's face, she could see the sadness in her eyes and how Usopp was quaking with anger.

"A filthy pirate…" Usopp muttered angrily.

"You and she are from completely different worlds and you know it. Is it money you're after, how much do you want?" Klahadore asked.

Kaya was pissed and she hung out from the window and yelled angrily at Klahadore. "Cease this at once Klahadore and apologize to him!"

Usopp looked over to Kaya in worry, "Hey, calm down Kaya.."

"I don't see any reason to apologize to this savage young man milady," Klahadore said as he adjusted his glasses once more. "My goal isn't to slander-" Lea and Raven interrupted him with a snort.

"The only thing that has come out of your foul mouth is slander, don't try to make it seem like anything else," Lea said with a glare. Klahadore narrowed his eyes at her but ignored her words.

"It is merely the truth, I sympathize with your situation. You must hate your great idiot of a father after he abandoned his family and village," Klahadore said with a smirk. "All because of his mindless lust for treasure,"

"Klahadore stop!" Kaya pleaded.

Lea leaned over to Raven with a rather annoyed and pissed off look, "For a butler he isn't taking orders very well." Raven nodded as she was clenching the staff of her precious hammer.

"Don't you dare insult my father ever again!" Usopp snarled as he put his foot down angrily. He then jumped off the branch while taking out a small clawed hook from a small pouch on his waist. It hooked onto the branch and he slid down to the ground. Once he landed the hook undid itself and wound back up into the pouch which he closed.

"Wow," Lea said as she was impressed. "Looks like you got a new friend," She smirked to Raven.

Raven's eyes were wide and her hands were clasped as she marveled at the weapon. "I need to know how that works, I have got an idea for a marvelous weapon~" She grinned as she took out a notebook and started to draw out the design from in her head.

Usopp's eyes squinted as he breathed deeply in anger. Klahadore laughed as he continued his speech, "What got you so upset Usopp?"

"You just insulted his father, what do you think you idiot?" Lea said which resulted in Klahadore giving her a stink eye to keep her mouth shut. She just stared dully back at him.

"It's times like these that you do what you do best and lie." Klahadore said with a smirk. "Go ahead and tell me how your father is a traveling salesman, or how you aren't really related by blood-"

Usopp narrowed his eyes and clenched his fist before landing a hard punch into Klahadore's cheek, knocking the man to the ground. Klahadore's glasses had flown off his face and next to him. "SHUT UP!" Usopp snarled. The punch made Kaya gasp and covered her mouth with her hand.

Lea sighed and placed a hand on her head, "Saw that one coming," she muttered. Luffy and Zoro didn't flinch and Nami just blinked. Raven sighed.

"CAPTAIN!" Carrot, Pepper and Onion shouted at once in surprise as Usopp looked down at the butler.

Klahadore sat up and placed the glasses back on his face and adjusted them with the palm of his hands. "Case in point, he resorts to violence. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it," He growled.

"SHUT UP! My father chose the way of his heart, to live a life of adventure. I am proud to say that my father is a proud warrior of the sea. Yes, I know I am known to exaggerate from time to time, but I will never lie about who my father is! I refuse to be ashamed of my heritage! I AM THE SON OF A PIRATE!" Usopp said proudly.

"Captain…" Carrot said as him and his buddies watched him.

Klahadore started to laugh, "Pirates are brave warriors of the sea are they? That's quite a twisted way of putting things." He then stood up and dusted himself off. "You don't seem to realize that you are the living proof of his savage blood. You run around spouting lies and resort to violence if it doesn't go your way. To top it off, you cozy up to the lady of the house to get her fortune."

"You're wrong-"

"Your father is a filthy no good pirate! Treachery is in your blood and of course you came up with that filthy scheme!" Klahadore smirked.

"You won't let up won't you!" Usopp snarled as he grabbed Klahadore's collar and raised his fist to punch him again.

"STOP IT USOPP PLEASE!" Kaya cried out from her window as she looked at the two. "No more violence...I can't take it…" She begged. "Klahadore isn't a bad person just. He's just...just trying to look out for me but he sometimes goes too far…"

Usopp quakes and his grip loosens. It was loose enough for Klahadore to slap his hand away, "Leave this place. You are to NEVER come to this place again!"

"Yeah..I get it," Usopp said as he started to lower his fist, "You don't have to tell me twice buddy. This is the last that you'll ever see of me," He muttered as he started to walk past Klahadore.

Kaya's eyes were full of sadness as she watched him go. She was on the verge of tears, "...Usopp…"

Carrot, Pepper and Onion ran up to Klahadore angrily. "Hey you butler jerk!" Carrot said with him gritting his teeth. "Our Captain is not that kind of guy!"

"STUPID JERK FACE !" Pepper said with his fist in the air.

"JERK FACE!" Screamed Onion.

"JERK FACE!" Luffy said with his face all red.

Zoro's eye twitched and he punched Luffy in the back of the head, "Shut up.." He muttered. The punch didn't affect him at all. "You don't have a bone to pick with him."

Klahadore gave a stern glare which made the three boys run and hide behind Nami. Zoro was holding Luffy back so he wouldn't go after him.

"Don't hide behind me!" Nami complained while Luffy could be heard saying, 'let me at em'. The two girls sighed.

"Put me down! I'm going to kick his ass!" Luffy screamed but Zoro wasn't letting him.

"All of you must leave IMMEDIATELY!" Klahadore said with annoyance.

Zoro was dragging Luffy out the gate while Nami was helping the boys leave. Raven was shaking her head as she looked back up to see Kaya sadly watching Usopp leave. Lea was walking towards Klahadore before looking at the group. "Give me a second guys," She said to them before turning to the butler and made her voice low, "Just so you know, you're even worse than what they say about pirates. You assume things without any evidence and you know what they say about people who assume. It just makes an ass out of you and me. Yassop was like an uncle to me, so I take what you said about him VERY personally. I would be careful about what you say because it can come back to bite you later on, cause you know what they say about karma. That's all," She said and started to walk away before looking up Kaya who was starting to close her window. "By the way Miss Kaya, be careful of wolves in sheep's clothing. Just because they seem nice and innocent at first glance, doesn't mean that they have good intentions." Klahadore's eye twitched as the group left.

Luffy had decided to go find Usopp, and Lea went with him. Zoro, Nami, Pepper and Carrot went off to find a spot to sit and think about what to do next. Raven went with them but looked around to see that Onion wasn't with them. She leaned on the wooden fence and listened to the group's conversation. Nami decided to sit on the top most rung of the fence next to Raven as the boys sat on the ground. Zoro on her right side while Pepper and Carrot sat on her left. Nami turned to face Zoro and Raven and said, "I wonder where Usopp went?"

"I bet he's at his secret spot!" Pepper said with a smile.

"Yeah! The one by the shore, he usually goes there if he's trying to think things through," Carrot said with a nod.

Raven raised a brow, "Well it's not really secret now is it if you know where he is."

"I know but to him it is, so we keep it a secret anyway. Should we go see?" Pepper asked.

"Huh?" Zoro asked as he turned his attention to the young boys. "He's fine, Luffy and Lea can take care of him."

"But where did your friend Onion go?" Raven asked as she looked around.

"Oh yeah, he just disappears frequently and then reappears distressed quite often.." Both of the boys said at once as they pondered that response.

Screaming could be heard as Onion was racing towards them all freaked out, "Bad news guys!"

"See?" Pepper said as he tilted his head to watch Onion come running up to them.

Onion stopped at the feet of his two friends and started frantically explaining, "THERE'S A NUT JOB COMING THIS WAY AND HE ONLY WALKS BACKWARDS!"

"You liar," Pepper and Carrot said calmly as they watched their obviously freaked out friend.

"IT'S THE TRUTH!" He said before turning and pointing towards the man. "THERE HE IS!"

"Umm…." Raven was going to say something before he stopped and turned which made her eye twitch.

"Who called me a nut job?" He asked in a cold tone. His eyes glinting from behind his red tinted heart glasses. The man was lanky with a blue hat that matched his blue jacket. Long green cigarette pants. The outfit was complimented with white knee-high socks and black shoes. His beard was wrapped like an egyptian. "I'm just a normal guy," He said as he shifted on his feet.

"Is that so? You look like a nut job to me," Nami said.

"Really, I'm just your run of the mill hypnotist," He said with a slight hiss.

"A hypnotist? Really?" Onion asked curiously as he looked at the strange man. Raven narrows her eyes at him. She didn't like the look of him or the feeling that she got from him either. "Awesome!"

"Show us something!" Pepper said excitedly while his friends nodded.

"Yeah!" Carrot said with a grin. "Do something!"

"What do you take me for? You want me to perform for a measly group on the side of the road?" He muttered before changing his tone and taking out his hypnotist ring. It was larger than normal and it had an eerie glint like a blade. "You changed my mind," He said. "Watch the ring closely," He said as he started to sway it side to side.

"What a ham," Zoro muttered from his spot. Raven nodded in agreement.

"On the count of three and when you hear Jango you will be fast asleep," Jango said as he continued the ring's movements. The kids nodded as their eyes followed the ring. "One. Two. Jango," He said. Instantly, the three boys fell back and were fast asleep. Raven raised a brow when she saw that not only did the boys fall asleep, but the strange man did as well. His hand still swung his hypnotist ring.

"He's not very good at his job," Raven said to the two others who nodded uneasily to her.

"Who is this freaky weirdo," Zorro muttered as his eye twitched. Raven and Nami shrugged their shoulders.

Meanwhile, Usopp was sitting under a tree on the edge of the cliff that overlooked the ocean. He was deep in thought. The peace was ruined when a sudden face came into his view and upside down. "Hi! What are you doing here?" Luffy asked as he was upside down and hanging onto the low bearing branch by just his feet. Leah was silently leaning on the tree behind Ussop, just shaking her head.

The sudden hello had got Usopp off guard as he reeled back a bit before raising a brow at him. "I came here to be alone, but I guess that is out of the question now." He muttered. "Did you follow me? What do you want?" He asked.

"Oh, you know, nothing," Luffy said before starting to walk on his hands and away from the branch and Usopp.

"Well for one, we wanted to make sure that you were ok," Lea said from behind which made Usopp jump a bit as he didn't expect her to be there. " THAT GUY really started to get on our nerves and I don't know why but he seems very familiar."

"Well, thank you and I'm fine. You didn't need to follow me out here. COULD YOU NOT DO IT AGAIN!" He said in a huff before folding his arms. "I don't know but he has been here for quite a few years." He said as he started to calm down.

Luffy went and sat down and started to clap his feet a bit as he listened. "I won't hesitate to hurt him if he tries to do anything to us," He said in a thoughtful tone.

"I'm with you on that little brother," Lea said as she went to sit next to Luffy on the right.

"I can't believe that butler, dragging my old man's name through the mud," Usopp growled as he looked angrily at the sea.

"Yeah, I hate him," Luffy said. "No matter what anyone says Yassop is a great pirate," Luffy said before seeing a smile on Usopp's face.

"Yeah!" Usopp said with a grin. "I always admired my old man for how he lives on the edge every day. Living his life to the fullest. I want to be just like him. Then that stupid, snobby butler went and stomped all over that. He is going to pay for this!" Usopp then stood up and clenched his hands.

"What I find strange is that he was actively trying to provoke you. He wasn't listening to what Kaya was saying, usually butlers listen to their employers," Lea said as she looked up at him.

"Hey wait, do you think you'll ever see that girl again," Luffy asked.

Usopp looked a bit down hearted and his eyebrows were twitching, "I…..I don't know. I'll consider it if that stupid butler apologizes."

"Isn't he right there?" Luffy asked as he pointed to two figures walking down the beach below the cliff.

"Yeah, what is he doing here?" Usopp asked, surprised as he went and shoved Luffy's face down as he spied on the two.

"Oi!" Lea said,"What are you doing?"

"Shhh!" He hissed as he kept his gaze on the two figures.

From the shore line, Klahadore turned to Jango with an annoyed look, "Jango, I thought I told you to lay low. That doesn't mean sleeping out in the middle of the road."

"Relax man, I practice the skill of the chameleon," Jango said as he held his hand to his head and was looking at him from the side. Lea overheard his response and was trying to hold in her laughter. "I blend in."

Luffy watched the two in curiosity, "There's a strange man with him and boy is he weird." Lea was still trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, I've never seen him before," Luffy said and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Lea was finally calming her urge to laugh and nodded with a final sigh, "I doubt you would have missed him."

"So..have all the necessary preparations have been made?" Klahadore asked as he pushed up his glasses by his palm.

"But of course," Jango said bluntly. "We can start anytime. For the 'RICH GIRL MURDER PLAN'" He said the last part a bit too loud.

Lea, Luffy and Usopp's eyes all went wide after hearing that exclamation. Usopp clenched his fist and teeth as he tried not to yell or lunge forward off the cliff.

"Don't call it murder Jango, I don't like the sound of it," Klahadore said.

"Alright, accident. It's an accident. Just as you planned," Jango replied.

"We can't simply kill her, it is critical to our plan that Miss Kaya perishes in an unfortunate accident, so don't screw that up." Klahadore mutters before starting to leave.

Jango then sits on a rock," So basically on your signal, the men and I storm the village and manage to accidentally kill Miss Kaya. Then you'll get her inheritance and we all get paid right?"

Klahadore turned his head to look at him angrily. "You Moron! Your ignorance is outstanding! We're not related so how can I inherit anything from her!"

"You'll work hard to," Jango said as he lifted a fist.

"No Jango, I won't. Now listen to me. This is the most important part. Before you kill her, you'll use your hypnosis to make Kaya write her will and it will say that I leave my entire fortune to my butler Klahadore." He then walked close to Jango with a dark look on his face. "Only then will I have undisputed control over her entire fortune. And NO ONE will suspect a thing. I have spent three long years getting everybody's respect and trust. So it wouldn't be surprising to have her leave her entire fortune to me."

"Three years as a butler, huh?" Jango asked as he got up and walked to the shore-line. "You had us scared back then Captain Kuro," He said.

"That's why he looks so familiar," Lea whispered with narrowed eyes. Luffy nodded with his own narrowed eyes and Usopp was clenching his fist tighter.

"Three years ago you said you were giving up life as a pirate. In no time at all you set up someone to look like you and you let the whole world see Captain Kuro get killed. Only now I get to see that it was just the beginning of this plan. You are the man with a thousand plans."

Klahadore narrowed his eyes and growled, "NEVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN! I abandoned that name years ago, I now wish to obtain wealth without attracting the eyes of the government. In other words I'm a pacifist."

"Pacifist my ass," Lea mutters. The trio could hear Jango laugh from up the cliff.

"Some pacifist you are, killing an entire family, doesn't exactly qualify as peaceful," Jango replied.

"I didn't kill an entire family, the father's death was not planned," Klahadore said bluntly.

"Whatever you say, it makes no difference to me. If it's all the same to you, hurry up and give the word. The crew is getting bored since they have been waiting in the waters here for over a week. They are getting more anxious by the minute," Jango replied.

Usopp started to quietly panic and started to talk about how the whole village was in danger and so was Kaya. Luffy then stood up and it made Usopp go wide eyed, "What are you doing!"

"Oh no..here we go," Lea mutters.

"HEY YOU TWO! YOU BETTER STAY AWAY FROM KAYA!" Luffy shouted with his teeth bared. Usopp fell back from surprise. Lea sighed as she stood up in silent support.

"Who are you?" Jango asked as he and Klahadore looked up to the three on the cliff. Usopp had sat up and tried to get the two to hide but he froze when he heard Klahadore speak.

"Well now, if isn't Usopp, the village's mysterious town liar," Klahadore said in a dark and calm tone. Usopp started to freak out. "Did you hear anything," He asked with a narrow gaze.

"N...no!" Usopp said as he started to wave his arms in front of him in a frantic way. . "No! We didn't hear a thing!"

"We heard everything," Luffy said as Usopp hit his chest with the back of his hand and a mutter of 'shut up'.

"It's no use Usopp, they already know that we heard them. Besides, I doubt it would matter if they thought that we heard them or not." Lea said and Usopp deflated a little.

Klahadore just quietly laughed before nudging his head at the group in Jango's direction before turning and using his palm to shimmy his glasses up again.

"Fine" Jango said before he walked up to the cliff side and took out his hypnosis ring. "Now boys and girl, watch closely."

"Oh..ok," Luffy said and looked at the ring.

"Luffy!" Lea muttered in exasperation.

"Don't you get it! It's some kind of weapon, we got to run!" Usopp said as he tried to pull Luffy away.

"On the count of Jango you'll be in a deep sleep," Jango said as he started to sway the ring from side to side. "Are you ready? One..two..Jango!"

Right before Jango said his final word, Usopp had ducked down to not get hit, but realized when he looked up from the ground that Luffy fell asleep. As Luffy tipped forward, he instinctively grabbed onto Lea's arm and they both started to fall off the side of the cliff.

Klahadore quickly used his back to hold up Jango as he once again fell asleep after doing his little trick. In the moments before impact, Lea had managed to shift her body into rubber like her brother. The impact didn't kill her, but knocked her unconscious as she laid next to her sleeping brother. Usopp looked down in horror at the two siblings.

"They had to fall off the cliff, poor girl, the boy grabbed her as they fell." Jango said as he woke up from his little nap. "A pity really, I didn't mean to kill them, but there is no way that they could have survived a fall that high."

"This can't be happening," Usopp said as he clenched the grass beneath his hands. He was looking at them from the spot that they fell off of. "He killed them….They're really dead.."

"What about the other one?" Jango asked as he looked up at Usopp. "Should I take care of him?"

"No need, anything that he says will sound like lies," Klahadore said with a smirk. "Jango, tomorrow at daybreak I want you to attack the village. Rough up some people and destroy a bit of property, but no killing. Above all make sure Miss Kaya's death looks accidental."

"T..tomorrow," Usopp mutters in fear.

"Just admit it Usopp no matter what you do or say, you can't stop this from happening," Klahadore said with a smirk. Usopp quickly got up and darted off.

"Are you sure about that one?" Jango asked.

"Of course I am, my plans are flawless," Klahadore said.

As Lea and Luffy were unconscious at the bottom of the cliff, the rest of the crew were back on the fence waiting for their Captain and Quartermaster to return. Nami was relaxing on the fence as Zorro was looking at the road pensively. Raven was polishing Ol' Lucy, while the three kids were starting to get antsy.

"The Captain sure has been gone for a long time," Carrot said as he looked down the road.

"Yeah, Luffy too," Zoro said.

"It's strange that Lea hasn't dragged him back yet," Raven said as she looked a bit worried, almost knicking her finger.

Onion stood up as he looked down the road with the others, "Maybe he just wanted to rest," he commented as Pepper looked at him.

"Whenever he gets really upset like this, you can usually find him by the shore," Pepper said.

"Ahhh! Captain!" The three boys said in surprise as they saw Usopp come running down the road towards them but with the other two missing.

Nami looked surprised and raised a brow. "Hold on, I thought Luffy and Lea were supposed to be with him,' Zoro said.

"Captain!" Said the three kids again as Usopp ran past them, kind of pushing the three away.

"Hey where's Luffy and Lea? Are they still at the shore?" She asked as her tone was friendly at first but then it dropped off into confusion as he kept on running. "Wow, he looked really upset," she said as she watched him disappear once again.

Raven narrowed her eyes and stood up as she held her trusty hammer on her shoulder. "Something's up, we should investigate."

"Yeah, something is wrong, that wasn't just a mad face," Carrot said in surprise.

"That look was different," commented Pepper.

"A tragic face of sheer desperation," Onion said.

"Why don't you three show us the way to the shore," Zoro said as he looked at the three. The three boys started to huddle and talk amongst themselves.

"This smells like an adventure to me," Pepper said to the two.

"Yeah, it had to be by the shore," said Onion.

"It looks like the Usopp Pirates should investigate," Carrot said with a nod.

Zoro's patience was starting to thin out and his eyebrow twitched angrily. "Enough already, just show us where to go!" He growled.

The three boys froze before quickly nodding. "It's this way!" Said Pepper as he started to guide the group towards the cliff. It didn't take too long and they were soon on the cliff top. "This is the place, he always comes here when he wants to be alone to think," Pepper said as he let the three look around.

"It is nice," Carrot said as he looked out towards the ocean.

It didn't take them a second to realize that the two weren't in sight. "I don't think the straw hat guy and the red-headed girl are here," Pepper said in concern.

"The rocks sure are loose here," Nami said as she precariously took a step too close to the edge. The rocks started to tumble a bit and she backed up.

"Nami be careful," Zoro said.

"Right," She replied before looking down and seeing Luffy and Lea at the bottom of the cliff.

Zoro went to look off the edge of the cliff, "Luffy? Lea?" He asked in a bit of shock.

Onion and Pepper decided to stick their heads over as well to take a look. "Hey it's the straw hat guy and the girl!" Pepper said.

Raven was the first one to dash down the pathway to see what the damage was. She got there and sighed, while the rest of the party were freaking out. "What have you guys done?" Nami asked the unconscious two.

"Calm down you guys, they are perfectly fine. Luffy is asleep and Lea just got knocked unconscious," Raven said before the group started to hear Luffy's snoring.

Zoro chuckled and used katana to poke Luffy in the butt, "You lazy bum," He said and Luffy started to twitch and wake up.

Luffy gave a big yawn and smiled at the group, "Good morning guys~" The kids just looked at him in shock and a bit of horror. It was then that Luffy noticed that Lea was unconscious next to him. "What happened!" He asked worriedly to Raven.

"I don't know, you were asleep and she was unconscious when we found you," Raven said as she folded her arms. "Do YOU know what happened?" She asked.

Luffy was about to explain what he remembered but stopped when he saw that Lea was starting to wake. "Mm...dang it!" Lea cursed as she rubbed her head. "Luffy! You have GOT to stop grabbing me when you are about to fall sleep!" She hissed to her brother. Zoro looked at her a bit worriedly, but had the hint of relief that she was ok.

"So what happened!" Asked Pepper and the other two kids. Luffy started to explain what had happened prior to falling asleep. It resulted in a big uproar amongst everyone. "WHAT! PIRATES ARE GOING TO ATTACK THE VILLAGE AND THEY'RE GOING TO KILL KAYA!" Screamed the three boys.

"Yup, that's what we heard," Luffy said as he was about to put his hat back on.

Leah narrowed her eyes at him, "Don't even think about it. You knocked me off a cliff and because of your stunt earlier I am still wearing it," She hissed and he gave it to her without any problems.

The kids were freaking out and Zoro came up to Luffy, "So what makes you think it was a good time for a nap, and what did Lea mean about making her fall off a cliff?"

Lea sighed, "I can explain that, this weirdo hypnotized Luffy to fall asleep. Of course, because of that he grabbed my arm like he does whenever he falls asleep with me nearby, but lost his balance and fell forward. Dragging me down with him. I got lucky that I was able to change into rubber before I hit the ground. The shock from the impact knocked me unconscious and turned me back to normal."

Raven just sighed and shook her head to both of them, she was just happy that they were ok.

"This proves it! Klahadore is a bad guy!" Carrot said to Pepper.

"Usopp saw right through him!" Pepper said.

"I bet he's on his way to the village to warn them to run away!" Onion said with a nod.

"Well that's perfect because the town would be abandoned by the time the stupid pirates get there," Nami said with a smile.

"Yeah that's right! We need to run away!" Carrot said.

"Yeah let's pack up our treasure and leave!" Agreed the other two as all three lifted their fists into the air in agreement before the three of them bolted off into the distance.

A few hours had passed and while Luffy's crew were walking down the familiar path, they had come across the three boys once more, but this time with their treasure in hand. The three boys looked over to see Usopp. "Captain!"

Zoro, Raven and Lea noticed Usopp acting strange as he greeted them. "Hey-" He said before seeing Luffy and Lea alive. HIs face paled and his eyes went wide before running over. "Wait! I thought you two died!"

"Don't worry it takes much more than that to kill this knucklehead, and I'm pretty resilient," Lea explained with a chuckle.

"He was sleeping the whole time!" Pepper said as he and Carrot stood behind Luffy.

"Captain, we heard all about those pirates and their evil plans," Carrot said.

Onion waved his hands, We better hurry to warn the people of the village!"

Lea and Raven noticed that he winced and was hiding his arm.

Raven narrowed her eyes, "Let me see it. We can help you," She said as she opened up her arms.

"I..I don't know what you are talking about," Usopp said as he tried to hide his arm more.

"Come on it's obvious that you are hiding your wound," Raven said before carefully grabbing his arm and taking down the wrist band to show the wound. "See, now that isn't so hard. We can fix that in a jiffy," She said. The three boys had asked Usopp again about going to protect the town, but he fibbed to try and save them but it ended up with them being angry. The three boys then left in a huff before the pirate crew guiding him back to the shore so they could start fixing his wound. Usopp was starting to whimper as they cleaned up the wound and wound up tight with gauze. Raven soon slipped the rest of the gauze into a pouch in her belt. "Always had it with me," She grins

"The many times that 'these two'," Lea motioned to both Luffy and Raven, "got hurt by sharp pointy objects," Lea said with a laugh. Usopp just barely nodded as he thought of his three young friends.

"Why did you lie to them?" Luffy asked Usopp.

"Because there is no way that they would believe me and why should they," Usopp said as he looked down at his feet.

"Because you were telling the truth," Zoro said as he looked at him.

"They are coming and they are going to level the town," Nami said to make a point.

"Yeah, but what am I supposed to do? They'll think I'm lying if I try to warn them. Everyone in the village will think tomorrow would just be another day," Usopp sighed before making a fist in anger and frustration. "They think I'm lying and that's all they need to think. I'll beat those pirates at the beach myself. This is all my fault for being such a liar. I don't care anymore if they chase me away with brooms or shoot me in the arm. This is my village, this is MY home and I love everyone in it!" He said as tears poured from his eyes, "I HAVE to protect them!"

"Now that's what I like to hear," Lea said with a grin. Raven nodded.

Zoro gripped the hilt of his katana and smirked, "You're one hell of a guy to send your cronies away and to fight it head on."

"Just so you know I have dibs on all the pirate treasure," Nami said.

"No one is questioning you on that, Nami," Lea said with a shake of her head.

"You're not alone, we got your back," Raven said.

"So you want our help or not?" Luffy asked.

Usopp started to try and wipe away his tears but failed, he couldn't believe that strangers, none-the-less pirates, would help him like this. "Y..you guys are going to help me? I don't get it."

Luffy clenched his hands, "You said there going to be a bunch of bad guys,"

"And you look scared out of your mind," Zoro added.

"You really didn't need to add that Zoro," Lea sighed.

"If you don't get the clue, of course we are going to help you!" Raven snapped. "We don't put our lives in danger because of pity," She muttered. "We are helping you because we deem you honourable enough." That made Usopp smile before getting serious.

"Alright at daybreak the pirates would attack from this shore," he said as he guided the small group up the steep slope. "The only way to get to the village is this way, up this slope. The rest of the shoreline is sheer cliffs so they have to come through here. If we can fight them while they are in the narrow pass then numbers don't mean anything and we can beat them that way."

"Alright, sounds pretty easy," Luffy said as Raven nodded.

"The thing is, the victory depends on our strength. What is it that you guys can do?" Usopp asked.

"I cut," Zoro said as it was obvious with his swords.

"I stretch," Luffy said as he had an extended fist.

"I steal," Nami said with her hands on her hips.

"I make weapons, and use my trusty Hammer: Ol' Lucy," Raven said as she twirled her hammer.

"Knives are my expertise but I can also do hand to hand," Lea said as she flipped a blade from her belt.

"I hide," Usopp said, which got the others angry.

"You are staying and fighting," They all said. "Can't you sharp shoot or something?" Asked Lea which resulted in a nod from Usopp.

"I was just joking, calm down," He fibbed before getting a brilliant plan. "Hey, I got an idea, let's go and get barrels of oil and slick the slope," He said. Raven nodded and both Zoro and her followed Usopp to grab the oil while the others kept a lookout. It didn't take them long before coming back and slicking the slope. "I'm a genius," Usopp proclaimed as he looked at his work. "While they are busy with this, we can start picking them off one by one. They are going to be busy slipping and sliding like a bunch of idiots. Until we show up and beat the crap out of them," Usopp said.

"Wow, so that's your plan huh?" Nami asked sarcastically. Both her and Zoro started to walk down.

"That's right, I'm going to protect the village no matter what it takes," Usopp said with a grin.

"Let's just hope that none of us will slip and be down there with them." Nami pointed out his flaw and he looked shocked. "Because that would be like sliding into a meat grinder."

"Nice comparison," Lea said sarcastically as she leaned on Zoro with her arm on his shoulder.

"Usopp, I got to hand it to you, you are good at fighting dirty," Luffy said.

"Yeah, quite literally," Raven said with a roll of her eyes.

"Of course I am, there is no one that can outbeat me with a slingshot or fighting dirty," Usopp said with his arms crossed.

"I can name a few," Lea said with a mutter.

"Yeah, but for now it's almost daybreak," Raven said as she leaned on Ol' Lucy. "They're coming."

An hour later and there were still no pirates on the shore that they prepared. "Where are they?" Luffy asked in confusion as the sunrays rose. "I want to fight," He huffed. "The sun's up so what's the deal?"

"Maybe they overslept," Zoro said.

"No, they are going to show up alright, lot's of them." Usopp said.

Nami believed she heard something and started to walk with her hands around her ears to amplify the sound. "Is it me, or do I hear battle cries somewhere." After a bit, she nodded, "Yeah, definitely battle cries."

"Uh guys...I just remembered something. Wasn't there another slope on the other side of the island where we landed on," Lea said.

Usopp went wide eyed as he realized his mistake and started to freak out. "WE'RE AT THE WRONG SHORE!" Luffy asked in surprise.

"This is where they had their secret meeting so I just assumed, ok!" Usopp tried to defend himself.

"We have no time! Let's go!" Raven urged.

Luffy nodded and started to run off, "I'll be there in twenty seconds," He said before dashing up the slope. Usopp ran after him, annoyed at himself.

Before Nami and Zoro could run after them, Nami started to slip on the oil that they had laid out. She freaked out and grabbed Zoro by one of his swords which resulted in him slipping as well. Seeing her chance, Nami used him as a base board to get to the dry land and ran off without helping.

"NAMI!" Yelled Raven and Lea as they shook their heads and went to help Zoro who had found himself at the bottom of the slope. Both Raven and Lea were on the same mental link, that Raven grabbed a hold of Lea's waist to ground her as she started to shapeshift into rubber. "Hold on Zoro, we'll help you back up," Lea said as she stretched out her arm for him to take. When he tried to get a hold of her hand, it slipped out which made her wrap her arm around his waist and he began to climb slowly.

"That girl is going to pay!" Zoro growled through gritted teeth. After helping him up onto the dry land, he thanked the two and the three started to run north. After correcting his direction a few times, they ran into Luffy. By the time they got to the north slope a bunch of pirates were on their way.

"Seems like we're late to the party," Raven said and laughed as she spun Ol' Lucy around.

"This is going to be good~" Lea said as she was cracking her knuckles.

"About time," Nami hissed as she was on the ground.

"Shut it," Lea hissed a bit.

Raven saw Usopp on the ground hurt, and the man with the stone hammer smirking nearby. She narrowed her eyes and smirked as she showed off Ol' Lucy which made him quiver.

"Is that the best those pirates can dish out?" Zoro asked with a sneer.

"I was hoping for a challenge," Luffy said as he panted and held his arm.

"Boys, not now," Lea said stubbornly. She had given the hat back to Luffy seeing as it was about time to fight.

"AND YOU! YOU ARE LUCKY THAT I'M NOT KICKING YOUR BUTT RIGHT NOW! IF IT WASN'T FOR LEA AND RAVEN, I STILL WOULD'VE BEEN STUCK BACK THERE!" Growled Zoro.

"USOPP YOU BONEHEAD! YOU DIDN'T GIVE ME ANY DIRECTIONS!" Luffy growled.

"Luffy, that's your own fault. You know your directions but when you get excited you lose track of where you're going." Lea sighed.

"Who are these boneheads," Jango said as he was surrounded by fallen crewmates, his hand on his hat.

Usopp finally wakes up from being hit in the head and looks around. "Wow you guys are really strong." Luffy just nodded with a huff. Nami was about to say something but she got a death glare from Raven.

"The sun is rising high in the sky now," Jango said as he looked to the sky. "And Captain Kuro grows very impatient," he muttered. He then looks at the pirate crew around him. "Get up men, you shouldn't be lying on the job." A few try to get up but it was obvious that they were all weakened. "The fact is we don't have time to linger here any longer," He said as he took out his blade ring. "If our enemy is strong, then we must become stronger than them. Now stare deeply at this ring and after 1,2, Jango, you all will become stronger."

"What is he doing?" Luffy asked.

"He's hypnotizing them to think that they are stronger then they are," Nami answered,"Like that'll work." She chuckled.

"You'll be surprised," Lea huffed and got ready to fight.

Jango started to swing his blade back and forth in a hypnotic way saying, "Stronger, stronger!" Luffy happened to be staring at the ring too and it dawned on both Lea and Raven what was happening.

"Uh oh," They said in unison.

"One. Two. Jango!" Jango said as he lowered the brim of his hat so he wouldn't hypnotize himself like the many times before. The crowd of pirates around him started to cheer with renewed vigor and energy.

"No way!" Nami said in shock while one pirate slammed his fist against the cliff side making it crack and a giant chunk fell to the ground. As the cheers echoed from his many crewmen.

"What the hell," Lea said in shock.

"One guy just completely destroyed the cliff," Zoro said surprised.

"I have seen stuff like that before but the man was a lot more muscular," Lea said with a sigh and she clenched her blade.

"I always thought hypnotizing people were a load of crap," Nami said with a shake of her head.

"That was just one of them, just think of what the whole crew would do…" Usopp said.

"I wouldn't be too worried," Lea said.

"Why…?" Asked Nami.

Lea just points at Luffy who had also been hypnotized

"Now go and strike down anyone in your way!" Jango ordered the pirate crew. They started to make their way up the slope and towards Luffy's crew.

"Alright guys, you better move, me and Luffy will deal with this," Zoro said.

"I ain't going nowhere," Lea said stubbornly. Raven nodded as well with her hammer at the ready.

"Uh Luffy…" Zoro asked as he started to scream his battle cry. Luffy then charges at the oncoming band of pirates and it freaks out the rest of the crew.

"Told you we had nothing to worry about," Lea explains.

"GUM GUM GATLING!" Luffy screams as his fists become multiple and he starts knockiung men down one by one. His arms returned to normal after his attack.

"Damn you Captain Kuro," Jango mutters as he sees the one man army. "This is one hell of a miscalculation. These are not your average village idiots.."

The men were starting to get up, but once they did, Luffy started to run at them. The men started to retreat not wanting to get hit again by the rubber man. Lea couldn't hold back her laughter. They all stop before Jango, all except for Luffy who ran past him.

"Where's he going?" Zoro asked in confusion as he watched from the top of the cliff. Luffy then ran up to the ship and pulled off the black cat figurehead.

"Tear it down!" Nami cheered as her and Raven started to laugh.

"He's going to destroy our ship!" Cried out one pirate. "He's going to crush us with it! Everybody run!" The men ran.

Jango quickly came up with a plan and took out his ring again. "After one, two, Jango, you will fall asleep," He said before quickly waving his ring around and saying his magic words. He then brought his hat down as it took effect after he said Jango. Luffy instantly stops and falls asleep, with the mast falling onto him and crushing a few other pirates. Luffy was fine as he started to snore once again.

Nami walked to the edge of the cliff and looks down at the group, "Looks like they are down for the count,"

"I guess.." Zoro said

"Man, I hardly got to fight at all," Lea sighed. Raven nodded but leaned on the cliff.

"Maybe..but Luffy is still trapped underneath that cat," Usopp said. "Just look."

"Relax, he's fine, that's not going to hurt him," Lea said as she waved her hand.

"Damn that little brat, now our plan has gone down hill. What to do about this mess," Jango said as he looked at the downed crew once more. "If Captain Kuro sees this he will kill us," he said annoyed.

"Buchi come check this out, there's some bad stuff going down!" Came a mysterious voice.

"My god that voice," Lea said as she started to rub her ears from the high pitched sound.

"What the hell?" Came another voice but much deeper. The voices were coming from the ship and Jango looked surprised.

"I forgot we still had our trump card~" Jango smirked as he looked up to where the giant crack was in their ship. "Come forth! Meowban Brothers!"

Lea looked at Zoro with a raised brow, "Did he really just say that? That name is ridiculous!"

Out from the ship jumped two weirdos. A skinny man with green hair and a fat one with a black square-like marking on the left side of his face. "Captain you called?" Asked the green-haired one.

"Well did you," Asked the bigger one.

"Sham!" Called the green one with a hump back.

"And Buchi!" Said the bigger one.

"We are the Meowban Brothers~" They said in unison. "At your service.'

"Buchi, Sham, you must get us up that cliff," Jango ordered as he pointed to where the crew was. "If you would be so kind please get rid of this obstacle immediately," He said as he pointed to Zoro.

"And he's ignoring us…" Lea sighed.

Zoro gave them a look which made the cower. "No, no way, we couldn't do that. He looks too strong, right Buchi?" Sham asked as he looked to his brother.

"Yeah, way stronger than us," Buchi replied.

"Huh?" Zoro said as he looked confused.

"Besides we guard the ship and not fight people," Sham said as he got closer to the figurehead.

"He's got a point, we're not the guys to send into battle," Buchi said.

"So they're a couple of pansies huh?" Usopp said as he watched the ordeal. "I guess they aren't that strong."

"Sham just do it already," Jango said annoyed.

"Ah please not me!" Sham said as he cowered behind Buchi who shielded himself with his cape.

"NOW!" Jango growled.

"Ok! OK!" Sham said.

"He's crying like a baby, what are they doing down there?" Nami asked.

Sham started to cry out as he moved up the hill in a weird manner. His arms waving frantically and yelling," I'm going to get you with these claws! You see I'm coming for you!" He said to Zoro.

"Come near me and I'll cut you!" Zoro said as he got ready to fight.

Sham's act dropped and he started fighting seriously as he lunged at Zoro, "Not likely," He hissed and his claws hit Zoro's blade. "Too bad, it seems like you fell for my little ruse," He said as he jumped back. When he did, they noticed that two of his swords were on his back. "Two out of three~" He smirked to the swordsman. "Don't underestimate me," He smirked as he licked his hand like a cat.

Zoro had a surprised look on his face and he realized his swords were gone. "Are you missing something?" Sham asked cheekily.

"There it is," Jango started but Buchi ended the saying.

"Cat Burglar."

"Give me my swords back," Zoro threatened.

"What swords? You already have a sword, how greedy can you be?" Sham teased him. "Say goodbye swords. Goodbye!" He held onto the two swords and threw them down the slope. "Now I feel lighter~" He smirks. Zoro tries to go after them but Sham gets in the way and it looks like he cut Sham in the side. It was only a ruse as he started to come down from above. "You really got to go faster, I'm as nimble as a cat!" He then grabbed Zoro's arm and pushed him down to the ground, making his face scrape against the ground. "Now Buchi, you're turn~"

Buchi dashed from where he stood to enter the battle. The fat man jumped and he almost crushed Zoro's head with his foot if Zoro didn't move out in time. Where Buchi's foot was, was a giant crater.

"Dang Buchi, he got away from you," Sham said as he joined his brother's side.

"Now he's right there, so hold him tight next time!" Buchi yelled.

"Definitely strong. Stronger than I thought he would be without all his blades," Sham said with a smirk.

"We'll get him for sure this time~" Sham said as they both got ready to attack.

"You got that right!" Buchi said. Zoro started to stand up, his hand firmly gripped to the one sword in his left hand.

"One sword technique is not my forte but what the hell," He said as he got ready to counter their attack.

"Let's go Buchi!" yelled Sham.

"Right Sham! Let's do it!" Buchi said eagerly

"GRAND MARCH OF THE PUSSYWILLOWS!" They cried out in unison as they both came towards Zoro and started to use their claws in a ferocious onslaught of attack. Zoro was countering their attack in a feverish fashion.

"This isn't good!" Nami said, "They got him on the defensive!" She gritted her teeth.

Usopp started to pull back his slingshot while Nami asked what he was doing. "I don't think Zoro won't be able to gain any ground if he is on the defensive." He then released the ball and Zoro blocked it with his own body, so they wouldn't go after them.

"YOU IDIOT!" Raven growled at Usopp.

"This is our chance!" Sham said as both him and Buchi cut deep wounds on his chest by their claws.

"It was like he moved into my shot on purpose," Usopp said in confusion.

"That's because he did!" Raven growled.

"NEVER interrupt a swordsman's fight, even if I don't have a sword yet, I am still a swordsman myself. They would go after you, if you joined in the fight." Lea scolded.

It wasn't long before the fight between the three started up again and it was almost at a stalemate as each attack was blocked by the other.

"What a guy, and to think he was trying to protect us," Usopp said in admiration.

"I'm going to get the swords!" Nami said as she started to get up before she felt the hand of Lea.

"No, I'll get them," She said as she knew that she could deal with blades better than Nami could. Lea then leapt and ran down the slope to grab the blades. Jango saw her running. He used his ring blade to attack but all he heard was the clink of metal against metal. He was a moment too late as she blocked his blade with her shoulder. Jango made a weird face as he turned around to see that he didn't hurt her. He looked at the rip in her coat to see that her skin turned to steel. She snarled and looked at Jango, "YOU. RIPPED. MY. COAT."

"Who the hell are you.." Jango said in confusion before screaming out as he saw his captain atop of the slope. "No I'm sorry! I can explain this!" He begged Kuro.

"The night has long since passed," Kuro said as his fists were taught. "So why is it that you made no progress on the plan?" He asked simply. The Black Cat Crew were starting to panic at the sight of him.

"It's all over…" Usopp mutters upsetly.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" Kuro snarled. Hearing their former captain's voice, the crew trembled. Jango was gritting his teeth. "To think that these brats have held you back. How the Black Cat Pirates have fallen," Kuro said as he dropped his duffle bag. Veins popped from his forehead as he shifted his glasses upward," Have you got to say for yourself JANGO!" He snarled.

"B...but...w.. ," Jango stuttered "You said...but I'm sorry sir, but you said that the kid wouldn't go and cause any problems." A nervous chuckle escaped his lips.

"I did say that," Kuro stood beside Usopp. "So what if I said that, he's an idiot. No one would listen to his warnings, and he would have tried doing it himself. But the one thing I haven't accounted for was your inexcusable weakness!" He snarled.

"Sir, we aren't weak! I..it's just," Jango started to say.

"That we are stronger than you!" Lea said to him from the side with her shoulder back to normal. She got a growl in response from Jango.

"Don't you dare call us weak!" Buchi and Sham said to Kuro as they started to stand up for themselves. Their claws scraping against each other in an eerie way. "You used to be such a killer, but face it Kuro, it has been years and haven't been living the good life that you used to have," Sham said before Buchi chimed in.

"We have been raiding pirate ships and towns for three years!"

"Very good, finished?" Kuro asked bluntly.

Sham gave a crazed look as he prepared to launch at him, "Oh you did nothing, but we have been killing for three years!" The two with their claws fully extended, started to rush towards their former captain.

"Buchi! Sham! Don't-" Jango tried to warn them but they didn't stop.

Kuro picked up his bag as he heard Sham say, "You're not our captain anymore!"

"So sorry but we have to kill you!" Buchi smirked as him and his brother raced up the incline and was about to reach Kuro when he started to do a weird movement and he disappeared. In no time at all, he was behind the Meowban Brothers, his claws unsheathed and the blades glinting in the light.

"Who are you going to kill?" Kuro asked darkly as the two aimed for him again.

Jango mutters, "...the Pussyfoot Maneuver…" Lea overheard him talking from behind.

"Seriously?" Lea mutters with a roll of her eyes at the name.

Kuro continued to do the movement before he appeared behind the brothers again, but this time the bladed claws were pointed in their mouth. "You know you're right, I do feel a bit sluggish after all these years. You're very lucky, I'm feeling somewhat merciful.." He said after a bit. "Maybe these years have softened me a bit. I'll give you five minutes," He muttered before lowering his claws and let them go. "If you can't deal with the situation in five minutes, then I will kill every last one of you." He mutters before backing away and showing off his precious blades once more. "Am I clear," He said to the point.

"Oh yes….yes! Perfectly clear!" Jango said to Kuro. "Thank you Kuro for being so forgiving!" He said with a small nod. "They're down to just one guy, five minutes should be more than enough!" He said to assure the guy.

Lea and Raven started to burst out laughing at the comment, while Zoro gave a slightly annoyed look. Jango eyes twitched, "Why are you two laughing? You are surely-"

Lea interrupted him before he could continue, "You couldn't even cut me, or did you forget?" She smirked. Kuro was getting impatient and the time was ticking down.

Zoro clenched his swords as the two brothers went towards him again. "We are going to kill you in one minute this time! No troubles!" Sham said. Zoro gritted his teeth before smirking as he saw Lea run around Jango and grab his swords.

"Zoro!" Lea yelled as she threw the swords in his direction. Swiftly, Zoro dodged the men and grabbed the two in his hands, his last one was in his mouth. Raven clapped seeing his dance-like movements.

He took the sword out of his mouth, "Thanks, I appreciate it!" Soon the sheaths were off and he moved to his first position. His arms made a box and the two swords in his arms pointing down. "Tiger!" He said before muttering, "You still don't get it!" He growled and sliced the two brothers in a quick motion.

"The time is still ticking," Kuro muttered with an unamused gaze.

"Carrying three swords won't help you unless you know the style to use them," Zoro said as the two bodies fell to the ground. The crew were all shocked to see their secret weapons fail before their eyes.

"T...this is bad," Jango muttered.

"Nicely done!" Lea called out with a grin. Raven knew Zoro could do well for himself, but she was more worried about Kaya.

Zoro looked at Kuro to see if he would come down to fight, but all he said that there was three minutes left. Meanwhile Buchi grabbed Jango's leg and begged for help.

"P...please Captain! I..I can do it! Hypnotize me!" Buchi muttered as he looked up at him with tears going down his cheeks. "Just do it Captain!"

"He's still alive, you do sloppy work," Kuro said with little to no emotion at all.

Zoro glanced over to where Buchi was. "So he is. I guess the blubber protected all his vital organs," He said with the sword still in his mouth. He sees Lea asking with her eyes, if he wanted her to help, but he gave a slight shake of his head in response. He fully turned around to see Buchi getting hypnotized and watched as his body got bigger and more massive. "I'm really regretting that decision now…" He muttered before getting himself ready for the fight.

Buchi's eyes were a stark white and he now showed off his ripped body. "Kill him," Jango ordered as he let the guy go. The massive body started to make his way towards Zoro. Lea saw her chance and started to make her way towards Luffy, who is still asleep under the cat mass. Jango saw it and started to rev up his weapon of choice and he threw his hypnotic ring at her. The blade glinted in the sunlight as it headed towards the running Lea.

"LEA DUCK!" Zoro called out as he saw that it was on its way to kill her.

"It's been nice knowing you," Jango said with a slight chuckle, thinking that it was going to land its mark. Lea was already by the sleeping boy and attempted to wake him. It was going nowhere until Luffy heard Zoro's yell. When he woke up, he pushed Lea down and at that moment caught the spinning wheel in his teeth and broke it with one chomp.

"Crap! That guy's back!" Said an enemy pirate. His comment made Lea burst out laughing. Raven chuckled and shook her head as she saw that their captain finally woke up and was able to help deal with Kuro. "There will never be enough time," Whined another pirate.

"Babies," Muttered Raven with a roll of her eyes.

Luffy was going to scold his sister for being reckless when he saw the rip on her shoulder. "Are you ok Lea?" He asked "Did you get hurt? Let me see it?"

"I'm fine, I turned my skin to metal before contact, but the bump on my head from when you grabbed me just now, I'm not sure," Lea huffed but had a smile on her face anyway.

Luffy looked sheepishly at her, "Sorry," He said before turning his attention to the other pirates at hand.

"Mind giving me a hand?" Lea asked as she held up her arm to him. He nodded and helped her to her feet.

"One minute in counting," Kuro reminded the group. His own pirate crew started an outburst of cries and whines. "He can't be serious, we can't defeat them in one minute!" Said a pirate with his hands to his face. "Come on guys! Stop messing around and end this already!" Cried out another one.

Luffy and Lea started to walk up the incline and as they did, the enemy crew started to make way for them out of fright. Jango looked over to Buchi. "Come on Buchi! Destroy them already! Kill the three sword bastard and I will deal with the freaky bendable kid and metal girl," He growled as he fanned out three ring blades. "I'm coming for you Straw Hat and Black Coat!" Jango growled.

Kuro narrowed his eyes, "Time's up. You knew the deal," He said flatly as he uncrossed his arms. "Time to die," He said as his fingers clang around a bit.

Luffy blinked, "Hey wait, when did he get here?" Asked Luffy as he spotted Kuro on the top of the hill.

"A few minutes ago when you were asleep," Lea said as she narrowed her eyes at the former butler.

"It's those kids..didn't they die falling off those cliffs," Kuro said before giving a small smirk, "Nice trick." He was about to do his favorite maneuver when he heard footsteps behind him. Out from the forest, came Kaya. "I guess you want to die!" He yelled as he turned to attack her, not knowing it was Kaya. Raven quickly got up and raced to block the blades from touching Kaya. Usopp had decided to tackle Kaya to the ground so she couldn't get hurt, not really seeing Raven had gone and helped her too. He blinked when he looked up to see Raven holding off Kuro with the handle of Ol' Lucy. The blades over their heads and Raven's eyes cold set on protecting the two.

Kuro was shocked to see that his attack was stopped and that the person who he was going to hit was Kaya. He was intrigued a bit that the quiet one was the one to keep his blades from making contact with skin. HIs face changed back to his normal expression while Kaya looked up to Usopp. "Are you ok Usopp?" She asked him.

"Kaya...what are you doing here.." Usopp asked with a bit of a shaky breath.

"I'm so sorry Usopp, I should have listened to you, I just couldn't believe it. That Klahadore was a scheming, murdering pirate." Kaya said softly and a bit sadly.

"Forget that...why are you here?" He asked again as he cupped her cheek. "You are in danger? Why didn't you run away?" Usopp repeated.

Kaya's eyes got glossy as she started to get emotional, "I won't run! You are still here fighting! I won't run!" She told him as tears welled up in her eyes. "You fought for me even after everything. You are hurt and still so brave. You and your friends," She said gently as she started to sit up with him. All the while Raven was holding Kuro away from the two.

Kuro cuts in and says, "This is no place for a lady."

"You have no say in this," Raven growled.

"Madam, please leave," Kuro said gently as he ignored Raven. Kaya looked up at Kuro with an angry face.

"Please stop...don't do this," She said. Kuro looked at her with his face unchanging. "Stop! Stop this right now Klahadore!" Kaya's tone was loud despite her soft nature. "I came here to stop you. Merry told me everything. "Klahadore please, if you want my fortune have it! I'll leave this village, just stop it right now!"

"I'll gladly accept your fortune Miss Kaya, thank you," Kuro said before shifting his glasses. "But I don't merely want to attain fortune, more than anything else, what I want is peace." Raven snapped and in a moment, Ol' Lucy was slammed into the face of Kuro and flew him a bit away.

"Peace? PEACE! Killing someone over money is not peace! Planning to use everyone this way is NOT peace! If you want peace, I'll give you a PIECE of good Ol' Lucy!" Raven spat as her eyes seemed to glow from her anger.

Kuro started to stand up again and wipe the blood that came from his mouth. "No, you don't seem to understand. For the three years I have been here, I had gained the trust of the townspeople and came to love it.. I will live with this peace of life!" He said and started to move in an elegant and dramatic way to show the love of his ideal living.

"You're a nut job!" Lea shouted from where she stood. That earned her a glare from Captain Kuro.

"Miss Kaya, your death will happen," Kuro said as he was annoyed from the interruptions.

"Kaya please leave, flea," Usopp begged to her.

Kaya shook her head as she shakily took out a pistol and aimed it at Kuro. "You're not Klahadore, you're not!" She said. "Leave now and never come back!"

"Oh? You point a gun at me?" Kuro asked patronizingly.

"Stop it! Just leave! Go!" Kaya continued as her hands quaked more.

"Ah, I see. You are all grown up now, so much has happened in the last three years. Miss Kaya, don't you remember the things we did together. We spent so much together, even before your parents died. You were not just my master, you were my best friend," Kuro said in a more friendly and kind way. "So much time...so many memories. We went through thick and thin, like a family," He said before looking at her in a gentle way.

"K...Klahadore…" Kaya whimpered.

"We went on shopping trips, and I took care of you when you were sick. We had so many fun times together. Miss Kaya, listen to me, I was devoted to you. For so very long. I endured it," He said as his tone started to change. "I suffered, today I could end your life and take everything I deserve!" He said as his hands were now clenched around the gun. Kaya instinctively released the gun and her eyes began to swell up in tears once more.

"To think that the respected Captain Kuro had to stoop so low to serve a snot-nosed brat!" He smirked.

"That was your choice, you idiot!" Lea snapped.

"It went against every fiber of my being," Kuro said as he dropped the gun onto the ground.

"Damn you!" Usopp snarled.

"Can you understand the rage for what it did to my pride!?" Kuro said.

Luffy's eye was twitching as he watched the group, and Lea's eyebrow was twitching in anger. Raven went wide eyed as she saw Usopp pick up the gun and shoot at him. Kuro was too fast as he did his Pussyfoot Maneuver and was behind him and Raven. The blades were close to both of their heads.

"Oh no Usopp! Raven!" Kaya said in fear.

"Thank you for hitting me Usopp, it made me remember who I was," Kuro said with a smirk, "You had hit me as hard as you could.." Kuro stopped talking as one of Luffy's fists came flying towards him and hitting him smack dab in the face. When the hand reeled back, Kuro was flat on the ground.

Lea looked at her brother with a big grin and chuckled, "Nice shot!"

Captain Kuro's men were quivering in their boots as they saw what just happened. "What was that?" One asked. "Sorcerory!" Cried another one. Raven just shook her head at the other pirates. "He's a freak!"

Lea groaned and growled, "Would you SHUT UP!"

Nami looked around and saw that everyone was distracted by Luffy and Captain Kuro. She smirked and took the time to sneak off towards the pirate ship to rob them of their gold. "I'll leave this to you guys...I got treasure to find," She mumbles to herself. Lea glanced over to the Nami as she passed behind her but returned her gaze to Captain Kuro. She wasn't going to stop her, there was a bigger problem to deal with. Her eyes widened when she saw the three boys from earlier come charging.

"USOPP PIRATES!" The three boys cried out as they ran and jumped at Kuro on the ground. Carrot had a frying pan, Pepper had a baseball bat and Onion had a shovel. All three weapons made their mark on the pirate captain's face, as much as Raven tried to grab them before they did.

"NO DON'T!" Usopp cried out.

"GET AWAY!" Begged Kaya as she was fearful for their lives.

Before the three could do any more damage, Raven had grabbed the three boys by their shirts and was trying to haul them away from the body in time. She knew that they had a death sentence.

"Those stubby brats!" Snarled Jango.

"Why didn't you tell us you were going to fight! WE are supposed to tell eachother everything!" Snapped Pepper as he looked at Usopp.

"Who cares about that! Just Run!" Usopp told them as Kuro glared from underneath his cracked lens.

"Now Way!" Carrot said.

"We got to stay and fight with you!" Pepper said determinedly.

"The Usopp Pirates will be shamed if we run in fear!" Onion stated. Their tones changed when they heard Kuro start to sit up. His blades glinted and he tried to adjust his glasses. The broken lens cracked more and fell out.

The boys screamed. "You idiots!" Usopp snapped from behind them. "Don't scream! Run!" Kuro just got up and walked past the boys without a word. He stepped in front of Usopp before giving him a nice kick to the face and sent him tumbling down the slope. Kaya and Raven looked in shock.

"USOPP!" Kaya cried out with wide eyes. Lea, Luffy, and Zoro all clenched their teeth in anger.

Kuro then turned to the group and calmly said, "That hurt. My...my. What strange technique you have. Tell me something. Do you have powers from eating a Devil Fruit? "

"Yup! I'm a Rubber Man!" Luffy said confidently. The pirate crew began to murmur again and they were shocked that he ate the forbidden fruit.

"It makes perfect sense now, I didn't imagine him stretching his hand out," Jango mutters from nearby. He then looked towards Lea and figured she had probably done the same thing.

"Jango!" Kuro declared.

"Yes sir!" Jango said obediently as he turned his attention to his captain.

"I can handle the boy, you take care of Miss Kaya as planned, "Kuro ordered as he played with his swords. "Make her write her butler into her will. Then Kill her. As for the Kids, they are an eyesore. Kill them." His comments made the blood in both Kaya and Usopp run cold.

"I'm on it!" Jango said obediently as he started to make his way up. Before he could get any farther, Zoro brought a sword in front of him to block his way.

"Hold on a second. If you want to get to them, you have to get past me first," Zoro said bluntly.

"BUUCHI!" Jango snarled through gritted teeth and the still hypnotized man came rushing at Zoro once more. That took his attention away from the second-in-command. Leaving Jango able to walk past him and towards Kaya. Buchi's movements and attacks started to make the rock around the slope crack away and crumble like an earthquake. Kuro, Luffy and Lea didn't move an inch.

As dust from the crumbling earth rose around Zoro and Buchi, Zoro barely dodged an attack from Buchi as he blocked his hand with his sword and pushed him against the cliffside. The dust cleared to show them locked in battle with Zoro's foot on Buchi's face and his sword still blocking his hand.

"Kaya move!" Usopp begged her as Jango made his way past him and Raven. The girl was too scared to move as she was stuck in place. "USOPP PIRATES!" He called the three boys.

"YES SIR!" They called him.

"I want you to listen to me. Protect Kaya with your lives. Do as I say and take Raven with you. You must keep her safe! This is the reason why we are pirates! To protect the things we treasure! Now run! That's a direct order!"

Raven blinked as she was dragged into the getaway, but figured she would help anyway. Seeing Jango coming closer, she took Ol' Lucy that was on the ground and swung it at the hypnotist. A nice smack to the head sent him to the ground, giving the small group a chance to escape. Raven quickly realized she couldn't leave the group yet, she urged Kaya on and the girl ran with the boys into the forest.

"Jango," Kuro muttered impatiently as the man started to get up.

"Sorry, I was hit. Those fools really think they can escape me?" He said as he took out his ring and started to spin it around his finger. "ACK-" He cried out as he felt himself getting in the spine and a small black pellet fell to the ground behind him. Usopp had his slingshot in hand and it was quivering in his grasp.

"Gotcha!' Usopp said in pain.

Jango snarled but was cut off as Kuro snapped at him, "He isn't a priority!"

After a minute of snarling, he held hat and nodded, "Yes sir!" He then started to dash into the forest in chase of the small group.

"Their attempt to escape is futile," Kuro said to Usopp as he flexed his claws. "You know all too well how weak Kaya is. There is no way that they can escape Jango. But if you want to help her, go ahead. But first, you have to get off this hill alive, Usopp."

As Kuro made his small speech to Usopp, Luffy and Lea were making their way up the hill and towards Kuro.

"Buchi!" Kuro snarled as the man was still entangled with Zoro. After pushing the man away with his foot, he used his three sword style to slice an X into his flesh. He threw his swords in the air and they landed in their sheaths perfectly.

What sounded like gunshots, started to come from the forest beyond them as birds flew away in terror. "What was that..?" Usopp asked in fear.

"Jango is probably tearing the place apart, you are free to find out if you dare to try." Kuro said to Usopp. This made the marksman grit his teeth.

"Heartless bastard!" Usopp spat. "Don't you even have a shred of pity, you lived with that girl for three years!"

"I have told you. Kaya is only a pawn to aid in my attempt to win. I will only be thankful, once she's dead. "

"Damn you!" Usopp muttered.

"Man he's irritating.." Zoro mutters as he watches from below.

Luffy nodded, "Maybe we should put him out of his misery."

"I better be included in this," Lea piped in as she narrowed her eyes at Kuro.

"HEY!" Luffy cried to Usopp, "Usopp go find them! Raven, go with him. Don't worry, we'll take care of this guy." He reassured the marksman, while Zoro smirked and Lea nodded.

Usopp started to get up but he fell while holding his head. He was still getting over the pain of getting kicked in the head.

"You should stay down, even if you caught up to Jango he would end your life in a second," Kuro said after a bout of laughter.

"You are an idiot, you know that?" Lea snapped to him. 'You have the problem of underestimating people you don't know. My SISTER will be with him. They'll be fine, we have dealt with worse than you before."

Kuro narrowed his eyes before hearing Usopp, "I don't care. I don't care that I'm weak. I'll protect them. I'm the Captain of the Usopp Pirates. I will protect them and those that I hold dear! I will protect everyone in the village if it kills me! On my word! You will never step foot in that village!" Usopp was starting to say his beliefs. The men down below started laughing before a giant boulder came hurling down towards them, Luffy standing on top with his face full of anger.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY!" He snarled. The men hold their tongues in fear of getting pummeled.

"Luffy. Me, Usopp and Raven are going to hunt down the hypno freak. Is that a problem?" He asked as he held Usopp over his shoulder.

"No, Hurry." Luffy said. "Me and Lea got it here."

As Zoro was starting to go past Kuro he started to talk. "Hold it you three. Where do you think you're going? Who gave you permission to go anywhere."

"WE DID!" Snapped Lea and Luffy as Luffy's hand shot up towards Kuro once again. This time Kuro wised up and quickly dodged the hand with little to no time. "Zoro, Usopp! Raven! Get going!" He called them. This time, instead of his hand going back, he had launched himself forward, with Lea on his back and Kuro barely dodged. As Kuro swiped down, Lea grabbed her knives and grew two more arms on both sides before blocking Kuro's attack from Luffy. As the three are interlocked in battle, the two men and girl slipped into the forest.

"Gum! Gum!" Luffy started to say and this was Lea's hint to duck. As she ducked, she revealed that Luffy had his feet together and he said, "Spear!" He then shot his legs out and towards Kuro. After stretching a bit, Luffy muttered, "He disappeared again!" He retracted his legs and it made like a sound like a snap. Lea started to get up. "The others got away," He said a bit happily.

"Thankfully," Lea said with a soft sigh before looking around.

Kuro appeared once more, "Before I kill you, I am compelled to ask. What are outsiders like you, doing butting into the village's business anyway?"

"Heh, cause there is a man in this village that I don't want to let die." Luffy exclaimed

"Heh. Simple enough," Kuro muttered. "Are you ok with that being the reason that you two will die?" He asked with a smirk.

"You're way too cocky," Lea muttered.

"Sure am!" Luffy said with a big grin.

"Why wouldn't we mind dying for people that we care for?" Lea asked before grinning, "But we aren't going to die."

Kuro smirked, "We'll see about that!" He said before getting ready to attack. Luffy extended his hands to grab onto his shoulders and lifted himself up to propel himself to kick him. Kuro saw the attack and moved his arms which caused a domino effect on Luffy. He turned and hit the ground with his head.

Luffy took this as an opportunity to use his feet again and whip his leg out for Kuro's legs. Kuro jumped up and this gave Lea the chance to run and jump after him. She had propelled herself up from using Luffy's back and started to swipe her knives at him. As Kuro was distracted by Lea, Luffy used his Gum Gum Pistol to try and attack him from the side, but Luffy missed the same time as Lea. Lea landed on her feet beside Luffy, while Kuro was now standing on Luffy's extended arm with his arms crossed.

"This is quite boring," He muttered.

"You cocky jerk!" Luffy spat before Kuro started to charge at him from on top of his arm. Before the two could block him, his hand swiped down and pushed both of them away. The claws had nicked Luffy in the face while Lea's necklace was caught in his claws, with the chain broken.

"You nicked me!" Luffy snarled as cheers started to erupt from Kuro's crew.

Kuro smirked before spotting the necklace on his claw. He brought it close and was about to look inside. "Oh? Now what did I just catch in my claws?" He said with a smirk.

Lea looked up with shock and gasped, a hand went to her throat to check if it was her necklace. Her face becomes red and she snarls, "Give my necklace back!" She charged at Kuro to try and grab the necklace. Kuro tched before back handing her with his claw and threw her to the side. Lea was lucky enough to snatch the necklace as he did so. Seeing Lea's treasure getting touched and pushed aside, made Luffy angry. He grabbed his hat and made his way over to Lea and placed it on her head.

"You stay out of this for now, let me handle this jerk," Luffy said to her before looking back at Kuro with anger in his eyes.

Kuro was starting to get annoyed by the cheering of his own men and he snarled, "Shut up! You still don't get it! You fools! This whole plan was made for me to slip away into obscurity. I'm tired of it! Concocting plans everyday for barbarians to cause havoc and mayhem. Relentlessly attacked by government dogs and pirate hunters. I am sick and tired of all that in that cursed life! And when my plan succeeds, then I will live comfortably." He then looked towards two, "Do you two now understand. I will not allow this perfect plan, years in the making, go down in flames. My plan will not be interrupted by urchins like you!" He said before charging at the two.

Luffy dodged the claws by picking up the boulder and putting it in front of him. "You can do more than just stretch!" Kuro said in surprise.

"I've been toughing myself up to be a pirate!" Luffy said as the boulder smashed under his hands. The claws were deep into the stone and when Luffy threw it to the side, the blades broke. "You know what? You don't want a reputation! Then don't be a pirate!" He snarled as he used another boulder to attack. "You're just greedy Kuro!" He smirked, "But we have ambitions!"

Meanwhile, in the forest, Pepper and Onion were running away from Jango with Carrot and Kaya beyond them.. "Is that weird hypnotist still following us?" Pepper asked Onion.

"I guess, but I can't see him anymore. Let's make sure to lose him for good," Onion said as they ran.

"There is no way that he can find us in our own forest!" Carrot said with a grin, Kaya running by his side.

"Don't you worry Miss Kaya, the Usopp Pirates are going to keep you safe and sound!" Onion said with a grin.

"That's right! The Usopp Pirates stand by their word!" Pepper said as he led the small group. Kaya was smiling as she held her coat close to her chest.

She was panting a bit as she ran, "Thank you so much," Kaya said softly. Out of nowhere, two spinning blades came close to them and cut down the trees. As the trees began to fall, the blades returned to their master, Jango. His red heart glasses glinting in the sunlight as his hands caught the blades in the air.

Jango started to spin the blade hoops on his fingers as he looked at the stumps before him. "Guess they're not there," He mutters. "FOOLS I"M COMING TO GET YOU!" He called out to the group. "DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN RUN FROM ME!" The Usopp pirates were near him the whole time, as they popped their heads up from behind a fallen tree. "WE CAN DO THIS THE EASY WAY OR I COULD LEVEL THIS WHOLE FOREST!"

"Woah that guy is really mad," Carrot said as he watched the man. Kaya was beside the boys on the ground, panting as she had her hand on her heart. She was trying to regain the breath that she had lost from all that running.

"He could do a lot more than just hypnotize people," Pepper said.

He stopped playing with his rings when he looked around again. "Where have you brats gone," he growled. He huffed and stalked off in another direction. He didn't look down at the log that he just left by, for he would've found the four, hunched down and in fear of being spotted. Carrot was about to sneeze, when both Onion and Pepper tried to keep him from blowing their cover. After a few minutes the danger of being exposed has passed. Jango could be heard in the distance as he was slashing his blade at bushes saying, "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

In another part of the forest, Usopp was trying to tell Zoro which way to go,"I said EAST! Turn EAST!" He growled from on top of Zoro's back.

"Which way! LEFT or RIGHT!" Zoro growled as he looked around.

"For heaven's sake!" Raven growled as she grabbed Zoro's arm and started to drag him in the right direction. "You need to learn your directions better!" She said to him as they ran through the trees.

Back with Kaya and the boys, they had started running to a different part of the forest when Kaya fell to the ground as she lost her balance. She fell to her knees as Pepper and Onion turned to help her.

"Miss Kaya!" Onion said in worry.

"I..I'm sorry, you should go on without me," Kaya said as she tried to ease her heart. She didn't like putting others in danger because of her troubles.

"What are you talking about! We have strict orders to protect you!" Carrot said as he watched her from behind. He was trying to make sure that they weren't being discovered.

"Oh no! She has a really bad fever!" Onion said as he placed a hand on her forehead and felt the heat radiating off her skin.

"What! Alright, hang on Kaya, we'll get you a doctor!" Carrot said with a nod and gritted his teeth.

"Idiot! We don't have time for that! Someone is trying to kill her!" Pepper said angrily.

"But it's dangerous for her to run anymore," Carrot said as he helped her start to move again.

"SHOW YOURSELF YOU RUNTS!" Called out Jango as he ruffled around the bushes nearby. He let his ring fly and watched as more trees were destroyed.

The boys and Kaya wince a bit from the sounds going on nearby. Kaya looked at the boys and smiled softly, "Thank you, for helping me," She said. "Just the thought is more than enough, now go."

"WHERE DID YOU BRATS GO!" Jango called. "IT'S NO USE RUNNING COME ON OUT!"

Pepper dropped his bat and let it hit the ground below and as he began to talk. "If we left Kaya right now, we would have a better chance of surviving, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, probably," Onion said as he took a hold of his shovel.

"And the Captain always said to run from danger," Carrot said as he held out his frying pan.

They heard another tree crash as they stared at Kaya on the ground. "Then again, our captain is a liar," Pepper said sternly.

"But even he didn't take his own advice," Onion said angrily as eyes narrowed, "He tried so hard to protect us. He risked his life for us!"

"Heh..We swore to protect Kaya!" Carrot said before the three looked at eachother.

"Prepare yourself Usopp Pirates, we have a job to do!" Pepper said as he brought in his bat. Onion and Carrot placed their weapons on top of Pepper's .

Kaya was getting frightened as she looked at the boys. "Stop this! You're only kids!" She begged. "You don't have to put your lives on the line for my sake!"

Carrot then turned to her, "We don't want to die, we have to fight for our lives!"

Kaya's eyes widened in fear a bit. "Just like our Captain always said," Carrot said.

Jango had kneeled down to look at the trail of kid sized footprints. He grinned as he began to stand up, "Gotcha~."

Back at the slope, Captain Kuro's men were starting to talk amongst themselves about how Luffy broke the claws of one of Kuro's weaponized gloves with the rock. Luffy grins down at him as he drops the rock, "That leaves the other five."

"Nice job Luffy!" Lea called from the tree.

Kuro was wincing as he slowly started to get up. The crew down below were still talking and getting in arguments among themselves. Among the conversations, words like: "Don't say that name" and "You can do it Captain Kuro!" were heard. After a few minutes, the crew started to burst out laughing from someone trying to say Kuro's village name.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTHS!" Kuro growls as he starts to get up, his glare as cold as Ice. "ALL OF YOU! I have seen enough and I will deal with you, the only way I know," He growls. Luffy could see the wicked smile on Kuro's dark face from the reflections of the broken blades that were embedded in the ground. "EXTERMINATION! I WILL KILL EVEN THAT FOOL JANGO!"

Both Luffy and Lea glared at Kuro as his men began to panic. "Kill us captain?" One guy asked as a few more tried to ask their questions but they were shut down immediately. Their panic and disbelief clear on their faces.

"That plan no longer concerns you," Kuro said as he adjusted his classes. "When you're all dead, we all know who the village will accuse. I never attended to let any of you mongrels escape alive from this village. No one, NO ONE who knows of my existence would live through this. "

"NO WAY! HE PLANNED TO KILL US FROM THE VERY BEGINNING!" Shouted a scared crewmember. The others started to panic.

"Three years ago I planned to erase Captain Kuro and everyone that was included. It's all part of my plan," Kuro said before giving an evil chuckle.

"You guys are dumb," Luffy said as he had his hands on his hips. "The most uncool pirates I know," He looked to Kuro.

"Huh, we're uncool huh?" Kuro asked as he adjusted his glasses.

"That's putting it mildly," Lea said bluntly.

"Pirates are nothing more than savages, people rising above their animal nature. Without my plans, what could they have possibly accomplished? A crew is nothing to me, just a simple means to an end. Crewmembers are just pawns in a captain's game. Whether my men die is up to me and me alone. If I tell them to fight, then they'll fight. If I order them, then they have better do it. They know the punishment for disobedience." Kuro smirked.

"You are such an idiot," Lea said and Kuro turned to her. "I lived on a pirate ship for most of my younger life and I know what it's like to be on one. It was a Yonko's," she said flatly. The word Yonko got the attention of everyone, except Luffy who already knew of her past. "The people on that ship were a family. They fought together, slept together, ate together and partied together." Lea continued. "They looked to my uncle for leadership and yet fooled around with him when it came to times of relaxation. If what you say about pirates is true, then the only savage pirate that I can see is you."

Kuro just huffed, "Then your uncle is a fool. No captain should let their crewmates be so close to them."

"And yet, he is a Yonko and you're here getting your butt kicked by a seventeen year old," Lea responded smugly.

Kuro just growled, "ENOUGH! THIS IS HOW PIRATES ARE! YOU DARE TALK DOWN TO ME!" Kuro's teeth were clenched and his veins were popping.

"No, no matter how many hundreds of men follow you as captain, you would never be good as Usopp!' Luffy said with a smirk. Lea smirked as she agreed with her brother's comment.

"You fool! Are you insinuating that I am no better than a teen who pretends to be a pirate?!" Kuro snarled at Luffy who gave him a smirk.

"That's right," He said simply.

Kuro burst out in laughter before raising his broken glove, "Well aren't you funny. Don't get all cocky because you snapped one of my cat claws." He said with a grin. "How exactly is he better than me?" He asked as his eyes narrowed.

"In many, many ways," Lea called from the tree, her arms folded as she watched the two.

Kuro ignored her before using his pussyfoot maneuver. He soon vanished before appearing above Luffy. "He's better than you, because he has heart," Luffy said simply as he got ready to fight.

The answer made Kuro annoyed, "He's got what?" He mutters.

"A guy like you doesn't know what a true pirate is," Luffy called as he tried to whip his arm around to hit him. His fist made contact and it slammed Kuro into the side of the hill. Gasps from the crew below were heard as the dust began to settle.

"How insulting," Kuro mutters from within the dust cloud. "It would appear that you need a lesson in what real pirates are like," He said as he brought his hands to his face without looking at Luffy. He combed his hair back and smirked, "It isn't pleasant. Your first lesson will be about terror." He said as he began to stand up. "The lesson I learned well when I stared down death." Kuro then had his body hunched over and started to sway side to side in a rhythmic way.

"Hey isn't that...that!" One crew member started to say with his eyes wide.

"This is bad!" Cried out another one who was pulling their face in fear.

"Why is he using that technique?" Asked the crewmember with two horns on his head. Luffy looked over his shoulder to the botched crew, hearing what they had to say. "It's only one guy, why is he using the: Out of the Bag Attack!"

"For the love of! Why the heck does he name his moves so stupidly!" Lea growled as she rubbed her temples.

Begs of mercy was coming from the crew as he continued to move strangely. "What's up with them," Luffy mutters. "He's wobbling back and forth." He then looked back to Kuro. The begs were growing louder as Kuro got himself into a hypnotic state.

"OUT OF THE BAG ATTACK!" Kuro says before disappearing.

"What the hell?" Lea asked as she saw he was gone.

After a few seconds of silence a man cries out in pain as he is clawed by his unseen captain. Then another and another, they were dropping like flies. "What is he doing down there?" Luffy asked himself before hearing the stone near him getting clawed as well. "That guy is everywhere!" More and more screams were heard as the men were badly hurt.

"Damn, we can't stop him. Once he starts, he moves so fast that not even he knows what he's cutting." One pirate said that Luffy overheard. Luffy just stood there as bits of his hair were cut and a few scratches appeared on his skin. Luffy was clenching his teeth as his anger was starting to build.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY HEART! THOSE WERE YOUR FRIENDS!" Luffy snarls as his fists were tightly clenched.

"Oh boy..he pissed him off," Lea sighed. Luffy got no answer as he was cut on the side this time, with deeper cuts.

He outstretched his arm and somehow gripped the coat of Kuro before slamming him down onto the ground. He was breathing heavily and mutters, "I found you!"

"You bastard, you didn't accept your fate like a good boy," Kuro smirked.

"You gotta be kidding me! You weren't even all that close to hitting him, you idiot! You hit your former crew and the rocks more than him!" Lea yelled as she tried to stand up to go back in to help her brother, but Luffy pushed her back down with an extended hand.

"It would've been better if they just died during the attack," Kuro answers Lea coldly. Making Luffy and Lea quite pissed.

"No matter what happens to me, my crew and I will never be like you," Luffy said with a straight face.

"Hell yeah!" Lea exclaimed with a smirk before shoving his hand away so it could retract back.

"Not will, someone like you can't be like me," Kuro said as he pointed the blades at Luffy's face.

"Thank god for that!" Lea mutters.

Luffy's unmoving face was making him nervous before backing away. "Before you die, you will writhe in agony, as I hack you up like a fish. I'm going to carve you up and I'm going to enjoy it." Kuro said as he fixed his glasses. Kuro then started to do the 'Out of the bag' attack. Luffy started to charge at him.

"Not again!" He snarled. Soon Kuro was gone again and it left Luffy quite angered.

Back in the forest, Jango was calling out, "COME OUT YOU BRATS! I KNOW YOUR HIDING! GIVE YOURSELVES UP!"

From behind a fallen log, a small white flag started to fly as Pepper started to say, "We surrender! We'll show you the way to Kaya, just don't kill us!"

"You think I'm stupid?" Jango said with a smirk, "I won't fall for that! You silly rugrats!" He said as he held his hat and started to move towards the log. Soon he was falling face first as Onion had pulled a hidden rope, making him trip. Pepper soon came hopping over the log.

"We got him!" He said happily. "Now!"

Onion soon ran out of the bushes with a mask over his face as he started to shake pepper into Jango's face. "Pepper attack!" Jango started to sneeze.

Carrot then appeared with his frying pan and hit Jango where the sun didn't shine. Making the man cry out in pain. The two boys then darted out of sight as Jango started to get up with sneezes and a pained look on his face.

"I was right, those boys were lying!" He mutters to himself as he tries to stop the sneezes that wrecked his body.

From above the rock ledge, Pepper, Onion and Carrot were pushing a log off the top and it landed on Jango's foot. The man started to bounce as he held his hurt foot.

"END OF THE LINE HYPNOTIST!" The three of them called out as they jumped towards Jango. Though he turned around with a rather cold look in his eyes. He dodged Pepper and Carrot but caught Onion by the throat.

"Looks like you bit off more than what you can chew!" Jango said.

"No! We failed!" Pepper said disappointedly.

"Real pirates don't like being mocked, by the likes of you." He growled as he threw Onion into a nearby tree.

"ONION!" Both Pepper and Carrot cried out as they watched their friend get hurt.

"You pretend pirates sure got over your heads," Jango said as he stood above the two and they froze in place. "Didn't you?" He said before picking them both up and throwing them just like he did with Onion. "Rich girl! I know you're here! Listen up! Unless you show yourself, I will execute these lads and I will make sure that it will be done in a painful fashion. Do not doubt my skills at such a task." He then picked up his hat that was laying on the floor. He heard movements and Kaya soon appeared. Jango smirked, 'There you are."

"No! Miss Kaya! Run for your life!" Onion calls to her.

"Run!" Carrot cries.

Carrot's cries had gotten the attention of the trio who were looking for them. "Hey, did you hear that?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah, that's them alright," Usopp said with his teeth clenched.

"They need help, let's go!" Raven said as she started to drag the two boys after her in the other direction where the screams had come from.

"There's no need for that," Kaya said gently to Jango. "Please leave the children be," She said defeatedly.

"No Kaya! He's going to kill you after you sign that will!" Pepper said as he grits his teeth.

Kaya looked away sadly and the boys could have sworn they saw tears in the corners of her eyes. "I..I'm sorry," She said softly.

"Silly girl, you can't bargain with me. Captain Kuro simply instructed me to get rid of everyone," He said then looked at the boys.

"N..no!" Kaya said weakly before seeing Jango was distracted, she quietly snuck up and snagged his hypnotist ring before cowering away to a tree, holding the blade close. "N..no! You listen to me! If you don't do exactly what I say, then you won't get to kill me! A...a..and I won't write my will!" She said before pointing the blade at her throat. That freaked out Jango as he tried to get her to put down the weapon.

"H..hold on! Don't do that!" He said desperately. "Don't be hasty! I have to absolutely get you to write that will!"

"Stop Kaya!" Pepper said with his eyes wide.

Jango huffed as he finally admitted defeat. "Fine, I'll let them go. In their condition they won't make a fast getaway," He then started to walk over to Kaya. The boys had their heads down in shame as Jango switched his blade for a feathered pen. "Here," He said before guiding her to where the will was on a stump nearby. "Don't forget to sign your name," He instructed as he watched over her.

"I know," she said quietly.

"This sucks," Carrot mutters as he watches his friend.

Jango grins and read out loud the will and he was quite pleased. "Mmm, yes! Very good!" He said before folding the paper and puts it in his jacket. "This is your will alright, very good."

Kaya then stood up, "Alright, remember my deal. You won't kill them," she said gently before wincing as Jango brought his hand on her throat and pushed her to the tree. His blade spinning on a finger.

"Don't you worry, I may not look like it, but I'm regarded as an honest man," Jango said.

She winced and gripped at her coat as the young boys called out her name. Out from the treeline of the side, Raven appeared with Ol' Lucy out in her hands and she had hit Jango, making him go hit a tree. She pants as she was soon standing by Kaya's side. Zoro and Usopp right on her tail. Usopp went to check on Kaya as Zoro patted Raven's back. Raven soon regained her breath and narrowed her eyes at Kuro's second in command. Her eyes ablaze.

Back on the slope, Kuro had appeared briefly in front of Luffy as he leaned back a bit before fully appearing a few feet behind. He slowly turned to him as Luffy asked, "Aren't you tired yet? I bet you are from all that dancing around."

"Don't get cocky, that was just simply a warmup," Kuro said as he fixed his glasses with both hands this time. "The real fight begins now," he said with a grin.

"So you are a masochist," Lea said bluntly with a roll of her eyes. That made Kuro's eyes twitch but he tried his best to ignore her comments and focus his attention on Luffy.

"Soon I'll be feasting on your fear," He said with a grin.

"So you're a nut job too," Lea said with a smirk.

"Oh shut up!" Kuro growled as he went and looked at her. All he got in response was an outburst of laughter. He growled before looking back at Luffy, "It'll be a sweet wine to your agony." Lea's laughter increased in volume at his comment. Kuro's eyes just narrowed. "Now...Out of the Bag Attack!" He said once again before disappearing.

As Luffy was trying to figure out where Kuro was going, he started to outstretch his hand trying to grab at him. Following the trail of claw marks, Luffy was able to grab onto Kuro's leg and pulled himself to him. He then acted like a monkey and wrapped his arms around Kuro's, and his legs around the older man's waist. Kuro's arms were outstretched in surprise.

"What is he doing," Lea mutters under her breath as the dust settled.

"Nice try you jerk!" Luffy said with a grin, Kuro was gritting his teeth.

"You! Get off of me!" Kuro growled.

"Wow butler man, your life right now really sucks! Your plan for three years have been a total failure!" Luffy said.

"That goofy kid stopped Kuro!" Said a crewman. "If he wins, does that mean we won't be slaughtered by the captain?" Asked another.

As Kuro was distracted by the taunts of his crewmates, Luffy went and smashed his head into his. He then let his head stretch back towards the crew and growled, "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CHEER ME ON!" A burst of laughter was heard from Lea again as she watched her brother.

"Let go of me!" Kuro screamed, "My plan will not be disrupted!" H growled before being headbutted again by Luffy, this time much stronger. It knocked him to the ground, his glasses falling off his face. Luffy easily catches himself on the rocks beside him. He slowly gets up and looks at Kuro's knocked out body.

"That man really did beat Kuro. Not even the marines could take him out. A man with a thousand plans was beaten by a kid," said a crewmember in shock. Him and the rest of the crew started to talk amongst themselves. Lea got up and started to make her way over to Luffy.

"Nicely done, that headbutt looked like it hurt," Lea said with a grin as she got to his side.

"How is your eye?" Luffy asked as he turned to his sister.

"Healing, might have to put something on it later. Though it won't scar," she said. "Why does it always have to be three lines over my eye like Uncle Shanks though?" She shrugged.

"It's a mystery," he said with a shrug before looking towards the crew.

Another crew member piped up a question as they saw him looking at them, "Who are you guys!"

"I am Monkey D. Luffy and this is my quartermaster. We are real pirates, since the only way a pirate abandons his name is when he dies," He growls to them. "I would never lose to a coward who ditches his name, betrays his friends and runs from the life of the sea."

"I hear that," Lea said with a nod.

"Luffy? I never heard that name before," One guy said.

"I wouldn't expect you too, your captain just got taken down by a rookie who doesn't even have a wanted poster yet," Lea said with a smirk. That made the crewmembers of The Black Cat Pirates drop their jaws.

"You should remember my name and my crew for your rest of your lives," Luffy growled. "Cause one of these days I'm going to be King of the Pirates!" He said with a big grin while Lea just smiled. Luffy then picked up Kuro by the collar and threw his body down to his crewmates below. "NOW GET OUT OF HERE!" He said while Lea burst out laughing once more. "AND NEVER COME BACK!" He called to them. That was when Nami came running to the pair with a small sack of gold.

"That's all they had?" Lea asked.

Nami nodded, "They were sad excuses for pirates," She said with a hiss.

Lea was going to respond when she felt Luffy starting to fall, so she went and grabbed him, knowing he had exhausted himself.

Nami smiled gently, "You did good Luffy. You too, Lea."

Lea chuckled softly, "That's an understatement. Well done little brother." She gently set him down.

"Say why were you so mad earlier?" Nami asked curiously as she sat down next to them.

"Cause I truly hate people like them. They are so wrong. That is not how friends should act," Luffy said as he looked at the sky.

"What are you talking about? Of course it isn't? Most pirates aren't the brave, noble people you make them out to be. I say Captain Kuro is pretty standard," Nami said with a sigh.

Luffy looked over to her before changing the topic. "I want some meat-"

Lea then shoved his hat onto his face while saying, "YOU are getting your wounds looked at and fixed before anything. We also have to meet up with Raven and them to see how they are going."

Usopp and Zoro soon walk up to Raven as she puts away her hammer. Out by the tree line, Jango was knocked out cold with his heart glasses broken beside him. He didn't see it coming.

"Hey guys, can you keep what happened here a secret?" Usopp asked his small friends.

"What a secret?" Carrot asked, surprised. "Why would we want to keep all of this a secret?"

"Yeah, Why huh? We put our lives out to protect the village!" Pepper asked confused.

"Now everyone would change their opinion on you. You would be going from Usopp the liar to Usopp the Hero!" Onion said as the boys started to celebrate.

Kaya looked over to Usopp, "Really Usopp, you need to clear this misunderstanding. "

"Misunderstanding? I was known to the village as a liar because I lied all the time Kaya, they were right not to believe me. Besides there is nothing to tell them anymore. I'm sure that no other pirates would have a reason to come to this island anymore. So listen up and pretend this nothing happened. Ok? This was all just another one of my big lies. Now I won't force you to-"

"No I can do it!" Carrot said determinedly. "I will do anything for the good of the village!"

"Yeah me too!" Pepper said excitedly.

"Yeah me too! My lips are sealed!" Said Onion.

Usopp then turned to Kaya,"Kaya, will you tell?" He asked with a smile.

Kaya chuckled and gently shook her head,"No."

"Alright, with this being said how about you three take Kaya back home. She needs to rest after all this drama," Raven said. The three boys nodded and gently helped Kaya go back home. Usopp, Zoro and Raven all went back to where the others were on the slope.

"Thanks guys, you really helped me alot," Usopp said as he looked at the small pirate crew.

"Give credit where credit is due. I was only doing it because you did something," Zoro said with a smirk.

"Yeah, same here," Luffy said with a big smile.

"Who cares about that, I got my hands on this sweet, sweet treasure." Nami said as she creepily hugged the bag of gold.

Raven just lets out a sigh as she leaned on the side of the slope. "I'm just happy I got there in time to knock Jango away."

"I probably would have done it again, just so I could punch Kuro in the face," Lea said with a grin. All of this talk just made Usopp smile and laugh.

He then grew solemn as he looked out to the sea, "All of this that happened today helped me. I had come to a very difficult decision." He said to the group. He reminescened on the talk he gave to the Usopp pirates before he made his way over to the crew. "Thanks guys, I have to go," He said before he walked away.

After Usopp left, Lea stood up and stretched. "Alright, let's get something to eat but first everyone is getting fixed up." The rest of the crew nodded in response. Soon the five were at the tavern finishing up their meal.

"Now that we have eaten, we should probably get going," Zoro said.

"Yeah, you're right," Luffy said before they heard the door open and a familiar voice called out to them.

"Oh so there you are," Kaya said gently.

"Hi there, miss," Luffy said.

"Oh Miss Kaya, how are you feeling? Should you be out of bed?" Nami asked as she looked over.

"Yes, now I really think I can recover," She said as she walked up to the table. "Well you see, my sickness was because of the mental shock I had for losing my parents. Usopp's friendship started to help me get better. I can't stay in bed forever you know," She chuckled.

"Good for you," Lea said with a smile and a nod.

"You all have done so much for me, I can't thank you enough," She said gently as she looked at them. "I prepared a gift for you for everything you have done for me. I'd be honoured if you accept it." Kaya said cutely and happily. Kaya then took the small crew to the shoreline where she revealed a giant caravel ship for them. It sported a stripe sail and had a sheep's head for a figure head. Underneath the head was a cannon. A perfect beginner ship for a starting pirate crew.

Luffy was excited, Nami was amazed that it was a caravel ship and Zoro was just pleased. "Nice!" Lea grins as she looks at the ship. Raven grins.

"Are you actually giving this to us?" Luffy asked with pure excitement.

"Mhmm, as a token of my appreciation," Kaya said with a chuckle.

"It's a slightly older model but I personally designed it and she sails like a dream," Merry said with a bit of pride in his voice. Merry then started to describe the boat in great detail. "And I named her 'Going Merry'," Merry said before trying to explain something else when Nami interrupted him.

"You can just tell me everything," Nami said with a grin.

Luffy can't fully show his excitement as he started to marvel at every detail, especially the figurehead. "She's gorgeous!" He said with a grin.

"We loaded it with all the provisions that you would need for your long voyage," Kaya said.

"Thanks Kaya, I was just about to go back and get some more supplies. With Luffy on board, we always need extras. Don't you deny it bro," she said to Luffy with a straight face.

"Thanks," Luffy said before hearing a weird sound.

Lea blinks before asking, "Do you hear that?"

"Yeah…-" Raven said before seeing a giant green ball bounce down the slope and towards The Going Merry.

"Oh no! Usopp!" Kaya said as she watched him.

"Hey, what's he doing?" Luffy asked.

"I'd say rolling out of control.." Lea said.

"How about we stop him before he gets hurt...Again," Raven said as she pondered how to stop him.

Luffy and Zorro both lifted their feet and stopped the rolling backpack, but they happened to land on Usopp's face.

"Thanks guys.." Usopp muttered from underneath their feet.

"Anytime," Luffy said.

"Ok boys, take your feet off his face," Lea said as she got them to back up.

"Are you really doing it?" Kaya asked once Usopp was detached from his backpack.

"Yeah, I wanted to get going before I changed my mind," He said as he looked out at the sea. "Please...don't stop me."

"I won't, I know it's time for you to go," Kaya said gently.

"Don't be sad about it. I'll be able to tell you brand new stories that sound more ridiculous than my lies," He said with a smile.

"Good, I look forward to it," She said.

Usopp then looked at the Going Merry and its crew of five people. "Take care guys, we'll meet again soon," he said.

"How come?' Luffy asked as he leaned on the railing.

Usopp shrugged, "Because I'm taking off onto the high seas and I hope we'll meet again."

"What are you talking about? Get on already," Zoro said as he motioned to the ship.

"Just listen to him cousin, and get on," Lea said. Raven nodded in agreement. Usopp was confused.

"We are friends, right?" Luffy asked.

Usopp blinked and a bit of silence was heard before he jumped into the air excitedly. He then said one last goodbye to Kaya before coming aboard the ship. Soon the Going Merry was afloat and they were all sailing into the horizon.