Snow slowly fell from the sky, covering the Merry as it sailed. Nami frowned in confusion watching it from the cabin room. She was wearing a jacket, earmuffs and a scarf to keep warm. Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday were sitting at the table wrapped in blankets. "Can somebody tell me why it's snowing? It was just hot and sunny a few minutes ago." Nami shivered.
"Perfect! It's all done! Look at who decided to drop in, it's Mr. Snow Barrel!" Luffy grinned. He made a snowman with a barrel on its head, wearing a cape, with two stones for its eyes and sticks for its nose and arms.
"You amateur. You call that pathetic blob a snow man?" Usopp smirked, shaking his head.
"What?" Luffy asked.
"Behold! A sculpture inspired from the vault, the snow queen!" Usopp grinned, showing off his large snow sculpture of a woman, that looked strangely a lot like Kaya, sitting on a rock with a seashell behind her.
"Whoa, nice!" Luffy shouted. He punched his snowman, making the arm shoot out, destroying Usopp's sculpture's head. Usopp's eyes bulged out of their sockets.
"What do you think you're doing?!" the sniper shouted, angrily, upset that his hours of work was destroyed. He kicked Luffy's snowman's head, making the barrel fall on it destroying it.
"Hey! You big butthead!" Luffy shouted. Nami sighed watching the two, bicker and fight, having a snowball fight and tossing large balls of snow at each other.
"How can those two be so freaking energetic in the freezing cold is beyond me."
"Nami! Shall I shovel some more for you?!" Sanji called out to her. He was wearing a scarf and gloves. Aya was helping him shovel as well,
"Just keep going until it's gone!" Nami told Sanji.
"My pleasure!" Sanji grinned. Ichi and L were helping them out as well, shovel off the snow. Ichi, was mostly playing, tossing a few mounds at L.
"WILL YOU STOP IT?!" L exclaimed.
"Excuse me? Doesn't this ship have a heater? This environment is inhumane." Mr. 9 whined.
"I'm cold!" Miss Wednesday complained as well. Nami turned and glared at the two.
"Shut your mouths! You're not guests here! If you want to warm up then go shovel snow or something!" She shouted, irritated. Suddenly, Lightning struck in the skies and a strong wind started to pick up.
"Lightening? First snow, now lightening. What's going on with this weather?" Nami frowned. "I've never seen anything like it. One minute, it's a cloudless sky then next it's a blizzard. It's like the normal rule of nature don't apply. Just like Crocus warned us."
"So what do you think? Ready to turn back yet?" Miss Wednesday smirked.
"You and your friends have no idea how to survive this place." Her partner smirked as well.
"I noticed that you haven't steered for awhile. Is that wise?" Miss Wednesday pointed out.
"I know where we're heading! I just checked it awhile ago." Nami's eyes widened. She quickly looked at the log pose again then let a scream. They were off course, way off course! Going in the completely wrong direction.
"What's wrong now?" Usopp asked.
"She sounds mad." Luffy replied.
"Don't be afraid, I'll save you!" Sanji shouted.
"What's wrong, Nami?" Aya asked her.
"No way! Guys make a hard turn 180 degrees, hurry!" Nami shouted, urgently.
"180? Why would you want us to turn back?" Usopp questioned.
"Did we forget something?" Luffy asked, confused as well.
"The ship is turned around. We're sailing in the wrong direction! I only took my eyes off the log pose for a second. I thought that the waves were calm." Nami explained.
"You're not a very good navigator, are you?" Mr. 9 chuckled at her.
"You can't trust anything here, not the winds, sky, waves, clouds, nothing is as it seems in the sea. The only way to get reliable direction on the Grand Line is with the log pose. Everyone knows that." Miss Wednesday laughed along with him. Nami growled, glaring at them. She grabbed the two and kicked them outside.
"Shut your mouths and do something useful, instead of sitting around!" Nami shouted, angrily, and ran out to the crew. "Thrust the yard, forward to wind starboard! Take the ship 180 degrees to the left! Usopp handle the sails, Sanji take the helm! Aya keep lookout, Ichi and L help Usopp and Sanji!"
Everyone scrambled quickly, doing their duties to maintain the ship. Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9 helped them as well.
"This girl's crazy." Mr.9 muttered in his breath.
"Hey, wait! Looks like the wind's changed!" Usopp called out. Nami looked up to see the clouds pulling away as the storm suddenly ended. The sun shined down, but the winds were still blowing harshly.
"A spring gale." Mr. 9 spoke.
"Are you sure?" Nami questioned.
"Zoro, wake up! We're in a crisis!" Usopp shouted at the swordsman, covered in snow, who was napping the entire time.
"Hey, I think I just saw a dolphin jump out!" Luffy grinned.
"YOU KEEP QUIET!" Nami shouted at him.
"The wind's getting really high and there's an iceberg ahead!" Aya pointed out. The ship was on course heading straight into an large iceberg.
"The fog's rolling in!" L shouted.
"This is crazy! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Nami cried out in disbelief.
"We're gonna crash!" Ichi shouted. Sanji ran to the rudder to turn the ship. Aya quickly joined him, helping him push it. The entire crew screamed as the ship collided on it's side into the iceberg.
"Nami water's coming in from the bottom!" Luffy shouted.
"Go patch it!" Nami shouted.
"Got it!" Usopp called out, carrying some boards and a hammer. More clouds began to roll in, the sky turning dark.
"The wind is picking up! Quick we gotta hurry!" Nami shouted.
"No." Miss Wednesday's eyes widen in horror.
"Pull in the sails! The wind is too strong!" Nami shouted.
Sanji came out from the kitchen, carrying a large plate of rice balls, setting it down on the table. "Everyone needs to eat to keep their strength up." He spoke. Everyone began to grab a few, while Luffy and Ichi munching down on the entirety of it. Sanji smacked the two on their heads. "Don't eat it all!"
One of the sails started to rip from the harsh winds. "Aw crap! The sail's gonna go!" Usopp cried out.
"Fix the leak first!" Nami told him.
"There's another hole below!" Miss Wednesday called out.
Everyone quickly ran trying to save the ship, maneuvering through the storm. Eventually, it began to subside and stopped, and the waters turned calm.
"I feel well rested." Zoro stretched his arms, waking up. He stood up and saw everyone lying down on the deck, completely exhausted. "Come on, the weather's nice and all but that's no reason to be lazy. You better be on the right track that's all I can say." Sanji, Usopp, Nami, and L glared at him.
"You bastard." All four growled, angrily, under their breath. Zoro turned looking over at Mr.9 and Miss Wednesday when he noticed them.
"What are you two doing here?" He asked.
"You fool!" Mr. 9 hissed.
"We're on a side mission to take them home. A town called Whiskey Peak." Luffy explained to him.
"Since when did we become a transport service for thugs? We don't owe them anything. Why did I even ask. So, tell me, what were your strange names again? Because I don't think you can be trusted." Zoro turned back to the two, leering down at them. Mr.9 and Miss Wednesday tensed up.
"M-My name is Mr. 9." He stammered.
"I'm called Miss Wednesday." She told Zoro. Zoro smirked.
"Right. Right now those names sound familiar to me and that's what's bothering me. In fact, the more I think about it the more I'm certain I heard them somewhere before. Or maybe not." Nami punched the swordsman on the back of his head.
"You jerk! You think you can just sleep while we do all the work! You're lucky I didn't toss your lazy ass overboard!" She hissed angrily. Zoro glared up at her. He gained a few more extra bumps to his head as Nami punched him. Zoro groaned, holding his head painfully.
"Listen up everyone, there's no way to know what's going to happen next. After what we've experienced, I'm starting to know why they call this sea the Grand Line. My navigation skills are useless here and anything can happen but mark my words I will guide us through!"
"You sure about that, Nami?" Usopp asked her.
"Without a doubt! We're going to be fine just wait and see. And speaking of which, we're here, our first journey on the Grand Line comes to an end." She smiled. Everyone saw an island up ahead with large cactus mountains as they sailed closer to it.
"It's an island!" Luffy shouted, excitedly.
"Strange looking." Aya pointed out.
"So, this is Whisky Peak." Zoro murmured.
"I've never seen anything like it." Sanji replied.
"Whoa, those cactus's are humongous!" Luffy shouted.
"Actually, they're called cacti." L pointed out.
"Who cares! Let's go!" Luffy shouted.
"Thank you but we must be leaving." Mr. 9 told the straw hats as he and Miss Wednesday jumped onto the railing of the ship.
"It's been an interesting ride to say the least." Miss Wednesday smirked as she joined him.
"Perhaps we'll see each other again someday." The two jumped off the ship, landing into the water and quickly swam away.
"That's a quick exit." Nami replied.
"I guess we'll never know what they're up to." Usopp said.
"Aw, who cares! We're landing!" Luffy shouted.
"Look there's a waterway right up to the shoreline. Looks like we can go inland by ship." Nami explained.
"I'm weighing the possibilities of monsters out there!" Usopp shouted.
"It's definitely a possibility. This is the Grand Line." Sanji smirked.
"No problem! If we find monsters, we can just leave!" Luffy grinned.
"That's not true, according to what Crocus said it's imperative that we stay on this island at least for a little while." Nami told them.
"Why?" Aya asked.
"The log pose needs enough time to record the island's magnetic field so until that time we have to stay put. The log pose requires a different amount of time for each island. Some will take a few hours; others may take several days." Nami explained.
"D-Days?" Usopp sputtered, nervously. "Suppose this island is crawling with monsters, but we'll get stuck here waiting. We'd be done for! What's the point of navigation coordinates if we're dead!?"
"We're staying." Nami insisted.
"Let's not think about the monsters, if they are any. They're not even there." Luffy grinned.
"As strange as it seems, I agree, there's no need to worry yet." Zoro nodded.
"I think that we deserve a rest, especially after that storm. We should explore the island." Aya insisted.
"Maybe stock up as well?" L added.
"Now that that's settled let's keep going! I'll keep you safe, Nami and Aya!" Sanji shouted.
"Thanks, but I can handle myself Sanji." Aya smiled at him. Usopp grew pale as he looked at the island.
"I think that I'm getting sick, it's called I can't go on that island disease. You guys just go on without me." Aya stepped over to him and patting the sniper on his back.
"Come on, it'll be fun."
"That's easy for you to say." Usopp grumbled.
"Alright get ready and make sure that you're prepared to run as well as fight." Nami warned everyone, steering the ship into the canal. Fog rolled in, making it hard to see as the ship sailed deeper into the island.
"I wonder what's out here?" Aya murmured.
"Please don't let us die!" Usopp nervously looked around.
"Huh? Something's moving over there." Aya pointed out, seeing some dark shadows on the cliffs and shoreline.
"I see it too. There's a lot of them." Zoro confirmed.
"Who are they?" Sanji asked.
"Now be on your guard everyone." Nami said.
"Well, I may have to fight monsters but at least I came prepared. Whoever's out there, I'm ready! Show yourself and face my wrath!" Usopp shouted. Soon, everyone heard loud cheering as the ship continued to sail. The fog disappeared, revealing a rural town of stone buildings. Large crowds of people cheered as the ship sailed along the shoreline, cheering and waving flags at them.
"WELCOME TO THE GRAND LINE!"
"PIRATES WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU HERE AT WHISKY PEAK!"
"They're cheering?" Aya murmured. L frowned, watching the townspeople.
"Those aren't monsters, they're people and they actually seem happy that we're here." Usopp smiled in relief, glad that it wasn't monsters after all.
"What the hell's wrong with them?" Sanji questioned.
"Pirates are always welcomed in our town!" A villager shouted.
"Hooray! For the heroes of the seas!" Another one cheered.
"Aw yeah! I've never seen so many cute girls in one place!" Sanji exclaimed, happily, eyeing the women. Aya sighed.
"I guess some folks consider pirates as heroes, who knew! Man, I should've come here ages ago!" Usopp thought to himself. He smiled and blew kisses, waving to the crowd. The Merry docked as it pulled into the port and the straw hats stepped out. In front of them was a large man. He stood along with the villagers, greeting them. He was holding a saxophone, had a small nose, with curly hair that looked like a powdered wig. He opened his mouth, singing like an opera singer as he cleared his throat to speak to them.
"Welcome! My name is Igarappoi. And my honor as mayor is to welcome you to Whisky Peak." He told the straw hats.
"Well, that's great. I'm Luffy nice to meet you. Nice hair, I like the curls!" Luffy grinned.
"You'll find that this is the place that thrives on making liquor and music. Hospitality is a pride in our town. The smiles run long and the liquor flows as bountiful as sea water. Would you permit us to throw a party in honor of your honor? And tell your tales of adventures?" The mayor asked.
"Yeah! We'd love to!" Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, and Ichi shouted
"Idiots." Nami sighed. She walked over to Igarappoi. "By the way, how long does the log pose take to record this island's magnetic field?"
"Log what? Such boring details will have to keep for now." He dismissed her question. Aya frowned.
"And why is that?" She asked him. The man ignored her as well and stepped over to the two girls, placing his hands on Nami's and Aya's shoulders. L gripped his sword as well as Zoro, getting ready to unsheathe them.
"Surely, you'll have to rest after your journey!-" Aya slapped the mayor's hand off of her.
"Don't touch me." He blinked but shrugged it off.
"Now let's prepare the party! Sing and be merry! Let's entertain our guests!" He walked the crew inside the bar. Night eventually came as the straw hats and the townspeople continued to party.
"Then I looked at them straight in the eye and I said sea kings don't dare touch my friends or you'll have to answer to me!" Usopp grinned as he told his story to a couple of the villagers. They all stared at him with awe and admiration.
"Wow, you're amazing, Captain Usopp!" A woman shouted.
"You're a true hero!" A villager cheered.
"Don't hold back on my account! Please, drink!" Igarappoi insisted, handing Nami a mug.
"No thanks, I'm not drinking." Nami smiled, shaking her head.
"Don't worry, what you have is a very special drink made by the very sweetest premium berries. It contains all the flavor of a fine wine but zero alcohol." Igarappoi told her. Nami took a sip from her drink.
"Your right, it's delicious!" Nami grinned.
"We've had an extra great harvest this year. Now let's celebrate our traditional toast competition!" The mayor shouted. "It's simple make a toast and continuing drinking for as long as you can hold your liquor. Last person standing is the winner."
"No thanks, you go ahead. I'd rather watch!" Nami said.
"I'll do it." Aya replied. Nami blinked at her.
"Did I mention that the prize is one hundred belis?" Igarappoi pointed out. Nami's eyes grew wide.
"Count me in!" She shouted. "Zoro, stand up and join us! You need the money, don't you?"
A large crowd began to form around Luffy and Ichi as they wolfed down food, in a competition with the cooks.
A couple of women were crowding L as he was sitting at table drinking, eyeing him like a piece of candy. L cringed as he shifted in his chair uncomfortably.
"You got a girlfriend, handsome?" One of them smiled. L looked away from them.
"I'm not interested. I'm not into that type of stuff." He brushed them off. All of them groaned, disappointed. "But I do know that our cook is interested. Go bug him."
"Such a shame." One of the women sighed.
"It's always the cute ones. It's not fair!" Another one agreed. They walked away meeting up with Sanji, who gladly accepted them in his arms as more women joined in.
"No more, I'm done." A villager sighed, collapsing on the table, next to Zoro who was still drinking.
"That girl is drinking them by the gallons!" A villager exclaimed as Aya chugging down more mugs of rum.
"Unbelievable, the captain just ate a meal fit for twenty people!" Another one called out. "And the other guy is right behind him!"
"Whoa, this pirates suddenly has all the girls at the same time! We don't stand a chance against these pirates!" A villager exclaimed.
"This is truly a fulfilled night. It pleases me to see that you are all enjoying yourselves with such vigor!" Igarappoi smiled before smirking. "Oh yes, indeed. I'm quite pleased."
"I'm calling it quits." Zoro sighed, laying his head on the table.
"That one's finally done after drinking 13 mugs!" A villager shouted.
"Oh come on! You quitting already, Zoro? You wuss!" Nami shouted at the swordsman. It was just Nami, Aya and another woman who was dressed up in a nun sitting at the table.
"Only two left and they're women!" A villager shouted. Nami felt her eyes starting to grow hazy. She placed her drink on the table.
"I'm out. I can't go on anymore. Go for Aya!"
The nun smirked at Aya, sitting across from her.
"My child, forfeit for your own sake. There's no grace."
Aya smirked back at her. "I appreciate the concern sister but I'm not quitting that easily!"
Luffy fell over in his seat, his stomach completely inflated and stuffed. More cooks fell down on the floor with him, exhausted.
"Three cooks are down!" A villager shouted.
"I'm out." The woman groaned, collapsing on the table. Aya grinned, raising her the air.
"Yes!" Nami cheered along with the villagers.
"You did it Aya! The prize money is mine!" The two collapsed, laying their heads on the table, completely drunk and went to sleep.
"Whisky peak, what a marvelous town!" Usopp smiled, passing out as well.
"We've stumbled upon a paradise!" Sanji grinned as well. One by one every straw hat member had fallen fast asleep as well as the villagers.
"They've worn themselves out partying and are fast asleep. Sweet dreams, brave adventurers. My how the cactus rocks gleam under the pale moonlight beautiful as ever." Igarappoi said. He stepped out of the building, looking up at the moon and the strange cactus mountain above him. Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday were sitting on the roof above him. The two hopped down to the ground.
"As I may say your poetic skills are beyond compare, Igarappoi. I mean, Mr. 8." Mr. 9 said to him. Igarappoi turned around, seeing the two behind him.
"Oh, it' you." He replied.
"So where are they?" Miss Wednesday asked.
"They're fallen, straight to hell." Mr. 8 told them.
"Damn my head's killing me. I'd never thought that girl could drink so hard. There was sleeping agent in their drinks strong enough knock out a sea king. I don't know how she withstand it for so long. But, at least she's finally out. So tell me, was it really necessary to put on such an elaborate show for those idiots?" the woman wearing the nun outfit walked out of the bar, heading over the the three. The woman pulled off the nun clothes, revealing a red and white checkered dress.
"I get nobody wants to hear me whine. But I just want to point out the amount of food that we've wasted, when we could've just ambushed them at the harbor. We're already short on supplies. It's not like anyone had high hopes for that whale meat or anything." She frowned, looking over at Miss Wednesday and Mr.9.
"Well, why don't you try it then!? We tried our best, you know!" Mr. 9 growled.
"Calm yourselves, before you question my plan, you should see this." Mr. 8 told them. He pulled out and held up Luffy and Aya's wanted posters. All three mouths dropped in shock, seeing the posters.
"What the?! $30 million belis!?" Mr. 9 exclaimed.
"Those morons!?" Miss Wednesday shouted.
"Don't be foolish, appearances can be deceiving. That goes for all of you." Mr. 8 told them.
"I'm sorry." The woman wearing the nun outfit told him.
"It's no matter. Our prey has been trapped and that's news the boss will enjoy. Now, confiscate everything of value on their ship."
"So what do we do with them now?" Miss Wednesday asked him.
"Kill them?" Mr. 9 asked.
"If they die then the bounty drops thirty percent, plus they want the girl alive. The government prefers to hold public executions. I need them alive." Mr. 8 explained.
"Sorry to interrupt." A voice called out to the four. Their eyes widen in shock and looked up at the building to see Zoro, along with L who was standing next to him.
"Do you mind letting my friends sleep? They had a long day and the journey was exhausting so I've been told."
"Mr. 8, Miss Monday! Two of them escaped from the room when we weren't looking!" A man exclaimed, running out of the bar.
"They're right over there." Miss Wednesday frowned. Mr.8 glared up at L and Zoro, narrowing his eyes at the two.
"Sneaky wretches, you could've stayed asleep with your friends."
"A good swordsman never makes a mistake of letting his guard down. Plus, I took a nap earlier." Zoro replied.
"I knew that something was off from the very beginning when we arrived here." L answered.
"Judging from all of the scowls and cheap disguises, I'm guessing your all bounty hunters." Zoro pointed out. "Your specialty is robbing drunk pirates who fall for hospitality. It's original I'd give you that at least."
"There must be at least a hundred of you, give or take. Weaklings." L smirked. Zoro smirked as well, standing up.
"And I'll fight all of you. Do you hear me, Baroque works?!" He shouted. Every single one of the bounty hunters mouths dropped in shock and horror.
"HOW DO YOU KNOW OUR NAMES?!" Mr. 8 exclaimed.
"I was in a similar line of work once upon a time. Your company tried to entice me with an job offer. Naturally, I said no. Does the same rules still apply? Employee identities kept secret, cheesy code names, the boss's identity and whereabouts also a mystery? Baroque works, the criminal group that faithfully carries out their orders, like herded sheep. Ha! That's some secret." Zoro told them.
"This is a surprise, if you know all of our secrets then we are left with no other choice but to kill you. And two more grave stones shall be added to the cactus rocks tonight." The entire mountains were filled with many unfortunate lost souls with tombstones, who were killed by the assassins. Mr. 8 ordered. "KILL THEM!"
The bounty hunters' eyes widened when they saw the Zoro and L were no longer on the building.
"They disappeared!" Miss Wednesday exclaimed.
"You guys are slow." The bounty hunters jumped, completely startled. Their eyes bulged out of their sockets in shock as they saw Zoro and L on the ground with them. The bounty hunters backed away from them.
"Who do you think you are!?" A bounty hunter shouted. Several more surrounded around Zoro and L, aiming their guns at the men.
"Fire!" Zoro and L leaped out of range and jumped into the air, causing the bounty hunters to shoot themselves and others around them. One by one falling to the ground, dead.
"Incompetent morons! They just shot each other!" Mr. 8 snarled, angrily.
"Yeah, and those pirates got away!" Mr. 9 shouted.
"Just kill them! It's only two people!" Mr. 8 ordered the rest. Suddenly, Zoro shot his sword through the bounty hunter's hair, inches from his neck. L grabbed Miss Wednesday from behind, pinning her wrists behind her back with his other hand, while placing his sword to her neck.
"Ask yourself, would two gravestones really be enough?" Zoro smirked, standing behind Mr. 8.
"There they are now!" A bounty hunter shouted and several more rushed in to assist their boss, getting ready to fire.
"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." L called out. Mr. 8 eyes widened.
"NO! DON'T SHOOT! DON'T SHOOT! YOU'RE GOING TO SHOOT ME!" He cried out and quickly pulled out his saxophone, leaning back. Zoro quickly ducked down as the man fired at the others, killing them. Miss Wednesday quickly raised her leg and kicked L under his chin, knocking him away from her. L and Zoro quickly ran taking cover behind a building. L hissed as he held his chin, painfully.
"The little bitch kicked me in the chin!"
"Quit your whining. At least we got away for now." Zoro shushed him to be quiet. He peered out from the corner. "So that thing he has is a weapon. We better be careful."
"These pirates might be able to actually pull off a fight." Mr. 9 spoke to Miss Wednesday.
"Are those two stupid to think that they could possibly fight all of us by themselves? What kind of men would consider challenging us after knowing that we're all with Baroque works?" Mr. 8 spatted, angrily.
Inside of the bar, Nami, Ichi, Aya, Luffy, Sanji and Usopp were still sleeping. Luffy, Ichi, Usopp and Sanji were lying on the floor, while Nami and Aya were asleep laying their heads on the table. Nami smirked as she opened an eye, noticing that the cost was clear, seeing the bounty hunters were gone.
"So Whiskey Peak is really the home to a whole nest of bounty hunter? You know I had a feeling that might just be the case." She sat up and reached over to Aya, shaking her awake.
"Aya, wake up." Aya groaned, sitting up, rubbing her eyes.
"Well, that was a good nap."
"Help me look around!" Nami hissed at her. The two girls stood up, leaving the other four crew members on the floor as they searched the place.
"Those two couldn't have gone far! Let's find them men!" A bounty hunter shouted. Zoro and L heard them from their hiding place, searching around.
"Now's a good as time as any to test out my new swords." Zoro smirked then turned to L. "Are you sure that you're up for this?"
"Like my brother and I said, we can handle ourselves." L replied to him.
"Then time to put those fighting skills to the test then." Zoro spoke.
"I got you two now!" Zoro and L's eyes widened in shock, looking up above them to see a bounty hunter had found them. He aimed his gun at the two. "Shit!" L cursed under his breath. Zoro quickly kicked the door behind him and rolled inside the building. L rushed in just as the bounty hunter fired. The bullet missed and shot the ground where the two were standing. Zoro and L's eyes widen when they heard more guns clicking behind them as more bounty hunters arrived. Zoro quickly took cover behind a table while L ran to another one, flipping the tables up. The bounty hunters fired at them, unleashing a storm of bullets.
Zoro unsheathed on of his sword and sliced through the table, darting out towards them, slashing them. The bounty hunters fell to the ground like dominoes. L grabbed a chair and tossed it out the window. The chair smashed into a couple of assailants, knocking them down. He ran out, following after Zoro. The two were pursued by more bounty hunters as they ran.
"Hold it!"
"Guess they found me!" Zoro smirked and stopped by a ladder, climbing up it. L jumped up landing on the roof, just as Zoro reached the top. Zoro frowned, seeing L in front of him.
"How did you get up here so quickly?" He questioned. L shrugged his shoulders.
"Jumped."
"They're coming your way!" A bounty hunter shouted. Another one stood in front of L and Zoro, holding a bazooka.
"They're mine!" He fired a cannonball at the two. L quickly stepped to the side, while Zoro leaned back. The cannonball exploded into another building behind them.
"Time to die!" Several bounty hunters laughed as they started to surround the two. Suddenly, Zoro and L heard a yell coming from above them and looked up to see Miss Monday, holding a barrel above her head. She threw it at Zoro. Zoro quickly sliced the barrel into pieces. The pieces flew by and smacked into the three bounty hunters behind him.
"Oh, and that wine must have caused a fortune. What a waste." Zoro retorted, frowning up at her. Another bounty hunter approached Zoro with a hammer, swinging it down on him. L charged out and slashed him down just as Zoro was about to strike. Zoro froze, nearly attacking L by accident.
"Watch it!" L hissed. Zoro gritted his teeth, looking down at his cursed sword. "It's not my fault it's this sword. It's got a mind of its own." He glanced down at the cursed blade. "I know that you're sharp. But you're also a troublemaker, aren't you? A good sword only cuts when its master wants it too. Cursed or not you're going to listen to me."
"Die!" A small boy charged at the two with a knife in his hand. Zoro knocked it away from him. The boy fell back, looking at the two fearfully. A nun ran over, grabbing the boy in her arms.
"No! Please have mercy on my little boy! I beg you! Please, sir, have mercy on us!" She pleaded. L and Zoro stared down at the woman and her lips turned into a smirk. The boy also smirked as well. "Or try some blinding powder!"
The woman pulled out a cross and the boy pulled out a pistol aiming it the two. Zoro and L hit them with the blunt ends of their swords, knocking them out.
"You be better off trying that cheap trick on someone who is more likely to fall for it." Zoro murmured.
"I can't believe children are involved in this as well." L frowned.
"Gotta make a living somehow, I guess." Zoro told him. "Come on!" The two climbed up some more ladders as more bounty hunters chased after them. The two jumped from roof to roof, escaping. More bounty hunters ran into the bar to try and cut off Zoro and L. They walked past the other straw hat crew members, stepping on Usopp and Luffy. The sniper groaned, sitting up with footprints all over his body.
"Feels like someone stepped on me." He murmured, tiredly and fell back, going back to sleep.
In another room, Nami and Aya were looking around in the mayor's office, searching for anything valuable.
"Find anything?" Aya called out to her. Nami shook her head.
"Seriously, this is all the treasure that they have? This is a pathetic excuse for a bounty hunters' nest. Whiskey Peak is a useless town." She said, disappointed.
"They have nowhere to run now!" A bounty hunter laughed, seeing L and Zoro reaching a dead end from a building. He climbed up the ladder, only to be met with L, looking down at him.
"Hello." L smirked and grabbed the ends of the ladder, tilting it. Zoro smirked as well.
"Well, that was fun. See ya!" L pushed the ladder down, knocking the bounty hunters off it. They fell onto more hunters below them. Zoro and L jumped off from the building, heading towards another group.
"Look out! They're coming right for us!" One cried out, pulling out his gun. "Shoot them!" He tried to fire but L smacked the gun out of the bounty hunter's hands with his sword as he and Zoro landed on the roof. Zoro smirked and pulled out another sword from his sheath.
"Two swords style: Hawk wave!" Zoro quickly spinned around, slashing at the bounty hunters' feet, knocking them down. More hunters jumped down from the rooftop above Zoro and L. L watched in confusion as he saw Zoro slashing the roof before walking away. The hunters landed in the spot the the swordsman slashed on.
"I wouldn't be standing there if I were you." Zoro smiled. L's eyes widen in surprise as he saw them fall through the hole. Then L noticed a shadow towering over Zoro.
"Heads up!" He called out. Zoro quickly ducked when Miss Monday swinged a ladder at the swordsman.
"That was too close!" He hissed. More bounty hunters charged at L, holding him back. He clashed against them trying to get to Zoro.
"It was a good effort but there is no man who can best me!" Miss Monday spoke, putting on an iron knuckle brace on her hand. She held Zoro up by his neck. "Now you die, swordsman!" And slammed Zoro down back on the ground and raised her iron fist to strike. Zoro's eyes widened and he his teeth, trying to break out of the woman's grip. She brought her fist down on Zoro's head, hard, creating a crater.
"Well, we've wasted a lot of time but at least we finally put an end to it. Now let's go." Mr. 8 spoke but stopped when Miss Monday let out a painful scream. His eyes widened in shock.
"Miss Monday!" Zoro held the woman up by her head, squeezing it. He had a large gash as blood ran down from his forehead.
"What's the matter, muscle woman? Didn't you want to use your strength against mine?" He asked. Zoro felt the woman's grip loosen on his wrist. She fell back, collapsing on the roof, unconscious.
"Guess she lost." Zoro heard a sword clang and looked over to see L taking out the remaining bounty hunters.
"Not bad. I guess you can look after yourself after all." Zoro smirked at him, impressed.
"You look like crap." L retorted. Zoro turned back towards the last remaining bounty hunters, looking up at them in disbelief.
"Is that all that you can over, Baroque works? Cause you're really going to need to do a lot better than that."
"Looks like you guys are next. Who's up?" L called out.
"It can't be Miss Monday is defeated! No!" A bounty hunter cried out.
"Now it all makes sense the Marines must have made a mistake with that poster!" Mr.8 shouted.
"It does make sense I can understand why this guy would have a $30 million bounty on his head. He must be the real captain of those pirates." Mr. 9 replied.
"Yeah, he must be." Miss Wednesday spoke. "But it's strange that those two weaklings would have such a high price."
"Even if this guy is the real captain, this is getting disgraceful. The boss put us in charge of this town and he's not going to be pleased if we lose to two measly pirates." Mr. 8 said.
"Well then, looks as if we finally get to fight." Miss Wednesday smirked, looking up at L and Zoro.
"Something that you may not know, in Baroque works the smaller the numbers are the greater the powers as well as their rank in the company. Take the two of us, Mr. 9 and Mr. 8. We are single digits and don't forget Miss Wednesday. Our abilities are much greater than the rift raft that you've been fighting against so far tonight." Mr. 9 told them.
"I find that fancy titles mean nothing when it comes to fighting. The strongest wins and that's it." Zoro retorted. Mr. 8 quickly fired at the two with his weapon. Zoro and L stepped away, backing up on the roof.
"Let's go Miss Wednesday!" Mr. 9 shouted as her.
"Of course, Mr.9!" She whistled with her finger. A large yellow bird, wearing a helmet, appeared, landing behind her. "Come here, Karoo!" The bird held out it's wing to her. "NO! NOT SHAKE! NOW COME HERE!" Miss Wednesday exclaimed, furiously. The bird ran over to her and she climbed on. "Come on, Karoo! Show them how fast you are! Leave them in the dust!" The bird sat down on the ground. "I didn't tell you to sit!" She growled, smacking it on the head.
"Is that a bird?" L asked.
"Looks more like a duck." Zoro replied.
"You get distracted so easily! How can you hope to follow my acrobatics!?" Mr. 9 shouted at the two from across the building. Zoro and L looked up, seeing him. He flipped down to them, swinging his iron bats. Zoro and L deflected them away with their swords. "You better be careful not to chip your precious blades! What's the matter are you too afraid to fight me!" L started to swing his sword wildly at him. Mr. 9 backed away from him, blocking his strikes. He flipped back but also flipped off the roof and plummeted down, crashing on the ground into a stand with a loud thud.
"What happened to fancy acrobatics, huh?" Zoro retorted.
"Oops." L deadpanned, looking over the edge, seeing the unconscious bounty hunter below.
"Don't forget, I'm still here. Are you ready?" Zoro and L quickly turned around to see Miss Wednesday standing behind them. She smirked and pulled out a small bottle of perfume, spraying it.
"Take a look at this. What do you think, bad boys?" She posed and started to swing her hips seductively. Zoro and L gagged at the smell of the perfume, falling onto their knees.
"It stinks!" L cried out. Miss Wednesday pulled out a small knife, spinning it on a string on her finger.
"Good boys! And now become slasher! Go Karoo!" She ordered the bird, hopping to it. She charged at Zoro and L but ran past them. "You ran right past them!" The two ran off the roof and fell down, crashing into the ground next to Mr. 9.
"Man, this fight is starting to get embarrassing." Zoro muttered. Mr. 8 fired his weapon at Zoro and L. The two quickly dived down into the hole, that Zoro created.
"They slipped down through that hole." He hissed angrily. He peered down, seeing that they have disappeared. "Come back here, you pirates and get a taste of how dangerous I am!"
Zoro and L quickly hide behind a building, taking cover. "That horn of his complicate things. How are we going to get close enough to fight?" Zoro murmured. Mr. 9 busted up from the shattered stand. He growled, looking at Zoro and L.
"You may have won the first fight, but you won't get away this time!"
"You're the one who jumped off the building." L retorted. Mr.9 tosses a chain a Zoro as it wrapped around the swordsman's wrist.
"Watch'a going to do now, tough guy?"
"Kick your ass." Zoro retorted.
"Excellent work, Mr. 9" Mr. 8 congratulated him. Mr. 9 chuckled.
"Do it, Mr. 8.! Come on, do it now! He won't get away!" He called out to Miss Wednesday. L and Zoro looked over and saw her with her bird, along with Luffy who being held hostage and was still fast asleep.
"That's right! Don't move, if you ever think about doing anything funny, you two, your friend here will be pinned and pressed." She threatened, holding a knife in her hand.
"Well done, Miss Wednesday! It looks like there will be no escape for the swordsman this time unless he wants his friend to die!" Mr. 9 laughed.
"Damn it, Luffy. You idiot! Can't he at least wake up when he's being held hostage!" Zoro hissed.
"Preparing to fire! Firing squad, ready!" Mr. 8 shouted as guns appeared from his hair, aimed at the two men. L moved out of the way while Zoro grabbed the chain, pulling Mr. 9 up in the line of fire. He screamed as he saw the cannonballs heading towards him. They exploded, knocking him out. Zoro pulled the chain, dragging the man with him and tossed it over towards Miss Wednesday and her bird. Mr. 9 flew straight at them, crashing into them, knocking them away from Luffy.
L ran over towards Luffy and jumped on top of him. "Gotta borrow your stomach, Luffy!" He bounced up towards Mr. 8, who backed away, startled. L sliced his sword taking him out. Zoro hopped up to the roof, using Luffy, meeting up with him. L fell to his knees, sitting down.
"Finally, it's over." He sighed, tiredly. Zoro walked over to him, sitting down.
"Now maybe we can get some peace and quiet." He replied.
Luffy stirred and sat up looking around. "Where am I? How'd I get outside? That's weird." He shrugged it off and went back to sleep, falling back on the ground. Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out.
"Did you hear that?" L asked Zoro. The swordsman frowned, looking over in the direction were the explosion came from.
"Can't die here. I have an important mission to complete." Mr. 8 groaned as he tried to get up. Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9 were next to him.
"The three of you lost against two pirates? Now that's just sad." A calm voice answered. The three eyes widened in shock and they looked up to see a man and a woman in front of them. The man had dark skin, wearing black shades, poofy black hair in dreadlocks, wearing a brown trench coat with the number 5 on it. The woman next to him giggled. She had blond hair, green eyes, carrying an lime green umbrella with blue stripes, wearing an orange and yellow hat, along with a yellow dress with lemon patterns and lemon earrings and white high heeled shoes.
"Mr.5! Miss Valentine!" Mr. 8 exclaimed in shock.
"Really you couldn't tell?" Mr. 5 asked.
"Well, that's clearly the difference between our rank and yours." The woman giggled.
"You came just to laugh at us?" Mr. 8 narrowed his eyes at them.
"No." Mr. 5 replied.
"We're here under the boss's orders." Miss Valentine smiled.
"We can show you where those two pirates are at!" Mr. 9 shouted.
"That's right! Let's track them down and show them what Baroque works can really do!" Miss Wednesday told them, nervously.
"Seriously, Miss Wednesday. Stop with the jokes." Mr. 5 spoke. "We didn't come here to clean up your mess."
"You really think that we've come here from all the way from the Grand Line to hold your hands. Ha! You're even more pitiful than you look." Miss Valentine laughed.
"Then what mission are you here for?" Mr. 9 asked them.
"You mean you haven't figured it out? There are people here, who's crimes against the company that are great enough that the boss has sent us to deal with it. You see someone uncovered the boss's secret and that's a crime punishable by death." Mr. 5 explained.
"So, while we were searching to found out who uncovered the boss's secret, we've learned something!" The woman smirked, gleefully. "It turns out a rather high-ranking individual from a certain kingdom has somehow infiltrated Baroque works."
Nami and Aya were hiding behind a building, after hearing the explosion. They frowned as they saw the strange group and listened in on the conversation.
"Their kingdom? Wait, wait! Hold on a second!" Mr. 9 shouted. "Now I may be wearing a crown but I'm not a king. I swear, it's just an innocent little hobby!"
"Shut up, you idiot!" Miss Valentine shouted at him.
"We mean the people from Alabasta. They're the ones who linked to the boss." Mr. 5 spoke. Mr. 8 stood up and fired his guns at the two.
"What's going on here? They're attacking each other!" Aya whispered to Nami.
"Does it look like I know!?" Nami told her.
"YOU WILL NOT LAY A HAND UPON ON OUR PRINCESS NOT WHILE THE CAPTAIN OF ALABASTA'S SECURITY STILL STANDS!" Mr. 8 shouted, furiously.
"You a captain of Alabasta's security and Princess Vivi Nefertari of Alabasta Kingdom. We have come here in the name of Baroque works to see that you both are eliminated!" Mr. 5 shouted. Nami and Aya's eyes widened in surprise.
"She's a princess?!" Aya thought to herself.
"This can't be good." Zoro replied. "Luffy's down there with them."
