I do not own Naruto or One Piece. I really want to, but you can't get what you want...you need to make it what you want! Come on Oda and Kashimoto I am not going to give up, take me on now in the Thunderdome so I can fight you to the death for the right to own them!

"Talk" Talking

'Think' Thinking

I remember my first day back on Fishman Island. It was when Hody nearly strangled me after he learned I lost my fight against Ace. Honestly I did not see the big deal regarding it, even now I don't, I lost fair and square. It was only after kicking Hody in the belly and punching his face just to survive did he reveal a bombshell that honestly phases me even now.

You ready?

You sure you're ready?

All right. I, Uzumaki Naruto have the power of the Sea King.

I bet you don't know what that is if you're a human. Well let me educate you, on Fishman Island there are three legends that I am aware of. The Tamatebako, this is some mystical box or chest stored in the treasure room of the Ryugu Palace. I personally have never seen it, but it was said that it had the power to make anyone grow older, though it is also rumored that it also has the power to to make one strong as a thousand men...or fishmen which is terrifying either way.

The second one revolves around the Mermaid Princess. This one is true, I swear it is because I saw my little sister Shirahoshi stop a trio of Sea Kings from wreaking havoc when she was six years old. So I am pretty sure that this legend revolves around it being part of the royal bloodline. Ahem, getting off track aside from what I have gathered the Mermaid Princess has the power to communicate with and control Sea Kings, an ability that not even the most powerful merfolk possess. This is considered to be a powerful weapon because of the Sea Kings' destructive potential to sink islands with ease, and to control such a force is regarded as one of the most fearsome abilities in the entire world. Thankfully Shirahoshi is gentle as a Megalo her pet Megalodon shark, but I believe this is one of the reasons that fucker Vander Decken IX has targeted her and won't stop until he gains her hand in marriage.

And last but not least is the Sea King. I want to compare it to the Mermaid Princess but that would be a lie. While she can communicate and control them, I have the power and ferocity of a Sea King. I have the strength, the anger, a high amount of adrenaline that pumps through my body a high immunity to pain and bloodlust, and from what from what I recall the ability to cow them; a feat I have been unable to do since I was eight.

Basically when I get pissed off, I get stronger, but I honestly do not know how to control it. Sometimes when my temper gets the best of me I enter a fugue state and when I come to my senses there is nothing but destruction.

The first time I was aware of my actions was when I took my tree trials to get to level forty. After that bombshell I went into the gauntlet that would try and break me. My first was the Trial of Will where I was basically beat up on by three fishmen that I suspect were way above the level I was trying out for. It was supposed to be for three minutes, but Fuguki conveniently forgot to call out when the three minute mark came up, thank God for Iruka-sensei looking out for me.

The second was the Trial of Skill. I was supposed to show off five skills that I developed myself. Well long story short I showed off five of the ones I had mastered at the time, leaving a sixth as my ace in the hole. I aced this trial easily, even though I would not physically say the name of one of them.

The last trial was the Trial of Combat where I fought against Skorka, my "rival" within the dojo. I didn't mention this before because the guy wasn't worth my time, but he was a bully and a killer within the Fishman District, I should know because he showed no mercy to his opponents in the fighting pits when I was a kid. I fought him a few times before the dojo, and I fought him a few times after I entered. However each time we either ran out the clock or were stopped before it could escalate. But not this time, we fought tooth and nail, he delivered a lot of damage to me, I will not lie. But he pissed me off saying he was going to give Shirahoshi a 'visit' to tell her happy birthday. I knew the implications of what he meant, and my anger erupted. I used my ultimate technique Shark King's Water Jaw Spiral to obliterate his right arm, turn his left one into hamburger meat, and turn his entire right side into mush from my previous attack. And as an insult to injury I launched his large body into Fubuki's knocking him out. Man that was a laugh.

As far as I know Skorka was still alive, though left as a cripple in the Fishman District. I got to level forty, and I got to see Shirahoshi for her birthday all in the same day.

I joined Hody Jones' crew the very next day though. I know what you're thinking, why join him? Listen, since I was adopted into the Royal Family they kept a hell of a secret from me. I felt betrayed, Hody was the only one who was truthful to me. I couldn't trust anyone else, except Shirahoshi, she was far too young and innocent to know about my secret, or know how to betray someone.

So I joined The New Fishman Pirates, that is what he called themselves, and for the next two years I trained with them, going between them, the dojo, and Jinbe to learn everything I could to continue to protect Shirahoshi. Of course it wasn't all work and no play, that would make Naruto a dull boy. I worked at the Mermaid Cafe, helping out Madame Shyarly in my free time for free...what? They helped me out when I was a kid, I could not possibly take money from them now. I know the girls working there don't mind my presence, especially when I lifted the heavy stuff, and the food they made in that cafe was, and still is delicious!

And when I was not training or working, I was keeping myself in shape cage fighting. I had a promise to keep to Ace after all, and remained undefeated in the arena, and it earned some nice scratch to spend on myself. Those were a good two years.

But then I got a letter from Jinbe, how the hell was I supposed to know it would set me on this path?

"Where the hell am I?"

That was best question Naruto could ask himself. The last thing he remembered was collapsing into the sand after carrying his human/reindeer cargo for numerous hours, and that was it. He felt his scorching body cooling a bit, but by then he had long since lost consciousness.

Looking around he saw that he was on a beach with palm trees, but nothing else. This certainly wasn't Alabasta, nor was it Fishman Island. It was warm, but not the coldness like he felt a while ago.

"Hang on a second, my body was cooling a few minutes ago...oh crap I'm dead. I'm freaking dead!" The blonde fishman exclaimed as he placed his hands on his head, and ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh you did it now Naruto, you really did it. Instead of dying in a useful way, you went off into the desert and dried up like Daidalos when he got too close to the sun!"

"You're not dead you little idiot!" A familiar, chilling voice barked out, causing Naruto to turn towards the familiar, snarling, monstrous version of Hody Jones. Seriously was he really that large, or was he hallucinating? "Look at you, my weapon, reduced to nothing but a weakened, sniveling mass of pathetic waste!"

Normally he would have looked away, or taken his insults. It had happened almost on a weekly basis to the point where he was used to it. But not this time, Naruto openly glared at his Captain. "Oh shut the hell up you giant tub of lard!" He yelled at the great white shark fishman, unleashing two years of repressed anger towards him. "You have never ventured out of Fishman Island, you have never been to a tropical, winter, or desert island. So what the hell do you know!?"

"You ungrateful little brat!" Hody snarled at him before grabbing him by the scruff of his vest and pulled him up until they were face to face. "What I know, is all you need to know! All islands are inferior towards our species!" He punched Naruto in the gut, causing him to grunt in pain from the hit. "All you are is weak!" He punched him again. "Pathetic!" Another punch. "Worthless!"

Snapping his eyes open, Naruto gathered a drop of water in his right palm, and then blasted his Captain right in his face with his Water Shot technique, and when Hody dropped him to clutch the new hole in his face, the blonde focused on him and threw back his right arm.

"Thousand Tile Shatter Fist!" He bellowed out his technique, punching Hody right in his fat belly. Fully forming his hand into a fist he sent a great deal of kinetic force through his opponent's body, shattering several bones like he did with Arlong.

But Naruto was not done yet. While his opponent was staggered he charged at his Captain, water spiraling around his right arm like a tornado, he impacted Hody right in the chest, and watched as his signature technique turned flesh and muscle into ribbons, causing Hody to cry out in intense pain as his subordinate shouted out the name of his move. "Whirlpool Breakthrough Fist!"

Naruto watched with glee as this technique blew the larger fishman back, warping his features before disappearing into the horizon.

"Haha! Yes, take that you fucker!" Naruto shouted at the speck of what used to be his Captain. "God that was therapeutic!"

"Uzumaki Naruto, what have I told you about using such language!" A remarkably familiar voice was the only thing that alerted him before he was smacked upside his head, and was literally spun around to meet the familiar visage of Queen Otohime who gave him an angry look before engulfing him in a hug.

"Q-queen Otohime?" The confused fishman asked before returning the hug. She certainly felt real, the hug was definitely familiar enough. "I'm not dead am I?"

"No sweetie, you're not." She replied before affectionately getting to her tippy toes and kissing his forehead and then held him at arms length to get a better look at him. "Oh look at you, my little boy has become a handsome young man. Do I have any grandkids on the way?"

"Ah...wha..." The blonde fishman sputtered before his adoptive mother giggled in response to his reddened face. "I'm too young to have them, I'm seventeen dammit!" He received a bop on his head for swearing. "Ow, I deserved that."

"Yes you did, and more." Otohime scanned his body, spotting the teeth marks on his right side and the tattoo on his right forearm. "I see you have been in some fights and under some bad influences."

"That came from Arlong, who was not so nice regarding my mission to stop him from killing off and enslaving humans." Naruto protested is some form of defense. "The tattoo...well..." He honestly couldn't find a reason to defend Hody. Three months ago he would have done it no problem, but now; and especially punching him into the horizon, he couldn't.

"I feared this would happen." She lightly sighed out and hugged him one more time in a comforting manner. "Naruto I am disappointed with how you've been acting as of late. But you're trying, you're actively trying to change. The humans you've become attached to...they are a bunch of hoodlums, but it looks like they are your hoodlums."

"They're...interesting." Naruto lamely remarked.

"I know, now Naruto I want you to promise me something."

"What is it?"

"Promise that you will always be true to yourself, you're no longer the little boy I took in, but a young man. I can trust you to make your own decisions, so use your best judgment." Otohime looked up at him with one last smile. "Can you do that for me?"

"Of course, I promise...just as soon as I get out of the afterlife." Naruto replied.

"Oh Naruto, you're still so bullheaded. I already told you you're not dead." Otohime flicked his forehead. "You just have to wake up."

"Huh?" Was the proper response before he was sent flying away from the island, the last thing he saw was Queen Otohime's smiling face, and a flash of red and blonde colored hair before he woke up.

The first thing Naruto felt was a cooling sensation on his skin. The next thing was a hazy distortion in his eyes when he opened them. And then he breathed through his gills to take in water.

Wait, water?

Blinking several times Naruto's vision cleared right up to see the outline of a tent and an oxygen mask covering his face. Bending at the waist he emerged from the water and frantically looked around to see that he was indeed inside a tent, and an unconscious Vivi slumped in a chair next to his...tank? What the hell?

"You're awake." A monotonous voice alerted him and Naruto turned to see the stoic form of Gaara standing at the entrance with his arms crossed. "Good, the Princess will be pleased."

"Has she been by my side this entire time?" Naruto asked in a muffled voice.

"Yes, that reindeer and orange-haired woman also visited you. But she only left to use the bathroom." Gaara replied before glancing over at the blue-haired woman. "As expected of the future ruler of my country."

"Ruler of your country?" The blonde asked before tearing the oxygen mask from his face, and climbed out of the tank wearing nothing but a pair of orange boxers. "Wait, you're actually from here?"

"I don't want to talk about it." The redhead said. "Follow me, Hack wishes to speak with you."

"Hack? Who the heak is oh my God!" Naruto exclaimed once he stepped outside into the blazing hot sun and his bare feet stepped on the sand, causing him to hop and skip on the top of it, and cursing at the top of his lungs, causing several people to look at him oddly.

Sighing in irritation, Gaara scooped the blonde up in his sand he shaped into a hand from his gourd. "You're such an annoyance."

"And you are freaking me out! Did you eat a devil fruit? The only asshole who has that sort of power is Crocodile!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I don't want to talk about it." Gaara growled in irritation before plopping the blonde onto the ground in front of a large tent. "Hack's inside, talk to him and go." He said before walking away without another word.

"What a bastard." Naruto growled out before quickly hopping to his feet and going inside the cooler tent. Once inside he was greeted by its spartan appearance, a trunk at the foot of a single bed, and a book resting on the pillow. He was greeted by Hack slowly going through the fishman karate katas he was familiar with.

"Good morning Uzumaki Naruto." Hack greeted him with a smile, "Would you join me? It has been years since I practiced with a fellow fishman."

"Who in the world are you?" Naruto first demanded.

"Join me, and I will answer." Hack simply said.

Giving the man a light glare the blonde hesitated for several moments before reluctantly joining him. And just like in the dojo he was beside his fellow fishman and slowly moved through the katas, breathing in when he did, and exhaling when he did. Surprisingly he didn't feel his gills itching, or his lungs burning.

"All right, first question. Who the hell are you?" Naruto asked.

"My name is Hack." The fishman simply replied.

"Where the hell am I?"

"My base, don't worry we won't be found by Crocodile or the Baroque Works."

That caused the blonde to stop in his tracks and look at his fellow fishman. "How..."

"It's my...well our business to know about what goes on in the kingdoms." Hack replied, stopping himself to look intently at the smaller fishman. "Tell me boy, why are you here? You should know better than to travel in the desert unprepared."

"Well I don't know any better! The King never told me about deserts, and neither did Master Jinbe!" Naruto barked at him.

"Jinbe?" Hack replied with slight confusion. "What do you know of my dear friend?"

"I'm his student, that's what I know!"

For the longest time Hack looked at Naruto, he tilted his head up and down, side to side, and even circled around him several times before tapping him on the top of his head. "Well that makes sense why you're as strong as you are." He finally said with a large smile. "You know when I heard of a fishman killing Arlong and his entire crew along with a bunch of Marines, I had to wonder exactly what sort of training he had to go through to do something like that."

"So you're not mad I did that?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"On the contrary, I'm glad you did it. You took out a scourge to our species, and a corrupt Marine. My boss is impressed." Hack gladly replied.

"You boss is impressed? You're not the leader of this group?"

"Of this group. Yes, yes I am, but the entire organization is run by Dragon."

For both Nami and Chopper their experience revolving around being stranded with Naruto was interesting and terrifying at the same time.

For Chopper he had never encountered a fishman before. At first he thought he, just like Gin and Bashura were terrifying, but after he fell on the grenade for them by giving them water and carrying them for an estimate of ten miles, he found the blonde to be a good guy. Stupid, stubborn, and angry-looking, but a good guy. And that was why when the people who brought him here threw him into a giant tank full of water and used some sort of turbo jets to clean his gills, the small reindeer sighed out in relief after learning that he would make a full recovery.

For Nami, she was torn because of him. The experience with Arlong was still fresh, barely even two months old by now when Arlong and his crew were butchered by one of his own species, a species who she thought to be destructive and evil ever since she was a little girl. And now here she was, alive due to the same person who killed one of the most evil people she had met in her life. He was still angry when they first met, bitter even, but he had changed remarkably. She owed him her life, so she was willing to put her hatred of Arlong and his entire race behind her and move on with her life otherwise she would never be able to move on with her life.

However, that did not mean she was going to exactly forgive him for getting the both of them into this situation. Both Nami and Chopper were holding onto each other for dear life. The people who surrounded them were just terrifying to look at, grizzled, scarred, unhygienic, and downright nasty-looking.

They didn't know who they were, who they worked for, or why they were here. All they knew was that they meant business, but not towards them, they were flat out ignored half the time. But whatever their presence in this country was did not bold well for Vivi.

"N-Nami, maybe we should go and check on Naruto and Vivi." Chopper suggested with a tremor in his voice after passing by a very scary-looking man who carried far too many firearms on his person.

"Y-yea, I need some sanity to nullify all this crazy." Nami readily agreed.

The two skittered their way towards the tent where Vivi had rooted herself in since they got there. She was slumped over in her chair, but Naruto was gone.

"Ahh! Vivi, Vivi wake up! Naruto's gone!" Chopper screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Huh, what?" Vivi snapped out of her sound sleep in alarm. And indeed Naruto was no longer in his giant water tank, and like Chopper she began to freak out, but unlike him she wasn't running around in circles.

"Your screaming is annoying." A familiar monotonous voice stopped Chopper in his tracks as he turned to regard Gaara who appeared out of nowhere. "Uzumaki is fine, I took him to meet up with my superior because he asked me to do so."

"You're Gaara, correct?" Nami asked, and only got a dull look in reply. "Um, thanks for...you know...everything."

"You have no need to thank me, it was my superior who told me to keep an eye out in the entire area around the camp we were based at." Gaara simply said without blinking. "You just simply walked into my domain." The entire desert was his domain after all.

"But still we thank you, our friend could have perished without your help." Vivi said before getting to her feet. She raised her hand to shake his. "Forgive my rudeness, I am-"

"Nefeltari Vivi, the Princess of Alabasta. The only daughter and heiress of King Nefeltari Cobra and Queen Nefeltari Titi. Formally known as Miss Wednesday of the Baroque Works." Gaara cut her off, listing some very sensitive information. "I rarely find myself impressed Princess. But you have outdid yourself in order to save your country."

"I...uh," Vivi honestly was taken back by the information dumped on her. "How do you know all this...especially my involvement with the Baroque Works."

"The people I work with have agents everywhere. If we don't have proper information it could lead to disaster." The redhead easily replied. When Nami went to speak up, he immediately stopped her from asking. "It's all classified and none of your business."

"Then who are you people?" Chopper asked.

"People who don't want Crocodile to take over and have his way." Gaara simply stated. "That is all I am going to say. Goodbye."

"Wait, a minute please." Vivi stopped him from disappearing on them. "You look familiar. Is there a chance we have met before?"

"Not likely Princess." Gaara evenly replied before walking out of the tent.

"You're shitting me..." Naruto said.

"I'm not." Hack replied.

"Dragon...the Dragon?"

"The Dragon."

It honestly took Naruto longer than he felt comfortable with to accept what was just unloaded on him. He remembered seeing Dragon's picture for the fist time and felt shivers of fear crawling up his spine, and then seeing him in person in Logue Town and him actually talking to him, even suggesting that they would speak again made it feel like he swallowed a rock and it landed in his stomach.

"What is your purpose in this country then? I may not know much about Dragon except he is very anti-govenment, and the rumor circulating is that he hates those born of nobility." Naruto eventually said after collecting his thoughts.

"What he does not want is Crocodile to take over this country." Hack said before rubbing the back of his neck. "I am going to admit, I am unsure of how he feels about Cobra. The man treats his people well, but with Dragon...he is difficult to read."

That put a scowl on Naruto's face, he also knew of Cobra. He loved his daughter very much, and Vivi loved her country enough to put her life at risk for it. So to him that meant the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

"So what level?" Hack asked his fellow fishman. Seeing the confused look after he snapped out of his thoughts, he became more specific. "As a student of Jinbe you have gone through the dojo, I can see it by the way you move, and you defeated Arlong and his entire crew meaning you are quite skilled. So what are you, level forty, forty-five?"

"Sixty." Naruto said with a proud expression on his face.

"At your age? I'm impressed. Come follow me." Getting to his feet, Hack paused before going to the trunk and opened it. It was a comical sight watching a near ten foot tall fishman bend at the knees until his butt was touching the sand and rifling through the small trunk before pulling something out.

Tilting his head, Naruto raised an eyebrow looking at the strange device. It was metallic, but definitely lightweight with what looked like solid glass on the sides, and was adjustable. "What is it?"

"It's a nifty little device the research and development team cooked up. As you can tell, we fishmen don't breathe well in the desert, so this..." He pointed at his own device that bubbled a bit as he breathed. "This not only protects our gills from the sand, but keeps us hydrated as well."

"You had me at protects me from sand." Naruto said before putting the device over his gills. Then automatically he felt the water rush in from the source inside it, and had a cooling effect that he sought since he came to Alabasta. "Oh God...this is bliss. I can use my Fishman Jujutsu to their full effect now."

"Do you just use Fishman Jujutsu?" Hack questioned him.

"Not always." The blonde protested. "But I'm by the ocean all the time, and they are just, well water is just all over the place, so I guess you can say I heavily base my attacks around it."

"Then you are a fool." Hack evenly replied. "To neglect the physical aspects will weaken you. And to show you I have just the opponent."

"A fool!? I am not a fool dammit, my fighting style is just different!" Naruto protested, only to receive a bop on the head. "Ow."

"Your prideful nature, and unwillingness to adapt to change will be your downfall." Hack said before lightly rubbing his hand. Dear God, the kid had a thick noggin. "Follow me and learn something for once, I'm going to teach you something Jinbe should have pounded into your head years ago."

Naruto honestly couldn't reply to that, instead he followed him out into the scorching desert in nothing but his boxers. However unlike last time when the harsh heat struck his gills, and the sand clogging them, the device that was given to him not only protected them, but whenever he breathed he felt a cooling sensation that nearly caused him to sigh out in bliss.

In fact he was so distracted that he was completely oblivious to his surroundings until he literally bumped into Hack when he abruptly stopped. It was then Naruto noticed that he was surrounded by at least a dozen of the most meanest, and scariest looking humans armed to the teeth.

"All right who am I supposed to fight?" Naruto asked. It didn't take a brain surgeon to tell him that whatever lesson Hack was going to teach him involved some sort of fight. Punching his right fist into his open left hand, the blonde fishman cracked his stiff neck and looked at the men. "So one-on-one, or is this a group attack?"

"No, the person you're fighting should be around here. Koala, get out here!"

"Coming!" Naruto turned in surprise hearing a feminine voice. The crowd of men parted like the red sea to reveal a girl that barely came to five feet in height, but had a slim, curvaceous, and quite well-endowed chest with a pronounced hourglass figure. She had distinctively large and round eyes, similar to that of her namesake, and neat, shoulder-length orange hair. She was wearing a crimson newsboy cap with gold goggles resting on top of them, a pink shirt with frilly collar, a maroon short skirt, and black thigh-high stockings with brown full fingered gloves and high heeled boots.

"Seriously?" Naruto deadpanned before looking at Hack with a dull look on his face. "You're making me fight this little thing?"

"She will your be your lesson young one." Hack evenly replied. "Koala, my fellow fishman here has gotten a swelled head regarding Fishman Karate being inferior to Fishman Jujutsu."

"Is that so?" Koala asked with a smile on her pretty face. "Don't worry, I'll handle this."

"Can I at least put some pants on?" Naruto asked.

"Nope!" Without any warning Koala sprinted towards him and cocked her arm back ready to punch him. Completely unprepared, Naruto crossed his forearms and blocked it. However he did not expect the kinetic force to come after it, forcing him to lose balance and tumble into the sand.

"Fishman Karate? How the hell do you know Fishman Karate! You're a human, you can't know Fishman Karate...can they?" The blonde fishman asked in confusion.

"Of course I can!" Koala said in a happy voice, she bounded over Naruto, flipping in a way that would make even the most seasoned acrobatics green with envy before landing behind him. "Otherwise I wouldn't be able to do this! Low Kicks!" She exclaimed attacking him from behind with a flurry of kicks. (1)

She managed to land ten before Naruto pivoted on his right heel and began blocking them with sharp strikes of his hands. The impact from her kicks were harder than the bricks he struck in the dojo when he was a kid, it was almost steel-like in comparison. After the fiftieth kick, the blonde managed to grab a hold of her right foot with an iron grip. "Good shot, but you only get one!" Digging his heels in the sand he began spinning her around, doing a very good imitation of a spinning top before releasing her.

Koala screamed in surprise when she was thrown through two tents, and impacted on a sand dune. It took thirty seconds to get untangled, and that was thirty seconds Naruto needed to pounce on her with both arms raised. "Devouring Twin Shark Fist!" The blonde fishman tried to manipulate water around his fists to create the twin Megalodon heads to cause massive damage.

The keyword being: Tried. The water that would have created the pants shitting, fuck you giant shark heads that would have torn through rocks failed to appear. "Oh shit..." Naruto cursed out realizing that Hack was right, his first instinct was to draw water from anywhere to lay a giant beat down on his opponent.

"Shark Brick Fist!" Koala happily jumped to meet him in mid-air before delivering a powerful straight punch that produced a shockwave that passed through his body.

Naruto fell out of the air, blood trailing from his mouth and his eyes wide in shock before he impacted the ground that left a human shaped indent. "Ow..." He groaned out in pain before slowly pushing himself to his feet. Slowly moving his jaw Naruto spat out a mouthful of blood and a row of jagged and broken teeth that he regrew on the spot. "All right woman, no more mister nice fishman."

"You were being nice?" Koala cheekily asked before readying herself in the Fishman Karate stance. Man it felt like he was in the dojo all over again.

Instead of answering, Naruto jumped high into the air and then dived under the sand using his Land Shark technique.

"Aww no fair!" Koala puffed her cheeks and pouted before stamping one of her feet on the ground. "Going underground is cheating!"

"This is a fight Koala, there are no rules in a fight, not unless they were announced before it started." Hack replied in a sagely manner. He knew from experience from his many, many years of fighting. "Now stop complaining and remember what I taught you."

"Right!" The young woman chirped in reply before readying herself for whatever her opponent was cooking up.

She didn't have to wait long, barely a minute later and Naruto erupted from beneath her feet. He delivered a powerful uppercut to her chin, driving her entire body into the air. The blonde then delivered several brutal strikes to her torso before kicking her away, and sending her into the unforgiving sands.

Then rotating forward, Naruto began building up extreme speed and momentum until he began descending on the fallen young woman with both his feet extended. "Double Spiral Axe Kick!"

Her large eyes comically widening in horror, Koala thrusted her right hand out. "Sharkskin Palm Block!" To the surprise of those watching, and especially to Nami and the gang who happened to be passing by, the orange-haired Navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates personally watched as he turned Kaneshiro into nothing but bloody paste with that technique back in Arlong Park. But Koala stopped him dead in his tracks with a simple yet powerful palm block.

This was also a surprise for the blonde-haired, tiger shark fishman. Usually when his strongest, and embarrassingly only kicking technique was used, nothing got up afterwards. But seeing a girl who barely came to his stomach in height, and couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds soaking wet managed to stop him dead in his tracks.

Koala then grabbed him by both ankles and smile at him in return. "You're pretty good, but I'm better!" Then the the surprise, or many people she then began swinging Naruto like a sack of potatoes, slamming him into the ground over and over again with that persistent smile on her face before letting him go with his entire body encased in the ground. "So, how do you like me now?" The orange-haired Revolutionary asked.

"Ow...I think you broke my device." Naruto groaned out before stubbornly pushing himself out of the crater he was in. He checked the device to check it anything was busted, and surprisingly it wasn't even after all the abuse he just took. "Well then, now that I know you're more durable than the average human, I'm going to kick your ass even harder now." Glaring at the young woman, he felt the beginnings of his Sea King Mode activating, the adrenaline surged through his body, making his already impressive muscles expand and his eyes beginning to turn the familiar blood red. "I said I was not going to lose a fight until I fought Ace again, there is no way I am going to lose now. Especially against the style I poured years of my blood, sweat and tears into!"

"Good! That means I am not going to lose either!" Koala focused herself, calming her breathing before performing a somersault into the air to deliver a diving kick to her opponent. "Prepare yourself for my ultimate technique the Revolutionary Army Fishman Karate Instructor!"

"That name is too damn long and doesn't make any sense!" Naruto shouted at her before cocking his right arm back and punching forward to meet her. "This is a real technique Thousand Tile Shatter Fist!"

Before both techniques had a chance to connect with each other, the familiar form of Hack got in between the both of them and caught both attacks with his bare hands. The shockwaves from the interruption caused a miniature sonic boom that blew sand everywhere, and caused a thirty food crater where they were standing.

"That is enough, the spar is over." He said before releasing them.

"Oh come on I had him on the ropes!" Koala protested.

"Yea I was just about to knock her into the ocean!" Naruto seconded.

Both got bopped on the heads that sent them to the unforgiving ground by an irritate Hack, causing the entire crowd to sweat-drop in response to that. "Foolish children, if you kept fighting you would have wrecked the camp and alerted everyone to our position!" Lightly cracking his knuckles, he picked his student up by the scruff of her shirt, and Naruto by his dorsal fin. "The match is done, understood?"

"All right..." The both of them said in union.

"Now Naruto, I believe you have a country to help save." Hack said before releasing his fellow fishman. "You better do it right boy, I rather not finish what you failed to accomplish."

"Please, it'll take more than some asshole with freaky powers to stop me!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Glad to hear it, now go get dressed you're being very improper in front of the women here." Hack said with a grin on his face.

"Huh?" With a look of confusion on his face, Naruto turned to see a smiling Koala still in Hack's hand who looked to be unaffected by his state of dress, or lack of it. The men who were watching honestly didn't give a flying damn, it wasn't until he set his eyes on Nami, Vivi and Chopper.

Chopper was the least of his worries because he was a reindeer, and a weird one at that, but seeing both human women staring at him with some level of pink of their faces caused him to snap his head back towards Hack and glare at him. "You're a jerk." He muttered before stomping away, barely able to hide his embarrassment.

"And I love it." Hack chuckled in response.

"Hack-sensei can you put me down now?" Koala asked.

A hundred or so miles away, Igaram and the members of the Ocean Sword Pirates that followed him were thankfully not experiencing the same amount of nonsense Naruto was currently dealing with at that moment. In fact their trip through the desert was rather pleasant. They didn't encounter any giant spiders or scorpions. No members of the Baroque Works trying to ambush them, or even said leader of the organization who tried to kill them all in one fell swoop.

Lucky, lucky them. The bastards.

"So Igaram, what is Nanohana like?" Kotetsu asked after once again perching himself on Raijin's shoulder. The shorter half of the Idiot duo was closer to the ground, keeping him away from the blistering sun, and was as docile as a lamb thanks to Goldenweek's color trap.

"It's a port town, and is one of the few places that has not been affected by the drought. My wife adores their perfume, and I was fond of the Spice Bean restaurant when I was younger." Igaram said in response. "But most importantly I have friends there, as soon as I can get to them our troubles will be over."

"It cannot be that simple, can it?" Carmen asked with a slight wave of her fan to try and fight off the unbearable heat. "A few people, some information, and all your troubles are over? You still have the head honcho to take out, and if his reputation precedes him he will not go down without aid from the World Government."

"That is if they won't cover up the entire incident." Miss Goldenweek droned out while sitting on Fujin's shoulder. "They could twist and turn the story, Alabasta's reputation could be in ruins by the end of this. They could very well try to make this a military occupation after the dust settles."

The three who weren't painted turned to look at the laziest human being they ever met and blinked owlishly. From Kotetsu's experiences regarding the truth, they could simply twist the tale indeed. Igaram was the first to snap out of it. "I will not allow this to happen. Alabasta has suffered for too long, and I will not allow my country to come under occupation." He said in resolution.

"Agreed." Kotetsu replied with a steely gaze. "I won't allow what happened to me happen to this country. It's as you said Igaram the truth will come out in one way, or another."

"Someone is optimistic, I like that though." Carmen said with a smile on her face. It was certainly better than his doom and gloom behavior since she met him. "So Igaram who are you meeting?"

"An old friend, I am to meet him at the Spice Bean when we get there." Igaram said in response.

In the next few hours the group of six arrived on the outskirts of Nanohana, but instead of a thriving port town, they found it in flames. Thick black smoke obscured the sun, and a giant warship plowing through a quarter of it, destroying the docks.

"No...no..." Igaram whispered in disbelief before collapsing to his knees. "Nanohana is in flames..."

"Baroque Works." Kotetsu growled before hopping off Raijin. He immediately stiffened from the sudden impact and mentally screamed how stupid of an idea that was. But pushing the pain aside, he activated the powers of his devil fruit and sped towards the burning town.

"Come on Igaram, we have to go." Carmen said to the older man. "There are still survivors, your contact might be among them. Lets go."

"Ma~ma~ma~." Igaram cleared his tired voice to try and perk himself up, she was right if he accepted defeat now that all his and Vivi's sacrifices would be for nothing. "You're right, come on lets go!"

In the burning port town Kotetsu nearly collapsed onto his knees from overexerting himself. His body had not healed yet and he was paying for it. Everywhere around him he saw flames engulfing the buildings, charred and blackened corpses of what used to be human beings, people crying or searching for their loved ones. It brought back terrible memories of Iron Island and the things he saw. He collapsed to his knees this time and covered his ears to stop the screams from echoing in his mind.

The sound of mocking laughter caused him to grit his teeth. Magara was watching, always watching, always waiting for him to slip up. So he slammed his head against the ground, forcing those memories out of his head, replacing those horrible images with pain to get his head in the game, Kotetsu closed his eyes, and blocked out the senses around him. He did not hear the sound of the crackling flames, smell the burned flesh, the screaming of the civilians.

Somehow there was a sensation in his brain that was nagging at him. It wasn't a danger sense, it was more like something was guiding him. Snapping his eyes open he bolted towards the eastern section of the city where the fire was at its worst. He past by people, jumped over the destroyed burning wrecks of what used to be shops before arriving at a tower that looked to be seconds away from collapsing, fire and black smoke spilling out from the windows and a bucket brigade desperately trying to kill the fire.

"Ma'am you need to stay back!" A man with a black top hat on his head that covered his long, dark pink hair along with a little stubble on his chin. Shouted at a frantic woman, she was clutching at his dark blue coat with badges on the chest and side of the arm while a small boy was clutching at his black pants and boots. "The building might collapse, you and your family need to stay back!"

"My husband and daughter are in there!" The woman tearfully cried out. "They are at the top floor, I need to get to them!"

"Ma'am we are doing everything we can, but Erik is right. This is far too dangerous." Said a tanned man, with black hair pulled into a ponytail with a grey tie. He was wearing a navy blue sleeveless shirt, white shorts and sandals with a dark red hat covering his head along with a pair of brown goggles, that he kept on top of it.

"They are going to die if you don't do something!" The woman wailed before collapsing against the man who was holding her back. "We've lost everything...I can't lose them!"

A rumbling sound alerted everyone in the vicinity and the tower began crumpling at the base, falling towards the northern end. The end Kotetsu was standing at along with the poor woman.

"Kebi! We need to get out of here!" Erik screamed at the other man.

"We're not going to make it!" Kibi screamed out in terror.

"I am not afraid..." Kotetsu slowly whispered to himself, his breathing steady and calm. Pulling Nidai Kitetsu's scabbard and all from his belt, he set it behind his back before closing his eyes. He didn't know what exactly was going on, but he heard the heartbeats of everyone in the area, including the two stuck in the falling tower. He focused on that area before snapping his eyes open.

"Mirage Sword Style: Draw: Chandra!" Twisting himself as far back as possible, Kotetsu tapped into the power of his devil fruit to use a technique he had not used in a very long time out of fear. Forcing the power into his right hand, he drew the sword at such a speed it released an insanely powerful crescent shape blade of energy that cut through the middle of the falling building. The powerful blast of wind that followed after extinguished the fires for well over half a mile. When the tower split in half, he tapped into the power of the Quick-Quick Fruit again and jumped, leaving an indentation of his feet in the ground. (2)

As the tower split in half, Kotetsu landed on the third floor from the top, and ricochet towards the second, and the third, leaving afterimages of himself until he reached the very top floor. From the left half of the tower where he spotted a terrified little girl, without a word he grabbed her under his arm and jumped to the right half and shouldered the unconscious man.

"Hold tight little girl. This is going to suck for all of us." Especially for him, oh especially for him. Waiting for the half of the building to come crashing to the ground, Kotetsu used the last of his reserves and jumped before the building crashed to the ground, he barely managed to leap past the buildings and land in front of the small party he was standing by earlier.

Sweat pouring down his face, Kotetsu looked at the mother, the two men and the young child clutching her dress. He gave them all an exhausted smile before letting go of the little girl, and letting down the man on his shoulder who coughed when his back hit the ground. "I believe these are yours."

It honestly did his heart good when the woman who, God help him was probably the same age as him mother when he was around the girls age shed tears of joy and gratitude as she hugged her family. It made all the exhaustion and pain he was feeling at that moment worth it.

"Kid that was amazing!" Erik said before forcefully patting Kotetsu on the back, forcing him to let out a yelp and fall face-first to the ground. "Ah shit! Sorry kid." The pink-haired man quickly grabbed the back of his hoodie and pulled him to his feet.

"No it's all right, I just used a lot of energy. That and my legs are numb." The sandy-haired swordsman tried to take a step, but immediately buckled under his own weight. It was thanks to Kebi moving to support him that he didn't eat a mouthful of gravel.

"Easy there kid, I got you." Kebi said with a grin on his face. "What's your name?"

"Kotetsu...just Kotetsu." He panted out before regarding the ruined buildings. "What happened here?"

"The King attacked."

Turning towards the sound of the new voice, Kotetsu turned to see a large man with tan skin, and long unkempt black hair. He wore a striped black and green military shirt, and a brown sash. He also sported a blueish-grey turban. He looked quite odd resembling a hippo, having a flat nose and two teeth that stick out of his lower jaw.

The person who actually spoke was an average-sized man wearing purple-tinted glasses and had a scar on his left eye. He wore a blue scarf around his neck, a dark purple jacket that went all the way down to his ankles, a white shirt with an ornament of some sort hanging on his neck, black pants and a yellow sash around his waist.

"Koza, Farafra? A-are you sure?" Erik asked, shock clear in his voice.

"We are." Farafra, the large man showed them the body of a young boy who was beaten black and blue in cradled in his left arm. "And one of his soldiers beat up this young boy, we found him beaten half to death muttering about the King."

"And so he shows his true colors at least." Koza said with anger in his voice. "I talked to the survivors and they said that he showed up with one-hundred thousand of his men. He finally admitted that he used Dance Powder to steal out rain and ordered his men to set fire to all of Nanohana!" His voice echoed, startling the people in the entire area. "No more! No more I say! Men and women of Nanohana, today you've all seen the tyranny of the Royal Family, too long have we sat on the sidelines, now it's time to take the fight to them!"

All around him Kotetsu could feel a change in the air, it felt hot and angry, the people who lost their homes and loved ones looked at the Leader of the Rebel Army. They say the five stages of grief was denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. But many did not know was they did not go in that order, and right now everyone was flying head first into the anger stage.

Koza's charismatic voice was rallying the people into a heated frenzy, there was no talk of rebuilding, no talk of mourning the loss of loved ones, there was just rage and anger. And the people were eating it up.

"Yes, it's time we take the fight to them!" Came the cry of one man.

"They burned my home, they killed my family, I have nothing left. They must pay for their crimes!" Came the cry of another.

"Death to the Royal Family!" Came the cry of an angry woman.

"Justice for Nanohana!"

"Death to King Cobra!"

"Death to King Cobra!"

"Death to King Cobra!"

Kotetsu could only look on in horror, weather he knew it or not, these would become the rallying cries for the next few days to come.

On the other side of the map, or what it certainly felt like, Gin was not having a very good day. First he woke up dried as a prune and had to drown the rest of his water to get even half his strength back, and the rest weren't in any position to call themselves battle ready. And moreover...

"I cannot believe you let go of Luffy!" Zoro barked at their resident chef.

"Well excuse me for all the moisture getting sucked out of my body, and losing all my strength!" Sanji shouted back at the green-haired swordsman.

He had to listen to these two idiots bickering at each other.

"Knock it off!" Gin finally shouted at them. "If Straw Hat is as strong as I remember him being when he defeated Krieg, then he won't die from this."

"What about the others?" Bashura asked their First Mate. "We're still missing the little reindeer, the orange-haired one, the Cap'n, and the Princess."

"The last I saw either of them they were around Naruto's area in that sand tornado." Gin replied with a small grunt of pain, good God what he would do for some pain killers right now. He turned towards Shizune and bluntly asked. "Hey doc, got any drugs on you?"

"No Gin, not in your condition." Shizune tiredly replied before looking at him. "You're dehydrated, pain killers would do more harm than good, and I know you haven't eaten since this morning."

"I could eat, I'm starving." Usopp commented when his stomach growled angrily.

"Ugh, listen we're going to be at Rainbase by nightfall. If we all can continue at the pace we're going we should make it by nine at the latest." Mentally checking the contents of the backpack he was carrying, Gin did some math to calculate how much money he had on him. "I think I should have enough to book us some rooms at an inn, we'll wait for the others for a day...maybe two."

"Why two?" Zoro asked.

A glint showed in Gin's eyes before saying a single sentence that sent shivers down everyone's spines. "I heard Rainbase had one hell of a casino."

That did not bode well for any of them.

Back in the ruins of Nanohana the mood had not changed. The people were angry, all those who were able joined the Rebel Army within seconds after finding out that it was the King who attacked them. Incidentally the ship that destroyed their docks held a cache of weapons and tons of gunpowder that failed to go off, preventing even more damage that had already been done. And a great boost for the people in their ranks who promised to use them to kill every last person loyal to the Royal Family.

Night had fallen and the Rebel Army had by then created several dozen camps for the survivors, they gave them warm meals, and a place to sleep for the night. Because the next day they were going to march towards the capital of Alubarna.

After getting some food in him, actually a lot of food in him because he could barely move after burning through the last reserves of his energy to cut the building in half. The main problem was that it wasn't made by Carmen, it tasted...odd. Huh, who knew that he had gotten so picky regarding who cooked his food?

He was provided a tent to rest in, laying on one of the cots he stared up at the ceiling with a frown on his face. This entire situation was completely fucked up beyond all repair, the entire city was in ruins, it would take a maximum of two to four years to be completely rebuilt, that was if it could be rebuilt to begin with.

Kotetsu also had not seen hide nor hair of Carmen, Igaram or Goldenweek with her two idiots. He honestly couldn't blame Igaram for hiding, his face was well known in Alabasta after all. Nor could he blame Goldenweek for keeping a low profile, she was the partner to the former Mr. 3 by now, and having two giant people would not help her image. But Carmen was the one he was worried about, she was plenty strong in her own right, but this was not something any of them experienced before.

"Hey new guy, you still awake?" Kotetsu turned his head to the side to see Kebi push the flap of his tent to the side. "You are, good. Listen the boss needs to have a word with you."

"The boss of the Rebel Army?" He curiously asked. "What does he want with me?"

"Dunno, he just told me to go and get you. But it's important, that's all I know." Kebi shrugged in reply before gesturing towards him. "Do you need any help to walk?"

"No I'm good." Kotetsu slowly got off his cot, grabbed his blades as a safety measure, and proceeded to follow the man around the camp. The swordsman saw hundreds of people gathered around large fires to keep warm during the cold night, grizzled men and women armed to the teeth. It was not a very pleasant sight.

Among the faces, he only spotted one, the familiar face of Carmen serving what he assumed was her own blend of awesome cooking to the refugees. They locked eyes and he nearly took a step towards her, only for the pink-haired woman to shake her head. She gestured her eyes to the side, pretty much gesturing towards his tent. It was definitely code for 'I'll talk to you later tonight.' and Kotetsu would do just that.

In the next few minutes both Kebi and himself reached Koza's modest sized tent. He was sitting at his desk looking over what seemed like a dozen maps and letters. "I hope I am not interrupting you...Kotetsu was it?" He asked after a minute had passed.

"Not at all, I don't sleep that well anyways." Kotetsu said before realizing that he was casually talking to the leader of the Rebel Army, now was not the time to act all casual dammit! "Ahem, anyways you wished to speak with me?"

"Indeed." Koza turned towards him and adjusted his glasses. "I heard about what you did for that family, and I must say I find myself impressed. To cut a falling tower in half is impressive by itself, to put out the fires for half a mile, and rescue the two occupants in said building without harming them, or anyone else on the ground is nothing short of a miracle."

Hearing such praise caused the sandy-haired swordsman to sheepishly rub the back of his neck. "I just did what I knew was right."

"Which leads me to my next question." The glasses on his flashing from the candlelight, Koza gave his guest a stern look. "You're not a native of Alabasta. You're not even from this part of the ocean so why are you here?"

Feeling a bead of sweat falling down his forehead, Kotetsu's thoughts went a million miles a second to try and think up of a good excuse. After all he couldn't say 'I came with your former Captain of the Royal Guard, we're trying to track down some guy to bust Crocodile's chops.' Yea that would not go well at all.

So like every person in their life he lied his ass off with half-truths.

"I cannot deny this. I am not from here at all. I'm part of a band of mercenaries, we were hired as privateers by the Drum Kingdom, but not by Wapol!" He quickly added when he saw Koza reach for a pistol laying on his desk. "He's gone, and is no longer welcome back due to him being...well a terrible ruler." Seeing a gesture to continue, Kotetsu continued to lie on almost an Usopp level. "We were to pursue his remaining ships, plunder them and kill all loyal to him, but a storm knocked knocked our ship around like it was nothing until it ended. Our ship was damaged, and we found ourselves near your shores."

"I assume you docked at one of the port cities?" Koza bluntly asked.

"Of course, but this one was empty as a ghost town, and already wrecked to boot." Points to him for covering his crew's asses for destroying the town. "We disembarked and repaired as much as we could, but our mast and rudder are completely shot, and so we split up to search for anything to replace them. But a sandstorm split me up from my group. I saw the smoke from a long distance away, and...well here I am."

"Do you really expect me to believe you?" The Rebel leader asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Do I have a reason to lie?" Kotetsu asked, putting on the best poker face he had.

The two men stared at each other for a full minute, saying nothing before Koza broke the silence. "I guess it doesn't matter, you saved people when you could have turned the other way. I need someone like that by my side."

What? Kotetsu widely blinked in response to that, this was unexpected. "Are you asking me to join this rebellion of yours?"

"That is exactly what I am doing. You're fast, faster than any average man I have ever seen. The injustice done to these people." He tightened his fist harshly and gnashed his teeth together. "I cannot let it stand. First Yuba, then Nanohana...I will not allow the Royal Family to rule while the common folk suffer. One way or another this will end in three days."

'Yuba? What does that town have to do with anything?' Kotetsu thought to himself. 'But more importantly Igaram's information regarding the Rebels are way off. These guys are no longer a thorn in Alabasta's side, the amount of people joining up will be in the millions...shit this civil war will be a greater massacre than Iron Island.'

And he could not, would not allow that to happen. He may not have been a Marine anymore, but he still upheld his own ideals of justice. Protect the innocent and destroy the evil that threatens them. The Rebel Army was not evil, just misguided like sheep with wool pulled over their eyes. And the same went with all in Alubarna.

Cementing his resolve, Kotetsu opened his mouth to speak. "I understand, I've seen many bad things done to good people. So long as you spare my people if we come across them, I'll join you."

"Of course, go get some rest Kotetsu. We leave first thing in the morning."

After leaving the tent, Kotetsu did not return to his tent, instead he traversed the entire camp. He did not interact with anyone, not a single person. What he did was overhear all their grievances, their anger, their fear, their sorrow, their pain. He had to grip the hilts of his blades to calm himself from lashing out at them for being so simple-minded. Their King, their benevolent King suddenly razing a city after confessing to a crime that he was innocent of was completely unordinary. Unless King Cobra suddenly developed a multiple personality disorder like him, the chances of that happening were him getting struck by lightning underground in a cave.

"Did you hear? We're going to be moving out." Said one of the rebels.

"Yea, to Alubarna. We're going to recruit more people and sack the city itself." Said another.

"I honestly cannot wait." Said a man with a pallid complexion. He had long black hair which framed his face. He wore a purple kimono, held closed by a purple sash over which he wore a matching grey haori and beige collar.

The last one had the hairs on the back of Kotetsu's neck stand on end. The last one felt completely off to him, like some sort of serpent that was ready to strike. He didn't look right, in fact he looked completely off, like he did not belong there.

"We all cannot wait Shiin, my village dried out because of them." A fourth rebel said to the third man.

"I know, but I am going to relish this. My home was dried out to nothing, my wife and child died because of Cobra. I swear to you all I will personally make Cobra suffer for what he did." His expression took on a dark turn, his bloodlust barely contained in him. "And what better way than to kill that daughter of his in front of him?"

"What? Shiin are you serious?" The first one asked in shock. In fact his statement seemed to stun the people around them into silence.

"Deadly serious. I can never see my daughter reach the Princess' age because of Cobra. The pain of a parent losing a child...you cannot imagine it!" Shiin cried out, wiping the tears from his eyes with the sleeves of his kimono. "I'm too old to have another, the only satisfaction I can now get out of this life is seeing Cobra's line die with him!"

"He's right!" A burly rebel growled out in agreement. "I lost my little boy to this drought, Cobra must pay for this!"

"Yea! I lost my mother, she never got to see her first grandchild. Cobra must suffer!"

Kotetsu narrowed his eyes and brought his hands to Nidai Kitetsu's hilt. Just hearing Shiin made him sick to his stomach, the man was crying crocodile tears, he was manipulating the people around him to become more violent and bloodthirsty. Maybe he was wrong, perhaps the Rebel Army was rotten to the core and needed a good cleaning.

Before he could think any further, the sandy-haired swordsman stopped what he was doing when he heard the faintest mad cackling in the back of his head. "Damn you Magara." He whispered to himself, clutching his head with his right hand before turning away. He would not give into the desires to kill everyone in the camp, he would not give Magara the satisfaction.

"Come on...you already killed, what thirty guys the other day. Heh, you chopped that cunt with the strange arms' head right off. Take Nidai and slip him between their ribs. It's for the greater good because they won't stop at just killing that girl if you know what I..."

Kotetsu angrily cut the voice of his other half off, like hell that was going to happen! However that did not mean he was going to go at this alone, he wasn't going to shake Shiin down until he got some backup. He wouldn't torture him, Naruto was very clear on that; something he agreed on. But Miss Goldenweek she had her uses, or more specifically her paints to work with.

He just had to find her first.

(Rainbase)

Sitting in his secret room underneath his casino, Crocodile's condescending smile did not slip from his face for even a second. Placed on his desk were several Den Den Mushi's, each baring the likeness of his operatives he deemed worthy to contact him regarding the missions he had given them.

"Miss Saturday, report." He spoke into the Den Den Mushi wearing a turquoise knights uniform. "Are you and Mr. 12 in place?"

"We are, my partner is already stirring up trouble in the camps. The people are hungry for royal blood." Miss Saturday reported.

"Perfect, keep me informed on their location." The leader of the Baroque Works then held up a Den Den Mushi that had far too much makeup and pink on it. "Mr. 2, I assume your part of the plan went off without a hitch?"

"It went off perfectly! The people really thought I was the genuine King!" Mr. 2's happy voice echoed throughout the room. Goodness the man was loud.

But a little noise did not disturb Crocodile. "Good, I want you to personally head to Alubarna for protective detail."

"Roger Boss!"

Crocodile then turned his attention towards a Den Den Mushi with a number one painted on the shell, and has a serious expression on its face. "Mr. 1 did the rebels get the weapons?"

"They did, I had to destroy the docks to do so but they got them." Mr. 1 informed his boss.

"No matter, those docks are expendable. Were there any complications on your part?"

"Some kid spotted us, and we think Mr. 2. He won't be talking to anyone though."

"As expected from the deadliest man in my organization. I want you and Miss Doublefinger to head to Alubarna, you will receive instructions once you are there."

"As you wish Mr. 0." Mr. 1's link then cut out.

Finally he turned towards the last Den Den Mushi that looked rather festive. "Miss Merry Christmas. Are you in position?"

"We're getting there. But you know my partner..." The older woman trailed off, regarding her slow companion.

"Of course." Crocodile had to repress a sigh, Mr. 4 was a strong man, but he was too slow and dumb to be effective in the organization. That was why he had Mr. 3 above him in rank, otherwise it would have been the opposite. Oh well life wasn't always fair. "How soon will you be in Alubarna?"

"We will be there in two days to snatch a King."

"Keep me informed, Mr. 0 out." Disconnecting with the brains of the duo, Crocodile leaned back in his plush chair and lit another cigar. "Everything is going according to plan."

"Is it?" Miss All-Sunday asked after entering his domain. Crossing her arms under her breasts, she gave her boss a curious look. "You have not tried calling Mr. 7, Mr. 5, Miss Father's Day, or Miss Valentine's Day, nor the Unluckies."

"The first four have a job that even a monkey can do, they are to guard the bomb, and nothing else." Crocodile said, hiding an amused grin for what he had planned for his expendable members. "As for the Unluckies, they are only scouts. They will report to me anything that changes otherwise I will be very disappointed with them."

Miss All-Sunday could only look at the bananawani crocodiles when he said that, she remembered the first time he fed someone who disappointed him to his pets, it was the first Mr. 11 she believed, and many other followed since then. Unconsciously she gripped the dagger she had hidden in her coat, taking in solace that it would at least mortally wound her boss should he eventually turn against her when her usefulness was up.

Crocodile lightly laughed as he looked at his pets before exhaling the smoke from his mouth. "Like I said, everything is going according to plan."

Armageddon: Hello my fans!

Sgt. Shadowtrayser: Where the hell have you been!?

Pvt. DemonShifter: It's been two months!

Pvt. Liquor: I still can't get drunk!

Pvt. VFSNAKE: Shut up Private Liquor.

Armageddon: Now now, don't get all mad at me. I last posted in December, and I fully admit I took January off to do me things like playing Mafia III or getting killed across the map in Battlefield 1...seriously fuck you Scout Class! You cheap ass, head sniping campers! Yes I know that's what they are supposed to do by I can rant about it if I want!

Pvt: Leaf Ranger: Easy there Boss, it's just a game. Besides half those people are thirteen years olds hopped up on Mountain Dew and have not responsibilities because they are stupid teenagers.

Armageddon: Damn right they are. Well I can at least do things they cannot like drive for instance! Hahaha!

Pvt. Fox: I think the General has lost it.

Pvt. Runox:...Does this happen a lot?

Lt. Doom: Not really, he'll snap out of it by the next update. You know the drill people read and leave a nice review. And enjoy the small facts stuff the Boss does, it ain't much this time around. He wants to see what you can spot on your own.

(1) I'm gonna be frank folks, Koala has not shown any real Fishman Karate moves, I actually had to look her up in the wikia and these techniques are video game only. I took them because I wasn't planning on going crazy like I did with Namur.

(2) Against my better judgement I renamed Kotetsu's devil fruit the Quick-Quick Fruit. Nothing major really, I just kinda wanted it to be something akin to the Quick Release Kekkei Genkai, and not a Kizaru ripoff.