They depart from the Gecko Islands with their new sharpshooter and a brand new ship, fully stocked for any needs they may have. Not even the rain that starts to fall as they reach open water could dampen Luffy's mood. She claims her spot on the figurehead, tilting her face up to the sky. The rain was warm, as it typically was with the East Blue's subtropical climate, and Luffy's lashes flutter when the water clings to them.

Squawk!

Luffy blinks, eyes opening, and looks around in surprise. A large white bird, an albatross, lands on the railing closest to her seat, staring at her from beneath the brim of its hat, a mailbag slung across its chest. Luffy hops down, feet almost skidding out from under her when she lands on the wet deck. The bird watches her with a judgmental glint in his eyes.

"A News Coo? I didn't order a paper, bird."

He squawks at her, neck contorting so he can rummage through his bag with his beak. He pulls out a sealed envelope and offers it to her. Luffy takes it, eyebrow cocking, flipping it over to find her name written in familiar looping cursive. "Oh! Thanks!" She looks back at the bird, "Do you need payment, or did she already handle that?" He twitches his head in a way that she knows means that no payment is needed. "Cool, thanks, bird."

He nods, stretching out his wings and taking off with a powerful flap and a parting squawk.

Luffy breaks the wax seal as Usopp climbs the steps up to the foredeck, "What was that?"

"News Coo with a special delivery from my mother," Luffy says distractedly as she starts to read.

Usopp's eyebrows jump up, and she stops at Luffy's side and peeks at the letter.

Luffy,

I hope you're staying out of trouble so far, lest you give your father a heart attack too soon in your journey. As funny as I would find that, I would miss him if he died. Or he'd live and never let me hear the end of the stress you are causing him. Neither would be ideal, I suppose.

Anyway, I made a deal for you because I know the likeliness of you having a) already found yourself a navigator and b) realized or been told you need to get your hands on a map of the Grand Line. They're hard to come by in the East Blue. Only certain dealers sell them, and even if you did know you would need a map, I doubt you currently have the capital to purchase one.

Go to the Organ Islands. In Orange Town, look for the Clown. She has the map. I've already paid her for it, so if she tries to weasel more beris out of you, remind her that I'll be more than happy to come and rework the details of her payment in person. She's a dramatic little gremlin, prone to theatrics; expect a headache. Try to catch her son, Red, if you can; he's the most pragmatic one sailing with her. He won't give you the same song and dance as the rest of her group of carnies.

And for the love of the sea, Luffy, find a navigator sooner rather than later. Without one, you won't even survive the journey up the reverse mountain.

Your Mother.

Usopp glances at her face, curious what Luffy's reaction would be, "I guess we know where we're going next."

Luffy nods with a slight grin, folding the letter and stuffing it back into the envelope, "Guess so. This map is probably important if she'd telling me to go and get it."

"Your mom knows a lot about sailing the Grand Line?"

"Loads! She was born on the Grand Line in the New World, and she's been sailing it on her own since she was nineteen."

Usopp's brow furrows, and she follows after Luffy as she descends from the foredeck to the main deck, humming softly, "How does a woman born in the New World end up having children in the East Blue?"

"Zoro! We're going to Orange Town in the Organ Islands!" Luffy pauses, reconsidering her choice of helmsmen, "Wait, Usopp, you should probably handle the rudder."

"Of course, Zoro would have us turned around and headed back the way we came as soon as he touched it," Usopp looks at her expectantly, "So? You going to answer my question?"

Luffy crosses her arms and taps her chin, first looking at Usopp and then at Zoro as he emerges from the galley, a cheeky smile quirking her lips, "When my mom got pregnant with me, she didn't have any safe places to hole up. She's a logia-type devil fruit user, so she was basically defenceless." Usopp's mouth drops open, and Zoro's eyes narrow as he wonders why Luffy is being so forthcoming. "She could have gone to spend the duration with Oyaji, but he's always in the New World, and that wasn't ideal so in kind of desperation move, she called my Gramps. My bio-dad gave my mom Gramps' number in case she ever needed help, and well, she needed help. She and Gramps came to a deal. Gramps sets her up in a safe house near Foosha Village, and Mom takes care of my brother, Ace."

"You have a brother?" Zoro asks.

"I have two! And my little sister, too!"

Usopp shakes her head, baffled, "So where did Ace come from?"

"I dunno, actually. Gramps took him in after Ace's birth mother died, but Gramps isn't usually at Foosha Village, so he had Dadan watching Ace until Mom agreed to take care of him."

"And your other brother?"

"Sabo. Me and Ace met him in the Gray Terminal just outside the Goa Kingdom and brought him home with us. Mom came home, and Sabo just sorta stuck around."

What was he? A stray puppy? Usopp thinks in wonder. "What about your sister?"

Laughing, Luffy tells her, "Hibari was born when I was eight; nothing bizarre there."

"So you realize just how crazy that all just sounded," Zoro crosses his arms and steps aside so Usopp can pass him to go into the rudder room.

"Yup!" She snickers, "Dude, my family is all sorts of crazy; you don't even know."

"Oh god, I should just pretend like you didn't just say that, but now I gotta know."

Luffy looks at him for a heartbeat before she leans around him to see Usopp looking at her compass and a map to adjust their course. She straightens back up and lowers her voice, "You know about the Shichibukai?"

Zoro cocks an eyebrow but nods, "Yeah, sure."

"My mama's one," She puts a finger to her lips, "Lady Crocodile, The Queen of Desert Sands."

Zoro chokes and stares at Luffy like she's speaking in tongues, "You're fucking kidding me."

"Nope."

"Oh my god," Zoro squints at her, "How much trouble is this gonna cause?"

"Trust me, Zoro. That's like the most normal thing about my family." She waggles her fingers with a grin and goes to check on Usopp. She's delighted by the look of horror on Zoro's face and can't wait for more things about her family to be revealed. How would people react when they discovered that one of Luffy's brothers was the 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates or that the other brother was a Captain with the Marines? How would they react to the news that Gramps was the Hero of the Marines or that Oyaji was one of the Four Pirates Emperors? And she couldn't wait to tell them how the man she called her dad was Admiral Akainu or that her Granny was the Fleet Admiral.

Luffy is still snickering when she reaches Usopp.

–

Luffy shields her eyes from the glare of the setting sun glaring off the water as they approach the thriving port of Orange Town that sat near the heart of the East Blue. One of the reasons why the Organ Islands had been named the Organ Islands. Even though Dawn Island was the biggest or the Conomi Islands were richer, the Organ Islands were a massive trading hub. Clutching her plate of dinner in one hand, Luffy scans the docks, her gaze catching on the large, colourful galleon anchored in the harbour.

A large elephant figurehead at its fore and a red and blue striped circus tent encompassing the deck.

"Is the circus in town?" Zoro comes up beside her, where she's sitting unconcernedly on the starboard railing near Merry's bow, a bottle of booze in his hand.

"Must be," She points at the mast of the ship with her fork, a piece of chicken speared on the prongs, where a Jolly Roger with a big red nose flaps in the breeze. "Whether they'll be friendly or not, who can say?" She pops the chicken into her mouth.

Zoro hums, tipping his bottle to his lips for a drink, "Would your mom send you to talk to someone likely to attack us?"

She considers it, fork clicking against her plate as she stabs another piece of chicken, "Not intentionally, I think." Usopp's boots scuff against the deck as she joins them, listening curiously as Luffy continues. "She knows a lot of people, some of 'em good, some of 'em bad. But I know that anybody she's sending us to talk to in the East Blue is going to be too scared of pissing her off to hurt us…or rip us off."

Usopp leans her elbows on the railing next to Luffy's hip, popping her chin into her hands, "What exactly does your mom do for work that she knows so many people?"

Zoro opens his mouth to tell her, but Luffy slaps a hand against the side of his face to shush him before he can say anything. He grunts, swatting her hand away, and glares at the side of her head.

"She deals in information."

Usopp's dark eyes narrow, voice bland, "She's an information broker."

"Yeah, that." Luffy grins, scooping some rice into her mouth. "Thanks for making supper, by the way, Usopp. It was super tasty!"

Usopp raises an eyebrow, glances around Luffy's back and shoots a questioning look at Zoro, who gives her a tired shrug. "No problem."

"Yeah, thanks. Luffy can't cook," Zoro finishes his bottle and bends down to place it on the deck next to his boot.

Luffy huffs, "Hey! Neither can you."

"At least what I made was edible."

Luffy puffs up, kicking her feet out, bare toes splayed with her indignation. "Oh! Barely!"

Ignoring her curiosity about Luffy's mother for the moment, Usopp looks between them and says, "I keep meaning to ask, but how long have you two known each other?"

Luffy scratches the side of her neck, staring at Zoro while she thinks, "Uh, about two weeks now?"

"Just about." Zoro lifts an eyebrow at Usopp, "Why'd you ask?"

"You just seem like you've known each other for a lot longer, is all." She shrugs her thin shoulders, We should get ready to dock. We're getting close."

By the time they get the Merry-Go docked, night has fallen, and fanfare can be heard from the Circus ship, spotlights and fireworks lighting up the sky.

Disembarking from the Merry-Go, Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp join the eager throngs of townspeople lining up to board the ship and see the show, waiting to pay admission. Luffy peers around excitedly at all of the carnies on the docks, busy keeping the people in line entertained. Her eyes are on a man spitting fire, and she misses the crowd's reaction to the handsome lion marching through, his tamer sitting astride his back.

Usopp's eyes widen, and she steps back hastily, crashing into Zoro's chest. He steadies her with a hand on the bare curve of her waist without a second thought. Usopp grows flustered but doesn't move.

Luffy notices and grins at them, waggling her eyebrows. She doesn't realize she's standing in the lion's path until he's growling in her ear. Luffy glances over her shoulder at him and fearlessly scratches the lion's muzzle. Both lion and tamer give her shocked looks until the big cat starts purring, a great rumble that vibrates the air. Luffy coos at him, "Hi, handsome kitty."

Mohji, the lion tamer, is in awe. His Richie was a great, fearsome beast who frightened even the bravest men with a simple look. Yet this girl was talking to Richie as though he was a little kitten, mushing his face and making kissy noises at him.

Luffy glances up at Mohji, and he jumps when she addresses him, "Hey, mister, we're here to meet a clown. Know where we can find her?"

Suspicious, Mohji asks, "Clown? Why are you looking for a clown?"

Luffy shrugs unconcernedly, "She has a map for me, apparently."

Mohji blinks and slides off Richie's back, "Oh, the boss told us you would probably be coming by. Follow me."

Luffy plants a kiss on Richie's nose and lets him go, trailing behind Mohji as he leads them up the gangplank onto the circus ship, past the open flaps of the tent, up a flight of stairs onto the quarter deck, and into the Captain's cabin. Mohji holds open the door and allows the three Straw Hats to enter before him.

Three people are inside the colourfully decorated cabin, walls and furniture draped in silks and furs. The first is a shirtless young man in his early twenties with vibrant red hair, equally vibrant blue eyes and a swirling tattoo on his shoulder, lounging like a big cat in a comfortable-looking armchair who looks at them as they step inside curiously. The second is an older man with green hair hanging in front of his eyes and a checkered scarf around his neck and wearing an open, sleeveless vest.

Lastly, there is a petite woman with sky-blue hair, the same vibrant blue eyes as the young man, and a red nose—the Clown Queen herself, Buggy the Clown. Luffy meets pretty blue eyes in the mirror, and Buggy puts down the makeup sponge she is using to apply her face paint with an agitated sniff. Raising one fine eyebrow and glaring briefly at the straw hat on Luffy's head, "Who the hell are you?"

Mohji squeezes past Zoro and Usopp, pointing at Luffy, "She's the one who's picking up the map that Crocodile bought."

Usopp's brow furrows, mouthing at Zoro, "Crocodile?"

Zoro nods, "Her mom."

Usopp starts to nod before things start connecting in her mind; Luffy's mother is an information broker named Crocodile. Crocodile is an unusual name, and while Usopp didn't normally pay attention to much in the way of world news, even she had heard of the Raid the Navy had done on the pirate island, The Ironworks, in the North Blue a year previous. She remembered it because the Raid included three out of seven Shichibukai. The shichibukai rarely worked side-by-side with each other, so three participating in one Raid had been something of a historical event. The three Shichibukai had been Gecko Moria, Dracule Mihawk and Lady Crocodile.

What were the chances that more than one woman named Crocodile sailed the Grand Line?

Usopp's eyes widen, and Zoro knows she's just figured it out. He pats her shoulder gently, and she scowls up at him as if to say, 'You knew, and you didn't tell me?!'

Luffy misses this exchange, holding her hand out to the clown, "Map, please."

Buggy pushes herself to her feet, red lips pursed, scoffing lightly, "Sure. If you've got the beris for it." She grins broadly, and the redhead raises his eyebrows.

Luffy's face goes blank, "I was told to tell you that my mom would be more than happy to come and renegotiate your selling price in person if you tried to get more beris out of me than what she already paid you."

Buggy chokes on her spit, chuckling nervously. She'd been so blinded by her greed and annoyance for a moment that she forgot that, oh yeah, Crocodile would not hesitate to beat her ass if she thought Buggy was trying to scam her. "Oh, that map! Red, entertain our guests while I go and fetch it," Before she leaves, she points accusingly at Mohji and Cabaji, "Shouldn't you two be getting to the ring?"

She scurries out, Mohji and Cabaji on her tail, leaving Luffy and her fledging crew with her son.

They stare at him. He stares back.

"You don't seem tall enough to be Crocodile's kid."

Luffy frowns, "And you don't seem short enough to be hers."

Red grins lopsidedly, kicking his feet up onto the chair's matching footrest, fingers laced together on his belly, laughing, "Fair enough."

Usopp sucks in a sharp breath and asks quite loudly, "Your mom is a Shichibukai, isn't she?"

Luffy chokes a little and whips around to face Usopp. "How did you figure it out?"

"How many people named Crocodile do you think there are in the World?"

Luffy blows a raspberry, "I mean, there can't only be one."

"Probably none that are also Information Brokers," Zoro points out, "If you were trying to keep it a secret, you weren't doing a very good job."

Luffy snickers, rubbing her hands together, "I'll do better in the future."

"Or you could just not keep it a secret."

"Pssh, where's the fun in that," Luffy says, just as Buggy comes bustling back into the cabin in a flash of colour and energy.

"Here!" She holds out the map, carefully rolled into a watertight tube. Luffy grabs it, but Luffy doesn't let go. "You can tell Crocodile that I was nice and cooperative."

Luffy yanks it from her hand, "Sure. If she asks."

"No, no, no! You have to tell her! My god, that woman is like a mob boss! I really don't need her showing up outta nowhere to scare the bejesus outta me!"

Luffy blinks and snorts, "That does sound like her."

"It does. Because she's fucking done it before. Nothing like a fucking sandstorm hitting in the middle of the fucking ocean and Crocodile stepping out of it casually to ask me where her money is." Buggy slaps her hands against her thighs, looking at Usopp and Zoro, "If that woman ever offers to loan you money, say no and run as fast as you can in the opposite direction."

"Actually, if she came to collect a debt in person, it's because she likes you. She'd have sent one of her collectors if she didn't."

Buggy stares at Luffy like she's got a bear tap dancing on her head, "Uh, yeah, I'm gonna call bullshit on that one."

Luffy shrugs, "Whatever."

Buggy squints, "You have your map. Why are you still here?"

"You were talking," Luffy points out in bafflement.

"Well, I'm done talking now, so get off my ship."

–

"One day in Paradise, and we've already got the Navy on our tail." X Drake, Rear Admiral and undercover SWORD agent for the Marines, snorts at her First Mate's oddly cheerful words. Athos was sarcastic at the best of times, but this was pushing it. Porthos certainly didn't look impressed where he was standing at the helm.

"We did sink that battleship when we sailed past Whiskey Peak," Aramis points out, and all four Drake Pirate officers share an amused look. The crew, made up of marines turned pirates, hadn't suspected a thing, but their attack on that Battleship had been planned. Admiral Kizaru had ensured it was filled to the brim with corrupt Marines on Joker's payroll. Having a team of SWORD agents playing pirate take them out would prevent Joker from being tipped off that they knew about his paying them off.

Drake glances over her shoulder, her blue eyes examining the ship gaining on them, a warship flying Marine colours and a Vice Admiral flag. She keeps her face shadowed beneath the brim of her hat. In a low voice, Drake asks Athos, "Who is it?"

Athos lifts his spyglass back to his eye and checks, "Two options. Garp or Dalmatian.

Porthos huffs a low chuckle, "We can only hope it's Dalmatian; Garp wouldn't be nearly as lenient."

Garp had always been incapable of pulling his punches, too much of an all-or-nothing sort of person. Drake smooths across her belly, smoothing down the taught fabric of her shirt, "Keep an eye out and tell me as soon as you know which it is. Garp will need a very different response than Dalmatian will."

"Yes, ma'am."

She frowns at him but stops herself from correcting him. It was better than them accidentally calling her Rear Admiral. It hasn't happened yet, thankfully, but she anticipated the shitstorm that would erupt amongst the crew if it ever does. She had carefully selected them, knowing that one day she would either cut them loose or have to arrest them. All of them were ex-marines who had gone bad for one reason or another. A few of them had done stints in Impel Down or the North Blue's naval prison for corruption. Drake has to wonder how many of them had been arrested during Admiral Akainu's purge of the East Blue.

It has to be at least a couple. She has a thirty-man crew, not including her officers. As many Marines were arrested during the purge, statistically, some of them have to be on her ship right now.

Imagine their fury if they were ever to find out that Drake was that same Admiral's daughter.

Based on the amount of shit-talking the crew has done about various officers in the Navy, she's honestly a little surprised she doesn't hear her dad's name evoked more often.

"It's definitely Dalmatian," Athos announces, pulling his spyglass away.

"Is she in her human form or her hybrid form?"

"Human form at the moment; I'd recognize that ray of sunshine and puppy energy anywhere."

"Hundred beris says she's about to kick our asses, starting with Athos."

Athos snickers, "I would enjoy that."

"Porthos, let the crew know we've got some Vice Admiral company and get them ready."

"Yes, ma'am."

Fifteen minutes later, when she's in her hybrid form, locked with an equally transformed and grinning Dalmatian, Drake wishes she had never agreed to this mission.

Become a pirate, make a name for yourself and catch Kaido's attention so that she can infiltrate the Beast Pirates and help bring them down from the inside.

What Momonga, Sengoku and her father had not told her was that they would occasionally throw a Vice Admiral into her path to give her a few natural seeming chances to increase her bounty.

Dalmatian is a lot meaner than Drake remembers.

And then she remembers that Dalmatian had not only been one of Admiral Zephyr's students, but she had also been working with the First Fleet under Admiral Akainu for almost as long as Drake's father had been Admiral.

The First Fleet Vice Admirals were vicious, heavy hitters with zero qualms about jumping fists first into a fight with the nearest pirates.

Meeting Dalmatian's cheerful brown eyes as she tosses Drake over her hip, Drake wonders if she is going to walk away from this fight in one piece.

She honestly doesn't know.