Writing syrup village is an interesting time. Especially in the wake of the live action. I don't know what surprises me more: that Sham and Buchi are 21 in the manga or that they turned Sham into an egirl in the live action.

Kudos for everyone involved for getting that done btw. Making a live action one piece should have been impossible, and yet they've just greenlit season 2. Really, good on them.

As for this story, I think it was best for me to further split this arc up for the sake of my own mental bandwidth. Everything's been slowing down for me so much that by the time I finish with everything I wanna get done, it'll be new years (a bit of an exaggeration but the point stands).

We were gonna do the conclusion chapter + fallout chapter but I think I'll just shimmy the finale of this one over to the fallout. Should be just fine.

I'm sorry for the micropenis chapter. I don't like doing things in half measures but I'm sure everyone would appreciate everything else getting a move on.

Thank you for reading.

X

X

"Pirates are attacking the village!"

….Huh? Wuzzat?

I must have fallen asleep. I rubbed my blurry eyes with a yawn.

Hm? Usopp was still here?

Everyone else looked confused too.

"You're really loud," I told him.

"Of course I'm loud!" he shouted back. "My home is being raided!"

I tried to feel the village to see what he was talking about.

"...Ah! You're right. That's pretty bad, isn't it?"

Usopp fell to his knees in front of me. He slammed his forehead into the sand.

"Luffy… please… If Klahadore says you have a bounty, then that means you're a really well-known pirate, right? There's so many of them… Kaya! She probably won't even know before it's too late! I'll do anything. I know they drove you out, but— I… I'll—"

"Hey, hey!" Nami exclaimed. "Slow down, will you? Explain what's going on."

Usopp looked super frustrated. He gulped.

"I was going back home after talking with you guys. It was really dark… I thought it was strange that there were still so many lights on. When I got close, I—I saw fire! And torches! Everyone was being forced out of their home. I would have been useless, so I ran straight back here. I… I don't want anyone to die!"

"How many pirates did you see?" Zoro asked.

"...A few dozen, at least. I'd say thirty. Maybe even fifty."

From the corner of my eye, I could see Koby and Nami stumble back a little.

I smiled.

"Yeah, sure. We'll help."

"...Huh?"

Usopp looked back up at me cautiously. Nami looked like someone nailed her on the head with a rock, too, but I didn't know what that was all about.

I laughed.

"Hey, what's with your faces?"

Usopp and Nami weren't saying anything, still, though Nami looked a little angry. Usopp just kept staring at me with his mouth hanging open.

Zoro yawned and stepped forward.

"What are your orders, Captain?" he asked right away.

I hummed.

It was strange that the mystery squares hadn't said anything yet, right? I wondered what that was about.

"We go to the village, Usopp goes to Kaya," I decided.

"Will that work?" Koby asked unsurely. "They ran you out of town. It might cause problems."

I nodded.

"Okay. You guys go to the village and I'll go with Usopp."

Nami sounded like she choked on something. She placed herself between me and Zoro.

"Hey, Captain, isn't it possible that they might recognize me? Besides… don't you think that's a little much? I mean, just us three against a whole pirate crew…"

I slammed my fist into my palm and hummed understandingly.

"Ah, got it. Then you come with me and Usopp, and Zoro and Koby can go on their own."

"That's not what I meant!" she shouted. She kept shooting glances at Usopp for some reason.

Huh?

I tilted my head. My face scrunched up.

"Aren't you scared of villages?"

"That's not at all what I was saying!" she shouted even louder.

I looked at Zoro. He was keeping a straight face.

"You're fine dealing with a bunch of pirate guys, right?" I asked him just to make sure.

He smirked.

"Of course."

"Then it's settled!" I cheered. "Come on, Usopp. We'll go make sure Kaya is okay. I'll see you guys later!"

Nami started babbling about something or other but she couldn't get her words out so I pretended not to hear her. Koby just let out a long sigh. Geez. Those two were acting like this was a big deal.

I ran off.

"Wha—! Wait up!" Usopp yelled as he chased after me. Wasn't he the one who said we had to hurry?

Shishishi…

X

"Aaaagh!"

The moment those two took off, Nami fell into a squat and pulled her hair out to the side. Her frustrations were clear.

Koby patted her on the shoulder in as reassuring a fashion as he could.

"Nami-san…"

"What does he think he's doing!? He knows we need to leave the island, doesn't he? We can't do that without a ship!"

"Quit whining," Zoro muttered. The man seemed ready; he had already tied his bandana around his forehead and started walking toward the forest. "One thing at a time."

"Your priorities are backwards," she countered. "First, we—"

"Aren't your priorities backwards?" Koby snapped. Him suddenly growing a backbone threw her off as Zoro's face split off into a shit eating grin, though neither could see it.

The boy's sense of right and wrong wouldn't let him listen to her saying those things any more.

"When you say it like that, you make it sound like you're okay if those innocent people die."

"Of course it's not okay! It's vile! There's nothing that I hate more than stuff like this, but this is just how the world works. There's stuff that I can do, stuff that I can't do, and stuff that I have to give up on if I want something done," she declared somberly.

Koby had to step away from her; Zoro snorted and stopped in his tracks, however hesitant he was to show interest in what it was that she had to say. Not that she cared. That asshole could do whatever he wanted.

Nami clenched her fists.

"And… and Luffy's the one walking around with an absurd bounty, calling himself a pirate!" It was meant to sound mocking, but it just came out bitter. She was her own audience now. "What's with the sudden charity case?"

Zoro turned his head over his shoulder to lift a brow. The absence of light made it difficult to make out.

"Aren't you a charity case? Get over yourself."

The woman gnashed her teeth.

"'Charity case' my ass! I'm ready to give my life for your captain to get rid of my problem and that kid gets what he wants just by asking!? How is that fair!"

Zoro almost chuckled.

So that's what this is all about.

"Don't go making up all these 'great trials' for yourself. Maybe if you spoke to Captain directly instead of filtering it through the lens of your own nonsense hangups you'd know what you were talking about."

She wanted to scream at him.

She didn't have prejudices. If she touched a flame and burned herself once, she was smart enough to not touch it a second time. She knew that a fire burned hot the same way that she knew that a criminal was a criminal.

She would stand by that. Monkey D. Luffy would help her and she would fulfil whatever payment demands he could contrive to throw at her. Even if it happened to be worse than being Arlong's slave, it would be a net positive once the fishman's reign of terror over her village would end.

She was great at playing whatever roles assholes wanted her to play. Whether it was pillaging other pirates for their money, lying to a sickly girl so that she could take her ship, or even looking the other way while pirates…

While they…

Her hands were trembling.

"...Wait."

Zoro was done listening. He just kept walking away.

"I said wait!"

He planted his foot in the ground.

"What."

"You're going the wrong way, dumbass."

"..."

X

Crash!

Kaya's heart hammered in her chest. Knowing that danger was approaching and that she was in too poor a condition to do anything about it was the worst kind of agony. Though she was currently upstairs in her bedroom, she could still hear the raucous laughter and unidentifiable, disturbing noises that the intruders were making at the entrance. It wouldn't be long before they found her.

She tried to move her legs, but as expected, it was no use. She couldn't even crawl. There was no way for her to hide, let alone move herself out of bed.

Night time was when her symptoms were the worst. She was nearly completely immobile.

Why… Why did it have to be now?

Maybe… Maybe they wouldn't find her. Maybe they would take what they wanted and leave. She didn't know what they wanted, though, nor did she know who these people were. Not the villagers, surely; she knew them all by name. Everyone was wonderful, and even amongst the "bad apples", so to speak, none would stoop so low.

They were from somewhere else, then. Bandits? Pirates?

She gasped.

Merry! Klahadore!

Oh no… They mustn't try to confront these people. They were her dearest and closest companions, but men of violence they were not. They would only get hurt!

Or worse.

"Lady Kaya? Lady Kaya!"

Just as it had crossed her mind, a familiar voice was heard from the halls.

Klahadore!

"Klahadore! Klahadore!" she exclaimed, hoping that she was loud enough to be heard and yet not so loud that the intruders would hear her. "I'm in my room!"

The butler quickly entered. His eyes were wide and a sheen of sweat covered his brow.

"Are you all right?" was the first thing that came out of his mouth.

Somehow, despite everything, just having him here with her calmed her nerves, if even just a little.

Her tight expression loosened.

"Thank goodness," she let out breathlessly. "I don't know what to do…"

A pained expression crossed the man's face.

"It's a pirate attack, My Lady. There are…" he paused in order to think of his words, likely in an effort to broach the topic without alarming her further. "...Many of them. Those ruffians will make their way up here at any moment. Before then, we must get away."

He approached the side of her bed and helped her sit up.

Beads of sweat were dripping down her face. She had a bad feeling about this.

"Is Merry—"

"I'm not sure," he cut her off right away.

"...Oh."

That wasn't what she wanted to hear.

She tried to stand up and her knees failed her immediately. Klahadore got a hold of her and lowered her back onto the bed.

They shared looks of trepidation. Both of them understood instantly that she would not be able to move, and Klahadore…

"I… I'm not strong enough to carry you," he admitted, pain in his eyes. "I'm… I'm sorry, I—"

She patted him on the cheek.

"It's okay. Please leave me and get away safely. If—"

Her breath hitched as another loud noise came from the hallway. The pirates were coming up the stairs. They would be here at any moment.

Klahadore gnashed his teeth.

"You're too important to lose here! The estate is too important to lose here. Without you, this village is doomed. The local economy would crumble. All of the safety nets that you so generously provide—"

"I'll leave it to you, then," she insisted.

His eyes widened and his jaw slackened as what she said was processed.

"But… but… I'm just a butler! I could never!"

She shook her head.

"This isn't the time for that! There is no other choice. Now, quickly! If you hand me a piece of paper, maybe I could at least give you a signature. A blank sheet might not be as good as an official document, but it's better than nothing. We'll have to hope the government accepts it."

Klahadore was right. If the government seized everything the pirates weren't able to plunder, her death would be in vain.

Instead of heading toward her desk, her butler pulled out an envelope from his breast pocket. She gave him a questioning look.

"Klahadore?"

"Here." He took out its contents and dropped them onto her lap along with a pen. She picked it up and her eyes widened.

"How—"

"After what happened with your parents, one must always be prepared," he explained. Had they the time, she might have questioned the reasoning a little more. As it stood, she was just happy for small conveniences.

She gripped the pen tightly and pressed it against the page as steadily as she could.

X

A large, strange looking man laughed wickedly. Were it not for the fear that the pirate crew had instilled in their captives, the villagers would have laughed at the silly little cat-like helmet he wore.

"That was easy!" he declared merrily. "Hey, Sham, what're we supposed to do with these guys anyway? Can we kill em'?"

The offhanded question earned a few fearful squeals but they were shut up by a quick glare.

A skinnier green-haired man with a hunchback hummed. He surveyed the sight before him: the entirety of Syrup village had been brought to the plaza in the middle of town, forced to their knees. None dared to move, knowing that there would be no escaping with the Black Cat pirates blocking the perimeter.

"Captain said he doesn't want much of a fuss," Sham told his larger partner. He grinned evilly. "Maybe one or two gone wouldn't be the end of the world, though."

The villagers that were close enough to hear the man began snivelling pathetically.

"Hey, hey!" another pirate exclaimed in alarm. He was dressed strangely: like some sort of dance performer. Despite his eyes being covered by heavily-tinted sunglasses in the dead of night, his goatee and thick lips made for quite the distinguishing features. "Don't piss off Captain Kuro! If he gets angry, none of us will see a single coin!"

X

Nami, Koby and Zoro observed the happenings from a safe distance. The younger two looked panicked while the swordsman kept an even composure.

"What do we do?" Nami whispered. "Is there anything we can do? One wrong move and the villagers are in the hot seat."

"There's too many of them!" Koby wheezed, practically choking himself in an effort to keep his would-be scream at a respectable level.

"I hope you have a plan, Zoro!" begged the woman.

"You don't understand pirates," Zoro remarked simply, avoiding the plea in its entirety.

He huffed.

They didn't have the time to question him before he took off in a sprint, barreling through one of the pirates standing guard. He planted himself firmly between the group of rounded up villagers and the dozen or so pirates talking about something or other in front of them.

It took a moment for anyone to realise what had happened.

"ZORO!" cried Koby and Nami in unison. Luckily, the pirates were too distracted by the aforementioned man's sudden arrival to take notice of them.

"Who the heck are you?" Sham asked with a sneer.

The villagers began murmuring amongst themselves. The whole pirate crew had its attention planted firmly on him, weapons drawn.

The one with the sunglasses gasped, noticing the three swords tied to his hip.

"You… you're Roronoa Zoro, aren't you?"

Zoro grinned.

"I am."

The fat, cat-like one clicked his tongue.

"A bounty hunter, then! So what? A single man can't take out all of us. I don't care how strong you think you are."

Despite his words, the villagers seemed a little livelier.

"A bounty hunter?"

"That's Roronoa Zoro, in the flesh?"

"I hear they call him a demon!"

"Do you think he can—"

"We might have a chance!"

Zoro's grin widened.

"No. I'm a pirate."

A dead silence took over the moment the declaration left his lips.

"ZORO!" Koby and Nami screamed again, their incredulity doubled. Fearful tears streamed down their faces.

The pair was found out, this time.

"He's got friends!" one of the pirates standing guard pointed out.

A few of the ones close by approached threateningly, seemingly happy to leave the perimeter in order to address the newer, more immediate threat. While Koby could only throw his hands out uselessly when faced with a naked blade pointed his way, Nami allowed experience and adrenaline to take over; her extendable staff was pulled out from under her skirt, nailing one pirate in the chin as it shot out to its full length then smashing it against the side of the next one's head.

The two could only run through the opening she had inadvertently made and join Zoro in the middle of the circle. Hopefully he knew what he was doing.

The villagers looked much less sure of themselves now.

"Rorona is a pirate?"

"He must be buddies with that straw-hat one! I recognize that girl!"

"We're doomed. Out from the clutches of one pirate to another."

"Damn it!"

Nami didn't understand why Zoro said that.

Coming from Luffy, she could understand it. That guy had some sort of strange obsession with letting everyone know just how proud he was of being a pirate. He was a little dim, too. What did Roronoa gain from this?

The villagers lost any sense of hope they might have regained. Who wouldn't? A pirate didn't help people. Roronoa Zoro, the pirate hunter, would have taken his bounty and left. So what, then, did Roronoa Zoro, the pirate, stand to gain from this?

No one wanted to find out.

Several enemy pirates converged in an effort to overpower the swordsman with numbers. Of course, it didn't work. Zoro unsheathed a single sword and cut them all down in an instant. Such a superhuman display was enough to unsettle the rest of the criminals and to make their captives cower in fear.

Nami understood then that the reason why Zoro hadn't been acting worried was simply because he wasn't worried. It was a strange concept to her—to most normal people, actually. If you were outnumbered this badly, didn't it make sense to be cautious, if only a little? Individual strength could only carry you so far.

She thought so until now, at least. Unlike Luffy, there was no devil-fruit-bullshit going on here. Zoro was just that strong.

Koby's own expression was somewhere between starstruck and scared out of his wits. Despite their circumstances, what Zoro just did was certainly impressive.

The man with the sunglasses pressed down on his white fedora and growled.

"You idiots! We're not getting anything done this way! Sham! Buchi! Attack!"

The two pirates in question sneered at him.

"We don't listen to you!"

"Yeah. You're not our boss!"

For whatever reason, their complaints ceased immediately once a chakram-like item was dangled before them on a string. They ran at Zoro with unsettled expressions.

"Die!"

"Bastard!"

Another one of Zoro's swords was unsheathed. Though these two were obviously much more skilled than the rest, one arm per enemy was all that the swordsman needed.

Nami and Koby could do nothing. They didn't even need to. Zoro really was taking on this entire pirate crew on his own, she realised.

"He's distracted!" one of the villagers remarked.

The two stopped watching Zoro do his thing long enough to look behind them. Their eyes widened as they saw a stone leave the hands of a larger man in overalls. A farmer probably.

"No!" Koby yelled, but it was too late.

The rock slammed into the back of Zoro's head. It clearly broke skin; a concerning amount of blood poured down the green-haired man's neck, his hair being dyed red. It was distracting enough that the two cat-like pirates were able to slip past his guard and pierce his body with their weapons.

Nami felt as though time had stopped at that moment.

Was that it, then? Were they just… gonna die?

Zoro was their only hope, realistically. He was the stupid kind of strong that you hoped could pull off something as crazy as taking out an entire pirate crew head-on, but Koby wasn't. She wasn't. It was obvious that they were both gonna die here. Those villagers, too. They sealed their own fates.

She wanted to call them idiots, but she understood where they were coming from. Zoro was a pirate now, wasn't he? When you were scared, your actions weren't driven by logic.

And then, suddenly, Zoro moved as if nothing happened at all. He clenched the two swords he had in hand tightly and held them out to the side. Sham and Buchi tried to make some space between them, but it wouldn't be enough.

"Two Sword Style: Taka Nami!"

The swing wasn't within the same realm as something that a normal swordsman could achieve. The cutting edge of the weapons didn't touch flesh. Instead, the sheer power behind them sent a blast of wind hurtling straight into the pair of assailants… as well as a good number of pirates behind them.

For a little while, at least, no other pirate dared to approach him. The Pirate Hunter cut an imposing figure the way he stood ramrod straight with his back facing them.

Silence reigned for a moment. As the seconds passed, the villagers grew worried. As firm as his stature was, the injury caused by the frightened villager was all the more apparent. They were waiting for the other shoe to drop. For him to take them out first before finishing off the pirates.

Nami would have been lying if she said that she wasn't expecting it.

That didn't happen.

Instead, he trudged forward. Moving aggravated his injuries; it was clear thanks to his white shirt, even at this time of night, that the pirates' stabs had gone straight through his torso.

His head injury bled even more. His entire back had turned dark and wet from excessive blood loss.

Nami couldn't help the pang of worry that crossed through her.

"Zoro!" she called out to him. "Your head! Are you—"

"What are you talking about?" he snapped gruffly, cutting her off. "My head is fine."

She couldn't begin to piece together what he was trying to prove here. It wasn't like he actually couldn't feel a rock smashing into the back of his head, right? Was it just dumb male bravado?

He slid both swords into a single hand so that he could draw his third—the white one—and he clenched his teeth against its handle.

It almost felt like Zoro was exuding some sort of aura, as impossible as that sounded. The pirates were intimidated enough that they forgot about the villagers entirely and grouped up behind the one wearing the sunglasses.

The two swords in his hands were pointed at the group challengingly.

"There's an obstacle for me to overcome right in front of me. I don't have time to worry about whatever's going on over my shoulder. No inconvenience that comes from my back is real. Do you understand?"

No. She really didn't. Was that supposed to sound cool or something?

Koby certainly thought so. The kid soaked in the sight of the man's bloodied back as if trying to commit it to memory.

When the entire force of the crew of brigands descended upon the swordsman, however, he was quick to snap out of his daze.

"Nami!" he whispered as quietly as he could while still being sure that the woman could hear him. "Now's our chance! Let's get everyone out of here while Zoro's got the pirates distracted.

She offered a shallow nod.

…Right.

Right. That was the right thing to do.

"Let's go!" Koby said to the closest villager—the same one that threw the rock at Zoro—all fired up. "We can cover your escape, but I don't think those guys have time to worry about anything other than Zoro for now. Get out of here! This place will be safe again soon. I'm sure of it."

The person he was talking to clearly didn't know how to take it. He seemed awfully conflicted, likely because pirates had no business helping their sort out. Especially after the display of hostility he showed.

He didn't know what Nami knew, else she would have honestly been in the same boat. Koby wasn't even a pirate; he was just tagging along. There was… context.

She suppressed a sigh despite the high-strung tension of the situation.

Context, huh?

X