Italics indicate thinking

Bold is for attacks

Steve's POV

"Hmm…" I stared out at the dilapidated forest.

Having looked around Wano I was surprised, or should I say disappointed in how it looked. Wano is one of the legendary place's pirates talk about, kinda like Skypiea and yet I was finally here and it was just…a dump. Now most of that was the result of Kaido and Orochi's scheming and the pollution from their factories but still.

"What's the matter Papa?" Lil asked.

"Oh just thinking." I said "Terrible to see the forest in this condition "I'm sure it's much nicer in a healthy condition. When I traveled with my parents as a kid if we came across stuff like this my Mom would usually use her powers to help heal it."

"Grandma Lilly has the powers of the Dryad-fruit, right?" Lil asked.

"Yeah, it lets her grow and control plants, she used to say it let her talk to them too but I don't know if that's true." I laughed "She used to see stuff like this and say 'The Earth is crying' and then with her powers she'd make grass grow, roses bloom, trees sprout and more."

"I know animals better than plants but it sounds like she and I would get along great." She smiled "Lil and Lilly."

"Your name's not short for Lilly is it?" I asked.

"No, it would be funny if it was." Lil smiled "It's actually short for Lillian, but please don't call me that Papa."

"No worries." I rubbed her head "You're always Lil to me kiddo."

I felt her soft hair between my fingers and just smiled.

"So what's the plan?" she asked "Luffy got captured and Mama is in the castle…"

"We just have to wait and prepare." I told her.

"I'm gonna do my best." She nodded.

Rose's POV

"Hmm." I sat in the rafters of the castle staring down at the party below.

Orochi had invited a plethora of beautiful women to entertain him and his closest friends. I have a feeling they only come because he's the shogun, I can't see how a human gremlin like that could get any woman to spend time with him without using threats. I was trying to maintain focus though, I needed to keep an eye on Robin but also gather information, it was a lot of things to juggle at once. Its times like this when staking out a location alone my mind tends to wander, it's like I can keep track of my surroundings but also drift off into a state of relaxation to stay calm and not stress. I always end up thinking about the past…my family.

"I wonder what they're up to?" I said sliding down a banner and approaching a side room "Steve said he saw them so they're alive in one piece but still, you'd think they would have retired from being pirates and just raised their kids like normal…guess it's in our blood to be drawn to the seas."

I looked around and found nothing but trinkets.

"Reminds me of the masks that some of the ninjas with Ikaruga wore." I looked at one of those half masks, this one shaped like a screeching eagle "Enough playing with toys gotta focus."

"Yes you have some rather poor focus." Someone spoke from behind me.

"Haa…what a pain in the ass." I groaned looking up and suddenly being surrounded by a dozen ninjas of various shapes and sizes "You know I always hated the stealthy parts of training with Ikaruga, the killing parts were always much more fun."

"For a minute I thought you might have been one of the geisha's getting lost but that ridiculous outfit gives you away." The man with incredibly long ears said.

"Jealous I can pull off this body suit ain't ya." I winked "I may not be as girly looking as the Geishas but I'm a pretty nice catch, besides this outfit has advantages."

I swung my arm and turned it into a blade as I went, quickly dodging a throwing star as I landed on the shoulder of the largest of the group.

"It's far more flexible and easier for movement." I said swiping my arm "Midnight Crimson Downpour!"

A gush of blood burst from the man and I kicked off his back, sending him tumbling forward into the rest of them.

"Is that all you can manage you're weaker than I thought." I stood on the pile and glared at the man "It's no wonder the lot of you had to gang up on Ikaruga to defeat her."

"So you are a student of that woman." He said "I should have killed her when I had the chance."

"Fukurokuju right?" I said "My Sensei did tell me about you, a coward who betrayed his country for power, you fit right in with that little troll Orochi. Oh and killing her what a joke."

I flashed in behind him with a wide grin "You're just a bunch of weak bugs who have to congregate to hunt larger prey, a pitiful ninja in my book!"

He managed to block and I took a few more swings that were parried.

"You Master should have told you the most important lesson of being a ninja, controlling your bloodlust." He swung.

"She gave up trying after about a year." I shifted my arm "And you forgot that's not the most important lesson, the number one rule is simple."

I opened my palm and a shorter blade game out that I could hold like a dagger.

"The most important rule is ensuring the death of a target." I sung up and slashed across is face, taking one of his ears clean off "Got ya."

I flipped back.

"You failed to kill any of us how is that ensuring the death of the target." He glared holding his face.

"I'm curious you would know better than I do." I smirked "What's going to happen when you appear before Orochi next time, a massive scar of failure all across your face."

Just then a fog poured into the room.

"Seems that's my cue to leave." I smirked fading with Nami's fog "We'll have to pick this up another time gang, and next time it won't be your ear I take off. It'll be your heads."

"Alright everyone, time to make our escape." I smiled.

Steve is gonna be pissed it got this out of hand.

LATER

"All that work and we have basically nothing to show for it but a dead Courtesan and a bunch of angry ninjas?" Steve said "I knew going to the palace was a bad idea."

"If someone had controlled her desire to kill someone this would have been fine." Nami sighed.

In our escape from the palace a massive brawl broke out between Orochi's forces and some of the others in the palace that weren't us, in the hubbub Komurasaki ended up dead and now people were in a frenzy and freaking out.

"Look I'll admit I could have done better but we all got out alive so that counts for something." Rose said "I managed to swipe this mask at least."

"Cute, looks like it's modeled after a Roc Eagle." Lil examined it.

"I'm worried about Toko, she incurred the wrath of the Shogun while they were there by laughing at him, I'm not sure sending her back to the Red-Light district was a good idea." Robin sighed

"Is he that petty to waste time chasing down a little kid?" Steve asked.

"Oh he definitely is." I nodded "You should have seen this guy, what a little slimeball."

"Did you learn anything while listening around Robin." Steve asked.

"Not much, just that there's going to be a tribute sent to Onigashima, a banquet with Kaido's organization, oh and the number of troops and major weaponry, and the location of their armory." She sighed.

"You learned so much you're amazing Mama!"

"I really didn't do much." Robin sighed again.

"We did enough for now." I nodded "Shouldn't be much longer."

"Longer till what?" Shinobu asked.

"Till Luffy finds his way outta that prison." Steve laughed "We just need to buy our time for my buddy and then we can take Kaido and Orochi down. In the mean time we keep preparing, do whatever it takes get whatever information we can get but do it without causing trouble ok?"

"Right!"

"Will you be coming to town with us?" Robin asked Steve.

"I've got some things out here I need to do." He told her "Training that's important if we wanna take Kaido down."

AN

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Pick Up- Chapter 941

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