One Piece Movies

by Punklovergirl68

I will be doing the One Piece Movies, starting with the third one first. This does not follow or have any connections to my One Piece (Love Story). Rated T, rating might change. Zoro X OC. One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda. Any Kingdom Hearts Characters mention belong to Disney and Square Enix. Skylar belongs to me.

2. One Piece Movie Four (Rewritten)

One Piece belongs to Eichiiro Oda.
OCs belong to me.

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-One Piece Movie Four: Dead End Adventure-

"After them!" a Marine shouted as their ship sailed through the storm, following close behind the pirate ship they had spotted. Around him, his fellow men ran about—quickly doing as they were ordered as they reloaded their cannons and took aim.

"Get your asses in gear!" another soldier snapped as they shot at the ship, each cannonball missing and splashing into the water.

"Shorten the royal sails! Stretch out the lifeline!"

"Drawn in the main mast's windward guard!"

"Damn…not a cloud in the sky a second ago and now this…" the Marine Captain in charge of the ship cursed.

"It's beyond our control, this is the Grand Line's temperament" a soldier responded, assuring their superior that it wasn't his fault things were going badly.

"If this keeps up, the mast will snap" the Captain remarked.

"I've already given the order" the soldier quickly assured him.

"Be wary of cyclones, they tend to come unexpectedly."

"I've assigned lookouts to the bow, stern, and both sides of the ship."

"And what of the pirate ship we came across before the storm?"

"Ahead, to the right, at eleven o'clock—distance: 800."

"Have you identified its mark?"

"Yes, about that…"

"What? Spit it out!"

"Yes, Sir! It's a skull wearing a straw hat!" the Marine flinched.

"What?" the Captain blinked as another cannonball was shot off, splashing into the water right next to the Going Merry as she sailed further and further away. "Damn…we've been ordered to capture them at any cost…" he lowly cursed.

"Despite its small size, the ship is advancing through this storm quite remarkably" the solider remarked, impressed by how well the smaller ship was handling itself in this dreadful weather. "They must have an exceptional navigator onboard" he gandered.

"This is no time for admiration, idiot!" the Captain snapped.

"Yes, Sir" the soldier nodded.

'So they're the ones everybody's talking about at Marine Headquarters—the Straw Hat Pirates, Monkey D. Luffy and his crew' the Captain pondered as he watched the ship continue to sail away. 'More dreadful people have appeared on the stage of the Great Age of Pirates' he frowned.

"Captain, a call from Headquarters" another soldier came scampering towards the man.

"Now? Is it urgent?" the Captain asked.

"Yes" the solider nodded as he lead the Captain back into the cabin of the ship. "The connection is on Den Den Mushi #3" he informed him.

"What's this?" the Captain asked as he answered the call.

"Exactly as I said, we've received intelligence that scores of pirates are beginning to gather at your current location" the man on the other end answer.

"Why would they be gathering?" the Captain frowned.

"We can only speculate—perhaps they're having that stupid hullabaloo again…" the man grumbled.

"You mean that underground race?"

"Perhaps."

"So that's why…we sighted a pirate vessel only moments ago" the Captain informed the man on the end of the call.

"I see" he hummed. "Continue scouting the area for pirates, you got a troublesome name on your list this time" he warned.

"Troublesome?" the Captain echoed.

"Gasparde" he clarified.

"The traitor?" the Captain frowned.

"That's right—the Marines most indelible stain" the man confirmed. "We can't allow him to run wild anymore" he said. "In the name of unyielding justice."

-Straw Hats-

Now out of the storm, the Straw Hats found themselves docked at a rather lively island.

Skylar grumbled as she uncomfortably shifted around in Zoro's lap, ignoring the grunt he gave as she attempted to get comfortable once more. This had been the only option other than the floor after the group had finally snagged a table inside the crowded bar that was a bit too small for eight people.

"Couldn't we have just gotten a bigger table?" she asked.

"There weren't any other available seats" Nami told her, giving an innocent smile as Skylar stared towards the large empty table that was across the room.

"Understandable" the brunette deadpanned.

"Chopper could have just sat on her lap" Usopp suggested before wincing at the sharp kick Zoro gave him underneath the table.

"Nah, I could never take that cutie's seat from him" Skylar shook her head, quick to dismiss the sharpshooter's solution.

"Ah, I'm stuffed…" Luffy sighed in contentment as he patted his bloated stomach.

"I bet you are, you ate a ton" Zoro remarked.

"I still have room for more" Luffy smiled.

"Well, you are made of rubber, so that isn't really surprising" Skylar hummed as she finally leaned forward on the table and sighed.

"Enough already" Usopp frowned.

"Man, those were some simple, yet delicious dishes" Sanji complimented. "Nami-swan, Robin-chan, Skylar-chan, would you care for dessert?" he happily asked.

"I'm fine, thank you" Nami said.

"Same, I'm full" Skylar shook her head before holding up her plate of half-eaten food, having severely underestimated how much she could eat today. "Here you go, Luffy" she offered, knowing that the captain wouldn't let the rest go to waste.

"Thank you, Skylar! You're the best!" Luffy brightened as he quickly snatched the plate from her hand, devouring the food in one bite.

"I'll have some coffee" Robin smiled, taking the blond up on his offer.

"Certainly" Sanji nodded as he stood to leave.

"I'll have more food" Chopper piped up.

"No fair" Luffy pouted.

"No more food for you, Skylar just gave you the rest of hers!" Nami snapped.

"What?" Luffy tilted his head.

"Don't "what" me" Nami frowned. "If no one stopped you, you'd go on eating forever" she huffed.

"But Nami, can't you see that he's wasting away of hunger over there?" Skylar teasingly asked.

"Yeah, Nami! Can't you see?" Luffy quickly nodded in agreement as the ginger rolled her eyes and grumbled.

"Here you go" Sanji soon returned, setting down a cup of coffee for Robin.

"Thank you, Mr. Cook" she smiled.

"Are we running low on money?" the blond questioned.

"We haven't exactly earned anything lately" Nami responded. "After we stock up on food, we'll have almost nothing left" she confessed.

"Ah, that's just great" Sanji frowned.

"What the hell?" Luffy furrowed his brows. "Oi! Let me say this as your captain, you guys spend way too much money" he scolded.

"It all goes towards feeding you!" Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp snapped as they struck their captain.

"Honestly, Luffy, use your head" Skylar pinched the bridge of her nose as she sighed.

"Geez…anyway, this is a pretty big problem" Sanji rolled his eyes at his captain before he got the group back on the topic at hand.

"Anything will do" Nami sighed. "Isn't there a way we can make some quick cash here?" she pondered.

"Well, I didn't see a casino or anything on this island" Sanji hummed. "I guess we'll just have to hope the next island has more to offer."

"A casino wouldn't really help—we'd most likely lose all of our money than gain some" Skylar frowned as Nami suddenly turned her head towards the barkeep who was busying himself cleaning some dishes.

"What is it?" Sanji asked, taking notice of how silent the ginger had suddenly become.

"Nothing" Nami shook her head, watching as a blond-headed man soon entered the bar. His eyes scanned the crowded room first before he strutted his way over to the bar.

"Tankard of rum" he ordered as he took a seat on one of the stools. "Thank you" he hummed the minute his drink was handed to him. "Can I ask you something? This is Hannabal Island, right?" he inquired.

"Yeah" the barkeep nodded, his back now turned as he focused on the assortment of bottled liquor behind him. Calmly, he placed new bottles in the empty spots on the shelf before finally looking back at the blond the minute he placed down two 100 beli coins on the counter.

"Hey, Luffy! Spit it out!" Usopp snapped the minute the rubber man snatched up some of his food he was still eating. Skylar hummed, her eyes boredly scanning the bar for something interesting to look at before shivering as she suddenly felt warm hands slip under her shirt. Her body squirmed a little as the intruding hands started to move up and down her sides, causing her spine to arch.

"Quit that!" she embarrassingly frowned, looking back and glaring at the chuckling swordsman.

"But my hands are cold, I'm just trying to warm them up" he grinned.

"Liar!" she snapped before squealing at the playful pinch he gave her side, causing her to try and squirm away. "Are you trying to steal my organs or something?" she squawked as he began to pinch her sides even more, laughing at the way her body twisted and her hands now smacked at him.

"Spit it out now!" Usopp demanded, striking the rubbery teen upside the head in an attempt to retrieve his stolen food.

"Ow!" Luffy loudly whined even though he wasn't truly bothered by the hit.

"It's mine! Spit it out!" the sharpshooter once again demanded.

"What's wrong with you?" Luffy frowned, not understanding his friend's sudden anger.

"Hm…?" Skylar hummed, stopping in her attempts at forcing the swordsman's intruding and pinching hands out from under her shirt the second the caught movement from the corner of her eye. Curiously, she directed her attention towards the blond and barkeep who were currently disappearing into a backroom tucked away behind the bar. It seemed she wasn't the only one to notice this odd sight as Nami also looked after the two in curiosity.

"But you weren't even—bastard, that—dammit!" Usopp cursed as he still attempted to get his food back, refusing to give up so easily.

"What are you doing?" Luffy asked once more.

"Spit it out!" Usopp demanded, repeating the phrase over and over.

"What's wrong, Nami-san?" Sanji curiously asked.

"I hate you…" Skylar grumbled, now covering her face in embarrassment when Zoro finally and slowly slipped his hands out from underneath her shirt, proudly grinning at the way she shivered as his retreating fingers delicately brushed against her soft skin, leaving behind goosebumps in their wake.

"Oh it's nothing, really" Nami answered, as Skylar shook her head and lowly began to further grumble small insults towards the swordsman she was seated on.

"The guy who walked in just now was probably a pirate" Zoro suddenly remarked, catching the navigator and swordswoman's attention. Slowly, Skylar lowered her hands as she curiously stared back at the swordsman with a raised brow. "Plus, he had a suspicious exchanged with the barkeep, right?" he asked.

"Zoro, you were watching him?" Nami questioned.

"But how could you do that when you were trying to molest me?" Skylar's right eye twitched.

"More like I caught it out of the corner of my eye" Zoro responded. "Also, I wasn't molesting you, I was just warming up my hands like I said" he grinned.

"Sure…" Skylar grumbled.

"What do you think?" Zoro asked, ignoring the grumbling brunette as he turned to Nami.

"Luffy, I don't care if you steal from Usopp, but leave Chopper alone" Skylar softly scolded, quick to respond the second Chopper lowly whined as Luffy snatched up some of his food.

"Think about what?" Nami tilted her head, ignoring the rowdy bunch.

"Don't play dumb—you smelled it, right?" Zoro mockingly asked. "The scent of your beloved money."

"Money?" Sanji questioned.

"What?" Nami blinked, acting as if she was offended by what the swordsman was insinuating. "Are you calling me a money-fiend?" she asked as Skylar suddenly leaned her body to the right to avoid the onslaught of bones that were now being thrown around—letting them instead hit the swordsman behind her.

"Am I wrong?" Zoro asked, not seeming fazed by the bones that were bouncing off his head.

"How are you not feeling those?" Skylar raised an eyebrow.

"Bastard! What did you say to Nami-san?!" Sanji snapped.

"You're spot on! My favorite things are money and mikans—I'd never pass them by" Nami grinned. "Luffy! Usopp! Chopper! I smell an adventure, this isn't the time to be fighting" she said to the three who were now ganging up on each other, causing them to finally halt the antics.

Standing, she made her way over to the bar just as the barkeep returned from wherever he had taken that man from earlier. Skylar smiled as she watched how the three who had been fighting cheered upon hearing that a new adventure was close by.

"Hey, we have this chronic problem of being flat broke—I don't suppose you have any good business advice that will help us strike it rich, do you?" Nami asked as she leaned against the countertop, only to receive a blank stare from the barkeep. "Oh, don't worry—we have enough to pay for what we ate here" she quickly added the second she saw his brow furrow. "But I got this feeling that you know something interesting" she grinned.

"Zoro, stop!" Skylar whined, squirming once more as the swordsman suddenly began pinching at her sides again. Zoro laughed, finding the sight adorable as he watched her begin to pout while wiggling around—trying to knock away his hands. "You're being mean!" she huffed, causing him to grin. Staring at the rowdy group of pirates, the barkeep heaved a heavy sigh before leaning in towards the ginger.

"You're just a bunch of kids" he remarked.

"But we're quite famous pirates" Nami shot back.

"I noticed—I remember his face from the wanted posters and I heard you're hard up for some money" the barkeep nodded. "But you don't want to throw away your lives because of it, do you?" he asked.

"Of course not, that's a given" Nami nodded as she plopped down onto one of the bar stools. "Even so, we really need the money, and doesn't the saying go nothing ventured, nothing gained?" she grinned as Zoro and Skylar stood from their seat, gathering up their swords from the nearby wall they had been leaning up against. "We're on the wanted list…so we can't obtain cash out in the open, you know?" she pointed out as the others followed suit in standing from their seats. "And it's not like we always get our hands on the treasure we seek either" she added.

"Hey, time to go" Zoro said, hitting the back of Usopp's head as he walked past him.

"Come on, Luff—I'm sure you're dying for a new adventure" Skylar grinned as she playfully shoved her captain's head when passing him by, causing him to chuckle.

"No one hits the big time without taking a few risks here and there, right?" Nami asked. "And completely illegal and underground arrangements are what were used to—we've been through countless dicey situations" she assured the man. "Of course, it's not that we want to throw our lives away, but…" she trailed off, closely watching the barkeep's face as he continued to watch the crew and the way they interacted with one another.

"If you please" Sanji stepped aside as he let Robin walk by.

"It's more than just the money" Nami continued. "My nakama aren't the type of guys to give up just because it's dangerous, especially our captain" she explained. "That being the case, would you mind sharing where this smell of money is coming from?" she slyly grinned.

"There's no cure for idiots and pirates, is there?" the barkeep asked.

"Did he call you an idiot, Zoro?" Luffy asked, causing Skylar to giggle.

"Why me?" Zoro frowned.

"Because I'm a pirate" Luffy answered with a wide smile.

"Yeah, so that must mean you're the idiot" Skylar grinned, her and the captain bursting into a fit of laughter as the swordsman grunted.

"Now I'm positive you want to die young, follow me" the barkeep sighed, motioning for the group to follow.

"We're in!" Usopp grinned.

"Score!" Luffy laughed as he and the sharpshooter high-fived. Eagerly, everyone watched as the barkeep unlocked the door to the backroom he had disappeared into earlier with the blond-haired man. Stepping inside the dark room the minute he got the door open, he snatched up the lantern that rested on a nearby table.

"Hurry inside and shut the door" he instructed as the Straw Hats followed. Zoro's hand grabbed hold of Skylar's the minute the door was shut, and the room was briefly encased in darkness until the barkeep lit the lantern.

"Oi! It's pitch black in here" Usopp noted as he looked around the tunnel.

"Really? How could you tell?" Skylar deadpanned.

"Keep going straight ahead" the barkeep pointed.

"From here?" Luffy questioned.

"You'll get to where you want to go" the man assured him.

"Wait a minute" Nami frowned. "You haven't told us anything yet!"

"She's right!" Usopp agreed.

"This is as far as I go" the barkeep told the two. "You'll understand if you keep going" he said.

"Okay, we will" Luffy nodded.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Skylar muttered, biting her lower lip as she peered down the darkened tunnel, feeling uneased by the whole thing.

"Oi! Luffy, you idiot!" Usopp nervously snapped. "This is way too fishy, it's got to be a trap!" he trembled.

"If you just don't want to do it just quit, then I can sleep more peacefully" the barkeep said.

"I'm going, this smells like an adventure!" Luffy smiled.

"Adventure, huh?" the man hummed.

"You're certain that we can make some money there, right?" Nami asked.

"I don't lie, but I can't tell you the details" the man truthfully admitted.

"My chronic "I-Shouldn't-Go-Through-This-Tunnel" disease is acting up again" Usopp anxiously whimpered.

"Just how many diseases do you have?" Skylar raised an eyebrow. "It sounds as if you should be dead by now with how many you've supposedly contracted."

"Give it up, Usopp—the captain's made up his mind to go" Zoro said as he placed a hand on the sniper's shoulder.

"The fact is, we don't have any money—what choice do we have?" Sanji asked.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" the sharpshooter muttered.

"Don't worry, I do too" Skylar said, comfortingly patting the long-nosed pirate's back.

"Adventures are waiting for us ahead, right?" Chopper curiously asked.

"Yeah!" Luffy excitedly nodded.

"Oh…" the reindeer mumbled, though still unsure about where they were going.

"Well, everything will turn out fine eventually—now's not the time to worry about it" Nami told the group, attempting to calm her and everyone's nerves.

"Yosh! Now, let's go!" Luffy cheered. "To get my food money!"

"Is that all you care about?!" Usopp and Skylar snapped.

"Show two 100 beli coins at the end of the tunnel, that's the password" the barkeep explained, handing the lantern in his hand off to Zoro as the Straw Hats finally started to make their way forward.

"Thanks a lot, Ossan" Luffy smiled.

"Can I ask you something?" the man asked, stopping the captain before he could walk away.

"What?" he stopped in his tracks, closely listening to what the older man had to say.

"Why did you become a pirate?"

"To become the Pirate King—besides, the sea is nice and free, right?" Luffy brightly smiled. "Treasure hunting and adventures, there's tons of cool stuff to do!" he laughed.

"Nice, I like guys like you—stay alive" the barkeep chuckled, leaving the Straw Hats to continue on their way as he returned to the bar.

Skylar felt her unease grow the further they walked—her eyebrows soon furrowing at the bright light that eventually appeared at the end of the tunnel before suddenly being snuffed out.

"What's wrong?" Sanji asked the minute he spotted the questioning look on Zoro's face.

"Nah, it's nothing" the swordsman shook his head before coming to a complete halt as a pale face suddenly appeared before him. Flinching, Zoro almost dropped the lantern before quickly catching it by its glass case. "Ouch!" he cried, releasing it immediately the minute he burnt the palms of his hands before falling back as Sanji quickly caught the lantern with his leg.

"Oi! Zoro, what are you…" the blond trailed off as he took note of the heavy man who was currently stationed in front of them. "Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"You alright?" Skylar tilted her head as she bent down beside Zoro, never once taking her eyes off the overweight man as she stared at him with curiosity.

"Wait, Sanji-kun" Nami ducked under the blonde's leg before he could potentially start anything with the odd man. "Hey, Zoro, you're in the way…" she grumbled, stepping over the swordsman before approaching the overweight man who tightly clutched a knife behind his back as he cautiously eyed her. "No need to be on your guard, we've got the password right here" she assured him as she dug around in her pocket before pulling out two 100 beli coins. "See" eyeing the coins, the man eventually sheathed his knife and stepped back towards the door behind him that he had been guarding. Opening the door, Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were the first ones to rush inside the brightly lit room behind it as he stepped aside and allowed them passage.

They stared in awe at the many people and pirate flags that decorated the massive room, making everything feel rather lively.

"Hey, hey, what is this place?" Luffy excitedly asked as Skylar chuckled, placing kisses on Zoro's red hands as they both joined the rest of the crew. Zoro's face burned red as he silently enjoyed the affection.

"There's a ship hanging from the ceiling!" Usopp gaped as he stared up at the boat that was suspended from the beams of the ceiling.

"Man, that was hot..." Zoro grumbled, enjoying the feeling of the young woman's soft lips pressing kisses to his hands.

"All better?" she asked when she finally pulled away.

"I don't know…I think I might need a few more before I can tell…" he murmured, causing her to snort.

"Even so, what's all this?" Nami asked, looking around. "There were only a few ships at the port when we got here" she remarked, wondering where all these pirates came from.

"Hey, babe" a new voice suddenly piped up, causing the crew to turn their heads. "You come here to bet? Bookmaker's on the top floor."

"Bookmaker?" Nami raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? You mean you came here to enter the race?" the man asked in disbelief, catching Skylar's attention.

"The race?" the ginger echoed.

"No way, don't bother! You'll just be wasting your lives doing that" he said, quick in trying to dissuade them from entering the supposedly upcoming race.

"Ah yes, this is the place" Robin suddenly nodded, looking as if she just remembered something. "It's been a while, so I didn't recall it at first" she confessed.

"W-what? Tell me!" Nami demanded.

"I was here once before with the captain of a pirate ship—it's not regular, but they hold a race once every few years" Robin explained as Skylar owlishly blinked, the woman's words sounding vaguely familiar. "Organized by pirates, for pirates, the anything-goes Dead End Race."

"By pirates?" Sanji questioned.

"Ex-pirates to be precise" the raven-haired woman clarified.

"Wait, so this is where the Dead End Race is held?" Skylar asked, surprised.

"Yes, have you been here before as well?" Robin raised an eyebrow as the rest of the crew stared at the brunette in curiosity, wondering how she knew about the race as well.

"N-no…I've…I've just heard of it" Skylar hesitantly answered, crossing her arms as she averted her gaze. "Someone…someone I knew used to complain about it all the time…" she murmured.

"Anyways, all the citizens of this town were once pirates" Robin continued.

"Ah, I see" Chopper and Luffy nodded.

"The goal is different every time, but the starting point is always here" the older woman told the crew. "Participants sail via an Eternal Pose adjusted for the final goal—the rules are simple, whoever reaches the goal first is the winner and whatever should occur en route is your own problem" she explained. "Yes…no matter what happens" she nodded.

"Yeah, yeah" Luffy and Chopper stared up at her with wide eyes, slowly growing more and more excited with each word she spoke.

"That's easy to understand" Zoro remarked.

"As simple as figuring out what's going to happen next" Sanji added.

"That race sounds pretty dangerous, well…it might not be so bad for a crew like ours and it looks like Luffy's eager to join" Nami said. "Say, who else is entering the race? Do you know?" she asked the man from earlier.

"What? Are you really going to enter?" he asked, baffled. "Well, I'd say about a third of the guys here are entering" he answered.

"Whoa! That's a lot of people!" Nami gaped as she looked around the massive room and at all the people crowded in it.

"The guys at the bottom floor are the third favorites" the man explained as he motioned towards the lower floors of the room.

"Below?" Usopp questioned, he and Nami curiously peering down at the two giants who sat down on the bottom floor.

"See those big guys?" the man asked. "They're the giants, Bobby and Pogo."

"Oh, so there's giants entering…" Usopp mumbled.

"And on the terrace in front of us, an old rival of Arlong and the second favorite, Grampus Merman Willy" the man continued as the two directed their attention across the room to the Shark who was heavily drinking from a barrel.

"Even a merman…" Nami muttered.

"And an old rival of Arlong's" Usopp thickly swallowed.

"Wait, Luffy!" Nami quickly struck the rubber man's head.

"That's great!" Luffy grinned, looking unbothered by the sudden attack. "There's so many guys entering!" he remarked.

"Great…" Chopper weakly echoed.

"We haven't decided if we're going to participate in the race!" Nami argued.

"I'm really getting excited" Luffy continued, ignoring the ginger.

"Besides, there's no point taking part in a crazy event like this—"

"Huh?" Chopper tilted his head as he watched the ginger stop midsentence the minute she finally noticed that Luffy wasn't paying attention.

"I wonder who's going to come after us" the captain pondered aloud.

"Who?" Chopper questioned.

"Listen!" Nami and Usopp irritably snapped.

"There's no point in trying, you know just as well as I do that we're entering that race whether we want to or not" Skylar deadpanned, watching how the two continued in their attempts to change the captain's mind.

"So how much is the prize money?" Robin curiously asked.

"Huh? Uh…if I remember correctly, it's 300,000,000 beli this year" the man answered after a moment's thought.

"We are entering the race!" Nami suddenly proclaimed.

"Aye!" Luffy, Chopper, and Sanji saluted, the blond the only one out of the three staring at the ginger with a lovestruck gaze.

"Oi!" Usopp and Zoro snapped as Skylar laughed at how quick the navigator's mind was to change after hearing about the prize money.

It wasn't long before Nami and Sanji split from the others and made their way up to the top floor of the room where the Bookmaker resided so that they could enter the crew into the race.

"I've signed" the ginger said as she pushed the paperwork she had finished filling out towards the Bookmaker—a very heavy man who held a beautiful blonde woman in his lap.

"Okay, hand over the money" he said.

"Money?" Nami questioned.

"You don't know?" the Bookmaker frowned.

"Ah! You mean this?" Nami dug around in her pockets before setting down two 100 beli coins.

"You got it!" he laughed as he tossed an Eternal Pose towards the navigator.

"Partia?" Nami read aloud, examining the Pose in her hands. "So this is the goal this year?" she curiously asked.

"Yeah, good luck" the Bookmaker nodded. "The place is well known for cyclones—keep a lookout for those" he warned.

"Thanks for the tip, but there sure are a lot of people gathered here" Nami remarked as she looked around. "We didn't see any other pirate ships in the port."

"So that ballsy little ship in the port is yours?" the man asked.

"Haha…was that a bad idea?" Nami nervously laughed.

"Everyone else hides theirs around the island!" the man scolded. "What if the Marines see it?"

-Elsewhere-

"Grandpa?!" Anaguma worriedly cried as they bent down next to the old man currently hunched over, suffering from a sudden coughing fit that practically stole his breath. "Grandpa, hold on!"

"No…I'm alright, this is nothing…" Biera tried to assure the child.

"You're not alright!" Anaguma argued. "You've had a high fever for a week now!" they frowned.

"This is nothing, I won't die just yet" Biera said. "Now I have to continue checking the boiler" slowly, he started to stand.

"Don't! Stay in bed!" Anaguma begged.

"I'm alright, I'm alright" Biera repeated as if to reassure both himself and the youngster that he was just fine.

"Grandpa…" Anaguma worriedly frowned as they stared at the older gentlemen.

-Nami and Sanji-

"Yeah, we'll be careful" Nami said, standing from her seat as Sanji examined the Eternal Pose they had been given. "But it's good that the race starts tomorrow morning."

"It's okay if you're a little late for the start, it's going to be a parade start" the Bookmaker told her.

"Okay" Nami nodded as she and Sanji prepared to leave.

"Wait a sec!" the heavy man quickly called out, stopping the two in their tracks. "Everyone usually places a bet here too—there anyone you want to bet on?" he curiously asked.

"Don't be stupid, I'd bet on us of course" Nami responded.

"Oh great, you'll get 350 times your wager if you win!" the man grinned.

"Who's the favorite?" Nami curiously asked.

"Gasparde—General Gasparde" the Bookmaker answered.

"Gasparde?" Robin questioned the minute Nami and Sanji had returned and relayed to her what they had found out while speaking with the Bookmaker.

"Yeah, that's right" Nami nodded. "I thought you might know him, Robin."

"Well, the name rings a bell, but that's it" the older woman truthfully answered as she took a seat at a nearby table.

"They said he's the favorite, I wonder who he is" Nami hummed as sat beside the other woman. "Where are the boys and Skylar?" she suddenly asked, now noticing her absent crewmates and the distinct lack of rowdiness.

"They went down to eat—Mr. Swordsman decided to drag Miss Swordswoman along with them" Robin explained. "The food here is free" she quickly added the minute she saw the infuriated expression on the navigator's face that quickly disappeared the minute she heard that. "They bolted down there as soon as they found out" she smiled.

"Ah, I see" Nami nodded.

"It would seem that Mr. Swordsman might just have a thing for Miss Swordswoman, don't you agree?" Robin smiled a little as she recalled how quick the moss-haired man was to throw the teen over his shoulder the minute she had stated she didn't feel like getting anything to eat.

"You noticed it too?" Nami chuckled. "Ever since we found out Skylar's a girl back on Drum Island, those two have oddly gotten a lot closer since—it's almost as if they've known each other for a long time" she remarked as she recalled the many times she's seen the two get lost in their own little world whenever they were able to just sit and talk. If Skylar wasn't playing around with Luffy and the other two bozos of the ship, she was usually hanging around the swordsman talking in low voices and laughing during her free time. Honestly, if anything annoyed her, it was the two's constant insistence that they were just friends. Whether it be because of fear or self-consciousness, there was something slightly infuriating to the ginger about the way the two practically danced around one another—making excuses to both them and everyone else for their actions.

She couldn't tell if this was an extreme form of self-sabotage or preservation—perhaps it was both in some way for the two of them.

"Yes, I've noticed that as well" Robin hummed, knowing exactly what the ginger was talking about as she had also picked up on how familiar the two sword users seemed with one another whenever they'd talk. It amused her how their bodies would subconsciously lean in close to one another or how they'd reach out and touch each other in some way—their lips drew back into wide smiles as they'd tease and joke around like old friends who hadn't seen each other in years. It was a bit strange at first in her opinion seeing the swordsman act so soft and playful with the younger woman compared to his usual stoic and almost aggressive nature towards others. "It's rather cute" she remarked.

"It's more annoying in my opinion" Sanji grunted as he finally joined the two women. "I don't know where Moss Head thinks it's appropriate to touch a lady so freely like that…" he grumbled, refusing to acknowledge the fact that Skylar lets the swordsman do such a thing. Despite how she'd whine and snap in embarrassment, they were well aware that she was perfectly fine with the older man's physical touches. If she wasn't, she would have put a stop to them by now or asked one of the others to do so. Nami and Robin giggled as they exchanged knowing glances.

-Luffy and the Others-

"There are so many big tables down here, why do you all keep picking the smallest ones? I'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose…" Skylar grumbled, her arms crossed as she embarrassingly found herself once again seated on the swordsman's lap. Heaving a sigh of acceptance, she leaned against the table as she watched her captain stuff his face—the plates around him already starting to pile up high. "I'm amazed you haven't choked yet" she remarked as she watched how the older teen just inhaled the food instead of properly eating it.

"Weren't you full earlier?" Zoro asked.

"No, that was only about 60%" Luffy corrected through a mouthful.

"Well, okay" Zoro slowly nodded.

"If that was only 60%, I'm now curious what you would deem 100%" Skylar hummed.

"The race starts tomorrow, right?" the rubber man asked. "I got to get myself charged up for it!" he huffed.

"Gotta" Chopper echoed as he also stuffed his face with food.

"You don't need to echo him" Usopp said.

"What? I don't?" Chopper questioned.

"Cute…" Skylar breathed, laughing at the reindeer as she softly smiled.

"Yeah, yeah" Usopp nodded at the animal's question.

A few tables down, Shuraiya was found stuffing his face full of food.

"Oh, that looks good! I'll have that—thanks" he remarked the second he spotted the food that the passing waiter was carrying.

"I couldn't possibly!" the waiter exclaimed. "Those were specially made ordered by their table" he motioned, pointing at one of the surrounding tables.

"Don't worry about it, you can bring some to them later" Shuraiya dismissed before blinking as two arms suddenly stretched over and snatched up the two plates he had been wanting, Turning his head, he glared at Luffy's table where the arms had retracted.

"Idiot! Those are someone else's!" Skylar snapped, scolding her captain like a mother would. "You shouldn't take someone else's food, what if they need it?" she asked.

"Oi! What are you doing?" someone impatiently asked the waiter. "Bring us our food already!"

"Yes, right away!" the waiter quickly scurried off back towards the kitchen.

"W-what? What?" another waiter gaped as he realized the plates of food he had been carrying were now gone.

"Quit taking other people's food!" Skylar frowned, smacking her captain on the back of the head as he continued to eat, clearly unbothered. "I know that stomach of yours is a bottomless pit of hunger, but you could at least wait for your own damn food! It's one thing to steal food from us, but you shouldn't be taking it from other people!"

"Oi!" someone growled impatiently, still waiting for their food.

"Certainly, right away!" the first waiter called as he ran by with the group's food, only to stumble to a stop as it was quickly snatched away by Luffy.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Skylar snapped as Zoro wrapped his arms tightly around her stomach to keep her from killing their captain. He laughed, finding that she looked rather cute when frustrated. He couldn't help but compare her to a yapping pup that apparently had a lot to say to the bigger dogs around it.

"Great, I love this place!" Luffy laughed as he continued to stuff his face. "The food just keeps coming!"

"That's because you keep stealing it!" Skylar irritably scolded.

"Honestly, your stomach is bottomless" Zoro remarked as he held the brunette close until her back was fully pressed against his own. But all too quickly much to his annoyance, he found himself throwing her off and behind him as he jumped to his feet the minute Luffy's head was suddenly smashed into the table—splitting it in two.

"Well, what did you think was going to happen when you stole all that food?" Skylar placed her hands on her hips as she huffed down at her captain.

"What was that for?" Zoro glared as he grabbed hold of his swords, keeping a close eye on Shuraiya who had just attacked their captain unprompted as far as any of them knew.

"What was it for?! What was it for?! What was it for…what was it…that's what I should ask!" Shuraiya snapped after repeating the swordsman's question a few times.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Zoro snapped right back, annoyed with the man's odd behavior.

"Shut up!" Shuraiya sneered. "He stole my food, stretching his arms like that! Just because his arm can stretch doesn't mean—his arms…can stretch…hey, his arms can stretch!" he shouted in shock as he came to this realization.

"A little slow that one" Skylar, Usopp, and Chopper sweat dropped.

"Yosh! You know what I'm going to do, right?" Luffy suddenly asked as he pushed himself off the ground.

"You have an ability of the Devil Fruit?" Shuraiya questioned.

"So what?" Luffy asked.

"Hey, hey, hey, you bastards!" someone suddenly snarled.

"Don't get cocky just because nobody's been saying anything about you stealing all the food!"

"Do you even know who we are?"

"We're Gasparde's crew!" a pink-haired man cockily proclaimed, his words causing Skylar to tense.

'He's here?!' although she never knew the former Marine personally, she recalled how her father had a deep hatred for the man who ran off to be a pirate. Always cursing his name and speaking rather ill of him for his betrayal of the Navy.

"Did you think you could piss us off and get away with it? We'll kill you guys before the race even starts" the pink-haired man grinned as Shuraiya started to make his way towards him. "What's this? Going to apologize?" he mockingly asked.

"Oi! You were going to fight me!" Luffy frowned.

"Too late" the pink-haired man sneered as one of his comrades pulled out a gun and shot Luffy. Despite knowing that her captain was just fine, the sight still made Skylar's breath catch in her throat as a certain memory flashed through her mind. "Keep quiet" the pirate huffed as Luffy's body stumbled back at the force in which the bullet hit him.

"Brat…" the shooter muttered.

"Don't look away" the pink-haired man glared.

"Heh, that won't work because I'm rubber" Luffy grinned as the bullet that had struck him didn't break through his skin at all—instead, it only seemed to stretch it back which naturally freaked out the people around him. Bouncing the bullet back, it whizzed by the man who shot it and into the wall behind him. "Oi! What the hell did you do that for?!" he frowned. "You startled me!"

"Startled me as well…" Skylar muttered.

"Well, I was going for more than just a startle!" the shooter snapped.

"Who the hell are you?" one of the men asked, nervously looking at the rubber man who had bent down to retrieve the straw hat that had fallen off his head when he had gotten shot.

"Me? I've eaten the Gum Gum Fruit—I'm a rubber man!" Luffy proclaimed. "Gum Gum Pistol!" drawing his arm back, he stretched it to the other side of the room before shooting it forward and knocking down a good portion of the men on the opposing crew. "How was that, morons?" he mockingly asked.

"Whoa! He's a monster!" someone gaped.

"An ability of the Devil Fruit?!"

"Just like Gasparde-sama!"

"O-oi, Sir! Let's sit down and talk about this peacefully."

"You dumbasses!" the pink-haired man suddenly snarled. "What are you scared of? He's just a kid—we'll team up and beat the shit outta him!" he instructed.

"Aye!" the men nodded, readying their weapons as the pink-haired man drew his sword and slashed at Shuraiya…only to have the attack immediately blocked with a napkin before a kick was delivered to his jaw and then his stomach. Jumping backward, Shuraiya knocked one of the nearby tables over to use as a shield for the spray of bullets that were shot at him. Rolling the table alongside him, he made quick work of the men who shot at him. Grabbing hold of a nearby chair, he hit one of the men with it before picking him up and throwing him across another nearby table—hitting and taking out even more of the men who were located on the other side. Shuraiya was quick to throw the chair in his hands at the man who came charging towards him with a sword, taking the weapon in the process before fully kicking his attacker away.

Jumping up onto one of the chairs, he leaped into the middle of the crowd of men who in return nervously took a step back away from him. Luffy watched in amazement as he stretched his head to the side the minute one of the surrounding men charged at him. Letting his head go, he head-butted the man in return. It wasn't long before he finally joined in on the fighting after that.

"T-they're coming!" Usopp nervously sputtered as he and Chopper took shelter behind Zoro and Skylar.

"They're coming!" the reindeer whimpered.

"Zoro! Skylar! Sic 'em!" Usopp shouted.

"You dork" the sword users responded before blocking the swords that came swinging at them respectively.

"I don't feel like cutting you up, so don't make me…" Zoro grumbled as he pushed back against the men's swords.

"Who the hell is this guy?" one of the men frowned.

"Yosh! Good!" Chopper and Usopp cheered as Skylar sweat dropped the minute she saw they were hidden behind a pillar.

"You're over there!" Zoro snapped at the two.

Shuraiya soon found himself having to dodge the attacks sent his way the minute the sword he had been using broke. Hopping onto some nearby chains, he tightly wrapped them around a practically heavy man before dodging another who had attempted to stab him.

"Don't let him get away!" one of the men shouted as the brunet hopped onto another set of chains that were being pulled up.

"Dammit…you guys are persistent…" he grumbled as he passed by the floor Nami, Robin, and Sanji were seated at. "Haven't you had enough?" he called down to the men who were following after him.

"Asshole!" one of them sneered. "You're not getting away!"

"Stay right there!"

"Oh, this is cool!" Luffy laughed as he followed up the chain as well.

"Luffy, what are you doing?" Nami asked as she turned to her captain.

"Nothing, just a fight" he casually responded.

"I see—don't get lost, okay?" she nodded.

"Okay" he nodded back.

"Uh-oh…a dead end…" Shuraiya frowned as he reached the ship that was dangling from the ceiling, quick to hop aboard it.

"Stop right there!" one of the men chasing him ordered as he and the rest of them hopped aboard the ship as well.

"You've got nowhere to run!"

"Idiots! What if you cut the ropes?" Shuraiya scolded as he looked around at the men who now had their swords raised.

"You think us pirates are scared of that?" the pink-haired man laughed.

"I see" Shuraiya nodded before kicking one of the oversized paddles around so that it knocked off almost all of the men saved for the pink-haired one. "Yo, you still up for it?" he grinned.

"That was great!" Luffy laughed as he climbed aboard the boat. "You're so light on your feet, it was just fun watching" he grinned.

"My pleasure" Shuraiya said. "I didn't expect to meet a man with 30,000,000 on his head though" he confessed.

"What's your name?" Luffy curiously asked.

"Me? My name is—"

"Hey, hey, hey! You think you can just chitchat and ignore me?!" the pink-haired man angrily sneered, not appreciating how quick the two were to forget about him.

"You still want to fight?" Luffy asked.

"Damn right I do!" the pink-haired man snapped. "Don't get cocky just because you have a 30,000,000 bounty! Our boss is a real big shot with a 95,000,000 bounty!"

"That's cool! Even more than Crocodile" Luffy remarked.

"You think the crew of a pirate like that would sit and do nothing after being pissed off?" the man asked, his body slowly starting to shake with unadulterated rage.

"Sometimes they don't" the rubber man answered.

"Like hell!" the pink-haired man snapped as he slashed his sword at the rubbery teen…only for Luffy to lean out of the way and let the blade cut at the ropes holding one side of the ship up instead. Instantly, the ship started to fall to one side as it was now knocked off balance. Quickly, Shuraiya retreated to the other side of the boat.

"Later" he waved, jumping off and down onto one of the terraces below as the pink-haired man screamed and went tumbling down.

"He sure moves swiftly" Luffy remarked as his body started to fall backwards. "But I guess I'd better do something" and with that, he grabbed hold of the ship's railing and shot himself upwards—grabbing the back of the pink-haired man's jacket in the process as he landed them safely onto the same terrace the brunet was on.

"You grabbed him too?" Shuraiya questioned. "You're peculiar."

"I just felt like it" Luffy shrugged.

"So then, back to the main subject" Shuraiya said, reminding the teen of why he had first approached him before they had gotten jumped by the other pirates.

"Oh, right" Luffy nodded. "Yosh! Let's go!"

"Well okay, but I don't think that he's given up just yet" Shuraiya noted as he watched the pink-haired man stand.

"Damn you!" the man sneered.

"C'mon, that's enough" Luffy frowned.

"Obnoxious pests" Gasparde suddenly grunted, finally making his presence known on the terrace and bringing a grin to Shuraiya's lips. Luffy frowned in confusion as he quickly noted the shift in the attitude of the two men with him as they turned their heads. Turning his own head, he stared at the towering dark blond who strangely enough wore a Marine's jacket draped over his shoulders. Messily, people and furniture were sprawled throughout the room the new man was in with swords buried into the walls that had deep gouges and bullet holes.

"G-General Gasparde…why are you here?" the pink-haired man thickly swallowed, his body now shaking like a leaf.

"Gasparde?" Luffy questioned.

"Is there something wrong with me being here?" Gasparde asked.

"N-no, not at all!" the pink-haired man shook his head. "I-I heard you were drinking on the ship, so…" he trailed off.

"Do I have to ask for your permission?" Gasparde raised an eyebrow.

"No, no! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" the pink-haired man quickly apologized. "I didn't mean anything! Please, enjoy yourself!" he cried as he started to bow before the man.

"I have something to ask you" the blond said.

"Yes?" the pink-haired man swallowed as he looked up at his captain.

"Who the hell are you?" Gasparde frowned.

"Who…you mean me?" the pink-haired man owlishly blinked, taken aback by the question. "You must be joking…you know me, I'm—"

"I don't know you" Gasparde interrupted. "Someone like you, who gets beaten so easily by some no-name pirate, wouldn't be on my crew" he glared.

"Ah—well, that happened because I—I apologize!" the pink-haired man sputtered as Luffy slowly started to look around the room, his eyes soon landing on Needless who stood from behind the currently babbling man. "I'll carry on—" he was cut off as Needless suddenly grabbed hold of his shoulder and tossed him over the terrace railing.

"What the hell is going on up there?" one of the men below asked the minute the pink-haired man crashed into the pound located in the middle of the room.

"Damn, that was cold" someone remarked.

"Scum" Gasparde scoffed.

"What?" someone else from the terrace across the room asked.

"Hey, isn't that Gasparde?"

"The General?"

"It seems that you've been enjoying yourself—who are you?" Gasparde asked as he looked down at Shuraiya.

"My name is Shuraiya, a poor no-named bounty hunter" the brunet answered as he placed a hat on top of his head.

"Did he say Shuraiya?" one of the men on the other terrace questioned.

"The real deal?"

"The guy dubbed the "Pirate Executioner" that everyone's been talking about?"

"Shuraiya Bascud?!" all the men across the room gaped.

"You're a bounty hunter?" Luffy questioned, tilting his head.

"Pretty much—looks like I'm a little famous too" Shuraiya noted.

"I've heard of you too" Gasparde said, looking towards Luffy. "You don't look like a man worth 30,000,000—you've done well for yourself, interesting" he remarked. "What do you say, want to work under me?" he asked.

"Oi! Oi…I'm supposed to be the one hunting you guys!" Shuraiya frowned.

"Take a look at me, an ex-Marine—you have the kind of skills and guts I like" Gasparde continued, ignoring the bounty hunter. "I only like strong guys after all" he confessed.

"Now this is rather unexpected—so, are you going to join?" Shuraiya asked, looking at Luffy.

"No" the rubber man bluntly answered, causing the brunet to frown. "This guy smells like trash" he insulted, causing the ex-Marine to become enraged as Needless quickly rushed towards Luffy. Grabbing hold of the teen's shoulder—knocking his straw hat off in the process—Needless pressed the claws of his glove to his neck.

"I like your dauntless courage, but you should watch your mouth" Gasparde glared. "You might lose your life—do whatever you want, but only because I've spared your life" he said, standing from his chair. "Come to my ship if you accept. Needless, let him go as an advance celebration for the race" and with that, he started to leave as Needless stepped away from Luffy—never once taking his eyes off the rubber man.

"Don't step on that!" Luffy suddenly snapped, becoming angry the minute the man had taken a step back and almost stepped on his straw hat. "Move! Don't touch it!" he glared, snatching up the hat as Needless slowly backed away from it. "This is my treasure" he huffed.

"That hat is your treasure?" Shuraiya questioned.

"Yeah, it's an important hat that Shanks left with me" Luffy explained.

"Shanks? That great pirate?" Shuraiya tilted his head.

"Yeah" Luffy nodded as he placed his hat back on top of his head.

"You're no ordinary pirate, are you?" Shuraiya asked.

"No, I'm a pretty ordinary pirate" Luffy shook his head. "I'll looking for the legendary treasure, One Piece" he said. "Ah, but…once I become the Pirate King, I won't be ordinary anymore."

"That's pretty big talk!" Gasparde laughed. "Do you know what those words mean on this sea?" he asked.

"Not really, but I've decided…if f I die fighting for it, then that's that" Luffy smiled.

"Big-mouthed rookie, huh?" Gasparde scoffed as he left.

"Huh?" Luffy blinked, taking note that Needless was now gone as well despite having not seen him leave.

"I don't really feel like fighting you anymore" Shuraiya confessed. "How about we finish this some other time? You okay with that?" he asked.

"Yeah" Luffy nodded.

"Next time, I'll have your head" and with that, Shuraiya left.

-Elsewhere-

"Please! Please! Wait!" Anaguma begged as they chased after one of the crewmen.

"That's enough! Cut it out already!" the man snapped, hitting the child on top of the head as he made his way up onto the deck of the ship.

"Let Grandpa see a doctor!" Anaguma demanded as they followed him. "If he doesn't, he's going to die!" they cried as they desperately grabbed hold of his shirt.

"It's none of my business! Let go of me!" the man sneered as he knocked the child off of him.

"Aren't you nakama on this ship? You're so coldhearted!" Anaguma angrily cried.

"Nakama? Why should that old man be my nakama?" the man questioned, confused as to why he should care about the old man who tended to the ship's boiler.

"What are you saying?" Anaguma frowned. "You know damn well how many times we've been saved by Grandpa's boiler—"

"Pipe down, what are you fussing about?" Gasparde interrupted as he boarded the ship.

"Gasparde-sama!" the man gasped as the child rushed towards the blond. "H-hey!" he flinched

"Please save Grandpa!" Anaguma begged. "Save Grandpa Biera!"

"Stop it, idiot!" the man hissed.

"His fever isn't going down! He's bedridden now!" Anaguma continued. "He'll die at this rate! He needs medicine!" they cried.

"Cut it out, Anaguma!" the man snapped as he hit the back of the child's head.

"Please, Gasparde-sama!" Anaguma pleaded, ignoring the man who was trying to shut them up.

"Anaguma?" Gasparde questioned, not recognizing the child.

"This boiler guy—Biera—is already an old mole" the man explained. "This is his assistant, Anaguma."

"What's wrong with the old mole?" Gasparde asked.

"He's sick" the man answered. "Either way, he won't live long—he's just too old" he shrugged.

"You're wrong! He just needs medicine!" Anaguma argued.

"I'm telling you, it's hopeless!" the man snapped. "He's already too—"

"I'll stake my life on it! I'll do anything you say, I swear!" Anaguma interrupted. "Just give him some medicine!" they pleaded.

"Don't act like that, brat!" the man scowled as he once again struck the child. "Huh? Are you crying?" he asked the minute he heard them whimper and lowly sob. "That's pathetic!" he sneered, picking the child up by the back of their shirt.

"I'm done asking!" Anaguma growled as they started to flail around before head-butting the man in the stomach. Knocking him over, the child stole his gun and pointed it at the ex-Marine.

"That's…what do you think you're doing?!" the man stressed.

"I'll do it myself, let me use this gun!" Anaguma exclaimed.

"What?" the man blinked.

"Wait, that's not a toy, you know?" Gasparde raised an eyebrow.

"I'll use this gun to take down a pirate and I'll buy the medicine with the bounty!" Anaguma boldly proclaimed.

"Quit screwing around!" the man snapped, quick to block the child's path. "You think a kid like you can kill a pirate?" he asked

"I can do it! I can!" Anaguma screamed.

"Cut it—"

"Let him try" Gasparde interrupted. "There are a lot of rookies ripe for the killing tonight—a bunch of airheads with more muscles than brains" he scoffed. "If you succeed, you can join my nakama" he offered.

"Really?" Anaguma asked.

"The head of any idiot would make me as happy as a fish in beer" Gasparde said, bringing a wide smile to the child's lips as they quickly left. Clutching the gun close to their chest, they ran through the now sleeping village in search of an easy pirate to take down.

'I'll cure your illness and we'll eat decent food from now on' Anaguma thought to themselves as they turned a corner, stumbling to the side when they almost rammed into Shuraiya. Curiously, the bounty hunter raised an eyebrow as he watched the child send a glare his way before running off. Staring after them until they were finally out of sight, the brunet shrugged and continued on his way.

-Next Morning-

"Oi! Ready over there?" Sanji asked as he and Luffy busied themselves with putting the sail down and getting the ship ready.

"All set" Luffy responded as Skylar yawned, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she stood beside Nami who was currently stretching.

"It's so early…" the brunette muttered, making her way over to the swordsman who was currently raising the anchor. Zoro felt his lips twitch as the teen yawned once again—he couldn't help but think her adorable as she sleepily rubbed her tired eyes. As everyone else prepared to set sail, Nami looked over the Eternal Pose while Robin sat alone inside the kitchen—enjoying a cup of coffee as she read.

"It's still pointing at that mountain" the ginger noted.

"What's up, Nami?" Luffy asked as he bounced down next to the navigator.

"The Eternal Pose is pointing over the mountain" Nami explained.

"Maybe that's where we need to go" Skylar remarked, leaning against the railing as she looked down at her friend.

"So the starting point is over there?" Sanji questioned as he came down from the mast.

"No, the Bookmaker explicitly said that this town is the starting point" Nami shook her head.

"I don't see any other ships" Zoro said. "Did they leave without us?" he asked.

"I don't think you're allowed to do that in a race" Skylar said. "Perhaps they all got lost" she jokingly suggested.

"Just like Zoro" Luffy laughed.

"Shut up!" the swordsman snapped, blushing as Skylar burst out laughing.

"Good one, Luffy!" she chuckled as the captain beamed.

"What? What's wrong?" Usopp asked as Robin and Chopper finally made their way out onto the deck.

"We are indeed at the starting point" Robin said. "This island has seven rivers that branch in from the sea and they all meet at the main stream in front of us" she explained.

"In front of us, you mean…there?!" Nami gaped as she looked towards the mountain.

"The other ships should be on standby at the other branches" Robin told the crew. "The starting point is at the top of the mountain."

"That sure is one hell of a place to start a race" Skylar whistled.

"Wait a minute! You mean we're going up the mountain?!" Nami exclaimed.

"That's right" the older woman nodded. "Just like you've experienced on Reverse Mountain, right?" she reminded them.

"Yeah, but…there was a huge current at the time" Nami slowly nodded.

"There is one here too" Robin said. "Once every few years, a strong back current accompanied by a fierce gale arrives here—that's what we'll be using" she explained.

"Ahh, you know everything, Robin-chan!" Sanji cooed, hearts floating around him.

"Well, I can understand the theory, but…" Nami trailed off, looking nervous.

"So it's a mystery start" Luffy said.

"Is everything a mystery to you?" Skylar sweat dropped before a small smile tugged at her lips. She couldn't help but find amusement at her captain's childish way of thinking.

"Yeah, right!" Usopp snapped as he hit the rubber man on the back of the head. "Oi, are you sure about this?" he asked, now directing his attention towards the navigator. "Our ship was nearly wrecked that time, remember?" he reminded her.

"Oh yeah…it was…" Skylar muttered in remembrance.

"We'll be fine!" Luffy happily assured the sniper. "We'll make it somehow" he grinned.

"The gale's coming!" Nami suddenly gasped. "Luffy, hurry and reinforce the yards! Usopp, take the helm!" she ordered as she started to point at each of the crew members she needed. "Chopper, watch the aft! Sanji-kun, Zoro, watch the shrouds on both sides of the mast!" she continued as the men quickly scampered off to do as they were told.

It wasn't long before the wind started to pick up and a tense silence fell over the ship.

"Now" as soon as the navigator uttered this, a huge gust of wind blew towards the ship—hitting the sails and sending the Merry forward.

"Not another tunnel!" Usopp whined as the Going Merry started to sail through a darkened tunnel.

"Yosh! Let's go!" Luffy cheered, causing Skylar to laugh a little at his excitement. When the ship eventually exited the tunnel, the crew found themselves calmly floating down a river that went straight through the village. Villagers on all sides cheered at the ships that came through, waving their arms as they called out to the pirates participating in the race.

"I see…so this is what he meant by a parade start…" Nami muttered as she looked around at the cheering people.

"Oi! Oi, oi, oi!" Usopp brightened. "You wouldn't have guessed, but it looks like a lot of people bet on us, huh?" he grinned

"Yosh! Leave it to us!" Luffy and Usopp exclaimed.

"You punks better not mess anything up!" one of the villagers suddenly sneered.

"I bet on the favorite! If you get in the way, I'll kill you!"

"I don't think they bet on us" Skylar hummed.

"Well, that kind of attitude is to be expected" Nami sighed.

"So who is this Gasparde guy?" Zoro asked, causing the brunette to tense for only a minute as they joined the others on the deck. She couldn't help but fear the possibility that the man would realize who she was should he see her. She had no doubt that he would—anyone affiliated with the Marines was well aware of what Admiral Varen's children looked like even if they never met them personally.

"Now this is rare, interested in him?" Nami raised an eyebrow as she looked at the swordsman.

"You were researching him until late last night, weren't you?" Zoro asked, catching how the brunette heaved a shaky sigh from the corner of his eye—her body looked tense.

"Wow! We're really climbing a mountain!" Chopper awed.

"It's too early to be amazed!" Usopp snapped. "Let me tell you the grand story of our adventures crossing Reverse Mountain" he suddenly offered.

"Really?" Chopper sparkled.

"I can see the other ships over there and over there too" Sanji pointed as he looked toward the other rivers that were cutting through the village. "Whoa…that's a big one" he whistled as he stared at the large Naval ship that sailed by. The Marine symbols that were once on the sails now crossed out with a red 'X' as black smoke poured from the ship. "A steam-powered ship? Never seen one of those before" he remarked.

"That's the top favorite—Gasparde's ship, the Salamander" Nami responded.

"Are you alright?" Zoro lowly murmured to the brunette the minute he saw her flinch. She looked uncomfortable as she stared towards the large vessel.

"I'm fine…" she muttered, arms crossing as she examined the sails. Her father's voice fluttered around in her mind as she remembered all the hateful things he had to say about the traitor who had run off to play pirate. She wondered if he would have the same things to say about her once he learned she become a pirate herself as well.

"That ship, huh?" Sanji hummed.

"What's with the mark on the sail?" Usopp frowned. "It's the mark of the Marines, but it's been crossed out."

"Yep, the guy's a former Marine" Skylar and Nami answered, surprising the ginger as she hadn't expected anyone else on the ship to know about Gasparde's past affiliation with the Marines.

"He became a pirate after seizing control of the ship he was assigned to" Skylar explained.

"Yes, and right now the bounty on his head is 95,000,000 beli" Nami nodded, curiously watching how the brunette continued to stare at the Salamander. Her eyes looked almost distant as she quietly muttered something under her breath. Skylar remembered the constant meetings her father would have to go to after the ex-Marines traitorous actions. His betrayal had sent the government into a slight uproar over the fact that one of their own had turned so quickly against them. She hated it when her father had to go to those meetings or participate in them via Den Den Mushi if he couldn't make them in person—he always was more agitated and angrier after them.

"Oh, 95 mill—hey! He's really a big shot!" Usopp gaped.

"Pretty much" Nami nodded, slowly looking away from Skylar and towards the ship as well. "We also have to watch out for an ability he has—apparently he's eaten one of the Devil Fruits" she warned. "He's been dubbed "General," but there aren't any pleasant rumors about him" she added.

"Pleasant rumors?" Usopp questioned. "Well, he is a pirate, there wouldn't be—"

"So what if he is?" Luffy interrupted.

"Luffy?" the sharpshooter asked.

"I hate him…" the rubber man bitterly mumbled.

On Gasparde's ship, Needless eyes scanned the crowd of men before they finally landed on Shuraiya who stood near the back of the crew—his hat lowered to shield his eyes. It wasn't long before all the ships slowly started to sail closely to one another, their respective rivers now merging into one.

"What a shabby little ship!" one of the men on another ship laughed the minute they spotted the Merry. "You really think you can make it over the Grand Fall in that?"

"That's Vigaro, the Hanged Man" Nami pointed as another ship pulled up beside the Merry. "It's Willy's ship!" she gasped as the giants' ship soon pulled up beside Willy's and knocked it into the Merry. "It's the Giants' ship!" she cried as the two laughed.

"I'm not going to fall…" Skylar muttered, cheeks flushing the minute Zoro's arms wrapped around her waist as the ship slowly started to move up the mountain—gravity causing the crew to stumble back and nearly lose their footing.

"You say that, but past experience states otherwise…" he teasingly murmured, causing her to huff.

"We're inclining rapidly!" Chopper nervously remarked.

"No problem" Nami said.

"No choice but to brace myself!" Usopp frowned as the ship finally reached the top…only to immediately fall down a massive waterfall. Luffy seemed to be the only one to cheer as the rest of the crew screamed. Quickly, Zoro tightened his hold on the brunette the minute her body almost went flying into the air along with Luffy and Usopp's—her feet lifting off the deck like she weighed nothing as her hair flew up around her. Usopp screamed as he and Luffy hastily grabbed hold of the ship so as not to fall off. It wasn't long before the Merry finally crashed back into the water and calmly returned to sailing alongside the other ships.

"That's the Grand Fall?!" Nami trembled as she sat on the floor.

"Miss Navigator, this isn't the time to be overwhelmed!" Robin told the woman.

"I think my heart stopped beating there for a minute..." Skylar swallowed, panting as she held a hand against her chest. Her legs felt like lead, Zoro now the only thing keeping her up at the moment as her knees knocked against one another in an attempt to give out on her. But despite how hard her heart was thundering in her chest, she couldn't help but laugh at how bizarre the whole ordeal had been now that it was over.

"What the hell are they doing?!" Usopp cried the minute he witnessed Willy crashing and demolishing one of the other pirate ships with his own as two other ships instantly started to shoot at one another.

"The race has started" Zoro simply said.

"From this point on, anything goes" Nami nodded. "Usopp, stand guard on the aft deck" she ordered.

"Me?" Usopp whimpered.

"Out of the way!" a man from one of the other ships suddenly shouted.

"One's on us already? Alright, fine—I'll do it!" Usopp huffed. "Geez…" he grumbled as he tied his bandana around his head before placing his goggles on top. "Take this!" he fired a cannonball at the approaching ship, cheering the minute it struck its target. "The manliest of men—Usopp—is here!" he proudly proclaimed as more ships crashed into one another around him, some having crew members jump aboard and fight the other crews.

"They sure are going at it" Luffy whistled, laughing as he watched the ships that were ahead of them. "Everyone's enjoying themselves" he smiled as a ship was shot at and forced to run onto land—smashing into the buildings of the village. Not long after, a couple of other ships seemed to do the same, further destroying parts of the village.

"Bobby, we can't turn at this cursed speed" Pongo said.

"Then all we need is more speed" Bobby assumed.

"Fine by me" Pongo nodded as their ship jumped over one of the turned-over ships and sailed across the village.

"Ah, it didn't work—we didn't go far enough!" Bobby cried the minute their ship started to descend.

"What?!" Pongo exclaimed as they crashed.

"Chopper, cut the helm!" Nami shouted.

"I'm trying, but it's not shifting" Chopper frowned.

"We'll crash at this rate!" Nami stressed.

"O-oi! We're almost off the course!" Usopp cried.

"If I kick the ship from below, would it help cushion it?" Zoro asked.

"You can't do that!" Nami snapped.

"You'll break your leg—I don't care how much of a monster you are in a fight, you're still human, dumbass!" Skylar snapped as well.

"Ah, a cushion!" Nami gasped, suddenly realizing what to do as she turned towards the captain. "Luffy!" she shouted.

"Gum Gum Balloon!" Luffy instantly hopped off the ship and inflated his body, landing on top of one of the turned-over ships nearby and letting the Merry land on top of him. Using his body like a makeshift wheel, he allowed the ship to roll atop the turned-over ship and fly into the air.

"Luffy!" Usopp shouted as he stretched his arm towards the captain.

"Yosha!" Luffy quickly stretched his arm out and took hold of the sharpshooter's hand.

"But…what do we do now?!" Nami stressfully asked as they continued to soar over the land.

"Great Flower!" Robin used her powers to sprout many arms from the side of the ship until they formed one giant arm that she used to help pull the Merry back towards the water.

"Nice, Robin!" Luffy smiled.

"Man, it's almost unreal how often stuff like that happens" Sanji said. "I'm surprised we've lasted this long."

"Yep, it sure is a mystery" Skylar chuckled. "We probably should be dead by now with how many times this has happened" she said.

"Thanks, Robin—just like I planned" Nami grinned.

"Liar!" Zoro snapped.

"Well, we're on our way" Robin said. "Let's just enjoy the rest of the ride."

"Yeah, I'm really pumped—looks like we're at the tail of the pack" Luffy remarked. "But this is only the beginning, this is why it's great to be a pirate" he smiled.

"300,000,000 beli, 300,000,000 beli, 300,000,000 beli" Nami chanted, her eyes looking like beli signs as she eagerly looked head.

"Oh…my "I-Shouldn't-Be-Leaving-This-Island" illness is—"

"Yosha! Let's go, guys!" Luffy shouted, unintentionally cutting the long-nosed pirate off.

"Aye!" everyone responded.

-Gasparde's Ship-

"Damn, thanks to that bounty hunter and that brat, we all got demoted to stoking duty" a man frowned.

"How humiliating" another groaned as they continued to shovel coal into the boiler.

"I can't take this anymore!" the first man growled.

"Who gave you permission to feed the boiler?" Biera asked as entered the room.

"Eh? Shut up, man!" the first man snapped. "It's not like we want to!" he frowned.

"That's not a job for the likes of you!" Biera snapped right back.

"Yeah, that's true" one of the men nodded.

"Where is Anaguma?" the old man asked, leaning against the nearby wall for support as he stumbled towards the men—instantly noticing that the child who usually helped him was currently missing.

"Anaguma?" the man questioned.

"My assistant" Biera explained.

"Oh yeah, I did hear something about that" the man hummed. "Something about going off to kill pirates."

"What?" Biera's eyes widened.

-Straw Hats-

"The other ships are out of sight" Nami noted.

"I bet they're all taking the course they think is best—maybe I should use this chance to make some food" Sanji said.

"Banzai!" Luffy cheered.

"Go check the damage to the ship, Zoro" Nami suddenly ordered.

"By myself?" the swordsman questioned.

"You can take Skylar along with you if you want" Nami grinned, watching how the brunette's head perked up upon hearing her name.

"What?" Skylar tilted her head. "Why me?"

"Because, now go" Nami waved a hand at the two, not leaving any room for argument.

"Damn bitch ordering me around…" Zoro grumbled as he and Skylar walked around the ship, blushing when he heard the brunette chuckle as she gently patted his back. "Any holes or cracks?" he asked, looking around.

"I'm not seeing anything" Skylar hummed, her eyes scanning the storage room.

"Looks like this place is intact" the swordsman remarked, his gaze slowly making its way toward the brunette who was still looking around for any sort of damage. Slowly, his eyes traveled up and down her body—taking notice of how the loose-fitting jeans she wore seemed to slide down a little and show the skin of her hip. Next, his gaze traveled up to the blue flannel shirt she was wearing, unbuttoned and showing off the black tank top underneath that was a bit too tight. Already, he could feel his cheeks growing warm as his gaze quickly darted towards her lips next, a strong part of him now tempted to just lean forward and smash his own against them. A familiar temptation he found himself feeling quite often since those old feelings of his began to stir to life once more.

But, before his thoughts could stray any further in a certain direction, he suddenly felt like something was wrong as his gaze darted around the room once more.

"Something a matter?" Skylar asked the minute the swordsman walked over to the bathroom door and slowly opened it.

"If you planned on stowing away, you got on the wrong boat—this is a pirate ship" Zoro said, causing Skylar to raise an eyebrow as she walked up behind him. Taking a peek into the bathroom, she groaned when she was suddenly shoved to the ground by Zoro as he dodged the bullet that Anaguma had shot at him. Shooting forward, the moss-haired man grabbed hold of the child's face and roughly pressed them against the wall—already preparing to draw one of his swords before stopping. "A kid?" he blinked in bafflement.

"Zoro…what the hell was—put him down this instant!" Skylar snapped the minute she spotted the child in the swordsman's grip. Flinching at the venomous tone the young woman was using, Zoro raised his hands in defense when he saw the look of pure anger she held as she harshly shoved him away from the kid. Skylar couldn't stand watching a child being manhandled, it reminded her too much of things she'd rather not think about. Silently, the two brought the child up on deck and joined the rest of the crew in the kitchen to show them their find.

"You're a cruel man—you can't even go easy on a child?!" Nami scolded.

"I didn't have a choice, he had a gun!" Zoro argued, nervously looking towards Skylar who seemed to be upset with him. She was currently seated on top of a long crate, cradling the child's head on her lap as Chopped busied himself with preparing some medicine. The swordsman frowned, not liking how the teen didn't even bother sparing him a glance.

"Zoro's so cruel!" Luffy and Usopp chanted.

"You dorks…" the swordsman grumbled.

"Food's almost ready, wash your hands" Sanji told the two.

"Okay!" Luffy and Usopp nodded as they rushed off to do as the blond said.

"Huh? Finally awake I see" Skylar gently smiled when Anaguma's eyes slowly opened.

"The kid's awake" Chopper repeated the minute he heard what Skylar said before being taken aback as Anaguma suddenly shot up and backed themselves into a corner away from the two.

"The deer talked!" Anaguma gaped.

"I ain't no deer! I'm a reindeer!" Chopper snapped in correction.

"That's even weirder!" Anaguma snapped right back.

"Shut the hell up, asshole!"

"M-m-m…"

"If you're going to call him a monster, forget it" Nami piped up as Skylar giggled. "He's actually a superb doctor, although he's not very good at controlling his emotions."

"Dumbass, complimenting me won't make me happy! Asshole!" Chopper brightly smiled, causing Skylar to softly huff a smile of her own before she looked back towards Anaguma who appeared to be searching for something.

"See what I mean?" Nami asked.

"Asshole" Chopper smiled.

"Looking for this?" the ginger suddenly asked as they sat Anaguma's gun down on the kitchen table the minute she saw that they were frantically searching their person for something. "Y'know, if you brought something like this onto a pirate ship, nobody would be to blame if you ended up dead yourself" she pointed out. "What are you after? Who sent you here?" she asked.

"W-well…the kid is still in bad shape, let's ask later" Chopper nervously suggested as Skylar closely watched Anaguma. "And besides—"

"To kill you" Anaguma interrupted. "To kill you all and make some money!" they proclaimed, causing Skylar to raise an amused brow.

"Money, eh?" Nami questioned. "Well if you want to be straight about it…but there were hordes of other pirates" she pointed out. "Why'd you choose this ship?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Usopp asked. "We're the infamous Straw Hat Pirates after all" he puffed his chest out in pride as he and Luffy returned and now stood in the kitchen's entryway.

"Who cares? This ship just looked weaker than the others!" Anaguma frowned.

"Okay, you can laugh now" Usopp sighed as Luffy burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Don't laugh! I'm serious!" Anaguma snapped.

"Just lie down, your body is—"

"Get away from me!" Anaguma cried, knocking the reindeer away from them the minute Chopper grabbed hold of their arm.

"Hey now" Skylar frowned. "He's only trying to help" she softly scolded.

"Pirates should be used to being marked for death" Luffy said. "But if you aren't ready to put your life on the line, you aren't ready to fight me" he said as an arm sprouted from the table and tossed the gun towards Anaguma.

"Show us how serious you are" Robin spoke up from behind Luffy.

"Hey…hey…" Usopp frowned at the raven-haired woman.

"Or was it just a bluff?" Robin asked.

"Dock mock me, bastard!" Anaguma sneered, aiming the gun straight at Luffy and firing. Skylar tensed before she heaved a heavy sigh and leaned back against the wall, crossing one leg over the other—watching how the bullet bounced back from the captain's head and towards the child in an instant. Luckily, it pierced the wall instead of hitting the poor kid. "Wh…what the hell was that?!" they screamed in shock, trembling as they dropped the gun. "The…the Devil Fruit…" they weakly muttered.

"That's right, haven't you heard of them?" Nami raised an eyebrow.

"I-I've never been off our ship—"

"They're very mysterious fruits" Nami interrupted. "The downside is you become a Hammer and can't swim, but in return, you obtain an ability greater than any human's" she recounted. "Among us, Robin and Chopper over there also have abilities" she pointed.

"This deer?" Anaguma questioned.

"I'm a reindeer!" Chopper corrected, growing big.

"K-ki…kill me" Anaguma suddenly whimpered, causing Skylar's eyes to slowly widen. "Go ahead and kill me! Shit…just do it!" they cried as they fell to the floor.

"Impressive resolve is what I say" Nami responded. "Except, aren't you treating your life a little too lightly?" she asked.

"I don't need to be lectured by a pirate" Anaguma glared. "Why should I care? There's no reason to keep living without any hope—I'd be better off not existing at all!" a dark look crossed Skylar's face as she stood and walked over to the child. Everyone blinked in surprise at the sudden slap she delivered to the kid's face.

"Hey, Skylar!" Usopp flinched, he and the rest of the crew taken aback by the glossy-eyed look and angry scowl the teen now wore.

"Dumbass! Everyone's life holds some importance—to hear a child such as yourself say this…you know nothing of the horrors of this world! Wait until you're older to decide if your life holds such little meaning!" Skylar snapped, her body slowly trembling as her voice quivered. "Wait until you have experienced the joys and pains of this godforsaken earth before you say such nonsense!" Anaguma brought a hand up to their cheek as they looked up at the teen with wide eyes.

"Skylar?" Luffy quietly questioned as the brunette turned on her heel and stormed out of the room—roughly shoving past him on her way out as she harshly wiped at her eyes and left. Nami silently looked after the brunette, noting just how much pain seemed to have been laced within her words. It was obvious that the child's careless demand had struck a nerve in the young teen and caused her a great deal of pain.

"Zoro, I'm borrowing your katana…" Nami muttered, dragging the swordsman's gaze away from the kitchen doorway and towards the navigator. He didn't know if he should follow after Skylar or not, aware that the brunette preferred to be alone sometimes when something was bothering her.

"Don't step over people" he grunted the minute Nami climbed over him so she could walk over to the still-stunned child.

"Quit that self-pity crap—if that's how you feel, then I'll give you what you want" Nami glared as she drew the sword, making it clear she'd do more than just slap the kid for their ignorance.

"Don't do it, Nami!" Chopper cried.

Skylar felt rather uneasy and guilty as she slowly made her way back towards the kitchen. Guilt hit her hard as she now wished to apologize to the child for striking them like that…even if she was still upset over their words. There was a familiarity to such words… except the child clearly was only speaking them out of situational despair instead of true understanding of what they meant. That was what upset the brunette most and made her so frustrated enough to slap the poor kid.

"Hey—" she froze the moment she entered the room, gaze instantly zeroing in on Nami who threateningly held one of Zoro's swords towards the child. Startled, the ginger blinked the second Skylar protectively placed a sword in front of Anaguma before moving in front of them.

"Stay out of this!" Nami snapped at both Chopper and Skylar, fear slightly gripping her heart the minute she spotted the dark look on the brunette's face. There was an unnerving intensity to that cold iris of hers as she silently dared the navigator to take a swing. "This is what pisses me off the most! No reason to keep on living? If you're alive, you can't talk about dying!"

"Please! Stop!" Chopper begged. "You've said enough!"

"Though I do agree with you, they're still a child and I won't let you hurt them!" Skylar huffed. "No matter what they say or do, their life is precious and even if they don't think so, that doesn't mean we have to grant them their wish!" she sneered, body tense and ready to attack if need be. She did not disagree with a single thing the ginger said, but she also didn't agree with the woman's extreme method in trying to reprimand the child for their ignorance.

"You jerks! Stop her too!" Chopper snapped at the rest of the crew, watching as Luffy and Usopp stuffed their faces as they snacked and waited for dinner to finish. Nami and Skylar glared at each other—the ginger was taken aback by the young woman's sudden change in attitude despite clearly being just as frustrated by the child's words. Briefly, she was reminded of a mother protecting her young—one who was willing to rain hell on anyone who touched them even when upset with said child.

"Food is ready" Sanji said.

"Sanji!" Chopper whined as he held Nami back the minute she started to wildly swing the sword in her hand around. Instantly, Skylar blocked each of the navigator's sloppy attacks—having no problems due to the other woman's inexperience when it came to swordplay.

"I don't care if he is a little kid!" Nami snapped.

"Food time!" Luffy cheered.

"I'll take your stupid ideas and cut 'em in half!" she sneered.

"Then I don't care if you're my friend—I'm not going to sit here and watch you hurt this child just because you're angry!" Skylar sneered right back, eyes looking hazy as she and the ginger screamed at each other.

When things had somewhat started to calm down, Anaguma immediately ran outside and away from the still-bickering pirates in the kitchen when they finally found an opening. Curled up into a ball and tucked away in a corner, they quietly watched the snow falling around them as they began to reminisce. Hesitantly, they looked up when they suddenly heard gentle footsteps coming towards them. Curiously, they looked at the brunette who had came to a stop beside them and sat down.

"Why'd you protect me?" they quietly asked after a moment of silence, the question that had been nagging at the back of their mind since the incident the first thing to come out of their mouth. It was obvious that the brunette had been just as upset with them as the ginger what with the way she had slapped them before storming out of the room. They didn't understand why she had quickly come to their aid the minute the other woman began threatening their life out of anger even when she confessed to agreeing to everything her crewmate said.

"You're still just a child and…I don't like seeing children get hurt" Skylar responded, eyes becoming downcast for a minute as she became lost in thought. "I'm sorry for slapping you…your words just struck a nerve is all" she heavily sighed after a beat of silence, rubbing the back of her head as the young child curiously looked towards her. "You know…when I was your age, I wished for death a lot, and—if I'm being honest—there are moments when I still do" she revealed.

"Really?" Anaguma mumbled, surprised by such a heavy confession.

"Yeah…" Skylar nodded. "Sometimes…sometimes things get too much and I think to myself how nice it would be if I could just close my eyes and sleep forever…especially back then…" she murmured. "But…if I hadn't kept pushing on as long as I had then I never would have met Luffy and them…I never would have realized how good life can sometimes feel" she confessed, tired eyes softening as she looked at the drifting snow. "So keep pushing, you don't know when something amazing might come along and change everything for the better" she gently smiled, placing a hand on top of the child's head and ruffling their hair through their hat. Anaguma blushed at the affection, a small smile tugging at their lips as they noted how the woman beside them seemed to just exert a comforting feeling they were somewhat unfamiliar with.

If they're being honest, the young teen seemed to have nothing but a motherly attitude towards them since they boarded the ship—even when she had been scolding them. Though the slap was a surprise, they couldn't see it as something malicious and instead, something done out of fear like a parent that yells at their child after doing something reckless. Quietly, they shifted closer to the brunette who continued to watch the falling snow around them.

"It's been snowing softly for a while now" Sanji remarked as he made his way over to the two, feeling he had waited long enough to give Skylar the privacy she requested when she had first decided to check on the child. Softly, he smiled when he noticed that Anaguma's head was now buried into their knees as they pressed themselves firmly against Skylar's side. "I'm still baffled by the Grand Line's weather—our doctor was worried that you might catch a cold" he said as he threw a blanket at the two, his smile widening as he watched Skylar fix the piece of cloth so that it fully covered the child. "When Nami-san was a little girl, pirates killed her mother right in front of her" he suddenly said as he took a seat on the stairs. Skylar flinched, her eyes looking elsewhere as she knew all too well how it felt to witness someone you love being killed in front of you.

"And those same pirates were using her like a slave until we showed up—I can't imagine how shitty those eight years were for her...and that reindeer had a hard past too" the blond continued. "So have the others…well, I guess we're all the same in that respect" he said, eyeing the brunette. She and Robin were the only two so far who had yet to mention any sort of past pain to the crew, but he had an inkling that they were most likely no different with how secretive they could be when it came to their feelings and personal lives. "I think you should stay alive—I know things can be harsh, but if you make it through you'll be able to see tomorrow" he sighed. "You probably wouldn't understand yet…" and with that, he left.

"He's right, you know…" Skylar muttered as the child peeked out at her before moving closer to her side. "You're young, but you have your whole life ahead of you to experience many things other than just pain and fear…" she softly assured, wrapping an arm around the kid.

"And what was that?" Usopp asked as he and Luffy confronted the blond after witnessing what he had done. "You're being pretty nice to that kid" he remarked.

"Yeah, I wonder why" Sanji hummed, looking back and watching how the child seemed to snuggle into Skylar's side—bringing a small smile to not only his lips, but the captain's as well as he also brightened upon seeing how close the brunette and their surprised guest had become.

-Elsewhere-

"Is that okay? That was the entry list" the blond seated on the Bookmaker's lap asked, curiously watching as he threw the entry list to the race in the nearby fire.

"That pile of paper isn't necessary anymore" the heavy man told her as he watched the paper burn.

-Gasparde's Ship-

"We're straying off course—why aren't you saying anything?" Shuraiya asked.

"There's nothing to say" Gasparde grinned. "This whole thing is a game, a little fun to cure my boredom!" he laughed.

"Gasparde-sama" one of the men suddenly approached. "One of the ships is following us!" he pointed.

"Who is it?" Gasparde asked.

"Willy—Willy the Merman!" the man answered.

"So a real villain is the first to appear" Gasparde hummed as he stood.

"And where might you be going, Gasparde?" Willy laughed. "You think you've tricked us—my eyes aren't just empty sockets" he reminded the former Marine.

"He's all fired up—prepare the men for battle" Gasparde ordered. "We've finally got someone to play with."

"A-aye, Sir!" the man clapped as he ran off to inform the others on the ship of the upcoming fight.

"But it doesn't look like I'll get a chance to participate…" Gasparde muttered.

-Straw Hats-

"I'm surprised you brats survived this long! But crossing paths with the great Vigaro is the last thing you'll ever do!" Vigaro proclaimed as Skylar gave a comforting smile to Anaguma who looked rather scared of the opposing pirate crew that was now engaging the ship.

"Who's that?" Zoro asked.

"He's damn obnoxious…" Sanji muttered.

"It's him, the guy from the start of the race" Usopp pointed out.

"That tiny ship will be your coffin at sea!" Vigaro proclaimed.

"I think his name was Vigaro" Chopper said.

"Oh? I thought we were in last place" Robin said.

"I'm not going to lie, I was thinking the same thing" Skylar nodded. "It's hard to tell where we stand when there's barely any other ships around" she sighed.

"Now then, let's—"

"So they're last?" Luffy questioned, ignoring the man.

"Guess that means we found someone even worse than we are" Skylar chuckled.

"What was that?" Vigaro frowned.

"He got mad when he heard the truth!" Nami exclaimed.

"I'm going to crush your bones into—" Vigaro was cut off the minute he was struck in the face.

"I…I hit him" Usopp gaped in disbelief.

"Nice, Usopp" Nami praised.

"Good job, Pinocchio" Skylar snorted.

"How'd you like that?" Usopp proudly boasted before quickly taking shelter behind Zoro the minute he saw how angry Vigaro's crew now looked. "Yosh! Go get 'em, guys!"

"Why you…" Zoro frowned as he looked back at the sharpshooter.

"Yosha, here goes—"

"Hold on" Zoro stopped Luffy who was currently spinning his arm around. "The two of us can handle them" he said as he and Sanji stepped up.

"Just sit out once in a while" Sanji said. Anaguma found themselves feeling rather uncomfortable with how close Usopp was to them, silently wishing that the nice brunette was beside them instead.

"Look at them going and showing off" Skylar whistled, a small smile tugging at her lips as she watched the swordsman and cook hop onto the opposing ship.

"Nothing personal, but if you're looking for a fight, we'll give you one" Zoro said.

"I've got dinner to cook" Sanji remarked.

"One minute's enough" they clarified, agreeing to end this fight quickly.

"Oni Giri!" Zoro slashed at the men who came his way as Sanji kicked down the rest. Anaguma stared at the two in awe, amazed by their strength despite how tiny of a crew and ship they came from.

"How can they be this strong?" they asked.

"What was that?" Nami asked as the two ships suddenly began to tremble.

"Dunno" Luffy shrugged as the ships trembled once again before the enemy's ship was suddenly lifted into the air. Skylar stumbled backward as the Merry was jostled around by the waves—her soon body coming to a halt beside Usopp and Anaguma, causing the child to quickly cling to the back of her shirt. Everyone's jaws fell open when they realized that the enemy's ship now rested on top of a Sea King's head as many others soon surrounded them.

"Sea Kings!" everyone screamed.

"The biggest kinds too!" Nami cried.

"Idiot! Don't scream!" Zoro snapped.

"It's going to eat us!" the men on Vigaro's ship screamed as their ship was tossed off the Sea King's nose, the sea monster opening its mouth soon after in preparation to devour them.

"Zoro! Sanji! Grab on!" Luffy shouted as he stretched his arm upwards and grabbed hold of the Sea King's nostril.

"Where are you aiming?!" Sanji and Zoro snapped.

"How is grabbing that thing's nostrils going to help them?!" Skylar snapped at her captain before flinching as the Sea King loudly sneezed—the force sending the Going Merry sailing at a fast rate across the water along with the other ship which rolled alongside them before finally sinking.

"Oh, they sank" Luffy noted as Anaguma tightly clung to Skylar, burying their face into her side.

"Oi! What about Zoro and Sanji?" Usopp frowned.

"Oh yeah! Oi!" Luffy exclaimed as Skylar heaved a sigh, shaking her head before giving a sweet smile to Anaguma as she gently rubbed their back in an attempt to comfort them.

After the crew retrieved their missing crewmates and night fell, they piled into the kitchen for dinner. Happily, they laughed and chatted as they ate.

"Bet you're relieved, huh, Zoro?" the rubber man cheekily smiled.

"Geez, couldn't you have gotten us out sooner?" Zoro frowned as Skylar peered up from her food, quickly noticing how Anaguma wasn't eating with them at all.

"Damn right…" Sanji grumbled.

"Don't sweat it" Luffy grinned as Skylar slipped out of her seat and headed over to the child without the others noticing—all of them too busy with their own conversations as they ate. "Ah, this meat is great!" the captain happily sighed.

"Aren't you hungry?" Skylar asked as she took a seat beside the child, watching how Anaguma looked at her before leaning into her side while they thought about Biera. "You shouldn't skip a meal when you have access to food…" the brunette mumbled, resting a hand on top of the child's head and pulling them closer. "It's sort of insulting" she said it more to herself than anything—her voice barely even a whisper so that the child wouldn't hear.

"Sanji's food is number one!" Chopper happily exclaimed as he stuffed his face.

"Oi, not going to eat?" Luffy questioned as he suddenly crouched down in front of the child and his friend after finally noticing their absence from the table. "We made some for you" he said, quickly taking notice of the kid's liking for his nakama as the three of them ignored the group that was still chatting away at the table.

"Are you always like that?" Anaguma suddenly asked, glaring at the rubber man as they wrapped their arms around Skylar and pressed their face into her side. "You tell me not to talk about living and dying so easily and then you go and do dangerous stuff like it's nothing!" they angrily cried. "You could have died back there!"

"Yeah, that was pretty dangerous!" Luffy laughed, causing Skylar to chuckle as she patted the top of the child's head.

"It's nothing to laugh about!" Anaguma snapped. "Aren't you afraid of dying?!"

"Of course I am" Luffy responded.

"Then why?" the child asked.

"When I was a kid, a pirate saved my life—that man lost his arm for me" Luffy explained as Skylar started to gently comfort and calm the shaking child. "That's why I'll never throw my life away, but…I have an ambition, something I want to do" he removed his hat and fondly looked down at it. "No matter what, it'll be pretty tough, but I decided that I'm going to do it and if I die fighting for it then that's fine" he happily laughed.

"What's with that nose?" Sanji suddenly asked Usopp as Nami quietly stared towards the three who were having their own conversation.

"What nose?" Usopp asked.

"Your nose—why is it so long?" the blond questioned.

"Sanji, you heard of snails, right?" the sharpshooter asked.

"That's got nothing to do with it!" Sanji snapped as Nami blinked, her attention suddenly dragged back down towards the Eternal Pose before she turned to peer out the window.

-Elsewhere-

"Boss! The ship's done for!" one of the men wailed towards their blond-haired captain as more cannonballs were shot at them. "We have to abandon ship!"

"How could this have—"

"Boss!" another man screamed as a cannonball landed dangerously close to the captain.

"Isn't this supposed to be Partia?!" the blond screamed as another cannonball flew towards the ship, destroying it on impact.

-Straw Hats-

"What's going on? This is a Marine stronghold!" Nami gaped as the crew piled out onto the deck, staring in shock at the destroyed ships that littered the water. Skylar trembled, her eyes wide as she looked at the place they were in—too lost in her own head to even react when Zoro gently took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze after seeing how pale she looked.

"Did we sink them?" a Marine asked, referring to the previous ship that they had sunk.

"Aye! Affirmative!" another nodded. "There's another ship out there" he pointed the minute he spotted the Straw Hats through his telescope.

"Again?" the first Marine questioned, frowning. "What the hell is going on today?" he asked, confused about where all these pirates were coming from.

"Nami-san, what does this mean?" Sanji asked.

"But there's no mistake, the needle is pointing straight ahead!" Nami stressed as she looked down at the Eternal Pose.

"However, suppose that Eternal Pose is a fake" Robin suggested as the two thought back to when the Bookmaker had given them the Pose. Quickly, Nami pried off the plague on the Eternal Pose, revealing that underneath it was the words "Navarone."

"Shit! I knew there was something fishy going on!" Sanji frowned.

"It was Gasparde" Luffy said.

"Luffy?" Usopp questioned.

"He's the one who'd do something like this" the rubber man continued, certain that the ex-Marine had something to do with the trickery.

"What?" Nami blinked. "You don't know that."

"I'm sure of it" Luffy firmly nodded.

"I can believe it…" Skylar muttered, agreeing with the captain in his baseless assumption.

"Hey" Nami frowned.

"I think he's right" Anaguma piped up, catching everyone's attention. "While we were sailing, I saw a large stockpile of Eternal Poses in the cargo hold—that's probably one of them" they explained as they looked at the Pose in Nami's hand, recognizing it as being the same as the ones from the cargo hold.

"Pirates stabbing pirates in the back, eh?" Zoro frowned as he gave Skylar's hand another squeeze. "Real great "General" he turned out to be."

"He is a former Marine, a traitor no less—who says he wouldn't be a liar and cheater as well…" Skylar grumbled.

"That shitty bastard!" Sanji growled.

"What do we do? Go after him?" Usopp asked.

"We can't without a real Eternal Pose" Nami argued.

"That right, it's all too late!" Anaguma cried. "Grandpa is going…" they pitifully trailed off, trembling as they clenched their fist.

"Your grandpa?" Nami questioned.

"Not my real one…but he saved my life—he's sick and those pirates say he's not their nakama and won't give him medicine" Anaguma explained, voice quivering. "That's why I…"

"You came on our ship so you could buy medicine" Skylar softly finished.

"Yeah" Anaguma nodded.

"You're an idiot" Luffy frowned. "That old man didn't save your life, so you'd go around doing stuff like that" he pointed out.

"I know that…" Anaguma mumbled.

"If you get it then live! If your resolve is really that strong, go rescue him from that ship!" Luffy huffed. "If you're not going to do anything about it, you got no right talking about risking your life" tears welled up in Anaguma's eyes as they clenched their jaw.

"Luffy…" Nami mumbled.

"Someone like you doesn't have to tell me that!" Anaguma cried.

"Well, that's good then" Luffy remarked. "I'm going to go kick his ass, coming?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" Anaguma nodded, bringing a small smile to Skylar's lips.

"Yosh!" Luffy grinned.

"I guess that's that—we can't just give up on the 300,000,000 beli, though we'll have to get a real Eternal Pose" Nami sighed.

"Um…it sort of sounds like you're planning to take on Gasparde" Usopp nervously remarked before screaming at the sounds of cannon fire. "They're firing at us!" he cried upon realizing that the Marines had finally spotted their tiny ship and were now firing at them.

"Gum Gum Balloon!" Luffy jumped into the air, inflating his body and bouncing the oncoming cannonball away from the ship. "Yosh, let's go!" he shouted.

"H-h-hold on!" Usopp sputtered as the Merry hurriedly started to sail away from the Marine stronghold that was still firing at them. "How are we going to find him?" he asked.

"With Chopper's nose" Luffy responded.

"Gotcha" the reindeer nodded.

"Oh, I get it" Sanji said.

"That cannot possibly work" Usopp deadpanned.

"We won't know unless we try" Skylar hummed. "Besides, animals do have a strong sense of smell" she smiled.

"Don't worry, leave the rest to the navigator!" Nami grinned.

"Are things always this lively?" Robin asked.

"Yep, almost every day" Zoro nodded as he wrapped an arm around Skylar's waist, causing the brunette's cheeks to flare up in slight embarrassment even as her smile grew.

-Gasparde's Ship-

Shuraiya silently walked by the men passed out asleep around the boiler. Taking a look around, he picked up a nearby axe and held it in his hands for a few seconds before raising it high.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Biera asked as he broke a wine bottle and pointed it at the brunet. "I won't let you touch her" he glared.

"You've sure got a lot of guts considering the state your body's in" Shuraiya remarked.

"Don't make me laugh" Biera scoffed. "I just think this boiler here's cute—I don't give a shit what that arrogant bastard wants" he confessed.

"You sure you can talk about him like that?" Shuraiya raised an eyebrow. "You're his underling" he reminded him.

"I'm a boiler stoker, don't compare me to a pirate" Biera corrected as he held up the broken bottle.

"You sure are a weird old man" the brunet remarked.

"You think you're one to talk, boy? It's bad enough that you work under that arrogant bastard too" Biera frowned. "Hey, give me a hand—an old man needs help. Hurry up, dammit…" he grunted as he almost fell over when attempting to walk closer. Quickly, Shuraiya caught the old man before gently sitting him down. "I don't give a shit who you are, but I won't let you hurt her" he groaned.

"I hear you—I wasn't trying to destroy this nostalgic ship anyways" Shuraiya admitted. "I just wanted to start a little commotion to create a chance to take him down."

"So you can't take him head-on? I wonder if you can even do it at all" Biera pondered. "I see!" he laughed the minute he saw the brunet grin. "So it's Gasparde that you're after. If my body would only listen to me, I wouldn't mind helping you—" he was cut off by the sudden coughing fit that hit him.

"You seem to be in bad shape, old man" Shuraiya remarked.

"I can't die just yet, I have to see Anaguma…" Biera groaned.

"Anaguma?" Shuraiya questioned.

"My assistant—going off to kill pirates to save my old life…that bastard Gasparde…gave a gun to Anaguma! A mere child!" Biera glared as his jaw tightened.

"Oh, that kid" Shuraiya said, remembering the child who had almost bumped into him on the island.

"You've met?" Biera asked.

"Yeah, we crossed paths—he was carrying a gun over his overalls" Shuraiya nodded. "Just give up on him" he said, having no faith that the child was still alive.

"What was that?!" Biera snapped as he stood and snatched up the front of the brunet's jacket. "You think I'll let that kid die? Pirates are all weak cowards and with Gasparde as their boss, they'd take the life of a child in a heartbeat!" he sneered as he shook the young man around. "Guys like that…that kid…has to still be alive!"

"All the pirates I've faced up until now have been the same—they'll take anything precious to someone else…" the brunet bitterly mumbled.

"Friend…you remember something?" the old man curiously asked.

"No, I don't" Shuraiya responded.

"You said this ship was nostalgic, why was that? You aren't just here after Gasparde, are you?" Biera curiously questioned. "Is it revenge? No, never mind…just tell me…who are you?" he asked.

"You're in bad shape, don't stress yourself, old man" Shuraiya responded, avoiding the man's question. "It's been a long time since I've seen a steamship—it caught my eye, that's all" he explained as he started to leave the boiler room. "My father was a shipwright and I was born in a shipyard town. My sister and I went to see this ship in drydock at the port and then Gasparde came eight years ago" slowly he recalled as he remembered that awful day. "Fewer than 100 people survived, not one soul more" he coldly finished.

"Wasn't there any other way to survive?" Biera asked. "I know how much you must want revenge."

"What do you know?!" Shuraiya snapped before settling down. "Just kidding, this has nothing to do with you and besides, it's too late—the smell of blood has soaked into my soul" he confessed as he kicked a discarded shovel up and grabbed it. "I've trained myself and deceived people…I need to finish myself off too. I'm going to borrow this."

"You idiot, live…if you stay alive—"

"Old man, it's too late—see ya" Shuraiya waved as he left. "I hope Anaguma-kun is alive and well."

"Friend…what's your name?" Biera curiously asked.

"Shuraiya, Shuraiya Bascud" the brunet answered before finally leaving with old memories playing through his mind.

"Come, bounty hunter—if you let me have some fun" Gasparde said as the brunet made his way up onto deck. "I'll play with you any time you like, but I don't think it'll take long" he confessed as he looked the young man over. "I heard your story—I had a feeling you weren't here after my bounty. You've done well for yourself those eight years" he remarked, impressed just the slightest. "I don't remember any kids, but you seem like a good way to cure my boredom and I would…but Needless insisted on eliminating you himself. I'll just sit here and watch."

"I don't care which one of you goes first" Shuraiya said as he blocked the attacks that Needless quickly sent his way with the shovel he had borrowed. "You're just another target" he glared as the man quickly disappeared and reappeared behind him, forcing him to dodge the attack sent his way and kick the man in the face. Soon, Shuraiya started to retaliate with his own attacks, swinging his shovel at Needless before eventually having it knocked away as a swift kick was delivered to his stomach.

"Oi, don't break the ship" Gasparde scowled when he noticed that the two had started to cause some damage to his ship. Shuraiya grunted as he stood, clutching his stomach and frowning as Needless started to laugh—the brunet's hat now stuck to the claws of his glove.

"That's one…" Shuraiya grunted.

Down below in the boiler room, Biera's face was buried in his hands as memories of his own flooded his mind. Memories of a child he had found.

Back up on deck, one of the masts broke and fell over due to the force that Shuraiya had smashed into it—he and Needless were now covered from head to toe in bruises. Needless shot towards the brunet, throwing him into a nearby wall the minute he attempted to stand.

"I said not to break it" Gasparde glared as Shuraiya once again pushed himself to stand. Lifting his leg, he started to kick Needless in the face before eventually being thrown up into the air and on top of the railing of the nearby stairs. As soon as he slid back down, Needless prepared to strike him with his claws before suddenly being kicked in the face once again by the brunet.

"Yeah, you're next!" Shuraiya sneered as he grabbed the shovel he had dropped and started to advance toward the former Marine.

"That man is mine to kill" Needless glared as he stood up behind the brunet. "You can't have him."

"Perverted bastard!" Shuraiya snapped as he dodged the attack that was sent his way and hopped up on top of the paddle wheel. Needless threw many attacks at the brunet who in return blocked each of them until his shovel finally broke and he was hit in the head.

"Die!" Needless sneered as he smashed his elbow into the brunet's face. "It's over!" he proclaimed—lifting his clawed hand, he smashed it downwards…only for Shuraiya to roll out of the way and allow the claws to instead pierce through the metal and into the paddle wheel. Needless hurriedly pulled his hand out of the glove the minute he realized that it was stuck in the paddle wheel.

"Later" Shuraiya waved as he smashed the broken shovel against Needless' skull, knocking the man off the ship entirely and into the raging water below.

"Hey, look over there!" one of Gasparde's men pointed, finally noticing that Shuraiya was now confronting Gasparde as the ship slowly started to change direction.

Down below deck, Biera turned a wheel as smoke slowly started to fill the room.

"Damn fools, stopping the paddle wheel like that—are they trying to blow the boiler?" the old man grumbled. "That day…could it be?" he questioned, eyes wandering upwards.

Back up on deck, Shuraiya lifted his now broken shovel and slashed it towards Gasparde's head. His eyes widened the minute he saw that instead of piercing the man's skull as intended, the blonde's head split in half to show it was made of candy-like syrup.

"There it is…the power of the Candy Candy Fruit" one of the surrounding men grinned. "The boss can't be hurt by guns or fists!" he proclaimed as the Gasparde's head morphed back together.

"You monster!" Shuraiya sneered.

Slowly, Biera made his way up onto the deck—stopping to look at what had caused all the ruckus and find out why exactly the paddle wheel had stopped so suddenly.

"The fights over" one of Gasparde's men snickered as he and the rest stared down at the brunet's banged-up body which was now sprawled out on the ground.

"What? That's all?" Gasparde frowned. "I thought I'd have more fun than this—you're not fit to be a chew toy, you bore me" he huffed, kicking the brunet away just as the Going Merry started to near the ship. "I'll crush your head, trash!" he sneered as he raised his foot and prepared to crush the bounty hunter's head.

"Gasparde!" Luffy loudly shouted, causing the blonde's foot to miss the smaller man's head by just an inch.

"Who the hell is that?" one of Gasparde's men asked as they peered out towards the approaching ship and the teen who stood on top of its rather adorable figurehead.

"He looks pretty pissed" one of the men noted.

"Is he from the race?"

"Who cares?"

"Give him a cannonball to snack on!"

"This has to be some kind of joke, we really sniffed our way here" Usopp said in disbelief, causing Skylar to snort as she gave Anaguma's hand a comforting squeeze.

"You didn't believe me?!" Chopper gaped.

"Yeah, Usopp, how dare you to doubt Chopper's sniffing abilities" Skylar chuckled. "I know your nose is bigger, but his is more sensitive" she teasingly grinned, laughing at the shout the sniper gave to her slight jab at his nose's size.

"The paddle wheel has stopped—guess there's been some action over there" Nami noted. "Luffy, go ahead and bust a move!" she ordered the minute a cannonball was fired at the ship and missed.

"Right!" the rubber man nodded as he started to spin his arm around. "Gum Gum Pistol!" he shot his fist forward and struck the side of the Salamander. "And Rocket!" soon, he shot himself toward the ship—knocking almost all of the crew aboard over by the force with Biera being the only lucky one to get out of the way.

"What?" the old man gaped.

"I'm here" Luffy said.

"What is he?" one of the men asked.

"He's that rubber man we saw in Hannabal!" another realized, recognizing the teen

"He's here again!" the men immediately rushed forward towards the rubber man, ready to attack.

"Gum Gum Whip!" Luffy stretched his leg out and swept it over the men, knocking them off the ship as well as toppling over one of the other masts.

"Hey, sounds like he's having fun" Sanji remarked as the Going Merry finally pulled up beside the Salamander. "Make sure you take us straight there."

"Right" Anaguma nodded as they squeezed Skylar's hand.

"That guy has a habit of getting lost" Sanji warned the child as he pointed at Zoro, causing Skylar to laugh.

"Shut your hole!" the swordsman snapped.

"Come now, you know that it's true" Skylar giggled, sticking her tongue out at the swordsman the minute he turned his glare towards her.

"Yosh! I'll be back up, so go about your business" Usopp told the three as Sanji threw a rope ladder up to the bigger ship.

"What's that badass look for?" Zoro raised an eyebrow as he looked at the sharpshooter.

"I'm surprised you made it here" Gasparde said as he looked at Luffy. "I guess that 30,000,000 on your head isn't just for show and what do you want? You wanna end up like him?" he asked, motioning towards Shuraiya.

"Huh? What are you doing here?" Luffy asked as he looked down at the brunet.

"This is what happens to those who come after me—although I'll admit, he did put on a good show" Gasparde confessed. "You look like you have something on your mind" he remarked.

"Why did you do it?" Luffy asked.

"Do what?" Gasparde questioned, confused for a minute. "Oh, you mean the stronghold?" he realized. "Anything goes in this race, I've no time to listen to complaints."

"You're strong, right?" Luffy questioned. "You didn't need to do something like that" he argued.

"That doesn't matter, it was just a little game" the ex-Marine dismissively waved.

"A game?" the rubber man frowned.

"Yeah, a game" Gasparde nodded. "If I didn't entertain myself, this boring shit of an ocean would be unbearable. You're just a lousy bunch of pirates with pointless dreams, buried treasure, untold treasures—what kind of shit is that?" he insulted. "All you need is power—you can have anything and anyone pitiful enough not to understand that deserves to be crushed by me. By tripling the prize money, we get some interesting participants and if anyone survived, I'd have rewarded them by letting them join me" he confessed. "It's that kind of game, perfect for curing my boredom."

"I get it, so you're that bookie's accomplice" Sanji said as he climbed aboard the Salamander.

"Hey, put me down!" Anaguma demanded, not liking that the swordsman was the one carrying them.

"Don't be too hasty…" Zoro grumbled as he and Skylar finally climbed aboard the Salamander.

"He's probably already left the island with all the prize money" Sanji pointed out as Anaguma continued to struggle in Zoro's grasp before getting out and jumping toward Skylar. Quickly, the brunette wrapped her arms around the child and held them close.

"Looks like he likes me better" Skylar teased, propping the child on her hip as the swordsman grumbled in response.

"Over there! That's Grandpa!" Anaguma pointed to Beria before wrapping their arms tightly around Skylar's neck. Zoro couldn't help but growl as he watched how the brunette's attention seemed to solely be focused on the child in her arms—he couldn't help but slightly dislike this whole adventure due to the teen paying more attention to this child than him.

"What's with the growl?" Skylar questioned with a raised brow, a sly grin spreading across her lips as she watched the swordsman jolt with a blush. "Jealous?" she teased, quickly nailing him on the head much to his embarrassment.

"N-no!" Zoro embarrassingly snapped, causing the brunette to laugh.

"I'll be right there…" Anaguma mumbled to themselves as they looked up at Skylar, silently asking her to start making her way over to the old man. Softly smiling, Skylar nodded before taking off and running across the deck—wanting to help the child reunite with their grandfather quickly.

"Can't say whether he's alive or not though" Gasparde responded to what Sanji had said. "His Eternal Pose was a fake too!" he laughed.

-Elsewhere-

"Shit!" the Bookmaker cursed as his ship was violently tossed around by the waves. "Making a fool of me!" he growled as he finally capsized.

-Gasparde's Ship-

"Grandpa!" Anaguma shouted as Skylar came to a stop and set the child down.

"Anaguma!" Biera brightened.

"Grandpa!" Anaguma tightly wrapped their arms around the old man.

"I'm glad…I'm so glad you're safe, you little idiot" Biera tearfully said, tightly hugging the child back. Skylar smiled at the sight, her gaze soft as she watched how the two silently wept in each other's arms.

"I'm sorry, I came to save you!" Anaguma proclaimed as they pulled away from the old man.

"Save me?" Biera echoed.

"I brought some pirates with me! They said they'd save you" Anaguma motioned towards Skylar with a wide smile as the brunette waved right as Zoro finally caught up to the three.

"Pirates?" Biera questioned, looking at Zoro and Skylar.

"Yeah, I'll tell you about it later" Anaguma nodded. "Right now, let's get out of here! These guys are strong—they'll drop us off at another island and they've got a doctor! You can have him look at you!" they told the old man…though the more they excitedly spoke, the softer their voice became to Biera as he slowly looked over at Luffy and Gasparde. "We're going to live! Just like you always say, stay alive—you were right!

"We'll find a new place to live—something good will happen to us! Let's go, Grandpa!" the child happily exclaimed, bringing a wide smile to Skylar's lips. It warmed her heart to see them so excited to keep on living.

"You…I see…" Biera breathed as he soon directed his attention towards Shuraiya.

"Grandpa?" Anaguma questioned.

"Mr. Swordsman, Miss Swordswoman, I have a favor to ask" Biera suddenly said. "If you don't mind helping this poor old man" he added.

"That's what we came to do" Zoro said. "Come and board our ship" he motioned.

"That's right, we're here to help you and little Anaguma here" Skylar nodded.

"Yosh! Let's go!" Anaguma cheered.

"Before that, I left something in the boiler room—go ahead without me" Biera told the three, causing Skylar's smile to fall…already having an inkling what the man was hinting at. "Okay, Mr. Swordsman, Miss Swordswoman?" he asked.

"Got it" Zoro nodded as Skylar looked to the side before slowly nodding as well.

"Yeah…" she muttered.

"Grandpa?" Anaguma questioned.

"Don't worry, I'll be right behind you" the old man smiled as he patted the top of the child's head.

"Hurry back" Anaguma said, waving as they watched the old man descend back down into the boiler room.

"Let's get going" Zoro motioned.

"Yeah" Anaguma nodded before frowning the minute the swordsman suddenly picked them up. "Hold on, I told you not to do this!" they childishly huffed.

"Man, Zoro, you're just awful with kids" Skylar chuckled as the struggling child once again jumped from the moss-haired man's grasp and into her arms. "Or maybe they just like me more" she playfully suggested, unaware of how true that statement was as the child clung to her like one would their mother.

"Luffy, we're all done here" Zoro said, lowly grumbling to himself as he glared at the kid who in return stuck their tongue out before resting their head on the young teen's bosom. He can admit though that there was something cute about the sight and it did stir something inside him and make him wonder how good of a mother the brunette would make one day.

"Alright" the rubber man nodded.

"What? You're going back already?" Gasparde raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the shorter captain. Skylar only hummed as she carried Anaguma in her arms, lips twitching upwards in an amused smile as she listened to the swordsman beside her lowly grumble to himself. "You went through all this trouble of tracking me down, why not play a little?" the ex-Marine questioned.

"Shut up and let's do this" Luffy frowned. "What have you been flapping your gums about? You some kind of idiot?" he asked, irritating the blond. "I'm not here to play your games and I don't give a damn about all your bragging—all I want to do is kick your ass."

"Nami-swan, we're all done!" Sanji called down to the ginger.

"Then get back down here" the navigator responded. "Something's weird…the weather is really weird…" she mumbled to herself. 'I have a bad feeling about this, but what is it? I've sensed this before' she harshly bit her lower lip as she stared out towards the sea—a gut-wrenching feeling in her stomach.

"If you're not going to fight, then I will" Luffy huffed as he took an offensive position.

"Like I told you, watch your mouth or you'll end up dead!" Gasparde growled.

"Hold it…" Shuraiya groaned as he pushed himself up.

"You" the rubber man said, now directing his attention towards the brunet.

"I was here first" the bounty hunter frowned. "Stay out of this—now, let's get on with the show."

"I don't play with broken toys" Gasparde dismissed, not interested in fighting the brunet.

"Fuck you!" Shuraiya sneered. "For eight years, I've thought about nothing but my revenge against you! My sister, my parents, my friends…you killed them all!" he growled. "I know that I'm being a fool a hundred times over, but I've lived my whole life bathed in my enemies' blood and I can't turn back now! I won't let you go until we're finished, my dear General" he glared, refusing to back down or take no for an answer.

"The very picture of stupidity" Gasparde scoffed.

"Call it what you want—I won't quit, sorry" Shuraiya bitterly spat before stumbling backward the minute Luffy's fist made sudden contact with his face.

Skylar stopped her descent of the ladder to look back up the minute she heard a loud crash. Zoro stopped as well, his gaze moving from the young woman's bottom and up towards the deck as Sanji turned around to face the two who were fighting.

"Move" Luffy calmly said as the brunet fell over unconscious once more.

"What's he doing?" Sanji frowned.

"Yeah, he was in the way—emotional sap" Gasparde remarked. "You've got a smart-ass mouth, but I like you" he grinned.

"Don't make me repeat myself—enough bragging, let's go" Luffy huffed.

"I'll beat that impudent mouth of yours, inside out!" Gasparde sneered as he lifted a fist and swung it down, only for the rubber man to easily doge it. Luffy dodged each punch the former Marine swung at him before finally socking the blond in the stomach himself. He jolted though when his fist suddenly sunk into a candy-like syrup instead of hitting a solid surface.

"What is this?" Luffy frowned as he squirmed his hand around in the green substance. "It feels freaky!"

"The name of the Devil Fruit I ate is the Candy Candy Fruit—it gives me the ability to change my body into candy syrup" Gasparde explained as he stood up.

"Damn" Luffy cursed when he realized that he couldn't get his hand free.

"No matter how strong your punches may be, they mean nothing against me and now, it's show time!" the blond proclaimed as he punched Luffy across the face—knocking the rubber man's hat off. "How's this? You like to dance?" he mockingly asked as he continued to assault the young man with punches.

"Oi! Oi!" Sanji frowned as he prepared to step in.

"Stay out of it, this is his fight" Zoro said, stopping the blond in his tracks. "He'll get mad if you step in."

"He's right, you know how Luffy is" Skylar hummed. "In fact, you should know by now how all of you monsters on this crew are…" she grumbled, aware that Sanji and Zoro were no different from the captain. Just like Luffy, they craved a good fight and hated it when any of the others tried butting in even if they would benefit from such help.

"But that candy bastard's strong" Sanji argued. "Hey, wait here for me" he said as Luffy dropped to his knees, hand still stuck in the former Marine's stomach.

"What's wrong? Had enough?" Gasparde grinned. "Well, I haven't had my fill yet—you'd better let me enjoy this fight—" he stopped as the rubber man punched at his stomach again with his other hand, getting this one stuck as well. "I guess you will."

"Gum Gum" Luffy stretched his head back, right to the area where Sanji was currently.

"Whoa! That still freaks me out!" the blond flinched the minute he saw his captain, not having expected his head to just appear.

"Bell!" Luffy's head shot forward, smashing into the man's stomach and destroying the Marine's upper body—freeing himself from the candy's grasp in the process.

"Worthless" Gasparde spat as his body regenerated.

"Gum Gum Axe!" Luffy stretched his leg up high before smashing it down and once again destroying the upper body of the ex-Marine. "Gum Gum Chomp!" he chomped down on the blond the minute he attempted to regenerate his body once again.

"Enough wasting time!" Gasparde snapped as the candy syrup that Luffy ate leaked out of his mouth and molded itself back into the former Marine. "Do you understand the situation you're in? Quit screwing around!" he scowled.

"I'm always serious!" Luffy snapped.

"Is that so?" Gasparde raised an eyebrow.

"I got out, didn't I?" the rubber man grinned as he made this point.

"Impudent brat, sure about this?" Gasparde asked before looking down at the straw hat that had fallen during their fight. "Leaving your valuable treasure lying here…you got really mad when Needless was about to step on it" he recalled. "It's the important hat "Red Hair" Shanks gave you, right?" he asked.

"He didn't give it to me, I'm just holding it for him!" Luffy screamed, growing angry when the blonde's hand suddenly turned into syrup before hardening into a sharp point. "Don't touch it!" he growled.

"If it's that important to you, then you should protect it" Gasparde smirked as he pointed the sharpened candy down at the hat.

"Stop! If you touch it, you're a dead man!" Luffy snarled.

"Just screaming won't protect anything!" Gasparde snapped.

"Stop!" the rubber man's blood started to boil the minute the sharp piece of candy pierced straight through the straw hat. "Bastard!" he growled, remembering the day Shanks had given him that hat.

"There, now maybe you'll fight a little more seriously—" Gasparde grunted as the rubber man punched him in the face, cutting his cheek in the process.

"Give hat back!" the teen angrily roared.

"Such a serious look you've got there—alright then, catch!" Gasparde threw the damaged straw hat towards Luffy, ripping it in the process.

"W-what's going on? I can't see the deck from here!" Usopp frowned as Anaguma clutched Skylar's hand, the brunette only giving it a comforting squeeze as she stared up towards the deck as well.

'This storm is definitely strange—it takes a lot of energy to make the sea rise like this. A huge surge of energy…like…' Nami's eyes slowly widened as she remembered what the Bookmaker had said. "Guys, hurry! Get ready to leave!" she suddenly shouted, startling the crew. "Bascud Island is nearby, let's go there!"

"But, Sanji and Luffy—"

"We're just getting ready!" Nami interrupted, her sharp tone scaring Anaguma as the child quickly took shelter behind Skylar. "Luffy, please don't take too long, a huge cyclone is almost upon us!" she worriedly bit her bottom lip as she stared up towards the deck of the Salamander.

Gasparde spun Luffy around and around before tossing him across the deck. Shaking his head at his harsh landing, the rubber man rushed at the blond—ready to attack before stopping as he was struck in the stomach.

Down below the deck, Biera was once again turning that same wheel from before.

"I'm sorry" he apologized, looking towards the boiler. "It must be painful, but I'm here with you."

"What are you doing, geezer?" one of the men still aboard the ship asked.

"You guys are still here?" the old man questioned.

"Never mind, what are you making all that noise for" the man curiously asked.

"That straw hat guy is fighting Gasparde, everyone else was thrown off board" Biera explained, causing the men's jaws to drop. "You guys are the only ones left and the ship is about to sink—you should probably get away while you still can" he suggested as the men took off, none of them wishing to stick around any longer.

"Huh?" Sanji raised an eyebrow, stopping and shifting the two bags of flour on his shoulders as he watched a group of men suddenly scamper past him. "Oi, old man!" he called out the minute he entered the boiler room.

"Who are you?" Biera warily asked.

"Well…oh yeah, I'm one of the Straw Hat Pirates" Sanji answered.

"What are you waiting for? Get off the ship!" Biera snapped.

"You're his grandfather, right? That kid's waiting for you" Sanji pointed out.

"Sorry, but just save Anaguma—there's another kid who needs saving too" Biera told the blond. "I have to watch over things here until the end, now get out of here! I've shut all the locks on the boiler, it'll explode in a matter of minutes" he explained.

Back on the deck, Luffy went flying backward as soon as the ex-Marine punched him once again.

"Luffy…" Chopper worriedly muttered as he listened to the commotion that floated down from the deck of the Salamander.

"Is he alright?" Usopp nervously asked as Anaguma watched with wide eyes, burying themselves into Skylar's side as she gently patted their back, wearing a worried expression on her face.

"It's definitely headed this way" Robin noted as she stared out at the sea. "It'll hit us head-on."

"Bastard!" Luffy sneered as he sat up from where he had been thrown across the Naval ship's deck.

"Pathetic fool" Gasparde frowned. "Standing up after taking all those punches—oh, the storm's getting worse" he noted as he looked around at the harsh sea. "It's about time we finished this."

"I told you, you'd be a dead man" Luffy said, turning as he shot his fist towards the ex-Marine…only for the attack to miss.

"Enough of your weak attacks" Gasparde growled as Luffy's hands stretched upwards and grabbed the top of the remaining mast. "So this is all that 30,000,000 is worth? I guess against my 95,000,000 you never really had a chance" he boasted as he turned one of his hands into syrup before hardening it into a sharpened point once more. "But I'll be sure to make your death painless—I'm such a kind man."

"Gum Gum Flower Arrangement!" Luffy broke off part of the mast just as Gasparde prepared to attack, sending the broken piece of wood straight at the ex-Marine. Sanji came to a screeching halt the minute the former Marine's body fell in front of him—the broken piece from the mast piercing through his chest. "Gum Gum Spear" the cook winced as his captain kicked the broken makeshift spear further into the larger man's body.

"Oi, you done? The ship's about to sink" Sanji warned, looking towards his captain as soon as the rubber man landed back on the deck. "We've got to get out of here."

"Go without me, this'll take a little longer" Luffy told the blond.

"That actually hurt" Gasparde suddenly spoke up, showing he was still awake. "When I'm not syrup, my body is normal—it's been a long time since I've felt pain" he remarked as his body became nothing but a running mass of candied syrup that threw the broken mast out of it.

"No, normally that would do worse than just hurt" Sanji deadpanned. "Oh well, we'll get the ship out of here and come back for you later" he told Luffy. "Any problem with that?" he asked.

"Nope" the rubber man shook his head.

"Then take these" Sanji said, placing the bags of flour on his captain's shoulders.

"What are these?" Luffy curiously asked.

"Use them" was all Sanji said before running off. "Gotta go" he waved.

"Oi!" Luffy called out to the cook who continued to run.

"Sanji" Chopper gasped as the blond hopped down onto the deck.

"Where were you?" Nami asked.

"I'll tell you later, just get us outta here—it's dangerous" Sanji responded.

"Yeah, we've got to go, but…what about Luffy?" Nami raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, weren't you bringing back the old man?" Usopp asked, the minute he noticed that the blond was alone.

"He's going to blow up the boiler, there's less than a minute left" Sanji informed the crew, causing Anaguma's eyes to widen.

Back in the boiler room, Biera calmly stood in front of the boiler—watching as steam started to burst through the pipes as the pressure within it began to build up.

"Screw that!" Anaguma snapped, shaking the blond. "Go back! Why didn't you save Grandpa?! How could you do that?!" they angrily asked. "Why did you come back without him?! You said you'd rescue him, why?!" they ranted.

"What about Luffy?" Usopp asked as Skylar gently tried to calm the crying child.

"Well come back for him" Sanji said as Zoro struck the back of Anaguma's head, knocking the crying child out. Skylar was quick to react, catching the kid before they could hit the ground as she angrily glared up at the swordsman.

"Zoro!" she and Chopper snapped.

"He's better off like this" Zoro defended, narrowing his eyes as he watched Skylar tightly hold the child close while Chopper rushed over towards the two to check and make sure the kid was alright.

"How could you do that?" the reindeer frowned as he removed the child's hat and let their long hair fall loose.

"Didn't you notice?" Skylar asked as the crew stared in shock.

"This kid, this kid is a girl" the reindeer scolded.

"It's quite rude to hit a lady…" Skylar bitterly muttered, gently stroking her fingers through Anaguma's hair as Chopper continued to chew the swordsman out. She was well aware that Anaguma was a girl, having realized rather quickly after the child started clinging to her. It was impossible not for her to realize seeing how for three years she had disguised herself as a man on and off back on Fair Haven. She didn't think to tell any of the others as she assumed the child had a good reason to disguise their real gender—most likely a better one compared to her when she had chosen on a whim to keep up her façade as a man back near the beginning of her travels with the crew. A whim that had many reasonings behind it—some that have been stated despite how silly they may sound to others and some that haven't because she refuses to even acknowledge their existence due to how much they scare her.

Back on the Salamander, Shuraiya gained consciousness once more as he looked towards the ongoing fight that was raging between Luffy and Gasparde. Narrowing his eyes, he clenched his jaw as he watched the two. It wasn't long before an explosion suddenly rang out and blew the Marine ship apart.

"Oi…is Luffy alright?" Usopp thickly swallowed as he and some of the others stared back at the now-destroyed ship. Skylar felt her chest tighten with worry for her captain as she directed her attention down to the child in her arms—trying to find something to distract herself from the horrid thoughts that were now running through her head of bad scenarios.

"Dunno" Zoro shrugged, staying close to the brunette who still seemed to be upset with him.

"Dunno?! The whole ship just blew up and if he did survive, he's a Hammer!" Usopp exclaimed. "Why'd that old man have to do that?" he frowned.

"He has his reasons" Zoro responded, attempting to rest a hand on the brunette's shoulder…only to flinch at the harsh glare she sent his way with those cold eyes of hers. He heaved a small sigh, understanding her frustration towards him even if he didn't like it. She's always had a soft spot for those younger than her, even when they were kids themselves she showed herself to be gentle towards the smaller kids. She was the perfect example of the type of child who would happily carry a baby doll around with them and dote on it like a mother despite their young age.

"What reasons? I don't understand!" Usopp frowned as Skylar rested Anaguma's head in her lap while Chopper draped a cold rag over her forehead. Curiously, the reindeer stared up at his friend—wondering why the young woman had taken such a motherly attitude towards the child so quickly. A small smile tugged at his lips though at the loving look the brunette wore before he got to work in tending to the young girl some more. From the corner of their eyes, the rest of the crew watched.

They couldn't deny the strange bond that had formed between their friends and the child. Something that became understandable with the motherly love she gave to the child—a love that every child craved.

"Turn us around! We have to help Luffy!" Usopp suddenly shouted, dragging everyone's attention back towards him.

"Wait" Robin said. "He's alive, but so is Gasparde" she told the crew, having used her powers to sprout an eye on a piece of broken wood on the damaged ship so she could watch the fight.

"Huh? What happened?" Luffy asked as he sat up, looking around in a slight daze as he held onto the bags of flour that Sanji had given him. "It just blew up all of a sudden…how come?" he frowned. "Where'd that bastard go? Did he sink?" he asked, looking around again when he finally realized he couldn't see the ex-Marine.

"I'm up here" Gasparde called down to the rubber man.

"So there you are!" Luffy glared up at the former Marine who immediately shot spikes of candy towards him—striking one of the flour bags on his shoulder.

"You've been worth the adversary" Gasparde said as the teen now found himself coated head to toe in flour. "I rather liked this ship—your underlings ran away too" he noted, realizing that the other pirate's ship was now gone.

"They're not my underlings, they're my nakama!" Luffy corrected. "I don't have any underlings on my ship" he glared.

"I was wondering what you'd say—what's that supposed to mean?' Gasparde asked. "A pirate making friends with his crew? Bullshit!" he scoffed. "On this sea, there are those who rule and those who are ruled! Power is everything!" he proclaimed. "That's why I left the Marines and became a pirate! I despise the sea, but with power, I can rule it all!" he laughed.

"That's why I said you're trash—you don't know anything" Luffy said. "That's why you can sprout crap like that. Anyone who doesn't believe in his nakama can't fly a flag and call himself a pirate" frowned. "Anyone I meet like that, I kick their ass! Like I'm going to do now!"

"Interesting, you're the first one to give me so much trouble" Gasparde hummed. "To repay a toy's tendency, I'll play with you 'til the very end. Listen, there are lifeboats below and then there's that" he pointed towards the large cyclone that was nearby.

"Wha—? What the hell is that?!" Luffy shouted.

"In a storm like this, this boat will get trapped in that cyclone—it's a perfect setting for those like us who have obtained powers and become Hammers" Gasparde explained. "Simply put, whoever wins gets to live—here I come" and with that, he shot the candy spikes toward the teen once more who in return shot his fist toward him. "I've got you" he grinned the minute Luffy's hand got stuck in his chest as one of his candy's spikes pierced through the young man's side. "Just another example of your stupidity—how?" he became baffled the minute the rubber man yanked his hand free with ease.

"Why didn't his hand stick?" the ex-Marine mumbled, frowning as Luffy stared at the white powder on his hand before tossing the other bag of flour at the blond. "What is this powder? Flour?" he sputtered before grunting the minute Luffy kicked him.

"If you can't keep up with me, then here I come" the teen huffed. "Gum Gum Gatling Gun" he attacked the former Marine with a barrage of punches, his arms moving so fast that it gave off the illusion that there were multiple fists. "You're the only one who's playing pirates, Gasparde!" he shouted as he snatched up the front of the blonde's shirt. "But this is where it ends—Gum Gum Bow Gun!" he started to spin his body around before tossing the ex-Marine into the air.

"It's not over yet, Straw Hat!" Gasparde growled, grabbing hold of the ship as not to fall into the water. "It's my turn—I'll pierce right through you!" he snarled, turning his body into a mass of spiked candy before falling towards the rubber man.

"Gum Gum…" Luffy stretched his arms back.

"Fool! Can't you see the spikes?" Gasparde glared. "Die!"

"Bazooka!" Luffy shot his arms forward and smashed them into the man's stomach, causing the blond to groan in pain as his body went flying before crashing straight into the cyclone. "I…I finally sent that guy flying…I win…" the teen panted, blood dripping down his hands from where he had hit them head-on into the spikes. "Serves him right…" he muttered before finally falling over.

-Straw Hats-

"It's coming right for them!" Nami worriedly gasped as she stared out of the entrance of the cave that the crew had taken shelter in.

"Luffy…why isn't he back yet?" Usopp frowned. "If he doesn't get here soon, he'll be in real trouble" he whimpered as Skylar tightly held Anaguma close to her, her heart painfully thundering in her chest in worry for both her captain and the still-sleeping child. She didn't even resist the swordsman who had thrown an arm around her and pressed her body into his side. Now holding her close in an attempt to comfort her.

"Don't panic" Zoro said, rubbing his hand up and down the young woman's arm as she rested her head against his shoulder.

"Aren't you worried?" the sharpshooter asked.

"That guy always comes through, let's believe in our captain" Zoro said, bringing a small smile to Skylar's lips even as the storm outside blew away what remained of the ruined Naval ship.

-Next Day-

"This is a joke, right?" Shuraiya asked as he sat in the lifeboat. "I'm alive."

"It's no joke" Biera answered him, donning a lot of life preservers.

"Old man, what's with the outfit?" the brunet asked.

"I struggled like hell to keep myself alive—dragging a couple more with me was quite the challenge, I can tell you" Biera told him.

"Straw Hat?" Shuraiya questioned as he cast a glance toward the bandaged-up man.

"He really is something…he took down Gasparde" the old man said.

"Then there was no reason to save me—I have no more reason to live, defeating Gasparde was my reason for living and Straw Hat beat me to it" Shuraiya bitterly spat. "My life has lost all meaning…" he depressingly muttered.

"I can't say that I agree with you" Biera shook his head. "God often tells us to live on" he said.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're carrying quite a large old wound."

"You saw it?"

"Yep, that's why I know—didn't you say you had a sister?" Biera asked, watching as the brunet nodded. "She's alive" he revealed.

"What are you talking about?" Shuraiya frowned as he shifted. "On that day, eight years ago, my little sister—"

"On that day, I saved a child from the river" Biera cut in. "A girl only three years old—she only remembered her name, Adelle Bascud."

"Grandpa! Hey, Grandpa!" Adelle wildly waved as Skylar held her close while Usopp stood close by. "Grandpa! Hey, Grandpa!" tears were slowly welling up in her eyes as the brunette who held her widely smiled. Shuraiya stared at the three, his gaze focused on the little girl.

"Life is interesting—if you stay alive, good things are bound to happen" Biera said as he waved over at the three. Soon they found themselves safely on the Merry and sailing onwards. "Thanks for giving her these clothes" he thanked, looking to Nami.

"I wore that when I was young" the ginger smiled.

"Old man, you never intended to die after all" Sanji said.

"Me? You idiot, I said I was going to watch until the end, not die" Biera frowned as Skylar lightly stroked Adelle's hair—the young girl's back to everyone as leaned against the brunette.

"This is one big awkward moment" Usopp whispered.

"Well, of course, discovering that they're siblings all of a sudden" Nami agreed.

"Hat!" Luffy suddenly wailed.

"Cheer up—we looked all over the place, I understand how you feel" Sanji said as Skylar perked up the minute Adelle suddenly tugged on her shirt and motioned for her to lean down. Curiously, Zoro watched as the child whispered something to the brunette, causing the teen to frown and bite her lower lip in worry before lowly whispering back to the kid.

"Hat!" Luffy cried again.

"Here" Shuraiya suddenly threw a torn-up straw hat toward the rubber man.

"Ah! Hat!" Luffy gasped as he picked up his hat with a wide smile.

"You" Usopp blinked as he stared at the bounty hunter.

"You said that it was important to you, right?" the brunet asked. "It was lying at my feet, so I picked it up" he shrugged, acting as if it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Thanks, you're a great guy!" Luffy brightly smiled, causing Skylar's gaze to soften as she smiled as well. "Nami, fix it again" he said, quickly turning to the ginger.

"Alright, alright" she said as she took the hat.

-Later-

"Land ho!" Luffy shouted the minute he spotted the island up ahead.

"That's the goal island" Nami said. "It's right on course with the Log Pose the old man gave us, which means…" she widely grinned alongside Luffy and Chopper.

"We win!" the three happily cheered.

"There's no need to be shy" Biera said as he walked over to Shuraiya who stood away from the group.

"It's not that…it's just I don't qualify…" he quietly admitted.

"Don't qualify?" Beria questioned. "What are you talking about?" he frowned.

"I've hurt so many to achieve my goal—I'm no different from Gasparde, I'm…" Shuraiya trailed off as his gaze became downcast.

"What's all that? That's what you're worrying about?" Biera raised an eyebrow. "From now on, if you can acknowledge your past then you can set yourself straight" he huffed. "You should think about walking forward from now on—she's ready to take the first step" he pointed back towards Adelle who was currently clinging to Skylar's side. She looked rather nervous and a little wary of the older man who she discovered was her brother. "There's no need to rush—think about it, you can start anew."

"T-the Marines!" Usopp suddenly cried.

"Why are they here?" Nami frowned.

"Wait a second, those are the same guys that were chasing us before the race" Sanji realized as the crew quickly ushered Adelle, Shuraiya, and Biera onto the lifeboat the old man had used to bring the bounty hunter and pirate safety.

"Hm?" Skylar hummed as Adelle suddenly grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her down towards her before she entered the lifeboat. Bending down to be at eye level with the child, she held her arms out before tightly embracing her the minute she saw the pleading look she was given.

"Please…" Adelle quietly mumbled, pulling back to once again look at the teen—silently pleading for her to come with. She loved her grandfather and she was certain that she could come to love her new big brother as well, but she didn't like the idea of leaving the brunette behind. She didn't like the idea of having to leave someone who brought such a comforting warmth to her chest. Skylar only smiled as she gently moved strands of Adelle's hair away from her face before whispering something to the young girl that the crew didn't catch.

But even though they didn't know what she said, they couldn't help but smile at the soft kiss she placed on the child's forehead before standing up.

"It's all going to be okay, I promise" Skylar said, helping Adelle onto the lifeboat as the child nodded, brightly smiling up at the brunette.

"I've been waiting for you pirates" the Marine Captain of the approaching Naval ship said the minute he spotted the Going Merry. "I'm going to capture you and see you hanged."

"Major, we need to have a trail first" one of the Marines reminded him.

"I know that!" the Captain snapped. "All ships, full speed ahead! Purse them to the death, in the name of unyielding justice!" he ordered.

"Why? Just tell them that you saved us!" Adelle exclaimed.

"They'll never listen to us" Usopp told the young girl.

"We are pirates, after all—we have to retreat in these situations" Nami said.

"But we'll be fine, it's not like this is anything new" Skylar gently smiled.

"But…" Adelle frowned.

"You're going to live somewhere where the sun can reach you—you can't be seen with criminals" Nami pointed out.

"But…" Adelle tried again as tears slowly started to well in her eyes.

"Don't say that your life has no meaning ever again, see ya" Nami smiled.

"Stay well" Usopp said.

"Be sure to become a fine lady" Sanji waved.

"And to do that, you should take care in the way you speak" Robin added.

"Work hard" Zoro said.

"Take care of yourself" Chopper widely smiled as Adelle looked to Skylar once more who only gave a sad smile.

"You'll do great things in life, so no matter, just keep smiling for me" she said before looking towards Shuraiya and Biera. "Be sure to take good care of her" she smiled as the two nodded. Wiping her tears, Adelle brightly smiled up at the brunette as she sniffed.

"You think you saved us? Whatever" Shuraiya scoffed as he looked up at Luffy. "I don't want to see you ever again—get out of here, you damn pirate" he waved.

"Sure" Luffy smiled as he cut the rope that attached the two boats. "Bye, take care" he waved, jumping around as the Merry started to sail away.

"You take care too and everyone, thank you!" Adelle waved back.

"Old man, even though this might not be the right time" Shuraiya said as he looked at Biera. "For now, the first step you spoke of, I'm ready to take it as well" he confessed.

"I see" Biera nodded.

The townspeople watched as the Marines chased after the Straw Hats, driving them away from the end goal.

"What? The ship is leaving?!" one of the men in the crowd gaped.

"So there's no winner this year? Oh well, that's that" another said. "Who's that sorry lot?" he asked, curious to know who would have won if the Marines hadn't arrived.

"Let's see, the flag has a skull wearing a straw hat."

"What? That guy's the talk of the town!"

"Talk of the town?"

"Yeah, he has a really high bounty—it just went up recently! I think it was 100,000,000 belis!"

"That's more than Gasparde's!"

"This is a surprise" Zoro hummed as the Merry continued to sail onwards, his arms wrapped tightly around Skylar who seemed to be trying her best to contain her laughter upon seeing the sullen expression on Nami's face.

"What?" the ginger muttered.

"The prize money—you passed up what was a 300,000,000 prize" Zoro clarified, amazed the ginger had insisted they finish the race instead of running away from the Marines.

"It couldn't be helped" Nami said as she began to tremble. "We had no choice, right?!" she snapped as she got into the sword users' faces. Skylar leaned back more into the swordsman's chest, her own body shaking with laughter as she stared at the angry woman before. Instead of being afraid, she found great amusement in the navigator's seething rage. "That damned Bookmaker—he was working with Gasparde!

"I'll never forgive them!" she growled as Skylar soon found herself trying desperately to pry the angry woman off of Zoro.

"Nami, you need to stop choking him or he's going to die!" she cried, trying to rip the navigator away from the swordsman.

"B-but at least you have your life" Zoro choked.

"Zoro, no! That's just going to make her angrier!" Skylar exclaimed.

"Oh, just let it go—don't fret so much" Luffy piped up, causing Nami to now turn her glare on the rubber man. "We got our whole journey ahead of us, something's bound to turn up."

"That's right, Nami-san" Sanji agreed. "Besides, we should think of what we're going to do about them" he said, motioning towards the Marine ships that were still giving chase.

"Stop there, you filth!" the Marine Captain barked.

"Aargh! I'm tired of being poor pirates" Nami groaned.

"Are you alright?" Skylar worriedly asked as she peered down at the fallen swordsman.

"I might need mouth-to-mouth" Zoro responded with a straight face, before wincing as the top of his head was struck.

"Idiot!" Skylar blushed, crossing her arms as she looked away in embarrassment.

"Why is everyone always so happy?" Nami sighed as Luffy started laughing. "Listen up! Hurry up and lose those ships so we can go to the next island, on the double!"

"Yes, Nami-swan!" Sanji swooned.

"Yosh! Full speed ahead to becoming Pirate King!" Luffy cheered. "Let's go to our next adventure, guys!"

"Aye!"

---

A/N: Enjoy

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