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.

3. One Piece Movie Five (Rewritten)

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

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-One Piece Movie Five: The Cursed Holy Sword-

-Flashback-

"Pirates!" a villager screamed as the village of Asuka Island was set ablaze. Desperately, villagers ran from the threat that now invaded their homes, with some being unfortunate enough to be cut down.

"Boys, let's get to work!" one of the pirates shouted, urging his comrades further into the village.

"Aye!" the others nodded, eager to follow.

"Hurry! To the mountains!" Izaya ordered the panicked villagers who hadn't taken up arms to fight back against the threat. "Now, hurry!" she urged, wanting to avoid any more casualties.

"Wait" Saga frowned, taking a protective stance in front of Maya after her sword was knocked from her hand. He winced as he blocked the pirates' ruthless attacks, just barely able to push back against the man who clearly had the upper hand against him. Luckily, he and Maya were able to escape as the pirates became briefly distracted by the burning buildings around them. Hastily, they fled towards the sacred palace, sprinting as the pirates soon gave chase after them. Once inside, Saga did his best to protect Maya—blocking each of the attacks the pirates sent his way as they forced them deeper into the temple before the door could seal shut.

Painfully, he groaned as one of the thugs finally landed a hit—slashing their sword across his chest and knocking him back. Quickly, Maya took a protective stance in front of Saga…only to cry out as she was violently slapped out of the way by one of the men. Stumbling backward and still stunned by the damage he had suffered, Saga's body fell back against the massive tomb that rested in the middle of the room. Unintentionally, he pushed the already cracked lid further open, revealing the sword that rested inside.

"Saga, c'mon, c'mon" Maya whimpered from the ground as the pirate who had knocked her down towered over her—his sword raised high and ready to strike. He froze alongside everyone else in the room though the minute he heard the lid of tomb crash to the ground. Snatching up the sword inside without a second thought, Saga lashed out at the pirate that rushed him. It didn't take long for him to deal with the rest who had followed him and Maya as the wound on his chest slowly started to close. Maya warily lifted her head the moment she heard Saga start to breathily laugh, her eyes widening in horror as he suddenly turned to her.

-Present Day-

"The Seven-Star Sword? What's that?" Chopper curiously asked.

"It's a legendary sword said to be the most beautiful sword in all of the Grand Line and that wonderful treasure is rumored to be here on Asuka Island!" Nami eagerly explained as Luffy continued to stuff his face, snatching some of Chopper's food while the reindeer was distracted.

"Man, this is good" he praised through a mouthful.

"Give back my meat, Luffy!" Chopper cried upon realizing what the captain had done.

"Ossan, bring us some more of that meat!" Luffy demanded.

"More meat!" the reindeer echoed.

"You've already eaten our entire meat stock—that was all we had" the chef deadpanned, annoyed with the two demanding even more food from him after practically eating him out house and home.

"This isn't just an ordinary treasure" Nami continued as Chopper started to weep.

"Give me back my meat!" the reindeer angrily shouted, frantically waving his arms around as he once more turned to his captain.

"Cool it with the eating, guys" Sanji said, moving some of the stacked plates on the table aside to see the rest of the crew better as Chopper continued to snap at their captain. "We still need food for Zoro, Usopp, and Skylar-chan since they're guarding the ship" he reminded the two.

"It's the greatest treasure in the Grand Line! It's right under our noses!" Nami excitedly told the others.

"Good grief…" Sanji sighed as he looked at the two who were still arguing.

"It's just a rumor" Luffy and Chopper chimed in as their fighting finally came to a halt.

"It exists…I think…" Nami hesitantly argued, not sounding too confident in herself.

"We'd rather have meat than treasure!" Chopper and Luffy huffed.

"That legend of the Seven-Star Sword, I remember reading something about it" Robin piped up.

"What?" Nami, Luffy, and Chopper curiously asked.

"For many years, the people on this island have feared the coming Red Moon—an ominous event that occurs once every 100 years, bringing suffering and catastrophe" Robin explained.

"The Red Moon?" Nami questioned.

"Consequently, the Gods of the Sea Stars of Asuka bestow the king of Asuka with a means to protect the people" Robin continued. "In the form of three spherical gems to use as a shield and an unbreakable sword—the Seven-Star Sword—to us as a weapon" she said.

"A beautiful and unbreakable sword bestowed by the Gods and three gems too? Wow!" Nami sparkled. "I'm getting pumped up!" she joyfully exclaimed as her eyes turned into beli signs.

"But, subsequently, the Seven-Star Sword would meet an ironic fate" Robin said.

"What?" Nami blinked.

"Part of the legend is a passage which contains a prediction: When the Red Moon shines, the sword will be imbued with great power. If the Seven Stars fall to it, the world will be forever ruled in darkness" Robin quoted.

"F-forever ruled in darkness?!" Nami sputtered.

-On the Going Merry-

"Thanks for helping, Skylar" Usopp smiled as he looked up at the brunette who was currently helping him in repairing the recent damages the Merry had suffered.

"It's no problem—better than being stuck up on deck with that dork" Skylar shrugged as she motioned towards the dangling leg above them belonging to the swordsman who was up on deck currently sleeping like usual. "Besides, I used to help Cloud sometimes when he had to do repairs around the shack, so there's something a bit nostalgic about this" she confessed, softly smiling at the thought of her older brother.

"Saw…saw…fit together…" Usopp mumbled as he worked. "Hammer…hammer…" he murmured as Skylar helped to keep the piece of wood he was hammering in place still. Everything seemed to be going well until they finally noticed that they needed more wood. "Oi, Zoro! Bring down those planks by your foot!" the sharpshooter shouted up to the sleeping swordsman.

"Zoro! Wake up!" Skylar called up as the swordsman continued to snooze. "Hey, dummy! I said wake up!" her cheeks cutely puffed up a bit as she smacked the moss-haired man's leg when he only snored back at her before going back to helping Usopp.

Up on deck, Zoro casually moved his head to the side—not bothering to open his eyes—as a short sword pierced into the mast just a few inches away from his face. Opening his eyes, he looked at the blade and immediately noticed how his name was carved into its wooden handle. Peering out towards the direction it had come from, he pulled the short sword out of the mast before grabbing his swords from where they rested.

He hesitated for only a moment as he looked down, quietly listening to the soft chatter that floated up from below the ship's deck. Shaking his head, he left as he hopped off the ship. Certain that Skylar would be just fine alone with Usopp.

"At least answer me!" Usopp snapped after a while of the swordsman not responding nor handing him the wood he requested.

"Come on you lazy—eh? He's gone?" Skylar blinked as she climbed up onto the deck, only to find that the moss-haired man was now missing.

"You've been sleeping all afternoon, you could at least…help…us…out…" Usopp trailed off as he climbed onto the deck, quickly noticing that the brunette was right and that the swordsman was nowhere to be seen. "Oi, Zoro? Zoro?" he called out as he looked around. It wasn't long until he and Skylar were both shouting the swordsman's name as they began to search the tiny ship for their now-missing comrade.

-Zoro-

Zoro clutched the short sword in his hand as he wandered through the forest before finally, he came to a complete stop as three people now blocked his path.

"Roronoa Zoro, I presume" Bismarck assumed.

"We've been expecting you" Boo Kong grinned—his appearance looking quite grotesque and standing out the most when compared to the other two beside him as stitches ran down the center of his face.

"Thank you for coming—this way, please" Toma said, motioning for the swordsman to follow. Compared to the lanky redhead that was Bismarck and the overweight giant that was Boo Kong, the blond seemed much more normal appearance-wise.

-Straw Hats-

"You won't get away this time, Straw Hat Pirates!" the Marine Captain shouted after the runaway pirates. "Keep firing and sink that ship!" he barked as his men continued to aim and shoot at the Going Merry, their shots always just short of hitting. Skylar bit her lip in worry as she ignored the commotion happening around her, nervously watching as the ship began to sail further and further away from Asuka Island.

"Why isn't Zoro here, Usopp? Skylar?" Luffy frowned, stumbling around in an attempt to keep his balance as he took note of their missing swordsman. "Weren't you guys guarding the ship with him?" he asked.

"Dammit! We've been trying to tell you, he just left while we were making repairs below deck!" Skylar and Usopp snapped, the brunette looking far lot more frazzled compared to the annoyed sniper. Luffy felt his frown deepen at the sight of his friend's distress, not liking it one bit.

"They just keep coming!" Nami frowned as Usopp stumbled backward from the waves that were created by the crashing cannonballs around them. "We've got to do something!" her eyes scanned the surrounding area before finally landing on a pile of rocks nearby that were jutting out of the water. "Those rocks" she pointed.

"Maybe Zoro went out for a walk" Chopper suggested.

"That isn't comforting at all!" Skylar whined, knots slowly forming in her stomach as she painfully grabbed at her hair in distress and began to pull. "He probably got lost!" she cried.

"In the middle of his guard shift? Zoro wouldn't do that" Sanji shook his head as Usopp's body now began to roll around the deck, having finally been knocked off his feet thanks to the rough waters.

"He must have had a reason" Robin said.

"A reason?" the blond questioned.

"And what reason would that be? Zoro isn't one to take his responsibilities lightly" Skylar frowned, not wanting to believe that someone so self-disciplined as the swordsman would willingly slack off from his duties.

"We're going to find Zoro!" Luffy firmly proclaimed as he placed a gentle hand on Skylar's shoulder and gave her a comforting smile. He brightened the moment she heaved a relieved sigh upon hearing her captain's orders, thankful that he wasn't going to abandon their first mate so easily.

"Everyone, we're taking the ship into those rocks!" Nami suddenly ordered.

"Huh?" Luffy questioned.

"What?! Why?!" Skylar frowned.

"What?" Usopp blinked as he sat up before a look of realization hit him. "Oh, I get it" he realized, quick to understand what the navigator had planned.

"Nami, don't make decisions on your own! I'm the one who decides where we go!" Luffy scolded.

"But there's no other way to shake off the Marines!" the ginger argued, not willing to let their crew be captured just because two of their crewmates wanted to let their emotions dictate their actions.

"I wanna find Zoro! Steer the ship backwards!" Luffy and Skylar shouted as the rubber man childishly stomped his foot while the brunette puffed out her cheeks and began to pout.

"We can't do that, dumbasses!" Nami snapped before flinching as the ship was once again violently rocked by the crashing waves being created by the still-oncoming cannonballs.

"Whoa!" Skylar yelped as she finally lost her balance, her eyes quickly shutting as she flipped over the railing and smashed her head on the deck. "Ow…" she lowly groaned, rubbing her head as she sat up. "I wish they would stop firing those damn cannonballs…or at least get a better aim…" she bitterly muttered.

"Damn, now they're in front of us too!" Nami bit her lower lip the minute she spotted the Marines' oncoming Naval ships that were now coming at them from the front.

"Damn, a pincer attack" Sanji cursed as he realized they were now surrounded on both the front and back by Marines.

"We should do as Miss Navigator says" Robin said.

"Luffy, Skylar—after we escape, we'll find Zoro" Nami assured the two, quickly wanting them to agree to her plan before it was too late and they were possibly sunken or captured.

"Yeah" Luffy conceded as Skylar hesitated, anxiously casting a glance towards her captain who only gave her a comforting smile in return and a firm nod.

"Fine…" she softly huffed as she slowly nodded.

"Good! Don't let the Straw Hat Pirates escape!" the Marine Captain shouted once he saw they now had the small ship surrounded. "After them! Continue pursuit!" he demanded.

"Aye!" his men nodded as they followed after the Merry who was now sailing towards the rocks that jutted from the ocean.

"Sink them!" the Captain ordered as the Merry continued to sail away, completely unharmed.

"We're going to hit!" Nami cried the minute she spotted the ramp they were sailing towards.

"This isn't good" Chopper frowned.

"Keep going straight" Luffy suddenly said.

"What?" Nami owlishly blinked.

"Guys, grab on tight" Luffy ordered.

"What?" everyone asked, confused and unsure what their captain planned to do.

"Oi, oi" Sanji frowned as he looked toward the rubber man.

"What are you doing?" Usopp curiously asked as he tightly clung to the mast.

"You better have a pretty good plan, Luff" Skylar said as she tightly gripped one of the ship's railings.

"Fly" was the only thing Luffy said.

"Fly?" everyone echoed as the Merry shot up the ramp and into the air.

"We're flying!" Usopp gaped.

"No way…" Nami breathed.

"What?" the Marine Captain blinked, taken aback by the smaller ship's sudden flight into the air.

"Commander, to starboard" a Marine suddenly piped up.

"Idiots!" the Captain snapped as two Naval ships suddenly collided with one another. "What are you doing?!" he scowled.

"Take that, Marines!" Usopp mocked as the Merry continued to soar through the air.

"I hope we can stay airborne" Robin hummed.

"So where are we going to land, Captain?" Sanji curiously asked.

"Well, we'll land somewhere" Luffy smiled.

"You dumbass!" Sanji and Usopp snapped as Skylar heaved a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose as she quietly grumbled to herself.

"The ship is falling!" Nami suddenly cried.

"What'd you expect? We're in the air, we can't fly forever" Skylar deadpanned, not sure why the ginger was so surprised that the ship was finally starting to make her descent.

"Hey, that's not water below us! It's a field of rocks!" Usopp panicked as everyone started to scream before flinching as the Going Merry suddenly bounced off the back of what looked to be a hippo-rhino hybrid. Said animal coughed up the fish it was choking on the minute it was struck. Quickly looking up to see what had saved it, its eyes turned into hearts upon seeing the Merry overhead.

"W-we landed" Nami sputtered in disbelief the minute the Merry crashed down into a river and began to calmly sail once more.

"Safely" Chopper added as Skylar's legs finally gave out on her. Falling on her bottom, she continued to clutch the ship's railing in a death grip as she trembled. She could practically feel her heart attempting to escape as it thundered away within her chest thanks to the boost of adrenaline the impromptu flight and sudden crash had given her.

"I guess…" she and Usopp weakly muttered.

"What kind of rock was that?" Sanji curiously asked no one in particular as he looked back, wondering why they had crashed into a million pieces back there like he had thought they would.

"I wonder where we are" Robin pondered as she looked around.

"Ah, that was fun" Luffy brightly smiled.

"No! It wasn't!" everyone snapped.

-Zoro-

"We escorted him as you ordered, Master" Toma said as he, Bismarck, Boo Kong, and Zoro finally reached the Marine Dojo. Marines lined the entire room—standing tall and in an orderly fashion with Saga standing at the very front. Zoro approached the silver-haired man at the front of the room, ignoring as the Marines immediately drew their swords and held them out. Toma and his comrades followed closely behind the swordsman before finally coming to a halt and bowing.

"Saga" Zoro calmly said. "I give you this life" he said as he handed the short sword in his hand back to the silver-haired man who then handed it to Toma.

"So this is the short sword you loved as a child, Zoro-san," he grinned as he admired the blade, "and it's also the mark of your friendship with our master."

"This is an unexpected welcoming place" Zoro remarked as he looked around. "After all, the Marines and I are supposed to be enemies" he reminded his old friend.

"Yeah" Saga nodded. "I was surprised to hear that the great Pirate Hunter had become a pirate himself, Zoro" he said.

"You've been wielding your sword for justice since we were kids, I bet you're just itchin' to fight me" Zoro grinned.

"Give up being a pirate" Saga suddenly said.

"Don't make it sound so easy" Zoro frowned, his mind instantly turning to thoughts of Skylar—after all these years of being separated from her and only having thoughts about her running through his mind, he wasn't going to let her slip away that easily. He wasn't going to just abandon her. "I got some things that I can't—"

"Master" Toma worriedly frowned as Saga suddenly fell to the ground, a coughing fit seizing him.

"Don't touch me" Saga coughed the minute the blond attempted to help him, quick to shoo him away as he turned his body.

"Y-yes, Sir" the young man hesitantly nodded as he backed away.

"Saga?" Zoro questioned, frowning in worry as he neared his old friend. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Z-Zoro, I have a favor to ask…" Saga confessed. "Will you…lend me your strength?" he asked as he grabbed hold of the swordsman's shirt in an attempt to hold him still and bring him in closer. "Zoro" he pleaded.

"I'll hear you out" the moss-haired man nodded.

-Straw Hats-

"Oi, Zoro!" Skylar and Luffy shouted, their eyes peeled for any signs of their missing comrade as they called his name.

"Where'd you go, Zoro?" Usopp asked as Chopper sat up in the crow's nest, peering through a pair of binoculars as he helped look for the swordsman.

"Guys, there's a huge pond over there!" he suddenly shouted to the three below on the deck who were still shouting the swordsman's name.

"Oh wow…what a beautiful lake…" Skylar awed the minute she spotted the large body of water.

Inside the lake, Maya floated to the top—breaking through the water's surface as she cast a small glance up at the sky before diving back under and making her way toward the sacred palace nearby. Climbing onto dry land, she carried with her three orbs that she proceeded to set down in front of a statue of a woman. Dropping to her knees, she silently prayed as she moved her hands over the orbs, causing them to faintly glow. However, she quickly jolted to her feet the minute she caught sight of the Going Merry sailing into the lake from the corner of her lidded eye.

"Pirates?" she muttered.

"There's someone over there!" Chopper pointed as he spotted the blue-haired woman.

"Where? Where?" Usopp asked as he looked around.

"Is it Zoro?" Skylar and Luffy called up to the reindeer.

"It's a girl, and a very, very cute one at that" Sanji answered, his visible eye instantly turning into a heart the minute he spotted the young woman by the palace.

"Let's ask her if she's seen Zoro!" Luffy suggested.

"Good idea!" Skylar quickly nodded.

"Oi, you there! Have you seen a guy named Zoro around here?!" Luffy shouted, watching as Maya quickly dressed herself before snatching up the three orbs she had been praying over and running away.

"Miss, look over here!" Sanji cooed.

"Why are you running away?" Luffy frowned.

"People get scared when they see a pirate ship" Usopp deadpanned.

"Oh, I forgot about that little detail for a moment there…" Skylar mumbled, temporarily forgetting in her worry that they were still pirates at the end of the day. It was only natural that people would assume the worst upon seeing them.

"Oi!" the swordswoman and sharpshooter soon snapped the minute Luffy started to stretch his arms towards the palace's statue. "Leave her alone!" they shouted, grabbing hold of their captain in an attempt to stop him.

"W-w-w-wait a minute, Luffy" Usopp sputtered.

"You're just going to scare her even more!" Skylar scolded.

"Luffy! Usopp! Skylar!" Nami gasped as the three shot forward. Skylar and Luffy seemed to land perfectly alright on their feet once they reached the palace while Usopp, on the other hand, had a rather harsh landing.

"You still alive?' Skylar asked him, causing him to groan.

"Wait up!" Luffy shouted after the running woman as he and his other two crewmates quickly gave chase.

"Wait! Oi, I said hold on!" Usopp snapped as Skylar heaved a sigh, already deciding that it was best just to go with the flow. She could only hope that nothing bad would come from their captain's reckless behavior. "Oi! What are you doing?

"H-hey, hold on—Luffy!" the sniper shouted only to go ignored which caused him to turn to the brunette with a pleading look. "Skylar, help…" he whimpered.

"Where'd you go?" Luffy asked, heading twisting and turning when he realized he had lost sight of Maya.

"You know once he has his sights set on something, it's best to just go with the flow" Skylar shrugged, her lips slowly twitching upwards into a small smile as she watched the long-nosed pirate heave a heavy sigh. "Besides, she might end up being a good lead in finding where Zoro disappeared off to" she suggested as they followed after their captain.

"Have you seen Zoro? Zoro?" Luffy questioned.

"Hey" Usopp tried once again to get the rubber man's attention.

"He's a guy carrying three katanas and his eyes are really slanty" Luffy continued, not paying the sniper any mind.

"Also, his hair is the color of moss and he's rather mean-looking so it shouldn't be hard to spot him" Skylar added as the group passed through a field of tall grass. Once she was certain they were gone, Maya stood from her hiding spot and ran in the opposite direction of the three.

-Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Robin-

"Damn, where'd those three go?" Nami frowned as she and the others walked through a heavily wooded area on the island, now looking for their missing friends.

"Cutey-chan, where'd you go?" Sanji called out for the blue-haired woman they had spotted earlier, far more interested in looking for her than the others. At most, he was worried for Skylar but was certain she was fine since she had Luffy and Usopp with her.

"Over there" Robin pointed.

"There she is!" the blond joyfully cried the second he spotted Maya who froze at the sight of the group.

"Wait! We have to ask you something!" Nami shouted as the woman jolted, running away from them as they quickly gave chase.

"There's no need to be bashful! You don't need to be afraid of us!" Sanji cooed.

"You're the one scaring her!" the ginger snapped, annoyed with the blonde's antics which further terrified the blue-haired woman who only quickened her pace.

"Oh, Nami-san!" Sanji swooned, unbothered by the navigator's frustration. "Tell me your name!" he called out to the Maya once more as he turned to face her.

"Where did Luffy, Usopp, and Skylar go?" Nami asked.

"They probably got lost" Chopper suggested.

"Please! Wait up!" Sanji begged.

"Now we've lost four of our crew—geez, what a pain in the ass!" Nami huffed before blinking the minute she realized they had lost sight of the woman they were chasing. "Huh?" she frowned.

"She's gone" Chopper pointed out.

"Where are you?" Sanji asked, desperately looking around.

"There's a village over there" Robin pointed.

"Where? Where?" the reindeer looked around upon hearing this. "You're right, let's check it out!" he nodded when he finally spotted the village the archeologist had mentioned.

"Ah! There she is!" Sanji cheerfully exclaimed the minute he spotted Maya running towards the village. "Wait up!" he cooed

"Grandmother!" Maya panted as she rushed into the village. "Everyone, pirates!" she cried.

"Oh Gods who reside in the Seven Stars of Asuka, please answer our prayer" the women of the village prayed, bowing before a statue that depicted their ancestors. "With your great love, please protect us from disaster" they continued before repeating the prayer once more

"Everyone!" Maya shouted.

"Maya-sama?" one of the men of the village questioned, startled by the younger woman's frantic outburst as she came running into the middle of the village.

"Pirates! Pirates!" Maya cried.

"What?" someone blinked.

"They've come back?!"

"Impossible!"

"Pirates? Damn! This couldn't have come at a worse time—men of the village, to arms!"

"Aye!" the men nodded, prepared this time to protect their home.

"Maya-sama, you must take care of Grandmother" one of the men informed her, ushering her to go and find Izaya.

"Yes" Maya nodded.

"I thought they would never return…" one of the women of the village worriedly mumbled.

"How can this be?"

"Grandmother!"

"Do not fear, we will take the children and hide" Izaya assured the frantic women, ready to lead them and the children to safety—not wishing to see a repeat of what had happened after being caught off guard by the previous raid their village had suffered.

"Yes" the women nodded.

"Dammit! Coming at a time like this!" one of the men frowned as he and the rest started to gather up their weapons and take their place by the village's entrance.

"Hurry!"

"Yeah, let's go! Let's go!"

"Over here!"

"Okay, let's go!"

"Hide yourselves, hurry!" one of the men ordered the women and children who were running around in a panic.

"Women, protect the children!"

"You guys protect the east side!" Laquos instructed, sending a few men towards the east side of the village in hopes of preventing any surprise attacks.

"Grandmother, go hide! Quickly!" Maya pleaded.

"No, I'm going to protect this place" Izaya stubbornly shook her head, now refusing to hide with the rest of the women and children.

"But—"

"Hello there" Sanji chirped as he and the rest of his remaining crew finally arrived at the village, unintentionally cutting the blue-haired woman off.

"The pirates!" Maya gasped.

"Maya-sama, escape! Quickly!" one of the men of the village shouted.

"Huh?" Nami and Chopper tilted their heads.

"Your name's Maya? What a wonderful name!" Sanji complimented. "Eh, what's wrong?" he asked, frowning as Laquos suddenly blocked his way.

"You have no right to be here! Leave this place at once!" the brunet demanded.

"What's this? That's a bold demand" Sanji raised an eyebrow.

"Uninvited guests aren't welcomed, huh? But with all these armed warriors around, I imagined that this village has something to hide" Nami hummed.

"Indeed, there seems to be quite a bit worth investigating here" Robin agreed.

"Hm?" Izaya tilted her head.

"We'll never yield to any pirates! Never!" Maya glared.

"How courageous!" Sanji swooned.

"Somehow I don't think they're happy to see us" Chopper said.

"The deer spoke…" a young boy whispered from his hiding spot.

"I'm not a deer, I'm a reindeer!" Chopper snapped at the children who had been spying, unintentionally scaring them away.

"How cute" Izaya remarked as she stared at the reindeer.

"D-don't call me cute!" Chopper embarrassingly snapped, heavily blushing upon hearing the old woman.

"Yo, why don't we do this peacefully?" Sanji suggested. "We're just looking for our nakama—we don't even have this much desire to cause you any trouble" he explained as he pinched his pointer finger and thumb together, assuring the villagers that they weren't in any danger.

"This relief…" Robin breathed as she suddenly bent down to get a closer look at what was inscribed on one of the nearby statues.

"You dirty pirate! Keep your bloodstained hands off that!" Laquos snapped the minute Robin's hand ghosted over the statue.

"What was that? I'll make you eat those words!" Sanji growled, causing the village men to point their weapons at him.

"So you've been plotting something?" Laquos narrowed his eyes. "You damn greedy pirates!" he sneered.

"Come quick! The Marine Dojo is here!" a man suddenly shouted as he came rushing towards the group.

"Dammit all!" Laquos cursed as everyone rushed back inside the village.

"The Marines?" Nami questioned.

"What's going on here?" Chopper asked.

"Cut down anyone who gets in our way—show them our power!" Bismarck ordered as the Marines proceeded to attack the villagers.

"Yield not one step!" Laquos glared as the men of the village now stood in a line, ready to protect their home from the invading soldiers.

"Aye!" the men nodded.

"Do not let them pass!" Laquos ordered.

"We will crush you! You criminals have armed yourselves against the Marines!" Bismarck sneered as he drew his sword, the men of the village already engaging with the Marines.

"Criminals?" Chopper questioned. "Are the people here bad guys, Nami?" he asked.

"No, we're—" Maya flinched as the statue behind her was suddenly destroyed by Boo Kong.

"What?! The altar of our ancestors!" Izaya gasped.

"What's that you're holding?" Boo Kong asked upon spying the orbs in the blue-haired woman's grasp. "Zoro, come" he motioned.

"Zoro?" Nami blinked, furrowing her brows as the swordsman approached them. His swords were already drawn as he hit the back of the blades against the men who rushed him.

"Damn you…" one of the men groaned.

"You dog of the Marines" another hissed as more men from the village charged the moss-haired man once more before being struck down.

"H-he's strong…" one of them grunted as he fell.

"Z-Zoro?" Chopper sputtered, shocked by what he was seeing.

"What the hell are you doing? Why are you with the Marines?" Nami asked. "Zoro?" she frowned when he didn't acknowledge her.

"Are those the orbs?" Zoro asked as he ignored his crew, unable to look at them.

"The orbs?" the ginger echoed.

"Maya" Izaya calmly said.

"Yes" Maya nodded before she and the old woman took off with the swordsman quick to follow.

"We'll take care of him!" two of the village men shouted as they tried to block the swordsman's path.

"Zoro!" Chopper cried as the swordsman knocked the men out of his way and continued to give chase after Maya and the old woman.

"That bastard, don't tell me…" Sanji grounded as he ran after the moss-haired man, refusing to let him lay a hand on the pretty young woman.

"Sanji-kun!" Nami called after the blond.

"Grandmother" Maya whimpered as she and the old woman reached a dead end, having accidentally made a wrong turn at some point in their running.

"Hold it!" Sanji glared as he quickly took a protective stance in front of the two the minute Zoro started to approach them. "Dammit…are you thinking clearly, Zoro?" he snapped.

"Yeah, I found her" the swordsman responded.

"Have it your way" the blond frowned. "I won't forgive anyone who threatens a lady with a blade, even if it's you!" he growled as the two started to fight.

"Zoro and Sanji are fighting!" Chopper stressed the minute the rest of the crew caught up.

"Stop it!" Nami shouted. "Zoro, Sanji-kun! Both of you!"

"You've left yourself in a vulnerable stance" Zoro remarked as Sanji held him back with just his foot.

"Bastard!" the cook growled. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?" he asked, wondering if the idiot in front of him was even aware of what was happening. He may not like the swordsman, but he never took him for someone who would willingly attack innocent civilians without cause.

"Sanji, before this ends, I'll give you some advice" Zoro suddenly said. "When you fight a swordsman, never lose your focus for even a split second—as soon as you show an opening, you will have sealed your fate!" he glared.

"Zoro, you—" Sanji didn't get a chance to finish as he was harshly knocked away, the swordsman wounding his arm in the process.

"Sanji!" Chopper worriedly cried.

"Sanji-kun!" Nami gasped as she and the doctor ran to the cook's side.

"Sanji" Chopper whimpered.

"Why…why are you doing this, Zoro?" Nami hesitantly asked.

"This is horrible! What did Sanji do to you?!" Chopper angrily shouted, already on the verge of tears.

"What would Skylar think if she was here?" the ginger scowled, watching as the swordsman tensed. She knew it was a low blow to use the brunette against him, but with how angry she was right now, she didn't care. Zoro averted his gaze as he kept his expression neutral…but inside, he felt a dreadful fear grip his heart the minute he realized that the young teen was currently missing from the group. He didn't know whether to be thankful that she wasn't here to witness his disgraceful actions or frustrated that the others had lost her.

"Grandmother! Maya-sama!" Laquos shouted as he quickly ran towards the group.

"Maya, we must escape" Izaya desperately pleaded the minute Zoro pointed one of his swords at them.

"Damn you!" Laquos cursed as Boo Kong suddenly blocked his path while Bismarck got behind him to make sure he couldn't escape. He groaned the minute the heavy blond smashed his club into the side of his body, knocking him away like some rag doll.

"Zoro!" Nami angrily cried the minute the swordsman slashed at the sash that was wrapped around Maya, causing the three orbs in it to spill out.

"Maya-sama…" Laquos groaned, worried for the young woman.

"I'm taking these…" Zoro muttered as he gathered up the orbs and placed them inside his harmaki before turning to leave.

"Give those back!" Maya angrily shouted. "They are extremely precious to us!" she pleadingly reasoned.

"To me too" Zoro responded.

"Enough! Sheathe your swords!" Bismarck ordered his men. "This island is under the jurisdiction of the Marine Dojo—holding unauthorized rituals and assemblies is prohibited" he reminded the villagers as his men put away their weapons. "You have all been made aware of this."

"This means that your intentions will be regarded as treason against the Marines" Boo Kong explained as he and his men finally started to leave. "Should you persist in your actions, you will leave us no other choice but to kill you!" he laughed as if enthralled by the thought.

"We're done here, Zoro" Bismarck said.

"What's wrong with you, Zoro?" Chopper asked, desperately wishing that Skylar was there with them so that the brunette could knock some sense into the swordsman. "Why are you doing this? Why's he doing this, Nami?" he whimpered, already close to tears once again.

"I'd like to know that too" Nami frowned as they watched their friend leave with the Marines. "Maybe it's a good thing Skylar isn't here…" she muttered, knowing that the brunette's already frazzled nerves would have only been shot further by this odd and uncomfortable encounter.

"Stay strong, Laquos" Maya cooed as she tried to help the brunet who had been knocked away by Boo Kong to stand.

"My humble apologies, Maya-sama, my strength was insufficient!" he weakly grounded.

"Don't say such things" Maya frowned.

"But those were our only hope to seal the Seven-Star Sword's revival…" Izaya sadly mumbled.

"The Seven-Star Sword?" Nami questioned.

"It's revival?" Robin tilted her head.

"What a shame" Laquos heavily sighed.

-Luffy, Usopp, and Skylar-

"Oi, Zoro!" Luffy called out as he, Usopp, and Skylar wandered their way into a Marine Dojo. Warily, Skylar looked around as a sense of unease slowly settled within her gut.

"Where are you, dummy?" she muttered as Usopp came to a halt beside her, panting as he attempted to catch his breath from all that running they had been doing since separating from the others

"Whoa! Whoa, this place looks like it's a dojo for the Marines!" he fearfully cried the second he lifted his head and spotted the soldiers who were in the middle of their training.

"No, you don't say—I thought this was a tea house" Skylar sarcastically responded, rolling her eyes as she watched the men with caution. Ignoring the brunette as he looked around, Usopp quickly rushed over towards one of the walls after spotting Luffy's wanted poster. Hastily, he ripped it off and crumpled it up into a ball in his hands.

"We're like months in the fire here!" he shouted as he ripped Zoro's wanted poster off the minute he spotted it as well. "Let's hurry and get the hell out of here, Luffy, Skylar" he pleaded.

"I agree…" Skylar bitterly muttered as she continued to stare at the Marines, that uneasy feeling coming back. Something wasn't right…

Why weren't any of the men approaching them?

"Hey, have you seen Zoro?" Luffy asked the training men, only to be ignored. "His name is Zoro!" he continued, acting as if the men just hadn't heard him.

"Idiot, what makes you think they'll help us?!" Skylar scolded. "Besides, you're the last person who should be trying to talk to them" she pointed out.

"Watch it! Zoro! Zoro!" Luffy shouted as he avoided being hit by the training Marines while continuing to call out the missing swordsman's name.

"Quit it!" Usopp shakily cried, afraid their captain would upset the men and cause them to attack.

"Weren't you listening to me? They're not going to help us!" Skylar snapped. "Why would they? They never help anyone that actually needs it!" she venomously spat.

"Straw Hat Luffy" Usopp and Skylar flinched, jumping back the minute they spotted Toma suddenly standing between them.

"When…when did he get here?" Skylar asked, looking at a trembling Usopp who only shrugged—unsure when the blond had suddenly arrived himself.

"Hey, have you seen Zoro?" Luffy asked.

"Look, I already—"

"Oh, Zoro-san? He should be back any minute, I believe" Toma responded, cutting Skylar off as her eyes slowly widened.

"I see, then we'll just hang out here 'til then!" Luffy brightened, seemingly not understanding the implications of the blonde's odd words. "Usopp, Skylar, this is a lucky break! We're going to meet up with Zoro!" he smiled as he looked at his two friends…only to become confused by the odd look on the brunette's face. He had hoped she would be happy about this knowledge, but instead, she looked confused and a little frustrated.

"W-why would Zoro be at a Marine Dojo?" Usopp nervously asked.

"He's right…you're not lying to us, are you?" Skylar narrowed her eyes, not wanting to believe what she was hearing as she was quick to accuse the young man of lying. She ignored the way her heart ached as he shook his head, making it clear he wasn't lying.

"Who cares? Zoro's going to come back!" Luffy happily exclaimed, not seeing why the two were acting so strangely. "Right?" he asked, looking to Toma who only smiled in return. It was at that moment that the training Marines suddenly went still and lined themselves up to create a path that led straight to Saga at the front of the room.

"So you're the man worth 100 million" the silver-haired man remarked as Skylar stared at him, her brows furrowed in thought. She had an inkling that she knew him—that she had met him once before in her life, specifically during her time on Zoro's home island.

"Yeah, I am" Luffy nodded. "Huh? You look like you're a swordsman" he remarked.

"He does not just look like one" Toma piped up. "He's Master Saga of our Marine Dojo" Skylar felt her breath catch—she remembered now. It was faint, but she was certain this was an old childhood friend of Zoro's from way back then. He had been one of the boys who trained at the same dojo as Zoro. She had never spoken to him much before, their meetings always taking place when he was busy discussing something with Zoro while she just quietly stood behind.

After hearing how he wished to possibly join the Marines when he grew up, she had felt it wise not to get too close and instead keep her distance.

"Hm? Your name is Saga?" Luffy questioned before noticing the man's sword. "That's a long katana you've got there! You can use that thing?" he asked. "That's cool!" he grinned.

"Does everything amaze you?" Skylar mumbled as she crossed her arms, not wanting to admit that the length of the sword amazed her a little as well. She wasn't a sword fanatic, but that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate a nice blade when she saw one.

"You're a funny person, Luffy-san" Toma smiled.

"Why?" Luffy tilted his head.

"Master, may I test him?" Toma suddenly asked. "I wish to know if he truly is the man who defeated Crocodile of the Shichibuka as rumors say."

"Very well" Saga nodded.

"Huh? What?" Luffy blinked as the blond grabbed hold of the sword attached to his side, his eyes taking on a red hue the minute he touched the handle. Drawing the sword, he immediately slashed at the teen who quickly dodged out of the way.

"H-hey!" Skylar tensed, her hands immediately going straight for her own swords—ready to draw them if need be.

"Hey, jerk! If you want to fight then say so!" Luffy snapped, causing Toma to laugh as the edge of his sword got just a bit too close to Usopp's face.

"My, there aren't many people who can dodge my unsheathing technique—it's been a while since I've felt this excited" he remarked as Usopp stumbled back in fear, practically falling into Skylar's arms as she hastily caught him.

"The fun and games stop now" Saga suddenly piped up.

"What?" Luffy blinked.

"Zoro will no longer be a part of your little band" Sage said, causing Skylar's temper to flare as she narrowed her eyes at the man—a sickening feeling now growing in the pit of her stomach as a sharp pain blossomed in her chest. "He no longer desires the mundane existence of being a pirate's nakama" the silver-haired man continued as he approached the group.

"What kind of shit are you making up?" Luffy narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, just what in the hell are you talking about?" Skylar frowned. "Did he really tell you that himself?" she asked, refusing to believe the swordsman would just abandon the crew like this.

"L-Luffy! S-Skylar!" Usopp sputtered, trembling as he feared that the two would possibly anger the man.

"Toma, step aside" Saga suddenly ordered.

"Yes, Sir" Toma nodded as he sheathed his sword and took a step back.

"You wanna fight?" Luffy glared. "Yosh, here I go! Gum Gum Pistol!" he shot his fist towards Saga who in return dodged it with ease. "Gum Gum Whip!" another attack was sent towards the silver-haired man…only for it to miss and strike the surrounding Marines instead. "Oops…" the teen muttered.

"Even though you missed him completely that was still a nice shot" Skylar grinned.

"Good going, Luffy" Usopp said from his hiding spot.

"When the hell did you move?" Skylar sweat dropped as she looked at the hiding sniper who had seemingly disappeared from her side without her noticing.

"Oops…sorry, sorry" Luffy apologized to the fallen men. "It's caused he dodged it!" he defended as the Marines stood and drew their swords. But before any of them had the chance to charge forward, they immediately stopped the second Saga raised his hand.

"Let's begin" he said as he turned to the pirate captain.

"Bring it" Luffy huffed. Skylar raised an eyebrow the minute the man drew his sword, blinking before rubbing her eyes when she thought she saw it start to glow as the man's eyes took on a red tint similar to the way Toma's eyes had earlier.

"Whoa! What's that?" Luffy gaped as he stared bug-eyed at the sword. "That thing is creeping me out! You have a weird katana—I hate you!" he shouted.

"Luffy, be careful—I have a bad feeling about his sword" Skylar warned, watching as he gave a firm nod.

"Can you understand its power? Can you hear its voice?" Saga laughed. "It wants your blood!" he proclaimed, a wide grin splitting his face that caused Skylar's stomach to churn with unease. Something was clearly wrong—this sudden bloodlust of his made her feel uncomfortable. She couldn't remember him ever being this malicious in their youth. Saga charged without warning and started to wildly slash at Luffy who quickly dodged out of the way.

"Whoa!" Usopp flinched when the silver-haired man nearly struck his friend.

"Fool!" Saga sneered as he continued his ruthless attack. His slashes were desperate and eerily similar to that of a feral animal wishing to draw blood…there was something uncomfortably familiar about them. They unnervingly reminded Skylar of herself when cornered and scared and broken to the point that all that mattered in her mind was getting away.

"Asshole!" Luffy snarled as he jumped outside of the dojo with Saga quick on his heels along with the others. "Gum Gum Sickle!" immediately, he started to throw multiple attacks toward the silver-haired man pursuing him who was easily able to dodge them.

"Go! Luffy!" Usopp cheered.

"Luffy-san uses the power of the Devil Fruit, right?" Toma asked as the long-nosed pirate continued to cheer on his captain.

"Yes, that's right…" Skylar hesitantly nodded as she warily eyed the blond.

"He has some interesting moves" he hummed, impressed with how creative the rubber man was with his attacks.

"That's not half of it! Those moves have brought down guys way stronger than him!" Usopp boasted as Saga continued to dodge Luffy's attacks. "Well, I did have to struggle to get him to that level" he cockily lied.

"Wow..." Toma breathed in awe. "Then Usopp-sama, you must be strong too" he remarked.

"You…you actually believe him?" Skylar sweat dropped.

"Well, you know—" Usopp froze, running away the second he saw the smile on Toma's face as if the blond was tempted to engage him in a fight. Skylar narrowed her eyes when the young man soon turned his attention towards her.

"I'm not going to fight you if that's what you want…" she grumbled, not in the mood to humor the blond whose smile only grew.

"So this is where the great Admiral Varen's future successor has been" he hummed, raising an eyebrow as the teen suddenly tensed with a flinch.

"I don't know what you're talking about—you must be thinking of someone else" Skylar growled, stiffly turning her attention back towards the fight as she ignored the curious look the young man was now giving her.

"You know…I didn't believe it until now, but you certainly do take after your father when it comes to looks" Toma remarked as he looked the brunette up and down. Her features were a bit more delicate compared to her father's due to her gender, but the family resemblance was almost uncanny as there was no denying that she was Varen's child. This was especially true when it came to her eyes which were just as eerily cold and sharp as the Admiral's—they were the kind of eyes that could stare through your soul and make you feel as if you were caught in a frozen lake. "I wonder what else you might share with him…he certainly is a great man—a hero just like the rest of the Admirals" he couldn't help but praise, repeating the words that the brunette had heard on many occasions her whole life. Slowly, her fists started to clench and unclench as she tried to keep her composure.

"Yeah, a real charmer…" she bitterly grumbled. 'A great actor more like it' she almost wanted to laugh at that thought before once again trying to distract herself with the fight. She knew better than to even try and speak ill of her father. She was certain that no one would take her seriously or would just brush her off as a spoiled brat just wanting to cause trouble like she knows he's worked hard to paint her and her brothers as since their disappearance. So instead, she painfully bit her tongue until she wished to scream as she glared ahead.

Luffy continued to throw punches at Saga—who was still dodging them—before finally, he landed a hit on his sword, which immediately burnt his flesh.

"That katana is definitely giving me the creeps!" he grounded as he quickly yanked his hand back.

"I laugh to think that this fighting is worth 100 million—you're just like any other pirate" Saga insulted.

"No, I'm the man who'll be the Pirate King!" Luffy snapped.

"Pirate King?" Toma echoed, his attention quickly dragged back towards the rubber man.

"Yo! Looking cool, Captain!" Usopp cheered.

"Mundane, what good will come of reaching for an unattainable dream?" Saga asked. "It's like throwing away your own life—don't you even understand that?" he frowned.

"I decided" Luffy huffed, refusing to back down.

"A dream?" Toma curiously questioned.

"You're helpless" Saga sighed as Skylar clenched her jaw, glaring at the silver-haired man. She didn't see anything wrong with the captain's dream—in fact, a small part of her envied the older teen for being able to know what he wanted. She had no dream as far as she knew, uncertain herself what she wanted to do with this life she'd been given. It's hard to dream when someone else has already stripped you of such choices and when you never thought you'd make it this far in life. It's hard to dream when you feel like you don't have a right to.

"Huh?" Toma tilted his head.

"Very well, if you are a man worthy of becoming the Seven-Star Swords sacrifice then I will let you live a little bit longer" Saga said as he raised his sword. "If not, then I will kill you where you stand" he glared.

"What kind of bullshit are you talking about, bastard?!" Luffy snapped as he jumped towards the man.

"Luffy! Stop!" Skylar shouted, an overwhelming feeling of unease hitting her the minute she saw the look of malice on Saga's face. "Something's not right! Don't get near him!"

"Gum Gum Spear" Luffy pressed his feet together and shot them towards Saga…only for the man to dodge the attack and slash at his legs. Skylar heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that the teen had dodged the attack, but that still wasn't enough to calm her nerves. Saga continued to slash at Luffy who in return kept dodging. "Gum Gum—" before he could attempt another attack, the silver-haired man suddenly shot towards him. "Bastard!" he flinched as he quickly returned to dodging the pursuing man's attacks.

"That thing gives me the creeps…" he muttered the minute he struck the man's sword and was burned once again.

"T-that guy's really strong" Usopp nervously stuttered.

"That sword of his…" Skylar nervously bit her lower lip as she shifted around. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong here. Something about the malice and bloodlust that came off of Saga didn't feel quite natural almost as if it wasn't even his. She was certain now that he wasn't like this in their youth—she may not have talked with him that much, but he seemed genuinely kind-hearted from what she was able to recall. She may not have agreed with his desire to join the Marines, but she couldn't deny his righteous soul and his desire to help others.

"What? You're done already?" Luffy questioned when the man suddenly stopped moving.

"Dark Fire Slash!" Skylar flinched as Saga slashed a line of green fire toward the rubber man, knocking him back and over a nearby cliff.

"L-Luffy!" Usopp and Skylar gasped as they hurriedly rushed towards the edge of the cliff and peered over it.

"Luffy, Luffy, L-Luffy" Usopp whimpered, shakily peering down as Skylar harshly bit down on her lip, her eyes wide and frantic as she looked for any signs of her captain amongst the greenery below.

"Aw, I was hoping he'd be a better match for the Master" Toma childishly whined, causing a dark look to cross Skylar's face as Usopp's trembling worsened. "What a shame, right? Usopp-san? Skylar-chan?" he innocently asked as he looked at the two, unbothered by the cold glare the brunette gave him as she turned around.

"I am Usopp-sama, the Proud Warrior of the Sea!" Usopp suddenly proclaimed. "Will I abandon my nakama? Never!" and with that, he jumped off the cliff.

"Oh, he jumped off" Toma tilted his head.

"Idiot! You can't fly!" Skylar snapped down at the falling sharpshooter before heaving a tired sigh as she turned back to face Saga and Toma. "Looks like there's no need for me to stick around here any longer…" she muttered, taking a tentative step back.

"Who would have thought that an Admiral daughter's—let alone his future successor—would be found on a pirate ship of all places" Toma said, still amazed by this discovery. He wondered for a brief moment her reasoning for being a pirate…

Was this just a result of youthful mischief birthed from boredom and a need to rebel against her elders or was she perhaps being threatened and forced into a life she never consented to?

"Listen…," Skylar suddenly said, "since it's obvious that you aren't fully aware of the kind of man Varen is, I'll give you a little advice" she gave a strained smile as the blond curiously hummed. "He's not this "amazing hero" that you all like to believe he is—he's a monster. An awful human being hungry for power and control…really now, he's no different from the rest of you lot" she bitterly spat before she could talk herself out of what she wanted to say, causing the blond to owlishly blink. "You all think the same—if they're pirates they must be evil and if they're a part of the government then they must be righteous and should never be held accountable for their crimes."

"What do—"

"If I'm being quite honest, I hope you all rot in hell!" she snarled, causing the blond to flinch. "I'll say this once and only once—I'm never going back and I'm never taking that horrid position, he can keep it for all I care!" she suddenly snapped, her eyes wide and frantic as they became glazed over with memories. "I'd rather die before doing that!" and with that, she took one last step back—her body going straight over the cliff's edge.

"Ah, she jumped as well" Toma jumped, his mind now in a whirlwind over her words as he desperately tried to process them. "What do you think she meant by all that?" he curiously asked as he looked to Saga who only turned his back to the cliff.

"It doesn't matter what she meant—she may be an Admiral's daughter, but she's still a pirate at the end of the day" he calmly responded. "It's best not to take anything she said seriously, there's no telling what those pirates have put in her head since she joined them. Besides, you and I both know how noble children can be when bored and wanting to stir up trouble."

Skylar could already see Usopp further down as she fell—she barely batted an eye at the sound of the wind blowing past her ears as her hair violently whipped around. Currently, her fear of heights wasn't present. Instead, she felt a familiar sickening comfort at the thought of what awaited her at the bottom of the cliff. She almost wanted to laugh at just how selfish that thought sounded, knowing that she was being cruel once more to those around her like before in wanting to embrace the end so soon. Usopp turned his head the minute she started falling beside him, tears streaming down his face as he loudly whimpered.

"There's no point in crying, you're the one who decided to jump" she deadpanned.

"Is this the end of my brief and glorious life?" Usopp whined. "Oh yeah!" he suddenly perked up as if he just remembered something as his eyes brightened. "Skylar, grab on" he instructed, watching as the brunette shrugged before gently wrapping her arms around his midsection. "I have a new invention for just this kind of occasion!" he eagerly proclaimed as he started to look through his bag.

"What? You had planned to fall off a cliff before?" Skylar raised an amused brow. "Do you need someone to talk to, Usopp? If so, I'm here for you" she cooed, causing him to roll his eyes.

"No, I did not—and what do you mean by that?" he frowned as he wrapped a belt around himself. "Usopp Sky Rider!" a parachute shot out of the belt. "W-we're safe" he sighed in relief.

"Totally…" Skylar sarcastically muttered, sweat dropping as she stared at the tiny parachute.

"I-it was too small!" Usopp cried the minute their bodies continued to fall at the same speed as before—the parachute doing little to nothing to slow their descent. "Is this how it all ends?!" he wailed

"Well it was nice knowing you, Usopp—I had fun" Skylar said, snorting at the terrified look on the sharpshooter's face as he panicked upon hearing her words.

"Oh no!" he cried as they started to near the ground.

-Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Robin-

"How are your wounds?" Izaya asked one of the injured village men who was currently being tended to.

"Good" the man responded.

"Thank you" the woman who was tending to him nodded, appreciating the old woman's kindness in checking up on them.

"Mr. Doctor, I need some more medicine" Robin called over to the reindeer who was currently in the middle of making more medicine for the injured.

"Yeah, leave it to me" Chopper nodded as the children around him curiously watched him in awe. "Maya's grandmother and these kids picked a lot of medical herbs for us!" he smiled.

"We'll get some more!" one of the children happily laughed.

"Brave face, brave face" Maya cooed as she tended to Laquos.

"Come on, big guy, don't be such a wimp!" Nami huffed as she slapped the brunet's back.

"So Chopper, you really are a doctor?" Maya curiously asked.

"I can vouch for his medical skills" Nami said.

"You can flatter me all you like, but it won't make me happy! Assholes!" Chopper blushed. "Now get lost!" he giggled.

"Sanji-kun, are you sure you should be cooking with that hurt arm?" Nami worriedly asked as she walked over to the blond who now had his arm in a sling.

"Yeah, I'm the cook after all" Sanji smiled. "This helps to take my mind off things—thanks to that shithead Zoro, Maya-chan lost something precious to her" he growled. "Sorry about that, those were really important, weren't they?" he asked.

"Maya-sama, I will do the rest myself" Laquos told the blue-haired woman tending to him.

"Okay" Maya nodded.

"I can't believe that Zoro" Nami frowned.

"That aside, whatever happened to the boys and Miss Swordswoman?" Robin asked.

"Damn, where have they gotten to?" Sanji asked. "They better not have let anything happen to Skylar-chan" he frowned, concerned for the absent brunette.

"Hey, Robin" Nami piped up. "It sounded like Maya's grandmother knew something about the Seven-Star Sword" she pointed out as she and the older woman peered over towards the old lady who was currently busy speaking to some villagers.

"Yes, and the ritual that the Marine Dojo leaders mentioned may be important as well" Robin nodded.

"Yeah" Nami agreed.

"Well the Stamina Soup is ready, this'll help your wounds" Sanji said as he held out a bowl of soup towards Laquos. "Drink it" he instructed.

"It seems that we've misjudged you, I'm sorry" Laquos apologized as he took the food being offered to him.

"Don't worry about it—we're pirates, our lives are always in danger" Chopper assured.

"Grandmother, although they're pirates, they aren't bad people" Maya said.

"You…you shut up, you asshole!" Chopper smiled as he embarrassingly went back to making the medicine.

"Oh Chopper" Nami gently smiled.

"I will not judge you, but you must leave the island immediately" Izaya frowned.

"Huh?" the ginger tilted her head.

"Pirates or not, all lives are important" Izaya said.

-Usopp and Skylar-

Skylar groaned, eyes squinting at the setting sun as she dangled from the tree she and the sniper had safely landed in.

"I-I'm alive? Yahoo! I'm an immortal warrior!" Usopp cheered the minute he saw that he was still alive as Skylar curiously peered down at the ground from the tree branch she clung to.

"Looks like landing in this tree saved us from a splattering death" she hummed, looking around before turning to the sharpshooter. "I'm amazed that we didn't suffer any major wounds from that fall—I was so sure that we would have painted this forest floor red" she smiled, almost feeling disgusted with herself the minute she heard the whispers of disappointment in the back of her mind as if angry that she was still alive.

"I have luck strong enough to see me through the darkest of times!" Usopp proclaimed, ignoring the brunette's morbid remark as she softly chuckled. Shaking her head, she soon hummed as something below them suddenly caught her attention. "The Immortal Superhero, the Warrior of the Sea, Usopp-sama has arrived!" the sharpshooter continued to boast.

"Luffy!" Skylar gasped once she realized the item she was looking at was the rubber man's straw hat.

"Luffy?" Usopp questioned before spotting the hat as well. "L-Luffy? Are you down there, Luffy?" he asked as Skylar let go of the tree branch she was clinging to and fell the rest of the way. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she was already running as Usopp fell from the tree behind her.

"It's just his hat…" she murmured in disappointment as she picked up the straw hat, not seeing the teen it belonged to anywhere.

"Then he's got to be nearby" Usopp assumed as Skylar placed the hat on top of her head. She would never admit it, but she had always curiously wanted to wear it.

"Right" she nodded as the two of them took a step forward…only to immediately fall straight down a hole. "I didn't expect this…" she muttered, gripping the hat on her head and wincing as her bottom roughly slid against the slanted ground while Usopp's body uncomfortably tumbled down.

-Zoro-

"In here?" Zoro questioned, carrying the three orbs he had stolen as he was led to a well located in the middle of a pond out in the surrounding forest.

"Yes" Saga nodded, watching as the swordsman drop the three orbs down the well, causing Boo Kong to happily laugh. "I appreciate your help, Zoro—thank you" he smiled.

"You could've taken those even without my help" Zoro pointed out, unsure why his old friend even needed him in the first. None of the villagers were that tough and the woman who had held the orbs certainly didn't put up much of a fight when he took them.

"No, it was something that only you could do" Saga shook his head as he looked up to the moon before suddenly leaning forward and groaning.

"Master?" Toma worriedly questioned.

"Saga, weren't those orbs the cause of your pain?" Zoro frowned. "If I destroy the orbs—"

"Don't worry, I'm not in pain—I'm shaking with joy" Saga assured the two. "You'll understand soon enough" he smiled before leaving.

"And now, Roronoa Zoro is one of our nakama!" Boo Kong laughed.

"I was finally able to observe the fabled Santouryuu—it would be an honor to spar with you" Bismarck said.

"That'd be cool—I'd like to try fighting Zoro-san too" Toma agreed, brightening at the thought of sparring with the swordsman sometime. "Oh that's right, Straw Hat Luffy-san was defeated by the Master" he suddenly remembered. "But I guess that doesn't concern you anymore, right?" he asked before walking away. "Still, what that swordswoman said…" he muttered, Skylar's words still ringing in his head even after his master had told him to forget all about them.

"Swordswoman?" Zoro muttered, his chest tightening with worry at the thought of the brunette. He recalled that she wasn't with the others back at the village…he hoped wherever she was she was alright.

-Usopp and Skylar-

"What is this place?" Usopp asked as he and Skylar wandered around. "This cave sure is weird…" he muttered.

"Huh?" Skylar blinked as they came to a stop. "There's a tunnel here" she pointed.

"O-over here too—there's tunnels all over the place!" Usopp whined in distress the minute he realized that there were different paths all around them, all of them looking the same but clearly going different ways. "Dammit!" he cursed, not knowing which tunnel they should choose.

"I wonder if this is how Zoro feels when he goes off on his own" Skylar pondered, already knowing that she and the sniper were going to most likely get lost very quickly. Softly, she smiled at the small chuckle that left the sharpshooter's lips.

"Luffy!" Usopp shook his head as the two started to walk once again, calling out for their captain.

"Hey! You down here, Luff?" Skylar asked, joining the sniper.

"If you're down here, answer us!" Usopp called out. "Oi, where are you?" he asked, voice bouncing off the walls of the cave and echoing all around.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are" Skylar cooed, her voice echoing as well as she tugged the straw hat on her head further down. "Come here boy!" she soon whistled, clapping her hands as she called for the captain.

"What is he, a dog...?" Usopp sweat dropped. "Luffy!" he shouted, shaking his head before halting at the sound of laughter as the rubber man they were looking for suddenly came running towards them. "Luffy, you jerk!" he brightened as he and Skylar rushed to meet their captain.

"Oh! Usopp, Skylar!" Luffy smiled as he skidded to a halt.

"If you were here, you should've answered, jerk!" Usopp snapped as Skylar removed the straw hat on her head and placed it on her captain's, causing his smile to widen.

"There you go" she smiled, patting his head.

"Thank you, Usopp, Skylar!" Luffy laughed.

"What are you so happy about?" Skylar curiously asked, raising an amused eyebrow.

"W-what's so funny?" Usopp nervously laughed, suddenly getting a bad feeling.

"Well you see, when I pulled on a string that thing came rolling down!" Luffy grinned, pointing back the way he came as Usopp screamed. Skylar's eyes widened the minute she spotted the large boulder that was rolling towards them.

"Idiot! You activated a trap!" she snapped, smacking the laughing teen on the back of the head before grabbing his wrist as the three took off running.

"W-w-what is that?!" Usopp cried.

"These tunnels are fun!" Luffy laughed.

"How can you be laughing at a time like this?!" Skylar snapped. "We're going to be crushed!"

"S-s-s-s-stop laughing and do something!" Usopp tearfully cried.

"Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy instantly turned around, punching the boulder with all his might and shattering it.

"Well, that's one way to do it" Skylar said, a small smile tugging at her lips as she looked down at the shattered pieces of rock in amusement. "Good job, Captain" she praised, giving Luffy's shoulder a firm pat.

"I was having fun" he smiled.

"Geez, can't you worry a little more about other people?" Usopp frowned. "But I'm glad to be alive" he sighed in relief.

"Some big rock isn't enough to beat us" Luffy claimed, unsure why the sniper was so worried in the first place.

"Luffy, don't make me worry so much" Usopp scolded before glaring at Skylar the minute she chuckled.

"Though we could have died…I think Luffy's right, that was kind of fun" she confessed, her captain brightly smiling at her as he laughed.

"Don't encourage him…" Usopp grumbled. "Anyway, we got to get out of here—is there an exit?" he asked, looking around.

"I'm pretty sure it'll be this way" Luffy suddenly pointed towards one of the other tunnels that littered the cave.

"Okay" Usopp nodded as the two followed behind their captain, not questioning why he thought that tunnel in particular would lead to the way out. "Hm? Now which way?" he asked when they suddenly came across two more tunnels.

"Are you sure we should be letting Luffy lead the way?" Skylar raised an eyebrow as Usopp only shrugged.

"What other choice do we have?" he asked, unsure what else they could do. They didn't have a map and none of them were as smart as Nami or Robin, so their best bet was to just pick a tunnel and pray really.

"This way" Luffy pointed as he suddenly took off running down one of the tunnels.

"O-okay" Usopp nodded as he and Skylar quickly followed.

"Hey, a string" Luffy brightened, skidding to a halt the minute he spotted a long piece of string dangling from the ceiling.

"Why in the world would a piece of string be in a cave?" Skylar frowned before her eyes widened as the captain suddenly reached for it.

"Huh? Don't!" she and Usopp shouted, tensing the minute their captain grabbed hold of the string and pulled it without a second thought.

"Huh? It broke" Luffy blinked as he looked down at the now-broken piece of string in his hand.

"Whew, I thought it would be a trap" Usopp sighed in relief before flinching as the cave suddenly started to tremble. Yelping, he jumped onto Luffy's back when a rock came crashing down—nearly crushing him if he hadn't moved. "It's a trap!" he wailed as the three took off running once again with rocks now falling from the ceiling around them.

"Of course it is…" Skylar heaved a tired sigh before slowly starting to laugh alongside her captain as the absurdity of the situation finally dawned on her.

"This cave is full of adventures!" Luffy cheerfully shouted as he carried Usopp.

"Watch out! Watch out!" the sharpshooter wailed as he tightly clung to the rubber man, the only one out of the two appropriately freaking out.

-Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Robin-

Maya sighed as she gently draped a blanket over a sleeping Laquos who had fallen asleep while keeping guard at the entrance of the village. Robin silently watched the young woman walk away before she made her way over to one of the village's statues. Carefully, she walked around her sleeping comrades, making sure not to disturb any of them.

"Three princes, a priestess, the moon, and a prayer" she quietly read as she looked at what was etched into the stone.

Outside of the village, Maya rushed through the forest and back towards the palace by the lake she had been swimming in earlier that day. Dropping to her knees in front of the statue of a woman, she began to weep.

"What can I do?" she whimpered. "Forgive me…Saga."

-Luffy, Usopp, and Skylar-

"This is fun!" Luffy laughed alongside Skylar as Usopp only whimpered in response, the three now sliding down a steep slope and into another tunnel further underground.

"This is not fun!" Usopp snapped.

"Come on, Usopp, lighten up" Skylar smiled.

"You're just as bad as him!" Usopp frowned. "You practically enable him!" he cried as the brunette laughed.

"Huh? What's that?" Luffy blinked, tilting his head the moment he spotted a certain rock jutting out of the ground. "Something's written on here" he pointed.

"Kumo" Skylar read aloud, fingertips barely brushing over the cold surface of the rock as she traced the written word.

"Oh! Look, Usopp, Skylar!" Luffy excitedly exclaimed. "It's the exit!"

"W-we made it!" Usopp happily laughed as the three rushed out the opening of the tunnel their captain had found and into fresh air. "We're out, huh?" he eagerly looked around.

"The only thing out here is that weird tower" Luffy frowned.

"We'll, we're out…but where the hell are we?" Usopp asked as he continued to look around, unable to spot anything that might be familiar to him. "There's no point in getting out if we can't find the others, Luffy, Skylar" he told the two who were now curiously looking around as well.

"Maybe we can just go the opposite way of that weird sign" Luffy suggested.

"Maybe…" Usopp muttered. "Yosh, let's go" he eventually nodded as he went straight back into the cave.

"Yeah" Skylar and Luffy agreed, quick to follow their friend.

"W-wait up, Luffy!" Usopp shouted the minute the rubbery teen got ahead of him and Skylar. Pretty soon much to the sniper's dismay, the captain activated another trap which caused the ground beneath him to instantly cave in. Quickly, Luffy grabbed onto the edge before he could fall to his death—his body stretching downwards as Skylar skidded to a halt the minute she reached the hole, stopping herself from accidentally falling in.

"Shit, that's a deep hole…" she lowly cursed as she warily peered down.

"Luffy" Usopp said, unintentionally ramming straight into the brunette's back, causing them both to lose their balance and fall right in. Quickly, Skylar wrapped her arms around Luffy's legs to stop herself from falling to her death as Usopp wrapped his arms around her own.

"Anytime you want to pull us up would be great, Luff" Skylar grunted, her grip around the captain tightening a bit the minute she felt gravity start to weigh her down thanks to the sniper clinging to her legs. Nodding, Luffy used all of his strength to throw them back up onto solid ground where they then continued to run. At some point, the rubbery teen found himself carrying Usopp on his back once again. Skylar chuckled as she watched the sniper hit his head on one of the stalactites and fall back, causing Luffy to drag his body through the cave behind him.

"Found it" Luffy skidded to a halt as he spotted another rock jutting from the ground just like the first one.

"Tonroh" Skylar read, examining the writing on the rock.

"We're out!" Luffy cheered as the three rushed out of the new opening they had found.

"Another weird tower…" Usopp muttered as the three spotted another strange tower instead of a way to find their friends.

"Nami! Sanji! Are you here?" Luffy called out.

"Doesn't look like it" Skylar responded, closely looking around at everything that she could see yet unable to spot anything familiar.

"Guess we'll have to turn back again" Usopp sighed as the three reentered the cave and started to wander once more. It wasn't long before they found themselves having to run up a slope with water running down it.

"Usopp…hurry up…" Skylar grumbled from behind Usopp, trying her best to dig her feet into the wet, muddy ground so she wouldn't slip. "O-oi!" she flinched when he suddenly slipped and came sliding back down towards her, practically knocking her off her feet. Luckily, Luffy was quick to grab the sharpshooter's nose while she grabbed onto his legs—the two of them were soon being pulled up the rest of the slope by their captain.

"Don't pull my nose!" Usopp frowned.

"How many traps are there in this place?" Skylar groaned as the three now found themselves having to avoid the spears being shot out of the cave's walls. Slowly, she found herself growing more and more irritated with every trap set off. Not long after, the group was soon being chased down one of the many tunnels by stone wheels.

"Here's another one" Luffy pointed as they finally came across another rock with writing on it.

"Hagun" Skylar panted as she read the word, amazed that they had been able to survive long enough to find another one of these strange rocks.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Usopp muttered as he stared at the rock.

"Over there" Luffy motioned, the first one to spot the exit associated with the jutting rock. "Oh, there's another one, Usopp, Skylar—this is the third one" he remarked the minute he saw the tower.

"Y'know, finding these things isn't cheering me up at all" Usopp heavily sighed.

"I'm tired of all this running around" Skylar suddenly yawned, stretching her arms upwards.

"I'm hungry" Luffy groaned, his stomach growling as he fell backward onto the ground.

"Me too…" Skylar and Usopp muttered, their stomachs starting to growl as well at the thought of food before they finally fell backward onto the ground beside their captain. Instantly, the three curled close to one another as they fell asleep.

-Zoro-

As soon as the morning sun rose, the Marines of the dojo lined up as usual with Toma, Boo Kong, Bismarck, and Zoro taking their place at the front of the men.

"Soon, the awaited time will come and then I will grant all of you an insurmountable power!" Saga proclaimed. "The distinction between good and evil will not be determined by laws or order—or even by God—but by power! Power…those who possess power will become Gods and become the true rulers of this world! That is the true meaning of justice!" he declared, his eyes tinted a slight red as he drew his sword. My swordsmen, bearing the Seven-Star Sword—in the name of us true justice—we will cut a path into a new world with our power!" he boomed.

Zoro stared at the sword that had been drawn, noting how it oddly seemed to shine and glow in a rather unnatural fashion. Around him, the Marines' eyes began to glow a similar red to Saga's as they drew their swords and cheered. Bismarck and Boo Kong cheered as well while Toma kept oddly silent.

"This will make my dream a reality, Zoro—that's why I brought you here" Saga explained.

"Dream?" the swordsman questioned.

"Yes, my dream will be realized on the night of the Red Moon!" Saga proclaimed, holding his sword high as it started to glow once more.

At the same time, the three orbs down in the well started to glow as well before falling deeper into the only source of water that was located at the bottom where they were then swept away by the faint current in the underground stream.

-Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Robin-

"Does your arm still hurt?" Maya asked, pouring some tea as Chopper continued to stuff his face with that morning's breakfast.

"Nope, it doesn't hurt a bit" Sanji shook his head, thanking the young woman for the tea she sat in front of him.

"As soon as you've finished eating, you must leave this island" Izaya urged the band of pirates. "I warned you last night" she frowned.

"We can't leave until Luffy, Usopp, and Skylar get back, right?" Chopper asked.

"That's right" Sanji nodded. "It'd be cruel to leave poor Skylar-chan behind" he said.

"I'm sure those three got lost and have been walking around the entire island" Nami huffed.

"Probably saying something like, it's an adventure" Sanji snickered as he quoted their captain, certain that the rubber man was having the time of his life wherever he was.

"Then when your nakama come back, you will immediately—"

"Do you really want us gone that badly?" Sanji interrupted.

"Is it because we're pirates?" Chopper curiously asked.

"It's not that, we're saying this out of concern for your safety!" Laquos defended.

"Oh, you mean our lives are in danger?" Nami questioned.

"Young lady, you and your crew came to this island after hearing the rumors of the Seven-Star Sword, correct?" Izaya asked.

"Yep, Nami loves treasure!" Chopper nodded.

"Chopper, you didn't have to tell her that!" the ginger snapped.

"As I feared" the old woman said.

"The Seven-Star Sword isn't the kind of treasure you think it is" Maya frowned.

"Oh, Robin was saying something like that too" Nami said.

"The tragedy began on the night of a Red Moon—on that ominous night, the three princes of Asuka Kingdom beheld a beautiful priestess, and all fell in love with her" Robin began after the four were brought to a particular statue in the village. "In order to win the favor of the priestess, the princes brought forth the Seven-Star Sword—the symbol of the royal family—and fought for it" she said. "The cruel battle between the brothers spread throughout the kingdom. The land and the sea were stained with the blood and suffering of the victims and so the Seven-Star Sword—having absorbed the blood and hatred of so many—began to bring about massacre and destruction" she continued as she read what was inscribed on the statue in front of her. "It became a cursed sword and the Kingdom of Asuka was destroyed."

"A cursed sword?" Sanji echoed from his spot on the stairs.

"Incredible, you can read all of that?" Maye awed, amazed the woman was able to translate the ancient text carved onto the stone.

"Robin's an archaeologist, she's super smart!" Chopper smiled.

"But I can't read any further" Robin confessed the moment she saw that part of the statue was broken and covered in moss.

"Huh?" the reindeer tilted his head.

"It has long since deteriorated" she explained.

"I will tell you the rest" Izaya suddenly spoke up.

"Grandmother?" Maya questioned.

"Allow me" Sanji moved out of the old woman's way as she walked up the stairs.

"The dreadfully cursed sword, the Seven-Star Sword, as blood begot blood" Izaya began. "It continued to spread war until it engulfed this entire region" she said as she approached one of the destroyed statues. "Our beautiful ocean became a world ruled by darkness and then, in a final effort to save the people from war, the priestess took all of the hatred from the Seven-Star Sword into herself and sacrificed herself" she continued. "Upon learning of the death of their beloved priestess, the princes vowed to atone for their sins. The Gods of the Seven Stars of Asuka granted them three jewel orbs, which sealed the powers of the cursed Seven-Star Sword.

"But once every 100 years—when the Red Moon shines—the cursed sword gathers enough strength to break the seal and awaken to spread its dark power again" she ominously finished.

"Dark power?" Robin echoed.

"Therefore, Maya purified the sacred orbs and was going to take them to three towers and perform the ritual to erect a barrier around this island, but…" Izaya trailed off.

"The night of the Red Moon?" Nami questioned.

"It's tonight" Laquos told the group.

"What?" Chopper blinked.

"So that's why those Marines were trying to stop the ritual" Sanji realized.

"Their leader, Saga, is in possession of the Seven-Star Sword" Laquos explained.

"The Seven-Star Sword?" Robin questioned.

"Saga is trying to revive the power of the cursed sword and the Sealing Ritual would have stopped him" Laquos explained. "By stealing the sacred orbs, he can prevent us from performing it—but those who have accepted the dark powers of the cursed sword cannot touch the orbs. That is why he used the outsider, your nakama, to steal them" he clarified.

"Wait a second! Who's this Saga guy?" Nami frowned. "You're saying that Zoro did this for him?" she questioned.

"That's a lie! That's not possible!" Chopper argued.

"They are friends who studied swordsmanship at the same dojo when they were young" Maya said.

"What?" Nami and Chopper asked.

"When Saga still lived in this village, he would reminiscence by telling me about it—he also told me about the promise they made" Maya explained.

"A promise?" Nami questioned.

-Flashback-

"Are you Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro?" the pirate captain asked after watching the swordsman take down his remaining men.

"I heard that you were the strongest pirate in the area" Zoro said. "Looks like it was just an over-exaggerated rumor" he scowled, unimpressed with the man and his crew.

"This fight is not over yet!" the pirate snapped as he drew two of his guns from his pocket.

"You can't beat him with those" Saga suddenly piped up.

"What? Who the hell are you?" the pirate frowned before wincing as the silver-haired man slashed the guns out of his hands and punched him in the gut. Groaning in pain, the captain hunched over as he dropped to his knees.

"Long time no see" Saga greeted as he looked towards the moss-haired man.

"Is that you, Saga?" Zoro asked, surprised to see his old friend here of all places.

"I've also started on a warrior's journey to hone my skills as a swordsman" Saga explained. "I knew that I'd find you someday, Zoro! Have you found that girl yet…what was her name again? Skylar?" he questioned, vaguely recalling the shy brunette who used to follow his friend around in their youth before she disappeared.

"Not yet, still looking" Zoro shook his head, smiling at the thought of the brunette before blinking when he caught sight of the short sword in the other man's pocket. "You still have that?" he questioned.

"Of course! This short sword represents our promise, after all—did you forget?" Saga teasingly asked. "The morning that you left the dojo, we made a promise to each other—you would become the world's greatest swordsman and I would master the sword of justice!"

"I'll never forget" Zoro grinned.

"You jerk" Saga laughed as he flung an arm around the swordsman's shoulders and lightly punched him in the chest.

-Time Skip-

"Kill 'em! Kill 'em all!" a pirate shouted as he and his men raided the ship they had come across.

"You greedy pirates! Who do you think is on this ship?" Saga frowned as he and Zoro fought back against the men that surrounded them.

"Saga" Zoro frowned the minute his friend lost his balance as the nearby ship's anchor suddenly crashed into their own—landing right where he had been standing. Painfully, the chain of the anchor wrapped itself around the silver-haired man's arm, leaving him dangling over the hole the anchor had made.

"The gunpowder's caught on fire!" Saga shouted when he saw that the fire already ravaging the ship was slowly starting to burn a bit too close to the barrels of gunpowder below the deck.

"Saga" Zoro repeated as he looked down at the dangling man.

"Zoro" he calmly responded.

"Wait for me" the swordsman said, prepared to help his friend.

"That won't work" Saga shook his head as the swordsman attempted to cut the iron chain he was tangled up in. "Dammit! Zoro, on the ship we were on—in the captain's cabin—there's an axe, go get it" he hurriedly instructed. "You might be able to cut through the chain with that" he suggested, certain that the axe's blade would be stronger than the swordsman's katanas.

"Idiot! I'm not going to leave you behind!" Zoro snapped.

"I can handle things here myself—hurry up and go, Zoro" Saga assured his friend, urging him to leave.

"You better not die" Zoro frowned, reluctantly agreeing to do as the silver-haired man had said.

"Yeah" Saga nodded.

"I'm coming back to save you!"

"You'd better not die either, Zoro!" Saga called back to his friend. As soon as Zoro jumped off the burning ship, the fire finally reached the gunpowder and exploded.

"Saga!" he shouted before screaming as the force of the explosion threw him back. "Saga!"

-End of Flashback-

"Despite miraculously surviving the explosion on the pirate ship, Saga lost the use of his right arm" Izaya explained as she led the pirates through the forest. "Plagued by despair, he drifted to our island in the Grand Line."

"So he saved Zoro's life" Nami tilted her head.

"A promise, eh?" Sanji questioned.

"Judging from that story, Saga doesn't seem like an evil man" Robin pointed out.

"When Saga first came to this island, he was lethargic and distant" Laquos explained. "But with Maya-sama's encouragement and kindness, he slowly began to open up and regain his hope" he smiled.

"I had thought those two would wed and live in the village together" Izaya sighed.

"Maya-chan, does that mean Saga's your…?" Sanji trailed off as the young woman took off running, unable to listen anymore to what was being talked about.

"Then a year ago, pirates came and attacked our peaceful village" Laquos said. "Saga took a sword and fought alongside us."

"But then, in the palace across the lake, Saga came across the cursed Seven-Star Sword" Izaya grimly recounted.

"Maya-chan…" Sanji muttered.

-Flashback-

"Maya…" Saga weakly groaned, dropping the short sword that represented his and Zoro's promise the minute he was wounded. He frowned as one of the pirates slapped Maya away the minute she tried to protect him. "If only I had more power…" he grunted as the cover to the tomb behind him fell off completely, catching his and the pirate who was ready to kill Maya's attention. "Maya…" he breathed as he rested a hand back on the Seven-Star Sword.

"Don't pick it up!" Maya frantically cried.

"I'll save you…!" Saga weakly proclaimed as he moved his hand towards the handle of the sword.

"Stop, Saga! Saga, no!" Maya pleaded as the man wrapped his fingers around the sword's handle, causing a green glow to emit from it. "Saga…" she whimpered as he stood and started to mercilessly cut down the pirates around them. Her body trembled as her eyes widened in fear when he suddenly started to laugh with malicious joy. "Why? Why?" she shakily asked before feeling her body lean forward as she started to pass out.

"Saga…" was the last thing she mumbled before she fell unconscious, Saga catching her so she wouldn't hit the ground as he continued to laugh.

-End of Flashback-

"I see…so in order to protect Maya-chan, Saga took the Seven-Star Sword" Sanji nodded.

"If I had protected Maya-sama…" Laquos trailed off as they turned to the young woman who stared out towards the sacred palace.

"Quiet, no one is to blame!" Izaya frowned. "No one…" she repeated.

"Ever since then…the power of the cursed sword…had been controlling Saga's mind!" Maya cried, thick globs of tears now rolling down her cheeks. "And now, Saga…no, the Seven-Star Sword…has gathered Marine swordsmen and is once again trying to create a world ruled by darkness to feed its bloodlust!" she frowned.

"What?!" Nami and Chopper shivered.

"A dark world where people wage war, blood is spilled…and all is brought to ruin" Izaya glared.

-Luffy, Usopp, and Skylar-

"Man, we've been at this since yesterday" Usopp groaned as he and the other two found themselves once again wandering around the inside of the cave. "How long is it going to take to get out of these tunnels?" he muttered, busying himself with removing the arrows from the latest trap they ran into from his bag.

"Well maybe if we stop letting Luffy lead, we might stop running into these traps and actually find our way out" Skylar said as the group came across two more tunnels.

"It's this tunnel!" Luffy suddenly pointed down one of the tunnels. "I've decided we're going."

"Wait, Luffy" Usopp said, stopping the rubber man from taking off running. "If we let you decide, I'll be dead before we make it out!" he cried, causing Skylar to snort.

"That's for sure…" she muttered, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"We'll go this way" Usopp said, choosing the opposite tunnel that the captain had chosen. "Ahh! It's the wrong one!" he soon cried as they now found themselves rolling down a rocky tunnel.

"Haha! This is fun!" Luffy laughed.

"Sure is" Skylar giggled before groaning at the rough landing the three had with the ground.

"No more! I can't move!" Usopp cried.

"Haha! That was fun!" Luffy happily laughed.

"Why does this all keep happening to us?" the sharpshooter whimpered.

"Oh, I have some ideas as to why" Skylar hummed as she looked towards her laughing captain.

"But I'm still hungry" Luffy's laughter abruptly stopped as his stomach started to growl once more, reminding him that he still hadn't eaten since yesterday.

"Dammit! This is all Zoro's fault!" Usopp snapped, causing Skylar's smile to shrink at the thought of the swordsman and what that Marine had said. "Zoro had to go and leave us like that…" he grumbled as he crossed his arms.

"Hm?" Skylar blinked as Luffy rested his hand on her shoulder, giving her a bright smile as if to assure her that everything was going to be okay.

"Water?" Usopp questioned as the group suddenly became aware of the sound of running water nearby.

"Hey, it is water" Luffy agreed as he hurriedly climbed onto a pile of rocks, quick to spot the stream of water on the other side that seemingly ran through the cave.

"I wonder if it leads to a well" Skylar hummed as she followed the rubber man's lead and looked towards the stream as well.

"What are these?" Luffy curiously asked, picking up the three orbs he had spotted shimmering within the stream. "Oi, Usopp, Skylar, I found some weird balls—" he yelped, suddenly losing his balance as he fell into the water—hitting his back against the cave wall and causing it to sink inwards.

"Oh no, please tell me you didn't just set off another trap" Skylar groaned.

"Did you find water?" Usopp asked, finally climbing up the pile of rocks as water started to shoot upwards. Luffy tightly clutched the orbs to his chest as water shot throughout the cave, rapidly filling it and dragging the three under.

-Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Robin-

"Grandmother, isn't there any other way to stop the Seven-Star Sword from reviving?" Nami asked.

"Without the jewel orbs that were to be placed in the three towers, we can't perform the ritual" Izaya shook her head as the group slowly made their way back to the village.

"All because of Zoro…" Chopper sadly muttered.

"So all you can do is sit and watch?" Nami frowned.

"There's only one other way" Maya suddenly said.

"Maya" the old woman frowned.

"What is it?" Nami curiously asked.

"The priestess in the legend is my distant ancestor—if I sacrifice my own life…" Maya trailed off, avoiding all eye contact with everyone.

"Maya-sama" Laquos frowned.

"Maya's going to die?!" Chopper cried.

"What are you saying—that's just a legend, isn't it?! It's just a fairytale!" Sanji snapped. "I'm not going to believe that rubbish!" he frowned.

"But the Seven-Star Sword really does exist!" Izaya argued.

"Even so, you have no idea if that story's true and you're willing to let your darling granddaughter die?!" Sanji glared.

"You think I'm willing to do this?!" Izaya screamed, offended that the blond thought so lowly of her.

"I'm sorry, I said too much" Sanji quickly apologized.

"Never mind" the old woman shook her head. "I'm grateful for your thoughtfulness—this is our destiny" she heavily sighed.

"Destiny?" Nami blinked.

"Our family has been charged with being priestesses for generations" Izaya explained. "But to my knowledge, there has never been anyone gifted with the abilities as Maya" she said.

"Abilities?" Chopper tilted his head.

"With the power of prayer" Izaya clarified.

"Prayer?" Robin questioned.

"Although we cannot use the power of the orbs…by relying on Maya's power, we will perform the ritual that will stop the revival of the Seven-Star Sword" the old woman explained as she took hold of Maya's hand. "That is our destiny, forgive me" she pleaded.

"I understand" Maya nodded.

"Maya-sama…" Laquos mumbled.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Chopper asked. "Hey, isn't there any other way?" he frowned, not liking this solution at all.

"What's that sound?" Nami suddenly asked, her head perking up the second the ground beneath her feet started to tremble.

"Can it be? Is this the precursor to the Seven-Star Sword revival?" Robin asked.

"What?!" Chopper's eyes widened in panic.

"It's too early for the moon to be out" Sanji pointed out before flinching as a burst of water came shooting from the ground.

"You moron!" Usopp snapped as he, Luffy, and Skylar were shot into the air by the water. Luffy loudly laughed as Skylar screamed, tightly clinging to the rubber man as they fell.

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" she tearily cried, face practically buried in her captain's chest.

"Luffy?" Nami questioned.

"Usopp? Skylar-chan?" Sanji blinked as Chopper started to happily laugh at the three.

"What's going on?" Izaya asked as the three crashed to the ground. Luffy continued to laugh as Skylar clung to him, looking both terrified and nauseous as her eyes spun in circles.

"We survived…?" she murmured, shaking her head as she shakily looked around. "We survived…!" slowly, she found herself starting to laugh as well as she sat up and patted her body down—amazed that they had survived such a massive fall.

"What are you two doing? Is Skylar-chan alright?" Sanji worriedly asked as he and the other Straw Hats came rushing towards the three.

"Yeah, I think I'm fine…" Skylar weakly chuckled, still looking a little pale as she shakily stood.

"Oh, guys" Luffy stopped laughing as he smiled in greeting at the others.

"We were worried about you, Luffy" Chopper frowned.

"Sorry, sorry" the rubber man apologized.

"Ah, we finally found the others" Usopp sighed in relief.

"Look at you three" Nami frowned.

"Hey, it was him who..." Usopp trailed off, looking around as Maya, Laquos, and Izaya came running over to the group.

"Is this where you went?" Luffy curiously asked as he looked at the blue-haired woman.

"This is Maya-chan's village" Sanji answered.

"Your name's Maya?" Luffy asked.

"Yes" the priestess nodded.

"I'm Luffy" he introduced.

"I'm Usopp" the sharpshooter smiled.

"Skylar" the brunette waved.

"What have you guys been doing?" Nami asked, placing her hands on her hips as she looked at the three with narrowed eyes.

"Well you see, we fell into a cave" Usopp answered. "That cave was so long that we got stuck running around inside it yesterday and we finally…" he trailed off as Robin peered into the hole that the water had made when it busted through.

"With all the danger around here, you three have been off enjoying yourselves" Nami frowned.

"I don't think almost being killed by traps is classified as enjoying ourselves as you so eloquently put it" Skylar sweat dropped as she crossed her arms.

"Enjoying ourselves?!" Usopp snapped as he jumped to his feet.

"It's been dangerous for us too!" Luffy argued, standing as well.

"That's right, Captain" Usopp nodded.

"Yeah" Luffy nodded as well.

"Yep" Usopp nodded once again. Skylar heaved a tired sigh before smiling as Luffy suddenly wrapped his arm around the sharpshooter's neck, unintentionally choking the poor man.

"Yeah, whatever" Nami and Sanji rolled their eyes.

-Later-

"Luffy, you fought Saga at the Marine Dojo!" Nami gaped after hearing what Luffy, Skylar, and Usopp had to share as the sun slowly started to set for the day.

"I see, Zoro went to see him to keep a promise" Luffy nodded after hearing what the others had found out in return.

"That makes sense…" Skylar muttered.

"We saw it firsthand" Usopp nodded. "That sword he had was the Seven-Star Sword that you guys were talking about—it's definitely not natural" he shivered. "It was like it gave you the creeps and emitted this weird light! It was more than just making you feel weird!" he cried.

"Yeah, I felt uncomfortable just looking at it—it felt like it was the embodiment of malice itself while oozing a sense of bloodlust" Skylar agreed.

"Anyways, are you serious about sacrificing yourself?" Usopp asked before looking towards Sanji. "Hey" he frowned, unable to believe that the blond would allow something like that.

"Maya-chan's made up her mind…" the cook grumbled.

"What are you saying, Sanji?" Usopp frowned.

"I'll be back" Luffy suddenly said, standing and pushing his hat down so that it covered his eyes.

"Luffy?" Nami questioned.

"I just have to kick his ass, right?" the rubber man asked.

"You won't succeed" Izaya piped up. "Even if you did defeat Saga, you won't be able to even scratch the Seven-Star Sword, young Straw Hat" she warned. "This will take more than strength."

"We won't know unless we try, Granny" Luffy said.

"Luffy, we already know that you won't be able to reach the Marine Dojo directly" Sanji heavily sighed.

"You're just going to end up falling into that hole again" Usopp added.

"What?" Luffy frowned.

"I mean…he's not wrong" Skylar agreed. "All it takes is just one misstep."

"It's okay" Maya spoke up, assuring the young teen that she didn't mind what awaited her.

"It's not okay!" Luffy argued.

"I'm not afraid of dying! But this is all my fault!" Maya cried, tears pricking the corner of her eyes. "That day when Saga held the Seven-Star Sword, it was in order to protect me! If I…if I hadn't been there, he would never have come across that cursed sword! I'm the one who changed Saga—it's my fault!" she wept, falling to her knees. "I caused Saga to…" she broke down crying, her grandmother quick to comfort her as she began to cry as well. Chopper also looked close to tears as he watched the two women weep in each other's arms.

"You still love that guy, don't you, Maya-chan?" Sanji sniffed.

"Love certainly is a powerful emotion…" Skylar sadly muttered as she looked away from the two women who were crying. It was one of the reasons why she was so terrified of the feeling—the intensity of it scared her and the way that it could easily make or break someone with just one word. Love strangely enough went hand and hand with fear, both emotions usually intense enough to overstimulate anyone who wasn't accustomed to either one. It was enough to make someone run and self-sabotage themselves at every turn in the name of self-preservation and desire to avoid rejection and humiliation.

"Grandmother" Maya sniffed.

"Hm?" Izaya hummed.

"I'm going to do it" the priestess firmly said, her resolve strengthened.

"Maya…" the old woman sadly mumbled.

"This time, I'm going to save Saga—even if it costs me my life!" Maya proclaimed. "I will protect this island and everyone in the village because I love them!"

"Well said!" Izaya cried as she hugged her granddaughter.

"Grandmother!" Maya tightly hugged her back.

"Maya-sama!" Laquos wept as he dropped to his knees.

"You cry too much!" Sanji snapped as he lightly kicked the man.

"You do too" Usopp frowned, hitting Sanji in the chest when he saw that the blond was crying as well.

"I'll give you a present, so cheer up!" Luffy happily exclaimed, bringing a smile to Skylar's lips.

"A present?" Nami and Sanji questioned as the rubber man took the three orbs he had found out of his shirt.

"Here, pretty balls, huh?" he grinned as he held the orbs out to the priestess.

"Huh?" Usopp tilted his head.

"What?" Skylar blinked the minute she saw Nami and Sanji's strange reactions to the glimmering spheres.

"T-those are the jewel orbs they stole!" Izaya gasped, her limbs stretching out in startlement as she now stood tall above everyone else. "Where did you get them?!" she demanded.

"I picked them up while I was running through the tunnels" Luffy answered. "You going to use 'em for something, Granny?" he curiously asked.

"Use them? Why were they in that cave?" Izaya questioned as she went back to normal, confused as to why Saga hadn't destroyed the jewels like she thought he would.

"What's up with this old lady?" Usopp mumbled.

"She sure scared us" everyone said.

"Grandmother, we can perform the ritual!" Maya happily exclaimed.

"Yes" the old woman nodded.

"Which means Maya-sama doesn't have to be a sacrifice" Sanji brightened.

"Maya, you won't have to die!" Chopper happily cheered.

"But Saga will not be unprepared" Izaya warned. "If they attack during the ritual, there will be many more causalities."

"I guess the only way is to stake my own life" Maya said in resignation.

"You believe in Saga, don't you?" Luffy suddenly asked. "Then you have to trust him completely! No one decides your fate—you decide it for yourself" he huffed.

"Yeah" Maya nodded as she gently took the three orbs.

"We're with you, Maya" Luffy assured her, reminding her that she wasn't going to do this alone.

"Yeah" Sanji nodded in agreement. "The Straw Hat Pirates are here" he grinned.

"Leave it to us" Usopp said, giving a peace sign.

"There's nothing to worry about, we're here for you" Skylar hummed with a gentle smile.

"Let's do it" Nami smiled.

"Maya, when it's time to do it, we do it" Chopper firmly nodded.

"Chopper…" the priestess breathed as she looked down at the reindeer.

"You all…" Izaya mumbled as she looked at the group of pirates in amazement.

"Everyone, please help us!" Maya bowed.

"Okay" Nami smiled, giving the blue-haired woman a thumbs up.

"Thank you, Luffy" Maya happily thanked as she looked towards the rubber man.

"Yeah" Luffy nodded. "So what're we supposed to do?" he asked.

"First, take these jewel orbs to the three towers—they are Kumo, Tonroh, and Hagun" Izaya instructed, catching Skylar and Usopp's attention. "We will use them to create a barrier that will weaken the power of the Red Moon and prevent the revival of the Seven-Star Sword" she explained.

"Hey, Luffy, Skylar, and I saw those towers" Usopp piped up.

"What?" everyone asked.

"He's right, we ran into them while trying to find an exit" Skylar nodded.

"Oh, those" Luffy brightened, remembering the towers the three of them had come across during their journey in the tunnels.

"They're all connected through those tunnels" Usopp explained, pointing down into the hole in the ground.

"What?" Izaya asked in disbelief as her limbs stretched out and she towered over everyone once again.

"Wow! That's cool!" Luffy exclaimed.

"No more…" Usopp groaned as he fell backward, causing Skylar to chuckle.

"Okay, I promise" Izaya said, returning to normal. Robin was the first one to jump down into the hole and examine the tunnel below.

"As I thought, this tunnel is not natural—it seems that it was constructed quite some time ago" she explained to everyone as they peered down at her.

"I never knew such a convenient shortcut existed—you've done well, young Long Nose" Izaya praised, causing Skylar to giggle as Usopp flinched.

"I thought you'd get all tall again and don't call me Long Nose!" Usopp snapped. "This means we weren't running around like idiots in the tunnels all night for nothing, Luffy, Skylar" he widely smiled.

"We did it, Usopp! Skylar!" Luffy happily cheered.

"Yeah, we might be geniuses!" Usopp laughed as the two put an arm around each other. Skylar laughed as Luffy stretched his arm towards her, pulling her straight into his side with his arm wrapped around her shoulders so she wouldn't be left out.

"We're geniuses!" the two men chanted, dragging a still-laughing Skylar around with them as she stumbled around.

"So happy…" Sanji grumbled. "The only genius among them is Skylar-chan."

"You guys were just lost…" Nami muttered.

"You guys are geniuses!" Chopper happily chirped.

"A whole crew of idiots" Nami heavily sighed, causing Maya to giggle.

"Maya, the sun has almost set—hurry and get ready" Izaya told her granddaughter.

-Later-

"Beautiful! Excellent!" Sanji swooned as he admired Maya with hearts in his eyes.

"Wow…" Skylar breathed, staring in awe at the woman's ceremonial priestess outfit.

"She's so pretty" Nami grinned.

"Gods of the Seven Star of Asuka" Maya began to pray, kneeling before one of the broken statues and three orbs. "Honored ancestors of the power of prayer, please grant me strength" she continued as the jewels started to glow and the names of their respective towers appeared. 'Saga' she breathed, thinking of the man she loved as her hands lightly hovered over each of the orbs.

"Thank you, Maya" Izaya gently smiled. "Everyone, we're counting on you" she said, growing serious as she looked at the pirates.

"Yosha" Usopp nodded.

"Okay guys, let's split up and get this done" Nami ordered.

"Aye!" everyone nodded.

"Let's go, big guy" Sanji said as he was handed one of the orbs.

"Okay" Laquos responded.

"Robin, Skylar" Usopp said, looking towards the two women as he picked up one of the two remaining orbs.

"Roger" Robin nodded.

"Right" Skylar said.

"Chopper" Nami smiled as she took the remaining orb.

"Leave it to me" Chopper huffed, a determined glint in his eyes as he looked up at the ginger.

"Granny, I'll do whatever you say" Luffy said.

"Yes" Izaya nodded. "Maya, we'll be relying on you most of all."

"Yes" the priestess firmly nodded.

"Is Zoro still with Saga?" Usopp curiously asked as Skylar's eyes became downcast.

"We have to destroy that Seven-Star Sword before it starts controlling Zoro" Sanji said, not making the brunette feel any better.

"Yeah" Usopp slowly nodded.

"I hope Zoro's okay" Chopper worriedly said as he and everyone else cast a glance towards Skylar. Her arms were wrapped around herself as she looked down, a look of worry etched into her face as she averted her gaze—unable to look anyone in the eye.

"Don't worry, Zoro's definitely coming back!" Luffy assured the reindeer, before looking towards the brunette with a wide smile as she hesitantly lifted her gaze. "Isn't that right, Skylar?" he asked.

"Yeah" Chopper brightened as the brunette sucked in a deep breath before releasing it in one big sigh, a small smile now tugging at her lips.

"Yep" she said, slowly nodding.

"Yeah, that's right" Sanji grinned.

"There's no way Zoro will let that thing control him!" Usopp huffed as he looked towards Robin and Skylar.

"He's pretty thick-headed after all" Nami remarked, causing Luffy to laugh. "And you're even thicker" she insulted the captain, causing everyone else to burst out laughing.

"No matter what happens, the orbs must reach their places in the towers before the Red Moon reaches its zenith tonight" Izaya informed the group.

"Yosha!" everyone nodded.

-Zoro-

"It's pretty quiet in here" Zoro remarked as he entered the now empty dojo. Looking around, his gaze soon landed on Saga's sword which currently rested at the head of the room, unattended. Approaching the sword, he curiously wrapped his hand around its handle. Glowing an eerie green, images soon flashed through his mind that caused him to quickly draw his hand back. "W-what was that?" he sputtered in bafflement, looking down at his hand.

"The Master told you that he had a dream" Toma hummed, now seated near the entrance of the dojo as he held a dove. "Should I tell you the truth about it, Zoro-san?" he asked.

"I'll ask him myself" Zoro grunted.

"You shouldn't underestimate him—the power of the Seven-Star Sword is quite strong" Toma warned as the small dove perched itself on his shoulder. "Tonight, the Seven-Star Sword will reawaken from its hundred-year slumber and its first prey will be the blood of someone strong" he explained. "They say it needs a sacrifice."

"And that's me, eh?" Zoro raised an eyebrow as he approached the young man.

"Yes" Toma nodded. "Your duty will soon be fulfilled, Zoro-san" he smiled.

"So I'm going to be sacrificed, eh?" Zoro questioned.

"I thought that Luffy-san would be sufficient, but my estimations of him were too high" Toma admitted.

"He's not the type of man who can be estimated as a swordsman—you should learn to know how to assess your opponent with one look" Zoro scoffed.

"What are you going to do, Zoro-san?" the blond curiously asked.

"I gave him my life, that's all there is to it" the swordsman responded.

"I see" Toma nodded. "About Master, what kind of person is he really?" he asked.

"He's the exact kind of man—no, swordsman, you believe him to be" Zoro answered, preparing to leave

"Please wait, I'm not like the others" Toma quickly called out to the retreating swordsman. "I still have a bit of my own will left! But pretty soon, I'll lose it completely…" he sadly chuckled at the thought. "Even though this is what I wanted, I almost feel sad about it—I won't be myself anymore and so before that happens…Zoro-san, will you hear my wish?" he asked, standing as his eyes took on a reddish glow.

"Anytime" Zoro said as Toma unsheathed his sword and lunged at the swordsman who easily dodged the attack. Turning around, the moss-haired man drew his own swords and blocked the attacks that were suddenly sent his way.

"If I die fighting you, I won't have any regrets" Toma said as he slashed at Zoro who dodged and blocked each of them. "Since I became the Master's apprentice, I've become stronger! But that's not my strength—this isn't the sword of justice I dreamed of…" he bitterly confessed. "At this rate, I'll die as nothing more than a murder" he frowned, Skylar's words from earlier still bouncing around inside his head. "I don't want that!" he cried.

"You shouldn't be babbling in the middle of a fight! Concentrate only on taking down your opponent!" Zoro scolded as he threw the young man back before rushing him. Toma blocked each of the attacks sent his way before jumping backward and away from the swordsman. "What's wrong? You finished?" the moss-haired man asked.

"Here I come!" Toma proclaimed, his eyes returning to normal as he rushed at the swordsman who in return blocked and dodged his attacks once more. Similarly, the blond did the same any time the moss-haired man retaliated.

'Saga' Zoro thought, a memory flashing through his mind the longer he and the blond fought. "You're not bad, Toma" he grinned as he blocked another attack.

"Heh, there's still more!" Toma exclaimed as he and the moss-haired man continued to fight, dodging and blocking each other's attacks. Before they could engage one another again, Saga suddenly placed his sword in front of Toma—stopping him in his movements.

"Seems like you're having fun, Toma" he remarked.

"M-Master" Toma nervously stuttered.

"Were you entertaining Zoro?" Saga calmly asked, continuing to hold his sword close to the young man's face.

"Saga" Zoro said.

"The fun and games are over" Saga said, eyes glowing red as the sword in his hand emitted a greenish glow. Pretty soon, Toma's eyes took on that same reddish glow once more.

"Toma?" Zoro questioned.

"Come any closer and Toma will die" Saga suddenly threatened the minute the swordsman took a step forward. "Toma, you will now go to your designed position" he instructed.

"Yes, Sir" Toma nodded.

"You will soon achieve your dream of possessing the sword of justice" Saga said.

"The sword of justice" Toma mindlessly echoed as he left.

"Wait, Toma! Don't go!" Zoro called out to the blond.

"I'll possess the sword of justice, justice is power…" Toma muttered as he lifted his sword.

"That's wrong, Toma" Zoro said, watching as the young man slashed his sword down before taking off running—laughing as he did so. "Sage, you bastard!" he sneered.

"Strength itself is true power—it is justice, it is everything" Saga said. "I am going to change the world into its rightful form."

"Do you even know what you did to Toma, Saga?" Zoro frowned. "You're making him do something more painful than dying" he glared.

"Toma is too weak—both his sword and his heart, that's why with my power…" Saga trailed off.

"Weak? You're wrong!" Zoro snapped. "He possessed a pure and strong will to pursue his dream just like you used to! That's why the cursed sword wasn't able to completely destroy Toma's will even when he held it" he frowned. "Toma's will is stronger than yours was! Saga, you're not the Saga I knew."

"That's right, I'm not the man I was and I will be reborn yet again, that's why I brought you here" Saga agreed, raising his sword as it started to glow green once more. "You will make my dream come true!" he proclaimed as he rushed the swordsman.

"Can't you go back to the way you were?!" Zoro frowned. "Saga!" he shouted as he dodged the silver-haired man—soon taking a defensive stance as he blocked and dodged each attack sent his way. "You idiot—open your eyes, Saga!" he huffed as he pushed back against his old friend. "Stop listening to that shitty cursed sword!" he grounded, knocking the man back which caused him to laugh as he raised his sword. "Saga, I'll break that cursed sword!" he proclaimed as the man continued to laugh.

"Tiger Hunt!" Zoro shot toward his friend, who in return easily dodged the attack.

"It won't work" Saga mocked.

"Demon Slash!" Zoro once again shot towards the man, ready to strike only for his attack to be dodged again.

"I said it wouldn't work, didn't you understand?" Saga asked. "Then your body will understand when it feels the dark fire…" he darkly muttered. "Dark Fire Slash!" he slashed a line of green fire toward the swordsman who took it head-on as he rushed forward, not bothered that he was now fire.

"Burning Demon Slash!" Zoro sent fire shooting everywhere as Saga jumped away. "W-what? I thought I'd cut it for sure" he sputtered, taken aback at his attack had missed.

"You should get it by now, Zoro" Saga calmly said. "You won't survive by simply attacking my Seven-Star Sword" he grinned.

'W-why? Why can't I cut that cursed sword' Zoro's jaw clenched as he narrowed his eyes.

"I won't simply kill you, Zoro—the Seven-Star Sword must drink every last drop of your blood" Saga ominously explained as he pointed his sword at the swordsman. "Cursing Snake Fang Successive Strike!" he rushed forward, the moss-haired man quick to block his attack. Saga soon sent a blue flame in the shape of a snake towards his old friend, who in return desperately tried to block and dodge it. Though it looked like he had blocked it pretty well, the snake soon bit his shoulder, causing him to try and block it once again. Zoro groaned as the snake changed its target and bit into his side this time before Saga tossed him into the air.

-Luffy-

"The moon looks like it may drip blood" Izaya remarked as Luffy carried her while he and Maya made their way to the palace.

"The Marine Dojo" Maya gasped the minute she spotted the Marines running in the shadows beside them.

"Just as I thought, they are all well prepared" Izaya frowned as more Marines appeared. Luffy was quick to react, punching and kicking the men away as soon as they started to attack.

"Nice moves, Granny" he praised when the old woman hit one of the men away before picking Maya up and continuing to run.

"Luffy, you…" Maya muttered, watching as the rubber man continued to fight off the surrounding men.

"Have you eaten a Devil Fruit?" Izaya curiously asked, finally taking notice of the way the young man's body unnaturally stretched.

"Yeah, that's right" Luffy nodded as they continued before flinching as loud explosions suddenly started to sound out around—the Marines now shooting at them with handheld cannons.

"Oh no, Straw Hat! We should retreat now!" Izaya worriedly frowned when she saw that the men were now aiming straight at them in a desperate attempt to stop them from reaching the sacred palace.

"Maya, stay right behind me" Luffy ordered.

"Okay" Maya and her grandmother nodded.

"That won't work" Luffy grinned as the men shot at him. Sucking in a deep breath, he inflated his body—bouncing the cannonballs back and blowing the men away, he cleared a path to the palace. "Gum Gum Sickle" he quickly knocked the men who rushed him with swords away.

"Hurry and take Maya to the top of the palace!" Izaya ordered.

"Maya, let's go" Luffy said, picking the priestess up again as he jumped up the stairs of the palace in order to reach the top as quickly as he could.

"This is high enough" Izaya assured him.

"We don't have to go to the top?" Luffy questioned.

"No" Izaya shook her head. "Maya, take care to start immediately" she told her granddaughter.

"Yes" the priestess nodded.

"Good luck, Maya" Luffy smiled as the young woman began walking up the rest of the stairs.

"Soon the Red Moon will reach its zenith—please provide Maya the divine protection of the legendary priestess" Izaya quietly prayed as Maya reached the top of the palace.

"Oh Gods of Asuka who resides within the Seven Stars, please grant me your power—the power of prayer" Maya prayed, bowing her head. "With your vast love, allow me to protect the island and ocean of Asuka from catastrophe" she continued. "Expel the evil power and allow me to rid Saga of that evil power as well—Gods of Asuka, please heed my prayers. Please grant me your powers!" she pleaded.

"Keep praying, keep praying" Izaya quietly mumbled.

"I wonder if Nami, Usopp, and the others reached the towers yet" Luffy pondered aloud.

-Sanji and Laquos-

"Oh, looks like we've got visitors already" Sanji remarked, eyeing Bismark and his men who currently blocked his and Laquos' way to their tower.

"So you really came? You should learn when to relent" the redhead scowled. "But this ends now!" he proclaimed, drawing his sword as his men charged the two.

"Bring it, shitty Marine swordsmen" Sanji growled as he and Laquos took the Marines who charged them down. It wasn't long before the blond found himself facing off against the de facto leader of the men, dodging each of his attacks while sending his own back.

"My steel armor can't be broken by your foot!" Bismark boasted as Sanji continued to kick him.

"Is that so? Then maybe your head and face should have armor too" Sanji remarked as he kicked the redhead in the face and straight into the wall of the tower behind him.

"Hurry and put the orb in place!" Laquos shouted.

"Right" Sanji nodded as he hopped up to the top of the tower and placed the jewel in its rightful spot.

-Usopp, Robin, and Skylar-

"I've been expecting you" Boo Kong said, he and his men blocking the three's path to their tower. "Little girlies" he mockingly grinned from his spot at the top of the tower.

"Bring it on, you two-bit henchmen! I am the Brave Warrior of the Sea, Usopp-sama!" Usopp proclaimed from his hiding spot behind a nearby rock. "The rest is up to you, Robin, Skylar" he told the two, quick to push the responsibility of taking the heavy man and his men down on the women.

"Of course…" Skylar sweat dropped.

"20 Flowers" Robin suddenly sprouted arms from the ground as she threw the Marines around, not wishing to waste a single second actually engaging them.

"S-stop!" Boo Kong laughed when she suddenly sprouted two more arms on his body and started to attack his sides. Pretty soon, she sprouted another two arms on his back and threw him off the tower.

"That was easy enough" Skylar deadpanned. "I guess you didn't want to waste any time?" she questioned as the older woman nodded.

"Nice going, Robin!" Usopp cheered. "Yosh, let's go!"

"Honestly" Robin sighed as the three started to run.

-Nami and Chopper-

"You guys can't come near this, right?" Nami asked as she held the jewel orb in her hand towards the Marines who blocked her and Chopper's path to the tower. "Here" once again, she held the item out—watching as the men warily backed away from it before flinching as she suddenly knocked them off the bridge they stood on with her Clima-Tact. "Up we go" she hummed as she and the reindeer continued towards the tower.

-Zoro-

Zoro groaned as he lay sprawled out on the ground, weakly trying to reach for one of his swords before Saga kicked it away and pointed his own down at the weakened man—pressing the tip down on his hand.

"While I was stuck in a cycle of mundane adventures, I lost the use of my dominant arm—a crippling thing for a swordsman" Saga confessed as he removed his sword from Zoro's hand. "But in its place, I received the Seven-Star Sword and soon the Red Moon will reach its zenith" he said, lifting his sword and letting it absorb the blood that stained it. "Then I will become one with the Seven-Star Sword and receive all its power and then the maelstrom of war that I seek will begin. Blood will be spilled, hatred will swirl—it will truly be a world of death ruled by darkness and I will be emperor of that world!" he laughed as he held the now glowing sword towards the Red Moon.

"Saga…" Zoro groaned as he pushed himself to stand. "The dream…we vowed to accomplish…were nothing like that!" he shouted as he raised one of his swords.

"Fool!" Saga growled, slashing at the swordsman who was quick to dodge the attack. "Dark Fire Slash!" he shot a ball of fire toward the moss-haired man, hitting him head-on and causing him to smash into the wall of the Marine Dojo as he dropped to the ground. "Zoro, you aren't capable of killing me—I knew this would happen before we even began fighting" he said as he raised his sword. "Now stand, I want your blood—the blood of someone strong!" he laughed before freezing at the strange pink light that started to shoot into the air.

"What's that?" he owlishly blinked before becoming taken aback as he realized what exactly he was seeing. "It can't be…how?" he grounded.

-Nami and Chopper-

"This is it…" Chopper mumbled as he sat the jewel orb down in its rightful place, watching as a pink light shot into the air.

-Sanji and Laquos-

"Whoa..." Sanji breathed as he looked up at the light that had suddenly shot into the air.

-Usopp, Robin, and Skylar-

"Cool" Usopp gaped as the three pirates looked up at the sky.

"Won't lie, it's very beautiful" Skylar remarked with a small smile.

-Luffy-

"There are some lights flying this way" Luffy pointed as the pink light that shot from the towers made their way towards the palace.

"Now erect the barrier that will seal the Seven-Star Sword" Izaya said as the lights gathered around Maya before creating a barrier around the entire island.

"Huh? The moon?" Luffy blinked as he stared up at the sky.

"The barrier has been erected" Izaya stated.

"Then Nami and the others came through!" Luffy brightened.

"Yes" Izaya nodded. "As the moon passes its zenith, the strength of the Red Moon will dwindle" she explained. "I can only hope that Maya can continue praying until then."

-Zoro-

"Why?" Saga frowned. "The moon will reach its zenith soon! How did the barrier form?" he groaned as he suddenly doubled over. "The orbs should have been destroyed! Damn you, Maya!" he snarled before screaming in frustration at the top of his lungs.

-Luffy-

"Saga..." Maya breathed as a ball of green flames came barreling towards her, striking the palace.

"Maya!" Luffy worriedly shouted as she kept her stance, refusing to cease her praying.

"Concentrate, don't let yourself be distracted" Izaya instructed as Saga threw another ball of flames towards the young woman.

"Luffy" Maya worriedly frowned as the rubber man took the hit for her and bounced the flaming ball back.

"Don't try and stop me, Maya!" Saga snarled as he threw another ball of flames at her.

"Maya!" Izaya gasped when the flames had nearly hit her granddaughter, knocking the young woman over.

"That bastard! Maya, you okay?" Luffy asked, frowning when he didn't receive an immediate response. "Maya?" he repeated.

"Pull yourself together!" Izaya frowned. "What? Oh no!" she gasped the minute she saw that the barrier was slowly starting to disappear. "The barrier is dissipating!"

"Soon, soon I'll be…" Saga trailed off as Luffy rushed towards him. "Straw Hat, I thought you were long dead" he remarked, surprised to see the teen still alive.

"I won't lose to someone like you!" Luffy shouted.

"Stubborn fool!" Saga sneered, shooting shots of green flames toward the rubber man who in return dodged them.

"Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy shot his fist toward the silver-haired man who easily dodged out of the way. It seems that's all they did as they fought—throwing attacks that would only be immediately dodged right after. "Gum Gum Bazooka!" the rubber man shot his arms at Saga who in return sent a ball of flames towards him that he caught and sent. Luffy shot the ball of flames straight back at him. Instantly, the older man jumped out of the way to avoid his reflected attack. "Gum Gum Spear" Luffy pressed his feet together and shot them towards the man…only to have his attack dodged once again as the fight persisted.

"Gum Gum Axe!" he continued to throw attacks left and right, Saga dodging each and every one of them with ease as he in return threw balls of fire at the captain who dodged them as well.

"Dark Fire Slash!" Saga sent a wave of flames towards the rubber man.

"Gum Gum…" Luffy took the attack head-on, unfazed.

"What?" Saga blinked, taken aback.

"Windmill!" Luffy spun his around, shooting the flames back at the silver-haired man and landing a direct hit. "Gum Gum Hammer!" he soon smashed his fist down towards the older man who quickly dodged it this time.

"You'll become a sacrifice for the Seven-Star Sword—after Zoro, you're next, Straw Hat" Saga grinned before blocking the fist that barreled towards him.

"A sacrifice? He won't die like that—Zoro is the man who'll become the world's greatest swordsman!" Luffy proclaimed as he kicked Saga. "Got him" he grinned as he landed another solid hit on the man.

"It seems I underestimated you!" Saga laughed. "But the time…the time has finally come" he stood, the sword in his hand starting to glow once more as he held it towards the moon.

"The Seven-Star Sword!" Izaya gasped.

"Don't! Saga, stop!" Maya cried.

"My power is increasing!" Saga laughed as his eyes took on a reddish glow. "No one can stop me now!"

"What?" Luffy frowned as the green glow that surrounded the sword engulfed the older man.

"M-my right arm" Saga widely grinned as his right arm began to lift, facing the sword.

"Saga!" Maya cried as the man's body started to change before suddenly, a loud explosion sounded out—the force of it knocking Luffy back. "Saga!" she sobbed as the man picked up his sword after having dropped it. He looked taller now and a lot buffer compared to before—his hair had also grown longer, yet his eyes still held that reddish glow to them.

-The Villagers-

"W-what's going on?" one of the villagers shakily asked as the ground started to tremble.

"An earthquake?" one of them suggested.

"The moon's red" another pointed.

-Luffy-

"When the Red Moon shines, the sword will be imbued with a great power" Saga explained, his voice having an odd echo to it.

"It's too late" Maya whimpered, a look of defeat on her face. "The Seven-Star Sword has used Saga to break the seal."

"If the Seven Stars should fall to it, the world will be forever ruled in darkness—the Seven Stars have been defeated" Saga grinned.

"Oi! What kind of shit are you babbling about?" Luffy frowned.

"Straw Hat, let me show you the true strength of the Seven-Star Sword" Saga offered as he lifted the sword, swinging it down and destroying the ground in front of him all the way to the palace.

"Watch out!" Maya cried, holding her grandmother close as the top of the palace was destroyed. "Saga, open your eyes!" she pleaded.

"This is my power!" Saga laughed. "You see that, Straw Hat?" he asked before sneering when he saw that the rubber man was preparing for another fight. "Pretentious bastard!"

"Here I go" Luffy said as he ran forward, quick to dodge the attack Saga sent towards him as he swung his sword. He continued to dodge each of the attacks sent his way as he neared the older man. "Gum Gum Pistol!" he shot his fist forward…only for the man to easily dodge his attack before finally being struck in the face over and over the teen's flying fist. Slowly becoming agitated, Saga soon retaliated and punched Luffy in the face before slashing his sword towards him.

"Luffy!" Maya worriedly cried.

"This could be the end, Maya" Izaya whimpered as the priestess.

"I won't give up—I will pray…until the end!" there was a determined glint in her eyes as she proclaimed this.

"I'm not done yet!" Luffy laughed, before jumping out of the way when Saga slashed at him again. "Gum Gum—" before he could finish, the silver-haired man grabbed hold of his foot and threw him—sending another attack his way with his sword in the process.

-Sanji and Laquos-

"The light disappeared" Sanji blinked as he watched the orb dim.

-Usopp, Robin, and Skylar-

"Something must have happened to Maya" Robin assumed as the three now stared at the dim jewel.

"Huh?" Usopp frowned.

"Oh, I hope she's alright" Skylar bit her lower lip in worry.

-Nami and Chopper-

"What's wrong?" Nami asked when she noticed the pink light had disappeared, quickly blocking the attack Toma sent her way.

"Nami!" Chopper shouted from the top of the tower when he saw she was having trouble with the blond. "Rumble!" transforming, he jumped down to help his friend—glaring at the young man who was attacking them. "What are you doing, jerk?" he growled.

-Luffy-

"Now do you understand?" Saga mockingly asked. "Even with the Devil Fruit, you can't even scratch me."

"I'm not trying to scratch you" Luffy grounded as he picked up the boulder that had fallen on top of him after that last attack. "If I don't beat you, everything that Maya and the others are doing will be for nothing" he grunted, trembling as he held the boulder up.

"You intend on using that against the world's strongest sword?" Saga raised an eyebrow, unamused.

"Are you really Zoro's friend?" Luffy suddenly asked.

"What?" the silver-haired man asked.

"If you are, then you should be strong without that weird katana" Luffy huffed. "If that katana's the strongest, then I must be the very, very, very, very, very, very, very…" he threw the boulder towards Saga who destroyed it in return…only to be taken aback when the teen suddenly rushed him. "Strongest of all…" Luffy kicked the older man in the stomach. "The Pirate King! Gum Gum Gatling Gun!" he ruthlessly attacked the man with multiple punches.

-Zoro-

"I will…Saga…" Zoro groaned as he attempted to move, reaching for his sword. Grabbing hold of it, he slowly pushed himself to stand with its help. "I will…Saga…I will…" he panted, stumbling the minute he tried to take a step forward.

-Luffy-

Luffy continued to punch Saga over and over, not letting up once.

'Gods of the Seven Stars of Asuka, please grant me the strength' Maya silently started to pray.

-Usopp, Robin, and Skylar-

"The lights back" Robin remarked the minute the orbs started to glow once again.

"It's Luffy, he's fighting back" Usopp concluded.

"Thank goodness..." Skylar breathed in relief, smiling.

-Sanji and Laquos-

"Maya-sama" Laquos worriedly frowned.

"Don't worry, Luffy's with Maya-chan" Sanji assured the brunet.

-Nami and Chopper-

Nami tried her best to hold Toma's sword back with her Clima-Tact, but she quickly jumped away from the blond when he attempted to slash at her.

"You jerk" Chopper growled as he tried to punch the young man who in return dodged the attack and swung at him. "Horn Point!" the reindeer changed and quickly blocked each slash the blond threw his way with his horns.

-Luffy-

Maya continued to pray, causing the barrier to slowly come back up.

"Why?" Saga groaned as Luffy delivered one last punch to his stomach. "My strength is ebbing…Maya's blocked the moon's power" he growled as he dropped to his knees.

"Gum Gum Bazooka!" Luffy smashed his hands down against Saga's face. "Gum Gum Spear!" he was quick to then smash his feet into his stomach as he landed safely back on the ground. Slowly, Saga started to turn back to normal—his sword rusting before finally shattering.

"The Seven-Star Sword has been broken!" Izaya gaped.

"Saga…" Maya breathed.

"Yosh, I did it" Luffy brightened as the older man fell unconscious.

-Sanji and Laquos-

"I-Is it over?" Sanji nervously asked as he looked around.

-Robin, Usopp, and Skylar-

"The Seven-Star Sword's revival was prevented" Robin sighed in relief.

"Was it?" Usopp and Skylar tilted their head as they curiously stared at the older woman, wondering how she knew that as they looked around.

-Luffy-

Saga's fingers slowly twitched as his heart began to beat and his eyes started to flutter open. Luffy started, surprised to see the older man getting up so soon before questioningly tilting his head at the green cross that now ominously glowed on his chest.

"What's happening?" Maya asked, wide-eyed.

"All the power that was residing in the Seven-Star Sword was transferred to Saga's body!" Izaya gasped as the glow subsided and the image of a sword became engraved on Saga's body.

"What?" Luffy blinked before flinching when the silver-haired man suddenly raised his hand and threw him back—it was almost as if he slashed at him with a sword. Soon, another slash came at him despite the other man lacking a proper blade. Reaching a hand up, Saga soon started to remove the barrier.

"This is bad" Izaya frowned.

"The barrier dissipated!" Maya gasped.

"I-Is this its true form?" Izaya anxiously asked. "Saga has truly become one with the Seven-Star Sword—the barrier won't work anymore!" she exclaimed. "Maya" she quickly turned to her granddaughter who was slowly starting to walk towards the silver-haired man. It wasn't long before the ground started to tremble once more as trees were lifted into the air and rocks crumbled before lifting as well.

-Usopp, Robin, and Skylar-

"W-what's going on?" Usopp nervously asked.

"Did it not work?" Skylar frowned. "I thought you said it worked, Robin?" she questioned, looking to the older woman who was just as confused as her.

-Sanji and Laquos-

"Maya-chan..." Sanji worriedly breathed.

-Nami and Chopper-

Nami continued to block Toma's attacks as he advanced towards her and Chopper, the reindeer trying his hardest to land a hit on the young man.

"Guard Point!" the doctor turned into nothing but a big ball of fluff the minute Toma slashed at him.

"Thunder Tempo!" Nami aimed her Clima-Tact at the blond, a boxing glove soon springing out that Toma easily sidestepped.

"Rose-Colored Split Hoof!" Chopper finally was the one to land a direct hit on the young man's chest.

"We did it!" Nami cheered as the blond went flying back while Chopper returned to normal.

-Luffy-

"Saga, I will believe in you no matter what happens" Maya said as the man turned to her. "That's why I'll continue to pray until you return to your old self" she didn't flinch as he slowly started to raise his hand.

"Bastard!" Luffy growled as he emerged from the rubble and shot himself towards Saga, only to be thrown backward—destroying even more of the palace in the process.

"Maya" Izaya frowned.

"Luffy!" Maya worriedly called back to the rubber man.

"It's time for the real fight to start!" Luffy shouted. "Here I come!"

"Wait, Luffy" Zoro suddenly stopped the rubber man before he could try and engage the other man again.

"Where have you been, Zoro?" Luffy frowned, surprised by his missing friend's sudden arrival.

"That man, Saga…I will kill him!" Zoro proclaimed. "Don't interfere."

"I'm your captain, I'll make sure you'll finish this" Luffy firmly nodded as Zoro approached his old friend, picking up a discarded sword as he did so.

"Saga" he calmly said as the man turned to him. "You're a swordsman, you fight with a katana" he glared as he tossed the sword in his hand towards Saga. "I made you a promise that I would come back and save you!" he huffed, taking an offensive position. As the two prepared to fight, Maya once again started to pray.

-Sanji and Laquos-

Sanji's one visible eye widened as he watched how the orb in the tower slowly started to crack before finally shattering.

-Nami and Chopper-

Nami and Chopper flinched, frowning the minute they saw that their orb had shattered.

-Usopp, Robin, and Skylar-

"The orb!" Usopp gaped as he watched how their orb just shattered.

"It's broken!" Skylar exclaimed wide-eyed as Robin directed her attention towards the Red Moon.

-Luffy and Zoro-

'I can hear you, I can hear you calling for help' Maya frowned as she continued to pray. 'Why did you bring him here? That is something that you should know better than anyone, Saga' tears slowly started to stream down her face.

"The Seven Stars of Asuka…" Izaya breathed as the Seven Stars began to glow, causing Saga to groan in pain.

"Zoro" Luffy said as the silver-haired man sent a sudden attack towards the swordsman with little to no warning. "You are the man who'll become the world's strongest swordsman, there's nothing that you can't cut! You can even cut the moon!" he cheered.

'I will even cut my friend' Zoro frowned, lifting his sword as Saga came rushing towards him. 'Saga, I do this because I believe in you' he thought as he broke the sword his friend wielded and slashed him right across the chest. Landing safely on his feet, Saga hit the ground hard behind him. Slowly, the glow of the Seven Stars disappeared as the mark on Saga's chest vanished, only leaving behind the wound that Zoro had inflicted. Zoro smiled down at his friend before falling backward unconscious.

"Zoro!" Luffy frowned, worriedly rushing towards the swordsman before smiling when he heard his soft snores, assuring him that he was okay. "I'm hungry…" he suddenly groaned, falling back as well as his stomach started to growl once more in hunger. Maya gently held Saga, watching as the redness of the moon disappeared as Luffy and Zoro continued to sleep soundly not that far from her.

'The Seven-Star Sword was changed into a cursed sword by the hearts of mankind—a cursed Seven-Star Sword may emerge in any land, in any era' she heavily sighed before smiling when she spotted Laquos and the rest of the Straw Hats running towards them. All of them waving and smiling. 'But the hearts of mankind are also what can seal it…I want to believe—no, I will believe' her smile widened as the sun slowly started to rise and she felt Saga grab hold of her hand, slowly starting to wake up. 'If there is a darkness in the hearts of mankind, then there is also a light that can illuminate it' tears slowly started to stream down her face as she and the silver-haired man lovingly smiled at one another. Everyone surrounded the two as Skylar cast a small glance towards the two sleeping men, a small smile on her face.

Softly, she chuckled as Chopper and Usopp started to freak out the minute Izaya's limbs stretched and she stood up tall, crying.

-Later-

"Maya, those were some interesting characters—it's a shame that they were pirates" Izaya remarked as she and the others watched the Going Merry sail away.

"Oh, grandmother" Maya gently smiled as she and the old woman shared a laugh.

"For everyone's sake, I will master the sword of justice—that's the only atonement I can make" Saga promised, bringing a smile to Toma's lips as he threw his Marine hat off. 'I promise you too, Zoro' he smiled as he stared down at the short sword that was clutched in his hand.

-On the Going Merry-

"This isn't enough, Sanji! Give me more food!" Luffy demanded, causing Skylar to laugh.

"There's plenty of food" Sanji responded as the brunette leaned back against Zoro who had a tight hold on her. "Maya-chan and the villagers gave us all we could carry, here" he said as Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp marveled at all the food presented before them.

"Yummy!" the rubber man hungrily licked his lips before quickly digging in and stuffing his face.

"A party in the afternoon!" Chopper cheered as he followed in his captain's lead.

"Zoro, Skylar, come down and get something to eat" Nami called out to the two once she realized they weren't with the rest of them.

"Come on, Zoro, Skylar" Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy shouted. Skylar only smiled as she stared up at the swordsman, giggling the minute he turned his head to the side. A small smile on his lips as his cheeks grew warm.

"If you don't hurry up, they're going to eat it all" Nami warned, causing Skylar to laugh once more as Zoro only tightened his hold on her, pulling her closer to him. "Luffy, save some for me" the ginger frowned the minute she saw that the captain was still stuffing his face.

"He's probably too ashamed to show his face" Usopp remarked as Zoro buried his face into Skylar's neck, causing the brunette's cheeks to explode with color as she chuckled.

"That shithead, picking a fight with me…" Sanji grumbled. Skylar curiously tilted her head as the swordsman suddenly moved her off to the side and stood. "Yo, it's all water under the bridge—you can come down, Zoro" he assured the swordsman as Skylar got to her feet.

"Quit bothering me…" Zoro grunted, quick to pull Skylar back towards him the minute he spotted her attempting to walk off. Not ready to let her go just yet after having to spend this entire adventure unable to see her.

"The Marines!" Usopp suddenly cried as something bumped against the side of the ship, violently rocking it. Zoro tightened his hold on Skylar as he gripped the railing, steadying her before she could lose her balance.

"No, I don't think so" Skylar slowly shook her head. "I didn't see any ships nearby."

"Then what is it?" Nami frowned.

"That's a huge hippo!" Usopp suddenly gaped the minute he spotted a hippo-rhino coming out of the water and bumping against the side of the ship once more.

"No, that's a hippo-rhino" Chopper corrected.

"Hippo-rhino?" Nami questioned.

"I was saved by your ship and fell in love at first sight with the Merry" Chopper translated for the hippo-rhino as Skylar burst out laughing.

"I guess it's true what they say, you really can find love just about anywhere" she giggled.

"Did we even save the thing?" Usopp asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he was unable to recall them ever meeting the hippo-rhino before.

"If that's the case, then why is she attacking the ones who helped her?" Nami frowned.

"This must be the courtship ritual for her species" Robin assumed as she bit into an apple. "That is, she's proposing" she reiterated.

"This is priceless!" Skylar wheezed as she started to laugh harder. "Perhaps we should have a wedding?" she teasingly suggested.

"Proposing?!" everyone shouted as Zoro peered down at the laughing swordswoman in his arms, smiling as he listened to that melodic sound. He just loved to hear it. Wrapping his arms even tighter around her waist, he pulled her back against his chest—his smile growing by the minute the longer he listened to her laugh.

"Are you kidding me?" Usopp asked.

"She's going to sink the ship!" Nami cried as the hippo-rhino continued to bump against the ship.

"What were you guys doing while I was gone?" Zoro asked before suddenly falling back against the mast—groaning as Skylar soon smashed into him, now squishing him further against it.

"Thanks for the catch, Zoro" Skylar smiled, giggling at the groan she received as the swordsman narrowed his eyes.

"Okay, we're off to our next adventure!" Luffy laughed. "Full speed ahead!" he shouted as the animal continued to bump against their ship.

"I'd rather fight the Marines again!" Usopp groaned as Skylar yelped the minute she felt a slight pinch to her bottom.

"Really?" she blushed, glaring back at the swordsman as he laughed and pulled her into another tight embrace—pressing a kiss to her forehead as her face exploded with color.

---

A/N: Enjoy

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