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.

5. One Piece Movie Seven

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

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-One Piece Movie Seven: The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle-

"It's dark" Luffy whined.

"Sanji-kun, can we get some light?" Nami asked.

"My pleasure, Mellorine" Sanji cooed, lighting a lantern so the crew could now properly see the chest they had recently salvaged from the wrecked ship they had spotted earlier. Some looked down at it with eager excitement while others looked rather bored.

"Wow! Look! Look!" Nami grinned. "This treasure chest is huge—how exciting!" she sparkled, clasping her hands together as she eagerly wiggled around in excitement.

"Those eyes floating in the dim light…they're driving me crazy!" Sanji swooned, far more captivated by the ginger than the actual treasure.

"Stop babbling nonsense…" Zoro grumbled as Skylar curiously poked at the wooden chest.

"What was that?!" Sanji snapped.

"Think about how we're going to move this thing" Zoro glared.

"Carefully, I suppose…" Skylar mumbled.

"Stop it, guys! This is no time to be arguing!" Usopp scolded the two men, not wishing for them to start their usual bickering while stuck in such a tight space. "If we don't stay sharp, we're dead!" he shivered.

"What?! Are we in that much trouble?!" Chopper cried.

"We're in a tough spot, but we'll manage somehow—we always do" Robin smiled.

"True" Skylar hummed, shrugging as she continued to poke at the chest.

"Yeah, that's right—don't worry about it! Things will work out!" Luffy smiled, leaning back right as the tent over their small boat was viciously blown away by the raging storm outside.

"The tent was blown off its pegs!" Usopp cried as the group quickly became soaked by the pouring rain. Skylar squinted as her hair was violently whipped around, wetly smacking her in the face as she sneaked a peek back at the wrecked ship they were now sailing away from.

"The Merry has drifted quite far from us" Robin remarked, the first to notice just how far the ship had gotten during their absence.

"How did that happen?!" Luffy gasped.

"Geez, I wonder that as well" Skylar deadpanned as the storm continued to rage around them. "It sure is a mystery" she said.

"You're right, it is" Luffy agreed, not picking up on the brunette sarcastic tone as she blankly stared at him.

"It's your fault!" Nami snapped as she struck the back of the captain's head before letting her own droop in defeat. "Everyone came—even the ones who were supposed to watch the ship!" she groaned, frustrated with her crewmates.

"What did you expect? This is too much fun" Zoro said.

"You don't look like you're having fun" Skylar remarked as she poked at the swordsman's cheek. Glancing at her, he smiled as he wrapped an arm around her waist while she poked his face. "In fact, you look more annoyed—you know, that's not healthy for still growing plants such as yourself" she playfully scolded. "How do you expect to grow up big and strong if you're always angry?" she giggled at the annoyed look he gave her before squealing as he roughly pinched her side. "Nami, he's bullying me!" she cried to the ginger.

"Tell me about it…" Nami grumbled, ignoring the two as she thought over what the swordsman had said. He wasn't wrong, it was foolish of her to think the rest wouldn't follow her and the others on the salvaging team after spotting that wrecked ship. It certainly beat staying on the Merry and doing nothing but wait. As everyone was distracted, no one took notice of the lantern on top of the chest sliding around in response to the boat's violent movements before finally, it clattered to the ground. "That wrecked ship was abandoned, but it must have belonged to pirates" she theorized, looking back at the broken ship they were leaving.

"You think it was too difficult for them to take this treasure chest along?" Zoro questioned, temporarily stopping his assault on the brunette's sides as he looked back at the broken ship as well.

"I mean…I'd choose my life over some chest…" Skylar muttered, rubbing her aching sides as she looked down at the chest. It was massive like Nami had said—it would have been nothing more than a hindrance to the crew of the wrecked ship in this weather.

"Most of them were probably done in by the cyclone" Nami grimly remarked.

"Nami! The Merry!" Luffy panicked as he looked to the navigator for help.

"Calm down!" the ginger snapped as she turned to her captain. "We'll catch…up…soon…" she trailed off as she suddenly spotted something alarming from the corner of her eye. Turning to face Zoro and Skylar, everyone stared wide-eyed at the growing fire behind the two as looks of horror crossed their faces.

"What is it?" Zoro asked.

"Hm?" Skylar uncomfortably arched her back when she suddenly felt something hot radiate against it. Looking back, her eyes widened as she ripped herself from Zoro's grasp and hurriedly scrambled to the other side of the small boat where the rest of the crew was. Confused, Zoro looked back to see what had frightened the teen and his nakama so badly. His eyes widened as he began to panic alongside the rest the moment he spotted the flickering flames behind him.

"You idiot! Stop running around!" Nami snapped as the swordsman bolted and started to run around the small boat, screaming the word "hot!" over and over.

"Zoro caught fire!" Skylar gasped as Chopper screamed.

"He's a toasted marimo!" Luffy shouted, causing the brunette to choke on a laugh as she quickly turned her head and covered her mouth.

"Luffy, please…" she pleaded, knowing she shouldn't laugh.

"Shup up!" Zoro snapped at the captain, not pleased with his remark.

"Anyways, what are we going to do?" Robin calmly asked, unfazed by their currently burning crewmate.

"I'm burning for cool Robin-chan!" Sanji swooned.

"Sanji, that isn't helping" Skylar cleared her throat as she finally composed herself. "We need to deal with the fire first I would assume" she said.

"Gum Gum Pistol!" Luffy suddenly and without warning stretched his arm towards the Going Merry. "Yosh!" he happily shouted as he successfully grabbed hold of her mast. "Rocket!" and with that, he shot towards the ship.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Nami and Sanji snapped at their captain's retreating form, mistakenly assuming he was leaving them behind.

"Wait…" Nami paled as she finally noticed that Luffy's other hand was still tightly clutching the edge of their small boat. In the background, Zoro was now trying to put out a burning Chopper after finally putting himself out.

"Throwing him back and forth isn't going to help! Just dunk him in the sea for a minute!" Skylar frowned at the swordsman's failed attempt at throwing the reindeer around in hopes it would put the flame out.

"Don't tell me…" Nami and Sanji muttered as they ignored the ruckus behind them—already piecing together what it was their captain planned to do.

"Yosha! Get over here, everyone!" Luffy shouted, clinging to the Merry's mast as he pulled the small boat towards him.

"You shitty rubber man!" Sanji growled.

"What's wrong with you?!" Nami snapped, screaming along with everyone else as the flaming boat roughly skidded across the ocean and was dragged towards the Merry. As it was lifted into the air, the fire finally went out—leaving a trail of smoke in its place as the boat crashed onto the ship's deck.

-Later-

"Something like this happens every time, but I still can't believe we pulled through" Zoro remarked after the storm had finally passed, allowing the sun to shine brightly once more as the Going Merry sailed onwards.

"It's because we're really lucky!" Luffy grinned.

"That's for sure" Sanji sighed.

"Anyway, we got that treasure chest!" Luffy cheered, bouncing around in excitement as he looked at the chest. Thankfully, it hadn't been lost during his reckless stunt.

"Hurry! Usopp!" Chopper impatiently pleaded as he watched the sniper try and pick the chest's lock.

"Don't rush me…" the sharpshooter mumbled as he moved the bent pieces of metal in his hand around, poking at the mechanism inside. Sticking his tongue out, he focused solely on the chest as everyone else crowded around him.

"Want me to give it a try?" Nami asked as she leaned down.

"I've almost got it" Usopp waved as Skylar yawned and leaned back. Sure, she can admit it was exciting to know what was hidden within the chest, but she wasn't as interested as the others. She saw no reason to get her hopes up, already knowing who was going to end up keeping the valuables inside once the chest was opened. "It's opened" the sniper said as the lock on the chest finally clicked. Nami gasped, clasping her hands as a wide smile broke across her face.

"Well everyone…are you ready for this?" he asked as he slowly and dramatically started to open the chest. "Feast…your…eyes…?" he trailed off, confused by what he was seeing. Instead of gold or jewels, there was just a bunch of hair packed inside the chest. Grabbing hold of the hair, he roughly yanked it upwards and proceeded to pull an old woman out of the chest.

"Hi! Hi!" Roba tersely smiled, clenching her jaw as she stared wide-eyed at the group who had freed her. Without a second thought, Usopp calmly put her back into the chest—closing it before he quickly started to wrap it up in rope.

"Don't you think you're all overreacting?" Skylar sweat dropped as Luffy lifted the chest over his head. Prepared ready to throw it overboard.

"Please wait! Hear me out!" Roba pleaded from within the chest as she desperately knocked on it. Hesitatingly, the crew let her back out and stood around her—their eyes narrowed and jaws clenched in frustration. "Phew" she breathed out in relief, thankful to finally be out of that chest.

"Spare us the phew!" everyone snapped as Robin laughed and Skylar pinched the bridge of her nose. She could understand the other's frustration, but she felt they were being a bit too harsh.

"Eh? Is this also a pirate ship?" Roba suddenly asked as she looked around.

"That's not important!" Usopp and Luffy snapped.

"It probably is to her" Skylar calmly pointed out.

"What's the idea? What's an old lady doing in a treasure chest?" Usopp asked as he pointed at the old woman, confused as to why she was in the chest instead of treasure.

"I-I was captured by pirates during my travels…a-and their ship was sinking and…I-I-I—" Roba stammered as she tried explaining her plight to the group.

"You hid in the chest" Nami interrupted, finishing what the old woman was trying to say.

"Right, right, right" Roba quickly nodded.

"Where's the treasure that was in there?" the ginger asked.

"Oh, I threw it into the ocean" Roba nervously laughed as Nami dragged her hand down her face in tired frustration.

"Group huddle" she said, motioning for everyone to huddle in close. "So, what do we do?" she asked.

"It's not like we have much choice" Sanji said.

"How about we drop her off on a nearby island?" Usopp suggested.

"Too much trouble, let's just leave her in the chest" Zoro shook his head.

"I like Usopp's idea more because it actually sounds humane" Skylar raised her hand. "I rather not be the cause of some old woman's death."

"Well, I was rescued from a barrel once" Luffy added.

"That old lady seems pretty hardy" Robin remarked.

"I thought she was an alien!" Chopper whimpered, referring to how strange the old woman looked.

"Forgive me!" Roba suddenly cried, causing a few of the crew to flinch or squeal in surprise at her sudden outburst. "Forgive me! You're going to kill me and throw me into the ocean, right?" she asked.

"Why would we do that?" Chopper shakily asked.

"Say no more! What a fate!" Roba sniffed. "Just when I think I've been rescued, I end up in the hands of savage pirates again!" she wailed.

"This is no good, let's go somewhere private" Nami suggested.

"She's terrified" Robin smiled.

"Understandable, I would be too if someone suggested to leave me locked up in a chest" Skylar nodded as Zoro groaned.

"She probably just saw Zoro's face" Usopp suggested, causing the brunette to chuckle before she quickly sealed her lips when she saw the scowl on the swordsman's face.

"What are you implying?" Zoro growled, glaring at the sniper.

"Careful, Usopp, he might lock you in the chest next" Skylar teasingly warned, quickly averting her gaze when the swordsman turned his glare onto her. "Oh no…now I might be going in the chest…" she trembled with a smile, holding back her laughter as he huffed.

"Oh yeah! Treasure!" Roba suddenly clapped as if she remembered something

"Treasure?" Nami questioned, clasping her hands as her eyes turned into hearts.

"That was too easy!" everyone snapped.

"That's right! Treasure!" Roba nodded. "Perhaps we can make a deal—if you let me go, I'll give you lots of treasure!" she offered. "So please spare me…huh? Did I say something wrong?" she blinked when she saw Nami's mood quickly do a one-eighty.

"Be more specific" the navigator glared in suspicion. "What kind of treasure are we talking about exactly? You reek of suspicion" she accused as she threateningly towered over the old woman. "You expect me to buy the way you suddenly remembered about it? What if you're making it up?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"I see" Sanji hummed.

"Nami's staying cool during treasure talk!" Chopper gaped.

"I mean, she isn't one to play around when it comes to talk of money" Skylar said, not surprised by how serious the ginger was being.

"Sanji, what'd you put in her food?" Luffy asked before being kicked in the face by the ginger.

"You already know we're pirates—do you know what we do to liars?" Nami asked, her glare sharpening as Luffy cried out in pain in the background. "You better not be making this up!" she sneered as she leaned down towards the old woman who was now sweating bullets.

"I don't think this is a deal anymore" Usopp said.

"It never was a deal to begin with, if we're being honest" Skylar said.

"Well I guess I'm not the terrifying one after all" Zoro said as he rested a hand on Usopp's shoulder.

"No, no, you still are" Skylar shook her head, cheekily smiling as the swordsman glared at her.

"I-I-I mean it!" Roba sputtered as she jumped away from the navigator and held her hands up in defense. "It's not a lie! It's for real—it's the legendary treasure spoken about on my island! The Golden Crown!" she confessed.

"A Golden Crown?" Nami questioned.

"That's right—the Golden Crown said to be wearable only by the King of the Seas!" Roba quickly nodded. "I've never actually laid eyes on it…but it's worth more than any sum of money!" she claimed.

"Sounds like bull…" most everyone muttered as they looked away in disbelief.

"I'm not lying! Please believe me!" Roba pleaded. Robin watched the older woman babble in amusement as Luffy and Chopper stared at her in awe—the only two genuinely captivated by this supposed legendary treasure she spoke about.

"A golden crown that can only be worn by the King of the Seas!" Chopper exclaimed.

"Yeah and "King of the Seas" has a really nice ring to it! Just like Pirate King!" Luffy grinned as he looked down at the reindeer.

"Yeah, it does!" Chopper agreed.

"I can't wait! Don't you wanna see it?" Luffy asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, I do! I do!" Chopper excitedly nodded.

"Luffy!" Nami snapped as the captain nodded, his grin only growing.

"We're heading straight for the old lady's island!" he cheered.

"He's already too excited…" Nami mumbled in defeat as tears streamed down her face.

"R-Really?" Roba stammered.

"You bet! My mind's made up and it sounds like a lot of fun!" Luffy nodded.

"I'm also interested" Robin confessed.

"Hey, hold on a second—Nami-swan said she doesn't even know if the treasure exists" Sanji frowned.

"He's right" Skylar nodded. "There's still the strong possibility that it doesn't exist, that's why they call it a legendary treasure" she pointed out.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it does!" Luffy brightly smiled as he looked at the two.

"You know what, you've convinced me" Skylar grinned, causing her captain to cheer.

"But there's no proof of that!" Sanji irritably snapped as he clenched his fist.

"Exactly! Just how are we supposed to get to it anyway?" Nami frowned. "Old lady, do you have an Eternal Pose?" she asked.

"No, I don't" Roba shook her head.

"You see?" Nami huffed.

"We can get to it without one" Roba suddenly said.

"Did I hear you right? Without a Log?" Nami questioned. "There's no way you could…huh?!" she blinked as she bent down to see what the old woman was doing.

"We use this for my island—here take a look" Roba dug around in the sash of her dress, pulling out a circular object.

"Pretty…" Skylar muttered as she stared at the object.

"Wha…what's that?" Usopp asked as the old woman opened the circular object to reveal a tiny turtle inside. Beneath the water the turtle floated in, there was a drawing of arrows pointing in different directions.

"Oh, it's a…compass…?" Skylar blinked as the turtle moved around before pointing north like a needle of a compass would.

"It's called a Turtle Pose—if you head in the direction the turtle is facing you'll reach the island" Roba explained. "Log Poses actually never point there" she confessed as Luffy stared down at the turtle in amazement.

"So Log Poses are useless?" Robin questioned as the captain poked the small sea animal, causing it to move from its position. Almost immediately though, it moved back into place.

"Why?" Nami asked.

"I don't know, I never even thought about it" Roba shrugged.

"I see" Nami nodded.

"All I know is that there's no way to get back without a Turtle Pose" Roba said. "That's why I never go anywhere without it."

"What a mysterious island" Nami hummed, her interest in the old woman's island now piqued.

"That just makes me look forward to it even more!" Luffy grinned as he stood.

"Luffy!" Nami frowned.

"It's decided! Captain orders!" Luffy proclaimed as he threw his arms into the air.

"It could all be for nothing!" Nami argued, only to be ignored as the captain stretched his arms and threw himself up onto the upper part of the ship's deck.

"That's fine too! It's not like we're in a hurry and there could be treasure!" Luffy grinned. "She said we could have it—a pirate can't just pass up an offer like that!" he argued as Nami crossed her arms and began to pout. "Yosha! Off to wherever that little turtle is pointing—man the helm!" he cheered.

As the crew set off, everyone went about their own business.

Skylar hummed as she and Zoro cleaned their swords. Leaning her head against his shoulder, Zoro blushed as she held her sword out—examining it with a pleased smile as its blade glinted under the afternoon sun. Softly smiling, the swordsman rested his head atop hers as he continued tending to his own swords.

It wasn't long before the captain started to shout, pointing toward the upcoming island as he joyfully proclaimed that they had finally reached their destination. Everyone smiled as they watched their captain, amused by his childish excitement.

"Even though it's a summer island, there's snow on the peak" Robin remarked from the crow's nest as she looked toward the nearing island. Skylar happily clapped her hands alongside Chopper as they watched Roba dance to the song a nearby fisherman was singing. Zoro peeked an eye open, watching the brunette seated on his lap laugh. He smiled at her joyful expression as he closed his eyes and gave a content sigh.

"What is this song?" Nami curiously asked. "It just mentioned the Golden Crown" she remarked, listening closely to the singing fisherman as he lazily sang a song she wasn't quite familiar with.

"It's a folk song, even the kids know it" Roba explained.

"Don't tell me you believe in the treasure just because of that song?!" Nami frowned.

"That's right" Roba nodded.

"I knew this was a load of crap! Luffy, you idiot!" Nami snapped, her good mood now gone at the realization that the woman's only proof of the treasure's existence was some silly folk song.

"That's not true! The treasure is real!" Roba frowned, defending her belief as the ginger covered her face in frustration.

"I wonder what came first, the treasure or the folk song" Skylar hummed, pondering which inspired which.

"So what's this island called, old lady?" Sanji asked.

"Mecha Island" Roba responded.

"Mecha Island?" Sanji echoed.

"Yeah" Roba nodded.

"What kind of name is that? Who named it?" Usopp asked.

"Who knows?" Roba shrugged. "It's been called that since the olden days."

"Mecha doesn't seem fitting at all—it has more of a calm, relaxed atmosphere" Usopp frowned. "Looks like a nice, peaceful island" he remarked.

-Mecha Island-

"Hm? I don't recognize that ship" one of the residents of the island remarked as he spotted the Going Merry. "That's a Jolly Roger—it's pirates! They're heading this way!" he pointed as others stopped to now stare at the approaching ship.

"How rare! It's been quite a few years!" another resident carrying a basket of fish on his head perked up. "What are we supposed to do again?" he asked, unable to remember what they were supposed to do when spotting pirates. He was certain they had to do something specific compared to when they spotted regular ships or Naval ones.

"How about informing Ratchet-sama for starters?" a young woman suggested.

"Good idea, I'll go" the man who had first noticed the ship nodded as he walked off.

-Ratchet-

"Ratchet-sama! Ratchet-sama!" Honkey called out as he ran up a spiral of stairs

"What's all this commotion?" Ratchet frowned as he turned to the larger man who barged into the room.

"Sir! We've got some unexpected guests on shore!" Honkey exclaimed.

"And?" Ratchet questioned. "Come up with something worth saying before opening your mouth" he scolded.

"They're pirates, Sir!" Honkey reiterated.

"Are you sure?" Ratchet asked, casually twirling a wrench in the air before catching it.

"Yes, Sir! What should we do?" Honkey asked.

"Don't fret—this is a good opportunity to test our defense system" Ratchet grinned.

"Sir!" Honkey nodded, before turning and leaving.

-Going Merry-

"By the way, where should we anchor the ship?" Usopp asked.

"Anywhere's fine" Roba responded.

"This is a pirate ship!" Usopp reminded the old woman. "We can't just brazenly leave it wherever we please" he pointed out.

"Well, then how about that beach up ahead?" Roba suggested as she pointed ahead.

"What's all that?" Luffy suddenly asked as he spotted some machinery on the approaching beach. "There's something weird on the shore" he remarked.

"Oh, you're right" Usopp agreed. "It looks like some sort of machine" he squinted as he peered out from the edge of the ship and towards the shoreline, quick to spot what their captain had seen.

"It looks more like junk to me" Skylar frowned, not liking how the hunk of machinery littered the beach like an awful eye sore. It cluttered up the scenery and took away from the natural beauty of the surrounding shoreline.

"It's my son's doing" Roba said.

"Your son?" Usopp questioned.

"Ever since his father died, he's been assembling junk non-stop" Roba explained. "It's almost like he's possessed…" she sadly sighed as she looked down. "He's liked and been skilled with machinery ever since he was little, though" she explained.

"I guess everyone grieves in their own way…" Skylar murmured, latching onto what the woman had said about her late husband. Surely, that would explain her son's non-stop inventing…at least, that's what made sense to her.

"So that's some contraption of his?" Usopp questioned.

"I think it's some sort of defense system" Roba hummed as something suddenly rose out of the sand.

"Defense…system…" Usopp mumbled as a bunch of robots now pointed arrows at the ship—each lined up side by side together on the beach, stretching from one end to the other. "What the hell!" he cried as he frightfully scrambled backward.

"I hear you…" Skylar grumbled as Zoro patted her bottom, motioning for her to let him up which she did as she clambered to her feet.

"W-w-we're in trouble!" Usopp sputtered. "If they all attack! W-we're screwed!" he wailed.

"We'll have more holes than a Swiss cheese" Skylar said, causing Usopp to whine. "Or would it be more accurate to say we'd have more pins than a pin cushion…" she murmured, now wondering which saying fit better as the sniper only whined louder.

"We've got to do something!" Sanji grounded.

"Wait, I can handle this by myself" Zoro said as he grabbed hold of his swords.

"Huh? Zoro?" Usopp blinked.

"What? Wanting to show off or something?" Skylar teased, giggling at the glare the swordsman sent her before he made his way to the upper level of the deck.

"Yo-ho! Welcome to Mecha Island!" Maji greeted over a loudspeaker. "You can't win, pirates!" he proclaimed. "What exactly are you here for?" he asked. "Don't think you're going to lay your dirty hands on our island—you're not getting squat!

"This is a sacred island ruled by the great Ratchet-sama!" he declared. "Without his permission, not a single one of you insects is laying a single foot here! Got that?" he sneered. "Now turn your puny ship around and buzz off!" he ordered.

"He sure likes talking" Skylar hummed as she placed her hands behind her back and rocked her heels. Noting how the man on the other end of the speaker just kept talking, rarely ever stopping to take a breath.

"Otherwise, you'll have a thousand arrows shot through you!" Maji laughed. "Well? Are you scared?" he mockingly asked. "Why don't you run home crying, like the pathetic, breastfed wimps you are!" Skylar cringed at that last insult.

"That idiot! Always trying to talk big" Ratchet scoffed as Honkey pulled his cart with a pump cart.

"Hey now!" Luffy frowned. "It's true that we're pirates, but we didn't come here to loot! We just came to bring back an old lady who lives here!" he shouted towards the loudspeaker.

"Huh?" Maji questioned.

"Look!" Luffy held up the Roba by her hair.

"Hurry! Prepare the craft plane!" Ratchet suddenly ordered the second he spotted his mother's familiar face.

"Yes, Sir!" Honkey nodded.

"How…?" Ratchet frowned, confused how a bunch of unruly pirates had gotten ahold of his elderly mother.

"Damn you! She'd better be fine!" Maji growled. "G-G-Get your hands off her!" he angrily shouted.

"What's he on about?" Zoro asked as the man continued to shout at them.

"Dunno" Luffy shrugged. "Just who are you, old lady?" he asked as he looked down at Roba who now stood beside him on the figurehead.

"Me?" Roba innocently questioned.

On shore, Honkey wound up Ratchet's craft plane before pulling it back and releasing it as it took to the sky and soar.

"I'm this island's…" Roba hummed.

"It's…me…Mom!" Ratchet shouted as his craft plane soared towards the Going Merry.

"It's uh…" Roba trailed off as she watched her son fly overhead.

"Awesome!" Luffy sparkled as the craft plane flew past, the blond grabbing his mother in the process without the captain noticing. "H-Huh? Old lady?" he blinked as the old woman screamed in startlement the second she was swept into the air. "Soo coool!" he awed with stars in his eyes.

"What is it?" Nami asked.

"Dunno" Sanji shrugged as everyone on the ship looked up at the craft plane.

"Soo coool!" Usopp excitedly cried as he became just as starry-eyed as his captain.

"Not you too!" Nami snapped as she struck the back of the sniper's head.

"Soo coool!" Chopper suddenly exclaimed while in his big form as he also stared up at the sky with stars, causing Skylar to giggle.

"Watch the helm, Chopper!" Nami frowned.

"Come on, Nami, aren't you at least a bit impressed by that strange contraption up there?" Skylar asked before raising her hands in defense as Nami turned her glare onto her.

"He just called her Mom" Robin remarked.

"That thing's cool…" Zoro mumbled as he stared upwards

"What are you doing here, Mom? Weren't you traveling?" Ratchet asked as he held onto his mother.

"A lot has happened" Roba said, not knowing where to begin.

"Well you're fine now, but those guys are pirates! They're dangerous!" Ratchet scolded.

"They're not a bad bunch" Roba warily defended as she looked up at her son.

"General Maji, I've rescued my mother" Ratchet informed the general via a communicator.

"Roger that!" Maji exclaimed as he hopped down from his watch tower.

"We won't make it, we're running out of power" Ratchet suddenly remarked as he noticed that his craft plane was slowly coming to a stop. "Are you ready, Colonel Honkey?" he asked the man down below who was once again controlling the pump cart from before.

"Ready whenever you are, Sir!" Honkey responded.

"This embankment should do" Ratchet said as he dived towards Honkey.

"W-Wait! Y-You really plan on landing here?!" Roba nervously asked.

"Please be quiet" Ratchet calmly requested as his mother started to scream before instantly settling down as they safely landed on the pump cart.

"Nice job!" Honkey praised.

"General Maji, we're all safe now" Ratchet said into his communicator as he removed his helmet and put on a pair of yellow-tinted glasses. "Fire at will."

"Roger that" Maji responded from his spot beside the line of robots that were ready to fire arrows at the Straw Hats whenever. "Hey, guys! You're all dead!" he shouted towards the pirates. "No time to say your prayers either—you can repent in the other world!" he proclaimed as he grabbed hold of a lever and pulled it, causing the robots to release their arrows all at once.

"Shit!" Sanji cursed as Nami and Usopp screamed. "Nami-swan" he cooed as he scooped up the ginger to protect her. "You too!" he snapped, grabbing hold of Usopp's nose and pulling him along.

"Come along" Skylar sighed as she picked up a screaming Chopper—who was now back to normal size—and took him inside the kitchen, patting his head as she sat him down. "You'll be safe here" she assured him.

"So they're serious, huh?" Luffy asked as he wound his arm.

"Might as well watch the show" Skylar hummed as she exited the kitchen and prepared to watch what her captain and lover planned on doing about the oncoming arrows.

"Wait, I'll do it—don't hog all the action" Zoro said, stepping forward as Luffy stepped back with a pout. Skylar raised an amused eyebrow as she leaned against the railing and watched. "One world, thirty-six earthly desires—One-sword Style: 36-Pound Cannon!" the swordsman slashed his sword, shattering every last oncoming arrow in the sky.

"Nicely done" Robin praised from the crow's nest as Skylar clapped her hands.

"That was close…" Usopp mumbled as he sat up—an arrow pierced through his bandana.

"It got you! It got you!" Nami and Sanji panicked.

"What?! I'm done for!" Usopp wailed.

"Wait, it only got your hair" Sanji remarked as Zoro sheathed his sword and Luffy laughed.

"Huh? Oh…" Usopp sighed in relief.

"What was that? What'd they do?!" Maji frowned, not understanding what had happened. One minute the arrows were on course and then next, they were gone.

"What are you standing around for?!" Ratchet snapped.

"Ratchet-sama!" Maji gasped, startled by the blonde's sudden voice.

"The target is a sailboat, calm down" Rachet sighed into the speaker in his hands. "There's another way—Pattern Two" he reminded the general.

"Okay! Don't act so smug!" Maji shouted as he climbed atop a new piece of machinery.

"Is he going to try again?" Luffy questioned.

"You're finished!" Maji proclaimed as he jumped down onto a large lever, causing a giant fan to emerge from the sand. "This is our master plan—a sailboat interception device! The Fan King!" he boasted.

"Whatever it is, it's awesome!" Luffy sparkled.

"One thing after another…" Zoro grumbled.

"How is a fan supposed to do anything" Skylar raised an eyebrow. "The most it'll probably do is blow us away…oh" she blinked in realization.

"Well…catch you later" Maji grinned as he pulled something out of the machine, activating it. As soon as the fan started, a huge gush of air rushed towards the Going Merry—blowing it backward. Quickly, everyone tightly held onto something as Chopper and Nami began to scream at the sudden force with which the ship was now moving.

"What's this shitty wind?!" Sanji asked, composed on the outside while on the inside he was dying of pure happiness knowing that he was holding Nami who was now clinging to him.

"Have a nice trip!" Maji laughed.

"You bastard! We're supposed to get a reward for bringing that old lady back!" Usopp shouted.

"Huh? A reward?" Maji frowned.

"That's right! The King of the Seas' Golden Crown!' Nami nodded. "She said we could have it!" she shouted, causing the man to raise an amused brow before he burst out laughing. "What's so funny?!" she snapped.

"You were lured here by that fairy tale?" Maji mockingly asked. "You guys are idiots! Bonafide idiots!" he howled with laughter. "There's nothing of the sort on this island! You actually fell for that?" he wheezed, amused that a bunch of grown teens and adults fell for something so stupid. "Even kids know better—you sure got duped!"

"I never bought it!" Nami snapped, her face growing red with anger and embarrassment as she narrowed her eyes in frustration. Maji's laughter suddenly halted as he blinked and quickly turned around the second the robots behind him started to make a ruckus. He screamed as he noticed that the strong suction of the fan was now destroying the machinery behind it.

"There go the puppets!" Usopp remarked as the now broken robots were sucked into the fan, causing it to overheat. Quickly, Maji ducked as the fan started to shoot out the broken pieces of machinery toward the Straw Hats ship—destroying the sail in the process. Robin winced as she grabbed her cheek the moment it was struck by a stray piece of metal that flew by.

"It's alright after all…" Maji breathed from where he was lying on the beach, amazed that things had worked out in the end. His relief was short-lived though as arms suddenly sprouted from the ground and grabbed hold of his limbs—twisting his body and causing his bones to painfully pop. As he screamed in agony, the fan finally started to slow to a halt. Its blades were now banged up and broken from the metal shards it had sucked up and spat out.

"Nami-swan, are you okay?" Sanji asked the ginger sprawled on the ground.

"I think so…" Nami grunted. Skylar groaned from her spot on the ground, not prepared at all when Zoro had suddenly thrown her to the floor and laid on top of her to keep any flying piece of metal from hitting her.

"You alright?" he asked, worriedly looking her over as he pushed himself up onto his arms. He watched in amusement as she slowly blinked before her face exploded with color the moment she saw the position they were in.

"Yes…I'm fine…" she squeaked, covering her face as she nodded and scrambled to sit up, causing the swordsman to chuckle.

"I'm glad…" he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead the moment she lowered her hands to peek at him. He smiled as her face cutely burned brighter as she once again ducked behind her hands.

"Robin-chan, are you alright?" Sanji asked, casting a glance toward Skylar to make sure she was okay as well. It took everything in his willpower not to snap at the swordsman when he saw how close he was to the flustered brunette. He had to remind himself what Nami had said and the threat she had made to fine him should he vocalize his distaste for the two's relationship too much for her liking. It killed him how someone so innocent and sweet like the brunette had taken a fancy to such a horrid brute like the swordsman.

"Yeah" Robin nodded as she looked away from the decapitated and busted-up robot head she had picked up.

"Thank goodness…" Sanji breathed in relief as he turned his head, thankful to have a distraction.

"What're you so happy about?!" Zoro snapped at the blond as he helped Skylar to her feet. "We finally bring her back and we get turned away as enemies! Nami, take us back to the island!" he demanded as he looked back at the others. Not pleased at all with what had happened.

"I want to go back too, but the main sail has just been torn to shreds" Nami reminded him as they looked up at what was left of their sail.

"Well, that certainly isn't good" Skylar whistled as she looked at the damage that had been done. "I don't think they planned that though" she remarked, certain that the destruction of their sail was mainly an accident.

"At any rate, let's raise the back sail and drop anchor somewhere suitable" Nami instructed as Chopper exited the kitchen, once again in his big form.

"What? We haven't landed?" Luffy asked as he raised himself out of a pile of broken wood. "That's no good! We…have…to…land…" he nervously trailed off as he finally took notice of the look Nami was giving him

"Luffy!" she glared as she leaned towards her captain. "I warned you, didn't I? We were being led on, but you wouldn't listen and now we're in this fine situation" she grounded, eyes narrowed and jaw tight as her lips drew back into a forced grin. "Who's grinning now?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"The treasure exists! It does—" Luffy started to defend before being cut off as Nami pulled at his bottom jaw.

"Ow…" Skylar muttered, mindlessly rubbing her own jaw as if it was the one being unnaturally stretched.

"There's no proof!" Nami snapped. "Those guys just said it didn't exist" she reminded him, letting his bottom jaw go so it could snap back into place.

"It has to! The old lady said it did, so it does!" Luffy defended

"I'm saying that was a lie! We were tricked!" Nami argued.

"I wouldn't be so sure" Robin suddenly piped up as she came down from the crow's nest.

"Huh? Robin?" Nami questioned as she turned to the older woman.

"Not that I have any real proof, but I think both what the old lady and that man back there said points to the truth" Robin said. "The old lady said it existed because all she could think about was saving her life…yet the man said it didn't" she pointed out.

"Makes sense" Sanji nodded.

"Which means…the Golden Crown is somewhere on this island" Robin continued. "I don't know exactly where—I think that "Swaying Song" contains a hint about its location" she theorized.

"You mean that folk song that fisherman was singing?" Skylar questioned as the older woman nodded.

"Not to change the subject, but…there's something about this island that really bothers me" Chopper suddenly said as he looked towards the island.

"What about it?" Nami asked.

"Sorry, I don't really know what it is yet" Chopper bashfully admitted as he scratched his cheek.

"What is it? A scent?" Luffy questioned. "Does it smell tasty?" he suddenly asked, curious to know if it was food that the reindeer was smelling.

"No, it's not a scent" Chopper shook his head. "It's more like a voice."

"A voice?" Skylar frowned.

"I see" Luffy nodded.

"Well, just forget about it" Chopper dismissively waved, certain that it wasn't important what he was hearing.

"You didn't even say anything!" Luffy frowned, quick to realize that the doctor hadn't really said much to begin with.

-Later That Night-

"Man, what a feast!" Luffy sighed in contentment after the crew had finished eating and gathered back out onto the deck. Night had long since fallen as lanterns now decorated the deck of the ship, providing a suitable light source.

"Luffy! You ate my share, dammit!" Usopp cursed as Sanji hopped around, trying to catch the three women on the ship's attention. Robin and Nami ignored him as they softly conversed with one another.

"That was your own fault, Usopp—you should have been quicker in protecting your meal" Skylar hummed from her spot leaning back against the railing as Zoro leaned against her legs. His eyes rested as she gently ran her fingers through his hair, enjoying how soft it felt. "You snooze, you lose" she grinned.

"Yeah, Usopp" Luffy grinned.

"Don't defend him and his gluttony!" Usopp snapped. "I shouldn't have to defend my food from him! It's my food!" he cried.

"Hey! Hey, hey! Hey, hey, hey!" Sanji waved. "Nami-swan, Skylar-chan, Robin-chwan!" he cooed as he danced around the women with hearts floating around him.

"It's as Skylar said—you snooze, you lose!" Luffy happily chirped, echoing the brunette's earlier sentiment much to the sniper's annoyance.

"Anything to drink?" Sanji asked.

"Dammit!" Usopp shouted as he clutched his head.

"I'm fine" Nami shook her head.

"I'll have coffee" Robin requested.

"I'm good" Skylar said, briefly ripping her gaze away from Zoro's hair to look at the chef and give him a small smile that made him swoon. Looking back down, she continued to run her fingers through the swordsman's hair. Zoro pleasantly hummed, enjoying the feeling of her gentle fingers running along his scalp. Her touch was always soft to the point that it made him melt.

"My food! My food!" Usopp huffed as he continued to rage at the captain.

"The Swaying Song was also that old lady's proof" Nami suddenly said. "It would make sense to assume it contains a hint—do you happen to remember it?" she asked, looking towards Robin.

"I wrote it down" Robin said as she pulled a piece of paper from her bosom

"Ah yes, the only purse a woman ever really needs…" Skylar mumbled as she quietly chuckled, shaking her head as she went back to playing with Zoro's hair. "If only I had flowers, I could make you look like a proper garden…" she breathed.

"Don't even think about it…" Zoro muttered as he leaned further back, wanting to feel more of her touch.

"But think about it, you'd look so pretty" she smiled, giggling as he grunted.

"That's my girl!" Nami grinned as she took the piece of paper. "Swaying, swaying, swaying. The King of Seas, the Golden Crown" she read as Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper now ran around laughing. "White snake eyes, two moons. The sound of the black wind, feeling lighter.

"Swaying, swaying, swaying. The King of Seas, the Golden Crown" she finished as the boys continued to run around. Skylar briefly looked up at the three, debating whether or not she wanted to join in on the fun. Her decision came in the form of Zoro's back pressing firmly against her legs, trapping her in place.

"If we suppose "The King of the Seas, the Golden Crown" refers to the treasure itself…then it would seem that lines three and four are clues of some sort" Robin suggested.

"I wonder what "White snake eyes" means" Nami pondered.

"And "two moons" as well" Robin added.

"I doubt it refers to the actual eyes of a white snake, that would be too straightforward" Nami said, looking down at the paper in her hand before clutching it as she started to grow annoyed with all the noise. "Shut up or I'll kick your ass!" she snapped after beating up the three who were running around. Angrily, she shook Luffy back and forth as she glared at him.

"I-I'm thowwy!" he apologized.

"Thowwy!" Chopper and Usopp echoed.

"Seriously, it's the same crap every time!" Nami scowled as she let the captain dangle over the railing once she let him go.

"Robin-chwan! The bitterness of love is the special flavor of the day!" Sanji cooed as he returned with the older woman's coffee—hearts flying around him.

"Thank you" Robin smiled as she took the hot beverage from the love-stricken cook. "It's good" she complimented.

"I'm flattered!" Sanji swooned, causing Zoro's eyes to snap open as his brows furrowed in annoyance.

"You shut up too!" he suddenly snapped as he sat up, causing Skylar to flinch at his sudden movements.

"What's that? You're being loud too!" Sanji snapped back. As the two started to bicker, Luffy quietly stared out towards the island.

"Is that so? You wanna start—"

"Both of you, shut up!" Skylar and Nami snapped as they struck the two men, neither in the mood to hear them fight.

"A white snake" Luffy suddenly said.

"Huh?" Robin questioned as she turned to see what the captain was staring at. Nami and Skylar looked away from the whimpering men and Sanji who now had bumps on their heads as they clung to each other.

"See?" Luffy pointed towards a nearby cliff which did indeed resemble a snake—a white snake in particular thanks to the cliff's pale coloring.

"Oh, I see it" Skylar said.

"Whoa! He's right!" Nami gaped in agreement. "It sure looks that way, but…is it that simple?" she asked, not sure if they really had just solved one part of the riddle. "I feel like we're dead-on, but I just can't accept it!"

"I see—when the island is reflected on the ocean's surface…the white peaks sway like a white snake" Robin explained. "Without this unique vantage point or the waves…nobody would ever see it—we sure hit the jackpot" she smiled.

"I'm the one who found it, you know!" Luffy proudly grinned as he pointed at himself.

"Good job" Skylar chuckled, patting the top of the rubber man's head as his grin widened and he laughed.

"Unbelievable…and it really does have eyes" Nami sighed, noting the strange formation of the rock that represented the snake's head.

"So what was the next line?" Zoro asked.

"Two moons" Robin responded.

"Two?" Usopp questioned. "Normally there's only one moon."

"Well technically, it might not be talking about the literal moon—it might be referring to something else with that line" Skylar said. "As to what it's referring to, I'm not sure."

"Oh, I think I know! Maybe "two moons" refers to two months!" Chopper suggested. "Maybe we have to wait under the white snake's eyes for two months!" he proudly smiled, pleased with his guess.

"Oh, I see!" Usopp agreed.

"What are you talking about? Two months from when?" Nami asked as she looked back at the two in confusion.

"Oh…uh…from when?" Chopper questioned, not sure how to answer.

"That makes no sense" Nami pointed out.

"It was still a good guess, sweetie" Skylar gently smiled at the reindeer, patting his drooping head as he sadly looked down.

"Oh, I know! The "two" refers to the snake's two eyes before the moon!" Usopp suddenly suggested.

"Hm, and…?" Nami asked, motioning for him to continue.

"The two correspond to the two moons—that's the answer!" Usopp grinned.

"What two moons?" Sanji asked.

"The first, of course, refers to the real moon—the second one is its reflection in the ocean!" Usopp explained, cheering at how sound and logical his explanation sounded.

"Wait a second…just how do the real moon and its reflection correspond to the snake's eyes?" Nami asked.

"Well, that's the most complicated part" Usopp argued.

"I'm not listening…" Nami muttered, her head drooping to the side in defeat.

"Looks like it's not that simple" Robin hummed.

"Well fine! Why don't you come up with an idea then?!" Usopp snapped, upset with how easily the ginger had brushed aside his amazing suggestion.

-Ratchet-

"Hm?" Ratchet hummed as he examined his miniature model of the island. "Colonel Honkey, shift the moon in the sky from 40 degrees left to 32 degrees right" he suddenly ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" Honkey nodded, moving the small model moon as directed while Ratchet hit the end of his chalk against his chalkboard, patiently waiting and thinking.

"Okay" Ratchet said, looking down at the book in his hand before quickly jotting down another equation on the chalkboard. "Now move the moon in the sea from 22 degrees left to 86 degrees right" he instructed.

"Yes, Sir!" Honkey nodded, doing as he was told. "Ratchet-sama!" he shouted as the Den Den Mushi in the room suddenly went off.

"86 degrees right!" Ratchet growled as he roughly pressed the piece of chalk in his hand against the chalkboard 'til it snapped, a scowl on his face as he turned back to face the colonel.

"Right!" Honkey quickly did as he was told as the Den Den Mushi continued to ring. "Um…how many degrees left was it?" he nervously asked, embarrassed as he rested a hand on top of his head.

"Forget it, just answer the Den Den Mushi" Ratchet sighed

"Yes, Sir!" Honkey nodded as he walked over to the ringing snail. "Yes, this is the research lab" he answered as he picked up the receiver. "Oh! General Maji…huh?" he blinked. "What was that? What…really?" he asked.

"This is really bad—those pirates from earlier are starting to catch on to the song's riddle" Maji warned from his hiding spot where he was keeping a close eye on the Straw Hats ship. "By the looks of it, they've already figured out the part about the white snake! I'll just keep an eye on them for now, but shouldn't we do something?" he asked.

"W-What should we do?" Honkey asked as he looked to Ratchet for an answer.

"Let them be" the blond said, not concerning himself with the pirates. "However, if they try to come ashore…use Pattern Three or Four to initiate countermeasures" he instructed.

"Roger that!" Maji exclaimed from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

"Are you sure it's okay?" Honkey asked as he hung up, letting the snail fall asleep.

"Anyone who thinks about it for a while can solve the riddle about the white snakes' eyes" Ratchet pointed out, aware that the first part of the riddle wasn't that hard to solve if you were observant. "The hard part is after that—the riddle about the two moons" he explained. "We're fine as long as they don't figure that one out—we're still trying to solve it ourselves" he reminded the colonel. "Now, hurry up and move the moon in the sea!"

"Right away, Sir!" Honkey nodded.

'We've almost got it—my plans are almost complete' Ratchet grinned, certain he was close to solving the song's riddle.

-Going Merry-

"I've given it some more thought" Robin suddenly said, catching Nami's attention.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"What if we map the intersections of the paths of the moon at night and during the day?" Robin suggested.

"That's another possibility…" Nami muttered, mulling over the older woman's suggestion.

"How about looking for the moon's reflection in a different body of water?' Sanji suggested.

"Okay! My turn!" Luffy grinned.

"It's impossible, I tell you!" Usopp snapped.

"Good luck!" Chopper chirped.

"You can do it, Luff" Skylar said, passively watching the three.

"Hmm…" Nami hummed, still in deep thought. Skylar chuckled as the rubber man swung his arm around before throwing the pebble in his hand as far as he could.

"Way off!" Usopp cheered, clapping as the captain looked on in distraught.

"Shut up for a minute and let me think!" Nami snapped at the three, scaring Chopper who quickly took shelter behind Luffy.

"But I'm the one who found the snake earlier!" Luffy argued as Usopp booed the ginger that was trying to kill their fun.

"He raises a valid point" Skylar smiled, giggling as the navigator sent her a harsh glare before huffing.

"The past is in the past—you just got lucky anyway" Nami waved, dismissing the captain's argument.

"Meanie!" Luffy frowned.

"Come on, now" Sanji chuckled.

"At any rate, this is just a "what if," but—"

"Who's the man?" Usopp smugly asked—unintentionally cutting Robin off—as he puffed his chest out in pride after hitting their agreed target with ease, holding his valiant slingshot up high like a sword.

"A slingshot? That's cheating!" Luffy angrily huffed. "Skylar, tell him that's cheating!" he pouted.

"He's right, that's cheating Usopp" Skylar grinned as the sniper childishly stuck his tongue out. Sanji was quick to hold Nami back as she now looked ready to strangle the two who were still goofing off.

"In that case…Gum Gum Pistol" Luffy swung his arm around before shooting it towards the target—which the others just now realized was the snake's head—and destroying one of its eyes.

"Nice" Skylar whistled as the snake's head slowly started to crack.

"Bullseye!" Luffy grinned.

"Why do you still have that thing?" Skylar asked, raising an eyebrow when she finally noticed that Zoro was idly tossing one of the defense robot's decapitated head into the air and catching it. For a moment, it looked as if he was getting ready to throw it.

"I guess it's a tie" Usopp frowned, clenching his fist in agitation as he childishly looked away.

"Oh, sure! Now it's a tie!" Luffy shouted. "Hey, Nami!" he yelped when the ginger suddenly started to beat on him, causing Usopp and Chopper to tightly cling to one another as they cowered away from her.

"Captain!" Robin suddenly gasped.

"Eh?" Nami halted in her assault.

"Could you also hit the other eye just like that?" Robin asked.

"Robin?" Nami questioned.

"What if it's not two moons? What if it means two thrusts?" Robin asked.

"Could it be that dumb?" Nami wondered.

"I mean, it would be funny if it was that dumb" Skylar confessed.

"I don't really get it, but you want me to punch it again, right?" Luffy asked, smiling as the archeologist nodded. "Yosha! One more time!" he shot his arm towards the snake's head once more, breaking its other eye off. As more cracks appeared along the snake's head, it finally crumbled. Nami's jaw dropped as she gasped, staring wide-eyed as the snake's head now looked as if its mouth was wide open.

"Yahoo!" the captain cheered, throwing his arms into the air. "We found it!" he shouted.

"The snake opened its mouth!" Usopp threw his arms up as well.

"It's a secret entrance into a cave!" Chopper cheered.

"What? So it really was just a stupid pun?!" Nami gaped.

"I mean, aren't most riddles just stupid puns?" Skylar smiled, scratching her cheek. "That's what makes them so fun."

"Yosha! Let's go, guys!" Luffy shouted, ignoring the two.

"Aye!" Usopp and Chopper happily cheered.

"Huh? Go where?" the sniper suddenly asked, blinking as he realized that he didn't exactly know where the captain wanted them to go.

"Into the cave!" Luffy answered.

"Right now?"

"Right now!"

"I've got "I-Can't-Go-On-The-Island" disease!" Usopp suddenly coughed as he lay down on the ground, spewing fake blood from his mouth.

"Usopp!" Chopper worriedly cried.

"You poor sweet innocent child" Skylar breathed as she looked at the concerned doctor who seemed to have fallen for the sniper's overused trick. "I'm sorry to say, but we can't help him—he's a loss cause" she suddenly said, resting a hand atop the reindeer's head as she sadly shook her head.

"It'll be fine! Get up, let's go!" Luffy grinned.

"Come on, we can't wander into a mysterious hole in the middle of the night!" Usopp immediately got into Luffy's face, pressing his nose against his as he pointed towards the cave. "And what about what happened this afternoon? Who knows what kind of strange traps might be in there?!" he shouted as he shook the captain.

"That's half the fun!" Luffy argued, causing Skylar to snort.

"He's not wrong" Skylar smiled. "Nothing screams fun like exploring a mysterious cave in the middle of the night."

"I have a bad feeling about—"

"You saw that machine, didn't you?" Luffy interrupted. "It looked really awesome!"

"Well, I did like those archer puppets and the giant fan" Usopp admitted.

"Right? Right?" Luffy excitedly nodded as he got close to the sharpshooter's face. "There might be more! I wanna find out!" he eagerly grinned.

"Off to Mecha Island!" Usopp suddenly cheered.

"Off we go!" Luffy and Chopper shouted as they threw up their arms.

"Imbeciles" Nami growled.

"Don't you want to look for treasure, Nami?" Luffy curiously asked.

"Oh, yeah! Let's go!" and just like that, the ginger did a one-eighty—now just as excited as the captain as her frustration quickly melted away at the mention of possible treasure.

-Ratchet-

"What?! They solved the riddle and found a cave?!" Honkey gaped as he listened to the message being relayed to him via the Den Den Mushi. Ratchet flinched, body jerking to the side as he dropped his book. Harshly, he scraped his piece of chalk against the chalkboard, creating an ear-splitting screech.

"What?! I-Impossible!" he growled as he whirled around.

"Ratchet-sama!" Honkey worriedly looked towards the enraged man.

"C-c-c-calm down…just calm down…Colonel…" Ratchet heavily panted, clenching his teeth as he tried to calm himself—steam rising from the top of his head. "It's no big deal, first we need information" he reasoned with himself.

"Your glasses!" Honkey gasped, quick to notice that the blonde's glasses were now fogged over. With a huff, Ratchet pressed a button that was located on the sides of his specs, causing two tiny wipers to pop out and wipe away the condensation. "Ratchet-sama?" the buff man hesitantly questioned.

"Don't take me so lightly, I have a feeling they stumbled upon it accidentally" Ratchet assumed, refusing to believe that a bunch of pirates were smarter than him. "Hmm…we couldn't see it from this vantage point…we'll use them" he suddenly suggested.

"Huh?" Honkey tilted his head.

"They could prove useful" the blond grinned.

"Those guys?" the colonel frowned.

"First, contact General Maji" Ratchet ordered, not aware that his mother was listening to their conversation from the other room. "They're just a bunch of stupid, dirty pirates" he sneered. "If we make them a worthwhile offer…"

-Going Merry-

"Oi! Hard right, Chopper!" Nami instructed. "Full starboard!"

"Got it!" Chopper nodded.

"We'll make it with just the fore-and-aft sail" she smiled, certain they could make it to the cave without the main sail.

"Yo!" her smile dropped at the sound of Maji's calling out to the group.

"That's unpleasant to hear" Skylar winced.

"Who's there?!" Nami frowned.

"Him! It's the guy from before!" Zoro scowled as he noticed Maji now rowing his way towards the Merry.

"What's he doing here?" Usopp asked.

"Well…I'd just like to have a word with you all" Maji calmly told the group, a gentle smile on his face as they looked at him with suspicion.

"What do you want?" Luffy curiously asked.

-Later-

"I feel uncomfortable…" Skylar grumbled, pulling at the front of the black evening dress she was made to wear. It was tight and long with a slit running down the side—her hair was pulled up into a messy bun with her bangs swept to the side. Awkwardly, she shifted around as she tried to find a comfortable way to stand in the heels she had been forced into alongside the dress. If she was being quite honest, she hated everything about this dinner party they were invited to. She especially hated how it almost felt too close to the kind of get-togethers a noble would throw.

"You look great" Nami cooed, grinning as she threw an arm around the grumbling brunette, causing Robin to chuckle. Although she was rather annoyed with how the brunette had fought her every step of the way like a feral cat as she was helping her get ready for the dinner party, she was rather proud of herself for her handy work.

"I feel like a child playing dress up and these shoes are hell on my feet…" Skylar muttered, cheeks puffing up as Nami hummed—her grin widening when she caught sight of Zoro trying his hardest not to stare at the brunette.

"I'm in heaven!" Sanji swooned at the sight of the three women as Luffy and Usopp stuffed their faces with as much food as they could.

"What's that stupid cook doing flailing around?" Zoro grumbled as his gaze constantly wandered back towards the brunette across the room. His eyes narrowed a little—he disliked how the blond always swooned over the teen alongside the other two women. He hated it before they confessed to one another and he hated it even more after they had.

"Hey, you! What was that?!" Sanji frowned, immediately turning to the swordsman with a glare.

"I forgot…" Zoro mumbled, taking a swig of his drink as Chopper excitedly looked around the castle.

"This reminds me of Drum Island!" he smiled. "I wonder what the Doctorine is up to?" he pondered.

"You should go over there and love up on your man—let him get a closer look at you in that dress" Nami deviously grinned as she suddenly pushed Skylar in the direction of the swordsman and cook.

"Woman! Do you know what he'll do to me the minute I get within arm's reach?!" Skylar cried, looking back at the ginger who only gave an innocent smile and wave. "Robin, please help!" she whined, shoulders quickly drooping when she saw that the older woman was making no attempts to jump to her rescue and instead only smiled. "I guess I'll just die then…" she muttered, sighing in defeat as she wandered over to the two men currently on the verge of fighting.

"I asked what you said!" Sanji growled.

"I forgot" Zoro repeated before perking up at the sound of heels clicking against the stone floor. Turning his head, he couldn't stop the heat that spread across his cheeks as he spotted Skylar walking towards him. Hungrily, he looked her up and down before chuckling as his gaze quickly softened the moment he noticed just how focused she looked, trying her best not to fall. It was a cute expression she wore as she wobbled a bit—not used to walking in such high heels at all. Skylar took slow and deliberate steps, her attention focused downwards as she attempted to walk over to the two men safely.

"I'd rather saw my feet off than wear these torture devices ever again…" she muttered, glaring at the heels on her feet. She wasn't sure why Nami insisted she wear them, claiming that they helped pull everything together. Surely, flats could have accomplished the same effect.

"Skylar-chan!" Sanji cooed, hearts dancing around him as he admired the teen the second he saw her approaching. Skylar nodded in greeting as she looked up before yelping as her foot suddenly twisted after one misstep, sending her falling forward. Her face exploded with color the second Zoro caught her before she could hit the ground at his feet.

"Uh…thanks…" she muttered, hands flying up to her face in embarrassment as his arm tightly wrapped around her waist and pulled her close. Zoro grinned at the sight as he helped straighten her out. Opening his mouth, he looked ready to make a sly remark before suddenly growling as Sanji angrily snapped at him. "And there they go…" she groaned, embarrassment now gone as she crossed her arms and watched the two men start to fight. Quietly, she chuckled at the insults that were now being hurled.

"Oh! Seconds, please!" Chopper brightened as he spotted two servants nearby. He shivered at the strange mechanical and clicking sounds that left the maid as she slowly turned her head and walked towards him. Her movements were unnatural to the point that it scared him as he took a step back the minute she got down on her knees and held out a tray to him. Quickly, he switched his empty cup with the full one that had been offered to him before screaming as her head suddenly fell off. "Her head fell off!" he cried.

"Doctor!" he screamed, frantically looking around in a panic. "Oh, that's me…" he remembered as he warily examined the head. "What is this? A puppet?" he breathed, finally realizing that the maid wasn't human much to his relief. "Amazing, it looks real" he awed, impressed with the craftsmanship of the puppet and how realistic she looked.

"Sir..." Gonzo spoke up, unintentionally startling the doctor as he whirled around. "My apologies—that puppet is still unfinished, so this happens once in a while" he explained, bowing.

"I-I see…" Chopper shakily smiled, looking at the beheaded puppet once again. "It looks real though" he remarked before flinching as he turned back the butler. "A puppet is talking!" he gasped.

"I am human" Gonzo corrected as one of the walls suddenly opened and three robots rolled out—two of them playing the drums and one blowing a trumpet.

"Huh? What's that?" Usopp asked through a mouthful.

"Oh! Cool!" Luffy brightened, his voice muffled by the food stuffed inside his cheeks.

"Welcome, pirates!"

"Oh…pretty…" Skylar mumbled as the lights suddenly dimmed and were replaced with ones that were far more colorful. At the front of the room, a set of doors opened which was then followed by the mechanical sound of something walking into the room.

"W-what's that?" Nami nervously asked, warily eyeing the strange robotic turtle that shakily walked into the room—Ratchet sitting atop its back as it carried him. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper marveled at the piece of machinery, their eyes sparkling as they looked at the robot in wonder.

"Hello, pirates" Ratchet chuckled, gently smiling at the group as he greeted them. "Good evening!" he yelped in surprise the minute he finally noticed just how close Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper had gotten to him.

"That's awesome!" Luffy sparkled. "How do you control it?!" he excitedly asked before he and the other two were roughly thrown back and away from the blond by Honkey who was also riding on the turtle. "Ow…" he groaned as he landed on his head.

"Even guests should show some respect!" Honkey scowled.

"I appreciate the gesture, but don't overdo it" Ratchet said.

"Sir!" Honkey nodded as he hopped off the robot.

"My apologies—everyone, this is my loyal follower, Colonel Honkey" Ratchet introduced as he motioned to the muscular man. "Ah, would you mind moving over for a moment?" he asked once he noticed that Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were now blocking his path.

"Oh, sure" the three quickly scrambled to the side and out of the machine's way. Honkey flipped the turtle back on, causing it to start moving again as it slowly turned its body to face everyone in the room.

"C-cool! Cool! Cool!" Luffy awed.

"But how does it move?!" Usopp excitedly asked.

"This is Zougame-kun No. 5—a mecha I made" Ratchet proudly explained. "And, once again, my name is Ratchet" he reminded everyone with a smile.

"I don't like his smile…" Skylar muttered, quick to notice just how forced and fake it looked. It made her think of the smiles the other nobles would wear whenever her parents had guests over. None of them truly cared about each other—it was a smile worn for appearance and that was all. It was painfully obvious to see that this man had put on an appearance for them and she didn't like that…

It made her cautious of what he wanted.

"I am the master of this island, welcome" Ratchet's smile grew as he welcomed the Straw Hats, playing the role of generous host rather perfectly.

"The caster? You're a fisherman?" Luffy questioned, mishearing the blond.

"The master!" Maji snapped. "He's the greatest man on this island—on top of being its master, he's a genius inventor!" he proudly boasted. "That's Doctor Ratchet-sama."

"Whoa…awesome! A genius!" Luffy brightened. "So you made this thing?" he asked as he pointed at the mechanical turtle.

"That is correct" Skylar didn't miss how Ratchet's forced smile turned smug upon hearing Luffy's words, showing her that he possibly had quite the ego. "Although this is just a modest work, my real ability doesn't shine through in—you're not even listening!" he snapped when he finally noticed that Usopp and Luffy had started to fight over a piece of meat. Neither of them was interested in listening to him boast about his accomplishments.

"So my name's General Maji" Maji introduced.

"Colonel Honkey here!" Honkey greeted.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, nice to meet you" Luffy said through a mouthful.

"Luffy, we're at a dinner—mind your manners" Skylar calmly reminded the captain, causing him to nod and quickly swallow what was in his mouth. She heavily sighed as he shot her a wide smile.

"That's enough introductions, let's get down to business" Nami said, her heels clicking against the stone floor as she took a few steps forward. "After sending us away earlier…what's the deal with the sudden change of heart?" she asked, eyes narrowed in slight suspicion at the man's sudden change in behavior.

"Very well, then let's cut to the chase" Ratchet said.

"Finally done fighting, I see" Skylar hummed as Zoro wrapped his arm around her waist the second Sanji rushed off after hearing the ginger speak. Hearts floated around him as he began to admire her and Robin once again. Zoro only grumbled in response, trying his best not to sneak his fingers past the slit of her dress as he gently rubbed her side.

"You look nice…" he finally muttered, whatever sly remark he wanted to say earlier now lost on him as his cheeks grew warm upon looking at her. She looked more than just nice—she was gorgeous and now that he was this close, he felt himself almost become tongue-tied at the sight of her. Despite what she wanted to think, the dress certainly suited her as it paired nicely with her fair complexion and pretty eyes.

"I feel ridiculous…" she grumbled before smiling. "If I ask nicely, do you think we could switch clothes? I'm sure you could pull this dress off better than me" she playfully teased with the innocent bat of her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure I'd rip it if I wore it" he deadpanned before leaning in close and hotly breathing into her ear. "But I wouldn't mind helping you take it off" he wolfishly grinned as he squeezed her hip, causing her face to explode with color.

"N-no…" she squeaked as she ducked her head. "I rather like walking…and living…" she murmured, causing him to snort.

"Sorry about this afternoon" Ratchet apologized. "I thought my mother had been taken hostage and I panicked, that's the plain truth" he explained. "I'm embarrassed about acting so impulsively—I hope you can accept this as my humble and sincere apology."

"Hey, don't sweat it! We're pirates after all" Luffy happily dismissed through another mouthful, already forgetting what Skylar had said earlier.

"I'm glad you feel that way" Ratchet smiled. "Now we can proceed to the real issue at hand" he said as he pushed his glasses up. "How much of the riddle have you guys solved?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"You really don't beat around the bush, I like your style" Nami grinned.

"The less friction loss, the better the gears turn" Ratchet said, seeing no reason for them to dilly-dally or dance around the real reason why he had invited them to dinner.

"I see what you mean" Usopp nodded.

"Nami!" Luffy suddenly shouted.

"Huh? What?" Nami flinched as she turned in a panic, eyes wide and frantic as she looked around.

"There's a puppet carrying tea! Awesome!" Luffy excitedly grinned as he stared at the small robot that was currently walking across the banquet table. Skylar blinked before bursting out into laughter.

"I love you so much, Luffy!" she laughed as Nami angrily struck the captain—sending him flying and causing him to get stuck in the nearby wall. Zoro's grip tightened a little around the brunette as he lowly growled. Despite knowing that her words were nothing more than platonic, it still made him feel a bit jealous of his captain.

"Please excuse him" Nami huffed as Usopp and Chopper shakily clung to one another. Skylar's laughter came to an abrupt halt as she shivered at the sudden feeling of fingers slipping past the slit of her dress and delicately brushing against the flesh of her thigh.

"Quit that!" she quietly hissed, glaring at the swordsman before blushing as he pressed a kiss to her cheek—tightening his hold even more on her.

"Now, where were we?" Nami asked, taking a moment to think about where she and the blond had left off. "Oh, you want to know how much we've figured out, huh?" she remembered. "Actually, we're clueless!" she happily confessed.

"No!" Ratchet shouted before clearing his throat. "I mean, that can't be true" he frowned.

"It is!" Nami nodded. "We've got no leads—we were so demoralized that we were considering just giving up and leaving" she dramatically sighed.

"Even so, you figured out a lot in a short amount of time" Ratchet pointed out.

"Not really, our captain is just a brute!" Nami confessed as she pointed at the rubber man who had finally gotten his head free from the wall.

"Maybe it really was just blind luck…" Ratchet sighed before his eyes widened as he finally processed what the ginger had said. "He's the captain!" he cried, baffled to realize that the annoying teen who was childishly marveling over everything in the castle was the captain of these pirates.

"Yep—his bounty is 100 million, Straw Hat Luffy" Nami nodded as Maji and Honkey's eyes widened. "Surprised? He doesn't look strong, does he?" she grinned, amused by their shocked reactions. "Well he is, so there's no point in trying to force information out of us. Thanks for the dinner invitation though."

"Wait!" Ratchet shouted when the navigator turned away.

"I don't want to put my life in danger over a treasure that might not even exist" she smiled as she closed her eyes. "So don't worry, we'll be out of here by morn—"

"Please wait!" Ratchet pleaded as the ginger started to leave. "I'm offering to join forces—I'm not playing dirty" he assured her.

"Join forces with who?" Nami questioned.

"With you guys—I value your special way of thinking" Ratchet answered, grinning as he tried to butter the young woman up. "Of course, we'll split any treasure we find" he added, hoping to sweeten the deal.

"Oh? We were mocked and told that there was no treasure though" Nami innocently smiled as Maji flinched.

"There is" Ratchet nodded. "It has been spoken of for generations among our people."

"That was also the old lady's reasoning" Robin pointed out, recalling how Roba had practically given the same reason for why she believed in the treasure.

"It might just be real!" Nami excitedly grinned.

"I apologize for the rudeness of my subordinates—we were stuck on the riddle…so we were a bit impatient" Ratchet explained as he cleaned his glasses. "That's what I'd like your help with," he confessed, "what do you think? Team up with us?"

"Don't do that—that was right in my ear" Skylar flinched as Zoro suddenly cracked his neck, the sound uncomfortably loud in her ears. He only hummed before turning his head alongside everyone else as Roba suddenly burst into the room through a set of doors.

"Ratchet! It's simply outrageous for you to tangle up more people in this!" the old woman scolded.

"Mom-mother!" Ratchet sputtered, startled.

"Just what are you plotting?" Roba frowned. "Wake up al…rea…dy!" she screamed as the floor beneath her suddenly opened, causing her to fall.

"Unbelievable! How can you treat your own relatives like that?!" Nami snapped.

"Oh, trust me…it's not that hard…" Skylar mumbled with a strained smile as she looked off to the side.

"I just hope she's alright" Robin said.

"There's no cause for alarm" Ratchet assured. "Now then—"

"The nerve!" Nami growled, annoyed with how quick the blond was to move on after doing something so cruel to his own mother.

"If you could just—"

"Okay, sure! We'll go together!" Luffy grinned, cutting the blond off.

"Luffy! Not again!" Nami snapped.

"Don't worry! He said we could split the treasure" Luffy said, not seeing the problem—they were both after the same thing and as long as he was willing to share then the captain saw no reason for them not to work together.

"Do you mean it?" Ratchet excitedly asked.

"I don't lie!" Luffy nodded.

"Then read this and sign here" Ratchet suddenly requested as he presented the captain with a contract of sorts. Skylar raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms as she watched in amusement how her captain and Usopp took on serious expressions as they looked over the contract that was presented to them.

"Are you actually reading it or are you just pretending?" she finally asked as they nodded to themselves.

"Just a damn minute! No shady contracts!" Nami snapped.

"Ratchet!" Roba suddenly dropped from the ceiling, an angry scowl on her face.

"Zombie!" Nami cried, startled by the old woman's sudden reappearance.

"I'm alive" Roba pointed out before screaming as the pole she had dropped down on started to whirl around—dragging her right through a secret door that had opened before closing and blending back into the wall.

"You don't get along with your mom, huh?" Luffy questioned.

"Same…" Skylar breathed.

"What was that?" Zoro raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the brunette.

"What was what?" she asked, giving him a blank stare as he curiously looked at her before slowly shaking his head. He knew better than to ask questions that were never going to be answered. He liked to believe he could read her well and that she was an open book since they were close as children, but the reality was that she could be just as secretive as Robin was when she wanted to.

"This is just how we show our affection for each other" Ratchet assured the rubber man, lips tugged up into a fake smile. "So Luffy-san…do we have a deal?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"Sure, Skinny Glasses-kun!" Luffy smiled.

"Skinny?" Ratchet balked as if offended.

"Why, you…!" Nami grounded as Robin chuckled.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you" Ratchet smiled as he and Luffy shook hands, the captain laughing as he brightly smiled back at the blond.

"Whose voice was that?" Chopper perked up as he turned to stare out the window in curiosity.

-Next Morning-

Skylar giggled as she happily watched her captain—he was seated in front of the boat fan, his mouth open as he spoke into it, causing his voice to vibrate as his hair whipped around. Chopper sparkled as he watched the captain while the rest of the crew boarded Ratchet's small boat.

"That looks fun, I want to try" Skylar smiled before yelping as she was suddenly pulled back the second she attempted to stand.

"Don't move, you're so soft…" Zoro muttered, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist as he buried his face into her neck.

"Why must you deprive me of having fun?" Skylar pouted, slumping back against the swordsman as he sighed in contentment.

"Um…do you think you could stop playing with that, please?" Ratchet asked, slowly becoming annoyed with the rubber man's actions. "It's quite difficult to wind back up."

"Come on, Zoro—look at how much fun they're having!" Skylar whined as she watched Usopp and Chopper join in on standing in front of the fan—their voices now vibrating alongside the captain's as they smiled.

"Nope" Zoro yawned, grinning as he felt the brunette start to childishly squirm.

"Are you listening?" Ratchet asked, eye twitching in annoyance when he realized he was being ignored. Nami huffed as she looked at the three.

"Everyone ready?" she asked after beating them up.

"Okay…maybe you were right not to let me join in…" Skylar muttered as Zoro hummed, pulling her closer to him as she finally settled down.

"We're off to find the Golden Crown!" Nami eagerly grinned.

"Aye!" everyone cheered as the boat took off towards the cliff that looked like a snake's mouth.

"Who knows what awaits us in there! Be careful and protect me!" Nami ordered.

"Oi!" Zoro nodded despite knowing that he planned on protecting Skylar first and foremost before the ginger. He knew the brunette could handle herself, but he liked playing protector when the opportunity presented itself—especially if it was for her and her alone.

"Oi…" Usopp weakly muttered.

"What? "Can't-Enter-This-Cave" disease?" Sanji asked with a raised brow.

"Y-yeah…" the sharpshooter groaned.

"Nothing new there" Skylar hummed, eyes closed as she listened to her captain who was happily singing the Swaying Song.

"Huh?" Chopper's ears twitched. "What's that sound?" he asked, looking around.

"Hmm? Is someone calling out to you again?" Sanji curiously asked.

"No, not that—I hear a strange wind blowing" Chopper shook his head, causing Robin and Nami to exchange glances.

"Luffy! Be quiet!" Nami ordered, cutting the singing captain off and bathing the group in silence. Quietly, they listened as a strange wind suddenly started to blow throughout the cave.

"Could it be the sound of the black wind?" Robin questioned.

"From the song?" Honkey asked.

"Perhaps" Robin answered.

"So what about the next part—the one about "feeling lighter"?" Maji asked.

"Who knows" Robin shrugged.

"We're safe, right?" Usopp warily asked.

"Will something really cause us to lose weight like the song suggests?" Sanji asked. "Like being tossed around by the torrents of love?!" hearts danced around him as he thought of the three women on the boat with him.

"The current is getting stronger" Nami remarked.

"Look" Robin suddenly pointed as Luffy lifted the lantern in his hand and illuminated the path ahead of them. Chopper screamed at the sight of the wrecked ships that were half submerged in the water and lined the walls of the cave. Jumping up, he tightly clung to Zoro as he continued to scream. Skylar chuckled at the annoyed look the swordsman wore as the doctor practically screamed in his ear. "These ships are quite old, they're rotted through" the archeologist noted.

"Now this is an adventure!" Luffy sparkled as he stared at the rundown and broken ships in excitement.

"Come on now!" Usopp scowled as Nami curiously looked back.

"We'll be fine!" Luffy assured the sniper.

"How do you know?!"

"Intuition."

"Like you have any!" Usopp snapped.

"What? You don't trust our Captain's gut?" Skylar teasingly asked.

"His gut is what gets us in trouble most of the time!" Usopp argued as Nami's eyes slowly widened.

"Hey, guys…you'll bite your tongues off if you keep babbling like that!" she growled before finally noticing the narrow opening in the cave's wall in front of them. There was nowhere else for them to go but onwards through the tiny opening.

"How are we supposed to make it through something so narrow?!" Usopp nervously asked.

"Very delicately I suppose" Skylar answered, giggling at the whack she received to the back of her head from the navigator.

"Breakthrough it with an Impact Dial" Sanji suggested.

"No way! I'm the one who'll break!" Usopp snapped, already knowing he'd be the one to use the dial if they tried it.

"Yosh!" Luffy suddenly jumped over the sharpshooter and broke off the mast of the boat. "Gum Gum" he tossed the broken mast aside before stretching his arms towards the boat fan located near the back. Twisting the two limbs together, he grabbed hold of the fan. "Rubber Power!" he turned the fan as fast as he could, causing the boat to pick up speed and knocking Nami off balance in the process as she roughly landed on her bottom.

"I'm going to fall!" Usopp cried as he tightly clung to the boat's figurehead.

"Luffy, how is this supposed to help?!" Skylar asked as she tightly clung to Zoro who, in return, was struggling to pry a puffed-up and terrified Chopper off his head. Screams filled the cave as the boat shot through the narrow opening—its sides tearing away as it passed through. Luffy laughed as they popped out on the other side, finally releasing the fan and letting the boat slow back down to a normal and reasonable speed.

"What were you thinking?!" Usopp snapped.

"I figured we could make it through if we had enough power!" Luffy explained.

"I mean…technically, he wasn't wrong" Skylar said, her appearance a bit frazzled.

"At least let us know before you do that!" Usopp shouted.

"It's Marimo Man!" Sanji suddenly pointed out as he looked at the still-struggling swordsman.

"I love it!" Skylar laughed as Zoro yanked Chopper off his head the second he returned to normal.

"You trying to kill me?!" he growled down at the doctor.

"Hey, the wind is getting louder!" Chopper suddenly exclaimed, causing everyone to look forward and finally spot the upcoming waterfall ahead of them.

"Oh…" Skylar paled as everyone's eyes widened and their jaws dropped. Luffy was the only one who seemed excited as his eyes brightened at the sight of the fall.

"A waterfall!" everyone cried.

"Luffy! Inflate yourself!" Sanji quickly shouted as Skylar screamed, she and Chopper now clinging to Zoro once more.

"Okay!" Luffy inflated his body as Sanji jumped up, kicking him down past the falling boat and into the water below. This provided the boat with something soft to bounce off of and somewhat safely land in the water where it continued to soar onwards at an ungodly speed. Luffy cried out as his body went rolling the other way after the boat had bounced off of it.

"Luffy! Grab on!" Zoro outstretched his hand towards the captain who quickly stretched his arm and grabbed it. Sanji landed in the water and grabbed hold of his captain as they shot back towards the boat. Skylar shakily laughed as the captain bumped heads with Zoro, knocking him back. Chopper cried as he fell off the swordsman's head, unintentionally dragging him further down with him in his attempts to still hold on. Eventually, the boat crashed onto dry land—sliding forward before finally crashing into the cave wall.

Luffy laughed as he sat up from the rubble while everyone else looked to be irritated or in a daze.

"Poor baby" Skylar cooed as she pressed kisses to the bump on top of Zoro's head, the swordsman grumbling as he tightly held her in his lap. Silently, he enjoyed the affection and attention he was getting as she doted on him. Sanji looked to be in heaven as his head now rested atop Nami's lap while she and Robin groaned, slowly sitting up.

"You really saved us—is anyone hurt?" Ratchet asked.

"Is the Golden Crown really hidden down here?" Nami curiously asked as she took a look around.

"It sure is dreary…" Zoro grumbled.

"It's huge! I wonder how far it goes" Chopper awed.

"Hm…I quite like it, calm atmosphere" Skylar hummed.

"I've got an idea—everyone" Ratchet suddenly spoke up as Luffy started to climb up a nearby slope, already wanting to explore. "How about we split up and search for clues?" he suggested.

"Sounds fun! Sounds scary…" Usopp muttered, quick to take back his first remark as he took another glance around. Before anyone else could possibly object or agree, they quickly turned their heads at the sound of Luffy's excited laughter which bounced off the cave walls.

"Guys! I found something awesome!" he waved as he continued to climb higher up the slope. "Come check it out!" he shouted.

"Treasure?! Treasure! Treasure!" Nami squealed, sparkling as she eagerly ran after the captain.

"Let's go see!" Usopp excitedly grinned as he and almost everyone else quickly followed after. Robin, Sanji, Zoro, and Skylar were the only ones to slowly follow behind, none of them really in that much of a hurry.

"It was the ship that got lighter" Robin quietly noted as she looked back at their broken boat before following the others. Pleased to realize that their captain had unintentionally solved the riddle without any of them noticing.

Once at the top of the slope, everyone stared in wonderment at the spacious area around them that was filled with soft light. Grass, moss, and various flowers grew almost everywhere, making it feel as if they were outside and not deep inside some cave. In the middle was a massive lake that was surrounded by animal statues.

"A-awesome!" Chopper gaped.

"T-this is…" Usopp gawked.

"See? Isn't it awesome?!" Luffy excitedly asked.

"Cloud and Sora would love a place like this…" Skylar breathed, chest tightening a little at the thought of her brothers. Looking around, she was reminded of those old fairy tales she used to read and love so dearly as a child. Zoro gently grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed it, smiling as she returned the gesture almost immediately.

"But what's with all these strange statues?" Nami asked.

"Either way, the lake sure is beautiful!" Chopper awed.

"Almost as beautiful as Nami-san!" Sanji swooned.

"Hey, do you guys know anything about this?" Nami asked as she ignored the cook.

"No, nothing" Ratchet shook his head.

"This is our first time here too" Honkey answered.

"Well, at any rate…putting the statues' workmanship aside…we've come across a real landmark" Ratchet said as he pushed up his glasses.

"They're having fun" Skylar hummed, softly smiling as she watched Usopp and Luffy run around the lake.

"Don't you think the Golden Crown could be around here?" Ratchet asked.

"You're right, but just talking about it won't get us anywhere" Nami sighed. "Luffy! Usopp! Chopper! Quit messing around and help us search for treasure!" she called out, causing the two running around to halt in their tracks.

"Okay!" Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper saluted. Robin lightly dragged her hands across the stone wall of the cave, only stopping when something finally caught her eye.

"Everyone, come here for a second" she requested, causing everyone to stop and turn in curiosity. "There are symbols inscribed on this pillar" she pointed.

"Did you find out where the Golden Crown is?" Luffy excitedly asked, carrying Chopper in his arms as he and Usopp rushed over.

"That's my girl, so dependable!" Nami chirped.

"So what does it say?" Luffy asked.

"Wait, I need a second…" Robin mumbled, examining the strange symbols carved in the pillar before flipping through her book. "It's the song!" she gasped.

"You mean the Swaying Song?" Ratchet questioned.

"Yes" Robin nodded. "These are the rest of the lyrics."

"There's more of it?!" Usopp blinked.

"Well, don't you think solving the riddle will lead us to the Golden Crown?" Robin smiled.

"Who knows really?" Nami shrugged.

"I mean, we've come this far, so why not go all the way?" Skylar asked, seeing no reason for them not to solve the rest of the riddle.

"Anyway, what are the rest of the lyrics?" Ratchet curiously asked.

"A blue jug of water, when you drink it dry…lightning strikes in the green forest. Swaying, swaying, swaying" Robin recited. "The King of the Seas, the Golden Crown."

"Do you think the "blue jug of water" refers to that over there?" Usopp asked, pointing toward the lake

"Well, that would be the obvious answer" Sanji said.

"I can only take so much of this…" Usopp muttered before perking up as Ratchet chuckled.

"Drinking the water should be pretty easy, shouldn't it?" he asked. "Think about it, a single person would have quite a hard time all alone, but what if the eleven of us drink at once?" he grinned.

"What an excellent idea, Ratchet-sama!" Maji praised.

"Forget it, that's not even worth trying" Nami sweat dropped.

"That's so unsanitary, you'll get sick—who knows what's swimming in that water" Skylar frowned, nauseous at the thought of drinking lake water. She was reminded of the last time she had carelessly drank unclean water as a child, her stomach churning at the memory of how violently sick she and her twin had gotten because of their stupidity. But then again…it wasn't really their fault and they were just so thirsty.

"Are you stupid?" Sanji asked.

"He sure is…" Usopp muttered.

"S-s-s-s-su…" Ratchet angrily trembled as he stumbled over his words.

"Hey, Skinny Glasses!" Luffy suddenly shouted.

"Skinny?!" Ratchet snapped.

"You're so smart!" the rubber man awed.

"I would expect nothing less of the captain" Ratchet smugly chuckled, chest puffing out upon being praised. "You're a great judge of character…just as I expected" he grinned.

"Chopper, let's go drink!" Luffy smiled.

"Yeah!" the reindeer cheered as they took off running.

"They're stupid too…" Sanji grumbled.

"Yeah" Usopp agreed.

"Luffy probably could drink that entire lake seeing how he's made of rubber, but Chopper might get a stomach ache…" Skylar muttered. "Besides, they'll just get sick—like I said, who knows what's in that water" she repeated as she watched her captain and doctor stare down at the lake. "Well…maybe Chopper won't get sick since he's an animal…" she mumbled, stopping to think about how much different the reindeer's stomach was compared to a human's. If it wasn't for his Devil Fruit, he'd be nothing more than a wild animal with a blue nose, so he'd probably be unbothered by the lake water like any other animal. As for her captain…no doubt he'd get sick if his stupidity didn't somehow prevent it.

Luffy was the first to stick his head into the lake, slowly sucking in as much water as he could with Chopper soon joining him.

"Can't do it…" the two soon groaned, stomachs now bloated as they fell onto their backs and held their aching tummies.

"You don't say" Nami's eye twitched as the two started to spit up streams of water.

"Oh…I guess he couldn't do it despite being made of rubber…" Skylar murmured, surprised by how quickly the captain had reached his limit.

"Hmm…with more people, we could drink—"

"Would you mind shutting up for a minute?" Nami frowned, cutting Ratchet off with a strained smile.

"O-okay" he stuttered, nervously sweating as she nodded.

"Is she always like that?" Honkey quietly asked.

"Talk about attitude…" Maji muttered, he and the colonel squatting beside Zoro.

"You guys can shut up too!" Nami snapped at the two, not appreciating their remarks.

"Nami!" Luffy suddenly shouted, his voice now echoing around the cave.

"Huh? Luffy?" Nami questioned, looking around in confusion when she realized the captain had disappeared.

"This is so fun! Come look!" Luffy laughed, now standing atop one of the pillars—his bloated body eagerly bouncing.

"Luffy, when did you get up there?" Skylar tilted her head as she looked up at her captain.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Nami shouted.

"I thought I might find something if I looked at it from above!" Luffy answered as he continued to bounce. "You should come up here too!" he suggested as Nami finally noticed that the now slowly crumbling pillar he was bouncing on was in the shape of a bird.

"So…" Sanji trailed off.

"This is…" Robin smiled.

"The song's…" Usopp gaped.

"Blue jug of water?" Ratchet questioned.

"The drinking…" Honkey trailed off.

"Ibis?" Nami breathed before dropping to her knees in despair. "It's not "when you drink it dry," it's "drinking ibis!" I'm sick of this crap" she groaned in realization.

"So what are we going to do with the bird statue?" Zoro asked.

"We can think about that after we deal with him" Nami huffed, motioning toward a still-bouncing Luffy.

"He looks like he's just having the time of his life up there, like he's on top of the world" Skylar chuckled, eyes hazy as a sad smile graced her lips. She couldn't help but once again think of her brothers—more importantly—her twin. She always admired how hard he worked to keep that bright smile of his and cheery disposition no matter how painful and tough everything would get. She didn't care if it was a result of suppression or not, the fact that he could keep smiling even in the most serious of moments was always awe-inspiring in her opinion.

"Hey! Get down here, Luffy!" Nami shouted up at the rubber man. "That's enough—get your ass down here" like a mother scolding their child, she demanded the captain listen after being ignored the first time—making it clear she wasn't playing around. Startled, Luffy stumbled and accidentally slipped as his foot went sliding down the statue. Quickly, he grabbed hold of a jutting piece of stone which caused the whole bird to quiver before finally, its front legs broke.

Nami gasped as Usopp and Chopper bolted out of the way of the falling bird—its head smashing right into the lake.

"Luffy!" Nami shouted when she realized the captain had fallen into the water as well. Quickly, Zoro dove into the wave of water that splashed out of the lake and soaked everyone. Despite grabbing the captain's leg, he was unable to swim upwards as the water around him slowly started to drain from the lake—the suction from the hole caused by the bird's beak pulling them further down.

"Luffy! Zoro!" Nami and Skylar shouted when they noticed the swordsman and captain tightly clinging to the fallen statue. Luffy heavily panted as Zoro glared down at him in annoyance.

"I thought I was dead!" Luffy weakly wheezed as the two women sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness you're alright" Skylar smiled as she gathered up her hair, twisting out the water it had soaked up after being splashed.

"At this point, the riddle should practically solve itself!" Ratchet chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Nami frowned.

"This is the conclusion that I've reached—as soon as all of this water is gone…the green forest from the song will appear at the bottom of the lake" Ratchet boldly concluded.

When the water was finally all gone, all that was left was stone.

"I-Impossible! Why isn't it there?" he gaped.

"There's no way there could be a forest at the bottom of a lake" Nami deadpanned before snorting as Skylar gave a loud whistle towards Zoro who was currently ringing out his shirt.

"Looking good there—you got a girlfriend?" she playfully grinned, causing Zoro's cheeks to grow warm as he chuckled and shook his head at the teen's silly antics.

"It's nowhere to be found!" Honkey frowned as he walked around the empty lake in search of the green forest that Ratchet was certain had to be down there.

"Look harder!" the blond barked as Robin curiously peered down the passage that had been revealed at the bottom of the hole.

"Awesome! The bird really drank all the water!" Luffy laughed as he ran around.

"Captain-san" Robin suddenly spoke up.

"Huh? What's up?" Luffy curiously asked before tripping over a rock and getting himself wedged into a nearby crack in the wall. Skylar snorted as she looked at the rubber man.

"Nice going, dumbass" she giggled.

"Are you okay, Captain-san? Let me give you a hand" Robin offered.

"I'm fine! Anyway, what's up?" Luffy asked, body twitching as he tried to move.

"Something's been bothering me and I'd like to investigate it" Robin confessed.

"The Golden Crown?" Luffy questioned.

"I don't think it's directly related" Robin shook her head.

"Oh? Well, I don't mind" Luffy assured, giving her permission to go off on her own if she wanted.

"Luffy! Can I go too?" Chopper suddenly asked. "Something's been bothering me too!"

"Sure" the rubber man answered. "Sanji, you should go with them" he suggested after a moment's thought. He trusted his nakama to take care of themselves, but it didn't hurt to send one of the other strongest members of the crew along with them just in case.

"Okay! Robin-chwan!" Sanji swooned as he spun his way towards the older woman, hearts dancing around him. As this happened, no one noticed as Maji slinked away from the group…well almost no one as Nami was the one who caught the man's odd movements from the corner of her eye.

"Is no one going to help the Captain?" Skylar raised an eyebrow, watching as Luffy continued to squirm around, obviously stuck.

"I guess I am stuck" Luffy finally admitted when he realized he couldn't get himself out. "Zoro! Hewp me…" he whined, causing Skylar to burst out into laughter as the swordsman heaved a tired sigh.

"Well, go on—help the man out" she grinned, waving the grumbling swordsman off and towards their stuck captain.

"Man, you're such a pain…" Zoro grumbled, smiling a little at Skylar's giggle as she followed him.

-Sanji, Robin, and Chopper-

"Wind?" Robin questioned as she and her companions walked up a set of stairs—a strong wind blowing down towards them from above.

-Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Zoro, and Skylar-

"You sure that's safe?" Skylar asked, crossing her arms as she watched the swordsman draw one of his swords.

"Yeah, I'm sure" Zoro nodded, slicing the rock with a single slash and causing it to crumble on top of the captain.

"Thank you, Zoro!" Luffy smiled.

"What's that?" Zoro asked, suddenly noticing the harpoon that was sticking out of the ground.

"A green harpoon?!" everyone questioned.

-Sanji, Robin, and Chopper-

"What's the deal?" Sanji asked.

"This is the summit, right?" Chopper gaped as he, Robin, and Sanji now found themselves outside and looking at the ocean. "The white stuff is calcium!" he realized as he looked down at the ground beneath their feet.

"It's covered in fossilized barnacles" Robin remarked.

"Barnacles normally live in the water…so why are they on the summit?" Chopper asked, confused how a bunch of barnacles had gotten so high up.

"What the hell's up with this mountain?" Sanji frowned as he looked around before stopping. "Robin-chan, look" he pointed, causing the archeologist and doctor to turn and look up the mountain.

"A shrine?" Robin questioned as she stared at the dome that rested at the very top of the mountain.

"Is it old?" Chopper asked as the three made their way towards the shrine.

"Quite old—over a thousand years" Robin nodded as she examined the structure.

"A thousand years?" Sanji echoed as they entered the shrine.

"Wow!" Chopper awed as he looked around in amazement. "A jewel-studded night!" he gaped.

"This is…the island's secret!" Robin breathed before something suddenly caught her eye.

"Robin-chan!" Sanji jumped as the older woman suddenly took off running further into the shrine. Stopping, she rested her hand against the drawing inscribed into the rocks she had seen.

-Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Zoro, and Skylar-

"Cool Ball!" Nami blew small blue bubbles out of one of the sections of her Clima-Tact. "Heat Ball!" she soon repeated the process with small red bubbles of heat from another section.

"This is amazing" Ratchet breathed, impressed by the ginger staff.

"My invention's pretty neat, huh?" Usopp smugly grinned.

"It really is intriguing, but will that really suffice?" Ratchet curiously asked as Nami now twirled the two sections of her Clima-Tact, creating both Cool and Heat Balls at the same time.

"Yeah! It's got a lot of power" Luffy nodded.

"Yosh, here I go! Thunderbolt Tempo!" Nami threw a small ball of electricity into the storm cloud that had formed, causing a bolt of lightning to strike the harpoon. Skylar blinked as green electricity now pulsated from the harpoon before suddenly disbursing and surging through the ground.

"Wow…nothing happened" she deadpanned, noting how nothing had changed as everyone and everything fell silent.

"What?! What the heck happened?!" Nami looked around in confusion, unsure if she had even done anything.

"She did it!" Ratchet suddenly grinned, catching the ginger and brunette's attention. "I wish to express my gratitude to you all, thank you" he bowed. "Thanks to you, we finally made it" he said as the ground suddenly started to shake.

"Um…what exactly did she do?" Skylar shifted around, uncomfortable with the look the blond wore. Zoro slowly slipped his arm around her as the shaking increased.

"What? What the…?" Luffy and his remaining crew looked around, confused and unsure of what was happening.

-Sanji, Robin, and Chopper-

"What's with this shitty earthquake?" Sanji asked, stumbling back as the ground suddenly started to shake. "It's dangerous in here—let's head outside!" he quickly suggested, aware that the shrine could fall on them at any moment should its structure be weak from years of neglect. "Robin-chan? What's going on? Did you figure something out?" he questioned when the woman didn't move right away, still staring at the drawing in front of her.

"You too? Snap out of it!" he snapped when he noticed that Chopper wasn't moving either. "Chopper? What's going on with you two?!" he frowned.

"It can't be…you…" Chopper breathed before suddenly taking off.

"Oi, Chopper! Chopper!" Sanji shouted as the reindeer ran up the stairs and out of the shrine.

"How incredible…" Robin murmured in amazement.

"This is looking really dangerous, we have to…" Sanji began as he approached the older woman.

"Then that means this earthquake…" Robin realized as she quickly climbed up the rock and peered into the fountain atop that was currently overflowing with water. Sanji hurriedly followed her, peering into the fountain as well.

"What is this?" he asked, confused by what he was seeing.

"This island's true form" Robin answered, causing his eyes to widen.

"W-wait, that's not…" he trailed off in disbelief.

"Possible?" Robin finished for him, smiling. "Well it's true—we've awakened something incredible" she breathed as she and the blond stared down at the turtle calmly resting inside the fountain.

Outside, Chopper stared dumbfounded towards the ocean.

-Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Zoro, and Skylar-

"Isn't this dangerous?" Usopp nervously asked as the cave walls started to crack and crumble around them. He and Luffy soon screamed as a chunk of rock fell towards them—the sharpshooter was quick to jump out of the way while the rubber man was struck head-on. "Luffy!" he worriedly shouted.

"I'm fine!" Luffy assured him as pushed the chunk of the rock off and stood. Nami screamed as she ran around, trying to avoid being hit by the falling rocks herself. Zoro tightly held onto Skylar, using his body as a shield for the brunette who clung to him.

Chunks of land around the island started to crumble and fall away as trees were knocked down.

"Are you okay?!" Luffy asked once everything finally started to calm down. At some point during the commotion, he, Usopp, and Nami had taken shelter behind a rock.

"S-somehow" Nami shakily answered. "Huh? Where's Zoro and Skylar?" she asked, quick to realize that two of their companions were now missing.

"I'm sure they can manage on their own" Luffy dismissed as he peered out from behind the rock.

"Now there's a scary thought!" Nami shivered as she stood up and peered over the rock as well. Perhaps if it was just Skylar missing, she'd be more concerned but since Zoro was also missing that meant the brunette was probably just fine. "Hey, wait…what's going on?" she asked, finally taking notice of the large hole in the wall that now allowed them to see outside. Slowly, a giant turtle's head rose from the sea, its eyes blinking open as it curiously looked around. "A turtle?!" she cried as she frantically shook the captain's head.

"And it's huge! Friggin' huge!" he shouted.

"What the hell's up with its size?!" Nami screamed.

"W-wait a second! Does that mean that this island was actually a turtle?!" Luffy gaped.

"No way!" he and the navigator shouted in shock.

"That is correct!" Ratchet laughed as Honkey threw the rock that had landed on top of them off, having used his body as a shield to protect the blond.

"Oh, you made it!" Luffy blinked upon spotting the two.

"Yeah" Ratchet nodded, face looking a little beaten up from where it had been struck by the falling rocks.

"You look pretty messed up" Luffy remarked.

"I'm fine!" Ratchet assured him as Zoro sliced the rock that had landed on top of him and Skylar—tightly holding the brunette to his chest as he threw it off them.

"Zoro! Skylar!" Nami gasped. "You two seem fine…well, you do at least, Zoro—not so sure about Skylar…" she muttered, eyeing the brunette who was gasping for air after having been painfully crushed underneath the swordsman when the rock had landed on top of them.

"I thought I was going to die…" she wheezed.

"Of course, there's no way something like that could—what the hell is that?!" Zoro shouted as he finally spotted the giant turtle's head.

"Whoa! What is that?!" Skylar sparkled, her reaction far different from everyone else's.

"A humongous turtle" Luffy answered.

"There's a limit to how damn big things should be!" Zoro snapped.

"Well, don't look at me!" Luffy defended.

"Nami!" Zoro shouted as he turned to the ginger.

"I don't know anything about this either!" Nami snapped.

"I don't know, it could be bigger" Skylar hummed.

"Bigger?! It's as big as a damn island!" Nami frowned.

"That's not big enough—it should be as big as an entire country, then we can argue that it's too big" Skylar grinned, laughing the second Zoro snatched up her cheek and pulled at it.

"It does not need to be that big! It shouldn't even be this big!" he snapped, tugging at her cheek as she loudly laughed. Nami curiously looked towards Honkey and Ratchet as the blond suddenly tossed his broken glasses aside.

"I got it!" Luffy suddenly shouted, catching everyone's attention.

"Got what?" Zoro asked, releasing Skylar's cheek as he turned to his captain.

"This is the guy!" Luffy brightened.

"The guy?" Zoro questioned.

"What are you talking about, Luffy?" Skylar tilted her head, rubbing her now reddened cheek.

"You've heard of the legend, haven't you?" Luffy asked. "I bet this turtle is going to take us straight to the Golden Crown!" he excitedly explained. "We're going to ride on its back and find treasure! So cool!" he cheered as Ratchet pulled out a new pair of glasses from inside his overalls.

"What do you think?" Zoro asked.

"Beats me" Nami shrugged before she and the swordsman looked towards Skylar who loudly started to laugh, seemingly amused by the captain's cheerful explanation. Zoro smiled, his heart fluttering like it always did upon hearing her joyous laughter as Nami rolled her eyes. "Why don't we ask someone who seems to have some clue about what's going on?" she suggested as she turned to Ratchet. "You did say "that is correct" after all."

"Well, Skinny Glasses?" Luffy asked as the blond grinned, silently eyeing the group of pirates.

"When my father died…I was informed of the holy ruins at the top of the hill on which my ancestors sleep" Ratchet began, now using a Den Den Mushi to amplify his voice. "It is only accessible by the males of our family line—the details of this turtle's origins are recorded there" he explained, causing Nami to blink.

-Sanji and Robin-

"What's it say?" Sanji curiously asked as Robin peered down at the symbols inscribed into the fountain.

"It's the island's history" Robin answered. "Since ancient times, its inhabitants and Shimagame-sama—the island itself—have happily coexisted with one another" she read.

-Chopper-

"Shimagame-sama…" Chopper breathed as he stared down at the turtle in awe. "So that's your name—you're the one who has been calling me, aren't you?" he asked.

-Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Zoro, and Skylar-

"It's been a thousand years since Shimagame fell into her slumber" Ratchet said. "Since then, everybody has lived peacefully on the island—in other words, on her shell" he explained. "When the time came for her to lay eggs, she would be awakened. That tradition of awakening her has been passed down for ages in the form of a song."

"And that's what the Swaying Song is?" Nami questioned.

"Correct" Ratchet nodded.

-Sanji and Robin-

"What is it?" Sanji asked when Robin suddenly stopped.

"The characters are too faint from here on…so I can't make out the method of awakening" Robin answered. "So that's why Ratchet and the others tried to solve the song's riddle" she realized.

"So that means that the song doesn't say anything about treasure?" Sanji questioned.

"It would seem so" she nodded.

-Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Zoro, and Skylar-

"So you're saying we were fed a load of crap, huh?" Nami glared.

"Don't put it so harshly—I didn't really lie to you" Ratchet grinned. "The part about the Golden Crown has yet to be solved…so there is still a chance it actually exists" he reasoned.

"Don't mince words—you knew that the song was about the turtle, and you manipulated us pirates" Nami huffed. "You've got some nerve!" she sneered.

"Huh? A turtle?" Usopp questioned from his hiding spot behind the rock as he looked around. "Oi, Nami! Quit being so greedy and…" he screamed the minute he peeked out and finally spotted the giant turtle.

"We've had enough of that reaction!" Nami and Luffy snapped.

"That goes for you too, you should have known I was taking advantage of you" Ratchet argued.

"Well, whatever" Nami sighed. "Will you just tell me one thing? What exactly are you after?" she curiously questioned. "You've awakened the turtle just as the tradition called for, but there's more, isn't there?" she asked.

"Clever girl to spot that" Skylar hummed as Ratchet chuckled.

"Yes, that is correct" he grinned. "We were able to make it this far due to your cooperation—very well, I'll tell you" he said, finding no harm in being honest. "Our plans do indeed go beyond awakening Shimagame, this is just the beginning" he confessed.

"You wanna hog all the treasure!" Luffy accused.

"No! Are you not paying attention?" Ratchet frowned. "There is no treasure—there was never any mention of it in the ruins!" he snapped.

"Sensei! I have a question!" Usopp raised his hands.

"Yes!" Ratchet nodded. "Wait, who are you calling Sensei?" he scowled.

"You're the enemy now, right?" Usopp asked.

"Yes, get a clue" Ratchet growled as he cleaned his glasses which were starting to fog up due to his building temper.

"The treasure exists!" Luffy loudly proclaimed, taking Ratchet aback. "There is a treasure—the Golden Crown really does exist! That giant turtle is going to take me to the Golden Crown as thanks when I save it!" he declared.

"You're annoying! Don't blabber about things you have no proof of!" Ratchet sneered.

"Who cares about proof?!" Luffy frowned. "If I say it exists, it exists! The old lady was sure it existed!" he grinned.

"How foolish" Ratchet sighed in annoyance. "You may believe what you want, but this turtle no longer has that kind of spare time…because from now on, it will be working for me—for my dream…of world domination" he revealed.

"Are you stupid?" the Straw Hats asked.

"What was that?!" Ratchet snapped.

"What a childish dream!" Nami scoffed. "You think the world is going to fall into your hands if you manipulate this turtle? I'm getting tired of your crap" she groaned.

"S-shut it! Shut up!" Ratchet embarrassingly snapped. "How long do you plan to insult me? You won't get away with it!" he sneered.

"Well, let me ask you this—just how are you going to control this turtle exactly?" Nami asked.

"She's right" Skylar nodded. "What reason would she have to listen to you of all people? She's the size of an island and you are just a mere man" she pointed out.

"You think I hadn't thought of that?" Ratchet scoffed. "Really, don't insult me—something like that is hardly a problem for me" he grinned. "Well, I think we're done here" he suddenly sighed. "I no longer have any use for you—I actually wanted to let you go…but you'd just get in the way, wouldn't you?" he asked.

"Probably" Skylar shrugged.

"Why does he even bother asking?" Zoro grumbled.

"So I've decided to just have you stay put" Ratchet said.

"If you wanted to fight, you could've just said so in the beginning" Zoro grinned.

"There's no way we can win if we fight you all head-on" Ratchet said as Maji suddenly flew by overhead in a plane, throwing handfuls of bombs down at Straw Hats while dropping a rope ladder for Ratchet and Honkey to grab onto. Everyone's eyes widened as they screamed at the sight of the lit bombs that exploded.

"Are you okay?" Honkey asked, clutching the rope ladder with one hand and Ratchet with the other as they flew away from the now smoking cave.

"I'm fine, head straight for the castle" Ratchet instructed. "Being violent really doesn't suit me—well I hope you dream about treasure" he grinned.

-Sanji, Robin, and Chopper-

"Chopper!" Sanji shouted as he and Robin ran towards the reindeer before stopping when they finally spotted the turtle. "This is Shimagame? It's enormous!" he gaped.

"Doctor-san, you can hear the turtle's voice, right?" Robin inquired. "What is it saying?"

"Well, I'm not sure—all I can make out is something about a baby" Chopper confessed. "It appears to still be half asleep" he noted.

-Ratchet-

"We did it!" Ratchet laughed from inside a room that held many buttons and levers on a control panel. Lining the walls of the room were his robotic servants and a large window that gave him a clear view of the turtle in front of him. "We were finally able to wake up Shimagame! I've been planning this for five years—nothing is impossible for me!" he excitedly boasted. "I am worthy of controlling the world!

"Now that I think of it, those pirates must have been sent here as guidance from the Heavens!" he grinned. "The tides of power are turning—from now on, everything revolves around me!" he laughed once more as he gleefully threw his arms in the air. "It's time to draw the curtain on the new age!" he grabbed at one of the many levers in front of him.

"Ratchet-sama!" Maji grinned as he gave the blond a thumbs up.

"It's about time!" Honkey cheered.

"Soon you two will be Vice President and Secretary of State…of the world" Ratchet said as he pushed his glasses up.

"Score!" Maji cheered.

"Sir! Thank you so much!" Honkey brightened. No one in the room noticed as Gonzo silently took a step back away from the line of robotic maids, slipping through a hidden door that blended in with the wall behind him.

"Now then, Shimagame…serve me as I become the world's new righteous leader!" Ratchet laughed, pushing the lever he held which caused it to pull a pin up. Almost immediately, a series of gears began to move and turn as steam blew out of the machinery that was just activated.

-Sanji, Robin, and Chopper-

"Do you hear something strange?" Sanji asked as a whirring sound suddenly filled the air.

"Yeah" Chopper slowly nodded.

"It sounds like a machine" Robin remarked.

"It's coming from the castle" Chopper pointed as the ground beneath the castle began to crumble. "Look at the ground around it!" he gasped as mechanical legs rose from the ground and lifted the castle. Stunned, the three watched wide-eyed as the castle slowly started to move forward.

-Ratchet-

"Amazing!" Ratchet laughed, body shaking with excitement as he grinned—a sinister gleam in his eyes. "I'm so damn amazing!" he praised himself before pushing more levers. "Let's get this show on the road!" he shouted as he pushed down a line of switches, causing multiple rooms within the castle to break apart as more mechanical legs sprouted from underneath the island.

-Sanji, Robin, and Chopper-

"What the hell is this shit?" Sanji asked as he, Robin, and Chopper ran to the edge of a cliff. "It's one crazy thing after another!" he grounded as he stared at the odd mechanical legs that now sprouted from the island itself.

"We have to get to that castle" Robin said.

"Shit! Are Nami-san, Skylar-chan, and everyone else alright?" Sanji worriedly asked before taking off with Robin and Chopper quick to follow after. "Rubber! Nose! Shitty swordsman! If anything happens to Nami-san and Skylar-chan, I'll kick the snot out of you!" he growled.

Slowly, the castle suddenly had something new start to grow out of the top of it.

"Is he still up to something?" the cook frowned as he and the other two pirates ran downhill before skidding to a stop when Luffy suddenly smashed his foot into the ground. "Luffy!" he jumped, startled by the captain's sudden appearance.

"Captain-san!" Robin called out. Panting, Luffy turned his head to face the three—the left side of his face swollen with bumps.

"What happened?" Sanji worriedly asked.

"Sanji-kun!" Nami shouted as she and the others slowly made their way out into the open.

"Nami-san! Skylar-chan! I'm glad you're both okay!" Sanji cooed the second he spotted the two women, thankful to see that they were fine.

"Whoa! What's that?!" Nami gasped upon spotting the moving castle. "That's its true form?" she blinked.

"Looks kind of hideous if I'm being quite honest" Skylar remarked.

"A-A giant transforming fortress!" Luffy sparkled.

"Stop admiring it!" Nami snapped.

"Strange machines also came out of the island—what the hell are they planning?" Sanji asked.

"World domination, right?" Nami questioned, shrugging as the cook sweat dropped. "Looks like he's serious—hey, I think that glider came out of this hole, did you see it?" she asked.

"It flew towards the castle" Robin answered, recalling the plane she had seen flying overhead when they were descending the mountain.

"That damn mecha-nerd! Does he think mobilizing like this is all it takes?" Nami growled. "I'm going to empty his pockets!"

"That's what you're worked up about?" Zoro grumbled.

"That's a pretty scary threat you just made, Nami" Skylar chuckled. "That poor man won't know what hit him."

"It's sooo cool!" Luffy sparkled, still admiring the moving castle.

"Let's go, Captain!" Nami barked as she, Zoro, and Skylar raced ahead.

"W-w-wait up!" Luffy shouted after the three before following along with Sanji, Robin, and Chopper.

"Yosh! I'll stay here as backup—" Usopp screamed as Luffy suddenly stretched his arm back and grabbed hold of him, dragging him along.

-Ratchet-

With a sigh, Ratchet dug a key out of his pocket and used it to open a case that contained a red button. Grinning, he lowly chuckled as he hovered his finger over the button, pausing for dramatic effect. But just as he prepared to finally press it, the castle suddenly trembled, causing his arm to shoot forward and his face to smash into the control panel.

"What was that?!" he shouted, confused as one of the many bells that dangled from the ceiling started to jingle.

"Intruders!" Maji gasped.

"What?" Ratchet's jaw dropped. "Is that you, Straw Hat?!" he growled, certain that it had to be those pirates as no one else on the island had any reason to invade his home.

-Straw Hat-

"That's one way to enter…" Skylar muttered, lowly whistling as she examined the giant hole they made to enter the castle before looking inside, noting how much different the place now looked compared to before. Its once elegant décor was no more as it was now filled to the brim with gears and other types of machinery.

"Where are you, Skinny Glasses?!" Luffy shouted as he stormed into the castle. "Show yourself! Hogging all the treasure isn't fair—share it fair and square!" he angrily demanded.

-Ratchet-

"You need to learn to pay attention!" Ratchet sweat dropped, standing in front of an open tube pipe that allowed him to hear the rubber man. "We can't have them interfering…" he grumbled.

"Want me to take care of 'em?" Maji asked.

"By all means" Ratchet smiled. "I'll finish up here."

"Roger" Maji grinned.

-Straw Hats-

"He's not the type to show his face" Zoro pointed out.

"He can fantasize all he likes…but I'm going to beat some sense into him" Sanji glared as Chopper grew big.

"Charge! Get going, Zoro!" Usopp cheered as he hid near the entrance.

"Cram it!" the swordsman snapped.

"You're so mean to your cheerleader, honey" Skylar chuckled, causing the moss-haired man to grumble.

"I wonder what's next" Robin smiled.

"Yosha! Let's go!" Luffy charged forward with Zoro and Sanji quick to follow.

"Hey, wait! We need a plan!" Nami shouted after the three. "He has no idea what he's doing…" she grumbled.

"Even if we did come up with a plan, you know none of them would probably stick to it" Skylar reminded the ginger, causing her to irritably huff upon knowing that the brunette was right.

"Huh? What is it Chopper?" Nami asked when she saw that the reindeer hadn't followed despite looking ready for a fight.

"The turtle is trying to say something…" Chopper mumbled.

"You can understand here?" Nami curiously asked.

"That's right, I almost forgot you can understand other animals" Skylar said—despite her large size, the turtle was still an animal at the end of the day just like the reindeer.

"Yeah" Chopper nodded. "Sorry, but do you think I could stay behind?" he asked, more concerned with the giant reptile than the man-child wanting to take over the world. "I want to talk to her some more."

"Sure thing" Nami smiled. "Just be sure to ask her about the treasure!" she requested, now curious to know if the captain was possibly right and that the turtle did indeed have some connection to the legendary treasure.

"Sure" Chopper nodded.

"Luffy?" Nami flinched as the captain suddenly screamed.

"What the hell?!" Luffy's distant voice shouted.

"I warned him" Nami heavily sighed before lightly smacking Chopper's chest. "Don't forget!" and with that, she took off running.

"Got it!" Chopper nodded.

"Be safe" Skylar hummed as she took off after the ginger.

"Alright, let's go" Robin smiled as she looked at Usopp.

"M-me?" he nervously asked.

-Later-

Running through the castle halls, the four pirates carefully looked around every corner—staying hidden behind various machinery as a precaution as they looked for their missing companions.

"Luffy!" Nami called out—trying to be loud enough to be heard, but also quiet enough not to catch any unwanted attention.

"Where'd he go?" Usopp quietly asked as the group took off running down another hall, unaware that they had been spotted.

Maji kept hidden within the shadows of the surrounding machinery, his hand wrapped around a lever as he quietly watched the four intruders run around before eventually, he pulled it.

Nami skidded to a halt as a section of the floor in front of her suddenly opened. Her relief upon stopping in time was short-lived as she screamed after Usopp accidentally rammed into her back, sending them sliding down the ramp and into the hole. Pretty soon, Skylar yelped as she followed—unable to bring herself to a complete stop in time as one of her legs immediately slid out from under her and knocked her onto her bottom.

"Long Nose! Miss Swordswoman! Miss Navigator!" Robin willingly slid into the hole, using her powers to hold onto the edges to keep herself from fully falling.

"T-thanks, Robin!" Nami nervously smiled, tightly holding onto Usopp's head—who was currently chocking—while Skylar clung to his leg as Robin had her arms wrapped around the brunette's waist

"You're welcome" Robin smiled before perking up at the sound of rushing water.

"Uh-oh…" Skylar muttered, looking up and watching as a wave of water suddenly came gushing down from the top of the hole.

"Oh no" Robin's smile became strained as she looked up before the four of them were doused, the full force of the wave knocking them further down the hole.

"That's seawater by the way…baby!" Maji grinned, pushing the lever currently in his hand and raising the ramp that had poured the water down into the hole. "Be good and stay put" he said as the floor returned to normal.

"This sucks!" Nami grounded as she rubbed the back of her head. They were now soaked to the bone and appeared to be surrounded by discarded scraps of metal and broken machinery.

"That man is quite cruel!" Robin frowned.

"Wouldn't expect anything less from someone working under a crazy person hellbent on world domination…" Skylar grumbled. "I'd be concerned if he was kind."

"Huh? Where's Usopp?" Nami curiously asked when she didn't spot the sharpshooter right away—not realizing that she was currently sitting on his face, crushing him.

"Nyaami!" Luffy suddenly whined, catching the ginger's attention.

"Luffy!" Nami turned her head as she quickly spotted the captain, Zoro, and Sanji all looking just as soaked as she and the others.

"Nami-swan! Skylar-chan! Robin-chan!" Sanji brightened upon seeing the three ladies. "Are you hurt?" he worriedly asked.

"Please…move…" Usopp weakly groaned.

"Oh sorry, Usopp" Nami apologized as she finally got off him. "What happened to Luffy?" she asked, finally noticing just how sluggish the captain was being.

"This garbage is full of seawater" Sanji answered.

"What?" Nami blinked.

"Seawater?" Skylar questioned, lifting a small strand of her hair and watching as beads of water dripped from the tip of it.

"He's right…" Robin mumbled, her body starting to tilt to the side.

"Hey, Robin!" Usopp flinched as he quickly caught the woman.

"I see" Nami nodded.

"Make sense—they are aware we have Devil Fruit users on our crew, so of course they'd pull a dirty trick like that" Skylar frowned before blinking as she heard Zoro suddenly shout. Raising one sword, he prepared to slice a way out until his foot accidentally sunk into the ground, causing him to lose his footing and change the direction of his slash. Sanji flinched as he was almost hit, his cigarette thankfully being the only thing cut as it split in two.

"I lost my footing" Zoro grounded.

"Watch out!" Sanji snapped. "You almost killed me!"

"I wish" Zoro gave a strained smile as Skylar's lips twitched downwards. "Now where was I…" he muttered before quickly blocking the foot that was kicked towards him.

"Hey!" Usopp snapped the second he saw the two fighting.

"Quit screwing around!" Nami scolded. "We need to find a way out."

"She said knock it off!" Skylar snapped, throwing a piece of scrap metal at the two and striking Zoro on the side of the head.

"Ow! Why'd you hit me?!" he shouted.

"Lucky shot" Skylar shrugged, snickering at the annoyed expression the swordsman gave her.

"Lucky?!" he snapped before growling as Sanji laughed, causing the two to start fighting once again.

"Well, I did all I could" Skylar sighed.

"You didn't really do anything, they're still fighting" Usopp sweat dropped.

"I did my best and that's good enough" Skylar smiled as the sharpshooter heaved a heavy sigh.

"Do not worry" Gonzo suddenly said from somewhere, causing Nami to jump and quickly look around in search of the man. Pulling a lever, the ground underneath the pirates suddenly trembled before opening, causing them and the trash in the room to fall down another ramp and out into an open hallway. "Is everybody alright?" the butler asked.

"You're…" Sanji trailed off as he stared at the man.

"Who are you again?" Nami asked, not recalling if they had ever properly met the man before.

"I am Ratchet-sama's butler" Gonzo bowed.

"Skinny Glasses' butler?" Usopp questioned as he sat up. "Oi! What's the deal?!" he frowned. "What are you trying to pull?"

"My deepest apologies" Roba apologized as she walked up beside the man.

"Old lady?" Nami owlishly blinked.

"You're only in this mess because of me and my stupid son" Roba said, eyes becoming downcast. "I've actually had the butler keep tabs on him…but, I never suspected he was up to something so crazy…" she murmured.

"Did you know that song's purpose was to revive the turtle?" Sanji asked. Zoro lightly hummed as he looked to the side, smiling as Skylar leaned against his back—wrapping her arms around his neck as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

"No, I only just learned this island was a turtle!" Roba confessed, flinching as she looked at the pirates. "I mean it! I'm not trying to deceive you!" she quickly added, afraid they wouldn't believe her.

"We don't doubt you anymore" Sanji assured her. "But, your son…well, he's taken this prank just a little too far."

"You guys…" Roba's voice quivered as she looked at them. "You're right" she nodded. "He even strung you pirates along for the ride, but I'm the one who brought you all to this island" she frowned as she clenched her fist, aware that she was partially to blame for what was happening. "So if you must blame someone, please blame me."

"Do not say such a thing, Madame" Gonzo said as he bent down towards the older woman.

"I'm just as guilty as he is—if only I had been able to stop him!" Roba pulled out a tissue as she dabbed at her teary eyes.

"What a time to pour your heart out!" Gonzo also pulled out a tissue and started to rub at his watering eyes. "I, Gonzo, shall forever be at your service!" he proclaimed.

"You have truly served us well all this time!" Roba wept.

"You're too kind!" Gonzo cried as he took hold of the woman's hands in gratitude.

"Anyway…feel free to do whatever it takes!" Roba quickly told the pirates as she straightened her posture, suddenly remembering that they were still there.

"Wait! First, please accept my apologies…and try to forgive Ratchet-sama!" Gonzo pleaded.

"We beg you!" he and Roba bowed.

"Well, that was…something" Skylar muttered as Sanji scratched at his head, already becoming irritated with everything that was happening.

"W-well it's not like we haven't made mistakes" Usopp pointed out.

"Yeah? Well if that's how you feel, how about forking over some gold?" Nami suddenly asked.

"Hey! That really does make us seem evil!" Usopp snapped.

"Money you say?" Roba questioned.

"No! It was a joke!" Usopp quickly shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Nami glared. "She still owes us fare!"

"I did believe the treasure existed when I told you about it" Roba confessed. "But…in the end, it's just as if I had deceived you" she sadly realized, her eyes becoming downcast once more. "I'm sorry…but even now, that man is still my cute little boy" she frowned. "To me, he's still as important as any treasure, so please! Forgive my son and stop that turtle's rampage!" she pleaded. "Please, restore peace to this island!"

"She's shamelessly piling on requests!" Usopp gaped.

"This hag's always on her game!" Zoro grumbled before flinching as Skylar suddenly tightened her hold around his neck. She didn't look at him and her stare was blank he noted as he cast a sideways glance at her. For Skylar, she couldn't help but hold a high respect towards parents who showed they cared and loved their children no matter if that child was an innocent little saint or a little hellion. She admired the old woman for still loving her son despite everything he did and plans to do should he succeed in achieving his dream.

"I mean…well, I just figured that while you were at it…" Roba nervously muttered.

"It's a lot to ask…" Usopp mumbled.

"Please, I'm begging you!" Roba dropped to her knees and bowed.

"T-this won't do, Madame!" Gonzo exclaimed.

"You know, old lady…" Sanji heavily sighed.

"If you want some gold, here! Take this!" Roba removed her teeth and held them up, clacking them open and shut as she showed that they were indeed made of gold.

"We don't want that!" Sanji snapped.

"I've been using this fine piece for twenty years" Roba explained.

"I said, we don't want it!" Sanji repeated.

"You clearly need it more than us, ma'am" Skylar sweat dropped, though she appreciated the woman's sentiment.

"Skinny Glasses is your treasure?" Luffy suddenly asked as the old woman popped her teeth back into her mouth.

"He's my darling only son" she responded.

"I see" Luffy smiled.

"Not again!" Nami grounded.

"This is different!" Luffy quickly argued. "I'm not really doing it for her—that turtle is going to take me to the Golden Crown I need" he explained, assuring the ginger that he wasn't about to do this for the old woman. "But that guy's in my way. I never cared about Skinny Glasses' plans, I'm going to destroy this weird castle and get that treasure!" he huffed, causing a few of his crew to smile and chuckle. "I'll have to kick Skinny Glasses' ass if he gets in my way…but whatever happens, happens."

"But…" Roba worriedly looked at the captain.

"Don't worry, he'll try to retrain himself" Sanji assured the old woman.

"Okay! Let's go, old lady!" Luffy grinned. "Where's the exit? Show me!"

"I'm afraid I can't just let you do that" Ratchet suddenly said from over an intercom that was just an open tube pipe that ran along the walls and ceilings of the castle.

"Where are you?!" Luffy glared as everyone looked around.

"You guys sure are hard to get rid of—give up already!" Ratchet sneered.

"It's coming from over there" Usopp pointed as he looked towards the open pipe.

"You're damn straight! I'm going to get that treasure!" Luffy huffed.

"Ratchet! Enough is enough!" Roba scolded.

"Mom! What are you doing down there, Mother?" Ratchet asked, shocked to discover that his mother was with pirates. "You never listen to me" he huffed.

"You mean that crap about world domination?" Roba questioned.

"Geniuses never get any respect" Ratchet sighed as he shook his head.

"You're so full of yourself" Usopp and Skylar deadpanned.

"I don't have a choice" Ratchet frowned, a blush of embarrassment staining his cheeks. "You'll have to stay down there too, Mother" he glared. "Ready? Initiate the final phase!" he ordered as he turned away from the pipe he had been speaking through.

"Yes, Sir!" Honkey nodded.

"Skinny Glasses!" Luffy shouted as he stretched his arm up and started to punch at the ceiling until a huge chunk of it finally went flying, creating a hole in the upper floor. Stretching his arms, he shot himself upwards and leaped out of the hole. "Following this pipe should lead me to him!" he assumed as he looked at the pipe the blond had used like an intercom. "Just you wait, Skinny Glasses!"

"Is he serious?" Ratchet muttered in disbelief. "No, not you" he frowned when he saw the nervous expression on Honkey's face. "General Maji, can you hear me?" he asked, speaking into a different pipe.

"Yeah!" Maji responded.

"The pirates are on the move again, intercept them and take them down" he ordered.

"On my way, baby!"

"It's up to you! You get ready too, Colonel Honkey!" Ratchet demanded.

"Yes, Sir!" Honkey ran out of the room and went off to do as he was instructed.

"I won't let some damn pirates get in my way! Off we go, Giant Fortress Shimagame!" Ratchet exclaimed as he pressed down on the red button in front of him from earlier. Immediately, the whole castle started to shake as even more gears started to turn.

"Is he trying to pull something again?" Luffy frowned as he looked around at the spinning gears

-Sanji, Usopp, Nami, Robin, Zoro, and Skylar-

"This way!" Sanji and Zoro shouted after destroying one of the castle walls, creating an entrance to the narrow hallway on the other side—both of them facing different directions. Naturally, everyone followed Sanji as he started to run while Zoro took off in the opposite direction.

"This way!" Usopp snapped as Skylar turned on her heel and ran after the moss-haired man, grabbing the back of his shirt before he could get any further.

"Honestly, do I need to buy you a leash or something?" she sighed, causing the swordsman's cheeks to flare up in embarrassment as he glared at her.

Outside, tendrils shot out of the sides of the castle and stretched all across the island/turtle. Any villagers who were still up at this time of night were naturally shocked and terrified by the sight of the metal tendrils.

-Chopper-

"What in the world is this?" Chopper gaped. "What?" he asked, looking into the turtle's eye and quietly listening to what she had to say. "I see! You awaken every thousand years to lay eggs?" he nodded.

-Ratchet-

"It is complete, now it should move exactly as I command!" Ratchet laughed. "The giant moving fortress…Shimagame!"

-Villagers-

"What's going on?" one of the villagers asked as they looked around in concern and confusion, unsure what was happening.

"Looks like Ratchet-sama's up to something again."

"He never changes."

-Ratchet-

"Go! Move, Shimagame!" Ratchet ordered as the metal tendrils now wrapped around the turtle quivered and slowly started to force her fins to move.

Around the island, the villagers were shocked as they watched one of the giant fins rise out of the water before lowering back down. Slowly, the sea creature started to swim forward as the tendrils forced her fins to move.

-Chopper-

"Stop! Shimagame says it hurts!" Chopper shouted up at the castle. "What's wrong with you?! Shimagame's supposed to be your guardian spirit—haven't you coexisted peacefully for ages?!" he angrily screamed.

-Ratchet-

"I can't fathom why a thousand years ago, my ancestors…did not exploit Shimagame" Ratchet sighed, disappointed in his ancestors for not taking advantage of the massive turtle. "Regardless, I'm different—a genius mind like mine wasn't born to oversee some pathetic little island. A voice from the Heavens told me to use this turtle to conquer the world!" he proclaimed before narrowing his eyes. "Nobody's going to stop me."

-Sanji, Usopp, Nami, Robin, Zoro, and Skylar-

Quietly, the pirates hurriedly made their way up a set of stairs. Sanji was the first to stop as he peered outside one of the passing windows. Shouting to the others, he pointed towards one of the fins that were forcefully being moved.

"It's moving!" Nami gasped

"What are those tentacle-like things?" Robin asked.

"Looks like he's using them to control it" Sanji assumed.

"That must be painful" Skylar winced before glaring. "What a disgusting man for hurting such a beautiful creature."

"So this is the plan he was talking about" Nami frowned.

"Huh?" Usopp blinked. "Wait, so the Merry is…" he paled at the sudden realization, only just now remembering that the Merry had been anchored down beside the island.

"Usopp!" Nami shouted as the long-nosed pirate took off running back down the stairs.

"The Merry's in trouble! I'll figure something out, so the rest is up to you!" Usopp called back.

"Chopper should be out there somewhere!" Nami reminded him.

"Got it!" and with that, he disappeared down the stairs as the others continued to walk up them.

-Luffy-

"Shit…I lost track of that pipe…" Luffy panted as he barged through one of the many doors that littered the castle, entering a room with just a staircase and a lot of turning gears that seemingly reached up to the ceiling. "Where am I?" he asked as he took a quick glance around.

-Sanji, Nami, Robin, Zoro, and Skylar-

"Hey, should Zoro really be in the front?" Nami asked.

"No" Skylar and Robin deadpanned.

"Shut up!" Zoro snapped back at the three, grumbling as Skylar stuck her tongue out at him. At the top of the stairs was a door that led outside to a platform that had no safety railings around it. Quickly, Zoro came to a skidded halt along with Nami and Sanji who had followed him outside. Falling onto their bottoms, they watched as the swordsman tried his best not to fall over the edge which he now teetered.

"Nami-san!" Sanji worriedly frowned as the ginger screamed, her body curling up in fear as she shrunk away from the platform's edge. "Nami-san, give me your hand!"

"Zoro!" Skylar gasped as the swordsman finally lost his balance and fell over. She soon sighed in relief though when she saw he had caught the edge of the platform. Carefully, she shimmied past Sanji and Nami and quickly started to help pull him back up. Robin gasped as she looked up at one of the upper windows of the castle, quick to spot Maji who was waving down at them before pulling a lever.

"Watch out!" she shouted as the platform suddenly dropped, sending Zoro and Skylar falling completely down. Quickly, the brunette clung to the swordsman as a scream ripped itself from her throat.

"Shit!" Sanji cursed as he slid down the platform before thankfully being caught by Robin with the use of her Devil Fruit. Sprouting more arms, she attempted to catch Nami who screamed as she fell after the two sword users—the archeologist clenched her jaw as she missed, falling just short of ginger. "Nami-san! Skylar-chan!" the cook gasped. "Shitty swordsman, do something!" he shouted.

"Pipe down! It's disgraceful…" Zoro grumbled, one arm wrapped around Skylar's waist as he drew a sword and dug it into the side of the castle. Instead of staying in place like he hoped, the sword immediately started to slice through the metal exterior as gravity dragged it downwards.

"It's too sharp! It's too sharp!" Skylar babbled through tears as the swordsman gritted his teeth in annoyance. Clenching her eyes shut, she tightened her hold around him as they continued to fall.

"Zoro!" Nami suddenly screamed as she fell towards the two. With his hands full and Skylar clinging tightly to his body, he had no other choice but to hold his leg out. He groaned as the navigator harshly landed on it, the added weight further bringing them down.

"He's not stopping" Sanji remarked.

"His katana's too sharp" Robin pointed out, causing the cook to groan. "Let's get going" she said, carefully making her way back inside the castle through the open door.

Zoro, Skylar, and Nami groaned as they fell onto a metal ramp and went tumbling down before flying over the edge and harshly landing inside a nearby cart.

"O-ow, not my head again…" Zoro groaned as he rubbed his head. Nami lay beside him and Skylar was sprawled across him, a dizzy look on her face as her eyes spun.

"I hate heights…I hate them so much…" she moaned, limbs feeling heavy thanks to the burst of adrenaline that had pumped through them during the fall. Shaking her head, she blinked as the cart they had landed in suddenly started to move.

"What the hell?" Zoro frowned as he sat up, looking at the tracks laid out before them. Quickly, he held Skylar down before she could get up and see them as well, especially the massive drop that awaited them. "Stop, stop! I said stop!" he grounded as the cart now flew down the tracks at an alarming speed.

"What?" Nami asked, sitting up as the cart finally went flying off the tracks. "W-what? What the hell?!" she screamed as they fell once more. Zoro kept Skylar held down with his hand over her eyes, desperately trying to keep her from looking as they once again landed on the tracks and started to fly down them. It was like an odd roller coaster the way the tracks constantly rose and fell.

Nami cried as she held onto the front of the cart while Zoro held one hand on the side of the cart and the other over Skylar's eyes as she lay across his lap.

"I feel sick all of a sudden…what's happening...?" Skylar weakly moaned, her face turning slightly green as she brought her hands up and pushed Zoro's away.

"Wait, Skylar—" Zoro winced as the brunette sat up and screamed, paling before immediately dropping back down.

"I changed my mind! I don't want to see anymore!" she whined, tightly wrapping her arms around Zoro's waist as she buried her face into his stomach

"Dammit! We're moving away from the castle!" the swordsman frowned, looking back as he rested a comforting hand on Skylar's back and rubbed it.

"Just stop this thing!" Nami cried.

"We're on the ground…we're on the ground…we're on the ground…" Skylar's muffled voice babbled as she began to tremble. "We're not on a death trap…we're not on a death trap…we're not on a death trap…" Zoro only patted her back as she pressed her face further into his stomach. He felt a bit helpless, not knowing how to calm her down as her trembling worsened.

"Let's switch places!" Nami suddenly suggested, no longer wanting to be in the front as they went flying up and down the tracks, taking sharp twists and turns that had Skylar's stomach churning to a sickening degree.

"How's that going to help?!" Zoro snapped, growing a bit irritated with the two women who were currently panicking. One was crying and the other he feared was about to vomit all over him with how green she was turning.

"Back there! There's a brake lever!" Nami suddenly gasped as she finally noticed the lever on the back of the cart.

"This thing?" Zoro questioned, reaching back towards the wooden lever.

"Pull it forward!" Nami shouted before growing agitated when she noticed the swordsman was just holding it. "What are you waiting for, Zoro?!" she snapped.

"Just pull the damn thing!" Skylar's muffled voice cried as she tightened her hold, having listened to the two. She just wanted all this fast movement and sickening turns to stop already.

"We can't stop" Zoro suddenly said, ears perking up to the sound of a nearing motor.

"Why not?!" Nami and Skylar shouted, the brunette lifting her head as she tearily glared up at him.

"We've got company" Zoro grinned as Maji came riding towards the cart which was finally back on solid ground for the time being, but still moving at an alarmingly fast pace.

"Him!" Nami gasped before wincing as the tracks once again started to twist and turn, dangerously rattling the cart.

"We're in trouble—he's going to ram us with that spike!" Zoro grounded, taking note of the large spike that was located at the front of Maji's motorbike. Nami screamed as Skylar only tightened her hold on the swordsman.

-Sanji and Robin-

"What's with this shitty castle?" Sanji asked, walking past another trap he and Robin had avoided being hit by. "A jack-in-the-box?" he questioned, eyeing the hammer repeatedly hitting the ground instead of the target it was intended to.

"How welcoming" Robin said as the cook rested his hand on the wall, unintentionally causing a piece of brick to sink in and activate another trap. Boxing gloves on springs shot out of the wall and ceiling this time. Sanji only kicked them away as they shot at him and Robin.

"Enough already!" he growled as the archeologist caught one of the gloves that he had knocked off its spring.

"Then how about this?!" Honkey's voice suddenly echoed through the hall.

"Huh? Where are you?" Sanji asked, looking around as the wall beside him suddenly crumbled. He and Robin were knocked back, breaking through the wall behind them. "What's with you?!" he snapped, glaring at the robot now in front of him. It was heavily breathing—its limbs shaking and creaking as the blond held it back with just his foot.

"Cook-san?" Robin questioned.

"Don't worry" Sanji assured as the robot leaned towards him.

"You're not going' anywhere!" Honkey's voice came out of it, sounding almost robotic as he spoke.

"What are you, a big gorilla?" Sanji asked as the robot became limp before suddenly drawing back. Honkey tore his helmet off, his face red as he desperately sucked in as much air as he could.

"Can't breathe!" he gasped.

"Oi, you shitty gorilla!" Sanji shouted, kicking the larger man in the face the second he looked up.

"Now you've done it!" Honkey snarled as he stumbled back, blood now dripping from his nose that had taken the brunt force of the hit.

"I'm sick of your shitty attractions—you're in my way" Sanji glared.

"I'm just getting started!" Honkey angrily huffed, pulling at some strings on the robotic suit which caused the middle to light up and a series of loud sounds to start up.

"Trying to finish me in one hit, huh?" Sanji asked in amusement.

"You can have two!" Honkey snapped, cannons suddenly appearing on his shoulders as he shot a bright orange beam of light. Sanji's eyes widened as the entire castle shook in response to the loud explosion that followed.

-Ratchet-

"Looks like they're both taking care of business" Ratchet grinned. "What?" he blinked as one of the bells dangling from the ceiling suddenly started to ring once again.

-Luffy-

"Skinny Glasses!" Luffy shouted as he rode atop one of the moving gears before jumping off it and onto a nearby wooden platform. "Where are you?!" he growled, looking left and right before hopping onto other gear and riding it further up.

-Ratchet-

"I admire your persistence, I guess I'll have to take care of you myself" Ratchet said, turning on his heel and leaving the room as the bell continued to ring like crazy.

-Luffy-

"I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere from inside…" Luffy panted, now outside of the castle. Turning around, he stretched his arms to the very top and dragged himself up there with all of his strength. "Huh? What's the big deal?" he frowned, looking around the rather spacious roof. "I thought he'd be here at the top!" he huffed when he didn't see the blond right away.

"Indeed, I am" Ratchet said from inside a robotic suit as he rose out of a section of the floor. "I've already read your mental circuitry."

"S-sooo coool!" Luffy sparkled, admiring the piece of machinery the blond was wearing.

"Isn't it?" Ratchet smugly grinned. "It's the amazing power suit—Iron Man-kun No. 28" he proudly introduced.

"How does it transform?" Luffy excitedly asked.

"It doesn't" Ratchet bluntly answered.

"Why not?"

"Just think about it."

"That's boring" Luffy frowned, childishly turning away as he stuck his finger up his nose.

"Hey! How rude!" Ratchet snapped.

"Whatever, just stop this weird castle!" Luffy demanded. "Let the turtle go!"

"I have no intentions of doing that, I've been waiting a long time for this" Ratchet glared.

"In that case, I'll stop it myself!" Luffy proclaimed.

"You can't do anything barehanded—don't underestimate my current strength" Ratchet grinned as he pulled the lever he was holding, raising the robot's arm and shooting it towards the captain.

"That was close…" Luffy muttered, bending his body backward to avoid the attack. "He shot his arm out! So it can transform after—" he stood up…only to be immediately hit by the robot's other arm that shot towards him.

"I'm surprised you're still standing" Ratchet remarked, impressed.

"Bastard! It's my turn—" Luffy gasped when the arm's fingers suddenly curled around him as Ratchet pushed a button, causing the arm to react and pin Luffy to the ground.

"You just won't leave me alone, huh? Don't say I didn't warn you!" the blond sneered as the drill that was located on the chest of the robot started to spin.

"Yikes!" Luffy panicked, his eyes popping out of his head. Frantically, he started to struggle until finally, he slipped out of the robot's grasp at the very last minute as the drill smashed into the ground right where he used to be. Screaming, he scrambled away from the machine. "Shit! He has a drill!" he panted. "Nice drill…" he muttered right after.

"I'm not done!" Ratchet proclaimed, shooting the robot's arm forward once again and hitting Luffy who tumbled back onto one of the many tendrils that stuck out of the castle.

"Why you…! Huh?" Luffy flinched, unable to keep his balance the second he tried to stand. "These…there are tendrils coming out of the castle?" he blinked before getting an idea as he waved his arms around when he saw Ratchet slowly advancing towards him. "Neener, neener! I bet you can't reach me here!" he mocked, making faces at the blond.

As the robot took a step forward onto the tendril, something popped out of its ankles and stuck to the metal surface of it.

"What're those? That's not fair!" Luffy whined when he saw that the strange objects sticking out of the robot's ankles helped to keep it balanced on the tendril.

"All the modifications to the castle were made using this Iron Man-kun! How else could I have done such a good job?" Ratchet smugly asked as the drill on the robot's chest started up once again. Luffy rushed forward as the blond shot the robot's arms toward him. Punching them away, he continued charging the machinery before quickly jumping out of the way when the drill suddenly shot forward. He screamed as he suddenly fell off the tendril, unable to regain his footing.

"Do you see? This suit is amazing!" Ratchet laughed before blinking as the robot's legs suddenly gave in and it dropped to its knees. "What the…?!" peering over the edge, he quickly spotted Luffy's arms wrapped tightly around the robot's shoulders. "What?" he grounded. Shooting himself back up, Luffy broke through the tendril and severed the wires that attached the drill to the robot.

"What?!" the blonde's eyes widened as he stared up at the captain in shock who started to spin around before smashing his foot against the robot. As his foot smashed down, the force with which it had hit the machine was enough to rip the rest of the tendril out of the castle wall—sending both it and Ratchet falling as Luffy hopped safely back onto the roof. Ratchet quickly evacuated himself from the broken robot and parachuted himself to safety.

"Huh?" Luffy questioned, staring down at the blond.

"This is over yet, I'm still here" Ratchet frowned. "Like I'd give up so easily!" he shouted.

"He's still not done yet?" Luffy grumbled.

-Nami, Zoro, and Skylar-

"Let's see…if we continue at this rate, he'll catch up" Zoro said.

"Do something!" Nami shouted before whimpering as two saws suddenly extended from Maji's bike.

"I'll tear you to shreds!" the blue-haired man laughed.

"We're screwed!" Nami cried.

"Going up against blades makes things easy" Zoro grinned. "Here, hold her" gently, he handed Skylar over to Nami—the brunette instantly clinging to the ginger's waist as she stared back at the swordsman with curiosity.

"Wha…what are you doing?" Nami nervously asked, wrapping her arms around the younger woman.

"I'm going to stop him, you figure something out!" Zoro told her, causing the ginger to shout as he jumped out of the cart and onto the tracks.

"You jerk! Don't get yourself killed!" Skylar shouted back at him as the cart continued onwards.

"Hmm?" Maji hummed as he curiously eyed the swordsman who was already tying his bandana around his head. Drawing his swords, he took an offensive stance as he prepared to face off against the bike's saws.

"Damn you, Zoro!" Nami cried as she and Skylar clung to one another, screaming at the top of their lungs as the cart suddenly dropped.

"He's going to stop me with those? Cut the crap!" Maji snapped as Zoro crossed two of his swords and let them clash with the saw blades. Instantly, the motorbike halted even as its wheels continued to spin. Maji chuckled in amusement before blinking as he realized that the bike was starting to move back.

"What? Is that all you've got?" Zoro asked.

"Are you some kind of monster?" Maji asked, shocked that the other man could so easily push back against his bike.

"Let's finish this" Zoro glared. "Three Sword Style: Tornado!" Maji paled as the swordsman attacked, shattering his bike with a large gush of air that sent its broken pieces and him flying and spinning as if trapped inside a tornado. "That was too easy…Nami and Skylar's going to kill later" the swordsman sighed as he slipped off his bandana.

-Sanji and Robin-

"You just took more than ten direct hits" Honkey noted, tightly clutching Sanji's arm and holding him as the burnt cook's head limply fell back. "You're pretty tough" he remarked, impressed.

"Cook-san!" Robin prepared to help before stopping as Sanji waved a finger at her, a sign that he didn't want her interfering.

"You still kicking?" Honkey curiously asked as he squeezed the blonde's arm.

"Be nice now, the life of a chef is in your hands" Sanji suddenly said.

"Oh? A cook?" Honkey questioned.

"A first-rate one!" Sanji kicked the large man in the face, causing him to let him go. Once freed, he once again kicked the colonel's face. "I prepare all kinds of meals" he kicked the burly man once more, causing him to stumble back before shakily stumbling towards the cook. "People ask me to concoct the most flavorful dishes using my superior techniques—Mutton Shot!" drawing his leg back, he shot it forward and smashed it into Honkey's stomach, sending the man flying back through a series of walls and out the castle.

"What a chump" he breathed as Robin clapped. "Well, let's hurry upstairs."

"Indeed" she nodded as the two walked off.

-Nami and Skylar-

Slowly, the cart finally began to peacefully move down the rest of the tracks as Nami shakily raised her head. Skylar lay draped over the side of the slow-moving cart, her frantic heart now starting to slow back to a normal rate as she weakly groaned. She looked dizzy and sick, her body having been draped over the side by Nami as a way to prevent her from barfing all over her.

"Uh oh…" she suddenly muttered, stomach rumbling as she clutched the cart's edge and finally vomited over the side.

"The turtle's head? It's all bound up!" Nami gasped, ignoring the brunette as she spotted the turtle's head.

"Bound up?" Skylar weakly muttered, slowly raising her head and wiping her mouth before frowning. "Poor thing…" she sadly murmured upon seeing the sea critter's head wrapped tightly in tendrils.

"That was scary!" Nami suddenly groaned, tears pricking the corner of her eyes. Skylar slowly nodded in agreement, knowing exactly what the ginger meant. "Zoro!" the navigator grounded as she tightened her hold on the cart.

"He's a dead man, that's for sure…" Skylar groaned as she rested her head against her arm.

"Nami! Skylar!" Usopp suddenly shouted, catching the two's attention. "Oi!" he waved at them from the ground alongside Chopper.

"Usopp!" Nami and Skylar brightened.

"Huh? We're here?" Nami questioned as she realized where exactly they had ended up.

Usopp and Chopper helped get the two down from the cart once it finally stopped. Skylar instantly dropped to her knees once her feet were back on solid ground—her legs feeling like lead as she breathed out a sigh of relief. Chopper was rather quick to rush to her side, worriedly fretting over her as she weakly smiled and assured him that she was just fine.

"Eggs?" Nami questioned after hearing what the doctor had discovered during his talk with the turtle.

"According to Chopper, it wakes up once every thousand years to lay eggs" Usopp nodded.

"But those tentacles are sadly making her move against her will—she's telling us to stop" Chopper sadly said, causing Skylar's eyes to narrow.

"How disgusting" Skylar scoffed as she turned her head. "He really is nothing more than a selfish man."

"A waver?" Usopp questioned as Nami pulled out the Sky Waver and started it up.

"Yep, I hid it here before we went exploring" Nami explained. "It came in handy after all!" she smiled, mentally patting herself on the back for thinking ahead. "Let's hurry up to Merry, that's our task!" she told the three. "We'll leave the castle to Luffy and the others."

-Luffy-

"Where'd you go, Skinny Glasses?!" Luffy shouted. He was no longer on top of the castle, but now on the ground looking for Ratchet. He soon flinched as the ground beneath his feet suddenly started to shake. From the water, a large robot appeared with Ratchet inside who now wore a pair of goggles and a snorkel.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, this is your next opponent" the blond said as he motioned down at the robot he was in. Its top half looked part robot and part submarine while its lower half was that of a ship with a drill sticking out of the front. "It's still a work in progress, but it'll do—Iron Man-kun No. 32!" he proclaimed.

"It's lame!" Luffy insulted.

"What was that?!" Ratchet snapped, shocked that the rubber man wasn't impressed. "This is an awesome mecha that runs on both land and sea!" he growled, moving the robot onto land to show that the bottom of the boat had small robotic legs attached to it.

"Really lame…" Luffy childishly muttered, noting how the robot struggled to climb up the small slope and kept sliding back down toward the water.

"Gah! Come on, you're not supposed to badmouth others' work!" Ratchet whined. "In that case. I'll just have to show you my awesome masterpiece" he huffed, spinning the wheel he was using to control the robot and heading in the opposite direction of the rubber man.

"What's going on?" Luffy sweat dropped. "W-wait up!" he flinched, quickly following after the man.

-Sanji and Robin-

"No one's here" Sanji remarked, lighting a cigarette as he and Robin looked around the control room of the castle. "Even the maid puppets are off" he pointed, noting how the young robotic women were as still as statues.

"It makes sense when you think about it" Robin said.

"Does it really?" Sanji asked.

"Shall we tinker with it?" Robin suddenly questioned.

"I'm bad with this mecha stuff" the blond shrugged.

-Luffy-

"Skinny Glasses! Give it up already—show yourself!" Luffy shouted as he reentered the castle through the hole Ratchet had made. Looking around with a glare, another robot slowly came out of the shadows of the surrounding machinery.

"No more holding back! This is my ultimate weapon…Super Zougame-kun!" Ratchet declared from the top of the robot's head. "It's also unfinished, but it doesn't matter!" he snarled as the robot lifted one of its legs which was nothing more than a drill that started to turn. Shooting the leg forward, Luffy dodged the attack and jumped back outside with the robot crashing through the wall soon after to follow him. "Looks like you're worthy of that 100 million!

"I never imagined I'd have to use this mecha—however, I simply can't lose! I'm going to conquer the world!" the blond proclaimed as he started to advance before frowning as the robot suddenly came to a halt thanks to the wires that were connected to it. Clenching his jaw, he shot its drill arm toward Luffy, just barely reaching the rubber man who continued to stand there and watch. Becoming frustrated, he shot its other arm towards the captain…only for him to stop it. "With a single bare hand?!" the blond gaped.

"You think this crap'll stop me?! Back at ya!" Luffy threw the arm he had caught toward the drill one, destroying it on impact.

"So effortlessly?!" Ratchet's eyes widened.

"You make some awesome mechas…but you still can't defeat us—it's over!" Luffy grinned. "Forget about world domination."

"Like hell I will!" Ratchet snapped as he once again tried to move the robot forward, causing the wires connected to it to snap. Raising one of its legs, it brought it down on the rubber man. As Luffy tried to hold the leg up to keep it from crushing him, the blood in his legs unintentionally pumped up into his body thanks to the pressure being forced down onto him.

"Gum Gum Bazooka!" he threw the leg off him before stretching his arms back, steam now emitting from his body. Shooting his arms forward, he sent the robot flying back into the castle wall—destroying it completely.

-Zoro-

"Looks like it's over" Zoro remarked as he looked up at the sound of an explosion and spotted the smoke coming from the castle.

-Usopp, Chopper, Nami, and Skylar-

"Did he do it?!" Usopp asked as he peered through a telescope and towards the castle. "Yosha! He did it!" he happily cheered when he spotted Luffy, causing the other three to smile.

"That means the turtle's free, right?" Chopper excitedly asked.

"Of course!" Usopp nodded.

"Yay!" the reindeer cheered.

"Thank goodness, now she can have her children in peace" Skylar sighed in relief.

"An island?" Nami blinked as she suddenly noticed the lights up ahead.

-Luffy-

"What just happened? I put out some incredible power!" Luffy gaped as stared down at his hands in shock, confused about how he was able to put so much impact into that single hit.

"Oi! Luffy!" Sanji called out as he and Robin came running towards the captain.

"Oh, Sanji!" Luffy brightened as he lifted his head.

"Is it over?"

"Yeah, just now—did you stop the castle?"

"Uh…well, about that…" Sanji nervously trailed off.

"Yeah?" Luffy tilted his head.

"Well, I was messing around trying to get it to stop…so I broke a bunch of stuff" Sanji confessed. "It didn't stop."

"Huh? You just made things worse!" Robin scolded, only just now realizing what the blond had done.

"I told you mechas aren't my—" Sanji flinched as the entire building began to tremble and gears started to rumble. Some still moved despite others being broken, resulting in an awful clanking noise.

"Luffy!" Nami suddenly shouted as she rode towards the group on her waver.

"Oh, Nami-san! You're okay!" Sanji swooned with hearts floating around him.

"Hurry and stop the turtle! We're coming up on an island!" Nami shouted. "We have to do something, or we're screwed!" she stressed as she reached them. "What do you mean the controls don't work?!" she screamed the second she was informed of the current problem.

"Forgive me" Sanji bowed.

"Is the island inhabited?" Robin asked.

"They've got quite a town! They're over there ready to attack the turtle!" Nami frowned.

"I wonder if the Golden Crown is there" Luffy pondered.

"Like hell it is!" Nami snapped. "It's not like the turtle wants to go there!" she frowned.

Sirens blared on the island the turtle was heading towards—lights flashing as the inhabitants prepared to protect themselves.

"Hey! Is everyone alright?" Zoro asked, looking around for Skylar after spotting Nami.

"Zoro!" the navigator growled.

"Did I miss something?" he asked.

"Not at all! I'll never forget what you did!" Nami snapped.

"I had no choice!" Zoro argued. "Where's Skylar? Is she alright?" he worriedly asked.

"Oh, she's doing just fine—she's back on the ship" Nami huffed, her glare not letting up in the slightest. "But she's mad at you too" she childishly added, pleased to see the swordsman flinch despite knowing that the brunette had already moved on from the cart incident.

"Old lady!" Luffy brightened as he spotted Roba and Gonzo near her son's unconscious body.

"Yes?" Roba sniffed.

"I'm sorry, old lady…but I'm going to destroy this castle!" Luffy smiled.

-Usopp, Chopper, and Skylar-

"This doesn't look good…" Skylar frowned, biting the tip of her thumb as she and Usopp looked towards the island they were heading towards. "They're going to hurt her if we don't do something" she worriedly pointed out.

"Man, this is bad…Nami needs to hurry!" Usopp muttered.

"Usopp! Skylar!" Nami shouted as she rode towards the Merry, Robin tightly clinging to her.

"Whoa, are you serious—is that even possible?" Usopp asked after Nami relayed to him and the swordswoman what the captain planned to do.

"Luffy said the four of you could handle it—besides, we've got no other choice" Nami said, knowing that their time was limited and that they couldn't come up with another plan.

"I see…alright, let's try it!" Usopp nodded before disappearing down below deck to get started. Pulling down his goggles, he took his place behind one of the Merry's cannons and carefully aimed where he was instructed. "There's Sanji…" he muttered when he finally spotted the blond waving at him from land.

-Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji-

Luffy sucked in a huge amount of air, blowing his body up like a balloon before twisting around and releasing it all straight into the ground to make himself fly.

-Usopp, Chopper, Nami, Robin, and Skylar-

"Fire!" Usopp lit the cannon, shooting off a cannonball.

-Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji-

"Here it comes" Sanji grinned as he spotted the cannonball flying toward him. "Air Force Nose Shoot!" he kicked the cannonball as Luffy stretched his arms.

"It's hard to send it flying without cutting it!" Zoro grumbled. "108 Pound Cannon!" throwing a large gush of air into the sky, he carefully struck the cannonball—shooting it further upwards towards Luffy who caught it with his feet before starting to spin.

"Gum Gum Spinning Axe!" Luffy dropped the cannonball and let his arms unwind as he shot down toward the castle. Almost like a saw blade, he cut it right down the middle.

"That idiot!" Zoro frowned as he ran towards the castle.

"It's too strong!" Sanji grounded as he also made his way toward the castle.

Ratchet's eyes widened as he watched in shock as his castle was destroyed. Luffy smashed into the ground once he reached the bottom, only coming to a complete halt as Zoro and Sanji finally stopped his legs from going any further.

"Nice, you two!" he praised.

"Seriously…you almost sliced the turtle!" Zoro snapped.

"Well, it turned out alright!" Luffy joyfully laughed.

-Later-

As the sun started to rise on a new day, the villagers of the island stared in awe at the giant turtle that had come ashore.

"What's that?" one of them asked.

"We made it."

"Is that a pirate ship?"

"Well, it looks like this was all for nothing after all" Nami heavily sighed.

"Once every thousand years? Maybe this was just fate" Sanji suggested.

"The eggs seem fine, thank goodness!" Chopper sighed in relief.

"Indeed" Skylar gently smiled. "I'm glad she was able to have her children—hopefully, they'll be able to grow up to be just as big and strong as their mother."

"My treasure!" Luffy whined.

"Just forget it, it was a wild goose chase from the start" Zoro said, snaking an arm around Skylar's waist and pulling her close to him.

"What a huge turtle though! I bet there are all kinds of things like this on the Grand Line!" Usopp awed, still amazed by the reptile's sheer size.

"My treasure!" Luffy whined once again.

"What a fascinating ancient civilization! It was an enjoyable expedition" Robin smiled.

"My treasure!" the captain continued to whine, getting louder as if upset that no one was paying attention to him.

"It's over!" Nami snapped. "Come on, let's go—I wanna get to the next island!" she huffed.

"Aye!" everyone nodded, following the navigator towards the front of the ship as Luffy continued to pout. He soon blinked though and lifted his head as the turtle's eggs suddenly started to hatch.

"There was a treasure!" he suddenly exclaimed.

"Are you still on about that?" Nami frowned as she and Skylar came to a stop.

"Come on, Luff, it's best to let it go" Skylar sighed. "I'm sure we'll find more treasure further down the line" she assured him.

"No, I'm serious!" Luffy grinned, catching the brunette's attention. "There's the Golden Crown!" he pointed towards the cracked eggs, causing Nami and Skylar's eyes to slowly widen in shock as they finally noticed that the hatched turtle eggs were made of pure gold.

-Later-

"We finally got the Golden Crown!" Luffy cheered as the Merry sailed onwards, pulling one of the hatched eggshells behind her on a rope.

"Who'd have guessed the shells were made of gold?" Robin tilted her head.

"I wouldn't have—I guess her size wasn't the only thing extraordinary about her" Skylar remarked, silently recalling an old fable that also spoke of another animal that could lay golden eggs.

"I told you the treasure existed!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry for not believing you" was Nami's half-assed apology.

"How much do you think we'll have when we combine this with our Sky Island loot?" Luffy eagerly asked.

"I don't know, but it's definitely enough to get the Merry repaired" Nami grinned. "Whatever's left will go to my stash" she quickly added.

"Of course" Skylar chuckled.

"That's not fair!" Luffy frowned.

"So do you think Shimagame-sama fell back asleep?" Nami curiously asked, deciding to change the subject.

"She won't wake up for another thousand years" Robin pointed out.

-Ratchet-

"Damn you…I won't give up!" Ratchet clenched his jaw, wincing and blushing in embarrassment and humiliation as his mother gave him a spanking as punishment. Treating him like he was still a child and not a grown man.

-Straw Hats-

"Hey, isn't it smaller than before?" Chopper suddenly asked as he looked towards the eggshell they were pulling, noticing that it seemed a bit small compared to before.

"What is?" Luffy asked before he and Nami screamed as they spotted the shell slowly starting to sink. Eventually, the rope that was pulling it snapped as it fully submerged itself under the water.

"Hmm? What happened?" Zoro asked.

"Our treasure sank" Chopper said.

"It sank?" Skylar raised an eyebrow before humming. "Well…gold isn't really buoyant, so that makes sense…" she muttered, not surprised that their treasure had finally gone under.

"What?" Sanji blinked.

"No way…" Usopp breathed as Robin giggled.

---

A/N: Enjoy. Also, do you guys think I should do the eighth movie? Seeing how it's just a retelling of the Alabasta Arc, I'll let you decide if I should do it or not.

Please Review, Favorite, and Follow.