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.

6. One Piece Movie Ten

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

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-One Piece Movie Ten: Strong World-

Sirens filled the air, echoing around Marine Headquarters as Marines quickly scrambled around, slightly panicked.

"This is crazy…" Sengoku grumbled.

"I only know one man who can pull off a thing like this…" Garp frowned as he and the Fleet Admiral stared at the Naval ships floating in the air—their massive bodies left dangling right above the sea. Above Marine Headquarters a chunk of land suddenly floated by, looking to be in the shape of a ship. Rows of paddles stuck out on both sides, paddling through the air as if they were in the sea. All the Marines froze as they noticed the chunk of land passing overhead, their mouths falling agape in shock.

"A survivor from the days of Gol D. Roger…" Sengoku frowned.

"Where was he hiding for twenty years?" Garp asked. "The man defeated by Roger and arrested but who broke out of prison by cutting off his legs to free himself from the shackles…Shiki the Golden Lion!" he glared.

"This is a warning" Shiki grinned as he lifted his hand. With nothing more than the flick of his wrist, the Naval ships that had been floating suddenly fell—some crashing back into the ocean and others having gravity lead them to crash head-first into the ground. Explosions sounded out and men screamed as the Marines on land tried to avoid being crushed or caught up in the explosions.

"Fire! Fire!" one of the men shouted, pointing towards Shiki's ship. His men did as they were told…but their cannonballs just barely were able to reach that far up into the sky.

"He should have stayed quiet and remained a legend—did he come back after all these years to get his revenge against the world?" Garp wondered as Shiki laughed.

-Present-

Luffy panted as he trudged through the forest, the sounds of nature surrounding him as he trod onward—pushing large foliage aside until he finally came to the edge of the island he was on. Looking around, he stared at the other floating islands that were close by, each heavily covered in luscious plant life of their own.

"I have to hurry and find them" he huffed, reaching back and putting his hat back on. Rushing forward, he leaped off the edge and fell straight down towards one of the other islands. "Gum-Gum…Balloon" his body inflated into a large balloon as he continued downwards, the air in his stomach helping to cushion his landing. He wasn't on the island for long before he found himself having to run from a large crocodile whose body was oddly flat and ridged. At least, he thinks it was a crocodile as its strange appearance threw him off and made him second guess himself.

He screamed as he ran, daring to sneak a glance back as the monster slowly started to close in on him. Just as it opened its jaws, ready to devour him, he stretched his arms upwards and took hold of a nearby branch. Quickly, he shot himself forward and away from the hungry jaws of the crocodile. Slowly, the overgrown reptile halted as it finally realized its meal had gotten away. Before it could react or look to see where the captain had gone, it cried out in terror as a large tentacle suddenly wrapped around its rigid body and lifted it into the air.

An enraged octopus now held the crocodile in its grasp as it lifted the rest of its tentacles, curling them up first before striking the beast it had caught multiple times. Once satisfied, it tossed the crocodile aside before giving chase after Luffy. Pulling himself back, the captain shot himself out of the forest and into a clearing that was filled with worn-down houses that had long since been overtaken by nature. Getting into an offensive stance, he watched as the octopus emerged from the forest—pushing trees out of its way and taking the rubber man aback who had been expecting the crocodile from earlier.

"Huh?!" Luffy flinched as he turned and ran off. He clenched his jaw as a giant praying mantis suddenly came buzzing towards him out of nowhere. "A praying mantis?!" he shouted, quickly ducking as it shot right past him. He winced as he harshly rolled across the ground after ducking to avoid the gigantic bug. As soon as he came to a stop, he quickly looked back—watching as the octopus and mantis immediately started to fight with one another.

Quick and clean were the mantis' movements as it chopped up two of the octopus' tentacles. Noticing this and instantly becoming frightened, the cephalopod gave a warbled cry and tried to run away. Quickly, the mantis gave chase as it knocked the overgrown sea critter into an already deteriorating stone building. Landing on a fountain that had long since gone dry, the mantis gave a loud cry of victory before flinching as large, clawed paws suddenly wrapped around its body and flung it aside. Angrily screeching while on its back, the mantis looked towards its attacker who appeared to be a long-armed bear.

Growling, the bear snatched up the front legs of the mantis and lifted it before wrapping it up in a tight hug. Crying out, the overgrown bug started to foam at the mouth as it glared at the mammal who paid no mind as it tilted its body back and smashed the praying mantis' head into the ground, causing it to go still. Standing up, the bear roared in victory.

"One after another…what is it with this island?" Luffy asked, now seated on the ground as he had taken enjoyment in watching the giant monsters fight one another. Halting in its growling, the bear suddenly sniffed the air and turned its head toward the rubber man. "Hm?" the captain hummed as he tilted his head. "He wants to fight me?!" he perked up as the animal suddenly charged him, using its long arms to run in a manner similar to a gorilla. Jumping to his feet, the rubber man held up his fists before rushing the bear.

"Gum-Gum…Pistol!" jumping into the air, he shot his arm toward the animal who in return dodged it and knocked him backward. "Oh yeah…I can't underestimate animals here" he reminded himself, wrapping an arm around a nearby tree as he pushed back against the tree he was already seated on. He ignored the way it quivered under his weight as he retracted his arm. "Third Gear!" bringing his thumb up, he bit down on it while unwrapping his other arm from the tree he had grabbed, causing the one he was sitting on to finally snap forward and send him flying toward the bear charging him. "Bone Balloon!" he blew air into his arm, enlarging it in the process.

"Gum-Gum! Giant Pistol!" he shot his gigantic arm toward the long-armed bear, causing it to halt and stare dumbfounded at the giant fist hurtling toward it. Hitting it straight on, the bear and his fist crashed into a nearby animal statue, shattering it on impact. But even though his fist came to a stop, the bear still flew back until it hit another animal statue—leaving cracks in it as the strange animal fell to the ground unconscious. Luffy screamed as all the excess air in his body shot out of his mouth, sending him flying as his arm and body slowly started to deflate until he had shrunk down to the size of a child. Luckily, he safely landed on top of the knocked-out octopus' head.

"Phew…that was close" he sighed as he looked at the unconscious animals around him before looking down at his tiny body. "The bad part about this technique is that it makes me shrink…" he muttered in annoyance before looking down at the unconscious cephalopod he was standing on. "This octopus looks yummy" he hungrily remarked.

-Franky, Brook, and Robin-

"What was that?" Brook asked. "That noise…" he muttered as he looked around—he, Franky, and Robin currently crossing over a body of water on a brick bridge. Around them were stone buildings swallowed in vines and tree roots. Atop the trees, their leaves were various shades of reds and oranges instead of greens and were already starting to fall from their branches.

"Who cares? We have other things to think about" Franky frowned. Brook turned around, peering back at the opening of the stone buildings behind them and watching as a small army of ants suddenly came scurrying out. His jaw dropped at the sight before he loudly screamed, causing Franky and Robin to quickly turn. "What happened?" the cyborg worriedly asked, rushing back towards the frightened skeleton.

"Now ants?" he questioned when he finally noticed the small army that was charging at them. Brook's bones rattled as he quickly threw his arms up and froze, shaking in fear even as the army of ants scurried right on past him.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"What?" Franky raised an eyebrow as he came to a halt. "They're after us, huh?" he questioned, already opening his hand at the wrist as he aimed at the charging bugs with his arm cannon.

"Franky, I thought you were out of fuel" Robin reminded the cyborg.

"You're right!" he cried, eyes wide as he remembered he had already used the last of his cola earlier. At that moment, a giant shark suddenly jumped out of the body of water they had been crossing—its elongated body stretching high and curling downwards as it stared at them. Robin and Franky turned on their heels and immediately ran as the large sea creature fell towards them, splashing back down into the water on the other side of the bridge. Brook screamed again, holding his bony face as he frantically shook his head. Robin and Franky slowed in their running, watching as the shark suddenly swam right past them.

"It's coming back around" Robin pointed as the overgrown predator turned its elongated body back around and quickly swam towards them once more—its fin cutting through the water with ease. Quickly, Franky took a protective stance in front of the archeologist as they looked back and saw that the ants were still charging them. He pulled the skin glove that covered his metal fist off as the shark finally leaped out of the water once again. But before either could react, they watched in shock as the army of ants suddenly leaped into the air and towards the shark—devouring its flesh and muscles in an instant as they swarmed it. They left nothing behind but a skeleton that crashed back into the water and listlessly floated there.

"Oh, like me…" Brook muttered as he stared at the floating skeleton. "Are you two okay?!" he asked, approaching his companions.

"Now I know why they're not after you" Franky suddenly said.

"Huh?" Brook tilted his head.

"You have no flesh they can eat" Franky explained as the musician froze, silently processing what he was hearing.

"Isn't that kind of impolite?!" he suddenly and angrily shouted before drawing his sword and rushing the army of ants that charged at them again. Running right through the small army, Brook swung his sword in clean cuts before slowing down to a casual walk. At first, it looked as if nothing had happened as the ants still rushed toward the only two people with flesh in the area. Frankly slipped his flesh glove back on as he and Robin walked forward, not bothered by the ants charging at them anymore. "Three-Verse Humming…" slowly, the skeleton started to sheath his sword as the ants jumped into the air, diving toward their next meal.

"…Arrow Notch Slash!" and with that, he fully sheathed his sword, causing the ants to freeze midair before blood squirted from their tiny bodies as they fell limply to the ground. "I am all bones, but there's something I'd like to do" Brook admitted as his friends approached him. "Lose weight in specific parts of the body."

"Anyway, what's with this island?" Franky asked, passing the skeleton as he and Robin continued onwards—neither of them acknowledging his awful joke.

"I've never seen any animals or insects evolve like this before" she remarked. "A world in which man's wisdom and abilities are insignificant and strength is the only thing that matter."

"Hmph…an island where only the fittest survive, huh?" Franky huffed.

-Nami-

Nami positioned herself as she dived into the swimming pool, staying submerged for only a few seconds before breaking through the surface and calmly swimming her way to the other end. Once again, she submerged herself and stared at the pool's tiled floor—quick to spot the two grates at the bottom. Reaching the edge of the pool, she flipped her body around and with her feet, kicked off from the edge and towards the middle where she just let herself float on her back.

Crawling out of the pool once finished, she snatched up the towel that rested on a nearby hammock. Drying herself, she flinched at the sudden sound of a trumpet. Turning her head, she watched as three silhouettes behind a cloth danced, causing her eyes to narrow in annoyance as she relaxed. Once the cloth fell away, it revealed two men and a gorilla dancing. Interestingly enough, each dancer had something unique about them that stood out—Shiki's legs, for example, were nothing more than swords.

Indigo's face was powdered white and his hair a bright blue, his lips were also eerily drawn back into an unnerving smile. Scarlet's fur was red, an unusual color for a gorilla that stood out a lot more compared to the clothes he wore. Nami ignored the three as they danced in sync with one another as if they were trying to impress her. She huffed as they held their arms out towards her once finished and continued to dry herself off.

"Have you made up your mind, babycakes?" Shiki chuckled, the tips of the swords he called his legs clicking against the ground as he walked.

"Let me go already" Nami curtly responded.

"A strong-headed girl, my kind of woman" Shiki laughed as he crossed his arms before wincing at the farting sounds Indigo's shoes made as he ran towards him and Nami. "Can't you do something about your footsteps, Dr. Indigo?!" he snapped, causing the man to screech to a halt before waving his arms around as he stomped his feet. Once more, that same farting sound emitted each time they hit the ground. Shiki watched as the man tried to communicate with him through his wild gestures. "What are you trying to tell me?" he finally asked, growing annoyed with the man's antics.

"I just remembered there's something I want to show you" Indigo said.

"Now you talk?!" Shiki snapped as Scarlet burst out laughing, clapping his hands in amusement. "Mom?!" he suddenly gaped.

"A gorilla, no matter how you look at him!" Indigo snapped, slapping the back of Shiki's head.

"How was that?!" the two men asked, striking a pose along with Scarlet as they looked towards Nami—hoping she enjoyed their silly little skit.

"Don't look at me" Nami deadpanned, turning away from the men.

"Just like ice, babycakes" Shiki grinned before laughing as Nami kept her back to him and stared out the window that displayed a dreary scene that greatly contrasted against the tropical feel inside the pool room.

'Why that day?' she couldn't help but think.

-A Week Earlier-

"What's happening in the East Blue?" Luffy asked.

"Danger! The mystery of towns that suddenly disintegrate!" Nami read the headline of the newspaper in her hands. "In the East Blue, towns are getting destroyed overnight, one after another" she explained, handing Luffy the paper as Skylar tensed. "Our islands seem to be unaffected for the time being, but…who knows when that will change?" she sighed, not helping the brunette's growing worry.

"Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Skylar are from the East Blue" Chopper explained, looking towards Brook who blew out a puff of smoke from every hole in his skull.

"I see" the skeleton nodded.

"Oh…you too, Sanji—right?" Chopper asked, looking at the blond seated at the bottom of the stairs—suddenly remembering that there was one more crewmate who came from the East Blue.

"Well, I was born in the North Blue and raised in the East Blue" Sanji clarified.

"Oh, I hope Sora and Cloud are alright…" Skylar muttered, worrying the bottom of her shirt as her stomach started to churn with unease at the thought that something could have happened to her brothers.

"I'm sure they're fine" Zoro assured her as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. "You've mentioned before that most people don't even know that Fair Haven exists, so chances are whatever's happening will just pass them by" he comfortingly murmured, gently rubbing his hand up and down her side in a soothing manner.

"I guess…" she mumbled, knowing that he was probably right yet unable to stop her anxious mind from running wild. Just because not many people knew it was there doesn't mean that it couldn't still be found.

"What is this? A meteorite?" Usopp asked as he looked at the picture shown in the newspaper with Luffy—confused by what he was seeing. Before anything further could be discussed, a large shadow suddenly fell over the ship, blocking out the sunlight.

"What is that?!" mostly everyone screamed in shock at the giant hunk of land that paddled above them in the sky

"An island?!" Nami gaped.

"How is that island flying?!" Luffy asked as the island passed overhead. Quickly, the captain stretched himself towards the front of the ship, excited to see more of the floating land mass. Everyone followed their captain as Franky took his place behind the steering wheel.

"It has sails" Robin noted.

"Is it a ship?" Franky asked.

"A Jolly Roger!" Usopp gasped as he peered up at the floating island through a telescope. "A pirate ship?!" he gaped.

"A flying island ship?" Sanji questioned.

"I know we've seen stranger things, but this is just absurd" Skylar frowned.

'This wind!' Nami lifted her head as she noticed the sudden change in the wind. "We can't go this way, Luffy! A cyclone is coming!" she shouted, catching everyone's attention.

"What?" Luffy blinked. "Okay, then we should let them know too" he smiled as he looked back at the navigator before motioning towards the floating ship. "Hello!" he waved as he shouted up at the island. "You're heading toward a cyclone!"

"H-hey…are you sure?" Usopp nervously whispered.

"How kind…" Skylar softly chuckled at the sweet gesture of her captain.

On the floating island, Shiki's men monitored the screen that displayed the Thousand Sunny as well as anything else down below.

"He's shouting something" one of the men said as he looked back towards his captain.

"Pirates?" Shiki assumed.

"I think so" the man nodded.

"Hey!" Luffy continued to shout and wave his arms. "Hm?" he stopped as he spotted the giraffe-spotted sea shell that suddenly floated down towards him and landed in his arms.

"W-what is it, Luffy?" Usopp shakily asked.

"Nami!" Luffy turned around and tossed the shell toward the navigator.

"Huh?" she blinked before catching the shell and holding it up for everyone else to see.

"It's a Tone Dial" Usopp noted as he rushed towards the navigator to get a closer look at the shell she was holding.

"Tone Dial?" Skylar perked up as she curiously looked at the shell, smiling a little at the memories it brough.

"So this means they've been to a sky island too" Sanji said.

"More reason they're out of the ordinary" Zoro grinned.

"But is it really that surprising that a ship in the sky has been to a sky island?" Skylar asked. "I'd be surprised if they hadn't been to one."

"It doesn't matter who they are, Nami!" Luffy smiled as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Okay" Nami nodded.

"Ah…they know how to use it" Shiki grinned as he stood up from his seat the minute he saw the Tone Dial return. Catching it with ease, he pressed down on the top of it and listened.

"A cyclone is coming! Turn your ship ninety degrees to the left!" Nami's voice fluttered from the shell, reciting the words she had recorded.

"Navigators?" Shiki questioned as he looked at two of his men currently monitoring the weather.

"Oh no, there are no signs of a cyclone whatsoever" one of the men assured the blond. "The pressure is normal too" he pointed out.

"They turned ninety degrees left, they're really fast!" the man from earlier who was monitoring the Sunny relayed as he watched the Straw Hats change course. Shiki looked up after that, watching as grey clouds suddenly started to roll in.

"What? A perm?" he questioned.

"Rainclouds, no matter how you look at them!" Indigo corrected.

"You're kidding!" one of the navigators suddenly gasped. "Shiki-sama, turn the ship ninety degrees left right away!" he instructed. "There's a huge cyclone!" he shouted, causing the blond to clench his jaw in both anger and surprise. Quickly, their ship changed its course of direction and sailed away from the grey clouds that continued to roll in, bringing with it fierce winds.

"Shiki-sama!" some of the men on the deck cried as the double doors that lead inside the ship suddenly slammed shut and they were left out in the oncoming storm.

"Please open the door, Shiki-sama!" one of them pleaded as they started to bang on the doors—attempting to pry them open to no avail. Pretty soon, some of them were clinging to the doors for dear life while others were swept away by the high winds.

Shiki's ship followed the Thousand Sunny—which braved the harsh winds with ease—from the sky until they finally reached calm waters. A gunshot was suddenly heard from the inside of the ship as one of the men who served as Shiki's navigators dropped to the ground in agony.

"Never make a wrong forecast" Shiki sneered, glaring as he looked at the rest of his crew who stared back in shock and horror at his actions.

"Y-yes, Sir!" the men shakily nodded.

"In any case…a woman with a sense for the weather that surpasses even this team of elective navigators!" Shiki muttered as he stared at the monitor that displayed the Thousand Sunny.

All the Straw Hats stared wide-eyed as they watched Shiki float down from his ship, the tips of his sword legs soon touching down on the bench that wrapped around the mast.

"How did he just fly down?" Luffy gaped.

"I don't know…" Usopp weakly answered, trembling.

"I'm Shiki the Golden Lion, a pirate" Shiki introduced.

"Shiki…" Skylar mumbled as she tilted her head—the name rang a few bells. It was a name like many others that had been drilled into her skull from a young age because it was the name of a man who had done something to have it engraved into history forever. Despite this, she couldn't exactly remember what exactly this man had done in particular to be considered important enough for the government to forever remember his name.

"Whose voice was that in the Tone Dial?" Shiki asked as he looked around, silently assessing the crew before him and how tiny it was compared to his own.

"Mine…" Nami raised her hand.

"It was you, huh, babycakes?" Shiki grinned as he eyed the ginger. "I thank you" he bowed, deepening his voice in an attempt to make it sound more sensual.

"Ah…you're welcome" Nami nervously smiled.

"Hey, Mister…why is that floating?" Luffy suddenly asked as he pointed towards the stationed Island Ship that floated above them.

"Hm? Oh, that?" Shiki grinned as he looked up at his ship. "It's the power of the Float Float Fruit—whatever I touch, I can levitate it and control it regardless of gravity" he explained as he stepped down from the bench—the tips of his sword legs loudly clicking and clanging with every movement. Bending down, he gently touched one of Zoro's weights which was just lying around. "Watch" he calmly instructed as Luffy and Usopp walked closer in interest.

"What is it?" Usopp curiously asked. Shiki took a few steps back and, with a simple flick of his wrist, he caused the weight to lift off the ground by itself—sending it flying high into the air. Without warning, it soon fell as gravity did its job in dragging the weight back down once the man released his hold on it. Zoro chuckled as Skylar flinched, quickly leaning back in slight fear of being hit as the swordsman casually raised his arm and caught the falling weight with ease.

"Show off…" she muttered.

"Wow!" Luffy awed. "Mister, make me float too!" he excitedly pleaded.

"Me too! Me too!" Chopper chirped.

"Too bad" Shiki chuckled. "It doesn't work on humans other than myself or on animals or other living creatures" he explained.

"That's no fun…" Luffy muttered.

"Boo!" Usopp and Chopper frowned as Skylar gigged at the adorable pout on the reindeer's face.

"In any case, I'm inviting you to my hideout" Shiki offered as he took a seat on the bench behind him. "As a token of my appreciation—you'll come, won't you?" he asked.

"Do you have to do that right now?" Skylar muttered, gently smacking Zoro's shoulder when she noticed that he was casually lifting the weight he had caught. "It's rude not to listen" she softly scolded.

"Thanks, but no" Luffy shook his head as the others exchanged glances. "We have to go to the East Blue" he explained when the man looked at him with furrowed brows.

"Luffy?!" Nami questioned.

"What do you mean, Captain?" Skylar frowned, wincing as Usopp suddenly blew a whistle.

"Yeah! Wh-wh-what about our adventure?!" he snapped.

"We can start over anytime" Luffy smiled, taking the sharpshooter aback. "You can't just sit back and watch your hometown get destroyed, can you?" he asked.

"W-well…" Usopp stuttered, at a loss for words.

"It's decided then" Sanji said, lighting a cigarette.

"Are you serious?" Nami asked.

"Y-yeah…" Usopp slowly nodded. "You're right, good" he agreed, bringing a small smile to Robin and Skylar's faces.

"I mean, it would be nice to see Cloud and Sora again" Skylar confessed with a shrug.

"So no need for thanks" Luffy said.

"I like you even more now!" Shiki grinned. "I see, you guys are from the East Blue, huh? You must be worried then—alright, I'll use my powers and take you there" he suddenly offered.

"Really?! Thanks, Mister!" Luffy brightened. "You're a nice guy!"

"Of course" Shiki smirked.

"You can just do that?" Sanji asked.

"Hm?" Skylar blinked when she suddenly felt Zoro take hold of her hand, giving it a tight squeeze as he continued to stare ahead and lift his weight in his other hand. Tilting her head, she looked at him for a moment, silently wondering what was going through that head of his.

"Okay, you guys—prepare for battle!" Luffy grinned.

"Yeah!" he, Usopp, and Chopper cheered.

"It's too soon!" Nami snapped.

With the help of Shiki, the Thousand Sunny was lifted into the air—floating towards the Island Ship that it soon began to closely follow from behind.

"Whoa! So high up!" Luffy admired as he, Usopp, and Chopper stared over the ship's railing—staring down at the ocean in awe.

"This feels great" Chopper smiled.

"You guys don't look like you're preparing for battle" Nami deadpanned.

"I don't know, I like what they've got going on" Skylar hummed as she tugged at the suspenders attached to her jean shorts, the black belly shirt she wore a bit short as it stopped just below her chest, showing off the bare skin of her stomach. Although Zoro looked to be examining one of his swords, he couldn't stop himself from sneaking a few occasional glances at the brunette in front of him. Enjoying how her shorts seemed to stop just midthigh, showing off the smooth skin of her pretty legs.

"Really, can't you be a bit sharper and more serious?" Brook asked.

"Like you?" Skylar grinned as she lifted her head.

"Yes, like me" the skeleton nodded, causing the brunette to giggle.

"You're more relaxed than anybody!" Nami snapped at the musician.

"Look! I see something!" Chopper suddenly pointed as everyone turned their heads toward the floating islands he had spotted. Each island seemed to depict a different season from Spring to Winter.

"Oh wow…" Skylar mumbled.

"This is incredible!" Luffy gasped as he admired the islands they now passed through.

"Are they all floating because of your power?" Usopp asked.

"Yes" Shiki confirmed. "Once I make something float, it keeps on floating."

"Whoa! That island is enormous!" Luffy gasped as he pointed toward a large island that had a huge chunk of ice wrapped around it.

"We're here…" Shiki muttered. "Well then…" he turned to Nami, taking slow and large strides towards her until she finally noticed that he was close. "This is Merveille!" he proclaimed. "A perfect island for adventurers like yourselves! Enjoy it to your heart's content!" he grinned as he suddenly grabbed Nami.

"Hey!" Luffy shouted as he and the rest of the crew quickly reacted—rushing in to stop the man from kidnapping their nakama.

"Here we go!" Shiki smashed his hand down onto the deck of the ship, instantly causing it and everyone on it to fall as he and Nami stayed in the air. Nami struggled, watching in horror as her nakama fell from the sky. "The navigator is mine!" he proclaimed.

"Nami!" Luffy screamed as he stretched his arm towards Shiki. Laughing, the older man twirled his finger around, causing the Thousand Sunny to start spinning in circles. Quickly, Zoro wrapped his arms around Skylar, holding her close as the crow's nest came around and struck the falling Straw Hats—sending them all flying in different directions.

"I think I'm going to be sick…" Skylar weakly moaned, her and the swordsman's bodies spinning in circles as they went flying.

"Not on me you're not!" Zoro snapped.

"Luffy! Guys!" Nami screamed as Shiki laughed.

-Present-

Nami was shaken from her thoughts by the farting sounds Dr. Indigo's shoes made as he walked.

"Shiki-sama! We have a new form of evolution!" he joyfully exclaimed as he came running towards the group, slamming the cage he had been carrying over his head down on the ground. "Look at this" he said, eagerly motioning towards the bird inside the cage who looked to be a mixture between a duck and a peacock.

"Huh? A guitar?" Shiki questioned.

"A bird, no matter how you look at it!" Indigo snapped.

"How was that?" he and Shiki asked as they struck a pose with Scarlet—once again acting as if they had just put on a show and were waiting for the ginger's praise. Opening the cage door, the bird flew out and landed atop Shiki, unintentionally shocking both himself and the two men with a sudden jolt of electricity.

"You son of a bitch!" Shiki snarled as he harshly threw the bird off him.

"Hey!" Nami scowled, quick to rush to the animal's side.

"That was the evolution?!" Shiki sneered as he turned to his doctor.

"Yes, he specializes in discharging electricity" Indigo weakly nodded.

"What do you mean evolution?" Nami hesitantly asked, taking a protective stance in front of the bird who looked just about ready to cry.

"Hm?" Shiki blinked as he was reminded of the ginger's presence in the room. "Oh yeah…I should tell you since I'm asking you to join my crew" Shiki grinned. "From the beginning, there were animals on this island that evolved in strange ways—the cause is a plant called IQ" he explained. "It affects the animals' brains, making them evolve in ways to adapt to the environment" he continued. "When I found that out, I took control of all the IQ plants on the island."

"Now, after twenty years on this island, we've finally developed a new drug from IQ" Indigo added as he stood. "We named it SIQ" he proudly presented two vials—one filled with small, round green balls and the other a green liquid. "When we inject this into animals, they evolve into fighting machines" he explained. "Through repeated injections, they become increasingly violent—this island is full of such savage animals!" he eagerly proclaimed.

"That's horrible! Why do you do that?" Nami frowned.

"You'll learn soon what my goal is…if you join my crew" Shiki said, roughly shoving Dr. Indigo aside.

"I told you, I'll never—"

"You will" Shiki interrupted, taking the navigator aback. "You'll beg me to let you join my crew—I'll tell you everything when you calm down a little more" he grinned. "There are favors I'm willing to do for my own crew member" he suddenly laughed.

"What? You want this girl?" Dr. Indigo asked, flinching as Scarlet suddenly kicked up a fuss—pounding his large fist against his chest. "You went way off the subject! You dirty old gorilla!" he snapped at the animal.

"You surprised me, I thought you were my grandma" Shiki gasped.

"Your relatives resemble gorillas that much, huh?!" Indigo snapped as he smacked the blond.

"How was that?" the men asked, once again striking a pose alongside the gorilla. Nami only turned away from them as she approached one of the floor-to-ceiling length windows. Peering outside, she sadly stared at the snow-covered buildings that littered the island.

'These animals must be why they haven't arrived yet' she theorized as she rested a hand against the cold glass, wondering how her nakama were currently faring.

-Sanji and Usopp-

"Nami-san!" Sanji shouted, red-faced as he looked around. Cherry blossoms covered the ground of the island he was on, more falling from the treetops above him.

"Don't shout!" Usopp shouted in a whisper before screaming as a giant beetle suddenly took flight behind them. "A bug!" he cried as he and the blond took off running—the giant insect quick to follow as it spewed out a stream of fire from its mouth.

"Robin-chan!" Sanji called out from the top of the bug after taking it down.

"I told you not to shout!" Usopp snapped. "A bird!" he cried when a large chicken suddenly started to charge at them.

"Skylar-chan!" Sanji screamed after the bird was defeated, unintentionally attracting the attention of a green giraffe whose neck was long and twisted.

"We're definitely wasting our energy doing this!" Usopp shouted as he and the blond ran away once more from the strange animal.

"Nami-san!"

"Shut up, will you?!" Usopp snapped, quickly growing annoyed as the chef's screaming attracted a giant caterpillar this time that wasted no time in charging the two of them. Quickly, the two jumped and grabbed hold of low-hanging vines when they saw they had finally reached the edge of the island they were on. "I'm gonna fall! I'm gonna die!" the sharpshooter cried as he was knocked off his vine by the lunging caterpillar. Luckily, his ankle was snatched up by Sanji who kept him from falling to his death, unlike the giant bug which had unintentionally hurled itself over the edge.

"Phew…that was close" the blond sighed.

"L-look up…" Usopp suddenly whimpered.

"Hm?" Sanji questioningly hummed.

"Up! Up, up!" Usopp cried.

"Hm?" Sanji tilted his head back, only to immediately be met with the sight of a giant blue tiger resting atop the tree branch the vine he was holding onto was wrapped around. With wide and terrified eyes, he quickly started to swing his way back towards land as the animal stood—revealing that it had six legs and two tails instead of the standard four and one. Calmly, it stalked towards the end of the branch, hopping down just as Sanji threw Usopp back onto the island.

"Sanji-ku…!" Usopp cried, tearily blinking as he watched the blond toss his bag towards him before climbing up the rest of the vine and running the length of the branch. From there, he jumped down towards the giant tiger—spinning his body around in circles.

"Concasser!" he smashed the heel of his foot against the animal's skull, instantly knocking it unconscious. "Damn cat…" he grumbled as he landed.

"Yes! Good job, just as I instructed!" Usopp cheered, proudly holding his head up high before flinching as something suddenly flew by and smashed into the ground. Leaving behind a big hole that had the sharpshooter trembling.

"What now?" Sanji grounded as small bull-like animals suddenly appeared from atop one of the surrounding Cherry Blossom trees. Huffing and growling, one of the miniature bulls shot forward at almost the same speed as a bullet. Sanji flinched as he jumped out of the way, letting the animal hit the ground instead. "Huh?" he gaped as another bull shot forward at the same speed which was soon followed by the rest. "What the hell is this?!" he shouted as he and Usopp quickly took cover behind a nearby tree.

"Cut it out!" Usopp cried before screaming as the island suddenly split in two—the land not able to handle taking so many hits at once, causing the rock and dirt underneath to finally crack and split apart. Instantly, the pirates fell towards the island underneath theirs. Thanks to the branches they hit on the way down, their fall was cushioned just a little as they crashed into a lake with a huge splash.

From the pier and nearby shoreline, people gathered in search of what had caused such a massive splash.

-Zoro, Chopper, and Skylar-

Harsh winds nipped at Xiao as pushed herself onwards through the blizzard, clutching an IQ plant in her tiny arms which she did her best to shield from the surrounding storm. Stopping, she warily looked at the two monstrous animals she spotted fighting not that far from where she walked. One looked to be a cross between a snake and centipede while the other appeared almost prehistoric in its appearance. It didn't take the dinosaur lookalike long to make quick work of the strange snake/centipede, further scaring the poor girl as she passed out. Upon spotting her unconscious body, the dinosaur lookalike immediately started to charge…only to freeze as it was suddenly cut down.

"Good we made it" Chopper sighed from atop the giant mammoth he and Skylar rode as Zoro sheathed his swords.

"Is she okay?" Skylar asked as she and the reindeer hopped off the mammoth's back. Almost like a worried mother, she fretted over the unconscious child Zoro picked up. "Poor thing must have passed out from shock…" she muttered. "Hm?" she suddenly blinked as she finally noticed what looked to be feathers growing out of the girl's arms.

"Chopper, let her wear your fur" Zoro said, turning to the reindeer.

"Yeah, she looks cold" Chopper nodded, looking as if he was ready to do as the swordsman suggested.

"Uh…Chopper…" Skylar sweat dropped.

"Hey! Obviously, I can't take it off!" Chopper snapped as realization finally hit him.

Once they were back atop the mammoth, they continued onwards. Skylar held Xiao in her lap while she sat between Zoro's legs who was sitting between Chopper's. Desperately, they tried to provide warmth to one another as they huddled close—they especially tried to provide warmth to the young woman and child as they had the most skin showing out of everyone.

"Out of all the islands we had to end up on, did it have to be a winter one?" Skylar sniffed, the tips of her nose a little red as she shivered. She wasn't dressed at all for the snow.

"Huddle closer…" Zoro murmured, pulling the brunette further back against his chest as he lightly squeezed her, being mindful of the child in her arms. Compared to him and Chopper, she was a lot colder to the touch much to his concern. "You're awake" he soon hummed, resting his chin on the teen's shoulder as he quickly realized the child in her arms eyes were now open.

"Um…" Xiao mumbled as she looked down, not knowing what to say as she tightened her hold around the IQ plant in her hands.

"What are you doing in a place like this?" Chopper asked.

"Especially dress like that" Skylar softly scolded, ignoring the fact that she wasn't faring any better herself in the clothing department at the moment—but that wasn't exactly her fault. "You could have died out here if we hadn't found you" she frowned.

"Oh…uh…I was…" Xiao fidgeted as she shyly looked down. Skylar expression softened as she chuckled, knowing just how the girl must feel right now being surrounded by complete strangers. Zoro quietly stared down at the flower clutched in the child's hand, quick to notice how she kept trying to shield it with her tiny body as if to hide and protect it.

"It doesn't matter—let's hurry and get out of here" he said, looking away. "We've been in the snow for days and I'm sick of it…" he grumbled. "I'm also tired of listening to this one complaining nonstop" he grunted, softly smiling as Skylar's lower lip jutted out into a pout.

"Hey, it's not my fault I'm freezing!" she huffed, cheeks cutely puffing up. "I'm not exactly dressed for the snow if you couldn't tell…" she grumbled. "Besides, don't act like you haven't been enjoying all the cuddling…" she muttered, turning her head. He can't act as annoyed as he wants, but she knows for a fact he's been enjoying the nonstop cuddle sessions they've been having to keep warm—especially at night when sleeping.

"It only takes half a day to cross the winter zone" Xiao tilted her head.

"Huh?" Chopper and Skylar blinked.

"That way" Xiao pointed, causing the pirates to turn their heads. "See?" she questioned, not noticing the irritated looks the three now wore.

"You got to be kidding me…" Skylar muttered, eye twitching as she looked at the bright and sunny landscape that wasn't that far from where they were.

"You were telling us which way to go, weren't you, Zoro?" Chopper suddenly asked.

"I-It was a coincidence…" Zoro grumbled, grunting as Skylar suddenly jerked her arm back and smashed her elbow into his stomach.

"Coincidence my ass…" she growled. "Why didn't I notice it before...?" she sadly murmured, disappointed in herself for not realizing that the swordsman had been unintentionally leading the three of them.

"My village is down the river" Xiao said. "Thanks for saving me, I'm Xiao."

"Zoro" the swordsman introduced as he rubbed his stomach.

"Skylar, nice to meet you" Skylar sweetly smiled, her irritation quick to melt away as she looked down at the child in her lap.

"I'm Tony Tony Chopper" Chopper greeted.

"A talking gorilla!" Xiao shouted in shock before suddenly passing out, causing the reindeer to gasp.

"Don't pass out!" he irritably snapped.

"I guess she's not big on surprises" Skylar chucked.

-Sanji and Usopp-

Sanji groaned as he sat up inside the small row boat he and Usopp had been placed inside. Briefly looking down at the passed-out sniper, he lifted his head and looked around. He was quick to spot the nearby village that had many women—mainly children and the elderly—walking around and going about their daily lives.

"Ouch…" Usopp moaned as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head as he looked around. "People were living on this island, huh?" he remarked upon noticing the village. "Hm?" he blinked as he stared at the strange features growing out of the villagers' arms.

"You notice something, Usopp?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah…" the sharpshooter nodded.

"This village…has no young women" Sanji depressingly noted, upset by the lack of beauties.

"That's what you noticed?!" Usopp snapped.

"You're awake" an older woman suddenly said as she approached the pirates, carrying a mug in each hand. "You surprised us when you came falling from the sky—it's amazing you're still alive" she remarked, holding the cups in her hands out to the two.

"Oh, thanks" Usopp smiled as he took one of the offered mugs.

"Thank you, madam" Sanji nodded in gratitude as he took the other one.

"Madam? Huh?" the woman laughed with a bashful wave as she took a seat on the pier.

"What are those feathers on your arms?" Sanji curiously asked.

"These?" the woman questioned as she lifted her arms. "We all have them around here, but we don't know why" she truthfully answered, examining the feathers on her arms before holding one of them out for the cook.

"Oh…do you have enough to eat in this village? Everyone's so thin" Sanji worriedly noted as he looked toward the other villagers, noticing just how uncomfortably thin many of them were.

"Y-yeah…all the men and young women were taken to the palace to work there" the woman nodded, quickly hiding her arm behind her back. She almost looked embarrassed by her lack of weight. "Without the workers, we can only live hand to mouth" she explained.

"That's terrible" Usopp frowned.

"It'll be the end of us if we defy Shiki" the woman sighed.

"Shiki?!" Usopp and Sanji tensed, clenching their jaws.

"That's right" the woman nodded. "We're completely under his control, plus…you guys, hide!" she suddenly gasped as she lunged towards the two and pushed them back down into the row boat—holding them in place.

"Ouch! What are you—"

"Shh!" she hushed Usopp, tensing as she held the two men down—her eyes now wide and alert. Usopp and Sanji slowly lifted themselves, peering over the side of the rowboat as a large Visual Den Den Mushi came crawling past.

"It's so big! What is that?!" Usopp whispered.

"A Self-Propelled Surveillance Den Den Mushi" the woman quietly answered. "The footage it takes is sent to the palace" she explained as the snail slowed to a stop and focused its intense gaze on a couple of children and an old woman who were sitting close by—scaring all three and making them uncomfortably shift around. "We're always being watched…if anybody does anything to stand up against Shiki, he'll kill them right away to set an example" she sadly continued.

-Zoro, Chopper, and Skylar-

Skylar flinched as the mammoth they rode suddenly came to a halt and lifted itself onto its hindlegs, loudly crying as it tossed the occupants on its back off. Zoro was the first one to hit the ground, his bottom making rough contact with the small river below. Skylar came next as she roughly landed atop him, causing a painful grunt to leave his lips as his cheeks flared up a little. Xiao and Chopper came next, both landing atop Skylar and further pressing her down against Zoro whose blush only worsened. All four watched as the mammoth smashed its front legs back down onto the ground—splashing water everywhere—before turning and stomping off back towards the snowy mountains.

"What happened all of a sudden?" Zoro asked as he looked after the retreating animal.

"Did something scare it?" Skylar questioned.

"It's the smell…it stinks so much that the inside of my nose feels prickly—don't you smell it?" Chopper asked, eyes watering as he covered his nose.

"It's Daft Green" Xiao answered.

"Huh?" Skylar and Zoro questioned.

"Our village is surrounded by trees called Daft Green which protects us from the animals" Xiao explained. "All the animals hate this smell."

"I can tell" Skylar said as she looked at Chopper who looked to be on the verge of crying.

"I can see why" he whined.

"Then plug your nose or something" Zoro said, gently patting Skylar's bottom and motioning for her to stand.

"Come on, be nice…" she muttered, not noticing the way he unabashedly stared at her bottom for a few seconds and how the water droplets from the river slid down her legs as she stood.

"Let's go" Zoro shook his head, grabbing hold of the brunette's hand as he started to walk. But before he could get far, he smiled as she stopped and held out her hand to Xiao who took it in return.

"Come along Chopper—if the smell bothers you too much I could always carry you" the brunette offered, giggling at the doctor's blush as he nodded and quickly followed.

"This, huh?" Zoro questioned as they came to a stop in front of a strange tree whose bottom was round and bulbous while its top was thin and short as green leaves sprouted from its branches.

"Yeah" Xiao nodded, lightly squeezing Skylar's hand as the brunette examined the tree—her nose wrinkling just a little at the smell of it.

"I've got nose plugs, but I can still smell it…" Chopper whined.

"Yeah, it sort of does stinks" Zoro nodded as he took a large whiff of the air, finally noticing the nauseous smell that came from the tree.

"Now you notice?!" Chopper snapped.

"You shouldn't inhale too much, it's poisonous" Xiao suddenly warned.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?!" Zoro snapped as he took a step back from the odd tree.

"It's poisonous?" Skylar murmured. "Makes sense why the animals around here hate the smell of it then" she said, taking another whiff at the tree. "But…didn't you say your whole village is surrounded by this stuff?" she tilted her head as she looked down at the child in curiosity.

-Later-

Chopper and Skylar winced, looking the other way at the harsh smack that resounded in the tiny room

"How many times have I told you not to go outside the Daft Green trees?!" Xiao's mother scolded as the child's eyes watered. Although Skylar didn't like the sight, she perfectly understood that the older woman's actions were more out of fear than hatred. Despite knowing this though, she couldn't help but mindlessly rub her own cheek as if she had been the one slapped—silently recalling the many times her mother and father would strike her in their anger.

"But…I wanted to help Grandma, so…" Xiao sniffed, tightly clutching the plant that lay limply in her hand.

"Xiao…don't put yourself in danger for my sake…" an elderly woman weakly said as she sat up in the only bed in the room. Splotchy green spots littered her entire body, catching Chopper's attention.

"But…if we don't do something, you're going to…" Xiao dropped to her knees as she broke down crying. Her mother soon followed suit as she covered her mouth and looked the other way, unable to watch her youngest daughter weep.

"Thank you, you three" she shakily smiled, turning to the three pirates in the room who had been silent this entire time. "I wish there was something we could do for you in return, but…"

"We just happened to pass by" Zoro said, dismissing her attempts at gratitude.

"Yeah, and she saved us too" Chopper nodded, certain that if they hadn't found the child they'd still be wandering around on that mountain. "In any case, why is she sick?" he asked, motioning towards the elderly woman lying up in bed.

"It's called Daft—the parts of the body with green bruises become rigid, until eventually, you can't move" Xiao's mother explained. "You get it when you inhale large quantities of Daft Green particles—the only cure comes from the plant called IQ, but there's nothing we can do with just one" she continued, making it clear that the single plant her youngest had brought back wouldn't be enough.

"So that's why she was there alone…" Chopper muttered.

"How brave…" Skylar mumbled, softly smiling down at the child. It was just as admirable how she was willing to risk her life to save her own family as it was reckless.

"I'm sorry" Xiao whimpered.

"It's not your fault" her mother cooed as she crouched down and held her daughter. "It's that Shiki for taking all the IQs" she frowned.

"Shiki? Did you say Shiki?!" Chopper asked.

"Until twenty years ago, the humans, plants, and those animals lived in peaceful coexistence" Xiao's mother explained, her voice quivering as she spoke. "But he came and ruined it all."

"I wish they'd all just go away…to the Sea of Schemes!" Xiao angrily cried, catching the pirates' attention.

Eventually, the group bid the family goodbye and exited the small hut, giving them the privacy they needed to sort out what had happened and allow them to bask in the youngest daughter's safe return.

"Can't you cure her?" Zoro curiously asked as Chopper pushed the door to the hut shut, the last to leave after taking one final look at the ill grandmother.

"I've never seen those symptoms, I can't take my chances" Chopper shook his head, not confident he could help the old woman without the risk of making things worse. He'd never heard of a disease like this before, so he didn't know where to even begin in caring for her.

"At least here we won't get attacked by those animals" Zoro remarked.

"Yeah" Chopper nodded. "I can still smell the Daft Green, but it's tolerable knowing we're safe" he smiled as he removed his nose plugs. "I wonder if everyone else is okay in a place like this…" he murmured as he looked out towards the village

"Yeah, I'm worried too" Zoro said, looking back at Skylar who had been silent this entire time. She looked lost in her thoughts as she stared down at the ground—mindlessly tugging at her suspenders as her eyebrows knitted together. "Let's rest for just a bit and then go look for them" he suggested, gently taking the brunette's hand and leading her towards the stairs as he took a seat and pulled her onto his lap.

"Yeah, I'm exhausted too" Chopper agreed, his tongue lulling out as he dropped down onto his bottom.

"What's wrong?" Zoro murmured into Skylar's ear as he watched her continue to pull at her suspenders. "You're being quieter than usual…" he mumbled, arms wrapping around her waist as he held her close until he could rest his head on her shoulder and bury his face into her neck. Soon, he started to place gentle kisses along her throat, grinning as she shivered.

"Nothing's wrong…" she muttered, blushing as she looked off to the side. "I'm just worried about the others is all…especially Nami" she confessed, struggling to properly voice how she was feeling. She had faith they were okay…but with how unusually aggressive the animals on these islands were and how they'd yet to even see an inkling of Nami, she couldn't help but worry.

"Hm" Zoro hummed, peppering even more kisses along the brunette's neck before eventually nipping at it.

"We are in public! Stop that!" Skylar jolted upon feeling his teeth, her blush darkening—not realizing what exactly the swordsman was doing as he continued to nip at her throat.

"There they go again…" Chopper sweat dropped. Giggling, he watched as Skylar embarrassingly squawked—pushing and smacking the laughing swordsman who continued to attack her neck with kisses and bites. Her worry temporarily subsided as he helped distract her from any possible negative and anxious thoughts she might have.

-Sanji and Usopp-

"Something's weird, my body feels so heavy…" Sanji groaned, tongue lulling out as he and Usopp finally reached the top of the hill they had been climbing.

"What do you expect? We haven't slept properly for a whole week…" Usopp panted, exhausted as they stumbled towards a nearby staircase and took a seat.

"Hm?" Skylar hummed at the sudden and loud gasp—halting in her attempts at stopping Zoro's attack on her neck, she looked down the stairs that sat on. "Oh…" she muttered, eyes locking with Usopp's as his jaw dropped in shock. Zoro questioningly hummed as he stopped attacking the teen's neck, looking down the stairs and making eye contact with Sanji as he lifted his head and looked up.

"Oh, it's you…" the two muttered before returning to what they were doing before they had noticed each other. Sanji was a bit too exhausted to properly register the brunette on the swordsman's lap—too tired and drained of energy to act like his usual lovestruck self.

"Uh…" Skylar sweat dropped.

"Sanji! Usopp!" Chopper brightened upon spotting the two as he raced down the steps and jumped the snipper, tightly hugging him.

"Well…at least one of us is happy to see the others…" Skylar muttered before snapping at Zoro when she felt another sharp nip at her throat.

-Nami-

Nami turned away from the window, picking her bag up from her lounge chair before offering a gentle smile to the strange large bird that had been left with her. Curiously, the animal followed her as she lowered her body back into the pool—swimming to the end that held the grates beneath the water. Instantly, the large bird followed suit the second she dived down and under the water.

-Elsewhere-

Different pirate ships could be found docked in the same place, cluttering the port of the island. Strangely, their occupants were dolled up in classy attire as they made their way through the cave that had the words "Merveille" carved above its entrance.

"All the captains have arrived in port" one of Shiki's men relayed to him.

"Good, we'll depart as soon as we finish the general assembly" Shiki nodded.

"So tonight's the night then?!" the man asked.

"Return the men to the village" Shiki ordered.

"What? You're freeing them?" the man blinked, baffled by his captain's sudden and strange request, one that sounded awfully generous for the usually cruel man.

"That was the promise…but just one man" Shiki quickly clarified. "You give them hope before you give them despair—the desperate look on someone's face as he falls from an even higher place is extraordinary, don't you agree?" he laughed. "Huh?" he frowned when the sudden sound of farting reached his ears as Dr. Indigo came rushing around the corner, flailing his arms around as if to signal something.

"Captain Shiki!" he suddenly shouted.

"Now you talk?!" Shiki and his men snapped.

"Something terrible has happened! The girl escaped!" Indigo cried.

"What?!" Shiki glared.

"She found out that the pool in the palace is connected to the sea" Indigo explained.

"That was careless! How could you just let a rare talent escape so easily?" Shiki snapped. "Use our network and find her!"

"Yes, Sir!" his men nodded.

-Nami-

Nami gasped as she clung to the back of the large bird the second he shot out of the ocean and started to fall from the floating island they had been on. Panting, she quickly held her breath once more as he dived into the body of water on the next island. Slowly, she opened her eyes—gasping and unintentionally releasing a lot of air bubbles as she stared at the massive sea creatures that inhabited the water. Upon spotting her and the bird, they immediately lunge for them…only to be electrocuted as the strange animal she rode suddenly released a large electric discharge. Slowly, the still bodies of the massive sea monsters floated to the water's surface as the bird jumped out, fluttering his wings as he climbed atop one of the limp monsters.

He quacked, almost looking pleased with himself before growing confused when he realized Nami was no longer on his back. Looking around, he squawked when her body suddenly floated to the top of the water—face down and unmoving. Quickly flying towards her, he scooped her up and flew his way back to dry land where he gently sat her down. Worriedly, he paced himself back and forth—tearfully looking down at her as he waited for her to wake up. Hesitantly, he leaned down and nudged her head a little with his bill before doing it a few more times until she finally responded with a low moan.

Overjoyed to see that she was still alive, he started to peck at her face in his excitement to get her to wake up faster.

"That hurts!" Nami angrily snapped, slapping the animal away from her. "Please…stop" she quickly held up her hand the second she saw the animal tearfully charging at her—his body coated in a layer of static. Doing as she said, the strange bird came to a skidded halt and sat down where it then began to mope. "But you saved me, thanks" she smiled, causing the animal to perk back up as he jumped to his webbed feet and started to happily flap his wings. "So where are we?" she muttered, now looking around the crater they had ended up in.

It wasn't long before she found herself holding onto the bird's leg as he flew her to the top of a crater so she could get a better look at her surroundings. Before her, there was nothing but an outstretch of trees that could be seen stretching on for miles upon miles. Above her, the bird now flew around in circles—making sounds of joy as he waited for her to tell him what to do next.

"The Sunny!" Nami gasped as she suddenly spotted the ship at the bottom of the crater, lying perfectly still and looking a little banged up. Excited, she ran downhill and towards the ship before slowing at the sudden sound of a ruckus coming from deep inside the surrounding forest. Warily, she watched as dust and dirt were kicked up and trees were violently knocked over. A few seconds later, Luffy came sprinting out of the forest and out into the clearing.

"Oh! It's the Sunny!" he skidded to a halt the second he spotted the ship.

"Luffy!" Nami shouted, confusing the teen for a few seconds as he looked around him before finally turning to face her.

"Hey! Nami!" he brightened, now running towards her as giant scorpions suddenly came barreling out of the forest—chasing after him while being followed by a large and overweight lion themselves.

"Yikes!" Nami paled at the sight of the strange and terrifying monsters chasing her captain.

"I'm so glad you're safe! I'm surprised you were able to escape from that guy!" Luffy grinned, not at all concerned about the creatures behind him.

"Stay away from me!" Nami cried as she ran away from the rubber man, wishing to put distance between her and the monsters that followed him.

Overhead, the large and strange bird that had been helping Nami flew by before swooping down towards the giant creatures. Electricity emitted from his body as Nami and Luffy skidded to a halt and looked back at the now-fried monsters. Proudly standing on top of them and holding his wings up, the bird gave a loud and victorious cry.

"Whoa!" Luffy sparkled as he stared at the bird in fascination, causing Nami to heavily sigh.

-Later-

"Where's everyone else?" Nami asked as she finished getting changed. Switching her bathing suit for a new pair of clothes, Luffy and the strange bird sat around a fire—eating one of the scorpions that had been electrocuted.

"I haven't seen anybody after that—this place is huge, I never thought I'd find you first" Luffy remarked, amazed he had been the one to find their missing navigator. "Anyway, eat" he said, motioning for her to come join him and the bird by the fire. "This scorpion is good—isn't it, Billy?" he grinned as the bird cheerfully cawed in agreement.

"No thanks!" Nami frowned as she hung her bathing suit up to dry along with the rest of the clothes she had been wearing earlier before her kidnapping. "Billy?" she tilted her head as she finally realized what her captain had said.

"Him, this guy—his bill is electric!" Luffy responded, tugging at the giant bird's cheek—irritating him enough to discharge a jolt of electricity that barely fazed the captain as he released him and patted his head. "Right?" he asked.

"Oh yeah…electricity doesn't affect a rubber man" Nami smiled. "So now that we've found the Sunny, do you want to wait for everyone or go look for them?" she asked.

"Go look for them!"

-Franky, Brook, and Robin-

"This crawfish is incredible!" Brook praised, shouting over the roaring engine of the motorbike that had been built from a crawfish. Its wheels bounced and kicked up dust as it tore down the desert terrain.

"Yow! It's custom-made from my design—call it the Crawly Davidson" Franky grinned.

"Ok! Crawly Davidson, Crawly Davidson, lalalala…" Brook sang. "Hm? Something's up ahead" he suddenly stopped as he spotted something in the distance.

"A town?" Franky questioned.

"It looks like one" Robin nodded before flinching as the motorbike came to a sudden halt, jerking her and the other two's bodies back. Its body flailed around as it jumped back before coming to a complete stop.

"I bit my tongue!" Brook cried. "Well, I don't have one…" he muttered shortly after, his body hanging off the bike after the crawfish's sudden and rash movements.

"I told you not to jump backward!" Franky snapped as he hit the crawfish's head, causing its eyes to water as it started to violently shake its head back and forth.

"It's trembling" Robin remarked.

"He won't listen to me" Franky scoffed. "We have to walk from here."

-Nami and Luffy-

"Hm? What's wrong?" Luffy asked as Billy suddenly came to a skidding halt midflight. His wings frantically flapped as his eyes started to water from the strong stench that came from the Daft Greens below. Without any warning, Nami screamed as the large bird suddenly shot upwards—trying to distance himself from the trees.

It wasn't long before the group took a break on a small chunk of land that was floating all by lonesome itself with no trees or rocks or any type of foliage really on it.

"Hm? There's a village" Nami pointed, peering down at the other floating chunks of land as Billy caught his breath and Luffy patiently sat still. "Those trees were around Shiki's palace too—maybe he doesn't like that smell" she hummed as she took notice of the large amount of Daft Greens that grew around the village.

"Is that it?" Luffy asked, turning to Billy who sluggishly nodded.

"I bet that places surrounded by those trees are the safe areas where there are no animals" Nami guessed, making makeshift nose plugs for Billy before they once again set off. Thankfully, the plugs worked and the bird was able to fly without any trouble…yet he still showed some signs of feeling rather nauseous.

"Then maybe we'll find everyone there" Luffy smiled.

-Zoro, Chopper, Sanji, Usopp, and Skylar-

"I'm so glad you're safe, Nami-san!" Sanji joyfully laughed as he rushed towards the navigator the second she and Luffy landed. "I was so worried this past week! I hardly slept!" he hugged himself as his body wiggled around in excitement before he finally, fell back—instantly falling asleep.

"He really hasn't slept…" Usopp breathed in disbelief.

"Weren't you with him this entire time? How did you not know that?" Skylar raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not his babysitter—I thought he was sleeping whenever I was!" Usopp argued. "How was I supposed to know he was actually staying awake this entire time like a dumbass?" he frowned.

"Hm" Skylar hummed, comfortably seated on Zoro's lap. "Well I guess I can't blame him for his worry" she said, the swordsman beneath her lowly grumbling as he relaxed. Now pleased that the annoying chef had turned his attention towards the navigator and away from the swordswoman he'd been fawning over since they reunited. He thought he was going to go insane the second the blond realized he had found one of the three missing women, practically hovering over her this entire time much to the swordsman's irritation.

"But we're still missing Robin-chan!" Sanji suddenly shouted as he shot up, fully awake and energized once more at the realization they were still missing the older woman.

"You're so noisy!" Zoro snapped, tightening his hold on Skylar as he glared at the blond who glared right back at him in irritation.

"In any case, I'm glad you guys are okay too" Luffy smiled before turning his head as the door to the hut behind them slowly creaked open.

"What? There are more?" Xiao blinked as she peeked out, her eyes widening as she fainted. Before she could hit the ground, her mother caught her with one hand.

"She really doesn't like surprises…" Skylar sweat dropped.

"Oh my, you're a big group all of a sudden" Xiao's mother remarked as she stared at the pirates, surprised to see that the small group had suddenly grown in size. "Why don't you come inside and rest?" she offered.

"Nami, why don't you do that?" Luffy asked.

"Hm? Yeah…" Nami slowly nodded.

None of the Straw Hats were aware of the Den Den Mushi's eyes that peeked out at them through the stairs railings, recording everything it saw.

"Wake up, Xiao—go next door and get some tea leaves" Xiao's mother instructed as she gently shook her daughter.

"Okay…" the little girl weakly responded.

-Elsewhere-

"There she is, Shiki-sama!" one of Shiki's men reported as he peered at the monitor in front of him which displayed to him whatever the Den Den Mushi surveilled.

"Yeah, shall we go greet our navigator then?" Shiki chuckled.

-Franky, Brook, and Robin-

Inside the building Franky, Robin, and Brook entered was nothing more than an overflowing crowd of pirates and ruffians. Men and women of various backgrounds drank as much as they could and shoveled as much food as they wanted down their gullets. Loudly, they happily chattered with one another as they partook in their fill.

"They're not here" Franky remarked, seated on the railings of one of the upper floors as he stared down at the crowd seated on the ground floor. As far as he could see, none of their nakama were down there. "But what are all these pirates doing here? Are they gonna start a war or something?" he asked.

"Seeing that they all have Eternal Poses, we can assume they've been summoned by someone" Robin pointed out.

"Excuse me, will you show me your panties?" Brook suddenly asked a passing waitress.

"No way!" she snapped as she jumped up and kicked his head.

"Your arm…" Robin muttered, taken off guard by the feathers sprouting from the woman's arm.

"Hm? Oh, this?" she hummed as she held her arms up. "I think we want to be birds" she softly joked.

"Birds?" Franky questioned. "But that's not something you can become by wishing" he frowned.

"Er…may I see your panties…" Brook weakly repeated, only to be ignored as the woman walked right over him—her foot painfully crushing his skull as she continued about her business.

"You guys are the Straw Hats, aren't you?" a heavy man suddenly asked from a nearby table. "So you guys are going to become a part of Captain Shiki's brotherhood too?" he questioned.

"Huh?" Franky blinked.

"Yes, that's our plan" Robin casually lied, quick to take advantage of the man's misassumption. "Why has Captain Shiki gathered all these pirates?"

"Why? Stop joking around—you saw the newspaper, didn't you?" the man asked. "Look" he motioned, digging around in his pockets before producing a crumpled-up newspaper.

"That's—!" Robin gasped as she looked at the paper.

-Luffy and the Others-

Xiao smiled as she pushed through the crowd of women who seemed entranced by something just out of sight. Carrying a jar of tea leaves in her arms, she rushed up the steps towards her home. She barely slowed in her stride as she jumped over Luffy who was currently snoozing away in the middle of the ground. In fact, most of the Straw Hats seemed to be passed out asleep outside.

"Grandma! Mommy! Good news!" she happily shouted as she opened the front door and disappeared inside.

"She seems excited about something" Skylar smiled as she lifted her head. Currently, she was sprawled out on her stomach in front of Zoro who was leaning back against the stair railing.

"Hm" he hummed, peeking an eye open as he stared at the front door before closing it once more.

"Something a matter?" Skylar muttered, turning her head as the swordsman suddenly opened his eyes again and tensed, now looking to be on high alert as he cautiously looked around.

"What?" Xiao's mother asked as she stood up from the table the second her daughter came running into the house.

"It's true! Shu's father came back—he said everyone will be back soon too" Xiao smiled as she informed her mother of what she had overheard and seen in the village. "We'll see Daddy and Sister again!" she giddily exclaimed, causing Nami to perk up from the corner she was huddled in resting.

"Is it true?! This isn't a dream?!" Xiao's grandmother sat up as she spoke, shocked by what she was hearing as if she couldn't believe it.

"That means…" Xiao's mother breathed.

"Yeah, Shiki's leaving—he's taking all the animals to the Sea of Schemes" Xiao eagerly nodded. "To the East Blue!" Nami's eyes widened in horror as she thought back to the newspaper she and the others had been reading before meeting Shiki.

"I see, you guys are from the East Blue, huh?"

"You'll soon learn what my goal is, you'll beg me to let you join my crew."

"Be a navigator on my ship, babycakes. There are favors I'm willing to do for my own crew member."

Thinking back on his words as his laughter bounced around in her head, her breathing slowly started to pick up.

"After all these years, a light of hope…this is like a dream" Xiao's grandmother quietly wept tears of joy as she covered her eyes with one hand.

"I know…" Xiao's mother nodded. "The faster he goes to the East Blue, the better" she smiled, eager to be rid of the pirate that's been terrorizing their home. "Every minute…every second…counts" Nami kept silent as she looked down at the bracelet on her wrist.

"Luffy…" she quietly whispered in realization as she quickly stood, letting the blanket draped over her fall to the floor.

-Franky, Brook, and Robin-

"Yep, this is a warning to the World Government and the Navy" the man nodded as Robin read over the article.

"In other words, Captain Shiki's aim is…" she muttered.

"To destroy the East Blue and then to overthrow the world" the man finished for her. "After the general assembly tonight, he's sending those animals into the East Blue" he explained.

"If he does that, thousands of people will die!" Franky frowned.

"Don't worry about it—it's to make the World Government surrender" the man assured, not the least bit bothered by the fact that thousands of innocent lives will be slaughtered in the process.

"We were summoned by an incredible man, eh?" another man suddenly piped up.

"You said it! Alright, let's raise our glasses again!" the first man cheered as he raised his glass along with a few other men from nearby tables.

"You guys better not attend the general assembly in those clothes—put on something proper" the second man grinned.

"A dress code, okay" Robin slowly nodded, continuing to play along.

"Cause tonight, I hear he going to do a demonstration for us" the man continued.

"A demonstration?" Robin's eyes widened.

"Yeah, he's going to crush the one village that's on this island" the man excitedly nodded.

"It's going to be so exciting!" a Fishman grinned as he and the man burst out laughing.

"People are living on this island?!" Robin breathed.

-Luffy and the Others-

Nami rushed outside, shocked to find only the discarded bags of her companions and nothing else.

"Luffy?" she muttered as she walked, desperately looking for her crew.

"Stay away, Nami!" Luffy suddenly shouted, startling her as she quickly lifted her head. Standing atop on higher ground, he and the others stood in a line—their bodies tense as they faced Shiki who stood atop a stone pillar.

"There's my babycakes" Shiki grinned the second he spotted the ginger.

"Shiki!" Nami gasped.

"That was cold, babycakes" Shiki pouted. "Leaving the palace without saying anything—I was hurt" he feigned before widely grinning.

"Shut up, damn bastard! You tricked us and abducted Nami-san!" Sanji sneered.

"You can't expect me not to take away such an amazing woman" Shiki chuckled. "Protect her well if you don't want to lose her—but then again, I think she's the one who doesn't want to leave me now" he suddenly boasted. "Isn't that right, babycakes?"

"Delusional much…" Skylar muttered.

"You bastard!" Sanji grounded.

"Hey, Wheelie! Don't think you can steal my crew member and get away scot-free" Luffy glared.

"Oh? What do you plan to do?" Shiki mockingly asked.

"Slug you but good!" Luffy huffed before rushing the man with the rest of his crew quick to follow.

"Luffy!" Nami shouted.

"Try and slug me if you can!" Shiki laughed before raising an eyebrow as the rubber man shot his arm forward, grabbing the edge of the stone pillar instead of striking the man atop it.

"Gum-Gum…Sickle!" Luffy pulled himself towards the man and swung his fist, only to miss as Shiki simply jumped out of the way.

"Special Attack: Fire Bird Star!" Usopp aimed at Shiki as he fired a flaming pellet at him which took on the shape of a bird. Casually, the older pirate stepped aside.

"72 Pound Phoenix!" Zoro slashed at Shiki who simply blocked the attack with the swords that had replaced his legs. He quickly repeated the action as he twisted his body and blocked the other slashes Skylar suddenly hurled at him from behind—the brunette much more silent than the swordsman with her attack that she had almost gone unnoticed.

"Arm Point: Cloven Roseo Metal!" Chopper transformed as he jumped up to Shiki and struck his back multiple times—leaving hoof prints behind. Shiki clenched his jaw as he groaned in pain

"Poitrine Shoot!" Sanji jumped into the air and aimed for Shiki's chest. For a brief moment, it looked like he had hit his target…but upon closer inspection, he saw that the older man had caught his foot and was shakily holding it back.

"You're a pretty good team, I'm impressed you made me use my hand" Shiki grinned. "But once I use my hands, I'm not going to draw them back" he laughed, tightening his grip around the cook's foot as he raised his other hand.

"Sanji!" Chopper and Skylar worriedly shouted as Nami gasped. Zoro drew his remaining swords. Readying for another attack, he stopped as he turned and watched as Luffy suddenly stretched his body back.

"I'll start with you" Shiki grinned up at the blond in his grasp.

"Sanji!" Chopper repeated

"Luffy…" Skylar muttered as she looked back along with Zoro, curiously watching to see what their captain planned to do as he continued to stretch himself further back.

"Rocket!" Luffy shot forward and rammed straight into Shiki's back, causing him to drop Sanji as he was thrown back a couple of feet in the air. "Hm? Where you guys in the middle of a conversation?" the captain blinked as he and the cook fell to the ground

"Not really" Sanji answered as they landed—the others quick to gather around them and form a line once more as they turned to the older pirate.

"So you think you can fight me as equals, huh?" Shiki scoffed, floating in the air as he stared down at the group. "This is too troublesome, I'll take care of you all at once" he suddenly sighed, quickly growing bored and annoyed with this fight.

"He's going to do something" Zoro warned as the man lifted his hand before flipping it around and raising it higher. Luffy was the first one to notice as the pebbles beneath their feet started to tremble before suddenly, huge chunks of the land started to rise. Nami stumbled back as she watched the chunks of land rise into the air in horror.

From inside the hut, Xiao finally peered out the window, now curious about the loud commotion happening outside. With just a glance, she fainted at what she saw.

Frantically, the Straw Hats looked around in slight panic at the rising land, confused and startled by what was happening.

"Lion's Threat…Earth Bind!" Shiki clenched his fist, and just like that, the rocks took on the shape of lion heads which roared down at the crew as they charged them.

"Gum-Gum…Cannon!" Luffy punched at the closing in rocks, his fists moving so fast they gave off the illusion that there were multiple of them Quickly, he took out one of the approaching lion heads.

"Whoa!" Chopper awed.

"That's one out the way, but…" Skylar breathed as she warily looked around at the remaining lions.

"Cook!" Zoro shouted, drawing his swords as he rushed forward with Sanji quick to follow.

"Armée de l'Air…Power Shoot!" Sanji and Zoro jumped into the air, the swordsman landing atop the blonde's stretched-out leg as he kicked him forward—giving him the boost he needed to reach Shiki.

"Special Attack: Atlas Comet!" Usopp shot multiple pellets toward Shiki, each one leaving a trail of smoke behind them as they headed for their target.

"Nice try, but no" Shiki grinned as he dodged the pellets which exploded the moment they struck one another.

"Three-Sword Style Bull Demon! Bold Hooves!" Zoro slashed at the man…only for him to simply raise one of his legs and clash it with his swords.

"You guys aren't even worth killing…" Shiki bitterly muttered as he struck the swordsman and knocked him back to the ground.

"Zoro!" Skylar gasped.

"Zoro!" Luffy shouted as the others soon started to scream upon noticing the closing walls of rock that were starting to pick up in speed.

"Crap!" Sanji ground as he attempted to climb uphill, only to be knocked back down as one of the rock lions closed in on the group—diving straight towards them.

"Third—" Luffy flinched as he was suddenly buried under a mound of rock along with the others whose screams were silenced as they were engulfed by the lions and land that shot up and snaked around them.

"Luffy!" Nami cried before gasping at the sight of the crew's bodies encased inside the mountain of rock with only certain parts of them jutting out. Mainly their heads and the occasional limb as they appeared to be unconscious and in pain. Nami ran forward, eyes wide with horror as she looked up at the pillar of rock her friends were encased in. "You guys!" she screamed.

"They're gonna sleep in the ground for a while—confused people are so troublesome" Shiki tiredly sighed as he approached the shell-shocked woman. "Little did they know you'd finally grasped the situation and made up your mind to join me…isn't that right?" he asked.

"You were responsible for what happened in the East Blue too" Nami sucked in a sharp breath as she calmed herself and glared at the ground beneath her.

"That's right" Shiki grinned, having no shame in admitting to what he'd done.

"Keep…keep your hands off my friends and the East Blue!" Nami sneered.

"You're doing things in the wrong order—I thought I told you…there are favors I can do for my own crew member" Shiki reminded her. "The only threat to me is those cyclones, you should be aware of how I need a good navigator" he continued as the ginger cast another glance at her unconscious nakama. "A memento?" he suddenly questioned as he watched Nami from the corner of his eye lightly touch the golden bracelet she wore.

"Don't be stupid, my sister I left behind in my hometown gave it to me" Nami said, her eyebrows knitting together as she looked down at the piece of jewelry. "If I join your crew, will you leave the East Blue alone?" she asked, causing the man to laugh.

"You know, my crew is more important to me than anything else—I couldn't attack the hometown of one of my own crew members" Shiki said.

"Don't be stupid, Nami…" Usopp suddenly and weakly coughed.

"Usopp!" Nami gasped as she turned to the wheezing pirate.

"Still conscious, huh?" Shiki frowned.

"You're not going to sell yourself to him to save your hometown, are you?" Usopp panted. "Luffy would never…allow something so selfish…!" he wheezed.

"What do you mean "allow," kid?" Shiki glared, annoyed by the sniper's choice of words. "You don't seem to understand the situation!" he sneered as he raised his hands, lifting a giant boulder above the top of the stone pillar the Straw Hats were encased in.

"Wait! I understand the situation, leave my friends alone!" Nami desperately pleaded.

"Hm…then give me your answer—huh, babycakes?" Shiki grinned, amused with how quickly the ginger came around.

"Usopp, this is the only way—I'll protect the East Blue" Nami said. "So don't worry about a thing and continue with your journey, I'll be fine" she assured him. "I can survive anywhere."

"No! Nami, don't!" Usopp begged. "Don't be stupid! Nobody's going to accept—" he was cut off by a decently sized rock being thrown at his face, pushing his head further into the pillar and knocking him unconscious.

"Usopp!" Nami cried.

"What an annoying kid" Shiki sneered. "Okay, babycakes, what's your answer?"

"I'll join your crew" Nami conceded as she tightly clenched her fist.

"You will, eh? Hm…" Shiki chuckled before looking at the stone pillar, watching as the giant boulder that hovered over it slowly started to make its descent. Nami clenched her jaw as she thought back to her home village and everyone she loved before slowly lowering herself onto her knees.

"Please, let me join your crew" she brokenly pleaded as she bowed before the man whose lips tugged up into a wide grin.

"Okay! I welcome you, outstanding navigator!" he laughed as he stopped the boulder from lowering any further. "Learning there are opponents you can't beat is part of growing up" he chuckled as he suddenly tossed the navigator a Tone Dial. "I'm not a kidnapper—there's honor, even among pirates" he explained when he saw the confused look on her face. "To your crewmates with whom you shared good times and bad until now…say goodbye to them" Nami stood as she took the Tone Dial and stared up at the stone pillar before bringing the shell up to her mouth to speak.

"That was a nice farewell, now we won't have any trouble in the future—your friends should be satisfied" Shiki grinned, pleased with the woman's message. "That is…if they can crawl out of there alive" he laughed as Nami gently sat the shell down and solemnly stared at it. Shiki's laughter slowly died down as he looked towards the village, tilting his head the moment he spotted the large Den Den Mushi peeking out at him.

-Elsewhere-

"Okay" Dr. Indigo said into a Den Den Mushi after looking at the surveillance monitor for the village. "Everybody, take your places! Start the operation as planned" he instructed.

Around the island, Daft Green trees were being ripped from the ground by Shiki's men as the pirate captain himself and Nami made their way back to his palace where many pirates were beginning to gather.

Somewhere outside of the palace, Scarlet yelled and pounded his chest. His voice was loud enough to be heard all over the island, catching the attention of the unique and strange animals that inhabited it. Soon, they started to respond with vicious cries of their own before storming their way toward a particular village on the island.

"You're back, Sir" Indigo said as Shiki walked into the control room of the palace, taking a seat at his throne.

"Yeah" the blond nodded as he took a drag of his cigar. "What are you doing? Come on in" he motioned when he noticed that Nami hadn't followed him. Slowly, the ginger entered the room—now dressed in a long black evening dress and a pink boa that was wrapped around her neck. "The more I look at you, the prettier you get" he grinned as she came to a stop beside him.

"Look, you made a clever decision—feel joy knowing this will not happen to your hometown" he said, motioning towards the large monitor stationed at the front of the room. Nami's eyes widened as she watched the monstrous animals of the island destroy the village she had left.

Women screamed as they ran, desperately trying to gather up their children and run for safety as their homes were burned and destroyed by the rampaging animals.

"Hurry! Come to the underground shelter!" one of the older women pleaded as she gathered up two young girls who had been cowering behind a broken piece of wall, crying. Xiao looked back in horror at the ruins of her home as she and her mother ran.

"Wow! Incredible!" one of the men who had been invited to Shiki's palace exclaimed. "The monsters are devouring the village!" he almost laughed as he and others watched the carnage before them in amazement.

"I wouldn't expect any less from Captain Shiki! The brutal things he does!" another grinned as laughter erupted around the room.

"This is just a sideshow—we just removed the Daft Greens around the village" Shiki explained as Nami dully stared at the giant screen.

"I'm not interested, I'm going back to my room" she said as she turned away and left.

"Oh…I thought she'd be furious" Shiki sighed in disappointment, annoyed with the ginger's lack of a reaction.

-Franky, Brook, and Robin-

"Damn, we were too late" Franky grounded as he pulled up to what was left of the destroyed village.

"This is just like that photo in the newspaper" Robin remarked.

"This is horrible! So this is what will happen to all of the East Blue too, huh?" Franky frowned as he continued onward through the ruined village—his new motorbike made from a grasshopper. "Straw Hat! Answer me if you're here!" he shouted

"Luffy-san! Are you here?!" Brook called out as the three of them began to approach the stone pillar that stood oddly tall and unharmed from the wreckage. Screeching to a halt, they jumped off the motorbike and stared up in shock at their nakama whose heads and limbs poked out of the pillar.

"Straw Hat!" Franky gasped.

"Luffy!" Brook shouted.

"What the hell happened?" Franky frowned.

"Let's dig them out!" Robin urged.

"Yes!" Brook nodded as three of them rushed towards the pillar.

-Later-

"Shiki was behind the incidents in the East Blue?!" Luffy glared, he and the others now free from the pillar

"Yes" Robin nodded.

"He wants to use those monsters to tear up our hometowns, huh?" Sanji questioned. "That damn bastard! Making us look like fools…" he growled. Skylar narrowed her eyes, her grip on Zoro's arm tightening as her blood began to boil at the thought. Her feelings towards the other villagers of Fair Haven were conflicting—part of her bitterly not wanting to care what happened to them and the other feeling it too cruel to wish such harm on them. But if there was one thing she knew, she wasn't going to stand for anyone hurting her brothers.

"Nami went with Shiki all by herself to protect our homes, she saved us" Usopp informed the others as Chopper tended to his wounds.

"How do we know he'll keep his end of the deal though?" Skylar quietly asked, Zoro the only one to hear her as he moved his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer towards him.

"Xiao! You're safe!" Chopper gasped the second he caught sight of the young girl and her family—all of them with sadden looks as they hesitantly approached the pirates.

"We were hiding in the underground shelter" Xiao's mother explained. "But what you were just talking about…is the East Blue your home sea?" she asked as her daughter's eyes began to well up with tears. "That girl…is she from the East Blue too?"

"Yes" Luffy nodded.

"What did I do?! I said right in front of her that I couldn't wait for Shiki to go to the East Blue—it was a horrible thing to say!" the older woman sobbed as she crouched down, tears of guilt and regret pricking the corners of her eyes.

"I was happy too!" Xiao whimpered, crying alongside her mother as she wiped at her eyes. Guilt now eating away at her for her unintentionally cruel behavior.

"Xiao, where'd you get that?" Luffy suddenly asked when he noticed the Tone Dial the little girl was carrying.

"This? I just found it over there" Xiao pointed.

"Can I see it for a second?" Luffy asked as he stood and approached the little girl.

"Okay" she nodded, handing the shell over to the captain as he bent down.

"Xiao, you and your family are amazing—you're worried about Nami when your village has been destroyed" he smiled as his crew gathered behind him. "I've never met such kind people, you're not horrible at all" he assured her. "Shiki's the horrible one—I'm going to go beat the crap outta him" he continued, giving her a comforting smile. "So cheer up, okay?"

"What's that? A Tone Dial?" Usopp asked as the captain stood and turned, his crew quick to gather even closer as they examined the shell in his hands.

"Yes, the one Shiki had" Luffy nodded as he held the shell out before pressing down on its top.

"Forgive me for leaving without saying anything" Nami's voice fluttered out of the shell.

"It's Nami's voice!" Chopper brightened.

"It seems she left us a message" Skylar said.

"I've decided to become a navigator in Shiki's crew—Shiki is a legendary pirate who you could never match up to even if you stood up to him" the recording continued. "Even if you came after me, you'd only end up losing your lives. I'll just say this much..."

"What the hell?!" Luffy angrily trembled, causing the others to flinch and draw back in surprise. "Why is she saying this to us?!" he snapped.

"C-c-calm down!" Usopp sputtered.

"We could never match up to him?! I can't believe she said that!" Luffy angrily ranted as Skylar moved a little behind Zoro—frightened by just how angry her captain had become. She never liked it when people got angry, it always led to terrible things.

"But as a matter of fact, he kicked all of your asses" Franky pointed out.

"What?! This was…no…I didn't actually lose!" Luffy snapped, struggling for a minute to defend his earlier loss against the other pirate. He was still standing and ready to fight, so surely that meant he hadn't lost just yet.

"Calm down! Stop it!" Usopp tried to calm his enraged captain before quickly backing up when the rubber man suddenly turned to him.

"Damn!" Luffy snarled as he shoved the Tone Dial into Usopp's hands—pushing his way past the sniper and Sanji as he stomped away.

"Usopp, let's hear it again" Sanji suddenly requested.

"Huh? O-okay…" Usopp complied as he pressed down on the shell's apex, starting the message again from the very beginning.

"Forgive me for leaving without saying anything, I've decided to become a navigator in Shiki's crew" the message began once again in Nami's voice. "Shiki is a legendary pirate who you could never match up to, even if you stood up to him. Even if you came after me, you'd only end up losing your lives—I'll just say this much..." as the crew listened to the rest of the recording, Luffy angrily stomped around. Huffing and puffing, he eventually stretched his arm back before destroying the large chunk of rock he had decided to take his anger out on.

-Elsewhere-

Shiki's ship slowly lowered itself into the water as it sailed onward towards his palace. Inside, he and his men watched via the monitors as his esteemed guests on the ship docked and started to make their way inside the main building of the palace.

"The elites are arriving" Shiki remarked. "Finally…the World Government…it's been twenty years since I've felt my legs tingle" he grinned…only for it to immediately fall as he heard the farting sounds Dr. Indigo's shoes made as he ran into the room. Skidding to a halt, the blue-haired man quickly started to make wild gestures with his arms and legs as he jumped around—not speaking. "Okay, I see—I'll be right there" he said, causing the doctor to freeze as he stared dumbfounded at the captain.

"He understood!" he cried out in shock after the blond had left the room.

Outside, Shiki walked towards the line of Daft Greens that were planted around the palace. He now wore a gas mask to protect himself from the spores that seeped off the trees as he looked around, quick to spot the damage two of them had suffered.

"I see…you wanted to level the trees and get the monsters to attack the palace" he noted, quick to realize the ginger's plan as he stared at the bundles of dynamite that lined the bottoms of the trees. "Was this your plan from the beginning? Huh, babycakes?" he chuckled as he looked towards Nami who had been caught by his men. "Why? Especially after I agreed to your conditions?" he asked.

"I know you won't do as I asked…" Nami panted, light green spots decorating her skin. "My hometown getting destroyed…my friends grieving over bad news…I don't want to see that!" she cried.

"You were too hasty" Shiki growled as he roughly grabbed her face and lifted her off the ground—smashing her into one of the nearby Daft Greens which caused the green spots on her skin to darken and grow. "Didn't count on the powerful poison that these trees release, eh?" he chuckled as he pulled her away from the tree. "A pirate shouldn't talk about home and family—it's a shame to let childish attachments drag you down and put your own life in danger" he frowned as metal spikes shot towards them. Hovering in place for a minute, they soon pierced all around Nami the second he released her. None of them touched her skin and instead, they pierced around her—trapping her in place.

"If you're lucky enough to be alive when the general assembly ends, I'll let you be my navigator for life" he chuckled. "I don't dislike sassy women" and with that, he left. Nami clenched her jaw as she listened to his retreating laughter and the clicking of the swords he called legs.

Reentering his palace, Shiki made his way to the room where the general assembly was to be held. Many pirates were seated and lined up with empty cups in front of them.

"Good of you all to come here, now you will drink some ceremonial sake as a sign of your devotion to me" Shiki announced as he took his place at the front of the room. "For your information, I show no mercy to traitors, so keep that in mind" he casually warned. "It's time to depart for the Sea of Schemes! The tragic East Blue!" the pirates cheered as the floating islands outside started to move and crash into one another as they pressed closer to the largest piece of land.

-Straw Hats-

"Let's go, Franky" Luffy frowned.

"Okay, hang on tight!" Franky nodded. "Coup de Burst!" instantly, the Thousand Sunny shot forward—racing up the side of the crater it was stuck in and becoming airborne as it shot towards the largest piece of floating land that held Shiki's palace.

-Shiki's Palace-

Patiently, everyone waited for their cups to be filled with sake. Dr. Indigo was the one to pour it as he slowly moved down the line of people, carefully filling their cups as his feet produced that same farting sound with every step he took—somewhat killing the seriousness of the moment.

Outside the palace, Shiki's guards stood in a line. It wasn't long before one of them finally became aware of Sunny rocketing towards them. As she landed, she skidded across the land—uprooting trees and tearing through dirt as she barreled towards the men who hurriedly jumped out of the way before they were crushed.

"Y-you're kidding me, right?!" one of the men sputtered. "Entering the palace on a ship? Who the hell are these people?!" he gaped as the ship slowed to a halt and tilted onto her side. Clenching their jaws, they soon spotted the outline of nine people standing onboard the ship.

Inside the palace, the last of the people were receiving their share of sake.

"As you know, the East Blue is the weakest of the five seas—it has no great figures whose death will be regretted" Shiki said. "Be as wild as you want, this is the birth of the Golden Lion Pirates!" he cheered as he held up his cup of sake, causing the other men in the room to follow suit as they cheered.

"Shiki-sama!" Shiki froze before taking a sip as one of his men suddenly came stumbling into the room.

"You dare interrupt at a time like this?!" Shiki snarled.

"I'm sorry, Sir! There's something you need to know right away!" the man quickly apologized as he rushed over to his captain. Quickly, he relayed to him the valuable information that he needed to know.

"Only nine?" Shiki raised an eyebrow, confused as to why his subordinate was so frazzled by such a small number of people. "Just take them down!" he snapped.

"The thing is…" the man thickly swallowed as he recalled how the guards who had been stationed outside were easily taken down—the intruders leaving a trail of battered and broken bodies that led up to the smashed front doors of the palace behind them.

Luffy and his crew silently walked through the halls of the palace, each dressed in formal attire as they made their way through the building.

Shiki's eyes narrowed as he looked to the back of the room, watching as one of the walls was easily destroyed. Another had a foot simply kicked straight through it but other than that, there was very little harm done to the wall.

"Nice one, Usopp" Skylar snorted.

"Shut up!" Usopp embarrassingly snapped.

"You have no flair! This is how you do it!" Sanji groaned.

"Wait!" Usopp pleaded before yelping as the blond kicked in the wall that his foot was stuck in. Flooding into the room, Usopp quickly pulled his foot free from the wall Sanji had just kicked in and took his place once more between Skylar and Franky.

"So it was you guys, what a surprise…" Shiki muttered, placing a new cigar in his mouth as he watched the Straw Hats advance further into the room, forming a small wall in front of their captain. All of them were dressed in formal attire and carrying some sort of gun with them—whether it be held in their hands or strapped to their backs, it didn't matter. Skylar was the only one who seemed uncomfortable as her grip kept tightening and loosing around the gun in her hand. Quietly, she tried to focus more on the clicking of her heels than the sickeningly familiar heaviness of the firearm in her palm…

How ironic that it looked quite similar to the kind her father uses.

Despite the others having larger guns, none of them could convince her to pick anything bigger than the one she currently held and even then, she showed signs of not wanting to really touch it. She had been given another one just in case which was currently strapped to her hip and looked no different from the one in her hands. Her stomach churned at having to hold such a weapon once more after all these years…already, she could hear the faint sounds of a dog's whimpering. It took everything in her power not to just toss it aside—this was all for Nami and she couldn't let her emotions get in the way of their plan. Her personal problems meant nothing in the face of the current predicament, all that mattered was getting their navigator back safe and sound.

That's all that mattered.

"You're going to attack the East Blue?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah" Shiki simply nodded.

"Is Nami okay?" Luffy suddenly asked as he and his crew finally came to a stop.

"Yeah, she's doing great" Shiki grinned as the rest of his men started to snicker, causing the pirates to frown. "You look dangerous, but you think the nine of you can take on all of them, do you?" he laughed as sections of the walls in the room were kicked in by more of Shiki's men. All of them were already armed and ready to fight. "A girl in a fairy tale world who thinks she can save her hometown by sacrificing herself and a reckless suicide squad that came to die with her" he hummed to himself.

"You're an idiot" Luffy insulted, causing the man's grin to fall. "Nami didn't sacrifice herself—she came here to fight as our vanguard, that's all!" he glared as the Straw Hats drew their guns and aimed. "Be prepared, Shiki the Golden Lion! We're the main force!" and with that, everyone fired. Soon, the sound of gunfire filled the air as the larger guns naturally caused more damage to the woodwork of the room while the smaller ones mainly dealt with the men on the opposing side.

Robin was the only one who bothered to cast a glance towards Skylar, quick to notice just how hesitant the brunette looked in her firing as her fingers would first tease the trigger of her guns before pulling them. She couldn't see her eyes as her hat cast a shadow over them, but she could tell she was tense all over as her lips drew back and her jaw clenched. She hated herself for thinking it, but…the brunette truly looked like her father at that moment. Varen was known for his use of firearms, the man favoring them over most other weapons. Looking away, she quietly wondered if that same thought was going through the brunette's mind or if she was thinking of something else entirely…

Something more painful.

Shiki watched with narrowed eyes and a clenched jaw as gun smoke filled the room, the sound of gunfire deafening in his ears as it drowned out all other sounds. He watched as his men were taken down one by one.

"I'm out of ammunition" Franky scoffed as he tossed his now empty guns aside.

"There are still quite a few of them" Sanji remarked as he also tossed his guns.

"That was just a little something to start things off" Zoro reminded the blond as he tossed his own gun aside.

"Y-yeah…" Skylar muttered, dropping the two guns in her hands like they had burned her before wiping the palms of her hands against her black, high-waisted shorts. She was glad to be rid of the firearms—she never thought in her life she would ever have to hold a gun ever again.

"Usopp! Chopper!" Luffy called out as he tossed the coat draped over his shoulders off. "Go Find Nami!" he ordered.

"Okay! You got it!" the two nodded before taking off.

"Get those little pests! Kill them all!" one of the men in the room snarled as he stood along with a few others who quickly charged the pirates with a shout.

"Captain Shiki! To the back room!" one of Shiki's men instructed, motioning for his captain to follow him to safety.

"Okay…" Shiki muttered as Luffy removed his jacket and advanced further into the room—the rest of his crew engaging with the men around them. Robin used her abilities to blind the men who charged her while Skylar cut down anyone who got near her.

"Get their boss!" a Fishman shouted as his men charged Luffy, only to be blocked by Brook who took a protective stance in front of his captain—using his sword to help play a song on his violin.

"Lullaby Flanc" he slashed forward upon playing the ending note of his song as the charging men fell asleep.

"Did you…" Luffy grounded his teeth as he spotted Shiki leaving the room. Picking up the pace, he drew his fist back and lunged forward. "Do something to my crew member?!" he snarled as he struck the blonde's cheek.

"Captain!" the man who had been leading Shiki shouted in shock, startled by the sudden attack on his captain. Shiki regained his composure and quickly took flight down the hall. Luffy prepared to chase after him before Dr. Indigo jumped in his way—swinging a sword down at him that was quickly blocked by Zoro, allowing his captain to run past.

"Don't bother our captain" Zoro growled. Luffy's path was briefly blocked by Scarlet next before he was kicked out of the way by Sanji.

"We're telling you to stay out of the way!" the blond snapped as their captain ran out into the hall and chased after Shiki.

-Nami-

"Billy…" Nami groaned as she weakly lifted her head upon hearing a weak call, a bright light of electricity suddenly shining in front of her. Worriedly, Billy called out again as he sadly looked at the sickly woman—lying beside him were two guards who had been tasked to watch over her before they were electrocuted by the giant bird. "Did you do that?" she asked, looking at the unconscious men. Nodding, the bird flapped his wings—jolts of static dancing across his feathers. "I have a favor to ask, hear me out" she suddenly said as she weakly grabbed one of his wings, groaning at the jolt of electricity that shocked her.

Billy panicked as he tried to pull his wing away from the navigator so he wouldn't hurt her anymore, but she held on tightly.

"Stay like this…please…listen to me…" Nami panted as she weakly stared up at the bird, her face twisted up into a look of agony. Billy quickly nodded as he took in deep breaths to calm himself and stop the electricity that coursed through his body.

-Usopp and Chopper-

Usopp rode atop Chopper's back as they raced through the halls of Shiki's palace in search of Nami—taking down any of his men who attempted to stop them.

"Multiple Flame Stars!" Usopp shot at the men who aimed at them from the other side of the palace, taking them down in one fell swoop with his attack as he and Chopper continued onwards. "Chopper, do you smell anything?" he suddenly asked as they came to a halt atop one of the roofs.

"No, my nose isn't working well because of the Daft Green particles in the air" Chopper confessed as he looked around, unable to smell anything other than the spores that emitted from the surrounding trees.

"Damn…hm?" Usopp blinked as he suddenly spotted something in the distance. Pulling down one of his goggle lenses, he peered towards the Daft Greens that littered the palace grounds—quick to spot the bright light of electricity that glowed amongst them. "There she is! I see Nami!" he gasped as he spotted the ginger and Billy amongst the trees.

"What?!" Chopper quickly looked left and right, searching for the navigator.

-Nami-

Billy's tail puffed out like a peacock's as a large amount of electricity now emitted from his body. In front of him, a bunch of tied-up wires were connected to the explosives that lined the Daft Greens. Once he was sure he had enough electricity coursing through his veins, he pecked down on the wires in front of him, lighting them before taking flight as the lit fuses slowly worked their way down toward the explosives.

"Nami! Will you take this with you?" Nojiko asked as she flipped a golden bracelet towards her younger sister, smiling. "Have fun."

"It's okay…don't worry…" Nami breathed as she watched the flames make their way down to the fuses. "I won't let my precious hometown get destroyed."

-Usopp and Chopper-

"We're almost there! Hang in there, Nami!" Chopper panted as he quickly raced towards the Daft Greens, Usopp still atop his back. Just as he arrived, the fire of the lit fuse finally reached the explosives. Explosions rang out as the trees were destroyed, the impact enough to send him and Usopp flying back in the process. "Ouch...somehow we're still alive…" he weakly moaned as he sat up and held his head.

"Wh-where's Nami?!" he panicked as he looked around. "Nami!" he and Usopp rushed to the navigator's aid when they saw her lying unconscious amongst the spikes holding her in place. "Nami, can you hear me?!" he cried.

"You okay?! We're going to get you out of here!" Usopp shouted as he started to pull at the metal spikes.

"These bruises are the same one Xiao's grandmother had, she needs to be treated right away" Chopper noticed as he spotted the green spots that littered Nami's body. "Hm?!" he and Usopp turned their head as they suddenly heard a distant rumbling.

"Th-this is…" Usopp's voice quivered as he shakily took a step back.

"Is it what I think it is?" Chopper grounded as he stared wide-eyed at the stamped of animals who now were rushing towards the palace.

"At a busy time like this…" Usopp's eyes watered as he trembled.

"We have to take Nami and run!" Chopper shouted, he and Usopp screaming as one of the charging animals suddenly roared and stormed towards them. Quickly, they ripped away the metal spikes that trapped Nami before grabbing her and running back towards the palace—the gigantic animals still chasing after them. Angrily, the beasts smashed their heads into the walls of the palace, shaking the entire building as they tried to break in.

"What is it?" Franky frowned as the animals outside finally forced their way in—tearing through the metal doors as they stormed the palace.

Outside, Shiki's men shot at the rampaging animals. Desperately trying to push them back with some running away in fear of the monsters.

Franky found himself now being chased down the halls of the palace by a giant, pink hammer sea anemone. No matter how many times he shot at it, it never slowed in its pursuit as it tore down the halls until finally, it caught him. Smashing into one of the walls of the palace, it skidded to a halt and lifted the cyborg.

"Take this!" Franky laughed as he held his opened hand up and shot the monstrous sea creature right in the face, this time causing damage to it as it was sent flying backward.

-Brook-

Brook laughed as he charged the giant batch fly that came fluttering towards him. Passing by it, he slowed down to a walk as the creature's arms caught fire.

"Three-Verse Humming…Arrow Notch Slash" sheathing his sword, the fly turned towards him—prepared to lunge at him before crying out in pain as it fell to the floor.

-Robin and Skylar-

Robin and Skylar struggled to breathe as the toxins that were thrown about with each flap of the giant butterfly's wings started to make the room unbearable.

"Can't…breathe…" Skylar panted as Robin used her remaining strength to sprout arms around the butterfly's wings, stopping them in their movements as she put pressure around them before spreading them fully open.

"Skylar…" she groaned, causing the brunette to nod in understanding before lifting her sword and sending a slash toward the insect's now exposed body. Instantly, the two fell to their knees as the bug's still body dropped to the ground in defeat. Quickly, they covered their mouths with their hands—desperate to shield themselves from the remaining toxins that were still in the air.

"Robin…how are you holding up…?" Skylar wheezed as she felt her vision begin to blur. Robin only shook her head, finding it hard to speak. Blearily, the two turned when they suddenly felt a presence behind them as a rather large shadow fell over them. Weakly, they looked back at Scarlet who stared down at them with hearts in his eyes.

-Usopp, Chopper, and Nami-

"How is she, Chopper?" Usopp worriedly asked once they were far enough and safe from the rampaging animals that were currently storming the palace.

"Not good, she's just barely breathing" Chopper frowned, his coat now draped over Nami who was wheezing as she lay there on the floor. "We have to do something quickly."

"Billy…" Usopp murmured as the giant bird suddenly came flying towards them, worriedly looking down at Nami as he landed.

"The only cure for this illness is the IQ plant" Chopper explained as he recalled the plant Xiao was holding when he, Zoro, and Skylar had first found her. "Shiki took them all."

"What?" Usopp frowned as he looked to the palace's main building which was across from the one they had taken shelter in. "Where is he keeping them?" he muttered before screaming as something suddenly attacked the building they were in—destroying it completely and sending all of them falling except for Billy who quickly took flight. "Ouch…h-how's Nami?" he groaned as he worriedly looked at the ginger.

"Somehow she wasn't hurt" Chopper assured him as he safely held the navigator close to him.

"Shiki!" he and Usopp suddenly gasped as they looked at the blond who now floated in front of them.

"Now you've done it, girl" Shiki growled as he bitterly glared down at Nami. "You want to die that badly, huh? I don't want you anymore!" he snarled, no longer interested in having such a troublesome woman on his crew. "I'm going to crush the East Blue—no matter how hard you try to stop me!" he sneered as he made a lion's head out of the snow around him, causing Usopp and Chopper to fearfully scream.

"W-we're surrounded!" Usopp cried.

"Lion's Threat Imperial Earth Bind!" Shiki spat as he sent the lion heads towards the three.

"We're screwed!" Usopp screamed.

"Fall into despair and die!"

"Crap!" Usopp sobbed.

"Dammit!" Chopped cried as he protectively held Nami close—closing his eyes as he and the sharpshooter waited for the worst to happen. But before any of the lion heads could fully reach them, each one was suddenly destroyed by a familiar fist that glowed with a pink tint. Slowly opening their eyes, the two gasped upon seeing their captain—currently in Second Gear—who now stood in front of them.

"Luffy!" they joyfully cried, relieved to see the rubber man.

"Still pointlessly trying, huh?" Shiki growled.

"Nami, I'm going to beat the crap out of him and we're going to go home" Luffy huffed as he looked back at the ginger who weakly opened her eyes.

"Luffy…" Nami breathed, a small smile tugging at her lips as she closed her eyes.

"Leave him to me—take care of Nami" Luffy ordered his other two crewmates.

"O-okay!" Usopp nodded as he and Chopper quickly stood, taking off for somewhere safer with the once again unconscious navigator.

"Get him, Luffy!" Chopper cheered back as they ran.

"No matter where you go, your fate won't change and you're all going to die" Shiki bitterly sneered as Luffy took an offensive stance, prepared to fight.

"Don't you determine our fate for us!" he snapped as he shot himself towards Shiki who flinched at the man's sudden speed. "Jet…Pistol!" Luffy struck the blonde's stomach, sending him flying back towards the palace. For a few seconds, Shiki felt disorientated as he flew before finally, he composed himself and brought his body to an immediate halt before it struck the palace. "Billy! I need your help!" the rubber man shouted as the large bird quickly flew to his aid, catching his falling body.

"I won't let you go to the East Blue!" he shouted.

"You're getting on my nerves—I'm not going to go easy on a man from the East Blue!" Shiki growled.

Chopper and Usopp ran as quickly as they could before finally pushing themselves past a set of doors that led them into what appeared to be a greenhouse.

"What is this place?" Usopp curiously asked as he looked around, climbing up a small set of stairs to get a closer look at the growing plants that sprouted around the room.

"They're all IQ plants—they're using moonlight to grow them" Chopper realized before humming as he quickly ran up the main staircase of the room. "I smell chemicals!" he gasped as he and Usopp quickly burst into the room next door where they discovered lots of different machinery and science equipment. Test tubes, beakers, and flasks filled the shelves and tables—some empty and others filled with colorful liquids. "So this is where they're researching IQ…" he muttered as he looked around.

"Which one do we give her?" Usopp asked, curiously picking up different vials and bottles from one of the nearby tables. Quickly, the two looked up at a sudden farting sound before jumping back as they spotted Dr. Indigo casually seated on top of the railing of the room's upper floor.

"An enemy!" they shouted as Indigo snickered.

"You smell like chemicals! You must be a scientist!" Chopper assumed.

"Yes, a very good one" Indigo nodded.

"Give us the cure for Daft!" Chopper demanded.

"Why should I? You idiot!" Indigo laughed before suddenly holding up a small, pink vial. "This is what you want, right?" he asked. "I always carry it around for emergencies."

"Well that's easy then" Zoro suddenly said as he entered the room. "We just have to take that drug away from him—stay out of the way, I'm going to slash him to shreds" he said, already drawing his swords as he motioned for his crewmates to step back.

"Zoro!" Usopp and Chopper brightened.

"You followed me all the way here…" Indigo frowned, upset that he hadn't lost the swordsman like he had thought.

"Yeah! Get him!" Usopp cheered. "We need the drug he has!" he exclaimed as he and Chopper quickly moved out of the way.

"Slash me? You good for nothing from the East Blue!" Indigo scoffed as he hopped down from the railing and towered over the swordsman. "The destruction of a worthless sea like the East Blue makes absolutely no difference to the world!" he snarled, causing Zoro's eyes to narrow as he slashed his swords and sent the man flying through the wall behind him. Following the doctor, the swordsman stepped out onto the walkways that connected the various buildings of the palace. "Chemical Juggling…" the blue-haired man muttered as purple bubbles formed on the palm of his hands, swirling together to make small flames that popped out and formed an arch over his head.

Zoro curiously hummed as he stared at the flames.

"Burn and die!" Indigo sneered, shooting the flames toward the swordsman who simply slashed at them with his swords.

"I can't keep up" Zoro soon grunted as he quickly realized that the balls of flames were flying at him much quicker than he could deflect them. Eventually, an explosion of green smoke surrounded him as one of the flames seemingly slipped by and struck its target.

"Zoro!" Chopper worriedly cried, he and Usopp finally catching up with the two fighting.

"You okay?!" the sharpshooter frantically asked.

"See how powerful Chemical Juggle is?!" Indigo laughed before clenching his jaw when he saw that the swordsman was fine and had blocked the attack at the last second.

"I don't have time for a juggling act" Zoro growled.

"What?!" Indigo glared as he produced more purple bubbles from the palms of his hands. "Mass Juggling! Take this!" he snarled as he sent a large ball of fire toward the moss-haired man.

"Zoro!" Usopp shouted as the flame hit and exploded in a cloud of green.

"He took it straight on" Indigo snickered as he stared at the bright green flames and lime green smoke that rose into the air. He soon blinked though as it suddenly and slowly changed into a more pinkish color.

"Demon Aura…Nine-Sword Style…Asura!" Zoro stood and to anyone around, it would almost appear as if he now had three heads and six arms—each holding a sword. "If being born in the East Blue makes me a good for nothing…" he glared as he charged forward through the smoke.

"Chemical!" Indigo flinched as he quickly started to prepare another attack.

"Then what about you being slashed by me?" Zoro asked.

"Juggling!" Indigo threw a ball of fire towards the charging swordsman who easily knocked it away.

"Piercing Drill!" Zoro struck the doctor, sending him flying before he roughly hit the ground behind the swordsman. A burst of flames suddenly left his body, blowing the walkway underneath him up and destroying it completely. "What does that make you?" he asked.

"Zoro's so cool" Chopper sparkled.

"Is he immortal or what?" Usopp muttered.

"Chopper!" Zoro shouted as he tossed the doctor the small, pink vial the scientist had been holding onto.

"The antidote!" the reindeer gasped.

"I'm going back! Take care of Nami!" Zoro shouted as he took off.

"Y-yeah!" Chopper and Usopp nodded.

"Wrong way!" the sniper quickly snapped when he saw which way the swordsman was running, causing the man to screech to a halt and change directions.

-Sanji and Brook-

"Nice job" Brook praised as he and Sanji took down the last of the gigantic animals that surrounded them.

"This is endless…" Sanji grumbled before lifting his head at the sudden commotion that was coming from somewhere close by. "This way?!" he shouted, suddenly taking off.

"That's…" Brook muttered, recognizing the strange sound as Sanji hopped atop one of the roofs of the palace—screeching to a halt as he looked to one of the nearby towers.

Atop the tower, Scarlet stood, tightly clutching Skylar and Robin in his massive hand as he lovingly stared at them. Their bodies were pressed tightly against one another, their eyes screwed shut in pain as they were crushed in the gorilla's unrelenting grip. Skylar whimpered, her head pressed against Robin's as the older woman also made sounds of distress.

"Robin-chan! Skylar-chan!" Sanji shouted, a flame of anger igniting in his eyes as he saw the gorilla attempt to kiss one of the women. "What?! You want to marry Robin-chan and Skylar-chan?! You…damn perverted gorilla!" he snarled.

"You understood what he said?!" Brook asked, shocked. Sanji stomped out his cigarette before taking off across a nearby rope that connected the palace and tower the gorilla was on top of.

"You did it, you damn perverted gorilla!" the blond growled. "You laid a hand on not one, but two ladies in front of my eyes!" he frowned as a monkey jumped in his path, screaming at him as it swung around a pair of nunchucks. "You're in my way!" he kicked the animal off the rope, not breaking his stride once. "Robin-chan! Skylar-chan!" he shouted as he broke through the window of the tower and raced up to the very top until he burst out onto the roof.

Scarlet froze as he turned to the blond in both confusion and curiosity, startled by the sudden commotion.

"To start with, you guys don't know who you're messing with" Sanji panted. "You're going to overthrow which sea did you say?" he trembled as he clenched his fists. "Do you know how many ladies there are in the East Blue?!" he snapped, twirling his body around until one of his legs began to burn. Scarlet roared as he raised his fist and smashed it towards the cook who easily dodged the attack. "Diable Jamble!" the blond kicked at the animal from above who responded by punching up at him, causing them to strike one another at the same time and halt the other's attack.

Scarlet soon cried though as the heat from Sanji's leg burnt his fist.

"Venison Shoot!" the blond sent a flurry of kicks at the giant primate, striking his body as hard as he could before finally landing a finishing blow to his head. Scarlet smashed through the roof, Skylar and Robin flying from his grasp as he fell. Robin held onto Skylar as they screamed, the brunette tightly clinging to her as they fell. By the time Scarlet hit the bottom of the tower, he was already unconscious.

"That's the East Blue's flavor of love" Sanji huffed, staring down at the primate with disgust before realization finally hit him. "Oops! Robin-chan! Skylar-chan!" he panicked as he turned around. Quickly, he jumped after the two…but before he could even reach them, Brook suddenly swooped by and caught them.

"Are you alright, mademoiselles?" the skeleton asked as he held Robin in his arms. Skylar clung to his back where he had moved her upon catching her—her arms and legs wrapped tightly around him like a koala, clinging to his bones as best she could.

"Yes, thank you" Robin nodded with a smile.

"Nice catch there, hero" Skylar chuckled as she rested her chin on the skeleton's bony shoulder, softly smiling as he safely landed.

"You took the good part! I'm going to shear off your flesh, you damn jerk!" Sanji snapped as he roughly hit the ground.

"I don't have any flesh you can shear off" Brook pointed out, smiling as Skylar burst out laughing.

-Usopp, Chopper, and Nami-

"At any rate, Nami's safety comes before anything else" Usopp said.

"Usopp?" Nami weakly muttered as she slowly started to wake up.

"You're right" Chopper agreed.

"I hear Chopper's voice too…where am I?" Nami groaned as she slowly lifted her head off Chopper's back.

"Nami!" the doctor brightened when he noticed that the navigator was awake.

"Oh good, you're up! The antidote must be working!" Usopp cheerfully smiled.

"Did you come to rescue me?" Nami quietly asked.

"Of course!" Usopp nodded. "Not just us either—Zoro, Sanji, Skylar, Robin, Franky, Brook, and Luffy...they all came" he listed, his smile growing. Tears welled up in Nami's eyes as she listened to him until finally, she started to sob.

"Thanks!" she cried.

"Come on, this is no time to cry" Usopp worriedly frowned.

"Yeah, I know…" Nami sniffed as she wiped her eyes. "If we don't defeat Shiki, the East Blue will be…" she trailed off as she looked up at the gray sky. "This is…stop!" she suddenly shouted.

"What? Nami?" Usopp questioned.

"A storm is coming" she revealed.

"What?!" Chopper asked.

"The pressure is decreasing—I bet there's a huge cloud nearby" Nami pointed out. "Let's go back to the palace!"

"Whaaat?!" Chopper and Usopp shouted.

-Luffy-

As Billy dodged each of Shiki's attacks, Luffy threw his own back at the blond who chased after them—hitting and destroying parts of the land around them. Sometimes, Shiki would land a hit and knock Luffy into the rock walls of the nearby floating islands before Billy would catch him. Other times, Luffy would land a solid hit on the older man who would quickly compose himself and get straight back into the fight. Neither cared for the surrounding animals who would occasionally jump and swipe at them, their focus entirely on their own fight as they ruthlessly attacked one another.

"Billy, you okay?" Luffy asked as Shiki shot ahead of them. With a determined look, the strange bird cawed as he took off after the older man.

"It's time to end this…" Shiki muttered, ready to be done with this fight. "Slashing Wave!" he kicked out one of his sword legs, splitting the mass of water floating beneath him in half. Part of it fell over, breaking into smaller globs of water that Billy tried his best to avoid. Quickly, the globs of water eventually clumped around him and Luffy—encasing them in their own cube of water. "The battle's over, kid" the blond laughed before blinking as the small Den Den Mushi in his coat began to ring.

"Navigation team calling Shiki-sama! Navigation team calling Shiki-sama!" was the first thing he heard as he answered the snail.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Please turn the island to the east! A storm is coming!" the man on the other end shouted.

"A storm?" Shiki questioned as he looked up at the eerily calm sky.

-Usopp, Chopper, and Nami-

"I-Is that what you wanted?" the man stuttered as he hung up the Den Den Mushi once he was done relaying what he needed to. He squeaked in fear, arms instantly shooting into the air upon hearing the threatening growl Usopp and Chopper gave him.

"Nami, this is what you wanted, right?" Usopp asked.

"Yeah, it is" the ginger nodded.

"But are you sure? Is it safe to fly into a storm?" Chopper asked.

"Of course it's not safe" Nami responded.

"What?!" Usopp and Chopper snapped as she ripped away the bottom of her black dress to give her legs more room to move.

"But there's no other way…" she muttered.

-Luffy-

"That should do it…" Shiki mumbled, doing as his navigation team suggested and moving the islands towards the east away from the supposed storm. "So…for a Devil Fruit power holder, it must be tough" he suddenly remarked, turning to Luffy and Billy who were still encased in water. Luffy struggled to breathe as he squirmed around, causing more bubbles of air to leave his open mouth. "But your youthful enthusiasm isn't going to cut it anymore—you just watch from Heaven while the East Blue and that girl perish in despair" he grinned. "Lion…Scattering Valley!" he sent more slashes from his sword legs toward the cube of water the two were encased in.

Breaking the water up, he released the two as Luffy quickly clung to Billy—screaming as they fell from the sky. Shiki laughed down at the captain now sprawled out on the ground in pain with Billy on top of him.

"Hm? What's that?" his laughter came to an abrupt halt as he suddenly noticed the storm clouds that were building up around the island. "A perm?" he gaped.

-Straw Hats-

All around the island, the animals who had stormed the palace were now leaving as they left to find shelter from the oncoming storm.

"W-what's happening?" one of the men asked, confused as to why the animals were suddenly fleeing.

"The monsters are fleeing!"

"It's a storm! The island's heading into a storm!"

"What?!"

"You guys! Let's escape to the sea!" one of the men suggested as they quickly took off running, not wanting to get caught up in the approaching storm.

"The weather's not looking too good" Franky remarked as he, Sanji, Zoro, and Brook watched the men flee.

Inside the palace, Robin helped distribute the explosives as Chopper and Skylar placed them around the rooms.

"Those monsters are victims too—these horrible drugs made them that way" Chopper frowned as he placed a line of explosives around the cabinet of vials before rushing to gather more that were being passed around by the arms Robin had sprouted throughout the building. "It's unforgivable."

"It's going to be such a shame to blow this place up" Skylar hummed as she placed the explosives around the room she was in. "Quite sad how such disgusting people in this world seem to live in such nice places…" she muttered, heaving a heavy sigh as she moved to gather up more explosives. "Oh well..." she hummed, whistling to herself as she moved on to the next room.

"Hard labor is very back-breaking" Brook sighed as he tightened a thick rope around the main sail of the ship. "Oh…but if it really breaks, I'll be in big trouble" he softly chuckled.

-Luffy-

Billy worriedly stood over Luffy's unconscious body before perking up as his fingers slowly started to twitch.

"Billy, can you still fly?" Luffy suddenly asked, causing the bird to give a loud, determined caw. Luffy smiled before giving a war cry as he stood and screamed up to the sky. "I'm going to beat the crap outta him!" he proclaimed before turning to the bird. "Take me…to the sky!" he demanded.

Shiki turned his head when he suddenly heard a loud caw, watching as Luffy clung to Billy's back as they took to the skies.

"He's persistent…" he muttered, prepared to take after the two.

"Shiki!" Nami suddenly shouted, causing the man to halt. Turning his head, he was quick to spot the ginger clinging to the top of one of the palace's roofs.

"Nami! Don't be so reckless!" Usopp worriedly shouted up to the woman as she pointed her Clima-Tact towards the opposing pirate.

"There's Nami!" Luffy gasped upon spotting the ginger.

"It's all over!" Nami shouted up at Shiki.

"The dynamite is ready!" Chopper called out, running alongside Robin and Skylar back towards the Sunny—none of them wishing to get caught up in the explosion that was about to happen.

"Dynamite?!" Shiki shouted.

"That's right—the factory, the palace, the island…nothing will remain" Nami nodded, panting as her legs began to tremble. "Your plot is over!" she glared.

"Don't screw with me!" Shiki snapped, using his power to cause chunks of land to lift.

"Nami-san!" Sanji worriedly shouted as he ran towards the ginger, afraid for her safety. She may be cured, but her body was still healing from the disease she had been suffering from earlier.

"Don't think my plan of twenty years can be crushed by greenhorns like you!" Shiki snarled.

"Take this!" Usopp aimed at the man. "Special Attack! Sky Dragon Star!" he shot a pellet at the opposing pirate that took the shape of a dragon as it flew through the sky. "Go!" he cheered.

"An empty threat!" Shiki sneered as he simply dodged the attack, letting it disburse into the storm clouds behind him.

"Billy! Save Nami!" Luffy ordered when he saw Shiki suddenly send the floating chunks of land hurtling toward Nami. Jumping off the electric bird, Billy dove towards Nami just as the attack hit—the impact strong enough to knock Usopp back.

"Nami-san!" Sanji shouted as Usopp crashed into the ground right in front of him. "Billy!" he brightened when he saw the bird safely fly through the smoke and debris, carrying Nami by the strap of her dress in his beak.

"How dare you!" Shiki growled.

"Your opponent is over here, Shiki!" Luffy shouted, causing the older man to turn. "Third Gear! Bone Balloon" Luffy blew a large amount of air into his arm, inflating it until it was bigger than his entire body. As the air shot down into his torso, it inflated to the size of a balloon.

Chopper looked back in worry for a second before facing forward once more as Robin and Skylar now road on his back, the two curiously watching to see what their captain would do.

"It's terrifying the things he can do to his body…" Skylar muttered, causing the older woman beside her to softly chuckle.

"Everybody! Back to the Lion, hurry!" Brook shouted from the ship as the other Straw Hats quickly made their way towards the Sunny.

All the air inside Luffy's torso soon moved to his leg, inflating it until it was bigger than his body.

"What is that?" Shiki asked, confused as he watched the captain lift his leg into the storm clouds above. "You're half-dead already! Get hit by the lightning and crash!" he snarled.

"You're the one crashing, Shiki!" Luffy shot back. "I won't let you go to the East Blue!" he screamed as lightning struck his foot.

"You idiot!" Shiki laughed.

From the Sunny, the Straw Hats stared up at the sky—watching as everything unfolded.

"Ow!" Usopp groaned as Sanji roughly dropped him to the ground after carrying him to the ship.

"That's…" Sanji trailed off as he looked up.

"There it is!" Usopp shouted as he stood up. "Get him, Luffy!" he cheered.

"You can do it!" Skylar cheered.

"I'm the man who controls the seas from the sky" Shiki smugly grinned.

"I will not let you do whatever you please with my friends…or the seas!" Luffy proclaimed. "I will not let you!" he screamed as he brought his leg down, startling Shiki as he finally realized that the lightning had not hurt the young man at all. "Giant Thor Axe!" quickly, Shiki tried to retaliate with a last-minute attack by sending shards of rocks toward the rubber man whose gigantic leg only destroyed them as it barreled toward the blond.

"Am I thwarted again by a man from the East Blue…Roger!" Shiki screamed as he was struck and crushed into the ground—the island caving underneath him from the force of the rubber man's attack.

"We're taking off! Hang on!" Franky shouted as the Sunny started to fall with the debris of the destroyed island. "Coup de Burst!" quickly, the ship shot forward—taking to the air.

"Luffy!" Chopper and Usopp cried as they clung to the mast.

"Luffy-san!" Brook shouted as he clung to the ship's railing.

"Luffy…" Robin breathed.

"Luffy!" Skylar called out as Zoro tightly held onto her—one arm wrapped around her waist while the other clutched the stair's railing.

"Billy?!" Nami gasped as the giant bird suddenly took flight and left the ship. "Billy!" she shouted as he swopped down towards the crumbling island. As the Sunny started to fall once again towards the ocean, the giant sail they had stolen from Shiki's palace caught the wind—turning into a makeshift parachute that allowed them to safely float down the rest of the way. Silently, everyone waited with bated breath to see what had happened to their captain.

"Luffy…" Chopper breathed as Nami lifted her head upon hearing the faint sound of a familiar scream. "Luffy?!" the doctor gasped as he soon heard it as well.

"Wh-where is he?!" Usopp sputtered as he quickly looked around in search of their captain until finally, he and everyone else spotted him riding on Billy's back.

"Yes!" Franky cheered.

"Thank God he's alive…I'm so glad…" Brook breathed as he and Chopper held each other's hands in comfort.

"Yes…so glad…" the doctor sniffed.

"He did it! The East Blue is safe now!" Usopp cheered.

"Thank goodness" Skylar smiled, tears pricking the corners of her eyes.

"But he sure doesn't look very cool" Zoro chuckled, grinning as the brunette giggled.

"Yeah" Sanji smiled as he blew out a stream of smoke.

"Really?" Nami sniffed as she covered her mouth, tears flowing down her cheeks as she choked back her sobs of relief.

On Billy's back, Luffy's small and worn-out body clung to the large bird.

From the debris of what was left of the floating island, Shiki's unconscious battered body fell toward the sea.

At the same time, Luffy's body returned to normal as he turned his head—a sudden noise catching his attention.

"That's…" Franky trailed off as he and the others watched the floating islands start to lower back into the ocean.

"Shiki's power was disengaged" Robin realized.

"That means the islands are returning back to where they belong, right?" Skylar questioned as they watched the animals of the islands suddenly fling themselves off and towards the ocean below.

"Where are Xiao and the others?!" Nami worriedly asked.

"Look! Over there!" Usopp pointed, causing everyone to turn their heads towards the people who came fluttering from the descending islands—the wings that grew from their arms helping them take flight and soar through the sky.

"Looks like those feathers weren't just for show" Skylar grinned as she watched Xiao happily fly around with the others.

"Oh good…" Nami breathed before suddenly kneeling over as Chopper quickly caught her.

"Nami!" he worriedly shouted as the others hurriedly gathered around her.

"Nami-san!"

"Hey!"

"Nami!"

"Hey, Nami!"

-Elsewhere-

"An island is falling towards us!" a Marine cried as the others focused their attention on arresting the men who had fled from Shiki's palace.

"Let's go! We have to get out of here!" another ordered as the men on the ship quickly went about doing as they were told

"Hurry!" the seas were harsh and water rained down on them as the islands crashed into the ocean, creating giant waves that rocked the Naval ships around. Loudly, the strange animals on the islands cried as they tried to find shelter and safety, confused and scared by what was happening. Slowly, the harsh waters eventually calmed as the last of the islands landed back in the sea.

"There's Shiki!" one of the Marines suddenly pointed.

"It's Shiki the Golden Lion! Catch him!" as the men rushed to do as they were told, some looked towards the sky and watched in shock as the Thousand Sunny came floating down towards the ocean.

"Did they do all this?!" one of the men asked, stunned.

"The target—the Straw Hat Pirates! Prepare to fire!" another ordered upon spotting and recognizing the ship's Jolly Roger.

"Yes, Sir!"

-Marine Headquarters-

"Yes, the Straw Hat Pirates" a man relayed on the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

"Straw Hat?" Sengoku questioned.

"We're putting together a report now—you'll be informed of the details later, Sir" the man assured him.

"Alright, I see" Sengoku nodded as he slowly processed everything he was told. "We didn't do anything, did we?" he finally asked no one.

-Straw Hats-

"I'm just glad in any case—you recovered faster than I thought" Chopper smiled. "But you still should take it easy" he said when he noticed Nami starting to sit up.

"I'm fine, plus I want some fresh air" Nami assured him, already tired from being cooped up in bed.

"Yeah? Okay, then let's go—everyone will be happy to see you" Chopper nodded as Nami stood and started to follow behind him before stopping in front of the vanity mirror in the women's room. Looking at herself, she noticed that the green spots were now gone. Looking down, she stared at the golden bracelet around her wrist. "You guys, Nami's up!" the doctor informed everyone as he walked out onto the deck.

"What?!" Sanji brightened. "Nami-san!" he swooned as he swirled around in a tornado of love upon seeing the ginger.

"You're well already?" Franky questioned, smiling.

"Yeah, I feel good" Nami nodded.

"Must be because of the amazing work of our doctor" Skylar smiled, chuckling as the reindeer blushed in embarrassment before bashfully insulting her.

"I'm so glad, now that you're well…Nami-san, will you show—"

"Stop it!" Sanji snapped as he kicked the skeleton's skull.

"My, my…how harsh!" Brook laughed.

"Shut up!" Sanji growled, causing the skeleton to squeal.

"Come on, Sanji—he's just expressing in his own unique way that he's relieved she's fine" Skylar chuckled.

"Hey, Nami!" Luffy suddenly shouted. "What did you mean by this, huh?!" he frowned as he angrily held up the Tone Dial that held the message Nami had left for the crew before she had left with Shiki.

"Wait! Stop!" Nami suddenly cried, rushing down the steps and over to Luffy.

"I'll never match up to Shiki? We're all going to die?" Luffy repeated. "You said some crazy things!" he huffed, keeping the Tone Dial away from Nami as she tried to snatch it from him. "It's true I got buried in the ground that time, but I was hungry and…" he glared at the navigator as she backed away from him—now hiding the shell behind his back.

"Come on…I knew that, so…" Nami frowned.

"I can't believe you said that—I didn't realize how little faith you had in me after all these years together" Luffy huffed. "I'm so disappointed."

"Luffy…what are you talking about?" Usopp asked.

"What do you mean?" Luffy blinked.

"You didn't hear it?" Zoro asked.

"Were you not paying attention at all to what she said?" Skylar frowned, tilting her head.

"Nami had no choice but to say that" Robin pointed out.

"I thought so too, if you heard that last part…" Chopper shrugged.

"What last part?!" Luffy asked, suddenly becoming aware that he hadn't heard the entire message like he thought.

"What are we going to do with you?" Sanji grumbled as he placed an unlit cigarette in his mouth. "Although to me, the whole thing sounded like a message of love" he grinned as Brook lightly chuckled.

"Yep, like a real love letter" Skylar hummed, shaking her head.

"I practically directed those words to you since you're denser than anyone else!" Nami clarified.

"Then listen to it again" Franky suggested as Usopp nodded in agreement.

"Hey!" Nami snapped.

"What? Embarrassed?" Skylar teased.

"You're right" Luffy nodded as he pressed down on the apex of the shell, pressing it to his ear to listen.

"Hey! No!" Nami embarrassingly shouted. "Stop!" she cried as she tried to snatch the shell from Luffy who quickly dodged her.

"Forgive me for leaving without saying anything."

"Just forget it! It's embarrassing!" she snapped.

"Be quiet!" Luffy frowned as the whole crew watched in amusement.

"It's all over—throw it away!" Nami demanded.

"I've decided to become a navigator in Shiki's crew."

"Hey!" Luffy frowned as Nami finally snatched the shell away from him, making it impossible for him to properly hear it. Just as the ginger prepared to throw the shell into the ocean, Usopp quickly snatched it from her.

"Hey, don't throw it away! It's a valuable Tone Dial—we can still use it!" Usopp scolded. "Hey!" he snapped as Luffy snatched the shell away from him.

"No, Nami! Don't throw it away!" Luffy shouted as the woman chased after him with the sharpshooter quick to join soon after. Skylar chuckled as she watched the three, finding the navigator's embarrassment rather cute. As Luffy ran, he once again pressed down on the shell's apex and listened to the message once more.

"Forgive me for leaving without saying anything. I've decided to become a navigator in Shiki's crew—Shiki is a legendary pirate who you could never match up to even if you stood up to him."

Luffy, Nami, and Usopp continued to fight over the shell—jumping over one another as the captain attempted to keep it out of the reach of his crewmates. Eventually, Nami jumped up and knocked the dial out of his grasp, causing it to fall into the ocean.

"Even if you came after me, you'd only end up losing your lives. I'll just say this much…promise you'll come rescue me."

---

A/N: Enjoy

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