Here we go with another chapter, and on time to boot!

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Chapter 64:

Challenge

"Hey, Missionary."

"Haah?" the Missionary's captain questioned, turning toward the woman. "What do you want with my first mate?"

"Well, I have business with you, too. After all, I have a mission for you."

"Why should we do what you say?"

Amy grinned and lowered her hood. The green-haired man's jaw dropped, recognition hitting him like a meteor.

"One of the acolytes," Gambia breathed with reverence.

"You'll do what I ask because I can help you meet my captain. I am 'Weightless Woman' Amy of the Straw Hat Pirates, after all."

"M-M-My lady!" the green-haired man stuttered, dropping to one knee. Gambia tried to do the same but only succeeded in rolling off the stretcher and falling to the floor in an undignified heap. "Y-Y-Y-You g-g-g-g—"

"Yeah, that's enough of that," Amy waved off. She didn't need the praise nor showboating at the moment. "Listen. Luffy, Gin, and I entered this tournament to get ahold of the Flame-Flame Fruit. Luffy's already made it to the next round, but we have other goals here on the island and we could use more allies."

"Anything for your crew!" the pirate captain swore, kneeling. "The Barto Club is at your disposal!"

"The Barto Club?" the blonde parroted. "I guess you're Barto, then?"

"'Cannibal' Bartolomeo, at your service!"

"Are you… crying?" One of Amy's eyebrows rose as ugly tears fell from Bartolomeo's face, the fanged man trying (and failing) his best to not blubber from euphoria. She brushed it off. Of course, anyone who apparently worshipped her captain would be just as mad and/or stupid. "Anyway, which Block are you in?"

"Block F, ma'am."

"Damn," the woman sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Are you confident you could win the block?"

"Easy," Bartolomeo replied. He crossed his fingers, a green pane like glass forming behind him. "With my Barrier Devil Fruit, I can block any attack that comes my way. Nothing could break through it."

'Except Haki, probably,' Amy mentally commented. Aloud, she said, "In that case, I won't need to fight. I'm in Block F as well."

"I'll drop out immediately!"

"No," the Straw Hat admonished, almost hitting the idiot out of reflex from the rest of the idiots on her crew. "If your power is as strong as you say it is, then that opens me for other tasks. We have a lot of work to do if we're going to dethrone Doflamingo by the end of the day and not a lot of time to do it."

"Dethrone Doflamingo…?" Gambia whispered from the floor. "The liberation has begun!"

"Yeah, whatever. Luffy wants his brother's Fruit even if none of us eat it. Better we have it than Doflamingo or some random, but you need to be careful. Some big names are here in hiding. I know two of Big Mom's daughters are here and who knows how many others are doing the same thing as us. But —and this is a big demand— you need to keep the audience safe. Merry and Ace are watching."

"The First Spirit and the Prince," Gambia whispered again. Amy ignored him.

"If they get hurt, all of the set-up we're trying to do will go out the window. Now come with me. We need to make sure the others here know you're on our side so we don't get in each other's ways."

"Yes, ma'am!" Bartolomeo agreed. His Barrier shifted, becoming a new, mobile stretcher for them to carry Gambia on. Said man blubbered out apologies for one of the acolytes having to see him in such a state, though not in so many words.

Amy sighed, turning away so they couldn't see her face. Maybe revealing herself was more trouble than it was worth.

"What the hell was that?" Sanji muttered around his cigarette, Chopper and Kin'emon panting as they hunched in the shadows of an alleyway.

"Why did we think three people was enough?" Chopper questioned. "We'll need everyone to get through that place!"

"Your crewmates are spread across the island at the moment," Kin'emon reminded them.

"Then we should get them here! I don't wanna face that place alone!"

"We can't do that," Sanji rebuffed. "Nami-swan and Grace-chan are in the castle right now. We can't risk exposing them with a call."

"Then what are we gonna do?" Chopper questioned. "We can't just stand around here twiddling our hooves! They know we're here now!"

"We must search for Kanjuro elsewhere," Kin'emon said. "While inside that building, I did not sense him anywhere."

"But what about the snow woman and the girl?"

"Currently, there is nothing for us—"

A shadow passed over them, one much larger than any bird that would live in a large city. Chopper seemed to ignore it, having grown far too used to large birds during his time in Birdie Kingdom. Sanji and Kin'emon, however, were not and looked up at the distraction. Both recognized the light green coloring of the wings and tail as the harpy that had driven them out of the Toy House passed overhead.

"Where could they be going?" Kin'emon muttered. "Perhaps to a prison? Could that be where they are keeping Kanjuro?"

"I don't know," Sanji replied, "but with our crew's track record, I'd bet money at least one of our idiots is on the other side of their trip. We need to follow. Come on!"

Sanji took off at a run, Kin'emon and Chopper needing a moment to catch up. They trusted the chef to keep the bird-woman in his peripherals, following him as he danced and spun through the crowd with impressive legwork. He rounded a mountain of a man in a crowded plaza before either group blinked.

"Cook-Bro?" Franky questioned as Sanji ran past, Usopp and Kaku nearby. As the blond did not slow, the trio fell in with Chopper and Kin'emon on his heels, reasoning that they were moving for a reason and could not stop. "Ow! Chopper, what's going on?"

"Toy House bad!"

"That… super doesn't answer anything."

"It's the harpy!" Usopp interrupted, recognizing the silhouette above them from Punk Hazard. "Should I shoot her down?"

"No!" Sanji denied before coughing into his hand and resuming the chase. "I mean, she's a Logia and we need to know where she and her sister are going after she drove us out of the Toy House. We can't fight them in the streets where others could be hurt in the crossfire."

"What were you three doing here?" Chopper asked.

"We found squat about Doflamingo's SMILE delivery system at the docks," Kaku offered. "We figured we'd try the town hoping for a lead."

"Other than some weird guys selling Doflamingo Pirate merch, we didn't find anything," Usopp added.

"Merch?" Kin'emon echoed, not knowing the word.

"Yeah. Like figurines of some of the members and flags with his symbol. Some of the stuff was just strange."

"Strange how?"

"Like ten-foot pillows with his image. Shirtless. And with this sick smile. I mean, ten feet is longer than most beds, plus his face? No thanks."

"Truly, the outside world is as mysterious as it is dangerous."

"So, what's the plan for when we get, uh, wherever we're going?" Usopp asked. "We can't just rush in blind."

"We'll need to see the location before we can plan, though," Sanji noted. "They could be going anywhere and we don't know this city like they do. Plus, it's too full of people for my Observation to be reliable, even with their stronger Spirits."

"Only being able to follow is so not super," Franky grumbled. "At least we got to see one of these fairies Nami told us about."

"You got to see one of the fairies?" Chopper asked.

"Well, we didn't see it specifically," Usopp explained. "We saw a bag all by itself hopping down the road. Franky tried to grab it with a Strong Right and it jumped out of the way and just vanished."

"Before you ask, I got nothing," Kaku commented. "Cipher Pol training covered a lot of things, but not fairies, and without a mission to Dressrosa, we were only really given an overview. Now Long-Arms, Long-Legs, Snake-Necks, Three-Eyes, Giants, Minks, all half-breeds possible, Dwar—" His mouth snapped shut, a hand coming to his chin. "Oh."

"Oh?" Usopp demanded. "Oh‽ Did you just think of something that might be, you know, maybe a little important‽"

"Well, the fairies are probably dwarves," Kaku reasoned. "They were mentioned in one of our classes growing up. Just once, though. They're native to Green Bit, I think. Were thought to be a myth until 21 years ago or so. Really, the only other places they're known to be are Totland —Big Mom's territory— and as slaves, typically for World Nobles. Market price—"

"We super don't care about their price!" Franky interrupted.

"That was quite the list of creatures you mentioned," Kin'emon commented. "All of those things truly exist? What are they?"

"Start with the Dwarves!" Usopp cut in.

"Well, dwarves average about four to six inches in height and have rather bushy tails. Despite their small stature, they are strong enough to break buildings in half and are incredibly fast. They are also very trusting, as some have worked enthusiastically as slaves for years on the promise of freedom."

"That last part is terrible!" Chopper gasped.

"I didn't say I agreed with it," Kaku shrugged.

The group rounded another corner, trying to keep the harpy in their visions without being too obvious, which was a serious task. Luckily, plenty of people seemed surprised by the winged woman in the sky above them, so most weren't looking at the group.

"Uh, guys?" Franky questioned, lowering the scope of his Weapon's Left. "I think I know where the bird-woman's going, and I super don't think you'll like it."

"How bad can it—?" Usopp began.

"It's the Colosseum."

Usopp lowered his finger, his mouth closing. "Yeah, that's bad," he decided after a moment.

"It's terrible!" Sanji agreed. "Why did the beautiful snow-bird have to go to a place of nothing but ugly, sweaty men?"

"That's not the problem here!" Usopp yelled.

"That snow-bird just tried to kill us!" Chopper added.

"Is it really bad?" Kin'emon blinked. "Do we not have allies within those walls? Should she arrive at that location, she and the small one will be more greatly outnumbered, even beyond the three of us that entered the Toy House."

"Except most of the gladiators and all of the citizenry are probably on her side," Kaku pointed out. "Also, Luffy, Amy, Gin, or Merry's involvement would out them and expose our arrival to all and sundry."

"I know not who Sundry may be, but they are surely no match for my blade."

"No, All and Sundry is clearly a place," Franky argued.

"It's neither, you idiots!" Sanji yelled. "It just means everyone."

"Then why would you not simply say such?" Kin'emon questioned. "Hmph, foreigners."

"You ain't from around here, either, pal," Kaku pointed out. "You're from the boonies."

"Wano is not a 'boonies'!"

"Morons," the chef sighed as the Colosseum came into full view. As it did, a tone like the ringing of a bell echoed throughout the island, every person stopping in their tracks to look up.

"Attention, Dressrosa…"

The fight was pretty interesting, all things considered. Luffy nodded along, watching from one of the many windows available to the remaining competitors. In the ring below, more than half of the fighters were already out, their bodies laid across the arena in various states of injury. The named fighters were all still standing, though Luffy had his eye on the guy with springs for forearms and legs. He seemed familiar for some reason, but the pirate captain just couldn't place it.

Currently, the center of the arena had the guy with flowing, orange hair and missing teeth trying to fight the yellow fishman spear-to-hand but having no luck. Spring Guy seemed to be having fun playing with the no-names that had held out, but he was eyeing the other dangerous battle on the other side of the arena where the Mask Guy and the purple lady were locked in a sword fight, the bodies of those who had attempted to interfere littering the ground around them. Though the guy's face was hidden by the cloth he wore, the woman had a smirk that got wider with each clash. Despite him standing at nearly twice her six-foot height, she refused to waver and still stood her ground.

"Scary, aren't they?" a voice asked, a hooded man stepping up to Luffy's side. The disguised pirate glanced at his, giving his Haki a moment to register this man as not a threat. Not an immediate one, anyway, even if he felt strong. He must have been another competitor. "Strong fighters from all over the world, people who never would have met otherwise, have all gathered here to fight today for two powers that changed the world. The powers of Whitebeard and Portgas D. Ace."

"I thought everyone was calling him Gol D. Ace," Luffy muttered with his old man voice, remembering how mad he got when Rayleigh showed him some of the articles people had written for the World Economic Journal. He'd reaffirmed his decision to let Nami, Robin, and Coby do the reading so they could just give him the highlights.

"Yeah," the hooded man agreed, the pair watching the fight below as Bellamy's rapid punches overpowered the fishman's guard, Hack taking a spring-loaded punch to the face and going down to join Boo, whom Bellamy had felled with a surprise attack. The man sighed before turning toward Luffy, a sly grin hiding in the shadow of his hood. "But that's not his name, is it? Not the one he wanted, anyway."

"I wouldn't know; I'm just an old man."

"Yeah right," his companion chuckled. "I know I'm older than you are. After all, what sibling couldn't recognize their younger brother. Isn't that right, Luffy?"

"I'm not—" Luffy turned, the man's hood now shading only part of his face. He was blond, unshed dampness brimming in his eyes. His cloak covered a blue button-up and ruffled ascot, the outfit reminding Luffy of something from the deep recesses of his mind. Everything solidified when the man smiled. "Sa…" Luffy trailed off, hoping against hope his hesitation was unwarranted.

"It's me, Luffy," the man said, turning fully to the pirate with arms stretched wide. A burn covered his left eye but did not obstruct his sight, his blond hair unable to hide the full scar. "I'm still alive."

"Sa-a-a-boooo!" Luffy cried, hugging him instantly. Sabo returned the hug, a couple tears of his own slipping through the cracks. He was a little taller than Luffy, the younger brother of the pair crying into the older's shoulder. "I… I thought you… We thought you… What…?"

"The attack that you all thought killed me didn't, obviously, but I took a nasty hit," the blond told him, pulling away slightly so Luffy could see him tap his scar. "The Revolutionary Army found me in the wreckage and took me in, but I'd forgotten everything. We only knew my name because it was sewn into my top hat."

"B-B-But you remember now?"

"The paper about Ace's death triggered it. I didn't mean you leave you two behind. I'm sorry."

"I'm just so happy you're alive…!" Luffy's tears redoubled, his grip tightening. Sabo moved them away from the window, not wanting to chance someone unfriendly seeing their reunion. As if a switch had flipped, Luffy pulled away. "Sabo, you should join my pirate crew!"

"Not today, Luffy," the revolutionary laughed. "I've already got a job. I'm the Chief of Staff for the Revolutionary Army. Can't leave them behind."

"Well, you at least need to meet them! I mean, I got married! And I'm a dad, now!"

"I know. I saw the posters." Sabo's cheeks hurt from how wide his smile was, and he imagined the only reason Luffy's didn't was his rubber constitution. "I still can't believe out of the three of us, it was you first. You always were unpredictable. How did that even happen?"

"I beat up a fishman that had taken over her hometown and had been making her life hell for a long time. Things kind of just went from there."

"I'm so happy for you."

"Oh, that had to hurt!" the announcer commented, the brothers ignoring him. "Fan favorite Bellamy goes down, almost like an afterthought for Rain Mask and miss Custard! How strong are these two that even the Hyena is powerless to stop them‽"

"How did you know it was me, anyway?" Luffy asked. "I was so careful to not use my powers!"

"William told me. He tried to possess you in the first round and got a look at your memories. I probably would've figured it out soon enough, but he gave me the information before I could piece it together."

"Some guy tried to possess me?"

Sabo laughed, pulling Luffy into another hug. "Never change, little brother."

"So, are you in the tournament, too? Are you after Ace's Devil Fruit?"

"We've got a few people in," the blond replied. "I'm not, but none of our guys have won yet. Still, both the Flame and Quake Fruits would be really helpful considering we know how powerful they can be."

"Hey, do you want to help us? You said you're part of the Revolutionary Army now, right?"

"Depends on what you want help with. We've got another mission here."

"We're gonna take down Mingo 'cause Traffy wants to and he helped us back on the halfty island. Plus, he's the one who cut me right after Ace died." Luffy shifted his shirt, revealing the X-shaped scar on his chest that Doflamingo had carved into him during their escape of Marineford. "You in?"

"Taking down a Warlord of the Sea that scarred my brother, huh?" Sabo faked a moment of consideration. "Well, if it gives the World Government one less dog, even if it's one of the more rowdy ones. Hack might be down for a bit, but Koala and I will do what we can when the fighting starts."

"This is great!" Luffy practically vibrated. "We'll kick Mingo's ass and then party together. You'll get to meet everyone!"

"I'm looking forward to it," Sabo agreed. "I—"

"WHAAAT‽" the announcer gasped. "A near miss from miss Custard has revealed the identity of Rain Mask!"

The pair of unrelated brothers hurried to the window to find only two fighters remained standing, a swipe having sheered the hanging mask that had hidden the man's face, revealing his wide nose and flat chin. Neither fighter was untouched, cuts covering both the man's uniform and Custard's bodysuit.

"It… It's…! It's Shiryu of the Rain, one of Blackbeard's Ten Titanic Captains and a former warden of Impel Down! What an unexpected visitor!"

"Perfect," Custard grinned, leveling her sword at the man. "Shiryu of the Rain, my name is Charlotte Custard, 16th daughter of 'Big Mom' Charlotte Linlin. I demand you marry me."

The man stopped, his sword dipping slightly as confusion crossed his face. "…Excuse me?"

"You heard me! I entered this tournament to find a man strong enough to be my husband! We're nearly matched in every way that matters! Marry me and we can form an alliance between our crews!"

"WHAT‽" the announcer gasped again. "An alliance between the Big Mom Pirates and the Blackbeard Pirates‽ Are we witnessing history today, folks‽" ¹

Shiryu stepped back, tilting his head slightly. He flicked a little blood from his sword and returned it to its sheath, though his hand never left the grip. "Will you concede if I say yes?"

"Sure," Custard shrugged. "I'll have already gotten what I wanted. I don't really care about either of the Devil Fruits."

"I'll have to talk to my captain, but fine." He almost sounded bored, as if the prospect of marriage would be a lengthy chore rather than the adventure Luffy knew it to be. Custard grinned again, stabbing her blade into the arena floor before stepping back and forfeiting the fight.

"This tournament is proving to be one surprise after another!" the announcer called over the crowd's cheering. "First the no-names Lucy and Wyrm take their blocks and now a proposal! The third person to reach the semi-finals is Shiryu of the Rain!"

"So the Blackbeards are here, too," Sabo muttered to himself as they began clearing the arena for the next block. "At least some of them. This is gonna be one heck of a day."

"I find your lack of direction disturbing," Robin commented, the woman-turned-doll keeping a lock of the green gorilla's hair between her nubbin hands to not lose sight of him. She had nearly lost her fellow forgotten Straw Hat once already when he took a sudden turn in an otherwise straight hallway before reappearing from within a closed broom closet. How he had managed such she was still trying to puzzle out, the lack of access to her Devil Fruit powers offering the only explanation she could find.

"Shut up," Zoro grumbled. They two were alone, having been forced to leave Jinbie the Boat behind since he could not move. "It's not my fault the building's halls move."

"I highly doubt that is the case. Most buildings under perfectly normal circumstances do not move nor shift their internal structure."

"This is the Grand Line, woman," Zoro shot back. "When is anything here normal?"

"I will acquiesce to that point," Robin shrugged. "Still, I do not believe this building in particular has the ability to rearrange. Really—"

Zoro stopped, throwing one of his arms out to force Robin to do the same. She glanced at the side of his face, trying to convey her confusion with her limited facial expressions.

"I hear something," the man-turned-plushie said, stalking forward slowly. "I hear people talking… boxes moving."

"Then it must be some form of large operation," Robin commented. "Should such a thing be interrupted…"

"We probably don't want it to continue anyway," Zoro agreed.

Apparently able to follow his ears better than his eyes, Zoro and Robin trekked closer to the sound. They eventually reached a doorway that, when forced open with combined teamwork from Robin tugging on the handle while standing on Zoro's head, opened into a semi-natural cavern. The pair found themselves standing on a landing where they could see the majority of the room. Boxes lined the walls and formed rows toward the center of the cave, the farther half apparently cut low to allow the sea in, though neither could see any opening to the outside. Ships of all nationality —based on their flags— bobbed in the water, each with their gangplanks lowered. Humans and toys worked in tandem, moving boxes onto and off of ships as their needs were. Above it all hung a massive rendition of a joker playing card.

"What is this place?" Zoro asked.

"And underground dock of some sort," Robin answered. She turned slightly, studying the closest boxes to them, their wood stamped with an upside-down smiley face. "Law told us Doflamingo was using the alias Joker to run the black market. This must be his central location for all those dealings."

"There are weapons, too," Zoro pointed out, gesturing with a hand toward where some long-armed humans were arguing with a tall, pink, feminine toy of some sort. Between them laid an open box of rifles. As the pair watched, the toy reached across the divide with one of her noodley arms to grab the man by the face. His crewmates made sounds of protest as the toy dragged him in before driving the back of his head into the stone below. There was a sickening crack and he went still.

"You agreed to buy the weapons!" the toy growled in a woman's voice. "You find the money or you'll work it off!"

"It's not er fault pirates raided us!" the apparent captain shot back with an accent the toy pirates couldn't place, surprisingly nonchalant about the death of one of his men. "'Nd right offa the coast, too! I werd think Joker werd better maintain his waders if he's to do business here! Er at least have Doflamingo do it! You werdn't expect pirates to be so close to a Warlord, dammit!"

"Your foul luck is not our problem," the toy woman replied coolly. An elephant toy wandered over and started to clean up the body by spraying water from its trunk. "Get the money. Earn it, steal it, win it at a casino, I don't care. No money, no sale."

"We sherd be compensated for the unexpected danger in what sherd've been safe waders!"

"Such a shame you didn't pay for protection," the toy mocked. "Get out and don't come back until you can pay."

The man turned an unhealthy shade of purple, raising one of his long arms to point at the toy's face.

"Ye better not forget this day. The Dawn Strong Long-Arm Clan don't take this shit lying down, ye hear?"

"Yes, I've heard enough." She tapped a boot, the nearest toys setting their merchandise down and rounding on the Long-Arms, various dangerous toy parts raised threateningly. The man made a sound between a growl and a scoff before waving a hand, sending his men back to the ship with a flag baring a black sun rising. They toys went back to their previous tasks.

"You recognize any of those flags?" Zoro asked as the Dawn Strong ship raised its gangplank, the captain kicking a toy overboard. No other toy made any motion to rescue it as it flailed and sank, even as the elephant toy drug the Long-Arm body to the water and threw it in as well.

"A few," Robin answered, pointing. "That one is of the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue along with the Oykot Kingdom ship, and that one of Shishanoa in Paradise, and that red, white, and blue one is of the Baliwood Kingdom in the West. Those two are from the South Blue: the Black Drum and Roshwan Kingdoms, respectively, and from the North Blue we have the kingdoms of Notice, Deul, and Whiteland. And there are yet more I cannot name."

"Didn't think his influence was that wide."

"…Oh, and those bear the flag of the Emperor Kaido."

"Those would be the ones with the Devil Fruit copies, yeah? Think it would piss off our enemies if their shit got ruined?"

"Why, Zoro," Robin muttered with an audible grin. "What do you have in mind?"

"You aren't afraid of fire, are you?"

"Well…" Robin paused, considering the question. "Previously, I would have replied with a negative. As we are currently trapped within highly-flammable simulacrums of human and ape, I would say any aversion to fire I had has risen. Why?"

Zoro pointed with one of his long, green arms at a box labeled 'explosives'. "Guns and imitation Devil Fruits don't seem to be Doflamingo's only merchandise. How many of those do you think it would take to send the rest of it up in smoke?"

Robin felt the edges of her cloth mouth twitch, the closest she could get to the near-feral grin she wanted to portray.

"Zoro, lack of memory aside, that may be the best idea I have ever heard from you."

The pair split, each to find some way to light the expensive merchandise. Robin, believing herself the more stealthy of the pair, chanced a closer route to the large toy in charge. She wandered the isles, pretending to be just another of the plethora of working toys in the area. Being so close, she was able to watch and listen as the pink overseer approached a group whose upper bodies —the two women of the group included— were covered only by black straps of leather. The women wore just as little, only enough to protect some of their modesty, something the men seemed unconcerned about. Each also had headgear resembling black horns.

"You should know the terms of our arrangement are about to change," the toy said, gesturing with a hand that prompted a group of toys to start moving boxes labeled with the upside-down smiley face. Robin hurried to join them.

"Yeah, why?" the man in the lead demanded.

"Is that your concern?"

"Damn right it is! We ain't dying as messengers. There better be a good reason for Joker to want to alter the deal he has with our captain."

"Then how about this?" The toy handed over a paper Robin was too far away to see clearly. "We recently discovered the recipe for more effective SMILEs. The first batch will be the normal price, but the terms of the deal need to be renegotiated after its increased effect is confirmed."

"Ten percent success to 50," the man read from the paper. "And how soon might that be proven?"

"Two weeks," the toy answered. "Maybe three if the growth speed is less, plus shipping. Its higher success rate should balance out reduced inventory according to the report I received."

"We'll tell our captain," the man grunted, snatching the paper and tucking it onto a pocket in his pants. "If Captain Kaido ain't happy with it, Joker's getting a visit. You got that?"

"That is not my concern," the female toy responded coolly. "We will be sending a representative with the first shipment of the new SMILE Fruits to renegotiate with Kaido. But, Joker has told me he wants to show our honesty by offering a recent acquisition for free." A snap of her fingers brought a robot dog to her side where she removed its payload from its back. She offered a box small enough to fit in his hand, the man opening it to find an orange fruit with small swirls tucked into larger half-swirls under each. "A true Devil Fruit: the Kangaroo Zoan. Not exactly a dinosaur, but useful nonetheless."

"At least that saves us some trouble," the man grumbled, accepting the Fruit. Robin joined the other toys as they finished loading the SMILE Fruits on the deck. Her eyes searched for options, finding an upper level where Doflamingo underlings stood by cannons, ready to respond to any customers who got too rowdy. An idea forming, she hurried down the gangplank as quickly as she could without attracting unwanted attention.

Making her way to the other side as fast as she dared, she froze when she found Zoro in an intersection far closer than he should have been based on his previous path. She shook it off, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the shadow between two boxes of munitions.

"We shouldn't allow those ship to leave," she hissed, gesturing at the pirate ships preparing to sail. "They have SMILE Fruits bound for Kaido and his crew in Wano."

"What do you want me to do about it in this state?" Zoro demanded. "I don't have any of my swords and I'm smaller than my captain's brat."

"Our captain," Robin corrected. "No, not important. There are cannons loaded on the second level. One might not be enough to sink the ship, but it could certainly ruin the SMILE Fruits and, with luck, cause some infighting."

"Something like that would definitely get that toy brat back here and piss off Doflamingo."

"And, in addition, we do not need to risk ourselves around fire."

The pair nodded to each other, Robin tracing a path up the wall she figured Zoro would be able to manage. Not wanting to be down below for the coming chaos, she latched onto the green gorilla's back, ignoring his grumbling as he started climbing.

"Oi!" a voice demanded, Robin chancing a glance back to see if it was directed at them. She met the narrowed eyes of the pink supervisor. "What do you two think your doing? Get back to work."

"Ah, we are?" the doll tried.

"Stop where you are."

Zoro did not, causing the large toy's eyes to narrow further. She fell to her hands and feet, crawling forward with enhanced speed, like a spider with half the legs.

"Zoro, we've been seen."

The gorilla forsook subtlety for speed, forcing Robin to cling tighter lest she fall off. They reached the top of the cliff just as the supervisor reached the bottom, the feminine toy not slowing as she started to climb upward.

"This way!" Robin urged, she and Zoro running for the closest cannon. The man manning it turned at her shout, clear confusion crossing his face.

"Shouldn't you two be working on the main floor?" he blinked.

"No Sword Style: Tower Climb!" Zoro launched forward, swinging his arms upward as he jumped. They smacked into the man's jaw, making him bite his tongue as the force took his feet off the floor. Zoro spun with the momentum, bringing his arms back down. "And Tower Climb Return!"

The man hit the floor hard, cracking it slightly and leaving him unconscious. Zoro landed on him but did not have time to celebrate.

"Aim for the ship with the dragon skull figurehead!" Robin called, palming through the man's pockets for anything she could use to light the cannon. Zoro got to work, readjusting the aim. It was surprisingly easy now that he had two working eyes again. Robin pulled out a pack of matches marked 'Beast of Baldimore'. "Aha!"

"What are you toys doing?" the supervisor demanded, her head swiveled on an overly-thin-and-bendy neck.

"Hit it, Robin!"

The doll struck the match, ignoring the supervisor's negative order, and lit the fuse. The ambiance of the underground dock was shattered by a loud BOOM as the cannon blew backward from the recoil, mowing Robin over. As a result, she heard rather than saw the cannonball strike the ship and the screams of its crew. One of the ship's masts snapped, toppling like a felled tree over the fore deck. Something exploded, possibly a barrel of gunpowder.

"What have you done‽" the supervisor cried. "Joker will kill me for this!"

"That would save us the trouble," Robin replied as Zoro helped her to her feet, the archeologist-turned doll again thankful her new body was immune to blunt damage even if she were now covered in a small amount of soot from the cannon. "Although, it seems you have more immediate problems to deal with."

"Betrayal!" someone yelled from the ship. "They take our money then destroyed the Fruits!"

Chaos erupted just as Zoro and Robin had hoped, the members of the Beast Pirates living up to their names as they swarmed the dock, breaking boxes, toys, and other patrons without care. Quickly, the crew of Long-Arms did the same, joining in the raid for a chance to take what they'd ordered without paying. The Doflamingo pirates on duty turned the other cannons on them, not knowing what was going on but needing to protect their employer's interests.

"Looks like you've got a mess to clean up," Robin said.

"Oh, I will," the supervisor hissed, opening her mouth wide to reveal sharp, implanted, mismatched teeth. "Right after I've made a mess of you two!"

"Well, this has not be delightful," Doflamingo grinned as he walked Admiral Fujitora and Vice-Admiral Jonathan out the castle's front door. "I always hate taking time out of my busy day to show you Marine dogs the ins and outs of my home."

"Well, after those Captains in the East Blue, Crocodile in Alabasta, and Blackbeard's betrayal at Marineford, we figured—"

"I know why," the king huffed, cutting Jonathan's explanation short. "I just don't like doing it. Well, safe or not-so-safe travels back to your den of snakes. I really couldn't care less."

"Always a pleasure," Fugitora replied with the same icy tone. As he and Jonathan made to leave, a certain maid hurried to Doflamingo's side. The pink-dressed Warlord noticed her approach and bent down, making it easier for her to whisper something in his ear. His fake smile turned into a genuine one, the curling of his lips turning sinister.

He chuckled, his mirth building into a full-bellied laugh. The marines stopped at the sound, turning back to look at the Warlord even if only one of them still had sight in the traditional sense.

"Baby 5, did you…?" He let his sentence trail off as she held up a tray with a snail, its shell adorned with the flag of Dressrosa. "Perfect. Thank you, Baby 5. Very helpful."

He turned away so the gleefully-shaking maid couldn't see his amused grin, the king waking the snail and bringing the transmitter to his lips. He spoke, the snail sending his words across the island.

"Attention, Dressrosa," he said, letting the echo of his voice fade. "Attention, Dressrosa. This is your king with a message for 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy and his band of miscreants. Listen up, wretch. You may have taken first blood in this ill-advised war you want to start, but I'll play along with your game. Here's the deal. I caught your wife with the group you sent into my castle. If you want her back, you better bring the best damn show of your life. I await your answer, Straw Hat. Don't disappoint."

And he laughed.

End of Chapter 64

¹ Note: Though Blackbeard did not claim the Emperor title left by Whitebeard, 'White Whale' Moby Dick having claimed that, he and his crew have still managed to secure Hachinosu, countless powerful Devil Fruits, survive their war with the New Whitebeard Pirates, and did make a splash with the betrayal of the Marines at Marineford.

Look's like the Colosseum is about to see a whole lot more action! And not just them, but the underground docks and all the rest of Dressrosa, too! How will the Straw Hats get out of this when their cover's been blown to the whole island?

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-SwordOfTheGods