The Four Great Captains

by Mrotrax

Collab with Knightmare Lord. Most have heard the story of Monkey D. Luffy, but the multiverse is vast and in one such universe, Luffy doesn't start her journey alone. joined by a slew of childhood friends, the future Pirate King (A girl can be a King!) is slated to shake the world up even more than he does! Girl Luffy! Multi-Devil Fruit Straw Hat crew! Rated M to be safe!

15. Meet Apis

Out in the middle of the sea, a Marine fleet was sailing. On one of the boats, an officer knocked on a cabin door.

"Hey in there. It's mealtime."

He looked through the porthole, but the cabin looked empty. Shocked, the officer quickly burst into the room.

"Damn it all, she's gone! Where could she be hiding!? There's no way she could escape this far out at sea!"

As he looked through the room, a little girl snuck out from behind the open door and scrambled out of the room. However, the officer caught her and held her up.

"Listen, kid. It's pointless trying to escape in the middle of the sea. Just stay quiet and nothing bad will happen to you."

The girl huffed, then kicked backward right into the officer's crotch. This caused him to drop the girl, letting her run off. She noticed the officer wound up frozen from the pain.

It wasn't long before the alarm on the ship was rung once word got out about the escape.

"Find that girl and bring her into custody! But don't be rough with her! She's still a child after all!"

The girl had made her way up the rigging and into the crow's nest. Spotting a knife, she used it to cut the rigging, leaving no way up or down. From there, she noticed a longboat hanging off the ship and grasped something around her neck.

"Grandpa Ryu, protect me."

She took a blind leap into the longboat, much to the shock of the Marine officers who had spotted her.

-OP-

"What do you mean, she escaped?!" An angry voice demanded. "That girl may have the only clue to the Dragonite I've spent years searching for! Get Eric over here at once!"

"I'm already here, Commodore."

Commodore Nelson Royal, a morbidly obese man who seemed stuck to his chair, turned to see a mercenary in a naval suit as he emerged from the nearby shadows.

"We need to retrieve the clue to the elixir of immortality. I can't lose it now that I've found it after so long," Nelson said. "I'm giving you command of the fleet, so find that girl at once. I don't care what it takes."

"I'm afraid tracking down a person wasn't part of our contract," Eric pointed out.

"I'll pay you extra to have it added, but I want that girl found!"

"Alright, I'll get right on it then."

-OP-

As the morning came, Gottfried was the first one awake. He cleared his throat, then used his Devil Fruit to create a trumpet call.

"RISE AND SHINE ALREADY, PEOPLE!"

"Do you have to yell so loud..." Hilda groaned as she trudged out of the girl's cabin.

Hilda and Axol raised the anchor and the Merry started sailing off. Sanji and Noire got to work in the kitchen as Gin oversaw the rigging maintenance. Nami was looking over the chart they had.

"Just a few more days and we'll reach the Grand Line."

Usopp was keeping watch from the crow's nest with Kirby in his lap when he saw something weird.

"Hey, it looks like we have a flock of seabirds off to starboard! And there's something big just under the flock!"

"What does it look like?" Kaya called from below as she helped Gin with the gear check.

Usopp adjusted his new sniper goggles. "It looks like a small boat. Probably a longboat or... Sweet Oda! There's a kid stuck in that boat!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and raced to the deck, trying to see what Ussop had spotted.

"A castaway? Well, we can't just leave her out to sea like this." Draco noted.

"I've got this!" Ruby said as she quickly dove into the water and swam out to retrieve the boat.

Within minutes she had the boat pulled up to the Merry and rigged up the girl so she could pulled onto the deck. As it turned out, it was the same girl who had escaped the Marine fleet.

"Everyone, stand back. I know a few things about medicine." Kaya said as she picked up the girl and took her to the women's cabin.

-OP-

A little later, the girl stirred awake, then sat up with a start, accidentally knocking into Usopp's jaw, which sent him flailing to the ground.

"That's gonna leave a mark," Ben smirked teasingly.

"Har-Har..." Ussopp grumbled as he rubbed his jaw.

"Ow... Did I bump into a stone or something?" The little girl moaned as she rubbed her head in pain.

"Hey, are you okay, sweetie?" Sonson asked.

"Uh, yeah. Where am I?"

"You're on our ship," Sanji said. "You must be hungry. Lucky for you I'm just finishing up breakfast."

"Were you on a shipwreck or something? What's your name?" Penny asked.

The girl scoffed. "When asking questions, you should give your name first."

Luffy grinned. "Shishishishi! I like this kid already. My name's Monkey D. Luffy."

The crew all introduced themselves one by one.

"We're known as the Straw Hat Pirates!" Luffy finished.

The girl freaked out, which wasn't unexpected to the Straw Hats.

"Yeah, that's about the reaction I expected," Zoro noted.

"Are we even pirates? I mean, we're more adventurers than anything else." Noire asked, Kaya and Nojiko nodding in agreement.

"Uh, guys..." Hilda awkwardly spoke up, poking the little girl. "She's not moving."

Indeed; the girl seemed to be literally frozen in fear, which Kirby found amusing as he booped her nose.

"I've never seen such a reaction from people facing pirates," Nojiko noted. "Not even when Arlong was in power."

"What should we do, guys?" Kuina asked.

"Allow me!" Gottfried said before letting loose an airhorn noise, snapping the girl out of it. But she was still freaking out.

"This may take a while..." Ben dryly noted.

-OP-

Late into the night, the girl was still freaking out.

"How could this happen?! After all the trouble I went through to escape the Marines, I wind up on a pirate ship?!"

Just as she was wondering how she could get out of this situation, her stomach started rumbling. Deciding to find something to eat, she carefully snuck into the kitchen.

The little girl was so focused on being sneaky that she didn't realize she'd bumped into someone until she fell on her butt.

"Poyo?"

She then got a good look at who this person was: a pink ball-like creature in shoes with a cute smile, holding a plate of cookies and offering it to her.

"ARRROOO! AROOOOOO!"

An alarm suddenly rang, startling the girl and puffball.

"WAKEY WAKEY EGGS AND BAKEY!" A shrill voice suddenly cut the air. "UNATTENDED PUFFBALL AND BRAT IN THE KITCHEN! REPEAT! KITCHEN IN DISTRESS! MIDNIGHT SNACKING MARAUDERS!"

The pink ball quickly grabbed the girl, rushed into an empty room, and ducked into a corner, dropping a few cookies on the floor. The two then stayed as quiet as they could.

The girl reached for a cookie, only to see the pink ball give her the whole plate while he (she assumed he was a he) sucked up the ones off the floor.

"Was all that necessary, Gott?"

"Yeah, some of us need beauty sleep."

"Hey, you're the ones who made me the security system!" The shrill voice cut in. "I'm just doing my job!"

"Kirby always sneaks in for a snack…" a girl yawned

"And I thought we didn't want to scare the kid."

The pink creature, Kirby, then smiled and motioned the girl to try a cookie, which she did….

"Whoa! This is delicious!"

"Naturally, we got two of the best cooks in the East Blue on our crew."

The girl jumped in alarm to see Ben there, his posture slack and casual as he made his way over to the fridge and opened it up before taking out a bottle of rum and popping the cork before taking a swig.

"H-h-h-h-HOW LONG HAVE YOU?!"

"Long enough. This is my room." Ben said, then stepping out of the room and clearing his throat.

"Everyone."

The Straw Hats all waved at the little girl, smiling sweetly and apologizing for the scare.

"See kid, no need to get your feathers in a bunch," Gottfried said. "We're the good sort of pirates who love the more simple things; adventure, food, and good fun!"

"Sorry if the numbers overwhelmed you, Kit," Ben said, gently patting the girl's head. "We're thinking of getting more ships to fit our growing crew. After all, we have FOUR captains, one of them being yours truly."

"So you're not gonna sell me off?" The girl asked.

"WHY DOES EVERYONE ALWAYS ASSUME THAT?!" Gottfried asked. "Seriously, if not selling, it's the 'R' and 'S' words! Why're you people so dirty-minded?! What, ya into that or some….?!"

Hild wisely covered her snail's mouth to shut him up.

"Perish the thought!" Ben said. "People aren't cargo, especially children."

The girl finally felt herself relax. It looked like she'd be safe on this ship.

-OP-

The next day the girl, who gave her name as Apis, wanted to cook breakfast for everyone. But Draco insisted on being there to monitor her to ensure no resources were wasted. Sure enough, it turned out she was horrible at cooking and Draco had to intervene to make sure none of Sanji's kitchen equipment was damaged.

Everyone grew concerned as Noire stepped out, looking traumatized.

"…So…?" Nojiko asked.

"There is now...a level...0." Noire managed to say before she collapsed into her seat.

"Thank goodness Kirby is a bottomless pit," Draco noted as the pink puff inhaled the disaster of a breakfast. "You're clearly too young for culinary."

"Sorry...I just wanted to help since you're deciding to feed me."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable taking in a cabin boy, or girl in this case, so young. Especially after Coby." Draco said.

"To be fair, he was Alvida's cabin boy and he was forced against his will," Ben said.

Eventually, Sanji and Noire made an actual breakfast as the crew entered the galley.

"So, Apis, why were you drifting on the sea?" Penny asked.

"I escaped from a Marine ship. It was three days ago."

"What did you do that caused the Marines to imprison you?" Zoro asked.

Apis lowered her head. "I'm sorry... I can't tell you that."

"Well, we're not going to pry, and you definitely aren't a criminal. I can tell by looking at your face." Ben said. "I've got a good pair of eyes, see."

"So where are you from?" Ruby asked.

"I'm from Warship Island."

"I don't think I've heard of that place before," Hilda said.

"I think it's just off the entrance to the Grand Line. It's a large island shaped like a warship." Axol said.

"Yeah, here it is. It's not too far from our position." Nami said as she checked the sea charts. "If Apis wanted, we could drop her off there without issue."

"Well, it's not like we're in a big hurry. An extra day or two for a detour before we hit the Grand Line isn't going to hurt us." Luffy said.

Nojiko chuckled. "Well, you heard the captain. Looks like we're changing course for Warship Island."

Apis beamed. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

-OP-

Meanwhile, the Marine fleet was conducting its search as the lookout scanned the sea.

"Ship sighted at twelve o'clock!"

"What are we looking at?" Lieutenant Commander Hardy called back.

"Looks like a mid-size caravel!" The lookout replied. "The flag has a Jolly Roger! A skull wearing a straw hat!"

"A pirate ship, huh? Seems they don't know their own station sailing around the seas under Commodore Nelson's control." Hardy said. "Still, they seem like mere small fries. No need to bother with them."

"Actually, that's not the flag of a small-time pirate crew," Eric said as he stepped onto the deck, "That flag belongs to 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy, 'Monkey Queen' Rainha D. Sonson, 'Apocalypse' Lor D. Draco, and 'Dead Man's Chest' Sparrow D. Benjamin, the so-called 'Four Great Captains' and the ones who hold the current highest bounties of the East Blue."

"FOUR captains for one ship? That's kind of insane." One officer noted.

"Even with such a big fleet, we can't find the girl we're looking for. Which could mean a ship picked her up." Eric noted. "And wouldn't it be a problem to leave such high-caliber pirates sailing around, Lieutenant Commander? Have that ship captured at once!"

Eric had no idea just how unwise that decision was as Usopp spotted the fleet.

"Marine fleet approaching from the aft! All hands on deck!"

"All hands on deck!" Ben copied.

"This is a top-class emergency!"

"This is a top-class emergency!" Ben copied again.

"What are you doing?" Usopp asked.

"What are YOU doing?" Ben retorted.

"No, what ARE you doing?!" Usopp shot back.

"What are YOU doing?!"

"No, what ARE you doing?!"

"What are you...the captain gives orders on this ship!" Ben clarified. "My ship makes me captain."

"So are we!" Sonson pointed out, gesturing to herself, Luffy, and Draco.

"That makes you..." Ben just waved his hands. "Captains 2, 3, and 4!"

"Fewer references and more dealing with the problem at hand!" Nojiko pointed out. "That fleet has at least a dozen battleships!"

"Maybe they're after us," Luffy suggested as she looked over to Ben, Sonson, and Draco.

"That's way too many ships for just four bounties," Zoro noted. "Sending a fleet this large for that little is overkill."

Apis gasped when she saw the fleet had the number 8 on their sails.

"Those ships belong to Branch 8! That's the fleet I escaped from!"

"I see the girl on the deck!" the lookout said over on the Marine ship.

Eric smirked at Hardy. "Just as I said. Remember, Lieutenant Commander, any mistakes in retrieving that girl and the clue to the elixir of immortality would surely make Commodore Nelson furious."

Hardy grimaced but understood as he prepared to give the order to fire the cannons. However, the Merry was suddenly surrounded by a large cyclone of fire, lightning, and ice created by Draco'sDisaster-Disaster Fruit, redirecting the cannonballs to smash into some of the ships.

"This is why we pick our battles wisely, mercenary," Hardy said, smirking smugly at Eric's shock.

"Whooooo! Good job, Draco!" Sonson cheered.

"That should reduce the numbers. But we still need to evade them. I guarantee you those were just warning shots." Bamia said.

"If they got any Transponder Snails onboard, I can mess 'em up with myNoise-Noise Fruit!" Gottfried suggested.

Apis noticed the seabirds that were sitting near Nami's tangerine trees and turned to Hilda.

"He said a wind is coming."

"Who?"

"That bird," Apis said, pointing to the sea bird.

Nami also noticed this and quickly realized what Apis was talking about.

"We need to turn to the south!"

Axol and Gin quickly adjusted the sails, while Ruby and Hilda worked the rudder.

"Hold on, backtrack a little!" Gottfried said to Apis. "How did you know what that bird was sayin'? I mean, I can hear what he was saying too since I'm an animal!"

Apis couldn't respond since the Merry picked up the wind in its sails and sailed south.

"The ship just changed routes and sped up!" the lookout called out. "Heading south!"

"Are they insane?!" Hardy called out. "That'll lead them into the Calm Belt!"

"I don't care where they're going! Get after them right now!" Eric snapped, but it was too late. "How could a Marine fleet fall behind such a small ship, you dimwits!?"

"Actually, a smaller ship has better mobility," an officer pointed out.

"I don't want to hear any excuses!"

"It's not an excuse, it's facts. Ask Commodore Nelson about the finer points of ships. He'll say the same." Hardy said. "He won't be happy, but he will agree with our reasoning. All ships to halt! We're turning around!"

"Do you not understand your orders, Lieutenant Commander?" Eric warned.

"What I understand is that if we actually chase that ship into the Calm Belt, the commodore will no longer have to worry about his precious immortality elixir. Or do you not know what sort of danger the Calm Belt possesses?" Hardy shot back.

Eric was angry, but he seemed to get the message, storming off to his room.

-OP-

The momentum from the wind wound up carrying the Merry into the Calm Belt, so now Axol and Ruby were towing the ship back into normal waters. Luckily, two strong fishmen could easily tow a caravel away from the giant Sea Kings that made the Calm Belt their home, even if they were both teenagers.

"What was that? The wind was so strong for a bit, then the sails just went flat." Usopp said.

"That's where the Calm Belt gets its name," Nami explained.

Hilda nodded. "Remember how it was mentioned there were doldrums here? Well, a doldrums is a windless passage. Basically a massive stretch of ocean where there are no currents and no winds."

"The Calm Belt is why there's only one real entrance into the Grand Line. Otherwise, the only real border of the world would be the Red Line." Draco added. "Plus the entire area is a nesting ground for Sea Kings."

"Come on, we've beaten Sea Kings before!" Luffy said.

"We've only ever beaten one. Two if you count whatever Ganzack's pet was a while back." Sonson pointed out.

"Here, there are dozens if not hundreds of Sea Kings that make the Calm Belt their home. And some would absolutely dwarf the Lord of the Coast and Ganzack's serpent."

"There's something chasing us!" Apis suddenly called out.

A massive sea cow-based Sea King started emerging from the water, seemingly intent on swallowing the Merry. But before he could….

"MORE-MORE HUNDRED-FOLD GUN!"

Two cannonballs were thrown at the Sea King and suddenly grew to rival it in size, hitting it square on and sending it sinking to the sea, the impact from the attack also making the Sunny sail on ahead.

All turned in shock to see Hilda gasping with two more cannonballs at the ready, which she dropped harmlessly onto the floor as she wiped the sweat off her brow.

"Whew…I am…I gotta start using that more.." She mused with a smile, delighting in the shocked looks of her crewmates and Apis.

"Damn girl! Big, beautiful, strong, AND with a Devil Fruit?!" Sonson smirked. "Anything else we outta know?"

Hilda blushed and looked away, Gottfried handing her a cloth and trying to wipe her sweat away.

"Don't go hurting yourself, kid." He begged, then spying the looks on the other's faces; accepting and welcoming, but shocked…except for one.

"I know that Devil Fruit..." Draco mused, then shot Hilda a look. "That pirate you made a promise to…Was his name…?"

Hilda nodded. "Byrnddi World. I know what the World Government says, but when I met him, he was a sickly, dying man who just wanted to do one good thing and apologize to his brother."

Nami and Nojiko looked at each other and held each other's hands when they heard that.

"Um…What do you know about him?" Hilda asked Draco, who smiled.

"He and dad fought a couple of times, was kind of a dull sword if you get me…but he was strong and he valued his comrades, especially his brother…I'm guessing you're at least looking for him?"

Hilda nodded. "World told me he understood why his crew let him down and honestly doesn't care for most of them. But his brother? He actually saved me and my village from a beast. Said that someone as young and strong as me deserved to see the world and had the best chance of doing what he couldn't…"

"And he knew how Devil Fruits reappear and willed his to you." Ussopp realized.

"And then Hilda met me and then we met you and the rest is history!" Gottfried finished.

"The wind's picking back up," Nami noted. "Looks like we're out of the Calm Belt now."

"Yeah, and there's no sign of the Marine fleet," Usopp noted. "They must have turned tail when they realized where we were heading."

"Okay, get the sails unfurled, and let's make for Warship Island without further delay!" Luffy said.

-OP-

Before long a heavy fog started to set in. Noire activated a crystalline card that shone like a brilliant light to provide a fog light as she joined Usopp in the crow's nest. At the same time, Gottfried used his powers to create both a foghorn and sonar pulse to help navigate.

"Land-Ho!"

"Alright, Warship Island is in reach!" Sonson grinned. "How big is the landmass?"

"Big enough that a Sea King could use it as a bedframe!"

Sure enough, the shore of Warship Island was in sight. The crew all headed onto the deck, Apis smiling when she saw her home.

"There it is!"

"You weren't kidding, Gottfried. That's one big island." Hilda noted. "It's even shaped like a warship!"

"Get us into port, Nami. We'll stay just long enough to drop Apis off and get supplies." Luffy said.

"There might be a little problem with that. It looks like the natives aren't happy to see us." Zoro noted.

"Sheesh, something tells me they've had less pleasant pirate company before," Ruby muttered.

Sure enough, several villagers had gathered near the dock carrying pitchforks and spears. What they didn't expect, however, was that Apis would be the first one to disembark.

Hey, everyone! I'm home!"

"Apis! Why are you coming out from a pirate ship?" The Village Chief asked.

"We don't have to worry about these people. They're good guys." Apis assured. "They helped me escape from the men who kidnapped me."

This confused the villagers as the Straw Hats all disembarked.

"Hey, my name is Monkey D. Luffy and these are my fellow three captains; my sister Monkey D. Sonson, Lor D. Draco, and Sparrow D. Benjamin!" Luffy introduced.

"We came here to return Apis home," Draco said.

"That may have been a mistake. The Marines are still around looking for her." The Chief worriedly pointed out.

"I don't believe they will be an issue. These people look very strong."

Apis smiled as she recognized the voice and ran to the old man who had spoken, giving him a big hug which he happily returned.

"Grandpa Bokuden!"

"I'm glad to see you safe, Apis. And to you visitors, thank you for saving my granddaughter."

"Twas merely our duty as noble pirates!" Axol said in a humble yet flashy manner, even striking an over-the-top pose for effect.

"Usopp was the brave warrior of the sea who found her." Kaya smiled proudly at her boyfriend, making him blush and rub his head in embarrassment.

-OP-

Nelson was busy feasting on his lunch when Eric came in with the report.

"I'm not pleased, Eric. You reported that the girl was lost in the Calm Belt and wasn't likely to return alive. But my men have just reported her being alive and well on Warship Island!"

"I was at first only focused on capturing the pirates. I didn't take proper stock of their capabilities." Eric admitted. "But not to worry. This time I won't make any mistakes."

"Somehow, I doubt that..."

Nelson and Eric turned to see a woman clad in pirate clothes with an eyepatch and flowing blonde hair tied in chains, which upon closer inspection were made of Seastone.

"Ruby D. Heart. As always your tongue is the sharpest weapon in your arsenal." Eric noted with a huff.

"You may have gotten the drop on me, but these shackles are only a momentary reprieve." Heart smirked. "Once I've freed myself, I'll be sure to show you just how varied my arsenal is."

"I'll admit it was quite a challenge apprehending you, but it's no use for you." Nelson scoffed. "Once we've dealt with the pirates and obtained the Dragonite, you'll be tried and executed as the miserable pirate you are."

"I think I like my chances right now." Heart smirked as she reclined against the wall. She had a feeling in her gut that things would work out not just for her, but for the little girl who she had conveniently helped plan the original escape for...and her gut was never wrong.

-OP-

Bokuden invited the Straw Hats into his home, where he offered them a meal of steamed pork buns. Sanji was impressed at how expertly Bokuden had prepared the steamer.

"I've worked with steamed foods before and this is on the same level as professional chefs."

"Sometimes homecooked meals can't be beaten," Noire said wistfully.

"Thank you, I've spent years perfecting the process," Bokuden said as the group sat down to wait for their food. "I'm sure you must be curious why the Marines are after Apis. Well, it has to do with a legend on this island."

"What sort of legend?" Ben asked.

"The people of this island are said to be descendants of a lost civilization. They prospered for generations before sinking into the sea tens of thousands of years ago, upon which those who remained moved here to Warship Island." Bokuden explained. "Among their friends were the Millennial Dragons. The bones of these dragons are called Dragonite, and are rumored to be an elixir of immortality."

"Pretty interesting legend, but why would the Marines get involved, anyway?" Nojiko asked.

"Well, the story is long and involved, and if I told it from start to finish it would put everyone to sleep, including me. So to make a long story short, the royal family of the lost civilization possessed a mysterious item that could allow one to communicate with the dragons." Bokuden said. "When the previous holder died, a new holder would be chosen. And as it turns out... That item still exists. I can only assume the Marines for some reason thought Apis might know where the item is."

The crew looked at each other, then at Apis, who just smiled sheepishly while shrugging.

A loud growl suddenly got everyone's attention as they looked at Hilda, who blushed as her big gut began rumbling.

"Hehehe...sorry, those pork buns smell GREAT!"

-OP-

That night, Luffy, Sonson, Draco, Ben, Hilda, and Gottfried noticed Apis sneaking off with a large bag of meat buns. Curious, they followed her as he headed for a secret cave.

"Hey, Grandpa Ryu. I brought you some food." The group tried to listen in on who she was talking to. "No, they're not scary at all. Well, okay they were at first, but then I got to realize how nice they are."

"Just who is she talking to?" Hilda whispered to Draco.

"Beats me."

"No, I still haven't found a clue yet. But I'm searching as hard as I can." Apis said to her mysterious friend.

"Hey, Apis!" Luffy called out, startling Apis. "Who are you talking to?"

"Hold on..." Sonson muttered as she noticed who Apis was talking to. "IS THAT A REAL DRAGON?!"

Sure enough, a large feathered dragon big enough to fill the cave was resting behind Apis.

"Quick make a wish!" Gottfried said. "That's what dragons do, right? Or is that genies?"

The dragon snorted as he looked at the group. Apis looked at him in surprise.

"He's saying he wants to go home," Luffy noted.

"You can understand him?" Apis asked in surprise.

Luffy shrugged. "Apparently. No idea how."

"I can understand him too, actually!" Sonson said, digging into her ear to make sure she hadn't misheard anything.

"Look, any stooge knows that if you can hear animals talking, it's probably the Voice of All Things!" Gottfried said. "I know I was able to learn how to use it when I got my Devil Fruit."

Apis looked at the dragon and nodded for a bit before turning to the group.

"Grandpa Ryu says he wants you to be his friend. He can tell you're all good people."

"So I get that Gottfried can hear Ryu thanks to his Devil Fruit," Draco noted. "Apis, do you have one as well?"

Apis nodded. "Yes. It's called the Whisper-Whisper Fruit. With it, I can read the minds of animals and talk with them."

"Any of you want to bet that's the legendary item of the lost civilization the old man was telling us about?" Ben asked the others.

Draco nodded. "More than likely. When a Devil Fruit user dies, their Devil Fruit reincarnates from the nearest equivalent fruit. All the old kingdom would have to do is keep the right type of fruit near the current user's deathbed, and they'd be ready to pass the Devil Fruit on to a new user."

"The seabirds on the Merry!" Hilda realized. "That's how Apis knew the wind was coming!"

"It's also how I met Grandpa Ryu. I was out in the flower field one day when I heard his voice. It sounded so sad, so I went to help. Grandpa Ryu had lost all his energy and been separated from his friends. Ever since he'd been looking for Lost Island, where the dragons' nest is." Apis explained. "The island had sunk many years ago, but Grandpa Ryu said it will surface again very soon. However, he no longer remembers where it is. He's very old and doesn't have the energy to fly. But he desperately wants to go back home."

"Awww..." Sonson and Hilda cooed sadly, their eyes wide and watery.

Apis shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately, there's no clue in the legend as to where Lost Island could be. I thought if I asked the Marines who happened to stop by the island to help, I could find it easier."

"But it turns out they were looking for the Dragonite. So they abducted you hoping to get all the information you had." Draco realized.

"There was one other thing they may have wanted. Grandpa Ryu gave me one of his claws, which I made into a pendant." Apis said

"So that's why you kept the secret. You wanted to protect the villagers, and both your grandpas." Luffy noted.

Apis nodded. "If Grandpa Ryu can get back home, he says he'll be able to restore his energy. So I'll find it for him, no matter how many years it takes!"

Draco laughed. "Masasasasasa! She sounds like a kindred spirit, doesn't she?"

"Shishishishi! She sure does!" Luffy grinned.

"Ukikikikiki!" Sonson giggled. "Well then, we'll help the old man out. Lost Island is sure to exist somewhere."

Apis beamed. "Thank you! With your help, I know we can get Grandpa Ryu home!"

-OP-

The next day, Eric arrived with the Marine fleet to blockade the island.

"Lieutenant Commander! We spotted the ship off the starboard!" The Lookout said.

Hardy nodded. "The landing unit will come to the island with me! The rest of you, seize their ship!"

Eric smirked as he filed his nails, which seemed to have an unnatural glint to them.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew was brought to Ryu's cave. Naturally, the sight of a dragon left them all flabbergasted.

"We've been from one end of the Grand Line to the other traveling with Arlong...But I don't think I've ever seen a dragon before in my life." Axol said before taking out a pad of paper and readying Inkweaver in its handheld form. "Would you mind if I used your likeness for my manga?!"

"T-This guy is harmless, right?" Usopp asked nervously as Ryu licked his face.

"I should have warned you, but Grandpa Ryu is going senile. He has a tendency to mistake people for food." Apis said.

Usopp jumped into Kaya's arms, shaking in terror as she just rolled her eyes with a smile.

"So this is what the Marines are after," Gin noted.

"And we have to get him to Lost Island before they can. We made a promise to Apis." Sonson said.

"One problem; The Marines are starting to blockade the island. If they get hold of our ship..." Sanji spoke up.

"Don't worry, Hilda stayed behind to take up her duty as Guardsmen," Ben said. "She's also got Noire and Kuina keeping watch with her."

"Well, that's ship dealt with. But what about him?" Nami asked as she gestured to Ryu. "There's no way we can fit him on the ship."

"Assuming he can float, Axol and I can just drag him behind the Merry while we look for the island," Ruby suggested.

"A Fishman is already ten times as strong as the average human on land and when we're in the water we get even stronger!" Axol said proudly. "So carrying a dragon this size shouldn't be a problem."

"Well that just leaves the biggest problem; Finding an island that isn't charted." Nami pointed out. "Lost Island sunk years ago. So how are we supposed to find it?"

"Seems the big fella can handle that!" Gottfried suggested. "We animals have a migration instinct built into us. So we just have to pay attention to his mood and direct our course accordingly."

"I think there's one more elephant in the room we need to address; Getting Ryu down from the mountain in the first place," Sanji said. "Although... If we build a cart big enough, that should solve the problem."

"Let's get to work!"

Luffy, Draco, Ben, Sonson, and Kaya put their Devil Fruits to good use to bring down several large trees to get the lumber needed for the cart. Usopp, Ruby, and Gin then got to work building the cart.

"That should do it, big and solid!" Usopp smiled. "It'll hold Ryu's weight easily."

"Now we just have to secure our ship and get Ryu out of here. And I have just the idea for that." Nami said as she turned to Draco, Nojiko, and Usopp "Can you three make sure the Merry is ready to head around to the back of the island?"

"Guess it's time to put my Devil Fruit to the test," Nojiko noted.

"And Usopp's sniping skills!" Draco added.

Usopp grinned. "Just leave it to us!"

"Once you have the ship, bring it to the edge of the cape. The one that looks like Usopp's nose," Ben said as he pointed to the spot, and sure enough to rock jutting out did resemble Usopp's nose quite a bit.

"I feel personally attacked by nature. What's wrong with the way my nose looks?" Usopp grumbled.

"There, there, Usopp," Kaya said, patting him on the back along with Kirby.

-OP-

The Marines were already raiding the village trying to find Apis. Eric noticed drag marks extending from the back of Apis's house and grinned.

"Interesting. This trail might just lead us to the girl." He looked up the mountain. "Somewhere up there, perhaps."

Meanwhile, Noire was sharing a soda with Hilda and Kuina after taking down the entire Marine unit sent to seize the Merry.

"Gangway!" Draco called out as he, Nojiko, and Usopp ran up.

"Welcome back aboard!" Hilda beamed. "How's Grandpa Ryu?"

"Grandpa Ryu?" Kuina asked.

Hilda, Nojiko, Usopp, and Draco gave a brief explanation of what was going on. Needless to say, Noire and Kuina were shocked that dragons were real.

After throwing the defeated Marines onto the island, Usopp took the helm and started steering the Merry to the cape behind the island.

"Blockade up ahead! Hilda, take the helm! Usopp, man the cannon!" Draco called out.

"Aye-Aye!" Hilda saluted as she jumped up and took the helm while Usopp started firing Merry's fore cannon, taking down several Marine ships.

"GREAT CANNON!"Nojiko shouted, manifesting cannons on the mast of the ship to provide additional firepower.

-OP-

Back up the mountain, a seabird landed near Apis and started chirping.

"Oh no! The Marines are getting close!"

"How the hell did they find us?!" Sonson asked. "We only found this place because we followed you closely, but anyone else shouldn't be able to find the path you took."

"Well, Apis was carrying a huge bag of food. They must have been following the drag marks." Ben noted. "But she also swung across a chasm, so that should buy us some time."

"And luckily the Merry is closing in on the cape. Once it arrives we're heading all the way down." Nami said.

Eric happened to look up and spot the group, just as Ryu lifted his head. The Marines freaked out at seeing the dragon.

"I knew it had to be here...The Dragonite, the elixir of immortality. Now we don't even need the brat. Not when we have an actual Millennial Dragon right in front of us." Eric smirked.

"They haven't spotted us yet, so we should be able to capture them in one shot. Get ready to fire." Hardy said as he prepared to give his men the order.

As the Marines took aim, Axol suddenly turned to face them and spun around, rapidly drawing with Inkweaver before creating what looked like a mini-sun, blinding the Marines. Several managed to get shots off, but Luffy easily reflected the shots.

Eric scoffed. "Damn it... They have Devil Fruit powers. Lieutenant Commander, use blades instead! Guns won't work!"

Several Marines charged with their swords drawn, only for Ruby to land in front of them and stretch her limbs around while doing a makeshift breakdance move, smacking the Marines and sending them flying.

"Damn! They have Fishmen on their crew!" Hardy cursed.

"This is getting far more complicated than it needs to be. Why can nothing be simple when it comes to a contract?" Eric sighed as he approached a Marine who was just getting up, only to slash him with his nails.

"What was that?! Was he carrying a knife?!" Luffy wondered in shock.

"I don't think so. It looked more like he slashed with his nails." Carmen noted.

"I'm known as Eric the Whirlwind. A mercenary hired by Commodore Nelson Royal."

"Ugh, that fat bastard?" Gin said. "Let me guess, he's freaking out over heart issues again?"

"Let me be frank; We have no business with you pirates. Just with the Millennial Dragon." Eric said. "But if you stand in my way, you'll become a victim of the power of mySickle-Sickle Fruit."

"The Sicko-Sicko Fruit?" Sanji asked. "Definitely keep this guy away from Apis."

Eric's eye twitched. "I saidSickle-Sickle Fruit, you idiot! It turns my nails into knives that can slash with razor wind!"

"So?Rankyakucan do that too." Luffy pointed out simply.

"Something tells me you need to find yourself a girl, mate. Or perhaps the reason you practice three hours a day is that you already found one, and are otherwise incapable of wooing said strumpet." Ben said before leaning to whisper. "You're not a eunuch, are you?"

The bounty hunter screamed in rage and swiped at Ben, who bopped and weaved as he made his way back to the Merry.

"You think you're so special?! Well, tank this!SICKLE-SICKLE WHIRLWIND!" Eric roared in fury as he launched a flurry of razor winds.

It happened so fast that no one else realized it at first.

Gin had leaped in front of the others, expecting to die but at least knowing he'd have kept them safe a little longer…He'd already begun apologizing to Noire and Sanji in his head, praying for their forgiveness….

But the blow never came.

He opened his eyes and saw he was now covered in scales. He then looked over to where his bloodied and destroyed back should be…only to see a giant spiked turtle shell in its place.

"W-what in the…?!" He asked, only to remember his devil fruit. "I'm…I'm a turtle?!"

"Not just any turtle!" Ben beamed. "You lucky bastard! You ate theTurtle-Turtle Fruit: Model Black Tortoise! Another Mythical Zoan!"

"Damn..." Zoro whistled at what he saw.

"First the Vermillion Bird with Kuina, then the White Tiger with Kaya..." Sonson said. "And now it looks like Gin has the Black Tortoise!"

"All we need is the dragon and we've got a Celestial Guardian Armada!" Luffy grinned.

"Wow, that Merchant really spoils us, doesn't he?" Penny giggled.

"How the hell!? My winds are supposed to be as sharp as legendary swords!" Eric snapped in disbelief. "Look, it even created gashes in the ground around you! How the hell are you unharmed!?"

"Guess this shell comes with some good perks," Gin smirked as he looked himself over before noticing a snake head stretching out from underneath his shell. "Is that supposed to be part of this?"

"From what the legends say...yes." Zoro nodded.

"There they are!" Nami called out when she saw the Merry. "Time to go!"

Eric was confused as the Straw Hats retreated to the cart and started pushing. Sanji kicked the wall, letting the cart fly down the mountain at a rapid pace. The Marines tried to stop them but Ruby held out Gottfried and he used hisNoise-Noise Fruitto let out a burst of soundwaves from his mouth, which acted solid when it slammed into Eric and the Marines and knocked them away from the cart.

Down below, Draco transformed into hisGojira Modeand used his size and strength to catch the cart and everyone on it.

"Love it when a plan comes together." Nami laughed as she met up with Nojiko to give her a high-five.

"Everyone to your stations!" Luffy said. "Axol, Ruby, start towing the cart! Let's get this dragon home!"

"AYE-AYE!"

"Gottfried, what's our heading?" Nami asked.

"Due east, Toots! The Old Man told me so!"

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Ben called out to the island. "This is the day you will always remember as the day you almost caught Captain Sparrow D. Benjamin!"

-OP-

Needless to say, Hardy was not happy to find out that several of the fleet needed extensive repairs and that the Marines he sent to capture the Merry had been taken down and tossed aside like so much garbage.

"That damn pirate crew is stronger than I expected."

"Well, it might just be for the best. Considering the dangerous lengths they went to in order to escape the island, I think I have an idea where they might be going." Eric said. "They're chasing the legend this island has. The fabled dragons' nest on Lost Island. All we have to do is follow them."

He walked into the communications center and blocked the Transponder Snail.

"There's no need to report to Commodore Nelson," he stated and walked away, satisfied that he had cowed the director into silence. A sinister thought ran in his mind.

'The lure of immortality...There's no way I'll hand over the elixir to that fat hippo! I'll use it for myself, and become a flawless whirlwind!"

Knightmare Lord A/N:

I combined Part 1 and the first half of Part 2 of the Warship Isle Arc into this chapter.