Chapter 4

It had been three days since Luffy and Zoro left Shells town. They were sailing onto the next island, both starving.

"I'm so hungry." Luffy.

"That's because you ate our food dumbass." grumbled Zoro. Both had talked about a few things. Zoro had asked if Coby could cut it as a marine. Luffy just smiled and laughed, saying he would be fine. They both just lay there with their stomachs grumbling. While Zoro was thinking of food Luffy was looking at the sky.He and Zoro both looked and saw a giant bird flying above them.

"A bird." Zoro said.

"No, lunch." Luffy said as he flash stepped to the sky.

"Well I will see you later" Before going after the bird

"He can walk in the air" Zoro thought shocked

"Wait for me?!" he yelled as he started rowing the boat after them.

"HELP US!"

Zoro looked to see three guys floating in the ocean, screaming for help.

"Oh great. I ain't stopping. Climb on if you want a lift!"

"What!" they all screamed. They all grabbed on as Zoro passed and jumped inside.

"Oh you made it." Zoro said.

"You were gonna leave us to drown!" they screamed. They then pulled out their weapons and demanded the boat, stating they were pirates. Zoro just looked at them with a dangerous look in his eyes and started beating them up. The three pirates, covered in bumps and bruises, then started rowing the boat for Zoro, stating that they didn't realize who he was.

"Thanks to you idiots, I lost my friend. Just keep rowing." Zoro said in a bored tone before asking why they were drifting at sea. The three then told him how they were coming back from raiding a ship before they spotted another boat with a girl in it. She had offered them the treasure from the chest in her boat in exchange for food and water. They boarded her boat to find it empty while the girl had taken their boat full of treasure, leaving them at the mercy of a storm that she predicted. "She knew a storm was coming huh?" Zoro asked in interest.

Yeah, and now we're in big trouble." one of the pirates said. "If we return to Captain Buggy empty handed, we're dead."

"Buggy?" Zoro asked.

"You mean you've never heard of Captain Buggy, the clown pirate?" another asked. "He's a monster who's eat a Devil Fruit."

"Is that so?" Zoro asked.

With Luffy

Luffy was chasing the bird. The bird was still flying in the sky as it approached an island. Luffy grinned as he felt Nami's presence.The bird was shot at with a cannonball. The ball exploded, making the bird drop. Luffy flash stepped to the bird. He looked around and saw Nami and three other guys carrying weapons who were chasing her.

"Well hello Nami. Luffy said as he appeared between them. They all stared Luffy.

'It's that pirate from before.' Nami thought as she stared at Luffy. She looked back at the other pirates before grinning. "Boss. I'm so glad you're here." she said in a happy tone as she ran up to him and held his hand. "Thanks so much for coming to rescue me. I'll leave them to you." she said before she ran off. Luffy just stared at her running away. He just smiled.

"That girl is quite terrible. Making me fight her battles.' Luffy thought

"She's getting away!" one of the pirates yelled.

"Who cares? We've got her boss right here." said another as he approached Luffy. "We'll use him to get that map she stole." Luffy didn't even look at them, still smiling as he thought of Nami. This irked the pirate as he punched Luffy in the back of the head, stating that the girl stole something from them. That woke Luffy from his thoughts. He spun around, punching the pirate square in the jaw.

"Do not touch me with your filthy hands!" Luffy said. The other pirates charged him, only to meet the same fist that knocked out their friend. Luffy smiled as he dusted off his clothes before looking up at Nami, who had appeared on a roof ledge to see how the fight went. She didn't expect Luffy to be okay while the three pirates were on the ground unconcious.

"Whoa! You beat those three barehanded?" she asked.

Yeah. They were pretty weak." he said as he smiled. "Nice to see you again Nami."

'I had wished they had beaten you senseless.' she thought as she glared down at him. "Whatever pirate." she said. She was about to leave, but saw Luffy fall onto his back. "Huh?"

"I'm so hungry." Luffy whined as he held his stomach. Nami just glared at him in thought before she sighed.

"You did save my life." she said as she jumped down next to him. "Follow me. I'll get you some food." Luffy jumped to his feet in excitement. "Really? Thanks!" he said, smiling. He followed her through the streets to an abandoned house. As she started making him some food, he was looking at her up and down. She was pretty. Compared to Rangiku she was huh fine.

"Here." she said as she placed the food in front of him, which he immediately started eating as he got himself under control. Nami just stared at Luffy as she wondered how she was going to get Buggy's treasure.

"Those guys seemed to be after you for some reason." Luffy said as he looked at her. "What'd you do?"

"I took their map." she said as she pulled a map out from under her shirt. "With this, I'll be able to get 100,000,000 berris no problem."

"That's a lot of money." Luffy said with a whistle. "Why that much?"

"None of you business." she said in a cold voice. "Now that I have this chart of the Grand Line, getting that money will be easy." she said.

"Grand Line?" Luffy asked surprise. "You're a navigator?"

"Not to brag, but I'm the best navigator you'll ever find." she said with a small smile.

"Cool. You should join my crew."

"No!" she said in a harsh tone. "I despise pirates." Luffy

"Why not? The pirate life is fun." he said with a smile.

"Pirates are nothing but heartless monsters who take everything one cares about. I only love money and tangerines." she said. Luffy's eyes opened as he looked towards her.

"Pirates are heartless monsters huh?"

"That's right." Nami

"Nami what does society think of the marines." Luffy

"They are those who bring criminal/pirates to justice." Nami

"Justice huh" Luffy laughed

"You are quite naive. Nami do you what a celestial dragon is." Luffy

No I don't.

"They are nobles/royals who are the bosses of the marines and the world government. Do you what their favorite hobby is." Luffy

Luffy answers his own question

"They love taking slaves." Luffy

"What" Nami

"If a Celestial Dragon came to your village/town he could just simply say he wants you as slave and take you. The marines or the world government would not do anything to save you." Luffy

Nami is shocked hearing this

And there is more. There are marines that enforce their own kind of justice. They call it Absolute Justice." Luffy

"Absolute Justice." Nami

If you were a threat like the previous king of the Pirates. Those who enforce absolute justice will try to kill you even at the cost of civilian lives.

Nami could not believe that the marines were corrupt.

"Nami everything is not black and white. There are good marines and there are terrible marines just like there are good pirates and bad ones." Luffy

"So all pirates aren't evil?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Yep. I met pirates like that. They were nice guys.

"Hmph. Well look who's the lucky one." she said as she walked over and looked out the window. She just couldn't picture it. A pirate, someone who robs and murders anyone they cross, be kind and friendly?

"Did a pirate do something happen to you?" Luffy suddenly asked her, pulling her out of her thoughts. She tense up as she looked back at him, seeing nothing but a blank face looking back. Her hand slowly went to her shoulder, which was covered by her shirt to hide that tattoo of Arlong's mark. She didn't know what it was about Luffy, but at that moment, her tension faded a little as she looked down.

"I'd rather not talk about it." she said in a bit of a sad voice. She sighed as she stared out the window. Thoughts of Bellemere came to her as she closed her eyes. She remembered how they were poor, how they would fight, how she started stealing because they had no money. She started to tear up as she also remembered their fight, how she ran off in anger, how her mother sacrificed herself so that she and Nojiko could live. She grasped her shoulder when memories of when Arlong forced her onto his to draw him maps, along with his deal to release her village in exchange for 100,000,000 berris. She missed her mother so much.

"Nami." Luffy said in a quiet voice. She turned to see that he was standing next to her. His hat shadowed his face, but she could still hear the sad tone in his voice as he continued. "Believe it or not, I also know what it's like to lose someone you care for."

"What?"

"A celestial dragon killed my brother" Nami stared at him, unable to believe that Luffy went through something so similar to her own miserable past. She then looked out the window again as she heard some pirates talking about finding her and getting the map back.

"Hey, you said you wanted to get 100,000,000 berris, right?"

"Yeah...why?" she said, wondering what he was thinking.

"How about this? If I help you get you the money, you help me get to the Grand Line. Deal?" he said, holding out his hand. Nami looked at him like he was crazy, but she accepted.

"I won't be a pirate." she said before smacking his hand with hers. "But I'll help you out for awhile." she said with a small smile. Luffy just smiled as she got an idea. "And I know the perfect plan to steal Buggy's treasure." she said as she pulled some rope out of nowhere. "Just need you to hold still."

"We before that." Said as he made his blade disappear

"Where is did your sword go." Nami

"The sword is a part of my soul. So you can guess where it is now."

Later

"What do you mean you couldn't catch the thief?!" Buggy screamed at the three pirates Luffy beat earlier.

"Her boss came out of nowhere and-"

"I don't care die!" Buggy screamed, terrifying the three pirates.

"Captain, the thief is here with the map." said a short clown pirate.

"Alright, show her here. Wait, what?!" Buggy said, confused as Nami walked towards him with a tied up Luffy. When they got close enough, Nami kicked Luffy who fell down at Buggy's feet.

"I've captured the real thief Captain Buggy. Here's your map." Nami said as she handed back the chart.

"I appreciate the return of my map, but why the sudden change of heart?" Buggy asked in confusion.

"My boss is nothing but an idiot, so I thought I'd work for you." she said in a happy tone.

"Hey, let go! That's not yours you moron!" yelled one of the pirates. Everyone turned to see that Luffy was now trying to wrestle a piece of meat away from one of the Buggy pirates with his teeth. Most of the crew, including Nami, sweatdropped at the sight. Buggy, however, was laughing his head off.

"No wonder you're fed up with him. He IS an idiot." he laughed before turning to Nami. "I like your style girly. You're in my crew. Men time for a party!"

Everyone cheered and began to celebrate the new addition to the crew, while Luffy was thrown into an iron cage.

"What's your name woman?" Buggy asked.

"It's Nami."Men! A toast to our new member Nami!" Buggy said with a raised mug. Everyone raised a glass with their captain and Nami before returning to their party. Nami downed her drink as she looked at the pirates.

'Good. Everything's going as planned.' she thought as she wiped her mouth. 'After they've all passed out, I'll steal the chart, the treasure, and get Luffy out of here.'

"I am hungry." Luffy

"Here." said Nami as she set some food next to Luffy when the others weren't looking.

"Thanks." Luffy said as he started eating. As he chewed, he whispered "Looks like your plan is working Nami."

"Shh." she said. "You're gonna blow my cover."

"Food for the enemy Nami?" came the voice of Buggy. Nami turned to see Buggy standing over her with his arms crossed.

"Just a parting gift to say goodbye." she quickly lied, hoping Buggy wouldn't attack. Instead, he just smiled as he raised an eyebrow.

"A parting gift huh?" he asked. "Then I'll give him a parting gift as well." He then ordered his men to bring out his Buggy Ball. Immediately, a few pirates brought out a huge cannon while another brought out a big red ball with Buggy's Jolly Roger on it. They then pointed the loaded cannon at the town. "A demonstration of my power. FIRE!"

When the fuse disappeared, the cannon fire, sending the Buggy Ball through a row of houses, demolishing them all instantly. As the smoke cleared, all that was left was a row of rubble and debris. All the pirates were laughing at the sight.

"How was that? With these Buggy Bombs and the power of my Devil fruit, I'll rule the Grand Line!" Buggy shouted, causing his men to cheer. Nami just stared at the sight, feeling sick at the sight of it. Luffy just looked up at Buggy.

"But I'm the one who's gonna rule the Grand Line." he said. Everyone just stared as he went on. "Because I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"

"Are you trying to piss him off?!" Nami shouted.

"No wonder you're sick of him Nami. Men, prepare the cannon again!" Buggy shouted. His men prepped the cannon with another Buggy Ball, then pointed it straight at Luffy. "Now for MY parting gift. Here Nami." he said as he gave her a box of matches. "To prove your loyalty, I'll give you the honor blasting your boss away."

Nami just looked at the matchbox in horror. "C-come on Captain. There's no need for this. Let's get to the party." she said in a nervous tone.

"Do it Nami." he said a in threatening manner, leaving no room for argument. All the pirates were cheering for her to light the cannon. Her hands were shaking as she stared at Luffy.

"Hurry it up Nami! Kill him now!" Buggy screamed, which was joined by the rest of his crew.

"You're shaking Nami." he said. "This is what happens when you face pirates with a weak resolve."

"What?" she asked, now looking at Luffy's face to see him smile. "To murder anyone like it's nothing?"

"No. It's to be willing to risk your own life." he said with a determined look on his face. Nami just stared at Luffy, surprised at his answer. Luffy then stared her straight in the eye and said "Do it Nami."W-what?" she asked, thinking she heard wrong.

"Light the cannon Nami." he said. Her eyes widen at his request, thinking he'd gone insane. She couldn't believe it, but he was asking her to kill him. He gave her a soft smile as he said "Trust me. It'll be okay." She looked ready to yell at him, but his calm demeanor seemed to calm her down. She slowly lit the match, staring at Luffy as if hoping he'd change his mind. Luffy nodded, telling her to do it. Nami trembled again as she brought the match closer to the fuse.

'I don't know why I'm doing this!' she mentally screamed as the fuse was lit. 'I trust you on this Luffy. I just hope you're right about this!' She then turned away, covering her ears as she shut her eyes.

"Hey! What are you all doing?!" came a voice from the edge of the roof. Everyone looked to see a green haired man with three swords appear.

"Oh. Hey Zor-"

BOOOM!

The cannon had gone off with a blinding light, blowing away everything in front of it.

"Luffy!" Zoro yelled as he stared at the sight. He then noticed Nami near the cannon with the matchbox. He grabbed his sword as he got into an attack stance. "You bitch!" he shouted.

Nami didn't hear him as she slowly looked back to where the cannon fired at. She had a horrified look on her face as the matchbox slipped from her hands. She just seemed to freeze in place.

"HAHAHAHA!" Buggy laughed along with his crew. "So his name was Luffy huh? Well, now we know what to write on his tombstone!" he said as he laughed again.

'What...have I done?' Nami thought as she felt like breaking down. She stared at the smoke that lingered from the blast. She started to tremble again at the thought of killing someone.

"COUGH COUGH! Man that cannonball has kick!" came a voice from the smoke. Everyone seemed to stop laughing as they heard the voice. Nami's eyes widen as big as Zoro's as they all stared as the smoke started to clear. Everyone's jaw dropped when they saw Luffy standing there, perfectly okay. "Haha." Everything around them seemed to froze as the all stared at him. He looked around at all there faces. "What?"

"HOW ON EARTH ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!" they all screamed

"THAT BUGGY BALL HIT YOU POINT BLANK, YET YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A SCRATCH?!" Buggy screamed with bloodshot eyes. Luffy stared at him before putting his hand to his chin.

"Hmmm. Maybe because Buggy ball is weak?" he asked, laughing on the inside at everyone's reaction.

"Did I miss something?" Zoro asked after finding his voice.

"Not really." Luffy answered. "Anyway, we gotta go Zoro." he said before he grabbed Nami by the arm and ran off. "Bye Big Nose!" Luffy yelled before kicking Buggy's cannon right at him. Buggy screamed as it collided with him, giving the three the time they needed to get away.After some running, all three of them rested. Luffy was laughing, while Zoro just lay on the ground, feeling tired from the rowing earlier and the running around trying to find Luffy and escaping. Nami was standing still, unusually quiet with bangs shadowing her eyes.

"Looks like we got away guys." Luffy said as he looked at his friends. His smile faded when he noticed Nami. "Nami? You okay?" he asked. Nami just stood there trembling from head to toe. Luffy got closer, wondering what was wrong. He was a foot away before Nami looked up at him with fury in her eyes before she punched him, smashing head throught the stone street.

"YOU ASSHOLE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU PUT ME THROUGH?!" she screamed before she grabbed him by his vest and started to shake him violently. "I SERIOUSLY THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! WHAT KIND OF PERSON ASKS ANOTHER TO SHOOT THEM WITH A CANNON?!" she screamed. She was now panting, trying to catch her breath as Luffy hung limply from her hands before looking up at her and smiled.

"Why are you angry? It blew up the cage and burned the ropes I was tied up in, didn't it?" Luffy said, as if everything that happened wasn't something to worry about. She just stared at him, looking ready to pound him again. He smiled as he said "I told you to trust me." Nami seemed to calm down before letting him go to fall onto his back.

"I cannot believe you lived through that." she said before she sighed. A small smile came back to her face afterwards. "But I am glad you're alive Luffy."

"So Luffy, who exactly is this?" Zoro asked as he pointed at Nami.

"Oh. Zoro, this is Nami, our navigator for hire. Nami, this is Zoro, my first mate." Luffy said to them both.Zoro? Wait, as in Pirate Hunter Zoro?" Nami asked as she looked at Zoro, now noticing his three swords. "Why is the Pirate Hunter on a pirate crew?"

"Gave up pirate hunting. So you're our new navigator huh?"

"Just for awhile. So, what's your plan now Luffy? We still need to get that chart and Buggy's treasure." Nami asked Luffy.

"Plan B. We beat the shit out of them and take it all by force." he said smiling, earning him another fist to his face.

"What kind of a plan is that?!" she screamed.

"Sounds good to me." Zoro said with a grin.

"You're both nuts!" she screamed, causing Luffy to laugh again before he noticed a small dog close by.

"Hey, a doggy!" he said walking over to it, smiling as he remembered it. He sat down in front of it while Zoro and Nami walked over to him as well.

"What's a dog doing out here?" Nami asked.

"Don't know, don't care." Zoro said in a bored tone as Luffy starting poking it, making it bite him in the face.

"Get off me you mutt" Luffy said as he pulled the dog off his face.

"Leave Chou Chou alone!" screamed an old man who was wearing makeshift body armor. The all looked at him as he walked over into the building the dog was in front of him for a moment before coming back out with a bowl of food for Chou Chou. After a brief introduction, they learned that he was the mayor of this town. When they asked where everyone was, he explained that they left in fear of Buggy and his pirates. Only Chou Chou remained despite the danger to guard the store.

"Why stay for a store? Who owns this place?" Zoro asked.

"A friend of mine," the mayor said as he smoked on his pipe before adding "as well as Chou Chou's owner." He then went on to explain how his friend left for the hospital because of an illness, but died three months ago. When they asked if he was still waiting for his master to return, the mayor doubted it, saying that Chou Chou was smart enough to know his master was gone. He also told them the reason he stays to guard the store was because it was all he had left of his master. "To Chou Chou, this store is his treasure."Zoro couldn't help but admire the dog's courage. Nami gave a sad smile at the thought of losing someone you cared for. Luffy liked how Chou Chou stayed to fight for his treasure. Everyone stopped talking when they heard the roar of a lion in the distance.

"Oh no!" cried Mayor Boodle. "It's Mohji, the Beast Tamer! We gotta run!" he cried as he grabbed Nami's arm and ran away, dragging her along. Luffy and Zoro both stayed to fight off Mohji.

"Before whoever that is gets here, I gotta ask." Zoro said without looking at Luffy. "How did you survive that cannonball? And don't say it's because it was weak. I saw what you did before it hit you." Luffy looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "Right before that cannon fired, I saw parts of your body covered in a blue aura. It was the same color your hair turned when Morgan attacked you with his axe before it shattered. What was that?"

"I'll explain later." Luffy said as he looked forward to see a big lion with green fur and a purple mane coming their way. On top of him was Mohji the Beast Tamer. He wasn't going to let him burn down Chou Chou's treasure this time. They both watched as Richie the lion got closer towards them. He stopped a couple yards away while Mohji stared down at them both.

"Well now, look who we have here." he said in a smug tone. "The silver haired bastard who insulted my captain and his swordsman friend. How nice to find you both."

"What's with the wierd hat?" Zoro asked in a bored tone.

"That's rude!" he yelled as he pointed to his head, which looked like a teedy bear with ears at the top. "This is natural!"

"That's just bizarre." Luffy laughed. Mohji went back into his cool demeanor as he got off Richie, explaining who he was and that he could tame any animal out there. He walked up and told Chou Chou to shake, which ended in the dog biting his arm, making him try to wave him off as he screamed in pain. He then acted like nothing happened as he stared at them again. "Anyway, tell me where that orange haired friend of yours is and I'll make your deaths quick."No." they both said, neither of them sounding scared.

"Fine! Kill them Richie!" Mohji ordered as he jumped off of him. They watched as Richie lunged at them, only to be stopped by Zoro's sheathed blade. Richie stumbled back before shaking his head and growling at them both.

"I got this Luffy." Zoro said as he walked towards the lion, unsheathing his blade. Mohji looked at the swordsman before he saw he had three blades.

"Wait a minute. Are you Pirate Hunter Zoro?" Mohji asked.

"Was. Now I'm a pirate." he said as he tied his bandana around his head.

"Wait. You both are pirates?" he asked before laughing. "Just you two? That's rich!"

"Shut up and fight." Zoro said before stick Wado into his mouth and his other blades into his hands, getting ready to fight. Luffy just stood beside Chou Chou to watch. Zoro crouched down into his usual stance. "Oni..." he said before rushing Richie. "GIRI!" And just like that, the lion fell down, defeated with slash marks on his belly. Mohji quickly stopped laughing and started screaming.

"RICHIE!" he screamed before he looked at them both in anger. "You'll pay for this!" he said as he brought out a whip and lashed it towards Zoro. Zoro began to dodge the whip left and right before throwing his arm out for the whip to wrap around. "Gotcha." Mohji said with a smirk, only for it to be wiped off as Zoro smiled evilly at him.

"Is that right?" he said as he grabbed the whip and pulled hard, pulling Mojhi toward him. Mojhi flew at him screaming before he was knocked into a random house by one of Zoro's punches. "Is that all?" he asked in a bored tone. Luffy just smiled as he watched Zoro handle them both.

"Nice job Zoro." he said, knowing that the little dog's treasure was safe now. "Now it's time to deal with the rest of them. But first, we gotta go get Nami." He then started walking off towards where they went, but stopped and ordered Zoro to bring along Mohji and Riche to make sure they didn't attack the dog. Zoro shrugged as he went back and dragged them along on the ground.

To be continued