"The three get split up!? Sunrise Republic here we are!"

Aiko, Ken(the chore boy), and Herbero are on the little boat, almost arriving at Sunrise Republic, the three are just talking and getting to know each other a little better.

"So, who are you even young lad?" questioned Herbero, intrigued by Aiko, wanting to get to know him more.

Aiko is unresponsive, he seems to be sleeping as usual. Herbero and the chore boy are a bit confused about what's going on, wondering if his eyes are just closed and he's deciding to ignore them, or if he's actually asleep.

The Ken slowly moves over to Aiko to check whether he's awake. As he gets closer to Aiko, he can hear faint snoring from him, he is indeed asleep.

"Yep, he is most definitely asleep." said Ken calmly, showing no surprise to Aiko sleeping.

Herbero lets out a deep sigh, looking tired, and wanting to give up on everything.

"Why am I not surprised, I barely know the kid, and yet I can read him like a book off of first glance," Herbero says in a bored tone.

Ken chuckles, he finds Herbero's dynamic with Aiko funny, even though they barely know each other, the way they interact, looks, and feels like they've known each other for years upon years. Ken then turns to the side of the boat, looking out at the calm deep blue sea, taking in the gorgeous scenery.

"Do you think Miss El ended up making it out of sea...?" The chore boy turned to Herbero, and questioned him, sounding slightly concerned.

Herbero is caught off guard by the question, he totally forgot all about Miss El, he was too worried about what happened, that she completely slipped his mind.

"Well, she isn't a devil fruit eater, so hopefully she made it out, but for our sake, I hope she doesn't end up finding us, or else that would be an absolute disaster."

Herbero says with a sense of stress and worries in his voice, he hopes that Miss El isn't holding any grudges if she's still alive.

"I guess you're right... I got to admit though, I feel more free than I've ever before after escaping, don't you think?" Ken says while smiling, still looking out at the sea, enjoying the calm breeze that skims along his face.

Herbero smiles softly at Ken and he nods his head in agreement, Herbero does feel freer than he did before, something he's never felt ever since joining the El Side pirates.

As the two are just enjoying the silence, they notice Aiko slowly standing up, but as they take a look at his face, they see he's eyes are still closed, and he is still snoring faintly, they're a bit befuddled by what they are witnessing, they start to wonder to themselves "Could he be...", "He can't be...", "Seriously sleepwalking right now!?"

"Yes, more mochi please," mumbled Aiko, as he was walking around the boat in his sleep, not knowing where he was going.

"Hey! Where are you going!?" exclaimed the chore boy, wondering what was going on with Aiko.

"Hey, you fool! Wake up already, you're going to fall into the water if you don't!" shouted Herbero, as Aiko was about to walk off the boat and fall into the water.

As Aiko is about to leap over the boat and fall into the water, Herbero and the chore boy quickly run over to him and grab him before he falls in, and they place him on the floor.

"HEY! WAKE UP YOU BABOON!" Yelled Herbero, trying to wake Aiko up.

The Ken sees that Aiko won't wake up by calling out to him, so he decides to quickly go into the boat's tiny storage room and grab a bucket. When he gets the bucket, he goes to the side and collects some water, and runs over to Aiko, splashing the water on him, waking him up immediately.

"Ah! Mochi!" Yelled Aiko, finally arising from his slumber.

"Finally, took you long enough," said Herbero, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Huh? Was I asleep again?" questioned Aiko, wondering what was going on.

Ken laughs slightly, finding Aiko's confusion entertaining.

"You weren't just sleeping, you were sleepwalking!" said Ken chuckling at Aiko.

"Oh, hehe, that's my bad, I tend to do that sometimes," Aiko says while laughing sheepishly.

Herbero lets out a tiny chuckle.

"Yeah, we get it," said Herbero 

"Anyway, what were you two talking about while I was asleep," asked Aiko leaning against the boat's head and relaxing.

"Nothing much, just getting to know each other more I guess," said Ken smiling softly.

"Hmm, speaking of that, I don't think I ever caught your guys' names," said Aiko in an intrigued tone.

Herbero chuckles.

"Well if you want to know so badly, I'm 'Old eye' Tokomashi Herbero, first mate of the El Side pirates, with an 8 million beli bounty to my name, and that's all you need to know I guess," said Herbero with confidence.

"Wow! 8 million bounty!? That's cool Old man, I like you, I think I'm gonna call you, hmmm....?" said Aiko, trying to think of a cool name for Herbero, only so he can remember Herbero properly.

"Old man Herb! Yes! That's what I'll call you from this day on, hehe," said Aiko grinning widely, feeling very proud of Herbero's nickname.

Herbero feels very insulted by this, and he immediately stands up and rushes over to Aiko, screeching at him and calling him out.

"YOU FOOL! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!? I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW IGNORANT YOU ARE!!" said Herbero, very annoyed by Aiko's name for him, but in all honesty, he felt really special, no one's ever given him a nickname, or seen or considered him as cool.

"Hey, hey, calm down old man, just a little name for me, so I can remember you properly," said Aiko smiling brightly at him.

Herbero finally cools down, he lets out a deep sigh, panting heavily.

"I'm sorry, I...lost...my cool for a... moment, Whew! I am way too old to be doing these things." Herbero says as he takes a sit, trying to catch his breath.

Ken chuckle softly, watching the whole scene play out, he loves it when Aiko and Herbero bicker like this, it's calming in some way, it reminds him of his childhood almost.

"Anyway, what about you skimpy, who are you?" Aiko asked, really wanting to know more about Ken.

Ken chuckles nervously, not really knowing what to say, he's not really interesting, or at least that's what he thinks.

"Uh, well, my name's Ken, and uh, i'm just a choreboy," said Ken smiling nervously.

"Ah, Ken huh? I had a friend named Ken, you actually remind me so much of him." Aiko said, amused by Ken's presence.

"Hm, that's interesting, but for some odd reason you also remind me of someone, on of my childhood friends," said Ken smiling softly.

Herbero who is still trying to catch his breathe, speaks up and says:

"What about you kid, who are you, and what you doing out on the sea?" asked Herbero, fascinated by Aiko, wanting to get to know him more.

"Well, not much about me yet, but what i can tell you is, my name's Monkey D Aiko, and i'm going to become the Conqueror of the Seven Seas!" said Aiko standing confidently.

Herbero and Ken are both taken aback by what Aiko just said, Herbero can't believe what Aiko just said about becoming the Conqueror of the Seven Seas. On the other hand, Ken is baffled about Aiko's full name, the name sounds way too close to home. 

"D-d-did you j-just say...Conqueror of the seven seas!?" said Herbero, still shocked about what he just heard come out of Aiko's mouth.

"No...It can't be...This is not real...You're lying to me..." said Ken softly, he was befuddled by what he just heard.

Aiko notices the two tweaking, but he doesn't catch on to what they're losing it over though.

"Is everything okay...guys?" Aiko questioned them in a genuinely concerned tone.

The two don't hear Aiko since they're both still trying to process this information. Aiko is just there standing a bit confused, wondering if the two need help or something.

"He can't be...who I'm thinking about...can he?" said Ken to himself, wondering if Aiko is who he thinks he is.

"C-c-conqueror of the seas...Do you even know who that is!?" Herbero exclaimed in a shaky tone.

Aiko gives Herbero a big grin and places his hands on his hips, with his chest out, and back straight, and he stands tall and proud.

"Of course, and I'm going to find the forsaken treasure and become...The Conqueror of the seven seas!" Aiko says proudly while his voice echoes into the sea, scaring some birds away.

Herbero gets frightened by that same phrase, causing him to stumble back onto the floor, just hearing those words gives him the chills.

"D-do you even know w-w-who was the Conqueror of the seven seas!?" Herbero asked, in a concerned and shaken tone.

Aiko takes a moment to think if he remembers anything from Omo's story, but he doesn't recall Omo mentioning the name of the Conqueror of the Seven Seas, but yet again, Aiko has bad memory. While Aiko is still thinking, Ken is still shocked, he is all white and questioning himself, losing his mind by the second. Herbero notices Aiko thinking hard, and that he's probably about to pop a vein from thinking too hard.

Herbero lets out a deep sigh, preparing to tell Aiko a little short story.

"Let me tell you who the Conqueror of the seven seas was..."

[About 38 years ago]

There was a great pirate who just showed up on the scene, no one knew who this young lad was, but for certain, he was one hell of a pirate, causing chaos everywhere he set foot on, changing the world in a way no one has seen before in several hundreds of years. Later in the years when this young pirate started getting more and more notorious by the second, he started to catch the attention of the whole world, even those who rule the world themselves, he started to become a very wanted man, and his bounty skyrocketing to heaven itself, doing unheard things, things even the greatest of the greatest at the time wouldn't dare to think of doing, he turned the world into his own at that point, not caring about what anyone thought, he was just out to fulfill his wish. As time went on, he started to anger those in charge of ruling the world, and this caused him to become a very wanted man, with a mouth-opening bounty to his name, making him a huge target in the world, getting chased by bounty hunters, Marine officials, notorious pirates, etc. Once he finally accomplished his dream, he finally settled down for a while, no one knows what he did during that period, but a few years later, one day, something happened...He was finally found, and several of his crew mates and people associated with him were taken into custody by officials, things started to turn upside down, but being the man he was, he fled away from his hiding spot, going from island to island, country to country, but everywhere he went, officials just seemed to know where he was, it was clear to see that the rulers of the world were not letting him get away by any cost. One day on an unknown island, an event occurred, an event that would reshape the world forever. On this island, was where the final confrontation happened, he had nowhere to run now, he was cornered, Marine warships secluded the area, admirals, and officers had him at gunpoint, and different officials working under the rulers of the world, this was the end, but he didn't give up, he decided to fight, all by himself, taking down officers and admirals one by one. As the fight went on, suddenly, there were transponder video recorders everywhere on the island, broadcasting the fight to the entirety of the world, showing his last moments on this earth. As the fight was coming to an end, the great pirate was down on his knees, looking immobile, looking like he was about to die right there and then, looking like he was on his last breaths, not being able to do anything, but before he finally left this world, he left the world with words that would turn it upside down for good, his words were "I may fall today, but my legacy will endure. Seek the truth hidden in the depths, where time and tide converge. The key to my treasure lies not in gold or jewels, but in the knowledge that can reshape the world." These were the words that would change the world for good. When the great pirate left the world with these words, he finally fell down onto his back, that was the end of his life, the end of his story, but his final words would live on forever, causing an impact on the world, in a way that has never been seen before, with pirates going in an uproar, all setting sail to find this treasure, new pirates joining in on the action, trying to get hold of this great treasure, with some wanting to change the world, where others simply wanted power over the world, this was the craziest the seas ever been in several years. 16 years later, great pirates, treasure hunters, etc, are still in search of this ancient treasure that can change the world for the better, but of course, Marines are doing anything to prevent anyone from finding that treasure, even the strongest of pirates.

[Present day]

Aiko sits there, listening to the great story of the Conqueror of the Seven Seas, his eyes gleaming with interest and inspiration.

"Cooollllll!!! I really hope to become that man." Aiko says with confidence.

Herbero lets out a deep, tired sigh, before saying "Of course, you're just going to ignore the point of the story." He said in a rather disappointed tone, not being appealed by Aiko's ignorance, yet he was not surprised at this point.

Ken who has calmed down a bit now, asks "Wait, what was this pirate's name, I've heard stories about him, but I never caught his name." Asking genuinely intrigued by the story.

Herbero takes a moment to think, not really knowing the name of the pirate also.

"Well...I don't know actually...That kind of information is information you'd probably only get from someone in the Grand Line, you know the East Blue has always been a secluded part of the world." Said Herbero, still trying to think of the pirates name somehow.

"Wow! That means I just have to get to the Grand Line and find out more about this great pirate and his treasure!" Aiko said enthusiastically.

Herbero sighs, he loves Aiko's optimism, but beyond the East Blue, it's really rough, many strong and powerful figures stand in the way of his dream, and he doesn't really believe Aiko would last long in the Grand Line.

"Even if you make it, you'll be faced with powerful adversaries and obstacles, many things would get in your way of accomplishing your dream, I don't..." Herbero hesitates for a bit in what he is about to say, but decides to say it, "I don't think you'd make it very far, especially by yourself." Finally finishing his sentence off, feeling a bit bad, he felt that he was a bit harsh.

These words don't hurt Aiko's confidence or optimism in any way, he still believes he can become the Conqueror of the seven seas, even if it means his life.

"So? I don't care about all of that, as long as I know I can do it, nothing can stop me, plus I won't be long, I'll have a large and strong crew of 16 including me, so I don't think achieving my goal is much of a problem."

Herbero sighs, he just decides to leave the conversation here, not wanting to argue further, deep down he just hopes Aiko knows what he's getting himself into, and that he is aware of the dangers and the risks of his upcoming journey.

While the two just stare at each other, Ken who sits on the side of the boat, with binoculars at hand, as he looks out for Sunrise Republic. While being on the look out, he notices something from afar moving rapidly towards them, not being able to see it clearly, he turns to Aiko and Herbero and asks them if they can what's coming up ahead, "Hey guys, is it just me, or is the water moving towards us, and fast?" Ken asked, genuinely scared and worried about what is going on. Aiko and Herbero turn their attention to Ken, and they both look at him confused, wondering what he's on about.

"You okay ken?" Aiko asked in confusion.

"Yeah...You sure everything's alright...?" Herbero said, in a concerned tone.

Ken slaps his palm into his face in annoyance, he can't believe they just think he's losing his mind or something. Ken rushes over to them and hands Herbero the Binoculars to check, to prove a point to both of them.

"Here, take and see for yourself, then we'll see who's the mad one," Ken says slightly offended, handing Herbero the binoculars eagerly.

Herbero takes the binoculars out of his hands and looks through them to check what Ken is talking about. When he takes a look, he can see the water rising and rushing rapidly towards them.

"Ah! Ken's right! The water is moving rather faster than usual." Herbero said a bit startled by what he just saw. 

Aiko still doesn't believe them, so he takes the binoculars quickly from Herbero's hands, looking through them to see what the two are going on about. Aiko can finally see the water moving at light speed towards them, coming in hot, and faster than usual.

"Oh- You're right, the water is coming in fast," Aiko said rather calmly.

"How can you be so calm in a situation like this!?" Said Ken and Herbero in sync, both befuddled by Aiko's oddly calm mood.

Aiko is confused about why they are both overreacting the way they are, it's just water after all, or at least that's what Aiko thinks. While Herbero and Ken are freaking out, and Aiko just stands there confused by their behaviour, they turn and see that the water has stopped moving rapidly towards them, and the waters are now calm.

"Whew, seems like it was just temporary." Said Ken wiping the slight sweat off of his forehead, and letting out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I guess we were just overreacting, it was just the water pressure or whatever," Herbero said, panting slightly from the worrying he was doing.

Aiko lets out a soft chuckle, amused by the two's behaviour, "You two are really funny, hehe" Aiko says while still chuckling slightly.

As everyone is collecting themselves, Herbero and Ken feel the water shaking again, and immediately start worrying again.

"Y-y-y-y-you f-f-feel that!?" Herbero asked anxiously

"I-I-I did!!" Ken exclaims in a worried tone.

Aiko is once again confused on why the two are overreacting, but as he wonders, he notices the shadow over him growing larger and larger, making him suspicious of what is going on behind him, but he doesn't check what's going on just yet. On the other hand, Herbero and Ken are holding on to each other for dear life, from what they are seeing, seems bad, they have their mouths open as wide as the gap between mountains, eyes open beyond measure, tongues out, twisted in a way not seen before, it's like they were not real looking people. Aiko could see the shock in their faces and body posture, which automatically prompted him to turn around and see what these two were going crazy over. As he turned around, he noticed what was causing the large shadow over him, it was a large sea beast, a sea horse serpent to be exact. Aiko just laughs at the site of this, finding it really funny, and paying zero attention to what's going on.

"You guys were seriously overreacting because of this?" Aiko asked jokingly, finding their fear amusing.

The two are still beyond shocked, still in the same position, pulling the same expression, just on the floor holding each other, dead still, not moving even one bit. While this is happening, the sea horse serpent lets out a monstrous roar, releasing a wave of air towards them, sending them back a bit, but Aiko just stands there, with his hair and face blowing in this beast's wind. 

"Man, man, have to deal with one of these again, huh?" Aiko said to himself, with a large grin on his face, slowly getting into a fighting position.

The sea beast then decides to launch an attack at the boat, but before it can even get closer, Aiko jumps right up in front of its face, stretching his arm back, while saying "Dango..." and slowly launching his towards the beast whilst saying "Handgun!" as his fist finally collided with its face, sending it back into the sea, falling right on its back, Aiko lands safely back in the boat, stretching his arm.

"Ah, now that's dealt with," Aiko says letting out a sigh of relief, smiling widely.

Herbero and Ken are still stuck in the same position, but this time they are shocked by what Aiko just did, he used the same move he used on Miss El, and they can't believe how strong he is.

"He can't be real..." Herbero said to himself in his head in utter shock.

"There's no doubt...That's him..." Ken said to himself, concluding what he's been thinking of Aiko.

Aiko smiles and turns towards them, checking if they're okay, but by the looks of it, they don't look so alright.

"Hey! You two! You guys alright...?" Aiko asks genuinely concerned about their current state.

Herbero and Ken start to loosen up a bit, shaking off the fear, and collecting themselves. Moments after, they've finally gotten out of their scared state, and are back to normal, still a bit shaken by the past events that have just occurred.

"Whew, sorry we lost it there, we just couldn't believe what had just happened," Herbero said panting, trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah...Sorry about that, didn't mean to worry you like that." Ken said smiling and scratching his head nervously, a bit embarrassed by what just happened. 

Aiko just chuckles at the two of them, he finds them funny, entertaining, and fun to be around, which makes this journey much better than it already is.

"Man, I love you guys, hehe." Aiko says with a genuine tone, smiling wide at them.

Herbero and Ken get all flustered but try to hide the fact that they liked Aiko's comment.

"Oh shut up! We barely know you! You fool!" Herbero exclaimed gently, turning his face to the side, while he is heavily blushing.

"Yeah! What he said!" Said Ken, being more flustered than Herbero, there's something about Aiko that just makes him feel special and wanted.

Aiko just laughs slightly, while sitting back down on the floor, leaning against the bow of it, with his hands behind his head, just relaxing, looking up at clear, beautiful sky.

"Anyway. How long till we get to Sunrise Republic, feels like we've been traveling for a while now." Aiko asked calmly.

Ken takes his binoculars and looks out at the sea, trying to see how far they are, as he does so, he can see a faint building from a far, looking like the entrance to Sunrise Republic.

"Ah! I think we're quite close, just a few more minutes till we arrive." Ken said smiling softly at Aiko and Herbero.

"Well that's great, but how will we get in unnoticed? it is a heavily guarded country after all." Herbero asked

"Mmmm, I never thought about that actually, and the Marine guarding is going to be quite a problem," Ken said in a much rather concerned tone.

"Huh? Marine guarding?" Aiko said, a bit confused by what Ken meant.

"Well, Sunrise Republic is a Marine lead country, giving the full protection of Marines, meaning everywhere in the country there's a Marine, and they usually don't just let anyone into the country without a permit, and especially since we're pirates, it makes our situation worse," Ken said, explaining their dilemma to Aiko.

"Hmmm, I see, well why don't we just sneak in? Easy peasy." Aiko says bluntly.

Herbero sighs at Aiko's ignorance. 

"We can't just sneak in idiot, the whole place is heavily guarded, every corner and crevice of the country is filled with a Marine officer or few, we would get caught in a matter of seconds," Herbero says explaining to Aiko.

"Exactly, we would need to find another way to get in, if that's even possible," Ken says slightly worried.

There's a moment of silence, as everyone is just blankly staring at each other, wondering what they're going to do. Ken looks out at the sea, and he notices a different island, sparking an idea, he immediately jolts up, and turns his head to Herbero and Aiko smiling widely.

"I think i have an idea...!" said Ken excitedly, smiling widely, feeling confident in his sudden plan.

Herbero raises and eyebrow, wondering what Ken is thinking about.

"And what exactly do you have planned...?" Herbero asked raising an eyebrow, asking intriguedly.

Aiko just smiles, still leaning against the bow of the ship calmly, waiting to hear what Ken has planned.

"So..." Ken says, about to explain his plan.

[In Marmalade Grove]

A few moments later, we're greeted with Aiko, wondering in the small island that Ken spotted; A small place called Marmalade Grove. Aiko just walks at a normal pace, not really being in a rush, just taking in the serene scenery of Marmalade Grove, it's small yet beautiful, the picturesque mountains standing tall in the background, the lush greenery, capturing the eye, and the smell of little market places, it's all just mesmerizing. While Aiko is just wondering around, in the eastern part of Marmalade Grove, we can see Herbero just relaxing outside a local café, sipping on a nice got chai latte, while reading the newspaper, with his legs crossed, seeming at peace. While Herbero reads the newspaper, he sees a much rather interesting headline '"Black Widow" Spider does it again', he looks at this, sighing and smiling slightly, and says "Ah, he does it again", before taking a sip of chai latte, as he continues to read the newspaper. While Herbero and Aiko seem to be relaxing, Ken in the West of Marmalade Grove, seems to be doing the complete opposite, running around everywhere, with a map at hand, looking all over, stressing and sweating all over the place.

"Man...I can't find this damn place" Ken said to himself, stressing about he's current mission.

Ken is looking for a specific place, looks like this place has something to do with his plan that he had told Aiko and Herbero earlier on the boat, before arriving at Marmalade Village. Ken looks at the map, and he goes around asking the locals if he knows where the spot is, receiving several "i don't knows", shaking of heads, or even no answers at all. Ken sighs heavily as he takes a seat on bench, with his head in his hands, with the map still flapping in his hands, he then picks up his head, and he notices a local bar right across, thinking he needs a little drink(A box of apple juice, since he doesn't drink), Ken then stands up, and walks across, and walks in. Inside the bar, it's quite empty, being on the bartender currently, but Ken doesn't mind, since he has really bad social anxiety, not really liking crowded places, especially bars, since they're usually filled, with either pirates or just big violent men. Ken adjusts his glasses, before walking up to the bar, and sitting down on the old, creeking bar stools, placing his head down on the table. The bartender turns his head as he wipes the dusty glasses on the bar shelves, and he notices Ken, and he just smiles as he walks to the front and asks "Can i help you kids?" he asked in a gently, still smiling softly waiting for Ken to answer. Ken then picks up his head slowly, his blonde hair a bit messy, and he sighs, before saying "Can i just get an apple juice please?" Ken asked, tired from all the running around. The bartender just laughs, before he goes and grabs a glass, wipes it, and grabs the apple juice, pouring it into the glass, before heading back and handing it to Ken. He immediately takes the apple juice, and chugs it, letting out a relieved sigh, enjoying his apple juice.

"So, what brings you here to this ol' small village you call Marmalade Grove?" The bartender asks, smiling softly at Ken who sips on his apple juice. 

Ken who finishes the last bit of his apple juice, lets out a sigh, before telling the bartender what he's in town for.

"Ah, well i'm really here looking for a certain place, where i'm gonna meet with a few friends, that's all," said Ken a bit nervous, telling him half the truth of why he's really in town.

"Hmm, then what's the map for?" he asks raising and eyebrow, still smiling softly.

"Uh...Just to find out where the place is, you know." Ken said nervously.

The bartender can see the marked spot on the map, and he immediately figures out what Ken's plan is, making smile even more.

"Well about that place you have marked-" 

Ken immediately hid the map behind his back suspiciously, his hands shaking nervously, a bit nervous of what he's going to say now that he saw it. "What marked spot? I don't know what you're talking about," he said in a shaking tone.

The bartender just laughs softly at Ken's nervous movements and actions, he finds it almost amusing.

"Well about it, i can tell you that map you have right there, is definitely not up to date, it's just going to mislead you," he said chuckling softly.

Ken is a bit surprised at the bartenders calmness, he doesn't know what to think of it, is it ignorance? Or does he just not care? Whatever it is, this definitely puts Ken's stress at ease, knowing he doesn't have to worry about the bartender telling local authorities or anything, but he's confused on what he meant by the map he is using is outdated, since these maps are the maps handed to travelers at the entrance of the village. 

"Wait, what do you mean by 'not up to date', these are the maps they have at the entrance?" Ken asked, a bit confused on what he's saying.

The bartender lets out a small chuckle, before taking the map gently, and looking at it, before he says: "Well they put out these old maps at front, because here in Marmalade, we don't get much visitors as we used to, due to the decreased population of the East Blue." the bartender said calmly, while leaning against the counter, taking a sip of his whisky.

Ken is taken back by the man's words, bit confused, trying to grasp what he is saying.

"Wait, wait, wait, so, what you're saying is that they leave the old maps due to no more visitors in Marmalade Grove?" Ken asks, a bit worried by this.

The bartender laughs and nods his head in agreement, finding Ken's worry a bit funny.

"But don't worry, i know a guy who can hand you a new and updated map, that way you can get to the meeting point with your buddy's." He said leaning gently against the shelf of glasses and drinks above.

Ken quickly jolts up in his seat upon hearing this, he leans in, slightly over the counter, looking at the bartender with interest, smiling widely, hoping the bartender will give more details on this supposed man who can supply him with a new and updated map of the village, so he can get to where he has to meet with Aiko and Herbero. The bartender sighs softly, before saying: "The guy's name is Lenard, he was a great cartographer back in the days, being the navigator of a notorious pirate crew, but then a few years later decided to settle down in this little town, opening his own little workshop, not too far from here, selling all sorts of things." He said, moving around and packing a few things. Ken who is back flat on his seat, listens carefully, taking down notes in his notebook.

"So, where exactly can I find this Lenard guy?" Ken asks, still with a pen at hand, and notebook in the other, waiting for him to give more details.

The bartender gets back up from packing things, and he sighs heavily, before saying: "Well the directions to his workshop are quite complicated, but you look like you can understand. Listen carefully...Once you exit the bar, you will see a butchery called 'Morty's Mega Meats' on your right, you're going to turn there, and continue straight, once you reach the end, turn left onto Strawberry Avenue, and continue straight, then turn right onto Tri-Berry lane, and you'll stop right by a bustling market place called 'Sweet Peach port', which has four different lanes: Rhubarb Boulevard, Zucchini Avenue, Cherry-Pie street and lastly Wild Berry crescent. You're going to turn left onto Rhubarb Boulevard but be careful, it's sprawling with gangs and criminals, so watch your back there. In Rhubarb Boulevard, there's going to be an alley somewhere, take that alley, it's a shortcut. Once you go through there, you will be greeted by an abandoned bar, normally where the homeless take shelter, you're going to turn left onto Chilli Con carne Street, heading straight, until you will see a small sign saying 'Lenard's wood-works' and there you'll find your guy. Hope these directions weren't too overwhelming for ya?" The bartender said, lastly asking whether it was too much for Ken to take in. Ken smiles widely, jotting down the directions, making sure everything is correct, so there are no mishaps along the way.

"Yep! I think I got everything I needed to get, now it's just time for me to head out." Ken says as he slowly gets up from the bar stool, stretching a bit, getting ready to go on a little trip.

The bartender laughs softly, watching Ken prepare himself for his short trip to Lenard's workshop.

"Well then, you better get going, don't wanna waste your time here." He said, smiling at Ken, leaning with his shoulders on the counter.

Ken smiles, before rushing out through the exit of the bar, before saying: "Thank you so much, sir!" He said from a distance, making his way to the first stop; Strawberry Avenue. Back in the Northeastern side of Marmalade Grove, Aiko is still wandering around, going from place to place, enjoying just exploring every interesting place that catches his eye. Aiko is currently walking confidently on the road, with a rather intriguing outfit, adorning a colourful feathered scarf, that sits around his neck, paired with a colourful top hat, on his face, sits a pair of black and white checkered round frame shades. His outfit is finished off with a pair of purple velvet textured gloves. Aiko struts along the street, feeling very confident in his outfit, not caring what people think, the locals though seem to find his outfit funny and out of the box, making him a very unique individual among everyone. While Aiko is walking proudly, he doesn't really look at where he is walking, causing him to accidentally bump into someone. When he bumps into the person, he hears a thump on the ground, sounds like the person fell, and the person on the floor screams "OW!", causing Aiko to take off his shades quickly, looks down; there sits a slender lady with short,dark brown, straight, silky hair. Her green eyes hold a hint of annoyance and pain. She just lies there on the floor, hurt a bit, waiting for Aiko to say something, or at least hoping he will say or do something.

"So, are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna help me up, you idiot!" She said angrily screaming at Aiko, still sat on the floor, with her elbows on balancing her on the ground.

Aiko just looked at her for a while, staring at her a bit confused, wondering whether she was talking to him or if she was just mad.

She notices AIko just staring at her, she wonders if he's ignoring her, or if he is deaf or something.

"I said, ARE YOU JUST GOING TO STAND THERE OR ARE YOU GOING TO HELP ME UP YOU IDIOT!?" She said, screaming louder than before, catching Aiko's attention.

Aiko's eyes flicker a bit, and finally hearing the poor lady on the floor, he turns his head down to face her, he notices her lying on the ground on her elbows, clearly waiting for him to help her. Aiko chuckles nervously and reaches his hand out for her to grab and get up. She rolls her eyes dramatically and takes Aiko's hand and gets up, dusting off her yellow velvet tank top with a rhinestone embroidered flower, then bending down to her knees to dust her dark low-rise skinny jeans. Aiko just stands there smiling, waiting for her to finish up, so he can apologize properly. When she finally finished cleaning herself up a bit, she looked back at Aiko, and she picked up her hand quickly and released a painful slap to Aiko's face.

"That's for bumping into me and letting me fall fool!" She said angrily.

Aiko falls back onto his butt, rubbing his face really hard, the impact of that slap was pretty bad.

"Hey! I just didn't see you, so I apologize, it was my mistake." AIko said sheepishly, still rubbing the part of his face where he got slapped. 

The girl feels a bit bad for treating him the way he did, she then sighs with her head down, before picking it up and moving closer to Aiko as she reaches her hand out to him. Aiko sees her reached-out hand in front of him, he smiles slightly, before stretching his hand out a bit to grab it, seeing this creeped her out a bit.

"Hm, you're a devil fruit eater?" She says as she gets up slowly.

"Yep! I ate the Dango-Dango fruit." Aiko says smiling widely while playing with his cheeks like chewy dango.

"Hmm, I see." She says, finding Aiko fascinating. 

Aiko just smiles, before, making the moment quite awkward. 

"So...Who are you anyway, and what are you doing out here?" She asked, tilting her head a bit, trying to see if Aiko was someone who she had seen before.

"I am Monkey D Aiko, and I'm going to become the Conqueror of the Seven Seas!" Aiko says loudly, catching the attention of a few locals in the area.

This comment scares the girl a bit, being scared by Aiko's name, and his reason for being out at sea. 

"Did you just say...Monkey D!?" The girl asked in a shocked tone, backing away a bit.

Aiko notices her moving back bit by bit, slightly confused about what she's doing, wondering if she's scared of him or something, yet, she only met him today.

"Hey, why are you moving? Don't worry, I don't bite!" Aiko says smiling widely.

"No, no, no, not that I'm scared or anything, I'm just shocked about that name, it's quite...quite..." She says, as she hesitates to finish the rest of her sentence.

"Quite what...?" Aiko asks a tad confused on what she is trying to say.

She sighs, pausing for a moment, before finally saying: "It's just, that name is quite powerful, if I can put it like that." She says, looking at him with a blank face.

Aiko is confused on what she means by 'powerful', trying to grasp on what she could be saying, but Aiko not being the smartest, really can't pick up on what she is saying.

"Huh? I'm really confused here..." Aiko said, tilting his head slightly, still trying to think of what she meant.

The girl sighs at the sight of Aiko's stupidity, it looks like he's using up all of his brain cells, just to think of something so simple, well at least to her.

"Just forget it, i guess you'll find out the significance of your name sooner or later." She says in a tired voice.

Aiko smiles and immediately stops thinking of what she was saying.

"Anyhoo, I never caught your name," Aiko says smiling at her

The girl looks at him, smiling softly at him.

"Oh my name's Willow, nice to meet you." She says as she winks and throws a little peace sign.

"It's nice to meet you!" Aiko says chuckling a bit giving off the same energy.

Willow smiles softly, she likes Aiko, he seems nice, and he is very much the opposite of what she thought he would be, or how he would be.

"So, what are you doing out at sea, that's if you are traveling the seas, if you are, that's my bad, you just don't look like one of the townies here," Aiko said scratching his head nervously, hoping he did not say anything that would offend her or cause her to lash out at him again.

"Oh, me? Nothing much really, I've just been going around the East Blue, stealing treasure, collecting artifacts, etc." Willow says casually.

Aiko intrigued by what she said, wants to ask her to join his crew immediately.

"You should join my crew!" Aiko said, leaning in closer with a huge grin on his face.

Willow backs her head away a bit, not wanting to be too close.

"Your crew? But I only see you...?" Willow says, a bit puzzled by Aiko's request.

"Well if you join, it will make you my first crew member!" Aiko says, still leaning in, smiling widely.

Willow takes a moment to think about this, it wouldn't hurt to join she guesses, it would make her voyage much easier.

"Hmm, fine. I'll join your crew." Willow says, smiling softly at Aiko.

Aiko immediately jumps up upon hearing this, finally recruiting his first crewmate, he jumps and cheers around her, being excited beyond measure, he finally bagged his first crewmate, and now there are just 14 more to go. Willow just giggles upon seeing this, she finds Aiko's excitement funny and a bit cute. 

"YAY! My first Nakama!" Aiko screeched, still jumping around the place like a monkey.

"Yeah, yeah, calm down now, everyone's watching," Willow says in a whispering tone, a bit embarrassed as some townies observe the two.

Aiko hears this, and he immediately stops jumping, getting back into character, and acting like nothing happened.

"Y-yeah, uhm totally," Aiko says clearing his throat and putting on a deeper fake voice, trying to act different so no one notices.

Willow sighs and shakes her head, she seems done with Aiko already.

"Anyway, where were you even headed to?" Willow questioned Aiko, tilting her head slightly.

Aiko snaps back into his normal self, and smiles at Willow, "I was just walking around waiting for two of my other friends, we have to meet up at a certain place, but come to think of it, I forgot what the place was called..." Aiko said, with his finger placed on his chin, trying to remember where he had to meet up with Herbero and Ken again.

"I'm assuming you guys are trying to get to the Sunrise Republic?" Willow asks casually, already guessing their plan.

"Yep! We couldn't go straight, because...uh...because..." Aiko says as he pauses, trying to remember why they couldn't enter straight through the gates of Sunrise Republic.

Willow sighs and places her head in her palm, Aiko's not just stupid, but he has short-term memory too it seems, she thought to herself.

"Wow, I can't believe this. You couldn't get in because you need a permit to enter if you're an outsider." Willow says tiredly.

"Oh yeah! Exactly that...I think. So, our buddy Ken came up with a plan, and now we have to meet at the 'Great Walk', so, we can get into Sunrise Republic!" Aiko says smiling widely in Willow's face.

Willow moved her head away a bit as Aiko was a bit too close for comfort, smiling awkwardly, "Yeah I guessed as much," she said, trying to hide the fact she is very uncomfortable. "Anyway. Even taking that route, you were still going to need a permit to enter, since every entrance to Sunrise Republic is guarded by Marine officers, even the not-so-used entryways." 

Aiko is taken aback a bit by Willow's words, wondering what she meant by what she said. "Huh...? What do you mean...?" Aiko questioned confusedly, turning his head to the side fully, showing the level of his confusion.

"Well it's simple, you guys were just going to run into a dead end," Willow says bluntly and straightforwardly.

Aiko just stands for a few minutes, doing nothing, saying nothing, just frozen like a mime, acting like a statue.

"WHAT IS THAT MEANT TO MEAN YOU FOOL!" Aiko says screaming right in Willow's face, spit flying out his mouth and right into Willow's face, his voice echoing through the town. Willow is just there standing with her head pushed away, her arms up front, trying to shield her face from all of Aiko's shouting. Willow being stubborn, shouts back at Aiko, with them now going back and forth, screaming right in each others' faces. While the two are fighting, Herbero, who was finally done at the café, is seen walking down the same street Aiko is currently on. Herbero can hear arguing from a distance, and he hears a familiar voice, that being Aiko's, Herbero then walks a bit faster to the location of Aiko's voice. Once he gets there, he notices Aiko arguing with Willow, and he immediately rushes over to them and when he gets there he immediately hits Aiko on the head with his walking stick. 

"THAT'S NO WAY TO SPEAK TO A WOMAN, FOOL!" Herbero shouted angrily, waving his stick angrily at Aiko.

Aiko rolls on the floor, holding his head in pain, whining all over the place.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, that hurt!" Aiko said in a somber tone, sounding like he was about to cry.

"As it should have!" Herbero says as he slowly turns his attention to Willow. "I'm sorry for his behaviour. He's just another RUDE..." He said turning his head to Aiko "Young boy," he said turning his attention back to Willow, and he grabbed her hand and tried to place a kiss on it, but before he knew it, Willow slapped him, sending him to the floor, looking paralyzed, with a large red handmark on his cheek.

"Both of you are absolute fools!" Willow said angrily.

As Aiko and Herbero get back up on their feet, Aiko notices Ken running in the far back, Aiko smiles and he calls out to Ken, catching his attention immediately. Ken turns his head towards Aiko's voice, smiling softly, he runs over to him, seeing Herbero, and Willow too, standing there with him. When he gets to Aiko and the rest, he's panting heavily, he's been running all over the place, he's currently on Chilli Con Carne Street, meaning they're not too far from Lenard's workshop. 

"Hey guys...I finally made it...Whew," Ken said panting heavily, trying to catch his breath.

"What happened to you?" Herbero asked, noticing that Ken looked a bit of a mess, his hair messy, his clothes a bit dusty, his face flooded in sweat.

Willow looks at Ken with a concerned look on her face, she doesn't know him yet, but she can tell he's been through it. "Yeah, you look quite the mess." She said with a hint of worry in her tone.

"Shut up you! You can't speak to him like that!" Aiko says shouting at Willow, once again.

"I was just saying! No need to shout you idiot!" Willow said shouting back at Aiko.

This causes the two to start arguing again, they already have such a complicated dynamic, and they just met only a few minutes ago.

Herbero once again budges in, shouting at Aiko, defending Willow, making the commotion worse. Ken who has finally caught his breath, just sighs at the sight of this, it was already hard enough dealing with Aiko and Herbero's constant bickering, but now Willow has joined the equation, making everything worse. 

"Hey guys! I have something to tell you guys." Ken said loudly, trying to catch their attention, but they all just continued bickering, not paying attention to Ken one bit, this annoyed Ken slightly. "GUYS!" Ken screamed, still trying to get their attention. The three turn to him. "SHUT UP!!!" They all said, going back to their bickering, this prompted Ken to also join in on the argument, now the four were all arguing, their voices all echoing through the town, catching some of the local's attention. While they all bicker, not realizing they have all the townies' eyes on them, giving them a few different looks, some confused, some worried, some annoyed. As their bickering continued, suddenly, loud footsteps could be heard, sounding like several people walking up to the middle of the road, when the people heard the footsteps, they all turned in its direction, and they noticed someone, and they all immediately started to run or move away from the premises, obviously being scared of him. While everyone is running away screaming in fear, Aiko, Ken, Herbero, and Willow, continue their bickering, shouting right in each other's faces, blocking out any noise around them, and not paying attention to their surroundings. Suddenly out of the blue, this large, tall man picks up Ken from his head, causing Ken to screech, not knowing what's going on, until he turns his head towards him, looking up at him and realizes who it is. 

"There you are, twerp!" The man said laughing hysterically. 

This all catches their attention, finally ending their bickering.

"Hey! Put Ken down!" Aiko said screaming, getting ready to fight.

On the other hand, Willow and Herbero are standing right behind Aiko, holding each other close, trembling in fear, not knowing what's going to happen, clearly scared of this tall monstrous-looking man. 

"Huh?" The man says, as he looks down and sees Aiko in a fighting position.

The man just burst out laughing hysterically, taking Aiko for a joke. Aiko grits his teeth, annoyance, and anger written all over his face. Aiko then takes one step closer, and out of the blue launches a fist to the man's face. "I said... Put Ken down!!" Aiko exclaimed as he sent the man onto the floor rolling, and Ken being released from his hold, the man's goons saw this and immediately took out their weapons, getting ready to fight, but as they did so, a poised and confident figure can be spotted from a distance can be heard, each footstep had everyone wondering who it was, until this shadowy figure stood into the light, revealing themselves, standing tall and stern, an aura of authority yet calmness followed him around. "Men, men, men," he said as he approached the assembly of fighters and Aiko and his friends. "There's no need for violence, especially at this time of day," he said chuckling softly, a hint of amusement could be seen in his face and heard in his tone. "Now, let's drop the weapons. Lower our hands. And resolve this like civilized and proper human beings, heh?" He said with a voice of authority, sounding stern, yet, calm, standing tall right in between the two groups, trying to mediate the whole situation. 

"Hey! Gramps you're interrupting!" Aiko asked, still a bit fired up, not really thinking of his words or thinking of anything else at all but fighting.

The man chuckles, finding Aiko's disrespect funny.

"You fool! Don't you know who that is!?" Willow said in a worried yet annoyed tone, hitting Aiko on the head.

"Ow! What was that for!?" Aiko asked, holding the top of his head in pain, with a large bump sitting on the top of his head.

"For disrespecting an elder, you idiot! Especially an important elder like him!" Willow said, screaming right in Aiko's face.

The man chuckles softly, still standing in between the fight. As everyone is frozen in place, just giving each other cold stares, the guy Aiko had punched earlier, in the distance can be seen getting up slowly. "Hey guys! Fall back!" he said screaming to his goons, getting up slowly, holding his stomach in pain. "We'll tell the boss about these rugrats." He said to himself, with a sinister smile creeping onto his face. The goons look at him and look among themselves and all nod, and decide to fall back, leaving Aiko and the rest of his friends, for the meantime. As they all left, the man who arrived putting the fight to a halt, smiled at Aiko and the rest softly, giving Ken a hand, since he was still lying on the floor after he had been dropped. Everyone then collects themselves, relaxing a bit, now that the ruffians are gone. 

"Whew, that was close," Willow said wiping some sweat off her forehead, due to the stress she had.

"Who were those guys anyway," Herbero said, scratching his head, tilting his head slightly.

"THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO TELL YOU GUYS ABOUT! But you all wouldn't just stop fighting!" Ken said angrily, annoyed at the fact that they all just ignored him.

"Did you encounter them before you arrived here?" Willow asked Ken, curious on how he knew them.

"Well yeah, well no, well actually, yes. When I was making my way here, i went through an alleyway somewhere on Rhoubarb Boulevard, and i met those guys on my way, and yeah...Let's just say it wasn't a nice meeting at all." Ken said, sighing heavily, finally being able to relax and calm his nerves.

"What were you doing on Rhoubarb Boulevard you fool!? Everyone knows that it's a hotspot for crime and crooks like those that we just met." Willow said shaking her head.

"The young lady's right, you shouldn't have done that." The man said chuckling loudly.

"Well, I didn't know that! Plus the guy at the bar told me that I needed to go through there to make it to a workshop called 'Lenard's wood works', and we could find assistance there, to help us get to Sunrise Republic." Ken said tiredly, not really having the energy to explain the whole thing.

The man then sighs and rolls his eyes. "Of course, that old man led you the wrong way, you should have just taken a ride on one of the local horses and come straight here right from that bar, it's not too far. He just wanted to send you on a wild goose chase for no reason." The man said sighing, chuckling softly as he shook his head.

"Huh? How do you know?" Ken asked curiously.

"Well, because I'm the owner of that workshop, I am Lenard," Lenard said chuckling softly, taking out a cigarette, lighting it, and taking a small smoke.

Ken is taken aback by this comment and is losing his mind, he can't believe what he's hearing right now, he's happy that he finally found Lenard, but at the same time mad at the bartender for putting him through hell for no reason.

"That bloody bartender! Putting me through so much for no reason." Ken said, annoyed and sad, his on the floor on his knees, faced down, his hand heating the ground disappointed in himself for just trusting some random bartender.

Lenard just stood there, with his cigarette in his mouth, smiling. "Man, man, don't beat yourself so much kid, these things happen," he said smiling, taking the cigarette out of his mouth.

While Ken is still moping on the ground, Herbero, Willow, and Aiko are just standing there, just staring at the man, not really knowing what to say at the moment.

"Ah, anyway, what brings you guys to Marmalade?" Lenard asked peculiarly, looking at the group intrigued by their travels. 

"I was just in town, minding my business, then came these fools, and now I guess I'm stuck with them," Willow said in a tired voice, shaking her head, and letting out a heavy, dramatic sigh.

"I came here to start my journey to becoming the Conqueror of the Seven Seas!" Aiko said standing proudly, while his voice echoed throughout the empty street.

Lenard's eyes widen slightly, he's shocked by Aiko's rather daring dream, but he finds him amusing.

"That's one hell of a dream there kid, you really sure about that? There are several pirates in the world dreaming of the same as you," he said, chuckling a bit, but he had a hint of seriousness in his tone.

"Of course! I know I'm going to become the Conqueror of the Seven Seas! No one is going to get in the way of my dream." Aiko says confidently, with a large grin spread all over his face.

Lenard just chuckles and smiles softly at everyone. "I love your optimism kid, and you got a good group of friends to help you on your journey too," he says taking another puff of his cigarette. 

Ken, Herbero, and Willow immediately jolt up upon hearing this, shaking them up a bit.

"I-I-I-I-I'm not involved in all of that!" Willow said, immediately responding to the man's comment.

Ken and Herbero both nod their heads vigorously, agreeing with Willow's statement.

"Hey! You already accepted to join my crew! You can't change now! A deal is a deal." Aiko exclaimed in Willow's face.

Willow sighs and shakes her head, she did very much so agree to join Aiko's crew, and she regrets agreeing after remembering what he truly wants to achieve on his journey. Lenard just chuckles as he watches the group freak out, he finds them rather entertaining, and fun to be around.

"Anyway, the blonde shrimp mentioned 'assistance' from Lenard?" Lenard said, confirming that he was the one they were looking for.

"Y-yep, that's what the bartender told me, but I don't think I can really trust him anymore..." Ken said, still mad at the bartender.

Lenard chuckles and smiles softly at Ken. "Don't worry, he didn't lie about that." He said sighing softly.

Everyone stands there, looking at each other, waiting for something to happen or for someone to say something or anything.

"Well then, you guys follow me, we're gonna head to my workshop, where I'll assist you guys in getting to Sunrise Republic," Lenard said smiling warmly at all of them.

Lenard then turns around to the direction of his workshop, he looks at the others and signals for them to follow him. They all look at each other, then follow him slowly, making their way to his workshop.

[Lenard's workshop]

A few minutes later, they all arrive near Lenard's workshop, all looking exhausted and famished. As they approach the front of the workshop, Aiko's stomach grumbles angrily, and everyone around can hear his intense hunger.

"Hey old man, do you have any food in your workshop, I'm dying of hunger," he said, dragging his feet across the floor, moving slower and slower, clearly needing food inside of him right now. Lenard just chuckles, smiling softly to himself. "Mm, I'll make sure you guys eat, let's just get inside," he said as they finally arrived at the front entrance of his workshop. Lenard opens the door, holding it for the others to get in. They all enter slowly, looking around in his workshop, admiring the intricate wooden art pieces, looking at them in awe.

"Hmm, this is very nice," Willow said, looking around at the different pieces inside of the workshop.

"It really is, just like you," Herbero said smiling pervertedly at Willow.

Willow smacks Herbero right in the face, Herbero falls right to the floor, with a large red hand mark on his face. Willow looks at him down on the floor in disgust, feeling uncomfortable by his remarks.

"Ew, you perv,' Willow said walking away, to continue looking at the amazing works of Lenard.

Ken also takes his time to admire his work, it's absolutely eye-catching, and each piece is like an adventure when you look at it, each holding their own little story to tell, just by the look of it.

"Wow! You made all of this," Ken said looking towards Lenard, being in awe of his work.

Lenard chuckles and nods, smiling softly at them, he loves it when people admire his work.

"Yep, sculpting is something I picked up, and actually enjoyed it, now I show my pieces here in my little workshop," he said, picking up one of his pieces, looking at it, and admiring his own work.

While everyone admires the work, Aiko, who's currently on the floor, looking like he's on his last breath, looks like he has walked through a desert, and he looks extremely dehydrated and malnourished.

"I...n-n-n-nee...d...f-f-f-oo...d-d-d..." Aiko said tiredly, dragging himself on the floor, his voice was out of breath, making a high raspy sound.

They all look at Aiko who is drooping on the floor, looking like a sad sack of potatoes, they all look at him with concern, wondering is he's ok.

"Is he okay...?" Willow questioned looking at him still drooping on the floor.

"I don't think so..." Herbero said sighing and shaking his head at the sight of Aiko.

"Clearly not," Ken said sighing heavily, looking at Aiko with concern in his eyes.

Lenard just laughs at the sigh of this, immediately finding some water and bread for Aiko, just to hold on for a bit. Aiko immediately drinks the water and eats all the bread, feeling better than before, he's not full to the point he would like to be, but what he has is enough for him to hold out for a bit. 

"Thank you, Gramps! Thought I was about to die back there." Aiko said standing on his feet again, chuckling a bit.

Lenard just laughs and smiles softly at Aiko. "Don't mention it, kid," he said happily.

The other three just stand there and sigh, they're slowly getting used to Aiko's drama, not being surprised by his antics. While they all just look at each other, waiting for someone to say something. Willow turns her head to Herbero, noticing he has a newspaper in his hands, she immediately swipes the newspaper out of his hands, wanting to read it, this catches Herbero off guard a bit.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Herbero asked a bit startled by Willow suddenly snatching the newspaper right from his hand. 

Willow doesn't pay attention to Herbero since she is paying attention to the newspaper. After reading the newspaper, Willow just places it on the front desk of the workshop gently. 

"So...What was the newspaper saying?" Ken asked awkwardly.

Willow sighs. "Nothing interesting, just something about that pirate Spider-"

Aiko jumps up upon hearing the name 'Spider', making him rush over to Willow in a hurry. 

"W-w-w-what was it saying about S-s-s-spider!?" Aiko asked, cutting Willow off on what she was saying.

Willow just looks down at Aiko who is shaking her vigorously, clearly wanting to know what's going.Willow holds Aiko, stopping him from shaking her nonstop before slapping him right in the face. Aiko falls right onto the floor, rubbing his face hard, trying to get rid of the pain of Willow's slap.

"Be patient and let me explain you fool!" Willow said screaming at Aiko who just sat there quiet on the floor.

Aiko frowns and nods, waiting patiently for Willow to say what she had to say, regarding the news about this mysterious man Spider.

Willow sighs and rubs her forehead. "Like i was saying, it was nothing much, just about Spider causing mayhem as per usual in the Grandline."

Herbero and Ken just stand there a little bit shocked, but not really. Lenard on the other hand just sits on a stool chuckling softly to himself. Aiko who is up standing again, looks at the newspaper with Spider's picture on the front page, his eyes sparkling with excitement and interest.

"Cool!! So that's what he's been doing all these years," Aiko said still looking at the newspaper, admiring Spider.

Willow looks at Aiko a bit confused, wondering how he knows Spider out of all people. 

"What's your deal with Spider, seems he's got you all excited and in your feels," Willow says confusedly.

Aiko smiles widely and turns his head to Willow. 

"Well, because I know him, he used to come to my hometown and check on us once in a while, so we were quite close," Aiko says proudly, grinning widely at everyone.

Everyone looks at Aiko a bit shocked, wondering what he's saying, with all of them take aback by him knowing Spider on a personal level.

"Friends...?" Herbero questioned to himself.

"With..." Ken said quietly

"Spider...!?" WIllow exclaimed shockingly, looking at Aiko with a staggered look on her face.

Aiko just smiles and nods at everyone. 

"Yep, it started 9 years ago..."

[9 years ago]

Back in a calm little country, people walking peacefully along the street, going about their days, minding their business not caring about what anyone else is doing. In the heart of this country, sits the main village, Old daisy Hamlet, a bustling yet calm place in the whole of the country. In this village, lies several shops, places to relax, etc. It's primarily a spot where pirates, bounty hunters, crooks, and all of those 'bad' guys recite, mostly heading to the local bar, this bar is always full, making it a booming spot. In the bar, a bunch of clamour is heard, with people laughing together loudly, glasses being clanked against each other, just overall joy and excitement can be heard. By the bar table, a slim man with black and blonde hair is seen sitting on a bar stool by the bar table, and next to him sits a young Aiko. 

"Come on Spider-san! Let me join your crew! Pretty please! Pretty please! Pretty please!" Aiko asked pleadingly to Spider, while he pouts at him, pulling large puppy eyes, hoping he could persuade him.

Spider looks at him and shakes his head chuckling: "No means no Aiko, plus, I already got in trouble with your mother for that stupid act you pulled last week," he said taking a sip of his drink.

Aiko crosses his arms, pouting angrily, looking very displeased with Spider, he just sits there crossing his arms, hoping Spider will somehow change his mind. Spider just looks at him and sighs, chuckling softly to himself. As Aiko sat there angry, a female bartender with short lime-coloured hair, approached the front of the table, with a glass of apple juice in her hand and a cloth placed on her shoulders. 

"It's okay Aiko, it's not the end of the world," she said as she handed the glass of apple juice to Aiko. 

Aiko sits there, trying to act all angry, when he knows clearly that he wants to take the apple juice since it is his favourite drink. Spider just looked at Aiko and laughed to himself. "C'mon bud, drink up, it will cheer you up, trust." He said pushing the glass of apple juice to him, trying to persuade him even more. Aiko just sits there holding in the urge to just snatch the glass and down the juice, but he refrains, staying strong, all just to look tough and angry. 

"I'm fine, thank you," Aiko said pushing the glass away slightly and turning his back toward Spider with his arms crossed.

Spider laughs loudly as he ruffles Aiko's hair a bit. "Oh man, you're a stubborn one, huh?" Spider said smiling softly to himself, taking another sip of his drink. 

"I've been trying to tell you, Aiko is a bit of a hot-head, he just doesn't want to admit it," said a man with long, silky, and sleeked back hair, sitting right above his shoulders, with bright grey eyes. Aiko immediately snapped his head towards the man, looking rather offended by his comment.

"I AM NOT HOT-HEADED YOU BAFOON!" He blurted loudly, his voice cracking, making him heard throughout the whole bar. Everyone in the bar pauses for a moment, with all their eyes on Aiko, looking at him confused, before they all start breaking out into sudden hysteria. 

"Whew! You're quite the funny one kid," a large fat man said laughing hysterically before taking a large bite of his abnormally gigantic piece of meat.

"Not even mine back home is as hot-headed as Aiko," A man with pitch-black hair, complimented with grey streaks, and clear-thin framed squared glasses said chuckling softly, before going back to reading his book. All the men in the bar, laughing jolly along with Spider, all throwing playful shots at Aiko. Aiko, who's sitting on the bar stool slouching on the bar top, tearing up slightly. He can handle the bullying to an extent, it still hurts him from time to time, but he's used to it. The bartender just smiles softly in Aiko's direction as she slowly walks over to him, making sure he is okay.

"Aiko pie, don't worry about them, they're just being jerks." She said rubbing his back softly, hearing his quiet whimpers made her frown a bit, feeling bad for him, but she knew the guys were just playing around.

"Oh c'mon little man, we were only just playing around," Spider said patting him on the back reassuringly. 

Aiko slowly elevated his head from the bar table, with his cheeks full of dried up tears, his eyes red from all the crying. Spider looks at him with a slight frown, feeling guilty for pulling Aiko's leg too far. 

"C'mon, let's dry those tears up, we don't want your mom asking us what happened then she kills us, do we?" Spider said playfully, wiping Aiko's face with a wet towel. After wiping his face, Aiko sighs as he finally sits up straight, when he notices a purple velvet textured cloth, covering something. Aiko being the curious type, leans closer to the cloth, and pulls it off, revealing a rounded, irregular- shaped fruit with different segments skewered on a stick. It holds a pastel pink colour, each segment resembling a ball. The segments have a glossy, shiny surface, making them look almost appetizing. Aiko smiles brightly upon seeing this, licking his lips hungrily, immediately craving what's inside. Aiko opens the case, slowly reaching for the fruit, his eyes gleaming with excitement and anticipation, his mouth drooling uncontrollably, his hands shaking from the excitement, he can barely hold himself right now. Aiko wastes no time, he shoves his face right into the fruit, chewing it delightfully, enjoying every bite he takes, savouring each moment, and before you know it, he ate the entire thing, licking his fingers, rubbing his belly with satisfaction, before burping loudly. Spider chuckles hearing Aiko burp, being glad Aiko is in a better mood than before.

"Looks like someone's in a better mood," Spider said laughing, taking a sip of his booze.

"Yep! I had something to eat, making all my sadness go away!" Aiko exclaimed cheerfully

Spider laughs softly, enjoying Aiko's enthusiasm. As Spider is enjoying his drink, he turns to Aiko's direction, and notices the velvet cloth off and the case that was covered by it, open. Spider's eyes widen in confusion and fear. 

"A-Aiko..." Spider said in a low raspy voice, sounding a bit shaky.

Aiko turns his head slowly, a bit scared he did something wrong. "Y-yes..." Aiko said in a whisper, anticipating the worst. 

"Did you... Uhm... By any chance-" He choked on his words. "By any chance... Eat what was inside of that case..." Spider asked shakily. Aiko turned his head slowly and shakily, his nerves building up inside of him, his mind spiriling with several outcomes if he admits to eating what was inside the case. As he turns to Spider, he gulps heavily before nodding slowly and hesitantly,feeling the guilt eating him up from the inside. The whole room goes quiet, everyone's eyes fixed on Aiko, before... "AHHHHHHHHHH!" A collective scream came from the bar.

TO BE CONTINUED!