A Little Story

After ending the call with Garp, Jack made his way towards the kitchen of the ship, knowing that the most, if not everyone would be there.

Walking into the room he saw everyone but Luke, Kureha, and Chopper sitting around the table, listening to some record dial that Soran had picked out.

"Hello, ladies!" Jack said as he took a seat next to Selene. "Hey, bro! Where were you?" Soran asked, taking her eyes away from the music device in front of her. At her words, all eyes turned to Jack, prompting a wolfish smile to form across his face.

"I was recruiting some instructors for the academy, now I just need to go get them. So who wants to come with me to the New World for a few days? Well, more like a few weeks or so, but you get my point." Jack said, getting a few cheers of agreement from everyone in the room, Makino, Soran and Apis included.

The only ones going to stay, were Dr. Kureha and Chopper as their medical abilities were needed here far more. "Where are we going?!" Soran asked excitedly.

"Well, I'm not sure you would be allowed to come, but I plan to head to Secon, Sabaody Archipelago, visit Alabasta to check up on Stain, and maybe make a stop or two in the New World. Gotta grab Garp, Sengoku, Rayleigh and Shakky, but we can grab them after exploring for a day or two." Jack said, getting giant puppy eyes from Soran in return.

Looking over to Makino, Jack almost burst out laughing when he saw that she too was looking at him with wide pleading eyes. "So you actually wanna go to?" Jack asked, looking towards Makino, who in return to his question, nodded her head furiously.

"And you want to bring Soran and Apis along as well?" Jack asked again. "As long as you and the others are there, I think we should be pretty safe. At the very least I think you have the power to get them away to safety if the situation called for it. Plus once we get to Garp, I don't think anyone would want to mess with the group. And Soran could use more time with you." Makino said, getting a hopeful nod from Soran.

After a moment of contemplation, Jack sighed as he answered, "*SIGH* Fine! You all can tag along, but you don't leave the ship without me, Luke or Smoker present, and you listen to every word I say when we get to the New world." Jack stated, leaving no room for arguments.

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After informing Dragon, Tsuru, and the elites of the Adventurer's Association, Jack gathered his crew, Nemo included, who had decided to join after Jack gave him the opportunity, and set off in the Pearl towards Alabasta.

With Nojiko flying the ship, and Jack constantly using his power to boost the speed of the Pearl to the maximum, they were making remarkable time. Luke and Smoker were the only ones capable of walking outside at this speed, which they both used as a training exercise, getting a few looks of envy from the weaker members, but Jack assured everyone that if they trained properly, they too could do it too.

Throughout the trip, Jack stayed in the control room in the command chair, using his power, thus he was unable to walk around. Everyone else however, were all in the dining room listening to music or were playing card games, but mostly just relaxing because they couldn't really move around all that well given how fast the ship was going.

The trip to Alabasta lasted only a few hours, and when they finally reached the edges of the Sandy country, Jack stopped using his powers and slowed the ship to almost a snails pace in comparison to what they were going at previously.

"Nami!! Where are we?! And how do we get to Nanohan?! Stain said he would build the Association branch there, so that's where we'll go!!" Jack yelled, getting the attention of everyone else on board.

A few minutes later, Nami, Makino, Nojiko and Robin walked into the control room, with Nami immediately going over to the map on the table. "Based on what I can tell, we're just on the other side of the Sandora River from Nanohan, so if we head in that direction, we should get there in a few minutes." Nami said while gesturing to the right of the Control room.

Without being asked, Nojiko adjusted the ship to the correct direction and set off at a speed that everyone could still move around without any difficulty.

"Has Stain given any reports on how things have been since we left him here?" Tashigi asked curiously, causing everyone to look over to Jack.

Noticing everyone's gaze locked on him, Jack shrugged his shoulders as he replied, "How should I know? He would have reported to the East Blue HQ on any progress, and if he needed help then they would have called us. Despite what most people believe, I have no intention of being in charge of any of this crap, I'm just setting it up."

A few people that already knew that just nodded in acceptance, but the newer members, such as Nemo, Lucian and Tedi had oooo faces, then finally shrugged it off. They didn't want to be in charge of anything like that either, so this worked out extremely good for them as well.

"THERE IT IS!!!" Apis interrupted excitedly as she saw the city coming into view. "It's massive!!" Selene said in awe, her eyes shining with excitement. "There are so many people!!" Soran exclaimed, already being able to see the thousands of people walking around the busy city.

"Was it like this when we were here?" Nojiko asked as she looked over to Nami, unsure if she had just forgotten. "It definitely wasn't like this when we were here. Just look at the docks." Nami said as she pointed to the coast of Nanohan.

Everyone looked over to where the docks were, and the people that had been here before were surprised to see a completely different shipping port than what they remembered, and to add to the surprise, it was almost completely packed with all kinds of ships.

"It looks like the shipping district got a complete upgrade, and was expanded by at least 15 times the size it was before. And it looks like the city is pretty busy too!" Robin commented, getting a few nods from Nami and Tashigi. "What happened to this place? Did they strike it rich or something?" Nami asked as the ship stopped a few feet above the ground, just a few yards away from the edge of the city.

"My best guess would be because of the safety. Alabasta is one of the largest countries in Paradise with it's own army, and with how the pirates and bandits have been acting, it's not really too big of a surprise. But no point in guessing when we can go and find out what happened ourselves.

Anyway, the Association branch should be near the outskirts of the city, probably closer to the harbor so it can react faster if there is ever a threat from the sea. Just keep an eye out for an extremely big building, and it's most likely it." Jack said as everyone disembarked from the Pearl.

As soon as everyone was on the ground, Jack stored the Pearl away into his inventory and they all marched as a group into the city, then they asked the first person they found to give them some directions.

"Excuse me sir, but do you perhaps know where the Adventurer's Association building is?" Jack asked politely, getting an odd look from the man. "You folks must be new here. Just head to the other side of the harbor and you can't miss it. Although if you're trying to join them, don't waste your breath." The man said, looking at the group with a sorrowful smile.

Frowning at the man's comment, Jack asked, "What's wrong with trying to join them?" At his question, the man gave a soft chuckle as he answered, "Every person that wants to join has to meet with the leader of the association, but the line up to meet him is so long that it would take days. Also, after the assassination attempt on his life, it slowed things down quite a bit."

Jack tensed at the last comment, his eyes narrowed, and his anger flared to life. "Thank you for the information!" Jack spat out as polite as he could, but given what he was just told, it was hard to accomplish. Before Jack could express his anger further, a hand slapped his back, breaking him out of his internal murder plotting.

Turning his head, Jack saw Luke staring at him with an exasperated look. "*Sigh* Would you stop overreacting here?! This is Stain we're talking about! The man might not be at mine or your level, but the man is a god damned monster when he wants to be, and that was before he got that Bomb-Bomb Fruit. He's fine!" Luke said matter-of-factly.

Without waiting any further, Jack and the others quickly made their way through the large crowd and easily spotted the gigantic building. As they approached, they saw the large mass of people surrounding the building, which was quite the sight to behold. There was somewhat of an order to the line-up, but where it started or ended was a mystery to Jack.

Without warning, Jack devoured his group into darkness and shot towards the building. As he entered, he unleashed his Haki throughout the building, then went to where he sensed the strongest presence. After only a moment, he materialized in front of Stain, but didn't get much of a reaction from the man.

"Hey, boss! How ya doing?" Stain asked, sounding just like he was talking to a friend who hadn't been gone longer than an hour. Looking at Stain, Jack saw a few scars that weren't there previously, but Stain looked healthy for the most part.

"I'm doing good. I'm glad to see you don't look too bad." Jack answered, then with a wave of his hand everyone else was brought out of his Darkspace, which brought the volume of the room up a few notches. "Hey ya moody fuck!! I heard you had a party without me!!" Luke said cheerfully, then walked over and slapped Stain across the back.

"Hey ya psycho! And like you can talk!! You all went and raided the Holy City without me!! Talk about selfish!!" Stain said in mock anger as he returned a slap to Luke. "You two are still as weird as ever..." Nami said as she took a seat on a nearby couch.

Smoker gave Stain a nod, which he returned with a smile, then he walked forward and gave a small bow to Makino, and said "Hello teacher, I hope you are doing well!" This was actually very common when it came to the original 42 members that Makino had taught, as every one of them practically worshiped the woman.

She had of course taught them things that they never believed they would get the chance to learn, she was the nicest person they had ever encountered, and she gave them her full support, helping and encouraging them in anyway she could, thus earning the respect and loyalty of every single one of them.

"Hello Stain!! I'm so happy that you are doing so well!" Makino said, then wrapped her arms around him, giving him a small hug. "A teacher is always happy when they see their students succeed, and you all have made me very proud." Makino added then took a step back.

After everyone got the reunion over with, Jack decided to deal with the unspoken elephant in the room. "So... I hear there was an assassination attempt. Care to fill us in?" Jack asked, his eyes locking onto Stain's.

Stain looked around the room, and he noticed that everyone was staring at him, waiting to hear the story about what happened. "*Sigh* To tell you the truth, it's not as bad as everyone thinks it was. It started out like this..."

(Flashback to a few weeks earlier)

In the city of Nanohan, many people were lined up to join the new organization that was becoming more popular by the day. At first there weren't too many people who signed up, but after Stain had ended a few groups of pirates, and stopped some robberies, the people were beginning to look at him as if he was a hero.

Naturally when everyone heard he was recruiting, they couldn't wait to join. Before anyone could officially join, they had to meet the hero himself, get asked a few questions, and finally go through a 1 week trial period to see if you could tough it out, which not many did.

With training his new Devil Fruit, building the Association building, training Koza and the king's guards, Stain's schedule was pretty full for that first week, but because the building was so prioritized by the king, the construction process took only 4 days with how many people joined together to build the damn thing.

After it's construction, Stain was sitting in his new room going over some papers when he heard a knock at the door before Koza entered. "Hey Maste-" Koza said, but was interrupted as a glass cup coated in Haki flew through the air and slammed into his face.

"How many times have I told you! NEVER CALL ME MASTER!!" Stain bellowed as he glared at Koza. Just hearing the word 'master' again brought back memories of his servitude, ones he would rather forget if he was being honest with himself.

After seeing Koza nod his head, Stain added, "And don't just enter a room after knocking, wait for permission or 10 seconds." It was after all only polite. Getting permission was one thing, but he didn't want the repeat of last night when one of the king's guards walked in on him and a girl he had picked up at a bar. The poor woman ran out of the room out of sheer embarrassment, and the worst part was he didn't even get to finish.

"So what do ya want, Koza? If it's another day off to go and help your father out in that oasis that the king assigned him, you can forget it!! You already owe me a week in the ring!" Stain finished off, a cruel grin spreading across his face at the thought.

Seeing the look on his teacher's face made Koza shiver, but it wasn't enough to deter him from what he came to do. "It's nothing like that. I came to report that three marine ships just pulled into the harbor, and apparently a bigshot is on board." Koza said calmly, earning himself a look of intrigue from Stain.

"Oh really? Did you happen to get the name of said, 'Bigshot'?" Stain asked calmly, but his eyes had a hopeful look to them. "Her name is, Black Cage Hina, a marine captain with a Devil Fruit ability that lets her cage her victims. I got word that the first thing she did was ask about the association, so I figured you might want to know right away." Koza answered plainly, which earned him a smile from Stain.

"Yeah, that does sound like something I should probably know. Thanks for letting me know. Before I forget, how has your progress been this week?" He asked, not taking his eyes off Koza.

With cold sweat pouring down his back, Koza answered, "I mastered the techniques in the book for my Devil Fruit, and my forms are improving for hand to hand combat, but I'm having difficulty with the sword. I can swing it just fine, and could hold my own if need be, but I know I could never go against a master. Marksmanship comes a lot easier for me, but for the Haki training... I still can't feel it."

Stain didn't say anything for a few minutes, just keeping his gaze locked onto Koza. It wasn't until Koza looked as though he was going to run out of the room that Stain finally spoke.

"*Sigh* I knew I should have got that monster to give you the proper feel of it before he left. I can't teach Haki like Jack can by wrapping your soul with the the stuff, and slowly moving it around so you can get an idea of what you're looking for. We'll work on that later. Anyway, get Jenifer to schedule a day off for both of us later this week, then I'll try and see if we can't solve this issue."

Jenifer is Stain's personal secretary, handling all of his day planning, and making sure he arrives on time to where he needs to be. The woman was a godsend, which was why Stain was paying her a fortune, while also training her little brother as part of the guild. A small request, which Stain happily obliged.

"Yeah, no problem. Anything else you need me to do?" Koza asked happily as he started walking towards the door. "Yeah. Tell her I'm gonna be busy for the rest of the day, and to not panic when you all hear some explosions later." Stain said, almost laughing as he stood from his chair and walked towards a window before he vanished from his spot.

'Of course he would say that! Not 'IF you hear explosions later', but 'WHEN'!! He has zero intention of making this a peace talk.' Koza thought tiredly as he walked to a large office just outside of Stain's.

"Hey Jenny, Stain said he's gonna be gone for the rest of the day, and to ignore any explosions you hear. Also could you make sure him and I are both free, say maybe Friday? Or would Saturday work better?" Koza said, not even bothering to look at the older woman who practically never left the room.

Without taking her eyes off a stack of papers she was reading, Jenifer replied, "You both can take Sunday. He has an important night of drinking on Friday night that he just can't get away from, and if the past is anything to go by, he's taking Saturday off as well. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for any fire he creates and we can consider that payment for taking Sunday off."

Without saying a word to the woman, Koza made his way out of the room to head towards the harbor, grumbling all the way about Jenifer, and how Stain had changed and corrupted her from the woman he use to know, him having introduced the woman to Stain in the first place.

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Stain jumped through the air without a care in the world, marveling at how it was actually possible to basically fly with nothing but a strong body and the the right technique.

Ever since Jack had came into his life, things he thought impossible before seemed more like an afterthought to him. Jack had taken what he thought he knew to be reality and shattered it into a million pieces, then casually gave him things that others could only dream of.

It took him no time at all to get the harbor, then dropped to the ground before walking towards the three marine ships. 'I wonder what they want?' Stain thought, a tinge of hope in his mind at a good challenge.

Who was he kidding? Regardless of their intentions, he knew what he was going to do. As he got closer to the marine ships, he didn't hide his intent as he cracked his knuckles and started loosening up his muscles.

"Are you Stain?" A tall marine with light blonde hair, scars across his face, and your typical marine coat across his shoulders like everybody else, asked. "I be, indeed!! I hear you idiots have been asking about my organization, and I'm here to put an end to that." Stain said, barely containing his laughter. After all, it wouldn't do for him to scare them away before he even got to play with them.

"You think you can go against the might of the marines and get away with it?!!" The marine shouted in prideful rage, thinking himself superior because he had his fellow marines at his back.

"He he ha haHAHAHA!! The full might of the marines isn't here, and even if it was, you have to go against the full might of ME!!" Stain roared in glee, garnering the attention of everyone at the harbor, including the other marines as well.

Before everyone's eyes, Stain vanished from sight and appeared next to the marine he was confronting, and slapped the man, causing an explosion. When the light from the explosion died down, there was only a charred corpse.

Looking down at the corpse, Stain smiled faintly. 'It won't be anything like last time!' He thought as memories of his past came to mind. He was a small child who couldn't defend himself properly, but now he had the strength.

He shook his head softly before he moved his gaze to the dozens of marines watching him from the ships. "Alright Ladies!! Show me this 'MIGHT!' of yours!" Stain shouted maniacally before he shot towards one of the marine ships.

Stain might hate the marines, but he had to hand it to them, they broke free from their dazed states almost immediately and began to fire their weapons, it was just too bad their aim could use a bit of work.

Appearing on the closest ship, Stain began ducking under swords and spears, maneuvering himself close to marine soldiers before he punched them, causing small explosions.

Sometimes when he struck out, their wasn't an explosion on his target, but on the underside of his elbow, causing the speed of his strike to be powered by a blast as well as his physical strength, making his punches be more lethal than most cannons.

His speed was also incredible compared to what it was before he ate his Devil Fruit. With small timed bombs placed under each step, thrusting him how he wanted to, Stain's speed was amplified by at least 4 times, add that with Shave or Moonwalk and he could fly just with his Devil Fruit alone.

The marines on deck lasted for only a few moments, none being left alive after encountering the brutal bomb. After finishing up on the first ship, Stain jumped to the ground where the marines from the other two ships were gathering, his gaze immediately going to a woman with straight, waist-length pink hair.

She had dark brown eyes and had red lipstick, but his eyes focused more on her burgundy-purple two-piece suit that she wore over a white blouse, as well as dark brown shoes and a pair of dark gloves.

'Only the higher ranking marines get to wear their own suits.' Stain thought, realizing that this woman had the highest command of the marines present. "Well, if it isn't Black Cage Hina! To what do I owe the displeasure?" Stain asked, not hiding his dis-taste for Hina or the marines.

"Why did you attack Hina's men?!" The pink-haired woman shouted, speaking in the third person, which caused Stain to raise an eyebrow. "They attacked Stain first. Stain was just defending himself." Stain answered back calmly, also speaking in the third person.

"Are you mocking, Hina?!!" Hina shouted as her right eye began to twitch. "Stain is!! Now tell Stain why you are here, or he will end you all and leave!!" Stain shouted, his anger somewhat leaving him as he noticed how angry Hina got when he talked in the third person.

Stain visibly watched as Hina fought to control her temper, then after a few minutes she took a few deep breaths, she spoke, "Hina would like to speak to you in private. Hina has come with a message from higher officers." Hina said, sounding as though it took everything in her power to say those words without losing her cool.

Without missing a beat, Stain replied "Stain refuses to your meeting! Now if you will not give Stain your lives, then leave Alabasta. You can go willingly or in a box, your choice!"

Stain ended his refusal by pulling out a small dagger and licking the blade. To everyone around him, they might have thought Stain was trying to look dangerous or cool, but in actuality, he was coating the blade with his saliva so he could throw it and detonate it inside the marine formations.

Seeing that none of the marines were moving, Stain started to slowly walk towards them, his eyes never leaving Hina's. "Hina only came here to talk!! Just listen to Hina's message, then we will all go!" Hina pleaded, finally showing a slight amount of fear. Hearing her words, Stain's smile widened.

"How many people does it take to deliver a message?" Stain asked, punctuating his question by throwing the dagger that was covered in his saliva into the group of marines. A second later there was only chaos as a massive explosion erupted where the dagger had been thrown.

Faster than anyone could perceive, Stain moved into the group, slaughtering them two by two. His killing spree was cut short when a tornado made of sand wrapped around him, practically sucking the life out of him.

"MAST- er I mean TEACHER!! Please calm down!! You've made them suffer enough!!" Koza shouted, getting the attention of the few marines remaining, while also earning himself a murderous glare from Stain.

He had only been sent to lessen any damage his teacher might cause to the surroundings, but instead he chose to get in his teacher's way, thus earning Stain's ire. In response to Koza's pleading, an explosion blasted the sand away from Stain, and a glowing figure appeared in front of Koza, grabbing him by the throat and hoisting him into the air.

Stain stared into Koza's eyes, the hate radiating for all to feel. He spoke in a low murderous voice, "Don't you ever get in my way again, or the next time you're gonna be joining them!!" As soon as he gave his warning, Stain threw Koza to the ground, then turned his attention back to the less than two dozen marines, all of whom were either on the ground or standing next to a scared Hina.

"Burry your dead!! Then ONE of you come deliver your message to me tonight at 6:00 sharp at the Association building!" Stain demanded, his eyes practically digging holes through Hina.

Turning his attention back to Koza, who by now had gotten to his feet and looked as though he was waiting for his punishment. "Go train! And don't stop until I say otherwise!!" Stain ordered, then without waiting for confirmation of his order, he left the area.

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After leaving the harbor, Stain went back to his office in the Association building. Walking through the doors, Stain was met with the sight of a frosted mug of beer, a steaming plate of food, and all the paperwork on his desk completed and neatly organized in their own folders.

"Please sit down and relax sir." Jenifer said, pulling his chair out from behind the table for him. Without saying a word, Stain complied with the woman's request and took a seat.

He didn't even get the chance to take a drink of his beer before small strong hands worked their way across his shoulders, then slowly moving their way up his neck and into his hair, instantly removing any thoughts of anger or violence from his mind.

Jenifer would pause every few minutes to let Stain take a drink or eat some food, which prompted Stain to eat and drink it all in a hurry so he could get back to the heavenly experience.

After a full hour of pure bliss, Jenifer removed her hands and took a step to Stain's side. "If that will be all, please relax yourself for the rest of the evening." Jenifer said, a hint of a smile adorning her soft lips, as she made her way towards the door. "Thank you." Stain said, with barely a whisper. Even though he said it quietly, she had still heard him, but chose not to say anything else as she left the room.

Stain remained seated in his chair, long after Jenifer had left the room, his eyes closed, and his mind in a almost unconscious state. It wasn't until soft knocking at the door that he blinked his eyes in surprise, then his gaze shooting to the clock on the wall.

He was surprised to see that it was already 5:30 in the evening, meaning he had been in this chair for over 6 hours. He was once again brought out of his stupor as the knocking at the door continued. "Hello?! Sir! Are you awake?!!" Jenifer's voice rank out from the other side of the door.

"Come in!" Stain said quickly, not wanting the only person in this country he actually liked to be kept waiting. At his approval, Jenifer poked her head inside the room and said, "There is a, Captain Hina of the marines here to see you. She says she has an appointment with you. Should I let her in or send her away?" Jenifer asked calmly.

"The appointment isn't until 6:00. Tell her she can wait for half an hour, but if she leaves and isn't back by the appointed time then she can forget the meeting." Stain said, getting a nod of understanding from Jenifer before she closed the door behind her, most likely to see that his wishes were carried out.

While Stain was waiting for the half hour to pass by, he was thinking of what he could do for Jenifer to thank her for everything she had done for him.

'Increase her pay by another million a week, and maybe let her go on vacation for month. Of course it will have to be when I go on vacation for a month because I'm not working without her.' Stain thought, knowing he wouldn't get a damn thing done without her around, and he would never replace her in a million years.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock* He was once again brought out of his internal thoughts as Jenifer knocked at his door at exactly 6:00, then asked if he was ready to see his guest. At his confirmation, Jenifer opened the door and allowed Hina to enter the room.

Seeing the tall pink-haired woman enter, Stain's good mood was ruined, and thoughts of murdering the beautiful woman slowly swarmed his mind. "What's the message?" Stain asked plainly, getting right to the point.

Seeing that she wouldn't be getting anything else from the demonic being before her, Hina answered "Hina was asked to see if that you would be interested in joining the marines, while also offering you this." Hina said as she held out a parchment towards Stain.

Taking the sealed parchment, Stain didn't even bother to read it before a tiny explosion went off in his hand, burning the parchment in an instant. "Go tell your masters, that neither I, nor will anyone in the Association, Ever! betray our comrades!" Stain growled out, then walked around to sit at his large desk.

"Anything else you wish to ask?" He added as he rested his chin on his hands. "Why did you kill Hina's men?" Hina asked, this time looking as though she had mustered every ounce of courage she had within her. "Stain doesn't need a reason to get rid of a plague that is destroying the world." Stain answered, once again using Hina's way of speaking in the third person to mock her.

"Stop mocking Hina!!" Hina shouted, looking as though she wanted to cry. "Stain says no! Now if there isn't anything else you want, then you are free to leave. And I'm not just talking about my office. Leave Alabasta and never return." Stain said, then made a shooing gesture with his hands.

Knowing she wouldn't be getting anything else from the man, Hina left the room and went back to her ship.

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It wasn't until later around midnight that Stain was woken from his sleep when he heard a shout outside his room. With blinding speed, Stain was out the door and down the hall, getting to where the members of the association who lived here resided.

Getting into the living area, he saw 6 people clad head to toe in all black clothing, and two dead men at their feet. Even in the dim lighting from the room, Stain recognized the two dead men, two homeless beggars who sought to make their lives better.

After only a second of taking in the situation, Stain shot forward and began ripping the 6 assassins apart, moving as though the devil incarnate, taking a life with every move.

When there was only one person remaining, Stain ripped off his arms and legs, then creates a small ball of light, that was basically miniature explosions going off in his hands, then used them to stop the man from bleeding out by cauterizing the wounds.

The torso lost conscious after, but Stain wasn't worried about him being able to cause any problems for him, but still it was better to be safe than sorry, so Stain went back to his room and came back a moment later with a small pouch in hand.

Reaching inside, Stain pulled 3 small black metal beads out, then shoved them down the man's throat. (A.N. In case it wasn't obvious, those were Sea Prism Stone beads.)

The commotion in the hall drew the attention of everyone in the building, causing them to rush to the scene. After explaining everything to everyone, Stain carried the torso down into the holding cells, then used a small vial and waved it under the nose of the torso, causing the man to stir awake, only to immediately begin screaming.

Again, Stain waved another vial under the man's nose, causing the screaming to slowly start to fade, and the torso to calm down. "Now that you're nice a relaxed, you're gonna answer a few of my questions. I already know this, but I'll ask it anyway. Who sent you?"

The torso didn't even hesitate and began telling how they were members of Cipher Pol, and how after arriving here a few hours ago, they got the report of what happened from Hina, then after getting orders from their HQ, they came here to assassinate everybody.

Once Stain learned everything he needed to know, he stabbed the man through the heart, then destroyed his corpse, before finally heading back to the harbor. He had every intention of killing Hina and her men, but by the time he got there, they had all gathered on one of the three ships and set out back to marine HQ.

Judging by how they weren't anywhere in sight, they had obviously left long before the attack had started, not that it would have stopped Stain from killing them all.

The next few weeks were a little more tense around the Association building, there now being a few people who stayed on night watch, while everyone else was more cautious of new members who wanted to join, making sure to double check them to see if they were spies from Cipher Pol or the marines.

(Flashback end)

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"And after that, well the everyone has calmed down quite a bit, but they are still cautious of people." Stain said, ending his little story.

"You didn't kill Hina, did you?" Smoker asked, being the first to speak after the story had ended. The tone of his voice sounded as though he was genuinely worried, which got a more than a few odd looks from everyone in the room, all besides Jack and Tashigi, them already knowing about Smoker and Hina being trained together.

"Not yet, if that's what you're asking." Stain answered, raising a brow towards Smoker. "I would appreciate it if you didn't hurt her. I know she can be... weird, for the lack of a better word, but she is a good person. I'll be willing to bet that a few words from me or Tsuru, and she'd probably leave the marines." Smoker said, getting a two sets of glaring eyes in return.

One being Stain's, the other belonging to Luke. Holding out a piece of paper for Smoker to see, Luke pointed at a name at the bottom of the page. "She's on the list!" Luke said, a little anger in his voice.

Before Luke could say anything else, Smoker pulled out his favor token that he had gotten from Luke for helping get Selene onto the crew. "I want you to not kill two people that are on your list. That is my request to you." Smoker said, handing the paper to Luke, who in turn incinerated it.

With a loud huff, Luke said, "Fine! I won't seek them out, and if I can, I will spare them. But if either of them put me in a situation where it's my life or someone else's life that I care about, I will kill them, regardless of what anyone says." Luke said, getting a nod of understanding from Smoker.

"Well, not that this wasn't fun, cause it actually was, but we gotta head out. We just stopped by to check up on ya and make sure you were doing alright. Also, do you need anything?" Jack said, causing everyone to get to their feet.

"We didn't even get to explore the place yet!!" Soran shouted, sounding almost heartbroken. Apis and Selene nodded in agreement, causing Jack to frown. He finally gave in when he looked over and saw Makino also had a pleading look, as she too wanted to explore the sandy isle.

"*Sigh* Fine! We still have a few days, so we can just leave in the morning. I may as well go check on King Cobra anyway." Jack said, not being able to say no to those he considered family.

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The day was fun for everyone. All of the girls traveled around from city to city, going on one of the greatest shopping spree's the world had ever seen. They had even invited princess Vivi to go along with them, while Jack visited the king, who was more than eager to spend a few hours in Jack's library.

Luke and Smoker each got in a round of fighting Stain, testing his new Devil Fruit, while Stain got to see Luke's Fruit in action as well. Stain also blasted Luke through a few buildings when Luke tried to get with his assistant, but instead of freaking out, Luke took the whole thing in stride and promised not to mess with Jenifer again.

Jack also made sure to help out everyone Stain was training with their Haki, getting successes all around. Jack was glad to see Koza was still alive and kicking, fearing that the man might have disappeared after the story he heard from Stain, but the man only suffered long hours of training and a few broken bones.

Nemo and the two large minks explored the city, but they never really went too far from the Association building. It wasn't because they didn't like Alabasta or anything, but with how hot it was, and them being covered in fur, it wasn't very comfortable. They were actually surprised that Selene could handle it so well.

The next morning, Jack made sure to give Stain everything he would need and then some before he boarded the Pearl, then set off towards Sabaody. "We've already kept that old codger waiting long enough!" Jack said, knowing full well Rayleigh didn't care when he got there, so long as he had booze.