Whiskey Peak, Baroque Works & A Princess

The Straw Hat Pirates were docking at the city called 'Whiskey Peak' and listened to the cheers from everyone in the town with straight deadpans.

They interrogated the two they caught trying to hurt Laboon and discovered everything about this city.

'Whiskey Peak' was a city that most would see as a great first island in the 'Grand Line' as they are very welcoming to new pirates. That's what it was on the surface at least as this is a complete farce.

The occupants of 'Whiskey Peak' are secretly bounty hunters apart of an organization named 'Baroque Works'. They all go by codenames and are very anonymous, their identities are hidden to the point they don't know what the boss's name is or what he looks like.

From the interrogation, they learned that along with the other members of 'Baroque Works' were on the 'Whiskey Peak' were. Nami could also tell the blue-haired girl was hiding something else, but she didn't care enough to get it out of her since she could tell it wasn't about 'Whiskey Peak'.

The Straw Hats had all disembarked the 'Going Merry' with their two captives tied up and being carried by Zoro.

Igaram, or what almost everyone knew him as, Mr.8, was about to go into his usual spiel about how great it was to see new pirates and that they had booze and women for them when he saw her.

Princess Vivi, the girl he had sworn to protect, was tied up and carried on a swordsman's shoulder like a burlap sack. His words died in her throat as his face paled. Nami saw this with narrowed eyes and became more suspicious of the blue-haired girl.

Luffy just walked straight past the guy with the funny tube hair towards where he could smell meat with his crew following him. He turned to his trusted chef.

"Sanji, can you make sure the food isn't poisoned before we eat it?" He asked getting a nod from the blonde and making every bounty hunter tense up. Luffy snorted before continuing to where the food was.

When Luffy and his crew walked into the building that had a banquet going on, all of the bounty hunters unconsciously let out a breath. Igaram was in a panic after seeing this scene and was unable to even get himself to try to rescue the princess. He took a moment to compose himself.

'It's fine. They will drink and eat themselves to sleep, then they will be easy targets and the princess will be safe.' The royal guard in disguise comforted himself and simultaneously ignored the bad feeling in his stomach.

.

.

It was well past midnight by now. Luffy was fast asleep with countless bones that used to have meat on them surrounding him. He also had a very drunk Nami asleep under his arm, but he wouldn't ever know of that, Nami would make sure of it.

Usopp was passed out on a table after he drank himself to sleep when he realized no one was listening to his stories. Sanji was knocked out on the floor with a brunette on top of him.

Finally, Zoro was nowhere to be found, but the bounty hunters watched him drink countless bottles of sake, so wherever he was, they assumed he was knocked out.

Igaram looked at Vivi, who was rubbing her now-untied wrists, with a worried expression. She gave him a small smile before turning to her right when she heard footsteps.

She saw her partner in Mr. 9 as well as a tall muscular woman with pink hair tied in short twin tails whose codename was Miss Monday. The large woman looked at Vivi and then at Mr. 9 before looking back at her and scoffed.

"How did you two get taken down by those weaklings?" The large woman asked in a surprisingly soft, high-pitched voice. Vivi glared at her.

"Those freaks aren't weaklings, you should've seen some of what we saw them do." The blue-haired young woman scoffed in response. Miss Monday was about to respond before Igaram, who had been sifting through papers, spoke up.

"Here it is!" Attracting attention to him as he grabbed a newspaper with five bounty posters on it. He flipped the newspaper to the front page before reading the headline out loud.

"The Strongest Pirate Crew of all four blues enters the 'Grand Line'!!! 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy and his crew have taken the world by storm!!" Igaram readout, making the other three listeners look at him incredulously.

"That kid?!" Miss Monday squeaked out. Normally, Igaram would be holding back a laugh at that. Now, however, he shared her horror.

"It says here the Captain, 'Straw Hat' Luffy defeated 'White Hunter' Vice-Admiral Smoker and his crew defeated two Rear-Admirals along with another Vice-Admiral. After this, they escaped 'Loguetown', where the fight took place, and entered the 'Grand Line'." Igaram finished by laying out five bounty posters on the ground, showing that each member was notable enough to have a reward on their head. He pointed to the poster on the far right that showed Nami in a bathing suit from behind, smiling back at the camera.

"The navigator, 'Weather Witch' Nami! Bounty: 20,000,000 Berries!!" Igaram said, shocking the other three. This is the lowest bounty of the crew?! Igaram pointed to the poster to the left of Nami's poster that showed Usopp with his 'Kabuto' pulled back, scowling at the camera.

"Next is the sniper, 'Sniper King' Usopp!! Bounty: 30,000,000!!" He said, once again shocking those who were listening. Is that kid who was going around telling fake stories to anyone who would listen is the same one on this bounty poster? The paper says these two beat a Rear-Admiral!

He pointed at the poster on the far left that had a picture of Sanji smoking a cigarette with both of his feet in 'Satan's Foot' with unconscious Marines surrounding him.

"Next is the Cook of the crew, 'Black Leg' Vinsmoke Sanji!! Bounty: 45,000,000!!!" The number shocked Miss Monday and Igaram, but Vivi and Mr. 9 weren't shocked at all. They even thought that the bounty seemed low. What caught their attention was the 'Only Alive' instead of the usual 'Dead or Alive' on Sanji's poster.

Igaram noticed their lack of reaction and raised an eyebrow at them before pointing to the poster to the right of Sanji's poster that showed Zoro wearing his black bandanna, holding all three of his swords, and a cocky smirk on his face.

"Next is the Vice-Captain of the crew, 'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro!! Bounty: 55,000,000!!" They were practically numb at this point.

Every member of this crew could be a Captain of a ship in the first half of the 'Grand Line'. If that's the case, who's the guy who can lead them? They all looked at the smiling kid in a straw hat in the middle.

"The Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates!! 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy with a record-tying starting bounty of 80,000,000 Berries!! The only other pirate to get such a large starting bounty is the 'Warlord', 'Pirate Empress' Boa Hancock." Igaram finished with everyone just staring at the wanted posters on the ground in shock.

"Who the hell just showed up on our island?…" Miss Monday whispered to herself. Before anyone could answer, they heard a voice behind them.

"Fifty-five million? Not too bad, but that's too low. Thanks for telling me about it though, I can rub it in Swirly-Brow's face."

They all whipped around and looked up to the roof of the building they were in front of and saw 'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro sitting with his legs hanging off the roof and his 'Wado Ichimonji' unsheathed and resting on his shoulder. Zoro smirked down at the four idiots.

"Why don't you just call out all those guys hiding and we skip to the fun part? My crewmates are tired from the journey. I can't have you bothering them, Baroque Works!!" Zoro said as a malicious smile grew on his face, making the four feel shivers down their spines. Igaram scowled at the man.

"How did you know the name of our organization?" Igaram questioned angrily before he called out to the other bounty hunters.

"Come out!! He knows you're hiding!!!" The man yelled out getting around two hundred bounty hunters armed with swords and guns to come out. Zoro's smile got wider as he saw this before he answered the question.

"Some guy who called himself 'Mr. 7' found me a few months ago, trying to recruit me into your little club. He got mad when I said 'If I become the boss, I'll join', so I cut him down." Zoro answered with a chilling smirk before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

'Too bad they're all weaklings. Oh well, I'll use them for training.' Zoro thought to himself.

He felt for the untied rope he had been able to feel since he almost died when he met Luffy and could use it with a thought after almost dying again fighting Hawkeye. He 'grabbed' the rope in his mind and pulled.

Zoro's eyes suddenly snapped open after dark green and black lightning flickered around him.

*ZIZZ*

Igaram thought he saw the swordsman take a deep breath to mentally prepare for the fight to come, but when the man opened his eyes and the lightning appeared, he felt a pressure nothing like anything he had felt before.

Igaram was on his hands and knees before he realized what happened. Once he did, he tried his best to look around, and what he saw stunned him.

The only other one still conscious was Vivi, but she was in a cold sweat on her hands and knees, much like himself.

Everyone else, however, was completely unconscious. Even Miss Monday and Mr. 9 were knocked out. Igaram was confused and terrified. He heard the swordsman click his tongue in irritation before jumping down from the roof he had yet to move from.

*Tsk* *BOOM*

"These two are still awake? Gotta work on the control some more then…" Igaram heard the man mutter to himself as he forced himself to his feet. When he finally succeeded, the swordsman was right in front of him, staring into his soul.

"So, what's the deal with you and this girl right here?" Zoro asked as he nodded to Vivi, who was still on the ground. The question made Igaram stiffen before he forcibly relaxed himself, something that Zoro rolled his eyes at.

"Ma~ma~ma~" Igaram cleared his throat in a weird way that made Zoro raise an eyebrow, not that the man acknowledged it.

"I'm Mr.8 and we are bounty-"

*BOOM*

"Oi!! I was talking!! Don't just hit me with the hilt of your katana!!" Igaram yelled angrily at the man. He got a glare and a shiver up his spine for his complaints.

"That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking who are you two for real and who are the two strong people that just got on the island?" Zoro asked, getting more upset with the tube-hair guy the more he talked to him. He just hopes these two who just got on the island know how to 'Haki' and will be fun to fight.

Igaram was confused when he heard two people just entered the island and before he could try to remember, he felt himself being picked up by the collar of his shirt and thrown a couple of meters to his right.

He was about to yell at the swordsman again before he saw Vivi similarly flying in his direction.

He caught the princess and before he could do anything else,

*BOOOOM!!!*

There was a massive explosion right in the spot they used to be in.

Zoro behind himself to see who was responsible for that attack. He saw a man and a woman, both in their mid-twenties.

The man was wearing a brown trench coat with a pink cravat and a pair of sunglasses. He had the number five all over his trench coat.

The woman was wearing a yellow and orange hat, a yellow dress with a lemon-like pattern, and a bright green parasol.

Zoro raised an eyebrow at the two.

'That was aimed at these two, not me.' He thought to himself before glancing at the big guy he had just thrown. Seems he was as confused as he was. A glance at the girl showed she was the same.

Well, at least they were all confused.

The man raised an eyebrow at the swordsman, not recognizing him, before he shrugged his shoulders, swung his leg back, and applied 'Armament Haki' to it. The sight made Zoro smirk and unsheath his other two katanas. Finally, a decent fight.

The man's leg seemed to shake a bit as he rapidly swung it forward, a massive orange compressed air slash appearing and heading towards Zoro fast.

"Exploding Tempest"

In response, Zoro applied what little 'Advanced Armament Haki' he could in his base form to his katanas before holding one of his katanas horizontally above the shoulder of his arm.

"Three-Sword Style…"

He did a fast circular swing that sent out a massive compressed air wave that was further powered up by flames created by friction.

"1080 Pound Burning Phoenix"

*BOOOOOM!!!!*

The impact of the two attacks not only shook the entire island slightly but also sent the two newcomers flying back.

They both righted themselves in the air using 'Moon-Walk' and glared at the dust clouds the two attacks kicked up. They were only a little cut up, but their pride was wounded. They wouldn't allow it.

*SHING*

Zoro cut the dust cloud with his 'Yubashiri' in his left hand and smirked at the two who were glaring at him. He could feel the shock and fear from the two behind him, but that was not exactly his problem.

He was about to attack again when he heard the door to the building they were having a banquet in, which was coincidentally right next to them, get kicked off its hinges.

Everyone looked at the door to see Luffy, half asleep with a chunk of meat in his hand, scratching his head. He rubbed his eyes before he looked around

'The tube-hair guy and the blue-hair girl are scared, Zoro is fighting two people I don't know, and everyone from the banquet is knocked out.' Luffy thought to himself as he scratched his head he looked around for another minute before looking Zoro in the eyes.

Zoro understood that his Captain wanted an explanation for what was going on. He nodded and looked over at the two idiots who were walking back over. He went to say something, but his Captain cut him off.

"Those are the guys you're fighting?" Luffy asked him, to which he nodded.

"They tried to attack these two." He motioned to Igaram and Vivi. Before he could say anymore, Luffy nodded back, ate the rest of his meat in one bite, and launched himself at the two bounty hunters at high speeds while stretching both his hands backward, twisting them, and applying 'Advanced Armament Haki' to them.

"Gomu-Gomu no…"

Mr.5 and Ms. Valentine were dusting themselves off, very upset they were caught off guard. Sadly, since the two of them only knew how to use 'Armament Haki', which would usually make them invincible in this part of the 'Grand Line', they just weren't strong enough. 

"Twin Pistol!!!"

*BOOOM!!!*

The two bounty hunters could barely process they were being attacked before the punches landed on their jaws with a whole lot more 'Armament Haki' than the two could hope to produce, attacking them from both inside and outside.

Igaram and Vivi were completely blown away, unable to process what they were witnessing. Zoro, on the other hand, was sheathing his katanas with an annoyed look on his face.

"Luffy!! Why did you knock them out right away?! I was gonna fight them!!" The swordsman yelled out, getting the two behind him to look at him incredulously before remembering the massive flaming phoenix attack the green-haired man done a few minutes ago. 

Luffy just laughed when he heard Zoro's complaints.

"Shishishishi!! Don't worry, Zoro!! The bomb guy is still awake. He covered his whole body in 'Armament Haki', so he should still be able to fight a little bit. The other lady is knocked out though." Luffy clarified getting a viscous grin from his Vice-Captain.

"You should've said so earlier!!" Zoro shouted out as he unsheathed his katanas again before charging in the direction Luffy punched the two bounty hunters. Luffy looked at the tube-haired guy who welcomed them and the blue-haired girl he brought here tied up.

The two flinched when they saw Luffy look at them. He grinned down at them, to which Vivi almost started crying. Luffy burst out laughing.

"Shishishishi!!! Don't worry, I'm not gonna eat you or something!! I'll ask you again, and don't give me that codename stuff, it's annoying!! Who are you guys?" Luffy reassured them before he said in mock anger and asked them, which managed to help the two calm down. Tube-hair guy was the one to respond to his question after coming to his senses.

"Ma~ma~ma~. I suppose we don't have much of a choice as with those two coming after us, it shows that the higher-ups of 'Baroque Works' are already on to us." The man said, to which the girl nodded before she stood up straight with the man following her example.

"I'm Igaram, the Captain of the Royal Guard of 'Alabasta', and this is our Princess and the one who will become the Queen of 'Alabasta' one day, Vivi Nefertari." Igaram introduced their real identities while discreetly positioning himself in a way that he could protect the princess in a worst-case scenario, but Vivi didn't brace herself for anything.

Looking into the pirate's innocent-looking eyes, she could tell he was a good person.

Luffy took a few seconds to process what was just said. He blinked at them twice before whipping his head to Vivi and shouting out in surprise.

"YOU'RE A PRINCESS??!!!" Luffy yelled out before he hastily bowed at his waist.

"I'm sorry if I or my Vice-Captain was rude to you at all, Your Majesty," Luffy said in a respectful tone. Garp had beaten into his head countless times that he needed to respect nobility if they were good people and he could tell this girl was a good person.

Garp also taught him to punch the hell out of any shitty Nobel he meets, so Luffy is looking forward to the day he can throw a nice 'Galaxy Impact' in the face of some annoying royal prick.

The two were very surprised by the pirate's reaction to finding out their real identities. Vivi forced herself out of her stupor when she saw the teenager hadn't straightened from his bow after half a minute.

"Please, raise your head. Also, don't call me 'Your Majesty', please call me Vivi. I don't really enjoy all of the nobility stuff." Vivi said, getting a grin from Luffy as he straightened from his bow. He knew she was a good person.

Igaram looked like he was debating something in his mind before he looked at Vivi and saw how she was happily talking with someone her age like a normal teenager for the first time in a while, if not for the first time at all. He nodded to himself before he got down on his hands and knees, slamming his head to the ground.

"'Straw-hat' Luffy, please take the Princess back to 'Alabasta'!! I promise you will be rewarded handsomely!! The Princess needs to get back home as soon as possible and reach there safely no matter what!! I can only trust a strong man like you who has strong friends to bring her back!! Vivi seems to think you're a good person too, so you are the only one I can entrust this to!!" Igaram ended his passionate speech by lifting his head from the ground to see the pirate completely stupefied. Luffy looked at the equally surprised Vivi who looked at him.

"Didn't I just meet you like a minute ago?" Luffy asked, just wanting to make sure. Vivi nodded to the question. Luffy nodded back before looking back at the man still on his hands and knees.

"I'll take her back to Albalbasta or whatever, but why are these guys trying to kill you? Also, why the hell is a Princess in a bounty hunting thingy?" Luffy asked as he pointed over his shoulder. The two glanced over Luffy's shoulder again to see a massive explosion appear out of nowhere, only for it to somehow get cut into small, cube-shaped pieces. 

The two just looked back at Luffy, not even wanting to know what that was. Vivi was the one to answer his question, looking very angry and helpless.

"I joined because I thought I could join to uncover the identity of the mastermind behind a rebellion in 'Alabasta', as well as prove my father's innocence as the citizens are made to believe the royal family has a monopoly on the 'Dance Powder' that makes rainfall and are using it to keep the water for themselves. The citizens have begun to distrust the royal family. The way things are, a rebellion could break out at any moment." Vivi explained everything before looking up at Luffy, who was about to fall asleep. He woke himself up once he realized the boring story time was over.

*SLAP*

"So, who's the boss? The way you're talking makes him seem like some kind of big shot?" Luffy asked with a confused head tilt, making both of them look at him horrified. Vivi rapidly shook her head from side to side.

"No no no no no!! It was incredibly hard just to get to know who the boss is and knowing that information is putting our lives at risk!! There's no way we can tell you that the boss is one of the 'Seven Warlords of the Sea, Sir Crocodile', that would just needlessly put your lives at risk." Vivi shouted out before blinking twice as her face went pale. Luffy laughed at that.

"Shishishishi!! I don't know who the hell that is, but I'll kick their ass!!" Luffy shouted out, making Vivi and Igaram look at him like a dead man. They both went to say something but were interrupted.

"What are you yelling about, Luffy?" They all looked over Luffy's shoulder to see Zoro sheathing his katanas with an unconscious Mr. 5 lying twenty meters behind him with three massive cuts going from his right shoulder to his left hip. Vivi and Igaram looked at him in surprise while Luffy smiled at him.

"We are gonna go beat up some strong guy after we take this girl home!!" Luffy said with a massive smile. Zoro nodded at that. He expected that to happen soon with how their journey has gone so far. 

"Can you go put everyone on the 'Going Merry'?" Luffy asked his Vice-Captain who glared at him in response. Luffy just stuck his tongue out at him which Zoro scoffed in response before turning towards where their crew mates were. He blinked when he saw Nami with a bag of treasure on top of the roof he was on earlier. She grinned down at them before using 'Shave' to appear next to them.

Nami grinned evilly at Vivi and Igaram, who had noticed the treasure on Nami's shoulder was everything hidden in 'Whiskey Peak'. The two felt a shiver down their spines when they saw her look.

"We are going to need to charge a fee for bringing your precious princess back home." She said as Berry symbols replaced her pupils.

.

.

Luffy looked at the boat Igaram was leaving on for a few seconds before turning and jumping up onto the deck of the 'Going Merry'. The man had tried to dress up as Vivi to try and trick her pursuers, but they all knew it did nothing. Luffy could also tell Igaram knew he probably wouldn't make it to 'Alabasta' like he told Vivi he would.

Luffy took one more look at the ship the tube-haired guy was on before turning around.

"Set sail!!"

Everyone but Vivi and Nami boarded the 'Going Merry' when Luffy shouted that. Nami grabbed the blue-haired girl's arm and pulled her towards the ship but she wouldn't budge. Nami smiled at her.

"Don't worry, he will be fine. We have to go and save your country, right?" Nami said getting a reluctant nod from Vivi before the princess let herself get pulled up onto the 'Going Merry'. The two had grown close after finding out about their similar experiences with their homes. They set out as soon as everyone was on board.

Nami tried her best to reassure Vivi who was nervously staring at the ship Igaram was on which was only a couple hundred meters from them.

"Don't worry, Vivi. He'll meet us at 'Alabasta' a day or two after we-"

*BOOOOOM!!!*

"IGARAM!!!!"

.

.

"The Unluckies should be bringing sketches of the Captain, but his picture along with every one of his crewmates are on the front page of the paper." A feminine voice came from a den-den mushi that was on a desk in a dark room.

"Is that so?" A man in the shadows said before snapping his fingers. A small sand wave appeared on the other side of the room and carried a stack of papers over to the desk. The man grabbed the papers and the sand wave collapsed but left no trace, like it was never there.

"You mean this 'Straw-Hat' Luffy? What's the big deal, it's just another rookie." The man said into the microphone, getting a soft laugh in return.

"Hahaha, look carefully, Mr. 0. The boy and his crew took down three Vice-Admiral level Marines along with Vice-Admiral Smoker. That's not someone we can ignore." The voice said making the man click his tongue before conceding.

*Tsk*

"How annoying, you should be close to them, aren't you? Get some information on them and send it to me as soon as you can." The man said getting another laugh in return.

"Hahaha, does this rookie make you so nervous?" The voice asked in a sarcastic tone, making the man glare at it before ending the call without answering.

*GACHA*

"Monkey D. Luffy, huh? Come!! The 'Grand Line' isn't for games!!"