Chapter 32: Fleeing from Nanohana

In the shopping district, Sanji, Zoro, Usopp, Nami, Vivi, and Chopper were looking for the supplies they and the rest of the crew would need. Chopper and Sanji had branched off to find food, water, and dessert clothing, but had gotten separated due to Sanji's pervy tendencies. Zoro was perusing for sword-maintenance supplies. The girls were simply hanging around in some ruins near the center of town, Vivi wearing a veil so as to not attract attention. Usopp had gone off on his own as soon as the crew has disembarked, muttering something too low to hear, and they had not seen him since.

"Nami-swan!" Sanji called, noodling over to where she and Vivi were standing within the remains of a building that had fallen in a sandstorm. "Vivi-chwan! I got the clothes you wanted!"

"But these are dancer outfits," Vivi tried to protest. It was to no avail as she and Nami were soon dressed in the exposing clothing.

"Aren't they lovely?!" Sanji questioned excitedly, blood dripping from his right nostril. "I got one for Amy-chan as well, but I couldn't find one little enough for Grace."

"You better not have!" Vivi argued, a rightious fist coming down to punch the chef into the ground. "Grace doesn't need to be wearing an outfit like this! She's too young!"

"I'm sure Coby wouldn't have minded," Nami laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"You mean you haven't noticed?" Nami gasped. "How oblivious are you, Vivi? It's obvious those two are into each other."

"I... ah... um..." Vivi floundered, looking for a new topic of conversation. "Hey, where's Tony?"

Nami blinked. "Vivi's right. Chopper's missing. Where is he, Sanji?"

"I don't know," the cook answered with a shrug. "He wandered off somewhere." Their conversation ended when both Zoro and Usopp, who was loaded down with bags, ran in and crouched behind one of the standing walls. "What are you doing, Moss-Head?"

"Shut up," Zoro growled, peeking around the wall.

"Bad news, guys," Usopp wheezed. "The Marines are here. And I think they're after us."

"Really?" Vivi asked. "Why?"

"It's the Marines from Louge Town," Usopp answered, causing Nami and Sanji to stiffen.

"How are we going to find Luffy?" Nami whisper-yelled.

"He hasn't made a mess, yet," Sanji offered, "so I guess Grace's paint is still in effect. Hopefully Coby can get them back to the ship without a problem." The group continued to watch as Sergeant Major Tashigi, the woman Zoro was hiding from, scanned the street.

"What are you all doing?" Chopper asked. His sudden appearance shocked the five, causing the girls to scream and the men to forget about cover.

"I heard screaming!" they heard Tashigi yell down the street. She and her men started heading in their direction before she caught sight of Zoro's telltale green hair and paused. "Roooooraaaanoaaaaaaa!" she yelled angrily.

"Dammit, Chopper!" Zoro scolded as the group of six took off with the marines in pursuit.

"Don't let them get away!" Tashigi yelled. "Get back here and fight like a man, Roranoa!"

"Split up," Vivi suggested. "We'll meet up at the ship."

"Chopper, you're with Zoro," Nami ordered. "Go!" Each person went in their own direction, finding a roundabout path back to the docks.

"Luffy?!" Ace called over the sounds of the city. "Do you even know where your ship is?!"

"Uh..." Luffy responded. "Give me a sec." He released Ace none too softly and stretched up to the top of one of the higher buildings. Scanning the surrounding area, he caught sight of the Merry in the docks. "Found it!"

Luffy jumped down to land next to his brother. The two were surrounded by men of all different types who seemed to be following a large man loaded down with weapons. That man chuckled.

"Well well well. If it isn't both Fire Fist Ace and Straw Hat Luffy. Two wanted pirates ripe for the taking. Killing both of you would guarantee me a promotion."

"Who are you?" Luffy asked.

"Right now I'm a Billion, but after killing you, I'll be a number agent. Men, fire!" The people surrounding the two cocked their guns and let loose with all the bullets they had.

They had no effect.

The bullets did nothing to Ace, him being made of fire causing the lead to go right through him. When the bullets hit Luffy, they stretched his skin before being thrown back.

"What the Hell?" one of the men yelled out before being stuck by a red-hot bullet from an agent on the opposite side that had gone through Ace. The man in the lead rushed forward with a sword, ready to cut the two brothers to ribbons. Ace caught his weapon with two fingers covered in a black substance. He met the man's eyes and smirked.

"Gum-Gum Bazooka!" Luffy shouted, his stretched arms hitting the man and throwing him off into the dessert. "That was a boring fight," Luffy complained.

"They just don't make 'em how they used to, eh Luffy?" The brothers walked back rather casually, Luffy trying to remember their way while he and Ace beat off the remaining thugs.

"Is it just me, or does this feel pretty nostalgic?" Luffy asked, jumping over two men that tried to tackle him.

"Where did you learn a word like 'nostalgic'?" Ace replied, punching a man in the face.

"From my girlfriend," the younger of the two responded, nonchalantly flipping over one of the shorter Billions. Ace stopped in shock at the simple answer, three swords passing through his fire-y body. He jumped up and kicked all three men away before catching up with Luffy.

"You've got a girlfriend?" he asked incredulously. "Since when? What's her name? What's she like? Will I get to meet her?"

"'Course you will," Luffy laughed, knocking the last Billion unconscious with a punch to the face. "She's our navigator, Nami. She's got these really pretty brown eyes and orange hair. I rescued her from a fishman named Arlong a while back in the East Blue."

"You beat Arlong? I guess that explains your bounty."

"Yeah, but my whole crew is really interesting. We've got two swordsmen, one that fights with three swords and wants to be the world's greatest swordsman and his student who fights with two and can turn into a dinosaur. Then we've got our perverted cook, Sanji. I got him from a floating restaurant. At the same time, I recruited a member from the Krieg" -he spat out the name- "Pirates named Gin. And we've got a liar who's a really good shot. After getting to the Grand Line, I gained three more members. Two of them are sisters, one with a Devil Fruit, and a doctor. Get this! Our doctor is a reindeer."

Ace laughed. "You don't say. That's, what, ten of you? I guess that's a pretty good-sized crew you got there."

"Yeah, but I'm still looking for a musician."

"Would you consider joining the Whitebeard Pirates?"

"You know Whitebeard?" Luffy may be oblivious to most things, but even he'd heard of the famous Whitebeard.

"Yeah, I'm a member of his crew. See this mark?" The flame-man gestured to his back which was covered in a tattoo of Whitebeard's famous jolly roger, a skull with a large white mustache over a cross of the same color. "This here is my pride and joy. He's like a father to me. That's why I'm going to help him become the King of the Pirates. Sorry, Luffy."

"I guess I'll just have to fight him then." Ace only laughed in response. They made it to the dock and walked along calmly (by Luffy standards). There were many ships docked of all makes and models. One such ship they passed was a Marine ship that sat still and silent. Apparently, all of the marines were in the town doing something. Probably chasing pirates, the poor bastards.

"And here we are!" Luffy cheered. He stretched out toward a caravel with a ram figurehead, shocking many of the dock workers. "I'm back! And I've got company!" Ace ran after his little brother.

"Don Luffy," Gin greeted as the captain landed on the deck. "No problems to report."

"Who's that?" Amy called from the crow's nest. Ace reached the ship and jumped on deck with a single fire-powered leap. Amy blushed at his physique as she floated down.

"This is my brother, Ace," Luffy answered, surprising them. "Ace, these are Amy and Gin. Where's everyone else?" The last question was directed to Gin who was trying to pick his jaw up off of the ground. Luffy has a brother?

"A better question is: where are my little sister and Pinky?" Luffy opened his mouth to answer, but no words came forth for a few seconds.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," his offered meekly.

"Captain Luffy!" Coby's voice called from the docks. Luffy dashed to the side, away from the angered blonde, and threw his arm down. The rosette stepped to the side and grabbed the appendage that hit the dock next to him, him and Grace being pulled along as Luffy's arm retracted. Amy was on them as soon as he landed with Grace on his back.

"Why are you carrying my little sister?" she demanded angrily.

"She didn't want to walk," Coby tried to defend himself. As Amy grilled him, Grace slipped off Coby's back and walked over to Ace. She tugged on his arm, a rice ball in her mouth.

"Hmm?" He looked down at the diminutive redhead wearing a pink cowboy hat.

"I like your hat," she said simply causing Ace to laugh again.

"Hey, Amy," Luffy said. "Can you tell where the others are? I want them to meet my brother."

"Sure," she answered, begrudgingly letting Coby off with a warning. "Gin, could you give me a wind?" The former Krieg pirate brought out one of his tonfa and started spinning, kicking up a nice breeze. Amy opened her umbrella and reduced her weight, floating up to see all of the city. "The Marines are after them!" she called down to her captain.

"Really?" he yelled back. "How close are they?"

"Nami and Vivi are almost back. They're on the docks and have lost the ones chasing them. Usopp and Sanji aren't that far behind. They've still got a couple on their tails. Zoro and Chopper are trying to lose most of them and are being chased by a woman with a sword."

"That sounds like the woman from Louge Town," Gin chimed in. "Takashi or something?"

"Must be," Luffy said. "We saw Smokey earlier. Aww, dammit, that reminds me. I didn't get any food."

"Now isn't the time for that, Captain Luffy," Coby chastised. "Can you stretch me and you up to the crow's nest and throw me toward Zoro-sensei?"

"I can do that." Luffy did as bid, pulling them both up and preparing to throw the boy. "Ready? Gum-Gum Cannon!" Coby went flying toward the scene of the chase, swapping into his Hybrid Mode before his Dino Mode to gradually increase his weight. He hit the ground between the doctor and the swordsman and their pursuers

Having not been prepared for his entrance, Tashigi and the other marines ran into Coby's flank, nearly knocking him over. Coby turned to face them and let out a fearsome roar which caused some of the newer recruits to wet themselves. Tashigi, however, was not a Sergeant Major for nothing. She recovered quickly and unsheathed her blade.

"Coby!" Chopper greeted. "What are you doing here?" The rosette shrunk into his Hybrid Mode and pulled out his own weapons.

"It looked like you two could use a hand," he called over his shoulder.

"Who are you?" Tashigi demanded. "Why are you helping these filthy pirates?"

"Is it illegal to help one's teacher, now?" Coby shot back.

"What? Teacher? But then... You're that kid from Louge Town!"

"I'm much more than that now. I am Coby, a member of the Straw Hat Pirates. Chopper, Zoro-sensei, Captain Luffy wants you both back on the ship so the captain can introduce our new guest. We're leaving as soon as everyone is on board. She will tell us our next move." The two nodded before Chopper sniffed the air and took off in the general direction of the Merry with Zoro following.

"After them!" Tashigi ordered. Her men took off, but before she could join them, Coby forced her to avoid his blades.

"Get out of the way," she growled. "The legendary swords like those of your teacher do not belong in the hands of pirates. Why do you insist on opposing the World Government?"

"I talked with your captain earlier, and like I told him, do not blindly follow your orders, Sergeant Major. We are pirates, yes, but we don't want to pillage or burn or kill."

"What are you getting at, scum?"

"We aren't your enemy until you force us to be. All I wanted was to be a marine when I was younger, but I realized that the whole system was screwed up, so I became a pirate instead. I saw Captain Luffy save two towns, a restaurant, and an island before we even made it to Reverse Mountain. Where were the Marines when these happened in the most peaceful of the Four Blues? They were either slow, hiding, or helping the pirates! Your Colonel Nazumi of Branch 16? He was taking bribes from a pirate who'd been holding an island captive for nearly a decade."

"You're lying!"

"I wish I was!" She didn't hear him. The woman attacked, but Coby blocked with his left sword. She was not deterred, though, and came down with a vertical strike. Coby managed to catch the sword with two of his horns thanks to the woman's anger and a lot of luck, locking the sword in place. Tashigi could not move it for fear of breaking her weapon.

"That's a nice sword," Coby complemented, "but it's not a legendary blade, is it?" He twisted his neck, breaking the blade an inch from the hilt with his horns.

"Shigure!" The steel plunged into the mixture of dirt and sand at Coby's large feet. He spun, hitting the marine with his tail while she was still shocked by her weapon's demise. She fell to the ground several feet away as Coby shrunk down and sheathed his weapons. He turned away.

"Are you not going to kill me, either?!" she yelled angrily. "Why?! Because your teacher won't kill a woman?" she mocked.

"You haven't threatened us," Coby answered in his human form. "You don't meet Captain Luffy's requirements and have not harmed our Nakama. I will not kill you, nor do I want to." He ran off before she could answer, leaving Tashigi with her broken sword and his words.

"Damn piraaaaaates!"

End of Chapter 32

Yes, I understand that a student like Coby shouldn't be able to beat a swordswoman like Tashigi so quickly, but remember: a) Zoro was in charge of his training, b) he had surprise on his side and information that could unhinge her, and c) she would underestimate him, a flaw of many early One Piece characters. Anyway, tell me what you think.

Read and Review!

-SwordOfTheGods