Chapter 51

In the beginning of the Grand Line, a little caravel ship sails in mid of a snowy weather which had befallen on them. This ship- The Going Merry- is heading for none other than Whiskey Peak.

The ship was filled with mirthful giggles coming from a Strawhatted teen who was running around with Usopp on tow after destroying each other Snow arts, that is, if Luffy's melting Mr. Snowman in the freezing cold weather could even be counted as a snow art.

On the deck, where snow was falling, Sanji, ever the lady loving guy was shoveling snow to impress the miss- Nami- of his dreams, who was inside the galley.

"Excuse me! Doesn't this ship has a heater. This environment ain't for a king like me," Mr. 9 spoke arrogantly. He was shivering with cold despite the heavy blanket which he had worn around his body.

"I'm cold," Miss Wednesday agreed with her partner, sitting in the same situation as that of him.

"Shut your mouth! You're not guests here. You wanna warm out? Then go shovel some snow or something!" Nami yelled at the two arrogant people, her teeth gaining sharp edges.

CACKLE!

The sound of the lightning cackling in the sky made the navigator look out of the window with wide eyes.

"Lightning?" Nami asked aloud. "Just what's going on with the weather here? I have seen nothing like this before. One minute it was a cloudless sky and next it's a blizzard. It's just as if the normal rules of the nature doesn't even exist here!" Nami spoke to herself, remembering what Crocus had told about the unpredictable nature and weather of Grand Line. 

"So what do you think? Ready to turn back yet?" Miss Wednesday asked with a scrutinizing gaze. 

"You and your friends have no idea how to survive this place." Mr. 9 spoke as he agreed with his partner. 

"And you've left your rudder alone for a while now. You sure that's wise?" Miss Wednesday asked, as a puff of white smoke due to the cold came out of her mouth.

"I know where we are heading, I just checked it a while ago," Nami answered, her gaze going to the log pose, which made her scream her lungs outat the sight of what was not supposed to happen. 

"What happened Nami?" Luffy asked first as he fell face first into the snow, which started melting slightly due to his abnormally high body temperature. 

"What's wrong?" Usopp asked as he stopped in the mid of snow fight which he and Luffy were fighting.

"What's the matter, Nami?" Sanji voiced out as he saw his dream queen with horrified expression on her face come out of the galley and stepping into the cold.

"No way!" Nami panicked, her eyes wide and fixated on the log pose which showed how bad they were out of the path. "Make a hard turn of 180 degree. Hurry!" She ordered her friends, who were still not understanding the situation and messing around, especially Luffy and Usopp.

"A 180? Why'd you want us to turn back?" Usopp asked. He would be very happy if they turned back but still... why?

"Did we forget something?" Luffy asked cocking his head. 

"The ship has turned around! We are sailing in the wrong direction! I only took my eyes off the log pose for a second..!" Nami pointed out looking at the waves which were calm a moment ago.

Luffy looked innocently to the side where Merry was sitting. He had ignored the little ship spirit when she had made him aware of the situation. He had thought that Nami had full control on everything, but he had forgot that it was her first time in the Grand Line. He apologized Merry silently, who softly giggled at him.

"Looks like you have been played by the waves." Mr. 9 taunted. 

"You are not a very good navigator, are you?" Miss Wednesday teased, making Nami suck her lips and gain a tick mark in anger. "You can't trust anything here. Not the winds, skies, waves, and the clouds! Nothing is as it seems in the sea. The only way to get a reliable direction in the Grand Line is the log pose. Everyone knows that!" 

"SHUT YOUR COUNTER SPEAKING MOUTH AND DO SOMETHING USEFUL AROUND HERE!" Nami shouted at the duo, having enough of their arrogance and kicking them out of the galley. 

"Catch the wind from the right side!" Nami began guiding the Strawhats of what to do soon enough. Catching the wind would allow them to return the ship back to the original path.

She began ordering around perfectly, not even leaving the duo, when her eyes landed on a sleeping Zoro. But before she could shout on the napping swordsman Usopp was shouting about the winds changing direction and Luffy was standing on the figurehead of Merry, hands reaching out to the group of dolphins who suspiciously leaped to his touch before diving back in.

"GET BACK TO WORK!" Nami yelled, particularly at Luffy.

"The waves are getting really high!" Usopp warned.

"There is an iceberg!" Luffy shouted next, laughing all the way.

"And now there's a fog rolling in!" Sanji informed to Nami.

"This is crazy! What's even going on?!" Nami screamed, wanting to pull out her hairs.

"We just grazed the iceberg!" Luffy excitedly spoke, jumping on the figurehead with glee.

"Nami, there's water leaking in the lower deck of the Merry!" Sanji shouted, making Usopp run with some wooden planks and hammer to the place.

"The winds picking up!" Nami noted as the clouds above them started moving too fast, before shouting back. "Pull the sails! The winds are too strong! We'll overturn at this rate!"

"Everyone needs to eat up and energize!" Sanji appeared out of no where with rice balls, making everyone take as much as they could.

"Oh crap! The sails gonna tear up!" Mr. 9 shouted above the hurried footsteps of the Strawhats. 

"There's another part of ship damaged below!" Miss Wednesday yelled in panic, making Usopp rush below deck. She was regretting her choice of asking the pirates.

"Nami, where's the compass pointing now?" Luffy asked as Merry provided that they are again astray from their routes.

"It changed again!" Nami screamed.

.

After a few minutes, when only a giggling noise could be heard coming from the Going Merry, a certain swordsman finally woke up from his nap.

Stretching his limbs, Zoro stood up to see the sight of everyone sprawled on the deck, and Luffy giggling while sitting on the figurehead and looking at the ocean. That pointed the deranged point on the list, but that was the least weird thing according to Zoro about Luffy.

"Hey, come on. The weather's nice and all but that's no reason to be lazy." Zoro pointed out, as the others, except Luffy, gained a tick mark on their head.

"Silly Zoro!" Luffy giggled turning back to his first mate. 

"We better be on the right track, that's all I can say," Zoro a stated next, making everyone grit their teeth and mutter a 'Shut up bastard!' in their heads. 

"Yep! Merry says we are on the right track!" Luffy spoke in sing song voice, his hands on the back of his neck, as the said being sat on his shoulder, visible only to Luffy.

Zoro raised an eyebrow at that, before chalking it to something Luffy like, which he would ask later. He knelled down to the two suspicious looking man and woman who were curled up near the mast. 

"So tell me what were your strange names? 'Cause I don't think you can be trusted," Zoro asked the duo with a smirk on his face which made the said duo sweat profusely at the intimating aura leaking from the swordsman.

"Even Zoro thinks so!" Luffy butted in, standing beside Zoro to look at the blue haired girl who he has clearly seen once at least.

"Well, my name is M-Mr. 9..." "And I'm called Miss Wednesday..."

The two 'guests' of their ship replied, intimated by the swordsman. 

"Right, you know those names sound familiar and that's what bothering me." Zoro spoke, his left hand on his chin. "In fact the more that I think about it, the more I'm certain that I've heard it somewhere before!"

A soft wind hit Luffy's ears giving the name which he was so busy remembering with. His eyes widened as he finally recognized where he had seen the blue haired girl.

"I remember where I had seen you!" Luffy told with his fist hitting his palm. Miss Wednesday's eyes widened, her heart hammering in her chest. It couldn't be! H-How did a brat, a kid even recognize her-!

"I saw you in the bevie 2 years ago!" Luffy answered, making the listeners look at him at confusion.

"Bevie? What's that?" Zoro asked in confusion as he noted Miss Wednesday take a breath of relief.

"Bevie? Or was it Levei?" Luffy asked, making a thinking face. 

Before Zoro can ask what he meant, he was bestowed a punch on his head, making him groan. 

"You jerk, do you think you can just sleep while we do all the work! You're lucky that we didn't toss your lazy ass overboard!" By this time, Mr. 9, Miss Wednesday and Luffy fled from the scene not wanting face the woman's ire. 

Poor Zoro, did the mistake of turning back to Nami with a glare of his own, which made Nami piss off more and award him with more potatoes on his head. 

Sitting on the figurehead, Luffy spotted a smile as he remembered of Koala, who would punch Ace, Sabo and him whenever they did something weird. But if he had to compare, then Nami was more scary than her! 

"Listen up everyone! There's no way to know what's gonna happen next." Nami yelled walking away from Zoro. 

"During the terror that most of us just experienced, I came to an understanding of why this sea was named as the Grand Line. My navigation skills are useless here but mark my words, I'll guide us through!" Nami announced to the crew, with determination in her eyes. 

"Uhh, okay, you sure about that Nami?" Usopp asked with a sweat drop masking his fear.

"Without a doubt! We'll be fine, just wait and see!" Nami answered back with a smile. "Speaking of which, we are here!" Nami pointed out to the foggy island which they were nearing.

"Our first journey to the Grand Line comes to an end!" Nami announced.

"It's an island! I see giant Cacti!" Luffy cheered as he bounced on the figurehead with evident excitement on his face. 

"Thank God we have arrived!" Usopp voiced out, holding his heart.

"So, this is Whiskey Peak!" Sanji spoke with a grin and a cigarette between his teeth."The landscape's not something I have ever seen!" 

"Thank you but we ought to be leaving!" Mr. 9 dramatically said as he stepped on the railing and bowed his head with extra courtesy.

"It's been an interesting ride to say the least!" Miss Wednesday added, as she made the same posture as that of Mr. 9.

"Perhaps, we will meet up again someday!" Mr. 9 added, but Miss Wednesday would love to stay away with from the strawhatted teen if possible. She is really thankful that her secret is safe, though that makes her wonder if the kid was there in the Levely which had taken place 2 years ago. Not to mention, she was also curious about the kid.

"Bye bye baby!" The duo spoke together before performing a back flip and diving in the ocean. 

"That's a quick exit," Nami pointed out. 

"Guess we'll never learn what those two nutjobs were up to!" Usopp spoke with a sweat drop.

"Forget about them! Prepare to land!" Nami spoke.

"Look, there's a waterway right up to the shoreline. We can go inland by ship," Sanji informed Nami. 

"I'm weighing the possibilities of m-monsters out there," Usopp stated as he started to shake and shiver in fear. 

"It's definitely a possibility, considering it's the Grand Line," Sanji answered with his teeth clasped around his cigarette which he lighted up the next second.

"Nah, I don't feel monsters here." Luffy replied with a pout, as if he was disappointed with the lack of monsters on the Island.

"You can feel them?" Zoro asked as he raised an eyebrow at the teen.

"Yep! Observation Haki!" Luffy replied in a sing song voice.

"That reminds me, when can we start training on this Haki?" Sanji asked the next, looking fascinated about the training already.

"Weren't you about to show some other cool moves too?" Usopp asked looking at Luffy, his fear and nervousness gone for the moment.

"Oh yeah!" Luffy grinned. "We can start today maybe!"

"We might even have plenty of time for that." Nami pointed on. "We do need to stay on this island for a certain amount of time as the log pose needs to record the Island's Magnetic field before we can move on to the next island."

"And it might take only a few hours or to several days for it to do so," Luffy added, making Nami nod. 

"Suppose if we come across an Island which is crawling with monsters, then we'll be stuck waiting and probably done for!" Usopp spoke in fear. 

"That's right," Nami confirmed.

"Don't worry about it, Usopp!" Luffy patted the sniper's back. He won't let his crew handle a danger which they can't go for yet.

"Woah! There are people near the shore!" Luffy added as his Haki alerted him of the crowd which was gathering in the shore. 

"You sure?" Nami asked, as she squinted her eyes to look through the fog to no avail.

Soon, loud cheers erupted from the Islanders, making the Strawhats looks at their sides to see and hear people chanting about pirates.

"Welcome!" "To the town of Welcoming, Whiskey Peak!" "Pirates!" "Welcome to our town!" "Welcome to Grand Line!"

"Huh? Not only are there no monsters, but there are people greeting us!" Usopp spoke looking at everyone.

"What's going on...?" Nami wondered out loud.

"LONG LIVE THE BRAVE HEROES OF THE SEA!"

"I've never so many cute girls in one place!" Sanji spoke with his eyes looking like heart and face gaining a red tint, seeing the lovely ladies holding the banner which held the word 'Welcome!'.

"Talk about a warm welcome!" Usopp gushed as he started giving flying kisses to the audience. "Looks like pirates really are the people's heroes here!"

In all of this, Luffy sat on the railing with his eyes shadowed. He had been on many islands, even the islands protected by Yonkos, but no one hailed the names of the pirates like this town. It was all too suspicious. Too much to believe the pleasant and warm welcome given by this town.

Zoro looked at Luffy, who would start bouncing the moment something like this would happen. But his captain was quiet all the way as they docked on the shore of the Island, where they were soon surrounded by the Islanders. That was odd, but Zoro himself had an odd feeling about all of this.

"Welg- Ahem!" The mayor of the town who had a weird curly hair cleared his throat before beginning to speak once again. "Mamamaa~! Welcome. My name is Igarappoi. And it's my greatest honor and pleasure to welcome you to Whiskey Peak."

"Your hair is funny, old man!" Luffy broke into laughter for the first time, since he had stepped on the Island. 

"You'll find that this is the place thrives on making liquor and music. Hospitality is a matter of pride in our town." Igarappoi, the town's mayor spoke ignoring the strawhatted kid who made fun of him. "The smiles run long and the liquor flows as bountiful as the sea water. Would you let us throw a party in the honor of your arrival. So, that we may hear your pretty tar- Ahem! Mamamaa~! Tales of your adventures!"

"Gladly!" Usopp, Sanji and Luffy cheered up. They were not ones to leave such a good offer.

Zoro and Nami stood at the side lines, watching the idiot trio dancing together with glee. Even Zoro wondered what Luffy was thinking of!

"Ah, by the way, how long does the log pose take to record the island's magnetic field?" Nami asked the mayor as soon as the idiot trio made their way to people, food and ladies.

"Log, eh, wha? Oh, such boring details might have to be kept detained for now. Surely you'd like to rest up from your long journey." The mayor replied back, taking the orange haired teen to the place where the banquet was going to be held. "Now, let's prepare for the party!"

. 

The sun was beginning to set down, the moon was about to rise, and the welcoming party at the Whiskey Peak didn't show any sign to cease.

"And then I looked straight in their eyes and told, 'Sea kings don't ya dare touch my friends, or you have to answer to me!'" Usopp was regaling a tale to the ladies and gentleman, who were listening, captivated to his story, while holding a jar of alcohol in his hands.

"Oh, wow! You're amazing, capt. Usopp!!" The ladies cheered on Usopp, giving a boost to his own confidence and story telling.

Zoro slammed his empty mug of alcohol on the table as another opponent of his fell flat.

"Amazing! This man out drank 10 people!" A commentator announced, before turning his attention to another orange haired girl, who was still drinking. "And this lady, out drank 12 people and is still drinking!"

"I'm full!" Luffy spoke as he finally let go of his 66th plate, and patted his bulged out stomach, which turned back to his normal skinny belly.

"HOLY MOLY! HERE WE HAVE THEIR CAPTAIN WHO'S EATEN ENOUGH FOOD FOR 50 PEOPLE!" The commentator announced in panic and the next second the 5 cooks who were appointed with the cooking collapsed on the floor.

"Shishishi!" Luffy chuckled as he stood up from his place. He had been starving since they had left the Reverse Mountain. The food the cooks here made was good enough for him. With that thought, the Strawhatted teen started walking off, ignoring the commentary of how Sanji was flirting with 20 women all alone.

"Hahahaha! What a festib- Ahem! Mamamaa~! Festive night this is!" The mayor of the town spoke, as he blocked the path of the strawhatted teen who was going towards the door. "Young man, won't you enjoy some dancing or singing?"

"Nope!" Luffy replied with a pop sound. He had enjoyed the party from the fake village Islanders and had deemed them not too much of a threat for his crew for a while. Even Zoro can handle them all alone. 

"Can we do something to entertain you?" The Mayor asked sounding a bit desperate.

"I told no." Luffy stated with a frown, as he tried to get away from the man who was standing between him and the door.

"Let me show you the towr- Ahem! Mamamaa~! Town then!" The mayor spoke as he side stepped from Luffy's path, to avoid suspicion.

"I don't have time for that, old man!" Luffy stated with an irritated face, before walking away from the mayor who tried keeping up with him, but sadly the mayor was too slow and by the time Luffy stepped on his deck, the mayor was still far away to hear the splash of the water, as Luffy dove in with glee in his mother's waiting arms, where a group of dolphins, and some sea kings and little fishes were eagerly looking forward to see and play with him.

"Shishishishi!" Nika giggled as his mother playfully ruffled his hair, making them look familiar to the cloudy wisps which he had a long time ago. The only difference was in the color right now. And he was glad that it was, otherwise he doesn't know if he could still be here.

The red velvety horizon which would normally never be seen within the dark murky waters, were shinning brightly in the deep and dangerous waters of the Grand Line, making Nika run to the sea creatures who were patiently waiting for him.

"Shishishishi!" Nika laughed as he got tackled by the dolphins and the sea kings. The little fishes were nibbling and tickling on his soft flesh, making him splutter gleefully.

"What about the humans, little king?" A sea king, who looked too old and wise asked. They lived around here and knew full well what was going on in the Island.

"They will fine for a a while!" Nika grinned as he started playing with the little playful fishes, and dolphins. He could trust on Zoro and he knew the swordsman would let nothing happen till he resurfaces. He could see his mother nodding at his decision and observing him with a soft smile on her lips.

.

Igarappoi clenched his fists tight when he saw the captain enter his little caravel ship. He had to remind himself that it was not the end of his plan. They would definitely catch him up. So, he waited outside as the sun began to set down, for the teen to come out of the ship.

It was ticking him off as more and more time passed and the evening changed to one of the chilly nights on the Whiskey Peak.

"He must have fallen asleep," Igarappoi muttered to himself after an hour or so of waiting for the teen to come out of the ship. He thought about the amount of sleeping potions which were added to the teen's food. With that he turned his back to the ship and made a mental note to send someone to fetch the teen later.

Igarappoi headed towards the little cottage where the other pirates were partying and to his luck they were fast asleep. 

"They worn themselves up partying and are fast asleep," Igarappoi spoke in a low voice and closed the door behind him. "Sweet dreams, brave adventurers!"

"My! How the cactus rocks gleam under the pale moonlight! Beautiful as ever!"

"If I may say, your poetic skills are beyond comparable, Igarappoi. I mean, Mr. 8!" A familiar voice commented, making Mr. 8, who was looking at the ship where the main target was, stop.

"Oh, it's you," Mr. 8 spoke without looking back, knowing the voice Mr. 9 very well. 

"So, where are they?" Miss Wednesday questioned as she started approaching the man with weird curly hair with her partner, Mr. 9.

"They're falling..." Mr. 8 spoke as he turned slightly to the duo. "Straight to hell!" A dark shadow crept on the man's face as he uttered the last words. 

"Damn my head is killing me. Our guest didn't have the good taste to pass out gracefully so I passed out drugs a little, otherwise it would still be going on." Another voice butted in, as a woman with a nun outfit came out of the very door were the rest of the Strawhats were. "So, tell me was it really necessary to put on this elaborate show for those idiots? I mean they're only a bunch of weak looking brats and not to mention, the captain is a moron and a literal kid!"

"Miss Monday!" Mr. 8 greeted the lady, who took off her hood and false attire to show her pink hair and pink dress.

"We should've just crushed them at the harbor. The town is short enough on food as it is already. And it's not like we had high hopes on getting that whale meat either." Miss Monday pointedly spoke. 

"why don't you go and try to kill that damn whale!" Mr. 9 yelled back. 

"We tried our best, you know!" Miss Wednesday retorted angrily.

"Both of you calm yourself before you question my plan, you should see this." Mr. 8 spoke up as he stuffed his hand in his jacket and pulled out a bounty poster. "I have done my homework about this crew."

"WHAT?!! 50 MILLION BELLIES?!"

The trio shouted seeing the bounty poster of the brat who didn't even look like that much of a big threat. 

"Yes, and not to mention, the very same teen carries valuables which can earn us quite a good amount of belly." Mr. 8 stated as he clearly remembered the pearly and seashell bracelets on the teen's wrist. Not to mention the silver chain which he saw hanging in the teen's neck. The memory of the faint glowing of his shirt above a locket hanging by the chain reminded Mr. 8 that the boy was worth capturing.

"But in any case, they are already out cold. This should make an excellent report for the Boss." Miss Monday pointed out, before she remembered something else. "Where's the captain? I haven't seen him inside for a while."

"He is in his ship, fast asleep." Mr. 8 spoke. "Now go confiscate valuables on their ship and tie them all up! and don't kill them, if you'll then we will lose 30% of the bounty money."

"Hey, sorry to interrupt," A voice butted in. "Would you mind letting my friends sleep? They had a long day and the journey was exhausting or so was I told."

"Hey! Mr. 8 and Miss Monday! One of them escaped the room when weren't looking!" Some people came running at the very same time to the said people. 

"He's right over there," Miss Wednesday pointed out to the roof. 

"Sneaky wretch, you should've stayed asleep with your friends!" Mr. 8 asked leveling the man who had his swords out, with a glare. 

"A good swordsman never makes a mistake of letting his guard down plus I took a nap earlier," Zoro answered from where he was sitting cross legged on the roof top. 

"Judging by the scowls and the cheap disguises, I'm guessing you all are bounty hunters. The specialty is robbing drunk pirates who fall for your hospitality. It's original, I can give you that at least." Zoro mused. 

The group of bounty hunters, true to their nature started taking out their weapons and gathering around the building where Zoro was standing on.

"There's about a 100 of you scumbags, give or take," Zoro spoke as he stood up from his place. "And I'll fight all of you. You hear me Baroque Works?!"

The name of organization was enough to piss the group of bounty hunters more as they asked how he knew about the name of the secret organization.

Zoro with a smirk regaled about the time when he was a bounty hunter, how he had got an invitation from this very organization, whose members don't know a thing about each other's real identities, and must refer each other by their code names. With a devil smile, he also stated how the boss's identity and location were also a mystery.

"Heh! Was that supposed to be a secret?" Zoro asked with a smug grin as he saw the pissed off faces of the group. 

"This is a surprise. Ifyou know all of our secrets then we are left with no other choices than to kill you," Mr. 8 spoke grimly. "And another grave stone, shall be added to Cactus rocks tonight!"

"KILL HIM!" Mr. 8 pointed out to the location where... the swordsman was once.

"He disappeared!" Miss Wednesday stuttered out. 

"He's gone!" "But how the hell can he just disappear?!"

The bounty hunters asked as they searched every other way, than in their midst where Zoro was standing with a mocking hand over his eyes to copy some of the bounty hunters.

"Where'd I go?" Zoro absent mindedly spoke, making the bounty hunters turn towards him with their eyes bulging a little bit out of their sockets.

"Now then, shall we get things started?" Zoro asked with a smug grin, as guns were pointed towards him in an instant.

.

On the other side, in the little cottage one more Strawhat woke up, with a giddy smile on her face.

"Looks like they left," The orange haired girl spoke in a sing sing voice, as she danced her way to the door, pick locking it and making a way out of the caged place.

The only thing which was motivating her in the midst of the shouts and screams of the bounty hunters was the amount of money she was going to earn from the said people. They had to have large stacks of money with their line of business.

She was really glad that the muscle headed swordsman of their crew was fighting off the bounty hunters. After all, she couldn't focus on stealing when there would have been people chasing her.

Skipping on her feet, a bit disappointed on the amount of money she could gather from the houses of the bounty hunters, she reached the deck, telling herself that she just needed to deposit the money before going back in her search. But the real reason for her to get to the ship was to search for Luffy. He was neither in the tavern nor was fighting against the bounty hunters. It was concerning to say the least.

"The idiot must have gone to raid the fridge," She muttered to herself, as she dropped the goodies in the women's room before heading back to the kitchen. To her utter dismay the teen was not there.

"He has to be on the ship, sleeping soundly somewhere," She tried to reason with herself as she searched each and every place of the ship.

She was pale by the end of it. Her legs carried herself as fast as possible to the certain green haired man who was clearing the last batch of bounty hunters- which included the Mayor and the weirdos whom they had given a lift. She didn't even care about the other bounty hunters who were running from the scene. All she thought of was Luffy vanishing.

"ZORO! LUFFY IS MISSING!" Nami yelled out in panic. Her lips were wobbling, and a glassy sheen was visible in her eyes.

"WHAT?!" Zoro shouted back, as he turned towards the orange haired girl. "He has to be on the ship or somewhere on this Island!" Zoro tried to reason.

"I searched everywhere!" Nami shouted back, biting back a sob. She couldn't tell how her heart was twisting itself painfully at the realization.

Zoro gritted his teeth. He knew Luffy's habit of disappearing in the middle of the ocean and always returning back safely, but he didn't want to chalk it off to that this time. He knew that the kid was a total idiot and a dumbass. And them being surrounded by bounty hunters didn't really help.

"Where is he?" Zoro growled as he turned around to the mayor who was laying on the ground, beaten up. 

"W-We haven't send anyone to fetch him," Mr. 8 answered fearfully to Zoro, who looked like a demon with blood flowing from his forehead and a menacing deadly glare which he threw at him. It literally made him want to step back- only if he could.

"I asked Where. Is. He?!" Zoro repeated as he crouched down towards the man.

'I still have an important mission...! I can't die here.' Mr. 8 thought as he gritted his teeth. In the first place, he never wanted to play with the pirates, but he needed to... and now that would lead to his death if he doesn't do anything.

"I swear-" Mr. 8 was cut off by another voice which spoke above him.

"How pathetic, you lost to a single swordsman?" A taunting voice announced it's arrival, making Mr. 8 try to look past the swordsman who also turned to the new voices, with his hands on the sheath of his blades.

"MR. 5?! MISS VALENTINE?!" Mr. 8 shouted in shock.

.

Nika opened his sleepy eyes as he felt panic radiating from Nami and anger coursing through the veins of Zoro.

"Needa to go," He mumbled rubbing his sleepy eyes, as his mother kissed his crown softly. "See ya soon, Mama!" The boy told as his mother helped him reach the shore in a short span of time.

Luffy was walking with a yawn and sleep evident in his eyes to where he was sensing Zoro and Nami, who were surrounded by that princess and his bodyguard.

He was thinking of the dishes Sanji might cook tomorrow to avoid thinking of the much needed sleep which he required right now, when he caught two hostile presences near his friends and worst of it they were shouting and the princess and the bodyguard were starting to panic. It wasn't helping that he was literally losing control on the voices.

"-DON'T YOU UNDERESTIMATE ME!" Luffy loudly heard the Princess shout.

"Jeez, too loud," Luffy hissed closing his eyes.

"-CANNON!" The voice was soon followed by a boom.

"Shut up," Luffy clenched his eyes shut once more, feeling his mind about to explode from the yelling, shouts and internal panics.

"SWORDSMAN! I HAVE THE MOST UNREASONABLE REQUEST TO-"

"You are annoying!" Luffy hissed, his hat shadowing his eyes and his rapidly paling face. He punched the two damn cursed people who were behind all the ruckus. It helped stopping the voices and panic for once and all. The shock coming from others was welcome as long as it doesn't overwhelm him.

"Mr. 5?! It can't be! An officer agent of Baroque Works was-!" The princess was baffled but was unable to speak a word as the green haired man and the orange haired girl rushed past them to the boy.

"Where the hell were you?" Nami asked angrily, as she stopped her dire need to punch the teen who looked completely unwell, if his ghostly pale skin was something to say.

"It's getting too loud again," Luffy muttered, as he closed his eyes once more, trying to gain control on the voices.

"You idiot, don't vanish on us!" Zoro mumbled, as he looked worriedly at Luffy. He was really glad that the teen was safe, but something didn't feel right.

"It... can't be..! How could there be guys as strong as them so close to the Grand Line's entrance?!" The princess wondered out loud, as she helped Igaram to his feet.

"Mr. Captain!" Igaram limped his way to the teen, who was surrounded by his crew mates. He knew what he needed to do right now. The way the two superior agents weren't even moving a single muscle was enough proof for him to know that he had messed with a wrong crew... and they were the only hope right now for them. He was sure they would be soon swarmed by other agents too, who would be out for their heads, all because they knew the boss's identity.

"Seeing your impressive strength , please allow me to make an unreasonable request!" Igaram continued as he literally begged the teen.

"What do you want?" Zoro asked as he turned to the man. But he quickly turned to the teen who literally was about to fall face first on the ground.

"What the heck Luffy?!" Zoro yelled, garnering the attention of the others.

"I'm fine! Shishishi!" Luffy laughed as he went on to plop himself on the ground and lean on a nearby wall.

Zoro was definitely not going to buy it. He can literally see the way the teen was acting weirdly. A part of his mind provided Zoro that this was the second time he was seeing the teen in the night times. The ghostly pale face, his heartbeat which could be heard if he got near the boy, and the warmth radiating from the teen in the chilly night... was something completely mysterious.

'What is Luffy?' Zoro thought as he saw the teen looking at the others and pretending to listen, but the little openings which were too short to even notice, showed Zoro that the teen was hiding something. Zoro was worried. 

"How does a billion beli sound?" Nami asked, with her eyes turning beli symbols, to the weird man with curls. She had been listening to the man and the princess all the while when Zoro and Luffy were bickering. She was concerned about the boy, but she couldn't let past such a good deal!

"A billion?!" Igaram and Vivi shouted at once at the woman which made Zoro and Luffy turn back to the conversation. 

"So how about it? Can you guarantee us a reward of 1 billion beri, Mr. Captain-Of-the-Royal-Guard and Princess Vivi? Or need I remind you-"

"No, I can't!" Vivi stated boldly. "But I appreciate the help you've given me so far." Vivi thanked the weird teen whose beady doe eyes seemed to be looking at her soul. It was creepy to say the least! But still, how the hell this kid was able to beat the high ranking officers with just a punch?! That was beyond something which he had imagined.

"Why not? You are a princess after all. So, aren't you rich?" Nami asked, not understanding the situation. 

"Do you know much about Arabasta Kingdom?" Vivi questioned the pirates.

"No," Nami answered truthfully.

"It's the Kingdom which was created by one of the 20 Celestial Dragons," Luffy informed without any emotion to the people gathered. Zoro and Nami looked worriedly at Luffy due to the unsettling tone.

"How do you know?!" Igaram asked with shock. That was the information which only some people knew about.

"Not only that, it is in middle of a civil war right now," Luffy finished, back to his normal tone.

"Right," Vivi agreed with the boy. She was afraid of the kid's information and strength by now. "It's a highly civilized country within the Grand Line, and it used to be a peaceful one at that too... a long time ago..."

With that, Vivi started explaining the Strawhats of how her country one day started sprouting discontentment, which made her country fell in utter chaos.

"Then one day, I learnt of a secret organization called Baroque works." Vivi continued as she took a seat herself. "I found that that our people were being manipulated by this organization. That was the only information I could gather about them. I didn't know what to do so I went to Igaram for help."

"That's when Princess Vivi asked me if there was any way to infiltrate Baroque Works, to understand who was it that was pulling the strings behind the scenes and what exactly where they up to." Igaram added his two cents. 

"You are a brave princess," Zoro commented, as he took a seat next to Luffy.

"So what exactly does this Baroque Works want?" Nami inquired the princess who tied up her hair into a ponytail but wasn't looking sinister at all right now like before.

"Their true goal is to take over the Alabasta Kingdom!" Vivi said as she gritted her teeth. "I have to get back, to warn everybody to tell them the truth and stop the fighting. If I don't do something, if I don't tell them..!" A sob broke out of Vivi's throat, unable to complete what she wanted to say. 

Nami nodded, finally understanding why the Princess refused to provide any money as a reward. A country in a middle of a civil war wouldn't have any money to spare after all.

"Who's the boss anyways?" Zoro asked the most important question.

"WHAT?! THE BOSS'S IDENTITY?! YOU SHOULDN'T ASK THAT-"

"It's Crocy!" Luffy announced cutting off the yells of Igaram and Vivi. Seriously, what's up with people yelling tonight?

"OTHERWISE YOUR LIVES WOULD BE PUT ON DANGER...!" Vivi turned in shock to the teen whose face was scrunched as if he was thinking hard on something or something was causing him pain. She chalked it to the former. "You mean Crocodile?! The Warlord?! Then you are correct!"

"Yep!" Luffy answered with a pop sound at the end. Zoro, Nami, Vivi and Igaram turned to him in slow motion, with their jaws hanging wide open at the realization. And if that was not enough funny for him, then the way the two weird creatures- was that an otter and vulture?- were glaring at them, was enough for him to burst out laughing loud.

"WHAT WAS THAT BIRD AND OTTER JUST NOW?!" Nami yelled as she shook the collar of Vivi who was now crying as the vulture carried the otter and flew away. 

"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!" Vivi chanted.

"AND HOW THE HELL YOU KNOW, IDIOT?!" Nami asked kicking to the place where Luffy was laughing his ass at a second ago.

"Heh, not too bad!" Zoro smirked.

"DID THEY GO TO REPORT THAT YOU'VE LITERALLY TOLD US THE BOSS'S SECRET?! WELL, WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO US NOW?!" Nami yelled out loud at Vivi, her teeth gaining sharp edges.

"I'm really sorry! But if the kid wouldn't have said, I might have not told the correct name!" Vivi tried reasoning.

"You think that matters to me?! Why do we have to be hunted because you wanted to correct this damn idiot!" Nami yelled, wanting to really pound the rubber boy who was rolling on the floor, unable to stop his laughter. "We just barely entered the Grand line and already have a Warlord chasing after us!" Nami cried digging the heel of her palms in her eyes to wipe the tears.

"So, when do we get to see this guy," Zoro inquired with a smirk.

"I would love to have a match with Crocy! Finally someone worth fighting till now." Luffy affirmed as he nodded his head.

"SHUT UP, YOU TWO!" Nami shouted, her teeth gaining sharp edges. Even if the duo were freaking strong, but that doesn't mean she deserved to be hunted and expected to fight against a scary warlord, who is single handedly responsible for bringing a country to ruins!

She got up gently and started walking off. They needed to get off the Island as fast as possible.

"Where're ya going, Nami?" Luffy asked blinking his eyes innocently. 

"They don't know what we look like yet. So, we should set sail immediately and get the hell out of the Island!" Nami declared, only to stopped by the otter who presented her with three sets of drawings, which included her, Zoro's and Luffy's sketches.

"Wow, you are good at it!" Nami clapped her hands dumbly, before turning back and screeching her lungs out. "NOW WE CAN'T EVEN RUN AWAY!"

"Why even run away?" Luffy asked as he jumped up on his feet and leaned on it, to hide his little dizzy head.

"Looks like the three of us are gonna sit on the very top of Baroque Works hit list!" Zoro pointed out with a smirk, making Luffy laugh wild and free. A good fight was always welcome in his dictionary after all. 

"I do have five hundred thousands in my savings, that I can give you," Vivi tried to assure a crying Nami in the corner of the alley. 

"You have nothing to fear!" Igaram announced his arrival. He had slipped past them, when they were not noticing to work on his plan. "I'll be appri- Mamamaa~! It'll be alright, Princess! I have come up with a plan!"

The man presented himself with a similar costume as that of Vivi's, his hair tied up tightly and a red lipstick on his lips. He also carried three fake dummies on his hands.

"Igaram?! W-What're you-!" It was Vivi who voiced it out first with a sweat drop.

"Whoa! You definitely look like Vivi!" Luffy spoke with awe and fascination clearly visible in his doe eyes.

"I'm surrounded by an entire parade of idiots!" Nami mumbled to her depressingly.

"Please listen to me carefully, Princess Vivi!" Igaram said in an attempt to cut off the awkward glances he was getting. "Once Baraoque works intelligence networks learns of what happened here, agents will be sent after you immediately. And since, you have all learned of the boss's identity, you must-!"

"Yes, knowing them they will send a thousand agents after me," Vivi affirmed making Nami cry out. 

"Thus my plan! Disguised as this, I'll pretend to be you. I'll take these three dummies on board with me and will sail a straight course to Arabasta." Igaram spoke ignoring the strawhatted teen who was poking the three dummies with his hands. 

"By the way, have you decided to escort the princess safely back to Alabasta or not?" Igaram asked looking at the teen who got from his place and walked towards the swordsman.

"Fine by me, as long as you all don't start shouting." Luffy mumbled the last part. 

"Hold up! Crocodile might be already after us!" Nami yelled out, her teeth gaining sharp edges once again. 

"Is this Crocodile guy really that dangerous?" Zoro asked Igaram. 

"One of the 7 warlords of the Seas," Igaram spoke, not noticing the face of disgust Luffy made, which Zoro surely saw. "He is a legally recognized pirate, due to which he has no bounty on his head. But long ago his bounty was worth 80 million beli."

"80 million?! that's 4 times Arlong's bounty!!!!" Nami cried out, tears rolling from her eyes. 

"Will you do this for us?" Igaram asked the teen. 

"Sure, it sounds like it'll be fun kicking his ass anyways!" Luffy spoke in a sing song voice. 

"We are forever grateful!" Igaram spoke bowing his head. "I need to leave now." He spoke as he started heading towards the shore. 

"Aren't ya coming, Luffy?" Zoro asked seeing Luffy sitting on a barrel. 

"Nah, go ahead! I'll get Sanji and Usopp, so that we can leave in a moment." Luffy spoke, making Zoro raise an eyebrow. 

"Well then, let's pick those idiots," Zoro headed towards Luffy, whose eyes widened for a moment. Zoro had seen the way the teen had been wobbly steps from the moment he had appeared and his pale ghostly face wasn't helping. He would be a shitty first mate to leave him alone.

"Hop on," Zoro stated looking at Luffy, who looked shocked, then sucked his lips in, before hoping up and getting a piggy back ride from him. 

"Thanks Zoro," Luffy mumbled as his legs were securely held by Zoro so that the teen doesn't fall over. Luffy was really happy to have such a crew. Also, for once he was glad that he was not getting any bad memories after using one of his Nika attacks and was feeling only dizzy. He really needed to sleep for a bit more, as his mother had told him. But well, he was okay and moreover, Zoro was with him! 

"Anything for you, Captain!" Zoro mumbled out. "Though you got to tell when you're not feeling well and stop worrying us!" 

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed softly, as they headed towards the little tavern where Sanji and Usopp was. "I'll tell you one day... but not now." 

Zoro sighed, before taking a turn, which was completely wrong as Luffy pointed out. They soon reached the tavern and were about to wake the two lazy bums, when a loud boom announced itself in the horizon, making Luffy instantly hiss and cover his ears and Zoro to turn around to look at the shore, where a ship was aflame on the horizon. 

"What the heck?!" Zoro asked with his eyes eyes wide. "We have pursuers already?" 

"We need to hurry up!" Luffy spoke as he was about to jump up from Zoro's back. He can't be a dead weight. Not right now.

"Stay put," Zoro spoke as he entered the tavern, not letting go of Luffy. He thought of shouting, but stopped when he realized it can hurt Luffy as he had seen the boy was getting irritated by loud voices. So, he preferred kicking both drunk asses, who woke up the next second.

"Wha-?!" Usopp asked confusedly as he held his throbbing head.

"What the damn mosshead?!" Sanji yelled, looking at the green haired man carrying Luffy who was peaking through the man's shoulder.

"You-"

Zoro was cut off by Luffy. "We need to hurry!"

"Why?!" The duo shouted instantly in a pissed off voice. They were about to yell out the reasons why they shouldn't be leaving this soon, when Luffy beat them to it.

"Will explain later." Luffy spoke in his captain voice, which the teen used very rarely. 

Understanding the gravity of the situation, the long teen and the blonde man nodded as they rushed towards the shore to board the Merry. 

.

On the other side, Nami noticed the blood trailing from Vivi's lips as she bit into it at the sight of Igaram's flaming ship. She hugged Vivi instantly.

"It's alright!" Nami assured. "I promise we'll safely get you back to Alabasta! Those 4 managed to save all of East Blue all by themselves! A Warlord won't stand a chance against them!"

Vivi nodded refusing to shed a tear to show weakness and followed Nami as she guided her to the Going Merry. 

A/n:

Sorry for the late chapter! I just overslept and woke up at noon. Also, I wanted to ask if you guys want us to include the fights of the other Strawhats even? 

In this chapter, I literally skipped the details of Zoro's fight with the bounty hunters 'cause that would have been boring to read! 

Have a good day/night!