One Piece - Lionheart of the Sea 27

Hey everyone, and welcome to my One Piece fanfiction. This chapter will mainly focus on moving the story along and setting up the next arc, not to mention that it will deviate from the canon.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based parody. One Piece is owned by Funimation, Eiichiro Oda, Shueisha, Toei Animation, and Fuji TV. Please support the official release.

"Pirate" Regular speech.

"Pirate" Thoughts.

Finger Pistol Attack names.

(Pirate) Words said previously.

"PIRATE!" Shouting speech.

[Pirate!] people talking at the same time.

"Pirate" people talking over communication.

Sailing For A Doctor

—…

The whole crew gathered together in mutual concern over the current situation. Usopp and Sanji stared at their sick, bedridden Captain. Nami sat beside the bed; Gin stood by the wall. Silk was kneeling beside Light's bed, silently looking at him, worry evident on his face, and Vivi was soaking a cloth in a bowl of water.

"Captain…" Silk spoke with desolation in her eyes.

"You think he'll be okay?" Usopp asked nervously.

"I can't imagine the damage done after taking an explosion to his insides, but on top of that, he was fighting too." Sanji mused with a sigh. "Honestly, if it were anyone else, I question how they could even survive."

"It was most likely adrenaline." Vivi mentioned placing the cloth on Light's forehead. "After taking that massive amount of damage, his body was in no condition to fight, but his brain released an extreme amount of adrenaline to get him back on his feet and keep fighting in order to save us from danger. She explained. "But that didn't fix his injuries; it only masked them and allowed him to stop feeling pain. Unfortunately, once the danger passed and the adrenaline wore off, all his pain came back, along with the added damage he did to himself by moving around while in that state."

"So reckless." Nami muttered while gazing at him with sadness.

"Don't act like it's his fault; if anything, we're to blame for this." Gin pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Usopp asked.

"He's right, looking back, how much did any of us do in that last battle? In the end, we left all the heavy lifting to the Captain, as usual, and this is the consequence." Silk stroked her fingers through his hair while looking at him with regret in her eyes. "Forgive me, Captain. If we had been stronger, you would have had to push yourself like this."

"Hey, now, don't blame yourself." Sanji hoped to console her. "That's the last thing the Captain would ever do."

"Yeah, and you did way more than the rest of us, especially Sanji, he wasn't even there." Usopp added.

"Shut up!" Sanji snapped at him.

"Is there anyone aboard the ship with even the slightest amount of medical experience?" Vivi wondered among the guys. The cook and sniper jabbed fingers at Nami.

"Not much, I'm afraid," Nami shook her head. "I know some first aid, but this…" She kept her gaze on Light. "This is way too much."

"Well, the Captain always eats meat after a fight; it always helps him recover, right? Usopp suggested. "Sanji, you think he'll feel better if he eats some meat?"

"Meat is protein that gives the body energy to operate properly." Said the Cook. "I can cook some foods that will boost his energy, but there are no guarantees. I'm not a Doctor." Sanji looked down at Light. "Besides, there's no telling how badly damaged his stomach is after taking that explosion; it's possible he may not even be able to handle solid foods right now."

"You think it could be that bad?" Usopp looked shaken.

"I said possibly. My point, as long as I'm this ship's cook, nobody's gonna feed this crew better in nutrition." Sanji said. "I can do anything in the kitchen. Still, I know there are specific foods for different illnesses. But I can't make that call, he needs to be diagnosed by a doctor who'll tell us how to help him."

"Worst case scenario, he might need surgery." Gin noted with a somber mood. "I haven't seen this kind of thing before, but I have seen people deal with internal damage. If you want to know how bad the damage is, you need to have a doctor look inside. For all we know, there could be severe damage."

"There are bound to be doctors and nurses in Alabasta who can help?" Usopp asked. "Right? How much longer till we get there, Vivi?"

"I don't know?" Vivi said, head down. "At least a week. That's too long."

"Then we'll take a detour." Silk decided.

"But where?" Usopp questioned. "How would we find any other islands on the way? Do we just sail around and hope we get lucky?"

"I don't think we have a choice?" Sanji concluded, realizing their situation wasn't ideal.

"Well, we still have to Eternal Pose so we can get to Alabasta whenever we need to." Gin pointed out. "Right now, all we need to worry about is finding someone who can help the Captain."

"Actually…" Nami spoke up, bringing everyone's attention to her as she had a somewhat guilty look on her face. "There's something I think you should know."

"Nami…?" Vivi blinked at the navigator, who walked across the room.

"Vivi, I'm sorry I kept this from you." Nami continued as she avoided eye contact. "I just didn't want to upset you at the time."

"What are you talking about? What have you been keeping her?" Silk asked, still sitting at the edge of the bed. "And why are you bringing it up now?" Nami didn't acknowledge her words, keeping her attention on the princess.

"Because Vivi needs to see this…" Nami answered.

"What is it?" Vivi wondered.

"Go to my desk; open the second drawer." Nami explained. "There's a newspaper at the bottom."

Vivi rushed out of the room to go and she what she was referring to.

-O-

Meanwhile, outside, Zoro was sitting on the deck of the ship while lifting weights. He was currently doing a bicep curl with a weight that was larger than his whole arm while his eyes were gazing at the ship's course.

He and Marianne chose to stay outside while everyone else went inside with Light. Zoro was outside because they needed someone to keep watch of the ship's course and make sure they didn't veer off their direct route. Marianne joined him as she didn't do well in crowded, emotionally high situations, so she stayed where it was quiet.

Also, as a new member and former adversary, she hadn't exactly opened up to everyone yet, and while some of the crew didn't mind her presence, she wasn't sure if she fit in with everyone right now. But Zoro seemed unconcerned by the whole thing, and most of the time, he acted as stoic and introverted as her, so she felt more relaxed around him.

"No change… In our course…" Zoro muttered while training.

"You're doing it wrong." Marianne spoke out.

Zoro looked downward and noticed the painter girl sitting by the stairs, eating rice crackers. "…Doing what wrong?"

"The way you're checking the course." Marianne clarified as she looked up to face him. "We've actually shifted to the right."

"No way." Zoro stopped lifting. "I've been checking our course by following that cloud."

"Clouds move in different directions, but not everyone knows that because the ship is also moving." Marianne informed him. "It's something that Mr. 3 once told me."

"Fine then, you keep watch of our course." Zoro decided as he went back to lifting weights.

"All right, I will." Marianne decided as he took another bite of her rice cracker. Soon she stopped and asked softly. "…He's gonna be okay, right?"

"Who, the Captain? Of course, he is." Zoro answered right away without even having to think about it or looking concerned. "He's not so weak that he'd let something like this stop him."

-O-

Vivi soon returned with a newspaper clenched in her hand. The others noticed the color had drained from Vivi's face when she read what was written on the paper.

"No!" Vivi exclaimed, wide-eyed. "That's not possible!"

"What's up?" Usopp asked. "What's the paper say?"

"Is it about Alabasta?" Sanji wondered. "Tell us?"

Vivi's hands were wrapped tightly around the paper, her knuckles becoming white. "According to this article, 300,000 Royal soldiers defected to the resistance!" She explained with a horrified expression. "Until now, we've been embroiled in a cold war with 600,000 Royal Soldiers against 400,000 Rebels; with this, the balance has shifted."

"The uprising in Alabasta will seriously escalate now." Nami added." Things will get ugly. That paper you're looking at is three days old. I'm sorry I didn't say anything about it."

"You knew about this for three days and you didn't tell anyone!?" Silk obviously didn't agree with that decision.

"We can't change speed, so I didn't want to worry her." Nami attempted to justify her actions. "There's nothing anyone can do right now."

"That doesn't make it right, you should have told us or at least the Captain." Silk reprimanded her. "If the situation has changed for the worse, we should know about it, especially if it's that important."

"But the situation is beyond our control; it wouldn't do any good to know about it." Nami persisted.

"You knew." Silk retorted, which made Nami stop. "Even if it wouldn't make a difference, we still deserved to know. We're a crew, we're supposed to trust each other, you can't just keep these things to yourself because you think we're "better off" not knowing."

The situation in the room was tense; no one could come between the two of them. While they understood that Nami didn't mean any harm and believed she was looking out for them, they agreed with Silk that Nami shouldn't have kept this from them, but they weren't as upset by it as Silk was; it was like she was personally offended. No one could say anything, but suddenly someone spoke out.

"…She's right."

Everyone in the room practically jumped in surprise when they heard Light's voice. They all turned toward the bed to see that their Captain was not only awake but sitting up as he joined the conversation.

"Captain, you're awake?" Usopp spoke, surprised by the fact.

"Yeah, it was hard to sleep with all the noise in the room." Light joked, still looking under the weather. His eyes had a heavy tiredness in them, and his voice was hoarse.

"Should you be sitting up like that?" Gin asked with concern.

"It's okay, I just need to take it easy. This isn't the first time I was badly injured like this, although it has been a few years." Light reassured them that he was aware of his condition. "Nami, I agree with Silk that you shouldn't have hidden that news."

"Captain…" Nami lowered her gaze.

"But, I understand why you did it, and so does Silk." Light continued, which made Nami and Silk look at him. "You were trying to protect the rest of us in your own way. When you first found out, you were both upset and overwhelmed by how bad the situation was becoming, and you knew we'd all feel the same way. Since you already knew what it felt like, you didn't want us to have to go through it as well, so you put off telling us." He summarized before smiling. "That's your problem, you were trying to carry that burden on your own, again. That's the reason Silk is upset; we're a crew, and yet you weren't willing to let us carry that burden with you. You should have more faith in us."

Nami processed his words and saw that he had a point. Looking back, keeping secrets from those she cared about was something she had done for years; it was a tendency of hers that she ended up doing again without meaning to. She sighed and looked toward Silk. "I get it now, sorry."

Silk had a small smile as she replied. "Yeah, it's all right."

"Ah, it always warms my heart to see two beautiful ladies resolve their issues." Sanji swooned as he grasped his heart.

"I'm glad you're happy, but we still have a problem to deal with." Usopp reminded him. "Alabasta is still in danger."

"That's right. Now that this conflict has escalated, more blood will be shed throughout the kingdom!" Vivi whispered in tears, still on her knees and staring at the newspaper. "We're at war! If I don't put a stop to his insanity, the entire kingdom of Alabasta will be doomed! Crocodile will move in and seize control!" She crumbled the newspaper and put her head down. "You're trying to get me home safely, but there's no time! I need to get home as quickly as possible! If I don't make it back in time, then a million innocent citizens will give their lives needlessly.

"What a horrible burden you have to carry…" Sanji frowned with sympathy at the princess. "I'm sorry."

"Another problem is my current state." Light brushed his hand against his abdomen. "I hate to say it, but there's no way I can fight against Baroque Works like this, forget Crocodile."

"True, we can't do much if our Captain is confined to a sick bed." Gin reasoned while crossing his arms. "We need to focus on finding a doctor; Alabasta can wait."

"Alabasta can wait?!" Vivi echoed his words incredulously. "How can you say that?! Those are my people! My country! My country is suffering because—"

"I know that!" Gin yelled before calming down. "It's not that I don't care about Alabasta, but think about our situation. If we don't find a doctor, the Captain's condition will only worsen. Forget not being able to fight, what if he never gets better, if we wait too long?"

Vivi stopped and looked away. "That's…"

"Vivi, we all want to help you and your country, but think about it from our perspective." Silk reminded her with a stern expression. "As a crew, our priority has to be our Captain, you know that."

Vivi knew that she was right; she was already asking them to risk their lives in escorting her back home while being hunted by Baroque Works and Crocodile, and now Light clearly needed medical attention; she couldn't ask them to put off finding a doctor in favor of rushing to Alabasta. The rational side of her knew that, but the emotional side of her could only think of her people in Alabasta and how the only thing she wanted was to get back to them as quickly as possible to save them. She was torn.

"Um… I'm gonna go check our course." Eager for an excuse to escape from this tense atmosphere, Nami headed for the door.

-O-

Nami made her way onto the deck. The only ones on deck happened to be their First Mate and the painter. Zoro was lifting a weight, staring at the view ahead, while Marianne was still sitting by the stairs. He wasn't even paying attention to the Eternal Pose in his hand; the ship was heading straight, and the Pose's arrow was pointing right. Nami sighed in irritation, storming up to Zoro.

"Zoro, have you been watching the ship's course like I told you?" Nami questioned.

"Of course, I have!" Zoro was annoyed that she even had to ask. "We've been going straight ahead as you ordered!"

"Yeah, but not in the same angle as before I left." Nami pointed out. "Did you change our course while I was gone?"

"There was no choice." Marianne joined the conversation, jabbing a finger at a cloud. "Instead of using the Eternal Pose, he was using that big cloud as my guide, which took us off course for a bit."

"Don't tell her that!" Zoro complained, upset that she ratted him out.

"Moron!" Nami yelled in annoyance. "Clouds move and change shape constantly!" She groaned, placing a hand on her head. "Geez, at least someone with common sense was here to straighten things out."

"What does it matter if we're still going the right way?!" Zoro told her, defending himself.

"It matters because a single change in angle could have made us lose our course. Obviously, I can't trust you with this!" Nami exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips. Nami took two steps and felt the air around her. "The air? It's changed."

"What do you mean?" Zoro asked curiously. "The weather's been nice like this all day."

"Never mind," Nami sighed. "Just get the others."

"Hey, get your butts out here!" Zoro shouted. "Right now!"

"What do you want?" Usopp wondered as they came out of the door.

"You know…" Sanji started dispassionately. "I find it hard to get motivated when you're giving the orders."

"Not the time, Sanji." Silk moved past him. "What's going on, Zoro?"

"We gotta get moving." Zoro ordered. "Take the seat and catch the Portside wind."

"Nami, what's up?" Sanji questioned. "It's a perfect day. The sun is shining, the waves are quiet."

"The wind." Nami answered.

"Hmm? What about the wind?" Gin asked in response.

"There's a powerful wind." Nami voiced. "It's heading this way. I think…?" Nami turned her head to look at the crew. "Hurry and pull the ropes!" Nami exclaimed. "All of you, hurry and move this ship!" Everyone followed Nami's order to get the Going Merry moving. "Something… I don't know… But something's headed this way… And soon."

Zoro, Sanji, Silk, and Gin pulled the ropes. Usopp, Carue, and Marianne manned the steering rudder. As the Merry turned, Nami looked at the Eternal Pose, the needle facing straight ahead to Alabasta's magnetic pull. Nami bit her lip and tried to focus on navigating to forget about the issue with Light.

-O-

While everyone was navigating the ship, Vivi was still inside Light's room and finally put down the newspaper. After looking at Light one last time, while he was sleeping once more, Vivi had finally decided on what would be her decision.

Vivi climbed up the stairs and made her way to the deck. After opening the door, she addressed the whole crew.

"I have to ask you all a favor!" Vivi said, joining everyone on deck. "As a passenger on your ship, it's not my place to ask this, but I have no choice!" Vivi's voice was filled with determination. "My homeland is in jeopardy of being destroyed, so I would really appreciate it if we could move even faster. Every minute I'm out here puts more of my people in danger of losing their lives. We need to head to Alabasta at full speed."

Most of the crew took in her proclamation with unreadable expressions. It was hard to tell whether some of them agreed or disagreed with her choice, but no one said anything.

"Of course we will." Nami smiled, trying to support her decision. "Just like we promised."

"Then it's settled." Vivi grinned. "Let's find an island with a doctor on it right away." Nami's eyes widened in surprise. "First things first: we need to hurry and get Light healthy again. Then we head for Alabasta. After all, we need him at the ready if we want to stop Baroque Works, right?"

Silk saw that Vivi was looking at her and returned her smile with her own. "Of course, there's no better choice."

"Princess, hold on?" Usopp chimed, still not fully convinced. "Won't finding a doctor for the Captain take time, the citizens of Alabasta just don't have?"

"That's right!" Vivi nodded. "The sooner we get Light a doctor, the sooner we can get to Alabasta."

"Those are wise words, Vivi," Sanji commented. "You're beautiful and brilliant."

"The girls got guts," Zoro said. A smile on his face.

"Yeah, so let's not waste any time." Gin added with a smirk.

"Thank you, Vivi." Nami said as she stood beside the Princess.

"Hey, you guys, look over there." Marianne got the attention and pointed to the side of the ship. "Do you see that?"

Everyone was alerted when they saw that, not too far away, was an enormous cyclone that had appeared out of nowhere—One so massive and large that it towered over them as large as the giants from Little Garden. Lightning flashed, and the wind was so strong they could still feel some of it even though they were far away. They were far enough where they didn't have to worry about getting sucked in but could still appreciate how overwhelming it was.

"It's a cyclone!" Vivi stated disbelief.

"It's ginormous!" Usopp commented on the natural disaster.

"Come to think of it, isn't it in the same direction as that cloud from earlier?" Marianne noticed as she stoically looked at Zoro. "If we had followed your lead, we would have been goners?"

"Oh, shut up." Zoro rebuked while avoiding her gaze.

"No, she's right!" Nami agreed, fully confirming Marianne's statement. "That's the exact same direction. If we left the navigating to you, the ship would have gotten caught in there."

"I agree with Nami." Sanji added, despite not having been there. "Only you could almost get us killed from something as simple as not knowing how to steer the ship straight."

"Like you could do any better, cook." Zoro angrily retorted.

"What was that?!" Sanji shouted back as they started another fight."

"Good grief." Usopp groaned at their antics.

"Incredible." Vivi thought. "Cyclones in the Grand Line are said to be impossible to predict!" She looked toward Nami with a sense of amazement. "However, she does it, it's obvious her technique isn't based on any conventional method. It's as if she were detecting the weather with her body." She then spoke out loud. "It's beyond reason…" Vivi whispered, unable to stop herself. "A miracle."

With that, the crew began the mission to search for a doctor and sailed forth in search of a nearby island.

-O-

It had been about a day, and the Captain's condition hadn't improved. Vivi, Silk, and Nami tended to her as best they could, but nothing seemed to improve Light. The rest of the crew were on deck. Snow had begun to cascade from the sky, covering the Pirates' caravel while it sailed across the ocean.

"Hey!" Zoro called from the crow's nest to everyone.

"What, did you spot an island?" Usopp questioned.

"I should hope so, I'd rather not sail around in this snowfall for too long." Gin mentioned. Zoro stared through a pair of binoculars from atop the crow's nest.

"Ah, hey guys?" Zoro lowered his binoculars and spoke. "What do you…Think about people standing on water?"

"What kind of question is that?" Usopp asked. "It's impossible, of course!"

"Why do you ask?" Gin asked, somewhat curious as to what he was looking at.

"You having trouble with your eyes, Mosshead!?" Sanji commented. "Quit playing games! There's no such thing as people who stand on the ocean."

"Yeah…?" Zoro kept looking through his binoculars. "Well, then, what's that?"

"Say what?" Usopp wondered. As everyone noticed, there was one lone, oddly-dressed guy casually standing on the ocean like it wasn't a big deal. But it was a big deal to everyone watching.

The man in question is slightly taller than average. He has wavy lips and a sad expression. He wears a checkered jester-like green-blue costume with purple lining at the end of the sleeves, a white winter cape with purple lining that he ties against his chest, and grey buttons, with a light brown bow and a bag of arrows on his back. He has dark green pants and blue shoes with white buckles.

"Hey?" Gin looked at Marianne. "Are there any guys in Baroque Works who can stand on water?"

"No." Marianne looked calm but was just as confused as the rest of them. "I know the powers of all the top agents in Baroque Works, and none of them have a Devil Fruit that lets them do anything like that."

"Hello!" The strange man greeted. "Sure is chilly today!" Usopp, Sanji, and Marianne all sneezed in unison.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Sanji agreed.

"Definitely, it's very chilling." Usopp chimed. "In fact, I would even say it's freezing!"

"True, I'm still cold even in this coat." Marianne shivered slightly. She was borrowing one of Nami's jackets.

"Really?" The guy on the ocean questioned. Everyone frowned at the man, wondering if he was for real. Then, a metallic dome-shaped ship lifted from the sea at that moment. It easily loomed over the Going Merry in its monstrous size. The ship caused the water to rock back and forth. Sanji and Gin hung onto the railing, Marianne held onto the main mast, but Usopp tumbled across the deck.

"What's going on now!" Usopp questioned. "A sea monster?!" Judging by its shape, that seemed like an accurate description.

"What the hell is that?" Zoro wondered while still in the crow's nest. "Is that a ship?"

"That doesn't look like any ship I've seen before!" Sanji added, looking at it in disbelief.

"Looks like somebody's coming out." Gin stated. The Dome's surface split apart, revealing an actual ship. Several men were aboard the ship. Up top, a flag, a skull, and crossbones appeared. The design depicted a skull wearing a crown with a metal jaw and its tongue sticking out.

"Oh crap!" Usopp screamed while sweating a bit. "It's a Pirate ship!"

"Great." Zoro scowled in annoyance. "Just when we needed to hurry."

"These bastards are blocking our way to get to a doctor." Sanji grunted with irritation.

"I don't think they'll let us sail by." Marianne commented while staring at the large ship.

"Hahahaha!" A Pirate laughed from the bow of the ship. "What's the matter? Don't tell me our underwater raid ship, the "Tin Tyrant," surprised you!? Hahahaha!"

-O-

Hearing a bit of commotion on deck, Nami stood, and Vivi became concerned.

"What's going on?" Vivi wondered out loud. "What was all that noise?"

"And what was there so much turbulence a second ago?" Nami also wondered.

"We're under attack." Light casually answered from his bed.

"What?" Silk asked as they all looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I sense a crop of new people out there. Probably a large ship with a lot of enemies onboard that appeared right in front of our ship just a second ago." Light explained, not sounding the slightest bit worried, as he could feel that none of the new arrivals were that strong. "I'd say there are dozens out there, or at most a hundred."

"That many?" Vivi gasped in disbelief.

Silk picked up her Sword and headed for the door. "Vivi, you guys stay here. I'm going to go and see if the guys need any help."

"Alright." Vivi agreed with her suggestion. "We'll stay here with Light."

"Yeah, good idea, we'll stay." Nami gladly agreed, more than happy not to go and face a hundred potential enemies up on the deck.

Silk ran to the upper deck, slipping into a snow jacket with a scarf wrapped around her neck, pushing through the door.

"Guys, what's going—" The Swordswoman paused at the sight of a large, built, rotund man, eating a piece of meat on a knife. "Hey, guys…" Silk turned to Sanji. "What exactly is going on?"

"Well, my dear Silk, it would seem that we're under attack." Sanji answered while calmly smoking his cigarette.

"I can see that." Silk replied as she looked around at the others. "It was obvious from the strangers on the ship aiming rifles at us. Of course, the Captain already sensed them from his room."

"Figures he'd already have a grip on our situation." Zoro shrugged, as nonchalant as the rest of them. "Fortunately, I doubt we have anything to worry about from these guys."

"You consider yourself a band of Pirates?" The large man questioned while eating. "That's amusing." He munched through his chewing. "There's quite a handful of ya." The man raised the knife to his mouth and ate the meat and the blade.

The man eating the knife aboard their ship had violet hair and a jaw made of tin plates in a cylinder shape. His outfit consisted of tinplate armor, a hood of white-furred animal skin, brown gloves, purple and orange shorts, a brown belt around his waist, and boots. The crew and former Baroque Works agents all grimaced in disgust at seeing this man eating a knife like it wasn't a big deal.

"Well, that's a new one." Gin stated while narrowing his eyes. "I've never seen someone eat knives before?"

"Gah!" Usopp shivered at the sight of it. "My gums are bleeding just watching!"

"He's probably a Devil Fruit user…" Marianne mentioned, hardly paying attention to the rifle pointed at her. "It wouldn't make sense for him to do that otherwise."

"Alright, I'll keep this simple." The man spoke while chewing on the knife. "You see, my men and I wish to travel to Drum Kingdom. You wouldn't happen to have an Eternal Pose or a Log Pose, would ya?" Sanji shook his head before he chimed in.

"Nope, can't help." He answered honestly. "Sorry, but I've never even heard of this Drum Kingdom."

"Well, either way, we wouldn't just give it to you if we did have one." Gin pointed out. "We're already in the middle of looking for an island, and we're in a hurry. Nothing personal, but we don't have time to deal with you."

"You'll never enjoy life if you're always in a rush." The man replied with a dismissive attitude. "But if you have neither pose, what can be done? I suppose I'll have to settle for your treasure on this ship. First things first! I'm feeling a bit hungry!" He turned around, opened his mouth wide, took a massive bite out of the Going Merry, and chewed on it.

"He's a ship-eating monster!" Usopp shouted in alarm.

"Bastard! Get the hell off our ship!" Gin yelled as he brought out his weapons.

"Be quiet!" A guard shouted at Gin. "Wapol doesn't like to be disturbed while he's eating!"

BANG!

Gin was having none of it and took out a gun and shot one of the two guards beside him. He fell to the floor with a bullet in his chest as everyone else froze in shock, and Gin gave a dark look at the remaining guard.

"I don't think you know who you're missing with." Gin warned him coldly, now pointing his gun at him. "You're gonna regret ever stepping foot on our ship."

"Damn pirate! We're under attack!" Another guard called. "Shoot him!" The men fired at the crew.

"Now things are finally starting to get interesting." Zoro smirked, tossing his blanket.

"Perfect!" Sanji smiled, taking off his scarf. "This is more like it!"

"Always have to do things the hard way." Silk stated, keeping her jacket on as she raised her Sword.

"Stop it!" Usopp screamed, clambering up the mast. "Can we discuss this?!" Wapol's guards didn't listen and opened fire on the Pirates.

"I doubt they feel like talking at this point." Marianne pointed out, hiding behind Usopp.

"Can't you do something?!" Usopp snapped at her. "Use your Colors Trap or something!"

"I can when there are this many of them." Marianne stoically rebutted. "That's why I handle support."

While the guards were firing their guns, the man who was standing on the water earlier was now aboard the Tin Tyrant with a large number of guards behind him, and beside him was another man dressed differently than everyone else.

He sports a long, orange cloak with a white lining and black fringes at each end, as well as white fringes hanging from the front. He wears gloves that cover all fingers but his thumb and resemble an afro. He has a large black afro on his head and three small ones on his beard. He is of medium height and normal weight. He wears a shirt that's orange in the middle and white on the sides with light yellow buttons, along with orange shorts. He has hairy legs and black boots with white laces. Overall, he resembles a boxer.

They were both watching as the crew started opposing Wapol's guards, and gunfire kept blasting.

"They took it upon themselves to start this." The jester-looking said dismissively.

"What fools, they got a death-wish?!" The boxer-looking one said mockingly.

A fight had broken out on the deck of the Going Merry. Sanji dodged bullets by leaping into the air, placing a foot on the back of a guard's head.

"You shouldn't take on anything you can't handle!" Sanji remarked before kicking him aside. "Reception!"

Three more men aimed at the cook, who lifted his right leg and delivered a single kick that knocked them all back and hit two more that came at him. Two more dashed at him with a Sword. Sanji bounded over the man and kicked him once he landed on the deck. That kick sent several guards crashing into each other and into the mast. Usopp avoided the three men that Sanji kicked into the mast.

Silk avoided gunfire by deflecting the bullets with her blade. A man leaped at her with a Sword. She was faster and slashed him before sending him flying into a group of enemies. Silk kicked the face of another guard who tried to jump at her. Silk lunged forward and slashed multiple times at a number of enemies who were grouped together in a tight space, blasting them all overboard.

"This ship's not big enough for an army morons." Silk informed them.

Zoro had leaped from the crow's nest to join the fight, brandishing two katanas while dashing down the mast. The guards staring at him didn't get a chance to attack the swordsman who sliced through them, causing them to fall on the deck. Another gang of guards tried to attack Zoro, but the swordsman easily avoided them and cut the men down.

"All bark, no bite." Zoro commented.

Gin swung out with his tonfa, lashing all four men with one strike. Three attacked Gin with Swords as he ran toward them. He ducked under the first slash, easily dodged it with a side-step, and then somersaulted over the third man's head. Gin twirled his tonfa, gathering momentum and swinging it at the three guards, causing them to fall into the sea. A final guard aimed at Gin and fired; the Man-Demon ducked, pulled out his gun again, and pulled the trigger, firing a bullet into the man's shoulder. The man screamed and fell onto one knee. Gin ran at him and kicked him in the face, knocking him overboard.

"I warned you we were in a hurry." Gin mercilessly brought that up.

"Hey! Um, Wapol?!" Nervously shouted one of the remaining guards. "We need help!" Wapol was busy eating, helping himself to more of the Going Merry.

"This ship doesn't taste half bad!" Wapol remarked happily.

"That's it!" Gin shouted, running toward Wapol. "I'm ending this now!"

"You fool!" A guard shouted. "You're no match for Wapol!"

"Now you'll be eaten by the powers of the Munch-Munch fruit!" Another chimed confidently.

"Gin, look out!" Usopp shouted. Once Gin reached Wapol, he instinctively jumped back as Wapol almost gobbled up from head to torso with his oversized mouth.

"That was close." Gin breathed out with a frown. "I didn't think his mouth would grow so fast."

"Hahaha! I don't like it when someone disturbs my meal, but if you're in such a hurry, I'll eat you first! Now, I…" Wapol's loud and mocking demeanor suddenly quieted down, and to the confusion of everyone around him, he looked and sounded a lot more mellow. "Suddenly, I feel so relaxed and at peace…"

"Uh, Wapol, sir?" A guard uttered in confusion.

Colors Trap: Tranquil Green!

"Huh?" Usopp suddenly noticed a green colors trap symbol on Wapol's stomach. He looked at Marianne as she lowered her paintbrush. "Did you do that?"

"I told you, I handle support." Marianne replied nonchalantly.

"Well, then." Gin smirked at his now vulnerable target. "Thanks for the support."

Vivi bursts through the door, noticing the defeated guards on the Going Merry.

"What's this?" Vivi wondered.

"Oh, hey there, Vivi." Sanji greeted her calmly as if nothing important had been going on. "Is everything okay with the Captain?"

Wapol continued to stand there peacefully and defenselessly as Gin spun his tonfa at maximum speed before he charged at him once again. Vivi noticed them and gasped once her eyes fell on Wapol.

Armor Thrasher!

Gin shouted as he reached Wapol and placed all his weight and forward momentum behind his tonfa before the metal ball slammed into Wapol's stomach, sending the large man soaring into the sky. Wapol barely made a sound as he disappeared into the sky with a tiny twinkle of light.

.

.

.

All of Wapol's men stood there in stunned silence, and jaw-dropped as if they couldn't believe what they had just witnessed. Their frozen state of shock didn't last long as they moved on to freaking out.

"This is bad!" The jester shouted in panic. "He sent Wapol flying out into the ocean?!"

"Bad!" The boxer added, losing his composure. "It's worse! It's a disaster! Wapol's going to drown! He can't swim!"

"We have to rescue him before he sinks to the bottom!" The jester stated urgently and turned to the Pirates. "This is far from over! You'll pay! I promise you'll pay!" Wapol's people got onto their ship and sailed, leaving the Pirates and the princess. Usopp, who hid behind a few barrels, came out once the fighting ended.

"You're dead! You brats!" The boxer yelled with bloodshot eyes as they continued their departure.

"You better hope Wapol doesn't die!" The jester warned them as his voice started to fade into the distance.

"Or it's your blood we'll spill! Remember that! We'll get you for this!" The boxer yelled, though the crew could barely hear him, given how far away he now was.

They watched the Tin Tyrant sail further and further away until it could no longer be seen.

"Wow, crazy." Usopp said as the crew tried making sense of what had just happened. "Those guys are upset. What were they calling that old garbage can? Wapol?"

"Who cares about what his name was?" Sanji shrugged, perfectly fine, forgetting the whole thing. "The guy's obviously a moron. Don't worry about it."

"Guys like them are the kind I hate the most." Gin turned away. "Always acting like they're hot-shit and they can do whatever they want when in reality, they're a bunch of weaklings who can't do anything when facing someone who's actually strong."

Zoro looked at Gin closely, as if he could tell there was some deeper meaning behind his words.

"Either way, now we can refocus on trying to find a doctor." Marianne pointed out as they kept sailing.

Vivi, staring out at sea, kept wondering where she saw Wapol.

"I know him." Vivi spoke quietly so that no one else could hear her. "But from where?"

-O-

It had been pretty quiet on the sea since that last attack. The Pirates were so out of control out here on the Grand Line that the East Blue seemed like a piece of cake. Their Marine vessel rocked against the waves; a certain Marine Captain was focused on finding one Pirate in particular.

"Captain Smoker!" A marine soldier called. "I just intercepted a very intriguing signal!"

"What is it?" Captain Smoker, who was lounging in a chair, eyed the soldier.

While Smoker was on deck, her fellow officer, Tashigi, was in the confiscation room. Right now, she was happily inspecting a new Sword that she took from a Pirate from earlier.

"Such an incredible full temper." Tashigi sighed with amazement as if she were holding a rare work of art. "The legendary Kashu!"

"TASHIGI! TASHIGI!" Smoker screamed from outside. The Captain's sudden shout for the Sergeant Major caused the Marine beside him almost to jump.

Unfortunately, Tashigi was so focused on the Sword in her hand that she didn't hear her name being called. "Only here on the Grand Line could I find such a prized Sword as this so quickly."

"TASHIGI! COME HERE!" Smoker continued to yell her name, and she finally heard him. "ARE YOU DEAF!

"YES, SIR! COMING, CAPTAIN!" Tashigi shouted frantically, bursting through the door, then tripping while running and tumbling down the stairs and losing her grip on the Sword. She landed and rolled on the floor of the deck. The Sword she held spun through the air before coming down, and the blade lodged itself in the deck next to her. Tashigi screamed and scampered from the Sword as it had only been inches away from piercing her skull. "AAAAHHHHHHH!"

"STOP CLOWNING AROUND AND GET OVER HERE!" Smoker shouted at the Sergeant Major. "I NEED YOU TO LISTEN TO THIS!" Smoker jabbed a thumb at the marine soldier with a black Transponder Snail on his wrist.

Tashigi stiffly turned her head, still horribly freaked out, before she immediately snapped out of it when she saw what he was referring to. "Oh neat, a Black Transponder Snail listening device." Tashigi said, staring at the snail.

"Listen closely." Smoker stated. "We just picked up this conversation minutes ago."

"I've got it all queued up." Said the soldier. "Ready, Sergeant Major?"

"Uh, yes, play it back, please?" Tashigi fixed her hair and came over to join them.

"It's Mr. 0. Now quit fooling around, you jackass. Have you eliminated Princess Vivi and the Lion Hearts as you ordered?"

"Lion Hearts?" Tashigi repeated before she gasped in realization. "Lion Heart Pirates?!"

"Oh yeah? Our mission was successful."

"From this point on, all my orders will be sent via letter following the usual protocol. That will be all, Mr. 3."

With that, the transmission cut out. After it was over, Smoker folded his arms in thought.

"And the rest of the message is undecipherable static." The soldier stated.

"It's a faint signal." Smoker noted with a glare. "But there are key names and phrases laced into their conversation that stood out. Princess Vivi, Lion Hearts, orders via letter, and Mr. 0."

"Mr. 0." Tashigi wondered. "Could that be a codename for somebody?" Tashigi then gestured to a man tied to the mast wearing a blue hat and suit. "In fact, it's possible there could be a connection to that suspicious Swordsman we caught in Runis? What did that guy say his name was? Mr. 11?"

"Possibly." Smoker added. "Part of a criminal organization that uses numbers for codenames and sends orders via letter. Sound about right?" He asked Mr. 11.

Mr. 11 was a short man with long, wavy, gray hair. He had tattoos of his number on each side of his face and a large black top hat. He wore a dark blue coat with a gray collar and yellow buttons. Underneath, he sported a purple puffy shirt and black pants.

"Heh, Mr. 0, organization." Mr. 11 scoffed at them. "I have no idea what you're going on about?"

"Then how do you explain the letter of detailed orders we found in your pocket?" Smoker commented, causing the man to grimace.

"Damn letter, I thought I burned it!" He thought before speaking out loud. "W-Wait?!" Mr. 11 started to sweat. "That's not… Not mine!"

"That's funny." Smoker snorted. "Because we didn't find anything in your pocket." The restrained man just let them know he was linked to whoever Mr. 0 was and was now crying.

"Alright then." Smoker sat in his chair. "Princess Vivi, if I remember correctly, is from Alabasta, and reports say she's currently missing."

"Excuse me for interrupting? Tashigi spoke up. "But isn't the Alabasta Kingdom in the middle of a coup? I wonder if this mysterious criminal organization and Lion Heart Pirates could somehow be involved in the uprising?"

"Who knows?" Smoker shook his head. "All I know for certain is that this is the only clue we have to the Lion Heart's whereabouts."

"This means… We're going…" Tashigi said, knowing what he was planning.

"Yes." Smoker confirmed her suspicions. "I want you to contact headquarters and get an Eternal Pose." He ordered the Marine.

"Yes, sir!" saluted the Marine as he marched off.

"It's time we pay a little visit." Smoker grinned. "To Alabasta—The Kingdom of Sand."

With that, the Marines were on their way to Alabasta, and with the way things were, they were likely going to arrive before the Lion Heart Pirates.

—…

And that's the chapter.

First of all, I wanted to get this out earlier, but things kept getting in the way, and so I made it shorter than initially planned, and I figured this was a good enough stopping point.

I'm going to make this clear right now: Light will not be doing any fighting at all in the next arc. He's been taken completely out of commission, and the rest of the crew will cover all the incoming fights. His injuries are that serious, and he can't just walk it off. Plus, a thought occurred to me on which of the crew would be best suited to face the main antagonist in the next arc, so look forward to it.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. If you want more, leave a review. If you like the story, click the follow/favorite, and as always, have an awesome day.