One Piece - Lionheart of the Sea 23

Hey everyone, and welcome to my One Piece fanfiction. This chapter will cover the rest of the Whiskey Peak Arc and get things going for the next Arc. There won't be anything too shocking during this chapter, but that can't be helped. That said, I tried to make the dialogue more enthralling to make things more enjoyable to read.

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.

—…

The Shadow Of Baroque Works

—…

All of the sounds of battle and carnage had finally faded from the quiet town of Whiskey Peak, and now the crew found themselves in a strange situation. After Light woke up and found the ground littered with the bodies of their hosts, he soon sought out his crewmates, who were gathered around the man now known as Igaram. After making his presence known, the rest of them explained the situation to their Captain.

"And that's the situation, Captain." Silk finished up the exposition.

"I see." Light gazed down at Igram before looking back at his crew. "Then it was exactly as we anticipated, a trap set by Baroque Works."

"This might be the first time I was hoping I was wrong." Zoro yawned.

"Please, we don't have time for this!" Igaram desperately recaptured their attention as he addressed Light. "I beg of you, please save the Princess; she needs help!"

"I said forget it!" Zoro was unmoved. "We're not helping you. Did you forget we're enemies?"

"Hold it, I'm still negotiating." Nami cut in, turning back at Igram. "Now then, where did we land on that reward?"

"I can't promise anything!" Igaram looked down and gritted his teeth. "But if you are willing to deliver the Princess to Alabasta, then you had best negotiate the terms of the reward directly with her!"

"Which means I have to save her first, huh?" Nami summarized with a grin.

"Please understand…?" Igaram said, looking more upset by the second. "Her life is in danger!"

While everyone else was talking back and forth, Light just kept his gaze on Igaram; it looked like he was assessing him or maybe evaluating his character. He kept looking him in the eye every time he spoke, searching for any falsehoods and finding none. Once Light was finished, he stepped forward and spoke.

"Enough!" Light silenced them all; once all eyes were on him, he made a proclamation. "We'll do it; we'll save this Princess of yours."

This caused Igaram to get a big smile on his face while Zoro was displeased. "Captain?"

"Hold on." Gin stepped forward. "I'm not trying to be 'that guy' by why should we save these people? We don't owe them anything."

"But they'll owe us a lot if we save her." Nami pointed out. "She's a Princess, so she's bound to have a lot of money."

"Would you can it already." Silk got fed up with Nami. "Do you honestly think the Captain or any of us care in the least about that?"

"It's true we're not obligated to save her, but I still think we should." Light went on to explain. "There's a lot going on here, but we don't know anything about the situation—We're in the dark, so before doing anything, we need a better understanding of what this is all about. Saving her can shed some light on these things because can explain what's going on, so right now, it's in our best interest to save her."

All of them could understand the logic behind his choice, and none of them refuted it, and even if they could, he was the Captain, so either way, they had to accept his decision. Thus, Zoro and Gin recanted their objections, and Zoro stepped forward. "Fine, I'll take care of it."

"No." Silk objected as she stood next to Gin. "Let us handle this one."

"You?" Zoro didn't argue; he merely asked.

"There's two of them, one for each other us." Silk pointed out. "Besides, you already handled the last fight."

"You agreed we'd get the next one." Gin reminded him. "You got 100; you can't complain about letting us have two."

Zoro yawned and stepped back. "Fair enough, they're all yours."

"Then it's decided; Silk, Gin, bring back the Princess and take out anyone in your way." Light gave the order.

[Got it!] They both complied before they ran forth in the direction Vivi ran off in.

"Thank you!" Igaram said, on the verge of tears. "You have no idea what this means to me or our Kingdom of Alabasta!"

Zoro went to sit down, resting his arms behind his head. Nami watched them run off. Light stood against a wall.

"I'm so ashamed." Igaram said disappointedly.

"Hmm?" Zoro opened an eye to Igaram.

"If I had been stronger, I could've protected Princess Vivi like she deserves." Igaram said.

"You're worrying too much…" Zoro said to him. "Our friends are strong, so she's in good hands."

"If anything were to happen, Princess Vivi, the Kingdom of Alabasta, it would be…" Igaram grimaced at the thought of it. "It would be done for." Zoro opened his eyes to Igaram as Light turned around to him. "She must escape!" Igaram had tears welling up in his eyes. "She has to!"

"I think it's time we had a chat." Light began the conversation. "You and the Princess—Vivi, right? What are people like you doing in an organization like Baroque Works, and what were you trying to achieve?"

-O-

"Run quickly! Run Carue!" Vivi was riding Carue across town to get away from Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine. "There's a ship docked back behind the Cactus Rocks! We're going to take it and escape from this place! And then we'll be on our way to Alabasta!" She kept up with the pace until she saw an explosion up ahead. "Carue, stop!" She ordered her duck as it stopped in its tracks. From the explosion through the smoke out came a silhouette of Mr. 5.

"Oh no! It's Mr. 5!" Vivi gasped in horror. "They found us! Hurry, Carue!" She ordered the duck as it kept running. "Move!"

"Hahahaha!" Miss Valentine laughed as she landed softly on a crate.

"It's kinda cute that she's trying." Mr. 5 joked. Vivi kept going as she saw the familiar face of Miss Monday.

"Miss Monday!?" Vivi said.

"Go on!" Miss Monday said. "You can reach the ships by traveling through here!" She said, pointing behind herself. "I'll stay here and hold off the others! After losing to that green-haired swordsman, we're all going to be punished for failing our mission anyway." The muscled woman said as she walked carrying a wooden beam. "At least if I do that, I can go down while helping to protect a friend." As Vivi looked at Miss Monday, she almost wanted to cry. "What are you waiting around here for!?" Miss Monday said. "If you get killed or captured, Mr. 8 and Mr. 9 will have sacrificed themselves for nothing! Now get going!" Vivi held back her tears and looked away from Miss Monday.

"Thank you." Vivi said before riding off.

"First, Mr. 9 defected, and now you." Mr. 5 said, rolling up his sleeve. "Tsk tsk… Miss Monday."

"I am not going to let you pass!" Miss Monday yelled. "Because I made a promise to a friend!"

"Ahahahaha!" Miss Valentine laughed. "That's adorable!" Mr. 5 began running right toward Miss Monday, clenching his fist.

"YOU ARE AN UTTER DISGRACE!" Mr. 5 shouted as he ran straight at Miss Monday. Miss Monday, with a yell, went to jab with her wooden beam at Mr. 5, but the upper agent dodged it effortlessly. He then clothes-lined Miss Monday right in the throat. "TO THE NAME OF BAROQUE WORKS!"

From behind Vivi, as she was escaping, an explosion sounded behind her. She stopped as she looked back to see Miss Monday defeated with her and a standing Mr. 5 shrouded in flames.

"No… Miss Monday…" Vivi said quietly in worry. "How could they?" Vivi glared at them.

"Haha..." Mr. 5 laughed." That's why they call me the 'Bomb Man'; you see, I can make any part of my body explode, and thanks to my 'Bomb-Bomb' fruit power, there hasn't been a single mission that I have failed to complete."

"Hahahaha!" Laughed a floating Miss Valentine. "And thanks to the 'Kilo-Kilo' fruit power that I possess, I can bury that traitor Miss Monday in the ground forever!" She said as she spun her umbrella. "I can change how much I weigh whenever I want! Right now, I'm light enough to be lifted by a slight breeze! But I think it's time to start gaining weight!" She then began falling from the sky. "5 kilograms! 50 kilograms! 100! 500!" She began to pick up speed as she fell. "1,000!

10,000 Kilogram Press!

She landed right on top of Miss Monday with a loud smash that shook the ground a little.

"So, do you really still think you can escape from us?" Miss Valentine, who stood up tall, asked.

"You don't have a chance of getting out of here in one piece." Mr. 5 smiled. Vivi didn't know what to do. She just watched a dear friend get defeated. She only bit her lip.

"We'll survive." Vivi said. "I will escape. I will make it back home. To Alabasta Kingdom."

Mr. 5 began digging in his nose. Unknown to the group of people were two people running over to them across buildings. One flicked his wrist to toss a large piece of debris.

"Take this!" Mr. 5 aimed.

Nose Fancy Cannon!

Like before, Mr. 5 picked out a booger and flicked it at Vivi. Just before it could reach her, the chunk of debris flew by, and the booger got caught in it as it sailed by and hit a nearby empty house. Right after that, Silk and Gin appeared and stood directly in front of Vivi, blocking the path of Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.

"It's… It's you!" Vivi shouted in surprise.

BOOOOM!

The booger finally exploded from beside them, creating a violent and powerful explosion so strong that the houses around it were leveled and became nothing more than scorched pieces of rubble.

"That could've… Me…" Vivi couldn't even form a sentence since she was almost killed. Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine saw Vivi's timely rescuers.

"So, who are these clowns?" Mr. 5 wondered. Gin was holding his tonfas, and Silk placed her hand on the hilt of her Sword.

"That was surprising. You went out of your way to throw a piece of rubble." Silk noted.

"Couldn't be helped; I really wanted to avoid touching that guy's snot." Gin reasoned.

"Dammit!" Vivi shouted. "I don't have time to deal with you!" She was spinning her Peacock Slasher and swung it at them.

SLICE!

Before she knew what had happened, Silk unsheathed her Sword and sliced her Peacock Slasher in two. While Vivi was shell-shocked, Silk gave her a look that acted as a warning. "

"Careful, Princess." Silk advised her, unamused. "Don't make me regret saving you."

"What?" Vivi breathed out in confusion. "You're helping me." Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine glared at the new opponents they faced.

"Just sit back and leave this to us." Gin told her as they stared down the enemies in front of them.

-O-

Nami, Zoro, Light, and Igaram (Still on the ground) Were still waiting for Silk and Gin to return. Zoro was napping quietly. Nami sat patiently on a barrel as she sat as she waited. Light was leaning against a wall.

"Tell me…?" Nami addressed Igaram. "Baroque Works? Exactly what kind of company is it?"

"It's a secret crime syndicate." Igaram explained. "It specializes in assassination, espionage, and bounty hunting. The company is so secretive that none of its members know the boss's name or face. But will still do anything the boss commands them to." Hearing that, Zoro now had his eyes open as he heard that.

"I don't get it." Nami said. "Listen to some big boss whose identity they don't even know."

"The ultimate objective of Baroque Works is the creation of an ideal nation." Igaram said. "And everyone who does well within the company now will be guaranteed high social standing within this nation. This is the promise that drives them to follow blindly."

"Now that makes more sense." Nami with a better understanding.

"The agents all have numbers as their code names," Igaram explained. The boss' code name is Mr. 0, so the closer an agent's number is to zero, the stronger and more skilled they are and the higher their future standing will be. The agents from Mr. 5 and above are especially powerful—Incredible so."

"I wouldn't worry so much." Ligh dismissed his concerns. "They might be stronger the higher up you go, but those two in particular aren't much of a threat—Compared to us, I mean."

"You're wrong, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine are extremely dangerous." Igaram insisted.

"Captain." Zoro, now awake, decided to follow up with a question. "Your Haki lets you have a good grasp of how strong someone is, right?"

"On some level." Light answered. "It's not exact, but I get the general idea."

"How strong are those two who showed up?" Zoro asked what they all wanted to know.

"Honestly…" Light shrugged before he informed them. "They're weaker than Buggy, Klahador, and Krieg."

"In that case, you were right; they aren't a threat." Zoro then went back to sleep.

"True; I guess we really have nothing to worry about, considering it's Gin and Silk." Nami agreed, also now at ease.

While Igaram wasn't in the loop and had no idea how they could be so calm, the rest of them merely waited for their friends to return.

-O-

"I take it you must be the Pirates who beat up all the lowly employees who were stationed out here?" Miss Valentine asked them.

"Wrong, that honor belongs to our First Mate." Silk clarified. "However, we'll be the ones to face you."

"Why would you wanna protect the Princess of Alabasta?" Mr. 5 asked.

"The situation has changed, our Captain wants the Princess brought to him, alive." Gin said while his tonfa was over his shoulder. "We're here to deliver her to him."

"Well, one way or another, we're gonna have to eliminate you." Mr. 5 said. "You see, you're in our way."

"Hahahaha!" Miss Valentine laughed. "Oh, what a shame!" Mr. 5 began digging in his nose.

"I'll take Mr. 5." Silk suggested.

"Fine by me." Gin didn't object.

Silk dashed forward. Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were caught off-guard by her speed as she appeared right in front of them before he could finish digging through his nose. Like the wind, Silk swung her Sword and struck Mr. 5 across his midsection, blowing him away into a nearby building with a crash.

"Mr. 5!" Miss Valentine called out in concern for her partner.

Now, Gin appeared behind her with his arm stretched back and his weapon ready to strike. "Don't take your eyes off the enemy."

Gin struck his tonfa into her side and knocked her off her feet before she was blown away and crashed into the same building that Mr. 5 crashed into. Now, there was a large hole in the building's wall that was covered by a dust cloud, and the two agents were painfully lying next to each other inside.

Vivi grimaced as she watched her former colleagues crashing into the side of the building and could hardly believe the ease with which the two of them blew away their opponents. The two looked truly terrifying. Their faces were still and expressionless, while their eyes were devoid of any sympathy or benevolence. There was nothing but cold callousness so strong that she could feel chills up her spine.

The battle wasn't over yet, though. Miss Valentine leaped out of the dust cloud and into the air, using her Devil Fruit powers to make herself light enough to float in the breeze with her parasol.

"Now I'm really annoyed!" Miss Valentine yelled from above. "I hope you're ready to experience my Kilo-Kilo fruit powers! Hahaha! Prepare to be smashed into tiny pieces and buried 100 meters in the ground!"

"Oh, on!" Vivi attempted to warn them. "You both need to get out of the way, she can—"

"Be quiet!" Gin shushed her, unconcerned. "Relax, we can handle it."

Afterward, Mr. 5 picked himself up from the ground and approached them while dusting off his wound. "You two… Trying to make fools of us on our own turf. The name of Baroque Works will be shamed if we fail in our mission here." He rolled up his sleeves. "If I can't beat you from a distance, I'll blow you up at close range."

As he went charging at Silk, convinced they could win, Miss Valentine positioned herself in the air to drop down on them. But they picked the wrong people to fight.

"You can't beat us!" Mr. 5 yelled as he cocked back his arm. "Prepare to die at the hands of Baroque Works' Officer Agents!"

Silk easily dodged his punch by stepping back. Mr. 5 attempted another one, but she dodged it again. His third attempt was a kick, but she sidestepped.

"The things you hit blow up, but that doesn't mean anything if you can't connect." Silk noted as she pivoted and got behind him. "And in case you hadn't noticed—"

SLASH!

As Mr. 5 was in the process of turning around to face her, Silk brought down her blade and sliced him diagonally across his chest, spilling a spray of fresh blood from the man and causing him to fall to the ground—Having lost consciousness from the shock of the slash, he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Miss Valentine was still floating overhead and now ready to attack.

"Get ready! This attack will crush into dust!" Miss Valentine yelled before increasing her weight.

10,000 Kilogram Press!

As she came crashing downward like an anvil, Gin merely stood his ground and waited for her to land. But when she was only a few feet from reaching her target, Gin stepped aside and reached out to swing his tonfa.

BASH!

Gin's tonfa hit its make and smashed right into Miss Valentine's stomach. Gin timed his attack so that he would hit her right as she was about to hit the ground. Even though her Devil Fruit increases her weight, it doesn't increase her body's durability, so she still has no defense against his powerful weapon, and while her descent is certainly fast, she can only travel in a straight line, making it easy to counter.

Gin pushed forth with his tonfa, burying into her torso and cracking some ribs as he blew her away and back into a building. This time, when she crashed through the wall, she was knocked unconscious and certainly wouldn't be getting up any time soon. With that, both of their enemies were defeated.

Gin lowered his arm and turned away. "I'd never met an opponent with such a pitiful ability."

Silk sheathed her Sword and approached. "Honestly, if I knew it was this easy, I would have rather thought the 100 enemies from earlier; it would have lasted long."

"So, is this seriously the best the Grand Line has to offer?" Gin sounded despondent, like someone who was promised something but lied to. "So far, the worst thing about this place has been the weather."

"Well, these guys were decent by the standards of the East Blue." Silk pointed out. "But since we've already beaten the best that sea had to offer, anything less is nothing at this point."

Vivi was staring at them in amazement as they both dispatched two people she never could have imagined being defeated like that. "They fought Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine and won…? They were some of Baroque Works' top agents…"

Vivi flinched when they turned to face her as Gin spoke. "Alright, now come with us." He instructed her.

Vivi was still clearly very afraid, and for good reason. "I don't understand. Why did you save me?"

"You'll understand when we get back to our Captain." Silk assured her, trying to placate her fears. "Follow us."

Whether or not she believed them was unclear, but after witnessing what they were capable of, she knew she didn't have the option to refuse, so still mounted on her duck, Vivi followed them to return to the rest of the crew.

-O-

Before long, they made it back to where the others were. Now, they were in the alley with the trio, who were in the same positions as when the two of them left. Noticeably, Igaram was no longer around. Vivi dismounted from her duck and sat beside them.

"I'm glad you made it." Light greeted them as she sat down. "Now then, Princess, let's have a chat."

Nami stepped and turned to Vivi with a smile. "Yes, let's, I have a proposal for you. In exchange for taking you home, I would like one billion Beri!" Vivi only turned away with a downcast look.

"Feel free to ignore her." Silk advised Vivi. "We actually brought you because we have no questions about your organization."

"What are you talking about?" Nami was upset with her for changing the subject. "Do you realize how big this is?!" A Princess from a Kingdom! Her family must be loaded! We'll be rich!"

"We?" Silk rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Like we'd believe you'd ever share money."

"No, I can't!" Vivi said sharply, and Nami blinked in surprise. "But I appreciate the help you've given me so far."

"Why not?" Nami demanded at once, "You're a Princess, aren't you? So aren't you rich?"

"I doubt it's that simple." Light joined the conversation. "After all, I've never heard of a Princess who's a member of a crime syndicate, much less a top official of that syndicate." He gazed at Vivi with suspicious eyes that made her look away. "And on top of that, now we find that your own organization wants you dead? I think it's time you explain to us what's going on."

"Do you know much about Alabasta Kingdom?" Seeing that she had no choice but to comply, Vivi asked sadly.

"No." Nami shook her head.

"Alabasta is a great nation." Vivi began. "A peaceful Kingdom. At least it used to be."

"Used to be?" Nami asked. "And now?"

"We're in the middle of a civil war." Vivi said as the group of Pirates listened. "In recent years, signs of discontent began to appear. Finally, the people revolted, and the Kingdom fell into utter chaos. Then, one day, I learned of a secret organization." She clenched her fist. "Called Baroque Works! They found out our people were being manipulated by this organization, but that was the only information I could gather about them. I didn't know what to do, so I went to Igaram for help. You see, he's kept a close eye on me ever since I was a child."

"That's right, I heard him say that he was the Captain of your royal security." Silk said, pointing out the moment when their identities were exposed.

"Yes, that's right. He's always done everything he can to protect my family. I asked him if he would help me infiltrate Baroque Works so I could see who was pulling their strings behind the scenes and what exactly they were up to."

"You've got some guts, considering you're a Princess." Zoro said in an impressed tone. "So… Were you able to find out what their plan was?"

She nodded just as Nami answered. "To create an ideal nation." Vivi looked up at her in surprise, and she explained, "Anyway, that's what Igaram said it was. Is that what you found out?"

Vivi looked back down at her knees and admitted, "It's not. That was only a cover story the boss was using. It's a lie to cover their tracks!" Her eyes darkened, and she finished, "Their true goal is to take over the Alabasta Kingdom!" They all just looked at her as she said that with emotion. "I have to get back somehow to warn everybody to tell them the truth and stop the fighting. If I don't do something… If I don't tell them…" Vivi bit her lip to fight back her tears.

She looked ready to cry, and Nami sighed. "Ok, I get it." She said in annoyance. "I see how it is. Yeah, it's all starting to make sense now. I suppose you wouldn't have much money lying around during a civil war."

"Is money all you think about?" Gin murmured in annoyance.

"But the big question that remains is why did they want to kill you so suddenly?" Light pointed out, getting everyone's attention as he carried on. "They said it was because you discovered the boss' secrets; what secret was that exactly, and for that matter, who is he?"

Vivi looked horrified at the suggestion. "WHAT?!" She screamed, causing everyone to become startled at her sudden change in tone. "THE BOSS'S IDENITY?! YOU SHOULDN'T ASK THAT!"

"But I should?" Light argued stoically. "I want to know, and you can tell me."

"ASK ME ANYTHING BUT THAT!" She yelled, waving her hands around, "IF I TELL YOU, YOUR LIVES WILL BE IN DANGER TOO!"

"Yeah, I'll pass!" Nami added with a nervous laugh, clearly letting them know that she was happy not knowing. "This guy is trying to take over an entire country after all! I wouldn't want someone like that chasing after me, thank you."

"No, you don't!" Vivi said loudly. "I don't care how strong you people are; you wouldn't stand a chance against one of the Warlords of the Sea! Against Crocodile!"

…

…

…

…

"Crocodile, is it?" Light asked calmly, and Vivi turned white as she realized what she said and covered her mouth when Nami's jaw fell open in horror.

"You had to say it," Zoro said darkly before they felt like they were being watched. They looked up and saw a strange sight: an otter in a white one-piece cloth with purple polka dots and a vulture with a flowered swim cap—Both with thick sunglasses. They all looked up at the duo for a moment before the otter jumped up on the vulture's back, and they took off.

"What the hell was that?" Silk asked, hoping they all saw that too.

Nami then grabbed hold of Vivi's front and began to shake her as she screamed at her, with Vivi telling her how sorry she was. "WHY DID I JUST SEE A BIRD AND SEA OTTER!?" Nami yelled with shark teeth. "WHERE DID THEY FLY OFF TO!?"

"So it's a Warlord—That makes it interesting." Light said as his face was filled with intrigue.

"Not too bad." Zoro agreed.

"How has that girl been a spy for two years if she can blurt out a secret like that?" Silk noted before she looked over at Gin. "Gin, what's wrong?"

Gin was now face down on the ground, looking like he was just told a joke with the world's first punchline. "First Mihawk, now Crocodile, not even a week in the Grand Line, and I'm already being hunted by another Warlord." He groaned in tribulation. "Is it me? Am I attracting these psychos here?"

"Huh, that would explain what the World's Greatest Swordsman was doing so close to the entrance of the Grand Line." Light noted.

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO! REALLY!? IT JUST SLIPPED OUT!" Vivi cried as she was still being shaken by Nami.

Nami continued to yell at Vivi before finally letting her go, and she began to cry. "Being hunted by a Warlord in the Grand Line? That's more than I can handle!" she cried, covering her face.

"So when do we get to see this guy?" Zoro asked conversationally.

"What type of fighter do you think he is?" Light added as Nami yelled out.

"SHUT UP YOU!" She then turned and began heading down the road. "It's been nice knowing you idiots! Thanks for everything!" She yelled at them.

"And where are you going!?" Light called after her.

"They don't know what I look like yet!" She yelled back. "I'm leaving!"

No sooner had she said that did the otter show up with three very detailed drawings of Light, Zoro, Gin, Silk, and Nami.

Nami clapped as she saw them. "Wow, that's so lifelike!" And that was when they took off, their silhouette against the bright moon. Nami turned back to them and yelled. "No use in leaving now!"

"I'm really sorry." Vivi said again quietly.

"Don't worry about it." Light told her magnanimously.

"Where's she planning on going anyway?" Zoro asked curiously.

"Good question. I mean, we have the ship, and it's not like you can just turn around and sail backward in the Grand Line." Gin pointed out.

"I guarantee you, five minutes at sea by herself, and she would have come back and realized it was still safer with us." Silk deduced Nami's nature.

Soon, a twisted grin appeared on Zoro's face. "Well then, it looks like the five of us will be sitting right on top of Baroque Works' hit list."

Light smiled to himself. "Seems that way."

Gin shrugged with a smile. "Well, we're already in this mess, so no point whining about it."

"So it's business as usual; all we have to do is beat him." Silk wasn't concerned at all.

Nami, however, was now sulking in a curled-up ball on the ground, with Vivi trying to think of something to say to cheer her up.

"You have nothing to fear!" Someone suddenly yelled.

The Lion Hearts turned to see a fairly tall, muscular man standing there with several stuffed dummies and stared intensely at the group of pirates. Though it was clear he was a man, he was dressed in clothes similar to Vivi's, with thick tube-like hair done up in a ponytail and even wearing lipstick… It was Igaram in drag.

"It's…" Igaram coughed. "Ma! Ma! Maa!" He started to hum scales before he went on to say. "It's gonna be all right, Princess. I've come up with a plan!"

"Igaram!" Vivi exclaimed, coming over to him. "What are you…?"

"I'm hoping your outfit is part of said plan." Light said as he looked over the outfit.

"An entire parade of idiots." Nami whispered where she huddled.

"My dear Princess Vivi…" Igaram said. "Please listen to me carefully once Baroque Works intelligence network learns what happened here. Agents will be sent after you immediately since they're aware that you've learned the boss' true identity. You must…"

"Yes. Knowing them, they'll send a thousand agents after me." Vivi said. Nami turned her head with a fearful look on her face.

"Thus my plan." Igaram said. "Disguised like this, I will pretend to be you. I'll take these four dummies on board with me. And I will sail a straight course to Alabasta."

"So these dummies are meant to be us?" Light asked as he poked one of the dummies. "Not very convincing."

"A decoy…" Zoro summed up for them.

"While Baroque Works is busy chasing after me." Igaram finished up. "The rest of you will head with Vivi straight for Alabasta Kingdom along a less direct route."

"Hold on! Just a second!" Nami screamed, finally getting back to her feet. "Who said we were gonna take her with us?!" They looked at her, and she finished. "We still haven't discussed the matter of payment."

"There's no need, I've already made my decision." Light spoke out as he faced both Vivi and Igaram. "We'll accept your request and take you back to Alabasta."

Vivi was surprised by his decision while Nami completely lost her cool and screamed out. "CROCODILE MAY ALREADY BE AFTER US!"

"I've been meaning to ask, what can you tell us about Crocodile?" Light asked Igaram curiously. "Basically, how much of a threat would you consider him to be."

Igaram looked back and explained. "One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. He is a legally recognized Pirate, and because of that fact, there is no bounty on his head. However, long ago, his bounty was worth 80,000,000 beri."

"EIGHTY MILLION? THAT'S FOUR TIMES ARLONG'S BOUNTY!" Nami screamed out. "THERE'S NO WAY!"

"Will you do this for us?" Igaram asked Light genuinely.

"I will." Light answered with a confident smile as Nami looked like she was about to burst into tears again. "We're already involved in this, so there's no reason why we shouldn't work together."

"We are forever grateful." Igaram said, and they could hear the gratitude in his voice.

"Hold on!" Nami was still unconvinced. "We have every reason why. This isn't our business!"

"Would you give it a rest already?" Zoro yawned at her behavior. "The Captain already made up his mind; this is happening."

"Be reasonable, Captain!" Nami got in his face. "Why do we have to do this? You can't expect us to go and fight a Warlord for free, all for a bunch of strangers."

"Nami, they're fighting to save their home." Light told her before pointing out. "Besides, we didn't ask for a reward the last time."

"What last time?" Now, Nami looked confused.

"Don't you remember? Not long ago, there was another girl who wanted to save her home." Nami immediately understood what Light was talking about. "Remember how desperate she was? Or how badly she wanted to save her home and her loved ones from the monsters who came and tried to take everything from her? Even if we didn't have to, we all stepped in and helped her get her home back, and we never asked for anything in return, so why should we this time?"

The rest of his crewmates smiled proudly at their Captain's reasoning while Nami found her objections silenced and now felt she wasn't in a position to refuse, so she merely backed down. With that settled, Igaram asked them all to follow him to the shore.

-O-

As he led them to the shore, Igaram stopped in front of a small ship and put the dummies on board before he turned back and spoke in a much higher voice. "Now then, I, Vivi, will leave from here."

"Maybe you should just not speak." Light suggested based on his unconvincing impression.

"Like that'll help?" Zoro asked, looking at Igaram like he thought that he was insane. But Igaram didn't pay any attention to them.

"Princess…?" Igaram said, putting out his hand. "Please give me the Eternal Pose." Vivi went into her pocket and grabbed the device called the "Eternal Pose".

"What's an Eternal Pose?" her past self suddenly asked, and Igaram looked at her in surprise.

"You've never heard of it? You can say it's sorta like a permanent version of the Log Pose." Igaram answered, holding up the little compass. It looked a great deal like the one Nami wore, only this one was made to look a little more like an hourglass shape with only one orb in the middle with a needle floating inside it, and the name Alabasta was printed on the top. "Whereas a Log Pose will always lead sailors to the next island on the course, an Eternal Pose will forever remember the magnetic energy of the island stored inside it. So it will always point to that island and no other. And this Eternal Pose is set to Alabasta Kingdom."

"And you're going to use this to set your course to home?" Vivi asked him worriedly.

"Princess Vivi, please take the indirect island hopping route to Alabasta," Igaram told her softly, silently letting her know that he knew the dangers, but he was ready to take them. "I have never gone that way myself, but you should only need to pass two or three islands to get there." He turned his attention towards Light. "Please, take care of the princess in my absence."

"We made a promise, and we intend to keep it." Light reassured him.

"Igaram…" Vivi started to say something, but her words died on her lips, unable to come out and say what she really wanted.

"I expect that your journey will be a difficult one." He said with a gentle voice and an encouraging smile. "Please, be careful."

Vivi wanted to say something to Igaram but stopped and instead shook his hand.

"See you soon." Vivi said with a smile. Igaram got on his boat with his four dummies and sailed off.

"May we meet again safely in our homeland." Igaram said as he sailed. The five Lion Hearts and Vivi watched his ship sail away with a smile.

"It's up to you to save our country, Princess." Igaram thought as he kept sailing off.

Light smiled as he watched him go. "Guess he was a pretty good guy after all."

"What's more…" Vivi added wistfully. "He's a very reliable old man."

Vivi still didn't look happy about it, but she forced a smile and took his hand as they promised that they would see each other again soon. They watched as Igaram set sail, all of them saying goodbye. But before he got too far away, there was a bright light, and, to their horror, the ship exploded apart. The blinding light and force of the shockwave created a great wind and blew back at them, everyone looking stunned.

KABOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The ship went up in flames, burning everything until there wasn't anything but a pile of burnt wood on the water.

"What… What just happened?!" Gin yelled out, trying to make out Igaram through the wreckage but not seeing anything.

"They're already after us?!" Nami exclaimed fearfully once she got over the shock. "That's impossible!?"

Light said nothing as he turned around and walked over a few feet to where his hat, which had been blown off by the shockwave before, and put it back on his head. He let out a loud yell and looked ready to charge. "Everyone! Back to the ship!"

[Roger!] Silk, Gin, and Zoro responded. Now was the time that they had to hurry and leave before they were killed as well. Zoro was right behind him as he yelled at Nami. "Nami, the Log!"

She quickly checked and let him know that it was set. "We're fine, it's all set!"

"Get the girl!" He yelled back as he turned back to run with the others. "Come on! Let's go!"

"Vivi!?" Nami shouted as she put a hand on Vivi's shoulder. "We have to leave! If they get us now, it will all be for nothing!" Nami noticed Vivi biting her bottom lip, looking like she was ready to break down in tears. She was biting her lip so hard that she drew a bit of blood. Nami took Vivi into a hug to comfort her. "Don't worry, we are going to get you home! I know they don't look like much, but they're strong! They saved the East Blue! Just the seven of them! Baroque Works?! Give me a break! Crocodile!? Hah!" Nami smiled. "Those guys are the ones who should be worried!"

-O-

All the Lion Hearts had made a break for the ship except their Captain as he sprinted back down the street to the building where they had been staying. He broke down the door in haste and looked wildly around the room for the two remaining crewmates who were still asleep—The cook and sniper. It was clear that there had been a party here… the whole place was a mess, and the two were both passed out on the floor, snoring loudly. Light grabbed hold of Usopp's arm and Sanji's leg, waking them up… But not soon enough…

"Let's go!" Light shouted as he ran out the door, and so he pulled his two crewmates behind him at dashing speed, both of them yelling in pain and confusion to what was going on. The two being dragged along the ground like dolls. Sanji was cursing at him to stop it and Usopp was screaming that he was in pain.

Light didn't stop until they reached where the ship was docked, and Zoro and Gin were just finishing up pulling up the anchor.

"Hey, is everyone here?!" Light asked while holding them up.

"Everyone except Nami and Vivi." Silk informed as she unfurled the sails. "They should be here soon."

"For now, bring 'em up! We're ready to go!" Zoro told him.

Light turned around to check and saw Usopp and Sanji were both out cold. "Apologies for the rude awakening, but we're in a hurry so there's no time to explain?" He told them and dragged them onto the Going Merry.

Suddenly, they heard arguing, and they looked behind them to see that Nami brought Vivi here, and she was yelling at her, "We don't have time to look for him!"

"I'm not just gonna leave him here!" Vivi yelled back.

"But listen!" Nami screamed, looking close to slapping her.

Zoro yelled a question down at them. "Hey, what's the problem?"

"Apparently, her duck's gone missing!" Nami screamed up at him. "And now she's refusing to leave without him!"

"This duck?" He asked, pointing to the duck that was standing next to him.

[HE'S HERE?!] Both women yelled in fury.

"Made it here before I did!" Zoro informed them.

"Quit messing around and get on already!" Gin snapped at them.

With the knowledge that her duck was safe and sound, Vivi climbed up the ladder while giving them all directions to the best way out of there. With the sails opening, the Lion Hearts were more than happy to say goodbye to Whiskey Peak and sailed off into a thick fog.

As they got underway, Zoro turned to Vivi. "Hey?" He stated, and she looked up in surprise.

"Mr. Bushido?" She asked.

How many people do you think Baroque Works will send after us?" Zoro questioned.

"I'm not sure." Vivi said. "I know that there are about two thousand loyal employees in Baroque Works, and I heard that there are several bases like this one that are set up in the area."

"They really might send a thousand people!?" Nami asked.

"What?" Said a now waking up Sanji. "Huh!?"

"Hey!" Usopp said as he woke up. "The ship's leaving!?"

"You're finally awake." Nami said.

"Hold on a second!" Sanji said. "Can't we stay just one more night!?"

"One night!" Usopp repeated.

"This town is full of amazingly cute girls!" Sanji shouted.

"Who knows if we'll ever have this much fun again!" Usopp shouted.

"Even Pirates deserve a vacation!" Sanji shouted.

"Are you kidding me?" Silk looked exasperated at their behavior.

"We should've just left them behind." Zoro said irritably as Nami went and punched them both, shutting them up. "Nami?! Will you explain it to them?"

"I just did!" She answered.

"Okay, that was fast." Zoro said in surprise.

"I left out the complicated parts!" Nami added as they both lay there unconscious.

"Can't you ever think of a solution that doesn't involve bonking people on the head?" Light groaned at her.

-O-

By this point, the first rays of light were starting to appear on the horizon, and they were clear of the island. However, they were now forced to sail very carefully through all the fog and avoid the rocks. One false move, and they could end up sinking right here.

"Finally, it's getting light out." Nami sighed in relief.

"I'm just glad we got away from the people chasing us." A voice said.

"That's for sure." Nami agreed.

"With all this fog, we'll need to be careful to avoid the rocks." The voice spoke again.

"I'll take care of it!" Nami shouted confidently before she realized that she didn't know who had spoken. She looked at Silk and asked hesitantly. "Wait… did you…?"

Silk looked at her in confusion until they heard someone clear their throat behind them. And as everyone looked up they saw a very unfamiliar figure sitting comfortably on the upper railings.

It was a tall, slender young woman with shoulder-length black hair and eyes that had dark, wide pupils that appeared to be blue cerulean. She also has a long, thin, and defined nose. Her skin tone has a slightly dark tan. Her limbs are very long, especially her legs. She wore a revealing all-purple cowgirl outfit consisting of a purple cleavage-exposing corset and matching miniskirt, both with white ornaments hanging from them, and a purple cowboy hat and purple high-heeled boots.

"This ship is nice." She informed them casually as if they were already old friends, and everyone on the ship (Excpet Light) all gasped at her. She tilted up her purple cowboy hat to look at them.

"What? Who's that?" Zoro questioned as he reached for his Sword

"It's… It's you!" Vivi stuttered in shock and fear.

"I just happened to run into your dear Mr. 8 a while back." She said coldly. "He didn't look so good."

Vivi's eyes turned dark as she yelled. "So you killed Igaram!"

"What is this? When did she get on the ship?" Gin wondered.

"She's been here the whole time?" Light answered getting everyone's attention. "She arrived by the ship around the same time we did and slipped onboard when we entered the fog."

"My, my, so you noticed?" She sounded a little impressed. "Being able to go undetected was supposed to be my specialty."

"Heh, it's been a long time since anyone's been able to sneak past my gaze." Light retorted confidently before he narrowed his eyes. "So, why are you here on my ship?"

"Answer him!" Vivi yelled, far less composed than Light. "What are you doing here, Miss All-Sunday!?"

"So you know who she is?" Nami questioned. "Which of the numbered guys is she partners with?"

"Her partner is Mr. 0, the Boss." Vivi said gravely.

"Crocodile's her partner?!" Nami responded in a panic.

"She was the only one who knew the Boss' identity." Vivi explained as she continued to glare up at Miss All-Sunday as if expecting her to start attacking at any moment. "That's how we found out who he actually is! By following her back to him!"

As if to so she was toying with her, she corrected that statement. "To be accurate… I allowed it."

"I know you knew we were there!" Vivi yelled. "You're the one who told the boss what we knew! Weren't you?!"

"That's right." She answered in a bored tone while still smiling.

"You still haven't told us what it is you're doing here!?" Vivi yelled again and Miss All-Sunday was looking annoyed at the rudeness.

"Oh, right." she said coolly, "You were just so serious about the whole thing I couldn't help myself. A princess doing whatever it took to help her country while making herself an enemy of Baroque Works? The idea was just so… Ridiculous."

But Vivi looked enraged as she screamed out at the top of her lungs. "YOU KILLED HHHHHHIIIIIIIMMMMMM!"

Six Lion Hearts had leaped into action. Sanji and Usopp were both up on their feet, Usopp with his slingshot loaded on one side and Sanji on the other with a gun pointed directly at her head. Zoro and Silk were below them and each unsheathed their Swords while Nami and Gin both brought out their weapons as well.

Light was the only one who remained calm and made no move to attack as he kept his gaze on the woman above him, assessing the whole situation and her demeanor through it all, even now. "This is all one big game for her."

"Sanji, um… You do realize what you're doing, right?" Usopp asked while still confused.

"Nope, not a clue." Sanji answered with his finger on the trigger. "I just know that the beautiful Miss Wednesday needs me."

Usopp and Sanji exchanged a brief conversation about what was going on, but she didn't look worried at all.

"I would really appreciate it if you would…" Miss All-Sunday said softly, and it all happened so quickly that they all missed seeing the hands appear and threw the two off the railing, "Stop pointing those at me?"

After they were all disarmed, all of them looked freaked out at her.

"You mean…?" Zoro said gasped,

"She's eaten…" Nami went on before her staff, Gin's tonfa, and Silk and Zoro's Swords were knocked out of their hands.

And then Zoro finished. "A Devil Fruit?!"

"But which one? What's her power!?" Nami cried out, now standing farther back with the others in front of her like shields.

"Every jerk has a Devil Fruit these days." Gin cursed their bad fortune.

Sanji looked up to get a good look at her, and hearts reappeared. "Wow!" He gasped as if he had never seen anything like her before. "Now that I get a look… You're beautiful!"

Robin chuckled a little at Sanji's words before she looked back to Vivi. "Now there's no need to get so excited." She informed her, "You can all calm down. I haven't been given any orders to follow you here. I have no reason to fight you."

Holding up her hand, she used her powers to get hold of Light's straw hat—Spinning it around on her hand in a bored way. "So, you're the Captain." She said, looking over at Light. "I've heard so much about you… Monkey D Light."

"My hat." Light didn't look happy at the way she swiped his hat.

"You are a bad person! I demand you leave this instant!" Usopp yelled from his hiding place behind the mast.

"Bad luck." Robin corrected as she put Light's hat on top of her own before going on. "Picking up a princess who Baroque Works already made up their mind to see eliminated… Protected by a mere handful of Pirates. But your luck gets even worse. Because of the direction, your Log Pose is indicating… You see?" Nami looked at their Log in fear as she answered. "The name of the next island… Is Little Garden."

"Little Garden?" Light repeated, somewhat interested.

"We won't even need to lift a finger." Miss All-Sunday finished up. "You'll all be dead long before you reach Alabasta."

"Is that right?" Light didn't sound the least bit intimidated by her warning. "While I appreciate the warning, why do I get the feeling you didn't come here just to tell us that?"

"Leave now, evil… doer!" Usopp yelled.

"Evil-doer?" Zoro repeated, rolling his eyes. "Seriously?"

"I just felt that you know what's ahead. You don't think it's a little foolish allowing yourselves to be wiped out?" Miss All-Sunday asked as she threw something over to Vivi. When she held it up, they saw that it was an Eternal Pose.

"An Eternal Pose?" Vivi whispered as she looked at it suspiciously.

"Using that, you can just skip right past Little Garden without stopping." Miss All-Sunday answered a little smugly. "Straight to an island near Alabasta. The Pose points to a place known as Nanimonashima. None of our agents know that course, so you won't be followed."

"What? So she's good after all?" Nami suddenly asked as she looked up at her, trying to figure out what was going on.

But the gesture seemed to anger Vivi, who yelled, "Why are you giving this to us?"

"It's gotta be a trap." Zoro said firmly, but Vivi was staring at the Pose with a wondering expression and they could tell that she was trying to figure out what to do.

"Oh, does it?" Robin asked as Light walked over to Vivi and took the Eternal Pose out of her hands.

"First thing's first." Light looked up at Miss All-Sunday. "My hat. I'll have you know that only close friends of mine are allowed to wear that; you don't fall under that category."

"Well, that's a shame, but I'm not quite in the mood to return it yet." Miss All-Sunday replied mischievously.

"Lady, it seems you misunderstand me—"

WHOOSH!

"—Faster than any of their eyes could follow, the straw hat was back in Light's hand as he put it on his head. "I wasn't asking."

Both Vivi and Miss All-Sunday were taken aback. Miss All-Sunday had stopped smiling for the first time. She had been around for decades and had faced powerful and strange opponents all over the Grand Line from both sides of the law; she was even partners with a Warlord of the Sea, and yet, never had she imagined a mere rookie from the East Blue could pull the rug from underneath her. Vivi didn't know what to think; ever since they arrived on this island, she had seen how strong this crew was, even against the high-ranking members of Baroque Works, but Light seemed different. He was a different species than Zoro, Silk, and Gin; they were strong, amazing, strong, but strong nonetheless. Light, however, wasn't just strong; he defied explanation.

"Moving on, Zoro has a point. Why should we believe you regarding this Eternal Pose?" Light held up the Pose. "You say it's safe, we won't be followed, and no enemies will be there waiting for us; it all sounds too good to be true other than the fact that it is coming from an enemy." He pointed out. "An enemy who is the partner of Crocodile, I might add; why should we believe anything you say?"

"You don't have to believe me if you don't want to but what will you do if I'm right and Little Garden does turn out to be the worse option?" Miss All-Sunday reasoned. "Do you really want to take that chance?"

"The most confessing thing right now is you." Light changed the subject.

"Oh?" She tilted her head casually. "Why is that? You just called me your enemy."

"You are an enemy, so that begs the question, why are you so intent on helping us out?" Light asked what they were all thinking.

"Captain, what are you saying?" Zoro asked.

"I'm saying her actions aren't making sense. First she lets Vivi find out Crocodile's identity, then she tells Crocodile so he tries to eliminate her, and now she shows up to help us get back to Alabasta safely." Light recaps her strange behavior. "It's like you're playing both sides for no real reason, or if you have one, I can't see it."

"Well, like you said, I could be leading you into a trap." Miss All-Sunday reminded him, still acting sly.

"That doesn't explain why you lied about killing Igaram." Light accused her.

Once again, she stopped smiling and looked a little surprised by this sudden accusation.

[What?!] Everyone around him was shocked by this sudden revelation, especially Vivi, as she didn't even know what to make of that.

"She… Didn't kill him?" Nami muttered in confusion.

"What are you talking about? We all saw the explosion." Gin pointed out.

"It surprised me too, but through the aftershock, I could still sense his aura." Light informed them, referring to his Haki. "That's how I know he survived."

"Sense… Aura?" Vivi was confused as she didn't know what he meant.

"It's one of the Captain's abilities. For now, just know that when he says someone is alive, it must be true." Silk explained somewhat.

Vivi started to shake as she looked at him nervously. "Then, are you saying… Is Igaram really…?"

"He's alive." Knowing what she was trying to say, Light answered. "I'm absolutely certain he survived the blast."

Now Vivi covered her mouth with her hands as tears formed beneath her eyes; this was the first bit of good news she had heard all night, and the amount of relief she felt after hearing this was so great that her legs almost gave out. "Igaram."

Happy for her, Light turned away and refocused on Miss All-Sunday. "Back to you, if you're our enemy, would you spare the life of one the people you're organization wants to eliminate, not to mention you did it in a way where even we thought he was dead so no one else would be targeting him? You essentially put a target on his back, then took it off yourself. Why?"

Miss All-Sunday didn't say anything and merely sat there; this wasn't going at all the way she expected it to, and yet she couldn't deny that it was interesting in its own way; her smile soon found its way back to her face only now there was amusement along with intrigue. Both Light and Miss All-Sunday looked at each other for a few extra long seconds—With her just looking at him as if she was trying to figure out a complicated question before she smiled. As if she had it answered.

"It seems I had the wrong impression; I thought you'd be a crew of foolish novices who were in over their heads, but it's clear… You are no fool." She praised him without any sarcasm. "This was worth the trip; you're more interesting than I was expecting, and you're quite intuitive as well."

"That's not all. I'm full of surprises." Light smirked at her.

"It's true, I didn't kill Mr. 8, and from your perspective, my actions seem questionable, but that's only because you don't know my motives." Miss All-Sunday clarified. "And believe you me, all of my actions are for the sake of reaching a clear objective."

"Interesting, and what exactly is this objective?" Light asked her.

"I'm under no obligation to tell you." She answered coyly.

"Fair enough; I suppose that means we're done here." Light decided.

"So does that mean you won't be using the Eternal Pose I offered you?" Miss All-Sunday asked for clarity.

"As a matter of fact, I plan on holding on to it, but we'll still be sailing to Little Garden." Light announced.

This intrigued her, but Nami didn't seem to like that idea as she stepped forward. "Hold it, why are we doing that? If we already have a safer route, why should we sail to the more dangerous island?"

"For one thing, we still haven't confirmed that it isn't a trap, but more than that, I'm not interested in a 'safer' route." Light proclaimed earnestly. "An island that's so dangerous we may not survive? That's exactly what I was expecting from the Grand Line, and I doubt this'll be the only one. If we shy away from this obstacle while we're this so to the start of the Grand Line, we have no business saying we'll beat a Warlord."

The stronger members of the crew were fully behind that notion and were completely prepared to brave this challenge along with their Captain. Nami, however, seemed upset by this turn of events.

"That said, we made a promise to help Vivi get home in time, so we're on the clock; if Little Garden takes too long, we'll leave." Light held up the Eternal Pose. "And we'll use this to carry on."

"Well, I suppose that settles it then." Miss All-Sunday told them all casually as she walked along the upper deck, looking a little satisfied as she did so. It was as if she was glad that Light made the decision that he did. "If you survive… I hope we meet again."

"Hmm." Light merely shrugged at her.

Miss All-Sunday gave them one last smile before she jumped ship, and when they went running off to look, they found her departing on the back of a giant sea turtle with a seat on the shell and a carpet beneath the seat, a large white hat on its head and a cigar in its mouth—Heading back to Whiskey Peak. "Let's go, Banchi."

"Wha- What is that thing?" Zoro said, looking at the turtle.

"It isn't a Sea King, is it?" Usopp asked fearfully. "Woah!?" Usopp exclaimed. "A turtle!"

"Man, the Grand Line is filled with unusual sights!" Light marveled at the sight of the giant sea turtle sailing away.

They watched after the turtle with bright eyes as Vivi fell to her knees in defeat. "That woman!" She cried out. "I don't have the slightest idea what's going through her head!"

"Then there's no point in thinking about it, is there?" Nami asked irritably.

"There's someone on this boat who's just like that." Zoro added, referring to Light.

"But in completely different ways." Silk pointed out.

"Would someone explain to me what's going on!?" Usopp shouted in confusion. "None of this makes sense!"

"Oh, Miss Wednesday, have you joined our crew?" Sanji asked hopefully.

"Hey! Explain already!?" Usopp shouted. "Woah!?" Usopp spotted Carue. "Whose Ostrich is this?"

"Wack!" Carue quacked at him.

"Please, what's going on?" Usopp now pleaded for answers.

"We fighting for food or women?" Sanji asked, on board with either option.

"Tell me! Tell me now~!" At this point, Usopp was crying for an answer.

As Usopp continued demanding to know what was going on and Sanji swooned over Vivi, the ship sailed out of the fog, and the sun started to rise.

-O-

After the sun rose and the sky turned blue, the ship sailed through a bright new day, and the crew quickly explained everything that was going on to Sanji, and Usopp, their cook, sighed.

"I see." Sanji said, cigarette in his mouth. "It's too bad I missed out on all the fun. But it sounds like there'll still be plenty of demand for my skills! No need to worry now that your sleeping prince has awoken, my sweet; you'll be safe."

"Woah!?" Usopp said as he heard the story. "Glad that wasn't me!"

"My dear…" Sanji said to Nami. "Are you getting jealous?"

"Uh, no." Nami said with her arms folded with a non-caring expression.

"Excuse me?" Vivi asked hesitantly, and they all looked at her. She was standing there, looking truly terrible, that she got them involved in this mess. "I'm sorry but… Is it really alright that I'm on your ship? I'm just causing you a lot of trouble."

Nami, meanwhile, looked put out as she came over and started poking Vivi's forehead. "It's a little late for apologies, don't you think? If you didn't want to cause us trouble, you shouldn't have told us who you were!"

"Sorry for that." Vivi didn't know what else to say.

"Isn't that right, Captain?!" Nami yelled toward him.

"Sheesh, all you ever do is complain." Light became irritated by her behavior. "It is what it is; deal with it already."

"Well, for now." Zoro said, ending the fight. "At least we know where we're heading to."

"Little Garden, huh?" Sanji said.

"Remember what she said?" Usopp said worriedly, "Are we gonna die?"

"We'll find out when we get there." Light then stood at the bow of the ship and pointed forward. "Let's go! Set a course for Little Garden!"

[Right!] The rest of the crew responded as the ship sailed forth toward their next adventure.

—…

And that's the chapter.

First of all, I decided to have Silk and Gin take out the Mr. 5 duo because it felt like overkill to send Light, and Zoro already got his fight. Plus, it was a little fun to have them utterly destroy those two, and I enjoyed writing it. The rest of this chapter was just conversation and exposition. I tried to establish how Light handled the interactions and his response to situations differently than in the canon to help see a behavior trait.

Light is the type of person who questions things when he sees them instead of just going with the motions. That's why he questioned Robin and her actions, and because he has Haki, he could tell Igaram was alive, so of course he'd question that; he'd also tell Vivi because there's no way he'd let her believe he was dead knowing how close they were.

As for the Eternal Pose, while breaking it is something Luffy would do because of his ideology, Light's ideology is different. Knowing what we know about Little Garden, it's really just dumb luck that things happened to work out, and the worst-case scenario would have been the crew being stranded there. Luffy rarely thinks and prefers to act based on his emotions, but Light bases choices on what's best for the crew as a whole. While he's perfectly willing to leap into danger, he wouldn't ask the same of his crew if it was too much for them, so keeping the Eternal Pose as a safety line was the natural decision.

Now, we'll be entering the Little Garden Arc. Hopefully, I'll be able to make something good out of it.

Anyways, 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.