~Third~

The Going Merry and her crew the Strawhat pirates was sailing along in the peaceful seas "Hey guys i think i see an island!"Usopp called from the crows nest "Hmm looks uninhabited to me" Nami said, Nicole was on edge even from this distance she could sense there was something or someone with incredible power on that island.

"Ready the anchor let's go check it out!"Luffy said, the ship sailed to the island and the Strawhats docked her near the shore "Find me some ingredients and i'll start cooking lunch" Sanji said "Listen nothing slimy or gross okay?"Nami said "Why's it matter? Once it's in your stomach it's all the same get over yourself"Zoro said, the crew went off into the forest to gather food while Sanji got a fire going.

"Hey Sanji! We got fish fruit and everything it was easy!"Luffy said as the group made their way back "Nice work"Sanji said and got started cooking the food, after that the Strawhats called cheers and got to eating "Yummy"Luffy said.

"It'd taste a lot better if you didn't scarf it down"Sanji said "I figured you wouldn't have any room left for dinner since you finished off all our snacks on the ship"Usopp said "Then i'm just getting warmed up"Luffy said "That's not good since we decimated half our supplies already" Sanji said "Robin you better eat fast before all the food is gone"Chopper told the archaeologist as she was reading "Just let me get to a stopping point first"Robin said.

"Okay but i heard that if you read too much you turn into a yucky bug, they call them bookworms"Chopper said "A bookworm is just an expression for someone who reads too much, you don't actually turn into a bug"Nicole said "Oh i see"Chopper said and walked off to get more food as Robin giggled a bit.

After finishing their barbecue the Strawhats went back into the woods to find food to store on the Going Merry, Nicole grew more nervous as they went further in, they were getting closer to that someone "Hey, you okay?"Zoro asked noticing that she was on edge "I'm sensing something or someone with a lot of power"she said.

"Is it a monster?!"Usopp freaked "Could be"Nicole said "And there's this little grove along the trail here"Chopper said freaking out "Oh you're right looks like a bicycle came through here, a bicycle monster!"Usopp yelled freaking out "A bicycle monster!"Chopper yelled freaking out as well clinging onto Nicole "Don't be ridiculous guys there's no such thing why would a monster need a bicycle?"Nami said trying to convince herself more then the others.

"Hey check it out we're almost through the jungle"Luffy said and the group made it through "Well that's a let down just looks like a whole lot of nothing out here"he said "There is something, they're behind that rock"Nicole said pointing over to it, indeed a head was popping up from the other side of it.

"The bicycle monster!"Usopp, Chopper and Nami screamed freaking out "I wanna see!"Luffy grinned running over only to get knocked back "Whoa guys come check it!"he yelled and the others ran over "What's going on?"Zoro asked looking over, Nicole flinched back a bit seeing the person this immense power belonged to, she knew who this person was from descriptions her father had given her, however she quickly switched to a stance ready to fight if necessary, this was her chance to test her power.

"I don't know someone's here"Sanji said "Do you mind i was sleeping?"the person asked as Luffy stood up "Oh uh well i'm very sorry to have disturbed your nap"he said giving a quick bow "Oh man that guy's huge"Usopp said as he ran over "I thought we were alone on this island" Nami said as she ran over, Robin gasped falling down to her butt as she saw the person "You know him?"Luffy asked.

"Hey is this guy an enemy?"Sanji asked "Who is he?"Nami asked "If Robin's freaking out then so am i"Usopp said "Something's wrong"Chopper said "Hold on look i know you're surprised to see me but don't get so worked up, it's not like i came here on official orders or anything it's a nice day so i decided to go for a ride"the person said.

"Orders huh? And who is it you work for?"Zoro asked getting ready to fight as well "He's a marine not only that he's known as one of the world governments ultimate powerhouses"Robin said "Whoa for real?"Luffy asked "I'm afraid so, this is admiral Aokiji from navy headquarters" Robin said "My my you've grown into quite the lovely lady haven't you? Nico Robin"Aokiji said, only Nicole seemed to notice how Robin reacted as this man said her name.

Robin had jumped a bit but it wasn't from fright, the archaeologist was good at hiding it so Nicole could say exactly what her reaction meant there was certainly fear mixed in but she couldn't tell with what, however her attention was drawn away from Robin as she sensed people in the forest, she quickly switched her focus back on Aokiji.

"Wait you mean this guy's an admiral that's one of the highest ranks there is"Sanji said "That's right there are only three people in the entire navy who currently hold the rank of admiral, Akainu, Aokiji and Kizaru the only one who out ranks them is fleet admiral Sengoku"Robin said, Nicole knew, again from her father, that wasn't exactly right but she decided to keep her mouth shut, she imagined her dad might get into trouble if the marines knew just how much he told her.

"Then why in the heck is someone like that even here?! Shouldn't you be out hunting pirates with a billion berry bounties or something? Go away"Usopp said, Aokiji turned to his attention to Nicole "People at HQ are very interested in you Mihawk Nicole, tell me what is your relation to the warlord Hawkeye Mihawk?"he asked "I don't have to tell you anything"she said.

"You keep away from her you lanky jerk!"Sanji yelled at Aokiji "Hey focus pay attention!"Usopp yelled at Sanji "Whoa whoa hold on a second you guys, did you hear what i just said? I'm just out taking a little stroll, don't get too worked up i mean you guys are just, you're just like what's ma call it's you know?"Aokiji asked stumbling in his words, Nicole sweatdropped a bit, yeah fits her fathers description to a T.

"What?"Luffy asked "What he say?"Chopper asked "Hmm, i forgot oh well"Aokiji said scratching his head "You're not making any sense you weirdo!"Sanji and Usopp yelled at him "Robin you gotta be mistaking him for someone else this doofus wouldn't pass for a regular marine let alone an admiral!"Usopp yelled.

"Hey come on, you shouldn't go around judging people on their appearance, the motto i've always lived by as a marine is total slovenly justice"Aokiji said "Then our judgement was right!"Usopp and Sanji yelled at him again "Anyway what i was saying, uh excuse me a moment"Aokiji said laying down using his coat as a pillow "Being on my feet too long makes me tired"he said.

"Yeah? Then maybe you shouldn't have been sleeping standing up you think?"Usopp asked "What i was saying is that i have no intention of capturing you or anything like that so just take it easy, i'm only here to confirm the whereabouts of Nico Robin who was last seen at the Alabasta incident as we suspected she's been with you"Aokiji said.

"I'll put together some sort of report for headquarters later now that you've added another crew member who's got a price on her head you're over all bounty's gone up, one hundred million plus sixty million plus fifty eight million plus seventy nine million equals"Aokiji trailed off doing the math (two hundred ninety seven million) "Ah screw it some big ass number"Aokiji said shrugging it off.

Luffy went to attack the admiral but Sanji and Usopp held him back, then the people walked out from the forest "So you're really a marine? I wish we had known that a lot sooner"one of the people said "Hey who are all these people?"Nami asked "From the looks of things, castaways" Nicole said, the people were all in ragged clothes and it seemed like they had been on this island for a while.

The Strawhats decided to help these people by having Chopper treat them and even giving them food "Look this island maybe deserted by you still could have found food on your own you know you're lucky we came along when we did"Usopp said.

"Well some people just lack the know how to survive off the land even though it's the most basic human instinct, they get too cozy with their riches and comfy life style, lucky indeed, given a week or two more you probably would have died or turned to cannibalism"Nicole said, scaring a few of the people.

"Why are you so grim?!"Usopp yelled slapping the back off her head "I'm being realistic"Nicole responded completely serious "So what happened?"Nami asked changing the subject "We were on our way home from a gourmet tour to a city renowned for it's exquisite food when suddenly our ship collided with a giant frog that was doing the front crawl it shattered the ship into pieces"one of the people said.

"A giant frog doing the front crawl? Seriously?"Nami asked "Not the weirdest thing i've heard about or seen"Nicole shrugged a bit "Besides frogs normally do the breaststroke"Sanji said "Awesome i've got to see this frog"Luffy said "That sounds crazy"Usopp said "It's the truth"one of the people said "Yeah that was Yokazuna"Aokiji said.

"After what seemed like days of struggling we were finally able to make to this island, it didn't take long to deplete our food supply after one month we were on the brink of starvation then we spotted someone approaching the island we rejoiced until we noticed he was riding a bicycle on the water"one of the people said.

"Come on that's even more far fetched then the frog"Usopp said "That was me actually"Aokiji said "The only boat we spotted after that looked like a pirate ship"one of the people said "That was us"Nami said "Wow that makes you one of those uh those uh you know"Aokiji said fumbling with his words "Spit it out damn it!"Sanji and Usopp yelled at him.

Luffy went to attack the admiral but again he was held back by Sanji as Usopp "Did you hear me? I told ya i'm just out on a stroll"Aokiji said "A stroll huh? Well go take your stroll elsewhere get out of here"Luffy said "Why are you so angry at me? Okay whatever i'll leave but before i do you guys should gather your stuff and get ready to leave too, fortunately i know of an inhabited island that's not too far away from this one, you should go there ask them to help you out"Aokiji said.

"Hey you guys! Don't believe a word he says understand me? This jerks a marine officer"Luffy said, Nicole sweatdropped at him "So what? Is that a problem?"one of the people asked "Oh i guess that makes sense normally the marines are your friends and pirates are the bad guys right?"Luffy asked laughing a bit "One would think you'd remember that captain"Nicole said making Luffy laugh harder.

"What's so funny?!"Usopp asked bonking Luffy on the head "Him"Luffy said pointing at Aokiji "How is he gonna help anybody?"Luffy asked "I don't know heck i don't think he even has a ship"Usopp said "Other then ours there isn't another ship around anywhere"Chopper said "Let's see there's no ship and nobody here seems to have a long pose either how in the world are they supposed to get to that island anyway?"Usopp asked.

"Oh they'll be fine"Aokiji said, Nicole knew it too from what her dad had told her it would be super easy barely an inconvenience for Aokiji "Nothing you say sounds the least bit convincing" Usopp said "It's true, he does have the power to help them"Robin said, the Strawhats helped the people pack up.

"That should do it"Usopp said tightening a rope "We loaded them up with food and water that should last them for quite a while"Sanji said "Feels good to do a little work from time to time" Aokiji said "Yeah no doubt about that, hey you know something you're not so bad, okay so now what? Are you gonna swim over to that island and drag all these people and their stuff behind you?"Luffy asked.

"Don't be ridiculous"Aokiji said walking over to the shore line and stuck his hand in the water, a giant sea king popped out of the water and went to attack Aokiji however the admiral froze it and the surrounding water in the blink of an eye 'Just like dad told me, this is the power of an admiral' Nicole thought certainly impressed and just itching to test her power against an admiral.

"It'll stay like that for at least a week, head out across the sea in that direction take your time, you should reach the island in about four days, it's gonna be a little on the chilly side so be sure to bundle up and stay warm"Aokiji said casually walking over and picking up his coat as everyone else was still in shock.

"Is this a dream? The sea has become as hard as the ground we'll be able to cross it now we'll be able to get off this island"some guy said as the people waved off the admiral thanking him, the Strawhats wished off the group of people as Zoro and Nicole were watching from the shore "That admiral froze this entire area in the blink of an eye"Zoro said "Yup"Nicole nodded.

Zoro smirked "You as exited as i am to test him out?"he asked, Nicole smirked "Yup"she said, the group of people left and the Strawhats got back on the island "What is it?"Luffy asked noticing Aokiji was deep in thought "How should i put this? You're the spitting image of your grandfather Monkey D. Luffy, or maybe i should say you're just as reckless and hard to figure out"Aokiji said.

"You know my grampa?"Luffy asked nervously sweating all over"Seriously Luffy's? Hey Luffy what's wrong? You're sweating?"Usopp asked "Uh nothing really i'm fine"Luffy said "Your grandfather helped me out once a long time ago"Aokiji said.

"That's why i'm here i wanted to see you together with Nico Robin with my own eyes on second thought maybe i should just kill you? The government still doesn't consider you a threat but i know enough about your history to see you're a formidable crew, you might be few in number but with the shrewd rogues gathered here this crew will likely be a problem later on, considering the circumstances regarding your initial bounty, the numerous daring actions you've taken and the speed of your over all progress, I've fought outlaws for most of my life but thinking about how you'll turn out scares the hell out of me"Aokiji said.

Nicole got ready to fight sensing his intentions turning hostile, laying a hand on her sword, Zoro noticing this also layed a hand on one of his swords "Hey hold on a second you said you were here to check things out not to kill anymore"Usopp said "One among you i consider the most dangerous, that would be you Nico Robin"Aokiji said ignoring the sniper.

"So despite everything you are here for Robin now i'm really gonna kick your ass!"Luffy yelled "The size of her bounty isn't merely a reflection of her strength and power it also represents something else, that would be the level of threat and danger she posses to the world government that's why a seventy nine million berry bounty was placed on her head at the fragile age of eight, i'm surprised you were able to survive especially as a child, you manage to betray, side step and escape from everyone in your past and then found a new partner to make use of, you survived in the underworld by being quick to switch sides and now you've chosen this crew as your next haven"Aokiji said.

"That's enough jerk i'm not just gonna stand here and speak to a lady like that what kind of ridiculous grudge you have against Robin?!"Sanji asked "I don't have anything against her, the only connection we have is i let her escape that one time, that was about it, it was a long time ago, you will all learn soon enough that protecting this troublesome woman leads to nothing but regret, if you need proof consider this, every organisation that she's had something to do with in the past has been annihilated not a solitary member escaped except for her, why is that? Nico Robin"Aokiji said.

"Shut up you jerk the past doesn't matter!"Luffy yelled at him "That's right if it did we wouldn't have a dangerous former pirate hunter guy or degenerate conniving ex thief woman in our crew would we!"Usopp said, Nami bonked him on the head "Don't go overboard"she said "Who we are now is more important then who we were"Sanji said "That's right Robin is our friend don't you dare say anything bad about her you hear me?!"Chopper said.

"I see so these poor fools don't suspect a thing"Aokiji said "Just get to the point if you want to arrest me then just do it already!"Robin yelled and used her powers to capture the admiral however he used his powers to turn to ice and reform himself.

"Let's get out of here everybody run for your lives!"Usopp yelled running off "Now now that wasn't a very nice thing to do"Aokiji said and froze some grass to a blade and just as he was going to strike Robin down, Zoro appeared blocking the blade, Sanji kicked it away and as the two argued Luffy came in with a punch, Aokiji wasn't even faced as he took down the monster trio all at once.

The boys were rolling around the grass a part of their body frozen, Chopper freaked out "He's freezing them solid i have to help quickly, if they get frostbite their limbs will start to rot, Usopp what're you doing?! We have to save them now! Where's Nicole?!"the reindeer asked looking around, there was no sign of the black haired swordswoman, did she leave them at such a crucial point? No way!

Aokiji went to freeze Robin too but just as the admiral leaned down a sword pierced him, the shock on Aokiji's face was clear as day as he coughed blood, Robin was shocked too as the blood dripped onto her, behind the admiral Nicole grunted a bit gripping her sword lifting it over her head and the admiral with it and tossing Aokiji away shattering him into ice.

"Way to go Nicole! Yeah! You saved Robin!"Usopp and Chopper cheered "Not yet, he'll come back from that, get Robin and the boys out of here i'll buy you time"Nicole said as Aokiji was reforming himself "But-"Robin was cut off "Just go!"Nicole yelled "Come on Robin you saw what she just did, Nicole might be the only one who can stand a chance against him"Nami said grabbing Robin's hand and dragging her out of there while Usopp and Chopper grabbed the boys running off.

"It seems the marines have underestimated you Mihawk Nicole"Aokiji said, Nicole glared at him "Damn right you have, my bounty better sky rocket after this"she said catching the admiral off guard using that opening she sliced him starting the fight properly.

The rest of the crew arrived at the Merry "Nami take Robin inside and lock her in"Luffy said "Wha? Captain i can help"Robin said "I know but you're the one he's after"Luffy said "Come on Robin"Nami said doing as Luffy told her to.

"Chopper we gotta go back right away, what should we do about the frozen parts?"Luffy asked turning to the reindeer "We need to douse every part of your body that's frozen in water, i'll go get the shower room ready"Chopper said getting on the Merry "No time!"Zoro growled jumping into the sea as did Sanji, Luffy stuck his frozen hand in it "Will this do Chopper?!"Sanji asked.

"Yes once the ice melts start rubbing the affected areas and come up to the ship right away!" Chopper said getting on the ship and getting the shower room ready just in case that Nicole, he didn't want to believe that she would but as a doctor he was trained to imagine the worst case scenario and prepare for it.

~skip~

Nicole panted, parts of her body frozen, a bleeding cut on her temple and a broken sword in her hands, yet her eyes remained fixed on Aokiji with a glare, the admiral wasn't in any better shape either, cuts littered his body which were frozen to stop the bleeding "Give it up, you can't fight me with a broken sword"the admiral said.

Nicole scoffed taking the pin from it and securing it in her clothes before tossing the broken sword away "I don't need a sword to fight, i need it"her glare became even harsher "To kill"she said in a truly chilling tone, it all clicked in his head as Aokiji chuckled "You're the spitting image of your father, we have been blind to not see something so obvious"he said.

"You could of just asked him, he loves to brag about his little girl"Nicole said, Aokiji sighed starching his head "That makes thing mores complicated from our fight so far i can tell you've only been testing your power, if your true power is anything close to that of your old mans this could go on forever"he said "So what? You're done?"Nicole asked "Yeah i think i'll call it quits for now, but be sure Mihawk Nicole next time we meet i will kill you"Aokiji said grabbing his coat "We'll see about that"Nicole said watching the admiral leave.