Fight Back:

-x-

Luffy and Y/N had returned to Mock Town to reclaim the gold that Bellamy had stolen from their friend Montblanc Cricket. Y/N was standing across the street from Bellamy while Luffy stood on the roof of the five-story Wild Cherry Bar ready to fight 'the Hyena'.

"What gold?" Bellamy questioned. "Hah! You mean the junk we got from old man Cricket?" Bellamy's legs turned to springs as he lowered himself into a crouch and then launched himself up into the air. SHOOM! Bellamy sprang up five stories and landed behind Luffy who turned to face him on the rooftop. "Maybe its news to you but that's what pirates do. Ever heard of looting? But what am I saying? You're just a pathetic dreamer who can't open his eyes to get a good look at the real world."

"Well then," Luffy replied, "If stealing is what we pirates do... I guess we should steal the gold back then." Luffy glanced downward, "Y/N... get the gold. I'll deal with this."

"Aye-aye," Y/N agreed, he made his way across the street only to find the occupants of the bar coming out into the street to watch the fight between the 'real' pirate and the 'fake' pirate. Everyone craned their necks to stare up at Luffy and Bellamy on the high rooftop.

"HAAHAAHAAHAAHAA!" Bellamy laughed. "That's cute! But be serious! Can you really fight? I mean, do you even know how to throw a punch? HAAHAAHAAHAAHAA! I saw your fighting skills earlier! You're very good at just standing there!"

"Huh... I was right..." Jobo realized as he stared from Luffy to his Wanted Poster. "That's him."

"You're still hanging onto that thing?" Sarquiss asked. "It's worthless. Get rid of it."

"But if this is the real thing then Bellamy's in trouble," Jobo pointed out. "He's good but you've gotta admit he can't beat someone with a hundred million berri bounty!"

"Hmph," Sarquiss grunted, "You've gotta be joking. Look at him, he's just a little runt. He's probably not even worth the trouble it would take to fight him. Just seeing him now makes me doubt that thirty million berri bounty."

"Oh hey, the new Wanted Posters are out," came a voice. Sarquiss and Jobo both jumped when they found Y/N standing next to Sarquiss looking down at the posters Jobo was holding. "It sure took a while."

"You've got a lot of nerve sneaking up on me!" Sarquiss growled. "Who the hell are you?"

"Wait... I've seen that eye patch before..." Jobo realized. He tucked Luffy and Zoro's Wanted Posters under his arm and pulled out the other ones from his pocket. He paged through them until he came to a familiar one flipping him off. "Here he is! 'One Eye' Y/N worth..."

"Worth what?" Sarquiss demanded as he looked over Jobo's shoulder. "EIGHTY MILLION!" Sarquiss' shout drew the attention of the other Bellamy Pirates.

"More importantly, I'm the First Mate of the Straw Hat Pirates," Y/N stated.

"You're just another faker like him!" Sarquiss insisted. "Maybe I should give you a beating like we did to your two pals!"

"But if you did that you'd miss your chance at seeing your Captain get creamed," Y/N pointed out.

"Creamed?" Sarquiss repeated. "You're as delusional as your runt Captain! There's no way he could beat Bellamy."

"Wanna bet on it?" Y/N offered with a sly grin. "It hardly makes sense for us to fight when our respective Captains are already doing it."

"So you're another coward that's afraid of fighting back," Sarquiss realized. "Fine then! Easiest money I've ever made. How much?"

"How much do you have on you?" Y/N countered.

"About ten million," Sarquiss answered causing Y/N to wince, "What's the matter? Too steep a bet for a punk like you?"

"Please," Y/N scoffed, "I don't even get out of bed for ten million. How 'bout you throw in that seventy-five million berries of stolen gold you've got inside the bar and actually make this interesting."

"How did you..." Sarquiss sputtered in surprise. "There's no way you can have that much on you!"

Y/N reached into his bottom left pocket and pulled out four wads of berri notes. "Twenty-five, fifty, seventy-five, a hundred," he counted. "That should cover it, right?"

"Aaah!" Lily gasped in alarm from where she stood at the back of the group.

"Oh please!" Nami scoffed, "My guy could buy a skank like you with his pocket change. Too bad you're so far beneath him."

"You're supposed to be poor!" Sarquiss snapped. "Your Captain wears rags!"

"Do we have a bet or are you scared?" Y/N challenged him as he held out his hand.

Sarquiss blanched at being called a coward in front of his crew. "Fine, you've got yourself a bet, loser!" With a vicious grin Sarquiss reached out and grabbed Y/N's hand but instead of shaking it he attempted to crush it by squeezing it with all his strength.

"What're you doing?" Y/N asked as he calmly stared down at Sarquiss' hand. Sarquiss' strength was nothing compared to his brothers' or Zoro's. "That's annoying." Y/N started squeezing back. Krek-krek-KREK!

"GAAAH!" Sarquiss yelped as he yanked his throbbing hand away from Y/N's.

Y/N casually slid his hands and his money in his pockets and turned to Luffy. "Luffy!" he called up to his brother. "The gold's in the bag! You can go ahead and let him have it now!"

"Let me have it?" Bellamy repeated. "He's not even moving!" Bellamy glared at Luffy. "What? Are you freezing up like this afternoon? Admit it, you're too scared to fight me!"

"This afternoon was different," Luffy stated, "I'm not scared."

"Heh heh heh..." Bellamy chuckled then burst out laughing, "HAHAAHAAAHAAAA! WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT REAL SOON STRAW HAT! I'M SICK OF LISTENING TO YOU! SO I THINK I'LL SHUT YOU UP FOR GOOD THIS TIME!" Bellamy's legs turned into springs as he crouched down and sprang off of the rooftop. SHOOOM! Bellamy's Captain coat flew off as he shot up overhead using his Spring Spring Devil Fruit Powers.

KRASH! The force of Bellamy's launch was so great that it caused the top floor of the Wild Cherry bar to break off and take Luffy down with it.

"DON'T WORRY!" Bellamy shouted to his crew. "THIS WON'T TAKE LONG!" He flipped over and landed springs-first on another building, "SPRING SNIPER!" BOING! Bellamy shot off the wall and flew at Luffy who was still perched on the roof of the falling top story of the Wild Cherry. "RAAAAAHH!" KA-POW! SKISH! Bellamy's fist slammed into the chunk of building and smashed it but Luffy was no longer standing on it and had launched himself up into the air with his own impressive strength and speed.

"HE CAN FLY TOO!" a watching pirate exclaimed as Luffy flew from the falling roof to the roof of a nearby two-story building.

"Waah..." Luffy gasped as he reached up and grabbed the peak of the steep roof to keep from sliding off. Whap! He hung there while Bellamy landed on his springs in the middle of the street. BOING!

"Ha ha!" Bellamy chortled, "HE GOT LUCKY! SPRING SNIPER!" SHOOOM! Bellamy sprang off of the street and flew at the roof Luffy was now standing on top of. KRASH! Bellamy's fist smashed through the peak of the roof while Luffy jumped out of the way and hung from the edge.

"Does your Captain really think he has a chance here?" Sarquiss teased Y/N, "Pahahahaha!"

Y/N held up one finger, "One punch, that's all it'll take," Y/N stated, "That chump you call a Captain doesn't hold a candle to mine."

"DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!" Sarquiss yelled. "HE'S JUST RUNNING AWAY!"

"If nothing else, this'll be entertaining," Eddy reasoned. "Bellamy always puts on a good show."

"Hahahahahaha!" Eddy and Rivers laughed at the thought of seeing another one-sided beating.

BOING! Bellamy landed on the top of a tall building that overlooked all of Mock Town. "COME ON! IS THAT REALLY THE BEST YOU CAN DO?"

"Hup!" Luffy grunted as he hoisted himself back onto the roof Bellamy had nearly knocked him off.

"YOU'LL NEVER GET THAT GOLD BACK AT THIS RATE, SHRIMP!" SHOOM! Bellamy sprang off of the rooftop and flew at Luffy but Luffy jumped to the side causing Bellamy to flying passed him. WOOOSH! Bellamy landed springs-first on the building behind Luffy's. BOING! "YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A LITTLE BOY THAT BELIEVES IN DREAMS! YOU DISGRACE THE REST OF US BY CALLIGN YOURSELF A PIRATE! ITS TIME TO STOP THIS FOOLISH DREAMING AND GROW UP!"

"..." Luffy said nothing as he fell from the top of the building he'd jumped off to avoid Bellamy's attack.

"LET'S END THIS!" Bellamy shouted. SHOOM! He sprang off of the roof he was on and slammed into Luffy in midair. WHAM! Luffy flipped end over end over end and plummeted down towards the street.

"HE'S HEADING RIGHT FOR US!" a pirate called out in alarm, "RUUUN!" The pirates scattered as Luffy slammed into the ground. KRASH!

BOING! Bellamy landed on the roof of another tall building and smirked down at Luffy. "See? There is no point at trying! I've eaten a Devil Fruit so you don't stand a chance against me!"

"WAY TO POUND HIM INTO THE GROUND BELLAMY!" Sarquiss encouraged his Captain. "PAHAHAHA!"

"Aw, the kid's hurt," Rivers taunted, "Maybe he needs his mommy! HAHAHAHAHA!" The other Bellamy Pirates laughed along with him and all failed to notice that Y/N disappeared.

"Pay attention you idiots," Lily muttered to herself who was the only one who had actually noticed Y/N's disappearance. Of course, she had no intention of tipping of the people who had just previously been laughing at her.

"Heh, looks like your dreams are at an end," Bellamy remarked.

Kresh... Luffy pushed himself out of the hole his body made on impact with the wooden street then stood up and stared up at Bellamy.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN TO QUIT, DO YOU?" Bellamy growled. "FINE! HAVE IT YOUR WAY! WE'RE JUST GETTING TO THE GOOD PART!" Bellamy crouched down on the rooftop and waited a second for his springs to build up for a big jump. "SPRIIIIINNGGG HOOOOPPEEEEERRR!" SHOOOM! Bellamy launched off at a much faster speed than before and came down on the wood road next to Luffy. BOING! Bellamy bounced off of it and then started ricocheting off of all the surrounding buildings. BOING! BOING! BOING! BOING! Each time Bellamy bounced off of something he picked up speed, by now he was nothing more than a blur bouncing around Luffy. BOING! BOING! BOING! BOING! BOING! BOING!

"BELLAMY DISAPPEARED!" someone shouted in alarm.

"This is the same kind of move he pulled to kill Roshio!" someone else exclaimed.

"YOUR CAPTAIN'S DEAD MEAT NOW!" Sarquiss taunted. "PAHAHAHA—HEY! Where'd he go?" Sarquiss and the other Bellamy Pirates had finally noticed that Y/N was gone. "GRRR! HE'S A COWARD JUST LIKE HIS CAPTAIN! He saw that Straw Hat had no chance of winning so he took off so he wouldn't have to pay up on the bet! One punch, my ass!"

"So you want the gold back, huh?" Bellamy called out to Luffy as he bounced around him. He was moving so fast that he was invisible to the naked eye. All anyone could hear was his mocking voice and springs bouncing off of the surrounding buldings. BOING! BOING! BOING! BOING! BOING! "Because old man Cricket's your friend? WAAKEE UUP! HE'S NOTHING BUT A DECREPIT FOOL WHO SPENDS ALL HIS TIME CHASING AFTER A FOUR-HUNDRED YEAR OLD LIE! But that's probably what you like about him, right? You like to call yourselves pirates BUT YOU KNOW NOTHING! THERE'S NO CITY OF GOLD, NO ISLAND IN THE SKY! JUST OCEANS AND SHIPS AND THE MEN WHO SAIL THEM!"

Luffy frowned, "You asked if I know how to throw a punch..." he said as he raised his arm in the air and cracked his knuckles as he clenched them into a tight fist.

"JUST FINISH HIM SO WE CAN DRINK BELLAMY!" Sarquiss called out. He failed to notice Y/N standing beside him with a bulky sack of gold on his back. "WATCHING YOU BEAT HIM SENSELESS IS MAKING ME THIRSTY! PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The other Bellamy Pirates laughed along with him.

Y/N shook his head and glanced back at Lily who was once again the only one who had noticed him due to her position at the very back of the group. He held up a single finger.

"One punch..." she whispered.

SHOOOOM! "SO LONG STRAAW HAAAT!" Bellamy roared as he whizzed at Luffy with all the built up speed from his bouncing.

"RAAAH!" Luffy yelled as he finally lashed out his fist. KA-BAM! One punch. That was all it took. Luffy's fist slammed into the side of Bellamy's face and knocked him out cold.

"GAAH!" Bellamy let out an involuntary gasp as he spat up blood and his limp body hit the ground. Luffy hadn't even used his Devil Fruit Powers. But he had hit Bellamy so hard that he'd left a fist-shaped indent in the side of his face.

Blood dripped off of Luffy's hand as he stood over the fallen and finally silent Bellamy while his crew all stared in shock.

"Whoa..." Hewitt gasped.

"Hey... quit messing around Bellamy!" Sarquiss called out. "Get up. The joke's over. We know that runt couldn't beat you. Come on! Get up!" But Bellamy didn't move. He was out cold. "THIS REALLY ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE! NOW SNAP OUT OF IT! YOU HAVE TO GET UP AND SHOW THAT KID WHO YOU ARE! YOU'RE A REAL PIRATE! NOT LIKE HIM! YOUR BOUNTY'S UP TO FIFTY-FIVE MILLION! YOU CAN'T LOSE TO SOME ROOKIE!"

"THOSE TWO TOGETHER ARE WORTH A HUNDRED AND SIXTY MILLION!" Jobo had shouted, "THEIR BOUNTIES ARE HIGHER THAN YOURS BELLAMY!

"Aaah..." Sarquiss gasped as it finally sank in.

"You see!" Jobo exclaimed. "I told you it was true!"

"Y/N... did you get the gold?" Luffy asked.

"Got it right here."

"AAAAH!" Sarquiss jumped and let out a squeal when he noticed Y/N standing next to him.

"Here he is!" Jobo had said when he found Y/N's Wanted Poster. "'One Eye' Y/N worth..."

"Worth what?" Sarquiss demanded as he looked over Jobo's shoulder. "EIGHTY MILLION!"

"I took it upon myself to settle our bet," Y/N informed Sarquiss as he jostled the gold-filled sack on his back. Y/N walked over to Luffy and joined him in the middle of the street.

"That kid beat Bellamy!" a shocked pirate gasped.

"Those two plus the other... ARE WORTH TWO HUNDRED FORTY MILLION BERRIES!" someone shrieked. "RUUUUNN!" The nameless pirates ran off screaming.

-x-

"FIX THE SHIP, MONKEY CREW! FIX THE SHIP!" the Saruyama Alliance crew chanted as the attempted to repair and reinforce the Going Merry. "BANG THE NAILS, MONKEY CREW! BANG THE NAILS! SAW THE WOOD, MONKEY CREW! SAW THE WOOD!

"Wow, these guys must be pretty tough," Usopp remarked as he watched Masira run by holding a pile of boards and toss them over to Shoujou. "They were just beaten unconscious and now they're here fixing the ship." Usopp glanced over at Chopper who was tending to some of Cricket's injuries while the man sawed some wood. "Either they're the world's fastest healers or Chopper's the world's best doctor."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU GO WITH Y/N AND LUFFY!" Nami snapped at Zoro who had been drafted into reinforcing the Going with the Saruyama Crew.

"What's with you?" Zoro complained, "Don't fight, fight, don't go, go, do this, no, do that. Make up your mind, woman!"

"Hmph, you're scared," Nami taunted, "Those guys beat you the first time around."

"That's what you think?' Zoro questioned. "You don't get it! They didn't beat us. Refusing to fight doesn't mean that we were afraid. When there's no reason to fight, the only way to win is to stand down. Didn't Y/N drill that into your thick head?"

"I'm just glad Y/N went with Luffy instead of you," Nami remarked. "Stand down, real brave. And knowing you you'd probably just get Luffy lost."

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT FIGHTING!" Zoro shouted at her. "JUST SHUT UP!" BANG! Zoro slammed his fist on the steel plates going around the main mast for emphasis.

"DON'T TELL ME TO SHUT UP!" Nami yelled. "Like it matters, you don't listen anyway!" BANG! She smacked her fist against the railing she was leaning on.

"I KNOW MORE ABOUT FIGHTING THAN YOU EVER WILL!" Zoro retorted. BANG!

"OH YEAH?" Nami countered. "THEN WHY WAS I THE ONLY ONE WHO ACTUALLY WON A FIGHT YESTERDAY?" BANG!

"GUYS!" Usopp scolded them. "BE CAREFUL! WE'RE TRYING TO FIX THE SHIP NOT BREAK IT!"

"YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A THIEF!" Zoro snapped. "I don't get how Y/N could possibly like you! I CAN'T STAND YOU!"

"HEY MOSSHEAD!" Sanji yelled. "WHAT'D YOU JUST SAY ABOUT MISS. NAMI?"

"GUUUUYS! THE SHIIIIIIP!" Usopp whined as Zoro and Nami stopped fighting and Zoro and Sanji started.

-x-

"Ready for the run back, Captain?" Y/N asked as he held Cricket's reclaimed gold over his shoulder.

"Yup," Luffy replied, "That wasn't hard at all." They turned to leave while the remaining Bellamy Pirates gathered around their fallen Captain. Most of the others had run off in terror, all the remained was Sarquiss, Eddy, Rivers, Ross, Muret, Hewitt, and Lily.

"Im-impossible!" Sarquiss stammered as he knelt at Bellamy's side. "How could he lose?" He shot up and called after Luffy and Y/N, "HEY YOU! GET BACK HERE! YOU HEAR ME? YOU PUNKS! I'M TALKING TO YOU! I'LL GET HIM! WE WON'T BE BEATEN BY SOME PRETEND PIRATES!" Sarquiss charged after Luffy and Y/N but Eddy held him back.

"NOOO!" Eddy shouted as he struggled to restrain Sarquiss.

"I'LL SHOW YOU A REAL PUNCH!" Sarquiss yelled. "DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME! I'M 'BIG KNIFE' SARQUISS!"

Snap! Y/N snapped his fingers, "I knew I was forgetting something," he said to himself as he stopped and turned around. "You're Sarquiss?"

"I see you've heard of me," Sarquiss noted, "Get back here and fight! THAT WAS A FLUKE!"

Y/N glanced at Luffy. "Do you mind?" he requested. "This'll only take a couple seconds."

"Go ahead," Luffy agreed.

"A COUPLE SECONDS?" Sarquiss shrieked as he doubled his struggles against Eddy.

"By the way," Y/N called out, "I took the liberty of taking the ten million berries you had in your pocket. I did say the gold was in addition to it."

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Sarquiss roared. Y/N's last taunt enraged him just enough for him to break free from Eddy. He pulled out his big knife and raced at Y/N while swinging it by his side. Shwup-shwup-shwup-shwup-shwup... SKISH! Sarquiss jumped up and flipped through the air and lashed out his knife at Y/N. "BIIIG CHOOOP!" SHUNK! At the last second Y/N spun to the side causing Sarquiss to sink his knife into the wooden street.

Y/N stared at Sarquiss as he struggled in vain to pull his knife free. "I was told to 'kick that smug grin off of your stupid face'," he stated.

"Boyfriend?" Sarquiss repeated back in the bar where Luffy and Zoro had refused to fight them. "Don't tell me he's like those two weaklings."

"He's nothing like them!" Nami retorted, "But if he were here, he'd kick that smug grin off of your stupid face!"

"Wait... then you're..." Sarquiss realized.

Y/N shot his leg up and smashed the steel toes of his foot into Sarquiss' jaw. PUNT! Sarquiss went flying up into the air, flipped over twice, and slammed down to the wooden street. THUD!

"SARQUISS!" Eddy cried as he, Rivers, and Muret walked over.

"He knocked him out cold," Rivers realized.

"He broke his jaw," Muret noted.

Lily glanced back at Bellamy and then down at Sarquiss. "Looks like they're the disgraces now," she remarked. "I'm done with this stupid crew. I quit."

She turned to Luffy and Y/N who had started walking off again and called after them, "Hey! Where are you going now?"

"Where are we going?" Luffy repeated. He pointed up at the sky. "Up there."

Lily and the remaining Bellamy Pirates gaped in shock as Luffy and Y/N walked off.

-x-

Elsewhere, 'Hawk Eye' Mihawk sailed onward in his coffin-boat to a destination only he knew.

"These minor league pirates beat one of the Warlords," Mihawk thought to himself as he glanced down at the Wanted Posters of the three pirates that had caught his interest. "I bet this is causing a stir somewhere. I knew I'd hear those names again. Monkey D. Luffy... his First Mate Y/N... and Roronoa Zoro..."

Mihawk thought back to his duel with the spirited swordsman that had caught his interest.

"Scars on the back are a swordsman's shame," Zoro had said before Mihawk finished him off.

"Honestly, even I didn't expect them to come this far so quickly," Mihawk remarked. "We may meet up again sooner than I thought." Mihawk grinned as his boat carried him across the waves to his intended destination. The Straw Hats were indeed creating a stir in the World, and he was about to find out just how much of one.

-x-

The World's Greatest Power:

-x-

The Holy Land of Mariejois. It was stationed on top of the Red Line that divided the Grand Line in half and was known as the capital of the World Government. The Council of Kings a meeting that brings together all the Kings from the major kingdoms is regularly held here. Essentially, the entire world was run from this location.

But it wasn't the Council of Kings that ran things, instead it was a group of five men known as the Five Elders. These five men were not only in charge of the Marines but also signed the pact with the Seven Warlords that made them allies of the World Government. The Five Elders were in charge of two of three great powers in the world and they were currently in a meeting.

"Red Hair and Whitebeard?" one of the Five Elders repeated.

"Yes," a Marine Officer confirmed his report as he knelt before the five men that ran the world, "Red Hair made contact."

"That is disturbing," the Elder responded, "I assume he didn't go himself."

"No," the Marine Officer answered, "He sent one of his crew. Elder, I'm concerned, these two working together could mean real trouble for the rest of us."

"Yes," the Elder agreed. He was a large man with a full gray beard and a scar running down the left side of his face. He wore a black hat over his gray hair which was braided into dreadlocks. He also wore a black suit and was holding a walking stick as he sat in his chair.

Standing beside him was the second of the five elders. He was a tall, thin man that wore a black suit that matched the first one. His hair was white and he had a long pointed beard and mustache that both reached down to the collar of his suit.

The third Elder sat with his hands clasped together. He was bald with a round head and patchy birthmarks on his forehead and the right side of his face. He had a big mustache that stretched out passed the sides of his face and a short beard. He wore a black suit that matched the others'.

The fourth Elder appeared to be the oldest of the five but was dressed the most differently. He was bald and had no facial hair. He wore round glasses and a white gi and was holding a sword. He had two fingers pressed to his temple as he thought to himself.

The fifth Elder was the youngest of the five. He had neatly combed blond hair and a short matching blond beard. He wore a suit like the first three elders but didn't wear a tie which left his white undershirt undone to reveal the top of the scar on his tan chest.

"But let's wait for now," the First Elder decided, "They haven't done anything yet and Red Hair isn't the type to act unless he's provoked. We'll keep an eye on them but I'm afraid we have more pressing worries to attend to."

"We need to focus on the Seven Warlords," the Fourth Elder stated, "With Crocodile gone we are in need of a replacement. Pirates they may be, the Warlords keep things balanced. With one of their number gone we may encounter serious problems. What plans have we made so far?"

"Sir, we've called all of the Warlords to Mariejois for a meeting," the Marine Official reported. "But there's no way to tell how many of them will actually show up. They are pirates after all, they do as they pleased."

"Damn it Crocodile," the First Elder growled picked up the familiar smiling Wanted Poster off of Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy's defeat of Crocodile had been mostly covered up, and these five had been the ones to order it. "It's because of you that we're in this mess. We can't let the pirates that defeated him go unpunished. We have to retaliate swiftly. I want all of our energy concentrated on finding this Monkey D. Luffy."

-x-

At the harbor, a ship transporting two of the Seven Warlords had just arrived for the meeting. A large number of high ranked marines saluted as they stood lining the dock while the Warlords walked by.

The first Warlord stood at an impressive ten feet tall. He had peach shin and short blond hair. He was dressed incredibly flamboyantly with white sunglasses with upturned edges that made the purple lenses look bird-like. He tight dark pants with dark pink designs on the sides, pointed black flippers, and most notably a large coat with pink feathers covering the back, sides, and sleeves. His walk was a bow-legged waddle and his overall appearance made him look like a flamingo. This was Warlord Don Quixite Doflamingo back when he was a pirate he had an impressive bounty of β340,000,000.

The second Warlord was a massive bear-like man that stood at an incredible twenty two feet six inches. He had shoulder length curly black hair, his eyes looked like they were clear lenses, his face was expressionless and stoic and looked like it had been carved out of stone... or steal, and his legs that were relatively short in comparison to his huge torso. He wore a hat with a pair of rounded bear ears on the top, he wore a zipped up jacket with a white circle on the middle that had white lines on the top, sides, and bottom which made it look like a crosshair. Around the hem of the jacket were a series of white paw prints. He wore gray gloves, gray shoes, and lighter gray pants with black paw print designs on them. This man was once a vicious pirate known as 'the Tyrant' with a staggering bounty of β296,00,000 but now he had a bible tucked in the crook of his arm and was known as 'The Pacifista' BartholomewKuma.

A woman's voice over a speaker Transponder Snail announced the arrival of the two Warlords, "Marine Headquarters to Mariejois, announcing the arrival of Warlords Don Quixite Doflamingo and Bartholomew Kuma!"

-x-

Inside the Mariejois Palace was a room with a large round table set up for the meeting with the Warlords concerning Crocodile's replacement. Kuma sat silently on a chair reading his bible.

The room suddenly dissolved into chaos when two of the attending Marine Officers suddenly shot out of their seats and started attacking each other clearly against their will.

"What... what're you doing..." one marine gasped as another one held him by the throat.

"It's not me!" the other marine told him, "I don't know what's going on!"

"This isn't the time for your stupid pranks!" the first marine snapped.

"It's no prank!" the other marine insisted. "It's like something's moving my hands and I can't stop them!"

"That's ridiculous!" the first marine growled, "Gah... I can't... breathe..."

A third Marine Officer got out of his seat and attempted to stop the others.

Further around the large round table sat an old woman. She had gray hair tied back in a short ponytail and wrinkles on her forehead and around her mouth. She wore a short-sleeved pink blouse with a dark tie and had a white Marine coat draped over her shoulders. This old woman was known as 'Great Tactician' Tsuru and was a Vice Admiral stationed at Mariejois.

"Doflamingo, is this your doing," Tsuru chided, "Be a good boy and stop that."

"Fuffuffuffu," Doflamingo laughed as he sat outside the room on the edge of a balcony casually working his fingers like a puppet master with the Marine Officers serving as his unwilling puppets. "Be a good boy? You're something Tsuru. If you don't mind, I'd like to get this little shindig started sometime in the near future."

"Huff... huff..." the first marine wheezed when Doflamingo flicked his fingers causing the other marine to finally stop choking him.

"Unless you haven't had enough," Doflamingo added, he flicked his fingers and the two marines drew the swords that were sheathed at their waists.

"You idiot!" one of the marines exclaimed, "What do you think you're doing now?"

"This foolishness has gone on long enough, Doflamingo!" another marine snapped.

"STOP! ENOUGH!" Everyone turned to see two new arrivals standing in the doorway.

The first, had black hair in the style of an afro but was partially covered by the white cap he wore. The cap said 'Marines' on the front and had a stuffed seagull perched on the top. He had round black glasses, a thin mustache, and a long braided black beard that went down passed his chest. He wore a fancy white uniform with numerous medals pinned to a purple sash that went diagonally across his chest. He wore a big white coat with thick gold shoulder pads. At his feet was his pet goat. This man was 'the Buddha' Fleet Admiral Sengoku and he was the supreme commander of the entire marine forces.

"There's no time for this," Sengoku addressed the room, "Now sit down, there are pressing matters to discuss."

"Maaaa..." Sengoku's goat bleated.

"I apologize for the late welcome," Sengoku told the Warlords, "Thank you for coming."

"I say we stick those two in prison along with Crocodile," the familiar man behind Sengoku spoke up, "Then we round up the other four and arrest them too."

"Smoker, don't create trouble," Sengoku scolded the newly promoted Commodore Smoker who stood with his arms folded behind Sengoku. "I asked you here because you were directly involved with the incident concerning Crocodile in Alabasta."

"Hmph," Smoker grunted, "And I only agreed to come along because I had nothing better to do while I waited for my Lieutenant Commander to have surgery with Dr. Vegapunk back at Headquarters."

Kuma finally looked up from his bible and glanced in Smoker's direction.

-x-

In a dark room, Lietenant Commander Devo laid shirtless on an operating table. Ensign Tashigi sat beside it holding his good hand. The two of them had grown a lot closer after what they had gone through together back in Alabasta.

"I'm ready to begin the operation," Dr. Vegapunk announced as he stood shadowed on the far side of the operating table, "I must warn you: I need your nerve endings to be fully responsive when I attach your new arm so I can't give you an anesthetic. This is really going to hurt. I'd suggest thinking about your reason for doing this, that may help you get through it."

"You might want to leave," Devo advised Tashigi. But she shook her head.

"I'm here for you," she reassured him as she squeezed his hand just a little tighter.

-x-

"I don't trust any of the Warlords, especially after what Crocodile pulled," Smoker admitted back at Mariejois as he glared across the room at Doflamingo, "How's your slave auction house going, pirate scum?"

"How thoughtful of you to use my former title, Smoker," Doflamingo retorted. "Business is going so well it practically runs itself. So I took a vacation."

"Forgive me for not applauding your business success," Sengoku replied, "I'm afraid that for the rest of us, there are few things more distressing than a booming pirate industry. Now let's sit down and start the meeting."

"Fuffuffuffuffu," Doflamingo laughed, "Careful Sengoku, the Marines and the Warlords may be allies... but there are limits." He got off the balcony and approached the table while Sengoku and Smoker took seats around Tsuru. Together the Marines took up half the seats at the table. There were six notably empty seats opposite them.

Kuma closed his bible and turned his attention to the meeting while Doflamingo climbed onto the table sat down on the empty side.

"Feet off the table, Commodore," Tsuru scolded Smoker who had leaned back in his chair and had his feet rested on the table. Smoker scowled then glared at Doflamingo and reluctantly lowered removed his feet.

"I doubt any of the other Warlords are going to attend," Sengoku reasoned. The government pirates really just did as the pleased. Like Doflamingo who was actually sitting on the table without a word from anyone while Smoker had been reprimanded for putting his feet up.

"Smart man," Doflamingo remarked, "I only came along out of sheer boredom."

Tmp... Tmp... Tmp... Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside and everyone looked up in surprise as the World's Greatest Swordsman 'Hawk Eye' Mihawk walked into the room.

"So good to hear your dulcet tones again, Doflamingo," Mihawk remarked. "And you Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I hope you've been well."

"HAWK EYE!" one of the marines gasped.

"I must say," Mihawk said, "I've never understood why the Warlords and the Marines insist on pretending they get along, but perhaps you can enlighten me."

"'Hawk Eye' Mihawk," Doflamingo greeted the other Warlord as he walked up to the table. "Perhaps this little get-together will be interesting after all."

"What brings you here, Mihawk?" Sengoku inquired.

"Well, I heard about your meeting and thought I might sit in on it," Mihawk replied, "I have an interest in the pirates you'll be discussing and I'd like to stay informed. That is all."

Smoker cast a vaguely curious glance in Mihawk's direction.

"Forgive the intrusion," a smooth voice called. Everyone turned and saw a man sitting on closed windowsill. Somehow he'd snuck into the room without even Mihawk noticing him. "But if Hawk Eye's staying, perhaps you wouldn't mind adding one more to the party. I will tell you though, my intentions are a bit less passive than his are."

"Who are you exactly?" one of the Marines demanded. "And how'd you get in here anyway?"

"Quite a prestigious group you have here, Fleet Admiral," the mystery man remarked. "I'm truly impressed. I was hoping I might join you." The man slipped off of the windowsill and twirled the cane he was holding. TAK-TAK-TAK! The man did a little jig revealing that he was wearing tap shoes which spoke even greater volumes if he was able to sneak passed all the high ranked marines, plus three of the six remaining warlords while wearing them. TAK-TAK-TAK! "I heard the news about Crocodile. It's a terrible shame he's gone." TA-TAK! "Fortunately, for you, I've come here to offer a solution to your little problem. The Six Warlord of the Sea just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?"

"You're Lafitte," Tsuru realized.

"Who is he Tsuru?" Sengoku questioned.

"Ah-ha, someone has heard my name before," the now named Lafitte commented. He was a very tall, very thin man. He was very pale and had purple lips. He wore an off-white collared long-sleeve shirt decorated with yellow crosses and a tight navy singlet along with his aforementioned tap shoes. He was holding a hooked cane and wore a classic black top hat on his head. "I'd have thought it had been forgotten."

"A former police officer from the West Blue," Tsuru answered, "He was banished for being excessively violent."

"Glad to see you're so well informed," Lafitte remarked. He didn't seem very violent now. "Who I am doesn't matter. That's in the past. I've come here to talk to you about another man. One who I believe will make an excellent addition to the Warlords."

-x-

But while two of the Three Great Powers were meeting at Mariejois, two members of the Third Power were planning a meeting of their own. The Four Emperors were known as the four strongest pirates in the world. And just these four pirates and their vast crews were enough to keep the balance of power in the world against the Marines and the Warlords.

The Moby Dick, the massive white whale themed ship of Edward 'Whitebeard' Newgate sailed through calm waters somewhere in the New World. Whitebeard was known as one of the Four Emperors and known by many to be the Strongest Man in the World. And at the moment, he was listening to a message from a subordinate of one of his fellow Emperors.

"Shanks..." Whitebeard said, "I haven't heard that name in a long time. So, after all these years he sent me a letter?"

"Yeah," 'Red Hair' Shanks' representative replied. "And whatever it says must be important or else he wouldn't have chosen me to deliver it for him."

"I see," Whitebeard commented, "You're high up on the food chain, are you?"

"Well... uh... not exactly," the messenger admitted. He was a fairly tall, burly man with dark skin and red hair in a liberty spikes style. He wore a dark purple double breasted coat that was left opened to reveal the light orange wide-collared shirt he wore under it and the red necktie he wore in the collar. He wore a yellow sash around his waist that hung down on both sides, light blue pants and brown boots and carried a green sabre. The colorful man's name was Rockstar and he had a bounty of β94,000,000. "I mean, I am still new to the Red Hair Pirates. But it's not like its my first pirate gig, I've been around for a while and I'm pretty sure I've made a name for myself." Rockstar looked across the deck where First Division Commander Marco was having a casual conversation with the newly returned Hannibal King. "Hey! You've heard about that famous pirate named Rockstar, right?"

"Nope, never heard of him," the sleepy-looking man answered then he turned back to Han, "So what were you saying?"

"Well, the kid has me and the reindeer-monster he calls his brother catch this massive Bananwani..." Han recounted part of the adventure with the Straw Hats in Alabasta.

RIIIP! RIIIIP! Rockstar's attention was torn away from them when he saw Whitebeard tearing up the letter he'd delivered from Shanks. "GAAH!" he gasped in alarm. "Hey! What're you—"

"HE SENT ME A LETTER?" Whitebeard boomed, "When did that kid become so important that he thought that it would be okay to send ME a letter? Time to take him down a notch!"

"Wait! Hold on!" Rockstar protested as he picked up some of the torn pieces of Shank's letter. "What do you think you're doing? That was an important letter! THIS IS SHANKS YOU'RE DEALING WITH! THE LEADER OF THE RED HAIR PIRATES!"

"You forget, I'm Captain Whitebeard!" Whitebeard retorted as he lifted an entire barrel of grog in his large hand and drank it like a mug.

"Captain..." a blonde nurse wearing pink scrubs standing at Whitebeard's side called up to him, "It's time for your medicine again..."

"I've got all the medicine I need, right here!" Whitebeard snapped as he slammed down the grog barrel. TONK! "NOW SILENCE! Fetch me another keg!"

"I HOPE YOU KNOW, MY BOSS WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS!" Rockstar threatened.

"Don't make me laugh," Whitebeard growled, "Anyway, I already know what the letter's probably about. He's worried about Blackbeard and that kid Ace. You tell Shanks that if he wants to talk, he can come see me himself. Now why don't you take off. I'm too busy to talk to a snot-nosed rookie. Run home to your boss."

Rockstar growled and stormed off.

Shunk! ZZZIIIIIIP! An arrow sank into the deck and a green clad figure slid down the rope that was attached to it and landed in front of Whitebeard. TMP!

"The guy came with a message about my Division Commander and the bastard who cut out Y/N's eye, and you didn't even bother to read it?" Ollie questioned as she glared up at the massive form of Whitebeard.

The huge man now wore a black bandana over his brown hair, his long white Captain's coat, and a large pair of gray pants. His muscular body was covered in battle scars and he was hooked up to an IV. A breathing device was on his nose above his signature white crescent shaped mustache that he got his name from.

"I don't need that brat telling me how to handle my business," Whitebeard stated, "The only reason I didn't go after Teach myself was because Ace insisted on chasing him instead. Even if you don't trust my judgment, you should trust Ace's determination to bring Teach to justice."

"I suppose," Ollie admitted.

"Now..." Whitebeard prompted, "Tell me about this girl that managed to swindle our Y/N..."

-x-

"Dahahahaha!" Red Hair Shanks laughed when he heard Whitebeard's response via Transponder Snail from an indignant Rockstar. "The old man hasn't changed a bit! Dahahahaha!"

"How are you laughing at this, boss?" Rockstar questioned on the other end.

"Dahahaha!" Shanks continued to laughed, "I figured that would happen. Don't worry about it."

Snow was falling all around him. Shanks and his crew were currently relaxing on a Winter Island that was part of Shanks' territory in the New World as one of the Four Emperors.

"Just give me a little bit more time," Rockstar requested, "I promise. I can straighten this guy out."

"I don't know what you plan to do, my friend," Shanks replied, "but forget about it. You did a good job. Now just get yourself back to base, alright?"

"But... but what about my pride?" Rockstar protested. "I have to show this guy who I am."

"Hey, your life is more important to me than your pride," Shanks told him, "Come on, there's nothing more for you to do out there. We have some things to plan."

CHOMP! Lucky Roux tore a chunk of meat off of the large slab he was eating. "So... what're we gonna do, boss," he questioned.

"We're going," Shanks decided. "Prepare to set sail, men!"

You're going to see Whitebeard?" Benn Beckman asked.

"Sure am," Shanks agreed.

"Even you can't think that the World Government won't react if you pull a stunt like that," Shanks' First Mate pointed out.

"No Beckman, I fully expect them too," Shanks admitted as he stood up, "I just don't care." The rest of the gathered Red Hair Pirates turned their attention to their Captain. "Now's not the time to worry about the Government. Before much longer, they'll be the ones worrying about us."

"YEEEAAHH!" the Red Hair Pirates cheered.

"YOU HEARD 'IM MEN!" Lucky Roux called out as he got up, "LET'S GET GOING!"

"Alright boys," Shanks addressed his crew. "Let's get some grog ready to take with us."

-x-

Back at Mariejois, the meeting concerning Crocodile's replacement as one of the Seven Warlords was still underway and the strange man called 'Lafitte' still had the floor.

"Teach?" Sengoku repeated.

"That's right," Lafitte replied, "He's the Captain of the pirate crew to which I belong."

"Tell me, if I've never heard of him what use is he to me?" Sengoku questioned, "With no reputation he would pose no threat."

"You know, I thought you might feel that way," Lafitte remarked, "And I assure you we need only a little bit more time. We are drawing up a plan at the moment that should take care of everything."

"Fuffuffuffu!" Doflamingo laughed. He was still sitting on the table while Kuma had migrated from his bench to one of the seats on the Warlord side. Mihawk was still standing near the table. "Well he's got my attention. Why don't we give him a try, Fleet Admiral?"

"I guess I'm the only one that wants to have this clown arrested for breaking into a secured government facility," Smoker reasoned. He crossed his arms and grunted, "Hmph. He makes a joke of the security here and you want to reward him by making his Captain a Warlord. I say we arrest the whole crew before they get a chance to cause any trouble."

"No Smoker," Sengoku answered, "We need a replacement Warlord to keep the balance of power in the World. I want to see how this plan of his plays out."

"Hmmhmm," Lafitte chuckled with a mysterious grin, "The crew I belong to is known as the Blackbeard Pirates. I suggest that you remember that name."

-x-

Back at Mock Town, the dust was still settling on Bellamy's defeat at the hands of Luffy.

"Did you hear," one man said to another, "Someone beat up Bellamy."

"Who could do that?" another man wondered.

A familiar man walked over to the hole Luffy had smashed in the wooden street during the battle and picked up Luffy's discarded one hundred million berri Wanted Poster.

"This kid looked too bright eyed to be worth even thirty million," the large man from the bar remarked, "But one hundred million?"

"So what's our next move, Captain?" a familiar big burly man questioned.

Sarquiss walked up to them. He had gotten up after Y/N's kick but his broken jaw was heavily bandages. "Dos duys god luggy... day'r nod weally word dad much..." Sarquiss mumbled as he glared at Luffy's poster. "Dow dad away bufowa I do id foah you..." (Translation: Those guys got lucky... they're not really worth that much... Throw that away before I do it for you...)

"THAT'S ENOUGH OUTTA YOU!" The large man grabbed the top of Sarquiss' head and violently smashed him through the wooden street. KRASH!

The big man grinned, "Well that oughta shut him up," he remarked, "I was looking for someone with a bounty that was worth my time! Zehahahahaha! The crew's gonna be rich soon boys, very soon, very stinkin' rich."

And so the four odd characters that the Straw Hats had seen at some point during their visits in Mock Town had gathered together.

The burly Masked Wrestler that shouted from rooftops had challenged random people to fights: 'Champion' Jesus Burgess the Helmsman of the Blackbeard Pirates.

The sniper that had shot down three seagulls from a distance where the island he was on wasn't even visible and had fired a gun down a crowded street to see who it was Fated to hit: 'Supersonic' Van Auger the Sniper of the Blackbeard Pirates.

The sickly man who had been giving out apples that exploded and killed people if they had chosen a 'bad one' but had commented on Luffy being 'lucky' when he chose a 'good one': 'Grim Reaper' Doc Q the Doctor of the Blackbeard Pirates and his sickly horse Stronger.

And finally, the large man that had nearly gotten in a fight with Luffy over something as trivial as their tastes in food but had encouraged him to find the Sky Island: 'Blackbeard' Marshall D. Teach the Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates. The same man who had been on the Whitebeard Pirates with Y/N and had cut his eye out and left him for dead to obtain the Dark Dark Fruit.

Together the four men (and one horse) made their way down the street. Their large stature meant that the people in the streets parted automatically when they saw them coming. Anyone that didn't move out of the way got knocked over by the men that were all over ten feet tall.

Blackbeard was staring fixatedly at the two Wanted Posters in his hand.

"The new generation of pirates... will be led by the next King of the Pirates... MONKEY D. LUFFY!"

"That's what I wanted to hear!" Jesus Burgess exclaimed. "It's about time we all had full pockets again. Wiiihahahaha!"

"But Captain, weren't we supposed to be meeting with Lafitte here?" Van Auger questioned.

"Huh?" Blackbeard grunted as he looked up from the wanted posters. "That's not like you, Auger. If we miss him, we miss him. That's Fate. We can't let a bounty like this get away, ZEHAHAHAHA!"

"You're right," Doc Q agreed, "A man's no better than his luck. We've gotta do all the living we can right now. Death comes for everyone, even pirates."

Blackbeard's plan to gain reputation and become a Warlord was beginning to unfold, and it started with Monkey D. Luffy.

-x-

"Huff... huff... huff..." Luffy panted as he and Y/N raced along the shore back to Cricket's house. "Don't worry, Pops. We got your gold back. And we'll be there by sunrise, I promise!" "Do you think he's okay?"

"The old man's got Chopper with him," Y/N reasoned, "He couldn't ask for a better doctor. He'll be fine. We just have to concern ourselves with getting there on time."

"Right," Luffy agreed as they picked up speed and ran even faster.

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!