On to Alabasta:

-x-

The Straw Hats and their guests had stopped to gather their supplies and were now on board the Going Merry. Everyone was gathered on the rear deck and was staring in amazement at the island at the miracle Dr. Hiriluk had made possible as the Going Merry slowly drifted away from Drum Island. Even out at sea, pink snowflakes fell from the sky and landed on the ship.

"Whoooa!" Luffy gasped.

"Oooo!" Usopp cooed.

"It's beautiful!" Vivi exclaimed.

"Yeah," Nami agreed. Sanji stood in between the two women and silently smoked a cigarette.

"Like a bunch of cherry blossoms," Zoro commented.

"And in a land of snow," Mr. 5 added.

"It's a miracle," Ms. Valentine remarked.

Skish! Skish! Skish! Ms. Goldenweek was painting the pink-covered island on a canvas Usopp had lent her.

"..." Chopper sat on the railing of the rear deck and stared at his home and Dr. Hiriluk's dream come true, Y/N leaned against the railing next to him, silently offering his support.

"Hey, do you think Chopper's okay?" Usopp whispered to Nami. "He looks a little down."

"He'll be fine," Nami replied, "He's got Y/N with him. The rest of us should just leave him alone for now."

"It's an emotional time,"Sanji resolved, "he's going on his first journey as a man. It's a rite of passage."

"And he's leaving Drum Island behind for good," Vivi added, "It's been his home his entire life."

"I'm leaving them," Chopper said as he continued to stare off at his old home, his mind buzzing with memories of his life on the island. "Both Doctor and Doctorine. My adventure is finally starting. Right now, on this ship." Y/N reached over and patted him on the back reassuringly as the Going Merry sailed further and further away from the island.

A little bit later, the Straw Hats began to celebrate their adventure and their new Nakama.

"SHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed as he ran across the rear deck with a pair of chopsticks stuck up his nose and the other end wedged in his mouth. "WOOHOOO!"

"Heh heh!" Zoro chuckled as he, Sanji, and Chopper, "These cherry blossoms are like party decorations!"

"Wahahahahaha!" Sanji openly laughed.

"Hey, come on Chopper!" Usopp called out to the reindeer who was still sitting on the rear railing. "Snap out of it! You can't just sit there in a daze all night long, ya know!" The marksman grabbed Chopper and pulled him off of the railing then offered him a mug of grog, "Ya wanna a drink?"

WHAP! Sanji knocked Usopp aside as he threw his arm over Chopper's shoulders, "Come sing a song with us!" the drunk cook offered.

"Here!" Luffy called out as he offered a new pair of chopsticks to Chopper, "shove these chopsticks up your nose! Go on!" Chopper slipped away from the rowdy pirates, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji were all clearly drunk while Luffy was being his normal rambunctious self. Y/N had disappeared and the three Baroque Works Agents were staring at the four pirates in surprise.

"Okay... I know they weren't this strange when we left Little Garden," Mr. 5 stated.

"Back then they were just happy to be alive," Ms. Valentine attempted to rationalize their behavior. "Now they're celebrating a new addition to their crew."

Ms. Goldenweek was holding a mug of grog and was staring down into it, "This stuff makes everyone act weird," she gave the drink a tentative sniff. "A rowdy bunch like them should stick with tea."

"Oh, lighten up!" Ms. Valentine replied as she snatched the mug away from Ms. Goldenweek, "it's a party!" Before the other two agents could stop her, Ms. Valentine downed the grog and joined the Straw Hats in their celebration.

Whap! Nami surprised Chopper when she placed a hand on his shoulder from behind, "They're a handful," she told him while smiling reassuringly. "I hate to tell ya, but your new Nakama is about as crazy as they come."

"My... Nakama?" Chopper repeated, it was still hard for the reindeer who had only had two people he had considered himself close to in his lifetime to believe that he had finally found people that accepted him for who he was.

"That's right," Nami replied, "These guys can really be a lot to handle, but now that you're one of us, you're gonna have to get used to it."

"CARUE!" Vivi exclaimed as she hugged her duck, "What in the world were you doing frozen in the river like that?" When they had returned to the ship after stopping for some supplies in Big Horn they were shocked to find Carue frozen in a block of ice.

"Quaaa... quuaaaa..." Carue whimpered.

"Heh heh! That bird!" Zoro chuckled, "a thousand berries says he slipped and fell into the river! He's a clumsy one!"

"Be quiet Mr. Bushido!" Vivi scolded him as she wrapped a blanket around her duck.

"Quuuaa... quuuaaaa... quack-quack... quack!" Carue quacked, Chopper listened with interest then turned to the others.

"He says that Zoro was swimming in the river and disappeared," Chopper translated, "and that some guy named Mr. 5 told him to go and find him. So he jumped into the river and ended up getting frozen in it."

"SO THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Nami shouted as she hit Zoro on the back of the head from behind, BONK!

"YOU JERK!" a flushed Ms. Valentine stomped over to Mr. 5 and socked her partner in the face. POW! Mr. 5 went flying across the deck and hit the far wall. After being sick and coming so close to death, it appeared that Nami and Ms. Valentine were now back at full strength. Although, Ms. Valentine seemed to be a little drunk.

"So you were really able to understand everything that Carue was saying?" Vivi asked Chopper.

"Yes," Chopper replied, "I'm still technically half-animal by nature. So I can understand what they say."

"You can talk to animals?" Vivi realized.

"Oh wow, Chopper!" Nami exclaimed. "Between your medical skills and talking to animals you've got some amazing talents!"

Chopper blushed and started doing a giddy dance while saying, "Don't be silly you jerk, flattering me like that isn't gonna make me happy or anything!" the reindeer insisted.

"He sure looks happy," Luffy and Usopp chorused as they stood beside the giddy reindeer and watched him dance... then attempted to imitate it.

"Hey, what did you mean about Chopper's medical skills anyway?" Zoro wondered.

"Chopper's the best doctor in the world," Y/N stated as he came around to the rear deck with two mugs and a bottle of sake in his hands and a barrel tucked under his arm. "That old witch taught him everything there is to know about medicine and he was taught to dream by the quack that made those cherry blossoms. The two combined make the greatest doctor ever."

"Impossible!" Zoro retorted, "Chopper, are you seriously a doctor?"

"No way!" Usopp gasped.

"Wow, cool!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Wait... why're you surprised?" Ms. Valentine asked as she pointed her now empty mug at the rubber pirate. "You were there too."

"Really Luffy, if you didn't know that what did you think Chopper was when you asked him to join us?" Nami asked the Captain.

"A talking-transforming-reindeer-monster," Luffy answered.

"An emergency food supply," Sanji offered.

"GAAAAHH!" Chopper shrieked in terror and jumped behind Y/N, he 'peeked' out from behind the one-eyed pirate's legs.

"Sanji... we'll eat Usopp before we eat Chopper," Y/N bluntly informed him.

"WHAAAAAAATT?" Usopp screamed in terror. "I DON'T WANNA BE EATEN!"

"With the fights Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji are bound to get into we'll need someone to patch them up when it's over," Y/N pointed out, "Chopper will be more useful."

"Please... tell me you're joking..." Ms. Valentine requested. If Y/N really was willing to resort to cannibalism, why would he eat his crew when he had three former enemies to choose from?

"I don't joke," Y/N bluntly stated.

"PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!" Ms. Valentine screamed.

"WE NEED FISHING POLES!" Usopp shouted, "LOTS AND LOTS OF FISHING POLES! If you have lots of big fish to eat, then you won't eat me!"

"Well there's a good idea," Y/N remarked, "you've been talking about making fishing gear for a while now but have never really gotten around to it. Now you have some motivation. To be honest, I don't exactly want to resort to cannibalism. That's why you're only our last resort."

ZZIP! Usopp ran into the storage room.

"OH NO!" Chopper suddenly exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Chopper," Y/N reassured him. "We aren't going to eat him. That was just a threat I had no intention of carrying out."

"It's not that, I..." Chopper started to say but was cut off by Ms. Valentine.

"Oh pheeew," the flushed blonde agent sighed in relief. "That was a close one. Cause if you were gonna resort to eating a crew member, I don't know what you would've done to me." She snatched a new mug of grog from Zoro and began to drink from it.

"I think she's had enough," Y/N commented.

"She's only had one," Ms. Goldenweek stated.

"She's always been a lightweight no matter what she weighs," Mr. 5 informed them. "She's your problem now." With that, he walked off the rear deck and descended through the flap in the main deck down into the men's quarters.

Nami looked back at Chopper, "What were you going to say?"

"I was in such a big hurry I left my medical bag behind!" Chopper exclaimed, "It had all my tools in it, and the research from the Twenty MDs!"

"Your bag?" Nami repeated as she pulled out a blue backpack with a white 'x' on the front of it. "But isn't this it?"

"Huuh? That is my bag!" Chopper realized.

"It was in the back of the sleigh," Nami stated.

"How's that?" Chopper wondered.

"What do you mean?" Nami questioned. "Weren't you the one who packed the sleigh and got it ready for the trip?"

Chopper thought back, he hadn't had time to pack when he left. Doctorine had gotten mad and started attacking him. She threw all sorts of weapons at them and chased them until they reached the ropeway. Chopper knew that he hadn't packed his medical bag, and that only left Doctorine. Tears welled up in Chopper's eyes as he realized that Doctorine had packed his bag and loaded it into the sleigh, somehow knowing that Chopper would be leaving with the pirates.

"Doctorine must've known what you were planning to do even before you decided to leave the island with us," Nami realized. "What a kind woman."

"Nah, she's still a witch," Y/N replied he turned away from the others who had gone back to the celebration while Nami and Chopper had been talking. Zoro was attempting to wrestle his mug away from Ms. Valentine but the blonde was too attached to it and was clutching it to her chest.

Y/N put his barrel down next to Chopper and placed the sake bottle on top of it then put the two mugs down on the deck and fished into his pocket and produced two saucers before he sat down on the other side of the barrel from Chopper.

"Here's the deal little guy, in order for us to become brothers, we have to share a drink together." Y/N opened the sake bottle and poured some out into the two saucers.

"Y/N..." Nami started to say in a disapproving tone.

"Nami, he's a man now," Y/N pointed out. "Sharing your first drink is an important part of a man's life." Nami sighed and looked away while Y/N turned to Chopper and picked his sake saucer up off of the barrel. "Hold it carefully, you don't want to break it with your hooves." Chopper mimicked Y/N and picked up his saucer then sniffed it, "Cheers, little brother."

Y/N and Chopper raised their saucers and slowly drank the sake, Chopper wasn't used to the taste and cringed a little but was determined to get it down. When they finished Y/N reached his arm around Chopper and patted his far shoulder, "There you go, now we're brothers."

Chopper beamed, "That wasn't so bad... but it didn't taste so good."

"Sake tends to have a strange taste if you aren't used to it," Y/N explained, "that's why I brought this." Y/N removed the sake and the saucers from the barrel and broke the top opened to reveal the grog inside. He poured some grog into the two mugs and slid one over to Chopper. "This is grog from the North Blue, my favorite kind. It's a little potent but it tastes good. I can easily down an entire barrel of this stuff in one go." Chopper raised his mug and sniffed it, he smiled slightly and took a sip while Y/N did the same.

Y/N lowered his mug after two sips but found Chopper still drinking, "Uh... you might wanna slow down a little..." Y/N advised. But Chopper kept drinking and eventually finished the entire mug.

"Teeheehee!" Chopper laughed, "That's really –" HIC! "– good! Now I know why –" HIC! "– Doctorine likes to drink so much!"

"Looks like you have a low tolerance," Y/N noted, "you'd better get something to eat or you're gonna end up like Ms. Valentine." The blonde in question was now flushed bright red, she and Luffy both had chopsticks shoved up their nose and were doing a goofy dance together. Y/N nudged Chopper over to the others so he could join the celebration.

Usopp had emerged from the storage room in time for Luffy to shove chopsticks up his nose too and he was forced to join Luffy and Ms. Valentine in their chopstick dance. Zoro and Sanji were in the middle of a food fight of some kind, both were clearly drunk because a sober Sanji would never waste food. The fight appeared to have started when Zoro called Sanji "dartboard-brow" and Sanji retorted by calling the swordsman "moss-head". Vivi was currently attempting to nurse her frozen duck back to full-health while Ms. Goldenweek was silently sitting off to the side attempting to paint it all on a large canvas.

Nami sat down in Chopper's vacated spot next to Y/N and watched the celebration, "Do you think he'll be okay."

"TEEHEEHEE!" Chopper laughed loudly as he stuck chopsticks up his nose like Luffy, Usopp, and Ms. Valentine were.

"I think he'll fit in just fine," Y/N replied with a small smile.

"Oh, there's something I need to do now that the adventure's over," Nami realized.

"Oh? And what's that?" Y/N inquired.

Nami leaned over the grog barrel so her face was right in front of his. To his credit, Y/N didn't back down. But because he hadn't, and due to his already limited frame of vision, he failed to notice Nami's fist, POW! Y/N was caught off guard when Nami's fist impacted with the right side of his face and knocked him out cold.

"HEEEYY!" Ms. Valentine handed her chopsticks off to Usopp and stomped over to Nami. "I thought you were gonna kiss 'im, not knock 'im out! Why'dja do that?"

"He's been taking care of us and hasn't slept in three days," Nami reminded her. "I'm making sure that he gets some sleep like I said I would. He's a light sleeper so I figured that knocking him out for a few hours would be the easy solution."

The drunk blonde stared at Nami then down at Y/N, "Ya could've let 'im enjoy da party!" she argued. "Wake 'im up with some mouth-tah-mouth!"

"I'm not doing that!" Nami protested.

"Okay, then I'll..."

"YOU'RE NOT DOING IT EITHER!" Nami snarled.

Usopp stood on top of the galley with a mug raised overhead, "LISTEN UP STRAW HAT CREW!" he called out to the others. "I PROPOSE A TOAST TO OUR NEW NAKAMA CHOPPER!"

"TO CHOPPER!" Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Sanji, and even Vivi, Carue, and Ms. Valentine cheered.

Ms. Goldenweek smiled as she sat to the side and continued her attempts to capture the joyous celebration in a painting.

"TEEHEEHEE!" Chopper laughed, "THIS IS THE MOST FUN I'VE EVER HAD!"

-x-

"I wonder if they've made it off the island yet," Dalton commented as he and Dr. Kureha stood at the peak of Drum Rock. The cherry blossoms had faded and the full moon once again shined from above. "You know that reindeer friend of yours is a first-rate doctor with a first-rate heart. I'm very glad to have known him."

"Those cherry blossoms of Hiriluk's really did lead to something miraculous," Dr. Kureha said. "Hmph, but who would've thought the miracle would be that clumsy reindeer going out to sea with a group of pirates? That kid, acting like he's a grown man all of a sudden."

"I have a feeling he'll make a fine ship's doctor," Dalton replied.

"So what are your plans now that Wapol is gone from the island for good?" Dr. Kureha inquired.

"For a long time I worked as the Captain of the Guard under Wapol's tyrannical rule," Dalton said. "That's something I still need to make amends for. I was thinking about leaving this country... and trusting the citizens to make a better land for themselves without me here as a reminder."

"I see," Dr. Kureha stated, "is that what you've decided to do?"

"No," Dalton answered, "I realized that leaving here isn't the way to make up for past mistakes. This country is rid of its corrupt monarch. Its citizens are preparing to build a new country that's all their own. I think that if I stayed here... I could help them build it into the country it's meant to be. Maybe that will help, by washing away some of the guilt that I carried around with me for so long."

"Well, it seems to me that you certainly do carry the strength of heart to take care of this country," Dr. Kureha told him.

"Strength of heart is needed to look after a country," Dalton replied. "And it can be difficult to come by but I once saw it from a girl who was no more than ten years old at the time."

-Dalton's flashback from six years ago-

"Grrrr... the World Summit again," Wapol grumbled as he walked with Kuromarimo, Chess, and Dalton following behind him. All the Kings from the major kingdoms of the world had come together to discuss the pressing issues of the world and how they would combat them. "I'm tired of coming to this thing every year."

"Absolutely right, sir," Kuromarimo quickly agreed.

Dalton stopped and stared at a nearby stream, "I wonder how much longer Drum Kingdom can continue like this," Dalton thought to himself. "The rift between the monarchy and the citizens keeps growing."

"Oh look," someone called out as a tall man with long curly black hair, a pointed nose, and a black beard like an Egyptian pharaoh walked passed. He was wearing colorful but thick cloth robes and was flanked by two men wearing similarly heavy but less colorful clothing, "It's the King of Alabasta, Nefertari Cobra."

"A King who is known throughout the world for his benevolence and wisdom," Dalton remarked as the King of Alabasta and his two guards went passed.

-x-

"Dragon the Revolutionary..." a man sitting at the head of a long table lined with Kings stated as he held up a picture of a black haired man with a red tattoo going down the left side of his face. "This man's beliefs are very dangerous. As world leaders we should be aware of the threat he poses to our countries. In as little to five or six years he will become a prominent enemy opposed to our interests."

"Aaaaaah!" Wapol yawned as he picked his nose with his pinky finger, "Well I don't know about the rest of your dumb countries... but mine's governed too well for the citizens to be led astray by some revolutionary. Go ahead and capture him if you want, but leave me out. It's ridiculous!"

WHAM! Nefertari Cobra shot up to his feet and slammed his hands on the table, "YOU FOOL!" Cobra shouted, the King of Alabasta's sudden shouts caused Wapol to fall out of his chair "WHY DO YOU THINK WE'VE ALL GATHERED HERE AT THE WORLD SUMMIT? Just act responsibly for once!"

"NO ONE TALKS TO ME LIKE THAT!" Wapol snapped before he promptly stormed out of the meeting.

-x-

"Well that summit was as unenjoyable as all the rest of 'em," Wapol remarked as he left the meeting with Kuromarimo, Chess, and Dalton once again following behind him. He stopped when he spotted someone, a ten year old blue-haired girl who was standing next to a tall man with his hair in rollers. "That girl! She's that idiot Cobra's daughter!"

Wapol chuckled to himself as he walked over and then swung at the daughter of the man that had humiliated him, WHAP! "OOPS! MY HAND SLIPPED!" Wapol shouted.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Dalton yelled in alarm.

"PRINCESS VIVI!" the man with his hair in rollers exclaimed as he knelt down next to the blue haired girl.

"Oh excuse me!" Wapol called out, "if I'm not mistake, you're the Princess of Alabasta Kingdom. Wow! It must be really embarrassing to have such a pathetic father!"

"DAMN IT, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" the roller-man roared at Wapol.

"No, stop Igaram!" the ten year old pleaded with the man as she got up off of the ground. "I'm fine." Vivi turned to face Wapol, a bruise was already starting to form on her forehead from where Wapol had hit her. She took a deep breath and smiled at the King of Drum Kingdom, "My apologies. I didn't look where I was going, sir."

Wapol and Igaram both growled while Dalton stared at Princess Vivi in surprise, "That is quite a child," he commented. "at a World Summit like this where all the most powerful leaders are gathered, tensions tend to run high. The slightest argument can trigger an all-out war. Knowing that, she refused to make a scene. She's so young to be so wise." The ten year old Princess of Alabasta had shown more maturity and restraint the then full-grown King of Drum Kingdom.

"What an annoying brat!" Wapol scoffed as he, Chess, and Kuromarimo walked away. "Let's go Dalton!"

"Forgive us," Dalton apologized to Vivi and Igaram on behalf of his King before he walked off.

A moment later, Dalton came across Vivi and Igaram again. Now that the Princess was out of the public eye, she was crying while Igaram attempted to comfort her, "It hurts," Vivi cried.

"You made me so proud today Princess Vivi," Igaram told her.

-End Flashback-

"That Princess had great strength of heart indeed," Dalton concluded, "and that hasn't changed. She's remained strong all these years. She would make anyone proud."

"Dalton, please," one of the Twenty MDs called out from where the entire group stood behind the man. "The desire to care for our country hasn't faded from within us either."

"Allow us to do something," another doctor requested. "We want to help build a new country."

Dalton turned and smiled at them, but he turned serious when he spotted Hiriluk's black flag flying from the top of the castle. "Hiriluk... this country will be reborn as you always wished it to be. Just like your son, Chopper."

"DALTON! YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS!" a civilian soldier called out as he came running out of the castle carrying a sheet of paper in his hand. "I just remembered something important that I forgot to tell you!"

"What is it?" Dalton asked.

"Take a look at these," the man instructed as he handed a pair of wanted posters to Dalton. They were of 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy and his First Mate 'One Eye' Y/N. They were worth a combined total of fifty million berries. "It's them! That's the Straw Hat Pirate that defeated Wapol. We're sure of it!"

"You mean they have a bounty of fifty million berries on their heads?" Dalton asked in surprise. "Are you certain?"

"Goodness," Dr. Kureha remarked, "They're quite a band of rogues, aren't they? Heeheehee!"

"Where'd you find this?" Dalton asked the man as Dr. Kureha came over to get a better look at the two wanted posters.

"Um... well..." the civilian soldier stammered, "I forgot to report this to you, Dalton, I'm very sorry. I guess it all happened about a week ago. These three seemingly random travelers showed up in Robelle Town. Strangely, it was a day without any snowfall. We have no idea where on the island they landed, anyway, the leader told us something..."

-Flashback from a week ago-

Three people stood in the middle of the street in Robelle Town. The leader of the trio was a man that stood at 6'1" and wore a long black cloak, a ruby necklace, and a black hat lined with rubies and two faces on the front, one was smiling and one was frowning. His messy black hair and freckles could be seen from under the brim of his hat.

The second member of the trio was a man that stood at 5'11". He wore a tan fedora hat, a long tan trench coat, beige pants, and black boots. He had short brown hair, a short beard and mustache, and a large gun was strapped on his back.

The final member of the trio was a woman that stood at 5'8". She wore a long green coat with a hood that hid her face. A pair of green eyes could be seen staring out from inside the darkness of the hood. A bow and a quiver of arrows were on her back in an 'x' shape.

"I'm looking for a man called 'Blackbeard'," the black-clothed leader stated. "I've heard he was here."

"He was," the civilian replied, "but that was nearly a year ago. He's long gone now."

"I see," said the stranger, "then I have just one more question. Have you seen two pirates come through this area recently? One with a straw hat and the other with red hair and an eye patch?"

"I haven't seen anyone like that," the civilian soldier admitted.

"Well... if the duo I described do show up... deliver this message," the stranger requested. "I will wait for them in Alabasta for ten days, and no more. Don't forget." The stranger and his two silent partners turned and headed off.

"HEY! HOLD ON A SEC!" the civilian soldier called after the strangers. "YOU DIDN'T TELL ME YOUR NAME!"

"Oh yes, I forgot about that," the stranger realized, the trio stopped and the leader turned around to face the civilian soldier again. "The name's Ace. If you tell those pirates, then they'll know who I am." With that the trio started off again.

"HEY, CATCH THEM!" a restaurant owner shouted. "THEY ATE AND DIDN'T PAY AT THE RESTAURANT!"

"DAMN IT, ACE!" the green woman shouted, "YOU SAID YOU'D TAKE CARE OF IT!"

"JUST GIVE 'EM THE MESSAGE!" 'Ace' hollered as the trio took off running.

"Sorry for the trouble!" the tan man called out. The civilian could only stare after the strange trio in surprise.

-End Flashback-

"So they'll be waiting in Alabasta for ten days," Dalton commented, he looked thoughtful but then he noticed Dr. Kureha staring at one of the two wanted posters in particular. "Excuse me Doctor, but is there something wrong? You look puzzled."

"Tell me something Dalton," Dr. Kureha said, "have you ever heard of a man Gol D. Roger?"

"Gol D.?" Dalton repeated, the only person that came to mind was the former King of the Pirates "You mean Gold Roger?"

"I guess, is that what he goes by now?" Dr. Kureha inquired, she stared down at the Wanted Poster of Monkey D. Luffy. "From the looks of this, the guy Chopper left this island and headed out to sea with is no ordinary pirate. The Will of D. lives on."

-x-

The next day, the sky was clear and the cold weather associated with Drum Kingdom faded away leaving the day warm and sunny. The Going Merry was now following the Eternal Post to Alabasta but along the way, the Straw Hats and their guests were enjoying the nice weather. Y/N had awoken and was standing on the deck in front of Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, Carue, and Ms. Goldenweek holding a deck of cards. Nami had talked Vivi into joining her on a lounge chair off to the side, Sanji and Ms. Valentine were in the galley, Zoro was sleeping on the deck off to the side, and Mr. 5 was sitting against the railing pretending to not pay attention to Y/N's card tricks.

"Okay, for my next trick, I need an assistant," Y/N said, "Chopper, come here." The reindeer stood up and approached Y/N. Y/N fanned out the cards and turned his head away so he wasn't looking at them. "Pick a card, any card. Show it to the others but don't let me see it."

Chopper pulled the seven of hearts out of the deck and showed it off to the others, even Mr. 5 who was 'casually' looking in their direction. Y/N looked over at Chopper and the back of the card he was showing to the others, "Everyone remember that card," Y/N instructed, "and Chopper, please slide your card face-down back into the deck." Y/N held the deck of cards loosely in his hands and allowed Chopper to slide his face-down card back into the deck.

"And now... I'll shuffle the deck a couple of times..." Y/N narrated as he rearranged the deck of cards by quickly cutting and shuffling it, then turned back to Chopper. "Chopper, I need you to do one more thing for me. Tap the top of the deck with your hoof." Chopper reached out and tapped the top of the deck as instructed.

Y/N picked the top card up off of the deck and showed it to everyone to reveal... the seven of hearts. "Is this your card?" Y/N asked with his signature sly grin.

"It is!" Chopper squeaked, he, Luffy, Usopp, Carue, and Ms. Goldenweek applauded while Mr. 5 just grunted and looked away. Ms. Valentine came out of the galley holding a tray and walked over to the group.

"Um... I made a snack for you guys..." Ms. Valentine told them as she showed off her tray that was lined with tangerine slices and had a big bowl of chocolate sauce in the middle. "And..."

"YEAAHH! FOOD!" Luffy cheered, WHAP! Y/N's arm flashed out and he caught Luffy by the wrist.

"She wasn't done yet," Y/N scolded Luffy, "let her finish, then you can stuff your face." Luffy stared intently at the tray while the others all returned their focus to Ms. Valentine.

"Right... uh... I just wanted to thank you guys for what you did for me," Ms. Valentine continued. "If it wasn't for you getting me to that doctor, I would've died on Little Garden tomorrow. So... um... thank you. I owe you a lot."

"Don't worry about it," Y/N reassured her. "We would've helped anyone in your position."

"Can we eat now?" Luffy asked.

"Just... let me say one more thing, please?" Ms. Valentine requested, "Seeing all of you fighting so bravely for your dreams... gave me the courage to finally pursue mine. You see... I love chocolate. And I love making things with it. I'm... I'm going to become a Chocolate Lady... I'm going to try and open a café where I can sell the treats I make. I know it's not as glamorous as becoming the King of the Pirates, or becoming the miracle cure, or finding the One Piece... but it's something I've always wanted to do. And thanks to you guys, I'm finally going to try and pursue my dream."

"Hmph," Mr. 5 grunted as he got up and then descended down into the men's quarters.

Ms. Valentine frowned at her partner's dismissal of her dream, "That's the response I got the first time I told him..."

"So how's this chocolate stuff work?" Usopp inquired.

"Since you love chocolate so much, I bet it's super awesome!" Luffy exclaimed.

Ms. Valentine smiled and showed off her tray, "What I made here is a chocolate dipping sauce. You take a piece of tangerine, dip it in the sauce, and then eat it. It's a fun snack for a nice day like today." Ms. Valentine placed the tray down on the deck and Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Carue quickly converged on it. Ms. Goldenweek gave Ms. Valentine a curious look before she joined the pirates and the duck in trying the chocolate.

"WHHOOOAA!" Chopper exclaimed. "I've never had anything this sweet before!"

"THIS IS AWESOME!" Luffy shouted.

"HEY! STOP HOGGING IT ALL!" Usopp complained.

"Looks like your chocolate's a success, Ms. Valentine," Y/N observed.

"Mana," Ms. Valentine said in a whisper.

"Huh?" Y/N asked.

"My name... it's Mana," Ms. Valentine told him. "After seeing what you Straw Hats are capable of, I'm done with Baroque Works. Even if I wasn't, Mr. 0 would just have me killed. I don't need a codename if I'm just making chocolate... so please... call me Mana."

"Alright then," Y/N agreed, "looks like your chocolate's a success, Mana." The blonde smiled but then noticed that Nami was standing near her. She was smiling evilly.

"Nice snack you've got there," Nami commented, today she was wearing a faint pink blouse with thin vertical purple strips, a short violet skirt with two white circles on each side, and her usual pink sandals, "I'm surprised Sanji let you use the galley."

"At first he insisted that he could do any cooking on the ship," Mana admitted, "but I managed to convince him to let me have a turn easily enough."

"Well... whatever you did to him, he wasn't able to tell you that those are MY tangerines," Nami commented. "You have to ask MY permission to use or eat them, not Sanji's."

"But... I..." the blonde stammered.

"Then there's the matter of you wearing MY clothes," Nami added, she eyed the blonde's outfit. She wore one of Nami's skirts, it was yellow with white circles on the sides, she also wore a yellow sleeveless shirt with the word 'Love' on it in white which also belonged to Nami. The outfit was completed with Mana's white heels. "I allowed you to borrow my clothes when you were sick because I was sick too and knew what you were going through. But you seem to be healthy now, so you don't have an excuse to help yourself to the clothes in my closet."

"I... I'm sorry..." Mana attempted to apologize.

"I don't give my stuff away for free," Nami told her, "for fifty thousand berries we'll call it even. Consider yourself lucky that you didn't borrow my underwear."

"Um... okay," Mana agreed, "I borrowed some money from Y/N when we stopped for supplies in Big Horn. I used it to buy milk for the chocolate... I have enough left to pay you, even though I wanted to use it for something else."

"You still can," Nami informed her, she threw her arm over the blonde's shoulders and turned her evil grin towards Y/N who was still standing next to them. "When you convinced us to bring these three along, you assured us that you'd take FULL RESPONSIBILITY for them while they were on the ship. That means, YOU have to pay me the fifty thousand berries that she owes me for using my clothes and tangerines."

Mana's eyes went wide while Y/N stared hard at Nami who flashed him a cheeky grin, "There's no talking your way out of this one, foxy!" Nami taunted him, "we made it clear when we left Cocoyashi that those tangerines are MINE. I had that skirt she's wearing before I even agreed to join the crew. You lose this round, NOW PAY UP!"

A tick mark appeared on Y/N's forehead as he reached down into his bottom left pocket and pulled out fifty thousand berries. His arm visibly shook as he held the money out to Nami. And just like that Nami tied up the Swindling War, Nami – 2, Y/N – 2

Nami snatched the money away from Y/N then held it up in front of his face, "You'd better kiss this money goodbye," she suggested, "cause you're never gonna get it back! Go on, kiss it goodbye." Y/N's eye twitched as he humored Nami and kissed his money goodbye.

"HEHEHEHEHE!" Nami laughed, "IT'S MINE NOW! I'm not gonna spend this! I'm gonna hang it on the wall down in my room with a big sign under it that'll say 'Money I swindled from Y/N'! That way anyone who goes into my room will see it and know that I swindled you out of it!" Nami took her newly won money and kissed it, Mana blushed when she realized that Nami had kissed the same spot she'd forced Y/N to. "If you'll excuse me, I've gotta go and hang this on my wall." The navigator headed towards her room with a noticeable bounce in her step.

Mana looked at Y/N apologetically, "I'm sorry... I didn't know the tangerines were hers," she apologized, "And I thought it was okay to borrow her clothes since I've been borrowing them for the last three days."

"Don't worry about it," Y/N said through gritted teeth, "I'll just have to get her back." It was then that Y/N and Mana noticed that everyone else had been staring at them through the whole ordeal.

"Y/N!" Luffy gasped, "NAMI SWINDLED YOU! THAT MEANS..." WHAP! In a flash Y/N had his hand clamped over Luffy's mouth.

"Don't you DARE mention that!" Y/N warned him.

Y/N removed his hand from Luffy's mouth to reveal his brother's giddy smile, Luffy reached out and patted Y/N on the back, "Congratulations!"

"Luffy... he just got swindled," Usopp felt it necessary to point out, "you're supposed to console him, not congratulate him!"

Y/N glared at Luffy, "Not a word," he hissed. Luffy shrugged and headed off for his special seat on the figurehead while Y/N stomped over to the mast and climbed up to the crow's nest.

Chopper looked over at Usopp, "What just happened?"

-x-

Back on Little Garden the Land of Giants, the Swanda, the ship of Mr. 2 Bon Kurei, was docked on the inland river. The ship was white and had a white swan with two puff balls on the sides of its head as a figurehead, and a swan's tail for the stern and rudder. The sails were pink, and a large compartment in the top deck was painted a darker pink.

On shore, the shrill voice of Mr. 2 rang out as he punished one of his men. "UN!" THWAK! "DUEX!" THWAK! "TRIOS!" THWHAM!

"I'm sorry Mr. 2, Mr. Bon Kurei... sir..." the man wheezed his apology.

"WOULD YOU IDIOTS QUIT PLAYING AROUND!" Mr. 2 Bon Kurei scolded his men. "DAMN IT! ARE YOU COMPLETELY CLUELESS? DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO I AM? I AM BON KUREI! A Baroque Works Officer Agent! I strike fear into the heart of anyone who sees me!" It wasn't exactly fear that Mr. 2's eccentric appearance struck into the heart of anyone who saw him.

He was a tall, thin man with short black hair but that was all that was normal about him. He wore an excessive amount of make up on his odd face which consisted of two beady eyes that were brought out by blue eye liner, pink blush on his cheeks which went around his hooked nose, and red lipstick on his large toothy mouth. On top of his head was a headband with two puffballs on the sides, the same that the swan figurehead of his ship was wearing. He wore a ballet costume which consisted of a blue blouse with light blue swans doing down the front, a pink belt, and a blue striped ball for shorts. Mr. 2's long hairy legs came out from two legs holes and went into a pair of pink ballet slippers. Over the ballet outfit he wore a long pink coat with "Okama Way" written on the back, above the writing was the white feathery body of a swan, its white wings were spread out passed Mr. 2's shoulders, the swan had two heads, each looking in a different direction and both necks were hooked in a fashion that made them resemble the number '2'. The Officer Agent known as Mr. 2 Bon Kurei was known as an Okama, or a transvestite, and his unpredictability made him a threat to allies and enemies alike.

"Hey you, Navigator!" Mr. 2 addressed a battered-looking green-haired man. "Tell me something..."

"Yes sir..." the navigator agreed, he was bleeding from the mouth after being attacked by Mr. 2.

"Does that little pea brain of yours remember what the Boss' exact orders were?" Bon Kurei asked. "

"Yes, Mr. 2," the navigator answered, "the orders were to kill Mr. 3 on his way along the direct route between Little Garden and Alabasta."

"Okay then," said Mr. 2, "Maybe you're not entirely useless, now are you?" WHAP! Mr. 2's hand lashed out and grabbed the navigator by the throat, WHAM! The man was slammed back against one of the giant trees while Mr. 2 strangled him, "Taking a direct route means that you travel in a straight line, doesn't it, Navigator? That's why we went STRAIGHT from Alabasta to Little Garden, isn't that right?" WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Mr. 2 continued to strangle the navigator but began slamming him into the tree he was leaning against. "But something seems to have gone wrong with the plan, hasn't it, Navigator? We've reached Little Garden without so much as seeing Mr. 3 on our way here! Now to me, that seems to indicate that you FOOLS missed Mr. 3's ship entirely!"

"No sir... that can't be true..." the navigator gasped.

"Hmmm, it sounds like you're questioning my intelligence," Mr. 2 remarked as he leaned his head in close to the green-haired navigator's.

"Not at all, sir!" the navigator groaned.

"Be quiet you!" Mr. 2 scolded him before he finally released him and finally allowed the man to fall to the ground.

Bon Kurei turned and addressed his other men, "All we had to do was kill the pathetic Mr. 3! It should be an easy mission! And one we have no excuse to fail! We must complete the mission soon, if we don't, then Mr. 1 and his partner will be sent out to make sure I end up dead! CLEAR ENOUGH FOR YOU?" All of Mr. 2's men flinched from the loud shout, there was no telling what the eccentric officer agent would do to them. "Now, if you don't want to answer to me, you'd better get to work, lookin' for that Mr. 3!"

Mr. 2 Bon Kurei and his men quickly boarded the Swanda and set off. "I WANT THIS SHIP GOING AS FAST AS IT CAN, YOU IMBICILES! WE'RE HEADING TO ALABASTA IMMEDIATELY!" Since they had missed Mr. 3 going from Alabasta to Little Garden, Mr. 2 hoped to catch him going back the other way from Little Garden to Alabasta... the same route that the Straw Hats were heading on.

-x-

In an undisclosed location on Sandy Island in the Kingdom of Alabasta, Mr. 0 sat in the dark next to a tank with GIANT crocodiles swimming in it. Each of the enormous reptiles had a banana on top of its head.

"What's this?" Mr. 0's deep gravelly voice called out. "Pirates are attacking a town inside the kingdom? Don't they know this country's protected by Crocodile?"

"Who can tell what they're thinking," Ms. All Sunday replied as she stared through a window. The tall, dark-haired woman folded her arms across her chest, "A country where riots are brewing may be considered an easy target."

Tmp! Tmp! Tmp! Ms. All Sunday turned and saw Crocodile leaving the room, "You'll go?" she inquired.

"Naturally," replied Sir Crocodile the Warlord of the Sea, "I do have a public duty to uphold."

"How very kind of you, sir," Ms. All Sunday remarked.

"Yes, I'm a kind man," Crocodile replied, "We Warlords are charged with protecting the public from pirate threats. We are heroes to these people after-all."

Crocodile was a tall man that stood at eight foot three with slicked back dark purple hair. His skin had a grayish tint to it and his handsome face had a scar going horizontally across it under his sunken eyes and across his nose. He wore an orange shirt with a thin black lines going vertically and horizontally across it, fancy black pants and shoes, and had numerous rings on his right hand. His left hand was gone, in its place was a golden hook.

This was the face of the enemy, Sir Crocodile the Warlord of the Sea AKA Mr. 0 the President of Baroque Works. The handsome man posing as Alabasta's hero was actually orchestrating its demise. And he was awaiting the Straw Hats in Alabasta.

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!