Ahoy, First Mate Mohji's back!" a pirate announced as Mohji staggered through the door of the Drinker's Pub dragging his unconscious lion behind him.

"I'm sorry Captain Buggy," Mohji apologized. Y/N's beating had really taken a toll on him, he had a huge gash going across his chest, two of his teeth were missing, and he was hurting all over.

"WHAT, YOU LOST?" Buggy shouted, "AND IT WASN'T TO ZORO! IT WAS THE OTHER TWO!"

"I-it was the Cyclops..." said Mohji. "I underestimated him... the pirates are stronger than they l... uggg... look... " FWUMP! Mohji promptly collapsed to the ground and passed out, unable to remain conscious a second longer.

"DAMNIT MOHJI! YOU WERE BEATEN BY A NO-NAME CYCLOPS! IF THIS GETS OUT OUR REPUTATION WILL BE RUINED! LOAD THE BUGGY BALLS! WE'VE GOT A TOWN TO FLASHILY DESTROY!"

"Yes sir, Captain Buggy," the pirates chanted as they ran off to load the cannon. Everyone was careful to avoid stepping on the unconscious beast tamer.

-x-

Meanwhile Chou-Chou had finally arrived at the refugee shelter and was met by one of the villagers, "We're glad you're okay," said one of the villagers, "We were worried about you."

"He's hurt bad," another villager observed when he spotted the wounds that Chou-Chou had suffered from fighting Mohji's lion Richie. "Damn pirates. Let's take care of these wounds."

"Where's the mayor?" asked an elder villager.

"That's right..." the first villager replied, "Mayor Boodle went to feed Chou-Chou. What's Chou-Chou doing here without him? You don't think something bad happened to the mayor?"

"I'm worried," said another villager, "maybe I should go and check on him."

"Are you crazy?" asked the elder villager, "the Mayor's too clever to let himself get captured. He knows this town better than anyone. But he also cares about this town more than anyone. I told him not to take any risks. I hope he heard me."

-x-

Meanwhile back in the village Y/N and Luffy were surprised to see Nami approaching them, "Sorry I yelled at you," Nami apologized.

"That's okay," said Luffy as he and Y/N slowly stood up,

"Don't mind Nami," Y/N advised Luffy. "She lost someone important to pirates and thinks we're the same way. In other words, we're lower than dirt."

"Oh, now I understand," Luffy commented.

"Well... maybe you guys aren't that bad," Nami admitted as she stared at Y/N. He was an odd one, he fell out of the sky and saved her from a bunch of pirates, and then he agreed to help her in her crazy plan to steal Buggy's treasure. He seemed to know it was doomed to fail but went along with it anyway and ended up trapped in a cage and almost got blown up for his troubles. Then the first thing he did when he got out of the cage was fight a giant lion for a dog, and then made the jerk that controlled the lion apologize to the aforementioned dog. He was nothing like a pirate should be... he helped people. "That was a good thing you did."

"Whatever," Y/N replied with an indifferent shrug as he put his hands in his pockets.

"I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE!" the Mayor suddenly shouted. "I can't stand anymore of this cruel bullying! Not after the way Chou-Chou and you kids fought back so bravely! What kind of Mayor stands back and lets his town be destroyed!"

"Mayor, please calm down," said Nami as she tried to calm him while Luffy and Y/N stared at him curiously.

"SOMETIMES A MAN HAS TO STAND UP FOR HIMSELF!" the mayor yelled. "RIGHT BOYS!"

"Hm..." said Y/N as he looked on with mild interest.

"You said it old man," Luffy answered.

"WHY ARE YOU ENCOURAGING HIM!" Nami snapped at the two pirates.

Any response that Nami had hoped for was cut off by the Mayor, who was continuing on his rant, "Forty years of hard work! This place was wilderness when we got here. At first it was just a few homes, but slowly our numbers grew. We worked hard, cleared the land. And in time people came and opened up shops. And look at where we are now! We're a thriving port! We old timers built this town from nothing. It's our life's work."

Luffy was smiling and Y/N was still watching with only mild interest. Nami looked at the old man with worry, what was he going to do?

"THIS TOWN AND ITS PEOPLE ARE MY TREASURE! I'D BE A SORRY EXCUSE FOR A MAYOR IF I DIDN'T TRY TO PROTECT THE TOWN! I'M GONNA FIGHT!"

The Mayor pulled his spear off from his back, but then... KA-BOOOOM! KER-RASH! A loud explosion went off and a Buggy Ball smashed through several buildings, reducing them to piles of rubble. The explosion was large enough to send, Luffy, Nami, Y/N, and Mayor Boodle flying.

"THAT'S MY HOUSE!" the Mayor yelled once he sat up and surveyed the damage.

"ZORO WAS SLEEPING IN THERE!" Luffy shouted.

"Did that injured kid die?" asked the Mayor as the four of them looked into the dust cloud hovering over the rubble from the Mayor's house.

"HEY ZORO, ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!" Luffy called out.

But slowly the smoke and dust settled and it turned out Zoro was alive. The swordsman slowly sat up and stared around at everyone, "That was one heck of an alarm clock," Zoro commented.

"HE'S ALIVE!" Luffy cheered.

"How could anyone live through that?" Nami wondered.

"THAT TEARS IT!" the fuming Mayor yelled, "I WON'T LOSE A SECOND TOWN TO THOSE SEA RATS! THESE PIRATES SHOW UP AND THINK THEY CAN DO ANYTHING THEY WANT... WELL I WON'T LET THEM DESTROY FORTY YEARS OF WORK! I'M THE MAYOR I WON'T TAKE THIS SITTING DOWN! IT'S TIME TO FIGHT!"

"Mayor, please wait," Nami pleaded as she tired to hold the old man back and prevent him from getting himself killed.

"Let me go!" the Mayor snapped as he struggled to free himself from Nami's grip.

"Getting yourself killed won't accomplish anything," Nami attempted to reason with him, "You're being reckless!"

"I KNOW I'M BEING RECKLESS!" the Mayor shouted with his eyes filled with tears. Nami was caught off guard, allowing the old man to pull himself free. With a loud shout he ran off for the Drinker's Pub. "Buggy the Clown! Prepare to face the Mayor!"

"The Mayor... he was crying..." Nami realized.

"It didn't look like that to me," said Luffy.

"Things are finally going to get fun," Zoro commented.

"Hahaha, yeah!" Luffy laughed.

"This is no laughing matter!" Nami snapped.

"Don't worry, I like that old man," Luffy reassured Nami.

"He's in over his head," Y/N bluntly stated.

"Yup," Luffy agreed.

"If we let him go alone, he'll get killed," Y/N guessed.

"Most likely," Zoro admitted.

"And if we do nothing, those pirates are gonna destroy this town," Y/N reasoned.

"Probably," Luffy replied.

"He said this town was his treasure." Y/N reminded them. "Are we gonna stand here and let those clowns destroy it?"

"HELL NO!" Luffy shouted, who had gotten worked up by his First Mate.

"Nope," said Zoro, who was a bit more restrained.

"Then its time to fight," Y/N resolved. "I'm out of the cage, and Zoro, you seem to have recovered a bit. We'll beat Buggy and the rest of his crew, get the chart and the treasure, and then Nami'll join our crew."

"I SAID I'D THINK ABOUT IT!" Nami snapped. "What are you getting out of this anyway?"

"I wasn't aware that we were getting anything," Y/N replied with an indifferent shrug, "Unless you want to reconsider joining."

"Join up with us," Luffy offered as he held out his hand to Nami.

"You want the chart and the treasure, right?" Y/N supplied.

Nami stared down at Luffy's hand, but then slapped it away. WHAP! "I won't become a pirate," said Nami, "But we'll work together and strive for a common goal."

"We'll take what we can get," Y/N commented.

-x-

"NOW FOR THE SECOND SHOT!" Buggy announced. He and his crew were still on top of the Pub and were continuing with Buggy's evil plan of destroyed the entire town and the Straw Hat Pirates along with it.

"The cannon is loaded Captain," a pirate reported.

"EXCELLENT, THEN READY FI—" Buggy was cut off by a shout coming from the street below them.

"BUGGY THE CLOWN! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!" came the loud voice of the Mayor.

"What's that?" questioned Buggy as he and his pirates looked down in shock, was this stupid old man really calling out Captain Buggy?

-x-

"Don't tell me you're going too!" Nami exclaimed as Zoro got to his feet and started following after Luffy, "What about your wound?"

"I'm healed," Zoro answered casually.

"What!" Nami snapped.

"My name's been tainted," Zoro explained as he tied on his black bandana, "That hurts more than any injury."

"This isn't our fight," Y/N admitted. "But I refuse to allow them to destroy that old man's treasure. Let's put that circus out of business."

"RIGHT!" Luffy and Zoro ran off.

"The Pub's that way..." Y/N called after them as he pointed in the opposite direction.

"RIGHT!" Luffy and Zoro turned around and ran in the direction Y/N was pointing.

"And what are you going to do?" asked Nami, "The one is a freakishly strong pirate that can get smashed through a building and live and the other is a feared swordsman. What can you do?"

"Me?" questioned Y/N with a raised eyebrow. "I already fought. If I did everything it wouldn't be fair. It's their turn. When it's over I'll see if Buggy has something worth taking. Part of the Pirate's Code states that when one pirate crew beats the other, you can take what you want from them without repercussion. When we win, we'll get his treasure. I'll split it with you if you join the crew."

"Pirates have a code?" Nami inquired. "I thought they were all just evil savages."

Y/N shook his head, "Some pirates have honor and they follow the Pirate's Code. The evil savages you mentioned are the one's that don't. As nasty as he seems, I think Buggy follows the Code too, so when Luffy beats him we'll be able to take his treasure. As First Mate, I handle the crew's finances, mainly because if I left it to Luffy and Zoro, everything would fall into disarray. If you join, I'd be happy to split it with you."

Nami stared at him for a few seconds, "We'll see what happens," was what she said, but what she thought was..."I'll see what happens in this fight and then I'll just steal it from the winner."

Y/N shrugged indifferently and put his hands in his pockets as they continued walking. "Hopefully we'll get there before the fight is over."

"Do you really think they can win?" asked Nami. Luffy and Zoro were so far ahead that Nami and Y/N couldn't even see them any more.

"Do you think I could beat Buggy's First Mate and a lion ten times my size?" Y/N questioned.

"...No," Nami admitted.

"I did," Y/N reminded her, "and they're both stronger than I am."

-x-

Gong

-x-

On the roof of the Drinker's Pub Buggy and his pirates were still shocked that the old Mayor wanted to fight the Great Captain Buggy. "You want to fight me?" questioned Buggy as he glanced down at the old man.

"MY NAME IS BOODLE! I'M THE MAYOR OF THIS TOWN! COME DOWN AND FIGHT ME!"

Buggy looked on in amusement, so did his pirates. One in particular was glancing at the Mayor in interest. He had black hair, which was long and flowing on one side but was cut short and striped between black and blond on the other. He wore a long blue and white striped scarf that covered his mouth and went down to his feet, and equally long dark blue sleeveless coat, a pair of white pants, and a light blue sash around his waist. He was Cabaji the Acrobat, also known as Buggy the Clown's Second Mate.

"Har har har, did he say he wanted to fight the Captain?" a pirate laughed, "Does he really think that he can win?"

"Captain Buggy," Cabaji called out as he opened his mouth and grabbed something inside, "Let me finish him."

"Wow it's Second Mate Cabaji's show time!" some of the Buggy Pirates exclaimed as Cabaji pulled a sword out of his mouth. Cabaji then flew into the air, while on a unicycle and spun around before landing next to Captain Buggy. TMP!

"It's been a while since I've fought," said Cabaji, "I don't want to get rusty."

"Yeah! Finish him Cabaji!" The Buggy Pirates cheered.

"No," said Captain Buggy, "The fool said he wanted to fight me. You stay out of this."

"Aww, we're not going to be seeing Cabaji's Acrobatic Show," the pirates complained.

"Why do you want to fight me?" Buggy demanded as he glared down at the Mayor, "For fame?"

"Don't be stupid!" the Mayor snapped, "I came here to protect my town. It's my treasure!"

"Are you out of your mind?" asked Buggy, "Treasure is flashy and makes its owner a King! THIS TOWN OF YOURS DOESN'T SPARKLE, IT ROTS!"

"SHUT UP!" the Mayor yelled, "I should have known you wouldn't understand my feelings for this town! Now get down here!"

"Go down there?" questioned Buggy as he suddenly detached one of his hands, "Why should I?" Buggy's hand floated down towards the old Mayor and closed around the old man's through, choking the life out of him.

"Y-you... monster," the Mayor wheezed as he struggled against Buggy's hand, "I-I'll never be afraid of you!" The Mayor started hitting Buggy's hand as hard as he could, but that only served to hurt his own throat.

"Are you trying to beat me by punching yourself in the throat?" questioned Buggy as he watched the Mayor struggle. "You dare to order ME down there! Who do you think you're talking to? ANSWER ME! WHAT'S MY NAME!"

"I can't die here, not without getting revenge!" the Mayor thought to himself as he continued struggling.

"Soon I shall flashily rule the Grand Line!" Buggy exclaimed, "all of the flashy treasures of the world will be mine and mine alone! You told me this town is your treasure? Well you're lucky you won't be alive to see what I do to it!"

"CURSE YOU!" the Mayor screamed as Buggy's hand started lifting him up into the air, "GET DOWN HERE AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN!"

"Why should I?" questioned Buggy, "You are not even worth the effort!"

"I WON'T LET YOU WRECK THIS TOWN!" The Mayor hollered. "COME DOWN HERE AND FIGHT ME!"

Suddenly Buggy felt his grip on the Mayor's throat slip, his hand had been pulled off, "Huh?" questioned Buggy in confusion, who would be so stupid to get involved in this? Buggy looked down to see who it was, "THE PIRATE HUNTER AND THE KID IN THE STRAW HAT!" Standing behind the mayor were Luffy and Zoro, the two of them looked ready to beat Buggy right now.

Luffy smirked up at Buggy as he held Buggy's hand away from the Mayor, who dropped to his knees, gasping for breath. "I'M BACK!" Luffy announced, "I TOLD YOU I WAS GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!"

Buggy summoned his hand back and reattached it to his wrist. "You guys must really enjoy pain," Buggy snarled. "You're pretty brave to confront me! BUT THIS TIME YOU WON'T ESCAPE!"

"Who's trying to escape?" Zoro taunted.

"What are you doing here!" the Mayor demanded as he struggled up to his feet, "This is none of your business. This is my fight. This is my town and I'm going to protect it! So don't interfere!"

"You've got a point," Y/N commented as he and Nami walked over, Y/N still had his hands in his pockets.

"At least one of you sees reason!" the Mayor growled. "You kids get out of here, I'm the mayor here. I'm responsible for this town!"

"That's true," Y/N agreed as he walked up to the old man. "But on the other hand..." POW! Before the old man could blink, Y/N shot out his hand and drove his knuckles right into the bridge of his nose. THUD! Mayor Boodle crashed to the ground and was out like a light.

"WHO'S SIDE ARE YOU ON?" Nami demanded as she glared at Y/N, who put his hand back in his pocket and calmly stood over the unmoving mayor.

"He was in the way," said Luffy as if that explained everything.

"Good thinking," Zoro commented, "He'll be safer unconscious."

"YOU'RE TOO RECKLESS!" Nami scolded Y/N.

"Me? Reckless?" Y/N repeated. "Not likely. I'll show you reckless." Y/N walked over to Luffy and whispered something in his ear.

"Are you sure pirates are supposed to say that kind of stuff?" asked Luffy.

"All the great pirates taunt their enemies before battle," Y/N explained, he discretely crossed his fingers behind his back. "You want to be a great pirate, right?"

"Of course, watch, I'll do it!" Luffy vowed, "HEEEEYYY BIIIIIIG NOOOOSSSEEE! YOUR MOTHER IS A HAMSTER AND YOUR FATHER SMELLED OF ELDERBERRIES! GET DOWN HERE OR I'LL TAUNT YOU A SECOND TIME, YOU FAKE-NOSED COWARD!"

Everyone gasped at the fact that some no-name pirate had not only made fun of Buggy's nose, but also his parents and called him a coward. The look on Buggy's face was a mixture of shock and outrage. He couldn't believe that someone dared to insult him like that.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Buggy shrieked, "GIVE HIM A BUGGY BALL! FIRE!"

"You idiot!" Nami scolded.

"Get out of the way, you guys don't want to get hit!" Zoro exclaimed.

"Luffy, would you get this?" Y/N asked calmly without even taking his hands out of his pockets. He casually stepped away from the Captain. KA-BOOOM! The special cannon ball was fired and came rocketing towards them.

"That measly cannon ball isn't going to work on me!" Luffy exclaimed. "GUM... GUM... BALLOON!" FWOOOSH! Luffy expanded outward and got rounded like a giant rubber balloon, the cannon ball went crashing right into Luffy's giant belly.

"What the heck IS that guy!" Buggy yelled, "He took a direct hit from a Buggy Ball!" BOING! Luffy's stomach shot back out and launched the cannon ball at the pub, "AND NOW HE FIRED IT BACK AT US!"

"You could at least tell us what your planning next time," Zoro remarked, who was clearly relieved. KA-BOOOM! The cannon ball smashed into the pub and blew it up. A think cloud of dust covered everything and no one could see or hear Buggy or his crew.

"Nice shot," Y/N commented as he looked at the thick cloud of dust.

"That evens the odds a little," said Luffy.

"WHAT ARE YOU?" Nami demanded as she stared at the rubber pirate in shock.

"You made me worry for nothing," said Zoro as he shook his head.

-x-

Versus Buggy's Crew:

-x-

The cloud of dust that floated over the remains of the Drinker's Pub was finally settling, but Nami didn't care, she was too confused. "WHAT ARE YOU?" She demanded as she stared at Luffy in surprise. "What kind of a person can inflate himself like a balloon?"

"That was the Gum Gum Balloon," Luffy told her.

"I DIDN'T ASK WHAT IT WAS, I ASKED HOW YOU DID IT!" Nami snapped but suddenly there was a rumbling in a distance. The dust had faded, revealing the trashed remains of the Drinker's Pub. The Straw Hats and Nami spotted two of Buggy's pirates and the giant lion Y/N beat before came pushing up through the rubble.

"You kids have got some nerve," came the voice of Buggy the Clown as he tossed two of his men to the side. He had been holding them in front of himself like a shield to prevent the cannon from doing any damage.

"Captain, this is the worst disgrace we have suffered since you formed our crew," said Cabaji, who was holding up the giant lion as a shield.

"I can barely suppress my rage," Buggy fumed as he glared at Luffy and Y/N, these kids were getting really annoying.

"Where am I?" came a voice from behind Buggy and Cabaji, Mohji slowly pulled himself out of the rubble, "What the hell happened?" The lion tamer was surprised by the state of the destroyed pub.

"Mohji you're still alive?" Cabaji inquired as he glanced back at the Beast Tamer.

"Cabaji!" Mohji cried when he saw what the Acrobat was doing to his lion, "What are you doing to Richie?"

"What the kitty?" questioned Cabaji as he tossed the lion aside, "I was using him as a shield. I didn't want to get my clothes dirty."

"Richie are you okay?" Mohji asked as he bent down to check on his lion. Mohji glared at Cabaji, but suddenly noticed who was standing in front of him. "HEY! IT'S THOSE PIRATES! LOOK OUT THEY'RE STRONGER THAN THEY LOOK!"

"So it would appear," Buggy growled as he glared angrily at his First Mate.

"Luffy ate a Devil Fruit when he was seven," Y/N explained to Nami. "Like the clown over there, it gave him powers and turned his body into rubber. We provoked them into doing something stupid and attacking, so we could capitalize on it. Now there are only three of them."

"Rubber?" Nami repeated as she glanced at Luffy.

"Yeah," Y/N answered as he grabbed the sides of Luffy's face and pulled, causing Luffy's face to stretch. "He ate the Gum Gum Fruit."

With his face still being stretched by Y/N, Luffy stuck his tongue out at Buggy seeing how he was already making a face, "BLEEEEEEAAAAHHHHH!"

"The Devil Fruit..." Buggy said to himself as he gritted his teeth and attempted to ignore the rubber pirate making faces at him, "That explains how he was able to bounce the cannonball back. But Mohji, if you knew that..." Buggy's hands suddenly grabbed Mohji and tossed him towards the Straw Hat Crew, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!"

"I DIDN'T!" Mohji shrieked as he flew through the air then landed in front of Y/N's feet.

Y/N slowly looked down at Mohji, "Hi," Y/N greeted the Beast Tame in his usual calm, relaxed tone. He slowly began advancing on the man he'd already defeated. Mohji was already backing down and was attempting to escape the scary cyclops.

"AEEEEIIIYYYEE!" Mohji screamed like a little girl then got up and ran, "HE'S GONNA KILL ME!" THWAM! Mohji wasn't looking where he was going and ran face-first into a wall and knocking himself out cold.

"Hmph, I'm done now," Y/N announced as he put his hands in his pockets.

"THAT DOES IT!" Buggy hollered. "CABAJI, KILL THEM! I WON'T ALLOW THEM TO INSULT US AND LIVE!"

Cabaji nodded then hopped on his unicycle and started wheeling towards Y/N with his sword drawn, "Cabaji the Acrobat, Buggy's Second Mate," Cabaji introduced himself, "I'LL GET REVENGE FOR YOU CAPTAIN!"

Y/N didn't even bother reaching for his sword, KLANG! The sound of metal-on-metal contact rang out, Zoro was standing in front of Y/N blocking Cabaji's sword with one of his own.

"If it's a sword fight you want," said Zoro, "Then I'm your man."

"Roronoa Zoro, as one great swordsman to another, it will be an honor to cut you down," Cabaji stated.

"Zoro, are you sure you've got this?" Y/N inquired.

"I need to repair my reputation after what happened before," said Zoro.

"Alright," Y/N agreed. "He's all yours. Just don't lose to someone as weak as him, or you'll never become the World's Greatest Swordsman." Y/N turned and walked off then stood in between Luffy and Nami so he could watch the fight.

"He couldn't have healed from the wounds the captain gave him," Cabaji thought to himself as he watched Zoro, "I'm surprised he can even stand."

"Acrobatics! OLD MAN'S FLAME!" Cabaji shouted, a large burst of fire suddenly came out of Cabaji's mouth and flew at Zoro. FWOOOSH! Zoro got his swords up and tried to avoid the burning flames that Cabaji was spitting at him. But while Zoro was attempting to block the fire, Cabaji swung his leg around and kicked Zoro hard in the side, FWAK!

"ARRRRGGGHH!" Zoro screamed in pain as he hit the ground, Cabaji had kicked him right where Buggy had stabbed him.

"I didn't think that I hit you that hard," Cabaji commented mockingly, "why are you crying?"

"That was a dirty trick!" Nami exclaimed, "He was aiming for his wound!"

"The Acrobat knows that he can't beat Zoro in a fair fight," Y/N calmly explained. "He's going to try and take any advantage he can get."

Cabaji glared at Y/N, then turned his attention back to his opponent and called out another attack, "Acrobatics! MURDER CASE IN THE STREAM BATH!" Cabaji twirled his sword around dragged it along the ground, causing it to create a thick cloud of dust. SKISSSHHH!

"Acrobatics my ass!" Zoro snapped. "You're just kicking up dust."

Cabaji's sword came out from the dust aiming at Zoro's head, but the Pirate Hunter got two of his swords up and blocked the blow, CLANG! But with Zoro's arms both occupied Cabaji capitalized and swung his foot around and drove it into Zoro's wounded side, KER-WAK! Cabaji's kick reopened the swordsman's wound, causing blood to start flowing out of it again.

"AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!" Zoro screamed on the ground in pain while Luffy, Y/N, and Nami looked on.

"He did it again!" Nami exclaimed, she couldn't stand the dirty tactics being displayed by these pirates.

"What's wrong?" Cabaji taunted, "Real men don't cry like little girls you know. Your friend's odd talents caused us quite a bit of trouble. This'll teach you not to mess with Buggy's Crew!"

"And real men don't resort to cheap tricks to beat their opponents," said Y/N loud enough for Cabaji to hear him.

"WHY YOU!" Cabaji growled at Y/N. "I'LL KILL YOU ONCE I FINISH ZORO!"

Zoro was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, "Zoro's hurt bad," Nami cried out, she quickly turned to Luffy and Y/N, "How can you just stand there and watch your friend get killed?"

"He'll be fine," Y/N told her. "Part of the Pirate's Code states that you don't interfere in someone else's fight, it makes the finish meaningless. I'm not going to tarnish my Nakama's pride by interfering in his fight."

"That's stupid," Nami stated. "You'd just stand there and let your friend get killed?"

"If I were to interfere and help him win this fight, then I'd be damaging Zoro's reputation," Y/N explained. "Zoro cares enough about his reputation to fight this guy despite his injuries. He'd never forgive me if he became known as a swordsman who relied on others to fight his battles for him. Besides, he doesn't need my help. He's gonna hit his second wind soon and he'll get back up and win this thing."

"Roronoa Zoro!" Cabaji called out as he wheeled forward with sword held out at his side, "Prepare to die!"

But suddenly Zoro got back up, KLANK! Zoro smashed one of his swords into Cabaji's, knocking the strange acrobat off balance, causing him to fall on his face. THUD!

Nami glanced at Y/N in surprise, but he was still standing there with his hands in his pockets looking as calm as he always was, "Now the acrobat is in trouble."

"What a loser," Zoro taunted, "Did you have fun kicking my wound?"

SLISH! To the shock of everyone watching, Zoro took his sword and slashed his own wound, opening it up even more, causing more blood to flow out of it and drip down his leg and onto the ground at his feet. PLURT!

"What?" Cabaji exclaimed in confusion, "He cut himself!"

"My goal is to become the World's Greatest Swordsman," said Zoro.

"What are you talking about?" Cabaji demanded.

"IS THAT ENOUGH OF A HANDICAP FOR YOU!" Zoro shouted as he glanced down at the huge blood dripping wound at his side, "NOW I'LL GIVE YOU A LESSON ON THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOU AND ME!"

"Wow, that's so cool!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Hm," said Y/N, who actually seemed impressed.

"Roronoa Zoro, you want to make a fool out of me?" questioned Cabaji. Now he was getting mad.

-x-

High Level Versus Low Level

-x-

Zoro and Cabaji stood across from each other. Zoro's self-inflicted wound was still bleeding severely.

"Just watching this I feel faint," Nami complained as she looked at the puddle of Zoro's blood dripping on the ground.

"I've seen worse," Y/N stated.

"GET 'IM ZORO!" Luffy cheered, he wanted to see his Nakama kick that dirty, cheating acrobat's ass.

"I can't lose even once to anyone who calls himself a swordsman," Zoro announced as he glared at Cabaji.

"I see," Cabaji commented, "So you cut yourself to save your reputation. It will serve as an excellent excuse when you lose."

"It's actually the other way around," Zoro corrected him, "If I lose to someone like you when my wounds are only this light... I might as well give up my dream right now!"

"Why you!" Cabaji snapped, Zoro had just insulted him and was calling him weak. On top of Y/N's almost constant barrage of throw away insults, he was getting really worked up.

"Hey," Nami suddenly said to Y/N and Luffy, "That shed behind the ruins of the pub. That's where they keep their treasure." Y/N and Luffy glanced at the shed that Nami was pointing to. "Buggy's got the chart to the Grand Line in there too. So I'm going to go steal it and make my escape."

"Wait... " said Y/N, "Something's not right about this."

"No, I've got to do it now while the pirates are unconscious," Nami replied, "I don't really care if you guys win or lose this fight, I just want the treasure. So good luck boys, and I'll see you later."

"Thanks, good luck," Luffy called after her, he was still intent on watching Zoro and Cabaji's fight. Y/N on the other hand was torn between two things, one: the fight, and two: what might be in the shed besides the treasure.

"Zoro, stop playing around and finish him," Y/N instructed as he watched Nami run off and dart around a corner and in between two houses.

"Playing?" Cabaji repeated, "He's about to die!" The Acrobat turned back to Zoro, "Roronoa Zoro, prepare to face the greatest of my circus tricks! Acrobatics! THEATRE OF ONE HUNDRED KAMIKAZE TOPS!" Cabaji threw a bunch of metal tops at Zoro, they were spinning really fast and would probably hurt a lot if they hit him. WAK! WAK! Zoro started cutting the tops in half to keep himself from getting hit, but while Zoro was distracted Cabaji rode on his unicycle and started to ride up a wall, "Acrobatics! CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN!"

WAK! WAK! Zoro finally managed to knock the last of the tops out of the way, then looked up in surprise as Cabaji launched off of the building and flew through the air. "Acrobatics! COOL EVENING FIREWORK LAUNCH!"

"Wow he's way up there!" Luffy exclaimed as everyone looked up at Cabaji, beside him, Y/N didn't look impressed at all.

Cabaji was up in mid air the positioned his sword parallel with the wheel of his unicycle. "STING OF THE UNICYCLE!" Cabaji started to plummet and was going straight down, looking to drive his sword through the top of Zoro's head.

"GROUND RUNNER... CHOP CHOP CANNON!" Buggy suddenly yelled, he released his hand and sent it along the ground towards Zoro, looking to grab him and keep him from dodging his Second Mate's attack, "CABAJI, I'LL HOLD HIM DOWN! FINISH HIM OFF FLASHILY!"

"With pleasure," Cabaji agreed as he continued to plummet.

"Damn," Zoro cursed as Buggy's hand came flying towards him.

STOMP! Luffy stepped forward and drove his foot down onto Buggy's hand causing Buggy to scream out in frustration, pain, and surprise as his hand was pinned to the ground.

"KEEP YOUR HANDS OUT OF ZORO'S DUEL!" Luffy yelled as he glared at Buggy.

Beside Luffy, Y/N was glaring at Buggy as well. The clown captain had almost violated the Pirate's Code by interfering in the duel between the two swordsman, that made him wonder if Buggy would be willing to part with his treasure if/when they won the battle between their two crews. Y/N frowned and decided to help Nami with the treasure once the fight was over, he wasn't about to let a large amount of treasure and the chart of the Grand Line ride on Buggy's pirate honor, because from the look of things, he didn't have much.

"Why you..." Buggy snapped, how dare that brat stomp on his hand!

"I don't need the Captain to finish you," Cabaji called out as he fell further down.

But suddenly, since Buggy's hand wasn't holding him down, Zoro dove out of the way and dodged Cabaji's attack, WHOMP! Cabaji missed and smashed down to the ground and came up empty.

"That's enough," said Zoro, as he sat on the ground in front of Cabaji, "I'm tired."

"Hahaha! Tired?" Cabaji laughed, "Well you sure have lost a lot of blood. So you've finally given up. Well, it's amazing you can still stand in your condition."

"YOU'VE GOT IT WRONG!" Zoro shouted, "WHAT I'M TIRED OF... ARE YOUR STUPID ACROBATICS!"

"Then I'll finish you now, with real swordsmanship!" Cabaji decided as he wheeled at Zoro with his sword poised for an attack.

Zoro stood up in front of Cabaji and didn't seem intimidated, as Cabaji got close Zoro lunged forward and lashed out with all three of his swords "DEMON SLICE!" SLA-SLISH! Zoro used all three of his swords to cut Cabaji across the chest, the Acrobat went passed Zoro, but then stopped as blood dripped shot out of the wounds Zoro had inflicted on his chest, PLURT!

"Cabaji!" Buggy cried out in alarm, this was bad he didn't have any men left..

"How could we lose to these common thieves?" Cabaji wondered as he fell to the ground and passed out. FWUMP! After taking a lot of damage from Cabaji's bizarre attacks and cheap shots, Zoro managed to come back and won the duel.

"We're not thieves," Zoro corrected him, "We're pirates!" FWUMP! With that Zoro fell to the ground alongside Cabaji, "Luffy, I'm going to sleep now."

"Go ahead and get some rest," Luffy told the swordsman, "I'll take it from here."

"I'll get out of the way," Y/N offered, "if you're gonna fight the clown, then this will be a Devil Fruit Power show down. I think it'll be hazardous to my health if I get caught in the middle of this fight.

"Alright, see you later Y/N," Luffy called out as Y/N walked off in the direction Nami had gone in.

And thus Straw Hat Luffy was left on his own to face off against Pirate Captain Buggy the Clown.

"You guys, you call yourselves pirates?" questioned Buggy.

"That's right!" Luffy replied, "now hand over that map to the Grand Line!"

"So that's what you're after," Buggy commented, he couldn't believe these kids thought they could make it in the Grand Line, "But the Grand Line isn't a playground for unknown pirates like you! What are you planning on doing there? Go sight-seeing!"

"That's not it," said Luffy, "I'm gonna become King of the Pirates!"

"STOP JOKING YOU CRAZY KID!" Buggy yelled, "IF YOU BECOME THE PIRATE KING THEN WHAT AM I? PIRATE GOD? ALL THE FLASHY TREASURES OF THE WORLD WILL BE MINE! SO QUIT DREAMING!"

"Alright then hurry up and attack me," Luffy taunted, "I'm getting bored."

"You'll regret your words rubber boy!" Buggy snapped, "you and that straw hat remind me of him when he was younger. That crazy red hair!"

"Red hair?" questioned Luffy.

Zoro was sleeping and Luffy and Buggy were about to fight in a battle for the ages. Meanwhile Y/N was walking off looking to find Nami before she reached the treasure shed in an attempt to make sure things didn't go badly over there.

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!