Sergeant Major Tashigi:

-x-

Luffy stood in the middle of the town square at Loguetown, he had finally found the execution platform. "This was the place where the greatest pirate who ever lived died," Luffy realized, "and the place where the Pirate Age began. I wanna see exactly what he saw then before he died. Well, here it goes..."

-x-

"Captain Smoker, where are you going?" a marine called after Smoker as he exited the Gold Roger Bar.

"The town square," Smoker answered gruffly.

"Personal quest," Luffy replied when Smoker had asked him why he wanted to see the execution platform, "to see where the King of the Pirates died."

"He'll be there, I'm sure," Smoker reasoned.

"You mean, Monkey D. Luffy?" questioned one of the marines.

"Captain, I'll relay the message to Lieutenant Devo," said another one of the marines as he saluted the marine captain.

"No need," Smoker told them. "Don't bother the Lieutenant for something like this, I don't need anybody's help."

-x-

CLANK! CLANK! Luffy climbed hand-over-hand up the execution scaffold, this probably wasn't allowed but he didn't really care, he wanted to see what Gold Roger saw before he died. People were gathered in the square and stared up at the strange boy with the straw hat as he climbed like a monkey and attempted to reached the top of the scaffold.

"Hey! You! Kid!" came the voice of Marine Captain Smoker as he stood on the ground and stared up at Luffy.

"I'm kinda busy right now, can it wait a minute?" questioned Luffy as he glanced over his shoulder at the nice marine he'd attempted to get directions from.

"You're him?" Smoker inquired, "The guy with the East Blue's biggest bounty?"

"Yeah, that's me, Monkey D. Luffy," Luffy introduced himself. SLIP! "WHOOAA!" Luffy cried out in surprise as he momentarily lost his hold on the scaffold and slipped downward.

"I'm Captain Smoker of the Marines and I'm in charge of keeping the peace in this town," Smoker stated, "You're under arrest."

"Huh, arrest?" said Luffy. "Forget that, see, I'm going to the Grand Line so that I can become King of the Pirates."

"King of the Pirates?" Smoker repeated, of all the places for the little punk to say that. He picked here at the scaffold where the former King of the Pirates was killed.

"And I refused to get arrested in this town," Luffy continued.

"Then you'll have to go through me," Smoker told him as he cracked his knuckles, "you don't get to enter the Grand Line unless you're able to beat me first. That's the rule of this town. Of course, that's assuming you'll be stupid enough to fight me."

"So your saying I can't get into the Grand Line unless a beat you first?" asked Luffy, "Well, I guess I'll have to beat you."

"Let's get started," Smoker challenged.

Luffy pulled back his fist and got ready to swing at the smoky marine, "GUM... GUM..." WOING! Luffy's rubber legs were tangled in the scaffold, resulting in him getting stuck and hanging upside down from the metal rigging of the platform.

"What's this... he's made out of rubber?" Smoker commented.

"No fair, my legs are all tangled up," Luffy complained as he hung upside-down and swung back and forth.

"HEY! COME ON! GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Smoker yelled.

"I'm not up here because I wanna be, I'm stuck," Luffy attempted to explain as he sat up and pulled at his legs in an attempt to get free. "NNNYYAAAGGG! UUURRAAAGG!" Sploing! Luffy's legs pulled free and he came flying off of the scaffold, Luffy spun around and shot his arm out at Smoker, VREEEING! "I'M FREE! GUM... GUM... PISTOL!" SWISH! Smoker jumped over Luffy's arm as it impacted with the ground, POW!

"Too slow," Smoker taunted as he appeared behind Luffy and punched him in the face, KA-POW! Luffy was sent crashing down to the ground, but Smoker was already standing there and lashed out his leg at Luffy, THWAK! Luffy was punted back up into the air. "He can't possibly be worth thirty million, I don't even need my Devil Fruit Powers. I can beat him with just my fists."

Luffy was sent flying into the execution scaffold but got his feet out in time and bounced off of it then went flying at Smoker, "HERE I COME!" KA-POW! Luffy was met with a fist to the face courtesy of Smoker and was sent flying into the top of the execution scaffold WHAM! Luffy came crashing back down and landed on the ground in front of Smoker. THUD!

"Ugghhh..." Luffy groaned as he laid face-down on the ground.

"Twenty-two years ago I witness Gold Roger's death," said Smoker. "His final moments were proud, worthy of title King of the Pirates. But you, the King of the Pirates? Don't make me laugh. You can't even enter the Grand Line. Don't try to get up, there's no point."

Luffy didn't listen to Smoker's advice and staggered up to his feet, then he turned to his opponent and smiled, "Maybe, but I'll never know unless I try!" Luffy exclaimed. "HERE IT GOES!" Luffy pulled back his leg and stretched it out behind him, "GUM... GUM... WHIIIIP!" WWWOOOOINNNG! Luffy's leg came back and swung passed Smoker and wrapped around a fountain, WA-WA-WOING! "UH OH!" FA-WUP! Luffy's stretched leg retracted and he was sent flying passed Smoker up into the air, and off in a distance, "OH CRAP, I MISSED!"TWINKLE!

"That was... bizarre..." Smoker remarked as he stared after the flying rubber pirate. Monkey D. Luffy had escaped this time, but it wouldn't happen again.

-x-

"I've finally found you!" Sanji swooned, he'd finally managed to track down the beautiful woman that he'd spotted last chapter. "MY SOULMATE!"

"Huh?" said the woman as she looked down at the cook and revealed her round glasses, IT WASN'T HER!

"Uh... my mistake, sorry to bother you," Sanji apologized around the rose in his mouth.

"Man, she was exquisite," Sanji thought to himself as he remembered the beautiful woman. She wore a white cowboy hat, had dark hair, flawless skin, ruby red lips, the only downside was that she was wearing a bulky pink cloak with hearts all over it.

"WAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Sanji looked overhead intime to see Luffy go flying passed and off into a distance.

"Well that was new... sort of..." commented the cook.

-x-

The old man at the Gold Roger Bar was having an extremely busy day today. He'd gone from having barely one customer in Smoker's occasional visits, to five customers AND Smoker. Outside of the bar a large lion with a purple mane that was braided to look like handle bars was sleeping, a cloaked figure was resting against the lion but there was no mistaking the odd hair around his face. Both the man and the lion looked... familiar.

The old man sat behind the counter and watched the four other occupants of the bar. One was seemingly playing with cards that were marked with the insignia of Buggy the Clown. An Ace of Hearts and Ace of Spades were already out on the table, FWIP! A figure wearing a cloak that a round red nose was sticking out of flipped over another card to reveal and Ace of Diamonds. "The cards, they never lie," he said, "They tell me our time for flashy revenge is close at hand. That rubber bastard will finally get what's coming to him."

Beside the figure with the red clown nose was another cloaked man with long black hair and a blue and white striped scarf wrapped around his mouth. At another table sat a much larger cloaked figure, he appeared to be at least ten feet tall and was drinking a bottle of rum.

IT WAS BUGGY THE CLOWN AND HIS CREW! Buggy was sitting at a table attempted to do a Tarot Card reading with normal playing cards while his Second Mate Cabaji sat nearby and watched. Buggy's First Mate Mohji and his pet lion Richie were outside 'keeping watch' and that made the large man Shogi, the giant pirate who usually guarded Buggy's treasure. It looks like Buggy and his gang were looking to exact their revenge on Luffy.

"So, do those cards tell you if you kill the little twerp?" asked the final occupant of the bar. IT WAS SANJI'S DREAM GIRL!

"They're about to," Buggy replied as he went to flip over another card, "Voila!" Fwip! IT WAS THE JOKER!

"Oooh... that's not good," commented Sanji's dream girl.

POW! "SHIT!" Buggy cursed as he slammed his fists and head on the table.

"WAAAAAAHHHHH!" Outside the bar, Mohji woke up from his nap in time to see the pirate they were looking for fly overhead.

Mohji stuck his head down near the cellar-like window and called out into the bar, "CAPTAIN, QUICK! IT'S TIME!" Mohji shouted. Buggy, Cabaji, Shogi, and Sanji's Dream Girl all quickly left the bar in an attempt to find Luffy.

-x-

"WAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" WHAM! Luffy finally landed and slammed down to the ground on the outskirts of Loguetown.

"Ughhh," Luffy groaned, "that was quite a flight. I flew far... what should I do now?" Luffy stared up at the clouds overhead, but didn't seem to have the patience for cloud watching that his first mate had. Luffy yawned then pulled his hat down over his face and promptly went to sleep where he was lying,ZZZZZZZZZZ...

"Uh... are you okay?" a civilian asked as a small group of people crowded around Luffy and stared down at him.

"I think he's dead," commented a woman that had seen the boy fall out of the sky.

Zzzzzzzz... The civilians all stared down at the sleeping pirate unsure of what to make of him.

-x-

Elsewhere, Zoro was being led through Loguetown by the girl swordsman who's glasses he'd accidentally broken.

"Hey... wait... hold on... where are we going?" Zoro attempted to ask as he followed after the blue haired girl.

"I can't believe you broke my glasses," said the girl.

"I told you, I'll pay you back," Zoro reminded her.

"You'll pay me back?" the girl repeated. "You look like you barely have any money."

Zoro had some money but he was still kind of short to get the two swords he needed. Paying for this girl's expensive glasses would set him back a lot. "Uh... well..." Zoro attempted to explain.

"I knew it!" the girl interrupted as she stopped walking and turned around to face Zoro. Since he'd broken her glasses, she walked up close to him and glared at him. "I can tell by the look on your face that you're pretty desperate. What is it? Your sick mother needs medicine? Or did your wife run away with another man and leave you all alone to raise the children by yourself?"

"Hey, hold on!" Zoro attempted to cut her off. The only thing running through his mind was: "WHAT THE HELL?"

"Don't explain," the girl interrupted again, "just come with me." Zoro reluctantly followed, but became even more reluctant when he realized that the girl was leading him to the Loguetown Marine Headquarters.

"Uggghh... marines..." Zoro groaned, this wouldn't end well, here he was... a pirate, walking into a marine base.

-x-

"Here," said the girl as she handed Zoro a bucket and a mop, "lucky for you, our janitor quit this morning. Once you start working for the marines you'll never have to worry about money problems again. There will always be a job here for you."

"Not a chance in hell!" Zoro refused as he attempted to hand the bucket and mop back. "I don't work for marines!"

"You can't leave now, I expect to be paid back for my glasses!" said the girl.

"Yeah, and I..." Zoro started to say but the girl once again cut him off.

"Maybe once you're done cleaning the floors you can work on cleaning up your attitude if this is the way you're going to repay my kindness!"

"YEAH... BUT I..." Zoro attempted to explain once again, he was ready to pay the annoying girl off right here and be done with the whole thing, he didn't care how much it set him back.

"Sergeant Major!" came the voice of a marine as he approached and saluted the girl, "It's time for training."

"I'll be back to check on you," the 'Sergeant Major' told Zoro, before she walked off with the marine.

"She's a Sergeant?" Zoro said to himself, but then he realized that he was stuck in the marine base with a mop and bucket and was expected to clean the floors, "AWWW... CRAP!"

-x-

Outside, Nami was walking down the street humming to herself while holding a big sack of clothes and several other shopping bags. "Shopping always makes me feel better," Nami said to herself.

She stopped when she noticed a pair of familiar wanted posters pinned to the wall. Luffy was smiling at her and Y/N was giving her the finger.

"Oh, hey Nami," came a voice, Nami turned around in surprise and spotted the real 'One Eye' Y/N with Usopp walking along beside him. Both of them were carrying sacks of their own. The head of a pair of shovels and a pick axe were sticking out of Y/N's sack while the sleeve of a padded black winter coat was poking out of Usopp's. "What's up?"

Nami turned and pointed at the wanted posters on the wall. "Oh, another one of those, huh?" questioned Y/N, he nudged Nami to the side and stepped up to the posters, RIIIIIP! Y/N tore his poster off the wall and crumpled it into a ball then stuffed it into his pocket. "There, problem solved. No one will recognize me if they don't know what I look like."

"What about Luffy and my poster?" asked Usopp.

"Luffy's probably already been spotted," Y/N replied, "and I doubt anyone will be paying enough attention to the poster to recognize the back of your head."

Krek! A door opened, and the three pirates suddenly realized they were standing next to a marine base. Y/N, Nami, and Usopp backed around the corner but were surprised to see ZORO come out from the marine base.

"Damn it, how'd this happen to me?" Zoro grumbled as he put down a trash can and headed back inside.

"Zoro!" Usopp exclaimed.

"What's he doing working for the marines?" Nami wondered.

The two of them turned and noticed Y/N sporting a sly grin, "Usopp, hold this," Y/N instructed as he handed the marksman his sack of treasure hunting tools.

"What are you gonna do?" asked Nami as Usopp took Y/N's bag. "You can't go in there, you've got a bounty on your head!"

"Of course I'm going in there," said Y/N, "how else am I gonna make fun of him?" With that, 'One Eye' Y/N, First Mate of the Straw Hat Pirates, Second Most Wanted Man in the East Blue, snuck into the Loguetown Marine Base.

-x-

Skish... skish... skish... Zoro dumped water on the floor and swept the mop through it in an attempt to clean it. "Crap, this is going to take the whole damn day," grumbled Zoro, "Unless..." Zoro picked up another mop, then put a third mop in his mouth. Tmp!Tmp!Tmp! SKISH!SKISH!SKISH! Zoro ran down the hall sweeping the floor with all three of his mops. The floor sparkled as he passed, in no time, Zoro was done.

"Three-Mop-Style Technique worked like a charm," Zoro commented, still holding a mop in his mouth.

Klak! Klak! Klak! Zoro's attention was drawn to some odd noises coming from out in the courtyard. Zoro looked out the window and saw the female Sergeant dueling with two marines using wooden swords.

"Rahh!" WHIFF! The girl dodged the attack from one marine and quickly struck him on the back with her sword, WHAK! The girl quickly got her sword up again in time to block the attack from the other marine, KLAK! The girl quickly broke through the marines guard and struck him on the back of the head, WHAK! The marine went crashing to the ground, leaving both of them lying at the Sergeant-Major's feet. She'd beaten them both at once and without her glasses, that said a lot about the girls sword-skills.

"One more time!" exclaimed one of the marines as the two of them struggled to get up again. KLAK! KLAK! WHAK! The first marine went down, KLAK! WHAK! And with that both marines were down. Zoro stared at the girl in awe, not only did she looked just like Kuina but she was also an accomplished female swordsman.

"What are you doing?" came a familiar voice from behind Zoro.

Zoro spun around and turned to face Y/N, who was still wearing his big sunglasses. "What're you doing in here?" Zoro demanded.

"I asked you first," Y/N pointed out.

"Uhh..." Zoro attempted to explain.

"Would you rather tell me about your new girlfriend or the Three-Mop-Style Technique?" Y/N inquired.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Zoro snapped. "She looks just like Kuina... I ran into her earlier and accidentally broke her glasses. She wants me to pay her back."

"Then why don't you?" asked Y/N, "you have enough money to afford an expensive pair of glasses."

"I tried to tell her that but she wouldn't let me get a word in!" Zoro explained, "she's a nightmare!"

"Uh-huh," said Y/N as his signature sly grin appeared on his face, "so you agreed to work here as a janitor so you can pay her back with money that you already have?"

"That's about right," Zoro agreed, "what're you grinning at?"

"Nothing," replied the still grinning Y/N, "Did you get your swords?"

"No, all the decent ones are worth over five hundred thousand berries," Zoro answered. "All the really good swords are over a million. Even with the money I borrowed from Nami I don't—"

"Wait, you borrowed money from Nami?" Y/N interrupted. His grin was gone.

"I couldn't find you!" Zoro exclaimed.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" asked Y/N, his voice was laced with pity, "you poor, clueless bastard, now you owe NAMI money. That greedy little she-devil will have you jumping through hoops to pay her back. If you know what's good for you, you'll pay her back now, she's just outside."

"Then what do I do about my swords?" questioned Zoro.

"The money I gave you was just to get the clerk to take you seriously," Y/N explained, "You were supposed to pick out two that you liked, find me, and I'd help you pay for the rest."

"Well I..." Zoro attempted to reply but was interrupted.

"Hey, who're you?" Zoro and Y/N turned around to see two marines standing in front of them.

"Wait, you're 'One Eye' Y/N and Roronoa Zoro!" one of the marines realized.

"Uh... no we're not," Y/N lied.

"Oh, well my mistake—WAIT A MINUTE!"

"Intel says that you guys are working together!" said the other marine, who appeared to be a little smarter than the other one, "you're both under arrest."

"Well, I can see how you'd think that," Y/N commented, "but on the other hand..." POW! Y/N lashed out and took the stupid marine by surprise and punched him right in the nose, knocking him out cold.

"Why you!" the other marine growled as he drew his sword and went to attack Y/N, WHA-WHA-WHAK! Zoro stepped in and used his Three-Mop-Style Technique against the other marine leaving both of them unconscious.

"I've gotta get out of here," said Y/N, "unlike you, I've got a bounty on my head." Y/N quickly ran off leaving Zoro standing over two marines holding three mops.

-x-

Y/N, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp were all hiding down an alley across the street from the Marine Base. Y/N had taken his sunglasses off and Zoro was attempting to explain how he'd ended up mopping floors in the marine base. "...then she ran off before I could get a word in, leaving me to clean the floors."

"Smooth," Usopp teased.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Zoro insisted before anyone could say it.

"Did it ever occur to you that could've not acted as the janitor?" Nami suggested.

"I don't like owing people money," said Zoro, "I owed her a pair of glasses. But I left some money on those marines before I left."

"Speaking of owing people money," Y/N commented, "Nami, how much does Zoro owe you?"

"One hundred thousand berries," Nami answered.

"..." Y/N stared at her.

"And... three hundred percent interest," Nami admitted.

"WHAT?" Zoro snapped.

Y/N shook his head, "Zoro, give her three hundred thousand berries," Y/N instructed.

Zoro glared at Nami and handed her the money, "I'll never trust you again," he growled.

"Why would you bother swindling any of them?" Y/N asked Nami, "there's really no challenge to it."

"I know," Nami agreed, "but I wasn't swindling them, I was swindling you."

"..." Y/N stared wide-eyed at the girl who'd claimed to have swindled him.

"Heh," Zoro disguised a laugh with a cough while Usopp gasped at the fact that the ship swindler had just been swindled.

"I knew the second you found out about my deal with Zoro, you'd help him pay me back," Nami explained, "The two million berries you gave me was on the condition that I buy casual clothes for everyone. I just made out with an extra two hundred thousand berries with no strings attached. Now I can buy shoes, books, and personal items for my room."

"..." Y/N was still silent, possibly in shock, leaving Usopp and Zoro to openly laugh at him.

"Ahahahahaha!" Usopp laughed.

"Heh heh," Zoro chuckled.

Nami smiled and stuck her tongue out at Y/N, she was happy to have pulled off her scheme.

"You're a real piece of work," said Y/N as finally got over his shock and stood up. "Of course, you know... this means war."

Zoro and Usopp promptly stopped laughing, the thought of Y/N actively coming after them with intent to swindle even terrified Zoro, Nami on the other hand stayed where she was and smiled, "Bring it on, tough guy." Nami – 1, Y/N – 0

Y/N fished into his pocket and tossed a few bills at Usopp, "There's two hundred thousand berries," said Y/N, "get whatever you need but remember what I taught you."

Usopp nodded and quickly pocketed his money, Y/N then turned to Zoro, "Here's three hundred thousand berries back, find two swords then find me. I've got a few million berries left, and if all else fails I can pawn off some gems. You're useless without your swords, so I'll do what I can to help you buy two decent ones. "

"Uh... thanks?" said Zoro as he caught the money Y/N tossed him. He was wondering if he should feel insulted that Y/N had called him useless or thankful that he was willing to go to such efforts so he wasn't useless.

Y/N turned to Nami and smiled, "You already got yours," he said with a small grin.

Nami glared at him, Zoro and Usopp both had extra cash now and they hadn't done anything to get it, Y/N had taken away from her victory by giving away money while she'd gone out of her way to swindle him out of it.

Y/N picked up the sacks that he and Usopp had been carrying and threw them over his shoulder, "I'm gonna head back to ship and drop off this stuff, want me to carry anything back for you?" he offered.

Nami stared at him, she clearly remembered him declaring war but now he was offering to carry her stuff to the ship for her. Was there some ulterior motive that she was missing? She wasn't about to just hand over all of her new clothes when he clearly couldn't be trusted. "Uh... no thanks, I'm good," Nami answered.

"Suit yourself," Y/N replied as he walked off, "I'll see you guys later."

Nami glared after Y/N, now she realized what he was doing, she was acting paranoid and now she'd just missed out on a free offer of Y/N carrying her stuff back to the ship for her. "That's fine!" Nami called out after him, "I'll just go spend your money!" Zoro and Usopp quickly made themselves scarce.

-x-

Kitetsu III and Yubashiri:

-x-

Some time later, Zoro was walking down a street in Loguetown still looking for a place to buy swords. "Man, that was just too weird," Zoro thought to himself, "She looked just like Kuina, not to mention she was a swordsman of all things. What a crazy world, I doubt I'll ever see her again."

Zoro eventually spotted a sword shop and went in but found that the guy at the counter was fast asleep. The guy had funny looked black hair where he was mostly bald except for the parts of it that stuck out to the sides and a cross in the middle of his bald head. He had a rosy red nose that made him look like he had a cold and wore a baggy blue robe. The man's name was Matsu.

"I'd like to buy some swords," Zoro addressed the sleeping Matsu, causing him to jerk away.

"Huh? Oh! OF COURSE!" Matsu chimed with a big fake smile. "Welcome! Have a look at anything you'd like! We have an extremely large variety to choose from."

"I've got five hundred thousand berries, I need two swords," Zoro explained.

"Two for five hundred thousand?" Matsu repeated, "Great... this guys an amateur." "For two hundred fifty thousand a piece I can only sell you two cheap swords," Matsu told him, his fake smile was gone and he looked irritated.

"I'll make do with anything as long as it works," Zoro replied, "I could get more money if that's the problem."

"Ugh..." Matsu signed to himself, "You can't make do with whatever unless you're an amateur. This bum barely has enough money."

But then Matsu spotted the katana sheathed at Zoro's waist, "THAT SWORD! COULD IT BE?" "Hold on a second, I just wanna take a look at that s-sword you got there. Is that o-okay with you, p-pal?"

"You okay there buddy?" asked Zoro, he was starting to get concerned, this guy was a bigger flip-flop than Usopp. First he was happy then he was irritated and now he seemed a little over-eager.

"Let me see!" Matsu exclaimed.

"Yeah, sure," Zoro agreed as he pulled his white sheathed sword off of his waist and put it on the counter.

Matsu carefully pulled the sword out of its sheath and stared at it bug-eyed, "THIS IS REALLY IT! Stay cool... p-p-p-poker face... p-p-poker face... a complete amateur just walked in with a legendary sword... IT'S SHOWTIME!"

"Wow, that's a pretty nice sword you got," Matsu commented once he calmed down, "Wanna sell it? I'll give you four hundred thousand berries for it. Then you'll have nine hundred thousand berries and you'll be able to buy three swords for three hundred thousand berries each."

"What! Are you kidding me?" asked Zoro, this guy wanted him to sell the sword that carried his dream.

"Alright, I'll give ya six hundred thousand berries," Matsu offered. "No wait, seven hundred fifty thousand!"

"Just stop, I'm not selling it," Zoro refused, that sword carried his dream of becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman, he wouldn't sell it for a billion berries.

"TOUGH GUY!" Matsu screamed, "I'LL BUY IT FROM YOU FOR A MILLION BERRIES! BUT THAT'S MY FINAL OFFER!"

Krek! The door to the store opened and an eerily familiar voice called out, "I'm back!"

Zoro stood stock still when the blue-haired marine Sergeant-Major from earlier came in and ran up to the counter. "Did you finish polishing my Shigure?"

Then the girl noticed the guy standing at the counter next to her and recognized him, "YOU'RE OKAY!" she exclaimed. "I was worried about you. See, some marines were attacked earlier right where you'd been mopping the floors. You were gone though so I just assumed that you had been kidnapped."

"She's... not very bright," Zoro realized.

"The fact that you're here means that you must've run away," the Sergeant Major reasoned. "Sad, you really must have no idea how to accept love when it comes your way, do you?" The girl reached into her pocket and pulled out some money, "So here's your stupid money back, I don't need it. I can't accept money from a heartless ingrate." Zoro resisted the urge to yell at her as she produced another pair of red framed rectangular glasses. "Besides, I have a spare pair of glasses."

With her glasses on, the blue haired girl spotted the white-sheathed katana on the counter, "That sword looks just like the Wado Ichimonji!" the girl exclaimed as she snatched the sword away from Matsu and inspected it. "Is this really the sword?"

Matsu was freaking out internally, "STOP TALKING! STOP TALKING!"

The Sergeant Major drew the sword and raised her glasses so she could inspect the blade, "It's beautiful! This has to be one of the 21 Ō Wazamono Swords!" (Ō Wazamono = Great Grade Swords) The girl pulled out a little red book and paged through it to a picture of Wado Ichimonji, "See, it says here that this sword is worth no less than ten million berries!" The girl turned and stared at Zoro, "You're broke, how do you have this legendary sword?"

"SSSHHHAAA! YOU JUST HAD TO KEEP TALKING DIDN'T YA?" Matsu snapped, "I'M GONNA SUE YOUR ASS FOR OBSTRUCTION OF BUSINESS!"

"Obstruction of business?" the Sergeant Major repeated, "I'm sorry, I don't know what I did but please forgive me."

"Here, I finished polishing your precious Shigure for ya, now just take it and get out," snapped Matsu as he pulled a sheathed sword out from behind the counter and threw it at her. "I don't wanna see you in my store again!"

The girl was caught off guard by her sword being thrown at her and staggered backwards, then tripped and ended up crashing into a display of swords and knocking all of them over, KRATA-KRASH!

"JUST GET OUT BEFORE YOU TEAR MY STORE APART!" Matsu yelled.

"I'm... I'm so sorry," the clumsy Sergeant Major apologized.

"Did she ever help you dodge a bullet," Matsu commented as he turned his attention back to Zoro, "it is a complete waste to have such a legendary sword attached to someone who has no idea of its true value. There's a bunch of cheap swords in those barrels over there, those're probably more up your alley."

Zoro took his sword 'Wado Ichimonji' back and walked over to the three barrels the man had indicated. "What is that guy's problem?" wondered Zoro as he put his sword back on his waist, he didn't collect swords he used them.

"You must lose a lot of swords if you think you have to carry three of them," came the voice of the Sergeant Major as she walked up behind Zoro and watched him rummage through the barrels, "Unless of course, you're like that famous Pirate Hunter."

"Pirate Hunter, yeah," Zoro repeated, not really listening.

"He's quite the legend, his name is Roronoa Zoro," the Sergeant Major informed Roronoa Zoro.

"Oh, yeah him," Roronoa Zoro replied. "I know that name well."

"He's known throughout the East Blue for his amazing sword skills," the girl continued, "but he's not a good person. A swordsman who is just a bounty hunter is no honorable swordsman at all. Everything's backwards, it's really too bad for real swordsmen. Pirates and bounty hunters as Master Swordsman, it just doesn't make any sense. But they have most of the world's legendary swords too. It's a real tragedy."

"Heh," Zoro chuckled, "I don't know, it's the kind of thing you have to look at in a case-by-case basis, I guess. You never know what people are capable of."

"This is my Shigure!" said the Sergeant Major as she held up her sword, "I'm going to work as hard as I can to perfect my skills and one day I'll take back all the legendary swords because the filthy hands that hold them now have no right to wield them! I'll collect the 12 Top Ō Wazamonos, the 21 Ō Wazamonos, as well as the Ryō Wazamonos. I'LL FIND THEM ALL!" (A/N: Like I said before the prologue, only swords and fighting styles would be in Japanese. Sword categories count as swords.)

Zoro turned and stared at her, "And this one?" he asked as he gestured to the sword at his waist, "my sword? The Wado Ichimonji?" Zoro didn't know if he should take the marine's words as a threat or not, but he flicked part of the blade out of its sheath.

"I'm not trying to get the legendary swords back for my sake!" the girl clarified, "I just don't want criminals to have them."

Zoro turned back to the barrel, and that's when he spotted it. "This sword is..." Zoro reached in and pulled out a katana with a fancy red sheath.

The girl looked over Zoro's shoulder at the blade he'd found and flipped through her sword book, "I think that's... just as I thought... Kitetsu... Kitetsu III." Matsu started shaking as the girl read from her book, "Its predecessor Kitetsu II was a Ō Wazamono... and the first Kitetsu before that was a Top Ō Wazamono Sword." The girl turned to Matsu, "Hey, how much is this one?"

"Uh... fifty thousand..." Matsu mumbled as he timidly stared at the blade as Zoro slid it out of its sheath.

"Unbelievable!" the girl commented, "That's an authentic Ryō Wazamonos! Wow, you have to buy that sword! It's worth a least a million berries or more, you can't pass it up, its too valuable."

"Damn it... I CAN'T SELL IT!" Matsu reluctantly called out.

"I didn't think so," said the blue-haired girl, "I knew there must've been some mistake. This is a legendary sword..."

"IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!" Matsu interrupted.

Zoro gripped the handle of Kitetsu III and gave a practice swing, "This sword's cursed," Zoro stated.

"Huh? How do you know?" asked Matsu, he was genuinely curious.

"I just... do," Zoro answered.

"The Kitetsu Swords are superior in all respects," Matsu explained, "But they've been cursed since their beginnings, you have to believe me. There are stories from all over of Master Swordsmen that met their death after taking up a Kitetsu Sword. Nobody is even stupid enough to even touch them these days, and you'll fall to its curse as well if you decide to take it. I'm scared to let you buy it cause I'm afraid it'll curse me too, just leave it alone."

"How horrible, I'm so sorry," the Sergeant Major apologized as she bowed to Zoro, "I didn't know it was cursed, that's why I was so pushy. It would be death to take the sword."

"Sounds great," Zoro replied as he held up the cursed sword, "I think I'll take it!" Both Matsu and the Sergeant Major stared at Zoro in shock.

"I CAN'T SELL IT, YA FOOL!" Matsu yelled, "IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO YOU WITH THAT SWORD THEN THE CURSE COULD COME BACK TO ME!"

WOMP! Matsu's chubby wife suddenly came from the back and clubbed him on the head, "Now don't be an idiot," Matsu's wife scolded him, "Let 'em buy that sword ya old fool!"

"DON'T HIT ME!" Matsu snapped.

"Well, we'll see," Zoro resolved, "How 'bout we find out which one is stronger, this sword's curse, or my good luck." SHWUK! Zoro threw the cursed blade up into the air over his head then stuck his arm out as it started to come down.

"NO!" the Sergeant Major gasped.

"STOP IT! YOU'RE GONNA CHOP YOUR ARM OFF, YOU FOOL!" Matsu screamed, "DON'T!"

The girl, Matsu, and Matsu's wife were all silent as they watched the sword come down. Swoosh... swoosh... swoosh... The cursed blade flipped end over end as it came closer and closer to Zoro's outstretched arm. Swoosh... swoosh... swoosh... SHUNK! THE SWORD PASSED ZORO'S ARM AND EMBEDDED INTO THE FLOOR!"

Time started up again as Zoro opened his eyes and grinned, "I'll take it," he decided. Matsu and the Sergeant Major both dropped to their knees in shock.

Zoro turned to the shocked girl as he pulled the cursed sword out of the floor, "Hey, pick out another," Zoro requested, "you've got a good eye on you."

"Um... okay..." the girl agreed.

"HEY YOU! WAIT HERE!" Matsu called out as he got up and ran up the stairs to who-knows-where. He came back a few seconds later carrying something covered in a purple sheet. TUNK! Matsu slammed it down on the counter and pulled the sheet off to reveal a sword in a wooden holder. The sword was in a shiny black sheath and looked expensive. "It is covered in a special black finish with an uneven temper pattern. Our shop is small, this is the finest sword I have and a Ryō Wazamono Yubashiri."

"I don't have enough for that," Zoro admitted, "it's too much."

"No matter," Matsu replied, he finally sounded honest and genuine. "I'll give it to you free of charge if you take it. You're welcome to Kitetsu III as well, you deserve it. I haven't come across a real swordsman in a while. Sorry I tried to cheat you before, you must have some damn good luck, friend."

-x-

Zoro left the shop now feeling complete. He had the sword he'd placed his dream on Wado Ichimonji an Ō Wazamono worth over ten million berries but a hundred times that to him. A cursed blade Kitetsu III, a Ryō Wazamono worth over a million berries whose curse wasn't able to overcome his luck. And finally another Ryō Wazamono called Yubashiri, it was the best sword in the shop and Zoro had been given it and Kitetsu III for free. Zoro hadn't spent a single berri in the sword shop but had come out with two amazing swords. He was ready for the Grand Line now.

"I definitely feel better having three swords again," Zoro thought to himself as he walked through the street in Loguetown.

-x-

"What the hell?" Matsu's wife scolded him, "you can't buy me anything nice but you can give away our best sword!"

"That sword belongs in the hands of a true swordsman," Matsu replied.

THUNK! "Here, why don't you take out the garbage," Matsu's wife suggested as she slammed the trashcan down on the counter.

"Yes ma'am," Matsu agreed as he took the can and headed out back.

"Who was that guy?" the Sergeant Major wondered.

-x-

Elsewhere, Luffy had finally woken up from his nap and stretched. "That was nice," commented Luffy as he got up. "Alright, where was I? EXECUTION PLATFORM!" Luffy wandered off in search of the platform once again, oblivious to the group of cloaked figures that were looking for him with malevolent intent.

"Are you sure you saw that little rubber idiot here earlier?" Buggy asked Mohji who was riding his lion/bike.

"I'm sure," Mohji answered.

"Urgghh... alright, keep looking," Buggy groaned as he and he crew split up in search of the straw hats.

"Now where's the darn platform?" Luffy wondered as he ran down a random street.

"Straw Hat, Straw Hat," Buggy muttered as he walked backwards up to Luffy.

Luffy and Buggy stood back to back, one looking for the platform the other looking for the other.

"Where is it?" "Where is he?" Luffy looked left while Buggy looked right.

"Where is that bastard!" "Hmmm... where is it?" Luffy looked low ande Buggy looked high.

"Where is he?" "Where's that platform?" Luffy looked high while Buggy looked left.

"That way," said Buggy as he and Luffy both looked right.

"OH THANKS!" Luffy exclaimed as he took off running 'that way'. "WOOOHOOO!"

Buggy's eyes bugged out comically as he watched the rubber pirate he was looking for run off, "YAAAAAHHH! THAAAAT'S HIIIIIIIM!" Luffy got away.

-x-

"Sir, we've incarcerated Galley the Crescent and his men," Lieutenant Devo reported to Captain Smoker back at the Loguetown Marine Base. "But Monkey D. Luffy and his men are still here somewhere in Loguetown."

Tunk! Tunk! Smoker sat back in his chair and put his feet up on a table with Luffy's wanted poster on it, "He's not gonna try to hide," Smoker stated. "He'll find me. I'm sure of it."

"CAPTAIN SMOKER!" came a loud shout as the female Sergeant Major came running into the room carrying her sword Shigure. "Has something happened!"

"Tashigi, where the hell have you been?" Smoker demanded.

"Captain... we have news..." came yet another new voice. The two marines that Zoro and Y/N had knocked out earlier staggered into the room.

"I'm so glad you guys are conscious again!" a relieved Sergeant Major Tashigi exclaimed.

"It was Roronoa Zoro the Pirate Hunter... and 'One Eye' Y/N..." one of the two marines explained, "They attacked us."

"Why would a pirate and a pirate hunter work together?" Smoker wondered, "and why would they attack you imbeciles?"

"We came across the two of them inside the marine base," the other marine reported, "we have no idea how they got here."

"How could a pirate worth 20,000,000 berries sneak into our base without any of us noticing?" questioned Devo.

"Don't worry about it," said Smoker. "We'll focus our effort on capturing the Captain. Once we get him we'll use him as bait to capture the others."

"Yes Captain," Lieutenant Devo agreed. "I'll instruct our squads to concentrate their efforts on apprehending 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy."

"No need," Smoker replied, "we don't need to find him. He'll find us." "I'll definitely catch him," Smoker thought to himself, "I'm sure of it."

-x-

Tmp! Tmp! Tmp! Tmp! Luffy ran down yet another random street in search of the execution platform, despite his dismal luck and lack of navigation skills, he was in high spirits, "YAAAAHHOOOOO!"

"This time, I'll make it to the top of that platform," Luffy thought to himself, "I will stand where he stood and see what he saw!"

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!