State of Emergency:

-x-

The stars in the night sky shined down on Navarone Island and Marine Base G-8. Navarone Island was in two parts. The first part was a large ring. The second was a smaller island in the middle of the ring that was surrounded in a moat of water. The small island was connected to the ring with a red bridge.

G-8 had once been known as one of the largest and most fortified Marine Bases in the World. However, due to downsizing by the World Government, a lot of the large Marine Base was no longer in use.

"I don't know but I've been told!" the lead marine in a night patrol called out as he and his men marched across the bridge.

"Being a marine won't ever get old!" the other marines in the patrol chorused. "G-8's gonna keep things right! If you don't listen we'll use our might! If they're dumb enough to come near!"

"Bad guys always run in fear!" the bespectacled marine at the end of the line belted out.

"You know," the big marine in front of him remarked, "I heard that our base isn't very popular with those fellas out on the open waters."

"Yeah," the lead marine agreed, "They think we're a bunch of dimwitted softies because we haven't seen any action in so long. But think about it, when was the last time you actually got to test your skills in a battle with some pirate scum?"

"What are you trying to say?" the marine with glasses exclaimed.

"I'm not trying to say anything!" the lead marine protested. "It's a rumor, alright? I'm just repeating what I heard."

"What's their problem?" the marine with glasses snapped. "There haven't been any battles because there's finally some peace around here." He shook his head and followed the others. "I don't know but I've been told!"

-x-

Across the base, on the grassy shore of the main island, a man cast a fishing lure into the water then casually sat down on the grass.

"Another beautiful night," the fisherman remarked to himself.

-x-

In one of the docks, a battered and worn marine ship was being repaired by a bunch of marine shipwrights in orange uniforms.

"Aw man, this ship is messed up," one of the shipwrights commented to two others.

"I bet it'll take us at least a week to finish," the second one said.

"Well we got three days," the third marine told him.

"There's no way," the second marine insisted.

"She looks rough," an old man stated as he sat on a crate across the dock. "Maybe she's been climbing mountains Heh hee hee!" The old man wore the same orange repair uniform as the others but he was missing a cap which showed his wild white hair. He had a pair of sunglasses with red lenses on his forehead. The old man's name was Mekao and he was a marine shipwright. He'd been one for longer than anyone else on the dock.

"Hey Mekao," the second marine greeted the old man.

"You've sure got a way with words old man," the third marine said as he turned back to the ship. "She looks like she's been climbing mountains alright, mountains that are lined with gunpowder."

"With damage this extensive it looks like it feel clear out of the sky," the third marine noted.

"Come on fellas," the first repair marine addressed the others, "She probably got caught on the sea gate coming into port."

"Yeah, that's a difficult area to sail through," the second marine agreed. "Even for an experienced navigator."

The first marine clapped his hands, "Enough with the lollygagging. We've got a job to do so let's get to work already."

"Yeah, yeah," the second marine mumbled as he and the third marine followed after the first one.

Mekao remained in his seat on the old crate and stared up at the damaged marine ship. "Geez, back in my day sailors loved their ships and they treated 'em with respect."

The old man looked out of the dock up at the night sky. But then his eyes flew opened wide when he spotted something odd. A SHIP! A SHIP FALLING OUT OF THE SKY!

Kresh! Mekao dropped his rum bottle in sheer shock and it shattered on the ground.

"Hey, what's the matter?" one of the marines on the ship called out. "What happened?"

"Ah! Up there!" Mekao exclaimed. "Look up there! In the sky!"

The marines looked up in time to see the Going Merry plummet out of the sky and splash down inside the outer ring of Navarone Island. SPLOOOOSH!

-x-

Ring-ring-ring! A marine transponder snail with 'No. 3' drawn on its shell rang in the lookout station. A marine went over and picked up the receiver.

"We got a problem!" one of the frantic dock workers called out from the other end. "Something's fallen from the sky! We are being invaded! Over!"

"Attack from the sky?" the marine questioned. "ATTACKED FROM THE SKY?"

RIIIIINNNGG-RIIIIIIIINNGGG-RIIIIIINNNGGGG! The marine sounded the alarm and the search lights scanned the sky as the G-8 Marine issued a state of emergency.

-x-

In an office, a marine with brown hair and mutton chop sideburns looked up in alarm. He grabbed a fancy white officer's coat and threw it on over his blue suit.

He was known on G-8 as Lieutenant Commander Drake. He was the second highest ranking marine in G-8.

Drake quickly left his office to see what the commotion was.

"An unidentified object has entered the base!" a marine called out as Drake approached. "Get to your posts!"

Drake quickly took command of the situation. "I want men guarding the coast now!" he barked. "Wake the sniper unit! Close the Sea Gate!"

Chink-chink-chink! Clank! Gears spun and long lengths of chain shifted as the huge solid steel gate with G-8 emblazoned on it rose up out of the water and slid closed. The one way for ships to get in and out of the ring-shaped island was now sealed shut.

Marine battleships launched from the docks and began to sail through the inside of the ring.

CLICK! A bright white floodlight turned on and scanned the water before it fell on the ship.

"OVER THERE!" a shouted marine with curly black hair, glasses and red patches on the shoulders of his uniform that showed he was an officer. He was known as Chief Petty Officer Todd. "QUICK! POSITION TWELVE!"

(A/N: This marine was never actually named in the anime so I named him after his voice actor Todd Haberkorn.)

"Position twelve!" another marine called out to the others in the lookout station. "Immediately!"

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! The lookouts powered on the rest of the floodlights and shifted their position so the tiny caravel that had landed in the middle of the marine base.

A black flag with a white skull and crossbones wearing a straw hat fluttered on top of the mast. The Jolly Roger matched the one of the ship's main sail which meant that it was a pirate ship.

"A-a pirate ship!" Chief Petty Officer Todd gasped as he stared through a pair of binoculars at the now brightly lit ship. "The flag has... a skull with a straw hat! It's... the Straw Hat Pirates!"

"WHAT?" the other lookout marine shouted in alarm.

-x-

"Ready!" the leader of the sniper unit called out as the marines knelt down on the shore and aimed their rifles at the Going Merry.

Up overhead, a marine on a metal balcony next to some cannons called out into a tube.

"ALL CANNONS TARGET THE STRAW HATS SHIP!" the marine called out.

The middle island suddenly looked like a porcupine as the countless cannons that adorned the outside were turned and pointed at the pirate ship.

-x-

Mekao pushed his way through the other dock workers and stared at the Going Merry in shock.

"The Straw Hat Pirates!" he exclaimed.

-x-

Drake walked into the lookout station and was saluted by the other marines.

"Lieutenant Commander Drake!" CPO Todd called out. "The Straw Hat Pirates have invaded our base."

"The Straw Hat Pirates?" Drake repeated. "Show me to Vice Admiral Jonathan!"

"Well... I would sir..." Todd stammered. "But uh... nobodyknowswhereheis..."

"Grr..." Drake growled. "Of course no one knows where he is."

-x-

The fisherman casually reeled in his fishing line.

"Well I'll be," he remarked. "Someone invaded through the sky."

The man had short dark orange hair and a matching dark orange beard as well as bushy black eyebrows and an even bushier black mustache. He was off duty fishing at the moment so he wore a simple white button down shirt and a marine visor.

But this was no fisherman. This was Vice Admiral Jonathan the highest ranking marine in G-8.

Jonathan pulled his fishing line and stared in surprise at the odd set of sniper goggles that he'd managed to catch.

Jonathan casually fiddled with Usopp's goggles then tossed them aside as he turned his attention to the brightly lit pirate ship that had landed in the middle of his base.

"Hmm..." Jonathan hummed to himself as he gave the caravel a calculating look.

"RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!" Chief Petty Officer Todd's voice echoed through speakers and reached the pirate ship. "WE HAVE YOU COMPLETELY SURROUNDED! "

-x-

Inside the Marine Base, word about the state of emergency had spread and even reached the cooks in the kitchen of the dining hall.

"It's been pretty noisy outside, huh?" asked a round faced chef with dark purple hair. He and all the cooks wore the usual marine issued chef's uniform, hat and apron. His name was Shinpachi.

"Yeah, you think there's a battle going on?" replied the chef next to him as the washed dishes. He was a few inches taller and had a narrow face and light purple hair. His name was Billy.

Across the kitchen a beautiful woman with short blonde hair and dark green eyes tasted some stew on her spoon. She wore the typical uniform but had a red scarf tied around her collar that signified that she was the head chef. She spun and flung the stew at Shinpachi and Billy. Splish! The two conversing cooks reeled back and dropped to the floor.

"There will be no chitchatting in this kitchen!" the woman ordered. She was Head Chef Jessica. She advanced on Billy and Shinpachi as they held the red spots the stew had left on their faces. "Look here, it is our duty to prepare a warm and delicious meal for a thousand hungry sailors. And we've got to get all that done before the night shift starts in just two hours!" Jessica leaned in and shouted. "DOES IT SOUND LIKE WE HAVE TIME TO BE FOOLING AROUND?"

"No ma'am," Billy replied.

"We're very sorry ma'am," Shinpachi apologized.

"Ha hah hah ha!" laughed a chubby cook with tan skin, a round nose and neck length blond hair. His name was Tom. "Don't worry, lads! The day that this hulking mass of cannons and concrete falls is the day that pigs fly! Now getting on Jessica's bad side, that's something to be scared of."

A shadow fell over Tom and the big cook whimpered when he saw Jessica's frying pan flying towards him. BANG!

"Right... no chitchatting..." Tom groaned.

-x-

"What is it?" Vice Admiral Jonathan asked as he walked into his office with his fishing pole.

Lieutenant Commander Drake was already there and turned to face him. "Vice Admiral, finally, where have you been?"

Jonathan tossed his fishing pole to Drake as an answer and walked to his large office window.

"I didn't catch anything today," Jonathan admitted.

"What?" Drake questioned.

"Well, I had quite a large catch yesterday," Jonathan stated.

"That's not what I'm talking about," Drake protested. "Vice Admiral, if you're constantly absent then..."

"Don't lecture me," Jonathan warned him. "Night fishing isn't necessarily a waste, you know."

Knock! Knock! Jonathan and Drake turned to see Chief Petty Officer Todd standing in the open door.

"Vice Admiral, I have a report," Todd announced. "According to the watchmen and the maintenance men on the dock who saw the ship up close... According to them..."

"Go on," Jonathan encouraged him.

"Spit it out already!" Drake barked.

"Yes, well um... uh..." Todd stammered, "The men reported that they saw ghosts sir."

-Interview Montage-

"Like I said, the ship suddenly fell from the sky, okay?" a scruffy shipwright insisted. "I swear!"

"I thought I heard a woman's voice but there was no one there!" a big marine with an anchor tattooed on his arm exclaimed.

"Hands! Hands!" a chubby shipwright shrieked. "A million hands started growing all over my entire body! Next thing I knew everything went black!"

"All those hands," a flushed and possibly drunk Mekao remarked as he rocked in his chair, "The unmistakable touch of a beautiful woman."

"This is clearly... A GHOST SHIP!" the shipwrights and marines had all shouted.

-End of Interviews-

"ENOUGH!" Lieutenant Commander Drake snapped.

"Yes sir..." CPO Todd replied.

"That ship out there belongs to the Straw Hat Pirates!" Drake insisted while Jonathan sat at his desk and fiddled with his fishing pole. "Ensign, I want reconnaissance, not ghost stories! And how dare you report to me with this nonsense about a ship that magically fell out of the sky! WAAAH!" Drake was cut off as the collar of his marine coat was pulled up by a fishing hook.

Drake turned to see Vice Admiral Jonathan holding the other end of the fishing line and stared at the ranking officer in surprise.

"The part about it falling from the sky is true at least," Jonathan stated. "I saw it myself."

"Huh?" Drake questioned.

Jonathan smiled, "I told you night fishing wasn't a waste, Lieutenant Commander."

-x-

Y/N climbed up the side of the outer ring of Navarone Island with Chopper on his back.

"The one good thing about the others landing in the middle of that base is that they took all the attention away from us," Y/N recounted to Chopper. "They were all so focused on the Merry that none of them noticed us stashing the column in a giant sea turtle."

"How are we supposed to get them out of there?" Chopper asked.

"First thing we have to do is find all of them," Y/N replied. "And to do that we have to sneak in there undetected. I'll need a disguise."

-x-

Notorious Pirate Ship:

-x-

The G-8 Marines had wrapped the Going Merry in yellow tape that read 'Keep Out' and had the marine seagull insignia on it. They surrounded the pirate ship on small rowboats.

But the ship was empty.

The Going Merry looked like a crime scene. Marines were taking pictures and documenting everything.

Vice Admiral Jonathan walked across the deck of the Going Merry. He was now wearing his fancy Vice Admiral coat which had green patches on the shoulders with gold cuffs beside them and numerous medals on the front. Lieutenant Commander Drake followed behind him.

Jonathan stared down at the collection of coffee cups and the coffee pot that his men had found in the galley. They were all numbered.

"I see," Jonathan observed as he stared at the seven coffee cups. He took the pot and poured coffee into a cup. Steam wafted up from the cup. The coffee was still hot. "Ghost ship, huh?" Jonathan stood up and handed the coffee cup off to Drake. "It smells delicious."

Jonathan surveyed the ship while Drake sniffed at the cup of coffee then indulged himself and drank some.

"A-a-a Vice Admiral!" a marine yelped. Drake jumped and choked on his coffee. "Look at what we found!"

Jonathan turned and saw the gold the Straw Hats had gotten out of Nola in the marine's arms. "Ingots and crown?" he noted. "These treasures are quite old. The pirates must have stolen them from some ancient ruins."

"Vice Admiral, we found more," another officer announced. He had short blond hair and a neat blond beard. He was Lieutenant Matthew.

Lieutenant Matthew turned and pointed as two marines carried Y/N's safe up through the floor flap that led down to the men's quarters.

"That's a heavy duty lock," Lieutenant Matthew reported. "None of us could get it opened."

Drake pointed the coffee pot at Lieutenant Matthew, "Get that to the lab! Then we'll lock it up!"

"Yes sir," the marines agreed.

"Well then, let's have a look inside, shall we?" Vice Admiral Jonathan suggested.

Suddenly two shapes flew overhead and landed on the rigging above the main sail.

"JOH! JOH!"

The marines flinched while Vice Admiral Jonathan stared upward and spotted two South Birds.

"Easy there," Jonathan reassured his men. "They're just ordinary South Birds."

"South Birds?" Drake repeated.

"Yes," Jonathan replied. "They always point south, which made them a prized possession for the sailors of old despite their silly appearance."

"JOH!" Stupid and the female South Bird both crowed in annoyance. After all everything those pirates had put them through, now the marines were insulting them too.

Jonathan had time for his eyes to widen in alarm before the South Birds swooped down and tackled him to the deck then started packing at him.

"Gahh! Whoa! Hey! Watch it!" Jonathan yelped. "Ow! Ow! Get off! Get off! I'm sorry!"

"JOOH!" the two South Birds crowed before they flew off. SWOOSH!

"Are you alright sir?" Drake asked.

"They certainly are volatile creatures..." Jonathan noted. He smoothed out his ruffled uniform then he and Lieutenant Commander Drake went into the Galley.

Drake tried to help himself to the refrigerator but couldn't because of the lock on it.

Another marine officer sat at the Galley table and went through Robin's archeology books and Chopper's medical books. He had dark hair and wore a small pair of sunglasses. His name was Ensign Christopher.

Jonathan stood by the stove and examined Sanji's fancy cooking knives and flatware.

"Hmm, the kitchen is well maintained," Jonathan mused to himself as he went over to the table.

"Medical and history books, sir," Christopher reported. He had dark hair and wore small sunglasses, "new ones."

"Interesting," Jonathan remarked, "Seems these ghosts study a lot."

"Not ghosts again," Drake grumbled as he glared at the locked refrigerator. "That's ridiculous."

Vice Admiral Jonathan went back out onto the deck and clapped his hands for attention.

"Excellent work, men," Jonathan addressed his men. "Stay brave and remember to keep a watchful eye during your investigation of this ghost ship."

The marine started mumbling... "Ghost ship..." "What do we do..." "Not pirates?"

Jonathan grinned, "Back to work."

"Yes sir," the marines chorused.

-x-

A few minutes later, Vice Admiral Jonathan was walking down a hallway inside the base with all his officers. Lieutenant Commander Drake and Chief Petty Officer Todd were behind him as well as Lieutenant Matthew and Ensign Christopher.

It would appear that the ship in question stopped by Jaya quite recently," Jonathan informed the other officers of his findings on the Going Merry. "That coffee was delicious, was it not?"

"Yes," Drake agreed.

"Judging from the color and smell of the coffee left on deck, one can assume that the beans are from Jaya," Jonathan explained. He grinned at Drake. "But you must already know this from having courageously sampling the beverage yourself."

"Uh... well uh..." Drake stammered.

"And those South Birds," Jonathan continued. "That species of bird only inhabits the jungles of Jaya. Incidentally, there is legend of a city of gold that once existed there."

"Vice Admiral," Lieutenant Matthew spoke up, "Are you telling me that vessel really isn't a..."

"I don't know where the ship's crew is or what they're up to but that's not ghost ship," Jonathan announced. "It's just a pirate boat out of Jaya."

"And not just any pirates," Drake added, "It's the Straw Hat Pirates. I've seen that mark before."

"I don't understand Vice Admiral," Ensign Christopher said, "Weren't you just calling it a ghost ship earlier?"

"Frankly our men are a little too green to deal with a situation like this," Jonathan told him. "If we tell everyone that the notorious Straw Hats have infiltrated our ranks, it will cause panic and confusion that will undoubtedly aid the pirates in their mission. So for now, we continue calling it a ghost ship, understood?"

"With all due respect," Drake said, "I think we should assemble a special investigation unit and begin searching for the pirates immediately. I'd be happy to lead the team."

Jonathan stopped and turned to face him, "Don't be so hasty."

"But..." Drake protested.

"Our defenses are our number one priority," Jonathan stated. "Lieutenant, go reinforce security around the coast as well as around the sea gate."

"Sir," Lieutenant Matthew agreed as he headed off.

"Ensign, I also want the ammunition store, the brig and all passage ways secure," Jonathan added. "You'll have extended authority to manage related personnel."

"Right away sir," Ensign Christopher replied.

Vice Admiral Jonathan was left with Lieutenant Commander Drake and Chief Petty Officer Todd.

"Hmm..." Drake growled to himself.

"Is there a problem?" Jonathan asked.

"No," Drake grounded out.

"The night is still young," Jonathan pointed out. "And the darkness will restrict their movement then again, it will also restrict ours. At dawn assemble your team then thoroughly investigate any places that people gather."

"Places where people gather?" Drake repeated. "But why?"

"Here's why," Jonathan replied, "Because it's difficult to find green insects living in green grass. If the Straw Hats were to acquire some of our uniforms..."

"Ah!" Drake gasped as he caught on.

"You must understand," Jonathan continued, "It's not that I don't have faith in my men. But we must keep in mind that we are searching for a most clever enemy. Pirates are like stray dogs. They're always hungry. Why don't you start by checking the dining hall at first light?"

With that last suggestion, Vice Admiral Jonathan walked off on his own and left Drake and Todd behind him.

-x-

"We're Fifty-Five and you better fear it!" a group of five large, muscular marines chorused as they marched down a hallway in the base. "Those pirates will taste our fiery spirit!"

A doorway opened a crack as the five men marched passed.

"He'll do..."

The door slid opened further and two big hairy arms reached out and grabbed the marine at the back of the group and yanked him into the room.

"Mmmpphhh!" the big marine mumbled as Chopper's hand covered his mouth.

Y/N slid the door closed and turned to face the marine. The marine stood almost as tall as Y/N, had the same skin tone and even the same pointed face. He had black hair with bangs that covered his left eye. He wore a sleeveless version of the standard marine uniform with a cap, blue pants and a blue tie. The marine looked frantically around him and saw that he was faced with a pirate and a hairy monster that had dragged him into a storage room.

"You got a wife back home?" Y/N asked the marine. The marine shook his head. "Family? Friends? I've already caught you. If you cooperate and tell me everything I want to know, I'll make sure to tell someone where you are on my way out. If you don't, who knows how long it's going to take for what's left of your friends to find you."

The marine glared defiantly at Y/N.

"Here's the deal," Y/N addressed the marine. "We don't want to hurt you guys. We're just here to get our crew, get our ship and go. But I'm going to need a disguise to get through your base undetected. That's where you come in. I'd rather avoid having to hack my way through all your marine buddies as I try to find the rest of my crew."

The marine's glare had faded.

"Don't think of it as betraying the Marines," Y/N continued, "Think of it as saving their lives. Because if the information you tell me is wrong and your buddies find out I'm an impostor, my crew and I will have to fight our way out of this base. We can and will make mincemeat out of you marines... unless you give me a way out of here without hurting anyone. Your move, chief."

Chopper moved his hand off of the marine's mouth. The marine didn't scream so that was a good sign that Y/N had managed to persuade him to cooperate.

"First, what's your name, rank and unit?" Y/N inquired.

"My name's Natsu," the marine answered. "I'm a seaman recruit in Unit 55. We're a special combat unit."

"That's a good start," Y/N said with a sly grin.

-x-

Outside of the Marine Base, Zoro's green head of hair broke the surface of the water and made him look just like the moss ball that Sanji always called him.

Zoro turned and his eyes bugged out in alarm as he saw a marine ship headed right for him.

"Holy crap!" Zoro cursed before he dunked back down underwater to avoid the ship.

-x-

Nearby on the shore, Nami pushed her waver into some tall grass of the ring shaped outer island. She'd had a close call getting to shore and had to use Mirage Tempo to sneak off of the ship.

"Good thing we still had this waver," Nami remarked. She hid the waver in the grass then peaked out to see two marine patrol men coming towards her. She quickly slipped back into the grass and watched the men pass.

"Security is tight," Nami noted. "I'd better find everybody and get out of here right away."

Once the marines had passed she came back out and surveyed the marine base.

"Oh no," Nami gasped. "Is this..."

-x-

The same two marines continued their patrol through a stand of trees. One was big had a rifle while the other was shorter and had a rifle and a lantern. Neither of them noticed Sanji perched on a branch overhead.

"Well look at that," Sanji remarked as he smoked a cigarette. "We've landed in another fine mess haven't we? I hope Miss. Nami and Miss. Robin were able to get out of the ship okay."

BANG! Sanji jerked to the side to avoid a bullet from a marine.

The marine with the now smoking rifle squinted as the stared into the tree branches.

"What is it?" the marine with the lantern asked.

"Well, I thought I saw a light in the trees," the marine with the rifle answered. He'd seen the lit tip of Sanji's cigarette.

Both marines squinted and stared through the tree branches but there was no one there.

"I don't see anything," the marine lantern said. He turned away and the two marines walked off.

Sanji peaked out from behind one of the trees and put out his cigarette on the trunk.

"Ugh, I can't even smoke in peace..." the cook complained.

-x-

Luffy had somehow made it to the central island of Navarone and was standing in front of four identical entrances into the marine base.

"Ugghh..." the simpleminded pirate groaned to himself as he tried to make the difficult decision of which door to go through. "Uugghhh..."

"Beef," Luffy named the first door then looked over at the third door, "Pork." He looked at the last door, "Chicken." He went back to the second door. "Fish." Then he started again... "Beef... pork... meat... meat... meat! Auughhh!"

Grrumbble... All he'd done was make himself even hungrier.

"I know there's some food in there," Luffy insisted. "One way or another I'm gonna find it."

Luffy gave a big sniff which caused his rubber nostrils to stretch to the point where they were bigger than his eyes and almost vacuum in the air in front of him. VVOOOOOOOM! But it was no good. VVOOooommm...

"Okay... that didn't work..." Luffy concluded. "Chopper would be really handy right now. He could smell which was the food is."

Grrmblleee... Luffy's stomach let out another growl.

-x-

"Found 'em!" Usopp called out as he picked up his goggles in Jonathan's fishing spot.

Robin stood nearby and surveyed the base as Usopp put his goggles back on.

"Oh man," Usopp complained as he took in their situation. "We can't get anywhere near the Going Merry. They've got our ship under a freakin' microscope!"

Robin crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes. "Oreja Fleur..."

Off the shore on the Going Merry two long branches of arms sprouted out of the rigging on top of the front sail and stretched down to the two marines that were on the front deck.

The ears that were on the palm were now right behind the marines.

"We looked and we couldn't find a single crew member anywhere..." a marine with glasses recounted to the other.

"That's not even the half of it," the other marine replied. "Did you hear the maintenance guys said they hear ghosts?"

"Yeah..." the first marine answered. "And on top of that, the Vice Admiral clearly said this was a ghost ship."

"That ain't right," the other marine complained. "Assigning us to watch a creepy ghost ship in the dead of night..."

"I see..." Robin said to Usopp back on shore. "Apparently the marines think that the Going Merry is a ghost ship."

"Ghost ship? How rude!" Usopp exclaimed. How dare they insult his ship! He turned to face the base so he could give them a taste of his mind. "Why those... YOU—mmmhhppp..." Whap! Two arms grew out of Usopp's shoulders and covered his mouth.

"Relax," Robin instructed, "I believe this could work out in our favor if they go on believing their little ghost story. Don't you think that we could use it to your advantage?"

Usopp frantically nodded.

"It could buy us some time," Robin resolved.

On the Going Merry, Robin used her two branches of arms to tap the marines on the shoulder.

"I've got it..." the second marine decided, "The ghosts must have stolen cursed gold and are now cursed to sail the seas forever."

"Cut it out, man," the other marine warned him. "Cause... I touched that gold."

The two marines finally responded to the taps on the shoulder and looked behind them. Only to see two branches of disembodied arms.

"GHOOOOOSSTTTS!"

-x-

"'Straw Hat' Luffy... 'One Eye' Y/N... and 'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro..." Vice Admiral Jonathan thought to himself as he leaned back in his chair with his hat over his eyes. "Reports from Alabasta say that there are seven pirates on the crew... This was confirmed by the seven cups of coffee we found on the ship." Jonathan thought back to what else he'd seen in the galley of the Going Merry, Sanji's cookware and the books. "Among those seven are: a very skilled gourmet cook... a knowledgeable ship's doctor... and possibly a historian as well."

-x-

Seaman Recruit Natsu of Unit 55 left the storage room and pushed a crate in front of him.

At least that's what the marines that he passed in the hallway thought.

If you took in the minor details, you'd notice that Natsu hair was covering his right eye instead of his left. His exposed left eye was slightly slanted which made it look somewhat fox-like. But since Natsu's cap was tilted down to shade his eyes no one would notice.

The fact that this Natsu was nearly the same height, had the same skin tone and had a similarly shaped face made him a dead ringer for the real one.

Since the real Natsu was knocked out with a shot from a tranquilizer and stuffed in a crate meant that no one would be able to compare the two.

"Lucky we found the crate of reindeer antlers," Y/N whispered to the crate.

"Speak for yourself," the live reindeer in the crate of antlers replied as he peaked out from underneath the lid. "Who knows what they did to the reindeer they got these from."

"You said they were used for medicine, right?" Y/N asked.

"Yes, reindeer antlers can be ground up and used for medicine," Chopper confirmed.

"Good," Y/N replied. "I'll get you to the infirmary and you can lay low there while I find the others. Keep my stuff with you. I've got a lot of important stuff in those pants and I really like that cloud shirt."

"Is that where you got that wig from?" Chopper inquired.

"Yeah," Y/N answered. "I always keep a generic black wig on me. My red hair stands out. Black hair is very common. So it's perfect for a disguise if I want to be sneaky."

"Do you think this will work?" Chopper questioned.

"Natsu told me enough about his unit and the base that I can pull off an impersonation of him." Y/N told him. "What worries me is this Vice Admiral Jonathan. He's not a fighter. He's a strategist. Here's hoping I can outsmart him."

-x-

Squish... On the shore, Zoro twisted his wet shirt and rung it out.

"Alright," Zoro resolved as he glanced around him at the ring shaped island. "Where to next?"

-x-

Nami panted as she stood on top of one of the high ridges on the ring-shaped island. It had been a tough climb, especially at night and without anyone seeing her but from her new vantage point she could see the whole island.

This included the closely guarded Going Merry, the ships in the water, and the search lights that were scanning the shore for signs of the pirates.

"This is bad," Nami observed. "We're enclosed by land in all directions. Then where are we? Did we land in a lake with no possible way to get out?"

-x-

A marine walked passed the edge of the marine base.

Robin and Usopp peered around a corner and watched him go.

"At any rate, obtaining the information for our escape is our first task," Robin decided. She leaned down and smiled at Usopp. "Let's do this, Mr. Long Nose. What do you say?"

Usopp whimpered. "I don't wanna..." He ducked back behind the corner.

-x-

A lone marine walked down a passage in one of the lower entrances to the marine base.

Everything was quiet except for the sound of his footsteps.

Tmp tmp... tmp tmp...

And someone else's...

"Huh?" the marine stopped walking.

Tmp tmp... The other set of footsteps stopped as well. They sounded like they were made by a pair of sandals.

The marine took another four steps forward.

Tmp tmp... tmp tmp... And so did the other person.

The marine took another four steps.

Tmp tmp... tmp tmp... And so did the other person. They were right behind him.

The marine broke out into a sweat and swallowed hard.

"..." Luffy stood silently behind him.

Swish! The marine spun around... but there was no one there... just an empty hallway.

"..." Luffy stood still silent behind the marine.

"Phew, it was nothing," the marine sighed in relief.

The marine turned back the other way while Luffy moved around him in the other direction. Luffy flashed two peace signs as the marine started walking again.

Tmp tmp... Luffy's sandals slapped the floor.

Swish! The marine spun around again but once again Luffy had slipped around him. Luffy grinned and flashed two peace signs from behind the marine.

The marine turned and Luffy spun around him. The duo walked off. Luffy looked back and grinned at Sanji as he peaked out from around a corner.

"That idiot..." Sanji groaned. He'd watched silently as Luffy fooled around with the marine and kept flashing him the peace sign. "Can't he take something seriously for once?"

-x-

"What I don't understand... is why..." Vice Admiral Jonathan mused to himself as he stared down at a chessboard. "Why are the Straw Hat Pirates here?"

Jonathan had removed the pawns from the black side and stared at the eight black pieces. There was one to represent each of the 'seven' Straw Hat Pirates that the reports of the crew had accounted for as well as one for their ship which he already had in custody..

Jonathan got up and went to the window. He moved the curtain and saw the Going Merry that was still caught in three floodlights. None of the pirates would be getting to it like that.

Jonathan went back to the chess board and sat down in his chair. He surveyed his white forces.

"The game's on Straw Hat Pirates," Jonathan said. "Let's play."

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!