Wapol of Tin:

-x-

"Guys..." Zoro called down from the crow's nest as he stared through his binoculars. It was snowing and the Straw Hats were still searching for a doctor for Nami and Ms. Valentine. Zoro had spotted... something. "What do you think about people standing on water?"

"You've been up there too long and are starting to hallucinate," Mr. 5 offered.

"What do you mean?" questioned Luffy. "Do I think it's possible?"

"What kind of question is that?" Usopp wondered. "It's impossible of course."

"Oh yeah?" Zoro replied, "then... what's that?"

Luffy, Usopp, Mr. 5, and Ms. Goldenweek all stared in the direction Zoro had indicated.

"There's a person standing on the water," Ms. Goldenweek realized.

Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Mr. 5, and Ms. Goldenweek all stared in surprise at the strange man in front of the Going Merry. HE WAS STANDING ON THE WATER!

The man wore heavy-looking blue and green clothing that showed that he was seemingly used to the cold weather they were in. He wore a fluffy blue and white cape, a big coat that had a hood with jester-like top, thick green pants and blue shoes. Strapped to the man's back was a quiver filled with arrows and a bow.

Rub... Rub... Luffy, Usopp, and Ms. Goldenweek all rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren't seeing things. Mr. 5 raised his sunglasses and silently stared at the strange archer.

"..." The three Straw Hats and the two Officer Agents silently stared at the archer.

"..." The archer silently stared back.

"Hello! Sure is chilly today!" the man suddenly called out.

"Yeah, it is chilly today," Luffy replied.

"Definitely," Usopp agreed. "It's very chilly, in fact, it'd even say it's freezing."

"Really?" the archer inquired causing the five people on the main deck of the Going Merry to stare at him in surprise, but the archer stared back equally surprised.

"INCREASE BUOYANCY!" someone ordered.

SPLOOOOSH! The archer suddenly rose up out of the water, revealing that he hadn't been standing on the water, but was instead standing in a crow's nest. The crow's nest was on the top of a giant metal dome.

The waves from the dome rising out of the water caused the Going Merry to unsteadily drift backwards.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?" Luffy exclaimed. "A watermelon?"

-x-

"WHY ARE WE SHAKING?" Vivi cried out in alarm, she staggered to the side as the ship tilted beneath her. Sanji stood nearby balancing Nami's bed on his leg while Y/N was holding onto the couch that Ms. Valentine was sleeping on and attempted to keep it steady. Carue slipped and went rolling across the floor.

"HOLD THE RUDDER STEADY!" Sanji shouted up towards the deck. "IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO NAMI I'LL HOLD EVERY ONE OF YOU RESPONSIBLE!"

"We can't trust them to steer the ship for two minutes," Y/N complained.

-x-

"What the hell is that?" Zoro wondered as he sat in the crow's nest covered in a blanket and a layer of snow. "Is that a ship?"

KA-CHUNK! The top half of the dome started coming apart, revealing the numerous panels that made it up, the panels disappeared below surface and revealed the large central mast and the sails that were attached to it. KREEK! From under the water an animal head rose up and stuck out from the front of the bottom half of the dome. It was a hippo with a crown on its head, and from the looks of things, it was the figure dome wasn't a dome at all, IT WAS A PIRATE SHIP! The pirate ship was manned by many uniformed men that were standing on the main deck.

SWISH! A black flag slid up the mast and started waving. It was a Jolly Roger. The skull had a crown on the top of its head, its mouth was closed but had bolts in it, and the skulls tongue was seemingly licking its lips.

"OH CRAP!" Usopp exclaimed. "IT'S A PIRATE SHIP!"

"It's... a submarine..." Mr. 5 realized.

"It's huge!" Luffy commented as he stared at the giant ship in astonishment.

"Great," Zoro muttered, "Just when we needed to hurry."

"..." Ms. Goldenweek didn't say anything because she was no longer sitting on the deck.

"What's the matter?" a deep somewhat raspy voice taunted, "Don't tell me our underwater raid ship the Bliking surprised you! MAAA HAHAHAHAHA!"

-x-

Down in the women's quarters Sanji and Y/N heard the laughter coming from up above them. "That doesn't sound good," Y/N remarked.

"I'll go check it out!" Sanji announced as he raced up the steps, he stopped for a moment, "Y/N, don't let anything happen to Miss. Nami, Miss. Vivi, and Miss. Valentine."

Y/N nodded, "I've got it under control."

Sanji continued running up the steps and reached the storage room, KREK! Sanji rushed out onto the deck but then stopped and stared in surprise. "Hey! What's going on?" Sanji demanded.

MUNCH! CHOMP! CHOMP! A blue-haired man with a metal plated jaw took a big bite of a large slab of meat that was impaled with a dagger.

Sanji calmly pulled out a box of matches and lit up a cigarette. "So... what's going on?" Sanji calmly inquired.

"Well we're under attack," Luffy answered. "And it's still snowing."

Both of Luffy's statements were true. It was still snowing and the deck was crowded with men wearing dark furry uniforms that were armed with guns. Usopp was standing in the middle of the deck with his hands up, ten uniformed men were aiming guns at him, Mr. 5 was sitting at the bottom of the mast with six men pointing guns at him, Zoro was up in the crow's nest along with another four men with guns, and Luffy was sitting on the railing in front of the galley with numerous men on the deck behind him and below him aiming guns at him. Sanji now stood outside the door to the storage room with five mean training guns on him.

"Well yeah, the guns pointing my face kind of gave that away," Sanji admitted. "What next?"

Munch! Munch! "You all consider yourself a band of pirates?" asked the man with the metal-plated jaw as he chewed on some more of his meat. "That's amusing. I only count five of ya." The man opened his mouth wide and stuck the dagger and the remaining meat that was skewered on it into his mouth. CRUNCH! The man chomped down on both the meat and the dagger and began chewing it up.

The four pirates and the officer agent winced when they saw the man begin to chew the metal dagger.

"Sort of strange that your group would have so few members," the man commented. He was FAT. He had spiky blue hair and a metal plated jaw, he wore a heavy gray coat, brown gloves, purple and orange pants, and brown fur-topped boots. He also wore a white hooded cape that had the head of a furry hippo. Munch! Munch! The Straw Hats and Mr. 5 stared in surprise as the man finished chewing the bit of the dagger that was in his mouth, then threw the handle in, CHOMP!

"That's just strange," Luffy said with a wince, "What kind of guy likes to eat knives?"

"Devil Fruit," Mr. 5 stated, "it's the only explanation."

"Aahh!" Usopp gasped, "My gums are bleeding just watching!"

"Search the rest of the ship," the fat man who was known as Wapol 'of Tin' the Captain of the Tin Tyrant Pirates ordered as he stood on the railing and surveyed the main deck.

"Yes sir!" replied some of the uniformed men. Three of them went into the galley, three went into the anchor room, three went down into the men's quarters, and another three went into the storage room.

"Alright, I'll keep this simple," Wapol announced. "See... my men and I wish to travel to Drum Kingdom. You wouldn't happen to have an Eternal Pose or a Log Pose would ya?"

"Nope, can't help," Sanji refused. They did have Log Poses but he wasn't inclined to help the guy that had just put Nami, Vivi, and Ms. Valentine in danger by ordering some men to search the storage room. "Sorry, but I've never even heard of this Drum Kingdom."

"Well, now that we have that all settled, would you guys just leave already?" Luffy requested. He didn't seem to like the fat man much either. "We're in a hurry and we don't have time to deal with all this."

"You'll never enjoy life if you're always in a rush," Wapol lectured. "But if you have neither Pose, what can be done. I suppose I'll have to settle for your treasure and this ship."

"Huh?" said Luffy. Why would he want their ship when he had that cool watermelon?

-x-

Tmp! Tmp! Y/N heard footsteps up in the storage room and shot up from his seat at the base of Nami's bed in time to see three men come down the steps into the women's quarters.

"Everyone, put your hands up!" one of the men ordered. The three men pointed their guns at Y/N, Vivi, and Carue who were standing in the middle of the room and looked like the biggest threat, as opposed to the two sick-looking women on a bed and a couch.

Y/N frowned and slowly put his hands up, Vivi and Carue mimicked his actions, "What do you want?"

"We're here to claim your ship and your treasure!" one of the men announced, "If you comply, none of you will be hurt."

To show that they meant business two of the men trained their guns on Nami and Ms. Valentine.

"Don't... point your guns at them," Y/N growled, "they're sick."

"Crap," Y/N cursed internally, "I have to get to them before they can fire their guns."

-x-

"You there, put your hands up!" a soldier commanded as he and another pair of soldiers burst into the anchor room. They came across a girl wearing a pink hat. For some strange reason she was holding a pallet of paints.

-x-

"I'm still feeling a bit hungry," Wapol commented as he stood on the railing of Going Merry. CHOMP! He suddenly turned and opened his mouth impossibly wide AND BIT OFF A LARGE WOODEN CHUNK OF THE RAILING!

"HE'S A SHIP-EATING MONSTER!" Usopp shrieked as Wapol chewed on the large piece of wood in his mouth.

"HEY!" Luffy shouted. "OUR SHIP ISN'T YOUR LUNCH!"

"Be quiet!" one of Wapol's men ordered as he pointed his gun in Luffy's face, "Wapol doesn't like to be disturbed while he's eating!"

"SHUT UP!" Luffy suddenly raised his arms over his head, then brought them down on the head of the two soldiers standing around him and knocked them out, WHAM!

"DAMN PIRATE!" one of Wapol's men snapped. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! SHOOT HIM!"

CLICK! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Wapol's men opened fire and shot at the rubber pirate.

"Now things are starting to get interesting," said Zoro as he threw off his blanket.

"Perfect," Sanji commented as he pulled off his blue scarf and got ready to fight, "this is more like it!"

BAM! BAM! BAM! "STOP IT! CAN'T WE DISCUSS THIS?" Usopp cried out as he jumped to the mast and climbed down the other side of it to avoid the bullets.

"Hmph," Mr. 5 grunted. SKISH! He leapt out of his seat against the mast and launched himself up into the air to avoid the bullets that were fired at him.

Back on Wapol's ship Bliking, another bunch of uniformed men were standing on the deck. With them was the strange archer from before as well as a man with a big black afro and a beard that ended in two fuzzy balls at his chin. He wore a heavy golden cloak over additional heavy clothing.

"They took it upon themselves to start this," the archer, Chess, commented.

"What fools," the afro-man, Kuromarimo, remarked. "Do they have a death wish?"

-x-

"I need to get to them before they can fire at the others," Y/N thought to himself as he stood in front of Nami's bed.

"I have a sack of gold in my bottom left pocket," Y/N informed the three men. "If you want my treasure, you'll have to allow me to get it."

"Do it," the man who seemed to be in charge ordered. "But don't try anything funny." The three men trained their guns on Y/N as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a sack. Y/N shook the sack and produced a jingling sound that proved that it really was filled with gold.

"Time to test out the technique I've been working on with Zoro," Y/N resolved.

"Catch," Y/N stated as he lobbed the sack of gold up into the air. The three men looked up as the sack of treasure flew towards them.

"Speed Step!" Y/N's bare feet pounded the ground and he disappeared from view. ZOOM! In a split second a red blur appeared on the other side of the room and slammed into the three men, WHAAM! The three men went flying and smashed into the wall behind them, Y/N reappeared and staggered a few steps, then turned around and caught the sack of gold he had thrown in midair, Whap!

Whup-whup-whup! Y/N whipped the sack around alongside him then spun around again and smashed the metal-filled sack into the face of the leading man, WHUMP! The soldier was knocked out cold and flew backwards into the other two men, THUD! The three men were left in an unmoving, unconscious heap on the floor.

"Never point a gun at Nami again," Y/N growled, Nami, Ms. Valentine, Vivi, and Carue all stared at Y/N in shock.

"Since when can you move... faster that we can see?" Nami inquired from where she was sitting up in her bed.

"Since... just now..." Y/N answered, he dropped down to one knee and panted, "First time I've done that."

"That was... amazing..." Vivi gasped.

"Quack!" Carue agreed.

"Thanks for not doing that to me!" Ms. Valentine called out.

"Vivi, Carue, would you mind getting those guys out of here?" Y/N requested, "I've lost most of the feeling in my legs."

"Of course," Vivi agreed, she and Carue crossed the room and gathered up the three men. Before they left, the Princess turned and smiled at Y/N, "I'd tell you to look after them... but I know you'll do it anyway." Vivi and Carue left the room while Y/N used his arms and dragged himself backwards across the room and sat against Nami's bed.

"Y/N... thanks for looking after me," Nami said quietly before she laid down on her bed and closed her eyes.

"I always will," Y/N whispered in reply.

-x-

"You shouldn't take on anything you can't handle!" Sanji snapped, he swung his leg around and hooked it on the neck of one of the men, THWAK! "RECEPTION!" Sanji drove the man into the ground with his foot.

"Get him!" another man called out, three more men charged the cook, Swish! Sanji dropped down onto his hands, then swung his legs around and took out all three of them, THWHAM!

Sanji rolled forward and launched himself at two other men that were charging him. SWISH! Sanji hooked his leg around one man's neck and then sent him flying into the mast, WHAM!

"Yipe!" Usopp yelped as he barely managed to dive out of the way in time.

Zoro threw the three soldiers out of the crow's nest, then leapt over the edge and ran down the mast with Yubashiri and Kitetsu III in his hands. SLA-LISH! Zoro sped passed a group of four men and lashed out with both of his swords. THUD! The men went crashing down to the ground and were knocked out.

Swish! Swash! Zoro dodged sword strikes from another group of men and then lashed out his swords again, SLISH! SLOSH! "GAAAHH!" the men yelled out in pain as they fell to the deck.

"Huh, all bark, no bite," Zoro remarked.

KA-BOOOM! Mr. 5's foot exploded as he kicked a man in the chest, sending him flying into a group of men behind him, and knocked them all down like a bunch of bowling pins. THUD!

"Pathetic," Mr. 5 grunted, he pulled up the sleeves of his coat and charged another two men, "EXPLODING DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE!" KA-BOOM-BOOM! Mr. 5's arms exploded when they connected with the two men and blew them both sky-high.

-x-

Skish! Skish! Skish! "Betrayal Black!" Ms. Goldenweek whisked a trio of familiar black symbols onto the men that had charged into the anchor room.

"You know," the girl told them, "it'd be really bad for your crew if you went out and attacked anyone else wearing your uniform."

"RAAAAHH!" the three men drew swords and charged out of the anchor room, AND BEGAN ATTACKING THEIR FELLOW SOLDIERS!

"That was easy," Ms. Goldenweek remarked as she calmly sat on a blanket in the anchor room and watched the battle going on out on the deck through the still opened door.

-x-

"CAPTAIN WAPOL!" one of Wapol's men called out, "WE NEED HELP! THESE GUYS ARE TOO MUCH!"

CHOMP! Wapol didn't reply, he simply bit down on another part of the Going Merry's railing and started to chew it up.

"YOU STILL EATING?" Luffy hollered as he smashed his way through Wapol's men to get to the fat ship-eater.

"This ship doesn't taste half bad!" Wapol remarked.

"HEY YOU!" Luffy called out to him, causing Wapol to turn and stare at the rapidly approaching pirate.

"You fool!" said one of Wapol's men, "You're no match for Wapol!"

"Yeah!" added another one of Wapol's men. "Now you'll be eaten by the power of the Munch Munch Fruit!"

CHOMP! Wapol opened his mouth wide AND THEN BIT DOWN ON LUFFY!"

"LUFFY NO!" Usopp cried out in shock when he saw his captain getting chewed by their enemy.

VREEEEM! Luffy stretched his rubber arms out behind him just as the door to the storage room opened again. Vivi and Carue came out and dumped a trio of unconscious men on the deck.

"Huh, what's this?" Vivi wondered as she noticed Luffy's arm stretching across the deck.

"Oh, hey there Miss. Vivi," Sanji greeted her as he calmly stood beside her. The combined efforts of Sanji, Zoro, Mr. 5, and three of Wapol's own men had made short work out of the attacking soldiers. The only one left fighting was Wapol himself. "Everything okay with Miss. Nami and Miss. Valentine?"

"Y/N's watching them," Vivi answered. "So they couldn't be safer."

"I'd prefer someone less chewy," Wapol complained, Luffy's rubber body mad him impossible to eat.

"I said..." Luffy's voice suddenly sounded from inside Wapol's mouth, "LEEAAVE!" SHOOOOM! Luffy's arm shot backwards and slammed into Wapol, the fat man went flying off into a distance while Luffy flew out of his mouth in the other direction and landed safely on the deck.

Wapol's men all stared in shock at the sight of their leader getting blasted off of the ship and disappear into the horizon. TWINKLE!

The Straw Hats all grinned while Mr. 5 folded his arms across his chest, Vivi stared at Luffy in surprise.

"THIS IS BAD!" Chess the archer exclaimed, "HE SENT WAPOL FLYING OUT INTO THE OCEAN!"

"BAD?" repeated Kuromarimo the afro-man, "IT'S A DISASTER! WAPOL'S GONNA DROWN! HE CAN'T SWIM!"

"Recall the troops!" Chess ordered, CHUNK! The mouth of the hippo figure head opened and a ladder extended like a tongue. Wapol's battered men quickly left the Going Merry and ran back to the safety of their ship. Well, relative safety, they were still being chased by three hypnotized soldiers. "There's no time to lose! We've gotta rescue him before he sinks to the bottom!"

"THIS IS FAR FROM OVER!" Chess shouted at the Straw Hats. "YOU'LL PAY, I PROMISE YOU'LL PAY!"

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Kuromarimo shouted. "YOU BRATS!" They quickly took off and shouted death threats as they left.

"YOU'D BETTER HOPE WAPOL DOESN'T DIE!"

"OR IT'S YOUR BLOOD WE'LL SPILL! REMEMBER THAT! WE'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!"

They sailed off after their captain and left the Straw Hats, Vivi, and Mr. 5 staring after them.

"Wow, crazy," Usopp commented, "those guys were really upset. What were they calling that old garbage can? Wapol?"

"Who cares," Sanji replied. "Don't worry about it. The guy's obviously a moron, best to just forget about him."

Vivi stared off after Wapol in surprise, "I know him..." she realized, "but from where?"

-x-

See?:

-x-

A few days earlier, in another part of the Grand Line a Marine Vessel with 'Smoker Marine' marked on the main sail was making its way through the Grand Line in pursuit of the Straw Hats.

"Captain Smoker!" came the voice of Lieutenant Devo, "I've just intercepted a very intriguing signal."

"What is it?" asked Smoker as laid back on a lounge chair that was out on the front deck of the ship.

In another room on the ship, Sergeant Major Tashigi was staring intently at a sword. "Such an incredible full temper!" Tashigi exclaimed as she surveyed the sword, "The Legendary Kashu!"

"Tashigi!" Smoker's voice came through the door. "Tashigi!"

But the Sergeant Major was too caught up with the legendary sword to hear him, she lifted her glasses up and investigated the sword's finely crafted blade. "Only here in the Grand Line could I find such a prized sword as this so quickly!"

"TASHIGI! COME HERE!" the normally relaxed Smoker shouted for the Sergeant Major. "ARE YOU DEAF, YOU SWORD-CRAZY FOOL?"

"AAAAHH!" Tashigi yelped as she ran out of the room and down flight of stairs, "YES SIR, COMING CAPTAIN!" Tashigi was running so fast that the clumsy marine officer lost her footing on the stairs and tumbled down them, THUD! WHUMP! The sword Tashigi had been carrying went flying and launched high up into the air over her head, then came down and imbedded in the deck next to her head, SHUNK! "AAAAHHHH!" Tashigi screamed as she scampered away from the sword that had nearly killed her.

Up on the deck above her, Captain Smoker and Lieutenant Devo sweat-dropped. "STOP CLOWNING AROUND AND GET OVER HERE!" Smoker snapped. "I NEED YOU TO LISTEN TO THIS!"

Tashigi whimpered for a moment but then her attention was drawn to the black snail that was on Lieutenant Devo's wrist. "Oh neat, a Black Transponder Snail Listening Device!"

"I just picked up this conversation minutes ago," Devo informed her, "I've got it all cued up for whenever you're done fooling around."

Tashigi quickly came up the stairs and stood with Captain Smoker and Lieutenant Devo, "Alright, I'm ready, play it back please," she requested.

"It's me, Mr. 0, now quit fooling around you jackass!" came a deep gravelly voice from the recording. "Have you eliminated Princess Vivi and the Straw Hats as you were ordered?"

"Straw Hats?" Tashigi repeated, then her eyes flew opened in realization, "STRAW HAT PIRATES!"

"Oh yeah... the mission was successful," a second smoother voice replied on the recording.

"From this point on all of my orders will be sent via letter following the usual protocol," the first gravelly voice spoke again. "That will be all, Mr. 3."

"The rest of the message is undecipherable static," Devo concluded.

"It's a faint signal," Smoker commented, "but there are key names and phrases laced in the conversation that clearly stood out. 'Princess Vivi', 'Straw Hats', 'orders via letter', and 'Mr. 0'."

"Mr. 0, could that be a codename for somebody?" Tashigi wondered. "In fact, it's possible that he could be connected to that suspicious swordsman we caught earlier in Luness. What did he say his name was?"

"Mr. 11," Devo supplied as he cast a quick glance at the man they had tied to a mast. He had gray hair and wore a fancy black suit and a top hat. On his face were two double ended arrows that mirrored each other as they went diagonally across his cheeks. They resembled an '11'. He was the one Tashigi had gotten Kashu from.

"Probably part of a criminal organization that uses numbers for codenames and sends orders via letter," Smoker reasoned, he glanced at Mr. 11 and called out to him, "Sound about right?"

"Mr. 0? Organization? I have no idea what you're going on about," Mr. 11 replied.

"Then how do you explain the letter of detailed orders we found in your pocket?" Smoker asked.

"Uh..." Mr. 11's eyes flew opened in surprise, "Damn letter! I thought I burned it!" "Wait! That's not mine!"

"That's funny," Smoker remarked, "because we didn't actually find anything in your pocket."

"GAAAAAHHH!" Mr. 11 wailed when he realized that he'd just given himself away by falling for a simple trick.

Smoker grunted and sat back down in his chair and resumed smoking his cigar. "Alright then... Princess Vivi... if I remember correctly she's from Alabasta," Smoker reasoned, "reports say she's currently missing."

"Excuse me for interrupting," Tashigi apologized, "but isn't the Kingdom of Alabasta in the middle of Coup? Could this mysterious criminal organization and the Straw Hats be involved in the uprising?"

"That's not what they said on the recording," Devo pointed out. "That shady Mr. 0 character had given orders to eliminate Princess Vivi and the Straw Hats. For some reason, they're together."

"So far this is our only clue toward the Straw Hats' whereabouts," Smoker stated. "Lieutenant, I want you to contact Headquarters and get an Eternal Pose."

"Yes sir," Devo agreed as he went off to carry out the order.

Smoker smiled as he stared off in front of his ship, "It's time we play a little visit to Alabasta," he resolved. Whenever the Straw Hats got back on track to Alabasta, it looked like they'd have trouble waiting for them there. Not only in the form of Crocodile and Baroque Works, but also Captain Smoker and the Marines.

-x-

It had stopped snowing and the sun was setting as the Going Merry continued on its aimless course in search of a doctor.

Luffy, Y/N, Sanji, Vivi, and Carue were gathered in Nami's room and were looking over Nami and Ms. Valentine. It was still cold, an extra blanket had been added to Nami's bed and Ms. Valentine's couch. Vivi was wearing a white winter coat, Sanji wore a thicker jacket and a light blue scarf, Y/N was dressed in his long black coat, and Luffy was dressed as he normally was. Nami and Ms. Valentine were currently sleeping but had damp rags on their foreheads and were taking deeper breaths than normal.

"What if we just throw some water on them?" Luffy suggested, "Will that cool them down?"

"Shut up," Sanji groaned.

"Come on Nami, cheer up!" Luffy urged her. Whup! Luffy grabbed his ears and stretched them up to the top of his head and then tied them together over his straw hat. Then he grabbed his chin and spun it around into a long knotted beard, Vreeen! Finally, Luffy grabbed his nose and stretched it out in front of his face and then tied it in a bow so it looked like a loopy mustache, Woing! Luffy waved his hands around and attempted to get Nami to laugh, "Ah-blah-blah-blah-blah!"

"..." Nami and Ms. Valentine didn't react at all.

"No change at all!" Luffy gasped as he pulled out the knots in his face and it instantly returned to normal.

"Luffy... they're sleeping," Y/N told him, "And if they're not, you just gave them nightmares."

"Then wake 'em up and feed 'em some meat!" Luffy decided.

"YOU IDIOT!" Sanji and Vivi snapped at the same time, Vivi lashed out her arm and Sanji lashed out his leg, THA-WHAP! Luffy went flying across the room and slammed into the far wall, then went crashing down to the floor, THUD!

"This isn't good," Sanji resolved as he and Vivi returned their attention to Nami and Ms. Valentine. "The sun's about to set and there's been no change in either of them."

"It may have stopped snowing, but it's still cold," Y/N commented, "I was hoping the weather was finally starting to stabilize."

"Maybe we should find some place to drop anchor," Vivi suggested, "We can't navigate at night anyway without Nami's instructions."

"I could," Y/N replied, "but I don't want to leave them just so I can take over sailing the ship and maybe turn it away from the island we could be approaching."

"I'll take night watch and keep a look out for any ships," Sanji volunteered.

-x-

That night, Nami awoke in a room full of snoring. She sat up and glanced around the room. Vivi was sleeping on her knees with her head resting on the edge of Nami's bed, Carue was sleeping against the front of the bar and Zoro was covered in a blanket and was using the duck as a pillow. Luffy was sprawled out on his back at the bottom of the staircase, his foot was providing Usopp with a pillow, the marksman was sleeping sitting up at Nami's deck and was wrapped in a blanket. The snoring coming through the wall probably meant that Mr. 5 and Ms. Goldenweek were sleeping in the men's quarters.

Nami's eyes were drawn to movement across the room from her and she noticed Y/N putting a new rag on Ms. Valentine's forehead. Y/N stepped over Zoro's legs and then knelt down beside the bed. He reached out and gently placed a hand on her forehead.

"Hi, want my autograph because I'm so famous?" Usopp suddenly called out, causing Nami to jump. Y/N didn't move and was seemingly used to the marksman shouting out random things in the middle of the night.

"He does that a lot," Y/N told her as he removed his hand from her forehead. "I've heard that guy spout out so many absurd stories that the things he talks about when he's awake seem boring."

Nami smiled, it was hard to imagine anything more farfetched than Usopp's tall tales, but apparently the marksman's dreams were even taller.

It was silent for a moment as Y/N produced a new rag and placed it on Nami's forehead. "Your fever keeps rising," he told her, "the cold weather isn't helping matters, and I don't need to tell you about the pain you're obviously in. With the way things just keep getting worse, that bug bite could be fatal."

Gulp! Nami swallowed hard, Y/N reached out and took hold of her hand. "I'm going to do absolutely everything I can to keep that from happening," he reassured her. "If we don't find something tomorrow... I'm going to use my last resort to personally get you to a doctor." Y/N pointed to his eye patch so Nami didn't have to ask what his last resort was. "I'll be able to go faster, I'll see further, and I'll hopefully be able to sense the treasure on the island from a distance. I'll just have to hold out against the parasite until I find something."

Nami knew that Y/N wouldn't risk using the Devil's Eye and losing control unless he was desperate. This was the second night in a row that Nami had woken up at night to find Y/N still awake and looking after her. The ring around his eye was proof that he hadn't slept since before Little Garden. He was really worried about her, all of them were.

Nami squeezed his hand, "It'll be okay," she insisted.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you," Y/N said with a shake of his head. "Go back to sleep. You need to rest."

"I'm warning you now," Nami threatened him, "When this is over, I'm going to make sure you get some sleep too." Y/N smiled at her optimistic threat as Nami closed her eyes and went back to sleep. He remained awake the rest of the night and looked after the two sick women.

Up in the crow's nest, Sanji was also up late as he diligently kept a look out for any ships that might come by and have a doctor.

"S-s-so c-cold," Sanji said with a shiver, he glanced up at the moon, "It's almost a full moon." As the night drew on Sanji and Y/N struggled to stay awake while performing their respective tasks, but only one of them succeeded.

-x-

KONK! KONK! KONK! KLAK! Early the next morning, the anchor had been raised and the Going Merry was once again sailing on in search of a doctor. A loud hammering sound could be heard coming from Usopp as he hammered in a bunch of boards and tried to repair the damage done when Wapol had tried to eat their ship.

Up in the crow's nest, Sanji jerked awake and stared around him. "Crap, I fell asleep," he complained. Sanji leaned over the side of the crow's nest and saw Usopp along the railing of the main deck attempting to patch up a big hold with a bunch of boards and nails. "You're up early."

"I can't just sit around doing nothing," Usopp replied as he held nails in his mouth in between his teeth. "We've gotta find a way out of this jam as quick as possible."

Krek! The flap to the men's quarters opened up and Mr. 5 and Ms. Goldenweek climbed up through the hole. "Hey, Cook," Mr. 5 called out, "One Eye told me to relieve you."

Ms. Goldenweek took a seat at the bottom of the main mast and pulled a paint pallet and a small canvas out from it. She stared at it for a moment and then began to paint, Skish... skish... skish...

Mr. 5 climbed up into the crow's nest and leaned against the side, Sanji frowned at him.

"I can handle being the lookout just fine," Sanji told him. "I've gotta find a doctor for Miss. Nami."

"One Eye told me that you'd say something like that," Mr. 5 stated, "He also said to tell you 'if you exhaust yourself, we'll have three sick people to deal with. Cook something for the crew to eat in the morning and then get some rest'."

"And why should I trust you with such an important job?" questioned Sanji. "If we don't find a doctor, Miss. Nami could die."

"Don't forget, my partner's sick too," Mr. 5 reminded him. "She can be annoying at times but I'd rather not have her die when I can do something about it. I have just as much reason for finding a doctor as you do."

"Hmph, alright fine," Sanji conceded, "trust Y/N to win an argument without even being here." Sanji climbed out of the crow's nest and down the mast, then went to the galley to cook breakfast before he got some rest.

Mr. 5 sat down in the crow's nest and stared off in a distance, below him against the mast, Ms. Goldenweek was painting the rising sun that was on the horizon, Usopp was still working on the repairing the ship.

-x-

Sometime later, down in Nami's room, Luffy sitting in a chair in front of Nami's bed.

"Come on Nami, this is weird!" Luffy urged the navigator as he tugged at his face.

"Luffy, you'd better cut it out," Y/N warned him from over by the bar, the ring around his eye had gotten darker from the sleepless night.

"If I make her laugh, she'll feel better," Luffy resolved.

"Luffy, that's not funny, it's traumatizing," Y/N told him, "We're trying to help them, not torture them."

"Hey," came Zoro's voice as he walked down the stairs into the room. He was wearing a long blue coat that went down to the top of a pair of dark green boots that he was wearing. His swords were sheathed at his waist. The swordsman approached the captain from behind hand called out to him, "What's going on Luffy?"

Luffy turned around and showed Zoro his face, he'd apparently gotten into someone's makeup. He had four fake eyelashes drawn above his eyes and a black semi-circle under each of them. The tip of his nose and his eyebrows were covered in grayish-black makeup. Pink lipstick was around his mouth, which Luffy was stretching opened to make him look even more like a monkey. On his forehead was the kanji for meat.

"GAAHHH!" Zoro yelped and fell down when he saw the 'scary' sight. Luffy stood up and began stretching his rubber mouth out more, "QUIT IT, YOU'RE FREAKING ME OUT!"

"See Luffy," Y/N pointed out, "If that face scares Zoro then it's gotta be terrifying. Subjecting Nami to that while she's sick is just cruel."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Luffy apologized now that it finally sunk it.

"Wash your face off," Y/N instructed as he tossed Ms. Valentine's old rag to Luffy. "What did you want anyway, Zoro?"

"Oh, I just came down to tell you guys that the cook just finished breakfast," Zoro informed them. ZZIP! At the mention of food, Luffy out of the room in a flash.

Y/N shook his head and took a seat in Luffy's empty chair, he glanced at Nami, "If you're still awake you can open your eyes now," he told the girl. "He meant well."

Nami's eyes opened momentarily and she looked relieved. "Someone's gonna have to pay for that makeup." ZZIP! At the mention of owing Nami money, Zoro was gone.

"Wow," Y/N remarked as he stared after Zoro, "I don't know what scared him more, Luffy's face or the thought of owing you money." Nami smiled and then closed her eyes.

"No more monkey-face..." Ms. Valentine whimpered as she curled up into a ball and shivered. "No more..."

-x-

Outside, Carue had joined Usopp out on the deck and was holding the spare boards for him. The marksman had mostly patched up the hole in the railing of the ship. Ms. Goldenweek was adding the finishing touches to her painting of the sunrise and Mr. 5 was still sitting up in the crow's nest. Luffy and Zoro had briefly emerged and had joined Vivi in the galley eating the meal that Sanji had prepared before going down to the men's quarters.

"The weather seems to be getting stable," Mr. 5 commented from up in the crow's nest.

"Now that you mention it, it has been really calm and cold lately," Usopp remarked. "To be honest, it's freaking me out. The Grand Line can't even be predictable unpredictable."

"Hmph," Mr. 5 grunted, "It's quite clear that on this crew only One Eye and the Princess have any experience traveling in the Grand Line. Stable weather usually means you're approaching an island."

"He's right," came Vivi's voice as she walked out of the galley and leaned against the railing in front of it. "Mr. 5, be sure to check the horizon for any sign of land."

"That's what I've been doing," Mr. 5 replied.

"There must be a winter island somewhere nearby," Vivi reasoned.

"A winter island?" Usopp repeated in confusion.

Skish! Skish! Skish! Ms. Goldenweek painted a canvas then turned it around and showed it to Usopp. "There are four different kinds of islands in the Grand Line, Spring Islands..." Ms. Goldenweek pointed to a tree she'd drawn that had pink cherry blossoms blooming on it. "Summer Islands..." She pointed to a tree with lush green leaves. "Autumn Islands..." She pointed to a tree with colored leaves. "And Winter Islands..." She pointed to the final tree that was bare and had snow gathered around the bottom of it. "The four types of islands each have their own four seasons."

"That means there are at least sixteen types of weather patterns you have to be prepared to endure," Vivi explained, "Going from summer on a summer island, to winter on a winter island, and everything in between. There can be exceptions though, like Little Garden, that have their own unique climate."

"So that's why the seas between all the islands have such crazy weather patterns," Usopp realized.

"Correct," said Vivi. "The closer you get to an island, the calmer the sea is around you. That's why I asked Mr. 5 to start looking for land."

"That's it, I see it," Mr. 5 announced, Vivi, Carue, Usopp, and Ms. Goldenweek stared up at the crow's nest in surprise. "There's a winter island, dead ahead!"

ZZZIP! Luffy and Zoro were suddenly standing behind Vivi and stared off the front of the boat. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Luffy exclaimed. "AN ISLAND! WE FOUND AN ISLAND! NOW WE CAN FIND A DOCTOR!" Luffy ran across the deck and took his seat on the figurehead. "WHOOOOOAAAA! THERE IT IS! NAMI'S SAVED! It's all white and covered with snow! A SNOW ISLAND!"

Krek! Sanji had been woken by Luffy's shouting and came up through the flap in the deck. "Luffy, just so there's no misunderstanding," Sanji warned the happy captain, "we're going to find Miss. Nami and Miss. Valentine a doctor, we're not here to have an adventure. Are we clear?"

"I LOVE SNOW!" Luffy gushed as he stared off at the snow-covered island. "IT'S SO WHITE!"

"It's no use, he's gone," Sanji grumbled. "Guess I'd better get ready for the inevitable."

"Uh... are you sure this is a g-good idea?" Usopp asked timidly. "There could be snow monsters! And we don't even know if there's people there or not. Oh no! My 'better-not-go-on-that-island' fever is back!"

"Maybe the doctor should have a look at you too," Ms. Goldenweek offered.

"I'll go tell Y/N," Zoro offered.

-x-

"We found an island," Zoro reported as he walked down the steps to Nami's room.

"I heard Luffy," Y/N replied. "Would you mind watching them so I can negotiate with the natives?"

"That's why I came down here," Zoro agreed, Y/N got up and left the room. Zoro took the empty seat in front of Nami's bed, he faced the girl and chuckled, "Heh heh, I think this is the first time he's left your side other than to get your roommate."

Nami smiled, Y/N had been doing his best to take care of her. He'd only left the room for a few minutes and that was when he'd gone to get Ms. Valentine. She was glad they'd finally found an island, that not only meant they were one step closer to the doctor, but she was also one step closer to knocking him out and making sure he got some sleep.

-x-

The Going Merry sailed closer to the island. Its major geographic features were that it was completely covered in snow, and there were a set of five extremely large cylindrical 'drum-shaped' mountains.

The Straw Hats sailed the Going Merry through a waterway that led inland. Luffy was still sitting on the figurehead wearing his usual vest, shorts, sandals, and hat and was oblivious to the cold that accompanied the snow. Y/N was standing behind Luffy on the front deck and wearing his cowboy hat and his sunglasses to not only shield his eye from the bright snow, but to also hide the dark circle under his eye. Sanji, Usopp, and Vivi were all wearing their winter coats and were gathered on the front deck as well. Carue, Mr. 5, and Ms. Goldenweek, who was bundled in a bunch of blankets so they could save coats for Nami and Ms. Valentine, were waiting down on the main deck.

"I'm so happy!" Luffy exclaimed. "Look at the snow! It's like heaven!"

"Look at the mountains," Sanji remarked, "They're unlike anything I've ever seen."

"Say Luffy, aren't you cold dressed like that?" Usopp asked.

"It's ten degrees below freezing out here," Vivi pointed out, "that's when bears get ready to hibernate."

Luffy turned and stared at the others, "Oh boy... COLD!"

"YOU JUST FIGURED THAT OUT!" Sanji and Usopp snapped.

"There's a spare coat for you down in the men's quarters," Y/N told him. "Go put it on." Luffy leapt off of the figurehead and darted down the stairs and quickly disappeared below deck, Usopp went with him to help him find the coat.

The Going Merry continued to sail inward, Y/N and Vivi were left on the front deck, "It's a stream of melted snow," Vivi pointed out as they watched a bunch of snow slide off of the shore and into the water. "That could be a good spot to disembark."

"We'll have to find people first," Y/N reasoned, he glanced over his shoulder at the others, "I'll have Zoro stay behind to watch the ship, who wants to come along for the doctor search?"

"I'm in!" Luffy announced, he was now wearing a dark red winter coat and a pair of green gloves.

"Me too!" Sanji added.

"Fine, go have fun!" Usopp said.

"We'll leave finding a doctor to you," Mr. 5 resolved, "Ms. Goldenweek and I will stay here."

"THAT'S FAR ENOUGH, PIRATES!" a loud voice called out. The Straw Hats looked up and spotted numerous armed men dressed in heavy clothing standing on both sides of the waterway. They all had their guns trained on the Going Merry and the crew.

"Everybody stay calm," Y/N quietly ordered as the Straw Hats surveyed the armed men. "Let me do the talking."

A large black haired man with a goatee that was wearing heavy green clothing, a green winter hat, and had some sort of weapon strapped to his back stepped forward, he looked a lot like a bull and seemed to be in charge. "I'll only say this once," the man addressed the Straw Hats, "Your kind is not welcome here. Leave immediately."

Y/N held up his arms in surrender, "We mean no harm," he assured the leader, "we've come in hopes of finding a doctor. We have two very sick people on board who desperately need medical attention."

"YOU'LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT!" someone shouted. "WE WON'T FALL FOR THAT OLD TRICK!"

"It's not a trick," Y/N insisted, "We've been sailing for days and this is the first island we've found. If they don't receive medical treatment soon they'll die."

"THIS IS OUR ISLAND! WE WON'T LET ANY FILTHY PIRATES SET FOOT HERE!" another man shouted.

"Then we won't come ashore," Y/N offered, "could you send a doctor to our ship?" Y/N turned around, "everyone put your hands up to show we mean no harm." The order was followed, Luffy, Vivi, Usopp, Sanji, Mr. 5, Ms. Goldenweek, and even Carue raised their arms up into the air.

Y/N turned back to the men, "There's only three more people on this ship," Y/N told the armed men. "Please, we mean you no harm and we'd be willing to pay you if you allow us onto your island. I promise, no harm will befall on any of this island's inhabitants."

"WE WON'T TRUST THE WORD OF PIRATES, RAISE ANCHOR AND LEAVE NOW!" someone shouted.

"If we leave now, our sick will surely die," Y/N replied, "Please we're desperate." Y/N glanced behind him at the crew that was all standing there with their arms up, Y/N took a deep breath then dropped his knees and rested his head on the deck. "Please, I'm begging you. Please help our friends."

"Y/N..." Luffy said quietly. In all the years Luffy had known Y/N, he'd NEVER seen his brother beg. Y/N always got what he wanted, whether through stealing, swindling, or outright buying. He never begged. But Nami was in desperate need of a doctor, so there he was, on his knees begging these strange people that he could easily beat in a fight for help.

"Luffy, violence won't solve anything," Y/N quietly told him. "We need to assure them that we're peaceful and mean them no harm. If we get in a fight here, Nami and Ms. Valentine could die."

"Keep dreaming!" a memory of a much younger Y/N retorted in Luffy's mind, "I don't beg for anything! Just give up now and save yourself a lot of trouble."

Luffy followed his brother's example and dropped to his knees, his straw hat fell off as he rested his head on the deck, "Please help our friends," Luffy pleaded. The Straw Hats, Vivi, Carue, and the Agents stood silently as the Captain and First Mate begged for help.

"I'll show you to our village," the bull-like man with the goatee eventually decided, "follow me."

Y/N turned to Luffy and smiled, "See?" said Y/N, "Violence would've only gotten people hurt. Now he understands us."

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!