"I'm hungry!" Luffy whined as she hungover the railing of the boat. She and Zoro had been at sea for a few days andwere low on supplies. "How long do we have to brew until we reach land?" askedZoro. "Who knows, it all depends on the wind and the sea. Maybe we'll never getthere. Well, I'm sure we will...eventually." "Wait a minute! Isn't ita little strange to plan to become Pirate King but have no idea how tonavigate?" Zoro replied. She couldn't be that stupid, could she? "Isnot it. I just let myself be carried by the waves." Apparently so. "Whatabout you? As a great bounty hunter, aren't you capable of doing thatyourself?" the black-haired woman asked, looking over her shoulder."I never claimed to be a bounty hunter." Zoro leaned back and lookedat the sky. "I went to sea because I was looking for a certain man and could nolonger find the way to my village. I had no choice but to live off the bountiesof wanted pirates." "Ah, so you're just lost then." She lookedinto the water again. "Don't say something like that!" Zoro snapped at her,stamping his foot. This caused the boat to rock and Luffy's straw hat flew offher head. Eyes wide, she jerked her head in the direction the hat flew. Zoro didso too. It flew along the sail when Luffy said: "My hat, I got it fromShanks!" Slowly the hat flew higher and higher. She could hear Shankstelling her shortly after arriving in Foosha Village while he threw up his hat:"This is my beloved straw hat, whichhas accompanied me in many battles in my life. I'm really sorry, Luffy, but Idon't think I can even give it to you." The Straw Hat flew over themast and slowly began to descend. Zoro and Luffy ran after it to the bow, nevertaking they eyes off it. Zoro stretched out his arm and was just able to catchit before it landed in the water. He handed it to his captain, who immediatelyaccepted it and seemed to be looking for something in the hatband. He noticed ahint of worry and...fear? There was in her eyes.     

She breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled outa small piece of paper. "I thought I had lost it," she said before sittingcross-legged. The green-haired man sat down opposite her and looked confused atthe folded paper before asking: "What is that?" She looked up from itin surprise before looking back again. She carefully unfolded it and turned itso Zoro could see it. It was a picture of a woman. The edges of the photo werealready yellowed, but otherwise it still looked undamaged. In the photo hecould see a woman with long, curly, blonde hair with some kind of red flowerstuck in it. She had brown eyes, similar to Luffy's only lighter, freckles andwas wearing a white dress.

He looked at Luffy questioningly. "The woman in the picture is my mother." A sad smile crept onto her lips. "It's the only thing I have of her." He didn't quite understand why this made her sad, but he didn't ask any further questions. He recognized when people didn't want to talk about a topic that was bothering them. Therefore he remained silent. Luffy folded it back up and put it back in the hatband before looking at it for a while. Silence fell over the boat. He remembered what she had said about the hat a few days ago: "I swore to someone. A good friend or rather someone who is like a father to me. I promised him that I would put together an unbeatable crew to find the greatest treasure in the world and one day become Pirate King! He gave me this straw hat as a farewell gift; it once belonged to my father." "You have to take good care of it, otherwise you'll lose it again. It's very important to you, right?" "Yes." She put the straw hat back on her head and pulled the brim a little lower so that her eyes couldn't be seen. She let go of the brim and looked him straight in the eyes as she said, " Thank you, Zoro."

"I'm hungry," Zoro began. Luffy looked into thesky and saw a black dot. "Look, a bird!" said Zoro, who also looked at the sky.A smile crept onto the young Portgas' face before she looked at her deputy andsaid: "Wait a minute, there'll be something to eat in a moment!" He lookedat her confused. "Huh, how are you going to do that?" "It's noproblem." Zoro followed her with his eyes as she stood up. She stretchedher arms and held onto the sail mast. "With the Gomu Gomu no Rocket!" With that she shot towards the bird. Zoro watchedher calmly. "If that goes well." She was about to grab the bird when it grabbedher...with its beak. She screamed in panic as the bird flew away with her:"Ahhhhh! Zoro, help me!" He immediately grabbed the paddles and started rowinglike crazy. He shouted angrily over his shoulder: "You idiot! You really can'tbe left alone for a second!" While he was rowing, he suddenly heard avoice in the water in front of him: "Hey, stop! You on the boat, take uswith you!" There were three men floating in the water. He shouted to them overhis shoulder: "I don't have time for this! Jump on board if you make it!""What!?!" At the last second they were able to hold on to the boat and pull themselfup. "Wow, you actually did it." "Are you trying to killus?" The three drew their swords. "Stop the boat right now! We belong toBuggy the Clown and are now taking control of this boat!" Zoro narrowed hiseyes at the three. His expression had darkened. "Huh?!" 

"We had no idea that you were the infamous pirate hunter Zoro!" said the man in the middle, embarrassed and laughing, while his two comrades rowed. The three looked badly shaken after Zoro had a ''discussion'' with them, "Please forgive us." Zoro sat at the stern of the ship and looked at three with hard eyes. He rested his swords against his left shoulder. "I lost track of a friend of mine because of you. However. Just row!" "Aye!" "Knowing Luffy, she'll get back down somehow once she's over land," he murmured, looking up at the sky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Orange Town on Organ Island, East Blue ~

Luffy kicked like crazy. How on earth did sheend up in that stupid bird's beak? On top of that, Pipmats grabbed her by thehead of all things. She couldn't see anything but the sky and that was BORING!Suddenly she heard a whistle. Was that a cannon? An explosion and the bird letgo. Screaming, she was in free fall towards the ground before hitting it. Dustswirled. "W-what?!" a young woman's shocked voice could be heard. "What wasthat?" "Someone fell from the sky!" "Damn. Where did this cannonball comefrom?" said Luffy, "Well at least I landed on land." She stoodup, the dust had now settled. "That doesn't happen every day either." Shelooked at the people she had landed among. There were three men standing therewith weapons drawn and a woman who looked familiar from somewhere. She hadalmost shoulder-length orange hair. One strand around her left ear seemed to belonger than the others. She had brown eyes, but they were lighter than her own.The woman appeared to be about her age, maybe a year older? She was wearing awhite T-shirt with three dark blue stripes and a short yellow skirt with somekind of circles on the side. She also wore dark brown boots that went slightlyover the ankles. Sighing, the black-haired woman murmured while holding herstomach: "I'm still hungry." She missed the orange-haired woman's slygrin. She happily ran up to her, folded her hands in thanks and said: "Boss!You came to save me!" She looked at the other confused. Brown met brown. Whatwas she talking about? And why did she look at her like the two knew eachother? "Who are you?" Suddenly the girl turned around, ran away and shouted:"I'm sorry, I have to go now! I'll leave the guys to you!" And then shedisappeared around the next corner. What was that? "Hey, she's runningaway!" said one of the men behind Luffy. "Who cares? She left herboss behind." "I get it. She came to protect her subordinate."Luffy turned to the men with her hands on her stomach and asked: "Hey, doyou know where I can get something to eat here?" "Don't foolus!" shouted one of the men and knocked the straw hat off her head.Surprised and frightened, she watched as her beloved hat flew through the air.How dare he?! She angrily punched the guy to the ground before catching her hatand putting it back on. Her eyes were not visible to the men when she said in avery calm voice that sent shivers down your spine: "Don't touch my treasure!"The men shouted at her angrily, with weapons drawn: "You Bastard!" They rantowards her screaming. " Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"She hit with both fists. Knocked out, the men fell to the ground. Theorange-haired woman had watched what was happening from a nearby roof. Shelooked impressed at the men lying on the ground before saying: "Incredible!You're pretty strong!" Luffy looked up in surprise. The woman jumped fromthe roof to the balcony below. "You have defeated men with swords and arestill unharmed." "Hey, you're the woman from before. Who areyou?" "I am a thief who specializes on pirates. My name is Nami. Hey,how about we form a team?" "I'll pass. I have no reason to form ateam with you," said the black-haired woman, turning away and wanting to leave."W-wait!" the thief called after her and jumped off the balcony. She ran afterLuffy. "Now wait a minute!" She stopped as her stomach began to growl loudly.She placed her hands on the noisy organ again. "I just remembered. I'm hungry,"she said as her legs folded away and she sat on the floor. Nami, who was nowstanding next to her, looked at her in surprise. An idea came to her mind. "Howabout if I get you something?" Luffy was instantly on her feet again and lookedat her with shining eyes. "Really!?" "Y-yes." What was wrong with her? Onesecond she was sitting on the floor hungry and the next she was standing infront of her full of energy.

Luffy happily devoured a burger that Nami had put in front of her. This led her to a small, comfortably furnished house. "Delicious." She looked at Nami, who had sat down on the table and was holding an old, rolled-up piece of paper in her hand. "Tell me, Nami, do you live here all alone in this huge house?" "I don't live here. It's not my home. I come from somewhere else. The people from this house fled because they were afraid of Buggy." "Ahh, then you're a burglar." Nami looked at her indignantly. "Hey, you're pretty rude. I'm a thief specializing in pirates! So don't lump some burglar and me together!" The straw hat wearer swallowed her food before replying: "Theft is theft, there's no changing that." "You know, Luffy, I've made it my goal to get 100,000,000 berries at any cost," she said as she looked out the window. Luffy looked at her questioningly. "What are you going to do with so much money?" "It's none of your business!" she said and turned her back to the younger one. She continued to eat happily. "I'll get the 100,000,000 together," Nami muttered as she tucked the map under her shirt. She continued speaking loudly. "I have a map of the Grand Line." Surprised, Luffy opened her eyes and mumbled: "What, a map?" She turned her head to the orange-haired woman and continued. "That's great, are you going to sea?" "Yes, and I'm much better than the sailors who hang around here in the city," Nami said with a smile as she looked at Luffy. Luffy stood up enthusiastically. "I have a great idea! That would be THE thing, Nami. I can use someone like you! Why don't you start with us as a navigator?" Nami supported herself on the table, smiling. "Excuse me?!" This would be the opportunity! With someone as strong as Luffy, she could get the 100,000,000 in no time. She threw her arms in the air with excitement. "Yes, then you belong to us! Then you're a pirate too!" Suddenly Nami's excitement and happiness turned into anger and disgust as she looked at the black-haired woman with hard eyes. "No!" Luffy looked at the brown-eyed woman confused. What did she suddenly have? Her expression softened slightly again as she said, stunned and disappointed, "You're really a pirate? I can't believe it." "Yes, I swore to the man who gave me this hat to put together a powerful crew and become a famous pirate," she said and looked at the straw hat in her hand. Nami angrily slammed her hands on the table. "I hate pirates more than anything in the world! I can't stand this reusable pack!" Luffy watched Nami's outburst in surprise. She put the hat back on her head as she said, "Come on, Nami, think about it. Join us!" Nami went to the window and looked at her from the side. "I said NO!" Luffy sat back down and continued eating after she said: "Well, then not." Suddenly Nami noticed some pirates on the street, because of the closed window she couldn't understand anything, but she suspected what or rather who they were looking for. She watched carefully as the guys disappeared. "That Buggy! I have to think of something!" An idea came to her. Smiling, she walked up to Luffy and said, "Well, if you accept my conditions, maybe I would be willing to join you." "Really?" Luffy didn't know why, but she had a strange feeling. Oh well. She was definitely just imagining it. "I'll do anything you want!" "I want you to accompany me to Buggy. I still have a little something to do and I need you help to do it." She got a rope from somewhere and tied Luffy up in a few seconds. She was still holding the other end of the rope in her hand. The straw hat wearing woman looked at the thief in confusion. "Why did you tie me up?" "I have an idea. Don't worry about it." "Good, if you say so," she said with a smile, "I'm curious to see whether this Buggy is also a real pirate. Come on, let's go!" She started walking. Nami looked at her bewildered. How naive was this woman? "Uh, hey, not so fast! Take it easy!" Nami almost had trouble keeping up with the black-haired woman's speed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Pirates' Camp ~

"What? I guess I'm not hearing correctly!You idiots have lost sight of her?!" Luffy could hear a loud voiceshouting, "There are three of you and you can't even manage to catch sucha mean brat?! Go to hell!" She saw a dwarf in yellow clothes running towards atent, saying something and pointing at Nami and her. Still tied up, she walkedin front of the smiling Nami, who held the rope in her hand. The pirates theypassed looked at the two women with interest. "Yeah, that's her! That's thegirl who stole the map!" said one of the pirates. Before the time the womenstopped. Surprisingly, Nami pushed Luffy forward so that she fell face first tothe ground. The thief had already let go of the rope. Luffy therefore didn'tsee Nami stick her tongue out at her before walking towards the person in frontof them and saying, "I bring you a thief, Captian Buggy. And I havesomething else for you. I'll bring you the map back." She was holding the mapof the Grand Line in her hand. "Very wise of you to come here and give it backto me. But where did this sudden change of heart come from?" asked this Buggyguy. Luffy couldn't see the captain of this pirates from her position when Namigave him the map back. Why did she even steal this if she was giving it backanyway? As Nami stepped back, she said, "I had a lot of trouble with my bossand all I can say is I'm terribly sorry. Would it be possible for me to joinyour crew?" Nami said the last part in an innocent-sounding voice. Luffy heardBuggy making some strange noise. Did he growl? One of his men said in fear:"It's that time again! Captian Buggy gets angry!" "His devil powers are comingback!" Luffy pricked up her ears. Did she just mishear, or...? "What devilpowers?" she murmured. Had he eaten from one too? If so, what for powerddid he got? The strange noise Buggy made sounded more and more like thegrunting of a pig before he started laughing uproariously. "So, you're sorry?That can happen. You are an interesting girl. I like you. You're accepted," hesaid before starting to laugh again. Somehow the laughter reminded Luffy of aclown...a psychopathic clown. Nami's smile turned into a grin. "Invasion successful! This pirates are justas simple as I expected."  

Before Luffy knew it, she was sittingcross-legged and tied up in a small concrete cage. This time they had even tiedher legs together. "Why am I sitting in a cage now?" she asked no one inparticular. But now she could take a closer look at this Buggy guy. Standing infront of her was a middle-aged man, maybe in his 30s or so. He wore strangebrown shoes. The toe of the shoes was not only longer but also turned slightlyupwards. He had light green, more blue, pants on and a dark green sash tiedaround his waist as a belt. He also wore red and white striped socks thatmatched his T-shirt. He wore an orange captain's coat over his shoulders thatmatched his captain's hat of the same color. The hat featured a grinning skulland crossbones. The skull had a round red nose and some strange lines on theeyes. Should that be makeup? Under the hat she could see a headscarf, also redand white. He had...blue hair? Then there were weird fringes on the hat...orwas that hair too? He also wore white gloves and a purple scarf. He had twocrossbones drawn on his face, there were narrow blue lines around his eyes andhe wore...She had to suppress a giggle. He had red lipstick on and a round, redclown nose. "I couldn't be feeling better today!" said the clown face, "Say, lass,what's your name?" "Nami." "Yeah! Then we'll throw a huge welcome party forNami! Now it's time to celebrate!" His men cheered at the prospect. 

In a few minutes the pirates were celebrating.They drank, danced and did tricks. Somehow they looked like real artists in acircus. Buggy sat in his "throne" in the tent. There was a table with food infront of him and Nami sitting across from him. "What's up? After all, it'sYOUR party? Go ahead and eat something," Buggy said to Nami before taking a sipfrom his mug. "Okay. Thank you very much." Buggy didn't notice Nami'sdevious smile. "I just have to bepatient, then I can steal the map again and all of Buggy's treasure." Noneof the pirates noticed the hand that was laboriously reaching towards a plateof meat, centimeter by centimeter. All that eating had made Luffy hungry again.Although her hands were tied behind her back, she had stretched one of her armsand was now trying to reach the tasty prize. "I want some of the food too!" shepressed through her clenched teeth. It was only a few millimeters left when herarm contracted again and the energy created caused her to move to the side. "Damn!"She had been so close! Laughing, Buggy said, "I'm in a particularly good moodtoday. Men! Get the Buggy cannon ready!" They did so, cheering. A giganticcannon was pushed into the square, pointed at the city and moored. One of themcarried a ball with the gang's symbol on it to the cannon and loaded it."Cannon is loaded!" The pirates, including Buggy and Nami, stood in a row towatch the spectacle. Nami looked at everything worriedly, while Buggy had hisarms crossed over his chest and grinned. "W-what's happening?" asked theorange-haired woman. "Enjoy the demonstration of my Buggy cannon. Ignition!"The fuse was lit. With a loud bang, the cannonball shot out of the cannon anddestroyed everything in its path. Every house that was in the line of fire wasnow just rubble and ashes. The pirates cheered at the sight of the destructionwhile Nami was shocked. "That was really loud," said Buggy with a grin, "Withmy Buggy cannon and my devil fruit powers I will rule the Grand Line! Right,Nami?" With the last sentence, Buggy turned to the person being addressed."But of course!" "What?!" Everyone turned to the person who had spoken, it wasLuffy. Buggy looked at the black-haired woman in surprise. "That will nothappen! I will become ruler of the Grand Line!" Some veins began to pulsate inthe blue-haired man's forehead as he growled. "And that means I'll becomePirate King too!" "Luffy, you complete idiot!" Nami snapped. Hadshe a death wish or why did she provoke Buggy? He had his hands on his hips andlooked at the ground. His eyes were in shadow. "Ts hee hee. Now I understandwhy you've had enough of her." "Yes, she just sayes stupid stuff likethis all the time and thinks she's the greatest. She believes that everythingin life falls into her lap. I've had enough, I don't work for her anymore,"said Nami, trying to smooth things over again. Then Buggy got an idea."You're right." She looked at him in surprise. "I'll get the cannon ready.Then you can blow your idiot boss away once and for all!" Her eyes widened. Hedidn' mean that...?! "Of course, this also proves your loyalty to me, Nami. Ithink that's what I can expect from you," he said. His expression was twistedinto a scarry mask. "Come on, men!" They pushed the cannon and set it up againa few meters from the prisoner. "Oh, that's not necessary. A cannonball is waytoo good for someone like her. Let's just enjoy the party again," Nami tried tosomehow excuse herself. Buggy turned his head to her. His face had darkened."You do this now!" he said in a voice that was much too calm. "This is my wayof having a welcoming party." He gave her a matchbox with his symbol on it.Nami looked spellbound at the box in her hand. She couldn't do that!"Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!"the pirates kept shouting. "If Idon't shoot now, he'll kill me." She looked up and at the black-hairedwoman in the cage. "But if I do it, thenI'll be just as bad as HE!" Sweat ran down the orange-haired woman'sforehead. "Come on, light the fuse! Blow the woman away!" shouted Buggy,laughing. The pirates were still shouting in the background. Calm brown eyesmet nervous ones. Nami was only brought out of this spell when Buggy shouted:"Nami! You don't plan to ruin our party, right?" She began to tremble almostimperceptibly. What should she do? "Hey, what's wrong?" Luffy calledout and a small smile crossed her face, "You're shaking." Nami's eyeswidened. She had noticed? "I don't think you have anything against pirates. That'sjust an excuse to steal from us." "That isn't an excuse! It's not easy to kill aperson. It doesn't matter if it's a pirate or not." "That's right. But if you don'tkill me than they'll kill you." Nami became quiet. She couldn't answerthat. Suddenly the matchbox was snatched from her hand. Startled, she looked atthe culprit. One of Buggy's men had snatched it from her, was holding one ofthe matches and said, "Listen, you newbie. I don't feel like waitinganymore." He lit the match. "I'll show you how to fire a cannon."Nami turned her head to the grinning man. Her decision was made. The firealmost touched the fuse. Luffy also noticed this with widened eyes. In a flash,Nami pulled three individual wooden pieces out of a holder on her leg and putthem together in one fluid movement. It was a quarterstaff. She pulled thisover the pirate's skull. He fell to the ground unconscious. Everyone looked atthe orange-haired woman in surprise. Silence fell over the camp. Only theblowing of the wind could be heard.

With horror she realized WHAT she just had done."Oh no! Please, please no!" "Nami, what has gotten into you?! Why did youdo that?" Buggy growled. She took her staff in both hands, bowed and said in apanic: "I'm sorry, Captian!" "So you're sorry?! This is unforgivable!""You saved my life. You're not as selfish as I thought." Nami turned toher, indignant and angry. Only holding her staff in one hand. "Oh, don't talknonsense!" She took it in both hands again and took a defensive position. "Ionly did it for myself! I had no other choice! I didn't want to put myself onthe same level as these murderers and criminals!" "So you only did itfor yourself?" "Yes, and now you can finally see what these guys arecapable of! But YOU want to become a pirate too." "Still, you saved me." Luffyheard a noise. Was that a hiss? Her eyes went to the cannon. Screaming inhorror, she saw the fuse burning. Was this supposed to be a joke?! "Ahh, thefuse is lit, the thing is about to go off!" Nami looked over her shoulder inshock. "You've fooled us long enough! Now let's make short work of it. Forwardmen, grab her!" Instantly some of his men pounced on the thief. She struck withher staff but the pirates jumped over it. One swung his sword, which Namiblocked with her staff. She let go of the staff and ducked under the men as sheran towards the cannon. She would have to do something otherwise Luffy would..."Oh no, how do I get out of here?!" Luffy shouted in panic and lookedfrom one side of the small cage to the other. The fuse was almost burned out.Sweat ran down the straw hat wearer's face. "I'm done for." Nami reached forthe burning end of the fuse. Screaming in pain, she tried to smother the flame."Oh man," Luffy said, stunned. What was Nami doing? She could see how much painthe orange-haired woman was in because of this. Nami held on steadfastly. Shewouldn't let Luffy die. Not if SHE could help it! The smoke from the flame thathad come from under her hands had gone out. "Watch out behind you!"Luffy shouted to her as three of Buggy's men tried to pounce on her. Startled,she looked over her shoulder as another few footsteps were heard. Nami had hereyes closed in anticipation of the blow. But it never came. "Hey, hey. Gangingup on a defenseless person isn't really nice," the green-haired man said. Hehad stopped the men with the black swords in their sheaths. Grinning broadly,Luffy called his name: "Zoro!" Nami turned to Zoro. The white sword hung fromhis haramaki as he held one in his hand and the other rested on his shoulder.He looked over his shoulder at her. "Are you hurt?" "Um..." "Did they hurt you?"Nami came out of her stupor again. "No, I'm fine." "Man, I'mreally happy to see you," said Luffy, "I didn't think you'd find me.Hurry up and get me out of here!" Zoro turned around and saw...his captaincrouching in a cage. That couldn't be real! "What have you done? First you letyourself be kidnapped by a bird and now you're stuck in a cage." "Iwas just having fun." Unrest broke out among the pirates. "Did shejust say 'Zoro'?" "T-that's at least what it sounded like tome." "The guy who just took outthe pirates. Is that really pirate hunter Zoro!? What's going on here?"Zoro walked towards the cage and didn't pay any further attention to thepirates. "So YOU are Zoro," said Buggy. He looked down so his face couldn't beseen and had his arms crossed. The person being addressed stopped and looked atthe clown from the side with his gray eyes. "Why are you here? Are youafter the money that was put on my head?" "No, not interested. I'mnot a bounty hunter anymore." He had his eyes closed as he said this. Whoor what did this clown think he was?! Buggy raised his head. "Well, I aminterested in you. If I get your head, my reputation will increase evenfurther!" Zoro scowled at him as he looked over his shoulder and said,"I'd better not try that. You'll just kill yourself." "Oh, isthat so?" Buggy had a dagger in one hand while he was twirling one in theother. Sighing, Zoro said, "I guess I can't talk myself out of it.""Finish him, Captain!" "Captain Buggy!" His men began tocheer him on. "Buggy! Buggy! Buggy! Buggy!" He licked one of the bladeswith his tongue. A crazy grin was on his lips. Zoro pulled his swords out oftheir scabbards and put the third one back in his mouth. The girls looked atthe scene tensed. Buggy ran towards Zorro laughing. He held his swords crossedin his hands. "Go to hell!" shouted the red nose as he wanted to jump on Zoro.In one quick movement, Zoro was already behind the blue-haired man, who fellinto three parts. Nami closed her eyes and looked away.     

The pirates were silent when Zoro sheathed hisswords. With furrowed eyebrows he looked over his shoulder at the fallen man ashe said: "Well, whoever messed with me cut himself." "Congratulations, you tookcare of him in no time. That was great," said Luffy. "How did he...?"Nami began when she noticed something. Buggy's men laughed. Zoro's eyes focusedon this one. Luffy looked at the pirates confused. "What's wrong with them allof a sudden?" "I...I don't understand anything anymore. Their captain has justbeen wiped out and they're all laughing." "Say, can you tell mewhat's so funny about that?!" It's never happened to him before thatallies of a pirate he killed started laughing. He didn't notice how thesupposedly dead man behind him had straightened up again. Gasping for air, hefelt a sharp pain in his back. A dagger had been rammed into his left side frombehind. Groaning, he fell to his knees as his clothes turned red around thewound. "Zoro!" Luffy shouted in horror. Nami turned her head in hisdirection when she heard Luffy's scream. "How does that hand get there?" Agloved hand held tight to the handle of the dagger that was stuck in Zoro'sbody. "What...what was that?" Zoro pressed out. He turned around andsaw the hand holding the sword flying through the air before the body partreunited with the rest of its owner. "Bara Bara no Mi. That's what the fruit Iate years ago was called," Buggy said as his leg and torso reassembled. Inhis other hand he now held many daggers between his fingers. He grinned andlooked at the green-haired man and the orange-haired woman. "I am a man who canalways put himself together. A swordsman is useless against me!" He started tolaugh. "That is crazy, I can't believe this! The guy is whole again!" saidNami, stunned. How on earth was this possible?! "A chop-chop man," said Luffy,"It's kind off freaky." She just ignored that she herself was consists ofrubber. „But that just means there couldbe all sorts of devil fruit powers out there." "Hey, it looks like you'respeechless. Excellent! Then we can continue. Now let's have some fun!" Thepirates cheered him in agreement. "Thatis bad. Things have really turned to his advantage. If we don't think ofsomething soon, we're all screwed!" Zoro gritted his teeth. "I let myguard down." Luffy bit his lip. THAT was a lousy trick. Real pirates, likeShanks, at least give their opponents the opportunity to do something! Laughing,Buggy stood over Zoro as his men continued to cheer him on. Luffy couldn't holdback any longer. With sparkling eyes, she shouted angrily: "Hitting someone inthe back with a dagger is unfair, you big red nose!" Instantly, the squarebecame quiet. The thief stared tensely and with clenched teeth at the straw hatwearing woman. "Luffy, you idiot!Buggy is about to go completely crazy!" The pirates were frozen in theirmovements. Sweat was running down their bodies and their mouths were wide open.The girl didn't just say that, did she?! Buggy, who had turned to the onesitting in the cage, said angrily: "What are you saying, Straw Hat!? I guessI'm not hearing correctly! Who has a big nose?!" He shot his hand with thedagger at the girl. She was pushed back a little as the blade struck. Shocked,Zoro called out: "Luffy!" "Buggy!" came a voice behindgritted teeth. The person addressed looked up. "As soon as I get out ofhere, you can expect the beating of you're life!" said Luffy, grinningbroadly. She caught the blade between her teeth and increased the pressure alittle until the tip broke off with a clatter. Laughing, the blue-haired manput his hands on his hips before saying: "You're going to beat me? Don't makeme laugh! That's where you're wrong, lass. You're about to get screwed! Oh man,you're weird! It's tearing me apart! I'm laughing my ass off! And my head too!"He and his men laughed at the straw hat wearer. "That's it. We won't get out ofhere alive!" said Nami. Suddenly Luffy herself started laughing and had a big grinon her face, which made the pirates fall silent. Buggy looked at the womanconfused. Got she a little crazy out of fear? "You won't get us!" she said."Zorro, retreat!" He looked at her, surprised and slightly shocked."What?!" "He came here to save you and now you're telling him toback off?! What's wrong with you?!" Nami said angrily. Luffy didn't sayanything but just looked Zoro in the eyes with a smile. Brown met gray and Zoroseemed to get the message. "Good, okay," Zoro said with a grin. The Buggything had shocked him at first, but when you were traveling with a rubberperson it was easy to get over. "I don'tunderstand any of this. I hate pirates!" Nami thought in shock before sheslowly toppled over to the side. Buggy attacked again and Zoro blocked allattacks with a sword as he was pushed further and further back. Zoro quicklygrabbed the other swords and struck. He jumped forward. Buggy simply separatedhis torso from the rest of his body as he said, "Ignorant fool! Despite yourthree swords, you have a bad hand with me!" It was only then that he realizedthat Zoro was no longer standing in front of him. He had put his swords awayagain and was running towards Nami and the cage. "Hey, don't just ignoreme!" Buggy shouted over his shoulder. Some of the veins in his foreheadseemed to be pulsating again. Zoro crouched under the barrel of the cannon andbegan to lift it up with great effort. The barrel now pointed at the pirateswhen Zoro turned it around 180° with a scream and fell to his knees again."What are you doing? Are you crazy?! The cannon is aimed right at us!"Buggy shouted in shock. But his men also began to scream in shock. "Light itup!" Zoro, who was lying on the ground, said to Nami. "Huh?" "Now!" "Okay!""Aaaaa! Wait a moment! There's still the special Buggy ball in there!" shoutedthe ball's namesake. Nami struck a match and re-lit the fuse. Luffy watched thespectacle full of anticipation. "She set it on fire!" Buggy shouted in panic,"Wait, that's dangerous! Stop it! Stop it!" Nami covered her ears before thecannon fired.    

Covered by the resulting explosion, Zoro managed to heave the cage onto his back and jumped onto the nearest roof. Sweat ran down his face as he stopped, snorting. The cage was heavy and his wound was dripping blood. "Hey, Zoro, your wound is bleeding more and more," Luffy said worriedly. She had gotten rid of the shackles and was holding on to one of the bars since the bottom of the cage was now at her side. "That's not so bad. It'll be okay. I'll take care of it when we're done with this!" he said. The strain was clearly audible in his voice. Gritting his teeth, he carried the cage onto his back. Concern was evident in Nami's eyes as she stepped next to the swordsman. What the green-haired man did was inhumane! There were no more doubts for Nami. "Now I'm starting to think you're Zoro." Breathing heavily, he looked at her before asking, "Who is...who is this woman? What does she want from us?" He couldn't take it anymore. Zoro put the cage down. The iron bars were now on the ground as Luffy looked at him from the side and said, "That's Nami. She will be our navigator." The wound bled more heavily. "I'm not doing that! Listen, Zoro, your wound needs to be treated as soon as possible." "It's okay!" He gritted his teeth as he fought the pain. "Stand aside!" Blood sprayed as Zoro lifted the cage again. This time he reached for the bars. This meant he could carry that thing better. He swayed a little. Nami watched the event in shock. He walked on slowly. "Why are these guys so determined? They're just pirates," Nami muttered before turning around, leaving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Somewhere in the city ~

Zoro was now pulling the cage alongside him. Hestopped, panting, in front of a shop labeled "Pet Food" and leaned onthe concrete and iron rod structure. Smiling, Luffy wanted to look at Zoro, butthis turned out to be difficult because of the concrete wall. The green-hairedman next to the cage is exhausted. Lufy turned her head, trying to see her firstmate. But she stopped in her tracks at the sight in front of or more behindher. Zoro slowly raised his head and saw...a dog sitting in front of the shop."What's with that dog?" he murmured. "A dog?" Luffy askedhappily. She turned to the animal and managed to move the cage closer. It was asmall, white dog with button eyes. He had his tongue hanging out the wholetime. The black-haired woman looked at the dog for a while and started pullingon the left corner of her mouth and her right eyelid to get a reaction from thedog. Nothing. Grinning, she turned to Zoro, who had now gotten up and sat downin front of one of the wooden beams, and said: "Hey, Zoro. He is just sittinghere." "Who cares? It's just a dog." "Maybe he's dead." Smiling,she reached out a hand to it. She nudged the animal's forehead when the dogsuddenly began to stir. The dog bit. Zoro stared at the scenario in disbeliefas Luffy began to scream. That wasn't really happening, was it? The dog hadbitten into her face. "What are you doing?! Let go!" "You idiot! Now isnot the time to fool around!" Zoro screamed before he fell over from the bloodloss. "Stupid mutt," Luffy muttered. The dog had let go of her andsat back down on his previous spot. "I lost too much blood." They could hearfootsteps. Luffy leaned her head back and saw...Nami. "Ah, our navigator," shesaid, smiling. Nami replied before reaching for something in her pocket andsaying: "Here, take this. After all, you saved me despiteeverything." With that she threw something to the black-haired woman. Theitem fell to the ground. It was a key! A sparkle appeared in Luffy's eyes asshe said with a wide smile: "It's the key to the cage! You got it for me?"Nami put a hand on her hip. "Don't get the wrong ideas. That just means we'reeven now." Zoro sat up with a grin. "I am saved." The straw hat wearing womanwas about to reach for the key when the dog ate it. She stared at the animal inshock with her dark eyes as he swallowed it. Was that supposed to be a joke?!Silence fell over the place as the three looked at the animal. Luffy grittedher teeth angrily. It was almost like when Garp had brought her to Dadan andthe bandits' dog wanted to pry her meat.           

She reached through the bars and around thedog's neck. She shook him angrily and shouted: "Damn you! Spit it out! Spit outthe key immediately, it wasn't for eating! Spit it out, you stupid mutt!""Hey!" called a new voice. Surprised, Nami turned to the newcomer, Luffyignored him. She was too focused on the dog. "Stop vexing ChouChou, youbrats!" Luffy had stopped shaking the yapping dog in her hands. She turnedher head as the man approached. It was an older man with knee-length testiclesand a yellow, checked collared shirt. He was wearing a kind of self-made, brownarmor, which also included arm and leg guards. He wore glasses with roundlenses. His face was full of wrinkles and his white hair reminded of a poodle."Who are you, old man," Zoro asked, looking up at him. "I am the mayor of thiscity. Who are YOU?!" His gaze wandered to Zoro's wound. "Oh my God! That'sa pretty serious injury. Could it be that you were attacked by Buggy? Youshould see a doctor." He put one of Zoro's arms around his shoulder andtook him to a nearby house after helping him up.   

A while later he came out again. "How is Zorro?"the straw hat wearer asked the mayor. "I suggested taking him to a doctor,but he said he just needed to rest for a bit and went to sleep." The dogyawned before Nami started stroking his head. "So his name is ChouChou,huh?" "Why is he just sitting here?" Luffy asked. "He'sguarding the shop." "He is guarding it?" Nami asked."Yeah." "Oh, it's a pet food store," Nami said as she readthe sign. "That's correct. The shop owner was a good friend of mine." Hewent into the shop and came out with a bowl of dog food, which he placed infront of ChouChou. While ChouChou ate, the mayor continued. "I come hereevery day to feed ChouChou while he's away." "He's gone?""Yes, he died of an illness three months ago." "So the dog isstill waiting for his master to return?" "That's what everyone herethinks." Nami looked at the man confused as he sat down and lit a pipe. "Ithink rather differently. ChouChou is a smart dog. I'm sure he knows his ownerisn't coming back." There was sadness in Luffy's eyes when she heard this.She watched as ChouChou licked his bowl. She could imagine how the dog mustfeel. "Is that why he's still guarding the store?" Nami asked."Because this shop is ChouChou's treasure." He puffed on his pipe. "Ithink it reminds him of his beloved owner. I tried to get him out of here but herefuses to leave." Silence fell over the group. Luffy was leaning on one of theconcrete floors when she heard something. ChouChou placed the bowl in front ofthe mayor and sat back down at his post. Suddenly the bowl shook because of thefootsteps of a heavy creature. The growling and roaring of this creature couldbe heard. Luffy had her hands behind her head and leaned back, looking over theedge of the block. The growl reminded her of the ruler of the jungle, on Dawn.It sounded similar too. Now the others had heard it too. "Was that a roar?!"The mayor jumped up in a panic and said: "That's him! The tamer Mohji!" "Atamer? What are you talking about?" Nami asked the panicked man."W-Wait!" Nami ran after him, leaving Luffy, who was still sitting inthe cage, and ChouChou alone.

She could hear the pounding of a large animal getting closer and closer. Luffy looked at the dog, sighed and said pleadingly: "Someone seems to be coming. Now give me the key!" A shadow fell over her from behind. Surprised, she leaned back and came face to face with a lion that was bigger than normal but nowhere near as big as the lord of the jungle. He had light green fur, a purple mane, two large canines in his lower jaw sticking out, and red eyes. "Oh, I see your friends have abandoned you. You can't escape us anymore," said a person sitting on the lion. It was a middle-aged man who looked fit. He wore blue pants, which were held up by a yellow waistband. He had a strange white fur thing on his chest, or was that hair? He had white hair on his head and all around his face and...were those two bear ears? "Who are you?" she asked. "I am the tamer of the Buggy pirates, Mohji." She lay on her back to be able to see the strange team better. "That's a strange costume." "How rude! THAT is my hair!" shouted the angry Mohji and pointed to it. "That just makes it weirder." "You're pretty cheeky for someone who's in a cage." Shushu began to growl. "You'll learn to fear me soon enough! I am the tamer Mohji!" Him and fear? Please. She's seen and fought animals scarier than this weird guy. And Garp was the worst of them all! Just the thought of him sent one shiver after another down her spine. He dismounted his lion and walked toward the growling Shushu as he said, "There is no animal I cannot tame!" He held out his hand. "Give paws." Luffy watched excitedly. She had a feeling something funny was about to happen. Shushu bit down. Screaming, the tamer waved his hand that Shushu had bitten and screamed. "You're nothing but dirt under my shoes," he said when he finally got the dog loose, "I'm not here to kill YOU. Just tell me where Roronoa Zoro is." "No!" "Kill her, Richie!" The lion, Richie, jumped on the cage. His paw destroyed the cage, freeing Luffy. "Great, the cage is open!" Before she could react, Richie hit her with his paw into the next house. She had to give the kitty credit: it was quick. She sat up. There was destroyed furniture around her. "I let my guard down. But at least I'm out of the cage," Luffy said. A grin of anticipation spread across her face. "Great! Now I can kick their asses and get the thief Nami to become my navigator!" Said person suddenly appeared and looked at her in surprise and shock. "You're still alive, how is that possible?!" "She's still alive!" She looked at Nami and the mayor, confused. "Is that bad?" "Well, you destroyed an entire house flying through it and you don't even seem to be hurt!" "Really?" "Why did you come to this town? What is your relationship with these pirates?" the mayor asked while Luffy dusted herself off. The black-haired woman looked at him with a smile and said: "If you want a reason, I can think of one. I'll get a navigator and a map to the Grand Line." With that she began to walk past them before breaking into a run. "The guy in the costume said he was looking for Zorro! I'm going to go see what's going on!" Unable to say a word, Nami looked after the black-haired woman.

Luffy could hear ChouChou barking as well asRichie's roaring as she got closer. A yelp! Luffy ran faster. When she finallyarrived, she saw the shop burning ablaze. ChouChou sat in front of it whining.It almost looked like the dog was crying. The mayor's words came back to her. "For ChouChou, the business is like atreasure. I think it reminds him of his beloved owner." She could seebloody paw prints on the ground, far too small for a lion. She quietly watchedthe howling dog. Anger rose within her. How dare someone destroy anotherperson's treasure, in this case ChouChou's?! She knew what she had to do.

It took her a while to find them, but there theywere. Richie carried a bag of dog food in his snout as he walked through thestreets. Mohji sat on his head again. She stood in their way. "Hey you!Didn't I just catapult you halfway across the city?" Mohji asked, glaring downat her. Richie had stopped. Luffy had her arms crossed as she said with a grin,"And? Maybe, but I won't give up that quickly." "Richie! Thistime you'll end her!" He jumped off the lion's head before it dropped the foodand lunged at her. The black-haired woman stood there, unimpressed. "Come here,you bedside rug!" She let her arms stretch in a spiral and grabbed the oversizedcat by the sides of its skull. "GomuGomu no Tsuchi!" She jumped over the lion and pulled him behind her asshe stood on the ground again. It lost its grip and began to rotate like apropeller due to the arms now turning. Mohji stared at the woman in shock.Could it be that...? The rotation created a draft that blew her hat off herhead. She slammed Richie into the ground as she said, "And time out!""Richie!" Tears streamed down his face. "How...how...how did youdo that?" Luffy knelt with one leg on the ground. Her back was half turnedto him and some hair was covering her eyes as she answered, "Well. I once ate theGomu Gomu no Mi when I was a little girl." Mohji began to tremble. "Then youalso got your abilities from these devil fruits. Just like Captian Buggy and heuses them mercilessly! I can't do anything against that." The hat had landed onthe floor. "I...I'm sorry! Please show mercy! I...I apologize!," the tamer triedto excuse himself. But who could have guessed that the woman had devil fruitpowers too?! Luffy stood up. Her back was still turned to him. "It's toolate for apologies!" she said in a calm and serious voice, "Thatwon't bring the home oft he little dog back." ChouChou's whine was stillringing in her ears when she turned around. "It is enough. You're nowgetting exactly what you deserve!" All friendly warmth had disappeared from herbrown eyes. It sent a shiver down Mohji's spine. She stretched her arm, grabbedhis collar and pulled him close. She had already reached out with her otherarm. Mohji tried to prevent the pulling with his shoes by ramming his heelsinto the ground. But that didn't help him. She knocked him to the ground with apowerful punch to the face. She put her straw hat back on and grabbed the bagof dog food before leaving without turning back.   

The shop had already burned down when Luffy came back to the square. She heard Nami say: "You pirates are all the same! You just take everything away from everyone without thinking. Without having any scruples. You are so inconsiderate!" The orange-haired woman noticed the straw hat wearer. "Ahh, Pirate King! So you're still alive? I was absolutely convinced that the lion ate you for lunch. You deserve that too! YOU are no better than the other pirates!" Luffy just looked at Nami silently. She noticed that Nami was angry and that she needed to take that anger out on someone. She knew that from Ace before, when Sabo... She quickly pushed that thought away. "Before you get enough people together and destroy everything that seems worthless to you, I'd rather break all your bones and..." She ran towards her angrily. However, the mayor held her back. "Hey, calm down, girl! There's no need for violence." "Like you'll be able to kill me," Luffy said as she walked past Nami and the mayor. However, the two of them didn't see the pack of dog food that Luffy was holding in her hand. "Well maybe I'll try it and see what comes out of it!" "Calm down! What's with you people?!" She stopped next to ChouChou and placed the package in front of him. "Here, little one," she said softly. Nami and the mayor, who was still holding Nami, watched this in surprise. Luffy sat down cross-legged next to ChouChou, looked at him and said with a gentle smile: "Unfortunately, that was all I could save. Everything else ate the lion." "She fought against the lion for the dog? I never would have thought that." "You fought back bravely. I know that, even if I wasn't there." Shushu picked up the package in his mouth and walked past Luffy. Smiling, she watched him walk away. He stopped a little away and barked at her again. "Take care, of you. I wish you luck, ChouChou! See you again!" Nami had to smile at the sight. She even giggled briefly. Maybe not all pirates were as bad as she always thought. Or at least not THIS pirate!