Hey guys, funny update. 

 At the end of the last chapter I was upset that OnePiece Tube apparently no longer shows the old episodes and so I had to change the streaming server again. Yeah, I went back to the site because I really, REALLY wanted to use the Pentecost weekend to write (and it took a few more days until my PayPal account would get the money so I could use Chrunchyroll.) And who would have thought? The second player on the site suddenly worked again as if by miracle. 

 I think someone in the higher hemispheres wants to see me suffer.

I would also like to apologize for skipping the chapter last month. I had a lot of shit going on, which is why I'm still stuck on the final chapter of Little Garden. More on this at the end of the chapter.

Anyway, have fun with the new chapter.

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Vivi stared at the two agents in complete shockafter they revealed their identities. That couldn't be true. She had been socareful. It couldn't end like this, otherwise her home country would be...

"Quick, princess, run while you stillcan!" shouted Igaram, who was firing his curl cannon non-stop."Igaram!" Before any of them could react, something suddenly explodedon the blonde. The blue-haired girl stared in complete shock at the spot whereshe had just seen her protector. As the smoke cleared, the captain of the guardbegan to fall to the ground. "IGARAM!" "It's pointless,"Miss Valentine's voice suddenly rang out above the blue-haired girl. Her eyeswidened as she saw the blonde hovering over her with her legs drawn up andholding onto her umbrella. She laughed as she suddenly fell down and tried tokick the young princess. Vivi dodged in time, however, only so that herhairband was caught. It broke and let her hair fall freely down. She pulled apendulum out of the hiding place in her top and tried to catch the blonde. Butshe just laughed as she rose up again as if by magic. The brown-eyed womanlooked angrily after the agent. Meanwhile, Mr. 5 had approached Igaram with hishands in his pockets. His partner landed lightly next to him. "You monsters!""You're a princess, Miss Wednesday?!" asked Mr. 9, who had thrownhimself to the ground and bowed. "STOP THIS NONSENSE, MR. 9!""What a messed up night. Do what you want!" said Zoro, who hadclimbed down from the roof in all the commotion, grabbed Luffy by the collarand pulled her behind him as he ran between the fronts. "Pr-PrincessVivi..." "Igaram, are you okay?" "Princess Vivi, don'tworry about me. Just flee from here! For our homeland. Without you, the Kingdomof Alabasta will... So please, flee!" Mr. 5, who was bored by thisconversation, began to pick his nose. "Do you think we'll let you get awaythat easily?" Growling, the blue-haired girl pulled out a second pendulumbefore spinning them both. "Don't underestimate me!" Before she couldattack, however, Mr. 9 had positioned himself in front of her with his thugs.The young princess looked at the orange-haired man in surprise. "I find ithard to digest what's going on here. But we've been partners for a long time.I'll buy you some time." He looked over his shoulder and their eyes met."Get out while you still can, Miss Wednesday!" "Mr. 9."Vivi didn't know what to say. She had assumed that the moment her identity wasexposed, she and Igaram would be on their own. She would never have thought itpossible that an agent of the organization whose boss is a threat to herhomeland would help her. "Hehe, pretty manly of me, don't you think? Byebye, baby!" He took a step before going into a flick-flack. "Nekketsu Nine...!" "Mr.9!" Bored, Mr. 5 pulled a booger out of his nose. "Such monkeybusiness will not stop us from completing our mission." He rubbed thebooger between his thumb and forefinger as the orange-haired man got closer."Your pathetic feelings of camaraderie will only lead to your death. Timeyou learn this the hard way!" He stretched out his arm and held his handas if he wanted to flick the booger away. "Nose Fancy..." "...KonjoBat!" "...Cannon!"Mr. 9 had reached the high-ranking agent when he flicked the booger right inhis face. The orange-haired man had no time to react as an explosion envelopedhim. Shocked, Vivi watched as her partner flew past her and landed in thewaters of the river. "MR. 9!" But she wasn't the only one who was shocked.

Zoro stared at the street in disbelief. Sweatbegan to form on his forehead. "That's some pretty dangerous snot."He had heard that there were all sorts of different devil powers, but he wouldnever have dreamed of the power to use his own boogers as explosiveprojectiles. He was a little startled when he suddenly felt a grip on hisankle. But he would never admit that! The grey-eyed man looked down and didn'tsee the blond agent. "What the hell?!" Igaram looked up at the pirateas blood flowed from a small head wound. "Honorable swordsman! I have seenwhat you are capable of and I have a request for you." "And whyshould I listen to that? Let me go!" But the man lying on the groundignored his request. "Since these people have devil powers, I cannot stopthem myself. I beg you, protect the princess!" "What?!" "Are you kidding me? After everything they'vedone?!"

Vivi, who hadn't heard anything about thisconversation, could feel her heart beating faster as Mr. 5 stuck a finger inhis nose again, while his partner just laughed with a broad grin. She climbedback onto her trusty racing duck as quickly as she could. "Karoo, we haveto get out of here!" Her feathered companion didn't hesitate for a second,turned around and ran as fast as his legs could carry them. "And she'sgone." Mr. 5 pulled his finger out of his nose. "She won't get awayfrom us. Come on, let's catch her, Miss Valentine!" "Sure, Mr.5!"

Zoro, meanwhile, was still trying to get theleader of the guard to let him go. Igaram, on the other hand, could only thinkof one way to convince the pirate to save Princess Vivi. "If you can bringthe princess safely to the kingdom of Alabasta, which is far to the east ofhere..." a cough interrupted the man for a moment before he continuedundeterred, "...I promise that you will be richly rewarded! I humbly beg you.Protect Princess Vivi!" Zoro grimaced slightly. Who did the guy think hewas? 1. As first mate, he couldn't decide. It was entirely up to Luffy whetherthey accepted the request or not. 2. Was he not interested in any reward. Didhe look like the witch? Gritted his teeth, Zoro glared at the non-agent."AS IF! AND ALSO, YOU WERE INTENDING TO KILL ME AND THREATENING MY CAPTAINA MINUTE AGO! SO WHY SHOULD I AGREED TO HELP YOU?!" Unbeknownst to the two men,a person had made themself comfortable on the edge of the roof opposite themand was looking down at them. "Is that true, about the rich reward?" thenavigator's voice rang out, making both men look up. "Talk about the devil and he will appear." Nami grinned as she winkedat Igaram. "I'll gladly accept the offer. How does a billion berries sound as aprice?" "Nami!" "A-a billion berries?! Mah mah mah~" Zoro finally managed tofree his leg after the blonde had let go of him in shock, and looked at thebrown-eyed woman. "I thought you were sleeping." "Oh comeon..." the thief began, skilfully jumping down from the roof beforestepping closer. "What person in their right mind would sleep in such asuspicious city that welcomes pirates?" She grinned a little. "It wasall just a little trick. If I wanted to, I could have made the show lastlonger." "Tsk, oh yeah?" Zoro felt a little hurt in his pridethat Nami was not only able to drink him under the table, but that she couldhave extended it even further. Then again, it would be interesting to know herlimits, but the way he assessed the witch, she would only demand a giganticfee. Igaram, meanwhile, was still trying to find his voice when theorange-haired woman's gaze landed on him. "So? Will you promise us the onebillion berries, Lieutenant of the Guard? If you don't ask us for help, yourprincess will die." The blonde gritted his teeth. This woman was ice cold,but what other choice did he have? "A simple guard like me can't justpromise such a high amount." Nami crouched down in front of the man andstared straight into his eyes. There was a mischievous glint in her eyes."Does that mean that your princess is worth so little to you?" Igaramfroze for a moment before avoiding the orange-haired girl's gaze. "Comeon~. Take the deal~." Meanwhile, Zoro had turned away and folded his armsover his chest. "Now she's threatening him too." He slowly began tofeel sorry for the man. No one could compete with Nami when it came to money.The blonde propped himself up with his arms and coughed before saying: "Ifyou're willing to escort the princess safely, it would be best to negotiate theconditions with her directly." "So we have to save her first,right?" A satisfied smile spread across the navigator's lips when sheheard that. "Now there is only onething left to do." "Even at this very moment, her life is indanger!" "Agreed. I will save your princess," said Nami as shestood up and ran a hand through her hair. Igaram looked at the young woman withrelief. Zoro, on the other hand, had a really bad feeling about the wholething. This was soon confirmed.

Nami had turned to him, one hand on her hip,while she pointed at the street with the other. "All right. Now go andsave her, Zoro!" The blonde stared at her in shock, while the swordsmanjust hissed at her angrily. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! WHY SHOULD I PARTYTO YOUR MONEY-MAKING PLAN?!?" "Man, you're really slow on the uptake.My money belongs to me alone, but my contracts count for all of you!" "THATDOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!" "What's the big deal? All you have to do isbeat the guys." Zoro felt his body start to shake with anger. "What does that witch think who she is?!""Unlike Ringletbrow, I won't let myself be taken advantage of likethat!" "You're just afraid that you won't be able to beat them.""WHAT DID YOU SAY?! DON'T YOU SAY THAT AGAIN!" "You're justafraid that you won't be able to beat them!" Neither of them noticed intheir argument that Luffy had woken up. Let alone stood up and mumbled:"Where is the..." Before she entered the nearest house. "STOPSAYING THAT NONSENSE!" The green-haired man was more than tempted to punchthe younger one. Suddenly, however, Nami's attitude changed as she looked athim sharply. "Hey, have you forgotten that you still owe me money?"He looked at her in surprise, his anger suddenly forgotten. "Huh? I don'towe you anything." He had folded his arms in front of his chest again,while Nami had her hands on her hips. "I lent you 100,000 berries inLogetown so you could buy new swords." "I gave the whole 100,000berries back! The shop owner gave me the swords as a gift and I didn't evenspend 1 berry!" The orange-haired girl just shook her head. "But youagreed to pay me back 300%, which makes the amount 300,000 berries. That meansyou still owe me 200,000 berries." Sweat began to run down Zoro's face."I gave you back the 100,000 the same day. That should be the end of it,right?" Now the thief had crossed her arms. Her eyes were closed when shesaid, "Oh no." Zoro gritted his teeth as his body tensed upcompletely. Sweat was running down his entire body. She raised her head andopened her eyes as she looked at the swordsman emotionlessly. "I thoughtyou were a man of honor and kept your promises." The green-haired manfroze completely when he heard that. Those words were worse than any blow orwound he had ever suffered in his life. Nami grinned when she saw his reaction.Knowing that she had won. She smiled at the swordsman before continuing."I'll forget your debts if you go through this with me, Zoro.""You're the biggest crook I've ever met!" "I know, but there'sno other way." "Grrr. You're driving me crazy!" exclaimed thevicious before turning away and running down the street the princess had fledfrom her pursuers on. "It's my pleasure, Zoro~!"

"I'm so sorry," said Igaram, which made Nami look at him, "If only I were stronger, I wouldn't have had to drag you into this." "Don't worry. He's incredibly strong." "If anything happens to Princess Vivi, there will be no future for the Kingdom of Alabasta." The orange-haired girl paused when she heard that. Tears began to gather in the man's eyes. "She has to survive at all costs!"

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~ On the city border to Whiskey Peak ~

Vivi stared, completely paralyzed, at the situation in front of her. Miss Monday had appeared to support her and, like Mr. 9, was taken down without much effort by the two agents. She bit her lower lip. "What can I do? I'm not strong enough to take on those two. But if this continues, more people will be hurt." Her grip on Karoo's reins tightened as she looked determinedly at the two. "I will survive. I will return. I will return to Alabasta alive!" Without a word, Mr. 5 began to pick his nose, unaware of the approaching swordsman who had already pulled Wado out of it's sheath. The sunglasses-wearing man pointed his fingers at the young princess. "Take that. Nose Fancy Cannon!" Vivi's eyes widened as the booger flew towards her. But before the projectile could reach her, Zoro appeared out of nowhere with his sword drawn. He had jumped from a nearby roof, pulled his legs up and crossed his feet, and was holding Wado-Ichi-Monji in his hand with the blade facing the ground. The blunt side of the sword touching his boots. The booger was cut in half and flew sideways past the green-haired man and the princess before exploding. He rose from his crouched position, his gaze resting on the two agents. "Mr. Bushido!" "What was he doing here? Is he planning to...?" She looked at the destruction behind her in shock. "The-the street..." If the booger had hit her, she would't have survived. "Who is that?" asked Mr. 5, as his gaze fell on the swordsman. However, Zoro lost all his composure when he realized what he had just cut. "I cut the booger in two!" "And with Kuina's sword!!" "Damn it, you never give up," the blue-haired girl cursed as she put a pendulum back on and began to swing it. "And now of all times!" The green-haired man disarmed the princess without any problems when she tried to attack him from behind. The blade end of the pendulum flew through the air after he cut the cord. Vivi froze when the swordsman's blade came to a stop just inches from her neck. Zoro didn't even turn to her, his eyes still fixed on the True enemies as he said, "Don't rush it. I'm here to protect you." "Huh, what? Me...?" He lowered his sword while the blue-haired girl looked at him in complete confusion. Why was he suddenly helping her?

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~ With Luffy ~

The straw hat wearer walked along the streets of Whiskey Peak after she had relieved herself. She had become more awake and looked around somewhat thoughtfully. "I wonder where everyone has gone. Maybe they went home after the party. But I do wonder why I woke up in the middle of the street." Her train of thought was interrupted when her eyes widened in disbelief. In the alley, some of the nice residents lay motionless. Weapons were scattered wildly. She recognized the signs of a fight when she saw one and that just screamed for one. She ran to one of the people lying on the ground and tried to gently lift him up with one arm. "Hey, what's going on? What happened here? Who did this?" The man opened his eyes a little, his face contorted in pain, before saying something that almost stopped Luffy's heart. "That was... your green-haired... swordsman friend." "What?!" A cold shiver ran through her. That-that couldn't be. Zoro was her friend, he would never do something like that! "I-I'm usually never wrong when it comes to someone else's character." Her gaze wandered over the people lying on the ground. Only now did she notice that some of them had clear signs of sword wounds. Luffy felt numb. "Was I... wrong about him after all?" Anger overcame the young Portgas like rarely in her life. She gently put the injured man down again before turning on her heel and angrily striding through the streets before starting to run... as best she could with her full stomach. "I will never forgive him for that! As his captain, I am responsible for what he does and I will be the one who will punish him for it." "ZORO!"

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~ With Nami ~

"Tell me," began the orange-haired woman, who had sat down on a nearby barrel. One leg pulled up while she let the other dangle. Her gaze directed towards the sky. "What is this Baroque Works anyway?" Igaram turned his gaze away from the young woman. He couldn't say, otherwise she and her crew would only get into bigger trouble. Nami, who had noticed his hesitation, looked questioningly at the blondes. The leader of the guard sighed slightly when he felt her gaze. He had seen that there was no point in arguing with her. "A secret criminal organization. None of its members knows the face or name of the boss. Their main source of income is espionage, assassinations, theft and bounty hunting. All of this is done on the orders of the boss." Nami furrowed her eyebrows. "Why should anyone listen to the boss when no one has even seen him?" "The ultimate goal of the Baroque Works is to establish a utopian empire. Anyone who is currently in the company's favor is promised a high social rank in this kingdom that the boss will soon create." "I understand." "The boss's code name is Mr. 0. In other words: the closer a code name is to the number zero, the higher their future rank will be and the stronger the agents will be. Every higher-ranking agent from Mr. 5 and his partner upwards have devil powers."

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~ With Zoro ~

"So you're the swordsman who took down thecity's minions?" Miss Valentine asked as she looked at Zoro. Mr. 5continued. "Why do you agree to protect the Princess of Alabasta?""I have my own reasons for doing so." "Well, it doesn't matter.You're on our list now anyway. You're standing in the way of our mission.""Hahaha. Yes, he really is." Mr. 5 had already stuck his finger inhis nose when Zoro pushed Yubashiri alittle out of it's sheath with his thumb. Before anyone could do anything,however, another voice suddenly rang out. It was not difficult to miss that theowner of the voice was angry. "There you are, Zoro!" The green-hairedman grinned when he saw Luffy standing behind the agents on the street."What's going on now?" Vivi asked no one in particular. Shouldn't thestraw hat wearer still be lying completely knocked out somewhere in thestreets? "You took your time, Luffy. But I don't need your help to dealwith them." He was a little surprised that the black-haired girl didn'tanswer him right away and was snorting instead. Gritting her teeth, she justglared at her first mate. Her clenched fists shook uncontrollably before sheshouted: "I'll make you pay for what you did! Get ready for a fight!""HUH?!" "What on earth isshe talking about?" "What bullshit are you talking about?""Shut up! I'll kick you're ass for your ungratefulnes!""Ungratefulnes?!" "Has thewine gone to her head?" "Exactly!" she gritted out,"Everyone in the city greeted us warmly and gave us lots of deliciousfood. But you just attacked them forno reason!" "For no reason? Now listen...!" "God, why does she have to make everythingeven more complicated?!" "I don't want to hear any excuses!You'll pay for this!" "What kind of idiot is she?" Vivi asked noone in particular. Even Karoo nodded his head in agreement. Some human reallywere strange.

"It looks like you have your own littleproblems," said Mr. 5, who couldn't help but smile. Who would have thoughtthat they would have a show alongside their mission? "Hahahahaha. Whydon't we just get rid of them all? Then we could just blame the assassinationon the pirates." Meanwhile, Zoro pulled himself together to despair at hiscaptain's lack of cooperation as he made another attempt to explain thesituation to her. "Listen, Luffy. Use your brain or have you not noticedthat all of this..." "Save your babble!" shouted theblack-haired woman, interrupting him mid-sentence before jumping over the twoagents, straight towards her first mate. "LUFFY!" It was only thanksto his quick reaction that he was able to dodge the younger girl's punch at thelast second. Her fist flew past her target and instead hit the rock directlybehind him. "Are you crazy?!" the swordsman shouted when he saw theresult of Luffy's blow. Her blow had not only shattered the rock but alsochipped off a good chunk. "If shehad hit me with it, that would have been the end of me!" Thegreen-haired man turned his head back to the straw hat wearer, who looked athim with the same angry look she had given Arlong. "You will pay with yourblood!" Zoro just stared at her, stunned, his mouth open. This couldn't betrue. He dove to the side as she swung her leg and kicked. "Now stop thisbullshit and finally listen to me!" Once again, part of the rock shatteredunder her attack. Sweat began to run down his body as he straightened up againand once again felt rock in his back. However, he didn't even have time tocatch his breath when he had to dodge a headbutt. This time, even the rockabove her impact began to deform. "That idiot." Zoro didn't take hiseyes off Luffy for a second as she freed herself from the stone and raised herhands in the air. "She really means it!" Luffy didn't let up andforced the swordsman to defend himself while he dodged her attacks or blockedthem without hurting her with Wado's blade. "Mr. 5, it looks like they'renot here to get in our way at all." "It certainly looks that way.Then we should finish our mission to get rid of Princess Vivi of Alabastaquickly." Miss Valentin closed her umbrella when her partner said this."Hey, stop running away and stand up like a man!" "Now listen tome for goodness sake, Luffy!" Dust swirled up as the black-haired woman brokethrough the wall of a house. "Let's get started, Miss Valentin.""Understood, Mr. 5." The blue-haired woman tensed as the two agentsstarted moving. However, the two didn't get very far.

"Now stop this bullshit!" shouted Zoro,who was slowly losing patience with the younger girl. He swung his leg andkicked the straw hat wearer right in the chin, throwing her backwards... rightinto Mr. 5 and his partner, before she and the two of them crashed through thenext wall. Zoro gasped a little before saying grimly: "That idiot."Vivi couldn't believe what she had just seen. "How strong are these guys?" Luffy lay on her back in therubble with her arms outstretched as the two agents next to her got up,groaning. "Now they're in our way," growled Mr. 5, holding his head.Miss Valentine didn't feel any better as she reached for her umbrella andhuffed: "Man, what's going on here?!" "If you guys really wantto take each other out, then we'll be happy to do the work for you and do itourselves. Alright?" Luffy just looked annoyed at the man with thesunglasses. She had no idea what the guy was talking about and she didn't care.She blew a strand of hair out of her face when the guy suddenly started pickinghis nose. "Why is he doing that?"

The young princess flinched a little when loudexplosions suddenly sounded from the direction in which the agents and theyoung captain had disappeared. Smoke rose as Miss Valentine suddenly jumped outof it. She opened her umbrella as she shouted: "Now I'm really angry!"She was floating high above them in the sky as she glared angrily at theblue-haired girl and Zoro. "I'll finish you off with the power of my KiroKiro no Mi! Hahahahahaha! Prepare yourselves for it!" She grinned broadlyacross her face. "When I'm in the air, I only weigh 1 kilogram."Vivi's eyes widened as she realized what the blonde was planning. "Mr.Boshido, you have to get out of the way! She's planning to...!" "Shutup!" the green-haired man interrupted her, not even paying attention tothe agent. His gaze was directed at the greater threat. "I really don'thave time for this." The brown-eyed woman was a little surprised when hesaid this. A figure emerged from the cloud of dust, dragging its batteredopponent by the collar. "Ah, that was good for warming up. I finallydigested the food," said Luffy as she brushed some dust off her vest withher other hand. "M-Mr. 5? That's impossible!" said Vivi with wideeyes. "She defeated a high-ranking agent of the Baroque Work without anyproblems?!" The man wearing sunglasses not only had a few wounds, as faras she could tell from the distance, but he also seemed to be unconscious.Luffy's eyes were in shadow as she looked up and at her first mate. "Now Ican finally get serious." Zoro knew what was coming, but he still tried totalk sens to the young Portgas one last time. "Wait, Luffy. Calm down andlet me explain!" "Here I come! I can weigh 10,000 kilograms!"shouted the blue-eyed one, who was completely ignored by the others."Everyone in this city is a bounty hunter. In other words, ourenemy." "Hey, don't ignore me!" The straw hat wearer carelesslydropped the agent, clenched her hands into fists and screamed: "You liar!Why would the enemy give us food?!" Miss Valentine seethed with anger asshe continued to be ignored. "Take that! 10,000 Kilos Press!" She had stretched out her legs as if shewere about to drop into a chair and raced towards the swordsman."Luffy," began Zoro, who dodged the blonde's attack with a simplestep to the side, and grabbed the headscarf on his arm. The agent had no timeto react and crashed into the ground, leaving a deep hole behind. "Itlooks like I'm just talking to a wall here." The person addressed justgrowled as he tied the cloth around himself, gritting his teeth. "Apparentlyyou don't want it any other way." He pulled out his swords. "I'mgoing to teach you, you idiot, a lesson you won't forget anytime soon!""Come on, I'm ready!" "Wait a minute, what's going onhere?" Vivi asked no one in particular as she watched what was happening,helpless. "Aren't they comrades? Whyare they planning on killing each other?" "Ahhh, Gomu Gomu no..." shouted Luffy asshe ran and stretch her arms. Zoro had also started moving. "Oni..." You could feel the tensionin the air as the two attacks collided. "...Bazooka!" "...Giri!"The ground crumbled beneath their feet, but neither of them moved an inch asthey tried to overpower the other. Zoro blocked the black-haired girl's strikewith his swords, while at the same time trying to carry out his own blow.Luffy, in turn, pressed against the green-haired man's shoulder with her righthand, while at the same time she grabbed his right wrist with her other handand pressed against the spot where the blades met with her right foot. The musclesof both were tense to the utmost and some veins even began to visibly protrude."This is the perfect opportunity to see which is stronger: brute force orswordsmanship," said Zoro through gritted teeth. "Yes,... I'm...really excited." Without warning, Zoro suddenly changed Yubashiri'sposition and turned it 180°. "Tatsu Maki!" Luffy screamed briefly as she was whirled high into the airby the attack. But her gaze quickly landed on the swordsman again as sheclenched her hand into a fist with a crunch. "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Zoro's eyes widened for a moment beforethe blow hit him directly in the face. Both of them crashed into the housesbehind them with a groan, kicking up more dust while Vivi just watched.

"What do I do now?" wondered theblue-haired girl, "I want to escape, but is it okay if we just walkthrough there?" Karoo just quacked in response. She gave the racing duckthe signal to move before it carefully stepped onto the street. Vivi grippedKaroo's reins tighter to keep her shaking under control. It wouldn't help ifshe panicked. They had reached the level of the houses where the pirates haddisappeared when suddenly to her left the black-haired girl, who seemed to havelost her straw hat in the commotion, and the swordsman to her right stormed outof the rubble. Luffy and Zoro ran towards each other again before their fistsmet. They dodged their punches, kicks and sword blows, only to attackthemselves the next moment. The grey-eyed one managed to give her a small cuton the cheek before she gave him a punch in the stomach. None of them noticedhow the agents had picked themselves up again. "Damn it! Our titles as topagents of the Baroque Works will be tarnished if we let these guys make foolsof us," said Mr. 5 angrily. His partner was no different, although shedidn't stop grinning. "Mr. 5, let's show them how terrible we really canbe!" "Let's go, Miss Valentine!" "Yes, Mr. 5!" Bothran towards the fighters. "Don't make fun of us! After all, we are topagents of the Baroque Works!" Captain and first mate paused for a momentbefore both looked pissed off at the uninvited guests. "Stop interferingall the time!" both said with such a piercing look that the two agentsfroze in fear. The pirates both swung their arms. "You are in the way ofour fight!" Unconscious, the two flew in opposite directions."They're annoying." "What's their problem?" the brown-eyedgirl agreed indirectly before they turned back to each other. Vivi and Karoo,however, had cold sweats running down their bodies. "What?! How strong are they?" "Un...believable.""Come on, let's get this over with!" Zoro said when he met Luffy'sgaze. A wild grin had spread across her face. "Yeah, gladly." Shebegan to tense the muscles in her arm. Zoro did the same, especially in hishand. It almost seemed as if the air around them was vibrating with energy asthey grinned bloodthirsty at each other. The blue-haired girl didn't even dareto breathe. Before either of them could move on to the next attack, anotherperson appeared on the scene who was anything but thrilled to see the twoidiots about to go for each other's throats at any moment.

Both opponents let out a battle cry as they were about to continue where they had just left off. But before they could even touch each other, two clenched fists hit them in the face and sent them whimpering to the ground. "STOP NOW!" The navigator looked angrily at the two lying on the ground with her hands on her hips. "What the hell are you doing here? Well, at least you made sure that nothing happened to the princess. Because of you idiots, we almost lost a billion berries. Can you even get that into your heads?" Nami had stepped closer while she was talking and pulled the two up by their collars until they were more or less at eye level with her. Apart from the fact that both of their heads were hanging a little and they looked more like wet rags as they had been grabbed almost motionless by the orange-haired girl. Vivi and Karoo were still a little shocked by the older girl's actions. "If the two of them were already so strong, how strong does she have to be to be able to do something like that without any problems?" She swallowed all her nervousness before asking, "What do you mean by that?" Meanwhile, Zoro and Luffy had recovered and were still glaring angrily at each other with gritted teeth, while the orange-haired girl paid them no attention for the time being...yet. "Why did you save me?" The swordsman found some energy and hit Luffy over the head, which she responded to with a kick. "That's right, I wanted to talk to you about that." She grinned at Vivi in a friendly manner while her two comrades continued undeterred. "What do you think about making a deal with me?" "Their fidgeting is starting to get on my nerves!" "A-a deal?" "STOP FIGHTING!" Nami snapped at her crew members before she let go of both of them for a moment, only to smack them the next moment. This time the two fighters stayed lying still. Vivi didn't know what to think of it, but decided to listen to what the orange-haired girl had to say.

After Zoro and Luffy had picked themselves upagain and were dragged by Nami by the ears into an alley while the princessfollowed them, Luffy was forced by the older woman's threats to listen to her firstmate and found out what had really happened. The straw hat was back on her headas she sat laughing on a barrel and said: "Shishishshishi. Oh, you mightas well have said that, Zoro. I've only just noticed that you didn't sendpeople to the afterlife because they didn't make you your favorite food.""DON'T COMPARE ME TO YOU!" the person addressed snapped back. He wassitting on the floor opposite the black-haired woman and leaning against a box.Nami, meanwhile, spoke quietly to the princess, who was sitting on a bundle ofstraw and was still trying to digest what had happened. "Hahahahaha, comeon, it doesn't matter." "SHUT UP!" Both of them immediatelyclosed their mouths at the orange-haired woman's command. "Who would have thought that there wassomeone who scared me almost as much as gramps did when he wanted to 'train'?"She glanced slightly at the princess, who seemed to be lost in her thoughts."So she's a noble. Not only that,but also a princess. Is she like the people from High Town? But so far nothinghas indicated that. I doubt that any of themwould ever get their hands dirty. Or is she perhaps like Sabo? Maybe not allnobles or aristocrats are the same? It would be nice to know that there are alsopeople of high rank who care about the well-being of their subjects."Nami turned back to the blue-haired girl with a smile. "So here's thething: In return we demand 1 billion berries." The younger one, because asit turned out the heiress of the Kingdom of Alabasta was only 16 years old,turned her head slightly away.* "You saw how strong they are. Doesn'tsound like a bad deal, does it?" "That's not possible!" Vivisaid, looking her in the eye for the first time since Nami had started talking.The orange-haired girl paused a little when she heard this. "I'm reallygrateful to you for saving me. Thank you very much." "Why is that notpossible? You're a princess! A billion shouldn't be a problem." "I'm not going to let the money slip throughmy fingers!" There was something in the blue-haired girl's eyes thatnone of them could read when she started speaking. "Have you ever heard ofthe Kingdom of Alabasta?" "No." Her gaze dropped before shecontinued. "It is a peaceful kingdom that is known as a great civilizationand nation. At least, that's how it used to be." The three of themlistened up when they heard this. "It usedto be? What's going on now?" Sadness was clearly audible in Vivi's voiceas she continued. "We are in the middle of a civil war. There have beensigns of a revolution for years. The people began to rebel and the kingdom sankinto chaos." Her hands, which were clenched on her legs, tensed."Then one day I heard the name of an organization: The Baroque Worky."Her eyes flashed with anger as she looked up and any sadness had disappearedfrom her voice, making way for hatred. "I learned that they manipulate thepeople. But I couldn't find out anything else about them and couldn't doanything. That's why I asked Igaram for help, who had always been involved inmy affairs since I was a child." "Do you mean the guy with thequiff?" asked Luffy. "Quiff? Oh, yes. I asked him if there was anyway to infiltrate the Baroque Works. That way we would be able to find out whothe puppet master is and what his goal is." Zoro grinned a little beforesaying, "You're a pretty brave princess. And? Did you find outanything?" Vivi just nodded before Nami continued. "'The founding of a utopian empire.'"The brown-eyed girl nodded again before looking at the older one in alarm."That's what Igaram said, anyway. Oh, does that mean...?""Yes," the princess's gaze wandered to the ground once more,"The boss said it would be about the creation of a utopian empire. Butthat's a huge lie! The real goal is to take over the kingdom of Alabasta!"Pure determination was written in the young princess's eyes. "I have to goback immediately to tell everyone the truth and end the fighting! If thiscontinues... if this continues, then..." She couldn't even finish thesentence without her whole body starting to shake.

"I see. So that's how it is. Now it allmakes sense." Nami had leaned against the wall of the house and crossedher arms. "There's no money during a civil war, is there?" She pouteda little as she said this. "So muchfor our reward." Luffy, who had surprisingly remained quiet during thestory and listened attentively, spoke up. "Hey. Who is this bossanyway?" The black-haired woman liked Vivi. She seemed to really careabout the well-being of her subjects and her homeland if she was willing to puther own life in danger. The young princess looked at the straw hat wearer inshock. "The-the identity of the boss? You'd better not ask aboutthat!" Zoro raised an eyebrow as he looked at his captain. Nami, on theother hand, got a bad feeling, which only got stronger when she saw the youngergirl's look. "You know who it is, don't you?" "Don't ask methat! Anything but that! Otherwise your life will be in danger!" "Hahaha, I'msorry, but that's too much for me," said Nami, trying to break off theconversation or at least redirect it. "After all, we're talking about a person whoplans to take over a kingdom. He must be a pretty dangerous guy." "I don't want to get involved in this! And ifLuffy finds out his identity, I can forget about it!" "Yes, that's how it is.No matter how strong you are, you don't stand a chance against one of the shichibukai!Sir Crocodile." Silence fell over the small group after Vivi had said that.Luffy tilted her head to the side questioningly. "Who?" Shocked, theblue-haired girl put her hands over her mouth. "Why did I say that?!?" Nami just stared at her in disbelief withwide eyes and open mouth. "Why did shesay that?!" Luffy just looked at her in confusion. "Didn't she say that she couldn't tell us hisidentity?" Zoro, on the other hand, suppressed the urge to faceplamebefore saying, "Now you've told us the name."

A noise made the four of them look up. On the edge of the roof next to the alley there was a vulture with sunglasses and a pilot's cap and an otter who also wore sunglasses. But he also wore a white full-body suit decorated with purple dots and a shell in his paws. Before any of the pirates could say anything, the otter had jumped onto the vulture's back, which immediately rose into the air. Nami was the first to move. She angrily grabbed the princesses by the collar of their jackets, started to shake and hissed at her, while tears of despair ran down her face. "WHY IN DAVY JONES' NAME DID YOU SAY THAT?!?!? ARE THEY GOING TO TELL THE BOSS NOW?" "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Vivi cried, her face covered in tears. She certainly hadn't intended to draw the older ones' anger onto herself. It just slipped out! Luffy and Zoro, however, reacted completely differently to the navigator. The black-haired girl's eyes began to sparkle as she grinned at Zoro, who couldn't help but grin himself. "Hey, a shichibukai!" "Not bad." "I'm so sorry! It just slipped out!" "AS IF THAT WOULD CHANGE ANYTHING NOW! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DRAG US INTO THIS?!?" Luffy couldn't help but giggle as she watched this. It was nice not to be the one who ended up on Nami's bad side. Without another word, the orange-haired girl let go of the princess, turned away dramatically and buried her face in her hands. That was it. They hadn't even been on the Grand Line for a week and her life was already over. "Being chased by a shichibukai as soon as we've reached the Grand Line is just too much!" "We'll be lucky if we meet him soon," said the swordsman, completely ignoring the younger girl's drama. "I wonder what he's like?" Nami froze in her self-pity when she heard that. "How can they be so calm?!" "SHUT UP!" She energetically began to move away from them. "Thanks for everything, but I don't want to have anything to do with all this!" "Where are you going?" the straw hat wearer called after the thief. She didn't understand why Nami was so upset. The fight with a shichibukai sounded exciting. "As long as they don't know what I look like, I can just run away," the orange-haired girl muttered to herself, completely ignoring the younger girl's question. But one movement made her freeze. She turned her head to the side and saw the otter and the vulture again. The otter held a pad in his hand and seemed to be drawing something on it. When he was finished, he tore three sheets off of it and turned them so that the people could see what was on it. On each sheet was a surprisingly accurate drawing of Luffy, Zoro and Nami. The brown-eyed woman laughed a little and clapped before saying: "Wow, really talented." The otter jumped on the vulture's back again and disappeared into the night. Nami turned angrily to the others. "That means we can't get away anymore!" "I'm sorry." "Nami is funny." "I'm more wondering where she was actually trying to escape to." A grin began to form on the swordsman's face again as Nami came closer again. "That means we're on the Baroque Works's hit list." "Shishishishishi, I find this exciting." Meanwhile, Vivi tried to somehow reassure Nami, who had sat down dejectedly in a corner. "I-I still have 500,000 Berry saved..."

"Be not afraid," Igaram's voice suddenly rang out from the street. They looked at the man in surprise and froze slightly. He was wearing the same clothes as Vivi, had tied his hair back the same way the princess had worn it before her headband was destroyed, had put on lipstick and was carrying three dummies under his arms. "Everything... Mah mah mah~ Everything will be fine. I have a plan." "Igaram, what are you wearing?!" The blue-haired woman came closer while Luffy had jumped off the barrel and was looking at the man from all sides, laughing. "You look pretty crazy in that, old man." "I'm only surrounded by idiots," muttered Nami, not even bothering to turn around. "Please listen to me carefully, Princess Vivi. Once you've been caught by the Baroque Work's network, you'll immediately have pursuers on your heels. If you also know the identity of the boss, you can imagine what will happen." "About 1000 people will be chasing you." Nami froze when she heard that, before sinking even further into despair. "What have I ever done to deserve this?" "So I'm going to pretend to be you and sail straight to Alabasta with three dummies," Igaram said as Luffy started poking one of the dummies. The dummies consisted of nothing more than a sack filled with something and tied off with some rope to more or less take the shape of a human. "Are that supposed to us?" she asked with a raised eyebrow as she looked up at the man. She knew she wasn't the brightest candle in the candlestick herself, but even she wouldn't fall for it...nowadays. She would take the story of the incident when she was 12 with her to the grave! "At least Ace wasn't there then. He would have teased me about it forever." "A decoy then," said Zoro, who understood what the older man had planned. It was risky, but could possibly buy the blue-haired girl some time. "While the pursuers are on my heels, you will take the normal route to Alabasta." "Wait a minute," said Nami, who had stood up and joined the others. They looked at her somewhat surprised. "Who says we're taking the princess with us?!" The orange-haired girl was completely exhausted from the events of the night. "After all, we didn't make a deal!" The young captain looked questioningly at the green-haired man. "What does that mean, that we're taking the princess to Alabasta?" "Didn't you listen?" Zoro replied, somewhat annoyed, before standing up with his swords in his hand and putting his free hand in his haramaki. "The old man wants us to take her home." "Oh, that's the point." Her eyes darted to the younger one for a split second. "Okay." The princess looked at her in surprise, while Nami was close to having a breakdown. "CROCODILE IS ON OUR TAILS, DON'T YOU GETS THAT?!?!" The black-haired woman turned to the blonde and ignored her navigator's nagging. "Is this Crocodile really that strong?" He looked at her before answering: "He is one of the shichibukai. He is a pirate who works with the government and that is why there is no bounty on his head. But his previous bounty was 80 million berries." "80 million?! THAT'S FOUR TIMES AS HIGH AS ARLONG'S! YOU HAVE TO REFUSE THIS!" "Would you do that?" The captain's and young Portgas's eyes met when he asked this. Luffy had her hands on her hips and was smiling. "Yeah, sounds like fun." "I'm very grateful to you." Defeated, Nami just hung her head. What had she gotten herself into?

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~ On the coast of Cactus Island ~

The three pirates and the princess stood on thecliff of a small, secluded bay in front of which a ship was anchored. "Mahmah mah~ Well then, I, Vivi, will now say goodbye to you," said theblonde, who had changed his voice slightly to sound like a woman. Luffy,however, just laughed when she heard this. "Shishishi, perfectly imitated,old man." "Who is that supposed to be?" asked Zoro, scratchinghis head. Igaram turned to the blue-haired girl and held out his hand."Well then, princess. Now please give me the Eternal Port." It wasclear to see how much the young girl disliked the plan as she pulled a kind ofhourglass out of her jacket pocket and handed it to him. "EternalPort?" asked Nami, who pricked up her ears at the term. "Have younever heard of it?" asked Igaram, surprised. "You could say that itis a permanent version of a log port. While a Log Port guided ships from oneisland to the next, an Eternal Port forgets the magnetic energy of the islandstored on it. This means that it will always only point to the same island. Andthis one points to Alabasta." He held the Eternal Port so that the threecould see it. And indeed, instead of the glass with the sand in it, which wasfamiliar from an hourglass, in the center was the same glass ball and needleconstruct that Nami wore on her wrist. Only the word 'Alabasta' was carved intothe upper part of the wood. "With this you will find your way toAlabasta," said Vivi as she looked up at her protector. It was not thefirst time since they had set off that their paths had parted, but it was thefirst time that she was unsure when or if she would see the elder again."Princess Vivi, please find your way across several islands to Alabasta.I've never traveled this route myself, but it should be two or three islands ifyou follow the log." He turned to the pirates. "Please take good careof the princess." "We will," Luffy promised with a smile. Themore she watched Vivi, the more different she was from the aristocrats she hadseen in her youth. "Igaram..." Vivi began, but she couldn't make asound as she tried to suppress the tears that were forming. The blonde justsmiled at her. "I suspect that this will be a strenuous journey. So pleasetake care of yourselves." "Iga..." The young princess interruptedherself before she collected herself a little and held out her hand with anoverly assured smile. Igaram returned the gesture as he took her hand to shake."You too."

The man boarded the ship and slowly began tomove away from the bay. Luffy had her hands clasped behind her head and smiledas she watched the ship. "And he's gone." It reminded her a little ofwhen Shanks and his crew left foosha village for the last time. "The oldman was pretty funny right up until the end." Vivi smiled a little herselfas she looked at the black-haired girl before looking back at the ship."You can really rely on him." The ship was already a good distancefrom the island when suddenly a bright light flashed, followed by an explosionwhose shock wave reached them and even blew Luffy's straw hat off her head. Thefour of them looked in shock towards the sea of flames that had completelyengulfed the ship. "Impossible! They've already started chasing us?!"said Nami, shocked. "Igaram. IGARAM!" Vivi had already taken a stepforward when the orange-haired girl reacted and held the younger girl tight."No! You can't do anything for him anymore!" "No, let me go!Igaram!" For a brief moment, as the black-haired girl stared into theflames, the world seemed to become completely silent. She did not see theburning remains of a ship on the sea, nor did she hear the screams of a girlwho had lost her closest confidant. No. All she saw was the burning inferno thatwas once Gray Terminal, while she herself was held back and she, along with themountain bandits, called for Dadan and Ace. Zoro, who had noticed her absentlook, put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Luffy!" He did not know whyhis captain was suddenly behaving like this, but he had the feeling that it wasnot good. She blinked a few times as she awoke from her trance-like state. Sheshook her head slightly before turning around with clenched fists, Zoro's handslipped from her shoulder, picked up her straw hat and put it back on her head.She took a deep breath before calling out, "HE WAS A GREAT MAN!" andrunning back to Whiskey Peak. "Nami, what does the Log say?" Theorange-haired girl, who was still holding the fidgeting princess, caught aglimpse of the Log Port. "It's okay, it's realigned!" "Take herwith you! We have to get out of here!" called the swordsman beforefollowing the straw hat wearer back to the city. "He says that as if it were that easy!" "Vivi! Come on, ifthey find us his sacrifice will have been completely in vain!" "No,Igaram!" The older one pulled the younger one into a hug. "Don'tworry, we'll bring you back!" She felt the wetness that Vivi's tears lefton her shoulder and how her whole body was shaking. The navigator wouldn't wishwhat had just happened on her worst enemy. "I know they don't look likeit, but they saved the East Blue. And only four of them! The Baroque Works?Crocodile? Pah, the shichibukai aren't worth mentioning!"

"Luffy, go and wake the others up! I'm going to the ship and prepare everything for our departure!" "Okay, leave it to me!" She ran as fast as she could and rushed into the bar without hesitation, where Usopp and Sanji were still sleeping soundly. She tried to wake her friends, really, but she didn't have much time to try anything out. So when they didn't wake up, the black-haired girl saw no other way to get the two of them to the ship. "I just apologize for that later." She grabbed Sanji by one of his legs and Usopp by his nose and dragged the boys behind her as she ran out of the bar and back to the ship. "Let's go!" She didn't know when exactly it had started, but as she dragged the two of them with her, she suddenly began to hear Usopp howling and Sanji cursing. "AHHHHHHH!" "What the...?! OUCH! What the...?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, LUFFY?! HEY!" "My nose is falling off!" "Let me go, damn it! What's going on?!"

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~ At the dock ~

Zoro had just tied up the anchor when Luffy reached the dock. "HEY, I BROUGHT THEM WITH ME!" "Come on board! As soon as Nami and Vivi are here, we'll get out of here!" Surprised, she looked over her shoulder when she didn't hear anything from the other two. "Huh? Have they fallen asleep again?" The green-haired man just shook his head at the sight. She had probably managed to wake the two up, but the way she had pulled them along, she probably had knocked them out again. Luffy simply shrugged her shoulders and drag her friends with her on the Merry. "We don't have time to look for him," Nami's voice suddenly rang out as she seemed to be arguing with the princess just a few meters from the ship. "But I can't just leave him here!" "But still!" "Hey, is there a problem?" the swordsman called as he looked at the two of them. Nami looked over her shoulder at him before answering: "She says her duck is missing. He's not coming here, even though she whistled for him." Zoro groaned a little as he pointed to the animal next to him that had stepped up to the railing. "Is that him?" The duck raised its wing in greeting, while the two girls shouted: "YOU'RE ALREADY HERE?!" "He was here before me." The two women began to climb the rope ladder that had been lowered down, when Vivi said as they climbed: "There's a tributary downstream. If we take that, we'll get to the sea faster." "Good, then cast off!" called Luffy as they hoisted the sails. The first mate noticed the blue-haired girl's absent gaze and spoke to her as he descended the stairs to the bow. "Hey." "Mr. Bushido." He stopped at the landing and put one hand on his hip while he rested the other on his swords. "How many people are after us anyway?" "I don't know. There are about 2000 people working for the Baroque Works and I heard that there are several city-like bases like this one nearby." Nami, who was leaning on the railing with one arm, didn't like what she heard. "So they really sent 1000 people after us?" "H-huh?!" Sanji's voice rang out as he regained consciousness and looked around in confusion. Usopp, who wasn't quite on his feet yet, looked from side to side. "Hey, the ship is moving." "So you're finally awake too," said the orange-haired girl as she looked over her shoulder. "Wait! Let's stay here one more night!" "Exactly!" "This city is paradise and has lots of pretty girls!" "Who knows when we'll have this much fun again?!" "Now calm down, we're pirates!" "Besides, it's not even morning yet!" protested the cook and the sniper loudly as they sailed further and further down the river. Zoro looked at the two of them, a little annoyed, as Luffy stood next to him, confused, looking in the same direction. "They're annoying. They don't even know what's going on here." To his relief, Nami silenced the two with two well-placed blows. "Hey, why don't you just explain it to them?" he asked the brown-eyed girl as she approached the parapet again. "Why? I just did that." "The witch is really not to be trifled with." "That was quick." "Yes, because I left out the complicated part."

The fog had increased again as they approachedthe open sea. "We should be off the island soon," said Nami, who waskeeping a close eye on her surroundings. "The fog is so cool!" saidLuffy. It reminded her a little of the early morning hours on Mount Corbo. Shehad loved exploring the jungle at that time. It was always as if she was in adifferent place. "Morning has broken." The navigator looked up as afew rays of sunlight managed to fight their way through the fog.

Everyone except Usopp and Sanji, who were at thestern, were standing on deck looking out to the sea when a voice suddenly rangout: "It's good that you shook off your pursuers." "You can saythat out loud," Nami agreed. "But you should watch out for the rocks.It would be a shame if you rammed them." "Just leave it to me!"Nami paused. "Wait a minute, I don'trecognize that voice." She turned to her captain, who was standingright next to her. "Wait a minute, did you just say that, Luffy?""No." "What a beautiful ship." Her eyes widened. "Don't tell me...!" Alarmed, sheturned around, and the others followed suit. A woman was sitting on the parapetwith her legs crossed and her chin relaxedly supported in one of her hands. Shewore purple boots and a short, fringed skirt, a short vest that was laced up atthe front like a corset and emphasized her femininity. She also had matchingarm jewelry that also had fringes and a purple cowboy hat on her head. Her skinwas darkly tanned, which suggested that she either spent a lot of time in thesun or came from a place where the sun was very strong. Black hair reached downto her shoulders. An almost friendly smile adorned her lips as she watched thepirates and the princess with calculated, blue-brown eyes.** "Who areyou?!" asked Zoro, who had already placed his hand on Wado, ready to drawthe sword from its sheath if necessary. However, no one was as shocked as Viviwhen she recognized the woman. "You-you are...!" The woman tilted herhead slightly to the side as her gaze fell on the blue-haired girl before shesaid, "I just met Mr. 8, Miss Wednesday." Vivi's gaze instantlydarkened and she stared at the woman with hatred. "You killedIgaram!" "Whatever!" Luffy shouted, pointing her finger at thewoman, "What are you doing on this ship? Who are you anyway?!""What are you doing here, Miss All Sunday?!" "Miss All Sunday?What is her partner's number?" "It's Mr. 0. She's the boss'spartner." As soon as these words had left Vivi's mouth, the Straw Hatswere on alert. "F-from the Bo... Crocodile?!" "Does that meanshe's strong?" Luffy asked the princess, keeping an eye on her stowawayout of the corner of her eye. "She's the only one in the organization whoknows the boss's identity. We found this out by following her." "Orrather: I allowed you to follow me." "Oh, that's quite nice ofyou," the straw hat wearer said. She didn't know why, but something aboutthis Miss All Sunday seemed familiar to her. But she just couldn't put her fingeron it. "Maybe it's her posture? No,it's not that. The way she speaks? No, it's not that either. Maybe her eyes?"Now that she looked more closely, she recognized it. "She has the same eyes that I had. Before Ace, before Sabo, and beforeShanks." Admittedly, her look had never been so... cautious. But shecould see the suspicion, the wariness. As if this woman had a secret that noone should ever know. However, the young Portgas was quickly torn from herthoughts when Vivi started speaking again. "I already knew that! You wereprobably the one who told him that we knew his identity!" "So she is a bad guyafter all." "Just be quiet," said Zoro, who was standing behind theblack-haired woman. "What exactly are you planning?!" "Good question," she hadclosed her eyes before she continued undeterred, "You were so determined andserious that I wanted to help you somehow. The fact that a princess wants tosave her kingdom with all her powers and makes an enemy of the entire Baroque Worksin the process was just too interesting." She had opened her eyes again as shesaid this and looked at Vivi with a small smile. Vivi just gritted her teethangrily. "Don't make fun of it!" Usopp and Sanji, who had also joined them inthe meantime, stood on either side of the agent. Usopp, who was aiming hisslingshot at her, and Sanji, who had pulled out a gun from somewhere and wasalso aiming. Nami had assembled her bo staff and was holding it ready in herhands, while Zoro had pulled out Wado completely. The black-haired man lookedfrom the gun to the cook. "Hey, Sanji. Do you even know what you'redoing?!" "No, not really. I just sensed that my beloved MissWednesday was in danger." Miss All Sunday's smile disappeared when shesaid, almost a little annoyed: "Would you refrain from aiming suchdangerous objects at me." Without warning, the two Straw Hats suddenlyflew down to the deck, just as Nami and Zoro felt a blow to their hands,causing them to drop their weapons. "Impossible." Luffy's eyeswidened a little as her friends landed on the deck, groaning. "A devilfruit?!" "What kind of devil fruit power does she have?!"Groaning, Sanji sat up a little before looking up at the black-haired woman. Assoon as his eyes landed on the woman, he was back in his love mode. "Ifyou look closely, you are a really beautiful woman!" The smile hadreturned to her face before her gaze fell back on the princess. "Don't beso hasty. I haven't received any orders. There is no reason for me tofight."

Luffy suddenly felt a strange feeling on herback. Before she could react, however, her straw hat was ripped off her head.At the same time, this strange feeling disappeared, and flew towards Miss AllSunday, who caught it with ease. The older woman twirled the straw hat on herfinger as she spoke. "You must be the Straw Hat Captain I've heard so muchabout you, Portgad D. Luffy." The brown-eyed woman felt her blood begin toboil as she looked angrily at the agents and shouted: "Hey you, give me myhat back! Are you trying to mess with me?!" Usopp, who had hidden behindthe mast as soon as he was back on his feet, peeked out from behind it."You are our enemy, so get out of here!" Luffy felt like she wasabout to explode when the agent had the nerve to put her hat on her own."You are really unlucky. By letting a princess on board who Baroque Work'smembers wants to see dead. And then there's this princess who is protected by ahandful of pirates. But you're even more unlucky." She had folded herhands together in front of one of her bent knees. "If you follow thecourse of the Log Port, you'll land on an island called Little Garden. We don'teven need to get our hands dirty on you. You'll be finished long before youreach Alabasta." "I don't care! Give me back my hat!" Theblack-haired girl didn't care what the older one said, she wanted her treasureback. NOW! "Stop provoking her,Luffy!" "Why are you hiding behind the mast, you coward?""Don't you think it's silly to just let yourself be wiped out?" MissAll Sunday asked suddenly. She pulled something out of a hidden pocket of herskirt and threw it to the princess. At the same time, the straw hat flew backto its owner. Usopp, who had seen her movement, had immediately disappearedbehind the mast again and was shaking like crazy, while cold sweat ran down hisentire body. Vivi caught the object. Her eyes widened when she saw what it was."A Eternal Port." "With it, you can skip Little Garden. It willlead you to a small island near Alabasta, Nada. Since none of our employeesknow your course, no one will follow you." Nami looked incredulously fromthe Eternal Port in Vivi's hand to the agent. "What? Is she on ourside?" "Why are you giving it to us?!" "That sounds like atrap to me," said Zoro, who looked at the woman suspiciously. She musthave had some ulterior motive. The only question was: what? "Whoknows?"

"What do I do now? I don't want to take it from someone like her. But now that I've been allowed on board, a safe route would be the best decision." Vivi had been so engrossed in her inner conflict that she didn't hear the footsteps of sandals approaching her. "Who cares?!" Luffy snorted and ripped the Eternal Port out of the blue-haired girl's hand. Before anyone could react, the straw hat wearer tightened her grip and broke it. She gave Miss All Sunday an angry look before she was sent to the ground by a kick from Nami. "ARE YOU ACTUALLY STUPID?! THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A SAFE COURSE! WHAT IF SHE'S REALLY ON OUR SIDE?!" Luffy stared calmly at her navigator for a moment before her gaze landed on the other black-haired woman again. "You are not the one who determines the course of this ship." The smile had disappeared from the agent's face as she looked at the young captain. They both stared into each other's eyes for a while before the older one said: "I understand. It's a real shame." Luffy had grabbed her straw hat and put it back on when Nami glared at her a little angrily. The black-haired girl knew what she wanted to say, so she explained her reason. "That woman blew up the guy with the quiff. I don't like her!" Miss All Sunday had turned on the parapet and stood up as the railing slowly approached. "I don't hate people who have guts in their bones. If you survive..." She stopped and looked down at the deck once more. "...we should see each other again." "Absolutely not!" She jumped off the Merry and landed on her ride: a giant turtle with a seat on its shell. "Get us out of here, Ramirez!" "W-what is that?" asked Zoro, who had run to the railing like the others. "Don't tell me that's a sea king!" "No, it's..." "A TURTLE?!" "That's a pretty big turtle," said Luffy as it disappeared into the fog with Miss All Sunday. Vivi, on the other hand, fell to her knees in the same place where she had been standing the whole time. It was all just too much for her. "I can't even begin to imagine what that woman is thinking!" "Then there's no point in thinking about it," said Nami, who had come to her side. Zoro, who had sat down on the steps with Sanji, simply said: "We've experience with people like that." His gaze landed on his captain, who was still standing at the stern and looking into the distance. "Hey, can someone explain to me what's going on here?! None of this makes any sense!" complained the long-nosed one, looking at Zoro and Nami. Sanji, on the other hand, had other priorities. "Oh, Miss Wednesday, are you joining our crew?" "Hey, I want an explanation!" "Wow, we have an ostrich on board!" "Come on, what's going on here?!" "Is it for provisions?"

They had already left the island far behind themwhen Nami and Zoro had finished explaining. "I understand," saidSanji as he took a drag from his cigarette, "It's a shame I missed that.But I'll have the chance to shine too." Vivi, who had already been ledinto the girls' cabin by Nami, had changed. She was now wearing a yellow shirtwith dark blue stripes and had tied her hair back into a ponytail with a newhairband. "Don't worry. Now that your sleeping prince has woken up, yoursafety is guaranteed." Zoro just rolled his eyes when he heard that."Stupid cook and his pompous talk.""Phew, lucky I was sleeping!" the black-haired man breathed a sigh ofrelief as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Nami, who had also changed hertop into a white sweater with blue sleeves and collar, had just crossed herarms. "Nami, are you jealous?" the blonde asked a little hopefully."Not really." "Can I really sail on this ship?" Vivi askedhesitantly, her gaze fixed on the ground. "I've caused you nothing buttrouble so far." "What are you talking about?" the orange-hairedgirl asked before stepping closer and pressing a finger against the youngergirl's forehead. "Our faces are know by now anyway. If you didn't want tocause us trouble, you would have thought of that before!" "I'msorry." "Right, Luffy?" "Yes, I'm hungry!" "Thatdoesn't seem to bother her at all," Vivi murmured somewhat incredulously."In any case, that would decide our next destination," said Zoro, whowas leaning against the parapet and folding his arms behind his head."Little Garden, right?" "H-hey, I wonder if it will beokay?" "Who knows? Let's go, guys!" "Yeah!"

"Oh, I've just remember," said Nami before turning to the straw hat wearer, "Luffy, I have something for you." "Hm? What is it?" "Just wait down on the deck. I'll go and get it from our cabin." Excited, the black-haired girl jumped down and grinned excitedly. "I wonder what it is?" It wasn't long before the older girl came back with a box and pressed it into her hand. She took the lid off and froze a little, her grin no longer as bright as before. "Why-why did you get me something like that?" The boys pricked up their ears. If they didn't know better, they would say that Luffy sounded like she wanted to run away. "Oh, you know, I just remembered you saying in Baratie that you didn't know how to walk in them," the orange-haired girl began, pulling a pair of plain, black heels out of the box, "so I decided that you would learn how to walk in them." Her gaze sharpened a little before she continued. "And don't you even dare think about breaking them! Otherwise you'll pay me back five times their full price!" Sweat was already starting to run down Luffy's forehead. "B-but I will never fight in these tripping hazards! Is-is that for breaking the Eternal Port?" "No, and I'm still mad about it! But more importantly, you don't know that, and knowing our luck, that will be the case at some point. So it would be better if you not only knew how to stand in them but also how to walk and run by that possible day!" "B-but Nami." "No buts! You will wear these shoes for one day, at least once a week! If you don't do that or if you take them off early, I'll make sure that Sanji doesn't give you any meat for a week!" "What?! You can't do that! That's just inhumane, Nami!" "Then you'd better stick to the rules. Do we understand each other?" Defeated, the straw hat wearer hung her head. "Yes, Nami." The others couldn't hold back any longer and started laughing. "DON'T LAUGH, DAMN IT!"

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* Well, I don't know if I'm the first to noticethis, but take a look at the picture (only the bottom row is important):

 Notice something? Apparently Luffy always meets princesses when they are 16 years old. A coincidence? I DON'T THINK SO! And if it is...then it's one hell of a coincidence

** If you're wondering why I gave Robin blue-brown eyes: I know she has blue eyes in the anime, but when I was looking for a description of her Alabasta outfit I stumbled upon the fact that she seems to have brown eyes in the manga, so I decided to just mix them up.

Just a reminder: This is your last chance to vote, as I will be announcing the winners in the next chapter. You can find the links at the end of Chapter 28. 

 So if you haven't done so yet, you better hurry up, because from the night of Tuesday December 31st. until 01/01/25, exactly 0:00 a.m CET (Central European Time) I will not consider any more votes!

To get back to the point at the beginning: I'll have to take another break from updating because I just haven't gotten around to writing properly in the last few months. To be honest, I thought I was already done with drumming at this point. But life happens and it doesn't take your plans into account. 

 I hope that I will at least be able to write during the upcoming company holidays. Keep your fingers crossed for me for that.

In any case, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Hopefully we'll see each other again next time. 

 Your Kitsune Nee-chan