The third event was the Groggy Ring. It was a 3v3 game, where one person on each team was the "ball" and the goal was to knock the enemy ball into the goal.

Weapons were not allowed but other then that, it was fair game.

"Are we allowed to kill?"

The Foxy Pirates shuddered at that question.

Normally, they would answer that yes, casualties were to be expected… but something told them that if they allowed it, it would get bloody very quickly.

"N-No, killing is not allowed!" The referee stammered.

Rosan glanced coolly at him, detecting the lie in a heartbeat. "Pity. I guess I'll do the next best thing."

"Rosan, are you alright?" Nami asked in concern.

"Y-Yeah… with one person down and Zoro unable to use swords, you've gotta be careful!" Usopp stammered.

"You're not going to ask for tips? I-I can tell you who you're gonna go against!" Porche stuttered, keeping her distance from the suddenly very scary redhead.

The redhead completely ignored them. There was a disturbing amount of focus in his eyes as he stared at the field with a blank gaze.

"I will be the ball. Come, Zoro," he said calmly, taking the stupid crown. Taking his hair out of its bun, Rosan nestled the hat on top of his head and promptly stepped on the field.

"No weapons is a shame… I can't use my swords," Zoro grunted to the redhead.

"It doesn't matter. You don't actually have to do a thing," Rosan retorted, visage still unnaturally calm. "I'm going to deal with them. Actually, just let me do this."

Zoro shrugged a the request. "Sure thing. But you owe me a good spar later. I think I've finally figured out that technique we were talking about."

"Understood. I'll help you with it to the best of my ability."

"THE FINAL ROUND OF THE DAVY BACK FIGHT BEGINS!"

The crowd roared their excitement.

"REPRESENTING THE STRAWHATS, WORTH A TOTAL OF 170 MILLION BERI! WE HAVE PIRATE HUNTER RORONOA ZORO AND THE RED DEVIL ROSAN!"

Rosan's gaze turned razor sharp.

"AND REPRESENTING THE FOXY PIRATES! WE HAVE THE INDOMITABLE, UNDEFEATED, INVINCIBLE, GROGGY MONSTERS, HAMBURG, PICKLES AND BIG PAN!"

The crowd turned deafening.

Zoro whistled, as three people, each getting larger then the last, appeared.

The smallest was Hamburg but he still towered over the duo.

Pickles was in the middle, towering over even Hamburg.

Big Pan was the largest by a margin. It looked like he was half fishman, half giant.

"You sure you don't need help?" The swordsman asked curiously.

Rosan didn't even blink… actually they were pretty sure he hadn't blinked this entire time.

"This is hardly a warm-up... In fact, this will serve as a good dose of stress relief."

After flipping a coin to see which side they would start on (the coin flip was rigged so Rosan lost), the redhead was forced to stand on their side of the field, as Zoro stood all the way on the opposite side.

He gazed at the three huge figures with a deadly expression on his face.

"Blame your captain for what I'm about to do to you 3," he whispered quietly.

"BEGIN!"

"GROGGY MONSTERS! ONE MONSTER BURGER PLEASE!" Foxy demanded immediately.

The crowd froze at that.

"AT THE START OF THE MATCH?!"

"FOXY ISN'T PLAYING AROUND!"

"FOR PORCHE!"

"FOR PORCHE!"

"FOR PORCHE!"

Rosan ignored it all.

He ignored the cheering crowd.

He ignored the 3 Groggy Monsters pulling out weapons.

He ignored his crew complaining about the blatant breaking of rules.

He ignored the referee looking away from the cheating.

The redhead locked eyes with Robin. The Robin who was being surrounded by people that he didn't care about. The people trying to get attention from his Robin.

Blue locked onto Red and Purple and Robin shuddered as she saw his cold visage, shift into a furious snarl so quickly, it left her stunned.

His raw rage slammed into her and she watched him utter one word.

"Mine," he snarled, eyes glowing like the sun.

With that, the redhead was off.

Pickles didn't even have time to blink as Rosan appeared in front of him.

Everyone watched in stunned silence, as the redhead tackled their tackle machine with no effort at all.

All Pickles saw, was the snarling visage of a demon, as Rosan began pummeling his face with brutal force, swinging with such force, the crowd was immediately silenced.

"W-WHAT MONSTROUS STRENGTH DISPLAYED BY THE RED DEVIL!"

Rosan began punching the man's head further and further into the field with relentless speed. His punches were so fast and brutal, that the floor underneath Pickles head began caving in from the backlash.

Everyone winced at the sound of flesh meeting flesh and covered their ears as Pickles began screaming from the assault.

"S-SOMEONE HELP! GET HIM OFF ME!"

Still Rosan did not stop. It was like a demon had been unleashed and everyone was beginning to see exactly why he was called the Red Devil.

W-Was he even aware about the rules of the game...?

If it were up to the scout, he would have kept going until the man's head was fully pulverized.

Unfortunately, he couldn't kill them. Even if they lied about it, they made the rules and Rosan wouldn't even remotely jeopardize the chance of losing Robin.

So he supposed breaking his bones would have to do.

The redhead stopped punching and raised a hand, catching the massive iron club trying to bludgeon him.

Hamburg froze in shock as the redhead's demonic gaze landed on him, glowing eyes promising something not quite fatal, but very close.

With just a squeeze, one of his clubs completely broke and the Foxy pirate hastily dropped the broken piece to grip the other one with both hands.

At the same time, Big Pan reared back a fist and tried connecting to the redhead.

Rosan sneered and performed a perfect vault, landing atop Big Pan's fist and immediately noting the texture.

It was slippery… probably because he was some type of Fishman.

It didn't matter. None of it would matter soon enough.

Rosan turned away from the Giant Fishman and glared at Hamburg. Tensing his legs, the scout rocketed off towards the leader of the Groggy Monsters and landed a devastating kick to the man's face.

The momentum was so strong, it lifted Hamburg straight off his feet and he soared through the air, heading straight towards a slightly surprised Zoro.

Rosan glared at the man he sent flying and red sparks began dancing across his skin, as he tensed his legs.

The redhead vanished from his spot and the ground denting was the only sign that he moved... before he suddenly appeared in their line of sight... chasing Hamburg's flying body and keeping pace.

Everyone's eyes bugged at that.

Red sparks followed after him as he began closing the distance and his next action, made the crowd go completely and utterly silent, realizing the round was over before it even started.

The running demon jumped into the air, ending up ahead of Hamburg, and his downward trajectory intercepted the man mid flight, right before Rosan slammed both his sneakers onto the pirate's head.

Hamburg's head caved into the dirt as the man's eyes rolled to the back of his skull, a puddle of blood forming underneath him.

Rosan ignored the crack of bones and slowly stepped off the body, expression utterly uncaring as he wiped the dirt off his shoes with the man's broken body.

None had anything to say at the brutal and violent act, just staring in horror as the realization that this was the Red Devil, seeped into them.

"H-How t-terrifying! In no time at all, Rosan has taken out two of the Groggy— Eep!"

The announcer yelped in fear, as those terrifying eyes looked up at him.

"I really hate biased announcers so save the talking for after I'm done or you're next," Rosan snarled violently.

It reminded him of that stupid dumbass back at Daybreak.

The silence of the man satisfied him and he gazed at his final opponent on the opposite side of the field.

The giant was clearly all muscle and no brain and he was gazing confusedly at both Pickle and Hamburg.

Rosan fully stepped off the unconscious Hamburg and began approaching the Fishman that dwarfed him.

Everyone watched as the redhead broke off into a slow jog, that quickly picked up in speed until he began sprinting at visible speeds that contrasted how quickly he caught up to Hamburg earlier.

They were confused as to why they could still see him, but all thoughts of him being a showoff were wiped away, as two demonic wings sprouted out of Rosan's back mid run and that sprint turned into flight.

Rosan soared across the fields with Ragnarok, eyes never leaving the Fishman as he steadily increased the speed of his flight.

Big Pan saw the approach and cocked his fist back, before punching downwards to where Rosan's location was.

He did not connect with his target.

Rosan flew above the man's fist, never once stopping in his flight and suddenly changed his course, flying parallel to the man's body as he ascended.

Higher and higher he went, until he was right above the man's, crown guarded, head and the redhead glared down at him.

"You're slippery, it makes you hard to grab…"

His eyes transformed into slits.

"Let me fix that."

Rosan's teeth turned serrated.

No one was able to stop their eyes from bugging, or their jaws from dropping, as Rosan one upped his previous actions by transforming into a massive dragon before their very eyes.

"I think we picked the wrong crew to mess with," every single Foxy pirate thought in horror as a shadow loomed over them and the dragon roared violently.

"RAOGHHHHHHHHHH!" Rosan howled, open jaw lighting up red.

The terrifying creature peered down at Big Pan like he were a mere insect, before unleashing a hellish waterfall of fire, directly over the suddenly smaller Big Pan.

"RAGHHHHHHHHHHHH" Big Pan roared, as the flames from above bathed his entire body.

"Be glad I can't kill you," Rosan sneered, making sure his flames weren't lethal as he showered the man in his draconic fire.

Finally he cut off the attack and snarled loudly, sending a deep rumble through everyone's bones.

A charred Big Pan wasn't even allowed to teeter, as a clawed reptilian hand, gripped the front of his face.

Without any hesitation at all, the dragon slammed the Wotan's head into the goal with a thunderous crash.

…

There was a stunned silence, as they watched the one man army slaughter their best Groggy Ring performers without breaking a sweat.

"My… I haven't seen you so angry in so long," Mod said in shock, looking at the brutal beat down with wide eyes.

"H-He didn't even use me and he's still this scary," Ram muttered in disbelief.

Rosan ignored them both and peered down at the referee, back in human form. "Call the match."

The cheating ref, to his credit, tried very hard to ignore the very obvious outcome, in hopes that one of them would wake up to maybe bring back the round or appeal to him cheating.

Rosan was not having any of it.

The redhead let loose a terrifyingly loud snarl and kicked Big Pan up to a sitting position.

Then, they watched with horror as he hoisted the unconscious Wotan up over his head and began to fly up like he wasn't holding someone astronomically larger then him.

Rosan glared at the goal post and began repeatedly slamming the Wotan's head into it over and over again until he got his point across.

Everyone gasped at the merciless redhead's actions, wincing every time Big Pan's head crashed into it.

"H-He's really pissed," Usopp stammered in terror. Somehow, the redhead was even scarier then back at Syrup Village.

"W-W-What type of m-monster is he?!" Porche couldn't help but say, watching the entire affair with tears pricking her eyes.

"A possessive Devil," Nami answered eventually, wincing as the redhead continued to slam Big Pan's crown into the goal post.

"You never take the Devil's Possessions," Sanji muttered. He really needed to apologize to Rosan for messing up in the previous round.

Porche shook at their claims. Suddenly, Rosan didn't look so cute anymore.

Her precious former crewmates were getting treated like rag dolls…

The half conscious Wotan could do nothing but take the abuse, as he was used as a toy by the demonic redhead.

"Call. The. Match," Rosan said, punctuating each word with a heavier slam then the last before it looked like he was going to snap the man's neck from the force.

"E-ENOUGH!" Foxy shouted, fear on his face as he watched the redhead toss Big Pan around like he weighed nothing.

What type of freakish strength was that? D-Did he keep his draconic power?

"He can't fight anymore and you've scored the goal! C-Call the match!"

The ref couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief at seeing his boss make the demand and blew the whistle.

He couldn't watch that anymore.

"T-The winner of Groggy Ring are t-the Red D-Devil and Pirate Hunter of the Straw Hats, Rosan and Zoro!" Itomimizu stammered.

There was complete silence.

Well, all except for one.

"WOOHOO! GET EM ROSAN!" Luffy cheered his older brother, clapping at the display.

Rosan tossed the giant body to the side like it was yesterday's trash and grunted.

"A-As per the rules of the Davy Back Fight, the Straw Hats now get to choose a member of the Foxy Pirates to pick."

Robin gazed with wide eyes, as the redhead appeared directly in front of her without any hesitation.

Almost as if he were the plague, the people trying to get to know her, parted away with speeds that she found rather admirable, shrieking at the sight of the unhinged redhead.

That match… was quite the spectacle. To know that Rosan got so furious on her behalf… it was enthralling.

Wow, she really was too far gone.

"Mine." Rosan growled, removing the stupid foxy mask from her face with a look of annoyance and lighting it on fire.

Robin flushed slightly at his possessive tone and stood up. "I take it you're picking me to join the crew?" She teased.

"Don't joke like that," Rosan grunted, pulling her into a deep hug as they vanished back over to the Straw Hats side. "I can't stand the thought of anyone trying to take you from me."

The Devil Child couldn't keep the brilliant smile off her face as just the action of hugging her calmed Rosan down.

Everyone let out a breath they didn't know they were holding, as Rosan's violent aura, slowly but surely vanished.

"You realize he only did this because you took someone important from them, right?" she murmured.

"I'm terrible at getting a taste of my own medicine. You should know this by now..." He replied quietly.

Robin leaned in close. "You know… this is the reason why people think we're lovers, right? Because of the way you react whenever I'm involved," she whispered in his ear.

Rosan couldn't help the shiver at that but said nothing, just soaking in her presence.

Robin rolled her eyes.

"What will you do if I actually find someone I'm interested in?" She couldn't help but ask in amusement, despite her interest being the one she was asking.

She was more pleased then she would like to admit, as Rosan's grip on her tightened.

"...Be happy for you. After checking to see if they are the right person," he said gravely, looking as if he were puking the words out.

"The way you're holding me suggests otherwise," she laughed.

"Because I'm not ready to let you go yet and I don't know if I'll ever be," Rosan admitted through their connection.

"!" Mod's eyes bugged.

"!" Ram's jaw dropped.

Robin's heart soared at his declaration. Feeling particularly bold, she asked, "Well what if I don't ever want you to let me go either?"

Mod's jaw dropped.

Ram's eyes bugged.

"Then I'll do everything to make sure it stays that way… as long as you're fine with it," Rosan replied truthfully.

Robin smiled softly and hugged the redhead back, taking in his presence as he took in hers.

She didn't think she could wait until he had all his emotions back.

"Uh, Rosan…" Sanji muttered awkwardly. "Sorry about that. If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't have lost Robin-chan in the first place."

"It's fine. I got her back so that's all that matters," Rosan muttered. "Though, you really need to work on that… Foxy has hundreds of pirates, they could have easily saved her if it was actually real."

The chef blushed in embarrassment. "Can't help it… when a woman is in need, I must be there."

The redhead snorted but left it there.

"Robin!" Luffy cheered, jumping on the duo with a pleased smile.

"I'd say welcome back… but I blinked and you were back in the crew… Rosan doesn't mess around when it comes to you," Nami laughed, hugging the taller woman.

"His possessive streak has become even worse with age," Robin sighed, despite her happiness at Nami's observation.

"I-I thought it was a joke… but he really does think all of you are his," Usopp gaped in disbelief.

Luffy nodded sagely. "Yup! If Rosan says it's his, it's his!" the rubber boy beamed.

"Wow… we really messed up challenging a 400 million bounty crew," Porche muttered nervously.

Just how scary was Straw Hat Luffy for being able to keep such a demon under control?

Robin glanced over at her.

She honestly couldn't believe she was jealous of this girl… Rosan wasn't planning on giving her the time of day and now she was rightfully terrified of the redhead.

Robin felt a well of satisfaction at that. No one could handle all of Rosan. Most people would be rightfully terrified of the redhead if they knew everything about him, regardless of how handsome he was.

Good thing she felt none of that fear.

"One more round."

All the Straw Hats paused at the voice and glanced over at Foxy.

"One more round?" Rosan raised a brow.

"One more Davy Back Fight. Just one more," Foxy asked, trying to hide his desperation.

If he had known exactly how dangerous the Red Devil was… he would have never picked Nico Robin… he thought getting Porche was guaranteed but now they had lost her… permanently…

Rosan saw right through his facade. The redhead smirked cruelly and said, "Why would we ever accept another round? There's no one else we want in your useless crew."

Foxy flinched at that. "T-This isn't a decision you get to make! This is for Captains!"

"Hoh?" Rosan raised a brow. "Luffy says no."

The man spluttered at that, getting more desperate. "S-Straw Hat! You're the captain right?! Your answer is the final one! Don't you want to have another battle?!"

Luffy tilted his head. "But I don't want anyone in your crew. No thanks," he waved him off.

"That's that. I don't feel like dealing with anymore of your cheating," Rosan shrugged. "Well done on the second round, but you should have nabbed your old crewmate back. It's not like we really wanted her."

Porche flinched at his cold tone and shot a desperate look to Foxy.

The captain steeled himself at that.

There was no way he was losing his first mate.

"One round. Combat. Captain vs Captain in a winner takes all…"

Luffy and Rosan both paused at that.

"Combat?" Luffy perked up.

"Winner takes all?" Rosan raised a brow, eyes gleaming in malicious delight. "Just to make sure you aren't trying to pull a fast one. You vs Luffy in a fight and the winner takes everything?"

"That's right… it's just a fight between Straw Hat and I. If you win, you get my whole crew, my ship… my flag," Foxy answered nervously, hoping they'd accept the deal.

Hm… that didn't change the fact that his crew was still largely useless… but Rosan wouldn't mind keeping tabs on Foxy's Devil Fruit.

It was actually quite interesting.

Besides, his little brother was looking at him with those pleading eyes and there was no way he could resist.

He inclined his head and Luffy beamed.

"We accept!" The rubber boy laughed.

"Please… my heart can't handle another one," Usopp groaned.

"You and me both," Nami sighed miserably.

"You think I'd accept if I thought them cheating would cost us the match?" Rosan asked with a raised brow.

The two froze at that. "That's true… so why did you accept?

"I accepted because even with all the dirty tricks in their books, that man will never beat Luffy in a fight."

----------------------------------------

"OH?! WHAT A SURPRISE! DESPITE THEIR VICTORY, THE STRAW HATS HAVE DECIDED TO PUT EVERYTHING ON THE LINE FOR ONE MORE ROUND!"

After hearing that they were having a Combat round as the final round, the Foxy Pirates gained a new surge of energy and began crafting a stadium of all things for the occasion.

Luffy and Usopp (who was his coach) had gone off to make preparations, while the rest of the Straw Hats were sat at the stands to spectate the entire thing.

"Rosan, you have not once let me go since getting me back," Robin said, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice as the redhead sat her on his lap.

There was a lot of space around the Straw Hats, courtesy of Rosan's "come near me and die" aura that gave them quite a bit of room to make comfort…

And despite that she was still sitting on him.

"If you have a problem, I'll release you," he offered.

The Devil Child rolled her eyes. "I'd rather not see the heartbreak on your face if I actually agreed to those terms. You'd guilt trip me with no remorse."

"You know me so well," he smiled.

Nami cupped her chin in contemplation. "Rosan, I think I know you well enough to say that there's another reason you let this happen. I know for a fact you aren't interested in anyone in their crew at all so why even go for such a thing? They will guaranteed cheat in this event so what's the reason?"

The crew, and Porche, watched the redhead in curiosity.

"My adorable little sister is making observations? Aren't you just the cutest," Rosan smirked. "You're right. I don't want a single person in their crew. None of them are good enough."

His gaze darkened. "But they tried to take Robin from me."

Robin shuddered at that.

Porche paled.

"To be completely honest. I assume that there's no rule saying we can't just pillage a ship completely after the Davy Back Fight… so once everything was settled, I was going to raze the entire Foxy Pirates to the ground," Rosan admitted.

"W-W-What?!" Porche balked at the insane words of the redhead.

Rosan's eyes roamed over to her and he tilted his head. "Yeah. There's no rule that says that, right? I'm free to do whatever I want with you guys afterwards, right?"

The former idol of the Foxy Pirates began shaking at his cruel gaze.

"N-No there's no rule a-against that but…" she trailed off.

"What? Wanted to die with them?" Rosan asked with a raised brow, making her go white.

"He's so evil sometimes," the crew thought with a sigh, used to his antics by now.

"Don't worry, I won't kill your crew. I managed to bait him into staking everything, all in hopes of getting you back," Rosan smiled.

Porche stilled at that. "You… baited him?"

The redhead shrugged. "Of course I did. Now, after Luffy wins, I get to subjugate your entire crew for free. That Foxy guys Devil Fruit is interesting, I want to study it and he has no choice but to comply once he is working under me, since Luffy won't want anything to do with them."

They balked at his words, looking at the redhead like he were demon spawn and he flashed a cocky smirk back.

"How far back did you plan this?" Sanji asked in awe.

Rosan shrugged. "Not very far… I just adapted along the way the moment I figured out what his Devil Fruit was. I would have left him alone otherwise… Up until he took Robin of course. At that point, the only thing on my mind was murder."

"He's so scary!" Chopper squealed in his mind.

They had been playing the Devil's game all along.

Porche came to this startling realization as she listened to the redhead and realized that no matter what, as long as he was on the Straw Hats team, he was going to ensure they won.

He was far more calculating then they thought. She was very sure that if Luffy was even close to losing this round, he'd interfere somehow...

But even despite that, he seemed so confident in his captain. Did he... really have a backup plan for Luffy losing?

"What are Foxy's chances of winning this match?" She whispered in despair, knowing the answer already.

A Devil would not follow a weakling after all.

Rosan didn't even blink. "3% if Luffy plays around too much."

The former Foxy Pirate closed her eyes at that.

Porche already knew that would have been his answer… but she had really hoped it wasn't.

----------------------------------------

"THE FINAL ROUND OF THE DAVY BACK FIGHT IS NOW BEGINNING! A CAPTAIN VS CAPTAIN BATTLE AS OUR BONUS MAIN EVENT!"

The crowd shouted their excitement.

"Introducing the competitors in today's match…. First, the man who never turns down a fight. Undefeated in 920 consecutive matches. The man who wins every game. GIVE IT UP FOR OUR BOSS, THE SILVER FOX, FOXY!"

Foxy held up both gloves as he basked in the cheers.

"GET EM FOXY!"

"WIN THIS FOR PORCHE!"

"SHOW THEM WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!"

"Fefefefe! Don't worry Porche, we'll get you back!" Foxy declared, grinning at his former crewmate.

Porche shot him a strained smile and a shaky thumbs up.

"Introducing next, hailing from the East Blue… The leader of the fastest rising crew in the Grand Line! With a bounty of 140 million, MONKEY D. LUFFY!"

"No… fucking… way," Nami and Rosan muttered at the same time.

"What the hell?" Zoro grimaced.

"YOU LOOK SO COOL, LUFFY!" Chopper praised, waving his hooves at his captain.

Sanji gasped in awe. "Look at how sharp he is! His inner soul is on fire!"

Robin didn't bother hiding her laughter. "He looks so cute!"

Luffy had foregone his shirt in order to show a fiery skull and crossbones tattoo on his torso. He aimed both his boxing gloves to the sky and he let out a battle roar as Usopp coolly stood behind him.

But that's not what the Straw Hats focused on.

No, they were focused on the absolutely ridiculous afro on his head.

"He is so adorable!" Mod squealed, clapping at seeing Luffy in the afro.

"Look at the energy he's exuding!" Ram gaped. He looked awesome!

Robin laughed louder as Rosan's brows shot up.

"You two like this?" He asked in confusion.

What…?

"I-I can't explain it! I just do!" Mod replied with wide eyes.

"I can explain! It's fucking awesome!" Ram beamed.

"Language!"

"WHAT?! FATHER WAS CURSING UP A STORM TODAY AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN BLINK! HOW COME WHEN I SAY IT, IT'S A PROBLEM?!"

"We've talked about this already! You are hardly an adult in mind, so you should not be cursing! In another… 10 years, I'll consider it."

"BULLSHIT!"

"What did I just say young lady?!"

"I think you'd look nice with an afro, Rosan!" Robin said, unable to hold back her laughter.

Rosan zoned Mod and Ram out and glared at the Robin shuddering in amusement on his lap.

"Remove those dangerous thoughts from your head," he hissed into her ear.

She held her hands up in surrender and said, "Fine, fine."

"AWW YEAH!" Luffy shouted to the heavens.

"Why's he talking like that. What the hell did Usopp do to my little brother?" Rosan grunted in disbelief. "I should have known he had no style, he wears suspenders. Why did I think this was a good idea?"

They sweatdropped at the incensed redhead and idly scooted away from him.

It seems his stylish looks weren't for show.

"THE COMBATANTS ARE LOCKED IN FOR OUR BONUS MAIN EVENT! FOXY VS LUFFY! ONE ON ONE COMBAT ON OUR CONVENIENTLY PICKED SHIP, THE SEXY FOXY!"

"Even now they cheat," Rosan scoffed. "Let's see how much that helps him. Maybe it'll make the fight interesting."

"You know how playful Luffy gets… it makes all his fights interesting," Robin supplied helpfully. She idly nestled herself deeper into the redhead and let out a pleased hum as he idly wrapped an arm around her waist.

"STRAW HAT LUFFY VERSUS SILVER FOXY…"

"Let's have some fun, Straw Hat! The whole ship is our battlefield!" Foxy said cockily.

They messed up agreeing to this.

Luffy threw out some warm-up jabs as he got into a boxing stance. "Alright! Let's get this show on the road, fool!"

"...BEGIN!"

----------------------------------------

Luffy was already on the move.

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" he shouted, throwing out an extended right towards the Pirates face.

Foxy's eyes widened at the speed and he immediately leapt out of the way, pointing his finger in the process.

"Noro Noro Beam!"

"Wha?" Luffy said in confusion, as his fist refused to come back to him.

What the hell was going on with his punch?!

He ducked a wild punch from Foxy and glared at his fellow captain in confusion, before using his free left to throw another punch that the Fox man leapt out of the way of.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"I should avoid stretching too much," Luffy thought to himself as his fist returned to normal.

Right, Rosan had told him about split-heads fruit… he needed to dodge the pink beam…

Okay! He could do that!

Foxy couldn't stop his jaw from dropping at seeing Luffy sprint towards where he was at amazing speeds and immediately fled from his location, activating any trap he could think of at the same time.

Luffy effortlessly weaved through the dozens of darts coming his way and made a beeline straight for Foxy.

"SUCH SPEED FROM STRAW HAT! WHERE WAS THIS DEXTERITY IN THE PREVIOUS ROUND?!"

"SHUT UP!" Luffy roared at the annoying voice.

The Silver Fox began sweating a little and immediately bombarded the ship with a smokescreen, vanishing into it.

Luffy glanced around in confusion as multiple silhouettes that looked suspiciously like Foxy.

"THE BOSS HAS SUMMONED HIS SMOKESCREEN?! WHICH ONE IS THE REAL ONE?! HOW WILL STRAW HAT FIGURE IT OUT!?"

"Which one is me? How will you ever find out which is the real me—"

"Gomu Hook!"

Foxy's eyes bugged as a right hook connected to his sternum and he subsequently collapsed on his knees as the wind was knocked out of him.

The man began coughing as his gloved hands failed to grip his chest.

"That strength… so his bounty is the real deal?!" The man thought in disbelief.

It was as he took that punch… did Foxy begin to realize that maybe the Straw Hat's collective bounty wasn't all hot air.

After seeing Rosan's performance against the Groggy Monsters, he thought just the redhead was the reason their crew was regarded so dangerously.

Now you were telling him Straw Hat was a big threat too?!

"AMAZING! IN ONE HIT, FOXY WAS BROUGHT TO HIS KNEES?! STRAW HAT LUFFY IS THE REAL DEAL!"

The crowd couldn't hide their awe despite how nervous they were, at the strength Luffy displayed.

Foxy felt his nervousness spike, as footsteps approached.

"W-Wait! Timeout!" He shouted out loud, knowing that wouldn't deter the Straw Hat.

...

Foxy glanced up in confusion and saw that Straw Hat had stopped moving.

"What… What are you doing?" The Silver Fox asked.

Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "You said timeout."

"IS HE AN IDIOT?!" Everyone thought with bugged eyes.

Rosan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Robin's eyes widened, at the string of curses coming out of the redhead through their connection. A dust of red covered her cheek at how… vulgar he was!

"L-Language?" Mod said, face bright red at some of the words he said.

Rosan's response, was to let loose even more foul words and Mod's face turned progressively worse.

"R-Right… t-this is why I don't tell him to mind his language," she muttered.

Ram's eyes were starry at how creative he was.

Foxy let out a sigh of relief, as Straw Hat actually stopped and the Silver Fox slowly stood back up.

The two stared at each other for a moment and Luffy tilted his head even further.

"Can we keep fighting—"

"NORO NORO BEAM!"

Luffy idly sidestepped the point blank attack with little to no effort.

"—now?" He finished with a puzzled frown.

…

Foxy slowly put his hand down at the failed attack and began sweating.

…

The realization finally hit Luffy.

"WAIT A SECOND YOU CHEATER!" Luffy roared with razor sharp teeth.

Foxy turned tail and fled deeper into the ship, Luffy hot on his tail.

"AND THEY'RE OFF! NOT EVEN WE CAN TELL WHAT'S TAKING PLACE DEEPER IN THE SHIP!"

"We?" Rosan scoffed, eyes glowing brightly.

The Straw Hats got a little closer as the redhead's customary stream began showcasing all the action.

"W-Woah!" Porche thought in shock, watching as the footage captured their whole ship completely.

What was this?! What was Rosan doing?!

"Has anyone ever told you how useful you are?" Usopp asked curiously.

"Many times. I'm very desired," Rosan said with a slight frown.

"Understatement," Mod growled.

"You literally always have these birds out at all times…" Sanji muttered, gazing at the sky.

Where were they?!

The Foxy Pirates saw the Straw Hats crowding around footage that looked suspiciously like the fight and some tried to sneak closer.

A foreboding aura washed over them once they stepped past a threshold and they had a sneaking suspicion that if they got close to that demonic redhead, they'd suffer quite the price.

They slowly but surely scooted back to their seats with nervous expressions.

"Are you really still that upset that they tried to take me?" Robin asked with a slight sweatdrop, watching as the redhead didn't even register what was happening.

"No one can take you away from me without paying a price... Besides, did you not see how close they were to you?" Rosan asked in return, gazing at her with an annoyed expression.

"...No, I didn't. You kind of demanded all my attention due to being such a good lead performer," She admitted with an amused smile. "I couldn't take my eyes off of you if I tried. You were like a raging jealous beast."

"I'm not jealous… I'm possessive," he corrected.

Everyone sweatdropped at him.

"Neither of those are good," Nami said slowly.

"I think being possessive is objectively worse," Sanji explained with a shake of his head.

He had realized that Robin-chan had a crush on Rosan long ago and after crying himself to sleep a few days in a row, he came to terms with it.

Kind of... sort off... not at all.

Rosan shrugged. "Who's paying attention to details like that? I know my family isn't. Robin, do you have a problem with how possessive I am of you?"

"No," Robin said automatically, before blinking.

Oh… that came out a bit too fast. Normally, she threw up a bit of resistance.

Judging by the way Rosan raised a brow and smirked, he realized too.

"Look at that. Was that so hard?" He snorted, hugging her in a pleased manner. " You finally stopped resisting your true feelings!"

"You don't even know the half of it," Robin sighed, enjoying the hug from the oblivious idiot.

"Why is he so scary and mean?!" The Foxy Pirates thought with comical tears.

----------------------------------------

"GET BACK HERE!" Luffy shouted, chasing the coward with determination.

Foxy ignored the quickly gaining Straw Hat and dashed into a room, Luffy hot on his heels.

What greeted the Straw Hat instead of Foxy, was some woman in a nurses outfit.

"Welcome to the infirmary! How can I help you?"

Luffy blinked in confusion. "What?! Hey, lady can you move out of the way? The person I'm looking for is hiding under you!"

The nurse tilted her head in confusion. "Okay!" She said, getting up so that the Straw Hat could inspect where she was just sitting.

The moment he got too close, a spiked glove connected to his face and launched him backwards.

"GOTCHA!" Foxy, the nurse, yelled in victory as he stunned Luffy. "I WAS THE NURSE ALL ALONG, STRAW HAT! NORO NORO BEAM!"

"W-What?!" Luffy balked as the beam hit his body.

"Nine Tails Rush!" Foxy exclaimed, ducking into Luffy's frozen guard and landing dozens of punches on his body with his spiked gloves.

At the 20 second mark, Foxy stopped and began sprinting away before his fruit wore off.

"Fefefefe!"

Luffy grunted as his slow down time ended and he took all that damage at once. Blood spurted from various parts of his body as he huffed in annoyance and took off in the direction Foxy ran in.

As he burst through another room, the rubber boy paused as a giant silhouette revealed itself.

"ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE, GORILLA PUNCHER #13!" Foxy bellowed, grinning down at Luffy.

"...You have 13 of these stupid things?" Luffy asked, tilting his head to the side.

Foxy deflated at that. "S-Stupid…?" He muttered depressingly.

"They aren't stupid! A-And I don't have 13! This is just the most recent model! Perfectly streamlined with no unnecessary components!" The Silver Fox explained.

"Is the gorilla head necessary?!" Luffy asked.

Foxy's jaw dropped and he began sweating at the observation.

"You… You have a point… BUT THAT DOESN'T MATTER! NOBODY ASKED FOR YOUR INPUT!"

The Gorilla Puncher began moving forward, all while the multiple fists on it began swinging at the air.

"I bet you think you can just dodge these punches… BUT THINK AGAIN! NORO NORO BEAM!"

Luffy leapt to the side but yelped as he narrowly avoided the beam coming back.

"That's right! The mirror reflects my slowpoke photons!"

His observation blared once more and he contorted his body to avoid one of the punches but there were too much to account for and another chipped his leg.

Luffy hissed at the burn. "Hot!" he exclaimed.

"Did I forget to mention that each punch also burns?!"

That slight delay cost him.

He was currently struggling to regain his footing and as a result, he got hit with multiple of the punches.

To make matters worse, he was repeatedly getting tagged by those slow beams bouncing off the mirrors since he couldn't predict where they would reflect to.

This resulted in Luffy's injuries mounting further and further, causing the rubber boy to begin panting in exertion.

Oh… wait!

The burned Luffy turned around and completely shattered the mirror behind him with a swift punch, sending glass shards in every direction with a loud clang as he fixed the issue of Foxy's Devil Fruit.

Foxy's eyes bugged in disbelief. "I didn't think of such a smart move!" he exclaimed, sweating at his slipup.

The rubber boy huffed as his injuries accumulated and he glared at the machine still punching and closing the distance.

"What an annoying machine…" He grunted, before cocking his gloves back and taking a deep breath.

"Gomu Gomu no Gatling!"

Luffy began throwing rapid punch after rapid punch at the giant machine and they started trading blow for blow.

To Foxy's disbelief, Straw Hat began winning the exchange and cracks began to appear on his Gorilla Puncher #13 that progressively got more and more numerous.

"W-What is this guy?!" The Silver Fox muttered as the psycho matched his machine punch for punch and came out on top.

"ORAAAAAAAA!" Luffy roared in victory as he shattered the machine.

Foxy let out a yell of surprise as he was toppled from his height and the captain fell flat on his ass.

The rubber boy panted, not coming out unscathed from that exchange at all, and nearly faltered but stood straight and glared at the crafty pirate with fury.

Without any hesitation, he began charging after the Silver Fox who began hastily crawling away in fear.

Once Luffy got too close, Foxy allowed a smirk of victory to appear on his face.

"NORO NORO BEAM!" He shouted aiming his hand at Luffy and laughing as he landed a point blank hit…

Only for his eyes to bug as Straw Hat reflected his beam back to him.

"W-WHAT BUT HOW...wwww?!" Foxy's voice slowed down tremendously, as his own fruit was used against him in an ingenious display.

Luffy discarded the broken mirror in his gloves and huffed heavily.

"I won't lose a single member of my crew… EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!" He roared, getting into a boxing stance.

The rubber boy began weaving his body in a motion similar to a figure eight, approaching the frozen Foxy all the while…

And then he began delivering a flurry of vicious hooks, throwing his full body weight into each one.

The rubber boy ignored his extensive injuries and his foggy vision, intent on delivering blow after blow on the Silver Fox's slowed down body.

Finally, he stopped with the hooks, and delivered a rising uppercut to pirate, just as the 30 seconds were off.

The effects were instantaneous.

"G-Gugh…" Foxy let out a garbled gasp, as he was launched through the ceiling of his ship onto the main deck once more, while taking all the accumulated damage delivered his way at once.

It was devastating. He felt bones shattering from the monstrous strength displayed by Straw Hat Luffy and fell unconscious from the unbelievable pain he was in.

He wouldn't be recovering from that for a while.

Luffy panted tiredly, as he jumped through the hole he created and landed on the main deck, before taking in a deep breath…

"RAAAAAAAA!" He roared victoriously, pumping both hands into the sky.

"U-UNBELIEVABLE! IN THE THIRD ROUND… OF THE DAVY BACK FIGHT. OUR BOSS… WHO HAS AN UNDEFEATED RECORD OF 920 CONSECUTIVE WINS, HAS BEEN KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS!"

"Idiot took too much damage," Rosan scoffed with a tiny smile.

"Ever the one for the dramatics… He must have got that from you," Robin laughed slightly.

"WAY TO GO LUFFY!" Chopper screamed loudly, grinning ear to ear.

"Idiot coulda ended that way sooner," Zoro snorted with a small grin.

"I wasn't worried at all!" Usopp exclaimed, wiping the sweat off his features.

"GOOD JOB LUFFY!" Nami exclaimed happily.

"That afro power is no joke," Sanji laughed.

"…!" Porche's eyes were bugged in shock. Just… Just who were they?!

The Foxy Pirates were thinking the same thing as they realized that Foxy had lost. They were gazing at the scene with bugged eyes and slack jaws.

"T-THE WINNER OF THIS GAME… IS STRAW HAT LUFFY!"

----------------------------------------

"Dumbass," Rosan muttered, idly kicking Luffy's unconscious and bandaged body.

Chopper eyes bugged. "D-DON'T KICK HIM! HE'S REALLY INJURED, YOU JERK!" The doctor shouted at the demon of a scout.

The redhead shrugged. "He didn't have to be this injured. Luffy could literally have beaten that guy in one punch."

Zoro barked out a short laughter. "He's right. Our captain was enjoying that afro way too much."

"You can't apply percentages to someone as silly as Luffy," Nami sighed fondly.

"He's waking up," Robin observed with a slight smile. She was moved by Luffy's commitment to making sure he didn't lose a single member.

Even if it killed him…

Chatter stopped as Luffy began waking with a confused expression, before shooting up in alarm.

"DID I WIN?!" He shouted, realizing he wasn't on the Sexy Foxy anymore.

"Yep," they all chirped.

Luffy grinned at that and lied back down. "I'm glad!"

Rosan sighed in annoyance. "You realize the only reason I'm a pirate is because of you, right? What do I look like following someone else?"

"Exactly," Zoro grunted with an annoyed frown. "You forced me to become a pirate."

"Same here," the redhead nodded.

"Ditto," Nami sighed despondently.

"Yep," Sanji muttered.

"Me too!" Chopper exclaimed.

"...Was I the only one that didn't get forced?" Usopp asked quietly.

"I technically didn't," Robin smiled. "Then again, Rosan practically forced me to be his friend… it was either that or get thrown overboard."

"W-WHAT?!" Sanji and Nami roared in horror, glancing at the psychotic redhead.

Rosan raised a brow high into the sky at that. "You're talking about when we first met as kids? What the fuck, Robin? You thought I was gonna throw you overboard if you refused?" He asked incredulously.

Robin blinked. "You… weren't?" she trailed off.

Huh, she never did think about the outcome of what would happen if she had refused his offer.

The Devil Child yelped as he flicked her on the head and she glared at the scout.

"Of course not. Mom told me not to hit girls unless they hit me," he chided her.

"I would have just gotten "lost" and our forced exposure to each other, would have made us friends anyways. I'm very charming," Rosan grinned innocently.

Robin sweatdropped deeply at the redhead. "You are such a twisted person. You wouldn't have actually done that, right?"

"Robin, trust me. He would have spent every single moment with you too. We already chose you the moment we laid eyes on you. You were stuck with us."

Rosan smiled slightly at that.

"...We?" The Devil Child repeated, sweatdropping deeper.

They really would have kidnapped her if she refused and forced her to be friends with them…

That was very ridiculous to think about, getting kidnapped by an adorable 4 year old child.

Porche glanced at the crew with wide eyes and realized she was really out of her depths trying to deal with all these monsters.

They stopped conversing, as the crew heard footsteps and the Straw Hats glanced up to a rather amusing sight.

Foxy, who was wrapped in a full body cast, was being carried over to them in a stretcher. The defeated captain was awake and glaring at them with indignation.

"Don't forget the rules, Straw Hat!" The Silver Fox grunted through his cast. "You beat me fair and square so per the rules of the Davy Back Fight special round, you get everything!"

Luffy and Rosan glanced at each other for a moment.

"Since you're our subordinate now, you promise to do whatever I want, right? You won't go back on your word?" The redhead asked eventually.

Foxy felt a vein forming at that patronizing tone. "I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE! OF COURSE I WILL! Foxy may be sneaky, but he's also a man of integrity!"

Rosan smiled in a satisfied manner.

At the same time, Luffy said, "Listen closely guys!"

All the Foxy (Straw Hat?) Pirates leaned in close to their new captain.

"As your new captain of the reborn Straw Hats… You're all off the crew!"

…

…

…

"Huh?" Foxy said dumbly.

"We're off the crew?" Someone asked in confusion.

Everyone looked at the redhead who had let out an amused snort.

"Not only are you guys useless… Wait, no, that's it. You guys are useless," Rosan said with an amused smirk.

Luffy laughed at Rosan's words. "Yeah! We don't want you guys! You can do whatever you want!"

"Why are they both so mean?!" All the Foxy Pirates cried comically.

"Oh… and don't forget your promise, Foxy. It would be utterly shameful if you couldn't keep your word," Rosan reminded, smiling cunningly at the stupefied pirate. "I appreciate you being such a good sport. See you in the future."

Demons… they were dealing with actual demons.

Foxy's jaw dropped to the floor as he realized he got completely tricked into promising to do whatever Rosan wanted.

"Y-You…" he spluttered.

"Oh and you can go back with them too, Porche. We don't want you either," Rosan hummed.

Her jaw dropped in confusion and she glanced at the smug looking Rosan in disbelief.

"...You are so not cute," she said finally.

"You're right… I'm hot," Rosan corrected with an amused snort, turning away from the pirates due to losing all interest.

"You two are ridiculous," Nami laughed disbelievingly. "What was even the point of all of this?"

"Asserting my superiority while gaining future subordinates I don't have to care about," Rosan shrugged.

"It seemed fun!" Luffy laughed.

"I can't believe I expected any other answers out of you idiotic brothers of fate," Nami groaned.

"We lost to these demons…"

Straw Hat and the Red Devil… those two were so twisted.

----------------------------------------

With a promise of revenge (and happy tears at getting Porche back), the Foxy pirates finally departed from the island, leaving just the Straw Hats and a strange old man with a horse.

"So this is why you accepted without discussing with us," Nami sighed with a small smile.

The old man's name was Tonjit and he had been stuck on a ridiculously long piece of bamboo for 10 years because he had always been fascinated with creating the world's longest stilts and they never stopped growing…

Idiot.

"I wish we could find a way to get you back to your family," Usopp muttered.

His eyes lit up and he turned to face their scout. "Rosan what if you—"

…

The sniper slowly closed his mouth, as he gazed at the stone faced expression of the redhead and slowly turned back towards the old man, request dead on his lips.

"Demon…" Usopp thought to himself with sweat.

"You guys don't have to worry about me. I'm very patient! Come inside, I can prepare some lunch for you all," Tonjit smiled thankfully at the crew, as he made his way to the front of his house…

Only to crash into a body.

"Oh! What is this…? A person?!"

"Hm?" The Straw Hats blinked as they gauged the figure.

Tall and slim, the figure before them was an imposing presence… who appeared to be sleeping up until Tonjit crashed into him.

"Huh?" The standing man said blearily, removing his face mask to gauge the new appearances. "Who are you guys?" He asked.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Most of the Straw Hats yelled back.

Rosan froze in shock, a look of concern and rage crossing over his features as he immediately recognized the person.

"This is bad. This is very very bad. We need to get out of here now," Mod said, white in horror.

Thud.

Everyone froze in surprise and glanced back to see Robin of all people, with a look of true terror on her face.

The Devil Child's eyes were wide, and her pupils turned into pinpricks, as she began hyperventilating.

"Robin?!" Luffy shouted in concern, before noticing the look on his brother's face.

"Robin?! Rosan?! What's the matter?!" Nami asked, eyes narrowed in worry.

"You know this guy?" Zoro asked, clutching one of his swords due to the fact that Rosan currently looked like a wild animal.

Their scout looked utterly feral, sharp teeth bared with a murderous glint in his gaze.

The strange man held his hands out in a placating. "You shouldn't look at me with such scary eyes, Red Devil… It's not like I'm here on orders, despite having every reason needed to detain and capture you specifically."

Rosan didn't loosen his stance. No, it only got worse as the man gazed at the fallen Nico Robin and the redhead immediately stepped in front of her.

Robin felt her terror reach levels she didn't think possible, as she gazed at the redhead standing protectively in front of her.

"No… Please not Rosan! Please!"

Admiral Aokiji glanced at the duo and a smirk made its way to his face.

"Oh my… you've turned into quite a pretty woman, Nico Robin."

----------------------------------------

"Like I said, I'm not here on orders," Aokiji informed them. "The weather was nice today so I decided to go out on a stroll."

"Rosan… who is this guy?" Usopp asked warily.

"..." The redhead never once took his eyes off the man, barely registering Usopp's question.

"...Admiral Aokiji. He's one of the strongest forces in the World Government," Rosan explained, making sure the shaking Robin was completely behind him.

There was a pause, as a wave of trepidation washed over them.

"HE'S AN ADMIRAL?!"

"Yeah, that's… right," Aokiji said tiredly, sitting down. "Sorry I got tired of standing."

"ARE YOU SURE THIS IS HIM?!" They roared.

Rosan just let loose a violent snarl, not in the mood for games.

Aokiji sighed. "You're way too worked up, Red Devil. You need to calm down. Are you so worked up because of all the terrible deeds you've done? Right now, I'm not here for that."

Rosan's pupils turned into slits.

"Yeah I know… still worth a shot," Aokiji shrugged. "Fine fine, since you seem like the type of guy who needs a reason for everything… I came here to verify some information I heard involving your group."

"But before I go into more detail… you."

Kuzan pointed at the old man who wasn't apart of their crew. "You wanted to find your tribe, right? They're three islands from here so I'll help you reach them."

The Admiral looked at the pirate crew. "Since you've helped him so much already, why not do him one last favor and carry his belongings to shore. Where we're heading is where your ship should be."

The other Straw Hats calmed down slightly at his friendly demeanor, but Rosan didn't loosen his stance for even a second, even as the man began walking towards the shore.

"We should go," Nami said to them all. "I think it'll be bad if we don't follow him."

"I can teleport us out. It won't be difficult for me," Rosan grunted.

...His crew looked unsure of his request and the redhead pursed his lips.

"...You guys don't want to leave the Merry behind."

It was not a question.

The silence was all he needed to know.

This was idiotic of them... but he doubted he could change their mind.

"Fine. I'll catch up to you guys… just give me a moment," he requested, glancing back at the stricken Robin.

The Straw Hats hesitantly followed after the man after some thought and glanced back at Robin and Rosan in concern.

"Robin… please speak to us. Are you alright?" Mod asked in concern.

Robin felt all her fears come out at once, as Rosan pulled her into a hug and she clutched him with all her might as if he'd disappear at any second.

"You… You have to go, Rosan," she begged, gazing up at the redhead with genuine terror. "I can't… I won't lose you. I can't let Aokiji take someone else from me!"

Rosan's gaze darkened. "Just me?" He whispered questioningly. "What about you? You will stay here? Without me?"

She shuddered in his hold and said nothing.

"You think I'll leave you with that man? After everything you told me. After everything he did?" Rosan snarled in fury.

Robin's grip on him tightened and she glanced up wildly at the redhead. "Rosan don't. Please don't fight him!" she said, raising her voice.

"I'm serious! I'll never forgive you if you throw your life away! Please, Rosan!" Robin begged, so much fear lacing her tone, that it made his heart break.

He stared into her wide blue eyes, at her large pupils shrinking into pinpricks, and Rosan let out a sigh.

Robin didn't even realize how hysterical she was, until Rosan engulfed her into another hug and she let out a shuddering breath against him.

"C'mon, let's go. If any of us leaves, he might get the wrong idea and kill the rest of us," Rosan muttered.

The Devil Child nodded shakily and made no complaints as the redhead carried them over to the rest of the crew.

----------------------------------------

By the time Rosan arrived (he was still carrying Robin), his crew had managed to fully help Tonjit and his horse get their provisions ready to cross the ocean.

In the process, it seems like they had let their guards down around Aokiji, due to the man's strange mannerisms.

"You're a curvy hottie too... you available tonight?" Aokiji asked Nami looking down at the much shorter navigator.

"WHAT TYPE OF MARINE ARE YOU?!" Sanji roared.

Aokiji glanced lazily at the chef, before roving his eyes over to Robin and Rosan.

"Ah, you actually showed up. What a surprise," he said aloud. "I thought you would have ran away by now."

Rosan's eyes narrowed as he felt Robin flinch harshly in his grasp.

Before the redhead could open his mouth, Aokiji made his way to the shore.

"Just how do you plan on helping him anyways? Are you gonna carry him on your back and swim?" Luffy asked curiously.

"Nothing so tiring," Aokiji retorted with a tired sigh.

"Is it even possible to solve his issues without sailing?" Sanji muttered.

Rosan could do it because he had Modification… could this guy do it?

"He… He can do it," Robin muttered shakily. "He has the means to do it… because of his..."

They gazed at their archaeologist in both confusion and concern, still taken aback by how shaken up she was.

Aokiji slowly walked up to the shore and gazed out into the sea with a relaxed expression.

Mere moments later, a gargantuan Sea King burst out of the waters with a thunderous splash and roared its presence to the world.

"O-Oh no! It's the lord of these seas! QUICKLY, YOU MUST RUN AWAY!" Tonjit backed away in horror.

The Admiral didn't even flinch. To him, it may as well have been a tiny little fish that popped out because his expression never once change.

He just took a short breath and said,

"Ice Age."

And the world froze over.

The Straw Hats stood stunned, as they all witnessed the effects of Aokiji's power and they suddenly realized why he looked so confident he could do this.

"An ice Logia," they thought grimly.

Robin began shaking once more and it was not because of the freezing temperatures.

She began to have flashbacks of a time she wished didn't exist. Of a time where she had to witness everyone she loved die.

A time where she witnessed her first true friend get frozen to death, due to the terrible powers of the Hie Hie no Mi.

It felt like she were 8 again and she desperately held onto her only wall of safety.

"Oh Robin," Mod said in sorrow, wanting nothing more then to hold her daughter.

"We'll protect you, Mother," Ram promised with a look of concern. She hated seeing her mother so afraid. She despised it and wanted it to go away by any means.

"This will last 1 week so walk at whatever speed you want. Bundle up too, it's going to be cold," a partially frozen Aokiji advised.

Tonjit became teary eyed at the actions of the Admiral and bowed deeply. "Thank you so much! Goodbye, all of you!"

"See ya, Old Man!" Luffy waved as they began leaving.

Most of the Straw Hats watched the old man trek off until he vanished, with small smiles.

"Monkey D. Luffy and Iris D. Rosan…"

Rosan's expression turned murderous.

"You're just like your Grandpa, Straw Hat… You're wild, reckless and have no self control," Aokiji grunted, gazing at the Captain of the Straw Hats.

Luffy's face turned into one of fear. "G-Gramps?!"

The Straw Hats blinked in confusion at that.

Luffy's Grandpa? Who was that? Why did the mere mention of him, have Luffy of all people, sweating in fear?

"And you, Red Devil… you're remarkably like your mother," Aokiji complimented. "You both love to give off the image that nothing bothers you, but underneath that cool facade, is a wild and uncontrollable spirit that does whatever they want… You both love the illusion of control."

Rosan's mother… Did he mean Raisa? Iris D… Was that his real name?

"Don't compare me to anyone. I am no one but myself. No one is like me. And don't you dare call me Iris again," Rosan warned him.

"That's something she would say. About comparing her to anyone, I mean. She's a very individualistic person," Aokiji snorted before sobering up.

"Regardless. I have a lot of respect for both your grandpa and your mother…"

The area seemed to get a bit colder.

"...But I can't say the same about your fathers."

Rosan went stiff and Luffy tilted his head in confusion.

"I have a dad?" Luffy asked in confusion. "Rosan, you have a dad?"

"...No," Rosan replied eventually. "I know nothing about my father."

He was only doing this, in hopes of distracting Aokiji from Robin. He wouldn't divulge information so freely but perhaps mentioning he knew nothing about his, supposedly, notorious father would be enough to deter him.

"That's for the best," Aokiji shrugged. "I came here to verify the information running around in the World Government. Nico Robin traveling with the Straw Hats. Getting her first updated bounty in 20 years. And having a lover…"

"All because of the Red Devil, Rosan. You two have known each other for quite a long time, right?" He asked calmly. "You met a little bit after we did, Nico Robin. Am I correct?"

Robin felt her heart stop, as Aokiji showed a level of interest in Rosan that seemed to single him out.

"..." Rosan said nothing, eyes narrowing at the Admiral.

"The Red Devil, a man who shows no remorse and has an intense hatred for the Marines... enough to kill any of them just because they bear the title," Aokiji began, picking his ear slightly.

"Your crew isn't bad at all... but you're a different story, Iris D. Rosan," the Admiral said gravely. "Someone like you, shouldn't really be allowed to be free... but at the same time, I don't quite think you were always like this, right?"

Robin lost her breath, as Aokiji stared at her with a searching eye.

"After all, running into Nico Robin right after losing your adoptive mother at such a young age, makes you quite easy to manipulate, don't you think?" Kuzan asked curiously.

Rosan's eyes flickered, as a murderous expression crossed his features.

"Is this what makes you feel good?"

Aokiji paused at that low whisper. "Oh?" He asked with a raised brow.

Rosan had a look of intense hatred on his face as he glared at Aokiji and took a step forward.

Robin went white.

She desperately grabbed at Rosan's arm and tried to stop him. "Please. Wait, Rosan!"

Miraculously, she actually managed to stop him from moving forward but Rosan was nowhere near finished talking.

"It wasn't enough that you emotionally scarred an 8 year old. You want to pin my mental state on her instead of your stupid fucking organization?!" Rosan snarled, eyes glowing brightly in disdain.

"What, not satisfied with the damage you did to the both of us? You want to keep hunting Robin down until she makes one mistake so you can kill her? You think I'll let you do that?!"

"Rosan, please! I'm serious," Robin begged, pushing him back to no avail as his infamous anger mounted and mounted. "Please, one of you help me stop him!"

The Straw Hats weren't used to seeing Rosan so angry. They didn't know about his anger problems so they could only gaze in shock as Rosan swiftly reached the state of explosion.

"Calm down, Rosan," Sanji muttered, holding on to the furious redhead with concerned eyes.

Rosan ignored them, teeth bared as black flickered across his eyes. "Is this your definition of justice, Admiral Aokiji? You kill her only friend in front of her, you burn her island to the ground for no good reason and then you threaten to hunt her down the moment she slips up. Not only that, you have the audacity to blame my actions on her?! WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND?! NONE OF THIS HAS EVER BEEN ROBIN'S FAULT!"

Aokiji's vision was hidden as Rosan verbally tore into him but the redhead was merciless.

"Do you think any 8 year old deserves what you're doing right now?! Do you think any child deserves what you think your stupid fucking definition of justice is? Don't even try to delude yourself into thinking what you're doing is justice right now. ROBIN WAS COMPLETELY INNOCENT AND YOU FUCKING MARINES RUINED HER LIFE! YOU THINK I'LL LET YOU TOUCH HER?!" Rosan howled.

Mod shuddered in horror, stunned silent as the sheer rage of Rosan washed over her.

Zoro assisted Sanji in tackling Rosan to the ground as the redhead's aura began choking the air.

Robin had stopped completely, gazing at her best friend with a frozen expression on her face. She was being utterly overwhelmed by the events transpiring and the words of Rosan made it no better...

But all she could do was remain frozen like a statue, forced to witness things spiral out of control.

Rosan was snarling like a wild animal as he glared at Aokiji with nothing but hatred in his eyes, intent on ripping the man in half the first chance he got.

Aokiji looked down at the furious redhead with an unknown expression on his face.

Finally, he opened his mouth.

"I did say I would hunt her down if she slipped up… and honestly, having the sole survivor of Ohara in you and Straw Hat's hand is more then enough reason. You've done enough damage for me to reconsider sparing her."

Rosan's sclera turned fully black at that statement.

"Over my dead body!" he hissed venomously.

And all hell broke loose.

----------------------------------------

Rosan exploded out of Sanji and Zoro's grasp and rocketed right past the panicking Robin.

"ROSAN!" Robin screamed in shock, holding out a hand as the redhead passed her.

No. No. No. No!

"My oh my, there goes that infamous possessiveness and anger. You really are Raisa's and that man's son aren't you?" Aokiji muttered as Rosan careened towards him.

Raisa's anger, Cutter's possessiveness... what a terrible combination for their prodigy of a son to be born with.

The redhead was fully incensed. He immediately activated Boost and made it to Aokiji's spot instantly.

Kuzan's eyes widened slightly in interest.

"He has armament? Already?" He thought, absorbing the heavy blow with appraising eyes.

That Rosan's words were quite sharp. He really knew how to hit home with them.

Even he couldn't help but be affected by the truth behind his words. But that truth was the reason he was here in the first place.

He needed to make sure Saul didn't die in vain… and so far, it looked like he didn't. Nico Robin truly did seem innocent...

Until you realized her partner was the Red Devil. Iris D. Rosan, was a monster of a human being and she followed all his orders with what looked to be no hesitation.

Perhaps her threat would truly diminish into nothing, if he killed the First Mate of the Straw Hats.

After all, Rosan was shaping up to be dangerous like his father and they had already snuffed out Cutter before he could truly exert his presence.

Kuzan completely tanked the rubbery fist and noted that unlike Rosan, Straw Hat did not have armament.

"So you're all attacking me now?" He asked in slight amusement, raising a brow as Rosan coated his fists in unnaturally red flames. "Well, I guess this is fine. A bunch of people like you are bound to become troublemakers in the future, especially considering you let the Red Devil do whatever he wants."

Luffy glared at him. "You aren't touching Robin or Rosan! Back off!"

Kuzan let out a tired sigh and caught the next punch from Luffy.

With barely a thought, the Admiral activated his Devil Fruit.

The effects were instantaneous.

Rosan roared out his draconic flames at the same time Luffy let out a scream of pain as his arm was completely frozen through.

"L-LUFFY!" Chopper yelled in horror.

Kuzan sent out a wave of ice that immediately canceled out Rosan's own fire with a neutral expression.

Luffy huffed in pain as he gingerly pulled himself up, gazing at his frozen arm with an incredulous expression.

"You're putting yourselves through a lot of trouble for these two, Straw Hat. I don't think you're entire crew is bad... I only have issue with Nico Robin and more importantly, Iris D. Rosan," Aokiji stated lazily.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Rosan roared, body erupting into flames and sparks as he began his assault anew.

"Smoker is my friend you know? And you nearly killed him, Hina and both their entire platoon. In fact, you killed quite a bit of them," he reminded the redhead.

The redhead hissed violently. "If you all just did your job instead of having such power trips, I wouldn't be such a problem!"

"? Right... his adoptive mother died giving birth due to the events of Baterilla," Aokiji thought, smoothly dodging the redhead's relentless assault. "I see. If I recall correctly, he also destroyed that base in the East Blue and assumed Smoker was corrupt."

What was it he said? Ah that's right...

"When the top of your chain is corrupt, all of you are, no matter what beliefs you think you're fighting for."

Kuzan sighed as he continued dodging the redhead's unrelenting onslaught. He casually sidestepped a punch from his left, and temporarily froze a fist from the right that was thawed out almost instantly by the heat from the flames, before effortlessly repelling a fiery heel kick that tried to cave his skull in.

So the Red Devil only took problems with Marines he perceived as corrupt. Wasn't Garp's new student someone who encountered both Rosan and Luffy? From what he heard, they assisted him in becoming a Marine and he had nothing but good things to say about him...

Interesting, he was learning quite a bit about Raisa's son that somewhat changed the perspective he had gained of him.

Rosan took a deep breath and let loose a stream of blistering hot flames that set the entire area ablaze.

Luffy held out his frozen hand close to the fire and sighed in relief as it began to immediately melt.

"Hey now," Aokiji reprimanded. "You're destroying the green. Don't be so callous."

The Admiral didn't look remotely bothered at being surrounded in the flames.

The nervous Straw Hats soon found out why.

Ice began to cover Kuzan's body, as he froze over every single flame in a beautiful display. They did not diminish or perish… he literally froze them over.

It would have made quite the fetch at an art display.

Rosan was not deterred by every single one of his attacks failing. No, in fact, it seemed to make him more determined.

Kuzan let out a sigh. What a troublesome redhead. He was the type to never quit until incapacitated.

It would be bad if he activated his full Zoan like he had earlier.

This island was rather peaceful. A dragon was the last thing it needed.

Though… that completely black sclera threw him for a loop. Was that apart of his bloodline?

It was far too much to think about.

Rosan had no time at all, to react to the Admiral materializing in front of him. Kuzan was so fast, that it looked as if he were in one spot and then another in an instant.

"You're a dragon, right?" Aokiji asked rhetorically. "Most reptilian Zoans, have a rather bad time against me. Do you know why?"

The redhead attempted to dash back but he was far too slow.

"It's because they're cold blooded of course. Naturally, a Mythical Zoan is probably no exception either."

Before Rosan could retaliate, Aokiji struck.

Placing a palm on the redhead's chest, the Admiral said, "Ice Time."

Robin felt her knees go weak, as Rosan's flames instantly vanished and the redhead's stance went completely stiff.

Then, the screaming started.

Rosan knew that he turned into an actual dragon when he used the technique, but Ragnarok was not cold-blooded. How could a creature who was so intimate with fire, be weak to the cold?

So why? Why was he having such a negative reaction to the ice?!

Everyone watched stunned, as Rosan howled in agony. The redhead convulsed as his body slowly iced over.

"Oh? Isn't this reaction a bit too extreme?" Kuzan muttered in interest, before shrugging.

It must have been his first time being struck by the ice.

"I can't believe you ended up being a dragon too… you really are Raisa's kid alright," was the last thing Rosan heard Aokiji say.

There was nothing he could do to stop Aokiji from freezing him over and soon, the Straw Hats were left gazing at a frozen statue of their scout.

"R-ROSAN!" They screamed in shock.

----------------------------------------

Robin couldn't breathe.

Robin couldn't breathe.

How would she ever be able to breathe, when her best friend was currently in a situation so disturbingly similar to the one her very first friend had been in.

First Saul… Now Rosan. Both doomed to be frozen by Admiral Aokiji. Both doomed to be targeted because of her.

She couldn't… No. Not again. Please not again. She couldn't… she couldn't—

Robin stumbled to her feet (and nearly collapsed due to how weak she currently felt) and desperately made her way over to the frozen statue that was Portgas D. Rosan.

"Rosan… Rosan… ROSAN!" Her voice got progressively louder as the situation became more and more clear to her.

The Devil Child looked completely hysterical as she latched onto the bitingly cold body of her best friend and she gazed at him, tears falling freely from her eyes.

He was screaming. Rosan had been screaming from the pain of being frozen solid.

"Please… it's gonna be alright, Rosan... Please be alright. Just stay with me, Rosan… Just don't leave me. Please. You won't die here. Please don't die here!" she begged as her tears landed on his body and instantly froze.

He did not respond.

The rest of the Straw Hats threw caution to the wind and charged both Aokiji and Rosan.

Aokiji sidestepped the wild blow from the steaming Luffy, expression clouded as he gazed at the Devil Child.

"YOU! I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!" A furious Luffy roared.

The Admiral sighed tiredly. "There's no need for that. He's still alive for the time being."

Everyone froze at that and gazed at Aokiji in shock.

The man rubbed the back of his head with a neutral expression. "Like I said, I'm not here on orders. Despite thinking the Red Devil is better off dead, I just wanted to see something and I saw it. If you don't hurry up and thaw him out, he's going to probably die. Cold-blooded creatures are especially weak to my ice and he had a reaction that I've never seen before."

"He's not dead…?" Robin whispered.

"He will be soon, if you don't hurry up."

That seemed to snap them out of their daze and they moved in a flurry of action.

"B-Bring him to the shower! Turn it on hot! Nami, if you can, please use Clima's flames near him!" Chopper demanded.

Zoro and Sanji carefully lifted Rosan out of the limp Robin's grasp and carried him over to the ship.

Nami and Usopp helped Robin up and didn't even flinch as the Devil Child sagged in their grasp.

"Please… take me to the shower as well," she requested quietly.

"Of course. I'm headed there too," Nami whispered soothingly, marching right past the still Aokiji with only some hesitation.

Robin did not even look at him. Her terror for Rosan's safety, completely overruled her fear of Kuzan and as such, she stopped registering his presence.

Kuzan watched them board the ship with a blank expression on his face and gazed back at the lone Straw Hat there. "Not gonna board?" He asked Luffy.

"Not until I'm sure you won't do anything," Luffy replied with a serious expression. "I don't know what your deal with Robin and Rosan are, but I won't let you hurt them anymore."

Kuzan gauged Luffy's words with that same expression of his before nodding. "Consider this my thanks for you all saving Alabasta. Despite what Smoker said about the Red Devil... he was rather positive about the rest of you and I do respect your Grandfather. Next time, I may not be so merciful to you."

With that, the Admiral walked right past Luffy and made his way to the opposite side of the island to retrieve his bike.

Luffy didn't move from his spot, until his Observation sensed Kuzan fully step off the island.

Only then, did the Captain of the Straw Hats allow his serious expression to melt in favor of worry for his oldest brother.

----------------------------------------

Aokiji thought back to the encounter with Iris D. Rosan and found himself contemplating it.

He was fairly sure he got a good picture on the redhead.

Abandoned by Raisa, the Red Devil was taken in by a lone woman on the island of Baterilla by the name of Portgas D. Rouge and she raised him as if she were his own mother...

But the woman had also been pregnant, around the time when the World Government had been stationed on the island, forcefully aborting mother's unborn children.

The Admiral sighed. Rouge died of childbirth and soon after, Rosan disappeared from the island before meeting up with Nico Robin.

It didn't take a genius to find out what happened.

Iris D. Rosan was a monster who had been created by the World Government's hand, no matter how unintentional. A young child, learning of his mother's death and only having one group of people to blame?

For such hate to fester over the years as well... it was no wonder the Red Devil was so cruel to the World Government... after all, there was not a single report on him hurting civilians.

"Is this your definition of justice, Admiral Aokiji? You kill her only friend in front of her, you burn her island to the ground for no reason and then you threaten to hunt her down the moment she slips up. Not only that, you have the audacity to blame my actions on her?! WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND?! NONE OF THIS HAS EVER BEEN ROBIN'S FAULT!"

"If you all just did your job instead of having such power trips, I wouldn't be such a problem!"

His definition of justice… just what was justice these days?

Perhaps he didn't know the answer to that, which was why despite running into a pirate crew with a collective bounty of 400 million, he didn't capture any of them.

After all, he was only here to test them and he guessed they passed for now.

Aokiji had been seriously contemplating killing Iris D. Rosan and sparing the rest of them. After all, he was ruthless and showed no remorse for his actions, killing both the Marine's he had encountered on East Blue and in Alabasta...

But he had done so because they were corrupt... How strange. Even if he was wrong, he had been so ruthless to Smoker because the smoke man had abandoned his post in the East Blue just to pursue the Straw Hats, when he could have been cleaning up his sea.

Rosan's head was certainly not in the wrong place... but his actions were all wrong. Corrupt Marines were certainly an issue that needed to be dealt with but the Red Devil was doing things in a way that was eerily reminiscent to Sakazuki.

He thought with someone so extreme, it was only a matter of time before he and Nico Robin did something dangerous... but the Straw Hats didn't seem to care about that at all.

That Rosan was fully intent on throwing his life away for Robin and while that was interesting, the fact that the sole survivor of Ohara seemed to reciprocate that love in equal fervor was what told him what he needed to know.

Someone so willing to throw their lives away for her... even after knowing her for 20 years, the redhead made no indication that he was aware of any of the ancient weapons locations.

Perhaps they really did just love each other.

It seems she really did manage to find her family. Just like Saul said she would...

"Do you think any 8 year old deserves what you're doing right now?! Do you think any child deserves what you think your stupid fucking definition of justice is? Don't even try to delude yourself into thinking what you're doing is justice right now. ROBIN WAS COMPLETELY INNOCENT AND YOU FUCKING MARINES RUINED HER LIFE! YOU THINK I'LL LET YOU TOUCH HER?!"

Aokiji let out another sigh as he continued riding his bike to headquarters.

That Rosan really knew how to hit people where it hurt.

He was fully intending on keeping Nico Robin safe if he had a say in it and not even an Admiral was willing to make him back down.

What a troublesome redhead.

Perhaps he made the incorrect decision sparing Iris D. Rosan... but maybe his words had left the Admiral more drained then he thought. The last time Aokiji thought so deeply about the corruption in the World Government, was when Ohara was ruthlessly destroyed.

Coincidentally, that was the same year Rosan's adoptive mother had died. Perhaps a small part of Aokiji sympathized with the redhead filled with such an overwhelming amount of love and hate.

Raisa's lineage was heavily emotional weren't they? Rosan was no exception it looked like.

Perhaps he didn't want to snuff out someone who made a valid point yet. Was it a mistake? Perhaps... but Kuzan was invested in the Red Devil now.

If Saul was allowed to be selfish, Kuzan would also be selfish, just this once.

If Rosan did something to the point of no return, Aokiji would hunt him down personally to make up for his own errors... but the enforcer of Lazy Justice hadn't been so interested in something in a long while.

Still, the next location the Straw Hats were headed to was Water 7… Cipher Pol was currently stationed there and if they encountered the Straw Hats...

Aokiji thought back to the collective power of the crew and grunted.

There was no way that was going to be silent. The Straw Hats were going to make a lot of noise if anything happened...

Should he stop Cipher Pol from doing something stupid?

...

Nah. That was too troublesome. He'd make good on his promise after the events of that place.

----------------------------------------

With the help of the hot shower and Nami utilizing Clima's flames to form a small little torch, they managed to quickly get Rosan out of his frozen state.

No one mentioned the sob of relief Robin let out, at seeing the redhead breathing.

They immediately removed him out of his soaked clothing and got the worryingly cold redhead onto a bed.

"He went into shock and is suffering from hypothermia… we just need to keep him warm until it settles down," Chopper observed worriedly, gazing at the pale redhead with sorrow.

"Let's stay docked until he recovers," Nami decided.

No one had any complaints about that.

Robin hadn't said a word, just staring at the unconscious redhead with a blank expression on her face.

"Robin."

She flinched slightly and gazed at the worried Chopper with a startled expression.

"Can you keep Rosan warm for me?" He requested, more for her sake then the redhead's.

She offered him a strained smile and nodded, watching as the doctor departed from the room to join the others (when did everyone else leave?).

Almost as soon as the door shut, she sagged into Rosan's unconscious frame and let out a shuddering sigh, feeling all the strength leave her body.

"Y-You were going to die for me," she whispered in despair. "You were fully set on dying just to keep me safe."

Why… what was so special about her that everyone was so willing to throw their lives away just so she could live?

Why?! Didn't they realize she didn't want them to die?! Why did they insist on doing this to her?

"I don't want you to die, Rosan…" she whispered, clutching his cold body like he could disappear at any moment.

Deep down, Robin knew Rosan was willing to go to any extent to keep her safe and this just confirmed her worst fears.

How could she live with herself, if Rosan threw his life away for her?

Tears began spilling from her eyes once more and she just clutched the redhead as she silently grieved.

----------------------------------------

Rosan had no idea, he suffered such a weakness to ice but the moment Aokiji's Hie Hie no Mi made contact with him, his body had almost completely shut down.

Why was his body so weak to ice? Was it truly because of Ragnarok?

...

He knew there were stronger forces than him in the world. Garp made that very clear but to see such a threat to Robin's safety in the flesh and to be able to do nothing about it…

Not only that, Aokiji knew too much about him. He knew Rouge was his mother. He knew she had died of childbirth... Yet he had the audacity to pin Rosan's actions onto Robin.

...He had been goading him. The ice man had purposely been egging Rosan on hadn't he? Why was he still alive if otherwise?

That thought filled him with such hot rage, that he shot up from his slumber. It was clear he wasn't supposed to be awake right now, because both Mod and Ram were unconscious and he felt terrible.

A set of hands steadied him almost instantly and he turned to gaze at one of the subject of his thoughts.

Robin was staring at him with a calm expression, as she carefully tended to his body.

It was the dead of night and they were located in the nursery. Rosan wasn't sure if it was naturally cold or if his body was still recovering from the after effects of being frozen solid, but he was chilly.

"You're awake," Robin said quietly. "You should be asleep for another day."

Rosan glanced at his hand with a dark expression. "My anger woke me up."

"It's always your anger with you, isn't it?"

The redhead paused at that and he gazed at Robin, anger melting off in favor of concern. "Robin…?"

"I begged you not to fight him, Rosan," Robin said eventually, calm expression making way for a genuinely angry expression. "Why didn't you listen to me?! Why don't you ever listen?!" She shouted.

Rosan flinched back, taken aback, before a frown formed on his face.

"He told me to my face that he reconsidered sparing you, Robin. Do you think I should just stand there and let him carry out his words?" he retorted incredulously.

"You let him rile you up, Rosan!" Robin said angrily, glaring at him. "You know we aren't strong enough to fight an Admiral so why would you immediately attack him?!"

The redhead had a bewildered look on his face but Robin wasn't finished.

"You never think of anything else but fighting. You only consider yourself, Rosan! We could have escaped! We could have gotten away! Merry is important... but she is a sinking ship!" Robin said, raising her voice slightly.

The simmered down anger in Rosan, nearly roared back to life and he tried his best to stifle it because he would never forgive himself if he got mad at Robin for no reason.

"Don't you even care what will happen to me if I have to see you die?" She asked quietly, losing her anger as quick as it came.

Rosan saw the defeated expression on her face and that hurt him more then anyone's anger ever did.

"Robin… He threatened to kill you," Rosan replied softly, placing his hands on her shoulders and ignoring the pain at doing that small action.

"Not only did that man contribute to your PTSD, he had the gall to stalk you for who knows how long, then say he has enough reason to hunt you down? After forcing you into this situation in the first place?"

Robin shuddered at the genuine raw anger in his tone.

Rosan pulled her into a hug. "I'm... sorry for not grabbing you all and escaping regardless but... but I made a promise to always keep you safe, Robin. How could I ever live with myself if I let him do whatever he wanted to you, simply because he was stronger than me?" he asked quietly.

Robin hated how easily the tears sprung to her eyes but she couldn't help it.

"I was so scared for you," she admitted in a near whisper, desperately clutching him. "I thought you died, Rosan. He froze you just like Saul… I thought you died just like Saul!"

Rosan's eyes narrowed in guilt and he held her tightly. "It's okay, Robin. I'm still here."

"Please don't die, Rosan," she whispered.

Rosan nodded tightly. "It's okay to cry, Robin. I'm here for you. I won't let this happen again."

She shuddered and the tears spilled as she silently cried in his chest. The events of what happened today, prove to be too much for the Devil Child and she finally broke down.

The redhead let her cry and he felt his gaze darken as he tightened his grip around Robin.

He wasn't strong enough… He needed to get stronger. Rosan needed to get as strong as possible so that he never had to reassure Robin that he wasn't going to die again.

So that she would never have to let despair drive her to tears again.

But until then, he would spend all the time in the world assuring her that he was fine.

So Rosan did just that. He whispered sweet nothings in Robin's ears as she shuddered and sobbed in a rare moment of weakness until eventually she fell asleep and he dragged her into bed so that they could rest.

When Robin was weak, Rosan would be strong for the both of them. When Rosan was weak, Robin would be strong for the both of them.

When Robin and Rosan were in harmony, they were unstoppable.

That was the dynamic of Robin and Rosan and he'd be damned if anyone tried to take that from him.