Rosan with emotions, had plenty of things that he could admit he childishly disliked. Vegetables, zombies (he finally came to terms with them not being real at around 15), being ignored... The amount of things he didn't like were numerous.

His time on Daybreak Island, only increased the amount of things he hated and turned those dislikes into something not so childish anymore.

He of course hated the World Government for everything that they had done to him and the people he loved. They had offended him too much for that to ever dissipate and he was sure when he regained his emotions, it would be stronger than ever and they would suffer as a result.

He could not stand being restrained in any capacity. If you tied the redhead up or reminded him of the time he was a prisoner in any sort of capacity, he'd go feral and become uncontrollable.

He did not like needles or being touched very much. Meiko herself had personally done her best to get rid of these fears and it worked wonders for the redhead with trust issues. It was one of the reasons he had been so fond of hugging, it actively helped him recognize that some people were not a threat to his safety.

He was sure he'd despise the virus because they went out of their way to turn him against one of the most important people in his life. Mod may have wanted to talk to them, but Rosan wouldn't even bat an eye if he needed to destroy them. It would be incredibly difficult for his Devil Fruit to get them to coexist but she didn't seem to understand that and he was in no rush to explain it to her until the day came.

But the one thing Rosan truly hated, were traitors because they signified everything that the redhead was against.

Traitors were liars and the honest boy didn't like being lied to. They said one thing and then did the other and they did it without regard of how you felt. They didn't care how much they hurt you in the process. They didn't care that they tricked you into forging a bond with them and stamped on that trust.

They just cared about themselves.

For someone like Rosan, who valued his loved ones above all else, of course traitors would be the thing that he were most vulnerable to. His overly emotional heart, couldn't handle the sting of betrayal because he always put his wholehearted trust into the people that he loved.

That's why he wrongly blamed Robin... His ire had been directed towards the fact that one of his two favorite people on the planet broke their promise and it broke him as a result.

Of course, none of that mattered now because of his current disposition and he didn't truly hate anything at the moment.

That was probably one of many reasons he hadn't killed Nami on the spot. One of the others, was that people who wronged him didn't get to die fast.

As the terrified navigator stared into his, at the moment, draconic slits, Rosan tilted his head in contemplation.

She was quivering right now and it was obvious that she was just crying. It seemed like the girl was desperately trying to find a way out of this, soon to be, terrible situation.

What a silly thing to do. No one had ever escaped him.

"I guess it's a good thing I didn't tell you about my Devil Fruit, right?" Rosan hummed quietly, never taking his eyes off of her.

Nami flinched back at his statement and finally found her words.

"R-Rosan!" She squeaked out, looking behind her and seeing the never ending ocean. Unless she wanted to take her chances with the sea (which might not actually be a bad idea considering Rosan couldn't swim), there was no way she was getting away from the redhead who she just discovered could fly.

"Nami," he replied curtly, nodding his head as greeting. "You were crying recently. Why?" The redhead asked with a tilted head.

She averted her gaze from those disturbing eyes and said, "T-That's none of your business."

During their time together, the navigator got used to staring into them, but that was before she betrayed the crew. Right now, those empty eyes didn't hold any of the familiarity she had grown fond of.

"That's fair enough. You have your secrets," the redhead replied understandingly.

Before the orange haired woman could even blink, a warm hand wrapped itself firmly around her neck and hoisted her up effortlessly until she was forcefully put face to face with that dimly glowing gaze. She tried to inhale only to go pale at realizing she was quickly losing the ability to breathe.

"I'm not sure you fully comprehend the situation we're in right now," Rosan whispered gently to the terrified navigator, refusing to loosen his grip. "You betrayed us and unlike Luffy, I have much lower tolerance for people who tried to earn my trust, only to betray me later."

Those unique irises stared straight into her brown ones without a hint of feeling in them and Nami let out a strangled yelp as she continued clawing at his hands.

"I like you Nami. I thought we had a pretty nice relationship but we are not close enough where I'd feel even remotely bad about eliminating you here," the bronze man answered truthfully, tightening his grip ever so slightly to emphasize the point he was making and making her go completely white. "Those tears of yours, are one of the few things saving you right now so tell me, for what reason are you crying, alone on this ship?"

He wouldn't kill her regardless but she didn't need to know that. Luffy was dead set on making her their navigator and even Rosan could see the immense value in her skills.

His brother would also not forgive him if he did kill her.

But if she proved to be too difficult, the redhead would just overhaul her minutely so that his rubber captain (who was very perceptive) wouldn't notice the changes.

The redhead placed her down and waited patiently for her to catch her breath.

Nami coughed a bit and looked at the tall man staring down at her. His head was tilted slightly and he was allowing his little faithful bird to rub it's cheek against his own, ignoring everything around him in favor of garnering affection from his creator. The sight would honestly be pretty adorable, if not for the fact that Rosan was utterly terrifying right now.

But... He was right to be doing this so she couldn't fault him… She did betray them and steal the ship that Rosan had put a lot of effort into securing for the crew. The fact that he was allowing her to explain herself, when she had witnessed how merciless he could be, was a small testament to the bond that the two had been forming while traveling.

Even if they argued nonstop, the two both enjoyed it and she ruthlessly stomped on it by leaving without a second thought.

She closed her eyes in resignation. "I was crying because I betrayed you guys," the navigator admitted sadly.

Rosan paused at that.

Oh...?

"I… I really liked traveling with you all and I didn't want to leave but I have to… When I finished my business, I was hoping to run into you guys, explain myself and travel together again," she informed him, glancing down at the floor.

She missed the redhead scrutinizing gaze as he digested her words.

"She's telling the truth. What will you do now?" Mod mused.

"I don't know. I never thought of this as a possibility."

"That's because you never want to see the good in people."

"…"

She was right but should she really be the one talking to him about trusting people? After all, even she held vital information from him and she was the person he was supposed to trust most in the world.

"What caused you to betray us if you didn't want to?" Rosan asked softly and his threatening aura vanished. His slits transformed back into their tiny pupils and he guided the relieved orange haired girl to the kitchen to give her a glass of water.

Nami gratefully accepted the cup and drank it down while thinking of how to best explain it to the redhead. She was glad that he was past the murdering her stage but she was still hesitant to inform him of what exactly her business was.

"Does it have something to do with Arlong?"

That sudden question, caused Nami to choke on her drink. The redhead pat her back as she began coughing erratically and she regarded the redhead with disbelief.

"H-How long have you been watching me?" She asked hesitantly. That was... she never even made mention of Arlong. How... How did he know?

"Since the moment you grabbed his bounty poster," the redhead replied immediately. "I was keeping an eye on you these past few days," he admitted.

"After my bird nearly got swept away by the tide of people, I had him rest on the ship and activated it when I heard what you did. Even if I couldn't reach you, we would have found you regardless because he was watching you the whole time."

More and more, Nami was beginning to realize, just how dangerous Rosan was and just how resourceful he could be. Not only that, he was intelligent with it too. He didn't reveal all his cards to them and that's why she felt confident in being able to get away from them.

If she knew he could fly (his teleportation was not on the Going Merry, it was apparently on Luffy), there was no way she'd have entertained the notion of taking the ship and leaving because he'd always be able to catch up.

But by not informing her of what he was capable of, she had fallen right into a trap…

She wondered just how capable the redhead was. What else was he hiding? What else could he do?

"I'm apart of Arlong's crew," Nami admitted bitterly. "He… He came to my village eight years ago and took over. He kidnapped me after seeing how well I could draw maps and we struck up a deal… If I could give him 100 million, I'd be able to buy the village back and he'd leave."

"This Arlong…" Rosan began softly. "...He took something important from you, right?"

Nami flinched at his observation, eyes wavering a bit, and he reassured her that she didn't have to tell him.

The redhead digested what she told him for a moment and then nodded his head. "So you've been a slave to Arlong since you were 10…"

Arlong had shown up to the East Blue long after he had retired Reaper. Rosan was about 16 when it happened but after glancing at the man's bounty poster, he did a bit of research using Maro and her connection to the Government.

Apparently, after the Fishman Warlord Jimbe acquired his position, he asked for a number of his allies to be pardoned from prison and among them was Arlong.

Why he would do that? Rosan didn't have a clue but Arlong made the decision to not even bother with the Grand Line and instead went for the weakest of the blue seas. It appeared that poor Nami here was a victim of that.

A fishman subjugating humans… Rosan couldn't say he was too surprised. They had been heavily prejudiced for a long time now and plenty of them were enslaved even at this moment. For one to want revenge... was anyone really expecting otherwise?

He had seen many things over the years, an outcome like this was only natural. You couldn't treat something with nonstop disdain and expect them to return it with peace.

"It must have been hard. I can't say I know what you've gone through fully, but I know what it's like to be enslaved to another person so I'm sorry for reacting the way I did," he apologized quietly.

Nami froze for two reasons. For one, Rosan actually apologized to her. She had thought he would have been a lot more unreasonable, which would have been justified, considering she betrayed them all but here he was, letting her explain herself and even apologizing as a result of her explanation.

As for the second…

"You were enslaved to someone?" She asked quietly, half expecting him to not answer such a personal question.

To her surprise, he did.

"Yes, when I was 8 going onto 9," he replied, much to her shock and horror. "He wanted me for my potential as a weapon and I was tortured for six months as a result, due to my rebellious nature and refusal to submit to him."

"So this is how you plan on showing your apologetic? By sharing information?"

"I'm not very good at showing sincerity."

Nami felt her heart drop at his admittance and looked at the redhead with a sympathetic gaze. "For s-six months? You were tortured for six months…?"

At such a young age, he was tortured every day for six... Nami wanted to throw up at the thought. Who could be so heartless?

He nodded. "It was a difficult time for me. I was rather naive and innocent before that moment but that moment in my life woke me up."

The navigator found herself nodding sympathetically at his words, gazing at that lifeless gaze of his and slightly understanding why he was like this. "How did you get free?"

"I fell into his good graces and lied about what my Devil Fruit was. After lulling them into a false sense of security, I struck and killed everyone on that island."

That was a good day. As a child, Rosan would smile whenever he thought about the terror on Doc's face at his actions. The catatonic expression as he immediately crumbled under not even a quarter of what Rosan had been dealt at his own hands.

That didn't stop him though, he made sure to thoroughly teach Doc about the monster he created.

Nami took a step back in surprise at his blunt declaration, paling at the reveal. "You… You killed everyone? At only 9?" She whispered in horror.

When he was kid? T-That was insane... How?

"That's right. They deserved it for treating me like some toy to do what they please. Months of being treated like a plaything… that man did whatever he wanted with my body. He didn't treat me like a human so I showed him that he was right."

Her eyes softened at his words and she felt a deeper kinship forming with the secretive redhead. They both went through their fair share of hell it looked like.

"You're not the monster he thinks you are, Rosan. Don't let some bastard tell you that," Nami assured, resting a hand on his shoulder.

The redhead gazed at her with a tilted head, eyes momentarily shifting to her hand. "I'm certainly a monster but maybe you're right in that I'm different from what he thinks."

"That doesn't change that I had the power of monster to free myself but you don't have that power," the redhead said softly. "Don't worry, Luffy or I can deal with the fishman and you can properly join our crew."

Nami's eyes widened in horror and she felt her heart drop. "W-What?! N-No! You guys can't come here! J-Just let me finish paying the rest of the money and then I'll be free of him! We can travel together again afterwards!"

"Or, we could just get rid of him. This seems like a more surefire and faster way, don't you think?" Rosan countered calmly.

"You'll all die! It's an entire crew of fishman." Nami urged Rosan to reconsider. "I don't want you guys to lose your lives because of me! Just… Just let me handle this! I only need a couple million more…"

Due to the fact that Rosan had reimbursed her from the 5 million Luffy left at Orange Town, it would take her no time at all to get the rest of the funds. All she needed was two million more beri and she'd be free.

Rosan hummed. "I'm coming with you then. Luffy is going to seek you out one way or the other. He's already set on you becoming his navigator and I agree with the sentiment."

He could have just given her the rest of the money but that would achieve nothing and he wanted Arlong defeated anyways.

Nami opened her mouth to protest, but closed it in defeat. At least they wanted her back... but they really couldn't come here! They'd die and she didn't want that!

"Do you have a way to hide yourself and them when we dock? I'll let you stay with my sister until I figure something out..."

The redhead nodded at her inquiry. "I have my ways."

"Good. And please, don't cause a scene while your there," the orange haired woman pleaded.

"I'm not Luffy. I don't seek trouble for fun… anymore."

Nami held her head and sighed deeply. "Sometimes, I think you and Luffy are just as bad as each other."

Rosan disagreed.

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

Luffy glanced at the invading pirates with an eager grin on his face and he began idly stretching, attracting the attention of the chefs surrounding him.

"You sure you don't need that redhead crewmate of yours?" Zeff asked gruffly. With him around, this would be a helluva lot easier. He hadn't been able to phase Mihawk but his showing was still far above what anyone else here could do.

At some point, they couldn't even see the two moving!

Having him help would end the Krieg's invasion long before it could even start.

"Nope! He probably wouldn't help anyways!" Luffy laughed cheerfully and they face planted at his honesty. "Rosan only fights when he feels like it! Everyone here is too weak and boring for him."

Zeff let out a short laugh. "That boy probably needs a good fight to motivate him and he won't find it here."

Sanji could see why Rosan thought that. He was Reaper after all and the Shinigami had hunted all manner of people over the years… Don Krieg and his entire armada would just be another day in the office for him...

He no doubt would have been useful in this battle, but the blonde had grown strong over the years, he didn't need to rely on the man anymore and he'd show it here.

The chef refused to admit that it was his admiration for Reaper that motivated him to start fighting and training in the first place.

"Go to the operation room and open up the fins," Sanji ordered one of the chefs.

"But… that'll give the enemies a foothold!" He gaped in disbelief.

"That's fine, we can't let the inside of the restaurant become a battlefield or this old geezer will start complaining," the chef smirked.

"Did you say something, you damn brat?" Zeff grunted.

"Yeah, I said you'd scream like a baby," Sanji retorted.

The roaring of the enemy pirate crew caught their attention and Luffy began jumping in excitement.

That sparring session between Rosan and Mihawk got him pumped! He needed to spar with his brother when they met up again but for now, this crew would do to work off some steam!

Grabbing onto the railing and pulling himself back, the rubber captain excitedly yelled out, "Gomu Gomu no Rocket," and soared towards the pirate crew.

"HE'S FLYING TOWARDS US!" Someone panicked but they were far too slow.

As Luffy soared through the air, he kicked out his legs in a sweeping motion and bowled over the screaming fodder.

"Gomu Gomu no Whip!"

Everyone caught by the attack, went flying into the water and the rubber boy grabbed the mast of Krieg's fallen ship so he wouldn't join them. Luffy laughed at the look of shock on the captain's face and childishly stuck his tongue out.

"YEAH, THAT CHORE BOY IS PRETTY GOOD!" One of the chefs cheered and the rest soon followed up.

"The Grand Line's crawling with guys like that, eh?" Sanji muttered, sweating a bit. It seems like Reaper had chosen quite the capable person to be his captain. That was good to know.

Not that he had any reason to be worried...

"Watch carefully how he fights, Sanji," Zeff instructed the surprised chef. "Don't take your eyes off of him until the end of the battle."

"Attacking the restaurant that fed you… Ungrateful jerk, I'll knock you to the moon!" Luffy declared, pounding his fists together as he expertly balanced himself on the broken down mast.

Krieg's response was to laugh. "HAHAHA! You plan on fighting near the water with little foothold? I know that you Devil Fruit users sink like stones in the sea, Anchor boy," he said, smiling in a superior manner.

"Yeah, but I can still stretch!" He beamed. He had plenty of tools in his arsenal that would keep him out of the water!

Their conversation halted at the sudden noise coming from the Baratie and Luffy watched in awe as a battlefield formed from the fins of the seafaring restaurant.

At the same time, the fish head of the ship detached itself from the Baratie, and revealed cannons hiding inside of it's mouth. Piloting the paddleboat, were Patty and Carne.

"What the hell is that?" Krieg muttered.

"THAT'S SO COOL!" Luffy screamed in open mouthed awe. He wanted one!

The fish shaped paddleboat (Sabagashira I) began firing indiscriminately at the pirates and they were forced to flee lest they get hit by it.

Patty and Carne then turned their attention onto Don Krieg and with a battle cry, they fired a point blank shot at the leader of the pirate armada.

Their cheering was cut short, as the momentum of the Sabagashira was suddenly halted and the two manning it looked on in confusion.

The duo's eyes bugged at the sight of Don Krieg stopping the paddleboat with just his single hand.

"I am Don Krieg, ruler of the world's seas!" The captain declared gravely.

"I told you that's gonna be me!" Luffy said, annoyance clear on his features. He was really gonna have to teach this guy a lesson!

With a roar, Krieg hoisted the boat up and launched it towards the Baratie.

"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR GAMES!"

The chefs screamed in terror at the sheer power that Krieg possessed and felt their hope dampen at the approaching missile.

"IT'S GONNA DESTROY THE RESTAURANT!"

"MOVE OUTTA THE WAY!"

"Those two had a lotta heart." Sanji puffed out smoke and regarded the flying ship coolly. Him and Zeff were the only chefs unfazed by the incoming missile and he shrugged at his coworkers.

The sous chef tensed his muscles and leapt up to reach the paddleboat before redirecting its course with a single kick, sending it flying in the opposite direction.

"With only one kick?!" Krieg gaped in disbelief at the display of strength from the mere chef.

"He's pretty good!" Luffy smiled. His chef was becoming even more impressive the longer he watched him!

"YOU SON OF A BITCH, SANJI!" Patty roared in fury.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?!" Carne asked in equal fervor.

"Yeah..." Sanji replied bluntly.

They collapsed at that.

"You really think you've got time to be cracking jokes?" A pirate from Krieg's crew asked in amusement, discarding a body of one of the chefs there.

The Krieg Pirates had made short work of the cooks there and they cockily stared at the workers.

"We're the crew of the great pirate Captain Krieg, don't think we're gonna lose to some damn cooks!"

"Be some good little cooks and find some land restaurant to cook on!"

The pirates jeered and grinned cockily.

Patty and Carne watched their coworkers get beat up with bugged eyes, not believing their eyes.

"Why are you guys losing so easily?!" Carne gaped.

"You call yourselves fighting cooks?!" Patty questioned in disbelief before the two rushed into battle.

Luffy let out an impressed whistle at the sight of the duo effortlessly dispatching the pirates that had made it onto the platform but he tilted his at watching them both get taken out by a…

What was that?!

He was a towering man, with an ensemble that included two large iron plates covering his front and backside, as well as two small plates with large pearls embedded in them.

"Wow, he looks so stupid!" Luffy whistled. The stupid man (Pearl was his name) was lucky his brother wasn't here right now, Rosan was really rude!

If Rosan was there, he would have shot the rubber boy a raised brow at the fact that he didn't seem to include himself.

(They were both incredibly ignorant at their own antics, not realizing how similar they were and causing everyone else a headache as a result)

A pirate walked over to Patty and tried to steal the beaten man's knife, only to receive a hellacious kick to the face for his efforts. The poor man went flying until he collided with three other pirates and they all collapsed in a heap from the force of smashing into Pearl's shielded body.

"A kitchen knife is a chef's soul," Sanji glared darkly at the pirates. "Don't you dare put your amateurish hands on it again, shitty pirates."

The sous chef handed the knife back to Patty and told him to lie there while he dealt with the crew. He stared at the charging pirates with a neutral expression.

"WE WON'T LOSE TO SOME MERE COOK!"

His glare darkened further and Sanji vanished from his spot, only to appear in the middle of the approaching pirates in a double handstand position. Then, he began spinning rapidly, delivering a kick to everyone surrounding him.

"GAH!"

"UGH!"

"OOF!"

"Mere cook?" Sanji repeated with a scowl. "I'll cut you bastards in 3," he promised.

"As expected of my future cook!" Luffy beamed. He was really impressing the rubber boy right now with his display!

"Beating them with only kicks? How arrogant," Pearl remarked.

"The hands of a chef are their life. I can't risk damaging them in battle. Don't worry, I'll finish you off with just my feet too," Sanji smirked and he took a drag of his smoke.

Pearl began bragging about how he had never lost a battle out of 61 fights. In all 61, he had never been harmed and because of that he was invincible. He was so invincible, that he had never shed a single drop of blood in battle.

At the same time, Krieg grew tired of looking at Luffy and brought out his chained flail. He began spinning it rapidly before calling the rubber boy's attention.

"If you don't pay attention to your opponents, Straw Hat, you'll die!" Krieg cackled, launching the weapon at the 17 year old.

Luffy sighed in annoyance as the attack connected with the mast he was holding onto and he was sent flying towards the Baratie.

He just wanted to watch the fight between his chef and the stupid shield but since this guy wanted to be annoying...

The flying teen angled himself so he didn't fall into the water and instead slammed into a cocky Pearl, knocking his face into the shield he was holding and causing blood to leak from his nose.

Everything was silent except for the sound of Sanji chuckling softly and Luffy picking himself up to dust himself off.

Pearl shakily touched the blood leaking from his nose. "What?"

The pirates began panicking.

"This isn't good…" Krieg sighed in annoyance.

"BLOOD?! OH NO!"

"IT'S OKAY PEARL! IT'S JUST A NOSEBLEED!"

"YEAH! YOU DIDN'T GET A WOUND FROM BATTLE!"

The third mate of the Krieg pirates wasn't listening though. He eyed the two before him with a shaky gaze and said, "T-t-t-these guys are dangerous!"

"He's acting weird," Sanji pointed out.

"From a bloody nose?" Luffy asked in confusion, picking his own nose in the process.

Pearl began slamming his shields together while screaming "Danger!" over and over again until the man caught fire.

Krieg sucked his teeth in annoyance. His third in command had been raised in the jungle and this was the technique he created when there were strong creatures around.

"Fire Pearl Big Bonus!" Pearl shrieked, spreading fire onto the entire platform and catching everyone unfortunate enough to be in it.

Luffy yelped at the fire and leapt a safe distance away from the burning man. If he kept burning like that, he was gonna set the whole place on fire!

The rubber boy looked at his own burning butt and proceeded to freak out.

"HOT HOT HOT!" Luffy comically screamed, running back and forth while patting out the flames.

If Rosan were here, he'd be very displeased with Luffy's antics so it was a good thing he wasn't.

Sanji's gaze darkened at the sight of the flames and he immediately launched himself at the offender. He would be damned if this random idiot, burned down this restaurant.

The people awed at Sanji's insanity, as Pearl blocked the kick with his fiery shield.

"Flaming Pearl Surprise!" The pirate yelped, throwing a punch that Sanji ducked under.

"You think I'd call myself a chef if I was afraid of some flames?" The sous chef taunted, launching another kick that connected solidly with Pearl's face, making him stumble backwards. That didn't deter Sanji whatsoever because he dipped into the man's guard and delivered two more that successfully broke his nose.

The pirate teared up at the pain and looked at Sanji as if he were the Devil himself, clutching his bleeding nose with choked sobs.

H-He was crazy! Attacking him even despite the fire? Who did that?! W-Why would he break his nose?!

He needed more fire! That's what! More, more, more and MORE!

"FIRE PEARLS!" He screeched, sending out even more fiery pearls. A group of the flying balls went sailing towards the Baratie, trajectory sending it straight into Zeff, and the chefs tried to warn him to get away.

"GET OUTTA THERE OWNER! IT'S GONNA HIT THE RESTAURANT!"

Zeff watched the oncoming projectiles with his arms crossed and ignored everyone warning him to move. With a single swipe of his wooden leg, he put out the flames using a gust of wind and the pearls fell flat on the floor.

"Even with one leg, that was nothin," The owner scoffed, looking at his shocked chef's with a derisive snort.

"You're really cool, Pops!" Luffy laughed before glancing at a Don Krieg who was preparing to attack again. The rubber boy shook his head.

No one ever wanted to fight fair these days.

"I'll get you and the fins before you can set fire to the ship!" Krieg roared, grabbing his flail again and launching it at the unsuspecting Sanji and Pearl.

Sanji's eyes widened in worry, as he realized he had to take the attack, due to the surrounding flames cutting off any hopes of escape.

Everyone's eyes bugged as Luffy burst through the fire without any hesitation and punted the flail away into yet another mast of Krieg's ship, sending it crashing.

The mast began falling forward, causing Luffy and Sanji to leap out of the way. Pearl wasn't as smart and it crashed right into his head, knocking him unconscious and stopping the idiot from causing more damage.

"What a freak…" Sanji muttered.

"He's really stupid too," Luffy remarked idly.

"All these pirates, but I have to do everything," Krieg complained with a grumble. Useless damn crew. Why did he even bother recruiting half of them if they were just gonna take up space?

"Hold it right there, Sanji."

Sanji spun around in surprise at the dull thud he heard and his eyes widened, at the sight of Gin forcing Zeff's body down with a boot, while holding a gun to his head.

"I don't want to kill him," Gin said. He demanded that Sanji get off the ship or else he would kill Zeff right here and now. The man may have been a powerful pirate in the past but after breaking his peg leg, it was child's play to muscle him down.

But surprisingly, despite the situation, Sanji refused Gin's order.

"You sure look stupid down there, damn geezer," the chef commented, making eye contact with Zeff. "You're setting a bad example for the fighting cooks like that."

The owner snorted and said, "I don't need to be lectured by some little brat."

Sanji's face instantly morphed into one of fury at his words. "Who do you think you're calling little brat, you damn bastard?!" He barked. "Quit treating me like a kid already!"

The chefs gulped nervously at Sanji's actions. Surely he wouldn't let the owner die right now? Did he want to be head chef that badly?!

"Hey, Gin. Point that gun at me instead."

Luffy looked at Sanji in surprise. "That'll kill you, you know?!"

"Maybe," an unfazed Sanji replied.

The chefs gawked at the blonde's request, unable to believe what they were hearing from the troublemaker's mouth.

Gin nervously regarded Sanji and couldn't help but wonder why he made such a demand. He didn't want to have to kill Sanji so why was he being so difficult?!

Pearl chose that moment to wake back up and he demanded that Sanji not move, else they'd blow out Zeff's brain. Then with a roar, he bashed his shield into the sous chef's head and sent him flying until he crashed into a wall.

Luffy snarled at the foul play and was about to give Pearl a royal ass whooping, but he was stopped by Sanji, causing him to regard the chef in shock.

"Why didn't you dodge?!" The rubber boy asked in disbelief. Sanji was way stronger than the shield coward so why did he just stand there and take it?

"If I did, that damn underling would have pulled the trigger," The chef gasped out. Blood was leaking from his skull and mouth as he let out a raspy breath.

"Why? If you abandon the restaurant, you'll all get to leave alive!" Gin tried reasoning with the one who saved his life.

But Sanji was steadfast in his refusal.

"This restaurant is that damn geezer's treasure!" He retorted, silencing the Krieg pirate immediately. "I took everything away from that old geezer…"

Sanji's voice became a little wobbly at the memory and he shakily began to push himself back up. The crowd listened in surprise at the confession by their fellow chef.

"...His power, his dreams… So… I don't want anything else to EVER be taken from him!"

"SANJI WATCH OUT!"

Sanji's eyes rolled to the back of his head, as Pearl slammed both his left and right hand shields against either side of his head.

Luffy had to harshly restrain himself from pulverizing the pirate right then and there. He rounded on Gin with a deep glare on his features and said, "That was a cheap shot, Gin!"

Gin didn't look good doing this but he kept his resolve. "We fight for keeps, kid!" He roared back. "You brought this on yourselves! If you'd just handed over the ship, you coulda left in peace!"

Pearl, not finished with his torment of Sanji, leapt into the air and screamed "Tarnished Silver Surprise!" before crashing into the chef headfirst.

Sanji was briefly knocked unconscious by the dive bomb and he couldn't help but think about the time he had taken everything from Zeff.

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

It had been a normal day on the Orbit for Sanji, one year after being saved by Reaper. He had been discussing the All Blue with his fellow chefs and even though they laughed at him for believing in it, he just knew it was real!

A place with fish from all corners of the sea? It was a dream come true! If his hero could believe in his ability to become a chef, then of course he'd believe in a place like the All Blue!

If he found that place… He'd definitely be able to make the best dish ever for Reaper…

But that might be a bit difficult, considering they were labeled a criminal now. What did the Shinigami who saved him, do to earn a bounty of 500 million?! It was completely insane for a first bounty and made one of his goals a lot more difficult to attain.

It had only been a few weeks since he discovered the Angel of Death had a bounty and it left him in a bit of a predicament.

Was Reaper crueler than they let on? No. That couldn't be possible… the Shinigami had literally no reason to free Sanji but they had done so just because of the boy's dream and even stepped up to stop his abusive father in the process…

Someone who believed in his dream and freed him for no cost, couldn't have been that bad. He still killed people but all of them had bounties. Maybe whatever he did, was justified...?

There was no point beating himself up about it… Maybe one day he'd be able to get an answer out of Reaper themselves… Wherever they were. There had been no sighting of them since their bounty wa revealed and they disappeared off the face of the map without a word.

The budding chef sighed. This was dumb... what if he never ran into him again? He was dead set on making his hero the best meal ever but he couldn't really do that if he didn't know how to access them...

Ugh, maybe he should have asked to travel with them. It would have been awesome to travel with the Shinigami but his desire to get far away from his father prevailed.

While Sanji was thinking about his dilemma, he noted that his fellow chefs were eating the leftover food of the customers and reprimanded them for doing so. That was disgusting! What was wrong with them?

"We're a seafaring restaurant, Sanji."

"You never know what's going to happen at sea. Don't waste nothin."

"You can tell he's a greenhorn! Here have some!"

The blonde scoffed and refused their order with a look of clear annoyance on his face. Why would he eat other people's waste? That was so gross!

As they continued to argue, the screams of the patrons they were serving, rang out throughout the ship and gave them pause.

"What's all the commotion about?!" Sanji asked in confusion.

His heart dropped, as he heard that pirates were invading them.

Worst, it was "Red-Leg Zeff" of the cook pirates, a crew who had just come back from the Grand Line…

This was bad. Really bad. Sanji had no intentions of dying here to these pirates! He glanced around for a weapon to defend himself and settled on one very large knife (Reaper used a weapon bigger then themself so he could too!).

The child immediately made his way out into the open and was soon met with the pirate crew themselves.

He had a glare of determination on his face and despite being underestimated, he began swinging the knife around with reckless abandon, only managing to briefly nick someone's hand in the process.

Hm... they should have been dead by now...

Sanji's glare deepened at the fact that hey were mocking him and his fellow chefs were trying to convince him to stop, but they were idiot cowards that already accepted their deaths.

"I AIN'T GONNA LET YOU BASTARDS KILL ME!" Sanji declared with a look of fury on his face.

No way was he gonna die here! He finally got away from his shitty lifestyle and his shitty dad, only to lose it all? He needed to find the All Blue and he still needed to thank Reaper!

"If he want's to die so badly, just kill the kid," Zeff said coldly.

"Who said I want to die?!" Sanji snarled and he raised his knife challengingly. "You're gonna kill us anyways right?! I'll kill you before you shitty pirates get me!"

A kick slammed into the boy and sent him flying into the wall, breaking it on impact with a resounding thud.

"S-SANJI!"

Witnesses that weren't the pirates, were forced to close their eyes at the brutal sight of the child being mercilessly kicked.

"Now you've gone and done it, Cap'n!"

Zeff nearly scoffed, but paused as the kid came out of the wreckage. He watched the approaching child with a neutral expression on his face.

Sanji huffed, as he crawled over to the one who kicked him and bit the man with all the force he could muster around his leg.

"I'm... not... gonna die. NOT UNTIL I FIND THE ALL BLUE!" Sanji declared with utter determination.

If only he were Reaper, the Shinigami would have been able to easily deal with these pirates! Ugh, he should have asked his savior for some tips before they separated…

He wouldn't be getting tossed around like this otherwise, or being made fun of! The pirate crew was laughing at him for declaring his dream but he didn't care. Reaper would have believed in it if he told him about it and these idiots just lacked the conviction!

Zeff stared at him, before cocking his foot back and brutally tossing him into a wall again.

Sanji gasped as the breath left his body and he hacked up a glob of blood. His breathing became raspy and he tried, and failed, to push himself up, lying spread eagle on the floor.

"Not… gonna… die… to these… shitty… pirates," Sanji huffed. Not until he found the All Blue… Not until he properly thanked Reaper. He had finally gotten away from his abusive family, there was no way he was going to die before properly experiencing his freedom.

He listened, with tears in his eyes, as the pirate crew took all the treasure and began leaving the ship. Damn it… if only he had been stronger…

His inner loathing was cut short, as a gigantic wave crashed into the ship and swept up the, now screaming, boy.

Sanji was helpless to stop the tide and he was knocked unconscious, so he was unable to see Zeff saving him.

When the boy awoke, it was on a large rock and his only other companion, had been the damn pirate who had gotten him in this situation.

Worst of all, he had given him this small little bag of food, while keeping a big one for himself! He then ordered the child to stay on one side while he would remain on the other and he wasn't allowed to visit until he spotted a ship.

Asshole...

Whatever, screw that old pirate. If he found a ship, he wouldn't tell him about it and he'd escape all on his own!

He just needed to survive with his food… it would take 5 days if he ate like a regular person so he'd split it up into 20 portions. A ship would definitely show up in 20 days.

He wouldn't die here. He just needed to be patient and help would come.

So Sanji waited. He had been tempted to eat more than one portion a day but he couldn't. He needed to survive at all costs.

One day turned into ten and ten turned into twenty.

Sanji had seen a ship on day 5, but it had been storming and they didn't hear him as a result. The boy watched in despair, as they sailed off without stopping near their rock prison.

On Day 10, he began hallucinating. The sight of Reaper flying in the sky had filled him with hope, only to realize that it was just a raven and not the one who had saved him. He was pretty sure he cried that day.

On day 25, he had been left with one moldy piece of bread left. As he bit into it, he couldn't help but tear up at how naive he'd been to waste all that food back then.

A strong breeze knocked the bread out of his hand, and the child watched in despair as his last source of food fell into the ocean below, losing hope for the rest of that day before rebounding admirably.

On day 70, he decided to check on that stupid old man.

His eyes widened in disbelief at seeing him still alive, with a massive bag of food leftover.

T-There was so much! How had he managed to save all that food?!

Eyes narrowed in determination, the boy pulled out a knife before approaching the pirate with intent to kill. Sanji quietly snuck behind him but was caught embarrisingly quick.

"What are you doing here, brat? Didn't I tell you not to come here until you find a ship?" Zeff asked calmly.

"I'm here to steal your food. I'm gonna die anyways so kill me if you want," Sanji declared with an unhinged smile on his face.

Zeff said nothing, as Sanji approached the bag with his knife and tore into it.

"To think you had all this food for yourself…" Sanji scowled. Greedy old man, how dare he give the child such a smaller portion?! The nerve of some…

Of some…

Sanji stared with disbelieving eyes at the sight of nothing but treasure spilling from the bag. The child collapsed on both knees, not quite believing the sight.

The nerve of some... people...

"Isn't it strange that we can't eat despite having money?"

The blonde looked up shakily at Zeff as a horrifying realization slowly seeped into him.

"What's the meaning of this?! W-Where's your food? H-Have you not eaten anything this whole time?!" The blonde asked, shaking Zeff rapidly.

He caught a glimpse of the man's front half and collapsed on the floor in disbelief.

"Your foot…!" Sanji gasped in horror at the sight. It was dawning onto the boy just what happened and he began tearing up. "You… YOU ATE YOUR OWN FOOT?!" He screamed in dismay.

"That's right," Zeff confirmed.

"A-AND YOU GAVE ME ALL THE FOOD TOO?!"

"Yes."

B-But why…? His career as a pirate was as good as over without his foot! Why did he do all this? What did Sanji do to deserve his kindness? Why? WHY?!

He had been thinking nothing but bad thoughts about the pirate. He even decided to kill him just now! So why was he being so kind to him?!

"Because you had the same dream as me…" The starving Zeff said truthfully and it dawned on Sanji what he was talking about.

The All Blue…

"B-But… even your men said it doesn't exist…" Sanji whispered.

"Of course it does. When the time comes, head for the Grand Line," Zeff said simply. "I've seen so much things in that sea, that I'm sure it exists but now that I've lost my crew, I don't feel like continuing as a pirate."

The former pirate closed his eyes and fell flat on his back, much to the concern of Sanji who hastily urged him to stay alive.

Zeff sighed and said, "The ocean is a brutal place… I wonder how many people die cursing the sea. I've been in a lot of tough spots where I had no food to eat and each time I thought, if only there was a restaurant in the middle of the ocean…"

"A restaurant?!" Sanji repeated in surprise.

The man nodded his head. If he got off this island alive, he'd build that restaurant if it was the last thing he did. That way, anyone who crossed its path, would never have to worry about starving again, no matter who it may be.

"I'll help you! Just please don't die," Sanji begged.

"As if a weak brat like you could help!" Zeff laughed heartily.

"THEN I'LL GET STRONG!"

On day 85, a ship finally passed by and saved the two stranded cooks.

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

Sanji began shakily standing back up, despite the unimaginable pain he was in. "That old man gave up his leg to save me, so I'll defend him with my life and pay off my debt to the geezer!" he declared through grit teeth as the memories poured through him.

"Wha?!" The chefs said in shock. Zeff had eaten his leg for Sanji's sake?! That was the first they ever heard of this and it explained why despite fighting every single day, the sous chef still refused to leave.

Who knew their bond was so deep?!

Zeff frowned deeply. He didn't want any favors from that baby eggplant. The damn idiot thought he still owed him a debt, when all he wanted was for his foolish son to be free to follow his dreams.

Pearl was surprised to see Sanji still standing after his ultimate attack but quickly regained his bravado.

Luffy glared at the pirates with a deep disdain. He wasn't even gonna mess around with the underhanded pirates after he got their hands on them. Buggy was at least lucky enough to know about Shanks but this guy was just pure scum.

Now if only he could find a way to do something without jeopardizing that old man… Ugh, Rosan was much better equipped to deal with stuff like this… maybe he shouldn't have sent his brother off so soon.

Wait a second! He just had an idea!

Luffy scowled and launched his leg high into the sky, much to the surprise of everyone there, and it stretched until his foot vanished from everyone's sight.

"WAIT YOU IDIOT! DON'T INTERFERE!" Sanji screamed at the sight of Luffy getting ready to attack.

"Gomu Gomu no Battle Axe!" He roared, slamming his foot down and demolishing the fins of the Baratie into pieces.

Everyone's jaw dropped at the force of the attack and Krieg's eyes bugged in disbelief.

"THE FINS BEEN COMPLETELY DESTROYED!"

"WITH ONE MOVE?!"

"That kid's up to something… GIN BLOW ZEFF'S BRAIN OUT!" Krieg roared. They needed to get this over with now.

Gin hesitated despite how ruthless he had been earlier. This man had still given them 100 meals for their men… he didn't want to kill him. He just wanted them to give up and leave quietly!

"Hey, I didn't touch any of you guys. I just broke the fin," Luffy commented casually, dusting himself off a bit.

"What are you thinking, chore boy?!" Sanji demanded in disbelief.

"I'm going to sink this ship."

Everyone froze for a moment, at that blunt declaration from the chore boy. Did he really just say what they thought he just said?

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

"SINK THE SHIP?!"

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" The chefs roared.

"THAT SHIP IS OURS!" The pirates joined.

Sanji grabbed Luffy by the collar and glared deeply at him. Who did this damn idiot think he was?!

"Don't you realize why I've been slaving away all this time?! You'd never understand the enormous debt I have to pay off and the way I feel about this ship!" The blonde snarled.

Luffy's gaze hardened and he slapped Sanji's hand away. "So you're just gonna die for this ship? What are you, stupid?" He retorted before grabbing the chef by his own collar.

"You think he saved your life so you could throw it away?! Getting killed is no way to repay your debt! Only a coward would do that!" The rubber boy snarled back in return.

The two continued arguing, only to be interrupted by Pearl. He began bragging about there was nothing they could do since they had a hostage.

The third mate of the Krieg Pirates began charging the two with one final attack —

Only to cough up a fountain of blood. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and his shield armor shattered at the force of the blow and he said, "G-Gin?! Why?!"

The tonfa wielding pirate glanced at the man who's armor he had casually destroyed.

Krieg gnashed his teeth in disbelief at the blatant betrayal displayed by Gin. "What do you think you're doing, Gin, battle commander of the pirate armada?"

"See, it worked! Now he's free!" Luffy beamed at his genius strategy.

"THAT WASN'T YOUR PLAN!" Sanji roared at the idiot, taking his eyes off the dumbass to stare at Gin.

"I'll send Sanji to the grave myself," Gin declared.

The two stared at each other for a long while.

Gin had just wanted Sanji to get off this ship unhurt for being the first person to show him kindness, but the chef was too stubborn. The least he could do was kill the man who had repaid him, himself.

Sanji wouldn't leave this restaurant, even if it meant risking his life. That's just how it was and that's how it would always be.

"You shouldn't have sent your redheaded crewmate away, Straw Hat," Gin called to the rubber boy, remembering the performance that Rosan had put up against Mihawk.

Gin wasn't foolish, that redhead would have slaughtered their crew if he so pleased at any point… even the Don would have stood no chance based on how he was holding up against that demon swordsman. But now that he was gone, their last hurdle had vanished.

Why he hadn't intervened when the Don had clearly attacked him? Gin wasn't sure but he counted his blessings that it hadn't come to be.

"Hm, why? I'm not gonna lose to a bunch of weaklings like you!" Luffy laughed cheerfully, much to Gin's surprise. "Even if Rosan was here, he wouldn't fight you guys, except for that stupid captain! You're way too weak!"

"So he only goes after worthy people," Krieg muttered with a superior smirk on his face. That made sense. Krieg was by far the strongest in his cre—

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Nope! He only goes after weak people when they attack him!" Luffy beamed without a care in the world. "He would just kill you!"

Everyone listening, gawked at the audacity of the rubber boy. He was… He was insulting the Don without a care in the world! What was this dudes problem?!

Krieg felt a vein throb at what the Straw Hat boy was implying. "So you think the two of you are stronger than me? Is that what you're saying?"

"Duh!" Luffy nodded without hesitation. "Rosan was right, you really are stupid!" The captain laughed.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING CHORE BOY? THAT'S DON KRIEG, LEADER OF THE PIRATE ARMADA!" Patty screamed at him. Was he trying to enrage the entire pirate crew right now? They were already struggling!

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy! Future Pirate King!" Luffy responded with a large grin.

"NOW'S NOT TIME TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF!"

Krieg felt that vein that had previously formed, throbbing even harder. "Still spouting out shit like that huh? Future Pirate King? Don't be ridiculous!" He scowled, standing up.

"You talk too much," Luffy complained. "Don't worry, I'm coming over there to kick your ass right now!"

"Gin, deal with the cook. This naive dumbass is mine."

"Understood, Don Krieg."

"Try it, shitty small fry."

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

Gin twirled his tonfa and charged after Sanji, who leaned back and responded with a kick. The second mate of the Krieg Pirates leapt back with a smug smirk and smashed down his tonfa, which was jumped over by the chef, leaving a hole in the area struck.

Sanji grunted in midair and tried to deliver a kick before Gin could recover, but the man spun his body to avoid it and slammed his tonfa down on the chef's neck, restraining him.

The pirate began spinning his tonfa, intent on smashing Sanji's head into paste with the sphere but the blonde took a puff of his cigarette and spit it in Gin's face, catching the man off guard and giving him enough time to escape his grasp.

Sanji pushed himself into a handstand and slammed one foot down directly on Gin's head, bouncing the man's skull of the floor in a spray of blood.

Gin didn't take that lying down, however. With a grunt, he tightened his grip around his tonfa and rammed the metal sphere into Sanji's rib. There was a crack in the area the attack connected and the two fell flat on the floor.

"Tch, this guy isn't all that but these injuries are really hampering me," Sanji frowned, clutching his ribs. He had taken quite the beating from Pearl before but if he hadn't, this fight would have been over quick. It was hard for him to even move without a spike of pain jolting through his body.

The Krieg Pirates began nervously glancing at the fight and began voicing their worries. Gin had taken a hit from the chef… was there a chance that he was actually gonna lose?!

"Don't underestimate my battle commander, idiots," Krieg growled. "Have you forgotten just what Gin is capable of? He's a demon who has gained my trust."

The pirates began nodding along at his words, as memories of what Gin was capable of began surging through them.

He was a demon in battle!

"There's a reason I appointed him battle commander! Just watch, soon he'll show you what he's capable of —"

Krieg's sentence was cut short, as a fist connected squarely with his cheek and sent him crashing to the ground.

"Pay attention! You shouldn't take your eyes off your enemy, weakling!" Luffy laughed, pulling his extended arm back with an easy snap. He stepped on the fallen mast that connected the fin to Krieg's location and began running over to the floored pirate.

"DON KRIEG!" The pirates yelled in shock.

The chefs looked at the clearly unhinged rubber boy and sent him their prayers. He was dead for sure.

Krieg hadn't even seen the attack coming… How dare this stupid fucking brat lay a hand on him when he wasn't paying attention!

He would teach hi —

Another rubber punch connected squarely with his face and Krieg was floored again with an "oomph".

"Man, you really are stupid," Luffy sighed with a shake of his head. It was a good thing Rosan had tortured the importance of battle into him.

"Shanks has influenced you too much and he treats battles far too lax for my liking. Before we set sail, I'm going to teach my stubborn little brother the importance of staying focused."

Without Ace there to split his attention, Rosan (and Maro!) had focused on just the younger brother.

Everyone could only watch with sympathy as the redhead drilled the way too carefree Luffy with, what may as well have been, torture and Maro had scowled at the fact that his training wasn't nearly as bad as hers (that got her a concerned glance from Makino and the bartender had made sure to talk to Rosan about it when they were alone).

Luffy had no clue how his oldest brother consistently managed to evade Makino's wrath but when he asked Maro so he could try it himself, the Dokkaebi just burst out laughing and said, "I don't think it'll ever work for you and Makino but if you do this to some other lady in the future it might! Remember, only do this if she is looking at you with a really red face like this!"

He was pretty sure Angel was not happy at all about what the Queen taught him but he had no idea why. He didn't even get to try it yet!

Rosan knew that it was Luffy's character to be this carefree, so he was satisfied with how much progress he managed to make despite that detail.

Luffy smiled fondly at the memory. Rosan was a jerk and when the rubber boy refused to listen, he would hold his food hostage until he did and refuse to feed the boy.

That was a great way to get someone as stubborn as Luffy to do something and the captain hadn't expected his oldest brother to be that ruthless (it was due to the years of being spoiled rotten by them all as the youngest).

It worked spectacularly… but Rosan was still a complete jerk for doing it every single day. He was this close to passing Ace as the meanest brother and was sure to achieve that title during their journey.

Ah, he was getting distracted! It was about time he taught this Krieg guy a real lesson! Him? Pirate King? How ridiculous!

There could only be one Pirate King and that was him!

Krieg's eyes were bugged in a barely restrained fury at the actions of the rubber boy. Twice. He had been struck twice by that damn boy. Just who the hell did he think he was?!

He would dare strike Don Krieg?!

Luffy was about to plant a sandal on Krieg's face this time (he seriously didn't learn!), but the raspy coughing of Sanji caught his attention and he hastily looked back in concern.

The chef was holding his ribs and breathing heavily, while Gin looked down on him with his tonfas covered in blood.

Despite the absolute mess of his bones, Sanji still found the energy to laugh and mock Gin, which caused the pirate to charge him again. He twirled his tonfa rapidly before swinging with a roar.

Sanji's eyes narrowed in anger and he dodged the wild blow before delivering a kick to the nape of his neck, slamming him into the deck.

"You just missed on purpose? Don't underestimate me!" The chef snarled. He didn't need the man's pity in the middle of battle. This wouldn't have even been a battle if he was healthy

But even the force of his kicks were betraying him because the pain from the recoil was too much for his broken body to handle and even the slightest movement, made the cracking of his bones heard.

He slowly turned around, at the sound of Gin pushing himself back and was unable to resist the hand grabbing his neck and forcing him down.

Gin's gaze was shadowed and he tightened his grip around his tonfa. It looked like the pirate was gearing up to finish the battle, but to the surprise of everyone there, tears began leaking from his eyes.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't kill the only person to have ever shown him kindness. Gin had been on the brink of death, starving and the only one who had responded to that, had been Sanji, the man he was about to kill.

The battle commander was a failure to Don Krieg. No matter what he did, he couldn't muster up the resolve to end Sanji's life.

So Gin tried pleading for the lives of this restaurant. Maybe he could convince the Don too —

"You pathetic… SON OF A BITCH!" Krieg roared. The pirate grabbed his shoulder pad and everyone in his crew began to panic.

"OH NO THE MH5!"

"THE STRONGEST GAS WEAPON!"

Luffy cursed. He could have clobbered Krieg long before he pulled out that weapon. It wouldn't take him long at all to get over there but the man was already gearing up to shoot it and it'd fire at about the same time Luffy knocked him out.

He needed to find safety first then he'd properly clobber that Krieg guy.

Bah, he needed to not tell Rosan that he got distracted. That wouldn't be good for him at all.

Everyone of the pirates began grabbing for their masks and Gin was about to do so too but Don Krieg swiftly shut that down.

"THROW AWAY THAT GAS MASK, GIN! You're no longer one of us!"

Gin froze at the order from Don Krieg and despite Luffy and Sanji's warnings, he threw the gas mask into the ocean.

"That man is trying to kill you! Come to your senses!" Sanji barked in concern. Was he insane? Was it worth it to follow a man like this?! Krieg didn't give a fuck about Gin and he was just fine with that?!

Luffy snarled at the way the captain was treating his crew but he had more pressing matters.

Namely, avoiding the upcoming attack.

"Deadly Poison Gas Bomb: MH5!"

A red ball shot out of the shield cannon and panic ensued.

"DIVE UNDER THE SEA!"

"GET IN THE RESTAURANT"

Luffy stretched his limbs and swiftly grabbed two gas masks off of someone's face and before a third person could go under, he quickly grabbed theirs too.

Now with 3 masks, he threw two of them over to Sanji and Gin and kept one for himself, placing it on without hesitation.

Krieg was done for after this. Luffy was tired of this nonsense and the way he treated his crew had made the rubber boy seriously annoyed. He was seriously trying to kill Gin, his own crewmember, right there and that just wouldn't slide with him.

A deafening explosion rang throughout the battlefield, as the MH5 blew up and released its gas throughout the air.

After around 5 minutes, people began resurfacing to inspect the damage done.

Luffy glanced around and paused in disbelief, at hearing the gagging noises of someone who had clearly been afflicted by the poison.

"You… idiot! Are you STUPID?!" Sanji gasped at Gin. The man actually removed his mask at the last second due to Krieg's orders and as a result, was afflicted by the full brunt of the MH5.

"So even to the end, he followed my orders. Too little too late," Krieg muttered before throwing his head back. "HAHAHAHA! Serves him right for allowing something stupid like compassion to rule him! He's of no use to me anymore. That idiot deserves to die."

"Don... Krieg?!" Gin gasped desperately, before throwing up a river of blood and clutching his chest. Everything hurt. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. It hurt to thin —

He spat out another glob of blood and collapsed.

"QUICK, GET THE ANTIDOTE!" Sanji demanded, steadying Gin and placing the gas mask on his face.

Under Zeff's instructions, they took him to the upper deck and made him take deep breaths.

Luffy glared darkly at Krieg and began marching over to the laughing captain. Sentencing your own crew to death? Laughing about it? Telling them to die?

He wasn't going to mess around like he did with Buggy and Kuro.

Luffy was going to pulverize this idiot.

"Wait, Chore Boy! Krieg's paying attention now so if you just run at him, you'll die!" Sanji tried to stop Luffy by grabbing onto his arms but the rubber boy just batted it away.

"I won't die."

He'd never die to someone like this.

With that, the rubber boy was off.

Krieg's eyes widened at his speed, before he hastily pulled out some bombs and tossed them into the water. A massive burst of water erupted at the explosion, but Luffy ran through unimpeded and the Don pulled out his Needle Machine Gun.

The rubber boy ducked and weaved between them, managing to evade every single one and leapt high into the air before stretching his arms back.

"Gomu Gomu no…"

Krieg pulled out his Porcupine Cape to block the incoming blow, nervous at how agile the rubber boy was. Straw Hat was stronger than he had expected and completely reckless to boot! He was determined to get a hit in no matter what so the Don would make him pay for it.

"HIT ME IF YOU CAN!" Krieg roared, convinced that the rubber boy wouldn't follow through with his attack.

"BULLET!" Luffy roared.

The Don's eyes bugged, before rolling to the back of his head, at the fist connecting through his shield. He was sent flying at the force of the blow and nearly fell into the ocean before stopping.

"H-HE'S CRAZY!" A pirate screamed, looking at the blood leaking from Luffy's fist. The rubber boy didn't even seem to notice it as he glared hard at Krieg.

"What kind of person…?" Sanji muttered. Was this why Reaper chose to follow him?! The rubber boy clearly had no regards for his life and for someone like Reaper, who also had no regards for people's lives, this guy must have been super interesting!

"Do you want to know why the redhead chose to follow him, Sanji?" Zeff asked knowingly, much to his shock. "Because of his resolve. That kid wants to become the Pirate King and he won't stop fighting until he achieves his dreams, or dies. The redhead fully believes in his goal and probably wants to see what that fool can do!"

"Such a strong resolve does not deserve to be stifled and killed here."

Sanji shuddered at the memory and focused on Luffy even harder.

The resolve to fight to the death until achieving your dreams… Was this guy just like him? Is that why Reaper acknowledged him...? Did that mean he acknowledged Sanji too... Would he readily accept him?

Zeff grinned knowingly at his son.

"All those cheap tricks aren't gonna save you from the ass kicking you're about to get!" Luffy grinned. "I ain't dying here to someone like you."

Krieg tried to push himself up but stumbled and collapsed again before he managed to catch his own fall. With a herculean effort, he got up and coughed harshly —

Only to be floored again by a kick to the face that left a red imprint on him.

"Gomu Gomu no Stamp!"

Everyone watched in disbelief at the sight of Krieg being manhandled and they looked at the one doing it in clear surprise.

This scrawny little kid? Who knew he could be so ruthless! Who knew he could be so strong?!

Well, it made sense… he was the one leading that terrifying redhead and Pirate Hunter Zoro in his crew… Maybe they chose to follow him for a reason...

Luffy's leg snapped back into place and he stared curiously at Krieg's fallen form. Rosan told him to always press the advantage in a battle and to never underestimate a foe until they were completely defeated...

This guy was really weak though… did that apply to him? All he had going for him, was the stupid amount of weapons he used.

But Luffy was used to dealing with all sorts of weapons. That was kind of Rosan's fighting style after all… and he fought his brother almost everyday for 10 years...

He even had an answer for the armor! There was a reason Rosan didn't like wearing metals (besides having the infinitely more useful Raid Suit).

Krieg had no idea how such a scrawny little brat could hit so hard. Twice now, he had to stop himself from blacking out completely from the force of his blows and it was getting embarrassing.

It was ridiculous! Don Krieg couldn't lose to some no name!

"Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!"

The leader of the armada began to gag as the force of the blow caved his invincible armor into his chest, cutting off his breathing and turning him blue.

The rubber boy laughed at the look on his face. That was why Rosan didn't wear armor! It was so easy to deal with!

Just look!

"Gomu Gomu no…" Luffy began, cocking his fists back in preparation.

The Don looked up in fear, unable to move in time to dodge the oncoming attack.

"GATLING!" The rubber boy roared, punching Krieg's armor over and over again until it began to split under his assault. Cracks began to appear in the Don's "invincible" armor before it fully crumbled from his might.

Krieg himself, despite having his armor to protect him, was still being battered senseless by the merciless attack and could only take it with disbelief.

Who... Who the fuck was this?! Where did this random no name come from? W-Was this some type of JOKE?!

"Monster…" The pirates gaped in fear. Krieg didn't stand a chance! The rubber boy was just tossing him around without an issue?!

"Woah! You can take a beating!" Luffy called in surprise, leaping back as Don Krieg tossed a shuriken bomb at him mid assault. He managed to avoid getting struck by them but Krieg took the opportunity to hastily pull himself back up before the rubber boy could continue his relentless onslaught.

With a roar, the armor-less man removed his shoulder pads and combined them together before activating the internal device.

Luffy watched curiously, as a shaft formed for Krieg to grab onto and a blade popped out, forming a spear.

The Don let out another roar and slammed his Battle Spear downward, causing an explosion that forced Luffy to jump away from it.

"Oh! It explodes whenever he strikes down!" Luffy exclaimed, before a sneaky grin made its way onto his face.

"Behold the ultimate Battle Spear!" Krieg howled, fury at being treated like this mounting until it boiled over. "I'LL BLOW YOU TO PIECES!"

Without hesitation, the Don slammed his Spear on the tiny platform the two were standing on and Luffy kicked his legs hard to fly towards another one.

"That spear really is amazing," a pirate commented.

"Yea. The stronger that big spear is struck down, the bigger the explosion!"

Luffy's mischievous grin grew wider. The rubber boy landed neatly on the same platform Zoro and Mihawk fought on before leaping back again, as Krieg followed him.

This persisted for a few minutes, Luffy dodging Krieg's attacks and the Don getting more and more annoyed at the cheeky grin on his face.

The moment Luffy was waiting for soon showed itself, as the Don swung too hard downward and took longer than normal to pick his weapon back up.

The insane rubber boy ran right through the explosion, heedless of the damage he just took and planted a sandal on Krieg's face, pushing him back, and grabbing his massive battle spear right out of his hand in the process.

The straw hat wearing boy laughed triumphantly, while Krieg's eyes bugged in fury.

"G-GIVE THAT BACK!" He demanded like a child, watching the rubber boy wave around his weapon (with startling ease) like a newborn child who had just received a new toy.

"Nope! It's mine now!" Luffy beamed, much to his rage.

His ultimate weapon… being treated like a TOY? By some cheeky little brat?!

That was the final straw for Krieg and he charged Luffy with the intent to kill. He would use his bare hands if he needed too.

STRAW HAT DIED HERE!

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed merrily at the enraged pirate. "You rely too much on cheap tricks and that armor and you couldn't even beat me! Weakling!"

Luffy jumped over the charging Krieg and effortlessly whirled in midair (the onlookers had to wonder how he was maneuvering in the air so easily), launching the arm holding the Don's spear back and grinning victoriously.

"Time to use my new weapon! Gomu Gomu no…"

"BATTLE SPEAR!"

Krieg's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he spat out a river of blood, as a fist connected to his stomach. The momentum of the blow nearly turned him inside out and he collapsed in defeat.

The pirate crew watched in varying degrees of disbelief, as Don Krieg lay there, unconscious to the world. It took them a while to register what happened, but when they did, chaos ensued.

"THAT WAS JUST A PUNCH! YOU DIDN'T EVEN USE THE BATTLE SPEAR!"

"KRIEG'S BEEN DEFEATED?"

"THE DON LOST TO SOME RANDOM KID?"

"HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!"

"IT WASN'T EVEN CLOSE?!"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

The chefs were in equal levels of disbelief. That straw hat wearing kid wasn't joking around! He really didn't need that redhead to beat them!

He made that look easy! There was only a few injuries on his body but he looked like he was still raring to go!

"I never thought I'd see the Don lose…" Gin muttered. He thought the man was the strongest! To see him defeated so decisively… he couldn't believe it! There really were bigger monsters out there and the Straw Hats had two of them!

Sanji looked at the rubber boy with wonder in his eyes. So this was the man who Reaper chose to follow… A man with no fear in his eyes, that would fight until he achieved his dream, or died.

That… was kind of admirable.

"If that Krieg claims his ragtag feel is military might… and his weapons are military might, then that kid's grit is also military might. That's why the redhead follows him," Zeff said knowingly, smiling at the awed gaze of Sanji.

Luffy landed upright on the battlefield and looked at the spear with a dissatisfied look on his face. "Why didn't it explode? What a stupid weapon!" He exclaimed, tempted to throw it away.

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T USE IT AT ALL! YOU JUST PUNCHED HIM!" Everyone roared and the rubber boy scratched his head.

"Oh, I'll just give it to Rosan then!" He beamed, walking over to pick his straw hat up and placing it neatly on his head. His brother might appreciate such a gift! Ram was always talking about eating weapons and Luffy, as a fellow enjoyer of eating, figured she'd appreciate this!

They sweatdropped at the unhinged rubber boy before the tension released and they began cheering.

"WE WON!"

"NICE ONE CHORE BOY!"

"SO STRONG!"

Luffy laughed cheerfully. "So I'm free to go now, right old man?"

"A deal's a deal," Zeff nodded and the rubber boy beamed.

"I'M THE STRONGEST!" A voice roared in delirium.

Everyone watched as Krieg, who's eyes were still in the back of his head, began spouting out nonsense.

"NO ONE DEFEATS MY FORCE! I WIN! I WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN!"

Luffy whistled at the man losing his mind. "Maaaan, he really doesn't know when to quit!"

"WE COULD SAY THE SAME TO YOU!"

The surrounding pirates tried to stop Krieg but the unconscious man was unrelenting and batted them aside with no effort at all.

Luffy was about to step in and finish this for sure, but to the surprise of everyone there, Gin showed up and simply punched Krieg in the stomach, stopping his rampage.

"Don Krieg… We lost," Gin said bluntly, throwing the taller man over his shoulder. "Let's withdraw gracefully and start again from zero."

"Thank you for your kindness, Sanji."

"...Sure. Don't come back."

"Straw hat… I'll see you again in the Grand Line," Gin said.

"Yeah!" Luffy grinned.

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

After some words from Gin (along with concern for seeing him throw up even more blood), Sanji had ordered Patty and Carne to get a boat for the crew and they sailed off.

"Shouldn't you be going too?" Sanji asked the straw hat wearing boy curiously.

"You haven't fully healed so we can't go yet!" Luffy said like it were the most obvious thing in the world. With the help of some chefs, he managed to tie the battle spear on his back.

Rosan better appreciate his gift! It wasn't light!

"Who said I was going with you?!" Sanji barked in annoyance. He couldn't become a pirate until that damn old man acknowledged his skills. Until that day, he'd stay at the Baratie and continue to hone his craft.

Besides, after what happened with the Krieg pirates, Sanji couldn't rely on those half rate cooks to defend his restaurant. Even... Even if Reaper was right there and he was letting him slip out of his grasp... Probably to never see him again...

"Fine, I understand. I'll give up," Luffy nodded understandingly.

"Your... hand... didn't!" Sanji growled at the rubber boy gripping his collar.

The chef sighed and looked out at the sea. He did want to go to the Grand Line one day but that would have to wait for now.

He didn't think he'd ever get the chance to travel with the Shinigami though... but... Maybe that was just a childish wish of his.

"Hey, have you ever heard of the All Blue?" Sanji suddenly asked Luffy, who tilted his head in confusion.

"Nope," The rubber boy replied bluntly.

The blonde grinned and began describing the wondrous sea to the rubber boy.

Zeff watched with a fond look in his eyes, as Sanji talked about the All Blue with the one trying to recruit him.

That fool still looked as happy as ever when talking about his dream.

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

Sanji found it a little rude that there were no seats for him and Luffy when dinner time came around but he could roll with that. It's not like there was much you could do when there were no seats available.

He could also roll with the fact that his fellow workers were acting strange. They were normally strange and he was used to seeing them act in such a way so it was no big deal.

All thoughts about rolling with anything flew out the window, as Patty slammed a plate full of the soup that he prepared this morning. Soup that he was very confident was some of his best work yet (not enough to feed to Reaper but still! It was very good).

To make matters worse, not a single chef disagreed with Patty's sentiment that his dish tasted awful. All of them had thrown their dishes to the floor in disgust and the final nail in the coffin was Zeff following suit and doing the same thing.

What the hell had gotten into them?! Had Krieg done lasting damage to their skulls?

"How is this soup different from yours?! Tell me!" Sanji demanded, jostling Zeff by his collar.

"From my soup?" Zeff sneered.

To the surprise of everyone there, the owner actually punched Sanji to the floor. He never punched anyone, content to kick them. A chef's hands were most important when it came to cooking and Sanji and Zeff took that very seriously.

"Don't flatter yourself, little eggplant. You'll never be able to cook like me! I've cooked on all the oceans of the world!"

Sanji held his cheek with a scowl and hesitantly stood up, before bolting from the room with a "Damn it!"

The door slammed harshly from his exit and Luffy took a sip of the soup.

"Huh? This soup is really good!"

"We know," Zeff said and every other chef nodded in agreement. "Every single chef here acknowledges Sanji's cooking but he won't listen unless we do something like this."

"Hey kid, you were saying you needed a chef for your crew, right? Will you take that little eggplant with you?" The owner asked the rubber boy. "One of his dreams is in the Grand Line and the other is to cook a meal for someone who probably won't show up here."

Sanji listened to this all with a look of surprise. The old man knew he wanted to cook a meal for Reaper? He never spoke to him about it so how did he know...? Was he really that obvious?

Those jerks… they pretended to hate his cooking so that they could chase him off? What the hell was wrong with them…

"No way!" Luffy said, taking a bite out of his food and smiling happily at the taste.

Everyone dropped in surprise at his refusal and even Zeff's eyes went wide in confusion.

"Why? You need a chef right? Is he not good enough for you?"

Luffy shrugged. "He's good enough and I do want him to come with me. But he needs to decide that on his own! He wants to continue working here as a cook so he can't come with me."

Zeff rubbed his long mustache in contemplation. "That makes sense, but who knows if that twisted brat will ever agree…"

"He won't cuz he's an idiot through and through!"

Sanji let out a puff of smoke and looked to the sky.

Maybe…

His musing was cut short at the sound of a fast approaching figure and screaming. Sanji could only watch with wide eyes, as a Panda-Shark burst through the water with a man in its mouth and crashed into him.

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"A FISHMAN?"

"Yosaku?!" Luffy called in confusion. Was he secretly a panda this entire time? THAT WAS SO COOL!

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

After getting the bounty hunter situated, Yosaku explained the situation to Luffy.

Based on the general direction of where the ship was headed, Nami was going to a very dangerous location and they desperately needed Luffy's help.

The captain nodded before a thought occurred to him. "Wait, where's Rosan? He doesn't need my help!"

His redheaded brother would interfere if he had to and there was no way his strength wasn't enough. Why did they need Luffy so badly when his scout was right there?

"Eh?" Yosaku blinked, glancing around in confusion. "Rosan's not with you...? The last time we saw him, was when he got attacked by Mihawk…"

Luffy blinked in confusion. He sent Rosan off after Mihawk caused that huge water explosion! He even remembered his brother saying, "I'm off to find Nami now," so where was he—

An uncharacteristic look of horror crossed the rubber boy's features and he held his head with both hands.

"AHHHH! OH NO! ROSAN'S GONNA KILL NAMI!" The rubber boy screeched, causing everyone to jump in surprise at the volume.

"WHAT?!" Sanji roared. That beautiful angel? Reaper was gonna kill her?! Why?! WHY WOULD HE DO THAT?!

"We have to go! Rosan hates traitors!" Luffy panicked, already getting ready to leave the restaurant without a second thought.

If he killed their navigator, Luffy was gonna be so mad at him. She was the only one he wanted so his brother better not! Ahhhh a boat wouldn't be fast enough! Maybe he should—

"B-But how did he pass us when he was with you?!" Yosaku asked in confusion, interrupting the rubber boy's musing. They hadn't seen another boat or anything!

"Rosan can fly! He's really, really, really fast!" Luffy replied without hesitation, forgetting the fact that Rosan would surely plunge his head in the ocean if he found out that his little brother was revealing information about him.

"WHAT?!" The crowd roared in surprise. He could fly?! He didn't do that even once against Mihawk!

You were telling them that redhead could do even more?! What the fuck?!

As Luffy rushed past Sanji, the chef came to a decision.

"Wait!" Sanji said and the panicking rubber boy paused for a moment. "Take me with you. We both have foolish dreams so I'll follow you on your journey to become King of Pirates."

He also needed to make sure that orange haired angel didn't die to the corrupted angel that happened to be his hero.

Despite being alarmed just a few seconds ago, Luffy broke out into a wide grin and began cheering. "HOORAY!"

Yosaku and Luffy began dancing at the news and Sanji couldn't help but smile himself.

"So that's how it is, sorry for causing you all trouble," the sous chef said.

His old coworkers tried to act tough, but that went out the window at being told that Sanji had heard everything.

"Didn't realize you wanted me gone so bad, shitty geezer."

"Yeah, that's right. I don't like kids in the first place. Not a day goes by that I don't regret saving your worthless life," Zeff commented gruffly.

Sanji sneered at the head chef. "Oh yeah? Fine then. Enjoy the rest of your life, damn geezer."

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

After Sanji finished packing (and reminiscing), he finally exited the restaurant and slowly but surely made his way over to his new captain.

He didn't even have to look behind him, as Patty and Carne burst from wherever they were hiding to deliver revenge on him. Without any hesitation, he dodged their wild blows and took them out with one kick each.

"They never stood a chance…" the chefs mused fondly.

He didn't glance at a single chef, as he walked past them. He didn't need to say goodbye to them. They already understood.

"Sanji," a voice called and the blonde froze.

"Don't catch cold," Zeff smiled.

It was as if all the waterworks Sanji stubbornly held back, broke through at those words.

"CHEF ZEFF!" Sanji roared with tears in his eyes. The blonde turned around and kneeled until his head hit the floor.

"THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE FOR ME! I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU… FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!"

Luffy smiled fondly as everyone's resistances broke and the other chefs began crying in tandem.

"I'M GONNA MISS YOU, YOU ASSHOLE!" Patty sobbed.

"I'LL MISS YOU TOO!" Carne weeped.

"WE'RE ALL GONNA MISS YOU!"

Zeff tried to wipe the tears out of his eyes and failed, before saying with a smile, "You sentimental fools! Men should part without words!"

He was going to miss his foolish son.

"I'LL SEE YOU ALL AGAIN!" Sanji promised, waving his arms and the boat began to sail away.

Zeff stared fondly at him. As long as he had the drive to follow through with his dream, he'd find all the things he was looking for.

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

"Big Bro… why do you have that spear on your back?" A teary eyed Yosaku asked. The departing scene was so touching! He had no choice but to cry!

Luffy glanced back at the spear he had stolen from Krieg. "I'm gonna give this to Rosan!" He replied cheerfully. His brother was the weapon's expert, not him. He'd know what to do with it.

Sanji was starkly reminded of the scout of his new pirate crew. The scout who he was 100% sure was the Angel of Death who randomly chose to save him all those years ago simply because he had the resolve to keep his dream.

He had so much questions for him… And he wanted to show the man how much he had grown too.

"Luffy, could you tell me more about Rosan?" Sanji asked suddenly. "How did you two meet?"

"Rosan was my first friend!" Luffy beamed fondly at the memory. "He's nice but also really mean and he's really good at a lot of things, but he can be too serious but he's not too serious anymore. He's my third nicest brother!"

Ace was the meanest, Demon was the nicest followed by Sabo.

"B-BROTHER?!" Sanji gawked. Is that why he chose to follow the rubber boy? They were brothers?! Reaper had family?!

Ugh, Luffy explaining stuff was way too confusing for him. He could already feel the headache forming.

He'd just wait and ask the one who saved him all those years ago.

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

Rosan sneezed quietly and immediately scanned his own body, tilting his head at the fact that there seemed to be nothing wrong with him.

Huh, weird. What was it that they used to say about sneezing... Someone was talking about him?

"Do you actually believe that?" Mod questioned.

"No way! Father gets talked about all the time and he hardly ever sneezes!" Ram disagreed.

Rosan shrugged. Perhaps there was something in the air.

"That might have been the quietest sneeze I've ever heard," Nami commented idly, watching the redhead with a curious gaze. He was currently repairing a bloodied silver shirt of his and she winced sympathetically.

That stain was going to be hard to get rid of. What happened? He was wearing that shirt just today!

"I am not fond of being unnecessarily loud," the redhead replied before glancing back at their navigator.

"So after all this is over, you'll be joining us again?" He asked curiously. The navigator did say she hated pirates but the bond she formed with the straw hats seemed quite real.

"If… If you guys allow me," Nami admitted quietly. "I really like you guys and have never had more fun traveling with a group of people. It... It feels like I found a new home."

Rosan hummed at her statement. He was the least lenient, followed by Zoro but if he vouched for Nami, the swordsman would forgive her.

Zoro trusted both him and Luffy.

"Are you sure you don't want me to eliminate Arlong and his crew?"

It would be easy and Nami would be free to join them afterwards without having to pay the man that money. Rosan refused to offer her the rest of the money because quite frankly, he wanted to eliminate the crew regardless and knowing Arlong, he'd find a way to continue to subjugate their navigator regardless of if she payed him or not.

It was up to her to pull the trigger but Rosan wouldn't give her the easy way out. She needed to understand that it was fine to trust others strength.

"No!" Nami denied strongly, a look of fear momentarily passing her features. "Please, I don't want to see you guys get hurt… Please just let me finish my deal with him."

She was scared for him. How touching. Nami really thought Arlong could kill him. He wondered how much of that was her fear of the man and how much was her doubt in his ability.

Didn't he tell them? No bounty in the East Blue could defeat him and a crew of Fishman was no different.

Maybe Rosan would show her a little of what he was capable of. Her fear was genuine and it showed that she actually cared for them so maybe... maybe he'd put some trust in her.

"Remember when you asked me what my Devil Fruit was?" Rosan asked Nami out of the blue. "I'll tell you about it, follow me."

The navigator's eyes went wide and she stared at the back of the bronze man in disbelief. H-He trusted her enough to tell her? Even after what she did? Seriously...?

That... That was so damn sweet!

"You're going to have her meet me?" Mod asked in surprise. She didn't have a problem with it. On the contrary, she believed that Rosan should have introduced all of his crewmates to her by now and was overjoyed that he chose to do this on his own accord.

His overprotectiveness of her was getting in the way of his ability to form genuine bonds quicker.

"Yes. She's trustworthy."

They made their way to a comfortable location and Rosan made sure his bird was keeping an eye on the surrounding area in case something happened and he needed to wake up quickly.

"You might want to get comfortable," Rosan advised the girl behind him. He sat on a bed (those hammocks were way too uncomfortable) and patted the seat next to him.

Nami raised a brow at the tall redhead and couldn't help her quip. "Not very subtle of you, Rosan. I thought I wasn't your type?"

"Don't flatter yourself. Way too many people are attracted to me for me to be flustered by your teasing," the redhead replied blandly. "You're pretty but I'm not interested. Now sit."

She felt a tick mark forming like it always did when they traded barbs with each other. "I could say the same thing to you!" Nami growled, taking a seat next to the annoying redhead and crossing her arms in contempt.

"Whatever helps you sleep better at night. If lying makes you happy, I won't dissuade you from it."

"For a guy with no emotions, you sure are arrogant."

"There are key differences that separate arrogance and confidence."

Rosan grabbed the girl's hand and said, "Modification, Link: Nami – Rosan."

Nami was ready to fire back a reply but she shut her eyes instead at the sudden dizziness and promptly fell asleep.

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

When she opened her eyes, Nami was greeted to a lot of ice and snow and the temperature drop slammed into her without remorse.

Before she could complain about the weather, an orange jacket materialized itself over her body and alerted her to another, much warmer, presence.

"W-Where are we?" Nami asked Rosan in confusion, instinctively getting closer to him due to his comforting warmth. He was woefully underdressed right now but it didn't seem to bother him one bit...

Honestly, what a monster.

"My mindscape. It's a mental representation of my psyche and we're currently asleep in the real world while we're here."

So that explained why it was so cold… This was basically how Rosan's mental state looked—

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Nami's eyes bugged in disbelief, following after the 24 year old in confusion.

"Where are you confused? I explained perfectly," Rosan stated calmly. "I brought you to my mindscape with my Devil Fruit."

"Y-Your Devil Fruit? Mindscape?" Nami stammered in confusion. Just what was going on right now? Who was Portgas D. Rosan?!

"That's right," A feminine voice called out and Nami's gaze snapped towards the source.

Long purple hair draped a gorgeous bronze face and striking red eyes gazed warmly at her, filling Nami with a feeling akin to that of a mother's warmth. Despite appearing to be near her and Rosan in age, there was a wisdom behind her that gave her an older aura.

"FATHER!" A voice cheered and a silver figured leapt at the redhead without any hesitation, startling Nami. The woman crashed into the unmoving Rosan and began rubbing her cheek on his own.

"Ram, you do this every time I enter the mindscape. Don't you ever get tired of it?" Rosan asked softly, rubbing her back and getting a purr out of the woman.

"Nope!" She beamed shamelessly.

This one was tall and just as gorgeous with silver hair, that was streaked in purple, and the strangest set of purple and red eyes she'd seen yet. Despite looking near the same age as them all, she had a rather childish aura about her that made Nami think she was the youngest one of the three.

Her attention was grabbed by the purple haired woman who could probably pass off as Rosan's younger sister, tapping her shoulder gently.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person, Nami." The purple haired woman expertly ignored the hyperactive girl, in favor of introducing herself to Nami. "I'm Modification, but you can call me Mod. I'm Rosan's Devil Fruit."

The navigator's eyes went wide at her introduction. "You're his devil fruit?!"

How did that work? This super pretty lady was Rosan's ability? Did Luffy also have a person like that...? Bah, this was so weird to think about...

"She's also my sister/mother," Rosan interjected, getting a bright blush out of the crimson eyed woman. "This is Ram, the amethyst ring you see me wear constantly."

"Sup," Ram waved with one hand, still clinging onto Rosan without a care in the world. She idly began messing with his bun while poking his cheek and he accepted it all with that same neutral expression of his.

It was actually quite the funny sight and Nami dearly wanted to tease him if not for her confusion.

She came to a startling realization gazing at the three. Just how much did she know about the Devil Fruit user standing before her? As she was escorted to their hot pink home, to conversate with the trio, she learned alot about the mysterious Rosan and realized she knew almost nothing.

"So all three of you inhabit Rosan's body?" Nami asked incredulously. That was crazy! She wouldn't be sure how she felt if she no longer had any privacy whatsoever, especially if two of the three inhabitants were the opposite gender to her.

"That's right. I've been here since Rosan was four and Ram has been here since he was twelve," Mod explained and the orange haired girl's eyes widened in realization.

"You're the reason he was able to fight pirates at only four years old!" Nami exclaimed. That was insane! How strong was she to be able to have a four year old beat up grown men!

Learning about Modification, put it into perspective why Rosan wanted to trust her first before divulging into his fruit.

"You're a lot smarter then our other dear crew," Mod sighed happily. It felt good to not have to explain every little detail to someone and for them to notice key things on their own. Rosan was very quick on the uptake of things but Luffy... not so much.

Nami smiled happily and found herself enjoying the company of another female companion.

Ram didn't seem very interested in her and outright claimed that she only really cared about her Father (Rosan had not elaborated much on why she called him that) and Mod. But despite the clear insanity (that was pretty similar to the Rosan they met on Usopp's island) she was quite pleasant… as long as Rosan was keeping her satisfied.

Mod on the other hand, was a joy to be around. She was intelligent, kind and didn't have a snide remark ready for literally everything she said like someone she knew.

It was hard to miss how close her and Rosan were. They seemed to be able to communicate on eye contact alone, never moved far from each other and even finished each other's train of thoughts!

It was honestly pretty adorable. If they didn't claim to be mother and son, Nami would have thought they were a couple. They looked fairly similar but they had a lot of differences!

"Mod-chan and I have been through everything together. She's provided me the love of a mother that I desperately needed," Rosan said softly, idly pulling the shorter woman into a tender hug and stroking her purple hair.

Despite their ups and downs, she was still his Mod-chan and that wouldn't change.

"Ever since he was four, we've had each other's back," Mod sighed fondly, sinking into his embrace with a pleased smile. "I love this boy more than I love myself honestly; I'll do anything for him and vice versa."

Nami watched the mother and son duo with soft eyes and a slight smile. There was a tinge of bitterness there but she wasn't going to ever blame them for something they had nothing to do with.

"I understand why you wanted to keep your fruit a secret now… I'm glad you trust me despite everything!" Nami couldn't help but say.

"Consider it an apology for trying to choke you out," Rosan muttered and Ram chuckled at the memory. "Trust me when I say, we'll get you out of this situation. You're our navigator after all."

The navigator felt tears welling in her eyes at his statement and she nodded resolutely. "I almost have enough so soon I'll be free. Stay low and don't attract attention, please."

"That's impossible with my appearance," Rosan hummed and Nami saw Mod scowl deeply. She honestly didn't think the motherly woman was capable of making such a face and she almost snorted as she realized this must have been one of the reasons the redhead rejected every advance on his person.

"Stupid damn woman always wanting to put their hands on you. Why can't they just leave my little boy alone?" she growled.

"I can't believe you're still so mad that Father's hot, Auntie," Ram cackled. "I thought the numerous amount of flings he's had would have hardened you by noOW!"

The silver haired woman couldn't even finish her sentence due to the fact that Mod was mauling her cheeks with those perfectly manicured nails.

"Owww, please Auntie, I'm sowwy!" The ring whined, trying and failing to escape. "T-This is abuse! Father, help me! You can't let her get away with this! She's letting the power get to her head!"

"If Rosan stops me then he'll have to pay the price too! When it comes to discipline, I am Queen!"

"YOU'RE A TYRANT!"

"I'M A WHAT?!"

Rosan effortlessly ignored the two, closing his eyes to lie back and Nami began laughing in earnest.

They were all so interesting! She really liked them!

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

"So this is your island?"

Nami nodded in trepidation, worry on her face as she gazed at the redhead. "Remember, no attracting attention."

"You only told me a dozen times," Rosan countered quietly, patting her head in reassurance and getting it slapped away in the process. "You know, I've already fought and defeated a fishman before."

Nami's eyes snapped towards him at the revelation. "Y-You have?!"

"Yeah, when I was 9, I fought a fishman named Kenzo in a tournament and I killed him. The fight would have probably gone differently if there was water, but now I'm much older so even with a source water it would be easy."

Nami changed her mind, Rosan was seriously a monster. To hear that he killed a fishman at only 9 years old, filled her with a boundless curiosity and terror at his strength.

Could he… could he actually defeat all the fishman here? Surely that was not possible…

No, it couldn't be. She wouldn't put him in any unnecessary danger. She didn't want to be wrong in her assumption and lose another person as a result...

Also that Fishman's name… it sounded familiar… Where had Nami heard it before?

"Where do you want me to go?"

"Right there." Nami instructed him that her village was nearest to Arlong Park and to look for a house with a tangerine garden near it. Afterwards, he should tell the woman there that he was with the navigator and to house him for a bit until this whole thing was situated...

Not that Nami knew how to situate it. Maybe when she went on her final trip to get the money, she'd convince them to come with her in secret...

Rosan hummed in affirmation and his draconic wings burst from his back, arcing out in a terrifying display.

"What type of wings are those?" Nami asked right before he flew off. Those were what he used to effortlessly catch up to her ship and they looked quite intimidating.

"Dragon wings," Rosan replied before shooting off with a short wave. "Be careful. My bird is watching you in case things go south. Usopp and Zoro should be here soon as well."

With that, he was gone into the clouds.

Nami blinked in awe.

"He can transform into a dragon?!"

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

It didn't take long for the redhead to find the house surrounded by tangerines and he landed in front of the entrance without making a noise.

Not wasting any time, he banished his wings and tapped lightly on the door, waiting patiently for the person inside to answer.

It didn't take very long and soon he was face to face with, who he presumed to be, Nami's sister.

She was a pretty young woman that was a little shorter than Mod-chan, with light blue hair and eyes, and tanned skin lighter then his own. She was tattooed across her right arm and chest, and wore a beige sleeveless shirt, blue trousers and purple sandals.

"Greetings, are you Nojiko?" Rosan greeted politely, inclining his head in the process.

Nojiko looked at the taller figure with a measured, if not confused, expression. "Who's asking?" She replied slowly, gauging the taller figure before her with appraising eyes.

She had never seen this man before and Nojiko knew just about everyone on the island. One with this appearance would never slip her mind so that meant he somehow managed to dock without catching the attention of the fishman.

Was he allied with them?

The stranger was much taller than her, with bronze skin and a handsome face. He had a head of brilliant, spiky, blood red hair, tied into a messy bun that left the spikes in the front of his head free.

He would have had some of the most gorgeous eyes she'd ever seen, if they weren't so lifeless in appearance. It felt like she were being drawn into the deep abyss, staring into the heterochromatic, red and purple gaze. The woman couldn't help but shudder and avert her gaze so that she could continue to inspect the rest of the man and get rid of that feeling.

He wore a plain long sleeved black shirt that had a red rose covering the entirety of the middle, black pants, and black sneakers…

He really liked the color black huh?

"You shouldn't stare so hard. People will get the wrong idea about us. We just met after all," the stranger advised calmly.

She narrowed her eyes at him. Was this supposed to be some sort of prank? A setup by the Fishman? Who the hell was this?

"I asked a question," Nojiko bit out, eyeing the wealthy looking adult with caution. There was no way this guy would make it on the island without being inspected by the Fishman if they weren't allies...

"I'm Rosan, it's nice to meet you. I'm one of Nami's friends and she sent me here while she handled her business," he replied kindly, even choosing to nod his head.

Nami's friend...?

Nojiko was pretty sure that her little sister just scammed this guy but she would play along with her sister's request for now. Was she planning on sending him to the fishman to die?

That seemed a bit too harsh for her little sister so maybe she was missing something. Maybe she'd just house him until she figured this all out... it was a bit too confusing so she'd continue to interrogate him.

"What did Nami tell you?" Nojiko asked curiously, allowing him inside.

She sighed internally. At least this guy was very easy on the eyes. It would make keeping watch of him much more pleasant.

Rosan inspected the quaint home for a bit before turning towards the bluenette. "That she was apart of Arlong's crew," he said blandly.

The blue haired woman froze completely at that. She didn't expect him to know that information… She honestly didn't think Nami would have divulged anything truthful to the redhead.

"If you know that, then why are you here?" The woman asked warily, sitting down at a table and beckoning him to do the same. "You aren't thinking about fighting the Fishman, right? Don't touch the fishman if you value your life."

Not only would he die, he'd jeopardize everything Nami ever did.

At this point, Rosan was sure that if he had emotions, he would have gone and killed Arlong by now because his personality couldn't handle so many weaklings worrying for him due to such a weak enemy that they thought was strong.

He'd have made an example of the pirate to drive it into their skulls that he wasn't anything like them.

Fortunately for them, he had no emotions.

Well, Nami had explicitly told him not to ever mention the deal she had struck up with Arlong so Rosan wouldn't do that...

"She's apart of my crew," he replied evenly.

He wasn't surprised to see her get even more defensive. Good, perhaps she'd divulge more information to attempt to "sway" him into not doing anything stupid.

"Is that all you know about her?" Nojiko asked. This man could potentially mess up years of work if he did something stupid.

She saw now why Nami sent him her way. If left to his own devices, he'd cause chaos.

"Do you know why she follows that man?"

Rosan hummed and said, "I don't know the full scope, but it doesn't seem like she willingly follows him."

The tattooed girl sighed. Of course he didn't. "Then I'll tell you…"

And tell him she did.

Rosan listened with a neutral expression as Nojiko told him about Nami's past. How she had been orphaned in a war torn country, with nothing but death surrounding her. How a Marine named Bellemere (wasn't that a shock) had found both her and Nojiko in the wreckage and raised them with care. How they were poor but loved each other.

Their lives had hiccups but they were happy...

Until Arlong came.

The fishman showed up unannounced and declared the island as his territory. Not only that, he demanded that all adults pay him 100 thousand beri while all children pay 50 thousand.

Rosan felt a spike of rage from Mod-chan after hearing that Nojiko and Nami had been forced to watch Bellemere take a bullet to the skull. The woman only had enough to to either pay for herself, or the two children and she had chosen the children, heedless of the fact that Arlong didn't know of their existence.

The willingness to do anything and everything to make sure your children survived. The true love of a mother…

Rosan was reminded of his own. It said something that he heard more good things about adoptive parents over biological ones.

"Then, Arlong kidnapped her and forced her to draw maps for him after striking up a deal," Nojiko ended, with a forlorn expression. Thinking about that day always filled her with pain and she chanced a glance at the redhead before her...

"Do you understand now? Please leave this island and just leave it alone," the woman requested softly.

She froze at what she saw.

Rosan didn't have a hint of sympathy on his features. His face was set in that same neutral expression that it had been in since she met him and he tilted his head at her in some sort of mockery of curiosity.

D-Didn't he claim to be Nami's friend? After that tale… Didn't he feel anything at all? Who... Who was this guy? What was wrong with him?

"I watched my adoptive mother die too, you know," Rosan admitted softly, gazing at her coolly. "I was four when it happened. Child birth after holding the baby for too long."

"Despite that, I still found the courage to keep fighting even if I wanted to give up. Just like you and your sister. We're not so different are we? Both our adoptive mothers died, protecting what they loved."

Nojiko's eyes went wide at what he was saying. "Y-You went through something similar too? I had no idea that you knew how it feels to lose a—"

"Can I ask you a question? Since you actually know about Nami's deal with Arlong?" Rosan asked suddenly, interrupting her sentence.

His heterochromatic gaze locked onto her own and rooted Nojiko in her spot. Those crystals that were a mockery of eyes, prevented her from thinking of anything to say and she suddenly felt a lump in her throat.

"Do you think Arlong is an honest man?"

She blinked in confusion and the redhead pressed on.

"Do you think a man making a consistent amount of money, would give up that consistency for… one instance of money? That doesn't make much sense to me."

Let's say that Arlong was Rosan and Nami was Aiko. He would never accept 100 million beri from the leader of Fregate, if it meant she wouldn't be giving him more money and he couldn't use her skills anymore. In the long run, it was a net loss in money and a loss in a valuable partnership.

For someone attempting to conquer the East Blue, what would Arlong ever gain from accepting the money and allowing a skilled navigator to be free? If Rosan were in the pirates shoes, he'd make sure Nami remained on his side for the foreseeable future.

It was pure stupidity to let someone so skilled go. Rosan would never make a deal like Arlong did because he was inherently honest and something like that, would be something he never planned on keeping the promise of. He wasn't an idiot that threw away talent.

Nojiko quickly caught on to what he was implying and she narrowed her eyes threateningly.

"Arlong made a promise to her. He said he'd rather slit open his belly, then break a promise so he can't be lying."

Rosan wondered if this was them being naive, or having nothing else to hope for. Perhaps it was a mixture of both?

He had seen far too much to expect anything positive out of this situation. At the end of the day, pirates were some of the worst human beings on the planets and being a crew of fishman would not change that fact. In fact, it could be even worse considering how much most hated humans.

"Is that what you truly think? You think Nami will get all the money, give it to him and Arlong will leave you alone peacefully? Does he sound like that type of person, Nojiko?" The redhead asked softly.

Nojiko didn't reply, but the apprehensive expression on her face, told Rosan everything he needed to know.

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

Nami was sat in an isolated area, watching the Fishman party due to her arrival after so long. She held a cup of sake but chose not to down it. Instead, she allowed herself to get lost in her own thoughts.

All the Straw Hats were coming for her, not just Rosan, and they'd be here soon.

Was there any way that she could keep them safe without alerting Arlong to her true thoughts? There was no way Luffy would ever remain quiet... he'd get himself killed!

Rosan's little blue bird chirped innocently next to her and Nami couldn't help but awe at how realistic it looked. It would be impossible to differentiate it from an actual bird and it was a testament to the scouts sheer prowess with Modification.

"Since when do animals like you?" An amused voice asked, causing the thief to look up in surprise. The bird chirped and flew off to keep up appearances and the two watched it go.

"Oh... Kaori! How have you been…? You sound a little subdued!" Nami teased the towering woman standing before her.

Kaori was probably the most tolerable fishman Nami had met, which wasn't saying much but at least the woman never bothered her and made sure they didn't do anything terrible to her. She very clearly wasn't all that close to the Arlong Pirates and didn't treat the humans as bad as them when she was actually on the island (she tended to leave a lot).

She was nearly 7 ft in height, with light blue skin, black eyes, a head of dark green hair and a lithe, muscular figure. The tall fishman had retractable spikes across her strong body that she often kept hidden so as to catch opponents off guard.

Kaori wore a simple, all black gi and geta combo and her back was revealed to show off her sun pirate tattoo. She did not have an Arlong Pirate tattoo on her body and was content to keep it that way.

She was one of the officers and the only female fishman of the Arlong Pirates, which was a testament to her strength.

Nami didn't like any of the Fishman, but Kaori wasn't malicious like the others so that made her more bearable. When the navigator first joined, the 29 year old prevented Arlong from injuring her many times and she could begrudgingly admit that she appreciated it.

"She's a kid Arlong and isn't she apart of your crew now? You shouldn't be hurting your crew members," Kaori scowled, crossing her arms.

Arlong simply threw his head back and laughed. "You're a kid too, Kaori! And you should be worrying about more important things besides my cartographer."

The then 21 year old held her ground though, glaring fearlessly up at Arlong. "This isn't what Tiger-sama wanted. I don't really give a damn what you do but abusing your own allies is low."

The child Nami watched in fear as the smile was immediately wiped off his face and replaced with a deep scowl but surprisingly, Arlong stomped off.

"Fisher Tiger is dead, Kaori. You'd do best to remember why he died or you'll end up like him," Arlong warned, not sparing them a glance anymore.

"I don't know why I chose to come here, I miss Jinbei," Kaori sighed, before turning towards the younger girl. "Nami was it? It's in your best interest to not irritate Arlong, he's a dumbass with a foul temper and even though you're a kid, that won't stop him."

There was a look of disgust on the young adult's face as she said that and she shook her head. "The moment I find out what happened to my father I'm outta here to find Jinbe. I'm sure he'll like to hear what Arlong's been up to," she muttered, leaving the shocked girl alone so that she could swim to the North Blue for information.

Nami simply clutched her arm and ran to her room in this prison.

Kaori was largely indifferent towards humans but treated them respectfully unless given the order otherwise. Over the years, seeing as Nami was the only other girl in the crew, the lone female had gotten closer to her (Nami didn't trust any of them so she only pretended) so they talked quite a bit when the fishman was actually here.

"Subdued…? Yeah you could say that," Kaori shrugged with a slightly uncomfortable expression on her face. "Between you and me… I had a dream about my father and it threw me off guard because it's been years since I last had one…"

Nami nodded understandingly. According to her, Kaori had been a slave to a cruel master, along with her mother and father and it was their own personal hell (part of her sneered at that due to the fact that they were doing their best to give others that had nothing to do with them hell too).

One day, their owner had left with her dad to some type of fighting tournament and they had not shown back up for months. After a while, the mother and daughter chose to escape to Fishman Island and Kaori ended up begging a fishman to join their crew (the Sun Pirates) for her own reasons. After her constant insistence, they reluctantly accepted and trained the former slave until she could defend herself.

Kaori ended up taking after her father, who had been a puffer fishman and had trained herself until she was more than strong enough to fend for herself, all while following the philosophy of her first captain and his first mate.

How she ended up joining Arlong's crew? Nami would never know. According to the woman, she had been trained by a fishman named Jinbe and was just a hired gun for the Arlong Pirates, which was why she didn't have their tattoo.

"Are you feeling alright?" Nami asked and Kaori nodded.

"It was just a dream but… I feel like it was kind of a sign, you know? Maybe I'll finally find out what happened to him after all these years," the woman sighed, gulping down an insane amount of sake and grabbing another bottle after downing the first in one go.

Nami cupped her chin at that. Something was bugging her... What was her dad's name again…? Ken something.

Right! It was—

It was…

"Yeah, when I was 9, I fought a fishman named Kenzo and I killed him," the voice of her very very headache inducing crewmate rang through her mind.

Right then and there, in Nami's mind, Rosan solidified himself as the most annoying person she ever met because his actions from fucking years ago were managing to give her headaches right now.

If Kaori ever met Rosan and found out he was the one who killed her father…

Well there was no way it was going to end well for anyone. Kaori was one of the strongest people here and for good reason too...

At least the bird flew off instead of listening in on the conversation... Maybe the two would never encounter each other?

Yeah right. Nami already knew that with her luck, those two would meet by the end of the day and Rosan would absolutely ruin everything.

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

Rosan followed a contemplating Nojiko with a tilted head. She had been deep in thought this entire time so he mostly let her be and conversed with Mod about their course of action when things went south.

"Wouldn't it be smarter for you to just leave me in your home?" He asked curiously. Having him follow her like this, could potentially allow a fishman to see him and if that happened, it would go against what Nami wanted.

"I'm not leaving someone like you alone. It's better if I can just keep an eye on you," she replied back, shooting him a warning glance in the process.

He raised a neat red brow at her. "What gave you the notion that I was reckless? I haven't done anything to warrant such a label."

"Woman's intuition."

Mod giggled at that. It seems some people were just naturally good judge of characters. Rosan wasn't as reckless as he had been when he was a child, but you could see shades of it every once in a while.

It was most apparent when he was in a fight and injured. Nothing short of fully incapacitating him would stop the redhead from finishing a fight and he'd weather the pain of broken bones if he had to.

Rosan hummed but didn't deign to reply.

"Do you… Do you really think Arlong is lying?" Nojiko asked suddenly.

The redhead knew she was going to ask him a question like that eventually. He planted the seeds of doubt in her head and it sounded far too logical to completely disregard. She could be in denial all she wanted but when someone started making sense, they had no choice but to doubt even a little.

Naturally she would seek out more answers. Whether it was to disregard him completely and live in her own fantasy, or finally realize that everything they were fighting for was doomed to be hopeless.

"I've met many pirates in my life," Rosan started.

He had been encountering pirates since the tender age of 4. The good, the bad, the merciful, the scum... The redhead hunted all types of them and learned many things in that time.

He could confidently say Arlong was apart of the group that were complete scum. He never felt any type of pity for the pirates he hunted, no matter how "good" they were but killing someone like Arlong would have filled him with a dark joy.

"Arlong's goal is to conquer the entire East Blue. You guys are giving him the money to do that. 100 million beri is not enough to conquer an entire ocean," Rosan said quietly.

"So he'll… he'll betray Nami?"

"Most likely. I've seen what Nami is capable of. She is the most talented navigators I've met. Arlong will not let her go."

Nojiko hated how much of a pessimist he was. She hated how he was drowning any of their hopes with that tone. She hated how no emotion went into his analysis. Just cold hard logic.

She hated how likely his outcome was.

"So what are we supposed to do?!" She couldn't help but snarl at the bleak redhead. It didn't matter how much sense he was making, they were living in a literal hell! No one was going to save them and Nami was their only hope!

"I wonder," Rosan replied vaguely. He refused to give such naive people the answer. It was the same reason he didn't give Nami the rest of the money.

If people just took the time to think logically for a second, they'd have a much easier time accepting things such as help.

The two paused at the sound of screaming and Nojiko looked in the direction of the source.

"That was near Gosa, a town that Arlong destroyed after one person failed to pay tribute…" Nojiko frowned and she headed in the direction. "Come on, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"Don't tell me what to do," Rosan replied. He knew that scream, it only belonged to one coward.

The redhead quickly overtook Nojiko, much to her surprise and it didn't take him very long to find Usopp running with a fishman right on his heel.

"Usopp," Rosan greeted.

The sniper's eyes lit up in elation.

"ROSAN!" He cheered, leaping to hug the redhead and face planting with the floor due to him moving out of the way.

Dick...

"I see you're doing well, come with me," the Mod Mod no mi user muttered, glancing around a bit.

Where was Zoro? Surely Usopp didn't abandon the incredibly injured swordsman, right?

"There you are!" the large blue fishman called and Usopp yelped in fear. He was quickly gaining on them due to the liar pausing and the sniper thought about what to do.

He quickly came to a decision.

"Rosan, deal with this please!" The sniper yelled, pushing the redhead into the arms of the fishman and running a safe distance away.

The fishman blinked before shrugging and tightening his grip on the redhead to ensure he didn't escape. After he dealt with this one, he'd resume his chase of the long nosed human.

Rosan hummed at the feeling of being grabbed onto and stared evenly at Usopp, expression utterly unbothered. "You understand that after I free myself, you're gonna wish you let the fishman capture you, right?"

"I've never met such a coward," Mod sighed. Maybe Rosan was right to keep secrets from this one. Quite frankly, Usopp was worryingly untrustworthy.

Nojiko went stiff at the sight of a large blue fishman holding onto the person she was supposed to make sure didn't get into any trouble. He literally vanished from her sight for a brief fucking second and he was already in a predicament?!

She furiously grabbed a charging child and hid the both of them behind a building. If the fishman caught sight of her, they'd be in a lot of trouble with Arlong and no explanation would be good enough for him. These two would just have to die unfortunately which was honestly good for her because the redhead WAS A FUCKING IDIOT.

"Ha! Got you now!" the person holding Rosan laughed. "After I deal with you, I'll get your little friend right there."

"Is that so?" The redhead replied conversationally. The man's grip on him was quite steely, a testament to the fact that a fishman was 10x stronger than the average human.

Unfortunately for him, Rosan was far from average.

"Word of advice Fishman-san, you should really work on your grip," he advised.

Rosan effortlessly broke out of the fishman's steely grasp, much to everyone's shock, and back handed him on the cheek, sending him flying into one of the flipped over buildings and forming spiderweb cracks on it once crashed.

"After I'm done with him, you're next," the scout promised to Usopp, who could only squeal in fear.

The redhead vanished from his spot, only to appear in front of the floored fishman and began repeatedly stomping on his skull.

"Ugh— AHHHHH!" The fishman under him began screaming, but he didn't stop even after hearing something crack and only the panicked yells of Nojiko, gave him pause.

"WAIT, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" She screeched, looking at the pool of blood forming under the pirate with horror. The fishman wasn't moving right now, undoubtedly killed by Rosan's brutal assault and she absentmindedly covered the sole child's eyes.

Did he just not remember how she said not to touch the fishman? WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIM? WHY WAS HE LIKE THIS?! IN ONLY ONE MINUTE, HE MANAGED TO CAUSE THIS MUCH TROUBLE?

"Getting rid of witnesses, I'm not supposed to be touching the fishman but this one touched me first," Rosan replied. The only way to break out of his grasp would be to use violence and at that point, he would have already broken his rule so killing it was.

Something just occurred to him though, he should send some fishman over to Hiroshi so he could clone them... If Maro and Aiko had fishman at their beck and call... that would be useful. Water battles would be easy for them...

Maybe he'd capture their officers to get even better bodies too... Yes, he'd do that. Now he had an actual reason to engage with the Fishman.

"Y-You," Nojiko muttered with dilated eyes, shaking in horror at how unbothered he looked.

She should have just left him in the house. The insane redhead was even worse than she thought! "Do you have any idea what you just did?!"

"What do you mean?" Rosan asked, grabbing the dead Fishman and sending him off to his Pocket Dimension. He vanished before their very eyes and the redhead glanced back at them.

"We were just taking a stroll and are now on the way back to your place, right?" He asked softly.

Their eyes bugged in surprise and Nojiko repeatedly opened and closed her mouth before grabbing her head. She couldn't fucking believe it. Not even a full day and she was fed up with this asshole.

Usopp had no clue what Rosan just did, but watching him effortlessly kill a scary fishman made him all the more scary.

"Don't think I forgot about you, Usopp."

The sniper whimpered in fear.

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

"Tell me what you're thinking?" Nojiko hissed, getting in his personal space and jamming a finger against his hard chest, ignoring the pain at doing so. She had told him one thing. Just ONE thing and he disregarded it completely!

"That fishman briefly saw you," Rosan replied, looking down at her and pushing her hand out of the way.

She froze. "W-What? He did?"

"If I let him go, he would have reported that Nami's sister was colluding with some unknown people. What would have happened to you and your village?" He asked rhetorically.

"Mhm!" A bruised and battered Usopp agreed, despite not knowing Rosan was thinking that at all. It kind of hurt to even think right now... his scout was kind of really a dick.

Wait, this was Nami's SISTER?

The three were situated in Nojiko's home, after she had given a verbal lashing to some boy that was on a suicide mission, and she was now directing her ire towards the one who caused it.

"You attacked him… because of me?" The blue haired woman asked, staring strangely at the redhead. She didn't think he had seen her but she did briefly show herself before realizing they were being chased by a fishman.

"It'll only be a matter of time before they realize one of their own is missing. We should cut ties for now," the redhead replied. "I'll take sole blame for eliminating him and attract their attention. Usopp, where is Zoro?"

The long nose that Rosan took his time assaulting, began whistling and looked away from the redhead, sweat beginning to form on his features.

"Usopp."

"He's at Arlong Park… he got captured… I tried defending him but he told me to go on!" The sniper exclaimed.

"You let a near death Zoro get captured?" The redhead asked simply and Usopp thought he was about to receive another beating, if the way he was cowering meant anything.

Rosan closed his eyes for a moment, connecting to his bird. He had it relay its info to him and hummed.

"I'll go get him."

"Wait!" Nojiko said, worried for his well being. "Arlong is a completely different beast then the guy you just killed! You'll die out there."

"You're worried about me suddenly? Weren't you just upset?" Rosan tilted his head at that. "You don't have to be. I won't die."

Nami's sister opened her mouth to deny his claims, before shutting it. "Just... Just be careful," she pleaded.

Weak people worried too much. Rosan would be fine.

Besides, Arlong wasn't even in his base. The man and his officers were headed somewhere so the place wasn't bustling with activity.

Perfect for him, he wasn't allowed to hurt the fishman after all.

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

Zoro was gonna kill Usopp when he got his hands on him. The stupid coward didn't even bother freeing him from his ropes, leaving him at the mercy of the damn Fishman.

Well, at least he had learned some things (and was still alive).

Nami, despite all those words, was just pretending to be a witch. The moment he threw himself in the water, she had rushed to save him despite claiming to be a traitor two seconds earlier.

Not only that, after locking him in a cage, she chose to free him and told him to go find Rosan.

He didn't even know the redhead was here! That was good news. He had strong backup now.

"Oh, you're alive and it seems like you had some fun too."

Speak of the devil… Zoro grinned at the sight of the redhead landing gently in front of him. "Oh, Rosan! What's up?"

The redhead surveyed the area and noted the countless unconscious fishman there. "Nothing much. Heard you were in trouble so I came to pick you up. You ready?"

The swordsman stretched and winced a bit at his wounds before standing up. "Yeah I'm good to go!"

Before the two could leave, they heard a commotion and were greeted to the sight of an octopus fishman reeling himself up with a fishing rod.

"Having fun over there?" Rosan greeted, already preparing to silence him.

"W-Who are you two?!" The man asked. "Me? I'm Hatchan!" He said, introducing himself without being asked.

"Nice to meet you Hatchan," the redhead waved, getting a happy one in return.

"Are you two guests of Arlong? He's at Cocoyashi Village right now, so I can take you guys there!" The stupid fishman told them. These humans were pretty nice unlike the other ones!

Zoro raised a brow but shrugged. "Sure. Since he's not here, we might as well."

"Alright! Get in!" the octopus said, pointing one of his hands at the Octopus Pot.

"This guy is really special!" Ram grinned.

"It's kind of endearing in a way," Mod sighed.

"I'd feel bad for killing someone so stupid," Rosan muttered.

The redhead side eyed Zoro and nodded, letting the glow from Ram fade and the two jumped inside the pot.

The redhead would play along with what he wanted.

He wasn't supposed to hurt the Fishman anyways.

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It didn't take Hatchan long to escort the duo to Cocoyashi and Rosan waved goodbye to the friendly Fishman.

"Thank you for the help," he said.

"Bye you two!" Hatchan waved, disappearing back into the water.

"What a strange guy," Zoro snickered.

"He's very stupid," Rosan nodded.

The redhead paused, as his bird suddenly sent him an influx of information and the bronze man sighed in annoyance.

"I'll catch up with you later, Zoro. Seems I have some more stuff to do at Arlong's Park," Rosan muttered. "Look for a blue haired girl named Nojiko. She has tattoos."

"What happened?" Zoro asked, nodding and storing the information away.

"Usopp got captured. I'm going to free him," Rosan replied. His wings burst from his back and he turned towards the direction he just came from. "I'll make sure he doesn't die."

With that, he spread his wings and Zoro watched him fly off.

"I wonder if I can use my swords to fly..." Zoro mused, cupping his chin before shrugging and walking off.

Rosan hummed. He would need to divert the suspicion of the Fishman off of Nami else they might think her a traitor.

He knew just what to do.

"Things are getting exciting!" Ram beamed.

"They sure are running you ragged. Without Luffy here, seems like you're picking up all the slack!" Mod grinned teasingly. Rosan probably didn't appreciate intervening so much but if he truly didn't like it, then he wouldn't do it.

Perhaps he did like his crewmates? Even a little?

Rosan sighed. It was annoying but he didn't need his crewmates to die just yet. Luffy got attached too easily to people and if any of them died, he wouldn't forgive himself.

Even… that Usopp.

"You need to talk to him. I understand that if you had emotions you'd probably hate him but he's a friend now!"

"He's a liar and a coward, two things I hate. It will take me a long time to warm up to him," Rosan replied.

"At least try."

"What do you think I'm doing?"

Mod didn't know. He was keeping more and more of his thoughts to himself these days... She sighed and said nothing, allowing him to continue his course.

The man made it to Arlong Park just in time to see Nami confronting and battling Usopp.

The sniper had actually done something useful and threw up a smokescreen which did a good job clouding everything. Rosan took that opportunity to dive in unseen and banished his wings in the process.

He appeared right in front of their errant navigator and regarded her coolly.

Nami gasped in surprise at the sudden appearance of Rosan. W-What was he doing here? She had told him to stay with Nojiko! Was he just disregarding everything now?

She knew he was like Luffy!

She was just about to stab herself while shoving Usopp to pretend like she had done it to the liar, when their scout showed up literally out of nowhere.

Was he actually a ghost?

"I'm going to take suspicion off of you," the redhead whispered suddenly. "Follow my lead."

Her eyes widened but she nodded minutely and let him do his thing. The fishman were casting doubt on her so this actually worked out perfectly.

As the smoke cleared, Arlong grunted in confusion at the sight of one of his officers, pawing at the hands of a human redhead who had not been here before.

Who the fuck was this?

He had Nami in a one handed chokehold and his head was tilted to the side, staring coldly into her eyes.

"Really Nami…" He began with a soft tut, unbothered by her clawing his hand. "First I free Zoro, now you want to get Usopp too? You really are driving that betrayal in deep so maybe I should just kill you here."

Nami tried to speak but she could only grasp weakly at his hand and her raspy cough snapped the Fishman out of their daze.

"NAMI!" Kaori yelled, immediately charging their unknown assailant with a fist raised and forcing him to drop their navigator so he could dodge. He grasped Usopp as he leapt a distance away and eyed the Fishman with a blank gaze.

"Who the hell do you think you are, human?" Arlong said lowly, voice tinged with rage. "You must have a death wish, coming here by yourself and attacking our cartographer."

This human freed Zoro, assisted him in destroying his brothers, made them cast suspicion on Nami and then tried to kill her in front of them?!

He was fucking dead the moment Arlong got his hands on him. Such cocky humans didn't deserve to live long.

"Nami, are you alright?" Kaori asked in concern. The orange haired girl was gripping her neck and coughing harshly.

She focused a piercing glare onto the cause and got ready to turn him into paste. She didn't know what this guys deal was but it wouldn't matter soon enough.

"I'm fine, Kaori," Nami answered instinctively, shooting her a thankful look.

"Kaori?" Rosan suddenly said and the navigator froze in true terror, horror making its way on her face. "You said your name is Kaori?"

There was actually no fucking way. Nami refused to believe that the redhead would go out of his way to make this situation worse then it already was. If he recognized that name (HOW DID HE RECOGNIZE THAT NAME?!), it was undoubtedly only because of one reason.

If he revealed how he knew it… Nami dreaded just thinking about it.

"What of it? Who's asking, asshole?" The fishman snarled.

Who did this guy think he was? This asshole just tried to kill Nami in front of them all and was acting completely nonchalant about it. Now he was trying to strike up a conversation with her?

Arlong wouldn't be able to get his hands on this guy before she lost control.

Rosan sized her up for a bit and seemingly came to a decision right there. He ignored Nami's pleading gaze and focused all his attention on the female fishman.

"You truly are a sadistic person sometimes."

"I did say I would tell his family a fake fate instead of the one I gave him."

"Are you two talking about a fight that happened before I existed?! Rude!"

"Kenzo sends his regards. He died with honor 15 years ago and in his last moments, he regretted not being able to see you grow up to become a beautiful woman," Rosan said quietly, making sure she heard every single word.

Kaori's eyes widened to epic proportions at that, body freezing in disbelief as his sentence washed over her.

She felt like she was floating right now at the words of this incredibly random person. A bead of sweat began dropping from her head and her heart started slamming into her chest as she processed what he just said. How… How did he know the name of her father?! I-It had been 15 years since he had vanished along with their slave master so how did this young looking human know him?

"W-what? What did you just s-say?" She stammered in confusion, standing up to stare directly at the merciless Rosan.

"...It was a good fight, probably the best I had that night," the redhead replied, empty eyes locking onto the fishman without an ounce of sympathy in them. "It's such a shame only one of us could make it out alive. He really did love you and Masumi."

H-Her mother too? He knew the name of her mother...? W-Who was this?!

"How... How do you know those names? Why do you know me...? HOW DO YOU KNOW MY FATHER'S NAME?!" Kaori shrieked, taking a shaky step forward.

"Isn't it obvious?" Rosan asked. "I was there when he died of course. Even after he accepted his death, the only thing he could think of, was the safety of you two. The love of a father is a rare thing. How sad that you haven't experienced it for so long."

Nami swore she was going to kill Rosan after all of this was over.

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Bonus

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The life that they lived... it was that of a roller coaster.

One that they wanted to get off immediately.

Because of just one person, their life was turned upside down for the worst. Because of one person their life could never go back to what it used to be.

All because of one person...

Life used to be so good, so pleasant for them but at the drop of a hat, things that were normal, quickly changed and it was nearly impossible to adjust to because they were completely blindsided by it.

But they did adjust because that was all they could do. They were driven by spite and vitriol and they would be heard eventually, whether anyone liked it or not. Whether the world approved or not.

They would get what rightfully belonged to them back...

Staring at the sleeping figure, they gently ran a hand through their hair and grinned psychotically, reminded that there was still one thing worth caring for. Visions of red and purple appeared in their mind, as they covered the person from the extreme cold with a blanket and gently kissed their forehead.

...And they'd make everything right again...

By any means necessary.