"I got nothing to say to you. Now scram!"

With that rather rude statement, Nick found a door slammed into his face. He sighed as he walked away from the house. It was the fifth one so far that wanted nothing to do with him.

Turns out, no one wanted anything to do with the strange newcomers asking questions. Go figure. They all gave him suspicious looks, glaring at him like he did something wrong.

He supposed that depended on who you asked. The Marines would certainly say he was in the wrong a time or two. So would Buggy for that matter. But they were both assholes, so who cares what they think.

As Nick reached the dirt road, he looked around the quiet town. It was rather peaceful, or at least appeared to be, with rolling hills in the distance and a nice breeze blowing through the empty streets. If it wasn't for whatever was going on, he would say it was a nice place to live.

He hoped the others were doing better than he was. After leaving the restaurant, the four of them decided to split up and search the town. They figured it would be easier to find info that way.

Oh how wrong they were. Not a single damn person was willing to speak up. He almost thought he had something earlier when an old lady thought he was her grandson, but that just turned into 15 minutes of nonsense. She spoke about everything except the current situation.

He escaped as soon as he could. He did feel a bit bad, considering she was still babbling about something, but he had things to do, no matter how lonely she was.

But was there any point? No one was willing to say anything, which did and didn't make sense. He could understand not trusting a stranger, but if there was someone willing to help, why not at least tell them what the problem was?

Stupid, stubborn townies.

So Nick continued on his not so merry way, trying to get some kind of info. It would be really sad if he couldn't get anything at all, considering it was his idea.

Walking down the road, Nick spotted a peculiar sight. It looked like a sleeping pile of moss resting against a fence. And what was even stranger about it, was that the moss looked a lot like Zoro.

Stopping in front of the sleeping mass, Nick could only stare at it in confusion. It sure looked like Zoro, but there was no way he would have the nerve to sleep in the middle of the road, when they had work to do. There was just no way…

Right?

…Yeah, it was totally a sleeping Zoro. Maybe he should go and find a pokéflute to wake him up? After all, he sleeps about as much as a Snorlax. But that would take too long. Better to just give him a good kick.

Zoro woke with a start as he felt a hard impact on his leg. Looking up through bleary eyes, he cursed when he saw who it was, "What do you want?"

"Why are you sleeping in the middle of the road?" Nick asked.

"I'm not in the middle of the road," he responded. Nick's eye gained a twitch at that. Just because he wasn't technically in the actual middle of the road, and was off to the side, doesn't change the fact he was sleeping.

"You know what I mean. Did you learn anything?" Nick asked. Zoro leaned back against the fence, "What do you think?"

"I see," Nick said, as he leaned against the fence himself. Strike two! If neither of the other two learned anything, then this game would end up a blowout. He didn't have much hope for Luffy, if he was honest, but Nami, with her overwhelming sex appeal, should be able to coerce some info no problem.

They were supposed to meet back at the restaurant after an hour, so they still had about 10 minutes, give or take, so he might as well try a few more places until then. Didn't want to end up a lazy lout like Zoro.

"Well, I'm going to go see if I can get anything. Don't be late to the meetup," Nick said, only receiving a grunt in response. Zoro was back asleep before he was ten feet away. Seriously, was he narcoleptic or something?

Walking down the road once more, Nick found himself in another part of town, similar to the rest. But this part seemed more dedicated to buying and selling goods. Various stalls lined the street, however, all of them were empty.

All except one.

He could see a young man around his age, with tools scattered around him. If Nick had to guess, he was trying to fix the stall up. Makes sense, if you can't sell anything because no one was around, might as well get the stall ready for when you could.

But that wasn't the main thing that drew his attention. No, that belonged to the beautiful woman talking to him. She was leaning against the stall counter talking to the guy, her perky ass swaying hypnotically in the breeze.

Not again! His mind was going blank. The power of booty was too strong. He couldn't resist.

"Oh come on, you can tell me," he heard her say in a flirtatious manner. That snapped him out from under the hypnotic spell of the ass. Phew… that was a close one.

He watched as she squeezed his arm, causing him to blush crimson, stuttering some kind of response, "N-no, I can't. You see, I uh, but…"

That's when Nami turned it up to eleven, using her free arm to emphasize the size of her bust. If Nick thought the guy's face was red before, it was nothing compared to now.

"Please…" Nami begged. Nick's eye gained a twitch again, but for a completely different reason. He knew she would use her feminine wiles to get what she wanted, but seeing it was another matter entirely.

And it made him jealous.

His eye twitched uncontrollably as he watched the man behind the stall stare directly at Nami's cleavage. He understood, he really did, Nami had a rockin' bod, but it still irritated him.

The hypocrisy was not lost on him either. At this point, he's lost count of the times he's been put under the spell of her breasts, mostly because he tends to black out a bit when it happens.

The man's face was completely red by this point, as he tried to stutter out an answer, as Nami continued to give him a coy smile, with a little shake of her hips, and a bounce in her step, he was putty in her hands.

Before too long, he was unable to bear the weight of her flirting, "L-look, all I know is that the shipyards have been getting attacked. If you want to know more, you should just ask them!"

Nami beamed at him in response, "Thank you very much!" That might have been the end of it, except she did a little bounce, causing her chest to do the same. This was more than the man could take, as steam erupted from his face and he passed out.

Well, at least he wasn't one of the handsy ones. If he was, Nick was fully prepared to break both of his legs.

And then his arms.

And then whatever was left.

Not like it would be the first time he's killed someone for the same reason. And that guy only threatened to do it. Too bad Buggy and his band of assholes took his guns and sword away. Now he needed to steal it from someone else.

Maybe there were some more Marines nearby? He could even get the others some fancy new coats!

Nami turned around with a satisfied look on her face, having finally been able to get the information she wanted. Well, not all of it, but she knew where to go look. Honestly, it should have been the first place they checked, in retrospect, but oh well.

She was a bit surprised to see Nick standing there, a sour look on his face. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he looked just as grumpy as a certain swordsman. It didn't suit him.

"Hey Nick, what's got you in such a mood?" she asked, walking up to him. He huffed and turned around, confusing her even more.

"Nothing, nothing at all. I don't care that you were flirting with that guy. Not at all," he said, his tsundere side bursting through like the goddamn kool-aid man.

Nami just blinked at him in confusion for a moment, before a big, cheshire grin lit up her face. Oh this was too good. "Oh I see, you were jealous. How cute," she teased.

Now it was Nick's turn to have his face turn red, as he vehemently denied the accusation, "I am not! What reason do I have to be jealous of that guy, huh? None, that's right! None at all!"

"I see… So I guess you wouldn't care if he and I got to know each other a little better then, right?" she asked, practically cooing the question. She was enjoying seeing this side of him, considering his normal, slightly pervy behavior.

Don't think she didn't notice all the times he stared at her. Hell, she would even pose when she noticed sometimes, making sure to emphasize her sublime figure. The blank, dopey eyed look he would get was a great source of entertainment.

Not to mention how it stroked her ego.

Nick made a sound between a gag and a squeak. The thought of her and some other guy, together, was enough to drive him off a cliff. Luckily, the whole island was surrounded by them, so he had his pick of the litter, so to speak.

But he couldn't tell her that. "Of course not. You can do whatever you want. See if I care."

With that said, he turned around and started back the way he came. It was time to return to check in anyway and see if Luffy found out anything. And he also needed to wake up Sleeping Beauty and drag him along.

"Ah come on, don't be like that," Nami said, giggling as she chased after him. Staring at his retreating figure gave her an idea. So with another grin, she promptly leapt onto his back.

"H-hey, what the hell!?" Nick shouted in surprise, hands instinctively going to hold her legs. It was a good thing she decided to wear shorts instead of a skirt, but he could still feel the silky soft smoothness of her skin.

That brought up a whole new question. Did they have razors here? They must have, or Nami would look like she was half wookiee, at least from the waist down. And if so, he should probably invest in some, lest he start to look like a wild hillbilly.

He looked back to see Nami's smiling face, her eyes lit up with a teasing light. "You know you're the only servant for me."

Nick rolled his eyes, "Gee, thanks for the reminder. Glad to know you care so much."

"You're welcome!" she responded in a far too chipper voice. She chose to completely ignore the sarcasm dripping from his voice, and instead, wrapped her arms around him harder, pressing her impressive jibblies deeper into his back.

Nick shivered at the feeling as Nami shouted, "Mush!" pointing forward. He sighed, even as he complied, telling himself he most definitely wasn't a simp. Maybe if he repeats it enough, he might actually believe it.

It was a damn good thing she didn't have an Only Fans account.

The two of them continued onward, Nami and her trusty steed, Nicholas. "So, did you at least get some info out of the guy?" asked the steed, his voice holding no jealousy at at. Seriously, none.

"A bit," Nami said with a sigh, placing her chin on his head, "But he only told me where I can find the info I need, he didn't actually share much else."

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"Well, that's better than what I got," he comforted. "Everyone I met just shut the door in my face and called me names. Except for this one old lady, she was nice."

Nami raised an eyebrow at this with another smirk on her face, "Oh, should I be worried someone is trying to steal away my precious little servant?"

"Well, she did make one hell of a snickerdoodle," Nick joked. Nami poked him in the cheek, a small glare on her face, "Is that all it takes? I'll have you know I'm pretty good in the kitchen."

"Now who's jealous?" Nick asked. He didn't remember Nami cooking in the show, but for some reason, he doubted her culinary skills. Not that he would tell her that, of course. He likes his testicles right where they are, thank you very much.

"I am not!"

Before long, they made it back to Sleeping Beauty. However, it seems like a dwarf has come to play. The two of them stopped, or more accurately, Nick stopped, and they watched as Luffy drew on Zoro's face with a marker, snickering the whole time.

That guy could not catch a break, could he?

"Luffy, what are you doing?" asked Nick. Don't get him wrong, he knew what he was doing, he just didn't know why. Shits and giggles most likely, considering he was, in fact, giggling. The bigger question was, where did he get that marker?

The rubber man jumped a bit at the sound of Nick's voice, turning to see them staring at him in confusion. And a fair amount of amusement, especially from Nami. He stood up and casual as can be, hid the marker behind his back.

"Oh hey Nick, hey Nami. What's up?" he asked, pretending like he didn't do anything wrong. The two of them were even more confused that he could actually believe they didn't notice what he was doing.

That innocent act wasn't fooling anyone.

"Not much, we were just heading back to the meeting spot. What about you? Practicing your artwork?" Nick asked, gesturing toward the still sleeping Zoro. Guy did not have a care in the world.

Luffy looked back at his sleeping crewmate, admiring his not so secret handy work. It looked like Zoro was wearing glasses, with a swirly mustache and a goatee.

"He was like that when I got here," claimed Luffy, lying through his rubber teeth. He tried whistling to prove his innocence, but considering it sounded more like he was blowing on hot food, trying to cool it down, made it less than convincing.

"Whatever. Since you're here, why don't you wake him up, and we can go over what we learned," Nick said. Luffy seemed relieved he wasn't being called out for his obvious fib, as he turned around to do just that.

"Wait," said Nami, making Luffy halt in his endeavor. He and Nick looked at Nami in confusion wondering what the hold up could be.

"Put me down," she commanded Nick, who did so with a shrug, not so secretly missing the warmth of her body against his, but trying to play it cool. There were a couple of other reasons for his disappointment, large, bouncy reasons, but they weren't important.

Nami walked over to Luffy and held out her hand, "Gimme. I want in on this." Luffy appeared befuddled for a moment, before his eyes lit up in realization. With a massive grin, made even bigger by the fact his face was made of rubber, he handed Nami the marker he got from who knows where.

Nami had a matching grin on her face, as Nick sighed at their childishness. It was hard being the grown up of the group. Such a thought would be more believable if he wasn't also grinning.

Nami sauntered her way over to the sleeping swordsman, an eager sway in her hips. With a mischievous light in her eyes, she proceeded to mark the poor man's face as well.

Zoro was now sporting cat whiskers on both cheeks, and the tip of his nose was completely black. All in all, he had the appearance of a rather dapper cat.

Seeing this, Luffy couldn't help but burst out laughing. He fell onto his back, holding his gut in laughter. Nami and Nick were also chuckling, though nowhere near as loud. The obnoxious laughing did have the added effect of waking Sleeping Beauty. Seeing this, Nami quickly disposed of the evidence, by chucking the marker into the field behind her.

Zoro looked around blearily before giving a big yawn and stretching his arms. "Do you have to be so loud? I was having a good nap," He groused, glaring at the three of them, but especially Luffy.

"And what's so damn funny?"

That caused Luffy to stop laughing and stare at Zoro. It didn't last long, and soon enough, he was laughing his rubber ass off again, angering the swordsman further.

"Ok, I think that's enough. No need to kill Luffy," Nick said, as Zoro made to strangle his Captain. He doubted he would be able to stop him once he discovered the marking on his face, but for now, they had more important matters to discuss.

The others stared at him, as Nick crossed his arms in front of his chest, "So what have we learned so far?" he asked. They gave each other a look, before Zoro huffed in anger, leaning back against the fence.

"Nobody would tell me anything. Bastards just kept slamming the door in my face."

Nick nodded at that, "Yeah, it was pretty much the same with me. Though I did get some pretty tasty cookies…" he trailed off, thinking about the delectable little treats he received. If they survived whatever was happening, he would have to make sure and get some more, and maybe learn the recipe so he could make it himself.

"What!? Where!? I want some cookies," shouted Luffy, grabbing Nick by his collar, who struggled to get him off. Luffy was stupidly strong for his size.

"Damn it Luffy, not now! Later, I promise," Nick said, which seemed to appease him, as Luffy let go of his shirt, with a happy grin on his face, imagining the cookies he was going to eat.

"Ok, but don't forget, ok?" he said. Nick sighed and nodded in agreement, "Fine, fine I won't. Now, did you learn anything?"

"Nope!" Luffy responded, far too happily for someone who failed. The rest of them gave him exasperated looks, as Luffy continued to smile, not knowing what the problem was.

"You boys are helpless," Nami said with an exaggerated sigh. Zoro gained a tick mark as he glared at her, "Oh yeah? And what did you learn that's got you so high and mighty?"

Nami gave him a condescending smirk, which only stoked his ire even further, "Apparently, someone has been attacking the shipyard, so if we want some more info, that's where we need to go."

"Tsk, that's it? That's what you're so proud of?" Zoro questioned.

"It's more than what you found out!" she shouted back.

Nick sighed and Luffy laughed as they began to argue. It was going to be a long day, wasn't it?

After Nami and Zoro finally stopped their little spat, the group quickly made their way to the shipyard, without any surprises. He half expected some assassins to pop out of nowhere, ready to kill them for asking too many questions.

Thankfully, that didn't happen.

The shipyard itself was fairly busy, especially compared to the rest of town. Dozens of workers could be seen throughout the area, working on this or that, repairing damaged vessels.

It was obvious they had been attacked. Nick didn't know why Usopp bothered to try and hide the fact that something was wrong. Sure it took them a bit, but they eventually came to the shipyards, and once there, it was impossible to hide the fact something was going on.

He still felt stupid for not just heading here in the first place.

Regardless, now they needed to find someone who was willing to spill the beans. If only they could keep Luffy on track.

Of course, that was like asking the sun to stop shining.

"Whoa! Look at that one! It's huge!" Luffy shouted with glee. He looked just like a kid in a candy store, eyes roaring over everything in sight, never staying in one spot for very long, unable to decide what he wanted more.

Not that Nick could blame him, but there was only one ship he wanted to see.

Luffy then decided it was a good idea to run off, yelling excitedly. "Wait, Luffy!" shouted Nami, but it fell on deaf ears. With a huff, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at where Luffy disappeared to.

"Honestly, can't he sit still for five minutes?" she questioned. The obvious answer was no, but Nick thought it was better not to mention that.

"It's Luffy," Zoro responded, like that explained everything. To his credit, it kind of did.

"Whatever, let's just see if we can find someone to help us," Nami suggested, as the three of them made their way further into the shipyard. But before they got too far in, Zoro stopped, looking over to his left.

"You go on ahead, I'll check over there," he said, before walking off himself.

"Huh? Wait a second," Nami said, but like his Captain, Zoro wasn't listening. The pair watched as he made his way over to some workers, who seemed to be on their lunch break, drinking some booze.

Yeah, that checks out. Though it was probably a good idea to get out of dodge, since it was almost assured that Zoro would be learning about the markings on his face. Nick didn't want to be within his field of vision when that happened.

"Are you kidding me?" Nami growled, while Nick gave her a shrug, "It's Zoro."

Nami sighed at that, before grabbing Nick's arm, "Come on!" Left with no other alternative, he allowed the busty beauty to lead him around. He didn't want her ire pointed at him, no siree.

The pair continued on, asking several workers about the shipyard, but none of them seemed willing to answer. They gave them suspicious looks, before telling them to beat it, as they were busy.

Not even Nami's bangin' badonkers convinced anyone to open up. They were made of much sterner stuff than that guy at the stall.

"Ugh, are you kidding me!? Why won't they say anything?" she questioned as the pair decided to take a break. They watched as the workers went about their business. It was honestly impressive how they were able to work so fast and efficiently. But that didn't help them at all at the moment.

"Guess I can't really blame them. Two strangers asking questions? Seems pretty suspicious to me," Nick said, leaning up against a tree as Nami sat in a branch slightly above him.

"I guess…" she sighed. She was more irritated by the fact that her feminine wiles seemed to fail her when she needed them the most. It was a hit to her pride as a woman.

After a few minutes of people watching, Nick noticed something odd, "Hey, is that Luffy?"

Nami looked to where he was pointing, and sure enough, there he was, stretching his arms out and grabbing the railing of a ship.

"What is he doing now?" Nami asked, exasperated. Five minutes. Could he not go five minutes without causing a scene?

And didn't she ask a similar question not too long ago? Was that her life now?

They watched as Luffy went flying into the sky, landing in the ship's crows nest. The two shared a look, "Should we…?" Nick asked, leaving the question open. But Nami knew what he meant.

"Yeah, better make sure he doesn't cause even more damage," she responded. With that said, she jumped out of the tree, and the two of them made their way towards their troublemaking Captain.

Luffy grinned as he stared at all the people down below. They looked like ants from up here. Really big ants, but still ants. He placed his hand over his eyes to block the sun, and stared out at all the ships. The one he was on was the biggest, but for some reason, it didn't feel right.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" questioned a voice below him. Luffy shifted his gaze below him and saw an older man, with broad shoulders, glaring up at him.

"Get down from there you idjit! 'Fore you hurt yourself! Or worse, my ship!"

Luffy shrugged before hopping down onto the deck of the ship, landing right in front of the older man in a crouch. He stood up and grinned at the man, who glared right back.

"So, mind telling me just what in the hell you were thinking?" he asked. Luffy stared at the large man, taking in his appearance. His muscles were huge, bulging out in every direction. He wore a plain white shirt, covered in dirt, and basic blue pants. A large, bushy beard covered his face, and Luffy could see a jagged scar poking out of the beard on the left side of his face.

But that wasn't the thing that drew Luffy's attention. No, that was due to the man's hair. It went straight up, tied by a scrunchie of some kind, and looked very similar to a palm tree.

"You got some crazy hair, old guy," Luffy said with a laugh. Said 'old guy' gained a tick mark, before he struck Luffy on the head with one of his big, meaty fists.

"Ow, what was that for," Luffy whined.

"For being a brat, that's what! Now tell me, what are you doing on my ship!? I won't ask again," he threatened.

"I just wanted to check it out, you don't have to be such a jerk about it," Luffy complained, further irritating the man.

"You can check it out from the shore! Now get out of here you brat, I'm busy," he said. Luffy watched as the man walked away, inspecting some parts of the ship. Luffy noticed the spots he was checking seemed to be a slightly different color of wood.

"Something happen here, old guy?" Luffy asked, coming up behind him. The man looked behind him, "You still here? Thought I told you to leave. And my name's not old guy, it's Pett," he said with a huff.

"Shishishi, nice to meet you, I'm Luffy."

"Did I ask for your damn name? What are you still doing here?" he asked. Luffy placed his hands behind his head, still grinning at the irritated Pett, "I'm here looking for a ship."

"That right? Well too bad, none of these here ships are ready for sale," Pett explained.

Luffy looked around in confusion, "How come? They look pretty awesome to me," he asked. Pett sighed, turning to face Luffy fully, "Look kid, it's none of your business. They ain't ready, simple as that."

Luffy watched the man walk away to inspect more of the ship. From his perspective, the man named Pett looked pretty upset. Downright furious, actually.

"So, did you build this ship, old guy?" Luffy asked, walking behind as Pett continued his inspection.

"I told you, my name's not old guy. And yeah, I built and designed this here beauty. It might not be as good as the folks back in Water 7, but I'm damn proud of her," Pett said, gently tracing his hands over the wooden railing.

Luffy grinned back at him, "That's awesome old guy. You ever think of joining a pirate crew?" Seeing how much this guy cared about his ship made Luffy want him on the crew. He was exactly the kind of person he was looking for.

And his hair was awesome!

Pett turned to look at him with narrowed eyes, "Pirate, huh? Don't tell me you're a pirate?" he asked, hands balling into a fist.

"Yep. And someday, I'm going to King of the Pirates," Luffy proclaimed. This caused Pett to snort, his hands releasing their tension.

"King of the Pirates? A snot-nosed brat like you? Don't make me laugh," Pett said derisively.

"Go ahead, laugh all you want, I don't care," Luffy said, hand on his head, his eyes shadowed by the brim of his hat. He lifted his gaze to stare right into Pett's eyes, "But no matter what, I will become King of the Pirates."

Pett stared at the young man in front of him with a feeling of astonishment. It reminded him of that man, Gold Roger himself. He only saw the man once, long ago, when he showed up at Water 7 looking for a ship. The feeling the man gave, something indescribable, was the same one he got from this kid.

"What did you say your name was again?" he asked. He knew he should be wary around a pirate, especially now, but for some reason he felt the kid was trustworthy. Something in his gut told him he was someone who would reshape the world.

Just like Roger.

Luffy opened his mouth to answer him, but a familiar female voice interrupted him, "Luffy! What are you doing?"

Looking over at the shore, the pair of them saw a beautiful ginger-haired bombshell staring at them, looking rather displeased. Standing next to her was a brown-haired man with a muscular physique, who looked amused by the whole thing.

"Hey Nami! Hey Nick! What are you guys doing here!?" Luffy shouted back with a happy wave.

"I could ask you the same thing!?" Nami shouted back, while Nick returned his wave with a jaunty one of his own, earning him a side glare from Nami for his trouble.

"Friends of yours?" asked Pett, eying the group with interest. They certainly didn't seem like your typical bloodthirsty pirates, except for maybe the angry woman. No, the three of them looked like they were seeking something besides just treasure.

Adventure…

Freedom…

Dreams…

It's been an awful long time since he's seen people like them, let alone pirates. Perhaps they could help them. Not like they had much to lose at this point. If something wasn't done, and soon, a lot of people would be out of work, or worse. Not to mention the toll it was taking on the kind young woman who owned it all.

Making a decision, he interrupted the three of them, who had descended into light hearted bickering. "Alright you two, come aboard!"

The three of them looked toward the man who interrupted them with confusion. He let out a sigh, hoping he wasn't about to make a terrible decision. And yet, it was also hope that made him want to confide in them. What a strange feeling.

"Let old Pett tell you everything."