Novels2Search

Chapter 28

Luffy sprinted from the house, kicking up a cloud of dust as he pushed his legs to the limit. He ignored the shouts of the guards as he barreled past them, his whole focus on reaching the shipyards and making sure his friends were ok.

As he passed through the gates and started down the dirt road, he saw a familiar face, along with an unfamiliar one. It was the butler from earlier, along with a weird guy in fancy clothes and heart shaped sunglasses.

Luffy skidded to a stop so he wouldn't run the duo over, covering the two in a cloud of dust, making the second guy cough. Klahadore only seemed to be irritated by the fact that his pressed suit was now covered in dust.

"Hey, I know you. You that jerky butler from earlier. What are you doing here?" Luffy asked. Klahadore gained a minor twitch to his left eye, and Jango thought for sure the kid was about to die. But his Captain was able to reel in his anger, taking a deep calming breath before answering.

"Indeed I am. My name is Klahadore. I am merely returning after completing my errands. If I may ask, where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?"

"My friends are at the shipyards. I have to make sure they're ok," Luffy said as he went to go around Klahadore. But the butler stopped him before he could.

"If I might make a suggestion? It would be much faster if you cut through the woods. It's a… shortcut if you will."

Luffy gave him a look before turning to face the woods. "Oh, I getcha. That makes sense," Luffy said in an aha kind of voice. He then ran towards the tree line, but before he could cross, he turned back to the pair and gave them a grin.

"Hey, thanks a bunch. Maybe you aren't such a jerk after all. See ya!"

With that he charged off into the woods at breakneck speeds. Jango turned to his Captain, a question on his lips. "Are you sure that was wise? Letting him know about that shortcut?"

Klahadore, or rather, Kuro, adjusted his glasses, leveling his companion with a condescending glare. "Are you questioning my intelligence?" he asked, implying more than a threat.

"Wha? No, I would never dream! I was just wondering is all!" Jango shouted in fear. Insulting his Captain's brain was a sure fire way to find yourself in an early grave.

"Is that right? Well, if it will ease your concerns I expect he will find himself lost amongst the trees for some time. Now, don't question me again," Kuro commanded, which received an appropriately rapid nod in agreement from Jango.

"Good, now let us continue to the mansion. I hope I don't have to explain the plan again. I would be most displeased if that were the case," Kuro said. Jango gulped, doing his best to ease the volatile man's concerns.

"Not at all boss. I know the plan like I know the back of my hand," Jango assured, holding up his hand as if to prove a point. Kuro kept staring at the man, making Jango start to sweat, before he finally turned away.

"Good. Now, I have to go meet our… allies. I expect you to complete your assignment in the allotted time, is that understood?"

"Roger that, Captain! I won't let you down!" Jango saluted.

"For your sake, I hope that's true," he said, adjusting his glasses one last time before walking off. Jango released a sigh in relief, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Man, the Captain sure is scary. It almost makes me glad this will be the last time we work together. Now, let's get this plan started, shall we?" he said to himself, turning to face the large mansion ahead of him.

As he started up the road, he looked at the back of his hand and saw a tear in his glove. "Huh, well that's new…"

*Line Break*

Luffy burst through the tree line, panting in exhaustion. "Finally, I made it out. I thought that butler guy said this was a shortcut. Stupid Klaha-whatever his name is," he grumbled, staring out at the shipyard, eyes focused on the blazing fire coming from the ship.

Turns out, the shortcut wasn't a shortcut at all. Even if his sense of direction wasn't as bad as a certain someone, who shall remain nameless, it was still easy for him to get lost in an unfamiliar forest. The foliage became so thick and dense, that he was unable to see the light from the fire.

But now he was here so he could check up on his friends. "Whatever, I'm here now. Zoro, Nick, you better not be dead!" he yelled, charging down the path leading into the shipyard. Hearing his shout, the gathered villagers turned to see who was making the racket.

Only for their eyes to widen at seeing a massive dust cloud heading right for them.

"What is that!?"

"Don't tell me it's the pirates!"

"Get ready! It's almost here!"

The villagers who were able, gathered in front of the women and children, as well as the injured. They raised their weapons, ready to defend their friends and family to their dying breath.

The cloud of dust ran past them, making them close their eyes to keep out the debris. When they opened them again, they saw, to their surprise, a young man wearing a straw hat and some rather fancy clothes. He didn't look like a pirate, but you could never be too careful.

"Damn it, where are they? There's too many people," the young man grumbled, much to the residents' confusion. Who could he be looking for?

"Hey! Who are you and what do you want!?" shouted a brave soul holding a pitchfork. Luffy turned to him, eyes full of worry yet carrying a hardness that almost took the other man back.

"I'm looking for my friends. Have you seen them?" Luffy asked. The others turned to look at each other, bewildered, before turning back to him. "Uh, well, what do they look like?"

"First there's Zoro. He has green hair and three swords, and he makes an angry face all the time. Like this," Luffy said, before doing his best impression of Zoro scowling. His eyes narrowed into slits, and his mouth was pulled back in a snarl. All in all, it was pretty good.

"Then there's Nick. His hair is brown and he's pretty tall. What else… Oh! He has a scruffy beard too," Luffy described. Lightbulbs went off in the villagers head at his description.

"Hey, isn't he talking about those guys who ran off into town?" asked one.

"Oh yeah, I think he is. Hard to forget a guy with green hair," responded another.

"You've seen them!? Tell me where!?" Luffy shouted, getting right up in their faces. They took a step back in shock from his sudden appearance. "U-um they went into town earlier, when the pirates attacked."

"Yeah, you just have to follow the road and take a right. You can't miss it."

"Really!? Thanks a bunch!" Luffy said, with a big grin. Now that he knew where they were, he could make sure they were ok. He was glad to hear they weren't killed in the explosion, not that he thought they would die. They were way too tough for that. But it didn't hurt to make sure.

However, before he could run off, another voice interrupted him. "Luffy… That you…?"

Turning his head to see who spoke his name, he saw none other than Pett, laying down on a makeshift mat, covered in bandages. Luffy's eyes widened in panic at seeing his friend all beat up.

He ran up to him before kneeling down to inspect him. "Old guy, what happened?" he asked. Pett snorted, which caused him to go into a coughing fit. "Ah! Hey, don't die alright!" Luffy shouted in alarm.

"I ain't gonna die. Least not yet. Thanks to those friends of yours," Pett forced out. Each word was difficult to say, and he had to strain his already strained body to do so.

"My friends?" Luffy asked with a tilt of his head.

"Yeah. The green haired one what can't tell his left from his right. And the horny fella who kept sneaking glances at that young lady's chest," Pett said with a light chuckle. He couldn't blame the poor lad for his distractions. He was young once too, and if he were able to spend some time with a woman like that, well, he'd likely get a tad bit distracted himself.

"Oh, you mean Zoro and Nick. So they saved you, huh?" Luffy asked with a smile. His crew was great, and he was glad they were able to save the old guy.

"Them's the ones, aye. Just a shame they weren't able to save me ship," Pett said, turning his head to look at the burning ship. The flames being reflected off of his eyes did well to hide the anguish he was feeling. Not well enough however, as Luffy was able to see what he was trying to hide.

"Do you know the promise we shipwrights make to every ship we build?" Pett asked, never taking his eyes off of the burning wreckage of his ship. Luffy didn't answer. Pett likely wouldn't have heard him even if he did.

"We promise them that someday, they're gonna sail. That they'll see this big, wide world of ours first hand. It's a promise of purpose. But I…" Pett said, as tears began to gather in his eyes, making Luffy clench his fists in anger. He didn't like to see it when his friend's were upset.

"I weren't able to keep me promise. They made me into a liar. The hopes and dreams of that there ship to see the world, to take folks to wherever they need takin', is goin' up in smoke. Literally. Like a baby dyin' 'fore takin' its first steps. What a shame…"

By now Pett had tears falling freely from his eyes. Luffy's own were cast in shadow as he sat there, listening to his friend pour his heart out. But though he was furious, he sat there and listened, until Pett had no more words to say.

"Hey old guy…" Luffy said, getting his attention. Pett had nearly forgotten he was there, so caught up in his own frustrations. He felt more than a bit embarrassed at being caught crying in front of the youngster, but he was too injured to wipe away the tears and pretend it didn't happen.

The straw hat wearing future king raised his head, showing Pett his eyes, which were practically glowing with determination. The sight alone was enough to make the tears cease to fall.

"I'll make you a promise of my own. I know it won't bring back your ship, but I'll make them pay. Nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it," Luffy swore. Pett stared at him for a moment, a bit of awe in his eyes as he was once again reminded of another man.

Pett chuckled, a fierce look replacing the former hopeless one he had moments ago. "I won't forgive you for breaking a promise, you hear? So you best keep it," he told the younger man. Luffy stood up, his face alight with resolve.

"Right, just wait here. I'll go take care of these guys," Luffy said. And without another word, he ran off to join his friends in the age old pastime of ass whooping.

*Line Break*

Nick dodged a swipe to his face by leaning back, feeling a small gust of wind generated from the sword as it passed him. He brought his shovel up, catching his opponent in the chin, shattering his jaw and sending him flying straight up and onto his back.

"Man, there's just no end to these guys," he complained, ducking under another attack and thrusting the shovel's blade into his shin. As the man fell to the ground, Nick slammed his new favorite toy into the back of his neck, likely killing him.

Not that he had time to check.

"Quit your whining. Doesn't matter how many of them there are if they're this weak," chastised Zoro as he cut down another pair of pirates. His swords looked more red than silver at this point, a testament to just how many he's taken down.

Which was about three times as many as Nick, which didn't bode well for his ill thought out bet. If things kept going at this rate, he was doomed to the life of a babysitter.

"But don't you think it's inconsiderate of them to keep trying, knowing how weak they are?" Nick asked, jabbing the shovel's blade into a man's foot this time, almost certainly severing at least one toe, judging by the guy's screams. But those were silenced soon enough by a shovel to the temple.

"You may have a point there," muttered Zoro, as he blocked a pair of swords looking to slice him in two, before twisting his body in a circle and cutting them both down at the same time.

"Right? It's like, we have better things we could be doing," Nick continued to grouse. He then noticed a man pointing a gun at him and quickly brought his shovel up to block. Luckily, he judged the angle correctly and the metal ball ricocheted off the flat of the shovel, hitting another dude.

"Man I love this thing," Nick mumbled. He then saw another pirate with his cutlass pulled back, getting ready to stab him. Nick brought his shovel up, but instead of blocking with the blade, he trapped the sword in the hole of the handle at the other end, with the blade of the shovel pointing straight down.

The pirate barely had the time to look confused before Nick twisted his wrist clockwise, disarming the other man. With the blade of the shovel now pointing up, he thrust it into his opponent's throat, reveling in the choking gasps he made.

But he wasn't done there. Seeing as the cutlass was still trapped in the handle of the shovel, he grabbed the sword's hilt and pulled it out, at the same rotating his body to the left and cutting into the other man's belly.

Keeping up his momentum, he evaded another bullet shot by the same guy as before and threw the cutlass at him. The sword soared through the air, spinning like a saw, before impaling the man in the chest.

Another one bites the dust.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Nick was panting heavily at this point, but he had a satisfied look on his face. He knew they were just mooks, the lowest of the low on the totem pole of bottom feeders, but it still felt damn good to bully these assholes.

"Hey Zoro did you see tha-" but Nick's question was cut short by that very same person he was about to brag to go flying past him, crashing into the wall of the burning building next to him.

His eyes widened at the sight, and he forgot to blink for a moment. But then his senses returned to him, as he gazed at the building, yelling in concern. "Zoro!"

He growled and turned to see just who or what managed to send the powerful swordsman flying. There shouldn't be anyone in the kitty cat's crew who could do something like that. Not anymore anyway.

If Nick thought Buchi was big, then he was mistaken. The massive slab of muscle in front of him had that fat cat beat by a few feet, at least. He was nearly twice as tall as Nick was, but the weird thing was, it was almost entirely his torso.

He stood on two stubby legs as thick as a 100 year old tree stump. A pair of massive gorilla arms jutted out from his boulder-like shoulders, nearly reaching the ground. In one of his hands was what appeared to be a tree he just yanked out of the ground. Hell, it even still had some leaves on it!

He wore a tank top that didn't quite cover his whole stomach, probably due to how long it was, and a pair of brown shorts. Must be a bitch to shop for clothes with a body like that.

The big dumb man grinned, showing off his crooked teeth. He also happened to be missing a few. He'd be missing a few more once Nick was done punching his lights out.

"I heard you was supposed to be tough. Guess I heard wrong. Now I play with your friend here. Maybe he stronger than you," spoke the giant slowly at Zoro. It was like he had to think about each individual word before he spoke them.

The pirates around him laughed quietly, with big smug grins on their faces. Nick raised his shovel, preparing to fight the massive man, when the sound of something crashing behind him drew his attention, along with everyone else's.

Zoro pushed a large beam to the side as he walked through the flames, eyes laser focused on the man who sent him flying. "You good?" Nick asked as he exited the building.

"Peachy," Zoro muttered, never glancing in the brown haired man's direction. All his focus was on the big guy in front of him.

"So, mind telling me what the hell happened?" Nick asked, staring at the green haired man from the corner of his eye, as he directed his attention back to the literal horde of pirates.

"He just caught me by surprise, that's all. Won't happen again," Zoro swore, clenching his teeth against the sword in his mouth. Nick was almost positive that was bad for his dental hygiene, not that he would say that to him. The sound of the big guy laughing brought his attention back to the present.

"Oh, you alive. That make me happy. Now me get to beat you again," said the massive man. His smirk grew even bigger at the prospect of pummeling Zoro once again.

"Oi, big guy. You said something earlier about me being weak right? I'm gonna make you take it back," Zoro stated. Nick thought it sounded pretty cool, all things considered, but the rest of those present found it hilarious, as they all started laughing.

"You hear that Bondo!? He's going to make you take it back!" shouted some random dude from the crowd. It took the man now called Bondo a few seconds for his tiny, smooth brain to catch up to what Zoro was saying, but when he did, his grin got even bigger.

"And how you do that?" he asked. Zoro gave a smirk of his own, "Let me show you."

He then crouched down and shot off at Bondo. The massive man swung the tree at Zoro like he was at a major league game. The swordsman jumped over the makeshift club, rotating in the air as he did so. It took all of Nick's mental fortitude to not shout, "Do a barrel roll!"

He thought it though.

Not slowing down in the slightest, Zoro kept charging straight at the larger man until he was right underneath him. Bending his knees, he then jumped up, lashing out with two of his swords, carving a deep X into the man's chest.

"Ah!" yelled the giant of a man, as he stumbled backwards, clutching his bleeding chest. Zoro meanwhile kept rising until he was well above the man, doing a backflip and landing several feet away from Bondo, skidding back several more feet before coming to a stop.

He looked at the big guy with a smirk, "What's wrong? Not as weak as you thought?" he asked.

"Hey Bondo, you alright!?" shouted one of the pirates with him in concern. But the much larger man wasn't listening, his teeth clenched in rage. He glared with utmost hatred at the cocky swordsman.

"You bastard! I kill you!" he shouted, raising his makeshift club into the air, preparing to slam it down on Zoro and crack open his skull.

"Not if I kill you first," Zoro said, entering a defensive stance. With another roar, Bondo swung the tree down, but the green haired man was far from intimidated. Swinging his blades upward, he easily sliced the thick tree in multiple pieces, making the strike miss him entirely.

But Bondo didn't see that as the remainder of the weapon slammed into the ground in front of him, kicking up dust and debris, hiding Zoro from sight. So with a big stupid grin, he shouted his victory to the heavens.

"I knew he was weak! Now I kill his friend too!" Bondo shouted, as the other idiots behind him cheered.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Nick commented nonchalantly. This stopped the cheering, as they turned to the unconcerned form of Nick, who just stood there with his arms crossed, shovel stuck in the ground beside him.

"You think I can't kill you too!?" shouted Bondo in rage. He then tried to lift his weapon up, intent to smash the other puny man, but for some reason, he couldn't get his club to move.

"Huh?" he stated dumbly, staring at the thing wondering what was wrong. Did he get it stuck in the ground again? He hated it when that happened. Gripping the tree with both hands now, he tried, with all his might, to lift it up, but it wouldn't budge an inch.

"It really stuck this time," he grunted, face turning red from the effort. As the dust and debris began to clear, they could see a figure standing there. They couldn't make out who it was, all they could see was a silhouette, but there was definitely somebody there.

"Hey Bondo, look!" shouted some dude from the back.

"Wha?" Bondo asked, staring at the shadowy specter in front of him. He wondered if it was the ghost of one of his previous victims come back to haunt him. But as the cloud of dust fully cleared, it was obvious that was not the case.

This guy was fully alive.

"Hey, I killed you! It rude not to stay dead!" he shouted in anger.

"Killed me? In your dreams," Zoro said with a condescending smirk on his face. This made Bondo even angrier, as he once again tried to lift his weapon. But it still wouldn't budge.

Looking back at the green haired swordsman, he was finally able to see what was wrong. "Hey you! Get off!" he shouted. The reason he couldn't move the tree was due to Zoro stepping on the other end, using one of his legs to hold it down.

It was an impressive display of strength, and Zoro didn't seem to be struggling much. A fact that seemed to amuse him. "Something wrong? I thought you said you were strong," Zoro mocked, as veins bulged in the other guy's neck.

"Well, if you want it back that badly, go ahead and take it," he said as he stopped exerting pressure on the club. This created a very simple cause and effect scenario.

The cause: Bondo pulling up on his weapon with all his might.

The effect: Bondo's weapon slamming into his face.

"Agh!" he yelled in pain, falling back on his ass. He held his almost assuredly broken nose in pain, as a river of blood gushed out of it. Nick felt certain he also had a concussion to go with his broken nose. But then again, did he even have a brain to concuss?

Bondo stood up, on rather shaky legs, glaring at Zoro. Or at least, that's what he intended to do. But the swordsman was nowhere to be found.

"Where he go!?" he shouted in confusion and rage, looking around wildly for his opponent, before a whistle caught his attention.

"Hey big guy! Over here!"

Turning to see who had called him, he saw it was the brown haired man from earlier, standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, looking bored. But before he could ask what he wanted, and threaten to kill him of course, Nick merely pointed up.

Confused, Bondo did just that, as did the rest of the pirates. "What's he pointing at? I don't see anything?" asked one.

"It must be a trick. He's just trying to distract us!" yelled another.

"Oh yeah? Well let's teach him some manners shall we?" proposed a third. But before they could do anything, a fourth halted them.

"Wait, I think I see something!"

The rest looked back up, and sure enough, there was something falling towards them. They couldn't tell at first what it was, but after a few seconds trickled by, it became clear just what, or to be more precise, who it was.

"It can't be… It's him! It's Zoro!" shouted the first one to recognize just who was in the sky.

"What!? But how did he get up there!?" screamed another. Nick sighed at their blindness. If only they'd been paying attention. When Zoro released the tree club, he didn't step off of the thing, he just stopped pressing down on it. He then used the force of it rising up to springboard himself into the sky.

Not what Nick would have done, but hey, to each their own right?

Zoro glared down at them, placing two of his swords behind the third one in his mouth, preparing for the finishing move. He figured the big guy wouldn't be finished off by hitting himself, but this final attack should do the trick.

"Three Sword Style…"

"Bring it on! I not afraid of you!" shouted Bondo, raising his club up, prepared to unleash his own attack.

As Zoro neared his opponent, he seemingly disappeared, being replaced by the image of a tiger. The vicious cat snarled down at its prey as it sped towards him, its intent clear. It was enough to terrify the surrounding pirates. The killing intent was strong enough that Bondo was unable to move, his earlier statement proving to be false.

He was very afraid. So afraid that all he could do was stand there as the tiger slammed into him with an ear splitting roar.

"Tiger Drop!"

Zoro swung his three swords straight down, adding all the momentum from his fall to execute a truly devastating attack. Deep grooves were carved into the ground, one for each of his swords, created from the sheer pressure of the swing.

He then twisted his body and slammed into the ground, cracking it and sending dust and debris everywhere, much like Bondo did earlier only to a far greater degree. He rose from the crouched position he landed in, taking his sword from his mouth as he did so.

Bondo stood there for a moment, his body having not caught up with the fact that it had been cut. But after a few seconds went by, three large gashes appeared in his body, with copious amounts of blood sprayed out of them.

His eyes turned white as he staggered backwards before collapsing on his back, never to rise again. His band of pirate buddies could only stare in shock, never expecting him to fall.

Zoro made his way to Nick, a smug look on his face. "Looks like I'm winning that bet for sure," he said, sheathing one of his swords. Nick however, only scowled at him.

"That still only counts as one you know," Nick said, bursting Zoro's bubble.

"What? Look how big he is. That's worth three, at least," Zoro argued.

"The size doesn't matter. One body, one point, that's the rule," Nick said, raising a single finger for emphasis.

"Tsk, whatever. I'll win no matter what," Zoro grumbled, looking away. That caused Nick to gain a sweat drop at how petulant the man was being.

"Hey, you bastards! Don't think you'll get away with this!" shouted someone from the crowd. The pair turned towards them, seeing the assembled pirates glaring at them.

"Damn, and here I thought that would have scared them off. Talk about being stubborn," Nick commented.

"Whatever, fine by me. I don't care how many of them there are, I'll cut them all down," Zoro said, causing those in the front of the group to take a step back.

"We need to find you a better way to deal with your anger problems," Nick said glibly, rolling his right shoulder in circles to stretch it out before grabbing his shovel again, ripping it out of the ground with a flourish.

"Shut up," Zoro responded. The two of them prepared to fight once more against the seemingly never ending hoard of pirates, when a shout distracted them.

"Gum-Gum Pistol!"

A fist seemingly came out of nowhere, slamming into the group of assembled vagrants and assholes, sending several of their members flying. The fist itself was attached to an arm that was stretched to impossible lengths. Nick and Zoro followed the hand back to its owner, as it returned to a normal length with a snap.

"Luffy!?" they shouted, surprised and confused. Said rubber man turned to them, giving them a million watt grin. "Nick, Zoro! I found you!"

"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Zoro, as Luffy bounded up to them. He skidded to a stop in front of them, holding his hat in place as he did so.

"What do you mean? I heard that big explosion and came to help," he stated, before he got a good look at the two. "What happened to you!? You're all beat up!" he shouted in alarm.

"This is nothing, just a scratch," Zoro said, uncaringly.

"Speak for yourself. I'm pretty sure I got rabies," Nick mentioned in a light tone.

"You're fine. More importantly, aren't you supposed to be watching the others?" Zoro questioned. Luffy's eyes widened in shock for a second, as he slammed his fist into his palm, "Oh yeah. Guess I forgot."

Zoro sighed in frustration as Luffy laughed out loud, unconcerned. Nick shook his head, just as exasperated as the swordsman. "There's nothing we can do about it now, so let's just finish up here and get back as soon as we can," he said, which got nods from the other two, with Luffy even adopting a serious face.

"And Luffy," Nick continued, staring right at the straw hat wearing pirate.

"Yeah?" Luffy responded, tilting his head.

"I know you were concerned and all, but next time, trust in your friends. We won't die so easily," Nick finished with a smile. Luffy's eyes widened a bit, before a grin split his face.

"Shishishi, you're right. My bad," Luffy said.

"Well, as long as you get it," said Zoro with a smirk. "Now let's finish this."

"Right!" the other two said. But before they could, Nick interrupted once more.

"Oh, and one more thing. Zoro won't admit it, but he's pretty tired. So you should help him out on his side," Nick said nonchalantly. Luffy didn't understand why, but he agreed nonetheless.

But while Luffy didn't understand Nick's suggestion, Zoro did. "Oi, you cheater!" he shouted. Nick gave him an innocent look, before running towards the pirates.

"Hey, get back here!" Zoro yelled chasing after him, more determined than ever to win their bet. If that brown haired asshole thinks he could win by having Luffy steal his kills, he had another thing coming.

Unknown to them, a new threat was arriving…

A few miles out at sea...

Three massive ships cut through the ocean's waves as they raced towards their destination. Each ship contained around a hundred pirates, with the largest, the one in the center, containing nearly double that amount.

"How much longer?" asked a sultry voice belonging to a beautiful, voluptuous woman with long blonde hair and piercing red eyes. She was currently relaxing in the ship's hot tub nestled at the highest point of the ship, completely nude.

"Almost Honey Queen. Look, you can see the island from here," said a dopey, nasally sounding voice to her left. This caught her attention, as she swam lazily to the other side of the jacuzzi, staring off into the distance.

"Oh my, look how bright! Skunk One's handiwork no doubt," she stated, admiring the brightly burning ship in the distance. But it wasn't only that, she could also see the town on fire as well.

"Most likely," said the voice form earlier. Honey Queen made a humming sound as she stood up, uncaring of her nudity.

"In that case, I suppose I should get ready. Right Boo Jack?" she asked, ignoring the way the fat man stared at her. They may have called each other siblings, but they weren't related by a single drop of blood. Lucky for her, as she doubted whatever spawned the pig-like human in front of her had even the smallest shred of beauty.

He wore a mustard yellow shirt with a large J on it that was too small for his girth, showing off his outie belly button. He wore dark yellow pants with a mint green sash along his waist. A pair of suspenders assured that his pants would not fall off.

Not again, at any rate.

He also wore a hat that was shaped like an actual pig's head, only white, along with a white fur cape draped behind him. He really took his pig theme seriously. A bit too seriously in Honey Queen's opinion.

She sauntered over to the man, taking a towel from his hand and drying herself off. She then wrapped it around herself before walking towards her room, Boo Jack following dutifully behind.

Mostly so he could stare at hers.

"Make sure the men are ready to have some fun," she stated as they walked through the halls. Thankfully she didn't run into any of the numerous, horny men on board. It would be a shame if she had to kill them before the battle even started.

"Of course Honey Queen. Whatever you say," Boo Jack responded with a grin. It almost made her shudder in revulsion. It was like he thought she would give him the time of day if he waited on her hand and foot.

What a worthless excuse of a man he was.

Unknowing of her thoughts about him, he ran off to make sure everything would go smoothly. She sighed as she entered her room, dropping her towel to the floor. She then sashayed over to her closet, staring at her clothes in ponderment.

"Now, what to wear? Something to catch my dear Kuro's attention. Hmm, no… not that one… I don't think so…" she muttered to herself as she threw clothes all about her room. After several frustrating minutes, she finally decided on an outfit.

It was a form fitting yellow corset with black highlights that made her look like a slutty honey bee. Her upper back and legs were completely exposed. White fur coiled around her slender midsection and two Q's were displayed prominently over her large breasts.

Pink leggings crawled their way up her legs, reaching her mid-thigh, capped up with another ring of white fur. On her feet were a pair of magenta high heel shoes. To complete her look, she wore a fancy coat with two different color schemes. One side was white with red dots, and the other was black with purple dots.

She inspected her appearance in the mirror, turning this way and that, admiring her sensual body. Satisfied with her outfit, she proceeded to the vanity to apply her makeup. There was no way her beloved Kuro would be able to resist her this time.

Once she was done, she blew a kiss at the mirror, her bright red lips curled back into a satisfied smile. She looked perfect, if she said so herself. But before she could appreciate the stunning figure reflecting back at her any longer, a knock interrupted her.

"Honey Queen. It's almost time to disembark," said Boo Jack from the other side of the door. She sighed, giving herself one last look, before making her way to the door. She opened it, and the pig-like man stood there speechless, gawking at her beauty.

"Well, let's get going shall we? We mustn't keep big brother waiting. He's so eager to meet his new bride," Honey Queen stated, as the two of them made their way to the deck.

They stood, surrounded by smelly, unwashed vagrants staring at the approaching island with eager grins. But more importantly to her, she could see Kuro waiting for her, standing at the edge of the cliff.

Oh how it made her heart swoon. They couldn't make landfall soon enough. And once they did, the real battle would begin