Usopp stared at the scene in front of him with confusion and worry. "What the hell happened here?" he asked himself, kneeling down. His hand brushed across the side of one of Kaya's guard dogs, sighing in relief as its chest rose and fell, signifying it was alive.

Looking around the room he spotted their food bows only half eaten. Strange, as he's never known them to leave any amount of food behind. One of their favorite pastimes was cleaning the kitchen floors of any and all scraps that happened to fall. Didn't matter if they'd just eaten either, the little gluttons were always ready and willing to eat more.

They especially loved it when Kaya made food, as she always made sure to "accidentally" spill some for them. He remembers coming over once and seeing her in a lovely yellow sundress and wearing a dirty white apron mixing something in a bowl. The dogs were all looking at her expectantly and she casually knocked over some of the batter. The dogs happily ran over and began to clean up the mess.

"Don't tell Merry or Klahadore, ok? This will be our little secret," she told them, while holding her index finger to her lips. Usopp would never forget her smiling, giggling face as the dogs jumped up and started licking her, barking happily with their tails wagging a million miles an hour.

Those mutts really adored her. Just another one of her charms.

That means something must be wrong with their food. If he had to guess, someone drugged it, put them to sleep. But who? Practically everyone had access to the dogs' food, but he couldn't imagine someone drugging them. Maybe there was a new hire he didn't know about, though that seemed unlikely with everything that's been going on.

Which would suggest they had a traitor. But who?

Just as he was beginning to think about this, a loud, piercing scream distracted him from his thoughts. The terrified, heartbroken sound belonged to someone he cared for very dearly.

"Kaya!" he yelled, sprinting towards her room as fast as he could. If they did anything to her, there would be hell to pay!

It didn't take him long to arrive at her door, having run faster than he ever had in his entire life. But when he tried to open it, he found it to be locked. Growling in frustration, he pounded against the thick, wooden door.

"Kaya, are you ok!? Speak to me!"

"Usopp, is that you!?" shouted a familiar voice from inside, making him sag in relief. She was alive, at any rate, but something had still caused her to scream.

"Yeah, it's me! Is everything ok? I heard you scream," he said.

"No, it's Merry! He's been shot, and I-ah!"

"Kaya! What happened!" he shouted, once more pounding on the door. When no answer came, he grit his teeth in anger. He had to get in that room, no matter what.

Stepping away from the door, he pulled out a round ball from his satchel, this one pure black. He ended it into his slingshot and aimed at the door handle, right where the lock would be.

"Special Attack: Exploding Star!"

The projectile flew from the slingshot and struck true, causing the door to explode. Usopp rushed forward, pushing what remained of the door to the side and stepping inside the room.

"Kaya, where are you!?" he shouted, waving smoke and dust out of his face. When it did clear enough, he saw the girl of his dreams, sometimes literally, thrown over another man's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Usopp…" she begged, reaching out for him, eyes filled with hope, before she passed out, her arm falling limp to the side.

"Kaya! Let her go right now, or else!" Usopp threatened, pointing his slingshot at the man dressed like a skunk. But rather than be intimidated, the kidnaper just smirked at him, completely unconcerned.

"Ah, and the dashing young hero makes his appearance. I applaud your bravery, young man. But I'm afraid I shan't be returning the young maiden to your care. You see, we can't have a wedding without the bride, now can we?" he asked, tone full of mockery as he grinned at Usopp.

"You bastard!" yelled the long nosed sniper, raising his weapon to aim directly at Skunk One's face.

"Ah ah ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you. You wouldn't want to hit the poor young lady, now would you?" he asked condescendingly, making Usopp hesitate. Skunk One sneered at the young man before jumping out the window, making Usopp panic.

"Kaya!" he shouted, running towards the window. When he got there, he saw the strangely dressed man flying through the sky heading towards the front entrance. He was about to leap out of the window when a wet cough distracted him. Turning around, he saw the bleeding form of Merry lying against the wall.

"Oh crap. Merry!" Usopp yelled, rushing towards him. He knelt down beside him,

panicking. "What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?" he repeated, seeing the amount of blood leaking from the hole in his side.

"Usopp, I'm so glad to see you unharmed. But Miss Kaya, I couldn't… I couldn't protect her. I'm such a failure," he belittled himself, tears of frustration leaking from his eyes.

"Don't say that. Out of everyone, you've been there for Kaya the most." The long nosed man said, grabbing a piece of cloth and pressing against the wound.

"And she still needs you, so you're not allowed to die, do you hear me?" Usopp said firmly. Merry chuckled, holding the cloth to his wound with one hand and drying his tears with the other.

"Loud and clear. I would be remiss in my duties if I departed without the Lady's express permission after all."

"Good, now get some rest. I'm going to go and save her," Usopp claimed with barely a waiver in his voice.

"Good luck Usopp. Bring our girl home," Merry said with a cough.

Giving the man a nod, Usopp stood up and made his way to the window, figuring it to be the fastest way. And that's when he noticed the men outside of the house. Dozens of rough looking men patrolled the area carrying torches, looking for anyone who thought they could escape.

"You've got to be kidding me," Usopp mumbled, wondering what he should do. Did he go back and run through the mansion? No, that would take too much time. And who knows if there were people inside as well, so it probably wouldn't save him any time regardless.

So he would just have to go through the ones outside then. Staring at his shaking hand, he thought of the woman he loved, the danger she was in, and the shaking stopped.

"There's no time to be scared, Usopp. Kaya needs you," he said to himself, eyes gaining a determined glint. He was still afraid, but that fear wouldn't stop him. He would save Kaya no matter what.

He placed his foot against the windowsill, waiting until no one was looking towards the tree and jumped, landing on a thick branch, the same one he told Kaya stories from. He was sure glad he didn't have time to booby trap it.

"Hey, did you hear something?" asked one of the guys below. Usopp immediately hid deeper into the foliage of the tree, making sure he couldn't be spotted. Luckily it was dark out, so the chances of him being spotted were pretty slim.

He was the best at hide and seek after all. As a coward, he knew the best ways to hide. Coincidentally, it was also a valuable skill for a sniper.

The goons below started looking around, but they couldn't see anything. Usopp knew it was now or never, he wouldn't get a better chance than this. Grabbing a few balls from his satchel, for rapid firing, he loaded one in his slingshot, aiming it at the guy closest to him.

"This is for Kaya," Usopp muttered, before releasing his shot. The ball flew true, hitting the guy in the temple, dropping him like a bag of rocks. A few of the others turned to see what the noise was, barely having time to notice the guy on the ground before they too were struck in the head, rendering them unconscious.

"What's going on!? What happened to them!?" someone shouted in a panic. They were frantically looking around now, guns and swords raised threateningly. But for once, Usopp didn't feel threatened.

For once, he was the predator, and they were his prey. But there were still so many, and he didn't have time for a lengthy hunt. That's when he got an idea.

He began to pick off the ones farthest out, the ones along the edge of the perimeter. Seeing this, the men below began to instinctually bunch up, the primal part of their psyche telling them there was safety in numbers. But that was exactly what Usopp wanted.

Another man fell to the ground, unconscious or dead, nobody knew which. The guys closest to him backed away, meeting the remaining dozen or so men in the center. They looked about the yard, wide eyed and frightened, but they couldn't find whoever was responsible.

"You coward! Come out and fight us fair and square!" shouted one guy with terror in his voice.

"If you insist," called out Usopp, revealing himself in the tree. The group turned to see who it was, and what they saw certainly wasn't what they were expecting.

"What, it's just some kid!?" shouted one in disbelief, as Usopp stared at them with cold eyes.

"Somebody shoot him!" yelled another. But when nobody did, he turned to his remaining pirate buddies, only to see each of them were carrying cutlasses, not guns.

"Sorry, but that's not happening," Usopp claimed. He made sure to take out the ones with guns first. After all, the guys with swords weren't much of a threat to him at the moment. Maybe if he was on the floor, but since he had the high ground, well…

They were just fish in a barrel.

Usopp held up his hand, showing the group a pair of pitch black metal balls. "You dared come to my home, hurt my friends, burn down the village, and kidnapped the woman I love. I'll make sure you regret each and every one of those decisions."

He then loaded them both into the pouch of the slingshot, aiming it right for the pirates he herded into a group.

"Take this! Special Attack: Twin Exploding Stars!"

The pair of bombs sailed towards the group, who let out shrieks of panic, before they were caught in a massive explosion. Bodies and limbs went flying all over the place, the grass at the center of the explosion catching fire.

Usopp watched this all with an impassive face. He didn't relish what he did, but he would do what needed to be done to protect the people he loved.

"Alright, now to go save Kaya. I hope the others are alright…" he muttered as he climbed down the tree as fast as he could, practically leaping to the ground. He landed, knees bent, before darting off towards the front of the house in the same direction he saw the other man fly off.

But when he rounded the corner and saw the amount of people there, he quickly dove back behind the building. He gazed out at the gathered pirates with a gulp. There were just so many. There was no way he could take them all on.

But that's when he saw something that caused both his eyes to widen in disbelief. "W-what's going on?" he stuttered, watching as the butler casually stood outside of the house.

Then, stepping through the broken doorway was a busty, blonde woman and a large, pig-like man behind her. But that wasn't the worrying part. No, that was for who the fat guy was carrying.

Nami was slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, her body bound by some kind of weird dark, yellow substance. Which also just so happened to be gagging her at the moment, and judging by the look in her eyes and the way she was squirming, he had to doubt she was screaming her head off at the moment, they just couldn't hear it.

While he was worried for her, it was the second person he saw the fat guy carrying, this one under his other arm, that infuriated him. It was Akisu, looking worse for wear.

"Bastard. What the hell does he think he's doing to my little brother," Usopp growled out. But as much as he wanted to charge in guns blazing, or in his case, slingshot blazing, he would probably get killed. And if that happened, there would be no one to save them. So for now he would bide his time and wait for the right moment to strike.

"Good job Honey Queen. I see there's at least someone I can rely on," said Kuro while fixing his glasses. Hearing his compliment sent the woman into a tizzy as she leapt at him, latching onto his arm again.

"Oh Kuro, darling, you sure know how to sweet talk a girl," she said, fluttering her eyelashes at him. His hand twitched, and he had to control the urge to kill the woman. Doing so would send him into an all out war with her boss, and that was something he would like to avoid.

Usopp, who was listening, was confused. "Kuro? But I thought his name was Klahadore. And why does it sound so familiar?" he thought, as he continued to observe them.

"Now, where is Skunk One? He should have retrieved Kaya by now," Kuro stated, gazing out at the crowd. The assembled pirates parted, and the man named Skunk One walked past them, tossing the sickly girl onto the floor.

"No need to fret, I retrieved her without issue. But I'm sorry to say your colleague insisted on barring my path and had to be… taken care of," Skunk One claimed with a grin.

"I see no issue with that. Saves me the trouble," he said, walking towards the girl who was just now coming to. She pushed herself up, shaking the cobwebs from her head before looking at her surroundings.

Her eyes widened, and she let out a yell. "W-who are you!? Where am I?"

"Now, now, there's no need to fret Miss. You're in good hands I assure you," Kuro said in a fake calming voice. Kaya turned to face him, her expression morphing into one of relief.

"Klahadore, it's you! I'm so glad you're safe. But, what's going on?" she asked, nervous eyes glancing at the pirates around her.

"Don't worry about them. They're merely here to escort you to your husband to be," Kuro sneered, adjusting his glasses once more.

Kaya's face morphed into one of confusion and disbelief. He didn't just say what she thought he did, did he? "I-I don't understand," she said, looking at her butler, friend, and mentor with hope in her eyes. Hope that this was all some kind of joke.

Kuro sighed and knelt down beside her. Kaya expected to see the same kind eyes she's always seen staring back at her. But what she got was anything but kindness. They were eyes of cruelty and derision, gazing at her with nothing but contempt.

"Then let me make it perfectly clear," he said, grabbing her by her hair and pulling her towards him. Kaya screamed in pain, tearful eyes looking at him with fear for the first time in her life. "Tomorrow, you will marry the Bear King and sign away your company to me. Afterwards, I don't really care what happens to you. Understand?"

He tossed her back to the ground, Kaya yelping as she hit the dirt hard. She looked back at him, tears streaming down her face. "I don't understand… How could you do this? I thought we were friends?"

"Friends? Is that what you believed? Let me tell you a little secret then, friend. Everyday spent under your service was pure agony. Having to listen to your sniveling voice daily was nothing but torture. It took all of my self restraint not to kill you every time I heard it," Kuro said, glaring at her with hateful eyes. Hearing this, all Kaya could do was cry.

"Klahadore…"

"That one, right there! That's the sound that made my blood boil every time I heard it!" he shouted, losing his cool. The pirates surrounding them, who had been enjoying the show, backed away, fearful of the madness they saw in his eyes.

Usopp watched the whole thing while shaking in rage. His fist clenched so tightly around his slingshot it was a miracle it hadn't snapped in two. He swore, then and there, to make that traitorous butler pay.

Nami, who had been listening to the whole thing, glared at the cruel man with everything she had. "Luffy, Nick, where are you?" she said in her mind, hoping they would make a miraculous appearance.

And to her surprise, one of them actually did.

"You really are a piece of shit, aren't you?" questioned a deep voice. Kuro looked up only for his face to be met with a fist. He went soaring back, hitting the ground hard before rolling to a stop.

Everyone watched as the hand that hit him seemed to retract, being attached to an impossible long arm. Once it returned to its owner, they finally saw who it was they were dealing with.

A green haired man with three swords standing there next to a scrawny looking kid wearing a straw hat.

"You…" Kuro said through grit teeth, holding onto his jaw in pain. Honey Quen was kneeling beside him, worry and anger etched onto her beautiful face.

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"So the heroes have finally arrived, have they?" Kuro said, standing up and staring at them with a glare.

"We're not heroes, we're pirates. And we're here to kick your ass, butler guy," Luffy said, a furious look in his eyes. One thing he could never forgive was someone hurting his friends.

He looked and saw Kaya on the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks, staring at him with hope and despair warring for dominance over her face. Nami was tied up with something and gagged, being held hostage by some big guy who looked like a pig, eyes telling him that he was late. And Akisu… bit the pig guy's hand.

"Yeowch!" he shouted, dropping him. He ran up to Kaya before kneeling down next to her. "Kaya, are you ok?" he asked, concern written all over his face.

"Oh Akisu, I'm fine. But you need to get out of here. It's too dangerous for you," she told him, gratitude filling her being at his concern for her. But she couldn't bear the thought of something happening to the sweet little boy because of her.

"I'm not leaving you!" he shouted back. Zoro gave a smirk at hearing the kid's courage. "Well I'll be damned. His big brother could learn a thing or two from him," he said, unknowing that Usopp could hear every word he said, sending him spiraling into depression.

Skunk One looked at the boy, or more specifically, his hair. "Wait a moment… Could he be…"

"So you've noticed. I should have known it wouldn't escape you," Honey Queen said, coming to stand next to him. He gave her a curious look, which she returned with a smirk.

"This might be the breakthrough we've been looking for. Be a dear and go to his house. See if he's been hiding anything. My efforts of persuasion have been less than successful," she mentioned, getting Skunk One to grin.

"That's because your methods of persuasion require one to have gone through puberty," he commented, getting a chuckle out of her, "Too true."

"But you know the whole town is on fire. I doubt his home was spared," he said.

"According to my darling, he lives on the outskirts of the village, in the opposite direction of where his men made landfall, so there's a chance it escaped the inferno," Honey Queen stated.

"Oh, I see. Then I shall leave posthaste," he exclaimed, voice tinged with excitement. This could be the big break they've been looking for. If the boy really did have it, that would make the perfect wedding gift.

Skunk One flew off, making Honey Queen cringe at the smell. While having the ability to fly was certainly useful, she wished he would do so in a more savory manner.

She turned her attention back towards the growing escalation, seeing that the hunky swordsman had drawn two of his swords, and the straw hat wearing one raised his fists. Looks like things were about to get interesting.

"I've had enough of this farce. Kill them, and be swift about it," Kuro ordered, much to the joy of the pirates, who let out cheers before charging towards Zoro and Luffy.

"Now then, what to do with you," Kuro stated, walking up to Akisu and Kaya, glaring down at them. Akisu got in a defensive stance, ready to defend Kaya even if he was scared out of his mind.

"I-I won't let you lay one more finger on her!" he shouted, much to Kuro's amusement. Then before Akisu could blink, the fake butler was in front of him, leg raised back before delivering a devastating kick to the young boy's torso.

"Akisu, no!" Kaya shouted. She made to head towards him, but a hand gripping her hair prevented her from doing so. She let out a scream of pain as she was forcefully pulled backwards.

"And where do you think you're going?" Kuro asked with a glare. Kaya looked back at him with tearful, yet defiant eyes. But before Kuro could belittle her anymore, a sharp pain in his hand forced him to let go.

"Ah! What was that!?" he shouted, cradling his injured hand. It wasn't broken, thankfully, but it would still reduce his effectiveness by a noticeable margin, which was simply unacceptable.

He turned to look behind him, and his eyes narrowed in fury, "You…"

"Keep your filthy hands off of her you damn, dirty pirate!" Usopp shouted. He was standing just past the corner, knees clicking together like they were a metronome going 10 times its normal speed.

"Usopp!" Kaya yelled in joy.

Kuro's eyes returned to a more normal, sardonic look as he gazed at the young man in front of him. "Well, I can honestly say I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd have the courage to face me directly. What a surprise," Kuro mocked, making Usopp grit his teeth in anger.

"All these years, you've mocked me for having a pirate as a father, all the while you've been one yourself!?" Usopp yelled, getting a smirk from Kuro.

"Yes, the irony is not lost on me. But while you wished to become like your detestable father, my ambition was to leave such a life behind me," he said, fixing his glasses. His words caught Luffy's attention, even as he bashed two guys' skulls together.

"And to do that you have to hurt Kaya!? Why!?" Usopp yelled.

"Why, for her money of course. I have no intention of living in squalor, nor do I intend to bow my head to such an insufferable brat any longer. Once this is over, I'll finally have the freedom I deserve, with all the riches I could ever ask for. I see no better way to retire from a life of piracy than that."

Usopp continued to glare hatefully at the man, while Honey Queen sent him looks of admiration, which morphed into shock, "Look out! Honey Wall!" she shouted, forming a barrier of hardened honey just in time to block a man's body from ramming into Kuro's.

The former butler turned around in surprise, and saw Luffy standing there with his eyes shadowed by his hat. "Was that you? Just who do you think you are?"

"I'm Luffy…" he started to say, placing his hand on his hat.

"The man who will become…" his head snapped up and he leveled Kuro with a glare of his own.

"King of the Pirates!"

Everything on the courtyard came to a stop. Not a single word was spoken, the only noise that could be heard was the wind blowing past them.

"Pfft…"

That is, until one asshole started to make a spectacle. Once that happened, it didn't take long for the others to join in.

"You? King of the Pirates? You must be joking?"

"He's just a pipsqueak!"

"What a dumbass!"

Luffy didn't respond to their taunts. He simply stood there, eyes never leaving Kuro's, uncaring of their taunts and jeers.

"Do you have any idea the nonsense you're spouting right now, boy?" Kuro asked. He didn't join in on the mockery, simply staring right back at the young man.

"Why should I care what a coward like you has to say? Someone like you, who threw away his pride, has no right to lecture me. The pirate flag is for life. It's not something you can just decide to leave behind," Luffy stated, making the area go quiet once again.

Zoro gave a smirk at the gobsmacked pirates. Luffy may have been a moron about 99% of the time, but that last 1% sure made an impression.

"Heh, well put Captain," he said with a smirk.

Usopp was looking at the rubber man with pure admiration. That speech was so cool! It reignited his passion and desire to head to sea himself.

Nami and Kaya wore similar expressions of awe, though it was hard to tell with Nami, what with her being gagged and all, but her eyes said everything.

Kuro however, was not so impressed by Luffy's little speech. In fact, he looked down right livid, the veins in his forehead pulsing angrily, like they could burst open any second.

"You little brat! I'll make sure to kill you nice and slow," Kuro ground out.

"Go ahead and try. I'll never lose to a fake pirate like you," Luffy said, putting his hands up.

"As you wish," Kuro growled, pulling out a pair of gloves from… somewhere. But before he could put them on, a hand on his forearm prevented him from doing so.

"Now, now, Kuro dear, there's no need to get so worked up. A naive fool like him is no match for someone like you. He's just trying to rile you up. Let them handle it," she said, indicating the pirate minions all around them.

Kuro glared at her and for a moment, it looked like he was about to attack her. But he managed to collect himself just in time. Not like it would have done him any good anyway with her Logia powers.

The fake butler adjusted his ruffled sleeves with a huff, swiping his hand across his hair to fix it. "I suppose you are right, Honey. Best let riffraff deal with other riffraff."

"Exactly. Now, I think we have everything we need, don't we? Perhaps it's time to make our departure?" she suggested. Kuro seemed to think it over, before smirking at the Strawhats.

"Yes, I believe you are correct," he said, reaching down and pulling Kaya to her feet by her hair, making her scream out again.

"Kaya! Let her go, you bastard!" Usopp yelled, aiming his slingshot at him once again. But Kuro merely gave him a cocky grin before placing Kaya in harm's way, making Usopp hesitate.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Weren't you going to shoot me?" he asked condescendingly.

"Usopp…" Kaya cried, making him shake in anger.

"Dirty bastard," Zoro said, watching the scene.

Honey Queen smiled, watching the man of her dreams express his ruthless side. "Well this has been fun, but it's time for us to take our leave. But don't worry, our friends here will stay and keep you company," she said, making all the pirates around her chuckle, giving them eager smirks.

"Fine by me. Once we're done with them, you're next," Zoro told them, pulling out his third sword and placing it on his mouth.

"Oh I think you'll be much too busy for that," she told him with a smile. One that said she knew something he didn't. He found it extremely irritating.

"You really think these weaklings will hold us back for long? You really are just a dumb bimbo, aren't you?" Zoro asked with a smirk. Honey Queen gained a tick mark, casting a baleful look the swordsman's direction.

"We'll see who the bimbo is after all these men stick their swords in you," she said, before turning to look at Boo Jack. "Do it," she commanded.

He gave an eager look, pulling out a flare gun and shooting it into the sky. The others watched this with concern. Well, Nami and Usopp did, while Luffy looked curious and Zoro looked bored.

"W-what now!?" Usopp yelled in fright.

His question was answered when several dozens of pirates began entering the courtyard. "Where did they all come from!?" Usopp shouted. That's when he remembered the couple of dozens of pirates he just defeated. There must have been more surrounding the house.

"Looks like the gang's all here," she said with a coy smirk. "Now we really must be going. Boys, be good and play with them, will you?"

"You got it Honey Queen!" shouted some random simp.

"Get 'em!" shouted another.

Luffy and Zoro once more began fighting. Luffy punched one guy into the air before stretching his arm out to grab him and slam him into the ground. Zoro grinned as he began to weave in and out of the group, slashing and stabbing anyone who got too close.

And it wasn't just them, Usopp began firing at anyone he could, taking out a guy pointing a gun at Zoro. It was clear that they wouldn't be able to hold them off for long.

"Now then, let us be off," Kuo said, adjusting his glasses with the arm that wasn't clutching a woman's hair.

"No! You can't make me!" Kaya shouted, struggling against him. And she wasn't the only one, as Nami did her best to make Boo Jack's life utterly miserable.

"Enough, I don't have time for these shenanigans! Jango!" Kuro ordered. The hypnotist sprung into action. Well, more like, waddled with all his injuries. Kaya and Nami were forced to look towards him as he pulled out a metal ring on a string.

"Now, look into the pendulum as it swings. Back and forth, back and forth. There is nothing but the ring and my voice. Back and forth, back and forth…" Jango began saying. Nami and Kaya's eyes dulled as they stared at it, falling deeper and deeper into a trance, until their eyes were completely lifeless.

"Good. Now, when I say one, two Jango, you will comply with all of our demands. Ready? One, two, Jango."

Nami and Kaya slumped forwards, unable to put up a resistance any longer. The boys, who had been watching, called out in concern, but neither of the girls were able to answer.

"You bastard! What did you do to them!?" Luffy shouted, punching someone in the face.

"Just a little hypnotism. Nothing to get so worked up over," Jango replied. With that, the group began to leave, but Boo Jack asked a question, "What about him?" They turned to see what he was talking about, only to spot Akisu on the ground, struggling to sit up.

"He might make a useful hostage. No use wasting a potential asset," Kuro said after a moment. Boo Jack shrugged before reaching down and picking him up.

"Hey, let me go," he said, trying to escape. But his efforts proved fruitless. He was far too weak to do anything against the pirate.

Once that was settled, they once more started walking towards the exit, only to be stopped once again.

"Curse these foul interruptions. What do you want!?" growled Kuro angrily.

"Sorry, Captain Kuro sir, it's just… we're getting slaughtered out there. Can't you do something?" he asked, staring at the man fearfully. Kuro adjusted his glasses, glaring at the man.

"How about I give you a choice? Either die to them or die to me. Your choice," he stated. The pirate thought he was joking for a moment, but it soon became clear that he was deadly serious.

Taking a fearful step back, he gathered what little courage he had and charged at the Straw Hat Pirates with a battle cry, only to immediately get punched in the face by Luffy.

"Now if that's everything…" Kuro stated.

"Oh come now, there's no reason to be so grumpy, Puddin, we won," Honey Queen said, giggling as she grabbed onto his arm again.

"Damn you woman, release me," he muttered, trying to pry her off to no avail.

"Tsk, they're getting away," said Zoro as he cut down another pirate.

"Get back here you cowards!" Luffy shouted. But their way was barred by the dozens of pirates still left, too afraid to run away, willing to fight them to the death to avoid… a different death.

Well, to be fair, Luffy and Zoro might not kill them, but Kuro definitely would. Better to take their chances against them.

Usopp, who had been watching from afar, glared angrily as he watched them disappear into the distance. "Kaya, don't worry, I'll come for you!" he shouted in his mind. But first, they had to take care of these guys.

Another minute or two went by, but it seemed like no matter how many of them they took out, their numbers never decreased. Even with Luffy taking out several at once and Zoro's skill with a sword, it was starting to look impossible.

"There has to be something I can do! Kaya's counting on me!" Usopp yelled in his mind. He searched his satchel for anything that could take them out, when he found a small, pink marble. He pulled it out and stared at it, face slowly morphing into a grin.

"This is it! With this, I can take them all out at once!"

He loaded the piece of ammunition, aiming at the crowd of enemies. "Luffy, Zoro, get out of the way!"

The two turned to see Usopp pointing his slingshot at them. They gave each other a look before shrugging and moving away from the pirates.

"Take this! Special Attack: Squirrel Star!"

Usopp fired the pink ball, which exploded into an equally pink mist. The pirates yelled in fear, but looked at each other confused when nothing happened. They gave him a mocking grin as they taunted him.

"Nice try, loser! Looks like that was a dud!"

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Usopp said with a grin. That only confused them more, especially Luffy and Zoro, who had been expecting… well they didn't know what they were expecting, but thought something would happen.

However, their answers would be answered momentarily. Just when it looked like the battle was about to continue, one of the pirates noticed something a little strange.

"Is that a squirrel?" he asked, looking beneath him. The others looked as well, and indeed, there was a squirrel standing there, looking up at him.

"What do you want, you little rat? I don't have any nuts for you, so scram! Shoo!" he yelled. But the squirrel only stared at him for a moment longer before letting out a scream and lunging towards him.

"Ah, my nuts! Get it off, get it off!" he shouted, while those around him laughed their asses off. Luffy and Zoro, who were watching this, paled. They knew exactly what those little monsters were capable of.

"Huh? Is that another one?"

"There's one over here too."

"And here."

"Um, guys…"

They all turned around at the terrified sound the last guy made, and to see what looked like an army of squirrels a hundred strong, all with glowing red eyes, staring at them.

"Well, fu-"

But he wouldn't get to finish his swear as the squirrels chose that moment to attack, causing them to scream in panic.

Usopp made his way to the other two, watching the carnage unfold. "That takes care of that," Usopp said smugly.

"Wow, Usopp, I didn't know you could control squirrels. So cool!" Luffy said. His words made Usopp puff out his chest in pride.

"Just what the hell was that pink stuff anyway?" Zoro asked.

"Oh that? Squirrel pheromones," Usopp stated casually.

"How did you get that?" Zoro asked incredulously.

"...You don't want to know," Usopp responded with a shiver.

"Whatever. With them taken care of we can go after the others," Zoro said. Usopp's smug look turned serious.

"Yeah. I'm gonna make them pay for what they did to Kaya and Akisu."

"Let's go get our friends back," said Luffy, eyes set in stone. The other two gave him a nod. "Right!"

The three of them gave chase, running as fast as they could. There was just one problem.

"Where did they go!?" Luffy shouted angrily. There was no sign of them anywhere. They tried looking for tracks, but there were too many footprints to make heads or tails of what direction they went.

"Kaya… Akisu…" Usopp muttered, clenching his fists. He looked around frantically for some sign of which way they went. Any clue at all. Something!

"Captain!" they heard a voice shout. Turning, they saw it was Usopp's friends, Onion, Carrot, and Pepper, running towards them. They waited several seconds until the kids reached them, huffing and puffing.

"What are you guys doing here, it isn't safe!" Usopp yelled.

"We went to your house to see if you were ok, and we saw this weird guy dressed kind of like a skunk tearing your place apart," Carrot said, making Usopp's eyes widen.

"Yeah, and when he mentioned Akisu getting captured, we ran over here as fast as we could to help," said Pepper. Usopp sighed, though he couldn't keep the grin off his face.

"You guys are way braver than me, you know that?"

"We know," they all responded at once.

"You little jerks! Be nicer to your Captain!"

"We don't have time for this. We need to find that shifty eyed butler before he gets away," Zoro said in his usual gruff tone of voice.

"Huh? Do you mean Klahadore? Why are you looking for him?" asked Onion, with the other kids being equally confused. Sure the guy was a jerk but that didn't explain the vitriol in the green haired man's voice.

"Listen, his name isn't Klahadore, it's Kuro. He's a pirate, the one responsible for everything, and he's after Kaya's money," Usopp explained.

"What!?" they shouted in surprise. They just couldn't imagine it. That stick in the mud butler, a pirate? Their Captain must be joking. But judging from the look on his face, they were starting to have doubts.

"It's true. And the worst part is, he took Kaya, Nami and Akisu captive. We need to find them before it's too late," Usopp said, frustration leaking from his voice.

"Well, if you're looking for him, he went that way. Towards the cliffs," Onion said, pointing. The others stared at him for a moment, not quite comprehending what he said.

"What, how do you know that?" Usopp asked.

"I saw him and some weirdos going that way with Kaya and the others. I thought that he was taking her somewhere safe. But now that you mention it, I did think it was weird that the orange haired lady was all tied up," he muttered, eyes gaining a contemplative look to them.

"Gee, ya think!?" shouted Carrot and Pepper.

"Hahaha, this is great. Now we can go beat them up. Thanks guys!" Luffy said with a big grin.

"Yeah, not bad kids," Zoro said. The three of them gave big smiles, happy to have been helpful.

"You did good. Now go where it's safe. I'm sure your parents are worried for you," Usopp said, lightheartedly chastising them.

"Yeah, you're probably right," mumbled Pepper, thinking about it.

"Alright, let's go! There's no way we're letting them get away," said Luffy, eyes alight with determination.

The other two agreed, and they began to run in the direction Onion pointed them to. The three of them watched them go, before Carrot spoke up. "Hey, do you think we should have told them about that Nick guy?"

"Naw, I'm sure they'll figure it out soon enough," said Onion. Having done their part, the three began heading towards the shipyards, where most of the town had gathered.

Luffy, Zoro and Usopp raced across the landscape, heading for the cliffs as fast as their legs could take them. Thankfully, they didn't have very far to go, and within a minute or so, they could make out the forms of the kidnappers, walking towards the cliffs.

"Hey, stop right there! Give me back my friends!" Luffy shouted. Kuro and the others turned around, surprised and frustrated to see them.

"Those useless lumps. If I ever see them again, I'll make sure to end them nice and slow," the fake butler ground out.

"Ugh, there's nothing I hate more than persistent men," muttered Honey Queen.

"Alright, hand them over and I won't cut you too bad," threatened Zoro. But Honey Queen only looked amused by the threat.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with, do you?" she asked with a coy smile, making Zoro's eye twitch in irritation. He was getting real sick of her mouth.

"Hey, fake pirate, you ready? I'm about to kick your ass," Luffy said, cracking his knuckles.

"Is that right? I'm afraid I don't have time for that. Jango, if you would?" ordered Kuro.

"You got it Boss. Right awaaaaay?" he trailed off, seeing something in the distance. Looking to see what had him so distracted, Kuro was mildly surprised by what he saw.

"Oh, look at that Puddin. Your kitty cats are comin to help. Ain't that just the cutest-" but her praise was cut short when the Black Cats ship, the Bezan Black, opened fire on their ships, hitting the one closest to it and setting it ablaze.

"What the hell!?" Honey Queen shouted, utterly flabbergasted. And she wasn't the only one.

"Uh, did they have a falling out or something?" Usopp asked, unsure of what to make of the situation. Luffy and Zoro didn't say anything, simply watching and waiting to see what would happen.

"Those idiots! What do they think they're doing!?" Kuro yelled, losing his cool again. The Bezan Black fired again, hitting the ship for a second time, causing the mast to fall over. A third round and the ship started to sink, taking all of its crew with it, nearly 150 men in total.

They could see someone on the deck, but they could make out who it was. It was too dark. But when the ship sailed close enough to the fire on the ship, they were able to make out exactly who it was.

"Well I'll be damned. That sneaky son of a bitch," said Zoro, a smirk finding its way onto his face. Usopp's eyes couldn't have gone any wider if he tried, and the same could be said for Luffy's grin, if he wasn't made of rubber.

"Nick!" Luffy shouted, waving his hands happily at his friend, glad to see that he was alright. Not only that, but he stole their enemy's ship!

Nick stood on the deck, wearing a simple white shirt along with a flowing, red coat. His pants were a matte black, as were his boots, only they had some golden colored trim along the top.

Not only that, but it seemed like he stole a few more weapons as well, with a cutlass on his left side and a pistol on his right hip. And of course, he had his trusty shovel with him as well, slung over his shoulder.

The wind was blowing his hair like crazy, and he cut quite the imposing figure, standing there in the glow of the blazing inferno.

"Hey, which one of you owns this thing!?" he called out, coming to the railing and staring out at the assembled group.

"Nick…?" Nami muttered, her eyes regaining some life to them.

"You bastard! What the hell have you done!?" shouted Kuro, losing the last of his cool. He couldn't believe that smart ass from earlier managed to not only steal his ship, but he also destroyed one belonging to his allies as well. It shouldn't have been possible!

"Is that you, Klahadork!? Don't tell me this pirate ship belongs to you!? I'm shocked, really!" Nick shouted, more than a little sarcastically.

"Little, upstart, bastard," Kuro growled, fingers twitching, desperately wanting to kill the man.

"Anyway, to answer your question!" he said, putting his foot on the railing and giving them a massive, cocky grin.

"I stole your ship, bitch!"