Chapter 15 - 15: Whiskey Peak!

It had been a few days since Luffy and the crew had left the Twin Capes and began their journey to the first island on the Grand Line. They were currently sailing through calm waters while snowflakes rain from above. Luffy was sitting on the throne in the cold, drinking whiskey while Zoro was off to the right sleeping in the cold. Nami and Nojiko couldn't take the cold so, the two of them were bundled up in winter clothes and staying the kitchen where it was warmer with the two people who Luffy allowed to travel with them to Whiskey Peak. Usopp and Johnny were on the main deck building snowmen while Sanji and Yosaku were shoveling snow off of the ship. Luffy looked down at Usopp and Johnny who went from building snowmen to having a snowball fight. Luffy sighed before he got an idea and smirked.

"Hey, Usopp! Johnny!" he called out getting their attention. "If the two of you are going to goof off at least train while you do it," he said causing them to look at him with a puzzled look on their faces.

"What do you mean, big bro Luffy?" Johnny asked while looking up at Luffy.

"I mean have your little snowball fight while blindfolded," he said before taking a sip of his drink. "It will help train your observation haki," he said causing the two of them to smile before running into the kitchen and grabbing their blindfolds before coming back out and continuing their snowball fight. Luffy then took another sip of his drink and looked up to the sky. As he looked up lightning flashed above and thunder boomed overhead. It was loud enough to make everyone pause what they were doing and look at Luffy.

"Don't look at me, that was nature," he said causing them to go back to what they were doing. Luffy then noticed the wind was picking up and once calm snow shower turned into a blizzard. He sighed and reached into his coat and pulled out a square locket that was gold in color and attached to a golden chain that was connected to the inside of his coat. He used his thumb to flip open the locket and took a look inside. Inside of the locket was divided into two parts. Both halves had a log pose in it but, it was two different looking log poses. The upper half had a single log pose similar to the one Nami bought in Louge Town, while the bottom half had three log poses grouped together [picture Jack Sparrow's compass]. Luffy looked at the upper part of the compass and growled.

"Something wrong, Captain?" Zoro asked from next to Luffy. Luffy closed the locked before and placed it back in his coat before he replied to Zoro.

"It would appear as though my navigator is useless," he said before walking to the head of the upper deck and yelled out to the crew. "ALRIGHT LISTEN UP!" he yelled getting everyone's attention. "STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND TURN THIS SHIP AROUND!" he yelled out confusing all of them. Nami and Nojiko head what he said and came out of the kitchen to see why they needed to turn around.

"Luffy," Nami said getting his attention. "Why do we need to turn around?" she asked. Luffy looked at her with an emotionless look on his face before he replied.

"Well Ms. Navigator, if you were doing your job you would have noticed we are going in the opposite direction," Luffy said calmly causing all of their eyes to widen. "Now if all of you are done being surprised I would highly suggest all of you...TURN THIS F.U.C.K.I.N.G SHIP AROUND!" Luffy yelled letting his temper show a bit before he went and sat on his throne and pour himself a full glass of whiskey before he chugged it all it down. Luffy looked down and watch everyone panicking and scrambling about as the weather began to change again. Sanji and Nojiko were manning the rudder, Johnny and Yosaku were tieing up the sails, Usopp was running around fixing damages while Nami was calling out orders. Luffy had thought about going down there and helping Nami, but he decided otherwise because he wanted her to get the experience. It was then Luffy realized that his first mate was nowhere to be seen among the chaos. He looked over the last place he saw Zoro and saw the swordsman was off to his right sleeping causing Luffy's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance.

'He's really sleeping...I'll let Nami deal with him,' Luffy thought to himself with an evil smirk on his face. After about thirty minutes of chaos, everything finally was quiet and the ship was sailing in the right direction. It was at that point Zoro decided to wake up. He got up and stretched while yawning before walking over towards Luffy and spoke.

"Hey captain," he said getting Luffy's attention. "Something has been bugging me for a while," he said causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow.

"What's bugging you?" Luffy asked as he got up from his throne.

"It's about those two people we picked up at the Twin Capes," he said causing Luffy to narrow his eyes.

"What about them?" Luffy asked. He was genuinely suspicious of those two since he met them. The only reason he agreed to take them to their homeland was so he can raid the island.

"The names," Zoro said confusing Luffy. "I'm quite sure I head names like theirs before, but I can't remember when or where," he said causing Luffy to nod his head before he replied.

"Keep an eye on them," he said causing Zoro to nod his head. Luffy then walked behind Zoro and grabbed him by the back of his neck and dragged him towards the rest of the crew. 'Captain! What are your doing!?" Zoro yell/asked as he was being dragged. Luffy didn't answer him instead he looked towards Nami before he yelled out to her.

"Hey, Nami!" Luffy yelled getting her attention. Luffy then tossed Zoro off of the upper deck towards the main deck where she was before he spoke. "My lovely vice-captain was sleeping throughout that entire ordeal," he said with an evil smirk before he walked back over to his throne while the air was filled the screams of Zoro. Just as Luffy was about to sit down Johnny's voice caused him to stop and turn around.

"Island up ahead!" Johnny yelled from the front of the ship getting everyone's attention. Everyone looked up ahead of them and saw an island showing through some mist.

"So, that's Whiskey Peak," Sanji said as he lit a new cigarette.

"Its landscape isn't like any island I've ever seen," Nojiko said.

"Our first journey on the Grand Line comes to an end," Luffy said as he walked next to the crew and stared at the island. The island itself had an odd shape, there are several mountains that gave off an appearance of giant cacti.

"Hey look," Nami said while pointing forward. "There is a waterway seems to go right up to the shoreline," she said as they began sailing inland.

"Umm, I am weighing the possibilities of monsters out there," Usopp said in a scared voice.

"Well, it is a possibility, this is the Grand Line after all," Zoro said. Luffy then looked towards the bounty hunting duo and spoke.

"You two go bring our two prisoners, we can use them as bargaining ch.i.p.s," he said causing the two of them to run off to get the man and the woman. As the ship sailed further into the waterway a thick fog appeared causing everyone to be on guard. When Johnny and Yosaku return with the man and the woman, they placed the two of them in front of Luffy and went to stand behind him. Luffy glanced down at the man and woman before he turned his attention back to the surrounding area. Even though he couldn't see anyone he could clearly sense them. Playing it safe, he gave a mental command to the cloud containing all of the treasure to go up into the sky.

"Hey, there is someone over there!" Usopp said as he pointed off to the left side of the ship. Everyone looked over and saw the silhouettes of two people moving.

"We should be on guard," Nojiko said as she pulled out her metal staff. Luffy didn't say anything he simply looked ahead of the ship with narrowed eyes. As the ship sailed a little bit further in even more silhouettes of appeared. This time they were on both sides of the waterway and the sound of people cheering filled the air. As they exited the fog everyone saw on both sides of the waterway there were people lined up cheering and waving as the ship sailed by. Everyone including Luffy was beyond confusing at what was happening and they all had one common thought in their heads.

'What kind of place welcomes pirates?' they all thought as they stared the citizens of Whiskey Peak with a bewildered look on their faces.

"Welcome to the Grand Line!" one person yelled from the shore as the crew sailed by.

"Greetings and good tidings great travelers!" Another yelled.

"We are happy to have you here at Whiskey Peak!" Someone else yelled out. The entire crew was stunned beyond belief because there is a town that welcomes pirates with open arms. While everyone else to stunned at what was going on, Usopp was relieved.

"Those aren't monsters, its people," he said as he let out a sigh of relief.

"People who are welcoming pirates," Yosaku said in a surprised voice.

"They Grand Line sure is a strange place," Johnny said as he shook his head. Luffy, Nami, and Zoro, however, were suspicious of the citizens and their behavior while everyone else on the crew started smiling and waving back at the people. Sanji was ogling the girls, Usopps was putting on his brave warrior of the sea act, while everyone else smiled and waved at the people. Luffy looked to Zoro who was standing off to his right and gave a small nod telling him to keep his guard up. He then walked over to Nami and whispered in her ear.

"When they fall asleep I want you to do what you do best," he whispered causing her to smirk before he nodded her head. As the ship docked the crew walked down to the main deck getting ready to exit with Luffy leading the way. At the back of the group were Johnny and Yosaku with Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9 tied up. Every member of the crew exited the ship except for Johnny and Yosaku along with Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9, Luffy had told them to stay on board until he called for them. Down on the shore, Luffy and the crew were standing in front of a tall man with a small red nose and has blonde hair in a style that resembles a powdered wig and was carrying a saxophone.

"Welcome- *cough* *cough*- Ma~ma~ma~ Welcome, my name is Igarappoi and it is my honor as mayor to welcome you to Whiskey Peak," the man now named Igarappoi said in a welcoming voice that Luffy did not trust.

"My name is Luffy, thank you for welcoming us," Luffy said with a warm fake smile that the man bought.

"You will find that this is a place that thrives on making Liquor and music," Igarappoi said with a smile as spoke to Luffy. "Hospitality is a matter of pride in our town. The smiles run long and the Liquor flows as bountiful as sea water," he said.

"That's good to hear and all, However," Luffy said as his smile dropped. "We picked up two passengers on our way here who are from this town and promised us gold as payment for bringing them here and I expect to have that gold or else...the blood in this town will flow as bountiful as the sea water," Luffy said in an emotionless voice causing Igarappoi to take a step back before he spoke again.

"Can I see these two people who you say are from our town?" he asked causing Luffy to nod his head before looking back at the ship.

"Johnny! Yosaku!" Luffy called out and two seconds later Johnny and Yosaku along with the man and the woman came out. "I believe they go by Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9," he said as he looked back at the man. As he looked at the man he saw the man's face take on a pissed off look for a split second before he quickly hit it behind his happy smile.

"Oh yes, those two are from here," Igarappoi said as he turned his attention back to Luffy. "And do not worry, you will be compensated for returning these two back home. Now would you permit us to throw a party in your arrival so we can hear- *cough* *cough*- Ma~ma~ma~ your tales of adventure?" he asked with a warm smile. Luffy placed his fake smile back on before he replied.

"We would be honored to," He said as he walked up and shook Igarappoi's hand before the two of them turned to walk into the town. As they were about to walk off Nami spoke to Igarappoi.

"How long does it take the log pose to record this island's magnetic field?" she asked while holding up her hand showing the log pose. Igarappoi looked at her and smiled before he spoke.

"Oh don't worry about that," he said as he walked towards Nami causing Luffy to narrow his eyes while Nami looked at him with a confused look on her face. "Such boring details will have to wait. Surely you would like to rest after your journey," he said as he placed his hand on Nami's shoulder. "Now, Let's prepare to party! Sing and be merry! Entertain our guest!" Igarappoi shouted causing the townspeople to cheer loudly along with Sanji and Usopp. Igarappoi led the crew in a small bar where everyone sat down and began drinking and eating. Luffy didn't trust anything about this town so he pulled out his own drink and began drinking and from the looks of it, the townspeople thought he was drinking something they gave to him. It was one big party inside of the bar, the band was playing joyous music, Sanji was flirting with every girl he saw, Usopp was telling his famous stories about defeating some monster, Nami and Nojiko were having a drinking competition against a few of the townspeople, while Zoro and the Bounty hunting duo were off in the corner quietly drinking. From what Luffy had observed Zoro had told those two to keep their guards up and not to trust the people of this strange town. As the evening progressed Luffy's crew along with the townspeople began to get drunk. It wasn't until midnight when Luffy started noticing his crew members started passing out one by one. At first, he just thought they drank too much, but when Zoro passed out Luffy realized that their drinks must have been spiked because there was no way Zoro would pass out from the amount he drank. Deciding to go along with it, for now, he acted as though he had passed out as well in order to see what these people's objectives were.

After pretending to be sleeping for the past hour Luffy got up and snuck outside through the roof before jumping across to a nearby building and hid in the shadows. He could see standing out in front of the bar that he was just in was Igarappoi talking to Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9.

"It's good to see you again Igarappoi...I mean Mr. 8," said Mr. 9 as he stood in front of Igarappoi.

"I see you two failed another mission," Igarappoi said as he looked at the two of them. Before any one of the two of them could reply a woman walked out of the bar dressed like a nun.

"No one had any high hopes of them completing that mission anyway," she said as she began to take the nun costume off.

"Why don't you go try and kill that whale!" Mr.9 yelled.

"Yeah, besides those pirates got in our way," Ms. Wednesday said in an annoyed voice. "by the way, where are they?" She asked while looking at the woman.

"They are all passed out inside. I had to doctor their drinks a bit otherwise they would still be up drinking us under the table," the woman said.

"Good thinking, Ms. Monday," Igarappoi said as he looked at the now named Ms. Monday.

"Now can you explain to me why it was necessary to put on that elaborate show for those idiots?" She asked in an annoyed voice. "I get that nobody wants to hear me wine, but it is my duty to point out the amount of food we wasted. We could have just ambushed them at the harbor, after all, we are already short on supplies," she said while placing her hand on her hip and staring at Igarappoi.

"Calm down, before you question the validity of my plan you should see this," he said as he held up Luffy's wanted poster. When Luffy saw this he smirked.

'So, they're bounty hunters,' Luffy thought to himself as he continues to spy on the group.

"100 million berries! For that kid!?" the three of them screamed with eyes the size of dinner plates.

"Don't be foolish, appearances can be deceiving," Igarappoi said as he placed the wanted poster back in his pocket.

"So what do we do now? Do we kill them?" Ms. Monday asked.

"No," Igarappoi said surprising the three of them along with Luffy. "If we kill them the bounty drops 30%. The government like to do public executions," he said in a grim tone.

"I see," Ms. Wednesday said.

"Now go, I want them alive!" ordered causing them to nod their heads. It had looked like they were going to reply but before they could reply a voice stopped them in their tracks and cause their eyes to widen.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt," the voice said causing the four of them to spin around and look at the roof of the bar. When they got around they saw Zoro standing there with his Kitetsu blade drawn along with Johnny and Yosaku each holding their bisentos. Luffy was surprised that they were awake and the fact that he didn't sense them. "You mind letting my friends sleep," he said as he stared down at the four.

"Yeah, it was a long and exhausting journey," Johnny said as he locked eyes with Mr. 9.

"So do try to keep your screams for mercy down. We wouldn't want to wake them," Yosaku added in an emotionless voice. When Luffy heard that he couldn't help but smirk.

'I think I've rubbed off on them a bit too much,' he thought to himself. Just then the door of the bar opened and out came two men with guns.

"Hey Mr.8, Mr. Monday!" they yelled as the opened the door. "Four of them escaped from the room while we weren't looking," they said causing their eyes to widen.

"FOUR!?" the yelled/asked simultaneously.

"But there is only three of them here," Ms. Wednesday said in a scared voice. "Where is the other one?" she asked. Before anyone else to fathom a reply Zoro spoke up.

"Don't you think it is time you come out of your hiding spot, Captain?" Zoro asked while looking over to the building right next to the bar puzzling everyone else. A few seconds later out walked Luffy from the shadows of the building chuckling to himself.

"Good job Zoro," he said as he jumped across the roof. "Your training is paying off," he added as he walked next to the three of them.

"Big bro Luffy, you're awake as well?" Johnny asked causing everyone to sweat drop. Luffy looked at him for a second before he shook his head and didn't bother replying to him. Instead, he turned his attention to the four individuals standing below them.

"You sneaky retches!" Mr. 8 shouted. "You four should have stayed asleep with the rest!" he yelled as more and more people began to gather.

"A true swordsman would never make such a mistake of letting his guard down," Zoro said causing Luffy to smile. "And judging from the cheap disguises I'm guessing you're all bounty hunters," he said as he unsheathed another sword.

"Your specialty is robbing drunk pirates of fall for your hospitality," Luffy added in his usual emotionless voice.

"I count a hundred of these sc.u.mbags, give or take a few," Johnny added as he adjusted his glasses.

"We'll fight all of you," Zoro said as he stared at them with narrowed eyes. "You hear me...Baroque Works!" he yelled causing all of their eyes to widen in shock. Luffy was puzzled because he had never heard of any organization by that name.

"Ahh! How do you know our name!?" Mr. 8 yelled out in anger and shock. Zoro simply chuckled before he replied.

"I was in a similar line of work once upon a time," he said while grinning. "Your company came and tried to entice me with a job offer. Naturally, I declined," he said causing Luffy and the others to understand how he knew about the organization. "Do the same rules still apply? Employee's identity kept secret, cheesy code names, the boss's identity and whereabouts remain a mystery. Baroque Works the fateful organization that carries out their orders like herded sheep," Zoro said in an amused tone causing Luffy and the bounty hunting duo to chuckle.

"This is a surprise," Mr. 8 said in a cold tone. "If you know all of your secrets we are left with little choice but to kill you," he said in a grim tone as he stared at the four of them. Luffy chuckled before he summoned his thundercloud throne and sat down.

"You are welcome to try," Luffy said as he sat down. "The three of you should be able to handle this, if I get involved it won't be any fun," he said pissing off the Baroque Works agents.

"You dare underestimate us!" one random Baroque Works agent yelled out in anger. Yosaku chuckled lowly before he spoke to the person who yelled.

"Please, if anything he is doing all of you a favor because if he joins in the fight, all of you will pass from this world and into the next not really knowing what happened," he said scaring a few agents. Luffy chuckled when he heard what Yosaku said.

"Enough!" Mr.8 yelled our getting everyone's attention. "Kill them!" he yelled causing all of the Baroque Works agents to charge at the four pirates. Zoro and the bounty hunting duo looked at Luffy who simply nodded his head telling them to go. That was all the three of them needed before they jumped off the roof and started fighting the bounty hunters. Luffy simply sat in his throne and poured himself a drink as he watched his three crew members tear through the bounty hunters. As he was taking a sip of his drink four random Baroque Works agents got the stupid idea of trying to ambush Luffy from behind. Of course, Luffy knew they were there but he paid them no mind. The four agents didn't know what hit them as four lightning bolts shot out of Luffy's throne and pierced right through their c.h.e.s.t killing the four of them.

"Trash," Luffy said with a sigh before he turned his attention back to everything that was going on below him. Zoro was cutting through the crowd with ease just as Luffy had expected him to. The thing the surprised Luffy was how good Johnny and Yosaku were at wielding a bisento. The two of them were cutting down the Baroque Works agents with ease similar to Zoro and from the looks of it, their observation haki was improving the more they fought. Luffy had a proud smile on his face as he saw the way they are progressing and they were progressing faster than Luffy had expected. Luffy was wondering if it was time to start their training in armament haki. As the fight progressed Luffy observation haki alerted him of someone moving in the bar where all of them were the rest of the crew was sleeping. Upon further analyzing he found it to be Nami searching for anything of value that they might have. Chuckling to himself he returned his attention to the fight. He noticed that Zoro was yelling at one of his swords. It was truly an odd sight to behold, a grown man talking to a sword.

"Well kitetsu the third, you're quite sharp but you are also quite the trouble maker aren't you," Zoro said in an annoyed voice as he held the blade up to his face. "A good sword only cuts when its master directs it to. Cursed sword or not you will listen to me," Zoro said not noticing one of the bounty hunters sneaking up behind him. The next thing Zoro saw was a small bolt of lightning fly passed him cutting off a few strands of hair at the base of his neck before hitting the bounty hunter behind him right in the head. Zoro blinked a few timed before he looked behind him and saw a dead bounty hunter laying on his back with a smoking hole in the middle of his forehead. He then looked to see where the shot came from and saw Luffy sitting on his throne holding a smoking pistol.

"You need to pay attention Zoro," Luffy scolded causing Zoro to nod his head and turning his attention to his new opponent, Ms. Monday. Luffy turned towards the Johnny and Yosaku and saw them fighting against Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday, he then realized that someone was missing from all this excitement and that was Mr. 8. Luffy then looked straight ahead of him and saw Mr. 8 standing in the very same spot as before staring at Luffy with an angry look on his face.

"What seems to be the matter Mr. 8," Luffy asked in a mocking tone pissing Mr. 8 off more. "Has the oh so mighty Baroque Works beaten by a few measly pirates from the East Blue?" Luffy asked continuing to mock him. "I wonder what your boss will think of all this?" he asked causing Mr. 8 to pale before he regained his composure and yell at Luffy.

"I will make you pay for all this!" he yelled at Luffy before he blew into his saxophone and bullets came firing out towards Luffy. Luffy paid the bullets no mind and simply allow them to pass through him causing Mr. 8's eyes to widen.

"Now that wasn't very nice," Luffy said as he continued to mock him. Before Mr. 8 could reply a loud high pitched scream came from the area where Zoro was fighting. Luffy and everyone else looked over and saw Zoro holding Ms. Monday by the head squeezing it before he let go and she passed out on the roof. Two other screams came from where Johnny and Yosaku were fighting and when Luffy an Mr. 8 looked over they saw Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday passed out on the ground. The other Baroque Works agents were beyond scared at this point.

"They took out a single digit agent," one random agent said in a frightened voice.

"And their captain hasn't even gotten up yet," said another.

"We are all going to die here today," said one man as he dropped his gun and fall to his knees. Luffy chuckled at their reaction as he watched Zoro and the bounty hunting duo make their way back to Luffy.

"Good job you three," Luffy said as he got up from his throne and sent it back into the sky. "From the looks of it you haki has improved even further," he said causing the three of them to smile.

"What are going to do about the rest of them?" Zoro asked as he turned his attention to the rest of the bounty hunters. Luffy smiles and looked at the bounty hunters before he spoke to them.

"I will give all of you a choice," Luffy said surprising the bounty hunters. "You can either leave Baroque Works and join me or...die," he said causing a few of them to tremble in fear.

"We will...we will join y-" *BOOM* the agent didn't get to finish his sentence before something hit him and exploded on contact killing him and a few other agents in the surrounding area. Everyone was confused and scared at what just happened. Zoro and the bounty hunting duo looked at Luffy to see if he did that but to their surprise, Luffy was as confused as they are.

"It would seem as though we have company," Luffy said lowly enough for the three of them to hear as he looked at a nearby alleyway.

"Oh my, it would seem as though some of you were planning on betraying Baroque Works," came the voice of a man from the alleyway that Luffy was looking. Out of the shadows of the alleyway a man and a woman walked out. All of the bounty hunters were white as a sheet when they saw the pair. Luffy hypothesizes that these two were higher ranking members of Baroque Works sent here to assist. By now Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9 had woken up and crawled over to Mr. 8.

"The three of you lost against a couple of small-time pirates, now that's just sad," the woman said in a condescending tone as he stared at the three Baroque Works agents.

"Mr. 5, Ms. Valentine!" Ms. Wednesday said in shock.

"Hmm, can't do your jobs," Mr. 5 said.

"Kyahahaha! Well, that's clearly the difference between our rank and yours," Ms. Valentine mocked.

"You came here just to laugh at us!?" Mr. 8 asked angrily.

"Nawh, that's a bonus," Mr. 5 said coolly.

"Kyahahaha! We are here under the boss's orders," Ms. Valentine said earning Luffy's curiosity.

"Hahaha! With you guys here we can finally defeat them. They don't stand a chance against you," Mr. 9 said as she shakingly stood up.

"That's right, let's track him down and show him what Baroque Works can really do," Ms. Wednesday said.

"Seriously Ms. Wednesday stop with the jokes. We didn't come here to clean up your mess," Mr. 9 said as he placed his hands in his pocket.

"Did you really think we came all the way to the beginning of the Grand Line just to hold your hands?" Ms. Valentine asked rhetorically. "Oh, you are even more pitiful than you look," she chuckled.

"But, what mission are you here for?" Mr. 9 asked in a confused tone. Truth be told Luffy was wondering the same thing.

"You mean you haven't figured it out?" Mr. 9 asked as he took a few steps forward. "There are people here whose crimes against the company are great enough that the boss has sent us here to deal with them. He said someone had learned the secrets, I don't know what secrets and I don't want to know. Obviously, someone else did and that right there is against company rules," he said. Luffy could sense that Mr. 8 and Ms. Wednesday were beginning to get nervous and could only guess those two were the ones who had learned the secrets. "Our company motto is the mystery. Everyone's identity is to be kept a secret no matter who they are. If some someone is dumb enough to nose around the boss's business...well the...that is a crime punishable by death," he said grimly.

"Well well, it seems as though things just got interesting," Luffy said to Zoro and the bounty hunting duo.

"It would seem so," Zoro added as they watched the interaction.

"So, while we were conducting our search about who had learned the boss's secret we discovered something, Kyahahaha!" Ms. Valentine said as she spun her umbrella. "As it turns out a rather high ranking induvial from a certain kingdom manage to infiltrate Baroque Works," she said causing Luffy's eyebrow to raise in surprise.

"A kingdom?!" Mr. 9 yelled out in surprise. "But wait! I may wear a crown but I am not a king or anything like that, I swear it is just an innocent little hobby," he said pleading with the pair to believe him.

"Shut up you idiot!" Ms. Valentine shrieked in a high pitched voice.

"You still don't get it, we need the people from Alabasta. They're the ones who angered the boss," Mr. 5 said cooly surprising Luffy even further. At this point, Mr. 8 was shaking in fear as he stared at the ground. Before anyone could react he pulled his bow tie and from the curls in his hair gun barrels poked out and fired five times on the pair of Baroque Works agents.

"You will not lay a hand on our princess so long as the captain of Alabasta security still stands!" he yelled as he fired five more times.

"The princess of Alabasta," Luffy said as he stared at Ms. Wednesday. "I had heard that the princess went missing but I never thought she would be working undercover in Baroque Works," he said.

"Don't princesses usually have underlings to do those sort of things for them?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah they do but, Alabasta is currently in a civil war. So maybe all of her underlings joined the rebels," Luffy said jokingly.

"What do we do?" Yosaku asked as he stared at the spot where the two Baroque Works agents were before they got shot at.

"We watch for now," Luffy said as he turned and face them. "Nami is still robbing the place. So we let them fight it out and create the distraction away from her," he said causing the two of them to nod their heads before turning their attention back to the altercation. As the smoke cleared everyone saw the two agents unhurt and unfazed by just being shot it.

"Igaram, captain of Alabasta Security and Princess Vivi Nefertari of the Alabasta Kingdom, we have come here in the name of the boss of Baroque Works to see that you are eliminated," Mr. 5 said as he held up a picture of Princess Vivi. The princess was beyond scared, her eyes widened in fear and her mouth kept moving but words just won't come out. The other agents that managed to survive Zoro and the bounty hunting duo were staring that Vivi and Igaram in pure shock, Mr. couldn't believe the woman he had been working with for so long is a princess. Igaram then pulled his bow tie once more and started firing on the pair of agents again.

"Go on Princess! You must escape!" he yelled to the Princess.

"Igaram!" The princess cried out. Then all of a sudden one of the agents from inside the smoke fired out something at Igaram that exploded on contact. "Igaram!" the princess cried once more as Igaram fell face first to the ground.

"Don't bother," came the voice of Ms. Valentine from above Vivi. Luffy looked up and saw her floating in the air looking down at the princess.

"It would seem as though we got a pair of devil fruit users," Luffy said surprisingly his three crew members. "If push comes to shove I will fight them," he said causing the three of the nod before turning their attention back to the fight.

"Princess," Igaram choked out as he lay on the ground. "You must get away from here, for the sake of our homeland. If something were to happen to you our kingdom would crumble," he said causing the princess's eyes to widen.

"If you think you can escape from us you must be crazy," Mr. 5 said as he picked his nose.

"Kill me if you can take me!" she yelled out as she took a defensive stance and started spinning something on both of her pinky fingers. It was then Mr. 9 got up and stood in front of the princess with his baseball bats in a defensive position facing the pair of agents.

"We have been partners and have been fighting together for a long time. So get going, I am going to buy you some time for a head start," he told the princess.

"Thank you Mr. 9," the princess said causing Mr. 9 to chuckle.

"Pretty manly don't you think," he said before charging towards the two agents. Mr.5 then pulled out a bugger from his nose and flicked it towards Mr. 9. The bugger sailed through the air and hit Mr. 9 right in the face. Upon hitting him the bugger exploded on contact surprising everyone that was watching.

"Did that thing just come out of his nose?" Yosaku asked in disbelief.

"Well that's a strange ability," Luffy said as he stared at Mr. 5 with interest while ignoring the princess's screams for Mr. 9. Luffy was knocked out of his studying by the voice of Igaram who apparently crawled to the base of the bar and was looking up at them.

"Pirates, I have the most unreasonable request but I require the help of someone with strength such as yourself," Luffy looked at him with a curious expression before jumping down from the roof towards Igaram.

"Oh, and what might that request be?" Luffy asked as he sat on a nearby barrel and looked down and the bleeding man.

"Both of those villains possess devil fruit powers and there is nothing I can do to stop them. So that is why I am begging you please protect Princess Vivi of Alabasta in my place," he begged Luffy. Zoro and the bounty hunting duo were surprised beyond belief. First, he tries to kill them and now he wants them to protect a princess, was he crazy? The all wondered about the bleeding man begging Luffy.

"And why would I do that, huh?" Luffy asked rhetorically. "You were trying to kill me and my crew a few moments ago and now you want me to save your princess. Give me one good reason why I should help you," Luffy said in his usual emotionless tone.

"You would be rewarded greatly if you return the princess of Alabasta to her kingdom. I am just a lowly servant but I beg you please protect the Princess," he begged. Luffy just stared at him with his cold eyes before he scoffed.

"Reward? Yeah right, I know Alabasta is in the middle of a civil war. You barely got enough money for yourselves much less to give me," Luffy said coldly causing Igaram's head to drop. "However," Luffy said getting Igaram to look up at him with hope-filled eyes. "I will protect the princess under one condition," Luffy said.

"What is it?" Igaram asked with a voice filled with hope. "Whatever it is I am sure the king would pay it if his daughter is returned safely," he said causing Luffy to chuckle.

"I will protect the princess only if once I return her to her kingdom...Alabasta becomes my territory," Luffy said causing Igaram's eyes to widen in shock along with Zoro, the bounty hunting duo, and Nami who was hiding in the corner.

"I-I...I can't promise that" Igaram said sadly. "That is something only the king and the Princess could do," he said causing Luffy to smile.

"Then I'll just have to ask the princess," Luffy said before Looking up at his three crew members. "You three go protect the princess, I'll join you after I tie up a few loose ends," he said causing the three of them to run off to the princess. Luffy then looked towards the remaining bounty hunters and spoke.

"Raging Thunder!" he yelled out causing 50 bolts of lightning to come down from the sky and strike the remaining bounty hunters while thunder boomed overhead. Luffy then looked at the alleyway next to the bar and spoke.

"You can come out now, Nami," he said causing his navigator to come out of her hiding spot.

"Hey captain," she greeted as she walked up to Luffy.

"Did you find anything?" he asked.

"No, they are completely broke," She said sadly causing Luffy to chuckle. "For a bounty hunter's nest they suck," she said. Luffy smiled at her before he replied.

"Don't worry about it," Luffy said getting her attention. "I didn't really expect much," he said before he got off the barrel. "Treat his wounds for me, I'll go help those three out," he said before he turned his body into lightning and teleported away. Luffy landed on a nearby building close to where Zoro and the bounty hunting duo were fighting against the two agents. As he arrived Luffy saw a slightly burnt Zoro fighting against Mr. 5 while the bounty hunting duo fight against Ms. Valentine. The Princess was sitting on a rather large duck watching the fight. "Alright you three I'll take it from here," Luffy said getting everyone's attention. Upon seeing their Captain the three of them jumped and stood next to him. Luffy jumped down from the roof and started walking towards the par with a cold look in his eyes.

"Well aren't you c.o.c.ky," Mr. 5 said as he stared at Luffy walking towards them. "Thinking you can take on both of us by yourself,"

"We should teach this brat a lesson, Mr. 5," Ms. Valentine said with an arrogant smirk.

"Let's see how you like my Bomb-Bomb fruit!" Mr. 5 yelled as he charged forward to punch Luffy with his left fist. Luffy simply covered his left palm with armament haki and caught his fist with ease.

"I-Impossible!" Mr.5 yelled out in surprise. Luffy then covered his right in lightning and backhanded Mr. 5 sending crashing through 4 buildings. Ms. Valentine and the princess stared at Luffy with eyes the size of dinner plates.

"He just took out one of Baroque Works top agents as though it was nothing," Vivi said to herself in a voice of pure disbelief.

"You...You...monster," Ms. Valentine said in fear as he stared at Luffy who was walking towards her.

"No not monster," Luffy said as he got closer. "I'm more along the line of a demon," Luffy said before he turned himself into lightning and teleported right behind her and placed his index finger at the base of her neck and channeled a small amount of lightning causing her to pass out on the ground. Luffy then turned towards the princess causing her to back away in fear. "Do not worry princess I'm not here to harm you," Luffy said surprising her.

"Then why are you here?" She asked with a voice laced with fear.

"I'm here to work out a contract," Luffy said puzzling her. "You see, Igaram asked me to protect you and return you safely to your kingdom and in return, I want Alabasta to become my territory," Luffy said casing her eyes to widen.

"What!?" she yelled out.

"Of course, he couldn't promise something like that. So, he told me to take it up with you. So here I am," he said as he walked over to a nearby box and sat down.

"And what exactly would we have to give you in return for being under your protection?" she asked causing Luffy smile.

"Nothing really," Luffy said surprising her. "The fact that I will have a big country like Alabasta as one of my territories will be enough to boost my reputation in the world," Luffy said getting Vivi to understand now. Zoro and the bounty hunter duo didn't quite understand why Luffy wasn't asking for something else like some money every month or something like that as payment for his protection.

"That cannot be all," Vivi said thinking along the same way of Luffy's crew.

"You are right," Luffy said getting everybody's attention. "but that is not a conversation that should be spoken out in the open like this," Luffy said knowing very well that they were being spied on. "But, do you mind telling me just why a princess like yourself is working in Baroque Works?" Luffy asked while staring at the Princess. The princess' face took on a sad look as she looked down to the ground before she spoke.

"As you know Alabasta is in the middle of a civil war, one day I learned of a secret organization called Baroque Works. I found out our people were being manipulated by this organization but that was the only information I could gather about this organization. I didn't know what to do so I went to Igaram for help and asked him to help me infiltrate Baroque Works so I can see who was pulling their strings from behind the scenes and what exactly they were up to," she said surprising them.

"Well you got a lot of guts considering you are a princess," Nami said as she walked out of a nearby alleyway.

"Where is Igaram?" Luffy asked.

"He said he will be here in a few," she said as she sat down next to Luffy. "Something about some business he had to take care of," she said.

"So, did you manage to find out what their plan was?" Johnny asked Vivi causing everyone to look at her.

"Their plan is to create an ideal nation," Nami said surprising Luffy and the others. "That's what Igaram told me," she said.

"That's just a cover story the boss is using to cover their tracks," Vivi said as she clenched her fist. "Their true goal is to take over the Alabasta Kingdom," she said causing Luffy to nod his head because that made more sense rather than some ideal nation. "I have to get back home so I can warn everybody and stop all of the fighting because if I don't..." The princess said before she started to cry.

"Don't worry princess," Luffy said getting her attention. "If you agree to my terms I'll help you save your country," he said before he got up from his seat and looked up to the sky. "By the way, did you ever find out the boss's identity?" Luffy asked causing her to panic.

"What?...The boss's identity?...you shouldn't ask that!" Vivi screamed frantically.

"But you know don't you?" Luffy asked as he stared at her.

"Ask me anything but that!" she screamed as she waves her hands frantically in the air. "If I tell you your lives will be put in danger too," she said trying to make Luffy understand the danger while Luffy found it all amusing.

"Yeah, I'll pass," Nami said in a scared voice. "This guy is trying to take over an entire country after all. I wouldn't want someone like that chasing after me," Nami said while sweating slightly.

"No, you don't," Vivi said in a serious tone. "I don't care how strong you people are you don't stand a chance against one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, against Crocodile," she said causing everyone to stare at her and blinked a few time before she and Nami screamed out.

"AHHH!" they screamed out.

"You know for a princess you're not very bright," Luffy chuckled out. Then all of a sudden Luffy sensed someone behind them and spun around quickly startling everyone. When everyone turned around they saw a vulture and an otter standing on the roof staring down at them. before the otter hopped onto the vulture and they flew off. It was truly an odd sight to behold in Luffy's opinion. Nami immediately began to panic and tried to leave claiming that they didn't know what she looked like until the Otter showed up again and help up five well-drawn pictures of all of them causing Nami to sulk in the corner while Vivi apologizes to her.

"Well then, it looks like the five of us will be sitting at the very top of Baroque Works hitlist," Zoro said causing Luffy to chuckle.

"It seems so," Luffy replied sounding excited before he looked over to the princess. "So princess do we have a deal?" Luffy asked getting her attention.

"Seeing as how you are already involved because of me I think I will take you up on your offer," she replied causing Luffy to smile.

"We're all going to die," Nami cried and rocked herself back and forth as she hugged her knees.

"You have nothing to fear!" came the voice of Igaram from behind everyone causing all of them to turn back around. As they all turned around Luffy and the guy immediately wished they hadn't turned around. Standing in front of them was Igaram dressed as Princess Vivi holding five dummies.

"My eyes," Luffy said as he stared at the Igaram.

"It's- *cough* *cough*- Ma~ma~ma~ it's going to be okay, princess," he said as he stared at the group. "I've come up with a plan," he added causing Luffy to raise his eyebrow.

"Igaram what are you...?" the princess tried to form a sentence but was too stunned by Igaram's appearance.

"I didn't know you were a crossdresser old man," Luffy said jokingly.

"Listen to me carefully, Princess Vivi," he said in a serious tone. "Once Baroque Works intelligence unit learned about what happened here agents will be sent after you immediately. And since they are aware that you learned the bosses true identity you must-" he said but was cut off by Vivi.

"Yes knowing them they will send a thousand agents after me," she said scaring Nami even more.

"Thus my plan, disguise like this I will pretend to be you," Igaram said while looking down at Vivi. "I will take these three dummies on board with me and I will sail a straight course to Alabasta," he said causing Luffy to understand his plan.

"So, these dummies are supposed to be us," Luffy said while nodding his head.

"A Decoy," Yosaku added.

"While Baroque Works is busy chasing after me the rest of you will head to the Alabasta Kingdom following a less direct route," he said causing Luffy to nod his head understanding the plan.

"Hold on just a minute!" Nami screamed as she got up. "Who said we were going to take her with us and we didn't discuss the matter of payment!" she yelled causing everyone to stare at her like she was crazy.

"Umm, I decided that we are taking her and we already discussed the payment," Luffy said while looking at her with a bewildered look. "Weren't you paying attention earlier?" he asked.

"But what about Crocodile!?" she screamed once again.

"Relax, some measly Warlord isn't anything to be afraid of," Luffy said while waving his hand in a dismissive manner. Now everyone was looking at Luffy like he had grown a second head. "Besides this sounds like it will be fun," Luffy added with a large grin on his face.

"We will be forever grateful, thank you," Igaram said before he walked over the water where a ship was docked and hopped it. "Now I Vivi will leave from here," Igaram said imitating Vivi causing everyone to laugh. Vivi and Igaram said their goodbyes and the ship sailed away from the island.

"He was am alright old man," Johnny said as he stared at the ship.

"Yeah, he was," Zoro added. Everyone was staring at the ship as it sailed further and further away. When the ship was about half a mile away from the Island it was suddenly swallowed up in a giant explosion causing everyone's eyes to widen in shock.

"Holy shit, EVERYONE GET TO THE SHIP NOW!" Luffy yelled to all of them. "Johnny! Yosaku! Zoro! go grab the others! hurry!" Luffy yelled out causing the three of them to run off along with Nami. Luffy turned back to the explosion and spoke. "I didn't think they would come after us so early," he said before turning to the princess who was frozen in shock. Luffy ran up to her and picked her up bridal style before teleporting back to the bar where the others were. As the Landed in front of the bar, Vivi immediately jumped out of Luffy's arms and started looking around frantically.

"Where is he!?" Vivi yelled as she looked around.

"Where is who?" Luffy asked as he watches Sanji, Usopp, and Nojiko get dragged out of the bar screaming.

"My duck, Karoo," she said causing Luffy to sweat drop.

"We don't have time for this," he said before he picked her up again and teleported to the dock. When they landed on the dock Vivi once again jumped out of his hands.

"I can't just leave him here!" she yelled.

"We are all set, let's go!" Zoro yelled as he pulled up the anchor. "What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"She is missing her duck," Luffy said in an annoyed tone. Zoro looked at the two of them strangely before he spoke.

"You mean this duck," he said while pointing to the giant duck standing next to him. Luffy and Vivi stared at the duck before yelling out.

"HE'S ALREADY HERE!?" they yelled.

"He got here before I did," Zoro said. Vivi and Luffy got on the ship and they immediately set sail and began sailing up the waterway in order to reach the sea faster. As they were sailing up the waterway they entered a thick fog similar to the one the had when they came to the island.

"Finally, the sun is coming up," Nami said in a relief tone.

"I'm just glad that we got away from the people chasing us," came a female voice that didn't belong to any member of the crew. Luffy was cursing himself for letting his guard down so easily, but he now wanted to see how long it would take the rest of the crew to realize.

"You can say that again," Nami replied not really noticing that someone had invaded the ship.

"With all this fog we need to be careful to avoid the rocks," the woman said again. Luffy was being patient not to react but it was taking every fiber of his being to not turn around and blast whoever that was.

"I'll take care of it," Nami said happily before she blinked a few time and looked over to Luffy who was standing next to her. "Did you just say something?" she asked while looking at Luffy. Luffy looked over to her with a pissed off look on his face.

"It's nice of you to finally notice someone snuck onto the ship!" Luffy yelled before he spun around and stared up at the second level and saw a woman sitting on the rails of the upper deck with her legs crossed. Upon seeing her face Luffy smirked and chuckled to himself.

"This is a nice ship," the woman said causing everyone to panic and be on guard.

"It's-it's you!" Vivi yelled out while staring at the woman in fear causing the woman to chuckle.

"I just happen to run into your dear Mr. 8 a little ways back, he didn't look so good," the woman said mockingly while looking at Vivi.

"So you killed Igaram," Vivi said grimly.

"You want to explain to me you are doing on my ship," Luffy asked in a dangerous tone getting the woman's attention.

"What are you doing here, Ms. All Sunday?" Vivi yelled/asked.

"You know who she is?" Nami asked while looking over to Vivi. "Who is her partner?" she asked again.

"Her partner is Mr. 0, the boss," Vivi said surprising everyone.

"Crocodile is her partner!?" Nami yelled out in fear.

"She was the only one who knew the boss's identity and that's how we found out, by following her back to him," Vivi said as she looked at the woman with eyes of hatred.

"To be clear, I allowed you to follow me," she replied.

"You still haven't answered my question," Luffy said getting her attention as Sanji pointed a gun to her head while Usopp pointed his slingshot.

"I would really appreciate it if you stopped pointing those at me," she said before both Sanji and Usopp were thrown off of the second deck by some invisible force and down to the main deck.

"You know you are playing a dangerous game attacking a member of my crew like that," Luffy said as the sky above began to darken.

"There is no need to get all excited, I have no real orders here. So, I have no real reason to fight you," she said while looking down at Luffy. All of a sudden something hit Luffy's straw hat off of his head and sent it floating towards the woman who caught it and started spinning it her hand. "So you are the famous Monkey D. Luffy," she said. As she finished speaking a loud thunder clapped sound overhead startling everyone and lighting started striking random parts of the water. Every member of Luffy's crew took a stepped away from him because they all knew no one is allowed to touch Luffy's hat.

"You know, I don't know if I should be honored..." Luffy said before he started to bring his right up and placed his straw hat back on his head causing everyone's eyes to widen shock and awe. Ms. All Sunday looked at her hand that was spinning the hat and her index finger just there pointing up. He looked back at Luffy now wearing his straw hat with a small amount of fear in her eyes.

'I didn't even see him move,' she thought.

"...or scared that someone as famous as you know my name," Luffy said causing her to flinch slightly, something that Luffy didn't miss. "Now Ms. All Sunday if you ever touch my hat again...I will finish what the World Government started all those years ago," Luffy said in a dangerous tone scaring her. Two thing was clear in her mind one, she needed to get off of this ship quickly, and two, Luffy was very dangerous. She then tossed something towards Luffy who caught it and upon seeing what it was he looked at her with a puzzled look.

"The next island is Little Garden, using that eternal pose you can skip right past it and head to Alabasta," she said with a smile trying to mask he fear. "Or else you won't survive Little Garden," she added grimly trying to scare them. However, she was surprised when Luffy crushed the eternal pose in his hand smiled at her.

"I am the captain of this and I decide where we go," he said in his usual monotone voice. Ms. All Sunday then got up and started walking to the edge of the ship.

"Well then I hope that we meet again," she said as she was leaving.

"I'm sure we will Ms. Devil," Luffy said causing her to flinch again. "And tell Crocodile I'll be seeing him shortly," Luffy said. She didn't reply instead he hopped off of the ship and landed on a giant turtle. Luffy then looked towards Nami and spoke. "Plot a course to Little Garden," Luffy said before walking towards the kitchen.

"Aye!" Nami replied before she started giving out orders.

**CHAPTER END!**