Chad was looking through the stalls, Makino was kind enough to give them a list of provisions that they would undoubtedly need upon setting out, it was good to have confirmation on some of this stuff Ichigo and Chad had come very unprepared when setting off on this adventure. Both he and Tatsuki had headed to the ship first, retrieving some of the gold that he and Ichigo had received from Galley that the people of Silk's town had given to them, once that had been done they had gone to a small building that Makino said could exchange the gold into Beri, the currency of this world. While the small currency exchange couldn't very well deal with all of the treasure that they had, it was enough to give them enough money to buy supplies with a bit extra which Chad split between him and Tatsuki to get what they wanted.

Tatsuki hadn't been keen on it, knowing she hadn't earned a single Beri of it; but Chad just gave it to her without hesitation. Unfortunately, Chad hadn't been able to find what he was looking for, a music store, upon asking a few pedlars and passing villagers he had learned that there was no music store in Foosha Village and the closest one would be in the Goa Kingdom and Chad doubted they'd go there for just a guitar and he didn't want to ask because he knew that the trip to Goa would take time and with Ichigo, might bring more trouble than it's worth not that he blamed a Ichigo the the situations they got in, but trouble seemed to follow Ichigo wherever he went.

"Chad do we need maps or a compass, anything like that?" Tatsuki questioned from the small store she was looking at, the large teen looking over to her to see it littered with all manners of usable items for navigation. They had gotten by on what they knew so far, with very little in the way of navigation supplies. Silk had given Ichigo a map but they barely knew how to read it and until they had met Medaka, they hadn't even known where they were. They had just been lucky that in this dimension the Sun still rose in the East and set in the West, if it didn't they'd probably still be in the middle of the ocean by now.

"A compass, maybe two just encase." Chad spoke as he approached, they'd need more than to just rely on the Sun's position now and with a compass at least they could tell what general direction they would be heading in. "Ichigo already has a map of the East Blue." Chad told Tatsuki as she handed the Beri over for the two compasses, passing one to Chad who reached up, undoing the gold chain around his neck that held his coin before attaching the compass to it. The gold coin he had on the chain already seemingly fitting over the glass face of it perfectly.

The two continued on with their browsing, having already taken the supplies that they had gotten back to the boat and having gotten rid of everything that was no longer usable. As they walked Tatsuki was frowning, recalling the event with the Sea King, how Ichigo had told her to get rid of it. At the time she had been angry because of the jokes he had made afterwards but now that she had time to think about it, did Ichigo really think that she could have dealt with it? She had seen what Chad did to the Sea King, there was no way that she could have done anything like that… but she could have done something, right? Turning to Chad, the large teen quiet as ever as the two walked through the few stalls that lined the street.

"Chad." Tatsuki began, chewing on her bottom lip. "Before, back with the Sea King, do you think I could have done something about it with my power?" Chad glanced down at her; an unreadable look on his face, his messy hair that covered his eyes wasn't helping her read him at all.

"Ichigo wouldn't have put you into a position that would have put you in danger." Chad told her, surprising the martial artist. Surprising her even more, Chad continued. "Ichigo knows you need experience, even if you couldn't have fought the Sea King off, it would have allowed you to see your current limit and be able to push past it." Tatsuki stopped walking, Chad doing the same as Tatsuki looked down at her feet. Ichigo had given her the opportunity and she had missed it, she was still hung up on the fact that she was only human and by that limited by human limitations; she only had these powers for a short time, not having to deal with the life and death situations that Chad and Orihime had to deal with by fighting with Hollows.

She had come here cocky and expectant to be able to do what they do, face monsters like the Sea King… no some of the things that they fought were far worse than Sea Kings, she remembered Aizen all too well. "I wouldn't get hung up on it." Chad began to walk once more, only making it a couple of feet.

"Chad, fight me." The large teen stopped in surprise as he turned to look over his shoulder at her, eyes wide under his hair. "I want to know what my limits are, right now." She declared to him. "You're stronger than me right? Then there's no way that I won't reach my limit fighting you." She ground her teeth as she clenched her hands into fists. "I don't want to be tossed aside like last time! I've worked too hard to get where I am, I know I'm not at the stage where I'm capable of fighting like you guys, but I need to prove that I can!" She finished looking up at him, noticing a smile on his face before he nodded.

"Alright." Walking back towards her, she followed in step before they walked down the street, Tatsuki reaching up to her long hair and pulling it into a ponytail. Chad had always been physically strong, more so than the average human even before he had gained powers. She would have to throw everything she had at him. Chad led her out of town and past a few farms, they being a far distance away from Foosha Village now, Tatsuki knew why she had witnessed some fights between her friends and their enemies, they were always destructive. "Here." Tatsuki smiled, after that small speech he gave her, he was back to one word answers.

Tatsuki nodded her head as she slipped into a familiar martial arts style. Already feeling the Reiatsu flow through her body, however Chad was already before her, arm cocked back, it was like he had vanished, she had experienced this multiple times with Kisuke but to see Chad use it surprised her. She was forced to block with her arms in an X fashion as she was sent skidding back, luckily her arms were imbued with Reiatsu already taking most of the damage but it still hurt like hell and her arms felt numb. The distance she had skidded back was considerable, her feet having dragged up the grass leaving two dirt trails in her wake. Chad wasn't kidding around, but a smirk found a way to her lips.

"Good, I don't want him pulling punches." She smirked as she rushed forward, Chad had already thrown a punch to greet her but his hulking size was considerably slow, and despite his fast moving technique his attacks were slower than average. Ducking under his fist she cocked her own fist back at her side and punched as hard as she could, imbuing Reiatsu into her fist to make it as powerful as she could and she knew it was stronger than what humans could manage. But even then, her body shuddered in pain; it was like she had just punched solid steel.

Jumping back her fist was even bleeding but she didn't stop, charging forward once more, dodging Chad's sluggish blows and dealing what blows she could, both kicks and punches knowing grapples wouldn't work on Chad in the slightest considering his strength and size. However nothing was working, his body was too tough to actually land a decent blow on him despite her blows having considerable strength behind them.

Chad raised both of his hands up surprising her as he was completely open to attacks, but that's where she knew what was going to happen next. Chad's arms came crashing down with a roar from the large teen sending a shock wave through the ground and blowing her off her feet. Groaning she looked up, Chad was standing where he was, not a single blow of hers had moved him in the slightest. Grinning as she got to her feet, after the martial arts tournament people called her the strongest woman in Japan. As if, Orihime was probably stronger than her now. Looking down at her hands, both bruised and bloody from the blows she had landed on him, even her legs were feeling numb.

"Right, I've only done this a few times since training with Kisuke and they had been life or death moments, but just like he said. I've got to use it when I want, not when I need." Feeling the flow of Reiatsu in her body she readied herself once more, during their little bout if she stayed still for too long to concentrate on her Reiatsu Chad would move into attack, without openly revealing he was doing so he was telling her to use the flow naturally not let herself concentrate to hard on it's use, she had to use the power instinctively, something she needed to work on in battle. Charging forward again, a grin on her face as Chad readied himself, however this time he charged back at her.

"Now or never!" Tatsuki shouted pressing her feet into the ground, cocking her fist back flowing with power. "Deadly Magnum!" Heat blazed around her hand, Chad's eyes widening at the flames that burst forth. Raising his right arm up, activating his Brazo Derecha de Gigante in its defensive form, the shield blocking the punch as flames burst around them in an explosion. Tatsuki stumbled back, the overuse of her spirit energy making her slightly drowsy. She witnessed as the smoke cleared, the large black and red shield, it didn't have a scratch on it. "Damn…" She muttered before falling on her ass, breathing heavily as Chad rose to his feet. His shield now at his side before it began to disappear.

"You might not have been able to deal with the Sea King." Chad began as he crouched down before her, offering his hand. "But I can assure you, we won't toss you aside. We'll help you get stronger." Tatsuki let a small grin come to her face as she nodded happily, taking the offered hand before being pulled to her feet.

"What was that all about?" Both Tatsuki and Chad looked over to where Ichigo stood leaning on a fence railing, with Carina standing nearby, the purple haired thief slightly stunned. It was clear that the two had witnessed the end of the fight. Chad and Tatsuki walked over to them, Ichigo noticing the injuries that Tatsuki had sustained while Chad had none.

"Training." Chad simply told him, getting a nod from Ichigo.

"I thought you would have been long gone by now." Tatsuki spoke, turning to Carina.

"She's actually joining us." Ichigo told her, surprising both Chad and Tatsuki not having been expected the sudden new crew member. "We discussed it and she's agreed to become our Navigator." Tatsuki was slightly surprised by that, but then again what should she have expected? None of them knew how to navigate, Carina was clearly more knowledge about it and without a doubt without her, they'd be lost the moment they set out away from Foosha Village and they would end up just like Chad and Ichigo were before she had arrived.

"Welcome aboard." Chad nodded to her, getting a smile from the thief in return. Chad then turned to Ichigo who looked up at him. "We'll need another hammock." He told the former Shinigami who nodded, it was clear that the boat they had was small, the living quarters was going to be cramped with just three people. Chad and Tatsuki had already picked up a hammock for the martial artist, but now with a fourth person aboard, it was going to be way too cramped not to mention the lack of privacy.

"Yeah, we'll need a bigger boat soon enough." Ichigo added as the four began to walk back down to Foosha Village. "Carina also has a list of what positions need to be filled before we head to the Grand Line." He explained, Carina pulling out a slip of paper and handing it to Chad who looked it over. Circled on the list were Doctor and Chef. Without a doubt those were two things that they wouldn't be able to do without. While Ichigo had some medical knowledge, he wasn't a doctor and didn't have the knowledge that a doctor would.

Chad had been living alone for quite a while now and only really knew how to cook instant ramen. The large teen didn't know if Tatsuki could cook, but she lived with her parents and since her focus was on martial arts and how much of a tomboy she was, he didn't have high hopes that she was able to cook a variety of meals.

"The circled ones we can't go without." Carina began to explain. "The doctor for obvious reasons, who knows what we'll come across out there on the Grand Line, it's a big enough monstrosity as it is, without all the unknown variables." She continued. "And we'll definitely need an experienced cook. No matter what, we'll need to keep our bodies healthy, and who better to do that then a first rate cook."

"What else is on this list?" Tatsuki questioned, Chad offering her the list she began reading through it. "A shipwright, Helmsman, Lookout, Quartermaster and Blacksmith." Tatsuki listed off a few as she turned to Carina. "Are all these really necessary?" She asked.

"Not really, but a crew is devised up of several factors." Carina began to explain. "If every situation has its respective solution then there won't be as many problems." She grinned. "Makes life just that little bit easier; shishishi." Tatsuki couldn't fault the logic with that. "But before we head to the Grand Line, we need a Cook and a Doctor."

"And if we don't stumble across any that want to join this merry band of misfits?" Tatsuki asked.

"Then we'll make do with what we get." Ichigo answered, Carina glaring slightly at him not liking the sound of that. "We can't expect complete strangers to journey to the most dangerous sea on the planet on just a whim; we don't have the luxury of being picky." He continued on. "They don't have to be a first class cook, as long as they cook and it's edible I'm fine with that and even if it's just a doctor in training, it's a hell of a lot more experience than what we have already." He added. "And if we don't find any here in the East Blue, we'll just pick them up in the Grand Line." He finished before he got a kick to the shin courtesy of the purple haired thief as she began to argue about how that wasn't the best way of thinking.

While it wasn't the best solution they didn't have a lot of options here. They first had to agree to go with them to the Grand Line. Despite the argument that arose from Carina that they needed to be more prepared in journeying to the Grand Line, they made it back to their boat with a fourth hammock. It was decided that they would spend the night here in Foosha village and set sail first thing in the morning.

When morning came, setting sail was a brief affair and before they knew it they were already out at sea, even the Lord of the Coast didn't come to greet them. Just a few travelers passing through, was all.

"Chad, be careful of the rocks around this area." Carina spoke up making Chad nod as he manoeuvred the ropes that controlled the sail to alter their course, keeping a watchful eye on the rocks that Carina spoke of not wanting to crash into them. They were drifting slowly at the current time, Tatsuki was below deck, reading through the hakuda book and also recovering from her fight with Chad. Carina and Ichigo were sitting opposite one another at the table that was on deck, looking over the map of the East Blue.

"Right now as we are, we're here." Carina began, pointing a finger to the map. "Just off of the Yotsuba Island Region." Carina began. "There are a few islands and towns dotted through the region but it's probably best we don't go through it."

"How come?" Ichigo asked, not sure why they would avoid it.

"As much as we need to get a chef and a doctor, we're better off moving away from Marine territory." Carina began. "While we're not pirates, I am a wanted thief." She added scratching at her cheek slightly. "While I don't have a wanted bounty like most pirates out there, there are a few Marine bases that know my face." Ichigo's glare made her start to sweat nervously. "I promise I won't bring any trouble and if we avoid the Yotsuba Island Region, there will be no trouble." She hastily added.

"We're going to have to go places where there are Marines, you know that right?" Ichigo asked.

"Of course." Carina began. "However, I'm a small time crook it's not like anyone knows my face out on the Grand Line, so it's fine. We just do our best to avoid any Marine bases until then." Ichigo ran a hand down his face with a sigh before Carina gestured back to the map, trailing her hand from their location that was marked with a coin, away from the Yotsuba Island Region to another island. "We have two choices, the Organ Islands." She began before trailing her finger slightly south west on the map. "Or Gecko Islands."

"Who comes up with these names?" Ichigo thought to himself as he looked over their two potential destinations. With Carina's help she had shown them the path that they had taken from Silk's village, to where they found Ganzack inhabiting an island to where they picked Carina up then to Foosha Village on Dawn Island. It was much more reassuring now that they had a navigator aboard. But their course was clear, despite being slightly jagged in parts, their path was leading them south west to where Carina said the entrance to the Grand Line sat. "Suggestions?" Ichigo asked.

"I believe heading to the Organ Islands will be a waste of time." Carina told him seeing his raised eyebrow she gave her reasoning. "Before I met you I had intended to go there and retrieve a map of the Grand Line, however by now another thief has gotten to it." She told him. "She's cunning and crafty and there's no way she hasn't gotten that map by now."

"Damn, something like that could have come in handy." Ichigo sighed knowing the importance of a map.

"Agreed, it's the only one in the East Blue and was in the hands of a pirate." Carina sighed. "Such a loss, but if we see her we'll just nab it, shishishi." Ichigo shook his head as she laughed it off. "The Gecko island's might be a decent place to find a doctor, I hear that some doctors in that area have the necessary skills that we'd need."

"That'd at least tick one thing off our list." Ichigo agreed, noticing that it was once more on the path to the Grand Line, seeing a town far to the south west he pointed to it. "What's this town here?" He questioned.

"That's Loguetown, our final stop here in the East Blue, even I'm willing to go there despite the large Marine presence." She told him. "No matter what, it's everyone's last stop on the way to the Grand Line and we have to go there." She began. "It's the only place we can get a Log Pose from in the East Blue." Ichigo raised his eyebrow once more. "It's just something we need for the Grand Line and it's going to cost a whole bunch of Beri too."

"Let's just focus on the Gecko Islands for now and deal with that when we get closer to Loguetown." Carina nodded as she began to plan their course to their set destination.

Carina found it strange that despite being among them they hadn't discussed their positions apart from her being the Navigator. It was clear that Chad listened to Ichigo, no matter what and Tatsuki and Ichigo were clearly well acquainted. Despite this, she didn't know who the Captain was of her crew, she doubted it was Tatsuki since she had just joined with them before she herself had joined, and Ichigo nor Chad made any notion to say that they were in charge. Deciding to focus on their course, their positions could come up later and she didn't even want to dwell on their abnormal strength and abilities, she had witnessed Tatsuki's power and didn't want to know if it was a devil fruit or not. Chad and Ichigo's strength simply frightened her more.

Chad frowned slightly as he directed their boat through an area with some larger rocks, he hadn't intended to but it was to late to change their course and if he had they would have crashed into the rocks. He was careful to avoid the jagged edges doing his best to keep a wide berth between them and the boat. He was starting to get the hang of this it seemed. It looked like the exit of the rocky area was just ahead, and he directed the boat straight for it.

Chad frowned once more as he picked up the sound of splashing water, not like the water around the rocks the sound wasn't with the tide. Raising to his feet he searched the water's surface for the noise, until he saw a small boy in the water thrashing about struggling to keep his head above the water's surface.

"Hey, look!" Carina pointed noticing Chad's sudden change in demeanour. "There's a kid over there!" Ichigo's eyes shot wide open but before he himself could act, Chad had already dove overboard.

"Where the hell did he come from?" Ichigo asked looking around the area hoping there would be some kind of ship nearby as Carina rushed off to the side of the boat where Chad had jumped overboard and was now swimming to the boy. Searching the area the thief's eyes narrowed slightly, she didn't like this at all. The whole thing was just to convenient and without even the sight of a wreck?

"This isn't feeling right." Her eyes locked onto the boy, just a few meters from Chad now, Ichigo had already adjusted their course to go and pick them up. The door to the cabin opened as Tatsuki came out, curious as to why their course had suddenly changed.

"A kid is in the water." Ichigo informed her. "Chad went to go get him." Tatsuki nodded as she hurried to Carina's side, noting the thief's uneasy stare.

"Something wrong Carina?" The martial artist questioned.

"I'm not sure." Carina admitted, had she had this feeling before she had come aboard this small boat she wouldn't have hesitated to flee under the circumstances, her instincts had kept her alive over the years, but now she didn't have that choice, she was apart of the crew.

"Are you alright?" Chad asked the kid as he got closer to the boy, reaching his hand out to the drowning boy. The kid then suddenly stopped thrashing in the water and smiled as if nothing was wrong.

"Thanks for asking." The kid grinned mischievously. Everyone raised an eyebrow when suddenly several contraptions shot up from the rocks, Chad was scooped up in a large net getting a shout from Carina and Tatsuki before another trap was set off as another shot over their small boat pinning those aboard down by the weight of the iron net.

"What!?" The three aboard shouted in unison as Chad was pulled from the water inside of the other net. Shortly after a man on a boat sailed toward them. The man was smiling with his arms folded over his chest. He wore goggles and a big green coat over himself and a backpack.

"Akisu. Good work." The man congratulated leaning down and offering his hand to the boy, easily pulling him out of the water and onto their own boat.

"Easy victory, piece of cake." The boy known as Akisu grinned at the older man. "Idiot's like them are easy to trick." This didn't sit well with those on the boat, especially Carina and Tatsuki who began to shout about stupid loud mouth brats. Ichigo simply glared as he lay under the net not impressed, Chad looking over in his direction. This was their life now, everyday was a new obstacle. "But they're only a gang of poor folk," Akisu said. "You can tell they don't have any money just by looking at 'em."

"Duped, eh?" The man said walking over to net that Chad was caught in, the man's eyes widening slightly. "Well if you aint one of the biggest men I've ever seen." He said before releasing the net by pulling a string, Chad falling onto the deck of their ship with a loud thud. With another pull of a lever, the iron clad net was pulled from the other ship allowing the three to get to their feet.

"Give us one good reason we shouldn't sink your right now!" Tatsuki shouted.

"Yeah! What's the big idea!" Carina added.

"A group of paupers, eh?" The man said while laughing.

"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo growled as he glared at the man and the boy scaring them both and making Carina look over to the deadly gaze of the orange haired teen. She'd been on the other side of his glare sure, but nothing that came close to this. He was beyond pissed

"Us?" The man answered weakly. Swallowing their fear for now they answered.

"Those sailing the seas in search of treasure!" The man and Akisu said together as they posed. "The Thief Brothers!" The two jumped into the air barreling through it and finally landing gracefully on a mountain of treasure chests.

"Borodo and..." Borodo pointed to himself.

"Akisu!" Akisu did the same.

"Thief Brothers?" Chad questioned as he rose to his feet towering over the two making them swallow nervously, maybe they hadn't thought long and hard about who they were capturing. As if on cue their mountain of treasure chest collapsed to the ground with the two so-called 'thieves' falling on along with them.

"What's that?" Ichigo questioned as their boat drifted closer to the 'thieves' boat. The thieves treasure chest's opened to reveal their treasure. Which didn't really look like treasure?

"That's treasure?" Tatsuki wondered placing her hands on her hip as she leaned over to get a better look at the contents of the chests, it looked nothing like the treasure that they had below deck. "It doesn't look like it?"

"It's just a bunch of trash!" Carina observed from where she leaned on the railing of their own boat. "You almost got my hopes up, but I didn't expect anything worth stealing anyway." She shrugged. "You're just a bunch of scavengers, poor paupers." She accused right back at them.

"That's not true!" Akisu argued. "Watch what you say about Borodo! Borodo is the man who will steal the Diamond Clock from Clockwork Island and become the greatest thief in the world!"

"You mean the Diamond Clock!" Carina asked excitedly with a smile getting looks from her own crew members.

"What's the Diamond Clock?" Tatsuki asked.

"If it has the word diamond and clock in it, what do you think it is?" Ichigo sighed making Tatsuki glare at him as he approached. "It's more than obvious by this one's excitement…" He said placing his hand atop Carina's head pushing her down making her let out an 'oomph', beri signs still showing in her eyes. "That it's something worth stealing."

"The finest jewel and greatest artifact ever crafted." Carina said still smiling as her head bounced back from the push. "The most valuable clock in the entire world! It's worth a fortune!" She exclaimed. "With that much money we'd be literally swimming in it!"

"We're not stealing a damn clock, sure we need money but I'm no thief." Ichigo growled, wrapping his knuckles atop her head making her let out a small whine as she cradled the top of her head with both hands.

"If you become the world's greatest thief if you stole it, it must have incredible value." Chad spoke as he folded his arms.

"So these guys are in your line of work then?" Ichigo asked Carina who frowned as she rubbed her chin slightly in thought.

"Sure, but there's one thing bugging me about all of this." Carina spoke making Ichigo raise an eyebrow in question. "Clockwork Island, there's a stronghold there making it almost impossible to steal the clock."

"The Trump Siblings." Borodo nodded in agreement, seeing the questioning looks on the faces of the three from another world, he continued. "They're a nefarious group of pirates that have a stronghold on Clockwork Island and terrorize the surrounding area," Borodo explained. "And the Diamond Clock that I'm after is also in their possession." He added as he pulled out a handful of papers, Chad and Ichigo recognising them as Wanted Posters. Borodo laid them out on the railing of his ship as Ichigo and Chad approached to get a look at them.

"They're some pretty big bounties." Chad spoke up getting a nod of agreement from Ichigo. The orange haired teen thought for a moment, they were in desperate need of a ship weren't they? That would undoubtedly cost them a lot of money that they just didn't have, sure the gold below deck would come to a considerable sum but combined the Trump Siblings had a collective bounty of 38.5 million beri's. That should get them a decent ship and supplies to head to the Grand Line with.

"There's a reason they have that bounty." Carina glared at Ichigo already sensing his train of thought. "Galley and Ganzack were one thing, but the Trump Siblings are worse than those two, whatever you're thinking, don't!"

"You're the one that said we need a ship." Ichigo smirked. "Plus it's not like we're pirates, so what if we cash in a few bounties?"

"B-Borodo, over there!" Akisu pointed gaining the attention of the occupants from both boats. Everyone looked over and saw a large fleet of ships sailing toward them, each flying their banners, all under a single pirate flag. Their ships were adorned with card symbols and animal figureheads.

"It's the Trump Pirates..." Borodo began to sweat nervously, how much of a coniencede could it be, it's like talking about them had simply summoned the infamous pirate crew. Carina was nervous at the approaching ships, she was unsure of what Ichigo and Chad were about to do. There was no way that they could take on that fleet. The Trump Siblings were ruthless pirates. If she had known they'd be going up against dangerous criminals on a whim she would have never agreed to join and be their navigator! The flagship grew closer and closer, those aboard the much smaller boats only looked up as it grew closer.

As much as he was ashamed to admit it, the first thing Ichigo saw from the ship was a female, she was blonde and very much naked. Somehow the pirates had changed the bear figurehead into a bathtub of sorts, which the woman was clearly bathing in without shame. It was clear that the woman in the bath was one of the bounties that Borodo had shown to them. "

'Honey Queen' worth 7,800,000 million beri's.

"Hmm?" The blonde hummed turning around to face the two smaller boats in the larger ship's path. "What's all this then?" She questioned.

"Have you no decency!?" Tatsuki shouted with an irritated scowl. "Get dressed you damn skank!" This seemed to only amuse Honey Queen as she leaned up on the side of the tub, showing off her assets to those below. Ichigo averted his gaze while Chad found a bird in the sky to look at.

"And what might you want?" Honey Queen asked, leaving the question open mainly to the two females aboard considering that Ichigo and Chad were averting their gazes as to not pay attention and Bordo and Akisu both had nose bleeds as they openly stared, at least Ichigo and Chad had the decency to look away.

"Perverts!" Tatsuki shouted crashing her hands down on both scavengers heads, knocking them down to the deck below.

"We don't really want anything." Carina spoke up, stepping in front of the seething Tatsuki, not wanting the martial artists temper to somehow trigger the pirates to open fire on them. "Just passing through is all, nothing to see here really." Ichigo shot Carina a glance, but he could sense the tension she held, it was clear she was afraid, after all they were only two small boats without a canon and they had several ships at their disposal. Honey Queen's attention trailed to the purple haired teen that had spoken and upon taking in her appearance gave a rather mischievous smirk causing the purple haired teen to grow more nervous under the gaze. She didn't like it one bit. However everyone's attention was brought to another that happily bounced around the rim of Honey Queen's tub.

"Alright!" The man was well into the later stages of obesity that was clear enough as it was, it was surprising that he was able to move as he did. He was very round to the point he almost looked like a sphere and wore a pig-themed outfit. A bandana-like hat with a pig's head design, a yellow shirt with a "J" printed on the front, as well as suspenders, and a white furred-back. He also has furred arm- and elbow-bands. "Time for a riddle!"

"Riddle?" Chad asked glancing at Ichigo the orange haired teen just as confused as the larger teen. Now wasn't really the time for a riddle was it? Like there were times and a place for such things.

"Who will become the greatest pirate in the world, the Pirate King?" Boo Jack asked only enticing a laugh from his fellow pirate.

"Come on now, Boo Jack." Honey Queen said. "That one's way too easy."

"Who gives a crap." Ichigo told them flatly making both of them falter as they stared at the orange haired teen, while he still held a slightly blush to his cheeks at the sight if the still nude Honey Queen, his eyes held a seriousness to them. He really didn't give a rats ass about who was going to be the Pirate King.

"Boo! Boo! Wrong!" Boo Jack shouted down, recovering from the sudden blunt answer. "The answer is our boss, Bear King!"

"I don't see how that was a a riddle." Chad began raising a hand to his chin. "Just a question really?" He finished turning to Ichigo. "A riddle should be phrased differently."

"Yeah, and there should be some kind of reward if you get it right." Ichigo nodded in agreement.

"Are you kidding me right now." Carina hung her head as Chad and Ichigo spoke about the difference between a riddle and a question. It was clearly not impressing the Trump Siblings before them from the obvious irate expressions growing on their faces.

"Boo Boo!" Boo Jack yelled angrily making Ichigo and Chad blink… really? What was with this guy, couldn't even understand the basic concept of a riddle and now he was yelling at them about his boo boo? What a child. "Mocking the Trump Pirates, eh!?"

"Well then, it seems we have to explain it to them." Honey Queen smiled and then snapped her fingers. The situation drastically changed and Carina's slamming her head against the Cabin wall was heard as the opposing ships were covered with pirates roaring and getting ready to attack while carrying their weapons.

"I actually didn't think there would be that many." Ichigo smirked, cracking his knuckles as he grinned."

"It should be fine." Chad agreed, while never one to seek out a battle due to his prior passive nature, he would always follow Ichigo's lead and if that meant they had to fight these pirates, then so be it.

"Let's kick some ass then." Tatsuki smirked punching her right fist into her left palm. "I need the practice."

"Right, let's see it!" Borodo agreed, Ichigo giving him a glance, was he going to fight? The pirates continued jumping toward the group. Chad and Ichigo both leaped from the boat making Tatsuki blink as she stood there between two sparks of green luminescent light. How the hell was she supposed to do that when she didn't have a clue on even what it was! She couldn't fly! Nobody had told her she'd be able to fly! Already the martial artist could see pirates being flung from the ship, explosions of cannons and gun fire were heard also as the pirates opened fire on the other worldly two. Tatsuki glanced at Carina who had a look of dread on her face as she watched the onslaught aboard one of the Trump ships. The young thief had no clue what she had signed up with by agreeing to be their navigator.

"El Directo!" Both turned to see a massive beam of blue light shot from the deck of the main ship and crash into another ship creating a massive hole through it sending the occupants of the ship jumping overboard as the large vessel began to sink. Tatsuki had to wonder as she continued to watch the chaos unfold… was she even really necessary here? Ichigo and Chad were more than experienced, did they really need her help?

"Just who are these guys!?" Borodo was astonished as the rear ships began to turn trying to flea despite not being ordered too, however they were stopped as black spiralling disks that were reminiscent to a wheel crashed into the masts causing them to break and fall onto the ships causing more chaos for the now panicking pirates.

"This isn't good." Honey Queen observed nervously. Two young men had sent their small fleet into utter chaos in the time that it took her to get out of the bath and dressed. She was nervous because she had never seen such raw power, even from Bear King himself, these two were clearly outclassing her Captain. Never before had she even heard of something like this. The Trump Fleet had several ships and scores of men, yet two people were tearing them apart like it was nothing.

"Here I come!" Boo Jack said as he jumped into the air starting his spike armour, Honey Queen tried to call out to him, to stop himself from getting killed but it was too late. He crashed onto the deck of Honey Queen's ship and began rolling like a large ball and splitting it across the middle and even knocking over some of the other Trump Pirates before Honey Queen witnessed him come to a dead stop.

Swallowing nervously Honey Queen observed the large teen that had brought him to a stop. His entire right arm had grown a shield like armament and despite Boo Jack's strength, the teen didn't budge. Instead Boo Jack stumbled back dazed from the sudden stop, the teen that was his opponent raised up his left hand that was covered in a white armour similar to his right, Honey Queen seeing his fingertips crackling with what seemed to be electricity before he formed a fist with it.

"El Muerte!" Chad threw his punch delivering it into the large stomach of the pirate lifting him off his feet before forcing him down crashing Boo Jack down into the deck. For a brief moment, Honey Queen didn't think the punch had been that devastating, his earlier show of power of the El Directo that he had unleashed earlier that had sunk a ship seemed more powerful. But that soon changed when the deck beneath Boo Jack split apart revealing the shape of a skull gouged into the deck. When Chad removed his hand from Boo Jack it was clear, the fat pirate was out cold. Honey Queen didn't even know if he was alive or dead. She didn't have the time to check.

"Getsuga!" The orange haired teen appeared in the air right before her from where she was standing on the second floor leaning on the railing looking over the main deck. His sword was cast back with a blue light producing an unknown power, just looking at his power made her freeze up in fear. Never had she felt such fear in her life and despite her power, she rose her hands to defend herself. "Tensho!" Ichigo swung his blade, the crescent blue wave slicing it's way towards Honey Queen.

"Nooooo!" Honey Queen screamed before the crescent wave sliced straight through her abdomen, crashing into the cabin behind her resulting in a small explosion. Ichigo landed on the railing, a scowl on his face. He knew Chad's attack was considerably weakened due the lower extent of power it produced, knowing Chad didn't want to carelessly take life. Even Ichigo's Getsuga had considerably less power, he had just wanted to knock Honey Queen off her feet, how the hell had it sliced straight through her? And on that note… why was her blood like purple goo? Was that normal? It didn't sound normal. Probably wasn't normal.

"What the…" Ichigo blinked as he witnessed the rest of Honey Queen's body turn into the same purplish goo before she seemingly slipped down through the cracks in the floorboards. "You don't see that everyday." He muttered to himself, unsure of what he had just witnessed. Following Honey Queen's disappearance, Ichigo and Chad went about destroying the pirate ships making it impossible for the rest of the crews to be able to flee, undoubtedly someone would stumble upon them eventually preferably the Marines, it wasn't like they could take every single pirate on their smaller vessels and they weren't about to commit mass murder on helpless pirates.

Instead Chad had wrapped Boo Jack up in several thick chains with no hope of escape for the fat pirate even if he somehow awoke, Chad had taken the strange spiked coat he used as a weapon and had intended to throw it overboard, however Carina had stopped him saying that it might be valuable and could get them some extra money if they sold it. Instead it was stored below deck in the weapon's cache that Kisuke had sent them. Now the two small boats were sailing alongside one another, Borodo and Akisu were both quiet as they sailed along, unsure what to make of their new travelling companions. They were just glad that the travelling four had forgot all about the little incident that involved the duo of treasure hunters to try and rob them of everything they had.

"You're saying she slipped straight through the floorboards?" Tatsuki questioned in disbelief as she folded her arms as she stared at Ichigo.

"That's what I said." Ichigo sighed.

"He's not wrong." Carina spoke up. "Honey Queen probably has the power of a Devil Fruit." Carina started crossing her arms. "Just like you three." She added.

"Devil Fruit huh, do they all turn into purple liquid than?" Ichigo mused silently to himself, no that couldn't be it. She believed their powers to be Devil Fruits and she had only seen what Tatsuki and Chad could do up close, no purple goo there. These Devil Fruits must just bestow random powers onto the user?

"Devil Fruits huh…" Tatsuki pondered before getting a look from Ichigo that said 'roll with it'. She sent a glare back saying 'explain later'. "Now, before we reach this Clockwork Island or whatever, teach me how to fly." Ichigo blinked slightly before turning to Chad, the large teen turning his attention elsewhere. "I couldn't get up on the ships because you two morons shot up there before I knew what was happening, I need to know how to do that too so I'm not useless." Ichigo scratched at the side of his head with a finger, with a quick glance over to Borodo and Akisu he rose the question.

"How long before we get to Clockwork Island?" Ichigo asked.

"A few hours." Borodo told him. "Give or take a few." Ichigo frowned, it really wasn't enough to teach her to 'fly' it wasn't exactly flying, more of hardening the spiritual pressure under your feet to be able to stand in the air, and even then what Ichigo and Chad had done was simply use their powers to enhance their jump and speed. Tatsuki still had a lot to learn and with only a few hours until they hit Clockwork Island, there wasn't enough time to really go through it all. He had seen what she was capable of when she sparred with Chad, she had the power but no control.

"Tatsuki, you know more than anyone else that nothing comes within a few hours." Ichigo began, Tatsuki's glare increasing. "How about this, once we've done with this new band of pirates; Chad and I will start to teach you more about your powers." Tatsuki folded her arms, glare still in place. "Until we reach the island, focus on what you need. Control." Ichigo explained. "When your sparred against Chad you were too focused on using your power, let it flow naturally. Do that and your attacks will come faster, stronger. It will also help you in what you learn from Chad and I." Tatsuki sighed and hung her head, she knew what he was saying was right but she was too impatient. Here she was wanting to get stronger and Ichigo was telling her to wait. Sure they didn't have the time but it still bugged her.

"Fine." She huffed. "But if I find you trying to weasel your way out of this."

"I won't." Ichigo told her before glancing over at Carina who had been half listening. "You're also going to learn how to fight." The purple haired thief blinked in surprise.

"Excuse me?" Carina questioned.

"He's right." Tatsuki nodded in agreement. "When we found you, you were pretty beat up. You said it was because of pirates." She explained. "Plus, what's the harm in it? You'll be able to defend yourself afterwards."

"Plus we're going to the Grand Line, something both Chad and I have been told that is the most dangerous sea in the world." Ichigo told her. "I'm betting that's not just because of the bad weather and sea monsters. We'll be attacked by others probably, from pirates more than likely Marines…" Ichigo made a mental note that it was probably because of Carina that they'd be on the canon end of the Marines sooner rather than later. "… and more probable native cannibals to islands we visit." He shrugged making Carina pale. "So, it's best to fend off the nasty cannibals right?"

"R-Right." Carina nodded hastily, she was starting to regret deciding to go to the Grand Line. Looking over to Chad, Ichigo saw that the large teen had seemed to strike up a conversation with Borodo and Akisu something about a music box that the young boy had. It had caught the large teen's attention and seeing that it might be interesting Ichigo headed over to the small trio, deciding to sit on the tail of how Borodo and Akisu met when the boy was set out to sea on his own. Tatsuki and Carina on the other hand were stuck with the fact that they had little time to prepare for what was coming, it was clear that somehow they would have to go along with everyone once they reached Clockwork Island. They couldn't just say, alright we'll see you when you're done. That wasn't how a crew worked. Everyone pitched in.

"You can teach me to fight, right?" Carina questioned catching Tatsuki's attention. The martial artist smiled and nodded. They had a few hours, Tatsuki could at least teach her something on top of already what she had, even if it was fixing her form, the girl was a thief there was bound to have been times where she couldn't schmooze her way out of a situation. Tatsuki was in this for the long hall, if that meant helping train others while she was waiting to be trained herself, that was fine, it would keep her mind busy and pass the time that they spent at sea.

"Let's see what you've got."