A Collaboration between Starlight's Poet, Daemon of Wrath, and TheStrangerThatCameFromNowhere.

We proudly present,

"Rising of the Straw Hat Pirate"

Had somebody told Naofumi Iwatani he would be sent to another world, he would have laughed. While the "isekai' genre was popular, it wasn't his cup of tea and didn't see the appeal at all. While his ordinary school life wasn't perfect, he wouldn't say it was completely bad and enjoyed what he had. When the day came and he had been sent to another world, apparently chosen to save it, it was understandable that he was a little more than upset. It also didn't help the fact that, for whatever reason, he wasn't very well-liked for being the Hero of the Shield.

Most people would have enjoyed the prospect of being selected about becoming a hero to save the world, especially when game mechanics were thrown into the mix. Naofumi didn't understand the appeal whatsoever, but if saving the world meant he could go home, the sooner he got the job done the better. At least, that was the plan until the day his life was thrown down the drain and the world proceeded to shit on him relentlessly.

Myne, the only person who chose to party with him, turned out to be some princess named Malty and was the king's daughter. Naofumi had barely been in the new world for only a day before that rotten bitch lied to everyone and told them he raped her. No one, not even his fellow heroes, believed him at all. And if that wasn't bad enough, the second he got thrown out of the castle he had been stripped of all his belongings, save for his shield.

All in all, he had one hell of a shitty start in this new world and wanted nothing more than to go home.

And so it was that the feared and reviled "Shield Demon" set about his journey, bitter and untrusting after what had transpired. It had been a rough journey so far, facing discrimination and countless struggles along the way, but there were a few good moments here and there.

During the Wave, Naofumi had managed to save a village from the monsters, saving as many people as he could. Somehow or another, this earned him some respect from the survivors and even managed to sway the guards that tried to steal his stuff, kill him, etc. He still preened at the memory of just how livid the commanding soldier was, especially when Naofumi was invited to attend the banquet for the heroes.

The Shield Hero laughed to himself, wondering what sort of face that trash king was going to make when he saw him there.

Naofumi was currently sitting nearby a stream, washing himself up and lathering his face with the cool water. The day had been utterly hectic and he was sure it was only going to get worse, especially when he would attend the banquet. He was betting on the prospect of either that king or his bitch of a daughter planning on some way to screw him over. He had absolutely no idea what he did to piss them off or if they just hated his guts the second they saw him, but they more or less made it clear that they were going to do everything in their power to fuck his life over.

"Tch."

A scowl wormed its way to his face, remembering the day Malty ruined his life in this new world. His fist clenched in anger and trembled. The idea that he was going to see her again was enough to make his blood boil. He took a moment to calm himself down, slowly inhaling and exhaling. As much as the idea of seeing her again infuriated him, he would have to endure it. At the very least, he could prepare himself for whatever those two had planned.

"Naofumi-sama?"

Said teen looked over his shoulder, finding Raphtalia looking at him in worry. The demi-human had been his one and only ally, and that was only because he made her his slave. That fact still tasted like poison to him, but he didn't have any other choice. No one wanted anything to do with him, and he knew better than trust a stranger again lest they stab him in the back and take all his stuff again. He couldn't afford to take any chances, even with someone as kind as Raphtalia was. He didn't really get why, but for some reason she treated him with the same kind of respect Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki had. He could swear that respect was genuine. Actually, it felt more like worship, but he really doubted that.

After all, who in their right mind would worship someone who could only fight with a damned shield?

"What're you doing up at this hour?" Naofumi asked as he sloshed his face with another round of water. "Shouldn't you be asleep by now?"

"I couldn't sleep well. I tried to go for a walk around and saw you. I just followed you here." She answered.

He sighed. Just childish curiosity. Well, she was still a kid so it was probably natural. Still, now that he thought about it, he was probably going to have to be extra careful about the banquet now. Demi-humans weren't well-liked, so chances were that Raphtalia was going to be facing trouble by the time the festivities began in full. And knowing the bitch princess and trash king, they'd be the first ones to start something if only to give them an excuse to try something with him.

The more he thought about it, the more he started to wonder about whether or not going to the banquet was really such a good idea. As much as he wanted to spit in those shitty royals' faces, the whole thing sounded like it was more trouble than it was worth.

Naofumi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. His head was starting to hurt just by thinking about this crap. He'd come to a decision tomorrow morning, he supposed. As he got up and get ready for bed, he stopped when he saw something glimmering in the river. "What's that?" Curious, he leaned down and took the item out from the water. Strange, though. He could have sworn there was nothing there when he first saw it.

"What did you find, Naofumi-sama?" Raphtalia asked and peeked over his shoulder.

In the Shield Hero's hand, between his fingers, was a gold coin. Not of the same currency used in the kingdom though as its design was different. It had an engraving on the front and back, the tails-end side of the coin possessing a pair of crossbones while the front had the crossbones plus a skull with an eyepatch over one of the eye sockets. Running his thumb over its surface, he felt the carefully-cut grooves in the coin. Curious as to whether or not it was real, he bit down and winced. It was for real.

"What a strange coin..." Raphtalia murmured. "I've never seen one like this. What is that marker...?"

"It's a Jolly Roger." Naofumi answered. At this, Raphtalia looked at him curiously and elaborated further. "It's an insignia used by pirates back home. If you saw a ship bearing a skull and crossbones, chances were that the people on board were pirates. As for why it was called the Jolly Roger, I think it was because that was what the pirates themselves called their flag."

"But why would they call it that?" She questioned with a frown. "It looks kinda scary. Why call it jolly at all?"

"You got me there. I don't know what Pirates thought back then. If you ask me, it was because it was ironic or something."

He really hadn't paid much attention to the history of pirates, nor was he interested. Still, gold was gold so it was probably worth something. The exotic design might even make it more valuable. A little extra pocket money never hurt. Without thinking further about the subject or how the coin mysterious found its way into the river, he slipped the coin into his pocket and stood up. He turned to his slave, about to return to their temporary home for the evening and rest up for the banquet tomorrow, when he suddenly felt a cold shudder run down his spine.

"The hell?"

"Is something wrong, Naofumi-sama?" Raphtalia started and turned around. Immediately afterwards, he face went pale and went white with terror. "N-Naofumi-sama, behind you!"

"Eh?"

Before he could react properly, something wet grabbed his arms, legs, torso and neck. With a yank, he suddenly found himself being pulled backwards and down into the river stream. Raphtalia, in panic, lunged after him and only just managed to grab his hand before he hit the water.

The river stream was shallow, barely two or three inches deep. They should have just hit the bottom and laid there. But that did not happen. Instead, Naofumi felt as if he had just been dragged down into the ocean depths. He was being pulled further and further down into what felt like a bottomless pit of water, Raphtalia still clinging to him in fear. He couldn't move his body whatsoever, as if something had paralyzed him. Stranger still was the fact that, though they had somehow been pulled underwater, he was still capable of breathing in oxygen.

"W-what the hell?!" Naofumi struggled against his bindings. Said bindings were black bony limbs, seemingly made out of stone. "W-what are these things?! Get off me, dammit!"

"...BACK..."

"W-what?!"

Naofumi craned his head, barely enough to catch sight of whatever it was that grabbed him. His eyes went wide. A monster, a skeleton wearing a tattered coat with golden shoulders. The skeleton looked as though it was made of black stone, teeth made out of fangs and sockets glowing a deathly pale color.

"GIVE IT BACK..." the skeleton groaned as one of its many claws reached out for him. "GIVE ME BACK...MY TREASURE!"

Raphtalia cried out and pulled herself further into Naofumi. The hand inched closer. Naofumi gritted his teeth and continued to struggle. Eventually, his arm struggled free. The moment he pried his arm out from the monster's grasp, his shield started to glow. "Back off, asshole!" Naofumi growled as he unleashed a skill that would have blown the skeleton away.

Instead, it did something else. The moment the hand made contact with the glowing shield, a sudden burst engulfed Nafoumi and Raphtalia. The bindings holding him down immediately shattered and the monster reeled back, letting out a shrill cry that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. The light from the shield grew more intense while the water surrounding Naofumi continued to break away.

"W-what is this? What's happening?!"

Finally, the light engulfed Naofumi and Raphtalia.

At the time this happened, no one noticed the duo's disappearance. It would not be until tomorrow, on the day the banquet and Naofumi Iwatani's fated duel with the Spear Hero Motoyasu, that their disappearance would be felt. As well as the change that would sweep the world when the Shield Hero would inevitably return.

But he would not return a hero. No, upon his return he would be something else.

A new chapter in the story of Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero, is about to begin.

CHAPTER 1: ROMANCE DAWN OF THE SHIELD HERO

The second Naofumi and Raphtalia found themselves hitting the watter, now suddenly capable of movement and the monster gone, the two scrambled for the surface. They broke out a moment later, gasping for breath and coughing haphazardly as they tried to clear their mouths of the salty taste of the sea from their tongues.

"Pbbt, phat, ack, hack!" Naofumi spitted out tiny amounts of seawater from his mouth before cursing. "Fucking hell! What the shit was that?!"

"Phagh! Hack! N-Naofumi-sama! Are you, hack, alright?" Raphtalia asked as she coughed up water, cringing at the saltiness.

"Somehow but..." He wiped the water from his eyes and glanced at their surroundings. His eyes widened. Behind him was a stretch of endless sea, the first he had ever seen of it since the day he arrived in this hellhole, but behind him was what looked to be a town. Conveniently, the two had somehow managed to land close by a pier only a few yards away from them. Despite this relief, it did nothing to stop Naofumi's incredulous reaction at the situation. "Where the hell are we?"

His mind raced for an explanation, the first thing coming to mind being a teleportation spell. That had to exist, right? That damn spell was the reason he even became the Shield Hero in the first place. However, the one he just experienced felt different compared to that time. The second possibility was that damned skeleton and whatever it did when it touched his shield just before he could turn it to dust. Had it interfered somehow?

No, that wasn't his concern right now. Both he and Raphtalia were in the middle of the ocean not to mention unfamiliar territory. They were either somewhere else in the kingdom or outside of it entirely. Paranoia hit him immediately, and his first action was to pull Raphtalia close while wading through the waters towards the pier.

"Where are we, Naofumi-sama?" The young girl asked.

"No clue. But hopefully some people in town will have answers for us." He replied as he hoisted himself and Raphtalia up on the docks. Internally, he just hoped that his reputation as the Shield Hero wasn't known here...wherever here was. Given that they were near the ocean, they're probably near a port town of the continent or something.

As the two wrung their clothes from excess water, Naofumi took note of the buildings nearby. They were to be expected from a port town. They were wooden buildings with thatched roofs. It appeared to be a rather normal town. What was also notable was that he saw no sign of Melomarc soldiers. In fact, he didn't see anyone on the streets, which was rather odd.

Whatever the case, they did need to dry off their clothes or find some new ones. He did not want to catch a cold by sitting around in wet clothes nor did he want Raphtalia getting sick. With resignation, Naofumi sighed and walked into the town. Behind him, Raphtalia followed.

After a few minutes of walking through the town, Naofumi realized something was wrong. He could understand the area around the port being empty, but as he and Raphtalia toured through the streets, they noticed the same level of abandonment. There were no people in the streets. What appeared to be vendor stalls were abandoned.

It was totally and utterly abandoned. Not a soul in sight. It was as though they had stepped into a ghost town.

"What could have happened to this place?" Raphtalia wondered. "It doesn't look like it was attacked, but I don't see anyone at all..."

"Might've been an epidemic or something." Naofumi suggested, though having said that he doubted this was the case. If the town had been suffering from a plague, it wouldn't look nearly as clean as it did. He also couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, but couldn't place what it was. "Though it looks like this place was abandoned only recently."

"How can you tell, Naofumi-sama?"

"The houses we checked didn't have any dust piled on them, and the windows looked pretty clean. Whatever could have happened here, it wasn't that long ago."

Which made him all the more nervous. What could have drove the people away from their homes? And if it happened recently, then did that mean the cause was still present? Was it a person responsible for the village being abandoned? There were a lot of possibilities, and he couldn't be sure which it was.

The two eventually paused when they heard the sounds of yelling not far away. "Someone is here!" Raphtalia sighed with relief.

Naofumi wasn't nearly as optimistic. With his luck, the few people that were here probably already knew about his reputation and would react with hostility. Regardless, they did need help figuring out where the hell they were. As apprehensive as he was about the banquet, what with all of its pros and cons, chances were that if he didn't show up, that trash king and bitch princess were going to slander him to high heaven and make up more shit that he didn't do.

As the yelling grew closer, Naofumi narrowed his eyes and discovered the source. Three men, all wielding curved swords, were chasing a girl that was running toward them at high speed. She was wearing a white-and-blue striped shirt with a yellow skirt, hair light orange.

"Is she being chased?"

Naofumi scoffed. "Looks obvious to me."

As the girl ran, her eyes caught sight of the two. Her eyes widened in surprise at seeing them, but that didn't last for very long as another, more familiar look entered her eyes. Naofumi's own narrowed, recognizing the look.

"Oh, hey boss! Glad you're here! Can you deal with these three?! Thanks!"

Raphtalia squawked as the girl shot past them while saying that without so much as an ounce of guilt. The demi-human could barely muster a response before the girl was already out of sight, leaving them behind and at the mercy of the girl's mystery pursuers.

Naofumi's scowled heavily. 'That fucking bitch! The second she saw us she made us into her damned scapegoats!'

The girl's pursuers, hearing the lie and believing every second of it, advanced towards them while holding their swords threateningly. "So, you're that little thief's boss, huh?" one of them sneered. "You must have a death wish, trying to steal from the infamous Buggy Pirates!"

Raphtalia stammered. "W-wait! This is a misunderstanding! We don't know her! Honest!"

Naofumi would have argued as well, but he knew it was pointless. These guys were out for blood. And even if they weren't, they'd still pick a fight with them simply because they were a convenient distraction for the girl to use and get away. They were acting out of desperation. Whatever it was that girl stole from them, they were dead set on getting it back and couldn't afford to waste any time.

Still, it looked like they didn't know him, so that was a plus.

The Shield Hero sighed. "Look, we have nothing to do with your little thief." He wasn't looking for a fight right now and instead tried the simpler approach. "We don't have beef with you or your crew."

"You trying to save your own skin?" another of the pirates cackled. "What do you take us for? Idiots?!"

"Trust me, you don't want to pick a fight with me." Naofumi readied his shield, eyes narrow. Seeing this, Raphtalia's hand immediately went to her own sword. "Just go after your thief, and leave us alone. Unless you're looking to get the snot beat out of you."

The pirates bristled at this insult and were even more incensed than before. If they weren't ready to kill him before, they sure would now. Yet before either side could make any movements-

"...aaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

-something came crashing down in between them following the sound of a cannon going off and something exploding above them, kicking up dust and dirt. Shielding their eyes from the dust and dirt, Raphtalia and Naofumi looked at the cause and stared in disbelief.

"Owwwwww... Stupid bird! I'm not food!"

Once the dust settled down, they got a better look at what impacted the ground before them. It was a young man, likely around his late teens. He was rather lanky, dressed in a red sleeveless shirt, shorts, and sandals. H had a straw hat over his short black hair and a stitched scar below his left eye.

"But I gotta say..." the boy grinned as he dusted himself off. "That was awesome!"

"W-who the hell are you?!" the pirate asked and was surprised by the boy's sudden appearance. "You with them?!"

"Huh? With who?" One of the pirates pointed behind him. The boy spun around and faced Naofumi and Raphtalia, who stared back with gobsmacked expressions. "Eh? Who are you two?"

"That's what we wanna know!" Naofumi yelled. "Where did you even come from?!"

"Uh...up there?"

They looked up, then back at the boy, his finger still pointing to the sky. Naofumi wondered whether the kid was just retarded or hit his head too hard. Before he or Raphtalia could form a valid response, the pirates, now fully agitated, lunged into action. "Forget it! Doesn't matter! We're in a hurry, now just sit still and let me slit yer throat!" He swung his cutlass, but the boy leaned back and evaded it with ease. However, the swing also knocked his straw hat off his head.

As if reacting to the loss of his hat, the boy lashed out and slammed his fist into the pirate's face. Naofumi heard the distinct sound of a nose being broken and watched in surprise and awe as the boy, who had absolutely no muscle and lacking in muscle mass, sent a fully-grown man flying with a single punch. Without turning around, he snatched his hat from the air back on his head.

"W-what?" The pirates, dumbfounded, stared at their fallen comrade for a moment before turning back to the boy.

The straw hat wearing kid glared. "Don't you dare mess up my hat!"

"Damn you!"

Angered, the two pirates attacked him from either side. The end result was the same as the first. The boy nimbly evaded and jumped over them, swinging his leg and slamming his heel into the first one and sending them straight to the ground in an unconscious heap. The second barely recovered in time to turn around in time to receive a wound-up left hook to the face that sent him sprawling to the ground.

They didn't get back up.

"Hmph! Bunch of jerks!" the boy snorted, steam blowing from his nostrils indignantly before his expression shifted back and looked at the two from before. "So, what'd you say you guys were again?"

Raphtalia stared. "W-what?"

"Oh, wow! You have animals and a tail!" the boy exclaimed excitedly. "Are those real?! Are you a monster?"

Almost immediately, Naofumi's face darkened. He stood in between Raphtalia and the kid, fangs bared. "What the fuck did you just call her, you little shit?!"

"I asked if she was a monster." the boy stated again, unaffected by Naofumi's anger. "Is she one?"

'T-this little...!'

Veins bulged on Naofumi's skin, the one above his eyebrow practically burning in anger. He wanted so badly to deck the kid in the face, but restrained himself. From the way he sounded, he really didn't mean anything by it. Even so, hearing someone call Raphtalia that was enough to piss him off.

For her part, whether it was because she was used to being discriminated or realizing that the boy honestly didn't have any malicious intent in calling her a monster, Raphtalia shyly responded. "I-I'm not a monster. I'm a demi-human. A tanuki demi-human, to be exact."

"Tanuki?" the boy cocked his head to the side. "What's that?"

"Oh, it's a-"

"Whoa, you actually took those guys down by yourselves?" Stopping their conversation, the three looked up. Naofumi scowled when he saw the girl responsible for dragging him into her mess, sitting on top of a roof overlooking the streets. "You guys must be strong! Say, wanna part up?"

The boy looked at her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Nami! I'm a thief who steals from pirates! Want to be partners?" she asked with a smile. "I'm sure we could make a killing!"

"No thanks!" Naofumi snarled. "Not when you dragged us into your mess!"

"Aw, what? Come on! You guys took care of them. Why not? I promise I'll give you a third of whatever we steal!"

"First off, what the fuck kind of deal is that?! No thanks! And secondly, you dragged us into this when we wanted no part of it, and ditched us!" The Shield Hero glared. "Besides, we didn't do anything. It was this guy." He shoved the straw hat boy forward. "If you want to drag somebody into whatever scheme you have cooked up in that head of yours, dump it on this dumbass!"

"Wait, what?" The boy blinked and stared back and forth between the girl and Naofumi. One looked annoyed and the other was grinning. After a moment, he realized that the girl was basically asking them to join up with her. He scoffed and shook his head. "No thanks! I'm not interested in joining up with you!"

With that said, the boy turned on his heel and walked off. The girl wasn't about to let go of a possible accomplice and jumped off the roof, giving chase after him. "Ah, come on! Give it some thought why don't you? Hey, I'll treat you to some food!"

"Food?!"

Naofumi spluttered and looked at Raphtalia, the demi-human's mouth positively salivating at the mere mention of food. And in complete sync with the straw hat wearing boy, too! "Wha-! Raphtalia?!" He was about to admonish her and tell Nami to buzz off, only for his stomach to rumble. He cursed at his body's own betrayal and scowled again when Nami gave him a knowing grin. "...fine, but one meal. And I'm still not joining up with you!"

"Sure, sure. C'mon, follow me."

Nami had led the three to a house nearby. Like all the other houses, it was abandoned only recently. Furthermore, it was well-stocked as the thief made something quick. To the boy and Raphtalia's disappointment, though, the meal she promised wasn't as big as they hoped but accepted it nonetheless. Naofumi still didn't trust Nami and hated the fact that he was accepting her "charity," but he wasn't in a position to refuse.

At least the food was good. He was skeptical about it at first and wondered if Nami had poisoned their food, but he had watched her carefully while she was making their food and found no way she could have poisoned them.

"...holy crap, you guys practically devoured everything in seconds." Nami sweatdropped. "How hungry were you two?"

"I dunno 'bout the kid, but Raphtalia's always had a hell of an appetite." Naofumi snorted. "Give her an all-you-can-eat buffett, and she'll clean the place out in no time."

"R-right..." Nami sweatdropped. She then shook her head and clapped her hands. "Anyway! I just realized, I never got your guys' names."

"I'm Luffy!" the boy grinned. "Monkey D. Luffy, nice to meet'cha!"

"I'm Raphtalia." the demi-human bowed politely after thanking Nami for the meal. "This is Naofumi-sama."

The Shield Hero grunted and turned away from Nami, ignoring the thief in favor of his meal.

Nami frowned. "Not much of a people person, is he?"

"Naofumi-sama is a great person, he just...has difficulties trusting people." Raphtalia told them, not wanting to give them a bad impression of her master. "So, Nami-san, is this place your home?"

"Nah, this is somebody else's place. I don't know who owns it, though." Nami shrugged. "Everyone cleared out of town when the Buggy Pirates came storming in and took the place over. They're hiding away in some shelter outside of town, but I have no idea where."

Luffy folded his arms. "Buggy? That's kind of a lame name."

"Lame or not, he's bad news. He's known to have a thing for cannon fire and even destroyed a whole village because some kids from it made fun of him for his big red nose. I've also heard he's got some kind of weird power, but I have no idea what it could be."

Naofumi didn't say anything, but internally he was frowning. 'Probably some kind of magic. Sounds like this Buggy guy has a short temper.'

"But why's nobody in the village?" Luffy asked.

Nami yelled in his face, "I just got done telling you! They all hiked it out of here when Buggy showed up! Weren't you listening at all?!"

"Oh! So, you're stealing from the townsfolk while they're gone, is that it?"

"I don't steal from normal people, only pirates! For the love of god, clean out your ears!"

Naofumi scoffed. "Yeah, right." He scarfed down the last of his food and shot a glare at Nami, who in turn glared back. "How are we supposed to trust that when we only just met you? For all we know, you could be lying and stole from these people by taking advantage of the chaos this Buggy guy's been causing."

"That's not-!" Nami opened her mouth to argue and shout that she wasn't like that, that she wasn't at all like the pirates she so vehemently despised, but stopped and took a sharp intake of breath. She calmed herself down and spoke again, this time in a more calmly manner. "Okay, Mr. Skeptic, listen here. Even if I wanted to steal from the townsfolk, they don't have much in the way of valuables. Sure, it's a port town, but it doesn't make its livelihood by trade. From what I get, it's a fishing town. At best, I could scrounge up maybe 20,000 or 30,000 berries, tops."

'Berries?' He immediately latched on to her choice of wording. From the way she said it, it sounded like "berries" were a currency, rather than food like most would assume. That clued him in on what region he might be in, but he still didn't have enough information. For all he knew, he was either someplace else on the continent that wasn't affiliated with the kingdom or its neighbors. Hell, he could even be on another continent altogether.

Nami continued. "Pirates, on the other hand, have a lot more to offer. Even the smallest, no-named crew can have valuables worth 50,000 berries at the least. And a pirate crew like Buggy's? Easily worth 90,000 to a 1000,000 berries. In other words, it's a hell of a lot more profitable stealing from pirates than it is from normal folks."

The Shielder frowned. When she put it that way, it was definitely more logical to steal from Pirates rather than townsfolk if it is more profitable. But as he stated, he just can't bring himself to trust her. For all he knew, she could be mixing in some lies, or just telling them half the truth.

Either way, he wasn't about to put his trust in this girl.

Not when the glint in her eyes reminded him of that bitch.

"If I'm going to get 100,000,000 berries, I'll steal from as many pirates as it takes." Nami scoffed. "After that, I'll buy myself a nice little village in the far reaches of the East Blue, and live a niiice peaceful, comfy life free of danger."

'East Blue?' Naofumi frowned further upon hearing the name. It sounded like it was a patch of territory, or maybe a patch of sea like how in his world the sea was divided into different parts.

"A hundred million, huh?" Luffy remarked, sounding rather impressed with her goals. "That's a whole lot of money. But, how you gonna find that many pirates to steal from?"

Nami smirked. "Funny you should ask!" She laughed as she pulled out a parchment from her person. It was a map from the look of it, furled up and sealed with a thread binding. "This is a map of the Grand Line! I took it from the Buggy Pirates not too long ago, hence the reason why I was being chased. With this, I'll be able to navigate the waters of the world and steal from other, more luxurious pirates!" She leaned forward and looked at the three in front of her. "So, what do you say? You guys look like you could handle yourselves in a fight! Tell you what, you be my brawn and I'll be your brain. I promise to give you guys a fair share!"

"I don't know..." Raphtalia murmured and looked at Naofumi. "Naofumi-sama, what should we do?"

The Shield Hero folded his arms in thought. On the one hand, he didn't feel comfortable placing his trust in someone he just met, much less somebody that tried to pawn him off to a bunch of pirates just to save her own skin. On the other hand, he needed information. If they joined up for a short while, just enough to get his bearings and figure out where to go after he learned enough, then maybe he could offer up some sort of partnership.

That said, he wasn't naive. If he was going to help her, it would be by his own terms. And that was only if he accepted her offer. He had to think about this.

Curious about Luffy, he looked at the boy. He was staring at Nami with a curious look in his eye. "Do you know how to navigate?"

"You bet I do!" Nami puffed her chest proudly. "Not to toot my own horn or anything, but when it comes to navigating the weather, there's no one better at it than yours truly!"

"Really?! Awesome! Me and my crew are heading to the Grand Line too!" Luffy grinned. "We're looking for a navigator! How about you join our crew?!"

"Really?!"

Raphtalia stared. "Um, Luffy-san? When you say 'crew,' do you mean a pirate crew?"

"What?" Naofumi scoffed. "Raphtalia, he looks barely older than you. There's no way a brat like him is-"

"Yeah! I even got my first crew member the other day!"

The excited look on Nami's face faded almost immediately. Naofumi stopped and stared at Luffy. "...excuse me?" His disbelief was reasonable in his opinion. Raphtalia was a little girl, barely in her pre-teens for god's sake. And yet this kid, who looked like he couldn't be any older than 14, said he was a pirate? "You expect me to believe a kid like you is a pirate?"

"Of course I am!" Luffy sounded offended by Naofumi's skepticism and folded his arms. "And I'm not a kid! I'm 17!"

"Bullshit!" Naofumi stood up from his seat. "That doesn't make it any better! You're still just a kid! And your first crew member? You're just starting out as a Pirate? Do you even know what to do?!"

"Of course I do!" Luffy snapped. "I'm gonna get me a crew, our own ship, sail the Grand Line and become the Pirate King!"

"Like I said, bullshit! You're just some kid who's in over his head for some delusion!"

"N-Naofumi-sama, calm down!" Raphtalia attempted to appease his anger.

The Shield Hero was bristling. While certain that he was missing a few crucial details like what this "Grand Line" was or why Luffy wanted to become a king of the pirates, he did know this. This kid, no matter how tough he was, was over his head. He would have loved to meet the person who instilled such ideas in his head or, if Luffy came up with this dream himself, beat him over the head. Pirates weren't good people, history proved that a dozen times over. They were the kinds who either took the law into their own hands, did however they pleased and killed whoever they wanted, destroyed villages and took everything that wasn't nailed down and everything else in between. Sure, maybe there would have been a few odd ones out that didn't do that kind of stuff and simply resisted authority, but the fact remained that pirates were capable of terrible things.

And someone like this, someone who looked about as bright as a bag of rocks, wanted to live that kind of life?!

Before Naofumi could muster another argument or Luffy defend his dream, Nami regained her senses and glared at Luffy. "Absolutely no way in hell!" she roared, surprising them. "I already told you, I steal only from pirates! It'll be a cold day in hell before I ever consider joining a pirate crew!" Reeling back, Nami groaned and dragged a hand down her face. "If I had known you were a pirate, I wouldn't have bothered wasting my time. And you two?" She glanced at Naofumi and Raphtalia. "What's your story? You guys pirate also?"

"Oh no, no no no!" Raphtalia shook her head. "We aren't pirates! We're..."

"We're just a couple of people who ended up getting stranded in the middle of nowhere, that's all." Naofumi answered for her. "And again, you're on your own. As tempting as your offer is, I'd rather trust some snot-nosed kid with half a brain cell like this idiot here than someone who tried to make me and Raphtalia into scapegoats to save her own ass."

Nami winced at the brutal reminder. "O-okay, in my defense, I was in a panic. For what it's worth, I'm really sorry about using you like that. Honest!"

"Sure, whatever." Naofumi dismissed her apology.

Raphtalia, worried that another fight might break out, immediately changed the subject. "N-Nami-san, what are you planning on doing now?"

Nami, surprised, took a moment to gather her thoughts before she answered. "Well... I do plan on hitting the Buggy Pirates again pretty soon. As soon as I snatch their treasure, I'm taking one of their boats and hightailing it out of here. What about you?"

"We need to return to Melromarc as soon as possible." the demi-human answered her. "We're expected to participate in a banquet in the heroes' honor for defending a village, so..."

"Melromarc? Where's that?"

Naofumi stiffened. Had he heard her correctly? He glanced at Raphtalia, the latter equally as shaken as he was. "It-it's a kingdom, neighboring Siltvelt, Rock Valley-"

"I mean what continent is it on?" Nami pressed. Raphtalia, unfortunately, could not answer it. Neither could Naofumi, as he even he did not know the name of the continent on which Melromarc and its neighbors resided. For all he knew, the continent itself could be nameless. At their silence, Nami pursed her lips. "You don't know?" Raphtalia shook her head. "I see. If you have a world map, I could probably point it out on the one I have, so long as its outside the Grand Line. If it's in the Grand Line, then I don't know where it is."

"The heck does that mean?" Naofumi asked. "What the hell even is this Grand Line thing you keep talking about?"

Both Luffy and Nami stared at him, incredulous before they looked at each other. Then back to Naofumi. "Wow." Luffy remarked lamely. "You're an idiot."

"I don't want to hear that from you, brat!"

Nami sighed. "Great, a shut-in. Just what I need." Naofumi bristled and would have throttled her had it not been for Raphtalia holding him back. "Okay, fine. Listen up, because I don't want to waste anymore time than I need to. For all I know the Buggy Pirates are still out there looking for me, so I'll make this quick." She took out another parchment from her person, another map, and laid it out flat on the table. "This red horizontal line that wraps around the map? This is called the Red Line. It's the only landmass in the whole world that wraps around the planet, though from what I've heard it's more like a collection of islands that's linked together. The blue line that's perpendicular to it is called the Grand Line. It's an ocean current that runs from the north-west to the south-east, and it's also pretty dangerous. We're on the right side of the Red Line, more specifically the East Blue. It's the least dangerous of the four seas, but that doesn't mean it has its own fair share of dangers. The Grand Line is home to several continents, but there aren't very many maps or details about the islands that inhabit the Grand Line. Ever since the Pirate King, Gold Roger was executed, pirates from all over the world had been heading to the Grand Line in the hopes of finding the One Piece."

"One Piece?" Raphtalia asked. "What's that?"

Luffy grinned and showed off many of his pearly whites. "It's the world's greatest treasure! Everyone's after, just like I am!"

"Before Roger was executed, he spoke his final words." Nami continued. "'You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered in one place. Now you just have to find it.' The moment he said those words, he sparked the beginning of the Pirate Era. It's been over twenty years since his death, and pirates are still searching for his legendary treasure. All anyone knows for certain is that's somewhere in the Grand Line."

Both Naofumi and Raphtalia were stunned. So this age of Piracy started when the former King of Pirates was executed two decades ago, and offered up his treasure? It must've been quite a sum if it spurred many pirates looking for it. And it still hasn't been found?!

"That's amazing!" The demi-human girl whispered in awe.

"...Wait, so he just left all of his treasure in a single place? Why didn't he split it up in multiple stashes or something?" Naofumi questioned.

"No one knows." Nami shook her head. "I have no idea what was going through his head at the time. But the fact he even offered up all the loot he accumulated over the years was crazy enough."

"And whoever finds the One Piece gets to be the next King of the Pirates." Luffy said excitedly. "And that is my dream!"

"Yeah? Well pick another one." The Shield Hero scoffed. "You're just gonna get yourself killed."

"You should follow his advice." Nami agreed. "The Grand Line is terrifying if even half the rumors about it are true. That place is called the Pirate Graveyard for a reason."

"Nope. No way." Luffy stubbornly refused, eyes determined. "I made a promise to the person who gave me this hat that I would go to the Grand Line and become the Pirate King. No way am I going to give up! Especially not after I just got my first crew member!" Naofumi sighed in annoyance. What was it going to take to get it through this kid's thick skull? At this point, it may as well been a lost cause. If this kid wanted to get himself killed, who was he to stop him? Besides, it wasn't as though he couldn't say he didn't warn him! "Anyway, you sure you don't wanna join my crew? We could have all kinds of fun!"

"Yeah, no thanks." Nami deadpanned before pausing. The man from another world could easily see the gears turning in her head before a sly smile formed on her face. "Although, I miiight be persuaded to help you if you help me do a little something first."

"Really? Sure!"

Naofumi stared flatly. 'What. A. Dumbass. Does he not see she's going to con him?!'

"How 'bout I help you guys out too, while I'm at it?" Naofumi looked at Nami skeptically. "Look, it isn't anything shady, I promise! The Buggy Pirates must have a world map other than the ones I have. The map I got only covers islands this side of Paradise - that is to say, the East and South Blue. On the other side, where the North and West Blue are, is what's called the New World. Word is, Buggy sailed with a crew that sailed all the Four Blues. He's got to have a map! If he does, and it details whatever's on the continents, I can point you in the right direction. My deal is, you help me get inside Buggy's place, then I can help you can get back to this Melromarc place. What do you say?"

Naofumi wanted to tell her, "Take your offer and shove it up where the sun doesn't shine." However, he stopped before he could say that. The wheels in his own head were beginning to turn as well.

Admittedly, his knowledge of the world was lacking. He didn't even know what the Grand Line or the four seas were until Nami's explanation. And it seemed that it was common knowledge. But how would they not know about Melomarc? Wouldn't it be known due to its status as a Kingdom? Something wasn't quite adding up. He needed answers.

It didn't seem like he had any other option if he wanted to learn more.

That didn't mean he fully trusted her, however. It was clear she was planning on conning Luffy into some kind of scheme, maybe fork him over to the Buggy Pirates as leverage to sneak inside or something. Her hate towards pirates was genuine.

"...not like we got much choice, is there?" Naofumi muttered and sighed again before looking back up. "Fine, we're in. But if you betray us..." He narrowed his eyes, leaking out a dredge of killing intent. "I swear, I'll kill you."

Nami gulped, recognizing a genuine threat when she saw one. "R-right. Got it." She made a mental note to never piss this guy off before she turned to Luffy. "Alright, Luffy. Let's talk business!"

Just as Naofumi had expected, Nami conned Luffy like the sucker he was. He didn't have a clue why Nami tied him up, at least not until they were presented with the infamous pirate who controlled the town. Contrary to Naofumi's image of a pirate, the man looked like an honest-to-god clown, complete with a big red nose and clown make-up, complete with large white gloves. That said, there was no denying the dangerous look of murder and mania in his eyes that promised death to anyone that crossed him. The fact that Nami had stated that he destroyed a village, and likely killed everyone in it, was proof enough that he wasn't to be judged on appearances alone.

Buggy bought the lie Nami presented them with; they betrayed their "captain" and wanted to hook up with the stronger side. Somehow or another, the pirate believed every word and accepted them into their crew, even going so far as to host a celebration. The pirates surrounding them were dancing to music, eating the meat they stole from the town's warehouses and drinking the booze stocked up in the bar they had commandeered as their base.

Naofumi sat off to the side, away from the party with a mug of beer in his hand. As he expected, he wasn't able to taste a damned thing in spite of his hope of getting at least buzzed. As a result, he barely even touched the mug after the first couple swigs. Nami, on the other hand, proved to have an incredible alcoholic tolerance and was outdrinking several of Buggy's men. Meanwhile, Raphtalia was gorging herself on the meals prepped by the crew and astounding everyone in the process. It must have been a sight to behold indeed, a little girl eating several plates of food fit to feed a man for days and somehow not losing an ounce of her slender figure. In truth, Naofumi wondered whether or not she had a black hole for a stomach.

Far away from the festivities was Luffy, currently raging inside his cell and growling like a maniac, no doubt over being conned by Nami and missing out on a hell of a feast.

Again to Naofumi, it was Luffy's own fault for trusting a woman who admitted she was a thief, stealing only from pirates as she claimed aside.

The plan was to wait until nightfall, when most of the pirates were dead on their feet and asleep. Naofumi and Raphtalia would keep an eye out while Nami snuck inside and stole their map and treasure before freeing Luffy and taking one of Buggy's ships. After that, it was smooth sailing from there on.

Naofumi wanted to laugh in her face. She made it sound so simple, but he knew better. There was no way this would be easy. The look in Buggy's eyes said it all. Every now and then, the Shield Hero caught him giving Luffy the stink-eye, his eyes locked on the hat sitting on top of Luffy's head with annoyance as if it was some kind of irritating reminder. Why, he couldn't say for certain. Regardless, the Shield Hero knew that he was planning on something, most likely long before the party was over.

"And when this plan blows up in her face, I'll be rubbing it all over." Naofumi muttered as he took another sip of his drink, still bitter about the fact that he couldn't taste any of it. As he did, he began to overhear the whispers of Buggy's crew.

"Man, where does that girl put it all?"

"And here I thought that Bonney girl we've been hearing about was said to be a glutton."

"What's up with those ears and tail, though? Those real?"

"Could be a Devil Fruit, like what the captain has. Except maybe it's one of those, er, what was it called again? Zoan or something?"

Naofumi raised a brow. 'Devil Fruit? Zoan?' Again, more terms he didn't quite understand. 'And from the sounds of it, they don't realize Raphtalia is a demi-human. Is it possible demi-humans aren't common in this weird place?'

"Still, she's pretty damn cute isn't she?"

"I know, right?! Man, I'd so tap that."

The grip on his mug tightened to the point the glass began to shatter. A dark shadow was cast over his eyes while glaring daggers at the bastard who dared to say that. Said bastard immediately began to shudder when he felt murderous intent radiate from Naofumi's form.

"O-on second thought, maybe not. Damn, that guy is scary!"

"What's his deal, anyway? He hasn't touched his beer at all!"

"Shame on him. Just means more for us, though!"

"Tch." Naofumi clicked his tongue. "Idiots."

He went to take another drink of his beer, but stopped when he saw Buggy suddenly move. He stood up from his makeshift thrown and raised a hand. Immediately, the festivities came to a grinding halt. "My crew!" he bellowed. "Today, we've had a fortuitous haul! Our raid from the other day and three new members! Our quench is thirst and our bellies full! Now, I believe, it is time for some fun!" A wicked smile formed on his face as he leered at Luffy. "This fool had the gall to try and take our precious map of the Grand Line! I believe he should be given a proper judgement, wouldn't you say? What say you?! What fate is befitting one so arrogant?!"

"Isn't it obvious, Captain Buggy?!" one of the pirates called out excitedly. "The cannon!"

"The cannon!" another called. "A flashy execution for an unflashy idiot!"

Nami's face drained of color as more and more called for 'the cannon' as they put it. Raphtalia looked horrified and wanted to raise her voice, looking at Naofumi pleadingly to stop this madness. He didn't move an inch, but he kept his eyes on Buggy.

"A perfect suggestion!" Buggy's grin looked utterly maniacal. "Men! Bring out the 'Buggy Cannonball Special'!"

A few left the party and returned shortly with a cannon in tow. One pirate was holding a cannonball with a Jolly Roger painted on it; a skull and crossbones with bright red nose and scars over the eye sockets. They then proceeded to load the cannonball into the cannon, aiming it at a nearby building and giving the four a demonstration of why it was called the 'Buggy Cannonball Special.'

"Fire at will, men!" Buggy commanded.

The match lit the fuse. Seconds later, it fired.

And tore through several houses in a single shot.

Naofumi's mug dropped from his grip, shattering on the ground. He and Raphtalia stared at the sight of destruction with wide-eyed horror. Nami's face was as white as a shit and was visibly trembling.

"That much power..." the Shield Hero gulped. "In a single cannonball?!"

Back his his world, normal cannon balls wouldn't be able to do that. Sure they could punch a hole through a house. But this cannon was a completely different level. In a single round, it tore through several buildings before slowing to a stop.

Just what kind of metal and gunpowder do they use for the damn thing?!

His eyes then widened in horrific realization before they snapped over to Luffy. They were going to execute him with THAT?!

Nami realized this too. The plan was now officially out the window. Buggy had decided that it was time for Luffy to be executed, and he was going to make damn sure the straw hat wearing kid was going to die in the most horrific way possible. The pirates aligned the cannon and aimed it at Luffy, who after having seen the power behind the cannonball looked rightfully afraid.

"Nami!" Buggy called. The girl jumped and froze as Buggy's eyes laid on her. "Why don't you do the honors? Consider this your initiation into my crew!"

"W-what?" Nami swallowed the lump in her throat. "C-come on, Captain. Why bother with small fry like this? W-why don't we just continue partying?"

Buggy's leer never faded. The killing intent in his eyes grew. "Kill him."

He left no room for argument. The rest of the crew was calling out for Luffy's death at her hand. The thief looked as though she had no idea what she was going to do. She never counted on the fact that they planned on executing him. She sounded so confident earlier that all they were going to do was just sell him off to a slave trader or something, but Buggy had just proven her wrong.

Just as Naofumi expected. He bit the inside of his cheek, not sure how to proceed. If he jumped in now, he and Raphtalia would have to fight off Buggy and his whole crew. He had no idea what they were capable of, much less Buggy himself. All he knew was that he had some kind of special power and that was it. Raphtalia could take the crew down easily by herself, but what if he was stronger than her? Would they even be able to escape in time?

The clock was ticking. Every second that passed, Buggy and the pirate crew would become more and more eager to see Luffy die. Eventually, they would lose patience and light the fuse themselves. If her reaction to the intent of murdering the poor kid meant anything, she had clearly never killed anyone before. Up to this point, she kept her hands clean. All so she wouldn't become like the pirates she despised. But now she had no choice but to kill someone and prove their loyalty.

Naofumi watched her carefully, wondering what she would do. Nami rigidly approached the cannon, but made no move to light the fuse. She was sweating, shoulders trembling. "Your hands are shaking." Luffy noted, causing her to freeze. "That's what happens when you mess with a pirate half-cocked."

"So, what?" Nami spat bitterly while glaring at him. "Being able to kill someone so easily is what it means to become a pirate?"

"No, it isn't."

Naofumi's eyes widened. Luffy knew he was going to die right here and now, whether by Nami's hands or the Buggy pirates. He had to know, what with the cannon now aimed right at him. They even made a point of showing off what the cannon could do. And yet, despite the fact that death was staring him down and ready to claim him at any time...

He was smiling.

"Being a pirate means you have to be willing to risk your life for your dream!"

Nami stared in disbelief, both at his words and his smile in the face of death. Raphtalia was just as amazed. Naofumi looked at Luffy for a moment before he made his decision, musing to himself that he was sure to regret it. It was so spur of the moment that it was doomed to fail, but damned if that brat hadn't somehow managed to convince him of something. He removed himself from the railing and walked over to Nami, snatching the tinderbox and match from her hands.

"Let me do the honors, since you're so chicken to kill." he said bluntly. Both Raphtalia and Nami stared at him in shock that soon morphed into horror when he lit the match and set the fuse ablaze. As soon as the fuse was lit, the pirates cheered and waited in anticipation for Luffy's impending execution.

"N-Naofumi-sama!" Raphtalia cried in shock.

Buggy laughed. "It looks like you have more guts than Nami does! Naofumi, was it? I like the cold look in your eyes. I can tell, you have the makings of a fine pirate! Now, kill that Straw Hat!"

Naofumi ignored the clown entirely and looked at Luffy. "What you said before, about risking your life for your dream. Were you serious about that?"

"Dead serious." Luffy affirmed.

"You only get one life, you know. When you die, that's it. You sure you won't regret your life choices?"

"I won't. If I die, I die. That's it. At least I'll have died chasing my dream." Luffy grinned. "How about you, Naofumi?"

The Shield Hero stared at Luffy for a moment before he chuckled rather darkly. "You're something else, man. I take back what I said before. You aren't a brat. You are a fucking moron. But..."

The fuse was inches away from firing the cannonball. In a few seconds, Monkey D. Luffy would die.

"...Damned if you aren't a good moron!"

Naofumi rammed his foot into the bottom of the cannon, flipping it backwards and aimed right back at the Buggy Pirates. The second they realized this, their faces became etched in fear and their mouths hit the floor. A vicious smile worthy of his moniker as the Shield Demon made its way onto his face as he leered at the Buggy Pirates.

"Hey, Buggy! You love your cannonballs so much, why don't you have a taste?!"

The crew scrambled for cover. The cannon went off. In the next second, everything in front of Naofumi, Nami and Raphtalia was reduced to shrapnel and smoke. The force behind the explosion was large enough to cover Naofumi's field of vision. He coughed as smoke filled his lungs, eyes stinging.

"Raphtalia!" he called out. "Cut Luffy out of his cage! We're outta here!"

"Y-yes, Naofumi-sama!"

The demi-human rushed over to Luffy and withdrew her sword from her person. In truth, Naofumi wasn't sure if she could cut through that steel cage, but it wasn't as though they had many options at this point. They had to get out of here and fast. However, they weren't fast enough. A few of the Buggy Pirates, somehow emerging unscathed from the blast, had their swords drawn and rushing at them with the intent to kill. Their target was Nami, who immediately snapped back to her senses and whipped out a staff, holding it steady and ready to engage.

Neither she or Raphtalia had a chance to engage as three steel fangs intercepted and practically sent the pirates flying.

"Sheesh. Six guys against one woman. How many people does it take to beat one opponent who can barely hold her weapon right?"

Standing between them and the airborne pirates was a crouched figure. He was a muscular young man wearing a short sleeved shirt and green pants. Around his head was a dark green bandanna. He wielded three different katanas, one in each hand and a third in his mouth.

"Zoro!" Luffy cheered as Raphtalia worked to get him free. "Where were you?!"

The man, Zoro, turned and faced Luffy with annoyance. "Looking for you, idiot. Seriously, first you get snatched up by a bird, and now I find you locked up in a cage. Is this your idea of fun, stupid?"

"Shishishishishi!" Luffy only gave a strange laugh in response.

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Hold still, I'll have you out in a second."

"No, you won't." Zoro stopped and turned his gaze to his side. Naofumi cursed when he saw Buggy standing right next to Zoro. Despite the fact that he had his eyes on the swordsman the whole time, the clown had managed to appear in no time at all. "Three swords, a harumaki, an intimidating aura. And that name..." Buggy eyed Zoro with caution. "You, are you that bounty hunter? They one they call Pirate Hunter Zoro?"

Nami gasped. "Zoro? As in, Roronoa Zoro?!"

Naofumi looked at her. "You know him?"

"He's a bounty hunter, a-and a damned good one. One of the best swordsman in the East Blue, famed for using three swords instead of one or two." Nami explained quickly. "B-but, wait. This guy is the crewmate Luffy was talking about? He actually recruited Roronoa Zoro?!"

"Have you come to claim my head?" Buggy asked.

Zoro scoffed. "I don't waste my time hunting pirates anymore, nor am I interested in wasting my time with you."

"Funny, because I have plenty of time to deal with you!" Buggy whipped out several knives from his person, each held in between his fingers. "They say you're incredibly skilled with those swords! But, I wonder how they compare to my power! Gyahahaha! If I kill you, my reputation will skyrocket!"

The swordsman rolled his eyes, clearly not thinking of Buggy as a threat and raised his swords in response to the pirate's challenge. "If you wanna die so bad, be my guest." Buggy, fearless, charged straight at Zoro with his knives poised to kill him. Naofumi watched in awe as Zoro, in a single fluid movement in a speed he had only seen with Raphtalia, perhaps even faster than her, swung his swords and cut straight through Buggy. No, more than that. He managed to chop Buggy into pieces, severing his right leg and arm, as well as cutting him off from his waist. "Tch, barely felt any resistance from your body."

"No way, in an instant?" Naofumi marveled. "He'd give Raphtalia a run for her money." He soon stopped and grew worried. Something about this scene was off, especially when he saw something very wrong.

Namely, the lack of blood. Buggy had his limbs and torso severed, so why was he not bleeding?

"Tch, was that it?" Zoro scoffed as he slid his swords back into place with a 'click.' Behind him, Buggy's body remained unmoving. Even now, when he was laying on the ground, Naofumi grew more worried. Why was there no blood spurting from his wounds? "What a waste of my time."

The Shield Hero didn't think so. He knew something was wrong here. Very wrong. He looked over at the Buggy Pirates as they recovered from the cannonblast he sent their way. They saw Buggy's body in pieces, yet they didn't have the reaction one might expect from seeing the corpse of their leader cut into pieces. They were all smiling and snickering. That only added to his unease.

Zoro and Luffy were unconcerned with this as the former was more curious about the presence of Naofumi and Raphtalia. "Who the hell're you two?"

"I-I'm Raphtalia." the demi-human bowed her head quickly. "This is Naofumi-sama. Could you help me cut through the bars?"

"Cut through 'em?" the green-haired swordsman asked. "Kid, I'm good, but I'm not that good."

"What's going on?" Nami wondered aloud, staring at the Buggy Pirates. "Their Captain just died right in front of them, so why do they look so pleased with themselves?"

Naofumi wondered that himself, then stopped as he looked back at Buggy's corpse. His eyes went wide when he saw that something about the corpse had changed. Moreover, he saw something on the corpse's person move straight at Zoro.

"Raphtalia!"

His shout spooked the demi-human, but her reflexes were quick to react and realized almost immediately what Naofumi wanted her to do the second she saw something glint behind Zoro. Her body moved quickly and her sword struck the knife that would have cut into Zoro's side. Nami, Raptalia and Naofumi stared in gobsmacked disbelief at the sight of Buggy's severed arm holding the knife, floating in mid-air.

Zoro saw the disembodied hand, mouth agape. "What the hell?!"

"Tch, so you managed to block my attack, huh? Not bad, for a Zoan!"

The group watched in shock as Buggy, grinning in spite of his failed attempt and clearly alive and well, reassembled his body. His torso sat on top of his legs, the cut seemingly vanishing entirely as flesh joined back together. Likewise, his dismembered leg and arm joined back together with the rest of him, seemingly snapping into place as if he were a LEGO man.

"What in the hell's this?" Naofumi demanded. "I just saw that guy cut you into pieces, and now your just slapping your body parts back into place?!"

Buggy laughed at Naofumi's disbelief. "I think you're missing something here! He didn't cut me, I just split my legs and arm apart before he could hit me! Behold the mighty power of my Devil Fruit! The Chop-Chop Fruit! You could never cut me, because I am a splitting man!"

"Devil Fruit?" Nami whispered. "B-but I thought those were a myth?!"

"He's a monster!" Luffy exclaimed.

Zoro snapped at his captain. "You are the last person who gets to say that, Luffy!"

"I was hoping I'd get to score at least some kind of injury, but this is fine." Buggy leered. Naofumi watched in dismay as his arms separated from his body, each one holding a set of knives between his fingers. "I have to admit, the Zoan girl has some good reflexes...but what about you, Iwatani?! Can you withstand the power of my Chop-Chop Fruit?!"

Naofumi gritted his teeth. It seemed Buggy had set his sights on him. He was confident that he could withstand the bastard's assault, given his high defense stat, but he doubted the same could be said about Nami. Even though she seemed to have some level of combat experience, she was totally out of her league here. Zoro looked as though he could hold himself up, and Naofumi wanted to bet Raphtalia could mop the floor with this asshole. As for Luffy, though, he had no idea. All he knew for certain was that the straw hat was a liability in that cage. They had to get him out somehow.

Speaking of Luffy, the boy looked angry. "How dare you attack my swordsman from behind like a coward?!" he raged. "You ugly big nosed bastard!"

The moment those words left Luffy's mouth, the atmosphere changed. Buggy went from confidant to outright murderous while his crew went deathly pale.

"That idiot!" Nami cursed. "Of all the things he could've said!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BIG NOSE?!"

A knife went zooming towards Luffy. It would have struck him, had Naofumi stepped in between them. His shield was raised and effortlessly knocked the incoming knives back. In fact, it would have been more accurate to say that a flimsy speeding object had just run smack dab into an immovable object. The knives had not only been knocked out of the dismembered hands and the hands themselves even bouncing back from the impact, but the knives proceeded to break apart into tiny pieces.

"What?!"

Naofumi looked over his shoulder and glared at Luffy. "Next time, try saying something that won't get you killed you fucking dumbass!"

"Shishishishi, my bad!"

He was going to kill him. So help him god, Naofumi was going to kill this brat the first chance he got. Seriously, who the hell laughs so carefree in this situation?! He could have died had he not stepped in between them! Not only that, but he had just pissed Buggy off to high heaven by insulting his nose. If the looks on the crew meant anything, he really didn't like it when people pointed it out to him. If he wasn't serious about killing them before, he was now.

Naofumi cursed his rotten luck and instead focused on the original plan. That was to say, getting the hell out of here. They just needed to get the pirates off their tail. Luckily, he already had a plan for that.

"Raphtalia, get him out of there!" he ordered the girl before he stepped forward and swung his arm upwards. Everyone present, save for Raphtalia, watched in shock as the silver shield that sat on his arm suddenly changed shape. What started as a silver shield turned into what appeared to be a flat coil of rope bound by leather straps. The only consistent feature was the green, circular gem in the center. The Small Shield had changed into the Rope Shield. "Air Strike Shield!" To everyone's, sans Raphtalia, shock, a green, shield-like construct appeared right in front of him. It turned horizontally before shooting towards Buggy.

The Captain's face turned comical, eyes bugging out from his skull before his body hastily separated into pieces and evaded the incoming attack. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for most of his crew behind him. While the stronger ones were able to snap out of their stupor and dodge it, the rest were still stunned and were knocked down by the massive projectile. Naofumi scowled. He cursed the fact that his only attack ability barely did any damage. At worst, the guys he hit were likely to have a concussion. Well, at least he gave them props for being tough. If they had been any weaker, they would have been blown into bloody chunks. Maybe these guys were high level or something.

Still, they had their distraction. "Grab his cage! We're out of here!"

"Huh? Wait, what?!" Nami barely had any time to register what was happening before Naofumi and Raphtalia ran past her. Zoro was the first to pick up on what was happening and grabbed Luffy's cage, hoisting him up on his shoulder and taking him with. Once she snapped out of her stupor, she panicked and quickly followed after them. "H-hey! Wait for me!"

"Why you-! Get back here!" Buggy roared and attempted to give chase, but Naofumi was faster. Another strike and the clown had to pull his body parts away lest he be struck by the incoming attack. The second volley Naofumi launched did substantially more damage and tore away at most of the bar. The floor of the roof was peeled away, even revealing a gap leading into the bar's interior. The main entrance to the roof was reduced to mere rubble and splinters. "That flashy bastard! He must have eaten some kind of Devil Fruit as well! But why the shield?!"

"C-Captain, it's gone!" someone from his crew cried out. "The key to the cell is gone!"

"What?!" His veins throbbed angrily. "So, that's how we're playing this is it?! Fine, then! Prepare yourself, Straw Hat! This means war! War, I say!"

Zoro let out a huff as he set the cage down on its side, his body falling to the ground moments later. Nami was similarly gasping for breath and sweating profusely. In contrast, Naofumi and Raphtalia barely looked winded whatsoever and seemed more concerned about the fact that they were stopping.

"What's with you guys?" the man frowned. "Unless you pick up the pace, that weird-ass clown guy is gonna catch up with us."

"Screw..." Nami panted. "You... Too much running..."

"Just let me catch my breath first, dammit." Zoro wiped the sweat from his brow. "Damn, must still be out of shape from back when that Helmepo idiot tied me up."

"Will someone let me out of here first?!" Luffy roared as he bit away at the bars. Naofumi would have found it amusing were it not for the fact that they were still in the middle of enemy territory. "Stupid cage!"

Naofumi sighed. "Fine, hold still for a second. Raphtalia, could you...?"

The demi-human nodded. She assumed a stance and took a small breath, her hand on her sword. Zoro watched curiously as she did so, her form telling him she was an amateur in swordplay. However, when it came to force and finesse, he had to admit he was impressed, especially when he watched her remove her sword from her sheathe at incredible speed. With a single slash, her sword easily cut straight through the steel bars and reduced them to mere pieces. In seconds, the cage fell apart.

Luffy cheered. "Freedom at last!"

The swordsman whistled. "Damn. Now I know I gotta train more..."

"H-how did she do that?!" Nami practically screamed. "That cage was made out of solid iron! And she just cut through it like it was nothing!"

"Who the hell are you?" Zoro asked Nami bluntly.

Nami's face turned bright red. "You're just now asking me that?!"

Luffy grinned. "This is Nami, our new navigator!"

"And you're still harping on about that?!"

Raphtalia giggled into her hand as she watched Nami rage at Luffy, the latter either oblivious or uncaring and the former growing more and more irritated. In contrast, Zoro seemed to just look at the whole thing with annoyance like Naofumi. It was as if they were trying to get themselves caught. "Luffy-san really is optimistic, isn't he?"

"He's something alright..." Naofumi grimaced. "Now if we're done..."

"Woof!"

Nami ceased her yelling. Naofumi blinked as they looked down. At Naofumi's feet was a white dog with a rectangular face, sitting in front of what looked like a pet food shop and wagging its tail while looking at the group with beady black eyes.

"Is that a dog?" Nami asked. "What's it doing here?"

"Who knows?" Zoro grunted. "Not any of our business. Probably some stray that wandered in town."

Luffy walked up to the dog and kneeled in front of it. "It looks pretty funny looking, though!" he noted as he looked at its face. "And it isn't moving at all. You think it's sick?" He moved to poke it, only to instead find the dog suddenly lurching forward and biting down straight on his face. "Aaaargh! You stupid dog! What the hell are you doing?! Let go of my face!"

"Of for...! Would you stop playing with a dog and get a move on alreeaaaaaaaaaaaah?!"

Naofumi's jaw dropped while Raphtalia stared in wide-eyed shock. In Luffy's attempt to peel the dog away from him, said dog's mouth firmly clamped on his face, they watched Luffy's face stretch.

"W-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-what the fuck?!" Naofumi cried as he stumbled over his own feet, falling flat on his butt and pointing a shaky finger at Luffy. "What the hell?! W-why is your face stretching?!"

"Because he's made out of rubber." Zoro told him to his disbelief. "Apparently, Luffy ate a Devil Fruit himself. Now he's a rubber man. Found this out when he got pumped full of bullets and he bounced them right off his body."

Nami choked. "Y-you're joking, right? There's no way..."

"W-we did watch that Buggy person split himself into pieces earlier..." Raphtalia reminded the group and was no less shaken.

"So...so he's like that Clown guy now?" Naofumi questioned. "And what the hell is a Devil Fruit?! What kind of weird magic is this shit?!"

"You mean you don't know?" Nami stared at him perplexed. "Devil Fruits are mystical and mysterious fruits found throughout the world that, when consumed, provide the eater a special super-human power, at the cost of the eater's ability to swim. But I thought they were just a myth!"

"I'm guessing whoever said that was dead wrong." The Shield Hero frowned. "Wait, if they can't swim, then why the hell are the Clown and this guy pirates where they are at risk falling overboard and drown?!"

"How should I know?!"

"Will somebody please get this stupid dog off of me?!"

"Oi! What are you people doing to Shushu?!"

An elderly man with white hair wearing leather armor stomped toward the group, a spear strapped onto his back. Naofumi eyed him warily, unsure of whether or not he was an enemy or someone who lived in the village. His attire suggested he wasn't part of Buggy's crew, but that didn't mean anything to him.

Zoro raised a brow at the man. "Who're you, old man?"

"I'm the village leader! The Chief!" the man introduced himself without turning in the swordsman's direction. Instead, he marched on up to the dog, Shushu, and yanked him straight off of Luffy. The straw hat fell to the ground cradling his face while glaring daggers at the dog, who in turn growled back at him. "And who are you lot supposed to be?! Are you with Buggy?!"

"More like we just pissed him off." Naofumi snorted. "Hey, old man. Know a place where we can hide?"

After a bit of convincing and informing the man of how they arrived here, well more Luffy and Zoro and Nami than he and Raphtalia, the Chief had taken him to his house near the pier. Seeing as how they were far away from Buggy's crew, Naofumi felt he could relax for a while. The house itself wasn't very big, but it was certainly stockpiled and well fortified, with boards plastered over the doors and windows and various weapons hanging on the walls.

"Wow, this place is like an armory!" Luffy said. "Why do you need all these weapons, gramps?"

The Chief grunted as he set his armor down after having removed the last strap. "For protection, of course. Buggy the Clown may be small fry, but he's ruthless. And I'm sure you've seen the damage he's done to my town already with those damned cannonballs of his."

"Yeah, we noticed." Zoro mused. "So, how you come you're the only guy who stayed behind when the rest of the people here turned tail and ran?"

"Because it's my job to defend this town with my life!" the Chief replied proudly. "I would be an utter disgrace if I didn't make some kind of stand. My people understand that as well. For a while, we've been trying to muster the strength to fight against Buggy. His crew is strong, but with the right tools, we could beat them easily." He let out a tired sigh, rubbing his eyes. "The problem is Buggy's cannon and the Captain himself."

Naofumi could see why. Normal human beings like his crew could be overwhelmed and beaten if given enough firepower. But Buggy was another matter entirely. He had abnormally powerful weapons like those cannonballs of his, not to mention his ability to split himself into literal pieces. The image of him doing this to the townsfolk, slaughtering them en masse, was enough to make his hands tremble in anger.

In a way, this situation wasn't any different than the village that was left to fend for itself because of his fellow Heroes' idiocy. He didn't know if it was Malty's doing or them just being dumbasses, but the fact remained he left countless people to die at the hands of the Wave.

"Why hasn't any law enforcement come by this place and just arrest them?" Naofumi asked, earning some strange looks from Nami and Zoro. "Isn't it their job to handle situations like this?"

The Chief grimaced. "The Marines have better things to do than waste their time on a small town like this." he answered, though his tone made it clear he wasn't too happy about it either. "To them, this is just a little fishing town. Nowhere of any real importance. It doesn't help the fact that this town is also being governed by that bastard of a tyrant, Ax-Hand Morgan. He couldn't care less about what happens to the people living in this town and is more concerned with his own well-being, including what goes on in Shells Town."

"Morgan?" Luffy perked up. "Wait, big beefy guy with an ax for a hand? That guy? I beat the snot out of him the other day!"

The Chief spluttered. "Y-you did what?!"

"Long story." Zoro snorted. "But that's how I met Luffy. Anyway, what's the story with that dog? Why's he just sitting in front of that store?"

"Oh, that?"

After getting over his initial shock, though no less curious about Luffy's story, the Chief began to explain. Shushu's owner was the man who opened the store and was a close friend of the Chief. Every day without fail, Shushu would follow his owner everywhere no matter where he went, be it to the pier to fish or to go about week-long trips to other towns for supplies. The two were practically inseparable. Then, three months ago, the owner of the store had been hospitalized and died of disease. From then on, Shushu stayed in front of the store like a guard dog, never moving and fighting off anyone with malicious intent that tried to go into the store. At first, it looked as though Shushu was waiting for his owner to return, but the Chief thought differently. He wasn't waiting for his owner, he was defending the owner's legacy.

His treasure.

Naofumi believed every word he heard. To anyone else, it sounded like a fairy tale. He saw the wounds and bruises the dog was sporting when they found him. He had been fighting the pirates and defending his owner's shop with his very life.

"That's amazing..." Raphtalia was in awe of hearing Shushu's story. "So he's been defending that shop ever since Buggy and his crew appeared?"

The Chief smiled wryly. "He's small, but damned if he doesn't have a hell of a bite. I've tried to take him to the shelter, but he refuses to budge. If I didn't go out there repeatedly and give him food, he would have likely starved to death."

"He's loyal." Naofumi said. "And determined. You can't fault him for that."

"No, 'suppose I can't..." The Chief sucked in the fumes from his pipe before blowing them out. "Anyways, you kids should clear out of town. This is my fight, not yours."

Naofumi scoffed. "Easier said than done, old man. We pissed Buggy off, so chances are his crew is watching the piers like a hawk. I wouldn't be surprised if he started blowing this town to high heaven just to draw us out."

"Not to mention the thief over here stole something of his." Zoro nudged his head at Nami. "Plus, we need a ship. The one me and Luffy have isn't going to handle long voyages out to see. We need one of Buggy's ships."

"Are you serious?!" The Chief exclaimed. "Do you know what you kids are getting into?!"

"Yeah. But as I said. We pissed him off and nothing else is gonna get him off our backs." Naofumi replied.

Apr 24"So our best bet is to just deal with this crap now and save us the trouble." Not that he thought it would be as easy as he made it out to be. Dealing with the grunts was simple, it was their captain that was going to be trouble. Buggy himself would be much harder to deal with if he could separate his body parts. "Whether we like it or not, old man, Buggy is going to come after us. The alternative would be us giving him the map she took-"

Nami growled. "Over my dead body!"

"-but I doubt he'd let us go that easily."

"In other words, we don't have much choice but to fight him." Zoro pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on. A vicious smile formed on his face, clearly looking forward to battling someone like Buggy. "Gotta admit, sounds like fun. How about it, Captain? Ready to fight a fellow freak of nature?"

Luffy smiled widely. "You bet! What about you guys?" He looked at Naofumi and Raphtalia, the former of which gave a shrug. His best bet was to work with Luffy and Zorro in getting a ship and getting out of this place, though he was still cautious. He knew nothing about these people, and past experiences gave him enough reason to take kindness for granted.

He looked at Nami, who seemed unconvinced about the course of action. She clearly didn't like the idea of fighting Buggy, especially when she remembered his arsenal of weaponry and his unusual abilities. But even she should understand how dire the situation was. Until they were dead or Buggy was beaten all to hell, there was no way they were going to get out of this town.

After a moment of serious thinking, Nami let out a long and tired sigh. "...tch. Fine, dammit. We'll do things your way, then. So, any ideas on how we're supposed to-"

She was cut-off by the sound of a loud roar, followed by the sounds of woods breaking into pieces in the distance. Luffy stumbled and fell off his seat on the table and landed flat on his face before scrambling up towards the window. Naofumi also peered out the window and saw smoke rising in the distance. "Looks like Buggy's started his attack," Naofumi noted calmly. "We better come up with a plan to deal with that clown, otherwise this whole place is going to turn into a big pile of splinters."

"What in the heck was that roar just now?!" Nami asked hysterically. "Does Buggy have some kind of Lion or something?!"

The Chief paled. "T-that must've been Beast Tamer Mohji! He's capable of taming any wild beast he comes across!" When he saw the smoke rising in the distance, his eyes widened. "Wait! The smoke-that's where Shushu is!"

"What?!" Raphtalia exclaimed as her head whipped over to the direction of the smoke. She then turned back to her master. "Naofumi-sama! We ned to save Shushu!" After hearing his story, the Demihuman admired the little dog and wanted to make sure he was alright.

Naofumi didn't waste any time giving the OK. In fact, this worked out rather well. They were going to take the fight to Buggy anyway, and this would prove to be a good opportunity to see what they were working with. Assuming Buggy was the only person who had those odd powers, and if his men weren't entirely incompetent, he must have some strong men. The chief referring to their new opponent by name enhanced this idea, that there were those among his crew that could hold their own in a battle.

Besides, he liked animals. Anyone that dared to harm one in front of him was as good as dead.

Naofumi, Raphtalia, Nami and the two pirates arrived on the scene and skidded to a stop. Thankfully, the pet shop Shushu defended was unharmed in the midst of the chaos, but the same could not be said about the surrounding buildings. Several houses were reduced to shambles and ruins, many having collapsed in on themselves due to a lopsided support in the foundation or uneven weight. In the center of this carnage, advancing towards the pet shop with a hungry glare, was the largest lion Naofumi had ever seen. Its main was dark purple and eyes were blood red, maw open to reveal large fangs that looked as though they could tear through tender flesh.

And atop its back was...was...

"...okay, what the hell am I looking at?"

No matter how he looked at it, Naofumi felt incredulous at the utter bizarre attire of the man riding atop the lion. Below the waist the man wore blue pants with a yellow sash around his waist. That was the only normal thing about his clothes as his feet were protected by literal animal-themed footwear resembling the paws of a cat. His upper torso was covered by a furry white sleeveless shirt(?) while his hair was styled like that of an animal. Despite being in his late twenties at best, the man had white hair, sideburns connecting to the beard at the bottom of his chin. Atop his head were two tufts of hair that resembled animal ears.

Seriously, what the hell kind of fashion statement was this? He looked at the group around him for an explanation, but paused when he saw the utter livid Raphtalia was sporting. He recoiled slightly, seeing the look of pure rage directed at the man. If looks could kill, he'd be dead a thousand times over.

'Holy shit, what the hell has her so pissed off?!'

The lion growled as it neared the pet shop, Shushu barking at madly when he realized the intentions behind the larger beast. It opened its mouth, ready to roar at the smaller four-legged beast in front of it, before it stopped and sniffed the air. Smelling the new arrivals, it craned its head and locked eyes with the group, snarling and roaring at them.

Its rider, Mohji, saw the group and sneered. "Well, this saves me the trouble of finding you lot. I assume you're the fools who stole Captain Buggy's Map of the Grand Line?"

"Hey now, don't blame us for that." Zorro pointed his thumb at Nami. "She's the one who stole it. We're just here to get a good fight in, and maybe nick one of your ships while we're at it."

"How about it?" Luffy asked. "Can we borrow one of your ships?"

Mohji's eyebrow twitched angrily. "You really are a brazen fool! Do you think I'd agree to such a ridiculous request?! The only way you're taking our ship is over my dead body. And unfortunately for you..." He tapped the lion's head. The lion let out a powerful roar that shook the air, frightening Nami in the process. "The only dead ones will be all of you for daring to stand before the Buggy Pirates."

"Y-you..."

"Hm?" Mohji looked at Raphtalia, whose body was shaking. "Are you scared, woman? Maybe you want to beg for your life?"

Raphtalia raised her head, revealing them to be utterly murderous. "How dare you mock a mockery of us demihumans?!"

"...hah?"

Faster than anyone could see, all except for Naofumi who saw it unfold with bulging eyes, Raphtalia shot towards Mohji like a bullet and delivered what could only be described as a WWE picture-perfect lariat. Mohji didn't even have time to choke as the blow saved in his windpipe. Raphtalia spun around, dragging the man through the air before throwing him hard into the ground. The force behind the swing was so great that the man cracked the ground upon impact. Everyone, even the Lion, was gobsmacked by the feat of strength from the slim woman. Mohji bounced off the concrete following the throw and continued to bounce through the ground before he came to a stop by crashing into several crates at the mouth of an alley. Blood spurted from his nose, eyes rolled to the back of his head.

"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's when you impersonate us demihumans!" Steam blew from Raphtalia's nose, her visage akin to a demon about to go on a rampage. "As if we get enough problems because you people despise us for some asinine reasons!"

Naofumi blinked. Once, twice, thrice.

"...where the hell was all this when we first met?" he couldn't help but ask himself. If this was how she reacted to someone wearing crappy weird clothes, he would hate to see how'd she react to someone wearing a playboy bunny outfit.

Luffy, on the other hand, was ecstatic. "That was so cool, lady!" he gushed. "You really are a monster! Hey, hey! Why don't you and Frowny Man join our crew?!"

"F-Frowny Man?!" Naofumi choked.

That little shit better not have been talking about him!

Luffy's words of praise snapped Raphtalia out from her rage-induced stupor. She blinked and looked around, as if waking up from a spell of some sort. She noticed Mohji lying amid the ruined crates unconscious, face bruised and nose bloodied. Then the lion, which stared at her and the others fearfully. She was standing in between them, and at her feet was an indenture similar to a human being. She put the pieces together and promptly began to blush.

"Oh no, d-did I do it again?!"

'Again?!' was the thought on everybody's minds.

Naofumi had so many questions he wanted to ask. But for now, he had other things to deal with. Shushu and his owner's shop remained undamaged and was still standing, which was good. He looked at the lion, which was still trembling with fear. That said, it still looked ready to pick a fight. Perhaps to avenge its master. He glanced at Zorro, the green-haired swordsman sharing a look with the Shield Hero before they both approached the overgrown cat monster. The later withdrew his blades from their sheathes while Naofumi's shield changed. Instead of a shield made out of rope, it was now jet-black with two demonic dog-like heads sticking out from it, flames frothing from their gaping mouths.

Nami screamed. "W-w-w-w-what the hell?!"

"Ooooooh!" Luffy gushed. "His shield changed again! It's got dog heads! That's so freaking cool!"

Zoro quirked a brow. "That a Devil Fruit thing like Luffy and the clown's?"

"Nope. This is all the shield's doing. Long story." Naofumi said.

"Fair enough," the swordsman shrugged before he leered at the now deathly afraid lion. "So, how you wanna do this? Sliced and diced?"

Naofumi's smile was equally as vicious. "Nah, I'm thinking barbeque. How's medium-rare sound?"

The lion stared at the two demons before it, every part of it trembling with fear. They were not humans. They were monsters in the skins of humans. Realizing that attacking them was futile, the lion decided to fight another day and turned around, snatching up its fallen master with its jaws before rushing back to Buggy the Clown and hoping its master's captain would not kill it for its failures.

"Damn. It ran away." Zoro clicked his tongue as he lowered his swords.

"Well, I guess that's one down."

Luffy whined. "Awww..."

"Why do you look so disappointed?" Nami questioned. "D-don't tell me you actually wanted to fight that thing?!"

"What? Of course not!" Nami breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that maybe the straw hat wearing teen wasn't as crazy as she thought. She was quickly proven otherwise when he continued, "I wanted to know how that thing would taste. I've never had lion meat before, you know?"

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Zoro rolled his neck, removing the cracks in his neck while leveling a small look at Raphtalia. "You know, for a guy who's supposed to be one of Buggy's top dogs, he got taken down really quickly." He glanced at the tanuki demihuman before grumbling under his breath. "Now I really got to train more."

"Speaking of what just happened..." Naofumi frowned at his slave. "What in the heck was that just now? Where was all that back when we were dealing with the Waves?"

Raphtalia blushed and looked away, tapping her index fingers together. "I-I'm really sorry. It's kind of a long story, but whenever I see someone trying to impersonate a demi-human, I just...tend to lose it."

"...does this have to do with your...?"

Raphtalia nodded slowly, her gloomy expression telling him what he needed to know. He chose not to press on further and understood where she was coming from. In a way, it was pretty hypocritical that humans could have such perversions like seeing girls dressed in bunny ears, a fake tail while wearing a risque outfit, yet despise demi-humans with actual rabbit ears. He sighed as he ran his hand through his hear, shaking his head.

Antclimactic as it was, one of Buggy's men was defeated. And if the clown pirate wasn't dead set on killing them before, he definitely would be now.

"So, what's next?" Zoro asked. "We go for Buggy now? Or wait until he starts bombarding the whole damned place?"

"I won't allow that to happen!" the chief roared angrily.

Naofumi blinked. 'When the heck did he get here?'

"Whoa, what's gotten into you, old man?" Luffy asked. "A town's a town."

"I hate to agree with rubber boy over here, but he has a point," Naofumi said begrudgingly. "You can rebuild the town once the dust settles."

"That isn't the point." the Chief said as he shook his head wildly. "When we built this place, it was after our old homes were destroyed by pirates so long ago. It used to be a dirt-filled wasteland, but we made the most out of it. And little by little, as more and more people came and our way of life expanded, it became more than just a town. This place is our home! Built by a bunch of old timers!" The Chief gripped his spear tightly as he marched past the group of youths, a blazing fire in his eyes. "I've already failed as a mayor by letting Buggy and his crew have their way with this town! I refuse to fail it anymore by letting them destroy it, just to kill a bunch of kind youngsters like yourselves! That's why I'm going to fight! DO YOU HEAR ME, BUGGY?! I'M GOING TO-"

That was as far as he got before Luffy rammed his fist straight into his head. Nami gasped and stared at him in shock and watched as the old man fell to the ground with a large bump on the back of his head. He didn't get back up.

"Wh-what did you do that for, Luffy-san?!" Raphtalia asked in dismay. "He was-"

"-being an idiot." Naofumi cut her off with a glare. "He would have just rushed in there and taken on Buggy all by himself, and die in the process."

"B-but-"

"Your friend has a point," Zoro pointed out to her. "That old geezer looks like he hasn't fought a day in his life, and he didn't know how to hold his spear right. Plus, at his age, there's no way he would have stood a chance against Buggy's crew all by himself. It's better if he stays conked out and away from the action. Right, Luffy?"

Luffy nodded. "Yep!" He grinned as he pounded a fist into his open palm. "We're gonna beat the crap out of Buggy, take his ship and set sail to the Grand Line!" He then looked at Nami, Naofumi and Raphtalia. "How 'bout you guys, wanna join in?"

Raphtalia glanced over at Naofumi, the scowling college student taking a moment to think. While he did have a sour opinion of Luffy and his goals, he couldn't deny it was better to have help. He could handle himself well enough in a fight, and he was probably his best ticket into getting a ship and getting out of this place. And maybe help him find where Melromarc was. Even so, he didn't fully trust the kid. Sure, he was all smiles and seemed like a goofball, but how much of that was just an act? Him biding his time for the golden opportunity?

The image of that bitch, smirking at him as his equipment was stripped from him, save for his shield, flashed in his mind. His vision turned red for only a moment before he forced himself to calm down.

"...not like we got much choice," Naofumi said after a period of debate. "But let's get something clear. I'm not joining your crew. I'm just piggy-backing off you until I can find a way back to Melromarc. We got that established?"

"Sure, fine." Luffy didn't seem too bothered by Naofumi's blunt refusal before he turned to Nami. "What about you, Nami? Wanna join my crew?"

Nami groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you? I won't become a pirate!" She paused for a moment, then shrugged. "But, I can't say I really don't have much options. And I do need my treasure back, so... Fine, I'll agree to a temporary truce. Until I can strike back out on my own, I'll be sailing with you morons. Free of charge, even! You should be grateful."

"Greedy witch..." Zoro snorted.

"I heard that, moss-head!"

Buggy was angry. Actually, no. Scratch that.

He was utterly livid.

Not only were his subordinates unable to find those upstarts that stole his map and attacked him, but Mohji had returned unconscious and dragged back by his own Lion. Seriously! Just how hard was it beat down and kill and bunch of brats?! It was impossible to think that a bunch of snot-nosed kids could cause him, a former pirate under one of the most famous Jolly Roger banners of all time (status as a Cabin Boy aside), much less a rookie crew if the fact that they sailed under no Jolly Roger or lack of ownership of a seaworthy vessel was of any indication. That Nami wench really irked him, what with her betrayal and two-faced lie. She probably never considered joining his crew - it was merely a plot to get on his good side, rob him blind when he wasn't looking until he decided to kill that straw-hat wearing kid's life. The potential loss of her Captain simply made her reveal her hand too early.

The ones that seemed experienced, and perhaps the ones that could provide the most challenge to him, were the pirate hunter and those two oddballs - the Zoan girl and Iwatani. The Zoan girl's features were a little odd, resembling those hailing from Wano (or at least what few natives of Wano he met, given the country's isolated nature), but Iwatani... Something about that kid made him anxious. The cold look in his eyes, the sheer anger brimming inside them. He was violatile as he was dangerous.

What really put Buggy on edge was that shield of his. At first, he just thought it was some fancy piece of equipment. Then it promptly changed shape, turning into a wall of rope that could apparently lash out with gusts of wind. Just what sort of power was that? Was it a Devil Fruit? If so, what could it have been? A Paramecia? A Logia?

The more he tried to think about the possibilities and answers, as well as whatever else Iwatani was capable, the more irritated Buggy became.

"Will somebody please explain to me how a bunch of no-named brats managed to cause you lot so much trouble to the point where you can't even find them?!" Buggy demanded of his crew. They flinched at his shout and retreated, but he didn't give them the chance to escape his wrath. "Even if Zoro is a famous bounty hunter, you all outnumber him easily! And Nami?! From what I saw, she's nowhere near as strong as the rest of her crew!"

"S-Sorry sir!" One of the men yelped. "It's just...there are five of them and this town...this town is actually pretty big. We looked everywhere!"

"And yet you still haven't found them!" Buggy shoved his face at the man, his red nose pressing into his face. "If you actually looked everywhere, you would've found them already! Look! Even Mohji and his Lion found a better lead that you scallywags did!" He pointed to the large feline trying to wake up his master. "I have half a mind to blow every last one of you to smithereens with my Buggy Cannon Balls!" At this threat, his crew paled and looked ready to piss themselves.

As much as Buggy wanted to blow these incompetent fools to bloody chunks, he knew they still had their uses. A Pirate King was worth nothing without his crew. He just needed to make his men more motivated and capable. Once they were done with this place, he was definitely going to make sure his men were more capable, even if they had to lose a limb or two!

After all, the Grand Line was nothing short of chaotic, if not utter hell.

"But, I'll let you boys off the hook. This time." He gave his crew one final warning glare before he set his sights on Orange Town. "And I've had to deal with those brats long enough! Men! Ready the cannons! We're going to blow this place to oblivion!"

Just as he gave that order, however-

"GOMU GOMU NO PISTOL!"

"Huh?" Confused by the shout, Buggy turned his head and took a jawbreaking punch to the face. His head snapped back as he flew through the air and impacted the side of a building. He pulled himself out of the rubble and shook his head to snap out of his days. "Alright what was that?!" His eyes widened as he locked sight of the culprit. It was that Strawhat boy! And those other trouble makers were with him!

Buggy growled as he pulled himself up from the pile of rubble, glaring daggers at the group of teens amassed in front of him.

Naofumi glared as he raised his shield, which now bore two flame-spewing dog heads.

"Time to bow out, clown face."

TO BE CONTINUED!

O.O

-.-

O.O

O o O

Huh. Holy shit, I'm alive. Sorry 'bout that, guys! I was spending the whole time playing Persona 5 Royal, and I finally finished the Third Semester! God, it was fucking amazing! I felt like I was playing Persona 5 for the first time all over again.

Anyway, this idea came to me while I decided to re-read One Piece, and I while I was in the middle of an isekai binge. Tanya the Saga of Evil, Shield Hero, Overlord, Reincarnated as a Sword...

...you all REALLY need to kick me in the balls and stop me from writing more stories than I can handle. I mean, seriously. Not helping the fact that I have two more stories lined up, but one of them probably won't be published for a long-ass time. The other one is a fanfic that I've been wanting to write, but I had to wait until I finished Royal to get around to doing it.

Going back to this story, for questions relating as to whether or not Naofumi will curb-stomp some pirates or the pirates will curb-stomp him...

Yes.

I mean, come on. Let's be honest. Almost everyone in One Piece and their goddamn mother is a freak of nature, and that isn't even going into people who have bullshit Devil Fruits. That being said, there are opponents Naofumi can beat pretty easily. This is at the start of Luffy's journey, after all, so he will be fighting some weak opponents, aside from those who can seriously beat the shit out of the Straw Hats. In all honesty, though, it is really hard to gauge which pirates at this point in the story that will get steamrolled by Naofumi and which ones can kick his ass without even trying, aside from the Emperors or Warlords.

One last thing. For the dipshits who've been bugging me about continuing Seventh Heaven, the story is still ongoing, yes I'm going to get back into it, now would you PLEASE stop bothering me?! Just because I've now adopted the life of a NEET thanks to this damn quarantine doesn't mean you can scream in my ear every goddamn day of the week!