Chapter 10 Farewells and Adventures at Sea

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Chefs could throw a party. The music was loud and enthusiastic. No one was spectacularly talented but there was little restraint in the way they sang and played the hand drums and guitars. There was plenty of booze and juice being passed around. Zeff had raised the fins to keep the party outdoors, making the sea and stars their backdrop. The best part, Luffy decided was the games.

The Baratie attracted the rough and rowdy type of chef. They were excited to gamble with new faces. There were drinking competitions, contests of strength and skill. They played the knife game, although Zoro refused to let Luffy play that one. Bets were placed as they competed to swim laps, to balance spoons on their faces or knives on their fingertips. Luffy loved the way his crew relaxed and settled into the fun. Little Nami was in the middle of a drinking competition and looking much tipsier than she usually would be. Zoro was standing perfectly still on one foot looking somewhere between bored and determined as a chef stacked cups and plates on his head and outstretched arms. Sanji was playing a game that involved three balls and several mismatched nets, his hair still damp from winning the swimming race. Luffy wandered through the brightly dressed men nibbling absently at the plates of food. There was Usopp, sitting with a group as he spun tails. Every now and then one would toss something in the air and Usopp would fire his slingshot. From the sounds of the watchers, there were bets going around about when he would miss or lose track of his story. Luffy laughed. They clearly didn 't know anything about his sniper.

He bounced around the party, checking on his crew, dancing, eating. Luffy smiled brightly. This was a proper pirate party. It was a good sendoff for Sanji. His chef deserved to see his special people laughing and happy like this. He hummed softly and then went to see if he could carry a cherry on a spoon long enough to get it in the cup on the other end of the deck.

XXXxxx

Sanji looked over the room he shared with three other chefs. It was a good room. He 'd really miss this place. His first-time leaving home he 'd been all but pushed out the door on his adventure. He hadn 't really intended to say yes until the moment he did. This time around it was like saltwater in a papercut. He knew he was going to miss this place the same way he knew he was moving on to bigger things. It was a small wound, but it hurt so badly to leave. Sanji grabbed his single duffle and headed for the kitchen. He would have to pack his knifes.

He passed the doorway where he 'd measured his height each year until he was a teen and 'too old for that ', he ran his fingers over the bannister noting the changes in wood from each time it had been shattered in a fight and replaced. Sanji looked up at the chandelier, picking out the slight bend from when he 'd tried to swing off it. There were walls he 'd helped paint and stories in every inch of this place. He 'd seen this place grow from the beginning. From an empty little ship with a lame cook and his inexperienced brat to a bustling business that attracted famous marines and pirates alike. No one went hungry in the Baratie.

'Are you

packing?

' Patty demanded as Sanji moved around the kitchen.

'It 's time for me to go. ' He smiled and nodded.

'What the fuck? ' Simmer slammed his cleaver loudly.

'I 'm heading out to sea with Luffy. He 's going to help me find the All Blue. ' He explained with enthusiasm. 'I talked it out with Owner Zeff. I 'm going to be a Strawhat Pirate. ' He smiled softly. 'I 've really enjoyed all the time I worked with you guys. ' Sanji was starting to tear up.

'What? '

'Are you serious? '

'You don 't even know these losers. '

'I know they 're better than you assholes! ' suddenly furious Sanji kicked out at the critical chefs.

'Good riddance I say. ' Carne chimed in. 'I 've gotten tired of dealing with your shitty cooking. '

'What did you say about my cooking? ' Sanji spun and pressed into the man 's personal space.

'I said it is crap and I 'm done with it and you! ' the man pushed back with a snarl.

'You 're not as good an actor as you think you are! My cooking is better than that swill you serve, and you know it! ' Sanji huffed. 'I can 't believe I have to leave this place to you incompetent bastards! You 'll likely drive this place to ruin and scare off the waiters to boot. '

'No one is forcing you to leave. ' Simmer cut in snarkily.

'Unless they are? ' someone piped up.

The kitchen went eerily silent. Sanji looked around in confusion before played back the conversation and realized they were waiting on his answer. Anger dissipating, he gave a small shake of his head.

'No one is forcing me anywhere. ' He assured them in a gentle tone. 'This wasn 't an easy decision but Luffy is an amazing Captain and I am so excited to be a part of his crew! '

'Who the hell is Luffy? '

'That bumbling kid lost almost every competition he was in and ate enough to feed a small army. Did you see that chopstick dance he did? He 's funny as hell but you can 't be serious. '

'Luffy is my captain. He is a man who will travel to the ends of the earth for a friend. He will take this world by storm and he will become Pirate King someday. He is my friend. '

The chefs scoffed and stared at him.

'Are you taking drugs? ' Patty demanded. 'I know teenagers experiment with these kinds of things but I though we got it through your head that '

'Shut your mouth, bastard! ' Sanji slammed a foot into the pastry chef 's gut. 'I 'm not on any shitty drugs. Are you guys even listening to me? '

'It 's just that you 're not making any sense. ' Carne defended.

'Yeah! These guys just came out of nowhere! When did you even meet them? '

'They 're all kids even younger than you! '

'I didn 't even know you were considering leaving! Didn 't you always shout about staying until the old man kicked it? '

'I did want to stay but then I realized what I actually needed is to go. To follow my dream. '

To follow my captain.

'But like this? No warning, no planning. '

'So what? ' he was getting impatient. This wasn 't how his goodbye was supposed to go.

'It 's not like you really know these people! '

'Of course I know them! You can 't think I 'd just hop on the first ship to sail by? ' he growled. 'I already told you! '

'You haven 't though! '

Sanji gathered his knife set and walked out. He gathered his bags and loaded the Merry. Luffy was trying to talk Zeff out of supplying their ship with fresh meat. Sanji smiled. Zeff would grumble and protest but they would definitely be leaving here with a full fridge. His old man was a softy at heart.

~

'Zeff, I will never forget the debt that I owe you! Thank you! Thank you for saving me! Thank you for being there for me all these years! I will never forget you. We will meet again someday. '

'Sanji! A real man does not part like this with tears. Little brat! What are you doing! ' Zeff was weeping openly. 'Just go! ' And Sanji, don 't die! '

Sanji laughed through his tears. 'You can 't repay a man for saving your life by dying. I 'm going to live! '

'Live well then Sanji! Go and find it! The All Blue! '

'I will! I will find it! Be safe! '

The chefs were all gathered at the rails teary and waving handkerchiefs. Several were shouting but Sanji couldn 't make out the words over the flapping of the sail as they turned the ship. The sea was calling. The Restaurant would survive. He would come back someday, sailing with the King of Pirates most likely, and repay his debt with tales of the All Blue. These men who had raised him, who taught him his most valued lessons, it was good to see them again. As hard as this time disaster was, Sanji was grateful to have spent three and a half weeks with the men who were his family.

Surrounded by his crew, Sanji smiled and waved. His nakama were the best people in the world, certainly. These cooks were the next best.

XXXxxx

'It 's amazing being back like this! ' Sanji grinned, cigarette hanging from his lips as he leaned over the rail. 'On the Merry, in the East Blue. It 's like a fever dream. '

'I know what you mean. It 's kind of horrific, being like this and without the others. At the same time, it 's just so wonderful. ' Usopp sighed from his spot in the rigging. He held the netted rope and leaned out over the water daringly. 'I don 't know how this came about but I don 't want to waste a moment of it. '

'Says the guy just lazing about. ' Zoro grunted from where he was lifting his makeshift weights.

'I 'm exercising my Observational Haki, actually. ' Usopp chided.

Zoro gave a nod of acknowledgement and an apologetic noise.

'Not everyone needs to train constantly like you anyways, idiot. ' Sanji couldn 't resist.

'

Some

of us actually intend to get strong enough to face the Grand Line, lazy cook. '

'Shut your mouth. We 've all been training hard. Just because we weren 't together doesn 't mean any of us could forget what it 's like to face the enemies we have coming. I just want to also enjoy the time we have sailing this beautiful sea and being together on the Merry. I missed this ship. I missed eating Yellow Barracuda. There 's a lot to love about being here and now. '

'Mmm, can we have Barracuda, Sanji? '

'I have steaks prepped for dinner Captain. ' Sanji confirmed with a smile.

'You guys don 't find it difficult being back on the Merry like this? ' Nami questioned with a small frown.

'What do you mean? It sucks being 17 again but being on the Merry is the best part! ' Sanji questioned. 'Aren 't you excited to be here sailing her again? '

'It 's just hard having her back when we know she 's going to die. ' Nami explained, her tone apologetic.

Everyone sobered at that and Zoro set his weights down with a quiet clink.

'Merry 's not going to die! ' Luffy slammed his fist down angrily.

'Luffy ' '

'No! We can change things this time. We will. We can be more careful. Do better repairs like Franky showed us. We can protect her more, better. She could take less hits, not let her crash as much. We can do more maintenance and hire people along the way if we need to. Whatever it takes! Merry 's nakama. She 's not strong enough to go all the way with us, but she can get us to Water 7. She can retire there or something. She won 't die this time. Not again. I refuse. ' He looked around at his crew, all bright eyed.

Usopp was dripping with tears and snot as he nodded vigorously. Zoro was rubbing a hand over a rail possessively. Nami looked apologetic and resolved. Sanji was hiding his smile poorly by lighting his cigarette as he leaned against the rail.

'Ay Captain. ' Zoro responded with calm acceptance.

'Retirement sounds lovely. ' Nami agreed.

'How does a ship retire? ' Usopp questioned. 'I don 't want her dismantled. '

'Of course not. '

'No one wants that. '

'Old ships can be repurposed as homes- on land or in the water. '

'She could be used as a restaurant! '

'Or a casino. '

'Wait go back, a houseboat? Like with a family? ' Zoro interrupted looking intense.

'Y-yeah. Sometimes they pull boats on land and brace them like houses, but lots of harbors have places where people can anchor semi-permanently to live on their boat without sailing it. '

'That 's a thing? ' he demanded. 'A family, like, with kids, could just live on a boat like that? '

'Hey Zoro, do you know a family with kids in Water 7? ' Luffy asked with a tilt of his head.

' 'maybe I do. ' He mumbled eyes shifting away.

The crew stared.

'That would be nice! ' Usopp redirected loudly when he didn 't continue. 'I think the Merry would like little kids. '

'It would be a good retirement. '

'She would be taken care of. '

'Good! It 's decided. ' Luffy beamed at them in relief. 'Listen up, this is important. '

Everyone settled, looking serious.

'We 're on a mystery time adventure and it looks like there 's no going back. Things are going to change. We can change some bad things, and that 's good. He smacked his fist into his palm. 'But we might also change some good things too. ' Everyone looked properly sober at that. 'We 're not heroes, we 're pirates! We 're out to chase our dreams and live free. I refuse to have a boring do-over adventure. I don 't want to re-live all the things we 've already done together. I won 't. Even if that means we mess some things up. I want you to think

really

hard and choose what you think is important. We 'll decide together what to do. Take some time today. We are headed to Loguetown before the Grand Line and that 's a few weeks away. Our nakama are my first priority. After dinner we can talk. Maybe more times after that. I don 't know. But everyone should have a serious think. I 'll be in my special spot. '

He walked away before anyone could ask questions or throw out ideas. This is not the time for talking. Not now. He closed his eyes and pictured Coby, a pink-haired coward trembling but inspired enough to hit Luffy for his dream. He pictured that boy swearing to be an admiral and promising him to get strong. That boy in a snail recording shaming everyone into a standstill on a battlefield and helping to end a slaughter. Coby wouldn 't even be on Avida 's ship for another year. He 'd be on who knows what island in the East Blue being an idiot and a coward. What would he be without Luffy? What kind of friend would he be to abandon Coby just because the pink-haired boy wouldn 't remember him? He sighed and watched the sea.

XXXxxx

'Hey, do you guys recognize that flag? ' Usopp asked.

'What flag? '

'That flag there. With the hourglasses. ' He pointed to the sail in the distance.

' 'Where? ' Zoro squinted in the distance, making out a white blur and not much else. It could be a ship, maybe.

'Oh, yeah, that looks familiar. ' Luffy came up beside them with a spyglass.

'Pass that here. ' Zoro held out a hand.

Luffy hummed another moment before passing the tool. Zoro took a look as Usopp shifted from one foot to another. There was something about that symbol he should know. It was clearly pirates but no one he could recall had hourglasses on their flag.

'It 's Don Krieg. ' Zoro grinned. Through the glass he could tell it was actually several ships with more appearing on the horizon as they sailed closer.

'Don Krieg? Don Krieg? Why do I know that name? ' Luffy scratched his head.

'

Don Krieg,

' Usopp covered his face resigned to his captain 's irreverence. 'As in 'Ruler of the East Blue ', 'Pirate Fleet Admiral ', 'Foul Play Krieg ', that guy who had 50,000 men? He tried to take over the Baratie after Mihawk kicked their asses in the Grand Line. '

'Oh, that guy. The one who attacked the restaurant after the cooks fed him. He was really rude. '

'Hey Luffy, let 's take them on. ' Zorro suggested.

'Huh? ' their captain frowned. 'Should we really? '

'Sure we should. '

Usopp hated when Zoro gets that devil grin. It never leads to anything good.

'I want to test myself before we get to the Grand Line. These guys are supposed to have a fleet of fifty ships. Hawkeye wiped them out easily. We should be able to take them. If I remember properly, they were fairly weak, relying on numbers and fancy weapons with no real skill. You and Sanji took on a hundred of them with only a few cooks for backup. '

'Yeah, that 's right. It would be a good test. Plus, these guys are jerks so I wouldn 't feel bad at all kicking their butts. Hey Nami! Point us towards that ships, let 's see how many are in the fleet! '

'Usopp, can you set the deck to protect the Merry? I don 't want her taking heavy fire if they have fancy weapons. Load the canons and set your other weapons. ' Nami directed as she adjusted their course.

'On it. '

'Actually ' ' Luffy turned to them and Usopp stopped. 'Do you guys think you can handle them alone? '

'A-alone? ' Usopp questioned.

'You two, Sanji and Nami. If I stay onboard, I can divert fire from the Merry. It would give you four more practice. '

'Let 's see what the fleet looks like. I think we can manage. ' Zoro affirmed.

'Fifty ships are a lot. ' Usopp tried to argue. 'Sheer numbers really do put us in a bad spot. We can do damage, but they could overwhelm us. '

'Well, whichever way may be right. Let 's see how it looks. Zoro, you want to pick this fight to compete with Hawk-guy, right? So you 're in charge of this one! ' He grinned widely. 'I 'll back you up from the ship but don 't expect me to help if you don 't need it. '

'Thanks Captain! ' Zoro grinned back taking his bandana and tying it on his head. 'Usopp, you 're the sniper so you 're going the be the best at identifying targets from a distance, so we have a few minutes to plan strategy before we engage. Let 's set the deck. I 'll go fetch Sanji. '

'Tell him to hold lunch but bring some pre-battle snacks! ' Luffy called

Usopp ran to adjust cannon angles, loading and preparing fuses. He secured the loose fishing poles and stored the sun chairs. Doors were latched and portholes closed. He listened to Nami as she shouted directions for hauling the sails to change their heading. By the time he was repositioned in the crow 's nest, Nami had her clima-tact in one hand and was guiding the helm with the other. Zoro and Sanji were both on deck doing stretches.

'Usopp call it out, what do you see? '

He took a deep breath.

I am a brave warrior of the sea. Captain is counting on me for a fair assessment. No exaggerations this time. He thinks we can do this because we are strong. We are New World Pirates, even if no one knows our name yet. These guys couldn 't survive in Paradise.

He gazed at the fleet counting and assessing.

'I only see 39 ships, not 50. Heavy artillery on all. The flagship is of course armed to the teeth, but I see some kind of specialized cannons on the outside ships port and starboard. The red and black ones. Actually, these guys look like they color-coded their ships. All the red ships with black trim are carrying heavy long-range weapons. Those should be our first targets. The ones with green trim all have really shiny decks like a protective coating. I 'd watch out for some kind of fire or chemical weapons from those, but I don 't see an obvious launcher. Those should be your secondary targets. The others are too hodgepodge to see any patterns. The flag ship is definitely Don Krieg 's. I can see the gold armor from here. ' He let his haki focus pulling his vision even closer as he looked for weapons and threats.

'They 're arranged in a wide formation, but it looks like they 're moving in closer to each other now that they 've spotted us. Ten ships in front, then lines of eight, six, eight, four and three. It looks like those ships are preparing to maneuver but it 's too early to tell if they want to form a line or box us in. '

'Luffy? ' Zoro offered.

'Right. Anyone thinking we can 't take them? '

Usopp swallowed but didn 't voice objections. Honestly if it weren 't for the numbers this would be an easy fight. 'No devil fruit users or any fighters that even matched Sanji or Zoro 's level.

'Okay. ' Luffy tugged his hat low as he got serious. 'Kick their butts. '

'Sanji how 's your geppo? ' Zoro asked

'I can manage some high jumps or extend the distance I travel but I can 't manage a proper sky walk or hover yet. ' He apologized.

'Got it. I can get enough speed to handle long jumps and I can manage several flying attacks and my dragon twister. I 'm not up to my usual range but as long as we can end this quickly, I should be fine. If this draws out my endurance is not what it was. I would be stuck on a single ship. ' Zoro assessed honestly.

'The two of us will go take those outside ships and work our way through the fleet targeting the red ones like Usopp said. It will take us away from the ship so focus on your own fights. We can look out for each other. I want to have a signal if we run into trouble. Ideas? '

'Take a smoke flair. ' Nami suggested.

'Right. So Sanji you can get the red ones going out and the green ones coming back. Aim to disable or sink them quick. You can practice your close combat fighting another time. Today 's challenge is fighting against higher numbers and coordinating our attacks. I want to see those ships sinking fast. Break masts, tear holes and move on. Don 't get caught up in a battle if you can help it. I 'll be doing the same on my side. Nami do you have weather to work with here? '

'I could do a lot with this air, but I don 't want to set off a tornado if you boys are ship hopping. '

'Save that then for if everyone gets tired. Stick to lightning or whatever. Usopp? How are our weapons? '

'Armed and ready. Nami if you can pull up with the bow to the enemy that would be best. Then I can manage the forward cannon. The Merry only has one cannon per side so we minimize our target area this way. It makes us a little vulnerable to doubling pincer attacks but if Luffy is staying onboard to catch cannonballs we benefit more from starting small. I need to be below deck to fire some but I will show you and Luffy where I will be traveling between, so we don 't trip each other. I 'll start with the flag ship and the unknowns, so I don 't mess with your patterns. ' Usopp gave a nod.

'Good. ' Zoro smirked in satisfaction. 'Here they come. '

The fleet had moved to make one long intimidating line with columns of ships lined up behind one after another. It was probably intended to be intimidating. Zoro only saw it as convenient steppingstones. A glance at Sanji showed he was thinking the same.

'Those masts are just about the right distance, ' the cook used his suave-casual voice taking a drag on his cigarette. 'How generous of them. '

'They 're practically inviting us over. Let 's not disappoint. ' Zoro smirked readying himself. 'Luffy, you want to give us a boost? '

'You are approaching the fleet of the Don Krieg Pirates. Surrender now and if you can pay the fine, we might just let you live! ' someone used a speaker system to call out to them.

'Not a chance! ' Luffy hollered back his voice cracking across the water. 'My name is Monkey D. Luffy and I 'm gonna be King of the Pirates. You are a lousy pirate, a cheat, and a bully. We 're gonna kick your ass. Gum, gummm bazooka! '

Zoro was launched neatly to the furthest left ship. He had to reach out and catch the mast to avoid overshooting. The loud crack told him he 'd damaged something. Smirking at the startled sailor in the crow 's nest he pulled his three swords.

'Santoryu Hyakuhachi Pound Ho! ' he was kicking off to the next ship before the flying slash even cut into the deck. Startled screams as the ship split down the center rang in his ears as he flipped himself over to the next ship and cutting it in half. He passed over the next ship to reach the red ship on its other side. 'Karasuma Raven Hunt. '

This ship was the first of one of the lines of ships so Zoro changed directions hopping through the ranks slicing whenever he landed on either red or green. Flying slashes took focus and energy so after a while he switched to his flaming sword attack. He jumped from the burned-out ship and began slicing his way through the pirates trying to stop him. They were shameless in their tactics attempting trips and traps and firing at his back like cowards. Zoro didn 't bother taking them all on. He just plowed a path, dodging the bullets he could and moved to the next ship. The gas masks were not a good sign. Zoro maintained his momentum trying to hold his breath or breathe shallowly as he cut the mast and sliced through the few crew attempting a confrontation. Most seemed to want to let the yellowish fog to do their work. He had no intention of sticking around that long.

Seven ships down and they were starting to anticipate him. Pirates were climbing the rigging or aiming their guns at their own crow 's nest. Blood roaring in his ears Zoro aimed a dragon twister at the last ship in this line and looked to the next line of ships. It was two ship lengths from him, but he didn 't want to run back to the front and down again. He dropped to the deck of the ship he was on, as his twister dropped men and ship parts behind him. He chopped the mast, kicking it in the direction he wanted, ran, sheathed his swords, and jumped. He made it nearly to the next line of ships and easily swam the last length to the nearest. Using his swords to create hand holds he tore his way up the side. The idiots on deck just gaped open mouthed.

'Great Buddha Chop ' he brought his sword down. Zoro didn 't wait around for them to pull together and retaliate.

The next ship was easier to reach and he sliced his way through the ships at the back of the fleet. The line of ships was moving forward steadily. He hopped to the next ship, taking in the horrified faces of the Don Krieg Pirates as the last ship exploded dramatically behind him. He smirked, eyes flashing, and brought his sword down in a slice. The ship began splitting in two down the length. He followed the cut as he ran from stern to bow and hopped over to the next ship. Careful jumps put him back at the top of the main mast and he sent a series of flying slashes down towards the ship, throwing himself onto the next one. Two down four to go.

This bunch hadn 't learned from their friends and he managed to take down four of the six in this line before someone started aiming up. Adrenaline and willpower carried him forward as he reached the front line and could see what was happening. The Merry was still floating proudly although one of her sails was badly ripped. Several ships were burned husks and others were slowly sinking even as they moved out of formation to advance on the Merry. He could see in the next line of ships over, Sanji was knocking down a mast and smashing the hull of a ship. Beyond him was another line of ships trying to move towards the Merry in a pincer move although it was partially in shambles. He 'd taken out all but two of the ships in that line and Usopp had clearly landed some serious hits and stalled them in the water. One was even on fire. Sanji was aiming to take out the other half of the pincer and even as Zoro watched he moved up the line of ships towards the Merry.

To one side was floating scrap and the other side was the fleet command ship. Don Krieg was staring at him in fury. His golden armor stood out in the soot and sparks surrounding them. Sanji was slamming his way through the ships on the other side of Krieg. There was an explosion ahead and a flash of lightning to the side. Zoro could hear the pounding of his pulse and the laughter of his captain. He hurtled towards Krieg 's ship, swords in motion. He cut through rigging and crew. Most of the crew cleared the deck as they made room for a fight. Two familiar faces stepped forward.

A man in a weird round armor getup, Bubble, Ball, Pearl, something like that, was trying to intimidate by making loud noises banging the two arm plates together. Meanwhile the first mate, Gin was swinging his ball-on-stick weapons.

'Who the hell do you think you are? Do you know how long it took to gather these ships? I suppose I should be grateful you exposed how pathetic and weak these men were before I tried to take them to the Grand Line, but I am still going to have to kill you. No one makes a fool of Don Krieg! ' Krieg was shouting. 'Pearl, Gin, show them what a real Krieg pirate can do. '

'With pleasure Captain. ' Gin ran his tongue over his teeth and charged forward.

'No one has ever injured me in a single battle! ' Pearl bragged.

Zoro heaved a sigh and focused.

'Santoryu Oni Giri! ' he sliced through the odd ball weapons, but Gin dodged away holding the broken metal handles.

Don Krieg played dirty, firing his pistol from the sideline, but Zoro was already moving before the shots were close. Pearl gaped at the action and began banging his shields together.

'Danger! Danger! Danger! ' he shouted and promptly caught on fire.

Zoro just stared as he caught his own ship on fire as his fellow crew members tried to calm him. Gin launched himself back into the fight. Zoro rotated his blades rapidly.

'Santoryu Secret Technique: Three Thousand Worlds. ' With all the power of his three swords he cut through Gin and continued on towards the captain.

Guns popped up from all over the armor and fired from shoulders and sides. His technique allowed him to block most of the shots although two of the weird spear bullets grazed his side. Gin dropped behind him, bleeding. He was unconscious or dead. Pearl screamed again. Zoro ignored him and continued facing the captain.

'Bull Demon Courageous Talons. ' He lunged forward with the swords pointed towards Krieg, armament haki coating the blades.

Krieg laughed 'This armor is the strongest ' '

The golden armor shattered and Zoro felt no pity as his blades skewered the pirate. The men around him were screaming and staring. Some jumped overboard. Pearl lunged at him. Zoro smashed him with the flat of his blade, shattering the round plate of his front armor. The man fainted. Zoro blinked in surprise. He looked around. No one was coming forward. A few raised guns but he barely lifted his blade when they dropped the weapons and dove away from him. He looked around but the fleet was sinking around him. There were no ships nearby. He gave a shrug and decided to stay on this ship instead of sinking it.

'Hey, you! ' he turned to the cowering pirates. 'Got any sake? '

'Uh ' yeah. '

'Excellent. Bring me sake, also any treasure and meat you have onboard. '

'Meat? ' one of the men questioned.

'My captain likes meat. ' Zoro emphasized.

'R-right. Of course. Right away. ' They scrambled.

Zoro looked around. Most of the men were cowering or scrambling around. The deck was still on fire, but no one seemed to care about that. With a sigh he used a flying slash to wipe out the flames leaving blackened deck and sails behind. Satisfied he wandered around the deck to see how the battle behind was going. Off to one side a giant tornado whipped through ships heading away from him. On the other side it was pure wreckage. Nothing seemed to be intact enough to sail away. He continued wandering and came across a pile of treasure and food. He couldn 't figure out why they would bring it all

here

instead of the bow of the ship but then realized the figurehead had moved. With a shrug he accepted the bottle of sake the trembling man passed over.

XXXxxx

Sanji was launched to the ship furthest left. He used the momentum of the toss to take out the main mast of the ship he landed on. As the men screamed and scrambled, he launched a kick to their second mast letting it smash through the aft deck as it fell. 'He looked around and launched himself to the next ship using it as a launch pad and moving on. The third ship he reached was a red ship and he slammed his haki covered leg down on the giant gun sitting on the open deck. The metal bent and formed a small crater, rendering the gun useless. Sanji flipped on his palms and kicked out at the men rushing him.

With enough breathing room, he ran to the aft deck, blurring out of view and leaping for the next ship. This was not one of his targets, so he continued moving at high speed. None of the men seemed skilled enough to track his movement. He leaped for the next ship. This one was green and Sanji was pleased to slow enough to kick men overboard and cause some destruction. He kicked over both masts and shattered the doghouse before moving onward. The next ship in the line was another red and he enjoyed kicking their giant guns right through the deck. The new twin holes were rapidly flooding from below and Sanji enjoyed the panicked reactions as he moved to the last ship in this line.

He missed Sky Walk. Even more he missed his Diable Jambe techniques. He was not strong enough to maintain the stress of those attacks yet. His armament haki was not his strong suit either. Sanji watched as the line of ships to his right sailed forward in formation, presumably attacking the Merry. These ships were pathetically unprepared, and the pirates slow to react. Clearly, they were used to intimidating or tricking their opponents.

'Like bullies confronted with a real challenge, the lot of you have turned into a blubbering mess. ' He criticized in a low tone before flipping over to the last of the moving ships to his right. 'It 's pathetic. '

He kicked midair gaining a bit more distance, enough to grab the ship rail and flip himself forward onto the deck. Moving fast, he dropped a match into the barrel of gunpowder sitting out by a cannon and continued onward without giving the pirates time to even see him properly. He ran straight off the bowsprit and lunged for the next ship. Behind him there was a massive explosion.

'Ghost! Spirits! '

'They 're invisible! '

'It 's teleportation! '

Sanji smirked and continued his high-speed destruction. The plan was to take out the ships without fighting individuals. Sanji found it immensely satisfying to use speed and stealth to just wreck everything. He didn 't even have to show himself for more than a few moments at a time. He delt silent blows and flitted around to weak points.

XXXxxx

Usopp launched a volley of cannon fire as soon as Sanji was launched away from the ship. Nami was startled by the speed of it. The Going Merry didn 't have any kind of auto fire or cannon feed so Usopp was handloading the cannon, adding powder and lighting a wick fast enough that three rounds were fired before the first shot landed. She was less surprised to see the ship immediately floundering as a cluster of shots cut a hole just at the waterline. The ship listed port and knocked into the next ship, tangling their masts.

'Yeah Usopp! ' Luffy cheered.

'Incoming! ' she warned twirling her sword as the ten ships facing them all tried to fire at the Merry. 'Gust sword! ' she batted at a few of the projectiles and sent others careening off course with a burst of wind. She cursed when it only took out half of what she was aiming at. Those dials made a difference.

'I 've got it! ' Luffy punched at the incoming fire.

Because of course he did. She sighed and twirled her baton. Time to test this beauty. The ships were laid out in a T formation with a long wall of ships facing the Merry and a dense trunk of their fleet in neat rows behind.

'Thunderbolt Tempo! ' she launched the attack at the bulk of ships, bypassing the front row of ships where Zoro and Sanji were visibly demolishing the enemy.

The strike hit the second row of ships, perfectly in line with the Merry and just behind Don Krieg 's own ship. Pleased with the control she aimed one row over and one ship back on Sanji 's side. The lightning struck the mast she designated with precision; the sails caught fire.

'This is great Usopp! I love the command! ' she smiled devilishly. It didn 't have the destructive power of the previous (later?) models but Nami could do damage with the fine control.

Next to her Luffy inflated like a balloon and sent the cannonballs flying. She watched the line of ships in front of her. Only three minutes into the battle and six of the ten were collapsing or rubble. Zoro seemed to be cutting ships in half while Sanji was snapping masts and making holes in the decks. Usopp sent another volley of shots to the last ship standing on Sanji 's side. She didn 't see the hit, but she saw the way the ship buckled and started taking on water at the same time a sail shredded.

Refocusing Nami flipped the clima-tact. 'Thunderbolt Tempo! ' She struck down a third ship.

'Gummmm Gummm Jet Gatling ' Luffy shouted near her ear.

She looked over to see something more like spears coming from Don Krieg 's ship. Luffy 's wind attack sent them flying in all directions including one that angled upwards and ripped through their own sail.

'Careful! '

'Sorry! '

She sent a gust of wind to intercept a barrage of smoking canisters. Usopp was slowing down his speed but still landing blows against the front ships. He managed to sink a third ship just as two lines of ships began advancing. Don Krieg remained stationary but the ships on either side began sailing towards them. It was clearly a pincer movement designed to pin the Merry and destroy the small ship. They clearly weren 't anticipating Usopp.

Most carvels, including the Going Merry, were designed with a stationary forward cannon. It was able to fire directly ahead with little to no range of motion. Usopp was a master inventor and sniper with years of experience modifying their sea weaponry. He 'd done something with their cannon to give it an unbelievable range. Anyone who had paid attention would have seen this when he fired on first the left then right side of the enemy line rather than attack the heavily armored command ship directly ahead. Obviously, their enemy were idiots.

Usopp adjusted his cannon and fired blasts at the incoming ships. One of the ships went up in a fiery explosion as the sniper hit something that caused a reaction onboard. On the opposite side the first ship was sinking rapidly as it tried to limp towards them.

Nami tossed more lightning at the lump of ships further back but it was getting difficult to track her crewmates. She sent blasts of wind instead at the already floundering ships, tearing them further apart and fanning flames.

Luffy was shifting back and forth next to her. She could tell he wanted to join the action. She knew he would never say so. Luffy was resolved to protect Merry. He would not allow her to be damaged when he had promised his personal protection. Instead he seemed to have decided the best way to handle this urge to fight was to catch the cannonballs bare handed and chuck them back at the nearby ships like he was playing catch. Nami resolved to ignore this bit of madness.

The fighting across the water was winding down. The Krieg Pirates were decimated. Sanji appeared to be working his way up the line of advancing ships and Zoro had just appeared on the deck of the command ship facing off with the leaders of the crew. Nami looked around and spotted a grouping of four ships Zoro had missed in his path of destruction. She smirked.

Perfect.

'Tornado Tempo! ' unlike her first clima-tact, this did exactly what Nami anticipated. The wind changed direction at her command. Warm air pushed through the denser cold air pocket and the updraft began to spin faster. A funnel formed and extended towards the water sucking up the warm air. As it hit the water a spout formed and Nami watched satisfied as it grabbed and pulled at the closest ships. The boats spun like toys and slammed into each other as well as all the debris from the other wrecks.

Luffy cheered her on and bounced around the ship looking for enemy fire. Sanji waved them closer as he balanced on the sinking remains of one of Usopp 's victims. No other shots were coming and from the looks of things they hadn 't left much for these men to even sail away in. Luffy would probably find a lifeboat or two on that command ship for the survivors. Zoro hadn 't completely sunk that one.

'Hey Captain! ' She called up to him. 'You ready to go pick up our men? '

'Yosh! Let 's do it! '

She took the helm as Usopp emerged dripping sweat. They exchanged high fives. She directed the boys to let out the sails and eased over towards the wreckage. Sanji didn 't wait for them to get close, instead propelling himself towards the Merry as soon as they were in range. She adjusted the rudder and moved over to Zoro on the command ship, slightly more cautious.

'Captain ' Sanji called out and gestured subtly off to one side.

Luffy dropped to the deck beside them.

'I saw them, but if they don 't want to fight, I 'm ignoring them. ' Luffy declared.

'Who? ' she asked trying to see.

'Marines. ' Usopp explained.

'They 've been watching. ' Sanji confirmed.

'That 's too casual! ' she shouted at them all.

They exchanged confused looks and she sighed as she pulled over towards Zoro. That idiot was already relaxing against the main mast. The pile of treasure and food at his feet was impressive.

'OOOhhh! Meat! Good work Zoro! ' Luffy congratulated jumping over and slapping the swordsman on the back.

'Thanks for letting me run this one. '

'It was boring, but you guys did great! You guys are sooo cool! And you even got us treasure! '

'Luffy, let 's clear out. They 're gearing up to do something. ' Sanji was focused on something in the distance.

'Who 's that? ' Zoro questioned looking around.

'The Marines shitty swordsman. '

'MARINES?!? ' the pirates around him shouted.

'What did I say about quiet? ' Zoro demanded.

'sorry sir ' they whispered.

'If you can move this over there, we will let you go and fish out your friends. ' Zoro gestured.

'Not there! Into our boat. Here! ' Nami growled waving and gesturing.

The pirates looked between the two.

'Eh? What are you doing moving the boat around for witch? Whatever. Treasure goes on our ship. ' He gestured again.

'It 's here! ' she corrected again.