Luffy and Usopp ran through the mansion, hoping to find Merry still alive in Kaya's room. They did run into a small snafu, courtesy of one Honey Queen, but her wall was no match for the might of Luffy's fist.

  He Gum-Gum made it get the fuck out of the way. As they neared Kaya's room, they heard a gunshot. Stopping, they turned around, looking towards the entrance. "W-what now!? Haven't we dealt with enough already!?" Usopp shouted.

  Luffy however, had an idea of who it was. He wasn't entirely sure what Nick was planning, but he trusted that whatever it was would help them save their friends.

  "Come on, let's find Sheep Head Guy," Luffy said, continuing to run towards the room.

  "Oi, wait for me!" Usopp shouted, sprinting behind him. The two eventually made it to the room, stepping over the rubble Usop created when he blew the door open. Usopp immediately turned to look towards the spot he last saw the possibly dying man, only to find him missing.

  "Crap, where is he!?" Usopp shouted, looking around in a panic. Surprisingly, it was Luffy who noticed the trail of blood on the ground, leading out of the room. Curious, he began to follow, leaving Usopp to panic all alone in the room.

  "Alright, we need to think. If I was an injured butler, where would I be?" Usopp asked, crossing his arms and closing his eyes in contemplation. He thought long and he thought hard, but no matter how much he forced his brain to work, he couldn't come up with an answer. He could be anywhere! And Usopp didn't know where they kept the first aid kit either.

  "No choice. Luffy, we're going to have to-Luffy?" he asked, looking around in confusion at the fact that he was all alone. "Ah, where did you go!? Don't leave me! Luffy!"

  Said rubber man was currently elsewhere, his easily distracted brain curiously following the trail of blood. He looked ahead and saw that it turned right. Peeking his head around the corner, he noted the trail heading into another door.

  Casually making his way to the door, he opened it without a second thought. Only to find himself deafened by the sound of a gunshot. The lead round hit him square in the chest, but seeing as he was made of rubber, it did little more than startle him. His back extended with the bullet, before he sent if flying away.

  "Hey, what's the big idea!?" Luffy shouted angrily, steam seemingly coming out of his ears.

  "Ah, Luffy, is that you? My apologies, I believed you to be one of those scoundrels and acted without thinking. I do hope you are alright," stated a familiar voice. Hearing the apology, Luffy calmed down, staring at the person in the room with a questioning look in his eyes.

  "Hey, I know you. You're the guy with the sheep head. We were just looking for you. What are you doing here?" Luffy asked as he entered the room. Looking around, it appeared to be a medical office of some kind, filled with various tools and equipment used to treat somebody.

  Luffy had little to no idea how any of it worked. The only fort aid he knew how to do was wrap somebody up in bandages.

  "Ah, yes, well… after I was shot I came here to treat my wounds. I still have some fight left in these old bones," Merry said, flexing his bicep, only to immediately regret it, grabbing his side in pain.

  "Shishishi, you're pretty tough, aren't you old guy?" Luffy said, a wide grin on his face.

  "Well, I don't know about that, but I'm not dead yet. Anyway, enough about me, what happened to the mistress? Is she alright?" Merry asked, almost begging Luffy for information on the girl.

  Luffy looked downcast, covering his face with the brim of his hat. "I-"

  "There you are, Luffy! I heard a gunshot, are you alright? What were you thinking running off like that!? What if there were still pirates around here, huh? I'd be a sitting-Merry?" Usopp shouted, breathing heavily. Once he heard the gun go off, he panicked, but this had the fortunate side effect of letting him find the trail of blood. Figuring that must be where Luffy went, he followed as well.

  Turns out his hunch was right.

  And not only did he find Luffy, he also found none other than Merry.

  "Usopp, thank goddess you are alright. I was so worried. Please tell me Miss Kaya is safe," Merry pleaded. Whatever Usopp had planned to say died on his lips at Merry's expression. His mouth opened and closed like a fish, but no words came out.

  "Sorry, but she was taken," Luffy said. The two of them turned to look at him, one with guilt and one with denial.

  "No, it can't be. Tell me you're joking. Tell me this is another one of your lies, Usopp!" Merry besieged them. But their silence spoke more than any words ever could.

  "Miss Kaya… How could this happen?" Merry said, slumping down onto the ground. Usopp grit his teeth, a feeling of self loathing rising up from the pit of his stomach.

  "I'm sorry. I wasn't strong enough to save her," he said. His fists clenched and tears formed in the corners of his eyes.

  "It wasn't your fault Usopp, it was mine," Luffy said, getting their attention. They turned their self deprecating gazes towards the rubber man, but what they saw wasn't the form of a defeated man, but one brimming with determination.

  "I let myself be controlled by that weirdo, and because of that, our friends got taken. But I promise, we'll get them back, no matter what. But we need your help," Luffy said.

  "My help? Whatever could you need my help with?" Merry asked, confused. Usopp furiously wiped the tears away, angry at himself for getting down again. He would save Kaya and Akisu, no matter what it took.

  Oh, and Nami too.

  "We need a ship to go after them, and I know you have one. One that hasn't been damaged in any of the attacks. Please, let us borrow it, just for a little bit, so we can go and save them. I'm begging you," Usopp asked, bowing his head to Merry.

  The butler didn't know what to say, shocked by the request. But seeing how determined the two of them were, well… he couldn't help but get swept up in the emotion of it all. He ford himself to stand, looking at the two young men in front of him with a steely gaze.

  "Raise your head Usopp. I'm more than happy to lend you the Going Merry to save Miss Kaya. I have but one stipulation," he said, as Usopp stood up straight.

  "Anything, just name it!" he said. Merry walked over to him, placing his hand on his shoulder and looking him dead in the eyes.

  "Just make sure she comes home safe and sound," he said, giving Usopp a smile. The long nosed man's face lit up in a grin.

  "Damn right! Nothing is going to stop us, right Luffy!"

  "Right. We'll kick their ass and save our friends. I won't fall for the same trick twice," he said, slamming his fist into his palm, eager to get some payback. Usopp and Merry smiled at him, feeling encouraged by his simple words, when a horrifying, inhuman noise aroused an ancient primal fear from the depths of their souls.

  "What is that!? A monster!?" Usopp shouted, looking all around in a panic. Merry wasn't far behind, holding up his pistol with a trembling hand. The only one not freaking out was Luffy, and for good reason.

  "Maa, so hungry…" he whined, holding his stomach. The reason Luffy wasn't afraid, is because the noise came from him.

  "Are you kidding me!?" Usopp shouted, glaring at the rubberman. He then stomped over to him, and pulled his cheek in anger. "Don't scare me like that! Are you trying to give me a heart attack!?"

  "Ow! Usopp, let go!" Luffy demanded, pushing against the long nosed man's face.

  "Not until you apologize!" Usopp growled back, pulling on Luffy's other cheek. The two then began a small wrestling match, with Usopp trying to see just how far Luffy's cheeks could stretch, and the rubber man trying to yank him off.

  Merry sweat dropped at this, wondering if it would really be ok to trust them to rescue Kaya. But he didn't have much of a choice.

  "Mr. Luffy, there may still be some food left in the kitchen. I'm not sure how much considering the amount you already ate at dinner, but-" Merry started to suggest, only to be startled by Luffy's face appearing right in front of him. Usopp still had a hold of his cheeks, meaning they were stretched back several feet, while the rest of his head was right in front of him.

  "Really!? Where!?" Luffy asked, starting to drool.

  "Oh, it's right down the hall, to your left. Just take the stairs to the lower level and-"

  "Thanks old sheep guy!" Luffy interrupted again, his head snapping back towards his body, before running out the door. Usopp, who still had a firm grip on his cheeks, widened his eyes in shock as he was dragged along, practically flying from the speed that Luffy ran at.

  "Ah! Luffy, wait, slow down!" he shouted, but Luffy wasn't listening. He was far too eager to fill his belly with meat. That was the only thing on his mind at the moment. Once he was good and full, he would be at optimal ass kicking efficiency.

  "Luffy, you're going the wrong way! Take a left, a left!" Usopp shouted from behind him, which was the only thing that Luffy could catch through his selective hearing.

  He immediately took a sharp left turn, which was unfortunate for Usopp. His body kept going forward, slamming into the wall as it tried to compensate for Luffy's movement. The rubber man's cheeks were stretched against the corner as he ran down the other hallway, completely oblivious.

  "Ow, that hurt," Usopp moaned, before his eyes widened in panic as he began to slide forward. But rather than let go of Luffy's mouth, he only gripped tighter, his fear causing him to make the wrong decision.

  "Oh no, Luffy stop!" he begged, as he was yanked forward, his body slamming into the other hall's wall. Luckily, or unluckily, depending on how you look at it, he didn't get stuck this time, but he did start to bounce around every which way, hitting the walls, the floor, the ceiling; everything as Luffy kept running.

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  And all he could think to do was scream.

  This continued until Luffy, using his highly attuned nose, found the entrance to the kitchen. What he didn't know was that Usopp was right behind him, not until he slammed into him. The two went tumbling further down the hall, rolling along the floor until they stopped, a tangled mess or limbs.

  "Ow, Usopp, what was that for?" Luffy whined, disentangling himself from the sniper.

  "Me!? I was telling you to stop the whole time! Learn to listen, Luffy!" Usopp shouted, Luffy closing his eyes as spit from the enraged shouting hit him in the face.

  "Ew, don't spit on me! It's not my fault I couldn't hear you," Luffy claimed, pushing Usopp away.

  "Then whose fault is it!?" Usopp returned.

  "I don't have time for this! I need meat!" Luffy yelled, pushing Usopp away.

  "Hey, don't you ignore me!" Usopp yelled, grabbing onto Luffy's stomach, trying to stop him from going anywhere.

  "Get off! Stop getting in the way of meat!" Luffy shouted, pressing on Usopp's face again, trying to dislodge the temperamental liar.

  "Not until you apologize!"

  The two would have continued to argue more, but the sound of three more gunshots ringing out distracted them. They turned toward the direction it came from, Usopp with fear, and Luffy with curiosity.

  "More gunshots? Whose shooting, and why? I thought everyone outside was already beat?" Usopp questioned, gripping Luffy tighter in his fear. But Luffy was unconcerned with the sound, figuring that Zoro and Nick could handle things if there was any trouble.

  Instead, he was far more concerned with the state of the kitchen. Opening the door, he made his way inside, casually dragging a terrified Usopp with him. Once he was there, he looked around for any sign of food. But much to his dismay he was unable to find any.

  "Hey, what gives? That old butler guy said there would be food here," Luffy whined, holding his gurgling stomach in misery.

  "Try… the pantry," Usopp said, raising a shaky hand to point out a door on the other side of the room. Seeing this, Luffy gave a big grin as he ran towards it, finally dislodging Usopp as he did so, whose face met the floor. Swinging the door open with gusto, his eyes sparkled as he saw all the food.

  "Food!" he shouted, stretching his arms to reach anything and everything that looked edible and shoveling it into his mouth. To Usopp, who was laying on the floor, moaning in pain, it sounded like a wild animal had gotten into the pantry.

  Someone really needed to teach Luffy some manners.

  Several minutes went by with Luffy horking down all the remaining food. He did choke a time or two, running to the sink to chug water from the faucet and then running right back in for the next round, but eventually, they ran out of food.

  Luffy sat down on his now enormous ass, burping in satisfaction as he patted his cartoonishly extended stomach. "Ah, tasty," he said with satisfaction. Usopp stared at this with enormous eyes.

  "Where the hell do you put it all!?" he screamed. He knew he could eat, dinner proved that much, but this was something else.

  "Ah, I see you found it. I'm gla-oh my, what happened?" Merry said, who managed to make his way to the kitchen after finishing patching himself up. He expected to see a mess, but what he didn't expect to see was Luffy looking like he just put on about 300 pounds in the span of 10 minutes.

  "Don't worry about him, he just has no self control. But what are you doing here?" Usopp asked. Merry, still somewhat in a daze, turned to look at Usopp, seemingly composing himself.

  "Right. Well, I grew concerned after hearing those gunshots and came to check on you. I'm glad to see nothing has happened," Merry said, wiping a bit of sweat off his face with a handkerchief.

  "Yeah, that has me worried too. We should probably head out, make sure the others are ok. Luffy, are you ready to go?" Usopp asked, turning to the rotund rubber man. Luffy jumped up onto his feet, throwing his fists into the air. "Hell yeah! I'm at maximum power now! Let's go get our friends back!"

  Having said this, Luffy then tried running out of the kitchen, only for his now fat body to get stuck in the door frame. "Hey, what the hell! I'm stuck!" he shouted, flailing about in the door frame, trying to get free.

  "Are you kidding me!?" Usopp shouted. But he wasn't. Luffy's fat ass was stuck, and there was nothing they could do about it.

  *Line Break*

  "What the hell is taking them so long?" Zoro grumbled, glaring at the entrance to the mansion. He wanted to go inside and look for them, but a desperate shout of, "No!" from Nick stopped him.

  Damn worry wort. Like anything would happen. Besides, he was more than capable of looking after himself.

  Little did the swordsman in denial know, that wasn't what Nick was worried about. If Zoro wandered off, there was no telling where he would end up, and he did not want to go looking for him right now.

  "Just have some patience. I'm sure they'll be out any minute now," Nick said, trying to calm the irate man down. He was sitting on a stone wall, one used for landscaping, enjoying the peace and quiet for a moment.

  It was stymied a bit by the pain in his ribs. And in his leg. And his back. And just about everywhere else too. He really needed a training arc, and soon. He was tired of the ass kickings he was getting. Sure, he may have won most of those fights, except the one with Luffy, but he'd like to win unscathed for once.

  Was that too much to ask?

  A few more minutes ticked by before they heard the sounds of voices. It sounded like Usopp chastising Luffy about something, but what could he have done this time? All they needed to do was find Merry, how much trouble could he cause doing that?

  "I can't believe you Luffy! Why would you break the whole wall?" Usopp asked.

  "It's not my fault the doorway was too small," Luffy countered, but there was something off about his voice. It almost sounded like he was out of breath, straining to speak.

  "It is too! If you hadn't eaten everything, you could have fit through the door just fine!" Usopp countered, making Zoro and Nick turn to look at each other, a sneaking suspicion crossing both of their minds.

  "But I was hungry! Just make bigger doors next time," Luffy countered, making Usopp splutter in disbelief. It was at this point that they could make out three figures walking towards them. Usopp, Merry and-

  "Luffy, what the fuck happened to you?" Nick asked, looking at the now obese man. Not only that, but he seemed to have gained a foot or two of height as well.

  "Oh, hey Nick. Everything ok out here?" Luffy asked, looking around. He made to take a step forward, but managed to trip on the stairs, as his stomach was so big he couldn't see the step in front of him.

  He yelled in fright as he went bouncing down the stairs, landing on his stomach and spinning around. Everyone who watched this had a sweat drop on the back of their head.

  "Damn it Luffy," Zoro said, running his hand down his face in embarrassment. When Luffy stopped spinning, he slowly got back to his feet, almost losing his balance as he did so.

  Once he did, he noticed that his friends weren't alone. "Hey, who's that?" he asked, indicating the man tied up by Nick.

  "Oh, him? This is Biff, he's going to guide us to the island where they took our friends. Isn't that right Biff?" Nick asked, giving the man a smile that was in no way friendly.

  "Um, actually, my name is-"

  Nick cocked the hammer of his pistol, his smile turning even more icy. "Your name is Biff."

  "Uh, yup, that's right. I'm Biff, and I'll be happy to take you guys to the Bear King!" he shouted, sweat dripping from his brow in rivulets. He glanced over at the remains of his crewmates, knowing that if he didn't cooperate, he would be joining them.

  Everyone but Luffy looked a little afraid at this interaction. "Really? Hey, that's nice of you," Luffy said with a grin, while "Biff" just laughed nervously.

  "Zoro, what the hell happened out here?" Usopp asked, whispering to the swordsman.

  "Let's just say I'm glad he's on our side," Zoro said, giving Usopp the side eye. This confused him a bit, until he saw four bodies, all tied up and all with pieces of their head missing.

  Like they were shot.

  Usopp stared at the seemingly innocuous man, smiling happily with Luffy, feeling a cold bead of sweat drip down the back of his neck. He might be the most pirate-like out of all of them.

  While the brown haired man's ruthlessness surprised him a bit, Zoro wasn't worried about him turning on them. Not after taking that attack from Sham, the one aimed for his back. He'd just need to watch and make sure he didn't go too far.

  Merry then informed them that his ship was anchored down at the shipyard. Nick idly wondered why it was never attacked, but suspected the reason was to frame him. After all, if every other ship was being burned down except for his, it wouldn't be difficult to convince the villagers of his guilt, not after the trauma of the night.

  So the group of six began making their way to the shipyard once again, with Usopp only having to retrieve Zoro twice. The guy may have been strong as hell, but at what cost?

  But what really surprised them was Luffy, whose body had returned to normal by the time they reached their destination. They couldn't help but wonder what kind of body he has. Sure it was rubber, but that didn't explain what they just saw.

  Once they arrived at the shipyard, they saw everyone from the village had gathered there behind makeshift barricades, holding various weapons like before. Only this time it seemed as if they also had some guns and actual swords, likely looted from the pirates killed in town.

  "Halt, who goes there!?" yelled one of the sentries, and they saw several guns being pointed at them. Usopp raised his hands in fright, screaming like a little girl, but the rest of them remained calm.

  "Orin, is that you? It's me, Merry. Would you kindly let us through," asked the butler. The group felt themselves get lit up by torchlights as they were taken stock of.

  "Well I'll be. Thought you were dead. And is that Usopp I see? Glad you're alright lad. Come right round this way, we'll see to ya," he said, indicating a spot to the left where there was some sort of gate. They pulled it open and the group walked inside.

  "Thank you very much Orin. How are you? Not hurt I hope?" Merry asked as they entered the camp.

  "I'm doing alright. A few scrapes but nothing life threatening. Who are they?" he asked, looking pointedly at Luffy, Zoro, Nick and the tied up Biff.

  "They're the one responsible for driving those despicable pirates out of town. I don't suppose you can point in the direction of Dr. Shingo, can you?" Mery asked. Nick, and to a lesser extent Zoro, needed treatment before they sailed after their friends.

  Orin scratched his chin in thought, before pointing to a building in the distance. "Yeah, he should be right over there. Doubt you'll miss it, Doc's been real busy tonight," Orin said.

  "I can only imagine," Merry said, looking around the camp sadly. Their village was relatively small, so he knew every single one of these people to some extent, and it broke his heart to see them in such a state.

  He felt a hand on his shoulder, startling him a bit. Turning around to see who it was, he saw Nick giving him a serious, yet empathetic look. "I know it's rough Merry, but they're alive. Take solace in that," he said.

  Merry felt his eyes tear up at that, wiping them off with a handkerchief. "Yes, you are absolutely right. The town can be rebuilt, but lives lost can never be reclaimed. We'll get through this."

  The group then made their way towards Dr. Shingo, hoping he wasn't so busy he couldn't treat their injuries.

  Is it wrong that Nick was hoping for some killer pain relievers?

  Once they got there, the good doctor was only too happy to treat them, remembering Nick and Zoro from when they ran off after dumping Pett on him. But there was someone there that Nick did not expect to see, and that was Mary.

  "Nick, it's you!" she shouted, a great big smile on her face as she ran up and latched herself to him. Nick made a quiet grunt as he returned the hug, trying not to show how much pain he was in from being hugged by a little girl.

  "Hey Mary. What are you doing here?" Nick asked, as Mary raised her head to look at him.

  "I'm helping Dr. Shingo with his patients!" she declared with a big, proud smile, before she finally seemed to notice his injuries. "What happened to you!? You look all beat up!"

  Nick chuckled and patted her head, making her swipe at his hand with a pout. "I'm alright, squirt, just a bit banged up. Nothin that can't be fixed," he said, making her sag in relief.

  "I'll be the judge of that young man. Now, let me get a look at ya," Shingo said gruffly, dark circles under his eyes. But no matter how tired he was or how deep the exhaustion set in, he was this town's doctor, and he would be damned if he didn't do everything he could do to fulfill his duty.

  Nick sighed but did as the doctor ordered. It took him a while, but eventually Nick was let go. The disinfectant hurt like a bitch, and the bandages were all itchy, but he was deemed good enough.

  He hoped he wouldn't hear that from Nami after making love to her.

  Next it was Zoro's turn, who tried to turn down the help. But when the doctor told him to, "Sit down and shut up," he begrudgingly complied, grumbling the whole time. Once he was cleared to leave, all that was left was to find Luffy and get to the Going Merry. Saying goodbye to Mary and thanking the doctor, they did just that.

  Luckily, he wasn't very far, having decided to go and bother Pett. The others were happy to see the old shipbuilder alive and kicking, and just as ornery as ever. They spoke to him for a few minutes before taking their leave, following Merry to where he kept his ship anchored.

  It was on a private dock on the north end of the shipyard. Luffy's eyes sparkled as he took it in, and it was all Nick could do to not be overwhelmed by the feeling of nostalgia it brought on.

  "This is the Going Merry. She's a bit of an older model, but she sails like a dream. You won't find a better ship in all the East Blue," Merry said proudly, and Nick believed him completely.

  "Hey Merry. It's nice to finally meet you," Nick whispered, staring right at the sheep figurehead in the front. It might have just been his imagination, but he couldn't help but feel like the Going Merry responded.

  "Nice to meet you too! Are you ready to set sail?"