A/N: New chapter. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Duh.


Luffy was bored. It had been nearly two hours since they had landed on this island and not a single thing of interest had occurred. In fact, the only reason why they were still here was because his crew asked for a break from sailing for a day. Also, there was the fact that Sanji ran off jabbering nonsense, in search of any source of tobacco on this island.

The captain, in the lack of anything better to do, was sitting in the clinic of the small town. Nami, or at least that is what the doctor called her, was resting on the bed next to his chair. He couldn't exactly place the reason, but she interested him. Now in no way was he attracted to her romantically – Luffy didn't even understand that concept – just that she had beat Arlong, an apparently very dangerous fishman. Well, dangerous relativity speaking. Also, he could have sworn she used Haki during the fight. Subconsciously no doubt, but still awakened.

It was night time at the moment and most of the crew would usually be in bed, but apparently Firmen went on some sort of mission to increase the strength of everyone. Luffy had popped by to see if he needed help, but the screams of agony told him that Firmen was doing just fine. Everyone else…well that was a different story. To be completely honest, when Firmen and Jackson came to him so that he could sign off on some kind of weird torture machine that "motivates" people to develop Haki, Luffy had agreed without a second thought. Eh, they'll be fine.

Zoro had actually come into the clinic a few minutes ago looking for alcohol. After getting a lecture on the reasons for not drinking medical alcohol by the doctor in charge, he left to looking in the Arlong Park remains. The swordsman had looked pretty banged up. The entire right side of his face was a purplish yellow and his nose was bent at an angle. When asked about it, Zoro simply shrugged and muttered the word 'spar.' The implied next word would probably be Firmen.

Jackson, however, had not relented dear Coby into that maniacs control. He and he alone will train the kid to fight. Luffy entertained no thoughts that Jackson's training would be any easier. Like his fellow Grandline marine, he knew the importance of strength and Haki when it came to fighting. Jackson did seem like more of the strategist of the two, so Coby's education will probably go farther than mere swordplay and combat. Luffy had faith in Coby though, feeling the strong will the boy had deep within. Once awakened, his Haki power would be great.

Luffy had heard from Firmen that Usopp was also participating in the training. Well more like taking a dirt nap half the time, but still getting there. The long-nosed kid had forbidden Kaya or Merry from training, saying that he would get strong for both of them. Because of this, Kaya and Usopp are currently hanging out in the local library.

Yawning loudly, Luffy went back to looking back at the mystifying orange haired girl. Nami had begun to whimper in her sleep and toss about under the thin covers. The marine captain lifted his hand and gently brushed a stray hair from her bruised face, then softly petted her silky hair. It was an action that Makino and even Ace (though he would never admit to it) did when Luffy had felt troubled. It was also one of the final actions Ace did before dying, attempting to comfort his little brother through the pain of losing an eye.

After losing everyone, Luffy was in a state of denial and grieving all at once. Night after night of tears went by, yet the comforting hand was gone. So in an effort to grasp hold of anything with substance, Luffy retreated deep within his mind to find comfort. After many days in meditation that would make a monk jealous, the Straw Hat found something. Though it was far from the comfort he sought after.

It was blazing hot, like a raging inferno fueled by raw emotion. For the first time in many days, his body had felt warmth again. This power…infinite in supply it seemed. All for him if only he would give in and let hate take over. It wasn't comforting, but it was something. Better than staying empty forever. So he reached out and touched it, letting power infuse with his spirit as if gaining the strength to fight again. It was the power of the flare flare fruit. It spoke… and he listened.

But Nami did not have a devil fruit to guide her. Plus it was not necessary for her to go without a comforting hand when he was right beside her. Despite never speaking to this girl before, she felt similar to him in a way, so he gladly leased a gentle hand because he knew what it was like to not have one. After a few minutes, she calmed down and leaned into the caresses, greedy for the comfort they brought. Having nothing else to do, Luffy continued.

"You know I'd do that myself if I wasn't so tired."

Luffy looked up from Nami and glanced at the girl who laying on next bed over. Searching his mind, he remembered that the doctor had called her Nojiko. She was currently sitting up on both elbows, staring at him with a hint of mirth.

"I thought she looked distressed so I tried to comfort her," explains Luffy, already feeling a bit wearily of this ice blue haired girl. Her smile only widens.

"Sounds like what I always expected to hear from a marine captain."

Luffy didn't really know how to respond to that. He wasn't a marine captain, not a real one anyway. Apparently, he played the part well, though, everyone who didn't know his secret never caught on.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Ask away captain," responded Nojiko, not breaking I contact. Luffy couldn't place it, but the girls stare caught him off guard a bit. He had gotten too used to the friendly smiles of his crew, almost forgetting that these types of stares also exist. Her eyes had a hidden knowledge, which probably tends to happen when you aren't stuck on an island alone for 9 years with only a devil fruit and the fish to talk to. Seriously, though, he swore some of those fish were talking.

"Why did the fishmen leave? Also, which one of you killed Arlong?"

The mirth in Nojiko's eyes faded and receded into nothing. She fully sat up and swung her legs over the bed, letting them dangle over the edge. "One of their scouts – an octopus named Hachi – spotted your ship a few days ago and had been tracking its movements. After it was surely confirmed that your ship was headed here, he came and alerted everyone. Seeing that they didn't have time to take anything with them, no one was willing to take the risk of being forced to fight someone of Grandline caliber, they fled to the other side of the island before jumping into the water and swimming away."

The captain nodded, a little surprised he didn't sense a scout near the ship. While he did usually keep his Observation Haki somewhat active at all time, it could be hard to sense something without any clear killing intent or something without a large power level. Sentient beings were a bit easier to find, but the sea wasn't as straight forward as the land. Luffy – who was sure he wasn't hallucinating at the time – talked to a Sea King he had been about to kill once. After the enlightening experience, Luffy began listening to the voices of the ocean and found that while most were jumbled gibberish, he could hear a stray coherent thought or two. Another reason he might have passed off a scout as just a really smart Sea King.

Nojiko breathed in and out before starting again. "As for your second question, it was a both me and my sister that killed Arlong. Nami went in first to wound him and I came in later to finish the job."

As she finished, her eyes flickered to the table on the other side of the room where a pistol and knife rested. Each being stained red with blood. The objects seemed to stumble her train of thought for a second, though she quickly recovered and made eye contact with him once again. "Now I have a few questions for you."

"Let's hear them."

"First off, what's your name?"

"Monkey D. Luffy."

"Nice Name. How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

At this, she seemed to falter a bit and unlike the last time was slow on the recovery. "You're only seventeen and you're a Navy captain already? Also, you seem so…you seem like you've seen all already."

What did she mean by that? Luffy didn't really know and cared little, instead opting to wait for the next question. He honestly had no idea on the minimum age limit for marine captains; keeping his mouth shut was probably for the best.

Shaking her head, Nojiko continued. "Okay then. Did the doctor say anything about Nami?"

Hearing the concern thick in her voice reminded him of his own brothers. "She will be fine. The doctor said that she suffered a slight concussion and pulled back muscle." Luffy lifted her hair to the side to show the bandage across her forehead. When she began whimpering at the loss of contact he immediately went back to petting.

"Other than that, she will be bruised in a few areas and will find it a bit hard to talk. He also said you'd be fine after a little rest, seeing that you passed out from emotional exhaustion."

Well, this had been the second time Luffy played the part of Doctor Luffy and he felt it went a bit better this time.

"Excuse me Captain Luffy."

He looked up from his thoughts, seeing that she had gotten up from the bed she was sitting at. "Can I have a few minutes alone with my sister please?"

Luffy nodded and stood, Nojiko taking his seat a second later. Seeing that the conversation had ended and there was nothing to do, Luffy walked to the exit.

"I do hope we can speak to each other again Captain."

Luffy looked back and smile. "Sure." And then he was gone.

/-/

Kaya was seated in an old, but a very comfortable leather chair. It was the only place to sit in the small library, leaving Merry to be forced to stand while he read A Complete Collection of Famous Butlers throughout History. A book that Kaya was surprised existed, much less was available at a library with such a small section.

It had been a challenge to find any books on the medical field and the ones she had found were mostly outdated. The old leather-bound book in her hands now was Natural Remedies and How to Stop Internal Bleeding. She had been pleasantly surprised at the amount of knowledge it held and the many different tricks there were when it came to stopping internal bleeding.

It had only taken three minutes of watching what Firmen called training to foresee Usopp getting severely injured trying to be something he wasn't. Since she wouldn't be fighting, it only made sense to become useful in another way. The ship lacked a proper doctor – Jackson or Narry usually taking care of the injured – so she would gladly attempt to fill the role until a more qualified person joined. It wasn't just for Usopp sake either; over the past few weeks, she grew to actually care for the members of the Navy ship. Each one seemed to have a kind heart, despite showing it through violence occasionally.

Not even a few day ago, Benny and Lax got into such a heated argument that Lax challenged him to a dual. When Kaya later asked Captain Luffy why he would allow such a thing, he responded that men sometimes need to settle things with their fist.

Benny, who fought with metal gauntlets and was trained personally by Jackson, was a tall, stocky man. His skin was a bronzish red, which fit well with his fiery temper. His built betrayed how swift he was, however, something Lax learned quickly. Despite this, Lax was still at the advantage of speed, being the fastest when not including the team leaders and captain. His rapier left welt after welt on Benny who just couldn't seem to get a hit in. Each strike hit the air, Lax always being a millisecond to quick. She wouldn't go as far as to say the fight was one-sided; if Benny had gotten in a good punch then it would have ended the match.

In the end, it was Luffy who called the spar off, seeing that Benny would keep going until he bled out. Afterward at dinner after Benny was patched up, he and Lax could be seen sitting and joking together again as if no fight ever occurred. Male comradery was a wonder sometimes.

What worried her was that Usopp shared the sentiment with Luffy that sometimes men needed to trade blows to understand each other. She shuttered to think about how badly Usopp would fare in a spar with one of these soldiers. If she was watching, he would never give up. Fighting until unconsciousness if necessary to not lose face. Another reason Kaya would have to purchase and study this book before leaving.

"Miss Kaya, I found a book that might interest you," spoke Merry while holding a book in front of her face. She thanked him and took it from his grasp.

"Let's see here. Fixing Pinocchio: A Complete Guide to Setting and Healing a Longer than Average Nose. Oh, Merry, this is perfect!"

/-/

I think my nose is broken.

Usopp attempted picked himself off the ground, vision becoming spotty with black dots. Maybe it was his body telling him to stay down for the love of god? Well, there was no god, there was only Firmen. A steel tip boot nudged Usopp's side as if checking to see if he was still alive. Are they actually trying to kill me?

"Come on Usopp, I know you got more in the tank. Get up before I help you up."

Not wanting to find out what Firmen considered "help," Usopp forced his wobbly legs to hold up his body weight. He didn't even know it was possible to be numb and in agony at the same time, but apparently, they were not mutually exclusive feelings. Even as he stood upright, his sight was still catching up, random flashes of darkness still on the edge of his vision.

"Common Usopp, wipe the blood from your mouth and buck up. Be more like ol Chars over there, taking it like a champ."

Usopp looked to the other side of the clearing and saw that Chars was currently face down in a pool of blood. Apparently "taking it like a champ" meant literally not being able to move. Like, was Chars even still alive? The sad part was that Usopp was actually getting leniency when it came to the training since he wasn't a swordsman. The swordsmen were going through hell.

Firmen had brought out some sort of medieval looking device that looked like metal boots. The swordsmen would take turns in the heavy metal stocks, making it impossible to move from the spot they were placed. The rules were simple. Parry what you can, when you can't parry dodge, and when you cannot do either, take it. The "game" was called Lock Down and it was apparently how the marines taught swordsmanship in the Grand Line. Many were confused as to what taking it meant, but that was soon cleared up.

The gunmen of the crew were not forced to go through Lock Up. Instead, they were taken to an open clearing and pinned up against Jackson in hand-to-hand melee combat. The reasoning being that you never know when you might run out of ammo and be forced to fight. This also helped train them to aim and shoot on the fly, instructed to try to shoot Jackson before he caught them. Knowing he pulled each punch didn't bring much comfort either.

"F-Flllur… I nnnned a five min break," choked out Usopp before falling back on the ground.

On second thought, five minutes isn't enough. Five years sounds pretty good right now.

To his horror, Usopp felt hands roughly pulling him up to a standing position. "Now, now Usopp. I can't let people start thinking I'm giving you special treatment can I," whispered Firmen in a sugary voice. "Now get a move on!"

Usopp was roughly thrown further into the clearing at the feet of his training opponent. Tate was the guy's name. Looking closely, Usopp could see that he was incredibly toned despite looking a bit on the slim side. Like most of the others on the ship he had a slight tan, giving his skin a light brown glow. It contrasted nicely with his fair colored hair and light blue eyes. Tate fought with metal elbow and knee pads combined with martial arts. He had been personally trained by Firmen, though was a heck of a lot nicer. However, that didn't mean he ever took it easy in a spar.

"You ready to go again Usopp," he asked in an unnaturally suave voice.

No!

"Yes. Just let me get up."

As the sniper rose from the ground on his own power this time, he removed the slingshot hanging from his belt. Looking up, he faced his chiseled opponent. Note to self, never let Kaya see him shirtless. Usopp was proud of the marks on the skin he had caused. Fighting this guy had forced him to think out the box, the resolute being a completely new move set of trick shots and maneuvers. Though if he was being honest, those hits were most likely resolute of Tate being tired after sparing with Benny, Andrew, Ethan, and even arguably the strongest non-leader, Chars.

Usopp had also been penned against a few of them and it usually ended the same way. Actually, it always ended the same way. Him lying face down in the dirt. It was good motivation to become quicker, so the training methods couldn't be completely scorned.

"Begin!"

Wait what?

Usopp leaped backward on instinct, missing a callused fist by the skin on his nose. A smoke star was already dropped before the next move could be thrown, exploding on impact and filling the area in a veil of darkness. Then, making as little noise as possible, he shifted to Tate's side with three flame stars already loaded.

Flame Star!

The first one connected with Tate's hand that came up to block the attack despite not being able to see through the smoke. The other two hit air as the marine feinted back, dodging the last 2/3rds of the attack.

Usopp lost track of him after this, the smoke suddenly becoming his disadvantage. A little tingle in the back of head told to duck, a warning bell that he listened to. Not a moment later, a strike flew overhead, missing him completely. Another tingle warned him of an attack coming from below. An attack that sadly he wasn't physically spry enough to avoid. All that could be done was brace for impact…and what an impact it was.

The metal knee pad slammed into Usopp's stomach with the force of a cannonball, forcing all the air from his lungs in less than a second. That was all the damage Usopp's body could take and a half. He collapsed on the ground, dry heaving up nothing but carbon dioxide and spittle. He'd already thrown up so many times it looked like there was nothing left in the tank.

In the face of the intense physical punishment, Usopp still found it in him to be happy. He was definitely getting stronger, it would just take a while. With the comforting thought in mind, he drifted off to the realm of unconsciousness.

/-/

The green haired Straw Hat swordsman was currently swimming his way back to the mainland. Despite it having grown dark outside, the full moon still shines with enough light to make travel possible. He had trained on his own for most of the day after sparring with Firmen.

Zoro was never one to try and take the easy way out when it came to training. Now was no different. He had not only swam out to open sea but all the way to a small outcropping of reef formation. After making it to solid land, he took a three-minute break to recover from swimming a few miles. Once the break was over, he swam to the ocean floor and practiced all his techniques under the intense pressure for a few hours, coming up for air periodically. Seeing as it was late, he began swimming back the ship.

It wasn't until a few more hours went by that Zoro realized that he might be lost. It was kind of hard to navigate while at night so that surely must be the only problem. The swordsman was actually just going to resign to sleeping on the water until a voice from above broke the silence.

"Hey Zoro, are you lost?"

Zoro stopped swimming and looked up to see Luffy seemingly hovering above him. The captain had concerned creased within his face, but also a touch of humor. Zoro grinned back, happy to see the familiar face.

"Hmm, what makes you say that Captain?"

Luffy placed a finger on his chin and pretended to think on that for a while. "Other than the fact that you're swimming in the opposite direct of the island?"

In lack of any sort of rebuttal, Zoro stayed silent, which got a hearty laugh of the floating Captain above him. "Oh Zoro, I'm afraid if you ever learn geppo that you'll accidently fly off to the New World by mistake."

"Just point me in the right direction."

"As you wish. Make an 180-degree turn and that will put you on the right path," said Luffy as he ascended higher. "I'll come back to check on you in another two hours!"

Then the Captain shot off the air and rocketed back to dry land, disappearing in the low light. Zoro left out a huff and turned around, finally swimming in the right direction.

"Wait… did he mean my 180 or his 180?"


A/N: Don't over think it Zoro. Anyway, this chapter was my shortest in a while. I originally intended for Nami to be awake for at least part of the chapter, but it just didn't happen that way. What did you think about the training? Good? Bad?

Also, I mulled over the interaction between Nojiko and Luffy for a long time. I feel like she would be rather interested in the way Luffy – a supposed marine captain – would act, considering her mother was a marine as well. Speaking of the conversation, it seems Luffy has a few more secrets; one obviously being the Voice of All Things. Since Luffy has it in canon, I didn't think it was much of a stretch to say he developed it earlier to fill the void of human contact.

Surprise, surprise. Since the seriousness is on the back burner, there is an Omake this chapter. Rejoice!


Omake by: Gmann


Tobacco. Fluffy, delicious, wonderful tobacco. Its green leaves were made from the wings of fairies and its robust stock was a delight to the senses. The sweet smell it gave off was akin to adore a rose touched by an angel would smell of. It was what made the Earth turn, gave life to mankind, and insured the sun would rise in the East. It was a gift granted by God.

So why had God forsaken Sanji?

This was the main question that plastered the walls of Sanji's mind as he rushed from one side of the island to the other in search of a wild tobacco plant, a tray of cigarette butts, or anything really. He would literally take or do just about anything right now.

Delirious with withdraw symptoms, he tripped and fell into a puddle of water, body shivering despite it actually being quite warm. While picking himself up, the cook saw his reflection in the shimmering pool and it brought a bad taste him his mouth, and that wasn't just because he accidently swallowed some mud.

Get it together Sanji. This isn't you. Have some class about yourself. If a lady were to see you, they would probably think you were some sort of uncultured trash!

Lost in thought, Sanji didn't even hear the footsteps approaching him and did not acknowledge the presence until they made themselves known.

"Oi, cook."

The distressed chef looked up from the mud to see a familiar moss flavored swordsman. Sanji tried to speak but found that his teeth were chattering too much to do so. Zoro didn't seem to notice of care.

"Luffy found a carton of ciga-"

Before the sentence could be finished, Sanji was already halfway across the island, so caught up in the idea of sweet release that he didn't even realize he was using geppo and was running across the air. Within moments he touched down on the ship, looking around frantically for his captain.

"Sanji," a hand reached out and touched his shoulder softly but firmly. The blonde turned around to be greeted with the smiling faces of the crew. They slowly formed a circle around him, as if expecting him to attempt to flee.

Wait, why would they… oh no. NO, NO, NO, NO!

Luffy, the one with a hand on his shoulder, spoke once more. Uttering the sentence Sanji dreaded the most.

"Sanji, this is an intervention."


A/N: Shout out to anyone who gets the reference.