So as the crew went their separate ways, Yukiko stuck with Luffy on his insistence.

These 'Noble Dragons' or whatever really sound like a bunch of prudes to Yukiko. Hachi explained to her group that they are so arrogant, that they were helmets over their heads so that they won't breathe the same air as the common people. On top of that, the Government lets them get away with anything just because their ancestors founded the World Government 800 years ago.

She did not like the sound of it. And from how the Pokeballs on her belt rattled, neither did her Pokémon.

She had to send Varian back through the PC and Pachi had to hide in her bag as a safety precaution.

"Anyhow," Hachi continued, "there are a few things to keep in mind. Like I said, the Sabaody Archipelago is the last stop on the way to the New World. Everyone passes through here: infamous pirates like you guys, the Marines, bounty hunters after pirates' heads, and human traffickers. Nyuu~! If the last thing catches you, they'll put you on the slave market, and the law won't help you, so don't go doing something that'll make you guys stick out like sore thumbs. The last you'd want is to get their attention. Nyuu~!"

After a while, Luffy, Hachi, Chopper, Brook, Yukiko and Pachi came to a place called Shakky's Rip-off Bar, where they were told the man that could do the coating would be.

"Is Rayleigh or Shakky here? Nyuu~!" he asked.

Inside the bar, there were a few men lying on the floor, and one of them was being held up by the collar by someone.

"I…I'll pay…" he choked out.

The man was being held up by a relatively tall and slim woman with short, black hair with two tufts pointing upwards at the sides. In her mouth was cigarette. She had a pink, cleavage revealing shirt with a big black spider on it, which was rather difficult to see due to the black jacket she wore over it, with the collar and cuffs being similar to a crow's wings, and light blue lines running down the sleeves. She also wore a yellow-beaded necklace, a pair of jeans that had a giraffe-spot pattern on them, and a belt with a white cardigan tied around it. She was also wearing white shoes and painted fingernails.

"Wow, she's tough." Yukiko commented.

"Welcome," said the woman as she turned to the group. "So, what'll you ha…" She trailed off when she saw Hachi. "Oh my…Hatchan! Is that really you?"

"Heh-heh-heh," Hachi chuckled. "Yeah. It's been a while, huh, Shakky? Nyuu~!"

"I'll say!" said the woman, now known as Shakky. "It's been about ten years! You kids make yourselves right at home.. I'll just be a sec. I was just about to rip these bastards off for some phony fees."

"Take your time," Hachi said.

Shakky grabbed the battered men and dragged them to the door.

"Please," she said, "feel free to never come, again!"

After kicking them out, she turned to the group.

"Well, aren't you and your friends the Strawhats?" Shakky as she stood up.

"You've heard of us?" asked Luffy.

"Oh, yeah," said Shakky as she headed behind the counter. "You guys are big talk, around these parts, plus I keep heavily informed."

"Wow!" Caimie said. "Luffy, you're one famous guy!"

"Especially Beast Master. I've heard the two of you are officially a couple, right?" Shakky asked.

"Yeah, still going strong." Yukiko nodded as Luffy hugged her on the side.

"I also read an article about what happened at Enies Lobby," Shakky said. "How much of it is true, exactly? Did you really decide to wage war against the World Government?"

"So?" Luffy questioned. "Talking about it's a pain in the ass, anyway."

Shakky chuckled as Luffy blew on his coffee.

"I see you don't like to brag," she said. "What a big man you are. Monkey D. Luffy…you have the same surname as Marine Vice-Admiral Garp."

"Oh!" Luffy said. "That's 'cause he's my gramps!"

"That would make sense as Rosella is your grandmother, you have the same surname. You know, those two used to chase me a lot, a long time ago."

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"Because," Hatchan began, "Shakky used to be a pirate."

"What? A pirate?" Luffy questioned. "No way! That's so cool!"

"That was 40 years ago," said Shakky. "I've washed my hands of it, now."

"40 years? No offense but you don't look like it." Yukiko smiled.

"A woman's biggest secret after all." Shakky chuckled.
"And no need to say it, Hatchan," said Shakky, cutting the octopus fishman off. "I know. I know everything. You and Camie came up here on land to help Monkey and his gang get their ship coated, am I right? In other words, you want to ask Rayleigh to coat their ship."

"That's right," said Hatchan. "You can read me like a book, Shakky. Nyuu~!"

"Well, I'm sorry to say that he isn't here, right now," said Shakky.

"Huh?" Luffy cried. "The specialist guy isn't here? But we wanna go to Fishman Island as soon as possible!"

"Well, he wouldn't really leave Sabaody," Shakky explained. "Maybe you ought to try looking for him at the bars and gambling halls."

"Why look?" asked Luffy. "If we wait for him here, he'll come back, right?"

"Yes…eventually," Shakky answered. "He's been gone for almost half a year."

"Half a year?" Luffy, Chopper, and Brook repeated in shock.

"I think he's got a girl somewhere and he's staying with her," said Shakky. "I'm not really all that worried about him, to be honest. Going for away for quite a spell is natural for a former pirate like him."

"He was a pirate, too?" Luffy questioned.

"Wow," Yukiko said as she pet Pachi.

"That's not good," said Brook. "Perhaps we should go look for him. Do you have any clue where he might be, Miss Shakky?"

"Yeah," Shakky answered. "He might be somewhere in Grove 1-29."

"Groves 1-29?" Chopper repeated before he remembered. "B…but that's the lawless part of the island!"

"He's notorious too," Shakky said. "He can't seem to relax anywhere the Marines are looking. However, when he's not in the lawless zone, he's usually hanging around Sabaody Park."

"The amusement park, right?" Luffy asked. "Let's go look there!"

"Yeah!" Chopper, Brook, and Camie cheered in agreement.

"CAIMIE!" Pappug snapped.

"Wherever you kids decide to go," said Shakky, "be careful. According to my contacts, counting you, there are now 12 pirates and one animal with bounties over 100 million on this island."

They all look in surprise.

"TWELVE PEOPLE AND ONE ANIMAL?" Chopper repeated in shock.

"Monkey, Nozumusachi, Pachi and Roronoa make four of them," said Shakky, "so there are nine others. When you reached the Grand Line, you chose one of the seven sea routes and followed your Log Pose all the way here, am I right?"

"Yeah," Luffy and Yukiko replied.

"The other pirates took the other six routes," Shakky continued, "and faced dangers as great as the ones you went through. Whatever routes you take, you end up hitting the Red Line, the halfway mark of your voyage. To get pass that wall, everyone gathers here at the Sabaody Archipelago. Although its crazy that the world's biggest rookie pirates all showed up here at the same time," said Shakky as she took a drag of her cigarette. "Kidd, Luffy, Yukiko, Pachi, Hawkins, Drake, Law…they are frequent names in the news."

"I don't read the paper," said Luffy. "Yukiko usually reads it to me." He said as Yukiko smiled.

Shakky chuckled.

"Information is a weapon," she said with a wink. "You should at least know the names of your rivals. After all, you and Nozumusachi tie in first with the highest bounty on your heads."

"Really?! Then who are the others?" Yukiko asked.
-----------
In a restaurant in Grove 24...

MUNCH! MUNCH! CHOMP! GULP! URRRRP! CHOMP! SMACK! GULP! KRASH! CLATTER! Someone was eating food in a rather noisy and messy manner.

"Good grief!"

"What an appetite!"

"Where does it all go?"

Tink! At a table nearby, a man had set his glass of wine down.

The man looked as though he were a Mafia boss. He had a stocky build. He sported an oiled-up, slicked back hairstyle, befitting that of a regular crime lord. He had a very stern look on his face, further accentuated by his rather sharp but hooking beak-like nose. Upon his upper lip was a five o'clock mustache stubble. He wore black-and-white pinstriped attire, as well as a green scarf around his neck, the excess of which was tucked inside his suit, making it look more like a cravat. On his fingers (excluding his thumbs) had expensive gold rings with precious stones mounted on them.

His name is Capone "Gang" Bege, a pirate from the West Blue. He is the captain of the Fire Tank Pirates with a bounty of 138,000,000 Berries.

"What a vulgar woman!" Capone said, disgusted, as he wiped his mouth. "She's making me lose my appetite! Someone go and shut her up!"

A tall young man came walking up to Capone.

"That's not a good idea, Father," he said. "We're close to Marine Headquarters. We might cause a scene."

Capone growled as he raised his fork up and prepared to stab into the table.

At the table next to him, the one who was eating with such horrible table manners was a woman. She was eating with such an appetite, it could put Luffy's to shame.

She had a slim build, in spite of how much she was eating. She also had long hair and purple eyes. Her attire consisted of a rather revealing white top that exposed part of her bottomless stomach, as well as a fair amount of her cleavage. She also wore a pair of orange-and-black striped buckled shorts with long, thin suspenders. She had a pair of black high-heeled boots which reached up to her calves with large laces coming from the openings, as well as a pair of hot pink and dark red stockings with a yellow sun-like motif on them. Atop her head, a sort of green hat that fold over in the middle with a lighter green lining. There was an anti-eyebrow and bright-red lipstick on her lips.

She is "Glutton" Jewelry Bonney, the captain of the Bonny Pirates from the South Blue with a bounty of 140,000,000 Berries, and right now she was munching on a leg of mutton in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other.

"Where the hell are my seconds?" Bonney yelled with her mouth full. "I'm still hungry!"

"The chefs are cooking as fast as they can, cap'n," said one of her men.

"Well they aren't fast enough!" Bonney spat. "I WANT MORE PIZZA!"

Not too far away, one of the waiters was being ganged up on by one of the pirates.

"Damn you!" the pirate cursed. "I ought to gut you like a trout!"

"No, please!" the waited said. "I-I'm sorry!"

Just then, one man raised his hand up in front of the pirate. The man was tall, with black, triangular markings on his eyebrows, red eyes, and long, golden yellow hair that reached down to his hips. He also had a black cross tattooed at the base of throat that was at the front of his neck.

His attire consisted of a pure white coat with a ruffled neckline and sleeves. He also had on a pair of purple trousers tucked inside black boots with laces on them, as well as a dark fur ornament made of fur circling around his toned stomach. Also, he wore a pink sash tied around his waist with a piece of jewelry dangling from it. He had dark gloves, and upon his left bicep, an armor-like armlet, which extended to cover his left shoulder. On his right, he carried a sword with an elaborate pommel that somewhat resembled a voodoo doll.

He is "Magician" Basil Hawkins, captain of the Hawkins Pirates from the North Blue with a bounty of 240,000,000 Berries. "Leave him be."

"But captain!" the pirate complained. "He got spaghetti on my clothes!"

"It was your fate," said Hawkins. "I apologize for my man almost killing you, sir. Killing will only bring us misfortune, today."

XXX

KABOOM! Outside, an explosion went off, and someone jumped away from the smoke.

Panicked people watched from afar, murmuring.

"What the hell's going on?"

"Looks like a fight just broke out!"

One of the people fighting was a man with incredibly long arms, his most distinguished features. He had two elbow joints instead of one on each arm. He also had a rather broad chest cavity. His lower jaw was somewhat wider than the upper half of his face. Besides these, some of his body parts and the objects adorned on him appeared to be music related, especially. They more resembled piano keys. His fighting stance looked like that of a DJ mixing music on a turntable.

He wore a set of headphones, and he had a hairstyle similar to that of Jabra of CP9, where the hair on his scalp has been pulled tightly so that the roots resembled lightning bolts. He also had one a red Chinese garb with the kanji for "music" or "sound" written in the center of a large flower-like print splayed across his chest area, as well on his back. Around his waist was a yellow sash and what appeared to be the design of a green rose on the front of his left shoulders.

This is "Roar of the Sea" Scratchmen Apoo of the Longarm Tribe in the Grand Line and the captain of the On-Air Pirates with a bounty of 198,000,000 Berries.

The man he was facing soon came out of the building with a rather sadistic look in his eyes. He was pale-skinned and muscular, with bright red flame-like hair and dark purple colored lips. His nose had a particular shape, being quite pointed and having little protrusions on both sides. He had black colored fingernails and no eyebrows.

He was dressed in a rather extravagant attire consisting of black pants covered in yellow spots, ending in pale red strips hanging over his boots. Around his waist was a powder blue sash under a green belt fastened by a large circular buckle with four-leaf clover-like pattern in the middle. He also had a slim bandolier, also with minuscule bolts that go diagonally over his right shoulder then ties to his waist, where he kept a with a Japanese-style and what looked like a flintlock pistol. He also had gold bracelets around both wrists.

He also donned a pair of studded, square-shaped goggles on his forehead, and a large, fur captain's coat dangling from his shoulders. The coat itself was adorned with spikes on its shoulders and sports two different colors of fur: the inside was a maroon color and the outside was a burnt umber. The collar of the coat was extremely flared and wide. He had his right arm in the right sleeve while the left sleeve remained empty.

Eustass "Captain" Kidd, the captain of the South Blue Kidd Pirates with a bounty of 315,000,000 Berries…less than Luffy's or Yukiko's.

"Apoo, stop!" said one of the On-Air Pirates.

"Boss, no!" cried one of the Kidd Pirates.

"If we're gonna fight," said Apoo, "then we should save it for the other side of the Red Line. All right? Don't you know how strong I am?"

"Then don't go gawking at me, you ugly bastard!" Kidd spat. "Maybe it'd be best if I kill you, now!"

XXX

Over in Grove 21, someone else was also causing a panic, and people were running as far away as they could get.

"Run! Mad Monk is going wild!"

Two men were seen fighting with each other, one big, the other small.

The big was huge, abundant in both height and width. His face resembled that of a smiling totem. He also has what appeared to be a stitched-scar vertically descending over and falling short just above his left eye. On his chin was a prominent, jet-black, scruffy beard that extended outwards to the sides of his jaw and then converges with his equally dark sideburns. He seems to sport the short and clean-cut hairstyle that is generally sported by monks. Upon his shoulder blades were a pair of feathered wings, which would be usually upon the backs of the Skypieans and Shandorans on Skypiea.

His attire consisted of a black robe under a khaki robe, including the white full-bodied garment with severed sleeves, which exposed his flame-like tattoos on his biceps. He also had on a pair of golden earrings, black gloves, and a rather large red beaded-necklace.

He is "Mad Monk" Urouge, captain of the Fallen Monk Pirates from Sky Island with a bounty of 108,000,00 Berries.

The man Urouge was attacking was lean and lanky. He had long, wild hair that reached down to his thighs.

He had on a plain, white-and-light-blue full-head helmet with many holes in it, which concealed his face, and what looked like headphones on both sides. He wore a black, long-sleeve shirt with white polka dots and an open collar that showed his chest, with blue pants that resembled those worn by Indians. He also had on a red sash around his waist.

In his hands were a pair of guards with two sickle blades attached to them.

His name is "Massacre Soldier" Killer, the first mate of Kidd with a bounty of 162,000,000 Berries.

WOOSH! SLAM! Urouge threw what appeared a huge iron pillar down at Killer, who jumped away to evade. Just when he was about to make his move as well…KLANG! A third man jumped in the way of the two men, using a quadruple-bladed axe to stop Urouge and a Marine saber to stop Killer.

The man was lean and muscular who wore what appeared to be a combination of a white-plumed cocked hat with a light orange symbol on the side and a mask over his eyes. Underneath his headgear, his hair was reddish-brown with brush-like sideburns. On his broad chin is a small X-shaped scar, and upon his chest was an even large "X" tattoo.

He wore armor on his relatively thin legs and arms consisting of knee-high boots and gloves that go up and passed his elbows. The openings to both the gloves and the boots were also secured by armor, which is rounded for the gloves and a sharp, maple leaf pattern for the boots. On the rest of his body, he also wore a pair of leather pants and a leather shirt. A belt with a large, ornately designed circular belt buckle secured his pants, as well as harbored the scabbard for his sword and axe to his waist. He also had on a black cape which, from the inside, was crimson colored with a white fur lining around the neck.

He is "Red Flag" X. Drake, the captain of the Drake Pirates from the North Blue with a bounty of 222,000,000 Berries.

"If you want to go wild......save it for the New World!" Drake spat.

"Hm, Drake!" Urouge said. "The fallen Marine officer!" He let out a thunderous laugh. "You should get down on your knees and thank Drake for your life, masked man!"

"Ah…do you guys have to stop, already? It was getting fun watching you guys go at it!"

Drake and his men looked to their right and saw another man, sitting down on a crate with a soft, rather mischievous smile playing across his lips.

He was a slim man of average height. As for his facial features, he had faint shadows right under both of his gray eyes. He had black hair, a majority of which was obscured, save for his equally dark sideburns on the sides of his face and his small black goatee, by the northern-style fur hat that he wore atop his head, which was white and had little brown speckles on the bottom and the rim.

He wore a yellow, black-sleeved hoodie jacket with a smiley-face marking on the chest with the sleeves rolled up. He also sported pair of jeans with odd markings on both the knee and ankle areas, similar to the ones on his hat, only darker in color, as well as a pair of dark, pointed shoes. He also sported a pair of small earrings on each ear.

On the revealed skin of his arms, he had some tribal tattoos. The ones that stuck out the most were the tattoos on his left hand: the letters spelling the word, "DEATH".

He also had a large nodachi sword. It had an oblong-shaped hand guard coated with soft white fur, sheathed in a black scabbard decorated but white crosses from the opening to the bottom, as well as a small red rope tied near its opening.

He is "Surgeon of Death" Trafalgar Law, captain of the Heart Pirates from the North Blue with a bounty of 200,000,000 Berries.

-----------
Back at Shakky's bar…

"Many pirates have flocked to the Grand Line but only a few make it this far, and those who do are considered exceptional. Someone among this lot may be the one who'll lead the next generation of pirates," said Shakky to the Straw Hats. "If this many rookies pour in all at once, the New World will be a sea of blood."

"The reason why your bounties are higher than Kidd's is because the Government has taken an intetest in her creatures and their abilities." Shakky started
"That's why I'll be cheering for you guys," she said.

Luffy just snickered and said, "Well, for now, I'm just having fun while I can, but if the town really is that dangerous, is the coating guy gonna be all right?"

"Oh, he's one of us, so he'll be just fine," said Shakky. "After all…he's a hundred times stronger than you."

'A hundred times......just who is this man?' Yukiko thought.
-------------
Plz comment!

We'll be meeting Rayleigh soon!

How do you think he'll react to Yukiko?