Sarah blocked another of Pearl’s strikes with her swords, neither combatant showing any sign of tiring. “You know,” he said, “A fight isn’t any fun if only one person puts effort into it,” Sarah remained silent, “You only use defensive strikes. Is that your strategy?”

“They say you can’t win if you can’t strike.” Sarah finally replied.

“You can’t win. I’m the Invincible Iron Wall! I’ve won 61 battles with no cuts. DO you understand? I’ve never lost blood in battle. Not even a drop. That’s how tough I am! I’m the shield man. And I’m handsome, too.” He winked, “You’re not so bad yourself.”

Sarah just grimaced, “Wow, I’m not sure if I should be flattered or creeped out.”

Pearl’s wink melted away, turning into a look of rage. “HOW DARE YOU!” He lunged at Sarah, “Pearl Present!”His fist plate smashed down, skimming Sarah’s face.

Kodji whistled, “That guy is screwed if Sarah doesn’t beat him first.

“Hey brat!” Krieg yelled, “I have a present for you! YOUR DEATH!” Krieg swung a gigantic mace on a chain at Kodji, who barely was able to jump out of the way. The mace kept on flying until it hit Pearl right in the back of the head, his face bumping into his elbow-shield. As he lifted his face from the metal disc, he saw the one thing he was afraid of. The dark red liquid that keeps you and me alive. Blood. Pearl’s eyes went wide and he started to clang his fists together, sparks coming off the two plates which ignited the fin as they fell onto the wood. “DANGER! DANGER!”

Sarah’s jaw dropped as she felt the heat engulf her. Not again! If I don’t beat this guy soon, the whole ship’s going to burn down! She then rushed Pearl, rhythmically slashing and stabbing at him. “I won’t let you burn the restaurant!”Her swords clashed with Pearl’s shields, and she had to pull back a couple times to stand the heat, but she was eventually able to give him a medium-sized cut across his left cheek.

“AAGHH!! HOW DARE YOU MARR MY PERFECT FACE!” He clanged his shields together once again, igniting his front, back, and elbow plates. “Full-Body Flaming Pearl Present!” He then jumped into the air and came crashing down as Sarah rolled out of the way.

“My god... if this guy hits me again, I’m dead.” Sarah gasped, breathing heavily.

Pearl kept charging, his arms flailing wildly in his rage. “You... stupid... WENCH!! Why don’t you die?”

Sarah slashed at Pearl, “Why? Because I have a reason... a reason to fight! To protect those who I love! My nakama!” she then held her swords out in front of her and circled Pearl waiting for an opening, eventually charging him, her katanas clanging against Pearl’s discs.

He punched Sarah, who flew through the air a few feet, then fell to the ground. “A reason, eh?” He spat on Sarah, “That’s what I think of your reason. Sarah strained to get up, her right knee having given out. Pearl trotted over to her, “Persistent little witch.” he smashed his fists together, with Sarah’s head in the middle, crushing her temples, blood leaking out. “Pearl Close!” Sarah stood up once again, the same look of persistence on her face.

“Ko...-ku..”

Pearl jumped up in the air and as he descended, he shifted around so that he was plummeting down head-first. “Now take this! My ultimate combo! Service Pearl Oxidized Silver Present!” He landed, crushing Sarah’s arm, causing her katana to fall out of her hand. “And now, Double Certain Pearl Present!” He screamed as he punched Sarah hard in the temple, her mouth gaping open in pain. He walked in the other direction, not looking back.”That’s what you get for defying the Pirate Armada...”

But as he walked he felt a hand tap him on the shoulder. He turned around to see Sarah, blood running down her face, her swords in her hands, her right hand fighting to grip one.

“You’re actually alive? You’re as persistent as that brat with the blond hair and the cigarette!”

“So you remember him now?”

Pearl snapped, a vein in his head popping out. YOU BRAT! YOU’RE DEAD! ULTRA NATURAL PEARL PRESENT!” Pearl ran as fast as he could at the blue-haired swordsman, who stood absolutely still, just looking down at her swords.

I need to remember what jii-san taught me... Focus your spirit into the blade. The katana is an extension of your soul... She looked up, preparing herself for Pearl, who kept running. When he was about two feet away from her, she swung her katanas in a circle, trapping Pearl in between as the blades cut him. “Nittoryuu: Fireflight!” Pearl’s metal discs broke in two pieces each, the cream colored gems falling to the deck. “Such pretty stones... if only they hadn’t been dirtied by you.” She sheathed the katanas and fell to the ground with a smile on her face.

Both Krieg and Kodji looked down at the result of the battle between Sarah and Pearl.

“My god... what an idiot.” Krieg muttered, “PEARL!! GET UP!! GET UP, DAMN YOU!!”

“Oi, Ou-teme. It’s no use. They’ve both been knocked out. Well, at least my side won.” Kodji turned to Krieg, “So, how big a of a handicap do you want? I’m thinking that I won’t use the six, or my fire. Sound good to you?”

Krieg ripped the left shoulderplate of his armor off, the skull on the center shifting so it looked like it was opening its mouth, a small bomb shooting out and exploding a few yards from Kodji, obscuring his vision, and breaking the fin into a few medium-sized pieces. The edges of the plate then shifted outward, revealing numerous holes, spaced like the numbers on a clock. “Nail Machine Gun!” Dozens of wooden stakes flew out of the metal plate, most of them were dodged by Kodji, although a few hit. He just kept running at Krieg, who grabbed his cape, flipping it over to reveal numerous spikes on the cape. “Let’s see if you’ll still punch after seeing this! Kenzan Mantle!“

Kodji just outstretched his fist as it was enveloped by lava, which immediately turned to stone. “Yougan Koukage!” Krieg’s body spiraled downward onto his chunk of the fin.”Come on... if that’s all you’ve got, then there was no point in me using my powers.” He said, jumping back onto his side of the fin.

Krieg jumped back up, his shoulderplate still facing forward. “Don’t get cocky, boy!” He slapped an expensive-looking gas mask on his face, causing all of them to jump into the water and put on their own gas masks, even the ones fighting Aden, Kirane, and Byakko, and the Baratie chefs retreated into the restaurant except for Sarah, who was still laying on the deck.

Kodji ran toward a cluster of men, swiping the four gas masks from their faces, and threw them to Byakko, “Byakko! Give three of those to Aden, Kirane, and Sarah! Just because she’s unconscious doesn’t mean she’s not breathing!” Now to find one for myself... But he unfortunately found that all of Krieg’s men were either knocked out or underwater.

“DEADLY POISON GAS BOMB: MH5!” Kodji heard Krieg yell as he fired a miniature cannonball with a small amount of purple gas flowing out of a hole in the back. Crap! The bomb exploded, leaving a violet cloud above the remains of the fin and everybody in it.

“Kirane-chan?”

“Yeah, Byakko, I’m alright, and NO, I'm not going out with you.”

“Crap! Aden, how about you?” he yelled as the mist began to clear, “A-Aden?” He saw that Aden no longer had his gas mask on, instead his hands were covering Kodji’s face, and they rose to show that his gas mask was now on Kodji’s face. Byakko ran up to Aden and grabbed his shirt, “What the hell? You could have died! What were you doing?”

“I was saving our captain, furball!” Aden retorted, triggering laughs from Kirane and Kodji, having taken off their masks.

“Nice one, Aden. Oh, and Byakko, lay off a bit. He’s a scorpion, remember?” He yelled as he ran off toward Krieg, who fired more stakes at Kodji. The stakes just went right through him thanks to his Devil Fruit, making hiks body turn to lava. “Heh, that it? Come on, there has to be something up your sleeve.” he said before giving Krieg a jump-kick to the face.

“THAT’S IT, BRAT!!” He yelled as he ripped his left shoulderplate off and attached it to the right one, a triangular blade growing out of the top and a staff coming out of the bottom. “THIS IS MY ULTIMATE WEAPON! THE MIGHTY BATTLE SPEAR!” He yelled as he swung it at Kodji, who kicked it in an attempt to block it, but to his surprise, an explosion ensued, knocking him head first into the fin. “A one-ton spear that explodes on contact! Do you honestly think you can stand up to this?”

Kodji just smirked, “Yep.” He charged again, kicking and punching the spear, regardless of the explosions. After a few minutes, he jumped back, snapping his fingers.

The spear broke to pieces, leaving only the staff, with Krieg throwing it into the sea. “Heh. Looks like your ultimate weapon’s just a chewed up pole.”

Well, if that didn’t piss Krieg off, we can say that nothing could, “YOU... DAMN... BRAT!! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF THE WORLD’S TERROR!! YOU’RE JUST A KID PLAYING AROUND LIKE LIFE’S JUST A GAME!! YOU’RE A NAÏVE PEST AND YOU’RE ABOUT TO LEARN YOUR PLACE IN THIS WORLD!” His armor then opened up in different spots to reveal multiple gun turrets, all shooting rapidly at Kodji, the bullets just sinking into his body.

“Damn. Those things are a real pain to get out, you know?” he said calmly, lava dripping off of his body then reforming until it resembled a faceless man with what looked like the wings of a falcon stemming from his upper back, and a sphere the size of his head was suspended between his outstretched arms. “Yougan Taiken: Ra No Tenraisan!” The figure flew up into the air and dove onto Krieg, whose silver-blue armor began to melt onto his body, bringing searing pain that made him scream in agony.

“IT HURTS! GIN! SOMEONE HELP ME! IT BURNS! AAGH!!” He glared at Kodji, “Y-YOU! I’LL BURY YOU ALIVE, YOU NAÏVE BRAT!

Kodji just walked the other way, “Tch. Screaming for an unconscious man and one who betrayed you? You’re pitiful.” he turned around and gave Krieg a piercing stare “And naïve? I wish. Welcome to hell. Loser.” And Kodji’s legs gave out as he began to pick the bullets out of his body.

The Next Day

Kodji, Byakko, Aden, Kirane, Sarah, and the rest of the Baratie staff were all sitting inside the restaurant, eating breakfast. “So, Krieg and his crew are gone and Gin left independently. So what am I forgetting?”Kodji said in between bites of pie.

Kirane slapped her forehead, “Hello? We came here for-“

”I know, I know, a chef. I was only kidding.”

“I’ll go!” Sarah yelled ecstatically, “I’ll go with you guys!!”

“No,” Kodji said flatly, “You’re not coming with us.”

“B-But… Kodji-kun…”

“No, Sarah!” Kodji said again, this time in a much sterner tone. “We’re not taking you and that’s final!” Sarah ran up the stairs into her room. “Wow… that was some of the hardest acting I’ve done in my life.” He looked at Zeff, Patty, Carne, and all of the other chefs, “Thanks for playing along you guys. I’d take Sarah with me, it’s just that if anything were to happen to her, or any of my nakama, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

“But she was able to beat Pearl!” One cook said.

“Yeah, but she almost died, too! You saw those bandages on her! Look, I’ve seen how strong some of the people in the Grand Line are. Zeff-dono, you know what I mean, right?”

“Mm-hm.” The moustached chef nodded, “But don’t underestimate Sarah. You and I both know she can take care of herself.”

“Kodji-kun… he’s right…” they heard a soft voice from the top of the stairs, on top of which was a curvy figure with a blue ponytail, and three swords, two to the side, and one attatched to her back. She was now wearing a white top with a denim skirt. “You also had a good reason to worry.” She pulled the katana strapped to her back out of its sheath and held it near Kodji.

“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you, Sarah-chan?” Kodji said as Sarah sheathed her katana and kissed Kodji on the cheek, both of their faces turning a deep shade of maroon.

“So I can go with you guys?” She asked, squeezing Kodji.

“On one condition.”

“Yeah?” She squeezed tighter, “Yeah?”

“Stop… squeezing… me!”

The Crimson Serpent sailed off into the distance with Sarah, their new chef on board. She sat on the side of her bed, looking at her katanas. Jii-san… Baa-chan... you raised me… I won’t disappoint you guys. Or my new nakama.

She then heard Kodji yell, “Oi, Sarah-chan! Come out here!”

As she stepped onto the deck Kodji ran out and gave her a white wooden flute. “Come on Sarah,” he said, “Play a song!”

She smiled, “Sure, why not?” She played a few notes and Kodji began to sing along followed by Aden, Byakko, and Kirane. Yeah… I’m going to like it here.

Translations and Explanations

Pearl Present- Pearl punches his enemy with the shield on one of his fists.

Full-Body Flaming Pearl Present- Pearl performs a flaming body slam.

Pearl Close- Pearl slams his left-hand and right-hand shields together on either side of his opponent's head.

Service Pearl Oxidized Silver Present- Pearl leaps into the air and lands head-first onto his opponent, crushing them using his helmet pearl and his weight.

Double Certain Pearl Present- When facing an opponent who's already sustained severe injuries, Pearl punches them very hard with his hand's shield to make sure they stay down.

Ultra Natural Pearl Present- Pearl throws a shield-punch similar to Pearl Present, only much harder. The joke behind the attack's name is that the stronger attack is named after a higher-value pearl.

Nittoryuu: Fireflight- Sarah's swords are swung in a circle, trapping the opponent in between the two while the blades cut them.

Ou-teme- Kodji's nickname for Krieg. It is japanese for "King Jerk".

Nail Machine Gun- Stakes Don Krieg fires out of his shoulderplate as a gatling gun, capable of skewering wood and flesh.

Kenzan Mantle- Don Krieg's cape can be flipped to reveal deadly spikes. It only really works with melee attackers (Don Krieg's Wootz Steel armor probably prevents him from feeling the spikes).

Yougan Koukage- Kodji forms a glove made of hardened lava around his right han dand punches the opponent. Japanese for "Lava Gauntlet".

Deadly Poison Gas Bomb: MH5- A bomb containing extremely potent deadly poison gas fired from Don Krieg's shoulderplates. It creates a very large cloud of poison upon contact, and the gas is usually fatal to those without a gasmask.

Yougan Taiken: Ra No Tenraisan- This is one of Kodji's strongest attacks that doesn't involve the Rokushiki. He forms a man with falcon wings and a sphere suspended between his arms made out of lava to attack the enemy. Kodji controls the figure with the sphere. This attack is named after the Egyptian sun god Ra. Japanese for "Lava Avatar: Ra the Divine Sun".

Sorry, No preview this time!