Eustass Kidd for Pirate King

The strawhats had been actively hunting slave ships for weeks now.

Luffy never had stopped turning a blind eye since they'd left Sabaody - but the call of the next island had really kept them from a more systematic approach to interrupting the slave trade reamant on the far half of the grand line. But when four of his own crew had disappeared without a word - it had sent him on a one crew mission to start tearing the system down.

Law and members of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet had come to Luffy's aid without hesitation, striking out among the waters to find his missing crew.

Law is the one that calls him, - his own crew coming across a shipwreck still burning on a sandbar - high centered on the ocean before a cluster of islands. most of the prisoners had fled to the surrounding islands upon luffy's arrival - what slaves survived the wreck having followed them into the trees.

help had begun to arrive from nearby islands - having seen the smoke on the horizon. ANd as the survivors are rounded up - it because all too clear what trade the slaves specialise in - children.

Weither for testing, labor or pleasure, they had a ship full of children when they crashed. and now the islands were filled with scared, lost children that didn't know where they where or why, and all wanting to go home.

This ship was just a transport for a much larger operation. and it seemed the man in charge of this shipment had escaped on a lifeboat long before anyone had caught on to the wreckage.

Luffy and co had joined the rescue mission, helping round up the scattered children for the locals - who had agreed to care for them until they're parents could be found. THey would have started regardless - but then someone had found Zoro's swords and Usopp's sling among the spoils of the wreckage. Jimbe and Franky remained with the ship and assisted the locals in turn as the rest of the crew ventured inland.

Chopper had been conversing with the local birds - sending them on a meandering path deep into the woods of the smaller island. The trees grew thicker here - harder to see and travers. without the local guides - they would have missed the small crack in the hill - hiding a thin sliver of cavern entrance. Luffy was looking at how to slim himself into it when a rock hit him in the face hard enough to dent his forehead. had he not been rubber - it may have done more serious damage.

as luffy fell back whining - chopper rushing forward to help - a second rock hit the dirt right at his feet.

"You can just keep on walking" a shaky voice called from the darkness, "because i have more where that came from, and my men are all ready to fire upon you."

nami raised a hand - shushing luffy and started into the dark. "Usopp?"

THere was a telling quiet, followed by low whispers. "My three thousand men have you surrounded," the voice said finally, "and they-"

Nami shoved Luffy, who was fine now, into brook, but staring at the crack with a confuned joy. "Usopp - it's us - are you okay? Are the others with you?"

more whispers, and then nami felt a crawl on her spin she'd come to associate with robin's spying. sure enough - when she stepped back to look around, she saw the eyes watching her from a nearby tree trunk. "Robin" she said with relief, "you're here too. Are you both okay?" she asked the eyes.

They looked at her in surprise, before dissolving away in petals. "Robin?"

Luffy had started to crawl to the cave again, but quieter and calmer. "Usopp? Robin? What's going on? are you okay? are sanji and zoro with you?"

A tinny voice carried in the stillness, "me?"

"Okay -" usopp said fanialy, "we're coming out - but you better not try anything!"

HE was softer in the face than nami remembered, face shaved smooth and the rags he was wearing making him look thin and small. ANd then Robin stepped out behind him - and Nami realised Usopped didn't look smaller - he was smaller. But nothing like the little girl that stepped out behind him.

Robin couldn't be more than 13 years old, wary and distrustful already in her young features. She cling to herself, but remained behind usopp - studying them.

"Robin?" luffy asked, his voice soft, "how'd you get so small?"

It wasn't the end of the surprises. "Usopp?" ask the small voice from the cave. In turn, Usopp looked torn on what to say, moving to put himself between luffy and the cave. Robin - studding chopper - touched Usopp's embow. "I think it's okay."

"Robin?" the voice called again, starting to sound worried. She turned and waved to the cave.

Two more people came out of the cave - to more children - even smaller than robin. "Hi" whispered the older of the two, to the strange ensamble, his blond hair shining bright in the sun. Sanji was younger than Robin by a few years, but it was nothing to the toddler he was carring. Zoro - assumed by the green hair - was small enough for Sanji to carry with ease, sitting on the boys hip and watching them with wide cureius golden eyes. "cò th'annta? " he could be heard softly asking sanij, who only shook his head slowly, never looking away from luffy.

How the slave ship had come to have so many children in his hold without more outrage clicked into place with a gut punch.

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chopper was able to break the tension - pointing out the late hour and that if they wanted to get to sunny before the sun set - they should start going now. Neither usopp or robin looked pleased to hear them talk about getting on another boat - but sanji and zoro didn't seem to mind - or at least understand. "I like ships" sanji said eventually. He'd set Zoro down after they've climbed out of the cave, and the newest youngest of their crew was entertain himself watching a line of ants while they had talked. Brooke had broken off from the group - he clearly uspself the children - except Zoro didn't seem to notice, and had just exclaimed, "Seall!" to him and the two had watched the ants together.

Once it was decided they would head to shore, Zoro had motioned he wanted Brooke to pick him up, and the Man could do little more than comply. it seemed his odd appearche didn't register at all to the tiny boy. IN turn, Robin seemed to have picked Chopper as her traveling companion. Nami carried Sanji - mildly amused by how unaffected he was by it - while Luffy and Usopp talked over this new change.

None of them knew anything about the Stawhats and their adventures together, Usopp admitting that one day he was visiting Kaya - and the next he was on a slave ship. Robin and Sanji confirmed something to that effect as well.

However - usopp hinted he had an unfortunate good idea how he'd come about the ship - as he seemed to remember being on it much longer than the other three. IT wasn't - he warned - something he wanted to discuss out in front of Sanji and Zoro. Robin had nodded - she might be young - but she was easily still the smartest one present - and clearly had some theories of her own.

Meeting Jimbie and Franky was an entirely new encounter - taking all four of the rescued starhats by surprise.

Even small - sanji was already quite skilled in the kitchen - when if he lacked the height or arm length to use the area effectively. Nami volunteered to stay with him and prep while the others gathered to discuss how this had happened. Brokke wandered in with Zoro not too long after, keeping the small boy entertained at the table. "I had my assumptions" he admitted, "with all the children. Usopp confirmed enough that i felt it was time i take my leave."

Nami wasn't sure she'd ever seen Brook quite so angry before, his bony features tempering his ill mood. He sat with Zoro, talking quietly to the boy. They'd hit a bump with their swordsman that no one had seen coming - a side of him they'd not expected.

He'd not grown up with any language they knew. and while he was good at picking up tone - he clearly did not understand a word being spoken to him. Nor did any of them understand him. So far - the boy's just shrugged it off. But as a toddler - a tantrum was just around the corner. and added in that there was a seveer communication issue building - it was only a matter of time until there was a melt down.

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Nam biodh agam fhìn de stòras

Dà dheis aodaich, paidhir bhrògan

Agus m'fhàradh bhith 'nam phòca

'Sann air Uibhist dheanainn seòladh

Brooke adjusted his playing to follow Zoro's soft metered speech - the boy reciting his song with a soft tapping of his hand on the table. It wasn't a shanty that Brooke was more versed in - but music was music, and the skeleton beammed to be able to share this with the tiny swordsman.

The words were still lost on him, but he recognized a work song when he heard one, and he listened carefully to the little boy's pronunciation. he'd clearly learned it from listening to others sing but