Maybe?

[plot heavy, with some fanservice. This chapter marks the point where I go off the rails in regard to following the original canon material]

Zoro trailed along about five feet behind Tashigi. From this position it was far easier to convince himself that he was seeing what was not there. Kuina had been twelve when she died. The woman in front of him might have the same body build, but Kuina had never had an ass like that, or those curves. Sure the hairstyle was the same, but there were likely a million girls with their hair cut like that. Then Tashigi turned to look at him, and all of Zoro’s certainty fled. That was Kuina’s face.

“We are here, Roronoa.”

Zoro pulled his eyes away from the vision from his past and looked past her to see that they had indeed arrived at the sword store.

********************************************************************

A half-hour later Zoro emerged from the store with two brand new swords. Yubashiri and the cursed blade, Sandai Kitetsu. Acquired at no cost to himself. It was all thanks to the sword otaku, Tashigi. The girl lived and breathed swords and had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the greatest swords in the world. It was her that had located Sandai Kitetsu in a barrel of discount swords.

But, it had been Zoro who had proved that he was the master of the cursed blade by gambling his arm by flipping the sword into the air and holding his arm under it as it rotated downward. If the edge had caught him it would have removed his arm like a hot knife through warm butter.

The owner of the store was just as much an otaku as Tashigi, and in his enthusiasm at getting to see a true master of the blade in action, and gifted Zoro with the cursed blade, and also with the store’s showpiece, Yubashiri, one of the fifty skilful grade swords.

Despite his luck in acquiring two first rate swords Zoro found himself unable to truly enjoy the moment. He was about to go his way, and Tashigi, who maybe was Kuina, would go hers. She was a marine, and she’d made no bones over how much she despised pirates. She knew him as a bounty hunter, and had been a bit leery of the ethics of the job. If she found out he was the first mate on a pirate ship she’d do her best to take his head, and Zoro wasn’t prepared to deal with that.

He had a feeling that unlike Nami arguing that his captain might call himself a pirate, but was nothing of the sort, would earn him no slack from her. Better for them to go their separate way.

“Would you like to come to my quarters, Roronoa?” Tashigi asked.

“Eh?” Zoro sweated and started to edge away. Without him being aware of it Tashigi had led them into a small alley away from the crowded street.

Tashigi moved in close and looked up at him. “You’re very skilled. Have you ever considered a career in the marines?” she asked.

Zoro let out a strangled squawk as Tashigi’s hand stroked across the front of his pants. His mind might have been on the verge of shutting down, but his body knew exactly what it wanted.

Zoro had been a very take it or leave it sort of guy as far as sex went. Other than the once a month or so need to depressurize his balls he hadn’t bothered to pursue tail, and was happy to make use of whatever public-use girls he might come across.

Now thanks to Ranma he had developed an actual fondness for the act. He had no trouble at all imagining Tashigi pressed down on a bed under his body as he fit as much of his oversized dick into her as she could handle, and maybe a bit more.

“My, you really are talented.” Tashigi said as she felt Zoro’s package swell. “I admire a man who knows how to use his sword. I just know you’d be a great marine.”

Zoro swallowed. To say he was tempted would be underselling it. He needed to prove to himself beyond a shadow of a doubt that the girl in front of him was not Kuina to rest easy. But, as much as the idea of taking her up on her offer, both of them, appealed to him, it would dishonor Kuina’s memory to deceive her lookalike. So far it was a matter of him not having mentioned his status, and her assuming based on information she had seen as a marine. If he let this go any further he would be actively deceiving her.

It would be a lot easier if he was a real pirate. Tashigi would find herself stuffed into a sack and carried on board the Going Merry to become Zoro’s personal bedwarmer for as long as he wanted, and she held out. He was actually tempted, but he knew Luffy would never go along with it. Proof once again that the rubber boy had a very distorted idea of what a pirate was. That was okay, Zoro liked him just the way he was. For one thing it kept him from giving into his darker impulses. No one knew better than he did the sort of demon he had inside himself. He didn’t want to become the sort of man that Kuina would have despised.

With a sigh of regret Zoro looked down at Tashigi while moving her hand away from his package. “I’d enjoy that interview, I’m sure. But I thought you told those two from before that you don’t fuck pirates.”

Tashigi's face screwed up in a puzzled frown, before turning enraged. Zoro barely parried her grab for Yubashiri, and her subsequent try for Wado Ichimonji’s hilt. “Give them to me! You’re not worthy of owning them!”

Zoro spun Tashigi around so her back was pressed against him and so he held her arms crossed in front of her belly. He easily controlled her wiggling body, and dodged the back

kicks she aimed at his shins. The feel of her ass rubbing against his front caused his cock to swell to his full size and press between the cleft in Tashigi’s ass.

“I suppose you’re going to drag me deeper into the alley and **** me now!” Tashigi snarled.

Inside his head Zoro firmly informed his libido that he was not that sort of man. To go by the way his cock throbbed at Tashigi’s words it wasn’t buying it. “Maybe. If I was that sort of pirate. But I’m not.” He growled down at the top of Tashigi’s head.

“All pirates are that sort of pirates. The name is synonymous with scum!” Tashigi bucked back at him, grinding her ass even harder into his groin. Her face was becoming a bit flushed and Zoro got a good look at it when she tried to drive the top of her head back into his face.

“How many pirates have you actually talked to?”

“None. They were all to busy telling me all the inventive ways they were going to **** me, and what sort of condition I was going to be in afterwards.” Tashigi said, her breath starting to come in gasps. “What about you. What interesting ways are you going to come up with to **** me. You’ll have to be inventive. I’ve heard them all.”

Zoro was starting to think that the girl was a little too into the idea of getting **** by an evil pirate. So much so that he rather stupidly said. “I don’t need to be inventive. I’m big enough and durable enough, that I don’t need anything else to turn you into a cum-drooling mess.” He then hastily added. “If I was that sort of pirate, which I’m not.”

“Liar! I can feel how much you want to violate me!” Tashigi retorted. Once against grinding herself back against his erection.

“Just because I want to doesn’t mean I’m going to do it!” Zoro answered back while thinking about how much he was going to need Ranma’s services once he got back to the ship. He was afraid that if he stuck around here much longer the girl was going to goad him into doing something he was really going to enjoy, but would regret for the rest of his life.

Zoro decided to play dirty. He snatched off Tashigi’s glasses, and stuffed them down the front of her pants before she could react. He then shoved her hard in the small of the back and sent her stumbling down the alley with her hand shoved down the front of her pants as she tried to fish out her glasses.

Zoro turned to leave, but not before calling out over his shoulder at the girl who maybe was his oldest friend in the world. “When you’re ready to think with something besides your cunt, try to imagine that the world is a bigger place than you know. Just because someone is labeled a pirate does not mean they’re the bad guy. Sometimes it just means someone with power really hates them.” Or they are an idiot, Zoro added silently in his own head.

***************************************************************************

It had been a productive day for Sanji. While shopping for supplies he’d been challenged to a cooking duel by a beautiful woman. It was Sanji’s policy to grant the wish, or need, of any female he encountered. Nami had desperately wanted to be punished, and Sanji had come up with a way to do so that would allow her to still retain her status in the crew.

This woman desperately wanted to cook in a head to head challenge with him. Normally there would have been no problem. As with all women he’d have been happy to give her exactly what she wanted. But he was not his own man. He had responsibilities to sweet Nami, and rambunctious Ranma. As a result he would have declined the offer if it had not been for the first prize. A very rare Elephant Tuna. A species of fish which was not native to the East blue. The chance to acquire such a rare and delicious ingredient was too much to resist. He had won of course. Now he and Usopp were lugging his prize back to the ship. The crew was going to eat good tonight. It went without saying that the prime fillets would be reserved for Nami and Ranma.

Sanji was knocked out of his daydream about how Nami-chan and Ranma-chan would thank him for the delicious food when Usopp, who was carrying the head of the fish, fifteen feet in front of Sanji, came to a sudden stop.

“Pardon me, Chef Sanji. If I might have a word.” Someone called out in a loud voice.

Sanji leaned over so he could look past the bulk of his prize. A man dressed in a black suit was blocking the road. He was a couple of inches shorter than Sanji, and about three hundred pounds heavier. He looked like he’d never met a meal he didn’t like, and always took seconds and thirds. In short he looked like Luffy would look if the rubber man had anything close to a normal metabolism. He wasn’t a concern. The dozen armed marines standing behind the obese man on the other hand could cause trouble. There was a risk his prize might end up damaged in a scuffle. That was simply not allowable.

Sanji stilled his emotions and let nothing show on his face. “I’m sorry. I need to get this fish back to my ship,” He apologized.

The man in black waved at a couple of his subordinates. “You two. Take Master Chef Sanji’s load off his hands. We have much to discuss, he and I.”

Sanji allowed the soldiers to take the burden from his shoulder. “Usopp. Why don’t you show these fine marines the way to our ship. Keep my prize on deck and keep its covering moist.”

The obese man turned to watch as his men carried the fish past him. “An Elephant Tuna. A delicacy indeed. But not rare. Not if you have the resources. My patron for instance can acquire one any time the urge takes him. Usually when he is throwing a party for the lower class. For himself he prefers to dine on true rarities.”

Sanji made a show of lighting up one of his herbal cigarettes. He took his time and only after drawing a large draft, and slowly blowing out a cloud of cleansing smoke did he speak. “And this concerns me, how?”

“There is an interesting competition that a group of Celestial Dragons hold among themselves. Not a cooking competition, more an ingredient contest. They compete among themselves to bring the rarest, hardest to find, living creature and serve it at their feast. One of a kind is preferred, but difficulty in acquiring is also a factor. They hold their banquet once a year. And the winner gets bragging rights until the next banquet.”

The fat man wiped his forehead with a clean handkerchief that one of his subordinates handed him. Sanji just stood there, waiting for him to get to the point. He had never heard of this contest, but he had heard of the Celestial Dragons. The world nobles who’s status trumped all laws and conventions. They were each a law unto themselves. Not because they were personally powerful. But because they were the peak of the world government. Laws simply did not apply to them. There every whim was met, and the most powerful men in the world shielded them from any repercussions. Making an enemy of a Celestial Dragon was the same as making an enemy of the entire world government.

The fat man had caught his breath and he continued to explain his presence. “In order to find the rarest of ingredients agents for each Celestial Dragon scours the globe. Bringing the existence of a candidate to their attention can reap a person great rewards. Actually presenting them with a candidate can make a man rich beyond the dreams of avarice.”

Sanji puffed out another cloud of smoke and then took his cigarette out of his mouth and repeated, “And this has to do with me, how?”

“As it happens, I have learned of a potential candidate. I was hoping you might be willing to aid me in acquiring it. I need to act quickly. There are already others who are aware of it and are taking steps to acquire it. People with more influence than I. Perhaps even an actual agent of one of the Celestial Dragons.”

“Why would I be interested in helping you? Why would you even want my help?”

“It is vital that this ingredient remain fresh and unspoiled. As a master chef you know the importance of unblemished ingredients in the preparation of the highest category of food. I can not risk this ingredient being soiled by unskilled hands. As well, there is a little matter of the current owner. He is disinclined to sell. But as the chef of a pirate ship that shouldn’t bother you.”

Sanji’s expression did not change an iota at the revelation the man knew his identity, and that of his nakama.

The fat man looked disappointed. Clearly he had expected Sanji to react to his bombshell. “Well, anyway. As to why you would help me. You sail on a tiny ship. The crew can be counted on the fingers of one hand. If this ingredient makes it to the banquet, I can see that you are the one to prepare it. If it is the winning ingredient you could find yourself the head cook of a celestial dragon. I’m sure you can imagine the status, the access to foodstuffs that would make your Elephant Tuna look like leftover sushi. A kitchen with every device you can think of. Legions of female assistants willing to do anything for you.”

Sanji was starting to figure things out. The man in front of him was a pissant. He had next to no power of his own. Just enough to use a squad of marines to lend himself the appearance of importance. Sanji was willing to bet that someone in the shadows was using him as a catspaw. Feeding him information he had no way to acquire on his own. For some reason this shadow could not openly acquire this ingredient. The chances of the lardball surviving if he actually acquired this mysterious ingredient were next to zero. The same went for Sanji. He had serious skills as a chef. That was clearly important to them. But they wanted him because he was a pirate chef. That told Sanji two things. There was something sketchy about this, and they wanted someone who’d be so blinded by the potential reward that they’d miss the knife at their back.

Plus, he had taken note of the look on the faces of several members of the marine squad who were backing this guy up. From the looks of disgust that showed up now and then they did not approve of the fat man, or his goal. That was a big red flag. This pissant was grasping at straws in the hope of making his dreams come true in one leap and he didn’t care who he stepped on to get there. Sanji was not inclined to be one of his stepladders.

“Sorry, not interested. No chef worth his salt would prepare a dish based solely on how rare an ingredient is. Garbage is garbage. It does not become better tasting if it is only one of a kind. And in the event it is a prime ingredient a true chef would do all in his power to make sure the species survived and increased so that he would have access to it in the future.”

The fat man turned red in fury. “You’ll regret that decision, pirate! Take him!” The last was directed by the marine squad.

Sanji went out of his way to take it easy on the marines who had shown disgust while the fat fool had been talking. While the ones who had happily followed him and obeyed, lost teeth, and gained broken jaws, the disgusted ones ended up with leg cramps due to carefully targeted kicks to their thighs. Making it easy for Sanji to run away.

As Sanji booked it down the street he really hoped that Usopp had kept his fish fresh. Because it looked like they’d be sailing a little short on supplies. If they sailed at all.

******************************************************************

Captain Smoker. Head of the LogueTown Marine base was feeling rather content. Though only those who knew him well would have been able to tell. What with him being afflicted with a resting pissed face.

He was in a good mood because he’d curb stomped the most recent pirate crew to make port, and had maintained his perfect record of not allowing a single pirate crew through. That was one less pirate crew heading into the grandline, or back out in the East Blue, which was even worse. At least the Grand Line had a habit of chewing up newbies before they could **** their way through some inoccent town.

A tiny glint of pleasure showed in his eyes as he spotted an old acquaintance, Daddy Masterson, better known as Daddy the father, walking down the street toward him, his young daughter perched on his shoulder, though she was really getting too old for that, she had to be eleven or twelve by now.

The young girl on the man’s shoulder waved so hard she threatened to lose her perch. “Uncle Smoker, when are you coming over for tea.”

If you looked at him just right you would have seen a corner of Smoker’s lip twitch. He was tempted to tell the girl who was crushing on him hard to ask him again when she turned eighteen. “Hello Carol. Maybe later. I’m on duty right now.” Smoker turned his attention to her father. “Ready to give up bounty hunting and return to being a Marine? It was a shame when we lost our best sniper.”

Masterson shook his head in the negative. “I wouldn't be able to spend as much time with Carol if I was a marine. Besides, I turn in more bounties to you than I ever did when I was restricted by marine regulations.”

For a minute it looked like Masterson would just pass on by with Carol, but then he paused and said. “I met Yasopp’s son an hour ago.”

Smoker’s eyes quirked in surprise. The equivalent of a full face fault from anyone else. Yasopp was the sniper for Red Hair Shanks. one of the four Yonko. That meant that Red Hair was one of the four most dangerous people in the world. Even a Marine admiral would have second thoughts before confronting Shanks head on. As such, anything or anyone related to him was to be taken seriously. Especially one of his inner circle.

“Yasopp’s son. What is he doing here? On his way to meet his father?”

“Only after he becomes a great warrior of the sea, to hear him tell it. Right now he’s a Strawhat Pirate.”

Smoker frowned. He pulled a wanted poster out of his pocket and looked at the broadly smiling boy wearing a straw hat front and center on it. In the background you could make out the back of another man.

“That’s Usopp in the background.” Masterson told Smoker.

“Thirty million is a lot of money. I’m surprised you didn’t take the boy down and use him as bait.”

“About that. I talked with the boy. He has his father’s skill, but he’s not a killer. He doesn’t even use a gun. He uses a slingshot if you can believe it. And he’s damned good with it. But I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute to leave Carol with him if circumstances warranted it.”

“He’s a pirate!” Smoker said, his tone indicating that Masterson was a fool.

“There’s that marine sensibility speaking up! I’ve met more than a few people who received that label because they got on the wrong side of someone with influence. You know that as well as I do. When was the last time you saw an East Blue pirate with a thirty-million dollar bounty?”

That was a fair point. Even Arlong, a truly nasty bit of work only had a bounty of seventeen million. But, Smoker had seen the aftermath of too many pirate attacks to let anyone wearing that label a free ride.

“Then he should turn himself in and get his name cleared,” even as Smoker said it he had to acknowledge that it wasn’t as easy as that. If Daddy was right and someone had it out for the kid, surrendering would only lead to a short trip to a shallow grave. Still he had his principles and as long as the boy wore that label he was an enemy combatant.

Smoker and Masterson parted ways, and the marine captain resumed his stroll through the streets, ignoring the way people cleared the way for him. It was the downside of being an authority figure.

The next interruption came in the form of his Master Chief. Tashigi was walking down the middle of the street, ranting. It was not her usual behavior and led Smoker to wonder who had tugged on her panties. He made a private bet that it had something to do with swords. It was a safe bet, just about the only time the girl wasn’t talking about swords was when her mouth was filled with his cock.

Tashigi was so caught up in her internal monologue that she almost ran into her superior. “Sorry sir!” she yelled, coming to full attention and snapping off a salute.

“At ease, Master Chief. What seems to be the problem.”

“I ran into the most frustrating man an hour ago, sir. You may have heard of the bounty hunter, Pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro?”

“Yes. By all accounts a formidable swordsman. He’s taken out a large number of small fry over the last couple of years. You met him?”

“Yes! But he’s no longer a bounty hunter. He’s a pirate. Only he claims he’s not really a pirate. As if I’d accept such a stupid claim. And to think I tried to recruit him for the marines.”

Smoker grunted. He was aware of how Tashigi recruited, and he was also aware of how picky she was. He wondered if she’d found out before or after her recruitment effort that he was a pirate. He knew better than to ask the girl who regularly swallowed his cock such a question. Her teeth were sharp. “Does he have a bounty?” Smoker asked. Without a bounty it was fairly easy for a pirate to slip back into normal life, or even become a marine. Even if they had a bounty there were more than a few that had gone on to become outstanding marines.

“No, not yet. But his captain does. A huge one. Roronoa claims his captain might call himself a pirate, but outside of the title he has no resemblance to the real thing. How can a man get a thirty million beri bounty without committing heinous acts?”

That was a good question. The bounty poster didn’t list any particular crimes, just the reward. Usually any pirate with that high a bounty would have a list of well known atrocities to his name. Smoker had never heard of this Monkey D. Luffy before seeing his poster. He wondered if Masterson was right. Had the boy rubbed someone with influence the wrong way. Smoker’s eyes suddenly widened and he ran that name through his mind again. “Oh fuck. Not another one!” he cursed out loud. He wondered if Garp had anything to do with this. The idea that someone who was not a pirate would claim to be one was a lot more believable.

“Sir, sir!” A voice called out and he spotted one of his privates limping up the street toward him. This time his mental bet was that this would have something to do with the Strawhat pirates.

He won. He was not happy about it. Indeed, he was feeling more than a little queasy.

“Tashigi. I need you to get back to the base and find Private Carrot. Stick to her like glue! Do not let her out of your sight.”

Tashigi had been listening in while Smoker’s man had given his report. At first she had no idea what the one had to do with private Carrot, and then a mental switch was flipped and she had to fight down her bile. Her face took on a grim appearance and she headed for the base, her face twisted in rage.

Smoker was about to head back to his office himself, when yet another one of his men trotted up. He gave a sigh, and asked. “And what has the strawhat crew done now?”

The private looked puzzled. “I don’t know sir. I was going to report that Buggy the Pirate has been spotted and he and his crew are converging on the execution platform. Apparently he is targeting a rubber man, if that makes any sense. Though now that you mention it I did hear some reference to someone Buggy called that fucking strawhat wearing bastard.”

“Of course you did.”

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Tashigi reached the kitchen and breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted Private Carrot. Safe and sound. Carrot belonged to the mink tribe. Despite the tribe’s name, they included dozens of humanoid furry species and not just minks. Carrot for instance was a rabbit mink.

Carrot had been born in the New World, but through an incredible chain of circumstances had ended up in LogueTown. Her natural physical attributes were far stronger than that of the average resident of the East Blue, combined with her naivety it was a dangerous combination. Captain Smoker had recruited her in part to mitigate the chances of someone taking advantage of her, and in part because she’d be an asset to his forces, and a disaster if some pirate got his hooks into her.

Her enlistment was not without some bumps. GIven her natural rabbity libido the position of cabin girl would have seemed natural, but that idea was soon dismissed after she put a half-dozen marines in the infirmary, simply due to overenthusiam on her part. Fortunately except for when she was in heat Carrot could take sex or leave it.

A partial solution was found in numbers and bondage. One marine would be lucky to walk away with his spine intact after a night with Carrot. A dozen, with some good stout rope could make her happy, and ensure they had a good time as well.

Tashigi was fond of the girl, more than fond. She’d put the girl up in her room until she’d been indoctrinated into the marine culture as well as could be expected. Carrot had no concept of personal boundaries and Tashigi had woken during the first night they roomed together to find Carrot had crawled into bed with her. Fortunately for Tashigi, and as a tribute to her own strength, Carrot was not as enthusiastic with female partners as she was with males. Mostly she just wanted to cuddle, intimately.

“Garchu, Tashigi!” Carrot caroled out as she dashed across the room and swept the taller girl up in a hug while rubbing her cheek against Tashigi to mark her as a friend. Minks were strong believers in Minkship, and never hesitated to get up close and personal with others, even minkless monkeys, which was how they regarded hairless humans.

Tashigi had long since given up trying to keep any sort of distance from Carrot and returned the hug, and it had nothing to do with how nice it was to snuggle up against the rabbit mink’s fur, or reach around and fondle her fluffy tail, or grope her ass.