Don't Get in His Way

Straw Hats

The marine captain sniggered happily, tapping his fingers on his desk. He recently accomplished something that every marine wanted. Capturing a pirate with one of the highest bounties in the Grand Line. Oh, but not just any pirate.

He captured Straw-Hat Luffy. The Straw-Hat Luffy.

Just thinking about his achivement made his grin grow wider. He was surely going to get a high promotion after this. Fleet Admiral Akainu would be pleased, and maybe he'd make him into an Admiral!

The marine captain shook his head. That was just outrageous, too high of a feat. Even if he had captured one of the Four Emperors, becoming an Admiral overnight was impossible. Maybe...a Vice Admiral will do. The marine captain's smile came back and he unconsciously nodded. Yeah, that would do just fine.

Then, a knock on the door was heard. The captain broke out of his thinking phase and gave clearance to whovere had knocked to come in.

The doorknob slowly turned and a marine came inside. "Good afternoon, Captain." The marine closed the door and did a salute. "I have a report on Straw-Hat Luffy."

"Ah, our prisoner." The captain hummed. "Go on."

"Yes, Sir." The marine's posture straightened and he put his arm down. "The Sea-Stone cuffs are successfully weakening Straw-Hat. He didn't show any restraint in his cell."

The captain laughed. "Of course, he didn't! Those cuffs are one of the best Sea-Stone cuffs ever made. Not only does it weaken the Devil Fruit user, it slowly saps their energy as well."

"When will the Navy ship arrive to pick up Straw-Hat, Sir?" The marine asked. The captain hummed again, he almost forgot about that. He had contacted Headquarters about his successful capture and Akainu was sending a ship to take Straw-Hat to Impel Down, with Vice-Admiral Momonga in charge. The captain suppressed the urge to smile when he recalled hearing Akainu's "well done".

"Around five this evening. It would take them two hours to reach here from Headquarters." The captain informed. "Be on stand-by and make preparations for their arrival. We don't want to stain this base's name now, do we?"

"Certainly not, Sir!" The marine answered.

"Good. You're excused."

The marine's face showed hesitance. "Um, Sir? Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

The captain raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Is it okay to leave Straw-Hat by himself, without any guards? He has a bounty of five hundred million! If we underestimate him-"

The marine didn't get to finish his question when the captain laughed. "Oh, we're not underestimating him. You're right, he is very dangerous. That's why I ordered those cuffs. He has no way of escaping by himself, that's for sure."

The marine still looked skeptical, but he nodded anyway. "What should we do if Straw-Hat shows any resistance, Sir?"

"Knock some sense into him." The captain smirked. "Teach him who's in charge. Now go."

The marine nodded and gave the captain a final salute. "Yes, Sir. Pardon me." He said, opening the door and walking out of the office.

The captain leaned on his chair and let out a cold chuckle. "Your time's almost up, Straw-Hat."

-

A few hundred kilometers away, a pirate ship with the figure head of a lion sailed towards the direction of the base. The deck of the ship seemed empty and devoid of life, until the galley door suddenly slammed open and eight people slowly walked outside.