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Chapter Text

"What a waste of time." says Mihawk with a scoff as he puts his sword away.

He is standing in the middle of a battlefield surrounded by hundreds of dead or injured Marine soldiers including a Warlord of the Seas who is supposed to be a better swordsman than he is, at least now they won’t think it anymore.

They tried to lure him into an ambush to capture him once and for all, but they had no chance against him.

Not wanting to waste any more time with the Marine scums, he makes his way to his ship.

When he arrived at his raft-like ship, he saw something lying under a white sheet on his ship's mast.

Since he hadn't seen it on his ship before, he draws his sword and approaches it, when he notices small movements, he pulls the sheet to the side with his sword. What he saw underneath left him speechless.

Underneath the layer lies a sleeping baby. She was wearing a red bodysuit and some kind of domino mask with horns on her head. She was clutching a red sword in her arms, that was definitely to big for her.

Mihawk was surprised why a newborn was sleeping on his ship, but he was even more surprised by the sword. He kneels down and grabs the sword, but he had to struggle a little to free the sword from the baby's grasp.

When he holds the sword in his hands, he holds it next to his black sword. He could see at first glance that the sword is at least as powerful as his own, if not more powerful.

He notices three symbols that he recognizes as a wind, thunder and water symbols.

When he looks at the symbols more closely, a white light appears from the symbols, shining directly into his eyes.

He suddenly saw in his mind's eye a girl dressed in red, swinging through a city and fighting all sorts of monsters and enemies. He saw how the girl won one fight after another, until a moment when she defeats a kind of butterfly man and a girl in a fox outfit and sausage hair. When the two and another woman were led away by strangely dressed Marine soldiers, the sausage-haired girl managed to free herself, steal the gun from one of the soldiers and shoot the girl. She was then enveloped in a red light and appeared as a baby on Mihawk's ship.

Mihawk didn't know why, but he understood from the vision that the baby, who was still sleeping peacefully on his ship, was reborn as a baby in this world by a higher power.

He puts his sword away and puts the red sword on his ship, then carefully picks up the baby and looks at her closely.

He didn't know why, but he couldn't help but admire the little girl. After all, she has competed against numerous opponents and won every time, even when her life was taken so treacherously in the end. And if there is one thing he respects, it is fighting and winning against strong opponents.

However, when he looks at the baby like that, he doesn't know what to do with her. His first thought was to leav her with the Marine soldiers, but he immediately discarded that thought. His second thought was to leave her on the island, but he immediately rejected that idea too. His third thought was to find a family for her, but he found that to be time-consuming. He also thought it would be a shame if a girl with such a powerful sword fell into the hands of someone who didn't know what potential she had.

When he heard a whimper, he looked down at the baby, who slowly opened her eyes. The baby looked at Mihawk first before she smiled widely and laughed.

Without noticing, Mihawk started to smile.

After what felt like an eternity, he decided to take the baby with him and raise her himself, at least until he knew what he was doing with her.

He carefully wrapped the baby in a cloth and sailed with her to his island.

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Some time has passed since Mihawk took the baby in. He named her Marinette after the vision he saw on the day he took her in.

He took her to his castle on Kuraigana Island.

Fifteen years have passed since he took her in. After the first two years with her, he was more than overwhelmed because he is not used to taking care of a baby. Especially a baby with so much energy.

He quickly realized that she has a certain power that he cannot identify, she has powers that are similar to storms. At first he thought that it must be the power of a devil fruit, but he rejected that because when she was four she accidentally ran into the sea, and he realized that even though she has a power, she can swim.

Apart from the power, he noticed that for her age and size, at five years old she already knew how to handle a sword. So he decided to train her in sword fighting.

Day in and day out, he trained Marinette, which resulted in a father-daughter bond.

Although Mihawk only wanted to take Marinette in temporarily, he could no longer imagine his life without her.

Not only is she very good at sword fighting, but she is also a good cook, seamstress and inventor. What is most impressive, however, is the fact that the monkeys and gorillas on the island more than love Marinette, as if she was one of them. Marinette in return saw the monkeys not only as sparring partners, but also as friends and family members.

One day when Marinette turned seven, a bat flew into the castle with a letter for Mihawk. The letter said that he could become one of the warlords of the sea.

This was not the first time he received such a letter, but it was the first time he considered it. He actually planned to tear it up like always, but then he thought of Marinette.

What if he was ever defeated in battle? The Marines were not exactly known for sparing the child of a pirate.

So, for Marinette's safety, he decided to become one of the warlord so he could better protect her from the Marines.

When Marinette turned twelve, Mihawk sailed with her out to sea for the first time. He taught her how to sail and navigate the sea, but most of all he taught her how to survive on sea.

It wasn't long before they came across a pirate ship. Although Mihawk didn't feel like fighting anyone that day, he thought it would be a good opportunity to see how Marinette would deal with opponents other than monkeys. As he could see, the pirates were no serious opponents for his daughter, there wasn't even a good bounty on the pirate captain, only 5 thousands berries.

After Marinette defeated all the pirates, she and her father collected all their treasures. Since the pirates bounties were ridiculously low, they left the pirates unconscious on the ship.

As they were about to leave the pirate ship, Marinette noticed a beautiful sword in the hands of the unconscious pirate captain. Since she didn't want to leave such a sword in the hands of a scum, she decided to take it.

Later, when they were back home in the castle, Marinette was so fascinated by the new sword that Mihawk told her that the sword was a legendary sword. He then told Marinette the stories of all the swords. From the normal ones to the legendary swords.

Marinette was so fascinated by the stories of the swords, especially the legendary swords, that she decided to track down all the legendary swords and collect them.

After the incident with the pirates, Mihawk took his daughter on a few more missions where she would fight against stronger and more dangerous pirates. Although she was victorious every time, Mihawk could do nothing but feel worried.

During the raids, however, he was able to learn one thing, that his daughter is incredibly creative in each situation.

When Marinette turned fourteen, Mihawk decided to test Marinette. He sent her out to sea alone for the first time. He gave her the task of defeating pirates within three months and returning with a bounty of at least 100 million berries. He didn't care how many pirates she had to hunt for this.

Marinette was of course more than happy about the test and set sail straight away. On her journey, she defeated one pirate after another. She captured those with bounties on their heads and took them to the nearest marine bases to receive their bounties, and took the legendary swords that some of the defeated pirates had, as spoils of war, so to speak.

Apart from the pirates, she experienced a lot and learned new things on her journey. Among other things, she learned a lot about her red sword, as well as that she can use it as binoculars, with extremely long range and that her sword has a pocket dimension where she stored all treasures, bounties and swords.

Then after three months she returned to Kuraigana Island, where Mihawk and the monkeys were already waiting for her. Marinette showed them her loot with pride and a toothy smile. Three legendary swords, pirate treasures worth 150 million berries, bounties worth 200 million berries and then some wanted posters with a red cross over the pictures to show which pirates she had defeated.

Mihawk initially looks blankly at the captured loot. Then he examines the wanted posters.

Both Marinette and the monkeys wait tensely to hear what Mihawk has to say. After what felt like an eternity, Mihawk looks at Marinette, closes his eyes, smiles and nods, which in his language means "you passed the test."

Both Marinette and the apes cheer loudly. One of the largest gorillas lifts Marinette up onto his shoulders so everyone can see and cheer her, almost like a parade.

After the cheers slowly die down, Mihawk looks at Marinette, who is still sitting on the gorilla's shoulders. He says, "Since you passed the test, you can now aim for your goal."

"My goal?" Marinette asks confused as she climbs down from the gorilla.

Mihawk had to smile, "Your goal to travel the world and track down all the legendary swords."

Marinette perked up. She asked a little excitedly, "Do you think I'm ready?"

Mihawk replied, "Have I ever said something I didn't mean?"

Marinette beamed, wrapped her hands around Mihawk and said excitedly, "Thank you, Dad!"

Mihawk smiled gently at Marinette. He returned the hug.

At the sight, the monkeys also wanted to hug the two of them, but only one dark look from Mihawk was enough to keep their distance.

———————————————————————

When Marinette turned fifteen, she stood on a small boat, that was specially built for her. It looks similar like a house boat, only smaller. It is a red boat with black polka dots, that she named „Ladybug“. On the Sail some Kinde of ying yang symbol only with red instead of a white yang half. The material for her boat was from a Adam Tree.

She was about to set off on her journey to reach her destination. Both Mihawk and the monkeys stood on the shore to see her off. Some of the monkeys fought back tears, while others let their emotions flow.

As the boat slowly sails away, Marinette waves and calls out confidently, "Don't worry about me! I'll write to you regularly and tell you all about my adventures!"

While the monkeys look Marinette afterwards with tears in their eyes, Mihawk smiles after her with a gentle look. He didn't know what would happen to his daughter on her journey, but he is certain without a doubt that she will cope.

Chapter Text

Marinette was on the hunt. Not for a sea monster, but for a pirate ship that had escaped her a few hours ago.

It wasn't as if one of the crew members had sacrificed themself for the rest of the crew, or the pirate captain had weakened her. Rather, the pirate captain had sacrificed part of his crew as cannon fodder in order to escape with his destroyed ship and battered crew.

Since Marinette finds such behavior more than just disgusting, she pursues the pirates.

She uses her sword to look into the distance. After a short search, she found the ship docked at a floating restaurant. Miraculously, the pirate ship had not sunk yet.

Marinette saw the pirates taking on a few chefs and a bunch of rookie pirates, presumably to take over the restaurant as their new pirate ship.

Marinette saw that one of the rookie pirates must have eaten a devil fruit, as he could stretch his whole body.

Marinette shakes her head in disdain and makes "tsk" noises. She says to herself, "This Don Creek must be really desperate if he wants to steal a restaurant ship."

She puts away her sword and continues sailing towards her target.

———————————————————————
At the same time.

The battle raged on the floating restaurant Baratie as Don Krieg and his pirate crew attempted to capture the ship. The Baratie staff and the few Straw Hat Pirates fought bravely, but the sheer numbers and brutality of Don Krieg made it a tough fight.

Suddenly everything froze, as a menacing presence filled the air, and a small boat glided silently towards them. On it stood an imposing figure dressed in red and with a red sword on her back.

"Who is this person?" asked one of the Baratie's kitchen helpers in disbelief.

Zoro stepped forward determinedly and answered in a firm tone, "The ship is the Ladybug, and on it sails the daughter of the greatest swordsman in the world. She has defeated many strong swordsmen at a young age, including some Pirates with a very high bounty."

“But that’s just a small girl!“ exclaims a cook of the Baratie in disbelief.

Zoro with a sharp smile replies “Don’t underestimate her skills. It is said that her swordsmanship is on the same level as that of her father. If I defeat her, I will be able to face her father.“

Marinette jumped gracefully from her boat and landed lightly on the deck of the Baratie. Her gaze was cold and analytical as she surveyed the scene. The combatants paused, unsure of how to respond to this new threat.

One of Don Krieg’s pirates, who was standing on the wrecked ship, confronted Marinette. "Why did you destroy our ship?! Why are you chasing us?! What do you want from us?!" he shouted angrily.

Marinette, without looking directly at him, replied boredly, "I was looking for some entertainment."

The pirate angrily drew his gun and fired directly at Marinette. With a quick, elegant movement, Marinette effortlessly parried the bullet with her sword without showing any semblance of effort.

The crowd gasped in surprise and awe. Marinette let her gaze wander over those present, but she didn't seem to really pay attention to anyone until Zoro stood before her.

Zoro stepped firmly in front of Marinette and spoke in a firm tone. "I’m Roronoa Zoro, and I will defeat you then my goal to become the best swordsman in the world will get closer!"

Marinette finally looked directly at Zoro, a hint of interest in her eyes "You have courage." she said "Show me what you can do."

Zoro stood on the platform, his eyes fixed on the girl in front of him. Marinette, the daughter of the legendary Mihawk and an equally impressive swordswoman. She stood casually with her red sword over her shoulder. A smile crossed Marinette's lips when she saw Zoro's determined expression.

"I will defeat you and prove that I can take on your father." Zoro said with unwavering seriousness.

Marinette pulled her small cross sword from her necklace, a ridiculously small knife compared to Zoro's three swords. "Show me what you can do." she said calmly, her eyes practically piercing Zoro.

Zoro stared at the tiny sword, unable to believe she was serious.

"A toy? You're making fun of me!" Zoro exclaimed disdainfully.

Marinette smiled slightly. "Don't underestimate it. This toy could cost you your life."

The Straw Hat Pirates, the restaurant employees, and the Don Creek Pirates all stared at the two tensely. It's as if they had postponed their arguments until after the two had finished their sword fight.

Zoro attacked first, his three swords flashing in the sun as he charged at Marinette. He performed his techniques with incredible speed and precision, but Marinette effortlessly blocked every blow with her small cross sword. It was as if she was playing with a child, it was so easy for her to fend off Zoro's attacks.

"With this poor performance, you will never defeat me, and certainly not my father." Marinette said, her voice cold and contemptuous.

The pain of defeat began to burn in Zoro. With an angry cry, he launched himself into the next attack, his muscles tensing as he put all his strength and will into the attack. "Three swords style, Onigiri!" he shouted, slashing at Marinette with brutal force.

Marinette looked at him, almost bored, and parried the attack again with minimal effort. In a fluid, elegant movement, she countered, and her small dagger pierced Zoro's side. Blood spurted, and Zoro sank to his knees, the dagger still in his side.

"Why do you keep fighting when you know you're going to lose?" Marinette asked quietly, almost pityingly.

Zorro raised his head, his gaze burning with determination. "Because I made a promise," he said through gritted teeth. "I will never lose again."

"If that's the case." Marinette says. A brief smile played on Marinette's lips. She sheathed her small dagger and drew her red sword, preparing for the final blow. Zoro slowly stood up, his swords shaking in his hands, but his gaze was unbroken.

Marinette looked at him, almost proudly, and parried the attack again with minimal effort. A metallic clang filled the air as their swords collided. In a moment of pure power, she demonstrated her superiority, breaking two of Zoro's swords under the pressure.

The fragments flew through the air, and Zoro stared in disbelief at the remains of his weapons. His grip on the remaining sword tightened, but the shock and disappointment were clear in his eyes.

Zoro knew he had lost, so he sheathed his entire and broken sword and held out his hands.

At Marinette's questioning look, he says, "Scars on a swordsman's back are his greatest shame."

Marinette smiles gently, "You're right."

With a speed that Zoro couldn't keep up with, Marinette struck. A huge cut appeared in Zoro's chest, and he fell backwards into the water. The world seemed to stand still as he sank into the sea, the water turning red with his blood.

His friends and everyone else were more than shocked by the sight.

But then, in a final surge of will, Zoro resurfaced, panting and bleeding, but upright. "I promised never to lose again." he whispered before passing out.

Marinette stood at the edge of the platform and looked down at Zoro. "I hope we'll see each other again," she said quietly, turning to leave. But before she left, she paused and turned to him once more. "Keep training hard, because I won't let you fight my father until you defeated me."

The Straw Hat Pirates crew rushed to Zoro and pulled him out of the water.

As Marinette was about to get on her small boat, Don Krieg asked "Didn't you want to mess with me, or are you scared?"

Marinette tilted her head in his direction, which frightened both him and his pirate crew.

Marinette looked back at her boat and said in a bored tone, "I've lost interest somehow. Besides, your bounty isn't worth mentioning."

Don Krieg turned red with anger, but Marinette didn't care, she got on her boat and sailed away.

Chapter Text

Marinette docked in Loguetown to visit a good friend of hers at the Marine Base.

She was in an office at the Marine Base. She was sitting on a table and telling a story.

"And so I got another legendary sword in my possession." Marinette finished her story with a big smile.

"That's incredible." said a blue-haired girl excitedly as she held the legendary sword in her hands. It was a sword with a black handle and a yellow blade.

Marinette started to laugh when she said, "And the pirate I took it from only had a bounty of 12 million berries."

The girl tilted her head, "Do you mean the pirate you delivered here recently?"

"Exactly, Tashigi. I'm always amazed how such weak pirates can own such legendary swords."

Marinette and Tashigi have been friends since Marinette first went out alone. They met by chance in Loguetown when Marinette wanted to hand over some pirates to collect the bounty. Tashigi had just started in the Marines at the time and was of course more than thrilled that Marinette had already defeated so many pirates at that age. She was even more fascinated by Marinette's red sword, especially since she had never seen one like it before; it wasn't even pictured in her book. The two girls quickly started talking and got on very well with each other. They quickly realized that they had a lot in common, especially the urge to take all legendary swords from people who were unsuitable for them. Shortly afterwards, they began to categorize the legendary swords that Marinette had already collected. The fact that Marinette is the daughter of a warlord never deterred Tashigi.

Tashigi smiles enthusiastically "Say, Marinette, don't you want to consider joining the Marine?"

Marinette waves a hand in a dismissive way "We've already discussed this topic. The Marine would never accept the daughter of a pirate. Even if it's the daughter of a warlord of the seas."

Tashigi replies "That's a real shame. Someone with your skills and abilities would be a welcome change here."

Marinette puts her elbows on her knees and rests her head on her hands "You can say that out loud. Your subordinates are anything but talented swordsmen."

Tashigi giggles "I can neither deny nor confirm it."

Marinette smiles gently. She was about to say something about the poor performance of the Marine soldiers when she noticed something "Where are your glasses?"

Tashigi frowns "Some idiot destroyed them earlier." she points with her thumb to an not visible area of ​​the Marine base "To reimburse me for the cost of the new glasses, he is currently mopping the hallways."

Marinette started to laugh "That will teach him a lesson." she wipes away a tear as she says "Speaking of idiots, you'll never guess who I fought against last month."

"Who?" Tashigi asks curiously.

"Nobody in particular." Marinette replies in a calm tone "It was just the pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro."

Tashigi gasped "Roronoa Zoro! You fought against Roronoa Zoro?!" when Marinette nods she asks "What was he like? Are the rumors about him true?"

"To be honest, I think the rumors about him are greatly exaggerated." she picked up her red sword as she continued. "Not only did I destroy two of his three swords, but I also gave him a little souvenir at the end of our fight."

Tashigi was stunned for a second until she said with a wide smile, "Not even famous pirate hunters are safe from the great Marinette."

Marinette puffs her chest out and jokes "Were there ever any doubts?"

Then they both started to laugh heartily.

After the laughter died down Tashigi asks "What do you think, should we categorize this sword as well?"

"I'd be happy to." Marinette says with a gentle smile "But haven't you forgotten something?"

Tashigi gasped in shock "My sword! I completely forgot about it! I also need to get new glasses!”

Tashigi was about to run out of her office when she remembered something “But what about the legendary sword?”

Marinette waves it off “There’s time. After all, I plan to stay here for a few more days before I sail off.”

Tashigi was ready to walk out the door. She turns her head to Marinette and says “Just to be clear, I expect a mock battle before you leave.”

Marinette crossed her arms. She says with a toothy smile "Isn't that a given?"

Tashigi smiles gently and says goodbye as she runs out the door.

Marinette calls after her "Be careful not to stumble into the sword display again."

With Tashigi no longer there, Marinette had no reason to stay in the office. She opened a window and jumped out. She moved as fast as the wind from one roof to the next.

———————————————————————
A few minutes later.

Marinette was on her way to meet an old acquaintance. She thought that since she was already in town, she might as well pay him a visit.

She went into a small bar called Gold Roger Bar. As she walked into the bar, she called out happily, "Hey old man! I'm back!"

She stopped when, apart from the owner of the bar, Raoul, she saw a familiar face, the captain of the Marine base in Loguetown, Captain Smoker.

Both Raoul and Smoker looked in her direction.

Raoul said, "Long time no see, Marinette."

Marinette smiled kindly.

Marinette has known Raoul since her first visit to Loguetown. She happened to come to his bar because she read the name of the bar as she passed by. At first, Raoul was very grumpy and didn't want anything to do with Marinette, but since he reminded Marinette of someone, she wanted to at least have a conversation with him. One thing led to another and they exchanged stories. Raoul told her stories about the past pirates like Gold Roger, while Marinette told him about all the battles she had won. When he then found out that Mihawk was Marinette's father, he told her all kinds of stories about him when he was younger. A kind of grandfather-granddaughter relationship developed.

Smoker says in a grumpy tone "What are you doing here, you brat?"

Marinette ignores his question and says with a toothy smile "It's nice to see you again too, Smoky."

Unlike Raoul, Smoker doesn't have a good opinion of Marinette. He even tried to arrest her, but since she is not a pirate and has never broken the law, and is on top the daughter of a warlord of the seas, he could never arrest her.

Smoker gives her a dark look, which she ignores. She walks towards the bar and notices two glasses on the bar counter.

Marinette whistles in awe, "It looks like you had a customer." She side glanced at a large skull on a table as she added, "Someone other than Killer Giant."

Instead of replying, Raoul asks, "How about it, do you want the usual?"

Marinette sits down on a bar stool and replies with a wide smile, "You know it."

Smoker asks disinterestedly, "Aren't you too young to drink?"

When Raoul puts a full glass in front of her, she replies while holding the glass up, "It's fine, it's just orange juice."

As Marinette started drinking, a Marine soldier came into the bar and said, "Raoul, here's a new wanted poster, put it somewhere where everyone can see it."

Marinette thinks, ’Where do you put something in a bar where nobody is going into it?‘

When Smoker looks at the Marine soldier, the Marine soldier is startled. He salutes whereupon the wanted poster falls to the ground "Captain Smoker!"

When Smoker looks at the wanted poster in realization, Marinette becomes curious and climbs over his shoulder to see who is on the wanted poster.

When Marinette saw Luffy's face she started to laugh "Hard to believe that this clown has a bounty!" she wipes away a tear as she adds "But I must say, he got a pretty high bounty for his first one."

Smoker shakes Marinette off his shoulder and asks "You know him?"

Marinette sits back down on the bar stool as she replies "I only saw him once a month ago when he fought the pirate Don Krieg. But at that time he didn't have a bounty or legendary sword, so I left him and his crew alone."

Smoker says as he slams the wanted poster on the bar counter "Since you've seen him in action, who would you say would win in a fight. Me or him?"

Marinette took her glass and looked at the wanted poster as she said, "Monkey D. Luffy, at first glance, seems like a jumping jack, but after seeing him in action, I can say without a doubt that he has a strong will. From what I saw, he ate a devil fruit, a Paramecia if I'm not mistaken," she looked at Smoker, "While you ate a Logia devil fruit. From the standpoints, Monkey D. Luffy has no chance against you, especially since he doesn't look like he has mastered Haki."

"So you think he has no chance against me in a fight." concluded Smoker.

"In a fight, no, but you shouldn't underestimate his luck. He has plenty of it." replied Marinette while taking a sip of her orange juice.

"I'll remember that." replied Smoker with a sneer. He left the bar, as he knew exactly where Luffy was. Shortly afterwards, the Marine soldier also left the bar.

While the Marine members were gone, Marinette turned to Raoul and asked, "Do you have any new stories for me?"

Raoul then began to pour her a new glass and told her a story about the great pirates of the past.

When Raoul finished telling the story and Marinette wanted to ask him for another story, a few cloaked people appeared in the bar, including a beautiful woman. They sat down at tables.

Marinette whistles impressed, "It looks like today is a good day for you and your bar."

She finishes her glass of orange juice, then turns to Raoul and puts a pile of berries on the bar counter. Even though Raoul doesn't charge her for the drinks, he can't stop her from leaving a more than generous tip.

Marinette says, "I think I should go now and let you entertain your guests in peace, but I promise to come back here before I leave Loguetown."

Raoul accepted that and started serving his guests drinks, while Marinette took one last look at Luffy's wanted poster before leaving the bar.

When she was outside, she looked at the time on a pocket watch and thought to herself, 'It's too early to go back to the houseboat.'

She thought about what she could do for the rest of the day until her stomach started to growl.

Marinette decided to go out to eat something first and then she would see what she would do.

Chapter Text

Marinette was just leaving a restaurant and was about to go to her houseboat. It wasn't actually that late, but as clouds were starting to darken the sky, she decided to go to her houseboat for the day.

As she turned a corner, she noticed a commotion. Many people around her were running in the direction of the scaffold or away from it.

Marinette was more than surprised why the people were startled. She stopped a man and asked "What's all the commotion about?"

"Pirates! At the scaffold!" he shouted before running away.

"Pirates?" Marinette wondered. "Which pirates are so suicidal that they come to Captain Smoker's territory?"

Her curiosity aroused, she jumped high into the air and landed on a roof. She ran and jumped over roofs to see what was going on at the scaffold.

She stopped at a roof opposite the scaffold. Although she was far away from the scaffold, she had an overview of everything. Both civilians and pirates gathered in front of the scaffold, but what is particularly striking is how Luffy is tied up on top of the scaffold and Buggy the clown is standing over him with a sword.

Marinette really wonders how it all came to this, but she wonders even more where the Marines have gone.

Marinette sits down on the edge of the roof and takes her sword in her hand. She looks in the direction of the Marine base. Then she saw through her sword how Captain Smoker, Tashigi and some Marine soldiers are watching what is going on at the scaffold.

Just one look at Smoker and Marinette knew exactly what he was planning. He only plans to intervene once Buggy has executed Luffy, because Smoker is OK with a pirate killing another pirate. Although Marinette is not a fan of such methods, it is still Smoker's city and he has to see how he defends it himself.

When Marinette hears fighting sounds below her, she puts her sword away and watches what is going on. She saw Zoro and a blond man in a suit rushing forward and knocking aside all the pirates who stood in their way.

Marinette watched with anticipation. It was clear to her that the two wanted to save their captain, but she wasn't sure if they would make it in time. In any case, she kept her fingers crossed that they would manage to save their captain, but it looks like they won't manage it when Buggy swings his sword.

Marinette looks at the scaffold as Luffy says something to his friends with a big smile that Marinette couldn't hear because she wasn't within earshot. What she could see, however, was Luffy's big smile. She wonders how he could smile in a situation like this, when he was just seconds away from his death. Then she suddenly remembered a story that Raoul told her when they first met.

"Even at his execution, Gold Roger faced his death with his head held high and a big smile."

Marinette smiles gently. She says to herself, "I think I could be of some help to him."

She raised her right hand in the direction of the scaffold and snips with her fingers. At the exact second where Buggy almost beheaded Luffy with his sword, his sword and the scaffold were struck by a massive lightning bolt, destroying the entire scaffold.

Marinette scratched the back of her head in embarrassment as she said, "It looks like I overdid it a bit."

The pirates seemed to have panicked after Marinette's action and started attacking either the two Straw Hat Pirates or the crowd.

Since Marinette saw that the two Straw Hat Pirates could defend themselves, she did not help them and instead helped the crowd. Every time one of the Buggy Pirates comes near the civilians, Marinette snaps her fingers and creates more lightning bolts that strike in front of the pirates, scaring them away.

It was only now, when Luffy came laughing out of the rubble, that the Marine soldiers appeared. Marinette had to shake her head at their late arrival. She watched as the Straw Hat Pirates were pursued by a few Marine soldiers as they fled, while the rest of the Marine soldiers and Smoker took care of Buggy and his crew.

Since Marinette was sure that Buggy and his crew had no chance against Smoker, she pursued the Straw Hat Pirates over the rooftops, not because she wanted to fight them or stop them in any other way, but because she was more than curious to see if they would manage to escape from Loguetown.

It didn't take long before Marinette saw Tashigi blocking the Straw Hat Pirates path and challenging Zoro to a fight while the other two continued to run.

Marinette wanted to pursue Luffy above all, but she stayed on the roof and watched Tashigi and Zoro fight each other. Above all, she wanted to stay close in case Tashigi got into danger and she had to intervene quickly herself.

Marinette kept her fingers crossed for Tashigi, but by watching the fight she knew how the fight would end.

As Zoro stood victorious in front of Tashigi, Marinette mentally prepared herself to help her friend if Zoro was planning something, but things turned out differently when he and Tashigi started yelling at each other.

Marinette really didn't know what had gotten into the two of them, and since it didn't look like Tashigi was in any danger, she decided to follow the other Straw Hats.

She quickly ran across the rooftops towards them. She stopped on a rooftop when she saw Smoker and Luffy standing opposite each other.

"It looks like I got there in time to see Smoky and Luffy fighting each other." Marinette says to herself.

She sits down on the edge of the roof and looks down at the fight. While she was watching the fight, she decided not to help Luffy this time, not because she has anything against him, but because she has a feeling that his luck will somehow save him.

It wasn't long before Luffy was defeated by Smoker. He was lying defenseless under Smoker's feet. As Smoker tried to reach for his weapon on his back, a cloaked man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and prevented him from taking his weapon.

Marinette couldn't see the man's face, but she had a feeling that he would do something to save Luffy.

It took less than a minute after the man appeared that a huge storm appeared.

Marinette easily withstood the storm because of her own storm abilities. She watched as almost all of the pirates and marine soldiers were blown away by the storm, except for the cloaked man, who was probably responsible for this storm.

When the storm subsided, the marine soldiers who could still move began to run towards the shore to catch up with the Straw Hat Pirates. Marinette decided to follow them all, as her interest was piqued.

Arriving on the coast, Marinette sees the Straw Hat Pirates escaping on their ship in the middle of the storm, while the Marines stupidly watch after them or desperately try to shoot them with their guns. Then she notices the cloaked man standing on an elevated position and looking after the ship with great joy.

When Smoker confronts him, his words sounded very familiar to Marinette. Her eyes widen in realization, the man has a similar manner and way of speaking to her own father. Therefore, she came to the conclusion that he is probably the father of one of the Straw Hat Pirates, perhaps even from the captain.

When the man suddenly disappeared, Smoker gave the order to pursue the Straw Hat Pirates.

When all the Marine soldiers present, including Tashigi, wanted to carry out the order, most of the soldiers ran back to the Marine base to prepare everything, except for Tashigi. When she noticed Marinette, she ran to her.

When Tashigi stops in front of her she asks "What are you doing here, Marinette?"

"The same as you," Marinette replies. She points her thumbs towards the open sea "Watching the pirates escape."

Tashigi says as if it's obvious "You know, you could have helped us too. Then the pirates certainly wouldn't have escaped."

Marinette shrugged "I would have liked to, but Smoky told me in no uncertain terms on my first visit to Loguetown that I shouldn't interfere in the Marines affairs."

Tashigi deadpanned "And what about the lightning?"

Marinette laughed and winked at Tashigi. "What lightning?" she asked playfully, pretending not to think anything of it.

Tashigi raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "The lightning that struck at exactly the right moment to stop Buggy. It was pretty obvious, Marinette.”

Marinette began to walk around seemingly aimlessly, skillfully ignoring the question. “Did you know that Loguetown has really beautiful sunsets? I mean, when there isn’t a storm going on.” She turned to Tashigi and grinned. “Maybe we should watch one together.”

Tashigi shook her head and followed her. “That won’t work now. You know exactly what I mean. Your abilities…”

“Oh, Tashigi, sometimes strange things just happen. Nature can be pretty unpredictable.” Marinette shrugged her shoulders and put on an innocent face.

“Unpredictable, yes?” Tashigi looked at her piercingly “You know, Captain Smoker won’t be happy that you interfered. Even if you meant well.”

“I’m sure Smoky will survive. Besides, haven’t I really done anything bad? I mean, I only brought a little thunder and lightning." Marinette laughed softly and looked at Tashigi challengingly.

"You're impossible." Tashigi sighed and dropped her arms. "But still... thank you. Even if you don't want to admit it, you helped us and probably many others too."

Marinette winked again. "I have no idea what you're talking about. But you're welcome, I guess."

"Good." Tashigi took a step back. "I'm going to have to explain this to Captain Smoker. But be careful, Marinette. We may be friends, but we're on different sides."

Marinette nodded and her eyes became serious. "I know that. And I'll always be there to help when it's needed. No matter which side."

Suddenly they both heard footsteps behind them. They turned around and saw Captain Smoker walking towards them with two cigars in his mouth. His gaze was as cool and unyielding as ever.

"Brat," Smoker began without further ado, "you messed things up a lot today. But it was helpful. And you're right, I told you not to interfere. Still..." He paused and looked at her. "We could use someone like you on our side."

Marinette tilted her head and looked at him with a curious look. "You're asking me if I want to join the Marine?"

Smoker shook his head. "No, not exactly. But if you feel like it, you can accompany us on the hunt for the Straw Hat Pirates. You seem to have an interest in them, and we could use your skills."

Tashigi looked at Smoker in surprise, then at Marinette. "Captain, that's..."

"An exception," Smoker interrupted. "But a useful one. So, what do you say, brat?"

Marinette thought for a moment, then smiled broadly. "An offer from Smoky himself? I can hardly refuse that."

Smoker nodded contentedly. "Good. Then hurry up. We have no time to lose." He turned around and walked away with quick steps, followed by Tashigi, who gave Marinette a quick, grateful look.

Marinette watched them, her eyes sparkling with a thirst for adventure. She straightened her shoulders and picked up her sword. "Then let's see where this journey takes us." she murmured before following the two, ready for the next chapter of her journey.