The wind carried the scent of salt and adventure as the Going Merry no, Cassandra corrected herself, her small boat drifted toward the island. Orange Town lay ahead, its skyline dotted with colourful buildings and a looming circus-like tent in the distance.
Luffy stood at the bow, one foot raised dramatically. "Hey, Cassandra, look! A seagull we could eat!" he shouted, pointing at the bird gliding over the sea.
Before she could react, Luffy stretched his arm, grabbing the bird's leg and launching himself into the air. The bird was way bigger than he thought, so instead of pulling it to him, he shot up.
"Luffy! What the hell are you doing?!" Cassandra called, watching him disappear into the sky.
Her captain was a force of nature and she was already learning not to question his antics. Sighing, she adjusted her ponytail and directed the boat toward shore, figuring she'd meet him in town.
Cassandra walked through the streets of Orange Town, taking in the eerie silence. Something was off. The place should have been bustling with life, yet all she saw were broken windows, abandoned stalls and signs of destruction. Than she remembered that the town was currently under siege from the Buggy pirates and she got excited, when she remembered who she will meet here.
As she turned a corner, voices reached her ears. A group of scruffy-looking pirates stood in a circle around a large iron cage. Inside it sat a young woman with vibrant orange hair, her arms crossed, wearing a white-and-blue striped shirt and short skirt.
"Well, well," Cassandra muttered, grinning. "If that isn't Nami."
One of the pirates kicked the cage. "You should've thought twice before stealing from Buggy-sama, girl!"
"I did think twice," Nami shot back with a smirk. "I just thought you all were idiots."
Cassandra chuckled. Bold. She liked that.
"Oi, boys," she called, cracking her knuckles. "How about you let the lady go?"
The pirates spun around, weapons raised. "Who the hell are you?!"
Cassandra sighed and unsheathed Wado Ichimonji. "Just a passing bounty hunter… eh I mean vice-captain of the Straw Hat Pirates."
Before they could react, she moved. A blur of steel, a rush of wind and in an instant, the pirates were on the ground, groaning in pain. Cassandra rested Wado Ichimonji on her shoulder, smirking. She didn't want to seem like a heartless killer and scare Nami away from her, so she let them live.
Nami blinked. "That was… fast."
Cassandra stepped up to the cage. "Nice to meet you, Nami. Big fan of yours."
Nami raised an eyebrow. "You're a pirate and you know me?"
"Oh, I know all about you," Cassandra said teasingly, bending down to unlock the cage. "Your skills, your… assets." As nami got out of the cage, she couldn't react fast enough, when Cassandra reached from behind and cupped her breasts, giving them a playful squeeze. "You've got a lot of potential here, you know?"
Nami turned red and smacked Cassandra away. "H-Hands off, you pervert!"
Cassandra laughed. "Couldn't resist."
Before Nami could retort or ask why this pervert knew her, a shadow appeared looming over them.
"Well, well. What do we have here?"
Cassandra turned to see Buggy the Clown standing atop a pile of rubble, his bright red nose and wild grin as ridiculous as she remembered. Beside him stood Mohji with his massive lion Richie and Cabaji balancing on his unicycle, spinning his sword.
"Looks like we've got some pests to exterminate," Buggy sneered.
"Luffy should be showing up any second now," Cassandra mused.
Right on cue, a loud crash echoed through the town as Luffy landed dramatically in the middle of the battlefield.
"Whoa, that was fun!" Luffy grinned. "Hey, Cassandra! Who's the girl and the big red nose guy?"
"Name's Nami," she replied, still watching Buggy's crew. "She's coming with us."
"I will never sail with you, I hate all pirates." Nami shouted her eyes beaming with anger. Ahh so typical for her, Cassandra thought.
"You think, you can steal from me and just get away scot free and who do you call big red nose guy you rude brat? I will show you the might of Buggy the clown," Buggy said his face red from the insult.
Buggy started a monologue about their audacity and how strong and feared his crew is. He was really pissed, because Luffy brought up the nose. Cassandra rolled her eyes and thought big mistake idiot as her swords flew towards him. Rule one against villains, strike while they hold a monologue. Works like a charm all the time every time.
But Cassandra forgot one crucial thing. Buggy wasn't a normal human.
Her attacks did nothing and went right through Buggy, leaving his torso floating in the air.
"Hey who do you think you are, interrupting my speech you insolent brat." Buggy said fuming.
Cassandras eyes went wide. She completly forgot that Buggy accidently ate the Bara Bara no Mi the Chop Chop Fruit. He had the power to split his body into parts and control them. Buggy was immune against swords.
Cassandra was dumbfounded at her own stupidity. She just turned to Luffy and said,"I think you should handle this clown."
Luffy cracked his knuckles and grinned saying "On it."
Cassandra turned to the rest of Buggy's crew and dashed forward. The Wado Ichimonji meeting Cabaji's spinning sword in a shower of sparks. He flipped backward, slashing down with a powerful strike, but she caught it easily with her blade.
"Fast," she admitted. "But not fast enough."
She flicked her wrist, sending his blade off-course, and with a swift slice, cut his beloved unicycle.
Mohji and his lion charged.
Cassandra leaped over the lion's swipe, landing gracefully before launching a Kaze no Ikari toward Mohji. Wind energy exploded from Wado Ichimonji, cutting through the air. The attack sent Mohji flying, leaving only the lion to deal with.
It roared and lunged, fangs bared. Cassandra dodged, then just decapitated Richie. His head fell to the ground shocking the other crew members.
The rest saw the strongest crew members get utterly beaten and started to run away, carrying their the fallen to safety. They only left the big lion.
The fight was over in seconds.
Cassandra turned around to see Nami holding down Buggy's limbs, tying them up with a rope while Luffy stretched both of his arms back as wide as he could. With a final Gomu Gomu no Bazooka, Luffy sent Buggy soaring into the sky.
Cassandra crossed her arms. "Well, that was way to easy." To be honest not alot of people were remotely a challenge for Cassandra and Luffy in the East Blue.
The townspeople cheered at their victory… until they realized they were pirates.
"Get out of here!" an old man shouted.
"But we just saved you!" Luffy complained.
"They won't change their minds," Cassandra sighed, grabbing a bag of treasure Nami gathered before. "Let's go."
Nami shouted. "Take all the treasure!"
"Luffy, you're not giving it back, are you?" Cassandra asked.
Luffy grinned. "I only need some food!" He tossed a portion of the treasure back to the townspeople.
Nami groaned. "You're the worst," she said and started to beat Luffy up with tears in her eyes.
Cassandra laughed, wrapping an arm around Nami's shoulders. "You'll get used to it."
As they set sail, Cassandra leaned back, watching the horizon. She had claimed another treasure, she would never let go today. It wasn't gold but something even more valuable.
The first steps of the Straw Hat crew were forming and she couldn't wait to see what happened next.