A few days later; Loguetown, Marine Base, Smoker's Office;

“Captain Smoker, good you're back from your patrol, the new bounty posters have arrived”, reported a female secretary while holding a bundle of papers. She handed them over and waited for her superiors reaction.

“Did HQ also send Intel on them?”, gruffed the smoking man. He flicked through the bounties lazily. Some wannabe big shot named Pogro has gotten a bounty of 3 million and another raise in the bounty of Waldo the Hidden.

“Yes Sir, the last three bounties are new and of special importance. It's saddening that three so young turned to piracy”, said the secretary with a sad frown. She was always saddened when people strayed from the path of good.

Smoker jumped to the last three posters and looked first at the grinning head of a boy with a straw hat. “Straw Hat, Monkey D. Luffy a bounty of 30 million. He defeated Arlong, Don Krieg and Buggy, strong for someone this small”, he spoke out loud and read the notes attached to the bounty.

“So he ate a Devil Fruit that turns his body into rubber? Interesting. Has Tashigi seen these yet?”.

“Officer Tashigi is patrolling the town, Sir, she won't be back before 1 pm,” answered the woman dutifully.

“The next is True Shot Lia? Isn't that the long-ear-human that was here a few weeks ago? She killed half a dozen Marine soldiers and stole a Marine ship? No hesitation to kill and a bounty of 12 million.

Her choice of weapon is throwing pebbles? She is throwing them at her enemies with deadly force and extremely high accuracy. Her victims mostly died by a head shot between the eyes? A strange fighting style, but seems to be effective. No known Devil Fruit.

And lastly her sister, Slicer Lara with a bounty of 25 million. What's with these nicknames? Hmm, extremely skilled with the sword, that's true.

Reported to have killed a Marine captain and helping in the defeat of Arlong. Her choice of weapon is a highly decorated sword and she is able to cut people with a swish of her finger?

A skilled Rankyaku user or a Devil Fruit? Most likely the last one.

Well, they won't stay in the East Blue for long. Those two are stronger than what their bounties hint at. And this Monkey D Luffy is sure to be as well. Nonetheless, they won't pass me.

Alice, I'll be out for a walk”. Smoker put the bounty posters down and stood up. He lighted three cigars and walked past the saluting secretary.

At the same time, Lara's POV;

We have reached Loguetown this morning and were coming down from the ship.“Jonny, please give the Marines the docking taxes”. He nodded once and jogged over to the Marines that were on their way to us.

I'm gonna let Jonny and Yosaku do the interactions with the Marines, they aren't known to them. And by now the Marines should have reacted to me and Lia stealing one of their ships and killing a captain of them. Sure, the Shadow is still somewhat recognisable as a marine ship, but only for those who look closely. The smaller Marine ships are not so different from other ships of their classification. And our new paint job makes it really different from those normal Marine ships.

We also don't have a Jolly Roger, at least not yet. Yosaku is painting one in his free time, one of his hobbies is art. The things he showed us so far were pretty good.

The crew insists on us being pirates. I didn't agree, we are not into piracy, but it seems like the world of One Piece has a different definition of what a pirate is.

Anyway, I haven't seen the Going Merry, so the Straw Hats are not here yet. They haven't passed Loguetown yet, Smoker's ship is still here. It has his name printed on the main sail.

“They said we can stay for the whole day”, reported Jonny once he was back.

“Good, then let's meet again in four hours. This should be enough to buy anything we want,” I announced. Jonny and Yosaku followed me to the shopping district where we want to buy them a sword. Lia was going to the market. Nojiko and Jo were going together to buy their things.

We asked a local for a good weapons shop. According to him, the weapons shop named Arms Shop has the best weapons. We found it a few minutes later. It was the same shop Zoro will visit to buy his two swords.

“Morning,” we greeted while stepping inside.

“Good morning, oh it's Lia”, came back to us. It wasn't the owner, but Tashigi. She was standing in front of the counter with the owner on the other side.

“I'm LaraTashigi, how are you doing?”, I told her and walked over to her. The boys were already browsing the different swords.

“Sorry, Lara it is. I'm good, and you? I see you've found a new sword, may I see it?”, she replied with a smile and gestured at my sword.

“Sure,” I unstrapped my sword and handed it over to her. The owner was now also looking interested.

“Its sheath is beautiful, what fine carvings. Almost as if the dragon was alive”, she remarked in awe.

She then pulled the blade out of its sheath and sucked in a deep breath of awe.

“This blade, it's remarkable. I have never seen such fine craftsmanship”.

The owner was also looking at the sword with wide eyes. “Tell me, Miss, what is the name of this sword”, he asked.

“Haven't decided yet, I thought of Lunare maybe. But am not fully sure”, I answered. Tashigi was now inspecting the red glowing markings on the blade itself.

“Haven't decided? You can't just rename a blade as you wish, especially not a sword such as this.” He looked angrily at me and Tashigi nodded along, just without the anger.

“Why shouldn't I be allowed to name the sword I have made?”, I asked back. He looked at me for a long moment and said nothing until his eyes fell on my ears for the first time.

“You're this blade blacksmith that came here a few weeks ago!”, he then shouted and pointed his finger at me. I nodded in confirmation. Tashigi was now looking confused but also in awe of me.

“Let me buy this sword, I will give you 300.000 for it. For an unknown blacksmith this is really much”, he offered. I could only scoff. 300.000 wouldn't even be enough to buy the wood of its sheath.

“No thanks, the raw materials alone are way more expensive than that”, I answered and took my sword back from Tashigi.

“How much did they cost if I may ask?”, asked Tashigi from the side.

“They are not possible to buy, and extremely rare, so I can't say for sure. But the metal alone would be far more than 300.000”, I told her.

“But you sure are surprising Lara, a fine sword swords woman and blacksmith on top of that. We could need someone as skilled as you in the Marines”, she praised me with a happy smile.

“No thanks, the Marines are too much on following orders at all costs for me. I'm fine as a traveller”, I shot her unspoken offer down. Jonny and Yosaku, who have listened in on the conversation were stiffening when they heard her speaking about the Marines with such a high opinion.

“Too bad then”, she didn't press anymore and looked at her watch. “Oh, I must go back on my patrol. I'll be back later to fetch my sword”, she hurriedly said to the owner and then rushed out of the shop. Only to trip at the doorway and fall down.

We stared at her lying body for a moment before she stood up with a pained groan. She looked back at us with teary eyes and then left in a fast walk and with a red head.

“Sis Lara, I think I found something”, called Yosaku suddenly from next to a sword that was displayed on the wall. It was a long sword with a broad blade. It had the design of a bastard sword with some decorations at the handle and guard.

“Let me see,” I said and picked the sword up. Now, normal swords weight mostly less than 2 kilograms, but the people in One Piece can become monstrously strong. And this weapon shows this. I estimate the weight to be between 20 or 30 kilograms. By far not something truly heavy for anything from the Grand Line, but for the East Blue? It was heavy beyond most.

The weapon itself was also in good conditions. If it's used correctly and well maintained it will last some time. “It's good enough, you still need a better one, but it will manage.” I gave him the sword and he grabbed it with both hands.

“It's heavy but feels right. I like the weight it puts on me”, he said while switching from two hands to one. It's a one and a half hander, so both will be possible with enough training. Luckily I still have some memories of using such a weapon. By far not enough to be called a master, but enough to help him create his own style. Shadow clones are such a handy thing.

“Let's see, it costs 150.000, what do you say?”, he asked after reading the price tag.

“Princely, especially if you consider that most won't be able to use it.” I took the weapon out of his hands and walked to the counter.

“It's written that this one costs 150.000. Isn't that too much for a sword that most won't be able to use without special training? What about 100.000?”, I offered and placed the sword down.

“See miss, this sword is made out of fine steel and will last long for anyone using it. Such a durability comes with a price. 150.000 is reasonable enough”, he countered.

“But again, almost no one would buy it. I'll tell you what, we will buy it for 110.000.”

“No, 110.000 is way too little. But you are right, it is hanging here now for some time. Let's say 140.000”, he offered in return.

“140.000? You have to take into account that this sword is only made out of basic materials. I'd say it did cost not more than 50.000 to make. Add the same amount of the manufacturing and you get 100.000. Anything more is profit on your side. Let's say 125.000 if it costs more we won't buy”, I returned and patted sheath of the blade.

“Fine, but you won't get a discount for his blade”, grumbled the owner and pointed at Jonny who was bringing a Katana over to us.

“I'd like to have this one”, he said and gave me the weapon. It was also in good condition, sharp enough to cut easily and well made. The price of 200.000 was also reasonably high. The metal was of better quality than Yosaku's and the forging style a different one. I would make it myself for around 100.000.

“It looks good as well, you won't be able to fight with it as if you were using a machete, but I can show you how it's done. Let's pay and then buy the supplies we need as well”, I said and the boys paid and we left the shop.

“Let's search for a smith, we need two sets of maintenance equipment for you and some nails as well as a new hammer. I might be even able to buy a small anvil. Would reduce some costs in the future”, I mumbled while we walked through the streets.

We also passed Tashigi and Zoro. Zoro has just stepped on Tashigi's glasses when we turned around a corner. Neither Jonny nor Yosaku has seen him. We will need to leave soon if Zoro is already here. In a few hours, Dragon's storm will make anyone leaving impossible, other than the Straw Hats that is.

Lia's POV;

Oh, this fish looks good. And we haven't had fish for a few days now. “How much for this one?”, I asked and pointed at a large Yalao Mackerel. They are delicious if roasted over an open fire.

“200 Belly for a hundred gram,” answered the female seller. Hmm, this looks to be around two kilograms heavy and I need at least two of them for one meal. “I'll take two of them”, I ordered and gave her the money.

She put them in a bag for me and handed it to me. Only for it to get snatched out of her hand. I was already turning around to kill the thief when the guy spoke to me.

“This fine day only got better after seeing you, my fine elven lady. May this unworthy cook carry your groceries for you?” It was this Sanji guy from the Straw Hats. His hearts were eyes and his eyes fixed on my breasts.

“No, give me my fish back”, I told him and reached out to retake my bag. But he spun around, spoke something about my Tsundere beauty and fell down on a knee to say something else. I didn't want to bother with him any longer and hit him on the head.

His face crashed into the walkway and left an imprint, his hands were still outstretched with my bag in them. I took it back and walked away. Next on my list is chicken. I think I have seen a butchery some houses ahead.

“Even your punches show such beauty Lia-chan, let me help you finding the best ingredients possible.” This blond idiot just now jumped to my side and tried to grab my hand to lead me away. His nose was still somewhat bloody from the impact.

“I said no, now leave!”. He stopped with trying to grab my hand but did not leave.

“But a fair lady such as you will surely need some help in carrying all the purchases you do. A cook as beautiful as you is sure to buy a lot of things”, he said instead. Thankfully for him, he didn't try to grab my bag again. I could need a hand if I haven't had my inventory. And I don't want to endure his constant fawning and flirting.

“Piss off or I will smack you across the town”, I growled. Why can't he see that I am trying to be nice to him?

“Your scary words made me fall in love with you all over again”, he started. This is enough, Lara said I am allowed to kill any man that tries to touch me. I'm not so sure about this one, but a good smack is surely allowed.

I turned around and gestured for him to bend down to me. Something that he did readily, he even closed his eyes. Does he think I want to kiss him?

Once he was on eye-level I smacked him with a full powered normal slap and watched how he flew off back down the street. A loud crash soon followed from somewhere around the fish market and I turned around to find the butcher. It should be somewhere close.

“I need fifty kilograms of chicken breasts”, I ordered the moment I was inside the butchery. The sales clerk looked at me with a stunned expression and only managed to snap out of it when I reached the counter.

“I'm sorry miss, but we don't have this much. The butcher only prepared two dozen kilo today”, he apologised.

“Is there another butchery where I can buy the rest then?”, I asked and looked at the sausages he had to offer. Some of them looked pretty good, especially the red pepper ones.

“Yes, there is one in the Vendorstreet, you have to turn left at the next cross and then right it should be the fourth house to the left. Do you still want to buy the chicken breasts we have to offer?”, he explained and gestured at some chicken behind the viewing glass. It looked to be fresh.

“Yes, as well as two of these red pepper sausages”. He put everything in a bag and gave me a smaller one with the sausages. I paid him, stepped out of the shop and placed the bags inside my inventory.

At the corner, I turned left and almost run into a man. I looked up at him and recognised the man as this Smoker guy from the Marines.