The Winner Pirates; Chapter 1; The harsh Victor-y (Open to me and Sleepy)

"Again with that Victor guy..." Swig mumbled as he gently grabbed the talking head from each side. "Like... so?" He murmured as he gently tugged on the head, only for it to stay stuck to the wall. "Hmmm... Strong Glue!" He claimed before pulling harder, stretching the man's head as he did. It wasn't until Swig planted both of his feet vertically on the wall that he managed to pull the head off, only for them both to fall down the alley floor. "That Victor sure is a monster huh? That must be what happened to that bird-man as well! What is he even doing in the East Blue to begin with?" Swig asked after getting up and dusting himself. 'Ope Ope No Mi... Have I heard it before...?' Swig thought, trying to remember if he ever came across that fruit only to draw a blank.

"Whatever, I'm already helping the bird-man look for the Victor guy, I guess looking for your legs on the way won't slow me down too much. It's not like I have any idea where the guy might be KAAKAKAKA.." Swig said, releasing his genuine laughter. "So, can you feel where your legs are or are we looking for them blindly?" Swig asked as he stepped out of the alley, holding the head under his left arm like a football. The same people he saw in the street earlier weren't so eager to see him now that he held a talking severed human head in his grasp.

"I have no idea..." the head replied and started crying, sad because of his bad fate. The head couldn't really stand what was going on. It was natural. Who could have stand such a thing? "However, I can feel them. I can't understand where they are, but they are chained somewhere. And it's called... My bones are hurting. It must be because of my arthritis. When I am next to water for quite some time, my bones hurt. I bet he has my legs chained in a ship or something..." the man said. "I believe we should explore the docks!" he gave out an idea.

Meanwhile, Francis was running with another head. He had the head covered with a cloth so that he wouldn't attract the attention of the civilians who didn't really know what was going on on the island. Of course, some of them had seen Lance and they could figure out that something strange was taking place. However, if they noticed the severed heads who were talking, now that would make them go mad about the mysterious incidents on the island.

"Hey, where are you going?" the head whispered from below the cloth.

"I'm looking for Swig... I need to show you at him!" Francis replied.

"Huh? Who is Swig? Is he some kind of a researcher? I'm not some freak! I was just cut by a fruit user." the head replied.

"Whatever..." Francis didn't really bother to explain what was going on. All he wanted was to find Swig.

---

In a dark room...

Victor is sitting on a chair behind a desk, with his face shadowed as the room is dark. His legs are lying on the desk and he is smoking a cigar while reading a newspaper. However, the door opens and another shadowed figure enters. The figure seems to be very tall and very muscular.

"Victor..." a manly voice is heard.

"What is it, Franklin?" Victor asked.

"I can feel something going on... My neck is tickling me." the man who was called Franklin replied.

"Huh?" Victor was surprised. "I see... He was found and freed..." Victor explained.

What was going on!?

The head's description lit a flame of solitude in Swig's heart. "Don't worry! I know what it's like to feel chained! The first 20 years are a nightmare! I'll help you find your body!" Swig said dramatically, flames igniting in his eyes, "Let's go!!!". He then proceeded to run through the streets in his regular slow pace, quite a disappointment after such a speech. He didn't bother to conceal the head like Francis did, causing quite some panic when he ran by several people.

"The docks you say?" Swig murmured. He didn't like the idea of returning to the docks. It was where the marines dropped him off, and back then there were several of them around. Storming towards them with a severed human head in his grasp just after being released from prison was probably not a smart move and would be quite difficult to explain. However, the man's situation overpowered Swig's common sense, he would always help a fellow prisoner.

He ran for the docks throughout the town, leaving a trail of shocked people behind him, a few of which even fainted. He blindingly took a corner only to find himself face to face with a pitch black afro. "Franc-" He started saying, but couldn't complete his new captain's name before he crashed into him, letting the head in his hands to roll on the ground as he fell.

"Hey Sw-" Francis was about to yell out the name of his new subordinate before the two crushed with each other, causing Francis to let the head loose and let the man's head fall on the ground.

"Ouch!" the head yelled, causing Francis to turn and him and speak out loud "Silence! SSSSSSSSSH!!!"

Then, he proceeded by turning towards the old man and he started speaking to him. "How did you end up crushing on me, dude? You are slower than a turtle, how did you... Oh, nevermind. I was looking for you. Look what I found!" he was about to retrieve the head and secretly reveal it to Swig, only for him to notice that Swig was also carrying a head along with him, which he didn't even bother concealing. Francis' jaw dropped on the floor out of awe and fear out of the uproar the appearance of a head on Swig's hands would cause to the crowd, which didn't really suspect what was going on on the island. "CRAP! WHERE DID YOU GET THAT FROM?!" he yelled, dragging the attention towards himself and Swig.

"HEY! I AM NOT A THAT! Oh, hi Oden. I recognized your voice." the head greeted the other head.

"Hey, dude. I was worried about you." the other head spoke to his friend, only to leave Francis stunned even more. What the *EFF* was happening around him?

"I got it from where all the coolest things come from - A dark alley! KAAAAAKAKAKAKAKA OUCH!" Swig joked, before touching the bump on his head that resulted from his crash with Francis. "He says some guy sliced him to pieces and chained the rest of his somewhere. It's that Victor guy the bird-man is looking for. Turns out he's a real psycho!" Swig explained, "He said the rest of his body is held near water, so we started heading for the docks and now here we are" He finished.

He got up and dusted himself off, before picking up the head he was carrying before. "I will not let a fellow prisoner down! Let's find this Victor and teach him a lesson!" Swig announced heroically, flames in his eyes once again. "Did you and the bird-man find Victor yet?".

"Nah, I just got this piece of head!" Francis took off the cloth from the head, revealing Oden's face.

"Hi." the head greeted Swig.

"I found it in a dark alley, just like you did. He told me the same story, as well. Well, except from the part about his body... My head can feel his body chained but he doesn't really understand where it is." Francis proceeded to explain.

"Hey, I am not your head!" Oden complained, only for Francis to ignore him.

"The problem is that we can't tell Lance about that... That guy is a psycho, as well. If we tell him, he might rush there and we will miss our chance of getting Victor." Francis explained.

"So, what do you suggest?" Swig's head asked.

"Normally, I'd say that we should run... But we need Victor... And Swig wants us to kick his ass for what he has done to the two of you... So we won't run. We will try to sneak into his place and capture him with sea-stone, now that he doesn't expect us to come after him." Francis suggested a plan. "However, I don't know where we can find some sea-stone, so we will have to split. One of us will search for Victor's ship and the other one will search for the sea-stone to cuff him."

"That's not a problem." Oden said.

"If we find Alistar, we will find the sea-stone we need." Swig's head completed.

"Huh? Who is Alistar?" Francis was surprised.

"Me, Colton and Alistar are a team. He is the other bounty hunter. I am the expert and marksmanship, Colton is a master of close combat and Alistar is the man behind the traps we set. He is the head of the group." Oden explained, also giving out the other head's name. "However, we don't know where he is and in how many pieces he might have been cut!" he finished.

"Alistar carries sea-stone with him. If we find him, he will figure out something!" the other bounty hunter said.

"Okay... I guess." Francis scratched his head.

---

Meanwhile, in another alley...

"Hey, Alistar. How did you end up like this?" Lance was talking to a head which was stuck on a wall.

"That bastard, Victor... He cut me in three pieces." Alistar complained to Lance. "Thank God, you found me. Free me please."

"Why?" Lance didn't really look willing to help Alistar.

"I caught you a few days ago, spared you and gave you a few tips to go after Victor, remember?" Alistar gave him a reason.

"That doesn't really mean anything. I can kill you right on the spot and owe you nothing." Lance smiled wickedly.

"Hahaha... Do it I guess. But you know that I am a trap master. People call me Alistar the Trap Master for some reason... Not to mention that I have information about your lower body. Oh wait. Such a shame... You are about to kill me and never find out that info."

"Screw you... You are lying."

"Did I lie to you when I told you where you could find Victor?" Alistar smiled.

"No." Lance angrily looked at him.

"Good. Now, free me. Help me complete my body, find my comrades and Victor and then I will tell you what happened with your legs." Alistar said.

"Hmph." Lance grabbed Alistar's head and placed it above Roze's head, sticking it there.

"CRAAAAAA." Roze complained.

"Relax, Roze. It's only for a little bit. If he says the truth, we will both be free out of this nightmare... But if he lies, I will give you the pleasure to gauge his eyes out of his head with your talons." Lance spoke what he was about to do if he was betrayed.

---

At Victor's place...

"My neck is tickling me... It's tickling me all the time..." Franklin complained.

"I guess the bounty hunters are up to something." Victor said while burning his cigar.

"I can't stand that constant tickling anymore..."

"Hm... Damn it... And it's still evening... If we get out, we might be seen by the marines." Victor thought.

"I can go by myself, Victor." the shadowed man said. "The marines don't know about me."

"I know... But you are unstable. What if something bad happens? I won't be there to help you."

"Trust me, Victor. This my chance to proove that I am not as unstable as we think."

"Very well. Go and search for them. I bet they are looking for their bodies, so they are somewhere at the dark alleys of the town... It won't take you a while until you find them." Victor said.

"Thank you." the man run outside.

How did they find out what was going on?!

"S... S... Sea... Stone..." Swig shivered. The mere mentioning of seastone brought back the feeling of the handcuffs to Swig's mind. It was an awful feeling, like constant starvation. He instinctively assured himself that he had no handcuffs on him by rubbing his wrists, relieved to see that he was indeed free of the devil fruit neutralizing mineral that was chained to him for so many years. "I hate seastone..." He murmured, having second thoughts about chasing Victor now that he knew it involved seastone-handling.

"You mean y... you guys set seastone traps around here?" Swig asked hesitantly, checking his surroundings suspiciously.

"Practically... Yeah. We keep them for as long as we are after Devil Fruit users and especially when we are up against fruit users like Victor. However, Victor is really smart... He saw through the traps and he cut us down without even stepping into one. It's really difficult to outsmart him!" Oden explained.

"Hey, you look afraid the sea-stone!" Colton, the head which Swig was carrying, said to him.

"Huh? Are you a fruit user, Swig?" Francis scratched his head. "Whatever..." he continued speaking. "We have to split into two groups and search for Alistar, then. I found Oden at the east of the town and you found Colton at the west..."

"Then, Alistar might be at the north or the south." Oden said.

"Yes, but the docks are at the south. There are not many alleys there at all." Colton spoke.

"That doesn't matter. We need to search everywhere. Swig and Colton, you will get to the south and me and Oden will get to the north." Francis suggested his plan. The team would split into two groups and search for the third bounty hunter.

"Hey, that's where Victor might be! If he is at the docks, he might find us there!" Colton complained.

"I doubt that. He doesn't know we are after him, does he? But I suggest you, Swig, you cover the head." Francis asked Colton, making him stop complaining.

"Whatever." Colton agreed.

"Let's go, Oden!" Francis started running with Oden to the north of the town.

----

Meanwhile, somewhere at the docks. A tall, very tall figure was walking. He was around two meters tall and very muscular. He had two legs which were small compared to the rest of his body. He was wearing a black colored long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans with black shoes. He had brown colored hair and a face which was badly damaged, with several stitches across it. He was a really scary figure to those who happened to see him.

"So... Bounty hunters... Where might you be?"

"Sure sure... the docks... south... good plan!" Swig mumbled, still worried about falling into one of the seastone traps that might have been left behind. 'Marines, a bird-man, a maniac that slices people and now seastone traps. Who knew being free was so dangerous...' Swig thought to himself. He took Colton's head and tucked it underneath his long green robe, hiding it from sight, though the bulge under his robe was still visible. "That should do it, off we go..." Swig said, before turning south and entering a slow run.

His eyes kept flying all over the place, searching for whatever traps the bounty hunters didn't manage to disarm. "I hope you know where those traps are... There's no was I'm getting seastone on me so soon" Swig said to the head that was concealed under his robe. "I also hope we can find your friend before we reach the docks, no way I'm getting any marines on me either" He added. "Me and Francis found you and your friend in alleys, so we should probably stick to that pattern..." Swig thought out loud before cutting into a nearby alley only to find nothing there. This was going to take a while.

A couple of minutes later...

Francis and Oden were at the north side of the town, searching for Alistar's head. However, the two men, after having searched into every single dark alley, they realized that their efforts were fruitless. Alistar's head was nowhere to be found. They were wrong and he was stuck at the other side, where Swig and Colton were looking for him. Or were they not?

"Damn it!" Francis complained.

"Hey, man! Chill out! You look really upset!" Oden remarked.

"Yes! It's because I am!"

"Huh? You are making it seem like Victor has done worse things to you than to me and my friends..."

"No, you don't understand." Francis said. "If we won't find Alistar, we won't find a way to trap Victor and if we don't find Victor, the Winner Pirates will not... Ah, nevermind."

"The Winner Pirates will not what, Francis?" Lance's voice was heard from above.

"Lance!" Francis raised his head and noticed the eagle-human swordsman. "You-You are here!"

"Alistar!" Oden greeted his friend, whose head was stuch right above Roze's.

"Hello, Oden." Alistar greeted his comrade.

"You were lying to me... Weren't you?" Lance looked at Francis with an angry look on his face. "What's next? Did you also already find Victor and hid that from me, as well?! What are you up to?!" he yelled at Francis, while grabbing his sword. He was prepared to unsheathe it, in case the answer didn't really satisfy him. He wouldn't hesitate to cut down the pirate captain.

"Crap!" Francis thought, trembling in fear in the process. The man was afraid of the swords. Now, if Lance went up against him, he would cut down his precious afro and that was something Francis didn't really want. He had to come up with something... Something to make the eagle-human swordsman calm down. "HEY!" Francis yelled at Lance. "I SHOULD BE THE ONE COMPLAINING HERE!" he tried out something.

"What?" Lance was confused.

"I found that head..."

"It's ODEN!!!"

"I found that head over here and I am looking for you for an hour... And you have found a head and you didn't really bother looking for us! How can we work as a team if you don't cooperate with us?!" Francis tried to outsmart Lance.

"But... I was on my way to find Alistar's friends and his body.

"See? You decided to work alone, while you could have made my life easier and track me down immediately to let me help you! You are the one who can fly here, not me!" Francis kept yelling at him.

"I... am... sorry." Lance angrily apologized.

"Your apology is accepted."

"Wait, what?!" Oden interfered. "Do you know where your body is?" he asked Alistar.

"Yes." Alistar explained. "I was the last one Victor cut down, remember? I was lucky enough to throw my body parts in one of the sea-stone traps I set up for him a few meters away... I can feel my body parts there!"

"So... We can complete Alistar's body immediately and set up a trap for Victor, huh?" Francis thought.

"NOOOOOO. We won't trap Victor. I will kill him." Lance groaned.

"Calm down. As soon as we get Victor, you can do whatever you want with him." Francis said. "But you won't go for the kill until we trap him!"

"Whatever."

"So... Where is your body, Alistar?" Francis asked.

"It's at the south."

"Great!" Francis was more than happy as he could quickly reach Swig as well. If they completed Alistar's body, things would be much more easier for the team. They could take down Victor very easily, despite his overpowered devil fruit ability. "Let's go!" he yelled after jumping on Roze's back.

"CRA!" Roze complained. Apparently, the two men and the other two heads were way too heavy.

---

Meanwhile, at the south, area of the docks.

"Damn it... It was somewhere here where me and my friends found Victor." Colton said.

"Oh, really?" the tall figure who was after the bounty hunters walked towards Swig and Colton.

"Who are you?" Colton asked.

"Me? I am Franklin."

Swig's eyebrows shot upward in surprise. He punched the head that was hidden under his robe to silence it. "What are you doing talking to random strangers when I'm trying to hide you?!" He hissed at the lump hiding under his robe. he then turned to face the man that appeared before them, who was to Swig's surprise wasn't shorter than him. Usually Swig had to look down at people form his 2.5 meters of height, but with this guy Swig found himself staring straight into his abdomen before correcting his gaze upward to face the man.

"That hardly answers the question, 'Franklin'" Swig backlashed, only noticing his injured face at that moment. He had no idea who Franklin was, but having someone who looked like this guy coming at you in a dark alley while you're looking for a homicidal maniac wasn't something you'd like to happen. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have other alleys to visit" Swig continued as he started walking towards Franklin with the intent of pass by him and continue his search.

"Hahahahahahahahaha... That's you, Colton, huh?" the man named Franklin asked Colton.

"Hey, how do you know my name?!" Colton was surprised. "Wait a minute... Don't tell me..." his eyes twitched and his body started sweating.

"You figured it out, didn't ya?" Franklin laughed.

"Swig! That guy's upper body!" Colton gulped. "HE HAS MY BODY!"

"Victor was kind enough to give me a well-built body. Sorry for you Colton, but this body is now mine."

"You... You could feel my neck being touched with my body so Victor let you loose, isn't that right?" Colton was shocked. "Damn it! They knew we were coming after them from the beginning!"

"That's true. Victor sent me to see what was going on and if there were any possible threats, I should eliminate them. However, if I kill you my body will rot eventually. So... I guess I'll have to kill that geezer who is carrying you!" Franklin looked at Swig with an evil look on his eyes. It was the look of the wicked hunter who was about to rush at his prey and take its life for good.

"Crap!" Colton yelled.

"Your body?! I thought you said your body was locked up somewhere!" Swig shouted back at the concealed head, no point in hiding him any longer. He stopped approaching Franklin, taking another look at what appeared to be a mishmash of body parts instead of a human being. "Geezer huh?" Swig asked, eyeing Franklin's deformed face.

"Now lemme tell you something punk..." Swig opened, rolling his shoulders to warm up and making cracking sounds rise as he did. "You may be big, but I've seen and fought bigger punks than you..." He continued, now cracking his waist as he moved it from side to side. "You may have a scary face, but I've seen scarier...", followed by a crack of his knuckles. "I honestly have no idea how my first day of freedom turned out to be a wild chase after a homicidal pirate who cuts bounty hunters apart and stitches their body parts together to form ugly punk like you, and I really hoped my first day would be a peaceful welcome to a calm and beautiful world..." He added, now cracking his neck, "But it seems like my welcoming party consisted of a man-child with an afro, an insane bird-man, a bunch of talking heads stuck to walls, and to top it all off - you. Now, I'm not saying I'm disappointed, but if you're going to challenge me on my first day out, at least make it memorable" Swig finished.

"Now..." He said, lowering Colton's head to the floor before sticking his chest out and spreading his arms wide, "Give me your best shot". Swig was more excited than he thought he'd be. It's been years since he fought someone without being thrown in a dungeon afterwards, and his entire body was tingling with anticipation.

"DAMN IT! MY BODY IS IN DANGER!" Colton yelled, although he couldn't really do anything to stop that.

"That was such a nice speech... What did you say? You spoke about your freedom? I see... You were recently freed, isn't that right? Well, if that's the case, there would be no fun in killing you... I will beat the shit out of you and then I will hand you to Victor so that he can lock you and use your friggin' body as a replacement in case he needs to save the life of another one of his subordinates!" Franklin laughed. "That would be funny. REALLY FUNNY! Looking at you inside that cage, wondering how your life would be if you didn't meet me at the very first day of your freedom. I enjoy it even by thinking about it.". Without doubt, Franklin had some issues, that was for sure.

The man didn't really wait. He took off long sleeved shirt, only to reveal that he was hiding a big katana below it, at Colton's body. Around his neck there were several stiches as Victor operated the man's head on Colton's body, creating that abomination he was. "The truth is that I am a failure as a fighter but have you ever heard of the term muscle memory? This body will fight for me, instead." Franklin wondered while stretching his body. Then, he started running with great speed towards Swig, charging his fist. "Newbody PUNCH!" he punched at Swig, attempting to strike the old man in the face with a powerful punch which would break his nose.

Unlike any sane person would react, Swig paid no special attention to the fact that a deformed giant was firing a punch straight to his face. In fact, he was smiling at the sight, as if day dreaming in the middle of a fight. Franklin's punch came in fast, but just when it was about to connect - it didn't. For some reason, Franklin's punch flew straight into where he aimed it to, but Swig's head simply wasn't there anymore. The punch flew harmlessly straight over Swig's upper body.

While Franklin continued forward with the momentum of his punch, Swig's body simply stood there. His head though disappeared into thin air along with his mane of grey hair. His body appeared to be decapitated, yet remained standing. The headless body turned on the spot, now facing Franklin. Then, after a moment of awkward silence, a bulge appeared in the area where Swig's neck used to be. A second later, Swig's head and huge mane of hair burst out of his upper body, completely intact. "Boo! KAAAAAKAKAKAKAKKAKAKAKAKA...!" Swig laughed, "I said be memorable! not predictable! I'v seen these punches a thousand times already! KAKAKAKAKAKAKA!" He taunted. Muscle memory was working in Swig's favor as well. He wasn't lying - Swig saw a lot of punches coming his way in his life and remembered exactly how to use his powers to handle them. Swig's devil fruit powers were finally starting to show. "Now... show me something new, from the last 100 years"

"The old man... Is he a fruit user? What did he just do?!" Franklin wondered in surprise. Now, that was something. Despite the appearance of the elderly man, Swig seemed to be a formidable fighter for Franklin. He demonstrated a skill quite unique, a skill that wasn't usually seen in battles. He had great knowledge about where the punch was about to land, how the punch would be performed and he used some kind of mystical skill in order to avoid it very easily, despite the old of his age.

"Whatever, old man! Let's see if you can dodge this!" Frankling laughed and grippled his fists, with the hands making contact behind his head, leaving a circle between them and his own head. Then, he jumped above Swig and landed right behind them, with the circle formed from his hands behind his head aiming to grab Swig's neck, while he himself was standing behind him with their backs having contact. If the circle grabbed him, he would make a suplex move and smash him right in front of him with brute force. "Newbody Suplex!" he raised his voice, naming his technique..

Swig followed Franklin with his gaze as the giant man jumped high, still with a calm and dumb smile on his face. It seemed like Franklin was planning on slamming him from above and drive him into the ground, but the giant seemed to miscalculate his jump and was about to land behind Swig. Only when the giant smashed into the ground behind Swig and his forearms appeared around his neck did Swig realized what he was planning.

It was too late to run from the attack, leaving Swig with his instinctive use of his devil power to help him avoid the attack. When Franklin moved his arms over his head to grab Swig and throw him, Swig's head wasn't there anymore. In fact, it seemed like the old man lost more than half of his height in an instant, making Franklin's attack go way above him. "Nice try, almost didn't expect that" Swig commented. Then, from under his robe, his pair of legs burst out of his abdomen after disappearing into it a second before, returning him to his original height.

He turned on the spot to face Franklin's back. As he turned, it was obvious that his long right sleeve was dangling freely off his shoulder, as if Swig lost his entire right arm at some point. "My turn! He yelled in joy, aiming his right shoulder at Franklin's back. Then, out of nowhere, Swig's missing right arm shot out of his right side with amazing speed, causing his robe to flail violently. The arm was aimed at Franklin's back, with its fist carrying enough force to send a grown man flying. "Green Cannon!!!"

The truth was that Franklin didn't expect such an attack. He could feel his arms being right in front of Swig's neck. However, the moment he performed the motion for the suplex-like attack, Swig's head was nowhere to be found, as if he disappeared. Before he even realized it, Franklin was struck violently at the back, being sent several meters afterwards and falling on the ground of the alley, with his clothes being covered in dirt. "ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" he screamed in pain, however that was not the only voice to be heard.

"NOOO!!!" Colton complained. "My body is connected with his head and his neurons but that doesn't mean that it isn't mine! Be careful with my body!" he wanted his body to be safe. The truth was that if Swig managed to break Franklin's spine, it would be like he broke Colton's spine if he ever got the body back in the first place. It was a bad choice.

"Ha... Ha..." Franklin panted while getting up. "I didn't think about that, but that's true..." he smiled. "Now, let's test those powerful legs..." he performed a high jump, jumping right above Swig. He opened his arms wide, making the enormous and strange body look like some kind of cross who was falling right on Swig. "Newbody Cross Slam!" he yelled the name of the third technique he just used on Swig. "Dare and dodge this, you geezer! If you do, your friend's body will be hurt!" he tried to make Swig take the attack head on, trying to blackmail him. "If you dodge, the body will be struck on the ground! Hahahahaha!". Franklin was playing dirty.

Swig was satisfied with his punch at first. He seemed to still have a bit of his edge from back in the old days as he managed to send a man about thrice his size flying with his punch. However, the satisfaction was replaced by confusion when Colton explained the situation to the old turtle man. "So... I can't hit this guy... since his body is yours?" he thought out loud, connecting the dots in his mind. "Uhhhh that's low..." He mumbled as the realization slowly crawled into his mind.

Franklin then jumped high, explaining his plan in detail as he formed a human cross above Swig. He then began dropping down, leaving Swig to find a way out of this mess while facing a human anvil heading towards him. 'Let's see... I could just dodge and forget about the bounty hunter, those guys only care about money anyway...' He thought, stroking his goatee as he did, 'Wait, No! Even if this guy's a bounty hunter he is a prisoner, and I won't allow this idiot human puzzle to take advantage of a fellow prisoner, even if he is just a bounty hunter... I should teach him a lesson' He reasoned, his eyebrows shooting up as he raised his gaze to the diving human cross.

'Franklin's body is Colton's body, so that leaves only one part of him for me to hit...' He concluded, before forming a plan in his mind. The moment he did, his legs disappeared from under him, seeming as if his abdomen just fell down to the ground. Now less than half his original height, Swig looked up once more, aiming himself properly. "Green..." He chanted, forming a sqaure with his hands to target Franklin's legs, "...Takeoff!".

At once, Swig's legs reappeared, shooting the man up and towards Franklin with an impressive speed. However, instead of just ramming into Franklin, Swig attempted to grab Franklin's legs and use his momentum to shift Franklin's alignment, making his head face the ground he was diving into as he pulled his legs up. "I'm guessing that ugly face is all you..." Swig said with a smirk, hoping Franklin would just fall down on his head and stay there.

Indeed, Swig's technique really worked. By the time the old man grabbed Franklin's legs and used his momentum to his own advantage, he forced him to have his face smached onto the ground with the great force he was using. Without a doubt, Swig was overpowering the body snatcher to the point that he ridiculed him. The truth was that by the time Swig outsmarted him, Franklin's face was not the only thing to be smashed onto the ground. The one thing on Franklin which was smashed terribly was something that wasn't visible, something that he would always carry with him, no matter whose body he was using. His pride was badly hurt, much worse than his face.

"Amazing..." Colton's eyes sparkled. "Thank you!" he foamed from his mouth out of excitement for the way Swig was handling Franklin. The man was a terribly easy match for Swig, after all, to the point that he dealt with him so easily that he didn't really have to harm Colton. That got Colton excited. Despite being a Bounty Hunter, he had just become a fan of the old man.

"Damn you..." Franklin got up, cleaning the blood from his face. "You... You geezer... Who the heck are you? What is your bounty? 10,000,000?! 20,000,000?! 30,000,000?! Or 50,000,000? Did you come from the Grand Line here at East Blue to go after Master Victor?! Who are you working for?! There's no way you work for those pathetic bounty hunters..." Franklin wanted to find out who the mysterious old man was. "No matter who your boss is, I won't let down Master Victor! I won't let my savior down now that he gave me a chance!" Franklin spoke and a tear fell from his right eye, a real tear coming out of his own body.

"Help... Please help..." Franklin's voice echoed through his own head."Hm?" a man reacted to his call! Franklin was... remembering something?

Swig landed next to Colton's head, his back facing Franklin after the giant slammed face-first into the alley floor. What appeared to be a graceful landing in fact shot pain up Swig's old back, but he held himself from holding his lower back to maintain his image. He then turned around to face Franklin once again as the later rained him with questions. Clearly, he didn't expect such a challenge from someone with Swig's appearance, not to mention that Swig was even older than he seemed, much older.

"The name's Tenma A. Swig, and at last I have no bounty on me" The old man introduced himself. Now that he served his time, his former bounty was erased. "And I did come from the Grand Line, but that was before you, or any of your body parts, were even born" He explained. "As for who I work for..." Swig continued with his heroic introduction, but soon had to pause. "... What was his name again? Was it Francis?" Swig wondered, stroking his beard once again and losing any shred of awesome aura he had. "Anyway, I don't even know Victor, but I do know he managed to piss some people off by cutting them into pieces and scattering their living bits around. I'm just here to pay my debt, free a fellow prisoner and enjoy my time" Swig explained. "Speaking of freeing prisoners, I'll take that body back now. You don't know how to use it anyway"

"DON'T MOCK ME!!!" Franklin was extremely angry and mad. "What the heck, then?! What are you fighting for? Are you coming here, messing with my boss and playing the heroes? Let me tell you something... No matter how much you pretend to be a hero, you won't ever be the hero Master Victor is... You will not become heroes now, you will never be." Franklin said and stomped on the ground, preparing another attack.

"Of course we aren't heroes!" Francis spoke from above, having arrived with Lance. "We are pirates! The Winner Pirates!" he jumped off Roze's back, making his grand entrance.

"You... Are you that Francis guy? What are you up to? Why are you going against Master Victor?" Franklin scratched his head.

"I just want to help my friend Lance, over here!" Francis said. "And make a name for my crew, of course! That's how people will be motivated to join me and Swig!" he said with a smile on his face.

"You people are stupid! Very stupid! You might be having the upper hand against me, but the boss will squash you like bugs! You are nothing more than pests who are messing with him." Franklin yelled with his rage being obvious. The truth was that his damaged pride as long as with his will to help his master were driving him crazy. He wanted to proove his loyalty and his worthiness to the man for some unknown reason, yet again he was having a bad time against only Swig. Now, the enemies were many more. There was no chance he could win. However, there was something else he could do. He grabbed a Den Den Mushi and called Victor, who would respond immediately.

"Hello?" Victor's voice was heard.

"VICTOR!!!" Lance screamed at him. "COME AT ME! YOU WON'T RUN AWAY THIS TIME!" he threatened him.

"Oh, hello Lance. How are you going? Oh I know... Not on foot." Victor made a joke.

"I... I won't last for long against them, but I have figured out our enemies. They are the Bounty hunters, Lance and two friends they made... An old man named Swig and another guy with an afro. They call theirselves the Winner Pirates!" Franklin gave out the names of the enemies Victor had to face.

"Winner Pirates? That's a name only for losers!" Victor commented.

"Shut up!" Francis yelled at him.

"They are in one of the dark alleys near the ship, boss... I will try and buy some time until you come for them." Franklin said.

"I see... Thank you Franklin. I know that I might not make it in time to thank you personally but..." Victor thanked his most loyal subordinate. "I will be there as soon as possible." he said with a grinning tone in his voice before completing what he had to say and turning off the Den Den Mushi, ending the communication. "And yes, this is a threat for all of you.".

"Everything for you, master." Franklin said before dropping the Den Den Mushi on the ground. "Now, then! Let's finish this!!! Newbody..." he started running towards Swig, with his head forward. He was aiming at the man's chest, preparing to strike him there. "HEADBUTT!!!" he tried a headbutt technique against Swig's main body, giving everything he had in a last, desperate attempt to take him down for good.

"And they I'm slow... Nice of you three to finally show up. Or is it four? Wait, Francis is one, does the bird count? Does the man on top of the bird count as one or a half? Does the the head count...?" He wondered out loud with strokes of his beard, obviously paying attention to the most irrelevant details. Franklin then spoke to Victor over a Den Den Mushi, making Swig wonder how common these things were nowadays. Back in prison he was certain they were only used by prison guards.

"Perfect, now instead of wandering around we'll have the psycho come to us. Though I did enjoy wandering after so long..." Swig noted. Then, Franklin turn to him, preparing for another attempt to defeat Swig, an attempt that seemed pretty hopeless. "Pathetic..." Swig muttered as Franklin rushed at him heads first. The giant puzzle man obviously had no idea what Swig's powers were. Actually, no one around the alley knew. Swig stood calmly as the brute rushed at him with everything he had, almost yawning at the attempt. 'At least he learned to attack my abdomen instead of my head or limbs... the poor thing is in for a painful surprise.... kakakaka' Swig thought, allowing all the memories of enemies who fell for this trick a 100 years ago to rise to his mind.

"Green Skin" He chanted calmly as weird sounds erupted from under his robe, as if all of the bones in his body broke and reformed in an instant. Franklin had no way of telling as the robe was hiding it, but Swig's body was no longer covered by mere skin. Instead, Franklin's head was about to meet a layer of rock-hard turtle shell plates.

"ARGH!!!!!!!!" Franklin's head was smashed on Swig's durable shell which he couldn't really see below the robe, making his head crack before he fell on the ground, right below Swig's feet. Franklin was not even thinking about his destroyed pride anymore. He wasn't thinking about the loss either. He had something else in his mind. Something that made tears fall from his white eyes, as only the white part of his eyes was visible. He was almost unconscious, thinking of something. The reason he wanted to fight for a guy like Victor.

[Flashback]

"Help me! Help me! Please! Help!" Franklin was screaming. His body was lying on a place which was almost completely destroyed. Dust was covering the area, probably because of the destruction that took place at the area not long ago. It was quite difficult for anybody to see in front of them. All they could see was a destroyed place, blood and corpses. Corpses of the soldiers who fought there in the big battle that took place some time before. Somebody had completely annihilated all those people at the area, who were not few at all.

"Hm?" a younger Victor, without his goatee and a tall hat, turned his head, looking at the man who was screaming. He was a young frail man, dressed in a marine uniform. He didn't really look strong at all. He had a pathetic body for a soldier of the Navy. It was easy to realize that a man like him was nothing but a hindrance in the battle that took place. Walking above the countless corpses of the marines who had died at the place, Victor walked towards him, responding to his call for help.

"Please, sir... Help me... I can't move. I can't move!" the man begged for help with tears all over his face. "I... I tried to protect my friend and I was shot at my spine! I can't move, damn it!" he yelled in despair. "I can't move my body!" he was desperate. The man was suffering, his soul couldn't stand it anymore. He was lying on a destroyed battlefield, with nobody alive around him and only the smell of blood reaching his nose. The dust of the aftermath of the battle was going through his mouth, making him cough a lot. He was starving and he was thirsty, as he was at that state for quite some time.

"You are here for a while, aren't you? It's been four days since the war of Arabasta ended and you are still alive? That's... impressive." Victor commented to the man. "I can't even collect some organs quietly." Victor mumbled and sighed.

"Please, sir... Spare me... Kill me. I don't want to die out of thirst and starvation. I want to die peacefully... I want this nightmare to end. Please..." the man cried and could barely speak. "You are my only chance to die in peace! You are the first one to find me! PLEASE! If I could kiss your legs, I would do it... I am begging you. END MY LIFE!!!" the cried out, calling for Victor's help.

"You have suffered a lot. And I can end your pain. But it won't be done the way you want it. You can live more... And you can come with me." Victor said, sighing. "It's been a while since something moved me this much..." he commented before saying "Room." and unsheathing a sword, prepared to cut down the man's head.

[Flashback ends]

"I am sorry, master... I failed you." he snapped, falling unconscious. The head fell of the body, as it didn't really belong to the man. The body was split in three as the legs didn't also belong to Franklin or Colton.

"You did it, Swig!" Colton said in happiness! "Get me my body now!" he asked, completely excited.

"Huh?" Francis said, before he grabbed Colton's head, placing it at the enormous body.

"YES!!!" Colton was more than happy to get his upper body back. "Now, we need to find my legs!"

"Hey, my body is also missing!" Oden yelled him.

"Oden's body is probably at his ship... Same for the legs." Alistar deduced. "Now that Victor is gone, somebody needs to get there and get the body parts back." he said.

"I'll stay here." Lance said. "Victor is my prey... And I will face him."

"I will stay here, too! I just got my body back! It's about time for me to become useful again!" Colton said.

"Hey, this is my battle." Lance stared at him with an angry look on his face.

"Somebody has to get me to my body." Alistar said.

"I will!" Francis suggested.

"Good..."

"Then, I'll go with Swig at the ship. We need to find it and get our body parts back!" Oden said.

"Okay then... Let's go!" Francis got Alistar's head and run away to get his body.

"Let's go, Swig!" Oden also said, prompting him to pick him up and get him to the docks nearby to search for the ship.

"Then, Colton... We stay here and wait for Victor. Now, this is going to be fun." Lance smiled and unsheathed his katanas.

Victor was on his way!

"Yay... more running..." Swig said faintly as he picked up Oden's head and held it under his left arm. No point in hiding it now that Victor knew all about them. "I'm pretty sure piracy didn't involve so much running back in my day, otherwise I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much..." He complained, before he began running towards the docks in his slow pace. "Hopefully, with that Victor guy heading for the bird-man getting your body back will be easy enough. Not that beating that bag of spare parts was so difficult..." Swig said as he took a corner. Even with his slow pace, he would reach the docks in no time.