The Golden Fighter Sub-Arc 2

A/N: Hello once again. This is another one shot for the One Piece section. This occurs after 'The Golden Fighter' and occurs at the exact same time as 'The Fox's Path.'

Monkey D. Luffy recalls the times he has had with his crew. He misses them, but he has the duty to protect their dreams and protect the new friends he has made. Luffy walks through the forest enjoying his memories, which do not cause him headaches. Luffy begins to strengthen his resolve to aid his new friends. There is a war on the way and Luffy will be there to fight.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to One Piece.

*SC* = Scene Change

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

A Pirate's Memory

Luffy walks on the deck of Thousand Sunny. He breathes in the fresh smell of the ocean and listens to the bird callings of the flying seagulls. His stomach grumbles thinking about eating those birds for food. The word meat runs through his mind multiple times as his hunger increases. However, his thoughts of meat stop when he hears a calming sound come from the back of the ship.

The straw-hat pirate walks towards the back of the ship as the noise begins to increase. As Luffy turns the corner leading to the back, he notices Brook playing his violin. Brook plays a calm melody, which is a surprise since Brook usual tries to wake up everyone. In fact, Luffy wonders why he is even awake since he usually sleeps around this time.

"Luffy-san," said Brook. "Nice to see you here this morning."

Brook continues to play his music causing Luffy to relax to the song, which is weird since he is usually active. Luffy turns his attention to another person, who walks onto the deck.

"Nami," said Luffy in a calm tone.

Nami, the orange-haired navigator, walks towards Luffy. Luffy notices the small smile on her face. He approaches her and places his hand on her shoulder.

"You two should dance," said Brook. "We still have time until we reach Mystic Island."

Luffy knows that he and Nami have been through so much. Ever since Fearghas made his appearance, the Straw-Hats Pirates have gone through multiple battles. They have experience so many losses. This includes Aron and Innes as well as their child.

The pirate captain and his navigator begin to dance to Brook calming music. Nami tightens her hold on Luffy, which causes him to do the same. He looks down at her and notices her shaking.

"So many died and that madman is still out there," said Nami in a weak tone.

"We'll beat them," said Luffy as he notices Nami's tears.

Luffy begins to become angry. The horrors his crew experience have made Nami cry. He will not let Fearghas escape. He has to find a way to beat him.

*SC*

Luffy opens his eyes as his dream ends. He recalls the moment that dream occurred. It was just a day before the crew arrived at Mystic Island, which was the final battle between his crew and Fearghas.

The pirate captain begins to stretch his arms. Luffy does not know what time it is, but he decides to get up. Suddenly, he hears a noise to his right causing Luffy to turn towards that direction.

A young man with blonde hair and six whiskers on his face walks towards him. He also wears an orange haori with black flames.

"Do you want to go with a walk?" asked the blonde person. "I'm sure both of us need to get out of here."

*SC*

Luffy and the blonde-haired person walk through the forest. The dark sky slowly begins to lift as the sun finally begins to rise. Another flashback runs through his mind. He normally spends his time thinking on the head of Thousand Sunny, but he does not have the ship here.

Flashback

Luffy enters the crow nest as he tries to escape the wrath of his navigator. He notices Zoro lifting weights, which will usually break people. Zoro stops his exercise while noticing Luffy enter the crow nest.

"Need something captain?" asked Zoro.

"No," replied Luffy.

Luffy notices the raising eyebrow from Zoro. He knows Zoro can tell if something is off. The green-haired man shrugs his shoulders before returning to his weights. Luffy smiles at this action. Luffy and Zoro can understand each other without needing to say anything. Luffy turns his attention to the window, watching the ocean below. Suddenly, a dark shiver goes through body. He turns to the entrance of the crow nest as if expecting something dark to appear. The wooden platform swings wide-open causing sweat to run down Luffy's body.

Nami appears from the open space looking around the area. Soon, her gaze turns to Luffy and her expression becomes dark once again. She stares at the pirate captain, who begins to shrink in fear.

"N-Na…," started Luffy.

"Luffy!" shouted Nami.

For some reason, to Luffy, Nami's glare turns from dark to evil. If he looks close enough, he could have sworn he sees a demon with sharp fangs.

"How dare you ruin three weeks, worth of maps!" shouted Nami.

Luffy turns to Zoro, who stares at Luffy.

"You're on your own," stated Zoro before returning to his weights.

Flashback Ends

Luffy laughs a bit recalling Nami bruising him beyond recognition. That even occurred only two weeks before their encounter with Fearghas. As Luffy and his friend continue to walk, Luffy notices the young blonde-haired person distracted. Luffy turns his attention to the right noticing a lake in the distance. A large fish appears from the lake causing Luffy to remember eating a fish of that size.

Flashback

Luffy walks into the kitchen screaming from the top of lungs. Food is on his mind and he wants to eat. He looks around and notices Robin playing with Chopper using her devil fruit powers. The young reindeer continues to laugh as Robin tickles him. Luffy smirks a bit as he is about to help Robin only for his stomach to grumble again. Luffy turns his attention to Sanji, who is cooking a large fish from earlier in the day.

The straw-hat captain and Zoro managed to capture the large fish bringing in much needed food since Luffy ate a tremendous amount of their supplies.

Luffy begins to approach Sanji, who continues to cook. Just as Luffy is about to grab a piece of meat, a foot comes crashing into his face sending the rubber male towards the wall. Luffy crashes into the wall.

Robin chuckles at the event before her. She stops tickling Chopper, who is still on the floor trying to catch his breath.

"Captain-san, you should know by now that Sanji would not let you eat the food early," said Robin.

"I know," said another voice.

Luffy turns to see Nami at the doorway. The navigator stares at Luffy with a stern face before her expression changes to one of mirth.

"Baka, next time wait," said Nami with a smile.

Luffy gazes at Nami watching her smile and hearing her laugh. For some reason, it makes him feel good inside. Luffy shrugs the feeling before returning his attention to Sanji. Somehow, he needs to bypass the cook. He wants food.

Flashback Ends

Luffy's thoughts end as he refocuses on the area around him. He realizes he is no longer looking at the lake and is now looking at a cherry blossom tree, which reminds him of Robin's abilities. He also notices his blonde friend looking at the tree as if in a trance. A smirk appears on his face as he approaches his friend hoping to scare him.

However, his prank does not occur because the bright sun begins to shine around the area he stands in. He feels the warmth of the sun on his face, which is a bit warmer due to his rubber skin. Luffy recalls the numerous times he sees the sunrise from his spot on Thousand Island. He recalls the few times he and Nami watch the sunrise. He misses being around her. He wonders if this has to do with the love thing that Ace told him about during their younger days. Luffy recalls another time with the sunrise.

Flashback

Luffy sits on Thousand Sunny head figure. He watches the sunrise from his position. He feels the warmth of the sun as it begins to reflect on the ocean. The ship moves along the waves as Luffy begins to yawn. He should have stayed in bed for a bit longer.

Suddenly, he hears a noise from behind causing Luffy to turn around. He sees Nami walking towards him with a smile on her face.

"Hey," said Nami.

"Hey," replied Luffy.

Neither Luffy nor Nami speak a word as they stare at the sunrise. Luffy appreciates the time he spends with Nami. The sunrises bring some sort of happiness to him, especially with Nami there.

Suddenly, a noise distracts the two pirates. They look behind noticing Usopp and Franky setting up equipment.

"What are they doing up?" asked Nami.

"Don't know," replied Luffy.

"Are you ready?" asked Usopp.

"Yeah," answered Franky.

Luffy watches the dup light the machine causing it to turn on. The machine lights up the entire deck creating sparkling lights.

"Disco time!" shouted Franky. "Super!"

Luffy laughs alongside his two comrades as Nami sweat drops. Luff turns his head towards Nami and stares at her as she laughs. She turns her head causing Luffy to turn towards Usopp and Franky.

"Shishishishi," laughed Luffy.

Flashback Ends

A lion approaches Luffy and his friend breaking both of their thoughts. Luffy looks at the lion, as the lion stops before them.

The lion begins talking to his blonde friend.

"There is someone you should meet," said the lion.

"Meet you say?" inquired the blonde-haired person. "Who?"

"I don't remember his name, but he is a saiyan," replied the lion.

"What's a saiyan?" asked Luffy.

"Why don't you two ask the saiyan yourselves," replied the lion.

"All right, let's go!" replied Luffy.

"I guess we should get going," said lion.

The blonde-haired person nods his head as he and Luffy begin to run back to their hidden base.

As Luffy continues to run back, his thoughts go to the upcoming war. The last war caused him his brother. He does not want to lose his crewmates as well. He will fight to make sure his nakama do not die.

Soon, Luffy and his two companions see the cave entrance to the hidden base. As Luffy begins to run, he remembers his meeting with the man Orion.

Flashback

"So, you must be Luffy," said an elder man with white gray hair.

The man wears a white long sleeve shirt with black chest armor. He also wears thick white pants and has a large pouch. He rubs his white-gray beard and stares at the young pirate.

"Yes, I am," replied Luffy.

"Just by looking at you, I see the strength," said Orion.

"Strength?" asked Luffy. "Of course, I will be the pirate king and I will find one piece. I think I need strength."

Orion laughs for a few seconds before stopping. He smiles at Luffy while placing his hand on the pirate.

"I see the hope of light in you," said Orion. "You, like six others, have the strength to lead us. You have a strong heart. You have a gift that will draw people to you. A light that will lead people to a better future."

Luffy tries to take in all the words. He knows the old man is trying to tell him that he is somebody, who will help the world.

"You will be a great ally and friend," said Orion.

Luffy grins as he gives Orion two thumbs up.

Flashback Ends

Just as Luffy continues to run, he also recalls the time when Nami was teaching him about the meaning of love.

Flashback

"All right, in a relationship there are times when people hug each other," said Nami.

"Okay," replied Luffy as he hugs Nami.

Suddenly, Nami smacks him across the head as she falls to the ground trying to catch her breath.

"M-Moron!" shouted Nami. "I said hug not choke!"

"But a huge is supposed to be strong," whined Luffy.

Nami shouts in annoyance after that statement.

Later that day, Nami begins to attempt to teach Luffy the meaning of holding hands.

"See, couples in a relationship like to hold hands," said Nami.

"Why?" asked Luffy.

"So they can show affection towards each other," replied Nami.

"Why?" asked Luffy.

"So they can feel the warmth of the other person," replied Nami.

"Why?" asked Luffy.

"So they know they love each other," replied an annoyed Nami, who is beginning to run out of explanations.

"But that's stupid. If two people love each other there shouldn't be a need to do anything else," said a confused Luffy.

Nami simply slams her head on the table.

"Why did you do that Nami?" asked Luffy wondering why Nami hit her head. "That's stupid."

Luffy never made it to dinner that night.

The next day, Nami attempts to teach Luffy about kissing.

"At times, a couple in a relationship kisses each other," said Nami. "They do this to show their expression of love."

"A kiss?" asked Luffy. "What's a kiss?"

Nami falls from her chair. What did Ace tell him? Nami stands back up and approaches Luffy.

"There are many types of kisses. What I am about to show you, is one type of kiss," said Nami as she grabs Luffy's cheeks and kisses him on the lips.

Luffy freezes, but he begins to enjoy the kiss. If this is a kiss, he enjoys it. Nami ends the kiss giving Luffy a chance to collect his thoughts.

"That felt good," said Luffy as he grabs Nami and kisses her again.

Nami melts into the kiss and kisses him back. However, as she tries to pull back, she feels Luffy's strong hold tighten. Nami tries to struggle as she loses air.

Luffy releases his kiss as Nami gasps for air.

"Again you moron!" shouted Nami. "How many times do you have to suffocate me?"

Luffy laughs a bit.

"Sorry, I'm new to this," said Luffy.

Luffy notices Nami sigh, but she soon smiles at Luffy.

"I guess you'll learn with practice," said Nami with a smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Flashback Ends

Luffy and his friend see a gate, which has large guns on top of two towers. Luffy stops running as the lion points out to a group of people at the front entrance to the base.

The pirate sees two figures standing in front of the gate. The person wears an orange training gi and has spiky black hair. The person with the orange training gi waves his right hand towards Luffy and his blonde friend.

Luffy grins back as he begins to laugh. As Luffy walks towards the two people, he makes a promise to himself. He promises to fight until the end so that his nakama do not have to participate in this upcoming war. Luffy promises himself to return to his crew and to help accomplish their dreams as well as his own.

Images of his crew run through his mind as well as their dreams. Franky's dream is to build the best ship to reach the end of the Grand Line. Brook's dream is to meet Laboon and give the whale the song recording created by his last crew. Robin's dream is to find the Rio Poneglyph in order to locate the truth of their world's past. Chopper's dream is to become the best doctor in the world. Sanji's dream is to find All Blue. Zoro's dream is to become the best swordsman in the world. Usopp's dream is to become the best sniper and bravest man.

Luffy's thoughts go to Nami. Her dream is to map the entire world. He laughs a bit wondering what she will think of when she finds out there are planets with larger oceans. Regardless, Luffy will support each of their dreams. He knows they will support his to become the pirate king and find one piece. He will protect their dreams.

'Nami, everyone,' thought Luffy. 'I'll come back to everyone and we will continue our journey together. I will become the pirate king!'

Luffy smiles as he runs towards the figure. This is the beginning of a new adventure.

Luffy's story continues in…

The Galactic Knights: Formation

*SC*

A/N: All right, the end of another one shot. I had fun writing this chapter and it gave me a chance to rest from my multiple chapter stories. I guess working on the same story for weeks will cause me to fry my brain. I tried to keep Luffy in character as best as I could, but I wanted him to have a decent amount of thought. Who knows what he thinks about when he sits on the head of Thousand Sunny.

Now, 'The Galactic Knights: Formation' will occur in the future, which I mentioned in 'A Shinobi's Path.' By the time I release this one shot, I should have a handful of remaining stories before I start writing the crossover. This includes 'The Substitute Shinigami' and two more stories before the crossover.

Anyhow, thanks for reading and please review.