ASL reset

by fantasy is everything

Destiny and their respective choices threw them on vastly different paths, yet there was never a bond as strong as the one forged by sake and an oath. Even after reaching this goal, Monkey D. Luffy could not lie down and rest easily. And that was how the three brothers embarked on a new adventure – an adventure unlike any you've heard about before!

2. Crossing the East Blue

Chapter 2: Crossing the East Blue

Francis was at a loss on what to think about the three boys he'd picked up.

Maybe it was his own fault – he simply didn't have much experience in dealing with kids. He'd always considered them annoying and loud, and much more trouble than they were worth. Not to mention that many didn't have any sense of danger, rushing headlong into all sorts of precarious situations, leaving their parents to pick up the pieces.

At first, he'd thought it was the same case with the blonde brat, Sabo, as he'd later introduced himself. The kid had been surrounded by a group of cold-blooded murderers and thieves, and still he'd looked at them as if they were only a minor annoyance. He'd had half a mind to just let Bluejam do what he wanted and hope the boy would learn his lesson, but it seemed he was still too soft-hearted to just look away from such a scene, just as his father had always said.

At least his idiocy had paid off in the end. He almost tenderly placed the two curved knives he'd purchased in the Goa kingdom on his nightstand, once again admiring the superb quality, far above what he was used to. Sabo hadn't been lying when he'd said that he knew the kingdom like the back of his hand, leading Francis around the city with an obviously well-earned confidence while still keeping a careful eye on his little brother.

That one had been another surprise for Francis. When Sabo had told him to hold on to the little ten-year-old boy, he'd only stared at him in angry disbelief, refusing to move even an inch. Not that that had stopped the brothers. If they hadn't spent half of the trip talking about devil fruits, Francis would still believe he'd imagined the thin arm which wrapped around his torso multiple times at his refusal, subsequently catapulting the trio over the wall.

Francis sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly, before gathering his resolve and leaving the captain's cabin to check both on his crew and his guests. The sight outside left him stunned, his mouth open in an already very familiar feeling of incredulity.

"You're doing it all wrong," the elder raven, Ace if Francis remembered correctly, stated with a small frown on his face. He was talking to two of his crew members who looked to have been in a training spar before the kid had interrupted them. "If you charge at your opponent like that, you leave yourself wide open. A baby could see where you plan to hit him, and you're too slow for him not to evade your attack."

The one Ace had criticised, Quan, blushed furiously while his opponent Goode snickered. "What do you know, brat? You think you're so tough and clever, huh? Why don't you hit me, then, why don't you?!" Francis felt a headache coming. It was just for a couple of days, then he'd have his peace again. Only a couple of days.

He briefly considered interfering as he saw a devilish grin appear on Ace's face. On the other hand, it was Quan's fault for letting his pride get the better of him. Besides, he really wanted to see what the kid was capable of.

The three brothers might just be brats in the eyes of the world, but something about them made Francis hesitate. Maybe it was the fact that despite their childlike recklessness, all of them carried themselves with a quiet sort of confidence, even the youngest one.

"You're on." Goode moved to the side to give the new fighters some room, joining the small group of onlookers that had gathered ever since Ace had first spoken up. Amongst them was the blonde devil with the silver tongue, rolling his eyes at his brother's antics. He didn't seem the least bit worried that his brother was about to fight a strong man twice his age.

After a few seconds into the fight, Francis could wholeheartedly understand Sabo's lack of concern. Ace was fast. So fast Francis could barely follow his moves with his eyes, and he'd always considered his speed as one of his greatest strengths.

Before he could really comprehend what was happening, Quan was on the ground, his sabre now in Ace's hand, who was twirling it expertly. "And you're going to the Grand Line? Seriously?" Francis bristled at his condescending tone. "They're going to eat you alive there. You'll be lucky to last a week, if you don't disturb the wrong person's nap before that."

Quan still seemed in a state of shock of being beaten quite that easily. He didn't even react as Ace stabbed the sabre into the wooden plank next to his head, strolling up to his brother. The arrogant nonchalance he dismissed them with was the last strike, any remaining caution thrown into the wind. "And what would you know about the Grand Line, kid? I bet you haven't even gotten off your island once in your entire life," Francis growled, an angry frown on his face.

His fury didn't faze the boy in the least, a bored look on his face as he looked over his shoulder. "I know a lot more than you do, that's for sure," he said before promptly collapsing. Francis gaped at him, worry now mixing into the rage, crossing the space between them quickly enough to catch the teen before he hit the floor.

Had he taken a hit in the fight after all? It had all happened so fast, but Francis was certain that Quan had been hopelessly outclassed. But maybe the win hadn't been as effortless as Ace had wanted them to believe? Maybe something about his technique sapped his energy so greatly he was rendered unconscious even after using it only for a few seconds?

A gloating laugh snapped him out of his anxious state, looking up from his kneeling position to see Sabo grinning maliciously at his brother. "Serves him right for showing off," he stated with glee. Francis stared at him uncomprehendingly. How could he be so indifferent when his brother had just collapsed?

Sabo must have recognised that he was unnerved at his lack of concern, since he continued, "No need to worry about Ace, Captain. He suffers from periods of excessive daytime sleepiness, though thankfully he barely has any other symptoms characteristic for narcolepsy," he paused, taking in the confused faces around him. "It means he falls asleep all the time in the most impossible situations you could imagine."

Francis could feel his headache intensifying as he dropped the teen to the floor none too gently. The kid fell asleep while mocking them? Seriously? He glared at the offender as he stood up, indignation coursing through his veins.

"Do you think the same?", he spit, now turning his angry gaze to the other teenager. "You've never even seen us fight! We're one of the strongest crews in the East Blue, and you think you can look down on us?!"

A blank expression replaced the previously gleeful one. "I don't think you're weak. In fact, I think your crew has a lot of potential," Sabo stated, falling silent for a moment, but Francis knew he wasn't done yet. "Right now, however, you're a big fish in a small pond. You didn't even know that Devil Fruits were more than a myth before you met Luffy. In the Grand Line, nearly every capable crew has at least one Devil Fruit user."

Sabo paused, fixing Francis with an intense stare that didn't fit the condescending smile on his face. "So yes. I agree with Ace. You're not ready for the Grand Line yet."

Some reasonable part deep down in his mind tried to point out the valid arguments and the sound logic Sabo had presented. Unfortunately, it was largely drowned out by the blood rushing through Francis' ears as he was talked down to by yet another of the brats he never should have allowed onto his ship. Enough was enough.

"Don't get too cocky, kid," he snarled as he grabbed Sabo by the collar, using his imposing height to its fullest. "You're on a pirate ship, my pirate ship. Don't you forget that. I'm a man of my word, which is why I'll take you to the island like we agreed. But all bets are off after that. So I'd be very nice to me if I were you."

"You're delusional if you think your entire crew could take down even one of us," Sabo responded in a cheerful voice, not showing any outward reaction to the attempted intimidation, much to Francis' displeasure. What was wrong with this idiot?

He shoved Sabo against the mast, using enough force to knock the ridiculous top hat of the youngster's head. Any misgivings he had about beating up kids had dissolved in the face of the sheer arrogance the blonde displayed. "This is the real world, brat. You'll see soon enough that you're not as strong as you think you are."

Abruptly, he let go of the lad who promptly dropped down to the floor. With his jaw clenched, he turned away from Sabo and stomped back towards his cabin before he did something he'd regret afterwards. Unfortunately, the brat didn't know when to leave things be.

"Are you willing to bet on that?" He could feel the devilish grin on Sabo's face before he even turned back around to see it. His eyes narrowed on the boy as he dusted off his trousers and put his hat back onto the golden locks.

"Careful now," he growled, even though he knew by now that his warnings would be ignored.

Sabo's expression had turned serious as he walked up to the captain, coming to a stop just short of his personal space. Despite the fact that he had to look up at the taller man, Francis almost got the impression that they were talking at equal heights.

"I propose a gamble. That is something grown-ups in the real world do, isn't it?" he asked in a mocking tone, not even waiting for an answer. "When we get to Kanajime Island, we will fight. Your entire crew against one of us three. If you win, we'll give you the Mera Mera no mi, the devil fruit on that island. It's rather powerful and sought-after, so it would give you some much needed firepower for the Grand Line. However, if we win, we'll get your crew."

Francis stared at him. And stared and stared. His first, fury-induced reaction would have been to agree immediately, dismissing any sort of threat the three brothers might pose. Fortunately, though, the rational part of his mind managed to take back the reigns from his emotions.

If what he had seen only minutes ago hadn't been a fluke, and if all three of the boys could fight like Ace did, there was no way that he could come out of this bet as the winner. Considering how Sabo had acted so far, it was even likely that this wasn't just child-like overconfidence, no matter how much Francis' mind rebelled against that notion.

However, if there was one thing Francis prided himself on aside from his speed, it was his pragmatism. What Sabo was offering him there was a chance to become powerful, and rather quickly, too, from the sounds of it. It didn't matter whether they won or lost, because even if they did lose, they'd suddenly have three extremely strong fighters in their crew.

All he had to decide was whether he was willing to give up his position as the captain if the situation called for it.

"Do we have a deal?" The knowing smile on Sabo's face didn't make the choice any easier. Could he really accept calling the three brats his captains? Did he really want to consider sailing with them for a longer time when his nerves could barely take it for a day?

He gulped and closed his eyes briefly. "Fine. We have a deal." He quickly turned around so he wouldn't have to endure the triumphant smile on the blonde's face, and strode towards his cabin, ignoring the protests from his crew.

Hopefully, this bet wouldn't blow up in his face.

xXx

"I still can't believe you're giving away my fruit," Ace grumbled as the three brothers made their way through the uninhabited island, relying mostly on Ace's hazy memories from the first time he'd found the fruit. Considering he'd been half way to starving at the time, all of them were prepared for a rather lengthy search.

"Our fruit, Ace, our fruit," Sabo reminded him, rolling his eyes at Ace's moping. He'd been grumpy like this ever since he'd woken up and heard about the bet Sabo had made while he'd been down for the count.

"You said you'd give it to me!" Ace' expression turned into an interesting mix between rage and worry.

"I might reconsider if you keep acting like a child," Sabo responded with an amused smile on his face, ignoring Ace's furious shout of denial. "Relax, I'm just kidding. You need it more than I do. After all, I'm plenty strong without a Devil Fruit."

"Oi!" Luffy sighed as Ace jumped at Sabo, the blonde dodging out of the way and making a run for it. Seriously, when had he become the most sensible out of the trio? He was supposed to be the little brother!

Before the situation could get really out of hand, Luffy coated his hands in Haki and simultaneously bonked both his brother's heads while shouting gleefully, "Fist of Love!" Ace and Sabo froze on their spots at first – the usual moment of fight or flight they all experienced whenever the old geezer paid his mandatory visit.

"Can we hurry it up now? I wanna fight already!", he whined, suffering glares from his brothers once they realised there was no immediate danger of a 'training' session.

"Fine," Ace huffed. "It should be behind that cliff, I think. Then you can go kick the crew's asses all you like." He paused, a hesitant expression on his face. "Are you really sure about this? We've been with them only for a few days, and most of the time they just glared at us for our challenge. Is that really a good way to start a crew?"

"Hmm, it reminds me a bit to much of a Davy Back fight, too," Luffy mumbled discontentedly, thinking back to the annoying episode with the Foxy pirates.

"Hey, I was just using an opportunity as it presented itself. You both said you were okay with it! We could've still called it off!" Sabo looked a bit insulted at his brothers' comments, unhappy with the implication that he was forcing people to join their crew.

"Nah, we couldn't have," Ace countered. "We would have looked like pushovers, and you know we can't afford to look weak. We'll already have to work hard to earn some respect because of our age."

Luffy watched both of his brothers as they continued walking in silence, the discomfort caused by the topic obvious on their faces. The last couple of days had made it obvious that sharing the captain's title wouldn't be as easy as they'd originally thought.

While the three had a very close relationship and while it felt like they knew one another as well as they knew themselves, all of them had already been leaders in their own right. They were all used to making decisions without needing to consult anyone. Additionally, their styles of leadership greatly differed from one another.

Sabo had led huge armies as the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary armies. As such, he was used to commanding people he didn't know particularly well, and expected his commands to be obeyed without question. On the other hand, he was probably the one who was most used to consulting people when it came to making important decisions.

Ace might not have led as many people as Sabo had, but he had been both a captain on his own ship and later the commander of the Second Division of the Whitebeard pirates. Unlike Sabo, he was used to knowing the people he commanded intimately, and made his decisions based on his subordinates' specialties. Ironically, he was the one who bowed most easily to one of the others' decisions, since he had been the youngest and most inexperienced commander on his ship.

Luffy himself still didn't like the position of the leader, preferring to give his followers the freedom to make their own decisions. Even when he'd come closer to his goal, when he'd unintentionally amassed a sizeable fleet who was willing to follow him into death, he'd let his people choose their own courses of action, relying on them to know how they could support him best.

The downside of Luffy's stance was that he would never give up the freedom to make his own decisions when he felt like it. He expected others to respect his choices just as he would respect theirs.

The result of this clash was as of yet undetermined. Since all three of them were used to making decisions on the spot, it had only been a matter of time until one of them chose to do something the others wouldn't approve of.

When Luffy had heard of Sabo's bet, he'd been torn. It didn't sit right with him to take the freedom of the choice from these people, but at the same time he knew he'd have to go along with the deal for the exact same reasons Ace had mentioned.

Yet he liked quite a few members of Francis' crew, the captain included. He couldn't force them to join when he wanted them to choose it for themselves.

"There it is!", Ace shouted and covered the remaining distance to one of the few trees which grew on the rocky, infertile island with a short sprint. It was indeed the bright orange fruit with the strange, swirly pattern that Luffy had briefly seen in the arena at Dressrosa.

Ace touched it almost reverently as if he was afraid it'd disappear again, before promptly plucking the fruit from the branch, grinning broadly. Sabo returned the smile briefly, but his expression turned quickly serious again, their situation clearly still bothering him. "I guess we'd better head back, then," he said quietly.

Luffy watched Sabo with a worried look as they started walking again, his decision cemented by his brother's guilty expression. "We're not going to make them hold up their end of the deal," he stated with a firm voice, drawing questioning glances from both Ace and Sabo.

"We knew from the start that they didn't stand a chance to win the bet," he elaborated, "so I think they should be free to choose if they want to join us. I'll tell them once I've beat them up a bit." A wide grin stretched over his face, already anticipating the coming fight.

Sabo had left Francis the freedom to decide which one of the brothers he wanted to fight against. Unsurprisingly, he had chosen Luffy, the youngest and presumably the weakest, though he did so with an almost guilty look on his face.

He'd soon see that he'd put his proverbial money on the wrong brother. Currently, Luffy dared to claim that he was the strongest of the brothers, since Ace hadn't eaten his fruit yet and Sabo still lacked proper equipment. Plus, the Gomu Gomu no mi greatly boosted the strength of his attacks, easily compensating for his young body.

"You think anybody would willingly call three kids their captains?", Sabo asked sceptically, though he didn't seem inclined to protest Luffy's suggestion much.

"Not all of them, of course. But the ones that matter will!", Luffy cheerfully exclaimed, thinking of the serious captain, the gleeful cook and the clumsy cabin boy. He'd spent the last few days getting to know the members of the crew, and he knew that despite the circumstances and the initial hostility, he'd grown on most of them. He couldn't help but wonder whether they'd even have the heart to really attack him.

Ace smiled softly, the Devil Fruit clutched tightly in his hands. "Let's try it Luffy's way, right, Sabo?" The blonde still seemed to have some doubts about the proposed course of action, but in the end, he nodded reluctantly.

The three spent the rest of the walk in silence, the tension palpable in the air. It bothered Luffy, particularly since their relationship had so rarely been strained before. Sure, they fought all the time, their strong personalities clashing more or less beautifully whenever they didn't see eye to eye. But never had they been so quiet, their discontent going unvoiced as if all of them were trying to ignore it.

It had never been like this on Dawn Island. They'd all been so happy there, simply enjoying each other's company, their worries so far away they might as well not exist. It might have been a bit boring, and Luffy had ached to finally return to the sea where he could never know what to expect, but it had been a safe environment.

Now, they had set sail, but it wasn't at all like they'd imagined. They had to leave in a hurry without even a chance to say good-bye to Makino and Dadan. Who knew if they'd ever return to their first home?

Luffy was used to jumping into situations head on without a plan. However, even he knew that a little more planning would have gone a long way, if only to provide Sabo with some peace of mind. Their 'plan' only stretched as far as getting the Mera Mera no mi, everything else was still written in the stars.

As they reached the part of the beach where their ship was anchored, Luffy put on his treasured straw hat and let it shadow his eyes. He'd have to talk to his brothers about what was bothering them later. This sudden unexplainable rift between them was unbearable.

First, though, he had a bet to win. Just as Francis stepped forward from the waiting crew, Luffy left his brothers behind, continuing to walk until he stood directly in front of the captain who was at least twice as tall as him. The serious expression on his face was replaced by a broad grin as he looked up at the man. "Let's fight!"

Francis looked at him blankly, and for a few seconds, Luffy thought he'd back out, after all. Overcoming his hesitation, though, the man nodded and motioned for his crew to come forwards, taking a few steps back himself to give Luffy some room to fight.

The sight on the beach must have looked ridiculous to the oblivious onlooker. A group of more than twenty grown men, drawing their weapons on a small child who just grinned back without moving even a centimetre. Seconds turned into minutes without either of the opponents making a move to attack, until Luffy sighed in annoyance.

"Are you going to attack me now or not? If you want to give up, that's okay, too," he said with an innocent smile.

Francis' expression was carefully controlled now, but he motioned for his men to attack. Luffy couldn't help but notice that not all of them had followed the captain's orders. Francis himself had kept back for now, observing his men as they started their assault.

It almost felt like they were moving in slow motion. Not all of them were bad fighters per say, but Luffy was simply used to another level of fighting. He couldn't help but think that he wouldn't even need to use his Devil Fruit to win this fight as he dodged out of the way of the first blade, grasping the pirate's arm and throwing him into the next assailant.

He weaved through the first ten pirates as if he were a leaf in the wind, changing his path as soon as there was the slightest breeze. A well-placed punch here or there had all of them indisposed in just about a minute.

As the last of the men fell to the ground behind him, Luffy looked at the remaining pirates with a small smile as he took in their astonished faces. He was standing much closer to them now than before, only a quick jump separating him from their captain. "Come on, then," he challenged, his grin broadening.

Almost as if he was their captain already, they responded to his command, jumping into action without exchanging words between them. Francis and his first mate Goode took the front lines, both drawing daggers and swords respectively. They fought like a well-oiled machine together, taking turns at attacking Luffy and watching out for possible counter-attacks.

So far, Luffy'd remained on the defensive, though, blocking each of the blows with his Haki-coated forearms. While those two were keeping him occupied, the rest of the group had snuck behind him, probably planning to surround him from all sides. Most prominent amongst them was their best sniper, Ivy, who'd drawn both of her guns now, clearly intending to shoot Luffy from behind while he was distracted.

Unfortunately for her, she had no knowledge that Observation Haki even existed. Before she'd even fired the shots, Luffy knew where she was going to hit, jumping up high with a hand on his hat to avoid all incoming attacks. For a second, he was tempted to end the fight with his Gomu Gomu no Gatling, before he remembered his silent oath not to use his Devil Fruit against them.

As such, he ended back on his earlier spot, his enemies either stunned by his inhuman jump or taken out by friendly fire. Only ten of them had remained standing.

Before they ended in yet another stalemate, Luffy sprung into action, for the first time taking the offensive during the fight. He started with the snipers, even though they couldn't technically harm him since his rubber body was immune to bullets. Of course, they didn't know that, so they'd continue firing at him and consequently hit some of their allies when he inevitably dodged. If Luffy was the one to take them out, it would result in fewer heavy injuries.

One after another, his opponents fell before him, neither of them having had much of an opportunity to recover from the shock. Finally, only Francis and Goode stood before him once more, their faces grim. Luffy stopped his ceaseless attack, looking up at them with a soft smile. The entire fight, he hadn't once lost the grin on his face.

"I think I'll like being your captain," he stated proudly, having seen their potential first hand now. They were not unlike the Straw Hats had been in their first months together: A fairly close-knit group, some fighters more talented, others less so, but all of them eager to defend their crew.

Francis and Goode didn't take too kindly to his statement, both of them snarling as they threw themselves into a last, desperate attack. Their speed had significantly increased from before, blows raining down on Luffy from practically all sides as they danced around him.

Luffy was on the defensive again, but only after a few minutes he could feel their moves getting slower and more sluggish, exhaustion setting in bit by bit, no matter how much their minds refused to give in. Goode was the first to give him an opening, a quick kick to the stomach sending him flying, blood dropping from his mouth as he landed on the ground.

The defeat of his partner had Francis faltering, too, but he refused to let himself be distracted. If anything, his attacks intensified again, occasionally trying to back up a bit to throw a knife at Luffy from afar. Luffy gave him no opportunity to catch his breath, though, pursuing the captain each time he attempted to retreat.

The fight came to an abrupt end without Francis ever managing to graze Luffy's skin. After a decisive blow, the captain landed on his back, gasping for breath. He didn't attempt to stand up again, even though Luffy was pretty sure he might have still been able to fight.

For a while, Luffy just watched as he lay there on the floor, panting heavily, staring up to the cloudless sky. Around him, a few of his crew members started to stir again, looking at their captain in sorrow as they recognised defeat.

At last, Luffy stepped closer to the former captain, offering him his hand. The man eyed it warily at first, but decided to take it in the end, accepting the help in sitting up. "You fought well," Luffy said cheerfully. "If you want to, we'd be glad to have you as our first mate!"

Francis glared at him in annoyance. "Do I even have a choice?" Luffy resisted the urge to frown, having expected such a bitter response immediately after defeat, especially since the man didn't think he had any options left.

"Of course you have," he said with a serious expression, "all of you do. We're not going to force anyone to join our crew, especially since the bet was unfair. All three of us knew you had no chance of winning. So we won't hold you to it."

As Luffy turned away to walk over to his brothers, who had now come closer to the scene as well, Ace added quickly, "We'd like to keep the ship, though."

Contemplative looks were on each of the crew's faces as Luffy reached his brothers. "Tell us tomorrow what you've decided. We'll take those of you who don't want to stay to the next island after that," Sabo finished, before the three brothers headed back to the ship, leaving the pensive men behind.

xXx

"We need to talk." Both Ace's and Sabo's eyes turned towards their little brother in surprise, watching him as he closed the door to their cabin behind them. Sabo's mind filled with dread as he took in the serious expression on Luffy's face.

He knew both of his brothers were mad at him for making all the decisions without asking them for advice. For years, he'd talked them into staying at Dawn Island, talked them into waiting just a little bit longer so they'd actually stand a chance out there. And then, when he'd finally seen that their time there was over, he'd made them leave in a hurry.

There had been no creepy tearful goodbyes from the mountain bandits, no cautioning hugs from Makino, no disappointed scolding from the mayor. Their departure had been disturbingly quiet, only a short letter penned by Sabo would let their part-time caretakers know where they'd disappeared to.

It wasn't like Sabo'd wanted to deprive them of the opportunity bid farewell, but he'd been worried that Francis might take off without them if they took too long, leaving them stranded on the island until another suitable ship came by. The option to take a fishing boat and to simply hope all would go well hadn't seemed very appealing to Sabo.

The real mistake had been the bet, though. Sabo knew that now. The only thing on his mind had been to make up for the rash departure, to save themselves from the precarious situation they were in by securing a ship and a crew.

Besides, he'd been doing the crew a favour as well, hadn't he? If they'd headed into the Grand Line without their intervention, they'd probably have been slaughtered for their delusions like so many other crews before them.

He sighed and clenched his jaw as he sat down on his bed, crossing his hands as he looked down to the floor. "Yeah, I know." He really had to stop thinking like that. Sometimes, like this time, his good intentions ran away with him, leading him to make decisions for other people as if he knew better. Maybe he did occasionally. But he still had to remember not to simply take their right to choose for themselves using that excuse.

Ace sat down on the bed next to his, looking at him with an unreadable expression on his face, the Mera Mera no mi still in his hands. Sabo had expected him to eat it immediately after Luffy won, but so far, it remained untouched. Now, the elder raven carefully place it on Luffy's nightstand, looking incredibly pensive.

When had Ace gained that look on his face? Now that Sabo thought back over the last few days on the ship, he realised that Ace had often looked lost, staring into the distance for ages without voicing his obviously deep thoughts.

Sabo looked back at Luffy who still stood in front of the closed door, his expression incredibly worried as his eyes darted from one teen to the other. They were horrible big brothers. Both had been so occupied with their own thoughts and, in Sabo's case, regrets, that they needed Luffy to point it out to them.

Ashamed, he turned his gaze back to his hands, his thumb lightly tracing the thin lines on his other hand. "I'm sorry," he finally brought out, almost choking on the words even though he meant them. "I'm sorry for making you leave Dawn, and I'm sorry for making that stupid bet. I shouldn't have done all of that without asking you first."

By now, Luffy'd left his position at the door, plopping down on the ground between the beds the two brothers currently occupied. "Don't be stupid, Sabo. We both wanted to leave Dawn Island, you know that. And the bet will turn out just fine."

The words from his little brother hardly reassured Sabo, though. "I still should have talked to you about it first. We've always planned on becoming captains together, and I don't want you to think ... I'm not trying to take control or anything, I swear!"

Sabo's gaze turned towards Luffy, his voice full of the despair he'd been trying to hide the last few days. Sharing responsibility turned out to be much more difficult than he'd anticipated. From the start, he'd acted like he always had, making decisions for their group without realising he was taking away their equal right to do so.

Was their dream doomed to fail from the beginning? Would they be unable to sail with one another just because Sabo was unable give them the credit they deserved? After having spent nearly four years with his brothers, the thought of separating again to go their own ways seemed unbearable.

"You're being ridiculous, Sabo," Ace cut through the haze of his thoughts. "You don't need to apologize for making decisions. If all three of us are supposed to be captains together, we're bound to make choices not all of us agree with. There's not always the time to sit down and talk through our options. So stop wallowing in self-doubt, please."

Sabo looked at him insecurely, remembering how they'd both voiced their displeasure over one of his decisions just an hour ago. "But what are we going to do if this happens again? We need to find a way to deal with our disagreements or we won't last long out there."

Luffy poked his thigh from the floor to gain his attention. "You worry too much, Sabo. We can't plan for every time we fight. That takes all the fun out of it."

"I might worry too much, but you clearly worry too little," Sabo mumbled, shooting his little brother an incredulous look, even though he was long since used to Luffy's attitude to approaching problems. "Maybe we can, I don't know, take turns at being the captain?"

"But I'm going to be the Pirate king! I can't not be the captain on some days, Sabo," Luffy whined, causing Ace to chuckle.

"He's got you there, you know. Besides, that would never work. Luffy decides what to do on a whim, he won't suddenly follow your orders just because you're the captain of the day."

"It was just a suggestion," Sabo huffed. "Do you have any better ideas? Because I couldn't come up with anything, and I've been wrecking my brain for days."

Ace shrugged in response. "Sure. If we have time to plan or it concerns something major, we talk about it before we choose. If we don't, we'll just have to live with whatever one of us decided to do." He said it as if it was the simplest thing in the world, causing Sabo to gape at him incredulously. Had he even listened to Sabo before? What if one of them made a choice the others couldn't live with?

Before he could voice his concerns again, though, Ace continued, "If that's not good enough for you, we can always give Luffy the final say. I mean, he is going to be the Pirate king someday, right?" Luffy nodded enthusiastically at those words.

"You'd follow our little brother's orders?", he asked, disbelief colouring his voice. It wasn't like he thought that Luffy made bad decisions, really, just that he tended to go with his gut feeling. It might almost always be right, but it still seemed dangerous to give him the absolute authority over their course.

"You wouldn't?", Ace countered, effectively evoking feelings of guilt at his own doubts. "I think it's our best option to be honest. We might be able to be captains together, but I doubt we can share the Pirate king's title. Not that I even want it, mind you."

"We could just agree not to be mad at each other!" Luffy exclaimed cheerfully, beaming up at the two of them, no doubt encouraged by Ace's words.

Sabo smiled softly down on his little brother. He only wished it could be that easy. But they couldn't know now if one of them wouldn't screw up so badly at some point that the others couldn't forgive.

Suddenly, his eyes widened as realisation hit him. God, how dumb was he not to see it sooner? He started chuckling self-deprecatingly, earning himself questioning glances from Ace and Luffy. "I really am a stupid big brother," he sighed, letting himself fall back onto the bed. "I guess I still have some left-over guilt from our last life to work through, too. I never did forgive myself for not being there at Marineford."

A stunned silence followed his words, broken a few seconds later as Luffy jumped up onto his bed, landing with his knees next to Sabo's head. "But, Sabo, that wasn't your fault! You couldn't remember!"

Sabo sent a weak smile to his little brother, but contradicted his words. "I couldn't remember because I decided to set sail without you when I was ten. It might have seemed like my only option back then, but it was still a bad decision and cost me valuable time and memories with you two."

Ace joined them on Sabo's bed now, sitting down on his blonde brother's other side, a tiny frown on his face. "You know we've never blamed you for that, right? Besides, I think if you'd shown up at Marineford, too, I'd have had a heart attack," he attempted to joke, but his hands trembled as they always did when the war came up.

"We're both pretty screwed up, aren't we?", Sabo quietly said to Ace as he took hold of his hands, squeezing them reassuringly. All three of them had been through so much, and only Luffy seemed to be able to handle it properly. Only Luffy kept the promise he'd made with Ace – to live with no regrets.

"Yeah, I guess we are." Ace sent him a wry but thankful smile. It only lasted for a few seconds before the smile turned hesitant. "Otherwise I'm pretty sure I wouldn't even be considering this. I want to know what you think about it before I make my decision."

xXx

Icy blue eyes scanned the endless ocean before them, the water sparkling beautifully in the bright sunlight. The only break in the monotone yet strangely enchanting view was a group of fairly small islands, growing larger with every minute that passed, the wind blowing in their favour.

Confident that he still had quite a bit of time until they reached their destination, Finn leaned back against the mast in the crow's nest, closing his eyes and enjoying the sunny warmth on his skin, tanning it even further.

His life sure had taken a strange turn. Four months ago, he'd still been living a boring, predictable, but very safe and most of all sane life in his village. The greatest excitement he'd known there was the occasional brawl in the tavern, or, even more rarely, a pirate ship docking for a raid or a simple supply run, depending on their luck.

He could still hear his parents' voices in his ears, telling him to find a good job, to get a nice wife, to have beautiful children, and he hadn't even been all that opposed to their dreams. Except he really didn't know what this good job was supposed to be or where the nice wife he'd marry was hiding.

At seventeen, he'd become something of a running joke in the entire village. All other teenagers his age had been taken on as apprentices by the various masters, learning and improving their skill every day while he sat around being indecisive. Soon, his parents' hopeful and proud glances turned to disappointment when they didn't think he was looking, clearly wondering where they'd gone wrong.

Each day, he'd tell himself that now was the time. This was the day he'd make his choice. This was the day he'd decide on the course of the rest of his life. But in the end, he always lay in bed with a hollow feeling in his chest, eyes staring blankly into the darkness of the night.

Then, four months ago, there was that day. The day he'd never be able to forget in his entire life even if he tried.

It started with excitement and ended in anxiety. It started with the arrival of a pirate ship, sending the entire village into a frenzy until it turned out they were only here to stock up on their supplies. It ended with Finn hiding in their storage room, adrenaline coursing through his veins as his brain screamed at him not to be so recklessly stupid.

Yet it seemed that just with his decision to finally do something, no matter how badly thought-out and risky that action was, Lady Luck was gracious enough to favour him for once. The pirates welcomed the foolish stowaway in good humour, even offering to take him back to his island. His hasty refusal and subsequent stuttered begging to be allowed to join the crew was met with laughter until they realised he was actually being serious.

It took him quite a while to convince his captain, but eventually, he became the officially youngest member of the crew. There was a lot of teasing, drinking and training, his crew mates more or less enthusiastic about having a newbie on board. But even more than two months later, Finn was still questioning his decision, having never managed to really take to the life of a pirate.

A little over a month ago, everything changed again. Whether it was for better or worse, Finn was still torn over.

"Ne, Finn, whatcha doing up here?" A cheerful voice brought him out of his reminiscing, but he didn't bother to open his eyes to see the broad grin to his right.

"Enjoying the feel of the sun on my skin," he answered indifferently, knowing that his moment of peace was now definitely over. Not that he really minded much, since thinking too much was always a bad thing, especially during a fight.

"Why're you just lying around for that? You can feel the sun while you're eating, too, you know." Finn stretched and yawned, not bothering to answer the question, since judging from the footsteps, Luffy's attention was already elsewhere again. "Hey! That's Conomi Island! We're almost there!"

"Yeah, I guess we should get down now," Finn said as he saw that the island was indeed close enough that he could make out buildings without using a telescope. They were sure making good headway today.

"Nah, let's stay up here, Finn, pleeeeease?" Luffy's dark eyes resembled those of a puppy as he whined, melting Finn's heart even further though it was already reduced to a puddle of chocolate just by Luffy's presence. The kid was just so sweet! How could anyone ever say no to that face?

With great effort, Finn resisted the urge to cuddle the life out of him by reminding himself that he was a pirate now. Pirates didn't like cute and fluffy puppies, they kicked them. Finn nodded firmly to himself before jumping up, fully intending to join his captain like a good pirate would.

His plan was, unfortunately, foiled by the slippery ground, his right foot losing its hold and sending Finn backwards down the mast. So this was it. Finn closed his eyes, sending a silent apology to his parents for dying in such a pathetic way after he'd broken their hearts.

Except the fatal impact never came, something wrapping around his traitorous foot probably a second before his death. Hesitantly, Finn opened his eyes to see worn brown boots in front of his nose. "The ground slippery again, huh?" Finn cringed at the gleeful look on Goode's ugly mug, the loud 'Shishishi' from above hardly making his situation any better.

Fortunately, he was spared the embarrassment of not having an adequate response ready, since Luffy's usual rebound hit in. Unfortunately, being transported by the rubber brat also spelled an uncomfortable landing. Well, at least he could now confidently say that he knew the mast intimately.

"Ouch ...", he mumbled, touching his aching forehead experimentally only for a spike of pain to shoot through his entire body. "Hey, Captain, I'll go see Beckett now. Don't fall off the ship." No, he was definitely not being a hypocrite.

Through skill and probably quite a bit of luck, Finn made it back to the deck in one piece. Ignoring the no doubt completely unnecessary comment from Goode, he trudged to the infirmary, already dreading the scolding that was sure to follow.

Steeling himself, the coal-haired young man pushed open the accursed door, the handle already fitting perfectly into his hand after four months of almost daily visits. "Hey, Beckett. You busy?"

The stocky man in his mid-forties looked at him over the rim of his thin glasses, exasperation written all over his face. "Yes, actually, I am. I'm writing on my essay right now. Wanna know what it's about?" Finn nodded warily, not sure how to handle the almost cordial treatment. "100 ridiculous ways to get hurt on a pirate ship. Also known as a study of Finn the fool."

"Well, you can add kissing the mast by rubber recoil," Finn mumbled, plopping down on the patient's seat and regretting it immediately as his head complained. The doctor just sighed in response, slipping into his gloves and started with examining his eyes.

The two quickly fell into their routine, which mostly consisted of Finn following Beckett's instructions before he even gave them while listening to the man's annoyed ranting about his clumsiness with half an ear. It wasn't his fault that he'd recently hit a growth spurt! So what if his body was taking almost half a year already to adapt to the new height?!

"Well, I'd say take some painkillers, take it easy and get a good night's rest, but we're attacking Fishmen today, so you can probably scratch the 'take it easy' part," Beckett finally grumbled, pulling his gloves of with a snap and spreading disinfectant over his hands. "Out of all the foolish things those brats could come up with ..."

Finn quickly swallowed the pills, hoping they'd kick in soon. As Beckett had just reminded him, he'd need to be in top form today, to show his captains that the month spent training was not wasted on him. That even though he had no experience or skill to boast with yet, he was full of potential waiting to be unleashed.

When he returned to the deck, the entire crew minus Dante and Beckett, who wouldn't be taking part in the attack, was already there, staring ahead at the huge building which had appeared in Finn's absence. 'Arlong Park', it said in big fancy letters, the entire complex giving off an air of extravagance.

It was the most impressive building Finn had seen so far, although that probably said more about how isolated his life in the village had been than about the beauty of the Arlong pirates' base. No matter how provincial it made him feel, Finn let his eyes roam eagerly over his surroundings as he'd taken to doing whenever they arrived at a new island, taking in the coastline, the plants, and the giant sea cow with his captain on it.

With a dubious look, Finn stepped closer to Zandra, never taking his eyes off the bizarre sight. "Why is Luffy riding a sea cow?"

The tall woman with the long, emerald green hair shot a disinterested glance first towards Luffy, then back to Finn. "Why does Luffy do anything?", she countered, before turning her attention back towards the gun in her hand, probably to do some last minute preparations.

Though disappointed at being blown off so quickly, Finn resisted the urge to pout and instead meandered towards the front of the ship, picking up the crude staff he'd trained with along the way. So far, Finn was quite happy with his choice of weapon, but he knew he was still miles behind the level of skill Sabo, his trainer, displayed whenever he fought with his pipe.

He hesitated only briefly before stepping up to join Ace and Sabo, who were leaning against the railing at the front, knowing all three brothers didn't care much for the formalities the title of the captain came with. They preferred to be on an equal footing with their crewmates, though everyone naturally still had to follow explicit orders from either of them.

At first, it had seemed impossible to accept three kids as figures of authority, especially since Finn was used to being at the bottom of the pecking order because of his age. He'd been understandably unsure whether he should take them up on their offer to join their crew, his entire world view having been turned upside down by those ridiculously overpowered boys.

Many hadn't been able to handle the defeat at the hands of a ten-year-old. In fact, most of the crew had decided to start over at the next island, unable to bear the humiliation. Only seven members had chosen to stay in the end, with Finn being the last one to make his decision.

He'd debated endlessly with himself about what to do. It had been his pride which had finally won out over any arguments about how the trio was too young to call themselves pirates, let alone captains. If Finn had decided to start over at the next island, he'd have basically been back to the beginning. The crew members he'd gotten along with the most had all chosen to join the ASL pirates, so it would have been unlikely that he would have started a new crew with the left-overs. He would have had to admit that becoming a pirate had been the wrong choice.

It was ridiculous that it actually bothered him so much. Considering how indecisive he'd always been, how he'd always questioned any plan until he'd talked himself out of it, he should have expected and easily accepted that his first rash decision would be a failure. But for some reason, he wasn't willing to give up on piracy yet.

The large and very closed gate before their ship caught his attention, causing him to look at the two brothers beside him with a questioning glance. Ace had moved onto the figurehead, a white tiger, his signature crooked smile on his face, his hand catching fire and rapidly expanding.

"Hiken!" The heat of the attack was intense enough for a few beads of sweat to appear on Finn's face. He briefly wondered if he'd ever get used to Ace's and Luffy's abilities, not to mention all the other Devil's Fruits' users out there.

The gate didn't stand a chance against the brute force of Ace's assault, pieces of stone and half-molten metal crashing into the yard. Immediately, people came streaming out of the building, joining those who'd been outside at the moment of the attack, all of them staring dumbfounded at the destruction.

"Bye, Mohmoo!", Luffy shouted from his new position next to Sabo, waving goodbye to the sea cow who seemed to be in an incredible hurry to get away from there. For a second, Finn wondered if he should ask the creature for a lift, but he was a courageous pirate now. He wouldn't run away from a fight, even if he might be outclassed.

Besides, he didn't know how to speak with a sea cow.

"What is going on here?" A gigantic blue-skinned man with a really strange nose stepped out of the shadows, followed by three equally weird looking pirates. So those were fishmen. Finn wasn't really sure what he'd expected, but it had been more along the lines of male mermaids, not actual men who had some of the physical qualities of various aquatic animals.

"Hey, Long-nose! We're here to kick your ass!", Luffy shouted cheerfully from his position, jumping up and down to reach above the railing. Ace continued to stand on the figurehead, flames still dancing over his raised fist, probably in an effort to appear intimidating, which was unfortunately destroyed by the fact he was only fourteen years old.

While Ace and Luffy proceeded to exchange insults with Arlong, Sabo turned towards the crew who'd come closer to the scene of action as well. "Alright, guys, here's the plan. Ace, Luffy and I keep the masses contained while you five take on the leaders. Francis, you take their captain Arlong, Goode, you get the swordsman – that's the one with the six arms, by the way. Finn, you'll fight against the big, pale one – he looks like he prefers close combat. Zandra will back you up. And Ivy, you take –"

"The one with the weird lips," the short woman interrupted, already seizing up her opponent, "because he looks like he can cast long range attacks with those." She placed her hands confidently on her hips just above her guns, any traces of her usual quiet shyness gone.

"Exactly," Sabo continued with a small smile. "This is a trial run for the Grand Line, guys. Give it all you've got." With those words, the blonde captain turned his attention back to his brothers, Finn quickly following his lead. The two had jumped off the ship already, making short work of Arlong's troops. "Right. We'd better get going," Sabo sighed. "Why can't those two just follow my plans?", he mumbled under his breath, setting off after Ace and Luffy.

Finn steeled himself as he landed on the ground, giving Zandra some time to catch up before he headed towards his opponent. Francis and Goode had already engaged their opponents, leaving the other two fishmen to switch between watching the fights and keeping an eye on the approaching trio.

Ivy threw Finn one last, encouraging smile before drawing her guns and dropping into a run, firing a couple of well-aimed shots at her target, who evaded with skilled twists and side-steps. In doing so, Ivy had manoeuvred herself between the remaining two pirates, giving Finn an optimal opening to begin his own attack.

Only a few seconds after the fight had started, Finn could already tell that he was hopelessly outmatched. His erratic hits and occasional kicks lacked any sort of pattern, which might have given him the advantage of being unpredictable. Unfortunately, his opponent was clearly a master of a martial art, boasting a solid defence which nullified any chance of Finn landing a hit.

The disdainful look on the fishman's face made it clear that Finn was only being humoured, and that his patience probably wouldn't last long. When Zandra, at last, saw an opportunity to support Finn, she fired a shot which actually grazed the fishman's skin, a furious expression appearing on his face.

The moment of triumph Finn had experienced as he saw Zandra's success quickly turned into fear as his opponent started a relentless counter-attack, the black-haired boy only barely managing to avoid the incoming blows. His desperate evasive manoeuvers only bought him a minute at most, however, until the fishman broke his staff with a first and pushed him strongly in the chest with a second hit, sending Finn flying backwards only inches in front of the pool.

"And you really thought you could defeat us? Tch," the fishman spit as he very slowly and menacingly approached the downed boy who was still gasping for the air that had been knocked out of him by the impact. "You're inferior in every way. It will be a mercy to end your miserable existence."

He didn't get a chance to follow through on his promise, though, Zandra drawing his attention by firing a few shots which all unfortunately missed. His expression turned even angrier if that was possible, setting after the sniper with a few long leaps. Desperately, Finn tried to stand up, to stop him, but he couldn't even pull himself into a sitting position, his probably broken rips impairing his breathing significantly, sapping his strength with the barely bearable pain.

By the time the fishman reached his crew mate, Finn had only managed to turn slightly to the side, watching with wide eyes as Zandra hastily tried to hit her opponent with a shaky hand. He could do nothing as he saw her fail, the shots missing their target without him even making any moves to evade.

"N-no ...", Finn stuttered as he tried to draw himself up, tears springing into his eyes as both his chest and head complained at the effort. He refused to give up, though, getting into a kneeling position with his hands supporting part of his body's weight, a metallic taste in his mouth. A wheezing cough wrecked his body, his hand stained with blood much to Finn's disgust. He was too weak. He couldn't even do the one thing he'd been entrusted with.

He couldn't bring himself to look up, knowing that he was already far too late to save Zandra. Pressing his eyes shut, he tried his best not to break down crying, at least, refusing to prove himself even weaker in the last few moments of his pathetic life.

The fatal blow never came, though. Instead, a slender arm wrapped around his waist, drawing him to his feet with astonishing strength. Forcing his eyelids open again took more of an effort than Finn would ever want to admit, darkness teasing his mind with the promise of blissful nothingness.

"Don't faint on me yet, cabin boy, we need to get you back to the ship," his saviour said with a snarky voice, proceeding to more or less drag him along with her. With his bleary vision, Finn managed to recognise the crew mate he'd failed, still very much alive much to his relief and confusion.

"H-how –", he choked on the blood in his throat, throwing him into another coughing fit, Zandra barely supporting his weight as his knees gave out again.

"Sabo saved me. Now stop asking stupid questions when you can't talk," she snapped, trying to drag him back to his feet. Finn tried, he really did – however, his body didn't seem inclined to listen to him anymore. The last thing that registered in his conscious mind was someone taking a hold of his other arm. But just as he turned his head, darkness suddenly claimed him.

xXx

Nami stared at the destroyed complex in disbelief, nails digging deeply into the tattoo on her arm. The wall surrounding Arlong park had mostly remained in tact, only the gate opening to the sea was in shambles, obviously the victim of an explosion of some sort. The tiled floor was cracked all over the place, another sign of the intense battle that had to have taken place there only recently.

The building itself had suffered the brunt of the destruction, though. Debris littered the ground around it, parts of the building occasionally collapsing in on themselves while Nami stood there as if lightning had hit her. The entire two upper levels were completely missing, probably spread across the yard by now.

What on earth had happened here? Who had been so insane as to attack Arlong and his pirates? They were incredibly strong, so much stronger than anyone else Nami had ever met, strong enough that not even the Marines had tried to attack them during the last two years.

The question which occupied her the most was just who the victor in this battle had been. Had these people pushed Arlong off his throne to give the island back their freedom? Or would the fishmen only be replaced by a worse pirate crew, one that was capable of destruction of such a scale?

Finally, she took a few hesitating steps into the yard, determined to get the questions to her answers, no matter how risky it might be. The first thing to catch her eye was a ship with a fearsome white tiger as a figurehead, anchored at the entrance from the sea, taking up the majority of the space there.

Her observation immediately had her faltering again, stopping her slow approach. The people who did this were still around! Who knew what they'd do when they found out that she was a member of Arlong's crew, too?

"Hello, there, young lady," the calm voice to her right left her frozen to the spot. "Are you from the nearby village, perhaps? Might you be willing to tell somebody to call the Marines so they could pick up Arlong? I would do it, of course, but I'm afraid with my occupation, my call would be ill-received."

When Nami turned her head, eyes wide with fear, a rather bizarre sight was offered to her. In the shadow of the wall, only a few feet away from the gate, there was a man, sitting at a large table which Nami had never seen anywhere in Arlong park before. Countless papers filled with neat, black scribbles were spread all over it, along with a couple of maps which looked distinctly familiar to her.

As if the sight of a study in the midst of all the debris wasn't strange enough by itself, the man who had addressed her didn't look any more normal himself. It felt like he was completely lacking in colour – his hair was white as the freshly fallen snow she'd read about but never seen for herself so far, his skin incredibly pale with a light pink tinge to it. Despite the fact that they were partially hidden by his glasses, the most eerie sight were his eyes – instead of the usual brown, blue or grey you'd usually expect to look at, his eyes had a distinct reddish tint, even affecting the normally black pupil.

If he was bothered by her staring or her lack of response, he didn't show it apart from a tiny sigh that escaped his lips, turning his attention back to his papers. "Would you happen to know a thing or two about your former oppressors, at least? I'm trying to write our logbook, but I'm afraid I'm still missing out on some information."

At last, Nami snapped out of her stupor, guessing that she wasn't in any immediate danger from the presumed pirate who twirled a gigantic eagle feather quill in his fingers. Hesitantly, she stepped closer to the table, worrying her lower lip. "You defeated Arlong?", she asked in a small voice, the tiny flame of hope at the sight of the destroyed complex burning a bit brighter.

"Oh, no, I didn't take part in the fighting," the man said without taking his eyes from his papers, shuffling them around in a way which probably only made sense to him. "I'm just the navigator. One of my captains, Luffy, did."

A tiny, relieved smile appeared on Nami's face, tears rolling down her face as the realisation set in. She was free. There was no need to start going on her own tours, to try and steal treasure from people who probably couldn't afford to part with it either. She wouldn't have to become like those she hated the most.

"Hey, Dante, we're setting off soon." A boy maybe a little older than herself stepped in front of the table, looking at her with sympathetic eyes, though Nami could barely even see him through her blurred eyes. "Really, what did you do to make her cry?"

"Huh? Oh, my, did I?", the navigator's voice sounded distracted, but Nami's gaze rested on the teenager who was approaching her now, awkwardly patting her back in a comforting manner. Her sobs hitched a bit at the contact, and without any conscious decision, she threw her arms across his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.

The boy had gone stiff at the sudden contact since he probably hadn't anticipated her actions. Once Nami had a grip on her emotions again, she could feel her face heating up, burning with embarrassment as she quickly let go off him, looking at his equally red face with mortification.

"Erm ...", he stuttered, obviously at a loss at what to say in this situation. He wasn't even wearing a fucking shirt. Nami cursed herself for eyeing his toned torso, and then proceeded to curse him internally. As if it wasn't bad enough that she'd hugged a stranger, no, he had to be half-naked while she did so, too!

"Thank you," she quickly said, pasting a fake smile on her face to cover up her embarrassment. He probably hadn't had much to do with the victory over Arlong considering his age, but that didn't matter right now, as long as she could somehow find a subject to talk about. "For getting rid of Arlong, I mean. He's been terrorising our village for years."

"Do you know the names of Arlong's officers, by any chance, young lady? I only have the name of the one with the long lips, Chew, since he was allegedly very talkative before Ivy defeated him." Nami's gaze snapped back to the self-proclaimed navigator, looking at her expectantly with his unnerving eyes. The man really didn't know how to read the atmosphere, did he?

"It's Nami," she answered without thinking, before realising that he might misinterpret that answer. "My name, I mean. But I know the officers' names, too, if you really want to know."

With no small deal of apprehension, she watched as his face turned almost hungry, the knowledge clearly worth a great deal to him for whatever reason. She suppressed the shark-like grin as she realised she might actually have some leverage she could use to ensure the village would go free. "I might consider telling you all about them, but only if you tell me what your plans are."

Dante, as she now remembered the boy calling him, looked at her with surprise on his face, then shrugged indifferently. "I honestly don't know our plans, besides the fact that we're headed to the Grand Line. You'd have to ask the Captains," he answered, pointing at the boy who was still eyeing her with a mix of embarrassment and sympathy.

"There are no plans besides heading to the Grand Line and making Luffy the King," he deadpanned, finally letting her out of his sight as he stretched and yawned, turning around towards the ship. "Anyway, Dante, don't take too long with the interview. You did say you wanted to set off before night fell."

The man only waved him off hastily, the boy – captain? – strolling back to the ship at a leisurely pace. "Well, now you know our plans. Could you perhaps tell me about the octopus fishman, first? What –"

"He's your captain?", Nami interrupted, incredulity colouring her voice. That boy had barely been any older than her, and yet he was already the leader of his own crew, much less one that had managed to defeat Arlong? Surely, that was impossible.

Dante looked at her for a few long seconds, annoyance at being interrupted written all over his face. "Yes, Ace and his two brothers, Sabo and Luffy. It took some getting used to, but those boys are doing exceptionally well, if you ask me. Which you did. Anyways, if we could get back to the topic –"

"But he's just a kid! How could they have possibly beat Arlong, if they're all just kids?" Especially since she was just around their age, apparently, the whole situation seemed all the more surreal to Nami. Arlong had always been a giant to her ever since he'd killed Belle-mère, an unbeatable nightmare she would never be able to escape from.

"Listen, Nami, I know this has surely been a very emotional day for you," Dante said, none of the sympathy of his words showing on his face, his tone impatient despite their content. "But I really want to finish my log before we set sail, which means I barely have twenty minutes left as it is. So if you could quickly answer my questions, you can head on board and bother them with your questions. Alright?"

Nami glared at him for his rudeness, briefly contemplating throwing a fit just to spite him. In the end, however, she decided to simply answer his current of questions, since he had been quite helpful already.

At last, the man dismissed her, allowing Nami to make her way towards the ship. She'd always thought that she'd be more excited at meeting a fellow navigator, someone with experience, but Dante was so deeply buried in his notes that he probably wouldn't have even acknowledged her presence if she hadn't had valuable information for him.

Looking up to the railing of the ship, Nami hesitated for a minute. Should she really go on board of a pirate ship willingly? If Ace and Dante were the rule, she shouldn't have anything to be afraid of, but she also knew that her curiosity could easily get her killed. It wasn't like she absolutely needed to know the man – boy? – who'd defeated Arlong.

However, the decision was taken out of her hands as a red blur jumped over the railing and knocked her to the ground. Slightly dazed, she sat up, supporting her torso with her hands, only to see a broadly grinning boy sitting at her feet, a worn straw hat on his head.

To Nami's embarrassment, Ace and another boy followed soon after, bonking their brother on the head. "Idiot! How many times do I have to tell you? You can't just rocket into people like that!", Ace shouted, the younger one responding by sticking out his tongue.

A pale hand entered her field, the blonde boy offering his help registered in her mind shortly after. "Sorry about that. Are you alright, Nami, right? I'm Sabo," he said, smiling politely at her as if he wasn't a pirate. What the hell was up with this crew?

Despite her confusion, she accepted his help, getting back onto her feet only for the third boy to jump her again, engulfing her in a bone-crushing hug. Did his arms just wrap around her torso more than once? Before Nami could make sure she wasn't hallucinating, however, the kid grinned up at her. "Ne, Nami, wanna join my crew?"

"Let go of her, Luffy! You're suffocating her!", Ace screamed at his little brother again, his expression furious. Nami felt like he was exaggerating a bit since she was having no trouble breathing, but she didn't protest. It was a rather uncomfortable position she was in right now.

Just as Luffy reluctantly let go of her, her brain scrambled up to what Ace had just said, her eyes going wide as she saw the youngest boy in an entirely new light. "You're Luffy? You're the one who beat Arlong?" This was ridiculous. They had to be lying to her.

"Yeah! But Naaamiii ... join my crew! Please! Join my crew, join my crew, join my crew!" The kid was jumping up and down excitedly, Nami growing dizzy just by watching him move. How much sugar had he eaten today?

"Shut up!", she finally shouted, hitting him on the head as hard as she could, her patience finally worn out. Almost immediately afterwards, she froze, her mind catching up to her actions. She'd just hit the person who'd allegedly defeated Arlong. And even if they were lying, as Nami was still convinced, they were at least part of the crew which had beaten the pirate.

To her surprise, though, none of the boys were making any move to attack her. Luffy was pouting adorably at her, but at least he'd finally stopped talking. Ace blushed almost immediately when she caught his eye, causing her face to redden as well while she desperately tried not to think about the 'moment' the two had shared before.

"Ne, Luffy," the blonde, Sabo, whispered conspirationally at his little brother, "Ace looks like he does when he's talking to Makino, don't you think?" While Nami didn't know who this Makino was, she really didn't like what Sabo implied, especially when Ace's blush darkened even more, before he scowled furiously.

"Sh-shut up, Sabo!" With that angry shout, Ace launched himself at Sabo, the two fighting at a speed Nami was unable to follow. At some point, there was a loud crash at the building, another round of debris falling down in a flaming rain.

Before she could even begin to comprehend what had just happened, Luffy tugged at her hand to gain her attention again, looking surprisingly serious. "It's okay if you don't want to join today, Nami. I'll just come back in a couple of years and ask you again." He paused, before smiling up at her gently. "Do you have a dream, Nami?"

Something in his expression made Nami pause. If he'd asked that innocent question just a day ago, she would have been able to answer without hesitation. More than anything, she'd wanted to see her village free again, even if that free life was one without Belle-mère. But then, she had a feeling that that wasn't the kind of answer Luffy was expecting.

Suddenly, the books and the maps from years back, when she'd just barely been able to read and write, sprang to her mind, a tiny, nostalgic smile gracing her face. "I want to draw a map. A map of the entire world!"

The grin she received from Luffy in return was almost blinding. "Shishishi! That's perfect for the navigator of the Pirate king! We'll have lots of adventures together one day, you'll see!"

xXx

Captain Smoker strolled through the bustling street at a leisurely pace, moving from the harbour towards the centre of the city as he'd taken to doing every day since he'd accepted his new position at Logue Town.

By now, he'd been here for multiple months already and was quite satisfied with his results, so far. When he'd arrived, the Marine base there had been a mess of incompetence and corruption, testing his patience on more than one occasion.

The pirates had basically run amok in the city, the marines allowing them to do whatever they liked as long as they didn't do too much damage and put some shiny coins into the right pockets. It was disgusting, really – men like these were no better than the pirates they claimed to be fighting.

These days, however, he was proud to say that Loguetown had once more become a city that pirates sought to avoid. Sure, there was a foolish and over-confident crew about every week, stomping into the city with the grace of an elephant, marching towards the execution platform of their own free will to proclaim their intention of becoming the king of the pirates. As if any of those idiots would even stand a chance in the Grand Line.

None of them had even put up a proper fight, completely overwhelmed at the prospect of fighting against a logia. It was a somewhat unfair advantage in the Blues, where Haki could just as well be mistaken for some type of food considering how few people had ever even heard the word.

Smoker himself was still unable to use it, having never had the patience to sit through the both mind-numbing and gruelling training sessions. He was a man of action – if he was meant to master those esoteric techniques, he was sure that he'd manage to unlock them in a battle at some point, anyways.

The crowd parted in front of him, the people sharing a feeling of respect and fear of him that he was still having a hard time getting used to. Sure, he'd never deny that he was merciless when it came to dealing with the scum of the world, but he'd never seen himself as a particularly cruel or frightening man. On the contrary, it had been his goal to appear approachable to the people, so they'd rely on the Marines to solve their problems instead of searching for their own, most likely illegal methods.

However, that was clearly still something he'd have to work on. He sighed tiredly as he saw a mother ushering her child inside as she saw him coming. Sometimes, he really didn't get people. When had his actions ever implied that he'd treat the citizens he was tasked to protect badly?

He pushed his deep, self-reflecting thoughts from his mind as he neared the plaza, though, since a marine soldier was already hurrying to meet him halfway. It appeared that his break was now officially over.

After quick salutes were exchanged, Smoker gestured at the gasping man to stop wasting his time. "Sorry, sir, but we have a problem at the execution platform," he brought out while still breathing heavily, obviously unused to the exercise. It seemed like that was another thing Smoker would have to improve.

For now, though, there were more important things to take care of. "Again?", he asked, walking towards the plaza at a brisk pace, not even waiting for the soldier to answer his question. It seemed like it was one of those days again – the days were some idiotic pirate had the idea to improve his chances of becoming the King by starting his journey through the Grand Line at the same spot the last one had lost his life.

Smoker could still remember the day as if it were yesterday. The day the Pirate King Gold Roger had been executed. His mother had forbidden him from leaving the house, understandably worried that some of the King's powerful crew mates might try to save the man from his death. Smoker, back then only twelve years old, had disobeyed his mother in a fit of teenage rebellion, sneaking out to watch despite the danger she had warned him about.

He'd never regretted going against her wishes that day, as he'd born witness to the birth of a legend – the legend of One Piece.

This time, as he reached the plaza, there was no giant procession of Marines, no security besides the few soldiers who were stationed around the 'monument' day and night. Right now, they were occupied with trying to convince the offender to climb down from the platform, going as far as to threaten the kid.

Frowning, Smoker stepped closer to the platform, the crowd which had gathered to watch the spectacle quickly parting way for him. For once, he was thankful for that reaction, fully taking advantage of the fear he seemed to inspire in people without trying.

Coming to a stop at the base of the platform, Smoker looked up at the face of a teenager, fourteen, maybe fifteen years old. His dark hair almost reached his bare shoulders, swaying in the gentle breeze. A bright orange cowboy hat was perched on top of it, a happy and a sad smiley adorning the hat band.

He was kneeling at the exact same spot as the Pirate King had all those years ago. Whether that was intentional or not, Smoker couldn't tell, but all of a sudden, his stomach was churning, a deeply unsettling feeling spreading through his mind.

Very soon, he recognised the source for his uneasiness. Whenever he'd been called to the plaza on duty, he'd had to deal with pirates seeking to make a name for themselves by abusing Gold Roger's place of death. This kid, though, was just kneeling there, staring into the distance, silent tears streaming down his face.

This was out of the norm. It wasn't part of his job description to comfort little brats, no matter how much his heart went out to them. For whatever reason the boy had chosen this very public place to show his grief, it wasn't any of his business. He was only responsible for making sure the peace of Loguetown remained undisturbed.

"Oi, kid," he shouted with a loud, but calm voice, "you can't sit up there. This is a national monument. I'll have to ask you to get down from there." It seemed to take a while for his words to register with the teenager, but eventually, he closed his eyes briefly, before looking down at Smoker with surprisingly intense eyes, any trace of the tears gone.

"This was the place the Pirate King died," he said with a quiet, yet somehow strong voice. The entire attention of the plaza was focused on the boy now more than ever. "Gol D. Roger." He looked up to the cloudless sky at the name, a gentle smile on his face.

Smoker's expression, on the other hand, went from calm to shock in about a second as he heard the Pirate King's real name. Not many used it any more these days, the significance of the D having completely disappeared from public knowledge. And even those who knew to fear the cursed letter had no idea what it actually meant, besides trouble.

So how did the kid know that name? More importantly, why did he use it right now, in front of all of these people? "Oi, brat," he shouted again, but before he could instruct him to move again, the boy stood up on his own, raising his fist which promptly turned into fire.

A few people around him screamed in fear, the boy suddenly presenting a level of threat nobody had accounted for prior to that. Despite his own state of surprise – the kid was a fire logia, after all – he quickly motioned the men around him to get the public out of there, or at least out of his range of fire. All the while, he kept a close eye on the teenager, preparing to move at any point. With his powers, he was the only one who might be able keep him contained if he decided to attack.

The boy grinned broadly at their frantic reaction, his fire fist expanding rapidly. Yet somehow, the sight of the fire wasn't what unnerved Smoker the most. No, it was the smile – that same carefree, cocky, dangerous smile he'd seen on that man's face more than fifteen years ago.

As if to confirm his fears, the boy finally opened his mouth again, his voice carrying over the entire plaza. "My name is Gol D. Ace," he proclaimed loudly, his grin widening if that was even possible, "and I think it's about high time that someone took this place down."

And then, the execution platform went up in flames, taking the Pirate Prince's future with it, whether he knew it already or not.

xXx

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the second chapter! Be sure to let me know what you thought! Your positive comments really encouraged me and motivated me to type even faster!

To answer a few questions from the comments:

1) It should be obvious after this chapter, but only Ace, Sabo and Luffy have memories of the previous time line. None of the other Straw Hats do.

2) As such, it will still take a while for the Straw Hats to join my story more permanently, since most of them are just kids right now. They wouldn't be able to keep up with what the three brothers are going to do.

3) There is no particular reason why Luffy met his father early. That simply happened because I thought it would be both interesting and plausible. It's well known that Dragon was in Goa kingdom during those days, but they simply didn't run into each other the last time around. Since nobody could possibly remember where they were at any day in their lives, I thought that it would make sense for Luffy to be at a different place than in his first life, coincidentally running into his father.

Well, that should cover most of what I wanted to say (unless I'm having a fit of amnesia), but if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask! Comments and PNs are always welcome.