Too Far Back

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece :3

Hey, thanks for everyone who favorited, followed, reviewed, and what not! I super appreciate it… ew, I'm sorry, I won't do it again. Seriously though, it means a lot that you guys like this story and just a true thanks, to everyone :). So, the meaning of the "Prologues" is to just have a fun, mini-side-story I guess, of what happened to the the current Straw Hats, rather than those at Marineford, which is the past. Sometimes, I think it's nice to just have another little something to look at rather than just the main thing all the time. Don't know how long the "Prologue story" is going to go on for, but if you guys like it, then I can stretch it out longer :3. Alright I'm done, enjoy the second chapter of Too Far Back.

Chapter 2: Time Travelers?

-xXx-

Prologue

Usopp gasped, spitting dramatically and falling on his side, "LUFFY!"

"What should we do now?" Chopper asked, looking around expectantly and resting his eyes on Sanji, who marched forward, his eyes blazing.

"Yosh, it's time! I won't let him touch your work, Nami-san!" He exclaimed, holding up his knee as a flame burned at the bottom of his leg.

Nami turned her head, eyes wide as Sanji was ready to take off, "Wait a minute, Sanji-kun!" She yelled, turning back towards the Clima Tact, which had an extra extension and a few extra holes that she had just installed. She looked oddly focused, and suddenly, her eyes lit up excitedly, "Almost… yes, I think it's done!"

"Where's the time-travel thing? I want to go the future!" Luffy exclaimed, shooting his fists in the air again as he marched forward, his knees high and his smile broad with adventure.

Usopp and Chopper let out a startled gasp as Zoro unsheathed his swords, his eyes narrowing, "I can just stop him right now." He stated, looking on at Brook, who was standing in a readied stance, his hand on his sword as he sheathed it entirely.

"No, not you, idiot! Besides, you won't need to." Her eyes lit up as she whipped out her Clima Tact, aiming it in front of her towards the edge of the forest that stood in front of them. She grinned, "This will only take a second."

Nami tightened her grip on the Clima Tact as it began to shake slightly. Eyes diverted from Luffy to the Clima Tact that was fidgeting in her grip, and even Luffy stopped marching to see what was going on.

"Black Sorcery, Time Split!" Nami declared, and instantly, a puff of smoke formed from the tip of the Clima Tact and raised to the sky. Dark clouds formed out of nowhere and the area above them became nearly pitch black. Rain wasn't pouring, like Nami had believed it would, but that was only a minor issue, she thought.

Luffy stopped in his tracks, his eyes sparkling as drool escaped his mouth, "Cool! I didn't know you could do that!"

Suddenly, a loud boom of thunder sounded above them and the wind had picked up a bit, swirling circularly as it continued to get stronger.

"Ah, ah, why is the ground shaking?" Usopp asked, wobbling on his feet while Nami turned to look at him quickly before turning back to the sky, which was foreshadowing a massive lightning strike.

"What's going on?" Chopper shouted, holding onto Usopp's leg while both nearly having a panic attack.

Robin steadied herself, standing next to Franky, who looked down at her questionably. She had a knowing look on her face and she looked up at the sky, a frown replacing her almost-always small smile. "It's begun."

A flash and then a loud crash exploded where Nami had originally pointed the Clima Tact. The lightning had quickly retracted, but had left behind a small flame that had hastily diminished.

Zoro and Sanji looked on at the place the lightning had struck, balancing themselves on the semi-quaking ground with looks on their face as if they were readying themselves for a fight. Nami's eyes widened as a few sparks sounded mid-air before a large ripping noise vibrated the area.

"What is that?" Brook gasped, staggering back in surprise and landing on the ground while the rest of the Straw Hat crew looked to where he meant. The atmosphere began to have a different feel to it as the air where the lightning had struck began swirling together, forming a rip that hovered over the ground.

Robin smiled after realizing that it was over while Franky curled his lip and grinned broadly. Brook had his jaw dropped, a giant drip of snot escaping from the large hole of where his nose once was.

The clouds began to clear up, but the black "tear" in the air was still hovering over the ground, and that's what the Straw Hats were all looking at.

"AWESOMEEEE!" Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp sounded at the same time, stars in their eyes at the beauty that stood before them (even though Luffy was about a hundred feet away).

Nami paused, blinking once, as she swiftly looked down at her extended Clima Tact, and then back at the "rip", that was believed to be the time-travel portal. "Eh… this is not how I pictured it…" She questioned aloud, thinking silently what might have gone wrong or if this really was how it was supposed to look.

Zoro frowned and glanced over at Nami impatiently, "Hey, are we going or not?"

"Wait Zoro, I want to make sure all the calculations are right…" Nami snapped quietly, pulling her finger to her chin.

Chopper separated himself from Usopp's leg, and pulled beside him with a thoughtful look while Usopp's eyes narrowed while he waved his hand disbelievingly, "Since when do you care about calculations…"

Nami looked up and brightened as she recalled her past, "Ah, at Weatheria, I was dealing with pretty dangerous experiments. So, if I made on error, people might die." She declared casually, inspecting the new portal from afar.

"How could you say that so easily?" Usopp dropped to the floor with Chopper not far behind.

Sanji closed his eyes and blew his cigarette, placing it back in his mouth while opening them, loyally, "If it's for you, Nami-san, I'll go into the portal right now."

Zoro snorted, walking forwards in front of Sanji, turning around to face him as he pointed with his thumb towards the portal, "Oi, ero-cook, I'm going first, got it?"

"If you go first, you'll get lost, idiot! I'm going first!" Sanji clenched his teeth, stepping in front of the Marimo, angrily.

"Guys… you might die." Usopp whispered hoarsely, looking over his shoulder at Luffy, who was shouting something about "How awesome time travel is" or "If there's more meat in the future".

Zoro paused, but it wasn't because he was thinking of what Usopp was saying, it was because he too, wanted to see what it would be like to travel through time. "I'm going first."

"No you're not, Stray Moss!"

Chopper sighed somewhat apprehensively when he looked from Luffy back to the two fighting morons that stood in front of him,"They're idiots, and they're going to die." A large drop of sweat formed on the side of his face at the thought, but Usopp stood next to him, shaking his head in agreement.

"They're stupid, but even if they are supposed to die, they won't die. That sounds right." He nodded and Chopper seemed to accept that.

Franky smiled, pulling up beside Robin and Brook, "Alright, guys! Then I guess it's up to us!" He shouted, tucking in his fists as he readied himself for a fight. Robin and Brook nodded, knowing that it would be their Trio that would have to hold off Luffy.

Luffy had stopped marching when he looked forward at Franky, Robin, and Brook, who all seemed to be charging at him at once, "Huh? What are you guys… hey! Let me…" He was cut off when Franky had sent a scatter of rockets at him, but he had easily jumped out of the way and was now running towards the portal with a tad of frustration. There was no way he was going to miss this opportunity of a lifetime, "Wait for me! I'm coming too!"

"Nami-san, did you want us to go into the portal now?" Sanji looked over at Luffy, who was being pulled down by Robin's giant hands that had seemed to stop him for a few good seconds.

Nami snapped up to look at Sanji, who had cut in front of an annoyed Zoro, "Wait, you guys. I don't know how stable the portal is… mm, it seems alright, but I don't know why there wasn't any rain. Maybe you shouldn't-"

"Gomu-gomu no, Gatling!"

Sanji stuck his thumb out at Zoro, who raised an eyebrow in reply, "Hey, Nami-san. Just leave the Marimo here, I'll be fine on my own."

"Huh? Are you sure? Don't want you getting lost." Zoro scoffed, narrowing his eyes at the fuming blonde-headed cook.

"Are you kidding me? Look, you're the one who gets lost so it'll be better if you just stay here, dumbass moss-head!"

Nami clutched her fist at their stupid arguing, a vein popping out of the side of her head, "No! You both are going together!"

"If they go together, you might kill both of them…" Usopp whispered pessimistically, lowering his voice to give off the effect of an echo.

"Shut up, Usopp!"

"Gomu-gomu no, Rocket!" Luffy had shot himself forward and was now aimed to land right in front of the black portal. No one in front of the portal was even paying attention to the bullet that headed their way, but Franky was ready to intercept that bullet.

"Coup de…" Franky turned around and positioned his hands overlapping one another, and a small silver barrel was revealed between his hands. He smirked, already knowing the outcome of his move. "Vent!" Franky had used the force of the attack to project himself upward, taking Luffy by surprise when they both met mid-air. Franky used his golden opportunity and outstretched his arm, catching Luffy's neck, and sending him to the ground with a loud yell.

Brook had been waiting for an opportunity to do something and this was his chance. He faced his sword towards him, and then shot forwards, running up to where Luffy was lying on the ground, in a daze, "I'm sorry Luffy-san, but I have to do it because Nami-san told me to. Soul Solid!" He shouted his sword's name and a large ice beam was shot forward, aimed towards Luffy who grunted in surprise, but had avoided the ice by throwing himself to the side.

"Brook, you too?" Luffy raised an eyebrow, not knowing why his nakama had suddenly turned on him. Of course he didn't want to hurt them, but they were strong enough where he would really have to use force to actually knock them down.

Robin stepped forward, holding up her hands to where they crossed over each other and outstretched her fingers, a sharp glimmer in her eyes as she closed them softly. Hands appeared at Luffy's waste as he was charging towards the portal, but he fell with a cry when the hands began to tickle him intensely.

"Sto-stop it, Robin!" Tears formed in Luffy's eyes as he wiggled on the ground in defeat, laughing hysterically.

"Nice going, Robin!" Usopp pumped his fist in the air while Robin smiled back at him, Luffy still laughing terribly, tears streaming down his face.

Chopper's eyes widened, dramatic tears dripping down his face as he remembered back to the first time he had met Robin, "I'm sorry, Luffy. I know how it feels!"

"I-I-I can't take it anymore!" Luffy breathed, attempting to hold his breath while Robin continued to tickle him furiously. Soon he succeeded when his body began to blow up several times it's original size, taking the form of a balloon. "Gomu gomu no, Balloon!"

Robin squinted, realizing that her small hands couldn't affect Luffy's large size anymore, and detached her hands, pulling them at her side while Luffy grinned in his victory.

"Damn it," Franky muttered and Brook gaped while Luffy let out all his excess air, sending his body flailing like a balloon all over the sky until he flew towards Nami directly. Nami had just finished yelling at Zoro and Luffy soaring towards her had caught her off guard when he had knocked into her side. She let out a sudden cry of surprise when the force of Luffy's balloon had unwilling led her to crash into Sanji and Zoro.

Sanji had become off balanced and grabbed onto Zoro by instinct and both lost footing and began falling towards the portal.

"Hey-" Zoro's shocked, irritated words were cut off when both were simultaneously completely consumed by the portal. Instantly, the portal become smaller and grabbed that attention of the other Straw Hats.

-End Prologue-

-xXx-

"AHH, ZORO! SANJI!" Luffy exclaimed breathlessly, earning the attention of both the moss-head and the pervy cook as well as all the other pirates and soldiers.

"Oh, Luffy!" Sanji turned, his cigarette flaring at the end of his mouth as his frown had turned into a bright smirk when he had realized who had called them.

A sharp grin formed on Zoro's face, his head tilting upwards with acknowledgement as he spotted Luffy in a mass crowd of Navy soldiers, "So you made it through." He stated, folding his arms over his chest while his eye glowed with satisfaction.

Obviously, Luffy didn't hear any of them, for he had already planted his hands on jutted rocks and began to pull himself backwards like a slingshot.

Navy soldiers surrounding him stared in awe as his arms continued to stretch as if they were made of rubber.

"What is he?" One asked, poking Luffy's long, outstretched arm that jiggled in response.

Luffy tilted his body, readying himself as he backed up a few feet more and then gave out one cheeky, excited laugh before he shot himself forward towards his two nakama, knocking back all surrounding Navy soldiers with the wind that was created.

Both smiles faded when Zoro and Sanji spotted a flying bullet heading straight towards them. They twisted around instantly, and attempted to run, but it was already too late.

"Wait, Luffy-"

"Don't-"

Luffy, with a smile, extended his arms and caught Zoro and Sanji off guard when he flew in between them, their eyes widening when they felt his grasp on both of their necks. Not even a second later, they were both airborne, pulled from the ground while in the clutches of Luffy's arms. Sanji and Zoro choked on air when they realized that they had began to fall, due to gravity, which Luffy really never seemed to get. Luffy curled his body so he landed awkwardly on the ground with a loud explosion and a cloud of brown dirt that seemed to completely cover the small crater that the Trio had created.

-xXx-

Ivankov had trotted over to where Jimbei was standing, his face serious with thought, "Who're they? Vey just came out of nowhere." He asked, blinking once with bewilderment.

Jimbei looked on knowingly, his frown lifting into a small smile that rested across his face. Ivankov could only look at him with puzzlement as he stared expectantly at the former Warlord.

Jimbei paused, but eventually nodded, his smile never fading, "Luffy's friends."

Crocodile grunted, biting down on his cigar that hung loosely out of his mouth. Raising his eyebrows, he glared down intensely as the cloud of dust began to clear from the crater that Straw Hat had created, "So they're here."

-xXx-

The dust had cleared almost completely and pirates began to swarm around the rim of the crater. Peering in, the pirate's eyes widened as they spotted one of the three against the wall, upside down with his cigarette still in his mouth while the one with the green hair was slumped up against the opposite side, his body awkwardly positioned as if he was already standing.

Luffy was in the center, one hand on his hat while the other clutched his stomach as he laughed uncontrollably. The pirates standing at the outer rim stared at him nervously before looking back at the other two, who were indented into the side of the crater like pictures.

"Someday… someday I will kill this idiot." Zoro grunted, slowly reaching for his swords as if that someday was now.

Sanji dropped his cigarette next to his head, the flame burning out slowly as he twitched his curly eyebrows, "That's funny… I was just thinking… the same thing."

Luffy giggled, ignoring the awe-strucken glares from above, "I missed you guys; I'm glad that you're alright!"

Zoro grunted, forcing himself off the wall that he had been indented into by a certain someone. Curiosity replaced his anger towards the captain as he grabbed his swords and placed them back at his side, "Missed us?"

Sanji raised his eyebrows with interest, flipping himself over and leaning down to brush the dust and dirt off his black suit. He looked up and pulled another cigarette out of his pocket, "How long were we gone?"

Luffy seemed confused, but frowned none the less, trying his best to figure it out, and instantly Sanji regretted what he said. Zoro was now on his feet, walking over to Luffy, who was actually still trying to figure out how long it's been since he's seen them. "Oi, Luffy." He asked and Luffy looked up at him curiously, his head tilted to the side in a inquisitive manner while Zoro looked down at him, pointing a finger at him, "Did you go through a portal like us?"

"That's an outright question!" Sanji slapped his hand while Luffy folded his arms, tilting his head even more.

"What're you talking about?"

Sanji looked over at Zoro and both knew right away that this was not the Luffy that they knew back home, "I thought so; this isn't the Luffy from our time." Zoro folded his hands across his chest, peering over at Sanji who lifted his head and blew out a puff of smoke.

"Damn, I can't believe we traveled through time." Zoro rubbed his head cautiously, wondering whether or not there was a bump while looking over at Luffy, who had his hand covering his eyes, aweing at the crater surrounding them.

"It's kind of hard to believe." Sanji didn't want to agree with the moss-head, but he had to admit: it was kind of crazy that they had just actually traveled in time to Marineford out of every other place in the world.

Zoro didn't respond, but instead lowered his eyes as he recalled the "accidental" moment before they entered the portal, "What the hell, Nami." He whispered sharply, craning his neck back to where the portal once stood in the air.

"What was that, Marimo?"

"Nothing; mind you're own damn business, shitty cook."

The pirates above cleared out of the way as the Trio had made their way out of the crater, now standing at the edge of the big hole. Zoro ignored the shocked pirates that stood around him and decided to check his surroundings instead, scanning the area for all threats and possible allies. They knew where they were, or Curly Eyebrows did anyway, but the real question was: did they travel to the past or the future?

As Zoro looked around, his eyes instantly were attracted to a giant platform at the edge of the center of the plaza, standing alone with only three souls on top of it. Two of them were clearly important, and obvious enemies, Zoro noticed; both wearing Navy officer outfits, but the other one was lying down, chained to the ground. He had a familiar face from what Zoro could see with his vision. He had to squint just to make the outline of his features, and for some reason, he looked exactly like…

"Ace?" Sanji spit out, eyes widening while Zoro glared at him for taking the words out of his mouth.

Zoro himself even seemed to have a surprised expression on his face, even though he only had one good eye. Shortly afterward, he turned to Luffy and dropped his arms off his chest, his single eye narrowing with a serious frown planted across his face, "I thought so. So we traveled to the past. By the looks of it, the battle at Marineford."

"Looks to be that way." Sanji replied slowly, blowing out a puff of smoke before turning back to where Luffy was standing, a hint of curiosity in his gaze when he looked at the boy. He was confident he already knew the answer but he wanted to be sure.

"How old are you?"

"17."

"There you go." Sanji turned to Zoro, who let out a small grunt of "stupid cook" in reply. Luffy's answer confirmed it. Granted, if it was another question, they would probably have to check up on it. After all, Luffy isn't the most reliable source, but a simple question of "How old are you" would suffice in the range to where Luffy could handle without giving out false information.

Luffy was silent afterward, and so were his other two nakama. Both crewmates recalled the time when they learned Luffy had lost his brother; Zoro had been informed by Mihawk while Sanji had read a newspaper. At that moment, they both felt something that they couldn't explain; something that both haven't felt in a long time: fear. Fear of what Luffy was going through; fear of the pain he was feeling; fear of the guilt they would feel knowing they weren't there; fear that he would never be the same again. Knowing that, they had agreed at that moment: they would always be there for him, and they would never, ever let their beloved, idiot- captain go through something like that again.

Luffy, on the other hand, somehow knew what was on their mind: Ace. His mind pulled back to his brother who was said to be executed soon. For some reason, the eagerness and anxiety he had felt knowing that Ace was to be executed was now almost all gone now that he knew his nakama were here with him. It was a warm and uplifting feeling, and Luffy knew that somehow someway, that they all would save his brother. "Where's everyone else?" He piped eagerly, expecting a simple "on their way" or something similar.

Sanji looked at Zoro as if asking for help, but Zoro really didn't catch on and gave a not-so-helpful blank stare. Sanji snorted at his ignorance and then turned back to Luffy shortly after, "I don't know. We went into the portal together but we don't know if anyone followed."

"You guys…" One of the pirates interrupted, stepping forward, his fists clenched as he searched for the right words while the three looked at him with interest, "fell out of thin air!" He finished hesitantly, the other Whitebeard pirates around him nodding their heads in confusion and bewilderment.

The Marimo stepped forward, lifting his eyebrow casually, "Oh, yeah? What of it."

The pirates stepped back, intimidated by his hard voice, but another had the courage to step forward towards Sanji, his mouth gaping as sweat dripped down the side of his head, "Did-did you guys really time travel?"

"EH? YOU GUYS TIME TRAVELED?" Luffy yelped, his eyes popping out of his head while everyone, including Zoro and Sanji, fell to the ground at his late reaction, "THAT'S SO COOL!"

"Idiot, you're now realizing it?" Zoro stood up, holding his head so he wouldn't fall just in case Luffy said something stupid again, which was unavoidable.

"You're the same no matter what, Luffy." Sanji grinned nostalgically, while Luffy ignored him completely, the only thought on his mind was the idea of what possibly awaited for him in the future.

Luffy's mouth watered as a sudden idea popped in his head and Zoro and Sanji somehow noticed Luffy's urgency, "Is...is there more meat in the future?"

There it was. The nostalgia was over. Zoro almost fell to the ground again while Sanji brought his leg up to Luffy's head, striking it down as hard as he could, drilling the boy into the ground. "What kind of stupid question is that?" Sanji asked angrily, his teeth pointed and his fists clenched tightly together.

"Honestly," Zoro grunted, internally rolling his eyes while he externally continued to look at his surroundings, calmly attempting to ignore what had just happened.

-xXx-

"What the hell just happened?" Aokiji stood up out of his seat, clearly wide awake now at the fact he had just watched two of the Straw Hats appear out of nowhere. He was confused but nonetheless interested in how such a thing was possible. Akainu was standing still with his hands over his chest across from Aokiji while Kizaru looked mildly intrigued over the battlefield.

Kizaru's eyes raised as he perked his lips when he spoke with a hint of enthusiasm in his voice, "Oh, it seems that two of Straw Hat's crew came out of thin air: Black Foot Sanji and Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro. How exciting."

"No matter how many more come, I will burn them all." Akainu grunted emotionlessly while he glared out at the Straw Hats arguing and the pirates that seemed to surround them with questions.

Aokiji placed a questionable hand on his chin while he raised his eyebrow towards Akainu, who didn't even look at him in return, "That's sudden, even for you. Don't you think it would be necessary to understand why they came out of thin air in the first place?"

That seemed to get a response out of Akainu when he narrowed his eyes in an instant reply. Kizaru partially smiled at the conflict between the magma and ice Admirals, finding their rivalry amusing. Akainu didn't hesitate, "This is a war; it doesn't matter where they came from or who they are as long as their eliminated. As a Navy Admiral, you're required to see that, or is the title too much to handle your fragile feelings?" His voice lowered dangerously, and Aokiji's eyes narrowed in a bitterness towards Sakazuki's directed reply, "Those who do not follow justice do not deserve to live. That is law." He finished, now fully turning his head so his eyes met directly with the Ice Admiral's.

Kizaru chuckled, stepping between their eye contact and looking out over the glowing battlefield, "Mah, let's get this over with, then. I've got other things to do today, too."

"This day just keeps on getting more exciting!" Doflamingo laughed, extending his arms outwards as he shot a glance over at Mihawk, who stood a ways away from him. Moria looked over the flamingo's shoulder with a needy frown as if expecting to be included in a conversation while Kuma and Hancock stayed silent, their faces inscrutable.

Dracule Mihawk dipped his hat, his hawk-like eyes glowing as he spoke, "It seems that they traveled through time." He supposed, his hat tipping so it didn't reveal his short smirk. Hawk-eye was obviously excited, Doflamingo saw, for the man could practically sense the brewing power of the beast hidden within the swordsman who held an ambition to become the greatest one day.

"Does time traveling mean that they're stronger..." Moria whispered hoarsely, leaning over Doflamingo's shoulder while desperately attempting to become part of the conversation involving the Straw Hats. He had been beaten by them once before, not to long ago, and if they were stronger now, then there was absolutely no way for him to win.

At the idea of Luffy, Hancock began to sway, the heat on her face boiling hot from love. Kuma didn't care, he was weird; all men were in her eyes, but that robot guy exceeded all expectations that meant "weird". All she knew was that two kids that look like relish and mustard had just come through some sort of lightning-shaped hole or whatever, and that's pretty much it. In all honesty, though, she couldn't care less about that: it was only Luffy that she cared about.

She looked over at Luffy instantly, who had brushed himself off, a vein popping out of his head as he yelled something with his mouth watering to the relish and mustard man, that she couldn't make out. Suddenly, her eyes widened when she recognized the words, "I…love…" I love? I love who? Instantly, Hancock began to tremble at the idea of who he could love. Was it her? She wasn't sure… did he love another? She wasn't sure of that either…

Doflamingo laughed, trying his hardest to ignore the weakling that was practically leaning over his shoulder, "Even better, Hawk-eye; damn, I've been waiting for a good fight for a while!" He snickered, his lip curling slightly when he laughed.

Moria had been leaning over Doflamingo with a worried frown while Hancock was left questioning Luffy's love over and over again until she had questioned her own. Kuma didn't move (not surprising), while Doflamingo laughed hysterically (also, not surprising.)

Mihawk thought about the idea of time travel and closed his eyes in thought, only to open them a few seconds later with a new thought on his mind, "I wonder how such a feat was possible for you, Roronoa Zoro."

-xXx-

"Ahh, Sanji, what are you doing?" Luffy complained painfully when Sanji grabbed Luffy's ear before he could run off.

"I'm saving your ass from dying! We need to come up with a plan before we save Ace!" He spat, his cigarette flaring with a lack of patience.

Zoro had lifted his head, opening his mouth wide, "Why don't we just go in there and kick all their asses?"

"Dagh, idiot!" Sanji turned around and the three began to fight amongst themselves… again.

-xXx-

Garp spit out dramatically to the side, eyes popping out of his head while he looked up at Sengoku, "They just appeared out of mid-air. How the hell is that even possible?"

A vein grew on the side of Sengoku's head in reaction to the stupid question Garp had just asked. Sengoku raised his fist, "How the hell should I know, Garp?" He snapped, turning his glare back to Whitebeard, who seemed somewhat unphased by the event. "Damn it, Whitebeard; how did you manage this one?"

A pause filled the gap between the two friends and during that time, Sengoku held his head down and pondered his possibilities. Garp had stuck his pinky in his nose nonchalantly, ignoring the stupid look Ace gave him, but instantly retracted it when Sengoku shot him a quick glare, "Garp, can you recognize them?"

Garp raised his eyebrows and then shot Ace a short glance. His eyes were no longer focused on his grandpa, but on the three brats that were below him, arguing and shouting about something Garp could only guess to be idiotic. Turning his head back to his stupid grandson and then to the other stupid grandson, he put his hand up to his chin. "Hmm, those are Luffy's friends."

"Of course they are; well, the damn hole closed so we can't force them back into it." Sengoku sighed, raising his hand to his head, scratching it tactfully.

Garp snorted, waving his hand as a smile began to widen across his face, "Heh, his friends aren't going to be that easy to take down, especially Luffy-"

"Wait… Garp, shut up." Sengoku stated, looking down at the Straw Hats, attempting to hear the conversations while Garp gave Sengoku a gaping mouth but pulled his jaw back up when Sengoku gave him a ferocious look.

-xXx-

Luffy folded his arms over his chest, turning away from Sanji, who tried to reason with him, "No, I don't get it!" He huffed, Zoro letting out a snort of laughter in the background.

Sanji grabbed his cigarette in his frustration and threw it to the ground, "Luffy, we traveled back in time by accident, idiot; what the hell is there not to understand?"

xXx-

"So, they're time travelers..." Sengoku had strained his ears just to hear what they were saying, but he continued to watch as Sanji pointed at Luffy and then motioned back up where they were standing, Zoro standing when Sanji pointed back at him. Ace raised his head at the sound of Luffy, silently smiling at the ignorance of his innocent brother.

Garp raised an eyebrow when Sengoku turned around to face Ace and then back at him,"Huh, what do you mean?"

"The Straw Hat's just shouted it…"

"Oh…"

Sengoku narrowed his eyes, nearly slamming his fists down at his side, "Damn that kid; he's causing the entire sea trouble."

Garp's face turned serious but a tiny smile formed at his lips when he crossed his arms, "Well, the only thing we can do now, is see what those brats can do."

-xXx-

"Did you hear that, Pops?" Marco stood next to Whitebeard, his eyes wider than usual.

"The brats traveled from the future." Whitebeard stated almost with a sneer, but that was just how he always talked.

Marco turned to look at Whitebeard in the face, his voice suddenly rising with realization, "So does that mean…"

"They already know the outcome of this war."

Both Pops and Pineapple-head looked over at the three Straw Hat pirates expectantly: the moss-head was fighting with the curly-eyebrows while Straw Hat was shouting about something that neither of them cared about.

Marco crossed his arms, a smirk sliding on his face, "They look like they're Ace's brother's friends; I've never seen them before. Pops, what do you think?"

Whitebeard paused, his eyes passing by Marco and landing on the yellow straw hatted boy who was too naive and stupid for his own good. Nonetheless, he tilted his staff, revealing the slight frown-smirk spread across his lips, "Hmph; damn better not get in my way."

Though 70% of the population of both Marines and pirates were fighting, the other 30% were keeping their distance or talking about the weird phenomenon that had happened a few minutes ago. Pirates from all over the plaza began to shout and talk among themselves when they weren't either beating the Marines or getting beat by the Marines.

A blond pirate stepped forward, his eyes bulging as he swung his curved sword at a Navy soldier, missing him and turning over to look at the new arrivals, "Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro: the three-sword style swordsman!"

"Black Foot Sanji; the real deal!" Another pirate shouted from afar.

"They're with Straw Hat Luffy!"

"And they're from the future!"

"Really? That's so cool!"

"They're on our side, too!"
An uproar of excitement was instantly heard by all of the Whitebeard pirates, believing that these two people could somehow change the fate of the war.

The Navy soldiers gritted their teeth, looking around hesitantly in some form of wonder.

"Damn bastards, I thought they got blown away by Kuma and Admiral Kizaru on Sabaody!" A narrowed-eyed soldier stepped forward, pulling out his gun and shooting it at a pirate that attempted to sneak up on him.

"Did you hear that though? Time travelers?" A soldier from a few yards away yelled, his hands in tight fists.

"How the hell is that even possible?"

"How would I know?"

"So did they come back to take revenge?"

"Screw you, Todd; did you not hear what I just said?"

"Ohh, look Helmeppo-san! That's Luffy-san and Zoro-san!" A pink haired boy with bright eyes motioned over the other boy with a wave of his hand.

The blonde-haired son of Morgan stepped forward, his eyes popping out of his head when he himself spotted both Roronoa Zoro and Monkey D. Luffy, "EH? ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"I heard that they were beaten at Sabaody Archipelago and Luffy-san was taken to Impel Down but he broke out! That's so cool!" Coby shook his fists, clearly in awe at how amazing his friend was.

Helmeppo nodded in reply, but paused, holding his hand over his mouth as he looked across at Coby and then back out at the bickering Straw Hats, "I know, but-but did you see that hole that they came out of, Coby? What do you think that was?"

"I don't know, but look Helmeppo-san, they have another person with them!" Coby pointed out at Sanji excitedly, feeling an exhilarating emotion began to overtake him.

"Oi… I don't think that's the most important part here…"

"I knew it! He's also a part of Luffy-san's crew! You've come far, Luffy-san!"

"Coby…"

-xXx-

"I have to get out of here while I can; maybe I can sneak out when those Straw Hats are wreaking havoc on the battlefield… hmm, yes, that's a good idea." Buggy the Clown whispered, looking around cautiously as if his plan was already in action.

The prisoners that had escaped from Impel Down looked at each other, one stepping forward with a confused frown while Buggy held his head high, a large smile split across his face. "Captain Buggy, do you really mean that?"

At the question, Buggy instantly stiffened, his eyes narrowing as sweat began to pour down the side of his face. His mouth gaped dramatically at his mistake, "Eh… you guys heard that…"

"Of course!" A tall pirate stepped forward to stand by the previous one, his face serious and Buggy's heart seemed to stop as he waited for what his follower was going to say, "You want to sneak out to go save Portgas D. Ace so you can stop the war, right?"

"He's so noble that he doesn't even want to take the credit!" Another pirate in the back shouted, his fists raising above his head in admiration. Ooo's and Aah's were sounded from all around him and those followed with joyful claps and whistles.

Buggy blinked, silently questioning his own intentions. He nonetheless accepted the misinterpretation and his fearful frown lifted into a sly grin. He waved in appreciation for his followers while Mr. 3 seemed to literally fall on his side in response.

"Captain Buggy, you're amazing!" They all shouted, pumping their fists in the air.

A large bead of sweat formed on the side of Mr. 3's face while he waved his hands, "You all are too optimistic…"

"Smoker-san, look!"

"Huh?" Smoker paused, turning towards where Tashigi was pointing, and immediately, out of surprise, bit down hard enough on his cigar that it broke it right in two.

Tashigi lifted her green-handled sword so that it was level with her nose, her eyes narrowing as she stared off towards her rival, "The demon three sword-style; Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro!"

"And that damn leg-kicking bastard. How the hell did Straw Hat's crew end up here?" Smoker twisted his fist and slammed it down on a pirate that had attempted to attack him.

"I heard they were defeated at Sabaody Archipelago." Tashigi cut in, confusion in her tone.

Smoker's anger was rising as he took his gaze off of the pirates surrounding them and focused on the Straw Hat pirates talking between themselves, "Yeah, and that they were dead. So what; that was a damn lie?"

Tashigi didn't know what to say. She didn't want to make him irritated more than he already was; she never quite understood why he got so worked up. The reason for that was probably because he had been "defeated" by Straw Hat before, "Well not all of them are here, Smoker-san, only two of them came." She began optimistically, her voice softening with every word.

"So does that mean the others are dead? Damn it; Tashigi, don't interfere yet. There's something off about the situation." Smoker scoffed, his legs fading into a white puff of smoke.

Tashigi paused; it was like he had read her mind. She looked over her shoulder at the man she believed she was destined to beat. He had his hands on his swords and an annoyed frown on his face while shouting insults like, "Dumbass cook" or "Dartboard Brow". She frowned, feeling some sort of pride and need to become better; become stronger. Was that her own swordsman spirit? Did she even have a swordsman spirit? Realizing that she had been dozing off in her own thought, she turned back to Smoker and nodded, "Okay."

-xXx-

"Damn it, there's no reasoning with you is there?" Sanji scowled at Luffy, blowing another puff through his cigarette and watching the smoke rise towards the sky.

Zoro crossed his arms, closing his eyes, "We told you, idiot-cook; we already have a plan: save Ace and kick some asses."

"Yosh! Let's go!" Luffy shouted shortly, breaking into a bolt from where he had been standing, ignoring the fact that Zoro and Sanji didn't move, and decided to held to the platform that held Ace, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and even his own grandpa, Vice Admiral Garp.

"Mah, I don't think so." A sudden flash of light in the corner of Luffy's eye stopped him in his tracks, nearly causing him to fall forward at the improbable speed he stopped at. He had recognized that incredible light before… his eyes widened as he remembered his friends on Sabaody in a flash: fighting and running for their lives while being chased by those damn Pacifistas, the Battle-Axe guy, and… the Navy Admiral: Kizaru! Luffy swung around with unbelievable speed, throwing himself forward in a desperate attempt to call out to Sanji and Zoro who were being targeted, but no sound came out, and he wanted to cry but couldn't. No, it was already too la-

A loud crash and Luffy reopened his eyes, staring widely at the scene before him. Zoro didn't move from his spot, but was sitting with a lazy frown and his arms crossed over his chest, but that's not who Luffy was mainly focused on. All eyes opened, jaws dropped, and fighting stopped when only a few yards away from him, Sanji had met Kizaru's blow head on, matching the height, speed, and power, and all he did was bring his leg up to stop the strike. It didn't even look seem like he was defending, nor did it seem like he was trying either; the two held their legs high, Kizaru holding an interested widened half-smirk while Sanji held a plain frown, as if he didn't even care.

Sanji lifted up his right hand, still holding his leg against Kizaru's; he extended both his middle and index finger and gently lifted the cigarette from his lips, blowing a puff of smoke directly into Kizaru's face.

Kizaru didn't make a move, but instead felt the presence of Aokiji flash behind him, flying by with ice following behind him as a trail. This time, Luffy remembered when he and Robin had nearly died, frozen to death. Thankfully, they had Chopper, though. Somehow, he didn't feel the need to shout out to Zoro, who the Admiral was obviously targeting. Though Zoro looked so relaxed: his eyes were closed and his hands were crossed over his chest as he leaned up against a rock, it looked like he never saw the Ice Admiral coming, but that's what he wanted everyone to think.

Ice fist met sword with a crack in the sky and everyone turned again, silenced when they realized that Roronoa Zoro held out a single sword, blocking Admiral Aokiji's ice punch, and still, didn't even move a muscle besides his arm. Aokiji's eyes widened with surprise, much like Kizaru's but wider; Kizaru and Sanji still held their single kick up while Aokiji and Zoro held up fist and sword.

Now, the fighting had stopped and everyone had turned to look what possibly could cause such a commotion. Silence followed and no one spoke, for no one could comprehend the magnitude of what was happening right in front of their very eyes.

"Oh, you're much stronger than you were before." Kizaru commented, his lips protruding more as he spoke, watching patiently as Sanji's frown turn into a slight smile.

"Heh, I'm a whole lot of a hell stronger than you think."

Zoro smirked, "Oi, shitty-cook; I'll take on both of them and you can sit down and watch." He didn't have to move nor look to feel the damn-cook's smile widen a bit.

"Damn it, you can't have all the fun to yourself, shitty swordsman. How about I take on this yellow asshole and you take on the ice one."

Zoro let out a short laugh as he took his free right hand and pushed up the guard of the white-sheathed sword easily with his thumb, revealing the straight tempered blade of his Wado Ichimonji. His small grin broadened, "Sounds good to me."

-xXx-

Ha, I guess I lied about the chapters being shorter… oops. On another note, I feel like I am going to be uploading a new chapter about every weekend or two, just to keep it consistent :). And, you know, if you don't see a new upload, then chances are I'll probably have some dumb, lame excuse that literally every writer comes up with when they haven't posted a new chapter in forever.

~I'm really excited for the next chapter though, and in honor of the third chapter, I wanted to give you guys just a small, little sneak peek of what I'm writing about in Chapter 3 of Too Far Back. But I'm also lazy so I'm not going to put in the text, I'm just going to put the dialogue…not even going to tell you who says what… I'm sorry.

-xXx-

"Wait! Where did Zoro and Sanji-kun go?"

"YOU PUSHED THEM INTO THE PORTAL!".

"AH, NO! I DIDN'T MEAN TO!"

"PFF, BUT YOU DID!"

"IT WAS LUFFY'S FAULT!"

"This is not the time to sit around here and chat! Strong… Right!"

"Treinta Fleurs!"

"Ah, why won't you let me just go through the portal? Zoro and Sanji got to go!"

"That was your fault!"

"OH NO! THE PORTAL WASN'T READY!"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"NO WAY!"

"SOMEONE HAS TO GO AND SAVE THEM! USOPP, GO!"

"WHAT? WA-WAIT A MINUTE, AHHH!"

-xXx-

Yep…enjoy. Lol, bye. ~Papa Sasuke :D