Thank you everyone for your reviews! I'm so glad you like the story so far – and trust me, it will get better from here xD

A/N: Because I have not read the magna, and the series hasn't gotten as far as Fishman Island yet, I will be creating my own Fishman Island instead, that way I don't have to wait for Oda's version to come out. It will be a challenge, but I like so far what I have sketched out in my mind.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece – even though I wish I did lol.

* ~ * Chapter 4 * ~ *

"My – you have gotten stronger, brat," Rayleigh said as he rubbed his jaw. He smirked at Luffy, lying on the ground with his ever-present grin gleaming in the morning sunlight.

Luffy was panting, but happy with himself – sure he had gotten knocked to the floor, but he had landed one of his trademark Gomu-Gomu no Pistol shots on Rayleigh's jaw. He could probably count the number of times on his two hands that he'd actually gotten a good punch in at the old man. "Either I'm getting faster, or you're getting slower, Ossan. Maybe I knocked something loose up there." Luffy tapped his head as he sprang to his feet, crazy laughter echoing through the mangrove trees around them.

Their duel had been going for about two hours now, and all they had to show for it was shortness of breath, and a few sore places. Most of the battle had been one man blocking the other and vice-versa. Though Rayleigh was the master, he had only been able to get a fraction of his attacks to connect.

He was proud. Luffy had clearly mastered all three forms of Haki – Kenbunshoku, the Premonition Haki; Busoshoku, the Armament Haki; and Haoshoku, the Conqueror's Haki. Luffy was now an expert in all three, proven by his fighting skill.

Rayleigh sliced his sword through the air, sending a sharp and invisible blade of Busoshoku towards Luffy's middle.

Luffy sprang into the air effortlessly, missing the invisible Busoshoku blade by a wide margin, and sending down a rain of fists, known as his Gomu-Gomu no Gatling Gun. Rayleigh dodged each of his fists with expert ease, and waiting for his chance to strike as Luffy came hurtling towards the ground.

Luffy sucked in a large breath and inflated himself just as he came towards Rayleigh. His balloon-like body hit Rayleigh's fist and was sent immediately skyward. He pin-balled off of the mangrove's branches for almost a minute before he deflated himself and put the bottoms of his feet together. His arms caught hold of a mangrove branch, and with speeds that matched lightning, sent his feet – still pressed together – towards the ground.

"YARI!" he shouted as his feet, formed to make a spear of flesh, hit the ground.

He had been using Busoshoku, and with that single blow of his feet he created a crater where Rayleigh had been just moments ago.

Luffy could no longer see the old man, but that didn't bother him. He closed his eyes, and sent his Kenbunshoku out, feeling the area for his presence. He found the old man's spirit at the base of the tree he was hanging from, but also felt another presence.

"Eh?" Luffy opened his eyes and looked towards where he felt the other spirit. Dust had risen in the area, more so now because of his Haki-Spear attack. His view was obscured, so he let go of the branch.

He fell towards the earth – or more specifically, the roots of the mangrove tree which made up the entirety of the Sabaody Archipelago – but instead of smacking harshly to the ground, he inflated the bottoms of his feet just enough to absorb the impact. Luffy stuck his landing and called out to Rayleigh to his right, "Hey Ossan – what do you say we call this a draw?"

"Are you tired of getting out-maneuvered, already? And here I thought we'd have at least another hour!" Rayleigh laughed and pulled out a flask from his waistband. He took a quick swig and waited for Luffy's answer.

"I'm just thinking of your health, Rayleigh…that and I don't want to accidentally hurt our audience."

Rayleigh's hand faltered as he went to take another swig of sake. He probed the area with his Kenbunshoku and found that the brat was right. They had a spectator.

He could physically see no one with all the dust Luffy had brought up with his last attack, but knew for sure that there was someone there…and they were giving off waves of fear.

Rayleigh whipped his sword through the air, and in an instant cleared away all the dust. He could see Luffy watching the spot where the watcher was hiding, with his head cocked to the right. "Nanda? Who's there?"

Luffy stretched his arms and grabbed a hold of an old brick wall. He shot himself forward, and landed on top of the wall. He looked down to see a cowering Marine scout, holding a pair of binoculars to his chest and staring up at Luffy's sudden appearance.

"Oooh, you're a Marine!" Luffy laughed.

"D-D-don't come any closer! I-I'm warning you!" The Marine stammered as he scrambled to his feet. He backed away from the wall, clutching the binoculars tightly to his chest, as if they were somehow protecting him. "I've already t-told the Marine base your position."

Luffy laughed again, his grin stretching as far across his face as it would go, "Then I better hurry back to my ship then. Things are going to get exciting!" Luffy bounded off the wall, back towards Rayleigh. "Hey, Ossan!" he shouted, "He says the Marines will be on their way soon!"

Rayleigh laughed and continued his swig of sake. He exhaled sharply after his drink, "Then I guess you should get going! You've wasted enough time here as it is."

"The next time it won't be a draw! I'll kick your ass, Ossan!" Luffy laughed. He picked up his pack and slung it effortlessly over his shoulders, despite its heavy weight.

"You can try, brat! You may have learned from the best, but that doesn't make you any better!" Rayleigh teased. He stashed his flask in his waist band and watched as his pupil of eighteen months gave a respectful bow.

With his head lowered Luffy spoke, "Thank you, Rayleigh-san…for everything."

Rayleigh smiled proudly, "Hurry along to your crew…they've been waiting for you."

Luffy stood up straight. Despite the raging smile taking up half of his face, Luffy's dark brown eyes looked a mixture of sadness and anxiety. "I know," he said quietly, "I've been waiting for them too."

With one last smile at Rayleigh, Luffy took off running through the trees.

Rayleigh watched him go, until a brick of realization hit the bottom of his stomach. "LUFFY, WAIT! I FORGOT TO TELL YOU WHERE THE BOAT IS!"

But Luffy was already too far away to hear the old man's shouts.

Formerly the right hand of Gold Roger, the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh laughed and shook his head.

"Roger – that's the boy…no, that's the man that will take your place someday. He's the one to become the Pirate King."

Brook walked out onto the stage amidst purple and red smoke, his swordfish-shaped guitar hanging from his neck. He plucked a few chords with his skeletal fingers, much to the excitement of the hoards of people that flooded the grassy field in front of the stage.

"Yohohoho! Hello ladies and skele-men!" He shouted into the microphone.

Cheers soared into the overhanging canopy of treetops and chants rang from every man, woman, and child's lips. "Soul King! Soul King! Soul King!" they all shouted in high spirits.

"Your cheers make my heart sing!...well, they would if I had a heart. Yohohoho!" He laughed at his own joke. The crowd went wild with laughter as well and waited eagerly for more. "This afternoon's performance is going to be great! – but, I'm sad to say that it will be my last show."

The crowd hushed to silent murmurs as the skeleton's words sank in. The skeleton hazarded a glance at Manager to the side of the stage and saw an angered look in his eyes.

Finally someone from the crowd spoke out, "You mean...your last show on Sabaody, right?"

Soul Kind shook his head sadly, "I'm sorry my dearest fans…but I mean seriously. My heart is pulling me away from this life – my passion is shifting."

The crowd looked distraught, but Manager looked nothing less than livid.

Soul King sighed but spoke once again, "I'm sorry to drop the news so suddenly - but let's make this my best performance EVER! I promise that this day will be one you won't forget!"

A mixture of cheers and sad cries rang out in response as Soul King dove into his most popular hit "Bad in My Bones."

Soul King and the crowd became enthralled by the music. Every eye was plastered on stage, except for one pair.

On the side stage, hidden from the crowds view by a small network of curtains, Manager was throwing a tantrum. He knocked over a spare amp as well as a light stand. Glass shattered, its high pitched tinkling sounds soothing his enraged soul.

How dare that damned skeleton say that! Right when they were starting to make it really big, he goes and pulls a stunt like that! What in the hell was he thinking?

And then Manager remembered their conversation a few weeks ago, before they had decided on Sabaody.

"I don't think we're big enough for Sabaody yet – what if no one shows?" Manager paced Brook's dressing room. They had just finished a weekend of shows on a resort island, and were trying to figure out their next step on the road to fame and fortune.

"We're ready. I'm telling you." The skeleton persuaded ceaselessly.

"What makes you so sure?" Manager retorted. He swiveled his double-jointed arms around in frustration.

The skeleton just laughed his peculiar laugh and answered, "I made a promise to meet someone there…it's going to be a big deal."

At the time, Manager had just assumed that Soul King had been in touch with a famous singer or band. He thought the big deal would be a guest appearance by another of the rising stars on the Grand Line.

But this? Was this the "big deal" he had been speaking of? Who in the world did he think he was meeting here?

Manager's thoughts reached a bitter place. He eyed the den-den Mushi sitting on a crate nearby while a scheme started to form in his mind – one that would really bring in a memorable close to Brook's career.

"What do you think all that rumbling was about? You don't think it was an earthquake, do you?" Chopper's soprano voice asked. He looked nervously off in the distance, where a dust cloud had risen earlier.

"Bah, don't worry about it Chopper. People on this island just like to get into fights, that's all. I'm sure it was nothing," Usopp ensured. He clapped Chopper on the back and poked playfully at his large hat.

Chopper giggled and jumped on Usopp's shoulders, "Yeah, you're right…I just keep worrying that one of those fights is going to be Luffy."

Zoro looked over at the duo and smirked, "Don't worry about Luffy. If we've all gotten stronger, you can bet Luffy has too – probably more so than us."

"Still," Nami started, "He really should be here by now – and he should at least be trying to avoid fights. It would be best to enter the New World with some discretion."

Zoro laughed, "Discretion? Luffy? Do you really think he's changed that much? It's been two years, not ten."

Nami sighed, "Well, here's to hoping."

Suddenly Sanji burst out from the kitchen, "NAMI-SWAN! ROBIN-CHAN! Your breakfast is ready, my lovelies!" Sanji twirled to Nami, who was sitting on the bench that circled the mast, and then to Robin who was on the upper deck reading. He gave the women their plates of delicious smelling food and then addressed the rest of the crew, "Oi! Everyone else – get your asses to the kitchen. I'm not a catering service!"

Everyone grumbled and followed Sanji back into the kitchen – even Robin, who did so solely to socialize and surround herself with the comfortable and mostly meaningless conversation of her friends.

Nami was the only one left on deck. She ate her breakfast in silence, while watching the shoreline. She was expecting Luffy to come bursting onto the Thousand Sunny in some ridiculous fashion, and wanted to be the first one to see him. Whether it was to hug him, or hit him, she wasn't sure, but she felt the need to be the first.

"Hurry up, Luffy…we're all waiting."

"Bwwaaah! Where am I?" Luffy groaned. He looked up at the sky, only to see green treetops and colorful bubbles. Luffy racked his brains trying to remember where Rayleigh had said the ship was…but couldn't remember a thing.

"Hmmph – maybe if I get to the treetops I can get a better view," he thought aloud to himself. He was about to hop onto a bubble when a bullet hit him in the stomach.

He stayed still for a minute and listened.

"I got him!" An eager voice shouted.

Luffy grinned and faced the voice – a platoon of Marines had surrounded him, while one stood slightly out from the rest with a smoking gun held lightly in his hands.

"Nope!" Luffy laughed. His rubbed body sent the bullet flying back the way it had come, causing the entire Marine troupe to hit the ground. Luffy laughed again, "I really don't wanna fight you right now – I've got to find my crew!"

The leader of the Marine platoon got to his feet and shouted orders to his men, but they were pointless. Luffy gazed confidently at the leader – his Haoshoku aimed at every single one of the thirty-three men, including the Platoon Lieutenant.

The invisible intimidation power hit them all, and they sank unconscious to the ground. Luffy laughed and proceeded with his plan. He hopped onto a bubble that had just risen from the ground, and held on tightly.

Once about a hundred feet from the ground, the speed of the bubble started to feel too slow for his liking, so he catapulted himself off of it, and onto another that was higher up. Luffy jumped and floated higher and higher, until he was even with the treetops.

The bubble he was on popped. A particularly thick patch of soapy leaves caught him, and was able to support his weight.

"The ship is obviously docked somewhere along the shoreline…so if I just walk along the edges of the island, I'll eventually get to it," Luffy thought happily out loud. He pushed himself down through the leaves and decided it would be easier to see the ground from the underside of the branches, rather than on top of them. He swung from branch to branch like the Monkey that he was.

He watched the shoreline, hoping that he'd see the Thousand Sunny sometime soon.

Lingo:

"Nanda?" – "What the Hell?"
"Ossan" – means "Uncle", but is used as "Old Man"
"Yari" - "Spear"