Changing One's World
Things can be different with one divergence in the timeline. One cannot begin to imagine how things will change with a decision being different. But will these changes be for the better or for the worst. Find out as the Straw Hats will face their adventures a whole lot differently.
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece!
Chapter 7: Arrival at Alabasta! Meet Ace!
The Merry continued to sail on strong, speeding her way to Alabasta.
Nami and Vivi were looking at the map.
"We're almost there!" Nami noted, pointing at the map.
"Don't lie to me Luffy! Nor you Aisa!" Sanji said, making the two girls look towards the deck, "Tell me what you know right now."
Luffy and Aisa were looking the other way while sweating.
"Don't look away from me," Sanji said, turning Luffy's head while Aisa looked on her own, "I want you to look me in the eyes right now and tell me the truth"
"No idea what you mean, sorry," Luffy said, looking to the side with a pout, "I don't know anything. Neither does Aisa."
'Note to self: Never steal food with Luffy again,' Aisa thought, realising her mistake.
"Then let me ask you two. How did enough food for eight people which I carefully divided up so that it would last until we reached Alabasta, suddenly go missing?" Sanji asked, which made Luffy sweat more, "Tell me the truth."
"Well what we did wa-" Aisa said, but was cut off by Luffy putting a hand on her mouth.
Sanji got up with a sigh.
"Looks like you have something around your mouth there," Sanji pointed out.
"I forgot about the crumbs!" Luffy said, desperately wiping them off while Aisa already had done so.
"And you roped Aisa into as well!" Sanji said, kicking Luffy into the wall.
"Sorry," Aisa said, looking down at the ground.
"You're just a child. You can't be blamed," Sanji pointed out before turning to Nami, "Nami, we need a better way of keeping the food safe from Luffy!"
Nami nodded in agreement. She also had to admit that while she still loved him, she needed to take measures against her boyfriend to prevent the crew from starving.
Sanji smashed the heads of Usopp, Carue and Chopper together, as they had eaten as well. He couldn't keep an eye on everyone.
Later, Luffy went to join Usopp in fishing and his stomach rumbled.
"I'm so hungry!" Luffy said, "And the fish aren't biting anything!"
Usopp stared at Luffy and sighed due to the captain's impatience.
"This is your fault!" Usopp pointed out, "You ate the bait as well! The fish won't just bite for the hell of it!"
Vivi came down the stairs.
"Hey guys, how is it going? Catch anything?" she said, before noticing Carue was tied to their fishing poles and being used as bait.
"CARUE?" screamed Vivi in shock.
"Do you think we can catch a shark?" asked Luffy.
"I want to catch a sea king!" Usopp said with a grin, "Like I used to when I was 5!"
Vivi smacked their heads together but the two were fine and put the fishing rods down but not letting go of Carue.
Vivi then pointed out a green mist arising from the water ahead of them.
"What is that?" asked Usopp and Luffy suggested cotton candy, so Usopp hit him over the head.
"I'm getting Nami!" Vivi said, running up the stairs.
"Nami, there is something wrong!" Vivi said and Nami rushed out, only to calm down when she saw the mist.
"It's just steam," Nami pointed out, "It's a hot spot!"
"What's a hot spot?" asked Luffy, making Nami turn to him.
"It's an area of the sea where magma is made. Under the sea is an undersea volcano!" Nami explained.
"Wow! The Blue Sea is so cool!" said Aisa, looking at the steam in awe, "Nami, could you teach me more about the Blue Sea?"
"Sure I will!" Nami said, making Aisa grin with happiness, "Soon there will be a new island there in 10,000 years, give or take!"
"Have you caught anything?" Sanji asked Luffy while Nami explained plate tectonics to Aisa.
"I'm so hungry. Can't you cook us something?" Luffy asked with a pout.
"You guys are just hopeless but I'll go search in the storage area anyway," Sanji said, walking towards the room.
Aisa ran up to the crow's nest to perform her scouting duties and she sensed someone holding onto Carue.
"Guys, we have a visitor!" Aisa said as they emerged from the steam and she pointed towards Carue.
Luffy pulled Carue onto deck to get the man off the duck. He wore a ballorina outfit, which was pink and he had a coat which reached the ground.
"I thought I was going to die! You saved me, thanks!" the man said, "I never thought my life would be saved by a group of complete strangers. Thanks again. I'll never forget your kindness! May I ask for a cup of warm soup?"
"NO WAY!" the whole crew shouted.
"We can't even feed ourselves!" Zoro pointed out.
"So you can't swim and that's why you were worried?" Luffy asked with a smile.
"That's right! I ate a Devil Fruit!" the man said.
"What kind of fruit?" asked Usopp.
"Well since I can't go anywhere, there is no harm in a little fun!" he said, standing up, "Get ready!"
He smacked Luffy in the face and knocked him back. Luffy didn't dodge, being too carefree to even use his haki and too inexperienced to leave it on all the time.
Everyone tensed and Zoro drew his two swords.
"What the hell are you doing?" asked Zoro with a growl.
"Wait, hold on a second," said Luffy in the man's outfit, "This is all just for a little joke! Relax!"
Luffy jumped up and looked at himself in awe.
"That's me!" he said, pointing out the obvious.
"And if I touch my face with my left hand," the man said, changing his face back to his own, "I'm back to normal! That is the power of the Clone Clone Fruit!"
The man touched the faces of Nami, Chopper, Zoro, Aisa and Usopp.
"Honestly I didn't mean to slap you around that much!" the man said, "Now watch!"
He then morphed into all the group until he reached Nami.
"I can change bodies too!" the man said, opening his clothes.
Usopp and Chopper were shocked while Luffy put his finger up his nose.
"Seen it," he said, and Nami hit both him and the man on the head.
Zoro cringed at the thought of that and covered his ears while Usopp looked like he would be sick.
"Stop that! And Luffy, shut up!" said Nami with her teeth bared.
"You ok?" asked Luffy, watching the man sit up.
"I'm sorry! I shouldn't demonstrate my power anymore!" said the man.
Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and Aisa all cheered him on to do more.
He began flicking threw various faces and one of them made Vivi terrified and shocked.
The five began dancing in happiness until the man saw his ship coming and jumped on the railing.
"Is it time to depart already?" asked the man and the four Straw Hats begged him to stay, "Try not to be sad. Journeys always contain farewells. But I will never forget any of you. It's been brief but true friendship never disappears!"
He jumped on his ship and spoke to his crew.
"Now quickly! Let's be going!" he said, and the crew all responded.
"Yes Mr 2! Mr Bon Clay sir!" they said, saluting as the ship sailed off.
All the Straw Hats jaws dropped.
"Mr 2?" Usopp said incredulously.
"That guy is Mr 2?" Vivi asked herself.
"You didn't know what he looked like?" Aisa asked.
"No. I've never met Mr 1 or Mr 2. But I saw something in Mr 2's memory! One of those faces belonged to my father, Cobra the King of Alabasta!" she said, falling to her knees.
"That's not good," Zoro pointed up, realising how much problems are piling up on their crew, "Imitating a king so well has the potential to cause a lot of trouble."
"If Mr 2 realises that we're the ones Baroque Works is after, then he can use his memories to transfer into any of us! We might not be able to trust each other!" Nami pointed out.
"We'll know," Luffy and Aisa said, looking at each other.
"Hold on. Those two are fine but the rest of us need to manage another way. Just hear me out on this one. Now we can prepare. We can beat him at his own game," Zoro said with a grin.
Suddenly, a giant cat emerged from the water behind the ship.
"That thing is huge!" said Luffy and Zoro drew his swords.
"LOOKS LIKE FOOD TO ME!" Zoro shouted.
"YEAH! LET'S GO!" said Luffy, cracking his knuckles, "Food for me!"
The sea cat sensed the danger and started to back away.
"It's backing away!" Zoro pointed out.
"Reverse!" Luffy shouted, but Usopp screamed in disagreement.
Sanji emerged from the store room and rolled his sleeves up.
"DON'T LET IT GET AWAY! IF YOU DON'T CAPTURE IT, I'LL KILL YOU!" Sanji shouted, running to the back of the boat.
The Monster Trio had reunited and they were ready to kill. They needed the food so badly. And they would get the cat, cook it, and then everything would be okay.
"Now then sea cat! How do you think I should cook you?" asked Sanji, and tapped his foot against the floor.
Luffy ducked and Zoro and Sanji were smacked by Vivi, who used a broom to swipe them on the back of the head. Luffy sighed and looked a Vivi, annoyed.
The cat swam away, terrified of those three humans.
"Vivi, why did you do that?" asked Luffy, his stomach growling.
"Why? Just why?" Sanji asked, heart broken.
"Because you can't kill a sea cat! They are scared animals in Alabasta!" Vivi pointed out to them.
"But there won't be an Alabasta if we don't get you home! And we won't get you home if we starve!" Zoro argued but Sanji kicked him.
This started fight 162 and both were determined to win. Leather met steel, both used to this desperate clash.
"Let me tell you, young Aisa and Chopper, when I fought off the Sea Kings of the Calm Belt!" Usopp bragged to the gullible children.
"SEA KINGS?" Aisa asked in complete awe and Chopper did the same, both amazed by Usopp's power.
"And big ones too! Man, they were really huge!" Usopp lied.
Vivi told Luffy they were nearly at Alabasta so Luffy could eat then.
Suddenly, Luffy and Aisa snapped their heads to the left and everyone followed their eye line to see dozens of Baroque Works ships.
"All the proof I need that we're close," Zoro said with a grin, pointing to the ships.
"That's a lot of ships," Aisa pointed out, "So this is Baroque Works!"
"Looks like they are all gathering at Alabasta! I'm guessing these are the Billions!" Vivi said, not worried about strength as opposed to number.
Usopp started to shake in fear of that many enemies.
"Usopp, it's okay to be frightened," Luffy said with a smile and everyone turned to him, having not expected that.
"Courage isn't just a matter of not being frightened, you know. It's being afraid, but doing what you have to do anyway," Luffy elaborated, grasping the man's shoulder.
Usopp stopped shaking and nodded, determined.
'And that is more important than ever with Kaido on our backs,' Zoro thought, grimly.
The crew drew crosses on their arms and covered those with bandages, to counter against Mr 2.
"Make sure you tie it tight! We don't want anyone to be fooled," Zoro said, tying his with his mouth.
"What a good idea," Vivi complemented.
"We'll always know who are friends are," said Nami, "Just look for the bandage.
"This clone guy, how accurate is the change?" asked Sanji.
"You have no idea. It's the same. It was crazy. He changed into everyone and then we got to dance with him," explained Usopp.
"Not interested with dancing with a male ballerina," Sanji said with a smirk.
"Could have fooled me," Zoro said under his breath and this started fight 163.
"Remember to be on your guard at all times," said Aisa.
"So what should I do to help against this guy?" asked Chopper, determined.
"Just do whatever you can do," Usopp replied.
"Whatever it is I can do? Got it!" Chopper said, realising the bravery that came with being a pirate.
"I can see the island!" Luffy pointed out.
"Let's stop at Nanohana to hide the ship," Vivi suggested, and everyone nodded.
"Just remember! This is a sign of or friendship!" Luffy said, and everyone held out their bandaged arms.
The ship had finally stopped at the shore and everyone was ready to leave.
"Listen carefully guys! I want you to do your best to control yourselves," Nami ordered.
"You do realise that the only person to hear that is your boyfriend. Who just grabbed Aisa and abandoned ship," Zoro told her.
Luffy ran off but the crew was not worried, as Luffy could take care of Aisa and himself.
The crew snuck in the town under a blanket to blend in and stopped behind a broken house.
"Something wrong Vivi?" asked Sanji.
"I'm just relieved. I at least know this town is alright," she said, glad.
"Vivi, what is you plan for stopping the rebels?" asked Zoro.
"And we're staying with you," Nami said before Vivi could protest due to their presence.
"Plus, I want to meet this Crocodile," Zoro said with a smirk so Nami slapped him on the head.
"Listen, we're not going to abandon you," Nami explained.
"They're trying to kill us too," said Sanji wisely, "Well everyone except for me."
"Besides if this country gets destroyed, we won't get a big reward for bringing you here," Nami said with a dark look on her face, "Understand?"
"Yes," Vivi said, a bit scared.
"Okay good!" Nami said with a big grin.
"You're such a good friend," Zoro mocked.
"Thank you Zoro! I haven't forgotten about your debt to me either. Even as a ghost, I'd still haunt you for my money. Better pay me those 400,000 berris!" Nami remarked.
"What? It went up!" Zoro exclaimed incredulously.
"And it'll keep going up even higher if you don't pay me quickly!" said Nami, and she and Zoro dragged Usopp and Sanji into the argument.
"A little to the North West from here is an oasis called Yuba. That is where the rebel army is based now. I'd like to go there first to stop the rebellion. But in order to get to Yuba. We'll have to cross the desert. So, we must get supplies," Vivi explained to everyone, "But I'm afraid that Mr 3 will find us."
"He's never seen my face before," Sanji pointed out with a grin.
"There's someone else too," Zoro said, looking down at Chopper.
Sanji and Chopper headed off into town to collect supplies. They looked at the list of things he needed to buy.
Luffy and Aisa were in the middle of the desert.
"So, where are we?" asked Aisa, confused.
"Which way is North?" asked Luffy and Aisa pointed behind them, "I don't know."
"Then why did you ask?" screamed Aisa.
"Doesn't seem like there are any restaurants around here," Luffy pointed out, and Aisa nodded in agreement.
The two saw a house in the distance and ran towards it, due to seeing smoke emerge from the chimney.
Meanwhile, Chopper had gotten separated from Sanji and had ended up in a cart to cool himself off. Sanji had gone running after women and left Chopper on his own, in the unfamiliar town.
The cart then set off out of the town towards Katoria.
Luffy looked towards bags all piled up outside of the house and Aisa ran towards them. She opened them and tasted a bit of the powder, but found it disgusting so she threw all the bags into the fire. Both her and Luffy knew there was a man armed with a sword behind the wall, but they both knew he was too weak.
The green powder flew into the air and created a cloud above the house.
"The hell?" Luffy said, confused.
It started to rain heavily and Luffy and Aisa drank it in glee.
The man burst out and tried to attack Luffy and Aisa in anger, as they told him they burnt the dance powder.
"That was my dream!" the man screamed, and Aisa watched as Luffy stopped and bowed.
"I'm sorry," he said, and Aisa looked at him in amazement.
"Can't you buy more?" asked Aisa with a confused look.
"It's illegal to buy and sell!" the man said, before covering his mouth, regretting what he just said.
"So you're a criminal?" asked Luffy with narrowed eyes.
"That's right," the man said, but Luffy sensed the man was reaching for his sword, so he just kicked the weapon away.
Chopper, meanwhile, had escaped with a camel going back towards Nanohana. He split up from the creature and hoped to see the animal again, before he followed a sent back to the others.
Meanwhile, the man had bruises all over his face, courtesy of Luffy.
"Wow! I didn't expect you to be so strong. You have a unique fighting style! I'm sorry," the man said, clutching his head.
"I'm the one who burnt up your powder. I'm sorry," Luffy said, bowing.
"No! Let's just say we're even!" the man said, "And if you could not tell anyone about the powder."
"What was the powder stuff anyway?" asked Aisa, who had been sitting on Luffy's knee.
"You don't know? It's called Dance Powder. It's also called Rain Summoning Powder," the man explained, "That's what caused the sudden downpour we just had!"
The man began to explain how the powder worked but Luffy and Aisa weren't listening, as they were too bored.
"It's a mystery powder," the both said, and the man clapped.
The man explained how the powder was used as there was a lack of rain in the country. Luffy and Aisa walked off after the man had given them lunch, and they headed North in search of the town.
"Wow! This is beautiful! Just wait to Luffy sees this," Nami said, looking down at her new outfit, "Love it."
"Sanji, these are meant for dancer girls," Vivi said with a giggle.
"Oh Vivi! You're a vision!" Sanji said with hearts in his eyes.
"But we're crossing a desert!" Vivi pointed out.
"I'll just carry you if you get tired," said Sanji before turning to the others, "You guys look like sloppy bandits compared to the lovely ladies."
"At least we managed to gather the supplies we needed," Usopp said, ignoring Sanji.
Vivi explained the dangers of the desert and expressed her concerns about the crew, but eventually she asked the Straw Hats for help.
"Finally said it," said Nami and the rest of the Straw Hats agreed.
"Are you all ready to head out to Yuba?" asked Usopp and everyone cheered.
There was a silence among the group.
"Are we missing someone?" asked Usopp and Nami sighed.
"Luffy and Aisa," she said and everyone groaned.
"That idiot," the rest of them said.
Most of the crew headed into town to pass the time and Zoro turned when he felt an extremely powerful presence. It was a man with tattoos on his back and arm, and he was wearing an orange hat. The man was stopped by a man selling golden apples.
"This apple would allow you to live for 1000 years," said the owner but the man politely declined.
"Thanks but no thanks. I'm not that interested in living for 1000 years. Just living today is good enough," the man said before walking off.
Usopp and Chopper stared at the apple in amazement.
"Really, 1000 years?" asked the two, "And it's a legendary artefact."
Nami punched their heads and Zoro revealed that there was a man in the back of the store painting red apples gold. Nami dragged them by the collar.
Zoro noticed the man again and he stared at him.
"I just have one question," the man said to an old lady, "Have you seen this guy?"
"His name is Monkey D. Luffy?" the woman said out loud, and the whole crew turned to the conversation.
"He might be in town somewhere. I've been looking for him for a while," the man explained.
"Well, I've never seen him. If you want to find him, I would recommend asking at the restaurant over there. The owner seems to know everyone passing through," the woman said to the man.
"Thank you," said the man while bowing, before walking to the restaurant.
The crew turned to Zoro to see him sweating slightly.
"That mark," Zoro said, speechless.
"Whose mark is it?" asked Usopp, slightly scared.
"Whitebeard," Zoro said and the whole crew reacted.
"You mean one of the Emperors?" asked Nami in fear.
"Yeah," Zoro said before seeing Tashigi examining some swords.
The crew turned to him again in confusion at his reaction, which was a cringe. Zoro hid behind a barrel.
"Why are you hiding?" asked Usopp.
The crew then saw Smoker and hid behind the barrel.
"I know. They're from Loguetown," Zoro pointed out, "They followed us from the marine base."
"So now we have a really strong marine and a Whitebeard pirate? Are you fucking kidding me? Where are Luffy and Aisa?" asked Nami, agitated and annoyed, not knowing Luffy was running towards the town with Aisa currently.
Luffy and Aisa ran into the town and Aisa could sense Nami and the others. Luffy could not distinguish clearly between the presences of the townspeople. So, he kept on running everywhere through the town. Luffy saw the restaurant and rocketed himself towards it, with Aisa holding onto his neck.
"GIVE ME FOOD!" he shouted.
He sensed a presence he hadn't felt in a long time, but shook it off as nothing. He smacked into Smoker's back and sent him flying into the man who Smoker identified as Ace, sending them both through several walls.
"FOOD!" Luffy and Aisa said, both hungry.
They got the food they wanted and started to eat.
"You two might want to start running now," the owner said, still shocked.
Aisa swallowed her mouthful.
"Why is that?" asked Aisa.
"The guy you sent flying through the wall. He's a dangerous man," the owner explained.
Luffy looked towards the hole in the establishment.
"What's with all these holes? Why'd you do it?" asked Luffy in confusion.
"You're the one who did it!" Aisa and everyone else shouted.
Ace finally got up.
"What the hell was that?" he said to himself.
He walked back through the holes and apologized to one of the family's eating.
"What kind of world class idiot would do something like this?" he said, walking in to see Luffy and a little girl.
"Oh. That kind," Ace said with a smile, "Hey Lu-"
"STRAW HAT!" Smoker shouted, smacking Ace's head into the ground.
Luffy kept on eating.
"Sorry. Do we know you?" asked Aisa, "I'm the ships scout. Can we help you?"
Aisa was clearly oblivious as to who this man was.
"Why is Straw Hat recruiting children? No matter. Well, I've been looking for your captain!" explained Smoker, only for Luffy to keep eating.
"WOULD YOU STOP THAT!" Smoker shouted.
Luffy looked at him and then seemed to remember him from Loguetown. He spat out all his food into the man's face.
"YOU'RE THAT MARINE WHO'S ASS I KICKED!" Luffy said in shock, making Smoker growl.
"Let me settle the score then," Smoker said, his arm turning to smoke.
'He's like Him!' Aisa thought in shock and fear.
Luffy grabbed all the food, stuffed it into his mouth and picked Aisa up, before disappearing before Smoker's eyes.
Smoker looked out the door and saw the man already far ahead. He turned to smoke to attempt to keep up with the boy. Ace ran after them both after getting up.
Tashigi tried to stop Luffy but he jumped over her. Luffy rounded the corner and saw his crew. The crew tried to hide from the marines but Luffy ran towards his friends.
He quickly stopped moving and punched Smoker in the face as the man rounded the corner. Luffy stuck his tongue out and ran, with Aisa laughing at the marine's fate.
"Guys, hey!" he said, making the crew shout at him.
The crew quickly packed up and the whole crew were running together. Smoker shot out a smoke attack at Luffy.
Luffy then sensed a presence with Aisa and Luffy had the largest grin.
"Heat Haze!" a voice said, and fire blocked Smoker's impending attack
Everyone stared in awe at the flames.
"You again," Smoker said, annoyed.
"Just give it up," Ace said with a smile.
"ACE!" Luffy said enthusiastically.
"A fight between the two of us would be pointless," Ace said, before turning to Luffy, "You haven't changed a bit Luffy!"
"You ate the Flame Flame Fruit then," Luffy said with a smirk.
Ace nodded and told the crew to leave, so that's what they did. Luffy quickly picked Aisa up and placed her on his shoulders.
"Let's go!" said Luffy, running and the crew followed him.
"Luffy, is that your Ace?" Nami asked, happy for her boyfriend.
"Yeah!" Luffy said to her.
"Who is that guy back there?" asked Sanji.
"My big brother!" Luffy said simply and everyone was shocked.
"BROTHER?" everyone asked and Luffy and Nami laughed.
The crew watched as fire and smoke mixed into a giant tornado.
"Is that guy really your brother?" asked Aisa with a grin.
"Yeah! His name is Ace!" replied Luffy.
"I'm not surprised. But what is he doing here on the Grand Line?" asked Zoro.
"He's a pirate! Just like us! He left home 3 years before I did!" Luffy answered, "But I'd never have thought I'd run into him!"
Luffy ended up going to the right with Aisa while the whole crew went to the left.
"Your brother is so cool!" Aisa said, excited.
"I know," replied Luffy.
"Get everything stored! We're leaving right away!" said Nami, determined to leave.
"Set sail!" said Usopp and the whole crew were running around the deck, preparing the ship.
"Set sail!" said Nami but sighed when everyone was ready, "Now we have to wait for Luffy and Aisa, AGAIN!"
Luffy and Aisa had ended up in an alley and decided to sit on their water barrels.
"Where did they go?" asked Aisa. They were out of the range of her haki, which meant they were far away.
'At the ship, most likely,' she deduced with a thought.
Luffy looked up at a roof and smiled, sensing someone's presence.
"Hey Ace!" he shouted before Ace revealed himself.
Ace jumped down onto the ground and Luffy hugged him.
"Been a while, hasn't it, Luffy?' Ace said, holding his brother tight.
"You could say that," Luffy said, releasing the man.
The two engaged in an arm wrestle on the barrel of water.
"How many years has it been?" asked Luffy with a huge grin.
"I don't know. But you haven't changed much!" said Ace with a smirk, "You're a bit taller but you pretty much look the same."
"So do you. Aside from your new powers," Luffy said, struggling to win against Ace, who was also struggling, "Remember when you used to sneak into the fields, eat 100 watermelons, and spit the seeds out like a gatling gun and run away?"
"That wasn't me! That was you!" Ace pointed out and Aisa smiled at this exchange. The two seemed so happy to finally have reunited.
"The farmers would chase you and you would scream like a girl," Luffy said with a smirk.
"That was you too," Ace pointed out again, "I watched and laughed."
Neither was the looser, the water barrel was. The wooden container broke due to the strength the two were using.
"I guess we're still the same!" said Luffy with a grin.
"Sure are," Ace said while giving his brother a high five.
"Just like old times," said Luffy, so glad to be with his only brother.
Ace then turned to Aisa, who smiled sweetly at him. Luffy picked the girl up and placed her on his shoulders, the girl giggling while she did.
"This is Aisa, she's on my crew! She fell from the sky when we found her," Luffy explained and smiled up at the girl.
'Looks like I don't need to worry about him finding a family after all,' Ace thought, relieved.
"Well my name is Ace. Nice to meet you," Ace said, ruffling the girls head.
"Nice to meet you too! Luffy never told us about you. He only told Nami," Aisa said with a pout.
Ace grinned. Maybe his brother could live the life Ace wanted him to have after all.
"And who's Nami?" asked Ace with a teasing grin.
"She's my girlfriend," Luffy said, picking his nose.
Ace fell over. His brother was serious about it then. He didn't see that coming, he was just speculating.
"Where's the rest of your crew?" asked Ace, taking some water out of his bag.
"I guess they ran off. So why are you in Alabasta?" asked Luffy confused.
"I guess you never got the message I left for you in Drum," said Ace, and Luffy's face darkened at the mention of Drum.
Ace frowned at this.
"What's wrong?" asked Ace concerned.
"Something happened in Drum," Luffy said, forgetting Aisa was there for a second, "Sanji picked a fight with an assassin who was trying to kill Chopper, my doctor. So, he beat him up. But we pissed off the client's boss and they are pissed off at us now."
"And who was this boss?" asked Ace, before taking a swig from his water.
"The King of Beasts, Kaido," Luffy said grimly and Ace spat out his water.
Aisa gasped when she recognised the name.
"But they're not the strongest pirates on the sea," said Luffy, completely serious.
The crew, except for the Monster Trio, stared at him in shock.
"What do you mean?" asked Usopp in fear.
"There are also the Four Emperors. Extremely powerful pirates who dominate the seas. Their names are: "Red Haired" Shanks, Whitebeard, Big Mom and Kaido!" Luffy explained with a frown, "But don't worry about them. Because we're going to kick Crocodile's ass!"
'We picked a fight with one of the Emperors?' Aisa thought in fear.
Luffy turned to Aisa with his eyes widened.
"Shit! Aisa, you weren't meant to hear that! Listen, we're going to be okay!" Luffy said quickly, drawing the girl into a hug.
"Listen Luffy," Ace said, serious, "I want you to avoid Kaido as much as possible. At least until you learn Haki proficiently."
"What's Haki?" asked Luffy and Aisa.
"Well, let me put it like this," Ace explained, "Haki is separated into three categories, or 'colours': Observation Haki, which grants users a sixth sense of the world around them and precognitive abilities; Armament Haki, which allows the user to use their spirit as armour to defend against attacks or to make their own attacks more potent; and Conquerors Haki, a rare type of Haki only one in a million can use which grants the user the ability to overpower the will of others. Most people who can use Haki tend to have a type they are better at and thus focus on that type. However, a person can improve their abilities with all the types of Haki, it just requires more work. Furthermore, at least two types of Haki can also be used simultaneously."
Luffy and Aisa looked in awe before picking their noses.
"We already have haki," they said simultaneously.
"WHAT?" Ace shouted, incredulous.
"Yeah. We both unlocked Observation," said Luffy, "And Zoro unlocked Armament."
"Right, so listen to me. On your journey through the Grand Line, and on the path you are going on, you will eventually run into a marine base called G-8," Ace said to the two, "There is a chain of three islands called the Voluntas Chain, neutral to both pirates and marines. Each island teaches all three kinds of Haki. The family who teaches Haki are called the Kiryoku family. However, each island emits an aura. The first island emits an aura that helps those who are proficient in Observation, the second island emits an aura that helps those who are proficient in Armament, and the third island helps those proficient in Conquerors. Listen Luffy, knowing your will, you must go to the third island. There you will meet a man called Fortis Kiryoku, an old friend of mine. He will sort out the teaching for you. I want you to stay on that chain of islands for three months, learning Haki with your crew. Even if the marines are there, the ancient laws state that the two cannot engage in battle. After that, you will be much more prepared for any of the henchman Kaido sends at you, as he won't go himself. The islands allow people to learn Haki much faster, but after you leave the island, you must find a teacher for yourself. Do you understand?"
Luffy absorbed it all and nodded, knowing his brother wasn't kidding around.
"But for now, to answer your question from before, I'm on these waters for some business," Ace explained.
"Business huh?" asked Luffy, as Ace tossed him the water but Luffy just handed over to Aisa with a smile, "You need it more than I do."
Aisa smiled at him and hugged his leg before drinking the water herself.
"So you're with Whitebeard now?" asked Luffy with a grin.
"See this tattoo? That's our mark! And it's my pride. I'm going to help Whitebeard be King Of The Pirates. Sorry Luffy," said Ace with a smirk.
"That's fine. Guess I'll just have to kick your ass later," Luffy said with a smirk back, "Because I'm going to be King Of The Pirates!"
"Right! We need to find your friends!" said Ace, changing subject, as he walked off with Luffy and Aisa.
Luffy and Aisa knew they were surrounded so Luffy stared at Ace in the eyes and communicated the message.
"I see," Ace said, his fist clenching, "Tell me about your crew."
"Well first there is a tough guy who carries around three swords and he wants to be the Greatest Swordsman in the World. Then there is the navigator, my girlfriend, who likes maps and tangerines and money. There is also a cook who makes the best food ever. There is also a liar and we just happened to get a reindeer who is a doctor. And you just met Aisa," Luffy said, happy Ace was interested, "We also have a princess and her giant duck!"
"Oh?" Ace said, interested.
"Everyone in my crew is so interesting!" said Luffy, pointing to Aisa.
"I reckon you're the most interesting of them all," Ace said with a knowing grin.
"Got that right," Aisa said with a smile and Ace laughed in response.
Luffy then tapped Ace's arm and he nodded.
"Stop right there, Fire Fist!" a man said, and lots of other men joined him, coming outside of alleys and off rooftops.
"You've got no place to run Ace!" said a big man, armed with many weapons, "Your head is mine. It's my ticket to a promotion. Prepare to die!"
Luffy, Aisa and Ace all stared at the men. Meanwhile, the Merry had docked at a secluded cove but let's talk about this trio.
"It's our lucky day boys! This will be easier then shooting fish in a barrel!" the big man said.
"Hey! Look at that other guy. Is it just me or does he look like Straw Hat Luffy?" one said.
"Yeah! He's worth 30,000,000 berris!" said another.
"Looks like our lucky day got even luckier!" said the man but Luffy, Ace and Aisa all just walked past him.
All the men charged but Luffy, Ace and Aisa beat them up in 10 seconds, simply using their powers to wipe them all out. They carried on walking and turned the corner, and Luffy turned to Ace.
"See you on my ship!" Luffy said to him.
"What do you mean?" asked Ace but Luffy was already gone, stretching towards the ship with Aisa.
Luffy smacked into Sanji and knocked the man over, who then hit Chopper. All four were on the ground.
"Luffy, Aisa! You're here!" said Usopp, relieved.
"Sorry we were gone. Just catching up with my brother!" Luffy said, and when the crew saw the happiness on his face, they forgave him.
"Ace huh?" asked Zoro.
"Yeah! He's really strong!" said Luffy with a grin holding his hat with one hand.
"So how strong is he?" asked Chopper.
"Well, let me put like this. When we were younger, I was never able to beat him in a fight and this was way back before he got the power of fire!" Luffy elaborated.
"You mean there is a flesh and blood person you couldn't beat?" asked Nami.
"Can't beat the Emperors!" Luffy pointed out, making Aisa cringe.
'So she knows then,' Zoro and Sanji concluded with a thought.
"The brother of a monster is an even bigger monster!" Usopp said.
"I guess so because Ace used to beat me up all the time! I bet now I could take him down!" Luffy said, leaning against the railing.
"So who's getting taken down?" asked Ace but Luffy was ready.
"You!" Luffy said, jumping up to greet him. The two threw each other onto the deck, their physical strength equal as proven before.
"Hey Ace," Luffy said with a smile.
Ace immediately got up. He scanned the crew.
"Which one of you two is Nami?" he asked, looking at Nami and Vivi.
"Me," Nami said weakly and gasped when Ace wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"Welcome to the family! You must have the patience of a goddess! But seriously, thanks for giving him the part of life he would never get!" Ace said, grateful.
"Thanks. And you're welcome," Nami said, a bit confused but mostly happy she was accepted by Luffy's family.
Ace then turned to the rest of the crew.
"Nice to meet you! Thanks for taking care of Luffy! I know he's a handful!" Ace said quickly with a grin.
"Oh no! Not at all!" the whole crew said, bowing.
"Come on! Be honest! This is Luffy we're talking about! Isn't he a bit much at times?" asked Ace.
"Not at all," the crew said again.
"You're good people," Ace admitted.
"Well sit down and relax," Sanji said, "I'm sure you two have lots of catching up to do! I'll make some tea!"
"No. That's thoughtful but I don't want to impose," said Ace, lighting Sanji's cigarette.
"He's not exactly what I expected," admitted Sanji.
"I'll say," agreed Zoro.
"He's polite, helpful, and gracious! The polar opposite of Luffy," Usopp said.
"One only cares about stuffing his face! Still, I know these two are brothers. Judging from the stories I've heard," Nami admitted.
"While the other only cares about his brother," Zoro said, and both Nami and Aisa kicked his shin.
"That's not fair. Luffy's brother means the world to him," Nami said, and Zoro fell to the ground.
"I wish I had a wonderful brother like that," Chopper said in tears.
"Brother? I wish I had a wonderful captain like that," said Sanji, though everyone knew that they wouldn't have Luffy any other way.
"Sanji! He's kidding," Vivi said quickly.
"See? I told you they were interesting!" Luffy said with a laugh.
Meanwhile, the Billions ships advanced on the Merry.
Ace jumped on his boat and set his feet on fire, powering the boat.
"Don't worry about him. They don't just let anyone become second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!" Zoro pointed out while crossing his arms.
Ace sailed towards them and jumped over their boat, while turning his legs into fire to fly, before he landed on his boat which was in line with all of the ships. Ace's fist caught on fire and he threw his fist forward, releasing a huge amount of fire.
"Fire Fist!"
The giant ball of flames crashed into all the ships, burning them all.
"He roasted them!" Usopp shouted.
There was nothing left of the Billions.
The whole crew celebrated and Ace explained his mission.
"I'm chasing someone. He's a pirate called Blackbeard," said Ace with a frown.
"The one who destroyed Drum Island!" Chopper said with a growl.
"You see, Blackbeard used to be a member of the second division of the Whitebeard Pirates. He was one of my own men but he committed the most unforgivable sin a pirate could ever commit. He killed his crew member then he jumped ship. As commander of his division, it's my responsibility to capture and kill him. I came here because I heard Blackbeard was seen in Alabasta in a place called Yuba, so that's where I'm headed," Ace explained further.
"That's where we're going," Nami pointed out.
"Mind if I tag along?" asked Ace politely.
"Not at all," Luffy said with a huge grin.
Everyone carried on celebrating at their progress.
Malachi sighed as he walked to the underbelly of the ship. The Assassin had failed and now he had to report this to Kaido. His master, Jack the Drought, had taught him many things. And said currently, he was stronger than one of the Seven Warlords, Gekko Moriah. He was hunting down those bastard Straw Hats, but Kaido would not be happy at the prospect of the package getting away.
He walked into the transponder snail room and walked to the largest transponder snail there. He pulled up the headset and a deep voice called out to him, shaking his very core.
"Report," a voice asked.
"The Assassin failed," Malachi said.
"WHAT!" the voice shouted, "WE NEED THAT PACKAGE TO STRENGTHEN OUR FORCES!"
"I know but he was stopped by a group of pirates," Malachi explained, sweating.
"Who?"
"The Straw Hat Pirates. Their captain is worth 30,000,000 berris. And his name is Monkey D. Luffy!"
"Monkey D. huh? Well no matter, I want them dead! Do not fail me, Malachi!"
"Yes," Malachi said, "Kaido sir!"
That's the end for this chapter. Haki hype! Sorry for how short it was.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
This is, TheHumulisScriptor, signing out!
