Luffy stared up at the execution stand. "There is it…So that's where the great pirate king was executed…the place where the greatest pirate in history was put to death…and the place where the pirate age began." He felt excitement rush though him and walked closer.

He wanted – needed – to see what the pirate king had seen when he'd died. He quickly scaled the steel beams, hopping onto the top of the platform and looking out at the city. "Wow! So this is what the pirate king saw before he died!" He could just see the ocean from here.

"Hey you!" Luffy looked down, trying to spot who was yelling. "Get down from there this instant!"

He frowned. "Why?" He wanted to stay up there some more. The crowd below seemed to think it was funny and laughed while the guy who'd shouted at him answered.

"Because that's a special execution stand that belongs to the world government! So get down from there imm-" He was cut off as a large spiked club slammed into his cheek, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Oh don't be so uptight about the rules Mr. Police Officer." The woman who'd hit the officer turned to look up at him. "I've been looking all over for you Luffy! It's been awhile." Luffy tilted his head in confusion. She didn't look familiar at all. "Don't tell me you've forgotten my face?"

"I don't know any pretty ladies like you." The only pretty lady he knew was Makino, and she was gone now. Nami and the rich ojou-sama from Usopp's island were pretty too, but they weren't ladies. Shanks had said a lady was a fully-grown adult woman. "Who are you?"

"I certainly haven't forgotten about you…after all, you were the first man to ever hit my beautiful face."

Luffy frowned. He didn't remember even meeting her, let alone hitting her. "I hit your face?" Maybe he'd done it on accident? Ace always complained about Luffy hitting him on accident when they were younger, but he hadn't done that in years.

The lady put a hand on her cheek and smiled. "That way you handled me so roughly…it left me breathless." She turned towards the crowd and spread her arms out. "Tell me, people! Who is the most beautiful one among the seas!" They all screamed out that it was her. She smirked. "Yes, it's me. There's no man in this world that won't kneel before me. But you see, I only love strong men. I'll have you be mine at last Luffy."

Luffy wasn't anyone's. "Shut up. You're annoying. Just who the heck are you?"

"You still don't realize?!" She was about to continue, but the police surrounded her and claimed she was under arrest. Luffy sat on the edge of the platform, one leg dangling as he watched. "You think you can arrest me?"

Before anyone could move, the fountain exploded. Luffy frowned at the large chunk flying towards the pretty lady. Shanks had told him he should protect women and children who couldn't protect themselves, but he'd watched her assault an officer with a giant mace that was still resting on her shoulder. She could obviously see it coming, but did nothing to move out of the way. Just as the piece was about to hit her, it suddenly slipped past her without leaving so much as a scratch.

"My, my. Wasn't that rather dangerous?" Luffy's eyes were wide as he stared at the woman. What had just happened? Why hadn't it hit her?

A cloaked figure appeared from the smoke of the explosion with a small laugh. "My apologies. But with your smooth skin, you should, of course, be unharmed. My lovely lady Alvida."

Luffy blinked. Alvida. That name was familiar. He tilted his head to the side as an image of a large woman passed through his mind. He didn't see her anywhere though. "Where's Alvida?"

The woman pointed to herself. "He's calling me Alvida! You idiot!" He frowned. She didn't look anything like the Alvida he knew. The woman grinned and tossed her cloak aside. "So you've noticed. My body has changed since I ate a devil fruit! The name of my devil fruit is the Sube Sube Fruit! There is no attack that can leave a wound on my beautiful skin anymore! Unfortunately though, the fruit did nothing to change my beauty…but as you pointed out, my freckles did indeed disappear!"

Luffy waved his hand in front of his face. That's not what he was thinking. She didn't seem to care as she continued talking. "In any case, if you're really fit to be my man, then you certainly can't afford to lose to this man!" He had no idea what she was talking about. Her man? "I've teamed up with him, exclusively for the purpose of finding you!"

The other person threw off their cloak and started yelling at him. Luffy didn't bother to listen. What was up with everyone yelling at him today? Taking out his staff, he casually assembled it before swinging it backwards, smacking whoever was sneaking up behind him off the platform. He looked down at the man with the funny nose who was still yelling at him. "Who are you people?" He ignored the way their jaws dropped and jumped down, putting his staff away as he did so. The strong presence he felt when they arrived was coming closer, and he told Nami he wouldn't start any fights.

He'd seen what he wanted to anyway, so there was no reason for him to stay. "See ya." He didn't wait for them to get over their shock and grinned as he ran back towards the Merry. His grin widened when he saw his crew together at the entrance to the plaza. "Hey!" He laughed as he ran past them. "Let's go!"

"What's the hurry?" Zoro easily kept pace with him, Usopp, Sanji, and Nami slightly behind with their large bags and funky fish.

"The marines are surrounding the plaza."

"Not only that, but a huge storm is coming this way!" Nami sped up a little. "The air pressure and temperature's been dropping for the past while now! I also saw cumulus clouds heading from the east! That's a sure sign of a storm! We have to get back to the Merry and make sure she isn't swept away!"

Luffy laughed as Usopp suddenly kicked into high gear, all but pulling the fish out of Sanji's hands as the cook stumbled from the sudden increase in speed. This was so much fun!

Nami wondered what had made her think she could survive the grand line on her own. The second they arrived they'd been eaten by a giant whale. Then she found out she couldn't even use a normal compass to navigate. Thankfully Crocus had given them one after the one Luffy found had broken. And if that weren't bad enough, traveling from the entrance of the grand line to their first island had been hell.

It had started off nice and warm before it started snowing out of nowhere with sporadic bursts of lightning. She'd only taken her eyes off the log pose for a minute, but in that time they'd somehow managed to completely turn around. As they got back on course the snow gave way to warm, spring-like weather as the waves got choppy, icebergs randomly appeared, and a heavy fog rolled in. Their ship had been close to being destroyed and every time Nami took her eyes off the log pose, no matter how short a time, they managed to drift off course or get completely turned around.

She was thankful when their destination came into sight and the weather finally calmed down. Had she really tried to come here on her own, she would have died for sure.

"Now then, we ask you please drop us off here." Nami turned towards their two passengers, raising an eyebrow as they leapt onto the railing.

"Thank you for taking us here, my honeys! If fate wills it, then let us meet again!"

"Bye-bye Baby!"

Her eyes widened as the two jumped into the water. "They're gone…"

Usopp shook his head. "Just what is up with those two?"

Luffy laughed from the front of the ship. "Forget about 'em! Prepare to land!"

Nami pointed ahead. "There's a river right up ahead. Looks like we can dock inland."

"T-There wouldn't be any monsters on this island now, right?"

Sanji exhaled a stream of smoke and answered. "Considering this place is the grand line and all, I'd say there's a good possibility."

Luffy laughed. "We can always leave if that's the case."

Nami shook her head. He hadn't heard a word of what Crocus had said. "Wait just a second. Don't forget that we have to stay on this island for a certain amount of time."

Her captain tilted his head. "Why?"

"This log pose has to record this island's magnetic field before we can move on to the next island. And the recording time varies for each island. There're some islands that take only a few hours to record, while some take even a few days."

Usopp wasn't pleased. "T-Then even if we come to a horrible monster island that we want to run away from, it's possible that we'll have to stay on it for several days?!"

She nodded. "That's right."

Luffy leaned back against the figurehead with a smile. "We'll worry about it when it happens. So let's just go already! It'd be weird not to go in when there's a river in front waiting for us!"

Nami sighed. "For you maybe."

"No, what he says is right." She looked at Zoro. "There's no use in worrying about it, so let's just go."

"I'll protect you Nami!"

"H-H-Hey guys…listen…I, uh…I think I've suddenly developed a can't-enter-islands disease."

Nami sighed again. "Fine, let's go in then." She navigated the ship into the river, careful because of all the fog. The last thing they needed was more damage to their ship. She frowned as she squinted towards where the land should be. "I can hear people, but this fog's too thick to see them."

Usopp cowered. "People?! You're sure it's people?!"

They sailed further in and the fog slowly lifted. "Pirates!" People were crowding the shore, waving at them. Nami frowned. "Welcome to our town! Welcome to the grand line!" She'd never heard of a place that welcomed pirates like this. She didn't like the feeling she was getting. "Long live the brave heroes of the sea!"

Sanji ran to the side of the boat, hearts in his eyes. "There's a bunch of lovely ladies too!"

Usopp started blowing kisses. "Talk about a warm welcome! Looks like pirates really are the people's hero's!" Luffy was cheering along with everyone else. Zoro was the only one aside from her who wasn't celebrating. The way he kept his hand on his swords, though he looked relaxed, showed he didn't trust this town either. Either way, she steered the ship to the dock while Zoro lowered their anchor.

"Wel-ahem…ma-ma-maaa…Welcome. My name is Igarappoi. You may be a little shocked at the welcome, but this is Whiskey Peak, a town of liquor and music." Two things pirates loved, Nami thought sarcastically. "Hospitality is our middle name. If it's fine liquor you want, we have an ocean's worth. So please, I cordially invite you to our banquet, and hope that you may entread-ahem…ma-ma-maaa…Entreat us with tales of your adventures."

Nami glanced at Luffy who seemed taken with the man's curly hair. He, Usopp, and Sanji all cheered as they accepted and she sighed. Of course those three idiots would believe them. She held their log pose up to the man who'd welcomed them. "By the way, how long will it take for this island's log to be recorded?"

"Log? Please, put aside thinking of such weary matters for now and focus on resting from your journey!" Nami grimaced slightly when he pulled her close and gestured to the townsfolk. "Everyone! Prepare the banquet! And let us sing to our heart's content for these adventurers!" She'd go along for now with it for now. If they really were just kind people who welcomed pirates, then she'd happily leave when the log was set. But if they tried anything, she'd steal every last beli they had for trying to trick them.

Luffy rolled to the side, eyes snapping open, as someone tried to attack him. He blindly threw a punch, connecting with flesh, and sending whoever it was through the wall. Rayleigh hadn't been below attacking him when he was sleeping as they trained, saying he always needed to be on his guard if he wanted to survive. Rubbing his eyes, he pushed his way to his feet, swaying a little and patting his round stomach. He'd never eaten until he'd been full before. Satisfied, yes, but never completely full.

He waddled towards the hole, wondering who'd tried to attack him, and frowned when he saw one of the nice people who'd thrown them the party lying there with a pistol in his hand. Why would they attack him? They'd thrown them a party and given them lots of yummy food! "Luffy?"

He turned towards Nami, spotting Sanji and Usopp passed out nearby. Zoro wasn't here, but Luffy could sense him nearby, along with a lot of other people. "What's going on?"

The navigator sighed, tapping a finger against the staff he'd gotten for her at Loguetown. "This town is really a den of bounty hunters. They were going to turn us into the marines for that hundred million beli bounty on your head. Zoro's taking care of them now though." Luffy was disappointed. They'd been a lot of fun, and their food had been really good too. She sighed irritably. "I was using the commotion Zoro was causing to find their treasure, but I can't find a single beli! For a bunch of bounty hunters, they're completely broke!"

Luffy yawned. "I'm gonna sleep some more." He fell back and closed his eyes as Nami yelled that he should help Zoro. "Zoro will be fine. He's stronger than they are. Besides, he'll get mad at me again if I butt in. I did tell him I'd let him fight stronger people since he got stuck with the weak ones when we fought the fishmen."

Nami groaned in annoyance. "Fine. Try not to get killed! We're leaving once the sun comes up!"

He nodded and yawned again, letting sleep overtake him. Zoro would be fine.

Vivi didn't know what to think about these pirates. They were clearly strong – the green haired swordsman had taken out all one hundred bounty hunters, Igaram, Mr. Nine, Miss Monday, Miss Valentine, and Mister Five all by himself. And he wasn't even the captain!

They'd protected her when they didn't have to, and even when she'd admitted that she didn't have any money had still offered to take her back home. Vivi had been worried they wouldn't escape even with Igaram's sacrifice, as Miss All Sunday had appeared, but she had actually let them go, stating that the next island would kill them.

And now they were sailing towards this Little Garden place, and the pirates she was putting her trust in were all sitting around the deck. The swordsman, cook, and sniper were all blindfolded while the navigator and captain hit them with their staffs.

Luffy turned towards he with a smile. "Vivi! Wanna join us?"

Nami grinned. "We can find you a broom or something if you want to. You don't even have to get hit if you don't want to."

"I don't understand…what are you even doing?"

"Training!" Luffy looked so happy as he swung his staff behind him. The swordsman ducked in time, letting it smash into the cook's head and sending him sprawling into the sniper. It looked painful, but the two who'd been hit simply grumbled before righting themselves again.

"Training for…what?"

Nami sighed and lowered her staff. "Luffy's turn!" She grinned up at Vivi while the three who'd been blindfolded took them off, the swordsman handing his to the captain who put his staff away before putting it on. "It's easier to show you. Luffy's been training longer than we have, so he'll demonstrate."

Vivi blinked when Luffy's strawhat suddenly appeared in front of her face. "Hold this for me." She took the hat, eyes widening slightly when his hand suddenly snapped back to normal. She hadn't realized he had a devil fruit.

She watched as Nami twirled her staff, Sanji lightly kicked the toe of his shoe against the deck, Usopp fixed his goggles in place, and Zoro pulled out all three of his swords. It was only when Luffy made a 'come here' gesture that she realized what was about to happen. She leaned forward with a yell just as all four made to attack their captain, but any warning she meant to give was caught in her throat as she watched Luffy dance around all the attacks like it was nothing. He moved so gracefully and lightly, bending and twisting at impossible angles to avoid the attacks.

His crew held nothing back. When one of Nami's strikes missed and hit Usopp, the sniper went flying back into the railing. When Luffy jumped out of the way of one of Sanji's kicks, his foot met Zoro's swords in a loud crash that had both of them flying backwards. They continued for almost twenty minutes before it ended with Luffy finally going on the offensive. He grabbed Nami's staff as she tried to hit him again and wrenched it from her grip with one solid shove before jabbing the end she'd been holding into her gut and using it to flip her into Sanji, who instantly redirected his kick to hit Usopp as he caught her.

Keeping Nami's staff with him, he used it to block Zoro's strikes before twisting at an odd angle and attempting to trip the swordsman who managed to jump over it. Unfortunately that left him open in midair where Luffy slammed into him, wrapping his arms multiple times around Zoro's and stretching his hands out to grip the katana in the green haired male's teeth, effectively pinning him to the ground.

Vivi was amazed. She'd never seen anyone do anything like that before. Luffy released Zoro and pulled off the blindfold, grinning as he offered his crewmate a hand. "You almost got me that time!" Vivi's eyes were drawn to the area Luffy was gesturing to, seeing a cut on his vest. He turned to the others. "Usopp, you're getting better at hitting moving targets! If Nami hadn't accidently tripped Sanji into that one shot, it would have hit me! Nami, you managed to keep hold of your staff until the very end, and your hits are getting harder! Lifting weights with Zoro is really helping you! Sanji, you're still too focused on Nami when we fight. She's able to hold her own and doesn't need you constantly hovering to make sure she doesn't get hurt. You know I wouldn't let anyone get serious injuries."

She watched as the crew nodded, Nami and Usopp lighting up at the praise. "Hey Luffy…" Usopp rubbed some of his bruises as he walked over to the captain. "Do you think you could teach me some basic fighting techniques?"

"Why?"

"I'm confident in my sniping skills, but training like this got me to thinking. What would happen if I somehow lost my slingshot or ran out of ammo during a fight? What if an enemy got too close? I want to be prepared just in case. Zoro is a swordsman, but even he knows how to fight without them."

Nami laughed happily as Luffy agreed. "You should join me and Zoro in lifting weights. It'd help with your strength and you could probably make your shots fly further."

Sanji leaned back against the railing. "I bet if you made a weighted slingshot it could act as a weapon too if you run out of ammo. Then you wouldn't just have to rely on your fists."

Vivi watched as they interacted. They were all so close with each other. She clenched the rim of the strawhat tighter as she looked away. She used to have friends like that. Before Crocodile and the revolution.

She looked up when a hand landed on her shoulder. Luffy was next to her, smiling softly. "Want to join us?" He jerked his thumb towards the others and she looked back over, finding them all sitting in a loose circle, smiling up at her. "No hitting or fighting. Just meditating."

"Meditating?" Luffy nodded. She looked at him for a few seconds before nodding. She held out his strawhat with a small smile. "I'd like that."

Nami lined up the log pose with the island. "There's no doubt about it. Our next destination is that island!"

Luffy cheered. "Our second island on the grand line!"

Vivi frowned as they got closer. "We should be careful…I'm worried about what Miss All Sunday said about this island."

Usopp gulped. "Y-You don't think there are monsters here…do you?"

Sanji crossed his arms. "We gotta stock up on some food pretty soon. I wasn't able to restock at all at the last town."

Nami stared up at the giant towering trees, wondering why is was called Little Garden when everything was so freaking huge. Did they think it was funny? "I've never seen any plants like these even in my encyclopedia!" She flinched as a loud roar came from somewhere inside the jungle. "What was that just now?!"

"Terrified Nami is so cute!" She glared at Sanji. "Don't worry, it's just a normal bird. And even this island, is nothing but your average jungle."

Luffy's eyes widened as the giant bird swooped overhead. "A lizard?"

A huge explosion from somewhere in the jungle trembled through the ship. "Does this sound like your average jungle?! That sounded like a volcano exploding or something!" She whirled around at a growl, heart sinking at the huge animal that came stumbling out. "A tiger?!" It collapsed, blood seeping from numerous wounds on it's body. She turned towards the rest of the crew. "This is definitely not normal! Otherwise, why would a tiger, king of the jungle, collapse covered in its own blood?!"

She didn't care how strong she was getting through training. This was too much. "Let's just quietly wait on our ship and leave the very second our log pose finishes recording! After all, we have to hurry on to Alabasta as soon as possible."

Luffy grinned at her. "You can stay here. I wanna go exploring!" He was almost vibrating in excitement. "There's something huge on this island!"

Luffy jumped up and down. "Sanji! Prepare a lunch box! A great big Pirate one!" She knew there was no stopping him.

"Could I come along with you?" Nami's jaw dropped as she turned to the princess. Luffy had told them there was something huge on this island, they'd seen a giant lizard bird thing, and a tiger had collapsed out of the forest in a pool of it's own blood, but she still wanted to go exploring?! Vivi smiled at her. "Just standing around here doing nothing is only going to end up making me think about my worried again. So I may as well try to clear my head until the log pose finishes recording. It'll be fine! Caru will be by my side, after all."

Nami turned to the duck, raising an eyebrow at the petrified creature. "Your trusty bodyguard looks too scared to even quack."

Sanji poked his head out of the galley. "Then allow me to make a lunchbox of love for you, Vivi!"

"Could you also make another drink for Caru as well?"

"Of course!"

Zoro stood up and stretched. "Since we're gonna be here for a while I'm gonna go for a walk."

Nami put her head in her hands. At this rate she and Usopp would be the only ones left on the ship. The green haired male walked towards the railing and jumped over just as Sanji handed Luffy and Vivi their lunch boxes. "Hey Zoro, wait a second!"

Luffy didn't waste time in running off into the jungle, Caru carrying Vivi right behind him. Zoro turned back to the cook. "We're running out of food onboard, so if you see any animals that look to be edible, can you hunt it down and bring it back?"

"Sure thing. I'll go hunt for some animals that you'd never be able to kill yourself."

"WAIT RIGHT THERE!"

"Huh?"

"Did I hear you wrong, or did you just imply that you could hunt a bigger game than I can?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

"That's it! I challenge you to a hunting contest!"

Nami felt tears flow down her cheeks at the two took off into the forest. "Why does everyone on this ship have to be like that?" She'd been joking when she'd said she and Usopp would be the last ones on the ship. She hadn't wanted it to actually happen.

Usopp was crying next to her. "I know exactly how you feel, Nami. Don't cry…at least I'm by your side."

They were going to die.

Usopp stared at the two giants fighting in awe. "Even without any reason, they fight like this…"

"God, what a nuisance they are…"

He frowned at Nami's words, crossing his arms over his chest. "You fool! This is what a man's fight is!"

"…What?"

"Let's say that there's a metaphorical flag raised in their hearts…and those flags are more important than their very lives! They don't want their flags to be broken no matter what! And so, to protect that flag, they continue this fight for over one hundred years! Can't you see?! This is a real battle of pride between two warriors!"

"Well, I'm not interested in any of that stuff so I'm going to take off!"

"I'm going to stay here a bit longer and watch!" This fight was amazing! "This is it! This is what I meant by brave warrior of the seas! I want to become a proud warrior just like them!"

"So you want to be a giant huh?"

"DID YOU EVEN LISTEN TO ANYTHING I JUST SAID?!" He frowned at her for a bit before turning back towards the fight. "If there's an entire village full of warriors like them, I'd sure like to visit it one day!" He was pulled back into the fight, watching as the two traded furious blows before slamming their shields into each other's faces.

They both fell backwards, declaring it their seventy-three thousand, four hundred and sixty-six draws. The two started laughing together. When Brogy returned, he told the great warrior of his dream to become a brave warrior of the sea.

"A brave warrior of the seas? What's that?"

"It's someone like you! I want to become just like you two one day!"

"A giant?"

Nami laughed. "NO! That's not what I mean!" He thumped a fist against his chest. "I want to live proudly and honorably, just like the warriors of Elbaf!"

Brogy laughed. "I see! We giants have much longer lifespans than you humans, and as such, we wish nothing more than an honorable death. After all, one's fortunes of life is all bound to come to an end one day. To a warrior of Elbaf, to die without tarnishing one's pride is what we mean by an honorable death. Our pride alone never comes to an end. It's an eternal treasure that's passed on through the lands of Elbaf."

"So it's your treasure!" These giants were everything he aspired to be. Brogy stood up when the volcano erupted again. Usopp leapt to his feet, excited and honored to be able to witness another fight between these amazing warriors. "Go and get him master Brogy!"

"Sure! I will crush him down this time!"

Nami sighed as Brogy left for the fight. "Why do they have to continue this stupid fight?"

Usopp frowned. "Don't say that this fight is stupid!"

Nami rolled her eyes. "Anyway, let's go back to our ship since it will take a year to lock on to the frequency. We'd better wait for everyone and try to find the way out."

"Wait a minute. I can't fight a dinosaur! So, there is no way that we can get our of this forest!" He didn't care how much training he'd been doing. He was still only human. He still wasn't convinced Luffy, Zoro, or Sanji were actually human.

"But didn't you say that you are a great warrior of the sea or something like that?"

"I meant that my heart has become the great warrior! I wish to be a warrior who is proud of himself!"

"We have no choice left. Let's go to see Luffy at the other giant's house."

"One day, even if I have to lose everything or I have to face death alone on an isolated island, I will die with pride and my last words will be 'I AM USOPP, THE GREAT WARRIOR OF THE SEVEN SEAS!' That's what I hope."

Nami grasped his bag and pulled him backwards. "Ok, ok, I understand. Then please, become a great warrior soon, ok?"

Usopp choked as the strap of his bag dug into his neck. "Sure."

He tugged his bag out of the navigator's hand and followed her. He shivered as they went deeper into the forest, feeling like something was watching them. Feeling warm wind on his back, he turned his head and screamed. Nami joined him the moment she saw what was behind them.

Usopp ran as fast as he could, not wanting to be eaten. "IT'S A DINOSAUR!" He kept running until he heard Nami scream, turning around to see what had happened. His eyes widened when he didn't see her. "N…Nami?" Nobody answered. "NAMI! WHERE ARE YOU NAMI?! NAMI!" Still no answer. "T…This is bad!"

Usopp turned and ran as fast as he could to where the other giant's home was, hoping Luffy was still there. "LUFFY!" Spotting the other teen, he tried to skid to a stop but instead slammed into a large rock. Shaking it off, he turned towards the rubber male. "WE'RE IN BIG TROUBLE! NAMI WAS EATEN BY A DINOSAUR!"

Luffy looked horrified. "IS THAT TRUE?!"

"We were running out of the jungle and suddenly, she disappeared! What am I going to do?! I let my friend die!"

"Wait a minute! Calm down!" Usopp turned towards Vivi, tears streaking down his cheeks. He knew he was a coward and always ran away, but how could he have left Nami like that? "You said that Nami disappeared. Have you checked around the area?"

"I'm scared to death! How can I check?! If it's not a dinosaur, then it must be some kind of monster! What else can it be?!" She would have responded to him if he could, and he'd rather get Luffy or Zoro or Sanji than risk being eaten as well. They were monsters themselves and had a better chance at finding her.

Vivi shook her head. "I'm not sure about that. You're not on Baroque Works wanted list, but Nami is. It's possible that she was eaten, but what if Baroque Works sent someone to this island? Then it'd make sense if she was taken and you weren't."

"She's still alive." Usopp turned towards Luffy. His face was scrunched up in concentration. "I can still feel her."

"You can tell which one's Nami?" Usopp thought he could just tell where someone was, not who they were.

Luffy's face scrunched up even more. "Normally I can't, but if I concentrate really hard then I can kinda tell, but only with people I know." He let out a relieved sigh and opened his eyes. "She's with Zoro. There are some others too, but Zoro can protect them." Usopp fell to his knees in relief. He'd been sure Nami had been eaten. "My head hurts."

Vivi crossed her arms. "Looks like Baroque Works is on the island. Maybe they captured Mr. Bushido as well. I'm sure the rum was meant for us as well."

Usopp looked up at her. "Rum? What's wrong with the rum?" He listened as Vivi explained how the rum on their ship had been tampered with and wound up exploding in Dory's stomach. "WHAT?! THE RUM EXPLODED INSIDE HIS STOMACH?! SO, HE WENT TO FIGHT WITH THAT INJURY?!" Usopp was angry. "BOTH OF THEM RISKED EVERYTHING IN THIS FIGHT FOR THE PAST HUNDRED YEARS! AND THEY ALWAYS DRAW! THIS MIGHT BE THE GREATEST FIGHT IN THE WORLD! AND IT'LL END BECAUSE OF THIS STUPID REASON?!"

He turned towards the giants fighting just in time to see blood spurt from Dory's wound as he fell, making Brogy the winner. He jumped when he heard something slam, and turned around to find Luffy smashing his head into the ground. "Luffy!" The rubber teen looked angry.

"WHO DID THIS?! SHOW YOURSELF!" Luffy struggled to pull himself free from the mountain he'd been trapped under.

Usopp grit his teeth. "Luffy. I don't know who they are, but I'll take care of them!" His legs were shaking at the thought, but these people had interfered with an honorable duel. He couldn't stand around and do nothing.

"I'll help you!"

He grinned towards Vivi. "Good! You're very brave! Just follow me!"

"You don't have to find us." He jumped at the new voice, spinning around to find two people standing at the edge of the clearing. Caru was between them, beaten and bloody. "I want to return this thing to you because it's not necessary anymore." The girl with him laughed.

"CARU! Why?! Why did you hurt Caru?! He didn't do anything to you!"

"Hey! Who are they?"

"I don't know." Luffy was glaring at them. "But I bet they're the ones who did this!"

The guy in the trench coat smirked. "You're right. This bird didn't do anything. We tried to separate you from the others by using him. We tried to make it call for help, but this bird really pissed me off. Anyway, since it seems we already caught the other two, then we don't need this bird anymore."

Vivi ran towards Caru, falling to her knees and making sure he was alright. "Caru!" She glared at the other two who simply laughed. "You!"

Usopp pointed towards them. "Are you the ones who put the bomb in that rum?!"

"Yeah, so what? Who are you two anyway?" He turned towards the woman he was with. "Are they on the list, too?"

"No, but they're friends of the others, so we'd better kill them too."

"You destroyed the honor of those giant's battle!"

Luffy kept trying to get out from under the mountain. "You did this?! I'll crush you into the ground!"

Vivi pulled out her weapons while Usopp readied his slingshot. "So, do you want to do something Ms. Wednesday?"

The girl in the lemon outfit laughed. "You think you can hurt us?"

Vivi ran forward, twirling her weapons around her pinkies. Usopp loaded one of his special exploding stars and fired. The two didn't bother to move as it exploded. A hand came out of the smoke and Usopp grit his teeth. Something flew from the hand and he didn't have time to move before he was caught up in an even bigger explosion. He coughed out smoke, blinking to try and clear his eyes. "Ten-thousand-kilogram press!" He felt his ribs crack as something slammed into him from above before everything went dark again.

Nami frowned as she looked at her feet. "I can't move my legs." They were trapped in something with something else spinning over their heads. She had no idea what was happening. Zoro was next to her with Vivi on his other side.

"What kind of enemies would let us run around?"

"What is coming down here?"

"HOW DO YOU LIKE MY CANDLE SERVICE?" The guy with weird hair in the shape of the three laughed. "The candle mist that falls from above will soon turn you all into candles! You will be one of my best works of art! Candle dolls that are filled with the real souls! Just die for the sake of art!"

Nami's eyes widened. "NO WAY! WHY DO I HAVE TO DIE FOR YOUR WORK!?" She turned towards the giant lying net to them. "Mr. Brogy! Do something! Don't stay still! Otherwise, you'll become a candle too!"

Zoro folded his arms across his chest. "That'd be one big candle."

The weird guy down below shook his head. "No matter what you say, it's not going to work. He was so happy over his victory that he cried! I don't know if it's because he really is that insensitive, or because of his friend. He killed his best friend of one hundred years with his own hands! He truly is stupid! He didn't even realize that his friend was injured!"

Brogy closed his eyes. "I knew from the moment we started that Dory was keeping something from me."

"You knew but you still fought him?"

"You don't know the real meaning of this fight! How can you understand my tears?! A person like you wouldn't understand! He fought with pride in his heart! How can I disgrace him? YOU WANT ME TO DESTROY THE PRIDE OF A WARRIOR WHO WAS PREPARED TO RISK HIS LIFE?!" Brogy managed to break the wax holding down his right arm. "I completely understand. Because of that, I had to fight him with these hands. BECAUSE IT'S THE BEST AND MOST RIGHTEOUS THING I CAN DO FOR MY FRIEND DORY!"

Before he could break free any more, a sudden explosion went off in Brogy's face. Nami was horrified. "Mr. Brogy!" The girl with the stupid lemon theme laughed while the guy with the three-hair muttered to himself. He formed a sword out of wax and plunged it into Brogy's hand, causing the giant to scream in pain. "MR. BROGY!" Mr. Three did the same to Brogy's other hand and both his feet as well ,yelling that if he moved he'd destroy his arms and legs.

Viv glared. "That's a very low thing to do!"

Mr. Three laughed. "I'll increase the speed of my candle service! You will become my candle dolls soon!" The giant pumpkin thing above them started spinning faster, more of the wax flakes coming down. Nami coughed and put her hands to her throat. "I can't breathe!" The wax was coating the inside of her lungs. It was hard to take even a small breath.

"THAT'S RIGHT! IF POSSIBLE I WANT YOU TO SUFFER! BECAUE THE PIECE OF ART I WANT SHOULD REPRESENT SUFFERING AND FEAR! BECOME A CANDLE WITH FEAR IN YOUR HEARTS!"

"A piece of art?! That's really disgusting!" How could anyone call someone's corpse a piece of art? "Zoro, do something!"

Mr. Three laughed again. It was really staring to grate on her nerves. "LOOK AT YOUR FACES! THAT'S A VERY GOOD EXPRESSION! SADNESS AND SUFFERING! SADNESS AND TORTURE! THIS WILL BECOME MY BEST PIECE OF ART!"

Nami stared at her arms, horrified. "I can't move my arms!" She couldn't even wiggle her fingers anymore. At this rate they really would become candles! Where was Luffy?!

"Can you move?" She used all her strength to turn and look at Zoro. He was gazing straight ahead. "If you can lost your arms and legs, it's better than died and not doing anything." Nami wasn't sure she liked what he was saying. "I'll try and move too." He pulled out one of his swords. Nami hated how easy he was able to move. "I will cut both my legs off. Don't you want to come and take care of those people with me?"

She knew it. "CUT YOUR LEGS OFF?! ARE YOU KIDDING?! THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR STUPID JOKES!"

"I'm not joking."

"WHAT ABOUT US? THAT'S WORTHLESS! IF YOU DO THAT, THEY'LL BE ABLE TO CATCH YOUANYWAY!"

Zoro grinned. "If you don't try, you'll never know. Anyway, we're going to die if we do nothing, so why not try our best? I don't want to die by those pieces of trash."

Brogy laughed. "You're a very brave young man! I was about to give up! Okay. I'll do it!"

Nami was completely fed up. "ARE YOU KIDDING?! IF YOU LOST BOTH YOU LEGS, HOW CAN YOU FIGHT THEM?!"

"Wait a minute! I'll fight with you too!"

She couldn't believe this. "Vivi!" Even Vivi was going along with this madness?

Zoro pulled out a second sword. "Okay."

"LET'S DO IT!" Brogy grit his teeth and started trying to stand up while Zoro aimed his swords at his legs.

Nami closed her eyes, not wanting to watch. "This is crazy!" Her eyes flew open at the sudden scream, relief flooding through her at the sight of Luffy. They'd be okay now. Luffy would save them.

Zoro raised an eyebrow when Luffy stopped in front of him. His captain didn't say a word as he turned around, reaching back and grabbing Zoro's arms before pulling him forward. "Wha-" He was cut off as Luffy crouched enough to wrap his arms around Zoro's legs, standing so suddenly he had to grab onto his captain's shoulders to keep from falling backwards. Luffy remained silent as he started back towards their ship. "I can walk on my own." Luffy ignored him and kept going. Zoro frowned at the tense set of the rubber teen's shoulders.

The crappy cook actually managed to keep his mouth shut when he saw them, simply falling in next to Luffy with Caru and Vivi next to him. Nami and Usopp walked silently on the other side. What should have been a celebratory mood was instead a tense one. Everyone could tell Luffy wasn't happy, and when he wasn't happy it was hard for anyone else to be.

Luffy didn't bother with the rope ladder. He simply jumped onto the railing of the ship before moving towards the galley. Zoro was all but dumped into a chair with an emotionless don't move thrown his way while his captain left. He frowned but stayed where he was. He'd rather not put the younger male in an even worse mood by disobeying a direct order.

When Luffy came back, the others had already filed in and taken their own seats. Nobody said a word as Luffy sat on the ground in front of Zoro and pulled off his boots before pushing up the ruined pant legs and exposing the still bleeding wounds on his ankles from where he'd attempted to cut his legs off. Luffy's head was tilted down as he doused a clean rag in alcohol, his strawhat covering his eyes.

Zoro frowned as Luffy pressed the rag against the wound, both from the sting and the fact that his captain's hands were shaking slightly. It wasn't the first time he'd been injured, and it wasn't even the worst. So why was Luffy so upset? Would he have rather Zoro sat there and done nothing as they were turned into wax figures? Besides, he'd stopped once Luffy and Usopp had come flying through the air.

He didn't understand why his captain was so upset when they won. Sure, he, Nami, and Vivi had come pretty close to dying, but…Zoro's frown softened slightly. My village was destroyed. Everyone was killed. They'd come close to dying. He'd actually blacked out for a while. Luffy had lost his entire village, and he'd nearly lost half of his friends today.

Zoro reached down and grasped Luffy's hands, stopping him from finishing. His captain didn't resist, but didn't look up at him either. He pulled the rubber teen up and placed one of Luffy's hands over his heart, letting his captain feel the steady beating. Nothing happened for a moment, but slowly Luffy's hands balled into fists and his shoulders started shaking. "You, Nami, and Vivi almost died." His voice was quiet, but there was so much pain and guilt lacing the words that Zoro was pulling his captain into a fierce hug before he realized what he was doing.

"But we didn't. We're still alive because of you and Usopp."

Nami came up beside them and leaned down, wrapping her captain in a tight hug, eyes bright with unshed tears. Vivi took the other side, wrapping her own arms around Luffy. Usopp put his hand on Luffy's shoulder, squeezing it slightly. The shitty cook was the last to join in, standing behind Zoro and pushing their captain's signature strawhat off to lay against his back before placing his hand on the rubber teen's head. "I'm sorry." Luffy's voice was no more than a whisper.

Nami shook her head and tightened her grip, a few tears escaping down her cheek. "You saved us. It wasn't your fault-"

"It shouldn't have happened!" Zoro frowned at the sudden shout. "I wasn't…I didn't take them seriously. I was playing around when I should have been protecting you!"

Everyone else started protesting that that wasn't true but Zoro stayed silent. If Luffy had been serious, it wouldn't have gone as far as it did. He knew his captain was stronger than what he'd displayed on the island. "You'll do better next time then." Luffy looked up just enough to see him and he leveled a serious look at the rubber teen. "You got overconfident since every fight has been easy for you. Because of that we nearly died today." Luffy flinched but didn't look away from him. "Don't let it happen again."

His captain nodded as he buried his head back into Zoro's chest. "I promise." He nodded, tightening his grip on the younger male and ignoring the way his shirt grew damp. Luffy took promises seriously. No matter what happened in the future, or who they faced, his captain wouldn't hold back anymore.

Here's a nice and long chapter for ya'll. Also, I love the fact that Nami can drink just as much (if not more) than Zoro can.

First, I have a mighty need for the crew training together. Nami and Usopp competing to see who can lift more while Zoro and Luffy just casually lift these insanely heavy weights. Sanji doesn't lift weights so much as he does squats or something with them loaded into his arms or on his back. And while I'm having Nami and Usopp train, I'm not going to make them monsters like the Monster Trio.

Crew bonding at the end! Luffy already watched the people he cared about die, so almost losing more right in front of him really shook him up. He underestimated the enemy. I had this island be basically the same, but you'll start to see more differences when we get to Alabasta.

Oh, and as for Luffy not fighting Zoro at Whiskey Peak: I know that in the manga nobody attacks Luffy while he's asleep, but in here he's worth a lot more right off the bat. They don't want to take any chances so even though it's a 30% cut to the reward money they were going to kill him. And don't try and tell me Rayleigh wouldn't go as far as to attack Luffy in his sleep once he's gotten a hang of observation haki. Because he didn't fight Zoro, he wasn't with them when Vivi told Zoro and Nami about Crocodile and therefore wasn't seen by the unluckys.

During the training where it's Luffy vs. the Crew - Vivi thinks they're going all out, but they're not. Well, Zoro and Sanji aren't. If they went all out the ship would be destroyed. They're serious about it, yes, but they're holding back enough so they don't destroy the ship or accidently kill someone (namely Nami or Usopp). For people wondering about Zoro being unable to cut Luffy's haki in the beginning - normally, he'd be able to cut through it at least a bit, but he didn't want to hurt Luffy so his weak swing didn't cut through it. If he'd put his whole strength behind it then he would have cut Luffy at least a little. Again, this is just my take on haki.

I think that's about it. Don't forget to let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading!

~Akirafanatic