Luffy, Zoro and Nami made it to Syrup Village on Gecko Island
"You know I think it's about time I taught you about Haki."
"Sounds good to me" Zoro said
"I have been waiting to see this." Nami said
"But before that we have guests." Luffy said talking about Usopp and the Usopp pirates who were hiding in the shrubs.
"I am the Great Captain Usopp." I command 8000 men on this island alone.
"Yeah, that's so cool." Luffy said playing along
"My name is Luffy. I am going to be King of the Pirates."
"What, you're a pirate." Usopp said shocked
"Why did you tell him that?" Nami said through shark teeth, hitting him on the head
"If you don't leave I will be forced to shoot." Usopp said pulling out his slingshot
"That is not used for threats." Luffy said
"Now that you have taken out your weapon are you ready to risk your life?" Luffy said glaring up at Usopp.
"Wow, words coming from a real pirate are much more intimidating than I thought." Usopp said falling to the ground already defeated
All the trio on the beach could do was laugh.
By this time the three little Usopp Pirates had run off to hide somewhere
"I borrowed that line from a pirate I know. His name is Akagami Shanks"
"You know Shanks?"
"Yeah, I do. You know Usopp I heard all about you from your dad Yasopp."
"You…" Was all Usopp could say before all that could be heard was Luffy's stomach growling.
"Do you know where we can get some food?" Luffy said rubbing his empty stomach.
"Do you only think of your stomach?" Nami asked
"No of course not." Luffy said chuckling
"We can go this restaurant in town. They know me so it will be my treat."
"You are going to regret that." Zoro said
In the restaurant
"You mean my dad is on the same pirate ship as Shanks?"
"Yeah they are pretty good friends. I have seen your dad do all sort of cool things with his gun. He never missed a single shot."
"That sounds like my dad."
"Hey Usopp do you know where we can get a boat in this village?" Nami asked
"Sorry, but this village is small and no one has that kind of money."
"What about that big mansion up on the hill over there?"
"Listen to me, don't you go near that house."
"Sorry, but I just remembered I had something I had to go do."
After that Usopp left the restaurant in a hurry.
"Where do you think he is going?" Zoro asked
"My guess would be the mansion up on the hill." Luffy said
"What makes you say that?"
"Just a gut feeling"
A half an hour later Luffy had eaten enough to hold him over for a while. Around the same time Usopp was on the branch of a tree outside of Kaya's window and he was telling her one of his famous tall tales. Around the same time back in the restaurant the Usopp pirates went in to find their captain
"Oh, I'm stuffed" Luffy said
"What happened to our captain?" the three boys asked
"We ate him" Zoro said evilly. The three kids fell over shocked before Nami told them what was really going on.
"Oh, it was all a joke." The three kids said laughing it off
"So, do you know where your captain would be around this time?" Nami asked
"He is probably telling Kaya one of his stories."
"Why don't we ask her for a ship." Luffy said
"Why would she give us anything? We haven't done anything for her." Zoro said
Luffy and company left the restaurant to go ask anyway. What stood between them and asking Kaya for a favor was that there was a tall fence around the mansion. "This isn't going to be a problem" Luffy said as he stretched his arms and grabbed onto the top of the fence. "Everyone hold on" Luffy said. Soon everyone was holding onto Luffy. He launched them all into the air and over the fence. Soon after all six of them went airborne they all fell back down. Luffy and company fell out of the sky and Luffy landed on his feet while the others aside from Nami weren't so lucky.
"Nice catch Luffy." Nami said slightly embarrassed to Luffy who had caught her bridal style
"Can you put me down now?"
"Sorry about that." Luffy said putting Nami down and rubbing the back of his head.
"Who are they Usopp-san?"
"They are some people who came from far away to join the Usopp Pirates."
"No we didn't." Luffy said
"Actually Miss, we came here to ask you about acquiring a ship to continue our journey towards the Grand Line." Luffy said in his most polite tone of voice. This extra ten years gave him a level of maturity that he would not have been capable of the first time they asked Kaya for a ship.
Everyone aside from Kaya's mouth hit the ground. They were surprised to say the least that Luffy could be so polite. In reality he had gotten lessons from Makino on how to be polite and be a gentleman right alongside Ace. The only thing is that Luffy really doesn't use them unless he absolutely has to.
"Did you know he could be polite?" Nami asked a shocked Zoro
"No idea." Zoro said picking his jaw up off the floor.
Before Kaya could say anything she was interrupted by her butler Klahadore.
"Miss Kaya, please do not talk with this trash! He is the son of a pirate. He is only getting close to you to attain your fortune"
"I don't want Kaya's money."
"How could he leave his son to become a pirate?"
"The sea called out to him. I am very proud of my dad he is a great man."
"He is still nothing but a filthy pirate"
Usopp had enough of Klahadore and punched him in the cheek as hard as he could
"Usopp-san you didn't have to hit him."
"See Miss Kaya this is the true nature of pirates. You can't trust them!"
"That's real funny coming from you Kuro." Luffy said standing up against the tree with his arms crossed across his chest.
"What are you talking about?"
"You know what I am talking about."
Usopp looked at Luffy funny. 'Does he know something that we don't?' Usopp asked himself.
"I don't have any idea what you are talking about. Regardless I must ask that you leave Miss Kaya alone and never come back."
"I get the hint" Usopp said
"Let's go" Usopp said defeated
A little while later after leaving the mansion Usopp, Nami, Zoro, Ninjin, Tamanegi, and Piiman were sitting on a fence talking when Nami noticed someone was missing.
"Where is Luffy?"
"I could've sworn he was right behind us" Zoro said
Luffy was still back at the mansion, outside of the gate.
"How did you know who I was?"
"Not important."
"I know what you are up to and I am going to stop you. I just thought that I would give you the opportunity to turn tail and run Kuro."
"Hahahaha, that's funny boy. You think you know what I am planning."
"I do know what you are planning. I just thought I would give fair a warning that you won't succeed."
"Thank you, but I refuse." Kuro said and turned to walk away.
"Alright then but don't say I didn't warn you."
Luffy finished talking with Kuro and met up with his friends
"Where the hell did you go Luffy?" Nami asked
"Just taking care of some business!"
"What kind of business?"
"It's not important."
"Ok then, how did your not important business go?"
"It went as well as I figured it would"
"So who wants to learn about Haki?"
"What is Haki?" Usopp said
"He hasn't really told us" Zoro said
"Usopp before we start with Haki training come with me."
Usopp and Luffy went to the cliff where Kuro and Jango were talking. This time Luffy made sure to stay hidden and avoid looking at Jango. He didn't want to fall off the cliff again. He also didn't want them to know they were there. They stayed there until Kuro and Jango had finished their discussion and went off in separate directions.
"I have to tell the villagers what I heard."
"Will they listen to you?"
"I don't know, but I have to try."
"You could do that or I could teach you about Haki."
"I am going to warn the villagers."
"What happens when you tell a lie in this village?"
"They chase me off with stuff from their homes."
"What makes you think this will be any different?"
"I have to try."
"Yes, you could but come back with me instead. It will be worth your time and it might even help you protect your village."
"Fine, I guess I will go with you. This might be more interesting than trying to tell the villagers the truth." Usopp said kind of deflated at the thought that no one would listen to him this time.
Luffy and Usopp made it back to the fence where Nami, Zoro and the kids were talking. Usopp told the five what he and Luffy had just overheard. The three kids walked off when he told them he was lying. They were disappointed in Usopp for lying just to get back at the butler.
"You lied to protect them didn't you?" Zoro said
"Yeah, I don't want them to get hurt."
"It's better if they just think I am a liar."
"Alright you three, I think it's finally time to teach you about Haki."
Nami, Usopp and Zoro followed Luffy into the woods to be out of the way for their training.
"Alright then captain, where do we start?" Zoro asked
"Well, Haki is a power found in every living person on this planet. However most people don't notice they possess it or they simply fail to awaken it."
"Really, every single person on this planet can use it." Usopp said
"Well that is what my master told me."
"Haki is broken down into three different types. First is Kenbunshoku no Haki. The second is Busoshoku no Haki. These two pretty much anyone can learn. Last is Haoshoku no Haki which supposedly only one in a million can use."
"Only one in a million" Nami said
"Yeah, but there really is no way to find out if that is accurate or not."
"Ok so we are going to skip Haoshoku no Haki for now. Nami and Zoro you two should know what it is by now. It's that power I use to knock people out. Whenever you felt that chill run down your spine that was me using Haoshoku no Haki."
"You can knock people out using your mind?" Usopp asked
"Well sort of. It's more like I just intimidate them to the point where they just pass out. I guess you could say I am using my will to overpower them. But more than that there has to be an overwhelming gap in strength for it to work." Luffy said
"That sounds ridiculous." Usopp said
"Yeah, you say that now but just wait until you feel something run down your back. It is one of the weirdest feelings in your life." Zoro said
"He has used it a few times around me and I still haven't gotten used to it." Nami said
"I am going to skip the demonstration for now. You will just have to wait until tomorrow to see it for yourself."
"Luffy which do you use to turn your limbs black?" Zoro asked
"That's Busoshoku no Haki."
"Wait a minute, you skipped the part where you mentioned parts of your body changing color." Usopp said
"I know Zoro has seen me use it and I am pretty sure you have seen it as well Nami. I used it to survive an explosion and catch a cannonball."
"Now who is the liar here?" Usopp said
"It's true. Both happened right in front of me." Zoro said
"Alright, this one I can demonstrate."
"Zoro I want you to attack me with your sword."
"Alright." Zoro said not even flinching at the potentially life threatening request.
"You can't be serious he could kill you." Usopp said
"I trust him."
"That's not the problem here."
"Before we begin, give me one second."
"Busoshoku Koka" Nami, Zoro and Usopp all fell on their asses when they saw a shiny black Luffy standing before them.
"Are you guys okay?" Luffy asked
"Fine" they all said
"I have never actually seen this before." Zoro said
"I thought you saw him survive an explosion." Usopp said
"I did but there was a cloud of smoke surrounding him after the cannonball exploded."
"If you guys are done staring can we continue?"
"Yeah, alright" They all said
"One thing before we start. To do what I am doing now takes years of practice. I spent a lot of time only being able to coat parts of my body. Alright now give it all you got Zoro."
Zoro swung as hard as he could but couldn't even scratch Luffy. Just for emphasis Luffy actually caught Zoro's blade in his hand like it wasn't actually sharp.
"Wow that is amazing." Usopp and Nami said in unison
Luffy went back to normal and began explaining the final form of Haki
"Kenbunshoku no Haki is last and for this I need Zoro's help with the demonstration again."
"Alright" Zoro said
"This time I want you to use all three swords against me."
"Sounds good to me" Zoro said excited
"Just watch for now and I will answer any questions later."
Zoro took out all three swords and got ready to attack his captain. "Whenever you're ready."
Zoro began attacking Luffy with all three swords. After a while Luffy called it quits. They had seen enough and Zoro was getting tired even if he didn't want to admit it.
"That was insane. You dodged each and every attack." Nami said rather impressed but at the same time very shocked.
"Alright, I am very interested." Usopp said thinking of all the ways he could use this to avoid the various villagers attacking him.
"How long have you been training in the various forms of Haki?" Zoro asked
"Over ten years." Luffy said
"How old are you?" Nami asked
"Seventeen" Luffy said
They couldn't say anything. They were just standing there stunned by what they just heard.
"You have been training since before you were seven years old."
"That sounds about right." Luffy said. He couldn't tell them he was a time traveler and that he had been practicing for around thirteen years at this point and to top it off that he was technically thirty years old.
"Well, where do we start?" Zoro said
"Kenbunshoku no Haki would be the most useful to learn right now." Nami said. Thinking to herself that after his little display just now there would be no way he could lose to Arlong. And just thinking about that made her really happy.
"Sounds good to me" Luffy said pulling two orange blindfolds out of his pockets
"That's the same color as Buggy's jacket." Nami said
"That's exactly where it's from." Luffy said with a goofy grin on his face.
"What are you talking about." Usopp asked
"Oh, it's nothing." Luffy said he still didn't like bragging about beating an enemy.
"Who wants to go first."
"No volunteers." Luffy said
"Nami and Usopp you are up." Luffy said
"What are you going to do to us?" Nami asked
"Oh, I am going to swing at you with this stick." Luffy said
"The hell you are" Nami said with shark teeth
"What, it's either that or I throw rocks at you." Luffy said
All Zoro could do was laugh as he got evil stares from Nami and Usopp but continued to laugh anyways.
"Those are some great options there captain." Zoro said after he finshed laughing and had gotten hit by Nami
"What, that was how I learned to use Haki."
"After that I fought every single day to hone my skills to the point they are at today." Luffy said
Usopp and Nami looked at Luffy like he was crazy.
"What, I don't know any other way to teach you." Luffy said
"Well alright if this is the only way you know." Nami said
Usopp and Nami reluctantly tied their blind folds around their heads and covered their eyes.
"Zoro don't hurt him. I want them to get familiar with the idea of having something attacking them and just figuring out how to dodge. Start out telling Usopp which way you are going to swing. But don't tell him every time. If they don't get hurt a little they will never learn." Luffy said
"Sit down and we'll begin."
Zoro began swinging at Usopp from various directions. Sometimes telling him which way he would be attacking, others not. When he knew from which direction he would be attacked he wasn't doing so bad. He would be in motion trying to avoid an attack but he would still get hit. When Zoro didn't say anything Usopp would just get hit. Nami was similar. She would do ok when she knew which direction the attack was coming from. Other times she would just get whacked in the head. Luffy and Zoro were going kind of easy on them as they weren't made out of rubber like Luffy was. Or like Zoro who was actually pretty adept at fighting.
After a while Nami and Usopp had had enough. They weren't doing great but they each managed to avoid a few pronounced attacks. Finally it was Zoro's turn. Usopp and Nami sat off to the side to rest while Luffy practiced with Zoro.
"What did you think?" Usopp asked
"Well after an hour or so of practice I would say we did terrible." Nami said
"Yeah, I would agree with that." Usopp said
"If we compared how we did to how Luffy did we would get a zero." Nami said
"But when I was getting whacked I felt strange somehow." Usopp said
"What do you mean?" Nami asked
"Kinda like I had done this before" Usopp said
"What, you too."
"What do you think that means?"
"No idea."
While they were talking Zoro was having a little bit better luck. Being a swordsman he didn't have to rely on his eyes to see as much as anyone else did. He managed to dodge several of the audible attacks. He even managed to dodge a few of the silent attacks. However like Usopp and Nami a majority of his time was spent rubbing his head or getting up off his side. Zoro had Luffy go harder on him than he did with Nami. After a while Zoro had to call it quits. He managed to practice for two hours much to Nami and Usopp's surprise.
"Well then, I think that is enough for today." Luffy said. Tomorrow we have to help Usopp protect his home. We want the villagers to think tomorrow is just like any other day."
"Thank you Luffy." Usopp said
"Don't thank me just yet. Remember we are only doing this because you want to protect your home." Luffy said
"Still, thank you. Without you guys I would have no chance of protecting my home or Kaya."
"Ok let's go get some food and then we can go get some sleep. We've got an early morning."
Luffy and company went back to the restaurant they ate at earlier and had dinner. They were talking strategy and what to expect when sunrise finally arrived. Luffy knew which side of the island the pirates would land on. He didn't tell the others how he knew. They had a strange feeling that Luffy wasn't being completely truthful about how he knew details of events yet to happen. Not getting a straight answer out of him they shrugged it off and decided on a plan of attack. With a plan in place the pirates went to sleep in the forest so they would be ready when the sun rose.
Early the next morning as the sun was rising, Luffy and company were waking up and they could hear voices of people yelling. They could see a pirate ship just off the coast and it was getting closer. The ship finally made its way to shore and the pirates began making their way off the ship.
"Are you guys ready?" Luffy asked
"Of course" Usopp said with his knees shaking
"I'm just itching for a fight." Zoro said
Nami didn't say anything but she nodded as she readied her bow staff. Luffy was the first to jump down from the forest about half way up the incline. Next was Zoro followed by Nami and Usopp bringing up the rear.
The pirates stopped to see the people in front of them blocking their path.
"Get the hell out of our way" a nameless pirate said
"No way, we are not letting you get to that village." Luffy said sticking his tongue out.
"Why did you stop?" Jango asked annoyed that this was delaying Kuro's plan.
"Captain they won't move."
"Then attack and make them move dumbass."
"ATTACK" the pirates yelled and began running up the hill
"Usopp, you are a sniper right?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Well do your thing; you should be able to take some of these guys out."
Usopp ran up the hill and pulled out his slingshot. He took aim at the pirates running toward the trio and began firing one round after another hitting the pirates in the head and making them fall down. Much to his dismay this only angered the pirates even more.
"Well he is a great shot." Zoro said
"Agreed, but his ammo is pretty ineffective." Luffy said thinking about Usopp's weapon he uses in the New World the Kuro Kabuto and his Pop Greens
"Nami, Zoro" Luffy said
"I think it's your turn."
"You want me to fight them?"
"Yeah, just remember your training."
"What training all you did was hit me with a stick."
"Let's go witch, captain's orders." This aggrevated Nami more than it should have but not having time to think about it she let it go.
Zoro and Nami ran down the hill and began attacking the pirates. They were holding off the pirates from advancing up the hill. Usopp was still providing cover fire when appropriate. Nami soon became overwhelmed by the sheer numbers attacking her. She stepped back to try and gain her footing. But she didn't plant her foot and she began to stumble. The pirates took advantage of this and began moving forward. She managed to catch herself and get back to attacking the advancing pirates. While Nami was fighting she felt something weird. She saw a sword heading for her and not a split second later there was a sword coming right towards her. She managed to dodge the attack and counter smacking the man on the head with her bow staff.
'Was that haki?' Nami thought to herself.
In the village Captain Kuro was sitting on the steps of Kaya's mansion irritated that his men were late as they should have been attacking the village by now.
Back on the hill Zoro was having no problem holding off the constant barrage of swords coming at him. Luffy noticed what had just happened with Nami and decided to intervene to finish off the small fry. A quick concentrated blast of Haoshoku Haki knocked out all the pirates minus Jango and the Nyaban Brothers who were still on the ship.
Jango stood there speechless as he felt a chill run up his spine and he saw his men fall down without even being touched.
Up on the top of the incline Usopp felt something come over him. He wasn't sure what it was but he figured it must have been the last kind of Haki Luffy mentioned. He didn't show them while they were practicing yesterday afternoon but based on Zoro's description and what he felt it must have been it.
"You guys have a little fun?" Luffy asked in between laughing
"You bastard I could have died." Nami said angrily
"But you didn't, you even took the first step in learning Kenbunshoku no Haki." Luffy said smiling and thinking back to when he was training Nami in the basics. She was the fifth member of the crew to learn Haki after Usopp awakened it in Dressrosa.
"I did?" Nami said confused
"Yeah, right before you dodged that sword and whacked the guy in the head. Did you feel or see something strange?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah I think I did. It was brief but it gave me just enough time to react."
"You are going to need a lot more training to get better at it. But it looks like your first lesson paid off. Maybe you can try dodging rocks next time." Nami just punched him on the head for suggesting something like that. 'How did she already manage to do it?' he thought. 'She did pick it up pretty fast.' He wasn't sure how she had managed to do it. Maybe she was capable all along?
"Did I mention that hurts Nami."
"Maybe you already know Busoshoku Haki, a punch shouldn't hurt me like yours do."
That made Nami happy for some reason unbeknownst to her current self
Usopp ran down earlier to hear the conversation his friends were having. He finally got a chance to bring something up.
"That was the Hao whatever Haki?" Usopp asked
"Yeah it was." Luffy said
"Weird wasn't it" Zoro said
"Yeah, it was. I felt that chill you were talking about" Usopp said
By this point Jango had snapped out of his daze and had called the Nyaban Brothers
"You called, Captain Jango?"
"Zoro don't take them lightly."
"What are you talking about? Look at them."
"I know how they look, they act different from how they fight. Just don't get distracted and don't let them take your swords."
"If you say so."
"Buchi, Sham. We have to get up this hill. I want you two to take those guys out."
"That's impossible" Sham said
"Just go." Jango said
Sham and Buchi began running to attack Zoro. With Luffy's warning Zoro took out his other two swords and got ready to face his opponents.
"Cat Claws Attack!" The brothers said
The brothers began attacking Zoro with their claws. However Zoro easily blocked the barrage of attacks and in no time had not only countered but beat the brothers.
The Black Cat Pirates were just beginning to wake up when they heard a familiar voice
"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?" Kuro yelled coming up on all of his former men aside from Jango down on the ground
"The sun has been up for a while now. Why hasn't everything gone according to plan?" Kuro began asking Jango
"These brats got in our way." Jango said
"You couldn't take care of four kids?" Kuro asked agitated
One Black Cat pirate had finally woken up. He saw a tall man in a black suit with a long duffel bag and immediately became terrified.
"You" Kuro asked getting his katana cat claws out of his bag.
"Yes, Captain Kuro" the man said scared
"What happened here?" Kuro asked agitated
"I don't know. We were attacking those kids and then something happened. The next thing I knew I was waking up on the ground along with everyone else." He was terrified but it wasn't the kids who scared him it was how Kuro would react.
Kuro was not happy with that answer. He disappeared and the next thing most of them noticed was that he had attacked the pirate who he had just talked to. More pirates were waking up and Kuro asked them what happened. They shrugged their shoulders looking at each other and back to their former captain. Not satisfied with that either he disappeared again and began attacking his former crew indiscriminately. That was until a certain rubber pirate stopped him.
At the top of the hill the Nami, Zoro and Usopp were talking.
"Wow, all of the sudden he was just gone." Usopp said
"I'm not surprised by what he can do anymore." Zoro said
"Speak for yourself." Nami said
Back near the bottom of the slope Luffy had stopped Kuro.
"I'm surprised you could keep up." Kuro said
Luffy was just seething with anger at what Kuro had done
"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO YOUR NAKAMA?" Luffy yelled in Kuro's face
"Some of them aren't even awake." He said having calmed down a little
"Luffy." Nami said shocked at what he said
"They are all expendable, as long as my plan succeeds." Kuro said
Luffy just punched Kuro right in the face
"That hurt you brat."
Kuro began swaying back and forth and disappeared again
'That's kinda similar to the Soru' Luffy thought as he stomped his feet down and disappeared as well.
In no time Luffy had caught Kuro
"How did you keep up with me?" Kuro asked surprised that anyone was as fast as he was.
Before Luffy could answer a voice was calling out to Kuro. It was Kaya.
"Klahadore" Kaya said
"Kaya, what are you doing here?" Usopp asked.
"Merry said that Klahadore attacked him. I had to find out for myself."
Luffy had let go of Kuro and he began talking with Jango about Kaya
"Jango" Kuro said
"I want you to go make sure Kaya writes her will and leaves everything to me, her loyal and faithful butler."
That one statement made Kaya fall to the ground. She was shocked to say the least.
"Yes captain" Jango said
"Zoro, Usopp." Don't let him get near her. "You don't have to tell me that." Usopp said
"Nami." Make sure she stays safe. Nami just nodded. She ran up to Kaya and grabbed her by the wrist and moved her away from the fighting
Jango walked up the slope but before he made it half way up Zoro and Usopp stopped him.
Kuro disappeared again
"This really isn't any fun." Luffy said
Luffy stayed in one place but he was following Kuro's movement.
"Gear Second: Busoshoku Koka" Luffy said punching the air to the side of him and turning his hand and forearm black.
"Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol" Luffy said as he punched Kuro in the stomach knocking him into the cliff side.
Luffy disappeared and reappeared in front of Kuro. Luffy grabbed each of Kuros's swords and snapped them just above the connection to the glove. He then took each of the ten blades and pushed them one by one into the rock wall.
At the top of the slope Zoro and Usopp had beaten Jango.
"How could my plans have failed?" Kuro questioned
"Easy" Luffy said
"You see your crew as tools. I don't care where you go after this but you are to never come back here." Luffy said scowling at his foe. He grabbed Kuro by the collar and threw him down to the rest of his injured crew.
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Kaya watched as the Black Cat pirates got on their ship and sailed away. They watched until the ship was a spot on the horizon. The three young Usopp pirates had been watching the whole thing from the safety of the bushes. They heard everything and saw their captain protect their village from pirates.
"Woops, looks like they missed one" Luffy said pointing to Jango who was out cold on the ground.
Kaya turned to Luffy "You asked me earlier if I could get you a ship correct?"
"Yes I did."
"I believe that there is something I can give you as thanks for protecting me and this island."
"Really?" Luffy asked knowing exactly what she was going to give to them.
"If that's the case, we can put him on our small boat and set him out on his own" Zoro said
Nami went down to the boat to grab all of her treasure. Zoro went with her carrying Jango over his shoulder. With Nami's treasure secure Jango was put in the boat and Zoro pushed it out on to the sea to drift. The two walked back up to Luffy, Usopp and Kaya.
"As thanks I would like you all to stay in my home. I have plenty of spare rooms."
"Thank you." Luffy said
"Why don't you stay with us Usopp?" Luffy asked and looked to Kaya for approval.
"Of course all of you are welcome" Kaya said
Sometime later at the mansion Zoro and Usopp were relaxing but two people were missing.
"Have you seen Luffy or Nami?" Usopp asked
Zoro just shrugged and went back to sleep.
Earlier while walking to the mansion Luffy was talking to Kaya. "Is there was any place to get a suit for myself and a dress for Nami?"
"That is no problem I will take care of the arrangements."
While Zoro and Usopp were relaxing in another part of the mansion a few tailors were measuring Luffy and Nami for their outfits.
"Why are we the only ones getting fitted for nice clothes Luffy?" Nami asked
"It's just for the place I want to go next. I just think it would be fun." Luffy said innocently
"Where are we going next?" Nami asked curiously
"We are going to Baratie, the floating sea restaurant."
"So why are we dressing up?" Nami asked
"It's a nice place, it's just for fun." Luffy said with his usual grin
Nami wasn't going to get any more out of Luffy so she just went along with it. They finished up and went on their way.
The next morning Luffy, Zoro, and Nami went with Kaya to go see what she was going to give them. Usopp had gone to pack his stuff for his journey out on the sea.
Luffy, Zoro, Nami and Kaya made it down the shore just as Merry was dropping the anchor.
"This is for us" Luffy said. Internally he was yelling. He was so excited to see an old friend again.
'I am so glad to see you again Merry' Luffy thought. 'This time we are going to take better care of you. Unfortunately I don't think you will fare well in the New World.'
"Yes it is, please accept it." Kaya said
"I've prepared everything that's needed to set sail aboard the ship." Kaya said to Luffy who was looking at his favorite place to sit.
"Thank you, that's really thoughtful of you" Luffy said
Zoro was looking up at the ship feeling nostalgic for a reason he truly didn't understand yet.
"Oh and your special items are in your respective rooms." Kaya said
"Thank you for taking care of that so fast." Luffy said
"You are very welcome."
As Luffy, Zoro and Nami were admiring the ship they heard someone yelling. It was Usopp rolling down the slope with his giant backpack full of stuff. Luffy and Zoro each put a foot in the air and stopped Usopp from rolling off into the water and into their new ship.
"So, you really are setting out to sea Usopp-san?"
"Yeah, I should leave before I change my mind."
"Don't try to stop me." Usopp said
"I won't stop you. I had a feeling that you would."
"Next time when I return to this village, I'll tell you stories about my adventures that are a lot more outrageous than my previous tall tales!"
"I'll be looking forward to it." Kaya said
"You guys take care too. I'll see you again someday" Usopp said to Luffy and company who had gotten on the Going Merry.
"What are you talking about, hurry up and get on." Zoro said
"We're already nakama aren't we?" Luffy asked
"I'm the captain" Usopp said overly excited
"Idiot, no you're not. I'm the captain." Luffy said laughing along with Nami and Zoro
With all four pirates on board they readied the ship to set sail. At last the four Straw Hats left Syrup Village.
Back to the future Straw Hats watching through the portal
"So is it worth asking what was different at all?" Franky asked kind of bored
"Nope, not really" Usopp said
"Of course anything with Haki never happened, the ways we beat those pirates changed." Zoro said
"I'm glad we were still able to protect Kaya."
"Brook, what did you think of seeing the Going Merry?" Usopp asked
"That's right, you never actually got to meet Merry." Nami said
"No I didn't but it was nice to finally see the ship you all told me about. It would have been nice to actually meet this ship." Brook said
"You have met her already." Usopp said. Merry's brave spirit lives on in the Sunny."
Sanji wasn't joining in on the conversation. He was on fire over off to the side by himself.
"Marimo, Usopp do you know why Luffy and Nami would go get nice clothes together?" Sanji asked still fuming
"If I had to guess it would be to get this reaction out of you. You always act crazy in front of pretty girls." Zoro said
"You think I am pretty?" Nami said
"Don't get ahead of yourself witch. I am just making a point." Zoro rebutted
"Don't you dare talk to Nami-san that way shitty swordsman."
"Get over it dartboard brow."
After that they went into full fight mode to once again be stopped by Nami's fists.
"So that was what a week's worth of progress?" Zoro asked
"Something like that." Nami said trying to remember the details.
"I only started doing daily log entries once we were on the Merry." Nami said
"So anything before that the exact dates get fuzzy."
"But if you had to guess Nami-san" Robin inquired
"Definitely no more than two weeks." Nami said pretty sure of herself
"You know, seeing how this is from Luffy's perspective we might finally see what happened to him during his two years away from us." Robin said
"Aside from his training with Rayleigh" Zoro said
"That means we will eventually see what happened to Luffy-san on Amazon Lily."
"Just thinking about it gives me a nose bleed even though I have no blood. Yohohoho. Skull Joke"
"That means we will see the Kaizoku Jote Boa Hancock." Sanji said with hearts in his eyes and a nose bleed.
"Let's let the two perverts over there have their fantasies."
"We can only guess how strong he is now. There is no telling what he will change." Nami said
"He is likely already almost as strong if not stronger than he was when he disappeared earlier today." Usopp said
"He did have ten years to improve on the skills he learned from Rayleigh during our time apart. I would bet you are right." Zoro said
"I told him when he left not to make any drastic changes." The ghost said
"Shanks's arm? Luffy warning Ace about Blackbeard?" Nami asked the ghost
"Ace's death?" Zoro asked knowing it was still a touchy subject even three years later.
"The first two probably won't make too much of an impact on history. On the other hand Ace's death is a pretty big part of your lives. It was the reason he decided to train for two years. It was so that he wouldn't lose anyone again. It was plenty of time for you all to get stronger so that you could be ready for the challenges ahead in the New World. I only can hope that Luffy understands what the repercussions might be for changing the past."
The eight Straw Hats sweat dropped. They looked at the ghost like he was crazy.
"You have to be kidding right." Nami said. You should know who you are talking about."
"Well he had ten more years to think about what he was going to do." Sanji said
"I believe he still has plenty to show us, just wait and see." The ghost said
"Maybe all this time has actually done him some good."
They all looked at him like he was crazy.
"Maybe not." The ghost said sweat dropping