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I wish I owned Shueisha Inc.

When Two Brothers Part

A year ago

Whitebeard gazed at the boy in front of him, once so small, now all grown up. It brought a smile to the aging pirate's face.

"Luffy, let's talk," The said teen cocked his head sideways in confusion but sat down, crossing his legs, anyway.

A glint of grief illuminated the Yonko's eyes, "I assume you've seen Marco lately."

He nodded solemnly for probably the first time in his sixteen years.

"Ever since Robin's abduction, he's become an unraveling ball of yarn. And he's unraveling fast. So, promise me this..."

The amount of attention he was getting from the normally cheerful boy was startling... and kinda scary. The only time Luffy would ever pay heed to a conversation is when it involved food, adventure, or pirates.

"I know you are going to set out to sea. When you do, look out for Robin. Find her, no matter what."

Luffy's tightened lips relaxed into a slight smile, "Don't worry, Oyaji. I was gonna do that anyway. Besides that, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Are we there yet?"

Those words were enough to make Ace rip out his hair. At least, after they've been said a thousand times. He glanced at Luffy, a crew-less, shipless pirate with a big dream ready to sail the high seas. Truth be told, a tiny bit of the freckled division commander wished his brother had joined the Whitebeards and become his right-hand man. After all, the world knew them as the daring D. brothers, rubber and fire. Why spoil that good of a reputation by letting one of the brothers leave to form his own crew? The rest of him was happy to see Luffy finally off to complete his dream. Luffy would be a thousand times better Pirate King than the man whose name shall not be mentioned. Or any other chum out there. He gazed at the young man who was rooting for only to stare at empty air. Ace bolted from his seat to the place where Luffy once stood. He looked below to see Luffy on a fishing boat, gazing out to sea.

"Hey, Luffy, who said you could do that?"

"Thatch," Was the answer.

The twenty-year-old sighed heavily then headed back to his seat. Man, taking care of Luffy was hard. Maybe he should have set out with Sabo. Ace yawned loudly, nodding off as his brother sailed towards a huge whirlpool.

Iron Mace Alvida glared daggers at the skinny teen clad in a red vest and blue shorts. A stitched scar lay below his left eye as he stared back, defiance radiating off him. An aged straw hat rested atop his black-haired dome. He seemed slightly familiar, though Alvida wasn't sure why she would recognize some kid. All she cared about was getting the arrogant brat of her ship.

"So do you have a ship or not?" He uttered with slight annoyance and boredom. The female pirate's rage meter rocketed upwards by two notches.

"You insolent brat! How dare you speak to the most beautiful woman on the seas like that?"

The stranger turned his head, surveying the area, "Where is she? I don't see her."

"Me, you imbecile! I'm the most beautiful woman on the seas!" She advanced with every word until the two were only five feet apart.

His eyes rested on her for several seconds, trying to register what she just said; that the rotund person in front of him was the most beautiful woman on the seas.

"Who told you that lie?" He finally spoke, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

In response, he received a mace strike to the head. The entire crew winced, expecting the stranger to drop to the floor, limp as a ragdoll. Instead, he knocked the mace out of Alvida's hand and delivered a swift punch to her gut. The pirate captain flew across the deck and into the deep blue sea. Alvida's crew gaped at where their captain once stood. The stranger straightened himself, adjusting his slightly off-center straw hat.

"Alright! Now that's settled, can you take me to my brother?"

All the marines of the 153rd branch were gathered at the execution ground for Captain Morgan's son Helmeppo's special event. Seven soldiers armed with rifles stood, saluting Morgan and his son as they passed by them. They stopped walking and turned to the person awaiting capital punishment.

A Seaman Apprentice pulled out a paper and cleared his throat, "We will now commence the execution of the accused. Roronoa Zoro, death by firing squad!"

"Ready..." The soldiers cocked the guns, awaiting the order to kill the tied man in a green bandana.

"Aim..." Each muzzle found itself pointing at Roronoa Zoro.

"Fire!" Seven simultaneous bullets were fired. Zoro tightened his facial features, calling upon his will to help him.

"How could you just fall asleep while your brother sailed to who-knows-where?" The volume of Marco's voice decimated his eardrums.

"Don't blame me, blame Thatch!" Ace shot an accusing finger at Thatch, "He let him go!"

Thatch's veins became visible and he furrowed his brow, "I told Luffy to make you go with him! I don't know why he didn't."

Ace stepped closer, inches away from Thatch, "It's Luffy, what did you expect! And make me? No one could make me do anything!"

Marco grabbed both commanders by the scruff of their necks, tearing them apart, "That's beside the point! Luffy's out on seas without a companion! We didn't have a chance to leave him with that Zoro brat."

Ace turned around, trying to hide his smile, "Well, truthfully, it wouldn't really make a difference either way."

Both older men raised an eyebrow at the comment before heading to the helm.

Luffy ignored the pirates onboard, who were still trembling from his earlier display of power. He didn't get why pirates in the East Blue were such wimps. He gripped the crown of his hat, memories flooding in as he touched the straw woven into it. He felt one of the pirates move towards him with his haki but said nothing until he spoke.

"Wow, you're really powerful."

The straw hat-wearing teen shrugged off the compliment, "I'm gonna have to be if I want to become the Pirate King."

It took a moment for the words to register, "P... P-P-P-P-Pirate King? Are you insane? There's an entire world of pirates seeking the One Piece! You can't possibly-"

The small pink-haired teen's words came to an abrupt halt as a fist landed on his shoulder. He clutched his arm, grimacing and rubbing it to feel better.

"Listen, if you really want your dreams to come true, you'll make them come true. And it won't matter if you die doing so. 'Cause it's better to die for your dream than quit and live."

The other boy's eyes glazed over in deep thought, "I have a dream. Had a dream. I wanted to become a marine but..."

A long pause filled the air between the two as the pink-haired teen recollected his thoughts.

"... I ended up here."

Luffy's face scrunched up into a frown, "What do you mean 'had'?"

"I can't become a marine because I'm on this ship! Even if I escape, the marines will never take me in! I guess just be a cabin boy forever and-"

He felt another blow on his shoulder, this one stung a bit more than the other.

"What the hell did you say? Did you just tell me that your dream is dead? Dreams don't die unless you want them to die!"

His eyes widened as he gazed at the teen before him, "I guess I've never thought of it that way before."

Another pause followed as the cabin boy contemplated the pirate's words.

"Do you think that I can become a marine?"

Luffy's eyes gazed at the ocean's horizon, "I dunno. You seem pretty weak and you whine a lot and you don't look very fun. If you wanted to, I wouldn't let you on my crew!"

The pink-haired teen gaped at the other teen, slightly hurting from his blunt comment.

"But you could do it if you would willingly die to do so," He continued, "But only if you have the determination."

Determination... He nodded, slowly at first, then a wild grin broke out onto his face, "Thank you... err... what's your name?"

"Monkey D. Luffy. The man who will become the Pirate King."

"Nice to meet you, Luffy-san, I'm Coby."

He grinned and chuckled, an unusual 'shishishi' sound filled the air, "Yo! Say, Coby, when's lunchtime? I'm starving!"

The entire 153rd branch stared with airborne eyes and empty eye sockets at where seven bullets had just ended their journey. However, none accomplished the job. Still bound to the post, Zoro glared at the navy soldiers. He was coated in a black, shiny substance.

A low grumble escaped the swordsman's mouth, "Now you've gone and done it."

He rose to his full height, his arms easily snapping the ropes. The man cracked his knuckles, surveying the frozen marines.

"You helped me unlock my haki. That's good news."

Swifter than the wind, he punched the nearest marine in the jaw. Crouching over the fallen soldier, Zoro drew his broadsword, brandishing it to intimidate the remaining soldiers.

"Well... For me, anyway."

A/N: Sooooo? How was it? Not much action in this one. Or the next few, the way I see it. It depends on a person's definition of action. I plan to make this story differentiate from the real storyline as much as possible. It'll be a lot harder with arcs like this one, Skypiea, and Thriller Bark but I'll try my best. Anyway, that's all for now.

Next week: Shenanigans at Shells Town