"You're growing old, Thatch!" Luffy said brightly, jumping on to his friend's shoulders with a playful laugh. Thatch let out a grunt. "Happy Birthday!

"Oof!" Thatch skidded a bit, laughing as they both crashed to the deck with a dull thud. Luffy quickly scrambled up and sat on Thatch's chest. They boy's eyes sparkled as he looked down at his long time friend and brother—practically father—with that look.

"I'm only getting old 'cause brats like you keep jumping on me!" Thatch sat up, his grin turning into a small smile when the sixteen-year-old slid down on his lap. He wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him into a tight hug, "Thank you, Luffy. I really appreciate it."

Luffy laughed, taking his own arms and wrapping them around the man's waist. Thatch couldn't help but think about the time all those years ago when he was only a boy, so small and fragile, ready to break under the smallest pressure. He'd sure grown, hadn't he? He's a proud commander, now!

Thatch let go of the boy but Luffy refused to let go of him. Thatch smirked and rolled his eyes as he tugged the boy's hands a bit, only making them wrap tighter around his waist. "Come on, Luffy. I've got to go make dinner, yeah?"

He was surprised when the word 'dinner' didn't even seem to ring up in Luffy's mind. Instead of jumping up and yelling about food, the boy just snorted.

"No. The other cook's said that they'd take care of it. It's your day off." Luffy grinned up at the man. "We're going to party tonight!"

"A party, huh?" Thatch laughed. "I'd watch out for anything that Ace gives you. He wasn't too happy with the last stunt you pulled on him."

Luffy brightened up at the mention of his prank and let out a small laugh. "Ace was funny, though! He was all rainbow-y and everything!"

"'Cause you put crayons on him and watched as they melted." It was rather creative, Thatch had to admit. The question was; where did he get the crayons in the first place? "Took him a two hours to try and get the red splatter of the middle of his chest and get the blue out of his hair."

"Technically, he melted the crayons on himself." Luffy said innocently. "I just put them there, I didn't melt them or do anything like that."

"You know that Ace tends to set himself on fire when he wakes up, though." Thatch let out a laugh, shaking his head fondly at the boy's antics. "Still, just watch you back, okay? I don't want to be the one babysitting if someone spikes you drink."

"Don't worry! I'll be fine." Luffy jumped up, putting his hand on his hat and grinned before rushing off to do god knows what. Thatch just stared at the boy, realizing just how perfect he fit in this family.

After all, he was a proud child of the sea.

It was a marine ship in the distance, something that had everyone on edge. Most of the crew was on deck, preparing for battle. The sound of clicks and the occasional yell echoed onboard. From where he was standing, Luffy could even here the men below deck, preparing the cannons just in case the situation worsened.

Ace walked up from behind the boy, ruffling his already messy hair and nudging his shoulder playfully. Luffy turned his head to face the fire-user, a grin on his face. Despite the lax appearance, the second division commander could see the tense lines that covered his body.

"How dangerous do you think they'll be?" Luffy asked, eyeing the marine ship.

It was close to firing range now; they could just make out the tiny specks of the marines running around deck, preparing themselves for whatever was to come. The Whitebeard Pirates would not attack first; they would wait to see if the ship is friendly or if it's going to attack. If they started attacking . . . then, they'll fight back without a second thought.

"Dunno," Ace answered, shaking his head. His grey eyes losing the remaining humor quickly. After all, it was war. Emotion will only slow you down. "Marines are strange. They always change tactics, always change men, always change ships. It's annoying, especially, when you can't predict what they're going to do. For all we know it could be Garp coming for yet another visit."

"Garp's weird." Luffy huffed; rubbing the spot when he got hit every time the old marine comes for a visit. "And his personality changes fast."

Ace chuckled, shaking his head fondly. "At least you didn't grow up with him and his training. Me 'n Sabo were practically dead each night! He'd throw us up into trees, bushes, anything he could find really."

"Mmm, I think his favorite spot to throw me is the mast." Luffy answered, thinking back to the many times that he'd been thrown into the wooden frame. "He keeps using Haki whenever he's here and it really hurts, Ace!"

"At least he has trouble catching you." Ace retorted. "Marco and Thatch seem to take it as a joke. They'll throw me out on deck when I'm trying to hide or hint to Garp where I'm hiding. For you . . . well, let's just say that they're a little more protective. Thatch was pissed the last time Garp was here."

"He threw me off the boat," Luffy remembered, shaking his head. "Thatch came and saved me afterward."

"Yeah. What a load of bull—" He was cut off by a high-pitched humming of a cannon ball right before it landed. Distantly he heard the roar of the crew as the lifted up their swords, calling out Oyaji's name.

"Watch out!" Vista was on the scene before Ace could even move his feet. Using his favored sword, the commander cut the canon ball cleanly in half, smirking as he landed and the canon ball sailed overhead and into the water on the opposite side of the ship.

The pirates let out another roar, crowding at the edge of the ship. No commander made a move. Fossa muttered something under his breath, and rolled his eyes. Ace had to wonder—just for a second—what the man was thinking about.

The marines let out a cry of their own, drowned out as cannon fires ran out from the hull of the Moby Dick. Most of the cannon shots were misses and others were deflected but a few did hit, damaging the mast and railway of the blue ship.

They were close now; close enough that any second they'd be able to board the Moby Dick. The pirates were ready for them though. With years of training and experience that far exceeded these rookie marines, the pirates were confident that they'd win yet another battle.

The two hulls touched, the pirates jumping across the ship before the marines could even lower the planks. In the crowd, Ace noticed Luffy's red vest disappear through all the people and rolled his eyes. The boy probably wasn't going to fight, just keep an eye on his division and knock out an occasional marine that might cause a problem. The other commanders, minus Izo (who was fighting with Luffy to make sure the brat didn't get in too much trouble) and Namur (who was screwing with the currents under the marine's boat) stayed on the Moby Dick, being Oyaji's last line of defense. They'd occasionally knock a marine—that his shipbrothers had missed—back into the ocean or away from their ship. Other than that, they were to stay stationary the whole time and just watch. This was training for the rookies, basically. It gave them experience and made them stronger, both traits that were needed on Whitebeard's ship.

Some time during the battle, Vista had walked over to Ace, his eyes still glued on the other ship. The marines' numbers were dwindling down now and Ace knew that it wouldn't take much more time until the bastards retreated. They did this once a week—if they were lucky— so everyone was good at knowing when the marines would just turn around and run. It was common for them.

It wasn't until he heard Luffy shout 'pistol!' from the other side of the deck that he stared paying attention. He glanced over a Vista, an eyebrow raised. He got the same look back from the swordsman. Ace wasn't necessarily worried, but he knew that Luffy wouldn't use his devil fruit power unless it was absolutely needed. Plus, the boy wouldn't dare to interrupt a fight unless it was clear that they were losing.

A scream broke through the air and cheering could be heard, though Ace couldn't tell if it was marines or his nakama. He heard Luffy's voice cry out another attack and then Izo's voice yelling something (it didn't sound like an attack name, so Ace calmed down a bit. If Izo wasn't in the battle, then that meant that it was just a normal battle).

Suddenly, the noise stopped all together.

Ace raced forward, hands reaching out and grasping onto the rail, looking up at the ship and waiting for something. Anything. To happen. To make the noise start up again. His knuckles were turning white and just as Ace was about to jump over and help, a large explosion rocked the marine's ship.

Shouts of the Whitebeard Pirates were heard as they jumped back to their respected ship, laughing, whooping and playfully shoving each other as they celebrated yet another victory. Izo and Luffy were the last to jump from the boat, stepping out the railing and landing on the deck. Luffy had an injured man—someone that Ace recognized to be from Kingdew's division—over his shoulder, grinning like an idiot. Izo was still smiling, but something in his expression told everyone that something had happened.

The marine ship was long gone by now around the horizon line. They could no longer hear the cries of the marines as they helped their fallen comrades or the cursing that spewed from their mouths. The only sound was the happy cries of his brothers and sisters as they filtered around deck, checking their siblings for injuries.

The nurses rushed over and quickly took the injured man off of Luffy's shoulder, thanking him for saving the man. Luffy just waved them off and bounded over wearing the same happy smile on his face. Izo followed the boy, arms crossed over his chest as he looked like he was trying to persuade Luffy to do something. Luffy, however, had other ideas as he kept shaking his head saying something that seemed to only piss off Izo more.

When Luffy was close enough, Ace noticed that his red shirt was slightly torn and a darker color was seeping into the fabric. The fire user's eyes narrowed, arms crossed as the boy approached. Luffy didn't seem to notice or didn't care until Ace lashed out, grabbing the boy's other shoulder and pulling him closer to inspect what he assumed was a wound.

Izo rolled his eyes as Luffy struggled, eyes wide. "Told you he'd notice."

"Shut up," Luffy retorted. His eyes glanced back at Ace and Vista, smile slowly slipping from his face. "Ace, I'm fine, really. Let me go, please?"

"What's this?" Ace's voice was ice, ignoring the exasperated look from Izo and Vista and a mutter of 'brother complex'.

"It's nothing! There was just this guy who was pretty strong and he sliced my shoulder when I was helping out."

Luffy looked at the cross dresser as if he were begging for help, eyes wide and full of innocents. Izo, use to the look by now, just shrugged and waved him off. Luffy stuck his tongue out at the betrayal.

"Go to the nurses, Luffy."

"Ace." Luffy whined, yanking his shoulder from the fire-user's grasp. "I'm fine! I'm fine! I just need some meat and sleep and I'll be good as new! Meat heals everything."

"Oh no," Ace let out a barking laugh. "No, no. You are going to the nurses even if I have to drag you there myself."

"Whoa—Ace! I'm fine!" Luffy tried to struggle out of his grasp but couldn't budge, earning snickers from Izo and Vista who were watching the whole scene with amused expressions. "Help?"

"You're on your own, Luffy." Vista said with a smile, walking away so he could go check up on his division.

Izo just took one look at the youth and shook his head, following behind Vista. "I'm not dealing with Ace, sorry. Better luck next time."

"You guys suck." Luffy pouted, still trying to get his arm out of his big brother's grasp. He let out another yelp when Ace decided that he had enough and lifted the boy into his shoulders, ignoring the demands for Luffy to be put down immediately. "Ace! What're you doing? Put me down! Put me down!"

"We're getting you medical attention, idiot." Ace grumbled, his eyes still narrowed.

"Ace, I'm fine!" Luffy tried to protest for the last time, but the words fell deaf to the fire user's ears. His older brother was too stubborn to change his mind.

By the time the Moby Dick arrived to aid their allies, they knew it was already too late. The battle was over, with bodies floating in the ocean. The marines had lead a swift and dangerous attack. The only thing they left behind were their dead.

Luffy watched as Oyaji closed his eyes. He knew it hurt Pops more than anything to see his sons die, even if they weren't part of the main crew. Their allies were still their friends and they still sought to protect them. And when they failed…

Their allied ships burned in the sea.

"Help the wounded," Oyaji eventually spoke, his tone flat. Luffy wasn't the only one to flinch, looking at his father with worry. Fossa, who leaned against the rail, sighed and closed his eyes as well. "We will bury the dead."

"All of the bodies?" Rakuyo asked.

"All of them," Whitebeard said. "Go."

The commanders dispersed, finding any of the living that they could. By the time they accounted for everyone, the sun was beginning to set, casting red and orange streaks in the sky. Luffy pulled the last body from one of the burning ships before placing it in the growing pile. He dripped from sweat, his body covered in blood that was not his own.

They had buried the bodies, both marine and pirate, and wished them well. Tears were shed as his siblings grieved the loss of their friends.

The downside to being a commander, Luffy found out, was that everyone looked up to them when they needed support. To stay high when everyone else is low.

Luffy wanted to cry, but he couldn't.

"Oyaji," Blamenco approached their grieving father. "One of our ships—the Moby Four—she's been damaged. She can't sail anymore."

Whitebeard stood, seemingly untouchable in the soft light. It cast shadows on the deck. "Then we will bury her as well."

Blamenco nodded and sighed. Luffy knew that he had been one of the ones that built the Mobys—six of them in total. The Moby Dick, Moby One, Moby Two, Moby Three, Moby Four and Moby Five. Those ships had been with the crew longer than most of the crew had. To lose one of them was just as bad as losing a family member.

Luffy wandered over to the rail, stopping next to Marco. Marco gave him a soft smile that he returned before watching as Blamenco took a small boat out towards the downed ship. Armed with nothing more than a torch, Luffy watched as the man said his goodbyes.

"The sea can be unforgiving," Marco said softly. Luffy nodded in agreement.

Blamenco held up the torch, the ship catching fire immediately. Even though she was smaller than the Moby Dick, she was still an impressive ship. The crew that sailed on her back loved her; Luffy could tell. He could hear their cries even from here.

Luffy closed his eyes. The Whitebeard pirates had lost too much today.

I'm sorry.

His eyes snapped open and he jolted to the side, not expecting to hear a voice. Marco glanced at him, but didn't comment. He stared at the sea, thinking that he made it up.

I'm so sorry.

Luffy's eyes widened as he stared at the burning ship. "She's crying."

Marco turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"She's crying," Luffy repeated, almost in a daze. The voice continued, repeating fears and regrets. "She doesn't want to die. She wants to take us on more adventures, but she knows she's not going to make it. She's sad."

"Luffy… what are you—"

"She's apologizing to her crew," Luffy continued. "She loves them more than anything, she just wants them to be safe. She's happy too, that she got to make memories with all of them."

Marco eventually followed his eyes, only for them to land on the small whale figurehead that was slowly disappearing beneath the waves. "The ship? You're talking about the Moby Four?"

Luffy nodded his head slowly.

"You can hear her?"

Luffy turned to Marco, eyebrows furrowed. "You can't?"

"None of us can."

"But she's…" Luffy stared out at the sea just as the ship disappeared completely.

"Luffy, you can hear the ship—"

"I—" Luffy flinched when Marco put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't see the flash of hurt in the man's eyes, turning away from the burning ship. It was too much, to soon.

He could hear her; hear her cries. He could hear the cries of her crew. He could hear the cries of the other ships. He didn't know why, but didn't care. It hurt more than anything to watch her go down. There was so much going in his head that it hurt. It felt like he was getting torn to pieces. He grabbed the side of his head, ignoring Marco as the man tried to get his attention.

"I—I'm going inside," Luffy didn't want to talk about it. Didn't want to hear it. He just wanted everything to stop.

He turned and walked towards his room, the Moby Four's last words were stuck in head like a broken den-den mushi.

I was happy! Thank you, for sailing with me!

The sound of footsteps could be heard as Luffy jumped across the roofs, looking for some of his division. They'd gone missing about an hour ago and Luffy was sent out to go and find them and bring them back. They were, after all, his responsibility. Plus, he was getting a little bit worried himself. This was a pirate town and although they were in Paradise and Luffy trusted his crewmates, some of the rookie captains here could knock them to the ground like flies.

Yells echoed in the streets as yet another skirmish happened in the dirt road. He could hear the laughing of a voice, "These are Whitebeard Pirates? How pathetic! And here I thought that I'd actually get a challenge!"

Another, much smoother voice interrupted the grumbling. "I wouldn't get so worked up, Eustass-ya. After all, they're just underlings."

"Piss off, rookies!" A voice that Luffy recognized yelled, obviously sounding frustrated and angry. "We don't have time for the likes of you! Get going or our commander is going to show up soon! He'll kick your sorry asses!"

"My, my," The second voice said, sounding more amused than threatened. "How rude. We were just having a little fun, right, Eustass-ya?"

"Shut up, Trafalgar. What the hell are you doing here anyway?" The first voice growled, sounding close to attacking the other.

By now, Luffy could just barley make out the figures. The five missing from his division that he easily recognized, facing off what seemed like two separate pirate crews. The first man was scowling at the other with flaming red hair and his body was covered in metal. The other was much more relaxed, smirking at the redhead as if the whole situation amused him. He was tapping his long sword on his shoulder. A few dozen men stood behind them, glaring at one another as they took sides.

"I'm simply waiting for their—" the second man gestured to the Whitebeard pirates who were still growling and holding up their swords as if the threaten the two captains away. "—commander to show up. I've been dying to meet one."

"Well—!" Luffy shouted, gaining everyone's attention as he jumped from the building, landing in front of his division while holding his hat on his head. He was grinning as he slid to a stop, only feet away from the two men that were harassing his family. "It seems you don't have to wait.

"Commander Luffy!" He heard the happy shouts of his nakama behind him and his grin widened. He straightened his back and stood a full height. The redhead seemed shocked, though tried not to show it and the black-haired male was still smirking. Luffy snorted, his face quickly loosing its grin. His dark eyes narrowed, even though he knew that he shouldn't fight them unless he absolutely had to. "I don't appreciate it when people threaten my family."

"He's a kid . . .?" He heard the redhead mumble before shaking his head. "Ma, whatever. The easier it'll be for us then, right?"

Luffy crossed his arms over his chest and snorted. This is why he hated being in Paradise; it was full of overconfident rookies and a bunch of others who thought they had a chance at taking down one of Whitebeard's men. "Underestimating people on the Grand Line will get you killed."

"Funny, coming from a brat like you." The redhead said, nonchalantly, rolling his eyes as if this were some big joke. Even the other man let out an amused snort.

"I'm sixteen!" Luffy snapped, his hands curling into fists. Then he closed his eyes and unclenched them, telling himself that rookies weren't worth it. Feeling that this situation might escalate quickly, Luffy turned his head towards his division (being sure to still keep his eyes on his opponents) and said, "Get back to the ship. I can handle things here."

They took one look at him before turning and running back, laughing and shouting things that Luffy was sure were about him. A small smile graced his lips and rolled his eyes. His division was very enthusiastic. His smile slipped when he turned back to the pirates, glad that they hadn't attacked them while he was talking. "If you choose to attack me, then go ahead. I'll kick your asses but attacking any Whitebeard Pirate is considered a declaration of war against my family."

"Don't worry, Mugiwara-ya." The black-haired guy said, his smirk widening. "We're not here to attack you just yet. We haven't introduced ourselves yet, have we? How rude. I am Trafalgar Law and the brute next to me is Eustass-ya. I guess you could call him Kidd, though. "

The names clicked into place in Luffy's mind and he put his hands behind his head. "You're those super rookies that are stirring up trouble for the government."

"Oh?" Trafl—How the hell was he supposed to pronounce a name like that? He'd just call him Traffy—said, curiosity lining his gaze. "You've heard of us? I'm honored, Mugiwara-ya."

"Haruta and Rakuyo were talking about you the other day." Luffy answered, a grin appearing on his face when he thought of the bitching match that ensued between the two commanders. "I don't read the papers often."

"Well then that's rather disappointing. Isn't that right, Eustass-ya?"

"Shut the hell up, bastard." Kidd said, harshly. For a moment, Luffy was sure he was going to attack the other man, but held back the last minute.

"How barbaric," Traffy didn't seem to be affected by the intentions at all. His gaze returned to Luffy as if he was thinking about something. "Having a bounty so young . . . You're almost like that woman, Nico Robin was it?"

Something flashed in the back of Luffy's mind. The image of a young woman with pain that she shouldn't have. Someone that was nice to him and accepted him for who he was. Someone that didn't care about the labels that were put on him. Bastard. Monster. Devil.

"Don't talk bad about Robin." he growled. Robin was his nakama and no one talked bad about his nakama.

"I never did," Taffy replied, ignoring the mutter from Eustass. "I was simply comparing the two of you together. Though, for your reaction, I have to say that my curiosity is piped. Do you know her?"

"Yes." Luffy answered, simply, glancing over his shoulder in the direction that their boat was anchored. It was time that he stared heading back . . . "I met her a few years ago. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go."

Traffy chuckled, watching him leave silently. "I look forward to our future meetings, Mugiwara-ya."

Luffy was glad to be back in the New World. He really missed the place when they'd go off and explore Paradise. He knew that Oyaji needed to check up on his territories, but he really hated the arrogant bastards that covered the whole ocean. Those said bastards were filtered out by the time they get to the New World, but they do see one on occasions.

He hummed as he skipped along beside Ace and Thatch, just enjoying their company. The island that they landed on was rather boring with nothing really to do. Apparently, it was one of the most peaceful islands in the whole New World. The only issue that the town's people faced was the giant forest near the south side of the island. Apparently, anyone who went in there never came out.

So, of course, Ace and Luffy wanted to explore it.

The only reason they hadn't bolted to the forest was the fact that Thatch had Luffy trapped and wasn't letting go and Ace didn't like exploring without his family. It took away the fun in finding something exciting when he couldn't share it with everyone.

"Thatch!" Luffy was whining and flailing around in his brother's grip. "Lemme go! I want to go explore the cool forest! Maybe, we'll find meat and bring it back. Right, Ace?"

"Yeah!" Ace said, nodding his head. "Come on, Thatch! You're being a stick in the mud. Aren't you supposed to be the fun brother? 'Cause right now I'm tempted to go find Marco."

"Both of you are big babies." Thatch rolled his eyes but did not let go of Luffy's head. Instead, he continued to walk down the street as if he wasn't being bit by the sixteen-year-old commander. "I thought you were hungry and now you want to go away from the food?"

"We can find something to eat in the forest." Ace reasoned, shaking his head. "It's not like we don't know how. I've cooked plenty of things in my life."

"All of it ends up being burned." Thatch rolled his eyes and was about to say something else when something caught the corner of Luffy's eye and he tensed up, no longer struggling or walking for that matter. Both Thatch and Ace stopped as well, looking around.

It was then that Luffy noticed that they were the only ones on the street. There were no people, no shops, no nothing. The only thing that stood was some old buildings that looked like they'd fall apart at any time. A gust of wind blew through the place, making strange whistling noises.

Thatch grip loosened and Luffy pulled his head out from under his arm just as another white and blue flash caught the corner of his eyes once again. Ace apparently saw it, as well, letting out a feral growl and lighting his shoulders on fire. "Marines."

A low chuckle brought the commander's attention to a lone figure in the streets. He was huge and bulky, wearing a Hawaiian shirt with a marine cape fluttering in the wind. Luffy couldn't read the back, so he had no idea what rank this man was, but by the way Thatch and Ace tensed up even more and the power emitting from the man, he was nothing to laugh about.

"Ace? Thatch?" he whispered, breaking the silence. "Who's he?"

Instead of answering, both Thatch and Ace stepped in front of the boy as if they were protecting him. Luffy gaped at both of their backs. He could handle himself! He didn't need to be protected.

Fire exploded around the commanders making a circle. Luffy could feel the blaze licking at the back of his ankles, but wasn't bothered. It was Ace's fire and Ace's fire would never hurt them. But it worried him… their reaction.

Thatch pulled out his sword, pointing it at the man with a deadly gleam in his eyes. "Hello, Akainu."