Mist of Memories

by HeroR

Guilt, regret, if left alone these feelings will consumed even the strongest of souls. That is the reality the Strawhats face as they go into their captain's memories to save their precious crewmate. To free their captain's from his guilt, they must first understand the depths of his pain and loss.

26. Omen

After a busy week, here is the next chapter. Thank you all for your support and thanks again to Cana-Puff for checking this really long chapter. Also, I want to give a special thank you to all those who have favorite this story. This fic now has over 300 favorites thank to all of you.

Now, onward to the story.

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Chapter 26: Omen

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When the memory faded, all the Strawhats were near tears by the touching reunion. It seemed so long ago, but they remembered all too well the pain they went through in Water 7. Being together, but separated was one of the most challenging huddles the crew had ever gone through. The thought that they had also lost Usopp weighed heavily on their mind. However, they got through it and became stronger than ever before. Now nothing in this world could ever shatter their bond again.

"I never knew the details," Brook whispered. "I read some of the details of your adventure from Nami's logs, but I feel closer to all of you by what I have witnessed. My only regret was that I wasn't with you."

Franky put a heavy hand on Brook's shoulder. "You're here now, bro, and that's what counts."

"Where's next, Thriller Bark?" Nami asked she wiped her eyes.

"Most likely, but I do not think there will be much for us to see since all of us experienced the events of Thriller Bark," Robin answered.

"Still, there could be something to be learned. We're all looking at things from our shitty captain's point-of-view, after all," Sanji said.

Zoro nodded. "Never assume we know everything."

The mist came and engulfed the Strawhats into the next memory. The Strawhats stood on what appeared to be a winter island. At least, it had been a winter island. For some reason, the section where they stood was melting. In fact, it had melted to the point where the Strawhats could see lava flowing around the ice.

"What happened here?" Brook asked in confusion. "Did a volcano erupt?"

"Oh, I remember this," Usopp said. "This is when we got caught by those bounty hunters just before we got to the Florian Triangle. The Ice Hunters if I recall correctly."

"Yeah, you're right," Sanji said as he looked around. "Sure wasn't expecting this memory."

Clashes of a battle could be heard in the distance and the Strawhats walked toward its source.

In a pit filled with lava stood Luffy and some naked man who was burning a bright red that could match Luffy's Second Gear. They were staying above the lava by standing on some surviving pieces of ice that was rapidly melting under their feet.

Luffy was hurt, with a huge burn to his chest. The heat of the lava also affected him since he was sweating heavily.

The naked man looked perfectly fine and mocked Luffy for foolish pirate dreams and caring so much about a 'stupid' flag.

Needless to say, that last comment really pissed Luffy off.

"Why is that man talking about the Jolly Roger?" Brook asked.

"This group of bounty hunters trapped pirates by stealing their Jolly Rogers," Franky said, remembering the pain they went through to get their own flag back. "They then hold the flag hostage to keep the pirates from escaping and leading them to this ice hole."

Brook scowled. "That's low. Stealing the pride and joy of a pirate."

Luffy agreed with his future crewmate and swore to send the 'Naked Balloon' man flying.

The bounty hunter thought Luffy's proclamation was a bluff, given that Luffy couldn't touch him without his hands melting. Apparently, the bounty hunter could get so hot that falling into lava was like a hot bath to him.

Without any more talk, the naked bounty hunter charged Luffy, ready to finish the fight.

Luffy pulled his arms back and delivered a Bazooka to the man's midsection. His hands turned red as the bounty hunter's ability began to melt the skin on them.

The Strawhats started to smell the odor of burning rubber as Luffy kept pushing his attack.

The bounty hunter laughed in triumph. "Better watch out! Your hands will be melted down!"

Luffy grunted as his eyes burned in determination. "It's not hot! It's not hot! It's not hot!" he chanted repeatedly.

"Luffy-san's hands will be ruined at this rate," Brook said in concern.

Chopper shook his head. "I still wonder how Luffy only got minimum burns. That guy's ability made him as hot as lava."

"It's not hot! IT'S NOT HOT!" Luffy continued to chant like a mantra as he kept pushing against the bounty hunter.

Zoro noticed something. "Look at Luffy's hands."

Steam left Luffy's hands and the Strawhats could see faint bits of black forming over the palms.

Sanji's eyes widened in realization. "Haki! He's unconsciously using Armament Haki to shield his hands."

"It makes sense," Robin said before her eyes became downcast. "Luffy has been gradually awakening his Haki since that incident on Omatsuri Island."

The naked bounty hunter was shocked as the force of Luffy's Bazooka hit him. His dark sunglasses shattered revealing his eyes, wide with disbelief.

"That's...IMPOSSIBLE!" the bounty hunter exclaimed.

"FLY!" Luffy screamed.

As if following Luffy's orders, the bounty hunter went flying across the landscape and into a nearby building, which was obviously his base. The roof of the building collapsed on his head, ending the battle.

Luffy fell backwards onto the melting ice, tired and hot from his battle. He couldn't rest yet, however.

"The flag...our flag..." Luffy huffed. He slowly pushed himself to his feet.

"This is...!" someone suddenly exclaimed.

The Strawhats turned to see that their past counterparts had come. They were surprised to see someone floating in the middle of the lava.

"What's this!?" Usopp in the memory exclaimed. "What's going on!?"

"Over there!" Chopper in the memory pointed towards his injured captain. He was holding something, but the Strawhats couldn't really see what it was for some reason. It was most likely because Luffy didn't know what it was.

"Luffy!" Sanji in the memory exclaimed in surprise.

"Why is he there!?" Usopp yelled.

Chopper waved towards his captain. "Hey, Luffy! We got the flag bac-"

He was immediately cut off by the other Strawhats.

Luffy fully looked up from all the yelling. "It's them." He smiled at his crew and waved at them. "Hey, guys! What are you doing here!?"

If Luffy was expecting his usual greeting, congratulation for another won fight, or even a scolding for fighting so close to lava, he got none of that.

Instead, his crew stared at him for a moment before they looked at each other. They looked horrified to see him.

Brook, if he had skin or eyes, would have narrowed them in confusion. "What are those expressions?"

Nami coughed nervously. "You see..."

Nami in the memory made her appearance and she was running at full speed towards her crewmates. "Everyone! Let's hurry back to the ship!"

The Strawhats in the memory took Nami's advice and ran like their butts were on fire.

Luffy was more than a little shocked. His crew never ran from him before. It was usually the other way around. "They're...hey, wait up! What about the flag!?"

He stretched his arms and pulled himself out of the lava pit. He began to chase after his crew, who were a good distance away from him.

"Hey, wait!" Luffy yelled at his crew, who continued to ignore him as they ran. "Hey, I said wait! What about the flat! The flag!"

His crew responded by running even faster.

Zoro, who was usually the most obedient to Luffy's orders, ignored his captain as he ran at his full speed back towards the ship.

Even Robin was hauling butt in a way that Luffy had never seen before.

"Why are you guys running from Luffy-san?" Brook asked, baffled by their behavior.

Nami sighed. "You see, our flag was stolen by those bounty hunters."

"Oh, I understand. Even though you were able to retrieve it, losing one's pirate flag is a great humiliation," Brook said.

Usopp nodded. "We didn't want Luffy to know we screwed up that badly, so we went out of our way to get our flag back without him knowing."

Brook, if he had skin, would have frowned. "But Luffy-san would've forgiven you. I doubt he would have been mad at you guys for losing the flag."

"No, he would have been disappointed, which is worse," Zoro said. "The Jolly Roger is one of those things that Luffy doesn't fool around with. Us letting it be taken by some second-rate bounty hunters would have made Luffy doubt our ability."

"Plus, we didn't want to be scolded by that moron," Nami added as she puffed her cheeks.

The Strawhats in the memory were stopped at the end of an ice shore that the Sunny was close to, allowing Luffy to finally catch up with them.

"What are you guys doing!?" Luffy yelled at his crew. Despite all the running, he was nowhere near out of breath. "The flag was stolen, wasn't it!? We have to go get it back or...!"

"Eh, the flag?" Nami in the memory asked all too innocently. "I wonder what he's talking about."

In fact, all of them had innocent expressions on their faces, which was disturbing when it came to Zoro and Sanji.

Chopper was in Sanji's arms with his mouth covered with a look of horror on his face. It was an awkward scene to say the least.

"You probably had a bad dream," Sanji in the memory suggested almost nervously. He turned towards Zoro. "Isn't it?"

"Oh, that must be it," Zoro in the memory said, agreeing wholeheartedly with Sanji. The two rivals laughed with one another.

Zoro cringed at his past self. They were getting as bad as Luffy at lying.

Sanji was also disturbed. If Luffy wasn't such an idiot, he would have seen through their lie at that very moment.

Robin smiled kindly at her captain. She was the only one acting like herself. "Luffy, look over there." She pointed to the Sunny.

Luffy looked towards his ship and saw the flag where it was supposed to be, flying freely in the cold wind.

Luffy blinked in confusion. "It's perfectly safe!" He began to scowl. "Those replication technique guys lied to me." He turned towards his crew and smiled. "Sorry I doubted you."

The crew laughed nervously at Luffy. "Don't worry, don't worry."

Luffy looked at each of his crewmates and his smile faltered slightly when he looked at Zoro. It was really brief, but the Strawhats, no longer trying to deceive Luffy, saw it.

There the memory ended.

"Well, that was an interesting memory," Brook said. "Although, I wonder what's the point of us seeing it?"

"Maybe to show Luffy's shame for doubting us," Usopp suggested with a shrug.

Robin frowned. "That does not seem right."

A new memory appeared from the mist and they were on the Thousand Sunny. It was night and the Sunny sat peacefully in open waters. It was a crescent moon tonight, giving a little light to the deck.

Luffy was the only one awake and he was sitting near Sunny's head. It was obvious that Luffy was on watch, although it was odd that he was there instead of in the Observatory since one's view was limited from Sunny's head. It wasn't an ideal place to keep look out. Luffy knew this, so why was he there? He may hate watch, but it was one of the few duties he took seriously.

"Hey, Sunny, how do you like the crew so far?" Luffy asked the ship. "Hard to believe, but you have been with us for a week now. Still, so much has happened already."

The Sunny remained silent.

"We can be a little rough with you at times, but we all really love you, Sunny," Luffy said. "I'll do my best to take care of you. I don't want you to end up like Merry. Too bad you couldn't meet her. She was a great ship."

Franky was touched that Luffy was speaking to Sunny so fondly. He knew that the Sunny could never replace the Strawhats' precious Merry, but it thrilled him to hear from Luffy's own mouth that he saw the Sunny as Merry's spiritual successor.

Usopp also felt tears build in his eyes being reminded of Merry.

There was a long pause as Luffy sat on the railings. "Sunny, you can see and hear everything, can't you? You hear what we say when we don't speak to one another. You know our secrets and our doubts."

Sunny still said nothing.

"Tell me, Sunny, am I a good captain?" Luffy suddenly asked.

The Strawhats were startled by the question. The question was somber and filled with doubt. At that moment, Luffy sounded like a different person. Where did the question even come from?

"I know that I'm not the best captain. There're many captains who are better than me," Luffy said. "Shanks or even Whitebeard. I mean, Whitebeard got Ace and Ace follows no one."

The Sunny didn't speak.

"You probably want to know why I ask," Luffy said as he looked up. He was staring at his pirate flag. "You probably already know this, but my crew lied to me."

The Strawhats felt their stomachs drop.

"I'm not completely sure what they're lying about, but I can tell. On that ice island, they pulled some kind of trick on me," Luffy said. He didn't sound angry or upset. Just sad and confused. "They all stood together and told me a lie."

Sunny continued to be silent as she listened to her captain.

"How do I know?" Luffy asked as if Sunny had spoken to him. "I know because I can tell when Zoro lies."

Zoro felt like he was punched in the face.

"Huh, he can tell when Zoro lies?" Nami asked in disbelief as she glanced at Zoro. "He can't see through Usopp or anyone else's obvious lies, but he knows when you lie to him?"

"Hey, I tell great lies!" Usopp exclaimed.

"I think it is because of the type of bond Luffy and Zoro share," Robin surmised. "Their ability to communicate with each other without words also seems to allow them to see through each other's deceits."

"You make it sounds like they're psychically linked or something," Franky said.

"I think it is more of a feeling than a mental state," Robin said.

"Zoro never lies to me. He always tells me the way things are, even when I hate him for it," Luffy went on. "What happened that was so terrible that they couldn't tell me? Or, was it because they don't trust me anymore? Maybe...they don't see me as worthy of being their captain."

"Don't even think that!" Chopper yelled instinctively as tears built in his eyes.

Sanji growled to himself. He didn't think their little deceit could provoke this kind of reaction within their captain. At the same time, he shouldn't be surprised.

Luffy laughed humorlessly. "It sounds silly, doesn't it? That I could ever doubt that my crew loves me. Maybe you're right. It does sound silly. My crew would never lie to me out of malice. If they lied, it was to save my feelings."

Sunny said nothing.

"But...I could be wrong," Luffy said as he stopped laughing. "I didn't expect Usopp to suddenly leave either." Memories of Usopp and his fight flashed through the memory.

Usopp once again felt a pang of guilt pulse through his chest.

"If I was a better captain, I could have prevented the whole thing. If I had protected him better, then he would have never left," Luffy said softly.

Usopp shook his head as he walked towards Luffy. "It was never you, Luffy. What happened with the Merry happened because of my pride and insecurities. Please, don't blame yourself for my selfishness." He attempted to place a comforting hand on Luffy's shoulders, but he passed right through his captain.

"I guess I shouldn't be one to talk about lies," Luffy suddenly said, breaking Usopp out of his self-pity. "Even if they did lie to me about what happened on that island, I deceived them first."

Before the Strawhats could contemplate what Luffy was talking about, they saw flashes of Omatsuri Island. They saw themselves die again before Luffy's eyes as he cried in anguish with each of their deaths.

They heard the Baron's cruel taunts and cold laughter as Luffy broke down in grief. They saw themselves in that twisted, deformed state as the Lily loomed over Luffy, almost like it was mocking him about eating his friends.

"They died, Sunny," Luffy said bluntly as the terrible memory faded. His voice was tight, like he was fighting back tears. "They died and I could do nothing to stop it. They remember none of it. They don't even dream about that island. I'm...thankful for that. I don't want to imagine the pain they were in when...that flower ate them..."

Sunny remained quiet as moonlight bathe the deck.

"But...it's a lie if I say that I wasn't happy because...they don't remember that I'd failed them," Luffy said softly.

"It's a trap," Usopp's voice said across the memory.

"You're the one who got us into this. You're the one who decided to come to this island!" Sanji's voice screamed in anger across the memory like thunder. "That's what caused all of this! Luffy...this is all your fault."

Sanji shook as he listened to those words being repeated with such cruelty and intent that it was equal to the Baron's mental torture. To think, those words have been eating away at Luffy's soul for over two years.

"If I was a better captain, none of them would have died," Luffy said so softly that the Strawhats could barely hear him. "If they learned what...if they learned what happened on that island, how will they see me? Will they still see me as their captain?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Nami yelled at Luffy. She knew he couldn't hear her, but she didn't really care at the moment. "You think we would abandon you because of that!? How stupid can you be!? Have you just forgotten how many times you saved us!?"

"Do you think, Sunny, that they'll mutiny against me one day?" Luffy asked in an emotionless voice.

Now Zoro was the one growling in anger. He wanted to smack Luffy across the face and shake some sense into him. What the hell was wrong with him? Did that moron honestly believe that after everything they went through that they would actually mutiny? Did Luffy think that little of them?

After shaking in rage for a couple of seconds Zoro realized why Luffy was thinking like this. At Omatsuri, the crew did all but mutiny. They blamed him for everything that had happened and abandoned him in a fit of anger. Because they didn't remember and Luffy never told them, none of their words or actions were taken back. Unlike with Water 7, they were no amends or apologies. Instead, Luffy had buried everything deep within his heart. It was a wound that was never allowed to fully heal.

Sunny said nothing as she stared into the open sea.

Luffy sighed as he looked at his flag again that waved peacefully in the wind. "Am I a good captain...Sunny...?"

Sunny didn't answer as the memory faded.

"That shitty, rubber brain," Zoro growled angrily.

"How can he even think those things?" Chopper asked with tearful eyes. Did Luffy really lose faith in them?

"He obviously feels a great deal of guilt for what happened on that island," Brook said somberly. "The loss of one's crew is the most painful experience that any captain can ever have. The fact that the Baron slowly killed you and made you suffer intensified his pain. What happened with Usopp and then Robin only added to that guilt."

"This is why he should have told us about that damn island," Sanji said as he bit down on his cigarette so hard that it broke in half. "If he was honest..."

"Like how we were honest about the flag," Nami suddenly said, cutting off Sanji.

"But Nami-san, that's completely different," Sanji said.

Nami shook her head. "No, it isn't."

Robin also had a somber look. "We lied to Luffy about the flag being stolen because we were ashamed of ourselves for letting Luffy down. Luffy never told us about what happened on Omatsuri Island because he was ashamed of letting us down."

There was a long silence among the crew.

"I guess none of us were very honest," Franky finally said as he rubbed his head.

"We lied to each other to protect one another, but we only managed to cause each other more pain," Chopper said somberly.

"Well, that changes once we've saved Luffy," Zoro said firmly. "When all of this is over, we're going to clear the air. I don't want this kind of doubt and guilt to linger around the crew anymore."

They all nodded in agreement.

The mist engulfed the crew again and they stood in what appeared to be a thick fog. The fog was so heavy that the crew could barely see in front of them. It looked like it was night.

"The Florian Triangle," Brook whispered in dread. He would always remember this place.

"You're right," Usopp muttered. He had forgotten how frightening this place was. It was like a grave.

"Why are we going?" Nami in the memory cried. The Strawhats saw her kneeling in a row boat. She was shaking badly and was crying fairly hard.

"Nami-swan, don't be sad. Your prince is here!" Sanji exclaimed as he rushed to memory Nami's aid. Of course, he couldn't comfort her.

"I'm going back!" Nami in the memory yelled.

"Nami, not yet!" Luffy yelled. He was currently climbing a long, old looking rope ladder up to the ship. "Hurry up and climb!"

Nami shouted several incomprehensible words at him.

"I told you I would be fine alone," Luffy yelled with an air of annoyance.

Climbing behind him was Sanji. "No! If we let you do that you would do something stupid and get us all cursed!"

"Which you both failed spectacularly at," Zoro said dryly.

"You don't have to remind me of that, moss head!" Sanji yelled at his rival.

It wasn't his fault anyway. He didn't expect Luffy to randomly invite some skeleton he just met to his crew. Despite the 'diversity' of the crew, Luffy was particular to who he extended an invite to. He had no idea as to why Luffy was in such a generous mood during this time; especially to the point that he was going to invite zombie trees of all things.

"So, we're at the place where we met Brook," Chopper said softly as he looked over the broken and darkened ship. Now that he knew its history, the ship now had an air of sadness instead of fear.

Brook began to laugh. "At last, my big scene is coming!"

"I had terrible luck!" Nami in the memory yelled as she finally started to climb the ladder.

"Nami-san, it's alright!" Sanji in the memory shouted with hearts in his eyes. "I'll protect you!"

Nami didn't look convinced. "Even if you say so..."

"Nami, didn't you want a treasure ship?" Luffy asked.

"This isn't a treasure ship!" Nami screamed.

"Well, they do say treasure is in the eye of the beholder," Franky joked.

"This would only be a treasure ship to a tomb keeper," Nami muttered.

"You saw it, didn't you!?" Nami in the memory continued to shout. "That moving skeleton!"

Luffy smiled. "He's the guard! Let's go find him!"

Brook tilted his head. "Guard?"

"That idiot believed that you were a skeleton guard posted to protect a treasure or something," Nami sighed while rubbing her forehead. "Most likely some made-up story created by Usopp."

"Hey, don't blame this one on me!" Usopp yelled.

Before Luffy reached the railing of the ship, he looked up and saw Brook staring down at him with teacup in his hands. In the shadow of the fog, he looked very frightening.

Brook nearly jumped back upon seeing himself. No wonder his future crew was so scared of him.

Nami in the memory screamed in horror when she saw Brook. Even the normally calm Sanji was shaking.

Despite two of his crewmates being scared witless, Luffy kept climbing until he was on-board the 'ghost' ship. There Luffy, Sanji, and Nami stared at Brook for several seconds. Neither party knew what to say. Especially Nami who was hiding behind Sanji.

"How do you do!?" Brook in the memory greeted loudly, breaking the awkward silence. He started to laugh loudly. "I'm sorry about earlier! I wasn't able to greet you properly! I'm simply so surprised! It's been so many years since I've seen people!"

"Dude, where's your indoor voice?" Franky asked as he rubbed his ears.

"Well, it has been awhile since I had to use my voice," Brook said. He honestly didn't know that he was close to shouting.

"All I ever see is ghost ship after ghost ship," Brook in the memory said. "It's terrifying."

"Not as terrifying as you," Sanji joked, making their Brook laugh.

"Well, make yourselves at home and come inside," Brook said. "We'll be able to relax more."

"Among the cobwebs, I'm sure," Zoro said with a note of humor. Not to mention the fifty caskets that were hidden at the bottom of the ship.

"Look, he's talking!" Luffy pointed and shouted in excitement. "The skeleton's got an afro and he's talking!"

"Unbelievable," Sanji in the memory breathed in shock.

Brook looked past Sanji and directly at Nami. "Oh! My lady, you're a sight to behold. Beautiful!"

Nami in the memory blushed. She was not and never would be a modest person. But being complimented by a walking skeleton would leave any normal person tongue-tied. "Oh n...no, I'm not..."

"Oh, I only have eyes for beautiful women," Brook in the memory said. "Although, as a skeleton, I have no eyes." He laughed at his skull joke. He tidied himself up and walked towards Nami. "Would you, perhaps, show me your panties?"

The current Strawhats saw it coming, but that didn't stop them from laughing. The blunt nature of the question was funnier than the question itself.

"Why would I?!" Nami shouted as she high kicked Brook in the face.

"Well, you weren't so scared there," Zoro said with a chuckle, causing Nami to scowl at him.

"Aw, my first kick from Nami-san. This brings back so many memories," Brook said fondly.

"Oh, that's harsh!" Brook in the memory yelled as a giant bump formed on his head. How was that possible? Only the gods knew. "I'm afraid you caused my skin to fall off! Although I am a skeleton."

"Shut up!" Nami yelled.

Luffy burst into laughter. He was nearly doubled over.

"How come this skeleton is a simpleton?" Sanji in the memory asked under his breath.

"Hey, can you poop?" Luffy asked bluntly after he had stopped laughing.

"Why do you keep asking people that!?" Usopp yelled at Luffy.

"There are a lot more important questions than that!" Sanji in the memory shouted, voicing Usopp's thoughts.

Brook stood back up and walked towards a table to grab his cane and tea. "Yes, I can."

"Don't answer him!" Sanji in the memory screamed.

"How exactly do you poop, Brook?" Chopper asked.

"Well..." Brook started.

"Don't answer that," Nami muttered.

Robin nodded in agreement. "There are some things that we are better off not knowing."

"Almost everything about Brook is best not to think about," Zoro said. Truthfully, Brook's very existence made no sense, Devil Fruit or not.

Sanji in the memory pointed at Brook. "First, if you're just a skeleton how can you be alive and talking!? Who are you? Why're you here? What happened to this ship? What kinds of things happen in this sea? Answer all these questions now!"

"Sheesh, why not just give him an essay to fill out, love cook?" Zoro joked.

"Like you wouldn't ask these questions," Sanji scolded his rival.

"Wait!" Luffy yelled as he walked passed Sanji. "But more importantly. You, join our crew!"

Sanji and Nami in the memory gasped in shock. They weren't completely surprised by the question, since they knew Luffy could be whimsical. They were more shocked by how suddenly he asked it with no forewarning. He had only known Brook for less than five minutes, had no idea what his skills were, and barely built a relationship, yet he asked him to join his family.

Still, since Luffy had asked, there was nothing they could say. He was the captain. They could only hope that Brook would reject the offer.

Brook stood silent for a short moment. "Alright, then." He took a sip of tea.

This made Sanji and Nami in the memory's mouths drop in horror.

Luffy laughed happily as the memory faded.

"And that's how we got stuck with a talking skeleton," Sanji said in a deadpan voice.

Zoro sighed. "This is why we should never send you or Nami with Luffy again. You guys can't control that idiot."

Nami and Sanji nodded in agreement.

Robin just chuckled at the whole thing. Luffy knew what he wanted and often got it despite his crew's best efforts.

The next memory appeared at that moment and the Strawhats were at Thriller Bark, but it was obviously after the battle with Oars given how messed up the place was. The castle was in ruins and the ground was broken and shattered. It was close to daybreak with the sun slowly beginning to rise in the distance.

The Strawhats saw their past selves and Luffy standing in front of a battered and bloody Moriah, who was standing on top of a paralyze Oars. The Warlord was strangely calm given that his ultimate zombie was just defeated. He looked almost insane as he glared at the Strawhats and the Rolling Pirates.

"Oh, we get to see this again," Sanji said almost dryly.

"I wonder why?" Usopp asked. "I mean, we've all seen this before."

"There's a reason. We have been shown nothing that was without cause," Zoro stated.

"I...if you're awake, that's just fine," Lola said as she glared at Moriah. "Now, if you don't want to take another beating from the Strawhats, return our shadows at once!"

"That's right!" one of the Rolling Pirates yelled.

"Give 'em back, ya bastard!" another pirate yelled.

Moriah laughed at them. "This isn't a playground scuffle. A true pirate does not fear death!"

Zoro nodded his head in agreement. Moriah was a lazy, annoying bastard, but he certainly was no coward.

"To think they teamed up with you losers of the forest," Moriah mused. "Now I see how Strawhat got his ridiculous power-up. How desperate of you to use my own shadow ability against me!"

"Shut up! Just return our shadows!" Lola yelled impatiently.

"That was the biggest flaw in his ability," Sanji said nonchalantly.

"That and the fact that his power required him to keep his victims alive," Zoro said. "As much as I hate to say it, Moriah and his crew could have killed us several times over."

Nami nodded. "Lucky for us."

"Although, Oars did almost killed us," Usopp said, shivering.

Moriah ignored Lola and turned his attention to a shrunken Luffy. "Strawhat, you dare wreak such havoc on my Thriller Bark! You really tore my place apart!" He sounded slightly out of breath after yelling that.

Sanji rolled his eyes. "Please. That oversize zombie of yours did more damage than all of us put together."

"That's because you guys got in the way of our journey first!" Luffy yelled angrily. "Now, give the shadows back now before the sun comes up!"

Moriah grinned before he began to laugh. "Even if I did not touch you guys, death is all that would have awaited you the way you are now! You are nowhere near ready for the New World!"

All the current Strawhats flinched at his words. At the time, they thought Moriah was underestimating their power, like many before him, and took his warnings as an empty threat from someone who had lost. Now, they all knew that Moriah was correct. They really weren't ready.

"Even though you have gathered yourself some fine minions..." Moriah paused for a moment before his eyes widened. He had a completely crazed look on his eyes, "...all will be lost!"

"It's like he predicted Sabaody perfectly," Brook whispered.

Sanji shook his head. "We got caught up in the fact that we defeated Moriah to the point that we ignored that he was once a New World Pirate. He knew that sea and the power it takes to survive there."

"And do you know why!?" Moriah suddenly asked, still with that crazed look.

Luffy was taken in by Moriah's words. Unlike Luffy's other opponents, het felt compelled to listen.

"Hey, Strawhats!" one of the Rolling Pirates yelled. "We don't have time to stand around chattin'! Check out the sky!"

The sky was getting brighter as the sun started to rise.

"It's getting brighter already!" the pirate yelled, close to panicking. "Hurry up and get our shadows back! THERE'S NO TIME!"

"I am speaking from experience!" Moriah yelled, ignoring all conversations. "Why did I lose all my minions, despite them being famous across the globe!?"

Although he was half-nuts at this point, there was no hiding the pain, grief, and sorrow in the Warlord's voice. There was also an edge of regret in his tone. It was obvious by his demeanor that his crew was far more than just his minions.

Luffy inhaled sharply when he heard Moriah's words. The memory flashed and a vision of the Baron appeared.

"There are a number of regrets I suffered from suddenly losing every one of my beloved friends," the Baron said in a voice strained with anger and grief.

Luffy breathed hard as he remembered himself being pinned to that rock as the Baron taunting him about killing his crew.

"Does it hurt to be without your friends? You have lost all your friends. That reality will never change. What are you going to do now? Almost every captain has chosen death over living a life in solitude. That is a wise decision. One man cannot be a pirate alone and a captain who can't protect even one of his friends is worthless. Now, I'll ask you again. What will you choose? Life or death?" the Baron stated coldly as the memory returned to Thriller Bark.

Luffy started to stare at Moriah with new eyes. There was a glint of sympathy for the Warlord.

Brook lowered his head, remembering his own lost and pain.

As if reading Brook's thoughts, the memory shifted again and the Strawhats were on the Thousand Sunny. It took them a moment to realize that they were watching the first meeting they had with Brook inside the galley.

Brook was telling the crew about his Devil Fruit and how it grants one a second life. He also told them how his crew and he met their end in the Florian Triangle to a powerful foe who overwhelmed them. Everyone died, but he was allowed to come back after a year of wondering the fog. Since that time, he has been on a ship filled with the bodies of his lost crew, alone and unable to leave the cursed fog because the rudder to his ship was damaged during the battle that killed him.

To further add to Brook's misery, his shadow was stolen from him five years ago, forcing him to stay within the confines of the Florian Triangle for an eternity if he couldn't get it back. So, not only was he alone, but he was also sentenced to a lifetime in darkness.

Most of the Strawhats felt tears fill their eyes when they reheard Brook's story. At the time, it was a sad tale from an eccentric and scary stranger that they didn't know. They felt sorry for him, but their sympathy didn't extent any further than that. Now, this man was their crewmate, a part of their family. Hearing his story again after so much bonding had happened hit all of their hearts.

They were now back at Thriller Bark as Luffy continued to stare at Moriah. Although the Warlord didn't know it, there was now an aura of understanding around Luffy.

"Luffy would understand, wouldn't he," Usopp said softly before turning towards the skeleton swordsman. "As well as you, Brook. All of you experienced the pain of watching your crews die."

"It's a bond I wish to share with no one," Brook said somber voice.

With everything he had seen from Luffy, Brook wondered if his past with losing his old crew played a part in why Luffy wanted him so badly despite barely knowing him. He knew Luffy was interested because he was a walking skeleton and a musician, but looking at that last memory, something had changed in his captain's eyes when he told him about his past. Perhaps Luffy felt his loneliness and wanted to do something to ease it by giving him a place to belong.

"Like the Baron, Moriah has allowed his regret and loss to drive him insane," Robin stated. "Instead of recreating his crew, he chose to rebuild using an army of zombies that he does not have to become close to and can be easily replaced. His zombie army was not only supposed to be an immortal pirate crew able to conquer the New World, but a way to protect himself from feeling the pain of losing his friends again."

"I lost my comrades because they were alive!" Moriah proclaimed after he let his previous words sink in and he regained control of his emotions. Shadow-like tentacles suddenly sprung out from Moriah's feet and started to spread. "Had they been zombies from the start, I would have had nothing to lose! Zombies are immortals! Eternal warriors that can be replaced if they fall! With my army of the dead, I will once again aim to become Pirate King! You guys should be grateful to be serving as my slaves!"

Luffy narrowed his eyes in anger, losing his pity for Moriah. He may understand Moriah and feel for his loss, but he would be no one's slave.

The shadow tentacles ran past all the pirates and attached themselves to the zombies in the area.

Moriah gave an evil grin as he began to suck up all the shadows from across Thriller Bark, making his power increase greatly and 'killing' his zombie army. "Shadow Asgard!"

"Shadows...don't tell me!" Nami in the memory yelled in panic. "He's gathering all the shadows on this ship and pumping them into his body!"

Moriah's body started to change and grow as he took in the shadows. "Strawhat, you absorbed one-hundred shadows, am I right!? Then, I will take...one-hundred...two-hundred...three-hundred.. .four-hundred...five-hundred...!" He started to transform into a giant monster as he took in more shadows. "Six-hundred...seven-hundred...eight-hundred...nine-hundred...ONE-THOUSAND!" he shouted as he turned into a fifty-foot demon who towered over all the pirates. He was almost as tall as his castle.

"That's still scary!" Usopp yelled as he stared at Moriah.

Moriah roared and stomp around like a wild beast, splitting the ground of Thriller Bark.

The Rolling Pirates nearly collectively crapped themselves when they saw Moriah's ultimate transformation. In their eyes, there was no hope of winning against such a foe. Not when Luffy with only one-hundred shadows took apart Oars who had defeated the entire Strawhat crew, twice. It didn't help their dwindling hopes that the sun's rays were peeking through the rubble of Thriller Bark and was burning some of the pirates up.

Luffy, who had finally changed back to his normal size, stared defiantly against Moriah. Even with this new form, Luffy was nowhere near ready to give up. Like all the Strawhats, he understood that Moriah was already defeated and was just running the clock.

The Rolling Pirates ran for cover, all except their captain who stood defiantly before Moriah and the rising sun. She refused to run and hide anymore. She would rather die in the sunlight than live another day in the shadows.

Besides, she had faith in Luffy and the other Strawhats who also stood by their captain's side as they prepared for the final showdown with the Warlord. For Zoro, Sanji, and Robin, this showed the faith that they had in their captain since none of them currently had their shadows. They would rather disappear than leave his side.

"Hey guys," Luffy said, not bothering to glance at his crew. "There's no time left. I'm going to be a bit reckless."

"A bit?" Usopp said somewhat angrily, knowing full well how Luffy was going to wreck his body again.

Still, nothing could be done to prevent it. Luffy was the only one who could take down Moriah with the time remaining. At that point, they were nothing but cheerleaders. And, he hated himself for it. They were forcing Luffy to carry and protect all of them again. It seemed since Water 7 the burden Luffy carried got heavier to the point that it was slowly crushing him.

"So, please take care of me afterwards," Luffy requested. He knew after this, he was going to be out for a long time.

Nami, Franky, Usopp, and Chopper could only stare at Luffy, knowing what was going to happen after Luffy lost consciousness.

Sanji couldn't stop himself from glancing at Zoro, who stood as stone-faced as ever. Regardless of everything he thought about Zoro, he certainly took care of Luffy. Although, it was in a way that Luffy wouldn't approve of.

"Alright!" Franky in the memory yelled. "Leave it to me!"

"Beat him down!" Usopp in the memory shouted.

Luffy slammed his fist down as he went into his horse stance. He pumped his legs as he entered his Second Gear.

As soon as he did that, the memory began to shake slightly and fuzzed. The Strawhats also heard a grunt of pain from Luffy.

"Huh, what's wrong with the memory?" Franky asked as the vision gradually got worse.

Chopper frowned. "Luffy is already beginning to lose consciousness just by entering his Second Gear."

"But that didn't happen before when Luffy used his Gears," Franky said as he turned towards the doctor.

"Luffy was already worn out from taking all those shadows earlier. On top of that, he forced himself to wake up to use his Third Gear to defeat Oars. He's already beyond his limit. He's literally running on willpower at this point," Chopper said in a tight voice.

Usopp growled. "Dammit..."

Luffy took several deep breaths as he attempted to regain some of his senses and control the pain pulsing through his chest. The memory cleared a little, but not by much.

Moriah made the first move and attempted to punch Luffy with his huge fist.

Luffy easily dodged the sloppy punch and Moriah attempted to follow up the attack by grabbing the boy captain. Luffy was too fast and easily avoided Moriah.

Luffy bounced off some of the rubble and grabbed Moriah's belt. He stretched his arms back and launched himself at the Warlord, ramming him in the neck.

Moriah fell back as pain filled his body. He screamed in agony and as he did so, shadows started to spew out of his mouth. Luffy used this time to nail Moriah with a Bazooka to the stomach, causing him to lose even more of his shadows. Luffy mercilessly hit Moriah with two more Bazookas, making the Warlord reel back.

Moriah could do nothing as shadows flew out of his mouth at a rapid rate.

Luffy landed against a nearby wall, ready to smash into Moriah again.

Despite losing much of his power, Moriah was far from done. He used his Brick Bat to encase Luffy in box made of shadows.

The memory went dark, keeping the Strawhats from seeing anything.

"He trapped me!" Luffy exclaimed with an air of annoyance.

"I'LL CRUSH YOU!" Moriah screamed.

There was suddenly a booming, crunching sound as Moriah proceeded to smash the shadow box. The crunching noise was unnerving to some of the Strawhats, despite knowing that Luffy's rubber body would protect him from being crushed.

"THIS IS BAPTIZING!" Moriah roared. "This is what you amateurs get for pretending to be big shots in this huge world!" There was another crashing sound.

"He sounds like Crocodile," Nami noted.

"Are all Warlords made up of disillusioned pirates?" Usopp asked.

"It seems so," Robin mused.

"This is what happens when you dare oppose the Severn Warlords of the Seas!" Moriah continued to rant as the crunching sound got louder.

"If Moriah was thinking straight, he would know how pointless his attacks are," Franky said.

"He knows to some extent. He's just keeping Luffy busy," Zoro said with his arms folded.

"People should know their own limits!" Moriah yelled as he crushed Luffy further. "Otherwise they perish in vain!"

Moriah finally stopped smashing the box as he attempted to catch his breath. The Strawhats could hear their past selves screaming Luffy's name in horror.

Luffy finally managed to break out of the box, without any sign of injury.

Moriah was surprised that Luffy didn't even get a scratch from the merciless assault.

Even so, the memory was darker, showing that Luffy was close to passing out from exhaustion. At the edge of the memory, the darkness was beginning to close in.

"Whether we're amateurs or not...whether we perish in vain...no one will take me down!" Luffy yelled.

Moriah grinned at the cocky proclamation. "No one will take you down? On what ground do you make such a baseless claim? You simply make yourself appear more inexperienced!"

"Cause I'm rubber," Luffy answered in his simple manner.

This made Moriah growl in anger and for some of the Strawhats to chuckle.

"Just you watch," Luffy said as he got into a horse stance. "I'll make you spit them all out!"

Pirates began to scream in the background as more rays of sunlight broke through, burning them. There was truly no time left.

Luffy put his thumb in his mouth and bit down hard. "Gear Third, Bone Balloon!" He inflated his arm to the size of a giant and pushed the air into his chest.

There was a noticeable cracking noise that almost sounded like bone breaking and veins popping. The memory fuzzed and darkened and turned a light red, almost like blood was covering Luffy's eyes.

"What...!?" Usopp stuttered in horror.

Chopper was left horrified by what he was seeing. He didn't know that Luffy had pushed himself this far. It looked like he may have torn veins in his eyes from the pressure of using both Gears. "He's really tearing his body apart!"

"Is this what happens when Luffy uses both of his Gears at once?" Nami asked in disbelief.

Knowing how Luffy's Gears work better, she half imagined his heart working overtime just to keep up.

"Hey, he's using both at the same time!" Franky in the memory yelled. It sounded like Franky was talking through water since the yells were so muffled.

"There's no way he can!" Usopp in the memory yelled in terror and worry. "Don't you remember what happened to you in the last fight!?"

Luffy said nothing, but a gurgling noise did leave his throat, almost like he wanted to spit out some kind of fluid.

"Don't be so reckless, Luffy!" Chopper in the memory screamed at his captain. "Your body is going to be torn apart!"

Luffy ignored all their warnings and concerns and prepared for his attack. Stream rushed out of his body. "Gum Gum Giant Jet Shell!" he yelled as he launched himself at Moriah like a bullet.

With the increase speed granted to him by his Second Gear and the pure power of his Third Gear, he nailed Moriah right in neck, making the Warlord's eyes roll back. He was practically vomiting shadows. Moriah quickly covered his mouth to keep anymore from escaping.

"Think I'll let you escape!" Moriah yelled at the shadows. "The source of my power!"

Luffy fell to the ground and bounced for a moment. The memory became redder and began to pulse violently. It was nearly impossible to see anything save for the silhouettes.

The Strawhats could also hear Luffy's heart pounding in their ears like a humming bird along with his labored and strained breathing. Both were so frantic it sounded like either could stop at any second. The edge of darkness grew closer and it was obvious that Luffy was seconds away from completely losing consciousness, much like Moriah.

Zoro winced as he looked and listened to the memory. He knew the pain Luffy went through in this fight better than anyone. He experienced it first-hand. Still, it was terrible to witness what Luffy's Gears did to his body, especially so soon after his battle with Lucci. Does Luffy still experience this even now?

Sanji bit down on his cigarette as he took in everything. He didn't even want to imagine the pain Luffy was in, especially since that pain would soon be passed on to Zoro.

Robin felt much the same as she frowned, not happy at all at how Luffy was hurting himself. Although, she found it kind of ironic that both Luffy and Moriah were fighting each other when they were half-conscious.

"Shadows, I am your master!" Moriah screamed.

Lola started to coax her shadow to come back to her, but Luffy was too out of it to catch everything as he fought to stay awake. He heard enough, however, to understand what Lola was saying. The other Rolling Pirates also started to scream for their shadows to return to them. It became almost like a chant.

"I also have something to tell my shadow," Luffy said as he gathered himself for one last attack. "If you really want to become Pirate King, you've got to get the hell back to me!" he yelled with a grin as he launched himself at the Warlord, who was still covering his mouth.

Using the last of his strength and will, Luffy slammed into Moriah stomach, pushing him into one of the castle's towers.

Luffy lost control of his breath and released all the air from his body. He fluttered back like a deflated like a balloon. As he flew back, blood came gushing out of Luffy's mouth and his eyes rolled back into his head. The darkness around the edge of the memory completely engulfed the Strawhats and everything went blank.

"Strawhat, you...you bastard!" Moriah yelled over Luffy's fading hearing. "Then go see for yourself! In the New World! What a true nightmare there is...in the New World!"

Everything from there went silent and there was nothing.

None of the the Strawhats spoke as they took in the events shown to them. The battle with Moriah was something they had all seen, but they didn't know how much pain Luffy had caused himself in those final seconds before the sun rose. Luffy could have killed himself if he had not blacked out when he did. In all honesty, Luffy did more damage to himself than Moriah and his entire crew.

Chopper was practically shaking in anger. He knew that Luffy really overdid it by using his Gears like that. There had only been a couple weeks that passed since Water 7 and Luffy went and did this, causing himself great harm. He shouldn't be so careless with his life.

Within seconds, the memory started to return. Thriller Bark was even more in ruins and it looked like a bomb had gone off in the area. Of course, all the Strawhats knew that was exactly what happened.

Around the wrecked pirate ship, everyone was scattered across the ground and was hurt to some degree and were only now regaining consciousness.

Luffy was one of them as he slow sat up from the rubble, looking a little dazed and confused. He also seemed surprised as he patted his body, as if looking for damage. He had a baffled expression on his face. That bafflement didn't last long before he jumped to his feet and began to dance happily.

Luffy's happy dance caught the attention of some of his hurt crewmates, who were just now peeling themselves off the ground.

"You're kidding right!?" Franky in the memory exclaimed as he looked at his captain in shock. "What the heck is going on with you!?"

"Hey check it out, my body feels great!" Luffy cheered as he clapped his hands. "What happened!?"

"You know, I still want to know that too," Nami said as she watched the memory.

After seeing what just happened in the memory, how the heck was Luffy okay? He was dead as a horse when Kuma was fighting the crew. Not to mention he slept through a freaking bomb.

Chopper nodded, still not believing what happened. "Given the extent of Luffy's injures on top of the stress of using both of his Gears at once, he should have been unconscious for at least two days and require another day of bed rest. Even stranger, his body was actually in better condition than it was when he arrived on Thriller Bark. It's like none of his fights happened."

"That is strange," Usopp muttered. "What exactly happened?"

Chopper sighed. "I have no clue. Luffy had a lot of muscle and nerve damage. Those kind of damages shouldn't just heal in a few minutes. I was kind of hoping these memories would shred some light on what happened."

Franky shrugged. "Guess it's one of those mysteries. What matters is that Luffy is healthy."

Chopper nodded in agreement, but he still wanted to know what happened.

Sanji and Brook became very uncomfortable while Robin's expression remained blank.

Zoro stared at the scene silently. Although he tried to hide it, he was happy to see that Luffy was not only unharmed from his ordeal, but also completely revitalized.

After witnessing the damage Luffy did to himself fighting Moriah, he was glad that he was able to take that pain away and bear some of his captain's burden. After everything Luffy has been put through, it was a small mercy for him to have.

"Lair, there's no way!" Usopp in the memory exclaimed, not believing what he was seeing.

"Did he take so much damage that it canceled out the pain and gave him a high?" Robin in the memory wondered out loud.

"No way, that can't happen!" Franky in the memory exclaimed.

Brook in the memory stood some distance away from the crew. He had a forlorn expression, despite having no skin. It looked like he wanted to say something, but chose to remain silent.

Luffy was so lost in his revitalized body that he didn't notice that Zoro and Sanji were missing.

The euphoria ended, however, when Sanji's screams echoed across the battle torn ship.

"Everyone, get Chopper!" Sanji yelled. He sounded closed to panic. If Sanji was scared, then something was very wrong.

The Strawhats rushed towards their distress crewmember and were completely shock at what they saw. They saw Zoro standing in a puddle of his own blood. His eyes were blanked, showing that he was either unconscious or dead.

All the Strawhats had seen Zoro bleed before. It was actually an on-going joke among them about how many pints of blood Zoro could lose in any given battle. This, however, was different.

"ZORO!" Chopper in the memory screamed in horror as he ran towards the swordsman. "What happened!? Did the Warlord do this!? Where does it hurt!?" he asked in rapid succession.

"Chopper, calm down," Sanji in the memory said harshly. "The stupid moss head isn't even conscious."

Chopper took several deep breaths as he went into his professional mode.

Luffy couldn't speak as he stared at his injured swordsman. His faced was drained of all color and it looked like he was actually going to faint. "What...when...how did this happen!?"

"Kuma must have done this," Nami in the memory said, never taking her eyes off of Zoro. She too was shaken by all the damage over Zoro's body to turn away.

"Kuma?" Luffy repeated in confusion. "Where did a bear come from?"

"Not that kind of kuma!" Nami yelled as she slapped Luffy upside the head.

"Luffy, after you defeated Moriah, another Warlord came to the island," Robin explained in a gentle voice. "The Warlord was Bartholomew Kuma, a pirate with a former bounty of almost three-hundred million."

Luffy's eyes widened in disbelief. "What...but we defeated the leek and his giant zombie! Where did the other Warlord come from!?"

"According to Nami, he was on the island for a while. Luckily, he did not interfere with our battle with Moriah," Robin said.

Luffy was in shock, still not believing what he was hearing. "Why...why didn't any of you wake me!?"

"You were out of it, bro," Franky answered. "I think nothing could have woken you even if we tried." It looked like he was going to say something else, but he quickly stopped himself.

"You were also badly hurt," Nami added in concern as she glanced over Luffy. "That Warlord was strong, Luffy. As you were, you couldn't have done a thing. That Warlord beat Sanji and Zoro like they were children."

"I still could have tried!" Luffy yelled as he watched Sanji and Chopper work on Zoro. "Could a single Warlord really do this to Zoro?"

The swordsman was now on the ground as Chopper assessed the damage and began treatment.

"Will he be okay?" Luffy asked softly.

"I...I'm not sure," Chopper answered honestly. He was fighting to keep his voice steady. "His entire body has been shredded and I can tell just by looking that he has a number of organ damage. He's going to need surgery and a blood transfusion. ...I'm not even sure how he's still alive."

Luffy was silent for several seconds. "Why is Zoro hurt so badly but no one else?"

Sanji in the memory flinched, but said nothing.

"I don't know," Usopp in the memory whispered. "Kuma was after..."

Before he could finish, Robin used her powers to close Usopp's mouth.

Zoro side-eyed their Usopp in annoyance. Like Luffy needed to know about Kuma willing to spare the crew for exchanged for his life.

Usopp blushed as he watched the memory. He almost caused Luffy an unbearable amount of pain. If Luffy knew the truth about what happened, he would undoubtedly blame himself.

"After who?" Luffy asked.

"He was after the entire crew," Nami in the memory answered quickly and glared at Usopp. "He focused on Zoro first. He must have done this after he knocked all of us out."

"That bastard!" Luffy yelled angrily. He was shaking in rage. "I'll kick that bear's ass the next time I see him!" He quickly calmed himself down as he stared at Zoro as Chopper worked to save his life. "Zoro...I'm sorry. If I was stronger, I would have been awake."

Zoro remained unconscious as his breathing became shallower, ending the memory.

The Strawhats were left in silence.

"We never did figure out what happened to Zoro," Nami whispered.

What ability did Kuma used to cause so much damage? His Devil Fruit was powerful, but she couldn't think of a technique he could have done to hurt Zoro that badly. Also, why was only Zoro mortally injured? Didn't Kuma intend to kill all of them for not surrendering Luffy? Even if Kuma did end up being an ally who saved them, he seemed pretty committed on killing them. Nothing made sense.

"Kind of wish we could go into Zoro's memory and find out," Franky half-joked, lighting some of the tension.

Zoro lowered his head. He knew Luffy would feel guilty. That's just the way his idiot captain was, especially with Luffy still blaming himself for the Baron incident.

He had no regrets. He would do it all over again, a thousand times if necessary. He didn't want Luffy to protect him. He wanted to be the one protecting Luffy. As Ace said, it was the crew's duty to lay down their lives for their captain.

Sanji glanced at Zoro, but remained silent.

The next memory appeared and the Strawhats were in a large room. The room was filled with the Rolling Pirates, who were drinking and celebrating having their shadows back and surviving two Warlords. Some of the Strawhats were also celebrating their traditional after battle party.

One of the few who were not partying were Chopper and Nami. They were both by Zoro's side as he slept deeply on a mattress on the far side of the room. He was covered in bandages and didn't stir at all despite all the noise.

"Hey, Chopper!" Luffy yelled as he slammed a giant barrel of sake on the floor. He had a huge grin on his face as he greeted his crewmates.

"Luffy!" Chopper exclaimed.

"This is for Zoro!" Luffy yelled as he lifted the barrel of sake with the full intention of pouring it down Zoro's throat. "Now drink up!"

Nami quickly stopped him by bashing him on the head. "Lay off!"

"What the hell!?" Luffy yelled as he glared at Nami. "Zoro loves this stuff!"

"What kind of theory is that!?" Chopper screamed in horror.

Sanji snickered. "Luffy was trying to drown you, moss head."

Zoro was a little sad. He did love his sake. Although, he did prefer to be conscious when he drank.

Franky chuckled. "I guess Luffy figures since he heals from eating meat, Zoro can heal by drinking booze."

Chopper sighed. "He has good intentions, but Luffy has no understanding of medicine."

While they were arguing, someone started to play a piano.

"No good?" Luffy questioned with a frown. "Then, how about meat?"

"Meat doesn't cure everything," Usopp mumbled.

Chopper in the memory nodded his head. "Alright, alright, just having your sentiment will be enough!"

"Just your sentiment, please!" Nami in the memory added.

Nami nodded in agreement with her past self. "For everyone's sake, don't play doctor."

The three Strawhats finally noticed Brook playing the piano in the back of the room.

"So, there's a piano in the room?" Luffy asked.

Nami smiled as the pirates danced happily to the music.

After a few minutes, Brook suddenly changed the song. The musician was now playing and singing Bink's Sake.

Luffy stopped and listened with wide eyes before a huge grin broke on his face. He hadn't heard that old pirate song since Shanks was in his village. He walked over towards the piano and laid comfortably on top of it. He listened to the song for a few more minutes before talking.

"Hey, Brook, I know this song!" Luffy exclaimed. "Shanks and his crew used to sing it to me!"

"All olden pirates know this song," Brook answered while still playing. "In times of both joy and sorrow."

"Hey, you want to join us?" Luffy asked bluntly. "You got your shadow back now. You can sail the open seas now."

Brook didn't speak for several seconds. "Well you see...there's something I haven't told you."

"What's that?" Luffy asked.

"I made a promise with my friend. If I don't fulfill that first, then I'm not qualified to be a man," Brook said somberly.

"Ah, you're talking about Laboon, right?" Luffy asked in a cheerful voice. "I know, I've heard about it from Franky and Robin."

Brook was surprised to hear this. "Is that so? Laboon...that's the name of a certain whale at a certain cape..."

"It's what I'm trying to say, Brook!" Luffy exclaimed, cutting Brook off. "We've already met Laboon at the cape!"

Brook slammed his hands onto the piano in shock. After a moment, he then started to play again, but this time much slower.

"I know Laboon has been waiting fifty years there for his friends," Luffy said.

Brook was left speechless.

"Hey skeleton, what's wrong with ya!?" one of the Rolling Pirates yelled. "Your tempo is staring to slow down!"

Luffy and Brook, however, were in their own world. Luffy couldn't stop himself from smiling as he stared at Brook. The boy captain began to tell Brook the tale about how they came upon Laboon and the promise they made to the whale before they departed.

"And we sure were surprised! I can't believe that you were one of the pirates he waited fifty years for!" Luffy concluded the story.

Brook started to play Bink's Sake faster throughout the story.

"And he still remembers that promise clearly," Luffy said. "If he learns this, Laboon is going to be thrilled!"

"P...please wait a moment," Brook stuttered in shock. "What a surprise! You're saying that you guys really met Laboon!?"

"Yeah," Luffy answered.

"And it has already been fifty years!?" Brook exclaimed. "And Laboon is still waiting for me at that cape!?"

"Yeah," Luffy answered cheerfully.

"We're proof of that," Sanji in the memory said as Usopp and he walked towards the piano. "We really met him."

"Yeah," Usopp said.

"And how's he doing?" Brook asked eagerly.

"He's great!" Usopp exclaimed.

"He's as big as a mountain," Sanji added.

"I want to see him!" Brook exclaimed. "When I first met him, he was only the size of a small ship. Even though he was not well tamed, he loved music! He's a good boy! He's still waiting for me at that cape...I still think of him." He suddenly slammed his hands onto the piano again. He began to sob into his bony hands. "I see now! So, he's doing just fine!" He cried loudly.

Luffy just smiled at Brook, knowing that they were tears of happiness.

There, the memory concluded.

Brook was nears tears as he watched Luffy's interaction with him. Learning that Laboon was well and still waiting for him after so many years warmed his heart, despite not having one. He couldn't wait for the day he got to see him again. And, he needed to thank Luffy personally for saving his life.

The Strawhats didn't have long to reflect on the memory before the next scene appeared. They were back outside Thriller Bark and their past counterparts were standing near the Sunny talking to the Rolling Pirates.

They were discussing things like Fishman Island and Lola's mother. During Lola's conversation with Nami she tore off a piece of paper.

"This is mama's Vivre Card," Lola said cheerfully as she handed Nami the piece of paper. "You can have it."

Nami took the paper and stared at it in confusion. "Paper?"

"That's great for you!" one of the Rolling Pirate's yelled. "Captain Lola's mama is an amazing pirate, you hear!? Take good care of it! It'll surely help you later!"

"What's a Vivre Card?" Nami asked.

"You don't know?" Lola asked in shock.

"Captain Lola, they only make Vivre Cards in the New World!" one of the Risky Brothers said.

"Oh yeah!" Lola exclaimed before pointing at the paper. "This isn't ordinary paper. You can wet it or burn it and it remains unscratched. If you take a piece of your fingernail to a certain shop, they can add in a mix and create a special piece of paper for you. And that's the Paper of Life, the Vivre Card! You tear off a piece and give it to a friend or family member that will be going on a journey."

"And so?" Nami questioned.

"Take a look," Lola said as she placed the paper on the ground. "This is a Vivre Card I got from my mama." The paper began to slowly move across the ground.

"It moved!" Nami exclaimed in surprise.

"This paper will allow you to meet with the one who also has it no matter where in the world they are. So, I'll always know which direction my mama is headed," Lola explained. "Though, it doesn't tell the distance."

"We should get a Vivre Card for Zoro," Sanji humored. "That way, the stupid moss head won't get lost anymore."

"I'm sure he'll find a way regardless," Nami said dryly.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Zoro growled.

"How strange!" Chopper in the memory exclaimed in wonder. "So, there's a load of things like that in the New World?"

"Handy, isn't it," Lola said as she wrote something down on the Vivre Card. "Since I signed this Vivre Card mama gave me, if you ever have a problem, you can use it to find mama." She handed the paper back to Nami. "If that ever happens do you think you could tell her I'm doing well?"

"Thank you, Lola," Nami said as she gracefully took the paper.

Luffy furrowed his eyes in thought. "I think I have one of those."

"I was thinking the same thing," Nami said. "Wasn't that white paper Ace gave you the same thing?"

After thinking about it for a moment, Luffy removed his hat and reached for a piece of paper that Nami had sewed into it. "So, that's what it was."

"I wonder why Ace didn't just tell him from the start," Chopper wondered out loud.

"He probably figured that Luffy would find out on his own as he moved further into the Grand Line," Zoro said.

"This is it," Luffy said as he held out the paper. It was much smaller than the last time the Strawhats saw it and it was burning around the edges. "It's burning a bit and getting smaller."

The sight frightened Lola and her crew and left the present Strawhat feeling very uncomfortable.

"Wait!" Lola exclaimed. "Show me that!"

Luffy gave the female pirate the paper and she examined it closely. Her face paled as she realized what it meant.

"This certainly is a Vivre Card," Lola confirmed. "But I haven't told you yet that this paper represent the life force of its owner. This belongs to somebody important to you, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it's my big brother's!" Luffy exclaimed happily.

Lola stared at the paper for a moment longer.

"Lola?" Nami questioned in concern.

"I'm sorry to say this, but this person's life...is vanishing..." Lola said softly.

Nami gasped in surprise and Luffy's eyes widened in shock.

"Vanishing? What do you mean?" Luffy asked.

Lola said nothing for a second. "It means that something's happening to the person that is causing their life to fade. Like a sickness, or maybe a battle."

"A battle?" Luffy repeated before he calmed down. "Oh, if Ace's fighting, then he's okay."

"Luffy?" Nami questioned.

"Ace is strong. He wouldn't be happy with me doubting his strength and coming to help him," Luffy said as he laughed.

"Well...if you have faith in his strength, then...I guess he could be okay," Lola said as she handed the Vivre Card back to Luffy. "A Vivre Card not only shrinks when a person is ill, it also grows when they get better. If your brother pulls through his current difficulties, then the Vivre Card should reflect that."

Luffy nodded. "So, there's no need to worry."

Nami didn't quite believe him. "If you're sure."

"Let's get ready to set sail!" Luffy exclaimed as he walked towards the Sunny.

He wasn't concerned. He had absolute faith in his brother's power. He didn't need his weak little brother to save him.

As Luffy boarded the Sunny, the memory faded away.

A long somber silence overtook the Strawhats as they took in what had happened.

"I can't help but wonder how things would have changed if Luffy-san had checked on his brother," Brook said somberly. "If he had, we would have been there to help Luffy save him."

"The evidence that Ace was in danger was right in front of us and we completely ignored it," Usopp said bitterly.

"No point of worrying about what-ifs. What's done is done," Zoro said harshly, although he secretly wondered the same thing.

Nami felt a pang of guilt go through her chest. She knew something was wrong. That Ace wasn't just sick or in a tough fight. She should have been more insistent on Luffy checking up on him. If he had, maybe they all could have done something. If nothing else, they could have given Luffy moral support. It may be all in the past, but it didn't stop her from wondering if something could have changed Luffy and Ace's fate.

When the mist reformed, they were back on the Sunny. Much like the memory before Thriller Bark, it was night, but there was no moon. What really made the scene different was that someone was playing in the distance. It didn't take the Strawhats long to figure out that it was Brook, happily playing his violin in the middle of the lawn.

Luffy could be seen leaving the men's quarters when he spotted the musician.

"Brook, you're still awake?" Luffy asked.

Brook stopped playing his violin as he turned towards his captain. "Luffy-san, sorry if I woke you. I was just doing some midnight melodies. Just an old habit I picked up while I was in the Florian Triangle."

Luffy chuckled. "You didn't wake me. I was just going into the kitchen for my snack." He suddenly pouted. "Although, Sanji's a jerk. He put a lock on the refrigerator so I can't get the really tasty food."

Sanji growled. "That because you would eat us to death, shitty captain."

Brook in the memory laughed. "Well that's certainly mean of him. The kitchen should be open to everyone."

"Not my kitchen!" Sanji yelled, causing their Brook to laugh.

"By the way, what were you just playing? I've never heard it before," Luffy asked.

"Oh, it's just an old song I used to play for my crew," Brook said as he became somber. "It was one of Laboon's favorites."

Luffy lost his cheerful demeanor as he listened to Brook talk. "You miss them..."

Brook became silent as he stared at the lawn. "Every day that I draw breath... Although, I have no lungs to draw breath!" He laughed.

The Skull Joke didn't really lighting the mood. Instead, Luffy looked even more serious.

"Brook...you were captain..." He hesitated for a second. "You were captain when...your crew died, right?"

Brook stared at Luffy. "Yes. When my captain fell ill along with most of the crew, I took over when he left."

"Then..." Luffy didn't want to complete the question.

Brook seemed to read him. "Yes, Luffy-san. I was captain when my crew met its end in the Florian Triangle. They all died on my watch."

There was a long silence.

"How?" Luffy asked.

Brook was confused by the question. "How what?"

"How did you...how did you stay alive?" Luffy asked slowly. "Your crew died before your eyes and you were forced to keep sailing among their remains for fifty years. You were alone. How could you take that? If it was me..." He couldn't finish the sentence.

Brook said nothing for a moment as he walked over to the swings and took a seat. "Honestly, I wonder that myself. It was hard. There were days that I thought for certain that I would sink into despair. That...my second life was nothing but a curse. But I think what kept me going even on those dark days was the desire to see Laboon again and keep my promise to my comrades. If I had given up, I would have dishonored them all."

Luffy stared at Brook. "You're strong Brook. Stronger than I can ever be."

"But you're strong, Luffy-san," Brook said.

Luffy shook his head. "No, I'm not. If I lost my entire crew... If they died before my eyes...I would simply give up."

Flashes of Omatsuri Island appeared across the memory along with the Baron's face as he laughed at Luffy as he killed his friends, one by one.

"I couldn't live with myself if I failed them," Luffy said in a tight voice.

Brook stared at Luffy for several seconds as he leaned into the swing. "Something really bad happened."

Luffy didn't say a word.

"Luffy-san, if I truly had lost everything, I would not be alive," Brook said. "I would have flung myself into the sea and joined my friends in death. I'm not a strong enough man to survive on my own."

"But..." Luffy started.

"The reason why I live is because I wasn't alone. I still have Laboon." Brook looked directly at Luffy. "I wasn't left with nothing in the world."

Luffy could only stare at the skeleton swordsman.

"Luffy-san, if you do find yourself in a moment of despair, you must remember the things you still have," Brook said as he stood up. "And...you must remind yourself that it wasn't your fault."

Luffy was stunned to hear this. "What...?"

"Goodnight, Luffy-san," Brook said as he walked towards the men's quarters.

There, the memory faded.

The Strawhats were left speechless for a few seconds.

"Brook, did you know?" Usopp asked.

Brook shook his head. "No, I knew nothing about Luffy-san's experience. That he...actually lost all of you. I just sensed that he understood somehow."

"Regardless, thank you, Brook," Zoro said.

"I did nothing," Brook said to the younger man.

Zoro shook his head. "You did. You told Luffy that it wasn't his fault and you connected with him in a way that we couldn't. It may have been a small gesture, but I'm certain that it helped ease some of Luffy's guilt."

Brook sighed. "I only wish we could have done more."

The mist returned and the Strawhat were taken into the next memory. They were standing in what looked like a village that was under construction. The Strawhats immediately recognized the village. They could never forget it.

"This is Zizu's island!" Sanji exclaimed. He feared that they would be shown this memory. This shitty mist loved showing them Luffy's worst memories.

"Why are we seeing this?" Nami asked as dread built in her stomach. "We all know what happened here." She didn't want to be reminded of this place.

The sounds of fighting caught the Strawhats' attention. Luffy was charging through a crowd of people, knocking them away with little effort. While Luffy was fighting, a giant whitish-orange lion attempted to maul him, but Luffy sensed it at the last moment and dodged the beast.

"What's a lion doing here?" Luffy asked in confusion as the lion glared at him.

"You're rusty, Timber," a man with a long sword stated as he approached Luffy. "You didn't even scratch him."

Luffy looked between the two in bafflement. "Who are you people?"

"That is no concern of yours," the swordsman answered coldly. "You came to this island at the wrong time. Now, you and the others you have brought with you will have to die."

Luffy narrowed his eyes in anger and the two fighters engaged each other. They were evenly matched with neither of them landing a solid hit.

"Hm, Thomas is better than I expected," Sanji noted as he watched the scuffle.

"Now that I think about, we never actually saw that guy fight," Franky said as he rubbed his chin.

"That's a good point," Usopp said after a second of thought.

"If the situation was different, I wouldn't have minded crossing swords with him," Zoro said as he watched Thomas and Luffy's battle.

"You're very agile," Thomas praised with a smile.

Luffy returned the smile. "You're not too bad yourself, old man."

"It's a shame that such talent must be wasted. If the master had the time, you would make a worthy vessel," Thomas stated, causing all the Strawhats to cringe.

"Vessel?" Luffy asked in confusion.

"Well, you have been causing some trouble around here," someone suddenly said. All the Strawhats knew that hateful voice.

"Zizu," Zoro growled when he saw the pale man.

Thomas and Timber bowed before the hooded man as Luffy stared at Zizu with interest. Luffy was noticeably nervous. He could sense something dangerous about this frail looking man.

"Master, we can handle this intruder. There is no need for you to be involved with this pirate," Thomas said in a humble voice.

"Hey, you're the chief of this village?" Luffy asked in his normal rude manner.

"Don't you dare speak to the master like that!" Thomas yelled angrily.

"There is no need to be angry. It is to be expected from a savage pirate," Zizu said nonchalantly as he looked at Luffy. He seemed unimpressed by the young captain. "Yes, I am the leader of this group and you are intruding on my island."

"We didn't come to cause harm," Luffy said as he put his hands up.

"Regardless, I need you to forget everything you have seen here," Zizu stated as his right eye began to glow.

Luffy looked at the eye in curiosity before the entire memory started to shake and turn a blood red. The images around Luffy warped and twist as Luffy grunted and stumbled in pain.

"What the...!?" Franky exclaimed in shock. He was starting to get motion sickness.

"The Mind's Eye is warping his mind," Chopper said fearfully. Was this what Luffy experienced on that terrible day?

"What a weak defense; is your mind already broken? You are either stupid or extremely innocent," Zizu's voice rang out as the memory twisted. "Hm, your mind is almost like that of an animal. Well, since I am here, might as well take a look."

Luffy was too busy trying to clear his head to say anything. The memory flashed, showing scenes of the Strawhat's previous adventures rapid succession. They also saw parts of Luffy's childhood. They were mostly images of Shanks and his brothers.

"I see, you're no ordinary pirate," Zizu said as his voice pierced Luffy's thoughts. The memory cleared a little and the Strawhats could see the Revolutionary approaching Luffy in an easy manner. He had a small smile on his face. "I can use a powerful boy like you in my army."

Luffy opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He then grabbed his head in agony.

"From this day forward, you shall serve me," Zizu stated.

Luffy looked at Zizu with bloodshot eyes. "I...I don't serve...anyone..." He winced in pain. "What...what the hell did you do to me!?"

Zizu was unmoved as his right eye glowed brighter; causing the memory to pulse slightly. "I see. So, you do have some fight in you after all. Good, it would be no fun if your mind was that easy to break."

Luffy growled at him. He attempted to will his body to move, but it refused to budge.

"A weak mind, but a strong will. What an interesting combination," Zizu mused. "I wonder, where did this strong will come from?" His eye glowed.

The Mind's Eye pierced into Luffy's mind again, causing him to reel in pain again and the memory to shake more violently.

The Strawhats could only watch helplessly in horror as their captain was all but mentally raped before their eyes.

The memories began to flash before them again, but this time they focused on Luffy's childhood.

"Hn, so it is these people who inspired you and gives you strength," Zizu said as he watched Luffy's thoughts through the Mind's Eye. "Freedom, what a precious idea."

"Stop...stop it..." Luffy demanded as tears ran down his eyes. The Strawhats had never seen so helpless. "Those are...my memories…Stop looking...you bastard!"

"Tell me, Strawhat, what do you know about the term core memories?" Zizu asked through the shaking memory.

The Strawhats could hear Luffy grunt.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't know," Zizu humored. "In a nutshell, core memories are the key memories that make us who we are. It is those memories that define us and our actions. I guess you could say, it is your core self."

Luffy didn't say anything.

"For you, your core memories are those of your precious brothers and the Emperor Red-Hair Shanks. It was that time with them that has made you who you are," Zizu explained. "That pirate emperor encouraged you to become a pirate and gave you your dream. Your brothers gave you a family and the idea of freedom on the sea. These simple concepts are the very core of your being and influence all your decisions and actions."

The Strawhats looked at one another. From what they had seen, that was very true. Other events had shaped Luffy into the man they know, but it was his childhood that set the foundation for everything else.

Zizu chuckled sadistically. "So tell me, what do you think will happen if those memories suddenly disappeared?"

The Strawhats felt a pang of terror hit them.

Luffy's eyes also widened in horror. He tried to move again, but his body remained frozen in place.

Zizu chuckled harder. "You will largely become an empty slate since your values and philosophies will be gone. Without those core memories, a strong will no longer matters. After all, what good is willpower if one has no beliefs."

Luffy grunted in terror at the thought. His eyes were wide and sweat formed on his face. He looked like trapped animal.

Chopper's eyes widened. Is that how Zizu was able to manipulate all those people? By erasing who the person was from their very being. How can anyone be that heartless?

"...Stop..." Luffy said barely above a whisper. It sounded like he wanted plea, but could barely get his voice to work.

"Did you say something, Strawhat?" Zizu asked. He heard Luffy, but he was clearly mocking him.

"If...if you do that...I'll die..." Luffy said softly.

"Oh, I suppose you could call it that," Zizu mused as he rubbed his chin. "I call it behavior therapy, personally."

"That bastard," Sanji growled hatefully. What he wouldn't give to kick a memory.

Zoro growled as he touched the hilt of his sword.

"Stop..." Luffy pleaded weakly.

"Just relax. You can't miss, after all, what you cannot remember," Zizu said before he smiled and his right eye glowed. "Besides, you will enjoy being my slave."

Then, the memory shook again as a bright red light pierced the scene. The images of Luffy's childhood were destroyed by light and shattered like glass.

Luffy's screams overwhelmed everything, causing the Strawhats to cover their ears. It sounded like he was being murdered. It seemed to last for an eternity.

Eventually, the memory cleared and the normal color returned. Luffy's screams also, mercifully, had stopped. There was, however, a strange fog like edge around the memory, like the Strawhats were looking at a daydream.

Luffy was on his knees and was breathing hard as if he had run marathon while wearing weights and his eyes were rolled back.

Zizu stood over Luffy with impassive eyes.

Thomas stood nearby and stared at Luffy with what a of look pity.

Timber even in his lion form seemed upset.

Slowly, Luffy lifted his head to look at Zizu. When his eyes unrolled they were glazed over and fogged, like he wasn't really aware of what was going on.

"Strawhat, do you know who I am?" Zizu asked in a somewhat gentle voice.

Luffy said nothing for a moment. "You...you're master. Master Zizu," he answered in an emotionless voice.

Zizu smiled smugly at his new servant. "Tell me, do the names Fire Fist Ace and Red-Hair Shanks mean anything to you?"

Luffy paused as he stared at Zizu with blank eyes. "Who?"

Zizu's smiled grew wider. "How about the name Sabo."

Luffy looked even more lost. "Who's Sabo?"

Zizu laughed. "No one of any importance, Strawhat," he assured as the memory faded.

The Strawhats were left numb by what they had seen. It felt like they had just witness a murder. In many ways, they had.

"That rat bastard. I'm glad that asshole's dead," Franky growled hatefully as he pounded his fists together.

"Couldn't agree more," Zoro sneered. Damn, if only he could cut a memory. No wonder Luffy was so messed up when he was under that bastard's control.

"He...he actually took Luffy's memories of his love ones to make him easier to control," Nami whispered numbly.

Usopp shook his head. "Was that why Luffy was so…out of it? Because he was missing a part of himself." Luffy's fogged, dead eyes were burnt into his memory.

Brook tightened his fist around his cane. "It was as Luffy said. Zizu had all but killed him."

Robin said nothing, but she was also very upset. She was literally shaking in rage.

It was because of Zizu that she did not trust the Revolutionaries or Dragon when she was brought to Baltigo, despite Dragon being Luffy's father. It took almost a year before she could speak to Dragon candidly about what had happen with Zizu, the Mind's Eye, and the damage they did to her captain.

Dragon, for his part, was apologetic about Zizu's actions and assured her that he had cut all ties with the man before he died. Yet he refused to say why he had given Zizu the Mind's Eye to begin with; especially since the crazy Revolutionary was heavily disliked even among his own allies.

He also refused to explain why he had condoned the use of such an immoral device, which greatly bothered her even now. Dragon came across as an honorable man for the time she knew him, but there were many layers to him. She was never completely sure what to make of the man. He was much like his son in that respect.

The next memory appeared and the Strawhats were in the Observatory on the Sunny. It was late at night given the position of the moon. From the looks of it, there were only a couple more hours until sunrise.

Luffy was standing by himself in the empty room and seemed to be scanning the area to make sure he was alone.

"I'm here, master," Luffy said in a hushed voice.

"Are you alone?" Zizu asked as his voice resonated through the memory.

"Yes, everyone's asleep," Luffy answered.

"Where's Zizu's voice coming from?" Chopper asked as he looked around.

"Remember, Zizu was able to communicate with his slaves through their minds," Robin said.

Zoro narrowed his eye. "This must be when Zizu planned that ambush for us in that village."

"Ivy's arrival was unexpected. I did not anticipate her to follow me to the Red Line," Zizu said in what sounded like mild irritation. "She told your crew a lot about us. Now, for certain, they can never leave this island."

"What do you want to do?" Luffy asked.

"We need to get rid of them," Zizu said bluntly.

Luffy's eye twitched, but otherwise showed no emotion. "I thought you intended to test them? To see if they were worthy of joining us."

All the Strawhats cringed in disgust. The thought of working for Zizu made all of their blood run cold, especially seeing first-hand how the Mind's Eye twisted and even erased memories.

"Since we lost the element of surprise, it would be too much trouble to bother testing all of them," Zizu stated. "I may be interested in the Pirate Hunter given his reputation. Nico Robin is not much of a fighter, but she would be nice prize to take back to Dragon. I, however, have no real need for anyone else from your crew."

"I suppose I should be honored," Zoro said sarcastically.

Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "Why not take all of them? They're all very strong. At least consider Sanji. He's equal in strength to Zoro and is very smart when it comes to tactics and stuff. Plus, he's a great cook."

"You got that right," Sanji said, oddly proud that his captain had stuck up for him. He was also surprised that Luffy acknowledged him as a strategist. He didn't think that rubber head noticed. "Although, I'm much stronger than that ball of moss."

Zoro side-eyed Sanji. "You wish, dart board."

"Are you two really arguing who would make the better slave?" Nami asked in annoyance.

"Funny seeing Luffy trying to sell us to Zizu," Usopp said humorlessly. It was a bizarre compliment Luffy was giving them.

"Given Luffy's current mental state, it is all he can do to save us," Robin said.

"Do not try to sell your crew to me, Strawhat," Zizu said in a bored voice. "Your cook may be strong, but he has a crippling weakness. He cannot hit a girl, right?"

Luffy could say nothing to counter that.

Sanji also looked annoyed.

"I have no need for such a pathetic person. As for the rest of your crew, they are not really worth talking about. Your navigator is good at her job, but is not much of a fighter. Your doctor is much the same. The cyborg is interesting, but he is pretty much a poor man's Pacifista. The skeleton is weaker than Roronoa Zoro and your sniper, need I say more," Zizu said in a dismissive tone.

Usopp was struck by Zizu's words. The pure dismissal that Zizu gave him hurt. It wasn't that he wanted to ever work for the guy, but to be told he wasn't even worth considering was a low blow to his fragile self-esteem.

"Don't be saddened, Usopp," Brook said in a soft voice. "Zizu's words aren't worth considering."

Franky growled. "Poor man's Pacifista? I wish that bastard was alive to see me now so I can shoot a laser up his ass."

Luffy's eyes narrowed, showing real emotions for the first time. "Don't talk about my crew like that. They're all strong and you shouldn't discount any of them. None of them are useless!" he screamed the last part as his anger built.

The Strawhats were taken back by their captain's sudden rage. It touched them that even in this state, Luffy was still very protective of them and wouldn't let anyone talk badly about them.

Zizu was silent for several seconds. "First, do not shout, you idiot. You will wake your crew. Second and more importantly, do not ever talk to me like that again!"

Luffy jumped at Zizu's changed in tone. He looked like a frightened child who was being scolded by his parent. Looking at it closely, it was the same expression he gives when Nami scolds him for being especially stupid.

"Do not forget who your master is," Zizu said in a hushed voice. "If you ever do that again, Strawhat, there will be punishment."

Luffy shivered at the thought of what Zizu had in mind. "Yes...I understand. I'm sorry, master." His eyes returned to the glazed, almost dead state.

"That bastard," Sanji growled. It was bad enough seeing this the first time. To witness this from Luffy's point-of-view was close to torture.

"Getting back on subject, we need to make plans to take care of your crew. Tell me everything about each of your members. I want to know everything from their strengths to weaknesses. From there, I will make a strategy to best deal with each of them," Zizu stated once he had calmed down.

Luffy looked deeply troubled. He obviously didn't want to tell Zizu anything.

"Are you disobeying an order, Strawhat?" Zizu asked in a calm voice. The Strawhats, however, could hear the barely suppressed anger behind it.

Luffy closed his eyes in resignation. "No, master."

The memory faded at that point.

"Wait, why did Luffy need to tell him anything?" Usopp asked in confusion. "Couldn't Zizu find out that information himself by just reading Luffy's mind?"

"He wanted Luffy to tell him personally. That bastard wanted Luffy to give the information in his own voice," Zoro growled as he gripped his sword handle harder.

"It was all to break Luffy's will further," Nami muttered as her hatred for Zizu grew even stronger, if such a thing was possible. "Like taking his memories weren't bad enough."

The memory resumed and the Strawhats saw Luffy fighting them in the village after Zizu had set his trap.

For the Strawhats that were there, it was just as they remembered it, except they could hear a voice in Luffy's head, talking to their captain.

It wasn't Zizu, but it sounded like him. It was most likely an extension of Zizu's will being projected by the Mind's Eye. In either case, the voice was encouraging Luffy to murder his own crew every time he showed any hint of hesitation or pity.

Sanji screamed angrily at Luffy when he saw him go after Nami and nearly break Robin's ribs when he kicked her. He knew that Luffy wasn't himself, but he couldn't stand to watch the ladies being hurt by their own captain and he wasn't there to stop it.

Nami reflexively grabbed her neck as she watched Luffy nearly choke her to death as he stared coldly down at her. Hearing the voice encouraging Luffy to kill her sent shivers down her spine.

His fight with Franky and Chopper was also violent as he viciously attacked the already injured cyborg for defending Nami and what he did to Chopper was outright brutal.

Zoro cringed when he saw Chopper have his head smashed into the street by Luffy's Hammer. Looking at it for the first time, it was surprising that Chopper was still alive and not in a coma.

Chopper rubbed his head as he watched that particular memory. Thankfully, he didn't remember much after Luffy had slammed his head into pavement. He was thankful that he wasn't in Heavy Point, or else that technique may have killed him.

When Luffy was blown away by Franky's Coup de Vent, the memory shifted and the Strawhats were now in the compound. It was obviously after Luffy had been fighting them for a while since he was kneeling in a spiky field laid out by Usopp.

Needless to say, it was hard for the crew to watch Luffy struggle under the effects of the Mind's Eye and hearing Zizu's thoughts completely take over their captain's mind and alter his personality.

By forcibly showing Luffy certain negative images of them, Zizu was able to 'convince' Luffy that he hated all of them and wanted to kill them for being jerks to him. Especially, the memory that set Luffy off was remembering how his crew lied to him about what happened to the flag and the voice within Luffy telling him that his crew planned a mutiny.

The idea was ridiculous and if Luffy was himself he would have outright rejected the notion that his crew would betray him like that. Luffy, however, wasn't in his right mind. Corrupted and twisted by the Mind's Eye, Luffy believed everything that he was told.

The idea that Luffy could only find the happiness and respect that he sought by serving Zizu as his vessel was firmly planted in Luffy's mind by the time the battle resumed.

By the end of the battle, Luffy was close to being a walking puppet, completely twisted to the point of being unrecognizable by the Mind's Eye. He was literally being eating away.

All the Strawhats were left completely disgusted. Seeing this terrible event from Luffy's eyes was worse than anything they could have imagined. The thought that Luffy could have spent the rest of his life like this if Zizu had succeeded also frightened them.

The memory concluded with Luffy using both of his Gears in a final effort to kill them. The crash of the compound falling on Luffy's head was the last thing they saw.

There was a long pause among the crew.

"Luffy-san suffered so much from that incident," Brook said softly. "I didn't know that the Mind's Eye did so much damage to him. A weaker man would've never recovered."

"His mind was nearly shattered," Nami said as she attempted to calm her rapidly beating heart. "I mean...he could barely think on his own without Zizu's influence corrupting his thoughts and planting those false ideas into his head."

"That Zizu bastard really did get off too easily," Franky growled.

Sanji puffed on his cigarette. "As bad as that was, in many ways we sowed the seeds of doubt in Luffy's mind. The Mind's Eyes just exacerbated the doubts and feelings Luffy already had for us."

Usopp sighed somberly. "That's true."

"What happened was terrible, but we must look at everything," Zoro said as he folded his arms. "Despite everything that Zizu and the Mind's Eye did to Luffy, he fought it. Luffy stood up for us, even though it should have been nearly impossible for him. Even when he was filled with Zizu's lies and mind alterations, he still hesitated to kill us."

Robin nodded in agreement. "Luffy may have a weak mental defense, but his will and love for us would not allow him to kill us, even when he believed that we were going to betray him. That is the lesson we should all take from this."

"I couldn't agree more," Brook said.

The mist formed into a new memory and they were now on some island. It was the dead of night and it was snowing heavily. At least, it looked like it was snowing.

"This snow is kind of funny," Brook noted as he held out his bony hand.

"It isn't snow," Nami said as she looked at the ground. "It's ash."

"Ash?" Sanji repeated.

There was a loud crash, catching all of the Strawhats' attention. They saw Usopp, Chopper, and Nami nearby. They were huddled together in the rubble, looking quite stunned. They were all dressed in their best clothes and Chopper was holding Nami tenderly in his arms.

Nami was sick. She was breathing hard and her skin had several green spots across it. It looked like mold was growing on her body.

Nami's eyes widened. "This is when we fought Shiki."

Zoro nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

Sanji gritted his teeth in anger at seeing Nami so sick from the Daft Green. He personally wanted to kick Shiki's ass for daring to hurt Nami.

"How's Nami!?" Usopp in the memory exclaimed in a near panic.

"She's alright," Chopper assured once he had given the navigator an once over.

They both looked up and saw Shiki floating in the air. For a lack of better words, he looked pissed.

"Shiki!" Usopp and the Chopper in the memory both shouted in fear.

"You've really done it now, girl," Shiki said softly. His voice was filled with contempt. "You must really want to die!" He snorted at Nami. "I don't need you anymore!"

"Take no for an answer next time, shitty idiot," Sanji growled.

Nami folded her arms. "Seriously. I kept telling him that I didn't want to join."

"No matter how hard you struggle, I will crush East Blue!" Shiki declared as he used his powers to make the earth around him rise. The risen earth then took the shape of giant lion heads, ready to crush the three memory Strawhats and bury them alive.

"Forgot how creepy that was," Usopp said as the earthen lions roared at his past counterpart.

"It's like he summoned the earth itself to consume," Brook said in awe.

Usopp glared at the skeleton swordsman. "Thanks for the mental image."

"W...we're surrounded!" Usopp in the memory yelled in terror.

The lions began to enclose on them.

"Die in the depths of despair!" Shiki yelled viciously.

"Damn!" Usopp in the memory screamed.

"Dammit all!" Chopper in the memory shouted as he huddled against Nami.

Before the lions could reach them, however, they were instantly destroyed by Luffy using his Second Gear.

"Huh, he arrived just in time," Franky said with some humor. For someone who didn't want to be hero, he had the timing of one.

"That was too close for comfort," Chopper muttered as he wiped his forehead. He really thought he was going to die there.

Shiki was annoyed by this development.

Luffy stood in front of his crew in a protective manner as he glared at the legendary pirate. The red tint of Luffy's skin reflected his anger perfectly. Even the steam around his body was red.

"Got to give Shiki credit," Sanji said. "Not too many people can get Luffy that mad."

"That bastard kidnapped one our crew members and then tried to kill us along with our home sea. He more than deserved Luffy's rage," Zoro said.

"Luffy!" Chopper and Usopp in the memory yelled in relief.

"You're still going to fight!?" Shiki asked in irritation.

Luffy turned his eyes away from Shiki and stared at Nami who was just opening her eyes. They were dazed from sickness and exhaustion. It was eerily similar to how she looked after leaving Little Garden. This time, however, there was something for Luffy to smash.

Luffy's face softened as he looked at his navigator. "Nami, I'm going to send this guy flying. Then we'll all go back together!"

Nami stared at Luffy. She looked like a small child in Chopper's arms. "Luffy..."

Luffy stared tenderly at his navigator for a moment longer before he turned his attention towards his other crewmates. "Leave this to me! Take care of Nami!"

"Alright!" Usopp in the memory yelled.

"Get him, Luffy!" Chopper in the memory yelled as they both ran off, giving Luffy room to fight.

"Wherever you run, you're doom to die," Shiki stated.

Luffy got into position as more steam rushed out of his body. It looked like he was surrounded by energy.

"You're not going to decide our fates!" Luffy shouted as he seemly disappeared and rushed by Shiki. The old pirate was quite surprised by the increase in speed. "Gum Gum Jet Pistol!"

He slammed his fist into Shiki's stomach, sending him flying back like he was shot out of a cannon. Blood came out of Shiki's mouth and his eyes rolled back as he screamed in pain.

"Yeah, get him!" Usopp cheered. "I bet he felt that."

"Billy, help me!" Luffy called as he twisted his body.

A yellow bird that looked like a mix between a chicken, peacock, and duck came to Luffy's aid and the rubberman jumped onto Billy's back.

"I'm not letting you go to East Blue!" Luffy yelled as he chased after Shiki, who had just regained his bearings.

"You're so annoying," Shiki hissed. "I will show no mercy to a man from East Blue."

"Did we ever figure out why he hated East Blue so much?" Brook suddenly asked.

"Not really," Nami answered.

Robin rubbed her chin. "I think it has something to do with Roger, but I cannot completely recall. Shiki was considered a legendary pirate who was rivals with both Roger and Whitebeard. I even remember reading how he nearly destroyed Marineford single-handedly when Roger gave himself to the marines."

"Does it matter?" Zoro asked dryly. "Whatever issue he had with East Blue doesn't matter. Luffy was still going to kick his ass."

The fight was on and it was a fierce battle that raged across the floating island. Shiki used his ability to fly across the air while Luffy used Billy to keep up.

Several sections of the island were destroyed during the battle. Both pirates landed several powerful blows on each other, but neither one of them could get the upper hand. Several times during their fight, flying beasts would intervene, but neither Luffy nor Shiki paid too much attention to them.

"Wow, what a fight!" Franky exclaimed in awe. "I'm sorry I missed all of this."

"It's enough to make my eyes pops...although I have no eyes!" Brook exclaimed before he laughed loudly.

"Luffy's really something. He's going toe-to-toe with a pirate that fought the Pirate King!" Chopper yelled.

Sanji snorted. "Shiki was maybe something back in the day, but he's skills are obviously rusty. If he was at the top of his game, he should have beaten Luffy a long time ago."

"Who's side are you on!?" Usopp yelled at the cook.

"Just stating a fact," Sanji said with shrug. "Think about Rayleigh. He was Roger's first mate and he could beat all of us with barely trying. This golden bastard is huffing and puffing just keeping up with Luffy."

Usopp blinked as he took in Sanji's words. "Huh...I can see your point."

"He probably stood on this floating island so long, safe from any real fighting, that he let his fighting skills go," Zoro stated. "This is not the same Gold Lion that went against Roger."

They fought evenly like this until they reached a floating lake in the sky.

"It's time to settle this!" Shiki yelled. He used the swords that were his legs to cut the floating lake like it was ice.

"Huh, he can do that with his ability," Franky asked in awe.

"His Devil Fruit was indeed formidable," Brook said. "After all, he lifted up all of these islands by using his ability."

The pieces of water floated around Luffy and Billy, stunning both of them. Before Billy could clear the water pieces, they enclosed on them. Within seconds, Luffy and Billy were trapped within a body of floating water.

Luffy was immediately knocked out as the water drained his strength and he started to drown.

Billy wasn't doing much better as he drifted helplessly in the floating body of water.

"LUFFY!" Chopper screamed in horror as the memory blurred.

Robin stiffened as she watched her captain suffer and drown before their eyes. Being trapped in water was a terrible fate for a fruit user.

"That's dirty!" Nami yelled angrily.

Zoro growled. Luffy was now completely helpless and none of them were there to save him. How did he escape? He glanced at Billy and saw that the electric bird was still out. He most likely shorted out.

Sanji also shook in anger. This is why he never wanted an ability. All of Luffy's strength and will were rendered useless before the power of the sea.

Shiki laughed at the dying boy captain. "You've met your match, kid!" A ringing got his attention and he pulled out a baby transponder snail from his robes. Luffy's hearing was too far gone to really hear what Shiki was saying.

The Strawhats could hear Luffy gurgle in pain as the water stole his senses. He struggled weakly, but it was impossible. His curse completely froze his body.

"I suppose that's pretty painful for a Devil Fruit user," Shiki mused. He had a look of sadistic amusement as he watched Luffy slowly drown. "But you won't get away that easily. East Blue and that girl, they will both die in the depths of despair! You can watch from hell!"

With his vows made, Shiki sliced the water using the air current from his swords. The water broke apart and sent Luffy falling to the earth along with Billy.

"Why did he break Luffy free?" Franky asked. "He could have just left him to drown."

"He wants Luffy to suffer," Zoro said, relieved that Shiki's sadistic nature had saved their captain.

Sanji puffed on his cigarette, also greatly relieved. "That shit head is going to regret that decision."

The memory went dark for a moment as Luffy hit the ground hard. He most likely blanked out because of the water.

It was Bill's crowing that told the Strawhats that Luffy was regaining his senses. Billy sounded upset, probably thinking that Luffy was mortally wounded from Shiki's attack.

The vision of the memory fully retuned and Luffy was laying spread out on the rocky ground. Despite nearly drowning just moments before, the fire quickly returned to Luffy's eyes. He grinned fiercely. He looked borderline demonic.

He stood up and gave a loud battle cry. "I'm going to kick his ass!" He turned towards Billy. "Carry me to the heavens!"

Billy squawked in compliance and the two were off into the sky.

Storm clouds filled the sky and thunder roared in the background. The entire island was shaking from the force of the incoming storm. Shiki was looking at the approaching storm with mild concern, but Luffy quickly got his attention.

"So persistent!" Shiki yelled as he readied himself to go after Luffy again.

"Shiki!" a female voice yelled.

Luffy glanced over and saw Nami standing on a nearby rooftop. She was still sick, but she stared defiantly at her former captor. She was using her Clima-Tact as a crutch.

"It's Nami!" Luffy shouted in surprise.

"Everything ends here!" Nami in the memory declared.

"We prepared the bombs!" Chopper in the memory shouted in the distance.

"Huh, bombs!?" Shiki exclaimed in shock.

"That's right!" Nami in the memory yelled. "Nothing will remain of your royal palace, your factory, or your island!"

"That's one way to say screw you," Franky laughed.

Nami narrowed her eyes. "That bastard deserved every bit of it."

Even if Shiki had treated her well when he held her captive, she would never forgive the man who threatened her home and family.

"We're putting an end to your schemes!" Nami in the memory shouted at the old pirate.

Shiki's eyes widened in rage. "You got to be kidding me!" He used his ability to lift several large pieces of land. He was going to smash Nami in-between them.

Nami continued to glare at Shiki without a trace fear.

"How could you be so calm?" Usopp asked as he looked at Nami's stony face.

Nami gave a bright smile. "Because Luffy was nearby."

"You're just a group of kids!" Shiki shouted. "Don't think I'm about to let you destroy the plan I've worked twenty years for!"

"Take this!" Usopp in the memory yelled as he shot Shiki with what looked like a dragon made of blue fire.

Shiki easily dodged the attack. "Enough of your fireworks!" He brought the two pieces of landmass together.

"Billy, go save Nami!" Luffy ordered as he jumped off the electric bird.

Billy quickly flew away from Luffy and saved Nami just in time before she was crushed by Shiki's ability.

"Damn you!" Shiki cussed.

"I'm your opponent, Shiki!" Luffy shouted as he stuck his thumb in his mouth. "Gear Third, Bone Balloon!" His arm grew and expanded. He then pushed the air into his chest.

The thunder and lightning grew fiercer, causing the memory to tremble a little.

Luffy pushed the air into his left leg and he lifted it up into the sky, right into the lightning clouds.

"What's that!?" Shiki exclaimed before he began to laugh. "You'll die like that! Get hit my lightning and die!"

"Rubberman," Zoro muttered.

"People do tend to forget that lightning can't hurt Luffy," Chopper observed.

"Well, in fairness, I tend to forget myself," Nami admitted.

It was mostly because she learned a long time ago, as a navigator, to always respect nature, especially lightning. It was one of the few elements that could kill a person instantly.

"You're the one who's going to fall, Shiki! I'm not letting you go to East Blue!" Luffy screamed as images of his home flashed across the memory. The Strawhats saw the faces of several people. The people they saw were Makino, Woop Slap, the people from Foosha, Dadan, and her family of bandits.

What really surprised the Strawhats, however, was that the flashes kept going. They soon saw images of everyone Luffy met in East Blue. They saw Rika and her mother from Shell Town, the mayor and ChouChou from Orange Island, Kaya, Merry, and the Usopp Pirates, Zeff and the other fighting cooks, and Genzo and Nojiko. Nami, Usopp, and Zoro were also surprised to see Gaimon among the many images passing across the memory.

For the crew as whole, they felt themselves become teary-eyed seeing these familiar people again. It showed that despite how much time had passed, and everything that Luffy experienced, he still remembered the people he met on his journey. Despite barely knowing most of them, he was still willing to protect them from this monster.

As Luffy yelled his proclamation, lightning struck his outstretched foot. Electricity flowed across his body, but no harm was done thanks to his ability.

Shiki, who didn't seem to notice Luffy's immunity, began to laugh harder. "You fool!"

Luffy's eyes seemed to light up with along with the lightning.

"I am the man who will conquer the ocean from the sky!" Shiki proclaimed.

"I will not let you touch my crew!" Luffy shouted as his eyes took on a demonic aura. He looked close to the rage they saw when he fought Arlong. "Or the sea, for as long as I live!"

Shiki seemed to finally realize that Luffy wasn't dying by the lightning. His eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

"Giant Thor..."

Shiki immediately defended himself by bring a giant rock between him and Luffy.

"Why do these idiots never dodge Luffy's Third Gear?" Sanji asked, remembering how Lucci took the attack heads on.

Zoro folded his arms. "Because these idiots seem to think Luffy's Third Gear is all show."

"That was Shiki's fatal mistake this entire time. He never took Luffy seriously," Robin said as she watched Luffy prepared to finish Shiki.

Shiki threw several bits of sharpened rocks at Luffy, trying to impale him.

"Battle Axe!" Luffy screamed as he brought his foot down. The sharpened rocks bounced off of Luffy's skin like they were pebbles and he easily destroyed Shiki's rock shield.

Shiki could only watch in horror as his plan of twenty years was destroyed by this one boy. "Is a man from East Blue really standing in my way again!?" he screamed in disbelief. "ROGER!"

Luffy's Battle Axe hit Shiki dead on, slamming him into the floating landmass below. Luffy split the land with his lightning Battle Axe, defeating the legendary pirate and ending the memory.

---

Wow, this chapter turned out to be super long, my longest yet. I did not want to make this chapter so long, but I wanted the events that were going to happen next to stand on their on without any extra drama. I also hope that Otaku-TACO, if he/she is reading this, liked my interpretation of their idea.

With that said, I do feel I need to explain some things. Namely, unlike Bulletproof, no one asked for an insert of Mind's Eye. I included it because after rereading of the events of that story, I remember what a traumatizing even that story was for Luffy. Given the nature of this story, it did not seem right to skip it, especially since I have been making references to that story throughout this fic.

As for movie 10, I truly intended not to add anything from that movie in my story. The reason why I decided to add Shiki's defeat is because it is a major victory for Luffy. He took out a man who challenged Roger and fought Garp and Soegoku. For certain purposes, I want to show all of Luffy's great victories, so I felt obligated to write Luffy and Shiki's battle. Sorry if it slowed the story down.

gamelover41592 thanks for the review. I abridged Merry's speech because I did not feel writing her entire goodbye was necessary.

Mon Esprit Libre, thank you for your review. I tend to be too stubborn to drop a story, especially one that I enjoy.

WhatifStoryTeller, thanks for the feedback. Well, quite a bit happened in this chapter.

Chocobaby, thank you for your feedback. I do not think Luffy knows who Sogeking is. Luffy is observance to a point, but he is still a dense, idiot.

laytonloverdg, thanks for your review. Merry's death is sad, but she went in a blaze of glory. I also won't say that I write these things effortlessly. I take a lot of time to write this stuff. Maybe even too much.

God D. Zeus, thank you for your review. Pre-written chapters.

10wolves, thanks for the feedback. I don't mind people not reviewing until the end, but glad to hear from you early. I am also happy you enjoyed Perchance to Dream. I do not try to make stories to screw people's mind, but he worked very well in the story.

Honeydee, thank you for the feedback. I do know what the endgame is but I cannot say it is more dramatic than Perchance to Dream. I will leave that verdict up to the readers. I just hope that it doesn't fell flat. I honestly think there is a reason why Oda haven't made Zoro first mate, but I do agree that I cannot see anyone having that position besides Zoro. At the same time, I think Luffy may also see his entire crew as equal without anyone above them except himself. Also, Oda purposely never get deep with Luffy because, as Oda puts it, Luffy is an idiot so he is not subject to deep thoughts. I think that is true to an extent, but I would call Luffy simple and not a complete moron.

I did considered a bonding scene with Garp and Luffy, but those two really don't have a sit down and talk kind of relationship. Also, I don't think Luffy actually cares that much about his dad to bother to ask for more information.

LazyFoxLover, thanks for the review. Well, the good news for Brook is that he is finally on the same page as everyone else.

OnePieceNarutoBleachFan, thank you for the review. Thanks for your kind words. This story will not go pass the time-skip.

Lightningblade49, thanks for the feedback. Well, we all have our different emotional points.

shimaxkutau, thanks you for the feedback and glad to know you have continued reading. We are very close to Shabody.

My Guest reviewer, thanks for the review. Franky had it rough, but as Robin said, it was his fault for being stubborn.

The Mad Reviewer, thank you for your review. The damage done to Luffy by his Gears is more or less canon. Namely, we have Lucci's words about how Luffy's Gears harms his body and can shorten his life. I do not think Oda would have someone as smart as Luffy make such a comment just for drama. There is also the fact that all the Strawhats freaked out when Luffy used both of his Gears against Moriah because they know he is ripping his body apart. The effects of Gear Third are rather minor, it is Luffy's Second Gear that is really dangerous if used to excess. I also enjoy the Franky nutcracker.

tantei-fox03, thanks for the feedback. All man feel it when another man has their balls abuse. lol

OM3GA-TGV, thank you for your feedback. I personally found the Lucci fight harder since I had to go through so many episodes and the fight never seemed to end. I cannot see this fic going past the summer, but we will see.

whitespiderlilly, thanks for the review. Thriller Bark had a lot of emotional moments, it is just Luffy didn't see most of them. I am also certain Luffy thought of his crew a lot when he was on that floating island. Although, I don't think he had time to dwell given that he was running away from beasts for a week. And from my understanding, Shiki treated Nami well, despite Nami not wanting to join him.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan, thank you for your review. I guess I could have wrote the entire text, but I didn't want Merry's funeral to come off as over-dramatic. The scene with Luffy and Robin is not canon, I made it up.

MysteriousEyez, thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I really enjoyed writing Brook this chapter. Too bad he doesn't stay around long enough before the events of Shabody. I also agree. The Strawhats are in for a terrible time when they see Impel Down and Marineford.

LeoGear, thank you for your review. I don't know what Law's plans are, but he is one to keep an eye on. He did, after all, mercilessly betrayed his former boss.

Mel72000, thanks for the review. Honestly, I do not think Luffy had any feelings for his dad. He doesn't know him and doesn't even know what he looks like. Dragon maybe a cool and interesting guy to us, but Luffy just doesn't care.

KTDLover, thanks for the feedback. Merry will be dearly missed.

SawadaTsukimi, thank you for the feedback. Glad you liked that moment between Luffy and Robin. I wanted them to have a little one-on-one and the scene was meant to be longer. But Luffy is a man of few words and his mindset was more or less created through the memories. Also, sorry, can't answer your question.

speed and write, thanks for the review. I wanted a small acknowledgement from Luffy that Sogeking was Usopp, but I wanted to stay true to Luffy being extremely dense. So, I did an in-between. Usopp leaving was more about him than Luffy. Also, everyone seem to enjoy Franky being in pain lol. It was also nice writing Luffy and Usopp making up after such a bad fallen out.

IceMaize, thank you for your review. I understand you not caring so much about last chapter since it was more or less a wrap up.

Steph2500, thanks for the feedback. I am grateful for any review I get and I am still in awe at how this story have grown.

Vuurvlieg, thank you for your feedback. Well, I may of overdid it with the extras, but I hope you enjoy it.

Neko-VongolaPrimo, thanks for the review. I also think Sunny may have a Klaubautermann, but we will never see it since a Klaubautermann only shows itself when a ship is about to die. As for Garp, I guess you could say he put the fear of god into Luffy's heart. Well, you have more time to prepare yourself for Sabondy.

Black Angel, thank you for the review. No problem about not reviewing. Brook gets some moments to bond with the crew. As for chapters for this story, I can't see going pass 40.

Molly Grace 16, thank you for your feedback. I do my best to stay true to Luffy's character while exploring his hidden depths.

skittles3512, thanks for the feedback. Glad to see you have an account. Luffy talking to Merry happened in the manga/anime and glad to hear you're off.

sakura240, thanks for the review and welcome back. I wonder what happened to you. Also, I am happy you loved chapter 20. I still see it as one of my proudest chapters. Everyone loves sadistic Robin, whether they want to admit it or not lol. Luffy is too dense to notice that anyone loves him. He may noticed in another twenty years.

Walt-Disney and Anime, thank you for your review. If Zoro and Sanji work together, only bad things can happen to those around them. Also, I do not disagree with you about Luffy recognizing Usopp, even for a moment, but my thinking when I wrote that scene was that Luffy saw that Sogeking cried the same way as Usopp. It sounds weird, but Luffy does seem to recognize stuff that are somewhat similar like the World Noble's crest and the Sunny Pirates' mark. I don't think it is possible to be comatose and able to eat, but I guess it is possible for Luffy. As for the scene about letting Usopp back, I cut it there because the rest of the scene was mostly Nami and Chopper protesting Zoro's statement. By that point, Luffy had already made up his mind, so it didn't matter what Nami and Chopper had to say on the matter. Sanji reacted badly to Franky naked because he is Sanji and Franky is flashes Robin and Nami.

Yeah, I am aware of that and it still amazes me. I would have never thought I would have a story anyway near the front page. I guess it shows you never know when a story will blow up.

LiveLove2Laugh, thank you for your feedback. I do my best to keep everyone within character. It is not always easy since I tend to put the Strawhats in odd situations.

Vuurvlieg, thanks for the feedback. Luffy always hated being alone and the thought of losing everything even before the events of that island. What the Baron did was solidified his worse fear into his heart. As Luffy said, being alone hurts more than dying, so he would happily throw his life and dreams away to save his friends.

StrawberryArtist, thanks for your review. At the rate I am going, I maybe the first to finish a memory fic (knock on wood). Getting all the information can be tough, especially when you're waiting for your episode to load. But, it is worth it to stay as true to the source material as possible. Hope you keep reading.

ZoroFTW9, thanks for the review. You are free to think as you wish on my portrayal of Luffy. I do not agree since I have been very careful in maintaining Luffy's character throughout the story. I will admit that he maybe more tragic given the extended back story I gave him along with including movie 6, but I feel that I have kept him within character. But we can agree to disagree.

Pokabu, thanks for your review. I am glad you enjoyed the pace of the last chapter. When you try to summarize things up, you tend to miss somethings. I also hope you enjoyed Thriller Bark, even if I did not cover it as much as the other arcs.

With that said and done, until next chapter.