Author's Note

Okay, before anyone kills me into saying why this isn't in the crossover section, I'll explain it now. THERE IS NONE! (well there is one story in the OP x TMNT section, but that's besides the point) I'm just gonna leave this story up here for about a week, then transfer it over to the crossover section. That way at least some people can see it. Are we good? Okay then.

Also hello to those out here who have never heard of me! It's your favorite Palkia here! I've written another crossover for TMNT 2012 if anyone wants to check it out! I'll have just TMNT stories coming soon.

First time writing about anything One Piece, so please don't kill me XD.

I do not own One Piece and I do not own TMNT.

In the first part of the Grand Line…

The seas were relatively calm that night, which was unusual for a sea like the Grand Line. Normally a sea like that would have some sort of weather besides pleasant. Thunderstorms, high winds, even snowstorms on occasions. It was and still is unpredictable.

Even so, many have tried to sail through it, and have thus died. Without proper navigation skills (which were somewhat useless because it's the Grand Line, but they came in handy) and knowledge. There was no hope for a person sailing through that sea. The Grand Line was merciless, taking anything it can that sails through it when it has the chance.

This was currently not the case for the Straw Hat Pirates.

At the moment, on top of the sheep shaped figurehead of the Going Merry sat Monkey D. Luffy, a seventeen year old teen who constantly proclaimed that he would become the King of the Pirates someday. He has the abilities of a rubber man, aka his body has the properties of rubber. This happened after eating the Gum-Gum Fruit, one of the many Devil Fruits around the world that contained so much power (though it got rid of your ability to swim).

Yet with abilities such as this, he couldn't become King of the Pirates on his own, and thus formed his own crew, the Straw Hat Pirates. Zoro - the first mate and a swordsman, Nami - the navigator, Usopp - the sniper, Sanji - the cook, Chopper - the reindeer and a doctor, and the newest addition to the crew, Robin - the archeologist.

While they all came from different backgrounds, there was no doubt that they made a very strong crew, as well as probably the most unusual one out there. Now, the crew was currently sailing from the country of Alabasta to who knows where, searching for a new adventure. Well...sort of. Being asleep doesn't really count.

Now the question was, why was Luffy still awake? Was it because there might be enemies nearby, itching for a fight? Was he asked to stand watch? Could it be that something was bothering him and thus he couldn't sleep at all?

Luffy flopped onto his back, moaning. "Meeeaaat…"

Nope, it was meat.

Unfortunately, Sanji had refused for him to have any more meat until tomorrow. Otherwise Luffy would practically go through the entire supply in less than a minute before anyone could stop him. Then the whole food supply would be gone, which would lead to everyone starving, Nami hitting him in the head at least five times, etc. In short, Luffy plus access to food equals whole supply gone.

With his access denied, the only thing the teen could do now was suffer. His stomach growled, begging for the owner of it to at least get something to eat. Yet this could not be done by any means. So with nothing better to do, well he could sleep but not without being full, the boy decided to just watch the sea. The very calm sea. The very calm, dull, boring…

He couldn't do this. Luffy needed food. A sudden idea came to his mind. Sanji said that he couldn't have access to the meat in the kitchen, so why not catch his own meat? Fishing! Luffy was a genius!

So he ran into one of the closets, grabbing out a strong fishing rod, anticipating he would need something with a lot of strength in order to catch a really big fish. Luffy sat on the figurehead of the Merry once more, and threw out his line. And wait. And waited...And waited…

"I want...a big fish…" Luffy said tiredly, imagining a giant fish on his plate.

Nothing was catching onto his line. As the time went on, he became more tired. His head drooped down, losing energy quickly. The grip he had on the line was loosening. The rod was about to slip out of his hand. And then...Luffy felt it move a little.

"Huh?" he suddenly woke up, looking at the line. "Ya-hoo! A bite!"

Luffy started to reel in the line, but for some reason was having a hard time pulling in his catch. He stood up, tugging on the rod harder. Luffy gritted his teeth, but he couldn't hide his excitement. The line whirred and roared, the strain from it being pulled was increasing. Whatever it was, most likely a fish, it was heavy. But of course, it was nothing for the great Monkey D. Luffy.

"Yaaaa!" he shouted, yanking the line as hard as he could.

Thankfully, whatever he snagged was pulled out of the water. It landed in the middle of the ship, on the grassy plain. Luffy's tongue hung out, eyes sparkling with glee, ready to bite into his catch. But to the boy's surprise, what he saw on the ground was different than what he imagined.

"Ehhhh?!" Luffy gasped. "Where's my fish!?"

What he had reeled in didn't even look like a fish, and frankly wasn't even a fish to begin with. Whatever Luffy hooked had similarities to a human, minus the fact that its entire body was metal with a weird pink brain thing in the middle of its stomach. Not only that, but there were two of them! And they appeared to be holding something. He got up and jumped down to inspect his catch.

"Hmm," he hummed, hand on his chin.

The teen had never seen anything like it before. Frankly speaking, he wasn't sure this was even food to begin with. So he proceeded to kick what appeared to be the catch that he caught, only to immediately regret it soon after.

"Ahhhh!" Luffy yowled in pain, realizing he had kicked metal with just feet and sandals.

Unfortunately for him, the kick seemed to start up the metal human thing, as it began to glow a soft pink. The other seemed to do the same as well. Luffy yelped, stepping back as they magically whirred to life. One of their hands seemed to twitch. Then their arms began to move. And then...their whole metal bodies began to move.

Luffy then decided to hide in one of the tangerine trees on the ship (Nami could kill him later for all he cared). If these things really just came out of the sea, they wouldn't be that smart to actually look for him right? Plus, they can't breathe out of the water anyway, right?!

Both metal things rose, using their hands to get off of the ground. Their eyes flashing pink before coming to life. The metal human things whirred and made strange noises, nearly making Luffy laugh at the sounds. The two looked at each other, then they, surprisingly, began to speak.

"Kraang has obtained that which is known as 'Devil Fruit,'" the first one said.

Wait, did it just say Devil Fruit? Luffy looked a little closer, and saw what the first metal human thing was holding. He was shocked. For there in its hand was a yellow colored fruit, which looked almost like a dragon fruit. The spines on it appeared to be an orange color, somewhat representing a lion's mane.* While Luffy had only seen one Devil Fruit in his life up to this point, that being the one that gave him abilities in the first place, he had no doubt that it was no ordinary fruit.

"Indeed Kraang," the other one, (Kraang?) apparently stated. "Kraang must return that which is known as 'Devil Fruit' to the place that is known as 'Dimension X.'"

Luffy was becoming even more confused. He hardly even understood what they were saying, but a general idea came to his head. Something was going to happen with that Devil Fruit. And it wasn't anything good. Were they planning to eat it perhaps?

Then to his surprise, one of them took out a small device, and pushed it. From there, a pink, triangular shaped doorway of some sort appeared. Luffy was in awe of it, eyes widened in excitement and curiosity. The one without the Devil Fruit went first, stepping into it and disappearing, mystifying the teen. It was at that moment that he noticed the other one was about to leave as well.

Immediately, he stretched out his arms and threw them at the Devil Fruit, managing to grab onto it. But for some reason, the metal human thing wouldn't let go of it. Heck, it didn't even notice Luffy's hold on it, which surprised the boy himself. It stepped into the portal, leaving. Despite this, Luffy's arms weren't chopped off or anything of the like. So what the heck was this.

He felt his arms stretch more, and once he saw that they were stretching to the point that it was beginning to hurt a little, Luffy came out from his hiding spot in one of the tangerine trees (again, Nami could kill him later) and began to hold his ground. He gritted his teeth and pulled. But whatever it was that left earlier with the Devil Fruit would not let go.

"Dang it!" Luffy cursed. "Just come back already!"

The tension in his arms was growing, the pain increasing. The boy realized he was having a harder time than he thought he question was what to do now? He couldn't just go through this magical gateway and end up in who knows where. That would mean he would be going by himself into possible enemy territory and…

Luffy thought about it for a moment. He could do it. He could be back in a second after kicking that metal thing's behind. And besides, the fight wouldn't be like fighting against Crocodile, right?

And so, Luffy allowed himself to let go of his hold on the ground.

In that moment, he literally became a slingshot, not even realizing that the tension in his arms was that great. Luffy went flying, so fast that he could hardly even tell what was going on at the time. He remembered a few things however. Like going through that pink doorway and seeing a weird world around him.

He also remembered hitting something, or rather someone. Not only that, but Luffy was able to get a better hold on the mysterious Devil Fruit, managing to grab it out of that metal thing's hands. He was certainly glad for that.

The next thing Luffy remembered was falling some more, and then landing on top of something. He heard someone scream, dropping something on the ground, and the whir of a motor starting, and eventually leaving. Lastly, the mysterious gateway closed behind him, and a metal *clang* was heard as something fell behind him.

Luffy groaned, having absolutely no idea what happened and where he was for that matter. He opened his eyes finally, only to see...green?

"Eh?" he questioned.

He pushed himself off of the green thing, now getting a general idea of the location around him. Luffy appeared to be in some unknown area, on a dirt road. On one side was a beach and the sea. The other side was a bunch of rolling grassy hills. At the moment, it was currently night time, just like it was when he left the Merry.

"Where am I?" Luffy asked himself.

It was then that he noticed the being who he had recently knocked into was next to him. Or at least he thought. Luffy turned around and nearly gasped, but it wasn't from shock. It was from the fact that the guy next to him appeared to be unconscious.

Speaking of appearance, he certainly wasn't human. The guy looked like a giant turtle, with a blue colored mask around its face. On his back were twin katanas. It wore some type of gear that Luffy had never seen before. But this didn't matter to him, as he had seen a bunch of crazy people (do fishmen even count as people?) in his life. The thing that mattered to Luffy the most was if the turtle was alright.

"Oi! Oi!" Luffy shouted, beginning to shake the turtle in order to get some response. He let the Devil Fruit roll off to his side. "Turtle guy! Say something!"

His shaking appeared to be paying off, as a low yet soft groan was heard. The turtle shook its head from side to side. Luffy let him go so that he could collect himself. It sat up, finally opening its eyes. They were a cobalt blue, and immediately struck with fear.

"You're not dead! That's good," Luffy said excitedly, smiling.

A few minutes earlier…

Leo was just not having the greatest of days.

First, their patrol had turned into a disaster when they ran into the Foot. Second, he had fought with Karai and had failed to convince her that she was Splinter's daughter. Third...well, having a smoke stack fall on top of you isn't exactly the most pleasant experience in the world. And he was barely on the levels of consciousness now.

Not only that, but April and Casey had recently discovered a portable (heh, portable) Kraang portal, and thus decided to bring it into the lair. Great idea. Like the Kraang could ever not find them through these means. And if that weren't bad enough, but his brothers as well as April and Casey just decided to waltz into it without any plan whatsoever.

Nevertheless, Leo just couldn't leave his family behind, and he jumped in after them. Once he was on the other side, the turtle was amazed by what he saw. There were thousands upon thousands of portals, all lined up. Thunderclouds roared in the background, as the entire area was encompassed with dark, murky skies. Leo was surprised to see that he was standing on virtually nothing, but at the same time he was.

"Okaaay," he heard Raph ahead of him say wearily. "This is weird…"

He saw off to his left Mikey and April, who were looking through one of the portals. He was astonished to see another world behind there, one that was full of glass planets and blue atmosphere, nowhere like Earth. Leo looked into another portal, seeing a more dystopian world with towering fortress-like skyscrapers.

"Wow," Donnie stated in awe. "It's like the Grand Central Station of Dimensional Travel! The Kraang must use it as a gateway between realities."

But as he said that, the portal that they all came through mysteriously disappeared. Mikey began to panic.

"Guys, the door's gone!" the orange masked turtle exclaimed. "We're trapped!"

"There's thousands of doors," Leo told them. "Everyone, start searching for a way home!"

They listened to him for once, and did just that. The blue masked turtle ran slightly ahead of them, glancing between the doorways casually. Nothing seemed to catch his eye as interesting or even looked remotely close to home. Leo stopped for a moment and looked around again. Only to notice that everyone else was gone.

"Guys?" he asked. There was no answer. "Raph? Donnie? Mikey…?" Still, there was no answer.

'Great, I'm lost,' Leo inwardly groaned. 'Awesome day Leo…'

The turtle decided to make the best of it, and continued to look around. Yet there was nothing that even looked close to New York. One portal showed a blonde-haired, blue eye kid in an orange jumpsuit fighting a black-haired, red eye kid with blue clothing at a waterfall. Another showed a kid with spiky black hair in green clothing racing a white-haired kid in white clothing up a bunch of stairs with super speed.

'This is really weird…' he thought to himself.

One showed a teen fighting with a huge black sword and a red glowing book. Another showed a kid in a green suit with super powers beating up some bad guy with a weird mask over his face. Leo then realized that this section of the Dimension Station, as Donnie deemed it earlier, was more so based on dimensions with life and other similarities to Earth. Yet it seemed that these worlds gave their inhabitants super powers.

'Super powers…' Leo began to wonder. 'I wish I had those…'

Maybe he could get something that made him super strong, and he could beat Raph in a fight. Or maybe something that made him super smart, and could invent better things than Donnie could. Or maybe he could get super speed, so that he could be even more agile than Mikey. The blue masked turtle could be a superhero!

Leo sighed, looked at his hands. No, there was no way he could ever obtain anything like that. In his world, really the only way one could get something like that was to be mutated. But even then, he was already a mutant, but kinda average for a mutant. And it wasn't like he was going to forcefully double mutate again only to get something he didn't want. Oh, and more pain and possibly losing your sanity. He didn't want that.

Yet the blue masked turtle wanted something to make him...He didn't know. Stand out he supposed? Leo just felt, to some degree, normal in a sense. Raph had great strength. Donnie was super smart. Mikey… well he's agile and very flexible. So what was he then? The Leader and that's it?

'Yeah, the leader that no one listens to,' he thought bitterly.

Even Leo had his doubts about his place in the team. Sure, Splinter chose him to be the leader and all, but what did that really mean? Was it just a title? Just for show? Because at this point, after all he experienced, it felt like just for show. Something that only he could say was his. But was there any point in having it?

Raph hardly ever listens to him and does his own thing. Donnie always second-guessed his orders, contradicting them and stating a better solution. Mikey doesn't even pay attention, so what was the point in that to begin with?

And even then, sometimes the stress of being leader came upon him like how that smoke stack fell on him earlier that day. It was nerve racking. One moment his brothers don't listen to him, and someone could get hurt. Or worse, someone could die, or they could all die. And that was something Leo never wanted.

The event that it could happen always came back to haunt him. Ever since the incident with the mutant mushrooms, Leo had been, for the most part, more on edge than usual. He worried more about his brothers as the days went on. More than himself even. How could he protect them when Leo was hardly strong enough to begin with?

Then, the sound of a portal opening was heard behind him. Leo turned around, and a pink triangular doorway appeared. To his surprise, two Kraang stepped out of it. One of them appeared to be holding some sort of strange fruit. Leo pulled out his katanas.

"You've got to be kidding me…" he sighed.

"Kraang has been noticed by that which is known as turtle," the first one, the one holding the fruit stated. And why were there four hands on it?

"Indeed Kraang," the second one stated, and unfortunately pulled out a blaster. "That which is known as turtle must be eliminated."

It started to fire in Leo's direction. Thankfully, the blue masked turtle deflected the shots with his katana. He then raced forward and sliced the Kraang in half, causing it to deactivate and drop its gun. Leo then went after the other one.

But before he could do anything, something, or rather someone, came flying out of the portal the Kraang came from.

Leo hardly remembered that happened next. He remembered being knocked over, and was thrown for a great distance. The turtle heard himself going through the portal and landing somewhere else. His head was pounding. Having no idea what happened, Leo barely opened one of his eyes, seeing a pizza delivery boy screaming in shock, and dropping a pizza. The boy then drove away.

The turtle felt a weight on him. All Leo wanted to do was sleep at this moment. From having a giant smoke stack fall on him, to whatever just happened, it was too much. He didn't care if anyone found him unconscious. He just wanted rest. Unfortunately Leo wouldn't get it, as someone was shaking him.

"Oi! Oi!" the voice said. "Turtle guy! Say something!"

The voice sounded around his age, which sounded promising. Hopefully a human didn't find him. Of course, he really didn't have much of an idea as to where he was. Leo groaned, feeling the weight get off of him. He shook his head and sat up. Cobalt eyes opened, and were struck with fear.

"You're not dead! That's good."

The owner of the voice was a human, mostly likely in his teens. He had shaggy black hair, and round eyes with black pupils. Under his left eye was a small scar. His clothes included a red sleeveless vest, short blue trousers with cuffs around the legs, and sandals. But probably the most defining feature was the straw hat that he was wearing atop of his head.

Leo however, wasn't really focused on that. All he knew was that somehow, a human had found him. He hadn't been out for that long had he? Still, the turtle was afraid.

"Ah!" Leo gasped, scrambling away from the human. He breathed heavily, still very worried that a human discovered him.

But the boy tilted his head in confusion. "Was it something I said?" he asked. The blue masked turtle said nothing, so the boy went on anyway.

"By the way, do you know where we are?" he asked Leo. "I'm kinda lost."

Now, it was the turtle's turn to be confused. This human wasn't scared of him? Why? And for that matter, the human didn't even seem to care about Leo's appearance! Usually if Leo and his brothers were spotted by a human (like that one time when Raph decided to scare one) they would run away in panic. But this boy...he wasn't even panicked at all!

"You're not...afraid of me?" Leo asked.

"No," he openly answered. "Plus, I think you're pretty cool looking! Being a turtle and all. Can you retract your limbs?! How long can you hold your breath?!"

Okay, Leo was officially going insane. Either that, or this was the human version of Mikey. Still, this freaked him out a little. He looked behind the boy as he was still asking him a million questions. The turtle took in his surroundings a little more, and got a vague idea of where they were.

At the moment, they were on some sort of road, on one side being the beach and on the other side being a bunch of rolling hills. But in the very distance, Leo saw something very familiar. It was the skyline of New York City. So that meant he was still in the world he called home, just on the other side of the island.

"We're in eastern Long Island," Leo answered.

The boy stopped his rant of questions. "Huh?" he said.

"You asked earlier about where we are," the turtle answered. "We're in the eastern part of Long Island. I'm not quite sure of the exact location, but I do know we're still on the island."

"I don't get it," the boy said. Just where the heck was he from?! Nevertheless, Leo told him anyway.

"Long Island," he began. "You know, New York City, the Big Apple, Manhattan…"

"Never heard of it. Are we in the Grand Line? Cause I've been to a few islands, but not this one."

Now Leo was just shocked. "Where are you from?" the turtle asked.

"The East Blue."

And that was the moment Leo knew that this boy definitely came from another dimension or something of the like, because there wasn't anywhere on Earth with a name like that. He stood up, pretty much being the same exact height as the boy in front of him.

"How did you get here?" he questioned.

The boy put his hand on his chin and tilted his head. "Hmm...Sanji wouldn't give me food, so I fished on my ship. Then I reeled in these two metal guys who had a Devil Fruit with them! They opened some weird doorway thing, and they were leaving so I stretched out my arms and tried to grab them, and…"

"Hold up," Leo stopped him. "Did you just say you stretched out your arms?"

"Yeah!" the boy answered. "Like this!"

The fruit that was recently in the Kraang's possession was a few yards away, as it had rolled down the hill. The boy noticed it and flung his arms out. That was when Leo saw something he never expected to see.

His arms really did stretch out. Like rubber!

They extended all the way towards the fruit, and grabbed it. The boy pulled it back in, and his arms returned to normal length. He chuckled, smiling wildly. All while Leo just stood there in silence, and in wonder.

"How did you do that?!" the turtle went immediately into fanboy mode.

"I'm a rubber man," he stated. Still, this wasn't enough for Leo, and he wanted to know more.

"You need to explain. Like everything," Leo said.

"Do you have any food?" the boy asked.

The turtle hummed, noting that he didn't have anything on him. It was then that he remembered that a pizza delivery boy had dropped a pizza earlier. Leo looked behind him, seeing the cardboard box. He walked over and picked it up, bringing it back. Both moved off of the road and sat on a cliff overlooking the beach.

"How about this?" he asked, lifting up the box.

Sure enough, a large sized pizza was inside, topped with pepperoni. It was still warm, thankfully. The boy sniffed it, and proceeded to take a slice. He bit into it. Immediately afterward, his face lit up in happiness.

"Mmmm!" he exclaimed, and took more.

Leo decided to take a few slices too. He had a feeling he would be here a while, asking a ton of questions. His brothers wouldn't really need him right? They could handle one or two Kraang. He bit into his slice of pizza, enjoying it. The turtle would definitely need the energy to run across the island once they were done. Both of them relaxed, until one of them spoke.

"My name is Monkey D. Luffy," the boy said.

"Hamato Leonardo."

About an hour later…

"Ehhh?! You're a leader of ninjas?!"

"You're the captain of a pirate ship?!"

In the time that had just passed, both Luffy and Leonardo had gotten to know each other very well, and were becoming fast friends. In some ways, they were different. In other ways, they were very much the same. By then, all the pizza was gone, and the turtle was amazed at how Luffy could eat so much.

For Leo at least, it felt like he met a true friend, something he really never had before. Sure, there was April and Casey, but they were closer to Donnie and Raph.

"Can you do awesome ninja stuff?!" Luffy asked him frantically. "Like throwing shurikens?! Saying Nin-nin?!"

Leo chuckled. "I'm just a ninja in training still," he said. "And we really don't say stuff like that. But I do know a few tricks."

Immediately, he threw a smoke bomb at the ground. Purple smoke appeared, and once it cleared, Leo was gone. Luffy was shocked, looking around frantically yet not finding any trace of the turtle. But a second later, purple smoke appeared behind him, and so did Leo. He threw a couple of shurikens at the ground while he was masked by the smoke, surprising Luffy.

"Woooaaahhh! So cool!" the boy exclaimed.

"That's about as much as I can do in the cool department without fighting an opponent," Leo said. He sat down next to Luffy again. "So what about you? Do you have a lot of treasure? What's your crew like? You have a ship right?!"

"We're broke," Luffy blatantly stated.

To say that Leonardo was shocked was an understatement. "What do you mean by broke?"

"We kinda spent it all on the last island…" he said, remembering how he had spent a lot of berry on food. "My ship? Ah, it's called the Going Merry! She is the best ship any captain and his crew could have!"

"Speaking of them...there's seven of us, including me! I'm the captain of the crew!" His mind drifted off into memories of his past experiences with each of his crew members.

"There's our first mate, Zoro. He's a swordsman, just like how you are kinda. He fights with three of them, and he's super strong! Zoro wants to become the world's greatest swordsman! But…" Luffy remembered how often Zoro fell asleep and got lost. "He's kinda terrible with directions and sleeps a lot."

"Then there's Nami, our navigator. She's really good, guiding us through storms that appear out of nowhere! Nami also manages the money we have and is a master thief! Though…" He thinks about all the times she hit him on the head for no reason. "She gets mad at us sometimes for some reason."

"Usopp's our sniper. And he's really great for a guy who uses just a slingshot! He's got the best aim out of anyone. If something needs to be hit, Usopp can take care of it. But he's a scaredy cat in some cases."

"Sanji's our cook! And boy is his food the greatest! I wouldn't have any other cook on my ship. He also doesn't fight with his hands, and instead he fights with his legs! Man, you should see the amazing feats Sanji's done, like he's kicked a cannonball! Though he sometimes gets distracted by women. I don't know why."

"Next, there's Chopper. He's a reindeer with human abilities, and our doctor! He can heal just about anything. He even helped cure Nami's illness! But Chopper's kinda scared a lot, and he's shy too."

"Lastly there's our newest member, Robin. She's an archaeologist, and can read ancient writing and knows a lot about history. Oh! And Robin and make limbs come out of nowhere! I don't know much else about her. I'll tell you how we met her…"

Leo listened. And all the while, he was becoming even more interested by the minute. Luffy's life seemed way more interesting than his. Of course, he was a pirate, so life for him must be full of ups and downs. Luffy got to go pretty much anywhere and everywhere, and do whatever he wanted.

It was something the blue masked turtle sometimes felt that he needed. Leo never could have that kind of freedom. He had to protect his brothers, and lead them to the best of his ability. It was what he was meant to do ever since Master Splinter trained him for it.

Yet...Leo sometimes yearned for a life of freedom. Karai had tempted him with it during one of their spars. The ability to cut loose. Live his own life. Not having to worry about taking care of others and the stress that follows. Yes, that was what Luffy had and he didn't. Freedom.

"...and my bounty's now one hundred million Berry!" Luffy finished. "So how about you?"

"Huh?" Leo questioned, barely catching onto his last sentence.

"What's your life like?" the teen asked.

"Oh…" he sighed. "Well, it's not as exciting as yours. I live in that city way over there." He pointed to New York's skyline. "Underground, so that way no humans can see me or my family."

"Why?" Luffy had to ask.

"Humans don't like seeing mutants. They think we're monsters. And worse, if we're caught, we're usually experimented on. Like blood taken. Thrown into tests of strength. They want to see how we function, and not as people. That's why I was confused by your actions earlier. You weren't afraid of me, and you're the first person to not be…"

"There's a ton of different people in my world," the boy said. "I've seen fishmen, and other types of creatures."

"And they're not discriminated against?"

"I guess it depends on what island you visit."

'Wow, makes me feel jealous,' the turtle thought. Being able to go out during the day without having to worry about anything felt like a dream.

"Anyway, there's four of us, and my father. I'm the oldest of my brothers. The leader."

"Then there's Raphael. He's my younger brother. Raph's the hothead of the team, but he's very strong. Like me, he wears a mask, but it's red."

"Donatello is my third brother and younger than Raphael. Donnie's the inventor and the doctor of the team. He wears a purple mask."

"Finally, there's Michaelangelo, my youngest brother. He's wild, but Mikey's very agile and makes us laugh. He wears an orange mask."

"We were raised under our father, Master Splinter. He used to be human up until about seventeen years ago*, when we first mutated. My brothers and I were just normal turtles, but thanks to mutagen, which is a substance that the Kraang, the guys you saw earlier, brought with them and fell all over us, we became humanoid turtles. Like I am now."

"Hold on," Luffy began. "What month were you born in?"

Leo was confused as to why he would ask something so bizarre as this, but went along with it. "We mutated in September, but I would say August?"

"Alright! I'm a few months older than you!"

"Wait a sec, you're seventeen?!"

"I was born on May 5th! Which makes me a few months older than you! Shishishi!"

Leo listened to Luffy laugh about their ages. He didn't realize that Luffy was practically the same age as him, by a few months of course. But it made an unsettling feeling rise within the turtle. Here he was, told to protect his brothers at any cost, thus resulting in the anxiety and stress that has plagued him ever since. Then there was Luffy, the same age as he was and out at sea, doing whatever he wanted. It made it sound so unfair.

"But ever since then," Leo continued. "Our father trained us in ninjutsu. And we protect the city against large threats, such as the Kraang and my family's rival clan, the Foot. My job is to lead my brothers into battle, giving them a plan and hopefully they follow it. But…"

He sighed. "They never listen to me. My brothers do whatever they want to. Even just flat out ignoring me." Luffy felt the air around the turtle get heavier.

"One time, they...Well we were training, and I decided to make it into a game because they kept complaining. But my brothers cheated, and decided to write 'Lame-o-nardo' on my katana. Even later on they didn't even apologize for it."

"Since then, I've just felt...down. None of them want me as leader anymore, I think. And if I was never chosen to be leader, then what can I do? I'm not as strong as Raph, not even close to being as smart as Donnie, and Mikey's got way more agility than I will ever have."

"I train day in and day out, trying to become stronger for them, but it just doesn't seem to work. And my brothers even ask me why I try so hard to train myself. The only time when they listen to me is when they're concerned for me."

Leo paused, noticing that he had pretty much been venting to Luffy this entire time.

"Sorry about that," he answered. "I've never really been able to say what I've felt before. Listening to you talk about your adventures, it makes me feel jealous. My brothers and I have never left the city. Actually, this is the first time I'm outside the city."

He gestured to the scenery around him. "It's beautiful out here. Not dark and dingy as it is in the city. I haven't gone to a beach before, and I certainly haven't seen fields like this either."

"I love my family, and I would do anything to protect and keep them safe, but sometimes I wish I had my own life. That I was on my own, and living how I want to. Like you. But it'll never happen. I have responsibilities that I have to take care of. And my family wouldn't like the fact that I just decided to live how I choose."

He looked at the time on his T-Phone and gasped. "Oh god, an hour?! We've been gone for that long?!"

He had to get back to his brothers. They were probably worried that he had fallen into some unknown dimension or something of the like. He stood up, while Luffy remained where he was sitting on the cliff.

"I'm sorry Luffy, but I have to go," Leo told him. "It was definitely nice meeting you, and hearing about your experiences. But my family's probably worrying about me at this point. Thanks for listening to me. I can at least help try to get you home. Your crew's probably…"

"Leo."

Luffy stood up next to him. He took off his signature straw hat. Both were the same height, so Luffy was able to look him in the eye. There was a serious look on the boy's face, but a smile was forming.

"Join my crew!" he stated, putting the straw hat on Leo.

"What?" the turtle asked. He hadn't heard wrong had he?!

"Join my crew!"

Apparently not.

The blue masked turtle stood there in shock and awe. Luffy was really asking him to join his crew! To become a pirate! This was a chance to see what the other world was like. Not only that, but this was a chance at freedom! Leo wanted to accept it, he needed to accept it, but…

"I can't Luffy," Leo answered. "Not now at least."

"Ehhhh?! But why not?!" the boy asked. "We need a ninja!"

"Well for one thing, I'm not quite as strong as you are," the turtle told him honestly, referring to the fact that the boy had superhuman abilities.

"Hmmm," Luffy hummed. He then looked over and saw the Devil Fruit on the side. So he stretched his arm and grabbed it, pulling his arm back in.

"Eat this."

Leo looked at the abnormal fruit. "What is it?" he asked.

"It's a Devil Fruit."

"I don't understand…" was all the turtle could say.

"If you eat one, it'll give you cool powers. That's how I became a rubber man! But…" Luffy paused, thinking about the downside of it. "You can't swim if you eat it."

"So if I eat this, then I won't be able to swim?" Leo asked, taking the fruit from Luffy. The boy nodded.

"So what'll happen to me if I eat it? Will my body become rubber like yours?"

Luffy shook his head. "Nah, I'm the only rubber man out there! Each fruit is different, so I don't know what'll happen."

Leo nodded, looking down at the fruit. If he ate it, then he could potentially get super abilities from it. But then...he could lose ability to swim, something that he and his brothers are known for since they are turtles. And it would definitely be noticeable to his family that something was done to him if he couldn't swim.

He needed some time to think about this. And a lot of it.

The turtle took the straw hat off and gave it back to Luffy. "If it's alright, I need some time to think it over Luffy. I can't just abandon my responsibilities and my family just like that."

"But…" Leo continued, taking the Devil Fruit from Luffy. "I'm not saying no. When the time is right, and if things really go south for me...I think I'll join you."

Luffy stared at him for a moment, and then smiled. He adjusted the straw hat on his head. Then, he held his hand out to Leo. Said turtle took it, and they shook hands.

"Then it's settled!" the pirate began. "When you're ready, come and join me! Then I'll become King of the Pirates!"

Leo nodded, smiling. Their hands parted. The turtle noticed the device on the ground that made the portal earlier. He picked it up and tapped on it. This activated it. It showed the deck of a ship. This must've been the portal that Luffy came through. The deck was somewhat small, but it looked nice. Luffy stood in front of it, ready to go through.

"I'll come through this portal when I'm ready," the turtle stated.

The boy nodded, then smiled. "Goodbye then, Leonardo." He walked through the portal, which then began to disappear.

"Hey! Next time you come, bring me more of that pizza!" Luffy shouted.

"I will!"

The portal closed, and the Kraang device dropped to the ground. The last thing Leo saw before it closed was a smiling Luffy. He picked up the device, and put it on his belt. The Devil Fruit was still in his hand, and he tucked it underneath his shell for protection, and to hide it from his family.

They couldn't know that in the future he was planning on running away from them.

Leo took one last look at the sea before him and left, starting a long trek back home.

Unfortunately when he got home, everything was a disaster.

It took him about an hour to get from one side of Long Island back to New York City. And that was after managing to sneak onto the roof of a bus. Leo didn't really want to mention his trek on foot. Yet he somewhat enjoyed his trip home, taking in as much of the scenery as he could.

As soon as he got home, the turtle found out what happened in the two hour time-span that he had missed out on. An all out fight was occurring between two of his brothers, Raph and Mikey, and the major commanders of the Foot. Not only that, but Karai was there as well!

Before the kunoichi could land a blow on his red masked brother, he blocked her sword, shielding him from the strike. To say that Raphael was surprised was an understatement. His brother just came out of nowhere!

"Leo!" Raph exclaimed. "Where the heck have you been?! We've been fighting these jerks for hours! What happened to you?!"

But Leo only smirked. He wasn't going to say anything that happened between him and Luffy earlier that evening. After all, he had made a promise to join the pirate one day.

"Nothing...happened!"

Author's Note

*Made up Devil Fruit. If anyone really knows me that well, then you probably know what ability it can give based off of my other two stories.

*I made the turtles seventeen. The show isn't that consistent with timing, but with all the events, two years sounds enough. Also did anyone know that Luffy is the same height as Leo? Dang man, that's cool.

Anyway, that's it for now! It'll remain a oneshot (because writing a full fledged story about One piece is impossible XD) But if anyone's really desperate to see a sequel, maybe another oneshot will be made in the future.

Lastly, tell me what you guys think! I love reviews! They keep me going and let me know that you guys enjoy this story! Like I said before, it'll be moved into the crossover section in about a week, so more people can enjoy it.

Until next time, See Ya Universe!

Palkia