Author's Note: Welcome back to another chapter of Leader of the Family of D. Glad you all liked the last chapter and are ready for this one because after this, we finally move into Alabasta! Also to let all the readers know, all of the Nine Demonic Pillar Generals will be on the crew before the end of Alabasta Saga and before I move forward into the Sky Island Saga to expand on the other pillar generals along with the crew as a whole, so just to let you guys know. On a final note, Read The End Chapter note for something that I need to say to you all. Now without anything else to say, let's get into this chapter.

I don't own One Piece or any crossover elements from other anime's which all belong to the respective owners.

"..." Character P.O.V.

'...' Character thoughts

"..." Attacks

'...' Narrator

Chapter 18: Territory and Doctor Acquired With A Surprise, And The Final Decision


After Luffy had beaten Wapol along with Akeno and Sanji, they all walked back inside the castle to sit down on the first floor before heading back up. So before heading in, they all had noticed the two subordinates of Wapol had taken their beaten and broken leader, and had quickly left from the area due to Luffy's words of warning. So now, as they sat down near the steps, Dr. Kureha decided to speak to break the silence.

"So, I take it that all of you had a run in with Wapol before." says Dr. Kureha to Luffy and his group.

This got Luffy to look up at the good doctor before he spoke.

"Yes, we have. Well, me and the other pillar generals that is. It was the one time me and the other nine were assigned to provide and head overall security for Levely." says Luffy as he continued. "Though when we did, it was mainly to keep certain kingdoms in check from starting unnecessary wars like with Wapol's idiotic way of doing things along with keeping Celestial Dragons out and away from the proceedings due to authorization from the higher ups." says Luffy as he continued. "Though today the walking junkyard tried to eat my ship and take the treasure on it." says Luffy explaining a bit further as Sanji spoke now.

"They wanted a fight, so we responded in kind." says Sanji now lighting a new cigarette.

With this said, Akeno noticed something about the whole fight from earlier and decided to speak on it herself.

"Though it's strange, how did they slip past the others?" asks Akeno as she still did not like that part of all this.

"Well, we know where Giyu and his group are right now, so the others may have already engaged and handled Wapol's crew with ease while being able to protect Bighorn just as promised." says Luffy as he continued. "So in my book, it seems like this whole situation is all over and we don't have to worry about anything for the time being." says Luffy as he put his arms behind his head.

"Well, you probably aren't wrong and definitely won't be hearing complaints from me." says Dr. Kureha as she spoke again. "However, I think our little friend over might not agree." says Dr. Kureha with a bottle in hand while pointing over to Chopper, who seemed a bit bummed out at not being able to fight them.

Luffy seeing this with a chuckle went over to Chopper, and placed a hand on the reindeer's shoulder. This got Chopper to come out of his thoughts on the whole situation, as he looked to Luffy as he spoke.

"Chopper, I know what that meant to you but don't be so down about it. Someone like you with a good heart shouldn't have to dirty their hands on even trying to take vengeance on scum like that. Plus it's best not to dwell on vengeance because it may consume you and your mind." says Luffy as Chopper nodded in understanding.

With this said by Luffy, it got a small smile from Dr. Kureha as he gave simple but very sound advice with much meaning behind it. So as Akeno and Sanji looked on with a small tuck of the lips, Akeno sensed something with Observation Haki and decided to speak now.

"Luffy, not only do I sense Giyu and his group coming up here by flight but I can also sense other aura's and in large numbers." says Akeno as this got everyone's attention now with Luffy speaking.

"Well, that answers the question of Wapol's subordinates being defeated." says Luffy sensing the aura's himself.

"What about the other aura's? Where are they?" asks Sanji wanting to know about that as Akeno spoke to answer him.

"They're climbing up here as we speak right now." says Akeno informing him, and the others present.

This got Luffy to stand up now and speak again as he walked towards the entrance of the castle.

"Alright, let's go to meet them outside." says Luffy as he walked along with the others not far behind him.


- Outside -

After walking outside into the snow, they all stood there waiting for a bit. So after about five to eleven minutes, Giyu, Agni, and Inosuke finally got to the top using their respective Devil Fruits to reach the summit. Once that was done, the group climbing up the mountain had finally reached the top as well. Luffy and everyone else saw the first person, and that it was Zoro, who was wearing a different coat from the one that he originally wore when arriving on the island. So now, Luffy decided to speak first to greet everyone now as they walked up.

"Perfect timing guys." says Luffy with a smile liking how both groups reached the top.

As Luffy said this, he watched the others along with Zoro's group come up to the top now, as Giyu, Agni, and Inosuke were walking up towards Luffy as well. So with this being said, Zoro decided to be the first in speaking now to greet his captain.

"Hey Luffy." says Zoro greeting him as he walked up.

As Zoro greeted his captain, Luffy nodded and waited for the others to reach him and his first mate. So turning to see that group, they both saw Giyu and his group walking up now as Inosuke was angry about something as he spoke on it to himself.

"Damn it all! I can't believe we missed all the action!" says Inosuke being angry at the fact that he missed the fight.

Once this was said, it got Agni to laugh some as he spoke to calm his friend and brother in all but blood.

"Hahahahahah! Calm down Inosuke, I bet we'll get some action sooner down the line. After all, I live for a good fight." says Agni reassuring him while itching for a good fight as well.

As this was said by Inosuke and Agni, Giyu remained silent as his group finally reached Luffy and Zoro with both turning to nod at the group. Luffy for his part remembered something that was odd about all of this, and then turned back to Zoro with the purpose of speaking to ask a question.

"So I'm noticing this just now Zoro, I see you got off the ship. How did that happen?" asks Luffy curious as Giyu decided to speak now.

"Actually, I'm wondering about that myself." says Giyu curious as well.

With this said by the two, it got the attention of both Agni and Inosuke as Zoro started to sweat a bit as he spoke to answer truthfully, knowing there was no way or loophole excuse to get out of this with a lie.

"Well...I decided to go for a swim in the water for training and in the process...I got lost." says Zoro with a sigh while being a bit ashamed at first, though that quickly changed as he saw the looks on his crew mates faces.

The moment the swordsman said these words for an explanation to why he was off the ship, Luffy, Giyu, Agni, and Inosuke all had deadpanned looks on their faces. Not even bothering to say a word about what their crew-mate just told them, as Zoro got a tick mark on his forehead from this and spoke heatedly with anger.

"What the hell are you all looking at me like that for?!" asks Zoro angry now, as Agni decided to speak for the group now.

"Well, this is you were talking about, Zoro." says Agni with the deadpan expression on his face as he continued. "You literally have no sense of direction, and it says a lot." says Agni still having the same expression on his face.

"Yep." says Luffy, Giyu, and Inosuke as they all were agreeing with Agni as Zoro spoke again to explain something else.

"You know what, never mind that! Anyway, after I got out of the water, I ended up walking through the snow for a bit to find a town nearby when some of Wapol's subordinates were attacking it, so I decided to jump in and help the people of the town." says Zoro as he continued his story. "After that, this guy by the name of Dalton along with Usopp, Lily, and Vivi showed up, and wanted to come up here because they wanted to pursue Wapol, who apparently used the attacks on the nearby villages as a diversion to slip passed us undetected." says Zoro, finishing up for Giyu to speak now.

"So, I can assume that not only were the attacks a diversion but also the snow as well considering it's a perfect way to disappear without a trace in the chaos. Making it practically impossible for you all to find him." says Giyu making his hypothesis on what he had just heard from Zoro.

"Yeah, apparently from what Dalton told me and the others, it's their own personal way of doing things in terms of strategy. Using the snow as a way to cover their movement, and camouflage themselves in it entirely before engaging their opponent in a surprise attack." says Zoro causing everyone in the group to nod.

As they had their conversation on this matter of how Wapol slipped past everyone, Vivi along with Usopp and Lily had finally got their bearings after reaching the top of the mountain. So as they decided to walk up to Luffy's group along with Sanji and Akeno doing the same to meet everyone, Usopp was the first to open his mouth for a question in speaking distance of Luffy.

"Luffy, how's Nami? Will she be okay?" asks Usopp, who was a bit worried for the navigator of the crew, as were Vivi and Lily along with everyone else that didn't know about Nami's condition right now.

With this being said by the sniper of the crew, it got Luffy to smile as he spoke to answer the question on Nami's current status and put their minds all at ease.

"Recovering as we speak. Nami got the proper help she needed, so she'll be fine thanks to Doctorine over there." says Luffy pointing over to the woman responsible for helping Nami.

This got everyone, who didn't know to nod with a smile at the good news and look over to the doctor while having their own thoughts about not expecting her to look that young for the great age that she was while Zoro for his part, recognized her off the bat for his own reasons. So with everyone gathered, Inosuke decided to speak on something he had noticed while coming up here with his group.

"Luffy on the way up, we noticed that Wapol's subordinates were in full retreat off this island. So I can assume you, Sanji, and Akeno took care of it, am I right?" asks Inosuke, as he came to a conclusion of his own, as Akeno spoke for her group with a smile.

"That we did!" says Akeno feeling satisfied with how things turned out while Inosuke was still bummed out.

"Damn it all. I swear, I'd better get a good fight soon." says Inosuke under his breath as Akeno chuckled a bit.

"Well, Luffy did most of the work in that department while we helped in positioning the other two goons with Wapol to finish the fight." says Sanji.

With this being said by Sanji, Luffy turned to Giyu's group now to speak.

"What were you able to find by the way?" asks Luffy wanting answer to the previous orders he gave before leaving for the mountain in dragon form.

Giyu got a more serious look and spoke now to give an answer.

"Some abandoned towns, along with wreckage everywhere. Traces of darkness too. As you can assume already, he was here." says Giyu as Luffy nodded for Agni to speak now.

"The amount of destruction done in those towns had to come from more than one person, so which means he has a crew." says Agni.

"From the damage indents we were able to find, he has a navigator, a helmsman, a sniper, and a doctor on his crew. All capable of demonstrating the amount of destruction done here." says Inosuke.

Luffy nodded at this information as it got the attention of Dalton. Who was nearby in hearing distance, as he had become shocked at what he heard about Wapol with wide eyes as he spoke.

"You were able to beat Wapol?" asks Dalton, who was limping over to the crew.

This got Luffy and everyone else to turn to the man, as Luffy decided to speak for an answer.

"That I did, as I also had two of my crew members with me." says Luffy answering him.

This response from Luffy got many shocked expressions from both Dalton and the villagers, who had decided to come up with the Dalton and the members of Luffy's crew.

"Though the two subordinates that were with Wapol, weren't even a challenge." says Luffy thinking about it as Dalton spoke again.

"You mean Chess and Kuromarimo?" asked Dalton remembering the two.

"If you're talking about a chess themed jester and an afro wearing man, then yes." says Sanji as the villagers heard it.

With this being said, it became clear to the villagers that Luffy and his crew meant business if they were able to beat Wapol and force a full retreat of the monarch's crew. Though, they didn't need to hear that considering their strength. So now, Luffy turned to his crew and decided to speak as he remembered something.

"Oh! I almost forgot." says Luffy getting his crew members attention, as he stretched his hand out to grab Chopper not too far away, who was hiding and bringing the reindeer over to him as he spoke again. "Guys, I'd like you all to meet Chopper. Who is a reindeer and also a doctor. Not only is he a doctor but he's also able to transform and fight." says Luffy with a smile.

This information peeked the crew's interest as Lily spoke.

"Really?" asks Lily seeing the little guy with a smile, as the crew went to Chopper's level to speak.

Doing this caused Chopper to blush uncontrollably from the humans in awe of him instead of fear. So as that happened, Dalton seemed to finally succumb to his injuries and collapse to his knees and then on to the ground. Causing everyone of the villagers to rush over to the man and check on him, Dr. Kureha saw this herself with a sigh and decided to speak in a commanding but calm tone.

"Take him to the medical ward, so I can get him patched up." says Dr. Kureha, who wanted it done quickly.

As she said this to the villagers, Dr. Kureha started to head back into the castle herself, most likely to get things ready to work on Dalton. So before heading in themselves, Luffy turned to Giyu, Agni, and Inosuke to speak now on something.

"We'll talk more about your findings later before we leave to set sail." says Luffy as the three pillar generals nodded.

With this being said, Luffy and the crew decided to start walking back inside the castle with Dr. Kureha to also check on Nami's condition as well. So when they entered the castle to head up the stairs, they all saw Nami being dragged up ahead of their group alongside Nojiko and Sanji, who had a bump on his head. Upon seeing this, some of the crew spoke amongst themselves.

"Was she trying to escape?" asks Agni seeing this while being generally curious.

"That's what it looks like." says Usopp answering him with a sigh, as everyone headed up the stairs now.


- A Few Moments Later -

When they arrived back in the room, Luffy went to sit by the bed Nami was on as the villagers of the island carried Dalton inside to the spare bed near Nami's own. So upon doing this, Dr. Kureha decided to then treat Dalton's wounds while Luffy waited for Inosuke to arrive back up the mountain from the ship with a few things that he would need. Luffy for his part didn't need to wait that long, as Inosuke arrived back in the room with Agni as they both held large bags in their hands along with one strapped to Inosuke's back.

So upon seeing this, Luffy decided to speak and give out orders.

"Alright guys, lay the bags by the wall. And Inosuke, give me the one that's on your back." says Luffy giving out his orders.

This order by Luffy, got the two members of the crew to lay the bags down by the wall as ordered of them by their captain. Once this was done, Inosuke came over and gave Luffy the bag he wanted. Luffy then turned to Dr. Kureha and walked over to lay the bag down on the ground next to her with a thud of metal as he spoke.

"That's yours. Payment for helping my friend as promised." says Luffy being serious as Dr. Kureha nodded with a smile.

With this said and done by Luffy. Dalton, who was still looking at the other large bags decided to speak and ask a question of his own about it.

"What's in the other bag?" asks Dalton from his bed, as he laid there.

"Flags, more specifically flags Usopp made up for me." says Agni causing Dalton to nod in understanding, but still very confused as Inosuke spoke next.

"Once you're all patched up, have your people hang them up around this country. Once they have been hung up proudly, it will display a clear message to Marines and other pirate crew that this entire place as a whole is under our crew's protection and a part of our territory." says Inosuke taking the boar mask off his head.

This got everyone to look over to Luffy and the crew with shocked looks as Dalton spoke in a raised voice.

"Just hold on for a moment! We may be grateful to you for taking care of our disgraceful and former leader, but as it stands we can't live under a pirate crew. The country is allied with the World Government and protected by their sea force known as the Marines. They won't allow it." says Dalton being serious on the matter.

"Just how they allowed Wapol to rule over this nation like a fool, unchecked while knowing what the man was up to?" asks Giyu a bit amused as this shocked the villagers present.

"How about the fact, they didn't even send Marines to aid the country when more pirates attacked? Which was the reason why you were all so hostile towards us in the first place." says Agni tiredly while speaking the truth.

"The world's strongest political organization and they refuse to enforce law, and order where it's needed to be enforced the most amongst their affiliated nations." says Inosuke looking annoyed.

"And with this said by my crew mates, I have to agree with what they just said to you, Dalton. Being a member of the World Government doesn't really mean a damn thing. Especially not to those bubble headed idiots living at the top of the Red Line." says Luffy as he let Akeno continue this time.

"There are nations out there under the protection of pirates, namely under two of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The first being Dressrosa, the second being Alabasta and both have warlords protecting these nations for the wrong reasons." says Akeno speaking truth as she let Luffy continue again.

"Then there's Fish-Man Island also known as the Ryugu Kingdom. Also being under the protection of another well known pirate from the New World, who is known as Whitebeard, as he is actually doing it for the right reasons. And as of 200 years ago leading up to the present day, as in right now, they're kingdom has been and still is a member of the World Government." says Luffy finishing up.

"Let it be known that what our captain is saying is the truth, you've been members of the World Government even when Wapol had fled the country like a damn coward for his own foolish reasons. Not to mention that because he is still a noble, Wapol had power." says Giyu as he continued. "Enough power as a member of the Levely to complain to the World Government about the situation of his nation." says Giyu again being serious as he continued. "And considering what has happened here, it would be considered revolt, hell it's even considered treason against your leader along with revolution in the eyes of those bastards. Something that even the World Government and Marines will not tolerate. I'm sure you people wouldn't even know how they'll respond in kind." says Giyu finishing up.

With this said by the pillar generals, Dalton took the time to consider what they had all said. It became fully clear that Luffy, and the pillar generals of the crew knew the inner workings of both the World Government and Marines. Not to mention that Dalton now knew who these individuals were, along with hearing the stories about the nine pillars, as it became clear to him they were speaking truth. If they were once known as the sword and shield of both the Marines and World Government, then it meant they knew exactly what the response would be.

"How do we know what your saying is the truth and isn't a lie?" asked one of the villagers of the island.

This got a sigh from Luffy and the other pillar generals as he turned to Giyu and nodded.

"The White City of Flevance and Ohara are a start. Not to mention the operation that was in the works that caused our ultimate desertion." says Giyu being fully serious as his expression said it all.

When these words were spoken, both Dr. Kureha and Dalton's eyes widened along with the crew because they had heard the first so many times while growing up. Though, some of the villagers were confused.

"What about Flevance and Ohara? One died out because of Amber Lead Syndrome while the other was attempting to use forbidden knowledge for global destruction." says one of the older villagers.

"That's the official statement the World Government issued. I'm not really surprised by how many people believe it." says Agni

"Yep." says Luffy with a sigh as he continued. "Firstly, the reason why Flevance was destroyed the way it was is because a hundred years ago when the industry came to be, the World Government and the royal family of Flevance discovered that Amber Lead was poisonous, but chose not to inform the country of its harmful nature to gain profit from the industry. Not to mention that there was a cure to stop it along with a safer way to mine it while making it safe for everyone." says Luffy informing them of that while shocking them as one cocky village decided to speak.

"You got any proof that confirms this?" asks the smug and cocky villager with a grin on his face while pissing off Luffy's crew, as the man himself spoke.

"My cousin being the only living survivor of Flevance." says Luffy with a serious expression while shocking everyone in the room to their core at this information as he continued. "Not to mention being unaffected by Amber Lead Syndrome and is actually a very healthy young man." says Luffy finishing.

Once he was done speaking, Giyu decided to speak now for him.

"Then there's Ohara. While the people of that island are widely regarded as criminals for studying the Poneglyphs, in truth they are not." says Giyu as he continued upon this. "Considering all they wanted to do and tried to do was study the Void Century in its entirety to fill up the missing pages and pieces in history. So instead, both the World Government and Marines decided their existence in the world was too much of a threat and decided to exterminate them by destroying the island with everyone upon it. As it's a common known fact that the World Government was founded directly after the events of the Void Century." says Giyu finishing up.

"That means the men, women, children, and the elderly. All alike on the island of Ohara was destroyed in a single attack by bombardment. Not a trace left. And all the knowledge of the world that they had taken upon themselves to record in books was destroyed along with them." says Inosuke being grim about it.

Not a word was spoken from all of this, as the utter shock from these truths sinked in for everyone. The Straw Hat crew face of shock said it all for the ones that didn't know this along with the villagers of this island. No one could refute such truth spoken here, along with the question on everyone's mind remaining, what could have been so bad and utterly devastating for the Nine Demonic Pillar Generals to defect in such a way that led to the burning of Mariejois and the killing of those Celestial Dragons?

So as everyone was trying to contemplate this and let it sink in fully on what was just said, Dalton decided to speak now.

"If we do agree to this protection of yours, what do you and your crew gain from this?" asks Dalton, who broke the silence as Luffy decided to speak now.

"Not much for the time being. Right now, all I seek is to gain territory and protect it along with building a reputation. And protect it we will, I hold my word to that." says Luffy as Dalton nodded for him only to continue. "And like you said before, this place was known for producing the many of the best doctors on the Grand Line along with medicine, so that's an added bonus for when it returns to this country." says Luffy as he continued to finish. "All the details will be hashed out with you at a later time, so you don't have to worry so much, Dalton." says Luffy.

When Luffy said this, it got Dalton to become very confused as he spoke to ask a question.

"Why me? Why hash it all out with me in particular?" asks Dalton still confused, as Luffy spoke.

"Because these people trust you. So the rule of this kingdom should lie with someone the people trust, not me of course considering I'm the one who's supposed to be protecting this island, not ruling over it." says Luffy with a smile as he continued. "So, will you hang the flags or not?" asks Luffy.

This got Dalton to think for a few moments on everything he had just heard, as Luffy kept proving himself to be someone, who did not do everything out of force and violence and was proving to be a reasonable pirate. Which was rare, so when Dalton came to his decision, he looked over to Luffy and spoke for his answer.

"Alright, we'll put the flags up." says Dalton causing Luffy to nod while the crew smiled. "If this will stop or at least prevent future attacks, then we'll go along with it." says Dalton.

"Good. Now, can you tell me more about this crew that attacked here recently?" asks Luffy wanting to know about it as Usopp spoke now.

"Actually I can tell you Luffy, the captain of this crew called himself by the name of Blackbeard. He was able to attack the whole country with his crew of five. We also found out from Dalton that instead of defending his country, Wapol decided to flee it entirely when he found out the strength of this small crew." says Usopp informing Luffy, who nodded at this information.

'So all in all from both Giyu's group and Usopp's confirmation, he was here. But what in the hell could he have possibly come here for? Was it just to gain attention or for something else?' thought Luffy as he decided to speak now. "It's fine, if they come attacking again then we'll handle it and end them." says Luffy being fully serious.

With this said, Luffy turned to Nami and decided to speak now.

"How are you feeling overall, Nami?" asks Luffy.

As he asked her this question, Nami smiled and spoke to answer it.

"I'm feeling better, Luffy. A lot better." says Nami with a smile as she spoke again. "Not to mention, I'm able to move now. Which means we really should be leaving to get Vivi back to her home." says Nami being serious now.

"Well then, we should be able to leave considering I already paid Dr. Kureha. Even though the price was robbery at best." says Luffy as he stood up while not liking the price he had to pay.

"You said you could pay, so who am I to argue with the words of another." says Dr. Kureha with a smile, making Luffy's eyebrow twitch as she went to stand up and turn to Dalton now to speak again. "Now Dalton, you would know where the key to the arsenal is right?" asks Dr. Kureha to Dalton while surprising him.

"The arsenal? Why do you need to get in there?" asked Dalton, who was surprised by the question, as Dr. Kureha spoke again.

"That's really none of your business, now where is it?" asks Dr. Kureha in a tone that was more demanding.

"Well it's probably gone, considering Wapol always carried that key with him for safekeeping to keep it secured." says Dalton as he continued. "And in the best guess I can give you, the key is still likely with him. Far off the island by now." says Dalton answering truthfully.

"Yep, he's probably not wrong." says Sanji thinking about it now.

"Damn, what a shame." says Dr. Kureha, as Inosuke turned to Luffy and spoke.

"Luffy I can go and cut it down, or someone else like Zoro can." says Inosuke suggesting to Luffy, who was already smiling and had a chuckle in his voice.

"That won't be necessary." says Luffy with a smile on his face while getting everyone's attention while confusing them at the same time.

Agni saw the smile with a curious look as he spoke

"And why is that?" asks Agni curious.

"Because someone already beat us to the punch of breaking the door down." says Luffy surprising them as he spoke again. "Isn't that right, Alizeh?" asks Luffy with his smile still there while making the other pillars generals perk up fully at what he just said.

When he said this, the voice of a person nearby decided to make themselves known

"Yep Luffy, right on the nail." says a soft female voice at the doorway for everyone to look.

"Alizeh!" says Giyu, Agni, Akeno, and Inosuke happily as the person in question spoke again.

"Hey guys!" says Alizeh with a smile and a wave.

Alizeh is a tall woman that stands at 179 cm, with pinkish-white skin tone and large breasts. She has very long pink straight hair that almost touches the ground, reddish eyes, and pink eyebrows. Alizeh due to being a half Mink has distinctive pink furry ears that protrude from her hair and resemble fox-ears while having regular human ears as well, and a long and thick pink furry tail. She is usually seen wearing a short red dress with long and wide pinkish-white sleeves and a pinkish outline on the top while wearing white shorts underneath. On her feet she wears red sandals with straps that go in part up her legs.

On her right ring finger is her ring, which was a pink and bore the kanji for "Fox" (狐, kitsune) as she also possessed her own unique Divine Grade sword like her other generals but what was unique about her's was that it could take the form of not only a katana but an ornate four section-staff with the ends being spikes as it was called Divine Fox Princess. Alizeh like her fellow generals, she still had SWORD's signature tattoo on her left Deltoid just like theirs that resemble a black sword with a small black flame-like motif.

So now with her greeting to her old friend out of the way, Luffy was the first to speak to Alizeh now.

"It's good to see you again, sis-" begins Luffy, who was cut off by being tackled in a hug by Alizeh, as she wrapped her legs around his torso while hugging the rest of Luffy's upper body, as his head was being suffocated in her chest.

"Hahahaha! Were really all back together again! It felt like ages but were finally getting the whole crew back together! Well, I mean mostly but I really missed you guys." says Alizeh still hugging Luffy with a smile as he got his head free for air to smile and speak.

"I missed you too, sister." says Luffy as Alizeh got off him now for Zoro to speak.

"So, this another one of your old friends Luffy?" asks Zoro curious as his captain turned to speak now.

"Yep, guys I want you all to meet my sister and another one of my family in all but blood, Kurama D. Alizeh. She's a half Mink and also a very good fighter. Welcome her and get to know her." says Luffy introducing her, as Alizeh waved.

Everyone on the crew nodded while the pillars of the crew were all happy to see her again. Though, Sanji was trying not to have a heart attack at the moment. So as this little reunion was over for the time being, Luffy turned to Dr. Kureha and spoke again.

"Well, that handles your problem for the arsenal door." says Luffy as Dr. Kureha nodded.

"Good. Alright you lot, come with me. I have something I need you need to do." says Dr. Kureha scaring the villagers present while walking to leave, before they made the wise choice in listening to the woman and chose to follow her.

As the villagers cleared out along with Dr. Kureha, Luffy turned to Nami and the rest of the crew now as he spoke again.

"Nami, get yourself ready to go because I'll be carrying you. Inosuke, fly back to the ship and get her prepared but come back. Giyu, grab whatever provisions you can that the people of this island will be able to give us." says Luffy in a tone of command.

"Luffy, we can't just leave yet! Nami still needs to rest." says Vivi from her spot in the room as Luffy spoke.

"Well good because we are going to have a doctor on board the ship anyway." says Luffy calmly ignoring her concern on the situation of his orders.

"So if I had to guess our doctor is the reindeer?" asks Zoro, who already picked up on it.

"Yep! He'll be our doctor on the crew." says Luffy answering Zoro.

"What?" asks Chopper in surprise while looking at Luffy. "I can't join your crew." says Chopper in a sad tone.

"Oh sure you can, plus it'll be fun to have you along with us." says Luffy with a smile.

As Luffy said these words, it got Chopper to have a bit of resolve as he breathed in to speak now.

"I can't...I'm not a human! I'm a reindeer with antlers and hooves! I even have a blue nose!" says Chopper yelling at Luffy as he continued. "Maybe I do want to be a pirate, but I can't ever be one of you! I'm not human! I'm a monster and I can't be your friend and I can't become a pirate on your ship!" says Chopper yelling as he continued.

"Listen, I just want to say, thank you. I appreciate you asking me to join your ship, that was really nice so thank you." says Chopper as everyone looked on with a sad expression. "I'm going to stay here for now, but if you wanted to, you can stop by here again." says Chopper finishing.

Luffy for his part chuckled a bit as he spoke.

"Just shut up, and let's go already." says Luffy with a calm smile on his face.

When this was said by Luffy for Chopper to hear, he had finally realized something as tears came from his eyes, and he started crying loudly. As the others on the crew got a smile while Zoro spoke on something.

"Most people don't make friends by telling someone to shut up." says Zoro under his breath.

"Oh please, Luffy did that to Inosuke when they first met. Though, those two fought for a bit before they finally stopped to actually have a conversation without fighting." says Giyu remembering it.

"I can speak without fighting." says Inosuke defending himself.

"Yea...now that is." says Giyu as he made a vein pop out on Inosuke's face.

So now, Luffy for his part decided to speak out to his crew a final time.

"Alright, let's get outside now and get everything ready for our departure." says Luffy as everyone nodded and began walking outside.

As everyone was clearing out of the room except for Nami while talking to Alizeh, Luffy turned to Dalton again and handed him one of his personal Transponder Snails with a number only to speak on it.

"If there's a problem that arises here again, then punch that number into the snail." says Luffy informing the man.

"I will. Once again, thank you for everything that you and your crew have done for us." says Dalton with a smile on his face.

Luffy nodded with a smile as he now turned to Nami, and walked over to pick her up bridal style to leave the room now.


- On The Staircase -

So as Luffy was walking down the staircase with Nami in his arms, Luffy decided to speak on something.

"You know, I'm glad you're better. You had us all worried for you." says Luffy with a smile while letting her know of this, as Nami decided to speak now.

"Yea, I guess I did." says Nami a bit embarrassed as she spoke again with a small but gloomy smile. "Sorry for giving you all a scare like that." says Nami apologizing with the sad smile on her face.

As she said this, Luffy noticed her face along with her true emotions on the matter and sighed a bit. So, he decided to take a new approach and place the straw hat on his head to now be on Nami's head as he spoke again while surprising her with the action.

"Don't ever apologize for something out of your control, Nami. All that matters is your okay and back to being healthy again. After all, I'd do anything for a friend and a member of my crew." says Luffy with a warm smile.

This warm smile got a small blush from Nami, as she looked away quickly while nodding. It was here that Nami went to speak again while coming to a decision on something.

"Yea, just...thanks for everything, Luffy." says Nami very grateful, as Luffy decided to answer her.

"Don't mention it at-" begins Luffy, who had become shocked with wide eyes at something.

The reason why he was so shocked was because Nami decided to give Luffy a kiss on the forehead. So when she removed her lips from the spot, he still had a shocked look ever present on his face with wide eyes. So when Nami saw the look, she got a small chuckle as she spoke again.

"That'll be my way of thanking you, captain." says Nami with a smile.

Luffy nodded with a small smile on his face at these words and decided to walk quickly down the stairs to get outside with the others, and for Nami to place Luffy's hat back on his head.


- Later, Outside -

After getting outside with the others, Luffy decided to put Nami down and let her stand now. As the entire crew was all standing outside waiting for Chopper to arrive, as Giyu and Inosuke were preparing something for their departure along with the provisions they were able to get for the ship. So while waiting, everyone was talking amongst themselves while getting to know Alizeh.

"Nami, are you sure you're okay?" asks Usopp a bit concerned.

"I sure am." says Nami with a smile, and a small unnoticeable blush on her face. "I feel great, not to mention I'm ready to get back to navigating the ship." says Nami as Nojiko put an arm around her.

"I'm just glad to have my sister back to being healthy again." says Nojiko with a smile as Alizeh decided to speak now.

"Yes indeed." says Alizeh nodding as she spoke again. "I've gotta say Luffy, this is quite the crew we have. Honestly, it feels good to be back together and not having to hide anymore while being able to nap at the same time." says Alizeh as she yawned and curled up a bit.

This being said by Alizeh got Agni to become a bit irritated as he spoke on something that had been annoying him.

"And you thought the best place to take your nap was to have me hold you as some sort of warm winter pillow?" asks Agni still annoyed by the fact that he was even doing this for her, as Alizeh herself spoke up to answer him.

"Just be quiet, and heat yourself up a bit." says Alizeh with a content closed eye smile.

"Tch! Just be lucky I'm not dropping you into the snow." says Agni using his Devil Fruit to heat up his body more, as Sanji sighed.

"Such a rude thing to say to a lady! You should treat her like a delicate flower!" says Sanji yelling as he heard the words that Agni said.

"Oh just shut it! You perverted cook!" says Agni angrily as Sanji sulked a bit.

With this said by Agni, it got Zoro to laugh his ass off with Inosuke and Giyu laughing alongside him. For Luffy it got him to chuckle a bit with a smile as he spoke.

"Well with Alizeh here now, that means we only have three more people to pick up amongst the generals." says Luffy as he continued. "And considering the amount of provision we were able to get from the people on this island, starting today the drinks are gonna be better too, right Agni?" asks Luffy to his fellow general.

Agni for his part sighed with a small smile on that as it also caught Zoro's interest, as the pillar general of fire spoke to answer Luffy.

"Right, I'll do my best in making them." says Agni, as Zoro nearby got a grin now knowing the drinks would be made by someone of the crew.

With this being said by both Agni, Zoro remembered something crucial as he decided to speak on.

"Luffy, considering this island is our territory and under our protection, just how are we gonna be able to protect it?" asks Zoro deciding to bring it up now, as Luffy spoke up to answer.

"Well when we reach and complete our business in Alabasta, we'll be meeting with some people that live in the harsher sand dunes of the country that may be able to help us in protecting our acquired territory along the Grand Line and amongst other things." says Luffy as he continued. "Honestly, it depends if they are willing to hear me out on what I have to say along with how I'm gonna convince them." says Luffy as Zoro nodded.

"Alabasta has the means of making ships along with this, the group of individuals we have to meet there have been out to sea before. So we don't really need to worry about training them or anything." says Agni as Luffy nodded along with Zoro nodding as well once more at this information.

As this conversation was going on between them, Giyu and Inosuke had finally finished what they were working on. It was a platform of hard frozen solid water with wind being pushed up from under it to make it hover from the ground. So with this done, Luffy stood up to speak.

"Alright, everyone on the platform!" says Luffy giving out the order.

"What about Chopper?" asks Vivi wondering why he wasn't here yet.

"Oh he's coming, which is why we need to get on the platform now." says Luffy as everyone nodded and followed the orders given by their captain.

As everyone went to stand on the platform, Inosuke went to speed up the wind underneath it as they could all here screams coming from inside the castle.

"Something tells me that isn't good. Not at all." says Lily hearing it as Luffy spoke.

"Yep, not at all." says Luffy as he continued to speak for another reason. "The minute Chopper gets out here to us Inosuke, get us away from the area at full speed." says Luffy sensing what was coming as he was sweating a bit.

Inosuke nodded only for Chopper to come running out at full speed while pulling a sled with Dr. Kureha chasing him not far behind with all sorts of weapons in her hands. The scene before their eyes kind of made them pale as Chopper spoke.

"Guys! Hurry up and…" begins Chopper only to see the crew all group together nearby with Luffy yelling now.

"Come on Chopper! Hurry up before she starts aiming at us!" says Luffy causing Chopper to pick up speed and run towards the crew.

Luffy stretched his hand out to grab Chopper, and pull him to his group. Once that was done, Inosuke made a hand motion that made them fly off quickly while leaving behind an angry Dr. Kureha. As the crew was still shocked by what they just saw.


- With The Crew -

As Luffy and the others were flying through the air on the platform, he decided to signal Inosuke in making them descend to the ground. So when Inosuke got the signal, he went to channel his powers in descending to the ground gradually while not far from the ship. The platform landed for them all to step off and start walking while Luffy placed a hand on Chopper's shoulder, considering the doctor of the crew now had a sad expression on his face not trying to let the tears in his eyes fall.

As they walked through the snow towards the ship, everyone could now hear something like the sound of cannons being fired fill the air all around the island, as this caused everyone to be on guard.

"Cannons." says Alizeh hearing it as she went from tired to serious now. "It's coming from the mountain castle." says Alizeh focusing her ears on where it's coming from.

As everyone was ready with Agni speaking now.

"Please tell me they are not firing in our direction." says Agni tired of being fired at.

"No they're not. If that were the case, you would hear whistling coming towards us followed by an explosion." says Giyu coming to an answer.

With this being said by Giyu, the next thing they knew was that the sky was being lit up by a bright color of pink. This caused everyone to stop being on guard, as they looked in awe of what was in the sky above the Drum Rockies with pink smoke surrounding it as well with Chopper being focused on it the most with tears in his eyes.

"It's beautiful." says Nami seeing it in awe.

"Yes, it is." says Alizeh seeing it herself with a smile, as Luffy got a grin.

"It's like a bunch of cherry blossoms." says Zoro seeing it in awe.

"Yeah…" says Giyu and Agni agreeing alongside him.

"Heh, Quite the send off. Don't you think Chopper?" asks Luffy as Chopper was outright crying not being able to contain his emotions at the sight of his former mentor's dream coming true.

"Your dream came true. It finally came true..." says Chopper while he cried at the sight with a thought. 'Thank you for everything Doctorine. I'll make sure to make my dream come true as well now.' thought Chopper with conviction as he cried.

As this happened, Luffy let Chopper have his moment and decided to speak out now.

"Everyone get on the ship, get the provisions put away and prepare to set sail!" says Luffy yelling with a smile.

Everyone nodded and did as told of them by getting on the ship now. As Giyu and Zoro were raising the anchors while Lily, Agni and Inosuke were preparing the sails. While everyone else was helping in putting away the provisions for the journey ahead of them. As everything was being put away by the crew, Chopper finally got himself together and ran to get on the ship. Once he was on board, Chopper decided to help the crew in putting away the last bit of provisions.

So now as everything was prepared for their departure, Luffy gave the signal for them to set sail for Alabasta. With the course already set and the ship calmly sailing across the water, Luffy saw Sanji walk up to him with the purpose of speaking.

"I'm gonna get started on dinner. Considering we had a long day." says Sanji to Luffy as went off towards the kitchen.

"Dinner huh? Make sure it's a big one…" says Luffy as he continued. "Because tonight we celebrate Chopper and Alizeh joining our crew!" says Luffy raising his voice as everyone chanted in agreement.

"Right! I'll get started then." says Sanji with a smile while fully leaving for the kitchen.


- On The Open Ocean -

As the crew was sailing across the water while still in sight of Drum Island, everyone was starting to relax now from the long day. As Luffy walked down from the upper deck onto the main deck to see how the crew was doing. So as he did this, he noticed Chopper was looking around frantically for only to scream while causing everyone to look over towards him with Luffy deciding to speak.

"What's wrong Chopper?" asks Luffy noticing the look on his face of utter disbelief and defeat.

"It's just I was in such a hurry that I left my medical bag behind." says Chopper in a tone of defeat and worry.

Luffy and everyone heard this along with Nami walking up now, as the captain of their ship spoke while doing something.

"You mean this?" asks Luffy using Asura's Inventory to bring forth a small blue bag, that got Chopper's eyes to widen.

"Yes! That's my bag but how did you get it?" asks Chopper as he took the bag from Luffy while being grateful.

"I found it by seeing it in the back of the sled as me and Luffy came out of the castle. So Luffy decided to hold on to it just in case." says Nami as she smiled. "Looks like it all turned out well in the end." says Nami smiling at Chopper.

"How? Because I don't even remember leaving it there." says Chopper, who was still confused about that part.

"Huh? Then how did it end up there?" asks Luffy still trying to figure it out for himself.

As he and Chopper were thinking about it, Nami chuckled a bit as she spoke to get their attention.

"Well, it looks like Doctorine must've known what you were planning to do, even before you had decided to leave the island with us." says Nami softly as she continued while looking back at the island. "What a kind woman." says Nami with a warm smile on her face.

With this said by Nami, Luffy got a warm smile himself at knowing the good doctor cared for Chopper under all that chasing she did. So with this little problem solved, the entire crew started to celebrate with drinks and food to welcome their new crew mates on the way to Alabasta now.


- Later -

After a good night of celebrating and now being inbound for the desert kingdom of Alabasta, we find Luffy in his captain's quarters along with Giyu, Agni, Inosuke, Akeno, and Alizeh. Discussing everything along with the current situation surrounding their course. As Luffy finished speaking on all of it.

"And there you have it. Everything up to this point that we faced so far along with all of the current situation before us now, Alizeh." says Luffy informing her.

"I see. Well, this is bad. Not only everything that you learned from Marco. But if Teach actually knows the true capabilities that Devil Fruit possesses then it won't be good for the near future as a whole, hell it might even tip the scales of the world." says Alizeh with a serious expression.

"I know, I know. It's not really something I wanted to hear myself or even thought of hearing." says Luffy being calm.

"It shouldn't be something we have to hear at all." says Alizeh having an angry look on her face as she spoke again. "When you met the bastard, you should have killed him on the spot. Leaving him alive was too great a risk, you know that as much as I do." says Alizeh with narrowed eyes.

"Oh I do, believe me I do. But you need to realize one thing as much as everyone else in this room has so far, he used Whitebeard to hide behind the man's power. Not to mention using that said power of a Yonko to get closer to what he was actually after by just being a member of the crew. Hell, even I feel stupid for not seeing it sooner." says Luffy just a pissed about it.

"Alright you two, calm down. As it stands, we can't do anything about it right now except for trying to find Ace and Sabo." says Giyu trying to diffuse the situation.

"No Giyu, she's right. If our ancestors had killed that traitorous family of our clan instead of exiling them, then we wouldn't be dealing with this now." says Agni thinking about.

"Then someone else just would have picked up the pieces instead of it being Teach. Like Giyu said, it's better not to dwell on the past." says Akeno calmly as Luffy spoke again.

"Yes, you're right Akeno. All that matters for the time being is getting Vivi home to stop the war, finding the rest of our siblings along with leaking some things for the world to hear." says Luffy making everyone turn to him.

"What do you mean?" asks Inosuke while coming to a conclusion of his own with a wide eyed expression. "You mean…" says Inosuke now realizing it himself.

"Yes, when everything in Alabasta is said and done. We'll leak everything on the contents surrounding Operation Firestorm!" says Luffy looking at his fellow crew mates as they were a bit shocked themselves.

"Are you serious?! Luffy, this isn't just some little stunt like revealing the truth behind Ohara or Flevance. We are literally talking about leaking information in it's entirety to the public about an order that was borderline genocide. Even for you and the rest of us that's a ballsy move that I was not expecting to hear." says Agni not thinking Luffy would want to do that while a bit angry that this was gonna be coming to light.

"Not to mention the direct response will either be an Admiral or an entire fleet of ships. A not just a fleet of ten battleships, were talking about a large scale fleet with Vice Admirals." says Giyu being serious on the matter.

"I know. Which is why all of you present know for a fact that this isn't just about sending a message." says Luffy as he continued. "It's about letting the world know what the World Government was planning to do." says Luffy being fully serious about this as Inosuke spoke now.

"Luffy I get that but the whole God Fall Incident was enough to make them back off from ever going through with it. Along with your threat to the Five Elders about what would happen, if it were actually in the works of being planned." says Akeno as she continued. "We'll stand with you on this decision, but are you it's the right move to make?" asked Akeno considering that this topic at hand wasn't something small.

"It is." says Luffy as he continued. "As it stands, if the World Government and Marines continue down the path that they're going in then the world may fall into greater descent." says Luffy finishing with a simple yet sound reason with much meaning behind it.

Luffy made it clear this is what they were going to do, as everyone in the room nodded for their captain to speak yet again.

"Alright with this being said, let's get some rest for now. Because when we reach Alabasta we are gonna be fighting a lot considering Crocodile's top subordinates will be stationed there. So prepare yourselves." says Luffy being very serious.

"Yes Captain!" says everyone in present as they got up to leave the room now.

As everyone was clearing out of the Captain's Quarters now, Luffy went to put away some papers on his desk. So with everyone gone, Lily had come in with a box in hand as she was smiling with Luffy noticing.

"Someone's in a good mood. Can you tell me why?" asks Luffy curious with a small smile of his own.

The moment he said this, Lily just smiled more as she placed the box on Luffy's table and decided to speak.

"Open it. I made it myself and I'm very well sure that you'll love it." says Lily while being cryptic in what she just said.

As Luffy wondered what was in the box of her making, he decided to do as told and open the box. So as Luffy opened the box, he found something inside that made his eyes widen in shock as he spoke.

"Lily...this…" says Luffy shocked by what he found.

"Considering Giyu and the others have something of theirs from the past. I figured I'd make the rest of it as the metals pieces you see there with it were part of the original set. So I hope you love it." says Lily with a warm smile.

This got Luffy to come over from around the desk and give Lily a hug as she did the same, enjoying the warmth and rhythm coming from his chest.

"You're the best, you know that?" asked Luffy with a smile.

"I try." says Lily as she broke away to speak again. "So wear it and enjoy it." says Lily as she gave Luffy a peck on the cheek.

After doing this, Lily went to leave the room and close it's door gently. Luffy looked back at the box with a smile as he decided he would wear it when they reached Alabasta. So with this out of the way, Luffy's face adopted a serious expression as he closed the box and put it to the top left corner of the desk.

Once that was done, Luffy sat down in his chair while moving a Den Den Mushi over to him that was connected to a white Den Den Mushi with a sad expression on its face. From here, Luffy went to dial a certain number into the snail as we waited for the person on the other side to pick up while he went into the second drawer in his desk to pull out a folder.

So when he put it on the desk, the person on the other line finally picked up to speak.

"To who reigns over the sky?" says the person on the other side being cryptic.

"The big bird." says Luffy responding to answer, as the person spoke again.

"Good."says the person on the other side as he spoke again. "I've gotta say, It sure has been a while since we had that conversation in Marine Headquarters." says the person remembering with a chuckle.

"Yes, it has been a while...Morgans." says Luffy while identifying the person he was talking to as the president of the World Economy News Paper.

"So from what I can tell so far, you didn't call just to say hello. So if I had to guess, you have Big News for me!" says Morgans already guessing the reason behind this call.

"Yes, the kind of news with heavy weight behind it." says Luffy as Morgans excited demeanor on the other side changed entirely, as he spoke again.

"What kind of news?" asked Morgans wondering about it now while being fully serious.

"A story that will cement you as the legend of the World Economic News Paper." says Luffy as Morgans was now becoming more intrigued by what was being said for Luffy to continue speaking. "Though, you won't be able to release it until after a certain event ends in Alabasta." says Luffy informing Morgans of this.

"Alright, I get it. I never liked waiting to release a good story but something tells me this is gonna be my biggest one in a long while." says Morgans ultimately agreeing.

"Yes it will. So, let's discuss how you'll be getting the file for this big story along with some conditions." says Luffy as he started hashing out the details with Morgans while looking at the large folder he pulled from his desk earlier, labeled: Operation Firestorm.

The pieces of the near future were set in play with much on the horizon. As the tides of the world's trust would also turn with the news that was soon to come in the future.


Done!, good, bad, don't like it that's on you. So yes, here is a little build up before I start Alabasta. Now on to business, I was able to see a review on why I haven't shown off a greater extent of Luffy's control over the original power of his Devil Fruit that is based off his anger and rage, it's because I'm saving it for Alabasta as a whole as their will be a greater introduction of it in a certain fight. I may have dragged it out and I'm still dragging it out for the specific reason of giving Luffy a proper fight alongside the other members of the crew, as this gives me more of a chance to show off more of what Elemental Haki can do along with revealing much information about why Luffy and the Nine Demonic Pillar Generals. So be fully prepared for what comes in the future. Now onto the final piece of news that I have for you all. Before we start the Alabasta Arc and start showing off the powers of the other crew members, I'll be taking a break to work on the other stories I have and get them updated as soon as possible, so feel free to read those too. So when I come back I'll be throwing out a couple chapters, here and there. So without anything else to say, please review and I'll see you all for the next chapter.