Reunion
"What should we do? Nanohana is a large town. It'll be very hard to search for Luffy." Vivi looked around the town.
Cade puffed her cheeks, wiping sweat from her forehead. The head was stifling. Why did Luffy have to run off again? She was beyond ready to get this started.
"Don't worry, Vivi. We'll just look for the noisiest spot in town," Sanji said. "He'll be there."
"You got that right." Usopp laughed.
"Anyways, I wish he would pay more heed to the bounty on his head," Nami said with a sigh. "Especially in a big country like this one."
"Just let him take care of himself," Zoro said.
"Wait. That's Mr. Three's ship," Vivi said. Everyone turned to see the ship with a large 3 and decorated in wax sitting in a cove nearby. The ship was empty.
"Hold on. You mean he's not dead?" Usopp asked.
"That ship can only move through the power of the wax wax fruit," Vivi said. "He must be in the kingdom. Let's get going."
They followed Vivi inland, carefully slipping through so no one noticed them.
"Wait. We all shouldn't head into town at once," Sanji said when they came to the edge of the town. The tucked behind a broken wall.
Cade leaned her back against it and slid down to the ground, sweat poured down her neck.
"What do you suggest then?" Vivi asked.
"You'll stand out too much. So will the others if Mr. Two blabbed about us. I'll go in with Chopper and do the shopping for us," Sanji said.
"You sure?" Cade asked.
"I am. Be back soon. Come on, Chopper." Sanji headed for the town with Chopper following in his reindeer form.
Cade leaned her head against the wall, flicking her cloak to cool herself off. Geez. It's so hot here.
"Are you okay?" a distant voice asked. "Cade?"
"Huh?" Cade looked up to Vivi's concerned eyes.
"Are you okay?"
"Fine. Just a bit warm. I'm going to head back to the ship and cool off in the water." Cade stood up.
"Want me to come back with you?" Zoro asked. "You look a bit unstable."
"No. I'll be fine." Cade walked away.
Reaching the ocean she walked right into it and dove under without a single thought. The water cooled her skin, mixing with the sweat on her body. "That's much better."
After several minutes underwater she headed back to the surface to float while waiting for the others to come back. When she heard their chatter she launched herself up to the deck. "Where's Luffy?"
"Got separated from us apparently," Vivi said. "We were running from marines."
"He'll be here soon," Sanji said.
Like the cook said Luffy can flying back to the ship with in a few seconds.
"Hey! Cade! You're not going to believe who I saw!" Luffy grinned as he stood in front of his sister. "Ace!"
"What?!" Cade gasped. "Are you serious?!"
"Yeah!" Luffy nodded. "He's here! Ace is here!"
"Where is he then?" Cade glanced around.
"Fighting with Smokey. I'm sure he'll be here any minute."
"Who's Ace?" Usopp asked.
"He's our older brother," Luffy said." He's a pirate looking for the One Piece too. He's three years older than me. So he left the island three years before we did."
"What are the odds of the both of you eating devil fruits?" Sanji asked.
"I know, I was surprised too! He hasn't eaten one before. Even then, I could never beat him in a fight. Ace is really strong!" Luffy said.
"Not even one? Against a regular human?" Nami asked.
"I wouldn't call Ace a normal human," Cade said.
"Why?" Nami asked.
Cade shrugged, figuring Ace wouldn't want anyone else to know who his dad was.
"The monster's brother must be on heck of a monster himself," Usopp said.
"Yup. Luffy always got his butt kicked by Ace," Cade said. "Every single day we were together."
"I know I could beat him now!" Luffy laughed.
"Keep dreaming." Cade pulled Luffy's hat down over his eyes.
"Just who can you beat?" Ace's voice said before shot up over the edge of the ship. He landed on the railing with a thump and a smile.
"Great. It really is you," Cade said.
"You know you missed me." Ace smirked.
Cade snorted. "Yeah. Right. Like a deer misses a pack of wolves."
"Pain in the butt as always."
"You're one to talk!"
"It's good to see you!" Ace laughed then pulled Cade to him and placed a kiss on her lips.
"Huh? I don't get it," Usopp said. "Do they like or hate each other?"
"What?! Why does he get to kiss Cade?!" Sanji bit his hand. "It's not fair! I want to kiss her, too!"
"They're always like that. They use to not get a long at all," Luffy said.
"Really?" Usopp asked.
"Yep." Ace nodded. "But my charms won her over."
"Ha! You have all the charms of a skunk!" Cade punched Ace on the chest.
"Anyway, thanks for looking after my kid siblings." Ace bowed to the crew.
"He's so polite," Sanji said. "Nothing like Luffy."
"So why are you here, Ace?" Luffy asked.
"Huh? Didn't you two get my message in Drum Kingdom?" Ace asked.
"We never got a message," Cade said.
"All well. It's no bid deal. I was only telling you I was going to be in Alabasta for a few days. Anyways, I'm glad I got to see you two. I also wanted to ask for you two to join me on Whitebeard's crew. Your friends can come too."
"No way," Luffy said.
"I figured that." Ace smiled.
"Whitebeard? So the mark on your back is real?" Usopp asked.
"Yes. It's my pride and joy." Ace showed them his back.
"You got a tattoo? Well, I hope you went to someone who disinfected their equipment after each use." Cade inspected the white bearded tattoo and the skin around it. "It doesn't look like it's been infected."
Ace laughed and turned around. "Of course you'd be worried about that. Don't worry. A crewmate of mine did it. And we have one of the best doctors on our crew."
Cade nodded in acceptance. "I hope they're taking care of you."
"Whitebeard is the greatest pirate I've known. I want to make him king of the pirates, not you, Luffy."
"That's okay. I'll just fight him."
"Why don't you come inside if you want to talk? I'll make us some tea," Sanji said.
"Oh no, don't worry about me," Ace said.
"So why are you here?" Cade asked.
"I'm looking for someone," Ace said.
Cade crossed her arms. "Okay. Spill it."
"As sharp as ever." Ace chuckled. "I'm chasing a guy called Teech. He did the unthinkable. He killed a crewmate then ran. It's my responsibility to go after him."
"Hold on. What about the navy that was chasing Luffy?" Nami asked.
"I don't see them." Chopper scanned the shore.
"Yeah, I threw them off with my devil fruit power." Ace lifted a finger. It caught on fire.
"Great. Not like it's hot enough here as it is." Cade frown.
"Hm? You okay, Cade?" Ace blinked.
"I'm fine. Just a bit hot."
Ace watched her carefully. "You know... I was going to leave shortly after meeting up with you two, but I think I'll stay around for a while longer."
"Yes!" Luffy pumped his fists.
"Must you?" Cade asked.
"I must." Ace grinned.
Cade rolled her eyes.
"Here, Luffy, you'll need to wear this." Vivi held out a native outfit to Luffy.
"Why? It's hot." Luffy wrinkled his nose.
"You wear it because it's hot. The desert gets over a hundred degrees. You'll get sunburned if your skin is exposed," Vivi said.
"Why are your clothes so skimpy then?" Luffy asked.
"We're going to wear cloaks, too," Nami said.
"What?! You're going to cover up?!" Sanji shrieked.
"Oh well, guess I better do it." Luffy took the clothes.
"Hey, we just rounded the side of the island," Chopper said from the railing.
"No, this isn't the side of the island. This is the bank of the river Sandora," Vivi said. "You can see the other side off in the distance."
"Oh, you're right," Chopper said.
"Look here." Vivi laid out a map. "This is a rough map of the area. And this is our destination. It's called Yuba. We'll cross the Sandora, then head out for it."
"And Yuba is where the leader of the rebellion is," Zoro said.
"So I have to kick his butt, right?" Luffy punched the air.
"Will you stop that?!" Vivi grasped her hands together. "I want to persuade the rebellion not to shed any more blood."
"A rebellion of 700,000 people? Will they stop?" Zoro asked.
"Will they stop? We'll discover everything on the way to Yuba," Vivi said. "Exactly what the Baroque Works has done to this country. Exactly what the Alabastan people have gone through. We can stop this senseless violence. I won't let the Baroque Works do what they want to my country!"
"Okay! I understand!" Luffy said. "Let's go! Upa!"
"Yuba!"
"Yuba!"
"That's right!"
Ace chuckled.
The crew packed up their bags and left the ship.
