"Oi Kaido! Come here, I'll kick your ass!" - Speech

'Damn that was a hard punch... Wait why am I in prison?!' – Thinking

"Gomu Gomu no Kong Organ!" – Attacks

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. Which is good, since I would've overplayed my hand three arcs ago.

Chapter 4

10 Years Later

Somewhere in the New World

On the ship of the Red Hair Pirates, a farewell party was going on for a certain pirate. Said pirate was currently hugging Shanks, and the named pirates (Yasopp, Benn, and Lucky Roo).

A/N: Narrator…

Yes?

A/N: What have I said about breaking the fourth wall?

Uhhhhhh… to… not to?

A/N: That's what I thought. Now, back to the story and don't do this again.

Ahem… anyway, this pirate was none other than Monkey D. Luffy, future captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. After getting a refresher course on what he already knew in the New World and improving on that with Shanks and the others for 10 years, it was now time for him to go. He had made it clear from the beginning that his stay on the Red Force was only a temporary thing. He wanted to have his own adventures with his own crew. Being the semi-responsible and respectable (when it came to their friends) adults they were, they agreed not to stop him when the time came. The time had now come, and although many on the crew were tempted to just grab the boy and lock him up in a cabin belowdecks, they would hold true to their promise.

"Shishishi, thank you guys so much for everything! I'll cherish these 10 years for the rest of my life!" Luffy exclaimed with a grin.

Luffy was currently 5'8". He had raven hair, while wearing a red kimono, a golden sash, and blue & white patches. He had a scar under his left eye. He has a six pack, with muscles spread evenly over his body. He has a handgun on the left side, as well as a katana on the right side of his kimono. The handgun had orange stripes, running on the sides of it. His katana, on the other hand, had a blue hilt. The metal was red, in color. It was a katana of top quality; it's metal cutting through steel, like butter.

Nobody, except for Shanks and his most trusted confidants knew how powerful Luffy ACTUALLY was.

His Haki can almost rival Shanks' haki. After years of vigorous training, he could match Shanks in a match, giving him a hard time mostly, and had even beaten him once or twice. Usually, their battles would raze islands, which was why they made sure to always fight on uninhabited ones.

Using his Observation Haki, he could see 15 seconds into the future, which was impressive, as it took him multiple beatings from Katakuri to unlock it, and that only worked at a probability. Now, it works according to his will, which is pretty much 100% of the time.

His Armament Haki was strong to the point that he could stand against Kaido's Eight Trigram Clap, and not even flinch. He could now form a 'shield', as Rayleigh had shown him before his 2 year training.

He could also now control his Conqueror's Haki at different powered controlled blasts. This varied from his blasts simply making his opponents sweat, to putting them in comas. He could also use it to boost his charisma, making people more susceptible to him. The crew had tried to use this to turn him into a playboy, but that failed miserably as he only had eyes for one girl, and thus only attended their lessons to figure out how to be a good romantic partner to Nami (this included the Talk. By Oda, was that awkward).

Luffy was educated 5 days a week by Benn, where he was subjected to hours and hours of studying. To Benn's surprise, Luffy absorbed all the information like a sponge. Near the end of their journey, Luffy had finally gotten it into his thick skull that thinking, while painful, could save his life. Thus, he had been exercising his brain like a muscle two weeks before Akainu and the Marines showed up. By the end of 10 years, Luffy could do integral calculus, some advanced physics, knew large amounts about the world's history, other than the Void Century, and (what the crew considered Benn's crowning achievement) also knew more complicated words. As a result of all this "exercise", Luffy's head no longer hurt while thinking, which was an accomplishment in and of itself. Yet, of course, some of the core concepts of what most people called "common sense" still eluded him.

Yasopp taught Luffy to shoot a gun. Luffy had seen Usopp shoot his enemies down from far far away, and knew how useful such a weapon could be. It was because of his urge to learn that made it easier for Yasopp to teach him. By the end, Luffy was no Usopp, but he could hit near the bullseye at insane distances. At his maximum, he could shoot bullets from a mile away, using his Observation Haki.

Lucky Roo raised Luffy's speed, endurance, and durability. At the beginning, Luffy was slow, somewhat tough, and with very large stamina reserves, because although he had retained his abilities with Haki, his physical state had not carried over as well. Lucky Roo could easily overpower Luffy using his speed and outlast him with his own durability and stamina. Over the years, Luffy got faster, after being forced to dodge Lucky Roo's attacks for many hours, with his durability getting stronger due to training getting tougher and his stamina increasing to beyond what he had been capable of due to training going longer. Eventually, it came to the point where he managed to beat Lucky Roo in a drawn-out slugfest that was punctuated by plenty of running around. By the end of 10 years, he was almost as fast and as tough as Shanks. He also taught Luffy the Six Powers. Luffy had no trouble learning them at all, having already used Shave, seen Sanji perform Moon Walk, and watched the rest of them being used in action by CP9. Even Shanks was shocked by the speed Luffy learnt the techniques at.

Finally, Shanks taught Luffy how to use a sword. Shanks explained to Luffy the advantages of having a sword, especially at short range. Luffy knew how powerful his first mate was with his swords, so getting the chance to wield one made him extremely excited. Luffy had more difficulty learning the ways of a sword, due to him being more of a brawler than a swordsman. By the end of the 10 years, though, Luffy was able to match a New World Captain in terms of swordsmanship.

However, whichever weapon he used, he always was best with his fists. Speaking of his fists, his Gears were now better than the previous timeline. When using Gear Second, he was as fast as Shanks was, if not even faster. He had even managed to perfect the technique and get rid of the annoying life-shortening drawback it came with. When using Gear Third, he managed to make his skin tougher naturally, so it could tank attacks and avoid recoil damage way better, while also getting rid of the annoying side effect of turning into Chibi Luffy early on. His Gear Fourth lasted twice as long as before, with three-quarters the recharge time. As well as that, his attacks were more powerful at the basic level. He could even use his Awakened Devil Fruit abilities; he could convert everything to rubber around him, except living things, of course.

Now back to the ship, where Luffy is hugging his teachers. "So... what are you going to do now?" Shanks asked him. Luffy's answer made him grin. "I'm going to gather my own crew, and become the Pirate King!" Shanks wasn't surprised. Luffy was just too much like his former captain to even consider that dream as an impossibility. "And why do you want to be the Pirate King?" He asked, wanting to hear Luffy's answer. "It's because the Pirate King has the most freedom, right?" Luffy said with a grin. "That's what I wanna be: the freest man on the seas!"

Shanks was shocked. The last time he heard those words was from Gol D. Roger. Now, hearing them again, it was like the man himself had come back from the dead. Shanks smiled. "Then when you become the Pirate King, give this hat back to me," Shanks said, as he put his straw hat on Luffy's head. Luffy touched the rim, almost crying out in shock that Shanks had once again given him his treasure. But, he simply sniffed, dried his eyes, and nodded confidently.

He waved them goodbye, a few tears falling out as he set off for home once more. Shanks was like his father, while the others were his uncles. He would miss them a lot. But, that part of his life was done. It was time for "Straw Hat Luffy" to begin his quest for the One Piece once more. With a final good-bye, he jumped off the ship, using Shave and Moon Walk to run towards the East Blue.

"He's going to do good out there, eh captain?" Benn stated, smirking, as he saw Luffy run off.

"That he is Benn. There's no doubt in my mind that he will become the Pirate King. He has enough potential to become stronger than anyone else in the world." Shanks replied with a smile.

Not too far away, Luffy sneezed. 'Huh… Looks like they miss me already…' he thought with a smile. "Well then, off to Foosha Village!"

Somewhere else in the New World

On the Moby Dick, ship of the Whitebeard Pirates, there was a very similar celebration to the one on the Red Force going on. Why, you ask? Well, it's because somebody defeated the First Division Commander, Marco, in a fight. The victorious pirate was none other than Roronoa Zoro, first mate of the Straw Hat Pirates, who was currently laughing from drinking his 57th crewmate under the table.

Roronoa Zoro had taken the time to take his Three-Sword Style to a whole different level, as well as upgrade his blades; he still had the Wado Ichimonji, but he also had Shusui, the famed blade of the samurai Ryuma, and the cursed blade Sandai Kitetsu. He had paid a visit to Lougetown and bought Kitetsu using his guts and luck (and damn, had Thatch given him an earful for that stunt), while he had crashed Thriller Bark for the other blade, exposing Moria for his crimes and getting him stripped of his title (the Whitebeard Pirates drank well and partied hard that night). His hair was still that light shade of moss green, but he had switched out the usual clothes his 17-year -old self normally wore for a white kimono with green stripes running down the side and spirals forming at the bottom, a purple sash, and wooden clogs. He still had two eyes (now that he knew how to avoid getting his eye gouged out in order to master Haki, he had taken that route without a second thought) and was 5'11".

"Well done, boy!" a voice boomed, which everyone was used to. The voice belonged to Whitebeard himself, whom even Zoro had come to see as a father figure during his time onboard. "You've surely grown up from the little brat you were."

Zoro was stronger than most of the Whitebeard's crew. In fact, excluding Whitebeard and the Second Division Commander, Portgas D. Ace, Zoro was able to win in a fight against any member of the crew, and even with Ace, it was a close thing. Zoro got along with Vista well, as both of them were swordsmen with similar codes, and they sparred together frequently (the record was 4389-4218 in Zoro's favor). Vista helped him improve his Santoryu Ken when he had the time, as he was impressed with Zoro's skills immensely. It's almost as if he was a swordsman in his past life, was what Vista thought (and often boasted). If only he knew.

Zoro got more proficient in his Ittoryu and Nitoryu techniques, as practitioners of the arts were proficient on the ship. He also improved on his Ittoryu Iai techniques to devastating effect, as Haruta could painfully attest to. His flying slash attacks had also improved, packing ten times more punch than his previous incarnation. Marco, hearing the name of the technique, thought Zoro was making fun of him, resulting, naturally, in a beating. Marco, then heard Zoro's explanation, which was met by the crew with many laughs and a few stink-eyes for jumping the gun in such a manner. All he could say was "Oh…"

A truly hilarious moment for Zoro while on the ship was when he first (re)discovered his Asura technique. When everyone saw Zoro multiply his limbs and head by three (Kyutoryu Ken), they began to freak out. Even Whitebeard's eyes almost popped out and he gaped. However, overall, they were impressed by the potential, and power of the ken style (though they would always be a little sore with Zoro when he held their expressions over their heads, even Whitebeard).

In terms of Haki, Zoro improved drastically on his Busoshoku Haki. Now, he can cut through haki-enhanced objects and limbs like butter with his own haki. He could even cut through a Yonko commander's haki-enhanced defense, but with some difficulty.

He also improved his Kenbunsoshoku Haki. Even though his other haki is better, his Kenbunshoku Haki is still better than a New World's average captain.

His speed was also better than ever. In his previous timeline, Zoro's speed was impressive. Not as fast as Sanji, but still fast. This time, however, his speed was on par with Marco's, which in and of itself was a major achievement.

Whitebeard then smiled sadly as he brought up the downside to the party. "It seems now that you must go." Zoro smiled sadly. He had grown to like everyone on the ship like a second family. "However…" At this, Zoro's face lost the smile, and was replaced by a confused look. "I know that you'll get lost on the way-"

At this, Zoro got a tick mark (he did not get lost, dammit; either everything moved around or everyone wandered off).

"-so I'll send Marco to drop you off." Zoro wanted to argue, but all he could do was stand there, sighing. There was no arguing with the old man.

"Hai hai… Come on, Marco, seems you're dropping me off." Marco nodded, and turned into his phoenix form. Zoro got on Marco and simply nodded to the rest of the crew.

"Hey, Zoro!" Ace called. Zoro turned to look at the man. He had been a handful when he first came onto the ship, but from what Zoro could tell, he was a lot happier. He had less of a 'I'm going to kill you all to prove myself' stance and more of a 'I'm going to kill Whitebeard because I said I would and I'm stubborn'. Luckily, after Whitebeard and Zoro beat his ass black and blue for six months, he finally cracked and joined the crew full time. And he took to the crew like a fish to water, easily making friends and trusting others. The most shocking thing? Ace treated the fact that his father was Gold Roger as not a shameful secret, but one he was proud of! Once Whitebeard had figured it out, Ace had told the whole crew. There were a few idiots that spoke up angrily, but a few words (read: beatings) from Marco, Whitebeard, and Zoro set them straight. Zoro had to wonder what Luffy did differently this time around to change his brother so much.

"If you run into my idiot brother, tell him I'll meet him in the New World!" Ace called. Zoro rolled his eyes good-naturedly. Ace just couldn't shut up about Luffy. It annoyed the crew considerably after the first week. It annoyed Zoro right off the bat (he already knew a lot of this stuff!), but they all put up with it because it showed how much he cared.

Whitebeard also gave an eye-roll before turning to Zoro. "Be careful out there, my son," he said with a smile.

Zoro nodded. "I'll try my best, Pops," he said. "But trouble often finds me." He then gave a shit-eating grin to his fellow pirates.

The crew burst out in laughter at the accuracy of that, especially Whitebeard. But then his expression sobered and turned grim. "Zoro," he said. "If you run into Teach, make sure you pay for his ferry to Davy Jones."

Zoro scowled. "I'd do that even if you didn't ask, old man," he growled.

Teach had pulled his backstabbing act a few weeks previously. Unfortunately for him, Zoro had been waiting for him to do that for 10 years. He gave the traitor quite the wound and managed to keep his paws off the Dark-Dark Fruit (now safe in a chest Zoro carried at all times), but the rat had managed to jump ship and escape. Everyone had been furious, Zoro especially for letting the weasel slip away. When the crew questioned what had happened, Zoro had brushed away his future knowledge with the statement of, "I woke up from my nap at an opportune moment" and left it at that. No one questioned him.

After a few more "take cares" and a few more warnings about getting lost (which he denied), both pirates took off for the horizon.

Silence.

…

….

…..

Finally Marco, who was getting bored of this silence, decided to speak up.

"Oh yeah, Zoro! Where are you gonna go after this?" Marco asked in curiosity, having completely forgotten about what he had said in their first meeting. "Well, I'm joining up with my captain. And after that, we'll gather a crew, and sail out." Was what Zoro replied with in a casual tone. To him, it was simply common sense.

Marco, however, was confused. Given his friend's capabilities, he thought Zoro would be the captain (not a very good one, mind you, but a captain nonetheless). "Ummm Zoro? Shouldn't YOU be the captain? Why would anyone else be the captain?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's because he's stronger than me. If he's weaker, then I'll have to become captain. You can't have a stronger First Mate now, can you?" Zoro replied, smirking.

Marco chuckled, outwardly amused and satisfied. On the inside, he was thinking who could possibly be stronger than Zoro, especially after all his training. However, he trusted Zoro after the past decade, so he didn't argue. All of a sudden, Marco remembered something. "Oi Zoro! Where ARE we supposed to be going? You never told me."

Zoro just smirked a grin that simply screamed in the most taunting voice imaginable, "I know something you don't know!" "Just take me to Shells Town in the East Blue," he said.

Whole Cake Island, New World, A few days ago

"Will you, Ms. Charlotte Pudding, take this young man as your beloved husband?" The priest asked the woman with hazel-brown hair. She was stunning in her pure white dress and soft, beautiful face. Any man who looked at her in that wedding gown weeped in jealousy at the man who had claimed such an exquisite prize for himself. Not even the third eye in the middle of her forehead could diminish her beauty. (At least, nobody said it did. Those foolish enough to do so soon found themselves served pounded flat and well-roasted). She had taken to displaying the trait openly ever since her husband had complimented it with total honesty when they were children. After that, it was love at first sight. Truth be told, she acted like a tsundere at first. But eventually, she warmed up to him and showed him her true feelings. Her faith was rewarded by her childhood friend accepting her for who she was, inside and out. There was no better pairing anywhere in the world (and may your gods help you if you openly thought otherwise). "Yes, I do," she replied.

"And will you, Mr. Sanji, take Ms. Charlotte Pudding to be your beloved wife?" the priest asked, just for confirmation.

"I do," the man, now known as Sanji, simply replied, smiling like an idiot and happy to be marrying the love of his life.

"Then by the power invested in me and the Lord, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." That was all the priest needed to say. Pudding launched herself at Sanji, kissing the man of her dreams. From the side, there were claps, cheers, whoops. Hell, there were even whistles, coming from Big Mom herself! Now that creeped everyone out.

But it was soon forgotten in the face of the holy matrimony of the new couple (and a few assassins looking for revenge, who were promptly curb-stomped).

Whole Cake Island, Present Time

"Sanji-kun, we're getting late!" That was the yell of Charlotte Pudding, wife of Sanji. She was getting impatient, as her pouty face could easily display. "Sanji-kun, hurry up!" she whined, stomping her feet, pouting like a child.

"Hai hai I'm coming…" Sanji replied, as he walked out the door, smoking a cigarette.

Sanji stood at 5'11" and was wearing a black kimono with a yellow sash. It had yellow stripes on it, leading to the bottom and was folded from the shoulders up. He still had combed, blond hair, a slight beard on his chin, and his right eye was covered up by his hair.

Pudding was 5'7" and wearing a white kimono with an orange sash. Her hair was tied back into a long ponytail at the back off her head. Her third eye was currently visible, but could be covered by her bangs should she wish.

Sanji smiled at his wife, who in turn smiled back with a scarlet face (not even marriage could change some things), and thought about how things had progressed up to this point.

Sanji had been trained in increasing his speed EVERY DAY for the past decade. When Sanji started his speed training, he was impressively fast. He would run 5 circles around the island in 3 hours before collapsing in a heap for the Charlottes to tease (said teasing never went away, but as the training continued and got more impressive, it lost its malicious edge). A good first impression for many of the grunts, but not so much for the higher ups. Gradually, he increased his number of laps, as well as his speed. He was now as fast as a Yonko.

His main 'rival' was Katakuri, and that was because of his Kenbunshoku Haki. He was the only person that could dodge his attacks. While it was impressive, it always drove Sanji to improve his speed and Haki even more.

Sanji's kicks were now powerful enough to even break the bones of his super human family (although he would never kick his sister, he WOULD consider his brothers, as well as his father though; they deserved it) and, if rumor was to be believed, had even given Big Mom's iron skin bruises.

Sanji's Haki was as strong as Katakuri's Haki. He could easily give Katakuri a challenge. Sometimes, he even defeated him. But they always laughed it off, as if it was a joke.

Sanji's Kenbososhoku Haki was good enough to be able to see a few seconds into the future. Yet, Katakuri's Kenboshoku Haki was still better than his.

Sanji's Diable Jambe had also been upgraded. Instead of relying on friction between his foot and the ground, it now resulted from friction created by his Haki rubbing itself, making it so hot, Oven was jealous. With his Diable Jambe enhanced strength, he could kick through battleships like they were made of playing cards… and leaving them on fire that even water had trouble putting out.

Sanji, now with Busoshoku Haki, strong as an average New World captain, can cover his legs with his Diable Jambe, then with Haki, making the flames turn black. Using this combination, Sanji could manage to hurt Big Mom, but had NEVER managed to beat her.

Snapping out of her embarrassed thoughts, Pudding looked over at Sanji, who was still smoking a cigarette. When she had met him for the first time (in this time-line), she didn't find him too appealing. To her, he was just some punk kid who was lucky enough to have immense Haki. However, as he grew up, he got more and more attractive. As well as that, his charming personality and mannerisms had been attractive even back then; time had just compacted onto that with his handsome looks.

"Sanji-kun, where will we be going now?" Pudding asked with a smile. He hadn't told anything about the destination they would be going after his training was complete.

"Oh… I forgot to tell you, didn't I? We'll be going to visit my shitty captain, then go find the One Piece. Short, but simple. Is that okay, my Pudding-chan?" he asked, his voice full with emotion.

Pudding was shocked. She had seen Sanji train really hard and knew that if he was calling someone captain, they would need to be as strong, nay, stronger, than him! 'Who could be stronger than Sanji-kun himself, aside from Mama?'

She restrained herself from asking the question. She trusted Sanji, and Sanji trusted her. She wouldn't reward that trust with doubt now, especially so soon after their wedding. She would go wherever he would.

Once Pudding nodded in confirmation and gestured, two guards came, placed a mirror nearby, and ran off.

"So she'll be our method of transportation, eh? Well that saves us the time." Was what Sanji said after exhaling the smoke from his mouth.

After waiting for a minute, a person came out of the mirror. This woman had blue hair, a scar on her face, a pale blue dress, and wrinkles all over her face.

"Hey imouto! Hello Sanji! Are you ready to go?" This person was Brulee. She had been told beforehand by Big Mom to take Sanji and Pudding where they wanted to go via the Mirror world.

And so, Sanji and Pudding got into the mirror. Sanji was amazed by the sheer size of it, not having seen it before. 'So this is where Luffy fought Katakuri, eh? This sure is big.'

"Where do you want to go, otouto?" Brulee inquired, ready to get the mirror to that place.

Sanji thought about it. He wasn't sure if the Baratie even existed, so that was out. Even if it did, he didn't work there anymore, so it was a bit pointless to just sit there and wait. But then, if that wasn't an option, then where to? He hadn't been along for any of the rest of the East Blue voyage, except for Arlong Park, and that would be too- wait, didn't Luffy once tell a story about how he had recruited Nami? (He had memorized such details since it pertained to a beautiful lady.) Yes, in a place called…

"Brulee. Can you take us to Orange Town, in the East Blue?" Sanji asked. He already knew that answer, but he acted like he didn't know.

"Sure otouto! Follow me! I'll take you to the mirror!" exclaimed Brulee.

After a few minutes of walking, they were at the appropriate mirror. It was amazing how Brulee could find the mirror so easily. They said their goodbyes, Brulee crying for her little sister all grown up, Pudding making assurances they would come back someday. Then, Sanji and Pudding went through the mirror, ready to start their new journey.

Marineford Headquarters

In a certain admiral's office, a Den Den Mushi was ringing. With a sigh, Fleet Admiral Sengoku picked up the call. "Yes?" he said boredly..

"Sir! We have received news that 'Rubber Menace' Monkey D. Luffy has left 'Red-Haired' Shanks and his crew! They say he is headed for East Blue!" came the voice of a marine.

Sengoku stiffened. They had increased patrols in that region for three years after Shanks had taken a vacation in the region, but turned up nothing. Now, his only apprentice was headed back to that same sea? He told the marine to update Luffy's bounty information, then made to call a conference of the high Navy brass to discuss this. But, as soon as he hung the Den Den Mushi up, it rang again. With a heavier sigh, he picked it up so he could get it out of the way now. "Yes?" he sighed irritably.

"Sir! We have received news that 'Demon Swordsman' Roronoa Zoro has left Whitebeard and his crew! They say he is headed for East Blue!" came the voice of a marine.

There was even more bad news. Luffy was bad enough; chaos seemed to follow the boy wherever he went, but at least he never started anything on purpose (or didn't seem to). Zoro, on the other hand, was practically a wild animal. He constantly searched for challengers to face him in combat, and often left behind whole islands in ruins after said fight. Mihawk had been MIA for the past two years since he was hunting the boy down for what could be the fight of his life. Not only that, but he and Luffy were, as far as Naval Intelligence knew, friendly rivals that sparred (read: decimated their surroundings) whenever the two crews made contact. If they were to meet in the East Blue, there was no telling what kind of damage a fight between them could accomplish. Coincidentally, this was a relationship both shared with-

As soon as he hung the Den Den Mushi up, it rang again. With a tick mark on his head, and with rising amounts of anger and dread, he picked it up. "Yes?" he growled angrily.

"Sir! We have received news that 'Flaming Suitor' Vinsmoke Sanji and 'Memory Thief' Charlotte Pudding have left Yonko Big Mom!" Came the voice of a marine.

With a fake calm voice, he told him to leave them alone for now. He hung the Den Den Mushi up, waiting for any more calls. It didn't ring.

He sighed in relief that there were no more calls… before planting his head into his desk and grinding it there, screaming in frustration and just knowing that several headaches surrounding those three were inbound. Two of the so-called "Apprentice Trio" making a mess in the East Blue were enough. All three at once? This was a nightmare of epic proportions.

Sometimes, he envied Garp. He was free to goof around and do almost whatever the fuck he wanted because of his status as the 'Hero of the Marines'. He, meanwhile, was stuck here, doing paperwork, and dealing with a tempermental balance of power that seemed to suffer a meltdown every five minutes.

Not for the first time, Sengoku counted the number of gray hairs on his scalp and contemplated retirement, just knowing somebody was laughing from successfully driving him to this point.