Chapter 9

Sorry, sorry. I know you all have been waiting. My best excuse is having two jobs, about three applications that, if accepted, would lead to moving thousands of miles away with another new job, and a close family member having surgery (no worries, nothing terrible or unexpected, but still requiring much care). I am back though! I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I know it's unnecessary to repeat this every chapter. But I still do not own One Piece or its plot or characters. I do own the plot of this story and any and all brand new characters you may see.

If he had ever been at the bar in the first place, Rayleigh was long gone now. They'd gone back to the bar where his Den Den Mushi had been found and told the bartender as much. After collecting the Den Den Mushi, the crew had every intention of handing it over to Hatchi and Camie before heading to the Thousand Sunny to plan out their next move. Zoro was adamant that they would not waste any more time looking for the elusive Rayleigh. It was a rare move for Zoro to pull rank, but he had threatened to leave behind anyone who wasn't on the ship when he left. In an even rarer event, Sanji had agreed with him. Despite Chopper and Usopp's well-intentioned arguments to stay and search, Zoro's seniority, position, and, quite frankly, evil aura, overrode them and all eight Straw Hats left the bar, followed by a solemn Hatchi and a still-confused Camie and Pappug.

As they walked back through the street, a loud commotion coming from another bar caught their attention. As they watched, the front doors burst open, nearly snapping the rusty hinges in half. A white-haired elderly man, probably drunk, fell to the ground face-first. His inability to break his fall was soon made clear when the onlookers caught sight of his rope-tied hands at the small of his back. Hatchi gasped and all the Straw Hats shot him a quick look. Before they could ask any questions, the doors banged open once more and their eyes were drawn to the two men sauntering out, glaring down at the man on the ground. The shorter of the two was sporting a bloody nose and the taller had a thin scratch on his cheek that had already stopped bleeding.

The two stood on either side of the man, whose only movement had been to turn his head to the side to breathe. He seemed oblivious to the men standing on either side of him, instead looking around at the gathering crowd like he hadn't a care in the world. This seemed to make the standing men much angrier as they glared down at the older man, but they didn't make any move to touch him. The doors opened again, but much more gently than before. Another tall man walked toward the prone figure. His pale face was mostly covered by his wide-brimmed black hat. His long brown cloak had mud stains along the hem and even more mud-stained boots peeked out from the space between hem and ground.

The new man came to a stop near the head of the man on the ground and started speaking, his whispery, hoarse voice reaching the ears of the bystanders. "All you had to do was move to a different chair. I've been on my feet all day, you see, and was rather looking forward to sitting in my seat. I've seen you around, old man, so you should have known that was my seat."

At this, he crouched down so his face was nearer to the lying figure, who had not so much as acknowledged any of the three men surrounding him. He seemed rather indifferent to his predicament, lazily casting his eyes around at the shops lining the street and occasionally looking at the crowd. The ring-leader of the trio of bullies clenched his fists and his lips twitched downward in anger. But when he spoke, there was only a slight tremor betraying his anger. "Since you couldn't be bothered to move aside when asked so nicely, I guess you'll need a lesson in manners," he said, grabbing the man by his long white hair and lifting his head off the ground.

The only reaction from the man was a shift in focus; instead of reading the names of shops and glancing over the crowd, he now scanned the onlookers' faces carefully. His eyes reached the Straw Hat crew and there was a nearly indiscernible narrowing of eyebrows, followed by a very obvious widening of his eyes when he saw Hatchi, with Camie and Pappug clinging to his back. As quick as the look came, it was gone. By the time the ring-leader had lifted the old man's head six inches off the ground, the prone man's eyes had hardened and were finally staring directly at the dirty man who held his head up. He no longer looked drunk or disinterested, and the ring-leader noticed the difference.

"Finally caught your attention, eh, old man? Well my first lesson is that it's rude to stare!" shouted the thug as he released his grasp on the man's long white hair, letting his head thud back to the street. At the same time, the ring-leader brought his foot back and his two companions surged toward the old man with a nasty gleam in their eyes. As the boot swung forward to the old man's ribs, the prone figure folded his body in half and swung his tied hands around his own feet to knock aside the oncoming blow. The suddenness of the counterattack caught the ring-leader off-balance and he fell hard onto the street, his arms cartwheeling comically as he went down. The two others reached the old man, who had jumped onto his feet and they brought out swords from sheaths hidden underneath their long dirty robes.

They swung clumsily in their anger and haste and the old man merely stepped to the side to avoid the blows. Behind him, the ring-leader had gotten back up, murder on his face, wielding a sword of his own. "Do you have any idea who you're dealing with, old-timer?" yelled the red-faced man as he swung his weapon at the old man's back. Almost quicker than he could see, the old man turned around holding his tied hands in front of the moving sword. Time seemed to slow as bystanders saw the sword perfectly slice the rope off between the man's hands, missing both of his wrists by millimeters. Without any hesitation, he brought his newly-freed hands back to either side of his body and deftly caught two oncoming swords, one in each hand. Everyone froze for a moment and they saw the two thugs with swords in their hands, arms straining and faces covered in sweat as their sword blades were inches away from the old man's back, but held still by his hands. The ring-leader recovered from his own attack and brought his sword up to strike once again. The old man's arms bulged with surprising muscles as he yanked the two swords out of their owners' hands and, in a move that was a blur, managed to grab both by their hilts and block the blow, shattering the opponent's sword in the process.

The two men behind him had been pulled forward along with their weapons and they fell to the street. The ring-leader's eyes bulged as he watched the shards of steel that had been his sword rain down to the ground. The old man took one lightning step forward and brought one of the sword hilts down in a mighty blow to the ring-leader's head, knocking him out. He turned around and delivered similar blows to the thugs as they tried to stand up.

The following silence was almost deafening. The bystanders that had started to leave as soon as weapons became visible paused and looked back. Most of the Straw Hats stood in shock, but Zoro had a hand on the hilt of his white sword with his eyes narrowed and Robin looked intrigued. Camie and Pappug were also shocked as they clung to Hatchi's back. Hatchi was looking at the passed out thugs with something between sympathy and satisfaction. He looked up as the old man dropped the two swords and their eyes met. The man gave an almost imperceptible nod toward the end of the street and Hatchi nodded in return. The old man gave no more acknowledgement to the crowd or thugs as he turned away and loped lazily to the end of the street.

The rest of the crowd had broken out in whispers that grew louder with each step the old man took further away. Hatchi hiked up Camie on his back and coughed loudly. His eight companions turned to look at him questioningly. "That," Hatchi started, "was Rayleigh-san. He wants to talk to us so let's follow him."

"What?!" exclaimed Usopp. "That was him? The old man?! But… he… he's super strong!"

Hatchi merely nodded and started after Rayleigh.

Chopper turned to Zoro and asked, "Do you think he can actually help us, Zoro? I mean, he was pretty strong."

Zoro stared after the retreating old man. Sanji responded, "Honestly, Chopper? He seems strong enough to help. But I still don't understand why he would have any reason to uproot his life for a pirate he's never met. It's not like getting Luffy back is going to be easy."

Chopper's face fell, but Robin piped up, "I think there's a lot more to this man than we realize." Her crewmates turned to her. She was also staring at Rayleigh as he approached a curve in the road that would take him out of view. "A man with that kind of power and restraint isn't just a nobody living in a lawless town. He has a story. And who knows?" she brightened up, looking down at Chopper. "Maybe our captain can work his magic and gain us some allies even while he's not here."

They had followed Rayleigh and Hatchi back to Shakky's bar. Along the way, the Straw Hats learned that, as a kid, Hatchi had saved Rayleigh's life. The rest of the conversation had been catching up between Rayleigh and Hatchi. The pirates did learn that in order to reach Fishman Island, their ship had to be coated in some kind of bubbly substance. It turned out that Rayleigh was a ship-coater by trade and he offered them his services for free. Nami immediately accepted his offer before Zoro had added morosely, "Well, we won't need that for a while. We have other things to do first." The mood had immediately soured but Rayleigh had only narrowed his eyes before turning to Hatchi and regaling him with a story of a previous client who'd been deathly allergic to the bubbly substance and had to give up his career as a pirate. He continued telling stories until they arrived at the bar. For a married couple that hadn't seen each other in months, Rayleigh and Shakky were surprisingly sedate with their greetings, merely smiling at each other and saying casual greetings. As soon as everyone was seated, Rayleigh became serious.

"This is obviously more than just a social call, Hatchi. You're risking your lives being on Sabaody," Rayleigh said, gesturing to Hatchi and Camie. "And you've brought an infamous rookie crew along with you – one without its captain. Oh, yes," he responded to the sharp looks he got. "I know you all are the Straw Hat crew. Your captain is Monkey D. Luffy, the pirate who defeated Crocodile, invaded Enes Lobby, and did who knows what else. He also somehow managed, as a child, to gain the trust and respect of another infamous pirate – Red-Haired Shanks. I know all about Luffy's hat. I actually know how Shanks got the hat in the first place. We were on the same crew once, a long time ago." All eight pirates stared in shock at Rayleigh. "It's a rather long story that can certainly wait until your captain is back. Suffice it to say, I was the First Mate of Gol D. Roger, King of the Pirates." The shock the crew had felt before paled in comparison to their feelings at this revelation.

Robin recovered first. "Gol D. Roger?" she asked.

Rayleigh chuckled. "Yes. Gol D. Roger. Nicknamed 'Gold Roger' by the Marines. I know it's not what you all were expecting, and I will explain. But I can tell there's something more important to discuss at the moment."

Nami brought out the newspaper with the story of Luffy's capture and handed it over to Rayleigh. After he read it, she spoke, "It's mostly lies. I mean, he was captured. But not by Garp. It was Bartholomew Kuma. Luffy was on Thriller Bark and had just defeated Gecko Moria. If we hadn't been so exhausted, we could have fought Kuma off, too. He just… appeared out of nowhere, asking about Luffy and his brother, Ace."

The crew jolted at this and looked at her. "You didn't tell us he asked about Ace!" Usopp shouted.

Nami looked around. "Well, it wasn't exactly relevant. I mean, all Kuma did is ask if they were brothers."

"Yohohoho! I didn't know Luffy-san had a brother!" Brook said.

"OW! Luffy never mentioned that. I bet his brother is SUPER!" Franky chimed in.

"Oh, yeah. I guess you guys wouldn't know. We only know because Ace showed up on Alabasta. He's super strong: Luffy said he's never been able to beat Ace at anything," Chopper said.

"Ace… would this be Portgas D. Ace you speak of? The second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates?" asked Shakky.

Nami and Usopp nodded. Franky's eyes widened.

Shakky and Rayleigh shared a look. "It seems like I might have some bad news for you all," Rayleigh said. The crew looked at him, confused. "Not too long ago, there was a newspaper claiming that Portgas D. Ace was captured by a man who calls himself Blackbeard. In return, they named Blackbeard one of the Seven Warlords."

"What?!" shouted the crew.

"Blackbeard! That's the name of the guy that Ace said he was hunting down! He was following any rumor of him. Ace said that this Blackbeard guy was a Whitebeard pirate before he killed another crew member," exclaimed Nami.

"Yeah. He's the one who was on Drum," added Chopper, still reeling from shock.

To everyone's surprise, Zoro starting laughing. "Do you realize that Luffy is actually probably one step ahead of us on this one?" Everyone looked confused. "He was captured, which means he's been sent – or will be sent – to the same place as Ace. That means he probably already found out about this. I can pretty much guarantee that whenever we find Luffy, we're gonna find Ace not far behind."

"And if Kuma knows that they're brothers…" Chopper started.

"You can bet that the Marines and World Government do too," finished Nami.

"Add to that the fact that he's the son of Dragon and his sentencing probably won't be too kind," Sanji put in. Rayleigh, Shakky, Hatchi, Camie, and Pappug's eyes all widened at this news.

"But keep in mind that he's Garp's grandson," pointed out Robin. "It definitely won't be a kind sentence, whatever it is. But figuring it all out is going to be a bit complicated."

"Speaking of Dragon…" began Nami, "what do you think he's going to do about all of this? I mean, if both Ace and Luffy have been captured…"

"But I don't think Ace is Dragon's son," said Sanji. Nami looked at him. "Sorry, Nami-swan, but think about it. His name is Portgas not Monkey. We obviously don't know the whole story, but it doesn't seem likely that Ace and Luffy have the same father."

"I'm not sure about their fathers, but I don't think they have the same mother," Rayleigh interjected. The pirates looked around at him as if they'd forgotten he was there. "I knew a woman named Portgas D. Rouge. She was an impressive woman and I think she might be his mother. She died after giving birth, in fact. And I know that Garp was in the area right after her death. Ace is the older brother, right? How can his mother have had Luffy later if she had died?"

The crew looked around at each other. "I know Luffy is all about leaving the past in the past, but…" Usopp began. "I'm starting to realize we know nothing about him. I don't mean that we can't trust him!" he quickly corrected himself, sensing immediate hostility from his crewmates. "I just mean that it'd be a hell of a lot easier to figure out what's most likely to happen with his family if we knew who they were. I mean, if three of his family members are these insanely strong people, who's to say that the others aren't just as crazy? Like, maybe if we knew who they were, we could get their help somehow."

The crew was quiet after this, letting the conversation die out. After waiting a minute, Rayleigh spoke up, "Since you all are obviously planning on going after him, I'm guessing Hatchi brought you to me to ask for help?"

Hatchi shyly nodded. "I owe Luffy-san – and all of his crew – a debt. Well, more than a debt, really. But I wanted to help. You were close by and, well…" Hatchi paused, hesitating to continue.

"And I owe you a debt," Rayleigh finished for him. Hatchi peered up at Rayleigh's face and nodded slowly. Rayleigh sighed. He looked at the crew. "So what is your plan?"

Zoro responded, "Go get Luffy."

Rayleigh nodded. "Yes. Straightforward. But how?"

Zoro narrowed his eyes. "Well Hatchi seems to believe that's where you come in. I still say we just storm the prison."

Nami hit Zoro on the head. "We already told you! Luffy's probably not even there yet! Besides, it's the most secure prison in the world. Even if you are a monster, there's gonna be monsters from the Marines swarming all over the place."

"Actually, the Marines are not the prison guards," Shakky said. "The guards are a separate faction of the World Government. The Marines and the guards only barely tolerate each other. But your friend has a point – storming Impel Down successfully would be impossible with just you all. I'd wager even Whitebeard himself would have a world of trouble."

"Yes, which is why the Marines are not going to be anticipating a small-scale attack," said Robin. The crew looked at her. "Since they've already announced that Luffy has been placed in Impel Down, it is unlikely that we will learn when it actually occurs. We need to wait until a reasonable amount of time has passed so we can be sure of his whereabouts. And we need to use that time to plan. As you said before, it took basically an army to infiltrate Enes Lobby. We don't have an army this time. It's just us. Even if Luffy's family does something, we don't know how to contact them or when to expect them. We need to continue on as if nobody else is going to help. We need to carefully plan this. If we fail, we'll already be in the prison so it won't be hard to just throw us in a cell. We're going to be walking into a trap that has been laid since the prison was built. Our only advantage here is that they don't expect us." It was by far one of the longest speeches the crew had ever heard Robin make, but they knew she was right.

"So what now?" asked Brook. "If we have to wait a while, then where should we wait and plan it out? Here?"

"No," Rayleigh said. "To get to Impel Down without using the Marine's private current, we'll have to sail for several days. We need to start out as soon as possible to get closer."

"We?" asked Sanji.

Rayleigh looked at him. "Of course. I'm coming along as well. I do owe Hatchi. But, as I said, I want to meet your captain. I would have helped you even if Hatchi hadn't asked." Nami, Usopp, and Chopper's faces lit up.

"Really?" Chopper said.

"I'll come to," Hatchi said. "I mean…" he looked at Nami uncertainly. "If that's okay. I want to help."

Nami stared at him while the crew stared at her. She said, "Hatchi… you don't have to. I know you feel bad about Cocoyashi but it's okay. Luffy took down Arlong and you've already done enough."

He looked at her determinedly. "It'll never be enough. Arlong… we killed… and the villagers – we put them through hell. Years of it. But it isn't just you that I owe and it isn't just you that I need to prove myself to. I'm extremely grateful to Luffy-san for defeating Arlong and I want to help him for his sake."

A small uplift of the corner of her lips was all that betrayed Nami's smile. "Fine. Come along. But Camie and Pappug; you guys should really go home," she addressed the mermaid and the starfish sitting on barstools directly.

Camie looked astonished at being addressed by name, as if she'd grown used to being in the background. She looked at Pappug in the seat next to her. "I appreciate the thought, Nami-san. But I think I'll stick with you guys for this. I've never met your captain but he must be amazing if you can get the first mate of the Pirate King on your side as well as Hatchi. Besides, it's an underwater prison, right? I'm a mermaid so I can help out somehow, I'm sure."

"No. Absolutely not. Nuh-uh," Hatchi said loudly, turning to glare at Camie. "I let you come to Sabaody against my own instincts. And I let you disguise yourself as a human for the takoyaki shop. But I will not allow you anywhere near Impel Down. There are more dangers in the Grand Line than you can even imagine. And being a mermaid will not save you from sea monsters and evil people. You are not coming." As he spoke, he stepped up close to Camie and loomed over her.

Camie was unfazed. "You," she started, poking him hard in the chest, "are not the boss of me. I understand that the world is dangerous. I've stayed away from Sabaody all my life because of it. And I've never gone far from home. I've heard the stories, Hatchan. I know very well what people think of mermaids and fishman and I don't need you," here she poked him again, "to remind me of that. I finally meet nice people who couldn't care less that I'm a mermaid and you want me to just leave them alone? I know what they're setting out to do and I'm going to join them." She finished, crossing her arms and staring him down with a glare that only women seemed able to master. Hatchi stared at her, slack-jawed and bewildered.

Robin and Nami smiled at her. Sanji started to swoon and declare his love for her ("Camie-chan is so beautiful when she is determined!") while Zoro looked at her with approval. The other crew members watched the exchange not without some amusement.

Rayleigh's booming laugh drew their attention away from Hatchi's floundering. "Well, that settles that. Shakky, my dear," he said, turning to his wife, "I'm sorry to be leaving so soon after arriving. It seems another adventure is calling my name. I trust you'll be comfortable here for a few more weeks?"

Shakky smiled at him. "Yes, I'll be fine. I can handle myself, as you well know. You and Hatchi aren't the only retired pirates in the room. Have a grand adventure." The two shared a long look that spoke of years of love and companionship.

"I didn't know you used to be a pirate, Shakky-san," said Usopp.

She turned to him and merely nodded before picking up a rag and cleaning some unseen spot on the wooden bar top.

Rayleigh disappeared to the back room as the Straw Hats and Camie finished their drinks. By the time Rayleigh returned minutes later, he was carrying a small bag and everyone had finished. They milled outside the entrance for a moment while Rayleigh said goodbye to his wife. Once he emerged from the bar, he looked younger and more eager than he had since they first saw him slammed to the street only a couple of hours earlier. He gestured to Zoro, the de facto leader of their group and they all set off for the Thousand Sunny. Very quickly Zoro's direction was corrected and his lead position was taken over by Nami. Then they all set off for the ship.

Thanks for your patience! Please leave reviews! I can't make the story better if you don't tell me what you do and do not like!