DISCLAIMER: EIICHIRO ODA OWNS ONE PIECE, I OWN THIS STORY

Luffy eyed Gin critically. Either my memory is shot or he actually looks worse than before. Luffy thought back to the many, many times he regressed, He looks worse than before. There's no way my memory's shot.

Gin stumbled into the Baratie, and seated himself on a chair, "I'm hungry." He repeated, "Give me food."

Patty strolled up to the pirate with a fake smile, "Hello, stupid customer!" he cheerfully proclaimed, "Do you have money for the food?"

Gin shook his head, and leveled his pistol with Patty's head, "I have no money. But will this count as enough payment?" he questioned.

"No money." Patty repeated, his mood darkening at a rapid pace, "NO SERVICE!" Patty flipped the table upside down and kicked Gin to the ground. Gin sat up, and covered his stomach protectively as it rumbled in hunger, no doubt from the tantalizing smells emanating from the kitchen.

"Aww, what was that?" Patty taunted, "Are you hungry?"

Luffy stiffened, but when his pendant began heating up in a strange way that felt both cold and hot, he calmed down. Thank Oda I didn't go into a flashback now, of all times. Luffy shook his head, That wouldn't be good.

0~o~0

Luffy growled behind the bars as he watched the Celestial Dragons mill about their business. He hadn't eaten for days, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Ace and Sabo were probably somewhere getting hurt because of him.

He couldn't stop the Celestial Dragons from taking them. He couldn't stop Dawn Island from burning. He couldn't stop his Grandfather from fighting multiple buster calls to try and save them, because for all that his Stupid-Gramps was a meanie, and a jerk, he was still his grandfather.

And even Garp the Fist couldn't handle the Marines' full strength.

Luffy distantly heard his stomach give a loud rumble that would make people think that Whitebeard was going wild with his Devil Fruit, and the Celestial Dragon in front of his cage stopped and watched him disdainfully.

"Aww, little pathetic D." They taunted, grasping at the bars and leaning close enough so that Luffy could smell the fish-breath on them, "Are you hungry?"

Luffy growled in response, but stubbornly refused to say anything. There was no way he was going to concede to these guys. Not even if Norzi's siblings come back to life, or if Corruption becomes nice again.

I'm not giving up.

0~o~0

"…I farted." Gin murmured, "That was a fart."

Luffy felt a botched sense of pride rise up in his chest. In a few of the worlds, when Gin became his crewmate, he tried and did everything he could to fight side by side with the Monster Trio of the Straw Hat Pirate crew.

Seeing Gin refuse to give up, even if it was slowly, agonizingly going to kill him… Luffy felt a contorted sense of pride.

Patty's face twisted into a grimace, "Sure, whatever you say, pirate." He sneered, "Now get out!" He grabbed Gin by the collar and threw him out the side door.

Luffy frowned and snuck a glance at Sanji, whose second cigarette burned up in an instant again. The blonde cook gritted his teeth and skimmed over to the kitchen. No doubt to cook something for Gin.

Luffy grinned, Sanji's awesome. He preened, And he's going to join my crew.

Luffy silently walked over to where Gin was now lying down, and contemplating on whether or not he should just drown himself to quicken his death, when Luffy called out to him.

"Hey, Gin!" he let loose a blinding smile, "Why didn't you tell big-forearms that you were actually hungry?"

Gin looked at Luffy like he was stupid, "My sense of pride, are you crazy? There's no way I was going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that I was actually vulnerable and at his mercy."

Luffy's grin dimmed into something more natural and personal, "Yeah." He said quietly, "That's something you and I have in common." Luffy's jaw snapped shut and he pressed a finger to his lips, much to Gin's confusion.

"Wha-?" Then, Sanji came walking out with a plate of food which he set down in front of Gin.

"Here, eat up." Sanji smiled good-naturedly, "You're going to need it."

Gin eyed the plate suspiciously, as if it were laced with poison, "Are you doing this out of pity?" he growled, leveling his gaze on Sanji, "Because then I won't eat it!"

Sanji stared at him, completely nonplussed by the reaction, "You were starving." He said blandly, "I know what that feels like. It's painful, slow and agonizing. It…" Sanji took in a shuddering breath, "It's a kind of death you know you have no control over. I don't want you to have that fate, which I came so close to, when I was young."

Gin stared at Sanji reverently, "Also." Sanji's eyes sharpened into a glare, "I don't make a habit of wasting food. So, you'd better eat that, since there's no way it's going into the garbage."

Tears sprang to Gin's eyes, and he grabbed at the plate and proceeded to shovel food in his mouth like an animal, "Thank you." He murmured, repeating it like a mantra, "Thank you so much."

Sanji smiled broadly, "No problem." He replied.

Once Gin was finished he turned to Sanji again, "Aren't you going to get in trouble now that you've helped me?"

Sanji shook his head and picked up the empty plate, before dumping it into the sea, "He has no proof." He said decidedly.

Luffy laughed quietly, causing both men to jump.

"Oh, you." Gin murmured, staring at Luffy with wide eyes, "I completely forgot you were here."

Luffy smiled, "Yeah, it's a skill I acquired over time."

Gin looked down, "Hey… You're that pirate Fullbody was going on about as he was venting his frustration out on me in the brig, right?" he asked dryly.

Luffy tilted his head, "And if I am?"

Gin sucked in a breath, "Are you planning on going to the Grand Line?"

Luffy's eyes hardened, "Yeah, why?"

Gin stared Luffy in the eyes, "Give up, kid." He said blandly, "The Grand Line is full of monsters that you can't beat. Don Krieg went in there with a fleet of nearly 10 battleships, and we weren't even able to last 7 days. We returned with our tail in between our legs and barely a tenth of what we came in with."

Luffy raised one unimpressed eyebrow, "Yeah, and?"

Gin looked at him incredulously, "Kid, you're going to die if you go to the Grand Line! And you're actually kind of decent, so I'd rather you not."

Luffy threw his head back and laughed his heart out to the heavens, "Oh my Oda!" he wheezed, flicking a tear from his eye, "It's so cute, you trying to dissuade me. But really." His eyes sharpened into a glare, "I know I'll die in the Grand Line. But I'm going to become Pirate King first."

All of Gin's words and protests died on the tip of his tongue. Looking at the kid, he couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration at the sheer bloody conviction in his tone and eyes.

"Very well then, Straw Hat." He said cordially, shrugging, "Then, I guess I'll meet you at the top with Don Krieg."

Luffy giggled, "Now, what makes you think that Don Krieg will make it to the top? If he couldn't even last 7 days in the Grand Line, clearly he knows nothing. A word of advice, Gin." Luffy leveled him with a cold gaze, "The man you ran into was Dracule Mihawk. One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. And he's not even a fraction of what the Grand Line has to offer."

Gin's breath hitched, "Not even… a fraction?" he whispered, visibly distressed, "But that man was so strong, he cut our ships in half—"

"Any swordsman can do that with the right experience, blade, and power." Luffy interrupted, his voice steely calm, "I don't care about Don Krieg. He's an [censored]. Tell me. What do you think?"

Gin was quiet for a moment, before he whispered, "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

Luffy clarified, "What do you think about the Grand Line after what I've told you?"

Gin murmured, "I think that it's a wonderful sea. I want to explore it. I want to sail on it… But my loyalty is to…"

"Don Krieg." Sanji finished, chewing his cigarette contemplatively, "Well, Gin, you've got yourself in quite a bind, you see?"

"Yes." Gin replied dryly, "I see very clearly."

"So, what are you going to do?" Luffy hummed and rocked back and forth on his feet, "I mean clearly. Don Krieg left you to the marines, and by the look of things, I don't think he's planning on bringing you back any time soon."

Gin worried his lower lip before answering, "I don't know. I want to give Don the benefit of the doubt just this once, this one last time. And if… if…"

"If he betrays it." Luffy supplied amiably.

"Yeah. If he… betrays it, then I suppose I'll… leave, I guess." A conflicted look came into Gin's eyes at the word 'leave'.

"You don't know what you're going to do when you leave, do you?" A light of realization entered Sanji's eyes.

"If." Gin stressed, "If I must leave… But yeah." Gin looked down to his hands, "I don't know where I'll go."

"Well." Luffy murmured, "What's your dream?"

"Huh?"

"Like, what's your driving purpose in your life? Mine is to be the Pirate King. The freest person in the world."

Gin looked at his hands, "I don't know." He replied, visibly upset, "I don't know." He repeated.

Luffy nodded, "Very well." He paused, "Although, I have a feeling you'll find out soon." He smiled mysteriously, before leaving.

Sanji chewed on his cigarette for a bit before leaving as well, but not before leaving Gin with an ending word, "Listen, Gin, Don Krieg doesn't control your every single action. No one does but yourself. Remember that."

Gin nodded to himself after the two left, "Those were two strange kids." He mused, "It was almost like they had this strange energy around them… Ah. Maybe I'm hallucinating or making things up or something." He then sailed off on the dinghy that Sanji subtly left behind for him as if to say, 'Here. Now get lost.'.

"I promise, I will pay you back, Sanji-san." Gin said to himself, "I promise."

"So, Luffy." Zoro began conversationally, the only thing betraying his anger being the tightening of his grip around the handle of Wado, "3 years? Here? In this dump of a restaurant? Can I be captain?" Zoro hissed, dropping his faux happiness, "But seriously, Luffy. You'd better have something in mind to cut this down, or else."

Luffy smiled, "No worries, Zoro." He promised, "Our opportunity will come in three days. I'll repay our debt, and you'll enter into a life-or-death situation of which I wish you luck!" Luffy grinned.

Zoro scoffed, "What do you mean, luck?" he grinned, jabbing a thumb into his chest, "All of this is skill, not luck. Luck does nothing."

On the contrary, Zoro, Luffy thought intently, Luck is the split-second difference in fights that decides whether you win and live, or lose and die. You'll learn that soon enough.

"Hey, Chore boy!" Zeff called out, throwing a rag at Luffy, "Clean tables 14 and 15! And don't be slow!"

Luffy stiffened, and peeled off the dirty rag from his face with two fingers, "Yes. Sir." He gritted out. Sanji is so lucky that Zeff is his father, or I would do unsavory things to that man. Luffy grumbled and did as he was told.

The way that Zeff was ordering him around eerily reminded him of when he was a slave on Blackbeard's ship. In that universe, Blackbeard started early. He never joined the Whitebeards, because he found the Yami-Yami no Mi before that. It had been one of the most stressful worlds he had regressed into.

The only thing keeping him grounded in reality was the icy cold, and fluid warmth-like feeling of his newly reformed pendant resting against his chest. I still feel like I haven't repaid Norzi for what she did for me. Luffy thought solemnly as he cleaned the table, before grinning, Let's hope the adventure I give her to watch is more than enough.

Time skip—3 days. Brought to you by the Author who really, really doesn't want to write three days out. ;-;

Luffy groaned and banged his head against a plate, I swear, if I have to get ordered around 1 more time—

"HEY CHORE BOY!" Patty called out pompously, "WASH THOSE DISHES FASTER!"

Luffy stiffened, Don't lash out, don't lash out, don't lash out, don't lash—

"AND WHY DON'T YOU GET THE SPICES!" Patty called out again, while flipping something over the stove, "We need it."

Luffy stiffened, It seems that I shall commit murder today. Luffy turned around almost robotically, but before he could strike Patty, Sanji came and put the spices down on Patty's workstation.

"Here." The blonde muttered, chewing his cigarette in annoyance, "Now leave Luffy alone. It looks like he's about to commit murder. And while I don't mind, it's going to be a hassle to clean up."

Luffy relaxed and sent a thankful look towards Sanji who waved it off dismissively, but Luffy sensed the embarrassment and shyness radiating off of his aura. For someone who seemed like he didn't care much of what people think of him, he was truly one of the most emotionally vulnerable people on the crew. At least, until Whole Cake Island.

At that point, Sanji had a little bit more faith in himself.

Patty stared at the spices and scoffed, "Yeah, sure, whatever Sanji." He paused, "Still… CHOREBOY THOSE DISHES BETTER BE WASHING THEMSELVES FAST!" Patty hollered.

Luffy stiffened again, and inclined the plate in such a way that if he hurled it at Patty's head, just so, it could cut his brain in half. The huge man's only saving grace was that the door busted down at that moment, and Gin came inside, dragging a limping Don Krieg behind him.

"Please!" he yelled, "Don Krieg needs food! We have money this time!"

Patty stared at Gin incredulously, "Are you stupid? Why would we help a Pirate like Krieg? We'll literally be inviting the marines right to our door!"

Gin's face darkened, "It's money, you want, isn't it? We have it this time. Why aren't you going to give us food?"

Patty scoffed, "Didn't you hear the last thing I said? We don't serve—"

Sanji stepped forward and pushed Patty aside, "Out of my way, Patty." He murmured, "They're starving. I'm giving him food."

Patty stared at Sanji before scowling, "When you fed all of the strays that we threw out of the Baratie, I didn't mind. I didn't care. When you fed Gin, I had my doubts, but I let them be. This time, you're feeding Don Krieg, Sanji." Patty held his arms out to block Sanji's way, "And I'm not letting you."

Sanji's eyes darkened, "I'm not…" he whirled around and kicked his leg out, hitting Patty square in the face, "Asking for your Permission!" then he spun around and walked towards Don Krieg coolly before setting the plate of food on the ground. "Here." Sanji smiled, "I hope this is to your liking."

"Sanji-san…" Gin stared at Sanji as if he were the world and more, "Thank you."

Sanji got up and dusted himself off, "I'm a cook." He recited, "It's my job—" Sanji screamed and buckled down from the weight of Don Krieg's arm on his shoulder.

"Ah!" Krieg smacked his lips together, "That was some good stuff. I'd like one hundred more of the same thing, stat so I may feed my crew."

Patty grimaced, "I told you, Sanji." He muttered, before yelling out at Krieg, "No way! This is our restaurant and we are the fighting cooks who live here! Like hell are we going to bend to your commands!"

Krieg sneered, "Then I suppose I'll have to take it by force, then."

"Here." Zeff came in without warning and kicked a heavy bag full of food at Krieg, "Take this. It's one hundred of the same thing, all for your crew. Now get lost."

"OWNER ZEFF!" Patty and that other dude whose name the author forgot cried.

Don Krieg stared at Zeff with an indecipherable look in his eyes, "Zeff, you say?" he asked rhetorically, "as in… Red Leg Zeff?" Zeff stared at Krieg, unphased, and Krieg took this as a yes, "The marines said you died at sea." He said conversationally, "I didn't know you were out running some seafaring restaurant." He stared at Zeff with greed shining in his eyes, "You were one of the few East Blue pirates to make it on the Grand Line and last, so you must have a journal or something detailing your time there. Perhaps… Something that speaks of how to combat Devil Fruits?"

Zeff tilted his head, "Perhaps." He conceded, "But there's no way I'm giving it to you. That log book is the only thing I have left of my pirating days, and it is precious to me."

Krieg sneered, "Well I'm getting it anyways. I need to know how to beat that one… hawk-eyed man with a sword. His devil fruit is strange. I want to find it in your book, and know how to combat it."

Gin's face immediately morphed into one of confusion, before it turned into abrupt realization and then shame. Zeff stiffened and his face became suspiciously blank. Zoro raised an eyebrow in question and fingered the hilt of his katana, but Luffy? Luffy had no subtlety at all, and so, he burst out into raucous laughter.

"HA! YOU ACTUALLY THINK THAT DRACULE MIHAWK WOULD SWALLOW HIS PRIDE AND EAT A DEVIL FRUIT TO GAIN THE POWER HE POSSESSES?!" Luffy snickered, "NO WONDER YOU DIDN'T EVEN LAST A WEEK IN THE GRAND LINE!"

Krieg's face turned redder than a tomato, "SILENCE!" he roared, "You know nothing about the Grand Line, nor what power that man possesses—"

"Shush." Luffy hummed, his eyes sparking with something dangerous, "You would do well not to anger me, Krieg. You aren't the strongest man in the world, and you most certainly aren't the strongest one in East Blue. Don't get too cocky." Luffy's eyes flashed gold with conqueror's and the air around the two turned heavy.

Don Krieg shivered, "Well you shouldn't get too cocky!" he retorted back childishly, hefting the sack of food over his shoulder, "After my crew is well fed, I think I'll take this ship!" he announced, now ignoring Luffy, who had pulled back his conqueror's with a saccharine smile, "I suppose those on the Grand Line won't suspect a floating restaurant to attack them, heh." Then Krieg left.

Zeff stormed up to Luffy and grabbed him by the collar, "What." He hissed dangerously, "Is someone like you doing in East Blue?"

Luffy smiled cordially—like how Sabo always did whenever he had to be polite to a noble he particularly despised— "Looking for a crew." He said honestly, "I want to be Pirate King, but I want to do it my way. Not anyone else's."

Zeff's eyes narrowed, "And why aren't you in the Grand Line looking for one?" he challenged, "Clearly, there seems to be a better selection of stronger individuals there. So why East Blue?"

Luffy grinned, all teeth, and replied, "That is for me to know and you to never find out, sir. Now, if you value your other leg, you're going to let me go."

Zeff grunted and let Luffy go, "What's your motive here, brat?" he questioned, helping Sanji up, and setting his shoulder back into its joint.

Luffy hummed, "Looking for a cook to join my pirate crew." He paused, before sending Sanji a meaningful look, "I'm currently trying to kidnap Sanji, but he's not letting me kidnap him…" Luffy grumbled.

Zeff stared at Luffy for a moment, before looking at Sanji's incredulous face. Then, without warning, he burst into guffawing laughter, "HA! Unfortunately. You still have your debt to pay off. Say. If you could get rid of Don Krieg for us, I will relieve all your debt and send off Eggplant with you."

"CRUSTY OLD MAN!" Sanji screamed in horror, his face paling to a ghost-white, "HOW DARE YOU! I'M GOING TO STAY HERE AND PAY OFF MY DEBT TO YOU! NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY! I WILL STAY HERE UNTIL THE DAY I DIE!"

Zeff shook his head, "Sanji." He said solemnly, "I didn't save your life and sacrifice my leg just for you to throw it away like this." He stared Sanji (who looked like he was just having an existential crisis, no biggie) and said, "I saved you because I wanted you to live. To find the All Blue. The sea of everything. But if you're staying here. What does that turn my sacrifice into?" Zeff turned to Luffy, "Take him. He needs it."

Luffy hummed, "Nope!" he smiled widely, "I want him to agree, not you."

Zeff stared at Luffy blankly, and opened his mouth to say something, but then the restaurant was hit by a cannonball, and he cursed, "Hey, Straw Hat!" he shouted, garnering Luffy's attention almost immediately, "Now's your chance to pay off your debt! Your deadline is in two hours! NOW GO!" Zeff groaned and muttered, "Too much talk about debt, I'm getting hungry…"

Luffy smiled, "Got it, old man!" almost immediately, he tore off the apron he was wearing, jammed on his straw hat, and rocketed over to Don Krieg's location.

"Let's see." Luffy muttered, "I want to have an actual fight… 10% of my strength? No… I don't even know how much ten percent is… Ah, forget it, let's just go!" Luffy wound up both his arms and prepared to attack, before a powerful presence reached just the end of his observation, and he pulled back at lightning speed.

Just in time, too. The ship got cut into clean thirds, and Don Krieg's enraged yelling could probably be heard all the way in the Calm Belt. At the same time, Luffy felt another presence leaving his Observation Haki, and for a moment, he was confused before he abruptly remembered about Nami. Ah, yes. He mused, she doesn't have all that much faith in us yet, does she?

"YOU!" Luffy was broken out of his musings by Don Krieg yelling that word, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE ON THE GRAND LINE?! WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"

Mihawk was standing in his tiny coffin boat with a deceptively blank look on his face before he replied, "Boredom." He deadpanned, "I tracked you down and am now destroying you out of sheer boredom? Is that the answer you wish to know?"

Krieg bared his teeth, "No matter." He said pompously, "In fact, I suppose it's good that you're here. Because now I can destroy you!"

Luffy felt a heavy hand rest itself on his shoulder. Carefully, he turned around to see Zoro with a grim look on his face, "Don't try and stop me." He warned, already unsheathing his katanas, "I want to challenge him."

Luffy closed his eyes, "You are so far below his level." He whispered, watching Zoro stiffen in rage, "But I have a feeling…" Luffy nodded, "Do whatever you wish. But know that East Blue. Is but the weakest of all the seas." Luffy told him cryptically.

Zoro grunted an affirmative and waved him off, "Yeah, yeah. Fine."

Luffy looked back to Don Krieg and Mihawk, watching the purple-haired man fire off a volley of bullets towards the greatest swordsman in the world in a fit of rage. Mihawk stared at the bullets with mild disgust before unsheathing his sword and elegantly deflecting them onto his right side into the ocean.

"Whoa." A cook muttered, "Did he just cut the bullets?"

"No." Zoro announced grandly, stepping onto the fins and tying his bandana, "It was so fast… But you deflected the bullets with the edge of your blade." Zoro's eyes shone, "Truly a great swordsman." He praised.

Mihawk stared at Zoro, completely unphased, "Oh, what's this?" he questioned, tilting his head from side to side, "Another weakling coming to challenge me?"

Zoro grunted, "Yeah."

Mihawk stared at him before sighing, and unsheathing his little necklace dagger, "Here. This is what I'll fight you with. Unfortunately, I do not have any blade smaller than this, my apologies." Mihawk sounded genuinely sorry, and that was the last straw for Zoro's temper.

"HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME!" he yelled in rage, twisting his blades to and fro, attacking Mihawk from all sides, "Onigiri!" he ran forward, and prepared to slash at Mihawk with all of his power—

Only to be stopped by the tiny dagger no longer than his pinky finger. No matter how hard he tried, Zoro would not budge, and neither would Mihawk. "Is that all you've got?" Mihawk questioned, just a tad disappointed, "What a shame."

Zoro growled, and receded, before attacking with twice the force on every single edge of his swords' range that he could reach. When all of them were blocked or countered in some way or another, he leapt backwards and got into the pose for his move.

"Tiger… Hunting Prey—" he looked down stiffly, and found the tiny little dagger that was the bane of his existence buried into his chest, just above where his heart was. Just a little deeper, and his heart would be pierced. Why wasn't Mihawk killing him?

"Why aren't you stepping back?" Mihawk questioned, watching Zoro with unreadable eyes.

Zoro smiled through bloody teeth, "Because I feel that… if I step back… I'll be losing something great… Breaking a promise I made so long ago to a dead friend… It is the last thing I want to do."

"Yes." Mihawk replied, "That is defeat."

Zoro closed his eyes, "Defeat, eh?" he questioned rhetorically, "Then I'd rather have death."

Mihawk's eyes finally shone with some emotion, "I see." He said, before sheathing his tiny dagger, "Then I'll end you with my sword. Yoru." Then, he unsheathed the huge sword on his back and held it out in front of him.

Zoro smiled, and walked backwards, before setting his swords into a windmill-like set, "Santoryuu ougi…" he droned, tired, bloody, yet with more conviction than anyone else there, save for maybe Luffy and Mihawk, "Three thousand worlds." His eyes snapped up and he lunged forward at the same time Mihawk lunged towards him, and they passed each other in a flash.

Mihawk absently fingered the slight tear on his clothes, that Zoro gave him, nowhere deep enough to graze his skin, but still. A cut was a cut. He turned around and watched as Zoro's chest sliced open belatedly and his two training katanas shattered.

Mihawk got ready to strike him, but before he could do anything, his brain stalled at the sight of Zoro turning around and leaving his chest wide open. He made a questioning noise with his throat, "Why?"

Zoro looked up at him with those silvery-grey eyes that held so much convictionand smiled, "Scars on the back… Are a swordsman's shame."

Luffy hummed as he felt the tiny blip of respect in Mihawk's aura erupt, and nearly overtake his entire being, and from one look towards Zeff, Luffy could see that Zeff could see it too.

Mihawk grinned, "Well said." He praised, before cutting Zoro open, from shoulder to hip, a diagonal cut that spanned across his entire torso. For a few seconds after the cut, Zoro stayed standing, before he abruptly crumpled and fell into the ocean.

Luffy's eyes widened as he watched Zoro fall into the sea. Before he could do anything, though, Johnny, Yosaku, and Usopp jumped into the sea and fished Zoro onto a small dinghy.

Luffy breathed out a sigh of relief and looked at his first mate, Okay, what's he looking like—Luffy froze. There was not an inch of Zoro save for maybe his back that wasn't covered in blood. This time, it took all he had not to catapult his mind into an earlier World.

It wasn't until his pendant swathed his mind in beautiful blues and purples, and pearlescent whites, that he belatedly realized that his aura was being broadcast across the entire Baratie and Don Krieg's ship. Ah. Luffy realized, as he met Mihawk's surprised eyes, I might have made a teeny tiny mistake…

AN: ...Uhhhh. I know I said I would update more during the summer, but I didn't so... Sorry? I mean, I totally would have, but my friend came to me, she asked me to help betaread and edit her original story so she could publish it, or something, since her dad kept hounding at her to finish it, cuz yea. And that took up most of my time. Including rewriting most of the chapters, and editing and writing the new ones. It was a hassle, and I just got both my COVID shots, and another one, so both my arms hurt, and yea. Anyways. Once I realized that I was taking waaaay too long of a break from writing, I decided to pay you lot back for waiting, with this chapter! Always loving the reviews my dudes! ;)

[But seriously. Thanks for waiting. I know I took a stupidly long time to update, so yea. Thanks.]

~~Oracle