I am taking liberties with the devil fruits in this chapter. I mean, I am kicking canon out the door. That is your warning.

Because what is happening in this chapter establishes that this story will deviate greatly from canon. This story will contain some core elements and relationships of the original work. Still, some will be excluded due to the circumstances that created those scenarios having been changed or completely removed.

I invite you all to continue reading this story and sharing your thoughts on it.

I am reading your comments but am not responding because I don't want to give anything away.

Enjoy the ride.

I don't own One Piece; I am a fan writing fanfiction.

Chapter Two

Sabo didn't care much for guns, but he had one this time. The pistol was loaded with seastone bullets. His pipe also had seastone attachments and seastone embedded in a set of brass knuckles that he had slipped onto his hands as he crashed into the middle of Ace's battle against Blackbeard on Banero Island.

Lore said that two people could not share the same Devil Fruit ability. Lore also said that a person couldn't possess the power of more than one Devil Fruit. Blackbeard proved later to be false in the future and today…

"Hiken!" Sabo roared.

…Sabo proved the former to be false as well.

Ten days ago, Sabo had been in Mariejois. He had infiltrated the Revery but had been captured and framed for murder. Then suddenly, Sabo was in the past. He was on the Grand Line, he was twenty, and he was on a Marine base. Sabo knew this mission; he was there to get intel. But he saw the date. Sabo had this timeline burned in his memory as a terrible game of "What If?" after he regained his memories. Sabo couldn't abandon his mission but refused to let Ace die.

Not this time.

Uncaring if he left a mess, Sabo grabbed every official-looking document from the naval commander's desk and file drawers and stuffed them into a duffle bag he found in the man's office. When he was done there, Sabo went off to raid the armory. And he hit the jackpot.

Sabo found the seastone bullets, pistols, and handcuffs. He stole a boat and headed out to sea.

Knowing where he needed to go and who he would be facing, Sabo worked his stolen items into his weapon. It was difficult since he undiscovered his devil fruit abilities had traveled back with him.

Knowing time was of the essence, Sabo threw his flames behind his boat and raced across the sea towards Banero. He had rested the night before and ate like a glutton. So when he arrived, the battle was underway, but Sabo was fresh and energized. He slipped on his brass knuckles and shot into the air. Van Augur went up in flames as Sabo deliberately flew low and fast, taking out the sniper before the man knew what was happening, and the same with Jesus Burgess. Sabo landed behind Blackbeard and immediately threw his wall of flames at the murderer, catching him off guard.

"Ace, don't let up!" Sabo yelled over the roar of their power. The pistol was in his hand; Sabo raised it and shot in one quick motion. Three shots in succession, two headshots, and one in the chest. Blackbeard went down, and the flames of the two brothers met before putting them out.

Ace looked across the battlefield to see a man in a top hat with goggles on the brim; a pipe was on his back and a pistol in his right hand.

"Sabo?"

"Drag that bastard to the sea, Ace!" Sabo ordered before turning around and started firing at the remaining Blackbeard crew members. "Drown him. I am not giving him the chance to come after you or Luffy again."

Ace wasted no time following orders. He grabbed up a rock and clubbed that traitor in the head, and started pulling him towards the nearest body of water.

When the people of Banero saw him, they immediately came to assist him. Blackbeard was dragged to the sea and weighed down by large rocks and boulders. Ace instructed a few larger men to sit on the rocks. His crew soon followed; even those still alive were dragged to the sea, tied up, and weighed down with boulders.

Two hours after the battle had ended, the Blackbeard Pirates were killed. The Yami-Yami no mi appeared in that same forest. Sabo took it, and he was given a stone box. He put the accursed fruit in the box, and with Ace's help, they sealed it. When they left to find their little brother, Sabo dropped the box into the sea.

Ace was still reeling from all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. That bastard Teach was dead, Sabo was alive, and Sabo somehow possessed the Mera-Mera no mi.

Sabo told him about his accident, which left him with amnesia for ten years, and then he started talking crazy.

He was from the future—a future where Ace had died.

Sabo regained his memory after Ace's death and went to find Luffy. Luffy had been injured by Akainu, who had shoved his fist through Ace's body.

Ace had died defending Luffy.

He died defending Luffy, who was weakened and exhausted from breaking into Impel Down trying to rescue Ace and then from the War.

Sabo socked the jaw then and raged at him for being an idiot who endangered their baby brother and himself because he didn't know how to walk away from a taunt. Ace died protecting Luffy, who was only in danger because he turned to fight with Ace, who had stopped running to face Akainu, who had insulted Whitebeard.

"You utter idiot!" Sabo yelled at Ace, whom he had pinned on the deck of his stolen ship. "You died over words. Useless words that meant nothing."

"I ain't gonna run from anyone!" Ace shot back when he finally freed himself from Sabo's hold.

"Have you learned nothing since I have gone!" Sabo shot back. "You have been a pirate for three years. Three! You lucked out with Whitebeard and his crew. They indulged you and brought you into their fold, but it could be worse if they were the opposite."

"Are you calling me weak!" Ace growled as he got right up into Sabo's face.

But Sabo wasn't the least bit intimidated. He got into Ace's face and said, "Yeah, I am calling you weak." He caught Ace's fist on reflex. "And a maricas."

"I ain't no maricas, and I ain't weak!" Ace growled as he pushed against Sabo. But Sabo was unmovable.

"You are because you allow the words of your father's enemy to shape your identity!" Sabo shot back. "You call yourself Whitebeard's son and honor him even though he was Roger's friend. Jiji never had a bad word to say about Roger; they were rivals who fought together. You are weak because you never asked either one about the man who died to protect your sorry ass."

Sabo knew the truth about Gol D. Roger; he knew about the Baterilla and Rogue.

"You believe the World Government about the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, but you never thought to ask anyone about the pirate, Gol D. Roger," Sabo said as gently as he let Ace's fist go. "You have been gone for three years. Why haven't you tried to discover the truth about your father?"

Ace didn't speak to Sabo for three days after their fight. When he finally did approach his brother, Ace was somber and reflective. He sat down behind Sabo, who was at the wheel, and asked where they were going.

Sabo checked his log pose against the nautical map he had taken from the base he raided. "We're going to Sabaody to meet up with Luffy and his crew."

"And then?"

Sabo shrugged, "That depends. Fishman Island is Whitebeard's territory right now. You can always go back to your crew—"

"What will you do?"

That was the question. As soon as he realized where and when he was, Sabo abandoned his mission and raced to Ace's side. He hadn't checked in with H.Q., but that was his M.O. There would be no red flags. His mission hadn't been a bust. He got the information he needed and sent it off with one of his crows, but still, he could have done more to base besides robbing them and stealing a ship.

"I don't trust you to keep yourself alive," Sabo said honestly. "We should travel with Luffy for a while. He's going to need training, and so do you."

"Oy!" Ace was offended. Where the hell did Sabo get off with this bullshit.

"Akainu wouldn't have killed you the first time if you were proficient in Haki."

"Shut up and fuck you." Ace growled.

Sabo locked the wheel before turning to Ace. Ace looked the way Sabo felt: Tired, confused, and angry. The threat to them was gone, but another was waiting on the horizon. Sabo sat down across from Ace. His white shirt was open with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He and Ace had been wearing the same clothes for about a week, and they were living off tins of beans, hard tact, and whatever fish they caught in the net trailing the back of the boat.

"Luffy made the paper," Sabo said as he held out the newspaper he purchased from a news coo that morning. "His bounty has gone up again."

Ace perked up immediately as he took the paper; he could look at the wanted poster later. He didn't have to look far because on the front page were Luffy and his crew. "Merda!"

"He must have left Water 7," Sabo said, lapsing easily into their native tongue. It felt familiar and right in this situation. "I know he's going to Gecko Moria before he lands at Sabaody. As Robin told him, Luffy will find his musician in The Florian Triangle."

"Yeah," Ace said with a smile. "When I saw Luffy in Alabasta, he was sailing a little carvel with the Pirate Hunter, a thief, a reindeer, some long nose kid, a lanky blond kid, and the Princess of Alabasta."

"The Princess is gone, but Nico Robin is on the crew, and Franky is a cyborg." Sabo smiled wistfully. "Robin told me about Luffy's crew while she was with us." He leaned forward with a bright grin. "Did you know that Luffy fought god?"

Sabo spent the rest of their trip telling Ace about their little brother's adventures, and then when he ran out of those stories, he told Ace about his life after he woke up in the Revolutionary Army's camp. When Sabo's stories ran out, Ace told him about the seven years they missed him and the three years he lived his dream.

When they landed at Sabaody, Ace and Sabo had reconciled.

They were sweaty, dirty, and desperate for a good meal.

Ace decided he would stay with Sabo, and after, they would meet their little brother together. Throwing an arm around Sabo's shoulders, Ace laughed, "I can't wait to see Lu's face when he finds out you're not dead."

Remembering his baby brother's reaction in Dressrosa, Sabo smiled. "I can't wait to see him."

Dangerous

Something had changed.

It had been a little over two weeks since Jinbei's return to the past and one week since he sent his coded message to his Captain informing him he would be joining him in Sabaody. Jinbei had sent his formal resignation to the Fleet Admiral while he was safely at Fish-Man Island. King Neptune was a good friend and a better king. He listened to Jinbei, who shared the seemingly fantastical tale of time travel, and the boy captain who saved Fish-Man Island from a terror within their lands.

Jinbei also shared his story with Aladine. Jinbei knew what his abdication would mean for his former crew. They decided that the Fish-Men would ally themselves with the Strawhats. They would take to ground immediately, and when the Strawhats entered the New World, the Sun Pirates would officially join the Straw Hat fleet.

When he relayed this information to his king, Neptune recognized the real risk that his nation faced from both Whitebeard and the World Government. But he accepted the risk.

King Neptune wasn't a reckless man. He was a father, he was a ruler, and he was a friend. Looking at Hard Shell Tower, he made his decision.

"I believe in your Captain, Jinbei," the towering merman said as he watched another bladed weapon strike the walls that protected his fourteen-year-old daughter from the pervert who professed to love her. "Make sure he grows stronger than the strongest man in the world, and I will raise his colors about our gates."

Heartened by those words, Jinbei bowed low to his king once Neptune turned to face. "Captain Luffy will never give you cause to regret your decision, my King," Jinbei vowed solemnly.

Jinbei returned to the surface world and made his way to Sabaody and the lawless area. He could gain lodgings with Shakuyaku at her infamous bar, "Shakky's Rip-off Bar," as it was the one place he knew he could stay and trust that Shakky would not betray him.

Jinbei followed the news, waiting anxiously for the word to spread of Blackbeard's appointment as a Shichibukai and Ace's capture. He knew the timeframe in which both would occur, but when it did not, Jinbei became worried.

Had his Captain gone to rescue Ace from his disastrous duel?

What if the Navy had interfered?

Jinbei was concerned with each passing day with no news about Ace or Blackbeard in the week that he had been in Sabaody; however, he had encountered several familiar faces. One such person was Trafalgar Law.

Jinbei was sure that if all the Straw Hats were returned to the past, all their friends and allies would surely be sent back. Yet neither the Surgeon of Death nor Eustass Kidd attempted to contact Jinbei when he crossed their paths.

There was recognition for who he was in the present but not for who he was in the future.

Was it only he and crew that had come back?

While he was contemplating this theory one evening in the barroom over a cup of tea, the door opened, and two young men tumbled. They were well dressed, wearing fine linen trousers with black boots, top hats, and long frock coats in the style of some East Blue nobility Jinbei had seen at the Revelry.

Jinbei was content to ignore them. The bar was empty, and Shakky was taking the men's orders. Jinbei went back to scouring the paper when he heard his name. He looked up to see the pair staring at him, varying from shock to surprise. Jinbei frowned slightly, and then one of the young men rushed towards him, laughing with pleased delight as he took off his top hat.

"Jinbei-san," Portgas D. Ace, his Captain's brother and the man Jinbei was looking for, said with a cheerful smile, "what are you doing here?"

"Jinbei?" the other man echoed, "The First Knight of the Sea and Shichibukai?"

Jinbei, who hadn't stopped staring at the Ace in disbelief, replied, "Former Shichibukai." He stood, still unable to accept what he was seeing. "Ace-kun, how are you here?"

Ace laughed as he jerked his thumb in the man's direction, now eyeing Jinbei warily. "This corno decided it would be a good idea to wait for our little brother."

"Brother?" Jinbei repeated as he looked at the man who had come up to Ace's side.

"Monkey D. Luffy," the other man said. "Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates."

Though he never had the pleasure of meeting him, Jinbei knew who this man was based on his exploits in Dressrosa. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Ace, with wide round eyes and devil may care grin that reminded Jinbei of his boy Captain. "You're Sabo, Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army."

The grin turned sharp as the blond man doffed his hat in Jinbei's direction, "It seems my reputation has preceded me. Although I have taken great pains to avoid being noticed by the World Government, Sir Jinbei."

Ace was looking between the pair in confusion. "Jinbei-san, how do you know my brother's name?"

He had been right. Something had changed. Jinbei sat down heavily in his seat. Someone else had come back in time with them. It wasn't Trafalgar Law or Eustass Kidd. No, it was the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army and Luffy's second eldest brother.

This was a most unexpected change that Jinbei never saw coming.

Translation:

Maricas - Coward

Corno - Fool