Disclaimer: Godzilla and One Piece are the sole properties of Toho Co. LTD and Eiichiro Oda respectively. KP360 claims no ownership of anything save for any OCs, abilities, and locations.
Alabasta Arc opening: Know Know Know by Does (Gintama Op. 15)
"You sure know where to pick your locations, Luffy!" the man, now known as Ace, smirked at the Strawhat boy "Though this isn't really a good place for a conversation." Embers were still floating around the man, no fear was in his eyes as he stood between his brother and the marines.
"So how about this? You get out of here right now and we'll catch up later."
"Shishishi, sure thing Ace!" Luffy laughed before running off.
"I don't think so!" Smoker snarled and was about to charge forward once more, but Ace didn't budge "Portgas D. Ace, step out of the way at once!"
"I've told you already, you won't lay a hand on my brother! So you can just forget about this and be on your merry way." Ace grinned back.
"You're making this very difficult…" Smoker growled as a billowing wall of smoke shot forward, only to be matched full-force by a wall of fire.
"Yeah… that's what I intend to do. After all, our devil fruits are evenly matched!" Ace grinned as more fire swirled around him, making the marines cry in shock.
Smoker snarled at this; his job just got a lot more difficult.
Meanwhile:
"Luffy, who was that?" Nami asked as the group continued their escape towards the Merry.
"Shishishi, that's Ace, he's my brother!" the boy responded proudly "I haven't seen him in a long time! He even ate a devil fruit!"
"I hope he's going to be alright… Smoker isn't the kind of marine you just walk away from…" Gian cast a worried glance.
"Don't worry, Ace is stronger than that!" Luffy grinned.
Indeed, just as he said so, a massive pillar of smoke and fire shot up into the air. The crew were in awe of such a display of power.
"See?" Luffy laughed.
"Fire… I've heard about this before… That's the power of the Mera Mera no Mi…" Gian stated "Your brother is packing serious heat with him, no pun intended!" The Mera Mera no Mi is an exceptionally powerful Logia, and under the right hands it's power is beyond comparison. Whatever kind of person Ace is, he clearly shows a degree of high mastery with said power.
"Is he really your brother? You two are nothing alike…" Nami asked again.
"Yup! And he's a pirate too! He set off 3 years before I did. I wonder how's he's been these days."
"Well, let's get back to the ship first… we wouldn't want to get caught in the crossfire… once again, no pun intended." Gian nodded before they set off again.
Soon, the Going Merry was speeding away from the coastal city, intending to dock at a safer location. By now questions were piling up about the two brothers.
"Ace is 3 years older than me! He very strong too! Before we'd used to spar and I've never beaten him once."
"It's believable that you couldn't. While we were escaping I managed to catch a glimpse of his back. Ace isn't just a regular pirate, he's one of the 16 sons of Whitebeard!" Gian responded.
The group's eyes widened. After all, Whitebeard's name is one that rings across the seas. Not one seagoing individual has not heard of the elderly Yonko, whose phenomenal strength rivaled that of the former pirate king himself.
"Your brother is that strong?!" Nami yelped again.
"I don't know who Whitebeard is, but Ace is pretty strong! I couldn't beat him even before he ate his devil fruit. Though I'm pretty sure now I can beat him!" Luffy declared. The crew all knew how strong Luffy is, if he's ever defeated his brother in a spar… then just how strong was Ace?!
"Oh? And just who are you going to beat?"
Luffy gave a delighted laugh as Ace vaulted onto the ship. Now the crew could see the man in a better light. Indeed he is older than Luffy, with a much more mature posture and personality, very good looking too. And strewn across his back was a tattooed purple cross with a white crescent across it; the insignia of the Whitebeard Pirates. Another smaller tattoo was on the side of left arm, was the letter A, S, C and E with the letter S crossed out.
"You must be my brother's crew. Thank you all for looking after him all this time." Ace gave a bow. "I know he can be really brash and has no manners sometimes, so I apologize if he gave you any difficulties."
"So polite…" Nami mumbled "Are those two actually related?" seriously, the two were almost completely different in terms of personality! The rest of the crew had similar thoughts; they all thought Ace was going to be a jerkish ass, but as it turns out he is surprisingly proper!
"See, don't they just crack you up?" Luffy laughed at their reactions.
"You really are a member of the Whitebeard pirates…" Gian mumbled as he observed the tattoo.
"Yup, Captain of the Second Division actually!" Ace grinned proudly "Which reminds me, I've got a preposition. Luffy, how'd you and the rest of your crew like to join the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"Seriously?! This is a big deal you're asking of us!" Gian pointed out. Being under the wing of one of the Yonko means that they will never be threatened! No pirate is foolish enough to attack one directly, let alone one of their subordinates. It was the same thing with while he was travelling with Shanks.
"No!" Luffy's response was quick however.
"Whitebeard is called the strongest man in the world for a reason. If you continue this path you two might have to face each other one day. Are you really sure you can take him on?" Ace pressed on.
"If that happens I'll beat him!" Luffy declared. To this response Ace let out a jolly laugh.
"Ah… you haven't changed a bit…" he grinned "Well, I'm feeling happy today. I'm on a rather tight schedule right now, but since I haven't seen my little brother for a while along with the fact I'd like to get to know you guys better I think I'll tag along for a bit, probably until your next destination."
"That's awesome!" Luffy gave a wide smile. But before they could celebrate, a loud cannon shot was heard. The crew looked behind to see 5 ships sailing towards them, all bearing the jolly roger of Baroque Works.
"They found us!" Vivi cried out.
"Well, isn't that annoying… You guys just sit tight, I'll handle them." With that Ace leapt overboard onto what appears to be a yellow, streamlined raft. Activating his Devil Fruit power he surfed towards the 5 ships. Right as he was close to one he kick-jumped off the raft, sending it into the water, he then somersault over them before landing on the raft on the other side, before rearing back his right fist.
"Hiken!"
A surge of fire gather around his arm before shooting out in the form of a massive fist of flames. It tore cleanly through each of the five ships, sinking them all at once. Aboard the Merry, the crew were wide-eyed at the raw display of power.
"WAAAHHH ACE IS SO COOL!" Chopper and Usopp cried.
"This is the power of one of Whitebeard's captains…" Gian was in awe.
"Why is Ace so much cooler than Luffy?!" Zoro groaned. He respected his captain plenty, but after seeing all that? Come on!
"None of this makes any sense…" Sanji mumbled. Just what kind of people are in this crazy family?!
Luffy only laughed happily at his brother, while Nami once again wondered how the two are brothers in the first place.
Later:
It seems that the crew had found a place to disembark safely without any trouble this time. Vivi told them that it's the estuarine of the Sandoras River, the main river of Alabasta. It would then be few hours walk to the town of Yuba, supposedly where the Rebel army is located currently. Apparently Vivi was familiar with their leader, and she hoped to talk to him. Meanwhile Carue has been sent to the capital with word of her arrival. During this time the crew changed into the clothing that were more suited for a desert climate, curtsey of the princess. They were quick to make small talk with Ace, and found that it was incredibly hard to dislike the man. Ace was essentially a more mature Luffy, very approachable but not overbearing. Although, more than once did the crew witness his strange habit of falling asleep without warning.
However a loud splash near the river quickly diverted them from their conversation. It seems that something was near, and it revealed itself to the crew. Leaping out of the water, a furry animal that resembled a seal wearing a turtle shell hollered at them.
"Is that a turtle?" Zoro quipped.
"No looks more like a seal…" Luffy proposed.
"It's Master Roshi!" Gian pointed.
"…Who?" everyone sweatdropped at the random answer.
"Never mind…" Gian sighed.
"It's a Kung Fu Dugong! Vivi shouted.
"You must fight me if you want to disembark here. Of course, if you're a weakling then please disembark on the opposite bank' is what he said." Chopper translated for them.
"Weakling eh? I do hate being called that, so here I come!" Usopp stated before leaping overboard, in spite of Vivi's warning. Indeed shortly after he lay battered and bruised with the dugong raising its flippers in victory.
"Usopp-san, Kung Fu Dugongs are very strong!" the princess informed him, albeit slightly late.
Strength doesn't seem to be the issue for two members of the crew however, soon Luffy stood laughing victoriously with a dugong lying unconscious by his feet.
"AHAHAHA! I WON!"
A few feet away, a group of dugongs were suddenly sent flying back as Gian emerged from a pile of them as well, laughing all the while.
"Skrehahaha! I live for this!"
"Don't you like animals?!" those who remained on the ship chided.
"Hey they wanted this to happen so I gave it to them, no big deal."
The dugongs were not down however, and soon got back up. They lined up in front of the victorious duo before giving a bow of respect, which gave the two of them quite a surprise.
"Also, I should mention that when a Kung Fu Dugong is defeated, they will then become the followers of the one that defeated them." Vivi explained this peculiar behavior.
"Wow… really hardcore martial artists aren't they?" Zoro noted.
Apparently what she said was true, as just a few moments later a much bigger group of dugongs surrounded the two, all with admiration in their eyes.
"THEY MANAGED TO GATHER MORE FOLLOWERS WHILE WE WERE TALKING?!" Vivi deadpanned.
"Prepare yourself for defeat, Gian! My disciples will triumph over yours!" Luffy pointed a finger at the Kaiju-Zoan user while a group of sea mammals cheered.
"Ah, how overconfident of you! Know that the Monster Seal Squadron is the undefeated masters of these parts! Face me, and you shall only know pain!" Gian declared dramatically as another group of dugongs gave a cry, somehow all of them are wearing rubber dorsal fins similar to the ones seen on him when he transforms.
"Where did he get those...?" Usopp mumbled.
"…Does this happen often?" Ace perked an eyebrow.
"…More than you think…" Nami hung her head.
After a bit of fooling around, the two had to be reminded that they still have to get to their destination. The two were then gleefully proceeded to lead the way with their massive army of dugongs.
"YOU GUYS ARE TAKING THEM WITH US?!" Zoro snapped.
"Can you two get serious?!" Nami shouted.
"Luffy-san, Gian-san, dugongs can't survive in the desert. They need salt water." Vivi tried to coax.
"Well, then it seems like it's goodbye then… YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST FOLLOWERS A MASTER COULD ASK FOR. WROOOAAAGHHHH" The Kaiju-Zoan user buried his face into the crowd of sea mammals as they all cried, all the while the background surrounding them turned dark, save for a bright spotlight where they stood while cherry blossom petals fell steadily (this greatly confused all those who were watching). The ones with Luffy clearly didn't want to leave him either.
"So cute…" the two girls faltered. Do they really have to be so mean?
Eventually Chopper had to give them a good portion of their food supply in order for them to finally part ways, but not before Gian gave his troop one final group hug.
Later:
"Smitzee was such a good student… his flipper techniques could probably smash a boulder at this point… then there was Boris… he was always the most eager to learn… of course there is always-"
"He seriously gave them names?" Sanji deadpanned.
"He forges attachments too easily and he can't let go…" Chopper commented.
"Weren't they only together for like less than 10 minutes though?" Usopp sighed.
"IT MAY HAVE ONLY BEEN 10 MINUTES BUT TO ME THEY WERE THE BEST 10 MINUTES OF MY LIFE!" Gian shouted in the distance, still depressed over his sea-going friends.
"We get it… don't have to shout…"
"It's so hot…" Luffy groaned as he was dragged behind on a wooden plank. Being a desert country Alabasta is naturally very dry, and this was getting to everybody. Fortunately they still have a bit of water left, but most of their food was given to the dugongs. The captain's tongue was lolled out and his eyes were swirled.
"He has a point… this is kind of pushing it a little bit." Gian panted. He could handle heat pretty, but with the sweat pouring off of him at the moment, that didn't really matter much. The fact that the crew passed multiple abandoned towns also further aroused suspicion. This peaked when, upon observation, the crew realized that these towns were either all partially buried under sand, or have the remains of those unlucky enough to be caught into it. When that topic was brought up, Vivi grew a solemn expression on her face.
"It used to not be like this" Vivi mumbled sadly "In the past this part of the country was actually quite prosperous. They knew how to adapt to the environment. Rain is not very common, but people are still able to survive."
"The rest of the country also had their ways of surviving without constant rainfall. This wouldn't be a problem, had the incident not occurred…" Vivi continued "Alubarna, our capital city, was the center of a major scandal. A cargo delivery to the king's palace turned out to house an illegal substance: Dance Powder."
"Dance Powder? That sounds like a lot of fun!" Luffy commented.
"And by all means it should be, it does accelerate rainfall after all…" Vivi trailed off "Except there's a catch. In the process of speeding up rain, the dance powder uses up moisture from clouds that aren't ready to rain yet. This results in the cloud using up all its moisture up at once."
"Which means, it's essentially stealing rain from neighboring countries, am I right?" Gian deduced.
"That's correct. Because of this, the product is officially outlawed by the World Government. So what do you think people will think when they heard they're king had smuggled Dance Powder into his city?"
"So there we have it, the while gist of Crocodile's plan." Gian realized "By sowing the seeds of mistrust between monarch and citizen, he can easily orchestrate a civil war right beneath their noses. Then during the chaos he can just step in and reap the benefits!"
"And it only worsened when one year, the entire country didn't see a drop of rain, all except for Alubarna. People began blaming the king for the ongoing drought, and soon after a rebellion began, and it's all due to him!" Vivi cried. The rage towards the shichibukai for putting her country into such a state is all the more evident.
"We're definitely going to kick Crocodile's ass now…" Luffy growled, all previous signs of exhaustion gone. The rest of the crew all nodded grimly. Their upcoming fight just put a lot more on the line.
Later:
It was nighttime now, they have been travelling for the entire day now and Vivi estimated there would be another half's day of travel to get to Yuba. By now Gian could feel the cold of the desert at night, and he once again reminded himself to thank the princess for picking these clothes out.
Everybody else had eaten already and are now asleep; during their trek earlier in the day they managed to luck out by finding 2 massive lizards looking for a meal, only to be turned into one themselves. Having dealt with similar animals back on Solgell made this all the easier for Gian and they should have enough food to last them until all this is over. They also made a new companion in the form of Eyelashes the camel, who provided much needed transportation over the desert sands. Unfortunately for the boys, only the two ladies of the group were allowed to ride on his back, much to their displeasure when they realized they now had a perverted camel to deal with.
Sitting by the fire, Gian's thoughts kept drifting towards Baroque Works, particularly their so-called enforcer, Mr. 0.5. Even though they were both Kaiju-Zoan users, Gian found himself wondering how their confrontation will go. Even Triton-Senpai never really trained him in how to actually fight another with the same power as he does. And the very thought of seeing one this soon is something he had to prepare for.
Because of this, his thoughts then reminded him of the mysterious message that Baroque Works' Second in Command left him.
"The Age of Kaiju is returning, and soon you will be at the center of it."
What did Miss All-Sunday mean by that?! Gian had pushed this thought to the back of his head prior to their arrival, but now that they were so close to the enemy, it came back full force.
"Does Mr. 0.5 have something to do with this as well? And does all of this have anything to do with the stone block I saw on Little Garden?"
He really disliked getting left in the dark.
"You should take a break, I'll take over from here." Gian was dashed from his thoughts when he heard Portgas D. Ace approaching him. The Kaiju-Zoan user was previously keeping watch for the night while the rest of his nakama slept. For the duration of the trip Ace has not commented much on their mission, believing it to be something that his little brother will be able to handle. All this time Gian hasn't really talked to him all that much.
"I'm fine, don't need much sleep." Was Gian's reply.
"Well I'm up anyway, might as well keep you company for a while since I'm probably not going back to sleep any time soon." The fire user told him.
"Wouldn't count on that much, I'd much rather you not suddenly drop on your face." Gian smirked, earning a chuckle out of Ace.
"Yeah, that would be the easy way out."
They sat in silence for a while, before Ace spoke up again.
"So how did you meet Luffy?"
"If I told you him and I beat up another group of pirates before he invited me to join his crew, would you believe me?"
"Yeah, that sounds about right." Ace chuckled "He was always saying how he's gonna be a pirate before I left, it sounded so silly at the time but I always knew he was going to do it anyway."
"I didn't believe it at first either, but he's pretty passionate about his dream, and that's somehow manage to convince me. Most other people would be broken by the time they reached here but he just keep going."
"Good to see him actually out here, nonetheless, he's picked up a lot of good friends too." Ace gave a content sigh "Though I wouldn't have guessed that his first nakama is a Kaiju-Zoan user."
Seeing Gian's alarmed expression Ace raised his hands up "Ok, I admit. I kind of figured it out back when we first met. Considering what I normally do it isn't that hard. You all have the same aura after all."
"…Aura?" Gian perked up "What's aura."
"I can't really explain it, I only got a bit of a briefing on it, and I'm not even sure if that's what it's actually called. Vercelli did say something about all Kaiju-Zoan's give off a form of primal energy that can be felt by those with the same power, as well as those who have been around one for extended periods of time. Supposedly this would allow people to feel the monster within them, but he was pretty drunk at the time so he might've slipped on some of the details- Vercelli is one of the guys under my division by the way." Ace explained.
"There's a Kaiju-Zoan user in the Whitebeard Pirates?!" to be fair, it wasn't as surprising as it could've been. Considering Whitebeard's position as a Yonko it's not farfetched for him to encounter a few of them. Still, having Ace be familiar with the concept was not something he expected.
"Oh yeah, Vercelli's a great guy. Gets on Marco's sometimes, but he's loyal to the old man and the rest of them. Apparently he was considered to be the 2nd Division's captain instead but he didn't want and it fell to me. Who knows, the two of you might meet one day." Ace shrugged "But yeah, that's kind of how I figured you had a Kaiju-Zoan power. You and he give off a similar aura, and even if he didn't Luffy told me earlier anyway."
"That's something else Triton-senpai didn't tell me…" Gian mumbled, though he wasn't surprised about his captain's big mouth. The Strawhat boy was always begging him to show off a Full Transformation, usually while they were on the Merry, even though he's seen it a few times now. Gian often had to remind him that unless he wanted them to sink, he won't do it until they need to.
"Anyway, it's not a big deal really. I'm actually quite glad that Luffy's got a strong first mate such as yourself, though I might be biased considering my own experiences."
"I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the strength, considering he could solve problems on his own, even though he's the cause of most of them." Ace had to laugh at that.
"Yup, that sounds like him alright! Always the one getting into trouble. It really is a breath of fresh air to see him again."
"If I may ask, what are you doing out here anyway? From what I've heard it's not very often that the Whitebeard Pirates leave the New World, if at all."
Ace's smile dropped when the question was brought up. "I'm looking for someone, someone who has a lot to pay for."
"…What were they to you?" hearing the tone of his voice Gian figured out the reason behind that implication. Whoever this person was, they've clearly done something unforgiveable.
"He was someone who I thought I could trust, until he stabbed one of our own in the back." Was all Ace revealed "Pops already knows about this; me hunting him down is for his sake as well."
Gian nodded when he heard that; during his time aboard the Red Force the Red Hair Pirates filled him in on some of the information of the other 3 emperors of the sea. From what they told him, Whitebeard puts quite a bit of emphasis on family, a term fit for his crew. It's clear that this philosophy has been passed down to Ace as well.
"But that's enough negativity for one night!" Ace declared, going back to his more cheerful self "I want to know more about you! Luffy said something about you being familiar with Red Hair Shanks, what was that like."
"Let's just say, I now have extensive experience in how to deal with drunk people." Gian joked, earning another laugh out of the 2nd Division Captain "But Shanks-san was the one who showed me my new life, he, and the rest of them by default, were the ones that let me choose my future. I am forever honored to have met them."
"He is a great man isn't he? I still owe him for saving Luffy back in the day." Ace replied "Did he ever tell you how he lost his arm?"
"He did, I got the rest of the story out of Luffy. Still find it hard to believe how a guy can stare a Sea King in the face but can't control his liquor." Gian joked, earning another laugh from Ace.
The two of them talked a bit more, until the embers of their fire was about to die down. They then prepared to get a few more hours of sleep before daybreak.
"I'm thinking about heading off again tomorrow morning, it really was nice meeting all of you." Ace sighed "Can I ask you of one more thing please?"
"As long as it doesn't involve me having to ingest any inedible things, I'm down for everything."
"Please, use your power to watch over all of them, especially Luffy."
"Now that goes without saying, although they can all take care of themselves quite well. And even though I wonder sometimes what Luffy's got between his ears I have no doubt of his skills as a captain."
"I am sure of that, it may just be me worried about him. He used to be such a crybaby and now he's the captain of his own crew! Luffy's really impulsive at times, he can be a real pain to deal with sometimes. But I can assure you that he's a good boy and he has a pure heart. As a request from an older brother, I just ask that you watch his back."
"I definitely know where you're coming from with this; I have my own brothers at home after all. And you don't need to worry about a thing, Ace. I, all of us, will stand with him for as long as he need us. No matter how many times he gets on our nerves."
"That's all I need to hear." Ace smiled.
Next Morning:
"Awww can't you stay any longer?" Luffy whined as Ace gave everybody a fond farewell. It was time for him to return to his own mission.
"A man's gotta make it on his own out on these seas, so I'm off. I wish I could help you guys, but this is your fight." Ace gave an apologetic smile to his little brother.
"But time went by so fast…" Luffy whined again.
"Don't miss me that much…" Ace chuckled, before reaching into his pockets and tossing a small piece of paper at Luffy.
"What's this for?"
"That's a Vivre Card. If you ever want to find me again just follow that. You will always be able to find me by following that."
"Wow… I can actually keep this?"
"Of course you idiot! Why else would I give it to you?" he then turned to the remaining members of the crew "Please watch over my little brother like always! I wish you all the most success."
"Yeah, we're used to that by now." Zoro grinned, earning a laugh out of everyone.
Eventually Ace began his return trip towards the shore, just as he grew more distant he look back and gave Luffy one more grin.
"You got a great crew, Luffy! Keep getting stronger, I'll meet you at the top!" he shouted back.
Luffy's grin grew even wider at that "YOU CAN COUNT ON IT!" the heartwarming farewell was felt by everyone.
"Brotherhood is an amazing thing…" Chopper commented.
"I miss my brothers now…" Gian sighed.
"Alright! Let's continue onward to Yuba!" Luffy declared. Before they left, Gian gave one last look at the horizon where Ace's figure was getting smaller and smaller. A small smile played on his lips. Although their time was short, he had gained great respect for the user of the Mera Mera no Mi in the last few hours. Both as a person and as two brothers.
"I hope we meet again one day, Portgas D. Ace." He thought before turning and following his nakama.
If only they knew, just what kind of place and situation their next meeting would be…
A/N: Well, here's the first chapter after the New Year. I'm hoping I can have a better update schedule this time around, but after seeing my new classes I'm gonna have to rely on the old one. Too much work right now, and it's only the beginning of the semester!
I wanted this chapter to be have more stuff in it, but I got caught up in exploring character bonding and so the result was having that big conversation between Gian and Ace near the end. The next chapter should have less emotional things and more action, and hopefully get further along than this one! Consider this chapter somewhat filler if you will.
Responses to reviews:
To Change Green G King:
The first team up is actually going to be much sooner than that, and you are actually on the mark about part of it.
To anquan16:
G: You're support is well appreciated and the rest of the group thank you for it.
Bless up.
To tamagat:
I… really don't think that would work.
G: Can it even work?
We can make it work, we have the technology. But do you want one?
G: I am so conflicted.
To Kakusei:
G: Why must I be betrothed to Pokemon in the first place?
It's a social experiment.
G: WHAT KIND OF SOCIAL EXPERIMENT IS-
Moving on!
To Guest:
G: Who the hell is Law?
You'll know when you see him. In the looks department he might even look better than you.
G: That aside, this man's got magic hands! I didn't even know my ass looks that fantastic!
… I have no comment.
To Johnny Spectre:
Well that's one of the list…
To pokemonking0924:
Rumble Balls are going to have to wait, but some heart to heart moments are here!
G: He really is a nice guy! I hope I get to see him again soon!
…You better prepare for it then.
To ZooFan:
I HAVE RETURNED
G: HASSA DU TEMPLARI
…is that even how you spell that?
To haruaji11:
I am curled into a ball waiting to go to Italy right now, the wait is real.
G: *also curled into a ball* what meaning is life? How does it even work?
It Just Works.
G: Shit.
To all of Vergil Leonidas' reviews:
G: It's ok, he hasn't reviewed the latest chapter yet.
I KEEP FORGETTING I'M SORRY.
G: I'm sure Rayquaza can be caught another day, but other people want to hear from you.
AND I WANT MY DRAGON SO WHAT NOW?!
You can expect Mr. 0.5 to appear shortly!
And that's it for this chapter! We'll see you again next time!.
Leave a review and Gian will draw a map.
G: Then what is Nami supposed to do now? I can't steal jobs!