Back at the Castle

Perona was eating breakfast as she felt fairly confident in the strength of the humandrills who regularly fought Mihawk and the pirates didn't seem to want to hurt Lu or her. She was also keeping an eye with her hollows.

As soon as the other pirates landed, she knew they were in trouble. Mihawk had warned her of this crew, they managed to escape by some fluke from him but were pretty angry they lost valuable merchandise, i.e slaves. Mihawk was disgusted the World Government let slavery exist under the Celestial Dragons, just as Perona was. Just because they allowed it, didn't mean Mihawk would turn a blind eye, of course to others he would say they merely disturbed his nap. Jinbei, a recent addition to the warlord system also seemed the decent sort thought Mihawk, and fishmen were sadly a hot commodity in the black market.

Thus, Perona knew they were in trouble of possibly being traded as slaves, a fate she wouldn't even desire on her worst enemy. She had been to Sabaody with Mihawk once, she saw the terrible power the Celestial Dragons wielded. She knew she would also be targeted for her devil fruit ability too. She understood then, why Mihawk had said Luffy was too young to visit the island.

She gathered her things and prepared to ambush those who dared threaten hers. She asked about 6 humandrills to come with her, thinking that was enough for this small pirate/slaver crew.

At the Red Force

"Ahh. You also interrupted my meal yesterday," Luffy added.

"Dhahaha, you keep amusing me kid" Shanks said.

"You" pointed a tall, dark-haired man towards Luffy. "Are you the rumored Hawk-eye's child?"

"Yeah, I am. What is it today with everyone asking about my dad. My name is Lucky D. Hawk. Remember it. Because today I'll defeat you" boasted Luffy.

"Hey Lu, can I call you Lu, I got a crewmate called Lucky Roo, maybe you should sit this one out and let the big boys handle this." said Shanks

"Speak for yourself, I'm a man," said Benn, loading his rifle.

"Aww, Benn, you know what I mean," whined Shanks.

"Be serious, aren't you a captain," exclaimed Luffy

"Hah. Definitely Mihawk's kid, if the little outfit didn't sell me, the attitude did. Just as arrogant as your old man, eh, Lu? I can be as silly or as serious as I want, Kid. I'm the Captain of my ship, I have the freedom to do whatever I want. Nothing serious is happening so why stress? " responded Shanks

"Tch. Whatever, tomato hair" Luffy smirked.

Laughter could be heard all over the Red Force. "Hhahahaha, he called you tomato hair, Captain."

"Oi, have some respect, you scoundrels!" shouted Shanks

"Hey! Pay attention you idiots. Don't you know who I am?" angrily interrupted the Captain of the new ship.

Both Shanks and Luffy picked their noses at the same time and flicked it at one another and responded, "Nope!" at the same time and followed with "That's disgusting" "How dare you" respectively.

Unbeknownst to Luffy and Shanks was the fact that a smaller boat also part of the slavers group was moored on the other side where Perona was heading.

"Argh. Silence fools! I'm the personal merchant of a Celestial Dragon, I'm basically his go-to slaver you see" pompously said the newcomer. "Dracule Mihawk was spotted a few times around here, I paid good money to get the information from some new guy calling himself Joker, tch,pompous git. Anyways, Hawk-Eyes destroyed some of my ships because they interrupted his nap of all things and I'm here for revenge. He cost me valuable merchandise that put me on my celestial dragon's shit list. I came for what's due" he finished.

Both Shanks and Luffy were disgusted with the slaver.

"Heh. Shishishishi. You thought you'd come here and beat my dad," laughed Luffy

"Oi, Lu, I know this guy is annoying but Celestial Dragons ain't no joke, and slavers like him always have tricks up their sleeve," Shanks jumped in

Ignoring Shanks' remarks, he turned to the newcomer, "Hah, you can't even beat me," said Lu unleashing a haki infused whirlwind, sending the other group flying.

"Not even good enough for a warm-up." scoffed Lu

On the Other Side of the Island

Perona was thoroughly enjoying the trouncing they were giving this group. They spit out some spiel about getting revenge against Mihawk and that was enough to set her off. Her hollows were spread out, creating havoc, either by obliterating the morale or literally obliterating them, hehe. The humandrills also were in the fray. Mihawk always said an enemy you let live becomes a problem for another day. Some pirates were different though, either they were too weak to kill or they provided a good spar like Shanks crew did yesterday. It also helped that they had no bloodlust towards them. Now this didn't mean indiscriminately killing but if the enemy was strong enough or evil sometimes there was no helping it. Mihawk also taught the value of life, while swords were made to kill, it was up to the user to tame their bloodlust so they didn't become mindless killing machines. But these men were the scum of the sea, using people for their sick pleasure and selling them to the highest bidder. She was distracted for a second, but that's all it took for someone to throw a seastone net right over her. As she turned to look up, another pirate came up behind her and knocked her out with a sedative. The group of pirates quickly ran away from the humandrills who began shouting and grew furious. Luck seemed to be on the pirates' side as a good wind picked up and as they jumped on their ship, they quickly sped away.

At the Red Force

"Lu, you're pretty strong for a kid. Mihawk trains you well. Who would've thought that guy was a dad. Dhahaha, you really look up to him, huh," pointed Shanks towards Lu's outfit and swords.

"Of course, he's the strongest. So you know my dad?" Luffy peered curiously

"Dhahaha know him, I spar with him all the time, but seriously maybe you shouldn't have sent those people flying. They were a nuisance but they have powerful allies. This island is big, we have no idea if they already have more people on the island scouting or on the other side. You're very powerful for a kid, but those are slavers, kid. They make a living catching people unaware. I was here to back you up in case anything went wrong, I detest slavers, and Mihawk's a good guy, a friend even." said Shanks

"Ehh, those guys were no problem. My sister is strong too. But since you know my dad let's go back to the castle to call him, he should be here soon. And let's have lunch. I'm starving" said Luffy, trusting easily since Shanks said he knew Mihawk. Luffy would always be too trusting of strangers, something that would endlessly worry his older siblings in the future.

Shanks invited Benn, Yassop and Lucky Roo to go with him. They weren't even off the ship when a group of humandrills came running to the shore. Their arms were raised, shouting, clearly agitated. Lu appeared to understand them as his face went from a range of different emotions but everyone could feel the raw anger radiating from Luffy.

On the Slaver's Ship

A young man, with bright blonde hair, head shaped like a pineapple, a face set in what seemed perpetual boredom, sat in a cage, chained in kairoseki berating himself for being caught off guard. For his recklessness, he now sat on a slaver's ship, one who also seemed hellbent on chasing after Hawk-Eyes. He had been sitting there for at least a week when there was a flurry of activity and shouting on the deck. Soon they brought in a young woman with bubble-gum pink hair, wearing an elaborate dress, looking completely out of place in the holding cell of the slave ship, thought the droopy-eyed stranger across from her.

At the Red Force

"They took my sister," said Luffy through clenched teeth.

"How could they have taken her?" he yelled, sending several wind blades towards the forest, cutting most of the trees down.

Shanks was grim, but said, "Lu, this is no one'e fault. I told you these slavers specialize in taking people by surprise, they're meticulous in their planning and attack quickly. They use all types of cons to lure their victims into a false sense of security. And they always carry kairoseki , sparing no expense with the stuff."

For the first time they had seen Luffy began to act like the child he was, as he cried, big fat tears rolling down his face.

"You were right, those scum did have their tricks. Arghh, I should have checked to see if Perona was ok first!" Luffy stuttered out, tears still streaming down.

Shanks jumped down from the ship to meet Lu, "Hey, it's gonna be ok, there's still time to go after them, we leave right now, we can probably sight their direction at least. We know their jolly roger as well. You're my friend, I'll help you," he said.

"We're friends? I just met you" murmured Lu

"Dhahaha, well I just said we're friends so we're friends, I'm the Captain." declared Shanks

His declaration of being the Captain made no sense but little Lu nodded anyways taking the captain rule to heart, much to the chagrin of his future crewmates, and he smiled once again.

"Thanks Shanks," Lu said.

Somewhere on the Grandline

'I wonder how the kids are doing', thought Mihawk sailing towards Kuraigana. He had finished up some dull shichibukai business and was heading home. He bought Perona some new boots and several dresses as well as some jewelry he pilfered from a pirate group that got in his way. For Luffy, he was giving him an actual blade, Lu was turning 8 soon and his swordsmanship had improved greatly this year. He would test Luffy beforehand just to make sure he was ready, just for fun, since he knew he would be ready. In the meantime, he brought him some bokken swords made of Adam Wood. They were very expensive but extremely sturdy, perfect for someone like him. He also bought him new clothes, since he often seemed to tear them in practice. Mihawk continued drinking his wine, a tiny smile on his face, you really had to squint to see it, as he sailed the dangerous waters of Paradise.

Author's Note: Guess what pirate crew is making an appearance next, guararara? (lame I know lmao) I thought this was a good place to stop before we move POV and start building towards an ASL reunion. I was thinking of doing a timeskip as I am delving more into the past than I originally planned but it's important for character development and I'm enjoying seeing where the story takes me. Thank you for the reviews, favs, and follows! I'll do my best to reply.