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by 2ilver8ox

Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy has agreed to go back in time some years when he was first starting out as a pirate. It is clear this decision was based due to his dead crew, no doubt he wishes to stop their demise. All details are on his contract but he has agreed to take me with him and off this godforsaken rock. (Time travel) (Fix it fic) (OC) (All anime and movies) On hiatus

19. Louge Town

EDIT! Yes, to those who read this earlier on, I changed a lot in this scene because I didn't like it. So sorry if you are reading this again but it is a bit different.

Hey I just want to say that for one of the scenes here was heavily inspired by This Bites! by Xomniac. If you haven't read it I really suggest that you do because it is a fantastic story and actually inspired me to write this story in the first place. Also Smoker is literally my favorite character so he gets a whole chapter to himself for being the best marine/villain/straw-hat-kinda-ally.

I would like to thank The Patient One, Miep42, and MadGirl for editing!

Louge Town

C: Hey, can you help me out here?

H: Why should I?

C: Because you're in this mess as much as I am!

H: Forget it! I rather… wait a minute. What's this?

C: Whatever it is, it can wait! We are going to get in trouble if we don't get this load of laundry done.

H: No, wait. I know this face… it's THAT BASTARD!

C: Ugh, What's wrong now?

H: Look!

C: Wha—Hey, it's Luffy! He's got his first wanted poster! Heh, he looks so happy!

H: He doesn't deserve to be happy! Not after what he put me through!

C: Come on, don't be like that. You were kinda asking for it.

H: Hmph! Still… 45,000,000 beri, that's pretty high… Do you think he had anything to do with it?

C: Vice Admiral Garp? I don't think so. I think it was more Nezumi admitting his crimes in front of Garp. A real blow to the Marines...

H: Yeah, they covered that up real quick.

C: … I wonder why he did it, though. Nezumi seemed… like he couldn't help saying all those crimes. Money embodiment, bribery, robbery, laundering, public indecency—

H: That last one, he really didn't need to go into detail about…

C: It was just weird, like… he was under control or somethi—

"Oyal!"

"Ah!" The said kid jumps at their journal makes a loud slap falling to the floor.

"Er, um… yes? …Nami?" Oyal stumbles through their words.

Nami raises a brow, "It's your turn."

Oyal looks at the two cards placed neatly on the table. "Pass," bending over to get their journal.

Nami huffs, "You're no fun," as she throws her hand in showing five Aces.

"It is hard to have fun when you snuck in an entire other deck," they reply in monotone, dusting off any dirt left on their dear binder. "You do know I can tell when cards are added to my deck?"

"Then you should be able to counteract my cheating," Nami says brightly, "This is just how pirates play!"

"Ugh!" Luffy slams his hand on the table. All 34 cards, "Nami won again! No fair!"

Nami eyeballs his deck, "Luffy, do you even know what we are playing? Why are you still holding so many cards?"

He blinks. "I had a feeling that more is better."

"Idiot!" she slaps him in the head. "Learn the damn rules already!

Luffy's head bounces right back. "All right, then, let's make the rules that more is better!"

Oyal picks up their two cards, remaking the deck. "Then it's decided."

"But- You-You can't just decide the rules!" Nami's objections fall on deaf ears.

It has been a few days since they left their last destination. With days blurring together in everything just seeming so routine it was hard to tell which day is the one in Luffy's contract (nowhere in his contract did it say about them meeting Fullbody again… What the hell was that encounter?)

Captain Axe-Hand Morgan, now on the loose. Clown Buggy, 15 million, still on the loose. Pirate Fleet Leader Don Krieg, 17 million, turned in to the Marines. Saw Tooth Arlong, 20 million, also captured. And now "Straw Hat" Luffy is on the run. Keeping in mind that the average bounty in East Blue is 3 million, the only big-league pirates are worth over 10 million. And Luffy's taken them all out. The initial price on his head was supposed to be ฿30,000,000, which is a record figure, but a reasonable one.

So imagine their surprise when something about that wasn't right.

"Awww, only ฿45,000,000!" Luffy pouts at the Wanted Dead or Alive poster, "That's not nearly enough zeros!"

"HOW CAN YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT IT NOT BEING HIGH ENOUGH!" Nami screeches waving the piece of paper in his face. "This is serious!"

"Check it out! Even my back is famous now!" Usopp snatchs the filer easily, "Damn, I've got it going on!"

Sanji pushes him aside to get a better look, "They don't have my picture, yet they have Long-nose's?!" he growls at the image, "It's just the back of your head anyway so it doesn't count."

"Hey now, don't be jealous! Sanji," Usopp coos sickeningly sweet. "Someday you could get one too! And be famous like me! Even if you are the newbie," he teases. "But only if you work hard."

"You guys…" Nami feels another headache coming on, "Once again, you really don't understand the seriousness of this situation!"

"Nami's right," Oyal snatches the flyer with both hands, "This is serious…"

Nami sighs in relief seeing another logical head agree with her...

"The Marines of the East Blue are pathetic," Oyal hits the paper, "We've been on this sea for exactly 29 days and already we are the most wanted. Luffy's wanted poster has made the average of this sea rise 120% alone. If this sea doesn't start producing better pirates at a rate of 64%, this Blue will be statically the poorest sea when it comes to pirate output!"

"And we will have to fight all of the weak Marines here," Luffy pouts, "There is no fun in fighting weaklings!"

Nami could feel her blood vessels popping, "You…" she grabs the abused flyer for the last time. "What this means is that THE MARINES ARE COMING FOR OUR HEADS! We can't afford to lounge about in East Blue anymore. With a huge bounty like this, even the top Marines will be looking for us!" she stresses sweating a bit, "And more importantly… BOUNTY HUNTERS WILL BE AFTER MY MONEY!"

"Your priorities are as straight as a circle," Zoro manges to pipe in from the crow's nest.

"From now on, we'll be in a whole new league," Nami finishes in a tizzy.

"Well, it's a good thing that you are heading to the Grand Line," Oyal says quietly picking up the rest of the paper, "Hmmm… that is interesting..." they start mumbling to themselves, "It seems like Kid is making some noise already…"

"We're getting very close to the Grand Line. The only way to get there, is to go through Reverse Mountain," Nami pushes Oyal's cards to the floor, much to the kid's reasonsonable dismay, to put Buggy's map on the table, "Luffy, you've been to the Grand Line right?"

Luffy smiles brightly, "Yup!"

Nami grins right back "So, is there another way in?"

"Nope!"

Nami deflates, "Why's that?"

"It's extremely dangerous," Luffy says solemnly.

"That's why I asked! Why?" Nami barks

"Because the Calm Belt won't let us in on the side!" Luffy points to the map.

All the crew look to their captain, "Calm Belt?"

"So…" Nami pales, "The myths are true then?"

"Yeah," Luffy giggles at the memory, "But what's most important is... we should stop at an island and buy some meat," he sings, "Meat, meat, meat!"

Nami puts her head in her hands, "Please tell me I'm not going to be the serious one in this group."

"For now…" Oyal chimes in mysteriously.

"As vague as always, Oyal," Nami looks over the horizon. "We are coming upon an island with good trading ports. A famous city called Loguetown. It's also called, 'The Town of the Beginning and the End' Or so I've heard," she lets a smile slip on her face. "It's the place where the Pirate King, Gold Roger, was born. And it's the place where he was executed."

Luffy looks off to the cost. He could practically feel it. The city where the first Pirate King died. The man who found the One Piece. The man who had everything in the world. The place where he was born and died.

Ace's dad.

OOO

"What a huge town!" Usopp awes.

And it was. It was completely different from any of the homesy, small town villages they have visited before. Not even Shell Town, the largest town they visited could compare to the sheer size and scale this city was giving off. There were buildings of different shapes and sizes everywhere, none of those ma and pa corner stores but real brands from all over the blues. There were people from all around the sea shopping and selling objects from similar places.

It is a lot to take in.

Too much in fact.

"Olive-Oyal, are you okay?" Sanij leans over the youngest member, "You are looking a little… paler than usual."

Oyal takes a shaky breath, "Yes… No…" how can you say you feel like dying and wishing to be dead at the same time. There were so many people. Too many people, "I-I don't know why I just lied there. There are so many people and I…" would rather be in Impel Down than here.

"Lots of pirates stock up at this town before heading out to the Grand Line," Nami's voice cuts through the roar of the crowd, "You can get pretty much whatever you want here!"

"Alright! For my upcoming great adventure, I'm gonna need to get some cool stuff," Usopp scans one of the many roads taking down a random one.

"Please try to refrain yourself from being ripped off," Oyal directs their focus on something important. Last-minute words of advice before… they all left. Though they have a feeling they would fall on deaf ears.

"I'll bet there's lots of good food to check out here," Sanji's grin turns flirtatious, "And lots of beautiful women!" Choosing his own direction.

Zoro looks down at his single sword, "There's something I wanna buy too."

"Oh? And how would you do that? You're totally broke, aren't you?" Nami gives a sly smile, other motives clearly on her mind, "I don't mind giving you a loan… with a 300% interest, of course."

Zoro nearly chokes at that rate, "300?! What kind of scam—!"

"Zoro," Oyal cuts in, "I will give you my left foot if you leave without a paycheck."

Zoro raises a brow, "... go on."

"You will get swords at a shop," Oyal explains very carefully, "You will know it when you see it. Simply go in and ask for the cheapest swords they have. Let your instincts do the rest. You will be fine."

"Oyal!" Nami snaps pulling the kid away from Zoro, "You're not helping here! Don't listen to them! Swords cost money and you have none so what do you say?" she asks with a cheery smile.

Zoro mulls over the kid's words for a moment. "I'll take the cash," grabbing Nami's 10,000 beri and leaving.

"And so the cycle of indentured servitude begins," Oyal finishes morbidly.

Nami grins, "Yes! Now for some shopping," taking her own direction, barely giving time to call back, "Meet back here in an hour!"

With everyone slowly leaving the group Oyal starts to feel… something. Panic? No, it was… sadder. They are gone. Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, and Nami… This is officially the last stop for Oyal. Their wall of distractions between them and the rest of the world is gone. They have to be on their own now.

It is illogical to be sad about this. This was the plan from the start.

Now all they have is…

"Hey!" Luffy quickly grabs their hand, "Let's go check out the execution platform!"

Luffy says it with a wide smile. His smile has always been something that even the Gods fear.

"You are not giving me a choice in this," Oyal states.

And Luffy just says, "Yup!" because he really is a stupid, perfect, little shit and drags the poor kid into one of the least crowded areas.

In actuality, Luffy just wanted to run all the way to the platform.

Because he is here!

And probably watching him right now…

Or not. Hard to tell.

But he is here. Luffy's heart hammered. He wasn't a liar by any means but he knew when to keep his cool. He wasn't good at it but it was true.

It breaks his heart not seeing him face-to-face.

He's here.

"So!" Luffy pops up, "You ready for the Grand Line?"

Oyal's focus is on the hand holding their hand. It was callused and rough and real. "Luffy…"

"I know you already lived there but this time you can actually see it!" he pushes people out of the way as he walks at random, having no idea where the platform really was, "It will be a whole new adventure with you there! We can ride those lizards in Alabasta! Or you can count all the stars when we get to Sky Island! Oh! We can go waterboarding in Water 7! I never got to do that but it looked so neat!"

"Luffy."

"And then when we get the Poneglyphs! Can you read those fancy words too? Man, you and Robin could get along so much! She likes books too so that settles that. But you might really like Chopper. He's so fluffy! And smart and weird like you!"

"Luffy."

"And then there will be Thriller Bark, and Sabaody, and Fishman Island, and—!"

"MONKEY D. LUFFY! Will you just LISTEN to me!"

Luffy stops. Not because of the words but because of the voice.

Oyal yelled.

Oyal never yells.

He looks behind for the first time to see Oyal… digging their feet into the ground.

"I am not going with you to the Grand Line."

Luffy blinks. "Yes, you are."

It is a fact.

Oyal restrains a sigh, "I serve no purpose being on your crew and you know it. I have entertained you enough letting you drag me around. I have even helped you on your escapades for your Grand Fleet. All I can do has been done. The most logical place for me to be is the East Blue." The safest blue, "I have already made several connections here and should be able to build a life from there. Catching a ride from here will prove to be easy once I—"

"Nah," Luffy intelligently rebutes.

"We can still be in touch," Oyal was ready for something like that, "You know that I have connections to the Going Merry as well and if you are in need of advice over your contract I will be able to—"

"Nope," popping the 'p'. Not really caring that they are in the middle of the street and people walk around them without much thought.

Oyal takes a deep breath, "I am not strong enough."

"Nami and Usopp aren't strong like that either," he actually counters.

"However, I am not creative enough to have niche skills like Usopp and Nami."

"You're smart and I like you," Luffy again counters.

Oyal grit their teeth, "It is not productive—"

"I don't caaaaaaaare!" Luffy carelessly shouts.

Oyal grid their teeth. He isn't listening to reason. He is letting his emotions choose his action, "Luffy… just… what do you want?"

Luffy cocks his head. "What do you want?"

Oyal swallows at the question. Their throat feels too tight. "It… doesn't matter what I want."

"It does matter," Luffy says like he doesn't understand their answer. And he doesn't. He doesn't understand and he never will. He doesn't get it.

"It… never makes a difference," they choke out. "Desires. Expectations. Wanting. You can want. You always want," they give a laugh. Strange. They don't think they said anything funny, "You are the greediest, most selfish person on the planet and you always get what you want. I could want all I want but it just. Doesn't. Matter." How can he not see that? "All wanting does for me is... worthless. So, no, it doesn't matter what I want because it never changes."

They could want their old life back. They could want their home. They could want to leave. They could want to stay. They could want to be in the past. They could want to be in the future. They could want to die. They could want to live. They could want everything and nothing and anything in between and it—!

It just doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter.

"What do you want?" he repeats.

"It's not that simple."

"What do you want?!" he repeats, having the audacity to sound annoyed. "Just say it!"

"I want to go HOME!" Are they crying? "I want to go back. I want to go back there," with one hand pointing homeward. "But it's impossible and it is not going to happen so what's the pointing of wanting anything!"

He has those old eyes. Old eyes on a face too young and too knowing in the worst time, "You are a really bad liar."

Oyal sniffs, gross. "No, I'm not. You are."

"Nah, I'm bad," he smiles, "But you are literally the worst!"

"I am figuratively the worst."

"See! You agree!"

Oyal slumps in defeat. They never felt so tired before.

"…you still look at the stars."

Oyal twitches. "It's… It's not that simple…I-I wanted to finish what I started…"

"You got mad at me," he slackens his grip on their hand. They didn't notice when it tightened, "You have hope."

"It's illogical…" they wipe a hand under their bandana.

"Dreams usually are," a small grin slipping in, "but you believe it."

"It's illogical! Impossible!" Oyal snaps. "It can't be done."

"Come with us and that will change. We are known for doing the impossible!"

He sounds so sure. He sounds so right. And it is not fair!

"Luffy, I—"

"Wheee!"

"Wha!" Oyal makes a startled sound at suddenly being moved out of the way of an oncoming little girl coming out of nowhere.

"Pardon me," their automatic response which they have never been more thankful for. They feel lightheaded. And tired. How long were they talking? Luffy seems to be unaffected.

"I'm so sorry!" a gentleman comes behind the girl. The father most likely, "My little girl is just really excited about her ice cream and I lost track of her."

"No apology necessary," Oyal assures him, "I should have been more aware of my surrounding," and with that the father and daughter go back to the streets.

They take a deep breath. Stars! they must look so… irregular talking in the middle of the street like this. They can't afford to embarrass themselves any—

A cold sweat washes over Oyal…

"Oyal?" Luffy asks immediately.

Three scoops.

Before Oyal could even make any comment the crowd around them froze as everyone seemed to simultaneously fall under a hush spell at a single sight. Slowly, dreading what they knew they would see... they turned around and…

"Oh, no…"

"Aw, yeah!"

"Please, shut up, Captain."

Oyal has a lot of plans that involved "White Hunter" Smoker in one way or another, but they had hoped to prolong any contact with the man as much as they could. He was a giant in the crowd, towering over everyone easily. Sure Don Krieg and Arlong were large as well, but Smoker was the only one to truly carry the weight of such power. He was a man among mice. And to have his… chest area shamelessly on display. Times really have changed.

His piercing stare focuses on the very wide-eyed little girl and his newly stained pants.

Ah yes, they recall this scene. Another unimportant scene of Luffy's contract someone conjured up. It seemed so unnecessary but… Oyal took notice of the crowd. The town dwellers' expressions tell a lot more than that scene over did. They would know. They read a book about it.

The crowd is worried… to the point of terror.

Do they… really think Smoker is going to hurt her? Smoker. The leading protector and Marine of the city. The one who caused such a decline in pirate activity in Loguetown. Quite possibly the only Marine worth his salt in the East Blue. The man who stacks rocks in his free time. And they are all terrified… of him.

Oyal feel… sad about that for some reason. Not only sad but…disturbed.

"My ice cream…" is the kid's sole concern, unaware of the scene she was making.

"I'm so sorry!" the father runs right behind the child, but not daring to move her away, "My kid, she- I'm so, so sorry! Sorry!"

Smoker just stands there, his gaze not looking away from the child. Finally Smoker moves, every movement calculated. The crowd watches with bated breath as he places a hand gently on the girl's head and kneels down, "Sorry, kid," he says, his voice as smooth as a glider on a granite road. "Looks like my pants ate your ice cream," he drops a more than generous amount of beri in their girl's hand, "Here. Go buy yourself five scoops."

The girl blinks at the captain in awe as she takes in the amount. "Th-thank you so much!" the girl repeats, "Thank you."

The girl's father is quick to grab her by the shoulder and hold her close, "Th-thank you so much, Captain Smoker. I'm again so sorry, I'll make sure this doesn't happen again."

Smoker lifts himself up, shrugging his shoulder to say—

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

—nothing as some moron knew just when to laugh at the wrong time.

"Captain!"

"What?" The moron replied, "He got ice cream on his pants. With a straight face! It's hilarious!"

The crowd goes back to their daily lives, if not to get away and pretend they weren't completely watching the interaction in front of them then to definitely not see what was about to happen next. They want nothing to do with whatever fool laughing at a marine like Captain Smoker.

Said man is the only one who bothers to look to see who broke the tension.

And what he saw is… some kids? More like teens but that doesn't make it any better.

"Hey, Marine guy!" the straw hat boy heads straight towards him, as the other follows.

"Captain, I really must advise against this—"

"Can you tell me how to get to the execution platform? I think I'm lost," he continues, his hat covering his eyes but a goofy smile clearly visible.

Smoker looks him up and down, "I've never seen your face around before," he says dryly.

"Yeah! I just came here today," the teen says cheerfully, "Man, what a big city! It's totally different from Fuusha Village."

"Fuusha?" Smoker repeats the word sounding familiar, "Haven't heard of that either."

"It's in Goa Kingdom," the boy says with an easy attitude.

"Right," Smoker recalls that name from a past assignment, overhearing some royal pain-in-his-asses he had to escort. He cuts the small talk short, "Why are you looking for the gallows?"

"I want to see it," a hint of eyes peek under that hat, "The place where the Pirate King died!"

Smoker stiffens at the words. It isn't the words themselves that catch them off-guard it was just the way he said it.

"Eh? You don't know?" the brat puts his hands on his hips, "Well, whatever," and turns to walk away.

"Captain—!"

"Wait," Smoker stops both teens, "How about I escort you there myself?"

Oyal tenses over but keeps their voice calm, "That, while highly appreciated, is completely unnecessary. We do not wish to trouble you."

"No trouble at all," Smoker easily pushes past niceties, already walking inward to town, "Follow me kid, else you are going to get left behind."

"Captain," Oyal hisses. "Please don't do anything—"

"Thanks, old man!" Luffy's grin covering his face completely, "You ain't such a stick in the mud afterall!" already running at breakneck speeds, leaving his companion behind.

"-rash!" The younger kid calls desperately from their spot.

"Who are you calling old?" Smoker bites at the kid. A horrible horrible feeling of… something filling his gut. He doesn't know why. But at the same point… Smoker couldn't help but follow his gut.

Oyal count their breathes as Smoker and Luffy make their way down the crowded street

…83% of getting caught. 91% of getting in trouble. 94% of risking everything.

They walk the other way. No point in starting something they couldn't finish after all. It wouldn't be right to lead on someone like Captain Smoker when they are so set in their ways. Afterall, who is Oyal to change something like a worldview?

OOO

"Sooooooooo, how long have you've been in Louge Town?"

Smoker barely galces at the brat at hand. "I work here."

"Nooooo, I know that," Luffy waves his hand, "I may but dumb, but I'm not stupid, you know. I mean what makes you want to be in the East Blue?"

Smoker does raise a brow to that, "What you saying? I don't give off that local look?"

"Hard to be a local in a sea that still thinks Devil Fruits are a myth," Luffy snickers, "So I doubt someone like you just casually makes it to this sea."

Smoker makes a light snort, barley amused, "Believe it or not, I asked to be stationed here. Been here about a year now. Locals are still getting used to me."

Luffy nods wisely, "Of course, of course. But your bosses keep you here? Wouldn't it be… I don't know… better if you were whole 'chasing' part of your name?"

"Any pirate worth chasing makes their way here sooner or later," Smoker lets out a steam of white in almost an irritated huff, like he doesn't believe what he is saying. "Because stationed here keeps me from… chasing."

In the past, Luffy didn't give two shits about how the Marines run their jobs. Didn't bother him one bit. Oyal really shouldn't have told him to think harder this time around, cause thinking only gets him in trouble. Now he is really starting to get pissed.

Because the way he sees it, Smoker could have taken out Arlong like nothing. He could have taken out every single pirate in the East Blue like an ethinc cleansing and there would be nothing left. Not so good in his book but for someone like Nami…

But they got him, an asskicker like Smoker, rotting away in a single base waiting for scraps to come to him.

"Why become a Marine anyway?" Luffy continues swinging his arms about, "You don't seem like the type."

Smoker doesn't pause in his strides but he does force Lufy to turn a corner, almost boxing him into the wall. "The type? I became a marine to protect the peace. Serve Justice."

"AH! THAT word!" Luffy pulls his rubber face far enough that it smacks itself on impact, "Hate that word!"

Smoker does back off a millimeter at the reaction, "What? Justice?"

"Justice this, justice that! That's like saying 'because' to why questions or putting mystery in front of things to make it sound cooler—!"

"Huh?"

"—but really, you don't know what that means. Marines go around saying they are Justice. But you are the biggest hypocrites on this planet if you think I'm buying any of that."

Smoker looks more offended than angry at that. "Of course we know what it means! Protect the innocent," he blows low a string of smoke. "Take down the guilty."

"Wow," Luffy sounds unimpressed. "You couldn't have something more ambiguous. Simple. I like it."

Smoker goes to murderous at the drop of a hat, "Listen here, you little—"

A strong wind pushes between them. Making Smoker take a step back and Luffy take a step forward.

Losing his very well-secured hat.

"MY HAT!" Luffy takes off running down a random alley, "NOT AGAIN!"

"WAIT!" he hears the gruff voice behind him, "GET BACK HERE!"

Luffy does not in fact get back there and instead runs up and down the backstreets. If his hat goes up, so does he. If his hat goes between walls and under bridges Luffy follows. It was almost like the piece of article was playing with him.

And wouldn't that be something.

"GOT YA!" Luffy huffs, full body sliding as the head piece finally landed softly on the ground, unharmed and safe, "Huh? Where the hell did Smokey go?"

He didn't think he ran that fast ahead. Smokey must have gotten himself lost, "Buuuuuuuut this doesn't look like the right way at all," he takes another random path, "Oh well, I'm bound to run into it eventually."

He keeps walking down a side street clearly in no way suggesting to the main road and doesn't even bother looking in front of him when his shoulder roughly brushes against another, more intimidating figure.

Luffy stumbles a bit, "Oh, sorry," throwing over his shoulder with an easy grin.

His offender was not so forgiving. A quick hand grabbed at the front of Luffy's coat and Luffy let him, bringing him face to face with a pair of familiar canines.

"What the hell are you doing, punk?" the lean mean green figure spits in his face, "You come into my territory, disrespect me in front of my peers and you think that a simple sorry is going let you slip away? Not on my watch."

Luffy blinks seeing the familiar face and smiles, "Wow, so you are in charge here?"

Bartolomeo grunts, "So disrespectful and a moron." His grip tightens. "I own this island, boy."

"Oh, I thought Smoker was in charge."

Bartolomeo sneers, looking even more murderous, "Those dogs are just doing what they're told. We know the real power here."

Luffy smiles, "So you are strong then?"

Bartolomeo twitches, not believing what he is hearing, "Of course I'm strong! I'm the baddest punk on the block! I run this place! I rule the school! I feed the Marines to the fish and any lowdown pirate scum that comes here too!"

"Woooooo!" Luffy says in genuine awe, "Finally someone who kicks ass in this sea!"

"Oh, why thank yo—WAIT A MINUTE! Don't you try to butter me up!" Bartolomeo starts swinging Luffy back and forth more comically than threateningly. "I'm the real deal here and won't be played down by some no name sailor!"

"I'm not a sailor, I'm a pirate! And my name is Monkey D. Luffty!"

Bartolomeo stops shaking him and fixes him with a leer. "A pirate, huh? So you are just scum?"

Luffy folds his arms in front of his chest, moving around Bartolomeo's arms awkwardly, "Say whatever you want about me, but I'm not some riffraff either! I'm going to be the King of the Pirates!" Despite being a good head smaller he still puts on a serious manliness that Bartolomeo can't deny; the latter loosens his hold and just… looks at the kid for a moment.

"I can't tell if I wanna punch you or take you out for a drink."

"Why not both?"

"HA! You really are a moron!" he laughs, then grabs him roughly by the shoulder. "Here, let's get you a drink before I make up my mind."

Luffy, not one to disagree, follows.

Bartolomeo took him down only one path that wasn't too far to a rather lackluster sign.

"Gold Roger Bar?" a little sign in front of a bar.

"Yeah, the company is shit but the drinks are cheap," Bartolomeo explains, already heading in.

They go down the seedy steps, leading them deeper and deeper into the dark. Along the walls are old wanted posters that are ripped to the point of unrecognizability, marked out by either death or old age. At the bottom of the stairs is the actual bar, if you can even call it that. The room is dark and dirty with disuse. All the chairs are folded up with an old musty smell hanging in the air and with a single person sitting in a chair in the corner.

A musty old man to match the musty old room, shortened with age but with a dark glint in his eyes. Ears pierced and hanging low from weight, small dark glasses and a fuzzy sock hat on his head. His face was wrinkled and doglike; he would have looked like a cozy fellow if he didn't have that 'get out you little shit' glint in his eyes.

"Get out," the old man's voice is rough but more from age than any actual harshness.

"Come on, Gramps," Bartolomeo says in what would be a whine if he wasn't a grown ass man, "Is that anyway to talk to your best customer."

"I've told you a thousand times, brat. This isn't a place for kids. And besides, we're closed right now," he pours himself another round of drinks.

"This place won't close until you're dead, Raoul," Bartolomeo rolls his eyes, "And we all know you're gonna kick the bucket soon, but at least serve us before you croak. HEY—!" he ducks to dodge a thrown bottle of beer.

"One more word out of you, and we'll be seeing who kicks the bucket first!"

"Out of business, then?" Luffy walks further into the bar, ignoring the exchange in the face of taking a nice seat of the bar and gets himself into a comfortable position.

"We're not out of business!" Old Man Raoul barks, "It's just after hours! Now get out!"

"What kind of bar closes at noon? Also why is this called Gold Roger? Oh, and can you help me out? I'm lost! I wanted to go see the execution platform. Can you tell me how to get there?" Luffy asks in rapid succession, swinging his legs off his seat.

Bartolomeo takes a seat next to Luffy, "Man, and I thought you were just an annoying pirate, but you're an annoying tourist too."

"A pirate? You?" Raoul, as Luffy has so rightfully dubbed him, looks skeptically at the boy at his barstool.

But Luffy is more interested in what's on the table next to Raoul, "What's that?" he leans in for a closer look, legs still swinging. "It's a skull! It's huge!"

And it is! It is too small to be an actual giant, but larger than a regular large human. It is as large as Katakuri's, if Luffy has to guess right.

Bartolomeo just rolls his eyes, "Don't get him started. All he does nowadays to take out that old crap and stare at it longingly. I swear he is going to make out with it next time I—HRK!"

This time, the thrown bottle hits the mark.

"This is the skull of a man known as the ''Killer Giant,'" the old man casually clinks his drinks to the skull's own drink without missing a beat, "A man who killed hundreds of pirates. He was a devil… but Gold Roger fought and killed him," he swirls his drink slowly.

Luffy stares in wonder as Bartolomeo grumbles something about useless old men and taking up space but opens the beer bottle that was thrown at him.

"Gold Roger did?" Luffy says softly… he wonders why? Was the guy trying to kill someone in Roger's crew? Was he just in the mood to kill someone?

"It's a famous tale! He was a big, rough guy with a big sword!" Raoul lifts his arms in the air for embellishment, "The battle was decided quickly. This gash is what killed him," pointing to a deep slash in the middle of the skull, "But he was really something. I remember his last words were… Roger, no one can touch you. I praise you as the eternal pirate." Raoul's voice gets smoother as he uses voices to tell his tale.

''Awesome!" it is always cool to hear about Roger from other people. Rayleigh loved talking about their old times but he could hardly remember all the small squirts they took out.

"King of the Eric Pirates. The famous gunner Silver-Silver," Raoul continues running off that list.

"They sound lame…" Luffy moans.

"All were the most dangerous men of the East Blue!" Raoul snaps.

"Yeah, buuuuuut," Luffy pouts, "The East Blue Marines kinda suck at telling when a pirate is strong or not."

Bartolomeo nearly spits out his beer at that, laughing, "You said it!" he gets a wicked smile on his face, "That's what I have been saying this whole time! Pirates are in a rut! It's the mobsters where it's at!"

Raoul loses his glare for a moment before snorting, "Sad but true. But what matters is that before Roger, they were like scared little babies," Luffy laughs at Raoul's tone, "Wanna hear more, kid? Nowadays youngsters like you don't take an interest in this stuff."

"Maybe if you said more interesting stuff…"

"Do you wanna bottle to the head?"

"If you throw it at me that means it's free, right?"

Raoul just glares the rat down. Luffy has a feeling the old man wouldn't stop himself from fighting even if he didn't have much of a chance.

"Well, I ain't most kids!" Luffy claps his hands, "Tell me more!"

"Pesky kid!" Raoul says not unkindly, "Gold Roger back then—No. Still today. He's the only pirate who truly didn't fear the dangers of the Grand Line," he gives a grin, showing missing several teeth. Bartolomeo starts motioning his hand in a mocking yap-yap kind of form as he talks, "Because you see, the area known as the Grand Line, is a place where ships disappear and are never seen again. Navigation is said to be impossible. Because people are so scared of it, they seldom come close to that cursed ocean," he clicks his cup to the late Killer Giant's, "It said to be a place no one ever returns from!"

The old man's eyes glass over, "He was here you know. In that very same chair you are sitting on…"

Luffy stops kicking his feet, taking a look at the seat. It was worn and old leather. Nothing special at all. Just some dingy old seat at some dingy old bar.

"And over there is the very toilet he took a shit in," Bartolomeo mumbles just as seriously.

Luffy slaps a hand to his face to keep from laughing, a small sputter escaping.

"He said that's exactly why he wanted to go," Raoul continues on, lost in his own world, "I begged him not to… begged him to make his fortune here in the East but he wouldn't have any of it. Instead he asked for another bottle of rum. Cleared out all the booze in the bar and set off the next morning, as though there was nothing to fear." He lets out a laugh, old but true. "Later on, when I heard he had conquered the Grand Line, I was so surprised, I even forgot my age for a bit!" Another laugh dying on his voice.

"But now… everyone has passed on," he picks up his drink swirling it, "Roger was executed here twenty-two years ago. And from that day, everyone's been going around with the audacity to call themselves pirates. They even call this ''The Great Pirate Age"," he drowns his whiskey in one go, slamming it back on the table. The force isn't a lot but it is enough to get across old righteous anger.

''But it's all just a bunch of rubbish. Cowards! Less and less people are daring to sail the Grand Line. And so, that is the reason this place will be closed down..." he ends his tale sadly staring blankly at the wall.

Bartolmeow actually looks a little thoughtful in taking another deep swing from his beer.

Luffy swings his legs again, "Hmmmm… I'm going to the Grand Line."

Bartolmeow spit out his beer. Raoul lifts his head.

"He was cool, huh? Gol D. Roger... Pirates should try to be like him," Luffy grins, "That's why I went out to sea to go to the Grand Line and find One Piece. I'm gonna be the Pirate King!" he gives his rubbery grin.

The man stares as a cold sweat breaks out at the sight before him.

Bartolomeo beats him to the punch, "Are you a moron? Wait don't answer that, of course you are! How could you say that?"

"Whaaaaaaat?" Luffy draws out his words not losing his smile, "I'm just telling the truth."

"Truth nothing!" Bartolmeow grabs Luffy by the shoulder, more out of annoyance than anger, "You look like a twig! You look like a wet noodle in a kid's coat! You look like a rubber band weapon about to go to battle!"

"Rubber bands are cool…" Luffy protests without pouting. Without pouting, he says!

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!"

"Kid…" Raoul begs, eyes becoming much sadder at the sight, "Don't do do this to me."

"Nope! It's already decided," Luffy grabs Bartolomeo's hand off of him with surprising strength, "And there's absolutely nothing either of you can do to change my mind!"

Raoul stares at the kid… no, this wasn't some average brat kid coming in for a story. Sure he is a brat and a kid but not an average one. There is something terribly familiar about the way he holds himself, like a shadow was sitting right in front of him. The feeling of déjà vu sinks deep in his gut.

"Nothing I can do?" he laughs, "It's been a long time since I had a customer like you…" he gets off his seat with a squeak of the chair, "I think this deserves a drink in the house," and goes behind the bar.

Bartolmeow looks at the old man, then back at Luffy, not sure what just transpired but not willing to question his confusion, "Tsk," he wipes his hand out of Luffy's hold, "You are still a moron but… you got some guts, kid."

"Of course I do, I'm a pirate after all."

Bartholomew sneers, "That's got nothing to do with it," he slams his hand on the table, "You've heard the old man's ramblings. Pirates these days are the weakest there as ever been!"

"You know for someone making fun of his rambling you seem pretty invested." Luffy laughs.

Bartolomeo does not blush. "SHUT UP! It's the truth! Pirates these days are only cowards going after the small fish! A bunch of weasels never going for the top! Content of staying at the bottom."

"Then they aren't real pirates!" Luffy says simply.

"Yeah, they ain't real—wait. Huh?"

"They are real pirates," Luffy repeats, "Pirates are about freedom and adventure. Sure, there are some assholes there that pillage and plunder but those are just losers. When I become King of the Pirates I'm going to remind everyone of that."

"You…" Bartolomeo tries to wrap his head around this conversation. "You are going to redefine what it means to be a pirate?"

Luffy just grins, all teeth. "If I have to."

Bartolomeo just stares and just for a second he thinks he gets why the old man was giving this punk such a look. This punk… deserved some respect.

"Oi!" Raoul snaps, "What kind of drink do you want?"

Luffy blinks as the short man, "I don't drink."

"What kind of pirate doesn't drink?" Bartolmeow narrows his eyes.

"Me. It doesn't taste good."

"It's not supposed to taste good. It is supposed to get you drunk."

"Then they should make it taste better. Like meat flavor!"

"Wouldn't that just be drinking grease or something?"

Luffy's eyes widen. "Ya think?"

"Then how about this?" Raoul pours a glass of milk next to Luffy and even one to Bart, "Kanpai to him... to the Eternal Pirate King."

"I don't want milk…." Bartolomeo stares Raoul down as he stares right back. A wordless fight happens as Luffy sees lighting flash between the two.

But Bartolmeow picks up his unwanted glass of milk anyway, "... to the Eternal Pirate King."

Luffy grins grabbing the milk, "To the Eternal Pirate King!"

Clank!

Just as the doors swung open.

Huh… Would you look at that?

"Ah, so you didn't get lost!" Luffy can't stop the huge grin on his face as a certain individual openly pushes his way through. Maybe it would be smarter to get out of dodge but what's the rush? This milk is really good for one.

Raoul isn't nearly as happy, "So it's you, huh?" he spats.

"The usual greeting, eh? And you..." Smoker says eyes traveling straight to the kids at the bar. His eyes studying and judging him at the same time. Luffy wonders what he sees... a man? A kid? Does he even know he is a pirate yet? Probably not considering Smokey isn't trying to arrest him. Man, how did past him ever make it past Smokey?! Luffy takes another sip of his milk to stop giggling. He hasn't even done anything yet and Smoker is staring him down!

"You are an idiot, aren't you?"

Luffy laughs. "How did you guess?"

"Hey, hey, hey," Bartolomeo sneers, "You're in the wrong part of town, old man."

Smoker doesn't even glance at the gangster, "Not a nice way to treat an old customer," finally taking his eyes off the kid.

"You ruined my business," Raoul spits at the marine, "I don't feel like joking around with you."

"HEY!" Bartolomeo growls, almost spilling his milk. "Don't just barge in the conversation like you knew what we were saying!"

Smoker takes his place at the bar, a seat away from Luffy, clear signs that this was not the first time they have had this conversation, "You shouldn't think of me as someone who betrayed you. It's not my fault this is the business you're in. The pirates today are all weaklings. That's the real problem."

Smoker glances at a grinning Luffy, "...I thought you were going to the platform."

"DON'T IGNORE ME!"

Luffy's grin widens, "It's not my fault I lost you!"

"You lost me?" Smoker raises a brow, "I deserve some rum."

"We don't serve your kind here!" Raoul turns his back to the marine, bushing himself with nothing.

"That's discrimination, you know," Smoker bites back with no real heat. A string of smokes already roping around a certain rum on the shelf.

"Are Marines allowed to drink on the job?" Luffy leans in a bit.

"Marines are allowed to do whatever they want, don't you know," Bartolomeo says as a clear dig to the only marine in the room.

"Today is a special day," like that is a good excuse. Bottle in hand, Smoker opens it with a squeak, "Isn't it?"

Luffy frowns at the vagueness, "What's today?"

"Oi, I thought you were the one looking to see the platform," Bartolomeo rumbles, "You that much of a moron?"

Raoul puts another glass in front of Luffy. It's a clear brown liquid, "Apple juice," before Luffy could protest, "And today is a special day. It's the anniversary of his execution."

There is no need to clarify who he was. Luffy's eyes widen, "That's today? You were there?"

Raoul blows some air out of his nose, "I was…" going back to his bar, "And so was he."

Both Luffy and Bartolomeo stare at Smoker like they have never seen him before. Which is actually really ironic considering Luffy's situation. He didn't know this about Smokey. And you would think you would know a guy after so many years of being chased to the end of the world.

Smoker takes a deep chug, finally half the bottle already before giving Luffy that judgmental look again. He says nothing for some time as his eyes glaze over and Luffy actually thought he wouldn't say anything…

"What happened on that day, even now, is so clear in my mind. Roger... in his last moments."

Luffy grabs his juice and completely faces at Smoker. Trying to clearly suggest 'go on' with his eyes alone.

Even Bartolomeo stops glaring his death glare rather for a 'still don't like you but keep talking' glare.

Smoker thins his lips, refusing to find the actions amusing, "It was a hot, muggy day just like today," he looks away, feeling far older than he actually was, "Even on his way to the execution platform, even though his hands were bound, he carried himself with pride," he grins a little, "I was about as skinny as you when I was a kid, had to push my way to the front just to get a glimpse of the man."

"What color was your hair then?" Luffy asks as sincerely as possible

Smoker slowly turns his head, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I wanted to know what your hair color was before you got so old," Luffy smiles cheekily.

"I'm 34!"

"Ooooooh, I see," the teen nods, "It's the stress."

"The real question is if the curtain match the drapes fi you know what I mea-AUGH!" Bartolomeo gets hit in the head. Hard.

"Keep talking and you're going to get more than a stool to the head." Raoul snaps all without turning around.

Smoker rolls his eyes, "It's a family trait," mumbling something about how pinkettes not getting these kinds of questions, "Wealth. Fame. Power. The Man who had Everything in this World. Gold Roger. Walking towards his death. He held himself high, like a proud warrior."

Smoker ends his sentence with a grin made of all teeth.

Luffy returns the grin tooth for tooth, "Yeah?"

"Never has that square been so packed, and so silent. When he spoke, you could hear him from all around, it was so quiet. He was walking to the top of the platform just talking, 'Inherited Will. The Destiny of the Age. The Dreams of its People. As long as people continue to pursue the meaning of Freedom, these things will never cease!' Even in his final moment he didn't let up. Even after all that those guards were dumb enough to asked him for some final words."

Luffy is getting into it, not even noticing when Raoul refills his drink.

"We already know his last words," Bartolomeo gets back on his seat.

"Not these. He asked..." Smoker snorts in amusement, "He asked, 'Can you take my cuffs off? They're chafing me.'"

Luffy lets out a full blown laugh of his own at that, "What a guy!"

"What an asshole!" Bartolomeo barks one of his own.

A rare laugh escapes Smoker as well, "'Why would I run away now?' was his excuse. Roger sat down on that platform like he was taking a break. No grace or dramatics," Smoker takes another sip of the drink feeling a smile crawl his way on his lips, "Hmph! The executors were more nervous than he was! He even had to ask for them to hurry it up and finish it." Low chuckles escape as he waits for them to die down.

Raoul, despite previous objections, replaces Smokers rum bottle, "The swords were right under his neck, for dramatic reasons obviously."

"Obviously," Luffy agrees.

"Of course," Bartolomeo nods.

"His final cross bones as everyone watched in bated breath…" he takes another chug, slamming the bottle on the table hard, sneering, "...but then some ASSHOLE!"

Luffy and Bartolomeo lean back quickly at the strong reaction. Luffy holding his juice in safety. Bartolomeo spills all his milk on the floor.

"...went 'HEY! PIRATE KING! What did you do with your treasure? It's somewhere on the Grand Line, isn't it?!'" Smoker barks another laugh, "Just imagine... if that guy didn't open his damn mouth there might not have been even a Pirate Era," he takes another chug of his rum, "Now he is the one the Marines should have arrested!"

Luffy blinks, leaning in, "Do you really think that?"

Smoker glares at his rum like it had some answers, "...No, but damn if it didn't make things more over dramatic than it should have been."

"Pirates Era would have happened with or without a speech," Bartolomeo spits, "Just enough idiots out there to want it."

Luffy chuckles, "Bet that guy was just waiting to ask when Roger got on stage. What the perfect moment to get all the attention?"

"Or the best way to start a riot." Smoker bites.

"Or the best way to get his ass kicked!" Bartolomeo snickers.

Smoker gives a small laugh as Luffy laughs out loud, clutching his belly. Raoul lets a slow smile spread across his face. He recalls a time where some young punk would come into his bar just to hear old pirate tales similar to this watching the seasoned sailors in his bar with awe. He refills the apple juice quiety. How times have changed.

"But this guy doesn't stop, 'Your one special treasure… the ONE PIECE!'"

"And no one thought of hitting this guy?!" Bartolomeo says through his chuckles.

"Of course not!" Smoker felt his cheeks hurt. When was the last time he laughed, "Because as dumb as he was, he was saying what we were all thinking. 'Where was it?'" he shakes his head, "And Roger just chuckled. No. Laughed! 'My treasure? All right! If you want it, I'll let you have it. Go look for it. I left all of it at that place!'"

Smoker downs the rest of his drink, "And chop. The swords stabbed him right in the back," he places his bottle carefully on the table pausing for a moment, "But it was too late. Far too late."

His eyes glaze over again, like he was back in that spot. A-something-year old Smoker with big eyes, and a small body being surrounded by a square full of people… witnessing history, "The rain came down. Out of nowhere. Blazing hot one second and the next the sky was pouring after that last breath.

"And the crowds... cheered. Like he gave the best damn speech in the world. They were celebrating," He closes his eyes and his smile falls into something subdued, "That was the beginning of everything."

"That must have been a sight to see!" Luffy laughs. He never got enough of quiet times with Smokey. It was always a cat and mice game in their earlier days but when they finally got to kick back in the later one… Smokey is an alright guy... for a marine!

Smoker's eyes clears. As if taken out of a dream, his gaze hardens again, but not like last time… there was something… accepting there.

"So, you're Monkey D. Luffy."

… or incriminating. Same thing, right?

"Yup," Luffy admits.

Bartolomeo finishes his milk with a big gasp, "Whoo~ So that's your name. And here I thought it was Straw Hat Bastard from the wanted poster this whole time. The one worth 40,000,000" taking back his beer for a deeper sip.

"Close," Smoker drawls, "This is the Straw Hat bastard worth 45,000,000."

Que spit take 1.

"DON'T SPIT ON MY BAR!" Raoul snaps.

Bartolomeo ignores him, eyes on Luffy, "You're that pirate?! A legit wanted pirate?!"

"Yup."

"Don't 'yup' me!" Bartolomeo yells putting a foot on the table, finger pointing accustoringly, "You've been pulling me along this whole time haven't you?!"

"You never asked…"

"I shouldn't have to!"

"You do know…" Smoker murmurs into his drink, "that I am going to have to arrest you."

Luffy looks back to Smoker, "Yeah, but not right now."

"And why's that?"

"Because you stop pirates from leaving Lougue Town. I'm not leaving. I'm going to the platform." Of course Luffy only makes a logical sense when Oyal is not around to see it.

"So what you are saying is…" Smoker puts down his drink, face like a piece of marble, "I'm just going to arrest you later."

"What I am saying" Luffy downs the rest of his apple juice in a very cool manner, "You are going to try to arrest me later."

"Oh, that's good!" Bartolomeo jaw drops, "He got balls! Balls of steel! No, iron! Wait, which one is stronger?"

"Bart, shut up."

"Thought honestly," Luffy continues as if he is in his own little world, "I rather if we didn't do that this time."

"This time?" Smoker breaking his face, showing only a little curiosity.

"Yeah," Luffy waves his hand in circular motion, "I run, you chase. I break the law, you enforce the law. I save everyone, you grudgingly come to love me."

Smoker's curiosity goes back to a dangerously murderous expression, "If this is your way of being cute-"

"Nah, nah, nah," Luffy cuts Smoker off quickly, "What I am trying to say is that… just because we are on different sides, doesn't mean we can't be friends."

Smoker's reaction is much more subtle but far more effective. Nothing his face changes per se, but it is his left eye that just twitched the smallest millimeter, "...that… is exactly what that means."

"Obviously." Luffy grins, "But I'm not asking to be friends with the marines. I'm asking if I can be friends with my good drinking buddy, Smokey."

Smoker glances down at them as he blows out a particularly nasty looking cloud, "You are a moron, aren't you? The whole kid act isn't just to throw people off."

"I don't know anything but to be myself," Luffy shrugs cause that is the honest truth, "I can't even lie so I recruited someone to do it for me! Shishishishi! Besides when you really think about it. We aren't so different in the end."

This time Smoker does growl, "If you think I am anything like a pirate-"

"Nah, nah!" Lufyf cuts him off again! He is really good at that, "Put the whole pirate thing out of you mind and hear me out," Luffy steamrolls over Smoker's even louder growl, "This isn't even about pirates and marines here. We both get misjudged by our… careers? Yeah, careers is a good word."

"This isn't anything to misjudge about me," Smoker snaps, temper finally coming through. But he hasn't put Luffy into the wall yet so that's something.

"Are you sure about that," Luffy tilts his head, "Kinda hard to miss when everyone kept looking at you like you were going to punt that girl into next week."

Smoker eyes hardened at the memory. "I didn't."

"Well, yeah," he Luffy agrees. "You wouldn't do that. Smoker you. But the Marine you isn't really known for mercy."

"OHHHHH, GET HIM!" Bartolomeo shouts a ways away. Smart enough to stay far away, but still stupid enough to wanna see how this ends. And forget steel or iron. This kid has balls of TUNGSTEN!

"They are civilians," Smoker clarifies, "If they did nothing wrong then they got nothing to fear."

"Wow. Great comeback," Luffy smiles, "Think of that yourself or is that what they tell you?" He was really challenging his inner Sabo today isn't he. Must be because what today is after all.

"Ohhhhh, he is laying it down hard! Can you pick it up? Can you pick up what he is lying dow-OUCH!"

"The grown ups are talking, kid," Raoul lets go of Bart's ear, "Best not interrupt a conversation between men."

Smoker narrows his eyes menacingly, "You aren't making the whole 'not arrest' you any better."

"Haven't arrested me yet," Luffy shoots back, "Besides I know you are still going to try to. That's your job. It's all the other stuff that is confusing."

Smoker says nothing but the steel in his eyes doesn't go away.

"Like... me, I'm a pirate. But I haven't really done anything against the government."

Smoker would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't a self respecting full-grown man, "You punched two marine captains and a former Lieutenant."

"Jaw Face was executing people left and right in Shell Town before a pirate kicked his ass. When Rat Turd was taking bribes from Arlong and he had a whole island enslaved for a decade." Luffy deadpanned, "and that lieutenant was a pure asshole and you know it."

Smoker hates agreeing with a pirate, let alone with a kid... But Fullbody was an asshole, "That doesn't make what you did right. There are systems in dealing with corrupt marines."

Smoker, for the first time in this conversation, stops and doubts.

"We can't save everyone." Smoker says firmly but not as strongly as he wanted it to sound, "Whatever personal grudges you have against the Marines are your own but the system does work. It has to."

"Hmmmmm, bullshit. People are just… going to fall in line when you want them to," Luffy grabs for words off the top of his head, "Just because people don't follow your expectation doesn't mean they are bad. They are just living their life. Being free."

Smoker blows another smoke, this one looking more fluffy that it's past predecessors, "Everyone is their own person. With their own thoughts and feelings," he takes a deep breath, "Can't control them."

Luffy grins, "Perhaps even pirates can fit into that line of grey thinking."

Smoker snorts again, this time out of humorless amusement, "You suggesting good pirates?"

"Pirates are still people," Luffy shrugs, "There are some fakers out there. I like to think more about the pirates that just want to live freely. No killings, no ravadgeings, just… not laying down to something they don't have a choice in. Nobody asked to be born." he takes a look at his apple juice, "... maybe the marines can be less assholes about that if you didn't follow slave owners"

Smoker stiffens. The tip of his Cigar it bitten clean off, "...it is outside the World Government's jurisdiction to question Celestial Dragons."

Luffy blinks. He never thought he would be so disappointed in his frenemy, "You keep surprising me Smokey. Here I thought you were a respectable man. And here you are asking like a coward."

Bartolomeo jaw drops to the floor. Even Raoul had to stop pretending to be wiping a spotless glass to raise an eyebrow.

Smoker's face turns dark. It is a face Luffy was accustomed to and know that this drinking session is going to last much longer. Oh well.

"I don't care if you try to arrest me or not," Luffy mutters, "I know what I am about. I haven't looted, plundered, or pillaged. No civilians harm; some, even most, would say we even helped." he says quietly, "Come on Smokey, you were the one who said it. Protect the innocent. Arrest the guilty. What happened to that justice."

You have 100% fucked up, a voice that sounds a lot like Oyal, says.

"…and here I thought you were a smart kid," Smoker responds at last. He hasn't reached for his weapon yet but Luffy keeps an eye on that stream of smoke.

Luffy smirks, "I haven't done a single smart thing in my life and I don't plan on it now."

For what felt like an eternity, the two just stare at each other. Smoker with a judging, inscrutable gaze. Luffy's accepting and willing.

Smoker looks down at him, eyes intense but face blank. "Stay on the main road this time." and puts the rum bottle back onto the shelf

Luffy blinks, "You aren't going to fight me?"

He pulls out a new cigar from his pocket, "Listen…" he takes out a rather worn lighter as well, "I'm a Marine and I'm going to do my job… ordered or not," he successfully lights the damn thing on the third try, "But… you aren't leaving the island just yet and officalty we haven't met. Simple as that," with the cigar lit.

Luffy is stunned for half a second before busting out laughing, "Shishishishi! I knew it! You like me!"

"DON'T PUSH IT!"

Luffy lifts an empty glass, "Thanks for the story, old man!"

I hope we can work together… in the future.

Luffy doesn't bother with it, "Welp! I better get going!" he literally jumps out his seat, "Thank you for the drink, old man! And thanks for the tale! See ya Barty!"

"W-W-WAIT!" Bart pushing over his own stool after the man, "I GOT SOME WORDS WITH YOU!-ACK!"

"You're not going anywhere until you pay your tab." Raoul snaps, "Don't think just because I'm old you can get away with an eat and run."

"SHUT UP YOU OLD FART!" Bart yells with whites in his eyes, "That man is a mad man! I have to ask him to join my gang!"

"Well if you want him to join so bad then you can pay for his tab as well!"

"HUH?!"

Smoker doesn't bother to turn around as the sound of flip flops going up the stairs. He swears, some kids.

Luffy makes his way out the door just in time to see another Marine coming down… with wanted posters.

Luffy grins, not bothering to increase his pace at all! Guess it will be another while before he and Smokey can have another drink together!

OOO