Watching the rain fall: Thank you! It's a lot different than my other child Luffy fics.

This is a possibly upsetting chapter featuring Garp and some new enemies. Poor clueless Luffy. Enjoy~

The newspaper the next day was delivered, and the whole village was nervous and frightened. They didn't know the scope of it or the whole story, but the newspaper reported that multiple large, New World crews had entered the East Blue. They didn't know that the pirates would come to Dawn Island, but the fear was there.

Sabo read the newspaper aloud to Ace while Luffy napped on the futon in the storage room, a blob of mochi on the bed and under a soft blanket. "Multiple large crews have crossed through the Grand Line in almost record time after hearing about the coveted devil fruit found in the East Blue. These crews include New world crews such as the Big Mom pirates, Donquixote pirates, including the captain himself who has taken a break from his kingdom. Multiple smaller, lesser known crews have also made their move.

"The authorities encourage citizens in the East Blue to keep a look out and stay home if any arrive on your island. Hiding is your best option. The fruit's exact location is not known by the public, but no matter the island you are on, you could be in danger."

Sabo frowned and looked worried. "Gramps said not to go into the forest, but would that be safer than being on the coast? Or going back to the bandits' hut?" Ace wondered. Sabo shrugged, but they both trusted Garp's judgement in situations like these, which they'd never encountered. But, he was a seasoned marine, so he knew what was best, even if the boys doubted his decision.

How would the marines treat Luffy? Would they see him as a nuisance to take care of? Would he take up a lot of Garp's time? Who and how would anyone train him? Did any marines have devil fruits? Well, surely some did, but there had to be others that had devil fruits and weren't in the marines. It was a given. And the two doubted any pirate or wanted criminal would like teaching a four year old how to use their powers.

Surely, some in the world would be upset with someone having the same power as them. They would kill Luffy for that. Ace and Sabo knew most pirates were bastards, like Bluejam. They had of course heard stories of horrible pirates from Garp. Though, they still wanted to be pirates and free in the sea.

While Luffy was growing up and learning how to use his powers, Ace and Sabo would eventually set out on their pirate journeys in a couple years. They would see Luffy again, though. There was no doubt they'd meet up with him again, once he was stronger. The strongest.

No one came to bother them the first three days, and they stayed at Makino's, who was glad to have them and feed them as Garp told them to not go back into the forest until he was there. Ace and sabo could fight against guards or policemen from Goa, but having Luffy with them while doing so had always been a nerve-wracking liability.

Not that they wouldn't miss him. Some things would be easier, but they'd also not really have anything to do. No one to teach or play with or raise as best as they could. Neither had told Luffy he was being separated from them yet. They would postpone it until Garp arrived. Hopefully before the other pirates did. East Blue may not be tiny, but it was also much easier to navigate and New World or Paradise pirates would no doubt have no trouble navigating these waters.

Luffy was happy to play with toys Makino bought for him, since he had no real toys and only one stuffed animal that had been trash. He also got some paper to draw on. The boy seemed to enjoy it, so hopefully Garp and the marines could give him more than the brothers could. They felt bad for not getting Luffy any toys and hoarding their stash of money for the future. They could have at least spent some money on the little one.

Throughout the days, Luffy continued to have trouble with many of his new powers, though the same ones each time. The one that made him rubber, mochi, diamond and bubbles. Luckily, he didn't have trouble with the poison or bomb fruits. Or any of the ones that included sharp objects, like the spike-spike and dice-dice fruits. Along with the snip-snip. Ace and Sabo were thankful for that, and also thankful Makino didn't press them over what was happening to Luffy, even though it scared her.

The two older brothers assured her that Luffy would be fine, but it was hard for them to believe, especially when they'd needed to call for Garp about it. But, at least Garp would know what to do about whatever was wrong with Luffy. Makino had honestly not liked that the baby had been sent to live with bandits and eventually started living in the woods. It was dangerous, and Makino was upset that Garp didn't do anything about it.

The other villagers wondered why the trio were spending so much time with Makino, but werent nosey about it. Plus, Ace and Sabo wouldn't let anyone but Makino see what was happening to Luffy. In an emergency, the two had no doubt they would give information to those looking for whoever ate the fruit they all wanted.

After multiple times of Luffy stretching some part of his body, he wasn't scared of it anymore and was more fascinated with the changes. Ace explained to him more about devil fruits, in a way that a four year old would understand, and instructed him that he couldn't swim anymore. He wasn't good at it anyways, but had enjoyed the feeling.

"I can't go in water anymore? What about baths?" Luffy asked somewhat sadly.

Ace rubbed his head. "I'm sure you can take baths as long as there is someone there to help you. Just not by yourself and not in deep waters. Okay?" The boy nodded his head in understanding. He didn't want to drown. And, he thought these powers were cool enough to be better than being able to swim by himself.

They had one unlucky encounter with a customer during the evening. Luffy had been playing by the bar counter with his toys, Sabo reading Ace information about devil fruits quietly from the book they had brought with them. The only thing they'd brought with them, besides Luffy's bear, which was on the bar counter, discarded for the new toys for now.

The man got drunk quickly, and Luffy was unluckily in his view, playing with toys with a diamond coated hand and arm. The man thought he was seeing things, but then the other black haired preteen hurried over to Luffy and lead him into the storage room.

"What was with that?" the man asked in slightly slurred speech. Makino just smiled sweetly and asked what he meant. She knew, but was playing pretend, knowing Ace and sabo wanted this to stay secret. "That kid's arm."

"Oh, I don't know. I didn't see anything," she said pleasantly, lying quite well. Sabo watched from behind the man at one of the tables, book still open, with a grateful smile to the barmaid. The man moved on, for now. Hopefully he was too drunk to remember what had happened, or thought he had seen something strange because he was under the influence.

-x-

The two weeks passed slowly, and Luffy had awakened multiple new powers. One of them was another food related power, which made him be able to create hard candy. He was starting to show a bit of control, though he didn't mean to, really. He just kept his hand made of candy so he could suck his thumb with the tasty food. It was a start, and Ace and Sabo were proud of him. It gave them some hope that they might not be separated from him as long as they thought.

Another power that turned up was Luffy was able to turn the tips of his fingers invisible, but only his fingers. No one had noticed it at first, but Makino had eventually been the one to notice and pointed it out. Luffy hadn't even noticed himself.

"The clear-clear fruit. Makes the user invisible," Sabo told Ace quietly, so Makino didn't hear. But, she had an idea that Luffy had eaten a devil fruit, even if she didn't know much about them and had never met anyone who had eaten one.

Thankfully, no harmful ones had appeared yet. They didn't want to deal with Luffy turning into some sort of weapon or secrete poison.

The newspaper reported that multiple islands had been attacked by New World pirates, and everyone in the East Blue grew uneasy. Many marines were dispatched to try and protect the islands from the pillaging pirates looking for the power which was now Luffy. They hoped that Garp would get there soon. Before the other pirates did.

It said some of the pirate crews had gotten into fights with each other, with the Big Mom crew slaughtering the smaller crews that got in the way, even accidentally. The Donquixote pirates and their allied crews were very violent in their pillaging the small islands.

At least the Big Mom crew, which had some of the members confirmed, hadn't been killing civilians who didn't get in their way and were honest in their answers about not knowing where the fruit came from.

That crew was the one that the marines were most worried about. Big Mom already had a very powerful crew and family, they didn't need to have an added powerhouse to it. Those on the ship that were confirmed were Charlotte Katakuri, Charlotte Oven, and Charlotte Amande. Under them were many allied crews that were strictly under their supervision. Word of Luffy eating the fruit hadn't gotten out yet, thankfully, so they were all still looking for the fruit itself, and didn't want anyone who wasn't their own family to eat the fruit.

Some were calling it the War of the Paramecia. Not the most original name, but it summed it up based on the fighting that was now taking place in the East Blue, which was supposed to be the most peaceful and weak of the sea. Which was now a large disadvantage. And because the sea was so weak, there were almost no marine bases in it.

Finally, almost exactly two weeks after the call, Garp's ship turned up. It had multiple small holes in the sail and had clearly been in a battle from a weaker pirate crew. Garp entered the bar to see Luffy sitting on the futon mat and napping, in his blob mochi form again, which seemed to happen all of the time he slept. Garp frowned at it. Not as if he was mad at Luffy but he didn't like that he had been the one to eat the fruit causing all of this trouble.

Ace and Sabo looked at him nervously and sadly, not wanting to say goodbye to Luffy, but knowing it was the right choice to do it soon. Sabo went to Luffy and woke him up, popping back into normal shape. He blinked sleepily before seeing the big man and jumped up.

"Grampa!" he cheered and hugged the man who picked the tiny child up with a grin. "What are you doin' here?" he asked curiously.

Garp kept the grin on, and said, "I'm here to take you on a special vacation for awhile," the marine replied. Ace and Sabo frowned deeper. Luffy cocked his head at the word. "A trip away from home." Garp didn't know if the truth would scare Luffy, so he didn't say it. Ace and Sabo clearly hadn't explained anything in depth either.

"Why?"

"Because of that devil fruit you got," Garp answered truthfully, though his tone of voice didn't give away his unhappiness with the situation.

Luffy smiled and said he had lots of cool stuff, and began to explain what had happened since his birthday. Garp kept a smile on, though it was forced. Luffy couldn't tell, however. "Is Ace and Sabo coming?" Garp lost his smile at this.

"No, your brothers aren't coming this time. But, once you can control the fruit more, I'll bring you back to them. Even if they set out as marines or something else, you'll see them again. I have no doubt. And I'm sure you'll want to come back and show you could defeat them in a battle. Right?"

Luffy frowned at being separated from Ace and Sabo. But, beating them in a fight sounded cool and then he would be strong like his big brothers. "But, I'll miss them," Luffy said.

"I know, Luffy. I'm sure they'll miss you, too. But we gotta be strong about it, okay?" Garp asked. Luffy still had a deep frown on, but he nodded. "You can still talk to them on the den den mushi sometimes. I brought one for them to keep and you to have."

"Thank you, Gramps," Ace said sincerely. His face was becoming hot with the threat of tears, which he didn't want to show in front of anyone, and especially not Luffy or Garp. "It means a lot to us."

Garp smiled at them, and replied, "Thank you for being mature and calling me instead of trying to figure it out on your own." The man was truly proud of their judgement in the situation. Before Luffy came, Ace was so impulsive and would no doubt have attempted to teach himself the powers and put Luffy and Sabo in great danger.

"We should leave soon and get back to the Grand Line and away from the pirate crews pillaging the islands. This island is under marine jurisdiction, and I've brought another ship to come and protect the island from any pirates that might try to search this island. Even though the fruit had been here, we want to do everything we can to protect the civilians living on the islands where no one can defend them," he explained.

Ace and Sabo nodded along, with Makino feeling very reassured. She hadn't been told to leave the room so she now had her idea confirmed about Luffy eating a devil fruit. Though, she hadn't known it was the one all of the New World pirates were after.

"Will Luffy be safe with you? From both pirates and nasty marines?" Ace asked with a very serious expression. Garp nodded.

"I'll be with Luffy for awhile now. I'm taking an extended leave, and Sengoku has approve of it. I'll make sure to keep him safe and sound. And happy, too. We have a lot of work ahead of us, though," the vice-admiral added honestly.

Ace and Sabo nodded, and Sabo handed Garp the book on devil fruits. "I jotted down some notes about which ones Luffy has shown already and how he's used them," Sabo explained. Garp stuck the book in his chest pocket and thanked the kid, setting Luffy down to say goodbye. That they had to leave very soon.

Luffy ran to his brothers and gave them a big hug. He had some tears, but Ace and Sabo kept theirs' under control and just gave him warm smiles, telling him they'd see him again when they were all bigger.

"I'll be super cool by then. Just you wait," Ace said with a cheeky grin. Luffy beamed through the tears. "Me too!" he cheered back. "I will learn to make food so you don't hafta hunt!"

Sabo laughed, and said he was looking forward to it. It was a bittersweet goodbye, but Luffy went willingly and didn't fight to stay. He had his new toys and precious-again stuffed bear that the brothers had found for him. He had no changes of clothes, as Garp thought it wasn't safe to go back to the forest. Ace and sabo were instructed to go back to the bandits and stay there, giving them a demanding and threatening note to give to Dadan and the boys.

Ace and Sabo didn't particularly want to go, but the civilians stayed away from the bandits and it was deep into the forest so pirates might not venture that far in if they arrive. So, they did as they were told, and started living with the bandits again, even if it was just temporary. They didn't go back to the treehouse even though they wanted some of their stuff. It wasn't safe, and they would stay safe so Luffy wouldn't worry or be upset.

-x-

Luffy had his own bed in Garp's room on the marine ship. His bed was huge and Luffy's was a normal size. There were also clothes for him, having been bought on the way to the Red Line and out of the Grand Line, which was where they were heading. The Grand Line was honestly more safe for Luffy than here at the moment.

The boy enjoyed the variety of food made for him. Different than just cooked meat or fruits. He had freshly baked bread and other types of yummy foods. It distracted him from missing his brothers, and also kept him unaware of the stress that was felt by almost everyone on the ship.

Pirates had reached most islands by the week after Luffy departed. He called Ace and Sabo every night before bed, telling them about his adventures on the big ship. He wasn't going to be bored anytime soon as Garp had activities set up for him to help him learn his powers.

Luffy's first request was the cook-cook fruit. So, Garp humored him and had him study cooked food from the kitchen, tasting them, feeling the texture, smell, etc.

Luffy was a slow learner, but Garp couldn't fault him as he was only four years old for goodness's sake. He did do his duties as the captain of the ship and his marine crew, even if they had another vice-admiral on board. Garp had handpicked Momonga to come with him. He would have chosen Aokiji, as he was the best with kids, but he was busy fighting off the pirates attacking the defenseless islands in the East blue.

Garp wasn't happy with but had been expecting the lower ranked marines to not be happy Luffy was with them, even though they knew his importance not only to Garp but to everyone. And keeping him safe and hidden was the number one mission they'd ever had before. But, a child was distracting. Especially one who kept showing off possibly dangerous powers. They wanted Luffy to hurry up and learn so he wasn't more of a liability than he already was.

Garp, of course, was infatuated with Luffy. he always had been but had put his job before Luffy. Maybe that had been a mistake, but he didn't want to leave the marines. Why couldn't his son have been useful and not a criminal?

But, the man still did his job, even if it was made easier by having a second vice-admiral to help in case the ship was attacked by any pirates. Many crews were already slaughtered or defeated, but there were three powerhouses there. One more had arrived much later than the others. So, now there were two yonko ships in the East Blue. Kaido had sent some of his subordinates out to find the fruit. He didn't want to eat it, because he already had a fruit, but he didn't want anyone else to have it.

So, with Kaido's influence now in the East Blue, the marines on the ship grew even more uncomfortable having Luffy on the ship. The faster they got back to Marineford, the better. It would take some time, so hopefully word doesn't get out about someone eating it, that someone being with them.

-x-

Three days after Luffy left the island, and was heading with grampa to the Grand Line, word came out that it was now known that someone had eaten the fruit. Garp didn't tell Luffy about Goa having been attacked. Foosha village had been attacked, too, but Makino had answered the den den mushi and told Garp what had happened.

One of Doflamingo's allied ships had attacked the island, and had killed many people, nobles or otherwise. Foosha had been mostly left alone after they got their answer from the drunkard who had witnessed Luffy use a diamond power. Everyone knew Jozu from the Whitebeard Pirates had that fruit, so it was clear that the kid had eaten the all-all fruit.

Luckily for Foosha, hearing that a marine vessel had left three days ago made them in a hurry to get back out to sea. Makino was alive, as were the bandits and Ace and Sabo. Garp couldn't be more relieved, even if multiple people he knew had been killed and the marine vessel that had been stationed there obliterated.

But, now Doflamingo's crews knew about the marine ship housing the person everyone was after. Now they were in a race to get to the Red Line. The marine ship was days ahead of Doflamingo's, but they could catch up. Even the East Blue could be fickle. It was an ocean, after all.

One day later, word of the ship holding the powerhouses from Totto Land getting in a battle with the ship that had attacked Dawn Island, and destroying it to sink to the bottom of the sea. Garp and Momonga knew that the Big Mom crew now knew what Doflamingo knew. And another ship would be tailing them.

The marines were downright scared now, jumpy from every little thing. Every sound from the sea. They were more afraid of Katakuri because Doflamingo would be submitting his resignation of the Warlords if he attacked the marine ship. But, Garp and Momonga didn't trust that to stop the man from having his crew attack them and then coming for whoever was left after that.

Katakuri would have no problem attacking the marine vessel and killing everyone on board. He was already a wanted man, with one of the highest bounties in the world, so what would killing some important marines do? Add to the bounty, which he would not be upset about. And he would get Luffy. Big Mom would get the next future powerhouse and be able to raise him as a human weapon, like the rest of her children.

Garp would never want Luffy to have to be part of that family. He was young enough to be assimilated and easily brainwashed to believe he was part of that family and crew. The toddler was so vulnerable. He had to be taken care of by someone responsible, and for now that was Garp. Ace and Sabo could only go so far as children themselves. And Garp didn't blame them for this. Luffy hadn't known it was a devil fruit, and according to the boys, they didn't know anything about devil fruits before the fiasco either.

It was bedtime and Luffy was lounging on Garp's lap, his thumb in his mouth. He was wrapped in a thick and warm blanket. During all of this possible stress on Luffy, Garp wanted to make it as easy as possible for him to get somewhere safe. He was to be protected and shielded from what type of situation he was really in. That multiple presences, bad or good, wanted to have him for their own agenda.

Garp was telling Luffy stories about his marine days, though they were heavily censored and mostly spoke only about the love and family he found in the marines. He wasn't trying to brainwash Luffy like Ace would definitely say, but instill good beliefs about law and order and the family that could be brought together from it.

Like the last three days, Luffy turned into a mochi blob after falling asleep. Garp honestly wondered what devil fruit users thought of sharing powers. Those who werent after the all-all fruit and now its user, what did they think? Especially, what did Whitebeard think? He was said to be the strongest man in the world yet another now had his power, whether he could use it or not. Did that wound the man's pride?

Garp would say no to that. Whitebeard took most pride in his family. Sharing a fruit with someone who was much less adept at using it shouldn't bother him. Despite being a pirate, Garp had respect for the man's ideals and beliefs about family.

After tucking Luffy into bed, Garp turned the nightlight on and closed the bedroom door quietly behind him. Luffy slept peacefully for most of the night, only waking from becoming so blobby that his leg stretched and flopped off of the bed. Just for a second, he was scared and called out for Ace and Sabo before he really woke up and remembered they werent there. Wouldn't be there for awhile. It made him sad, but he did his best to shake off the sad feeling because he didn't like it, and went back to bed, now sucking on a candy-coated thumb, which he didn't do on purpose but still enjoyed.

Luffy slept peacefully until the sun rose and woke up to Garp getting dressed, looking tense. Luffy wasn't the best at noticing social cues, so he didn't see the pinched look on Garp's face. "Grampa?" Luffy asked, getting out of bed. "What's for breakfast?" He dragged the blanket behind him as he walked to the man.

"Today, you're going to be staying in here," Garp said with a grin plastered on his face. Luffy made a small "uh?" sound, wondering why he couldn't go back outside. "It's bad weather outside right now," the vice-admiral said. Luffy believed him, because why wouldn't he? He dropped the blanket on the floor and went to his little closet to change outfits.

"I wanna talk to Ace and Sabo. I miss them," Luffy said, his shirt on backwards and shorts unzipped. Garp fixed the clothes up and brought the den den mushi down to Luffy's level.

"I'm sure they'll be happy to talk to you," Garp replied. He had already checked in on them earlier to see how the island was faring. Goa was in shambles, but Ace and Sabo were safe. Foosha village was being repaired as best as they could with who they had.

Ace answered the snail immediately. "Luffy?" he asked.

"Yeah! I had a bad dream and woke up and missed you guys."

"We miss you, too, Lu," Sabo's voice said. Luffy and his brothers exchanged a very scripted conversation. Garp had told the brothers where they stood in their way of escaping the East Blue safely. It wasn't looking good at all, but everyone kept their secrets around Luffy. Who knows what would happen if he had a melt down or panic attack? He might unleash the quake-quake fruit and destroy the entire marine ship he was staying on. Everything was too unpredictable.

The marines didn't know where the leak in the information was coming from, but everyone knew now that the all-all fruit had been eaten by a child. The pirates were adapting their plans, and Garp had those in the New World confirm that more pirates were heading to try and intercept Luffy's path. Devil fruit users of all kinds were trying to meet up with their captains or in one case, siblings, to try and get Luffy safely.

It was clear that none of the big guns wanted Luffy dead, or they wouldn't be calling in certain members of their crews or families. Many of Big Mom's crew had unknown devil fruits and no bounties, considering how many of them there was, which was a big concern for the marines.

Things were looking grim. The three marine vessels were being followed from behind and were heading towards a single point that was the only way back into the Grand Line. And many pirates could be waiting to ambush them there. They still had a few more days before the relative "safety" of being on the Grand Line. Easier to avoid another crew on the harsh waters, letting weather and other Grand Line occurrences make some distance. In the East Blue, the weather was steady and there were no crazy or unpredictable occurrences, and there were rarely any sea kings.

It was a bit weird to think of the Grand Line as safer for anyone, but in this situation, it would benefit the marines. But, they would have to get through Reverse Mountain in one piece, with Luffy still with them so they can make a break for it and regroup with other marine vessels to keep Luffy safer.

It couldn't be avoided, though, if they were being waited for on the other side of the Red Line. They just had to hope for the best and do as well as they possibly could to keep the ships and Luffy safe.

Ace and Sabo kept Luffy busy for awhile while Garp went to get the boy some breakfast, for once his own appetite not present. He was too nervous to eat anything, even if he would need the strength later. But, he wanted to seem stable and strong for Luffy, even if he was a bit afraid of what would happen to Luffy if he got caught.

Though there was no real storm, the two did stay inside most of the day. Garp left twice to go on some business and left some random marine to babysit Luffy. It was difficult for those who didn't have patience, as Luffy was now enthralled with his powers and made messes everywhere, ruining the sheets on Garp's bed by covering it in thick soap bubbles and then tried making some food that just came out as goop that stuck to the wet sheets.

Luffy didn't pick up the cues that the marine babysitting him wasn't happy with Luffy, and was also nervous like Garp was. Instead, he babbled about what he wanted to do first when he learned how to use his powers.

"I'm gonna make Ace an' Sabo-". But he was unable to finish as he was cut off with a blaring alarm going off. "What is it?" he asked curiously. The marine shouted at him to stay put and not leave the room. Crashes were heard and shouting began, along with the loud scraping sound of wood against wood.

Luffy looked at the new closed bedroom door, wondering what was happening and where grampa went. He turned to the side to go pick up the snail and try and talk to Ace and Sabo since grampa was busy, but met an unexpected woman in the room.

"Hello, little boy. Do you want to see a magic trick?" the woman cackled. She was much taller than Luffy, and had one hand in the mirror.

"Sure!" Luffy cheered, and hurried to the bed and picked up his stuffed animal, before easily following the new woman into the large mirror in the room. Which then shattered, leaving the room empty and quiet.

And the Big Mom pirates make their entrance!