A/N: What makes my time-travel story different from the others? Well, simply put, I feel like the others are too one-dimensional and linear. They will often follow certain events exactly like the original save for some "new powers," or "better fighting mechanics."

Mine? I have no set boundaries nor do I have any standard to follow aside from the storyline itself. And even then, I'll mix things up a bit such as having Blackbeard show up full power at the Baratie Saga (oops?) You guys will never know.

Chapter 5: Relapse I

"Come on, Usopp! Get it off your chest!"

Usopp heaved a heavy sigh, then at the top of his lungs, he shouted out to the sea: "I've never told you this Kaya, but I have a crush on you!"

"There we go!" Luffy encouraged as he patted him on the back. "And if you die now, at least you won't take that to the grave! That's one less regret you have in your life!"

Usopp heaved another sigh. Whether that was one of relief or shame was something else. The week had been nothing but ups and downs with a healthy dose of insanity. As the long-time guardian of Syrup Village, he had a much overdue week off… then the Straw Hats showed up.

Now don't get him wrong; he REALLY liked this crew even if it only had 4 members including himself. But he never actually had a chance to confess to Kaya before the Straw Hat Pirates dragged him away from the island he was sworn to protect. The island was in good hands now, but his heart wasn't.

Which is exactly why Zoro and Luffy (with healthy encouragement from Nami) had him try the "River Shouting" technique.

"Sometimes you give me food poisoning, but that will never change my undying love for you, meat!" Luffy shouted over the ship's railing.

"I get lost walking in straight lines! I realize now that I have no one to blame but myself!" Zoro shouted as well. Honesty was key to this exercise apparently.

"Sometimes my greed gets the better of me, but that's not to say the payoff isn't worth the risk!" shouted Nami who followed suit with everyone else.

"Cool!" said Luffy as he stretched out his arms. "Glad we got that out of the way!" The Going Merry, at the insistence of Zoro, had a number of new features added that made her different from her previous self. The first of many could be seen as the Straw Hats sat around a round meeting table where a lemonade machine was placed in the centre.

"So tell me," Usopp said as he took a sip from his cup. "When you said that you'd be the Pirate King, did you really mean it?"

"Damn right."

"And Zoro knows what he's getting into when he said that he'll be the world's greatest swordsman one day?"

"Right."

Usopp hummed in thought. Outwardly, he held a calm face, but he felt nothing but skepticism. He was no stranger to ambitious goals given the lofty expectations placed on him by his father… but still.

"We know what you're thinking," Luffy said as he took a sip. "But these dreams grew out of promises to our friends. There's no way in hell we'll back down, even if it means death.

This almost brought a tear to his eyes. What Usopp once held as skepticism grew into nothing but respect and admiration. "Well, damn," was all he could muster in response. "What about you?" he asked, his attention now diverted to Nami.

"I want to draw a map of the world," she answered with a smile. "Not as dangerous, but just as ambitious as these two idiots. This is the perfect crew to join if you've got dreams as wide as your imagination."

"So what's your story?" Zoro asked Usopp as he kicked his feet up on the table. Given every event that he experienced so far in this timeline, he knew there was bound to be some differences even in his crewmates.

"Where do I begin?" Usopp said as he set his cup down. "I'm the son of a retired Portmaster and an officer from one of the 4 Emperor's crew. My parents Bachina and Yasopp lived together until my father was called back to the Grand Line just a few years ago. He still calls from time-to-time, but it's mostly been me and my mother."

"And the whole "Syrup Village Guardian" thing?" Nami asked.

"Well, yeah. A few months ago, the World Government announced that they were no longer offering protection to our island."

"Fucking rats, all of them," Zoro commented in which he earned nods from the table.

"I trained with my father everyday until Shanks called for him back. I was the only warrior capable of defending the village from that day on. And… that just about sums up everything until you guys got here."

Zoro nodded in acknowledgement. When he reached out to Usopp's Haki back when they first met, he could tell that he was a pretty competent warrior. He was a shell of his father's presence, but there was no doubt that, given enough time, Usopp was perfectly capable of setting out on his own.

"Kaya told me a bit about this "Black Cat Pirates" gang a while ago. She said that the captain used to be a butler of hers until he was revealed to be a pirate. We were still under Marine protection back then, so he couldn't do anything but run."

A cannonball suddenly whizzed by the table, embedding itself into the wall behind them.

"Well it doesn't look like they plan to do a lot of running today," Nami commented as a largely forested island slowly came into view. There were several cannons mounted on the beaches, all firing upon their ship.

Zoro quickly unsheathed his sword and cut the many cannonballs in half. As the crew all stepped up to battle, Zoro held up his hand. "I've got this guys."

He closed his eyes and drew on the familiar energy that rose within his body. With force, Zoro swung his sword in an upward arc towards the island.

"One Sword Style: Dragon Twis-"

"One Sword Style: Wicked Winds..." a voice suddenly finished in his mind. Zoro's eyes raised in surprise as instead of the large tornado that he was used to seeing, several black wisps of wind flew towards the island.

The entire crew, including Zoro, felt a slight shiver as an ominous feeling flew by and disappeared as quickly as it appeared. In a split second, the cannonfire on the beaches had stopped.

As Zoro sheathed his sword, the took notice of the dumbfounded expressions on his fellow crewmates. "Let's dock," he said authoritatively before anyone else could comment.

As the crew disembarked, Zoro could feel the fear radiating off his friends. It was less profound in Luffy, but it was definitely there in Usopp and Nami, and as he looked at the scene before him he could definitely see why.

Hundreds of dried bodies littered the sands, all with expressions of horror and fear etched into their faces. Not a single one of them was alive, as if their souls had been ripped from their flesh. Zoro looked down at his sheathed sword and a purple aura flickered briefly. A sinister laugh echoed in his mind as he returned his attention to their mission.

"So… um…" Luffy began. "Pirate bases are usually deeper in the island so we should probably be heading there, right?"

"Uh… yeah," Nami finished lamely. "Let's… uh… go there…"

The journey had been awkward given the recent display of Zoro's abilities, so silence reigned as the Straw Hats slowly made their way inland. They encountered several ambushes along the way, but Usopp and Nami handled them well enough. They finally came to a stop in front of a small camp with large, sharpened logs as limites.

And there were several hundred more pirates looking towards them as they looked on undeterred.

"The Guardian of Syrup Village, Usopp," a voice came from within the crowd. The pirates slowly parted way as the voice got closer. "It's a pleasure to see that you have all grown up now."

"Klahadore," Usopp acknowledged. As the pirates continued to step aside, a man in a tuxedo and circular glasses finally came to the forefront of the crowd. His sharp claws shined menacingly as he came to a standstill.

"You can still call me that name if you'd like, but it means nothing to me now," Kuro said. "Though I doubt you and your little crew have the courage to face me if they knew what happened the last time you challenged me!"

He laughed loudly into the sky. "The marines aren't around to save you this time, sniper boy…" Kuro said with a sinister grin.

A rubber fist suddenly collided with his face, sending him flying backwards. He bounced off of the ground a few times before finally coming to a standstill in a crumpled heap.

"You can't attempt murder on my ward and expect to get away with it, Klahadore…" Usopp growled. "Luffy, this is between me and him," he said as he looked back towards his captain. "Let me take him on."

Luffy nodded as he checked his wrist. "Then that means the cannon fodder is all ours to take! Give the Cat Lady hell!"

A growl interrupted their conversation as Kuro stood up. His hair was disheveled and his glasses were broken, but a large bruise could be seen on the side of his cheek. "When I'm done with you four, there will barely be enough pieces left to feed the minnows!" he growled angrily. "Men! Disembowel them!"

The Black Cat Pirates, to use an apt simile, were like blades of grass standing in front of the lawnmower that was the Straw Hat Pirates. Zoro merely toyed with his opponents, letting Luffy and Nami do most of the fighting, which they clearly didn't mind.

Nami weaved through crowds of pirates with her bo staff colliding with many of their bodies. If Zoro payed her any less attention, he could have sworn Nami was using Observation Haki with near perfection. She moved fluidly with no movements wasted in between strikes.

Luffy on the other hand… well, he quite simply crushed any group that dared approach him. Due to the nature of his powers (and the fact that Zoro simply had no intention of fighting seriously), Luffy had already taken out a majority of the pirates.

"Gum-Gum Battle Whip!" Immediately, a squadron of pirates were swept off their feet. Luffy leapt into the air and followed it up with another attack.

"Gum-Gum Heavy Rain!" he shouted loudly as the downed pirates were bombarded with fists from the sky. Zoro was actually impressed by the diversity in his Captain's move-set so early on in their journey. At this point, he seriously doubted any pirate in the East Blue was capable of putting a scratch on him. Well, there was always the off-handed chance that they meet a Logia Devil-Fruit user, but Luffy always had a knack for Armaments.

Within the half-hour mark, the crew that was the Black Cat Pirates were either unconscious on the ground, or otherwise. The only 4 of the ruined crew left standing were Kuro, the hypnotist Django, and the 2 Siam brothers Buchi and and Sham. Usopp and Kuro clashed once more, steel claws meeting steel rifle, before the 2 leapt backwards to the sides of their crew.

"I don't think we can win this one, captain," Django said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "They're just too strong!"

"Calm down, Django." A loud clang was heard as Kuro sharpened his claws off of each other. "We still have the upper hand…"

Django smirked. "The Silent Movement technique..."

"Exactly," Kuro said as he crouched low with both arms held out to the side. "Usopp's mine. You three take care of the others."

"I've got the skinny one!" shouted Nami as she charged forward towards Siam.

"Fat one's mine!" Zoro said as he followed right behind.

"Dibs on the weirdo!" laughed Luffy as he joined the battle once again.

Usopp was left staring at the crouched form of Kuro alone. For a second, no one moved.

"I can feel the fear coming off of you, boy," Kuro said, still not moving. "Secretly, you want to turn around and run. Well go ahead, then. I'm not going to stop you. Pirating isn't a game for children."

"Sorry," Usopp finally responded. In a split second, his rifle was loaded and aimed at the prone form of Kuro. "No offence, but my Navigator scares me more than you do."

"It's a shame this battle could have ended with one less life lost…" And with that, Kuro disappeared into the wind. Before Usopp could react, he was sent stumbling backwards with 3 claw marks on his chest.

"My Silent Movement technique allows me to move at the speed of sound," he heard the wind whisper. "Quick. Silent... And lethal," Kuro spoke again as Usopp fell forward. 3 claw marks appeared on his back this time.

Kuro was visible again as Usopp struggled to his feet. "I gave you a chance to run, Usopp, and now you will suffer the consequences."

Kuro was slightly caught off guard as Usopp began laughing. This only made him angry.

"What's so funny?!"

Usopp smirked. "I may not be able to react fast enough when you use that speed technique of yours…" He pointed 2 fingers at his eyes. "But these things can still see you."

"Liar!" Kuro shouted as he disappeared once more, only this time, as he was about shred Usopp to pieces…

Bang!

Kuro coughed up blood as he fell backwards. His eyes widened in surprise as he felt the area above his right chest. A bullet.

"I told you. I can still see you. And while I can't move in time to dodge your attacks, my draw is still the quickest in the Grand Line."

Zoro overhead Usopp's statement and couldn't help but to wonder whether Usopp knew that he was actually right.

"I don't know about you 2," Zoro said to Luffy and Nami who were both in their respective battles. "But I'm ending my fight right here!"

Zoro tightened his grip on his sword as he prepared to unleash another attack. He had nothing against Buchi so he silently prayed that the voice he heard earlier did not reappear. And to his surprise, it actually didn't.

"One Sword Style: Sea Dragon Water Stream!" he called out as he passed through Buchi with the blunt end of his blade. The large cat man fell down unconscious.

"Same here!" Nami shouted out as she sidestepped one of Siam's swipes. With a sweep of her staff, he was knocked to his feet. She finished him off with a powerful jab to his chest. Siam didn't get up after that."

Kuro growled as he finally got to his feet. He only grew angrier when he saw that the only crewmember he had left standing was Django, and even he was struggling against the Straw Hat captain.

Everyone's attention was diverted to Luffy as he gave an unholy shout to the sky. With 2 hands, he pounded the ground, creating a small crater. All eyes grew wide as Luffy slowly began… inflating?

Everyone was slightly confused, except for Zoro to recognized it for what it was. Luffy's body swelled up as he started hovering above the ground.

"Gear Fourth: Bouncing Man…" Zoro whispered. Where did he learn that from?...

"Huff… Huff… Huff…" Luffy started panting with slow breaths. "I can't… I can't believe I pulled it off…" he said between massive breaths.

"Usopp! Nami! Back up!" Zoro shouted out loud as they steered clear of Luffy who cocked his fist high into the air.

"Gum… Gum..." Luffy panted. "Quake Gun!"

The entire island shook.

There was no way for Usopp to describe it. The closest comparison that he could think of was that of a meteor striking the island.

Nami was by no means an expert geologist, be she could have sworn the island sunk a few meters into the sea.

"Is everyone alright?" Zoro asked as he observed the landscape before him. Countless trees were uprooted, and he could still see remnants of the island (and unconscious bodies of the Black Cat Pirates) flying off into the sky. When the approached where the battlefield was, only Kuro was left standing, though he immediately fell to his knees. His second-in-command was left unconscious... in a large crater.

"What… are you?" he whispered as he fell to his knees. From the looks of it, Luffy kept his promise and didn't lay a hand on him.

"Monkey D. Luffy, the Pirate King," Luffy said as Usopp slowly approached the kneeling Kuro and knocked him unconscious with the butt of his rifle as his captain finished. "And don't you forget it."

A brief moment of silence occurred as Luffy stretched out his arms. "Well, I guess that's everything!" he laughed to the bewildered expressions of his crew. "Hey, let's go loot their ship!" he called to them as he marched jollily on the path in which they first came.

"Right! Let's see if they've got anything valuable!" Usopp shouted. "I mean they're Grand Line pirates! They've got to have some loot!" he said happily following suit. Nami's eyes fluttered at the mention of the word "valuable" and she quickly fell in line behind Usopp.

Zoro wordlessly followed behind them.

A/N: I hereby challenge each and everyone of you to do the "River Shouting" technique in the reviews.

I'll start:

I SHAMELESSLY HAVE A CRUSH ON AIN FROM THE ONE PIECE FILM Z SAGA! I THINK SHE'S ONE OF THE PRETTIEST CHARACTERS INTRODUCED SO FAR!

Phew. Had to get that off my chest.