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'Thoughts'

"Dialogue"

After Luffy finished his sake with Raoul, the old man gave him crude directions to the execution platform. Although, when Luffy found main street, his senses were assaulted by the various scents that littered the street. Luffy's mouth began to water when the distinct smell of meat filled the air. He followed his nose and was rewarded with a stall that has every type of meat he could imagine. Pig, deer, sea king, tiger, snake anything! This small stall, manned by a wrinkled and bearded man is a slice of heaven on earth! Luffy bought one of everything, spending all his berri there. Luffy stuffed the extra food in his pockets and was on his way. Just following the flow of people as they went about their day.

After a good half hour, Luffy found himself in a big square. Then he saw it, towering above anything else in the center of the marketplace, a platform made of metal and wood. Luffy stopped, causing a few people to run into him and a few to yell, but he didn't care. Luffy ignored them and started to slowly walk towards the platform, before breaking into a jog, then a sprint. When he got close, he jumped into the air and used MoonStep. Nearly everyone in the square noticed the flying man, some thought they were going crazy, while others were already running out of the square looking for the marines.

When Luffy stepped onto the platform, he felt something strange. The wind changed and whipped around him, picking up speed and slowing down, it felt abnormal. Putting his concerns in the back of his mind, Luffy turned around to experience what one of the most influential men to ever live saw in his final moments. As Luffy took in the sights of the market, he noticed the clear sky quickly change with black clouds rolling in from nearly all directions... Seeing this, Luffy promptly sat in a lotus position and expanded his observation.

Out of the twenty thousand or so people on the island, only ten people were of any interest. Luffy could feel that everyone but Zoro was heading back to the ship, although he was about to run into Sanji. So, that problem should take care of itself. He could feel two auras quickly heading towards the square. One of them was large, excited, and confident, while the other was slightly afraid and much smaller. The other four were already in the square, one seemed to be angry at something or someone, while the other was flooding with joy and felt different. The other two were the same as before...strange, like they were concealing their presence but at the same time weren't. Like they were trying to draw someone's attention... One of them moved throughout the crowds, but never close to the platform and always near an exit to the square. The other was on a roof and was easily the largest aura in the city. Although it was massively concealed.

Luffy tried to explore the depths of the aura, but it flared slightly, engulfing the whole island with ease. Luffy opened his eyes and looked to his right towards the man. All he saw was a figure in a black cloak, but the man was facing towards him and exuding... recognition? Luffy looked at him for a moment, then stood up on the platform and matched the man's aura. The two stared at each other for what seemed like hours, but Luffy felt a aura close in and looked away to see no one, when he looked back, the man and his aura were gone.

Luffy tried to find the other aura, but it had vanished as well... As Luffy receded his aura, he rechecked his crew to find all but Sanji and Zoro weren't at the Merry, but they were close. Luffy grinned and looked out at the city again, feeling the wind blow. His moment of bliss wouldn't last however, he suddenly heard someone yell, "Straw Hat Luffy! You are surrounded! Come down, and you will be given a fair trial!"

Luffy looked down and noticed he was indeed surrounded, by marines and civilians alike. He then looked at the man beside the marine with the megaphone. He had gray hair, a white coat with fur linings and cigars strapped along the chest and arms. The man was also smoking two cigars at once, which had to be expensive, judging by the gold bands on them. He also had what looked to be a metal baton? Something strapped to his back that had a small aura of the sea... Luffy realized they were waiting for his answer, so he replied loudly, "No."

Gasps echoed throughout the market, as the Marines trained their rifles on the pirate. The man with the cigars then brought out a piece of paper and after a few moments stated, "You are Straw Hat... I'm surprised you are so young! Someone of your age shouldn't have a bounty this large, not to mention the rumors surrounding you..."

Luffy didn't let his eyes wander from the man, not with the emotions that resonated from him. Aggression, excitement, confidence, and indifference. Luffy then asked, "What's it to you? You don't look like a Marine."

The man chuckled, while pulling the apparent jitte off his back and bounced it off his shoulder. He then dropped the poster and announced, "Oh, but it is. My name is Smoker, the acting Captain of this island. In the five years I've been stationed here, no pirate has gotten away from me. All of them were like you, thinking the world is their oyster. But they all realized it's impossible to stop justice." Smoker then pointed the jitte at Luffy and declared, "After I deal with you, I will arrest your crew down at the docks. So, Straw Hat Luffy, do you have any last words as a free man?"

Luffy looked across the market, noticing the thunderstorm that quickly swallowed the island. Luffy looked towards the crowd, then the marines, and finally back to Smoker. He then answered at the top of his lungs, "I WILL BECOME THE PIRATE KING!" Just as Luffy announced that, he felt a tingle on the back of his neck, and an aura explode, causing his body to instinctively jump off the platform as fast as possible.

To everyone in the market, the pirate somehow teleported off the platform, dodging a bolt of lightning and appearing above the burning platform now jumping on air. The inhuman feat caused some to faint and others to doubt the marines that protect them. Smoker, however, decided to capitalize on the confusion. He jumped into the air, propelling himself with smoke towards the pirate while bringing his jitte up to incapacitate the flying man.

Luffy watched as the platform crashed to the ground, engulfed in a bright orange blaze. He looked around the market at the many faces, all of them were wide-eyed and confused by his actions. Luffy then noticed an aura thick with intent flying towards him at a considerable speed. Luffy quickly turned his body upside down, and used Moonstep to get to the ground as fast as possible. As he neared the cobblestone, Luffy turned again in the air, landing on his knee roughly and waited for the man to follow him. Suddenly, smoke clouded the area around him and out of the smoke, the marine captain stood across from Luffy, his jitte at the ready. Smoker then asked, "I have one more question for you, Straw Hat... How did you evade that?"

"Instinct. But, I also have a question for you…"

Smoker then replied with a smirk, "Oh, and what might that be?"

"Why didn't you take out Arlong? I'm sure you've known what he's done over the years. So, what's stopped you?"

Smoker dropped his smirk and as he answered, his tone grew darker, "The Polestar Islands may be close to the Conomi Islands, but Arlong wasn't my jurisdiction. Captain Nezumi has been trying to catch him for years."

"Are you talking about the Marine with mouse ears and whiskers? Because that bastard was taking bribes from Arlong. Shishishi, wow. And people say The Navy deserves respect. The Navy is corrupt as hell."

"Shut the fuck up!" Smoker shouted as he expanded his smoke and surrounded the pirate in a thick fog.

Luffy widened his eyes slightly seeing the devil fruit powers, but then smugly grinned and stating while dodging a swipe from his weapon, "Oh, you have a Logia. I didn't expect to see one in this Blue."

A voice came out of the smoke and replied, "You are much more knowledgeable than you appear Straw Hat Luffy, I have the Moku Moku no Mi." Smoker then swiped his jitte at Luffy's back, trying to take him off guard, but he dodged again.

Luffy then said, "And you still have much to learn." Luffy then slid his foot and hand back, flattened his palm, before coating his hand with Armament haki. When Luffy thrust his hand forward, a shout of pain was heard as the smoke funneled ahead and collected to form a rolling body on the cobblestone.

When Smoker finally stopped tumbling, he willed himself onto his chest and slowly struggled to get to his feet. He lifted his head and yelled, "White Blow!"

As he sent out a torrent of smoke from his arm. The smoke was faster and thicker than anything the captain had thrown before, but just as the attack neared the pirate, he disappeared. Smoker blinked and widened his eyes for a moment, only to be hit by a invisible force that sent him rocketing into a building on his left. Smoker slowly pushed the debris and got up again, but this time, he was sure he would die. It felt like his entire rib cage was shattered and his whole right side as well… Smoker slowly exited the hole to find the pirate standing before him with his jitte in hand. Taking a closer look at the pirate, he was easily 6' and was almost as muscular as he was. Where he had more mass, Monkey D. Luffy was leaner. His sharp, cunning eyes were hidden by his straw hat, but he could barely make out a scar surrounding his left. He wore a red vest with gold buttons, cuffed jean shorts, and sandals. Smoker then looked down at the weapon in his hand and prepared for the worst.

Luffy looked at the marine before him and could tell from his body language, he was finished. He thrust the tip of the jitte in the cobblestone and declared, "This is over. Maybe I'll see you again, maybe I won't. But if I do, it'll be in the Grand Line and you better be stronger than you are now." Luffy then closed his eyes, focusing on all of the malicious auras in the square and released a potent wave of Conqueror's Haki, knocking out all but two marines. While the captain in front of him fell to the ground, passing out from the injuries and pain.

As Luffy walked down main street, he was stopped by the man the black cloak. Looking closer at the man, he is a tall man with a red tribal tattoo on the left side of his face. The man has spiky black hair with a slight stubble and a sly grin plastered on his face. Luffy's eyes widened with shock and recognition, "He's… He looks just like Gramps described."

The man then dropped his hood and said, "That was impressive as it was surprising. You've certainly progressed much further than expected."

Luffy stared for at his tattoo for a moment before replying, "He may have been my first Logia user, but with the training I've received… this was only a warm-up for things to come."

The man's grinned widened, he then stated, "It would seem Garp trained you well. But, your aura doesn't feel like any type of user I've encountered…" The man trailed off, expecting Luffy to satisfy his curiosity.

Luffy picked up on this and his matched his grin. He then said, "I'll tell you my secret, when you tell me who's on the roof with the top hat."

His smile didn't falter, but he did look to the sky as he answered, "He's my second in command. He may be young, but he has an immensely bright future... So, I'm actually intrigued, what is this Devil Fruit you've attained?"

Luffy replied, "I'll show you."

He then announced, "The Ninth Circle."

A blinding flash enveloped the empty street and the surrounding temperature rose dramatically, as Luffy flared his aura. Steam started to rise from the ground surrounding the two and Luffy's clothes dried. The man looked at his form for a moment, spending a few seconds on his flaming halo and his wings respectively. He then broke the silence, "I see. You've gotten a Mythical Zoan. Judging by your halo, I assume you can also manipulate that flame." The look of curiosity faded as the grin reappeared, he then continued, "That is incredible! I've heard they have the potential to surpass even us Logia." The man then walked up to Luffy and grabbed his shoulder. He then inquired, "Luffy, I must ask… do you plan to conquer the sea with this power? Is your ambition truly to become the Pirate King?"

Luffy returned to his base form and answered with a smile, "Shishishishi, I don't want to conquer anything! I just want to be the Freest Man in the World!"

The man gave Luffy a genuine smile, he then walked past Luffy saying, "I don't expect anything less, but I should go…We have talked for too long. Oh, as a gift to start your voyage, the tailwinds will be heading west by the time you reach your ship. It will make entering Reverse Mountain's stream much easier."

Luffy was nearly at the Merry when a tall, pretty, and slightly voluptuous woman stepped out from a alleyway with four men behind her. She then yelled, "Luffy! I can't believe you would leave without saying goodbye to the most beautiful woman in the world!"

Luffy stopped in his tracks and turned towards the woman. The woman wore a white cowboy hat, a bikini top and some leggings. She was also carrying a big spiked mace, but Luffy had to admit, she was very pretty, especially with her outfit enhancing her looks … But to say she is the most beautiful woman... He had to disagree, Nami was better looking than her. Luffy then replied, "Do I know you?"

The woman put a hand over her heart, grabbing her breast and said with a mock pained expression, "Luffy, you wound me! I can't believe you would forget so quickly! You were the first man to ever strike me and express dominance."

He rose his eyebrow and looked at her again, "I think I would remember hitting someone like you."

She then smirked and stated, "However it is true, I do look slightly different from our last encounter. I did lose my freckles after all, but maybe this will jog your memory." She then turned to the men and asked, "Boys! Who is the most Beautiful Woman in all the seas?"

With hearts for eyes the men answered, "You, Alvida!"

Luffy cocked his head and with a squint, he looked at her, "It's possible..." Luffy then felt her aura and sure enough, it's her. But the aura feels like a Devil Fruit user, so maybe it changed her appearance? He then crossed his arms and declared, "You ate a Devil Fruit, didn't you."

Alvida looked at him with wide eyes before she smirked. She nodding her head and sauntering over with a seductive smile while saying, "Nothing gets past you, Luffy. Just what I'd expect from my man."

As she pushed her breasts against his left arm, Luffy asked, "What do you want, Alvida? I have to leave soon."

Alvida pouted and replied, "I want to go with you. We can be co-captains and lovers. We can rise to the top of this world and rule together! We can-"

Luffy cut her off, "No."

Horror washed over her face, as tears started to grow in her eyes, she then stepped back and asked, "Why? Am I not good enough? Is my body unattractive? Am I too weak? I can change!"

"I can't have those distractions during my adventures, especially in the Grand Line." He then shook her off and continued, "Besides, I don't want to rule, I just want to be free." Luffy started back down the street, not even sparing another glance towards the woman.

When Luffy arrived at the Merry, everyone was obviously irritated and the thunderstorm didn't help. As soon as he stepped foot on the ship, Nami came out of nowhere and hit him over the head, causing a welt to form. She then yelled, "We need to go now! The winds are perfect and we don't want them to change." The crew cast off and raised anchor, lowering the sails and catching the downwind heading west.

As they came closer to the mountain, Sanji brought out a barrel and yelled, "We should have a launching ceremony!"

Luffy walked to the barrel and putting his foot on top of it, saying, "To be the Pirate King!"

Zoro was next, "To become the World's Greatest Swordsman!"

Usopp then yelled, "To be the Greatest Marksman this world has ever seen!"

"To find the All Blue and Mermaids!" Sanji yelled with hearts for eyes and a bloody nose, fantasizing about his first mermaid.

After a glare and a punch to the back of his head, Nami finished, "To draw a map of the world!"

As the Merry neared Reverse Mountain, the Straw Hats rolled up the sails and they saw it, a current defying nature. Beyond the grey stone gates, a stream propelled up the mountain, disappearing in the clouds and disregarding gravity entirely. Suddenly, the Merry lurched forward and changed course, turning towards the gates, Nami then yelled over the storm, "We just entered the current! We have to make it through those gates, or we'll be killed!"

Luffy ran to the front of the ship, noticing the drift to the left, he yelled to Usopp, "Starboard! Starboard, now! We're drifting!"

Suddenly the ship sped forward, barely passing through the gates and into the current ahead. As they headed up the mountain everyone yelled, "WAHOOO! We made it!"

Luffy jumped onto the figurehead as the Merry continued up and up the canal. Faster and faster the ship rose. As they passed the clouds, the mist from the current turned to crystal and vapor. Just as the Merry reached the apex of the mountain, the Going Merry launched out of the current and landed on another. However, this one went straight down and faster as the last.

Every Straw Hat held onto the railing for dear life, all the while Luffy was looking out onto the clouds of world's most famous sea. Luffy then said to himself, "So this is it...the Greatest Sea in the World! The Grand Line!" He then felt something, the largest individual presence he'd ever felt, and it wasn't human. Luffy tried to see what it was, but could only see the clouds that engulfed the land below. The Merry then burst from the cloud layer, plummeting down the stream. Then he saw it, a massive black…thing? Whatever it was, it was blocking their path and threatened to sink the Merry. Luffy then heard Nami ask, "What the hell is that thing?!"

Then a loud sound nearly shook the ship and echoed around them. Luffy stared wide-eyed at the leviathan that was spouting water from it's back and replied in shock, "It's a whale…"

The Going Merry speed down the mountain at a breakneck speed and as the ship started to near the massive animal, Luffy yelled, "The Ninth Circle!"

Luffy then held his palm in front of the ship and said, "Jet Inferno." As the winged man held out his hand, a small white flame protruded from the center of his palm that flowed into the sea beyond. He then flexed his arm and the flame grew in size and strength, causing the ship to slow. Seeing as the Merry would still hit the whale, Luffy put more strength in the technique, causing the flame to grow to half the size of his palm. The Merry slowed to a halt, but because of the strength of the flame and its heat, the scarred whale's eye darted to the ship before it. The whale then roared again, before opening its toothed mouth, sucking in the Merry and massive amounts of water.

Luffy fell off the figurehead but was able to catch and hold onto a tooth for dear life. When he climbed onto the tooth to look down the throat of the goliath, his crew and the Going Merry were gone. As the sucking slowed and the mouth closed, Luffy leapt off the tooth and using his wings to fly to the top of the whale. Luffy landed within seconds and caught his breath, trying to think of ways to get his crew back to continue on their adventure. But looking around, he noticed a few things, there's a strange hatch on the whale and the sea was rising fast. Not seeing another option, Luffy jumped down the hatch and closed it, locking himself inside the whale. He went back into his base form and looked around. Luffy found himself in a dusty metal passageway with wooden supports. Seeing as back is a dead end and up is impossible, Luffy ran forward, hoping to find his nakama.

"Were we eaten?" Usopp questioned while looking around.

Nami shot him a glare and replied, "What do you think?"

Zoro looked at both of them and answered, "Yeah, we were eaten by that big ass whale."

"Then why is all this here? Isn't this the stomach?" Sanji asked, looking at the sky and island in the center. Suddenly, a giant purple squid emerged from the water and latched onto the Merry. Zoro unsheathed his katana, while Sanji started to run towards the beast. Only for four harpoons to pierce through the squid, causing it to slowly sink back into the water. The four looked past the squid and saw a weird flower man with a newspaper in his hand exiting the house. The old man looked at the Sanji with an intense gaze as he walked over to his lawn chair, sitting down without saying a word.

Sanji then screamed, "SAY SOMETHING YOU OLD BASTARD! DON'T JUST SIT DOWN! YOU'RE IN THE STOMACH OF A GODDAMN WHALE!"

The old man looked up from his paper and sent him that intense gaze again, before shifting his gaze to the other three. When his gaze reached Usopp, he pulled out his pistols and declared with a fear-laced voice, "Y-you want to fight old man?! We're Pirates!"

The old flower man kept his gaze on the boy with goggles before replying, "Don't, or somebody will die."

Zoro studied the man for a moment before asking with a sneer, "Oh? Who would that be?"

The old man looked back at his newspaper and answered, "Me"

Zoro grabbed Sanji before he killed the man and stated, "Oi, Old Man! We're the Straw Hat Pirates. Can you tell us who you are and why all this is here?"

The old man looked up from his paper again and sent his intense gaze at Zoro, after almost a minute of silence, he answered, "I could tell you were pirates, you have a Jolly Roger after all. But my name is Crocus, The Lighthouse keeper of the Twin Capes. I'm 71 years old, I have type AB blood and I'm a Gemini. I am a-"

Zoro looked to the other Straw Hats as the old man continued and asked, "You guys don't care if I kill him right?"

The Old man cleared his throat and retained the pirate's attention. He then continued, "As for why all this is here…I like to paint. As for why I'm here, the whale got too big to treat, so I have to work inside the body. If you want an exit it's right there. Otherwise, you'll have to wait, but I don't suggest it." Crocus finished as he pointed at the somehow unnoticed massive metal door. Suddenly, the water and the island started violently sway and shake as something happened outside. Crocus let out a heavy sigh and asked, "You all saw the scars?"

Nami nodded as she answered, "They are all over him, what's causing them?"

"Well, Laboon tries to break through the Red Line at least twice a week. I have ways of sedating him, but he's desperate."

Sanji then asked, "What's he desperate for?"

"His nakama. He's been here for 50 years waiting for them. I've tried to tell him to move on, but he just won't accept the possibility of them never coming back."

"Do you know what happened to them?" Usopp asked, now captivated by the story.

"No…I went looking for them 20 some odd years ago, but I never found anything about the Rumbar Pirates in any of my travels… It's like they vanished." Crocus let out another sigh as got up from his chair and dove into the green water.

Zoro turned to Nami and ordered, "Nami, we need to get out of here as fast as possible. I doubt our ship can handle stomach acid."

Nami looked at Zoro with some worry before asking, "But, what about Luffy?" Just as Nami finished her sentence, distant screams were heard above them. Looking up, the pirates saw three people falling from a hole in the stomach. One of them had blue hair, while another had a green jacket and the last had a red vest.

Usopp smiled as he yelled, "Luffy!" He then looked around and asked, "How the hell did he get up there?"

Nobody had time to answer, as two of the three crashed head first into the Going Merry and were knocked out cold, While Luffy just MoonWalked down. Luffy then said, "Fhew, I was scared I'd never find you guys, or you'd get digested! Shishishi."

Nami smacked him and screamed, "THAT'S NOT A LAUGHING MATTER!"

While Luffy sat on the deck and rubbed his head, he looked around and questioned, "How did we get outside?"

Sanji answered, "We aren't outside. It's just a painting."

Zoro then asked, "Luffy, who are these guys?"

Luffy stood up and walked towards the two and stated, "I don't know… I found them in a hallway that suddenly went from walkable to treacherous and they were holding onto a support beam. I just grabbed onto this bastards leg and the woman couldn't hold us." Luffy finished by lightly kicking said man in the leg.

Suddenly, the massive metal doors swung open and a slight current pulled the Merry towards the exit. As they entered the tunnel, Crocus jumped on board and said, "This should only take a couple of minutes." He walked over to the two unconscious and let out a sigh, "Looks like they are still sending people…"

Luffy asked, "Sending people? Whose sending people?"

Crocus looked at Luffy with that gaze and replied, "I don't know the name of the Organization, but they've been trying to kill Laboon for years. That's part of the reason I took up the position of Lighthouse keeper."

As the pirates exited the whale, they rowed towards the Lighthouse and dropped anchor. Crocus then jumped off with the two unconscious people slung over his shoulders, he then turned around and asked, "Little girl, how are you currently navigating this ocean?"

Nami looked at him for a couple seconds, before pulling out her compass. Her eyes widened in shock because the compass was just spinning aimlessly. Seeing her reaction, Crocus chuckled and stated, "Compasses don't work in the Grand Line. Somethin' they don't tell ya." He dropped the guy on his shoulder and dug in his pocket for a second, before he pulled out a strange glass orb. He then tossed it to her and said, "That's a log pose. It'll record the magnetic waves from each island you go to. After the log is set, it'll point to the next island. Although, each island has a different time requirement."

Nami looked at the watch and saw it is indeed a glass orb, but has a suspended needle in the center. She then attached it to her wrist and looked back to Crocus. She quickly replied, "Thank you… This is monumental for us."

Crocus waved it off, "Think nothing of it. I don't need it anyway."

Then the whale beside them jerked to life and its eye darted to the old man on the coast. Laboon went to swing it's tail, but Luffy jumped inbetween the two and ordered with haki laced words, "Stop!"

The whale surprisingly stopped and looked at the man in the Straw Hat, Luffy then ordered, "Stop ramming your head, it'll do nothing. I want you to wait. We will sail around this world and come back in a few years. Until then, I will leave you a promise and a mark of our friendship." A few minutes later, a crudely draw Jolly Roger was painted on the nose of the whale, Luffy then finished, "I promise, I will bring back your nakama. Now don't do anything to ruin this mark!"

The whale looked at Luffy for a few seconds before he raised his head and bellowed to the heavens in agreement. Because of the loud cry, the two who were unconscious awoke with a start, they then looked around. The man got up and yelled, "We have to get out of here, Miss Wednesday! We're heavily outnumbered!"

The woman jumped to her feet, which cause Sanji to swoon, and agreed, "Your right Mr. 9!" She then pointed to a small dingy next to the Going Merry, "Look we can use that to get back to Whiskey Peak!"

Luffy as watched the two paddle away as fast as possible, he asked Crocus, "By the way, where does that log pose lead?"

"Same place they're going, Whiskey Peak." Crocus lingered his gaze on Luffy for a bit before asking, "What's your name?"

Luffy turned to Crocus and replied, "Monkey D. Luffy"

Crocus narrowed his eyes and repeated, "Monkey…D." He the bellowed a laugh and asked, "Your Garp's grandson aren't you?"

Luffy flashed the trademark Monkey D. smile, "Shishishishi, yep! He's my gramps!" Luffy then questioned, "Do you know him?"

Crocus rubbed the back of his head and answered, "Eh, you could say that. We met a lot during my time in the Line."

"I see." Luffy looked at the old man for a while longer before jumping onto the Merry and as Usopp brought up the anchor, Luffy yelled, "To Whiskey Peak!"