PREVIOUSLY...

The race begins! The Straw-Hats kick off to a frightening start as they try to survive the dangerous flow of the ocean's rough currents and the attacks from other pirates. The crew learns about Gasparde, who was an ex-marine who turned to piracy. As the crew sails towards their destination, a boy stowaways onboard and reveals to them that he wanted to kill them for medicine money for a man he looks up to like a grandfather. But Gasparde had tricked them all from the very beginning, sending the other pirate contestants to a naval base instead of the correct destination. Now the Straw-Hats race towards Gasparde for the prize money, revenge, and teach him a lesson in piracy.

The Straw-Hat pirates sailed at full speed in the direction Chopper's strong and trusty nose pointed them in. It wasn't until a couple hours passed by when they finally spotted Gasparde's ship sailing in front of them.

Luffy stood up on Going Merry's head with fury blazing in his eyes. "GASPARDEEEEEE!!!!"

The crew noticed Gasparde's ship mates crowded around one area of the ship and the main mast torn down. Gasparde was obvious to spot in the crowd of pirates on board. He was a large man wearing a marine general's coat with a big red "x" painted over the back of the marine logo. He wore a pale purple suit under the coat. He had pale yellow hair that was slicked back down just passed his neck. He had a fairly large head with a big forehead and cleft.

Some men from Gasparde's crew spotted them Going Merry and Luffy in the front. "Who the hell are they?" Others replied and asked questions. "Are they part of the race?" "Who cares! Give them a cannonball to snack on!"

"This has to be some kind of joke. We really sniffed our way here..." Usopp still pondered in wonderment.

Chopper faced him in surprise. "Eh?! You didn't believe in me?!"

"The paddle wheel's stopped." Nami pointed out, noticing the steamboat's wheel was at a still. "Guess there's been some action over there. Luffy! Go ahead and bust some action!"

"Right!"

Luffy winded up his arm and threw his fist into the ship. Then he rocketed himself over and crashed intentionally into the ship, almost tearing it in half. From the ship, the Straw-Hat crew noticed Luffy wasting no time and throwing the crew overboard along with destroying another mast. They sailed up along the side of the steamboat and followed close by.

"Oh? Sounds like he's having fun." Sanji predicted.

"Make sure you take us straight there." Zoro instructed the boy as they planned to board the ship. The boy nodded.

Sanji threw a claw at the ship and hooked up beside it. "That guy has a nasty habit of getting lost."

Zoro blushed in embarrassment. "Urusei wa!"

Usopp stood proudly with his arms folded. "Yosh! I'll back you up, so go about your business!"

A vein bulged in Zoro's forehead. "What's that bad ass look for?!"

"This time, I'm coming with you." Jenka ordered. "I want a piece of Gasparde as well."

Zoro nodded. "Ah."

As soon as they boarded the steamship, they discovered Gasparde had the race rigged from the beginning to help with his "boredom" and the man "entertaining" him in a bloody fight was Shuraiya, the bounty hunter who fought with Luffy back on the island. Gasparde continued, explained that the winner of the race would have the privilege of joining his crew. He was sick of seeing foolish pirates and their dreams and found life boring. According to him, all you need is power - not adventures or treasure - and you can have anything, or otherwise be crushed by him.

Sanji lite himself a cigarette. "I get it. So you're that bookkeeper's accomplice? He's probably already left the island with all the prize money."

"Oi! Put me down!" The boy said as he struggled under Zoro's shoulder.

"Don't be impatient." Zoro replied.

Jenka gasped at the sight of the Shuraiya's beaten body at Gasparde's feet. She glared angrily at the ex-marine. "You bastard!!"

The boy pointed. "Ah! Over there! It's grandpa!" Zoro released him. "Grandpa!!"

An old man kneeling on the floor off to one side smiled as soon as he saw the boy. "Anaguma!"

"Grandpa!" They embraced each other and were both relieved to see one another alive.

The old man tried not to cry. "Yougatta... I'm so glad you're safe, you little idiot."

"Gomen..." He suddenly remembered something and released the old man. "I came to save you!"

"Save me?"

"I brought some pirates with me! They said they'd save you!"

The old man looked up at Zoro walking towards them. "Pirates?"

The boy nodded. "Un! I'll tell you all about it later. Right now, let just get out of here! These guys are strong! They'll drop us off at another island. And they've got a doctor. You can have him look at you! We're going to live~! Just like you always say: stay alive. You were right! We'll find a new place to live! Something good will happen to us! Let's go, grandpa~"

The man stared at the boy for a moment in awe. "Omae... I see..." He began to stare at Shuraiya's stiff injured body without a word.

"Grandpa?"

"Mr. Swordsman." The old man spoke to Zoro. "I have a little favor to ask, if you don't mind helping out this poor old man."

"That's what I came to do." He replied.

"Yosh! Let's go!" The boy Anaguma said.

"A-ah... before that, I left something in the boiler room." The old man smiled. "Go on without me. Right, Mr. Swordsman?"

Zoro's eyes narrowed on the old man for a moment, realizing what he was asking. He nodded. "Ah. Got it."

"Grandpa?"

The old man stood up. "Don't worry. I'll be right behind you."

He smiled. "Hurry back!" With that, the old man slowly went below, waving with a smile at the boy.

"Iiguso." Zoro picked the boy up and carried him underneath his shoulder again. "Luffy, We're all done here."

"Alright." He replied.

As Luffy provoked Gasparde into a brawl, Sanji caught up with Zoro and began to climb down the rope and onto the Going Merry. "Nami-san~! We're all done here~!"

"Then get back down here! Something's weird!" She called up to him.

"Huh?"

"The weather is really weird!" The waves began to increase in size along with rain falling and the wind picking up speed.

"Huh?" Jenka turned around and found Luffy already fighting Gasparde, but was soon interrupted after Luffy punched him in the stomach.

"Are? This feels weird! What the hell is this?!" Luffy asked.

Jenka called down to the others "Minna, Gasparde's doing something weird to Luffy! It's his ability!"

"Weird?" Sanji repeated, looking back at Gasparde.

Gasparde chuckled. "The name of the Devil's Fruit I ate was the Ame Ame no Mi. It gave me the ability to change my body into candy syrup." He sat up to reveal to everyone his stomach. Luffy's fist was caught inside of his belly which was surrounded by a green ooze, obviously his candy syrup ability. He laughed again and began to punch Luffy hard in the face and gut with his fist still stuck inside of his belly. Blood flew everyone from his mouth and wounds.

"Oi!" Sanji began to walk over and help him when Zoro stopped him.

"Stay out of it. This is his fight. He'll get mad of you step in."

"But that candy bastard's strong." Sanji replied, gritting his teeth. He suddenly got an idea. "Chotto matte gure."

"Sanji–!" Jenka called after him, but Zoro grabbed her arm.

"Let him go. He'll be fine. Let him do his business."

"But the fight...."

"Come on, let's hurry."

As Sanji disappeared on the steam ship, the rest of the crew watched what they could of the fight from aboard the Going Merry.

That is, until Nami suddenly screamed and was freaking out. "MINNA!! Hurry! Get ready to leave! Bascud Island is nearby! Let's go there!"

Usopp raised an eyebrow. "But Sanji and Luffy-"

"WE'RE JUST GETTING READY!!" She screamed up at Luffy. "Luffy! Please don't' take too long! A huge cyclone is almost upon us!" Luffy was then hurled into the ship after Nami had warned him.

"Luffy!" Usopp yelled after him. "Is he alright?"

"It's definitely headed this way." Robin noticed, mentioning the cyclone. "It'll hit us head on."

Luffy ran out and tried punching Gasparde, but missed. He grabbed a hold of one of the remaining masts and stabbed it through Gasparde, catching him off guard. Luffy jumped into the air and nailed Gasparde into the ship while he was still stuck.

Sanji coughed from the plank dust floating around the area Gasparde was nailed. "Oi, are you done yet?" He asked Luffy, carrying bags over his shoulders. "The ship's about to sink. We gotta het out of here."

Luffy panted for a moment before standing back up. "Go on without me. This will take a little longer."

"That actually hurt...!"

They turned around to find Gasparde nothing but a large gooey blob trying to solidify back into his normal shape. "When I'm not syrup, my body is normal. It's been a long time since I've felt pain." With that, he shot the broken mast out of him.

Sanji sighed. "No, normally that would do worse than just hurt. Oh well." He turned his attention to Luffy. "We'll get the ship out of here and come back for you later. Any problem with that?"

"No."

"Then take these." Sanji gave Luffy the 2 large sacks he was carrying.

Luffy threw them over his shoulders, confused. "What are these?"

"Use them. Gotta go." He ran off towards the Going Merry before letting Luffy reply.

Sanji jumped over the ship, landing safely back on the Going Merry.

Chopper smiled. "Sanji!"

"Where were you?" Jenka asked.

"I'll tell you later." He replied. "Just get us out of here. It's dangerous."

Nami agreed. "Souda! We've got to go! But... what about Luffy?"

"Wait..." Usopp remembered. "Weren't you bringing back the old man?"

"He's going to go blow up the boiler." Sanji explained as the Going Merry took off and everyone retreated inside. "There's less than a minute left."

Anaguma's eyes widened. "S-screw that! Go back!! Why didn't you save grandpa?! How could you do that?!" He grabbed onto Sanji's pants. "Why did you come back without him?! You said you'd rescue him! Why?!"

"What about Luffy?" Jenka asked Sanji.

"He doesn't want us to help him. We'll come back later for him."

Zoro went up behind the boy and karate chopped him in the neck, forcing him to pass out. The boy fell to his knees, leaning against Sanji for support.

Chopper ran over to the unconscious boy. "Zoro!!"

"He's better off like this." The swordsman replied.

"How could you do that?!" Chopper asked, checking on the kid. "Didn't you notice?!" The boiler hat fell off of the kid as Chopper rolled him over, revealing his long pale auburn hair. "This kid's a girl!"

Zoro and Sanji's eyes bulged. "HAH?!"

BOOOOOM!!

Everyone ran outside to find what the explosion was. As they thought, Gasparde's ship exploded, cutting the ship in half.

"O-Oi!" Usopp stuttered. "Is Luffy alright?"

"Dunno." Sanji replied.

"What to you mean 'dunno'?! The whole ship just blew up! And even if he did survive... he's a Hammer! Why did that old man have to do that?!"

"He had his reasons." Zoro answered.

"What reasons?! I don't understand at all...! Turn us around! We have to help Luffy!"

"Matte." Robin said softly, leaning against the rail. "He's alive. But so is Gasparde."

Knowing that, the crew went quickly to shore of the nearest island called Bascud and watched the battle from afar on the remains of Gasparde's ship from inside of a cave they found. Nami and Usopp decided to watch from the shore line.

"The cyclone's coming right for him!" Nami shouted through the rain.

Usopp began to sweat. "Luffy... why isn't he back yet? If he doesn't get here soon there'll be real trouble!"

"Don't panic." Zoro called after him, sitting against the wall of the cave.

"Aren't you worried?!" Usopp called after him.

He smiled. "That guy always come through." He opened his eyes with a nervous sweat drop on his brow. "Let's believe in our captain."

Jenka noticed the nervous look on his face. "A-ah... you're right."

-----------------------------------------

The rain and cyclone stormed through the night, making it as dark as ever. It wasn't until morning with the bright blazing sun when the crew's spirits were slightly lifted. But as soon as they woke and looked out onto the sea, a lifeboat was rowing towards them with the old man, the injured bounty hunter Shuraiya, and Luffy, who was wrapped in bloody bandages sleeping on the boat. Usopp and Asaguma waved for them, helping them sail towards the Going Merry. Asaguma looked more like a girl now with her long hair down and wearing a yellow-blue polka dotted dress, shouting out for the old man. He simply smiled and waved back.

They hooked up the little boat to the Going Merry where they towed it behind them as they made their way to another island.

"Thank you for giving her these clothes." The old man thanked Nami, referring to Asaguma's dress.

Nami giggled. "I wore it when I was little."

"Old man." Zoro spoke. "You never intended to die after all, did you?"

"Me?" He laughed. "Ba~ka! I said I was going to watch until the end, not die."

There was a long moment of silence. Shuraiya leaned against the wall on one side of the kitchen while Asaguma sat on the medical bed on the other side while facing the wall. The air was filled with tension.

"Oi... This is one big awkward moment." Usopp whispered to the group.

"Well of course." Nami whispered back. "Discovering that they were siblings all of a sudden..."

"Booooooshiiii......" Luffy cried a river of tears as he laid his head on the table. He had lost his hat in the explosion during his fight against Gasparde. He cried so hard that his tears trailed off the table, making a puddle on the floor.

Sanji sighed. "Cheer up. We looked all over the place, I understand how you feel."

"Boooooshiiiii......" Luffy cried again.

Shuraiya threw a straw hat in front of Luffy. "Here."

Luffy grabbed the hat with large glittering eyes and a smile from ear to ear. "AAAAH!!!! MY HAT!!!"

Usopp smiled. "How did you...?"

"You said it was important to you, right?" Shuraiya asked. "It was lying at my feet so I picked it up."

Luffy faced him with happy tears strolling down his face. "Arigatou!! You're a great guy!!" He looked at Nami and handed her the hat innocently. "Nami, could you fix it again...?"

She nodded with a smile. "Hai, hai."

Jenka smiled. "I'm just glad that Garparde bastard is finally gone."

Luffy laughed. "Me too. He was a real jerk!" all Jenka could do was laugh at her captain.

Several minutes past and there was still some awkwardness between the newly founded siblings. Nami stitched Luffy's hat back together and everyone had some hearty lunch. Later, they all went outside for some fresh clean air, until Luffy spotted an island.

"Land ho!!" He shouted to the crew.

Nami nodded. "That's the goal island. It's right on course with the Log the old man gave us. Which means~..."

"WE WIN~!!!!" Everyone cheered.

While everyone was celebrating their victory, the old man spoke with Shuraiya about standing up to his sister and how he should acknowledge his past and take a step towards the future. He pointed behind him, showing Shuraiya that Asaguma decided to take the first step at getting to know her big brother. But before anything could be said, Usopp screamed at the others.

"THE MARINES!!!"

A small fleet of naval ships sailed fast towards the Going Merry, surprising them with their encounter.

"Why are they here?!" Jenka asked.

"Wait a sec!" Sanji exclaimed. "They're the same guys that were chasing us before the race!"

"Quick! You three into the boat!" Nami ordered the Bascud siblings and the old man. The three of them obeyed and jumped into the boat being pulled from behind.

"Why?! Just tell them that you saved us!" Asaguma complained from within the small boat.

"They'll never listen to us." Nami explained.

"We are pirates after all." Jenka added. "We have to retreat in these situations."

Asaguma shook her head. "But... but...!"

"You're going to live somewhere the sun can reach you. You can't be seen with wanted criminals."

Tears began to swell up in Asaguma's eyes. "But...!"

Nami smiled. "Don't say that your life has no meaning ever again." She waved and walked away. "Ja ne."

Usopp gave them a thumbs up. "Stay well!" He walked away like Nami, as did everyone else when they said their good-byes.

"Be sure to become a fine lady." Sanji smiled at her.

"And to do that, you should take care of the way you speak." Robin giggled.

Zoro waved his hand once at them. "Work hard."

"Try to stay out of trouble." Jenka winked.

"Take care of yourself! Chopper yelled after them, waving.

Luffy stared at them for a moment, with Shuraiya staring straight back. Their eyes locked with serious expressions on their faces.

Shuraiya narrowed his gaze. "You think you've saved us?" He sighed and smiled. "Whatever. I don't want to see you ever again. Get out of here, you damn pirate."

Luffy gave him a big smile and nodded. "Got it!" He cut the rope, releasing the little boat from their grasp. Luffy waved after them, jumping into the air. "JA NA~!! TAKE CARE~!!

"You take care too!! And everyone~!!" Asaguma yelled and waved back. "Arigatou~!!"

The marine ships passed the little boat and followed the Straw-Hat crew in yet another long pursuit.

"This is a surprise." Zoro smiled at Nami, who was looking depressed over the railing.

"What?" Nami asked in a depressed tone.

"The prize money. You passed up a $300,000,000 prize."

Nami's shoulders shook. "It couldn't be helped... " She threw her face into Zoro's with fanged teeth and evil eyes, catching Zoro off guard and shivering. "WE HAD NO CHOICE, RIGHT?!?! That damned bookkeeper... he was working with Gasparde!!" She began choking Zoro, turning his face blue. "I'LL NEVER FORGIVE THEM!!!"

"B-but at least you have your life...!" Zoro tried saying while gasping for air.

Jenka laughed. "There's no way she's supress all those feelings from losing that much money!"

"Just let it go." Luffy smiled. "Don't worry too much. We've got our whole journey ahead of us. Something's bound to turn up."

"Soudayou, Nami-san." Sanji agreed. "Besides, we should think of what we're going to do about them."

"MATTE YOU FILTHY PIRATES!!!" The marine General yelled after them.

Nami released the gasping Zoro and sighed. "Alright. I'm tired of being a poor pirate. Why is everyone else so happy?" She heard Luffy giggle. "Listen up!!" She yelled at him. "Hurry up and lose those ships so we can go to the next island! On the double!!"

"Hai~ Nami-swan~!!!" Sanji happily agreed.

"Yosh~!" Luffy cheered. "Full speed ahead to becoming the Pirate King~!! Let's go onto our next adventure, guys~!!"

Everyone threw their fists into the air. "UN!!!"