Searching for a Saviour

by UnicornsThatGamble

After Ace becomes a well known pirate, Foosha Village is taken over by a Celestial Dragon aiming to make the whole town a slave market. Luffy, being labeled as a Devil for being related to the notorious Fire Fist Ace, barely escapes with his life. Now he has only two goals in mind; find Ace and save the village

7. Final Chapter

CHAPTER 7

LAST CHAPTER

Okay I posted last chapter and went to bed, then woke up with 61 FRICKING NOTIFICATIONS. I ALMOST FELL OFF MY BED!

Thank you all for the outstanding support in this story! I never expected it would be this popular, but you guys made it all possible! THANK YOU!

(09 07 16) I was rushing out of the house when I posted this (hiding in the bathroom so I wouldn't be yelled at…haha), so now replies are posted at the bottom!

Yeah this wasn't going to have Shanks at all, but here he is for y'all!

DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE.

"What is that red-haired brat doing in the East Blue?" Whitebeard asks himself. He takes another swig of sake and swishes it around in his mouth for a moment. "Calvin, do they look like they want to fight?"

"No..." Calvin mumbles, extending his telescope. "There isn't anything that's indicating a challenge on their part."

Whitebeard swallows and frowns. The sunlight beats down on his large head and he squints in mild discomfort.

"Alright then. Let's see what the brat wants." Out of the corner of his eye, Whitebeard sees Marco emerging from his cabin. The first division commander looks weary, and he rolls his stiff shoulders as he walks towards his captain.

"Is there something up-yoi? I heard a bit of commotion." Marco says. He cracks his neck and tension falls from his body.

"Been busy my son?" Whitebeard asks.

"Just a lot of paperwork this time. Ace completely wrecked the hallway leading to the 2nd division bunks."

"That's my fiery son." Whitebeard chuckles. "Have you seen our guest around lately?" Marco shakes his head.

"I haven't, Luffy could literally be anywhere on this ship. It's been less than twenty-four hours and he's already made himself at home here." He shakes his head and furrows his eyebrows. "Anyway, you didn't answer my question-yoi. Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing at the moment, but we may have another visitor on board."

Marco makes a confused sound then turns to look where his captain was previously looking. Realization sets in and the phoenix groans, while Whitebeard laughs at his misery.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

"Whitebeard!"

The Red Force glides along the glassy blue waters next to the Moby Dick. A man dressed in a black cloak and floral pants jumps onto the deck. His signature crazy red hair sparks recognition for anyone who sees.

"Shanks..." Marco grumbles, crossing his arms almost defensively.

As soon as Shanks lands on the wooden deck, energy waves ripple through the air and lots of the crew tumbles over, unconscious.

"You brat! I told you to stop doing that!" Whitebeard booms. His friendly personality slides into an edgier one.

"Oops sorry," Shanks chuckles, obviously the most easygoing among the group. "Sometimes I just can't help it."

"What are you doing here? If the marines see us together in the east blue, they are going to get on my ass for it."

Shanks smiles and pats the dust from his pant legs. He places a nonchalant hand on his sword and walks up to Whitebeard with small, easy strides.

"I was going to ask you the same question. Some nuisance group of pirates was provoking my crew who came here on a sake run. So, I came here to deal with them myself." Shanks snickers. "Although they were hardly worth the challenge. It only felt worth it when I scared them to death! HAHAHAHA!"

"Why did you come on my ship brat?" Whitebeard asks. Ever since the younger brat came on his ship, he can't help but feel a little weary of others. Shanks places his sole arm over his heart and reels back over-dramatically.

"What? Am I not allowed to visit my fellow Yonko? I'm hurt Newgate, we don't get to talk often. Besides, I decided to give you some of the sake I just acquired. C'mon, I know how much you love sake..." Despite how relaxed Shanks looks; Whitebeard can see his crew on the Red Force staring at him with their hands on their weapons. His own crew is no different, they are both waiting for a fight to break out.

After a moment of inner deliberation, Whitebeard gestures to the grinning captain.

"Alright brat, bring it over and sit down." Shanks grins even wider and makes a beckoning gesture to his crew. Several of his crew mates roll barrels to the edge of the ship and lower it down with ropes. All together there are 6 large barrels full of untouched sake.

"Marco," Whitebeard addresses. "Crack open a barrel would you?" Marco nods and obediently opens one. The sweet smell immediately assaults his nose as he tosses the top of the barrel away. He picks the barrel up with ease and places it in front of his captain.

"Thank you my son." Whitebeard pours some of the sake in his large sake cup then takes a sip. He swallows then makes a hum of approval. "Not bad brat. Not bad."

Shanks chuckles then pulls out his own bottle of sake. He takes a swig and some of the liquid escapes down his bobbing throat.

"That stuffs great! Hey Marco! Join my crew!" Marco cringes.

"No."

"Aw come on! Well, it was worth a shot anyway! HAHAHA!" Shanks laughs then takes another few gulps of his drink. "So..."

Shanks leans forward and taps the sake bottle on his lips thoughtfully. His eyes narrow and his eyebrow raises. On the Red Force, the crew shuffles and someone cocks a gun.

"What are you doing in the East Blue Whitebeard?" Shanks's face looks mischievous, but his tone holds suspicion. Whitebeard scrutinizes the young captain. He seems oddly defensive.

"I don't know why I should be answering any questions you have brat, you're many years too young to demand things from me. "

"I'm not making any demands!" Shanks chuckles, waving his bottle defensively. "Just making conversation is all."

Some scuffling is heard in Marco's peripheral, but he ignores it in favour of the tension leaking all over the main deck.

"But, I am really curious why you would bother coming over to the weakest Blue..."

"We all have our reasons." Whitebeard says, dodging the question. The scuffling gets louder and this time Marco looks over his shoulder. "And I'm no different, just taking a stroll."

"Oi..." Marco starts, realizing who is coming with growing dread.

"Stroll? Please! Is there something you're after?" More guns click on the Red Force causing the same to happen on the Moby Dick.

"You're never this straightforward brat. Is there something in the East Blue I should be aware of?" Whitebeard asks, frowning. Shanks has lost all amusement and he stares at Whitebeard darkly.

"Nothing you should concern yourself with." The smile is chilling and some of the crew swallows nervously. Marco can hear the stomping and distinct sound of Ace yelling clearly now. He starts running to the stairs in an effort to stop the boys before they make an appearance.

"Are you telling me to leave?" Whitebeard asks, aware of where Marco has gone.

"No... just letting you know that there is nothing here. Where has your first commander gone hm?"

"Boy you're prying a little too much on a ship that isn't even yours." Marco is almost to the stairs, then Whitebeard won't have to keep up this empty chatter anymore.

'Stay down there!' Marco wants to shout. But just as he reaches the stairs, a blur of red and black bursts out and almost tackles him to the ground.

"Marco! Stop Ace! He's trying to kill me!" Luffy latches onto the commander's shoulders like a monkey. Marco totters at the weight and grabs Luffy when he accidentally almost falls off.

"Get back here you idiot! I told you to stop sticking things in my ears while I'm asleep!" Ace stomps up the stairs with the rage of a thousand bulls.

"AHH!" Luffy screams then jumps off Marco's shoulders.

"Wait! Luffy! Don't run in that way-yoi!" Marco tries to reach for him, but Luffy slips through his grip and runs straight in the direction of the meeting. "Shit!"

"Shishishi! Come get me now Ace!" Luffy sticks out his tongue at his brother in a taunting gesture. He's too busy looking back for Ace that he doesn't see the commotion where he is heading to.

Luffy lets out a cry of indignation when he crashes into something hard. The sound of glass breaking fills his ear drums and something wet partially splashes on his face.

The teen groans and sits up. The mystery liquid smells sweet and when he tastes it, he grimaces. It's disgusting!

"What's the big idea?!"

Luffy shoots a glare at whatever got in his way, just as the other does the same. In a moment, their faces light up and they gasp in surprise.

"Anchor?!"

"Shanks?!"

Both crews blink at them, then do a simultaneous: "EHHHHH?!"

Marco flips his arms exasperatedly. 'I shouldn't be surprised anymore. I'm done with this kid's secrets.' But then it clicks, why Luffy's hat annoys him so much. It's Shanks's.

'Of course.'

"Anchor, what the hell are you doing on Whitebeard's ship?!" Shanks demands, definitely not expecting this.

"I can't talk to you!" Luffy yells immediately. He runs back to the safety of his brother. Luffy immediately dashes behind the flame-user and peeks at Shanks cautiously.

"Wha-why not?!"

Luffy shuffles further behind Ace and looks at the ground uncertainly.

"We promised. The next time we meet I was going to be a great pirate..." He trails off, swinging his foot while speaking to the ground.

"How about this time, it doesn't count?" Shanks suggests, wanting to see the boy. Obviously it doesn't take much convincing, as Luffy sprints back to Shanks and hugs him tight.

"Shanks!" Luffy yells with glee. Shanks laughs and swings the boy around. The thick atmosphere immediately eases and everyone watches the pair with mixed curiosity and awe.

Marco feels the air around him grow hotter and he looks beside him to see Ace, who is sporting a major unimpressed look.

"Luffy, what are you doing here?" Shanks asks again as he sets the boy back on his feet.

"The Whitebeard pirates are helping me n' Ace take back Foosha Village!" He responds. Shanks frowns, a little lost.

"Why would you need to take back Foosha Village?" Shanks asks with growing dread.

"Because the stupid Celestial Dragon guy took everybody and is selling them as slaves. I escaped but I... I needed help so I came to get Ace."

Shanks grits his teeth and shoots a look over to Whitebeard. The old captain merely nods and Shanks knows that it's true.

"Are all the villagers...sold? How about Makino? Is she alright?" Luffy shakes his head and his face twists into an expression of anguish. "...I don't know. I left her behind when I ran away." Luffy looks dejectedly at the ground. "I couldn't even protect her. I guess I'm not ready to wear your treasure yet."

Shanks flicks his eyes over to his crew. He isn't surprised at all when he sees his own anger mirrored in them. His first mate, Ben Beckman, gives a small nod which Shanks returns. He has made a set decision.

"Anchor," Luffy looks up shyly from under the shade of the straw hat he wears. "I'm glad you escaped. I honestly don't know why the hell I haven't heard about this earlier. I'm sorry I haven't done anything to help at all."

Luffy opens his mouth to object but Shanks interrupts him.

"But I want to do something now. Luffy, I stand by my decision of giving you that hat. There's nothing wrong with needing a little help sometimes, so don't ever feel like you're unworthy of that hat ever again. Wear it with confidence in yourself."

Luffy's jaw works up and down while he tries to form words. But in the end, he seals his lips shut and stands up straight with tears at the corners of his eyes.

"Don't worry Shanks, I will."

Shanks grins and shoves the hat further on Luffy's head. "Who said I was worrying?" A softer smile forms on his lips. "But I'm going to help you take back Foosha along with old Newgate here."

Luffy giggles and Shanks hugs him tight. Marco shifts the collar on his shirt when the temperature rises again.

Whitebeard watches the two with interest. Obviously they have some sort of history with each other, and based on their interaction, it is a good one. He grins slyly when he realizes that Luffy may have been the 'thing' that Shanks was protecting from him.

Luffy breaks away from the hug when he spots the crew lined up along the railing of the Red Force. With a grand smile, he jogs up to them and waves enthusiastically.

"Hi Ben! Yasopp! Lucky Roo! Everyone!" The whole crew waves back and cheers their greetings with the exception of Ben, who merely smirks and raises a hand.

Shanks smiles at the cheerful teen, then notices Ace in the corner of his eye. He turns his head, about to say a greeting, but stops. Ace doesn't look the least bit happy. Shanks can almost see the dark cloud looming over his head.

"Hey Ace! What's up?" He calls out. Shanks was hoping to lighten his mood, but the boy just scowls at him. The red-haired captain looks over to Marco for help, only to be met with a shrug.

Ace doesn't know why he's being like this. For some reason when Shanks touches Luffy, he feels like punching the man out. But it's weird, he has never felt this protective before the Foosha incident happened.

'I just feel...really annoyed with him.' Ace's mouth twitches in distaste.

"C'mon Ace! Why are you distant all of a sudden? You were so much nicer when we met before! You even thanked me for saving Anchor!" Shanks reasons.

"Yeah, so?" Ace snorts, but he softens.

Only to stiffen when Luffy returns to Shanks's side.

"Everybody still looks exactly the same! Shishishi!" The teen laughs. Shanks notices Ace's odd behaviour. When realization sets in, Shanks smirks wickedly at the fire user. Ace's eyes narrow suspiciously.

'Somebody's jealous~' Shanks hums in his head. A sudden urge to irk Ace takes over him. 'Let's see if he blows up like a firework.'

"Oi Luffy," Said boy looks at Shanks expectantly with wide eyes. Ace watches them like a hawk about to swoop down on its prey. "If you give me a hug I'll give you an extra big piece of meat later."

"Deal." Luffy launches himself at Shanks and practically squeezes him to death. The captain's face turns from red to blue when the oxygen drains from his body.

"An..chor. Let...go..." He wheezes, slapping Luffy to get off.

"Oops. Sorry Shanks." Luffy releases him and the man gulps in the much needed air.

'Geez, kid's got a grip.' Shanks says mentally, coughing away. But it was so worth it based on the look on Ace's face.

Nearby crew scatter to escape the heat that radiates off of the fire user, with the exception of Marco. Ace practically growls as he marches over to Luffy and pulls him at his side. Damn Shanks.

"Don't listen to him Luffy, he's just teasing you." Ace says to his brother, but still glaring daggers at Shanks. Shanks's eyebrow twitches.

"Well that's just the sort of thing we do." Shanks grits, pulling Luffy back.

"We? When was the last time he saw you hm?" Ace yanks Luffy back, making him stumble a little.

"Don't be hogging him all the time Ace, he needs to be around his father figure." Ace snorts at the claim.

"Father figure? Please! You're no family!"

"Flame-brain!"

"Drunkard!"

"Hey Marco, can they stop now?" The two men engaged in the argument turn sharply to Luffy, who has somehow made it all the way to Marco and is now tugging on his sleeve.

"I don't know Luffy-yoi. They may be too childish to know when." He says, then he pats Luffy's head.

Shanks and Ace immediately glare at the phoenix. Marco sweat drops at the malice in their gazes.

"You're such a mother hen Marco!"

"Yeah! You're unneeded here, join my crew!"

Marco feels a tick mark appear on his head. 'Since when am I the victim-yoi?'

A cough resounds in the clearing, and everyone looks up to Whitebeard who has a slightly amused expression.

"I see you all know each other well, but I believe we need to talk about more pressing matters. Shanks, I will accept your offer to help the brats. We'll need all the backup we can get."

"Of course," Shanks says. "I could never do that to Luffy or Ace." Ace looks at Shanks, immediately feeling guilty for being snappy.

"Sorry for being short Shanks. I'm really thankful you're helping us out." Ace apologizes. Shanks chuckles and smacks Ace's back fondly.

"Don't fuss about it kid. I understand where you're coming from." Shanks turns back to Whitebeard, suddenly serious. "Have you thought up some sort of plan yet?"

"No." Whitebeard sighs. "This is a very precarious situation. Two Yonko's attacking marines, and more specifically Celestial Dragons, will no doubt bring a Buster Call. It would cause a catastrophe for both the residents of that island, and our crews. We must handle this carefully."

An uneasy silence settles across the deck as the information is processed. Several looks are exchanged as everyone weighs the odds.

Ace and Luffy deflate a little, they should have known it would be next to impossible to accomplish. Ace looks down at the deck, distraught.

'Maybe we shouldn't be pulling them into all of this.' He looks over to his captain who appears a bit lost in thought. 'I don't want to harm this crew because of my selfish decision.'

Luffy is thinking along the same lines, but he doesn't want to believe Foosha is beyond saving. There must be some way to rescue them, but how? Should he and Ace just go by themselves and not risk Whitebeard and Shanks's crews?

"Pops," Ace speaks up. His voice sounds a bit rough from a dry throat. "Maybe me and Lu can just go ourselves. The consequences for both crews is really high if you do this."

"No." Marco smacks Ace's head. Ace rubs the newly formed bruise, hissing through his teeth. "That is the dumbest thing you have ever said. It's a guaranteed death wish Ace; we won't send you over there alone. And that includes you Luffy, don't think I didn't see that look on your face."

"But what else do we do?" Luffy semi-whines. Shanks slings his arm over the fourteen-year old's shoulders.

"Actually, I have something that may help us. Or rather a who." Shanks turns to his crew and cups his mouth with his only hand. "Yukio!"

A very tall man walks to the front of the crowd on the Red Force. He has long blond hair tied into a ponytail at the back. He wears a black vest and black long sleeve underneath with blue tight-fit pants.

"Yeah capt'n?" Yukio asks. His voice has a light accent. Shanks waves him down.

"Come down here, I want to introduce you to everyone." The man jumps down from his ship onto the Moby Dick with utmost grace. He lands softly on his heeled boots right next to his captain.

"Alright everyone," Shanks throws his arm around Yukio's arms in a buddying way, since he isn't tall enough to reach the man's shoulders. "This here is Yukio, and he's a new member of our crew."

"Nice to meet you all." Yukio greets, bowing respectively.

"I wonder how long he took your blab before he finally gave in." Marco mutters under his breath. Shanks's ear twitches and he shoots Marco a glare which is completely ignored.

"Anyway," Shanks continues, again facing Whitebeard. "Yukio may be our key to this whole thing."

"The key?" Ace echoes. Yukio nods.

"That's right, I believe my Devil Fruit may be of use in this situation."

Ace and Luffy exchange glances. What is he talking about?

Just then, Thatch bursts through the kitchen door. The aroma of freshly cooked food invades the noses of everyone outside. It's then that everyone realizes how hungry they all are. Ace barely holds Luffy back from sprinting to the source, even though he is also having difficulty holding himself back.

"How about we take a dinner break and clear our minds. You're probably all hungry." The chef says. "Shanks's crew is also welcome to dine with us."

"We'll be okay over here." Someone shouts from the Red Force, presumably the cook. "You might not be able to fit both crews in your galley anyway."

Now everyone is looking at the captains, waiting for permission to eat. Luffy breaks out the puppy eyes while Ace continues to stare at the kitchen door while drooling.

"Go and eat you brats. Taking a break might just be what everyone needs." says Whitebeard.

"You guys can eat too, I'll be fine." Shanks says, waving his crew off.

A collective sigh of relief floats through the clearing. Everyone then proceeds to flood to their respective galleys for some long awaited grub.

"FOOD!" Luffy cheers, about to push and kick and fricking punch his way through everyone to get what he wants. But a hand on the hood of his cloak has Luffy stopping in place.

"Pineappleeeeeeeee." Luffy whines, grabbing at the hand. "Let me goooo!" Marco can barely contain the roll of his eyes at the nickname.

"Slow down-yoi. The food isn't going anywhere, there is plenty for everyone. You shouldn't be rushing around and risking further aggravating your injuries." Shanks and Ace huddle together, snickering at Marco.

"Yup, definitely."

"Totally a mother hen."

"I bet he's about to lay an egg any second."

"He probably thinks Luffy is his chick or something."

Marco can feel the vein throb in his head. Ace is too much to take everyday, and now there is Shanks here too. The pair together is bound to leave Marco with migraines for days.

"Luffy, you can go eat now. But walk." Marco emphasizes, hoping to get through Luffy's thick skull.

"Yeah yeah, I got it now let go!" Marco reluctantly let's go of Luffy's hood. The teen walks for probably the first two seconds, then catches a whiff of meat, and then breaks the speed limit going to the galley.

'Why do I even bother.' Marco shakes his head at his own stupidity.

"Oi Luffy! Don't eat everything!" Ace shouts, chasing his brother. Marco moves to follow them, but pauses beside his captain.

"Are you coming-yoi?" He asks the remaining captains. Whitebeard shakes his head.

"Not right now, we've got a few things to talk about concerning the plan Shanks has in mind."

"Don't worry you won't be missing anything." Shanks says to Marco. "Yukio can fill you in. He probably already guessed what I was thinking."

Marco nods then pushes open the doors that lead to the galley. He immediately dodges a flying beer glass and it crashes into the wall behind him. Marco scans the havoc around him until he spots Yukio.

He has apparently already gotten himself a table with Ace, Luffy, Thatch and Izou in the far corner of the room.

"Mind if I join?" Marco asks. He slides on the bench next to Luffy on the edge. Marco watches with mixed emotions of awe and disgust seeing Luffy inhale the massive amount of food on his plate with no table manners whatsoever. The laws of physics don't seem to apply to Luffy's meal time when he manages to stuff multiple drumsticks down his throat and it expands beyond normal size.

With a quick glance across from him, Marco sees the exact same thing in the form of Portgas D. Ace. He watches as Ace falls asleep on his meal for - Marco checks his watch - thirteen seconds before he pops up again like nothing happened and starts pigging out all over again.

Yukio doesn't look like he's bothered by the brothers' eating habits at all. Then again, it's hard to tell with that serene look on his face. Marco has the feeling that Yukio would still keep the exact same face after smelling one of the old cheeses Thatch keeps in his storage.

Izou tries to eat his meal while averting his gaze from the mess happening around him. He is probably the only one on the crew bothered by the untidiness during meal time. Thatch just eats like nothing is wrong, just occasionally smacking away Luffy's wandering hand.

"Aren't you getting anything to eat?" Luffy asks, cheeks puffed with food like a chipmunk. Marco shakes his head.

"No-yoi, I'm not very hungry." Luffy mumbles something along the lines of :"well more for me." and goes back to stuffing his face.

"Yukio, you have an idea of how your devil fruit can help us?" Marco asks. Yukio finishes chewing his food then places his fork delicately on his plate, like he's in a fancy restaurant. Everyone at the table stops eating to listen. Even Ace and Luffy slow down their eating pace to hear what he has to say.

"That's right. I have eaten the Wipe Wipe Fruit, which means I can wipe memories from anybody's mind forever."

"Wipe Wipe fruit?" Izou echoes. He hasn't heard of that devil fruit before.

"Awesome!" Luffy shouts with stars in his eyes. Marco looks calculatingly at Yukio. He has some doubts on how effective his devil fruit may be.

"Shanks said you thought up a plan-yoi?" Marco prompts him. Yukio nods in confirmation.

"If I go there, I can make all marines and nobles forget that Foosha even exists. But there is a certain drawback..."

"Oh?" Thatch mumbles.

"My powers only work at close range. So for this to work, we'd have to get everyone grouped in the same area. When I memory wipe someone, they go unconscious for awhile, so it should be enough time to get them away from Foosha in that time."

Luffy grins in determination. 'This is great! We can save the island with this!'

Although Luffy is already swayed at the idea, Ace is a bit skeptical.

"But there's a problem with this plan. Nobles come and go from that 'market' all of the time. It's impossible to keep track of the ones that already visited." Ace says.

"Then if we can't make them forget, we'll just have to send them a message they'll always remember." Izou says darkly, sipping his tea.

"What do you mean by that Izou?" Thatch asks his friend.

"We'll send them a message that'll make them stay away from Foosha forever. I'm not exactly sure what we'll do yet, but I think that it will work." The inhabitants of the table all take a bite of their food and escape to their heads for a moment.

"So, Luffy was it?" Yukio asks. Luffy nods. "How many marines are in the village would you say?" Luffy chews on his food thoughtfully, pondering his answer.

"A lot." He mumbles. Yukio does something with his face that looks only remotely like a cringe.

"It may be a stretch, but if you all knock enough of them out, I think I can do it."

"And if you can't?" Izou asks. Yukio sighs.

"Then give 'em hell. The bastards deserve it anyway."

Whether it's from the prospect of beating Celestial Dragon ass, or the fact that the sophisticated Yukio just swore, the entire table grins cheekily.

"Gah I want to beat them right now!" Luffy says, impatient. He balls his hand into a fist and smacks it on the table.

"Maybe you can't Lu, with your new handicap." Ace says teasingly, but there's an undertone of worry. Luffy glares at his brother, hating the fact that he's being underestimated.

"Handicap?" Yukio questions. Luffy lifts up his cloak so Yukio can see, all without breaking his annoyed gaze from Ace. Yukio's eyebrows merely raise a little in surprise, and then he reaches for a napkin and wipes his mouth, back to being indifferent.

"I've been practicing!" Luffy finally speaks up, dropping his cloak back down. "I can take anyone down just as easily with only one arm!"

"Alright then, if you're so eager to fight, then let's see what you can do my dear little brother." Ace taunts. Luffy grins confidently then springs out of his seat and runs out of the galley with them following closely behind.

Shanks and Whitebeard pause their discussion when Luffy bursts onto the deck. They watch as he runs to the clearing of the bow and screech to a halt in the middle.

"Watch this Ace!" He shouts. Everyone stops to watch in anticipation. Luffy throws his arm backwards and it abnormally extends several feet.

'His devil fruit ability.' Marco observes. Suddenly the momentum in Luffy's arm decreases, and it snaps back at a furious speed.

"Gum Gum..." His arm flies past his body and smashes into the centre mast, creating a fist sized hole. "Pistol!"

Luffy doesn't waste time going into his second punch, which is doubly as fast as the first, then the third, then the fourth. Next, he spins and demonstrates a series of deadly kicks that leave parts of the ship in ruin. Each hit their target straight on and with great accuracy.

The noise draws both crews out of their dining halls and they find themselves transfixed by the spectacle going on. Two crew mates had to jump out of the way when they got too close, and almost got knocked off of the ship.

"Gum Gum..." Luffy extends and grabs the door handle behind Ace. The fire user feels dread pile up in his stomach. He knows exactly what Luffy's grande finale is going to be.

"ROCKET-" Luffy's voice drowns in the wind as his body is whipped forward at mind warping speed. Ace's eyes bulge from their sockets seeing Luffy coming straight at him.

"Luffy WAIT!" But the warning comes too late, and Luffy tackles Ace in the stomach. Both brothers fly backwards through the door and into the storage closet behind it.

Wood splits and shelves fall as they crash. Luffy lands on top of Ace who is sprawled on the ground, belly up. A bucket rolls by and hits Ace's ankle.

"Damn it Luffy..." Ace wheezes. He moves to push his brother off when his elbow hits a broom stick and it falls directly on his head. Ace growls in annoyance.

"See that Ace? Bet you're impressed right, right?" Luffy says eagerly, hoping up and down on his forearm. Ace flinches and chokes as his stomach is constantly being abused.

"Luffy!" Ace chokes out. "Get off!"

"Oops!" Luffy rolls off of Ace, who sighs in relief. "Sorry Ace! Shishishi!"

"You're not sorry..." Ace mutters as he sits up.

"You both alright?" Thatch calls from outside.

"Peachy." Ace calls back. He pulls Luffy and himself upright then pushes his brother out the door. Once Ace leaves the room, he looks at the damage caused, mouth thinning into a grim line.

"Marco the door is broken-"

"I know-yoi."

Shanks walks up to the disheveled Luffy and laughs boisterously.

"You've certainly improved with your devil fruit since I've last seen you. Although that last technique could use a little work."

"Pft, I didn't even know what you were targeting." Ace scoffs.

"That was your devil fruit ability we saw right?" Izou asks.

"Yeah! I ate the Gum Gum Fruit. I'm a rubber man!" Luffy grabs his cheek and stretches it.

"Luffy!"

It's that moment where Anna comes out and snatches Luffy's hand off of his cheek, making it smack back in place.

"Your hand only just healed! What are you doing smashing it around? And what did I tell you about not training? Your condition still isn't perfect idiot!" She scolds him. Luffy pouts and rubs his cheek.

"But I'm fiiiiine~"

"Do you want to go back to the infirmary for another week?" She threatens. Luffy shudders, remembering all the medicine and needles during the harsh days of his recovery.

"Wait you were injured Anchor? You didn't tell me that." Shanks says, a bit saddened. "Did someone hurt you?"

"Nobody I couldn't handle." Luffy shrugs, but Shanks sees through the lie.

"You're so strong Luffy." Shanks hugs the teen, much to Ace and Marco's annoyance. He's really proud of how Luffy's turning out. He's maturing really well, yet he has managed to keep that spark of childishness that makes him who he is. That's what Shanks really admires about Luffy.

"Shaaaaanks!" Luffy whines. "Stop hugging me! That's for kids!" He tries to struggle out of his hold, but Shanks holds him even tighter.

"How do you expect to get away from an enemy if you can't get away from me?" Shanks asks playfully, not letting go. Luffy makes a frustrated noise and shoves both of his feet on Shanks's stomach. He pushes hard and manages to pop out of the death hold.

Luffy tumbles backwards on the deck, panting from exertion.

"Shishishi! Guess I can escape from an enemy, huh Shanks?" He sits up with a smile, but is confused when he sees the big frown upon the captain's face. "Shanks?"

"Luffy...how? Who?" Luffy is still confused, but then notices his cloak slipped off from the fall. He looks over to Shanks, who's eyes are barren and ice cold hollows. Luffy sighs.

"I lost it when I was escaping Foosha. An admiral burned it off with magma." Luffy says. Shanks grates his teeth together. He knows very well which admiral that is.

Luffy frowns at how upset Shanks is. Seeing Ace react to his injury was bad enough, he doesn't want to see another person he cares about sad.

"You told me yourself Shanks, it's just an arm."

Shanks furrows his eyebrows, like he's trying to recall the words. But then he smiles a little, for Luffy's sake, albeit bitterly. The rage still boils Shanks's blood that he lost his arm so early in his life.

"I did say that didn't I? Are you trying to copy me Anchor? I thought you wanted to be King of the Pirates." He jokes weakly.

"I do! I'm not copying you!" Luffy protests. Shanks smiles again, more genuinely this time.

"I believe you. That's why I gave you that hat after all, to start a new age. And with your devil fruit abilities, you might still be able to fight using what's left of your arm."

"I can?" Luffy asks, tilting his head.

"That's right. You can extend it, and then harden it with armament haki to make a heavy club."

"What's armam...amerma...armament haki?" Shanks shakes his head.

"I would teach it to you, but we don't have time for you to learn that. Maybe someone can teach it to you later." Luffy still looks confused when Shanks stands and motions to Whitebeard. "Alright, now that we've got everyone here, there's something we've got to say."

"We will be arriving at Foosha Village in approximately 3 days." Announces Whitebeard. "Shanks has filled me in on his plan with Yukio over here, and we will follow along with it. All commanders go to the meeting room for a debriefing on everything." The 16 commanders all make their way inside the ship on the order.

"Now, everyone rest up and prepare for battle because it's going to be a big day."

With an air of determination, both crews split up to their own devices. Some pirates talk to their 'mates about cleaning their guns, and others about sparring with fists or swords. Anna walks back to Luffy and grabs him by the back of his shirt.

"You're coming with me young man. I need to examine you before you do anything else to open your wounds." Anna says, then proceeds to drag a complaining Luffy to the infirmary with Ace following close behind.

Marco watches them leave. Something is still eating at his brain.

"Marco? You coming?" Thatch asks, pausing by the door to the meeting room.

"No, I'll be back in a minute-yoi."

Marco jogs back to where the D brothers went. He catches Ace right before he goes into the infirmary after Luffy.

"Ace?"

The fire-user glances back at Marco curiously. He removes his hand from the infirmary door, making it squeak closed. The hallway is dark, with only a small strip of light peeking from under the door.

"Are you and Luffy actually related?"

Ace blinks, then frowns.

"No, we're not blood related. Luffy's dad isn't my shitty one." He says quietly. They can hear Luffy's whining, muffled through the thick door.

"...Do you know who his parents are-yoi?" Marco asks tentatively, afraid to scare Ace out of talking. But Ace looks into Marco's eyes with so much trust, it makes the phoenix feel honoured to have built such a friendship.

"I don't know who his mom is, but I know that his dad is a world class criminal like mine. I tried to ask gramps about it, but that's all I could squeeze out of him. Though he must be a complete ass to leave Luffy behind, so I'm not a fan of the bastard."

"You both seem like blood brothers anyway." Marco chuckles.

"Blood doesn't mean shit." Ace says. "We're brothers, and that's that."

"OW! THAT NEEDLE HURTS!" Luffy shouts. Ace sighs and pushes the door open, but pauses at the last second.

"Thanks for listening Marco. I can always count on you." Then he runs into the infirmary before Marco can see the harsh blush across his face.

Marco is left staring at the door, once again bathed in darkness.

'It's really hard for you to open up, huh Ace?' Marco smirks.

With the nagging finally gone, Marco spins on his heels and walks back down the long dark hallway.

It's time to get prepared.

Line here

Garp taps his desk impatiently. The den den mushi in front of him remains dormant. Growling, he dials the number again and listens to the ring drawl on, and on, and on.

The vice-admiral sits alone in his office, which is not uncommon in these past months. Papers are scattered all over his desk completely disorganized. His sleeves are rolled up and his jacket is unbuttoned at the top.

The dial tone goes off again, and Garp almost throws the snail across the room. But instead he dials the number again, just like he has done the last one hundred times.

A week. That's how long he has been trying to get ahold of the person on the other end of the den den mushi. This person is quite mysterious and secretive, but Garp knows how to get ahold of him.

He's Garp's son after all.

Garp allows his eyes to wander around his office. He's spent more time in here these last few months than in his entire life. He has even come to memorize every nook and cranny of the space.

Like how the trim at the bottom right hand corner is slightly cracked, and that his certificates of honour aren't as evenly aligned as he once thought, and that the coffee stain on his carpet seems more prominent at dusk- when the sun shines through his window.

The details are important to think about, because if he doesn't, his mind will go directly to all those he let down.

A picture frame at the corner of his desk sits on top of some important document he was supposed to look at ages ago. But he doesn't think it's that important. If it's urgent they will tell him in person, he has no doubt about that.

So instead he looks at the picture. Three boys, one with blonde hair, two with raven black. The smallest with a scar across his cheek smiles cheekily at the camera. The older one with black hair has a smirk on his face and arms crossed, like he just robbed you and got away with it. The blonde one, about the same age as the older raven, smiles toothily with a gap in his teeth. But there is an air of maturity to his appearance, and it pairs well with his top hat and tail coat. They are all so different, yet you can easily tell how much they adore each other.

"Geez." Garp wipes a tear away. He thought about it, crap.

"Yes?"

Garp almost falls out of his seat in surprise. He hadn't noticed when the ringing stopped.

"You brat! Why haven't you been picking up the phone?!" He shouts.

"I've been busy." The man responds tonelessly.

"Of course you've been Dragon." Garp sighs. "Are you damn ready or not?"

"I'm going as fast as I can. Remember that you brought this on father."

Totally monotone.

"Just hurry up to Foosha and get on with it!" Garp hangs up with a slam. He growls and runs a hand through his thinning grey hair.

'I'm not giving up on you boys without a fight, even if I'm not the one that is doing the fighting.'

Line here

Dragon listens to the dial tone with a frown. He sighs tiredly against the headache sprouting in his temples.

He hangs the phone up just as someone teleports at his side. His hair is an orange red, and he wears all black.

"The vessel is ready to go on your orders." The mysterious man says. Dragon nods to his subordinate.

"Depart for Foosha at full speed. I give you full command of the ship from here on out."

"Yes sir." The man replies with a salute, then disappears into the air.

Line here

The days of preparation came and went fast.

Luffy had been training despite Anna's many objections. One puppy dog look later had her caving in reluctantly, but not without a promise to come into her office after every training session.

Whitebeard and Shanks had sorted through their strategy carefully and determined exactly what they are going to do. They beat the plan into everybody's skulls so that no one would forget their roles.

Now today is the day of the attack. Both crews are standing at the bows of their ships. The Moby Dick is ahead with the Red Force following closely behind.

The sun is just starting to set. When they arrive, the market will be closed, so there will be no extra nobles around to cause unnecessary problems.

Luffy stands ahead of the crew on the figurehead, watching for that familiar island to appear on the horizon. He clutches his straw hat against his chest, the crunchy material a comfort to his fingertips.

'So much has happened.' Luffy says to himself. He feels like an old man.

Flashes of memories zip through his brain. Trevor crushed under debris, the singer guy, Alice's rare kindness, Henry and Lucas disappearing into the blazing forest, Marco observing him from across the market, the relief when he found out they were Whitebeard Pirates...

And finding Ace. It's been a long journey.

'But it's finally coming to a close.' Luffy places the straw hat on his head with purpose. Time to beat some people into the dust.

Next to him, Ace hops up without saying a word. The breeze flows through his black hair and the orange light makes his freckles stand out. He crosses his arms, standing straight and strong.

"Are you ready for this?" He asks, voice carrying off in the breeze. Luffy exhales loudly, but nods.

"How about you?" Luffy asks after a few seconds. The teen doesn't turn his head immediately, but eventually looks at his older brother. Ace gazes at Luffy with sparkling eyes, then faces the front with a big smirk.

"Of course."

They both breathe in the fresh air and flush out anymore nerves. It's time to save their home, and they can't afford to have second doubts. Luffy may have failed to save everyone by himself, but now he has Ace and two pirate crews helping. Saint Garlow won't even know what hit him. Luffy only hopes that nothing happened to Makino and the bandits while he's been away.

Suddenly, Marco swoops down in front of the brothers with flames flickering all over his newly morphed wings.

"We will be able to see Foosha in a few seconds. Prepare yourselves-yoi."

Everybody tenses in anticipation as the island slowly comes into view. The two pirate ships are closing in at an alarming rate, the marines will no doubt be caught by surprise.

Luffy's eyes darken seeing what he has left behind. It's exactly the same, just a little emptier without all the nobles walking around. There's even the burnt remains of Foosha still resting on the outskirts. Apparently it's taking the slaves awhile to clean up.

Ace grits his teeth at what he sees. It's completely destroyed! He wasn't expecting so much of a damn difference!

As they near the island, they can hear sudden shouts of marines. Suddenly, dozens of grunts pour out of the facility waving their weapons and shouting at the pirates.

Off to the side, a marine is pushing a straggling slave inside the prison. Ace watches as the slave, probably thirty years old, stumbles on the ground. The marine looks impatient to join his comrades in action, so he loses his temper quickly and strikes the woman with his gun.

"Ace?" Ace doesn't listen to Marco as he walks forward. The blood is pounding in his ears and he can't get rid of the images all around him. He almost doesn't notice how his arm snaps out and starts blazing.

"Geez, guess he's got to make a grand entrance huh?" Thatch comments. Izou nods, watching the flames in Ace's hand grow to an unfathomable size. Once the fire is a raging inferno around Ace, he whips his arm forward and shouts a command.

"HIKEN!" Ace launches a powerful stream of flames toward the mass of marines.

Marco is second to act out. He fully transforms and sends fire missiles from up high. The grunts flee in terror as they strike the earth and an explosion sounds.

The phoenix throws back his head and unleashes a shriek that ignites the fighting spirit in all the pirates. With a single battle cry, they jump off of the ships and attack any marines they can see.

Luffy and Ace leap off of the figurehead into the havoc below. A marine immediately tries to slice Luffy in half, but Ace fries him before the sword is even up in the air.

They land on the sandy ground and set off towards the prison entrance. Marines appear from high and low, blocking their path, but the brothers punch and kick them away like they are only flies.

Luffy ducks a sword aiming to chop his head off. He then sweeps his leg through the marine's feet, making him crash to the ground in a heap. Luffy stands up, panting and covered in dirt. Marco screeches overhead and sends another barrage of flames into the enemy lines.

Not too far away Ben and Yasopp fight alongside Thatch, chopping and shooting grunts that they encounter. Over by the ships, Namur and Haruta assist Yukio in gathering up the unconscious and injured marines to be mind wiped later.

"Oh shit." Ace says over the sounds of the battle, his lip cut and bleeding. Luffy turns to see what Ace is talking about, and his eyes widen into saucers.

"I've always wanted to get rid of you Yonko scum." sneers Akainu, emerging from the prison. Magma bubbles and pours off of his shoulders. With the flick of a wrist, giant globs of magma shoot towards Whitebeard and Red Hair pirates and explode.

"Don't you dare hurt my children!" Whitebeard booms from his ship. With a mighty leap, he lands right in front of Akainu and launches a powerful fist right in his gut. The impact sends shockwaves through the battlefield, and creates a massive hole in the prison wall.

Akainu crumples forward with a sputtered cry before recovering and attempting to send magma in the old captain's face.

"Come on Luffy, now's our chance!" While the admiral is distracted, Ace and Luffy slip inside the prison with the goal of freeing the people trapped inside.

Line here

The citizens of Foosha all sit in their dank cells, exhausted physically and mentally. No one cries anymore, nobody complains, it has reached that point where everyone has accepted their fate to be trapped in here their entire lives.

Makino shuffles against the back wall, lamenting all that has been lost to her. She knows her luck of not being bought is wearing thin. It's only a matter of time when she will be transferred to an even bigger hell than this one.

Next to her Wanda taps her fingers against the wall. Her once perfect nails are chipped horribly and degraded to mere nubs. The bags under her eyes are heavy and dark, and her eyes have lost that touch of mischief.

"Makino are you alright?" She asks. Her southern trawl is barely noticeable anymore since her voice is so quiet.

"Just thinking." She whispers. Talking too loud in here will only draw attention to you, and that's the last thing you want in a building full of murderers and kidnappers.

"You shouldn't be doin' that hon. Your mind's bound to send you to a place you don't wanna be."

"I know, it's just hard sometimes." Makino confesses. Wanda wraps a comforting arm around her and leans her head on Makino's shoulder.

Sometimes actions speak louder than words. And what Makino needs right now is comfort, not words.

A sudden explosion shakes the building. Makino and Wanda hold each other as the lighting overhead flickers and shakes.

"What's happening?" Someone shouts.

"Did part of the building collapse?!"

"They're finally going to get rid of us!"

"Have mercy!"

The slaves grow restless as more explosions are heard. Makino and Wanda remain in the corner, trying to block out the noise that adds to their living nightmare.

"Wait! Everyone quiet! I hear voices!" Dadan shouts. The long weeks of imprisonment have done nothing to hamper her fighting spirit.

The chatter immediately stops as everybody strains to listen. Sure enough, two different voices float along the corridor.

"It should be around here."

"These damn marines, they're so persistent."

Something about the voices causes Makino's heart to skip a beat. Slowly, she unravels Wanda's arms from her shoulder and walks to the front of the cell.

"Makino? What is it?" Wanda asks worriedly. Makino doesn't answer, she grips the bars until her knuckles turn white. She peers desperately at the end of the hallway, needing to see who belongs to the voices.

"It's right here!"

"Geez, finally!"

Tears unconsciously well up in Makino's eyes. It can't be!

Two figures round the corner and to Makino's surprise, it's Ace! And...Luffy?!

Line here

Luffy navigates them both through the building, beating up any marines that get in their way. Ace follows closely behind, eyeing the place with severe distaste.

"It should be around here." says Luffy. Another marine pops out of nowhere and springs at Luffy. Luckily Ace steps in and punches him away before he can get a hit in. They run on, hardly bothered by the slight delay.

"These damn marines, they're so persistent." Ace complains, sending another one into the wall. They turn a corner and Luffy's face lights up.

"It's right here!" He exclaims.

"Geez, finally!"

Luffy's mouth falls into a deep frown. His pace picks up, and suddenly he's desperate to see the people he's left behind. Ace notices Luffy's subtle change, and charges ahead to check for danger. As soon as Ace rounds the final corner, his eyes widen considerably at what he sees.

Dead eyes. Dead eyes everywhere. All the people are living in the cells, but they hardly look like they should be breathing. This is truly what giving up looks like.

Luffy runs past Ace and attacks the first cage he sees, breaking it to pieces in seconds. Ace shakes his muddled head, then jumps into action freeing the prisoners.

"Gum Gum, PISTOL!" Luffy blasts the door off of bars, creating a cloud of dust around their feet. The people inside the cell stand back with wide eyes, clutching their loved ones and themselves. "Come on! We're breaking you out!"

Luffy beckons them and grins. Slowly, smiles start to grow on their faces and then they push past one another to get out. Each one that passes Luffy shakes his hand and says deep thank you's. Over at the other cells, people have gathered around Ace and are thanking him, much to his embarrassment.

Dadan emerges from a cell and squeezes the poor commander to death, only to realize exactly what she's doing, and let's go with a blush and a snappy comment.

Suddenly, Luffy is tackled into a hug that sends him stumbling backwards. The person's shoulders shake with sobs and they clutch him like he's the most precious thing in the world.

"You're alive...I don't believe it." Luffy looks up, and gasps in relief when he realizes it's Makino. She looks a little rough around the edges, but she's still the same woman he's come to know.

"Makino! You're still here!" He exclaims, sinking into her embrace. She still manages to smell homey to him.

"Me?" She pulls back to look at his face and take in every detail. "We all thought you were dead. That admiral brought back your-"

"Arm?" Luffy finishes, flashing his stump.

Makino's hands fly to her mouth and she gasps sympathetically. "Oh Luffy-kun..."

She reaches out and hugs him again, stroking the back of his hair.

"I know it might be a silly question, but are you okay?" She asks. Luffy chuckles a little.

"I'm okay, now that I know you're alright." Makino sobs into his head again. Luffy stands there, bearing her weight for the time being.

"Happy to see you're still alive and kicking kiddo."

"Mayor!" Luffy gasps. He runs up and tackles the short man into a hug. Woop Slap stiffens in surprise, he has never been one for physical contact.

"I'm sorry about your arm boyo. I would normally blame those damn pirates for their influence, but now it's clearly the marines that are at fault." Luffy shrugs.

"I'll be okay. I'll just train and get stronger! Soon I'll be just the same as I would have been with two arms." he says. Woop Slap smiles and nods in approval. Ace opens yet another cage that catches the mayor's attention.

"Excuse me, there are some citizens I need to attend to." He bows slightly then runs straight to an old man holding a child.

"Luffy!" Both Makino and the teen straighten up when Dadan comes stomping up to them with a raised fist. "You brat! We all thought you were dead!"

Luffy flinches a little, thinking she's going to hit him, but instead she shoves her hand on his hat.

"Oi! I can't see!" Luffy tries to push it off.

"Thank goodness you're alive..." Luffy's struggles weaken. As soon as Dadan removes her hand, he peeks up at her. She quickly wipes away any evidence of weakness on her face before he has a good look. Luffy laughs out loud.

"Shishishi, thanks old hag!"

"Who are you calling old hag, brat?!"

Luffy laughs again just as another blast strikes the building. Ace runs next to Luffy, panting harshly.

"We've got to get out of here." He tells them. "This place is going to come down sooner than we planned."

Makino pulls Ace down into a hug. His face immediately turns red as a beat, and he struggles to come to terms that he was caught by surprise.

"Thank you for coming Ace-kun. I'm so glad you're safe." She whispers in his ear. Ace's face turns even more red, if possible.

"You're welcome. I can't just let my home be destroyed." Ace says back, allowing her to give him some affection. Makino chuckles and releases him, squeezing his shoulder.

"Come on everyone! Follow me!" Luffy shouts. The ex-slaves cheer so loud, it almost drowns out the sounds of battle raging outside.

With Ace and Luffy leading the charge, they all storm out. Chunks of wall tumble down from the sides and the ground quakes almost constantly.

But the villagers do not fear the havoc around them. They have seen death and traveled through hell, a few extra steps don't faze them.

Up ahead is the large opening that is their freedom.

All of a sudden, a bullet slices through the air and misses Luffy's head by a millimetre. It's enough of a shock to make the entire group stop in place. Ace fumes when he looks at the bastard in front of them that has tried to hurt his brother for a second time.

"Don't move another inch! Or I will blow your disgusting faces off your bodies!"

It's Saint Garlow. Or, at least Luffy thinks it's Saint Garlow. The Celestial Dragon looks crazed and desperate. His dome that once prevented him from breathing the same air as them is cracked, and a massive chunk is missing from the side. In his hand is a pistol decorated in solid gold, pointing at them and smoking at the barrel from when he just fired a shot.

"You lot aren't going anywhere! You're mine. You belong to me you slaves! Get back in your cages!" Ace growls and moves forward, ready to break his face, hands, spine, legs, e.c.t.

"Stop! Take another step forward and I blow her head off!" Saint Garlow screeches, moving his pistol in Makino's direction. Ace stops, but glares at him. Saint Garlow turns his gaze away from Ace, obviously terrified of him. He waves his gun at them like he's herding cattle. "Go! You've already caused enough trouble here! Miserable rodents, I'm going to whip all of you when this little rebellion is over!"

"I don't think so."

Saint Garlow spins around as fast as his pudgy body will allow.

"Who-"

"I don't think you even want to know buddy." His eyes are cold slits, and he twirls his sword like it's a baton.

"Shanks!" Luffy exclaims. The group gasps in excitement seeing the red-haired pirate again.

"Shanks?" The High Noble rolls the name around his mouth distastefully. "You're the captain of the pirate crew that ruined my slave market!"

"That's right, got something you want to tell me?" Shanks tilts his head eerily. Saint Garlow's face turns red with anger.

"You imbecile! I will execute you right here!" He raises his pistol and aims for Shanks's head. The captain only narrows his eyes, and bends his knees.

"DIE!"

But before the shot can ring out, a fist plows through Saint Garlow's glass dome, and lands a heavy blow to his face. Saint Garlow hits the ground with a thud, his face bloodied and swelled beyond normal. A small pained, resigned sound escapes his bloodied lips.

Everyone looks at Makino, who wipes her bloody knuckles off on her skirt.

"Bastard." She spits.

There's collective silence, and then the villagers start cheering as they race ahead. Wanda grabs Makino's hand, laughing, and together they follow the rest.

Shanks stands there, mouth open in shock, marveling at the woman. Why can't he bring himself to look away from her? He doesn't remember seeing that golden halo around her head earlier...

"C'mon Shanks! You can't stand there forever!" Luffy yells at him, yanking on his sleeve. Shanks allows himself to be pulled along in a slight daze.

"Badass..." He whispers.

Ace sticks his head out and scans around the massive opening in the wall. When it's clear, he motions everyone to follow outside. One by one, the villagers file out and run towards the forest on Ace's instructions. Dadan leads them, more familiar with the forest than anyone else there.

Shanks leans over and picks a child up, holding him over the part of the wall that is too tall for him to climb. The mother takes her child, thanks Shanks profusely, then runs into the forest.

Soon enough, everyone is out of the complex and running up the slope to the forest.

"Let's make sure they get there safe and sound." Ace tells his brother. Luffy nods and turns to tell Shanks.

"I think you two will be fine on your own. I'm going to go help my crew on the battlefield." Shanks says. Sure enough, more marines appear from the direction of Low Town. No doubt called up to assist in the fight.

"Alright, see ya later Shanks!" Luffy says. Shanks grins in return, then leaps away with his black cloak billowing in the wind.

"Shall we destroy this pest that has invaded Foosha?" Ace asks his brother, sounding prestigious. Luffy nods, trying his best to look professional and snooty.

"I believe we should. But first..." Luffy runs back into the building and grabs the unconscious Celestial Dragon. He drags him back outside then throws him to the side and out of the way. The body merely splays on the ground in a lump. Both brothers pretend not to hear the moan of pain from said lump.

"We should have left him in there..." Ace scowls.

"We need Yukio to mind wipe him remember? Now let's do this! I've been waiting to destroy this damn thing since forever!" Ace nods, a malicious grin spreading across his face.

They back up a few paces from the crumbling prison. Luffy frowns in concentration, stance going into attack mode.

"Gum Gum, Gatling!" Luffy sends a barrage of quick and powerful punches toward the building. More foundation instantly crumbles under the impact and soon enough, the building looks like it can tumble over with just the blow of the wind.

"Come on!" Ace shouts.

They make their way up the slope and up to a ledge overlooking Foosha. The only person waiting up there is Makino.

"Where did every-?"

"They all went to Dadan's hut, don't worry Luffy-kun." Both brothers sigh in relief. "I'm going to join them for the time being."

Makino grabs both of their faces and delivers a kiss on their cheeks.

"Please be safe my boys. And thank you for all you've done for us." She says tenderly, making Ace and Luffy's hearts warm up. Then she runs back into the forest and after the rest of the group.

They both smile in her absence, although Ace's face is a little red. The crashing of swords brings them back to reality, and they turn to overlook the battle with frowns on their faces.

"There's still someone we have to deal with." Ace says darkly.

"Sabo's dad." Luffy responds. Ace nods in confirmation.

"This will never end with that guy still around. When I find him, I'm gonna beat his ass into next day for what he did to you, and everyone." Ace steps forward on the ledge. His arm lights up in flames and he quickly draws a 't' shape in the air, creating a fire cross.

"Jujika!" He shouts, sending the cross flying straight for the prison. As soon as it hits, the building explodes and completely obliterates. Smoke and dust blow across the clearing, choking nearby marines.

Ace and Luffy stand alone witnessing the scene. Pieces of flaming rubble rain down from above, but none strike the brothers. They watch as the dust settles and nothing but debris remains. The hard work and pain that it took to construct this building is no longer existent, neither is any evidence of the horrors that have happened inside.

Luffy watches it all with blank eyes. He doesn't feel happy, exactly, just numb. It should have never existed, and now they will have to work harder to get everything back to normal.

Howls of victory float up from the battle. Marco flies over them and screeches in victory. The demolition was a signal to both crews that the brothers' fulfilled their part of the plan.

"Let's go Lu." Ace says softly, squeezing his brother's hand. Luffy nods, forcing his eyes away.

They sprint down the slope past unconscious marines and burning patches towards the Moby Dick. Nearby, Anna applies first aid to a Red Hair pirate who got caught by surprise.

As Ace looks around, he notices that the battle is in their favour. In fact, only a few straggling marines remain trying to take down as many pirates as they can before they go down themselves. It has been an uneven fight for them, they are hopelessly overwhelmed by the sheer skill, preparation and numbers from the two crews.

The only one really leading the marines on is Akainu. He and Whitebeard are still going strong. Both parties sport different injuries, but it's hard to tell who is getting more exhausted. Marco tries to help out a little by sending in flamethrowers, but they are easily negated by Akainu's magma powers.

"There's Thatch over there." Ace says through pants. The brothers run over to where their friend is. He's got a bruise on the side of his head, but that seems to be his only notable injury.

"Guys! I saw what you did to the building. It was epic!" Thatch exclaims, then laughs.

"Is there anymore major issues going on?" Ace asks. Thatch shakes his head.

"No, it's just Akainu that's the biggie. Pops said he can handle it on his own, but I don't know..."

"Whitebeard!"

All heads turn towards the main battle, happening in the centre of Foosha. Akainu's face is the definition of rage. Spit flies from his mouth after every attack, and he growls even louder when Whitebeard manages to block or evade them.

"This ends now!" Akainu screams. He coats his hands into giant bubbling magma fists and launches himself forward at the pirate captain. Whitebeard frowns and pulls his own fist back, creating a small sphere around it.

"Pops!" Thatch and Ace yell, concerned for their captain's safety. Marco makes a shrill call from his bird form, unable to interfere. The rest of the crew watches in horror, screaming at their captain to dodge.

Akainu's attack is fast, it will strike before Whitebeard even has a chance to conjure his. But right as the fist nears his stomach, Shanks appears and slices the magma hand off with his sword. It won't take long for the arm to regenerate, but it's enough time for Whitebeard to strike back.

The sphere wavers as it's being filled with concentrated energy. Whitebeard raises his fist over his head, then brings it down hard on Akainu's head.

"Kabutowari!" He shouts. Akainu crashes into the ground, as explosions go off from the sphere onto his head. The extra force buries the admiral deeper and deeper into the rubble, until he moves no more.

Panting, Whitebeard slowly raises his fist from the crater he created. Both captains look down at their fallen enemy to check if he is properly unconscious. All marines and pirates have stopped fighting to see the outcome of the battle.

With the fist that he had used to strike down his enemy, Whitebeard raises it in the air victoriously. Cheers erupt all around the grounds, while the remaining marines merely raise their hands in surrender.

"Get up! I said GET UP!"

All heads turn to the one person in support of the admiral.

"What are you doing? You're supposed to be an admiral you idiot! Get up and kill them!" Luffy and Ace glare daggers at the man. Luffy digs his fingernails into his palm, barely suppressing the urge to knock his brains out.

"Outlook." Ace spits out. The noble leers at the brothers and turns his nose up in disgust.

"You're still as revolting as I remember. Enjoy my gift little one?" Outlook asks, gesturing to the burnt village. Luffy's glare hardens and he vibrates in anger.

"You bastard..." Luffy grits.

"Well it's your fault. You both took away my blood heir! And for what? To live in a trash heap with devil children?" Outlook's voice turns shrill with disbelief. Ace steps in front of his brother, as if trying to shield him from the words.

"Don't you dare dishonour Sabo's choices, and Luffy is not a devil child. So you better shut the hell up before I make you." Ace threatens, cracking his knuckles.

"He may not be a devil child. But you are." Outlook sounds smug. Ace's eyes widen.

"You don't-"

"That's right Portgas, I figured out just who you are. Should I call you by your real name instead?" He spits and it lands on Ace's bare dirt logged chest. "See? You have no power against me! No one does! And now, I'm going to make that good for nothing admiral get up, and crush you devil children so hard you'll be begging me-"

"BURN IN HELL-YOI!"

Marco drops down from the sky in hybrid form with talons extended and kicks Outlook hard in the spine, sending him skidding across the ground. He growls in outrage as he struggles -and fails- to get up.

"Never ever talk about them like that again-yoi! Or I'll show you what a real devil looks like you bastard." Marco snaps, seething in rage. This self-proclaimed 'know it all' (who is actually the biggest dumbass bastard on the planet) almost exposed Ace's biggest secret. And he has the nerve to taunt him about it and threaten them? No. Marco will not allow it, not for a second.

"OW! You vermin! Who do you think you are?!" Outlook shouts from the ground, enraged. Flames spark off of Marco's shoulders and he moves to finish the noble off.

"Marco wait." The phoenix stops, and his blazing aqua blue eyes lock on Ace's grey ones. "Thanks for being an overprotective hen and all, but we want to do this."

Marco stares at his brother, feeling uncertain. But seeing the same passionate fire burning in Ace's irises makes him realize who really needs to handle the noble. So Marco sighs, and extinguishes the flames on his shoulders. Ace smiles at his friend and pats his shoulder as he walks past him.

"Thanks again Marco." Marco smiles back at him and steps out of the way. Ace and Luffy loom over Outlook, who desperately tries to scramble up and gain some semblance of ground.

"You're a disgrace. You treated Sabo like shit and expected him to live by your rules." Ace snarls.

"And you destroyed our village and hurt all my friends in it! We're going to make you pay!" If Luffy's looks could kill, Outlook would have died one thousand times.

"Y-you wouldn't dare!" The noble stutters, shuffling backwards. His fancy tailcoat gets smeared with mud and he has lost a shoe.

"Oh," Ace's arm lights on fire. Outlook gasps in horror. "I think we would."

Ace and Luffy exchange glances then leap forwards and punch him in the face. Outlook reels back from the force, but Ace pulls him back by his scorched tie while Luffy kicks him in the stomach. Outlook kneels over in pain, coughing up fluids.

"This is for Foosha!" Luffy punches him in the face again. "This is for Sabo!" A few teeth fly. "And this is for all the shit that you've caused!" This punch sends Outlook rolling across the clearing. His leg catches a piece of concrete and he flips in mid air.

"Ack!" Outlook's back smacks against a tree. His spine shudders in pain and he chokes, then slides to the ground unconscious.

The brothers glare at their miserable tormenter. Ace puts his arm around Luffy and squeezes his shoulder. They remain there, panting and staring, but it doesn't look like Outlook will move anytime soon.

Luffy's gaze flicks around all that's left of Foosha - nothing. He can't help but wonder, how long will it take for someone else to come along and do the exact same thing? Will the inhabitants of the village all move away? Is Foosha already nonexistent?

"Hey Lu," Ace moves in Luffy's field of vision. "It's over now. So just let it all go." He says, squeezing Luffy's shoulder reassuringly. Luffy blinks. He looks at all the pirates scattered around the battlefield, laughing and smacking each other's backs. It's not only Foosha's victory, but it's theirs too, Luffy realizes.

Luffy closes his eyes, inhales, then exhales shakily, slowly easing the tension from his shoulders.

"It is hunh?" Luffy whispers, lip trembling. Quickly he shakes his head and wipes his eyes. Ace smiles fondly and knocks Luffy's hat off to ruffle his hair.

Whitebeard smiles at the pair while Anna pokes at his injuries. He beckons Marco over with his giant finger.

"Yeah Pops?" Marco asks, flying beside him with his flaming blue wings.

"Go find those villagers and tell them that it is safe to return." Marco nods and flies to the forest. Whitebeard settles down on the dirt ground, trying to get a little comfortable. "Alright everyone, listen here." The pirates make their way from different corners of Foosha to the giant captain. Shanks stands next to him, wiping down his sword. "I know how much you all want to party. Believe me when I say there is nothing more I would rather do at this moment." Scattered chuckles go through the crowd. "But our job is not yet finished. We need to gather every marine, unconscious or not, and bring them to Yukio. This is a vital step for this plan to succeed, and it needs to be done quickly. Understand?" The pirates cry out their affirmative and run around, grabbing marines from near and far.

"Put them around here, yes. Remember, we have to get them out of here within the hour of mind wiping. Arrange the unconscious ones in the front side by side, like that yes." Yukio directs both crews with smooth efficiency. Ace wonders if he had been a captain in his past life.

The many, many unconscious marines are lined side by side in the front row. Any weapons are stolen or discarded, leaving them defenseless. The back row is filled with the marines that are awake. Their hands are bound by rope that in return is tied to a singular rope that runs through each bind. The train of marines glance nervously between the pirates around them and their fallen leader amongst the line of unconscious and defeated.

The sound of murmuring draws attention, and soon all of the ex-slaves emerge from the forest. They observe their surroundings with big eyes, taking in the destruction all around them, and more precisely the prison.

"It's gone!" A lady gasps.

"Oh thank the heavens." A man sobs. More tears of relief are shed in the group. The pirates leave them alone, offering silent condolences to all they have lost.

Izou bends down to pick up a marine sword when there is a tug on his kimono. He glances to his side curiously to see a little girl in scruffy clothing.

"Um," she shuffles her feet and looks to her mother nervously. The mother smiles and nods in encouragement. "Thank you for saving us from the meanies. They burnt our house and my special teddy bear. I was so sad, but now I'm really happy because you helped my mom and me. So thank you!" The girl grins up at Izou, albeit a little shyly.

Izou blinks down at her, then lifts his hands to his mouth to contain his overwhelmed feelings. Once he composed himself, he crouches down to her eye level and smiles.

"It was no problem at all. But if you really want to thank us, go up to every pirate who fought here and give them a big thank you. Can you do that?" The girl's eyes widen considerably and she nods enthusiastically, making Izou chuckle.

"Yes I can Miss! You can count on me!"

Izou almost corrects the girl, but lets it slide for the time being. Instead, he picks her up and tugs on the hem of her dress.

"Dear me, you're in dire need of a change in wardrobe my dear." The girl giggles. "What is your name?"

"Layla..." She mumbles, ducking her head into her shoulder.

"Well Layla, I think I should make you a new dress myself." Izou says softly, like it's some sort of big secret. The girl gasps and her head shoots up, shyness temporarily forgotten.

"Really?!" She breathes. Layla twists in Izou's arms to look at her mother. "Mommy! This nice lady says she'll make me new clothes!"

Marco watches fondly as the mother walks up to Izou and starts building a conversation with him. To the phoenix's left, a short old man with a walking stick hobbles up to him.

"Hello sir, my name is Woop Slap, the mayor of Foosha." He extends a hand in greeting which Marco accepts with a brief shake.

"Hello-yoi. I'm Marco, first division commander of the Whitebeard pirates. " Marco says calmly. Woop Slap fiddles with his glasses, looking uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"I hate pirates." He admits. Marco raises an eyebrow. Does this man remember who he's talking to? "Ever since red hair came to our village, I've loathed all the trouble they carry along with them. I was convinced they were terrible, irresponsible low life's who only want to drink sake and create havoc."

"Then why are you telling this to a pirate?" Marco asks. He's not mad, merely curious. Woop Slap meets Marco's eyes. He looks somewhat guilty.

"I'm telling you this because I owe it to you. You've changed my mind by how you've acted. Not only with your actions here today, but you actually listened to Luffy and decided to help him. That itself gains my respect, and I humbly thank you and your crew for all you've done for us." Woop Slap bows deeply.

"You don't have to bow. It's only our responsibility to take care of our own." Marco responds. Woop Slap raises, smiling.

"Thank you. Now that we have this matter settled, I'd like you to meet the rest of our village." Woop Slap pushes a flustered Marco over to the citizens of Foosha who immediately surround him and say their share of thanks's.

"Haha! The hen is getting mobbed!" Ace mocks from far away, watching his friend slowly being eaten up by the crowd.

"Ne Ace, talking about pineapple head makes me hungry. Can we eat something soon?" Luffy complains, pulling on Ace's arm. Ace moves the appendage away.

"Not now Lu, we've still got stuff to do."

"But Aaaaaace!"

"Luffy! Ace!" The brothers turn around, only to get tackled by a hug. Green shiny hair waves in their eyes and they instantly relax. "Thank goodness you're still alright!"

"We're fine Makino! We're strong!" Luffy exclaims, breaking away and flexing his skinny arm. Makino chuckles into her hand that is still a little stained with red.

"I see that. Now where is Whitebeard-san and Shanks? I need to thank them for all the help they've given us." Ace points over her shoulder.

"They're just over there. Pops is getting checked out by the nurses, but he won't mind seeing you."

"Thank you Ace. You boys get checked out too, and don't pretend like you haven't hurt yourselves. When I get back, I expect to see new bandages on you." Makino eyes them both condescendingly. "Alright?"

"Yes Makino." Ace and Luffy sigh out. She smiles and walks over to the two captains. They watch with lingering smiles as Makino says something to Whitebeard, who chuckles in return. Shanks has flowers around his head as he gazes at her from beside the giant captain.

"Okay, I believe that is all the marines. Everybody take a step back so you are not affected." Yukio says, splaying his palms out. The pirates in the vicinity shift back to form a large semi circle around the marines.

Luffy watches in wonder as Yukio makes odd finger gestures in a specific order. When he finishes the sequence, he hums an indistinguishable word and then repeats the hand gestures. Except, this time his hands glow a neon blue. The beautiful lights highlight his face and make it appear as though he is hollow.

"Tsutsumimasu." Yukio mumbles. The lights from his hands float up in the air and weave around the bodies in front of him - including the admiral and Celestial Dragon.

The marines that are awake struggle against their binds, afraid to touch the soft looking light. But their efforts are in vain, and soon enough their eyes are drooping shut.

Yukio makes another set of hand gestures using much more effort than the other two. Sweat appears on his brow and he wipes it away hastily.

"Yukio, you okay?" Yasopp asks him. Yukio nods jerkily.

"Yes. I just...haven't done this...with so many...people before." He grits. His devil fruit has searched and claimed all memories that belong to this village and this day. However, the challenge is trying to hold onto all of them before they can escape his next command. Yukio clamps his eyes shut and focuses his breathing, it's now or never.

"Shōsan sa semasu!" He yells. In an instant, the blue lights diffuse into each different body. Yukio cries out in pain as each memory is sliced and disposed of. The standing marines slump to the ground in a heap.

After several long agonizing minutes, the blue light diffuses back into the open, and flows back into Yukio. When the last of the blue light returns to his hands, the devil fruit user falls to his knees, panting. Ben and Yasopp are immediately right there with some water and a helping hand.

"Are you okay Yukio?" Ben asks, handing him the water. Yukio gulps it down greedily, not caring of the liquid spills on his neat clothes.

"Yes. Yes I am. Just need a little rest is all." He pants in his odd accent.

"You were great Yukio! Took it like a real champ!" Lucky Roo exclaims, slapping Yukio on the back. The tall man grimaces a little as some water spills out of his lips and onto his chest.

"Thank you. But now we've got to get these marines off this island as fast as possible. What location did we decide on again?" He asks. Jozu, the third division commander, pulls out a map and examines it.

"Here," he points, "Shimotsuki village, just south of here."

"When they arrive there they will be confused at most, but then they should just leave and get on with their days." Yasopp says.

"Alright." Yukio grimaces as he stands up. "Let's load them up on the life boats-"

"Wait."

All eyes turn to Luffy, who is walking along the marines and checking every single one. His eyes are blown open and he looks worried. At first, Ace looks as confused as the others, but then throws his head back with his hands flying to his eyes.

"He's not here." He mumbles through his hands. The pirates' exchange confused glances.

"Who isn't-yoi?" Marco asks, joining them. Luffy kicks the ground, startling everyone in the vicinity.

"Outlook." He spits out.

"Oh shit."

"Everyone look to where he could have escaped to!" Marco orders. The pirates' split up in different search parties. Ace checks the place where Outlook last was, only to find a small puddle of blood and a gold pocket watch.

"What is happening my son?" Whitebeard asks Marco.

"We appear to have an escapee." he tells his captain. "And we don't know where he is." Whitebeard frowns and stands up, disturbing the medical equipment that has been attached to him.

"We can't have that. One person exposing what has happened today will ruin everything. Check near the forest." He orders. Marco nods and moves in that direction.

"I see him! I see him!" All heads turn towards the port. Whitebeard limps up to his most trusted lookout, who is perched on a flagpole with a telescope in hand.

"Where Calvin?" Ace asks, moving below him. Luffy bounces anxiously by his brother's side.

"Out on the sea. He's on a ship." He replies, twisting his telescope into better focus. A feeling of dread pits in their stomachs. "He's too far away, it's impossible to catch him by ship. He's going to get away."

'No!' Luffy panics. All of this hard work can't possibly be for nothing!

"Marco!" Whitebeard booms. The situation is growing desperate as their only chance of succession is floating away. Marco understands the silent command and stomps his foot, getting ready to transform and pursue the noble.

"Hold on a second!" Calvin shouts, wobbling dangerously from his perch.

"What is it?!" Shanks demands impatiently.

"There's another ship approaching him."

"We can't let that happen, he's going to tell them everything. Marco!-"

A bright sphere of fire appears in the horizon, exactly where Outlook's ship is. A sonic-boom flies across the water, creating a wave and a strong gust of wind.

The wind buffets the observing audience. Ace's hat flies back on his neck and his raven hair whips around wildly. Calvin removes the telescope from his eye, mouth agape.

Slowly, the explosion visuals fade, and not even a breath of smoke remains. It is a very odd sight, and it leaves the pirate's confused.

"What happened?!" Thatch asks, voice laced in disbelief. Calvin raises the telescope back on his eye reluctantly.

"It's...gone." He says softly, like he's afraid he's made a mistake.

"Gone? What about the other ship?" Lucky Roo asks, taking a bite of the meat leg he's acquired.

"It's still there...I think they've blown his ship into oblivion!" Calvin gasps, mind falling to imagination rather than logic.

"That can't be right, it's impossible-yoi." Marco says, eyes narrowing. Flames climb his leg, starting a transformation. "I'm going to go check what happened."

"Is anyone missing a beaten noble?"

Swords are drawn and guns cock as everyone whips around to face the intruder. He stands there plain as day, with Outlook slumped down below him, unconscious and free of burn injuries.

The pirates don't understand how he has gotten here, but they don't like being taken by surprise. It's an oddity that no one had sensed his presence prior to his arrival. But here he is, magically appearing out of nowhere to the heart of the enemy. Whitebeard and Shanks observe the man calmly, but are dimly aware they cannot let him leave and risk exposing their secret.

The man only clicks his tongue at their hostility. He eyes the weapons around him in distaste then shrugs.

"Maybe I was being a bit too sudden, let me start over." He grabs Outlook by the shoulder and pushes him forward to Yukio's feet. "Here you go. I caught him for you guys."

"Was that your ship out there-yoi?" Marco asks, not taking his eyes off the mysterious man.

"That's right. My associates are still there right now, it's only me with you all." He answers, flipping a piece of red hair back. Shanks frowns and steps forward. He places the tip of his sword on the man's neck.

"Who are you?" Shanks demands in a flat tone. The cool steal presses further into the warm skin of the man's jugular.

"Mmm...I'm afraid I can't tell you that." He sounds truly apologetic. "All I can ask is for you to trust me that I won't say a word about anything that has happened today."

"Trust you? How are we supposed to trust you when we don't even know who you are?" Ace asks bitterly, his lip rising into a snarl. For some reason, the man brightens up.

"Actually, I believe there is one person here who knows me. Though I hope he hasn't forgotten about the person who saved his life." He says with a grand smile. He glances to the side, right beside Ace.

"Singer guy?!" Luffy gasps. Shanks lowers his weapon and raises his brow at the teen. The man smiles even wider and hums a little tune.

"That's right! But I thought I told you to call me something else." Luffy shrugs and murmurs how he forgot. "Well, it doesn't matter. You can call me whatever you want."

"Oi, Lu. You know this guy?" Ace asks his brother, nudging him. Luffy nods and grins in a D-shape.

"Yeah! When I first escaped from Foosha, he gave me money for medicine and food!" Luffy chuckles and approaches 'the singer guy', bouncing lightly on his feet.

"You are a lot more energetic than I remember." He ruffles Luffy's hair. "I'm glad to see you're well taken care of." Luffy chuckles and rubs a finger under his nose. The singer's face turns serious all of a sudden. He meets the gaze of everyone around him, until he lands on Whitebeard and Shanks. "Look. You may find it very hard to trust me, but you must believe that I mean you no harm. I brought this noble back for you to get rid of his memories. This island means a lot to my boss, and we don't want anymore tragedy to happen to it. So please, just accept my peace offering and leave it at that."

The two Yonko analyze the man. He doesn't feel like the type to be deceitful, his arguments seem to be truthful. Also, based off of his past experience with Luffy, he sounds like a kind sort, and anyone on Luffy's good check list is on Shanks's too. Whitebeard also appreciates the fact that he had helped Luffy in a time of dire need. He only wonders one thing.

"You must want something in return, what is it brat?" He asks. Singer guy waves his hands in denial.

"No, no, no!" He chuckles, like it's the funniest joke he's ever heard. "I don't want anything in return! Just let me deal with the marines when you finish mind wiping them."

"So you do want something." Thatch leers.

"It's entirely for your benefit! I get rid of them, you don't have to deal with them anymore. Plus, I think your time is running out." He says, tapping his watch. Yukio wraps his arms around his shaking form. He's exhausted - the amount of memories is too much for his body to handle. But if he has to fit in one more, so be it.

"He's not wrong. We won't have time to send them over to the nearest island." Yukio says, not breaking eye contact with their guest. "But I don't see how he can take them away in under an hour."

"Ah, that's the question isn't it? It's my devil fruit. I could go into details about it, but it's a little too complicated to explain right now. Maybe you can just call it, teleportation?" He tells them, making air quotation marks. Ace still looks skeptical. It's hard to trust this guy who is so full of secrets. But he's offering a way out, and Luffy trusts him. Is it really alright for them to just hand everything over to a complete stranger?

"Please giant-ossan! He's a great guy! You can trust him!" Luffy insists, giving Whitebeard puppy dog eyes. Whitebeard meets them head on, keeping a neutral expression.

"You're sure about this brat?" Luffy nods, completely serious.

"I am."

Whitebeard stares at Luffy for a little longer, then blinks at the singer guy.

"Alright then. We shall accept your help." The singer guy grins in victory.

"However, if you do anything to betray this group, you shall answer to me." He leans forward, casting an ominous shadow overhead.

"Shishishi he won't! Because he's a good guy!" Luffy says cheerily, bouncing around the man. The pirates' swallow their captain's decision, but can't help feeling wary. Shanks accepts him silently, keeping an eye out for any wrong moves. You can never be too careful around the unpredictable.

"Perfect! I'm glad we've come to an agreement!" Singer guy grins and bows with flourish. "You won't regret this."

"We better not..." Ace growls.

"I guess I'll start on him now." Yukio sighs, dropping down to his knees next to Outlook's body.

"Are you sure you're still up for this Yukio?" Shanks asks him, concerned for his health. Yukio nods, hovering his hands over the body.

"I will only require a nap and a bottle of sake afterwards." He jokes. Shanks smiles and pats him on the back. "I'll take care of everything..." Yukio's smile melts into a frown of concentration and he closes his eyes.

"Yukio," Ace says quietly, afraid to disturb him. Yukio merely hums in question. "Can you get rid of his memories of Luffy and I?" Yukio smirks.

"I said I'd take care of it, didn't I?" Ace smiles and steps back in line with his brother. He wraps his arms around Luffy's waist and rests his head on the teen's.

Yukio does his hand gestures and mumbles the opening words; Tsutsumimasu. As the familiar blue glow illuminates the clearing, Luffy leans back into Ace.

"Why didn't you ask him to take away his memories of Sabo?" He asks, turning his doe eyed gaze up to his brother's.

"Even if he forgot, his family wouldn't have. Besides, he must feel some guilt for Sabo's death. We shouldn't take that away from him. He deserves every ounce he gets." Ace snorts, burying his nose in Luffy's soft raven hair. Luffy focuses back on the ceremony, biting the inside of his cheek in thought.

"Shōsan sa semasu!" Yukio shouts. This time, when the blue light flows inside, Yukio doesn't seem nearly as pained. It takes only a few seconds for the memories to be removed. Luffy finds it kind of sad. Months, years worth of memories wiped out in a moment.

"All done." Yukio says. His complexion looks slightly paler, but he doesn't seem any worse off than before.

"Good. Now that this is done, I will be taking my souvenirs." The singer guy snaps his fingers, and suddenly every marine and noble disappears into thin air.

"Just like the ship." Calvin mumbles, tightening his grip on his telescope

.

"Where did you put them-yoi?" Marco asks.

"In their own comfy beds. Well, they will be there. For now, they are being held some place I am not inclined to tell you about." After a few glares from the crowd he chuckles nervously. "But there's no need to worry. When they wake up, they will believe the destruction here was caused by someone else entirely. That is, if they even bother caring about this incident in the future. It's more for the nobles who hope to make future purchases here. They will not want to come around here after the news is spread."

"And who exactly will be taking responsibility for this?" Yasopp asks, gesturing to everything - the collapsed building, burning patches of ground, rubble and blood everywhere you turn. Yukio chuckles mischievously.

"Why, the revolutionary army of course. We do this sort of thing all the time."

"You're from the revolutionary army?!" Thatch asks in disbelief. His question burns through the heads of everyone present.

"Yes, I am. Now, I would love to stay here and play a round of twenty questions with you all, but I've got to get going before my new guests wake up." He looks over to Luffy and winks. "See you later Luffy. Future King of the Pirates."

Not even a sound is made when he disappears. A small breeze flows through Luffy's hair and tickles Ace's nose, making him sneeze.

'Did I even tell him my name before?'

"Yo Luffy," says Haruta, looking nervous. Luffy blinks back to her in question. "I know you said you trust him, but will he really keep his word?"

"He will!" Luffy replies without an ounce of doubt. "Singer guy gave me food, and anyone who gives me food is a good guy." Everyone chuckles while Ace groans, shoving Luffy's giggling head to the side.

"Um Whitebeard-san?" Makino asks.

"Yes Makino?" The woman fiddles with the folds of her skirt.

"What happens now?"

The clearing falls into silence. All pirates and citizens stare up at Whitebeard expectantly.

"I think it's obvious." Shanks smirks knowingly. He slowly withdraws the bottle of sake from his pocket. Whitebeard nods, and a grin spreads across his face.

"We drink!"

Cheers erupt and people hug. Several pirates bring over sake from their ships and share them with everyone. The chefs prepare food for the ex-slaves which leaves them all in tears. Thatch would by lying if he said he didn't gain several girlfriends that night.

Anna and the nurses perform checkups on every pirate and Foosha citizen. They are happy to say that no one will be perishing anytime soon.

They party all night, chugging back sake and exchanging stories of adventure. Whitebeard offers to help with repairs and shelters until Foosha is back to being habitable. The citizens are beyond grateful and can't seem to stop thanking the pirates' all night.

The Red Hair pirates leave during the party, having affairs to do somewhere else. Shanks is confident that Luffy and the others are in good hands, and departs with a deep goodbye to everyone in the village (cough* Makino cough*). He tells them that if something else happens he will come rushing back to help, no matter what.

"Remember our promise Anchor." Shanks tells Luffy when they are alone on the dock. The small glittering waves swish against the wood.

"I'll never forget it!" Luffy says with a grand smile. Shanks grins and pulls Luffy in for a farewell hug.

"You've been through a lot, but I don't want you to go through any more of it alone, got it?" He asks, face buried in Luffy's shoulder.

"Who says he's going to be alone?" Ace snorts, approaching the pair. Shanks pulls away from Luffy and surprises Ace by puling him into his chest.

"Thank you for everything Ace. I couldn't feel more relaxed having you as Luffy's brother. You're his saviour, so I expect you'll take good care of him in the future." Ace smirks and steps back. He props his arm up on Luffy's head and leans over.

"Of course, he's walking and talking trouble. If I wasn't around he'd be a mess." Luffy whines and punches Ace's hip.

"Dumb Ace! I can beat you up!"

"No you can't, I'm the bigger brother. That means it's my job to be stronger than you." Ace says with a smirk, still putting his weight on Luffy's head.

"I'll show you!" Luffy yells, about to sock Ace. Shanks laughs at their banter then turns around with a fond smile.

"I'm gonna miss you two. See you in the big leagues."

The group parties long after Shanks departs. On the edge of the chaos stands Woop Slap, rubbing his aching forehead with a grimace.

"Pirates are all the same."

He leans on the shiny flagpole next to him. When nobody is looking, he slips a cigarette from his tattered jacket. He holds it over a burning patch of grass until it lights. He puts it in his mouth and then exhales with a heavy sigh.

The smoke rises in the moonlight until it circles the new flag waving boldly above him.

"Huh," Woop Slap hums dazedly. "The Whitebeard Jolly Roger suits this town better than I thought."

Line here

It is all over noble news. Their local slave market was completely destroyed, leaving nothing of value left. Apparently the revolutionary army is responsible, and the nobles are outraged how they always meddle on their affairs. With their anger focused on the rebels, Foosha is but a faraway thought in their stuck up minds, soon to be completely forgotten.

Garp reads the High Town newspaper in his office. It had taken a lot to acquire this artifact, but he managed by pulling a few strings.

The head line reads: "THE REVOLUTIONARIES STRIKE AGAIN!" That is really the only thing Garp wants to read in the paper. All of the articles are extremely bias and only talk about the one thing nobles care about- themselves.

Garp picks up his den den mushi and dials his son's number. He knows it won't take nearly as long to contact him like before, and is proved right when the receiver is picked up.

"I take it you've heard." Dragon deadpans.

"Yes, and thank you for freeing them." Garp says, relief creeping into his voice.

"Don't thank me for anything. It's your job to make it up to your grandsons."

Garp grunts, but smiles, knowing that not all hope is lost.

Line here

3 weeks later...

Rebuilding the village was a fast process. Everyone helped out with clearing out debris, and reconstruction. Even their prized windmills were repaired after they were obliterated by Akainu's attacks.

No one has wandered back down to Foosha for any reason whatsoever. The revolutionary army did a good job of keeping the nobles away like the plague.

But now it is time to leave, after all that they've been through together.

The village sheds tears as the pirates' they've made friends with board their ship to leave for a very very long time. The pirates' stand at the stern, waving wildly even though they still haven't departed. Down below on the docks stands Whitebeard, Marco and Ace. The village is all clumped together in front of them, with Luffy, Makino and Woop Slap in front.

"I know you've definitely heard this a million times these past few weeks, but I thank you. For helping us rebuild our village, and offering us protection." Woop Slap says, gesturing to the Whitebeard Jolly Roger.

"It's nothing-yoi." Marco says when his captain remains oddly silent. "We've come to like this village. It's a nice break from the havoc of the Grand Line."

"I see, but you are welcome to visit anytime!" Woop Slap exclaims, grinning. Marco smiles back, then nudges his captain. Whitebeard snaps out of the trance he had fallen into and laughs sheepishly.

"Gurararara! Of course!" He says amusedly, but it falters.

"Pops?" Ace asks. The fire user looks a little distressed, but not just from his captain's weirdness.

"Is there something on your mind-yoi?"

Whitebeard lips stretch into a firm line. His gaze settles across the group until it lands on Luffy, who looks utterly clueless.

"Brat, are you happy here?" Whitebeard asks. Luffy blinks, then shrugs.

"I mean yeah, it's fine here."

"But are you happy? I know you must have gone on quite the adventure to find us, are you sure you can live without it after such a taste?"

"What are you getting at pops?" Ace asks, a hopeful gleam in his eye. Whitebeard sighs, and stares at Luffy.

Luffy feels the gaze pierce through his skin, through his being. He knows exactly what Whitebeard is going to ask, and he knows his answer.

Adventure never escapes Monkey D. Luffy.

"Do you want to become one of my son's brat?"

THE END

I was gonna do a small little insert of Luffy with his crew later, but the ending just wouldn't be as smooth as I want it.

Tsutsumimasu = envelop

Shōsan sa semasu = dissipate

Replies to reviews:

phonenix: Haha hope you enjoyed Shank's reaction here! The update took exactly half a month, so here's your early chapter!

SEllen23: Thank you so much !

RedHeadsRock1010: Np! Happy to provide, :)

INQ8448: Having two makes everything complicated doesn't it? Glad you liked the chapter!

Shizuka-naru Goketsu: YES!

Khairunicorn: Daw thanks for the support 3

Kurogitsune Yue: You make me smile when you said that haha, hope you enjoyed this final chapter!

Pikachu-naruto1: Thanks sm! Happy you enjoyed last chapter!

: hehe I made sure to (hopefully?) answer all your questions in this final chapter, and thanks for leaving a long review!

RasalynnLynx: Hey! You got the revolutionary/Garp thing exactly right! Haha thanks for giving such an awesome review, and reading my story!

DarkkingMB: Aww thank you so much!

Bibliophile030: Ugh school was horrible, but thankfully I got to end it with a bang (last chapter). Thanks for leaving a pool cool review and I hope you liked this chapter!

CrazyChris88: Getting worked up about my story? I totally didn't smile like an idiot..no…anyway, thanks for such an awesome review and being a fan of my story. It means a whole lot!

Darth Zanitos: Thank you! And yes, this chapter was officially the longest with over 17,000 words!

HannokiKaen: You made me laugh with this review (Ace is my fav) so I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

missNOBODYa. k. aKIDcRaXy: Thank you thank you! My goal is an emotional train ride, so I'm glad it turned out that way heh

annabeth lopez: Here you go!

Blackthorn Ashe: What?! You don't like cliffhangers? Here I thought everyone liked them…(snickers mischeviously). No, Luffy isn't getting his arm back, sorry! But that don't mean Franky can't build him some awesome ass robot arm, (*cough* hint for potential extra chapter *cough). But seriously thanks for the awesome review!

mutteringsandramblings: Thanks yo! Hope you liked it!

Guest(One that likes the story): Thanks! Here's your chapter!

Absolutedespair: No! Your excitedness is totally awesome yo! Your enthusiasm makes me rly happy and I'm really glad you like this story so much!

Starelight: Thank you! 3 Love your awesome possum support, rly rly hope you liked this last chapter!

Guest(one who can't wait): Thanks sm!

LittleMissInsomnia: Cliff-hangers are great tho, sigh. Haha thanks for the review!

Aqua468: YAY YOU APPRECIATE CLIFFHANGERS (launches a confetti canon) Thanks for the awesome support, you're da bomb. com!

Guest (one that said LUUUUV): Thanks man!

Lightningblade49: I don't know about the pregnant thing, but thanks for reading!

Mariachanne: Haha yes he was…

King-Elsa: Thank you! I'm glad the last chapt made you feel better!

Patriota1993: HERE

NeoZero13: well here you go! Hope you like it!

Poemado: Hope it amounted to your expectations, thanks for the review!

Guest ( one who pointed out Anna): I guess I should have specified if she was a doctor or a nurse, but she's the one who does all the medical crap on the ship, so I guess it's up to you. (Even tho there is a difference, I have a doctor and a nurse in my fam geez). But thanks for the review!

BlueMoonChaos: Yeah it did lolz, hope you liked this chapt!

XxHeartMenderzxX: Same here! We have the exact same preference of stories lolz. Thanks for the awesome review and I hope you liked this final chapter!

Kagome11: Daw thanks !

ScarletRoofs: I'm glad I could draw out an emotional reaction lolz, thanks for the review!

Cotton Candy Lover – Chopper: I love when my heart starts aching when I read a story, it really gets me into it (I don't know if I feel the same about the farting thing, but I guess we're all different). And yes, you are one of my favs, so I hope you like this last chapter !

Guest ( one that says AUTHOR-SAMAAAAA): AWWWW THANKS SO MUCH! You make me smile so much 3! So happy you like this chapter!

Dreamwalkerlisa: Um, cause they're the best?

Bakahime123: You were right, so in this chapter I added in little snippets of Luffy getting medication and such. I'm not an expert on these med things, but you're right. So hopefully his recovery makes more sense this chapter.

Luffsd: Thank you soooo much for such a nice review!

ImWritingPeper: Aww that makes me so happy! THANK YOU THANK YOU! ! !

Yumekoi: Thank you sm!

Axxit: I don't know where to start, you made me smile so much. I'm really supercalafredgilisticespeealydoshusly happy you like this story and support it! Hopefully you like this last chapter!

Tenebreyami: Actually writing Shanks in here was not too hard at all, and it actually jazzed the story up a zillion times more, so I'm super duper glad I did it! Thanks doe for the awesome review!

Muffin2234: Thanks yo!

Ginshi-chan: They did go fairly well thanks! (Science was the bomb) I'm glad you came around on this story, it makes me rlz happy!

Flappycat03: No, this story wasn't meant to be very long from the beginning. Plus I didn't want to drag it out.

Guest (One that said Oh~~) : Cliffs are not stupid! (*pouts) Thanks for the review and hope you liked this chapter!

Natieland: Haha this is an awesome review ! Thanks so much and please enjoy this final chapter, my great reviewer,

Ladeeda: Same here, I don't care much when romance pushes its way forward ( like it on the side) and omg I will never kill off Ace in a story, once is too much. But thanks for the nice review!

Myanimeobsession: Yeah he was, thanks for the review!

Squee: HAHA YOU KILL ME! SQUEE? YOU'RE TOO FUNNY! (clears throat) Anyway, thanks for being an awesome reviewer! You're super nice and I hope you enjoyed this final chapter!

Tanokuya: I use Oda as a substitute for god because he is the creator of the One Piece world, so he is God. Hopefully that doesn't get in the way of you enjoying the story.

Clic: Thanks sm!

ILearnedItFromThePizzaMan: Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter!

LongPastMidnight: Cliff-hangers are great! They keep you wanting more mwahahaha! Thanks for being so enthralled by this story, and for leaving such a nice review!

Yuzukikuran476: Ha ha, this was the last update, but I hope you liked it!

xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx: Thanks man!

Wolf Riddle: Thanks! Your review is so awesome and I'm so happy you like this story!

Liveinaqua: Yay tears! Hope you liked the Shanks reaction!

Nelliplier48: Lolz, the neighbours thing made me laugh. But that idea you had is rly rly cool! Sometimes when I read a fic too I dream about it, it's kind of odd but cool at the same time. Thanks for the great review yo!

(Quick snack break, 35 more to go!)

xXQwenStacyXx: Holy crap my eyes popped out of their sockets seeing the length of this review! Haha that's so funny that you almost missed school, it happens to me all the time and I almost miss the bus pretty much every day! I love putting the bonding parts between Luffy and Marco, I just love the type of relationship they can have! I know what you mean by Mary Sue with OC's, I feel the exact same way. That's why I hardly read OC fics, I just end up cringing inside sometimes. So hearing you say that I did an okay job with Anna made me rly relieved! Thanks! Long live angst! Haha, you shouldn't even feel guilty for liking more pain, because it leads to more brother bonding (and that's the best). In this story, it's just Whitebeard and Marco (don't forget Luffy) who know Ace's heritage. He's still sort of struggling with it, but definitely not as much now that his captain accepts him for who he is. Yup, the marines couldn't do crap against two Yonkos, and Shanks is just so awesome I had to make the two captains pair up against Akainu. I didn't write Shanks and Makino together together, but I gave Shanks a little crush on her instead. Thanks for the amazingly long review and I hope you liked this chapter!

asldork: Thanks so much! This made me smile so much!

Arxhaelologist: Thanks sm! Hope you liked this chapter!

Enixfairy: That story is…oh my gawd what? It made me laugh what the hell ha ha ha, but thanks for the nice review and I hope you liked this finale chapter!

Yumi-nachan: No sabo did not appear in this story, but I hope you enjoyed this last chapter!

Xcruze: Thanks a lot!

MysticWaterWolf: I love that little irritation Marco has with Shanks, it's so funny! Thanks for the review!

Zeynab: That is so weird, but how cold is it there? I can't imagine it being too cold in Australia (not saying I'm some expert or anything, just curious). Thanks for loving this story, it makes me so flipping happy!

Lily98: Here you go!

OnePieceDoesExist: CLIFFHANGERS ARE GREAT. Lolz, hope you enjoyed this story!

OctaveTea: Thank you so much, you're really sweet!

Trickster Madness: WOOOOOOOT

Guest(one that says it just keeps getting better): Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter!

Alexzandria747: I laughed at the beginning of this review. I love how you said it would be great if Shanks saved Makino, but the opposite actually happened ha ha. Thank you so much for reading my story!

Angelshalo03: *blinks in bewilderment* oh my. But I understand where you're coming from, that's exactly what I did after I watched the episode of Sabo. But thanks for the long/awesome review! Keep on reading!

Rion-rion: Aw thanks a whole lotta ton for this review! Luffy's been outta Foosha for about a month or so, maybe a bit more.

Guest(one that refreshes every week): Really? Thanks!

Paink1ller: HERE YA GOOOOOO

StarliteOracle: me too yo.

NonchalantxFish: Thanks!

Tanree: Thank you so so much!

Everlight18: Thank you! My summer is pretty good so far thanks for asking! Pfft, leave a review whenever you wanna! But thanks for the review and I hope you liked the chapter!

Reader: Here's the chapter, posted in half a month!

Peppymint: Thank you!

Senteur Canelle: Thank you so much for saying such nice things about my story! I'm happy to know this story makes you feel better, and I hope the tough times get easier!

Lostdog200: Np! Hope you liked the chapter!

Little. Didith: It's my pleasure to make you an emotional mess, thanks for reading!

RedRain19: Sorry no Sabo, but I still hope you like the story!

LuffyLover27: Here ya go! And thank you!

Guest (one that read Kidnapped): I'm sad you didn't read after the explosion! It's great that I made you cry, it means I'm doing my job right :)

CherryBlossomVehicles: No, he isn't appearing, but thank you for reviewing!

Fandxms: Oh my Bill Nye

Lunaxel: Thank goodness you found your dog, but thanks for reading the story, I really appreciate it!

Chitzuki Kurenai; Thanks!

Deathe: True dat, oh Luffy you rascal.

I may end up making a small epilogue chapter after this with some interaction with Luffy's crew and such, so who knows.

Anyway, thanks again to anyone who supported this story. I only meant to make this short little story, but it turned into something bigger than I thought. You guys are the best!

I'm starting a new story involving ASL about superheroes and powers and such. So stay tuned for that!

See you in another fic,

-UnicornsThatGamble