Luffy ran around the deck of the ship, mad giggling passing from his lips. Whitebeard watched this in amusement. The kid had been just fine, eating enough for twenty men, and then suddenly he spazzed out and started the running and giggling. Whitebeard saw Thatch running towards him, a guilty look on his face. "I'm so sorry Oyaji! I didn't think one piece of candy would do this to him!" he said.

Whitebeard just laughed and got Luffy's attention. "Come here brat. We have business to talk about." He said.

Luffy ran over to him, and jumped onto Whitebeard's lap. "I'm listening." He said. He wiggled a bit, too much energy.

"So. I propose that you join my crew until the time when you leave to form your own. That way we could keep you from getting a bounty easier than if it's just you and your brother. We would also feed you lots of good food. Besides, you could learn more about the water fighting, and see some more of the New World." Whitebeard said. He watched the kid's expression. The boy looked interested.

Luffy thought about it. It sounded good, but he'd have to talk to Ace. "It would be three years, and I'll only agree if Ace agrees. He can't sail alone." Luffy said, then he passed out. Whitebeard looked down at the sleeping kid sprawled out on his leg, snoring without care. His mind thought over what the boy had said. Why couldn't his brother sale alone? He hadn't noticed anything that would prohibit the man from being alone, but he didn't know everything.

Down in sick bay Ace woke up, and reached out his senses, and tried to find Lu, but couldn't find him. So he was either sleeping or he wasn't where ever Ace was. He could feel rolling beneath him, so he knew that he was on a ship, but it wasn't his. He sat up and started clicking. He moved quickly through the ship, until he got on deck. He clicked as he walked around the deck. Finally he moved towards the immensely strong presence he could feel.

He stopped at the base of what sounded like a large chair. He tried to sense Luffy again, and he looked around, but he couldn't find him. He frowned, a small sound of frustration escaped him.

Whitebeard watched as the freckled boy looked around for something, and couldn't seem to find it. "What are you looking for?" he asked the freckle faced man.

Ace sighed, and turned to face Whitebeard, his blind eyes automatically going to where the voice had come from, "My brother. Where is he?" Ace asked. "Either he's not on this ship, or he is sleeping. I can't sense him when he is sleeping and around strong presences." He explained.

Whitebeard suddenly understood what Luffy had been talking about earlier. The boy was blind. He couldn't navigate on his own. "He's sleeping on my lap. We were having a business talk and he fell asleep." Whitebeard said.

Ace clicked his way over to Whitebeard's leg, and climbed up. He sat down and turned his attention towards the man's face. "What were you discussing?" he asked. He wondered how this encounter might have gone if he still hated his father. He probably would have tried to kill the old man. He knew himself, after all. It wasn't that he trusted the man, but he didn't hate him on principle at least.

He sat patiently and listened to Whitebeard. It was an interesting proposal, but he didn't know if he should take it. He heard Luffy waking up. And he turned towards the sound. "Luffy. What do you think of the old man's proposal?" he asked.

Luffy stretched and yawned. He looked at his brother, and smiled, even though the man couldn't see him. "I think that it is a good idea. Then I would be okay with leaving you in three years when I start my own adventure. Plus, the old man said that he could keep me from getting a bounty. I believe him." Luffy said, then stretched his hands toward his brother, and shot himself into his arms.

Ace smiled slightly, and hugged him. He knew that Lu was a good judge of character, so he turned to Whitebeard, "I'll take your deal." He said, "And I'll become your son, but there is something that I need to tell you first."

Luffy ran his fingers through Ace's hair in a calming manner.

Whitebeard watched as the two brothers interacted. It was sweet, and he just knew that these two were going to fit in with his other sons, no matter what Ace had to say. He watched as Ace closed his eyes, and blew out a breath. "I'm Gol D Roger's son." Ace said quietly.

Whitebeard nodded, that's exactly what he'd thou- what? He stared at the freckled boy, "Really? Hm, so the brat had a child after all. Well, welcome to the family son. You too brat." He said.

Luffy grinned, "I'll only be your son for three years." He said. Whitebeard laughed, and Ace did too. He had accepted his father, but it was great that this man had as well. "Well… now that that's all figured out. Ace! I learned that water fighting from the fish guy! You learned it too right?" Luffy said.

Ace nodded, "Yeah. When he used it, the energy around me did weird things. I figured I'd pay extra close attention. I haven't had a chance to actually try it out in order to see if I can do it." He said. He knew how the motions worked, and he knew how the energy built up, but he knew that it took more than mechanical knowledge to fight. He jumped off of Whitebeard's lap, and Lu followed.

Whitebeard was busy watching them when Jinbei stepped beside him, "Where did they learn that?" he asked the Yonko.

"From you." The old man said simply.

The fishman looked up at the old man in surprise, "What? But we only met three days ago, and I didn't teach, I fought." The Shichibukai said.

Whitebeard laughed, "Those two are something, but that blind one is something else entirely. He is blind, but much stronger than his brother. His brother even has a devil fruit! Give them a bit and I have no doubt that they will become stronger than us." He said.

Jinbei couldn't say anything. The blind boy was already stronger than him.