Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Only my OCs are mine.

Chapter 1: Arrival at the Mystery Island

Time: The Year 1522 AOP (Age of Pirates)
Location: Somewhere in the Grand Line, between Drum Island and Alabasta

"Well, it's safe to say the Kestia's virus is officially out of your system, Nami!" Chopper said, putting away his tools. "You are 100% disease free!"

"That's a relief," Nami said, getting off Chopper's 'examination table' (it was actually a table made of old crates. They would get a proper one later). "Thanks Chopper, you're a great doctor."

"S-shut up!" the little doctor stammered, wiggling happily. "I didn't do anything, it was Doctorine's medicine that cured you! I just helped you through the final stages of your recovery! Don't think complimenting me will make me happy, moron!"

You look happy to me, Nami thought with a sweatdrop. Oh well. She supposed this would just be one quirk about the crew's new doctor that she would have to get used to.

Stretching her arms, Nami left the 'sick bay' (actually just a spare room on the ship they decided to give to Chopper) with the little doctor in tow. They had left Drum Island only two days earlier. They still had a few more days before they arrived in Alabasta, so Nami wanted to be sure she was completely healthy now. She couldn't help Vivi if she was still sick, now could she?

Nami opened the door leading out to the main deck. "Guess what, everyone! Your navigator is now one hundred percent healthy!"

"That's wonderful, Nami!" Vivi said, clapping her hands together. She was sitting at the deck table, and Sanji had been setting down her morning drink.

"Nami-swaaaan~!" Sanji sang, mellorine-ing his way over to her. "I'm so happy you've returned to complete health! I hope we never have to go through such a trial ever again!"

"Sanji, stop dancing around!" Chopper scolded him. "Your back is still healing! You need to take it easy!"

The scolding would have had a much stronger effect if Chopper hadn't been hiding the wrong way behind the mast while saying it.

"... Isn't that backwards?" Sanji commented.

Chopper's eyes widened a little, then he corrected himself so that just his eye was visible.

"Better, but I can still see you."

Nami and Vivi shared a glance. It looked like Chopper was still nervous around Sanji. Not surprising, considering the chef had wanted to turn him into venison stew.

"Nami's completely better?" Luffy piped up. He was currently riding around the deck on Carue's back, playing a version of tag with Usopp. "Yosh! Then let's set course for Alabasta!"

"Quaawww!" Carue added in agreement.

"We're already on course for Alabasta, you dummy," Usopp reminded him. "And I don't see why you're so excited. Have you forgotten that a warlord is after us?"

"Yeah, I know!" Luffy said eagerly. "I can't wait to see how strong he is."

"You may have a death wish, but I want live as long as physically possible. I'm only going to help Vivi stop the revolution, that's it. I'll leave all the crazy fighting to monsters like you and Zoro."

"Really? Thanks, Usopp!"

"Usopp, you don't have to worry about Crocodile," Nami huffed. "He doesn't know what you, Sanji, or Chopper look like."

"In fact, the crew doesn't have to worry about him period," Sanji added. "Thanks to my efforts on Little Garden, the Straw Hat Pirates are dead as far as Crocodile's concerned."

"Yeah, that'll last," a voice scoffed from the crow's nest.

"SHUT UP, MOSSHEAD!"

"I'm afraid Mr. Bushido's right, Sanji," Vivi said before the fight could take off. "Mr. 0 didn't get this powerful by being a fool. It's only a matter of time before he figures out we're still alive."

A bitter truth, but one the crew would have to accept. Underestimating a warlord was never a good idea if you planned to live a long life. After all, Zoro did just that and nearly got cut in half for his efforts.

Chopper looked at his new crewmates, confused. "What do you all mean? What's a crocodile have to do with anything? Who's Mr. 0?"

It was then the crew realized they had yet to inform Chopper that the ship he joined held four people with hits out on them. Luffy had had to constantly badger him to get him to fulfill his dream of being a pirate, and they didn't want to scare the little reindeer so early on his journey.

"Uh, Tony... well, you see..." Vivi began.

"Oi, Nami!" Zoro shouted down from the crow's nest, thankfully saving the princess from an awkward explanation.

"What is it, Zoro?" Nami called back.

"You said we're not supposed to be reaching Alabasta for several more days, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. Why do you ask?"

"Then what's that big island-shaped blotch in the distance off the port side?"

Nami's eyes widened, and she immediately ran for the port side of the Merry, grabbing the telescope Usopp held out as she ran past him. Once there, she peered through the eyeglass and sure enough, there was an island-shaped blotch in the distance. With the telescope, she could see that it was more than just a blotch, but an actual island, covered in fog.

"That... that island wasn't there before," Nami stammered. She turned to Vivi. "Vivi, are there supposed to any islands in this part of the Grand Line?"

Vivi shook her head. "No, at least not according to maps I've seen. It's supposed to be just open sea."

"Then where did that island come from?" Zoro asked, having jumped down from the crow's nest.

"How the heck should I know?! Islands don't just appear out of nowhere!" Nami checked her wrist log pose. "The log isn't even pointing at it!"

"Cool!" Luffy exclaimed. "A mystery island! Nami, let's go explore it!"

"No way, Luffy!" Usopp argued. "We don't know what's on that island! It's unnatural! For all we know it could be haunted!"

"A haunted island?" Chopper echoed, having forgotten about his previous questions. "I didn't know there were islands that were haunted! What are those like, Usopp?"

Usopp demeanor instantly morphed from a cowardly one to a cocky one. "They are islands where ghosts rule and the living dead walk free. I remember having conquered an entire chain of haunted islands, back when I was only five years old..."

"WOW, REALLY?" Chopper and Luffy gasped in awe.

"If you conquered a chain of haunted islands when you were five, then why are you so scared to go to one as a..." Nami began. She paused. "... Uh, how old are you?"

"ARE YOU SAYING WE'VE BEEN TRAVELING TOGETHER FOR THIS LONG AND YOU'VE NEVER BOTHERED TO LEARN MY AGE?!" the sniper hollered.

"Considering everything that's happened to us ever since we joined the crew, it never really came up," she admitted.

"I'm seventeen!" Usopp hollered.

"So am I!" Luffy added.

"I'm nineteen, if anyone's curious," Sanji spoke up.

"I'm eighteen," Nami sighed.

"I'm sixteen," Vivi said.

"I'm pretty sure I'm fifteen," Chopper said.

Carue quacked his response, but no one was really paying attention to him. Everyone was looking at Zoro.

"What?" the swordsman asked.

"Everyone else said how old they are," Luffy explained. "Now it's your turn."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "If it's that important to you, I'm nineteen years old. Just like the love cook."

"Seriously?!" Vivi said in shock. "I thought you were older than that!"

"How old did you think I was?"

"I thought you were twenty five, at least!"

"Twenty five?!"

"Zoro does have an older-looking face," Nami noted.

"Shut up, woman!" Zoro snapped.

"Wait, you're the same age as me?" Sanji asked. "When's your birthday?"

"Didn't know you cared, Cook."

"Just answer the question, Mosshead!"

"November 11th."

A smirk spread across the cook's face. "Mine is March 2nd."

The crew's jaws dropped. Zoro, the bulkier, taller, older-looking one of the two constant clashers, was actually the younger one?

Zoro scowled. "Shut up."

Sanji's only continued to smirk. "Is that anyway to speak to your elders?"

"I said shut up, ero-cook!"

"Maybe I should have you start calling me Sanji-sempai."

"In your dreams, you curly freak!"

"What did you just call me?!"

The girl's sweatdropped as another Sanji/Zoro fight began.

"Anything will get those two in argument, huh?" Vivi said with a sigh.

"I can only hope they'll grow out of it soon," Nami grumbled. "This is getting old."

Nami was so busy muttering, that she didn't notice Zoro had suddenly stopped his arguing and had walked to the rail.

"Hey, where are you going?" Sanji demanded.

Zoro didn't answer. He looked over the side of the boat, then at Nami. "Hey, Nami, did you alter our course at all?"

"Of course not," Nami replied.

Zoro frowned. "Then why have we suddenly picked up speed, and why are we suddenly sailing directly toward that mystery island?"

At his words, everyone's heads snapped towards the front of the Merry. They were now heading directly toward the mystery island, and said island was now very, very close.

Oh no! Nami thought. I was distracted by that stupid age discussion, and we've completely gone off course! "Sanji, Chopper, take the helm! We need to make a 90 degree turn, now!"

Sanji gleefully agreed and ran into the galley, followed closely by Heavy Point Chopper. Nami tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the lurch of a ship making a sudden turn. When nothing happened for several minutes, she lost her patience.

"Sanji, Chopper, what's taking so long?!" she hollered.

Chopper stuck his head out of the doorway. "We're pushing as hard as we can, but the rudder won't budge!"

"Push the rudder harder, then!"

"If we do that, it'll break!" came Sanji's voice from within the galley. "It's just like when were going up Reverse Mountain!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Nami wailed. "How did we get stuck in a super current?!"

"I did warn you about the unpredictability of the Grand Line," Vivi reminded her.

Nami shot her a dirty look and Vivi decided now would be a good time to stay silent. She took a few steps back and sat down next to Carue.

"Looks like we're going to the mystery island after all," Luffy said happily, sitting down on his 'special seat.' "Shishishi, this going to be so much fun!"

"Only you would call getting trapped in a freakishly strong current and being forced toward a haunted island 'fun,' Luffy," Usopp said darkly.

"You said that the living dead were on haunted islands, right?" the rubber captain asked. "Does that mean zombies?"

"Luffy, what are you thinking...?" Usopp asked worriedly.

"Well, think about what it would be like to have a zombie on the crew. That would be so awesome!"

"WE'RE NOT INVITING A MEMBER OF THE LIVING DEAD TO JOIN THIS CREW!" Nami screeched.

"But what if he also just happens to be... a musician," Luffy offered. "We still need one, after all."

"Fine Luffy," Zoro said, wanting to put this dumb conversation to an end. "If we find one of the undead who just happens to be a musician, we'll take him into consideration."

"Yosh! Thanks, Zoro!"

Sanji and Chopper, who was back in Brain Point, stepped back out onto the deck.

"Sorry Nami, I was unable to get the rudder to move without running the risk of breaking it in half," Sanji apologized. "Looks like we're going to that island whether we want to or not."

"Dang it," Nami said through grit teeth. She turned to Vivi. "Sorry, Vivi. It appears we're making a slight detour."

Vivi waved it off while stroking a nervous Carue's feathers. "It's alright. It's not like you can control the currents. But look on the bright side; maybe we'll be able to find some food supplies there."

"Great thinking, my beautiful Vivi!" Sanji swooned.

"Unless it's overrun by ghosts and zombies," Chopper said fearfully, hiding- once again the wrong way- behind the mast.

Nami made a mental note to smack Usopp later. He needed to find a filter for his stories.

"One haunted island is no match for the Great Captain Usopp!" Usopp declared, though he was sweating profusely. "Bring it on!"

"I've never fought zombies before," Zoro commented. He grinned wickedly. "Sounds like it would be interesting."

It was settled. For better or worse, the Straw Hat Pirates would be visiting the mystery- and possibly haunted- island.

"We're about to enter the fog!" Luffy announced from the Merry's figurehead.

The Going Merry did just that, entering the thick fog surrounding the island. If an outsider had been watching, they would have seen the charming ship appear to be swallowed up by the fog, vanishing without so much as trace.

Time: Undetermined
Location: Kāla

Siobhan picked at the small pile of fruit someone had shoved through the bars of her cage that morning. Well, at least they weren't trying to starve her or anything.

"Now, if they would only let me out of this cage," she said to herself.

Erity, Yari, Runo, Boss, and their men were off looking for the treasure. They'd left Vaughan on 'babysitting' duty, and you didn't have to be a genius to see he wasn't entirely thrilled about it. Still, he was man enough to keep his emotions in check and was currently passing the time by cleaning his weapon.

"So, how long do you plan to stay here?" Siobhan asked conversationally.

"As long as necessary," Vaughan replied, not even bothering to look up at her. "If you're attempting small talk, you're not doing a very good job of it."

"Can you blame me? This cage is boring."

"Next time don't bite our boss five times."

Siobhan stuck out her lip in a pouty way. That jerk deserved to get bitten, and she had a feeling Vaughan agreed with her on the issue. He was just sticking to his role as the hired help by not forming any opinions.

All of sudden, Siobhan felt a chill run down her spine. She involuntarily gasped, causing Vaughan to look at her.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

Siobhan shook off the chill and smiled. "Oh, nothing is wrong. Just a slight shiver down my spine. It's not anything you need to be concerned about."

Vaughan's expression said he sincerely doubted that, but he didn't question her further and returned to his work. Once his eyes were away from her, Siobhan stood up and gazed in the direction she knew the beach was in.

The others have entered the Fog, she thought. Now, let's see if we'll be having some of the 'fun' Blood Eyes was talking about.

Time: Undetermined
Location: The Fog

The Straw Hats stood on deck, letting the strong current guide their ship. One would suspect they'd be worried about all the thick fog around them, seeing as it meant they wouldn't be able to see any obstacles ahead of them or when they would crash against the shore.

Surprisingly, they weren't worried. They were focused on the fog, mind you, but not in the way you would expect.

It wasn't normal fog. Normal fog was dark and gray. This fog was dark and gray as well, but within it, there were occasional bursts of color. Blues, greens, and pinks swirled with the mist, lighting up the deck with each flash. It was a sight to behold.

"So cool," Luffy said in a breathy tone. "Rainbow fog!"

"It's beautiful," Vivi agreed.

"I consider myself something of a weather expert, and I've never seen fog like this," Nami observed.

Some of the fog near Usopp lit up, and, curious, he ran his hand through it.

"-ALWAYS BEEN NEGATIVE!"

"ARGHH!" Usopp squealed, stumbling backward.

"Usopp!" Chopper shouted, running to his crewmate's side. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"G-g-g-ghost!" Usopp stammered out. "I touched some of the lit up fog and heard the voice of a ghost!"

"SERIOUSLY?!" Chopper and Luffy gasped.

"Is this another lie?" Sanji asked, lighting a cigarette. "If so, it's not funny."

"I'm serious!" Usopp insisted. "You try, if you don't believe me!"

There was no need, though. As they got deeper into the fog, the more frequent the bursts of color were. Soon, the colors enveloped the Going Merry entirely.

"Does any else hear... voices?" Zoro asked.

"We're all touching the colors now," Vivi pointed out. "If Usopp's correct..."

"This rainbow fog let's us hear ghosts?" Luffy asked. "That's amazing! I bet ghost's have some cool things to say! Let's listen!"

That suggestion was so unlike Luffy, the crew actually followed it. As the ship sailed further, the voices got louder but there were parts here and there they couldn't decipher. At first, the voices were condescending and grated on the crew's nerves.

"...you're weak and you have no pride..."

"...except for your immunity to lightning, you're nothing more than a powerless..."

"...and let the desert sands bury you!"

Sanji reacted to that last one. "I know that voice. That's the man I talked to on the transponder snail on Little Garden- Mr. 0."

"Crocodile's a ghost already?" Luffy said. He frowned. "That's just great. How can I fight him if he's a ghost?"

"I'm pretty sure Crocodile's not a ghost," Vivi assured him. "Guys, I don't think it's ghosts we're hearing."

The voices continued to become more loud and, well, vocal. But at least their tones were changing, even if they didn't make any sense.

"...wouldn't let me die..."

"...I'm a romantic, just like...!"

"...what's the point of having power if..."

"...one hell of a roll this week..."

"...although I have no stomach..."

"...you promised that... even if someone was shot before your eyes..."

Nami gasped. "Hatchan?"

"Who's Hatchan?" Sanji asked.

"He was that octopus swordsman in Arlong's crew. Zoro beat him, I think."

"I remember him," Zoro nodded. "I'm pretty sure I didn't kill him, so we wouldn't be hearing his voice if these really are ghosts. Vivi's right, these voices are something else."

The voices intensified, and started to become more familiar.

"...existing is not a crime..."

"...good boy! Laboon...!"

"...WANT TO LIVE! TAKE ME WITH YOU...!"

Vivi frowned. That voice sounded awfully familiar... but at the same time, incredibly sad.

"...WHAT MAKES YOU GOD...?!"

Luffy startled slightly. That was his voice.

"...be a more reliable man...!"

Chopper shivered. What was his voice...?

"... flighty! What about how others feel...?"

"That sounded like me!" Nami shouted.

"...born to love ladies, not be friends with...!"

Sanji breathed hard on his cigarette. What was going on?

"...THIS PLACE ISN'T HELL...!"

Usopp couldn't help but think how odd his voice sounded. Was it possible to sound so brave and so afraid at the same time?

"...can't even protect my captain, then my ambition is..."

Zoro gripped one of his swords' hilts. What was his voice saying about not protecting his captain?

This was wrong. Why were they hearing their own voices in the fog, saying things that didn't make sense? It was creepy and they wanted it to stop.

"...worried about his bumbling kid brother..." another voice broke in. It was a new one. The voice was warm, and sounded lighthearted as opposed to the previous serious tones they had been hearing. It was a pleasant switch, and stood out amongst all the other voices speaking.

Luffy's eyes widened. He knew that voice... what was it doing in the mystery fog?

"...the top, you and me...!"

"Ace?" Luffy asked aloud. "Is that you?"

"Ace?" Zoro repeated. "Who's Ace?"

Luffy didn't answer. He kept listening.

"...no right to interfere...!"

"...You never change..."

"...THIS ERA IS...!"

"...can't even let you save..."

Luffy frowned. Ace's tone had changed. It sounded strong, and yet... weak. A word he had never associated with his brother. It was almost as if... it sounded like Ace was giving up.

"...it good I was born? All I wanted..."

The Straw Hats were all frowning now. Save for Luffy, they didn't know who was speaking, but what kind of person asked if it was good they had been born?

Luffy was getting anxious. Just what was Ace's voice saying?

"...so worthless... even though I carry the blood of a demon..."

Luffy leaned forward on his special seat.

"...thank you..." the voice choked, as if he were on his last legs. "...for-"

The fog suddenly cleared, and all the voices immediately faded away. The sun shone brightly and the sky was a magnificent shade of blue. Not that the crew could appreciate it, due to their captain's yelling.

The moment the voices vanished, Luffy had jumped to his feet, narrowly avoiding stumbling off the Merry's figurehead. "Thank you for what?! Come on Ace, what were going to say?! Who were you thanking?! Ace! Answer me, damn it! ACE!"

"Luffy!" Sanji called out.

"WHAT?!" Luffy shouted back. His face looked a little scary.

Sanji flinched, before pointing ahead. "We've arrived."

Luffy turned and saw that the current had stopped pushing the ship only a few feet in the water away from the island. Now that the fog was gone, he could see it clearly. It had a large beach with pink-colored sand, and big strange trees that looked like the jungle back on Dawn Island. The boy's face broke into a big grin.

"Whoa, pink sand? And look at the size of those trees!" Luffy exclaimed. He turned to his crew. "Hey Chopper, Usopp, let's see if we can climb one! I think I saw some coconuts on one of them, we could- what are you guys all staring at?"

The crew was staring in the opposite direction of the strange beach, towards the fog. Though they had literally just left it, the fog was at least a full kilometer away now.

"How'd it get so far away so quickly?!" Usopp said, incredulous. "We're were completely surrounded by it only a second ago!"

"With the mystery island, super current, colored fog, and disembodied voices that sound like us, nothing surprises me at this point," Nami groaned in defeat. "Let's just pack some supplies and leave before we all go completely insane."

"Yeah, let's find some meat!" Luffy agreed. "Meat on the mystery island!"

"Right away, Nami-swan!" Sanji added.

With that, they had Zoro lower the anchor and prepared to set foot on the mystery island. Luffy decided to slingshot himself across the stretch of water by stretching his arms ahead and getting a grip on one of the thick trees.

"Gum Gum..." Luffy began, stretching backward. "Rocket!"

He lifted his feet and went flying straight into the same tree he had been holding. Of course, being a rubberman, he barely even felt the impact. That left the others to either jump off the boat and onto the beach (Sanji and Zoro, with some glaring), wade through the water (Nami and Usopp, despite Sanji's offers to carry the former), or swim across while riding on Carue's back (Vivi and Chopper).

"I can't believe it," Chopper said excitedly. "My first new island as a pirate!"

Vivi smiled at him. "I'm glad to see you're excited, Tony. You've been pretty nervous these last couple days."

"I'm still getting used to leaving Drum, that's all," he replied as they arrived at the beach, and he and Vivi dismounted the large duck. "But I promise to do my best for the crew here!"

Vivi chuckled as they walked over to join the others. "I'm sure you will."

The beach was even more beautiful up close. The pink sand sparkled under the sunlight, before becoming thick green grass as it got into the jungle area. The trees were unnaturally large, and their leaves also seemed to glitter if the sunlight caught them just right.

Luffy ran around the beach, laughing loudly. "The sand here is pink! Shishishi, the mystery island has mystery sand!"

"That's great, Luffy," Usopp said. "Uh, Luffy? Can we ask you something really quick?"

Luffy stopped running. "Oh, sure. What do you need?"

"You were getting pretty upset back there with that last voice," Zoro pointed out.

"If you don't mind us asking, who's Ace?" Nami asked.

"Oh, is that all?" Luffy asked. He grinned. "Ace is my big brother!"

The quiet that followed was stifling. You could have heard a pin drop.

"BROTHER?!" the crew finally gasped after a few silent moments.

"Luffy has a brother?" Usopp shouted in shock.

"There's actually a living flesh and blood person born before and related to Luffy?" Nami added.

"Luffy's a monster already; just imagine what his big brother would be like!" Sanji realized.

"Sanji!" Vivi scolded.

"I wish I had a brother," Chopper said softly.

"So that was your brother's voice we were hearing at the end?" Zoro asked, not nearly as shaken up as the others.

Luffy nodded. "Uh-huh, that was Ace. I haven't seen him since he left home to become a pirate, but I'd know his voice anywhere."

Zoro was slightly tempted to ask what his brother might have meant, talking about whether him being born was good or not. He decided against it. It wasn't any of his business and if Luffy felt like sharing, he would have already done so. "He's a pirate too?"

"Yeah. He left home three years before I did to look for the One Piece."

"If that was your brother's voice, then I can see why you were upset," Vivi said. "The things he was saying were very unnerving. You must be worried."

"Nah, Ace is strong," Luffy said, shaking his head. "I fought him all the time when we were kids and he always kicked my butt, even with my devil fruit powers. He can handle himself, and besides, that wasn't Ace. It was just something with his voice. That mystery fog was copying all of us, even Crocodile and that octopus guy."

While they were shocked that there was also now a flesh and blood person who could defeat Luffy, they all considered what Luffy said about the fog. They hadn't imagined their own voices speaking within the fog, nor did they imagine Crocodile's. Had it all been one strange illusion though?

"Uh, I don't care anymore," Nami sighed at last. "Let's break off into groups to look for food. Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and I will remain here at the main beach to pick some of these coconuts. Sanji, Vivi, Carue, and Chopper, you all go a little deeper into the woods and look, but don't go too far. We still don't know what's out there."

"Aw, but I want to explore the forest!" Luffy whined.

"You're staying here!"

"I'll go with him if he wants to explore," Zoro offered.

"THAT'S EVEN WORSE!"

Vivi rolled her eyes but she was smiling, as if thinking 'there they go again.' She hopped on Carue, Chopper morphed into Walk Point, and Sanji ran to the princess's side holding three large baskets. Then all three entered the jungle.

Though they stuck to Nami's advice and didn't go too far in, it was obvious navigating the thick expanse of trees was not going to be an easy time. There were almost no paths and the trees' roots all seemed to get tangled up in each other.

"I've never seen trees this big before," Vivi said. "They're even bigger than the ones on Little Garden."

"Wonder if this island has an incredibly ironic name too," Sanji said dryly.

That made Vivi giggle, and that in turn made Sanji elated.

"Little Garden?" Chopper asked, looking up at his two crew mates.

"Another story for another day, Tony," Vivi replied. "Let's focus on finding supplies. We need to leave this island as soon as possible."

Sanji gave Vivi a sympathetic look when she turned away. She wasn't happy about the detour, and that was understandable. Her country was on the brink of civil war and they had let their ship get caught in a freakishly forceful current. He knew Nami was already contemplating ways to make it up to her, and now so was he. Maybe she had a preferred meal she would want him to make...

"Hey, fruit trees!" Chopper announced.

Ahead of them were indeed multiple normal-sized fruit trees, each one bearing a different kind of fruit.

"Jackpot!" Sanji said. "Look at all this!"

Once Vivi dismounted Carue again and Chopper went into Brain Point, the three pirates jogged over to the trees with their baskets. There was an apple tree, an orange tree, a peach tree , a mango tree, and even a banana tree. Some fruits didn't even look like they were supposed to be growing in the same climate, but here they were.

"This is amazing," Vivi said, picking a peach. "And it's ripe too."

"They're all ripe," Chopper noticed. He was in Heavy Point into order to reach the fruit. "That's... a little strange."

"I know Grand Line islands usually have one dominant season, but is this normal?" Sanji asked.

Vivi shook her head. "Islands will have one dominant season, but they still technically have the others. Even so, this place feels like a spring or summer island. Most fruits don't get ripe until the fall."

"You're so knowledgeable, Vivi dear!" Sanji praised. "Though it seems to me somebody forgot to tell the fruit here that."

While the three pirates (or two pirates and one princess) were discussing the ripening cycles of Grand Line fruit, Carue was walking around, looking for fallen fruit. There were an odd number of leaves and branches on the ground, though the ones above were still green, so he prodded the jungle floor with his bill a few times to see if any fruits were hiding. It wasn't long before he had wandered away from the group entirely.

He wasn't too worried though. He could still hear the others' voices, so he would be able to find his way back. He might as well help his princess and look for other food sources or a stream for fresh water. He waddled along, looking up at the massive trees. Maybe one of these bigger ones had something to eat-

"Uhn."

Carue froze. Did the ground beneath his feet just groan? He slowly glanced down...

"QUAAAAAAAAAW!"

Vivi dropped her basket of fruit. "That sounded like Carue!"

Sanji glanced from side to side. "Dang it, where did that stupid duck go?"

"Carue isn't stupid!"

"I'm sorry Vivi, I didn't-"

"It came from over there!" Chopper said, pointing in the direction of Carue's squawks.

The trio abandoned their baskets and ran in the direction Chopper referred to. As they moved forward, Carue's quacking got louder and more frantic.

"What's he saying, Tony?" Vivi asked.

"He's too worked up, I can't make everything out!" Chopper replied. "But he's yelling about a person, and something about wounds!"

"You're kidding me," Sanji said. "There are people actually living here on this island?"

As they approached Carue's location, Sanji took notice of something. There was blood on the ground, trailing in the same direction they were going. He didn't like the looks of this.

They finally reached the spotted duck, who was pacing anxiously in front of someone lying face down on the ground. Whoever it was, there was pool of blood in the process of drying coming from his shoulder and head. Whoever he was, he'd been there a while.

Vivi's hands flew to her mouth. "Oh no!"

"Blood!" Chopper shrieked. "A doctor, we need a doctor!"

"Tony, you're the doctor!"

"Oh, right!"

Vivi immediately went to calm Carue down, stroking his bill. Chopper pulled off his pack and went to examine the man lying on the ground. Sanji, on the other hand, stayed back and gave the injured man a once over, despite not being able to see his face.

The stranger was wearing a long dark green coat, a red sash around his waist, and black pants that were tucked into a pair of boots. He was also wearing a dark bandanna over his hair, three gold earrings on one of his ears, and had at some point shrugged off the top part of his coat to reveal he wasn't wearing a shirt. The only type of upper covering he wore was a green haramaki around his waist.

Sanji's eyebrow twitched. That haramaki looked awfully familiar.

"He has a deep stab wound in his shoulder, but it's not as bad as it looks," Chopper examined, though he sounded nervous. "But I can't get a good look at his forehead. Sanji, can you help me flip him over? Gently, that is."

Sanji nodded and moved to the other side of the fallen man. Now he could see why Chopper was nervous. The man had a sword with a black and red blade gripped in his left hand. Chopper carefully slipped the sword away, and the stranger didn't so much as twitch. Sanji knelt down, and on the count of three, the cook and the reindeer moved the stranger onto his back while the latter at the same time removed his bandanna.

The reaction was almost instantaneous.

"What the-!" Chopper gasped.

Sanji's cigarette fell from his mouth. "There's two of them?"

Vivi's eyes widened. "How is this possible?!"

There were a few minor differences that stood out, but there was no mistaking it. They were looking into the unconscious face of Roronoa Zoro.

Next Time:

"Uh, Mr. Bushido? You wouldn't happen to have an older brother who looks eerily like you and also carries three swords, do you?"

"That's an awfully specific question. No, I don't. Why do you ask?"

"... You should probably see for yourself."

"HOLY CRAP!"