Luffy's Journey to Become the King Again

by bigrc71

Luffy finally makes it to the end of the New World and to Raftel. He should be really happy with how things turned out for him and his crew. He's not. While exploring the cave where Gol D. Roger hid the One Piece Luffy discovers something that will change his life. Will he and his crew be better for it? Only time will tell. Rating changed to M for LEMONS in future chapters

23. Alabasta Part 5, The Finale

It's been way too long since I last updated this story. Life got in the way of me writing as much as I wanted to. Hopefully you enjoy this extended chapter. I created a poll to see what type of chapters you would like to see going forward.

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We pick up where we left off last time. Luffy was facing down against Crocodile for the second time in the courtyard of the Royal Palace. While that was going on the rest of the Straw Hats and Vivi were running through town. Thanks to a little thought and some knowledge of the future they would be able to determine where the best place to hide a massive explosive would be. They wouldn't allow it to go off. If they did the explosion would take out a 5km area.

"This barrel on my back will help me kick your ass." Luffy exclaimed as he doused his hands in water. "You know I don't even need this water to beat you."

"What the hell are you talking about you little brat? That is the only option you have."

"Yeah, you're right. But I wanted to see if you would let your guard down."

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Crocodile asked as he questioned whether Luffy had any brains in his head. "You are doing yourself no favors by just talking." He couldn't tell what Luffy was thinking, if anything at all. He couldn't believe someone as dense as Luffy could exist. But then again there have been plenty of people who tried and failed to challenge the Shichibukai. Crocodile spoke up shifting focus from Luffy to Robin. "Nico Robin, take Cobra and get him to show you where the Poneglyph is hidden."

"Of course." Robin said as she crossed her arms sprouting an arm on each side of Cobra. With a good yank, she pulled the spikes out of his arms. "Lead the way." She said as she gestured for the soon to be former king to walk in front of her. It wasn't long before they were out of sight and were making their way to the crypt of the Royal family.

While they were walking, Robin was silent and for a time so was Cobra. That was until he spoke up. He was still perplexed by the boy who had managed to hit Crocodile.

"Who was that boy?"

"That boy brought your daughter home." Robin responded while still trying to play the villain. Having some perspective in her life thanks to her older selves' memories was in fact a blessing as much as it was a curse. She could only assume that Luffy was already stronger than Crocodile. Only time would tell if events were going to play out as they had the first time. Would Crocodile stab her again or would Luffy be there to stop him?

As Robin and Cobra were walking towards the crypt they ran into a group of Marines lead by Tashigi.

"Get out of my way." Robin said as she stopped before the Marine troops

Tashigi had been made aware that the king of the country had been King-napped within the

past 24 hours or so. She couldn't believe her luck when she literally walked into the king and whom she suspected to be his abductor. "Absolutely not! I've been informed by the Royal Guards as to what has occurred in this country recently. Just who do you think you are holding hostage?" Tashigi questioned Robin. This Tashigi wasn't like the one in the future. She was still the busy body, much more of a nuisance than she would be later.

"I don't care. Get out of my way before I am forced to hurt you." Robin replied forcefully, if she was going to be honest with herself. She was having fun playing the second in command to a Shichibukai. But she wanted to be rid of this country for the time being. She missed her friends.

"I will not give into your demands!" Tashigi responded, standing her ground and drawing her sword.

"Marines, Stop! Pay no attention to me!" Cobra said, drawing the Marines attention back to himself. "At 4:30 PM the palace square will be blown up." Cobra yelled, once again putting the lives of the people before his own.

"What?" Tashigi was taken aback by that.

"Millions of citizens' lives are at stake!" Cobra stated. His voice determined with the decision that he had made.

Tashigi was faced with a major decision. Save the life of one person or the lives of millions. So instead of pondering over her options, she decided to do both. Tashigi clutched the hilt of her sword, and got ready to fight.

"Treinta Fleur!" Robin said followed by "Clutch"

"A Devil fruit user!" Tashigi looked back in shock and anger. Robin had taken out so many of her men so fast and so easily.

One of Tashigi's remaining men told her about the woman that was before them. As well as the fictitious account of what earned a little girl a bounty of 79 million berries.

"Sergeant take the troops to the palace square! Your mission is to stop the bombing." Before the lower ranking official could respond Tashigi yelled. "NOW!"

The Marines took off for the square leaving Tashigi to face Robin alone.

"Now let go of that man!" Tashigi demanded. Both hands on her swords, ready to fight. But Robin crossed her arms and the fight was over before Tashigi could do anything. With that little problem, out of the way Robin and Cobra continued to their destination.

Before Robin and Cobra walked into the Marines

"I really do have more important business to attend to. However, this time, I am not going to let you walk away." Crocodile smirked as he looked at the young pirate.

"You know, I picked up this trick a little while back but I haven't been able to get it to work consistently." Luffy grinned as he only coated one of his fists in Haki.

"Where the hell did you learn Haki?" Crocodile questioned as a little of the color left his face.

"Oh, is that what it's called?" Luffy said, he still couldn't lie well, in fact he was still terrible at it. But he had managed to learn to lie just well enough so that people wouldn't be able to immediately tell he was stretching the truth or hiding something. Luffy had since ditched the barrel someplace safe should he need it before he charged at Crocodile with his single fist coated in Haki. He attempted to hit Crocodile with a Gomu Gomu no Rocket. But just before he made contact he 'shut off' his haki and let the color go away. The punch harmlessly sailed through Crocodile.

"I should be grateful you didn't learn to master or even perfect that technique. It would spell trouble for me if you had." Crocodile stated as the color came back to his face. His arrogance also seemed to be making a comeback.

Luffy used Gear second on his legs. He yelled "Gomu Gomu no" before he propelled himself forward with soru and let both of his arms stretch out behind him. Crocodile knew the attack was coming but did nothing to defend against it figuring the little idiot was in over his head. At the last second Luffy used Busoshoku koka and turned his right fist black and shouted "Twin jet bazooka". One hand sailed clean through Crocodile while the other made contact.

"Dammit, that hurt you little punk." Crocodile shouted as he rubbed his left side. Let's see you avoid this. "Desert Spada." Crocodile called out his attack as he released a stream of sand that destroyed everything in its wake leaving a long, clean, deep gash in the ground.

Luffy avoided the attack relatively easily.

"I shouldn't really be surprised you avoided that. You're quite fast. But let's see what happens when I take away the ground beneath your feet. Ground Secco!" Crocodile said as he knelt and put his right hand on the ground. It only took but a few seconds before the grass and everything around Crocodile started to dry up and wither away. Before long the ground itself began to break apart and started to collapse.

'What to do?' Luffy thought to himself 'I can't let him dry me up again. That wasn't fun.'

"My right hand has no limit to what it can dry up. Everything will turn to sand." Statues fell down, the previously shattered ground continued to erode away. It didn't take long before the entire area turned to sand. "Ground Death!" Crocodile yelled as he sucked up any remaining moisture.

Luffy had launched himself up into the air to get away from the devastating effects of Crocodiles devil fruit. He landed on the railing beneath the center dome of the palace. Crocodile appeared on the same railing just a few feet from Luffy.

"If you want to kill me so bad why don't you try and catch me." Luffy stuck his tongue out at Crocodile and disappeared.

Crocodile was pissed off now. He was so angry his face turned bright red. "That little shit, thinks he can make a fool of me, does he?" Crocodile turned into sand and disappeared. He chased after Luffy along the roof tops of the buildings through Alubarna. Luffy stopped every so often just to antagonize the poor Croco-boy. This made him even angrier. Over the course of a minute or so they had covered quite a distance during their game of cat and mouse. Then Crocodile remembered he had to be somewhere, specifically anywhere away from the blast radius. At least that's what any sane person would think. However, that wasn't the case. He halted his progress and turned in a completely different direction than Luffy had been going.

It was just a moment later that Luffy no longer sensed Crocodile behind him anymore so he himself stopped on the closest rooftop. "Where the hell did he go?" Luffy asked himself. It took him a couple of seconds before he remembered where Robin had gone. It was the same place that Crocodile was going to go.

Around the time Luffy was making an ass of Crocodile, Robin and Cobra made it to the location above the Royal Crypt. Cobra told Robin about the door hidden in the ground. She used her powers to lift it open to reveal a set of stairs that lead down into the darkness beneath.

"Well isn't that convenient. No one would know what's beneath here if they didn't know about this hidden staircase." Robin said as she gestured for Cobra to follow her down the stairs.

"The poneglyph is deep underground at the back of the chamber. Most aren't even aware they exist." Cobra replied.

"You would be surprised at how many in the criminal underworld actually know about them, yet can do nothing with them."

"Is that why you are working with Crocodile? Can you read the Poneglyphs?"

"That is it indeed. He needs me to translate for him. It's why he can't kill me…" After walking down, the remainder of the flight of stairs they reached the bottom and the Royal Crypt. "It really is quite grand."

"The poneglyph you are looking for is behind the doors at the back of the room."

And through the doors they walked. Robin walked up to the poneglyph and instead of reading it she just admired it. To think a single clan, the Kozuki clan of Wano Kuni was responsible for creating such a masterpiece.

Back up on the surface the Straw Hats were making their way through the battlefield, only taking down those who got in their way. Along the way Zoro strayed from the path deciding it would be faster to take his own 'shortcut'.

"If your dumbass takes one more wrong turn we are going to have to tie a rope around your waist and pull you along." Sanji said having considered doing this on several occasions. Until he can at least use his haki to not get lost.

"Shut up, you blond bastard." Zoro yelled out agitated at the cooks' insults even if he was right.

"Can't you guys take this seriously? We are getting close." Nami yelled out

In the meantime, Crocodile, had made his way to the Royal Crypt.

"Damn that Straw Hat, making me waste precious seconds chasing him around!" Crocodile exclaimed annoyance and anger present in his voice. It was then that he noticed something out of the ordinary. "Well, isn't that original. A hidden staircase of all things." Crocodile smirked as he walked down the stairs and into the deepest part of the chamber where he found Robin looking at the poneglyph and Cobra sitting on the floor.

Meanwhile Luffy was running around. Even if he had trained his body to handle his gear attacks he had to maintain some stamina. He is only human after all, a monster to some but still only human. While he was running, he ran into Tashigi who had an unfortunate encounter with Robin.

"Mugiwara." Tashigi said. She was on the ground, beaten and bruised.

"Where did Crocodile go?" Luffy asked in between catching his breath.

Tashigi went to pick up her sword but couldn't find the resolve to get up and attack Luffy. So she simply pointed in the direction he was supposed to go. "That way" She said as she pointed to his right. So, that is the way Luffy went. Within another thirty seconds Luffy had made his way to the royal crypt and looked around. He too found the staircase and started running down, yelling "Crocodile" the whole way down.

Just a moment earlier, Crocodile walked through the doors to the chamber where the poneglyph was located. "So this is a poneglyph, Nico Robin?" Crocodile questioned

"It is." Robin replied in a rather rash tone.

"It's not…not exactly what I imagined. Can you decipher it?"

"Yes, I can."

"Well, then read the poneglyph aloud." Crocodile said, a hint of enthusiasm in his voice.

After spotting off some nonsense about the history of the country Crocodile interrupted. "Hold on! You think that's what I wanted know!?" Now he was annoyed and angry. "I don't give a damn about the history of this country. I want to know where the Pluton is hidden."

"The location isn't recorded here. There is only the history of the country inscribed here." Robin replied. Over the years she had gotten very good at lying and deception, two skills that kept her alive up to this point.

"The name Pluton isn't even once mentioned in this passage."

"I see, what a shame. Well then. It seems like our little arrangement has finally met its end. You were a most valuable partner. It's too bad I will have to kill you." Crocodile said not even a hint of sadness or remorse to speak of in his voice.

It was then that they heard someone shouting "Crocodile." over and over. Getting louder each time as the source got closer.

"Damn it Mugiwara." Crocodile said annoyed. "Well it looks like you earned yourself a reprieve. I'm going to finish off that little bastard. Then I am coming back to kill you."

Robin couldn't say anything; her legs gave out beneath her. She wasn't exactly sure why they did. But was she ever glad to see Luffy and to hear his voice. Maybe she was just glad that this whole ordeal with Crocodile would soon be over. She would soon be able to go to (back to) the friends who would fight the whole world in order to save her.

Crocodile, not noticing any of Robin's actions walked back through the doors. Standing not ten feet in front of him was the pain in the ass that seemed to have the devils luck on his side.

"I've had just about all I can take of you for one life time. I will finish you off once and for all. This place will be your tomb." Crocodile was beyond pissed off. "The kid gloves are off you pain in the ass rookie." Crocodile said as he took the gold hook off revealing a hook that had poison dripping from it.

"Sounds good to me." Luffy said as he did one thing. He ran over to Robin and put his straw hat on her head. In the meantime, Luffy was thinking of his future encounters with old Crocoboy.

"Alright, now I'm ready." Luffy said as he ran back and stood ready to fight.

In the meantime, Cobra who had since been released made his way over to the hidden trap.

Removing one little piece literally began the countdown to the demise of the Royal Crypt. With the countdown clock to their deaths ticking away the whole place began to rumble and shake. Stones started falling from all over the place. Soon enough the whole place would come down on their heads.

"Damn it Cobra. What did you do?" Crocodile asked, irritation present in his voice.

"I removed a pillar, one that was literally holding the roof up over our heads. Without it, we will all be buried down here. As the 12th head of the Nefertari Royal House, I shall never hand this country over to the likes of you."

"Damn it old man. At least let me kick his ass before you bring the roof down on us." Luffy crossed his arms and pouted.

"Now that is the funniest thing I have heard all day."

"I'm not joking, I really am going to kick your ass." Luffy's taunting didn't end there. Just irritate Crocodile even more he yelled. "I'm the man who is going to be King of the Pirates."

"No, I take it back. That is the funniest thing I have heard all day. But it won't matter. I will survive this cave in and I will take this country anyway. You three are going to die foolish dea…" Crocodile stopped mid-sentence as he was hit in the stomach.

"Man, has anyone ever told you that you talk way too damn much. You really don't get sick of hearing yourself talk, do you?"

Robin could only laugh at Luffy ripping into Crocodile's mannerisms.

"What is it this time Straw Hat? Do you have water hidden somewhere? Or will it be another pitiful attempt at using Haki?"

Luffy didn't say anything. He just turned both of his fists and forearms black and held it.

"Shit" Crocodile said as he looked at Luffy's forearms.

"Yeah." Luffy said as he propelled himself forward and really let Crocoboy have it. Landing a few punches in the stomach.

"Haki, the power to fight against particularly tricky devil fruit users." Robin said as she walked over to Cobra. Luffy's straw hat on her head.

"What?" Cobra replied confusion in his voice.

"That's what Luffy is using to fight Crocodile."

"Just a moment ago you were very different. What happened?" Cobra asked, his interest piqued.

"After just staring death in the face you gain a different outlook on life." Robin said "I guess you could say I have been through something similar in the past and let's leave it at that."

"Very well. So, this Haki will make the difference?" Cobra questioned

"I've heard that it allows users to touch for example a logia devil fruit user even if they are using their powers. The only problem is that it doesn't negate the powers of the opposing devil fruit user." Robin explained.

"You are quite knowledgeable." Cobra said. "You might have been able to put that brain of yours to good use had it not been for Crocodile."

"That's partially true your highness. The problem with your logic is that if it was anyone else I would have continued to have been pursued. It is Crocodiles title and his methods that have allowed me to stay in the shadows for these past several years."

"That may very well be true. His position as Shichibukai allows for all sorts of questionable people to work under him. If I recall correctly, he said your name was Nico Robin. You are the child who sank, what was it, six battleships some twenty years ago?"

"That is what the newspapers say." Robin said with a bit of a sigh.

"That always did sound somewhat preposterous. Even with what you are able to do with your devil fruit." Cobra said as he chuckled to himself.

"It does, doesn't it. Then again people will believe any ridiculous thing they read in the newspaper."

"That they will." Cobra said. "I'm curious about something Nico Robin?"

"What would that be?"

"What do you have to gain should your now former boss lose this fight? Do you start running again?" Cobra asked. Which was strange, he was having such a casual conversation with a woman who had up until recently been looking to remove him from power.

"I could escape and run for the rest of my life but that's not a good way to spend any extended amount of time I should know I have been running for twenty years. I have some ideas about what I can do next." Robin said, thinking of a green haired swordsman. "The only reason I joined Crocodile was to be able to look for more of the poneglyphs scattered around the world."

"How many of those stones are there?"

"That is a very good question. I am not sure of that myself. I have found seen just two in the past, before my time with Crocodile. They are notoriously hard to find, especially with the World Government constantly searching for me."

"What do you hope to gain?" Cobra asked

"I want to learn the history of the Void Century. What could have been so bad that the government would want to erase a hundred years of history." Robin replied, fairly well aware of what the government would want to hide.

"Hiding anything that they would deem inconvenient for them. It would have to be something so atrocious that it would paint their organization in a negative light should something like that get out. I could only imagine what something might be." Cobra said

"That would make sense. Do you have any experience in hiding something inconvenient that would hinder your rule?" Robin asked

"Everyone has their secrets but nothing worth erasing from the history books. I make a point to learn from my mistakes. Everyone makes them and just because I am King doesn't mean I am infallible or immune from making my fair share." Cobra said, sincerity in his tone of voice.

"Hopefully this fight ends soon, I don't want to be buried down here." Robin said

"What is stopping you from leaving now? Your ties to Crocodile have been severed, and you have none to the young man fighting him."

"I do have one." Robin said, grabbing onto the brim of the straw hat on her head and pulling it down slightly.

"Very well." Cobra replied

"Look up, they seem to have reached the climax of their fight." Robin said

Cobra tilted his head skyward and was in awe at what he saw. The next moment he was outside of the crypt with Nico Robin still sitting next to him. With this we jump back a few moments to just after Luffy punched Crocodile in the stomach.

Crocodile had just gotten up after Luffy's most recent attack. "So you were messing with me the entire time?" Crocodile asked

"Maybe." Luffy said sticking his tongue out.

"Well, Haki or no, my devil fruit power is still superior. I only have to land one good attack and you are done for kid."

"Yeah, that's true. I would kinda be screwed." Luffy said, a dumbass expression plastered all over his face.

Crocodile face faulted for a second there. He couldn't believe someone could be so, so uncaring in the face of certain demise.

"You little fucker, I am going to enjoy sucking all of the moisture out of your body."

"Even if you can, I'm not going to let you."

"Really, well if you are so confident why don't you come at me with all you've got." Crocodile said, lifting his hand and motioning for Luffy to come at him.

"Well, don't blame me if you can't hit me anymore." Luffy activated Gear Second in his legs and in addition used soru. With both techniques in effect Luffy seemed to vanish from sight, only leaving behind after images of where he had been. The images appeared all over the crypt. Not just on the ground but up in the air.

Crocodile was in awe momentarily before he regained his composure. "Normally I wouldn't create a sandstorm in such an enclosed area but I think this will be worth it to rid the world of you once and for all."

So that's what he did. In his hand, he created a sandstorm. By no means was it going to be as large as the storm that hit the town of Erumalu, but it would be enough. Crocodile created a storm that sucked in much of the debris that was on the ground. Luffy's constant motion was forcefully grinned to a halt as he was almost caught in the storm. But then he remembered that there were two people who were going to get caught in the middle of this fight. So Luffy made his way over to Robin and Cobra. He grabbed them and got them to safety outside. Just before he made his way back into the crypt he told Robin something.

"I will find you after I am done here." Robin nodded and Luffy was gone. Cobra was speechless. Robin got up and was about to walk away before she turned back to Cobra. "I know you won't be able to forgive me for my part in all of this right now. I have to apologize for all the pain that I have caused you and your daughter. I will come up with a way to make amends someday." That was the last thing Robin said before she walked off.

Back inside the crypt Crocodile was enjoying himself so much he hardly noticed Luffy's absence.

"Are you ready to end this once and for all?" Crocodile asked. "That foolish princess thinks she can stop all that I have set in motion. I have built this whole organization to search for the Pluton. I will find it, come hell or high-water."

"Would you shut the fuck up. All you talk about is Pluton or Vivi. Frankly, I am sick of hearing your voice."

Luffy yelled "Busoshoku Koka" he coated his fists and forearms in Haki. He propelled himself forward through the sandstorm, his fists staying back where he originated, eventually flying to catch up to Luffy he yelled "Twin Red Hawk."

Contact was made and Crocodile spat up blood. Luffy punched Crocodile in the chin propelling him up to the ceiling. Luffy followed using a partial, scaled down Gear Fourth transformation (I'm dubbing jet man). Crocodile mustered the last of his strength to put up one last defense. He launched a half dozen giant sand axes at Luffy.

Luffy coated his fists in Haki and he broke through the blades with little difficulty. With the last bit of Crocodile's attack destroyed, Luffy blew into his arm and made them just a few times larger than his forearms regularly were. He proceeded to use a small version of his Elephant Gun and in the process punched Crocodile several times, knocking him out. In addition, he blew a size-able hole in the bedrock between the crypt below and the town above. His attack did end up doing considerable damage. Everything that had been in the way was destroyed. Buildings of all shapes and sizes had succumb to the enormous strain that Luffy had exerted on the area.

With pieces of bedrock flew an unconscious Crocodile as well as the remains of his sandstorm. Which luckily didn't get the chance to expand and create any more unnecessary destruction for the people of Alabasta. Luffy was able to get out of the crypt through the hole that he had created, instead of using the only set of stairs he knew about. This time after fighting Crocodile, Luffy didn't have any serious stab wounds, nor was he poisoned. He was just hungry and tired. Crocodile was sent soaring, higher into the air than his previous encounter. Just a few moments later did he fall back down to the ground near the center of the conflict he had orchestrated.

Following Luffy's fight he looked to the sky and saw the sun once again beating down on the country of sand. In the meantime, the royal crypt had all but collapsed in on itself.

Earlier and around the same time that Luffy was running down the stairs to the Royal Crypt. Pell, Vivi and the Straw Hats were approaching the clock tower.

"There it is." Vivi yelled as she pointed to the building just a few hundred feet away. It wasn't long before everyone was at the base of the building.

"So that's it." Sanji said taking a puff of his cigarette. "How do we get inside?"

"There is a single staircase that leads to the top of the tower." Vivi said "We should have enough time to get to the top and prevent it from going off."

"A few of us will stay here and prevent anyone from making it inside." Zoro said drawing his swords and turning to face the crowd of people coming towards them. Usopp, Sanji, Chopper and Vivi went in the door and began to make their way up the stairs. Pell turned into a bird and flew off. A few moments later he landed on the rooftop of the clock tower. Nami stayed behind to help Zoro protect the others.

Not long after the four went inside the building did they make it to the top of the staircases. There they were met with a door that took little effort on Sanji's part to break down. The two Baroque Agent guards standing near the cannon turned around with their guns drawn when they heard the noise behind them.

"Well if it isn't Miss Wednesday." Miss Father's Day said, a hint of surprise in her voice.

"We should take care of these meddlesome kids." Mr. 7 said

Well that is exactly what they attempted to do as they shot multiple rounds in relatively quick succession. Unknown to the pair of agents there was someone who saw these bullets as less than a challenge. Usopp was able to dispatch the bullets as fast as they were fired.

Mr. 7 and Miss Father's Day were dumbfounded. Neither of them had seen someone able to stop a single projectile, let alone eight. While the pair was standing there with their mouths wide open Sanji took that opportunity to knock out Mr.7 while Vivi took out Miss Father's Day. From there she cut the lit fuse running along the floor to the massive cannon.

"That was so impressive Usopp-san." Vivi said. Usopp was giddy at the praise from the princess. Sanji was bitter that he wasn't getting the same praise and he was sulking. While Sanji was pouting Usopp was busy walking over to the opening of the cannon. He looked at what was inside and a chill went down his spine.

"Sanji, stop being a baby. We have to figure out what to do with this thing." Usopp said as peaked around the side of the cannon. "This thing is massive. We have to do something, it's on a timer. The fuse was just the primary means of detonation."

Sanji perked up and got ready to work. "Vivi-chan, these clock faces must open, correct?"

"I believe so, I've never tried nor do I think I could if I did." Vivi said, a hint of concern on her face at the prospect of what could happen, should things go sideways.

"Don't worry Vivi-chan, we've got this covered. Chopper." Sanji said as he looked at Chopper who had been off to side up until this point.

Chopper transformed into heavy point and walked over to the inside of the clock face. With some effort Chopper, Sanji and Usopp were able to get the clock open. Pell had been waiting for the signal. When the clock face opened, he spread his wings and took to the air. He dove off of the roof, sailed a distance and banked left. He flew into the previously occupied opening and change back to his human form.

"That was fast." Pell said. "Vivi-sama, you found yourself some very reliable friends." Pell said with a smile.

"You are right. I am so glad I was able to meet them." Vivi said but quickly put a halt to the mushy stuff. "We will have plenty of time for that after all of this is over."

"You are correct. Down to business." Pell said getting serious with the smile leaving his face. "How much time do we have left?"

"Shit" Usopp said. "That's a good question. I was surprised by how big that the thing is I didn't check." Usopp stated his head hanging low.

"Usopp, you dumbass." Sanji yelled with shark teeth.

Everyone walked over to the opening of the cannon looked at the clock.

Down at the base of the tower Nami and Zoro were effortlessly taking care of any and all Baroque Works agents that came their way.

"This isn't even a challenge." Zoro stated.

"No kidding you idiot. These guys were hardly ever a challenge." Nami stated

"How much time do you think is left?" Zoro asked

"Who knows. Anywhere from a few minutes to a few seconds, I would think."

"That's quite a gap there. But those idiots have this handled."

"Thunder Lance Tempo." Nami said electrocuting many of the Baroque works soldiers.

The two sides, the Royal Guard and the Rebel forces continued their fighting.

Back inside the Clock Tower:

"Holy shit. We don't have a lot of time left." Sanji said. "Off the top of my head we have two options. Chopper you use monster point and throw that thing as far as you can into the desert. Option two is Pell flies this thing out of here and drops it somewhere it will do the least amount of damage."

"Sanji" Chopper said. "I don't have enough room in here for that." Before anything else could be said Pell spoke up. "We don't have a lot of time, just over 35 seconds."

"Vivi-sama, it has been an honor serving the Nefertari family." Pell didn't allow anytime for a response. He turned into a bird and grabbed the ever so convenient handle with his talons and flew away.

"Pell" Vivi yelled as the brave falcon took to the sky.

The seconds continued to tick by. 'Flying with this heavy thing in tow is quite tiring and that was the last thought Pell had. He couldn't waste time thinking about anything other than the clock that continues to count down.

Back inside the Clock Tower:

"Pell only has about 15 seconds left before that thing goes boom." Usopp said "There is nothing around to destroy. He only has to worry about getting away from the blast radius. If he does that he should be able to get away unscathed. If he can't th…" Usopp was cut off with a kick to the head from Sanji.

"Don't scare Vivi-chan you bastard."

"I'm just being realistic, when that thing goes off the explosion will be huge." Usopp said, now rubbing the comically large bump on the top of his head.

"Thank you for the concern Sanji-san. I have to make peace with the decision Pell has made. But that doesn't mean I have to like it and I really don't like it. I didn't want Pell to sacri…" Vivi was mid thought as the bomb exploded. The sound was ear drum shattering and the light from the explosion itself was blinding. The clouds parted with the explosion, a circle of brilliant blue sky remained. The ground was shook and some of the people who were fighting had been tossed around by the shockwave following the explosion.

"Pell" Vivi yelled as she started to cry, falling to the floor. She was fearing the worst of all the possibilities.

"Vivi-chan" Sanji said putting a hand on her shoulder.

'I wish I could tell if he was ok.' Sanji and Usopp both thought. Neither one of them having a great grasp over their Kenbonshoku Haki.

"We are going back down to do whatever we can to stop some of the fighting." Sanji said.

Before Usopp, Sanji and Chopper could leave the clock tower and make their way back to down to the ground they saw someone soar into the sky.

"Crocodile" They all said.

Vivi heard the Straw Hats with her mention the name Crocodile. So, she stood up and walked over to the large opening overlooking the square where the two sides were clashing. That was where she saw the reason for her countries problems, just hovering there in midair. Realizing Luffy had held up his promise Vivi regained her determination to see this war come to an end. Vivi wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes and she started yelling "Please Everyone, Stop Fighting! Please Stop Fighting Everyone!" She continued yelling as loud as she could. The Straw Hats left her to do what she could from up here.

Back down on the ground:

Usopp, Chopper and Sanji left Vivi in the clock tower. They moved as fast as they could and made their way back outside. They were met by Nami and Zoro who had been busy this whole time keeping their one way out safe. The people who had been knocked over began to get back up. The problem was that the people continued to fight instead of stopping. Swords clashed and bullets continued to fly.

Tashigi thought back to what Smoker told her earlier. 'You should pay attention to what transpires here. Watch what becomes of this country. This is history in the making. The outcome of this fight is what will be spoken about for years to come.'

'I can't believe they can still fight after an explosion like that.' Tashigi thought as she looked on as the violence started to escalate once again. "Why won't they stop?" She asked herself.

"What took you so long Curly-brow?" Zoro asked in his so very common teasing manner.

"What do you mean you damn marimo? I was trying to comfort Vivi-chan but she is fixated on stopping this craziness. There was nothing I could say to her that would make her feel better.

"Well…" Zoro said taking a deep breath. "We will do what we can. In the end it is up to her to stop this."

"I hate it when you are right. Even just admitting that makes me feel sick."

Zoro, Sanji, Nami, Usopp and Chopper attacked as many people as they could. They wanted to help Vivi and the only thing they could think of that was remotely helpful was attacking people to try to reduce the number of people that would actually die by fighting against other citizens of Alabasta.

"Did you see Crocodile go flying a little while ago?" Usopp asked Nami.

"I did. Luffy must have done quite a number on Crocodile. Especially for him go soaring as high into the sky as he did." Usopp responded only to continue fighting against random adversaries.

From the Clock Tower:

There was a look in her eye while she was yelling. It was one of pain, fury and at the same time determination. She was hell bent on stopping the fighting. But no one could hear her. She continued yelling "Please Everyone, Stop Fighting! Please Stop Fighting Everyone!"

Not even a minute later something fell out of the sky. Something that had not been felt by the country for quite some time. Rain. Rain started to fall. It was at that point that the fighting started to slow down.

'The fighting is slowing down. The sound of battle is slowly grinding to a halt.' Tashigi thought as she felt the rain begin to hit her skin.

Just a few seconds ago and somewhere not too far off did a certain Shichibukai make contact with the ground after taking a trip skyward.

Luffy used his haki to track Robin down. She didn't get that much of a head start on him.

"I figured it wouldn't be long before you caught up to me." Robin said in a much more pleasant tone. More of the tone he was accustomed to post Enies Lobby.

"Yeah, I told you I would catch up with you." Luffy said, all excited to see Robin again.

"Here you go." Robin said taking the Straw Hat off her head. "I know this means a lot to you. For you to entrust this to me means a lot."

"Don't mention it. Even though I have made questionable decisions to redo all of our adventure doesn't mean I trust you or anybody any less. It was selfish of me…" Luffy was stopped mid-sentence when an arm sprouted from his shoulder and held up a slender finger.

"I already told you, I am ok with this. It just means that we get to make mess with the World Government all over again." Robin said uncrossing her arms and letting the arm disappear into flower petals.

"Still, you have to know that I will do anything for you. Like I said back then, or is it later?" Luffy pondered for a few seconds before he gave up. "Well whatever the case, whenever the case. Your enemy is my enemy. I will do anything, fight anyone to make sure you are happy."

"I know." Robin said as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "We have some time before the Marine reinforcements show up. I will meet up with you and the rest of the crew in a couple of days should things transpire in a similar fashion. See you." Robin said before she once again walked off. This time grabbing a fresh change of clothes from an at least for the time being vacant house.

"You and Nami are so alike." Luffy said before he vanished.

Robin and Luffy didn't notice, but at some point, during their conversation the rain started falling. At the same as they were talking the fighting was slowing down. The dust clouds that had risen from the constant fighting were starting to settle as the rain began to fall.

It was at this point that all the people involved could hear someone yelling. At first it was just pieces of words but eventually what many people heard was "Please Everyone, Stop Fighting! Please Stop Fighting Everyone!" It was at this point that the rain had picked up in intensity.

Finally, the fighting had come to a head. Everyone had lowered their weapons and they could finally try to pinpoint the sound that for a time sounded like their mind playing a trick on them. But to mostly everyone's surprise, Straw Hats excluded. They were beyond surprised to learn that the someone who had been yelling was the now formally missing princess. It was also at the same that some people noticed that Sir Crocodile had been lying on the ground, unconscious with a myriad of fractures in the ground flowing out from where his body impacted the ground.

"It's amazing. To think that a pirate would save our country from another pirate, a government sanctioned one at that. What are the odds of this happening?" Cobra said to no one as he walked his way through town. Just then the pirate he had been talking about reappeared just a few feet in front of him.

"You really shouldn't do that." Cobra said as he looked at his countries savior.

"Sorry, just figured I would keep an eye on you. You never know what those bastards who worked for Crocodile might try and do."

"I do appreciate that. But don't follow too close. I am a King after all, and while I have nothing against you neither the marines nor the people should see us talking so openly." Cobra finished his little speech only to realize that Luffy was gone.

Back with Vivi who is still up in the Clock Tower:

"The rain will fall again as in the past. Now that the nightmare is finally over…!" Vivi said

To say that the people were unhappy was an understatement. Many raised their swords, furious over Vivi's words. Unwilling to accept that just because someone says something is over doesn't make it so. The rebels were up in arms over Kouza getting shot. None of the rebels were willing to accept this sort of conclusion to the uprising. At the same time the rebels were beyond angry about the part that the Royal guard has played in this whole conflict.

From the palace courtyard came another voice. It was Commander Chaka yelling "Royal Guard

put down your arms!" Chaka was a bloody mess from his interaction with Crocodile.

It wasn't but seconds before another familiar voice could be heard. "You Maa Maa…You too Rebels!" Igaram said. He was carrying the young boy Kohza didn't allow to join in the fighting. He just also happened to be the same boy who would save the Royal families backsides.

People began shouting "Captain?" As well as "Captain Igaram!" Vivi too was surprised to see Igaram. She thought he died in the explosion Miss All Sunday rigged.

Chaka was also surprised Igaram was alive. The Straw Hats not so much. Those who had their memories just played along, hoping everything would turn out the same as last time.

"Can you walk?" Igaram asked the young boy he was carrying in his arms. He let the boy down and he began to talk about all that he had seen.

Some of the Rebels were surprised as they had recognized the kid from just the other day. "You've got it all wrong! The Royal Guard didn't do anything to me! The people who attacked me were fakes! They were just wearing the same uniforms! The King was also an imposter! All of this was fake."

"He's right. This whole conflict was set up from the very beginning." Kohza said as he sat on the ground still bleeding from the bullet wounds that he had received earlier in the day.

"I will explain, everything that has occurred in this country. But first you must all put down your weapons." Igaram said. And so, they did. Royal Guards and Rebels alike all dropped their weapons.

Vivi at this point had started her descent down from the clock tower and back outside. She started scanning the area for her friends. But they were nowhere to be seen.

Just a few moments earlier as the fighting was ending they walked off into town. As much as they wanted to see Vivi right now, they couldn't. They are pirates and they aren't supposed to interact with, let alone be friends with Royalty.

"Where the hell do you think Luffy ran off to?" Sanji asked, his hands in his pockets looking to pull out his lighter. It was then that by coincidence they walked into the King who was sans Luffy this time. A second later Luffy lands right in between his crew and the King.

"I thought I told you not to do that." Cobra said as once again surprised Luffy's sudden appearance.

"Sorry about that. But I didn't think you would walk into my friends." Luffy said as he walked over to the crew.

Almost like clockwork, Vivi showed up. "Everyone! Papa!?"

"It's Vivi-chan" Sanji said.

"So, you lot know my daughter?" Cobra asked, even though it was obvious at this point that they knew each other.

"Papa, these are my friends. The people I told you about in the letter. They brought me home."

"So you're the King?" Zoro said in an unenthusiastic tone.

"Yes I am. You have my thanks for bringing my daughter home." Cobra said.

"Vivi, why don't you and your father go back to the square. I'm sure now that the rebellion has ceased everyone will need strong leaders to guide them through all of this." Nami said as she sat down to rest.

"Why don't you come with us?" Vivi asked.

"Vivi-chan, we're pirates. We have no intention of getting involved in any countries affairs." Sanji said, lighting a cigarette.

"I guess that's fair. However, I want all of you to go to the palace. You will be able to recuperate there in peace and quiet." Vivi said. Her father said nothing, he just smiled, agreeing to that idea.

Soon after the King and Princess were on their way back to the square all the Straw Hats sans Luffy passed out. They might have been training since they regained their memories but their bodies were only just beginning to adapt to the increased exercise. Luffy didn't pass out initially but his body was heavy and he needed just a little time to rest. So, he fell asleep.

Back in the Square all the people had learned of Crocodiles crimes. They were beyond surprised in learning what he was involved with in the shadows. He had been their savior. He was the one who was protecting the country from pirates who happened across the country. To learn that he was responsible in part for the uprising left a bad taste in the citizen's mouths. But, then again they did put their trust in a pirate. They shouldn't be surprised. It just so happens that they put their faith in the wrong pirate.

"I take it you found what you were looking for Captain Smoker?" Tashigi asked via Den Den Mushi.

"I did." Smoker said "Proceed." Smoker continued

"Understood Captain Smoker." Tashigi replied before Smokers end went quiet.

It was at this point that many unnamed Marines as well as Tashigi took Crocodile into custody. She proceeded to revoke Crocodile of his rights and privileges as a Shichibukai. The Marines took as many of the Baroque Works Billions into custody as they could find. Conveniently they were already unconscious, which made their jobs easier.

Somewhere in the city Bon Clay was up and about.

Back in the square:

Vivi and Cobra had made their way back to all their people.

"We've done something we can never take back." Kohza said sulking

Vivi was off to the side unsure of what to say to Kohza.

King Cobra proceeded to give a speech that would set the country in the right direction towards the future. With that speech, the battles on two fronts concluded. The battle amongst and between the people of Alabasta as well as the battle between a group of pirates and a secret organization.

After that the people of Alabasta, those who fought in the conflict and those who didn't began to pick each other up. As the country and people began the process of rebuilding the rain fell. It fell all over the country and only after a three-year drought.

Around the same time on the Northern side of the Alabasta:

"What were you thinking? Commandeering my troops to search for one little ship. Quite vexing. Hina is vexed." Hina said in an irritated tone of voice

"Don't give me that crap. We've been associates for some time now." Smoker replied

"Hina sympathizes with Tashigi." She said

Smoker just replied with a "Hmph. Regardless, take this rain making ship back to HQ."

"Why should I?" Hina interjected

"Oh yeah, you'll have to bring Crocodile with you. Tashigi will be bringing him back sooner or later." Smoker stated.

"Don't think you can boss me around!"

"Fine." Smoker said as he took a coin out of his pocket and flipped it. The coin landed in his left hand and he quickly put the coin down on top of his right hand.

"Heads" Hina called

Smoker moved his left that had been covering the coin revealing the tails side of the coin "You lose." Smoker said.

"You haven't changed at all have you? Hina is disappointed!"

"I know, I'm well aware of that."

Back in Alubarna the Marines had happened across the Straw Hat pirates who were asleep on the ground.

"Don't touch them." Tashigi said, trying to speak with some authority in her voice.

"But Sergeant Major, we may never get an opportunity like this again!"

"I understand that. However, I will not allow anybody to lay a hand on them! Understood!" Tashigi said however, even she was a little bit unsure if she was making the right call.

"Leave them be! That's an order!" Tashigi said putting her foot down. "We have other criminals to round up."

Understanding that they were outranked and therefore not allowed to disobey the orders of a superior officer they left the Straw Hats where they were. They proceeded to take other pirates into custody. Tashigi stared at the unconscious pirates for a moment. She contemplated the repercussions of leaving them to do as they pleased. She had all sorts of horrible thoughts in that head of hers. Yet, she couldn't see any of them coming to pass after her previous interactions with this particular crew.

Two hours later all the Straw Hats except for Luffy woke up and they were able to get to the palace. From their all their wounds were patched up and they proceeded to go to sleep. The whole crew plus Vivi were in a room with more than enough beds for them all to sleep. However, Vivi didn't sleep. She watched the rain fall.

In the middle of the night there was a knock on the door it opened and was quickly shut. Igaram walked in and over to Princess Vivi.

"Couldn't sleep?" Igaram asked

"No, I just wanted to watch the rain fall."

So, that is what the two proceeded to do, at least for a time.

"I will never understand how you were able to just ignore this snoring." Igaram said as he walked over to the Straw Hats, he proceeded to pick up and cover up all of the members of the crew who had been sleeping in rather odd positions.

"It was tough at first, but I got used to it rather quickly. It's almost soothing now"

"You know, I wish I could have said thank you."

"Pell was loyal member of the Royal Guard. He was always willing to sacrifice himself if it meant that it would protect the country that he loved."

"Okay, but it doesn't make it any less difficult."

"I can only speak to what I think Pell would want. I don't believe he would want you to mourn him. He would want you to remember all the memories you made. The good and the bad times. Remembering a person is the only way for them to live on." Igaram pointed to his head and soon after pointed to his heart. "He will live on, for I don't ever plan to forget what he meant to me. I will forever be grateful to have been able to call him my friend and comrade."

Vivi didn't say anything. She just let all of what Igaram said sink in.

"Try and get some sleep. We are going to be busy tomorrow and for the foreseeable future." Igaram said before he walked out through the door before closing it.

Vivi eventually got up from the chair she had been sitting on and went to bed. The next morning the crew sans Luffy woke up relatively early considering they spent the better part of yesterday afternoon and evening sound asleep. Any wounds that they had sustained during their battles were treated and wrapped with bandages. Of course, Chopper stressed staying in bed and resting. But he knew the crew well enough and he knew that they weren't going to do as he said. So, he went about his own business and began working on making more medicine and Rumble Balls.

Zoro, Sanji and Usopp were walking around when they walked into Chaka.

"How are you three doing?" Chaka asked

"Considering everything that's happened in the past 24 hours I have no complaints." Zoro said

"That's fair, all of this has been hard on everyone." Chaka replied

"Hey, do you guys have somewhere we can train?" Sanji asked "A place that the Marines won't be able to get to, so that we don't get you guys in trouble for harboring us."

"Don't worry about us, we wouldn't think of turning in our countries saviors. The Marines won't be an issue. We have several sites outside and within the city. They all should be more than large enough for your training. Please follow me." Chaka said before he walked off. Usopp, Sanji and Zoro followed behind him.

Around the same time the Marine forces were reconvening at the Eastern Port of Tamarisk. Tashigi got off of one of the many camels transporting troops and walked toward the stairs leading to the deck of the ship. There she saw Captains Smoker and Hine. Smoker was sitting on the stairs while Hina was standing just a few feet from the base of the stairs.

"Good work!" One of the Marines said

"It's been a while Tashigi." Hina said.

"Hina-san" Tashigi said as she walked but stopped just a couple of feet past Hina. "Hello…I'm a little tired, so I'm going to go rest for a bit. Tashigi walked to the base of the stairs and stopped. "Reporting back, Captain Smoker."

"Yeah, Good job. I heard about the incident with the Straw Hat."

"Forgive me Captain…I aided the pirates and let them escape even though they were vulnerable. I understand that these actions are shameful for a Marine."

"Why apologize? Did your actions stem from your own sense of justice?"

"No, they did not. It was because it was the only thing I could do. I knew where the enemy was and knew when the bombing was to occur. But I was only able to provide the location of the enemy and only able to provide support."

"They must have figured this out by now. But the only way to survive on these seas is to reach higher and higher. Do you continue to advance or will you die?"

Tashigi began her ascent up the stairs. Doing her best to keep her composure all the while.

"You decided to come to this sea, did you not?" Smoker said.

"Excuse me Captain, I need to rest for a while." Once she made it past Smoker the barrier broke and the tears began to fall.

"Idiot" Smoker said taking the cigars from his mouth. "IF YOU'RE FRUSTRATED ENOUGH TO CRY, THEN TRY GETTING STRONGER!"

"YES SIR" Tashigi yelled. Following that she proceeded to go below deck to her cabin and cry.

Smoker walked down the stairs to watch over the on-boarding of the prisoners. Just after he made his way off the stairs a Marine grunt came over to him. "Captain Smoker, you have a call from headquarters." Smoker picked up the line and the Den Den Mushi began talking.

He proceeded to have a very interesting conversation with headquarters. They wanted to congratulate him and Tashigi on their defeat and capture of Crocodile. For their outstanding work, they would be awarded medals and they would each get promoted one rank. But Smoker wasn't having any of it. Hina on the other hand was trying to get Smoker to calm down. She didn't want him getting in trouble for disobeying their superiors. In the end Smoker told the person on the other end to pass along a message to their superiors.

"Tell them to go to hell."

Back in the Palace at Alubarna the three straw hats were still following Chaka.

"This place is so huge" Usopp said as he looked around, astonished at all the work that must have went into constructing such a place.

It wasn't long before Chaka came to a stop at large door.

"This is incredible" Sanji said as Chaka opened the door.

Just beyond the doors was a massive open courtyard where all the soldiers trained. Just 20 feet above them were hallways that wrapped around the area. The halls connect one end of the palace to the other. On the second floor, the hallways have a three-foot-tall partitioned wall that allows people to look down into the courtyard. Running from the floor to the ceiling are thick pillars that likely held up part of the roof above them.

"We are within the walls of the palace, no one from the outside will be bother you. On top of that quite a bit of noise comes from this area. You are free to use all that is here." Chaka said before he walked away and closed the doors behind him.

"Well, let's get started." Zoro said before he started with some light weight training, Usopp started with target practice, and Sanji ran laps around the perimeter. After their respective light warmups, they began their real practice, working on their Haki.

In another part of the Palace Luffy was still sound asleep. He had slept for three days their first time through. He had also been poisoned last time and had a terrible fever. This time he was just tired, his body still not exactly in the shape he needs to be in. None of the crew thought he would sleep nearly as long this time. Vivi on the other hand was kind of skeptical.

"Vivi, I hope you have enough food. Once this idiot wakes up he will make at least a days' worth of food disappear." Nami said as she sat on a couch in the corner of the room reading.

"Don't worry Nami-san, we have plenty of food to feed Luffy-san when he wakes up" Vivi said from the bed closest to Nami.

"I'm sure he will appreciate it." Nami said

"I'm so glad I happened across you guys back at the Twin Capes. If I hadn't this country would have fallen under Crocodile's control." Vivi said as she started to tear up. "So many people would have died. I will be forever grateful, you all gave us another chance."

"Vivi." Nami said as she got up from the couch, putting the book down in the process. She walked over to Vivi and flicked her on the forehead to get her to stop, only to wrap Vivi up in a tight embrace. "You don't have to get all sappy and you never have to thank us. We do things for each other, because that is what friends do."

It was at this point that Luffy woke up from his extended sleep. "Nami is right, Vivi. We will do anything for you. All you have to do is feed us." Luffy said as he rubbed his stomach

Nami walked over to Luffy and proceeded to punch him in the head, he landed face first on the floor. "You really do only think with your stomach, don't you, you dumbass!" Nami said with over exaggerated shark teeth and a reddish fist. Vivi looked down to see a large bump on Luffy's head where Nami had hit him.

"Hey Nami." Luffy said, face still partially stuck to the floor.

"What's up?" Nami asked, her normal features returning.

"How long was I sleeping?"

"About 20 hours. Why?"

"I didn't think my body would need that much time to recover."

"Well, fighting a Shichibukai is pretty taxing." Nami said, crossing her arms under her breasts.

"I guess I need more practice." Luffy said, finally standing up.

"You could go train with the guys." Nami said "Didn't Chaka take them somewhere they could train?"

"He did." Vivi said "I can show you guys if you would like."

"That wou…" Nami was interrupted mid sentence as Terracotta walked in to find Luffy awake.

"Would you look at that, the captain is awake." Terracotta said "Vivi-sama tells me you have quite the appetite. I haven't lost to anyone's appetite yet; I don't intend to start now." She said, very confident in her skills as head chef. "We've brought this for you to snack on until the banquet later today." On that cue, a cart of food was pushed in for Luffy to eat. Blink and you would miss it. The food was gone in an instant.

"That was delicious. I look forward to eating more of your food." Luffy said as he walked towards the door. "Vivi, you were going to show us where the guys are."

"Oh, yes. If you would follow me." Vivi said "If you would excuse us Terracotta-san." Terracotta and her staff moved aside to allow Princess Vivi and her guests by.

Nami and Vivi were chatting on their way to the courtyard. As they were walking they noticed that some guards had been heading in the same direction. In just under five minutes Nami, Vivi and Luffy had reached the hallways above the courtyard. A crowd of guards had gathered to watch the three Straw Hats fight.

Vivi tapped on one of the guard's shoulders and asked "What's going on?"

"Some of the Straw Hats are fighting downstairs." The guard said, unaware of who he was talking to.

"I can't believe a crowd like this would gather just to watch Zoro, Sanji and Usopp fight." Nami said. "What do you think Vivi?"

"I'm not really surprised they drew a crowd. On top of that there is quite a bit of open space down there for them to move around.."

The guard turned to his right to see Nami and Luffy. "Excuse me, did you say Vivi?"

"Yes I did. She's right next to me." Nami said. The guard turned to his left and was shocked to see the princess right behind him.

"Princess Vivi-sama." The guard said. Several guards near him turned around to see Vivi standing behind them.

"It's the princess." Several guards said. It only took a moment before all the guards realized that their princess was in attendance, trying to see what was going on.

"Please forgive us Princess for not realizing you were here sooner."

"Please, do not worry. Would you mind if my friends and I made our way to the front to get a better view?" Vivi asked politely

"But of course Princess." The guard said "Make way for the Princess." He continued and the guards in front made a path for Vivi and her guests. Once Vivi and company were at the railing overlooking the courtyard the path that had been made vanished.

From down below Zoro, Sanji and Usopp heard "make way for the Princess." They stopped momentarily to see Vivi, Nami and Luffy walk towards the front of the crowd.

"Well, well, would you look how is up. Have a nice rest sleeping beauty?" Zoro uttered sarcastically

"Who are you calling sleeping beauty, you bastard." Luffy replied with shark teeth. He quickly turned to Nami. "You want to practice or do you want to wait?"

"Go have fun. Show these guys a thing or two. Just don't make them look too ridiculous." Nami stated.

"We heard that Nami." Usopp said. "Don't you have any faith in us?"

"Of course I do. I just think Luffy will make you look silly. That's all."

Luffy jumped up and stood on the railing for a moment before he jumped off and landed twenty feet below. That alone got the attention of the guards. They were all quite amazed that someone would jump from such a height let alone land completely uninjured.

"Put on a good show." Nami said

"You ready guys?" Luffy asked "Let's see how much you have improved since we got to the island. Come at me all at once!" Luffy's said

"He can't take on all three? Can he?"

"He can!" Vivi said

Those simple words silenced the whole crowd. Luffy walked to the center of the courtyard and motioned with his upturned hand gesturing for them to make a move. The three went attack him and with that the show began.

Zoro, Sanji and Usopp began to attack Luffy. They all attacked him but he was able to avoid all of their attacks. Luffy even went as far as to grab the blade of Zoro's swords when he used one of his attacks. Sanji would attempt to kick Luffy, however he would use whichever of his arms or legs that were closest to counter. Usopp put up an attempt as well using none of his ammo from his time on the Boin Archipelago.

"How… How is it that he is doing that?" One of the guards asked

"He caught a sword in the palm of his hand." A second guard said.

"If he isn't dodging an attack he is taking it head on!" A third guard said.

"He's gone so far as to catch a projectile in mid-air." A fourth guard said

Nami had grown tired of standing and decided to sit on the bannister overlooking the courtyard. All she could do was laugh. Which throughly annoyed the guards. They couldn't understand why she was laughing. The guards even caught Princess Vivi using the palm of her hand to cover her mouth and prevent too many giggles from escaping.

The afternoon turned to dusk all the while the four Straw Hats guys sans Chopper were fighting. Many guards had come and gone. No matter how intrigued they were, they still had jobs to do. For a time, the quartet had even drawn the attention of the King as well as Igaram and Chaka.

"It's gotten dark out!" Luffy said, a little unaware at how long this fighting had been going on.

Just a few short seconds later a guard appeared from one of the halls. "Princess Vivi-sama, If you and your guests would follow me it's time to eat.

"You guys hear that?" Nami asked yelling down at the idiots. "Dinner!"

Hearing the word dinner, Luffy stretched his arm and propelled himself up to the second level. Scaring the guard in the process.

"What are we waiting for let's go!" Luffy said before he started marching off.

"Wait a second!" Nami yelled. Luffy stopped and turned on the balls of his feet to see what Nami wanted. "Go grab Chopper" she said. In the meantime Zoro, Sanji and Usopp had made their way upstairs to the second floor.

"Ok, I will go grab Chopper." Luffy said. "See you guys in the dining hall!"

"But how will he find it?" The guard asked

"Don't worry. He will find it. He might even get there before us if we don't get going." Zoro said as started walking in a completely random direction.

"Where the hell are you going Marimo?!" Sanji asked

"To the dining hall, shitty cook!" Zoro exclaimed

"It's this way you moron." Nami yelled.

Zoro just turned around and started walking in the same direction as the group. Several minutes later the group made their way into the dining hall. And to one's surprise, except for the guards, Luffy was already there with a dazed Chopper sitting next to him.

Everyone sat down and moments later food was brought out. Luffy started stuffing his face with anything within arm's reach, and for him that is across the whole damn table. So, all the straw hats guarded their food with their lives. It didn't take long before the guards started to comment amongst themselves at how loud the dining hall had become. Normally, it's supposed to be very quiet in there. But as we all know, whenever the Straw Hats get involved a party breaks out. Soon enough even the most uptight of the guards were laughing at the Straw Hats antics. Even the King, Igaram and Chaka couldn't help but cry from laughing too hard. By the end of the meal the plates that had been stacked ludicrously high were being cleared off of the table. Usopp, Chopper and Luffy were dancing on the table, chop sticks stuck up their noses.

After dinner, the Straw Hats went with King Cobra, Igaram and Vivi to the large bathhouse in the palace. The guys went to their side while the girls went to theirs.

"Would you look at this place! It's amazing!" Usopp said

"This grand bath, it's the pride of this palace. Normally it's only useable during the rainy season." Cobra explained.

Usopp and Luffy proceeded to mess around while the rest of the guys used the bath as it was intended to be used.

Of course Sanji was Sanji and had to ask "Where is the women's baths?"

"You lech, as if I would tell you." Igaram responded. "Princess Vivi is in there."

Cobra Walked over several feet to a wall and pointed to his left. "They are on the other side of this wall."

"That's just terrible your highness. Why would you tell them that? Your daughter is just on the other side of that wall!" Igaram questioned

"The wall is open at the top. You can look onto the other side if you wish." Cobra said

"Your highness!" Igaram yelled, appalled by the whole situation.

All of the guys sans Zoro proceeded to make their way to the top of the wall to wait for a chance to get a peak at the pretty ladies.

On the other side of the wall Vivi was washing Nami's back.

"I can't believe all the things we have seen. Dinosaurs, Giants, a Sakura tree blooming in the snow from atop a mountain. I can only imagine what else might be out there." Vivi said.

"Who knows, but if our first few weeks on the Grand Line are anything to go by, anything is possible." Nami stated, having a very good idea of what was actually feasible.

"Being royalty has its positives and negatives. I just hope that one day that I will be able to see the world like you do." Vivi said.

"Time for me to wash your back" Nami said

It was at this point that the steam had cleared just enough for her to noticed everyone, sans Zoro peeking over the wall separating the two spaces. Nami stood up and grabbed her towel from her lap and wrapped it over her shoulders, covering herself.

"You each owe me 100,000 beli, alright." Before anyone could agree, Nami dropped her towel. Everyone got a peek and fell off the wall with blood running from their noses.

"That's so naughty Nami-san!" Vivi said, she was beyond embarrassed. She could never do something like that she thought. If that wasn't enough, Vivi's cheeks were bright red.

Nami grabbed her towel like it didn't even phase her, she proceeded to sit back down and wash Vivi's back. After they were done they got into the bath and they both sat there for a time.

Back on the other side of the wall all of the guys had recovered. All of them except for Luffy who was sitting cross legged on the floor with his towel covering his lap. It was at this point that King Cobra walked over to Luffy and crew who were all in relatively close proximity to one another. Cobra got down on the floor to prostrate himself before the unusual group of pirates who saved his country.

It was at this point that Igaram scolded the King of the country for bowing before pirates.

"Don't be foolish Igaram." Cobra said. "Have you ever heard of a naked King?" Cobra asked

"Well, no. I guess, I haven't." Igaram retorted

"Rank is worn on the outside, on one's clothes, when in public."

"It is only here in a bath where we are all equal, where I can properly thank you. I want to thank you for all that you have done for this country, its people as well as myself and my daughter. You all brought her back home, and for that I will forever be grateful."

Cobra stayed like that for a time before Luffy interjected. "You don't have to bow before us. We didn't do it to be liked. We did all of this to help a friend who was in trouble. We did what we could so that she wouldn't have to worry. All because we couldn't stand to see her get upset. But most of all because she was willing to fight for what she believed in. If Vivi's heart wasn't in it like it was we m…" Sanji proceeded to kick Luffy in the head.

"That's enough you rubber bastard. He gets it. Vivi-chan played a large role in our involvement."

From the other side of the bath the girls could hear the conversation going on. Vivi wanted to cover the blush growing on her face. But a quick nudge from Nami and Vivi was listening like she would during any other conversation.

After some time in their respective baths, both males and females got out, dried off and got dressed. The Straw Hats along with Vivi and Carue decided to continue sleeping in the same room they had been set up in. The bath was relaxing enough that as soon as the Straw Hats laid down on their beds they passed out. The next morning things proceeded like they would with the Straw Hats involved.

After a quick breakfast the guys proceeded to go back to the courtyard and train. They had to take full advantage of the space. Spending lots of time on a boat doesn't leave you with any place for rigorous regular training. They have to avoid intense work outs on your only means of transportation. In the courtyard they didn't have this problem and worked to get in as much of the training that wasn't doable on a boat.

Over the course of their remaining time there the monster trio beat the living shit out of each other. Chopper, Nami, Usopp and even Vivi got involved in their training. Chopper spent less than half of his time fighting for a few reasons. He is the doctor, and he had his own work to do with his medicine and rumble balls. Nami too spent less than half the time the monster trio spent training. She always was a more strategic fighter, outsmarting her enemies with her mastery of weather manipulation. Usopp on the other hand just couldn't quite keep up with the insanity of the trio.

He spent about sixty percent of the time of the trio did training. Of that sixty percent he spent about half of it sitting against a wall catching his breath. Vivi would occasionally jump in for some sparring against the trio. They might be stupid in their own regards. The fact of the matter is that they were smart enough to know where they were. So they went easy-ish on Vivi even though she insisted they fight all out. Over their time in the courtyard various royal guards went to test themselves against the trio. Everyone of them got destroyed. But after learning how out classed they were, they began looking for a bone to be thrown their way. They wanted something that would help them protect the country they loved. So the trio obliged, only if just a little bit.

Of course in other parts of the country the Marines were readying their forces. They had spent much of their time searching the island for the Straw Hats ship. As luck would have it a certain okama just happened to be on that ship hiding out. As was Robin, but their paths never crossed. Bon decided that the best move would be to hide the ship from the Marines. So that is what he did, under the cover of darkness of course. He's not a complete moron.

During what would be their last afternoon on the island after their last sparring session the Straw Hats received a call from that very same okama. Their was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Nami said

"I'm sorry to bother you all but someone keeps calling for you. He says you are friends." The guard said, rather confused by all of this.

"Ok, we will take the call." Nami replied. The guard set the Den Den Mushi on the desk and left the room.

The Den Den Mushi proceeded to ring once more. Luffy picked up the receiver and didn't say anything like he normally would. He just said "Hello."

Bon Clay proceeded to say "Mugiwara, I thought we were friends. How come you haven't answered."

"Not you." Sanji said

"Oh, I recognize your voice. You are the blond cook."

"What do you want, make it fast."

"I have your ship. I will call later with the location. The Marines have gathered their forces, they are going to be making a move sooner rather than later."

"Thanks, talk later." Luffy hung up the receiver.

"That was Bon Clay's voice." Vivi said

"Doesn't sound like he is holding Merry hostage. Sounds like he is trying to help us." Zoro said

"What, why would he do that?" Vivi asked

"One guess." Sanji said. "He needs our help." Sanji stated before lighting up a cigarette.

"Why would he need your help?" Vivi asked, her anger getting the better of her.

"Calm down Vivi-chan. Nothing to get upset over." Sanji said.

"Smoker probably called for reinforcements. He probably can't leave the island. So, he is forcing us to help him if we want our ship back." Luffy said

"It's actually kind of ingenious. I don't agree with it but it's ingenious non the less." Usopp said his arms crossed

"Sounds like tonight is our last night on the island." Zoro said "Can we borrow the Duck Squad to get to the coast."

"I guess you would have to leave eventually." Vivi said, sadness very obvious in her voice.

"Don't be sad Vivi." Nami said. "We didn't expect that we would be able to stay here forever. We are pirates after all."

"I know, it's just that I am going to miss you guys." Vivi said

"We will miss you too." Nami replied, reaching out to give Vivi a hug.

The two of them embraced for a few moments before letting go of each other.

"I will make the preparations for your departure tonight." Vivi said. She left the room wiping any remaining tears from her eyes.

Some time later, after the Straw Hats and Vivi spent a few hours together they got onto their ducks and rode off into the night. During that time Bon Clay called with a location of where he would dock the ship for them to meet up.

"Sad to see them go?" Cobra asked his daughter.

"Of course." Vivi said "But they had to leave, they said the longer they stayed the more likely that we would get into trouble for harboring them."

"That's probably true." Cobra said. "I have a feeling you will see them again someday. But for now you should get some sleep. Your coming of age ceremony is tomorrow."

"I will father, good night." Vivi said, giving her father a hug before going off to bed.

"Good night." Cobra responded

Several hours later the Straw Hats made it to their destination. The Straw Hats said their thanks to the Duck Squad before they took off back for Alubarna. The Merry was in one piece and Bon Clay was sitting on the railing.

"I'm so glad you made it." Bon said.

"Thanks for moving Merry, the Marines are must be out in full force looking for us." Usopp said.

"We have to assume they heard our conversation and are planning to ambush us." Sanji said

"That's right…w…wait a minute." Bon-chan said. "What are you talking about? How would they intercept our conversation?"

"It's the Marines. Many of their soldiers may be incompetent but their means of how they go about gathering information may be second to none." Sanji said as he hauled some of their supplies onboard the Merry.

"We will be ready for them." Luffy said

"I thank you my friends. A single swan would not be able to make it through their formations."

Bon Clay's ship seemingly appeared out of nowhere. His crew greatful for the Straw Hats help in getting away from the island. They spent the next several hours getting everything all set for their departure.

Around the same time Fullbody and Jango were on a pirate ship. They had taken out an entire crew of unnamed pirates. Not long after their success reported to Captain Hina, each with a huge bouquet of flowers for the lovely captain.

Early the next morning, back in Alubarna, Vivi was getting ready to give a speech to the people.

"The square is already packed. Your speech isn't scheduled until 10 am, yet so many people are already their waiting for you to speak." Terracotta said, tightening the corset Vivi was wearing.

Around the same time a Marine was reporting to Hina that the Straw Hats ship had been spotted.

Not more than a few hours after that the Straw Hats had encountered some of the Marine ships looking to take them in. It wasn't long before a full out battle on the sea started.

"These huge metal spears are a pain in the ass. I hope Merry doesn't take too much damage." Sanji said as the Merry's hull had already been penetrated by half a dozen of the things.

The battle continued as more spikes were fired at the Merry and the Swanda Express.

"This is crazy. We can't fight efficiently against eight ships all at the same time it's too many." Sanji said, frustrated at his lack of overall might. 'In just two years, ships this small and this few in number would be easily dispatch-able by any member of our crew.' Sanji thought to himself.

"Fighting on the land would be so much easier." Zoro said, just a little frustrated by their current predicament. "No matter what we do, they won't break their formation."

"What the hell are that idiot we met on the Baratie and the hypnotist from Syrup village doing on Marine ships?" Nami asked

"You know them?" Bon Clay asked

"Yeah, we met them not too long ago on the East Blue." Luffy said as he walked to the side of the ship. "Usopp." Luffy said. That was all Usopp had to hear before he shot a cannonball, destroying one ship while taking its partner down with it.

"That was amazing, long nose." Bon Clay said. "Hurry, let's make our escape to the south."

"We can't we have to meet a friend on the Eastern Harbor at noon." Nami said.

Bon Clay didn't know what to say. He froze in place with his jaw completely open. He quickly regained his composure. "To risk everything for a friend?"

"Yeah." Luffy said

"There is nothing more noble than to risk your life for a friend." Bon Clay said. The okama turned to his men. "Running away now would defy the Bon Clay way!"

Shortly after that the Swan ship started sailing for the South.

"The Swan ship is a decoy?" Hina thought out loud.

"It appears all of the Straw Hats are on board the swan ship." A Marine grunt stated.

The Marine ships broke formation to follow the Swan ship towards the south. Just three minutes later the Merry took off towards the East. The Swan ship was destroyed and its crew was captured in the pursuing battle.

"Everything falls the same way, I will see you again not too long from now." Luffy said, tears in his eyes as he watched his friend risk his life for his sake for a third time.

"We can't worry about him now. We have to say goodbye to Vivi." Nami said.

The Marines had made relatively short work of capturing the Swanda's crew. They proceeded to follow the Merry towards their destination.

All around the same time Vivi began her speech. All around the country, Den Den Mushi's were amplified so that all of the citizens in the various cities of Alabasta could hear the Princess's speech. Vivi proceeded to talk about her adventure with the Straw Hats, avoiding any and all mention of their actual crew name as well as the mention of the term pirates*. At the same time the Straw Hats fought off Marine soldiers and destroyed the ships that sailed too close. Eventually they broke off from the Marines and made their way to the Eastern Harbor.

*For your refence the speech is the same as the one Vivi gives in the Anime (Episode 129 around 15 minutes in) and the Manga (Chapter 216)

"Everyone have the mark on their left arm?" Nami asked

Everyone nodded, they were all somber. They didn't want to not have Vivi continue to sail with them. But they knew her title and position as a princess was much more important.

"We will see her again, someday?" Chopper asked

"Of course we will." Luffy replied. "She is our nakama and will always be welcome. The time just isn't right yet for her to sail with us."

"More ships are sailing toward us." Usopp said. Everyone's attention shifted to the incoming threat.

"Fantastic" Zoro said, sarcasm heavy in his voice.

"Here she comes." Sanji said. Everyone turned their attention back towards the coast of the island.

"You manage to get your Haki back?" Luffy asked

"Working on it." Sanji said "I can see her."

"Don't say anything." Luffy said "You know what to do."

"I will stay here. I love this country." Vivi said. Her voice amplified by the Den Den Mushi.

The Straw hats turned their backs to Vivi. But in doing so raised their left arms and clenched their fist. They had redrawn the black X on their forearms. Their silent promise that they would always be nakama. Vivi and Carue did the same. As they sailed off the Marines started firing on the crew. All the while five of the six of the Straw Hats had tears in their eyes. They continued to stand at the back of the ship for a short while.

Luffy eventually yelled "Set Sail" and they went about their business after they wiped away the tears from their eyes. Through a combination of knowledge and strength the Straw Hats were able to get away from the Marines.

Sometime later out on the open sea.

"Well that was quite amusing." Robin said.

"Does she?" Zoro whispered to Luffy

"Do I have my memories back?" Robin replied. "You can't get anything by me Zoro. I hear everything." Just as she said that flower petals materialized from nowhere. "I do. Nami mentioned my item after you departed from Whiskey Peak."

It was at this time that they noticed that Robin was wearing slightly more provocative clothing. More akin to what she would wear after their two years apart. Very different from what she wore when she emerged from the ship after their first departure from Alabasta.

"I'm so happy you are back Robin-chan." Sanji said.

"That is if Luffy will have me back." Robin replied

"Don't be stupid." Luffy said. "Just because I did something stupid doesn't take away from all that we have been through."

"Sort of does." Nami said

"Come on." Luffy replied pouting, "You know what I mean."

"We all regained our memories from our past or future experiences." Robin explained.

"Yeah, exactly." Luffy said. "Like I was saying. Just because I did something stupid, doesn't mean that you're all not my friends. You all have a place on this crew and on this ship." Luffy said. He proceeded to rub his head. "Is that right? I'm confused."

"I don't know, it's all so weird." Usopp said

"We are all nakama again, aren't we?" Chopper asked

"Of course we are Chopper. We followed Luffy once. We just get to experience everything all over again." Robin said as she went over to grab a lounge chair from storage and set it up.

"I have one more thing to say." Luffy said as sat down on the floor and tried to lean forward. But he was stopped by half a dozen arms.

"Don't apologize. You've already done that. Like I told you a couple of days ago after you beat Crocodile. I'm excited to make a mockery of the World Government all over again. For my own personal curiosity I'm excited to see what changes and what memories we retain." Robin said uncrossing her arms and letting her duplicate arms disappear.

"Fair enough." Luffy said standing back up. "I'm going to say this one more time. Know that I will do anything for you all. Your enemy is my enemy. I will do anything, fight anyone to make sure you are happy."

"We know." Zoro replied. "We know."

"Alright then." Luffy said. "Set sail for Jaya."

"We are already on the ocean, you dumbass." Nami yelled. "Besides we have to make sure we're on the right path. Which means we need to wait for the log pose to point us towards another island or we wait and hope for those Monkeys to show up with an Eternal Pose to Jaya. We should know if we are on the right course soon enough. With any luck we should sail directly under the falling St. Bliss. I want you to get me my waver back you dumbass." Nami proceeded to hit Luffy on the head as she often does, once again leaving a comically large bump.

Well Luffy fell to floor. He was on his back looking up and well. Low and behold he saw the St. Bliss was once again falling from the sky.

"You mean that ship right there?" Luffy asked as debris fell all around them.

Back to the Future Straw Hats

The Straw Hats walked outside and back to the Sunny. They looked out onto the horizon and saw that the sun was still high in the sky. They hadn't been inside the cave for nearly as long as they thought. Nami had been one of the last ones out save for Sanji and Luffy. Everyone was about to head off and go about their business but Nami got everyone's attention.

"Before you guys go off and do your own thing we need to discuss a few things."

"What do we need to talk about?" Usopp questioned as he crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side to think about recent events.

"Jinbe came back after taking the division commanders to the meeting with Big Mom. In addition to that our captain came back from who knows where."

"Right, how could I forget. I guess I was just glad to have them back." Usopp rubbed the back of his neck. He was kind of ashamed he could just forget such big details.

"Alright, everyone to the library." Nami ordered. Around the time she realized she had feelings for Luffy she wasn't quite herself. But after what happened in the cave of Raftel she was more or less back to her regular self.

"Why the library?" Franky asked. "Wouldn't the kitchen be better?"

"Do you think Luffy is going to pay any attention in the kitchen?" Nami questioned as she considered every place on the Sunny.

"I don't think Luffy-san will be any better in the library." Brook mentioned. "Luffy-san isn't one for books. Will he be able to keep focused?"

"Oh, I don't think you will have to worry about that anymore. He has something else to hold his attention now." Nami said as she purred like the sultry kitten her namesake represents.

Everyone eventually made their way into the library. Nami and Luffy, as well as Robin and Zoro sat next to each other. The rest of the crew sat in various locations on the couch along the wall. All except for Jinbe who sat on the floor and Sanji who was in the kitchen.

"You don't look very comfortable Jinbe. After we are done here I will make a chair for you."

"That would be great, thank you Franky."

"Of course." Franky cracked a smile while he held his big pink thumb up in the air.

In the meantime Sanji brought up two trays of drinks and put them on the cartography table. "Alright, everyone is here. We can begin our meeting." Nami began by standing up and grabbing a drink from one of the trays. Sanji passed out the remaining drinks. "I want to welcome back Jinbe who had taken on the job of escorting our division commanders through Big Mom's territory in person. And of course, I would like to welcome back Luffy from where ever the hell he disappeared to."

"Kanpai."

"Kanpai." Everyone repeated before they took a drink.

Nami went to sit down next to Luffy.

"So, we can talk about my discussion later. I am more curious as to what the hell this idiot has been up to." Jinbe expressed his confusion. "Seriously, I get back and right away I am dragged into this cave with everyone."

Usopp had gotten up and moved to the center of the room before he started talking about all that had transpired while Luffy was gone. "Yeah, it's been weird. The spirit told us Luffy found the lamp he was inside of. He told us how Luffy wished to go back in time to when he was younger with his mind intact so he could prevent Ace from dying. Thing is, we knew he went into the cave to explore but he never came back out of the cave."

"Eventually we all went in to look for him. Coincidentally Chopper and I happened across the same lamp. We rubbed it and to say the least we were surprised. Regardless, after we found out what happened to Luffy we asked the spirit to send our consciousness's back in time so that we could help Luffy. After watching our past selves for some time we got bored. We decided it would be beneficial to send our past selves some stuff from today. Well, more exactly just a few of us sent stuff back."

"Yeah, I sent back an older version of my clima-tact. Chopper sent himself some herbs and Usopp sent himself some pop greens. I'm sure there were other things in there, but those were the important bits. All of this stuff was to make ourselves more useful in battles." Nami said as she recounted the note she sent herself.

"You know, if that wasn't crazy enough, we found out that Robin and Zoro had feelings for each other. On top of that we learned that Nami had feelings for Luffy and what might be the craziest of all was that he was actually able to reciprocate those feelings." Usopp had over articulated some parts of the story but he still told it the best. Usopp hopped off of the cartography table and walked back to his seat.

After that very brief summary of what happened while he was gone Jinbe's mouth hit the floor. It took him a few moments before he was able to gather his thoughts and pick his mouth up.

"Come on Usopp, you must be stretching the truth. I mean Luffy and Zoro are pretty dense."

"Hey." they both replied.

"I'm not exaggerating!" Usopp exclaimed. "I don't know how it happened but it did."

"It might be hard to believe but it's true Jinbe-san." Robin stated as she grabbed Zoro's arm and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Well, you are adults. As long as you guys are happy." Jinbe said "Crazy as it sounds."

"I'm going to have some work to do if you guys want your own rooms. I will have to split the girls room in half. That would be the best way for all four of you to share that space. We are going to have to move the upper portion of the staircase leading to the helm and add a door to allow two of you to get to your room." Franky briefly explained all of the work that would have to be done. "Later we will take it down to the studs to add some sound proofing. After what we heard coming from the cave earlier it will be more than necessary for you perverts."

"Hey, I don't want to hear that from you!" Nami exclaimed as she yelled at Franky. After she got that out of her system she was able to talk with him in a more polite manner. "I can't imagine any of that work will be difficult for you Franky?" Nami asked, her demeanor changing yet again to something more cutesy.

"It's far from difficult. I will get to work on it as soon as we are done here." Franky said

Luffy cleared his throat and started talking. "So, we have two more matters to get to." Luffy said as he took charge of the meeting.

Everyone was shocked to see Luffy taking the lead. Usually he would just sit around. Very rarely has he contributed something that wasn't almost immediately shot down for being too stupid. He has never actually taken charge of a meeting beyond the opening of one.

"Well, how did your meeting go Jinbe?" Luffy was beyond curious, which wasn't strange for him when it pertained to messing around or kicking ass. But when it came down to actual business Luffy was very absent minded.

"Well, I am pleased to say that Fishman Island is officially under the protection of the Straw Hat pirates and the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. Even though you were able to beat Big Mom some time ago she still didn't want to hand over control of the island. Even though the Throne War is over the repercussions of your fights against all of the Yonko are still playing themselves out. Specifically to fill the power vacuum that the Blackbeard Pirates used to occupy. All over the New World there are pirates and other organizations who are fighting each other to gain as much of that territory as possible. Many of the same sides, fighting each other over some of the territories that used to be under the protection of the Yonko. However, even though you 'beat' Shanks, he and his crew have some how managed to stay out of it, not losing that much territory."

"Man the New World has gotten even crazier." Luffy exclaimed. "I can't wait to fight other powerful people."

"Idiot." Nami retorted as she bonked him over the head. "Who is going to want to fight the Pirate King? I can see people looking to sail under our flag for protection but that's about it."

"Come on Nami. You didn't have to hit me." Luffy retorted as he pouted like a child.

"Yes I do. I have to keep you in check. I can't have you doing anything too reckless…again." Nami leaned in and kissed him on the lips. "You understand?" Nami asked after she and Luffy stopped tongue wrestling.

Luffy didn't say anything. He just nodded.

Just after Nami and Luffy finished kissing, Zoro brought up a rather well thought out and intelligent point. "You will be surprised how much this rapid shift in power effects peoples judgement. They will be more willing to do stupid things all in the name of being more powerful or influential than the next guy." Everyone was surprised. It's rare when Zoro has something actually appropriate to add to the discussion at hand.

"It seems that being with Nami and Robin is actually good for them." Chopper theorized. "I guess it gets blood flowing to different parts of the brain that haven't seen much activity. Who would have know that the human mating ritual would have so many positive side effects."

"Chopper." Usopp said "You know, I don't want to hear anything you have to say or think about when it comes to human interactions." Usopp exclaimed. He was rather unnerved that Chopper could bring up such a topic with so little thought."

"What do you mean Usopp? It's only biology!" Chopper stated. If Usopp didn't stop him now he might go on a whole other tirade about humans mating or parts of the human body that are affected during their mating ritual."

"Chopper." Usopp said as he raised his voice a little to bring Chopper back into the conversation.

"Yeah, Usopp? Did you want me to go over something more specific? I can go into great detail about how the male and female interact while they are copul…."

"Milky." Usopp yelled. Ever since Chopper met that reindeer mink, her name had been the only thing that would get Chopper to dial his doctor talk back to zero. Just hearing her name would make Chopper act all goofy. He would act almost exactly like Sanji when he passes by a beautiful girl… well just about any girl for that matter.

"Getting back on track we have to figure out what we can do to help the spirit who as far as we know was trapped in that lamp." Luffy stated as he brought the conversation back to something that was actually relevant and useful.

"What can we do to free him from the lamp? We want to avoid hurting him." Robin said

"I'm just going to sit here and listen. I am still sort of fuzzy on what's going on." Jinbe just crossed his arms and listened. He was still being brought up to speed on what's happened while he was gone.

They did their best to brainstorm some ideas that sort of sounded feasible. But they made very little progress as they didn't really understand how the spirit ended up in the lamp. Sanji was just about to get up to go prepare dinner but Robin stopped him and started talking.

"The spirit trapped in the lamp aside. We don't actually know what happened to Luffy."

"That's a good point. You did mention something about walking into a portal, getting trapped inside and then another you walking through the other side of the portal. Right?" Franky recalled Luffy's brief description before things between Luffy and Nami got anymore intimate.

Luffy scratched the top of his head for a minute while he was thinking. The rest of the crew waited patiently for an answer. "Well it was weird and it all happened so fast. I really can't explain what happened to me. I remember a bright light and then I could see the past and the present. It was like I was watching two different videos from two different visual den den mushi. But one was going faster than the other."

"Was the one from your past going faster?" Usopp asked, not really sure what to say next. This was already so damn ridiculous nothing would sound impossible ever again.

"It was. As far as anything else goes, I really don't have an answer." Luffy said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I guess we are going to have to be satisfied with that answer at least for now." Robin retorted. "There are plenty of mysteries in this world and that just happens to be one of them."

"You know, I'm not even sure how much time has passed since I walked into the portal."

"It wasn't more than two weeks." Nami said, almost casually. Like this wasn't a big deal.

After that the crew just started talking about whatever came to mind. The conversation devolved into something that was far less serious and way more fun. The serious air that had filled the library had long since dissipated. At some point Sanji disappeared to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Sometime later Sanji yelled up to the crew and they came down the ladder. Their conversations consisted of much more mundane topics. After dinner was cleaned up members of the crew continued to chat. Slowly the numbers awake dwindled as the hours ticked by. It wasn't until 1 am or so when the two couples on the ship called it a night. They kissed they respective partner and they went off to their gender divided quarters until Franky could work his magic.

Later that morning the crew was awoken by the smell of bacon and various other delectable goodies that Sanji had been wiping up. It wasn't long before the kitchen was full.

"You know, while I was away something strange happened to your Vivre card, Luffy. I had some time to think and it kind of makes sense now." Jinbe stated.

"What happened to Luffy-san's Vivre card Jinbe-san?"

"The thing is, it didn't just stop moving towards you it also faded in and out of existence." This caused everyone to stop eating. Some of their eyes seemed to bulge out of their heads. The straw hats who had their mouths filled with food quickly swallowed everything, causing some of them to choke. Moments later after everyone was all set Franky spoke up.

"You mean to say one second Luffy's Vivre card was there the next it was gone?" Franky asked, a perplexed look plastered all over his face.

"That's exactly right." Jinbe said

"Man, this just gets weirder." Usopp replied, at this point he just about had enough of all this craziness revolving around portals what he could only assume was magic or a devil fruit. He wanted to get back to their regular brand of crazy.

"Obviously, it didn't stay gone." Nami said "It likely stopped disappearing once Luffy walked back through the portal back in the cave. But by then you must have been almost to the island."

"Yeah, that would seem to be the case. I wasn't exactly sure what events caused Luffy's card to vanish like it did. I'm just glad I had Vivre cards from the rest of you. Without them I wouldn't have been able to get back here." Jinbe said

"Regardless, we are glad to have you back Jinbe-san." Brook said "So captain, what is next?"

"We'll do what we can for the spirit of the lamp, grab some treasure and get out of here. We don't want anybody else finding this island just by following my Vivre card here." Luffy said