Chimera Luffy

by mellra

What if Luffy ate a different Devil's Fruit as a child? Not just any fruit, but the most powerful of the Zoan fruits, the Chimera-Chimera Fruit. It is a legendary Zoan fruit that allows the user to take on the forms of any Zoan fruit users, as well a true form as the mythical chimera. How will this change the course of the One Piece world? Pairing most likely Luffy/Boa Hancock, but

14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Original content belongs to RoseDragonWitch and the creators of One Piece. New content belongs to me.

Chapter 14

The small band of pirates were gathered around each other on the deck of the Going Merry. But what really grabbed everyone's attention was the fact that another man—at least they thought it was a man—was there with them. Dripping wet and gasping for breath, he was a very tall, male ballerina with heavy makeup, and a pair of swan heads on the back of his pink coat. They crew had literally picked the man up during their attempts at fishing (while using Carue as bait).

The man, whose name was Bon Clay, gasping out, "I thought I was going to die there for a minute." He looked up to the Straw Hats and said, gratitude in his voice, "HEY! You saved me thanks! I never imagined that my life would be saved by a group of complete strangers. Thanks again," he bowed his head several times, "I'll never forget your kindness, but could I trouble you for a cup of warm soup? Chicken noodle will do."

Unfortunately for the man, Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Carue had eaten all the food that Sanji had carefully laid out for them all to last until they reached Alabasta.

"NO WAY!" the Straw Hats all screamed at Bon Clay.

"We can't even feed ourselves!" Zoro yelled, all of them looking dangerous at the reminder that they were starving.

Bon Clay flirted with Vivi and began to show off his abilities to them. They learned here that Bon Clay had the powers of the Clone Clone Fruit, which allowed him to become a flawless copy of someone he touch with his right hand, in both face and body.

His antics immediately amused them, and Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper fell head over heels for his ability. To Nami's dismay, he once transformed into her and allowed them all to view her breasts. In retaliation, Nami punched out Bon Clay and clobbered the males of the ship for the free peep show.

Bon Clay, however, recovered from that quickly as he began changing faces for Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper's amusement. Soon they were dancing and looking ready for another good party when Bon Clay's ship showed up and he had to leave. But as he did, his crew called him by his Baroque Works codename Mr. 2, surprising all of the Straw Hats - even Vivi did not know who he was, despite being told about what he looked like.

But what really upset Vivi was the fact that one of the faces that they saw turned out to be her father—the king of Alabasta.

"That's not good," Zoro said with concern in his tone, "If he can mimic the face of a king that easily, Mr. 2 has the potential to cause a lot of trouble."

"Looks like we let a really bad guy get away today huh?" Usopp asked and Chopper looked surprised as he asked if he really was a bad guy.

"Seems so," Nami said anxiously, walking around, "And having him on the other side is not a good thing. If Mr. 2 realizes that we're the ones that Baroque Works is after, then he can use the memories from earlier to transform into any one of us. We won't even be able to trust our own friends!" She then got annoyed at Luffy who didn't seem to know what the problem was.

Zoro stepped in. "No, hold on a sec," he clapped a hand on Luffy's shoulder as a wicked smirk appeared on his face. "Luffy's slow but he's also right not to be scared. Just hear me out on this one and I think you'll agree… it's actually a good thing that we ran into Mr. 2 when we did because now we can prepare and then beat him at his own game."

Soon, everyone was tying bandages around their arms. Zoro finished wrapping his own arm up and said, "Just make sure you tie it tight! I don't want anyone fooled by the enemy's disguises!"

"What a good plan," Vivi said, as she finished tying one on Nami's arm.

"We'll always know who are friends are," Nami said firmly. "Just look for the bandage on their arm."

"This Clone Clone Fruit guy," Sanji said the bandage in his mouth as he finished tying his own on, "Does he really look that similar when he turns into someone else?"

"You have no idea, it's the same not just similar!" Usopp said, "It was crazy! Really! You should've seen it Sanji! He changed into every one of us! Even Nami! And we got to dance with him!" But Sanji said that he wasn't the least bit interested in dancing with a male ballerina.

"We know that someone with his powers is somewhere among the enemy," Zoro said, holding up his arm, "So we need to be really careful to be on our guard at all times."

Chopper came forward and asked Usopp. "So," he said in a determined voice, "What should I do to help against this guy?"

"Just do whatever it is you can do!" Usopp said firmly, "You're not expected to do anything more, Chopper. And if you get overwhelmed, then just run!"

"Sounds like the pep talk he always gives himself," Sanji said and Usopp shot Sanji furious looks.

"Whatever it is I can do!" Chopper said softly to himself before he looked up. "I got it!" he declared and they then heard Luffy from the front of the ship call that he could see the island.

Looking up, the Straw Hats glanced up to see an island covered in sand and brick houses that could only be a town in the distance.

Zoro unwrapped the bandage on his arm so that they could see the black 'X' put underneath. So that if there was even the slightest suspicion that something was wrong, they were to take off the bandage and show them the mark. If they couldn't do that then that would prove that they were an imposter.

Sanji stated that it wasn't like Zoro to come up with something like this and stated that he must be an imposter. But when Zoro yelled that he was going to kill him it cleared up any suspicions that Luffy and Usopp had.

Luffy stood up and making a speech for them all as he held out his arm to see the bandage. "Ok, no matter what happens on that island, remember, this thing on all our arms…!"

Just then, everyone moved in to hold out their arms as well—even Vivi and Carue—and they formed a circle as Luffy finished yelling out, "Is a sign of our friendship! Now! Let's land ok?!"

Soon, the Straw Hats found themselves in a desert town. They could see the heat waves coming out of the ground and see the burning sun above them. On either side of them were booths filled with vendors, all trying to get people to come in close to buy something from them.

Most of them were now dressed in assortment of clothes that covered them up and were clearly made for crossing the desert. Only Luffy remained in his usual clothes, and the women were dressed in outfits consisted of a blue and purple halter top with a pink shroud and a long white skirt with the top part blue and showed a lot of skin (largely thanks to Sanji's 'excellent' taste).

However, what was really attention grabbing was that they were all running, and it soon became clear why. Smoker was there with a whole crowd of Marines right behind him.

Smoker threw out a fist of smoke towards them, a wall of fire appeared out of nowhere and blocked the attack. From within the smoke, a figure appeared. He wore a bright orange hat, a dark purple tattoo on his back, messy black hair falling over a face full of freckles and a wide grin.

"You again," Smoker sneered at the man.

The stranger just smirked right back. "Just give it up!" he called as the flames burned around his body, dispelling the smoke. "While you may have the power of smoke, mine is fire! A fight between the two of us would be pointless! It'd probably go on forever!"

The Straw Hats were all frozen where they stood, staring back at him. Even Zoro looked deeply unnerved by this as he'd met the stranger earlier looking for his captain. He proclaimed, "Alright, it looks like the mystery man has Devil Fruit powers

Usopp cried out if any of them knew who he was and why he was helping them, Luffy stepped forward, a look of stunned disbelief on his face. He called out, "That you, Ace?"

The now named Ace smirked even wider as he turned to look back at him. "You haven't changed a bit, Luffy."

"It is you! Really?" Luffy cried, his face still registering shock, "Wow, did you eat a Devil Fruit or something?"

"Yeah, the Flame Flame Fruit," he said but he kept his eyes on the Marines as they started to organize themselves. "Anyway, now's probably not the time for chatting. You guys get outta here. I'll catch up! Don't worry about these guys, I got 'em! Go on!"

Smiling, a look of understanding came over his face, Luffy nodded at once as he turned and called for them all to follow him.

"But… LUFFY?!" Nami cried in surprise.

"Who is that guy back there?!" Sanji added. They ran on with each one of them asking who it was who just helped them, asking if they had knew him from somewhere. It was then that he finally came out and told them the truth. "Yeah! He's my big brother!"

"BROTHER?!" they all shrieked when suddenly they saw it. A tower of smoke and flames spinning rapidly like a tornado in the distance was rising up from behind the buildings and that got everyone's attention.

They all stopped running to look at it in wonder. The people around them were all staring at it as well, and muttered worriedly to what was going on.

They all talked about the power that Ace had before Nami turned back to Luffy and asked if he really was his older brother.

"Yep!" he said proudly, his eyes never once leaving the tower of flames. "His name's Ace!"

"Look, I'm not surprised to hear you have a brother Luffy," Zoro said impatiently, "But what's he doing here on the Grand Line?"

"Ace is a pirate just like I am, he left home three years before I did to search for the One Piece," he explained, smiling the whole time. They all stared at him, but the fireball was slowly growing bigger and Nami reminded them all that it was time that they just kept going. The fireball suddenly billowed out in almost like an explosion as went back to running.

"Wow, I'd never thought I'd run into my big brother in a place like this!" Luffy said happily. He was running backwards so that he could keep his eyes up on the action in the sky here.

Chopper had to nod his head to that as he changed to his Walk Point so that he could have an easier time keeping up with them all. As they ran, Nami cried for them to turn left… which Luffy did, but since he was backwards, he ended up going his left instead of their left and went down a different street.

Luffy eventually realized that he was lost and was looking around the alleyway that he was now in, clearly not understanding what happened here. He set down the barrel of water that he was carrying and sat up on it as he stared around.

"What the…? Oh that's weird," Luffy muttered, folding his legs and arms. "I could've sworn they were right here. Now they're all gone, where'd they go?"

Suddenly a shadow appeared above him and that good-natured voice, with a hint of fondness in it suddenly spoke. "Well, guess giving you a chance to escape was pointless?"

He looked up and there Ace was.

"HEY!" Ace called from the rooftop.

"Hiya, Ace!" Luffy exclaimed happily, grinning widely as he jumped down to his little brother.

"It's been awhile hasn't it?" he said brightly, looking at him up and down.

"You could say that," Luffy said, his eyes lighting up brightly so that he looked even more child-like than usual as Ace laughed. Luffy jumped from the barrel and suddenly the two began to arm wrestle with each other.

"How many years has it been?" Luffy asked as he began pushing hard on his brother's arm.

"Eh, I don't know," Ace answered honestly as he kept his arm steady. "But you haven't changed that much in that time. You're a little taller but you pretty much look the same."

Luffy tried harder to push Ace's arm down. "So do you. Aside from those powers you got from eating a Devil Fruit you haven't changed a bit!" Just as he was starting to push the arm down he went on, "Remember when you used to sneak into the fields, eat a hundred watermelons, spit the seeds out like a Gatling gun and run away?"

"No, that wasn't me," Ace said as he straightened his arm. "That was you!"

"The Farmers would chase you and you'd scream like a girl!" Luffy went on.

"That was you too!" Ace countered, they were now dead even in their arm wrestling match. "I watched and laughed!"

Both brothers' faces were red in the face as they kept attempting to win—and it was a wonder who would give out first. In the end, it was the barrel. It broke apart underneath them and the water splashed out everywhere.

"I guess we're still the same," Luffy concluded, both still holding onto each hands before they gave the other a high five. "Just like old times," Luffy finished grinning.

"Wait," Ace said suddenly as he reached into his bag and pulled out a canteen of water, "Wasn't your crew looking for you a few minutes ago?"

"Yeah," Luffy said as he watched Ace drink before he asked him what he was doing here in Alabasta in the first place. Ace looked surprised at the question and said, "I take it you never receive the message I left for you back on Drum Island?"

Luffy asked him what he was talking about.

Ace waved his hand dismissively. "Well, guess that's a no. Don't worry, it's no big deal. It was to let you know that I would be in Alabasta for a few days I'm in these waters on some business."

"Business, huh?" Luffy asked curiously as Ace wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and tossed the canteen at him as he explained that he was now with the Whitebeard Pirates.

"The Whitebeard Pirates?" Luffy repeated in surprise as he drank some of the water.

Ace turned around to show Luffy the tattoo of the purple mark of the Whitebeard Pirates on his back. "See this tattoo, that's our mark… and it's my pride."

Luffy continued to drink before Ace asked a question that they didn't see coming. "So Luffy, why don't you and your friends come join us? Come on, it'll be fun, what do you say?"

"No thanks," Luffy answered bluntly, not even had to think about it.

Ace was laughing. "I had a feeling you'd say that," he admitted, "That's too bad cause you see Whitebeard's the greatest pirate I've ever met. That's why I'm gonna help him become King of the Pirates. And not you Luffy, sorry."

Luffy didn't seem like he minded. He just smiled back and added as Ace just beamed at him, "That's fine, so I guess we'll just have to fight then. Because I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"

Ace didn't seem at all disappointed that Luffy turned down the offer however. He probably knew the answer even before he asked the question. He picked up his bag and soon the two were talking with each other as they headed down the alleyway, fighting over the water.

"Wow, I never thought that I'd run into you here," Luffy said happily as Ace finally pulled his canteen away from him.

"Well, I did promise you after you got your first bounty that I'd drop in and say hi didn't I?" Ace asked as he put the flask away, but pulled out Luffy's wanted poster. "Just what kind of trouble did you get yourself in while I was gone?"

"Oh! That!" Luffy laughed as Ace put it away as well. "Well, it's kinda a funny story how it all happened."

"I'll just bet it is," Ace said in amusement.

He then began telling him everything that had been going on since Ace had left home. Ace looked interested in it all as Luffy then went on to explain when he left home and the crazy things that he'd been getting into since he did.

Ace laughed a few times before he finally said that they should hurry up and find his friends before the Marines did. He asked if he had any idea to where they were, and Luffy answered that they were probably back at their ship.

"Well, that's a start where's it docked at?" Ace asked him as Luffy admitted he didn't know. Ace sighed, as if he had expected Luffy to know better than this. "Oh jeez, you know Luffy, pirate ship captains usually remember where they leave their ships."

Luffy laughed and admitted that he was hungry and he forgot all about it.

"You haven't changed at all," Ace sighed, looking more disappointed than annoyed. But it soon passed as he went and asked, "So, tell me about your crew. What are they like? Who are they?"

Luffy beamed at that. He then began to count down on his fingers, counting them all off, "Well, first there's a tough guy who carries around three swords. Wants to be the greatest swordsman in the world.

"Then there's a navigator who likes maps, and tangerines, and money," Luffy went on.

"There's also a cook that makes really yummy food…

"There's a liar too…

"Oh, and we just got a doctor who happens to be… a reindeer!" Luffy concluded proudly.

Ace listened in without saying a word for a moment before he smirked. "Really… you don't say," he said in amusement, "Sounds like you got a pretty motley crew there."

Luffy also added, "We also have a princess and her giant duck."

"Hmm?" Ace hummed.

"Everyone in my crew is so interesting!" Luffy added animatedly.

"Sure sounds like it," Ace said with a smile, "But I'd wager you're the most interesting one of all.

"But still, only a handful of people for a pirate crew, that's just like you," Ace commented, sounding like he was going to laugh.

Luffy just looked ahead with excitement, "I'm still looking for a musician though."

"Stop right there, Fire Fist!" someone yelled and they all stopped to see that a group of people were stepping out from all over. From alleyways, both in front of and behind, as well as several standing on the roofs, smirking down at them like how a cat would when it cornered a particular juicy-looking mouse.

"You got no place to run, Ace!" the biggest man of the group, who had a long and reddish nose, declared directly in front of them. "Your head is mine! It's my ticket to a promotion. Prepare to die!

"It's our lucky day boys," the red nosed man said smugly, as if promised a real treat, "this'll be easier than shooting fish in a barrel."

Just then, someone recognized Luffy and pointed him out which got their attention, remarking about his bounty and they were practically drooling at that. But Luffy and Ace didn't seem be the slightest bit intimidated as they walked right passed them without batting an eye.

"Anyway, let's go find your ship," Ace said nonchalantly. "We'll start at the shore? Then maybe we can use that nose of yours to sniff them out."

"'Kay," Luffy said without any problems.

That ticked them all off and soon they were charging at them. The fight didn't last long at all…

Though they were outnumbered, they were clearly having so much fun fighting together and showing off what they had learned in their time apart that it was like watching a show. It was to show how outclassed they were that neither brother had to use their Devil Fruit powers. When they finished enjoying themselves, and scared the remaining Baroque Works agents, they continued on their way as if nothing happened.

After a long time searching, with Luffy finally able to find them by turning himself into a bloodhound, they were all back on the deck of the Merry once again, each one of them having fun. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were toasting everything they could think off and laughing their heads off before Luffy turned to Ace and asked, "Ace! You sure you don't wanna join us? I'll be fun, I promise!"

"I can't right now, I'm chasing someone," he answered, though it was clear from his voice that he had no intention of joining anyway. He gulped down his drink. "He's a pirate named Blackbeard."

"Blackbeard?" Usopp repeated, his eyes wide in realization.

"I've heard of him!" Vivi said suddenly, "He's the one who attacked Drum Kingdom!"

Ace leaned comfortably on the barrel and informed them, "You see, Blackbeard used to be part of the second division of the Whitebeard Pirates. He was one of my own men, but he committed the most unforgiveable sin a pirate could. He killed one of his fellow crewmembers and then jumped ship. As commander of the second division, it's my responsibility to take care of him."

"So that's why you're after him," Usopp said in hushed tones.

"I came here cause I heard that Blackbeard was seen in Alabasta," Ace went on, "In a place called Yuba, so that's where I'm heading."

"Hey," Nami said, looking to Vivi, "That's our destination too right?"

Vivi confirmed Yuba by pulling out a map and showing them. The town they had just left was called Nanohana, and they were now heading to a small city called Erumalu where they were going to dock the ship. After that they decided that they would travel up through the desert to a small oasis which was Yuba. She explained that was where the leader of the Rebel Army was and they were going to head there to try and talk to them about what was really going on and stop any more fighting.

"You don't say," Ace said interestedly. "Mind if I tag along?"

"Nami, Vivi I'll follow you anywhere, just tell me where to go!" Sanji swooned.

"Hopefully it's right off a cliff," Zoro said.

"What did you say, Zoro?!" Sanji yelled and Nami snapped at them to shut up. She sighed before she turned back to Ace and added, "Well, it looks like you'll be with us a little while Ace."

Usopp laughed. "We're all real happy to have you aboard!"

Luffy confirmed that by the thrilled look on his face. Even if it was only briefly, he and his brother would be sailing together on the seas as pirates. As he laughed joyfully, holding his tankard out. "This'll be fun! To Ace!"

And suddenly they all toasted: "CHEERS!"

Later, the small group of people was now trooping across the desert. Luffy, Ace, Nami, and Vivi were all wearing robes to cover themselves up as they waked on, staring ahead of them at what looked like old ruins. The city they had come to looked to be crumbling away as they watch… as if it had been abandoned for the last few decades, everything was half buried in sand and the remaining plant life were nothing more than dried husks.

Vivi spoke, "This is Erumalu. It was known far and wide as the city of green."

The group was silent for a moment before Luffy said, "It was green?"

Vivi looked back to them. "Take a good look around everyone," she said in despair, "This is what Baroque Works has been doing to my country!" Her eyes became miserable, "The people of Alabasta… this is what they had to go through!"

It was indeed hard to believe that it had once been a flourishing city as they looked at the dried up trees and dead plants. This entire town looked like it had been left to die years ago.

"Wow, there's nothing here at all anymore," Luffy said quietly.

"No," Vivi agreed, "It's nothing but a ghost town now. But up until a few short years ago it was a thriving town full of gardens, and palm trees, and lush greenery."

"This place?" Zoro asked skeptically, kicking at a dead tree so that it crumbled.

"Rain was always scarce here," Vivi went on, "But by saving every last drop of water and using it wisely, the city was able to make the foliage flourish. Unfortunately, that stopped when the rain died. There hasn't been a single drop of water in this country for the last three years now."

"But wait," Zoro said suddenly and they looked back to him, "Even without rain there's still the river as another water source."

"And it's close," Usopp added, jerking his thumb back to where the river must've been. "Why couldn't they have just piped the river in from over there?"

"Well, the answer to that is just up ahead," Vivi answered darkly. As they walked on, Vivi explained that when the rain stopped, the capital—where the King's palace was—rained there for days and days without stopping and it was apparently due to the work of Dance Powder. It was then they heard about how Dance Powder was created long ago by a country that had no rain. When burnt, it would emit a mist-like vapor that would speed up the process of premature rain clouds and create rain on the spot. The original creators of this powder thus called it Dance Powder because it would make them dance with joy with all the rain that it created.

But there was one downside to this. Despite the rain it brought, the powder unfortunately caused long periods of drought in other countries. The controversy that this powder brought eventually started a war. The lives lost in this war was so great that the World Government prohibited the manufacturing and possession of Dance Powder worldwide.

It was then that they found out that Baroque Works staged an accident in Alubarna three years ago where some delivery men brought a large shipment of Dance Power. The cart that they were carrying broke apart and the Dance Powder was spilled out for everyone to see. The agents then lied that the king had ordered for the powder to be delivered to Alubarna, the city where it rained the most. A large scandal then arose around Cobra as suspicions that he had been stealing all of the country's rain. As a result, the people of Alabasta blamed the king for the drought. As towns dried up and people starved, a rebellion was stirred up.

This was only proven when Vivi soon led them to what they thought was a dried up road at first, but she explained that this had once been the canal. Somehow, it had been destroyed and the people had no choice but to abandon the city when they ran out of water.

The wind suddenly blew and they could hear a loud wailing sound, like ghosts crying out from beyond the grave. As the wind continued to blow, the Straw Hats looking around expecting a fight, but Ace stated that it was nothing for them to be concerned about.

"But it sounds like a voice… right?" Luffy asked him.

"Oh man, it's coming around from all sides!" Usopp cried out in panic, "This isn't good!"

"There's no danger," Ace said firmly, "It's just the wind blowing around town, echoing and bouncing off the empty buildings."

But Vivi was now looking heartbroken.

"It's like… it's like the city of Erumalu is wailing over what's happened to it!" she gasped out, sounding close to tears as her hood was blown off her head and her long hair was blowing around her face. The crying continued just as a mini sand tornado came flying right at them from the middle of the town.

"Hey, wait!" Usopp yelled, pulling his goggles down as the sand hit them. "What's that?!"

"What's what?!" Nami cried, but her voice died as she realized what he was talking about. Luffy, who was the one standing out front, his animal-sharp eyes squinting through the sand could see it as well. The sand and wind had collected together for a fraction of a second to make out the ghostly form of a human hand…

"What's that?!" Chopper yelled in panic.

The wind came wiping past them all and Luffy spun around to see the shadowy form of what looked like a striped cape disappearing into the wind.

After it passed they were starting to get their bearings straight, asking what was going on. But suddenly Luffy was running ahead, looking at what appeared to be someone lying in the sand up ahead.

"Someone's collapsed!" Nami cried out behind them.

"You mean there's still people living in this city?!" Vivi cried in astonishment as she went running after Luffy as well, but they needn't have bothered. For when they got there, laying there was nothing more than a dried up skeleton…

After the startling revelation, they were walking through the hot desert. Each one of them was moaning in groaning about the heat and the hot sun that was bearing down on them all.
Vivi had sent Carue on ahead to take a letter to her father, warning him about Crocodile's plan.

After a while, Luffy got his once in a blue moon good ideas and turned himself into a camel (1). The downside to this was that Nami basically forced the shapeshifting boy to be the girls' ride through the desert. Zoro, meanwhile, was dragging Chopper behind him on a makeshift sled.

"Can't go on…" Chopper said, his tongue rolling out of his mouth, "Can't take… hot weather. I'm fine in cold weather."

Usopp, who was leaning on another walking stick, looked to Chopper and said with his own tongue out, "It's because of all that fur, why don't you take off that stupid reindeer costume?"

This ticked Chopper off as he sat up at once and got big, "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME BIG NOSE?!" he towered over Usopp, "DON'T MAKE FUN OF REINDEERS!"

"MONSTER!" Usopp screamed back as Zoro kept trying to pull the sled.

Zoro snapped at Chopper to shrink or he was going to quit pulling him. Chopper ignored Zoro as he and Usopp began fighting with each other so that he had to walk over and shoved Chopper's head down so hard that he shrunk. As they all argued, they noticed Ace walking by them all with a very strange look on his face. He was looking at them all with a slight frown on his face and a very critical eye.

They continued on, barely saying anything for a short time before Usopp asked what was with all these hills. He had expected the desert to be more flat, and Vivi confessed that this desert was very old… that some of these dunes could easily reach around 900 feet tall.

As they all groaned out, Luffy was starting an annoying chant of 'Are we there yet?' and soon it was a fistfight with the others—the whole time Ace was watching them.

Later that night they were standing around a fire with the sun having long-since gone and the clear sky was full of stars. The Straw Hats, Vivi, and Ace were gathered around the fire, under the cover of some large boulders.

"I'm so hungry," Luffy groaned out as he reached for some of the food that was roasting over the fire.

"Don't be such a greedy pig, it's still raw," Sanji told him, but Luffy went straight for the meat which caused the cook to hit him furiously over the head yelling, "DON'T EAT THAT!" Once he was done with him, he then turned back to the two women and said lovingly that their food would be done soon.

"The desert is a truly a harsh environment," Nami sighed as they watched. It was funny to watch as they continued to argue like they would usually do on the ship. Whether it was over the food, the cold, or in Chopper's case it was admiring all the stars; they were talking and complaining about everything.

"Couldn't you see the stars on your home island?" Usopp asked, shivering next to him as Chopper's eyes lit up in wonder as he stared up at the twinkling lights above him.

"They skies of the winter islands are almost always covered by heavy snow clouds so I've never been able to see this many before," he answered happily.

Usopp muttering that he was way too cold to enjoy the stars at the moment. Chopper reminded him that the cold didn't bothered him as Usopp was cuddling him like a teddy bear.

"That's because you wear such a nice fur coat," he said, hugging him tightly.

Chopper told him to back off, and soon it turned into a fight that mirrored the one earlier.

"Chopper," Zoro snapped at him once he had grown and was towering over Usopp again, "Don't turn big, we gotta huddle for warmth."

Luffy suddenly turned into a desert jackrabbit before jumping over and soon Chopper was small again and they were all cuddling up, packing on top of each other like puppies in a litter. The two fur covered crew members providing heat to the less animalistic members.

Ace, who was sitting right beside the flames, who watching the group suddenly start to fight and wrestle with each other, trying to get comfortable.

"I suppose you're surprised aren't you?" said Vivi's voice and they all looked up in time to see her walk over to him. He glanced up at her politely as she went on, "I mean by Luffy that is. I have to admit I was a little surprised to at first."

Vivi looked up to the boys all still fighting before they all finally started to drift of. "After all, he doesn't seem like much of a pirate captain does he? I mean normal pirate captains are respected or feared by their crews. Just this afternoon a simple drink of water led to that big fight.

"Well… I think… that's just the way Luffy does things," Vivi finally finished, "Took me a while to understand that."

Ace only smiled, his eyes hidden by the rim of his hat as he confessed, "He's been like that as long as I can remember." Vivi looked down at him in surprise as he went on, not sounding the least bit taken back by anything she said. "He hasn't changed a bit since he was a kid," he went on, both of them watching Luffy. "He seems like a fool, but people have always gathered around him. He may be my little brother, but he has this mysterious charm about him."

"I guess I wasn't telling you anything you didn't already know," Vivi said, relief in her tone as Ace chuckled slightly to himself.

"He and I… do go way back you know," he said, but he smiled a little wider and looked up at her. "I appreciate it." He looked back to the sleeping pack of Straw Hats as he finished, "You thought I was worried about him, didn't you?"

"Yes, but I guess my concern was a little misguided," Vivi stated as she bent down near the fire and added a few more sticks to it before Ace went on.

"He won't always behave like this," he said and they all looked to him as he leaned back comfortably. "Give him time and he'll… mature. Although… I highly doubt that he'll ever stop acting goofy like this."

"You really think that?" Vivi asked curiously as he laughed a little.

"Of course. He's my kid brother," he answered with a shrug, "This is who he is."

"Well, I'm glad that there's nothing to worry about," Vivi said smiling at him.

"I wouldn't go that far," Ace corrected. "You always have to keep an eye on him. Ever since we were kids he's been making me worry about him. That child mind of his has always been getting him into trouble."

"He's not very bright but he's got a good heart," Ace went on, "He'll fall for every trap you lay out in front of him, but he's just so innocent that you just can't be angry with him for long. On top of all that he's looking for something a little more specific than most people…"

"He is?" Vivi asked in surprise. "You mean he wants to be the Pirate King…?"

"Nah," Ace stated as he reached into his coat to pull out his canteen of water and took a long sip from it. "That is his dream, but he's looking for something else."

"What's that…?" Vivi said interestedly. "This whole time he's talked about becoming the King of the Pirates. But he's never…?"

"Oh, I doubt that even he's aware of it," Ace said, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. "But I know him well enough to know. He's looking for something greater than himself."

"Greater than himself?" Vivi repeated in bafflement.

"That's right," Ace admitted, putting the canteen away. "He's looking for something you don't see every day… something grand, something spectacular, something that he can barely comprehend. I think, that's why he loves the idea of adventures so much. He wants to be the King of the Pirates, but what he wants more than that is to live life to the very fullest."

He smirked again as he leaned back against the rock as Vivi turned back to the fire with a very thoughtful expression on her face.

Morning appeared and the Straw Hats were still in the middle of the desert, but now the sky was lit almost on fire to the setting sun behind them. The air was as hot as ever, but a cool breeze was gently giving feathery touches to the sun-kissed skin of the pirates, light falling like liquid amber and soaking them all with its rich color.

The whole crowd was watching Ace as he finished packing his things into his back and got up. "Well then…"

"You're not really gonna leave us, Ace?" Chopper asked sadly, "Are you?"

As it turned out, a man named Scorpion lured him to Alabasta with rumors that he beat Blackbeard. He was a bounty hunter after Ace, but the crew ran into his two sons and helped them to talk some sense into their dad to go home.

"Yep," Ace confirmed, looking back at them all. "Since it's been confirmed that Blackbeard isn't in Alabasta, I have no reason to stick around."

"You sure?" Luffy asked, looking a little sad that they had to say goodbye again after such a short time.

"Any idea where you'll be headed to next?" Sanji asked suddenly.

"I have a lead to Blackbeard's whereabouts. Scorpion heard about a man who saw him out west. Guess we'll see," Ace said as he reached into the coat and pulled out a carefully folded up piece of paper. "Luffy!" he called as he threw it at him and caught it. "Hey, do yourself a favor and hang onto that… always."

"But why? It's just a scrap of paper," Luffy said as he unfolded it.

"That scrap of paper will reunite us someday," Ace said as Luffy opened the paper to show that there wasn't anything written on it. "You don't want it?" he teased when he saw Luffy's baffled face.

"No, I'll keep it," Luffy answered quickly.

Ace smiled at them all. "It's perfectly natural for a guy to worry about his bundling kid brother, right?" he asked as he looked over the Straw Hats, as if he knew something that they didn't. He then bowed his head politely and said directly to all of them, "He might be a bit much for all of you to handle… but take good care of him for me."

Ace slowly raised his head, looking at each one of them in turn, as if making sure they understood what he wanted—but a look of relief seem to come over his face as he looked back to his little brother. "Luffy, when next we meet, we'll both be top pirates."

"Right!" Luffy exclaimed happily.

"The top! You and me!" Ace encouraged, beaming wider than ever.

They all waved goodbye to him before they all headed on their way.

After much walking (with Luffy once more playing pack mule/camel to the girls), they were suddenly standing in the middle of a town in the dead of night. At least… what was left of it.

Vivi gasped at what she was seeing. The wind and sand blew around them, reminding them greatly of Erumalu. Zoro noticed it as well and point it out to them, but Vivi seemed to be in shock as she stared around them.

Sanji asked Vivi what happened here and her only answer was that it had all dried up, the place once being the oasis of Yuba.

They suddenly heard the sounds of a shovel and when they went a little further, they spotted a very old, dried up man who was almost bone thin. He looked ready to drop from overwork at any second, but he kept on digging through the thick levels of sand without stopping.

Without looking at any of them the man said, "I'm assuming that you're travelers. You must be exhausted from all that time spent in that heat. Sorry, but this town is a bit dried up to. It doesn't have that much relief to offer." He looked at them to see his thin face, "but still, you're free to rest here awhile." Vivi covered her face so that he could see her as the old man went back to digging. He said that they didn't have too much water to spare, but there were plenty of inns that they were welcomed to stay in. But when Vivi told them that they came here in hopes to find the rebel army, the old man's eyes turned hateful, throwing whatever he could find at them, telling them to just leave and that they couldn't find the rebels here anyway. The constant sandstorms dried up the town and the rebels soon ran out of supplies and moved on to another city called Katorea.

"Katorea?!" Vivi gasped in horror.

"Where's that?" Luffy asked, "Is Katorea close to here Vivi?"

"It's near Nanohana, back the way we came from," she told him as the old man stopped digging at the sound of Vivi's name.

The old man croaked out Vivi's name. They all looked down at him slowly walking out of the ditch, his eyes never leaving Vivi. "Wait, your name's Vivi?!"

Luffy only made things worse by crying out, "Hold it! She's definitely not a princess!" which caused Zoro to hit him over the head to shut up him.

"Princess Vivi… is that really you?" the old man gasped, coming towards her, his hands on her shoulders as he stared at her. "You're alive… I can't believe it, thank goodness."

"It's me, Vivi," the old man pleaded, "Don't you recognize me? I look different, I lost some weight I suppose…?"

Vivi suddenly gasped. "Toto? Is it… really you?"

Tears appeared in Toto's eyes as he nodded. Toto was the father of a young man named Kohza, who was the rebel leader and Vivi's friend. Toto told her that no matter what, he still had faith in her and the king. That he truly believed that he was a good man and that he would never betray his own people before he fell to his knees and cried. He explained that believed that this whole rebellion was ridiculous; that the rebels were all just a bunch of faithless fools. He had tried to stop them many times, and that most of the country still has faith in the king as well, but the rebels won't listen to anything. Their strength, men, and supplies have reached their limit and they were now attempting to finish it all with one last attack—and were prepared to die if that's what it took.

Toto finally gasped out pleadingly, "Please Vivi. You have to stop these fools from tearing our country apart!"

After a few moments of silence, Vivi just held out a handkerchief and told him that it would be alright—that they would stop it no matter what. Tears fell once again from Toto's eyes, but tears of renewed hope this time.

After the group had turned in for the night Luffy and Toto were the only ones still outside, with Luffy watching him continue to dig.

"Hey old guy, there's still no water," Luffy said grumpily, "My throat's drying up. How can you stand to live here? It's horrible."

"The water will come," Toto said without a shred of doubt. "The Yuba Oasis still has life in it yet. The dream of Yuba cannot be beaten by a bunch of lousy sand! The king left this land in my hands and I will keep it alive. I'll dig out the sand as many times it takes."

Perhaps Luffy could feel that level of willpower because he declared that he would help, and so he turned into a dog (much to Toto's initial shock, but he quickly got over it as two of the Royal Guards were Zoan Devil Fruit users) and began digging in a random place like he was looking for a bone. And though he was able to dig at a much faster pace than Toto was, the sand that he was throwing out was landing in the hole that the old man was digging in.

Toto began yelling at him to stop filling his hole with sand. Luffy looked back at him with a blank look, not getting what the problem was.

"I'll never get done with you filling my holes!" Toto exclaimed in annoyance.

"But… I'm digging just like you old guy," Luffy said innocently.

"No! I'm digging holes and you're filling them up! The sand that you're digging is going into the hole I'm digging. In other words you aren't helping!" Toto yelled, waving his arms around as he tried to explain it to him.

Luffy blinked at that, before he said, "Ah. A mystery hole, huh?!" and then he went back to digging like before and Toto irritably gave up.

Luffy continued to dig down and down into the ground, the hole looking more like a well with every second. But Luffy kept going till he fell asleep in mid-dig.

Morning came to the desert in the bright daylight. Toto was there, sending them off. "I'm so sorry I didn't have more to offer you Princess Vivi," he told her regretfully.

Vivi telling him that he didn't need to worry about it, and thanked him for what he had done. But as they turned to leave, Toto quickly remembered something and pulled out a tiny barrel of water that could be worn around the neck, and gave it to Luffy.

"OH WATER!" Luffy and Usopp cried happily. "You found some then?" Luffy asked happily.

"Yes, it was last night a bit after you fell asleep digging that huge hole of yours," he answered with a smile. "I finally reached a moist layer underneath all the dry stuff. That water there is the moisture I was able to extract from the damp sand."

"Woah, that sounds pretty complicated, but thank you," Luffy answered.

"That right there is genuine Yuba water," Toto finished, "It's not much, but it was all I was able to get."

"Right," Luffy said firmly, "Then I'll drink it with care!"

They waved off to Toto and continued walking through the desert, heading back the way they came. After a few minutes of walking however, Luffy suddenly flopped down up against a dead tree and sat there, not moving a muscle. The others didn't notice at first until Usopp finally realizes it and yells at him to get up and move.

Luffy just sat there with a pout on his face as they turned back and asked just what was going on. He looked them all in the eye and said, "I quit!"

"Huh?" they all asked.

"What's that mean?" Vivi asked, "Quit what, Luffy?"

"Oh come on," Usopp said, "We don't have time to put up with every weird little mood you have right now, Luffy. Let's go."

"Yeah, shouldn't we get going?" Chopper added.

"Yes, we should and fast," Sanji said. "If we don't get back to that Katorea place where we came and stop the rebellion that's about to begin than a million Alabasta citizens are gonna start fighting and things are gonna get real ugly real quick! We're doing this for Vivi!"

Sanji walked forward and grabbed him by his front and tried to get him to move, but surprisingly, Luffy grabbed him by the arm and threw him aside.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Sanji roared out, looking dangerous as he got back to his feet.

Luffy glared at them all before he looked right to Vivi. "Vivi?"

"Yes?" she asked softly, clearly wondering what he was going to say.

"Right now all I wanna do is beat up Crocodile, you understand?" he demanded, and for the first time he looked really angry and they were all taken aback by that.

"Maybe we can keep the people from starting a rebellion, that won't stop Crocodile," Luffy said firmly, in a serious voice that was nearly unheard of from him, "Besides, we won't be able to accomplish anything in Katorea." Everyone stared at him as he explained, "We're pirates. Everyone knows that things are better off without us around."

"You got to admit he has a way of getting straight to the point when he really wants to," Sanji admitted grudgingly, folding his arms.

"Well… yeah…" Usopp admitted, "But not often."

Vivi tried to counter this by telling him that it wasn't true.

"You wanted it to work out so that nobody dies in this fight," Luffy went on, "Isn't that right Vivi? None of the citizens… and none of us either. We're up against one of the 7 Warlords of the Sea and a million of your own people on top of that. And you still want everyone to end up all safe and sound." He looked up at her, "You'll never win that way."

Nami was telling Luffy off, asking if he could at least try showing Vivi some sympathy, but surprisingly, Sanji held out his arm and told her to stop.

"For what?" she demanded.

"Because I think that Vivi needed to face up to the truth too," Sanji admitted, "She was in denial the whole time."

"About what?" Chopper asked in confusion.

"There's nothing wrong with not wanting people to die," Zoro said, "However…"

But Vivi stepped forward, she was shaking from head to foot, her face contorted with rage as she pulled her hood down, finally shouting, "AND WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT, HUH? WHAT'S SO WRONG WITH NOT WANTING TO SEE PEOPLE TO DIE OR GET HURT?!"

Luffy looked at her and said coldly, "Cause people die, that's why!"

Vivi snapped. She went right up to him and slapped him so hard that he went flying from the tree and suddenly she was screaming to the heavens, "STOP TALKING LIKE THAT I WON'T LISTEN TO IT!" Taking deep breaths she yelled, "SAY THAT AGAIN AND I WILL REALLY HURT YOU! THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?! NO ONE HERE IN ALABASTA, NOT THE REBEL ARMY, NOT THE ROYAL ARMY, NOT ANY OF THE CIITZENS IS TO BLAME FOR THIS! NONE OF THEM HAVE DONE ANYTHING WRONG! WHY SHOULD ANY OF THEM HAVE TO PAY FOR WHAT'S HAPPENED?! WHEN EVERY LAST BIT OF IT IS CROCODILE'S FAULT!"

Zoro's eye soften in sympathy—but only a little bit because she was the one who didn't understand. She had lived a very sheltered life up till now, not fully understanding what a war meant. There has never been a war where no one got hurt, and someone had to slap her awake. What she wanted was nothing but fantasy.

Luffy got back to his feet and to everyone's astonishment, Luffy punched her so hard that he knocked her to the ground before he screamed out, "So you're saying it's only alright… FOR YOU TO DIE?!"

The Straw Hats were all stunned that he had gone and hurt her. "No, Luffy! You've gone too far!" Usopp screamed as Chopper gapped at him, with Sanji rolling up his sleeves looking ready to take him out for hitting a woman. But Vivi was far from over; with a wild scream she tackled him to the ground.

"Just being in this country one day and taking a look around, even I can tell!" Luffy yelled as Vivi began to punch and hit him as hard as she could muster. They knew that it couldn't have really hurt him, but Luffy just kept talking, letting her take out all of her anger on him.

"Tell what?!" Vivi screamed, and for a moment she no longer looked like herself. It was then they realized that she looked a great deal like how Nami looked when she had failed to stop her own village rushing off to fight Arlong after he betrayed her. How she lost it completely and started to stab her own arm until Luffy stopped her.

Here, Vivi was realizing that everything she did no longer mattered and she was like a lost child without any idea to what to do now. But Luffy could see that as he yelled out, "What this country needs more than anything! You think that just by putting your life on the line is enough to stop this from happening?!"

"Well then what is it that I should be putting on the line with it then, Luffy?!" Vivi yelled, looking completely mad here. "What Luffy?!" she demanded as Luffy finally put his hands up held back her fists as she gasped for breath. As he stopped her, she seemed to calm down as she gasped out in defeat, "I don't have anything else I can put on the line… just… just me…"

Luffy finally threw her off him as he yelled out at the top of his lungs, "YOU CAN AT LEAST TRY PUTTING ALL OF OUR LIVES ON THE LINE TOGETHER?! AREN'T WE FRIENDS? HUH?"

Vivi stared at him, completely speechless by what he said and tears began to form. "Well?" he demanded in a quieter tone, "Aren't we friends?"

But Vivi couldn't answer as she began to cry as he reached over to pick up his hat that fell off during the fight, "There… now you see. Now you understand. Hey, you can cry?"

She didn't answer as she broke down completely, sobbing opening into her hands as the tension seemed to disappear around them. Dusting off the sand from his hat, Luffy admitted, "I know how much you hate this, you wanna get Crocodile the most."

Nami came over and hugged Vivi tightly as she sobbed. Everyone stood around them, each one knew what was coming… waiting for orders. Luffy put his hat back on and stood up, "So now tell me… where can I find Crocodile?"

It took several minutes for Vivi to cry herself dry before she was able to choke back her sobs and rubbed her red yes. "Luffy… Luffy was right," she stuttered as she brought herself back to the matter at hand.

Vivi grew a face full of determination.

"I've made up my mind now. Change of plans," she said, "We're gonna go and find Crocodile."

"Yeah," Luffy agreed.

"That does seem like the quickest way to stop the fighting from happening," Nami agreed with them after everything seemed to calm down and relax.

"And we can quit wandering around in the desert too," Zoro added, "It was beginning to get old."

"So where is he anyway?" Sanji asked, "This Crocodile guy?"

"Let's see," Vivi said, pulling out a map and they all gathered around her, and she began pointing out where the capital Alubarna was and the city of Katorea. And even with Eyelash, there was no way they could hope to reach it before something happened. But she pointed to another city to the north called Rainbase, which was where Crocodile would be. She told them all that if they started walking now, they could make it there before the sun went down.

Soon they were walking again, but it didn't take long for everyone to start complaining and groaning. Especially from Luffy and Usopp, the former from once again being the pack mule/camel and Usopp from the heat. Nami was getting annoyed and snapped at them to stop moaning all the time.

Usopp and Luffy began arguing with Nami. "But we had to walk!" he reminded her. Meanwhile, Chopper asked Vivi if Rainbase had any water there, and Vivi nodded, admitting that there was no shortage there. And it was a gambling town that pretty much avoided all the fighting in the war.

"I guess people need places to relax, even here in Alabasta," Sanji said just as Luffy and Usopp began a game of keep away with the water that Toto gave him; and he was easily outpacing the long nosed sniper in the form of an animal built for desert travil.

"Come on Luffy just give me one sip of it!" Usopp whined, "Isn't that why he gave it to you?"

"The old guy from the sandstorm place gave it to me!" Luffy said stubbornly, "He had to dig all night just to get this much of it! We can't go drinking it like its regular water or something so no way!"

"Wow," Nami called, "you can restrain yourself sometimes."

He retorted that of course he could before he turned to Vivi and asked how long it would be before they reached Rainbase. She smiled as she jumped down from the straw hat wearing camel and said, "Hey Luffy?" she said, "Thanks a lot. I'd never would've been able to make this decision on my own."

Luffy's tongue rolled out of his head and said, "Ok then give me food."

"Huh?" she asked as he nodded in determination. "After I beat up Crocodile then give me food! I'll eat until I explode!"

She smiled wider. "I promise I will."

Finally they were standing on the dune where they could make out the city in the distance. Unlike Yuba or Erumalu, this city seemed to be green and thriving with life. Even from this far away, they could see that there were hundreds of people bustling around and doing their shopping.

"YEAH!" Luffy screamed, double punching the air. "TIME TO KICK CROCODILE TO THE CURB!"

Zorro suddenly asked, "So after all that's happened. Are we operating under the assumption that Baroque Works knows that we're here on the island with them?"

"That seems likely," Nami said, "We did run into Mr. 2 so I think it's safe to say that they have at least some idea that we were heading to Alabasta."

"Who cares about that?" Luffy asked in annoyance as Usopp explained that if they knew what they looked like then they had to stay low or else Crocodile would find some way to get rid of them. But naturally, Luffy didn't listen as he charged off, looking for water and they watched him go running off. It wasn't long before they were back in the middle of a crowded street with shouting and screams going on.

Luffy and Usopp were both carrying large barrels of water with Smoker and the marines right on their heels. And they were leading them right back to the crew…Again…

Luffy screamed out, "Hey you guys! I think the Marines are here!"

Zoro yelled back sarcastically at them, "Hey thank you we hadn't noticed that, Luffy!

"Hurry up! We can't lose them this time men!" one of the marines yelled.

"This is bad!" Usopp yelled as the crowds moved back to prevent themselves from getting run over, "Baroque Works will see us if we run through the city!"

They could see people from all sides, watching from behind curtains in the buildings, down alleyways, even in plain sight as they ran past were all watching them with pictures.

Zoro was the first to notice, "I think it's a little too late for that Usopp."

"Then it's decided!" Luffy yelled and Vivi turned to stare back at him, "To where Crocodile is! How about it? Ready?"

Vivi pointed ahead of them.

"Do you see that building up ahead with the alligator on its roof?!" she screamed. It was hard not to notice, it was clearly the largest building in this whole town, and with the large alligator on the roof, it was only too clear of where Crocodile would be. "That's the casino that Crocodile runs! It's called Rain Dinners!"

"I see it!" Luffy said in understanding, "So that's where Crocodile is!"

Sanji yelled that it would be best if they split up for now. And he had a point, with Smoker and the rest of the Marines, as well as the Baroque Works members likely covering the city… it was their only choice.

"Right! See ya later!" Luffy laughed as they all split when they reached a building. Viv and Zoro went on way, as Sanji, Usopp, and Nami went another. Luffy went running up, jumping up on an awning and into the air. "Don't die!" he added, before he looked back to Smoker and stuck his tongue out at him like how he did with those Lapahns once before. As he started hopping among the rooftops with grasshopper legs, he heard Smoker's voice screaming out, "You've got some real nerve there, Straw Hat! But don't think you can run forever!"

After a wild chase, both Nami and Usopp found their way to the casino and not long after that, Zoro and Luffy showed up, Smoker hot on his heels.

They were just in front of the casino—it was in the shame of a pyramid with lots of typical plants and even surrounded by a lake—the front door on the other side of a bridge with Nami, Usopp, and Zoro all there.

Luffy was still running from Smoker and when he saw them there he yelled, "HEY YOU GUYS! LET'S GO! WE HAVE TO GET INSIDE NOW!"

"Right behind you!" Usopp yelled without any problems at all as Luffy ran past them all and they were on the bridge. As soon as Luffy realized where they were heading, he began to scream out at the top of his lungs that he was going to beat up Crocodile.

As they ran, more members of Baroque Works had appeared and were shooting at them. Zoro went to deal with them and they went bursting through the front doors, though no one gave them any notice, even as Luffy kept screaming for Crocodile to come out so that he could kick his butt. Thankfully both Nami and Usopp both hit him from behind. "That's not gonna make him come out here you loud-mouth dope!"

"Don't forget!" Usopp added as past Zoro caught up with them, "We're dealing with this country's hero! You wanna turn all these customers against us?"

"Alright fine!" Luffy snapped at them, "So what do we do?"

Usopp suddenly realized that they didn't even know what Crocodile looked like without Vivi and they realized that she wasn't anywhere in sight.

"VIVI! CROCODILE! COME OUT!" all three were now screaming out with Zoro shaking his head.

"I got you this time Straw Hat!" yelled a voice.

"Smoker!" Nami screamed as they all looked behind them to see Captain Smoker running across the bridge towards them. It was largely crowded, filled with people playing cards, rolling dice, or playing the slots. The noise and bright lights were a bit disorientating after their time in the desert.

"You think you can just stroll in anywhere you like and I won't find you?!" he demanded and they all turned and ran.

"Oh great!" Usopp yelled. "What's that refugee from an ashtray doing in a casino in Rainbase?"

"If you ask me I'd say he's developed a special affection for Luffy here!" Zoro joked. Again, the people hardly paid attention to them as they ran through the room, practically trampling everything in their path.

On they ran, even running right over some of the guards like they were just bumps in the road. Something else happened as they ran through the crowd. A group of people were waiting for them, leading them to the V.I.P room.

"Did he just say the V.I.P lounge?" Usopp yelled in shock.

"Hold on!" Nami screamed out, "Do you think that it's a trap maybe?!"

"Hey, don't these lounge things have free drinks for their guests?" Zoro asked.

"It's not like we have a choice! Run for it!" Luffy yelled as they barged through the doors and down a long hallway. At the end of the hall, it split into two paths… there were a pair of signs there with one saying 'V.I.P's', and the other said 'PIRATES'. Naturally, they turned down the path that said 'PIRATES' and led them to a dead in where the floor beneath them opened up and they fell into the darkness and then faded. They bout that childish ruse hook, line, and sinker…how are these guys the protagonists of this series again?

They found themselves in a large room, with the windows like the aquarium… and so they supposed that they had to be under the lake. But what got their attention was that the five of them were inside a large stone and iron cage. Nami was already yelling at them all about this and Luffy just ignored her, looking pretty sick as he held onto the bars.

"Luffy!" Zoro yelled as Smoker stood up and when Luffy turned, he struck him with his jutte, holding him down by the tip of his weapon.

"What's wrong?" Luffy asked, his tongue rolling out once again and his eyes becoming glazed over. "I feel so helpless. It's like when I fall into the sea as a human (2)."

The others were gathered around, each of them demanding to know what Smoker did to him. That was when he confessed all about the Sea-Prism Stone. How it somehow gives off a wavelength that is the same as the sea itself. Upon contact the material drains the victim's body of energy, and negates their Devil Fruit powers - having the same effect as throwing them into the sea. The tip of his jutte was made of it as well and he explained that this cage is also built of it, which is why he hasn't broken out yet.

Zoro slowly began to pull his sword out, looking ready to fight to fight him. Nami and Usopp tried to tell them to stop, that there was no point in fighting here.

That was when an unfamiliar voice, one that was deep and relaxed with a hint of mockery, suddenly spoke up. "She's right… give it up." They all looked up to see a large chair it's back to them. "You're all gonna die together," the same voice said mockingly, "So why not make an effort to get along first?" the voice said.

"Huh, it's Crocodile," Smoker said and the figure in the chair turned to face them. It was here that they got their first glimpse of the villain that they crossed a desert and an ocean to reach. A tall man with a wide chest, broad shoulders, and a thick neck was sitting there in the chair. He also had nape-length, deep black-purple hair which is kept neatly slicked back with a long stitched scar above his nose that stretches across his face. But what they all noticed was that he was missing his left hand—and instead it was replaced with a large golden hook.

He smirked evilly at them all from where he sat, as if he had this whole thing planned out from the very start. As soon as Smoker confirmed that it was Crocodile, Luffy was growling as everyone stared.

Smoker finally pulled his weapon off Luffy as he glared at him. "Huh, you're every bit the lowlife sea scum I imagined," he stated.

"My, my," Crocodile said silkily, getting up from his chair. "You're every bit the wild dog I've heard you were Smoker. Unlike your superiors you've never really believed I was on your side have you? And of course, you were right.

"You know Smoker, I have a feeling you'll die bravely in the line of duty," Crocodile went on, "I'll be more than happy to inform the government that you put up a valiant fight against the vicious Straw Hat Pirate here." He stepped out from behind the desk and walked calmly over to them. "I haven't the vaguest idea what really brought you to this country, but I'm guessing you're on your own. We both know that the government would never order you to come to this land. They have every confident in me, a Warlord of the Sea."

"You big old bag of wind," Luffy yelled, rolling over to glared at him, "you're Crocodile?" He got up and grabbed hold of the bars, "Come and fight me like a man you big dumb…" but his voice became slurred as Usopp yelled at him to let go of the bars.

"Straw Hat Luffy," Crocodile said smoothly, "I congratulate you on getting this far, and I promise to dispose of you neatly and efficiently. Once our special guest of honor has made her appearance."

"A guest?" Nami repeated anxiously.

"While even as we speak, my partner is on the way to fetch her," he said. And so he calmly sat down at the table to enjoy his meal, which only made everyone angry that he was so calm with them trapped like this. But with nothing else they could do, the only thing was to wait.

It was ironic… even having finally met the one who orchestrated the whole mess in Alabasta, Luffy and the others with him were unable to do anything to get at Crocodile because of the cage they were in. At first, Luffy tried turning into a rhino and simply burst out of the cage, but it turned out that it was sturdily built and Luffy had to quickly go back to his normal form or risk crushing himself and his fellow prisoners. He then tried going for a mouse to simply slip through the bars, but the second he did Crocodile said in a casual manner, "Oh, and Straw Hat? If you try to end the game before the guests arrive…I'll make sure your friends are the first to suffer and the last to die."

Shuddering at the threat, Luffy went back to his human form with a pout while Nami and Usopp were pale at the casual tone the man used to threaten them with.

It seemed to take forever as they waited. Crocodile merely sat at the table, enjoying his meal while Luffy and Usopp passed the time copying people with Zoro catching a quick nap. But over time, Nami seemed to grow more and more angry and finally ended up smacking the two to get them to stop clowning around.

"Get serious! How can you two screw around when we're in this desperate situation?!" she yelled.

"Well we can't get out so what else is there for us to do?!" Luffy demanded.

"The fact that we can't get out is the reason it's so desperate!" Nami screamed out, "If we don't do something soon we're gonna wind up dead! And why are you sleeping?!" she turned to Zoro and knocked him awake.

Crocodile seemed to be growing tired of their talk and looked to her as he said, "You're certainly a high-spirited young lady."

Nami smirked back, telling him that he better enjoy it while he could because as soon as they got out of this cage the boys were going to beat him bloody which Luffy yelled out confidently. Crocodile didn't seem the least bit concerned.

"Your crewmembers seem to put a lot of trust in your talents Straw Hat Luffy," he said in amusement, "How foolish. I think trust is completely unnecessary."

"Who does he think he is sneering at us?!" Nami demanded as Usopp tried to tell her not to say anything she'd regret before she made him angry.

"Crocodile!" yelled a voice above them and up on the stairs were two women. Vivi and Miss All-Sunday.

"Vivi!" the ones in the cage called.

"My humble greetings Vivi, royal princess of Alabasta, I mean Miss Wednesday," Crocodile said mockingly, leaning back in his chair, "I complement you on evading all our assassins in order to get this far."

Vivi was shaking in rage as she glared down at him. "You have no idea what I'd do, or how far I'd go to see you dead Mr. 0," she whispered, her voice trembling before she snapped, much like how she did at the desert when she smacked Luffy.

"I WISH YOU HAD DIED IN YOUR CRADLE YOU MONSTER!" she screamed as she charged at them. The ones in the cage screamed at her to let them out instead, that she couldn't take him on her own, but she ignored them as she pulled out her weapon. She threw it, striking his head as he had causally stuck a cigar into his mouth. At first it looked like she had done it, for his head was gone.

"Not gonna work," Smoker said and the rest of Crocodile's body had turned to sand, spinning around like a small tornado and his body, still missing his head, appeared behind Vivi and grabbed hold of her. "Feel better?" he asked discourteously, "As a native of this country, you should surely know that I have the power of the Sand Sand Fruit."

Crocodile's head suddenly reappeared and he asked something that made them all feel cold. "Want to become a mummy?"

Luffy began screaming at him to leave her alone, warning that if he hurt her he'd have to deal with him.

Crocodile forced Vivi to sit in the chair opposite of him. "I trust you'll be comfortable there," he told her. "I must say that your timing is perfect. The party is about to begin isn't that right Miss All-Sunday?"

"Party?" Nami asked as All-Sunday pulled out a watch. "It's exactly noon right now," she said softly, "Time for Operation Utopia."

Luffy asked what this was about. But Crocodile just laughed insanely at that, looking back to Vivi.

"It will mean the demise of the Kingdom of Alabasta, Miss Wednesday," he said, "I'm going to wipe it off the face of the map as if it never was. All people, great and small, will be sucked into eternal darkness as they rive in agony. Let Operation Utopia… begin!"

Crocodile laughed darkly at his sick and twisted plans. Vivi struggled against the ropes that now bound her to the chair, demanding to know what he was planning on doing to Alabasta. She let him know that if he planned on killing her father, he'd be dead before he could even get close to him. But he didn't seem bothered by that. Instead, he let her know that he didn't think that her father was even worth killing and instead he was going to let him face something crueler than death. Vivi demanded to know what she was going on, screaming that he tell her what he was planning. Crocodile smirked and confessed his whole plan to her. How he planned to finish this country once and for all.

He had his agents kidnap her father and when Mr. 2 disguised himself as him, he was going to have him attack the citizens, believing that the king had betrayed them. Here, the rebels would have the motivation they wanted. They would soon storm the capital and that would be the end of it all…

He laughed again as they all glared at him.

"Well… do you like it?" Crocodile asked her, as if asking for her option on this whole plan. "The operation you once participated in is now reached fruition. If you listen closely, I'd wager you can hear the howls of the kingdom. And they all scream the same thing… protect Alabasta… protect Alabasta… protect Alabasta…"

"SSSSSTTTTOOOOPPPPP IIIIITTTTT!" Vivi screamed out, sounding close to crying again. "HOW ARE YOU SO CRUEL?!"

Crocodile only chuckled. "It's heartbreaking isn't it? Their love for their kingdom will be what destroys it."

That was too much for Luffy. He charged at the cage again and was now attempting to break it apart with his bare hands.

"Is he stupid?" Smoker suddenly asked Zoro in the background. "Didn't he hear what I said before?"

"I'm sure he did, he just doesn't care," Usopp said knowingly, "Besides, he's too angry to think logically at this point."

"He's definitely stupid," Zoro admitted, a smile on his face. "But… that's also the reason he's our captain."

"Why else would we keep him around?" Nami said scolding, though they all knew that she didn't mean a word of that.

"Crocodile…" Luffy snarled, "I am so gonna… kick your… butt."

"You know what?" Crocodile said, as if bored. "I've had to make so many moves to be able to get to this point. The sabotage to enflame the citizens… manipulating the royal army…" he looked back to Vivi, "Do you have any idea to why I'd go to such lengths? To destroy this country?"

"As if I'd understand anything inside your foul mind," Vivi snarled.

Vivi suddenly knocked her own chair over. Usopp and Nami called worriedly to her as Crocodile looked down at her. "Well, well… what are you trying to do Miss Wednesday?"

"Stop you!" she said fiercely, "I'm gonna stop you! There's still time! If I can just get to Alubarna east of here…" she dragged her body across the floor. "If I can get there before the rebel army I may be able to stop them! I'll never give up while there's a chance!"

Crocodile only chuckled.

"Somehow I'm going to stop you!" Vivi declared, glaring fiercely at him, "Just watch! You won't get away with this!"

Amused by this pathetic attempt, Crocodile told her that he and Miss All Sunday were about to meet her father in Alubarna themselves. But before he left, he held up a small key.

"The key to this cell?!" Luffy yelled. "Hey! Give it!"

Crocodile merely smiled as he let the key drop as Vivi struggled with the ropes. She was able to rip them apart just as she made a wild snatch, but it was too late, Crocodile opened up a trap door and the key fell down a long shaft.

"It won't be too long until the rebels and the royal forced begin their battle to the death," Crocodile said. "Even if you hurry to Alubarna from here, who knows if you'd make it in time?" he turned back to her, "To stop the rebellion you'd need to leave at once Miss Wednesday. Will you do that? Or will you try to save your friends instead? It's your choice, but if you chose the latter, it doesn't help that I accidently dropped the key into the Banana Gator's den."

Vivi gasped as she looked down the hole... "Banana Gators!"

"What are those things?" Luffy called, before he shouted, pointing to the window, "Look out the window! There's an alligator growing outta that banana!"

And as they looked, Usopp shrieked at the giant gators with banana-shaped growths on their heads. Gators so big that they could've easily swallowed a human in one gulp.

"In case you haven't noticed that's not the only one!" Nami screamed in panic.

"It looks like we're in an aquarium," Usopp yelled, sounding scared out of his mind, "I hope we're not the fish food!"

"What weird bananas," Luffy said to himself.

"How can you think that?!" Usopp yelled at him. But Vivi gasped in horror as she continued staring down the hole.

"What now?" Luffy called worriedly. "Vivi what happened?"

"A big Banana Gator swallowed the key to your cell!" she cried.

"Well then go down there and make it spit it out!" Luffy yelled as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Vivi looked up and yelled back that she didn't stand a chance; explaining that Banana Gators were so strong and dangerous that they even preyed on Sea Kings.

"Sorry," Crocodile said, not sounding sorry in the slightest, "You might've had the key if I hadn't accidently… dropped it. And now there's no telling which one of my pets swallowed it."

Crocodile start to leave through a hallway behind them, one made of glass and they could get a full look at least a dozen gators. Explaining further that Crocodile decided to flood the room they were in, so he presented Vivi in front of Luffy and the rest, the choice between getting to Alubarna in time or saving Luffy and those with him before the room completely filled with water in one hour. As Crocodile was explaining this challenge to Vivi, he ended up laughing at the rebels and about Toto still digging away his life in Yuba. It was then that he confessed that he was the one causing the sandstorms as well as the drought to drive the people here insane.

Vivi's face was livid. "I will kill you!" she shouted.

He just turned and headed through the door as the water began pouring into the room while Miss All-Sunday said he was receiving a call from a 'Mr. Prince'. Usopp freaked out at the sight of it, screaming for Vivi to help them and that he wanted to live a lot longer than one hour. Zoro than snapped at him to calm down, but Usopp was past hearing, screaming that they were going to drown like rats if they didn't get out. Vivi meanwhile was left to defend herself against the Banana Gators that started to enter the room.

"All right, now that that jerk is gone…" Luffy said in relief before scurrying out of the cage as a mouse, going back to Vivi's side, and becoming human once more. Quickly knocking several of the Banana Gators out that got to close to the Princess (sadly none of them having the key), he turned and focused back to where his friends were being held. "Now…I'm gonna tear that cage apart!" he declared as he turned around, becoming a Stegosaurus as he did so.

Winding back his spiked tail for a massive blow, Nami and Usopp cheered their captain on. However, much to their shock, Luffy wasn't even able to make a dent in it. No matter what form he used, whether it be dinosaur or modern day animals, he couldn't make a single scratch appear on the cages. While Luffy knew he had some forms that could possibly break the cage, they were just as likely to hurt his friends in the process. Also, every blow to the cage made Luffy slightly weaker as the Sea-Prism sapped at his strength.

"THE CAGE IS TOO TOUGH!" Usopp screamed, looking ready to start bursting out in tears.

"I DIDN'T EVEN DENT IT!" Luffy screamed dejectedly, just as Smoker spoke up, in a surprisingly disinterested voice—as if he couldn't care less to what was happening to him.

"We're all about to die!" Usopp snapped at him loudly, "How can you just sit there like that?"

"You should be trying to get outta there too!" Luffy added just as angrily.

But rather than answer that he asked a question. "Tell me something. How much do you guys know? What exactly is Crocodile after?"

They all looked surprised at the question and then Smoker went on to talk about Miss All-Sunday, or her real name Nico Robin, about how the government had been after her for about twenty years and about her bounty. He also admitted that if those two are planning something, and if they aren't stopped here, there was a chance the whole world could get dragged into this. Luffy ignored him, claiming that he didn't need any other reason. He was still going to kick Crocodile's butt no matter what.

"I see," Smoker said in a skeptic voice to Luffy's declaration, "So… how do you intend to get out of here? Or do you plan on leaving your crew members behind in order to chase down Crocodile yourself?"

"Watch what you say, you jerk!" Luffy growled angrily but then screamed as they were all beginning to freak out again at the ever-rising water. Just then, several more Banana Gators were able to climb over their out-cold fellows and started to converge on Vivi and the slightly weakened Luffy.

Just then, a familiar voice spoke up. "It's really impolite to make a lot of noise at mealtime like you were doing. I'll teach you to behave." And then one gator was suddenly flying, the impact of the kick was so great that the water seemed to part around them… "BAD-MANNERS KICK COURSE!"

Sanji looked to the large dent in the gator's stomach and was out before it hit the floor.

"Hey guys," he said, looking to them. "Been waiting long?"

"YEA! IT'S MR. PRINCE WE'RE FINALLY GONNA GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Usopp and Luffy cheered together, doing a kinda jig, tears of relief in their eyes.

"Thank you," Nami gasped in relief as Zoro snapped at him to hurry and find the key. But Sanji was once again swooning at Nami, asking if she loved him yet.

"Umm, sure," she said, though it was clear from her tone that she didn't mean a word of it, "And I'll love you even more if you hurry up and open this cage!"

Sanji turned back to the gators that were crawling up into the room in droves. Each on was baring their teeth at him as he turned back to them all calmly, "More dinners with bad manners huh?"

Sanji raised his foot, looking ready to fight them all. He was claiming to take his time for going after Nami. Usopp was screaming that they didn't have time for chivalry and to hurry up and take them out.

Minor surprise came when Smoker helped them out by telling them that the third gator that just came in was the one with the key.

"Hey," Luffy said, looking back at him, "How do you know that, Smokey?"

"Guess your ears aren't as big as your mouth," he snapped back, "Isn't that one's growl the same one who swallowed the key?"

Luffy and Usopp stared back at the gators, hearing their growls and Luffy admitted that he couldn't really tell, as he wasn't focusing on it at the time.

Sanji took the marine's advice and went straight for that gator, and when he did, something large, round, and white came spitting out of its mouth.

A large, perfect round ball came bursting out and hit the floor, splashing water everywhere.

They found out what it was very quickly. Everyone got a shock when the 'egg' suddenly cracked open and Mr. 3 was there, looking as dried up as a mummy and he dove his face into the water.

"Yes! Water at last! It's a miracle!" Mr. 3 gasped out.

Mr. 3, who was drinking all the water around him to rehydrate himself. He didn't even notice them as he recovered and began talking to himself that after Crocodile fed him to the gator, he used his powers to create the wax ball and survive. That was when he noticed something attached to the wax ball and picked up the key.

The two in the cage were yelling trying to reach through the bars to grab it and he freaked out as soon as he saw them. Obviously still having traumatic flashbacks to what happened at Little Garden. They could see the stunned look on his face change slowly as he put two and two together.

"Now I see what's happening here," he said an evil smirk uncurling on his face.

"Mr. 3 I presume?" Sanji said, stepping up to him and Mr. 3 jumped in shock at that, demanding to know how Sanji knew who he was.

"Well, your hairstyle kinda gave it away," Sanji answered back, holding his hand out to take the key, "I'll take the key, toss it here."

"Sure thing!" Mr. 3 yelled with a toothy, malevolent grin, "Here it goes!" And then he tossed the key as far away as he could. They all watched in horror as it went flying and landing in the water, right in the middle of all those gators.

"I don't know who you are," Mr. 3 said, turning back to Sanji, still cackling insanely, "But if you want the Straw Hats free you're no friend of mine! Good luck! You'll need it with all those alligators around, trust me I know!"

"Jerk," Sanji snarled, looking ready to give him a beating.

"Better find it soon," Mr. 3 taunted them, "That water's rising!"

And he wasn't kidding, the others were all yelling out, looking desperate now.

Nami screamed out that they were almost out of time.

"Lousy, good-for-nothing wax guy," Sanji hissed. But Usopp suddenly cried out, "Wait a minute Sanji! He might be good for something! Like using those wax powers to make a key!"

Sanji grabbed hold of Mr. 3. It wasn't hard for him to 'convince' him to help them out. Sanji beat him to within an inch of his life before he let up enough for Mr. 3 to turn his finger into a wax key and opened the door. "Nice work, candleman," he said, "Now there are just two more things to do."

He planted a note to Mr. 3's chest, 'Mr. Prince was here' and then kicked him hard enough that he went flying against the wall and knocked out. Everyone was piled out of the cell and Sanji said that they had to hurry because he didn't know how much more time they had before Crocodile came back. Nami agreed saying that they had to hurry and stop the rebels before they reached Alubarna and that they should be able to get out through the hall that Crocodile was about to take before. But Vivi cried out that the hall was filled with Banana Gators…

Not that they had to worry. A newly recovered Luffy and Zoro had just taken care of them all. "THAT'S IT!" Luffy yelled out, practically roaring with energy, "I CAN TAKE ON HUNDREDS OF THOSE WERID BANANAS!"

"Well," Nami said, as they stared at them, "That's problem solve."

Vivi turned away, suddenly crying in shame after seeing how easy they took care of them all. "And I had so much trouble with just one of them." Usopp was trying to comfort her, saying that she shouldn't compare herself to their insane strength… but that's when things got worse as it always did.

The walls all cracked and broke apart and as the water came rushing towards them, they were soon bombarded with water. Luffy was yelling something at Zoro but the others couldn't hear him over the roar of the waves.

Soon they were all outside the casino. They were all a little taken aback by how low the sun was… they were in that cage for longer than they thought. And now they were at the very edge of the lake. Vivi, Nami, and an out-cold Usopp were riding on Luffy's back as he took the shape of an orca. Soon after, Sanji surfaced as well and spat out a mouthful of water.

Sanji got up as the girls yelled at Usopp to wake up and help them to pull himself out of the water. Zoro finally came up… but to everyone's shock, he had Smoker with him.

Sanji spotted them and began to tell the swordsman off for doing something like that. That he was their enemy and he should've just left him down there. That was when Zoro snarled back that he didn't want to do it so he should just shut up.

"Whatever!" Sanji said, "We gotta get moving guys! We've lost too much time already. Vivi can we still make it?"

"I don't know," Vivi admitted as she rung out her robes. Sanji then turned to Nami and asked if she still had the perfume and asked to put it on.

"RORONOA!" screamed a voice and Smoker had turned his jutte to Zoro, who blocked it with one of his sword. "Why did you save my life?!" he demanded loudly, looking ready to fight him then and there.

Zoro glared at Smoker and told him the whole truth. That seconds before the room was destroyed, Luffy had told him to go back and get him despite his protests. Smoker pulled his jutte back as he registered what he said.

"All I did was follow my captain's orders," Zoro said coldly, "that's it. So wouldn't read too much into it if I were you. It was one of his crazy whims, pay him no mind."

Smoker put his Jutte back onto his back and asked, "And you wouldn't have any gripes with me carrying my duties and arresting you, right?"

"See?" Sanji demanded, "I knew it was a bad idea. This is what you get for saving a marine."

Usopp and Luffy were getting back to their feet, yelling out about getting to Alubarna. That was when Luffy noticed Smoker and turned to face him, looking ready to fight. "You want some? Bring it on!" Luffy yelled as Usopp begged that they just forget him and run for it.

There was a very tense silence as Smoker looked to them all. For a moment they thought for sure that he going to just ignore what they did for him and try to capture them… but whether it was because they had saved him, or because he knew that they had a bigger issue with Crocodile to deal with, he finally answered.

"I should… but you just saved my life," he said quietly just as the sounds of his men could be heard. Smoker just looked at them long and hard before he slowly closed his eyes. "Go," he said and they looked at him, as if wondering if they heard him right. "This is the only time I'm letting you Straw Hats off, got it?" Smoker added, as if to make sure that they didn't read too much into this show of mercy. "When we next meet… it's gonna be as enemies."

Everyone stared at him, some of them even broke out into smiles as Sanji declared that was their cue to get out of here. The others all ran off, but Luffy stood where he was for a few seconds longer, Zoro calling after him to hurry up. Luffy looked back at Smoker for another long moment before he smirked. "Hey, you're not such a bad guy, Smokey!"

Startled at what he said, Smoker's face grew red from either embarrassment or anger, they didn't know. "WOULD YOU GET THE HECK OUTTA HERE, STRAW HAT?!" he roared, attacking him which caused them all to start running once again. Zoro smirking behind him as they ran to catch up with the others.

"Hurry!" Usopp cried out, "Those Marines are hot on our heels!"

"ALRIGHT GUYS!" Luffy cried out, taking the lead. "WE'VE GOT LOTS TO DO SO WE'RE NOT GONNA STOP UNTIL WE GET TO ALUBARNA! ARE YOU WITH ME?!"

1. No Eyelash in this story. Honestly why bother getting a camel if one of your allies can conveniently turn into one? Besides, that sexist camel didn't have that big of a role anyway.

2. While Luffy can turn into a sea creature to negate the effects of the ocean or Sea-Prism Stone (which makes Luffy unique), it only works as a sea creature. That means if he was to touch them either as a human or a land-based animal, the effects would still be the same as a regular Devil Fruit user. The only reason Luffy wasn't as affected in the first chapter was because Shanks was partly lifting him out of the water, allowing him enough strength to turn into a more suitable form.

3. Hopefully I was able to spice it up a bit for you guys by extending Luffy's role when they were trapped in the underground cage. Next chapter should be epic and we'll hopefully get to see more of what Luffy is capable of as he fights a more deadly opponent. If you want, please let me know in either reviews or PM on which desert animals you want to see Luffy use in the fight. In the meantime, please continue to READ and REVIEW!