Chapter 8

Zoro's POV

The sun was minutes away from passing over the horizon as the three of us looked over the edge to watch a large submarine surface no more than 50 feet away from our ship. I looked at Ace. Ace looked at Luffy. Luffy looked at the water. As soon as the water spilled over the edges of the deck of the submarine, a young man stepped out.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes, like he had just woken up from a long nap. He wore a black and yellow jacket, light-colored pants, a spotted hat, two earrings on each ear, and held a large sword. As he sat down on floor, he rolled up his sleeves to reveal several tattoos on each arm. Then another man stepped out of the ship; well, he was walking like a man.. and wearing clothes like a man.. but he was a white bear. The first blinked several times and looked up at us. He then turned to the bear-man. This is weird. A submarine, a guy with a huge sword, and a bear. He would be my opponent..hmpf. What next?

"Bepo, did you know there's a ship next to us?" the tattoo-ed man questioned in a monotone voice while pointing towards the Thousand Sunny.

"..You just noticed this?!" the bear-man, apparently named Bepo, said with a shocked look on his face.

Looking down at Luffy with a concerned face, I wondered what he was going to do or say about this. I didn't know who these people were, and since I didn't know, I figured Luffy didn't either. Wasn't sure about Ace, though. He's been around.. But Ace kept silent and watched the two men carefully.
Wonder who that guy is.. He seems kinda stupid, but just like Luffy, but he could be really strong like him too.. I shouldn't underestimate this guy's power.

The first man looked to our ships flags and sails. He didn't seem too surprised or scared, which was rather intimidating. He merely stood up, and walked over to the edge nearest to us on his ship. From that moment on, the man always seemed to have a smile on his face.

"Ah so you're the Straw Hat Pirates? I've been wanting to meet ya. Monkey D Luffy, you're the captain, right? Bounty: 300 million beli. Pretty impressive for a rookie."

Luffy had been staring intently at this man for quite some time, and he had a very intense expression. "Who're you?"

The man stepped back and coughed before he answered this question, "Trafalgar Law. Captain of the Heart Pirates. Bounty: 200 million beli, less than you," he grinned up at Luffy and continued, "Mind if I stay with you guys for a bit?"

Anyone's POV XD

Almost a second after this 'Trafalgar Law' asked this, Luffy grinned back down at him and nodded.

"Sure," Luffy then said, "Welcome aboard the Thousand Sunny."

Zoro and Ace almost wanted to throw Luffy into the ocean again, but settled with facepalms instead. Thank god Nami wasn't out on deck right now or else she really would do it. Luffy let down the ladder over the side of the boat to let Law and his crew onboard. The Straw Hat's captain helped pull Law on deck and proceeded to help the others up as well.

"Shouldn't you consult the rest of your crew before you decide this?" Law asked with a grin.

"I'm captain, so whatever I say goes, right?" Luffy responded, and the two laughed. Luffy then turned to Ace and Zoro who seemed to look like they were ready for battle. "The one with the swords is my first-mate, Pirate-Hunter Zoro. The other guy with the orange hat is my older bro, Fire-Fist Ace."

Even though he had heard the names before, Law still couldn't help but look a little bit impressed for this pipsqueak to drag such strong people into his crew. Zoro walked up to Luffy grabbed his arm and said to the new guest in a serious tone, "Nice to meetcha, but I need to have a word with my captain for a moment." Law just nodded as the swordsman dragged him back over to Ace to have a private conversation.

"Luffy. Do you really think this is a good idea? He's a pirate. An enemy pirate with a pretty high bounty," Ace told Luffy, holding onto the captain's shoulder.

"It's 'kay, it's 'kay, I like him!" Luffy said with a smile, "I know what I'm doing." This caused Zoro to sigh, but he figured Luffy had a good reason for feeling that way. He had learned to trust and go with the young pirate from very early on in their relationship. After all, this man was going to become King of the Pirates. Ace, however, was still a bit worried, but he wasn't the captain on this ship.

The three walked back over to a constantly smiling Law, who then introduced his own crew members. They all decided to sit down in a circle as Ace kept a flame going and talked about themselves and adventures. All the happy parties anf celebrations with good friends. All the times where they risked their lives for those same friends. Even the times in their childhood where they discovered their dreams. They all laughed and got along well and became friends. Luffy became obsessed with Bepo, as was expected. Ace and Zoro became glad that the captain had let these people aboard.

The moon was fairly high in the dark night sky and lit up their surroundings quite well. This is when the air took on a peaceful silence as Luffy wore a thoughtful look on his face. He looked up at Law, who had been staring at him for quite some time with an almost seducing expression. The younger pirate smiled and finally broke the soundlessness with a question.

"Law, how about we become allies?"

Both pirate crews members looked at Luffy, and then Law. Law then responded.

"I've been waiting for you to ask.. And I say yes."

That's all the words that were needed to confirm a strong bond between the two ccaptains and crews, well, the crewmates who were there to hear these words.

As the night went on, the moon rose higher and higher up in the dark night sky, but only to be covered by fast moving clouds. Everyone had continued to talk happily and learn more about each other, but had failed to realize several messages from Mother Nature. Zoro was drinking sake and laughing at Luffy's stories when he heard a loud rumble. He looked above him and at the ocean beside him. His face went pale as reached his hand back to tap a neighboring Luffy's shoulder. Luffy gave Zoro an odd look but then glanced to where the swordsman was pointing: at the very large waves and storms clouds that were approaching at high speeds.

"STORMMMMMM!" Luffy shrieked while running around and nearly slipping on the rain that had suddenly begun to fall around them.

"Luffy! Go wake the others and tell them to get their asses out here and help!" Ace yelled, barely audible over the crashing waves and loud thunder claps. Luffy nodded and ran down below deck to do as commanded. Ace then scrambled to help Zoro tie the submarine to the back hook-up on the ship, while Luffy, Law and the other Heart pirates pulled in the now very wet and very heavy sails. All the tired crewmates ran up onto the main deck and went to their stations as a bright streak of lightning flashed across the heavens.

"Franky! Steer the ship to the starboard side and try to avoid as much of this as possible!" Nami screamed, having the same problem as Ace.

"I'mmm on it!" He responded, grabbing the wheel spinning it quickly to the right. Ace, Zoro, Law and the others came back to help everyone bring in the things that might get washed overboard and then tried to find something sturdy to hold onto. A large, and ominously dark wave then made the ship creak as it was pushed from behind and tilted dangerously forward. Some, including Chopper and Usopp, were thrown forward and would've landed into the wall just past the main mast if it weren't for Luffy's rubbery arm that caught them.

Soon afterward, the storm died down and the ship was soon in calm waters and stars were once again visible in the sky. After a quick roll call, just to make sure no one fell overboard, almost all of them nearly fell over from fatigue. They then decided to go back to sleep before the sun rose again, so Luffy and Ace showed the extra rooms to Law and his crew before heading to sleep themselves. Meanwhile, Zoro had stayed up in the Crow's Nest to keep watch. None of the other Straw Hats even noticed the unfamiliar people on the ship helping them through the storm.

But where was Sanji?

~ +Ace~ +