F-ckthesystem125: Yeah, she'll make a few more before the real adventure begins. Though they won't be as long or as important as the ones she made in the last chapter.

electro64: Well then, thank you so much for taking the time to review my story out of all the other stories you could have chosen. As for when we'll reach the original One Piece timeline, if everything goes as planned, chapter ten should be the first chapter of the original storyline. That is not guaranteed however, as there are still several things I need to get done before that, and it depends if I can fit these things into the upcoming chapters.

Now then, here's the next chapter, so please read, enjoy and review.

Ace was currently on his way to Bellemere's house, where he was supposed to meet up with his little brother and his friends for a visit. Despite the fact that he hadn't met this woman once, he was more than willing to go, not only because she had given his little brother a better place to stay, a real home, but also because she was the mother of Nojiko and Nami, both of whom he knew he could trust at this point. He was just a little apprehensive about it though, mainly because it had only been a couple of days since his violent outburst against Luffy, and despite the fact that Zoro and Nami had been glaring at him with something akin to hate for the days that followed, the real reason he was so uncertain and against this, was because it was still somewhat hard for him to look his little brother in the eyes.

Not because he would see anger and hate, but the opposite, love and trust. He couldn't bare to see that even after hurting him so, his little brother didn't even hold the slightest grudge, and still trusted him and loved him. Though he supposed he should have seen that coming, as when they had first met he had done far worse things to him, and he still clung to him like a lost puppy, without so much as a hint of malice towards him, ever. That wasn't the case anymore however, at least when it came to clinging to him, as the young straw hat wearing boy now had Nami and Zoro, and was with them most of the time. Though the past four or so months the three, along with Nojiko, had been hanging with him and Sabo, the last of that time also saw Kuina joining them as well.

Now would everyone be at this little get together? He honestly had no idea, but he figured the only ones who might actually not be there, were Sabo, Zoro and Kuina. Since Luffy was there though, it was all but ensured that Sabo and Zoro would be there as well, and as for Kuina...well who knows. She was friendly enough after a week or so of getting to know her, but she didn't seem to have much of a real connection to anyone, besides Zoro that is. Though theirs was a rivalry through and through. She did seem interested in Luffy, though that was probably because Zoro had decided to be his right hand man, and it also might have a bit to do with how crazy he was and how high he aimed in the world, he probably intrigued her.

He didn't have time to think any further about such things, as he reached the house. He was about to walk in, as he had been invited, but thought better of it at the last second, and opted to knock instead. Only a moment after he did so, he heard someone call out from the other side of the door, "Come in."

So he grabbed a hold of the door knob, opened the door and did so. What awaited him in the house wasn't anything like he was expecting, that's for sure. "SURPRISE!"

As everyone in the room called this out, Ace had to keep himself from jumping back in shock, as everyone was here, including Kuina, as well as a red haired woman, who he guessed was Bellemere, and they were so close that his ears were almost ringing when they shouted that one word. Nevertheless, he stood where he was instead of jumping back or moving forward, wondering what was going on. He didn't have to wonder for long, as all seven of the other individuals in the room made it clear as to what this was, "HAPPY TENTH BIRTHDAY ACE!"

They then moved out of the way, so that he could see the dining table, set with eight chairs and eight plates, and right in the middle was a large birthday cake, not necessarily the biggest in the world, but a hell of a lot bigger than the cupcake his Grandfather usually gave him. Said cake was chocolate and was covered in white frosting, it also had red frosting on it, it being used to spell out his name, and the words happy birthday. And of course, there were ten candles on it, lit and ready to be blown out.

Seeing this all left the boy shell shocked, as his eyes were wide and he made no movements. But after several long seconds, he allowed his eyes to move so he could see everyone's faces, which all of them had smiles on them. Of course they all differed, Luffy's was the biggest, Nami and Sabo following close behind, third place went to Nojiko, Bellemere came after, then finally there was Zoro and Kuina, both only sporting smirks rather than full blown smiles. But nevertheless, they were all happy, and on today of all days. It left him flabbergasted, as the red haired woman was the only one of them to not know who's son he was, and yet they were happy to celebrate the day he was born. He had to bite his bottom lip to keep the tears that were swelling up from coming out, and although he did it successfully, he honestly didn't know how long he'd be able to keep them at bay, especially as Luffy dragged him over to the table, Bellemere closing the door as he did, put him in a chair and said, "When I told everyone what today was, they insisted we needed to throw you a surprise party. So, here it is. Were you surprised?"

The older black haired boy only nodded his head, as he didn't trust his voice at the moment. At his nod of affirmation, the younger dark haired boy's smile grew even larger, as he had always wanted to throw Ace a birthday party, but he hadn't ever been allowed to. Not that it stopped him from trying the first time, but it didn't end so well, so he let it be. Now though, with everyone's help, they could make Ace's birthday special, and the raven haired six year old was very happy for that.

The seven who had set this up all took their seats, putting them all in the birthday boy's line of sight, and began encouraging him to blow out the candles. As they did, Ace hung his head, putting his lap in his line of sight, as he gripped a handful of his shorts with both hands so hard that his knuckles began to go white, while continuing to fight back his tears. Even doing all this couldn't keep him from speaking, he just couldn't help himself, so he asked the question he had wanted to know the answer to for years, "Was it good...that I was born?"

The words varied, but every answer was the same...

Luffy, "Of course!"

Sabo, "You know that it was!"

Zoro, "It was."

Kuina, "Yes."

Nojiko, "Why would you ask that!? Obviously it's good that you were born!"

Nami, "How could you even ask that!? Everyone deserves to have been born!"

Ace's head shot up at all those answers, his eyes wide and disbelieving at all those words and the vehemence behind them, and it became impossible to hold back his tears, so they began to slide down his face. That's when his eyes met Bellemere's, her being the only one who hadn't said anything, and now having his attention, she spoke, "It doesn't matter who's blood you carry in your veins, as sin isn't in the blood. The fact that you're the son of Gold Roger, doesn't mean a damn thing. Everyone deserves a chance at life, and no one should be deprived of their life for such idiotic reasoning as their father being a criminal, especially a child such as yourself. You more than deserve to live."

The smile that had dropped from her face at the birthday boy's words returned, as she spoke once more, her tone considerably more upbeat this time, "Now, would you mind blowing out your candles? If you don't hurry, there's going to be wax all over the cake by the time it gets cut."

Ace's eyes were wider than ever before, as he didn't think she knew, but even more so than that, a former marine saying these words to him...he couldn't fathom it. He bit his bottom lip almost as hard as he could, to keep himself from sobbing aloud, but it didn't work, as only a moment later he was all out crying his eyes out, sobs racking his body, as he spoke, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you all so much!"

Tears were now racing down his face and he was crying harder than he ever had before, however the ten year old had never been happier than this singular moment in time, as even if it was only a small group of people, they all accepted him despite the blood that ran through his veins. He felt a warmth in him that had been sparked by Luffy, and thanks to the same little rascal, has gone from a small ember to something more akin to a large bonfire, with the help of the other people in this room of course. It felt better than he had imagined it would, it honestly did.

Bellemere still had that smile on her face, as she said, "So, you gonna blow those candles out or what?"

Ace nodded his head, as he tried to get his sobbing under control, doing so only partially, before proceeding to blow out the candles on his cake. With that done he worked on getting his tears to stop as well as his sobs, while Bellemere cut the cake and handed out slices, putting the first piece on his plate before getting to everyone else.

Thankfully, by the time everyone had their slice, Ace had managed to stop the flow of tears, and was able to speak clearly again, mostly. So as they dug into their cake, more specifically the boys, they began to talk amongst themselves. And as they did, Bellemere had to bop each of the boys more than once, excluding Sabo as one bop reminded him of the table manners he had learned, so as to remind them not to talk with their mouths full.

They talked about anything and everything, as they were all feeling good at that moment. One topic in particular, was that Bellemere had a tangerine farm back at Cocoyashi village. And how that they might be able to start a small one here as well, if everything went well that was. In fact, Bellemere was planning on making a deal with Makino and her bar concerning these tangerines they might be able to grow. From there it steered off into the new move Luffy had made by messing around with his rubber ability, then to Zoro's lack of direction, to which he denied was true, to how many times Kuina had beaten him in a duel, and then to the citizens of Cocoyashi.

Just as they had finished talking about Genzo, a firm knock was heard at the door. Bellemere excused herself to answer it, it only taking a moment or so to get over to it and open it. Just as it was fully open, the booming sound of Garp's voice was heard, "It's good to see you Bell, how are the girls doing?"

Both Luffy and Ace jumped out of their seats, exclaiming in unison as they did, fear more than evident in their voices, "Grandpa!"

They then proceeded to scramble away, trying to find a place to hide before he noticed them. It was too late however, as the greying man brushed past his former comrade, as politely as he possibly could, and reached the two in an instant, scooping them up by the backs of their collars, and dangling them several feet in the air. Despite that, the two continued to struggle with all their might, as they had to get away, because if they didn't...he'd kill them. That's when both brothers proceeded to cry out, in unison, "Help! He's gonna kill us!"

The look on the marine's face was enough to let everyone know he was indeed in a foul mood, if that wasn't enough however, his words did the trick, "Damn right I'm gonna kill you!"

The larger than average man then turned and proceeded to exit the house, not lecturing the two as he did so, which just worried the brothers more, still keeping them suspended by the backs of their collars as he carried them. Everyone followed them of course, most of them out of worry, three of them out of curiosity. They didn't follow them far, as they stopped only ten feet from the house, where the aging man then tossed the two boys none too gently onto the ground. "I've kept in touch with Makino, and some of the things she's informed me of-"

The marine hero stopped mid sentence, his eyes going wide, as he noticed something on top of Luffy's head that wasn't there when he left the village. "Luffy, that straw hat-"

Seemingly forgetting about the imminent danger he was in, the young boy popped up to his feet, a big smile on his face, as he said, "This? Shanks gave it to me! Said to return it when I became a great pirate!"

Garp's eyes went from wide with shock and disbelief, to anger and annoyance, as he said, "That damn Red Hair!"

The man known as the fist then clenched his fists tightly, as he spoke once more, "Even after everything I've said, done and shown you, all the time I've put into trying to make you two into fine marines, you still insist on being disobedient little brats!"

He then lashed out, ramming his left fist into the side of Ace's head, who was on his feet as well at this point, his right fist into the side of Luffy's head, and ramming their heads together, causing twice the damage. Both boys cried out in pain as they collided, before hitting the ground once more. Both quickly sat up, a bruise already forming on Ace's head where it had met Luffy's in the collision.

"That hurt!" Luffy's eyes widened after those words left his mouth, as that didn't make any sense. He was made of rubber, physical blows shouldn't hurt at all. Even that beating Ace had given him hadn't hurt, though he had been hitting so hard that he did manage to draw blood. "But I'm rubber, that shouldn't have hurt!"

His eyes then, of course, went to the one who had caused the pain, his grandfather, and asked, "What was that!?"

A predatory smirk crossed Garp's face as he replied, "I've told you a million times boy, never underestimate my Fist Of Love! It can do anything, including knocking sense into crazy little boys who eat devil fruits! No matter what you do, my Fist Of Love will always be ready to put you back in line whenever you step out of it!"

Luffy shook the state of pain off, as he got to his feet once more, and proclaimed, staring the older man down as he did so, "I don't care what you say Grandpa! When I get old enough, I'm going to set out to sea, and become King of the pirates!"

The aging man stared right back, as he said, "King huh? There just isn't an end to your insolence is there!?"

He sighed as he shook his head, his smirk gone, before speaking once more, "However, I have all day to beat some sense into you! And that's just what I'm gonna do!"

With that said, the looks of fear on their faces twisted into ones of complete horror, causing the aging man's predatory smirk to evolve into a face splitting smile.

As the five other children watched, Sabo tried to suggest that it wouldn't be too bad, but even as he did, he wasn't so sure himself. "He wouldn't hurt them too bad would he? I mean, it can't be as bad as they're acting like its gonna be, can it?"

Nojiko nodded her head, "Of course not, he's their grandpa."

Kuina also nodded her head as she agreed, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

However Zoro rebuffed those words, shaking his head as he did, "You're wrong, it's just as bad as they're making out to be."

Nami's face was etched with worry as she said, "Zoro's right, it's just that bad. We were there when Garp left the village, let's just say his goodbyes with Luffy and Ace weren't too gentle."

That is when the aging man sent Luffy flying into and crashing through a building, leaving a child sized hole where part of the wall used to be. The marine wasted no time in retrieving his grandson, dragging him back to Ace, and beginning to beat on the two all over again. As this happened, the three non believers winced in sympathy.

This continued for several moments, before out the corner of his eye, he spotted Sabo, and stopped hitting his kin, so he could make his way to the young blonde boy. The boy only had a moment to panic, before the greying man scooped him up, and brought him to the beat down, speaking as he did so, "And don't think I don't know about you, I was made aware of the fact that all the trouble these two stirred up you were involved in as well, and since you have no parents to do it for you, I'll have to be the one to beat some sense into you!"

Sabo made a desperate plea for help, but it was soon cut off, as his face was in the ground after a strong punch from the larger than average man.

The beating of the three children continued for almost a whole minute, before one thing in particular got someone to interfere...

All four children who weren't currently having the shit kicked out of them, cringed in sympathy as the marine hero body slammed the three, which prompted the only other adult, if you considered Garp an adult that is, to put a stop to this.

Bellemere wouldn't allow this blatant child abuse to go on any longer, so she marched up to her former colleague, grabbed a hold of him by one of his ears, and proceeded to physically drag him away from the boys, and into her house, not only emasculating him in front of the children, but also making him look like the man child he was, as he fussed and whined the same way Luffy and Zoro did when they got the same treatment from the red head.

She closed the door behind her, before letting the larger than her man go, and proceeding to ask the question many people had been wondering for years, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Garp was about to rebuttal, before he could however, she continued, "I mean honestly, using Haki on a child, how could you sink so low?"

Once more the aging man opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off once again, "Those three have been through a lot, they don't need your screwed up way of parenting on top of everything else. Why I have half a mind to take legal guardianship of those two boys away from you, Sabo as well for good measure."

Finally the marine hero managed to get a word in edge wise, "Bell, calm down, alright? Those boys need tough love, believe me. Besides, I'm just trying to keep them from going down the wrong path, if they become pirates...then their lives are over. The only way they're going to have any kind of life is if they join the marines, as they're far too strong and rowdy for simple civilian life."

The red head quirked an eyebrow at that, "Is that so?"

"More than you could know Bell. After all, if word got out about who their fathers are, they'd be number one and number two on the most wanted list. Hell, if you knew you'd agree with me."

An almost bored look on her face, she then said, "I know who their fathers are Garp, I'm not stupid. I know you well enough to know that Dragon's your son, which obviously makes Luffy his son. And as for Ace, I found out yesterday who's son he is. Believe me, I know you're right, but only to a certain degree. If the marines found out who's sons they are, they would indeed do everything in their power to execute them. What you don't seem to understand is, that they'll do that no matter what they are, whether they be pirate or marine. So why not let them choose? After all, it's their lives, not yours, they should be the ones to decide, not you, where their destinies lie."

"I-I..." Despite how much he wanted to find some reason to disagree with her logic, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't find one. However, the Monkey family was nothing if not stubborn, not to mention those with the initial D, so still, the aging man insisted, doing so after sighing heavily of course. "I know that, but...I just can't bare the thought of having to face them in battle someday. Please Bell, let me do my best to put these two, three now it seems, on the right track. Let me do whatever I can to make them into marines, and if they still end up becoming pirates one day, then so be it."

The tiredness and defeat in his voice didn't suit him at all, which was the only reason the red head was considering obliging him. "I'll consider it, but tell me what you have in mind first."

Sighing once more, the greying man proceeded to do as she asked, "I'm going to put them up with a gang of mountain bandits that owe me a favor."

The scrutinization of his plan was clear not only on her face, but in her voice as well, "You have got to be kidding me. If Makino really has been keeping you up to date, then surely you must know that Luffy hates mountain bandits, he won't be able stand living there. And with Ace's attitude, from what my girls have told me, he probably won't fare much better. As for Sabo...well I'm not sure honestly."

Garp looked into the younger woman's face, as he replied, "But that's the exact reason I'm sending them there. I'm hoping that in seeing exactly what the life of an outlaw is like, it will make them want to become marines, if not because they don't like how they live, then simply because of their hate for people like them."

The twenty something woman seemed to contemplate it for a moment, "I don't know..."

Seeing that he was close to getting her to agree, he made one last attempt to persuade her, "Six months, just give me six months. After six months they can come back to Fusha village, whether they've changed their minds about becoming pirates or not, I promise."

It was Bellemere's turn to sigh now, "Fine Garp, but six months and not a day longer."

A small smirk finally came back to the marine hero's face, "You have my word."

"Now then, why are you here? You couldn't have cleared this mess up yet, otherwise you'd have put me and my girls on a boat before you began abusing your grandsons."

The older man winced at the word abuse, but shook it off and answered her question, "I'm meeting up with a contact on an island nearby in about a week or so, and since I was in the vicinity, I decided to drop by and see my grandsons."

"Abuse them you mean."

Again with that word, it caused Garp to cringe, how he hated it. But he had gotten his way with her, for once, and would be able to do what he had planned to when he came here in the first place. So he made his way for the door, just as he reached it though, Bellemere asked one more question, "It wasn't Makino that sent you letters and kept you updated was it?"

He turned back so he could look at her as he replied, the smirk he had before returning as he said, "No, she kept me updated alright. However, it was Woop Slap who told me the things I really wanted to know. But I knew if I had said that, Ace might try something brash, since I only mentioned Makino though, it'll be fine. As no one I've ever met is able to wish any ill will towards her, she just has this...thing about her, that makes you like her. And besides that, she's good with children, so I knew she'd be just fine."

All three of the boys who had taken that beating from Garp lie on the ground, moaning in pain and covered in bruises, their friends either kneeling next to them or standing over them to make sure they were alright. Nami and Zoro by Luffy, Nojiko by Ace, and Kuina by Sabo, though only to make sure he was conscious. This didn't last long, as Garp soon returned, scooping the three up once more, despite the objections their friends made. "Time to go brats."

With that said he began walking away from Bellemere's house, before the others could chase after him however, Bellemere stopped them and explained what was going on, "I know you guys aren't going to want hear this, but Garp has decided to take those three to live up in the mountains, so as to isolate them from the rest of us for awhile."

The look of fear and distress on Nami's face almost made the red head wince, and the look of anger on Zoro's face also spoke of his thoughts on the matter. Nojiko looked worried for the three's safety, and even Kuina couldn't hide the hint of concern on her face, as she had just seen first hand how Garp is, knowing that she knew their lives were indeed in some danger.

The two closest to Luffy, despite Bellemere telling them not to, quickly went after them, voicing their vehement protests to this as they drew closer. However, before they could catch up, the twenty something woman caught them instead, though they just continued to struggle in her arms. "Listen, it's not as bad as you think it is. Garp agreed that they only had to stay there for six months, and then they can come back, no strings attached."

Nami had tears building in her eyes as she continued to try and wiggle out of her mother's grasp, "But Luffy needs us, Ace and Sabo don't always know how to handle him! Ace gets angry and Sabo gets confused, and with Garp, things are so much worse! Besides, it's not fair! He can't just take Luffy away from us like this!"

For once, Zoro was in agreement with Nami. "This is ridiculous! He abandons them for over a year, then comes back and tries to act like some kind of parent!? The least he can do is take us too, so we can help our friend!"

Bellemere couldn't hide the frown on her face at that point, "He's just doing what he thinks is best for them."

The two children then said in unison, "But it's not the best for them!"

The red head nodded her head at that, "I know."

Once the four were out of sight, the two stopped struggling, and as that was the case, the twenty something woman spoke once more, "It'll be okay, trust me. You know those boys are tough, they can handle themselves. And besides that, while Garp is very eccentric, idiotic and severe, he also cares for his grandsons more than can be expressed. They're gonna be fine."

As acceptance of what was happening finally nestled itself in the two children's minds, the younger of two couldn't keep the sadness off her face, while the older one wore a large scowl for someone his age. In seeing this, Bellemere just sighed, before turning them around and taking them back to the house, along with Nojiko and Kuina.

"I already told you Gramps, I'm going to be the King of the Pirates!"

"Shut it Luffy, you're only making this worse for us!"

"It can get worse!?" Sabo asked with fright.

"You have no idea!" Ace answered.

Garp, who held the young straw hat boy by the cheek, who since was now made of rubber bounced and dangled helplessly in his grip, wincing over and over again as he was in pain the entire time this was happening, was making his way through the forest, his two grandsons and Sabo being dragged along with him. While he held his younger grandson by the cheek, he held Ace and Sabo by the backs of their collars with his left hand, as his right hand had Luffy.

The aging man then lifted his youngest grandson to where they were eye level and proceeded to shout in his face, "What do you mean, King of the Pirates!?"

The marine hero didn't even pretend to wait for an answer, as he continued on into the forest, his grandsons and Sabo tightly within his grasp. Luffy of course, had yet to stop struggling since they left Fusha, "L-let me go, dammit!"

"Not only did you eat that Devil Fruit, but now you're spouting this nonsense!" Garp growled in annoyance. As he was saying this, Luffy was repeatedly hitting his arm, desperately trying to free himself from his grandfather's grasp.

Whether the greying man was unaware of his grandson's attempts to free himself, or he just didn't care, the young boys didn't know. The marine then proclaimed, "Luffy, both you and Ace are destined to be great marines!"

Both boys in question then exclaimed loudly and in unison, "Like hell!"

Only a moment later, "Dammit.." Luffy groaned. "...I'm made of rubber, so why does this hurt!? Please let go Grandpa!"

"Leaving you in a peaceful village like Fusha was a mistake." Garp said, obviously not paying the slightest bit of attention to Luffy. "I mean of all things, Pirate King!?"

Luffy was beginning to see there really was no way he could escape his grandfather's hold, so in his desperation, he latched onto the first tree they came across that was close enough for him to do so, after coming to said realization.

"You imbecile!" Garp continued to rant, failing to notice Luffy had latched onto a tree as he did. "Just interacting with that damned Red Hair is completely unacceptable, and yet you've gone so far as to befriended him, you're even wearing his damn hat! Disgraceful!"

Garp continued to walk, causing Luffy's arms and cheek to stretch beyond their limits. And as he walked a few more feet, the tree the young boy had grabbed ahold of began to uproot. The only two people to notice this were Ace and Sabo, and as they did they quickly tried to get the aging marine to stop, however he was ignoring them as well. So within seconds after their pleas to stop, the tree was completely torn out of the ground and Luffy snapped back towards his grandfather, the tree catching a ride along with him.

Again, the dark haired ten year old and the nine year old blonde were the only ones to see it coming.

"Holy shit!"

"It's coming right for us!"

Garp didn't know what hit him when the tree came slamming into his back, however, despite being caught off guard, he easily managed to stay on his feet. Rather, it was the tree that broke in half as if it was nothing but a measly fragile toothpick.

"I'm going to become stronger than even Shanks!" Luffy proclaimed loudly, taking no notice of the damage he had just caused.

Both Ace's and Sabo's eyes were shut tight, as they had closed them when they flinched away when the tree came barreling towards them, but at the straw hat wearing boy's words, they opened their eyes, to see they were just fine and that, luckily, the very same man who was manhandling them had taken the whole of the impact.

The blonde couldn't help but exclaim, in much more joy than was needed at the moment, "We're alive!"

The raven haired ten year old wiped the sweat from his brow as he let out a sigh of relief, "That would have hurt."

Having stopped after the tree had slammed into him from behind, Garp started walking once more, looking as if that hadn't bothered him in the slightest, as if it hadn't even happened in the first place.

Soon enough the four reached their destination, a large and somewhat rickety house that was settled near the edge of the forest. Laundry could be seen swinging in the wind on the clotheslines that they were placed upon, and the roof was in disrepair, overall the place had a rather homely feel to it. Nevertheless, the boys still didn't wish to be here.

Unlike how he had knocked firmly and kindly on Bellemere's door, Garp began just banging loudly on the door to this house. As he did, Luffy was busy looking around the best he could with the position he was in, asking aloud as he did, "What is this place?"

The marine hero took a large step back from the door, just before it came flying open and someone came charging out. All of the boys's eyes were on this person, taking in their appearance.

This person was rather tall and overweight, with long orange curly hair and a big masculine face. They wore a white collared shirt, a pink beaded necklace, green chequered trousers held up with a large brown belt, with a silver buckle, and black heeled boots. They also had a cigarette in their mouth, and looked more than a little pissed. "Who's the reckless fool who dares to knock on my door-"

"It's me." Garp said calmly, cutting this person off as he did so.

This large person suddenly lost all of their previous anger when they saw Garp, jumping away in terror as all the color drained from their face. "Ga-Garp!"

That's when the boys finally realized this was a woman, and when they did...

Ace couldn't help but think to himself, "That's just nasty."

Sabo couldn't help but think to himself, "She's as ugly as the nobles!"

Luffy didn't think his comment, instead he blurted it out, "You're really ugly."

However, the woman was in such a state of fear, that she didn't seem to register the comment.

Suddenly two other people came running out the house.

One was quite short, wore a white turban on his head, a pale yellow shirt, and a pair of pink, purple dotted, overalls over it. He had beat up brown shoes and, something that stuck out almost as much as his height, a very annoyed look on his face.

The other was taller than average, was bald with a red headpiece, the boys thought it was a comb but they weren't a hundred percent sure, and what appeared to be a wattle on his chin, making him look overall like a chicken. He had a large mustache that connected with the thick sideburns going down the sides of his face, making the whole thing look like one big piece of facial hair, as well as thick eyelashes. As for what he was wearing, he had a decorated jacket paired with a scarf around his neck, and a pair of shorts held up by a standard sash. He also sports what appears to be long, striped socks.

Upon seeing Garp, these two had a very similar reaction to the woman, jumping back in fright as they stuttered out his name in surprise, "It's G-Ga-Garp!"

"You seem to be doing well." Garp said casually, as if the three weren't cowering in fear of him.

The woman then did her best to stutter out the question, "Wh-wha-what do you wa-want with u-us?"

The greying man then proceeded to, unceremoniously, toss the three children to the ground in front of him, putting them between him and the three bandits, as he said, "You're going to be taking care of these three."

The orange haired woman was dumbfounded at his words, not reacting to them as her brain tried to process them, all the while staring at Garp blankly.

"Now come on you three, say hello." The aging marine encouraged.

All three boys were busy rubbing their sore behinds from the none too gentle landing they had, but did as the ridiculously strong man said, as they didn't wish for another beating.

Ace, "Sup."

Sabo, "Hello."

Luffy actually raised his hand in greeting as he spoke, "Yo."

"Who are these kids?" The man with the chicken headgear asked.

"My Grandsons." Garp answered nonchalantly.

All three bandits's eyes nearly popped out of their heads, as they screamed out in shock and disbelief, in unison as well, "WHAT!?"

"Well at least these two are, this one is an orphan who is always hanging around them, so I figured why not toss him to you as well." He said bluntly.

"Garp...I mean, Garp's grandsons...!?" The orange haired woman babbled in shock.

It only took a moment for her to collect herself, before she cried defiantly, "Not happening!"

The other two bandits rapidly nodded their heads in agreement at her words.

Garp crossed his arms and gave a glare to each of them, as he said, "Well, you have a decision to make, you can either spend the rest of your lives behind bars, or you can raise them, which will it be?"

The large woman could only glare back at Garp, as there wasn't anything she could do at this point.

"I've turned a blind eye so far, but you've committed as many crimes as there are stars in the sky Dadan." The aging marine began to laugh good naturedly after saying this.

"Well, it is true that I don't really want to go to prison." The chicken bandit said honestly, as he rubbed the back of his head.

"But at this point prison actually seems tempting, I mean Garp's grandsons? We'd be insane to take them in." The bandit with the turban muttered.

"I'm sure each of these kids are just as much of a monster as you are, aren't they?" Dadan questioned, though she was sure she already knew the answer.

The three boys were finally on their feet at this point, and since that was the case, Luffy let his eyes wander, only doing so for a moment as they soon came to the house in front of him, which he looked over, wrinkling his nose as he did, "What a crappy looking mountain hut!" He said this as if he had just noticed it, which he honestly had.

Both the other two agreed with the youngest boy's words.

Ace, "You said it."

Sabo, "I can't argue with you there."

"You want to die brats!?" Dadan shouted angrily at the boys.

While the oldest two just glared back at the woman, Luffy began to chase a butterfly that had just fluttered past him, giggling all the while.

"These two are insolent, and that one's not even listening!" The orange haired woman yelled in distress.

"Well, I'll be off then." The greying marine said as he turned and began walking away.

"You think this has been settled!?"

Garp turned back, anger clear on his face and a look of warning in his eyes as he said, "What?"

Dadan and the two other bandits immediately backed down, "We'll take care of them."

"Then my business here is done." He said as he turned to leave once more. "I'll come to visit when I have time." The marine hero then proceeded to give a casual wave, just before he disappeared into the forest.

After Ace and Sabo had gotten Luffy to stop chasing the butterfly, they all went inside, the straw hat wearing boy entering the hut several seconds before the other two. Not even ten steps into the place, and someone had come up from behind and grabbed a hold of him, putting a knife to his throat as he did. "Who are you kid?"

It was too bad for that guy that he had failed to notice Ace and Sabo at the doorway, who upon seeing the young boy in danger, each gave a battle cry as they charged forward, tackling him to the floor. While Sabo procured Luffy from the man's arms, Ace knocked the knife from his hand and began to pound on his face. He didn't have to endure for long, as after three blows he was out like a light, and before the raven haired ten year old could cause any more damage than that, a couple other bandits appeared and pulled him off of the guy.

As he struggled with them, and a few of them began to surround Sabo and Luffy, one of them asked, "Who the hell are these kids?"

"Garp's Grandsons." The bandit with a turban said in a deadpan voice as he walked into the room.

This caused every bandit in the room to go pale, "Garp!"

"They're going to live with us now." The turban wearing bandit said with the same deadpan voice.

All the bandits began to panic and just plain freak out at the news.

"Why did you take them!?" One bandit yelled in disbelief.

"Boss has no backbone at all!" Another bandit cried.

"Shut up!" Dadan yelled as she entered the room, before proceeding to slam down a large plate stacked high with meat on the floor. "It's time for dinner!"

That was all that needed to be said before the bandits dropped Ace, forgot about circling Sabo and Luffy, and charged the plate like a pack of hungry wolves.

"I want some too!" Luffy exclaimed as he jumped to his feet, drool dripping out his mouth all the while. He then attempted a run for the food, but was tackled by several bandits who ran into the room, past him and to said food.

As he tumbled across the floor, he could see all the bandits stealing food from one and other, while also threatening each other with knives and any other sharp objects that were within reach.

Also seeing this, Ace and Sabo shared a look, before getting up as well.

Luffy was back on his feet once more, and there was still one piece of meat left, so he refused to let anyone take it from him. Charging forward, he got ready to attack anyone who tried to steal it, however, just before he got there, Dadan snatched it off the plate, as she had been right next to it, and bit into it.

The young straw hat wearing boy's shoulders slumped in defeat, as he let out a heavy sigh.

Dadan then came around to him and shoved a small cup of white rice into his hands, which he proceeded to swallow in one mouthful.

"Another bowl!" The young boy yelled, despite the orange haired woman being less than five feet from him, "Pops, I want another bowl!"

"I'm a woman!" Dadan yelled back angrily.

"Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot." He gave a small smirk as he said this, while scratching his head as well.

The large scowl the big woman was wearing only grew at those words, "Do you even realize where you've been left!?"

"No." He answered honestly.

The orange haired woman let a sadistic look come upon her face, as she said, "I'll tell you. This is the hideout of the mountain bandits who rule Mount Corvo, the Dadan Family."

"Mountain bandits," Luff repeated, before a scowl crossed his face, "I hate those guys."

"Shut up you damn brat!" She yelled. "It's already a pain in the ass that we're gonna have to raise you! If you don't wanna be with us, fine! Just go off somewhere and starve like an animal!"

"I'm still hungry." Luffy whined pitifully as his stomach grumbled. "I want some meat."

Dadan let a cruel smirk cross her face, as she held out her own piece of meat right in Luffy's face. The young straw hat boy smiled happily and opened his mouth to bite down on it, just before he closed his mouth though, she ruthlessly pulled the meat away from him. And as he opened his eyes in disappointment, Dadan just let her smirk grow wider before taking a huge bite out of the meat herself. "I'll have you know, this is all buffalo meat I procured myself, and since you didn't work for it or help to get it, you don't get any. The life of a mountain bandit is harsh, so starting tomorrow, we'll work you half to death. Cleaning, laundry, shoe polishing, weapon polishing, thieving, looting, swindling and killing! And listen, you're not going to say a single word to Garp about the stuff we make you do. Also, one bowl of rice and a single glass of water is all you get a day. Anything else, you'll have to hunt for."

"Alright." Luffy said without so much as a hint of hesitation, shocking Dadan so much she fell to the floor.

"You're fine with that!? You should be crying by now!" She yelled in disbelief as she got to her feet.

"Grandpa threw me in the jungle once." Luffy said as he recalled the memory. "Earthworms, frogs, snakes, mushrooms, this forest has plenty of stuff to eat in it."

As the large orange haired woman continued to look dumbfounded, Luffy shrugged as he spoke once more. "Besides, I'm going to be a pirate someday, so I have to at least deal with this much."

"Not if we have anything to say about it!"

Both Luffy's and Dadan's attention was pulled to the two that had said that, Ace and Sabo, both boys carrying several of the large pieces of meat, more specifically the dark haired one had five, three in his right hand, two in his left, and the blonde had four, two in each hand.

Seeing this, Luffy's eyes lit up, and drool began to fall from his mouth like a waterfall, "You guys are the best!"

Dadan couldn't help but be bewildered, "Where in the hell did you get those!?"

Not even pretending to pay attention to her, the three sat down and began to eat. That's when she heard the sound of groaning, so turned her head to see where it came from. What she saw were several of her men, black and blue, as well as bloodied, missing the meat that they had just a minute ago. Her eyes widened, as she turned back to look at the three, a scream just begging to come out of her mouth. However she kept it at bay, grunted in her dissatisfaction with the situation, and turned to walk away, thinking to herself as she did, "Those damn brats are gonna make this place hell."

Not even a week later, and the three boys had settled in well.

It was currently dark out, so the boys sat around a small fire they had started somewhere not too far from the hut, each one of them sitting on a stump around said fire. They had caused a lot of trouble that day, so they were kicked out for the night, which they were just fine with, as long as they had each other, it was a breeze to survive out here. They were also currently eating the last of the remains of a very large tiger they had killed a little over an hour ago.

Ace was the first to finish his piece, mainly because Luffy was working on two at once, and Sabo was a slower eater then them, but nevertheless he finished first, which freed him up to speak clearly. "Well now we've hunted together, eaten together, fought together, bled together, cried together, and had the crap beaten out of us by Grandpa together, guess that makes us three as good as brothers huh?"

Luffy nodded his head vigorously in agreement, however he did not stop eating.

Sabo however put his piece of meat down, before replying to that, "Yeah, I guess it does."

Ace let a large smirk cross his face at that, "How about we make it official then?" As he said this, he reached behind him, before pulling out three small sake cups and a bottle of sake from behind his stump and showing them to the other two.

Luffy swallowed the food in his mouth, before asking, "Did you steal that liquor from Dadan?"

A glint of mischief in his eyes, Ace said, "You know it."

He then began to pour sake into each of the cups, saying this as he did, "Did you know, that when men drink together, they become brothers?"

Luffy's eyes widened in awe and delight at those words, "Is that really true? You mean we can really make Sabo our brother!?"

The face of the young blonde in question lit up, as he loved the sound of that.

"I know we've all decided to sail under different flags when we're older, but with this, we are united in the bond of brotherhood. No matter what we do or where we are, no one will ever be able to break that bond!"

He passed the two other boys their cups, forcing Luffy to begrudgingly put his meat down. From there Ace spoke one more time, "From now on, the three of us are brothers!"

The three then slammed their cups together, before downing the sake, sealing their eternal bond of brotherhood.

"Yeah!" They all shouted as they finished.

To Be Continued...