Buggy seethed as the little straw hat-wearing brat stood on the street with a stupid smirk on his face.

How dare he? How dare he?! How dare he?!

Wait...

That strawhat...

His eyes narrowed minutely as he looked at it before he dismissed it from his mind. Afterall, what were the odds that this was the same strawhat? Even if he knew Shanks had left it with some kid in the East Blue.

There were a lot of straw hats out there in the world, and it wouldn't be unheard of for somebody to have put a red ribbon around it.

Even so, just looking at it made him angry as it reminded him of Shanks.

"You know Shanks?" The strawhat brat asked him after he took the hat and gave his tirade about it.

He froze minutely when the brat said, "Yeah, Shanks gave it to me."

So... This was the Hat.

Well. If Shanks thought to crown this boy, then he was going to make sure that Shanks didn't mess things up like normal.

His eyes narrowed at the rookie brat in front of him and he extended his Observation Haki, frowning when he realized how out of practice he was with the technique.

Well... maybe Shanks wasn't completely stupid, after all. There was something about this boy...

No matter. He wasn't letting this brat just walk away. Not without a fight.

Crocus looked up in surprise when the door burst open and three people came flying out, straight towards the sea of gastric acid. He frowned as he caught a glimpse of tan and red on one of their heads.

It wasn't until the three were safely on the ship that he could see it clearly.

The Hat.

There was no doubt in his mind.

Now he recognized the boy from his wanted poster, although the hat wasn't very clearly shown in it, not enough for him to have seen that it was the Hat.

He smirked when the boy made his challenge to Laboon, but didn't say anything.

Oh yes, Shanks had chosen well.

Reyleigh looked at the wanted poster and hummed. So... This was the brat Shanks told him about all those years ago.

He smirked and looked at Shakky. "Things are going to get interesting." He said simply.

Robby looked at the wanted poster and frowned.

A D., huh?

And that hat...

Could it be?

He hummed and hunted down his Transponder Snail, wanting to make a call.

"Hello? Who is this?" He heard when the call was picked up. He snorted when the snail mimicked a drunk expression.

"Is Shanks available?" He asked simply. "It's an old friend."

"Uh, sure. Fine, whatever." The drunk pirate on the other end mumbled before Robby heard the sounds of partying as the pirate moved through his crew, hopefully in the direction his captain was in.

"Captain!" He heard after a few minutes. "You have a call. Says he's an old friend." Truthfully, Robby was surprised that this pirate still had the mind to find his captain and speak to him given how drunk he looked just based on the snail's appearance.

"Huh? Oh, right." The snail took an even drunker appearance than the last pirate who held it, making Robby withhold another sigh. "Hello?"

"Shanks, it's Robby." He said.

There was silence.

"Hey. It's been a while." Shanks finally said.

"Yeah. Sorry about that." Robby apologized, feeling bad about just disappearing like that. "I'll come visit soon. But listen, this wanted poster, Monkey D. Luffy. The hat on his head..."

A giant grin grew on the snail's face. "You saw it? Luffy's going to surpass all of us." Shanks said fondly.

"Oh?" Robby asked. "So it is the-"

"Yeah, it's captain's Hat." Shanks confirmed. Robby hummed, looking at the poster again.

"Interesting." He said quietly, and looked at his small collection of bounty posters on the wall, each one with a piece of vivre card taped to it if that member was still alive. There was a disturbingly small amount of vivre cards. "I'll leave right now, I'll come by soon." He promised.

"Alright. Sail safely." Shanks said, and hung up so he could continue his party.

Robby looked at the poster in thought. Then his gaze went to the lone poster on the wall that did not belong to a veteran member of their crew.

Portgas D. Ace.

He smirked and hung the new poster up next to it. Those two were the Legacy of their crew, it made sense that they would be on the wall with the rest of the King's Crew.

Then he picked his snail back up and started making calls, calling the rest of them.

It was time to gather.

"Hold it right there!" Robby yelled, looking out at the battlefield of Marineford.

Once again the battle ground to a halt as everyone turned to look at the newcomers.

"Huh? Who are those guys?" Luffy wondered to himself.

"The Roger Pirates!" Sengoku breathed in shock. "I thought they were all gone!"

"Well, well, well." Whitebeard muttered. "That's a sight I never thought I'd see again." He grinned fondly as he remembered all the times his crew and theirs fought over something stupid, only to have a party afterward, no matter who 'won' the fight.

"This should be interesting." Marco snorted.

"Robby! Everyone!" Buggy said in shock, earning a surprised look from the former Mr. 3.

"You know them?" He asked.

"They're my old crew! From back when I was still a cabin boy on Roger's ship." Buggy said absently.

"Roger? Gold Roger?!" Mr. 3 burst out, eyes bugging out.

Buggy smirked slightly. "See ya!" He said simply, and took off, eager to reach his old crewmate's side. He may be a coward, and those faces may bring up painful memories, but this was his family. They were where he belonged.

"Buggy! I was worried when I couldn't get in touch with you." Robby greeted him with relief.

"Everyone! I thought- I thought it was just us four left!" Buggy hugged a few of them, those he was closer to.

"Four?"

"Him, Crocus, Reyleigh, and Shanks."

'Well, well. I wasn't expecting this." Shanks said with a smirk, appearing in front of them in a burst of Soru. He'd just arrived at the island, but his ship wasn't close enough yet for the crew to come ashore. He'd sensed his old crew and ran on ahead with barely a word to Benn, so he knew he was going to have to answer to that later from his First Mate.

"You were the one to crown the young man." Robby said quietly with a smirk of his own. "And did they really think we would stand by and let them kill our Legacy?" He directed this question towards Sengoku on the Execution Platform.

"Listen up!" Sengoku announced to his men. "They may be the pirate crew of Gol D. Roger himself, but they have been unheard of for the past twenty years! They are old men now! We are the Marines!" His small speech rallied the Marines flagging morale, and they charged with a cry.

"Make sure they leave here alive." Whitebeard ordered Marco, who smirked and leapt back into the fight.

Ace could only gape as he watched all these people fighting for him.

Why?

He didn't deserve it.

"Protect them both!" Robby yelled to his men, and they charged for the Marines, cutting straight through their ranks as they made their way for the Execution Platform and it's intended victim.

"Both?" Whitebeard echoed, confused. "Huh." His gaze strayed to the boy wearing a straw hat, the one who stood up to him just minutes ago. His gaze locked onto the hat on the boys head.

"Yeah! Let's remind the world of the power of the Roger Pirates!" Somebody yelled.

"This isn't good." Sengoku muttered to himself. Just the first few minutes of the fight was enough to tell him that the Roger pirates hadn't lost any of their strength over the years when they were inactive as pirates.

"Get ready to execute." He commanded the two executioners behind him. The goal of today was to execute Fire-Fist Ace, any other pirates that they killed were going to be considered a bonus. As long as Ace was killed here, the day would be considered an ultimate success no matter what else happened or how many Marines were killed.

At least, that was how his superiors saw it.

"Sir!" They saluted and stepped into position around Ace.

"No! They can't!" A Roger cried, noticing what was happening.

"Don't worry." Shanks said. "I can always knock them out." He was watching Luffy, though. "But... I'm not sure I will need to." He smirked.

'I think they conveniently forgot I was here.' Shanks thought in amusement, raising an eyebrow when Hawkeye stepped in front of him, giving him the driest look he'd ever given his old friend and rival.

"Really?" He asked simply.

"You know me. Ready for a duel?" He asked with a smirk, hefting his sword. They both knew that when it came to swordsmanship, Hawkeye MiHawk was the only one on this battlefield that could keep up with Shanks.

"Huh, if I must fight a one-armed invalid." Hawkeye sighed, drawing Yoru.

"You know, we're planning a party after this is over, you're welcome to join us." Shanks invited, blocking a blow from his friend.

"Already so sure that you will succeed." Hawkeye snorted. He wasn't surprised, though.

"With the group we have here, do you expect anything less?" Shanks shot back.

Hawkeye hummed and leapt back for some distance so he could sweep the battlefield quickly. The former crew of the Pirate King. The Whitebeard Pirates. All those prisoners from Impel Down led by Strawhat Luffy. And whenever Shanks' crew caught up, the Red-Haired Pirates.

Two Yonko crews, and the Kings Crew. Plus an assortment of others who had their own grudge against the Marines for whatever reason.

"All these people came together for one man." Shanks said with a smirk. "I don't know about them, but I don't plan on walking away empty-handed."

Well, Shanks wasn't here for Ace so much as to try and keep the seas from devolving into absolute chaos with this stupid scheme of the Government's. The balance of power was precarious as it was without one of the most powerful forces of that balance being destroyed. Saving Ace would be a welcome bonus.

Shanks' gaze slid towards the giant glacier blocking off part of the battlefield from possible escape. He hummed and casually swung his sword towards it, letting off a wind slash that took care of it and made sure there was an escape route when needed.

Whitebeard paused and followed the slash with his eyes. 'How could I have missed that? I'm getting too old for this'. He thought, annoyed.

Hawkeye watched, raised an eyebrow, and allowed himself to be drawn into a fight with three Whitebeard commanders, clearing the way for Shanks to do what he wanted.

Suddenly, Shanks stiffened. "Benny." He said, eyes sliding to look behind him. "I wasn't expecting you to catch up yet."

"Captain." Benn greeted calmly, a little too calmly. "What did I say about rushing off ahead?" He asked, a bit of menace entering his voice.

"Ah-" Shanks started, but they were interrupted by a group of Vice-Admirals.

Benn growled. "Don't interrupt us!" He yelled, and took them out without trying. Shanks gulped again seeing his First Mates temper.

Robby passed him and snorted, patting his shoulder. He'd seen this scene many times over the years he sailed with Roger. "You picked a good one." He muttered to his younger friend. Shanks looked at him and just smiled.

"Execute!" They heard, and whipped around in alarm to see that while they'd all been distracted, Sengoku had been moving.

"STOP IT!" Luffy yelled, and they all looked over when they felt the wave of Haki blow over the battlefield.

"A Conqueror?" Robby asked nobody in particular, watching as over half the Marines on the field fell over unconscious, including the executioners.

Shanks smirked. "I knew it." He muttered, satisfied. "Come on Benn." He ordered, and moved to intercept the Admirals who were finally moving. "Clear a path for when we get Ace out!" He ordered his former crew, who all looked at him proudly before moving to do what they were told.

Rushing forward, he unleashed his own blast of Conquerors, felling the rest of the lower-ranked Marines that Luffy's uncontrolled power missed. Marines that low-ranked had no business on a battlefield like this, anyway. Not against the opponents they were facing.

He wasn't here to prove anything or to remind anybody of his strength. He was here for one reason, and one reason only.

To preserve the balance and make sure Ace left this island alive.

"There you are. If I didn't know any better, I would say you've been avoiding me." He punched the back of the rubbery head gently, smiling fondly as the boy grumbled.

"No... Just, our promise..." Luffy grumbled, holding his head.

Shanks laughed. "Don't worry about it right now. Sometimes things just can't be avoided." He advised.

"Shanks?" Luffy asked suddenly. Shanks hummed in question. "What did those guys mean? They kept calling me n' Ace their legacy."

Shanks chuckled. "I wondered if you'd heard that." He was quiet for a few moments. "All of those men are what remains of Gol D. Roger's crew, my old crew when I was a cabin boy. As the child of our captain, many consider Ace to be our Legacy, and as the one I gave Hat to and... well, that's not important. But Captain gave me that hat. And I gave it to you. That makes you part of our Legacy, too."

"I don't get it." Luffy said in confusion.

Shanks chuckled again. "Don't worry too much about it. You just focus on your journey, you're going to be the King, aren't you?" He smirked.

"Of course!" Luffy burst out, throwing his hands out.

Shanks smirked. "The both of you." He turned to look at Ace, who was standing behind them. "Just live your lives to the fullest. Don't worry about this Legacy business."

Ace studied his father's former cabin-boy and Luffy's only father figure.

"That was the plan." Ace answered with a smirk while Luffy laughed.

"No regrets." Luffy said after a moment.

The surrounding Whitebeard's, Red-haired's, and King's crewmembers heard and smirked.

'That's the spirit.' Most of them thought, proud of the two young men.