Hello my dear readers!

After a long time I'm back with a new chapter!
And this time there's a reason to celebrate, cause it is already the tenth chapter!
Wow, I really can't believe it!

Also I'm terribly sorry for making you wait so long, but I had a bad writer's block while writing. I even toyed with the idea of giving up cause I just didn't know what to do. I actually wanted to upload this chapter much earlier but I just couldn't do it even though I've been writing it for days.

Phew, but I think I'm fine again and hope to deliver new chapters regularly!
I hope you like this chapter, even if it is perhaps not the best. The next one will certainly be better!

Now please enjoy!

The sniper from the straw hat pirates broke out in a cold sweat and had to swallow hard as he tried to process the words he had just heard. His companion next to him felt the same way and you could also see the fear in his eyes. The fear, that something had actually happened to their crew members. Especially their captain, who was sick enough as it was. When Usopp had freed himself from his state of shock in the next moment, he turned around determined to do something about this dire situation.

"Jinbei we need to tell the others about this quickly! C'mon, let's get out of here!"

"You're right, but wait Usopp! What about Robin and Chopper? The marines will be after them now!" The fishman stopped the longnosed boy by grabbing his arm before he could start running.

"Oh right!" Usopp considered Jinbei's words, having completely forgotten his two friends, who were on their way up the mountain.

"I'm actually sure they can handle the soldiers, after all, they are strong, but still, someone needs to let them know." The 19-year-old chewed on his lower lip as he thought.

"Well then, I'll go after them and you go into town alone to find Sanji and the rest, alright?" Suggested the fishman, and Usopp had no choice but to accept the suggestion, as there was no better option for the two of them. He would be able to fend off possible naval attacks in his path, at least he hoped so.

"Alright, let's meet later on the Sunny!"

—

At the same time in the prison wing of the marine base, the navigator of the straw hat pirates was awakened by a deep voice and sounds of pounding. It took Nami a while to interpret the noises around her as she lifted her heavy eyelids. She groaned painfully as she felt a sharp pain in her head and promptly the scenes before she fainted flashed before her inner mind's eye and she remembered how she was ambushed. All at once Nami lifted her head and the horrible sight that came into her field of vision made her heart stop for a moment.

She saw Luffy kneeling not far from her in the same cell, tied to the wall behind him with both arms above his head. The parts of his skin not covered by his clothes were covered with wounds and his shirt and shorts were partially torn. On the whole, he looked terrible, which made Nami feel a sense of dread building up in her stomach.

"Come on, tell us where the rest of your crew is hiding, Mugiwara!" Echoed the deep voice of the man standing in front of Luffy again and Nami recognized him as the boss of this marine base, Tetsuo. But Nami saw Luffy remain silent, which caused the officer to pop an angry vein in his forehead and lunge with his leg to kick Luffy hard in the stomach area.

Luffy bit his lower lip to prevent a painful sound from leaving his lips, after all, Nami, whom he had not yet noticed that she was already conscious, should not notice anything. But Nami, on the other hand, was still watching in shock what was happening before her eyes, and not a sound escaped her constricted throat. Silent tears made their way down her cheeks. And she knew exactly that it was all her fault. Because of her, they were both in big trouble with no way out. And it was only her fault that Luffy had to suffer. Again.

Luffy never once looked up at Tetsuo and his eyes were covered by his bangs. You could only see a smirk appear on his lips as the captain of the straw hat pirates spat contemptuously on the boss's shoe in the next moment, maintaining his cheeky grin. Luffy ignored the severe pain that ran through his entire body, which only worsened with each kick or punch. Despite his weak condition, which was due to his disease, he tried to let everything pass silently. As long as Nami would not come to harm, that would be fine with him.

"You little shit, how dare you?!"

Being spat at by Luffy only drove Tetsuo even more into a rage and another powerful kick landed in Luffy's side and if the black haired boy hadn't been bound by his hands, he would have fallen to the side due to the force. Another kick. And another. The officer, still guided by his anger, simply could not stop until Nami finally managed to intervene.

"STOOOOP ITTTTT!"

Tetsuo paused in surprise and suddenly his gaze, including that of the marines outside the cell, turned to the young navigator. Nami's eyes met with Luffy's as he also raised his head and looked at Nami in horror.

"Nami…no!" Luffy croaked out and panic spread through him. This was the last thing he wanted, but it was now too late and Nami had attracted the attention of the boss. A laugh escaped Tetsuo as he gave Nami a malicious grin. Nami didn't like the way the man was looking at her at all, and the uneasy feeling from earlier intensified when then the man turned away from Luffy and walked towards her with slow steps.

"Oh well look at that, the annoying brat finally woke up too." Tetsuo said, bending down to the orange haired young woman, grabbing her chin roughly and forcing her to look him in the eye. Nami tried not to let her fear show and remained brave, trying to free herself from his tight grip. She was very relieved that Tetsuo had turned away from Luffy, because his body would definitely not stand any more torture. So Nami summoned up all her courage and grinned saucily in Tetsuo's face, which only strengthened his grip on her chin.

"You naughty little-" Tetsuo started, but was interrupted by Luffy, who resisted his handcuffs with all his might, but unfortunately they absorbed most of his strength.

"Stop, don't you touch her! Your problem is with me, so leave her out of this!" Luffy hissed, suddenly becoming so angry, whereas earlier he hadn't uttered a single sound, and at the same time his tired eyes suddenly radiated so much hate. But no matter how threatening Luffy tried to appear to reinforce his statement, Nami saw the desperation and helplessness in his eyes. The navigator knew how strong Luffy's protective instincts were towards his crewmates, but she would not let Luffy take it all on himself this time, not when he was so sick.

"But she's a member of yours too, so I'm sure she knows where the rest of you are." Tetsuo replied, coming closer to Nami's face, causing the orange haired girl to smell the fetid odor of his breath and grimace in disgust.

"Do what you want, but you will not succeed, you scumbag." Nami spat back and gave the man a provocative smile. Tetsuo did not like Nami's expression at all and suddenly slapped her across the face, which burned the navigator's tender cheek and brought tears to her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away.

"You should express yourself more politely you bitch, after all you have a marine officer in front of you!" Tetsuo warned menacingly and straightened up again, not taking his eyes off Nami, who was glaring at him with hatred.

"Nami! Leave her alone you fucking asshole!" Luffy exclaimed in a panic, still struggling against his bonds, with blood already pouring down his arms as the cuffs had dug into the skin of his wrists, but he hardly cared.

"Shut up, you can't order me around, Mugiwara!" Tetsuo snarled back, and in the next moment pulled out a knife from his pocket. Nami's eyes instantly widened in horror, which only made Tetsuo laugh in amusement.

"Well then, let's see which one of you will tell me first where your friends are. Let's begin, shall we?" The officer announced laughing amusedly, approaching Nami again. The navigator felt the tip of the knife brush her cheek. Nami swallowed hard and her gaze went to Luffy, who only looked at her in shock. Despair ate him up from the inside, but the black haired teen could only watch. Nami gave her captain a cheering smile to assure him that everything would be fine. She was sure that their friends would be there soon. Until then, they had to hang in there.

—

Meanwhile, Sabo and Koala had docked next to the Thousand Sunny and gone ashore. The two quickly noticed that there was no one on the Straw Hats' ship, which only made Sabo more worried.

"They are not here Sabo. They probably all went ashore together." Informed Koala from the railing of the Sunny, who had briefly looked around the ship to make sure, before jumping down from there to the blond haired man, who still did not take his eyes off the small piece of paper in his hand. The vivre card was still burning relentlessly and getting smaller by the second, which meant they didn't have much time left.

"Then let's move on quickly, Koala! The vivre card leads us further into the island." Sabo said, resolutely closing his fist around Luffy's vivre card and then running off with his friend towards the forest, hoping to find his brother as soon as possible.

Arriving at the fork in the road, the two revolutionaries came to a halt as Sabo glanced again at the vivre card to make sure they were going the right way. But just at that moment, the two friends noticed someone running towards them.

On closer inspection, this certain someone looked quite familiar to them.

"Hey Sabo, isn't that..."

"Luffy's friend Usopp!" Sabo finished the sentence for Koala and waved his hand at Usopp, who came closer and closer to them, looking at them both in surprise. The longnosed boy surely had to recognize the two, after all, it hadn't been too long since their last meeting.

"Sabo? Koala? What are you doing here?" Usopp asked, bewildered to find the two revolutionaries here, and just barely came to a stop in front of them, having run as fast as he could. Usopp could not believe his luck at all, because the two arrived just in time to help them. However, it was a pity that there was no time for the reunion, as the situation was very serious, so Usopp immediately decided to get to the point.

"Sabo..haah…Luffy…Luffy is in big trouble! He and Nami…haah…have been captured by the marines!" Usopp tried to catch his breath as Sabo's eyes widened at his words. But he knew exactly that couldn't be the only reason Luffy's vivre card was on fire, as it had been for several days if not weeks.

"Caught, but how-" Koala wanted to know, but she broke off mid-sentence, when Sabo suddenly interrupted her.

"Usopp, tell me right now what exactly is going on. The reason we're here is because Luffy's vivre card has been on fire for days and it just won't stop!" To clarify, Sabo held out his hand with the vivre card to Usopp. The sniper was startled himself at how small the piece of paper had become and panicked even more at the sight.

Usopp feared that he wouldn't even have time to explain the situation in detail to Sabo, so after a deep sigh he decided to keep it short.

"L-Luffy...is fatally ill." Usopp's voice trembled, it was still hard for him to say it out loud. It was even worse for him to tell it Luffy's big brother. He was so ashamed, although it was clear that they, as Luffy's friends, could not protect him from such an illness, but at least they could have prevented something else from happening to their captain. Usopp did not even dare to look into Sabo's face and turned his gaze downward.

Sabo, on the other hand, did not take this information well at all, because while Koala next to him held her hand in shock in front of her mouth, it seemed to Sabo that the world had stopped for a moment. All that echoed in his head were Usopp's words and his erratic heartbeat in his chest.

Luffy was seriously ill.

No matter how many times these words were repeated over and over in his head, Sabo could not believe it. Luffy was his last brother. His beloved little brother. Would he lose him now, too?

No.

No, he refused to lose another loved one, not if he could still prevent it!

Sabo was so lost in thought and at the same time had so many memories from his childhood with his brothers running through his mind that he didn't even notice Usopp grabbing him by the collar and desperately trying to get him back from his state of shock.

"Sabo it's serious! C'mon we have to hurry! Luffy might die!" Koala now also tried to talk to her blond haired friend and shook his shoulder vigorously. At the word "die", Sabo suddenly returned to reality and his gaze refocused on his brother's vivre card as Usopp and Koala finally let go of him again.

"U-usopp is that really true?" Sabo asked again in a shaky voice to make sure he had understood correctly, to which the longnosed boy only nodded with a serious expression.

"Yes…it is. Luffy is sick and now the marines have him. Who knows what terrible things they're doing to him right now!" Usopp explicitly confirmed his statement. "Now let's quickly let the others in our crew know. They should still be in town." The sniper added and grabbed Sabo's arm to drag him along, but was immediately stopped by the blond man, who quickly released his arm from his grasp.

"No, wait! You go to the others and let them know, meanwhile I'll go straight to the marine base and try to find Luffy!" And before Koala and Usopp could object, Sabo had already started running off, following the direction the vivre card was pointing.

"Sabo wait-" Usopp called after Luffy's big brother, but was stopped by Koala. "There's no point in calling after him Usopp, he's too stubborn and won't listen to you anyway." The young revolutionary rolled her eyes, annoyed by her partner's immature behavior. She was all too used to Sabo's wayward actions and didn't want to bother with him any further.

"Oh...Okay if you say so, then let's go!" Usopp said, turning away from the direction Sabo had run, whereupon Koala nodded in agreement and together they made their way to Sanji and the others.

~Meanwhile back in the prison cell~

Nami felt incredible burning pain all over her body. She was covered in cuts, some of which were still oozing blood. Many small as well as large wounds adorned her delicate skin, but nothing ached more than her heart at that moment. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at the motionless body of her captain. His head hung limply and his face was covered by his pitch-black hair. Nami suspected that his weakened body could not withstand the torture for long and that he had lost consciousness.

Luffy hadn't moved an inch since Tetsuo had left them a few minutes ago, when he realized that neither of them would give away information, preferring instead to send his soldiers to search for the rest of the crew. The young captain's body was in no better condition than hers and Nami feared the worst when she got no response or even reaction from Luffy as she kept calling his name.

"Luffyyy! Can you hear me? Please say something!" Nami cried out again and her desperate shouts were laughed at by the two soldiers standing guard outside their cell. The two marines found it very amusing how Nami and Luffy had to suffer and did not hold back in making fun accordingly.

"Sweetie, give it up already. Don't you see, he's already as good as dead!" Laughed one of the two soldiers while the other just laughed along with him in agreement. Nami gritted her teeth angrily and almost wanted to shut the two up, but decided against it and turned her attention back to Luffy.

"Please Luffy, wake up! Talk to me!" Nami continued to plead with her captain, cursing her handcuffs that bound her to the wall as the need to rush to his side did not leave her. She blamed herself so much and hated herself for allowing Luffy to leave his bed and overexert himself, even though that was strictly forbidden by Chopper, as it could lead to his death.

If Luffy were to die here now, it would be entirely her fault.

This guilt was eating her up with every second she didn't get a reaction from Luffy. But just as she slowly seemed to give up hope, hang her head and continue to cry quietly, a barely audible voice reached her ear followed by a slight cough.

"Luffy?!"

Nami almost believed that she had imagined it, but she quickly raised her head again and looked over at her captain. A relieved smile formed on the orange haired girl's lips as she saw Luffy look up at her with great effort and smile on his face. His smile, which was far from reaching his eyes, gave her a painful pang in her chest. Nami knew perfectly well that it was only forced so as not to worry her, and she could see right through Luffy that he wasn't feeling well at all and this was also reflected in his tired eyes.

Luffy's vision kept blurring as his consciousness threatened to leave him again. It had been too much for his body to use his gear techniques against the marine officer, which then caused him to collapse and thus lose the fight. Luffy hated being so weak and having no control over his own body, but he knew that it was due to his illness, that had struck again and now robbed him of all strength, because otherwise he would not be in this extremely bad shape. Since when was a small fight, kicks and punches a problem for him? He usually took it in stride.

But now, after all the torture and the wounds that he had received, he felt he had finally reached the end of his rope. Luffy could feel his body gradually shutting down, as he could no longer feel some of his body parts. The young captain had also a hard time getting air into his lungs because his chest felt heavy and he knew that something was wrong with his lungs again. In addition, he could feel an unpleasant painful stinging every time he inhaled, which could not be a good sign. The heat left his body along with his blood. The warm and sticky lifes liquid slowly seeped out of all the wounds and formed a small pool under his knees.

With the last strength Luffy had, he gave his navigator the best smile he could manage in this state and at the same time it pained him to see her in this terrible condition. It was his fault. He was a bad captain who couldn't even protect his own crew member.

How could Luffy ever forgive himself for letting one of his friends get hurt?

At least, all he had managed to do in this pathetic state he had driven himself into, was to save Nami from most of the wounds by provoking Tetsuo often enough that he had taken out most of his anger on him instead of Nami.

Luffy could again feel his eyelids threatening to fall shut at any moment, and he couldn't keep his smile up any longer either, which of course Nami noticed immediately.

"Luffy? H-Hey, are you okay? I need you to stay awake, do you hear me?" Nami called out to her captain worriedly, and she was plagued by the feeling that if he lost consciousness again it wouldn't end well. The navigator simply couldn't and wouldn't imagine what would happen. Nami didn't like at all how Luffy started to weaken and it looked like his glassy eyes were losing focus more and more.

"M'fine, d-don't w'rry N-Nami." Luffy slurred, trying to reassure the orange haired girl that he was alright, although the complete opposite was the case and Nami was also well aware of that. But Luffy refused to give up and continued to fight against the emerging fatigue that wanted to envelop him in darkness.

The fatigue along with the blood loss also gnawed at Nami's strength, but she knew she could hold out until help arrived. She had to. She just couldn't let Luffy fall asleep now and hoped that if she kept talking to him, he would stay awake.

"Hey Luffy, please hang in there a little longer! I'm sure our friends are on their way! Soon they'll be here and then everything will be fine." Despite Nami trying to keep Luffy awake and give him strength, it felt more like she was trying to convince herself that everything was going to be okay. She truly wanted nothing more than to believe that, after all, it was not the first hopeless situation they had to overcome.

For Luffy, what Nami called out to him was easier said than done, because his strength was dwindling more and more and the fact that his handcuffs were made of seestone didn't make it any better. The black haired boy only gave a slight nod, as he simply lacked the strength to do more.

Luffy was also sure that their friends would come soon. So he just had to hang on a little longer and hope that Tetsuo wouldn't come back in the meantime.

—

"Sanji!"

The blond chef was about to pay for the vegetables he had chosen when he suddenly heard someone call his name.

The shouting also caught Brook's attention, who was standing next to Sanji and holding all the shopping bags in his hands. Together they turned in the direction of the voice and saw Usopp running towards them with a pretty lady they didn't know in tow.

"Usopp, what's going on and who is this pretty-" But before Sanji could start gushing about Koala with hearts in his eyes, Usopp quickly intervened with a serious look on his face, making Sanji and Brook quickly understand that it was something important the sniper wanted to tell them.

"Sanji, Brook listen up, Luffy and Nami have been captured by the marines!" Usopp tried to remain serene while explaining, which turned out to be not so easy, after all, this was a race against time. Sanji and Brook hoped that it was just a stupid joke from Usopp, as their purchases almost fell out of their hands in shock.

"You're kidding, right?" Sanji said incredulously and gave a short laugh, but when Usopp continued to look at him with an unchanged expression, he realized that it was indeed not a joke. A sense of dread filled the cook's stomach.

"No, unfortunately….Also, Luffy's big brother Sabo is here too and this is his partner Koala from the Revolutionary Army. They followed us because Luffy's vivre card started burning." Usopp continued his explanation, with Koala nodding beside him in confirmation.

"Guys it's really serious! The vivre card is already so small by now that Luffy must be in serious trouble. So if we don't hurry now it might be too late." Koala added, not daring to say the worst possible scenario out loud.

Suddenly, Franky and Zoro emerged from a bar behind Sanji and Brook, with Franky carrying a large barrel labeled cola. The two immediately spotted their friends and approached them. The serious faces of their crew members gave them an uneasy feeling.

"Hey guys, I found Zoro! But...hey what's going on here?" Franky inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, you guys look like something bad happened." Said Zoro, completely unaware of the news.

"There you are you moss head! Too bad, and I thought we'd lost you forever!" Sanji immediately snapped at the swordsman. Zoro then threw Sanji a grim look and of course let himself be provoked by the blond haired chef, but before it could degenerate into an argument between them, Usopp once again reminded everyone of the difficult situation they were in.

"Hey now is no time to argue! The navy has captured Luffy and Nami and we have to act fast right now! I don't know about Nami, but Luffy's vivre card is about to disappear completely, which means he might be dying!"

Zoro and Franky showed the same reaction as Sanji and Brook earlier and couldn't believe their ears what Usopp had just said. And when they all heard again that they could probably lose Luffy, they focused again on the seriousness of the situation.

Without wasting any more precious time, Koala spoke up. "I would suggest that we split up. Sabo is already on his way to the naval base, so who would be willing to follow me?"

Without even a hint of hesitation, Zoro, Sanji, and Brook volunteered.

"Alright then, I'll go with Franky to the Sunny and get her ready to go. I'm sure the marines will be there, too, to make sure we can't escape." Usopp said and Franky agreed with him.

"You're right, but the two of us can handle it!" The cyborg grinned confidently and put his thumb up.

"Okay, let's hurry up then! And be careful, the soldiers could be lurking anywhere now!" Usopp warned his comrades, before they nodded in understanding and split into two groups as they ran off in opposite directions the next moment.

—

Sabo was barely in control of himself when he entered the marine base with only one goal in mind, to save his little brother, and took out everything and everyone in his path. As long as the life of his beloved brother was at stake, he would stop at nothing and step by step made his way into the prison wing of the base.

Not one of the puny marines could even come close to matching him and his firepower, so he found his way into the prison wing relatively quickly. Only he had the big problem that the sirens were already wailing, alerting the boss of this base. Sabo knew that he had to hurry, because he would not have much time before the boss would appear here and cause problems. And Sabo couldn't waste any more time with an unnecessary fight with him.

So Sabo continued to run determined through the dark corridors, following Luffy's vivre card. His heart was hammering like crazy in his chest and he was getting more and more impatient the more he ran past empty cells.

—

"Luffy? Luffy! Please open your eyes again! I'm begging you!" Nami cried out in a panic after Luffy's eyes had fallen shut a few seconds ago and he hadn't given any sign of being conscious since.

Meanwhile, the loud laughter of the marines outside the cell echoed loudly, causing Nami to clench both fists in frustration. Her efforts to keep Luffy awake had failed, and by the looks of it, the young captain had lost the battle against unconsciousness.

Tears streamed down the orange haired navigator's cheeks and she bit down hard on her lower lip, drawing blood as she did so, to keep from crying out loud and pleasing the soldiers even more, even though she couldn't care less about them at that moment.

Nami could still see Luffy's chest rising and falling, which meant he was definitely still breathing. But for how long? Any second could mean his last breath and still no help was in sight.

Nami curled up in her uncomfortable position and hung her head as she continued to let her tears drip down her cheeks into the small pool of blood below her. She felt more helpless and desperate than she had in a long time, but she had no choice but to hope. To hope that her friends would not appear too late.

Suddenly, fast footsteps reached Nami's ears, which made her gasp in surprise as she raised her head expectantly and full of hope. And what happened in the next instant, she would never have expected.

Large flames of fire appeared out of nowhere outside the cell and illuminated the entire environment.

"HIKEN!"

TBC

Soo that's it again! Like I said before, it's not the best chapter, but please bear with me!
The next chapter will finally feature some sweet moments between Luffy and Sabo, so look forward to that!

See u next time!