A.n I own nothing.
The winner of the Ryu-Ryo fruit poll is: Adewale. Thanks to everyone who voted, Adewale will appear along with Captain Edward Kenway in the Rainbow Mist Arc
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The Merry sailed down the Alabastion coast line, careful not to stray too far from the Island. Ace had agreed to travel with them because he was headed to a town called Yuba, Vivi informed the crew that the rebellion was located in Yuba as well. Luffy was ecstatic to have his brother as a crew member, Ace pointed out that he was not joining them but Luffy ignored him anyway.
Zoro was suspicious of Ace due to his affiliation with white beard, as a former bounty hunter he knew of the White Beard pirates; but he was his captains brother and after seeing him berate Luffy and join in the welcome party he realised that Ace was not a bad guy. He also pitied the man for having to put up with Luffy as a child; Zoro shuddered at the thought of what that would have been like as a child.
Speaking of children Connor had practically disappeared, ever since Ace came on board, the boy was rarely seen on deck. Zoro knew he'd come if anyone called him, and he suspected that the absence had to do with Ace.
Inside the kitchen Sanji had given Nami the book he'd bought and Nami was looking through it. Ace came in to return his mug to the cook and asked if he needed help, Sanji of course declined. So Ace sat down with Nami.
"What are you reading?" He asked.
"The Encyclopedia for Devil Fruits," Nami answered "though I'm having trouble locating a certain fruit,"
"Need a hand," Ace offered.
"Actually that would be great, there are these three words that keep popping up and I have no clue what they mean,"
"What are they?"
"Paramecia, Zoan and Logia,"
"Ah well those are the three types of devil Fruit. Every Devil fruit falls under one of those," Ace explained "Paramecia types give the users a power that can affect their body, manipulate the environment, or produce substances; Luffys Gomu-Gomou no Mi falls under this type. The Zoan type allows the user to transform into another species and inter-species hybrid forms at will. And Logia gives its user the ability to turn into a natural element or force of nature,"
"An element?
"Yeah I ate the Merra- Mera no Mi so I can control fire, my body can also be come fire at will,"
"I see, so that would make Chopper a Zoan type user then,"
"I guess; what fruit are you looking for any way?"
"I'm not sure; one to do with slavery, one of our crew is affected by it,"
"Probably a Paramecia type then, they can affect other people and objects,"
Nami looked through the Paramecia section of the book but found no fruit for slavery.
"I don't know of any fruit dealing with slavery. Pops might though, I could call and ask," Ace suggested.
Nami nodded and Ace pulled out a Den-Den Mushi, he dialled the number and a voice answered on the other end.
"S'up Marco here," Marco answered.
"Hey Marco its Ace, can I talk to pops?"
There was a shuffling noise and an imposing voice was heard over the phone.
"Ace where are you?" a deep voice asked.
"Hey old man, I'm with my baby brother on his ship," Ace answered.
"So you're safe then, good,"
"Yup, but the navigators got a question about a certain devil fruit. Do you mind if I put her on?"
"Her? Is she good looking?" the Marcos voice asked. Nami blushed.
"I'd say so,"
"Sweet I might come out for a visit. Where are you?"
"Marco you'll stay right where you are you little brat," the deep voice ordered "Ace put her on,"
Ace handed the receiver to Nami and she took it.
"Hello?" she asked hesitantly.
"Hello miss what can I do for you?"
"Umm I'm looking for a certain devil fruit, do you know any that have anything to do with slavery?"
"That's a pretty specific fruit…none that I can think of off the top of my head; do you have the Encyclopedia for Devil Fruits?"
"Yes I have the latest edition in front of me," Nami answered.
"Someone get me that damn book," the voice yelled "I'll have a look through my books and see if I can find any. I'll call back if I find any information," the voice finished.
"Thank you, I'll keep looking too," Nami said and the call ended.
Connor was hiding under Namis trees; he had been there since Ace had destroyed the Billons ships. It wasn't that he was afraid of Ace, he seemed like a nice guy; he didn't want to be near him. Ace had the power of fire and it reminded Connor of the blaze that had burnt his village down. So he'd made himself scares the first chance he got.
When Ace went inside the kitchen Usopp called out for Connor to join him. Connor had no desire to leave the safety of the trees but knew he had no choice. He came out of hiding and went directly to Usopp.
"Yes," he said expecting some order of some kind.
"Hey I saved you some food," Usopp claimed and offer the boy a plate.
Connor looked at it "thanks," he said and started to eat it slowly.
"Hey have you heard the legend of the Warrior princess?" Usopp asked.
This led to another one of Usopp's tall tales; both Chopper and Luffy were drawn into it believing every word. Connor on the other hand knew it was all false but got caught up in the story none the less; he hadn't even notice Ace sit behind him and listen in.
When Usopp had finished Luffy noticed his brother and asked if he had any stories to tell. Connor instantly froze and slowly looked behind him, to see ace sitting there. He jumped up and hid behind Usopp, gripping Usopps new desert robes tightly.
Usopp noticed the change in behaviour and it concerned him. He and the others had worked hard to bring Connor out of his shell, yet here he was hiding from a stranger. Had they not made any progress at all?
"Oi Connor I don't think Ace is going to hurt you," Usopp claimed.
"Yeah that's right I'm a big warm teddy bear," Ace said with a smile and reached for Connor.
Connor yelped in fear and ran to other end of the ship hiding behind Zoro. Zoro was quite surprised when Connor hid behind him; he gave the others a questioning look and Usopp just shrugged.
"Sorry about him Ace, he's not usually like this," Luffy apologised.
"It's fine Lu," Ace said brushing it off.
That night when Sanji called dinner, Connor didn't join them. The crew had noticed that every time Ace was nearby Connor wold run off to a different part of the ship, at first they thought the boy was shy but when he didn't show for dinner they knew something was wrong.
Nami went out to find him; Connor was sitting against the mast his arms wrapped around his knees.
"Connor everything okay?" Nami asked.
Connor looked up at Nami and shook his head "I'm not hungry,"
"Are you sure, Sanji made Paella,"
Conner didn't respond to that.
"Do you want come in and sit with us anyway; you don't have to eat,"
"I'm fine out here,"
"If you're sure," Nami said and headed back into the kitchen.
"Is he coming?" Sanji asked.
Nami shook her head "He said he's not hungry and he doesn't want to come in,"
"I'm sorry guys, he must be afraid of me," Ace apologised.
"I'll take him a plate," Sanji said and served out the dinner before leaving with Connors share.
On deck Sanji approached Connor and placed a plate of hot Paella in front of him, he then sat with him while the boy ate his share.
"So do you want to talk about it?" Sanji asked.
Connor looked at Sanji in confusion.
"Don't give me that look; you've been avoiding us all day. Every time Ace shows up you run off to the other end of the ship," the cook claimed.
Connor looked down in shame.
"Is it because he's Luffys brother? Does that mean he can control you too?"
"No, Ace holds no power over me," Connor claimed.
"Then what is it?" Sanji asked.
"I'm afraid of his power," Connor admitted.
"Why would you be afraid of fir…oh, oh s***," Sanji realised "Oh man I'm sorry kid,"
"It's not your fault; I just can't stand to be close to him. It brings back unwanted memories," Connor said sadly.
Sanji nodded.
Suddenly the door to the kitchen opened and Vivi came out.
"Sanji you'd better come back in here," She called.
Sanji got up and walked back inside the kitchen muttering something about Luffy eating everything.
In the kitchen he was surprised to find Ace with his Den-Den Musi out and the straw hats were staring at it; dinner completely forgotten.
"What's going on?" Sanji asked Vivi.
"Ace's captain's on the phone and he has news about a certain fruit," Vivi explained.
Ace looked at Sanji and then spoke into the receiver "Okay pops we're all here, what've you got?"
"Ace that fruit that your brothers navigator is looking for…don't go after it," Whitebeard warned. "In fact forget how you heard about it and never think of it again,"
Luffy snatched the receiver from Ace's hands "Listen up you old geezer, you don't decide how my crew thinks, if we want that fruit we'll go after it with or without your help," Luffy boldly stated.
Ace shook his head and the rest of the crews jaw dropped. Luffy had just insulted and talked back to the most powerful pirate in the world.
"BWHAAAAAA Your a funny brat, now listen up turn to page 72 in your Encyclopedia of Devil Fruits. Once you read the description of the fruit you'll be wise to forget its existence," Whitebeard advised and hung up.
Nami grabbed the book and found the page 65(1); she read the description briefly and dropped the book in horror.
"T…T…That can't be real," She managed to get out.
Vivi picked up the book and read it she gasped. The straw hats were now very concerned and Vivi put the book on the table for everyone to read. In the top left corner of the page was a picture of a Pineapple with a wavy pattern across it, the tips of the waves swirled into spirals and a description next to it.
Name: Brand - Brand no Mi
Type: Paramecia
Power: This fruit allows the user to forcibly control any living creature by placing a brand on their victim's body. The user can then force their will on those that are branded, if the victims refuse or resist that will the brand will cause them immense pain increasing over time until they submit to what the user desires. Should the branded continue to resist the brand will shut down internal functions and eventually cause death.
When it comes to trading branded (humans, giant's, mermaids, etc.) the user can transfer ownership of the braded to others. The brands will then enforce the will of the new owner or controller by someone other than the user of this fruit; this can even extend to a group of people e.g. a ship crew or family. If the branded is abandoned or the previous owner/owners die, the brand will place them in an unmoving and unresponsive state. The branded can only come out of this state by being claimed by another; this is done by interacting with the branded.
Depending on the circumstances ownership is transferred in different ways e.g. when the owner dies, willingly gives the branded away and defeated in battle. In the case of a crew or family ownership is transferred from the highest ranking member Capitan – first mate or father- firstborn in a group like this the only way to transfer ownership to someone outside the group is for everyone in the family or crew to agree to relinquish claim on the branded. If the entre group is defeated ownership will transfer to the one who defeated them.
The brand also has an interesting side effect; it prevents any outside influence on the braded. This means that if anyone or anything tries to stop the braded from fulfilling orders the brand will nullify it. This includes injury, sickness, fatigue, drugs and even other devil fruit powers. The reverse effect is also true if the owner of the branded wants the braded to learn something new the brand will speed up the leaning process.
Weakness:
The User of this fruit is vulnerable to Seawater and Seatone. Appling ether of these directly to a brandeds brand will temporally nullify the effects of the brand. It is currently unknown if the user of this fruit can remove any brand previously placed; as there have been no successful removals recorded.
Everyone in the cabin stared at the book, according to the book even if they found the user of the fruit; there was no guarantee that they could remove the brand. Connor was stuck with it for life.
Ace reading the atmosphere was slightly confused by it. Whitebeard had given them the information they wanted yet instead of Luffy demanding that they set off to find the fruit he looked very depressed.
"So Lu are you going to find this fruit now? Because I've got this big brother speech on why you shouldn't prepared," Ace joked.
"The book is wrong," Luffy declared "there has to be a way to remove it,"
"Luffy this book is published by the Governments top scientists and researchers," Usopp added.
"So?"
"Remove? Hold on I'm confused. I thought you wanted to go after this fruit to eat it?" Ace interrupted.
"No, Connor is affected by this fruit. We want to remove the brand placed on him," Nami explained.
"And if one of us has to eat the fruit to do it…so be it," Zoro added.
Now it made sense, Connor was branded and that was why he was with his brother. Ace knew there was a good reason, as Luffy was too simple minded to be a kidnapper. But branded Ace had been on the Grand Line long enough to have seen the horrors of slave trade; he would not wish that fate on anyone. (Except perhaps Blackbeard)
"You know fruit's that have effects on others tend to disappear when the user is knocked out," Ace said "Maybe the brand will disappear once the user loses conciseness,"
"So we beat this guy up and the brand disappears? It can't be that simple," Nami pointed out.
"Hey I've never encountered this fruit before, but a lot of fruits loose there affect if the user is out cold," Ace advised "Also the only one who truly knows everything that a fruit can do is the user,"
"Really? That explains it then," Luffy interrupted,
"Explains what?" Sanji asked, almost fearing the answer.
"When I first saw the Gomu-Gomu no Mi I had no idea what it was. It was only after I ate it that I knew what it could do and how it affected my body," Luffy explained.
"That's the same with me and my Mera-Mera no Mi, one bite was all it took to learn how to control it," Ace claimed.
"I knew how to change forms and speak almost instantly after eating mine," Chopper added.
"So only fruit users know the full extent of their abilities," Usopp reasoned.
"If that's the case then the user of this fruit might be the only one who knows if brands can be removed," Sanji finished.
"And could have kept it secret from the government, that's why it's not in the book," Nami theorised.
The next day the Merry arrived at its destination, the closest coast to Yuba. The plan was to sail the Merry as close as they could and then cross the desert to Yuba. As soon as they docked Vivi gave Carue a letter to take to her father; the letter explained everything that had happened since her disappearance two years ago and all the information she had discovered.
Luffy and Usopp found some strange fighting creatures called Kung Fu Dugongs and they quickly became Luffy's disciples. Vivi tried to explain why they could not come with them and Chopper had to bribe them with half their food supply to stay put.
The straw hats then began their long trek across the desert. At first Luffy seemed enthusiastic about the trip and could not wait to see what strange creatures lived in the dessert. But that enthusiasm lasted ten minutes, apparently rubber and desert heat did not mix. Chopper was also having a hard time and ended up being dragged by Zoro on a make shift sled. This was because Chopper was from a winter Island and he had a pretty thick fur coat.
The heat didn't bother the rest of the straw hats much; Vivi was used to it, Zoro Sanji, Nami and Usopp put up with it. Ace was living fire so he was immune and Connors brand prevented him from feeling the immense fatigue and exhaustion.
As they were walking Usopp complained about the massive sand dunes. Vivi explained that the tallest ones reached over 300 meters high. It was because of frequent sandstorms. A short time later Luffy demanded some water, Nami allowed it but only one sip. He nearly drank the entire supply thanks to his rubber body but Sanji hit him for it and he spat it back into the barrel.
"Idiot, what are we supposed to drink now?" Usopp demanded.
"LUFFY, I SAID ONE SIP!" Nami yelled and punched him.
Sanji and Usopp also joined in in punishing their selfish captain. Zoro and Connor both sighed from the sidelines. Ace watched the fight with a strange yet contemplate look in his eye. When they stared moving again Luffy's face was badly bruised, swollen and had several large bumps on his head.
After four hours of walking the straw hats came across a town half buried in sand; it was in ruins. The sight of the town saddened Vivi greatly. They decided to stop for a short break.
"Where are we?" Nami asked, as they walked through town.
"Erumalu, the Green City," Vivi answered solemnly.
"Whoa our first day in the desert and we already found an ancient civilation," Usopp commented.
"This city is was founded eight years ago," Vivi confirmed.
"Really?" Zoro asked, he kicked the base of a nearby tree and the bark crumbled.
"Yes it's been abandoned due to the drought. Erumalu was once a thriving city, it had trees and flowers and everything" Vivi reminisced.
"How did they support all that in the desert?" Connor asked.
Vivi led the straw hats to what looked to be a wide road covered in sand.
"A road? What about it?" Sanji asked.
"It's not a road, it's a stream. There's an underground lake near where we docked the Merry, a cannel connects this stream to the lake so water flowed through the city,"
"So why did the water stop flowing?" Luffy asked.
"It didn't. This city suddenly had a rush of severe sandstorms and they blocked the mouth of the stream. Preventing the water from coming through; in the end the City was abandoned," Vivi finished.
The straw hats went silent, no wonder Vivi was sad. If this drought lasts any longer then Alabasta was doomed. After a quick break they continued on.
In the late afternoon when the sun began to set, the straw hats stopped to make camp for the night. As soon as the sun set the temperature plummeted; what had been a very hot day had turned into a freezing cold night. Ace and Chopper were not affected by the sudden drop in temperature; in fact Chopper was enjoying it, he had more energy at night then during the day. Ace used his powers to get a fire going. Over dinner Vivi explained why it was so cold.
"There's nothing in the desert to absorb heat, so it's below freezing temperature at night," She claimed.
Sleeping arrangements were that the boys shared one big tent and the two girls had their own. While this was good in theory Nami and Vivi found themselves barely getting warm. In the boys tent however Ace was able to keep them nice and warm all night.
The next morning when the boys got up feeling well rested; Nami and Vivi were not.
"How do you boys have so much energy?" Nami moaned.
"We slept great," Luffy cheered happily.
"Didn't the cold bother you?" Vivi asked amazed.
"It did at first but then Ace used his powers to keep us nice and warm all night,"
Nami's eye twitched and she snapped.
"WHAT?! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT YOU SLEPT SOUNDLY ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR BROTHER? WE COULD BEARLY STAY WARM!" Nami yelled and shook Luffy violently.
"Why are you blaming me? You're the one who instead on sleeping separately," Luffy pointed out.
Nami dropped her captain and marched over to Ace.
"You you're sleeping in our tent from now on," she declared.
"WHAT?" all the boys of the crew yelled out, except Ace.
"SHUT UP" Nami threatened.
They did.
Ace looked at his brother and felt sorry for him; Nami sure was tough and scary.
"Thank you for the invitation but I must decline. It would be an invasion of privacy to sleep in your tent, besides I cannot in good concise leave my baby brother to freeze," Ace said politely.
Again the straw hats were amazed that Ace and Luffy were related, Luffy was never this considerate.
"But…But…" Nami stuttered.
"Nami why don't we just join the tents together," Usopp suggested "That way Ace can heat them both,"
The next night that is exactly what they did and everyone slept soundly.
(1) This is a reference to the Thirtieth amendment. In 1865 Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery in America at the end of the American Civil War and sadly was killed for it later that year.