The plan was simple. Nami and Zoro would wait at one slope while Usopp and Luffy would wait at the other, both sides being trapped. If the Black Cat Pirates didn't show up at dawn like they had foolishly planned aloud, then the groups would go check on each other. What Luffy didn't tell the others is that he wasn't about to fight until absolutely needed. He wanted to see how much his crew could handle before he stepped in. Besides, he wanted to save his energy to punt that stupid fake pirate butler into the next century.

"So," Usopp started awkwardly, "What's it like being out on the sea?"

Luffy didn't look away from the horizon, "Honestly, it's exhilarating. Running from the people who are actively hunting me, making new friends, going on new adventures! It's a lot of fun! I don't need to worry about when I'll have my next meal or who's gonna try to conquer my home - not that anyone ever could - or if I'll ever run out of places to explore." He lost himself in his thoughts for a bit with a smile on his face. Finally, just as the sun was rising, he turned to the sniper beside him, "Would you like to join me, Zoro and Nami as our ship's sniper?"

Usopp stared at the young captain next to him. He couldn't believe what he was hearing! Luffy was asking him - him! - to join in as the sniper on his pirate crew! What an amazing offer. Just as he opened his mouth to answer, they heard a canon and turned their attention to the opposite side of the island.

"They must've shown up over on Zoro and Nami's side." Luffy said. Without another word, he ran across the island, Usopp following behind.

When the two reached the Southern side of the island, Zoro and Nami were already fighting the opposing foes. Actually, Zoro was fighting them, Nami was robbing them blind. Either way, they looked like a flawless team. Though Luffy knew that to be a false statement. Those two almost never got along until they made it to Paradise, and even then they were still on shaky ground with each other.

"About time you two got here!" Zoro called from his place at the bottom of the slope. The traps had all been triggered and had taken out a quarter of the Black Cat Pirates already. "What took ya so long?"

"It's a long way from the other side of the island!" Usopp retorted, his knees shaking. He'd never actually fought anyone or anything before. The most practise he had was using his slingshot to throw rocks at windows and such. He wasn't near prepared enough to fight an actual pirate crew! What if he missed? What if he hit an ally? Too many unknowns scared him and made him back up by a step. He didn't belong here and it was glaringly obvious.

Luffy, from his place now slightly in front of Usopp, glanced back upon sensing the boy's hesitance. He didn't react outside of stepping back to be beside his future and past crewmate. "Close your eyes," he ordered the untrained marksman quietly, "and take a deep breath." He doubts Usopp was aware that he was following a captain's orders, but he wasn't going to say anything about it. Now was not the time. "Now, I need you to focus and aim. No one's life is in danger here, and I will step in if it gets to that point." He doubted it would reach that point, though. Usopp didn't open his eyes as he lifted his slingshot, already loaded, and aimed it, "You are our sniper. That means you need to watch everyone's backs and protect them from a distance without being spotted." It was too late for the 'not being spotted' part, but that didn't matter at the moment.

Usopp listened intently to the young captain's words. He didn't know how or why, but his mind was clear now and he could almost see exactly what was going on, even though he knew his eyes were closed. Still, he aimed his slingshot at where he somehow knew an opposing pirate to be. Before he fired, he took another deep breath. Opening his eyes, he let go of the rubber and watched the red pellet fly and hit his target square in the face. The pellet burst and the man cried, the hot sauce burning his eyes. Zoro sent a grateful look at Usopp before continuing his fight.

Luffy stepped back to the treeline and sat against a tree. He would step in if his crew's lives were threatened or when Klahadore showed up. Whichever happened first. Though, he took great amusement in the thought of ripping the stern off of their ship again. Franky would be apprehensive about the matter if he ever found out, but it would be funny. He didn't remember what had happened the last time, but Zoro had told him that he'd been hypnotized or something. At the time he thought it was cool, but now the idea was less than appealing. Not being able to control himself was one of his worst nightmares. Add the fact that he doesn't even remember what happened and you have a big 'No thanks' from Luffy.

The battle went on for the better part of an hour, neither side backing down nor gaining ground. Usopp was doing well at watching Zoro's and Nami's backs, keeping enemies inside his line of sight at all times. Nami had joined Zoro in close combat with the excuse of there being too many people still awake to rob anyone else blind. (Luffy's words, not hers) And Zoro was just glad to finally have help with the still large group of pirates. Not that he'd ever admit that to anyone, let alone the witch. It wasn't until the beginning of the second hour that Luffy stood up, drawing everyone's attention to him and temporarily stopping the fight. He turned his head slightly to the right and waited for several seconds. Everyone watched him with bated breath.

"It's been an hour," a voice that was not Luffy's said, deceptively calm, "and yet the town is still standing." Klahadore walked out of the bushes that Luffy was glaring at. Pushing his glasses up with the heel of his right palm, he came to a stop just out of arm's reach of Luffy. He stared at him for a long moment before speaking again. "I thought I told you I'd call the Marines if you weren't gone by yesterday evening?" It was less of a question and more of a demand, but Luffy didn't care. He wasn't about to back down. Besides, he had something up his sleeve.

The technically new captain smirked with a glint in his eye one could only describe as near evil. "You can't report pirates on the island if I've already done that." he retorted smugly, catching everyone by surprise.

"What?" Klahadore raised his left eyebrow in question, slightly perplexed at this turn of events.

"Exactly as I said." the boy shrugged, "You threatened to call the Marines on me, so I beat you to it. I heard your plan - really stupid of you to talk about it in the open like that, by the way - and I figured I'd call the Marines to report you! They said they'd be here by sunset tonight, but I can guarantee they'll be here by noon at the latest."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I may or may not have pissed him off." Which is kind of an almost total lie, but not quite. There's almost nothing he could do to piss off his grandfather. Besides, he didn't say he did piss off the Marines, only that he might have.

Zoro sighed with an emotion somewhere between 'this idiot' and 'how..?'. 'Only Luffy would be able to piss off the Marines enough to get them here an entire half day earlier than planned.'

Nami and Usopp, on the other hand, were scared out of their minds. How the hell had he managed to piss off the Marines enough to get them here faster than planned?! And why did he call them in the first place? Also, how were they going to get here sooner than estimated? It's not like they could control the wind.

"You, a pirate, called the Marines to report a pirate raid?" Klahadore asked, shocked - or baffled, really - at the idiocy of such a play. Or maybe it was a smart move? No. No, it was sheer idiocy, that he was sure of.

Luffy said nothing. He can't lie if he doesn't speak. Besides, no one needed to know what he said or who exactly he called. All anyone needed to know at the moment was that he called a Marine and he may or may not have upset them. Though, Luffy knew that his grandfather would probably be ecstatic that Luffy had said he loved him. Again, no one needed to know what was said.

Taking a battle stance, Luffy lunged at Klahadore and the fight began. With the addition of their captain to the fight, the Black Cat Pirates began their attack again with new resolve and the intent to gain ground and beat the three opponents. The ones who had previously been knocked down had gotten up and their ship's former vice captain - now captain - hypnotized them into thinking that they were invincible. The hypnosis, though effective, only tricked the blocks in their mind into not holding them back anymore. It was effective, but extremely dangerous as it now made them basically oblivious to when they were going to die or pass out.

Zoro and Nami fought to hold their ground, but were overwhelmed by the sheer number of attackers that had suddenly rejoined the fight. Even with Usopp watching their backs and hitting their opponents with hot sauce projectiles, the newly renewed strength in over half the crew was starting to wear down on them. Slowly, they started to give up the ground they had held and slowly backed up the hill.

While the two crews fought, Luffy and Klahadore had their own show down closer to the treeline at the very top of the fought over ground. At some point in the so far ten minute battle, the two had stopped fighting and were assessing each other. Klahadore, losing the stare down, pulled a bag from the bushes behind him without taking his eyes off of the opposing captain. From inside, he pulled out a pair of gloves with swords on the end of every finger. Luffy hated those gloves for no other reason than them being ugly. And maybe the fact that they slightly reminded him of when he and his brothers had gotten caught up with Bluejam's crew as kids, but that's not important.

Shutting down his other senses, like a lunatic in Luffy's humble opinion, Klahadore let his sense of hearing take over as he swayed lightly. In a blink, he was gone. Because he was relying solely on his hearing, he was cutting down anything in his way; boulders, trees, bushes, the cliff sides, even his own crew! Somehow, though, he completely missed Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Luffy.

Luffy followed him down the slope, letting the man cut down his own crew. When they got to the shore line, he, too, closed his eyes and waited. Though, unlike his enemy, he was using Observation Haki to pinpoint where everyone in his immediate vicinity was. The former captain of the Black Cat Pirates cut the ground around Luffy three times before the straw hat wearing teen grabbed his arm, effectively cutting off the 'feared' and 'unstoppable' attack.

"What?" the fake butler stammered in surprise, "How?"

Luffy didn't answer. Instead, he ripped the gloves off of the man's hands and snapped the blades off. He was getting tired of this fight and he wanted to be gone before his grandpa got within sight of the island. Hitting the pressure point on the side of the pathetic captain's neck, he let the now unconscious man fall to the ground. Luffy stalked his way over to the ship and inspected it. He had learned from Franky that the stern of a ship was a part of the keel and that the keel was what held the ship together. If his shipwright knew what he was about to do, he'd probably laugh and then either tell him how to do it properly or scold him. But, Luffy didn't let that stop him. Stretching his arms, he got a good hold on the stern and proceeded to pull.

Everyone's eyes turned to the ship as the wood cried and moaned in protest at being pulled apart. After a long few seconds of crying, the wood gave out. The stern, along with the bowsprit and figure head, crashed into the beach with a thud that shook the area. Half of the Black Cat Pirate crew had been re-knocked out by Zoro, Nami and Usopp and had not seen the destruction of their ship. The other half had watched on in shock and horror as a puny kid ripped their ship apart. Unable to continue fighting, they dropped their weapons to the ground in defeat and awe at the display of raw strength.

"That was fun!" Luffy smiled, seemingly unaware of the damage he'd just caused. He knew what it was like to have a home ripped away from him, so he sent a quick prayer for the boat. He hoped it didn't have a spirit, as rude as that sounded. It would sound stupid to most people, but he didn't like the feeling of taking away someone's home. He knew it had to be done, though. Ignoring the looks he got, he asked Zoro to help him tie everyone up. The swordsman obliged without hesitation.

"You didn't tell me you were that strong." the green harried man said as he tied a group of pirates together.

Luffy shrugged, "It never really came up. Besides, it's not that big a deal."

"'Not that big a-'" Nami shouted, "You ripped the stern off of a battleship sized vessel! Of course it's a big deal!"

Luffy smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. So maybe it's a bit of a big deal. But out of the stuff they'll see on the Grand Line, this is nothing! He's seen - and done - way crazier things!

Usopp shook off his nerves and joined the three at the bottom of the slope. The Black Cat Pirates had all been tied in groups of ten before being lined up against what had previously been the stern of their ship. "If what you said is true, then the Marines will be able to see this island soon. We should probably go."

Luffy nodded and smiled before running up the slope and to the mansion Kaya lived in, his crew chasing shortly after behind him. When he got there, he didn't even wait before he jumped over the hedge, claimed the tree Usopp had been in the day before and knocked on the girl's bedroom window.

"Luffy?" she asked after opening the window, "What are you doing here? If Klahadore-!"

The raven haired boy cut her off, "Klahadore was a pirate captain."

It took her a second. "What?"

"Klahadore was the captain of a crew called the Black Cat Pirates. He wanted to kill you and steal your fortune. Me and the others took care of him, though! I'm actually kind of shocked he didn't come after you earlier. He had every opportunity while we were holding off his crew."

"You mean while we were holding off his crew!" Nami had scaled the tree and now stood behind him just to smack him on the head. "You sat around almost the entire time!"

"I helped in the end!" he protested.

Usopp ignored them in favor of asking Kaya if he could come in. She agreed and he climbed in through her bedroom window after also climbing the tree. "Y'know, it's really weird being in here."

"Why?"

"I've only ever talked to you from a tree branch!"

The two sat on the couch in the room and let themselves fall into a comfortable silence. After a few minutes of just sitting, Kaya wrote something on a piece of paper and called for her other servant, Merry. She handed him the paper with no explanation and went to sit back down with Usopp. "Are you going to go with them?"

Usopp thought about it, Luffy's offer from earlier that morning popping into his head. It was tempting to accept, but he hadn't done much in the battle. He'd even had to rely on Luffy's help to even aim! He wasn't sure if the offer still stood. "I don't know." he finally answered, "I know I'll be heading out today, but I don't know if it'll be with them."

Kaya didn't comment on it. "I have a surprise for you all." She smiled and led Usopp through her home and outside where the other three had decided to stay, Nami had shoved Luffy out of the tree before climbing down herself. When she repeated the phrase, Luffy gave a knowing look to his first two crewmates and jumped up from the ground to follow the blonde down to the shore opposite of where the battle had taken place earlier that morning. He didn't say anything about the Marine ship that would be docking in less than an hour, even though he could barely see it as a dot on the horizon.

There was a man waiting for them at the shore when they got there. Luffy recognized him as the man who designed the Going Merry and his grin grew tenfold. Kaya addressed him as Merry and introduced everyone.

"This is the Going Merry!" Merry smiled pridefully at the ship, "A caravel class ship that I designed."

Luffy didn't stay to listen as he launched himself onto the deck of the ship. He knew Nami and Zoro would be paying attention to what was being said, so he opted to let himself get lost in the memories he had on the Merry. He made his way to the mas and placed his left hand and forehead on it with a soft smile filled with nostalgia. "You don't remember me," he whispered, "But I'm home."

Everything they had had been loaded onto the Going Merry to be sorted and stored later. The three kids had shown up a little after they met Merry and said that there was a Marine ship heading for the island. Luffy had shuddered, smiled, jumped back onto the ship with some food in hand, and told everyone they'd be leaving in five minutes. That's when Usopp came tumbling down the slope with a comically large backpack on his back.

"I hope to see you guys again!" the long nosed boy called from his place on the shore. He was planning to take the small boat the pirates were leaving behind.

Luffy stared at him. "You won't ever meet us again."

Usopp was obviously upset at this and started to mumble to himself. What was wrong? Why wouldn't they meet again? Had he done something to offend them? Was it because he's a coward and a liar?

Zoro scoffed and called out for the other. "Hurry up and get on!"

Usopp's head shot up to look at Zoro, then Nami, then Luffy. Seeing all of their smiles, Usopp scaled the side of the ship, the weight and size of his bag not hindering his speed, and landed on the deck next to the other three. "I get to be the captain, right?" he cheered.

Luffy grimenced lightly, remembering what was going to happen when they met Franky on Water Seven, but responded playfully back, "No! I'm the captain!"

"I'll let you keep believing that!" the sniper said flippantly, "Anyway, where's my room?"

"Our room."

"Huh?"

"Our room." the captain said, "Nami's the only girl, so she'll be sleeping in the Captain's Quarters, we'll sleep in the Crew's Quarters."

Nami nodded approvingly and went to move her stuff. Maybe Luffy does have some manners. Zoro hummed from his spot against the railing, not really caring either way. "Makes sense."

"Luffy!" was a distant, but loud, shout that had everyone looking at the young captain. He paled drastically before running to lift the anchor in another show of strength.

"No time to waste!" he yelled, "Let's head out!" The crew of four quickly set to work on getting away from the island. The crew didn't know why, but their captain was obviously nervous about whoever had shouted for him, so they weren't going to stall any longer. That was until they realized that the Marine ship had just docked by where they'd left the soon to be arrested Black Cat Pirates.

Just as the island had left their sights, the group heard a small purr. Falling silent, they listened to make sure they weren't imagining things. Again, they heard the small 'puru, puru, puru' of a den-den mushi. Gulping, Luffy tiptoed over to the pile that was everyone's belongings and dug his backpack out from the back of the pile.

Another purr from the den-den and Luffy picked up the receiver. The line was silent. No one made a move or a sound. "Luffy." a voice said from the other end. The voice was aged and gruff, obviously that of a male.

"Hi…hi, grandpa." the straw hatted teen said sheepishly. His crew balked.

"I found the mess you left for us to clean up."

"Really?"

"Yep. You left before I could catch you."

"You told me to."

"I know." The two fell quiet again for a long moment. Then, Garp sighed. "I'll keep an eye out for your wanted poster."

Luffy grinned and hung up before turning to his crew, his smile bright, "Where to next, Nami?"

"You're the captain, you tell me!"