BOOM!

Zoro's eyes slowly opened at the sound of the cannon going off, which was soon followed by sound of something exploding off in the distance. He could hear his crew shouting from the front of the ship about the great shot before he reached for his sword as he looked to his right to see Robin there with a blanket in her hands. Both of them then began a conversation about rumors about his title of Pirate Hunter before she left with a smile to read her book while he thought about the dream he was having of when he first met Johnny and Yosaku.

'Hard to believe that they'd become pirates of their own free will.' he thought. He was truly surprised that they'd accept Luffy's invitation, but now they're here so that was it. Still, Luffy's words about what was to come if they didn't get stronger still buzzen in his head. 'I must get stronger. We all must get stronger!' he thought.

-Later that night-

The crew had just finished dinner, even with Luffy trying to take food off of their plates from start to finish, before they all did their own thing before getting tired. Zoro, having rested earlier, was put on watch for the night while the others were heading off to bed. Zoro was looking down from the crow's nest to see everyone disappearing into their quarters before he stopped at Luffy. Luffy was about to walk in before he suddenly stopped, having a feeling that he was being watched. He looked up to see Zoro looking right at him with a serious look on his face. A few moments passed as Luffy silently understood and stretched his arm up towards the crow's nest. He latched on before flying up and landing right next to Zoro.

"Need something Zoro?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah. Training." Zoro replied.

"But it's night, and I'm tired." Luffy whined.

"Not now, dumbass!" Zoro barked before regaining his composure. "I mean that we should start some serious training at the next island. Isn't that why you came back? To train us to be strong enough so that we'll win the upcoming battle?"

"Yeah. It is." Luffy said. "You're right. We'll train at the next island." Luffy turned around and was about to jump before Zoro stopped him.

"One more thing." Zoro said. Luffy looked back at him as Zoro finished. "I know you're from the future, so I need one question answered. Nico Robin. Is she trustworthy?"

"Yeah." Luffy said with a smile. "She was an original crewmate last time?"

"Original crewmate?" Zoro asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. The crew wasn't this large last time." said Luffy.

"Then who was here last time?" Zoro asked.

"Let's see...Me, you, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, and Robin." Luffy said while holding up his fingers.

"Just seven?" Zoro asked.

"There's also a few others that I asked to join, but we haven't gotten there yet." Luffy said with a grin, thinking of all the friends he was gonna see again.

"Who?" Zoro asked.

"Not telling." said Luffy.

"What do you mean 'Not telling?'" Zoro asked.

"I don't want to give away all the surprises." he said. "At least not about who I know will join. There's no fun in having all the answers before we get there."

"You're right." Zoro said with a smirk. "Alright then. Next island, we train."

-Next day-

The Going Merry was sailing as fast as she could with a few marine ships chasing after them and bombarding them with cannonballs.

"This is bad guys!" Nami yelled as the water around them erupted from all the missed shots.

"The Marines are gonna sink us at this rate!" Vivi added. Everyone else was either fishing, napping, or just hanging over the railing in hunger.

"These shots are deliberately missing." Nojiko said while looking for any tangerines on the trees.

"Exactly. Vivi's on board, so they won't risk sinking a ship with princess on it." Alvida added from her lawn chair.

"Usopp." Luffy whined in hunger. "Catch anything yet?"

"Not at the speed we're sailing." he groaned.

"Why can't you keep your hands out of the fridge Luffy?" Gin grumbled from where he lay on the deck.

"I don't know what will kill us first. Starvation or dehydration." Chopper said with his tongue hanging out as Sanji walked up the stairs towards with a few plates with some food on them.

"Ladies, I've brought you all your tea. And for a snack, Mille Feuille." he said.

"Thank you, Cook-san." Robin said while most of the men began to drool and ran towards Sanji trying to get the food.

"Give me some!"

"I'm starving!"

"Back off! These are for the ladies, not you jackasses!" Sanji yelled as he ran away from them, keeping the food away so as to safely give it to the women.

"What's wrong with all of you?" Nami groaned as Robin sprouted some arms and had them tickle a few of them into submission.

"Nami! Fog!" Johnny shouted.

"Straight ahead!" Yosaku added.

"Again?" she said as they entered the fog. She barked orders for the rest of them to steer the ship to avoid the rocks and currents while the marines were having a rough time following. One of the marines suggested that they turn back, while another said to keep going after them.

"Withdraw the ships." commanded the Sergeant of the fleet.

"But sir, our orders from Captain Moore are to apprehend the Straw Hat Pirates and safely rescue Princess Vivi of Alabasta!" said the Corporal.

"Captain Moore's not here! Right now, I'm in charge. And I say we withdraw." said the Sergeant as he walked away.

"Y-Yes sir." the Corporal saluted before looking at the blurry speck of the Going Merry while the Marine ships withdrew. It was tense, but the Straw Hats finally got out of the fog.

"Hey, there's an island straight ahead!" Usopp shouted from the crow's nest. Everyone was looking at it in interest for different reasons. Luffy and most for food, Zoro for some serious training, Nami to make a map of it, and Robin to explore and to search for ruins. They all got off the ship and were gathering around while a spyglass was looking at them all up the hill.

"14 people and 2 animals." said an aged voice as he messed with an abacus. "You won't leave this island alive." he said as the Straw Hats all began venturing in towards the island. They kept on walking before Luffy suddenly stopped.

"Something wrong Luffy?" Vivi asked from atop Carue. Luffy looked up at her with a face splitting grin.

"Yeah. We're not alone on the island." he said.

"We're not?!" Usopp shouted before quickly whipping his head around, looking for anything that might pop out at them while Zoro flicked his white blade from its sheath.

"You mean that baby goat up there?" Nojiko asked. Everyone looked to see a cute little baby goat eating grass at the top of the hill.

"MEAT!" Usopp, Sanji, Gin, Johnny, and Yosaku shouted before giving chase.

"They're not gonna eat that baby goat, are they?" Grace asked.

"How come you're not running off to eat it yourself?" Nojiko asked as they all started chasing after them.

"You'll see." Luffy said with a grin. They chased the baby goat towards a lone tree before Nami stepped in the way.

"You are not eating that baby goat!" she said as she held her arms out wide, acting like a shield.

"That little goat has friends." said Zoro while flicking out his white blade. Everyone looked around to see a few dozen adult goats had surrounded them, each of them with angry looks in their eyes.

"It lured us into a trap!" said Chopper as the goats all began charging towards them.

"No choice then!" Zoro said as he pulled out his white blade while the others all got out their weapons as well.

"I got this." Luffy said as he calmly walked towards the goats. All the others just stared as the goats were closing in on Luffy before they felt a small wave of Haki roll out of Luffy, causing all the goats to stop dead in their tracks and look at Luffy with wide eyes. Luffy grinned before an old man fell out of the tree and onto his butt.

"What did you do?!" he yelled as he frantically pointed at Luffy with his eyes bugging out at him.

"Who's the old fart?" Grace asked.

"Maybe he's the leader of these goats." Alvida suggested.

"Is he?" Chopper asked the goats, who answered back that he was. "He is."

"What is that?! A talking raccoon-dog?!" the old man shouted as he pointed at Chopper.

"I'M A REINDEER!" Chopper shouted, making the old man flinch before scurrying back a little.

"Please sir." Vivi said as she held up her hands and approached him. "We're not here to hurt you."

"PAH! As if I'd take the word of a pirate!" he shouted. "I'm only gonna say this once, so listen up. I'm flat broke, so don't even bother looking for any treasure!"

"How much money could an old fart like you have anyways?" Gin asked.

"Shut it, pirate!" shouted the man as he sat on the ground and folded his arms. "Do your worst! I won't talk! You could boil me or roast me! My lips are sealed!"

"Good thing I'm a cook." Sanji said as he cracked his knuckles. "Should I fillet you first then?"

"I WAS JUST JOKING ABOUT COOKING ME!" shouted the old guy before he threw rocks at them and scurried away into some bushes. "VANDALS! THIEVES! MURDERERS!" he shouted as he got stuck in the bushes. The old man watched as Zoro approached and sliced up the branches he was stuck in, causing his eyes to roll back and faint.

"Faint of heart, huh?" Valerie said.

"What's wrong with that guy?" Usopp asked as Chopper ran over and placed his ear to the man's chest.

"THIS IS BAD! HIS HEART'S STOPPED!" Chopper shouted. Most of them gasped before they started insulting Zoro, who was yelling at them that he didn't touch the guy. They all decided to bring the old man back to his hut after Chopper got his heart working and waited for anything to happen. He woke up after awhile, but then started yelling how they owed him for nearly scaring him to death. He began to cry and say how he had given up on life after Nami argued the finance before Luffy said they'd stay and do some chores, making the man smile and rub his hands together in joy. After that the old man, that they learned was named Zenny, was soon having them do all kinds of chores like chopping wood, feeding the goats, drawing fresh water, fixing the hut, cleaning, and massaging his shoulders.

-With Zoro-

Zoro had wandered off to find some food, getting lost almost immediately, before he stumbled upon a half built ship way up in the mountains.

-At a nearby Marine Base-

Captain Moore was chewing out Sergeant Minchi for pulling back when they had the Straw Hats in their sights before telling him to organize a landing party and to capture the Straw Hats. The Sergeant and Corporal left the room and began walking away before they started talking about the Straw Hats and the island they've anchored on, with Minchi bearing a grin at the thought of who else might be there.

-Later that Night-

Zoro had come back and told them all about the pirate ship he found while unloading a bag of fruit he had. Nami smiled at this before leading all but Chopper and Grace up the mountain to investigate, with Zoro realizing that it was closer than he thought. Usopp freaked when Robin said it was ghost ship, which only caused the sight of the fireflies to cause his mind to think they were spirits of the dead. They all searched it, wondering what it could be before Nami said that she couldn't find the treasure. As Nami spoke, Luffy looked up to the flag that was Zenny's pirate mark with a smile. That old man had a dream, and he was gonna make sure he got to see it happen all over again.

-With Chopper and Grace-

Grace was rubbing her eyes, feeling very tired after the chores that Zenny had them do. She wasn't one for work ethic, so it was very taxing to her.

"This is not good." Chopper whispered as he stepped out of Zenny's hut.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she looked at him. "He have another heart attack?"

"No...it's worse." Chopper said as the others all came back.

"I'm telling you, we should all just get off this island." Gin grumbled.

"I'm with you there." Usopp said. "That old goat's gonna work us till we drop."

"We were supposed to train at this island, not work for some senile old man anyway." Zoro grumbled.

"Chopper. Pack your things. We're leaving." Valerie said. "You too Grace."

"I'm staying here." Chopper said with his eyes to the ground.

"Why? If you do, then there's no end to the chores that old man's gonna put you through." Usopp said.

"There will be an end." Chopper said. "He didn't faint earlier because he was frightened. He's sick."

"Then, that end you were talking about was..." Nami said.

"There's no doubt in my mind!" Chopper said, looking them all in the eye. "He's got three days tops left!"

"Three days?!" they all shouted.

-Morning-

"That was a good sleep." Zenny yawned before he sniffed the air. "Something smells good."

"Hey, old-timer." Usopp said.

"Hope you're hungry." said Sanji as the Straw Hats all presented a huge feast.

"All this is for me?!" Zenny shouted in disbelief.

"The goats told us all the good spots to fish and find fruit on the island." Chopper said, with the goats baaing behind him. Zenny looked at the food with a suspicious eye, claming that pirates turning friendly was a bad sign and that the food might be poisoned. It was only after Luffy tried taking the food, and scaring the man with his rubber powers, did he eat the food.

"This is delicious!" he said with a smile. The Straw Hats were all encouraging him to eat, with Sanji claiming to make more if he wanted. Nami punched Usopp after he tearfully said that it could be a last meal, which Zenny didn't quite catch. Zenny happily ate before he dropped his chopsticks and brought his hands to his throat, scaring all the Straw Hats before he swallowed. "Too delicious. I forgot to chew." he said, causing everyone but Robin to fall over.

"I knew it was too early." Chopper said.

"Too early for what?" Zenny asked as Nami threw a sandal at Chopper.

"Never you mind. Go on old man. Have my plate."

"And mine."

"Here you go." All the Straw Hats began to offer him food, with Luffy still trying to take it, making Zenny laugh and smile. Zoro was watching with a raised eyebrow, wondering if he truly did have three days left, with none of them suspecting a greedy marine hatching a plan far away.

A/N: I truly like this arc. I know it's probably all canon, but it's still a favorite. To all my viewers, I'm ashamed of myself, but I must ask for some help. I wish to put more into this fic, like a movie or two, along with some of those TV specials. Unfortunately, I've gone past a few already, and wish for your help. Was there a special around the time of this arc or movie? If so, I wish to try and add them. Please don't flood the review page, or my inbox, with every little thing. Just around this time. I gotta take little steps, or I'm gonna miss something. That's all, and Thank you.