As time plodded ponderously forward on the same tedious set of tracks as it had done several times before, Luffy had plenty of time to think of where he'd gone wrong. He was almost certain that everything had gone more or less the exact same way since the Merry arrived at the Baratie, yet the first encounter with Arlong had ended in disaster. It made no sense to him.

More than ever, Luffy wished Robin was here. She would have had it all figured out in ten minutes.

Aside from that infuriating puzzle, another concern began to weigh on his mind, one that he had known was coming.

Repeating the same adventure was boring. More importantly, having his crew go through the same old motions over and over was boring. To Luffy, being bored of his friends and family was anathema, yet it was happening because of the time loop.

It was the most abhorrent thing he could imagine. In fact, it was so abhorrent that his mind turned away from it before the thought could even consciously materialize. This was done by seeking distractions.

He sparred with Zoro, he pestered Sanji, he talked to Usopp about all the kinds of cool ammo he could use for his slingshot, he even asked Nami to teach him something about navigation because that particular deficiency had turned out to be a serious problem.

Then Krieg showed up and did his usual doublecross. Luffy had let Sanji feed him, because he knew how his cook was about hungry people.

"Shut up!" Luffy snapped, launching forward a rubbery fist. "I don't have time to deal with you."

The last time he had let Krieg mouth off, he'd needed to stay to deal with him and that had gotten half his crew and Nami's whole village killed. This time, there would be no wasting time.

Krieg, despite being a notorious backstabber, was not expecting the sucker punch. He was especially not expecting it to be so fast or so strong. The fist crashed into his nose and sent him flying out the Baratie to land in the water. His wootz steel armor and extensive arsenal of weapons suddenly became an anchor dragging him down into the depths.

"Don Krieg!" Gin cried out and dove into the water, intending to save his captain.

Luffy could respect that, even if he didn't think Krieg deserved it.

With Krieg out cold, Sanji and Zeff were able to feed the remains of his starving crew, just in time for Mihawk to show up and slice their battered galleon in half.

Luffy would have liked to just leave before the swordsman showed up, but he knew how important this duel was for Zoro. Even if it meant that he would be injured later, this duel had to happen.

At least he had managed to keep Nami close this time and prevent her from stealing the Merry. They would go to her village together this time.

"How can you be so calm?!" She demanded as Zoro was stabbed by Mihawk's tiny knife.

"Zoro is fighting for his dream. We can't get in the way." Luffy replied, but his eyes were drawn to Usopp.

The sniper's dream was to be a brave warrior of the sea. A dream without a firm end goal, but a good one… but why did Usopp seem so terrified? Luffy's gut was telling him that something was wrong.

The duel came to its inevitable conclusion as Zoro was cut across the chest. Luffy rushed forward to catch him before he could fall into the water. By instinct, he kept a wary eye on Mihawk, despite knowing that he was in no danger from him at the moment. He still remembered the numerous close calls against him at Marineford.

"Boy, what is your ambition?" Mihawk asked the same question he had asked in the last loop, hawk-eyes narrowed.

"To be the Pirate King." Luffy replied firmly.

"Hmm, a road even harder than your friend's." Mihawk smirked and sheathed his sword. "I look forward to hearing of your journey."

"Luffy…" Zoro gasped painfully, raising his sword in a shaky hand. "I… will never lose again. That alright with you, Pirate King?!"

"I expect nothing less." Luffy accepted the oath, feeling the familiar certainty in his bones about how important this was. "Come on. Let's go."

In the aftermath, Sanji was convinced to come with them and they set sail for the Conomi islands. Luffy did his best to ignore Nami's visible trepidation as they patched Zoro up.

XXXXX

As he listened to Nami cry over the death of the closest thing she had to a father, Luffy did something he had never done before. He made a mental note.

Nami leaving Baratie early and Usopp going after her saved Genzo, the guy with the cool windmill hat.

With the certainty of instinct, Luffy knew that Genzo's death would not send him back in time. They could still kick Arlong's ass and continue their journey.

But… Nami would be sad.

"Come on, let's go kick Arlong's ass." He ordered.

Nami's tears dried and fury entered her eyes. Zoro grinned darkly despite the pain of his wound. Sanji had already been raring to kick the crap out of the fishmen for making a lady cry.

Usopp was the only one whose will was shaky.

Luffy saw it, but didn't say anything.

XXXXX

There was no runaround or near misses. The crew just walked up to Arlong Park and kicked the door in. Luffy then announced their intentions by punching Arlong in the face. He was fully intending to reset this loop, but punching Arlong in the face was never the wrong thing to do.

As expected, that got the fishmen all angry. The mooks got taken out with one move from Luffy. Sanji beat the crap out of Kuroobi. Zoro borrowed Johnny and Yosaku's swords and defeated Hatchan with some difficulty due to his injury.

Usopp ran away from Chew. The fishman then came back, claiming to have killed the sniper. Luffy knocked him out with a single blow.

Seeing his crew defeated, Arlong finally stepped up.

"You damn humans…" He seethed. "How dare you strike at your betters?!"

"Shut up." Luffy shut him down blandly, punching him again.

Arlong roared and threw himself into the fight, but it was no good. Unlike the first time they'd fought, Luffy knew all his tricks. The regrowing teeth, the water attacks, the nose dive, the saw-tooth sword, none of it caught him off guard or particularly threatened him. The rubber man had too much experience, too much mastery of his devil fruit and this time he didn't make the mistake of getting himself stuck with the windmill technique.

"Haha, a glorious victory for Captain Usopp!" Usopp announced once Arlong was defeated and Arlong Park was toppled. He had come back during the fight.

He was standing behind the outer wall and looked like he was trying to lie extra hard. Luffy could easily tell that he was ashamed of himself and Zoro was looking at him with a disapproving scowl.

The sniper's courage had failed him. It had failed him because it hadn't been tested against the Black Cat pirates earlier. As he saw the cracks that would tear his crew apart forming, Luffy understood this and knew that he had screwed up. He had taken away Usopp's chance to stand on his own feet and he had added to Nami's pain by not saving Genzo.

That night, after they buried Genzo next to Bell-mere, Luffy threw himself off the cliffs and into the sea. Suicide would normally be an unthinkable act for someone of his personality, but he wasn't going to wait until his crew fell apart to reset.

XXXXX

This is familiar.

Luffy stared at Usopp's back as he stomped away after punching Kuro and being told to leave Kaya's estate.

Isn't this what happened the first time?

It had been hard to hold back and do nothing as the fake pirate insulted Usopp and his father, but being here for the fourth time over blunted the emotional impact. This entire situation was more tedious than anything now.

Luffy had no idea how to set up a situation that would let Usopp show his courage, so he simply stood back and observed. It wasn't his style, but the adventure wasn't exciting anymore anyway.

"I'm gonna go talk to him." He said, leaving Nami and Zoro behind.

They voiced no objection and hung back, letting him catch up to Usopp at the shore easily. The sniper was still fuming as he glared out at the sea.

"Yassop is a great pirate." Luffy said by way of introduction, sitting next to his friend. "That stupid butler doesn't know anything."

"Right?!" Usopp exclaimed, in agreement and anger. "The nerve of that bastard, insulting my father like that. He acts so high and mighty when he never did anything impressive in his life."

"Yeah, he's just a shitty fake pirate pretending to be a butler!" Luffy said back just as loudly.

"Fake pirate?" Usopp stared at him, puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Crap, I said too much! Luffy panicked, sweat pouring down his face. He looked away and tried to whistle nonchalantly. "N-nothing! I didn't say anything about Kuro being a pirate!"

"Kuro?" Usopp repeated, horror dawning on his face. "Klahadore is Captain Kuro? The brutal pirate captain that supposedly got executed three years ago?"

Crap, I did it again! Luffy panicked harder, looking everywhere for salvation. To his surprise, it manifested below them. "Ah, look! There he is!"

What followed was a very familiar conversation between Kuro and that hypnotist guy. This time, however, Luffy didn't expose himself by yelling at them and they left without ever knowing that they'd been spied upon.

"Luffy, how did you know that Klahadore was Kuro?" Usopp asked seriously.

Luffy gave up, slumping over in defeat. "I keep going back in time whenever I screw something up. It's probably going to happen again because I told you about it."

Usopp stared at him for a long while. "Oi, you seem like a really bad liar, but there's no way that's true."

"IT IS TRUE!" Luffy snapped back at him. "But whatever. Not like you'll remember this anyway."

Usopp still stared at him, then remembered something important. "KAYA! We have to warn her!"

"No, we have to kick their asses." Luffy disagreed. "They can't do anything against the pirates anyway."

"Crap, you're right!" Usopp pulled at his hair in distress. "And I've been yelling about pirates for years. Would they even believe me? What are we gonna do?!"

"I told you, we'll kick their asses." Luffy repeated himself.

"You think we can? Is this your time traveler knowledge talking?" Usopp still wasn't anywhere near convinced about that bit, but he was willing to take what he could get at this point.

"You were really cool the first time around." Luffy said, then he remembered something. "Oh, just don't forget to set your traps up at the right cliff."

"There's no way I'd make a mistake like that!"

XXXXX

After much laborious thinking and attempts to remember, Luffy guessed with about 70% surety that the Black Cat Pirates would attack from the north side of the island. This was mostly done by asking Usopp where he would set up his defenses and then saying they'd come from the other side.

Nami panicked about her treasures, which was again familiar and as good as confirmed Luffy's guess.

"This slope is the only way to reach the island from the shore." Usopp said boastfully. "As long as we can defend it, they'll never reach the village! Now, what can you guys do?"

"I cut." Zoro said blandly.

"I stretch." Luffy said nostalgically.

"I steal." Nami said enthusiastically, assuming that the attacking pirates will have more gold for her to take.

"I hide." Usopp said in relief.

"You're going to fight!" The other three yelled at him, each for their own reasons.

"I was just joking!"

"Ah, there they are!" Nami pointed out, seeing the Black Cat Pirates' ship. It was very catlike.

"Good, good!" Usopp said menacingly. "Let them face the wrath of Captain Usopp!"

"Your knees are shaking." Zoro pointed out.

"OF COURSE MY KNEES ARE SHAKING!" Usopp roared at him. "I'M TERRIFIED!"

"It's okay, Luffy and Zoro can take them on easy." Nami waved off with a casual laugh.

"I'm not fighting." Luffy sat down on a rock.

"I won't stain my swords with the blood of weaklings." Zoro agreed.

"WE CAN'T FIGHT THEM EITHER! WE'LL DIE!" Nami and Usopp shouted in unison.

"You'll be fine." Luffy dismissed. "You have your staff and slingshot and the oil. These guys are weak."

"SO ARE WE!"

The rubber man gave them a serious look that shut them up instantly. "I am the man who will be the Pirate King. My crew is not weak."

XXXXX

As it turned out, Usopp and Nami's crying was largely unnecessary. The Black Cat Pirates failed to overcome the improvised oil field and could do little more than throw rocks back at them as Usopp shot them with accurate slingshot fire.

Ah, how truly convenient that the island's only two points of ingress were smooth stone slopes instead of loose gravel that would have harmlessly absorbed the oil. Such things were of course completely natural and not at all a plot device.

In any case, Jango the Hypnotist could only facepalm in shame at the fact that his crew of vicious pirate was being defeated by a couple of kids and a few barrels of fish oil.

"Alright, enough!" He snapped, making his exhausted and embarrassed crew look at him. "Look at this ring. At the count of 'one, two, Jango' you will run past the oil and kill those kids."

"Eh, what's he doing?" Usopp asked in confusion, not knowing that Jango was a hypnotist.

"He's a hypnotist, but just making them think they can get past the oil isn't the same as being able to do it." Nami scoffed, confidence sky high after humiliating the pirates.

"One, two, Jango!" Jango said.

The fledgling Straw Hat Crew weren't able to see the ring past the press of bodies, so they were not hypnotized. The Black Cat Pirates – and Jango because he still hadn't fixed that issue – however, were.

The pirates roared with renewed confidence and rushed up the hill, running over the oil without stopping.

"THEY MADE IT PAST THE OIL?!" Nami and Usopp yelled in confused panic.

The sniper started frantically firing his slingshot at the approaching pirates and Nami reading her staff in shaky hands.

"LUFFY, ZORO! HELP!"

"You got this." Zoro replied calmly.

Luffy nodded with a grunt.

"Wait, I have caltrops!" Usopp gasped, pulling out two handfulls of spiky foot pain.

"Oh, you have some good stuff." Nami grinned demonically. "Gimme!"

They hurled the caltrops down the slope, Usopp with a fair bit more accuracy than Nami, but at least she didn't throw them behind her thanks to being less tired and frazzled.

This new hazard was not appreciated by the Black Cat Pirates, particularly by Jango.

"You little…!" The hypnotist snarled, spinning his chakram and throwing it.

Usopp squealed in mortal terror and bent backwards like a limbo champion, just barely avoiding the chakram cutting his nose off.

"Watch where you're throwing that thing!" He shouted back in fear-powered anger and readied one of his special shots. "Gunpowder Star!"

Jango got hit in the face by the exploding projectile and was instantly knocked out.

"What is going on here?!" An incredibly displeased voice asked.

"Captain Kuro!" The demoralized Black Cat Pirates cheered.

"Zoro, this one is yours." Luffy ordered.

"Aye, Captain." The swordsman grinned.

XXXXX

Zoro prevailed against Kuro, which left only Sham and Buchi of the Black Cat Pirates unscathed. They came to the conclusion that their captain had grown weak in the past three years and charged to fight the Straw Hats… and failed horribly.

With Kuro having nearly killed Merry, there was no need to explain his deceptions and Kaya gladly gave them the Going Merry to continue their adventures on.

Once at sea, Usopp brought up the subject that had been burning in his mind.

"So, Luffy." The sniper began casually. "You said you were a time traveler."

He was less skeptical than before, having gotten a better feel for what kind of man his captain was.

"EH?!" Nami and Zoro exclaimed in shock.

"Usopp! You weren't supposed to talk about that! I don't want to go back to the beginning again!" Luffy yelled in outrage.

"You really think you're a time traveler?" Nami asked incredulously. "I thought this was just another of Usopp's lies."

"Oi!"

Seeing that it was too late, Luffy deflated and admitted it. "Yeah, I keep going back in time whenever something goes wrong."

"If you keep going back in time, then you know what we'll run into next." Zoro noted. He was as skeptical as Nami, but willing to give his captain the benefit of the doubt.

"I do, it's super boring!" Luffy complained. "We're going to run into Johhny and Yosaku about a day from now. They're stuck on a bunch of rocks and suffering from scurvy."

Zoro's eyes widened in shock. He'd never mentioned Johhny and Yosaku.

"Then we'll go to the Baratie to get our cook, Sanji." Luffy continued rambling. "You'll call him Curly Brow and Ero Cook because he really likes girls and he'll call you Mosshead. It takes us a while to convince him and then Krieg shows up and tries to take the Baratie."

"Don Krieg, captain of the Krieg Pirate Armada?" Nami exclaimed.

"Yeah, him. He's a jerk and a liar. Then Mihawk shows up and cuts his ship in half."

"Hawk-Eyes Mihawk, the Greatest Swordsman in the World?" Zoro was the one exclaiming this time, anticipation building in his gut.

"Mhm. Then we go to Nami's home islands and kick Arlong's ass and she can join our crew properly."

Nami blanched and paled. "You know?"

Luffy stared at her. "Of course I know. We saved you from him before. He's not going to keep his word to you."

Nami ground her teeth in frustration, eyes burning with tears she refused to shed. She'd known, deep inside, that Arlong couldn't be trusted. Only desperation had kept her going all this time, but hearing it stated so bluntly that it was all pointless was like a punch to the gut.

None of Luffy's three crew members were feeling particularly doubtful anymore. There was still the lingering skepticism natural for those who hadn't seen the true extent of the world's weirdness, but he knew too much.

"Wait, why do you keep saying that you'll be sent back if you tell us about this?" Usopp questioned.

"Because every time I talk about being a time traveler, Admiral Kizaru shows up and drags me off to Marine Headquarters." Luffy complained.

Nami only had to think about it for a minute before a possible reason for that came to her.

"Luffy…" She began sweetly. "Did you, by chance, talk about being a time traveler near any marines?"

"I think so?" Luffy thought hard. "Yeah, there were marines around. Why?"

"BECAUSE THEY REPORTED WHAT YOU SAID TO THEIR SUPERIORS, YOU NUMBSKULL!" Nami roared, smashing her fist into his head so hard that it bounced off the ship's deck. She had no illusions about the goodness of the marines and knew they would be all over a time traveler.

Luffy took no offence to the pummeling, instead having a face of realization.

"Oh!" He smacked his first into his palm. "So that's why the light bastard kept coming after me!"