(A/N: Enter Ace! Enjoy!)
Chapter 3: The Heroes' Reunion! His Name is Fire Fist Ace!
In Nanohana, the crew came across a salesman with an interesting, yet suspicious offer. "A solid-gold apple?!" Chopper gaped.
"1,000 years of life?!" Usopp gawked. "For real?! For real?! You found it in some ancient ruins?!"
"Yep, sure did!" The salesman claimed. "It's a legendary artifact of an ancient civilization!"
"One bite, and we can live 1,000 years?!" Chopper exclaimed.
"Yep! It's the truth! I give you my word!"
"Awesome!" Chopper and Usopp gushed together.
"I see you have very sharp eyes! In that case, I'll part with it for the one-time price of 1,000 berries!" He winked.
"1,000 berries?! You got yourself a deal!"
Nami punched them both to the ground. "Honestly, now! What're you thinking?!"
Venus had a closer look, and raised an eyebrow. "Smells weird." The salesman started to panic.
"Yeah, I wouldn't take him seriously if I were you." Zoro pulled a curtain back, revealing another man painting an ordinary apple gold.
"Hey! Let go!" Usopp fussed, as Nami dragged him and Chopper away. "I was about to live 1,000 years for only 1,000 berries!"
"Quit wasting time, and look for Luffy!" She ordered. "We're done shopping, so we leave for the next town the minute we find him!"
"Where did Luffy run off to, anyway?" Zoro wondered aloud.
"Shut up, you two!"
"Wait, Nami!" Venus ahead of him to catch up to the navigator. "I haven't found a spell book on sand yet!"
"Wait for the movie!" She retorted angrily.
"Monkey D. Luffy?" Everyone's attention turned to a woman addressing their captain.
She was talking to a tall, black-haired young man with a purple Jolly Roger tattoo on his back bearing a white beard, and wore an orange hat. "He might be here in town. I've been looking for him for a while now."
"Hmm. Never seen him. Oh, but if you're looking for someone, ask at the restaurant up ahead," She suggested, "The owner there knows a lot of people."
"Much appreciated," He bowed respectfully, "The restaurant, huh? I was just feeling hungry, anyways."
The crew watched, as he made his leave. "Who's that?" Chopper asked. "He looks incredibly strong."
"Why's he looking for Luffy?" Usopp wondered aloud.
"Maybe he's a bounty hunter?" Nami guessed.
"No, he's not," Zoro replied, and kept his eyes on him. Specifically, his tattoo. "That mark..." Everyone turned to him. "As a former pirate-hunter, there's no way I wouldn't recognize it." Before he could clarify, Venus noticed him tense up, and step back. "No... it couldn't be!"
"Zoro?" She turned to him in concern.
He watched a certain spectacled, short-haired woman reprimanding a sword salesman. "It is her!"
Tashigi, from Loguetown.
"I didn't realize you were Roronoa Zoro, and a pirate. You... you lied to me! A rogue like you can't be allowed to own a renowned sword! I'll collect your sword, the legendary Wado Ichimonji!"
"What is that woman doing here?!" When she turned in his direction, he panicked, and ducked behind a giant vase.
"Are you okay, Zoro?" Venus asked.
"What're you doing?" Nami approached him with Usopp and Chopper.
"Why're you hiding?" Usopp added.
Zoro didn't answer, as he kept watching her. That woman spells nothing, but trouble! Dammit!
Venus' eye widened, and leaped down behind the swordsman, when an all too familiar face approached the Marine. "Hey, Tashigi."
Smoker stood behind her, lugging unconscious pirates on his shoulders. "Captain Smoker!"
He threw the large men to the ground. "Small fry pirates. They thought they could act like big-shots around me, so I took care of 'em."
"Even in such a distant land, your distaste for pirates is unfaltering!" She remarked.
"If you have time for pointless chit-chat, have the royal army take 'em!" He ordered.
She quickly straightened up. "Y-yes, sir!"
"There doesn't seem to be any word yet of Straw Hat Luffy having come to this country." The crew listened in from behind the pot. "But don't let your guard down. They will show up; I'm sure of it."
They ducked back into hiding. "Smoker? That's the Marine captain from Loguetown!" Nami whispered.
Usopp put his hand over his mouth. "Are you saying he followed us all the way here from Loguetown?!"
"It would seem so," Zoro grimaced, "And then there's that man. Things could get ugly quick. Where is that idiot?!"
Back at their former meeting spot, Vivi was waiting with Sanji and Karoo. "Where could Luffy-san have gone?"
"Geez!" Sanji griped. "He's always such a high-maintenance captain!" He perked up at the crew approaching. "Oh! Nami-san, Venus-chan!"
"Hey, now! This is bad! It feels like we'll be in big trouble if we don't get moving quick!" Usopp said.
"Big trouble?" Sanji asked.
"The Marines are here," Nami clarified.
"The Marines?!" Vivi exclaimed.
"And a strange man!" Chopper added.
"Let's just find Luffy as quickly as possible, and leave town!" Nami ordered.
Zoro turned to his right, and his eyes widened. "Hey! Hide!"
They were confused, but did so nonetheless. "What for?!"
"What is it?!"
"Get back here!" They heard the familiar shouts.
"The Marines!"
"There seems to be a big commotion!" Usopp remarked.
"Don't let him escape! After him!"
"Some idiot pirate must be running around town or something," Sanji assumed nonchalantly.
"Idiot pirate?!" Everyone exclaimed simultaneously.
"Get back here, Straw Hat!"
They all turned, and saw a familiar face run past. "It's you?!"
Luffy stopped upon spotting the crew, and smiled happily. "Heya! Zoro!" He saw them peeking around the rubble, and made a beeline, to their dismay. "Oh! Is that where you guys are?!"
"You idiot! Go get rid of them first!"
"There's the Straw Hat crew! Over there!"
"Eep!" Venus squeaked.
"So, what should we do now?!" Usopp asked nervously.
"We have to run, obviously!" Nami retorted.
"Hurry! To the ship!" Vivi added, as they gathered everything they needed.
"What're you doing?!" Luffy ran past them. "Let's get back!"
"Hey, you!" They followed after him.
"Stop!" The Marines ordered.
"Don't let them escape!"
"Fall back!"
"Captain!"
Venus panicked, and hid amongst the crew when Smoker joined the chase. "Straw Hat is mine!"
"Yikes! Yikes! Here he comes!"
"White Blow!"
"Uh oh!" Luffy ran faster when a smoke-riding fist was heading right for him.
"There's no escape!"
"Heat Haze!" A fiery blaze stopped Smoker's attack, surprising the crew into stopping, Luffy gaping in shock.
"You, huh?" Smoker glared.
"Give it up." The man grinned confidently, as fire billowed from his body. "You may be smoke, but I'm fire. A fight between your power and mine would never end."
"He had Devil Fruit powers?!" Zoro exclaimed.
"Who is he, anyways?!" Usopp wondered aloud. "Why is he helping us?!"
"Ace?!" Luffy gawked.
He turned back to him with a smirk. "You haven't changed a bit, Luffy."
"Ace?! Is that you, Ace?! You ate a Devil Fruit?!"
"Yep! The Flare-Flare Fruit!
"Captain Smoker! We're securing the perimeter!"
Ace stood between the crew, and the Marines. "Anyways, we can't chat like this! I'll catch up! You guys run! I'll hold these guys off! Go!"
"Let's go!" Luffy immediately complied.
"Yeah!" Usopp followed with the rest.
"But, Luffy!" Nami exclaimed.
"Who is that guy?!" Sanji asked.
A small smile grew on Venus' face after she glanced back at Ace. "He's kinda cute."
"Not the time for that!" Nami raged.
"I don't get it," Smoker glared, "Why are you helping Straw Hat?"
Ace smirked pridefully. "It's natural for a big brother to worry about his bungling kid brother."
"What? Brother? You mean to say-?" Ace defiantly ignited some more fire. "Move, Portgas D. Ace!"
He didn't move. "I'm afraid that's a no-can-do." The Marines stepped back when his whole body burst into flames.
"Wait, Luffy! Who is he?!" Nami asked. "Is he an acquaintance of yours?!"
"Yeah!" Luffy beamed brightly through his sprint. "He's my brother!" The crew would only gape silently in shock, as they ran behind him.
"Brother?!"
Ace summoned an entire wall of fire before them, blocking their path. "Fire Fist Ace," An undercover officer remarked.
"To think you're Straw Hat's brother," Smoker remarked, and prepared a counterattack. "White... Spark!" That sent the billowing flames spinning in the air, creating a fire/smoke twister.
The crew looked back at hearing the concerned citizens, and saw the twister. "What in the world is happening?" Chopper asked.
"It's a fight between flame and smoke?!" Usopp exclaimed.
"He did say he ate the Flare-Flare Fruit," Sanji recalled.
"But Luffy!" Nami said to the captain. "Is it true that guy's your brother?!"
"Yeah! His name's Ace!"
"You having a brother isn't that surprising, but what's he doing in the Grand Line?!" Zoro asked, lugging a barrel.
"Ace is a pirate! He left the island three years before me to find the One Piece!"
Everyone stared in surprise, before remembering what they were doing. "A-anyways, let's hurry back to the ship!" Nami ordered. "Let's escape before anyone comes after us!"
"Yes, Nami-san!" Sanji agreed, and the sprint commenced.
Luffy was running backwards, as he kept watching. The twister turned into a ball of smoke, spitting out large embers. "Still, I never thought I'd see Ace in a place like this!"
"The path splits into two!" Usopp pointed out.
"Usopp, left!" Nami commanded. "Hear me, guys?!"
"Yes, Nami-san!" Sanji complied, as Luffy slipped off to the left. "I'll follow you wherever you go!"
"Enough, pervy cook!" Zoro exclaimed with annoyance.
"Cool!" Luffy kept watching, oblivious to being alone again. "The fireball's gone even higher!"
Meanwhile, the rest made it to the Merry. "Hurry, and load the stuff!" Vivi urged. "We're leaving right away."
"Hurry!" Usopp ordered. "Set the sails!"
As everyone scattered, Chopper turned to Vivi, now small again, as they both lugged small sacks. "S-say, are we leaving again just after we finally reached the island?"
"Yes. We only stopped by this town to get what we're going to need. Now we're going to head up the river into the interior of Alabasta. Our next destination is Erumalu, the City of Green."
"Erumalu?"
"Hurry!" Zoro pulled the anchor up.
"Pick up the pace!" Sanji pulled the sail down.
"All set!" Usopp readied the rudder.
"Okay! Let's set sail!" Nami announced.
"Uh, guys?" Venus spoke up, stopping everyone. "Are we missing someone?"
"Yeah," Nami confirmed, "We're missing approximately one person."
"That moron!" Zoro complained.
"I-is it really okay to set sail without Luffy?" Chopper asked in concern.
"The Marines will be all over the harbors," Nami replied, "We need to hide the ship first."
"There should be a cave ahead that's hidden from view!" Vivi said.
"So we'll wait for things to cool down, then look for Luffy," Sanji decided.
"Yeesh!" Usopp griped. "He's always, always causing trouble like this!"
Zoro groaned in irritation. "He's a real reliable captain."
Venus sat cross-legged on the prow, her cheeks blushing just a bit, as she rested one on her knuckles. "I hope Ace will be with him when we find him; he's dreamy."
Usopp rested his biceps on the deck railing, sulking after hearing her. His feelings of jealousy were pushed away by a familiar hand grabbing the side rail. "I'm back!" Luffy launched himself on deck, knocking Sanji and Chopper down.
"Sanji-san! Tony-kun!" Vivi exclaimed.
"Oh, come on!" Usopp stared in surprise.
"Not again," Zoro facepalmed.
"You guys okay?" Venus looked back from the prow.
Luffy laughed, as he sat up. "Sorry 'bout that, Sanji, Chopper!"
An angry Sanji shot up, and had him by the front of his vest. "Do you not know how to learn your lesson?! I oughta gut you whole!"
"Yeah!" Nami agreed. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused?! Try to act somewhat like a captain!"
He looked up at her, his smile gone. "Sorry."
Venus slid down to the deck eagerly. "Hey, is Ace with you?"
"Oh, that's right! Ace!" He looked over the side he came from.
"Ace?"
"I guess he's not," Venus frowned in disappointment.
"Your brother was with you?" Zoro asked.
Usopp approached them with concern. "Is it okay to just leave him there?"
"I guess he'll be okay!" Luffy beamed. "Ace is strong!"
"He's strong?" Chopper asked in awe.
"Yeah! He hadn't eaten the Flare-Flare Fruit a long time ago, but I still never beat him in a single fight! He's real strong, Ace is!"
"Amazing!" A starry-eyed Venus swooned.
"There's a flesh-and-blood person you could never beat?!" Nami exclaimed.
"I guess the big brother of a monster is an even bigger monster," Usopp remarked.
"That's right! I lost all the time!" Luffy laughed. "But I'd win now if I tried!"
"I assume that's another groundless claim," Zoro snarked.
Behind him, a certain someone shot up. "Who..." Ace landed on the railing. "Can win what now?!"
The crew was quiet for a moment in surprise. "Oh! Ace!" Luffy beamed. "This is the crew I was talking about!"
"Oh! Thank you all for taking care of my little brother!"
"Eh? Oh, not at all," They bowed.
"He might be a bit much for you to handle too, but..."
"No, not at all."
"Take god care of 'im."
"It's our pleasure!" Venus almost floated over, her hands clasped together.
"Enough!" Nami yanked her away.
"You probably have lots of catching up to do," Sanji guessed, "Why don't you come in? I'll make some tea."
"No, uhh, that's okay," Ace kindly turned him down, "Don't do it on account of me." Grinning widely, he pointed his finger to Sanji.
On cue, he flinched in surprise when his cigarette lit up out of nowhere. "T-talk about unexpected," Usopp commented.
"That's for sure," Zoro agreed.
"I would've expected him to be as reckless as Luffy," Usopp continued.
"No, this sensible man can't possibly be Luffy's brother!" Nami added.
"He's a nice guy who cares about his brother!" Zoro exclaimed.
"Brothers can be so wonderful!" Chopper cried.
"He's so handsome," Venus gushed.
"The sea is just full of surprises," Sanji remarked.
"Come now, everyone!" Vivi intervened.
"See!" Luffy beamed. "Aren't these guys neat?!"
The fun moment was interrupted by a horde of ships approaching them, all bearing a certain Jolly Roger with wings and swords. "Baroque Works!" Vivi exclaimed. "Those are the Billions' ships!"
"Fire Fist Ace, and Straw Hat Luffy!" One of the agents shouted. "Don't think you can get away!"
"We'll show you what Baroque Works' Billions are made of!"
"Those guys again?" Luffy asked calmly.
"Luffy," Ace caught his attention, "I'll clean them up."
"Eh?"
At that, he jumped down on a small boat tied to the Merry, and sailed off. "What's he going to do?" Nami wondered aloud.
"Especially in that little boat," Usopp added.
Zoro watched with crossed arms. "Let's see how skilled this Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates really is!"
"Here he comes! Fire Fist Ace!"
"Just try to get past five of our ships, if you can!"
With a smirk, he leaped straight up off his boat. "He jumped!" Nami exclaimed.
He flipped through the air effortlessly, arms straight out like a bird. "F-fire!"
"Shoot him into the ocean!"
Ace flew over one of the ships, and landed back on his boat after it reemerged. "Fire Fist!" He launched a giant fireball, annihilating every one of the ships, and tipped his hat up with a smirk.
"Whoa!" The crew looked on in awe, Luffy smiling brightly.
"Woohoo!" Everyone cheered.
"Ace is one of us now!" Usopp exclaimed, hiding his jealousy.
"Cheers!" He, Luffy, and Chopper clinked their mugs together.
"Who said I was joining you?"
Ignoring his rejection, the three downed their beverages. "Here's to delicious drinks!" Usopp changed the reason.
"Cheers!"
"Don't worry about it!" Nami happily assured him. "They're always looking for an excuse to drink to!"
"Medicine is horrible!" Everyone laughed, before Luffy turned to his brother.
"Ace! Are you sure you won't join us?"
"I'm chasing a certain man." Ace downed his own drink. "His name's Blackbeard."
"Blackbeard?!" Usopp exclaimed.
"He's the pirate who attacked the Drum Kingdom!" Vivi recalled.
"He used to be a member of the Second Division of the Whitebeard Pirates, one of my men. But he committed the worst possible sin on a pirate ship: he killed a crewmember, and jumped ship. So, as the commander, I gotta find and get rid of him."
"So that's why you're chasing after him?" Usopp asked.
"I came here, because I caught word that Blackbeard was seen in Yuba."
"Then your destination is the same as ours!" Nami realized, Vivi and showed him a map of Alabasta, pointing to Nanohana.
"We've just entered the Sandora River." Her finger moved to their upcoming destination. "First, we'll land at Erumalu, then head into the interior of Alabasta to reach Yuba here!" She pointed to an X by Yuba. "The leader of the rebel army is in Yuba."
"I see. So you're headed to Yuba next."
"I'll follow Nami-san, Venus-chan, and Vivi-chan wherever they go!" Sanji swooned.
"Get lost, Love Cook," Zoro grumbled.
"Say what, you-?!"
"A-anyways!" Nami cut in, before a fight could start. "It looks like we can travel together for a short while!"
"Yay!" Venus cheered.
"Yeah, yeah!" Usopp agreed. "His brother is more than welcome here!"
Luffy laughed happily, and held his mug out. "Let's have a fun time, Ace!"
"Yeah!" Everyone tapped their mugs together in celebration.
(A/N: Well, the crew has now met Ace! And Venus has a crush on him! Poor Usopp. XD You know the disclaimer.)