Hello everyone!

Here is the next chapter!

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Whitebeard sat out on deck, enjoying a good day, when there was a black cloud next to Ace's mark, and Whitebeard felt a bit confused as Ace wasn't supposed to come by today, not for a small bit. But as the wind blew the smoke away, it was Trevor who stood there, and it had Luffy give an excited yell, running to hug him, making him flinch a small bit, before Luffy leaned back. "Are you okay?" Sabo nodded and moved over. "Yeah, why are you here?" Trevor hummed. "Ripped my stitches from the gunshot wound, so I am on leave for a bit, and why not spend it here! That, and makes Ace more calm, it was his idea. But I like the sound as being here sounds nice and calm. And I get to be with you two!" Luffy giggled and moved to hug Trevor again, this time more carefully. Sabo gave a breath, having a smile. "Ace is too overprotective, but you're awesome. So fine."

Trevor hummed. "Makes me glad to hear." Trevor then looked at him. "Hope it is okay I stay for a bit, Newgate." Whitebeard nodded. "It is okay with me. I hope you get to recover. How long will you stay?" Trevor hummed. "A week or two. I did get two weeks off, but I might be needed a bit before the two full weeks." Whitebeard nodded. "That is okay. You can use the room you used last time." Trevor nodded. "Sounds perfect." Sabo hummed. "Should Bay check you?" Trevor groaned. "Don't make me head to the infirmary! Moira kept me for a day, and was pretty pissed." Sabo lifted an eyebrow. "How did you rip your stitches?" Trevor chuckled. "Oh, I tried to do something dumb, which was to lift this giant rock, Mika on top, while doing this obstacle course. One of the reasons Moira was so mad. I was supposed to take it easy. I did not." Sabo nodded. "Sounds like you. Hope it wasn't too bad." Trevor smiled. "It wasn't. And I am excited to see you two being pirates!" That had Luffy give an excited sound. "I am excited to show you!" And then Luffy dragged Trevor around to show off the ship and what he had learned.

As they were gone, Sabo shook his head a bit. "He is too careless at times." Thatch spoke. "He doesn't fit in his… profession I feel." Sabo hummed. "Believe me when I say this, he fits so well. He can be amazing. He is amazing. But he knows better to relax and have fun." Everyone nodded, that fit. A few did ask what Trevor's profession was, and Thatch looked like he didn't know what to say, when Sabo said "He is a leader for this fighting group, who does raids to help out those who are captured against their will." That was a quick and smart response, and he felt Sabo had said this before, and everyone seemed to buy it and agreed with Thatch.

When Luffy and Trevor came back a bit later, Luffy showed off some techniques he had learned, and it was interesting to see as Luffy had gotten better. Trevor also showed Luffy some small techniques as well, and it was different than the ones they used, so many also joined in to learn new things. Trevor even had a quick spar with Rakuyo, a hand to hand combat, which Trevor won, and he felt Trevor was holding back as they spar as well. As they were done, Luffy asked how Ace was, and Trevor said fine, he might drop bu\y later today as he needed a small break from an annoying person, and Luffy looked forward to it. Then Luffy ran around with Trevor for a while, showing off, and Trevor managed to keep up, which showed he had been around Luffy a lot.

After dinner, they were in the galley playing some cards and such, many outside as well as the weather was good and they were in a calm area, when Trevor had a bottle and poured himself a drink, and Thatch looked over. "What is that?" Trevor hummed. "Vodka." Thatch blinked. "How strong? Can I taste?" Trevor hummed. "87%." Thatch blinked. "We can't have that here! It's too strong! As we can drink too much and we don't want anyone to die from poisoning!" Trevor blinked, and grabbed a small spoon, put it in the glass and got a bit on it, before the silver-haired man handed it to Thatch. "Taste it." Thatch blinked, but did, and started to cough. "Oh God! It is so tough to swallow! It feels like it is drying out everything! It burns!" Trevor nodded. "Yes. This is supposed to be enjoyed slowly as it is like this. And it is an acquired taste. You need to get accustomed to it. Takes a while. That's why this is below 90%. Don't worry, I will make sure no one grabs it. Okay?" Thatch blinked, on his way to speak, when Trevor spoke. "I was shot and almost died since someone just hates my kind. I need this." Thatch blinked, and nodded. "Okay. Keep it close." Trevor nodded. "Will do."

Trevor then moved to grab the glass, but just before him, another hand grabbed it and he turned to see it was Ace, and he was about to warn him this would burn, when he drank the whole glass in one chug. Ace then moved the glass down with some force and looked at Trevor. "Hit me." Trevor nodded and filled it up, and Ace drowned it quickly in one chug, before moving the glass down and looked at Trevor, who filled it, and as he drowned it just as fast, Trevor hummed. "Hard day?" Ace nodded and moved the glass down, and Trevor looked at him, which had Ace look tired. "There is not enough vodka in the world." Trevor nodded. "That hard. I am not going to sit here and fill this over and over." That was good, this was strong and not good to drink too much. This was so strong and Ace had already downed 3 glasses in less than 30 seconds.

Trevor then handed the bottle to Ace. "Take the whole bottle. You look like you need it." Thatch blinked, sure this was a joke. But Ace took the bottle and instantly started to drink it and he almost drank a quarter in one chug, and it looked to be almost half a gallon, and when he looked at the label, it said 1,5 liter, and that was a lot. Before he could speak, Ace looked at Trevor. "Where are my brothers?" Trevor hummed. "Somewhere else. They've eaten." Ace nodded. "Good." Ace then lifted the bottle and took one more long swig from it.

He could see people looking worried as they heard how strong this was and how fast Ace was drinking. Thatch moved a hand to grab the bottle. "Maybe you shouldn't drink mo-" Ace gave a look to Thatch. "You touch this bottle, Shanks will have a new one arm buddy." Thatch moved his hand away, and Trevor hummed. "He is serious. Do not touch that bottle. Losing an arm is the best punishment you can get. He killed one, although we did not like that guy." Ace looked at Trevor. "Wesley tried to take my vodka. I warned him. He did not listen. He should be glad I did it fast." Trevor chuckled. "I loved how you chugged the rest so fast, before you smashed the bottle over his head so it shattered, and then stabbed his neck and left him to bleed out." Ace hummed. "Since I drank it so fast, I accidentally hit his jugular vein. I wanted him to suffer, not be dead in 30 seconds."

Trevor looked at them. "If you did not understand this already. Bunny is in a bad mood." Ace rolled his eyes. "Understatement." Ace then drank the rest of the bottle in one swig. Then Ace handed the empty bottle to Trevor. "I'm going to find Luffy and Sabo, I need to hug them." Trevor hummed. "Enjoy." Then Ace left and Whitebeard felt worried, and he could see many others also were, when Trevor spoke. "Ace has a super high tolerance because of his fruit. It takes a lot to make him drunk, or even tipsy." Whitebeard nodded, that made him feel a bit less worried. After a bit, he headed out on deck, and he saw Ace being with his brothers and seeming like himself, not even tipsy. Which was what Trevor had said. But how had Ace been drunk that time? How much had he been drinking then? Should he be worried about this? Whitebeard decided he would try not to worry about it and if he ever had the chance to speak with Ace about it, he would.

The day went by fine, and they would dock tomorrow at an island. It was a nice island that was open to everyone and nice, as long as you acted nice. They also had good defenses, so no one gave them any hard times, and if they tried, they were quickly dealt with. And Whitebeard didn't want to cause issues, just restock on some things and look around. They also knew some people on the island, a good childhood friend of Curiel was on the island and he was looking forward to meeting him. When the next day came, they restocked and got everything they needed in order, and then they went to look around, and Trevor and Ace also joined. Sabo joined another group and Luffy was still asleep as it was early.

They soon went onto the island and tried to figure where to head and if they needed anything more. As they were talking about where to head to get the things they needed, before meeting up later. As they mentioned where the best places would be, Ace asked if he could join in one of the places they would head as he wanted to check the place out and their prices, where most would head, which was fine. He didn't mind Ace joining them. Trevor didn't seem like he was that interested in joining Ace with this, wanting to do some other stuff and check other places.

As they were talking and about to figure out where to meet afterwards and when, Ace frowned a small bit, before he looked at Trevor. "Could you handle this? I need to do something." Trevor nodded. "I can." Ace nodded, before he left, walking away. It had them blink, before Haruta looked at Trevor. "Where is he going? I thought he wanted to join." Trevor hummed. "He did, but he needed to check something." Izou frowned. "What thing?" Trevor hummed. "You saw those two fishwomen that walked past us? They were maybe 15 years old." They nodded, Namur speaking with a small frown. "Didn't they walk that way Ace did? Is Ace following them? Why?" Whitebeard didn't know why Ace would, but felt uncertain as it was about the two fishwomen, and he knew many looked down at fishmen and fishwomen, but Ace didn't seem to mind them. He had never acted off to it, so why now?

Trevor hummed. "They came out from that building-" Trevor pointed to a building a bit away, looking like an apartment building, before he continued. "There was a man outside of it, you can't get inside without a key or someone letting you in. They came out and the man spoke with the girls, and they tried to leave, but he followed a bit and they looked uncomfortable and said he was heading right, where the girls had headed towards, but they then said they were heading left to get something. The man nodded and they walked away from each other, before the man stopped after a bit, waited about 10 seconds, and started to follow them again. Ace wants to make sure he doesn't have bad intentions, which even I feel he has. He looked sketchy."

They blinked, before they nodded as they got it. And Whitebeard was glad Ace had noticed that and went to check. Namur also looked shocked, but glad that Ace went to check. Namur was most likely glad that Ace didn't discriminate since the girls were fishwomen. Ace didn't exclude people because of their appearance, which was good. Namur looked at Trevor. "It is good Ace is checking then. Ace seems like he doesn't think they are different." Trevor hummed. "Why would they be? They are just as important as everyone else. They are humans as well. We don't see race or species, we see people. We see by actions. And children are innocent. They need someone to be there to keep them safe. The worst is how many would let this pass since they happen to be fishwomen. I don't get discrimination of appearances or past history, as in what their ancestors or parents did, or siblings for that manner, makes no sense to me, same with Ace. We see your actions, what you have done." That made him smile, glad about that, and the others were too.

They then went on, and half an hour later, Ace met up with them, and Namur, who was in their group, looked at him. "Are the two girls okay?" Ace hummed. "They are now." Whitebeard felt that meant the man had had bad intentions and Ace stopped him. They then moved around and checked some things, everyone being in good moods, before they headed back to the dock.

When they got there, Curiel moved to hug a man, his friend, Ricky, who had a young boy with him, who Whitebeard hadn't seen before, and Ricky introduced him as Jayden, his son, and he seemed to like Curiel. Ricky then said he would be back quickly, he just needed to say something to Curiel, and Jayden said fine, he would wait, and this was a nice island. They then spoke amongst themselves for a bit, thinking of heading to look at other places a bit later, when Ricky and Curiel came back and Ricky looked around. "Where is Jayden?" They all blinked and looked around, and they didn't see Jayden anywhere, which was worrisome. They hadn't seen him waned off.

Curiel seemed shocked himself he was gone, and looked at Ricky. "Does he usually wander off?" Ricky shook his head. "No! He is always listens to me! We had an incident a bit ago, which is resolved, but he is still shaken!" Curiel seemed worried as well, and on his way to speak when Trevor hummed, looking relaxed. "Oh, you mean the nice kid? Blond hair, kind of short for his age, around 12?" Curiel nodded. "Yes. Where is he?" Trevor hummed. "Ace took him to see some house on East street." Ricky looked shocked. "What?! He can't be there!" Trevor blinked. "Why not?" Ricky looked mad. "He was kidnapped from that house! It is our old house! He is terrified to be there!" Curiel looked at Trevor. "Why did Ace take him there? Jayden hates that place now!" Trevor hummed. "He probably has his reasons." Ricky and Curiel looked unsure.

Trevor hummed again. "Why don't we go to the house and see how he is? Ace wouldn't do anything without a reason." That was true he felt, so they all headed to the house, following Ricky. When they got there, it was a large house, and Ricky explained a friend of Ricky was a half giant as well. They walked into the house to see Jayden sitting on the floor with Ace, both seeming to be in good moods. Curiel went over to Jayden. "Jay! What are you doing here? You don't need to come here, if you don't want to be here."

Jay stood up and went to them. "No, it is fine. I'm ready to go home now." Curiel blinked. "But you are home. This is your home. No… your old home." Jayden shook his head. "No, it is not. Ace taught me that." Curiel blinked. "Ace taught you what? This is your home, Jay." Whitebeard felt confused as well. Jayden hummed. "No, this is a place where I used to live. But this isn't home." Jayden moved a hand to his left chest. "Home is where your heart is. And the good thing with that, is that it can change places. Where doesn't matter, who does." Jayden then looked at Ricky. "This isn't home. You're my home, dad. As long as we are together, I am home. And when the day comes and I find someone to be with, I get more than one home. Home will be with my family then, but you will always be my home as well. Thomas might have made this place bad, but this is just a place. My heart isn't here, it is with you."

Ricky looked emotionful as his eyes were glassy, before he moved and hugged his son. Jayden hugged back. "So, I am ready to head home now, dad." Ricky nodded. "Yes, we will." They then let go, and Ricky looked at Ace. "Thank you." Ace shook his head. "It is nothing. Glad to help." Ace then looked at Jayden. "Remember what I said?" Jayden nodded. "Yes. No one can take home away from me. And I shouldn't value things, I should value those around me. The best way to prove him wrong, isn't to hurt him, but to thrive." Ace nodded. "Yes. You're going to do great, Jayden." Jayden smiled, before he left with his dad, saying they would get their stuff back into the house as they had half moved out.

As they were gone, Cruel looked at Ace. "How did you do that? How did you know?" Ace hummed. "I saw him and he looked upset, so I asked if he was okay, he said he was worried about heading home as he was kidnapped from here and he felt bad for them to give up their home since a bad guy took it away and ruined it for him. And I said home isn't a place, and if he would let me, I would show him. And he wanted to." Curiel blinked. "Thank you. Ricky was very worried about this, and that that guy ruined Jayden's life forever." Ace nodded. "Yes. Jayden was worried about that as well, that that guy had won. So, I showed him he hadn't won, because home is something you can never take away from someone. You can take it away for a limited time, but never forever. Because you can always find other people to call home."

Curiel blinked. "You're… right." Ace chuckled. "I know I am. I wanted to show him that. So we headed here, looked around, and spoke a bit. It helped him." Curiel nodded. "Thank you." Ace shook his head. "It is nothing. He seems like a good kid." Curiel nodded. "He really is." Ace smiled. "So, it is soon lunch, so I think I will head back to the boat." They all nodded and went with him, Curiel went to find Jayden and Ricky, and Ace said where they were as Jayden said they lived at a rented place right now, so Curiel headed there.

As they got to the boat, Luffy was up and happy to Ace, and they headed to lunch, before Ace headed off the boat with his brothers and Trevor, going to check some places. And they returned some hours later with plushies and some food Luffy wanted to try, and Thatch was willing to make it, which had Luffy so excited.

When dinner was, Thatch had used what they had bought to make what Luffy wanted and Luffy seemed to love it, which was good. A few did taste it as well as it was a bit, and everyone seemed to enjoy it, which he wouldn't have doubted. Thatch was a skilled chef after all.

The next day, Ace had to leave, and said he would get Trevor in 11 days, maybe a few days before if he was needed, which Trevor said was fine, he was ready to have fun with Luffy and Sabo. And the time went by fast, nothing special happening. Trevor did help them a lot with some stances and techniques, which they really appreciated. He also said if they wanted someone better than him, to ask Ace, as he was very good at teaching things and he knew a lot, which made sense. It was 9 days later that Dust appeared to get Trevor, who did say he felt a lot better, which was good. Then Trevor left with Dust after hugging Luffy and Sabo, saying he would return when he had the chance, which had Luffy and Sabo happy. It was clear they liked each other and Trevor seemed like a good man.

Then the time went on, and they got into one battle with an enemy crew, which went fine, they had minimal injuries, the worst being a gunshot wound in an arm, which would heal well. And it was the next day that Namur came up to him. "Pops. I know it is not in the schedule, but we're close to an island I would like to dock at if possible." Whitebeard nodded. "I see. Why do you want to dock?" Namur took a breath. "There is this fishman nomad there. I have wanted to see them for the last 5 years in person. They sing stories with images from a Devil Fruit. Varies from fairytales to real life things. How we have been oppressed, and many still are. I love their songs and I've heard every one they have made so far, but I've never seen them in person." Whitebeard nodded. "Then we will change course." Namur nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Pops." Whitebeard shook his head. "No. I want to see all my children happy." Namur smiled. "Thank you." Whitebeard shook his head. "It is nothing. Tell the navigators to change course." Namur nodded and did.

They then changed course, and it would take 2 days to get there, and they decided to be on the island for 2 days, to relax. Just as they were about to dock, Namur looked at everyone. "It is not that I don't think any of you will do this. But please don't make the nomad feel uncomfortable. They have been chased away from many islands. People have thrown stuff at them. Called them names. I just want to see them and help them feel safe so they can spread the tale they want to tell." Everyone nodded, Izou speaking. "If we see anyone trying to act out against them, we will stop them." Everyone nodded as they agreed, which was good, and the captain agreed.

They then headed on the island, and the noman would have the song in a bit, so they headed there. And when they got there, he saw there sat 5 people behind the ring of fire and seemed to get ready to play and there was already a crowd here, murmuring amongst themselves. Then after about 10 minutes, the guy with the hand drums started to play, before more instruments. Then a man started to sing, and as he did, above them, it was like the smoke from the fire made out images with color. It was amazing. Everyone seemed amazed. Namur gave a small gasp. "This is a new one." That was perfect. The first time Namur saw them, was with a new song, a new story.

The story then went on with the song, and it seemed to be about a captain who was dragging his boat across land. The captain was also a fishman. It was a flying boat of sorts with a propeller of sorts. The anchor was down and he felt that just made it worse, but that might be to not make it fly off with him holding the rope. Why he didn't fly the boat, he didn't know. There were at times ghosts dancing around the captain, who walked on.

As the story and song went on, he saw Ann walking past them, heading straight for the nomad with confident steps. Whitebeard could see Namur wanting to stop her, but was also scared. As this was Ace in disguise, and Namur knew this. Maybe Ace would send them away? Tell them to stop and leave? Ace didn't seem to mind fishmen up until now, but why else would he walk up to them? But as Ann was closing in on the circle of flames, it went away just as she was near it, giving her a path to go inside, before it lit again as Ann sat down in the circle. It had Namur blink, same with the captain. Ann knew them?

But as the next part started up, Ann started to sing with them, which had Namur look shocked, and he was as well. This was a new song, so how did Ann know the words? She even added a word, granted it was a repeat, but still, it fit perfectly. He then looked up the images, and the captain had reached a cliff, which seemed to be his destination. Maybe he would set off from there? The captain in the images then pushed the anchor down the cliff, before the captain seemed like he was content as he looked up and closed his eyes. But then the images showed the rope to the anchor wasn't connected to the boat, but around the captain's leg. Then the rope went tight and the images changed to see the boat fly off into the sky from the cliff, which was now empty, the captain gone as he was dragged down to his death.

The song then went on a bit, Ann singing with them. When the song ended, the nomad all closed their eyes, even Ann as the music died down. As the music ended, he blinked, and when he opened his eyes, they were gone, and he looked at Namur, who looked shocked himself. "That was… wow. I didn't know they could do that!" It was amazing. They then headed away as this was over, before they headed back to the boat, and when they got there, he saw Ann on the boat, enjoying a smoke with some fishmen, the same ones who had sung. When they got onto the boat, Ann spoke, smiling as she motioned to Namur. "This is Namur, he is a fan." The singers smiled and all said hi, and Namur was in awe, before he started to speak with them. And it seemed Namur really enjoyed it, which was nice. How Ace knew Namur was a fan, Whitebeard didn't know, but he was glad Ace , or Ann right now, showed the fishmen here so Namur could meet them.

-x-

Marco was out in a bar, the majority of his siblings also being out as they were enjoying the night, and many were getting pretty drunk. Luffy and Sabo were away with Ace for a small bit, a small vacation for some days, which Sabo and Luffy had looked forward to. They would come back in 4-7 days. As everyone was enjoying themselves, even Marco as he had a nice drink and was in a conversation with Jozu, he noticed a woman a bit away who looked upset. Usually Marco wasn't one to meddle with others' business, but something inside him made him stand up and head over. "Sorry to disturb you, but are you okay, yoi?" The woman looked at him, green eyes looking unsure and upset, brimming with unshed tears, before she gave a breath. "It is just… I need to get East, but no one can take me… It's my… father, he is sick…" Marco nodded, feeling bad for her. "Where in the East do you need to go? I wonder since we are heading East, and we can give you a ride if you want, yoi." The woman looked at him with big eyes. "You would?" Marco nodded. "I need to ask my captain, but I am sure that will be fine."

The woman nodded and looked thankful. "I would appreciate that so much if you could! And I am heading towards Ulleungdo." Marco nodded. "We can make that work, yoi. If you could come by our boat The Moby Dick, tomorrow at noon? I will have spoken with Pops by then." The woman smiled. "I would really appreciate it. You're so nice." Marco smiled. "I try. Hope to see you tomorrow, yoi." Marco felt certain Pops would say it was fine, but he still needed to ask. Marco then gave another goodbye to the woman, before he decided he had enough for the night and went to the Moby, finding Pops out in his chair, actually not being too drunk, which was a pleasant surprise.

Marco then explained what the woman had said, and when he was done, Pops nodded. "We can take her with us. What is her name?" Marco thought for a second. "I forgot to ask, yoi. But she seemed nice. She looks to be in her 20s, has green eyes, dark pink hair, and a scar going over the bridge of her nose, with some freckles." Pops nodded. "You will recognize her. I think we can help her. Is she coming by tomorrow?" Marco nodded. "Yes. She will be here around noon, yoi." Pops nodded. "Good. I will have a small chat with her then, just to make sure." Marco nodded, he got that and agreed with it.

-x-

Whitebeard sat out in his chair the next day, the clock closing in on noon, when the woman Marco most likely had spoken to yesterday, came to the plank and spoke a bit with Jozu, most likely asking to come on board before Jozu showed her to him. When she was close, Whitebeard spoke. "My son told me you needed a ride?" The woman nodded. "I do. I would be so thankful if you could give me one. I will pay for my food and everything, of course." Whitebeard nodded. "I believe we can help you. We do need to make one stop along the way to Ulleungdo, but you're free to join us if you want to." The woman nodded and looked thankful. "I would so appreciate that. Thank you!" Whitebeard shook his head and smiled. "It is nothing. May I ask for your name?" The woman nodded. "My name is Xiola." Whitebeard smiled. "That's a nice name. One of my commanders, Izou, can show you to a room that you can stay in." Izou stepped forward and Xiola nodded, giving another thanks, before she was shown to her room.

After a bit, Izou came back and said Xiola was looking a bit around her room, and would get some things. It made the captain nod. "Did she seem nice?" Izou nodded. "She did, but she did ask some questions on how it was here. She did maybe seem a bit shocked when I said it was nice, but then she said that was good, and she was glad we could help her." Whitebeard nodded. "We have a mixed reputation. The newspaper isn't in our favor, same with many other people. She probably has heard bad things from some. We can show her we are nice." Izou nodded and smiled. "Yes. She seems like a nice woman."

The next few days went by fine, and the woman did seem nice, but at times it was like she appeared out of nowhere, she seemed very stealthy. And many had said she was asking a lot of questions about how it was on the boat and about the captain. It was a bit odd, but there was no harm in it. She was probably curious and many did say they were evil and horrible, which was the view from the marines and other crews, and those who believe the lies from the marines. They were pirates, that was true, but they weren't the bad ones, at least Whitebeard felt that. She seemed nice, and it was a few days until Luffy and Sabo returned, and he hoped they would get along as well.

-x-

Xiola looked in the mirror, doing her best to fix her wig a bit as it was a tiny bit off, and she needed this to work, adding some pins to it to make to sit perfectly, before she looked at herself and hummed. "I will get you, and I will figure out what you are doing." Then she grinned as she was having fun so far, playing along with this. She would manage to do this.

And that's the chapter!

I know it has a cliff hanger, but the next will soon be here!

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