Remake: Warm Memories and Brotherly Bonds

by RoseDragonWitch

Remake of original story: Not all treasure is gold and jewels. In the middle of some strange ruins, the Straw Hats accidently end up watching their captain's memories of him and Ace. They all knew that there was a strong bond between these brothers; only now do they see how deep this bond was and how much pain had been caused.

9. Brotherly Bonds

Chapter 8: Brotherly Bonds

"Wow… there's nothing here at all!" Luffy commented in a disappointed voice.

Luffy yawned and stretched out from his nap while observing how he was surrounded on all sides by nothing but dark space. He slowly sat up and scratched his head in confusion, trying to figure out where he was this time and how he got here. He frowned, tilting his head to one side as he struggled to remember what happened.

He was sure that he had some kind of a dream…? He dreamt that he'd been stuck to the ground, unable to move, that was when he dreamt that something wrapped was dragging him away…? And that's all he remembered before he fell asleep… at least, he thought he had been…? He didn't know anymore because his brain felt all foggy from waking up.

"Jeez," he said loudly, realizing that he was alone, "Where're the others? Hope they didn't find that treasure without me. What is this place?"

After he jumped to his feet, he ran off in one random direction—hoping that he could find the way out of this place and back to his crew. He was sure that they were going to be angry at him for getting lost and he rather avoid getting beat up by Nami if he could help it.

Luffy walked on for a few more minutes, continuing to talk to himself in an optimistic tone. Of course he didn't have any of the answers as he continued moving, tossing the 'Mystery Rock' up and down in his hand like a ball. The stone was glowing a little in this suffocating darkness, and helped him to see a little bit further—not that it mattered since there was nothing but dark.

The dark didn't bother Luffy at all but there was something about this place that didn't feel right. It made him feel uneasy and an odd shiver went up his spine whenever he tried to focus on it too much.

"Man, this cave is so dark," he said, obviously thinking that this place couldn't be anything else even though it wasn't like any cave he'd ever seen. "I wonder how far it goes? Oooh, maybe that means that the treasure is down here!" He shielded his eyes with his hand, though there was no need to and continued to look eagerly, as if expecting to see gold or jewels just lying there.

As he peered around, he realized that there was something kind of stone structure right in front of him. "That's gotta be where the treasure is!" he said excitedly, "Or better yet… some FOOD!" and he took off running towards it with a laugh.

But as he neared the strange shape, he slowed to a walk and stopped laughing when he realized that it was some kind of a stone pillar. He held up the Mystery Rock to shed a bit more light and realized that it wasn't just one, but two, tall stone pillars standing a few yards apart. Both pillars were old and worn, covered with black roots as they stretched so high above him that he couldn't see the top. Curious, Luffy poked one of the roots with his free hand, only to have to pull his finger back when the roots moved, almost snake-like, as they tried to wrap around his finger.

"Man, was a weird place," he said to himself, walking around to examine the rest of the pillar—only to walk into something hard—his head colliding with something solid.

"OWWW!" he yelled in frustration, rubbing his head as he looked around. "Damn! What's going on here?! I'm rubber, so why'd that hurt?!"

Frowning, he stretched out his hand and felt something there—like a brick wall stretching between the two pillars.

Now frustrated, Luffy continued to throw the 'Mystery Rock' up and down, his head now hurting from all the thinking. There wasn't anything in front of him but dark, so why was there something here? Could it be invisible?

"If it is," Luffy said, his eyes shining, "That'd be so cool! The treasure must be behind this Mystery Wall!"

As he eagerly looked for the way in, the Mystery Rock continued to glow brighter and brighter, until not even Luffy could ignore it.

"What's it doing now?" he asked himself before the light suddenly shone so brightly that Luffy had to cover his eyes with his arm to protect his eyes.

"What's going on here?!" he yelled off in the distance, now feeling annoyed. He opened his eyes at once, seeing spots for a second before he noticed that the 'Mystery Rock' had disappeared.

"What?!" he cried out, looking around his feet, thinking he dropped it. "Where'd it go? Hello? Mystery Rock? Where'd you go?!"

So busy looking for the stone, he didn't notice what was happening in front of him at first. But when he finally looked up, he saw that where nothing had been before, there was now suddenly the blurred outline of a wall between the pillars. Almost as if it was made of thick smoke, as least in the way that it shifted and moved around…?

Curious, Luffy walked to it so that he was only inches away and poked at the wall like he had done with the root. But instead of hitting anything, this time, his finger disappeared right into it.

Glancing around at his surroundings one last time, he grinned happily to himself, glad to find something to get him out of this place, he confidently went walking through the smoky wall, disappearing beyond it.

*Present time with the Straw Hats*

"Just when I think that these memories can't get any sweeter," Robin giggled, smiling as that last scene of the boys playing pirate.

"As interesting as they are," Zoro said, his tone now annoyed, "Why are we watching all this? Couldn't we at least get something more interesting?"

"Listen to you," Robin smiled at him, "Are you that eager to see something dangerous?"

"Just saying," Zoro said grumpily.

"Yohohoho, Zoro-san is impatient," Brook answered happily.

"You got that right," Nami sighed, and they returned to the darkness again, "Just sit back and enjoy some wholesomeness for once. We could certainly use it."

"He's just an idiot, Nami-swan, I wouldn't pay him much attention," Sanji said, puffing away on his cigarette.

"What you say you pathetic excuse for a cook?" Zoro snarled, his hand itching to go to one of his swords.

Sanji bit down on his cigarette before he glared back, "That does it! When we get out of this place, remind me to settle this thing between us once and for all!"

"Sounds good to me," Zoro threatened back as they rammed their heads against the other, trying to push the other back, "I've been wanting to shut you up since the day we met!"

"Come on guys!" Chopper begged, growing up to his Heavy Point and ready to break the two apart if he had to, "Let's not fight!"

"Chopper," Robin said gently, "I don't think they actually mean it."

"Oh, yes we do!" they both yelled, now glaring daggers at each other, just daring the other to make one wrong move so that they have an excuse to attack. Just as Chopper was thinking he'd have to do something drastic to get them apart, the next memory showed up and they were back in the familiar scene of the forest… except now everything was covered with a thick layer of snow.

"Winter?" Nami asked in surprise, staring at the lightly falling snow. "But it was summer just a second ago…?"

"I'm guessing it's been awhile since that last memory," Robin commented reasonably as she held up her hand to watch as a snowflake passed right through it. It was strangely beautiful to watch and she found herself unable to look away as the others reached out, also fascinated by how it wasn't even cold here.

"Where are they this time?" Chopper asked; though his answer came almost right away when they heard Ace's voice shouting out through the bare trees, behind them, "Sabo! He went that way! Don't let him escape!"

"I'm on it!" Sabo's voice yelled back. "We won't let you escape!"

As the Straw Hats turned around, they spotted the two boys running through the trees, chasing something that looked like a panda bear… only it's fur patterns are opposite from a panda's usual look—with dark patches that were usually white and the white patches were colored in dark.

"What is that? A panda?" Usopp asked confused as it went running by them, the boys still chasing after it.

"Rather a danpa…" Robin corrected, having seen a couple of them before. "That or a sunburned panda. Either way, it looks like they're hunting…?"

"I bet that thing would taste pretty good roasted over a slow fire…?" Sanji muttered as his mind started to think of the different recipes he could do with such a nice kill.

"Yes!" Ace yelled, both boys now sprinting after it. "We've got him surrounded!"

Sabo laughed, the wind almost blowing his hat off when he shouted up to a cliff in front of them, "Luffy! He's almost there!"

They chased the danpa all the way to said cliff, where Luffy was standing at the top, looking ready. "Here he comes… and here I go!" Luffy cried excitedly before he jumped. But of course, he stumbled a little and ended up rolling down a ways as a giant snow ball before he hit a rock and broke free. They laughed at that while watching him then twist into a freefall the rest of the way as he headed to the danpa while raising the pipe staff.

"Looks like he catches dinner," Sanji guessed, giving Luffy a low score for messing up in the beginning but giving him points for righting himself out in the end. Either way, Luffy ended up crashing right into the beast, knocking them both down. The difference was, when he leapt back up, gasping for breath, ready to fight… the danpa slowly fell and hit the ground with a resolving thud.

For a moment, Luffy seemed too stunned to speak. And then…?

"I DID IT!" he called proudly. "I GOT HIM!"

"Good for him," Franky said, his robotic hand on his stomach, suddenly noticing how hungry he was. "Man, wish these memories could hurry up and end so that we can get out of here and get dinner… I could eat a Sea King!"

Upon seeing how happy Luffy was, Sabo laughed and congratulated him by saying, "Nice going Luffy!"

"That's our second catch of the day!" Ace called as Luffy kept leaping around happily, "We're gonna eat good tonight."

"It's my first ever catch! Ever!" Luffy continued dancing around, beaming with pride.

"Oh, his first catch?" Sanji repeated, exhaling his smoke with a small smile. "Then it'll be even more delicious…?"

Yet the fun time sure didn't last long. Sabo looked up to the cliff again before his grin faded and he went dead white. Before they could wonder what was wrong, he yelled at Luffy in a panic, "Luffy! Above you!"

Chopper screamed as the rest of them all looked up to see exactly what the problem was. Standing where Luffy had been standing seconds before, was an enormous tiger—a tiger of giant proportions… and was looking hungry as it licked it's chops.

"IT'S THAT TIGER!" Chopper screamed out, remembering it from a previous memory when Ace was still mean to Luffy.

"I guess they weren't the only ones thinking of dinner," Zoro said coolly.

"Why joke around about this?!" Usopp cried out, pointing up to the jungle cat wildly. "That thing's big enough to eat all three of them in one bite!"

"I don't think so. They wouldn't make more than a snack for that thing," Robin added just as calm, "It probably wants the danpa."

"Robin…" Usopp croaked out, "Aren't you a little bit worried?"

"He must have followed the scent of our prey," Ace said, gulping as he slowly backed away, actually looking scared.

"Luffy! Get out of there!" Sabo yelled in panic. "All he wants is the danpa!"

But Luffy seemed too scared to move as the tiger leapt down—landing in front of him. It landed gracefully but still with enough force to make the earth shake as it licked its lips—with Luffy still unable to move. But upon hearing that it was after the danpa, he seemed to get his courage back as he held up the pipe and waved it around, trying to deter the giant cat.

"He's too strong for you!" Sabo yelled, now looking scared. "Just run away!"

"Yes, Luffy-san, you might want to run!" Brook yelled out anxiously.

"NO WAY!" Luffy yelled, though it was hard to tell if he was yelling at his brothers or the tiger. "Get lost!"

"You really think it'll listen to you?!" Nami cried out exasperated. "It's a TIGER! Just be happy it only wants the stupid bear!"

But obviously Luffy couldn't hear her, thus didn't see the sense in all this as he refused to move. He might've as well have been a tiny insect to the tiger though as it raised its paw and knocked him away like how a tiny cat would do to a toy.

"Owww! That had to hurt," Franky winced as he watched Luffy go flying and land hard in the snow.

"DAMN YOU!" Luffy yelled as he got back to his feet and went charging back, determined to fight.

"That moron!" Ace yelled as Sabo yelled out Luffy's name—who was lost to all reason.

"I agree with you there," Zoro said as he watched Luffy threw out a punch, only for his rubber arm to miss the tiger completely and ended with the tiger stepping on it. Like a rubber band, Luffy was projectile towards it, until he landed on top of the tiger's head where he clung on tightly before the giant cat threw him off so that he landed in the snow for a second time. Of course, like he always was… he wasn't going to give up easily. He looked ready to lunch another attack until his brothers came charging out of nowhere and grabbed him.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Sabo told him as he and Ace were forced to carry Luffy away—who was fighting tooth and nail to get back to the tiger.

"We can get out of here while he's distracted!" Ace added urgently as they bolted away and the tiger began to tear into Luffy's catch.

"Yeah, I agree," Nami said, running after them. "I know that Luffy's protective of his food, but he doesn't stand a chance against that thing yet."

Luffy struggled and yelled to the tiger, "I'll be back for you later!"

"Of course he will," Robin laughed as the vision shifted again and they ended up stopping, no longer having a reason to keep running.

"So stubborn…" Sanji said shaking his head, "Should've guessed he was like that even as a kid."

"But really, he didn't stand a chance," Nami sighed, "That thing was huge! And Luffy couldn't even throw a punch without him missing."

"I'm more surprised that he missed hitting it with how big it was," Franky couldn't help but sigh, "He really needs to improve his aim. It doesn't matter how strong he is if he can't even hit the damn thing."

"You gotta admire that perseverance though!" Brook offered, determined to find something good here. He began strumming his guitar, its musical notes echoing around them, making the darkness feel a little less empty as he hummed a cheerful tune. Soon though, the darkness was replaced to show they were still in the shadowy jungle with a moon shining down on them. They were all a little surprised to see that they were standing at the end of the same bridge that Ace had once knocked Luffy off the first time he tried to chase after him. Ace and Sabo were walking ahead, carrying a second danpa while Luffy slowly walked behind them looking upset.

"It's a shame you lost your first ever catch like that," Sabo said sympathetically when he noticed that Luffy was looking back, obviously where the tiger was.

"That would be upsetting," Zoro agreed, "But it just means that he has to get stronger."

"Give it a rest," Ace sighed, sounding as indifferent as ever. "There's not much we can do when we're up against the Tiger Lord."

"Tiger Lord?" Chopper asked confused.

"I guess that's the title they gave the tiger," Robin said approvingly, "A fitting name for such a large creature."

"But I caught that one!" Luffy complained loudly, as if that would make a difference. "Why'd he have to take it?"

"Because he's a tiger, and he can," Usopp said with a gulp. "It's big enough to do whatever it wants."

"What is he doing now?" Nami asked as they watched Luffy jumping up and down on the bridge, causing it to start swaying dangerously.

"YOW! That's not good," Franky said, not liking the way the bridge was swinging. "That bridge looks old… it might not be able to hold up…?"

"S-Stupid, don't shake the bridge!" Ace yelled, interrupting Franky, as he tried to keep his balance. But it was too late, for Luffy jumped down too hard and accidently ended up breaking right through the rotten board and towards the frozen river below. Completely forgetting about their meal, Ace and Sabo dropped the danpa in their mad dash to the edge of the bridge while grabbing for Luffy. Sabo remained on the bridge, holding onto Ace's legs, who went jumping through the hole and succeeded in grabbing Luffy's hand after he stretched it out a good ten feet—leaving him swinging below.

"Quite a change from before…" Zoro commented with a smirk as some of the other Straw Hats sighed in relief just as Ace called for Sabo to hurry and pull them up. With a great effort, Sabo was able to heave them back up to safety as the dead danpa had fallen on the other side and was already being washed down the river.

"Ahhh… that idiot!" Sanji cried out, furious that anyone could waste food like that, "He could've at least waited until after they got to the other side to stamp the ground."

Though the two older brothers were shaking slightly from the near tragedy… for some reason… Luffy was smiling again, and was in a good mood even as they trudged back to their hideout.

"We're finally back," Sabo sighed, sounding exhausted, and just ended up falling onto a pile of blankets. "We've had really bad luck today. Let's just go to bed."

"We're back but we're unlucky?" Luffy asked confused, clearly not understanding what the problem was for a second until he realized that they were going to bed with no dinner and groaned with his hands over his belly, "Ah! I'm hungry!"

"His reaction time is as slow as ever," Nami said shaking her head.

"And whose fault is that?!" Ace demanded as he hit him over the head before they did what Sabo suggested and were all in the nest of blankets. Luffy followed suit, but he was still giggling happily to himself, despite his empty belly, when he pulled the blanket over his head.

"At least he's in a good mood?" Brook offered happily, though he was wondering why Luffy would be so full of giggles right now. This was something that Ace and Sabo were curious about as well for they were poking information at him before Luffy crawled out from under the blanket.

"I've decided," Luffy said, in a familiar tone that they all knew too well. It meant he made up his mind and nothing was going to change it as he declared, "Ace! Sabo! You should join my crew after all!"

"Again, that takes me back," Sanji said, a stray laugh bursting out as he remembered how determined Luffy was in having him come along with them.

"Good thing he has the rest of us to reel him in when appropriate," Zoro added as he thought of that time that he wanted to get a zombie tree and unicorn to join the crew when they were at Thriller Bark. A walking, talking musician skeleton was strange enough. Zoro then looked over his crew and shook his head when realizing just how strange their crew was…?

"Right?" Luffy asked his brothers, "You'll join won't you?"

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Sabo asked him lightly.

"I thought we'd agreed to decide that when we're older," Ace added, rolling over to his side as to not look at them, "Just go to sleep."

"Still," Luffy added, not willing to let the subject go yet, "I think it'd be a lot more fun if we were together! You'll need my help, right?"

The Straw Hats all laughed at that just as both boys turned over onto their stomachs to talk. It couldn't have been clearer that neither boy was interested in this proposal as they reminded Luffy that he was the weakest of the three and they understood if he needed their help…? Which caused Luffy to frown back as he said determinedly, "You're wrong! Someday I'll be saving you!"

At that, the Straw Hats felt themselves go as cold as the snow outside as they looked to each other. Though they didn't say anything, they were all thinking of the same thing with how far Luffy must have gone to try and save Ace when he invaded Impel Down and Marineford. Though Luffy never told them the full details, they knew that it had to have been far from easy.

"If you two decided to join my crew, I'd let you join anytime," Ace offered as he leaned his head against his hand as he looked to them. But from the look on his face, he already knew the answer, therefore didn't seem surprised as both Luffy and Sabo answered at the same time…?

"No! Join my crew!"

"Then this conversation is over," Ace answered, ending the discussion right there as he rolled back over.

"You won't join me no matter what?" Luffy asked, now sounding disappointed.

"I won't," Ace confirmed while pulling his blanket up to go to sleep. Luffy then looked to Sabo and asked him the same thing.

"I don't want to be anyone's underling, alright?" he said simply before he also laid down.

"Underling…?" Sanji smirked, unable to stop himself. "Everyone on this crew bosses Luffy around."

"Yeah, Luffy sees us all as equals in his eyes. It's like we're all one big family to him," Usopp laughed, folding his hands behind his head with a grin, glad to have something drive the thoughts of Luffy at Marineford from his mind for a moment.

"What the hell?" Luffy said with a pout on his face. "It would've been fun…" He seemed down as he tried to think of a way to convince them before an idea seemed to come to him as his eyes brightened up. He then suggested, "Oh! I know! How about the one who defeats the huge tiger gets to be captain?"

At the offer, both looked at him in surprise, but were definitely interested now as Ace repeated, "The Tiger Lord? You serious?"

"The chances of you becoming captain are pretty much zero," Sabo pointed out.

"That's not true!" Luffy countered before reasoning, "None of us can beat that thing now right?"

"He gets to the point when he wants to," Sanji said as he thought that over.

"Not often, but yes," Usopp agreed.

"He's so simple minded, he just sees the obvious that the rest of us seem to notice," Nami sighed, "But risking your lives fighting against a giant tiger? I really don't think that's a good idea."

Well, she seemed to be the only one who thought that, for both of Luffy's brothers were looking excited as they agreed, throwing out their punches and declared, "It's a deal!"

"But Luffy and Ace both became separate captains," Chopper remembered as the memory faded from sight once more.

"I guess they either didn't beat the tiger, or something changed," Robin said reasonably, "Though, I really do think that it was for the best that they be separate captains on their own crews. I can't imagine that they could go that far if they were on the same ship."

"You think that would be a bad idea?" Chopper asked her in surprise, "But they're so close…?"

"That probably would've made it worse. I mean, I think that it would be fine if they were just going out together on adventures as brothers here and there… maybe even have each other's crews as allies or part of an alliance… but all three are strong-willed and don't like to follow plans," Robin reminded him kindly, "I can't imagine any of them following orders from each other for long."

"No… no… I see your point," Nami admitted as she thought about what it would be like to have all three brothers on board their ship and felt a headache growing. "But still…? Going out and fighting a tiger that size? There's no way that it could end well."

"Maybe they couldn't defeat it and that's why they decided not to join the same crew?" Brook offered.

"We're sure to find out," Zoro said as the memory returned. This time they were standing at the edge of the forest, all three of them had large fish strapped to their backs, and seemed to be waiting for something.

"What are they doing with those fish?" Chopper asked before his eyes widened in realization. "Wait?! They're gonna try and fight it now?"

"I'm sure they're eager to try," Franky said as Ace asked if they were ready.

"We worked hard fishing this fish," Luffy grumbled, looking at the fish with a hungry look in his eyes. "I wanted to eat them."

"We've got no choice," Sabo pointed out, "This is gonna draw him out."

"Draw him out? The Tiger Lord?" Usopp asked.

"No, they're trying to get giraffes out of the forest," Zoro said sarcastically, rolling his eye, "Yes, they're after the tiger. What else would it be for?"

"You don't have to be cruel," Usopp grumbled with a frown. Just at that moment, there was a deep growl of something big through the trees.

"HE'S HERE!" Chopper screamed out as all three boys had their pipe staffs ready. Luffy, in particular, was looking angry as the thundering steps of the tiger could be clearly heard. It seemed the memory of the tiger stealing his first catch was still on his mind as the beast came out of the mist.

But what came through the trees wasn't a large cat like they thought…? They all blanched at the sight, realizing that it wasn't the tiger, but instead an enormous bear—nearly as large—with a jagged scar over its eye.

"That's not the Tiger Lord," Sabo said obviously disappointed. "That's just some bear."

"Just some bear? That thing is just as big as the tiger!" Usopp yelled in worry.

"Yes, in fact, I believe that it's same bear that fought the tiger from before?" Robin asked, remembering back when Ace was still trying to lose Luffy in the forest and the little boy was stuck between the two behemoths before he was forced to run.

"Looks like it," Franky said, examining the bear, "I recognize that scar from before!"

"How boring," Luffy said, holding his hand up and now actually trying to shoo it away.

"No," Ace said at once, his face deadly serious, and he held up his pipe—looking ready for a fight. "This guy is as strong as the Tiger Lord. If we can't beat him, we don't stand a chance against the tiger."

"Not a bad idea," Sanji said, thinking it over, "Get the second best before you go for the king…?"

"I get it," Sabo said, grinning at the idea. "So he's gonna be practice."

"Great! I'll go first!" Ace yelled, charging forward without warning.

"Saw that coming," Zoro smirked.

"Geez, who knew how hot-headed Ace was," Nami sighed, her hand through her orange hair. "He was as bad as Luffy."

"That's cheap!" Sabo cried after Ace.

"Not fair!" Luffy screamed, running right behind them. Ace ignored them as he jumped and stuck the bear a few times in the head; but he may have as well used a feather as a weapon for all the good it did as Ace was forced to back away from its swinging paws.

The bear growled and Chopper shivered as he heard it speak and whimpered, "I think they made him really mad!"

"Why? What's he saying?" Nami asked him nervously, "You can understand him right?"

"He's telling them to get lost before he kills them!" Chopper cried out.

"EHHHHH?!" Usopp yelled, freaking out, "Well, then of course he's mad!"

"I don't think that we need to be able to speak bear to get what he was saying though," Zoro offered as all three boys quickly realized that they were no match. With no other choice, they were forced to make a run for it when they realized their attacks weren't doing anything. But it seemed that the blows that Ace dealt had made him mad enough for it to chase them, hot on their heels.

"They clearly didn't think this part through very well!" Nami snapped as the bear's roars echoed in her ears.

"Yeah, they might want to run faster before the bear runs them down," Sanji offered as they ran alongside them.

"Normal bears are faster than normal humans, but one this big is bound to be even faster," Robin added.

"You two aren't helping!" Nami yelled, wondering just how they could get out of this mess now. Yet just before the bear was able to catch them, something went flying from the trees, right over the boys heads, and struck the bear in the stomach. The bear was hit with such force that it was sent flying backwards, skidded a few feet before laying there motionless.

"What the…? What was that and where did it come from?!" Brook called in a startled voice, "It came from nowhere?!"

"It's a giant hammer!" Franky declared as he pointed.

He was right… it was an enormous mallet, about as tall as a normal man, and was half-buried in the snow at this point. That was when they saw an elderly man with long, grey, unkempt hair down to his shoulders and thick eyebrows that almost completely cover up his eyes leaping over the boys to face the bear himself.

"Wh-who is that?" Luffy stammered, voicing what they were all wondering. The bear however was now getting back up to his feet—and they realized that the hammer merely stunned it—not finished it. Now, it was looking angrier than ever as it went charging at the old man, who was calmly walking towards it as if he wasn't even aware of what was going on.

"That old guy's in trouble!" Luffy called in panic.

"That's… Naguri from the Gray Terminal!" Sabo called, now screaming for the old man to start running as well, but despite his warnings, Naguri didn't seem to be the least bit concerned even as the bear charged.

"What's he doing?!" Usopp cried out in fear.

"He's gonna get killed!" Chopper shouted, bracing himself for the worse. But at that moment, Naguri held up his hand just as he said the word, "Noshi." Upon speaking, the snow around them picked up to create a cloud so thick that they couldn't see in it… yet by the time that it cleared they stared to see that Naguri was still standing there with his hand held up, the bear towering over him with its paw held aloft as if about to strike. But both of them were standing still, as if frozen like a painting… before slowly, very slowly… the bear lowered its paw—any trace of rage having left it.

"That…" Usopp cried out, his eyes wide in amazement, "That's…"

"Conqueror's Haki! Very rare… didn't expect that," Robin finished, recognizing it at once, now deeply impressed.

"This isn't your den is it? Go back to the forest, Noshi!" Naguri asked the bear in a hoarse voice, but still calm as if telling a cat to get down from a counter. Almost as if it was in a trance, the bear slowly turned and went back to the cover of the trees. The three boys could only stare at the scene with their jaws open, just stunned by what happened and had no clue as to how the old man did what he did.

"That ability never gets old," Zoro smirked.

"That's so cool!" Chopper gasped as he and Usopp had stars sparkling in their eyes. "I wish I can use it!"

"It is possible for almost anyone to learn the first two forms of Haki. Observation and Armaments… but only one in a million are born with this particular form, Chopper," Robin explained to him, "But there's always a chance you might be able to…?"

"Really?" he asked her eagerly before adding determinedly, "In that case, I'm gonna start learning when we get back!"

"Well, if you really want to, I'm sure that the Haki users onboard can help. But… rather than just jumping to learning Conquerors Haki, I think that we should start off practicing Observation or Armaments," Zoro reasoned, promising himself to give Chopper a few lessons. It would be good if he was able to learn even just the basics.

Though Sanji would never admit it, he did agree with Moss Head for his suggestion, already planning out a few simple exercises to get them started. He knew that while his Observation Haki was perhaps the best in the crew at the moment, he hated the fact that his rival's Armaments Haki wasn't half bad. They would have to work out when to have such lessons but that was a problem for their future selves.

"AMAZING!" Luffy gasped, standing up and gazing at Naguri with new respect. "Just like back then…?"

"Back then?" Franky asked, scratching his head before he understood. "Oh, right! He's thinking of Shanks!"

"He would be able to recognize it," Nami agreed as the boys approached Naguri, thanking him for his help but asking what it was that he did to drive the bear off. Naguri just smiled back and brushed off their thanks, telling them that they were just lucky he was passing through the area when he saw the bear chasing them. He made to leave, but Luffy insisted on him joining them for food as a way to thank him for helping them, and they still had the fish on their backs anyway so may as well eat them. Ace and Sabo were both looking a mixture of embarrassment and awkwardness, but they couldn't disagree with Luffy's suggestion, they had him join them as they moved away from the area and deeper into the woods.

They didn't go back to the treehouse, but they did find an area clear mostly of snow where they were able to find enough wood and kindling to make a small fire and set the fish up to cook. The entire time, Luffy was asking Naguri all kinds of questions, specifically how he was able to get the bear to back off.

The old man just laughed and responded it was a useful trick he learned during his long life, but wouldn't give him any other information than that despite Luffy's questioning. Soon the late afternoon faded until it was replaced by an early night, leaving the boys huddling around the fire with Naguri as the wonderful scent of cooking fish filled the air.

"Naguri!" Luffy said loudly, in an awed voice, when he was let something slip. "So you were a pirate before? Not just a pirate but a captain?!"

"I was indeed," Naguri confessed as if it wasn't a big deal.

"That explains a lot," Sanji smiled, "I can see it now…?"

"I knew it!" Luffy laughed, clapping the old man on the shoulder. "Only a pirate captain could've pulled off something like that!"

"Something like that?" he asked curiously.

"Chasing off that big bear like that just by glaring at him!" Luffy elaborated, a big grin still on his face, "Just like Shanks! You're incredible old man!"

"You don't say?" he asked laughing, seemingly not used to—or maybe not bothered—to be complimented.

"But why is such a cool old man living here in the Grey Terminal if he was a pirate?" Chopper asked confused.

"Well, you gotta understand that not every pirate is going to go into retirement in a comfy mansion from all the treasure they collected… or go out as badass as how Whitebeard did," Zoro said as he thought back to reading about the honorable death that the old Emperor went out on.

Sabo looked down to the cooking fish before he began whispering to Ace. "I can't believe that he used to be a pirate," they all leaned in so that they could hear more of what he was saying. "I mean… he goes around collecting junk and spending his days hammering it trying to create some nonsensical device. The Gray Terminal residences and Bluejam's crew are always taunting him. That's all I've seen…" he sighed, giving Naguri a suspicious glance, "He was quite a pitiful ol' timer."

"He may be old, but he did save your hides from that bear!" Usopp said deadpanned at Sabo's rudeness. But it seemed that Luffy heard him as he hugged Naguri and pointed out, "You're such a kid, Sabo! That's what a true pirate is!"

"You're just a kid to!" he shot back in annoyance, "What do you know about pirates?"

"I do know!" Luffy yelled back as Ace got up. "Shanks never picks meaningless battles!"

"Yep, Shanks is his main influence… not sure if I should thank him for that or not," Nami smiled, shaking her head.

"Shanks again?" Sabo asked, with the air of someone who heard that name one too many times, as Ace was making sure that the fish was cooked properly. Upon finding one of them was cooked perfectly through, he cut it up into four pieces and dropped them into their laps. As Luffy complained about his small share, Ace and Sabo asked Naguri what he was doing in a place like this if he had been a pirate. The Straw Hats all sat down around the fire, also curious to know what his story was—it was almost like they were actually there as they huddled around the fire.

Naguri chuckled as he softly stroked the fire before asking, "Have you ever heard of Gold Roger?"

The whole crew froze as they all glanced at each other nervously—the look on Ace's face was completely rigid and his eyes widened in surprise the second he heard the name.

"Oh, they heard alright," Usopp said, a nervous glance at Ace, whose face was devoid of all emotion as Naguri told the story how his crew challenged the pirate king to a battle and lost.

"He fought against the Pirate King?" Sanji asked in surprise, "Damn, he must've been something else back in the day!"

"But Ace doesn't look to happy," Robin pointed out as a rather angry look appeared on Ace's face before he turned and walked away from them all. The others were so busy talking about Roger they didn't realize that Ace had left at first.

"And it wasn't just Roger," Naguri explained to Luffy and Sabo. "The whole crew was strong. Their constant, flawless teamwork was the most impressive thing about them."

"That sounds impressive," Zoro said, thinking it over. He wondered just what it would've been like to face Roger… well, meeting Rayleigh did give him a slight idea…?

"I see…" Luffy said as Sabo got up, staring after Ace with a worried expression on his face. "I've got a long way to go before I become a true pirate."

"You want to be a pirate, noshi?" he asked him amused.

"Oh, he does become one," Zoro sighed. "And not just some pirate either…"

"Ironic that his stepbrother turned out to be the son of the old king," Franky said thinking it all over.

"YEAH!" Luffy yelled proudly. "A pirate! Ok, old timer! Can you start training me?"

Naguri looked at him in surprise at such a suggestion before Luffy explained, "I want to become strong! I've gotta become Ace and Sabo's captain!"

It was around here that Luffy finally noticed that Ace was gone and asked, "Huh? Where'd Ace go?"

"Well," Sabo said slowly. "About that…?"

"Huh?" Luffy asked as Sabo looked really uncomfortable about something, even playing with his battered top-hat as if he was struggling to find the best way to explain it. Finally, he blurted it out, causing Luffy's jaw to hit the ground as he cried out in amazement, "The Pirate King is Ace's dad?!"

"So this is how he found out," Nami muttered, "I thought that maybe Garp said something…?"

"I think that he did end up telling Ace at some point," Robin suggested, "Which I can only assume that Ace told Sabo—or Sabo found out by accident. They seemed to have been friends before Luffy came to live with the bandits so Ace must've really trusted Sabo with this secret."

"Yeah," Sabo sighed, as if answering Robin's theory as he picked up his pipe staff before warning, "But this is a secret, ok? Never say a word about this in front of Ace. If you do, he'll kill you."

"Ok, that's a bit of an over-reaction…?" Franky offered.

"Maybe but… I don't think that we really wanna test it," Usopp said, sweat dropping as he remembered the monster Ace was in the earlier memories. He had a feeling that Sabo wasn't exaggerating his words.

"Why?" Luffy asked, looking puzzled.

"I don't know the details," Sabo explained quietly, "But… he hates Roger."

"Hates him?" Chopper asked, not understanding. "But why would he hate his own father like that?"

"I can understand," Robin said softly, suddenly having new sympathy for Ace.

"But he's his dad, right?" Luffy asked, unknowingly voicing what Chopper was thinking.

"So what if he's his dad?" Sabo asked coldly, and they were looking at him in surprise, having never heard him use that cold tone before.

"Sabo-san seems upset now," Brook said, now sounding worried.

"Well, he has every reason to be," Zoro said quietly, but before they could ask him what he meant, Luffy blinked a few times and said in realization, "Right… because your parents are…?"

Sabo looked away before he said, "Not all kids get along with their parents."

"Right…" Nami answered softly, remembering everything Sabo said about his parents and how they didn't care about him… only their status. "I guess he would understand better than anyone."

Chopper frowned sadly and looked at his feet as he thought that over. Now that he thought it over, he thought he could understand how Sabo felt… and for a moment he was reminded of his herd when he was a baby… how they made him walk behind them all just because he was born with a blue nose…? And later on, how they chased him away when he ate the Devil's Fruit…?

He screwed up his eyes and shook his head to try and push those sad memories outta his head as Luffy slowly muttered, "Still. His dad was the Pirate King…?"

"I understand that you want to ask him about Roger," Sabo said seriously, "but you mustn't say a word about this, okay?"

"I don't think that Ace would've been able to tell him anything about Roger anyway," Robin answered, privately agreeing that not to talk about it was the best thing to do. "Roger was executed before Ace was even born so it's not like they ever met. What's there to tell?"

"So you all think that's the reason Luffy never told us?" Nami asked them wonderingly as Luffy promised Sabo that he understood and wouldn't say anything.

"Possibly. But I don't think that matters since it was never any of our business to begin with," Zoro said firmly.

"I agree with what Robin-chan said before," Sanji said, his own father's face flashing before his mind's eye and he gritted his teeth for a moment. "Not much point in mourning a parent who was never a parent to you to begin with."

Sabo then looked to Naguri and asked, "You promise too, Naguri?"

"Alright," the old man said thoughtfully. "I won't say a word, noshi…"

"You really think that they can trust that old guy?" Usopp asked as they followed Sabo and Luffy back to the hideout. "I mean, they just met him and Sabo dropped the big secret of Ace's birth…? If he wanted to, he could've gone around telling all sorts of people that…?"

"He did save them," Chopper pointed out.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that they could've trusted him," Sanji said skeptically.

"Something tells me that the secret was safe with Naguri-san," Brook said softly. "Though he did lose against Roger before, he didn't seem to hold any grudge against him. You know how he spoke during his story? He spoke of Roger… almost fondly. He seems like an honorable man."

"And I think that he may have been paying Roger back for not killing him or his crew by keeping it secret," Franky suggested as they walked with the boys through the dark forest. Neither Luffy nor Sabo spoke again until they reached the foot of the tree, both looking up worriedly, spotting the familiar figure leaning up against the wall and staring up at the sky.

"There he is," Sabo whispered to Luffy, as if afraid that Ace could hear them from that distance. He looked back to him and warned, "Now, you've gotta act ignorant, causal, and normal."

"Right," Luffy said in a way that you would think he understood.

"Don't say a word about…?" Sabo warned again, making sure that Luffy understood how serious this was.

"I won't! I got it!" Luffy said before he stretched out his arm, ready to get them both up there in a flash.

Though Sabo seemed confident in Luffy, the Straw Hats knew better than to think that it was going to go well.

"I mean… he might…?" Franky offered, though he sounded unsure, "Look at how he kept quiet against that Porchemy punk? And it's not like Luffy really cares about a person's past to bother asking about it…?"

"Yeah, but it's about the Pirate King?" Usopp pointed out, knowing that Luffy was bound to be bursting with questions.

"It all depends on which side wins here…?" Sanji said as they were able to follow them back up to the treehouse where Sabo greeted Ace a little too happily, trying to play off what happened like normal.

"Oh! Ace!" he said, as though he didn't expect to find him here, "You went home before we did?"

Luffy came bursting in after Sabo and asked, "Oi, Ace! So Roger was your dad?"

"Well, that sure didn't last long," Zoro hissed as he smacked himself in the forehead.

"Longer than I thought it would," Nami countered as she shook her head and the others laughed. "What a big mouth he has. You think that Sabo would've realized that by now…?"

Speaking of Sabo, a look of pure panic came over his face as he began to shake Luffy, hissing, "Oi! Luffy, I told you never to bring that up!"

"Well, it's not like he went blabbing about it to anyone but Ace," Chopper offered.

"Maybe, but I don't think that Ace wants to hear it," Robin answered, looking at Ace's stony expression—his body tense and his shoulders shaking the second that Roger's name came out of Luffy's mouth.

"Luffy?" he asked coldly.

"Yes?" Luffy asked happily, not sensing the danger he was in as Sabo moved to hide behind him as if afraid that Ace would attack him.

"Where'd you hear that from?" Ace went on to ask, his voice cold but surprisingly calm.

"Oh, he knows it could only be Sabo?" Franky asked, actually enjoying some of this, "This isn't gonna end well for him."

Luffy confirmed this as he brightly answered, "From Sabo!"

"That idiot is going to get them both killed," Sanji added as he watched Ace turn, his bangs hiding his eyes as he slowly walked towards them.

"I get the fact that he's honest, but does he have to keep talking?" Zoro said, not liking the furious look in Ace's eyes—the exact same wild look that had been in them when he knocked Luffy off that bridge when they first met. This was something that Sabo noticed as well as he grew even paler and was even staring around for an escape route as Luffy asked innocently, "Ace, what kind of guy was Roger?"

"Stop it!" Sabo said hurriedly. "You idiot! Don't ask him that!"

"Let go of me, Sabo! I want to know!"

"Don't blow our cover so casually!"

"Oh, it's far too late to be worried about that," Brook said happily as Ace stood in front of them and smacked them both hard on their heads.

"I don't ever want to hear that name again!" he yelled angrily as they were now laying on the floor, looking close to passing out until the loud yell rang around them.

"What was that for?" Luffy demanded angrily, a giant bump on his head. "Don't be so stingy! Just tell me!"

"You didn't have to punch us out of the blue without explanation!" Sabo added, his hands over the spot that was swollen.

"SHUT UP!" Ace yelled, looking dangerous as he hit them both again and leaving bumps on their bumps.

"Ok, now he's scaring me again," Chopper said timidly as he moved to the back of the group, as if afraid that Ace would attack him next even if this was the past.

"He… really hates him doesn't he?" Nami asked softly, never knowing anyone to actually hate their own family that much.

"Can you blame him?" Sanji asked suddenly, lighting up another cigarette, "He has every reason to."

"What do you mean?" Usopp asked, not understanding.

"He's the son of the Pirate King. No matter what Ace does, he'll always have that hanging over his head," Zoro added explained softly, looking at those cold eyes again—was this always like it for Ace? Always questioning where you came from? Always wondering where you belonged?

"Roger made a lot of enemies in life who still bear a grudge against him even to this day, especially with the World Government," Robin also added, "So many people still hate him… and if they knew Roger had a child, then they would most certainly hate him as well. They would see him as the child of a monster… therefore had no right to live."

"But that's not fair!" Chopper cried indignantly, "Ace didn't do any of that stuff! You said so yourself that Roger died before Ace was even born!"

"That's just how life is, Chopper," she answered back sadly. "It's not fair, but that's just how it is." But she could understand… after all, the government considered her life as nothing but a sin since they destroyed Ohara. Luffy and Ace were in the same situation as she was…? The only difference was that they had Garp working to keep them hidden, as well as the few people who did know were loyal enough to keep this secret. In the World Government's eyes, the three of them were all children who should never have been born.

They were all born as the children of devils.

Not that Luffy seemed to understand this yet as he demanded, "You could at least tell us something! You meanie!"

"Right!" Sabo said, looking up, suddenly deciding he had nothing to lose as he added, "Brothers don't keep secrets from each other!"

And before anyone knew it, the three descended into chaos as they fought each other, throwing punches and smashing things against the others as they yelled. It was honestly both funny and a little brutal as they ended up breaking a lot of the treehouse until it finally ended with all three laying among a big mess. Ace was panting hard with an angry look on his face as he declared, "From this moment on, you two are no longer my brothers!"

"That's what I was gonna say!" they both screamed out, turning away from each other in angry huffs.

"That's it?" Chopper cried out in horror as the memory faded right after that. "Because of that they're no longer brothers?"

"Oh, I doubt they actually mean that," Robin smiled reassuringly, patting Chopper on the head. "They were just angry… and don't want to admit they did anything wrong. We all say things we don't really mean when we're angry. I'm sure it won't last long."

"Just give them a little time to calm down and you'll see," Franky agreed, having seen this far too many times to take it too seriously, "That's just how some families are. Even if they drive you crazy, you're still family. Funny how that works out. Your bros can say or do the stupidest things that piss you off but you still love them."

Nami unconsciously began playing with the bracelet that Nojiko gave her before she left home—a piece of her sister that she carried with her everywhere. The two of them used to fight all the time, but if she was ever in trouble, she knew her big sister always had her back. At that moment, Nami realized just how much she missed her all of a sudden and wondered if she could send her a letter when they reach the next island…?

She smiled at the thought, thinking that maybe brothers and sisters weren't as different as one would think and she added, "I guess family is supposed to be like that."

"Does that make us like a family since we all argue like that?" Chopper asked innocently and they all looked at each other, surprised by the question as they thought of an answer to that.

"You know… I never really thought of it before," Usopp said with a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his head, "I mean, after all we've been through so far? I guess we are sorta like one…?"

"Yeah, a dysfunctional one," Zoro added, not sure how he felt about that. He remembered his sensei… and he was grateful to him for taking him in and training him in the way of the sword and entrusting Kunia's sword to him…?

As he tried to work his feelings out, Nami was laughing at Chopper's question and just answered, "Truth be told… I've always thought as you, Luffy, and Usopp as like my little brothers or something."

"Really?" Chopper asked excitedly.

"I guess we just deal with it the same way we've always done," Franky laughed, jerking a proud thumb at himself before declaring, "You can all call me your 'Big Bro Franky'!"

"I think I'll pass," Robin said and the happiness on Franky's face fell.

"This is all so touching!" Brook sighed happily.

"Yeah… so much so that I find it almost sickening," Zoro grumbled.

"Don't you have a shred of kindness in you?" Sanji demanded.

"I think that what everyone here means," Robin said quietly to Chopper as Sanji and Zoro snarled at each other, "Is that we all feel the same way. We just have a funny way of showing it. Some more than others. But we can talk about this more a little later."

The memories were quite fast after that moment, with Luffy marching off soon after their fight to hang out and train with Naguri, who mostly gave him small tasks as he showed off what his big project was. Turns out, he was building a pirate ship, planning on heading out to meet up with his old crewmates, which Luffy was eager to help him in whatever way he could—even taking an axe to go cut down some trees for more lumber. Eventually, the guy began to train him in earnest in ways to improve his strength or blocking against stronger attacks—especially showing him ways to improve his disastrous aim. In time, he started to train Ace and Sabo after Naguri defeated Ace in a duel—which was a rather humbling experience for him. It was fun to watch all in all, but once the ship was finished, Naguri said that it was time for him to uphold his end and see their 'training' through to the end by ensuring they defeated the Tiger Lord.

Soon enough the memory returned to find themselves back outside the forest line, staring into the darkness of the trees. The Straw Hats realized that the snow was all gone as they waited for the Tiger Lord to make an apperance, so it seemed to have been some time since the last memory, with them heading into spring at the very earliest.

"Here it comes," Sabo had just said, and like they thought, a pair of glowing, golden eyes shone from the darkness. Its steps were silent as it came closer, knocking over trees with its large feet—dwarfing the three boys as they looked on bravely.

"I know that it can't hurt us or anything," Usopp gulped. "But it's still big."

"You aren't afraid are you?" Franky asked teasingly.

"What?" he yelled. "Of course not! I've become a brave warrior of the sea! There's not a foe out there that can stand a chance against me now!"

"Shut up! I want to watch this!" Nami called, watching as the tiger came closer, clearly stalking them.

"You heard Nami!" Sanji yelled out, "Shut up you morons!"

"You're the moron!" Usopp and Franky shouted back.

"You're all morons, so shut up!" Nami screamed, now hitting all three of them to get them to be quiet.

"Alright! Now it's time!" called a voice, getting their attention, as they looked back to see that Naguri was there once more, watching them from the trees—and looking ready to jump in should it become too much.

Ace being the first one to charge in again.

The tiger raised its paw and struck at him, "I knew you were gonna do that!" Ace yelled and dodged it in midair as he continued forward and struck it in the face. The tiger howled with pain as Ace taunted it, "How'd you like that?"

"Well, he's gotten stronger," Usopp cried out eagerly, "Before he couldn't even hurt that thing at all!"

"I guess that training is paying off," Brook offered as the tiger's tail came swinging around, trying to hit Ace like a whip. Ace took it head on and was flow backwards, knocking him hard on the ground.

This was what gave Sabo a chance to try his luck by using a fishing pole and wrapped its neck up with the line, attempting to choke it.

"You let your guard down!" Sabo called to it, now pulling hard on the pole. "It's my turn now! Just give up and get caught!"

"But it's not a fish…" Brook said anxiously, "He can't just…?"

But predictably, the tiger's head pulled its head back and Sabo was launched forward so that he was also struck down like Ace had been.

"Sabo! Ace!" Luffy yelled as he tried to throw a punch to distract the tiger as it went after him. This time, he actually managed to hit the beast—but it was still far too strong for him. It bounced right off the tiger's thick fur as if it Luffy threw a ball at it. Before Luffy could aim another attack, the tiger leapt up into the air, with Luffy having no other way to avoid becoming a meal this time.

"NO!" most of the Straw Hats all cried out, momentarily forgetting that he obviously makes it out of this mess alive, as some of the more composed crewmates tensed up, fearing the worse for just a split second…?

"LUFFY!" Ace screamed, jumping back to his feet.

"RUN AWAY!" Sabo called while also charging in.

It seemed that the moment they saw their little brother in danger, the two forgot about their own disastrous fails and went running in to try and protect him. At the sight of it, some of the Straw Hats paused, even a little shocked, as the other two boys dove in between Luffy and the claws that struck—?

But after the dust cleared, Ace and Sabo were standing there, struggling to hold up the great paw that never touched him.

"They stopped it!" Usopp cried out triumphantly.

"That's how you do it!" Nami cheered out.

"Yeah, but they can't hold it off for long!" Sanji said apprehensively, seeing the stress in the boy's faces as the fought to stay on their feet while slowly being crushed, "It's too strong!"

"Hey!" Ace called, realizing this too. "You two! Lend me a hand!"

Both Luffy and Sabo stared at him for a second, as if they couldn't believe what they were hearing, but they nodded, waiting for orders as Zoro smirked once again.

"Now that's a surprised," he stated, glad to see much more of the Ace they first met in Alabasta coming through.

"What?" Chopper asked, not understanding why some of them were smiling.

"Up till now, Ace had always preferred to do things his own way. But this is the first time he's ever asked someone for help," Robin explained as the boys moved out of the way in time as the tiger's paw came crashing down. Sabo went one way as Luffy and Ace dashed in the opposite.

"We're not fast enough to take him down on our own," Ace explained as they ran, "But Luffy, with your ability, we might be able to beat it." Luffy was eager to help as Ace was calling for Sabo to get ready.

"What are they planning?" Usopp called, now lost.

"The only way they can hope to beat it…?" Zoro started before Brook finished for him, all but leaping about in excitement as he remembered how they all worked together to take out Oars at Thriller Bark, "Is to work together!"

Meanwhile, despite the lack of explanation, Sabo seemed to know exactly what Ace wanted him to do, and began taunting the tiger to come get him.

"Is he crazy?" Nami yelled in panic as the tiger turned its head towards him, completely ignoring Ace and Luffy as they readied the next part of the plan.

"Can't be helped," Sanji answered, seeing where they were going from here, "They need a distraction."

They watched as Ace brought Luffy to the forest line where he ordered Luffy to grab hold of the two trees and to pull back while facing the tiger. Luffy did what he was told, grabbing hold of the bark of the two trees on either side of him, pulling back as his arms stretched out.

"That good!" Ace said encouragingly, "Keep pulling back as far as you can! Sabo! Come this way!"

"You don't need to tell me twice!" Sabo yelled and he sprinted towards them as the tiger gave case, roaring out in frustration.

"Lure him in as close as you can!" Ace called and went back to Luffy.

"I get it now," Zoro said grinning. Predictably, it was Usopp who said what it was they were planning.

"A slingshot!" Usopp grinned as Ace leaned up against Luffy's front, getting ready to be launched as they waited for Sabo to get close enough as he gasped for air.

"He won't make it at that rate!" Franky called fearfully as the tiger opened its mouth, its teeth glinting in the sunlight as he made to swallow Sabo whole.

"He won't need to!" Usopp countered excitedly.

"Gum Gum…" Luffy began before his body snapped back like a rubber band and launched Ace forward with the extra speed and force he needed, swinging up his pipe staff as he finished crying out: "ROCKET!"

They all blinked in surprise to see the familiar attack, and with the extra push that Luffy gave him, Ace was strong enough to beat the tiger. He went crashing into its head, actually crushing the overgrown cat's neck; for a moment, it could only stand there—a stunned look on its face—and then with a giant crash, it fell backwards and hit the ground where it lay motionless.

For a moment, the boys seemed stunned. But then…?

"WE DID IT!" all three of them yelled, punching the air ecstatically.

"THEY DID IT!" Chopper cheered, leaping up and down in excitement, the other Straw Hats couldn't deny the grins.

"So that's how that attack was thought up," Robin giggled as the three danced around, celebrating their victory, "You think that Luffy thinks of this moment every time he uses it?"

"Oh, that would be just adorable!" Nami laughed while rolling her eyes, not able to help it. She and the others have been on the receiving end of that attack more than once—so she always had a lot of resentment when she thought of the times that she was slammed into the ship or something similar. But after seeing this, she wasn't sure she would ever be able to look at that attack the same way.

The boys looked like they were planning a big celebration—with the tiger for dinner that night—before the smiles on Sabo's and Luffy's faces faded slightly upon realizing what just happened.

"So I guess… that makes Ace the captain, huh?" Sabo asked slowly as Luffy looked devastated.

He whined out loudly before declaring, "And I trained so hard to!"

Sabo clapped him on the shoulder, already accepting defeat gracefully, trying to comfort his little brother, "Just give it up, Luffy."

"But does it really count?" Brook pointed out confused, "It would be one thing if Ace-san did it all on his own but…?"

"It's alright," Zoro said, still looking at Ace, who was looking as if he didn't know what he was supposed to say at first.

"Sheesh, don't worry about it," Ace said, running a hand through his hair, seemingly come to some kind of fair conclusion. "I won't become the captain."

Both Luffy and Sabo looked shocked at the answer and both asked at the same time, "Why not?"

"It's not like I defeated the Tiger Lord on my own," was all he could say as he turned away from them, now sounding uncomfortable.

"But he was so keen on being the captain before…?" Chopper pointed out slowly.

"I think he felt that he didn't deserve it," Sanji offered. "Like he said, he didn't beat the tiger on his own. But he's alright with it."

"Ace," Sabo smiled, who also seemed to get it.

"Well, whatever," Ace said coolly. "Someday you two are going to be begging me to be your captain anyway."

At that, Sabo looked to Luffy and asked, "You gonna beg?"

"Never," Luffy answered happily.

Ace choked at that before spinning back and yelling, "YOU JERKS!"

Before anyone else knew it… they were fighting and laughing at the same time.

"Ah, brothers," Franky said fondly as some of the others laughed.

"Good to see that they're back to normal," Usopp laughed as Ace stopped fighting long enough to look up where Naguri was leaving. The other Straw Hats almost forgot about him and looked back, wondering if he was really gonna head off on his own now.

"Old man!' he yelled, causing Naguri to look back as Ace declared, "The next time we meet up, I'll win! Don't let anyone beat you until then!"

Upon remembering that Naguri was there, Luffy was waving merrily up at him, calling out, "See ya!"

"Take care, okay?" Sabo agreed as he tilted his hat at him in gratitude. At that, Naguri didn't move for a moment before he smirked.

"I'll be waiting for you at sea, noshi," he said as he pulled off his black cloak and tied it to the head of his hammer where they could get a clear look at it.

Chopper gasped in awe, "It's a flag!"

And so it was… his old pirate flag of two hammers for crossbones and a fist for a skull. He held it high and proud… his way of saying goodbye to the boys.

"This is all getting to me!" Usopp cried out as they stared up at the flag of the Naguri pirates. "Even after all these years, he still held onto that flag as his treasure!"

"I hope he found his crew!" Chopper said smiling as this memory faded away.

"Something tells me he did," Robin agreed, her own heart feeling warm at the thought, "he may have been old, but he had a lot of heart and wasn't afraid to chase his dream. I wonder if there's a chance we could meet up with him someday?"

"I say, if we're destined to meet up, then we will," Brook said as the darkness faded away so that they were back outside the boy's hideout. Only this time, the weather was dark and stormy, with a strong wind threatening to blow the entire structure away. Ace was at the wheel as he called out, as if they were at sea in the middle of a storm, "Here it comes! The storm is coming!"

"If you're gonna come, then bring it on!" Sabo cried out a challenge at the sky, "Blow stronger!"

"Now he really should be more careful," Robin said in amusement. "Never mess with Mother Nature… mothers can have a cruel side too."

"That's like taunting fate to do something," Zoro added sagely.

Luffy, who was up in the Crow's Nest, clinging to the flag, was just roaring with laughter over the ringing of the wind.

"Luffy!" Ace warned from below. "Don't let the flag be blown off!"

"Yeah!" Sabo agreed. "Losing your flag is the ultimate disgrace for a pirate!"

"Wait, is that why he's so protective of the flag?" Nami demanded, thinking back to that time that the flag was stolen and they had to go after it before Luffy found out. She shook her head before grumbling, "I guess I should've guessed that he picked that up from his brothers too."

"Well, it is true," Robin reasoned gently. "For a pirate, there is no greater disgrace than to lose the flag. All those that sail under a jolly roger are supposed to show respect for their chosen flag and honor it always as it represents the crew itself. Once the flag is gone, the crew can no longer sail under it and therefore everything linked with the flag is gone."

"Really?" Chopper said, thinking back to the Davy Back fight and how it was optional to take the other crew's flag if they didn't want to take any crewmates.

"Yep," Zoro agreed with a nod, "And I think I rather die than live in disgrace like that."

"Probably better that way," Sanji said, shivering at the thought of either that or being stuck working under someone like Foxy?

"Alright! I got it!" Luffy called down as all three boys continued to try and taunt the storm to do its worse. At some point, it seemed that Mother Nature lost her patience with them for she sent a great gust of wind, almost blowing Luffy outta the Crow's Nest, where he was scrambling to grab onto a branch before he was blown away—his rubbery arms stretching out.

"Help me!" he shouted in panic as his brothers came running over to see what happened.

"What are you doing, Luffy?" Ace called before they both laughed.

"Don't just laugh!" Luffy yelled, looking scared as he begged, "Pull me in!"

But on they kept laughing… the Straw Hats all joining in as well.

"Like I said," Robin chuckled as Ace and Sabo eventually took pity and began to pull Luffy back until he was safely inside the treehouse again, "Mothers can be cruel."

"Looks like they learned that the hard way," Franky added, tears of laughter in his own eyes as the boys were forced to duck down as rain began to pour down, forcing them to try and block out the rain while preventing the walls from being blown down.

"No wonder Luffy's always having a fun time whenever we run into a storm," Robin stated as Luffy was still giggling despite Ace yelling at him to help hold up the side of a wall, that was slowly being pulled out by the wind and only hanging on by the rusted nails and willpower. "It must be like when he was a kid playing with his brothers."

Still, by looking around at the worn treehouse, she couldn't help but wonder how much longer the boys could realistically live out here on their own? Sure they were growing stronger by the day, and they could hunt for their food… but it wasn't something they could do forever, could they? They need parents, or at least adults to help them to learn things besides how to run wild like jungle kids…?

The memory eventually faded out when the winds finally began to die down, quickly reappearing with another sunny day, with only broken branches and a layer of rainwater around them to show that it was the day after the storm. Luffy was skipping along happily as the mountains of garbage could be seen through the trees; which signaled that they were heading to the Grey Terminal.

"That was amazing!" Luffy exclaimed with a giggle, picking up a piece of a broken branch and waved it around. "We made it through the storm!"

Sabo sighed in a tired way before pointing out, "Yeah, but our base was wrecked though."

Ace shrugged in an unconcerned way and said, "It's not that big a deal. We just need to get some more wood and we can fix it."

"He's unusually cheerful today," Usopp pointed out Ace's optimistic attitude all of a sudden.

"After a fierce storm, it reminds you to slow down and enjoy life a little more during the sunny times," Brook said knowingly, "Ah! I think that can be used as inspiration for a new song…?" He began to strum up his guitar again as he hummed a tune to himself.

"Save it for when we get out of here, Brook," Zoro interrupted.

Luffy ran in front of the other two as they walked and turned to face them, walking backwards to keep them in his sights before declaring, "I wanna find a telescope!"

Ace rolled his eyes at the statement before pointing out, "Dumbass, you think something like that's just going to fall out of the sky?"

"I don't know," Nami commented to herself, "Luffy does usually get what he wants eventually."

"Given how much is in the Grey Terminal, it wouldn't surprise me if there were dozens of telescopes out there," Sanji shrugged, "Those nobles don't seem to care what gets thrown out so I'm sure he'll find one if he looks hard enough."

Sabo chuckled at the argument before telling them, "In that case, I'd rather find a cannon."

"If a cannon fell out of the sky, that'd be awesome!" Luffy exclaimed with a grin.

"That would be," Franky said happily, thinking that over.

"Unless it hits you and breaks your head open," Robin said and so that Brook and the 'Weakling Trio' screamed at the mental image.

The three boys laughed loudly, as they left the shelter of the trees and stepped into the Grey Terminal properly, the smell of metal and other junk mixed together before they began rummaging through the mountains of garbage for anything useable.

"Man, I still can't understand why Luffy would be keeping Sabo a secret," Usopp said, watching them all search. "I mean… this is something really special. You think that he would want to tell us all about his brothers?"

"That's what's been bothering me," Nami said softly, biting down on her thumb, suddenly uneasy again. "It doesn't make sense…?"

"What doesn't make sense Nami-san?" Brook asked, pausing in his guitar strumming to look at her.

"Well, I can understand why Luffy doesn't want to talk about Ace—at least, he doesn't want to talk about him these days," Nami explained awkwardly as she watched Luffy kept shifting through the garbage, still determined to find his telescope, "But you're right in that he never once mentioned this Sabo person. You think that he would have mentioned that he had two brothers when we first met Ace? But he never did."

"Neither did Ace. You think he'd mention him at least once," Sanji added, also looking a bit uneasy.

"And don't forget most of us met with Garp back in Water 7," Nami pointed out, "He talked about how he wanted Luffy and Ace to be strong marines… fat chance of that ever happening if you ask me, but I digress. The point here is that he never mentioned Sabo either. If I didn't know better, it's like he never existed."

"What are you saying?" Usopp said, pointing to the boys. "Sabo clearly exists! This is proof of that! Unless… this isn't really Luffy's memories?"

"Oh, I'm sure they are," Nami agreed, feeling like they were missing something big here. "I'm not saying that Sabo never existed, I'm just saying that so far in the present, no one's mentioned him, and that's not normal. Nor can I ever remember hearing of a pirate named Sabo before…? And I don't recall ever reading about Sabo showing up to Marineford…? So if they were that close, you think he would've gone to try and save Ace as well?"

They stayed silent for a while after that dark statement; only able to watch how Sabo moved on ahead to search for more wood while Ace and Luffy were shifting through piles of scrap metal. There were no sounds save for them moving garbage around until Usopp finally spoke up.

"You guys…" he began nervously, not liking where this conversation was going. "What are you saying? You don't think… you don't think something happened to Sabo do you?"

"It's too early to say," Sanji said slowly, "Just that we seem to be missing some important pieces of information here."

"Well, what then?" Chopper asked, "You think that Sabo gave up on his dream or something?"

"It's possible…?" Franky mumbled as he thought it all over, "But I find it unlikely. Sure, dreams can change when we grow up, but Sabo doesn't strike me as the kind who would've given up being a pirate?"

Robin was the only one to have not said anything as she bit her lower lip. She wanted to come out and say something but…? She shook her head, the promise she made while still with the Revolutionaries still clear in her head. As much as she wanted to say something, she knew that it wasn't her place to speak up. That was for Luffy and Sabo to work out.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted when Luffy threw some random junk aside and whined to Ace, "It's no use, Ace, I can't find a telescope."

"Luffy," Ace groaned, picking up some scraps of wood as he spoke, "Why are you looking for a telescope? Go find some useable wood instead."

"You really think that he'll listen?" Zoro asked sarcastically, glad for the change of subject, "You need to pay closer attention, Ace."

"But Ace…" Luffy whined loudly before Ace sighed, grunting at him to just be quiet and to look for Sabo, maybe he found something good. That seemed to cheer Luffy up as he leapt to his feet and was ready to lead the way, though he still kept an eye out for a telescope. Yet with every step they took, that uneasy feeling about Sabo seemed to grow even stronger as they looked around for the third brother.

*Earlier*

Meanwhile, present-day Luffy had walked through the wall of dark smoke, finding it suffocating and disorienting, but he kept on marching forward, somehow knowing that he was going the right way. But just as he felt that he was lost again, he was suddenly blinking against a beam of light shining in his face. He took a deep breath, glad to be out of that weird place as he looked about to see where he was this time.

He blinked, completely shocked at what he saw.

The bright light had come from a single ray of sunlight that shone through a crack in the wall of an old, worn down-looking hut. A place he hadn't seen in over two years but would know anywhere…?

"No way! This is Dadan's house! How's that possible? But how…? We're here in the New World?! How'd I get back here? Did I come here? Did I get sent flying again?!" he cried out, having a mini panic attack as he tried to figure out what was going on.

He was sure that this was Dadan's house though, but it looked like it was empty since he didn't see Dadan or any of the others like Dogra or Magra…? He would like to see them all again, but how was he supposed to get back to his crew? He was sure they were going to be so upset with him if they found out that he ended up back home? How as he supposed to get back?

He inwardly argued with himself as he tried to think of a plan…? That was when he heard a soft sigh coming from behind him. He turned around and stared, feeling as he was watching everything at the end of a long tunnel as he felt his breath catch in his throat at what was there.

A little boy was lying in bed, covered in bandages for most of his body, breathing hard as his face was screwed up in pain.

But Luffy's eyes were drawn to the slightly older-looking boy who was huddled up against the wall, hiding his face in his knees. One of his hands was holding onto the hand of the boy in bed… shaking slightly as he held on tightly. The beam of light seemed to have caught his attention though as he slowly raised his head to reveal an exhausted face and blood-shot eyes. He blinked wearily at the rays of sunshine that were shone through the cracks with a slightly surprised look, as if he didn't realize how much time had passed since he sat there. Luffy was able to get a good look at the older boy's face that was splashed with freckles.

A face he would recognize anywhere no matter how old he was.

"A-Ace…?" he whispered, moving forward as if in a trance, staring at the boy before him. He reached out a shaking hand, trying to grab Ace as his usual happy-go-lucky expression was replaced with pure shock and his lips quivered. Luffy grasped hold of Ace's arm… but his own hand went right through it like it wasn't even there.

Luffy was breathing hard as he stared at the boy's face, knowing that it had to be Ace—looking just like how he did when they were kids! How was that possible…? He heard a slight whimper next to him and finally looked to the other boy as his eyes only widened even further as he stared at his own face.

"Is that… me?" he whispered, feeling as though his lungs were desperate for air all of a sudden. This… this was wrong! What was happening to him? His entire world felt like it was spinning as he fell to his knees, gripping his head between his hands as he tried to focus on breathing. His heart was pounding hard in his chest as he tried to stay calm.

"Don't panic. Just breathe, this isn't real," he told himself, truly believing that old nightmare was back and he was dreaming of his big brother again. "Remember what you still have… remember what you still have. Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jimbei… Ace… Ace…?"

He slowly looked up again the second that he caught enough air and stared at Ace's face. This all looked so clear…? It had been a long time since he last dreamt of his brother as anything other than the grown-up Ace instead of a little kid.

He remembered the horrible nightmares he used to have when he was little after the fire…? How he dreamt of Ace disappearing into the flames and Luffy would be left alone while surrounded by fire and smoke…?

He gulped, feeling his body shake as he shook his head hard, determined to get a grip to what was happening. That was just a dream! It wasn't real! So then… what was this?

He looked to Ace, who was rubbing his eyes with his one free hand, the other still holding onto the kid Luffy's hand as he slept—but then the tiny hand tightened and that got Ace's attention. Ace pushed himself up onto his knees and was looking over Luffy with wide eyes as kid Luffy opened his eyes.

"Luffy! Are you feeling better?" Ace gasped and the sound…? Adult Luffy felt his entire body freeze as the voice he never thought he would hear again seemed to ring in his ears.

He looked to kid Luffy—he wasn't sure what else to call him—slowly looked up at Ace, as if struggling to remember something.

"W-What…?" he croaked out, his voice sounding dry and hoarse as he focused on Ace. "A-Ace…?"

"Yeah! Yeah, it's me," Ace said, his voice also hoarse as his bloodshot eyes looked down anxiously as if he was about to start crying. "Are you feeling ok?"

"Huh?" kid Luffy asked, sounding confused as his eyes glanced around the house to see what was going on.

Meanwhile the adult Luffy could only sit there on his knees as he watched on, not sure what to do or what was going on. But why did this all seem so familiar? Like he been here before…? Heard this conversation before now…?

"Where… what…?" kid Luffy croaked out as Ace tightened his grip on kid Luffy's hand.

"You… you tried to fight against the Bear King, remember? You… you got hurt… because I… didn't jump in to help," Ace whispered, his eyes suddenly blocked by his hair as he lowered his head.

Adult Luffy's jaw fell open.

The Bear King? He could remember that! He remembered when he, Ace, and Sabo decided whoever would beat the Tiger Lord would be captain of their crew! The Bear King was the number two in the forest and he could still remember how he tried to fight the bear on his own…? His memory got fuzzy after that but he remembered when he felt better, he and Ace worked hard to train to get payback! He could still remember how tasty that bear was when they finally beat it!

"Wait!" present-day Luffy gasped, slamming his hands down in front of him, "Does this mean I'm dreaming of what happened after that?"

What else could it be? Neither his little self or little Ace noticed him at all as he tried to figure things out even as he could feel a headache coming to him from thinking so much.

"Luffy," Ace whispered softly, "I'm so…?"

"I'm sorry… Ace…" kid Luffy suddenly interrupted him as adult Luffy stared at the scene as the boy began crying, "I thought I would be a better brother to you if I knew how to fight better. I wanted… I wanted to be stronger…! But I… just can't do it yet! I'm only a burden to you… I'm so sorry… please don't hate me."

Luffy leaned back on his knees as he remembered that moment. His memory was still a bit hazy, but it was all coming back to him. He and Ace got into a bad fight after Sabo died and he could remember what Ace said to him before they went marching off to be alone? Luffy could still remember how he waited outside Dadan's house for the rest of that day until Ace finally returned late that night. Ace didn't say anything to Luffy—didn't even look at him—as he went marching inside the house even though Luffy wanted to talk. Luffy felt tears welling up in his eyes as he thought back to how he had tried to show Ace how strong he was without him. He wanted to make him regret ever making fun of his Devil Fruit powers… only to realize that he wasn't ready to face off against the Bear King on his own yet.

He looked to Ace, who was staring back at him with a look of stunned disbelief, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. His used both of his shaking to grip onto kid Luffy's hand. Ace then whispered quietly, "I should be the one to say that. I'm your brother and I promised to protect you…?"

"I know I'm a crybaby and even if I can't fight by myself yet…?" kid Luffy tried to go on, his voice broken up as tears fell, dampening the bandages wrapped around his head.

"Shut up! I'll protect you!" Ace yelled as both Luffys looked at him with wide eyes as Ace was full of so much emotion that his entire body was trembling. His head was down low but even from this angle, adult Luffy could see how tears were already forming as he tried to keep his emotions from bursting.

"I will protect you," Ace vowed, this time in a quieter voice before holding up kid Luffy's hand to his face as he tried to control his tears. "I will do everything you cannot do. I will use my whole life to protect you so please… don't say things like that."

Adult Luffy could only watch on as tears burned his own eyes as his vision became watery. The words echoing inside his ears and resonating inside him like one of Brook's songs.

He remembered that now. Ace said those words to him before…? This was what happened…?

And he did… he protected him to the last…? Didn't he?

"Does that mean you don't hate me?" kid Luffy asked quietly, taking adult Luffy by surprise, as he stared up in exhaustion to his big brother. Like he wanted to make sure that he didn't hear him wrong.

"No! I didn't hate you!" Ace declared loudly, already getting angry as if he couldn't believe he had to say it out loud. Kid Luffy could only smile, giving him a toothy grin before shutting his eyes and falling asleep, feeling safe and happy with his big brother watching with the reassurance that he didn't hate him.

At least, that was how adult Luffy remembered feeling as Ace could only sigh and lowered his hands, but never let go of his little brother's.

Adult Luffy watched on sadly as Ace sniffled, rubbing his eyes once more as he sat back, folding his arms around his knees while buried his face in them once more. His entire body was shaking with silent sobs, clearly blaming himself for the incident.

Luffy couldn't stand it a second longer as his own tears fell. He didn't know if this was a dream or a trick anymore, but it didn't matter! At this moment, he couldn't have cared less!

He moved, dropping behind Ace, wrapping his arms around him in an embrace from behind, not even caring if he could touch him for real or not. Even though it's already been two years since he died… not a day went by that Luffy didn't think of Ace. He still loved Ace dearly and still blamed himself for what happened that day at Marineford. His heart ached in pain as muffled sobs choked past him as he could only pretend that he could still reach out and hug Ace just one more time…?

That was when Ace reached up, taking hold of his own hand, causing Luffy's head to jerk up in surprise.

"That's not like you," said a hauntingly familiar voice behind him that made Luffy freeze, "To be so lost in thought, eh, Luffy?"

(So a lot was changed from this chapter… I know. I am trying to cut out the less important parts here as to make it flow better and feel less boring. As for the ending, yeah, I did change it, but Luffy will meet with Ace again, but I had this image in my mind's eye and had to add it in. Luffy ended up in a very important memory—Ace's memory because it was really after this moment that he truly changed for the better. It wouldn't surprise me if this moment was a core memory for him and changed everything for him. I wanted to make it as meaningful as possible and share a special moment between the two. Shanks was Luffy's biggest inspiration but Ace was his biggest influence as well and so I wanted to see more of those bonding moments. I hope you liked the changes and see you again next week!)