Chapter 6: The Three Sworn Brothers

"ACE AND SABO!" Chopper screamed joyfully, tears of relief burst from his eyes as he waved his little hooves up, "THEY CAME!"

"Well, it's about time," Zoro snarled out. While he was glad that those two finally decided to show up before it was too late, he couldn't help but feel resentment at how long it took. What's it been? A few hours already since that rubber idiot got himself caught by Porchemy? A few seconds longer and it would've been too late. What was the deal anyway? They didn't a damn about Luffy before? Just what happened to cause them to change their minds?

Yet as he looked around, he was amused to realize something… his crewmates were all primed and ready for a fight. He first saw Chopper had shifted to his Kung-Fu Point, Robin had her arms half-raised, while the others each had weapon drawn or, in Sanji's case, had their leg burning softly. Each of them had been ready take Porchemy out and to protect Luffy; not even thinking about the fact that this was all ancient history.

Not that he was one to talk… he quickly put his swords back in their sheaths before turning back to the real action.

Ace had jumped forward, knocking out the man closest to him with his pipe staff before landing directly in front of Luffy, holding it out in a threatening way. He glared furiously at them all, just daring for someone to be dumb enough to take a step closer.

"That's him, Porchemy!" one of the men yelled, pointing at him.

"That's the brat who stole our money!" the man with the sling added.

"What?!" Porchemy demanded, looking down at Ace with a mad glint in his eye.

Meanwhile, Luffy was looking at Ace, tears falling hard and fast over his beaten face as he croaked out with relief, as well as an air of disbelief like he hadn't expected him to come to his rescue, "A-Ace!"

But Ace didn't waste time answering as he went straight for Porchemy—but was unable to land a hit as the bastard's hand shot forward and caught Ace around the throat.

Zoro frowned, already seeing that Ace was outmatched—which wasn't too surprising since he was still a child. Though Ace seemed to be a pretty decent fighter, even back then, he clearly didn't think before he attacked. He just charged in like an angry bull… while it may work against some of the wild animals of the forest, Zoro knew it was no way to win a fight against a real opponent.

Ace struggled to free himself as Porcheny laughed manically, asking with an evil grin, "Showing up on your own makes things much easier! I didn't know what to do; your pal was so tight-lipped!"

"Ace!" Luffy cried out, struggling against his bindings so that he could jump in and help.

"L-Let me go," Ace choked out, still fighting to get freed before calling out, "Sabo!"

The second boy, Sabo, came charging in behind Porchemy and hit him with his own pipe, forcing him to drop Ace.

"That's right! Take him out, Sabo!" Nami screamed out, punching the air ecstatically as Porchemy fell to the ground, a bloody wound on the side of his face. Sabo stood his ground, but it was clear from the panicked look on his face that he was scared out of his mind.

"That hurt pretty bad you know," Porchemy whispered as he slowly got back up just as Ace braced himself for another around.

"I hope so," Sanji whispered while he folded his arms as he watched Porchemy raise his sword.

"Yeah, you more than deserved it!" Usopp cheered on, still livid that he had hurt Luffy for so long. "ACE! SABO! Beat him up!"

"Your opponent is right here!" Ace yelled as he slammed the pipe against the ground before commanding Sabo to help Luffy. Everything that happened next only took a few seconds, but a lot happened in that brief moment. First, Ace charged at Porchemy, dodging the sword with impressive acrobatics, while trying to get close enough to do some damage. Meanwhile, Sabo was able to steal a knife that one of the other men pulled out; which he then used to cut Luffy free. The second the ropes were cut, he caught him and immediately bolted for the hole they made in the wall.

Upon realizing that Ace wasn't following him though, Sabo turned back with Luffy still under his arm and shouted, "Let's get out of here, Ace!"

All they had to do was run and they were home free…? But…?

"You go on ahead!" Ace called, not turning away from Porchemy.

"WHAT?!" the more anxious members of the crew screamed.

"Now is not the time to be playing the hero," Sanji barked angrily, "Ace! You got Luffy and you're keeping the treasure! Just be happy with that and leave while you're ahead!"

"They need to get Luffy treated anyway!" Chopper croaked anxiously while looking at how lifeless Luffy was acting.

Sabo seemed to be thinking along the same lines as he screamed at Ace, reminding him that this guy was on a different level than the delinquents from town. Yet Ace stubbornly stood his ground, gripping the pipe even tighter before snapping back, "Once I face an enemy, I never run!"

"That kind of attitude is the kind that gets you killed," Zoro hissed, his hands clenching tightly as he folded his arms as a way to try and keep them busy.

Porchemy sneered at them before snarling out, "Don't you get it? Playtime is over now! You stole our money! You will obediently return it to us, you insolent brat! I'm sure you realize you've done a bad thing." He pointed his sword at Ace's face and warned one last time, "I won't hurt you if you give the money back."

"Don't listen to a word he says!" Nami yelled out skeptically, having heard that line before many times in her youth. She rubbed her arm as she remembered how she had been attacked by men just like that when she had been forced to work as thief for Arlong. Men like him weren't above killing all three boys if it meant getting back their treasure.

Ace seemed to realize this as well as he smacked the sword aside with the pipe and yelled back, "We're gonna make much better use of it!"

Porchemy lost all façade at this and his face was contorted with anger before Sabo decided to step in. He dropped Luffy to the ground like a sack of flour before running forward to fight at Ace's side.

"That jerk, couldn't he have been gentler?" Usopp grumbled as he was forced to watch Luffy struggle to raise his head to watch.

"You think he would have since he does look like he could die if they get any worse," Robin commented.

"Don't say that, please!" Chopper cried out, already losing his mind in not being able to help. Those wounds were deep and Luffy was surrounded by trash and garbage while also laying in the dirt…? That's just begging for a bad infection at this point.

"You're being too reckless! Why are you always doing this?!" Sabo hissed to Ace while never taking his eyes of Porchemy.

"I never back down!" Ace his seriously, doubling his grip on the pipe.

"Apparently, it's not the first time he's done this then," Sanji commented with a frown. "Normally, I'd admire that in someone but if he's not careful he could get killed?"

"But at the same time, they'll just chase after them even if they do run," Robin pointed out, "And they have to carry Luffy, so that will slow them down."

"So what are you saying?" Usopp yelled, freaking out at the lack of options here, "The only choice they have is to fight then run?"

"Sadly, it seems that's the case," Robin shrugged back, "If they could get one good hit in, then they could make a run for it while he's dazed, but I got a feeling that Ace isn't going to be moving until he's sure Porchemy isn't getting back up again."

Porchemy was furious that a pair of kids thought they could win against him as the fight broke out properly. Luffy could only watch them—his eyes wide—as the two boys fought on fiercely. They were getting a couple good swings in, but with Porchemy being a somewhat decent swordsman, it was hard for them to get close. They were being pushed back when their wounds were beginning to add up as they dodged around the sword the best they could. The good news for them was that they were able to move much more freely than Porchemy, whose massive size and even bigger sword were bumping about the cramped space. Still, they were able to hold their own until their teamwork finally brought him down.

With Sabo striking at Porchemy's hand with the pipe, causing him to yell in pain and drop the sword, it gave Ace the opening he needed to deal a heavy blow to the top of his head—which caused Porchemy to stumble and fall forward. Breathing hard and bleeding, Sabo grabbed hold of Luffy as he led the way out of the shack with Ace on their heels, leaving all the men unconscious behind them.

"Thank goodness," Nami sighed in relief, so glad that nightmare was over as the memory faded around them.

"Yeah, happy ending and all that, but I still wanna know what caused them to come back in the first place," Sanji asked, thinking back to the boys attitude towards Luffy earlier.

"I have a guess," Robin answered with a smile. "I'd say that after Luffy was taken, Ace and Sabo had been trying to move the treasure to a safer location. But, when they realized that no one had gone looking in the original hiding place, they guessed that Luffy didn't sell them out. And if that was the case, they must have also realized that if they didn't go save him then he would've been killed."

"But they didn't seem to mind that idea when they tied him tied to that tree saying that they were going to kill him," Franky pointed out.

"Kids say things all the time," she said happily. "Sure, they said they wanted to kill him… but I am also certain that they never would've actually gone through with it. The fact that they showed up at all is proof."

"But that Luffy," Usopp said, shaking his head in awe at what he had seen. "He was willing to die to protect Ace and Sabo… after all they put him through too? All he had to do was tell those thugs where the money was and that would've been the end of it."

"That's just how Luffy is," Zoro said simply. "I see now that's how he's always been."

"But why?" Nami asked in confusion. "Why do all this for someone who doesn't even like him?"

"I think we're going to find out," Brook said as the memory returned. It was dark out when the memory popped back up and they found all three boys hiding amongst some trees. They were surrounded by nothing but jungle, with no trace of any of the mountains of trash in sight, showing that they had moved quite a fair distance away from that miserable shack. All three of them were heavily bandaged with Luffy wailing loudly, tears cascading down his face once again while the other two completely ignored him.

The Straw Hats couldn't say they were thrilled about this but, at the moment, they were just glad that Luffy's injuries were taken care of if even in a sloppy way.

Ace, meanwhile, was sitting up on a large boulder as he was trying to fix the pipe that ended up getting bent from the last hit he dealt to Porchemy, with Sabo leaning up against the rocks next to him, giving him a good scolding.

"That's a real bad habit you've got, Ace," Sabo informed him as Ace weighed the pipe in his hands. "Refusing to run even against a stronger enemy? That's gonna get you killed one day, you know?"

"It doesn't feel right," Ace muttered, as if he hadn't heard a word that Sabo was saying, "It was better before."

Sabo just sighed as he shook his head, as if he didn't know why he even bothered speaking in the first place.

"I gotta give this kid credit. I mean, dealing with both Ace and Luffy?" Sanji asked, shaking his head. "I mean, we all have the scars to prove we've sailed with Luffy. My hat goes off to this kid if he dealt with them both as kids."

"After this, Bluejam's crew will never forgive us," Sabo continued thoughtfully, "They'll be after us from now on."

"That was so scary!" Luffy sobbed, still crying loudly, "I thought I was gonna die!"

At that, Ace jumped down from his perch and lost his temper at Luffy again by screaming, "YOU'RE SO ANNOYING! SHUT UP! HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO CRY FOR ANYWAY?! I HATE WEAKLINGS AND CRYBABIES! YOU REALLY PISS ME OFF!"

"What? My god. Seriously, what is with him?" Nami asked, now growing upset herself, "Sure, Luffy can get on your nerves a lot, but this is getting out of hand! Why is he so angry?"

"Ace-san's anger does seem a bit extreme," Brook said, tilted his head and Chopper hid behind Zoro's leg in fear.

"Luffy was tortured for hours and he's now yelling like it's his fault," Franky said sourly before adding, "Well, it kinda is his fault for getting caught in the first place but still…?"

"Not helping Franky!" Usopp yelled at him.

Robin slowly approached the three boys—waiting to see what they were going to say next. She had a sneaking suspicion that Ace was going to be demanding answers and if she was right…?

But at Ace's harsh words, Luffy instantly sucked in his breath to stop crying, taking the boys, as well as the Straw Hats, by surprise. Normally it took a lot more than that to get Luffy to be quiet.

Sniffling a little, Luffy bowed his head and muttered, "Thank you." The other two were looking at each other, as if not understanding why they were being thanked before Luffy finished, tears starting to well up again despite his best efforts to keep them at bay, "For… saving me!"

Strangely though, being thanked only seemed to make Ace even angrier, which caused him to start yelling at Luffy once more, as if expecting a fight, until Sabo stepped in to calm him down.

"How is it that Ace went from this to the man we met in Alabasta?" Nami whispered, just staring onwards. "They don't even seem like they're related, let alone the same person."

"We're talking about ten years apart, Nami," Robin answered softly.

"But why is he so angry?" Chopper asked, nervously looking at Ace's angry face as he was trying to take deep breaths to calm down. "Luffy was just thanking them and he about lost control! That's not right."

"Oh, I don't think that it has anything to do with Luffy," Robin said knowingly.

"Huh?" they asked, looking at her, completely lost to that, not sure what she meant.

"I agree. To me… it looks like Ace-san doesn't know how to respond to someone in a gentle way," Brook said sadly. "He must've had a truly lonely time until now if anger is his first reaction to something positive."

"I think that's it in a nutshell," Robin agreed, remembering all her years of pain of being alone—if this was true then she could understand how Ace was feeling very well. She looked back to the others and explained, "I don't think that he's had too many people who cared about him. The few people in his life do seem to be indifferent to his well-being so that caused him to carry around a lot of anger… so much so that he just can't contain it… that's why he loses his temper over the tiniest things. That's why he lashes out… because that's what he's used to."

"But what made him change so much?" Chopper asked in wonder.

She smiled, and it wasn't a forced one either, as she asked, "Isn't that obvious?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned back to Luffy, who was rubbing at his eyes as Ace finally seemed to regain control of himself for the moment.

"I don't get it!" Ace demanded, "Why didn't you tell them?! Those guys kill women and children without a second thought!"

Luffy sniffled, trembling slightly at Ace's loud voice before mumbling, "If I'd told them… I could never be your friend."

"So that's why," Brook said softly, understanding washing through his skeletal body.

"That'd better than dying isn't it?" Ace demanded, still completely at a loss to Luffy's actions, "Why do you want to become my friend anyway?"

"Because…?" Luffy started off, but seemed to struggle telling him the reason as began twisting his hands in his torn shirt nervously, "Because…?"

"After all the stuff that I put you through?" Ace pressed on, wanting an answer, "Why did you still follow me this far?"

"That's what I want to know," Usopp said crossly. "If it had been me, I'd given up after that first day!"

"Well, good thing that you and Luffy are different," Zoro said sensibly.

"Hey!" Usopp yelled back, giving him a smack at that.

"Because…" Luffy whispered before finally looking up and declared, "Because there isn't anybody else!"

The words seemed to echo around them as his simple answer seemed to resonate within each of them. Robin was the first to close her eyes with a sad smile as she placed her hand over her heart, seeing things so clearly. The desperate desire to follow after Ace day after day… she recognized the pain in Luffy's eyes every single time. Ace was everything Luffy had left and he couldn't bear the thought of being left behind.

Ace blinked, unsure to what to say to that, but Luffy didn't stop as he explained, "I can't go back to Windmill Village, and I hate mountain bandits. If I didn't chase after you, I'd be all alone! And being alone is worse than being hurt."

No one said a word to that but they didn't need too. For all of them understood the pain of loneliness to some degree… and knew just how difficult it was just to be on your own. For most of them, before joining the Straw Hats… and even for those two long years of training, they all felt that exact same pain that made those days feel so long. When they first joined the crew, and later on after being reunited at Sabaody…? It was like that pain all but disappeared. They travelled around from place to place and the days just seem to fly by in a happy blur… a life that they wouldn't trade anything for.

"That explains it all," Brook croaked out in a solemn voice, "The reason Luffy-san never gave up was because without Ace-san there, he would have been left all alone. Yes, Ace-san treated him badly, but for Luffy-san, that was still better than not having anyone else."

"Aww… Luffy," Nami whispered feeling tears in her eyes at that as Franky burst out crying.

"That's gotta be the sweetest thing I've ever heard, damn it!" he yelled to the sky as the tears gushed down his face as Chopper howled next to him.

"Already, the bonds of brotherhood are taking root!" Usopp declared as he covered his eyes with his arm as he sobbed, "The first step has been taken!"

"WOULD YOU ALL SHUT UP?" Nami screamed at them, but there was no heat to her words and any anger she had evaporated quickly.

As for Ace, he looked completely loss for words as he thought over what he just heard. He then asked slowly, "What about your parents?"

"Just Grandad, nobody else," was Luffy's simple answer.

"And you can't blame him for not wanting to be around Garp," Usopp mumbled, his tears drying up as he remembered what Garp considered to be 'family time'.

Ace seemed too stunned by all of this as he looked at Luffy's miserable face long and hard before asking, his tone no longer cold or as harsh as it had been until then, "It isn't so bad when I'm here?"

"Right," Luffy nodded.

"And it'd be bad if wasn't here?" Ace continued, his voice still surprisingly gentle, as his own anger seemed to fade.

"Right!" Luffy said again.

He then asked something that made them all stare at him.

"You want me to live?" he asked quietly, his eyes were no longer filled with anger… just… curiosity. Zoro looked over at Ace and watched how the boy's hand tightened on his staff, as if afraid of what Luffy's answer would be.

Luffy looked surprised by the question and snapped back as if it was the most obvious answer known to mankind, "Of course I do!"

Ace's face was shadowed so they couldn't see what was going through his head at the moment until all he could whisper was, "I see."

He turned around so that the other two couldn't see him before he scratched his head and decided, to hide his emotional state, "But still… I hate spoiled kids like you."

At those words, all the sadness in Luffy vanished at once as he jumped down from his seat and yelled angrily, "I'm not spoiled! I'm strong!"

"Strong?" Ace shouted, turning back to him, his expression skeptical, "How are you strong?! You're supposed to be a man but you keep crying all the time!"

"Well, he might not be so strong now," Robin said with another bright smile, already seeing that Ace's heart of ice was beginning to melt, "But give him some time and that will change."

"Have you ever been punched with a spiked glove?!" Luffy demanded. "I'm only seven! I won't cry when I get to be ten year old like you! I'll be much stronger!"

"I didn't cry when I was seven either!" Ace yelled back, pressing his forehead up against Luffy's as they continued to argue. "You idiot! Don't compare yourself to me!"

"I'm gonna be stronger than anyone else! I promised Shanks that I'd become a great pirate!" Luffy declared as Ace sneered back.

"A pirate?! You?!"

"Ah, brotherly love," Brook laughed as the boys continued to glare and argue, pushing back against the other in an attempt to prove who was right. "It's always such a delight to see! Yohohoho!"

"You… you sure about that? It doesn't look much like love to me," Chopper said watching them with an apprehensive look on his face.

"You clearly don't understand brothers," Franky said with a knowing grin, "Trust me on this, it's pretty common this way. You get used to it."

"Well, they might not be the perfect example of brothers, but I don't think we need to worry about Ace trying to knock Luffy off anymore bridges or anything," Sanji said in relief.

"Really?" Chopper asked hopefully.

"I think that it's safe to say that," Nami admitted in a slightly reserved agreement, her hands on her hips as she watched the two try to stare the other down.

"Alright, that's enough," Sabo said calmly, stepping between them and pushing the two apart, surprising them all since they almost forgot he was there. "Oh, by the way, I've got a problem here."

The anger melted right off of Luffy's face as he asked, "A problem?"

"What now?" Usopp asked, having exhausted himself from watching Porchemy beating Luffy and wasn't sure he could handle anymore stress at the moment.

Sabo nodded grimly before explaining, "Because of what happened today, Bluejam's crew will be trying to find and kill will all three of us, right?"

Ace blinked, having not thought of that as he confirmed, "Well, yeah. I guess."

Sabo walked passed him as he continued to talk, "I've been living in this forest, but it's close to their base, in Pirate's Cove. What do you think would happen if I fell asleep somewhere and they attacked me?"

"He'd be a dead man," Zoro answered at once.

"He'd be toast," Franky stated.

"Burnt to a crisp," Sanji added with a sage nod.

"You'd die," Ace said bluntly.

Luffy nodded in full agreement with, "You'd definitely die."

"Yep," Usopp agreed. "No doubt about it…"

"Alright we get it!" Nami yelled, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, men…?"

"Right, so I've gotta ask you something," Sabo said, looking back before drawing them in a huddle to whisper, "I kinda need a place to stay until everything cools down so you think I can stay with you guys for a while?"

"Really? You want to go live with a bunch of stupid mountain bandits?" Ace asked in surprise. "I mean, they're not exactly the nicest people."

"You mean back to Dadan's place?" Luffy asked at the same time.

"Still better than being left out here alone," Sabo reasoned. "I don't think it's safe for me to go back there for a while so its best that I hide out with you guys."

"Sure thing!" Luffy said brightly before he let out a yawn, showing how tired he was as Ace agreed but let out a warning that it wasn't going to be the best accommodations before he led the way back. Everything faded to black as they looked at each other, digesting what they just saw.

"Does this mean Ace and Luffy really are friends now?" Chopper asked them all as they were sent back to the darkness.

"Well, I think we still have a ways to go before we're that far," Sanji admitted, trying to find the best way to word it. "But at least they've come to an understanding and I don't think Ace will try to ditch Luffy like before again."

"But what about that Sabo kid?" Nami asked them, asking the question that was all on their minds.

"Yeah, who is this guy?" Chopper asked with a puzzled expression, "I don't think that Luffy's ever mentioned him before."

Robin shut her eyes, wondering if she should say anything, as a few memories of her time with the Revolutionary Army came back to her. She bit her lip before deciding against it, knowing that it wasn't her place to speak about such things.

"Yeah, it's the first time for me anyway," Usopp agreed before looking to Zoro to question, "You've been with Luffy the longest out of all of us. Did he ever mention Sabo to you?"

"I haven't been on his crew that much longer than you have," he reminded him irritably. "But no, he didn't. He never even mentioned Ace or anything to do with his family for that matter. What's the big deal? It's not like he has to tell us about everyone from his past. I'm sure that there are plenty of secrets that we never told each other about."

His thoughts paused for a moment as Kuina's face appeared in his mind's eye and he added, in a bit of a sadder tone than before, "It's not because of lack of trust but because it's personal."

"Well… sure," Usopp said hesitantly. "But aren't you curious?"

"It doesn't matter if I'm curious or not. The fact is that it's none of our business," Zoro repeated firmly. "So we don't know everything about each other's pasts. What does it matter? If Luffy wanted to talk about it, he would have brought it up before. That's it. Maybe these memories are painful for him to talk about, did you ever stop to think about that?"

But before anyone could come up with an argument to that, the next memory appeared and they were back at the bandit's hut. Ace, Luffy, and Sabo were sprawled out on the floor in a tangle of blankets, as Dadan and the others just stood there, gaping at the sight of all three boys and a look of complete confusion etched in their faces.

"You can almost see the moment that this just became her new nightmare," Nami sighed, looking at the horrified look on Dadan's face. "She was stuck with just two kids who wouldn't listen to her… but now there's a third one."

"Yohohoho! They're multiplying!" Brook called out happily. "That just means that there's more love to go around!"

"What the hell is going on?! ACE! LUFFY! Who is that?! Why is there another of you brats here?!" Dadan yelled out loud enough to wake the whole island. Luffy groaned sleepily, sitting up and briefly looking up at Dadan through sleepy eyes.

"Who's who?" he asked hazily before he fell back to the floor and started to drift back off to sleep. Next was Ace, who forced himself to sit up to look around to see who it was making the noise before answering.

"You're so noisy in the morning," he grumbled, and before he fell back to the floor like Luffy had done, asked them, "Don't you know what time it is?"

Sabo sat up almost immediately after that, but he just looked ahead of him for a few seconds before he fell back with a groan.

"Yeah, I don't think this is the way you want to start off an introduction," Nami sighed.

Robin chuckled and reasoned, "After what happened last night, of course they just want to sleep in."

But Dadan wasn't letting this matter go as she demanded to know who Sabo was and why they were all bandaged up. The crew watched on with amusement as all three finally woke up enough to realize what was going on with Sabo finally making introductions as Luffy and Ace watched on.

"I'm Sabo," he said brightly, now fully awake, "Hi! You're Dadan right?"

"Sabo?" she repeated slowly. "I know I've heard that name before."

"Really?" he asked cheerfully. "Well, that makes it easier for me then." He took her hand and shook it merrily, "Let's try to get along starting today!"

"Well, he gets to the point," Brook laughed.

Dadan pulled her hand away and barked, "Get along? Don't think that you'll be staying here!"

Instead of answering, he merely farted and Sanji smacked himself in the face and groaned out at how all three of these brats were lacking in manners.

"Don't answer with a fart!" Dadan screamed as Sabo laughed. "You've gotta be kidding me!" she went on. "If you're the Sabo I've heard about, then you're supposed to be one hell of a brat!"

Sabo grinned and asked, "Really? And I heard you're an old hag!"

"Really?" Sanji asked deadpanned as Franky howled with laughter, "That's really not how you win someone over."

"You shouldn't say things like that!" Dadan yelled as the other bandits fell over with what Sabo had just said. "I don't want to deal with anymore unruly kids."

Sabo just kept grinning, "But you're a nice old hag who can't turn down any requests from other people too, right? I heard that you're an old hag who's like a man among men!"

"Did he really just say that?" Nami asked, her head falling forward a little. "I can't help but feel sorry for her."

"Yeah, I kinda feel bad for her because now she's being strong-armed in letting a third kid she doesn't know stay with them," Zoro reasoned.

"Well, I have a feeling that they aren't going to be staying here for a majority of the time," Brook reasoned. "So long as she gives them a place to stay at night, it shouldn't be that much trouble."

"He says that while conveniently forgetting that two of those kids are Luffy and Ace," Usopp whispered under his breath as Sabo and Dadan argued back and forth for a time. In the end though, Dadan let out a defeated sigh before calling all three by name and snapping that if they were going to be under her care then they best get to work.

Robin laughed at that before saying fondly, "Looks like she's not as bad as she makes herself out to be."

"No, it doesn't. Besides, it's not like she could just kick three boys out when they didn't have anywhere else to go," Nami agreed, "You'd have to have a heart of stone to do that."

"Well, they don't know that they went and made this Bluejam character mad yet," Franky pointed out. "So I wonder just how they'll take the news."

The three boys grinned at each other happily before Sabo said gratefully, "Thanks, Dadan! Right then! We're off!"

And like Brook predicted, all three went running out of the house and back to the wilds.

"Well, that sure didn't take long," Zoro smirked as the rest of the crew laughed.

"Did you honestly expect anything else?" Franky asked beaming while also feeling a sense of happiness that Luffy was able to follow after Sabo and Ace without anything bad happening to him here. "Who wants to stick around cleaning all day when you can go out and explore?"

"Oh, right! I forgot to say…" Sabo said, stopping so suddenly that Luffy ran into him and fell back onto the ground. But Sabo didn't pay any attention to that as he called back to the bandits, "Hey Dadan! While we're out, Bluejam's crew might come around. So be careful!"

"Bluejam might be coming…?" Dogra repeated in a stunned voice. "Why?"

"We got mixed up with one of their crew and beat him up!" Sabo yelled as if that explained everything, "See ya later!"

"What a way to tell them," Zoro laughed at the horror-struck looks on the bandit's faces as the three boys went running off.

"Dadan sure is an understanding old hag," Sabo said to Ace even after hearing the screams of Dadan and her boys fading behind them.

"But she's still an old hag," Ace spoke up with a sour expression.

Nami rolled her eyes as they followed after them. Really, you think that they'd be a bit more grateful that she was letting them stay with them even after knowing that a dangerous crew of pirates was after them. But that was pushed to the back of their minds as Luffy ran up between them, crying out for food, causing Ace to look annoyed but Sabo just laughed in agreement.

They followed the boys to the river where Ace and Sabo quickly caught a giant fish, soon picking it clean, while Luffy drooled at the sight of it as they cooked the meat over a small campfire. Sabo didn't seem to mind sharing his portion of food with Luffy, which Ace was rather reluctant on doing so since Luffy didn't help them catch the fist at all.

Their talk soon turned to Luffy's Devil Fruit power, which Sabo was deeply interested in as he shared the entire tail of the fish to Luffy—who swallowed it whole.

"Well, at least he seems to be a nicer than Ace," Chopper said, still looking uneasily at Ace, who had snapped at Sabo, "You're just gonna spoil him, Sabo."

"It's no big deal," Sabo smiled back before he asked Luffy which fruit he ate.

"I ate the Gum Gum Fruit," Luffy answered proudly.

"Gum Gum…?" Sabo repeated slowly before it clicked in his mind and he gasped, "You're made of rubber?"

"I don't know about you guys but that was my first reaction too," Usopp said, remembering the shock of finding out that Devil Fruit Users really do exist.

"No, no… I think I was about the same with me," Sanji agreed as he thought to the moment he first saw Luffy stretching out his arm and launching himself over to Mihawk on the broken planks of Don Krieg's ship, "Though I believe there was a bit more swearing inside my head."

Meanwhile, Ace was using a bone of the fish as a toothpick as he said, "So you became unable to swim in exchange for being a rubber man? That's stupid."

"It sounds ridiculous when he puts it like that, but good thing Luffy's creative with it," Robin chuckled.

Luffy jumped back up and yelled defensively, "It's not stupid! I've got a bunch of unbeatable techniques."

"That's for sure," Chopper whispered in awe as he thought of how powerful some of Luffy's moves were like when he took out the Kraken in one hit.

"Oh, is that right? A guy who couldn't even catch a fish shouldn't talk like that," Ace asked, leaning back on the ground patting his full stomach. That caused Luffy to flare up with anger as he marched over, looking ready to start a fight, all the while Sabo pulled on Luffy's cheek.

"So you really are made of rubber!" he exclaimed in interest as Luffy stretching out over several feet. "That's so cool!"

"Don't play with me like that," Luffy said before Sabo let go and he fell forward to the ground with a snap.

"They're treating him like some kind of toy," Usopp said with a sweatdrop.

"Well, it's not every day that you met a rubber man," Brook answered. "When I first found out… it was so surprising! I thought my eyes would fall out… ah! Not that I have any eyes. Yohohoho!"

"Still, rubber can stretch, shrink, and expand," Sabo went on as he thought over the possibilities. "It might be pretty useful in a fight."

"Weird as hell, but it has been useful," Zoro agreed and soon they were watching and laughing loud and hard as Luffy tried to show off his Gum-Gum Balloon… only to end up being used as a beach ball for the boys. As they played around though, Ace and Sabo accidently ended up kicking Luffy into the water—where Luffy was promptly eaten by a large crocodile.

They stared for a few seconds as it sank in what they just saw.

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" Usopp screamed as Brook and Chopper yelled in shock, having not seen that happening.

"I bet that's what those two were wondering," Robin said smiling as the two boys screamed and watched the crocodile spit out the straw hat and dive into the water.

"WAIT UP YOU!" they yelled. "WE WON'T JUST LET YOU EAT HIM AND RUN!"

And then they dove in after him before everything grew dark.

"At least they're acting a little concerned for his safety," Brook said brightly, "Much better than before."

"They sure have their work cut out for them though," Sanji sighed, shaking his head. "After all, it takes all eight of us to try and keep Luffy out of trouble, and even then, that's no guarantee that nothing's gonna happen. They don't need to make things even harder for themselves."

They waited until the next memory reappeared, obviously after having just rescued Luffy since all three were carrying the crocodile, tied with ropes, above their heads. Luffy was behind them—carrying the tail—while glaring at the two in front with an angry expression.

"Well, you know…" Sabo offered slowly, looking torn between being apologetic and amused, "Don't be mad."

"How can he not?" Usopp demanded. "They pretty much threw him to that croc!"

"Of course I'm mad!" Luffy yelled, obviously feeling the same way, "I was almost eaten!"

"Oh, shut up!" Ace called from the front before offering, "You can eat as much as you want of this crocodile meat when we have it for dinner."

The anger on Luffy's face was immediately replaced with a bright smile as he said, "Ok, I forgive you."

Nami sighed tenderly at the sigh before muttering, "Well, that sure didn't last long. The best way to get to Luffy is through his stomach."

Sabo looked back at him and asked with surprise on his face, "You're just going to forgive us so easily?"

"I want to eat this crocodile already," Luffy whined, his mouth drooling.

Sabo could only chuckle before his face took on a more serious expression before he said to Ace, "There's something I wanna check on! Come with me!"

"Now what do you all think he's going to do?" Franky asked as they watched them leave the crocodile near some giant rocks before they headed back out.

"Judging from the direction…? I'd say they're going back to that junkyard," Nami frowned in concern as they followed after the boys until the very peaks of the mountains of trash could be seen in the distance. That wasn't smart…? What were they thinking? They could easily get caught again!

But it seemed that the boys weren't interested in going as far as the junkyard this time as they stayed low to the ground—with Ace threatening Luffy that if he was caught again they weren't going to rescue him a second time—which caused Luffy to realize how important this was and his face was focused as he stuck close to Ace and Sabo.

They soon crept through the bushes until they reached the same tree that they had tied Luffy up to the day before. Though as soon as they realized that, it felt astonishing that it had only been a day ago since it felt like it had been much longer than that.

To try their best to blend in, they stuffed things like leaves and flowers around their heads as they crept behind the bushes to try and see what was happening. They saw a group of men there, searching around the tree, and it even looked like they found the trapdoor but were complaining about it being empty.

"I guess they put two-and-two together," Franky said as the men were digging up roots and breaking off smaller branches as they looked for any trace of treasure.

"Look like you were right in that they moved the treasure someplace else. If they're this determined to find it though, they must've stolen a lot," Zoro said to Robin, as Nami all but whimpered in longing at the thought.

Through the foliage, they heard Sabo whisper, "It's a good thing that we moved our 'Pirate Fund' to another place."

"Yeah," Ace said softly, "You want to go look at the Gray Terminal?"

"Grey… Terminal…?" Chopper repeated in confusion.

"I'm guessing that's what that giant junk yard is called," Sanji suggested as he glanced through the trees and could still see the very peaks of those mountains of trash looking back.

They boys cautiously poked their heads out, quietly asking what they should do, with Luffy making a noise loud enough that Ace had to dive on top of him and covered his mouth to keep him quiet before they agreed to have a quick look around the junkyard before returning to Dadan's place.

They followed the three of them back to the junk yard and watched as they came closer to the wall—silently keeping their eyes open for anyone who might be part of this Bluejam's crew. The three of them ended up piling up on top of each other like a totem pole, with Luffy at the bottom, behind a large pile of junk so that they could get a better look.

Not having any fear of being seen, the Straw Hats walked a little closer so that they could see this part of the city was all worn out, dirty and broken down… though at least there were some decent houses that were built there… much better than all the makeshift huts among the mountains of trash.

Looking beyond the wall at an enormous gate, they could see that there was a crooked sign labeled, "Edge Town".

"I guess that that must be where the residents who have at least a little money must be living," Usopp decided.

"I wouldn't call it the best place to live," Sanji said, looking at the suspicious-looking buildings. "It looks like you get drug dealers and criminal spawn from that place. I bet that most people can't even leave their houses without needing some kind of protection against muggers."

Just then they spotted some men, who they guessed were part of Bluejam's crew, were talking to some of the other Terminal residents; asking questions to where they last saw three young boys.

"This isn't good," Sabo's voice said and they looked back to see him looking anxious. "The place is swarming with delinquents from town, and Bluejam's crew. This is serious."

"We must've really made Bluejam mad," Ace said below him with Luffy struggling to support them both and hissing for them to get down already.

"I guess," Franky said, thinking of what happened at Water 7 to how his boys were beaten up and his house destroyed. He frowned at his crew at those memories, trying to hold back the resentment he felt. "If a couple kids stole from me and beat up my boys, I'd go after them."

"Hey guys!" a man behind them suddenly shouted and surprising the boys so that they fell into a heap on the ground, "Somebody here is looking for you!"

As soon as the trio were spotted, they ran for their lives with Bluejam's crew right behind them—and were only able to lose them under the cover of the thick trees.

The Straw Hats were really starting to become worn out from all the running and Usopp was gasping on his knees with his tongue rolling out of his mouth as he tried to catch his breath.

"Damn it… How can… how can they run… so… so fast like that?" he wheezed.

"Big baby," Nami said, as she fanned herself with her hand, "You're telling me that you're tired after a little run like that?"

"You and Robin were riding on Chopper!" he yelled back just as both women stepped down from Chopper's back, who was also panting at this point, as they caught up to the boys who were found leaning against a tree—or Luffy's case—hanging upside down by a branch.

"Looks like they got the guys from the Gray Terminal helping them," Sabo said in a depressed tone, "Guess it's better to just lay low for a while, at least until things calm down."

"That would be the best course of action," Sanji agreed. "The last thing they need is to go out and pick fights when they don't have to. Especially since they're clearly outnumbered."

"It doesn't matter," Ace said firmly as he picked up his staff. "If we run into them, we'll just fight."

Nami sighed at that and shook her head as she knew that sounded like something the 'Monster Trio' would've said. She wondered if Zoro and Sanji were just like this when they were kids because Ace and Sabo were really starting to remind her a bit of them.

"Well, sure we could…" Sabo said hesitantly, "But there's no point in picking a fight if we can avoid it."

"I agree with Sabo!" Luffy added brightly.

"That's a first," Brook laughed, strumming up his guitar, "Luffy-san choosing not to fight."

"I think he's only agreeing with Sabo because he's nicer to him," Robin giggled.

"You just shut up!" Ace snapped at Luffy and just like that the memory faded away until they were standing in a large clearing. Set up next to them was a chalkboard on a makeshift stand with Sabo watching Ace and Luffy facing off.

"What are they doing now?" Chopper asked, looking around in puzzlement.

"Begin!" Sabo called, holding up his hand like how a referee would in a wrestling match.

At that, Luffy ran ahead, spinning one of his arms in a circle while Ace stood still, his arms crossed over his chest—as if testing him. "I'm going!" Luffy yelled confidently, "Gum Gum… Pistol!"

That was when he shot his fist forward… but the aim was so bad that he ended up hitting the ground, which caused his fist to bounce back up and punch him in the face. That was when the Straw Hats all started laughing at how badly the attack failed.

"Oh, the poor guy!" Sanji laughed, holding his ribs as he watched Luffy spinning around like a top before falling to the ground. "He's so bad… but that was just too funny!"

"Well, I guess we all have to start somewhere," Franky pointed out as he roared with laughter.

"We should just be happy he got better," Zoro added grinning.

"I told you," Ace sighed before rushing forward and kicking Luffy in the face, causing him to hit the ground hard, "What the hell are you trying to do?!"

Sabo grinned at that before declaring it over and wrote a big zero on the scoreboard behind him.

"Ah, I get it," Zoro said in understanding as he looked at the numbers there. "They're training. Fighting each other and improving their skills."

"Looks like Luffy keeps losing," Usopp said, looking at all the zeros.

"I do recall that Luffy did mention that he could never win against Ace," Sanji said thoughtfully, thinking back to their meeting in Alabasta.

"He didn't seem to be upset by it though," Chopper reminded him.

"Yeah, never being able to win a single fight against someone is rough," Zoro said, thinking of all 2001 straight losses with Kuina. "But it only makes you that more determined to try harder."

Suddenly it was Sabo and Ace's turn to fight, this time with Luffy watching. The fight was longer this time around, each boy giving as good as he got—both pretty well matched—but it ended up with Ace winning again. After that, Luffy went against Sabo… only for Luffy to have his ass handed to him over and over again.

Ace rolled his eyes before saying to Luffy, "I've already told you. Your fruit isn't useful for anything."

"Crap! It won't work!" Luffy yelled out in frustration that none of his attacks were going like how he envisioned them, "Just a little more… Again!"

"No," Ace said, crossing his arms stubbornly, "We can only fight one hundred times per day. Wait until tomorrow."

"Don't they have anything better to do with their time than pound each other?" Nami demanded exasperatedly.

"You said you had a sister didn't ya? If that's true, then you should know that brothers and sisters are two different relationships. Fighting every day? That's just instinct at this point," Franky said wisely.

Sabo went back to the scoreboard and counted them all up as Luffy and Ace continued to argue. "Final scores… me and Ace were 26 to 24." His jaw fell open as he realized this before he cursed and snapped, "He beat me two more times? I've got to get stronger!"

"And of course, Ace is the strongest one," Usopp sighed tiredly at the thought of getting beaten hundreds of times over the years. The guys really were monsters…?

"Luffy-san sure has a long way to go to beat him," Brook laughed, but stopped almost at once at the reminder that he couldn't… not anymore. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice his slip of the tongue, not that he had one, as Luffy was now yelling, "When I'm ten, I'll kick your ass!"

"By then, we'll be thirteen," Ace reminded him before he picked up his pipe staff and called to Sabo, "We better go look for some food."

They watched in amusement as Luffy's angry mood faded once again at the mention of going hunting and they watched how he was more than happy to follow them to a nearby river. It didn't take them long to realize that this was the same one filled with crocodiles that almost ended up eating Luffy before.

"They're going hunting for crocodiles?" Brook asked, looking nervously down at the water, "After what happened last time?"

"Hey," Zoro said with a grin. "In a place like this, you eat it before it eats you."

With the boys deciding on crocodile meat for dinner, Ace tried to tell Luffy to sit back and leave it to them… but Luffy being Luffy—went charging in, having a pipe staff just like the other two now, and was more than excited to try it out.

"I told you to watch!" Ace shouted as he and Sabo jumped after him.

"Boy he's a real handful," Franky laughed.

"Of course he was," Zoro smirked. "Even more back then than he is now… at least we don't have to worry about him getting eaten all the time."

"Yeah, now it's only half the time, like what happened with that crocodile earlier," Nami sighed.

"Wasn't it their fault that happened?" Chopper asked, thinking about how Sabo and Ace kicked Luffy into the water.

"It's always easier to just blame Luffy for when things go wrong," Nami offered as the fight quickly ended with Sabo and Ace doing the majority of the work in killing the beast, dragging it ashore—with Ace telling Luffy off for charging in like that—before they set up a campfire to cook it. But it looked like Luffy was able to contribute somewhat as he showed them what Lucky Roo taught him before about how to cook the meat with some of the plants that were around them.

At one point, Sabo looked over the two of them with a strange look on his face as they waited for their dinner to finish cooking.

"Is it a coincidence?" Sabo suddenly asked as Ace picked up one of the slabs of meat to inspect it.

"Is what a coincidence?" Ace asked before getting distracted by Luffy, who was all but singing at the food and took two pieces at once.

"You can't have both!" Ace retorted.

"But I'm hungry!" Luffy answered before shoving both into his mouth.

"Geeze, man…" Ace sighed before he took a bite before seeming surprised and admitted, "Hey, you're right, it's pretty good."

"Again, that's the only thing that he can cook," Sanji sighed but there was an air of fondness. At least he doesn't have to worry about Luffy dying of starvation—assuming that he was ever lost in a place filled with a never-ending supply of meat.

"You were just about to say something, Sabo?" Ace asked, getting back to the conversation.

"Yeah, I was wondering if it's a coincidence you both have that 'D' initial?" Sabo asked with his mouth full of food.

"D?" Luffy repeated in confusion as he took a couple more slabs of meat.

"Monkey D. Luffy and Portgas D. Ace…?" Sabo pointed out, "There's a 'D' in both."

"Oh yeah," Luffy said when he realized he was right.

"Right… I never really noticed that," Usopp said as he thought that over but Robin raised her head curiously, wondering what they would say.

"I don't give a damn about names," Ace said with a shrug, clearly not interested in this strange connection and Robin could only smile with a slight shake of her head, not sure what else she was expecting. That was when Ace offered, "You want the D initial, Sabo?"

After a great swallow, Sabo looked at him in bafflement and could only ask a stunned, "What?"

But Luffy was all for this and pointed at him with a laugh, "Sa-D-Bo!"

"Don't put it there!" Sabo grinned as Luffy's cheeks were stuffed to bursting with meat.

"I can put it wherever I like!" Luffy answered back with a grin, "Sa-D-Bo! Sa-D-Bo!"

And suddenly all three boys were laughing, though what they were laughing at, was a mystery.

"It's so nice to see them getting along," Brook said happily as the memory faded. "They're becoming friends already! And now Luffy-san finally has someone watching out for him."

The next memory appeared and they were back near the wall that was called Edge Town. They were surprised to be back here again, but for some reason, couldn't find a trace of Luffy or the boys.

"What are we doing back here?" Usopp asked, shielding his eyes as he looked around for any sign of them.

"Dunno," Zoro confessed, also glancing around. "Though I thought they decided not to come around here for a while…?"

"Perhaps it has been some time…?" Brook offered though he sounded uncertain. It didn't look like that to him, but then again, with all this trash around, it was hard to tell.

"You honestly expect them to actually go through with it?" Nami asked them irritably. "Luffy and Ace can't sit still… and that Sabo kid isn't much better."

Chopper walked about, before he spotted a large group of people walking through a large gate in the wall, each one carrying bags.

"What are they doing?" he asked, pointing this out to the others.

"I don't think it's strange to think that the residents here take what they find from the mountain of trash and then try to sell it. If the nobles are as wasteful as we think, then it's possible that something valuable is accidently thrown out," Robin offered before a cloaked figure stumbled by, pulling a cart that was covered with a tarp.

She, Zoro and Sanji all looked up at the figure—watching it stumble around as if he was unsteady on his feet.

"Whoa, what's with that guy?" Usopp asked as the man almost fell and had to support himself against cart to keep him from going down.

"He looks like he had one too many," Franky commented.

"Let's follow him," Zoro said at once as Sanji and Robin all began to do just that.

"Why?" Nami asked in surprise. "He's just some drunkard isn't he?"

"Trust us on this one," Zoro told them as they neared the figure, who was now talking to a guard, as they asked what they were pulling.

"Crocodile leather for sale," the figure said, pulling the cover back to show him.

"Wait… is that…?" Nami asked softly, suddenly realizing to who that man was when she heard that voice.

"Looks like it," Robin smiled back.

"Not bad, they're small enough to pull it off," Usopp said, now grinning.

"What are you all talking about?" Chopper asked, now completely lost to what was going on.

"You'll see soon," Robin smiled at him gently as they continued to follow the figure through the gate and into the city. Like they all thought, the buildings here were dirty and rundown, but still much better than living in the Gray Terminal. Franky couldn't help but start thinking of Water 7 and how he used to rule the black market. This almost reminded him of home…?

"Man, remind me never to visit here if I can help it," Sanji offered looking at the passing windows to either see timid or threatening figures looking out. "Robin, my dear… didn't you say that Goa Kingdom was known for being beautiful? Because I think that they should fire their advertiser. Or maybe promote him…?"

"Where the Nobles live, I'm betting that's true," Robin answered as a group of thugs came out from the alleyway to the robed figure. 'But like everywhere else, if you can't afford it then you're worthless in their eyes.'

"It seems you're carrying something valuable there," one of the muggers said as he walked forward with a smug grin on his face, "Answer, you bastard."

"Shut up if you know what's good for you," came a second familiar voice from underneath the hood.

"Why are we following this guy?" Chopper asked them all, still not realizing what was going on yet. "I thought that we were following Luffy and…?"

"Wait for it…?" Franky said as the others smirked as a pipe staff came out from the cloak and tripped the thug up—thing was, it came from much lower than where the man's arm was supposed to be.

"Before you rob somebody, you should choose your targets more carefully!" that voice said, reaching down and throwing off the cloak to reveal that Sabo, Luffy, and Ace were all stacked on top of each other again, all of them looking ready to fight.

"Ah! So it was them!" Chopper exclaimed in amazement while the others all smiled at each other, deciding not to say anything.

"It's those brats!" one of the thugs cried. But before anyone could do or say anything more, the trio was on them and soon it was a brawl. Franky burst out laughing and applauded as he watched Ace sucker-punched one of them so that he was out cold before he even hit the ground.

Though they were only kids, and were heavily outnumbered, they were more than a match for these guys as they knocked each one of them out. It was soon over, with the three of them escaping with nothing but a few cuts and bruises—and once they found the cloak, they climbed up on top of each other's shoulders again—leaving as if nothing had happened.

"Should I be concerned that a few kids were able to beat up all those thugs who had guns and knives with them?" Nami asked them all, looking a little nervous at what she just saw.

"You saw the forest didn't you?" Zoro asked as they followed, with them still dragging their crocodile leather behind them. "On this island, you have to get stronger or die. Personally, I think that those jungle animals are a bigger threat than any lowlife thug."

"You guys are heavy!" Luffy complained on the bottom of the stack as they stumbled through the streets.

"It'll be worth it," Ace's voice answered, "I'll treat you guys to some Ramen soon."

"Ramen?" Luffy's voice asked.

"How can he not know what Ramen is?" Sanji sighed, remembering the countless times that Luffy asked for that for dinner when he told Luffy that they couldn't have just pure meat.

"Well, it's not like they have much of a balanced diet with the bandits," Nami pointed out with a forced smiled.

"Just be patient and you'll see," Ace answered as they walked uneasily on their feet through Edge Town, and towards another gate that held a sign that was labeled: 'Town Center'. After passing through this gate however…?

"Gorgeous!" Nami gasped, her eyes shining at what she was seeing. This whole town couldn't have looked more different than Edge Town… there were tall, brightly colored buildings on either side of them that were so clean that they shone like diamonds in the light. In the center of the city was another wall which held a beautiful palace that rose higher than a mountain and looked down at them all.

"I'm guessing that's where the nobility live," Robin said, looking up at it with a strange look on her face—as if she swallowed something bitter. "This really is Goa Kingdom. A country without any trace of dirt… known as the most beautiful across the East Blue."

"I can believe that. I mean… these streets look so clean that I think you could eat off them," Usopp whispered, completely stunned.

"It sure does seem to live up to its reputation," Robin said as she stared at the dozens of stores on all sides, people dressed in fine clothes doing their shopping and enjoying the nice day… they were all so taken aback that they almost lost track of the boys and had to run to keep up with them.

They travelled through Town Center for a few blocks before they met with some men at the exchange office to trade the crocodile skin. Nami pouted a little as Ace was left to do the bargaining with the teller before they decided on a price. Personally, she felt that she could have gotten a better deal as they took the sack of beris and left before heading deeper into the city while being surrounded by fancy stores and expensive merchandize.

"Geez! These prices are practically a scam?!" Nami grumbled as she looked at some of the beautiful dresses in the windows before gawking at the price tags.

"Does anyone else notice something about these people?" Zoro asked as the people were giving the boys the same exact judging looks.

"The fact that they're all ugly?" Usopp pointed out, which was true. The faces of all these people were indeed all very ugly due to the constant sour or stuck-up expressions… as if they smelled something disgusting wherever they went.

"Well, yeah," Zoro agreed, "But I was talking about the fact that they're avoiding them like he's carrying a plague or something."

"Yohohoho, you're right," Brook said as they watched the people around them moving back as if afraid of getting their clothes dirty.

"I think that it's the clothes that they're wearing that's doing it," Sanji sighed, having seen this very often back with…? He forced down those darker memories, doing his best to try and erase them as Chopper pointed out that their cloak wasn't that bad, only a little dirty.

"That's the problem," Sanji explained as he watched on with an angry expression when he caught sight of how some of the women were actually pulling out handkerchiefs and using them to cover their mouths and noses. "I normally like a clean surface, but this is ridiculous. It's almost… too clean."

"Yes, and where do you all think that trash must go?" Robin asked them, her head turning back to the wall that they originally came from.

They all looked at each other when they understood what she meant and Robin nodded at their expressions.

"Yes," she said. "I think it's pretty clear what's going on here. They throw out what they don't need or want and it all piles up in the Gray Terminal. That leaves their city looking as pristine as it is."

"I don't know if I like this place," Chopper said, not liking the snotty looks the nobles were given the cloaked figure, "These people… they're not… I mean they're…?" but he trailed off, not sure what he was trying to say. But they all nodded, reassuring him that it was alright how he felt since they all felt the same way.

Luffy, Ace, and Sabo were talking about under to cloak again as Luffy kept whining how hungry he was before Ace reassured him that they had Ramen waiting for them. They walked a little longer until they seemed to find the fanciest looking restaurant that any of them had ever seen. It was huge, a good five stories at least and they could tell Ace was smiling when he said, "This is the restaurant."

The host inside bowed and welcomed them in, at least until he got a good look at them and grew pale. He was frantically trying to get them to leave, not even allowing them to finish stepping over the threshold.

"Eh? Why can't they go in?" Chopper asked in surprise, "They didn't do anything. Not yet… anyway…?"

"Does it look like they have money?" Franky asked him with a roll of his eyes.

"I thought that it would've been obvious from the looks they got outside," Robin observed. "But this city values rank and status above anything else. Unless they have money, they aren't welcomed just anywhere. And in a place like this, then anyone who looks like they're broke—even if they're starving—isn't welcomed."

Sanji's eyes narrowed dangerously at that explanation—inwardly seething at how someone could be denied food just because of something as stupid as their state of clothes. He shut his eyes as the image of his father and brothers came to his mind's eye and he gritted his teeth. It were people like them that he hated more than anyone else… and he knew these cooks were a disgrace to the profession. As far as he was concerned, anyone who was hungry was a customer—any chief worth his salt would feel the same way.

But before he could begin to rant and rave about this, there was some shifting around under the cloak and Sabo's hand pulled out a round, golden pendant that bore the crest of a daisy.

"I'd like a private room," Sabo said, trying to make his voice sound deeper than normal.

The host gapped for a moment, eyes wide as he stared at the medallion and stuttered, "T-that… that's…!" He seemed too stunned for words before he began to bow so low that his head almost touched the floor and spoke in an oily voice, "It is an honor that a noble would visit my restaurant. We'll serve you right away!"

"He thought that they were a noble because of that pendant?" Zoro asked suspiciously.

"I'm guessing that emblem is something that only a high-ranking noble would wear," Nami said, leaning down closer to the crest so that she could get a better look at it before Sabo put it away.

"Hey, that was great," they heard Ace whisper as they followed the man, "Where'd you get it?"

"Oh, ah… it was something I found in the city," Sabo answered unusually apprehensive.

"In other words, he stole it," Usopp answered with a shrug.

Robin didn't say anything to that—but she knew the truth as she felt her heart going out to Sabo. Once more, she wanted to come out and tell them the truth… to tell them what she knew about him but…?

"Please… don't tell Luffy anything…? I'll… I don't know if it's…?" a voice echoed in the back of her mind as she became sad as she shoved the memory aside for now before she followed the boys to the private room on one of the upper levels. The room alone was big enough to hold at least two dozen people and was beautiful carpeted with statues and crystal decoration on the walls with a sparkling chandelier over their heads as the boys awkwardly sat down at the table.

"Wow!" Chopper called, looking at everything with wide eyes as Ace ordered them three bowls of their best ramen.

"I'll say this much," Sanji said, breathing out some smoke as the waitress nodded and left the room. "They may seem like stuck-up people, but these guys don't spare any expense on décor."

As soon as the host left them, Luffy whined about wanting to come out, but Ace told them both to stay put for a little longer until after they brought the food. A few minutes later, a waitress came in with the three bowls and Ace told her they would call if he wanted more. Once they were sure she was gone, the other two poked their heads out from the cloak and stared hungrily at their meal.

"So, this is ramen?!" Sabo exclaimed hungrily.

"It looks delicious!" Luffy cried, drooling.

Ace smiled as he threw off the hood and told them to just enjoy it. They had no problems following that order as they dug in, slurping up the noodles and broth with stars in their eyes as though they hadn't eaten in days. Sanji could only shake his head once again as Brook laughed, looking on hungrily and placed his bony hands over where his stomach would have been as he moaned out, "Ah… it does look good… I wish I could have some."

"Yes, too bad it's just a memory," Robin agreed, now starting to feel a little hungry herself and wished that they had some of Sanji's packed lunches with them.

"Don't worry. I'll be sure to make some when we get out of this place," Sanji promised and Brook, Chopper, Franky, and Usopp all cheered happily before doing a dance around him, chanting 'Ramen! Ramen!' He smiled at how happy they all became and he suspected Luffy would be thrilled at the thought as well.

In no time at all, the boys finished their bowls before Luffy began howling out for more. Ace and Sabo had to clap their hands over his mouth to keep him quiet before Sabo cleared his throat and called in that deep voice for three more bowls.

"There won't be anything left in the kitchen by the time they're done," Nami predicted, shaking her head.

"Well, growing boys need food," Robin pointed out.

"Besides, it's the restaurant's fault for not realizing something's off," Zoro said as the boys hid under the cloak again and waited until the waitress returned without another serving. "One person ordering all that ramen? They kinda have this coming."

Though Zoro believed his own words, he didn't realize just how hopeless these owners were as they kept bringing in more and more food, which was like adding fuel to the fire. The boys were clearly showing this place no mercy as they continued to eat this fill—which showed that Sabo had the same bottomless stomach as Ace and Luffy.

"How many bowls is it now?" Chopper asked in amazement as he watched the three of them inhale bowl after bowl.

"I think 23 of them give or take…? I kinda lost track," Usopp said, doing a quick count of the empty bowls. "Come on, you mean to tell me that the kitchen still hasn't they figured out that something's not right?"

The boys ducked back under the cloak, not even done with this current helping when the waitress came back in with moer, gasping for breath, looking as if she had run up here from the kitchen. In his excitement, Luffy didn't even bother to hide his abilities as his arm shot out and took the tray from her. It was over so fast that not even Sabo and Ace realized what happened as they continued eating under the cloak. The waitress stood there frozen for a second before she screamed and the door shut behind her.

"Well, if they don't notice something's wrong now, then I don't know how they manage to stay in business," Zoro said as the others laughed.

Finally, they seemed to catch onto that fact because someone more official came in next time, well-dressed, and asking, "Sir, can you please explain…?"

But upon seeing all three kids, who had no warning to try and hid themselves, he let out a cry of shock, startling them when they realized that they overstayed their welcome.

"Crap! They found out!" Ace exclaimed as he swallowed the last of his food and grabbed his staff.

"Run!" Sabo yelled and then the three of them made a break for the nearest exit, which happened to be the window, and went crashing right through it.

"Wait! What floor are we on?" Nami screamed out.

"Doesn't matter," Sanji laughed as he and Zoro jumped after them.

"Let's go! Yohohoho!" Brook laughed, also taking a jump, and almost flying through the air as Franky picked up the girls—one in each hand—before he followed, with Chopper and Usopp right behind him. Chopper had turned to his guard point form and had stopped his fall easily while Usopp landed on top of him and bounced down to the ground.

"The thieves are escaping!" the owner shouted from the window, "Someone get them!"

"What a rush!" Franky laughed as he went chasing after the boys.

"They'll never be allowed back here again!" Usopp laughed as he ran after them.

"Please, at those prices? Who would be?" Nami asked, not a fan of dinning and dashing like that, but even she was having a hard time trying to keep a smile off her face.

"It's them! Those brats again!" a voice yelled as they ran, people backing away from the boys.

"Again with those three criminals?" an officer yelled. "Why did they let them into the restaurant? Don't run! Someone catch those brats!"

"I guess that this isn't the first time that they did something like this?" Robin asked, now laughing outright, "Ace and Sabo were a terrible influence on Luffy."

"Ah, these snobs deserve it," Zoro grinned, generally having fun for the first time since stepping into these memories.

Yet the fun seemed to have been sucked away soon enough when they ran by a finely dressed man with a thin mustache and wearing a top hat, much like Sabo's but with feathers, a flower, and what appears to be a chain-like band rim. At first, the Straw Hats paid him as little attention as the boys did when they ran past, at least until the man cried out in shock, "Sabo?! Is that you, Sabo?! WAIT! So you were alive!"

Upon hearing his name, Sabo stopped dead in his tracks and turned to stare at the man with a panicked look on his face.

"They know each other?" Brook asked in surprise, also stopping.

"Probably some guy he ripped off in the past," Usopp came up with.

"Come back home!" the man yelled.

"Come home?" Nami asked, her eyes widening a little. "What's he talking about? Doesn't Sabo live in the Gray Terminal? Why would he have any connections here?"

Luffy and Ace seemed just as startled at this as they were as Ace asked, looking back at the man in mild surprise, "Hey, Sabo, that man's calling you."

"You know him?" Luffy asked, also stopping.

Sabo only said hurriedly, "He must be mistaking me for someone else. Let's go!"

Without giving them a chance to ask any more questions, he bolted, forcing the other two to exchange surprised looks before giving chase, calling after him even as the man shouted out for Sabo to stop.

"What's going on here?" Usopp asked, not understanding what just happened as the memory faded away into darkness.

"If we knew that, don't you think we would've told you?" Sanji asked irritably. Just then, the next memory appeared, revealing the boys after having escaped and were standing on a grassy cliff outside the forest and had the perfect view of the ocean.

Luffy was patting his full stomach happily as he said, "Since I ate all that delicious ramen, I'm in a good mood! Just a little sleepy…?"

"Don't go to sleep now," Ace snapped before glancing at Sabo, his arms folded that reminded one of a parent catching their child out late. "Before we do anything else, I think that you need to tell us just what it is you're hiding from us!"

Luffy, who was starting to drift off to sleep, was suddenly wide awake as he asked with an air of surprise, "Eh? Sabo's hiding something?"

"What? No, I'm not! I don't see what the problem is. I'm not hiding anything!" Sabo exclaimed even as he shifted nervously and couldn't seem to bring himself to look at either of them in the eyes. In other words, he was clearly hiding something from them.

Not that Luffy noticed though for he blinked innocently as he asked, "Really?"

"Luffy, you really need to learn how to tell if someone's lying to you," Nami sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "He trusts people to easily…?"

"That's why he has the rest of us here," Usopp said, punching his own chest proudly.

"And you know more about lying than any of us," Zoro commented.

"HEY!" Usopp yelled, smacking his shoulder again.

"It's obvious that you're hiding something!" Ace yelled out, already angry as he demanded, "Spit it out, Sabo! Do you think its okay to keep secrets between us?"

At that, both of them were up in his face as they said together, "Spit it out, Sabo!"

Sabo's blinked and stepped back, still refusing to look at either of them as he mumbled, "I already told you, I'm not hiding anything…?"

Rather than take that flimsy excuse, both Luffy and Ace both grabbed Sabo by his collar and shook him as they tried to get the truth.

"Talk, damnit, or I'll make you talk!" Ace warned as Sabo pulled his head back as he gasped for air.

"L-lemme go!" Sabo choked out as he shoved their hands away until he finally cried out, "Alright! Alright! I'll tell you!"

Ace and Luffy backed off and Sabo leaned back against the tree behind him. He looked between his friends for a moment before turning his gaze to the ground and told them the truth.

"Ehhhhhhh?!" Luffy exclaimed in surprise, "A noble's son?!"

"You took the words out of my mouth, Luffy," Nami said, her jaw wide open in shock. "He's the son of some rich nobles? Lucky!"

"Who?" Ace and Luffy asked together in confusion.

"Me of course!" Sabo yelled.

"Seriously, weren't they listening?" Sanji muttered with a roll of his eyes as he had watched how Sabo flinched violently at the word 'noble' as if reminding him of a bad memory. Seems he was a lot like this kid in one sense…?

"So he didn't steal the crest," Brook said as Franky, Usopp and Chopper were staring at Sabo in amazement. "It must really belong to him… and if the reaction from that restaurant owner was anything to go by… I'm guessing that it must be a symbol of an extremely high-ranking noble family."

"But why would he be living in the Grey Terminal?" Nami asked as she looked him over, observing how he must've been living in that garbage for a few years at least. Why would he do that if he still had family?

Ace and Luffy blinked at that before they started picking their noses before saying in unison, "So?"

"You're the ones who were asking!" Sabo yelled back in annoyance.

"They may not be related, but they sure act like it," Chopper whispered under his breath. Could anyone blame them for thinking that these two were really blood brothers?

Sabo sighed, sliding down the tree until he was sitting on the ground. "The truth is," he said softly, "My parents are still alive. I'm not an orphan of the Gray Terminal… and the man we saw today… he's my father."

Ace's eyes went wide but Luffy didn't seem to react at all as Sabo looked at the two of them and apologized in a sincere way, "I'm sorry for lying to you."

Luffy crossed his arms and smiled a little as he reassured him, "Well you apologized, so I forgive you."

"Of course he would," Usopp said, smiling fondly, remembering that horrible moment when he left the crew and how he'd been welcomed back after he swallowed his pride and apologized.

"To be honest, I'm surprised," Ace said as he turned and walked a couple steps away from them, a thoughtful expression on his face, "Why would you do all of this if you're a noble's son?"

"Yeah… I don't get it. They're his family aren't they?" Chopper asked softly, watching Sabo gritting his teeth together.

"Remember the people we saw in town?" Robin asked, though already knowing the answer, "If I had to live with people like that, I probably would've left too."

"I had to run away from home!" Sabo confessed loudly and the boys looked at him in surprise. Sabo sat there, with an angry look on his face as he came clean and told them, "They only care about money and social status… not me."

Nami blinked at that as Sabo's eyes narrowed in resentment and confessed, "If I don't marry a girl from the royal family, I might as well be crap to them. I had to study everyday… just for that. I was always arguing with my parents because of my poor results in school. For that family, I was nothing more than a nuisance."

"To dictate a child's life…" Brook said softly. "That is terrible. They should've been encouraging him to live his life… not to make him live how they want just to make them look better."

"Good for him for leaving then," Sanji said, folding his arms.

"But… would his own parents… really treat him that badly?" Nami whispered as she struggled to grasp that as she remembered her mother and how she had always supported her and been on her side even when she got in trouble.

"Nami-swan… sad as it may be, some parents…?" Sanji said with a frown as Judge's face appeared in his mind's eye, "Don't deserve that title. When kids and their parents don't see eye to eye… anywhere can seem better than at home."

Sabo sighed as he stopped shaking from anger and went on, "Sorry if I offend you, but even though I had parents… I felt alone! The people of Gray Terminal aren't like the Nobles. But for me, it was better than to live for decades in that place, with the Nobles."

It was that last sentence that caused it to be too much for the more sensitive members of the crew, and they all started crying again.

"The poor guy!" Franky cried a river of tears as the others had tears in their eyes.

"It's strange how that is," Robin said frowning. "How it's those with money and power who care more about keeping it all."

"Well, you can't miss something you don't have," Sanji commented with a shrug.

Robin gave Nami a sideways glance before finishing, "Even with all that money, he wasn't happy. He chose his freedom instead… he could go back at any time, but he rather remain where people truly care about him as a person… not as a tool."

"They must've been bad if Sabo rather live in the junk yard than with his parents," Nami said sadly, her mind still thinking of Bell-mère… they may not have had a lot of money, but she knew without the shadow of a doubt that her mother loved both her and Nojiko.

She blinked for a moment before holding her hands folded over her chest, her heart aching as she thought of her mother and sister… suddenly missing them more than ever. If she had to choose… she would rather have grown up poor again if she could be with them. Suddenly, she was starting to see why Sabo must've left.

Ace looked at Sabo with new sympathy as he muttered, "Now, I understand."

But just like magic, the gloomy look on Sabo's face disappeared and he jumped up to his feet with an excited grin on his face.

"ACE! LUFFY!" he proclaimed with a big smile, taking them all by surprise. "We definitely have to set sail and leave this place someday! I wanna leave and see the world! Everything that it has to offer! And then write a book about my adventures! I don't mind having to study navigation. I'll get stronger and I'll become a pirate!"

"What a nice dream," Robin said fondly as the others laughed good-naturedly.

"I think I like this kid," Zoro said as Ace and Luffy grinned along with Sabo. Seeing the three of them here suddenly caused him to remember his own vow after he first lost to Kuina… and after he lost to her for the final time. He decided that if he wanted to become strong… he would dedicate his life to swordsmanship… and work until the day came that he would become the greatest.

Ace laughed out loud at that declaration as he walked to the edge of the cliff and gazed up at the bright, blue sky and said determinedly, "You don't need to tell me. I'll be a pirate and I'll fight and fight and fight until I become famous! That will be proof that I lived!"

He held the staff up and declared, as if for the whole world to hear, "I don't care if the world doesn't accept me. I don't care if they think I never should've been born! I'll become a great pirate and stand above everyone else! I won't run from anyone, or lose to anyone! I'll make sure the world knows my name!"

"Well, his name certainly went down in history," Robin stated softly and they all glanced at each other nervously, knowing full well that Ace's name will always be remembered… though not necessarily in the way that Ace had planned here.

"But what did he mean by 'if the world doesn't accept him'?" Chopper asked slowly.

"It's hard to explain," Robin said, her eyes overshadowed by her bangs, and suddenly very tense.

"Robin-chan?" Sanji asked her, noticing her on edge frame, "What are you…?"

"It's nothing," Robin said firmly, forcing another smile on her face.

Thankfully, Luffy giggling was enough to distract them as he ran to the edge of the cliff to stand by Ace and raised his fists in the air before taking a deep breath and shouted out confidently…?

But at that second the waves came rising up and crashed upon the rocks below them, having made such a loud noise, that it ended up distracting them from what Luffy said. As the noise faded, Luffy was laughing his head off as if he heard the funniest thing in the world and the boys just stared at him as if in shock.

"What'd he say?" Nami asked, having missed it.

"No idea… but I think it's pretty obvious, right? I don't know if you heard, but Luffy is gonna be King of the Pirates someday," Usopp grinned in a teasing way.

"Really? I had no idea," Franky laughed, already writing off what it was that Luffy said, not realizing the stunned looks on Sabo and Ace's faces for a moment.

"You're talking nonsense again," Ace finally sighed, scratching his head in annoyance as Sabo burst out laughing along with Luffy.

"You're so funny, Luffy!" he cried out. "I can't wait to see what happens in the future with you!" He laughed for another minute before suddenly stopping—as if he just realized something important. He looked to them and asked, "Wait, it's okay that we all want to be pirates… but is it okay that we all want to be captain?"

"That would be a problem," Usopp said as he thought it over. "Usually they have a captain and a vice-captain…? But three of them? That's bound to cause confusion and trouble."

Ace blinked in surprise as if he never thought of that before and slowly stated that he had planned on Sabo being his navigator. Luffy just grinned and cried out predictably, "You'll all be on my ship!"

Naturally, the two both shouted out, "I refuse!"

"Ehhh?!" Luffy exclaimed, looking disappointed, "Come on, do it! Join my crew! I'll be fun!"

"Now that brings me back," all the Straw Hats spoke up at the same time, thinking when Luffy asked—demanded—that he join them. They all refused at one point or another, but Luffy, being Luffy, refused to give up on them. They all learned the hard way that Luffy has a bad habit of getting to you in the end. Luffy may be idiot, he may be reckless and high maintenance—often causing them to question their own sanity for joined him in the first place—but still… at the end of the day, they just can't bring themselves to regret joining.

But the boys seemed to think otherwise.

"That will never happen!" Ace told him.

"Yep, I agree," Sabo nodded and grinned at the outraged look on Luffy's face.

"Yeah, I wonder if I should've said that," Sanji shrugged as he finished another cigarette and was fishing out another.

"Be nice," Robin smiled.

"Yeah I guess," Sanji sighed, puffing on his cigarette for a moment before his eyes turned back into hearts and crying out dramatically, "If I hadn't joined, then I never would've been able to sail with you two gorgeous ladies! That was the most painful thing during our two year separation! But now that we are all reunited, I feel as if those painful memories of hell faded to the corners of my mind!"

"What mind?" Zoro asked as he interrupted Sanji's self-proclaimed love.

At his voice, Sanji's eyes glowed with anger as he growled softly, "What was that, Moss Head?!"

"I asked, what mind?" Zoro repeated slowly and carefully.

"I'm gonna roast you!" Sanji yelled, kicking out, which Zoro dodged, going for his swords—before Nami hit them both on the head.

"Would you two knock it off for once?" she yelled at them.

"Sanji-san, just what do you mean by 'hell'?" Brook asked interestedly.

At the question, Sanji fell to his knees as the voices of those horrible creatures began to chant his name in his head and he felt as if he was about to be sick. So, as Zoro gave Nami a death glare, Sanji was shaking as he growled, "I don't even want to think about it, it's the thing of nightmares!"

Upon seeing the dark shadow over his head, Brook gasped out in horror, wondering what kind of nightmare could reduce Sanji to this as he whispered, "My goodness… this is a bad topic for you!"

Luffy ended up interrupting their conversation by sounding put out with the boys for their firm refusal and grumbled with a pout. Ace demanded to know what the problem was before Luffy stuck his tongue out at him, surprisingly letting the matter go for now even as the memory began to fade out as Sabo laughed at their antics.

The last thing they saw before the memory faded was all three boys laughing their heads off as they gazed longingly out at the sea, talking excitedly about the adventures they would have out there one day. When the next memory appeared though, they were back in the forest, though it seemed that they weren't far off from the cliff since they could still just hear the ocean waves even from here. Luffy and Sabo were waiting around a tree stump, with Sabo putting down three red sake cups, using the stump as a table.

"What're they doing now?" Usopp wondered Ace reappeared, carrying what looked like a bottle of sake with him.

"Looks like they're gonna have a drink," Zoro sighed, suddenly wishing he could have some of what was in that bottle.

"What? They're just kids!" Nami barked, glaring at Zoro like it was his fault.

"Don't yell at me!" Zoro snapped back.

"So what's going on?" Luffy asked as Ace set the bottle next to the cups with an excited grin.

"You'll see," he said as he began working on getting the cork out. "The point is… it's hard to say what's gonna happen later on. But I think it's best that we decide future things in the future. Maybe we'll end up on three different ships."

"I'm guessing that's what happened," Usopp said, remembering how Luffy once said that Ace had set sail to become a pirate a few years before he did.

"Did you steal Dadan's liquor?" Luffy asked him as Ace grinned a little wider and opened it with a popping sound. That was when they realized that this was one of the first times they had seen such a light-hearted grin on Ace's face, making him look completely different than the hardened kid they were now used to seeing.

"Did you know? When men drink together, they become brothers," Ace explained.

"Huh? Is that really true?" Chopper asked in amazement as he watched pouring a generous amount of the drink into each cup.

"They do say that," Sanji said, thinking of when Chief Zeff once mentioned it in passing.

"Really? Huh… in that case, I'm guessing that about half of Water 7 are my family now?" Franky said thoughtfully.

"It's a little more complicated than that," Robin chuckled. "Such ceremonies usually take place in the pirate world though, either between one individual or even a group of people with another. It's not the same thing as a contract like between countries or businesses. Usually in such ceremonies, sake is poured in respective cups and they make an oath or perform a toast before drinking, swearing themselves to each other. In most cases, the individuals get to keep their cups as a symbol of their oath, and when they return it, it's the same as cutting ties with that person. There are three types of ceremonies like that. The most common is known as the Followers' Sake Cups, which is used during a one-side pledge of loyalty, usually in the formation of a one group serving under another as a subordinate crew."

"And the other two?" Chopper asked curiously as Ace finished pouring.

"The second is a Parent-Child Sake Cups, which is used for a formation of a parent-child relationship," she explained, "Which is less common but similar to the first. Whitebeard was once known for thinking of all those under his flag as his sons, for example."

"And the final one?" Usopp asked, though having a good idea.

"The Brothers' Sake Cups," she smiled as all three boys gathered around the stump, "Where individuals pledge to each other while exchanging cups and tightening their brotherhood by becoming 'sworn brothers'. They are seen as equals in each other's eyes; as good as blood family."

Ace set the bottle down at that, still grinning as Luffy stared on with a wide, beaming grin on his face as he repeated, "Brothers? Really?"

Sabo was also grinning widely next to him as Ace nodded to confirm that.

"We might not be pirates on the same ship, but we'll be united by our bond of brotherhood," Ace declared, looking a little more like the man they met in Alabasta as he picked up one of the cups, "So this way, no matter what we do or where we are, no one will ever break that bond!"

The other two copied him, each taking their own cups.

"From now on," Ace proclaimed firmly, holding his glass up, "We're brothers!"

The trio clinked their glasses together with a cheer, Luffy and Sabo affirming Ace's words—and as the sun shone down on the cups, the liquid in them seemed to sparkle as they tilted their heads back and drank.

Once again… it was too much for Franky, Brook, Usopp and Chopper as they all broke down crying, truly touched by that—with Franky sobbing the loudest as tears fell as if he sprouted a leak.

"Franky!" Sanji barked, covering his ears from the noise.

"I can't help it! I love these little guys!" Franky bawled, twisting a tissue in his giant hands.

"You don't see that kind of bond just anywhere!" Usopp cried out dramatically, "I can't believe we were able to witness such a thing!"

"I wish I had brothers like that!" Chopper bawled out with Franky, hugging the cyborg tightly as Franky hugged him back so tightly that Chopper was turning blue.

"So touching!" Brook also sobbed, tears falling from his empty sockets. "I feel as if my heart is being torn in two… though I have no heart, of course!"

"We get it!" Nami yelled, her hands over hear ears, as Robin worked to get Chopper free from Franky's bear hug before he accidently suffocated. "I think we all agree that it was special, but you don't need to carry on like this!"

"So Luffy had two brothers… not just one," Sanji said softly watching the three boys all laughing together again. "They were sworn brothers… Ace and Sabo…?"

"You think that Sabo's out there on the seas somewhere and we might meet him like we did with Ace?" Chopper asked happily. "I'd loved to meet him!"

"Complete approval!" Franky cried out as he blew his nose loudly, and the darkness came back so that the memory faded away.

"That seems like a pretty good guess if you ask me," Usopp said, drying his eyes and beaming at Chopper. "Maybe that's why Luffy never told us about them… to make it a surprise when we do meet them!"

"Really?!" Chopper called out in excitement. "Oh, I can't wait!"

"Don't get so eager yet," Zoro said, frowning at this whole thing. "I think we're missing some important information here."

The smiles soon faded as they looked at him with Usopp asking, "What do you mean?"

"I mean… even when we met Ace before… neither of them ever mentioned another brother," he pointed out, "Luffy, I can understand since he's someone who thinks ahead rather than the past… but why didn't Ace ever once mention Sabo? That whole time that we travelled with him across the desert… not a single word. You think that they'd have mention the guy at least once?"

The others all looked at each other as they realized he was right and suddenly an air of dread hung in the air. All the while, Robin's face was completely stoic as thoughts raced about inside her head.

(Yeah, not as many changes to this chapter as the others, but I did end up making it flow better than before and cut out some unnecessary parts that weren't needed. It's a little bit late this week, but at least my schedule is finally somewhat back to normal with the holidays over. Like I said, I will do my best to get them out every weekend with occasional breaks in between to recover since my own health is up and down these days. And if you're wondering about the talk they had about their D initials, since we don't know when that happened, I felt that this was as good a place as any for them to talk about it and maybe after Luffy gave him the D in his name, however funny that was, it really put the idea for Ace to become sworn brothers. As for Robin knowing the truth? She does, I do think that Sabo told her at least a little bit what happened since she already knew that he was Luffy's brother when we saw them in Dressrosa. As for why she's not saying anything here? I got a reason for that… I have a special scene planned where we get a flashback of the two of them so look forward to that.)