"So let me get this straight," Portgas D. Ace massages his forehead, trying to understand the information he has received. "You are…a Plumber, and you came from another world with your brother, who you got separated from, to look for an item? One that, and I quote, is strong enough to conquer the world."

"Oh-ye!" Luigi replied as he drove the Green Fire through the sand.

It was yesterday when Luigi and Ace had met up. Being the easy-going individuals they are, they get along quickly, despite Luigi learning that Ace is a pirate. Having talked with each other about their quest (Luigi having kept the true power of the Power Star at first), they were now heading to a remote part of Alabasta, where Ace heard the rumors of a bounty hunter having fought a pirate named Teach. Immediately, Ace picked up his stuff and began to make his way there.

Luigi, being kind and concerned about his new friend's trouble, offered his help.

Color the Pirate surprised by the offer. At first, Ace wanted to refuse, but then Luigi told him that he could reach there in minutes and pulled out his Kart in a disclosed area.

That sealed the deal.

But also opened a can of worms that has led to Ace getting a small headache in the present time.

"Wow…This is…Hard to believe, yet I can't help but believe it." Ace said. "Are you sure you didn't eat a Devil Fruit?"

"N-No." Luigi was still trying not to flinch at the name. "I have eaten other fruits, but nothing Devil related."

"...You know what? I can tell you ain't a liar, so for now I'll drop it." Ace sighs as he adjusts his goggles. "So I will say that this…kart is pretty impressive!" He said as he looked behind, unable to see Nanohana at all. "We only left like twenty minutes ago and I can't see the city! Where did you get this?"

"Kong Island! A friend-a of mine gift-a it to me! Or rather, I-a was allowed to make-a in there!" Luigi replied, keeping his eye forward and protected while Polterpup hung on his hat.

"Man! That's awesome!" Ace said.

Minutes pass and the kart reaches its destination. A clearing of tall rocks in the desert.

"This-a place looks deserted," Luigi commented as he got off the kart.

"Well, they said this is where the bounty hunter was last seen." Ace said as he jumped on a rock. "Just keep an eye on anyone around here."

As they all looked around, on another part of the place, located hidden and in the tallest part, was a 40's man, dressed in what one would call a farmer's clothing and wearing a purple helmet with a scorpion logo. He was sleeping on a hammock while an Ostrich with a helmet walked around. The bird suddenly stops marching and looks in one direction for a second before going to the man and tapping his helmet, waking him up. "Ugh...What is it, Popo?"

"Maaaa." The Ostrich named Popo aimed its wing in the direction it was looking at first.

"Hm?" The man stood up and looked in the direction. It was far away, so he grabbed his spyglass. There's something there—" His breath hinched at what he saw. "N-No way…It is really?!"

Through the scope, he saw Ace, standing on a rock and looking around.

"F-F-F-Fire Fist Ace…! He really appeared!" He said with a shaky breath and swallowing hard, before smirking. "Yes! The time has come!" He quickly turned around and began to take out a weapon that resembled a bazooka. "The time for Scorpion to return to its bounty hunting glory!" He aimed his weapon at the unsuspecting Ace, taking a matchstick and lighting it up before putting it on the rope to his bazooka. "First, I'll take you by surprise and bury you in the rock. Then, I'll throw in my special-fire resistance net to capture you! Fool-proof! Hahahaha!" He held tight to the trigger and waited for the bomb to fire.

…

…

…

It didn't.

"...Eh?" Scorpion blinked in confusion. Looking at his weapon and…noticing the cord being eaten by Popo.

Meanwhile, down below, Luigi and Polterpup had kept looking for the person Ace was looking for. "Hmmm, still no one around." He mumbled.

Polterpup, who was sniffing around for anything, perked up and looked up. "Bark!" He barked at Luigi, who looked at him first before following his trajectory.

"Hmm? Is someone up there?" Luigi asked-

"Uhooooooooooo!"

And immediately was answered by that shout.

Both plumber and ghost stood down there looking up at the rock as they heard a commotion going up there before they saw something peek at the corner and almost fell as if Scorpion hadn't appeared and barely caught it.

However, a sphere-like object got out by accident and began to fall, scaring the bounty hunter as it headed to Luigi. "Aaaaaaah! Young man! Run! If that thing blows, it will blow half of Alabasta!"

Luigi blinks for a second…before turning blue. "Whaaaaaaat?!" He looked at the bomb in panic.

"Noooo!" Scorpion, in panic, jumped back and covered himself for protection. "It's gonna blow!"

…

…

…

"...Eh?" After a few seconds of not hearing an explosion, Scorpion bravely peeks out the corner. "Y-Young man?"

"Bark! Bark!"

"Eek!" Scorpion jumped in surprise as he spun around and saw Polterpup, with the bomb in his mouth. "Ah! The bomb!" He screamed and accidentally tripped. "Ah." And began to fall. "Aaaaaaah!"

"Oh ho!"

Thankfully, Luigi had used his jumping skills and caught the man. He landed back in the rock with a *thud*.

"Are you okay?" Luigi asked.

Scorpion was breathing heavily as his life flashed before his eyes before calming. "Y-Yeah." Luigi put him down, allowing him to regain his footing. "T-Thank you, young man-AAAAAAH!" He was thanking Luigi before realizing something. He quickly pulls out his spyglass and looks around. "Dammit! Where is he?! Don't tell me I lost him!?"

"Uhm…sir?"

"Dammit! I can't afford to lose him now!" He looked at the Ostrich. "Popo! Get things packed!"

"Waaaah!" Popo saluted before rushing around to clean everything up.

"S-Sir?"

"Young man! Thank you for saving me!" Scorpion thanked him as he cleaned himself up, took the bomb off Polterpup's mouth, and put away his weapon. "I don't know why you are here, but I thank the Gods for it!" He jumped on Popo's saddle. "Now, I must go! Farewell!" And with that, the Ostrich ran and jumped off.

…

…

…

"Uhm…I guess he's in-a hurry." Luigi scratches the back of his head. "And here I was hoping to take him to Ace."

Meanwhile, back with Ace. The pirate was looking at something; a picture of a man. "So let me get this straight," He moved the picture down to see two brown-haired children, not older than 7 years-old. Both wearing dirty farm clothes and have freckles on their faces. "You want me to find him and tell him to come back home."

The oldest of them, Chip, nodded. "Y-Yeah! He's been gone for months and just now we heard he is claiming to have defeated a pirate!"

"But we know the truth! Dad was skillful in his bounty hunting days, but he doesn't have that much power to defeat a pirate anymore!" The youngest, Dale, said. "We just want him back alive."

"...Alright." Ace smiled at them. "Seeing how far you both have come, I guess I could tell him to go home." The two children looked at each other in surprise. "In fact, how about you two go under that rock for a moment." That confused the two of them but did as told.

…

…

…

"Fire Fist Ace!"

Ace narrowed his eyes at the top of a hill, where Popo appeared, Scorpion on his back.

"My name is Scorpion! I have come long and far to challenge you to a duel!" Scorpion declared with bravado…

But inside, he was sweating and trembling. ('T-This is him! F-F-F-Fire Fist Ace! He's more intimidating up close!') He gulped. ('D-Don't wimp out now! I'm invincible, remember?! I won't die! As long as they are waiting for me!') Shaking his head hard. "Get ready!" With a wip of the cord, Popo charges forward.

Ace ready himself for the battle.

…

…

…

Luigi and Polterpup finally reach the running Ostrich, only to see Ace looking down at a crater. "Ace! I found the guy! Did you see him?" Luigi asked.

"Yeah. He's down there." Ace said as he pointed at the crater.

Luigi, worried, looked down. He was relieved to see the hunter alive, covered in slight bruises but alive. Along with two childrens, who were hugging him.

"So…Everything is okay?" Luigi asked.

"Yeah." Ace sighs, "It's just as I suspected; he lied about beating Teach to get me."

Yep. Scorpion didn't even meet Teach. He simply heard the rumors of Ace going around looking for someone and chose to catfish it to gain a reputation.

"So it's-a back to square-one?" Luigi asks. Ace sighs, affirming the statement.

*Bang!*

A sudden gunshot was heard, surprising the two of them as they looked back at the hole, seeing just in time the bomb that Polterpup had caught previously heading up to the air and hitting the tall rock cliff, breaking it and beginning to fall.

Scorpion, in father's responsibility and duty, and the fact that they won't dodge it in time, quickly covered his two children.

Acting quickly, Ace's right arm changed into flame while Luigi clapped his hands together as electricity began to charge.

"Fire Fist!"

"Thunder!"

Their attacks combined shot forward. The electricity crushed the big rocks into small pieces while the fire swept in and incinerated it into dust, along with the pillar.

"...Wow." They both said in surprise at each other. "I knew of your electric powers, but I didn't think they were that strong!" Ace said, having now seen Luigi's Thunder Brand.

"And you're-a fire is powerful! Probably could rival Mario's." Luigi said.

Ace blinked in surprise at the comment. "Wait…Your Brother can make fire?"

"Oh Ye!"

(Meanwhile, in another part of Alabasta)

"So half of the Royal Army plans to switch sides." Sabo hummed as he received information from their mole in the Civil War through a Transponder Snail.

"That's correct." Their Informat replied through the snail. "I cannot say when they'll switch. But by the sound of it, it's a matter of hours rather than days."

"...Very well. Keep getting information." Sabo said.

"Will do, Chief. Sign in off!" *Clack-cha!* The snail went to sleep, signaling the end of the call.

Sabo turned his attention to the small window of the hideout, seeing the rebels running around in a hurry.

"Seems like the Rebels are getting a huge boost," Koala commented, returning from her scouting.

"Yeah." Sabo agreed with her. "Our spy told me that several Royal Guards are planning to desert the King and join the rebels." He told her.

"Huh…Sounds about right." Koala reaffirms. "I found out that the rebels are gaining a lot of resources soon. Probably their tribute to join them."

"Yep. We are still waiting for Hack to tell us about Rainbase?"

"Still nothing." Koala sighed, looking at the snail, which would be their partner's communication method. "Hack has been silent for a while. I'm worried that he was either almost caught or forced to be silent for now."

"Goes to show that something big is truly happening here…" Sabo hummed, remembering the report about sand storms.

For the past few days, massive sandstorms have been appearing all over Alabasta, making it hard for the people and shipments to reach towns…except for Rainbase.

Coincidence? Maybe.

"How's the King handling these 'rumors'?" Sabo asks.

"Either he doesn't show concern or has no desire to care." Koala replied. "I think he has no intention to change the minds of those who leave. In fact, he looked to accept the outcome, although very sad."

"...Strong King, I see."

King Cobra seems to have accepted the possible outcomes. Brave guy, not only doing everything to stop the war but also staying strong after his daughter, the Princess, vanished without a trace for three years.

"On an additional note, it seems you were right about your green friend." Koala said, catching Sabo's attention. "Two days here and he showed a lot; he and his dog took down several bandits on his own, showed some weird contraption, and it appears that he ate a Devil Fruit that grants him electric powers."

"Electrical powers?" Sabo was surprised. He could still remember the way Luigi reacted when Devil Fruits were mentioned to him. ('He didn't seem to be lying about that, but then, why did he act like that?') "Interesting…where is he now?"

"He just left the city." Koala said, surprising Sabo. "He actually met with a famous pirate and they seem to be heading to Rainbase."

"A pirate landed here? Who?"

"The Second-in-command of the Whitebeard Pirates."

"Holy shit! Why is that big shot here?" Sabo asked, having heard of the second commander but never seen nor heard his name yet.

"Nobody knows, but rumor has it that he's planning to attack Sir Crocodile." Koala said.

"Going after the Government's dog? That sounds…strange." Sabo commented.

Like, don't get him wrong! Pirates would do anything to gain fame, it's very common. But attacking an official from the Navy? Not like it would matter if a Warlord dies (Honestly it would be a loose-end cut), but it wouldn't favor them now.

"Anyways, should I get in contact with Hack, I'll let him know about…Luigi, right?"

"...Yeah." It seems that his feeling about the green man was correct. "I did feel he was more than just a traveler…"

"Right. Additionally, we actually received an interesting report." Koala pulled a piece of paper out and handed it to Sabo, who took it. "Just recently, this pirate just happened to get a wanted poster and, well, look at him."

Sabo unfolded the paper and saw the pirate, which left him surprised.

Big nose. Fancy mustache. Big cap with an M in it.

In short, it is a carbon copy of Luigi himself.

"Well damn. Now we are getting somewhere with this."