Reunion

In 'Nanohana', the port town of 'Alabasta', a group of a hundred pirates could be seen running wild through the town, robbing stores and kidnapping women all as they laughed in joy.

"Hahahaha!! Give me all the Berries you have!" "Please, just take it. I don't want any trouble."

"I hear there's a nice casino in this town!!" "Let's go rob the place blind!! Hahaha-Huh?"

That laughter stopped when each of the hundred pirates felt their shirt collars get grabbed.

Right after they felt that they all shot up into the air, making the formerly scared citizens look up in awe and confusing the pirates.

The pirates' confusion turned to horror when they all heard the same laughter right behind them.

"HaaHaaHaaHaa"

Every single one of the hundred pirates glanced behind them in fear, only to either faint or come close to it when they each saw the face of one of 'The Seven Warlords', 'Desert King' Crocodile grinning at them. As they looked around, that fear multiplied as they saw the countless replicas of Crocodile carrying their comrades just like them.

Each Crocodile's feet were turned to sand, pushing them forward towards the top of a large building.

"Look, it's Crocodile!!" "It's really him!!" "There's so many of him!!"

All the citizens started cheering when they saw countless versions of their hero dragging all the pirates away. They all looked in the direction they were being pulled and what was most likely the real Crocodile smoking a cigar on the roof of the building.

"Help me!!' "Please help us!!!"

As soon as all the pirates and clones were close to him, all the clones stuffed the pirates together before breaking into a massive pile of sand. That sand then turned into a large ball that covered all of them, silencing their pleas for help.

Crocodile snorted before he brought his hand out in front of him before he suddenly clenched his hand into a fist into a fist.

"Sables: Enterrement!!!"

*BOOOM*

The sand ball turned into a massive pyramid made out of sand that suffocated the pirates.

"Woohoo!!" "Thank you!!" "Thanks for saving us!!"

Crocodile flashed a smile at the crowd who started cheering for him when the pyramid crumbled, showing the bodies of the unmoving pirates.

He felt his eyebrow twitch when he sensed that woman use her devil fruit to grow a mouth and ears on the back of his jacket.

"The Straw Hat Pirates will soon reach 'Nanohana'. I was going to send Mr. 2 after them to gather information, but figured you'd need his devil fruit power ." Crocodile heard from the mouth on his jacket, making him click his teeth in irritation.

*Tsk*

"They're already here, huh? Let's speed things up. You gather more information with one of your clones while the real you come to meet up with me." Crocodile said as he waved to the crowd still cheering for him.

"I see. I'll meet you in 'Alubarna' in front of the casino."

*SCOFF*

Crocodile scoffed when he sensed the mouth and ears disappear without waiting for a response.

"You're lucky I still need you, you damn bitch…" Crocodile muttered to himself as he turned away from the crowd and started walking away while relighting his cigar.

'It doesn't matter who comes, you won't be able to stop me.'

.

.

The Strawhats were sailing towards 'Alabasta' while Vivi was scolding Luffy for trying to eat a 'Sea Cat'.

"They are endangered, Luffy!! You can't eat them!!" Vivi shouted at Luffy who was sitting on his spot at the sheep's head at the front of the 'Going Merry' with his arms crossed and pout on his face.

"I don't even know what word means…" Luffy muttered to himself before he felt a shiver up his spine from Vivi's glare, making him turn towards her with his hands up in apology.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!! I won't try to eat the cats again!!" He said making Vivi narrow her eyes at him for a few seconds before nodding and walking away, making him breathe a sigh of relief.

He looked at his sea king friend who had been working hard to get them to 'Alabasta' quickly.

"Hey, Levi!! Thanks for working hard, buddy!! I promise I'll get you some tasty food before we leave 'Alabasta'." Luffy said after he jumped onto his friend's head. Luffy felt Levi nod up and down lightly to not shake him off, which made him chuckle.

'Don't worry, Luffy. Sanji has been making me food every day.' Luffy heard in his head making him smile as he petted Levi's head.

"I see. I'll have to thank Sanji for that." Luffy said before he looked up when he sensed people ahead of him.

He smiled when he saw two ships with the 'Baroque Works' Jolly Roger on their sails.

His smile got wider as he turned to Sanji, who had used 'Shave' to appear on the sheep's head.

Luffy jumped back next to him after he told Levi to go underwater and get ready to look for shiny things in the wreckage. Luffy smiled at his cook who was sparking his cigarette.

"Thanks for giving Levi food all the time Sanji. Be sure to leave one of the ships. I wanna see if Bepo can take the other one down by himself." Luffy said as he glanced back at the polar bear mink in question, who jumped when he heard his name.

*Snort*

Sanji snorted in amusement as Luffy jumped back to where Bepo, Law, and Zoro were next to the sheep's head by the railing. Luffy immediately lifted Bepo's spirits, as he saw the bear had been looking at the ships nervously when he knew he had to fight.

Luffy knew Bepo could beat up the idiots that Croc sent after them, Bepo just needed to believe it himself.

In Luffy's brain, Bepo hasn't fought anyone who tried to kill him, while he has grown up fighting for his life countless times. Bepo is about to shit his pants while he is having a bunch of fun.

This is the difference experience makes in a fight

It won't matter if Bepo has strong 'Haki' if he can't use it right in a fight.

Luffy's attention was drawn back to Sanji as he raised his right leg while covering it in 'Armament Haki'.

Sanji's right leg was covered in flames as he took a long hit of his cigarette before he suddenly stomped down.

"Diable Jambe: Flambé Oiseau: Linge1!!!"

The flames covering Sanji's leg traveled down to the tips of his toes and compressed until they shot out in a line, much faster than a bullet right at the ship on the right, leaving a trail of flames in the air following it.

*BOOOOOM!!!*

The second the flames touched the ship, the entire thing burst into flames, causing everyone on board to either die or jump overboard and the other ship to panic.

Sanji smirked before jumping back to the group as everyone turned to Bepo who was watching Sanji's attack with nervous sweat dripping down his face. Luffy laughed at him.

"Don't worry, Bepo!! Just do your best and if you don't get them, we'll just get them!!" Luffy said as he flashed him a thumbs-up. The polar bear mink saw Law smirk at him as he stole himself and jumped onto the sheep's head.

Luffy's smile covered his whole face when Bepo's arms became covered in 'Armament Haki' and his 'Electro' and he brought his sparking hands together, stopping just before they touched.

*ZIZIZIZ*

Everyone except Luffy felt their hair stand on end when Bepo started condensing his light blue electricity into a compressed ball in between his hands.

When Bepo felt like he couldn't hold the form if he added anymore, he thrust his hands forward, releasing his attack.

"Rising Moon!!!"

The small, light blue ball of electricity shot forward almost as fast as Sanji's attack, leaving sparks, evaporated water, and steam in its trail.

*BOOOOM!!!*

The second ship full of panicking grunts was destroyed by a massive explosion of electricity that left the remains of the ship as a charred mess.

Bepo stared slack-jawed at the destruction he just caused as Luffy laughed and jumped over to him, pulling the fluffy bear into a side-armed hug.

"Shishishishi!! See, you didn't even need us!!" Luffy said making Bepo smile at him.

"Luffy, thanks for taking care of those guys!! We'll be docking in twenty minutes!!" They all heard Nami yell out, making Luffy smile wide and jump back to the deck.

"Twenty minutes till we dock means that I still have time to eat my fourth lunch!!" Luffy said, not noticing Sanji with his hands over his face while muttering 'I blew it up... I did it, not stupid rubber idiot...' and similar things over and over again.

.

.

The Straw Hats landed at the port town of 'Nanohana' with Luffy immediately jumping off the ship.

"I sense someone I know!!" They heard him shout before he sprinted away. They all sighed in that direction. Nami looked around at everyone before nodding to herself.

"Zoro, Law, and Usopp go follow Luffy and make sure he doesn't get lost or something. Sanji, you come with Vivi and me shopping." She said getting a scoff from Zoro and a bright smile from Sanji.

"Why the hell are you giving out orders? I'm the Vice-Captain." Zoro asked making Sanji and Nami glare at him.

"Listen to her, you damn moss-head" Zoro just tuned Sanji out.

"If Luffy does something stupid because you were here arguing instead of going after him, I'm not buying alcohol for a month," Nami said in a menacing tone.

Zoro immediately turned around and walked towards the railing before jumping up onto it.

"Usopp, Law, you two better keep up." He said before using 'Shave' to go after Luffy as fast as he could. The two he mentioned just sighed before also using 'Shave' to follow him when they saw he went in the opposite direction Luffy ran in.

.

.

Everyone in the restaurant called 'Spice Bean' was staring in shock at the young man who seemed to have died in the middle of a conversation, face falling right into his half-eaten plate of food.

Mr. Yoshimoto, the owner of 'Spice Bean' and the man behind the counter was the most horrified. The young man was just excitedly telling him about his brother he was looking for before he passed away just like that right in front of him.

"Mmm"

The man let out a groan before he slowly pulled his face out of his plate of food he looked around at everyone staring at him like a ghost. He blinked twice before grabbing the dress of the woman sitting next to him to wipe his face off with it.

"KYA!!!!"

The scream seemed to bring everyone back to life as they shouted at him in indignation adn the woman ran away.

"YOU'RE ALIVE?!!!"

The man just blinked at them before turning to Mr. Yoshimoto behind the bar.

"The hell is up with these guys?" The man asked the owner, who sweat-dropped at the question before smiling.

"I'm just glad you're alright." He said making the man smile.

"Thanks!! You know, a lot of people could take some lessons from someone-"

*BOOM*

*Zzzzzz*

"YOU'RE ASLEEP AGAIN?!!!"

*BOOOM!!!*

Everyone stopped screaming at the now-sleeping man and looked at the door that had just kicked in.

Everyone's eyes widened when Vice-Admiral Smoker walked into the restaurant with his eyes glued on Ace, who had woken up when he sensed someone strong.

He grinned when he saw the Marine the paper said Luffy beat the hell out of at 'Loguetown'.

Smoker narrowed his eyes at the pirate. He had no idea this man was here, but anyone with 'Observation Haki' would be able to sense how much this man was throwing his 'Haki' around.

He just keeps flaring it up every few minutes like some sort of signal.

"Second Division Commander of the 'Whitebeard Pirates', 'Fire King' Gol D. Ace." Smoker simply said Ace's name and title, causing the entire bar to go silent as they stared at the goofy man at the bar in shock as he turned out to be the son of the Pirate King and the Second Division Commander of the strongest man in the world.

Ace scoffed at the name but didn't correct him. He had talked a lot with Whitebeard about Roger once he told Pops he was his old rival's son, even though he said he didn't want to. He had also talked to that shitty gramps a bit too on the rare chance they met.

Those talks helped Ace learn that his mother had kept him in her stomach for twenty months to protect him from the 'World Government' that was scouring the world for Roger's child.

Ace also learned that it was Roger was the one who put him into Garp's care, and he couldn't help but be thankful for that as that and his mother's actions are what led him to meet his precious brothers.

So while he still thinks of Whitebeard as his father for everything he's taught him and done for him, he doesn't hold any hatred for Roger in his heart.

Ace understands that he isn't just the biological son of the Pirate King, he is also a brother, a son, and a friend. He doesn't have time to listen to idiots saying he doesn't deserve to live.

"What's a big-time pirate like you doing in these parts?" Smoker asked the pirate. Ace smiled widely at the question.

"I'm looking for my little brother." He answered getting a raised eyebrow from the Marine. They both perked up when they sensed multiple strong people outside the restaurant.

*BOOOM*

They both looked behind Smoker to see who just kicked the door in so hard. They saw Luffy grinning widely at the both of them with some of his crew mates behind him.

"Ace, Smokey!! Don't start the fun without me!!" Luffy shouted out as he walked into the restaurant with Zoro, Law, and Usopp, who found their Captain after the last two tracked down the first, behind him.

He stopped right in front of Smoker and put a hand on his cutlass, making the Marine grip his jute hard, much to Luffy and Ace's amusement.

"I knew you'd come here, 'Straw Hat'." Smoker said as he glanced at Law behind him and clicked his teeth, which made the doctor smirk at the Marine.

*Tsk*

"You got another strong crew mate too, lovely. What the hell are you doing in this country, Strawhat?!" Smoker shouted out as his hand turned to smoke making Luffy smile and cover his hand in 'Armamemt Haki', prompting Smoker to do the same with his hand and jute.

"I'm here to beat up some Crocodile that's messing with Vivi's country. Well, right now I'm here to see Ace and eat meat." Luffy said as he looked over Smoker's shoulder, smile widening.

Smoker's eyes widened as he realized he got too focused on his target when he felt a hand on the center of his back. He glanced back to see Ace smiling at him with his hand covered in 'Armament Haki'.

"You let your guard down, Smokey!!" Ace said as his hand turned to white flames causing everyone in the restaurant except Luffy to sweat, Smoker's pupils to shrink, and Luffy's smile to cover his face.

"Heat Haze"

*FWOOM* *BOOM*

White flames shot out of Ace's palm sending Smoker flying through the door Luffy just kicked in. Ace looked at Luffy who was grinning broadly at him, making him grin back.

"LUFFY!!!"

"ACE!!!"

*CLAP*

They dapped each other up strongly making a loud slapping noise echo in the restaurant. Luffy smiled at Ace.

"A devil fruit, huh? Which one did you eat?" Luffy asked making Ace's smile grow mischievous.

"I at the 'Mera-Mera no mi' and became a flame human. It's way better than your dumb rubber." Ace said getting a glare from Luffy before he gave Ace his mischievous smile, making Ace sweat nervously.

"Oh yeah?" Luffy asked as he held his hand up.

*FWOOM*

Ace was astonished when Luffy's hand was suddenly covered in flames. He scowled when he saw Luffy's smug smile. He crossed his arms and looked away.

"Whatever. My fire's still way hotter."

*Snort*

"You're made out of fire, Ace. I hope they're hotter than mine."

*Tsk*

"Shut up. Let's go fight Smokey." Ace said making Luffy glare at him again before he sprinted out of the restaurant.

"The first one there gets to fight him!!!" Ace heard Luffy yell from outside the building. His eyebrow twitched before sprinting after him.

"WAIT, LUFFY!!! YOU STARTED EARLY THAT'S NOT FAIR!!!"

Zoro, Law, and Usopp all watched this happen from the table they sat down at as soon as Luffy saw Smoker. Law just deadpanned at Ace's disappearing back.

"That was the 'Fire King' and Roger's son? That guy?" Law asked incredulously. 

He just couldn't believe the man who was the son of the Pirate King and basically, the successor of the strongest man in the world was just another version of their idiot captain.

*Snort* *Glug* *Glug* *Glug* *Glug*

Zoro just snorted and took a long drink of the sake he just got while Usopp just put his hand on Law's shoulder.

"Sadly, I think Luffy is the normal one compared to us in the 'Grand Line'. Also, Ace is Luffy's sworn brother. There's another one named Sabo in the 'Revolutionary Army' we met in 'Loguetown'. We didn't see him for long, but you could tell he was like these two if you didn't keep an eye on them." The sniper said, getting a very tired sigh from Law.

"What the hell did I get myself into…"