Vow between Men, A new Legacy Begins...

Chapter 3 - Vow between Men, A new Legacy Begins...

When the darkness faded once again, they were back in the same bedroom where Luffy had fallen asleep in… only this time there was bright light shining through the thin curtains, and the little boy was just waking up. He was sitting up in bed, and rubbing his sleepy eyes.

"He really is cute isn't he?" Robin asked with a smile as she watched the boy tumble from the bed in a mess of blankets before blinking a little and standing up.

"I wish we knew just what was going on here," Nami whispered as she watched him. "How is this possible? How is it that we're able to see into Luffy's memories? Just what is going on?"

"We've all been asking ourselves that same question, Nami-san," Brook whispered as he watched Luffy going to the window and standing on his tiptoes to look outside. "But it seems that it is a mystery inside a problem."

"Yeah, we came here to find the present-day Luffy and go back!" Usopp called out. "Which is what we should be doing! Luffy's spent enough time down here as it is! And I don't know about you, but I don't think that he'd be too happy if he knew that we were watching his…" but before he could finish his train of thought, Luffy let out a little gasp as he turned and went running to the door, calling for Makino.

"What's wrong?" Usopp asked worriedly.

"Don't know," Robin answered as she watched him tug the door open and run downstairs with a big smile on his face. "But it doesn't seem like there's a problem…"

Zoro went to the window to see for himself. At first, he couldn't really see anything that would make Luffy so excited… the village looked the same as it did in the last memory, only now it was early morning instead of twilight. But as he squinted his eye, he could make out something that hadn't been there the night before. At the docks… silhouetted against the bright sun, was a new ship sitting at port. There was a ship with a black flag and skull.

Smiling, now understanding what this was about, he told them all to follow him and they did to find the little boy now bursting into the bar downstairs.

"Makino!" Luffy cried out happily. "Did you see it? There's a pirate ship at port!"

But as they all followed him inside, they could see that it wasn't just Makino who was there. The whole bar was filled with men, all slumped over in their seats, most of them were passed-out drunk.

As for Makino, she was standing at the bar, cleaning some glasses before she looked up at Luffy and smiled brightly at him.

"Are they all pirates?" Chopper asked as he looked over them all.

"Looks like they drunk themselves into some pretty bad hangovers," Sanji smirked as he overlooked them all.

"I hate to be them when they wake up," Zoro muttered to himself.

"Yes, Luffy I know," Makino said, still beaming happily, though her smile seemed to be a little forced as she gave the men a nervous sideways glance. "They got here last night after you went to bed. They've been here all night drinking. I'm surprised that you were able to sleep through all of it." She leaned over and patted his raven hair with an affectionate smile as Luffy looked at them all curiously.

"Oh, I didn't think it would be possible, but she's even more beautiful in the light!" Sanji sighed, hearts back in his eyes as he looked at Makino. "So beautiful…"

"Cool it lover boy," Nami sighed in annoyance. "Something tells me you aren't her type."

"Who's the kid?" asked a slightly slurred voice suddenly, "He your little brother?"

Looking over Makino's shoulder, the Straw Hats saw that the only man at the bar was just raising his head from where he was sleeping a second ago. He had an easy-going smile and his face was bright red from all the sake he drank… the most noticeable features about him though were the three scars across his left eye as well as his bright red hair. And on his head was something very familiar to them all…

"Hey, that's Luffy's hat!" Chopper said, pointing to him in surprise.

"Yes," Zoro said lightly, looking at the man with new interest. "Luffy did say that he got that hat from a pirate."

"Red-hair Shanks," Robin said softly. "This is the first time I've ever seen him."

Makino smiled at him. "Sadly no," she answered. "But I look after him when his grandfather's not here."

"Where'd you come from old man?" Luffy asked him curiously and at that, the men who weren't passed out suddenly started laughing—but they weren't the only ones, for the Straw Hats burst out laughing as well at the look on Shanks face.

"As honest as ever I see," Robin laughed.

"I see that his manners haven't changed a bit since he was a kid," Sanji also laughed as Brook held onto his middle at that.

"It hurts!" Brook laughed. "My gut feels like it's gonna burst from laughing! Not that I have a gut to burst! Yohohoho!"

"Old man?" Shanks snapped at him. "I'm not even in my thirties yet, you brat!"

"Compared to him you are old, captain!" a fat pirate commented, enjoying a slab of met on a dagger before falling over from his seat as he started laughing too.

"Who asked you?" Shanks demanded.

Makino led Luffy to the other side of the bar and set him up on the stool, "Now, now, Luffy don't anger the customers."

Zoro wasn't sure if he was the only one who noticed the slight nervousness in Makino's tone through all the laughing. Apparently, he wasn't…

"It's all right, Makino," Shanks sighed, waving his hand at his tipsy crew. "Believe me, it doesn't take much to get these losers laughing."

"Who the hell are you?" Luffy asked, looking at him.

"He has a short attention span," Nami sighed, shaking her head.

"Where did all this people come from?" Luffy asked Makino with bright interest.

Shanks went back to his food. "The name's Shanks. I'm a pirate."

Luffy's eyes lit up with stars as he yelled out in excitement, "Did you say you are a pirate? As in you guys aren't Marines?" Luffy quickly crossed the room to his side. "Does that mean you go on adventures? Tell me!"

"The little guy has a death wish," Zoro laughed at Shanks surprised look—as if he expected the kid to go and hide at the mention of pirates. "If Shanks was like most pirates, he probably would've killed him a long time ago."

"Yes, and I think that all this is really interesting, but we really need to start getting out of here," Nami said as the image disappeared again.

"Not like we have much choice," Zoro shrugged. The next memory came back, and they were still in the bar, this time though, the pirates didn't seem to be as drunk as they had been before. The tavern scene was a lively one, a pirate crew was partying and laughing, drinking and eating and cracking jokes with each other.

"Wish I could have some of that," Zoro sighed, looking at all the bottles of sake that were being passed around.

"Well, too bad!" Usopp said to him, slapping his chest irritably. "If this is a memory then we won't be having anymore luck than with Garp walking through us."

"Yes," Brook sighed. "It was so terrifying, that I thought my heart had stopped. Ah, not that I have one."

"Oh, look!" Franky said, pointing, and they saw that Luffy was still sitting at the same stool he had been before, only now he looked a little older and was now wearing a bandage on his cheek.

"Looks like some time had passed since we last saw them," Robin reasoned.

"Yeah, Luffy did mention that Shanks visited his hometown for about a year," Usopp said, thinking back to the day that he and Luffy first met. "So this had to been some time before that."

"So let me see if I got this straight," Shanks said to Luffy, sitting exactly where he had been before. "You wanna be a pirate because your gramps said not to?"

"I don't wanna be a Marine!" Luffy said loudly. "It doesn't look or sound like it'd be any fun at all! Training all day, following rules, you can't go anywhere without permission! That's why I think it'd be a lot more fun being a pirate!"

"Yeah, that makes sense," Franky laughed. "Who'd want to work for the government anyway? It'd take all the fun outta life!"

"Well, I guess I can't argue with any of that," Shanks said, thinking that over. "Yeah, it's great being a pirate… I mean sure, it'd be better without the bounty hunters and Marines on our tails all the time, but job hazard I suppose."

"Why'd you become a pirate?" Luffy asked him.

"Hmmm," Shanks said, thinking it all over. "Don't know anymore," he finally confessed. "I guess I just wanted to go out and have as much fun as possible. Like you said, I knew that it'd be freer than locking yourself up in Marine Headquarters for most of your life. I mean, when was the last time you heard about Marines going out for adventures? Marines… they're given an order, and they do it no matter what… the best thing about being a pirate is that you can do whatever you want, whenever you want."

"Yep, I can see right away that this guy is a big influence on Luffy," Sanji smiled. "Almost like seeing an older version of the rubber brain…"

Luffy's eyes lit up at that. "Then, take me with you on your next adventure, Shanks!" Luffy said at once. "I want to be a pirate, too!"

Shanks laughed out loud. "How can a boy like you become a pirate?" he asked him in a teasing way.

"Why not?" Luffy demanded hotly.

"Luffy," said a voice next to them and they looked in time to see a man leaning back in his chair with his feet up on the table. Usopp gulped down a gasp, staring at him as he felt cold sweat on his face. The man's skin was tanned and sea worn as his sandy blond hair fell over his face… but he was looking directly to the blue bandana he was wearing… and the name written on it… 'Yasopp'.

"Dad?" he whispered softly.

"Dad?" Chopper asked in amazement. "You mean that's your dad?! You never mentioned that your dad's a pirate!"

"Oh, right, I remember when we first met, Luffy said something about meeting your old man," Zoro said thinking back.

Usopp sniffed a little, finally getting a good look at his father.

"I can definitely see a family resemblance," Franky smiled.

Usopp grinned proudly as he exclaimed to them all loudly, "That's right! It only makes sense! After all, this brave warrior of the seas had to get his talent from somewhere."

"That's for sure," Nami whispered to herself, rolling her eyes.

"That's awesome, Usopp!" Chopper cried, stars in his eyes.

"It must be nice for you to get a good look at your father," Brook said softly, though it was hard to tell without skin, but he appeared to have been smiling.

"Listen," Yasopp said, pointing at Luffy. "It's not about how well you can or can't swim. A pirate is a lot more than that."

"But I can fight!" Luffy said, punching the air in front of him. "My punches as strong as pistols!"

"Are you kidding?" Usopp asked, sweatdropped. "They're now stronger than cannons!"

"A pistol? Wow… really?" Shanks asked, going back to his plate of food in front of him and the other pirates started laughing at him.

"WOULD YOU STOP LAUGHING AT ME?!" Luffy shouted at them and the Straw Hats couldn't help but laugh along as well.

"You're still just a kid," a man, Lucky Roo, said with a cheerful smile, enjoying a piece of meat.

"You're about the same age as my kid," Yasopp added and Usopp couldn't stop the proud smile on his face.

"I'm not a kid!" Luffy shouted out, gritting his teeth together as he glared at them all. "I'm a grown up!"

"Relax, it's nothing to be mad about. Here, have some juice," Shanks said, putting a small glass in front of him.

As always, when face to face with food, Luffy's anger disappeared like magic. "Oh, thanks!" he said, taking a sip before Shanks started laughing so hard that he was pounding the bar with his hand.

"What's so funny now?" Nami asked.

She got her answer at once when Shanks roared out laughing, "See? You are a kid! What kind of pirate likes juice?"

"But I like juice," Chopper said in confusion.

"Shank's is just teasing him, Chopper," Sanji laughed. "I like this guy already…"

"They seem like very good people," Brook added. "Like they have a lot of fun no matter where they go."

"That's a dirty trick!" Luffy shouted at him angrily. As everyone else started laughing he snapped at them all, "Stop laughing at me!"

"It doesn't seem like it took much to get Luffy angry," Franky laughed so hard that tears were in his eyes.

"Yes, he seemed to have had quite the short temper," Robin laughed. "These days, it takes a lot more to make him mad. However, at the same time, he still acts like this little kid right here."

"Yeah," Nami laughed, "Which just proves that he's an immature kid like I always thought."

"I prefer to think of it as being young at heart," Robin smiled.

"Luffy, how about you calm down and eat?" Makino's voice asked as she came out from the back, carrying another bottle of sake and put it in front of Shanks before beaming at Luffy. "How about it?" she asked.

"Oh, he's so lucky to be waited on such a kind-hearted woman!" Sanji croaked out, falling to his knees as he looked at Makino. "Oh, love… the likes of which I've never seen before… she's enchanted my like a spell… as we speak I'm falling deeper and deeper into her eyes…"

"Would you shut up you idiot?" Zoro grumbled.

"Are you ready to die yet you shitty swordsman?!" Sanji cried, jumping to his feet, fire starting to burn on his leg at once.

"You really think you can take me on?" Zoro shot back, his hands going for his swords again.

"Would you boys knock it off?" Nami yelled at them in frustration. "God, I can't hear myself think with you two around."

"Nami-swan…" Sanji began, swooning back at her, but she told him to shut up as Luffy was telling Makino that he'd pay her back with his treasure tab.

"Treasure tab?" Chopper repeated, you could almost see the question marks floating above his head. "What's that?"

"I think he means that he'll pay her back later when he gets some treasure," Sanji said, having recovered from his newly broken heart.

"The poor woman," Nami sighed with a smile. "Letting him eat at her bar without paying…"

"Makino-san's generosity knows no bounds!" Brook cried out happily.

"But how's he gonna pay her back with treasure when he doesn't have any?" Usopp asked, his eyebrows raised.

"What treasure?" Shanks asked, obviously thinking the same thing. "You shouldn't lie you know."

"Oh, I don't think he is," Franky laughed. "Luffy can't lie to save his life."

"That's for sure," Nami agreed as they all nodded.

"I am not!" Luffy said determinedly, before looking back to her and saying firmly, "I'm definitely going to be a pirate someday! And when I come across a lot of treasure, I'll come back and pay you with that!"

Makino smiled and laughed. "I look forward to it!"

"I really like her!" Chopper said at once as Luffy smiled at her. "I hope we get to meet her for real someday!"

Nami laughed, "I can tell she's got the patience of a saint."

"Hey, Shanks," Luffy said, his mouth full of food and Sanji sighed, muttering to himself, "I see that his manners haven't changed much."

"Hmm?" Shanks asked him as he enjoyed his drink.

"How long are you going to stay this time?"

"Well…" Shanks said, thinking it all over for a moment, "It's been a nice here. But we decided that we'll probably set sail a couple more times and then we'll leave this town for good and head back north."

"Only a few more times…" Luffy said softly, taking a long time to swallow as he glanced down at his food. Makino gave him a sad smile and sighed from where she was cleaning glasses behind the counter.

"Am I missing something here?" Usopp asked them.

"It's obvious that Luffy doesn't want them to leave, Usopp," Nami pointed out. "He's sad because he'll be forced to say goodbye to them all for good."

But just then, Luffy looked up and said to Shanks, "I'll be a great swimmer by then!"

At that, Shanks started to laugh again. "Sure… we'll see about that."

"In other words, no," Franky said knowingly.

Just then, the door to the tavern was literally kicked in and a group of men came inside. There were a large number of them, all of them dressed mostly alike with smug smiles on their suspicious-looking faces. As if they were plotting something…

"Who are these losers?" Zoro asked darkly.

"Look like bandits to me," Sanji claimed, remembering seeing bandits sometimes back when he was still a chief at the Baratie. The pirates fell silent, looking up, as if curious to see what these men were going to do.

"Sorry for the interruption," the man in the front said, obviously the leader of the group, before marching in. Luffy looked up at him in confusion as Makino stopped cleaning the glass and seemed to become tense, as if expecting a fight to break out.

"So these are the pirates I've heard so much about," the man said, stepping on the door and leaving a boot-shaped print in it. "They all look like idiots to me."

"Doesn't he have any idea who he's talking to?" Nami asked incredulously. "Shanks is one of the Four Emperors after all."

"Well, it is possible that Shanks might not have become an Emperor just yet," Robin said reasonably. "This happened over ten years ago after all…"

"Either way," Zoro said with a rather evil smirk. "But it looks like we're heading to a good show if we're lucky."

"How would we be lucky to watch people get killed?" Nami snapped at him.

The pirate crew didn't say anything as they kept a close watch on the bandits, still waiting to see what they would do. The group approached the bar, with Luffy watching as Makino walked forward to greet them. "Welcome. What can I do for you?" she asked. There was a hint of uneasiness in her tone, but she stood in front of him with a forced smile.

"We're bandits," the man smirked at her.

"Really?" Usopp asked sarcastically. "We hadn't notice."

"We're not here to destroy your bar. We just need about ten barrels of sake."

"That's no way to address a lady," Sanji snarled, hating anyone who threatened a woman.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that we're all out of sake at the moment," Makino answered him politely.

"Hmm?" the bandit asked, his eyebrows raised, "That's strange. These pirates seem to be enjoying themselves here. What are they drinking then? Water?"

"Those jerks," Sanji warned. "They better not do anything to her just because they don't have any drink for them."

"It's sake," Makino answered him, "But it's also the last of our stock."

"I have to say she's kinda growing on me too," Zoro smirked. "She's got a lot of guts."

Shanks looked up at them. "Oh sorry," he said to them all, "Looks like we went and drank the place dry. But if you want, there is still a bottle left that's unopened." Shanks then held up the bottle that Makino had just brought him. "If you want it, it's all yours."

The bandit's eyes suddenly darkened, as if he couldn't believe that Shanks would dare speak in front of him before he shattered the bottle, the drink splashing all over Shanks and the bar. Makino and Luffy gasped while the bandits all laughed at the sight of it; though the pirates didn't seem fazed by it at all as they turned to their captain—whose head was down with the hat shading his eyes so they couldn't see his face.

"What's with him?" Nami yelled out furiously. "I know that his crew drank all the sake, but that's no reason to act like a jerk!"

"What a waste of perfectly good sake," Zoro sighed tragically.

"Do you even know who you're talking to?" the bandit said coldly. "I am a bandit. I'm a wanted man who's worth eight million beli."

"Big deal," Sanji said, puffing a little on his cigarette. "We could take you out without breaking a sweat."

The bandit went on, "One bottle won't be nearly enough. Don't take me lightly."

It was quiet for a brief moment before Shanks looked up, "Now the floor's all wet. Sorry about that Makino."

"Is it just me, or does that sound like something Luffy would have said?" Franky asked, tilting his head.

Robin giggled. "It's not just you, Franky. I guess now we know where Luffy learned that from."

Shanks then knelt down and started picking up the shards of glass and asked, "Do you have a mop?"

"Though I doubt that Luffy would offer to help clean up," Nami added as Makino shook herself awake and went around from behind the bar. "O-Oh, no, it's fine, captain," she said at once, "I can manage it."

But as she stepped out, the mountain bandit drew his sword and slashed it along the bar, cutting a groove into the wood and sending everything on it crashing to the floor to make an even bigger mess.

"Well, if you enjoying cleaning," he sneered at Shanks, who was now leaned up against the bar, now soaked with sake. "Now there's more to clean." He put the sword back and said, "No point wasting our time here while there's no sake. Let's go, men!" he then called to his men and with that, the band of bandits turned and filed out of the tavern—all of them roaring with laughter.

"Later, cowards," the leader called over his shoulder with a sneer as he left. The Straw Hats were now looking over at Luffy who was shaking in his seat—but not from fear, rather with anger. The only sound left was coming from the remaining door swinging squeakily from its hinges.

Makino quickly kneeled down next to Shanks. "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly, using the towel in her hand to help clean him up. "Are you hurt anywhere, Captain?"

Shanks merely waved his hand at her. "I'm fine, it's no problem" he reassured her before he grinned. And as if he broke a curse, his crew broke out into loud, energetic laughter at their captain, with Shanks laughing louder than any of them.

"They really got you!" Yasopp yelled laughing. "That's funny!"

"You look pretty dumb on the floor there, Captain!" Lucky Roo laughed as well as Shanks kept laughing loud with Makino still there trying to clean him up.

"Man, it's like I'm looking at Luffy here," Zoro chuckled.

"I know," Nami said shaking her head, "Looks like Shanks was more of a role model to him instead of just a friend."

"But Luffy doesn't look to happy," Chopper pointed out, seeing Luffy jump up onto his seat, looking furious at them all with his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

"WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?!" Luffy then yelled and caused everyone to look over at him. "THAT WASN'T COOL!" he went on angrily. "WHY DIDN'T YOU FIGHT BACK? NO MATTER HOW MANY THERE ARE OR HOW STRONG THEY LOOK, IF YOU DON'T FIGHT BACK THEN YOU'RE NOT A MAN! NOW I SEE I WAS WRONG ABOUT YOU GUYS!"

"Really?" Chopper asked worriedly.

"Nah," Zoro smiled, waving his hand down at him. "It's one of the first rules you gotta learn out here. Sometimes there are fights that aren't worth getting angry over." He looked over to Nami as he said that, remembering the bar fight they had in Jaya over two years ago, and how angry she had been at them for refusing to fight. But this time, he could see that she was frowning slightly, as if thinking about what he just said.

"I know how you feel, Luffy," Shanks said calmly, looking up at him from the floor, "But all he did was spill sake on me. It's not worth getting upset over."

"I know that we've never met this man," Brook said, looking at him with new respect, "But I already like him."

"He's a man among men," Franky said proudly, his eyes watering a little at how strong-willed the captain of the Red-Haired pirates was.

"Whatever," Luffy huffed at him as he looked over to the chest sitting next to him and then reached in to grab something. The Straw Hats leaned over to see what it was he had taken and saw an unusual fruit in his hands.

"Yow!" Franky asked in surprise. "What's that? It's the funniest looking fruit I've ever seen."

"That's because it's a Devil's Fruit," Robin informed him with a smile.

"Really?" Nami asked curiously. "I've never seen one."

"Is it…?" Usopp said, but before he could finish speaking, Luffy took a big bite of it.

"So that's what happened," Nami said, smacking her forehead. "Idiot has no idea what it is."

"Very few people do," Robin smiled sadly, thinking back to when she had accidently eaten her Devil Fruit years ago. When she had gone to visit the archeologists at the Tree of Knowledge, they had been studying the Devil's fruit. She hadn't eaten anything at all the night before because her aunt had sent her to bed without food and in the morning she had run off before her aunt would force her to do even more chores. When she saw the fruit there on the table, she grabbed it without thinking.

"Yeah," Chopper agreed with a nod. "I didn't know the fruit I ate would do this to me."

"Well, you were still a baby reindeer at the time right?" Usopp pointed out in a teasing voice.

"Shut up!" Chopper yelled, his face a little red when Nami gave a little 'awwing' sound.

Shanks had wiped off the straw hat before he put it back on and looked up at Luffy. "You shouldn't eat out of frustration you know…"

"Shut up," Luffy said through a mouthful of fruit.

Shanks blinked before they widened in panic, realizing that something was wrong. "Wait! What are you eating?!" he shouted just as Luffy finished swallowing.

"Too late now," Robin giggled.

"LUFFY!" Shanks yelled, getting up and staring at him in horror. "Don't tell me you just ate the fruit that was inside that chest?"

Luffy just looked at him in confusion, not understanding why he seemed so upset. Instead of answering, Shanks grabbed him and turned him upside down, shaking him. "Spit it out! Spit out every piece."

"What—are—you—doing?" Luffy cried and that was when his legs stretched out and he literally fell flat on his face. He hung there comically for a few seconds before he bounced right back up.

The Straw Hats all started to laugh, having seen this so many times that they were used to it, but seeing the stunned looks on everyone's faces was just priceless. "So that's how it happened," Sanji laughed. "He never saw what hit him…"

"Yohohoho," Brook laughed sympathetically. "Poor Luffy-san."

"Though it's a good thing that he did eat it if you think about it," Nami beamed. "After all, it's because of that annoying ability that he's still alive after everything that's happened to us over the last two years."

"Does this mean…?" one of the pirates gasped out.

"He couldn't have…?" Yasopp gasped.

Luffy was staring ahead of him, his face slightly red from where it hit the floor. But his eyes were wide in shock as he asked, "What just happened?"

Shanks lifted him up so that they were eye to eye and he shouted out, "LUFFY THAT WAS A DEVIL FRUIT! THE DEVIL FRUITS ARE THE TREASURES OF THE SEA! IF YOU EAT IT YOU LOSE THE ABILITY TO SWIM FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE BUT THE ONE YOU ATE ALSO TURNS YOUR BODY TO RUBBER!"

The pirates started panicking and Luffy stared freaking out. "WHAAAAAAAT? NO, IT CAN'T!"

"YOU'RE AN IDIOT!" Shanks yelled.

Nami shook her head fondly. "He is isn't he?" she asked. "But then, what does that make Shanks for leaving something like that lying around?"

Suddenly the image faded and they were back in the darkness and Franky asked, "So did all of you eat your Devil Fruits by accident?"

"I did," Robin answered. "I think it was just before I turned eight did I eat mine. The archeologists on my home island were studying it…"

"And you ate it like that?" Nami asked in surprise.

"Well, I'd never seen a Devil Fruit before, so I had no idea what it was until it was too late," Robin answered with a smile. "But it has been useful of course…"

"Yeah," Chopper agreed, jumping up so that he was on Zoro's shoulder. "I remember when I ate mine!"

He was still that blue nose little reindeer who had been forced to walk behind the rest of his herd. His herd rejected him because of his nose… whenever they ate, he was forced to stay behind and wait until they finished grazing on whatever plant they could find.

On this particular day, his stomach was so hungry that he was in pain. He was starting to straggle behind the rest of the herd until he spotted the strange looking fruit. It wasn't like anything he had ever seen before and couldn't help but stare at it as it lay, half-buried, in the snow. He remembered putting his nose to it to sniff it, but couldn't smell anything. He turned it over with his blue nose and his stomach was now crying with hunger. Unable to help himself, he had devoured all of it, crying at the exertion of swallowing each unpalatable mouthful all the while.

"After that," Chopper said, "I slowly started transforming!"

"What about you Brook?" Usopp asked. "Did you eat yours by accident too?"

"No," Brook admitted. "I remember that day as if it happened yesterday. Not long after I joined the Rumbar Pirates, we got into a fierce battle with some Marines that had been chasing us back in the West Blue. The Devil Fruit came bobbing up from all the wreckage…"

"So you knew what it was beforehand?" Zoro asked.

"At first, we couldn't decide if one of us eat it, or if we should sell it," Brook went on. "It was a problem… none of us had ever seen one before and we didn't have the slightest clue to what it could do. But it was decided that I would decide."

"Why you?" Sanji asked.

"Yohohoho, because I was the one who fished it out of the sea!" he laughed. "It was a rule on our ship. Whatever we find, we decide what to do with it. In the end, I couldn't help myself and ate it."

"And what did you do when nothing happened?" Franky asked.

"I thought that it was just a fake at first," Brook confessed. "I didn't feel any different, nor did I suddenly have any powers. But I learned the hard way that it was the real thing when I next went for a swim! I almost drowned! Yohoho!"

"And you figured out what kind it was later?" Usopp asked.

"Merely a guess," Brook answered. "It wasn't until I died and came back as All-Bones Brook did I know for sure!"

"Well, it's good," Robin smiled. "Otherwise we never would've met you."

"Yohoho! Your words are so kind, Robin-san!" Brook laughed. He was about to ask if he could see her panties, but before he could, the scene changed. And just like that, the scene changed. They were still in the village just a little ways away from the bar—they could see it just up the road. Luffy was there, skipping along as a few people looked over at him.

"Hey Rubber-boy!" a fish monger said as he passed by them. "Why are you in such a good mood lately? The pirates set sail without you, you know." He then smirked and added, "Won't be much of a pirate if you can't even swim."

Luffy just laughed and waved cheerfully at him. "It doesn't matter if I can't swim!" he said happily. "If I sink like an anchor, then I'll just become a pirate that doesn't fall overboard."

"Who does he think he's kidding?" Usopp asked, remembering all the times that Luffy needed to be rescued from drowning. "If he even takes a bath it's hard for him."

"I'm glad I ate the Gum Gum fruit!" he said, grabbing his face and pulling it so that it stretched out, causing all the villagers to all stare. "Look what I can do!"

At that moment, a middle-aged man approached them. This man had a cleft chin, grayish-white mustache and beard, and was wearing oval glasses—he was also leaning on a walking stick as he approached Luffy.

"Who's this guy?" Zoro asked unimpressed.

"You think being stared at because you're a freak is a great thing, eh?" he demanded from Luffy. "Well, this village doesn't need any more idiots, sonny!" Robin's eyes darkened at that, remembering how the other children had been scared of her after she ate the Devil's Fruit and ran away from her like a monster. Next to her, she could hear Chopper sniffling a little, and knew that he could understand what it was like.

"A freak?" Nami repeated angrily. "That's a terrible thing to say to someone!"

"Oh," Luffy said happily with a little wave. "Good morning Mayor!"

"Luffy-san doesn't seem to mind," Brook answered happily.

"Of course not," Zoro answered. "He's proud of that."

"So he's the major?" Robin repeated a little surprised.

"He looks really grumpy," Chopper stated, not sure if he liked the man.

"I suppose you would too if you had to put up with Luffy," Sanji pointed out.

"For the last time Luffy, I won't allow you to become a pirate!" the major declared. "It'd make the village look bad! Now the captain's not such a bad fellow but you stay away from those pirates."

"Guess he didn't listen," Robin said with a smile.

"I think that's a safe guess," Nami laughed.

Luffy just stuck his fingers in his ears as if he couldn't hear him and went charging on ahead like nothing happened.

The scene changed again suddenly, and the next then they knew was that they were back in the tavern with Luffy and Makino. It was quite a different place when it was just the two of them there and no laughing pirates drinking and poking fun at Luffy. As for Luffy, he was sitting at the bar with a glass of juice in front of him while Makino was cleaning up some of the glasses behind the bar.

"Almost don't recognize it when it's empty," Franky said, looking around.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Usopp asked, looking around, hoping for another glimpse of his father. "It's a little creepy to be honest. I wonder where everyone is…"

"You need to start paying attention," Robin answered him. "Shanks told Luffy that they would visit only a few more times before they left for good."

"Oh, right," Usopp answered hitting his hand with a fist. "Luffy did say that he hadn't seen Shanks since he was a little kid."

"Luffy doesn't look happy about it," Chopper said as he watched Luffy play around with the glass in a bored way, his face looking slightly grim.

"The Captain's been away for awhile now," Makino said, breaking the silence, "You miss them don't you, Luffy?"

"Not a bit," he said stubbornly. "I still haven't forgiven them for that thing with the bandits yet."

He finished his drink before he leaned over the bar, the glass still in his teeth as he went on, "I overestimated Shanks and the others. I thought they were the coolest pirates. What a letdown."

"Really?" Makino asked him with a knowing smile. "I think being able to laugh after what happened is much cooler."

"Makino, you just don't get it," Luffy said persistently. "There are times where a man must fight!"

"I agree with that," Zoro grinned. "But there are also times to know when to back down."

"Really?" Makino asked with a bright smile. "I do not understand these things."

"Ah… Luffy-san is so lucky to have known such a kind and beautiful woman looking after him," Brook said. "I'm jealous."

"She truly has a heart of gold," Sanji sighed longingly. "I must come and visit her one of these days…"

Makino tilted her head to the side and smiled kindly. "I'm sure they'll be back soon."

"Yes, I agree," Robin said with a sad smile as she watched the two. "It must be nice to have someone who cares for you so much."

"Hmm?" Chopper asked. "What are you talking about, Robin?"

"Just saying that I wish I had someone who cared about me like she seems to with him," she said, watching Makino put away the glasses and ask Luffy if he wanted something to eat. "I mean… she acts almost like a mother or an older sister to him. She's like family in a way…"

"Luffy's family? You mean like his grandpa or Ace…?" Chopper then asked, before realizing what he said and clamped his hooves over his mouth as if he said something bad. They all looked to each other—all of them thinking the same thing. Not one of them had ever once mentioned Ace… they had been so glad to see each other after two long years of training that they never had time to talk about anything that happened during the Whitebeard War. Luffy had only mentioned Ace once since then… that was when he had been talking to Camie about wanting to see Jinbe when they visited Fishman Island.

"Speaking of… Ace…" Usopp said slowly and carefully, "Where is he?"

Sanji breathed smoke from his cigarette as he answered, "I think that's a simple answer. It could just be that they haven't met yet. After all, Ace was adopted by Luffy's grandfather right?"

"So will we see Ace again?!" Chopper asked with his voice muffled through his hooves.

"If we're really seeing Luffy's memories, then there's a good chance," Robin said, her thumb underneath her chin as she thought that over. "But that's the whole problem."

"What do you mean?" Chopper asked, lowering his hooves and looking at her in confusion.

"The problem is that we're watching these private memories," Zoro said darkly and that shut them all up when they realized what they were doing.

"Yow!" Franky said at once anxiously. "Does that mean that Luffy doesn't know that we're watching?"

"I honestly don't know," Robin answered as she continued to watch Luffy and Makino talk to each other. "But if these truly are his memories, which I'm sure they are, than there is a good chance that we're watching them without the captain's knowledge or permission."

"Ack!" Usopp called out in panic. "Quick! Turn it all off then! I wouldn't want it if someone was looking into my head without me knowing!"

"Yes! We need to leave!" Chopper called out hurriedly.

"I would if I could," Robin answered him. "But I don't know how this is even happening right now."

Nami frowned at her and asked, "But what are we supposed to do? We're stuck here watching his life story?"

"I don't know," Robin answered again sadly. "I only know what I told you. Whether or not he knows that we're watching is the question. But until we can figure out a way out of here then we will watch."

"Oi!" Usopp said to her, waving his arms around. "That's not fair! If Luffy's at the Gates of Hell then he deserves to keep his memories private if he wants them private doesn't he?"

"Would you all leave her alone?" Sanji snapped at Usopp. "If Robin-chan doesn't know how to get out of here, then no one does."

They all looked at each other, knowing how touché they all were when it came to their pasts. All of them had their secrets. And Luffy had never pressed them to talk about things they rather not.

However, they were now literally watching Luffy's history.

Zoro gave a frustrated sigh and frowned. "There isn't really much we can do about it," he said, "We don't really have a choice in the matter."

Nami bit her lip. "But Zoro…" she began. "I don't like this."

"None of us do," he said, folding his arms and shutting his eye. "But what else can we do? What? You suddenly know how to get out of this place?"

"Well, no but…" she stammered.

"Until you do figure it out, we're stuck here," Zoro stated finally.

"But…" Chopper began.

"Chopper," Sanji said, folding his legs under him so he could sit down on the floor, surprisingly on Zoro's side for once. "We all feel the same way. But until we find a way out of here, we're stuck watching it. So the sooner we get out, the sooner that we can leave Luffy's past his business."

"But who knows what we could end up seeing!" Nami cried out. "It's not fair to him. I mean… what if we see something that he doesn't want us to see?"

Chopper shifted on his feet in an upset way. "What do we tell Luffy when we find him?"

"Maybe it's better if we don't mention it," Usopp said to himself.

"No, we will," Zoro said without room for an argument. "We don't have his permission to be seeing any of this. If it were me, I'd be angry as hell. Hard to say what Luffy will do when he finds out, but how can we expect him to trust us if we can't even tell him the truth?"

They all fell silent for a moment. "As much as it pains me to admit it," Sanji stated gloomily, his eyes still on Makino. "Moss Head here is right. Until we get out of here and find Luffy, we'll watch this. And when we do find him, we'll be honest. No matter what we see, it won't change the fact that he's our captain."

Before anyone could answer, the door to the tavern was kicked open again, putting an end to their conversation. Looking up quickly, they saw that it was the same bandits from before who walked in. They were all looking around, as if expecting to see someone there… all of them smirking horribly as if planning some great big joke.

"Them again?" Franky asked darkly. "Darn… I was hoping to see more with Shanks. He at least had a sense of humor."

"Yeah, but this can't be good," Nami said softly as the bandits looked around.

"I see that those pirates aren't around today," the leader said with a satisfied smirk as he walked in, looking almost disappointed. "We were passing through and we thought we drop in for some sake."

They all took the seats and the leader barked at Makino, "Why are you standing there? We're customers!" He slammed his hand onto the table and yelled out, "SAKE!"

Makino put down the glass at once and cried out, "Yes, of course!" and turned to get them all some at once.

Sanji looked furious, now standing in front of the leader and yelled out, "Oi! That's not how you address a lady!"

"Sanji, they can't hear you!" Usopp told him.

Sanji was shaking with anger as he yelled out, "I know! But I can't stand by and watch a lady being treated like this! This sucks! I can't even kick this bastard!"

"We had a great time that day!" one of the bandits said. "Did you see the looks on their loser faces?"

Luffy looked up at them all at once, shaking in anger.

"They couldn't do a thing," another laughed. "Even after you gave their captain a sake bath, boss!"

"What a bunch of cowards!"

"What horrible people!" Brook called out angrily. "Just because they don't waste their time harassing others doesn't make them cowards."

"Apparently you aren't the only one who thinks that," Robin said, looking at Luffy. They all glanced and could see the anger cross Luffy's face.

They all roared with laughter as their stupid-looking leader said, "I really wanted to kill them all. That's what all pirates are after all. Cowards on the seas…"

At that, Luffy got up and yelled as he jumped up onto his seat, "SHUT UP!" At those words, everyone in the bar was now looking at him as he kept screaming out, "DON'T MESS WITH SHANKS'S CREW! HE'S NOT A COWARD!"

Makino's looked terrified as she grabbed him and tried to tell him to be quiet. "Luffy, stop it," she cried, but he ignored her as he went on to yell, "Don't talk about Shanks and the others like they're idiots!"

"What was that, brat?" the leader asked him with a scowl. "You have a death wish?"

"A lot of people think that," Zoro admitted coolly.

"Luffy, please, sit down," Makino whispered to him in a pleading way.

But Luffy wasn't listening as he glared up at the bandit, "I said for you to shut up about Shanks!"

"Why do I have a bad feeling that this isn't going to end well?" Nami asked, her hands on her hips. "Luffy's hot-head is now going to get him into a lot of trouble if he's not careful!"

"Yes," Brook said worriedly. "But wasn't Luffy-san upset with Shanks-san too?"

"They're friends," Sanji pointed out. "If you're friends, you can insult each other all you like. But if it's some random jerks like that, they deserve to get told off."

"Yeah, but he's still just a little kid," Usopp pointed out. "He's not as strong as he is now!"

"I don't think he's thinking about that," Robin said.

"When does he ever think?" Nami sighed.

And like that, the bandit leader reached out and grabbed Luffy by his shirt, and holding him up to his face. "Listen, you little brat, you need to learn who you're messing with."

"Let me go!" Luffy yelled, now fighting to get away.

Makino rushed forward and grabbed the bandit's other arm. "Please, sir! Let him go! He didn't mean to…"

But the bandit wasn't listening as he shoved her away and she hit the bar and stumbled to the ground.

"WHY THAT PIECE OF SHIT!" Sanji yelled as he took a running leap and tried to kick him, only for his foot to pass through like smoke. "Damn it!" he cursed out again. "How dare he get away for treating a lady like that? If I ever met up with him in the present then I'm gonna KILL him!"

"Makino!" Luffy cried, now furious as he kicked harder than ever. "You can't do something like that to her! You're going to pay for that!"

"Thank you!" Sanji cried out, tears in his eyes. "Someone agrees with me! She's too beautiful to be treated like this by such scum!"

"Ahhh!" Chopper cried out in panic as they watched the bandits leave the tavern, taking Luffy with them, "Now what are they gonna do?!"

"What all scum do," Sanji hissed furiously, when they followed them. "Continue to be scum!"

"Interesting," the bandit leader said as he watched Luffy's body stretch out. "Yeah, looks like punches and kicks are no good."

"Damn!" Luffy yelled as he tried to pull himself free. "Say you're sorry!"

"A rubber-man?" the bandit said looking at him curiously. "I never imagined there were such strange creatures in the world."

"Let me go!" Luffy yelled again, as the bandit threw him down to the ground and after a few kicks; placed his boot on his head to keep it down. Even though they knew it wouldn't hurt him, the Straw Hats were quickly growing angrier with each second.

"Does anyone mind if I kill him?" Zoro asked, his hand back on one of his swords.

"If you can," Franky said in frustration, aiming his hand at the bandit's head. "But we can't even touch the bastard."

"This is torture," Usopp yelled furiously. "We're stuck here watching this and can't do anything about it."

"A different type of human," the bandit said with an evil grin. "He must be worth good money if we sell him."

"What did he just say?" Brook demanded crossly.

"You heard right," Usopp said, gritting his teeth, his hand going to his slingshot.

"Damn it!" Luffy cursed again as he fought to get the bandit off him. "I won't forgive you for this!"

"Why so upset?" the lead bandit asked smugly. "We were just enjoying a nice drink and you had to come along and ruin it."

"Yes, you did!" Luffy shouted, not able to speak clearly with the boot in his face, "Apologize right now!"

The bandit just laughed at him as he pressed down harder with his foot.

"He's really starting to tick me off," Zoro growled, his hand twitching on his sword as if aching to draw it.

"You're not the only one," Brook said, also sounding angry. "They're the sort of rotten people I hate! Those who devalue life! I can't stand the smell of them, though I do not have a nose to smell with!"

"Now is not the time, Brook!" Usopp yelled.

"Please! Let the child go!"

The Straw Hats, and everyone else turned to see Makino, hands clasped tightly looking terrified as she breathed hard, the Mayor was there with her as they stood in front of the bandits.

"Wah!" Sanji called out, hearts back and his legs twirled around. "Makino! My love… are you alright?!"

Nami finally had enough and yelled out, as she delivered a hard punch to his head, "She can't see you dumbass!"

"Nami… swaaaann," he croaked out, a slight nosebleed starting up again as he fell to the ground.

"Makino, Mayor," Luffy gasped out.

The Mayor came forward and he said, "I don't know what Luffy did, and I have no intention to fight with you because of it! But enough!" He then fell to his knees and begged, "I'll even pay you if you want; just please, let the boy go."

"I guess he's not such a bad guy after all," Usopp said, glad that this was going to end well.

The bandit smirked. "The old man knows how the world works," he said calmly. "But… no!"

"What?" Chopper yelled out, his eyes popping out. "He's not going to let Luffy go!?"

"Did you really expect him too?" Nami asked angrily, for some reason, thinking of Arlong. "Jerks like him never keep their word even if they give it to you."

"But it's too late now," the bandit went on. "I cannot spare him… you see…" he kicked Luffy harder. "He made me angry. I cannot let a kid this weak insult me in front of my own men and get away with it."

"You started it!" Luffy yelled defiantly. "You mountain ape!"

"Nice one," Zoro said lightly. "I guess he was better at insults back then… but he can't do much like that."

"How can you say something like that?!" Usopp yelled him, "Don't you know what'll happen to Luffy?"

"That's easy," Zoro answered while his eye on the bandit's sword "He'll die."

"That's a horrible thing to say! Luffy could get sliced into pieces here and you're standing there all calm!" Nami yelled at him.

"And us getting upset will make a heck of a difference won't it?" he asked, and they stopped yelling for him to say, "Whether we like it or not isn't the point. What is the point is that this is all ancient history."

"Besides," Robin answered as she looked at the bandit's irritated face, "Luffy obviously survives. Let's just watch and see…"

"Fine," the bandit, stomping harder on him one more time before he drew his sword, now looking annoyed, "I've decided that I'm not gonna sell you. I'll kill you instead."

Zoro flicked his thumb so his blade could be seen; though he knew that it was pointless, he couldn't help himself—they had all become increasingly protective of Luffy—especially after these last two years. The others were looking angry as well, some of them even drawing weapons—just aching for a chance to have a go at this jerk.

"LUFFY!" Makino screamed in panic.

"Please!" the Mayor cried out imploringly as he looked up, "Let him go! He's just a child!"

"I was wondering why the bar was empty on such a fine day," a causal voice from behind them. They all spun around in time to see Shanks and his crew standing behind Makino and the Mayor.

"So this is why," Shanks finished, looking at them all.

"Captain Shanks!" Makino called out in relief.

"Oh good!" Chopper cried out happily. "Shanks will take care of everything."

"I hope so," Brook said softly as they looked back to the helpless Luffy, still fighting to get up.

Shanks grinned brightly as he came forward. "If it isn't the bandits from the other day," he said before turning his teasing grin on Luffy, "What's the matter, Luffy? I thought you said that you have a punch like a pistol?"

"Shut up!" Luffy snarled from where he was.

"I have to agree, now's not the time," Franky said, posing. "It's time to SUPER kick some ass!"

"Pirate," the leader said smugly, "Why are you still here? I suggest you leave and continue cleaning if you don't want to get hurt."

However, Shanks instead began to slowly walk forward towards them, the Straw Hats moving out of the way for him—despite the fact that there was no need.

The bandit leader pointed his sword at him, "I don't know why you're here, but leave before we kill you."

"I'd love to see him try," Franky laughed. "Shanks didn't become an Emperor for being weak after all!"

But Shanks kept walking towards them. Suddenly, another one of the bandits said with a cocky grin, "Didn't you just hear what he said?" he raised a gun and pointed it straight at Shanks's head. "Don't take another step or I'll blow your brains out."

He cocked the gun, and the other bandits laughed. Shanks did stop here, but he didn't look worried. He was still smiling as if this was all his idea.

"Since you drew your pistol I assume that you're willing to use it?" Shanks asked casually.

"Huh?" the bandit asked stupidly. "What are talking about?"

"I mean are you willing to risk your life?" Shanks asked calmly pointing to the gun in his face, "These aren't toys to scare people with after all, you know?"

Nami, Zoro and Usopp all smirked at those words.

"Oi, what the hell is so funny?" Franky asked them, wondering just what was so funny at this moment.

"Yeah, fill us in on the joke," Sanji agreed.

"When we first met Usopp, Luffy intimidated him with that same speech," said Zoro grinning. "He showed up at the shore and pulled out his slingshot and was about to shoot. Just those words were enough to scare him shitless."

"Yeah…" Usopp laughed. "Hey!" he added when he realized what he said. "You jerk!"

"It is the truth, Usopp," Nami laughed a little until a gunshot rang through the air, bringing them all back to the matter at hand. When they looked up, the bandit with the gun was on the ground while the fat pirate named Lucky Roo was now standing there with the smoking gun—still eating a slab of meat on his knife. Everyone was staring at him in shock and surprise.

"You killed him!" a bandit yelled.

"That was fighting dirty!" another cried out.

"Dirty?" a tall man with slick, black hair tied in a ponytail and carrying a long rifle that was tucked into his yellow sash. "Who did you think you were dealing with here? We never claimed to be Saints."

"I think I like this guy," Zoro smirked.

"That's Benn Beckman," Robin answered. "If I heard right, then he's the first mate of the Red Hair Pirates."

"In other words, he's badass," Sanji said grinning.

"We're pirates," Shanks proclaimed proudly.

"Shut up!" the bandit leader yelled, "This is none of your business!"

The good-natured look on Shank's face just seemed to melt off to be replaced with great anger. "Listen up, bandits," he said in warning. "You can spill food me. You can pour drinks on me. Hell, you can even spit at me. I'll just laugh it off." But then his face grew furious as he said, "But… no matter what the reasons… I WON'T FORGIVE THOSE WHO HURT MY FRIENDS! Now for the last time, let the lad go!"

"Shanks…" Luffy whispered softly.

"WOW!" Chopper cried out, stars sparkling in his innocent eyes. "Shanks is so cool! I want to meet him!"

"I can see why Luffy looks up to him," Sanji smirked. "Shanks is definitely his main influence."

But just then, the leader of the bandits laughed horribly as he asked, "Won't forgive you say? You bunch of pirates who float around on the sea want to challenge bandits?! What a joke! Kill them all men!"

And like that, the bandits all raised their weapons and charged ahead.

"Amateurs," Zoro said shaking his head. "They barely know how to use those things."

"I'll handle this," Benn said coming forward. "I'm more than enough for them."

Shanks just smiled at him as his friend strode forward, pulling out the rifle he had tucked in the sash at his waist, stance relaxed and casual. When the first bandit came at him, he pulled out his cigarette and used it to stab him in the face. That first bandit was down before the cigarette was. He then raised his rifle up as a weapon and in no time at all, the bandits were all lying face-down in the dirt.

"Don't flatter yourselves, bandits," he told them, pointing the rifle at them as he lit another cigarette, "If you want to fight us, you better bring a warship with you."

"Wow…" Luffy whispered in awe.

"Luffy took the words out of my mouth," Nami smiled.

"Not bad… though they were just taking out these weaklings," Zoro added, his hand on his swords again as he watched Benn walk back to his friends. He liked this guy… if they ever met up in the future, he wanted to be the one who fought him.

Staring at his defeated men, the bandit wasn't acting so cool anymore. In fact, he grew pale and was now backing away, "Ah! Wait a minute! The kid's the one who started this!"

Shanks smirked. "Aren't you a wanted man?" he taunted him.

"He's so cool!" Usopp and Chopper yelled out.

Franky burst out laughing. "Yow! I really like these guys."

Robin chuckled. "They are something else aren't they?"

Looking desperate, the bandit threw something down on the ground; they didn't have long to wonder what it was for as soon as it hit the ground, it exploded to created a giant cloud of smoke.

"And they say that pirates fight dirty," Sanji said in disgust.

"A smoke bomb?!" they heard Shanks yell out.

"Come on kid!" the bandit's voice rang out along with Luffy's protests.

"Luffy!" Shanks called out.

"I can't see anything," Brook said as the smoke got thicker and darker, "Ah! But I don't have eyes to see with anyway. Yohohoho!"

"What's happening?" Chopper cried out. But it only continued to get darker until everything faded out.

"I've never seen a smoke bomb make everything this dark," Franky said looking around. "Though that's not such a bad idea for a new weapon," he added to himself.

"Idiot, the memory's obviously changing!" Nami yelled at him. She was right, for soon, they were standing on the ocean waves, everything coming back into focus.

They all stepped backwards in shock at what was happening. Their feet were submerged into the sea, but they were still floating on the unsettled waves as if standing on solid ground.

"Now this is interesting," Robin said with bright curiosity as Usopp, Chopper, and Brook all screamed out in terror. "You don't see this every day."

"How is this possible?" Nami gasped.

"How is any of this possible?" Zoro asked as Chopper clung to his leg, as if terrified that he would fall into the water if he let go.

"WE'RE STANDING ON THE OCEAN!" Usopp screamed as Brook ran around in a panic. "THAT DOES IT! NOW I WANNA GO BACK! PLEASE LET'S JUST GET OUT OF HERE!"

"It's not even wet though," Franky said, lifting up his sunglasses so that he could look at his feet. He jumped up and down a few times, but still felt nothing. It's like it's all an illusion…

"Or a mirage," Nami added as everyone else slowly began to calm down.

"Now's not the time! Look at what's happen!" Sanji yelled, pointing ahead. They looked up to see that the bandit leader was standing in a small row boat with Luffy sitting as far away as possible from him at the other end.

"That's not good," Robin said, now sounding anxious. "If he falls in, he'll die for sure."

"How can you be so calm about this?!" Usopp yelled at her.

"I'm calm about most things," she said coolly.

"But she's right!" Nami called out, gripping the sides of her face in fear. "Luffy can't swim!"

The bandit laughed darkly. "We got away," he said smiling evilly at Luffy. "They will never think to look for a bandit at sea. I only brought you as a hostage, but now there's no more use for you. I've always killed those who irritated me… you will be the 57th."

"You jerk!" Chopper yelled out furiously, transforming into Horn Point. "Wait, till I get hold of you! You'll wish that you were never born!"

"Chopper," Zoro growled. "There's no point in yelling." But he too was looking angry, as if he wanted to kill this man as well.

"Not if you die first!" Luffy yelled at him. The bandit chuckled, smirking as he walked over and kicked him into the sea, laughing out, "Good riddance!"

"Luffy!" Usopp yelled in panic.

They watched as Luffy flew through the air, as if in slow motion, before he hit the water. He ended up coming back up for a moment, but he was floundering in the sea, trying desperately to keep his head above water.

The bandit laughed out loud, as if he couldn't think of anything funnier than watching the boy in front of him drowning. But what he didn't noticed was the dark shape that swam underneath the boat.

"W-What's that?" Nami croaked out, watching the dark shape beneath the waves.

"I think we're about to find out," Franky said as the bandit finally stopped laughing as the water behind him rose up.

Usopp, Nami, Chopper, and Brook all yelled out in panic as a Sea King rose up—looking like a large oversized brown eel with glowing red eyes and blue fins.

"WHERE DID THAT THING COME FROM?" Usopp bellowed out in terror.

"WHAT?!" the bandit screamed out as he stared at it in horror. "WHAT IS THIS MONSTER?!"

"You can tell that he's never been out to sea if he doesn't even know what a Sea King is," Sanji said, but he wasn't smiling this time, wondering what on earth was about to happen next. Just then, the Sea King opened its mouth wide as it closed its jaws around the boat, swallowing the bandit whole.

"Now that's what I call 'just desserts'," Robin whispered.

"Can't you be a little more worried?!" Usopp yelled at her.

"Where did a Sea King come from?" Nami screamed out, "They're hardly ever seen outside the Grand Line or the Calm Belts?!"

"Who cares?" Brook screamed, now freaking out. "Luffy-san is going to be eaten!"

Zoro and Sanji both leapt out, trying to attack the beast, but like every other time, they simply passed right through.

"SHIT!" Sanji screamed out, looking back at the creature. There wasn't anything they could do… all they could do was watch as the Sea King finally noticed Luffy who was now sinking. The Sea King paused, red eyes watching him before it charged.

Luffy's terrified scream broke through the air

"LUFFY!" they all screamed in terror. They heard Luffy's screams, saw the flash of razor sharp fangs as the Sea King dove. For a moment, they feared the worst—forgetting that their captain was still alive—they couldn't see Luffy anywhere and there was blood in the water.

But then, a head with bright, red hair broke through the surface with Luffy clinging to his chest.

"IT'S SHANKS!" Chopper yelled out as the two struggled in the water as the Sea King turned around, ready for another attack. But as it charged towards them again, Shanks looked up and glared hard… making it stop dead in its tracks.

"Get lost," Shanks said, his voice as cold as ice. The Sea King stared for a moment before it quickly dove beneath the waves and disappeared.

"Was that…?" Usopp whispered with in a croak, sweet falling from his face.

"Conqueror's Haki," Robin said calmly. "So he does have it."

"That was amazing!" Chopper said, thinking back to Fishman Island when Luffy did that to the giant Sea Bear. "That was just like what Luffy did before!"

Luffy looked up at Shanks, tears gathering in his eyes. "S-Shanks…"

"Thanks, Luffy," Shanks said with a big grin, "Makino told us what happened. Thanks for sticking up for us." Shanks paused as Luffy started crying noisy tears. "Come on, there's no need to cry—you're a man now."

Usopp was breathing hard before he gasped out, his hand over his heart as he started to breath normally again. "They're ok! They're both ok!"

"I wouldn't say that," Zoro said, gazing hard at Shanks, filled with a new kind of respect. "Take a good look at Shanks."

"B-But… Shanks… your arm!" Luffy cried, tears overflowing, "YOUR ARM!"

The rest of the Straw Hats finally noticed where all the blood in the water had come from. Shanks's entire left arm was gone, all that was left was a bloody stump just past the elbow.

Nami's gasped as she stared at the blood flowing out and Luffy clinging to Shanks's shirt. "His arm…?" she whispered. "He just… just like that…?" They all knew that Shanks had somehow lost his arm from when they met Rayleigh, but seeing how it happened and why…

"I can't imagine what must be going through Luffy's head right now," Usopp whispered, staring at him as he continued to cry.

"I think mostly guilt," Sanji said at once. He knew what it felt like to see someone give up a limb for you. The memory of seeing Zeff bone thin with that messing leg suddenly came to his mind.

"Like it's your fault…" Nami whispered, tears in her eyes at the thought of Bellemere smiling even as Arlong pointed the gun at her.

"And no matter what happens, you don't think you can ever make up for it," Franky finished, thinking of how Tom was taken away from them because of him and his stupid battle ships.

If Shanks was in any pain, he ignored it as he gave him a gentle smile as Luffy clung tighter to him. "Luffy… it's just an arm. I've got another one. I'm just glad that you're alright."

"I never knew what a great man he is," Usopp said in awe as they watched Shanks swim both of them back to shore. He couldn't stop the pride he felt for his father for sailing around the world with a man like him. "I knew he was a strong pirate… but now I know that he's a great man as well!"

"He needs to be treated," Chopper cried in alarm, watching the trail of blood. "He'll bleed to death in less than ten minutes if he doesn't see a doctor!"

"He'll be fine," Zoro said. But there was a strange look in his one eye as he watched them near the shore where his crew was waiting for him. "But I have to say… he's something else."

It became dark again as the vision faded, but soon it reappeared. They were at the docks now with the Red-Haired pirates were just loading up crates of food and barrels of sake onto the ship. Usopp was staring ahead at the back of his father's head before he noticed that Luffy and Shanks were there, watching them work—with Shanks now having his missing arm covered up with a black cloak.

"So you're leaving for good this time?" Luffy asked as Makino, the Mayor, and the other townsfolk came to say goodbye.

"Yep," Shanks said brightly, tilting the straw hat back so that he could see the waves better. "It's been a nice extended vacation, but we've stayed long enough. It's about time that we move on." He looked at him and asked, "Sad to see us go?"

"Yeah…" Luffy confessed, but he kept smiling. "But I made up my mind. I'm not going to ask you to take me with you. I decide that I'm gonna become a pirate all on my own."

Shanks then stuck his tongue out at him and teased, "Heh, I wouldn't take you even if you begged me! You don't have what it takes to be a pirate!"

"For someone who lost an arm, he's surprisingly upbeat," Robin commented.

Luffy blinked before his eyes narrowed in anger and yelled out, "YES I DO!"

At his voice, all of the other pirates on the dock turned to watch Luffy. "One day I'll have a stronger crew than yours! And then I'll find the world's greatest treasure! You hear me? Someday I'm gonna be KING OF THE PIRATES!"

"So that's why he's so obsessed with becoming the king," Zoro said with a smile.

"Yohohohoho! Luffy-san is very determined!" Brook said happily.

"And he's been keeping this promise all these years just because he was angry at Shanks?" Nami asked, shaking her head. "Why doesn't this surprise me?"

"Oh, I don't think that he was really angry, Nami-swan," Sanji said, pulling his cigarette out of his mouth and blowing smoke rings.

"I agree," Robin nodded. "I think that there's more to it than a promise. I can't help but wonder what else it is that drives Luffy."

Shanks listened to Luffy's proclamation before he smiled, as if he was taking this as a challenge. "Oh?" he teased. "So you're going to get a crew that's better than all of us? Well then," and slowly, he reached up to the straw hat and took it off so that he could place it onto Luffy's. "This hat is my gift to you."

Luffy stood still as a statue as Shanks said to him quietly, "This hat is an important treasure to me, so you have to promise me that you'll return it in good condition." Shanks pulled away. "And only after you become a great pirate. That'll be our promise, Luffy."

Chopper laughed joyfully. "Shanks is really nice! So that's why the hat's so important to Luffy!"

"Yes, the man who once saved his life has been waiting for him out here on the sea for years!" Brook said, now looking deeply touched by what he was seeing. "It simply touches my heart! Not that I have one! Yohohoho!"

"He's SUUUUUUPER!" Franky exclaimed, tears running down his face at the cute scene playing out in front of them. "A more kind-hearted man you'll never find anywhere."

"Luffy is very lucky indeed," Robin said with a soft smile.

Nami sighed wistfully. "He is," she agreed. Luffy took the hat in his hands as he watched the Shanks board the ship. Makino came up behind him and stood with him, smiling as kindly as ever as she looked up to the crew and waved goodbye.

"Raise anchor!" Shanks yelled. "And set the sail!"

"Aye!" the rest of the crew yelled before they looked back and waved goodbye to everyone. All the Straw Hats, except for Usopp—who was staring at his father—was looking at Shanks. They watched his ship until it sailed away from them and disappeared over the horizon.

"That's got to be the sweetest thing I've ever seen," Robin smiled as she watched little Luffy put the hat back firmly on his head, and rub the tears away.

"I get it now…" Zoro said softly, his hand on Kuina's sword… remembering the vow that he made to her so long ago.