Chapter 59

The Going Merry was sailing through the vast, dark, murky waters of the Grand Line, approaching it's destination at a steady pace. All the crew, except the captain of the ship, were laying on the deck, groaning and moaning as their bodies screamed bloody murder to them. The Strawhat crew had just gone through their 'normal' Haki exercise. The only thing that was new was Luffy personally training them, leaving them unable to even move a single muscle on their own.

"Do you guys need more time to rest?" Luffy asked his friends with a pout on his innocent face. "I'm getting boooorreedd~!"

Almost everyone flinched at that. After all, a bored Luffy is always a dangerous Luffy.

"I-I c-can't ev-even mo-move." Usopp whimpered, regretting his choice of voicing his opinion as his body throbbed in pain the next moment.

"Awww~! I wanted to play!" Luffy huffed turning away from his long nosed friend and sensing a new presence among them. It wasn't hostile at all but curious.

"Who's there?" Luffy whispered silently under his breath with a smile on his face as he skipped to the figurehead like an excited child wanting to unravel what new thing he is given.

The gurgling of the ocean water excited Luffy as within a few moments, a sea creature, completely new to Luffy poked its head out.

"SUGOI!" Luffy gasped instantly out of excitement the moment the sea cat started rising up only to look at the Young God with eyes filled with curiosity and respect. Luffy waved excitedly at the sea cat wanting to play with him and forget about his boredom. The sea cat in response bowed his head earnestly towards his Young King.

"I WANNA PLAY! I WANNA PLAY!" Luffy whooped before jumping towards the sea cat with a giddy smile over his face.

"Luffy! You moron!" Zoro instantly shouted as he caught onto his idiotic captain's collar. "Don't act so childish! Idiot!" Zoro chided as he threw the young god gently on the middle of the deck.

"Zoro!" Luffy whined as he sat up on his butt. "I wanted to play!"

"And with whom?!" Zoro grumbled as he looked back to see what had Luffy entertained but he found nothing.

"Luffy, you can't swim properly. So, don't go jumping in the waters." Sanji scolded leaving his sentence unfinished. He didn't want to inform Luffy that he or Zoro might be too bummed up to rescue him if he fell 'cause Sanji knew the reality deep within his heart. Neither he nor Zoro could ever stop themselves from diving right after the idiot.

"That sucks!" Luffy whined as he crossed his hands behind his head to lean over them.

"H-How about sh-showing m-me some mercy next time so I-I can play with you later?" Usopp asked holding his chest area in pain. It seemed like a good time to try to make a deal for less pain for Usopp right now.

"Don't wanna!" Luffy instantly shot down Usopp's idea. "'It's better to bleed while training than to bleed during the battlefield.'  As Father used to say." Luffy uttered, his words carried by the wind itself to the being who he referred to.

"You okay there, Luffy?" Sanji questioned as he felt Luffy's mood shift for a moment there. There was something akin to longing and sadness in Luffy's face but he wasn't certain as everything got hidden by the strawhat.

"Yep! All fine!" Luffy grinned widely, removing all traces of his earlier thoughts. It was strange though. Usually he wouldn't like to recall about his 'father' but some memories were just there, making themselves known to him. 

"H-how many more days wi-will it take t-to reach Arabasta?" Usopp asked turning to Nami. He really wanted to land as soon as possible. At least he wouldn't have to go through the hellish trainings then.

"Ju-Just a day more." Nami stuttered out. Her insides were screaming in pain.

"Who are we up against?" Chopper asked innocently as he was picked up Luffy to be situated on his lap. Chopper was the only one against whom Luffy went easy, considering he was the ship's doctor and the youngest in the crew.

"Baroque works." Vivi replied, as she clenched his eyes shut in pain. "They are a criminal organization who are planning to overthrow my kingdom."

"H-How exactly does this Baroque Work works again?" Usopp inquired as he tried make himself more comfortable on the wooden deck. "And what's with the 'Mr' and 'Miss' business?"

"It's quite simple really." Vivi started as she tried to lean her head on the wall behind her and began to explain the workings of the Baroque Works.

The Strawhats intently heard as Vivi starting speaking, even if Zoro pretended to be asleep or Luffy looked at the sky or the ocean seemingly in his own world, they both still paid as much as attention they could to Vivi's words.

At the top, as they all knew, stood the leader, Crocodile, one of the seven Warlords of the sea, who goes by the code name Mr. 0. Below him, there are 12 couple of people and a couple of animal paired together and referred to as Mr. and Miss. They are paired in terms of their strength. Starting from Mr. 1 to Mr. 5 and their partners, who all have a devil fruit power, each of them command the 'billions' who are unnamed agents supervised by them. Mr. 6 to Mr. 12 and their partners command the 'millions' who are also unnamed agents.

"So, you mean to tell us that there are altogether 200 billions-"

"AND 1800 MILLIONS?!" Usopp yelled in complete panic, finishing Nami's inference.

"Right." Vivi nodded with a serious and grim look.

"B-But haven't you dealt with 4 pairs already?" Chopper asked as he felt scared at the number of people who could attack them any moment when they reach Arabasta.

"That means that we have already taken down more than 200 of them." Sanji asserted as he lighted a cigarette for himself.

"Yeah, but we still have 1800 to go!" Usopp gulped with fear. "And not to forget about Crocodile!"

"All I gotta do is kick Crocy's ass, right?!" Luffy asked enthusiastically as he punched the air while getting up.

"You didn't understand a thing, did ya?" Zoro grumbled as he turned towards his excited captain, only for the young god to giggle.

"Anyways, assuming that taking over Arabasta is Baroque Works' final objective, then those ones you call 'officer agents' should all..." Nami started as she looked at Vivi for answers.

"Yes." Vivi spoke, looking at a distant place with a scowl on her pretty face. "They should be gathering in one place."

.

In the vast stretches of the cerulean ocean, where the waves met the sandy shores of the Island and the horizon kissed the sky and the ocean in its endless warm embrace, a pirate ship docked on the bustling shores of Nanohana in the Island of Arabasta.

"Don't go wandering off on your own Ace." Deuce warned the black haired captain, who was already an inch away from running away in the crowd, carrying a bag pack.

"That bastard is here. I need to find him." Ace spoke determinedly with his fists balled. He couldn't wait to drag the scum of the Earth out and kill him for harming his friend, whom he doesn't even know has survived or not. He wasn't going to call them or pick up their calls; he doesn't want to hear what they have to say to him. "For all we know that he could have skipped Islands once again. So, I need to find him or any information about that motherfucker." 

"You aren't alone in this cap'n!" Skull instantly chided Ace with a frown. Ace's one of the most irksome and bad habits was to take every burden on himself but Skull wasn't going to let him do everything all alone. "We are with you here. We promise to find everything about that bastard then show him pain like no other." 

"Thanks dude!" Ace saluted with two of fingers before flipping off the deck and landing on the shore. He wasn't going to put down the offer even if at the same time he wanted to do it all alone. "Still that guy's mine for crying out all loud. If anyone finds him call me immediately! Got it?" Ace asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He couldn't help but imagine all the different kinds of torture he wants to do on Teach for everything he had done.

"Roger, captain!" The spades chorused. Wallace and Aggie68 were guiding their ship to a more remote location to hide it away from the normal civilians while Mihal agreed to stay on the ship as it's protector and the others dispersed in groups for other towns to gather information about Blackbeard.

"I'll leave you behind if you are slow." Ace warned Deuce who was his babysitter for the day. Ace didn't like being monitored by his crew, who were concerned for him. He didn't like worrying them, that was the only reason that he was letting someone accompany him.

"I know Ace!" Deuce spoke, weaving through the crowd behind Ace. The only mission he was looking forward for that evening was to find Sabo who had told him to meet at Nanohana. He has to find excuses for Ace to stay in the port town before Sabo could find him.

Ace queried about the man, no, about the bastard he wanted to so dearly find right now to every shopkeepers and local he could see, yet he came empty handed by the time the sun bid farewell and the moon made its presence known.

"We need to move to the next town." Ace grimaced. He was thirsty from wandering all around the town without a hint of the bastard. He wondered if Teach had been here to begin with. He shook his head before he could doubt Saber's information network. It rivaled the Whitebeard's 13th division after all. Ace hissed at his thoughts mentally.

"There still might be some people who we haven't asked." Deuce pressured. He couldn't let Ace leave Nanohana not until Sabo comes. The blonde teen has to have a way to help Ace the way none of the Spades can. He has to lift up Ace's mood. The Spades had done all they could and are still doing, not giving up on their captain and yet Ace felt as if he was shutting himself slowly but surely.

Ace sighed. It was the second time Deuce was asking him to reconsider wandering to the next town. He wasn't getting what Deuce wanted but he didn't have time. Yes, there was a chance that they have not yet asked everyone considering he was getting diverted with the new cuisines sometimes and walking astray from their paths, but still! Is it worth considering the people whom they haven't questioned when at least more than half of the locals have denied seeing the bloody traitor here?

The sky was darkening at a steadfast rate. The locals were heading inside to shelter themselves from cold and to rest their bodies after a day's hard work. Little to no people could be found on the street anymore, so Ace decided to stop for the day and settled in a nearby bar. It at least had a few customers meaning the drinks weren't bad. Most of them looked shady for sure but Ace had enough of talking to strangers for the day.

"Tomorrow, we are leaving for the next town, Deuce." Ace spoke in an authoritative voice, leaving no place for Deuce to speak. He then looked for the bartender who was busy cleaning some glasses for the next customers. 

"Old man, get me a drink. The strongest one." Ace placed a bag of coins on the counter then slipped his sea stone ring on to his fingers. He wanted to be drunk and wasted after the day's turmoil. Hopefully his other friends has found some information on Teach. His thoughts drowned out the other sounds in the bar and his observation Haki, which would have let him know someone new had entered.

"Tch, tch, Ace. Seriously, drinking? The strongest one? Without me brother?" A heartbroken, dramatic familiar voice spoke, entering the bar. The man, dressed in a blue cloak with a blue top hat shielding his face plopped beside Ace taking a seat.

"Sabo!" Ace exclaimed, his voice filled with genuine surprise and delight as he quickly side hugged his brother. "What are you doing here?"

"You know, the usual. Pissing off pirates and marines alike." Sabo stated while taking off his hat and looking at his brother. Taking every bit of his presence and letting it soak within him. It was a proof that his brother was well even if his slightly bruised face still told him an another story. He then turned to face the man next to Ace. "Hello, Deuce! Good to see ya too!"

"Same here, Chief!" Deuce teasingly spoke with a smile and a sigh of relief, which he was holding. He was happy that he had finally completed his mission of reuniting the brothers. "I have some business to take care. Mind if you babysit the captain for me?" Deuce asked taking the opportunity and dismissing the frown on Ace's face. 

"I'm not a baby! That's Lu!" Ace retorted with a huff. 

"Yeah, sure, big brother." Sabo chuckled, drowning a glass of sake which he had ordered. Ace looked mostly fine from outside but from inside he could already tell that Ace was struggling to keep himself together. "Tell me how you have been since you haven't been calling me or picking up my calls."

Ace so dearly wanted to dismiss the topic. His mind ran miles to find a perfect excuse to not make his blonde brother suspicious as he sipped on his whiskey.

"Is it why you came all the way here to find me? I'm really happy to know that you care but still I'm fine, 'Bo!" Ace insisted but the look in Sabo's eyes clearly told he wasn't satisfied with his answer at all. "Fine. I'm not okay but still okay enough!" Ace asserted not even knowing what he was trying to speak.

"Ace." Sabo spoke softly, his voice carrying concern for the oldest. The whiskey was revealing Ace's true emotions. The blank look which settled on Ace's face told stories to Sabo which he wasn't sure would be pretty to hear at all. He wanted to help. "Mind joining me a bit for a walk?"

If Sabo ever wants to bring out Ace out of his inner turmoil then he knew he need to bring the oldest teen to a place where he can calm down, and a bar filled with grimy and sweaty men was not one of the places to find solitude and peace.

Ace nodded, trusting himself to his brother as Sabo lead him outside of the bar carrying their drinks and a bottle to go with. The chill air hit Ace's bare chest in the absence of his devil fruit, making him shiver a bit but at the same time made him relax and feel relieved.

They walked silently for a few minutes, occasionally taking a swig of the bottles in their hands. The tranquility of the night was settling in as the sky appeared to be completely dark. The moon greeted them as the stars littered in the sky, twinkling to their brightest and fullest.

"You okay there?" Sabo spoke softly as they finally reached near the shore of the town, which was vacant of any conscious life. He saw down on the sand and signaled Ace to sit down next to him.

It was only them, relaxing on the sandy shores looking at the vast galaxy of stars glittering in the night sky just like the old times. The rhythmic lapping of the waves only added to the serenity of the place.

"...Yes." Ace finally answered feeling his worries leave his body a little but at the same his emotions flooding at his mind gate, waiting for him to let them flow free.

"It's just like the old times. Remember the times when you would sulk all by yourself and Luffy would insist to never leave your side, resulting in us having sneak out and watch the night sky?" Sabo asked, looking at Ace whose eyes were already welling up with tears at the slight hint of Sabo knowing what's going on.

"Y-Yeah." Ace croaked, hiding his eyes with his hand.

"Even if Luffy isn't present here, you have me." Sabo spoke in a gentle voice, turning towards Ace. "So... tell me, Ace, what's troubling you."

"..." Ace stayed silent, feeling his throat suddenly clog with untold emotions. "I-It wasn't me, 'Bo." Ace choked out after a while. The blames from the Whitebeard resonated in his mind, making him want to curl on himself. He hated crying on these trivial matters. He hated himself for it. Why did he have to trust on them so much that it hurts? "I didn't hurt Thatch."

"I know, I would never blame you." Sabo assured Ace gently, making the oldest teen hesitantly nod after a while.

"I-It hurts... 'Bo." Ace spoke, his voice heavy with emotions, sadness, regret and anger. "T-They threatened me, they wished me dead... I saw in their eyes!" Ace's lips trembled. "It's not like I am not used to... but it has been so long..."

Sabo's eyes saddened at the reminder. Deuce had told him everything, which included each and every insult thrown at Ace. It hurt him to know his brother had to go through this. It pissed him off knowing that the Whitebeards could ever jump to conclusions that way. Even if they have acknowledged their mistakes and tried to contact Ace, the damage was done. Irreversible damage that would never their friendship be the same as before.

"But I trusted t-them, 'Bo." Ace finished, opening the lid of the whiskey bottle. Sabo let Ace take a chug out of it, seeing the glassy sheen and a lone tear slid from Ace's eyes. 

"Let it all out." Sabo gently spoke, his own eyes filling with sadness at Ace's condition as Ace rambled on how he couldn't take it, how he had to look after Thatch first before chasing after Teach.

Sabo held Ace in a hug the moment the tears started flowing down. Ace needed to let everything out before it consumed him. He listened through everything, gently rubbing circles on Ace's back as the drunk teen began slurring everything out.

"Ace, you aren't worthless. You aren't a monster. No one can judge if you should have been born or not." Sabo spoke holding Ace's hands; the moment Ace to know he's loved and cherished. "You are an excellent brother. I and Luffy need you. Your crew and friends need you. So, don't ever let yourself ever believe that you aren't needed or wanted."

Ace hiccupped as Sabo's own emotional voice made their place in his heart. This was what he needed to hear. He's so thankful that Sabo exists and is beside him.

"Don't even think about throwing your life away, got it?!" Sabo tried to assert sternly but all his voice was capable of producing was a sob. "That crybaby would be a wreck without you! Heck, I would be lost without my other half, my twin. So, don't, don't you dare Ace! Don't you dare repeat what you did that night."

Sabo cried, holding onto Ace, remembering how badly he let himself get beaten up some no name people in an Island after the entire ordeal.

Ace held onto his twin brother and nodded shakily. The heavy weight of his sadness, the emptiness, the death threats and those voices vanishing one by one as the words of Sabo repeated in Ace's mind.

"What would Luffy do if he ever heard what had happened?" Sabo questioned Ace, wiping his tears and willing them to stop flowing.

That was the last nail for Ace and a warning for him to stop sulking. His heart almost stopped when he realized that even Luffy could have tried to call him but due to the Whitebeards' continuously calling him, he hadn't picked any calls. What if Luffy already knew from his mother?

"He doesn't, right?" Ace questioned Sabo with wide fearful eyes, before another realization struck him hard. "WAIT! HOW DO YOU KNOW?!"

.

"The wind and climate seem to have stabilized." Nami uttered stopping in her tracks and as a result got whacked by Vivi by mistake, making her yelp in pain. They were in the midst of training their Haki and luckily were not being trained by Luffy who was playing with Carque for a while. Each of them was silently thankful to the duck for that.

"Yes, we must have entered Arabasta's climate." Vivi confirmed, as she took a look at the nearby ocean. She was amazed how Nami could read the climate and weather so well without removing her blindfolds. Vivi also noticed that Nami barely ever had to change their path. It's as if they were still in the East Blue waters. Also, it was strange for her to not see the sacred sea cat yet, which resides on the coast as she had always seen it whenever she had left or arrived in her homeland. Had she possibly missed it?

"And I guess a sight like 'that' is another proof that we have reached Arabasta." Zoro pointed at the horizon as he stopped at his training. The horizon was covered with an armada of ships.

"So many ships! Where did they come from all of a sudden?" Nami asked as she removed her blindfold. The sight which greeted her made her pale until her face looked as white as a paper.

"They all have Baroque Works' mark on their sails!" Vivi gasped as she looked through the binoculars which was nearby. Vivi was utterly confused when she noticed that the ships were pointedly coming towards them. She had thought that Crocodile was under the assumption that the Strawhats were not an issue for him, considering that the Unluckies had somehow followed Luffy and agreed to not inform Crocodile about them. 

"So, they are starting it, huh?" Luffy asked as he hopped to his favorite place to analyze the situation more closely.

"It can't be!" Vivi's eyes trembled at the sight and the binoculars almost slipped away from her hands. "There are not only the Billions but the Millions as well before us!"

"THERE ARE 1800 OF THEM?!" Nami and Usopp shrieked as Vivi's words got to them and the information which Vivi shared to them yesterday collided together. 

"T-they're elite agents who're completely on another level from the regular bounty hunter you come across in Whiskey Peak." Vivi trembled slowly, her hands tightening on the railing of the ship to keep herself steady.

"Guys, hate to break it but we are surrounded from all sides." Sanji announced while chewing the butt of his cigarette aggressively and true to his words they were surrounded from all four sides by a fleet of ships lead by the Baroque Works agents.

"Nami, how much time will they take to reach us?" Luffy questioned Nami as he stood atop his favorite place. He was vibrating with excitement but knew something else needed to be done before fighting with the Baroque Works.

"Fifteen minutes, Captain!" Nami reported, judging the wind, waves and weather and how fast the ships were approaching them.

"That's more than enough time we need!" Luffy grinned brightly as he turned towards his crew. That was the time Zoro and Sanji arrived with bandages and markers and refreshments respectively.

"Who's hurt?" Chopper asked innocently, checking everyone for any visible wound that wasn't a small bruise from training.

"It's our secret plan, Chopper." Zoro smirked as he drew an 'X' on his wrist and tied a bandage above it. "There is a chance that okama guy would be among those ships. So, we can't recklessly take any actions." Zoro spoke passing everyone bandages and marker. 

"Look! Look!" Luffy cheered showing his arm where he crafted a crude strawhat skull, dismissing the serious atmosphere in an instant.

"Luffy! Come here!" Sanji sighed, pulling the teen by luring him with the refreshments. He had already given the ladies theirs, so he wasn't worried about them getting over. That's why, he focused on making a cross on the kid captain's wrist before covering it up. "Can he really look that similar to us? I mean that guy with the Copy Copy fruit?" 

"He doesn't just look like you but is pretty much you. Too bad you missed him." Usopp spoke up, as he tied finished tying Chopper's and Carque's bandages on their wrists. Usopp really felt himself trembling as the time passed and the ships continued to surround them, but the childish way Luffy was acting, weirdly enough, was a bit assuring to him racing heart.

"Gawking at okama ain't my thing." Sanji shivered a bit at the very thought of having to ever talk to an okama or fight with him.

"What should I do?" Chopper questioned as his eyes trembled a bit with fear at the sight of the number of ships surrounding them.

"Just do what you can. There's no need to do any more than that. If you come across an enemy that's too strong-"

"Then I'll be there to kick it's ass away from you!" Luffy finished Usopp's words with a big assuring grin. After all, he wasn't going to let any of his friends fight anyone they can't handle. Specially not Chopper, who was his cuddle buddy!

"I'll do my best!" Chopper clenched his hooves in determination, no longer fearing about the people who were coming to attack them. Okay, maybe just a little fear was still there but still, he was going to give his best!

BOOM! BOOM! SPLASH! SPLASH!

"AGHHHH!!!" Usopp, Nami, Vivi, Chopper and Carque cried out in fear as a cannon ball just splashed in the water missing their ship by a hair.

"It's finally started!" Luffy grinned manically, excitement visible in his chocolaty eyes which flickered to scarlet red once before settling down to the chocolaty ones.

"What do we do, captain?" Zoro asked with a smirk as he unsheathed his katana, ready for a good fight.

"We kick their asses!" Luffy grinned, stuffing all the leftovers in his mouth.

.

'Desert King' Sir Crocodile, one of the seven Warlords of the Sea and the president of the mysterious crime syndicate Baroque Works, operating under the code name 'Mr. 0', cackled evilly in the 'City of Dreams' Rainbase in Arabasta, which served as the headquarters for the organization.

"The Strawhat Pirate's ship has been sighted heading towards Nanohana." Robin, or rather, Miss All Sunday, spoke in an emotionless voice, studying Crocodile's every move carefully.

"Have the Baroque Work agents surrounded them?" Crocodile asked with a smug grin on his face as he already knew the answer and it was confirmed when Nico Robin nodded her head. 

"It is an overkill for the Strawhats to face against 1800 of Baroque Work agents, Mr. 0." Robin stated narrowing her eyes at the Warlord. She couldn't comprehend herself as she felt the slight twitch of annoyance at the man's actions. She personally would have left at least 200 agents in Arabasta to secure the Island but she wasn't going to speak her mind out.

"The Strawhats?" Crocdile cackled with venom laced in his voice. "Even the princess of the kingdom had perished under the attack of the 3C's! Don't you know Nico Robin how the 3C's tend to mercilessly beat down marines and pirates alike to take their ship and treasure?"

Robin didn't answer. In the Grand Line, it was a common knowledge that the 3C's, one of the pirate groups who were feared besides the Emperors' and the Warlords' of the sea were pretty much the most slippery and secretive trio to ever sail the seas as they as they never had a permanent ship to sail with or eye witnesses to tell a tale. Besides that one time a few years ago when the trio fought against the Whitebeard pirates and were all over the news for weeks with people speculating over who won the fight as the result was unknown.

"I was thinking of getting assistance from the World Government by telling them the plans of the 3C's." Crocodile started, regaining Robin's attention as she looked at the man with slightly wide eyes. "But I can't. The operation 'Utopia' is too important for me to invite the government dogs to interfere with it when it's just in its last phases."

"Indeed. That would have been way too foolish." Robin asserted taking a sigh of relief which she had held for a while. She couldn't even think of the government coming in Arabasta and finding her.

"After this all is over, the world will soon know that I, 'Desert King' Sir Crocodile has eliminated the 3C's!" Crocodile laughed as he ripped apart the three posters laying on his desk using his hook. He grinned at the recognition he would get, the fame he would receiver and the fear he would spread. It would help him make sure that no one ever dares to look down at him. Not even that sadistic pink flamingo of a man.

"Yes, Mr. 0." Robin spoke. She wasn't certain if the 3C's were really there and the Strawhats were dead, but she knew one thing, that if her hypothesis was correct then they were alive and Strawhat Luffy either pretended to be Cyra or is Cyra. Robin felt that the kid was not someone who would pretend to be someone but the possibility of him being Cyra were too small, so Robin was looking forward to see who would emerge victorious from the battle. Baroque Works or the Strawhats.

If Baroque Works emerges victorious then it would mean that Strawhat was a lair and had planted a trap in that Island whose eternal pose he gave her. But if his rag tag group won, then there was a chance that someone in that group was either Cyra or Strawhat himself is. Robin really was interested to see the end of the battle. She had another questions as well. If Strawhat Luffy is Cyra then who are Cole and Cyane? Someone on the crew or were they elsewhere?