Dreams

"There are many different types of Devil Fruits in the world; There are the Paramecia which is the type that I have." Robin explained and made multiple arms grow from her elbows. "They're the Fruits in the Sea that tend to be found the most, the next ones are the Logia type…You've already met two of them at this point…Smoker and Crocodile."

Nami nodded as she listened; "So these Logia control the natural elements…Like Fire or Sand..."

"What about Water, can someone control that?" Zoro asked curiously as he pondered the idea; "If a Devil Fruit user could command water then maybe that could make them one of the most powerful people in the world…"

"That's an incredibly stupid idea, not to mention that a Devil Fruit User's weakness is water anyway so they'd be handicapped too!" Sanji griped and pointed the idea out which seemed to earn some agreement.

"That's right…No Water Fruits can possibly exist because it can cancel out the Fruit power itself. But to round off the chart are the Zoans, they are just as common as the Paramecia but these are split into three groups based on the type of animal that they are."

The first are regular animals like Cows, Dogs and even Humans can be given to people." Robin sketched it in her notebook; showing a diagram of the first few names she could think of.

Chopper waved their hand; "Like mine; My Fruit is a Hito-Hito no Mi."

Robin chuckled as she appreciated the adorableness that was Chopper. "The next echelon in this group are called the Ancient Zoans; which are normally animals that are no longer around. Some appear as dinosaurs or as ancient creatures like a Mammoth."

"Wow…I could only imagine what kind of rampaging could be done if someone was a dinosaur." Usopp mentioned out loud as he imagined each of the crew as a respective dinosaur but shivered at the idea. 

"Those types are rare and incredibly strong but that also leaves one last group that are among the highest of the grade; These are considered some of the most powerful and unique that you can find outside of Logia." Robin would explain as she pointed to the top of the pyramid; "These are the Mythic Zoans…They are among the rarest of the rare, Devil Fruit Users gifted with powers of those that exist beyond the likes of a normal human or animal."

"Powers like that must be really something." Sanji mentioned; "Though I have read a book on Devil Fruits in the past and I've heard of at least one…There was the one used by the Whitebeard Pirates, the Tori-Tori no mi: Model Phoenix."

"It's powers like that which justify people to consume them." Zoro mentioned as he then turned to look at Robin; "So that still doesn't answer the question of why exactly you know about what type of Fruit Morgan has."

"I know about it because I've researched on it in the past, it's something that has been forgotten in recent history and depending on who you ask; it's for a good reason or a bad one." Robin explained as she sketched out the Devil Fruit that was on Morgan's possession.

Morgan meanwhile was in his room and shaking as he felt his body burn with anger; Towards Robin for essentially latching this power onto him but mainly at himself for now becoming the biggest hypocrite considering what he said about the Devil Fruit.

First there was a pair of arms identical to his own growing out of his shoulders and another pair that grew out on the lower part of his back. He took a brief look at himself in the mirror as his multiple fists opened and clenched in the reflection, still coming to terms with the fact that this is now him.

"The Hito-Hito no Mi: Model Asura…" Robin said to the group; "It's a Fruit that grants him the power to grow extra arms on his body…Aside from that, only he can tell you what else it can do."

Nami looked to the group but then saw another island coming up and headed inside to let Morgan know. "We should get ready."

"Wait, so if you said you know about his fruit…Why does HE have to say what it does?" Usopp asked as he picked up on something that Robin said.

"Because once someone eats the Devil Fruit, they instinctively know what it is that they can do with it's abilities. I only know of it's name and that brief excerpt that I told you." Robin mentioned; "I only know of it from a book and it's existence has long since been considered a myth…Hence why it's part of a reason why I'm staying here."

——Inside the Captain's Cabin——

Morgan sighed to himself as he had retracted the arms from before and was currently contemplating everything that had happened. Though hearing a knock at the door threw him out of his funk and halfheartedly mumbled a "come in"

Nami gently opened the door and frowned a little when she saw Morgan's defeated expression. "We're coming up on an island soon so I thought you'd want to prepare before we land."

"Hm…"

"You don't have to keep that lady on board if you don't want her here, besides…It's not like she's the one who has the control here." Nami opted and tapped at his head since she realised that part of the reason for his bad mood was the fact that Robin was there.

"That's not the point, she knows about the Grand Line more than we do and the fact that we can use all the help we can get." Morgan admitted; "And even if I'm not going to use them…She can at least help me with trying to figure out how to handle using multiple hands at once."

Nami nodded; "Doesn't it seem like a waste though? I mean it was because you got those powers that you could pull off that win."

"Which is why I won't use them unless I ABSOLUTELY have to." Morgan pointed out; "I came to the sea because I wanted to become the King of the Pirates and the World's Greatest Martial Artist with my own two hands; No weapons, no Fruit powers…Just me and my fists." He spoke honestly and then looked to Nami.

"No…I get it, though I have to admit that I did lose my cool when it came to her after I heard what she did…" Nami smiled a little and rested her head on his shoulder; "No one's going to force you to use them…Just make sure that you don't put yourself at risk if you can choose to."

"Trust me…Dealing with Crocodile was enough for me to know when I'm in over my head…" Morgan said to her as he gently pulled her closer; "Besides, it's still not gonna stop me from trying to push my limits."

Nami chuckled; "That's all I ask of you~" She remarked, unaware that an eye was watching them from the corner of the room before vanishing.

——Later on the next island——

The Straw Hats had been bombarded with a variety of things ranging from a giant ship that Robin was able to deduce was incredibly old, along with a double whammy visit from a group of Salvagers who had been curious enough to tell them the story of the Sky Islands when they came to take the broken down shipwreck.

"So we can stock things up here?" Chopper would ask as they looked up to Nami who held onto the map…And the purse strings.

"Mhm, This town's called Jaya; A place were we can get more food and supplies…That run in with Hina managed to poke some holes in the Merry during our escape." Nami elaborated; "If it wasn't for Mr. 2 to keep them distracted, there's no telling what would've happened."

"So let's split things up and see what we can get for our next trip." Usopp remarked; "I need more wood for the ship anyway and I'm pretty sure that my ammo needs ingredients."

"As does my kitchen; With the extra effort put up on you guys and Morgan especially with his training regimen, we've been running out faster." Sanji grumbled as he puffed his cigarette.

"That's a lie and you know it, you've just been piling up on the luxury for Nami and Robin." Zoro retorted as he looked to the love riddled cook; "Honestly…"

"Okay, we should take Usopp's advice and split things up; Chopper can get the medicine, Usopp can go with Sanji so he doesn't get lost or distracted." Morgan decided to divvy things up before Sanji and Zoro started another fight.

"Seems fair, in which case; I can go with our captain and see if I can find some extra books for research, gamble or not, I still want to check out on the Poneglyphs." Robin said coolly as she sauntered to Morgan's side. "Plus I'm still a wanted woman, who knows what kind of authorities or upstarts want a piece of me for a bounty~" Robin whispered in his ear as she trailed a finger along his arm.

"I'LL go with Morgan since I could sell off this jewelry that Robin managed to swipe from Crocodile AND make sure that we can get extra maps." Nami added with a little more insistence as she hooked her arm around Morgan's so she could emphasise the point of making Robin back off.

With the group splitting off and Sanji trying to choke back his rage at seeing Robin making moves on Morgan; the plans were set though it looked like Jaya was more of a lions den than initially thought.

——Meanwhile——

In another part of the Grand Line, a greater scheme of things were underway.

Shanks had been on the path to talk with the pirate who was said to be the closest to getting the title of King of the Pirates: Whitebeard.

And on an island devoid of bias towards any one land was the meeting of the Seven Warlords; News that Crocodile's actions had stripped him of his title and now the decision of who would take his place was in question.

To much of everyone's surprise, three of them had arrived: Hawkeye Mihawk, The Tyrant known as Bartholomew Kuma and the Heavenly Demon Donquixote Doflamingo.

"So let's start this with our options." A large man with a Marine cap and a seagull on the top adjusted his papers; this man was none other than the Fleet Admiral and the Commander in Chief for the Marines Sengoku. "With Crocodile now incarcerated at Impel Down for Insurrection, conspiracy for regicide and acting out of his own jurisdiction. It seems prudent that we find someone to replace him."

Mihawk grumbled as he could tell this was a blindingly quick start even for the Marine; "So in the grand scheme of things, what Pirate would be willing to accept the control of the Marines like this?" He asked; "Because in case you've forgotten, Fleet Admiral…Not many people will."

"Fufufu…We can always take one of my main commanders for the spot…I can assist with directing them AND it helps strengthen m-" Doflamingo offered his own points but was cut off by Kuma.

"No, merely having another member of your crew on as a Warlord would not just be a symbol of bias but also detrimental if another Crocodile incident were to occur." Kuma explained with a non-changing tone in his voice.

"What about this new pirate that was involved with the Crocodile thing?" Mihawk asked; "Morgan D. Ford, perhaps someone could persuade him into joining your little club and keeping a watch on him?"

Sengoku narrowed his eyes as he looked to Mihawk; "Out of the question! I've seen the reports that came out of his name; inciting a rebellion in Shells town, taking on high ranking pirate after Pirate in the Blue AND in the Grand Line…Not to mention that he is currently being sought after for Marine custody regardless." The Fleet Admiral explained with a grimace; "Garp wants this boy brought to him alive regardless for whatever reason, giving him a government pass to be a pirate means that I'll be hearing about it even after I retire…"

"If I might interject…" An unfamiliar voice said from the windowsill as a monochromatic man with a cane stood by; "There is a pirate who could be more than willing to join." 

"Lafitte…What brings you here?" Tsuru would say as she had opted in as a higher up in the Marines to oversee alongside Sengoku.

"I've merely come to throw a hat in the ring for the consideration of this new selection; a new Pirate captain by the name of Blackbeard…."

—Back in Jaya—

Morgan was currently in one of the bookstores; tracing along the spines to see if there were any books on fighting style or Martial Arts, Nami and Robin seemed to be either searching their respective field or in his navigator's case…Trying to convince Robin to back off of Morgan with her advances.

"I keep telling you that he isn't for grabs, not for you at least." Nami grumbled as she leafed through the maps.

"Oh but that's part of the fun…Because I intend on getting what I want and right now; I want him~" Robin purred with a slight smirk as she picked up some history books on Jaya.

"You've done enough already with that stunt you pulled." Nami snapped at her as she rolled up some maps; "Besides, In case you haven't noticed…He's not exactly your number one fa-gya…" She was cut off when Morgan lightly bopped her on the head with a rolled up map.

"If you told me and Zoro not to start fights here then you can't either, Nami…" Morgan reminded her but then saw a rather tattered looking map that was shoved down the back of the rack. "What the…" He thought to himself as he unfurled it, showing a rather old looking charter for a place known as Skypeia.

"Skypeia?" Nami asked as she peeked over his shoulder to examine it; "Either that's a Winter Island or someone got too lazy to realise that they drew clouds instead of sea patterns." She pointed out and gestured to the billowy area around the island.

"That's because it's a Sky Island, Miss Navigator…Like the one that those Salvagers were talking about." Robin interjected; "May I?" She asked as she moved in close to read it. "There's a story from the past called Noland The Liar, he was said to have found a city of Gold up in the clouds but when he was unable to find it again for the king he told…He said that it was real and that it existed even after he was incarcerated and executed."

"Whoa…So something like this exists? Now that's a place I want to check out!" Morgan remarked with a grin on his face, though Nami seemed quick to fact check on this.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up to quickly, Islands don't just float in the sky." Nami pointed out as she rolled up the map and handed it back to him.

"I'd be more inclined to temper expectations if you weren't drooling over the prospect of a golden city." Morgan teased her as he then left after sneaking the map to Skypeia into his back pocket.

After a while, the group all met back up in the town square; a place where the violence and the chaos was at it's worst. With people stabbing each other over card games, giant men fighting in the streets and targeted attacks. "So we're all set, then?"


Sanji nodded; "Me and Chopper got the food and medicine, Usopp said he covered stuff for the repairs to Merry and even how to fortify it…Any luck with the maps?"

Nami held up a wad of maps that she had bought from the store they were in; "I got us some good stuff but the pose still needs to reset…It keeps pointing up for some reason."

"In that case, we should head back to the Merry…I need to start on repairs." Usopp remarked with Sanji commenting about making some food for Nami and Robin.

"I think we can stop for a bite…Don't you think?" Morgan suggested as he felt his stomach rumble.

"I could use a drink…I'm off to that restaurant." Zoro chimed in as he and Morgan headed off to the nearest diner.

"W-Wait! Remember, no fighting!" Nami yelled as she followed after them, seeing as she was both making sure they didn't start anything and because she was hungry too.

——Elsewhere on Jaya——

"45 million just for this runt?" A blonde haired man sneered as he eyed over Morgan's old Wanted Poster, "This guy looks like you could break him in half with a good punch!" 

"Apparently, this kid's a big shot, Bellamy…" One man with a giant knife swung over his shoulders would mention; "He took out some big hitters in the weaker seas and that included a Fishman."

"Really? Sounds like my kinda guy to party with…Then again even a blind man can turn up some money on accident….Let's see if we can pay him a visit." Bellamy smirked as he got up out of his chair and out of the hotel.

——Back in the Diner——

"HEY MISTER/OLD MAN!" 

The cook turned towards Morgan and another larger man as they were munching on the cherry pie. "Yeah?"

This pie is so tasty!" The larger man cheered.

"This pie is kinda nasty." Morgan admitted as he put the spoon down.

The two then looked to each other with a look of apprehension followed by irritation, reaching for their drinks and started to drain their mugs dry.

"This booze is pretty good/nasty though…" The two said together as they began to get weirded out by the other.

"Sounds like you got some messed up tastebuds there, buddy." The larger man grizzled as he gazed down at Morgan.

"If that's the case, you got a messed up head…Pal." Morgan responded in kind with a more tense tone.

"Look, whatever it is that you gotta say about the food, I'm not the cook." The bartender mentioned as the two then turned to him.

"Hey, Mister! Can you give me about 25 cuts of meat to go?" Morgan asked as he was dead set on bringing back food.

"Old guy, I'd like 30 of those cherry pies to go." The larger man remarked, looking to one up Morgan over food.

"Actually, gimme 40 cuts."

"60 pies to go!"

"80 steaks!"

100 PIES!" The larger man yelled and slammed his hand down while Morgan got up out of his chair.

"WHAT'S YOUR DEAL, WANNA FIGHT?!" The two yelled at each other.

"Morgan, take it easy! We're here to get info not pick fights, besides we might have money but we're not shopping for that!" Nami grabbed his arm to roll back the fighting terms between the two.

"Huh…You guys pirates? What's your bounty?" The larger man asked Zoro since he looked like the stronger one between him and Morgan.

"Our captain is 45 Million." Zoro bluntly stated, earning a few whispers and a gestures their way.

However before another fight could escalate, the Man's pies were handed over and ushered out.

"Here, 50 Cherry pies…Take them and leave."

With a gruff thanks, the man left but as soon as he left; a new type of fight walked in. "So, which one of you is the Straw Hat Pirate known as Morgan?"

The restaurant died down as Bellamy and his crew sauntered in and took their seats; Bellamy sitting up at the booth while the other members of his group harshly kicked other patrons out of their's while muttering about Bellamy the Hyena. "Give me the best drink you got, plus whatever he wants too."

"Awful gracious of you, but I'm good." Morgan refused since he wasn't exactly trusting of the new face though he did reach for his own drink.

Bellamy smirked as he then grabbed the back of Morgan's head and drove it through the bar and into the floor. "Whoopsies~"

The group of Bellamy's cronies and even the other pirates there started laughing once they caught on to what he was doing. Sarquiss smirked; "Looks a little too clumsy to be a 45 million Berri man."

"You're telling me, I half expected to see you throw a punch by now." Bellamy taunted Morgan as he grabbed the back of his collar and roughly yanked him to his feet. "I heard all the big stories about you, little man…but in person? You're disappointing me."

"Thanks for the concern, but I'm not exactly looking for your approval." Morgan retorted with a dry snap.

Bellamy was about to talk again when he felt the edge of a blade to his throat; "Oh, the 60 Million Berri man steps in?"

"I better have a real good reason to not split that head from your ne-"

"Zoro, don't fight back…promised, remember?" Morgan said as he looked to Bellamy with a serious glare.

"Non-violence in a Pirate? I have to admit it's a ballsy thing but you've made it all the more irritating to deal with you!" Bellamy then swung his fist straight into Morgan's mouth and knocked him into the floor with the sounds of laughter ringing out.

Nami watched in horror as Zoro and Morgan refused to fight back; "We're not looking for trouble, we just want to know how to find more about the Sky Islands." She said in an attempt to sway the two away from another swing.

The entire restaurant was deathly silent for a brief few moments before a new wave of now almost hysterical laughter rang out as they decided to redirect their taunts to Nami now.

"Sky islands?! That's the biggest load of crap I heard! It's like the City of Emeralds or the One Piece: A bunch of dreams, ones that tons of dime a dozen rookies and wannabes cling to in the hopes of their supposed greatness!" Bellamy sneered as he downed another swig from his drink; "Clinging to dreams just ain't gonna cut it anymore. The New Age of Pirates is here and it's where dreams go to die! You wanna get ahead? Ditch the dreams and grab as much money as you can!"

Morgan was silent but his face was the picture of steadfast; "And look where it's gotten you, stuck in a town and picking on people they think are lower than them…If you ask me, that's probably all you're good for considering your name as a Hyena."

Bellamy's normally grinning face took to a scowl for a brief moment but then masked it back up with his sneer. "Heh, look at that! That's probably the most you fought back…Too bad that's all you can ever hope against your betters!" Bellamy then sucked his drink down to fill his cheeks before spitting it out all over Morgan and Zoro.

"C-Come on, let's just go." Nami said with barely contained emotion as she took the two by the arms since they looked rather beat up and headed for the doors.

"Y'know girly, you're just gonna hurt yourself by clinging to them…Howsabout I buy you off of them? You'll get more fun then that captain can offer PLUS I can make sure you'll be well kept."

Nami looked to Bellamy with the most coldhearted smirk she could muster; "Sorry, but even if you had every berri in the world…That wouldn't be enough to go with a bunch of worthless nobodies~" She snarked before dragging the two out of the restaurant as the laughter resumed.

"AND GET LOST!" One man yelled out and threw an open bottle, hitting Nami in the back and splattering her with alcohol.

"Bunch of…scummy…No good…"

"I wouldn't bother getting upset about them, lil miss." The large man mentioned before taking another bite out of a cherry pie. "When you're gonna make your way to the top, of course you're gonna come across fights that aren't worth it, right kid?"

Morgan dusted himself off as he spat the blood from his mouth; "I know what I wanna do, so I'm gonna do it regardless of how many drinks or punches are thrown at me."

"Hehe…ZEHAHAHAAHAHAHA! Well said! Just listen to me here, People can die but their dreams never will!" He remarked as he swigged from a bottle of rum. "That future of dead dreams? Nothing but a pile of shit! If you believe Sky Island then it IS real, so I hope you do make it up there and prove 'em wrong." He reaffirmed before getting up to leave.

Morgan then wandered off with Zoro back to the ship with Nami wondering why they suddenly decided to start listening to what she said and not picked a single fight.