Chapter LV: Escalation

It was a few hours after the Straw Hats came to grips with their captain and first mate's secret that another visitation of the Marine variety came to their temporary lodgings.

Two young men stood at the door when Luffy answered it. One wore a standard Marine uniform from the neck down, but the absence of a hat along with his pink hair, yellow bandana worn as a headband, and the blue-framed glasses on top of the headband instantly made it clear that he wasn't an ordinary grunt. Alongside him was another man with long blonde hair, a black visor, a green vest over a white Marine shirt, and purple pants.

Most of the crew looked at them quizzically, but Luffy smiled. "It's been a long time, Coby."

The pink-haired Marine started. "You recognize me, Luffy-san?" he asked in surprise.

"Well, how many other pink-haired Marines are there?" Luffy grinned.

Coby chuckled. "Fair point."

"Coby… wait, the kid who was traveling with you when you beat the Alvida Pirates?" Nami asked incredulously. "I remember he wanted to be a Marine, but what's he doing here?"

The other man let out a sigh. "I suppose it's true we've changed quite a bit," he said with a helpless shrug. Don't let my new look fool you, Roronoa. I'm still the same even if I've gotten a lot stronger—"

"Who are you again?" Zoro interrupted.

"Hey! That's cold, Roronoa," the man said, pushing up his visor with a smirk. "Helmeppo. Morgan's son. I was the one who condemned you to death row, and then you broke free and beat me within an inch of my life."

"Oh right, you're that idiot," Zoro grimaced.

"B-But things have changed since then!" Coby spoke up hastily.

"Indeed," Helmeppo said smugly. "I've made quite the turnaround, if I do say so myself."

Zoro hummed. "Well, I guess you're really not as stupid as you look," he commented, causing Helmeppo to beam with pride even as Luffy burst out laughing for some unknown reason.

"At first, I was upset being press-ganged into the Marines as a chore boy, but when Garp showed up to take Daddy away for court-martialing, and he used me as a hostage to get away, suffice to say that I had things put in perspective for me. Especially since Coby risked his life to try saving me. To make a long story short, Garp was impressed and took the two of us on as apprentices."

Luffy winced. "Sorry about that."

The crew sans Zoro was incredulous, but both of the Marines chuckled ruefully.

"Yeah, I've got a good idea about just how you became such a monster now, Luffy," Coby said, rubbing the back of his head. "But still, I've already become a Master Chief Petty Officer. I'm just one promotion away from becoming a Marine officer! And Helmeppo's only one rank below me."

"He's just that much more enthusiastic despite everything Vice Admiral Garp throws at us. Even if he's throwing cannonballs," Helmeppo grimaced.

Luffy grinned. "Sounds like you've been training hard then."

Coby nodded. "While we're on the subject, I wanted to ask you a favor, Luffy-san."

Luffy hummed. "Let me guess. You want to spar?"

Smiling, Coby nodded again. "If it's not too much trouble."

The Straw Hat captain smirked. "Alright. Let's see how far you've come."

As the crew gathered outside along with the two Marines, Luffy and Coby stood across from one another. Coby wasted no time and approached with a Soru, which Luffy easily sidestepped before he grabbed Coby by the arm and threw him. Coby planted his feet into the ground and skidded through the dirt before vanishing in another Soru. This time, his punch was blocked by Luffy's forearm. He swiftly twisted around and attempted to elbow the rubber man, but Luffy ducked under his arm and delivered a swift jab to his stomach that left him reeling.

Luffy then grabbed his by the collar and pushed him roughly to the ground, one fist cocked back and ready to deliver a finishing blow.

Coby was panting heavily. "Not…even close," he acknowledged with a sad smile as he stared up from his position on the ground. Luffy straightened and offered him a hand up, which he took gratefully.

"I may have lost this time," Coby said, dusting himself off before looking back up at Luffy. "But I won't let this stop me. I'll keep training under Vice Admiral Garp…and one day…" he trailed off, trying to find the courage to state his dream. "One day…I'll…I'LL BECOME A MARINE ADMIRAL!" Coby declared.

Luffy's expression turned serious as he searched Coby's expression with scrutiny, and though the Marine flinched somewhat at the rubber man's gaze, he stood strong. Finally, Luffy nodded.

"You've learned to be firm with what you say. Is that your dream, then?"

Coby nodded without hesitation. "I'm going to become the best Marine I can."

Luffy smiled. "You really have come a long way from that timid cabin boy I met on that cruise ship," Luffy said. He stared for a moment longer, and turned away. "Wait here. I'll give you something that will help."

Luffy vanished in a perfect Soru, to Coby's bemusement. "Well, at least I can say there's one thing Luffy can do that I can too," he muttered.

"Which only leaves a few dozen more to go," Helmeppo joked.

Luffy reappeared before the Chief Petty Officer could say another word, and held out his hand. All who were watching gasped as they saw what it held: a white tangerine, imbued with countless swirl patterns and an otherworldly sheen.

"L-Luffy-san…is that…a Devil Fruit?" Coby whispered with wide eyes.

"Not just any Devil Fruit, Coby," Luffy replied solemnly. "This is the Goro Goro no Mi, the lightning Logia. It's one of the most powerful Devil Fruits in existence. Nobody else on my crew wants it, and I couldn't think of anyone else who I could trust this kind of power to, so I wasn't sure what I'd do with it…until now." He held out the fruit for Coby to take. "I know that I can trust you with it."

Coby stared in awe for only a moment. Then, without a second of hesitation, he took the fruit and took a bite of it. He stood strong for three seconds…and then the rest of the fruit fell from his hand, and he began gagging. "Damn it, Luffy, that tasted RANCID!" he choked.

"Heh. Sorry, I should have warned you about that," Luffy said sheepishly. Then his expression turned serious. "But don't just rely on that. The Goro Goro no Mi will make reaching your goal easier, but ask any of the admirals, and they'll tell you that any Logia who relies too much on invulnerability is setting themselves up for failure." He grinned. "And besides, it won't do you any good against me since I'm made of rubber…that is, until you learn some more tricks."

Coby blinked in comprehension, and for a second looked almost betrayed. Then his eyes hardened as he understood; it was just that much more motivation to train himself on all fronts, not only his new powers. He smiled, and nodded. "We'll meet again in the New World, Luffy-san. And it won't be so easy next time."

Luffy grinned widely.

"Uh, Coby? I think we should start heading back now. Vice Admiral Garp won't be happy if we keep him waiting, he's already grumpy for some reason."

Luffy winced, as did the rest of the crew, but a smile came onto the rubber man's face a moment later, and he swung an arm around Coby's shoulders. "How about I head back with you? I can tell you some stuff about how I saw your powers used."

Coby smiled back. From there, Luffy began walking towards the shore, telling Coby what he could remember of Enel's abilities and Nami adding a few suggestions of her own on what he could do with electricity. Helmeppo took notes as they went, while everyone else simply enjoyed seeing Luffy mix his story about how Zoro beat Eneru in with the advice. Coby took careful note of the fact that high level swordsmen would also have an effective protection against his powers.

But Luffy was no sooner finished than they arrived at the docks. Luffy and Coby reaffirmed their promise to meet and fight again beneath Garp's watchful eye, and Helmeppo made a somewhat similar vow to Zoro.

"I may not have any illusions about beating you…but with any luck, the next time we meet, I should be able to make enough of an impression that you won't forget me again," he said, fingering his kukri knives.

"Hmph, we'll see what happens," Zoro shrugged…though he was smiling.

With that, the two lower-ranked Marines boarded the battleship. As the vessel moved away from the shore, the Vice Admiral grandfather and the Pirate King grandson exchanged looks for several seconds. The crew realized that they were having a silent conversation just as they both nodded in perfect understanding. Then the 'Hero' of the Marines turned around and headed back into the ship as it sailed away from Water 7.

On their way back to their hotel room, Luffy's stomach started growling. "Man, I'm hungry. Is there any more food?"

"You ate most of our provisions after your fight with Aokiji," Sanji informed him. "We'll have to restock. Luckily, we're not broke for once."

On the way back, however, a large crowd led by the three remaining Galley-La Foremen greeted them.

"There they are! It's the saviors!" a man shouted, as the crowed gathered around the Straw Hats and started cheering.

"...Yeah! Whoohoo! Go us…!" Usopp shouted, pumping his fist. "...Wait, what'd we do again?"

"You were the ones who saved Iceburg from the assassins, weren't you?" a woman shouted with tears in her eyes. "We heard it all from Dock 1!"

Luffy turned to the three Galley-La workers with a raised eyebrow. Lulu and Tilestone just shrugged, while Paulie walked up to Luffy and started whispering in his ear. "We covered up what happened with Lucci and the others. It would just get complicated if the public knew everything that happened. Mind just playing along, Straw Hat?"

Understanding dawned on Luffy's face. It would get messy if the public knew about the ancient weapons and the government's motivations. He nodded silently at Paulie, who turned back to the crowd. "Well then, another round of applause for our heroes!" he shouted, causing the crowd to cheer even louder.

"NO!" the shout was actually loud enough to drown out crowd's cheering, and they looked at Luffy and Zoro, who had both raised their voices, in confusion. The two both pointed accusingly at Paulie.

"Hey, don't go calling us heroes!" Zoro huffed.

"We're anything but!" Luffy agreed. "Heroes have to share their meat!"

"And their sake!"

"We want it all for ourselves!"

"So enough with the hero bullshit!"

Paulie scratched his head as the crowd started laughing hysterically. "Man, you guys are strange. Fine then. Everyone, let's get these idiots some food and booze!" He was rewarded by a collective shout of agreement.

Luffy smirked. "Now that's more like it! Let's get this party started!"

It was late in the evening, and the party celebrating the heroics of the Straw Hat Pirates and Mayor Iceburg's good health raged on. The party was funded by Galley-La in a not so rare display of carelessness on Iceburg's part. No one was complaining.

In a scene that was becoming rather familiar to some, Usopp stood atop a large stack of tables, shouting out of a megaphone about how he single-handedly defeated the assassins after Iceburg's life. Although the Water 7 citizens seemed to eat it up, Zoro, feeling an annoying sense of déjà vu, promptly kicked the stack of tables, causing the sniper to unceremoniously tumble to the ground. This only made the drunken crowd cheer louder.

Luffy, who had locked onto a specific aura among the hundreds that littered the streets, made his way through the crowd. He finally found Robin smiling wistfully the crew's enthusiasm as she sipped her drink.

"Party too long for ya?" he asked.

She shrugged, the smile never leaving her face. "Or perhaps I'm just not drunk enough."

Luffy's eyes widened. "You get drunk?" he asked in disbelief, causing her to chuckle.

"I don't think I can thank you enough, Luffy," she said suddenly, causing the captain to smile sadly.

"You don't have to thank me at all, Robin."

"But I do," she said softly. "I was so afraid. I truly believed that I couldn't escape my past. Now, hearing that I was wrong, even knowing what you all went through for me in another time, that you carried me with you to the end...I'm...I'm sorry I doubted you."

Wordlessly, Luffy set his drink down, turned towards her, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She returned the gesture, which conveyed so much, and felt an incredible lightness of being as they pulled apart.

"Are you going to be alright, Robin?" Luffy asked in concern. This week had been really rough on her.

Robin smiled in reassurance. "I'll survive," she informed him.

Luffy grinned widely before responding, "Don't survive. Live."

As he walked away, Robin watched him go with a contemplative smile.

To live.

How intensely that desire had burned within her. It was all she had ever wanted, really. Not to die. Not even to survive, but to live.

To see Zoro nod his head in silent praise of her improvement.

To hear Nami wonder aloud how she ever survived in this crew without her.

To see Usopp stand protectively in front of her with slingshot raised despite the unsteady tremor in his knees.

To see Sanji smile at her as if she was an angel fallen from heaven rather than a demon spawned from hell.

To hear Chopper marvel at how smart she supposedly was and ask about books that she'd read.

To hear Luffy say that he'd follow her to hell and back if he had to and to see the utmost conviction in his eyes.

No one had ever presented that to her as an option, must less demanded it of her. No one had allowed her that. It was forbidden. And yet, here they stood, not even giving her a choice. Why?

The sea is vast, Robin. One day, surely, your comrades will appear. There is no such thing as being born into this world alone.

At that moment, Robin realized that there wasn't a single thing she wanted more in this world than to board the ship of the Straw Hat pirates and continue with them on their journey, on her journey. To struggle with them. To laugh with them. To support them, and to be supported in turn, every step of the way. To live.

"STRAW HATS! STRAW HATS!"

The relatively quiet morning after the party took a turn for the more interesting as all attention snapped to the doorway, where a man with black hair sticking up, shamrock tattoos on his shoulders, and the Franky Family's typical outfit had barged in, looking out of breath and panicked.

"You're Franky's second-in-command, right? Banzai?" Luffy frowned.

"It's Zambai, but that's not important right now!" the man declared, slapping down a newspaper for them to read. "LOOK!"

They looked. And then their jaws dropped as they took in the front page. The current Straw Hat Pirates felt a unanimous sense of déjà vu.

Marineford in Chaos! Fire Fist Ace storms HQ!

It appeared to be a typical day in Marineford, one of the World Government's three sacred bases. But disaster struck when the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Portgas D. 'Fire Fist' Ace entered the base alone, riding a simple raft powered by his Flame-Flame Fruit. He proceeded to use those powers to storm the city, setting all ablaze and powering through every Marine who attempted to slow him down. Fire Fist abandoned his assault and fled when Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself emerged to fight, but the damage was long since done, leaving several months' worth of repair work to the city itself, a dozen battleships destroyed, and thousands of Marines—ranked anywhere from Petty Officer to Vice Admiral—left in need of medical treatment.

This unprecedented attack is believed to be a retaliation for the recent assault on Whitebeard's newest allies, the up-and-comers known as the Straw Hat Pirates. According to sources on Water 7, home to the world-renowned shipbuilders of the Galley-La Company, Admiral Aokiji was sent to apprehend the Straw Hats. The subsequent fight caused a significant amount of damage to the city, including the destruction of their cherished Sea Train the Puffing Tom, and in the end, Aokiji was unable to overcome captain Straw Hat Luffy and his first mate, Demon Wind Zoro.

Rumor has it that the main target of his assault was the Straw Hats' newest member, 'Devil Child' Nico Robin. The finer details remain under wraps, but one thing is clear: regardless of the fact that the Straw Hats can clearly take care of themselves, Whitebeard still guards any who bear his name.

SLAM!

The room jumped as Luffy slammed his fist on the table, cracking it. And his expression was downright ferocious, ghosts of his previous life flickering in and out of his mind's eye.

"That idiot! Since when did Ace start acting like me!? Why would he take such a freaking huge risk as charging Marineford!? And how the hell did they even find out about our fight here so fast?!"

"I'm afraid that that may be my fault, Straw Hat."

All attention turned to a different doorway, and most of the room stiffened as the green-eyed cloaked man walked in. "I passed the information on to our Chief of Staff, and given recent revelations, he most likely passed the information on to Fire Fist," Mavric said.

"…Yeah, that explains it," Luffy muttered, then looked up at him. "What are you still doing here, anyway?"

"Recovering from CP9," he replied dryly. "They nearly killed all of my men, and recovery has been slow going. But I'm on my way out now, I just wanted to stop by before I left."

"Luffy, who is this?" Sanji asked tightly.

"Ah, my apologies, I haven't met most of you," the man smiled. "Mavric, Chief of the Revolutionary Army's Cipher Division. I'd like to think I'm an ally of your captain."

"And how, pray tell, do you have allies in the Revolutionary Army, Luffy?" Nami asked with a growl.

Luffy shrugged nonchalantly, causing Robin and Zoro to hide smirks. "Sabo, their Chief of Staff, is my other brother. When we were kids, a Celestial Dragon blew up his ship, and Ace and I thought he was dead. The Revolutionaries rescued him, but he got amnesia out of it, so he didn't remember us. He still doesn't, as far as I know; Ace met Sabo because I told him in Alabasta that he was still alive, but I only knew that because of the you-know-what."

Robin, having not expected that, looked at Luffy in surprise, and the rest of the uninformed crew lost much of their irritation upon hearing that. How could they not, given those circumstances?

"Oh, and Dragon is my dad."

That, on the other hand, was another matter entirely.

Edward Newgate, Captain of the Whitebeard Pirate fleet, one of the Yonko, current Strongest Man in the World, and former rival of the Pirate King himself…was having a really long day.

Although it would surprise many to know that the great Whitebeard was in fact human and got tired every once in awhile, even disregarding the fact that he was over 70 years old now, even titans had their off days. He had woke up to a small coughing fit, much to the concern of his crew's medical unit. It was one of increasingly many in the past year. That hadn't been too bad. People got old, you know? He was over it…despite the constant chiding from his nurses, who were convinced that he drank too much sake, as if there was such a thing.

Later in the day, he had gotten a call from Ace, his Second Division Commander. Ace had admittedly had a rough couple months. Thatch's murder had weighed heavily on them all, but Ace had taken it especially hard, even blaming himself for the incident. After chasing Teach all the way to first half of the Grand Line, he'd had a rather eye-opening encounter with that brother of his.

That was where shit got interesting. After he'd suspended his disbelief in regards to time travel, it hadn't taken much persuasion for him to agree to ally their crew. After all, the brother of your son is your son, right? Yes, any family of Ace's was welcome amongst his own. Admittedly, the knowledge that said brother had partially come back to prevent the deaths of his children and the utter annihilation of his crew was also a point in the brat's favor. Sending Vista to the Marines' G-5 branch to deliver the message, and subsequently hearing their reactions (to both being greeted at their doorstep by a Yonko Commander and having to update the list of the Whitebeard Pirates' allies to accommodate a Paradise rookie) was also a bonus.

Still, Ace had been reluctant in putting his search for Teach on hold. He insisted that once he was strong enough to fight him, he would continue his hunt. Nevertheless, knowing that Ace was honing his Haki in preparation was a slight ease to the worries he'd been having. Ace had a lot of potential, so sharpening his skills would be a good idea before the inevitable confrontation.

But that did nothing to ease the tension in Whitebeard's shoulders after the events of the past couple of days. He'd been apprehensive as to what the future would hold after Alabasta. He knew his new allies could take care of themselves, but the fact remained that until they got to the New World, the Straw Hat Pirates were vulnerable. Vulnerable and rapidly climbing higher on the list of people that the World Government wanted dead. He'd had a feeling that something similar to the Water 7 incident would occur, and he'd been right. After receiving word of the near disaster from Ace (who now had a contact high up in the Revolutionary Army, and wasn't that useful?), Whitebeard had been quick to run some damage control. Although it hadn't been the most conservative move, one didn't manage a Yonko crew by being indecisive. It had been a rather large gamble, but it had paid off.

And so, with the Transponder Snail ringing impatiently beside him, and his Third and Fifth Division Commanders looking on expectantly, Whitebeard held back a sigh and prepared to explain the reasoning behind his actions to the snot-nosed brat who, in reality, he knew wasn't that snot-nosed.

The Straw Hats waited nervously as Luffy held the receiver of the Transponder Snail rather tightly. There were probably a number of things to be said when their captain was about to essentially chew out a Yonko, but at the moment, nothing came to mind. Though the fact that they had recently learned that their captain was, for all intents and purposes, the Pirate King himself may have had something to do with that. And so, they merely focused their full attention onto the conversation that was about to take place as the call was answered.

"Hello, brat," came a familiar deep voice from the other line. "Although it's nice to hear from you again, I can only assume this isn't a social call."

Luffy took a deep breath. "Would you mind explaining?" The question was short, to the point, and very uncharacteristic of the Luffy they all knew.

A heavy sigh came from the other line. "It was the only choice of action available, my son," Whitebeard explained. "With the defeat of one of the World Government's strongest military assets, the Marines are now fully aware of the true threat that you now pose. They would have done anything to ensure that you never entered the New World. Two fighters of your caliber joining forces with us is not an outcome they would be willing to accept."

"Haven't we already demonstrated that we can handle ourselves?" Luffy asked, a bit tiredly. "There are going to be consequences for this, old man."

"I am aware of that. But although you are all fully competent, you are not infallible. With our crew actively demonstrating that we won't stand for any attacks against our own, they are much more likely to give you some breathing room."

Luffy sighed. "That was a dangerous play though. Ace was stupidly lucky that none of the Admirals besides Old Man Seagull were at Marineford."

"It wasn't luck," Whitebeard answered calmly.

Luffy blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"A few hours prior to the assault on Marineford, there was a similar attack on the Holy Land, Mariejois. With the World Nobles under threat, Admiral Kizaru was dispatched to handle the issue. He was too late, however. The assailant was…difficult to pin down."

"…Marco," Luffy realized with a frown. "And I'm guessing Aokiji was still recovering?" he inferred, before pausing for a moment. "What about…Akainu?" he asked carefully.

There was a moment of silence at the other end of the line, before Whitebeard finally answered. "En route to Water 7," came the quiet reply.

The tension in the room promptly tripled. Not in the least because of the fact that another admiral had been heading towards them, but because of the fact that, for the first time since they'd met him, Luffy's expression had become a mask of hatred and murderous rage. Zoro's expression was the same, and when Luffy spoke again, his voice made the rest of their hair stand on end. "Where is he?"

"He was forced to turn around when news of Ace's assault reached him. By the time he got back onto the Tarai current, Ace was long gone," Whitebeard assured.

A few seconds of stillness, and then Luffy turned a somewhat calmer but still furious expression onto the snail. "Old Man, I want to make this clear. The amount of pain Akainu has caused for me is more than I can put into words. He's the one man in the world that I could kill and never regret it, and I would have done it if he had showed up here."

"I'll remember that," Whitebeard answered. "But the fact remains that he didn't. We've gotten out of this unscathed. Consider it a blessing."

The tension slowly bled out of Luffy's posture, much to the crew's relief. "I do. But that doesn't change the fact that this will escalate tensions between the Whitebeard Pirates and the World Government."

"I'm aware of that as well. It hardly matters. You are all my children now, and I will stand up for you just as I would any of my own."

Luffy was silent for a moment, before conceding with a single reply. "Thank you…Pops" he said quietly. Whitebeard laughed heartily from the other line before answering.

"Anytime, brat," he said before hanging up.

Luffy sighed wearily, and for what may have been the first time, the crew saw him for how old he really was. Not just two and a half years older than he should have been, but the unholy amount of suffering that he felt when he saw them all die…at Akainu's hands, had aged him even further.

Wordlessly, they moved toward the center of the room, all five of them placing their hands out so that they met in the middle. Zoro soon followed suit, placing his hand above theirs, before looking at Luffy expectantly. At the sight, Luffy visibly relaxed, the last of his tension easing, and he reciprocated the gesture.

Meanwhile, Zambai fidgeted in the corner of the room, not having followed half of what was going on, but still strangely moved by it all nonetheless.

"Um…I don't want to interrupt," he said nervously. "But I still have something to show you."

Luffy looked at him with a smirk, all traces of anger gone. "Is it our new bounties?" he asked.

Zambai blinked. "Well…yeah, actually. How did you…?"

"It's pretty routine by now," Luffy answered. "Alright, let's see 'em."

Zambai obligingly placed the new bounty posters on the floor, spreading them out. The sight of them drew a few whistles and awe filled stares from the crew.

Demonspawn Nico Robin – 80 million Belly

Black Leg Sanji – 155 million Belly

Demon Wind Zoro – 360 million Belly

Straw Hat Luffy – 525 million Belly

"Damn," Usopp whispered. "You both broke the 300 million mark."

"Damn is right," Zoro said just as softly, a maniacal grin splitting his face. "Last time, our bounties weren't this big until we started attacking the Yonko."

"They did come kind of close after Doflamingo though," Luffy replied with a grin.

"I heard they don't increase as easily once they hit 300 million," Sanji said. "You guys really made an impression." He smirked. "Of course, 155 million isn't too bad either."

"Well, I'm just glad I didn't get one," Nami claimed, as Robin eyes the superficial increase with raised brows, and Usopp and Chopper sulked, as they too had not received bounties.

"There's one more thing," Zambai said suddenly, before laying one more bounty poster down. It read:

Cyborg Franky – 90 million Belly

"Aniki had been given a bounty as well. I haven't brought this up with him, because I'd just get my ass kicked, but…I worry for his safety."

Luffy and Zoro both frowned. Franky's bounty hadn't been nearly that high last time. It wasn't long before they realized why. Last time, Franky had burned the blueprints to Pluton right in front of CP9's eyes. Although he would likely do the same this time if he hadn't already, for all the World Government knew, he still had them. That made him as great, if not a greater threat than Robin, especially due to the fact that he could probably build it, given time.

"I'm asking you, as his brother in all but blood," Zambai said. "Please, take him with you! I don't know how long it will be until the higher ups of the Marines come after him, but once your crew leaves, they'll be nothing stopping them."

The Straw Hats shared a collective glance, and Luffy smirked again. "Guess we'll have to convince him to join," he said.

"You might as well give up now, Franky," Sanji said with a nostalgic smile. "You don't stand a chance."

That afternoon, Franky and Iceburg informed the Straw Hats that their ship was finished. The crew was naturally excited, even Luffy and Zoro, who had a general idea of what they'd be seeing. The unveiling of the ship became an occasion in and of itself for the citizens of Water 7, seeing as Franky and Iceburg himself had actually teamed up to build it.

Luffy was happy to note that Franky was actually there for the unveiling this time. Last time they'd had to drag him there.

"I hope your ready for this super sight Straw Hat. Don't think that just because you've technically seen it once before, that you don't need to brace yourself! I'm not responsible for what'll happen if you gaze upon this amazing creation half-assedly!"

Luffy smirked. "Challenge accepted. This ship is going to go around the world one day, so I won't let anyone treat it lightly, even if it's me."

"Ha! Well said. Well then, Straw Hat, if you're going to be the Pirate King, then you need to catch a ride on the King of Beasts!" With that, he pulled the cover off of the ship, which was at least twice as big as it had been in the previous timeline. And what a sight it was. In addition to its increased size, the ship looked even sleeker than it had in the previous timeline. The second he gazed upon it, Usopp came close to crying.

When he was done admiring the view, Luffy turned back towards Franky with a confident grin. "So Franky, have you thought about our offer?" he asked.

Franky laughed. "Oh, I've thought about it alright. But let me ask you this, Straw Hat. Do you really think it will be that easy to get me on board your ship?"

Luffy smirked again. "Another challenge? What's it gonna be then?"

Franky crossed his arms. "Alright, listen up, Straw Hat! Here's the deal! We're going to settle the score between us! If you can best me in a contest of strength, only then will I join your crew! I won't follow a captain whose weaker than me!"

The Straw Hats all stared at the cyborg blankly, including Luffy.

"...That's it?" the rubber man asked, annoying Franky greatly.

"What do you mean that's it, dumbass!? I'm giving you a chance to recruit me since I like you guys, but don't start crying if you underestimate me and end up losing!"

"Oh, ok! That'll be easy then!" Luffy said in a happy go lucky tone.

A tic mark formed over Franky's brow. "As if, bastard! Fine, here I come! Strong Right!"

Luffy casually weaved around the blow and raised one arm, before planting it firmly into Franky's reinforced steel cranium, which hit the ground with enough force to make a crater beneath the two of them. "You know, you should thank me," Luffy commented. "This was a cakewalk compared to what you went through in the other timeline."

As the rubber man reminisced, Franky slowly got up. "That...that was a nice shot," he admitted. "Fine! I guess there's no choice then! I, Franky, will join the Straw Hats as the crew's shipwright!" he shouted, as Chopper and Usopp erupted in cheers.

Nami palmed her face in amazement. "What the hell was that? Did he really think he could win?" she asked.

Robin giggled. "No, I wouldn't say that," she said, causing the navigator to raise an eyebrow.

Zoro scoffed. "Stubborn bastard. He knew exactly how that would end. Straw Hats! Set sail!"

"Hang on," Franky said, as he climbed aboard the ship along with Luffy. If we're doing this, we gotta give the ship a name first! And I've got some pretty good ideas."

"We were thinking Thousand Sunny," Luffy said.

Franky nodded. "Of course, that's a good name too. A ship that can cross a thousand seas. But listen to this! I spent hours thinking of this name, on the off chance that you'd manage to beat me!"

"Thousand Sunny? I love that name!" Nami said with obvious enthusiasm.

"New Battle Franky Lion Gang Champion!"

"Thousand Sunny sounds awesome!" Chopper shouted.

"New Battle Franky Lion Gang Champion!"

"Thousand Sunny is quite a nice name," Robin agreed.

"Yeah, I don't think we can beat that, to be honest," Usopp said. "So it's settled?"

"New Battle Franky…! You know what? Forget it," Franky said. As their new shipwright sulked in the corner of the deck, the crew finalized the name.

"So are we ready to set sail?" Usopp asked.

"Hell yeah! And in style, bro! Brace yourselves!" Franky shouted as he disappeared into the engine room.

The citizens of Water 7 watched in amazement as the Thousand Sunny was propelled into the sky, flying off into the atmosphere.