Chapter XXIII: Strawhat and Firefist

"Alright Strawhats, gather around!" Luffy yelled as his crewmates yawned and made their way out onto the deck. "Nami tells me we're a few hours away from Alabasta," Luffy began. "So I'd like to know how all of you are progressing. The haki training is going about as well as I hoped, what with having a new learner and all." Chopper had readily begun the haki training when he was told of it, all too eager to join the rest of the crew in their endeavors, however unconventional they were. "But none of you have had any real breakthroughs yet, and you won't be able to rely on that in the upcoming fight. Luckily we accounted for this ahead of time and we've been playing to each of your strengths as well." He turned to Nami. "How's the weapon that you and Usopp were working on coming?" he asked.

"It's done," she answered. "We finished it last night." Usopp nodded in confirmation.

"Alright, good. Make sure you learn how to use it though. You don't want any surprises if you end up fighting someone who's a threat." Nami seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding. Luffy turned to Usopp next. "And how's the expansion going?" he asked the sniper.

Usopp grinned widely. "Oh it's going!" he said proudly. "I've once again increased the intensity and area of effect of my explosive star. I also consulted Chopper, and he gave me a variety of poisons that I've worked into my arsenal. They won't see it coming!" Chopper had been reluctant to use his medical knowledge for something like that, but had agreed when he was told it was to help save Vivi's country, on the condition that Usopp keep a variety of antidotes as well. Luffy seemed satisfied with his answer and addressed Sanji and Chopper next.

"And how's your training coming along?" he asked the chef. Sanji shrugged.

"About as well as it can be," he said. Luffy knew Sanji hadn't trained much during the previous timeline, with the exception of the two years that they had been apart. He had always seemed to keep up anyway though, despite being more laid back about it. This time, Luffy wanted to see how strong the chef could get if he devoted more time to increasing his strength, so he had instructed him to start joining Zoro in his individual training on top of the haki exercises. Zoro reported that his kicks were starting to gain more power and that he was definitely getting faster. This had been good news to Luffy, but he'd been especially proud when Chopper had noticed them both during their training sessions and eagerly asked if he could join.

Even disregarding Luffy and Zoro's strength, which, with the exception of Zoro's duel with Mihawk, hadn't been pushed to the limits since they had arrived in the past, the crew was starting to become significantly stronger than it had been at this time in Luffy's previous life. Luffy and Zoro had discussed it and agreed that they would have to keep it up. They would be ready for anything when the waves got rough.

Even Vivi had been working on refining the skills she'd been force to acquire while infiltrating Baroque Works. Once Chopper had confirmed that she was fully recovered, Nami had guiltily shown her the newspaper that she had been hiding. Upon reading that thousands of royal army soldiers had joined the efforts of the rebel army, she had been distraught. She was increasingly nervous on the route to Alabasta, and the Strawhats could do little to comfort her other than come up with a plan.

"Alright, then we should talk about what we're going to do when we reach Alabasta," Zoro said. "Luffy and I have talked about it with Vivi and we all agreed on the course of action. Our first priority is to get in contact with the rebel army. Vivi knows their leader, and she'll be able to convince him not to engage in the civil war once he learns who is really behind it all. Still, we don't want to put all our hopes into that plan. Crocodile currently has Alabasta in a vice grip, and there's a good chance that he'd find a way to start the war regardless. If that happens, we move onto plan B."

"Plan B?" Nami questioned. "You guys are actually coming up with multiple plans, as if one wasn't enough of a miracle?"

"That's right witch. We need to be prepared. We're going up against a Warlord who has a lot of influence in Alabasta. Plan B is simple. Take down Baroque Works and subdue Crocodile so that we can stop the war without any of their meddling." Nami, Usopp, and Chopper looked a little nervous about plan B, but simply nodded. Zoro sighed. Truth be told, if he and Luffy had their way, that would have been plan A. But Vivi had insisted that they refrain from doing something that reckless until she was able to get in contact with Kohza. She was still pretty naive in that regard, but the real problem was that she didn't want their lives to be at risk fighting Baroque Works. But she had at least acknowledged that Crocodile most likely wouldn't stand by and watch them stop the war, so she had agreed to the backup plan.

It was another three hours before the Strawhats caught their first sign of Alabasta...in the form of a fleet of Baroque Works Billions ships.

"This will be tough," Vivi said, as a bead of sweat rolled down her face. "These guys are different than the hired bounty hunters. With that many ships, if they notice us…"

"They won't be a problem," Zoro said. Vivi looked at him worriedly.

"Are you sure? This isn't like what happened in Whiskey Peak. We're at sea, and they have us surrounded."

"Vivi-chan's right," Sanji said. "I have no doubt we can beat them all eventually, but we'll just waste time and draw attention to ourselves. For now we should just ignore them and get to the island. We only need to engage if they notice us."

"No, like Zoro said, they won't be a problem," Luffy spoke up. "I just put them all into comas. They'll be out for a week." The Strawhats' reactions to this statement varied. Nami and Vivi looked disbelieving, Usopp and Chopper looked awed, and even Sanji looked shocked, although he kept a moderately neutral expression. Zoro just smirked at their reactions.

Chopper was the first to speak. "You can do that Luffy!?" he shouted. "Was it with that haki stuff you told me about?" Luffy had already explained what Conqueror's haki was to Chopper while going over the basics of haki again before he joined the training.

"Yep, that's it," Luffy responded.

"So cool!" Usopp and Chopper shouted simultaneously, only to be yelled at by Nami.

"Don't believe him so easily! How could he just knock out all those people from all the way over here!?"

"How long will you continue to underestimate our Captain? He can do a lot more than this," Zoro commented.

"That was only about 200 people," Luffy stated. "Even if they were spread out, that's not enough to push me to my limits." Usopp was deeply impressed.

"How many people can you knock out then!?" he gasped.

Luffy thought for a moment. "It depends. If they were all that weak, I guess about 150,000?"

Usopp's eyes bugged out of their sockets, Chopper looked at him starry eyed, Nami was clearly still disbelieving, and Sanji looked a bit disturbed.

150,000? If that's really true, he could defeat the Alabastian royal army singlehandedly if given enough time, Vivi thought. Could such a power really exist? And without the aid of any devil fruit?

"That's ridiculous!" Nami said. "You could take down armies without lifting a finger if that was true!"

"Why do you think they call it Conqueror's haki?" Zoro asked lazily. "Disregarding the World Government and its affiliations, you'll find that the most influential people in this world usually possess the King's Will. That's not to say that it's an accurate measure of one's strength, but no one can deny that the ability is what its name implies, a manifestation of one's will to conquer. I can only think of a few exceptions...one of them being this guy," he said as he pointed at Luffy.

"Really?" Usopp asked. "But doesn't he want to conquer the Grand Line?"

"I don't really want to conquer anything," Luffy admitted. "I don't mind making a name for myself, but in the end that's not really my goal. I just think that the person with the most freedom in this world is the Pirate King. I plan on obtaining that freedom...and sharing it with anyone who calls themselves my comrade."

Nami couldn't help but smile. She always wondered what Pirate King meant to Luffy. There were two things she could say for sure that she knew the value of: freedom and money. The world map that she would one day draw wasn't just a means to both, but she'd be lying if she said that the vastness of the open sea wasn't extremely alluring to her. She had to admit, if she was told to choose between fame, power, and freedom, she would always choose the last option. Now if one of the choices was wealth on the other hand…

Usopp was actually tearing up. In a way, that was what being a brave warrior of the sea was all about. It had never been the promise of wealth, fame, or power that had attracted him to this life. Before he knew that his father was on a Yonko's crew, and even now, it was always the promise of freedom that lured him out to the sea. There was a reason why before he became a true pirate, he could spend hours just staring out at the infinite waters.

Sanji was thinking about All Blue. Yes, it was a chef's paradise, but now he realized that it was more than that. Deep down, every human being craved freedom. It was a basic human instinct. There was a reason that he never felt completely satisfied on the Baratie, and it was the same reason he had stayed there. Although his guilt regarding Zeff was slowly releasing its grip on him, Sanji would never truly forget what he had taken from the old man. But that was also the reason he had left. If Zeff's search for freedom could even be partially fulfilled through him, Sanji would make damn well sure that he lived free as can be.

Chopper continued to stare at Luffy in wonder. He thought back to his days with Hiluluk and what the sakura tree really meant to him. He had long since learned that it would take much more to fulfill his dream to prove there was a cure to every disease, but there was a reason that the sakura in full bloom was so appealing. He had grown up in a land of eternal snow. As a reindeer, he was satisfied with that, but as a reindeer/human hybrid, there was always a part of him that looked out towards the sea in curiosity and wondered what else the world had to offer. Hiluluk's Sakura was the first taste of the vastness of the world, and it would always hold a place within his heart, even if it couldn't literally cure diseases.

"Now, full speed ahead!" Luffy shouted, breaking them all out of their thoughts. "To eat at the nearest restaurant! I mean, to save Alabasta!"

In the center of Nanohana, there was a crowd gathering around a local restaurant.

"It's getting pretty noisy over there," a white haired man said as he smoked two cigars.

"Yes, there seems to be quite the commotion," the blue haired woman next to him replied. "Apparently a customer spontaneously died while eating."

"Captain Smoker!" a marine yelled as he ran towards the marine captain. "You're not going to believe who we found!"

The Strawhats had docked and were now debating what their first move should be. Zoro suggested that they search the town for any intel on the whereabouts of the rebel army. Vivi stated that there was no need, since she knew their base was in Yuba, but Zoro insisted that they should try to gather information anyway, seeing as she hadn't been back home in a while. This led to Vivi acknowledging that her information could possibly be out of date, and she agreed. Nami's eyes narrowed. She once again found herself in a position where she couldn't fault his logic, but she still couldn't shake her unfounded suspicions. Zoro usually thought things through, but at best he was a big picture guy, not a detailed planner. Every now and then though, he showed a surprising degree of attention to detail that even she herself couldn't match. It was almost as if he knew what to look out for. Was she imagining things? She turned to the rest of the crew. None of them seemed to pay it any mind, except for Sanji, who was staring at Zoro curiously.

Meanwhile, Luffy had been staring off into the distance, towards the center of town, with an unreadable expression. Zoro broke him out of his trance.

"You should go. We'll search for the rebel army and you can meet up with us later," he said. The rest of the crew looked back and forth between Zoro and Luffy in confusion. Luffy rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Yea, sorry. I'll be right back," he said.

"Where are you going?" Usopp asked. "Don't tell me you're just going to the nearest restaurant to stuff your face."

"Believe me, this isn't just any restaurant!" Luffy said enthusiastically, causing the entire crew minus Zoro and Sanji to face fault. Zoro tossed a wave over his shoulder as Luffy took off in a high speed sprint toward the center of town. Sanji stared after him.

When Luffy arrived at the restaurant in question, he slowed his pace to a walk. He was close enough now that he could hear the familiar voices inside.

"Hmm, what should I do?" one voice said.

"You could just sit there and let me arrest you," the second voice suggested.

"Rejected," the first one replied.

Luffy paused in front of the door and took a deep breath, mentally bracing himself for the coming reunion.

"To be honest, I'm not really interested in you. I'm looking for a different pirate," the second voice stated.

"You could just let me go," the first suggested.

"I can't do that. So long as I'm a marine, and you're a pirate."

"What a stupid reason. Chill out man."

Luffy walked in. The sound of the door opening instantly gathered the attention of both men and their observers. The two men, who had been seconds away from a confrontation, now stared at the newcomer with wide eyes as he casually walked towards the counter and sat down on nearest stool.

"Hey old man, can I get a couple rounds over here?" he asked the bartender. He then pointed to the dumbfounded man in the seat next to him. "This guy's drink is on me," he said. The bartender looked back and forth between the narcoleptic and the newcomer before nodding frantically and pouring two cups of sake.

Luffy turned to his brother in all but blood and grinned. "So, how've you been, Ace?" he asked. The Whitebeard pirate was now staring at him with a deadpan expression.

"You always knew how to make an entrance Luffy, but that was another thing entirely," he said as he rubbed his temples.

"Well, what can I say? I live to surprise you," Luffy replied. The bartender set two cups in front of them, and the two of them exchanged cups as their observers watched, before proceeding to chug their drinks.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Ace asked, reminiscing.

"Yea, but it just doesn't feel right until I snatch your food," Luffy said with a smirk. Ace's eyes widened as he looked down at his plate, which was now empty. He sighed in annoyance.

"As fast as always I see," he grumbled. He was about to say something else, but they were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Stop ignoring me you dipshits!" Smoker shouted in frustration. Ace and Luffy turned to him in acknowledgement.

'Oh yea. Forgot about him,' Ace thought.

"Jeez Smokey. If you really want a drink I'll buy you one too. Relax," Luffy said.

"I've been waiting for this, Strawhat," the marine captain said, completely ignoring him. "Ever since Logue town." Smoke started to emanate from his body as he pulled the jutte off of his back. Ace looked back and forth between the two in amusement.

"You really want to do this? It'll end the same way it did in Logue town," Luffy said. "Calm down Smokey. Live life a little. Have some food and chill out."

Luffy got his answer in the form of a pillar of smoke rushing towards him. He and Ace both jumped out of the way, but soon found the entire building filling up with smoke.

"Maybe we should take this outside Luffy," Ace suggested.

"Good idea. Gomu gomu no, pistol!" Smoker crossed his arms in front of him and blocked the incoming blow, but it still pushed him back out of the restaurant. Luffy quickly caught up to him with a quick soru while Ace walked calmly behind them. A crowd was quickly gathering around them, along with a squad of marine soldiers.

"Smoker-san!" Tashigi yelled as she made her way to the crowd. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of Luffy. "Strawhat!?"

Smoker got his jutte ready again while Ace walked up next to Luffy. "I'm surprised. You can already use haki," he commented. "I was expecting to have to step in, but I guess you've got this."

"Yea, just sit back and relax Ace. I'll show you something interesting," Luffy replied.

"Well that's no fun. I was looking forward to fighting this guy, but it looks like he's after you, which means I'm stuck with the cannon fodder," Ace said, as he took note of the many marine soldiers loading their weapons and taking aim at them.

Suddenly the two found themselves being riddled by bullets. Only this didn't achieve the desired effect. The bullets passed harmlessly through Ace's flame body and the marines ended up shooting each other. The bullets that hit Luffy ricocheted off of him and also impacted with the unfortunate soldiers. Now the only marines left standing were Smoker and Tashigi. Smoker looked like he'd had just about enough.

"White Blow!" Luffy sidestepped Smoker's lunge and grabbed him. Halting his momentum, he aimed a punch at the smoke man's torso, only for a hole to open up in the spot where his fist occupied. The smoke quickly closed around his arm, trapping him, and Luffy's senses reminded him to be wary of a certain seastone jutte. He used a soru to jump back and broke free of the smoke right before said jutte crashed down into the pavement where he'd been standing. Smoker lunged at him again, making multiple thrusts with the jutte, which were all dodged.

Tashigi tried to aid Smoker, but found her path being obstructed by Ace. "Sorry, I kind of want to see how this plays out," the flame man told her. "Would you mind not interfering?"

"You've gotten faster Smokey. And you've learned from our last encounter," Luffy said. It was true. Smoker wasn't increasing the volume of his body this time, choosing to rely on the speed provided by his devil fruit to trap him. "But...it's still not enough." Luffy ducked under the next thrust of the jutte and kicked Smoker in the face from below, sending him high into the air. Smoker righted himself and hovered in the air using his logia form as he turned back to his opponent. Only Luffy wasn't on the ground anymore. There was no warning as Luffy's leg impacted with his head from behind and he was sent careening back towards the ground, making a small crater in the pavement. He tried to shake off the cobwebs, realizing he probably had a concussion, but before he could attempt to get up, Luffy's arm shot down like a rocket and imbedded itself in his gut. Smoker coughed up a clump of blood and blacked out.

"Smoker-san!" Tashigi shouted as she tried to get passed Ace again. Ace was quick to intercept her at every turn though, and in desperation, she swung her sword at his neck. Ace did nothing to defend himself, and her sword decapitated him, causing her eyes to widen. She quickly realized that she had bigger things to worry about than her morals at the moment though, and rushed over to where Smoker lay unconscious. He had a concussion and a few broken ribs. She thought back to when she had found him like this in Logue town. His injuries had been more serious then, but to be honest, this situation was much worse. Their entire squad was injured, and there was no way she could get them all out of here, let alone cover their retreat.

Tashigi stiffened and turned around to see Luffy standing behind her. She readied her sword again, her mind racing. She knew she couldn't beat Strawhat. Captain Smoker was far stronger than her, and even he had lost. She couldn't call for backup either. He'd just take that chance to end the fight.

The sound of a raging fire drew her attention to the man she had just unwilling killed, only to find him still standing. Her eyes widened in horror as flames converged around his neck and his head reformed. He was a logia user.

"Nice technique," Ace commented lazily. "But without haki it's useless. And even then...you froze up when you 'killed' me. Have you ever taken a life before?"

Tashigi gritted her teeth as she realized the situation she was in. Her hands started to tremble from how tightly she was grasping her sword. Luffy took note of this and raised an eyebrow.

"What, you too?" he said. "You and Smokey both need to lighten up. I'm not going to kill you even if you hold some stupid grudge against me." He turned and walked away, leaving Tashigi dumbfounded. "Hey Ace! Let me introduce you to my crew. You're gonna love them!"

Ace's head perked up as he smiled widely. "Now that sounds like a plan. They must be some fascinating folks if they decided to follow you," he said.

"Sure are! They're really interesting to say the least. We even have a talking transforming reindeer," Luffy said. The two brothers continued to chat amiably as they walked down the street, leaving an extremely confused Tashigi, an unconscious Smoker, and a squad of injured marine soldiers in their wake.