Chapter XXIV: Preventing Wars and Predicting Weather

"Would you care to repeat that?" Nami asked with lidded eyes.

The Strawhat crew's faces currently conveyed a myriad of various expressions which included confusion, shock, annoyance, skepticism, excitement, awe, and just about any other emotion that you would expect to see on their faces after their captain just said-

"This is my brother, Portgas D. Ace, who you probably know as Firefist, Second Commander of the Whitebeard pirates," Luffy repeated for the second time.

Silence. For a long moment, unyielding silence. Then…

"Stop doing that," Usopp said, causing Luffy to quirk an eyebrow.

"Doing wha-"

"Stop. Doing. That." Nami repeated, putting emphasis on each word. A confused Luffy opened his mouth as if to respond, then paused in thought for a moment.

"Ok. I'll just stop doing that then," he said, as if that would be the end of the discussion. Nami would have none of it.

"And what are you going to stop doing?" she asked, with the tone a mother might use to lecture a child, as Ace looked back and forth between the two, wishing he had a snack for the show.

"How the hell should I know?" Luffy mumbled indignantly. "Why don't you tell me? What do I have to stop doing?"

"You have to stop delivering shocking news as if you're predicting the weather!" Nami shouted in annoyance. "Half an hour ago you told us you could knock out hundreds of people with a single thought, and now you casually mention that you have a brother, and that he just happens to be Firefist Ace, a crewmate of the most powerful pirate in the world! Of all the ridiculous things to behold, Usopp's lies are second only to your truths, and he makes a spectacle of them...it's like you have no sense of subtlety whatsoever!"

Nami started taking deep breaths, her rant finished. Midway through, Ace had shot Luffy a questioning look, most likely in regards to the knock out hundreds of people with a single thought part, but Luffy had just given him a look that said later. Ace had just shrugged, but a ghost of a proud smile could still be seen tugging at his lips.

"Oh come on Nami, name one other time I...actually, on second thought, name five other times I've done this," Luffy said.

"You're just proving her point you know," Zoro commented, causing Nami to turn in his direction and point an accusing finger at him.

"And I'll bet you knew about this, didn't you?" she asked.

"So what if I did?" he asked lazily. "You gonna charge me interest on my debt of things I'm not obligated to tell you?" Nami was about to respond, but was interrupted by Ace.

"Oh! So you did tell at least one of your crewmates about me," he said jovially. "And here I thought you'd be an inconsiderate little prick and not even mention me once. Well, once is better than nonce I guess."

"Oh come on Ace, that's not fair," Luffy whined. "I mean, does Whitebeard know about me?"

Ace rolled his eyes. "Luffy, our entire crew knows about you. Said crew has over a hundred times more people than yours, not including our allies, and even the new guys learn about you within a few days of joining. Whitebeard himself was in bed with a hangover the morning after your bounty made the papers - congratulations by the way - in fact, the only member of our crew who wasn't bedridden that morning was our First Division Commander, and he has regenerative powers."

Luffy by now was rubbing the back of his head guiltily. "Ah, sorry Ace. I guess I just like to save the news for the occasion. You have to admit, it's pretty entertaining blowing their minds like that," he said as he motioned toward his attentive crew.

"I knew it!" Usopp said enthusiastically. "He does do it on purpose! I'd tell you to pay up Nami, but I know better than to take any money from you, and I have no doubts that it would come back to bite my ass if I did."

"You're right. You'd end up paying me back 10 times over, maybe more depending on my mood," Nami remarked absentmindedly.

"So anyway, where are the others?" Ace asked curiously. "Didn't you say there were seven of you?"

"There are. A few of us, Vivi, Sanji, and Chopper, are out searching for Alabasta's rebel army," Luffy replied.

Ace blinked. "I'd ask why one of your crewmates has the same name as this country's missing princess, but I assume it has something to do with why you're searching for the rebel army to begin with."

Luffy nodded. "We're here to stop a civil war." Ace stared at him curiously.

"It's not really like you to get caught up in things like that. What brought this on?" he asked.

"Vivi's our comrade," Luffy responded, without missing a beat. "If she wants to save her country, we're with her all the way." Ace grinned and nodded in understanding.

"Well, that sounds like it could be difficult. The rebel army is pretty determined from what I hear. I'm not sure Vivi can persuade them, even if she still has a good standing in Alabasta," Ace said.

"Vivi knows someone on the inside," Zoro replied. "But that's not the real problem. We'll have to take down one of the Seven Warlords if we really want to end the war."

Ace frowned. "You mean Crocodile? What's he have to do with this?"

"He's the one instigating the civil war from the shadows," Zoro said, causing comprehension to dawn on Ace's face.

"That explains quite a bit actually. Well then," he said, turning to Luffy. "How are you planning to beat Crocodile? Do you think you can take him in a straight fight?" Usopp and Nami looked at Luffy, silently asking the same question.

"Of course I can," Luffy said, before pausing. "I'll most likely be fighting him in the desert though, so I'll have to be careful."

"You know about his power then," Ace said, with a hint of surprise in his voice. "You're more prepared than I thought you'd be. You've changed quite a bit since I last saw you."

Luffy smiled morbidly. "You have no idea," he muttered, causing Ace to frown slightly. As quick as it came, Luffy's gloomy mood disappeared, leaving Ace to wonder if it had been there to begin with. Luffy? Gloomy? Was he imagining things?

"I've changed in more ways than one Ace," Luffy said in a slightly smug tone. "It wouldn't be so one sided this time if we sparred."

Ace smirked at the unspoken challenge. "Oh really? Just because your first bounty is higher than mine was, you think you can give me a run for my money now?"

"I think I can do a lot more than just that," Luffy replied evenly, although the nonchalance in his tone didn't match the enthusiasm on his face. Zoro couldn't help but mirror their grins as he watched the two brothers stare each other down.

"Well then," Ace began, the confident smile never leaving his face, "I'll just have to put that on the list of things we need to talk about later, along with how you awakened all three forms of haki so early, and why both you and him…" he said, motioning to Zoro, "...are both suppressing your auras." He paused. "And we might as well throw in since when does Luffy think I'm an idiot while we're at it."

Luffy, for his part, was suddenly taking great interest in the clouds overhead, while Usopp stared in confusion, and Nami in growing suspicion. Suddenly, Zoro scoffed. "Believe me, that's going to be an interesting discussion."

"Very interesting," Luffy added, still staring at the sky.

"Chopper, are you sure about that?" Vivi asked in a hushed tone as they made their way through the crowded streets of Nanohana.

"I am," Chopper replied. "It's hard to tell because of all the perfume around, but I can still make out the scent of gunpowder. It's really strong."

"I'm not sure what that could be other than the rebel army," Sanji commented. "Anyway, we're lucky. We came across a lead pretty fast. Lead the way, Chopper."

Chopper nodded, and he took off through an alleyway in walk point, Sanji and Vivi trailing behind him. It started to dawn on Vivi what this could mean. If it really was the rebel army, then they were just a hair's breadth away from preventing the war.

The relatively uneventful trip back to the ship consisted of Ace dispatching of a group of overly ambitious bounty hunters, and beyond that, awkward silence. While Luffy, Zoro, and Ace were content to put off the annoying conversation they all knew was coming until they got back to the ship, and Usopp accepted the state of confusion he was in, Nami was inclined to send frequent, conspicuous glares in the direction of Luffy and Zoro, making it quite clear that she was not a fan of being left out of the loop.

Nami was a suspicious person by nature. She was never given the choice to be anything else. But even though her philosophy was to have a healthy skepticism for, well, everything, she also knew when to have faith in something for what it was. But for better or for worse, having faith in people wasn't something she had made a habit of until just recently. She had faith in facts. She had faith in her experiences. She had faith that there was a very limited number of things she could put her faith in.

Her crew was one of them.

But to what extent did she trust them? It was a question she hadn't really thought about. Did she trust them to the extent that she trusted north to always be north, south to always be south, two and two to always make four? There were some things in life that were constant and eternal. Was Luffy one of them? Was Zoro? Could humans really be so consistent and solid in their ways that you could have complete faith in them to never betray you? The more she thought back on their journey so far, from that small detour to Shells town all the way to Alabasta, the more she wanted to say yes. But her mind kept coming back to one inescapable fact that continued to draw ever closer to her line of sight: Luffy and Zoro were hiding something.

It begged the question, what didn't they want the rest of the crew to know, and why? Whatever it was, it seemed they were willing to tell Ace. Whatever conversation they were going to have when they arrived at the ship, she and Usopp were apparently not going to be a part of it, which annoyed her to no end. Was he simply on a need to know basis, whereas the rest of them weren't? Or did Luffy not trust them as much as he trusted his brother? Nami's eyebrows furrowed. No, that wasn't right. Luffy's trust in her had never wavered even when her loyalty was questionable at best. If anything, he was too trusting. Did she even have a right to question him for not telling her some things?

Nami sighed. She was being a hypocrite, no doubt about it.

When they got back to the Going Merry, Zoro led Ace to the training room where they could speak in private. Luffy turned to Nami and Usopp and rubbed his head rather guiltily.

"I'm sorry about this guys," he began. "It's just, there are some things…" he trailed off, not really knowing how to put it.

Surprisingly, Usopp flashed a smile and gave him a thumbs up. "No worries Luffy. If this is something between you and your brother, the great Captain Usopp will respect your privacy...along with the rest of the crew." He nudged their navigator. "Right Nami?"

Nami crossed her arms and pouted for a split second before nodding, which caused Luffy to smile gratefully. "Luffy...it's fine if you're not ready to tell us everything. I know I'm not really one to talk in that regard," she said. "But just...never feel like you can't tell us something because of how we'll react, ok?"

Whether because Luffy was surprised at her sudden change in demeanor, or because she was spot on, her words seemed to strike a nerve in her captain, whose eyes widened suddenly before he averted his gaze.

"I'll...keep that in mind," he said, before jumping up to the higher floor of the ship and following his brother and first mate inside. He found Ace waiting patiently, twirling one of Zoro's weights in his hand.

"So where should we start?" Zoro asked in a serious tone.

"Well, you can stop trying to hide your strength for starters," Ace suggested. "I already have an idea of how strong you are anyway…"

He ended up eating his words when Luffy and Zoro both stopped suppressing their auras, causing his eyes to widen, and almost causing him to drop the weight in his hand. Luckily, he caught it.

"What…? How…? Why…? I have so many questions!"

"Well, start with whichever one you want Ace," Luffy said in an amused tone.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Well that's comprehensive," Zoro said with a snort, causing Ace to glare at him.

"This makes no sense," Ace said, rubbing his temples. You two just arrived in Paradise and you both feel stronger than most New World pirate captains. Where did you even learn to use haki? There's next to no one in East Blue who can use it, and no pirate in the first half who can use it as well you've shown."

"Where we learned is kind of a long story," Luffy said. "But let's just say we both had very good teachers. As to why we're so good at it...it's because we've been to the New World."

Ace looked up at Luffy in surprise. "What? Even if you had miraculously survived a trip like that, there's no way you could have made it without anyone noticing. Especially Gramps! When could you have-"

"It was over two years from now," Luffy said, answering his question before he could finish.

Ace stared at Luffy for a full 10 seconds, as if trying to figure out if he was being played. Then…

"Oh hell no," he said, finally speaking up. "You did not just talk about a future event like it already happened. Luffy, I know you. You suck at lying. You have no talent for it. You can hide the truth, you can refuse to talk, hell, you can even keep quiet as a determined psychopath punches you in the face with spiked gauntlets, but you can't lie. Still, if you're serious about what you're implying...that you're…"

"We're from the future," Luffy confirmed, cutting off his rant. Ace groaned and threw his hands up in the air in exasperation.

"Oh sure, you're from the future. Yea, and I'm a park ranger." He sighed and relented. "How did you do it? And why?" he asked finally.

Zoro was the one who answered. "As to how, let's just say we made it to Raftel and leave it at that." Ace gave that some thought before shrugging and nodding, and Zoro continued. "As to why...there are some things that we want to prevent from happening."

"So in other words, you're playing God," Ace clarified.

"Call it what you want," Zoro replied. "We don't really care about the ethics of it."

Ace turned to Luffy and raised an eyebrow, but his brother just shrugged in agreement. "Alright Luffy, I get that we're not saints, but you're meddling with time here. Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Ace asked.

"At the time, I wasn't really sure at all to be honest," Luffy admitted. "I just knew that I had nothing left to lose." That comment made Ace wince. It wasn't something he wanted to hear.

"Was it that bad?" he asked. Zoro nodded gravely. "What...happened?"

Neither of them answered. As he looked back and forth between the two, he took note of their behavior. They both had their fists clenched and were looking down at the floor in...guilt? As he tried to wrap his mind around that, he noticed something that shocked him. Luffy was trembling. A sudden realization hit Ace.

"There's a reason why you're telling me all this." The second he said that, Luffy looked back up at him. Only Ace was no longer looking at Luffy. He was looking at a ghost, one whose expression rightfully haunted the flame man to his very core. This couldn't be Luffy. He was too old, too scarred. The happy go lucky 14 year old that Ace had left behind at Dawn Island...this wasn't him. And yet, in a way that Ace couldn't explain or describe, it was.

"Ace...it's been so long…" he said quietly. Ace took a few seconds to gather his thoughts before responding.

"I died." It wasn't a question, but Zoro nodded anyway. "And you flipped the world onto a different axis just to save me?" he asked with narrowed eyes. This elicited a dry chuckle from Luffy.

"No Ace. That was just the beginning."

"It all started with your duel with Blackbeard," Zoro stated. Ace stilled.

"So I got done in by Teach?" he asked. Zoro thought he detected a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"No, worse. He handed you over to the World Government," Luffy replied, causing Ace's eyes to widen in recognition.

"If he did that…"

Zoro completed the thought for him. "Whitebeard wouldn't let them execute you without a fight, but the World Government was determined to do it, even if it meant…"

Ace covered his face with his hand. "War..." Luffy and Zoro gave him a minute to collect his thoughts. He finally spoke again. "So where do we go from here?"

"That's the part you're not going to like," Luffy said. "Whatever you do, you can't confront Blackbeard. Not yet. In our timeline he became a huge problem, but if we can prevent the War of the Best, he'll lose his chance to gain the power he's looking for. You should know that he already got the Yami Yami no mi from Thatch, and he's already someone to be careful of."

"Yea I'll bet," Ace scoffed. "If he took me down, he's a force to be reckoned with." He thought for a moment, then sighed. "You're right Luffy, I don't like it. The old man warned me not to go after the bastard, but I was determined. I still am. But if going after him is going to bring my own crew to ruin, then I'll hold off on it...for now. At least until I'm sure I can beat him."

Luffy's shoulders slumped in relief. The first big step had been taken to shaping a better future. The Whitebeard War had changed a lot, and not for the better. He would still have to pay close attention to make sure it didn't happen though. He couldn't account for all the factors after all.

"Is there anything else you think I should know?" Ace asked.

"Well yea actually," Luffy replied. "Sabo is alive."

Ace didn't think he could ever sympathize with Nami more than he did at that moment.