What makes a Family?

Chapter 7 - What Makes a Family?

*A little while earlier*

Not long before the rest of the Straw Hats found the hole, Luffy was sitting up and was looking around in annoyance. One minute he was lying stuck to the ground, and now he was here in the middle of all this darkness. Frowning heavily, he glared around, not having the slightest clue to where he was or how he got here. He didn't like it at all… this dark place… it all felt empty. He hated it.

Jumping up to his feet, he started running off in one random direction—hoping that he could find the way out of this place. His mind felt a little foggy at the moment and he was having trouble trying to remember how he got here.

He was sure that he had some kind of a dream… he dreamt that he'd been stuck to the ground, unable to move, that was when he dreamt that something wrapped around him like rope and was pulling him down. At least that's what he remembered before he opened his eyes in this place.

"Jeez," he said loudly, "Where're the others? Hope they didn't find that treasure they talked about on that door without me. What is this place?"

Of course he didn't have any of the answers as he continued walking, throwing the 'Mystery Rock' up and down in his hand like a ball. The stone was glowing a little in this suffocating darkness, and helped him to see a little bit further—not that it mattered, there wasn't anything down here.

Luffy walked on for a few more minutes, continuing to talk to himself cheerfully. "Man, this cave is so dark," he said, obviously thinking that this place couldn't be anything else even though there wasn't any stone. "I wonder how far it goes. Oooh, maybe that means that the treasure is down here!" He shielded his eyes with his hand, though there was no need to and continued to look around eagerly, as if expecting to see gold or jewels just lying there.

As he peered around, he realized that there was something right in front of him. "That's gotta be where the treasure is!" he said excitedly, "Or better yet… some MEAT!" and he took off running towards it with a laugh.

But as he neared the strange shape, he slowed to a walk and stopped laughing when he realized that there was stone down here. Standing in front of him were two tall, stone pillars standing a few yards apart—both of them stretched high above him, disappearing into the dark. They looked old and worn, covered with black roots as if the stones were covered in nets. Curious, Luffy poked one of the roots with his free hand, and pulled his finger back quickly when the roots moved, almost snake-like.

"Man, was a weird place," he said to himself, walking around to examine the rest of the pillar—only to walk into something hard—his head colliding with something solid.

"OWWW!" he yelled in frustration, rubbing his head as he looked around. "Damn! What's going on here?! I'm rubber, so why'd that hurt?!"

Frowning, he stretched out his hand and felt something there—like a brick wall stretching between the two pillars.

Now frustrated, Luffy continued to throw the 'Mystery Rock' up and down, his head now hurting from all the thinking. There wasn't anything in front of him but dark, so why was there something here? Could it be invisible?

"If it is," Luffy said, his eyes shining, "That'd be so cool! The treasure must be behind this Mystery Wall!"

As he eagerly looked for the way in, the Mystery Rock continued to glow brighter and brighter, until not even Luffy could ignore it. Curious, he looked down at it. "What's it doing now?" he asked before the light suddenly shone so brightly that Luffy had to cover his eyes with his arm to protect his eyes.

"What's going on here?!" he yelled off in the distance, now feeling annoyed. He opened his eyes at once, seeing spots for a second before he noticed that the 'Mystery Rock' had disappeared.

"What?!" he cried out, looking around his feet, thinking he dropped it. "Where'd it go? Hello? Mystery Rock? Where'd you go?!"

So busy looking for the stone, he didn't notice what was happening in front of him at first. But when he did, he could see it. Where nothing had been before, there was now suddenly the blurred outline of a wall between the pillars. Almost as if it was made of thick smoke, the way that it shifted and moved around…

Curious, Luffy walked to it so that he was only inches away and poked at the wall like he had done with the root. But instead of hitting anything, this time, his finger disappeared right into it.

Glancing around at his surroundings one last time, he grinned happily to himself, glad to find something to get him out of this place, he confidently went walking through the smoky wall, disappearing beyond it.

*Present time with the Straw Hats*

"Just when I think that these memories can't get any sweeter," Robin giggled, smiling as that last scene of the boys playing around.

"As interesting as they are," Zoro said, his tone now annoyed, "Why are we able to see this? Couldn't we at least get something more interesting to watch?"

"Listen to you," Robin smiled at him, "Are you that eager to see something dangerous?"

"Just saying," Zoro said grumpily.

"Yohoho, Zoro-san is impatient," Brook answered happily.

"You got that right," Nami sighed, and they returned to the darkness again.

"He's just an idiot, Nami-swan," Sanji said, puffing away on his cigarette.

"What you say you pathetic excuse for a cook?" Zoro demanded.

Sanji bit down on his cigarette before he glared back, "That does it! When we get out of this place, remind me to settle this thing between us once and for all!"

"Sounds good to me," Zoro threatened back, "I've been wanting to shut you up since the day we met!"

"Come on guys!" Chopper begged, growing up to his Heavy Point to try and break them apart. "Let's not fight!"

"Chopper," Robin said gently, "I don't think they actually mean it."

"Oh, yes we do!" they both yelled, now glaring daggers at each other, just daring the other to make one wrong move so that they could attack. Just as Chopper was thinking he'd have to do something drastic to get them apart, the next memory showed up and they were back in the familiar scene of the forest… except now everything was covered with a thick layer of snow.

"Winter?" Nami asked, staring at the lightly falling snow. "But it was summer just a second ago…?"

"I'm guessing it's been awhile since that last memory," Robin commented reasonably.

"Where are they this time?" Chopper asked; though his answer came almost right away when they heard Ace's voice shouting out through the bare trees, behind them, "Sabo! He went that way! Don't let him escape!"

"I'm on it!" Sabo's voice yelled back. "We won't let you escape!"

As the Straw Hats all turned around, they spotted the two boys running through the trees, chasing something that looked like a panda bear… only it's fur patterns are opposite from a panda's usual look. It was dark where pandas would be white and white where pandas would be dark colored.

"What is that? A panda?" Usopp asked confused as it went running by them, the boys still chasing after it.

"Rather a danpa…" Robin said, having seen a couple of them before. "It looks like they're hunting…"

"Yes!" Ace yelled, both boys sprinting after it. "We've got him surrounded!"

Sabo laughed, the wind almost blowing his hat off. "Luffy!" he yelled up ahead, "He's almost there!"

They chased the danpa all the way to a wall, where Luffy was standing at the top, looking ready. "Here he comes… here I go!" Luffy cried excitedly before he jumped. But of course, he stumbled a little and ended up rolling down a ways as a giant snow ball before he hit a rock and broke free. He then fell in a freefall the rest of the way as he headed to the danpa. "You're not getting away!" he yelled and raised the pipe staff.

"Looks like he catches dinner," Sanji said, wishing that he could've cooked up that tasty-looking danpa. Luffy ended up crashing right into the beast, knocking them both down. The difference was, when he leapt back up, gasping for breath, ready to fight it… the danpa slowly fell and hit the ground with a resolving thud.

For a moment, Luffy seemed too stunned to speak. And then…

"I DID IT!" he called proudly. "I GOT HIM!"

"Good for him," Franky said, his robotic hand on his stomach, suddenly noticing how hungry he was. "Man, wish I these memories could hurry up and end so that we can get out of here and get dinner… I could eat a Sea King!"

Sabo laughed as they came up, Luffy now dancing around the catch. "Nice going Luffy!"

"That's our second catch of the day!" Ace called as Luffy kept leaping around happily. "We're gonna eat good tonight."

"It's my first ever catch! Ever!" Luffy called, beaming with pride.

"Oh, his first catch," Sanji said, exhaling his smoke. "Then it'll be even more delicious…"

"Hey, what's that?" Franky suddenly asked, pointing overhead on the cliff above them.

Sabo obvious spotted it too because he cried out in panic, "Luffy! Above you!"

Chopper screamed as they all looked above. Standing where Luffy had been standing before to catch the danpa, was an enormous tiger… a tiger of giant proportions… and looking hungry as he looked down at them. "IT'S THAT TIGER!" Chopper screamed out.

"I guess they weren't the only ones thinking of dinner," Zoro said coolly.

"Why joke around about this?!" Usopp cried out, pointing up to that jungle cat wildly. "That thing's big enough to eat them!"

"They wouldn't make more than a snack for that thing," Robin added.

"Robin…" he croaked out, "Aren't you a little bit worried?"

"He must have followed the scent of our prey," Ace said, gulping as he slowly backed away.

"Luffy! Get out of there!" Sabo yelled. "All he wants is the danpa!"

But Luffy seemed too scared to move as the tiger leapt down in front of him—landing gracefully, but with enough force to make the earth feel as if it was shaking. Even as the tiger licked its giant lips, Luffy didn't move. But he seemed to get his courage back as he held up the pipe and waved it around, trying to deter the giant cat.

"Yes, Luffy-san, you might want to run!" Brook yelled out anxiously.

"He's too strong for you!" Sabo yelled, now looking scared. "Just run away!"

"NO WAY!" Luffy yelled, though it was hard to tell if he was yelling at his brothers or the tiger. "Get lost!"

"You really think it'll listen to you?!" Nami cried out exasperated. "It's a TIGER! Just be happy it only wants the stupid bear!"

But Luffy couldn't hear her, and he refused to move. He might've just been a fly to it as the tiger raised its paw and knocked him aside like how a tiny cat would do to a toy.

"That had to hurt," Franky winced as he watched Luffy go flying.

"DAMN YOU!" Luffy yelled as he got back to his feet and went charging back, determined to fight.

"That moron!" Ace yelled as Sabo yelled out Luffy's name.

"I agree with you," Zoro said as he watched Luffy threw out a punch, only for his rubber arm to miss the tiger completely, and ended with the tiger stepping on it. And like a rubber band, Luffy was sent flying towards it, until he landed on top of the tiger's head. Luffy hung on tightly before the great cat threw him off and Luffy landed in the snow hard. Of course, like he always was… he wasn't going to give up easily. He looked ready to lunch another attack until his brothers came charging out of nowhere and grabbed him.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Sabo told him as he and Ace now carried Luffy away—who was fighting tooth and nail to get back to the tiger.

"We can get out of here while he's distracted!" Ace yelled as they bolted away and the tiger began to tear into Luffy's catch.

"Yeah, I agree," Nami said, running after them. "I know that Luffy's protective of his food, but he doesn't stand a chance against that thing yet."

Luffy struggled and yelled to the tiger, "I'll be back for you later!"

"Of course he will," Robin laughed as the vision shifted again and they ended up stopping, no longer having a reason to keep running.

"So stubborn…" Sanji said shaking his head, "Should've guessed he was like that even as a kid."

"But really, he didn't stand a chance," Nami sighed, "That thing was huge! And Luffy couldn't even throw a punch without him missing."

"You gotta admire that perseverance!" Brook offered, still strumming his guitar, its musical notes echoing around them, making the darkness feel a little less empty. Soon though, the darkness was replaced by night. It was dark out with a moon shining down on them. They were all a little surprised to see that they were standing at the end of the same bridge that Ace had knocked Luffy off the first time. Ace and Sabo were walking ahead, carrying a second danpa with Luffy slowly walking behind them looking upset.

"It's a shame you lost your first ever catch like that," Sabo said sympathetically to him when he noticed that Luffy was looking back, obviously where the tiger was.

"That would be upsetting," Zoro agreed, "But it just means that he has to get stronger."

"Give it a rest," Ace sighed. "There's not much we can do when we're up against the Tiger Lord."

"Tiger Lord?" Chopper asked confused.

"I guess that's the title of the tiger," Robin said.

"But I caught that one!" Luffy complained loudly. "Why'd he have to take it?"

"Because he's a tiger, and he can," Usopp said with a gulp. "It's big enough to do whatever it wants."

"What is he doing now?" Nami asked as they watched Luffy jumping up and down on the bridge, causing it to start swaying dangerously.

"YOW! That's not good," Franky said, not liking the way the bridge was swinging. "That bridge looks old… it might not be able to hold up…"

"S-Stupid, don't shake the bridge!" Ace yelled, interrupting Franky, as he tried to keep his balance. But it was too late, for Luffy jumped down too hard and created a large hole right where he was standing before he fell through all the way. Completely forgetting about the catch, Ace and Sabo dropped the danpa as they ran over to grab him before he fell through to the frozen river below them.

"Quite a change from before…" Zoro said, remembering how Ace simply knocked Luffy off without a second thought. Now, Sabo was still on the bridge, holding onto Ace's legs who was dangling there, holding onto Luffy's hand, which had stretched a good ten feet or so as he swung below.

"Sabo! Hurry and pull us up!" Ace gasped up.

"Right…" Sabo said, and with a great effort, he heaved them up safely. Of course, Luffy was smiling the whole time as they finally got up and trudged back to the hideout.

"That's a waste of a good danpa," Zoro said, watching as the dead bear go drifting down the river.

"Ahhh… that idiot!" Sanji cried out, furious that anyone could waste food like that, wishing that he could drop kick that brat for doing something so stupid.

"We're finally back," Sabo sighed; sounding tired, and just ended up falling onto the blankets. "We've had really bad luck today. Let's just go to bed."

"We're back but we're unlucky?" Luffy asked confused, clearly not understanding what he was talking about. He then blinked as if he realized something and put his hands over his belly, "Ah! I'm hungry!"

"Of course he is," Nami said shaking her head.

"And whose fault is that?! Ace demanded as he hit him over the head before they did what Sabo suggested and were all in the nest of blankets.

"I wonder what's gonna happen now?" Chopper asked interested, as the boys all stared up at the ceiling, with Luffy giggling to himself as he pulled his blanket over his head.

"What's so funny?" Ace asked him.

"Laughing won't fill your stomach you know," Sabo added sleepily, as he began to close his eyes.

"Oh, we know that," Sanji sighed, remembering that Luffy just seems to eat more when he was in a good mood.

"I've decided," Luffy said, in a familiar tone that they all knew too well. It meant he made up his mind and nothing was going to change it. "Ace! Sabo! You should join my crew after all!"

"Again, that takes me back," Franky laughed.

"Right?" Luffy asked them both. "You'll join won't you?"

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Sabo asked him lightly.

"I thought we'd agreed to decide that when we're older," Ace added, rolling over to his side. "Just go to sleep."

"Still," Luffy added. "I think it'd be a lot more fun if we were together! You'll need my help, right?"

The Straw Hats all laughed at that just as both boys turned over onto their stomachs and Sabo said, "I'd understand if you said that you needed our help, but…"

"Yeah…" Ace said.

"I agree," Nami said, still smiling.

"Yohoho, what fun this is," Brook laughed.

"You're wrong!" Luffy said determinedly. "Someday I'll be saving you!"

They all glanced at each other, all of them thinking about Impel Down and Marineford again… all of them wondering just what happened to Luffy while they had all been separated.

"If you two decided to join my crew, I'd let you join anytime," Ace said resting his head on his hand.

"NO!" Luffy and Sabo called out at the same time. "Join my crew!"

"Then this conversation is over," Ace said at once.

"One way to end it," Usopp said, rubbing his head as Ace flopped back down.

"But Luffy won't let this go," Franky added.

"You won't join me no matter what?" Luffy asked, now sounding disappointed.

"I won't," Ace said, rolling over again and pulled his blanket up to go to sleep. Luffy then looked to Sabo and asked him the same thing.

"I don't want to be anyone's underling, alright?" he said simply before he also lied down.

"Underling…?" Sanji smirked. "Everyone on this crew bosses Luffy around."

"What the hell?" Luffy said with a pout on his face. "It would've been fun…" he frowned but then he brightened up as he suggested, "Oh! I know! How about the one who defeats the huge tiger gets to be captain?"

They both looked up at him surprised, but interested now.

"The Tiger Lord?" Ace repeated, looking back at him. "You serious?"

"The chances of you becoming captain are pretty much zero," Sabo added.

"That's not true!" Luffy said at once. "None of us can beat that thing now right?"

"He gets to the point when he wants to," Sanji said.

"Not often, but yes," Usopp agreed.

"He's so simple minded, he just sees the obvious that the rest of us seem to notice," Nami sighed.

They both sat up, now definitely interested. "Alright!" they agreed.

Luffy then giggled. "Then it's settled!"

"It's a deal!" they said.

"But Luffy and Ace both became separate captains," Chopper pointed out.

"I guess they either didn't beat the tiger, or something changed," Robin said reasonably.

"Oh, I wonder what happened?" Brook asked curiously as the dark tree house was replaced by the three boys walking through the snow with fish tied to their backs.

"Is everyone ready?" Ace asked them.

"What are they doing with those fish?" Chopper asked.

"We worked hard fishing this fish," Luffy said, looking at the fish with a hungry look in his eyes. "I wanted to eat them."

"We've got no choice," Sabo pointed out. "This is gonna draw him out."

"The Tiger Lord?" Usopp asked.

"No, they're trying to get sharks out of the forest," Zoro said sarcastically, rolling his eye. "What else would it be?"

"You don't have to be cruel," Usopp said with a frown. Just at that moment, there was a deep growl of something big through the trees.

"HE'S HERE!" Chopper screamed out.

"Here he is!" Sabo said, holding up his pipe. "Get ready!"

"Greedy jerk," Luffy said, now looking angry, the memory of the tiger stealing his first catch still on his mind. "I won't let him take them today!"

Now there was no doubt that there was a roar. But when the beast came out of the haze, it wasn't a tiger, rather a giant bear with a jagged scar over its right eye.

"That's not the Tiger Lord," Sabo said obviously disappointed. "That's just some bear."

"But isn't that the same bear that fought the tiger from before?" Robin asked, remembering back when Ace was still trying to lose Luffy in the forest and the little boy was stuck between the two behemoths.

"Looks like it," Franky said, examining the bear, "I recognize that scar!"

"How boring," Luffy said, holding his hand up and now actually trying to shoo it away.

"No," Ace said at once, his face deadly serious, and he held up his pipe—looking ready for a fight. "This guy is as strong as the Tiger Lord. If we can't beat him, we don't stand a chance against the Tiger."

"Not a bad idea," Sanji said, thinking it over, "Get the second best before you go for the king…"

"I get it," Sabo said, grinning at the idea. "So he's gonna be practice."

"I'll go first!" Ace yelled, charging forward.

"Saw that coming," Zoro smirked.

"Geez, who knew how hot-headed Ace was," Nami sighed, her hand through her orange hair. "He was as bad as Luffy."

"That's cheap!" Sabo cried.

"Not fair!" Luffy screamed, running right behind them. Ace jumped and stuck the bear a few times in the head, but didn't seem to be doing any good as he landed and backed away.

"I think they made it mad," Chopper said worriedly as the bear growled at them.

"Why? What's he saying?" Usopp asked him. "You can understand him right?"

"He's telling them to get lost before he kills them!" Chopper cried out.

"EHHHHH?!" Usopp yelled, freaking out, "Well, then of course he's mad!"

The boys yelled as they were left with no choice but to drop the fish and run for it. The bear right on their heels.

"They might want to run faster before the bear runs them down," Sanji offered as they ran alongside them.

"Normal bears are faster than normal humans, but one this big is bound to be even faster," Robin added.

"You two aren't helping!" Nami yelled, wondering just what was going to happen now.

But just as he was about to catch up, something went flying over the boys heads and struck the bear in the stomach. The bear was hit with such force, that it was sent flying backwards, skidded a few feet and lay there motionless.

"What was that?!" Brook called startled. "It came out of nowhere!"

"It's a giant hammer!" Franky shouted, pointing to it. He was right… it was an enormous mallet, about as tall as a normal man. That was when they saw an elderly man with long, grey, unkempt hair that went down to his shoulders and thick eyebrows that almost completely cover up his eyes jumped over the boys to face the bear.

"Who-who is that?" Luffy stammered, voicing what they were all thinking. The bear however was now getting back up to his feet—and they realized that the hammer merely stunned it—not finished it. Now, it was looking angry as it went charging at the old man, who was calmly walking towards it.

"That old guy's in trouble!" Luffy called in panic.

"That's… Naguri from the Gray Terminal!" Sabo called, now screaming for him to run as well. "Run away! He'll kill you!"

But he didn't move as the bear came closer and closer.

"He's gonna get killed!" Chopper cried out. But at that moment, Naguri held up his hand just as he said the word, "Noshi," and the snow around them picked up to create a cloud so thick that they couldn't see in it. By the time that it cleared however, Naguri was standing with his hand held up, the bear about to strike. Then very slowly, it lowered its paw… suddenly calm.

"That…" Usopp cried out, his eyes wide in amazement, "That's…"

"Conqueror's Haki!" Robin finished, now deeply impressed.

"This isn't your den is it?" Naguri asked the bear. "Go back to the forest, Noshi!"

And almost as if it was in a trance, it slowly turned and went back to the cover of the trees. They all stared after the bear, stunned by what happened.

"That ability never gets old," Zoro smirked.

"That's so cool!" Chopper gasped as he and Usopp had stars sparkling in their eyes. "I wish I can use it!"

"Only one in a million are born with this particular form of Haki, Chopper," Robin explained to him, "But there's always a chance you might be able to…"

"Really?" he asked her eagerly. "In that case, I'm gonna start learning when we get back!"

"AMAZING!" Luffy gasped, standing up and gazing at Naguri with new respect. "Just like back then…?"

"Back then?" Franky asked, scratching his head before he understood. "Oh, right! He's thinking of Shanks!"

Soon the afternoon memory faded until it was replaced by the night, and the boys were sitting with Naguri by a fire, cooking up the fish that they had earlier.

"Naguri!" Luffy said loudly, in an awed voice. "So you were a pirate before? Not just a pirate but a captain?!"

"I was indeed," Naguri confessed.

"That explains a lot," Sanji smiled, "I can see it now…"

"I knew it!" Luffy laughed, clapping the old man on the shoulder. "Only a pirate captain could've pulled off something like that!"

"Something like that?" he asked curiously.

"Chasing off that big bear like that just by glaring at him!" Luffy elaborated, a big grin still on his face, "Just like Shanks! You're incredible old man!"

"You don't say?" he asked laughing.

"But why is such a cool old man living here in the Grey Terminal if he was a pirate?" Chopper asked confused.

"I'm sure we'll find out," Brook said.

Sabo looked down to the cooking fish before he began whispering to Ace. "I can't believe that he used to be a pirate," they all leaned in so that they could hear more of what he was saying. "I mean… he goes around collecting junk and spending his days hammering it trying to create some nonsensical device. The Gray Terminal residences and Bluejam's crew are always taunting him. That's all I've seen…" he sighed, giving Naguri a suspicious glance, "He was quite a pitiful ol' timer."

"He may be old, but he did save your hides from that bear!" Usopp said deadpanned.

"You're such a kid, Sabo!" Luffy said, hugging Naguri. "That's what a true pirate is!"

"You're just a kid to!" he shot back in annoyance, "What do you know about pirates?"

"I do know!" Luffy yelled back as Ace got up. "Shanks never picks meaningless battles!"

"Yep, Shanks is his main influence…" Nami smiled, shaking her head.

"Shanks again?" Sabo asked as Ace said checking out the fish. "This one's done!" he said quickly cutting them up into four pieces and dropped them in their laps. As Luffy complained that his share was too small, Ace asked Naguri what he was doing in a place like this.

"That's what I want to know," Usopp said sitting down, almost believing that he was part of the conversation as he sat down at the campfire with them all.

"You really want to know, Noshi?" he asked.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell us," Ace answered him.

"No, it's alright, Noshi," he said, softly stroking the fire. "Have you ever heard of Gold Roger?"

The whole crew froze as they all glanced at each other nervously—the look on Ace's face was completely rigid and his eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, they heard alright," Usopp said, a nervous glance at Ace.

So Naguri told the story how his crew challenged the pirate king to a battle and lost.

"That's… so cool!" Usopp and Chopper both said, stars in their eyes.

"He fought against the Pirate King?" Brook asked in surprise, "What a surprise! Just amazing!"

"But Ace doesn't look to happy," Robin pointed out the angry look on the child Ace's face before he turned and walked away from them all. They were so busy talking they didn't realize that Ace had left at first.

"And it wasn't just Roger," Naguri explained to Luffy and Sabo. "The whole crew was strong. Their constant, flawless teamwork was the most impressive thing about them."

"That sounds impressive," Zoro said, thinking it over. He wondered just what it would've been like to face Roger… well, meeting Rayleigh did give him a slight idea.

"I see…" Luffy said as Sabo got up, staring after Ace with a worried expression on his face. "I've got a long way to go before I become a true pirate."

"You want to be a pirate, noshi?" he asked him amused.

"Oh, he does become one," Zoro sighed. "And not just some pirate either…"

"Ironic that his stepbrother turned out to be the son of the old king," Franky said thinking it all over.

"YEAH!" Luffy yelled proudly. "A pirate!" He jumped up and asked, "Ok, old timer! Can you start training me?"

Naguri looked at him in surprise. "I want to become strong!" Luffy explained. "I've gotta become Ace and Sabo's captain!"

It was around here that Luffy finally noticed that Ace was gone and asked, "Huh? Where'd Ace go?"

"Well," Sabo said slowly. "About that…"

And so he told them the truth.

Luffy's jaw hit the ground. "The Pirate King is Ace's dad?!" he cried out in amazement.

"I guess this is when he finds out," Nami said needlessly.

"But how did Sabo know?" Chopper asked.

"Well, I guess that Ace-san must've told him," Brook said, "Apparently they were friends for a long time so it must've come up at least once."

"Yeah," Sabo sighed. "But this is a secret ok? Never say a word about this in front of Ace. If you do, he'll kill you."

"Ok, that's harsh," Usopp said, sweat dropping at the thought. He had a feeling that Sabo wasn't exaggerating his words.

"Why?" Luffy asked, looking puzzled.

"I don't know the details," Sabo explained quietly, "But… he hates Roger."

"Hates him?" Chopper asked, not understanding. "But why would he hate his own father like that?"

"I can understand," Robin said softly, suddenly having new sympathy for Ace.

"But he's his dad, right?" Luffy asked, unknowingly voicing what Chopper was thinking.

"So what if he's his dad?" Sabo asked coldly, and they were looking at him in surprise, having never heard him use that cold tone before.

"Sabo-san seems upset now," Brook said, now sounding worried.

"Well, he has every reason to be," Zoro said quietly, but before they could ask him what he meant, Luffy blinked a few times and said in realization, "Right… because your parents are…"

Sabo looked away before he said, "Not all kids get along with their parents."

"Right…" Nami answered softly, remembering everything Sabo said about his parents and how they didn't care about him… only their status. "I guess he would understand better than anyone."

Chopper frowned sadly and looked at his feet as he thought that over. He knew how Sabo felt… and for a moment he was reminded of his herd when he was a baby… how they made him walk behind them all just because he was born with a blue nose… and how they chased him away when he ate the Devil's Fruit…

"Still," Luffy said slowly. "His dad was the Pirate King…"

"I understand that you want to ask him about Roger," Sabo said seriously, "but you mustn't say a word about this, okay?"

"That's good," Robin said, agreeing that was the best thing to do.

"Right," Luffy agreed. "I understand."

"So you all think that's the reason he never told us?" Nami asked them wonderingly.

"Well, the truth is that it was never any of our business to begin with," Zoro said firmly. "It doesn't matter."

"I agree with what Robin-chan said before," Sanji said, "It's good that no one else knew about it."

Sabo then looked to Naguri and asked, "You promise too, Naguri?"

"Alright," he said thoughtfully. "I won't say a word, noshi…"

"You really think that they can trust that old guy?" Usopp asked as they followed Sabo and Luffy back to the hideout. "I mean, they just met him and Sabo dropped the big secret of Ace's birth."

"He did save them," Chopper pointed out.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that they could've trusted him," Sanji said skeptically.

"Something tells me that the secret was safe with Naguri-san," Brook said softly. "Though he did lose against Roger before, he didn't seem to hold any grudge against him. He seems like an honorable man…"

Neither Luffy nor Sabo spoke again as they reached the tree house.

"There he is," Sabo said, pointing up the tree to where Ace was leaning against the sill and staring out at the sky. "Now, you've gotta act ignorant, causal, and normal."

"Not gonna happen," they all said as Brook and Robin laughed.

"Ignorant and causal maybe…" Nami said, "But normal?"

"Luffy's anything but that," Zoro said darkly.

"Right," Luffy said without another word.

"This won't last long," Franky said knowingly.

"Don't say a word about…" Sabo warned again.

"I won't! I got it!" Luffy said and soon they were flying up until they were looking at Ace just outside the house.

"Oh! Ace!" Sabo called, a little too happily, as they entered the hideout. "You went home before we did?"

Luffy came bursting in after Sabo and asked, "Oi, Ace! So Roger was your dad?"

"What a blabber mouth," Nami said shaking her head as the others all laughed. "You think that Sabo would've realized that by now."

Speaking of which, a look of panic came over Sabo's face has he turned to shake Luffy, "Oi! Luffy, I told you never to bring that up!"

"Well, it's not like he went blabbing about it to anyone but Ace," Chopper offered.

"Maybe, but I don't think that Ace wants to hear it," Robin answered, looking at Ace's stony expression—his body tense and his shoulders shaking.

"Luffy?" he asked coldly.

"Yes?" Luffy asked happily, as Sabo moved to hide behind him as if afraid that Ace would attack him.

"Where'd you hear that from?" Ace asked.

"Who else but Sabo?" Franky asked.

"This isn't going to end well," Sanji asked with a sigh

"From Sabo!" Luffy told him.

"Yohoho! Why do I feel like he just made a big mistake?" Brook asked.

"I get the fact that he's honest, but does he have to keep talking?" Zoro said, not liking the furious look in Ace's eyes—the exact same wild look that had been in them when he knocked Luffy off that bridge when they first met.

"That idiot is going to get them both killed," Sanji added as he watched Ace turn, his bangs hiding his eyes as he slowly walked towards them.

"Poor kid…" Robin sighed.

Sabo only continued to hide as Luffy asked, "Ace, what kind of guy was Roger?"

"Stop it!" Sabo said hurriedly. "You idiot! Don't ask him that!"

"It's not like he could tell him anything anyway," Robin said. "Roger died before Ace was even born…"

"Let go of me, Sabo! I want to know!"

"Don't blow our cover so casually!"

"Too late now," Brook said happily as Ace stood in front of them and smacked them both hard on their heads.

"I don't ever want to hear that name again!" he yelled angrily as they fell to the floor.

"What was that for?" Luffy demanded, a giant bump on his head. "Don't be so stingy! Just tell me!"

"You didn't have to punch us out of the blue without explanation!" Sabo added, his hands over the spot that was swollen.

"SHUT UP!" Ace yelled, looking dangerous as he hit them both again and leaving bumps on their bumps.

"Ok, now he's scaring me again," Chopper said timidly as he moved to the back of the group.

"He… really hates him doesn't he?" Nami asked softly, never knowing anyone to actually hate their own family that much.

"Can you blame him?" Sanji asked suddenly. "He has every reason to."

"What do you mean?" Usopp asked, not understanding.

"No matter what Ace does, he'll always have that hanging over his head," Zoro added explained softly, looking at those cold eyes again—was this always like it for Ace? Always questioning where you came from? Always wondering where you belonged?

"Roger made a lot of enemies in life who still bear a grudge against him," Robin also added, "And they would jump at a chance to kill and hate Ace simply for that. So many people still hate him… and if they knew whose child Ace was, then they would most certainly hate him as well."

"But that's not fair!" Chopper cried out.

"That's just how life is, Chopper," she told him. "It's not fair, but that's just how it is." But here, she could understand… after all, the government considered her life as nothing but a sin since they destroyed her home Ohara. Luffy and Ace were in the same situation as she was… in the World Government's eyes, the three of them were all children who should never have been born. They were all born as the children of devils.

"You could at least tell us something!" Luffy cried at him, "You meanie!"

"Right!" Sabo said, looking up. "Brothers don't keep secrets from each other!"

"Oh, that's not true," Franky said, suddenly missing his loyal brothers and little sisters back at Water 7. He was tearing up just thinking of them—hoping that they were doing just fine.

"Shut up!" Ace yelled loudly. "What do you mean brothers?!"

"Aren't they brothers?" Chopper asked, thinking of when they exchanged those sake cups.

"Roger, Roger, Roger," Luffy chanted. "Ace's dad is the Pirate King!"

"Brave soul," Usopp said, shaking his head, wondering how Luffy lived as long as he had.

"Stop it!" Sabo gasped at him, "Don't provoke him!"

"This is because you couldn't keep your mouth shut!" Ace screamed at him.

"What?" Sabo yelled. "What did you say?"

That was when it broke into a large fight which ended with a big mess and Ace saying, "From this moment on, you two are no longer my brothers!"

"That's what I was gonna say!" they both screamed out, turning away from each other.

"That's it?" Chopper cried out in horror. "Because of that they're not longer brothers?"

"Oh, I doubt they actually mean that," Robin smiled. "They were just angry… and don't want to admit they did anything wrong. We all say things we don't really mean when we're angry. I'm sure it won't last long."

"Just give them a little time to calm down and you'll see," Nami added as the memory faded and they were all back in the darkness, "That's just how some families are. Even if they drive you crazy, you're still family."

"Family…" Chopper said, thinking it all over. "So, anyone can become a family?"

"Sure, why not?" Usopp asked, suddenly thinking of his own mother and how she had raised him after his father left. She had been a strong woman who told him all sorts of amazing stories about pirates going on adventures and he wanted to be just like that. He also thought of Kaya and his old crew like family after his mother died. When he said goodbye to them all and set out to sea, he told them to live their own dreams and he couldn't help but wonder just what they were doing now.

"What makes a family?" Chopper suddenly asked them all. It was something that he couldn't quite figure out. What makes a family work well? What makes a family—well, a family?

They all looked at each other in surprise, unsure to how to answer that. None of them ever really thought about it before… but suddenly they were all wondering the same thing.

Nami frowned as she thought; unconsciously playing with the gold bracelet that Nojiko gave her before she left home. She thought of her mother and sister… and even Genzo who was like a father to her… though none of them were related, she thought of each of them as her sister and her parents. She remembered with painful details how hard her mother worked to support her and Nojiko… and then how she gave up her life to protect them… as far as she was concerned, her mother had to have been one of the bravest and strongest people she ever knew.

"I guess…" she finally said thoughtfully, "Its unconditional help and selfishness for each other… a group of people that live together and would risk their life to defend one of their own. At least, that's what I think…"

"I think that's a poetic way to put it, Nami," Robin smiled, as she thought back to the days to how she tried to distance herself from other people, even her allies, as she knew that she was bound to leave them sooner or later. Over time, however, Robin becomes closer with these crewmates, and felt something that she hadn't felt since Ohara had been destroyed. A sense of belonging… a home. She didn't know how or when it happened, but she had come to care about her crew more than the rest of the world and everything in it. She will always be grateful to Luffy for taking her in. In many ways, Luffy reminded her of Saul—who will always have a special place in her heart for being such a kind friend and giving her hope, as well as sacrificing himself in order to save her.

"Does that make us like a family now?" Chopper asked innocently and they all looked at each other startled at the question.

"You know… I never really thought of it before," Usopp said with a nervous laugh. "I mean, that is what a pirate crew is like isn't it? I guess we are sorta like one…"

"Yeah, we're a dysfunctional one," Zoro added, not sure how he felt about that. He didn't really remember his parents—having travelled around his home village, looking for people to fight. When he ended up beating everyone there, he went over to the next one to look for a real challenge, and boy did he find one. He remembered his sensei… he was grateful for teaching him the sword and giving him Kunia's sword. While at the same time, he remembered his vow to her dearly. But they weren't his family… where they?

"I guess so," Nami suddenly laughed, answering Chopper. "I mean, we're not like any other family out there. But I've always thought as you, Luffy, and Usopp as like my brothers or something."

"Really?" Chopper asked excitedly.

"What do you do with brothers?" Sanji asked suddenly, scratching his head, "I was raised alone." Well, that wasn't completely true. He still had the chiefs from back at the Baratie who he practically grew up with. Though they argued and fought on a daily basis, he sometimes found himself wondering about them and what they were doing right now.

"I guess we just deal with it the same way we've always done," Franky laughed, "You can all call me your 'Big Bro Franky'!"

"I think I'll pass," Robin said and the happiness on Franky's face fell.

"This is all so touching!" Brook sighed happily.

"Almost sickening," Zoro said.

"Don't you have a shred of kindness in you?" Usopp demanded.

"I think that what everyone means," Robin said quietly to Chopper, "Is that we all feel the same way. We just have a funny way of showing it."

Chopper just smiled back, "So all of you are like my brothers and sisters?"

"I guess that's a good way to put it," she smiled, as the memory came back and they were standing in the forest in the late afternoon, "Some more than others. But we can talk about this more a little later."

Luffy was standing there with Naguri, who was telling him to cut down one of the large trees.

"Who let him near an ax?" Zoro demanded. After a few minutes, Luffy had been able to chop through the thick wood and it came crashing down. But as it fell, they could hear the sounds of screaming from the direction of the falling tree.

"AHHHHH! You don't think he hit someone do you?" Chopper gasped in panic.

"Knowing Luffy, probably," Nami sighed.

"If he had, they'd be as flat as pancakes now," Robin said and Chopper screamed again, getting ready to run out and treat whoever was injured before remembering that he wouldn't be able to do anything anyway.

"Don't worry Chopper-san," Brook said prancing forward a little to see for himself. "Those voices sounded familiar, yohoho!"

"Sorry about that!" Luffy shouted, running up as well when the tree crashed to the ground. "Are you alright? Really, I'm sorry!"

He stopped when he saw who it was and beamed at the startled faces of Ace and Sabo.

"LUFFY!" they called as Luffy jumped up and down excitedly, obviously thrilled to see them. "Ace! Sabo! Long time no see! Have you been looking after yourselves?"

"What does he mean by that?" Usopp asked in surprise.

"Well, I'm guessing that after that little fight, Luffy decided to go train with Naguri," Robin offered, looking around at the snow. "Though if I had to guess, I'd say that it hadn't been too long."

Naguri then came up to stand next to him as he looked at them. Sabo laughed uncertainly, "More or less?" he said, sounding more like a question than an answer.

When the image faded and then reappeared, they were standing near the shore, a small alcove with the four of them by a small campsite. Luffy was showing Sabo the target he made and had just let out a Gum-Gum pistol—missing the target—and hitting Naguri.

"I'm glad to see that his aim has gotten better," Franky laughed, "At least he's not hitting himself anymore!"

"But he still can't hit the target," Usopp said with an amused grin. "No wonder he wanted the mighty Sniper Master Usopp on his team!"

Sabo was laughing as well. "That's great! A week ago, you couldn't hit straight at all!"

They talked a little longer about all the training that Naguri was putting him through and as they walked back, Luffy was just saying, "I'll become much stronger and then…"

But suddenly he was stopped when Ace was shouting.

"And what if Roger had a child?" Ace demanded. The Straw Hats all turned to him at once to see that Ace was confronting Naguri—apparently in the middle of an argument. Naguri merely smiled as he answered, "Well, I'm sure he would have it rough. Whether he tried to live his life within the law or as a pirate… he'd always have the pirate king's name bound to him. I can't even imagine how cruel that would be. But if I were that child, I wouldn't even consider being a pirate."

"For an old man, he makes a good point," Sanji answered grimly.

"Why's that?" Chopper asked.

"Just repeating what we said earlier," Robin said softly. "In the end, wasn't it the fact that Ace was the son of Roger that he was killed?"

They stared at her as she sighed unhappily.

"That's just how the world thinks," was all she said just as Naguri answered as well, "The name of his father would ultimately destroy him, noshi…"

"Destroy him?" Ace demanded, looking furious—angrier than anything they had seen yet. "You don't know anything, yet you think you can say something like that? Fight me, old geezer!"

He then charged forward, with Naguri stopping the pipe staff with his hammer.

"Fight him?" Nami cried out. "What's that gonna solve?"

"It'll help calm him down," Zoro offered.

"But that's not going to change anything!" she cried.

"Don't bother them," Robin answered, continuing to watch grimly, "We can't do anything anyway."

"Ace!" Sabo cried out, surprised that he could lose it so completely like that.

"Didn't I tell you?" Naguri asked him quietly. "To a pirate, defeat means losing your life."

"He's gonna kill him?" Chopper cried out in panic.

"Oh, I doubt that he'll go that far," Brook answered, before he thought it over and added, "At least I hope not…"

"I won't lose!" Ace proclaimed, charging the pipe in like a sword.

"He's angry," Zoro said frowning, knowing that this wasn't going to end well.

"He's not thinking straight," Sanji said as he watched Ace swung the pipe around like a club while Naguri kept dodging, finally knocking the pipe out of his hands; causing it to go flying in the air, hitting the pot of water over fire and putting it out, leaving them in darkness. "Nor was he really fighting, he just waved that staff around with the grace of a club. Just charged ahead and attack."

"Wow, so Ace lost?" Chopper asked in amazement.

"Fighting with anger," Zoro said in disappointment. "That's no way to win."

Naguri held the hammer to Ace's face, "I win," he said calmly.

"Damn it!" Ace screamed out, closing his eyes, as if truly thinking that he would kill him. "Just do whatever you like! I don't care!"

"Aright then," Naguri said agreeably. "Come with me then, noshi."

Robin smiled as they followed them.

"What's happening?" Usopp asked, noticing the started expressions on the boy's faces.

"I don't know," Robin said, "But I'm sure that we'll see soon enough."

They followed them through a small cave in the wall, and along a pathway that stretched over the ocean. Luffy, obviously realizing where they were going, ran on ahead, screaming for his brothers to hurry up.

"What's he so happy about?" Zoro asked grumpily; Sabo thought the same thing.

"What are you so excited about, Luffy?" Sabo asked once he caught up.

"Watch and be impressed!" Luffy answered, turning and following where Naguri was standing… and there, built in the shadows of the side of the cliff was a…

"Oh, cool!" Usopp yelled with a big smile on his face.

"It's a pirate ship!" Chopper said, eyes sparkling, jumping up and down excitedly.

It was indeed a small pirate ship, about the size of their old ship, Merry, had been… and it looked entirely homemade. Made from lumber and steel…

"It's great isn't it?" Luffy asked them, jumping up and down excitedly, "A real pirate ship!"

"A pirate ship?" Sabo repeated in wonder before he turned to Naguri and asked, "So this is what you're always working on, Naguri!"

He smiled as he looked at it proudly. "I wasn't able to make much progress on my own," he admitted. "Do you three think you can help me finish it?"

Sabo and Ace's faces fell. "Help you?" Ace repeated as if he could think of a million better things to do than help him, "Why should we?"

"Didn't you just say I could do whatever I wanted with you, noshi?" he asked him and Ace looked ready to kick himself.

"He got him there," Brook laughed.

"Now he has no choice in the matter," Sanji agreed.

"W-wait a minute!" Sabo cried out hurriedly, "You said 'you three' does that mean I have to help out too?"

"You might as well as long as you're here," Naguri added.

"What kind of reasoning is that?" he demanded.

"Don't know," Brook laughed. "It makes sense to me, Yohohoho."

"We're busy trying to defeat the Tiger Lord!" Sabo finished.

"I'll train you to fight the tiger too, noshi," Naguri offered, ready to make a deal.

"What?" Sabo said before thinking it over, "Well, I guess that's fine I guess…"

"I rather have the old man on my side than these three kids," Zoro stated, thinking back to how he dealt with that bear.

"Tell me one thing first," Ace said, still in a bad mood. "After you finish it, what are you gonna do with this ship?"

Naguri pulled his pipe out of his mouth and answered, "Of course, I plan on setting out to sea in search of the crew I parted ways with."

"Set sail?" Nami repeated in surprised. "But isn't he a little old for that?"

"It's not like it's the Grand Line," Sanji reminded him. "This is the East Blue."

Sabo looked surprised as well and asked, "You're setting out to sea?"

"What?" Naguri asked, grinning, "Are you telling me that an old man can't sail the seas?"

"No," Sabo said awkwardly, "That's not what I meant…"

"Age is irrelevant when you're pursuing your dreams, noshi," he smiled. "I will go out to sea, no matter what others say! I've made up my mind!" He pointed the hammer at them all and asked, "You've got a problem with that?"

Luffy laughed happily, "Not at all!"

"What determination!" Usopp cried out, his eyes watering. "Setting out to find the friends that he once risked his life fighting side by side! Now that is something special!"

"Now I wish I met him," Franky cried out, touched at the story.

"This is really getting old," Nami sighed, sick of listening to them crying at every other memory they see. But at the same time, she could understand where Naguri was coming from… all this seemed strangely familiar to her, but she couldn't think of where she'd see it…

"He's quite an impressive old guy…" Sabo said before he realized that Ace was walking away. "Ace?" he questioned.

"A promise is a promise," Ace said crossly. "I'll help you with the ship. Also…" he looked back and proclaimed, "Tomorrow, I will win!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sabo asked after him.

"Sore loser?" Usopp asked worriedly.

Naguri just smiled. And that was it… the Straw Hats spent the next few memories watching as the boys would haul the wood from the trees they cut down, working on the ship, train under Naguri's watchful eye, going to trash mountain and finding supplies, sewing the sails, and hunting for food. Before they knew it, winter had turned to spring and they were now watching Sabo and Ace sparring each other.

"What's the point in watching all this?" Zoro asked as Luffy charged in and threw a punch, narrowly missing Ace and hitting Naguri once again.

"Aside from it being entertaining that is," he added as the others laughed.

"I think his aim is getting better," Robin said optimistic as Naguri tasted the dirt and sat back up.

"Hey, Luffy!" he yelled in annoyance. "You did it again!"

Luffy laughed, "Sorry…"

"I wonder how many times that happened," Chopper asked curiously.

"I swear you guys," Naguri said grumpily as he rubbed his now sore cheek as he observed them all. "You don't care about anything but strength…"

"Men…" Nami sighed in agreement.

"But are you sure that's enough?" Naguri finished.

All three of them looked surprised at the question, as if they never thought about it. "What's that supposed to mean?" Sabo asked in confusion. "We decided that the strongest would be the captain. Do you have a problem with that?"

"That's right," Luffy agreed. "The one who beats the big tiger becomes the captain."

"The great tiger, huh?" Naguri said slowly, as if they had given him the answer to a difficult question he had been wondering. "Well, it's true that strength is an important quality for a captain to have… but there's something more important."

They all stared at him. "Something more important?" Sabo asked, now sounding completely lost.

"I get it," Franky grinned, tilting up his sunglasses so that he could see them. "They haven't learned how to work together as a team yet.

Usopp laughed, "Yeah, it took even us all awhile to learn how to do that."

"Indeed," Naguri said. "And that is…" he paused for a dramatic effect before answering, "I forget…"

"WHAT?!" Usopp, Franky, and Chopper all cried out at the same time as Sabo and Luffy knocked their heads together. "What's that supposed to mean? You got us excited for nothing!" Sabo cried out.

"Man, I thought that he was going to say something deep and insightful!" Usopp sighed.

"Yeah, I wanna know what he was going to say," Chopper said.

Zoro glanced over to Ace, who hadn't said a word… but he could tell right away that the kid was thinking a lot about what Naguri had said. He could see right away that this was probably the first time that Ace ever wondered about anything but growing stronger. Zoro's eyebrows furrowed slightly… did Ace truly understand? No, he had a feeling that he didn't just yet… Ace didn't have something he felt was worth protecting just yet did he?

More than anything else at the moment, he wished he knew what was going on in his head; he didn't stop thinking about it even after the vision faded and they were back in a bright sunny day by the shore.

"OHHH!" Chopper called out happily, watching Naguri cut a rope to release a ramp. With a great crash, the ship slid down the slope and into the sea.

"Alright it's done!" Luffy yelled out happily.

"Not bad," Franky said, smiling as he pressed his nose down to create his old shark-fin hairstyle, "For a bunch of amateurs."

Sabo laughed, grinning proudly. "You did it, Naguri!"

"Awesome!" Luffy called excitedly as he jumped up and down. "This is so cool!"

"I owe it all to you," Naguri called, now beaming like they had never seen before. "Thank you. I'm really grateful to you all."

"It must've been hard to work on that alone," Nami said, before realizing why this all seemed so familiar. Not long after they left Alabasta, they ended up coming to an island where an old man lived all alone with his goats.

"Zenny!" she called out at once and they all looked at her.

"Zenny?" Brook repeated in confusion.

"I thought this all felt like déjà vu," she said thoughtfully. "Zenny the money-lender! Or I guess it would be Zenny the pirate now."

"What are you all talking about?" Franky asked.

"I remember," Robin said, thinking back, "Not long after I joined, and before we went to Sky Island, we met an old man who washed ashore an island and lived there alone for about twenty years with his goats."

"Twenty years?" Brook repeated in surprise.

"I know him!" Chopper called out, pleased that he remembered, as the boys continued to admire the ship. "He said that he wanted to be a pirate but he was too old to do that."

"But he shouldn't have let that stop him," Brook said softly, thinking it over.

"That's just what Luffy said to him. I was just thinking of what Naguri said about how his age didn't mean anything when it came to dreams," Nami said smiling softly at the memory, "I thought if sounded familiar. Luffy used those same words when Zenny said that he was too old to set sail."

"You think he was thinking about Naguri?" Sanji asked her.

"I think that maybe the old man was part of his inspiration to how you should live your life the way that you want to," Robin smiled.

"I hope that Zenny's doing alright," Chopper said softly, remembering how weak the old pirate's heart was when they said goodbye.

"I'm sure he's just fine," Usopp said confidently. "He was a touch old geezer, and I'm sure that we'll meet up with him again."

"You think?" Chopper asked, still looking worried, but he was smiling now.

"Yohoho, sounds like a plan to me!" Brook said happily.

"Hey, Naguri," Sabo called. "Are you going to set sail now?"

"Yeah, are you?" Chopper cried out, forgetting again that he couldn't hear him.

"Yes…" Naguri answered, before thinking it over for a brief second. "But first… I have to see your training through all the way to the end!" They all looked at him in confusion. "Today, we'll start the long awaited great tiger hunt, noshi!"

"Oh, we get to watch a tiger hunt," Zoro said grinning. "This should be good."

"Think that they'll do it this time?" Usopp asked. "I mean, their last attempt was…"

"Pathetic," Sanji answered for him.

Robin giggled as she said, "I'm sure that it will be exciting no matter what."

"Seriously?!" Sabo called excitedly.

"I'll definitely win!" Ace declared. "Then I'll be done with this lousy training!"

"I'll be the one who wins!" Sabo argued with him

"I won't lose!" Luffy yelled.

"Fat chance," Sanji kidded and soon enough, the memory disappeared until they were all standing outside the forest, staring into the darkness of the trees. "Here it comes," Sabo had just said. And sure enough, there he was…

Eyes glowing gold, knocking over trees with its large feet… it kept coming closer and closer… the tiger.

"I know that it can't hurt us or anything," Usopp gulped. "But it's still big."

"You aren't afraid are you?" Franky asked teasingly.

"What?" he yelled. "Of course not! I've become a brave warrior of the sea! There's not a foe out there that can stand a chance against me!"

"Shut up! I want to watch this!" Nami called, watching as the tiger came closer to them.

"You heard Nami!" Sanji yelled. "Shut up you morons!"

"You're the moron!" Usopp and Franky yelled.

"You're all morons, so shut up!" Nami screamed, now hitting all three of them to get them to shut up.

"Alright! Now it's time!" called a voice and they looked up to see Naguri there, watching them—and possibly ready to jump in should something happen. The tiger roared and of course, Ace was the first one to charge ahead. The tiger raised its paw and struck at him, "I knew you were gonna do that!" Ace yelled and dodged it in midair as he continued forward and struck it in the face.

The tiger howled with pain as Ace taunted it, "How'd you like that?"

"Well, he's gotten stronger," Usopp cried out eagerly, "Before he couldn't even hurt that thing at all!"

The tiger's tail came around and hit him like a whip so that Ace was flown feet away and landed painfully on the ground. As the tiger went for him, Sabo pulled a fishing rod and used it to wrap its neck up. "You let your guard down!" he called to it, now pulling hard on the pole. "It's my turn now! Just give up and get caught!"

"But it's not a fish…" Brook said anxiously, "He can't just…"

Predictably, the tiger's head pulled its head back and Sabo was launched forward so that he was also struck down like Ace had been.

"Sabo! Ace!" Luffy yelled as he threw a punch at it as it now decided to go after him. This time, he did manage to hit it, but it just bounced back like it was a mosquito bite. The tiger leapt into the air, determined to go after its helpless prey…

"NO!" the Straw Hats all cried out, momentarily forgetting that he obviously makes it out of this mess alive.

"LUFFY!" Ace screamed, jumping back to his feet.

"RUN AWAY!" Sabo called and also ran.

The Straw Hats were halfway towards the tiger when it struck… but in the end, after the dust cleared, the claw didn't even touch Luffy… Ace and Sabo were there, struggling to hold up the great paw to protect him.

"They stopped it!" Usopp cried out triumphantly.

"That's how you do it!" Nami cried out.

"Yeah, but they can't hold it off for long!" Sanji said apprehensively, seeing the stress in the boy's faces as the fought to stay on their feet. "It's too strong!"

"Hey!" Ace called, realizing this too. "You two! Lend me a hand!"

"Now that's a surprised," Zoro said, in an impressed tone. Looks like Ace was finally starting to see it.

"What?" Chopper asked them, looking up at him.

"That's the first time he's ever asked for help," Robin explained smiling.

They all moved out of the way, just in time. Sabo went one way, Luffy and Ace went off in another. "We're not fast enough to take him down on our own," he said as they ran, "But Luffy, with your ability, we might be able to beat it." As Luffy nodded, Ace hollered over his shoulder, "Sabo! I'm counting on you!"

"What are they planning?" Usopp called, now lost.

"The only way they can hope to beat it…" Zoro answered simply.

"Is to work together!" Brook finished for him, remembering with pride how they all worked together to take out Oz at Thriller Bark.

"Right!" Sabo called back, turning and began taunting the tiger to come to him.

"Is he crazy?" Nami yelled.

"Can't be helped," Sanji said. "They need a distraction."

"Luffy!" Ace's voice called again and they looked to see that Luffy had grabbed hold of a couple trees and was pulling back. "Pull back as far as you can!" Ace commanded before yelling to Sabo, "Sabo! This way!"

"You don't need to tell me twice!" Sabo yelled and he sprinted towards them.

"Lure him in as close as you can!" Ace called and went back to Luffy.

"I get it now," Zoro said grinning. Predictably, it was Usopp who said what it was they were planning.

"A slingshot!" Usopp grinned as Luffy went back as far as he could go with Ace in front of him, getting ready to launch. They waited as Sabo came closer and closer… gasping for breath.

"He won't make it!" Franky called fearfully.

"Yes, he will!" Usopp countered excitedly.

"Gum Gum…" Luffy began before his body snapped back like a slingshot and launched Ace forward with extra speed and force; with Ace finishing the attack, "ROCKET!"

They all blinked in surprise to see the familiar attack, and with the extra push that Luffy gave him; Ace was strong enough to beat the tiger. Crashing into its head, and crushing its neck. For a moment, it stood there—a stunned look on its face—and then with a giant crash, it fell backwards and hit the ground… where it didn't move.

"THEY DID IT!" Chopper yelled as the tiger's eyes rolled back and he lay there motionless.

"WE DID IT!" all three of them yelled, punching the air ecstatically.

"So that's how that attack was thought up," Robin giggled as the three danced around, celebrating their victory, "Well, I think that was the first successful attack Luffy was able to pull off."

"That explains a lot," Franky said with a laugh.

But then the smiles on Sabo's and Luffy's faces faded as it sunk in to what just happened. "So I guess… that makes Ace the captain, huh?" Sabo asked slowly.

"I trained so hard to!" Luffy yelled out upset.

Sabo clapped him on the shoulder, "Just give it up, Luffy."

"But that's not what happened," Brook pointed out confused.

"It's alright," Zoro said, still looking at Ace, who was looking as if he didn't know what he was supposed to say. And then…

"Sheesh, don't worry about it," Ace said, running a hand through his hair. "I won't become the captain."

They both looked shocked and asked, "Why not?"

"It's not like I defeated the Tiger Lord on my own," he said, turning away, now sounding uncomfortable.

"But he was so keen on being the captain before…?" Chopper said slowly, not understanding.

"I think he felt that he didn't deserve it," Sanji stated. "Like he said, he didn't beat the tiger on his own. But he's alright with it."

"Ace," Sabo smiled.

"Well, whatever," Ace said coolly. "Someday you two are going to be begging me to be your captain anyway."

"You gonna beg?" Sabo asked Luffy.

"Never," Luffy answered happily.

"YOU JERKS!" Ace yelled and suddenly they were fighting.

"Ah, brothers," Franky said fondly as some of the others laughed.

"Good to see that they're back to normal," Usopp laughed.

Ace looked up in time to see Naguri leaving. "Old man!" he yelled up, Naguri looked back. "The next time we meet up, I'll win! Don't let anyone beat you until then!"

"See ya!" Luffy yelled, waving merrily up at him.

"Take care, okay?" Sabo agreed.

Naguri didn't move for a moment before he smirked. "I'll be waiting for you at sea, noshi."

He then pulled off his cloak and tied it to his hammer.

Chopper gasped in awe, "It's a flag!"

And so it was… his old pirate flag of two hammers for crossbones and a fist for a skull. He held it high and proud… his way of saying goodbye.

"This is all getting to be amazing!" Usopp cried out as they stared up at the flag of the Naguri pirates. "Even after all these years, he still held onto that flag as his treasure!"

"I hope he found his crew!" Chopper said smiling as this memory faded away.

"Something tells me he did," Robin agreed, her own heart feeling warm at the thought, "he may have been old, but he had a lot of heart and wasn't afraid to chase his dream."

"Think we'll run into him someday?" Nami asked, "Him and Zenny?"

"Hard to say," Zoro replied.

"I hope so!" Franky cried out in determination. "I'd love to meet such a SUPER person!"

"I say, if we're destined to meet up, then we will," Brook said as the darkness faded away so that they were back outside the boy's hideout. But unlike most times, where it had been bright and sunny, it was now dark and a strong wind was threatening to blow them away. Ace was at the wheel, "Here it comes!" he cried out, as if they were at sea in the middle of a storm. "The storm is coming!"

"If you're gonna come, then bring it on!" Sabo cried out a challenge at the sky. "Blow stronger!"

"Now he really should be more careful," Robin said in amusement. "Never mess with Mother Nature… believe me, mothers can have a cruel side too."

Luffy was up in the Crow's Nest, clinging to the flag, watching it all, "Awesome!" he yelled with laughter ringing over the wind. "It keeps picking up!"

"Luffy!" Ace yelled from below. "Don't let the flag be blown off!"

"Yeah!" Sabo agreed. "Losing your flag is the ultimate disgrace for a pirate!"

"Oh, so that's why he's so protective of that flag?" Nami asked.

"Well, it is true," Robin said. "For a pirate, it is considered to be no greater disgrace than to lose the flag. All those that sail under a jolly roger are supposed to show respect for their chosen flag and honor it always as it represents the crew itself. Once the flag is gone, the crew can no longer sail under it and therefore everything linked with the flag is gone."

"Really?" Chopper said, thinking of when their flag was stolen.

"Yep," Zoro said with a nod, "And I think I rather die than live in disgrace like that."

"Alright! I got it!" Luffy called down. "Now… come at us, strong gust of wind!"

"Show us what you've got, great storm!" Ace challenged out.

"Bring it on, jerk!" Sabo finished, and that must've been when Mother Nature lost her temper. At that moment, a great gust of wind really did come, blowing Luffy out of the crow's nest and as he hung on tightly, his rubbery arms stretching out.

"Help me!" he shouted as his brothers came running over to see.

"What are you doing, Luffy?" Ace called before they both laughed.

"Don't just laugh!" Luffy yelled, looking scared. "Pull me in!"

But on they kept laughing… the Straw Hats all joining in as well.

"Like I said," Robin laughed as they heaved Luffy inside the safety of the treehouse, "Mothers can be cruel."

"Looks like they learned that the hard way," Franky added, tears of laughter in his own eyes.

"But what is the point in us seeing this part?" Sanji asked as the memory faded away again, eventually reappearing with the sun out and the three boys were heading in the direction of the Gray Terminal. And judging from the broken branches and the layer of rainwater around them, it looked as if this was the next morning. But really, what was so important about seeing that storm?

"That was amazing!" Luffy exclaimed with a giggle, skipping along, picking up a piece of a broken branch and waved it around. "We made it through the storm!"

Sabo sighed. "Yeah, but our base was wrecked though."

Ace shrugged, unconcerned and said, "It's not that big a deal. We just need to get some more wood and we can fix it."

"He's unusually cheerful today," Usopp pointed out Ace's optimistic attitude all of a sudden.

"After a fierce storm, it shows you to slow down and enjoy life a little more," Brook said happily, "That shall be part of my newest song!" he then he strummed his guitar and started to sing to himself, "Just when the storm is at its worse…"

"Save it for when we get out of here Brook," Zoro interrupted.

Luffy ran in front of the other two as they walked and turned to face them, walking backwards. "I wanna find a telescope!" he declared.

Ace rolled his eyes. "Dumbass, you think something like that's just going to fall out of the sky?"

"I don't know," Nami commented to herself, "Luffy does usually get what he wants."

"I'm sure that he'll find one somewhere in the Grey Terminal if he looks hard enough," Sanji said. "Those bastard nobles seem to throw out everything. I'm sure there's a telescope or five out there somewhere…"

Sabo chuckled. "In that case, I'd rather find a cannon."

"If a cannon fell out of the sky, that'd be awesome!" Luffy exclaimed with a grin.

"That would be," Franky said happily, thinking that over.

"Unless it hits you and breaks your head open," Robin said and so that Brook and the 'Weakling Trio' screamed at the mental image.

The three boys laughed loudly, as they stepped into Gray Terminal and began rummaging through the mountains of garbage, looking for anything useable.

"Man, I still can't understand why Luffy would be keeping Sabo a secret," Usopp said, watching them all search. "I mean… this is something really special. You think that he would want to tell us all about his brothers."

"That's what's been bothering me," Nami said softly, biting down on her thumb, suddenly uneasy again. "It doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't Nami-san?" Brook asked.

"Just what Usopp said earlier about Sabo being a surprise if we meet him out here on the seas," Nami elaborated.

"What about it?" Usopp asked her. "What? You don't think that we'll meet him?"

"Well, when you think about it, that theory did sound plausible," Nami explained as Luffy kept shifting through the garbage, "I mean, that's what happened when we met Ace after all… but…"

"But what?" Chopper asked not seeing what the problem was.

"But the thing that doesn't add up is that we met Ace," Zoro finished for her. "We've seen the two of them together, but neither one of them ever mentioned Sabo. Why is that?"

"Luffy might not have ever mentioned them, but you think that Ace would've said something about there being another brother," Sanji added. "But they never did."

"It's been bothering me all this time," Nami said frowning.

"I'm sure that there's a reason," Usopp said slowly. "Maybe Ace was in on the secret too and…?"

"I know that I never had the pleasure to meet Ace like most of you," Robin interrupted, "But I have to agree. Something doesn't seem right here. I also remember what Garp said back at Water 7. Or rather what he didn't say."

"And what's that, Robin-san?" Brook asked confused.

"Just that he left Luffy and Ace with a close friend to continue their training, but he never mentioned Sabo either," she said, frowning in thought. "It's like he never existed or something."

"What are you saying?" Usopp said, pointing to the boys. "Sabo clearly exists! Unless… this isn't really Luffy's memories?"

"Oh, I'm sure they are," Robin disagreed. "I'm not saying that Sabo never existed, I'm just saying that so far in the present, no one's mentioned him, and that's not normal."

They stayed silent for awhile, watching the three of them continue to search; Sabo went off a little ways ahead to find more wood as Luffy continued to look for his telescope.

"You guys…" Usopp said softly, not liking where this conversation was going. "What are you saying? You don't think… you don't think something happened to Sabo do you?"

"We aren't saying anything like that," Sanji said slowly, "Just that we're something important missing here."

"If the three of them were all that close, you think we would've heard about him at least once," Nami finally sighed. "I don't know, I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Well, what then?" Chopper asked, "You think that Sabo gave up on his dream or something?"

But before they could answer him, Luffy threw aside some more junk and whined to Ace, "It's no use, Ace, I can't find a telescope."

"Luffy," Ace groaned, picking up some scraps of wood as he spoke, "Why are you looking for a telescope? Go find some useable wood instead."

"You really think that he'll listen?" Zoro asked sarcastically.

"But Ace…" Luffy whined loudly before Ace sighed.

"Whatever," he grunted. "Let's go find Sabo; maybe he found something."

"You know, just wishing for something isn't going to help him find a telescope any faster," Sanji commented.

"Doesn't stop him from trying," Zoro answered. But even as they followed after the boys, he got that uneasy feeling as well. And he couldn't help but feel it get worse with every step he took as they continued looking for Sabo.

*Earlier*

Luffy had walked through the dark wall and the next thing he knew was that he was suddenly blinking in the bright sunlight. This wasn't what he expected… he blinked several times as he quickly adjusted to the light.

"Well," he said to himself, "At least I'm out of that dark cave. It was starting to get boring."

He looked around the clearing in the forest, but that was when he noticed something strange. It all looked strangely… familiar. As he walked forward, glancing around, and he suddenly realized where he was and he felt as if all the air in his lungs had disappeared. He stared at what he saw… it was the old training sight.

He remembered the last time he saw this place—over two years ago. The morning that he left Dawn Island, he stopped by here for one final training session by himself before he said goodbye to the bandits and headed down to the village.

It looked exactly as it did that day. This place had always been so special to him—this was the very same place where he used to fight and train with his brothers.

Walking around, he stared at everything… it was just as he remembered it. The wide clearing that was surrounded by trees on all sides while the pipe staffs that they had when they were kids, now covered with rust, were leaning up against the biggest trunk. The scoreboard that they used to keep track of their matches was still there, still worn out and the chalk almost completely faded from the old wood, and even the familiar rock that he once destroyed when he finally perfected his Gum Gum Pistol.

If he had thought about it, he might've wondered how he was here. But he smiled sadly as he walked over and placed his hand on the scoreboard, tracing the chalk gently as he thought back to those happy days.

"That's not like you," said a hauntingly familiar voice behind him that made Luffy freeze, "To be so lost in thought, eh, Luffy?"

Feeling as if his heart was being squeezed tightly, he spun around to see him again. Like in the dream he had before… Ace was there, leaning up against a tree, watching him, with that same big grin on his face. His eyes shone brightly as he looked at him, his finger a single burning flame as he tilted his hat up to look at him.

"You're here a lot sooner than I thought you'd be," he said, smiling brightly. "But good thing that it's only temporary. You aren't supposed to be here just yet… little brother."

Luffy stared at him, unable to speak as he slowly stumbled over to him. "A-Ace?" he croaked out, as if afraid that he would disappear if he spoke too loudly.

Ace grinned a little wider. "The one and only."

"This can't be real," Luffy croaked out, shaking his head hard. "You're… you're supposed to be…?"

"Dead?" Ace asked brightly, pushing himself up from the tree and walking over to him, poking Luffy's forehead. And unlike his dreams—or rather his nightmares—this time Luffy could feel it… he could feel his brother's finger poking at him.

"I am," Ace confessed.