Brothers in Battle:

-x-

"Get everything stowed!" Nami ordered. The Straw Hats had made it back to the Going Merry and were getting it ready to cast off. "We're shoving off right way!"

"Aye-aye!" Usopp replied, as he, Sanji, Zoro, and Carue attempted to put away all the supplies they'd bought in Nanohana.

"But it took us so long to finally get here," Chopper pointed out as he followed Vivi down a set of steps, both of them were carrying large sacks of supplies. "And now we're leaving already?"

"Yes," Vivi answered, "but remember, we only stopped here to get the supplies we needed for the rest of the journey. And now that we have all of them we're going to head up river into the interior of Alabasta. Our next destination is Erumalu."

"HURRY!" Zoro urged the others as they hurried to get everything stored and the ship ready to set off, he raised the anchor while Sanji dropped the main sail, Usopp ran into the galley and took hold of the whipstaff.

"SET SAIL!" Nami commanded as she took her place standing on the deck outside the galley so she could properly navigate the ship.

"What about Luffy and Y/N?" Usopp asked. The Captain and First Mate were still absent.

"Our first priority should be to protect the ship," Nami reminded him. "If the Marines spot it, they'll destroy it so we can't escape. Either Y/N will lead Luffy to us or we can go back and get them once the commotion has died down."

"That idiot," Sanji muttered, "why'd he have run off and create such a huge commotion?"

"He's got Y/N with him," Zoro pointed out, "and Y/N's spent most of his life trying to keep that idiot out of trouble. Helping him escape some Marines should be easy enough, especially with those three Whitebeard Pirates in the town too."

And with that, the Going Merry set off without its captain or first mate.

-x-

Luffy, Y/N, Ace, Han, and Ollie stood in the alley having triumphed over Captain Smoker, Lieutenant Devo, and twenty-eight other Marines.

"Uuuggghhh..." Y/N groaned and collapsed to the ground. The other four rushed over to him in time to see him pulling the four five hundred kilograms bands off of him. "I ran all the way across town lugging two thousand kilograms with me."

"Since when do you use the metric system?" Ollie asked.

"A friend made them for me and two of my other Nakama to help our training," Y/N explained to his old Nakama, "She has Devil Fruit Powers that let her manipulate weight and she measures in kilograms."

"Rest up, kid," Han advised, "I'll hold onto them for you." Han picked up the weights with ease and slipped them on his arms. Ollie hefted his money bag onto her shoulder and slid it around to her back along with her quiver of arrows.

"Luffy," Y/N said to his younger brother, "these two are Han King and Ollie Queen my former Nakama. Han, Ollie, this is Luffy my younger brother and current captain, Monkey D. Luffy."

"Nice to meet ya," Luffy replied, he looked over at Ace and beamed, "HIYA ACE!"

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Ace commented.

"You could say that," Luffy agreed. "How many years has it been?"

"Three for you, one for me," Y/N informed him.

"It's good to see that you're not dead," Ace said, he seemed pleased to see his other younger brother but at the same time gave him a pointed look that said 'explain'.

"I was in a bad place for a long time," Y/N explained vaguely. "If you come back to the ship with us I'll explain where I've been all this time. This place is too public for that conversation."

Ace nodded before asking, "Can you walk?"

To find out for himself, Y/N slowly pushed himself up to his feet but staggered when he felt his overexerted body failing him. Ace caught him and carefully set him down so he was sitting on the ground. "I think I'll need a minute or two to recover," Y/N noted.

"Rest up for a little bit," Ace instructed, "we'll go after your crew when you've recovered enough to walk under your own power."

Y/N nodded and slid backwards until he was sitting against a wall. Han and Ollie came over and sat down beside him. Ace and Luffy grabbed a nearby barrel and started arm wrestling on it.

"You haven't changed much," Ace stated as he eyed Luffy while trying to force his arm down on the barrel. "You've gotten a little taller but your pretty much look the same. Y/N, on the other hand, cut his hair and lost an eye, he's changed."

"In my defense, I had my eye cut out by a madman," Y/N pointed out.

"Hey Ace," Luffy grunted as he attempted to force Ace's arm down onto the barrel, "remember how you used to sneak into the fields... eat a hundred watermelons... spit the seeds out like a gatling gun... and run away?"

"That wasn't me... it was you!" Ace objected as he began overpowering Luffy and pushed their arms upright and then began forced Luffy's arm backwards.

"How 'bout the time... we disguised ourselves... and tricked that guy into giving us... lunch money... for a bunch of... garbage that we found?" Luffy said as he recalled another 'memory'. Both his and Ace's face were turning red for exertion.

"THAT WAS Y/N AND SABO!" Ace exclaimed.

"Guilty as charged," Y/N admitted to Han and Ollie. "I rode on Sabo's shoulders with his hat on my head, we wore a big trench coat and I convinced the guy that a chunk of a broken statue we found was a priceless artifact worth two million berries."

Y/N slid up the wall to his feet and leaned shakily against the wall, he pushed off of it and slowly walked over to the barrel and kicked it. THWAK! SPLOOOSH! The barrel burst and the water inside came flying out leaving Ace and Luffy standing there with their hands clasped.

"It's a tie," Y/N announced as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Shishishi, just like old times," Luffy laughed.

"So where's your crew?" Ace inquired.

Y/N closed his eyes and sensed for the treasure he had stored on the ship and found that it was moving. "They made it back to the ship and set off," Y/N reported, "if we cut through town and start heading west we should be able to catch up with them."

"Our ship is in the same direction," Han informed him. "If we don't catch up with your ship we can always use ours to catch it."

"Then let's go," Ace decided, he led the way out of the alley with Luffy walking beside him and Han following behind them. Ollie watched as Y/N put his shemagh back on and replaced his sunglasses and the two of them followed behind the other three.

As the five pirates began to make their way through the town and a man with a big bushy brown beard wearing a white sailor cap watched them walked passed while hidden in the crowd. "That's 'Fire Fist' Ace," the man whispered to himself as he recognized Ace by the tattoo on is back depicting the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates. The man turned and ran off to tell someone what he had just witnessed.

-x-

Out at the shore, a ship marked with the signature blue seagull of the marines and the word 'Smoker' on the rolled up main sail was dead quiet. All the ship had been abandoned so the crew could achieve their objective of capturing the Straw Hat Pirates. The only person on board the ship was Mr. 11 who was still tied to the mast as a captured prisoner of Captain Smoker.

"Something big must be going on in town," Mr. 11 noted, "all the Marines on board wouldn't have left me and the ship unattended like this if there wasn't." The frontier agent chuckled to himself, "Ha ha, oh well, whatever it is it's given me a perfect opportunity to escape."

"Mr. 11," came a voice. The agent looked up to see three men standing on the upper deck.

"Since you know my codename that can only mean that the three of you are with Baroque Works," Mr. 11 reasoned, "I'd guess Millions. HURRY UP AND UNTIE ME!"

"You're right about one thing," one of the men said, "We're with Baroque Works." He had medium length straight black hair which was under a green hat, a faded red t-shirt with 'Full Fledged' written on it in kanji, a fuzz white scarf, and a pair of blak shorts. This man's codename was Mr. Mellow. (A/N: This is the only Billion actually named. All the others I made up codenames for.)

"But we're in line to become number agents," the second man explained, "We're not Millions, we're Billions." He was fat and had a short scruffy beard. He wore a straw hat on his head, a black and yellow horizontally striped t-shirt, a pink scarf around his neck, and gray shorts. His codename was Mr. Bee.

"You are a number agent," the third man noted, "But it looks like you're barely one at that. A stronger agent would've never been captured by the Marines like this." His man had black hair which was fashioned as a Mohawk, he wore a loose black shirt with a light blue vest over it and a pair of tan shorts. A sword was tied to his back by a piece of rope that went around his chest. His codename was Mr. Mohawk.

"Can we discuss this later?" Mr. 11 snapped. "Like when I'm not tied up maybe? Help another member out before all those Marines come back."

"Ha ha, oh we'll help you alright," Mr. Mellow said. Click! He pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the frontier agent causing him to flinch. The Billion grinned as he continued, "Right off this mortal coil, that is. A Billion can get promoted to a number agent whenever there's seat to fill."

"And your position is about to be emptied..."A large man with long curly black hair, a unibrow, and a short black beard and mustache said in a deep raspy voice as he walked up behind the three Billions. He stood a good two heads taller than the other three and was a large burly man. He wore a tan collared button-up shirt which was undone to reveal his chest hair. Two swords and two spears were sheathed on his back, the red straps of the sheaths crisscrossed across his board chest. His codename was Mr. Unibrow.

"WAIT! NO! HOLD ON!" Mr. 11 pleaded. BANG!

A moment later, the four Billions jumped off of the ship onto the dock when a fifth man came running up to him. It was the man with the bushy beard and the sailor cap, he was a Baroque Works Billion known as Mr. Sailor. He wore bulky gray and blue desert clothing.

"HEEEY!" Mr. Sailor yelled as he ran up to the other four agents. "You won't believe it! 'Fire Fist' Ace is here!"

"What?" Mr. Mellow questioned, "'Fire Fist' Ace?"

"You mean the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates?" Mr. Bee asked.

"Hmm, if we can take someone with his reputation down we're guaranteed to become number agents," Mr. Unibrow reasoned.

-x-

Luffy, Y/N, Ace, Han, and Ollie were walking through a Nanohana alley under a series of clotheslines on their way to the shore.

"So, tell me about your crew," Ace requested as he and Luffy walked together at the front of the group. Y/N, Han, and Ollie followed behind them. "Who are they? What are they like?"

"Well, first there's a tough guy who carries around three swords and wants to be the Greatest Swordsman in the world," Luffy began to list his Nakama. "Then there's a navigator who likes maps, and tangerines, and money. OH! She even managed to..."

WHAP! Y/N surged forward and clamped his hand over Luffy's mouth, "I told you never to speak of it," he growled. He released Luffy, who shared a wide-eyed look with Ace.

Ollie's green eyes narrowed in the darkness of her hood, "What did she do?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it," Y/N waved it off as he fell back in between Ollie and Han.

"There's also a cook who makes really yummy food," Luffy continued, "there's a liar too, oh, and we just got a doctor who happens to be... a reindeer!"

"I actually met your crew earlier..." Han spoke up, "I tracked your reindeer back to where they were hiding out."

"So you were the scary guy..." Y/N realized, "I should've..." Whump! He was cut off when Ollie elbowed him in the side. Y/N looked over at her and she tilted her head towards the rooftops. Y/N looked up out of the corner of his eye and saw armed men lining the rooftops. Down the occasional alley that they passed he saw more armed men lying in wait. Y/N looked over at Han and the Monster Hunter nodded signaling that he'd noticed their pursuers as well.

"Sounds likes you've got a motly crew there," Ace commented, as he and Luffy continued walking oblivious to the Billions lining the alley they were walking through.

"We also have a princess and her giant duck," Luffy added. "Everyone on my crew is so interesting!"

"Sounds like it," Ace agreed, "but I'd wager my two kid brothers are the most interesting of all. But still, only a handful of people for a pirate crew, that's just like you."

"I'm still looking for a musician though," Luffy admitted.

"Stop right there Fire Fist!" Mr. Mellow called out as he and Mr. Bee stepped out of an alley ahead of Ace and Luffy. Twenty Billions flooded out from an alley behind them and separated Luffy and Ace from Y/N, Han, and Ollie. The Billions standing on the rooftops stood up and took aim. There were around seventy of the elite Baroque Works Henchmen surrounding them.

Mr. Unibrow came up behind Mr. Mellow and Mr. Bee. "You've got no place to run, Ace. You're head is mine. It's my ticket to promotion. PREPARE TO DIE!"

-x-

The Going Merry sailed west along the coast of Sandy Island. On board the ship, Chopper looked up at Nami, "Um... is it okay for a ship without its Captain on board?" he inquired.

"The first place the marines are going to look for us is the harbor," Nami explained. "Like I said, our top priority is to hide the ship."

"I know of a secluded cove that's up ahead," Vivi said, "we can anchor the ship there."

"Alright," Sanji resolved as he stood beside Vivi on the deck outside the galley, "so we lay low, let things cool down a bit, and then go back for Luffy and Y/N."

"Good grief," Usopp muttered as he leaned on the whipstaff, "that guy attracts trouble just like a dead guy attracts vultures."

"Yeah," Zoro agreed as he leaned back against the railing on the front deck, "that's the only reliable thing our captain ever does."

-x-

Luffy, Y/N, Ace, Han, and Ollie stood surrounded in an alley way in Nanohana. A group of twenty men surrounded Luffy and Ace while another twenty were around Y/N, Han, and Ollie, fifteen lined the rooftops and were armed with bows and guns, and another twenty were standing behind Mr. Unibrow looking to head the pirates off if they tried to escape.

"It's our lucky day boys," Mr. Unibrow addressed the other Billions. "This'll be easier than shooting fish in a barrel."

"Hey, look at that other guy," Mr. Mohawk pointed out, "Is it just me or does he look kind of like 'Straw Hat' Luffy?"

"Now that you mention it, it is him!" Mr. Sailor realized. "He's worth thirty million berries."

"And then there's the three Whitebeard Pirates behind them," Mr. Bee noted. Y/N's sunglasses and shemagh kept him from behind recognized and his position in between Han and Ollie had the Billion assume that he was a Whitebeard Pirate.

"They can't not give us a promotion after this!" Mr. Mellow exclaimed.

"Well, well, it looks like your lucky day just got luckier," Mr. Unibrow remarked. "That big promotions only a hop, skip, jump and five severed pirate heads away!"

"Anyway, let's go find your ship," Ace said as he and Luffy walked passed Mr. Unibrow as if he wasn't even there.

Y/N, Ollie, and Han took a more concerned approach. Y/N stood back-to-back with Han, Y/N had Akakyuuketsuki drawn while Han pulled two shotguns out from inside his trench coat. Ollie dropped Y/N's bag and stood in between the two with her bow loaded and trained on the Billions lining the roofs.

"HEY!" Mr. Bee shrieked as he and Mr. Mellow whirled around and aimed their guns at Luffy and Ace. "STOP YOU TWO! HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Luffy and Ace kept walking, completely ignoring the twenty armed Billions that were standing in front of them attempting to block their path.

"Grr... you can't walk away from us!" Mr. Unibrow growled. "GET 'EM!"

"RAAAAAHH!" the Billions roared as they began their attack.

"EXPLODING VOLLEY!" Ollie called out as fire a bunch of arrows at the Billions lining the roofs on the left. KA-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! The arrows that didn't blow up on the Billions exploded on the rooftops and sent them flying off onto the ground below. Ollie spun around and took out the rooftop Billions on the right with another stream of arrows. KA-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM! Han fired his shotguns at the men in front of him but instead of exploding they shattered into sharp pieces of metal and embedded into the Billions. KRESSHH! KREESSHH!

"Red Blade... HURRICANE!" Y/N surged forward and took down a bunch of Billions with a spinning slash from his red sword, SLA-SLISH!

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Luffy wondered as he swerved his rubber body around sword swings from the Billions attackng him. SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! He dodged a sword-strike from another Billion and thne jumped up and drove his feet down into his back, WHUMP!

SWISH! THWAK! Ace ducked under another sword strike and took down a Billiosn with a spinning sweep kick.

"HOLD 'IM DOWN!" One Billion shouted as he and bunch of other men dog-piled on top of Luffy and pinned him down to the ground.

WOING! Luffy rubber arms stretched up out of the pile of twenty men on top of him and grabbed one of the laundry lines. SHOOOM! Luffy shot himself up into the air and sent the men flying off in different directions.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Mr. Mellow shouted in alarm. "HIS ARMS STRETCHED OUT!"

"Aw man!" Mr. Bee gasped, "he must have Devil Fruit Powers!"

Luffy hung from the laundry line and the Billions below him opened fired their guns at the dangling pirate. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM! The bullets flew into Luffy's rubber body and stretched it backwards.

"HAVE THESE BACK!" Luffy yelled, "CAUSE I DON'T NEED 'EM!" BA-ZZZIIIING! The bullets bounced off and went flying everywhere, the Billions were either hit with their own ammo or dove for cover. One bullet whizzed right passed Mr. Unibrow's face leaving a thin gash on his cheek.

"RRAAAAAAAHHH!" Mr. Unibrow roared as he drew one of his swords and charged at Luffy swinging his sword as he went. SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! Luffy back-pedaled and dodged the sword-swings. WHAP! Ace stepped in front of Luffy and caught Mr. Unibrow's sword in his bare hand.

WOOOOIIINNNG! Luffy stretched his arms out behind him. "GUUUUM... GUUUUUM..."

"HEADS UP!" Y/N called out, Han and Ollie leapt out of the way to dodge Luffy's extending fists but Y/N sheathed his bloody sword and grabbed onto Luffy's fist

SHOOOOOOOM! Luffy's arms came flying back with Y/N holding onto them.

FWWOOOSH! Ace's hand burst into flame causing the metal blade of Mr. Unibrow's sword to grow red hot. "YAAAAAHH!" the Billion leader yelped as his hands burned on the hot metal.

"RIIIIICKYYYY... CAAAAANNOOOOON!" Luffy ducked down and sent Y/N flying over his head, WHUP! Ace ducked too and Y/N flew over him and slammed metal-boots first into the stomach of Mr. Unibrow, THOOOOM! Mr. Unibrow was sent flying down the alley, out of Nanohana, and off into the desert, his large body disappeared in the horizon. Twinkle!

The Billions were left staring shock at what had happened to their leader.

"Hah-ha, just like old time," Y/N laughed as, Luffy, and Ace stood together in the alley. Without another word the three of them resumed walking and headed for the shore. Ollie and Han shared a surprised look, Ollie picked up Y/N's bag and the two of them hurried after the three brothers.

"DON'T BE SCARED MEN!" Mr. Mellow called out to the remaining Billions.

"Yeah, he's right!" Mr. Bee agreed, "The rank of number agent is riding on this!"

-x-

"HERE WE ARE!" Luffy called out when he spotted the ocean. They walked in between two buildings and down some steps leaving them standing on a stone ledge overlooking the store.

"You see your ship?" Ace inquired.

"If not, ours is actually a little bit west of here," Han stated.

"YOU CAN'T GET AWAY FROM US!" Mr. Mellow shouted as he and the remaining thirty Billions gathered at the top of the steps.

Ace turned to face the Billions, "You clowns just never learn."

"OH! THERE IT IS!" Luffy exclaimed as he spotted the Going Merry sailing passed a ways off the shore. Luffy waved to his crew, "HEY! OVER HERE YOU GUYS! WE'RE HERE!" WOOOOIIINNG! Luffy stretched his arm out over the sea and he grabbed onto the railing of the Going Merry.

"C'mon Y/N!" Luffy said as he grabbed Y/N by the shirt, "GUUUUM... GUUUUMM... ROOOOOCKEEEEET!" SHOOOOOM! Luffy and Y/N went flying over the ledge and rocketed over the ocean towards the Going Merry.

"Luffy, Y/N, you go ahead and we'll..." Ace looked back and realized both his brothers were gone. He looked over at his two Nakama, "Let's make this quick."

"It was nice of them to all stand in a tightly-packed group for us," Ollie remarked.

-x-

"HEY! There's Luffy and Y/N!" Sanji observed when he spotted Luffy's hand on the railing and followed it back to the rubber pirate it was attached to and saw Luffy and Y/N coming flying towards them. Chopper ran over and stared off the ship at the two pirates.

WOOOOINNG! "HEEEY GUYS!" Luffy greeted his crew as he and Y/N came flying over the railing and slammed into Sanji and Chopper, WHAM! The four of them ended up in a heap at Nami and Vivi's feet.

"Sanji! Tony! Are you okay?" Vivi asked in concerned.

"Oh, Luffy and Y/N came back," Usopp noted as he came out of the galley and stared down at the pile of pirates on the deck.

"Yeah, the hard way," Zoro mumbled.

-x-

"FIRE GUN!" FWOOSH! Ace's two index fingers became flames and shot small bullets of fire at the Billions' feet, BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!

While the Billions were dancing to avoid Ace's flaming bullets Han loaded a large round into the cannon-sized gun strapped to his back while Ollie loaded three arrows into her bow.

"MONSTER NET!" SHUUUWUK! A large net exploded out the nozzle of his gun and snared all of the Billions that were conveniently gathered in close quarters in between the two buildings.

"SLEEPING ARROW!" Shunk! Shunk! Shunk! Ollie fired her arrows but instead of hitting the men trapped in the big net, the arrows embedded in the ground around it. Upon impact the arrows released a green gas that flowed into the net and knocked the bound men unconscious.

"Let's get our ship and go after them," Ace resolved as he led the way back to their ship leaving the thirty Billions sleeping while trapped in Han's net.

-x-

"SHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed as he sat up, "SORRY GUYS!"

Sanji grabbed him by the front of his shirt and started shaking him, "Yeah you're sorry!" Sanji snapped, "the sorriest excuse for a Captain that's ever sailed the sea moron!"

"Hey, we're here, aren't we?" Y/N pointed out as he handed Chopper his pink top hat which had been knocked off in the crash.

"At least you're back," Nami resolved, "Now we can get back to the reason we came here."

-x-

Bond Between Brothers:

-x-

"Hey, where's Ace?" Luffy wondered as he got up and stared off the side of the Merry in search for his brother. The rest of the crew was all gathered on the small deck outside the galley.

"You mean you guys ran into him?" Zoro inquired, he looked over at Y/N, "We met that Monster Hunter former crewmate of yours earlier. He mentioned your brother was here."

"And he tried hunting me!" Chopper exclaimed.

Y/N patted Chopper on the back, "Don't worry, I'll set him straight," he assured him.

"I don't see 'em," Luffy commented as he stared towards the shore.

"Wait... you didn't just leave them there did you?" Usopp asked.

"Don't worry, Ace is really strong," Luffy said. "When we were younger, I was never able to beat him in a fight. And this was way back in the days before he had Devil Fruit Powers."

"You mean there's a flesh and blood person that you couldn't beat?" Nami questioned.

"Big brother of a monster is an even bigger monster," Usopp muttered.

"Y/N could beat him sometimes though!" Luffy added.

"Our two older brothers gave us a combined fifty fights against each of them per day," Y/N explained. "Luffy took the first forty and wore them out with his Gum Gum Powers. I'd take over for the last ten. I'd usually lose the few but by the last three fights they'd be exhausted and I'd just be starting to get tired so I could usually capitalize and win those."

"But I bet now I could kick his big butt," Luffy boasted as he leaned back against the railing.

"I'd like to see you try and back that claim up," Zoro retorted.

While they were talking a small carrier ship about half the size of the Going Merry pulled up alongside of them. The ship was made of metal and the deck was flat with a track going through the middle. The ship had moved through the water with the aid of two propellers that were powered by a below-deck motor. The helm of the ship was a small cubicle on the port side of the stern that had a mechanical fishing pole in front of it. In the middle of the starboard side was a metal hatch that led below deck.

Skish! "So... exactly whose butt's getting kicked?" Ace asked as he leapt from the ferry and landed on the railing of the Merry. TMP! Ace landed on top of the railing in a crouch while Luffy was startled and flumped onto the deck.

"Oh, hey Ace!" Luffy greeted his big brother. "This is my Nakama."

"Nice to meet you," Ace said to the Straw Hats with a polite bow, "And thanks for looking after my kid brothers. I know they're a handful."

"Oh no, not at all," the Straw Hats chorused in reply.

"Come on, be honest," Ace prodded them, "this is Luffy and Y/N we're talking about. Just one of them is bad enough. You've gotta deal with the two of 'em. Aren't they a bit of handful?"

"Not at all," the Straw Hats answered in sync.

"You're good people," Ace commented.

"Well, sit down and relax," Sanji offered as he held up an unlit cigarette, "I'm sure you guys have lots of catching up to do. I'll make some tea."

"No," Ace declined, "that's thoughtful, but I wouldn't want to impose." Fwoosh! Ace stuck out his finger and lit Sanji's cigarette for him.

"He's not exactly what I expected," Sanji admitted.

"I'll say," Zoro agreed.

"He's polite, helpful, and gracious," Usopp pointed out, "the polar opposite of Luffy! There's no way they can be brothers!"

"You don't have to be related, or even alike to be brothers," Y/N said. "Right Chopper?"

"Right!" the reindeer chirped.

"Still," Usopp insisted, "I wish I had a wonderful brother like that."

"Brother?" Sanji repeated, "I wish I had a wonderful Captain like that."

"Sanji!" Vivi scolded him, "He's kidding."

"SEE! I told you they were interesting!" Luffy reminded Ace while sporting a big giddy smile.

"You guys haven't seen Ace passed out with his face buried in a plate of food," Ollie's voice cut in. The Straw Hats looked over at the main deck and saw her leaning against the main deck, she'd jumped on board their ship while the Straw Hats were distracted with Ace. "And you've never had to deal with Ace running out on a food bill."

Ollie lowered her hood and waved to the Straw Hats, "Greetings all, I'm Ollie," she introduced herself, "Y/N's former crewmate."

"IT'S A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU MISS. OLLIE!" Sanji swooned upon confirming that she was indeed a woman. The bulky green cloak made her seem androgynous.

"Whoa buddy calm down," Ollie advised, "you're embarrassing yourself."

"Heh heh," Zoro chuckled, "I like this one."

"I tied our ship to yours," Ollie informed the Straw Hats while motioning to the rope she'd wrapped around the mast and tied with a hook, the line led back the mechanical fishing rod of the carrier ship. "Hope you don't mind."

"Hey, kid!" Y/N turned around at the sound of Han's voice and nickname for him and saw the monster hunter standing on the deck of the carrier pointing to one of the black hands on his wrist, "Take your weights back. I'm not gonna make the jump while wearing them." Han tossed the first band over to Y/N which he caught and slipped back onto his right ankle.

"Why is he holding your weights?" Nami inquired.

"I overexerted myself running away from the Marines," Y/N explained as he caught the next band and put it on his other ankle. "He held them for me while we caught up with you."

Whap! Nami slapped him on the back of the head, "Idiot," she scolded him. "You shouldn't have pushed yourself that hard. We would've gotten away anyway."

"He pushed himself so he could ensure your and the rest of his Nakama's safety," Ollie pointed out as she glared at Nami. "Since when does that constitute hitting him?"

"Calm down, Ollie," Y/N instructed as he slipped one of the bands on his left wrist. "That's the way Nami is. I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't have to be," Ollie stated.

Y/N shrugged and caught the last band then slipped it on. SKISH! With no more weights holding him down, Han jumped from the carrier and landed on the railing next to Ace. Tmp! Han sat down and raised a hand in greeting to the Straw Hats.

"Hello again," he greeted them.

"Oh right, you've met them," Y/N realized, "that reminds me." Y/N bent down and picked up Chopper. "This is Tony Tony Chopper. He's a reindeer that ate the Human Human Fruit which allows him to transform and do anything a human can. He's our ship doctor and was trained by a witch with over a hundred years' medical experience and a miracle maker who made cherry blossoms bloom in an island of snow. He's going to become a doctor who can cure anything. And, he's my new little brother. So no more hunting him."

"Y/N, he's..." Ollie attempted to point out.

"Gonna be the greatest doctor in the world," Y/N interrupted.

Han smiled and shook his head, "Considering what I've seen of your other two brothers, this doesn't surprise me. I promise not to hunt your new brother anymore."

"You always did insist that you were the middle child in our family," Ace commented, "now I guess it's official, although, you're still the only one of us without a hat."

"I'll have you know, that I do have a hat now," Y/N informed him, "Ollie, gimme me bag." Ollie threw Y/N's bag to him and Y/N pulled his black and red cowboy hat out from it. He grinned at Ace and put it on his head. "See? I was just waiting to find the right one. Usopp won a marksmanship challenge which allowed me to win it from Daddy 'the Father' in a bet." Usopp's chest puffed up and he struck a 'cool' pose.

"Good, at least you have one now," Ace resolved before he looked passed Y/N at the rest of the Straw Hats. "Would you mind terribly if we borrowed your galley for a while? Y/N has a story to tell us."

"Go right ahead," Sanji agreed.

"I guess there's no point in putting this off any longer," Y/N reasoned. He turned around and headed for the galley with Ace and Han following him.

Ollie went after them but paused at the doorway, she glanced at Nami and looked her up and down, then smirked and headed into the galley with a shake of her head. THUD! The door slammed shut leaving the four former Spade Pirates alone in the galley.

"What... the hell... was that?" Nami growled as she stared at the closed door, she clenched her fists and stomped down to the main deck and slipped into the storage room.

-x-

"So what's this top secret story?" Ollie asked as they sat at the table in the galley.

"I should probably get Ace and Han caught up with where you are," Y/N pointed out as he took off his sunglasses and set them on the table, revealing his eye patch. "It goes like this: I went with Teach to find a Devil Fruit and brought Thatch along as backup because Teach was acting really weird. I found it of course but Teach let it slip that it was called the Dark Dark Fruit. Thatch was uneasy about it and wanted to show it to Pops before anyone ate it. Teach didn't like that so he killed Thatch to get it. I was holding the chest that held the fruit and witnessed the whole thing. Teach found me offered to let me join the crew he was planning on forming called the Blackbeard Pirates. I refused and kicked some of his teeth down his throat in response and then ran for it. Teach managed to catch me and proceeded to beat the ever-loving crap out of me when I doubted his dream of becoming King of the Pirates. He cut my eye out in the process and left me for dead."

Y/N paused and raised his eye patch to show the 'x' shaped scar to Ace and Han. Fwooosh... Ace's fists burned in barely restrained anger.

Y/N covered his eye and continued, "When I woke up, I sensed another dark treasure hidden somewhere on the island. I was stranded on a strange island with nothing else to do so I went to find it. I did. It was down a deep hole in the same chamber I found the Dark Dark Fruit in, it felt like I was climbing down to hell itself. In a small chamber at the bottom of the hole I found a blood red chest and inside it... was a red eye."

"Y/N... NO!" Ollie gasped, when she realized where this was going. Ace's fists were clenched as he stared hard at Y/N.

"I lost an eye and found one," Y/N explained, "It seemed like I was meant to have it. I put the eye in and it started talking to me and told me about its powers of telekinesis, telepathy, and enhanced vision. I was still emotionally distraught over Teach's Nakamacide... I wasn't thinking straight. The eye is pure evil and it used its powers to control my body. I didn't know what was happening until it was too late. My last few seconds of control were spent trying to keep the eye from murdering Shane. I failed. It killed Shane and I could do nothing but watch as it went on a murderous rampage as Red Eye."

Y/N raised his eye patch again but this time he opened his right eye to reveal the Eye of the Devil to his older brother and former Nakama. Y/N quickly lowered the eye patch again and once again covered the eye.

"After almost a year in my own personal hell, I managed to get free," Y/N said. "I took advantage of the eye's low alcohol tolerance by getting wasted at the Baratie and covering it with an eye patch. You see, it doesn't work when it's covered. I staged Red Eye's death and slipped out through the hole I blew in the wall. I made it to Shell Town and spent a month there recovering from the emotional trauma I had been through and relearning who I was. Luffy recruited me as his first mate just as we always planned and worked together to free Zoro from the Marines."

Y/N wordlessly got up from the table and walked over to the whipstaff, he jumped up and then drove his feet down on the floor as he came down. WHOMP! The added two thousand kilograms of weight made Y/N hit the floor hard and made the resulting sound louder, thus earning a started yelp from someone in the storage room below them.

"NAMI! Quit eavesdropping!" Y/N called down through the floor.

"You never said it was a private conversation!" Nami's muffled voice argued through the floor, "And you were telling them things I already know!"

"Well I'm telling you now!" Y/N snapped. "This is a private conversation between me and my former Nakama. If you don't want me to lose all respect for you, honor the fact that I caught you listening and stop doing it."

WHAM! The door to the storage room slammed as Nami stomped out, Y/N peeked through the window in the galley door to confirm that Nami actually had left the storage room and her glaring at him through the window while standing out in the middle of the main deck with her arms folded across her chest.

Y/N shook his head and turned back to Ace, Han, and Ollie. Han grinned, "Sounds like you've got a little spitfire there, kid," he remarked.

"Ugghh... You have no idea," Y/N groaned, "that girl's gonna be the death of me." He sat back down at the table and noted that Ace was smiling and Ollie was frowning.

"I'm happy to see you've recovered from such a traumatic experience," Ace commented. "I know you'd never kill anyone without a reason. I must've been horrible for you to have to go through that. But now that you know what the eye can do, I know you won't let it control you again. Your will's too strong."

"I actually managed to fight off the Eye's control for twenty minutes while I flew halfway up the side of one of the Drum Rockies," Y/N informed him.

"See, knew it," Ace insisted, "You'll eventually take control of the eye. But for now, I'm happy that you're still alive."

"Although," Ollie added, "would it have killed you to send us a message saying you were okay?"

"If I had you guys would've set off to find me, right?" Y/N inquired. The trio nodded. "I wasn't ready to see you guys again after everything I'd seen myself do. My Nakama out there helped me come to terms with the fact that the only thing I did wrong was put in the eye."

"I would've done the same thing in your shoes, kid," Han admitted, "You lost an eye and found a new one, it would've seemed convenient. But it still would've been nice to know you were okay, then Ollie wouldn't have spent so much time drinking herself to death." Ollie glared at Han but flinched when Y/N gave her a hard look.

"So I die and you just give up on everything, huh?" Y/N questioned.

"My best friend went off and DIED!" Ollie defended herself, "What did you want me to do?"

"I would've wanted you to live the adventure-filled life you always dreamed of having," Y/N told her. "If I had died and you did end up drinking yourself to death, I would've kicked your ass if I found out you spent the rest of your life drowning yourself in booze."

"I was mourning," Ollie said in a quiet voice. "I missed you."

"She took it the worst," Han informed him, "Old Man Whitebeard was really pissed. He personally led Division Two in an attack on Marine Base G-5. We used it as an opportunity to vent our frustrations." Han shook his head, "Poor bastards still haven't recovered from it."

"Why did Pops lead Division Two?" Y/N asked while staring at the Division Two Commander.

"Ace has been hunting your murderer for the last year," Han explained. "This is actually the first time Ollie and I have seen him since it happened."

"You're being awfully loose-lipped today," Ace said with an irritated look at Han.

The monster hunter shrugged, "Someone's gotta fill the kid in on what we've been up to."

Ace looked over at Y/N, "And someone's gotta bring Blackbeard to justice."

Y/N nodded, "Just... be careful, okay?" he requested. "If he committed Nakamacide to get that Devil Fruit it's no doubt powerful. And now he's probably formed a pirate crew with a handful of fate-junkies like him."

"I heard a rumor that Blackbeard was cited in a place called 'Yuba'," Ace informed him. "That's why I' m here in Alabasta. These two came along hoping to you'd land here."

"Yuba?" Y/N repeated, "I think that's where Vivi said we were heading."

"Y/N!" Usopp suddenly screamed through the door, "WE'VE GOT A BIG PROBLEM!"

Y/N stood up, "Duty calls," he announced as he headed for the door, Ace, Han, and Ollie got up and followed him. "What's the problem?"

"Oh, I don't know," Usopp replied sarcastically before jabbing his finger out in front of the boat, "HOW 'BOUT THAT!" Up ahead of them was a blockade of five galleons each of the sails bore the symbol of Baroque Works.

"THOSE ARE THE BILLIONS' SHIPS!" Vivi exclaimed.

"Aww... those guys again?" Luffy complained.

"Looks like they woke up from their nap," Ollie observed.

-x-

"ARE WE GONNA LET THEM ESCAPE FROM THE BILLIONS?" Mr. Mellow called out to the Billions as he struck a heroic pose on the top deck of the battleship he was in command of.

"NO WAY!" the Billions chorused as they ran around the deck and prepared for battle.

"WE'LL SHOW THEM WHAT BAROQUE WORKS BILLIONS ARE MADE OF!" Mr. Bee announced, "FULL SPEED AHEAD!"

-x-

"Leave it to me," Ace volunteered, "I'll handle it." Ace, Han, and Ollie leapt from the Merry to their carrier boat. Ace jumped onto a small raft-like boat that was resting in the track running through the middle of the carrier's deck. Ollie took the helm and pulled a lever, SHUNK! A metal paddle shot out of the track behind the raft. Han turned a crank by the bow and lowered the railing lining the front of the ship until it was below the deck. Chuka-chuka-CHUNK!

"RAILING'S CLEAR!" Han announced.

"LAUNCHING!" Ollie exclaimed as she pushed the lever she'd pulled back the other way, SHOOOOM! The metal paddle flew through the track and launched the raft Ace was standing on off the front of the ship.

"WHOOOOOAAA!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper all gasped as they saw Ace land in the water on his one-man boat, SPLOOSH!

"Our shipwright Deuce made that ship for the sole purpose of launching the one Ace is on," Y/N explained. "The one Ace is riding is called the Striker, it's designed to run on Ace's Flame Flame Fruit Powers."

"Is he really going all by himself in that dinky boat?" Nami asked.

"I wouldn't worry about him," Zoro stated, "they don't make just anyone a Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."

The Striker was the size of a canoe, the bow of the raft was bent upward making it the shape of half a crescent. The top of the boat was painted yellow while the bottom was dark. Ace stood in a trench in front of a hollow tube, on top of the tube was a mast with a single sail, coming out of the side were two paddle wheels, and coming out from the back was a metal engine.

FWOOOOSH! Ace's feet burst into flames the fire was channeled through the tube and powered the paddle wheels and the engine. WHHRRR... WHHRRR... WHRRRR! Ace slipped his hands in his pockets as he surfed towards the five Baroque Works Battleships.

"FIRE FIST IS HEADING RIGHT TOWARDS US!" Mr. Mohawk observed as he, Mr. Mellow, and Mr. Bee took charge on the lead battleship, the other four were all following in their wake.

"LET HIM COME!" Mr. Mellow ordered, "Our ships will make matchsticks out of his!"

SKISH! Ace launched himself off of the Striker and into the air but as Ace went up, the ship went down and started sailing under the line of battleships. SHOOO! Ace flew over the first battleship causing the Billions to stare up at him in surprise. FWOOOOSH! Ace's legs ignited and the torrent of flames rocketed him over the other four battleships in the line.

"BLOW HIM TO PIECES MEN!" Mr. Bee ordered.

"HE'LL SINK LIKE AN ANCHOR ONCE HE HITS THE WATER!" Mr. Mellow called out.

SPLISH! The Striker popped up out of the water behind the line of battleships and Ace landed safely on top of it, TMP!

FWOOOSH! Ace's right fist became a ball of hot flames, he pulled it back and then lashed out for punch. "FIIIIIREEE... FIIIIIIISSST!" FWWWOOOOOOM! A column of flames burst out from his fist and plowed through the first battleship. BOOOOM! The powerful torrent of flames kept going and burst through the next battleship and kept going through the line until the intense flames engulfed the entire line of ships, BOOOM-BOOOOM-BOOOOM-BOOOOM!

The flames died down until they were only on Ace's fist. He stood on the Striker and adjusted the brim of his orange hat with the tip of his flaming index finger and grinned at the wreckage. He'd reduced the five battleships into nothing but flaming kindling with just one attack.

"And that is why we call him 'Fire Fist'," Y/N informed the Straw Hats.

"WHOOOOAAA!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper exclaimed with stars in their eyes, "SO COOL!"

-x-

In the middle of the Nanohana town square, Smoker had finally regained consciousness and was sitting on a low stone attempted to ignore the smell of the potent perfume that he'd been infused with. Lieutenant Devo sat next to him and was having his ribs bandaged, he'd been found out cold in the town east of Nanohana called Katorea.

Sergeant Major Tashigi ran over and saluted Smoker, "Captain Smoker, we..." Tashigi trailed off and sniffed the air, "What's that smell?"

"Just deliver your report!" Smoker growled.

"Sir, we've combed the entire city, sir," Tashigi reported. "Straw Hat Luffy and his crew are nowhere to be found."

"Hmph, I didn't expect them to stick around," Smoker grunted. "Damn that Fire Fist. Just when we finally had them cornered he and those other two Whitebeard Pirates showed up."

"I identified one of those pirates as the former King of Spades, Hannibal King," Devo reported, "That makes the woman Olivia Queen the former Queen of Spades. They both joined the Whitebeard Pirates with their then-Captain 'Fire Fist' Ace."

"With the way One Eye and Queen worked together that makes him the former Jack of Spades," Smoker reasoned.

"So One Eye is a former Whitebeard Pirate..." Devo realized, "he's a lot more dangerous than we first thought. Is that why Fire Fist helped him?"

"No, he said Straw Hat and One Eye were both his kid brothers," Smoker recalled. "The three Whitebeard Pirates aren't our primary target."

"CAPTAIN SMOKER!" Petty Officer Masshikaku came running over and saluted the Marine Captain. "I'm sorry sir, but it appears that Mr. 11 was killed on board the ship while we were off searching for the Straw Hats, who we still haven't located yet."

"Call off the search for 'Straw Hat' Luffy," Smoker ordered, "I have a pretty good idea where he's headed. He's after Crocodile, I'm sure of it."

"Why Crocodile?" Tashigi asked. "He's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, a pirate given government approval."

"I find all of the Seven Warlords despicable," Smoker stated, "But Crocodile's the worst."

"But he's an ally of the Marines and the World Government..." Devo pointed out.

"Crocodile may have the powers that be fooled, but not me," Smoker replied, "They're delusional if they think giving him a sanction will make him obey. He's a pirate. There's one thing you two always need to remember: once a pirate always a pirate. They never change. Crocodile will lead us to him, Straw Hat will show up wherever he is and I'm sure we'll find out what's going on when we get there. There'll be no mistake for him, not this time."

-x-

Luffy, Y/N, Chopper, Ace, and Ollie were sitting around the table in the galley.

"So why'd you take our fingernail?" Luffy asked, he and Chopper stared intently at Ollie put the finishing touches on three palm-sized pieces of white paper.

"I'm making something called a Vivre Card," Ollie explained. "It's a special piece of paper made from a person's fingernail that will always point towards them. You're lucky one of my Nakama on the Whitebeard Pirates taught me how to make them." Ollie handed Ace, Y/N, and Luffy their respective Vivre Cards.

Ace tore his in half and gave the pieces to Luffy and Y/N. Luffy did the same but gave the two parts of his to his two older brothers. Y/N tore his into quarters and gave one part to Ace, on part to Luffy, and one to Chopper. The final one was snatched from his hand by Ollie.

Ollie pulled her cloak opened and stuffed Y/N's Vivre Card into the v-cut neck of her shirt, "Consider it my fee," she stated, "and since Ace is on a manhunt, someone from the Whitebeard Pirates should be able to keep track of you."

"I guess you're right," Y/N agreed as he pulled his tool pouch out from his top left pocket and slipped Luffy's Vivre Card in one side and Ace's in the other.

"Whooooaaa..." Chopper gasped as he held his quarter of Y/N's Vivre Card in his hoof and watched as it tugged towards his big brother.

"These Vivre Cards symbolize our bond as brothers," Ace announced, "And now no matter what happens we'll be able to find each other."

Luffy gave an enthusiastic nod, "So these are really important," he realized, "I'll have to find a way to keep 'em safe."

"Luckily, Vivre Cards are fireproof and waterproof," Y/N informed him, "the only thing you have to worry about is if it starts burning up on its own. That means the person's dying." Y/N turned to Chopper, "Can I borrow your stitching needle and some thread? I'll sew your Vivre Cards into your respective hats."

"Oh, good idea," Chopper said, "then we'll never lose 'em." The reindeer got a needle and some thread out of his blue medical bag and handed Y/N his pink top hat and Y/N's Vivre Card. Y/N stitched the paper into the underside of the brim directly under the white 'x' on the front. Next Y/N took Luffy's straw hat and sewed his Vivre Card into one side of the brim and Ace's into the other. Finally, he sewed his and Luffy's Vivre Cards into the brim of Ace's orange hat.

"Hey Luffy, Y/N mentioned that you guys were heading to Yuba," Ace recalled. "Would you mind if we tag along?"

"Oh, is that where we're going?" Luffy questioned, "SURE YOU CAN COME!"

And so, with Ace, Han, and Ollie in tow, the Straw Hats are finally ready to set out for Yuba so Vivi could meet with the rebel army and stop the civil war tearing her country apart.

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!