"I'll check," Zoro says, rapping his knuckles against the deck of the Merry.
"Check?" Run echos. "Zoro, you're small blind, you can't check pre flop. You can call, raise or fold." The swordsman stares at his cards intently for several moments before nodding and tossing a chip into the middle. "Alright. I'll call as well." They sail ever onward towards Alabasta, in infinitely better spirits now that Run has been treated and they've gained a new friend, and doctor. Nami has taken to Chopper nearly as well as Robin, the two of them finding the little reindeer to be absolutely the 'cutest little furball' that they've ever seen. For his part Chopper seems to enjoy the attention, as well as all the excitement involved in setting sail for a new place. Things finally seem to have returned to normal now.
"Try to pay attention to the rules, moss head," complains Sanji, as Usopp deals three cards across the deck between them. "You're slowing down the game."
"Shut up, idiot cook," Zoro tells him. "I don't-"
"Help!" screams Chopper, interrupting Zoro. "It's terrible! It's absolutely terrible! A bird has eaten Luffy!" Chopper sprints in their direction quickly, rapidly circling the four men. "This is no time for playing around! Luffy is in trouble! It's terrible!"
"Aah, he'll be fine, Chopper," Run assures him, smiling. "Relax, relax."
"Did he call for help?" Zoro asks him.
"N-No," Chopper stutters. "He didn't."
"Then, don't worry about it." A shadow falls over the group and all heads turn skyward seconds before Luffy comes plummeting down in their direction, spinning the bird rapidly and smashing it face first into the deck as they dive out of the way.
"Oi! Sanji!" chirps Luffy, pulling himself out from under the bird. "Look what I caught! I got us some meat! Eh?" Luffy stares at the four men lying sprawled across the deck before breaking out into laughter. "Ahahaha~! What are you guys doing? Taking a nap?"
"Luffy!" complains Usopp, leaping to his feet quickly while the others slowly stand. "What were you thinking?! I had a good hand going!"
"Fold," say Zoro, Sanji and Run in unison.
"Aaaah! Now look what you did!" Run whistles in appreciation as he stares at the large bird. It seems that they won't have any trouble keeping themselves well fed for quite a while at this rate. Of course, while Luffy is basking in his victory, Nami approaches the bow quickly.
"Will the five of you quit screwing around back here?" Nami asks them. "We're getting close to Alabasta. We don't have time for this!" She raises her hand, pointing her thumb back in the direction that she's come from. "Let's go. We need to talk." They follow after Nami towards the bow of the Merry, eventually settling in on the lower deck. Run settles in beside Robin while the rest of the crew slowly gathers around.
"How are you feeling today?" Run asks her.
"Much better," Robin tells him. "Chopper tells me that after a few more doses of medicine the Kestia should be completely gone from my system. So, it doesn't seem as if I'm going to be dropping dead any time soon."
"Say, what is Alabasta?" Chopper asks them all, settling in on the stairs.
"It's a place that Vivi's father governs," Nami tells him.
"A rogue named Crocodile is trying to take over Alabasta right now," Usopp adds.
"I've heard he's one of the Shichibukai," Sanji tells them, confusing Chopper.
"Think of them as pirates contracted by the World Government," Run informs him. "They're usually selected because they have a particularly high bounty, or because they possess a fair amount of strength. So, the World Government contracts them to take down other pirates with impunity so long as they play nice. For instance, Dracule Mihawk, the man recognized as the World Strongest Swordsman is one of the Shichibukai."
"Crocodile is recognized as a hero in Alabasta because he targets pirates that attack towns," Vivi says. "However, that's just his public face. In truth, he actually intends to start a civil war in order to take over the country. No one seems to be any wiser."
"So, we just need to beat up Crocodile then!" chirps Luffy, cracking his knuckles loudly.
"Yes, but first we need to stop the civil war and expel Baroque Works from Alabasta."
"Baroque Works?" echos Chopper.
"It's the group he's created to aid him in his take over," Robin tells him. "It seems complicated but the system in place is actually quite simple." She goes on to explain the organization of Baroque Works. She tells them that the agents all receive special code names. The men receive a number, and the women a holiday, and each male agent is paired with a female. These code names are what they will each be known as. There are thirteen of these paired agents, and the lower the name the higher their rank in the organization leading all the way up to Mr. 0, and, formerly, herself.
One through five are known as Officer Agents, and six through twelve are known as Frontier Agents, with the Thirteenth Pair being known as the Unluckies...the pair that meats out a punishment for anyone who fails in their mission, threatens the secrecy of Baroque Works or otherwise displeases the boss, Crocodile. Under them is a group of subordinate agents called Millions and Billions, and combined they total two-thousand strong. Two hundred of them work directly under the Officer Agents, and eighteen hundred work for the Frontier Agents.
"Aah, that's quite the organization he's built up," Run sighs, leaning against the railing of the Merry. "So, if his final game plan is to take over the country then that means the remaining Officer Agents will all gather in Alabasta as soon as possible."
"Looks like we're heading for a fight, then," Zoro sums up. "Sounds good to me..."
----
To call the next few days entertaining wouldn't exactly do them justice. Upon waking at dawn, they'd quickly discovered that Luffy had raided the pantry in the middle of the night, and eaten all the food that Sanji had portioned out for the trip to Alabasta. Clearly they're going to need to put a lock on everything to keep their Captain out...something Run should have foreseen given his large appetite but it had slipped his mind entirely. So, since Luffy had caused the problem, it's up to him to fix it and Sanji puts not just Luffy, but Usopp, Chopper and even Karoo to work fishing to supplement their stocks.
Not a bite...not even a nibble after several days of sailing, and with what little bit of food that Luffy hadn't eaten dwindling quickly, they're certainly in a bad way. Other than that, however, things have been fairly uneventful. No islands, and nothing to occupy the time except for waiting, and watching for Alabasta on the horizon. Unfortunately, the first thing that appears on the horizon isn't Alabasta but a large pocket of steam rising from the open sea ahead of them. Run, who has been lounging in a deck chair stares at the pocket of steam for a few moments before standing with a sigh.
"Oi! Someone go get Nami!" Run calls. "There's steam on the horizon!" Robin, looks up from the book in her hands now as well.
"It seems to be a hot spot," Robin says, gently closing her book with a soft 'thump' and slowly standing. Hearing footsteps rapidly drawing closer both look back at the approach of Nami, Vivi and Chopper.
"What's all the yelling for?" Nami questions him. "I'm trying to plot our course."
"Well...that," Run says, pointing to the steam rising from the surface of the sea.
"Aah, don't worry. It's nothing but steam."
"Steam?" Vivi echos. "Rising from the ocean?"
"Why is is there?" Luffy asks, looking away from his fishing pole at the cloud of steam.
"It's a hot spot." Nami explains that down below the surface, magma is boiling out onto the sea floor from an under-sea volcano. She tells them that there are more underwater volcano's that there are on land, and that eventually, after thousands of years, a new island is going to going to be created as a result of this one's activity.
"Well, is it's just steam, it shouldn't cause any damage to the Merry," Run says. "Should we adjust our course?"
"Of course not. It's just steam, that's all. We can sail through." So, they sail onward, straight into the cloud of steam...which, aside from the heat, and obstructing their view isn't much of a bother, and before they know it they've cleared the pocket of steam. "See? Not bad at all."
"O...Oi, I think we caught something strange," Usopp and Luffy say in unison, attracting their attention to the strange man dangling off the ends of their lines. Before the confused and strangely dressed man has a chance to say anything to them, he suddenly plummets from the end of their lines into the sea below.
"Help! I can't swim!" cries the man, splashing and flailing in the water. "Save-" He disappears beneath the waves moments later while Usopp and Luffy stare on.
"S...Should we help him?" Luffy asks.
"I guess so," Usopp replies, the two exchanging glances for a moment before looking at the red head standing at the bow of the Merry. Run stares back for a moment before blinking in surprise.
"Aah! Hold yer breath, buddy! I'm comin'!" He rushes forward and dives over the railing...
----
"Oh, thank you!" gushes the man, holding tight to the soaked red head as he carries him across the deck, thrown over one shoulder. "I can't swim, you see!
"Yeah, you're alright," Run assures him with a smile while gently lowering him to the deck in front of the gathered crew. Well, almost the whole crew. Sanji and Robin seem to be missing for the time being.
"If not for you gracious people I would surely have downed! He quickly moves to a kneeling position while Run strips off his shirt and begins wringing it out. "To think that I was saved by such kind strangers! I will never forget this kindness!"
"So you can't swim, huh?" Luffy asks.
"That's right! You see, I've eaten a Devil Fruit!"
"Really? What kind?" Usopp asks.
"Aah! Well, since I suppose that I'm not going anywhere until my ship returns to pick me up, I'll show you! After all, the least I could do is provide some entertainment to such kind people!" Run slowly slips his shirt back on, while the man stands and approaches an excited Luffy. "Now, watch this...!" He very suddenly lunges forward and smacks Luffy in the face hard enough to knock him back several feet.
"You son of a...!" begins Zoro, grasping the tsuka of one of his katana.
"Wait, wait, wait!" cries the strange man, slowly moving his hands away from his face to reveal...Luffy? The man appeared identical to Luffy in every aspect, even the scar on his face wasn't missed. "Gimme a break, please?"
"What? That's me!" exclaims Luffy, grinning from ear to ear.
"Surprised?! That's my Devil Fruit ability! If I touch my face with my left hand-" He pauses to sweep a hand across his face, and returns to normal. "-See? I'm back to myself! This is the ability if the Clone-Clone Fruit!" He slowly walks down the line, touching the faces of the gathered crew. "All I have to do is touch faces with my right hand, and I can mimic anyone down to the smallest detail!" While saying this he swaps through the whole crew, from Usopp, to Chopper, Zoro, Run and finally ending on Nami. "See? Even the body is-" He attempts to lift his shirt to show us 'Nami's' body but a swift punch to the head quickly ends his trick. While the man insists that he doesn't have more to show Luffy, Chopper and Usopp cheer him on, resulting in a round of face swapping for their amusement.
"Dahahaha~!" laughs Run, giving the man a round of applause. "This guy is pretty funny, huh?"
"What an idiot," Zoro mutters, watching the man spin in circles.
"Man, you are cantankerous! Loosen up and have a bit of fun. It's not every day we get a live performance, ya know."
"Not a fan of the performing arts, Red."
"Everyone's a critic these days."
"Oi, there's a ship over there," Nami says, attracting their attention to the strange ship approaching them. The man suddenly surprises them all by leaping over to the railing, landing beside them. "Wha?"
"My, it's already time to say good-bye?" the man asks, standing with his back to them. "Such a shame!"
"What?! Please don't go!" beg Luffy, Usopp and Chopper.
"Don't be sad! Remember, that journey's such as this are always accompanied by farewells! But don't ever forget...time has no bearing on true friendship!" He leaps the distance between the ships, and begins sailing away from them. "Now! Let us be on out way!"
"Yes, Mr. 2, Bon Clay!" shout the crew, as the ship disappears onto the distance. Everyone stares on in stunned silence for several moments before it finally seems to sink in.
"MR. 2?!" everyone exclaims.
"So that was Mr. 2...Bon Clay," Vivi says quickly.
"How did you not recognize his face?" Luffy asks her.
"I've never actually seen him, or Mr. 1. I've only heard the rumors...that he's a ballerina, and speaks like a woman...who dresses in swan coat with 'Bon Clay' written on the back." Luffy, Usopp, Zoro and Run simply stare at the woman in response.
"You should've noticed," they tells her quickly.
"Those...Those faces..."
"What about 'em?" Run asks.
"I recognized one of them. It was...it was my father, Nefeltari Cobra!"
"That's not good."
"You could do a lot of damage masquerading as a king," Zoro adds.
"And we just let him slip right through our fingers...and to make matters worse now he knows what we look like. We need to be on our guard. It probably won't be long before he figures out we're his enemy."
"If he uses his memory of us we won't even be able to trust our own friends," Nami says.
"It's not all bad," Zoro says, grinning from ear to ear. "In fact, we should consider ourselves lucky that this guy showed us his abilities. Because now that we know exactly what he's capable of we can start figuring out counter-measures...!"
----
"We'll definitely need to think up some counter-measure," Run mutters, taking a sip from his cup of coffee. "I don't suppose you have any ideas, do you?" Pushing ever onward to Alabasta, they find themselves anxiously awaiting their arrival...for more reasons than one considering their last meal was less than satisfactory. They had passed on the information about Mr. 2 to both Robin and Sanji after their meeting with the man, and told them both to be on guard considering the nature of their opponent.
"Not off the top of my head," Robin admits honestly. She sighs softly, and stares into her coffee cup. After their little brush with Mr. 2, Robin had passed on to them as much information about the officer agents as she could but beyond names, appearances and a little bit about their abilities it wasn't really much. "I wish I could tell you more about the agents."
"It's fine. You've already helped us a lot." The ship very suddenly begins to pitch and roll this way and that. "Oh, what now?!" The two go running out of the kitchen and onto the deck of the Going Merry only to find themselves shadowed by a huge...Sea Cat? Luffy and Zoro go sprinting by to the stern, yelling the whole way. They follow the two to the stern quickly where they find them ready to face off with the Sea Cat.
"Our first good meal in days!" exclaims Zoro, swords at the ready.
"It's a meal!" adds Luffy. "Turn the ship around! Go back!" Sanji suddenly comes sprinting out of the kitchen as well, and joins the two of them.
"Capture it, quick!" Sanji says. "No matter what, don't let it escape!"
"Not sure how I feel about eating a Sea Cat," Run says, staring up at the massive cat. "But I'll try almost anything once."
"Alabastian's consider it a sacred animal," Robin tells him. "They live near the coast of Alabasta so if we're seeing one then we must be getting close. No Alabastian would allow one to come to harm, so..." As if on cue, Vivi suddenly comes out of no where and blind sides the group with broom in hand, knocking them to the deck and allowing the Sea Cat to escape. Vivi immediately tells them that the Sea Cat's are sacred animals, not to be harmed and certainly not to be eaten.
"Vivi!" Nami calls, approaching them. "The wind and weather are starting to become more stable."
"We've entered Alabasta's climate area," Vivi says. "A Sea Cat appearing is also proof."
"That's probably proof, too," Zoro suddenly adds, motioning to the fleet of ships sailing behind them. Emblazoned boldly upon the sails of every single ship in sight is the Baroque Works symbol, as if they haven't a single fear of being spotted.
"It's the Billions," asserts Robin, approaching the railing of the Going Merry. "Crocodile must have called them all in...which means he's planning to make his final move soon. We'll need to move just as quickly if we expect to stop him." Usopp quickly begins adjusting the cannon, aiming it at the nearest ship.
"Should we fire first?" Usopp questions them.
"No. There's no point in picking a fight here and now. Besides, they're just cannon fodder. It isn't worth losing sight of the real goal. There's only ten of us, after all." She is silent for a moment before turning to face them all, a strange smile on her face. "There's only ten of us...doctor, would you bring me some bandages from the infirmary?"
"A-Aah, of course!" Chopper says quickly, running off quickly. When he returns she instructs them all to wrap one of them around their left arm.
"Our enemy can mimic our appearance, so obviously we need some way of marking ourselves so that no matter what we'll be able to identify each other. These bandages will be the identifying mark." It's definitely a good way to spot the real version of each other if the enemy were to mimic their appearance.
"What if they catch onto the idea?" Zoro asks. "We should add some kind of symbol or something extra to be certain."
"Then let's add an 'X' under the bandage!" Luffy chirps quickly. "That way we'll be sure no matter what!"
"An 'X' it is," Run agrees. They all scrawl the symbol onto their skin before tying the bandage around their arm.
"Alright! No matter what, these things on our arm, these are symbol of our friendship! We won't let it broken by anything...!"
----
I'm going after him!" Run yells leaping the railing of the Merry and sprinting off after his errant Captain into the crowded, sun baked streets. It wasn't a surprise...or, rather, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that as soon had they dropped anchor than Luffy was off and running through the city looking for a place to grab a bite to eat. The place is a whirl-wind of activity to say the least. Merchants line the streets, attempting to hawk their wares to anyone who will listen...he even passes some man attempting to sell him a 'golden' apple. "Man, this place is a scorcher!"
"FOOOOOOOD!" exclaims a familiar voice, attracting his attention. Run stares down the street, catching sight of a straw-hat wearing person sprinting through the crowds. Luffy doesn't seem to notice his red haired friend as he goes blindly charging towards the delicious smell in the air. "I can smell FOOD!" The doorway is in his sight! Only a bit more to that delicious smell! Only a bit more...just a bit more...why is it so far away?!
"Ahem." Luffy stops his sprinting and looks over his shoulder surprised to find Run holding tight to the back of his shirt. He glances down at his feet, and quickly confirms that not only is he holding him back but up as well. "Luffy, we've got supplies to gather. We can always grab a bite to eat on the way back."
"But...I can see the food from here."
"Yes, I know that. I'm sure the rest of the crew is hungry, too. But for now-"
"Gum-Gum..."
"C'mon, Luffy, don't-"
"...Rocket!" Luffy sends an arm sailing through the restaurant door, and the two of them following moments later.
"-do it!" They strike some unfortunate soul square in the back, and send the man crashing through the wall of the restaurant while they go sprawling to the floor. Luffy doesn't stay down for long, however, recovering nearly immediately and seating himself at the bar to ask for food. Run stares blankly at the ceiling for several long moments before finally standing and brushing himself off. The owner appears to be unsure what to do but after enough goading he serves Luffy what seems like a full course dinner.
"A-And you, sir?" the man finally stutters out.
"Aah, well...cup of coffee if you don't mind."
The man nods, and several moments later places a cup of black coffee on the bar in front of the red head.
"Aaaah! Everything is so delicious, Run!" Luffy gushes in between bites. "You should really try it! Old guy, the food is really delicious!"
"A-Aah, thanks, but...uhhh, shouldn't the two of you be running away?"
"What for?" He motions to the large hole knocked in the wall...and the wall beyond that, and the one beyond that. "What's with those holes? Did something happen?" Run, like the man, simply stares at the apparently clueless Luffy in response. "What a strange shop! Is it some kind of hobby, old man?"
"I'd wager a bet that's our fault," Run tells him, raising the mug and taking a sip. "Whew...Nami is gonna mad about having to pay for this."
"Our fault? I don't remember knocking holes in the wall." Suddenly the whole restaurant clears out, as if the people all suddenly have somewhere to be.
"Huh. Wonder where everyone's off to in such a hurry."
"STRAW HAT!" bellows a voice from the hole in the wall, moments before a tall white haired man smoking a pair of cigars storms into the restaurant. To call him over-dressed for the heat would certainly be an understatement considering his heavy coat. While Run has never seen the man before he seems to know his Captain well enough. "I've been looking high and low for you, Straw Hat...and here you are in Alabasta, after all." Luffy simply continues to stuff his face while staring at the man. "Quit eating!"
"Acquaintance of yours?"
"Hmmm...AAH! I remember you!" Luffy exclaims. "You're that strange guy from Loguetown! The one with the smoke!" Luffy suddenly reaches out, and stuffs all the remaining food into his mouth, swelling his cheeks out like balloons. "We should run away." With that, he turns and sprints out the door leaving the two men standing there in stunned silence for a moment before Run takes off following, mug crashing to the ground. Despite the head start, Run catches up with his fleeing Captain quickly.
"Why are we running away?"
"That guy is bad news! He uses some weird smoke-moves and my attacks can't hurt him!"
"Smoke moves?!"
"Yeah! We should just run away for now!"
"Tashigi!" bellows the familiar voice of the white haired man, attracting the attention of a woman several meters ahead of them. "Stop that guy! It's Straw Hat!"
"Straw Hat?!" echos Tashigi. "Understood, Captain Smoker!" She charges them, hand grasping the tsuka of her katana as they rush each other head on. "I'll stop them!" Luffy dodges her attack by suddenly leaping straight up, bounding off a near-by awning and propelling himself up to the roof of a building. Run, on the other hand, drops and slides under the attack before bounding to his feet again and cutting off down an alley in the opposite direction.
"You look like you've got this!" Run shouts back at Luffy, pausing to look up at Luffy on the edge of the roof. "I'll catch up with you later!"
"You jerk, don't run away!" Luffy complains, disappearing over the edge of the roof quickly. Smoker suddenly turns half of himself into a plume of smoke and follows Luffy up to the roof.
"Don't let anyone get away, Tashigi!" Smoker yells to his subordinate. "Capture that red head, and then search every square inch of this town for the rest of the crew!"
"So he's a Devil Fruit user, too?" He looks down just in time to dodge a Marine's saber. "Whoa! Ya almost got me! Gotta be quicker next time!" Run grabs the man by his shirt, spins him around and throws him into the group of approaching Marines before disappearing down the alley quickly. He cuts a winding path through the alley-ways, leaving his pursuers behind. He's sure that he's completely given them the slip, at least until someone comes crashing down in front of him, cutting his path off quickly. "Crap!"
"Ow-ow-ow-ow!" complains the familiar voice of Luffy, sitting up quickly.
"Luffy!"
"Run!"
"Straw Hat!" Both look up at none other than Smoker, staring down from the roof-top's edge.
"Crap!" exclaim the two in unison, quickly spilling out of the alley moments before Smoker comes crashing down behind them. They take off down the street, running this way and that with the Marines hot on their heels. The Marines are nothing if not persistant, hot on their heels no matter how far their run or what path they take. Just running away isn't going to get them anywhere if they can't actually give them the shake...but before it becomes an issue Luffy suddenly comes sliding to a halt, and Run seconds after.
"Aah! Oi! Zoro!" Luffy says, turning to face the swordsman half hidden behind a crumbling wall. "Is that where everyone is hiding out?" Luffy goes running in their direction with Run following.
"Moron! Don't give us away, too!" Zoro complains. A cry from the Marines to capture the Straw Hat's sounds from behind them, alerting everyone to their no longer safe hiding place. The crew takes off running just as quickly as their Captain and First Mate.
"You're mine, Straw Hat!" Smoker yells. "White Blow!" His arm turns to smoke, and barrels in their direction. It's going to grab Luffy no matter how fast he's running.
"Hope ya don't mind if I cut in!" Run calls, sliding to a stop as he turns. He reaches a hand out, the skin turning an inky black as a smile breaks out across his face.
"Heat Haze!" exclaims a voice familiar to both Luffy and Run, moments before a huge spout of flames crashes into the smoke. The red head leaps back, shielding his face from the intense heat and fire, and watching as someone begins to form from the flames. "That's enough. You're smoke...and I'm fire. A fight between us would last forever, ya know."
"This guy," Run says, pacing back from the slowly dwindling flames. "Always cuttin' in to steal my spot light."
"Ace!" Luffy says quickly. "Ace! Is it really you?! Wait, you ate a Devil Fruit?!"
"You haven't changed a bit, Luffy," Ace says, glancing back at them. "Aah...and neither have you, Run." He looks back towards Smoker. "And that's also, right! I've eaten the Flare-Flare Fruit!"
"You've done a lot more than eaten a Devil Fruit, Ace," Run retorts, eyeing the tattoo on Ace's back.
"We'll chat later! I'll take care of these guys, so you guys just run away! I'll catch up!" They take off quickly, not sparing a glance back as they run back in the direction of the Going Merry...
----
"Aah...how, Luffy?" Run mutters, gently pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can't I take my eyes off of ya for more than five seconds?" Provisions are quickly stowed, and secured...and some hidden to protect them from their Captain. The anchor is lifted and the sail is set as they intend to head further on into Alabasta.
"There should be a cove ahead where we can hide out," Vivi tells the crew.
"We'll drop anchor there, then."
"Jeez, he's always causing trouble like this," complains Usopp. Run slowly climbs the steps to the upper deck, and approaches the bow of the Going Merry to stare out across the sea. The red head isn't too terribly worried about Luffy's absence. Odds are that he's met up with Ace, and if that's the case then no doubt he's trying to steer their errant Captain back to the crew and the ship. Sensing someone beside him he glances over at the person and actually chuckles a bit.
"Well, well!" Run grins as he turns to lean against the railing of the Merry. "I wasn't too sure about this place but I think I'm really warmin' up to it, Robin." The woman in question is dressed from head to toe in what he can only best describe as a belly-dancer's outfit. "I mean, if that's what I can expect from here on out, I might just settle down here."
"I thought I might try out the local fashions," Robin tells him with a smile. "Do you like it?"
"Oh, very much so."
"Good. Because I happen to have a change of clothes with your name on it."
"Dahahaha~! Well, I'll try anything seven times, I suppose. But I can't guarantee I've got the legs for it, so you'll have to cut me some slack." Robin giggles a bit in response.
"Then, it's a good thing for us both that we got you something else. It should help to keep the sun off your skin since staying cool will be all but impossible."
"Oi! I can see Luffy!" Sanji suddenly calls, attracting their attention. "Yeah...yeah, that stupid face is definitely his!" They're all surprised when Luffy suddenly stretches an arm and grasps the railing of the Going Merry. He comes flying to the ship like a bat out of Hell seconds later, smashing into Sanji.
"I'm back!" Luffy exclaims, laughing like a fool as everyone gathers. "Aah! That's right! Ace!"
"Is it gonna be alright to just leave him there?" Usopp asks, staring at the shore in the distance.
"Huh? He'll be alright. Ace is really strong, ya know!"
"He's strong?"
"Yeah! Even before he'd eaten the Flare-Flare Fruit I was never able to beat him in a fight!" Everyone seems to be amazed by this admission. "But I'd win now if I tried! I've gotten a lot stronger, so I know I could beat him!"
"Just who would you beat?" asks Ace, suddenly landing on the railing behind him.
"Oh! Ace, this is the crew I was talking about!"
"Thank you all for looking after my little brother." He offers them all a bow which everyone but Run returns. "I know that he can be a bit of a handful but I'd appreciate it if you continued to look after him! Please, take good care of him!" Everyone appears be in awe of the polite Ace, who they have difficulty believing is actually related to their own reckless Captain...everyone except for the red head who simply offers a nod in response. "Aah, Run, I already made the offer to Luffy but...how about coming with me and joining Whitebeard's crew? We could make good use of your strength."
"You do realize that Whitebeard and Shanks are technically enemies, right?" Run retorts simply.
"Does it really matter?"
"I'll still have to pass."
"Aah, well. Honestly, it's not like I actually expected you to join me, ya know. You're too hard headed for your own good sometimes. " Ace meets his gaze firmly. "Look here...the only person who is going to be crowned King of the Pirates is Whitebeard, not Luffy."
"Well, you've been wrong before. What's one more time?"
"Hate to break up the reunion but...it looks like we've got trouble," Zoro says motioning towards to bow of the ship. In the distance, five Baroque Works ships appear to block their path.
"I'll clean 'em up," Ace tells everyone standing on the railing. He turns and drops over the edge of the Going Merry onto a small skiff, which immediately takes off in the direction of the on-coming ships. Apparently, the small skiff is somehow powered by his Devil Fruit abilities. In such a small vessel it's easy for Ace to out-manuever the larger ships, and even easier with his abilities to lay waste to them. "Fire Fist!" A single blow broad side destroys all five ships, reducing them to little more than smoldering, splintered wood that's quickly swallowed by the sea.
"Jeez, talk about destructive power," Usopp mutters.
"So cool!" gushes Luffy, laughing.
"He really hasn't changed a bit," Run says with a smile, watching Ace and his skiff bob about on the churning sea. The red head glances briefly at his Captain and then back at Ace who is sailing back towards the Going Merry. "Never a dull moment, I guess..."