Here's a new chapter enjoy:)
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"So you ate the Hito Hito fruit and became a half human?" Usopp raised an eyebrow.
"Yep, I can transform between a reindeer, human and half form which I am right now." Chopper nodded while grinding some herbs on a grindstone.
"EHHH? You can transform?!" Luffy yelled with sparkles in his eyes.
The three of them were in the men's room with Luffy tied down to the bed. Chopper had insisted he stayed in bed for at least another two days even though he didn't have a fever anymore.
Luffy had strongly protested against it and it took the combined efforts of the whole crew, Smoker, every other Marine on the battleship and probably three or four tranquilizer shots before they managed to get him to lie down.
Nami was the one who suggested on tying him down too, though Luffy had easily broken through the ropes the first time.
Sanji then threatened him that he will never feed him again if he didn't listen to what Chopper said and that finally made the stubborn Commodore silent, though they decided to tie him up again for the trouble he caused.
"My Devil Fruit is a Zoan type. All Zoan Devil Fruit users are able to transform…" Chopper tilted his head at him, as though already expecting him to know.
"So cool!" Luffy yelled.
"Praising me won't make me happy you jackass!" Chopper yelled, a huge smile plastered on his face.
"Hey! So can we see your transformations?" Luffy tried to turn as best as he could against the restraints.
"Well… If you insist… I suppose I-"
The door to the room was flung open without warning as Nami barged into the room.
"Hey guys! Lunch is served!"
"Yay! Food!" Chopper and Usopp rushed out of the room.
Luffy pushed himself upright from the bed, snapping the ropes like they weren't even there.
"STAY!" Nami pointed a finger menacingly at him.
"But… But I'm hungry!" Luffy protested.
Nami sighed, shaking her head, "I'll bring you food, just don't get out of bed."
She closed the door behind her without waiting for a reply.
Luffy pouted while he swung his legs to the edge of the bed, swinging his legs back and forth against the bed. He let his eyes wander around the now empty room, his Marine cloak hanging on the stand next to the bed.
He stayed sitting up until Nami returned with two plates of food in her hands. She handed a plate to Luffy, while sitting herself beside Luffy.
"This isn't enough for me…" Luffy pointed down at his food with a frown.
Nami smirked at him, "Doctor's orders, you can't eat too much right now, so you'll just have to deal with it."
Luffy let out a pout as he dug into his food ravenously, "Stingy…"
Nami poked his cheek, "Eat slowly."
Luffy relented and slowed down his chewing, watching Nami eat her own food.
"You seem awfully happy?" Luffy tilted his head.
"Hehe, you noticed? I counted our total savings just now," Nami rubbed her thumb and index finger together, grinning wickedly.
"Really? How much do we have?"
"One hundred million and a little over," Nami squealed happily. "I can't believe we got so much in such a short time! And to think it took me eight years the last time!"
"Shishishi, so how much food can we buy with a hundred million?" Luffy grinned.
Nami sighed though a smile still plastered on her face, "Can't you think about something else to buy other than food?"
"How about more food?" Luffy laughed.
Nami giggled alongside him.
"So how are you feeling now? Chopper did say you might feel lethargic from recovering." Nami glanced at Luffy carefully.
Luffy puffed his chest, "I already told you guys, I'm fine! I don't need to stay in bed anymore! How can I rest when everyone else is working?"
Nami pinched his cheek, "I told you, just focus on recovering. Besides, I don't see Captain Smoker working his ass off either. If you ask me, he seems pretty relaxed on that lounge chair of his!"
"Well… He does have a bigger crew after all," Luffy rubbed the cheek Nami pinched. "And he is going out of his way to escort us to Alabasta after all."
Nami took the empty plate from Luffy, "Well, I don't care about that, you just stay in bed until Chopper says otherwise."
Nami walked to the door, turning to point an accusing finger at him, "I mean it. If I see you out of bed before our doctor gives the ok, you won't be eating any of my tangerines any time soon."
Luffy raised his hands in surrender, "I'll be good."
Nami left the room again, leaving Luffy alone with his thoughts.
Luffy frowned as the door shut behind Nami.
'I'm still weak…'
He looked down and clenched his fists, he didn't let the others know but he felt especially frustrated when he was forced to rely on the others for help.
'All that training… And I still need to be protected…'
Luffy glanced at the Marine cloak that hung beside the bed, the word 'Justice' prominently displayed towards him.
'I have to get stronger, no matter the cost… I don't want to feel powerless ever again.'
Luffy stepped out on the deck, stretching himself with a satisfied groan. He managed to endure the two day confinement in bed after everyone had threatened him with something of their own if he didn't.
He hopped on to the figurehead of Merry, sitting himself on it as he let the cool breeze blow past him, his cloak billowing behind him.
"Luffy, we'll be nearing Alabasta in two more days, what are your plans?" Smoker called out from the battleship sailing alongside Merry.
Luffy glanced back at Vivi, "Which part of Alabasta are we headed for, Vivi?"
Vivi scratched her chin, contemplating, "We'll head to the port city of Nanohana to resupply first, then we'll have to make our way to the town of Yuba where the rebel army is located at."
"Why do we have to meet the rebel army? Aren't we going to beat up Crocodile?" Usopp tilted his head.
Vivi shook her head, "It's not enough to just beat Crocodile, we still have to stop the civil war from escalating any further. If I can meet the leader of the rebel army, I can convince them that the whole thing was set up from the start and stop the battle before it happens."
"And what about Crocodile?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"Once we stop the civil war, we'll have plenty of time to arrest him," Smoker grunted.
"You sure he won't just up and run away?" Sanji frowned.
Smoker smirked, "Heh, even if he tries to run, he'll be a wanted criminal again. It's already over for him."
"So his plans are already doomed to fail from the start? I like that," Nami grinned.
"Speaking of which, what's with the giant cloud of smoke ahead?" Usopp nodded towards the white cloud directly ahead of them.
"Oh, that's just steam, nothing to worry about," Nami glanced at the cloud. "There should be an underwater volcano underneath that spot, perhaps in a few thousand years, there might a new island here."
"Wow, do you think we'll be here to see it?" Chopper stared at the smoke with sparkles in his eyes.
"I highly doubt any of us can live long enough to see that, Chopper…" Usopp patted his head.
"On another note, our supplies do seem to be running quite low," Sanji frowned, glancing towards Luffy. "Don't suppose you could fish up another Sea King?"
Luffy grinned, standing up, "Leave it to me!"
He passed his straw hat and cloak to Nami before jumping into the sea without a second thought.
"Is he seriously going to catch a Sea King?" Chopper leaned over the railing, staring at the sea.
"You better believe it," Zoro grinned. "That guy's the real monster among us."
A few seconds passed silently as both ships sailed towards the steam.
Smoker finally raised an eyebrow, "You think he can find us inside the steam?"
The Straw Hats glanced at one another before rushing to the side of the railing, screaming out in unison.
"LUFFY!"
Luffy kicked through the water, using Geppo to accelerate himself through the water quickly, scanning the water for any signs of a Sea King.
He didn't have to wait long to find one.
A greenish serpentine Sea King spotted him and began charging towards Luffy, jaws opening wide to swallow him whole.
'Hmm… A bit small… But you'll have to do,' Luffy thought to himself, kicking towards the Sea King to meet it.
The Sea King snapped its jaws at Luffy, trying to swallow the Marine whole, only to end up with a mouthful of seawater. Luffy had kicked himself away at the last moment, ending up beside the Sea King's head.
Luffy smirked as he threw his fist back, encasing it in armament haki before delivering a crushing blow straight into the side of the Sea King's head.
A shockwave blasted out from the punch, sending waves in every direction that could be felt even on the ships above, rocking both the battleship and Merry on the crashing waves.
The Sea King's eyes rolled back into its head as Luffy grabbed its jaws with a hand, swimming back up towards the surface while towing it behind him.
He broke through the surface of the water, the carcass of the Sea King surfacing behind him.
"Where's everyone?" Luffy frowned, scanning around the empty seas. He set his sights on the steam ahead of him, focusing his Observation haki to find the voices of his friends.
"Shishishi, found them," Luffy grinned, diving back down with the Sea King behind him.
"Oh… This steam reeks of sulphur…" Usopp coughed.
"I can't see a thing in here…" Vivi frowned, bumping against the mast of the ship.
"Just bear with it, we should be almost through." Nami stayed near the mast.
An explosion of warm water buffeted them suddenly, enough to get them soaked but not enough to throw anyone overboard.
"Hey guys! I'm back!" Luffy laughed, standing on the railing while holding on to the Sea King.
"Luffy? Is that you? Did you manage to catch one?" Sanji groped around blindly towards Luffy's voice.
"Yep! Though it's rather small," Luffy chuckled.
Zoro shook the water out of his hair, "Can't you be more careful? Now I'm soaked…"
"How did you even find us?" Nami shuffled towards Luffy's direction carefully, hands reached out in front of her.
"Oh, I just followed your voices," Luffy sat on the railing, securing the Sea King to the side of the ship with a rope.
"It's another one of that haki thing isn't it?" Zoro frowned.
"Yeah, this one's a little trickier to master though." Luffy stepped on to the deck, the only one who wasn't fazed with the zero visibility.
He gripped Nami's and Sanji's hands just as they neared the railing, pulling their hands down to their sides as they gasped in shock.
"Don't walk around like that, you might trip on something," Luffy grinned.
"Never thought I'd hear you say something sensible," Sanji grinned.
A few minutes passed before both ships finally pulled out of the steam, both crews breathing out a sigh of relief.
The Straw Hats glanced over the railing to inspect Luffy's catch, the Sea King easily dwarfing the ship itself with the head twice the size of Merry.
"You call this small?!" Sanji pointed an accusing finger at the Sea King.
Luffy blinked at him, as though Sanji just asked him a really stupid question, "Of course it's small, the ones my Gran—Err… Trainer made me fight were several times bigger than this."
The others only could shook their heads silently while Chopper glanced up at Luffy with sparkles in his eyes.
That was when they realized there was a man clinging to the side of the Sea King. The man wore a flamboyantly pink overcoat over his blue medieval clothes that showed his unshaven legs. A pair of ballet shoes accompanied his dressing while two swans poked out from his shoulders. To top it off, he wore heavy makeup complete with lipstick, eyeliner and blush.
"There's an okama!" The crew shouted, shocking the man into letting go of the Sea King and falling into the sea.
Everyone watched as he splashed into the sea, waiting for the eventual surfacing of the okama that never came.
"Don't tell me… He can't swim?" Chopper gasped.
Without hesitation, Luffy leapt into the water again, kicking both his feet back and rocketing into the water.
He found the okama sinking into the sea, his body frozen up in a ballet pose as he sunk.
Luffy grabbed him by the wrist and jumped back out from the sea, landing on the deck of merry with a gasping okama.
The okama bowed his head to them, "Please forgive this foolish swan for wandering on to your boat, to be rescued by Marines, I am in your debt."
"What the hell are you doing clinging on that Sea King?" Nami raised an eyebrow.
The okama bowed again, "I do not know what overcame me, but I was on a ship with my comrades while passing through the steam, and before I knew it, I ended up on the Sea King."
"THAT DOESN'T EXPLAIN ANYTHING!" The crew shouted at him.
"What's going on over there?" Smoker shouted across from his ship.
"Nothing, we just rescued an idiot from the sea," Zoro waved his hand at him.
"I… See…" Smoker raised an eyebrow before disappearing back to his ship.
"So you can't swim?" Usopp crossed his arms at the okama.
The okama sat up, "Indeed, for you see, I have eaten a devil fruit myself."
"Oh? Which one is it?" Sanji raised his eyebrow at him.
The okama scratched his chin, "Oh, while I have no doubt my comrades are looking for me now, I guess I can treat you daisies to a show while waiting for them."
He patted his leg as he stood up, throwing his arm back, "Behold! My ability!"
He slammed his right palm towards Luffy, only for Luffy to tilt his head towards the side, avoiding his palm strike.
The okama raised an eyebrow as he struck his palm towards Luffy's head again, missing again when Luffy tilted his head the other way.
The okama frowned as he delivered a flurry of palm strikes with his right hand at Luffy's face but Luffy managed to avoid them all with minimal effort.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Nami smacked the okama on the head.
"Oh phooie," the okama rubbed his head where Nami had smacked him. "I wanted to surprise you daisies too, I need to touch your face with my right hand for my ability to work."
"Oh, why didn't you say so?" Luffy grinned, standing in front of the okama.
"Now behold! My ability!" The okama touched Luffy's face gently this time.
He did a pirouette on the spot in front of Luffy, "Now stooop joooking around!"
When he finally came to a stop, Luffy found himself staring at his own face.
"Hey! It's me!" Luffy laughed.
"They're identical!" Usopp gasped.
"Surprised?" The okama laughed. "This is the power of my Mane Mane fruit! If I touch my face again with my left hand, I go back to normal!"
True to his word, as soon as his left hand touched his face, the Luffy mask he had on him disappeared.
"His voice and shape… They were exactly the same!" Nami gasped.
"That's so cool!" Both Luffy and Chopper had sparkles in their eyes.
"Gaaahhahhaha! As long as I touch a person's face with my right hand," The okama laughed as he skipped along the deck, touching Zoro, Usopp and Sanji's faces.
"I can change into them whenever I want!"
He spun as he changed his face into each of the three men with each spin.
The okama changed his face back before sighing sadly, "Well… That's all I can risk showing you right now…"
"But that's so awesome!"
"Show us more!"
"I wanna see more!"
Chopper, Usopp and Luffy had sat themselves in front of the okama and clapped at him to continue.
The okama immediately leapt up and did a pirouette, "Well, for my next act then!"
"He's easily convinced…" Nami sweat dropped.
"I'll show you my memory ability! Any faces that I've touched in the past…" The okama touched his face several times, changing his face into faces that the crew have never seen before. The crew did not notice Vivi gasp at one of the faces he had changed into.
"I do not forget!" The okama flourished.
"Bravo! Bravo!" The okama's three attentive audience clapped enthusiastically before proceeding to dance along with him.
"Urgh… You guys are unbelievable…" Sanji shook his head.
Nami noticed a ship sailing towards them from the distance, "Hey, is that your comrade's ship?"
The okama leapt up on the railing, spotting the ship, "Oh phooie, time to part ways already? Such a pity…"
"Noooo…." Luffy, Usopp and Chopper groaned.
The okama turned back to them, tears in his eyes, "Fear not my silly billies! Farewells are always inevitable! But never forget this, the length of time spent together has no bearing on true friendship!"
The okama leapt from Merry on to the boat, giving them a thumbs up.
Chopper, Usopp and Luffy waved at the ship's railing, "Let's meet again someday!"
The okama's ship sped away, "Let us be off, my daisies!"
"Yes sir, Mr. 2 Bon Kurei!" The crew shouted back.
The deck of Merry became silent immediately. Smoker appeared on the deck in a cloud of smoke, raising an eyebrow at the Straw Hats.
"Hey, I thought I heard someone call out Mr. 2?"
"He's one of them…" Luffy frowned.
"Who?" Smoker tilted his head.
"The okama we rescued just now," Sanji offered.
Smoker cursed under his breath, "Should we give chase? Commodore Luffy?"
Luffy shook his head, "No… He's headed in the opposite direction… We don't have time to waste anymore…"
Usopp looked up at Vivi who stood above the deck, "Didn't you recognize him, Vivi?"
Vivi shook her head, "I've never met him before and I never knew about his abilities… This is bad… When he was showing off the faces earlier, I noticed one of them was the face of my father's…"
"He had the face of the king of Alabasta?" Nami gasped.
Vivi nodded slowly, frowning towards the direction where Mr. 2 had disappeared to, "Just what has he been using my father's face for?"
"With the face of the king, the amount of damage he could do is immeasurable…" Zoro crossed his arms.
"If he realizes that we are the enemy, he can use our faces to turn us against one another…" Nami bit her thumb.
Smoker grunted, "We'll have to come up with a countermeasure then."
"You have a plan?" Sanji glanced at the Captain.
"A password? A gesture? No… He can find out about these easily…" Smoker scratched his chin.
"What about this?" Zoro held up a length of bandage.
Chopper raised an eyebrow, "Are we going to pretend we're injured?"
Zoro let a smirk cross his face, He took out a marker and drew a cross on his arm before tying the bandage around it, holding it up for the rest to see.
"A two-step verification system? That seems too smart for someone like you to come up," Sanji noted.
"Shut up, you ero-cook! I'll kill you!" Zoro yelled at him.
"So if one of us doubts the other's true identity, we'll have them show us their mark." Nami scratched her chin.
"Indeed, this would clear up any doubts and avoid any infighting, it won't be easy for him to find out about this either," Smoker nodded.
"We'll go ahead with that then, in the meantime, continue on our route to Alabasta," Luffy rolled up his sleeves, taking up a length of bandage as well.
Everyone nodded, taking up their own length of bandage as well.
"The thing I'm worried about though, is the current condition of your father, Vivi," Luffy glanced at the princess.
"My… Father? Why?" Vivi tilted her head.
"Mr. 2 could turn into your father, that means he has managed to find a way to get within touching distance of the king." Luffy frowned at her, his eyes serious.
Vivi stifled a gasp, realizing her father might be in grave danger, "What do we do?"
"I suggest we go straight to the capital instead of looking for the rebels, make sure the king himself is safe. If he gets replaced by a fake, all our efforts would be in vain anyway." Luffy tightened the bandage around his arm.
"But… What about the rebels? And Crocodile?" Vivi frowned.
"We can deal with the rebels after you return to your father, I'm sure it'll be easier for you to contact the rebels once you're there, right?" Nami clasped her shoulder.
"That… That's true…" Vivi nodded.
Smoker cracked his knuckles, "As for Crocodile, we can split up to take him out."
Zoro raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
"We'll have a group escort princess Vivi to her father and ensure both of their safety, then we'll have another group infiltrate towards Rainbase." Smoker grinned.
"Rainbase?" The Straw Hats tilted their heads.
Vivi widened her eyes, "It's where Crocodile currently resides… How did you know that?"
Smoker raised an eyebrow at her, "It's no big secret among the Marines to where each of the Warlords are, we do need to keep tabs on them, after all."
"Alright, that means I'm going to Rainbase then," Luffy stretched himself.
"So who's going with him?" Sanji crossed his arms.
Smoker and Zoro stepped forward without hesitation.
"So that leaves the rest of us to escort Vivi," Sanji glanced at the others.
"Tashigi will accompany you with the rest of my men, I want you guys to make sure the king is properly protected while we're dealing with Crocodile." Smoker jerked a thumb towards his ship.
"But what about the other agents? No doubt they would be on the move as well." Zoro frowned.
"If their goal is to seize this country for their own, their final destination should lie within the capital of Alabasta itself. I dare say these agents will definitely be assembling there as well." Sanji smirked.
"Unfortunately, we still don't know when they will put their plans into motion…" Nami bit her thumb.
"Not quite, since Mr. 2 is still out here, I doubt Crocodile would want to move before all his agents are gathered together," Zoro grinned.
"So we still have time to foil his plans!" Usopp clapped his hands.
Vivi nodded, "We'll first dock at Nanohana, then we'll move up towards the capital city, Alubarna."
"Then Smoker, Zoro and I will go ahead to Rainbase and kick Crocodile's ass!" Luffy punched his fist in the air.
Marines poured into the harbour after both ships dropped anchor in the port town of Nanohana.
The Straw Hats stood attentively in front of their Commodore, awaiting their commander's instructions.
"All right, we'll be buying supplies from this town before setting off to Alulama," Luffy began.
"It's Alubarna, Luffy," Nami injected.
"Shishishi, right, Alubanana. We'll meet back here in half an hour." Luffy grinned.
"Alubarna, Luffy," Usopp offered.
"Alubarna… Right, just meet back here in half an hour, we'll be using the ships to travel upstream towards the capital."
"Aye, sir!" The Straw Hats saluted smartly before dispersing.
Tashigi stepped up beside Luffy, "Commodore, Luffy! I'll have my men resupply as well before joining all of you upstream. It'll take a longer while for us to get ready since we have a larger crew."
"It's alright then, what about Smoker?" Luffy tilted his head at her.
"I'll join your ship," Smoker grunted, stepping beside Tashigi. "She can handle the others."
"Okey dokey, we'll meet you there, Tashigi."
"Yes sir!" Tashigi spun around to rejoin her men.
"On another note, isn't that… Hina's ship?" Smoker jerked his chin towards the other Marine ship at the dock.
"Eh? Oh! It is! So Hina already got here!" Luffy grinned.
"You don't suppose we should link up with her?" Smoker raised an eyebrow.
Luffy laughed, "Why not? It'll be fun with more people!"
Smoker sighed, "Where do you propose we find her?"
Luffy shrugged, "I wouldn't know, maybe we'll find her by walking around town. Want to join me?"
Smoker glanced back at his men, still in the midst of disembarking, "I guess why not, we have time."
"Let's go then!" Luffy lead the way to the town center.
Before the 2 could even exit the harbour, a huge pillar of flame sprouted up from within the city.
"What's going on there?" Smoker frowned.
"Don't know, should we check it out?" Luffy grinned.
Smoker nodded an affirmative before they ran towards the pillar of fire, going against the crowd of people that are trying to run away from it.
"We'll have to go above this crowd, Luffy!" Smoker blasted himself to one of the many roofs around, glancing back to see Luffy literally running on air as he kept up behind him.
Another wall of flame sprouted up near the first one and gun fires were heard.
Both Marine officers sped to the scene, finding a pirate facing off against a company of Marine riflemen, his body spewing out flames.
The pirate was bare chested with a tattoo of a purple cross behind a moustached skull on his back. He had black knee length shorts accompanied with a pair of black combat boots. On his head rested an orange hat with two blue smileys on the rim.
Smoker furrowed his brows as he recognized the pirate, "What is he doing here?!"
Without hesitation, he propelled himself with his smoke, stabbing his jitte towards the pirate.
The man had noticed his descent, smirking at him as he blasted himself back with fire from his hands.
"Captain Smoker!" The marines gasped as the Captain stepped out from the crater he smashed.
"What is the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates second division doing here?" Smoker pointed his jitte at the pirate.
The man grinned at him, "Hey, I was just passing through, I didn't even start any trouble."
Smoker narrowed his eyes, "Don't lie to me, you pirates are all the same, causing trouble wherever you go."
"Smoker? What are you doing here?" A female Marine Captain stepped out, biting down on her cigarette.
"Good to see you too, Hina, mind telling me what's going on?" Smoker nodded in greeting.
Hina grinned, "Caught him wandering around the town, he said he was looking for another pirate and his brother. What do you think?"
Smoker cracked his knuckles, "I think we should take him down, and you might want to put out that cigarette of yours."
Hina frowned, "I agree with the first one, but why the cigarette?"
"You should know who I was with before I got here," Smoker grunted, propelling himself towards the pirate with his jitte by his side.
It didn't take long for Hina to spot Luffy sitting at one of the roofs, watching Smoker and the pirate duke it out with a smile on his face.
Hina brightened up as she crushed her cigarette under her heel without hesitation, ignoring the two Logia Devil Fruit users going at each other's throats.
"You should know better than to fight me, Captain Smoker! Your smoke fighting against my fire won't get us anywhere!" the pirate smirked.
He swung his arm in an arc, spewing out a wall of fire to block Smoker from reaching him.
Smoker gritted his teeth as he launched himself up in the air above the fire, propelling himself towards the pirate.
"Portgas D. Ace! Cease your resistance!" Smoker stabbed his jitte towards him.
Ace sidestepped the blow, blasting himself back from the Marine again, "No can do Smokey, I'm rather busy now."
"Don't you dare call me that!" Smoker yelled, swinging his jitte at the pirate.
Ace leaned back to avoid the blow, chuckling to himself. He didn't notice the figure kicking towards him from behind.
Hina planted a kick firmly on his face, sending him crashing away from them.
"What took you?" Smoker grunted, stepping beside Hina.
"I was here first, Smoker-kun, I should be asking you that," Hina smirked at him.
"Where's Luffy?" Smoker watched Ace get back up from the floor, frowning at them.
Hina flicked her hair back, "He's content to watch for now it seems."
"I guess we shouldn't disappoint then," Smoker cracked his knuckles before hefting his jitte on his shoulder.
Ace frowned at them, he can handle a single Marine Captain without breaking a sweat, but with two working together? He might cause quite a bit of collateral damage to his surroundings.
"Hey… Any chance you two could just let me go? I really don't want to fight…" Ace scratched his head.
"No way," Both Hina and Smoker lunged towards him.
Smoker swung his jitte towards Ace's right while Hina kicked low towards his left.
Ace grinned as he backhanded Smoker's jitte away while jumping over Hina's kick.
He spun in circle as he spewed flames from all over his body, encasing himself in a tornado of flames.
Both Captains gritted their teeth as they leapt back from the flames, shielding themselves from the heat.
"This guy's more trouble than he's worth," Hina crossed her arms.
"He's not a commander of the Whitebeard Pirates for nothing," Smoker swung his jitte in an arc.
Ace released his flames as he smirked at then, "Can I leave now, pretty please?"
"You—" Smoker began, just as a figure rushed towards Ace, fists clenched and punching towards the pirate.
Ace flinched back just in time to avoid the blow, frowning at the newcomer.
He didn't have time to speak as the figure spun on his heel and kicked towards his head, missing the pirate by mere inches.
"Don't take me lightly!" Ace blasted a gout of flame at him.
The figure disappeared just as the fire reached him, reappearing behind Ace.
Ace only had time to gasp as the figure tackled him, arms wrapping around his waist and pushing him on to the ground.
"ACE!" Luffy shouted, hugging his brother.
"Lu… Luffy?!" Ace stared down at his brother in disbelief.
"Eh?" Both Smoker and Hina tilted their heads at them.
"Ace! What are you doing here?" Luffy got up, holding out a hand to him.
Ace grinned as he pulled himself up, "You didn't get my message at Drum Island? I said I would be waiting here for a while."
Luffy raised an eyebrow and shook his head.
"Ah, no matter, so I see you really did become a Marine, are you an Admiral yet?" Ace punched Luffy's shoulder lightly.
"Shishishi, I'm still a Commodore, but I'm getting there! So are you going to be the Pirate King any time soon?" Luffy laughed.
"Well, I decided I'm going to help Whitebeard be the Pirate King instead, I owe him a lot," Ace rubbed his neck sheepishly.
"Don't mind if we interrupt… Luffy? What's going on? Do you know him?" Hina approached the two.
Ace wrapped an arm around Luffy's neck, bringing him into a headlock, "This is the brother I was talking about."
"You're brothers with Commodore Luffy?!" Smoker widened his eyes. "Your names aren't even the same!"
"We're not related by blood," Luffy laughed as he pried himself from the head lock. "But he's my brother all the same."
Hina and Smoker looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
"So what brings you here, Ace?" Luffy poked Ace on the arm.
Ace adjusted his hat as his grin faltered slightly, "I'm hunting for another Whitebeard pirate that had killed one of our own. He used to be my subordinate so I had to take responsibility for his treachery. That aside, what are you doing here? Are you on patrol?"
"Nah, I'm here to stop a civil war," Luffy said casually.
"Heh, not bad," Ace pinched Luffy's cheek playfully. "Well I'd like to stay and chat, but I don't think your colleagues would take well to my presence."
Luffy glanced at Hina and Smoker, both of them had their predatory eyes glued on Ace.
"Erm… Guys? Can we let him go?" Luffy twiddled his fingers.
Both Captains glanced at the Commodore incredulously.
"Luffy, he's a commander of Whitebeard's crew," Smoker frowned.
"Even if he's your brother, he's still a dangerous pirate…" Hina scratched her chin.
Luffy stared at them with puppy eyes, "Pretty please?"
Hina flinched back immediately, turning around to face the other way, "I… I see no pirate around, do you, Smoker-kun?"
Smoker stared at her with wide eyes, "What? You… You can't just… He… But…"
Smoker looked back at Luffy, there seemed to be sparkles in his eyes now.
"You… Damn it! I'll wait for you back at the harbour!" Smoker stormed away, fuming.
"Then I'll meet you back at the harbour too, Luffy! It's nice to see you again!" Hina pulled him into a bear hug before running after Smoker.
"You have… Interesting companions…" Ace stared after the two departing Captains.
"Shishishi, I know. Do you want to meet my crew?" Luffy grinned.
Ace raised an eyebrow, "They're all Marines aren't they?"
"Yeah! It'll be fine! You can just meet us out at sea later, we're setting off in about half an hour!" Luffy grinned.
Ace smirked, "You're not giving them a lot of trouble, are you? Knowing how you're like back when we were still young, you were really quite the troublemaker."
"Hey! I'm a Marine officer now! I know how to take care of my crew!" Luffy pouted.
"Right right," Ace ruffled Luffy's hair. "I heard Gramps took you away with him right after I left?"
"Yeah, he was rather disappointed that you weren't there with me..." Luffy frowned.
"Ah well, we have different dreams after all, tell Gramps I'm sorry." Ace scratched his head guiltily. "On another note, you seemed to have gotten stronger, Luffy."
Luffy smirked at him, "Yeah! Gramps trained me a lot! I bet I can beat you now!"
"Yeah, ok, Luffy. Keep telling yourself that," Ace laughed.
"It's true! I'm much stronger than before!" Luffy puffed his cheeks.
Ace ruffled his brother's hair again, "Alright, alright, my little brother has gotten much stronger. Come find me again when you become an Admiral."
"I will! And I'll prove to you then that I'm stronger than you!" Luffy placed his hands on his hips.
"Hahaha, I'll wait for you then. Go join up with your friends, I'll catch up with you." Ace shooed him towards the town.
"I'll see you later!" Luffy waved back as he sprinted towards the still departing Captains.
Luffy caught up to Smoker and Hina just as they entered the town.
"Lighten up Smoker-kun, you don't want to upset Luffy now, do you?" Hina prodded him.
"Shut up…" Smoker crossed his arms.
Luffy leapt on to Smoker's back without warning, "Thanks Smokey! I owe ya one!"
"Shut up! Get off me!" Smoker shook the Commodore off his back, though a grin still plastered on his face.
Hina chuckled as Luffy finally got off Smoker, "Speaking of which, Luffy... Do you know what's going on with Crocodile?"
"Ah right, I suppose you're the one Headquarters sent to investigate?" Smoker grunted, walking towards the harbour.
Hina nodded an affirmative, throwing an arm over Luffy's shoulders, "So do explain, my Commodore, just what exactly have I gotten myself into?"
Luffy scratched his chin, "Well… Er… The whole civil war in Alabasta was instigated by Crocodile, so now we're going to kick his ass."
"That kinda summarizes it," Smoker grinned. "Specifically, one of his Commanders, Luffy and I will be heading to where Crocodile is."
Hina squeezed Luffy closer to her, "And the others?"
"They'll be guarding the king and the princess, we have a hunch Crocodile might send his agents to target them." Smoker pointedly looked away from her.
"Well then, that Commander can join them in guard duty, I'm going with you guys too," Hina poked Luffy on the cheek.
Smoker frowned, "Who'll lead the rest?"
"I'm sure that Tashigi of yours or any of Luffy's crew can lead proficiently," Hina grinned.
Smoker raised an eyebrow at her, "No one on your side?"
Hina remembered the two new recruits and quickly shook her head, "They're a hopeless bunch."
"Fine then," Smoker grunted. "But you'll have to tell them yourself."
The three Marine officers continued their way to the harbor.
Going Merry pulled away from the harbor, leaving the other two Marine ships behind to head towards the river.
Besides the usual Straw Hats, Smoker and Hina stood among them on the deck.
"Why do I have to give up my spot to you? Can't I just go along as well?" Zoro protested, standing face to face with Hina.
Hina crossed her arms, "Four persons too much of a crowd, we'll get detected easier while heading to Rainbase."
"Well then why don't you stay behind? None of us had officer training so you're better suited than us to lead!" Zoro poked a finger at her.
"Then consider this your impromptu officer training, all of you are holding officer positions so you're expected to lead. You can't push this responsibility away forever!" Hina countered, standing firm.
Zoro glanced back at the rest of the crew, all of them staring at the two of them uneasily.
"Commander Zoro," Smoker leaned on the mast. "Just let it be... Take care of the rest of your crew, leave your Commodore to us."
Zoro humphed as he turned away from Hina, stomping back to rejoin the others.
"Let's confirm our roles then," Nami stepped forward. "We are to sail upstream and escort Vivi to the city of Alubarna. With the exception of Commodore Luffy, Captain Hina and Captain Smoker, we are to remain in the capital and protect the Royal Family from any threats coming from Baroque Works."
"How are we supposed to get to Rainbase from there though?" Hina frowned.
"I should be able to request the deployment of our Super Spot Billed Duck Squad, they're the fastest squad in Alabasta," Vivi offered, glancing at Carue.
"I guess there's nothing to do but to wait then?" Sanji leaned against the railing, watching the waves roll past, just in time to see a figure speeding towards them on a Striker. His eyes widened when he sees the flag of a pirate Jolly Roger on its mast.
"Incoming!" Sanji managed to shout as Ace leapt up from his Striker on to the deck of Merry.
"He's a pirate!" Zoro drew his swords.
Chopper hid behind the mast while Usopp drew back his sling shot. Namie stood in front of Vivi and assembled her staff with a flourish.
Ace nodded at them, satisfied, "Not bad, you've got a good crew, Luffy."
"Who are you?" Sanji demanded, his leg poised in the air.
"Luffy's brother, apparently," Smoker rolled his eyes, stepping to the back of the ship.
"Brother?!" The Straw Hats gasped collectively.
Ace gave them a mock salute, "Sup."
"Ace!" Luffy ran up and gave his brother a hug.
"Thanks for taking care of my brother for me, no doubt he's a handful huh?" Ace grinned while ruffling Luffy's hair.
Luffy pouted, "I know how to take care of myself now!"
"Mr. Ace? If you don't mind me asking?" Vivi pointed to the tattoo on his back.
"It's as you thought, he's a member of the Whitebeard Pirates. Not just any member either, he's a commander of the second division." Hina crossed her arms.
"Luffy! Your family is full of dangerous people!" Nami yelled at him.
"Shishishi, Ace is fine, he's my big brother!" Luffy laughed.
"THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT!" His crew yelled at him.
"Hahaha! You have a good crew Luffy," Ace laughed as he released Luffy from the hug. "Take this."
Ace tossed a folded piece of paper to him.
"Oh? You have a Vivre card too? I'll give you mine too!" Luffy dug through his cloak until he pulled out a similar looking piece of paper that he tore a part out to hand to Ace.
Ace grinned as he tucked the Vivre card in his pants, "Well I shan't be staying here for any longer, it's not good for me to be seen with you guys anyway."
"Awww... It'll be fine! Can't you stay for a while? I haven't even introduced everyone yet!" Luffy frowned.
Ace ruffled his hair again, "Sorry Luffy, I have my own business too, but you definitely have a good crew here. Why don't you formally introduce us the next time we meet?"
"Oh, fine…" Luffy pouted.
Ace turned to regard the rest of the crew, tilting his hat at them, "I know he might be rather difficult at times, but I hope you'll continue to take care of him well. Having a little brother like him is stressful for an older brother's heart."
Everyone nodded quickly.
Ace grinned when he saw how fast their response was before leaping over the railing to land on his Striker gracefully.
"See you, Ace!" Luffy waved from the side of his ship as Ace sped away, waving back at him.
"Luffy? Is he really your big brother?" Sanji raised an eyebrow.
"We're not related by blood if that's what you're asking," Luffy grinned at him.
"I… I see…" Nami breathed a sigh of relief, knowing Garp only had one grandchild after all.
"He's... nice... I expected him to be more like Luffy..." Zoro scratched his head.
"He's such a good person!" Chopper gazed after Ace's disappearing figure.
"But is this fine? Letting such a dangerous pirate go like that?" Usopp scratched his head.
Hina chuckled, "Well, I don't suppose any of you are in the mood to capture him now, are you?"
Everyone turned to their grinning Commodore before turning back and shaking their heads in unison, "Nope, not at all."
"Well good, we should make haste towards Alubarna then, we've wasted enough time already," Smoker finally stepped out from the back of the ship.
"Full speed ahead! We're gonna kick Crocodile's ass!" Luffy yelled, punching his hands in the air.
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And cut.so that is it for this chapter hope you guys enjoyed and see you in the next chapter.(yep I am copy-pasting it every chapter)
chapter 18:Thunder In The Distance