Chapter Text
Ace can't help but notice that the Moby Dick, beautiful as it is, has gone through a couple of modifications in the last few days. There is a cordoned off area, prohibiting the passage to the wooden boards of the scorched floor. The huge captain's chair is now tuned, filled with childish scribbles that, judging by the drawing that looks like an attempt to look like the Jolly Roger from the Straw Hat pirates, has only one possible author.
"Luffy...", he groans, making Sabo giggle.
"It seems that the Whitebeard pirates deserve a good vacation after this", the revolutionary comments with amusement. Those mentioned let out frustrated sighs in silent agreement.
"It’s alright, I can deal with an overly energetic kid”, the captain laughs. "Glad to have you back, son."
"Oyaji", Ace smiles proudly. "I'm back."
"Thank the seas”, Marco murmurs. He looks the worst of all, with deep dark circles and his usual pineapple hairstyle more tousled than usual. "Ace, do you want to explain us what all this has been about? It's not that I don't like your brother, but..."
"It was tough”, Jozu agrees. "Not as hard as watching you try to murder our father, but tough nonetheless."
"I don't know what happened either", the young pirate admits. "I went to sleep and the next morning I woke up at the base of the Revolutionary Army."
"Oh yeah, in the body of your dead brother, right?", Haruta asks.
Sabo grimaces before bowing politely. "I'm afraid that's me. I'm Sabo, pleased to meet you. Thank you for taking care of my brothers."
"You don't know why this happened either?", Ace asks him.
The blonde shakes his head. "I'm just like you. I woke up on a rookie boat and had no idea what was going on. I'm glad Luffy's friends were so nice, even though Nico Robin tried to scrag me at first."
Ace shrugs. "I would also be upset if I discover that there is a stranger in the body of my nakama", he looks at his brothers suspiciously. "How have you guys been with Luffy?"
"Well..."
"He called me pretty boy”, Izo says, completely satisfied. He is the least tired of all.
"He called me bread boy!", exclaims Thatch. "And I didn't know whether to be offended or to think he was adorable, but it was an interesting experience to see you so loving."
Ace shudders at the memory of the pathetic image of his body acting under the overly flamboyant personality of his little brother.
"Please tell me you didn’t..."
Rakuyo puts a hand on his shoulder with empathy. "We have chantage material for a year and a half, boy."
The idea of jumping off the deck and plunging into the sea like a drowned sea bream is very striking right now.
"And now we're determined to make you smile a lot more Ace!", Thatch babbles happily. "We will pamper you like the dear little brother of the Whitebeard pirates that you are."
Ace groans. "Koala, kill me please."
It is a wise move to have asked the girl, because she immediately rolls up her shirt sleeves and clenches her hand into a fist without asking questions.
"Since you ask me…”, she says with false resignation.
"Enough, no one is dying today”, Sabo says with a hint of amusement in his voice. "It shouldn't be that awful, Ace. I can see you're a lot more receptive than when we were younger."
The pirates' focus swiftly shifts to Sabo. Thatch steps forward with wide eyes.
"Will you tell us embarrassing stories about little Ace?"
Ace's eyes widen and he glares at his brother, daring him to say a single word. The blonde retains his calm facade as he has been doing all along, but Ace can see a small wave of nervousness in his movements.
Good , he thinks. If you open your mouth, someone will have to die today and it certainly won't be me.
His chain of thought is cut short when the noise and whispers of the passersby who are gathered in front of the Moby Dick are immediately silenced. The expressions of his ship brothers change to grim, and before he turns around to see what happens, Ace knows what he will find.
They have caught the attention of a Tenryuubito.
"Luffy, I'm telling you that following Zoro will get us nowhere!", Usopp complains.
"Or worse, it will lead us straight to death", Robin smiles.
"But he's the only one who's been to the amusement park!", Luffy groans annoyed.
"It is the mosshead, for him even a navy base is an amusement park."
"It's this way", the swordsman guides completely convinced.
"See?", Luffy says in a jaded tone. "He knows the way."
"What a bunch of idiots", Nami complains when they pass the scorched place that Luffy burned a while ago on his older brother's body for the third time.
It is not yet the time to confront the Government and their boss is going to rip their heads off when he hears about the drama in which Sabo and Koala have just become involved.
The Tenryuubito approaches at a slow pace, trying to appear majestic without having even a hint of delicacy on his body. He wears the typical white garb that represents a purity that nobles lack and lazily pulls a chain tied around the neck of a man who crawls miserably like a dog.
Fury swirls through Sabo's body in waves and for a moment he looks red, just wanting to dig his fingers into the dirty neck of the man in front of him.
However, Sabo is wiser than that. He does not make any movement, neither to attack nor to kneel. Koala's body clings closer to his and his friend's fingers wrap around his shirt. Sabo knows that it is not out of fear, but because of the impotence that the girl feels for not being able to hit the nobleman.
Pirates also go dead still, even the explosive and untamed Ace. Sabo's breath escapes when he remembers the situation they are in again. There are two revolutionaries, a crew of an Emperor, a group of civilians, and a Tenryuubito with his bodyguards on the scene. If the revolutionaries attack, a war they are unprepared for will begin and the results will be catastrophic.
Whitebeard, on the other hand, could destroy the Tenryuubito and the World Government with a single finger if he put his mind to it. He is not the strongest man in the world, a legend, for nothing. However, he remains in a precarious situation. What would happen to the world if a Yonkou, one of the Three Great Powers, challenged another great power such as the World Government? The pirates are constantly fighting the Navy, but a direct war against the Government, the Gorosei and whoever is pulling the strings?
Sabo assumes that the fact that Whitebeard and his sons have not already squashed that insect means that they too know the disastrous outcome of all this. And it is worse, because despite everything, Sabo is aware that if the Tenryuubito points to any of the people who are on the boat right now and says 'I want them', Whitebeard will act without thinking about the consequences.
His mind works overtime to find a way out, an escape, a way out of this situation without the world ending up fractured in one way or another. A lump forms in his throat when he realizes that there is no way for the Tenryuubito to turn around and decide to leave them alone.
"Hm", the Tenryuubito looks over his nose at the pirates. He pauses on Whitebeard for a moment, but looks away quickly. In the end, he decides to look at Sabo.
No, not at Sabo, at the person next to Sabo.
"I want her", says the Tenryuubito pointing to Koala. "Now you will be my wife."
Sabo's fury rises and he feels like he might spit fire when he feels Koala tense next to him. She steps forward almost at the same time as Sabo, both ready to start the war on the spot. He briefly notices that Ace is getting a little closer to Koala, transmitting a protective rage that he has only seen him give off by Luffy. He doesn't have time to be moved, but some of his own anger subsides to give way to a wave of affection for his brother.
But the fury returns to him when the man insists.
"Don't you know who I am? I said I want you, come here right now."
Koala stands tall, fixing her dark blue eyes on the man. She opens her mouth to spit out some of her best "fuck you" variations, when ...
"Sugoii! How big the ship looks!"
And as one, all eyes are on the oblivious rookie crew walking towards a Yonkou's boat with the presence of a Tenryuubito, as if they were strolling through a colorful town square.
"This is not an theme park, mosshead."
"Shaddup, you pervy cook. It's not my fault the current got us here."
"The current? That's a super new excuse."
"This ship is gigantic! Is that what theme parks are like ?!", Luffy asks, jumping with excitement.
"I thought I'd find some cotton candy stall", Chopper laments, looking around with obvious disappointment.
"No, guys, listen, this is not an theme park. This was my ship when I made my first trip to the New World at eight years old", Usopp gloats.
"Really ?!", Chopper and Brook exclaim at the same time.
"Sanji, food."
"You were taking too long", Nami sighs and stops when she sees Robin tense up. "What is it, Robin?"
"This is Whitebeard's boat", she says.
The young pirates stare at the giant ship as if they hadn't paid attention to it until now.
"Well at least we haven't been walking around for nothing", says the orange-haired girl in an unsure tone. "It's Luffy's brother's crew, we're not in danger... right?"
"I don't know about them, but right now it's not safe to be here for anyone", says Robin lowering her voice.
Luffy, who has been distracted looking from the outside for the first time at the giant Ossan ship he woke up in a week ago, whips around to look at Robin. He doesn't know exactly what's going on, but his nakama's voice is small, insecure, and scared. It reminds him of Water 7, when the dove's bastard dude and Usopp's cousin wanted to take her away.
"Nico Robin!", the voice coming from the giant Ossan's ship is high pitched and annoying. "I want her too!" He says without further ado.
Luffy blinks without understanding.
"What do you mean you want her, you bastard?", Sanji says immediately defensively.
"What have you said?! Don’t you know who you're talking to?!"
"Sanji, no", Robin says sternly. "You cannot antagonize this man. Don't."
The scene is too fast and unnerving for Luffy. He stands still while the ugly guy keeps talking.
"And a raccoon with an Akuma no Mi! And a cyborg! And a skeleton!", the way he names his nakama one by one is unpleasant. "I'll take them all, Dad will be very happy!"
"Robin", Nami frowns. She is not as smart as Robin because Nami knows more than anyone on the ship, but Robin knows more than anyone else in the world. Still, Nami seems to understand something of what is happening, Luffy still eludes the situation. "Robin, what does this man want?"
"You will be my slaves", the guy says getting off the boat and walking like a penguin towards them.
Luffy did understand that. He is not amused at all.
"You can't get close to my nakama!", he says with a frown and clenched fists.
"Wait, Luffy", says a voice from the Ossan's ship. Luffy sees a flash of blonde peek out from the deck. "He's a Tenryuubito, if you do something to him..."
The blond guy is silenced by Ace's hand, whose gaze is fiery as he looks at the man.
Luffy knows he is not the smartest person, but the guy has offended him a lot by suggesting that he wants to take his nakama from him and also seems to have angered Ace. Luffy takes a step forward.
"Captain", Robin's voice, serious and shaky, stops him. "This is not like Enies Lobby. Burning a flag and offending a Tenryuubito are very different things. If you do this, it could be the end for us."
The rest of his nakama seem a bit unsure from Robin's words and Luffy understands them. Their trip, their dreams and their company are the most precious things to all of them, anything that could threaten their relative calm is worse than any other nightmare.
But...
Luffy looks Robin to the eyes and feels the bodies of his nakama relax around him.
"I'm going to be the King of the Pirates", he says.
And with that simple phrase, he wants to make many other things clear to you. That if the world throws itself at them, they don't care, because sooner or later it will happen. That the path to fulfill their dreams has already begun, and setbacks are nothing more than challenges and obstacles to overcome. That as long as he is their captain, he will not allow just anyone to try to separate them.
"Stop ignoring me!", the high-pitched voice squeals. "Now you are my property, and I..."
Luffy looks at the guy again and doesn't let him say another word before shutting him up with a punch.
"Shut up, these are my nakama!"
The bunch of people who were kneeling under the giant ship go crazy. Luffy doesn't care, he's satisfied to see Robin's resigned and endearing gaze and Nami's exasperated expression.
Ace hears his ship brothers gasp, but he doesn't feel the slightest bit of surprise. It's not that surprising when you know Luffy and it becomes a trifle when he realizes that he would have done the same if Luffy hadn't shown up. Politics and all that stuff has never mattered to him and hitting idiots in the face is always a therapeutic activity.
As the civilians yell and the Whitebeard pirates look at each other, Sabo turns away and turns to squint at him.
"Why", he asks. "You know what you just convicted Luffy of by allowing him to do that. Why?"
Ace sighs and remembers that even though this is his other brother, he hasn't grown up with them. He knows Luffy, yes, but he hasn't seen Luffy grow up like he has.
"What were you planning to do?", he asks using a bit of logic. "The results if we or I had done it would have been terrible, right?"
Sabo opens his mouth, no doubt to say that he knows Ace doesn't care about any of that, but then he seems to think about it and closes it. Thinking carefully, Luffy hitting a Tenryuubito is the most peaceful way this encounter could end. No wars, just a crazy rookie doing something crazy that he would have done sooner or later.
"Okay", Sabo admits. "However, an admiral is coming right now and we are here to defend him, but we won't be around forever. I've lived with Luffy's crew, they can't beat an admiral right now."
Ace knows. His brother may have defeated Crocodile and caused a stir in Enies Lobby, but he's still weak. He has hit a Tenryuubito, now what?
The two brothers keep quiet for a moment until the protagonist of their worries passes them, so alien, hooking on Thacth and begging for food as if there was nothing out of place.
"Luffy!", they both exclaim at the same time with that scolding tone despite the fact that both have uselessly allowed their brother to get into trouble.
The teenager turns with wide eyes, feeling trapped. He looks at Ace waiting for a hit or something, but then he notices Sabo.
And now that Ace remembers... Does Luffy know that Sabo is alive?
The staring contest between Sabo and Luffy ends up being a bit awkward, because Luffy looks at him with those wide eyes and Sabo feels that if he moves a single muscle he will make his little brother hit him, or worse, he will burst into tears.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Luffy just crosses his arms and arches an eyebrow giving an interesting look that does not match anything with the Luffy he knows.
"And who the hell are you?"
Sabo giggles, almost seeing the seven-year-old Luffy in front of him.
"It's me, Luffy", he says simply, earning a snort from Ace.
"What do you mean 'me'?", Luffy puts his arms on his hips. "Listen, earlier when I was going to hit that guy you yelled at me like you knew me, but I don't remember your scar from anywhere."
"How do you think I should talk my little brother then?", he asks with amusement.
"Brother?", Luffy scoffs, bowing his head. "The only people who can call me little brother are Ace and my brother who died..."
Luffy's voice starts to fade when he realizes. The corner of Sabo's lip twitches when he hears Nami say 'at last'.
Luffy's round eyes start to water and get so big that they pop out of their sockets. Ace curses.
"No, please..."
But it's late, Luffy may not be the crybaby he met ten years ago but right now he's a river of tears as he launches himself at him with a scream.
"Sabo?!"
What follows is an amalgamation of babbling, screaming, and even a few laughs as the boy squeezes him into a death hug that could suffocate a weaker man.
Luffy has a lot of questions, but he also has something better. He is huddled between his two brothers without wanting to let either of them go. The Ossan’s pirates, the girl Ace says is Sabo's girlfriend and his own nakama spend a while talking about the 'bodyswap' as it seems that Sabo ended up in his own body and Ace in Sabo's and all of them knew about it except Luffy himself.
Bored with the conversation, he separates himself from his brothers and smiles at them with pride.
"Have you seen my crew?! They are the best!"
His nakama coo with shame and pleasure at being recognized. Sabo gives him the calm and comforting smile that he has missed so much.
"They are, Luffy. You have an impressive crew."
"I haven't had the pleasure of seeing them in action, but they must be incredibly stubborn to put up with a fool like you", the corners of the old captain's eyes crinkle with amusement. Then he gets serious. "And while I'd love to meet you right now, I think it's time to get going. The admiral is here."
"I don't feel like seeing their ugly faces today", Ace groans. "Who will it be?"
"As long as it's not The Red Dog, this island can stand for another day", says Sabo. "Luffy, stay here, I'll go get your ship and follow Moby Dick."
Luffy blinks. "I'm not going with you."
The pirates, who had already set in motion, stop. Ace and Sabo cocked their heads.
"What?", Ace lets out a confused sound. "Luffy, what part haven't you understood? Admiral. Dangerous for a weakling like you. Don't feel like seeing Akainu's ugly ass."
"We will go on our own."
"Luffy!", Sabo looks exasperated. "This is not the time to be capricious, it is you who are in danger, not us."
"I'm not going with you! Ossan told me I would become his son and the pineapple boy said that meant he wants to be my captain!", he growls. "I don't want that! Go away Ace, I don't want your captain to get near my nakama!"
"Luffy, it's not like Oyaji is going to kidnap you against your will or something," Ace rolls his eyes.
Luffy crosses his arms and looks at the Ossan, who conveniently looks away.
"Go away!"
"But...!"
"You too, Sabo!"
"God, how dramatic", the pretty boy complains.
"This is my adventure, don't meddle!"
Ace and Sabo exchange a stare. Luffy knows that his nakama have already started to move and Zoro has gone to find the Sunny, so he says goodbye to his brothers with a nod and jumps off the ship.
"Luffy!", calls Ace stopping him for a moment. Luffy turns to see his brother's challenging smile. "Next time we meet we will be rivals! After all, I plan to make Oyaji the King of the Pirates!"
The young man in the straw hat smiles. "At that time I will be the strongest!"
"Stay out of trouble, Luffy!", Sabo says goodbye.
"Goodbye y’all!"
Moby Dick floats at a relative distance from Sabaody. The two brothers flutter nervously across the deck, never having seen the Thousand Sunny depart.
"Ace, Sabo, your brother is a pirate", says Koala sitting on the railing of the ship. "And he just became my favorite pirate after hitting that asshole. They'll be fine."
The boys seem insecure, but there is nothing they can do. Luffy made it clear to them that he wouldn't let them get in his way, and they know how serious he is about this kind of thing.
"Then I'll say goodbye", says Sabo. "I have the Den Den number for this ship and the Sunny, I hope we can stay in touch."
Ace smiles. "Of course you idiot. Don't get killed again, Sabo."
"Don't ever fall asleep while fishing, Ace."
"What?! When did they tell you that?! What else did they tell you?! Damn traitors!"
Sabo laughs, the invisible weight of his lost memories finally easing.
The crew of the Straw Hat pirates are declared missing three days later. It is not for less, people think when they read the news. No one defies the World Government twice and escapes safely.
Two years later, their thoughts about Mugiwara no Luffy and his crew change. Behind all this are two infinitely proud siblings, a Yonkou who still wants to recruit another D and a revolutionary girl who finds a fan club to belong to.
Bonus:
There is a man standing in front of him. His body is completely covered by a long dark coat with the Jolly Roger of his crew drawn at the knees. His dark complexion is a blatant contrast to the snowflakes that fall around him. His lips are red from the cold and his goatee is well trimmed. His gray eyes are icy cold and the tattoos on his hands catch Luffy's attention immediately. The man looks at him almost reverently.
"Mugiwara-ya", he says. "I have waited a long time for this moment to come."
"Eh..."
"Regarding the alliance we made, I think we should put your plan into action."
Luffy blinks and cocks his head.
"And who are you?"
Trafalgar Law narrows his eyes. Is this some kind of test? "I'm your ally", he answers confidently.
The young boy stares at him for a few more seconds before shrugging and smiling. "Good, okay!"
Trafalgar is beginning to rethink the idea of the alliance.