Alright, so I got the idea for this while writing my current main fanfiction A Pirate's Resolve. It's sort of like a prequel but not. This takes place 10 years after the Marineford arc and by now Luffy has obtained the title of Pirate King. I'm not sure how often I'll update this because my main concern is still A Pirate's Resolve but I promise not to drop it (unless something bad happens). The story itself probably won't be too long (although if I get into it, it could end up really long) but I thought it would be a fun side-story to work on in my spare time. If you feel the need to read more then by all means check out A Pirate's Resolve! It has longer chapters and a lot more out! Also, reviews are more than welcome!

Disclaimer: How many of you get the title? :D

He appeared from the smoke and rubble of the open battlefield, the only one unscathed. The man stood tall, arms crossed in a bout of confidence as he watched the hundreds of others fight around him. His raven strands hid the better half of his face in shadows, leaving his grinning mouth as his most distinguishable feature.

A tall man stood across the battlefield. He clenched his teeth and gripped his bloodied arm, clearly in worse shape than his foe. His blue eyes never left his target and the proud man before him made his move. That bastard hadn't broken a sweat. Captain's jacket hung over his shoulders, the man continued his smile and stretched. All of the destruction he had caused up to that moment was a warm-up for him – a test run. But he wouldn't lose. There was still one more thing he could do.

"Ready to give up?" the blue-eyed man asked as his battered body began to fail him. Just a little longer.

At this his opponent laughed. The amusement in his voice made his stomach churn. He was a cocky bastard, no doubt.

"Got a secret move?"

"As a matter of fact…" The raven-haired man's interest grew. He stopped where he was and watched with a wicked grin. His broken opponent took the last of his energy to stand tall. He stretched out both of his hands: the right began to emit a bright light while the left was enveloped in blackness. "You haven't asked what my devil fruit is."

"Oh?"

"I'm afraid you've reached the end, Pirate King." His hands collided in his center and the darkness and light collided and spiraled around his figure.

"Afraid that's not enough."

"You're delusional!"

He aimed the two energies at the Pirate King and released them. They surrounded the man whose smile never faded. Both sides ceased their fighting to marvel at the sight in bewilderment. The black-haired man's allies stared in horror while his enemies laughed in victory. This was it. As he watched the figure clad in red vanish, he heard one final sound.

"Shishishi!"

Ace woke from his narcoleptic fit, greeted by the amused faces of his crew. He yawned and stretched and yet their eyes never left them. The man eyed them as a warning. He wasn't in the best of moods as of late. It felt great when he took Whitebeard's mark, but now he was faced with the important decision of whether he would take the title of second division commander. It was an honor to be considered, but it wasn't something he was prepared to take on. The crew still didn't know about his secret. Whitebeard still didn't know.

As he continued his internal battle, Thatch decided that it was time to bother the kid. He swung his arm over Fire Fist's shoulders and was met with a surprised jump. He let out a hearty laugh.

"Made your decision yet, kid?"

"I don't know."

"Just take it! We've been without a second division commander for-"

Before the man could finish, their ship was met with a massive explosion. Men scurried across the deck in a feeble attempt to survey the situation. It was chaos all around and in the middle was a thick, black smoke.

Ace's eyes almost jumped from their sockets. Who would dare attack Whitebeard's ship? Nothing like that had happened before. Whitebeard was untouchable – the strongest man in the world. No one messed with him or his crew.

He slowly rose to his feet and took a look around. No one knew what to do. They assumed there was a fire and prepared buckets of water to throw into the smoke. Before they had the chance to act, coughing came from the smoke. A person?

Whitebeard himself was not phased and remained calm as his sons scurried about in panicked confusion. He'd been through a lot during his reign and this was far from the least expected. Every once in a while some fool would attack him thinking he was strong and would later be pummeled by his crew. What concerned him was that there was nothing around them: no islands, ships, or even seakings. That was unnatural.

"Damn Yonko!" shouted a voice from the point of impact.

The smoke finally lifted to reveal a man dressed in a red Captain's jacket and black shorts that went just below his knees. His hair was dark ebony as were his eyes and a curved scar adorned his left cheek. He didn't seem strong or special in any way. In fact, he was rather scrawny.

The man straightened himself out and cussed under his breath as he dusted himself off. It was interesting to them that he was free of injury despite the impact he made. Then he paused and stared at the crowd on deck. He blinked twice with large, blank eyes before he casually waved their way. Then he took a look at the broken wood at his feet and slowly grasped the situation.

"Oh," he said simply, realization washing over him, "sorry about that."

Then he began circling around. It seemed he was searching for something and, after seeing no sight of it, simply grew in confusion. He noticed that he was out at sea and not in a battlefield. He tilted his head, folded his arms and let out an exasperated sigh. "Must've flown pretty far."

"Who are you?" Jozu asked the question everyone wanted to ask and the man's first reply was a burst of laughter.

"You don't know?" The crew shook their heads. "Well, it's not important."

Then his eyes fell on Whitebeard and he simply marveled at his presence. The strongest man in the world was before him, but that wasn't what elicited his reaction. No, this wasn't right. Whitebeard should not be there. Now he was starting to understand what the Yonko had done, or at least intended. This wasn't where he belonged.

"Oi, giant ossan," he called out, the crew baffled at his lack of manners, "you're alive?"

What had the stranger just asked? Was Whitebeard alive? To them it sounded like a threat, but the old man interpreted it differently. This man was no enemy. He wasn't hostile or angry or anything more than simply interested in the Yonko. His question was sincere.

Many of the commanders blocked the path between the two protectively. They weren't about to allow that stranger attack him, even if he was no match for him. Whitebeard was getting old. He didn't need to use his strength unnecessarily. They were surprised when their Captain laughed. He wasn't weary of the boy in the slightest.

Seeing the Yonko's reaction, the stranger relaxed and sat down cross-legged with a smile. The two laughed together and then fell into silence. Whitebeard finished his study of the man and leaned back in his large chair. He rested his head on his fist and gave the man an odd look.

"Where are we, exactly?"

"The first half of the New World."

The man whistled and laughed at this. "I was flown pretty far! Shishishi!"

Ace's eyes narrowed. The stranger's laugh was oddly familiar. He had never seen him, though. Scanning his features once more, he noted that the man was probably in his late twenties. He didn't seem strong or intelligent. If it wasn't for his overdone arrival, no member of the crew would bother to look his way.

"Who are you, boy?" bellowed the old man, catching the attention of the stranger. He decided that he would comply. He was still relaxing on the charred and broken wood of the deck. His grin stretched further so that his mouth reached ear-to-ear. Then he stood.

"Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy."

Needless to say, everyone was shocked. This man claimed to be the Pirate King, a title given only to the one who obtained everything the world had to offer. They would laugh, but it was so ridiculous that they went quiet.

Ace was shocked for a different reason. This man had claimed to be his brother. He had to be mad. Something was not right about him. Pirate King or not, no one takes the name of his brother.

"Oi!" Ace shouted. The man turned to him. Once he saw his face his already large eyes doubled. Ace stepped forward in a rather intimidating stance. He wasn't going to let him lie about that. "Quit with the lies."

"Ace…" Luffy's eyes remained blank. He didn't know how to react to that and just kept watching, trying to understand how something like that was possible. Ace was dead. He died in his arms 10 years ago. Why was he there? Why was Whitebeard there? He continued to stare in a daze until his brother was right in front of him.

"Why don't you tell us the truth?"

"You know each other or something?" Marco interjected, curiosity reaching its peak. He saw the expression on the stranger's face and knew that something wasn't right. He had to know what that something was.

"Not at all," Ace shot back without hesitation."

"Yeah, we do," the man contradicted. He collapsed to the ground to try to calm down. There was too much going on in his head. He was starting to understand what the Yonko had done. Finally it was all making sense. But the situation was not in his favour. "He's my brother."

This is bad.

A/N: And so it begins! *dramatic background music* I know the chapter is short but I'm really more looking content then length so the word count will probably vary a lot with this one. I hope you still like it. Tell me if you'd like it to be long or short or any ideas you have about it because I get writer's block very easily :P

Oh and for those of you who haven't read the main story, Luffy is now 27 and he's going to be a bit OOC because I'm trying to have him act more mature since he's now an adult and I'm trying to write it as though he's grown up, you know?

Until next time, my lovelies~