AN: This Luffy will be a bit smarter and act a little differently than Canon!Luffy. He will still very much be Luffy, as only Luffy can be, but you will notice differences. His background story will also be very different in some regards. He still will have spent some years in Foosha Village, met Shanks and got his straw hat, and met Sabo and Ace (no real difference in how he meets them either). Just saying this now, Sabo is alive and with them. He was saved by Dragon (again no difference) but was returned to his brothers a few months after the accident and after Luffy had been hurt by the bear. Luffy, Ace, and Sabo will all be a little stronger than in Canon because of growing up with a Dragon!Luffy and Luffy also did something special with them (not saying what, you will have to wait and see). First time writing a fic so please tell me what you think.

Anyway, Disclaimer Time! You recognize it, I don't own it! Don't own One Piece, Whitebeards, Ace, Sabo, Luffy (though I would love to be friends with them, imagine the fun mayhem and chaos that could be created!) or any other characters you may or may not know. Plot and some other things are mine. Don't want to list them as that would take forever and I'll end up forgetting something anyhow. Also, not doing this for profit or as a scheme to take over the world; doing it because a friend won't stop bugging the crap out of me so I figure this will shut them up…for a while at least. On another note, don't want to have to do the 'disclaimer' thing again and again for each chapter because I just know that I will forget to do it at some point and that might cause issues. So! Disclaimer Note: all things in the story belong to their respective parties (this goes for each and every chapter unless stated otherwise)!

"Hello"—normal speaking

'Hello'—thoughts

/Hello/—thought-speak

/(Hello)/—thought-impression and will mostly be used for emotions being transmitted between brothers, though might throw in a brief image description every now and then (still deciding how to do that so if any ideas PM or add in review if you write one)

Chapter 1: A Fiery Meeting! Ace Gets KO'd

Luffy was bored.

Hungry too, but mostly bored.

Ace was going onto his fifth day of fighting of fighting that big blue fishy dude and Luffy had left early that morning before the sun rose so that he could get a snack before breakfast.

Sabo remained behind to continue watching their brother to make sure he wouldn't do anything too stupid (with half the crew who wanted to watch the show, the others remaining on the ship until their turn came). Basically, Sabo had gotten saddled with babysitting Ace and monitoring their crew, the Spade Pirates. He was a little worried at leaving his brothers but trusted Sabo to handle things…and he was hungry!

Noticing his little brother's dilemma (Luffy really didn't want to leave in case he missed something, but the sounds coming from his stomach were really getting on the blond's nerves), Sabo told Luffy it would be best if he got his snack now. It wasn't very light out and dawn wouldn't arrive for a while yet, so it was safer for him to go hunting now as he'd be harder to see in his other form. Plus, everyone was tired enough that they shouldn't really notice Luffy's absence unless he missed breakfast.

Seeing as many of their crew would be wandering the island, though mostly back and forth between Ace's fight and the ship, Luffy decided to go fishing instead of hunting on land. It had been a week or so since he last got to really enjoy his other form outside and he had been getting a little twitchy because of it. Going for a nice swim and catching lots of tasty fish would help calm him down and also give him something to do instead of just watch Ace have all the fun fighting someone strong like Big Fish-Dude.

After another ten minutes of wandering about Luffy finally came upon a small, secluded stretch of beach. Nobody would be able to see him Shift here and it was unlikely that anyone would think to look for him anytime soon, seeing as the sun wouldn't be up for another hour or so. Cautiously, Luffy scented the air to make sure no one was nearby or had been to the beach recently. He quickly tried to sense if anyone had followed him but thankfully that also came up blank.

Finding nothing, he immediately began to strip out of his clothes. Off went the baggy pair of jean-shorts that reached the tops of his knees, quickly joined by a bright red vest with brass buttons on the sandy ground. Luffy only ever bothered to wear underwear if he was sleeping (he treated them like pajama bottoms) or if it was cold, not liking the extra layer of garments and the seconds it would take to be rid of them if he wanted to Shift quickly. He kicked off his sandals, letting them land haphazardly near the pile of cloth, and gently removed his precious straw hat and set that on top his discarded clothes. Before leaving, Luffy made sure to put a couple small dry stones on the hat's brim; last time the wind almost took it and he didn't want to lose his treasured hat.

Turning back to the sea, Luffy willed himself to change from his gangly and puny Human form, to his more comfortable and relaxing scaled self. Since eating the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit when he was about six, the transformation no longer caused him any real discomfort.

Skin became darker, thickening as it turned tough and leathery. Then his strong scales began to form on his body. Though naturally pitch-black in color, because of their almost glossy and burnished look they shone with hints of dark teals, purples, and reds when in the sunlight. At night, under the moon and stars, his scales softly reflected bits of dark silvery-blue.

His face stretched and contorted, becoming triangular as it grew in size and took on more lizard-like qualities. Eyes lightened to dark amber as they grew and moved more to the sides of his head. Above, two polished-looking sharp onyx horns formed on the top of his head and curved back before making a small dip and pointing up; a few much smaller, and not quite as sharp, onyx horns grew along the back of his jaw and the top of his eye-ridges. Another small set led up to the base of the main horns.

Teeth shape into small daggers. The canids turning into fangs, with the top pair poking out over his bottom jaw a bit; the lower barely staying concealed. Back molars grow larger and their edges sharpen, suited to scraping flesh from bone before the bone itself is crushed and eaten.

His skinny grew long and many times thicker, ropes of strong muscle emerging to hold his enlarged head. The black scales forming along the front of his throat become denser and larger, packed close and tightly overlapping one another to protect his otherwise vulnerable neck.

A long, sinuous and elegant tail grows as his spine lengthens; three pairs of spined fins forming on either side towards the tail's end.

The fins are more like a cobra's hood in terms of resemblance, except with blade-like scales lining the outer edge. Relaxed, the fins are barely discernable from the rest of the tail, as they rest in soft-scaled grooves along the limb. While the outer scales of the fins are thick and strong, the inner portions (namely the connecting muscle and where the fins attach to the tail) can be easily damaged; the grooves offer the fins and tail portion protection. When tensed, the leather-covered muscle (though thin, is still much thicker than his wing membranes) pushes against the edged spine that is normally hidden in the scaled "sleeve". Long scales overlap along the outer-portion of the fin to form a razored edge, using the spine in the sleeve as a brace. When fully extended, the webbing of the fin (and consequently, the spine's sheath) only reaches about three-quarters along the spine. Sabo believes these bladed fins are relatively useless in terms of Luffy using them to fly, and more likely function as weapons.

Chest expanding, Luffy felt his ribs shift as new chords of muscle rippled into being to support the powerful leathery wings he could feel beginning to form on his back. Shoulders and hips moved to better support the added bulk of his changing form. His arms and legs twinge a bit as they, too, change into their larger and more muscular counterparts.

Hands and feet grow deadly talons matching his horns, fingers and toes lengthening and thickening to match his developing paws. His thumbs move back from the rest of his fingers, shifting around so that they face backwards. The big toes move to a similar position, his back feet elongate as they become slightly larger versions of the front pair. Thick pads develop at the base of each foot where the four clawed toes converge, allowing him to more comfortably walk and run on all fours.

For whatever reason, the last couple of things to form are the pair of soft-scaled "ears" perched on either side of his head (by the outer side of his large horns' base) and his mane.

Like his scales, the soft and fluffy strands of "hair" that comprise his thick mane are jet black. Despite looking like a horse's mane, his did not grow out of his thick hide; the "hairs" were actually long tufts that formed at the end of the scales that ran along his entire spine. Unlike the scales, his mane only gives off a dark blue sheen under the sun or a silver-gilt dark teal in the moonlight. The mass of soft hair starts at the top of his head, right before the base of his two large horns and running between them. It continues down his long neck and along the middle of his back, right to the very tip of his tail.

As the final changes to his muscles take place and his wings finish growing, Luffy falls forward to stand on all four paws. Shuffling his wings and giving his neck and head a shake to rid the tingling of settling muscle. The whole process took little less than a minute but it still gives him a small rush all the same.

Taking a brief moment to stretch his limbs and get reacquainted with his Dragon form, Luffy raises his snout to scent the air again to make sure nobody is nearby while also listening to the surrounding area. His senses are many times sharper in this form than his Human one (though they are still sharper than that of a normal person's even then), though his sense of touch is hampered by his tough scales and thick skin. There is a spot on his nose that's fairly sensitive and useful for gauging an object's temperature, though… Still, this form was much better than his smaller, weaker, and squishier one.

Looking back over himself, Luffy figures he's about thirty feet from snout to tail-tip. Stretching his wings out while being careful of the cliffs on either side—this beach is even smaller in this form—his wingspan looks to have grown as well since Sabo last measured. It seems to be a few feet wider than he his long now; hopefully it meant that his wings were finally starting to grow larger.

'Sabo should measure them again…they might be big enough now I can start trying to fly!'

Tucking them back in, Luffy makes his way into the sea (at least in this form it doesn't affect him despite having Devil Fruit powers) to go catch his pre-breakfast snack. He sends a quick thought to Sabo, letting his brother know he has changed and is about to start his quest for food. Normally he would let Ace know too, but the young dragon doesn't want to distract his eldest brother while he is fighting; he promised not to interfere unless necessary after all.

Sabo couldn't help the sigh that escaped him as he watched Ace's fight about to reach its fifth noon. He was also getting slightly worried about their youngest brother's continued absence.

Luffy had come back for breakfast but left again soon after, quietly mentioning to Sabo that he thought he sensed something while out fishing and wanted to check it out. Looking at Ace, Sabo could tell he had noticed Luffy's extended absence as well.

'I'm worried about Ace just dropping due to hunger instead of his normal narcolepsy fits.' Sabo paused at that thought, quirking his head at a slight angle. It had been five days straight of fighting for the older raven but, surprisingly, there hadn't been a single narcolepsy attack during that time. 'Huh. At this rate he could go for a new record…'

It was getting to be almost time for lunch, and another glance at the fight before him showed that it was finally winding down to a close.

Ace looked exhausted and the large Fishman—Jinbei, Warlord Jinbei of the Sun Pirates—seemed to be reaching the end of his rope as well. The couple of other Spade pirates watching were getting ready to change shifts with those back on their ship, Wild Card, and start lunch.

'About damn time too! They both barely allowed each other a couple breaks this entire time to drink some water.' He couldn't help the small smirk this thought produced.

The only reason the two fighters drank even a little water at all was because he and Luffy had chucked canteens of water at them. Sabo had poured water from one of their crewmate's canisters on the canteen he held before throwing it at Ace. Wouldn't do if his logia ability allowed it to pass through him now would it? Luffy hurled the one he held at the Fishman's head (managing a direct hit to the back of it that probably stung the guy a good deal); he'd still been a tad upset at not being able to fight the Fishman too.

'Soon as Luffy gets his scaly butt back here I'll go and grab some lunch too,' Sabo mused. Then he felt a slight tingling in the back of his mind and gave a small smile, before quickly tensing and fighting the urge to frown. Something had upset Luffy.

/(Worry Confused Protect!)/

/What's wrong Lu?/ Sabo hastily scanned his surroundings, taking note of who was where and how Ace was doing before giving Luffy most of his focus (never all, otherwise he would be left completely open and that was a mistake he won't make again).

/Ship! A really big ship is coming with strong people onboard! One feels really, really strong. Feels kinda like Shanks did./

Sabo couldn't keep the frown from his face now, and tilted his black top hat down to help hide his expression. This wasn't good. It was likely Whitebeard and his crew or another Emperor (it was unlikely to be someone else, Luffy had said that one of the newcomers felt similar to Shanks). There was also the chance that it was another Warlord on their way here. Either those aboard the ship had heard news of the fight or had come close enough to sense it.

/How long until the ship gets here do you think?/

/Soon! Coming from beach now. Wasn't seen. But ship will be here real soon! How's Ace? The fight?/

Hearing twin grunts of pain, Sabo turned his attention back to the ongoing fight—which apparently had just ended. Both fighters were now flat on their backs and breathing hard, completely exhausted and mumbling to each other. He felt a small smirk work itself into existence.

/Ace is exhausted, but he'll live. Fight is over and looks to be a tie./

/(Happy Smug Proud) But Ace didn't lose, right? Didn't beat Big Fish-Dude, but didn't lose?/

/(Amused Happy) No Lu, he didn't lose. And 'Big Fish-Dude' is named Jinbei, and he is a Warlord and very strong so don't make him mad. Calling him 'Fish-Dude' is rude and not nice./

Looking around again and paying more attention to their surroundings, Sabo noticed a huge ship that was quickly making its way to the island. It was a little difficult to tell, but the bow of the giant ship looked to be in the form of a white whale.

'Isn't the main ship of the Whitebeard Pirates a big ship with a white whale figurehead?'

Judging the distance and speed of the great vessel, it appeared that they only had a few minutes at most before those aboard made landfall. If what Luffy mentioned is even the slightest bit true, then only the three brothers would stand a chance against this new crew (and Ace didn't look able to go another round with a fresh opponent).

Standing up from his reclined position in the shade of a huge tree (which somehow escaped the five-day battle unharmed when many of its surrounding fellows were in pieces) and grabbing their brother's bright orange cowboy hat, Sabo ran over to the crew who had been watching the fight's conclusion. They were preparing to tote Ace back to the ship for treatment and had only just noticed the massive ship weighing anchor offshore behind the plateau where their Captain had been fighting.

"Quickly get everyone to the ship and ready to sail! Luffy, Ace, and I will cover you until everything is set. Go!" Sabo turned to go grab Ace and prepare for their escape—and just where the Hell's Luffy?—when he was stopped by numerous protests from the Spade Pirates.

"Captain!"

"The Hell! We aren't leaving—"

"You can't expect us to abandon our Captains"

"We're running!?"

"We want to fight too dammit!"

"WOULD YOU ALL SHUT UP!" Turning an icy glare on them all, causing shivers down the crew's spines, Sabo made eye contact with each of them. "I am not telling you to abandon us or suggest we force Ace to fight when he is so rundown. Luffy and I will help cover him, and also cover you while you guys make sure we have a clear means of retreat. Understand? Now GO!"

The Spades, with only a few gripes and disgruntled "Aye, aye, Captain", left to ready the Wild Card. Sabo could still hear them muttering and cursing as they left down the path to the ship.

Turning back to Ace, Sabo swiftly strode to his brother's side and filled him on what he hadn't heard. He made sure to keep quiet about the new crew possibly belonging to Whitebeard though; Ace might not leave with them if he heard that little tidbit.

Jinbei tiredly watched the young blond man that had been present for most of his fight with the upstart Super Rookie. Lying on the ground exhausted, the whale shark Fishman's attention had been drawn to the young man who rarely left the spot under the far tree during the past five days.

The boy looked as if he was listening for something before he suddenly tensed up and pulled the black hat down, covering his face as he tilted his head to look at the ground. The blond—honestly, he looked like a gentleman almost with those clothes…and was that a pipe strapped to his back!?—looked up and then scanned the area, pausing for a moment as he looked at the battered captain prone form on the ground opposite from himself.

Dredging up the remains of his strength, Jinbei struggled to a sitting position when he saw the blue-clad person get up and head over to where their crew was assembled. Sitting made his eyes fuzz slightly and his head ring a smidgen, before fading (though he still had a massive headache). Looking over himself quickly, while still keeping an eye on the blond and the fire-user on the ground, Jinbei took stock of his injuries.

There were several burns scattered across his front, with the worst being on his arms and hands, and only a few small ones on his back. He couldn't feel any broken bones, though his right shin and both forearms definitely held fractures…probably his left cheekbone too judging by how swollen it felt. Seeing as his head was still ringing lowly and he had some difficulty focusing, it was likely he suffered a minor concussion as well. Other than malnutrition, dehydration, and extreme exhaustion, he felt that the rest of his wounds were rather minor and nothing to be concerned over.

Honestly, he hadn't expected for Fire-Fist to be that strong; the loud Rookie (he recalled hearing about a Super Rookie who went by Fire-Fist had recently made it to the New World) definitely earned some respect for his abilities and tenacity at the very least from the Fishman.

Shouting from the other side of the clearing brought his attention back to the challenging captain's crew. The blond was ordering about the Spade Pirate crew and receiving vehement refusal from his shipmates. Even Jinbei could feel the younger man's frustration before witnessing the outburst that followed the crew's cries.

The crew left the clearing with loud growls and grumbling as they headed, he believed, back their ship. Jinbei turned to keep the blond insight as he headed over to help the one who challenged him—Ace he said his name was—to stand up before plopping an orange cowboy hat, with smiley beads on the front of it, on his dark head.

The two seemed to act differently with each other than with the other members of their crew, much closer. Jinbei noticed that they acted more freely and even the blond's expression was more open than it had been just a couple minutes previously when he had been talking to his fellow crewmates. This sight brought the large Fishman back to what he had just observed.

'It is unusual that the crew doesn't listen to their first mate. They won't last long in the New World if this is normal…'

Then Jinbei clued-in to what he had heard during the crew's various protests. 'They called the coat-wearing blond "captain"? Isn't he the first mate and the hot-head the captain? How are there two captains for a single crew of this size!?'

"You look confused."

Jinbei started at the voice that came from close to his side. Looking over he saw another boy—messy black hair, big dark brown eyes, loose shorts, blinding red vest, sandals, and a straw hat he felt was familiar somehow—staring at him from only a couple yards away.

Boy described him quite well. What was such a young human doing all the way out here in the New World and with a pirate crew of all things? More importantly, how did Jinbei not even notice him before now?

He stared at the boy in mild shock for a minute, not quite sure what to say and wondering how long the boy had been right there.

The child stared right back at him with a rather blank look in his eyes before smiling and elaborating on his earlier statement.

"You made an odd face when Sabo was called 'Captain' by everyone and then looked at Ace. Is it because Ace was also called 'Captain'? They are both Captains of the crew."

With a nod that appeared to signify he felt the conversation over and done with, the red-vested boy left the slightly more confused Fishman behind to go stand next to the other two Spade Pirate Captains.

Clueing back into the conversation between the three, Jinbei was met with more confusion as he watched their interactions.

Ace was being difficult and it was starting to get on Sabo's already frayed nerves.

After five continuous days of (essentially) non-stop brawling against someone was not only a fishman but a freaking damn Warlord—because the guy being about ten-times stronger than the average human wasn't enough somehow—the idiot looked like he was about ready to keel over.

Currently, Sabo was holding Ace up with one arm around the older's waist and his other hand holding Ace's slightly less injured arm across his shoulders. Luffy had skipped over from where Jinbei was still sitting with an odd expression on his face. It looked like the fishman had been seriously shocked and/or confused by something and Sabo didn't even want to know what Luffy had to put it there. He did not have the patience to deal with Luffy's crazy antics and a retarded flame-brain right now.

"You and Lu head back to the ship! I'll cover you guys and then give them the slip and follow after."

"You can barely stand on your own damnit! How the hell are you going to 'cover' us?"

"I—"

"And just how are going to follow us!? You look like you tried to storm a damned Marine base by yourself…and lost!"

"I'M NOT THAT BAD!"

At this Luffy turned to Ace and, with a completely straight face, said, "Right. You look like you picked a fight with Big Fish-Dude—" "That is rude Luffy, his name is Jinbei." "—and made us sit and watch for five days only to tie!"

Seeing both brothers just staring at him, with Ace starting to look a little red, he continued, "It was boring, next time I want to fight and I'll win! It won't end in a stupid tie."

Sabo started cursing as he tried to hold back Ace—'Is he seriously hissing and growling!?'—and prevent the older's attempts to strangle their giggling little brother. "Luffy knock it off! You are NOT helping sh—Damnit Ace! I'm going to knock your ass out and drag that charbroiled brick you call a brain back! By your ears! Quit it!"

"Get over here you rubber-brained idiot! I'll only kill you a little!"

"Shishishishi!"

"I'll kill both of you damn idiots!"

Walking next to Pops, the first thing Marco heard was yelling. Then he heard what sounded like giggles among multiple threats and curses.

He looked over to Thatch, Izou, and Vista who had also accompanied their Father to the island. All three wore expressions varying between amused and complete bafflement at the noise they were hearing.

They'd heard news of Jinbei being challenged to a fight by one of the Super Rookies looking to take Pops' head. What made Pops decide to pay this newbie to the New World a visit was discovery that the challenger was none other than "Fire-Fist Ace". After reading a couple articles on him and a few of his crew's exploits, Whitebeard had wanted to see if the Rookie would become one of his Sons if he ever made it to the New World. Judging by his expression then and now, Marco could tell that he wasn't really going to take 'no' for an answer either.

Still, looking at his brothers' faces before turning back to what was happening ahead, he saw none of them were prepared for the scene they came upon.

First person they noticed was Jinbei who was sitting, and definitely looking worse for wear, with an almost dumbfounded expression plastered on his face.

More shouts, curses, and laughter brought the Whitebeards' attention to the three noise-makers opposite their Fishman friend.

The blond member of the trio (who looked very familiar to them for some reason) was dressed in gentlemanly attire that included a top hat of all things, and was holding onto and yelling at the one who would hopefully become their new brother. Looking closer at the blond's face, Izou thought he could see some sort of scarring around the boy's left eye. His hat and hair kept getting in the way, so it was difficult to tell.

Ace, with his signature orange cowboy hat, scuffed and torn yellow shirt with equally ratted black baggy shorts, looked like he had been someone's punching bag and was on the verge of collapsing. Yet he was somehow kicking up a fuss trying to get at the third, and smallest, member of the lively group.

The young boy, he had to be much younger than the other two for how small he was, wore a kill-me-red vest with baggy blue shorts and a straw hat—honestly, why does that hat annoy Marco so much?—was bouncing around the older two giggling like he was having the time of his life.

Suddenly, the boy ceased his antics and seemed to say something to the older pair. They immediately shut up and froze, turning their heads and taking notice of the new arrivals for the first time.

"Why didn't you say something sooner, Lu?" Ace asked as he whipped his head toward the smaller boy.

"I told Sabo, who told the crew and you earlier." The boy, now identified as 'Lu', responded with a finger up his nose.

"Yeah, but you could have told us they had arrived or something…"

"He did, Ace. You were just being too stubborn—"

Marco tuned out the boys at this point. It sounded like it was just going to be another argument anyway and he got enough headaches listening to his siblings that he didn't want to deal with these three.

Turning to Vista, he asked, "Can you go check on Jinbei and see if he needs to take a trip to the infirmary?"

"Are you kidding? He looks like crap! Visty, if you don't take him to see Bay and let him go, she will hunt you down and skin you alive~!" Thatch laughed at how his brother paled at those words.

Whitebeard chuckled at his sons' antics as he watched them. Upon centering his attention back on the trio in front of him, his smile turned into a frown.

The blond was in the process of trying to drag the injured Ace away while telling him, repeatedly, to "stop being an idiot already". The little one, 'Lu' he'd heard one say, had gone around behind Ace and covered the teen's mouth with his hand and kept peaking over at him and his sons. Almost as if he was keeping watch of what they were doing while the two were trying to escape with (a very uncooperative) Ace; the whole time Lu's hand never left Ace's mouth.

Not wanting to let the fiery teen he wanted to take in as his newest Family member escape, Whitebeard stepped forward. Planting the butt of his bisento into the ground at his feet, the giant man cleared his throat and boomed, "So who's the brat that wants to take my head!?"

The two younger brothers stopped short in their attempts of removing Ace from the area, sharing a look around the struggling raven between them. Both asking the silent question of 'what now?'.

Ace took advantage of this distraction and threw his brothers' arms off him, wiping the blood from Luffy's cut palm off his lips.

While Luffy had been trying, and only somewhat succeeding, to quieten his older brother in their attempt to retreat, the action had another purpose behind it.

After that scary incident soon after reaching the Grand Line where his brothers were badly wounded, Luffy found that their bodies had an easier time accepting his blood. Knowing this, he would usually try to get them to take some whenever they were heavily injured (though Luffy was still cautious about how much they got). Sabo and Ace would give a token protest or two, but would always end up caving to Luffy's 'puppy-face'.

Five fresh and very strong fighters (one being an Emperor) against the three brothers (one of which was barely able to stand) was not a good situation to be in. Luffy decided that he had to risk being noticed and, forming one of his fingers into a talon behind his back to make a slit in his palm, moved behind Ace and slapped the slit palm over his older brother's mouth. Luffy was relieved that, when he quickly glanced at them, none of the other pirates seemed to notice what he'd done. In addition to being a bit quieter (physically, mentally he was still arguing with Luffy and Sabo) and making their hopeful retreat a touch easier, Ace was now getting a healing boost just in case things went south.

'Which appears to be the direction we're now headed for,' Luffy absently thought.

"Ace, what the hell are you doing? Get back here!" Sabo demanded as he and Luffy tried to grab hold of their brother again.

Ace either dodged or shook them off as he stepped forward a few more feet towards his 'enemy'. Sensing his brothers coming up behind him, he shuffled a little left to allow Sabo his usual spot at his right while keeping Luffy between and slightly behind them.

Luffy noticed the guarded stance his brothers took in front of him but chose to ignore it; he was more focused on the new opponents before them.

While they didn't feel like bad people, the huge one was definitely up to something. Though Luffy didn't know what these people were after, he could tell from how Giant Mustache-Man kept looking at Ace that it likely was related to his brother. He traded his previous blank look for a scowl.

Looking to Ace, Luffy whispered, "Ace…something's off. They want something."

Ace and Sabo turned their heads slightly toward their baby brother, showing him they were listening while still keeping their eyes locked onto the imposing figures before them.

/(Worry Fear) I think they are after Ace. They keep looking at you and Giant Mustache-Man seems more focused on you compared to me and Sabo./

Sabo and Ace shared a look before the fire-user took another step away from his brpthers and shouted, "I'm the one who is going to take your head!"

The huge man's light yellow eyes glared down at Ace before gruffly responding, "Hmph. Very well, I'll take you on!"

Ace was completely focused on the man he had vowed to defeat in his effort to leave the shadow of his cursed father behind him, so he didn't notice what was occurring behind him with Luffy.

Thankfully, Sabo had. He could feel Luffy's rising irritation and worry. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the younger had stiffened at Whitebeard's declaration and his hands were clenched and shaking. Seeing Whitebeard move again (he appeared to be saying something to those with him), Sabo turned his gaze forward as he tried to get Luffy's attention with his mind.

/(Frustrated Worry Unhappy) Ace is hurt! Giant Mustache-Man can see that. He knows Ace will not win this fight. Ace shouldn't fight!/

/(Calm) You need to calm down Lu. I can feel your other presence leaking out./ Looking at Ace, Sabo could tell his brother was too focused on Whitebeard to notice the presence their little brother was starting to give off.

/(Angry) Giant-Man is only toying with Ace. He is planning something. He wants something with Ace. I don't like it! Need to get Ace. Need to leave!/

/(Calm Calm Worry) Lu calm down now! We are right here with Ace. We will help Ace. You need settle down NOW before one of them notices!/ Sabo had been keeping watch of the other pirates and had seen the bored-looking blond with weird hair start to eye the brothers, looking a little too carefully at them for comfort. The redhead next him also seemed to be inspecting the brothers. Even Whitebeard briefly paused in his glare-match with Ace to sweep his gaze over them, settling it back on the oldest brother after a few moments.

/(Sorry Calm Sorry)/ Luffy quickly got a grip on his emotions, burying the primal part of him that was agitated at what happening and the threat seemingly directed at his oldest brother.

Sabo let out a quiet, barely noticeable sigh as the dangerous presence rapidly faded. They couldn't let anyone know what Luffy was no matter what. If anybody found out he would be in danger.

Marco had been idly watching Vista, soon joined by Izou, trying to convince a reluctant Jinbei to visit the infirmary (not that he could blame the guy, their sister who was the Head Nurse was terrifying) while his Father was engaging Ace. He absently acknowledged the order his Captain gave to leave the coming fight to him and to not interfere as he looked after the finally departing trio—Izou and Vista almost dragging Jinbei after them.

His attention was jerked back towards the trio of teens standing before the Whitebeard Pirates, a quick glance at his Father showed the older man had felt it too. It wasn't too obvious just yet, the others hadn't sensed it from what he could tell, but it was steadily growing. From looking at the rookie pirates standing before them, he couldn't quite tell which of them this sensation was coming from.

He almost wanted to say it was Haki. It felt similar to Whitebeard's Conqueror's Haki, but not as refined. There was a more wild and predatory edge to the growing presence. To be frank, this thing he was sensing unnerved him and made the phoenix in him unsettled. Unfortunately, before he could discern who was responsible the presence faded from existence. Marco decided to keep his eyes on the boys in case the presence came back though.

Whitebeard also took in the Spade Pirates standing before, trying to sense where that primal presence had originated. Finding nothing, he slowly advanced towards the fiery brat that had challenged him. Seeing the other two brats crouch into fighting stances, prepared to join the challenger, he sent a blast of Haki at them (making sure to avoid Ace).

The boys landed several dozen feet behind their captain. The top-hat wearing one hitting the ground and skipping once before righting himself and skidding has he landed in a crouch, pole held out for balance; the straw-hat boy flipping in mid-air before landing on the balls of his sandaled feet, a hand flung in front and digging into the ground to slow his slide to stop. Both were now glaring at the Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates.

'Cheeky brats. They're all full of spirit.' Whitebeard looked at the young captain who was turning back around from seeing where his crewmates had been flung. The brat was now starting flare his flames as he glared at the more experienced pirate. Then Ace, causing the present Whitebeard Pirates' eyes to widen, suddenly exploded.

The Captain of the Spade Pirates literally looked like he had exploded.

Flames raged everywhere, painting the party's surroundings to match the likeness of Hell itself. Whitebeard noted, however, that the greatest amount of flame was centered between the Whitebeard Pirates with the hot-headed challenger and the two other Spades.

"WHAT THE HELL ACE!?"

"ACE!"

"You guys go! Get away from here! I'll cover you!" The fire separating the younger crew from each other grew hotter and the wall of flame became even higher.

Whitebeard raised an eyebrow at this then readied himself to face the one he wished to make his new son.

Thatch found his interest peaked watching the scene. Though the Super Rookie was indeed a complete hot-head, the young man seemed to be very caring of his crew. Earlier he'd also taken an immediate defensive and protective position in regards to the two with him (more so of the much smaller member of the trio), if Thatch judged the youngster's behavior correctly when the older crew were first spotted. Marco, when he flicked his gaze over to the First Division Commander, also had a gleam of mild interest in his normally bored expression.

Refocusing on the match when he saw the younger man lunge towards their Father, Thatch watched the ensuing battle with a detached air about him.

A small sigh escaped him not even a couple minutes later, 'I can't really even call this match a "fight"...Pops is just blocking the fire-brat, not even using his weapon.'

Thatch and Marco continued to watch as only a moment later Whitebeard apparently decided that enough was enough, hitting the fiery (literally, the kid was ablaze!) youngster rushing at him in the head. Ace, fire going out, hit the ground. Hard.

Marco, seeing that the brat wasn't on fire anymore and not even twitching, went over to check him. As he walked to Ace's unconscious (hopefully) body, he noticed that the blazing hell around them had also started to die.

'Those other crewmembers of his aren't here anymore either, yoi. Guess they left their captain behind after all.' Using his Observation Haki, the phoenix could barely make out what he believed was Ace's ship a couple miles offshore of the island. Marco was mildly annoyed at the opposing pirate crew for abandoning their captain, even if they had been ordered to do so.

After checking that yes, Ace was indeed still alive (although bruised and beaten to shit), Whitebeard ordered Marco and Thatch to carefully transfer him to the Moby Dick's infirmary.

A/N: So, most of the dialogue between Ace and Whitebeard during their confrontation came from an episode I watched about how the two had first met. Sorry not too much happened in this chapter. It is a bit more of a prologue I guess. Don't think too much will occur in the next one either. Third one, if I manage to write it well (we'll see how that bag of cats ends up), should be more entertaining to read. Just a warning, the Spade Pirates will NOT be a big thing in this story. Don't even know if any will have names either because of that. Thanks for reading (and posting a review if you did so) and I will have the next chapter out soon since it's almost done, probably be in a few days or so. If there is something that I need to fix (like grammar or something) just PM me about it. See ya next time!

P.S. Is it 'strawhat', 'straw-hat', or 'straw hat'? Same with deal with Sabo's hat. Thanks for opinions!