"Are you two ready?" Zoro asked from behind the helm. His sister and the merman both nodded. The green-haired man smiled and started the boat. He had rented the vessel two days ago and he even managed to get a pretty decent diving suit at the last moment.

Getting Luffy on the boat had been surprisingly easy since there was no one around at the docks so he didn't need to be sneaky. To keep him from drying out while he was out of the water, Zoro and Kuina had taken several towels that they would occasionally soak in water and put on the merman's tail.

The three of them had used the past two days to get everything ready for the trip. Today was the big day. Today they would try to find Luffy's home.

While Zoro steered the boat in the right direction, Kuina and Luffy were on deck looking at the ocean around them. Kuina tried to enjoy the view as much as possible because she knew this was probably the last time she would be able to see it. Luffy on the other hand was looking at the water with an excited glint in his eyes. He hadn't seen the ocean in years. Somewhere in these waters lived his family and friends and he was on his way to finally see them again.

It wasn't long before they reached Dawn Island. It was a popular island and easy to find. Now their greatest task was about to begin. Dawn wasn't the biggest island out there, but the shoreline was a quite a few miles long and they had no idea where Luffy's home was located.

Zoro slowed the boat to a stop before approaching Luffy. "Are you ready?" He asked. The sharkman looked up at the human with a determined look on his face and nodded. The green-haired man then removed the wet towels from his friend's tail and lifted the merman up with little difficulty. Luffy knew where they were going. At the back of the boat there was a little ramp for swimmers to get in and out of the water. They were going to use that to get him in the water as well.

They made their way to the ramp and Zoro gently lowered the other onto the ground. Luffy looked at the water with excitement, but also nervousness. What if his family and friends didn't live here anymore? What if he can't find the city? What if-

"Hey," Luffy felt his friend's hand on his shoulder. He looked up at the other beside him. Zoro gave him a small smile. "It'll be fine, so don't worry too much." The teen looked back at the water and nodded.

It would be fine, wouldn't it?

Luffy look a deep breath to calm himself. He then finally entered the water. The cold seawater didn't bother him too much. Only his eyes stung because of the salt. As soon as he managed to open his eyes under water, he gasped at the sight of all the colourful fish and corals. He watched fish, big and small, swim around him and the boat. A familiar feeling of home came to him. He belonged in this sea.

Despite being close to the island, the sea was surprisingly deep. Bigger fish could be seen slightly more down. The shore of Dawn was just beyond his sight, but he could see anchored boats in the distance.

The sharkman didn't recognize his surroundings yet, but then again the area around Dawn Island was pretty large. That's why he and Zoro agreed that Zoro would sail the boat slowy around the island while Luffy observed the sea from below to see if he recognised any of it. When he did recognize his surroundings, he would inform his friend and Zoro would enter the water with him to look for the teen's home.

As they made their way around the island Luffy did his utmost best to try to remember where his home was located. When he lived there he hadn't been outside of his city a lot because he was so young, but he was sure that he would know when he was close.

He would recognize his home for sure.

Little over an hour had passed since they started their search when Luffy finally got the feeling he had seen this place before. Before him was a part of the ocean where the bottom was covered in tall, stone pillars. The sharkman kept looking around a little longer to be sure he had seen this place before he decided to inform Zoro about it.

The teen swam to the surface and broke through. "Zoro, stop the boat!" He yelled at his friend, which the other man did. The green-haired man quickly appeared at the rail of the boat and looked down at Luffy.

"You think this is the right spot?" The man asked. Luffy nodded. "I hope so. This area looks familiar." He replied. Zoro looked at the water for a second before looking back at the teen. "I'll be right back. I'm going to put the anchor out and put on my diving suit. See you in a few minutes." The man then disappeared from behind the rail. Luffy looked back at his surroundings. He felt nervousness slowly fill his body again. He really hoped this was the right place.

"Luffy," The merman heard from the ship. He looked up to see Kuina standing at the rail. She was a bit unsteady on her feet, but he didn't comment. She smiled at him. "I don't know if you'll come back up after you've found your city, but just in case I won't see you again I wanted to say that I wish you the best of luck. You're a great friend for both me and my brother and I will miss your company." She said. Luffy smiled back at her. "I will miss you two too, Kuina. I'll be sure to come say goodbye later. I have to get Zoro back to the ship anyway. You know how hopeless he is with directions." They both laughed.

"I'm ready." Zoro's voice said from behind Kuina. The young woman looked around and tried not to laugh. The diving suit Zoro was wearing looked a bit too small for him. Zoro didn't look too pleased being the source of his sister's amusement, but didn't say anything.

The man approached the ramp at the back of the ship and sat at the edge, feet dangling in the water. He looked back at Kuina. "I'll be back as soon as possible. Don't do anything stupid." He said with a grin. Kuina sighed. "I should be the one to say that." She muttered with a small smile. Zoro adjusted his goggles and put in his mouthpiece. He then swiftly entered the water.

It took him a few seconds to get used to the temperature of the water. The man looked around and was quite surprised at the large amount of rocks in this part of the ocean. He was relieved to see that none were high enough to possible damage the boat. A sudden hand on his arm startled him a little before he realized it was just his merman friend. Luffy laughed a bit at the other's reaction before he began to swim downwards, Zoro following him.

The sharkman had to slow down and wait for his friend multiple times during their decend. Luffy's tail made the teen very fast in the water, so Zoro wasn't really able to keep up. After about three minutes of Luffy basically swimming in circles around a (very) slow Zoro, the teen finally had enough and grabbed the other's hand to tug him along as he continued to swim down, this time at a much faster pace.

Once they arrived at the bottom of the sea, Luffy let go of his friend and began to swim around in search of his home. Zoro, of course, didn't know what to look for as he had never seen the teen's home before. He just swam around looking for anything unusual that could possibly be connected to the teen's city while also keeping track of where Luffy was going. The teen was swimming left and right without a clear path. Sometimes he would stop to inspect some random pillar, but then continue his search.

This continued for about twenty minutes. Zoro started to get worried that they wouldn't find it in time before his air supply ran out. Just then Luffy's behaviour seemed to change a bit. He began to look around at a more frantic pace like he was really recognizing his surroundings.

Suddenly, Luffy stopped. He stared at something in front of him for a few long seconds. The sharkman then swam back to Zoro at high speed. The teen grabbed his hand again and began to tug him towards the place he had been just a few seconds ago.

When they arrived there, Luffy slowed to a halt. His eyes were focused on a particular large set of pillars in front of them. At first, Zoro didn't see anything out of the ordinarily about those pillars. Then, he noticed that there was a hole in the ground in between the pillars, a few air bubbles coming out of it.

Is this what they were looking for?

The merman swam closer to the hole, Zoro being pulled along once again. When they were close enough, the sharkman pointed at a carving just above the opening. It didn't look like anything abnormal, but then the green-haired man noticed that the carving had an actual shape to it. It looked like the image of a sun.

He looked back at Luffy and was met with a big grin. The merman swam to the hole and motioned for Zoro to come closer. The man did so and followed the merman as he entered the hole. The hole itself was only about ten feet deep, but it led to a long, narrow underground tunnel.

The tunnel was one-way, but it had many twists and turns. Luffy, being an experienced swimmer, maneuvered through it without any problem. Zoro, on the other hand, had trouble not colliding with the stone walls around him. He bumped into them a few times, but luckily his diving gear didn't sustain any damage. Luffy was patient enough to wait for his friend at every turn despite the adrenaline rushing through the younger man's veins.

It took them a little while to get through the whole thing. Luckily, there were no sideways to get lost in. Then finally, after several minutes of swimming through the cave, light could be seen in the distance. Luffy instinctively began to swim faster to get to the light, so it wasn't a surprise he was the one to break the surface first. It took Zoro almost a minute longer to get to where his friend was. When Zoro finally broke the surface he could only gape at the sight in front of him.

It was just as Luffy had described to him. A small city build in a huge underwater cave. The cave was so big that it must have been located right underneath Dawn island. Surprisingly, most of the cave was filled with air instead of water. There was a small river leading towards the city, connecting it to the outside ocean they just came from.

Zoro removed his goggles and mouthpiece. He wanted to say something, but nothing came out. He looked at his friend, who looked like he might cry of happiness. The man smiled and patted the teen's shoulder.

"You're finally home." Was the only thing he could think of saying. Luffy swallowed and grinned. "Yes, I am."

They began to make their way through the narrow river towards the city. The river was not very deep and Zoro could just walk through the water instead of swimming. Surprisingly, they hadn't seen any merpeople yet despite being so close. They were almost halfway there when suddenly something shot up from the water in front of them, startling the young men.

"You two are trespassing. What are you doing here!" The looming figure in front of them demanded. The man, no, fishman towered over the both of them and looked at them with an intimidating gaze. The fishman had legs instead of a tail and had blue skin. Zoro frowned and instinctively reached his hand to his side. Damn, he left his swords on the boat. He glanced at his sharkman friend beside him to see how he was reacting to this unexpected obstacle. However, the teen didn't seem intimidated in the slighted. He seemed happy, even.

"Jinbei?"

The man looked down at the young merman in surprise. "Who are you?" He asked in slight confusion. Luffy grinned after hearing the man's voice once again. "Why are you so mean, Jinbei? Don't you remember me?" He replied with fake betrayal in his voice. A few seconds of silence passed before something clicked in the fishman's brain and eyes widened in realization.

"Luffy? Is that you?" The teen laughed and launched himself out of the water and onto the fishman, who caught him with ease. "It's been such a long time! I missed you!" Luffy said with a slight tremble in his voice. Jinbei stood there stunned. Then, the fishman smiled. "You've grown, Luffy." Luffy just laughed. "I'm so happy to be back! I have so much to tell you and everyone else!"

After a moment Jinbei set the younger man back down in the water. Luffy didn't waste a second as he started talking about where he had been and and who Zoro was. He would've said more if jinbei hadn't put his hand up to silence him.

"You can tell me everything that you went through later. I'm sure you want to find your brothers first, right?" Luffy nodded enthusiastically. Jinbei looked at the entrance of the cave in thought before shrugging. "I'm sure no one will mind if I leave my post for a bit." He then looked back at the other two. "I'm not sure where Sabo is, but I can bring you to Ace. He's hanging out with some friends in the pool at the other side of town."

Luffy grinned. "Yes, bring us to him! I can't wait to see him again!" He exclaimed with glee. He then paused for a moment and looked at Zoro. His friend was the only human here and from what he remembered, humans were not allowed in his city.

"Jinbei, will it be okay for Zoro to come with us? I want him to meet my brothers." Luffy asked slightly concerned. The older fishman thought for a moment. "Well, humans are normally not allowed here, but for him I can make an exception. As long as he stays near us others will figure out he is here with my permission." He said as he looked at the human. The green-haired man nodded. "Okay, I understand." He replied shortly.

Luffy smiled. "Let's go. Jinbei, lead the way!" He said. The fishman nodded and began to walk in the direction of the city. The young sharkman followed immediately after. Zoro watched his friend's happiness with a smile as he followed the two fishman from behind. He was glad everything was turning out alright after all.

As they made their way through the city, the merfolk around the three gave them weird looks. Whispers could be heard from all directions. Zoro felt a bit nervous with all those eyes on them. Luffy didn't seem to have any problem with it. But then again, Luffy was a merman himself and didn't have to worry about anything. Zoro was a human. Who knows how they would react to his presents.

Jinbei led them past houses and shops as they traveled through the streets. The way the city was laid out was that every street had two sidewalks and one 'water path' in between them. This way those with a tail could swim in the water path and those with legs could walk on the sidewalks. Some shops had water paths as well, but not all of them.

Zoro and Jinbei were walking on one of the sidewalks and Luffy swam along in the water path. The young merman, of course, was looking around in excitement, pointing at buildings he remembered from his childhood and new ones he didn't recognize.

The city was bigger than the human had expected. It took them well over twenty minutes to get to the pool Jinbei said Luffy's brother would be. When they finally arrived there, they found that the water path ended in the pool so that Luffy was now swimming inside of it. The sidewalks went all the way around the pool.

The pool area itself was like a beach for merpeople. Several mermaids and mermen were located on rocks with towels, drinks and even sunglasses even though there was no sun.

From the corner of his eye the green-haired man could see his friend looking at all the different merfolk in search of his brother. From the look on his face he hadn't found him yet. Then again, Luffy hadn't seen him in years and had no idea what his brother looked like now. Jinbei looked around too, and he seemed to have more luck at finding who they were looking for. The fishman continued his way along the side of the pool towards a small group of mermen. Both Zoro and Luffy followed him.

"Hey Ace!" The man shouted. The mermen all looked his way at the sound of his voice and greeted him in a friendly manner. One of them, a young dark-haired merman with a bright orange, almost golden tail, looked at the fishman with a raised eyebrow.

"What is it, Jinbei? Do you need me for something?" The merman, who appeared to be Ace, asked in slight confusion. Zoro heard a small gasp beside him and looked down at the water to see Luffy stare at the other merman with wide eyes. He was trembling slightly as tears began to gather in his eyes.

"I have someone here who you need to see." Jinbei replied. The merman stared at Jinbei for a few more seconds before his eyes shifted to the two standing/swimming beside the man. His eyes narrowed a bit at the sight of the human, but as his eyes fell on the merman in the water beside the human, he froze.

The two mermen stared at each other, both unable to say anything. The other mermen on the rock looked confused at Ace's reaction, but then slowly started to put two and two together. They all knew about the brother Ace lost so many years ago.

Slowly, Ace descended from the rock he and his friends were on, eyes focused on Luffy. The merman in front of him looked back at him with tears in his eyes. The teen's lips were trembling with emotion as he did his best not to break down. "A-Ace?"

That was the last straw. The older merman launched himself at Luffy and wrapped his arms around him. The force the older brother had used almost made the both of them go under. The teen held onto his brother like he was his lifeline as he tried and failed to keep his tears at bay.

"I m-missed y-you so much!" Luffy whimpered in between sobs. His brother wasn't much better off. Ace was slowly but surely becoming a sobbing mess as well. His little brother was alive and back with him after so many years!

It took the brothers a while to compose themselves, but after a few minutes they parted just enough to get a good look at each other's features. They both had grown a lot since the last time they saw each other over eleven years ago. Ace looked at his younger brother with a small smile on his face.

"You've grown a lot, Luffy." He said as he ruffled his brother's hair. Luffy laughed and gave the other another hug. "You too." The teen then smirked. "I bet I'm stronger than you now!" This made the older merman laugh. "No way! I'm still three years older than you!" Ace said as he put his brother in a headlock, earning another laugh from the younger merman.

Luffy then looked up at his brother. "Where's Sabo?" He asked. Ace smiled at him. "He's probably at his job. Wanna go look for him?" Luffy nodded. Ace grinned. "All right, let's go. But first," He turned his gaze to the only human in the city with both curiosity and slight distrust. "Who's he?"

Luffy's face lit up. "That's Zoro. He's my friend! He helped me get back home!" He answered. "Zoro! This is my brother Ace!" He yelled at the green-haired human. Zoro gave a small wave, still feeling a bit out of place in this world of merpeople. Ace, though still a little bit wary of the human, gave Zoro a smile and waved back. "It's nice to meet you, Zoro. Thank you for bringing my little brother back." He said with a small bow.

Zoro smiled. "Don't worry about it. It's the least I could do for him." He said truthfully. Luffy grinned at him before looking back at his brother. Ace smiled and looked at his friends still on the rock. "Hey, I'll be gone for a little bit. See you all later!" He said with a wave. They understood and said goodbye. Ace then looked back at his younger brother.

"Alright, let's go find Sabo."

On the way to his other brother, Luffy talked with Ace about all the different things he had seen in the city and his brother told him about all that changed in the years he had been gone. Of course, Luffy would tell him about his experiences too, but that was a story to tell when he was together with both of his brothers.

They were now in front of the building Ace had led them to. "Sabo should be in here." Ace said. Luffy felt his nervousness creep up once again. Ace rang the bell next to door and waited. About ten seconds later a girl with brown hair answered the door. She didn't have a tail like Luffy and Ace, but everyone could see she wasn't human either as her skin had a pink colour. "Hey Ace, are you looking for Sabo?" She then noticed Luffy and Zoro. "Who are they?"

"We'll tell you later, but could you get Sabo here for us? Tell him it's urgent." Ace answered. The girl looked at them for another five seconds before she nodded and disappearing back inside.

It took about two minutes before the small group heard footsteps approach the door from inside. The door opened again, but this time it was a blond man who appeared from inside. Again, he looked almost human with his two legs, but his skin had a slight blue-ish hue to it, indicating that he was also a fishman.

"Koala said you needed me. What is it this time, Ace? I have work to do, you know." The blond man sounded a little annoyed, but also curious to what was going on. The man looked at the two unknown men behind Ace and scanned them for any threat, especially the human. He stopped once his eyes landed on the young merman just behind his brother.

"Sorry to get you off your work, but I felt like this was more important than signing some papers." Ace said as he looked back at Luffy and gave the teen a reassuring smile. Sabo stared at the young sharkman with wide eyes. Luffy looked ready to cry for the second time today. No more words had to be said as Sabo dove at the younger merman and tackled him.

"Luffy!"

Luffy made a noice that sounded like something between a laugh and a sob as he and Sabo fell backwards into the water. They recovered quickly and soon Luffy was involved in another sobbing mess. Ace laughed and joined his brothers in a group hug that they hadn't had in years. Jinbei and Zoro just smiled at the pile of brothers.

Eventually, the brothers let go of each other. Luffy grinned at his older brothers. "I really missed you both. I have so much to tell you!" He said. The others smiled. "You have enough time to do that 'cause I'm not letting you go anywhere anytime soon." Ace said as he once again pulled his younger brother into a hug, much to Sabo's amusement.

"I didn't know you had become such a softy, Ace" The blonde said with a smirk. Ace rolled his eyes. "Weren't you the one who told me to be a nice brother?" He said with a grin.

While his brothers talked a thought popped up in Luffy's head. The teen looked up at his brothers. "Hey, is Dr. Kureha still around? I wanted to ask her about something." He asked. Ace and Sabo looked at each other before speaking. "No, Kureha left the city about three years ago. Her student took her place." Sabo answered. Luffy raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Is the new doctor as good as her?" Ace nodded. "Yeah, he's really good. He helped us a lot. But why do you need the doctor? Is something wrong with you? Did someone hurt you?" He asked worriedly, already switching to overprotective big brother mode.

Luffy shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm fine. But I need the doctor's help for something. Can you show us the way?" He said gesturing to himself and Zoro. Ace and Sabo nodded at the same time. Luffy smiled in relief. "Thank you!"

Jinbei then spoke up. "Hey, I need to get back to my post. There isn't a watcher at the entrance right now. Ace, Sabo, see you two later. Luffy, I'd love to hear your stories later." He said. Luffy smiled at him.

"Thanks for the help Jinbei! I'll see you later!" Luffy said as he waved the fishman goodbye. Jinbei waved back before walking away. The young merman then turned to his brothers. "Let's go!" The older brothers nodded and began to lead Luffy and Zoro to the doctor's office.

After another small trip through town, Zoro, Luffy and his brothers were now in front of the doctor's office. Luffy was quite curious to see who was working here now Dr. Kureha had moved away. He stepped forward and knocked on the door.

After a few seconds the door opened to reveal a merman with dark hair, a black and white spotted tail and a lot of tattoos. The man was clearly not pleased with being disturbed with whatever he was doing. He glared at Ace and Sabo.

"What did you two do this time?" He asked rather rudely. Luffy looked at the man, blinked, blinked again, and then smiled widely.

"Traffy! It's you!" He yelled as he jumped on the startled man. The doctor flailed around for a few seconds before trying to pry the younger merman off him. "Could you not do that pl-" His words died in his mouth as he got a good look at who was currently clinging on him. "Wait, aren't you the kid who helped me all those years ago?" He asked. Luffy nodded and grinned. "I'm glad you're doing okay, Traffy!"

The man sighed. "It's Trafalgar Law." He corrected. "And you're.. Ruffy? Fluffy?" He wondered. "It's Luffy!" The teen pouted. "Right."

The man finally managed to get the teen to let go of him and looked at him. "Why are you here? Do any of you need help?" He asked. Luffy bit his lip. "Well, not one of us, but a friend of me is very sick and I was wondering if you could help her?" Luffy asked. "What does she have?" Law asked in return. Luffy shrugged and looked at Zoro for support. Zoro sighed. "The disease she has is terminal. It's pretty rare and doesn't really have a name." He told the doctor.

Law looked at him for a few seconds. "She's a human, right?" Zoro nodded. "Family?" Zoro gritted his teeth. "Yes, she's my older sister." He answered truthfully. The merman looked at him in thought before sighing. "Bring me to her. I'll see what I can do." He told them. Luffy smiled brightly and lunged at him to give him another hug, but the doctor sidestepped to avoid being squashed to death (again). Zoro smiled, feeling slightly better now that he knew someone was at least going to attempt to save his sister.

"If you have nothing to do, we can go now. She is on a boat just outside of this cave. The sooner, the better." Zoro said to Law. It wasn't like he didn't want to spend time in this underwater city, but Kuina had been on that boat on her own for a while now and he was a bit worried. Law nodded at him. Luffy, too, nodded before looking at his brothers. "You can stay here. It won't take long, I promise!" He said with a smile.

Sabo frowned. "Absolutely not! I'm not letting you go out there. What if someone catches you again?" He said with concern clear in his voice. Ace, too, looked quite reluctant to let his long lost brother go out into the open sea again. Luckily, Law decided to step in.

"I'll keep an eye on your brother. I'll make sure he makes it back in one piece." The doctor reassured them. Law wasn't friends with the two brothers, but since they seem to cause trouble everywhere they went, he had treated them a lot in his time as a doctor. They seem to relax a little and finally gave in. "Fine, but if he has as much as one scratch when you return, I will kill you. Also, if you're not back in an hour I will personally swim up there and drag your asses back down here!" Ace said. Sabo just looked at him with that creepy 'don't mess with me' look in his eyes.

"Fair enough." Law said as he closed the door of his office. He then looked back at Zoro and Luffy.

"Lead the way."

Kuina turned on her phone and looked at the time. Luffy and her brother had been gone for over two and a half hours now. She wasn't really that worried as she knew they would look out for each other. She wondered if they had found the city. They probably did, because they would have been back a few times to check up on her if they hadn't.

She knew they, especially Zoro, were reluctant to leave her alone on the boat. She couldn't blame them, of course. Who wouldn't be worried about someone with her kind of health?

She sighed and looked at the ocean. Before her disease she never truly took the time to appreciate the world around her. The ocean truly was a beautiful thing. She was glad she got to see this place before leaving this world.

Another coughing fit came up. She waited it out before grabbing her handkerchief and wiping her hand and mouth. While she had been hiding the fact she was coughing up blood, she knew her brother was aware of the fact that her time was coming. These past few days Zoro had been a bit off, and not only because of Luffy being with them. It was like he was mentally preparing himself for something. And that something was probably her passing.

Splashing sounds from the water snapped her from her thoughts. A second later she heard talking. She recognized the voice of who was speaking. She stood up from her chair and, although a bit unsteady, made her way over to the rail. She looked down at the water and was met with two familiar faces, and one she didn't recognize.

"Kuina, we're back! We found it!" Luffy yelled with a big smile. Zoro looked up at her and she could see relief wash over him.

They made their way over to the ramp. Zoro climbed out of the water and took off his headgear. Luffy and the other merman stayed in the water. Kuina greeted her brother with a hug, immediately regretting it as the cold water of his suit went straight through her shirt. She then turned her attention to the mermen in the water.

"Welcome back, Luffy. Who's your friend?" She asked kindly. Luffy grinned. "This is Traffy! He's a doctor!" He answered. Kuina's smile fell a little at the mention of a doctor. Still, she didn't let it show as she introduced herself to the older merman.

"Hello, I'm Kuina. It's nice to meet you." She said as she knelt down and stretched her hand out to the merman. Law took her hand and shook it. "Trafalgar Law." He said. He then motioned to the ramp. "Could you please take a seat over here?"

Kuina, though doubting that the doctor could do something for her, did what her was told and sat down on the ramp, feet dangling in the water. The merman then turned to luffy. "Move back." He ordered and the younger merman did what him was told. He then turned to Zoro who was standing right behind his sister. "You too." The man did.

The doctor then turned his attention back to the young woman in front of him. "I need you to stay perfectly still and keep breathing in and out, okay?" He said. Kuina nodded and followed his order.

The merman then stretched his left hand out in front of her and closed his eyes. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then, a blue light enfolded the girl. Everyone, except the doctor, gaped at the sight. It only lasted for a few seconds before disappearing again. Law then opened his eyes and looked at the shocked human in front of him.

"Your disease is a tough one. It is shutting down all you internal systems, especially the lungs. That's why you have been coughing up blood for a while now. If I were to guess, I'd say you will die within a day or two." Kuina stared at the man. How was he able to know all this in just a few seconds while her doctors took months to diagnose her? And how did he know about her coughing up blood?

Zoro flinched as he heard the estimated time his sister had left. She had less than a week left to live! If Trafalgar couldn't cure her, then..

The doctor took in the reactions of those around him. He saw how confused Kuina looked, and how worried Zoro was. He sighed, then smiled. "Luckily for you, this disease is pretty well-known with us merfolk and has been treatable for years. I can help you."

Kuina's eyes widen and she gasped, tears already gathering in her eyes. "You can really help me?" She asked in disbelief. Law nodded. "And I can treat you right now, right here." Kuina stared at him as tears slowly made their way down her cheeks. She looked behind her at Zoro, who was looking at her with a big smile, not yet in tears but very close. She then looked at Luffy, who gave her a thumbs up and a bright smile.

She was going to live.

She returned her gaze to the doctor in front of her. "Please," She then bowed her head down as far as she could without falling off the ramp. "Please save me!" She cried out. Law smiled. "I will." He let her cry for a little before telling her to sit up straight. "Okay, now this might feel a bit weird, but it won't take long." The doctor said. Kuina nodded and looked at him.

Law took a deep breath and spread his hands out in front of him and the young woman. After a few seconds, the blue light returned, but this time it was around both of his hands. The doctor seemed to murmur something under his breath and a second later Kuina's body began to glow a gray-ish colour. Slowly, the gray colouring around the young woman began to make its way to Law's hands. It looked like the doctor's hands were sucking it up. The glow around Kuina slowly began to change colour to a more purple-ish colour. The glow around Law's hands, however, steadily changed to the gray colour Kuina's glow first had.

After about three minutes, the glow around Law's hands and Kuina's body vanished. The doctor was breathing heavier than when they started and he seemed a little tired, but other than that he appeared to be fine.

Kuina, however, felt lighter. Like something had been taken out from her body. She still didn't feel quite right, but it was a lot better than before whatever the doctor had done to her.

"I've removed the disease from your body and put it in mine. My body is immune to diseases like this and your disease will vanish from my body within a few hours. You may still feel sick the coming few days, but that's just your body handling the change it just went through and healing the damage that the disease has done to your body. I suggest going to a doctor in a week or so to check if there's any trace of it left, but I'm sure I removed all of it."

"H-how does this even work?" Kuina asked shakily. What the merman had done to her, it was almost like.. like..

"It's magic!"

Kuina looked over Law's shoulder to Luffy who was smiling from ear to ear. Law sighed but didn't correct the younger merman. Luffy just grinned. "I'm so glad you could help her! I knew you could do it!" He said with a laugh. "Luffy.." Kuina didn't know what to say. Instead, she just laughed and wiped her face to get rid of her tears.

Suddenly, two arms wrapped around her from behind. She didn't even have to ask who it was. Zoro hid his face in her neck and just sat there for a minute. Kuina touched her brother's arm and smiled. Zoro was strong, but even he couldn't help but be emotional at a time like this. He almost lost the only family he had left. He must be very relieved.

Kuina looked at the doctor. "What do we owe you? We don't have a lot of money, but I'm sure we can work out some sort of payment agreement?" She asked. Law shook his head. "You don't need to pay me. I'm well aware of the fact that Luffy would never have returned home if it weren't for you two. I might not know him that well, but everyone else is glad that he has come home. I think that is payment enough." The merman said with a soft smile.

The dark-haired merman then turned to face the young sharkman."Luffy, we should be returning soon. It's not safe for us out here." He told the other. Luffy looked at him as a sense of sadness overcame him. He nodded and looked at Zoro and Kuina. "I guess we'll have to say goodbye now." He said silently. The two humans smiled sadly at him and nodded.

Law, knowing that Luffy wouldn't see his friends for a long while, if he ever saw them again, dove underwater and waited underneath the surface for Luffy to say goodbye to his friends. He didn't want to disturb such a moment.

Luffy lifted his body out of the water and sat himself down on the ramp as best as he could with his tail. He looked at Kuina and smiled at her. He reached his hand out at her. "I'm going to miss you, Kuina. You're a great person and I hope that disease stays away forever." He said with a grin. Kuina laughed, ignored the outstretched hand and gave the young merman a hug. "I'm going to miss you too. Thank you for everything you've done for us." She said. Luffy returned the embrace with a smile.

When they let go of each other, Kuina stood up and stepped back. She looked at her brother for a moment before looking back at the sharkman. "I'll leave you two for a bit. Goodbye Luffy. Maybe we'll see each other again sometime!" She said as she waved at him. Luffy grinned. "Yeah! Bye Kuina!" He said and waved. Then Kuina walked to the other side of the boat and disappeard from sight.

Luff then turned his attention to Zoro. For a second, both men just stared at each other without knowing what to say. This was goodbye. They might never see each other again after this.

It was hard.

Luffy felt a familiar burning feeling in his eyes. He blinked a few times to get rid of it, but that only resulted in a few tears making their way out of the corners of his eyes. He sniffed.

"Zoro, you're a great friend even though you might not think that way. I know you still feel guilty for what you did, but I already forgave you." He paused to think. "God, I don't even know what to say. I really enjoyed the time we spend together. You saved me a-and I can't thank you enough f-for that." Another pause.

"I.. Zoro, I.. I want to stay friends with you. I don't want this to end here! I-I want us to play more games t-together! I want us t-to spend time together! B-but I know that's not possible. I can't make y-you come here every week to spend time with me b-because not only do you live s-so far, no one can know that my city excists and having y-you dive here o often could make people s-suspect something. B-but.."

Zoro sighed hand knelt down next to the merman. He took the teen in his arms. Luffy sobbed on his shoulder and honestly, Zoro was starting to have trouble keeping his eyes dry as well. "It's alright, Luffy. I know what you mean. And you're right, I can't come here every week to hang out with you. But I'll be sure to let you know how I'm doing one way or another. I don't know how yet, but I will." He took a deep breath to calm his breathing.

"Luffy, you're annoying, stupid, bad at games, you have a huge appetite," Luffy snickered. "But, you're the greatest friend I ever had. I enjoyed the time spend together too. And yes, I still feel guilty for what I did, but now I know you're free and with the ones you love, I am willing to forgive myself." Zoro gently pushed his friend away from him and locked eyes with him.

"Even though I've only known you for a few months, you are an important part of my life and I will never forget you. Not only for what you've done for me and my sister, but also for being an amazing friend. I-I really hope we'll see each other again sometime." The man said with a shaky smile. Luffy sniffed and nodded. The merman then went back in for a hug, which Zoro gladly accepted.

They stayed like that for a while, just in each other's arms. Every now and then a sob would escape one of them. They just wanted to be close to each other for as long as they could.

Eventually, they let go of each other. Luffy sniffed and looked down at the water. Law was still waiting for him. He had to go. He slowly slipped off the ramp and into the water. He looked back at his best friend one last time.

"I will miss you, Zoro." He said with a small smile. Zoro smiled back. "I will miss you too, Luffy."

Luffy grinned at him through the tears as he slowly descended into the water. The last thing Zoro saw was Luffy's eyes looking at him from just below the surface. Then, the merman vanished.

The green-haired man stared at the ocean for a while. He didn't look away even when his sister joined him on the ramp. Kuina leaned her head on his shoulder as she, too, looked at the water below.

"Luffy is a good kid. I hope we'll see him again some time." She said.

"Yeah," Zoro smiled. "Me too."

AN: ITS FINISHED!

I finally finished this chapter. Took me waaaayy too long. I hope you enjoyed this final, pretty long chapter of East Blue Monster.

I hope my way of writing didn't confuse you too much because, again, I'm not a native English speaker/writer and I'm just trying my best to write a decent fanfiction XD

Just to clarify, the merpeople city isn't the same as fishman island. So a lot of the things of fishman island aren't in this city, like the floating bubble things (which is why the merpeople here just swim their way everywhere). Also, if you didn't figure it out, Ace and Law are normal mermen, Sabo is a fishman and Jinbei is just his normal self.

Also, as a little compensation for the long wait, I've made fanart for a scene of this chapter. It's basically Zoro and Luffy swimming. You can find it on my DeviantArt page (FireArrowAce) if you want to take a look at it. I kinda want to make another piece of art with Luffy, Ace and Sabo, but I don't know if I have time to do that.

Oh, one last thing! I plan to make a sequel to this story. I don't know when it will be out since I'm working on too many fanfics in between college and internships, but the rough idea is there. But it's going to be a Zoro x Luffy story because I ship it (I hope that didn't show too much in this fanfic). I decided to not put that ship in this story since I know some people don't like that. So that's why I plan to make another story more focused on their relationship instead of Luffy being a merman.