Whoa! Sorry this took so long! Honestly, I got some huge writer's block with this chapter and then I got all these awesome ideas for my other stories and I'm just really sorry. Also my beta reader, also known as my best friend in real life, took her sweet time correcting away at this xD Ah, anyways, here it is and I hope you like it. As for the next chapter, I'll try to have it out with in a week and a half time or less.

For those of you wondering about Hawk-eye's wife. I took a lot of Luffy, a good amount of Nami and a touch of Sanji to make her personality. I also added that Hawk-eye hates goats. I'm not sure if that's true or not but it would sound like something he would hate. Gaarrw! Goats!

Chapter 6

I'm honored to have you as my son, Zoro

.

It is our choices

that show what we truly are,

far more than our abilities

.

"Iha, Iha, Iha, you never could hold your liquor!" Shanks teased over the Den-den mushroom. I had left the island a few days ago yet the man still insisted on making fun of me. I must had been at least 40 miles away from the red-haired captain yet this Den-den mushroom still worked perfectly fine. I sighed, why was it that I had gotten the most reliable snail? Oh yes, I didn't, as a warlord the Government forced it upon me so that they could easily contract me. If it was my choice, I'd have thrown the object in to the bottomless sea that surrounded me... I still might.

"Shut up." I commanded dryly.

"I remember how your wife use to always win against you, man, that was pitiful!" The captain snickered. I could see him if I closed my eyes, sitting there at the table of his ship, laughing his ass off and paying no attention to the duties that being a captain holds. Once again, I find myself hopping that Luffy isn't as insensitive as the man.

"Shut up." I continue to say in my indifferent voice, though, his words did bother me some. "By the way, it was her who could never beat me." I add, never would I attempt to being beaten in a drinking contest by a women, none the less my own late wife.

"Don't feel bad! She also use to give me a run for my money! Iha, Iha, Iha, good times! I actually had some competition back then!" The red-haired captain boasted, in the background, I heard the man slamming his fist into the table while Ben told him to stop.

"I'm going to hang up." I say matter-of factly.

"Wait! Hawk-eye!" The pirate suddenly stopped laughing, sounding sightly concerned. This is rare for him so I immediately think something bad has happened.

"Hm?" I ask, not showing the concern in my voice.

"LOSSSEEEER~!" ShanksBurst out in to a raging fit of laughter after that. I realized that the man was drunk, no surprise. It was times like this that I wondered why I even talked to him anymore? It's like trying to talk to a three-year old. The moment I had hung up the den-den mushroom, it rings again.

Beda, beda, beda. I groan and pick it up, putting it to my ear. Shanks, while a long time friend of mine, still was the most annoying person I know.

"WHAT NOW SHANKS?!" I yell, glaring through the phone. I have grown irritated fast and no longer feel like amusing him and his childish games.

"...It's Garp.." A different voice then the one I was expecting said. I fight a blush, it was all Shanks fault.

"Oh? And why do you call me, Garp?" I ask, raising my eyebrow. The "Hero of the Marines", Garp, is overall a very well-respected man for cornering the Pirate King multiple times, though, the captain had always been lucky and never gotten caught. While Garp seemed devoted to his duties, he has his own sense of justice and does not always obey orders given to him, for that, the man has my respect.

"Sengoku has called a meeting and is asking that the war lords attend." The old man explained, for some reason, I sensed a sadness in his voice. He usually would be chucking, telling me about how he beat my donut eating record, of course, I'd always know he was lying. Yes, something was wrong thought, I didn't care enough to ask.

"I don't wanna." I say and yes, I do realize I'm being childish but no one ever goes to those meetings.

"Eh?! Don't you even want to know who it's about?!" The Maine question, sounding some-what insulted.

"Fine, I'll amuse you old man, whose it about?" I ask, emotionless.

"Strawhat Luffy and Roana Zoro. If you ask me, the straw hat kid isn't one to be messed with, I think they should send me to take care of them..." He suggested. I choked on my spit, rocking my boat and almost falling off. "Eh?! You there?!"

"I'll be there. The pirates interest me greatly, do they both has a bounty?" I question

"Eh... Yeah. They're new to the Grand-line, just got their posters in to HQ today... We're meeting at Holy Land, Mariejoa." I known Garp for a long time, years of the Pirate King, Shanks, my wife and I running from him and causing the man trouble. I can tell something's upsetting him and I'm honestly curious but had too much pride to ask.

"I'll be there" With that out of the way, I hang up the snail and throw it in to the sea, for it annoys me and I have become tired of it. Next, I pick up the morning newspaper that I never got a chance to read. I shack out the paper and around ten bounty poster fall out of it. It doesn't take a lot of time to find the bounty poster belonging to my son and his captain.

Roanao Zoro. Wanted, dead or alive. 60 million.

Monkey D. Luffy. Wanted dead or alive. 100 million.

Upon further reading, I discover that Crocodile was defeated. It doesn't take a very smart person to realize that Captain Smoker wasn't the one who defeated the war lord, no. I'm sure the one who took him down was my son or his captain. I knew I would hear from them again, but so fast? At this rate I'll be dead in five-years. Fantastic.

click.

Now only one question remained: How to get to Holy Land, Mariejoa?

I arrive at the meeting room late, not that I or anyone else really cares. The marine meeting room was built with circular white walls lined with a few feather sofas and even an outdoor porch. In the center of the space is a large, light brown wooden table surrounded by a few dozen purple office chairs where marine captains sit, waiting for the meeting to start. As I walk down the halls leading to the space, I can hear two people talking from the ajar door frame of the meeting room.

"Indeed. I wasn't coming to come either, but business is going so well on the island that I was getting bored. So here I am." I recognize the voice and my frown depends, was he here? That pink feathered pirate?

"I see, well, that's troublesome. Nothing is more unsettling to us than hearing the pirating business is doing well." That voice would be Sengoku,'s the leader of the marines. I don't particularly like that man, in fact, I find both him and his goat annoying.

"You're pretty eager to pick a fight. You're making the name of Buddha cry Chief Admiral Sengoku" Donquixote Doflamingo mused, though, I picked up on the threatening pitch in his voice as he spoke.

"My ear has caught a rather boring conversation." I state as I make my 'big appearance', walking in to the room and towards the closet chair. "Have I come to the wrong place?" I question Looking back on this moment, it's quite possible that I did come to the wrong place...

"Hawk-eye" A random brown-haired marine announces, fear showing across his face momentarily.

"The Marine Headquarters and the Shichibukai. Having two conflicting groups of equal power sitting at a round table... Seems to be entirely meaningless." I mumble. I never have fully understood why on earth pirates would work with marines, it seemed to be in reversion to me.

"Well, well. The last man we expected to see has shown up.~" The pink nightmare known as Doflamingo cheers in fake happiness. Something about him... makes me want to kill him.

"I never thought..." The Chief stuttered, surprised. I narrow my eyes, isn't he the one who invited me in the first place? Wasn't this a meeting that all the warlords were suppose to attend. Though, upon looking around the room, I discovered that most of the other pirates had chosen not to attend as well. "that you..." Sengoku continues his sentence lamely.

"Hump! What?" I question, a little insulted by their shock. They could at least try to be polite. "I'm only here to observe. I have a passing interest in the pirates on this meeting's agenda. Nothing more" I assure them, taking note of Admiral Sengoku's pet goat on the table, eating papers. I hate goats. Unlike my wife, I'm not fond of animals in general.

"In that case, would it be acceptable for me to be an observer as well? No, I think I maybe somewhat different from an observer." A new voice asks, my eye widens in the slightest simply because I didn't sense them. Whoever it was, they had some form of Haki, either that or I'm getting careless.

"Who the hell are you? How did you get in here?" A no name marine interrogated, clearly, he to was upset from the unfamiliar voice.

"However, I did not expect so many prominent figures to be here. With any luck... This meeting... is one I came here to join... and participate in. I heard that crocodile had been stripped of his title... and thought perhaps you would be looking for a replacement." The male's voice continues, as if he had never been interrupted. I look towards the glass doors where an incredibly pale and sickly looking man stands, wearing mostly purple. He's also tap dancing of all things.

"You... are you Laffite?" The same no name marine questions, concern clear in his voice.

"Laffite?" The goat owner questioned, rising his eyebrow. I decide to sit down at that point, letting the conversation drift in and our my ears. I don't really mind if another person lessons in on our meeting, hell, the more the merrier, just get this thing over with.

This 'Laffite' man goes on to say how a man named 'Black Beard' would make a perfect addition to the war lords. I'm not sure what this 'Black Beard' is planning but whatever it is, I don't have a good feeling about it.

I watch in shock as slowly and with time, my son's bounty grows. I discover new members had joined the straw hat's crew, an orange haired girl named Nami. That same blond guy I had seen that day at the restaurant, his name was Sanji. A stuffed animal like dog named Chopper. A half robot man named Franky. Some kind of devil-fruit user skeleton named Brook. Usopp, who appeared to be 'Soge-king' and Yasopp's son. Last was a mysterious girl who had disappeared off the face of the earth for 20 or so years, Nico Robin. Apparently, they had just saved her and in the process destroyed Eneis Lobby. They were now known to the world as new pirates who would soon take over the grand-line and new world.

I wonder, is this how a father feels when his son gets married to the most beautiful and sweet girl in the village? Proud was not the right word, perhaps the right word was 'honored.' Yes, that's the word. I feel completely honored to have Zoro as my son.