Chapter 27: Shaking the World!

Vivi led the Straw hats towards the palace through the numerous alleyways to try not to draw too much attention to them. When they reached the palace, they began walking up a huge staircase leading to the main doors of the castle. As they were walking up the stairs, they saw a figure standing on top of the stairs looking down at them. Luffy could tell who it was thanks to his observation haki, but everyone else was having a hard time making out the figure. As they got closer Vivi began to recognize who it was standing at the top of the stairs. A wide smile crept up on her face before she took off running up the stairs full sprint with tears leaking out of her eyes.

"DADDY!" she yelled as she ran to her father causing the Straw Hats to smile at her reaction.

"So that's the king," Sanji said as he took a puff of his cigarette.

"Yep," Luffy replied casually.

"You don't sound that surprised," Nojiko commented as she looked at Luffy.

"I met him already so there isn't really anything to be surprised about," he said with a shrugged. When they reached the top of the stairs, they saw the father and daughter sharing a warm hug after being away from each other for such a long time. When the two royals noticed the group standing behind them, they let go of each other and greeted them.

"Dada, these are my friends," Vivi said with a smile as spoke to her father. "This is Nami, Nojiko, Zoro, Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku, Sanji, and this is their captain, Lu-" she said introducing the crew to her bather before he interrupted her.

"Yes, I met him already," he said surprising her. "And it is a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet all of you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you've done for my daughter," he said as he bowed his head.

"It's no problem," Nami said while slightly unnerved at the fact that a king was bowing his head to them.

"Come on," the King said as he brought his head back up. "You all must be tired, come inside and rest while our doctors treat your wounds," he said before leading the group into the palace. When they got inside the two royals lead them into a room with numerous beds. Luffy hypothesized that this was the hospital wing of the castle. "Our doctors will treat your wounds and our chefs will prepare a grand feast as thanks for your services to our country," the king said.

"What do you mean?" Vivi asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"The Plaza with your people. Tell them what really happened here," he said causing a look of realization to flash across their faces.

"You're right," Vivi said with a smile. "And we can tell them all about you guys," she said with a smile.

"Actually Vivi, that wouldn't be a good idea," Sanji said while the other Straw Hat's nodded.

"Actually," Luffy said getting all their attention. "That would be a good idea," he said surprising his crew.

"But Luffy, wouldn't that draw too much attention to us?" Nojiko asked in a confused voice.

"When I asked each of you to join my crew, I told you I was going to turn this world upside down," he said in a critical tone. "I have no intention of turning upside down from the shadows," he added causing Zoro and Nojiko to smile while Nami, Usopp, and Chopper sulked in the corner.

"I'll make sure everybody knows," Vivi said with a smile.

"Good, now if you excuse me, I have some business to attend to he said before he turned and looked at his crew. "Johnny, Yosaku, come with me. I have a job for you," he said causing to nod and make their way over to him. "I'll be back in an hour or so," he said to his crew causing them to nod at him before he turned and left with Johnny and Yosaku right behind him. The three of them exited the hospital wing and went outside where Luffy summoned a thundercloud for them to ride on. Thanks to the rain and abundant presence of moisture in the air he didn't have to worry about the cloud shrinking or getting destroyed. When the cloud arrived Luffy looked at the bounty hunting duo and spoke. "Hop on," he said as he hopped on to the cloud.

"Now I want the two of you to listen to what I have to say carefully," Luffy said in a serious tone getting their full attention. "I am going to make the two of you an offer, one which you can decline if you so please," he added puzzling the.

"What kind of offer?" Johnny asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A job offer," Luffy said surprising them. The two of them were really puzzled by this. They were under the impression that they already have a job on Luffy's crew, to which they were right. "As you know I am going to be starting an underworld organization," he said to which they nodded. "Good, this organization is going to have a worldwide reach. Now as you know my entire crew is from the East Blue, including me," he said causing them to nod once more. "We got family there and the people who we care about. That is why I need someone who I can trust to oversee my operations in the East," he said causing them to realize what job he was offering them.

"So, you want us to go back to the East Blue and run your operations there in that sea?" Yosaku asked.

"That's right," Luffy said. "Not only do I trust the two of you, but you guys are also from the East Blue. So, you are already familiar with the area," Luffy said causing them to nod. "Do you guys accept?" he asked while looking at them. The two of them looked at each other for a while and didn't say anything. It was like they were having a silent conversation with each other. After two minutes of silence, both looked at Luffy and spoke.

"We accept!" they said causing Luffy to smile widely.

"Wonderful!" Luffy said before he pulled out three glasses and poured whiskey into them and handed two of them to the two former bounty hunters. "Here's to new opportunities," Luffy said as he clicked glasses with Johnny and Yosaku. "Now let's talk business," Luffy said seriously.

"What exactly are we going to be doing there in the East?" Johnny asked as he took a sip of his whiskey.

"I'm going to explain that one time in front of everybody else rather than having to do it twice," Luffy said causing to nod. "When you get to the East Blue you are going to need to find someplace to set up your main base of operation," he said causing to think.

"Maybe go to Conomi Islands, where Nami is from," Luffy said confusing them.

"I thought you wanted us to stay away from the homes of members of the crew?" Johnny asked in a confused voice.

"I do, but as long as you do not meddle in the affairs of Cocoyasi Village, I don't think anyone will mind," he said causing to nod slowly. "You can take over that spot where Arlong's base was, it has a small port and everything. Plus, I think the villagers will welcome you guys back there with open arms," he said.

"And we can also provide them with protection," Yosaku added to what Luffy was saying.

"Exactly," he said with a smile. "However, should I hear any of your men causing any trouble...there will be hell to pay," he said coldly scaring the two former bounty hunters.

"We'll make sure they understand," Johnny replied in a slightly scared voice.

"Good, but I want to make sure they all know that you two are in charge," Luffy said before taking a sip of his drink. "So, we are going to give you a power boost," he added causing them to raise an eyebrow.

"And how exactly are we going to do that?" Yosaku asked.

"Simple," Luffy replied with a smile. "With this," he said as he waved his hand in front of them causing something to rise from inside the cloud. When they looked down, they saw an all too familiar c.h.e.s.t rising from the cloud causing the two of them to realize how Luffy was going to give them a power boost. "Now then, who wants a devil fruit?" he asked with a smile. Johnny and Yosaku looked at each other for a few seconds before Johnny spoke first.

"I'll take one then," Yosaku said causing Luffy to reach into the c.h.e.s.t and dig around a bit before he pulled out a devil fruit. The fruit was grey with back swirls and shaped like an apple.

"Here," Luffy said as he handed the fruit to Yosaku. "It is the Sickle-Sickle Fruit," Luffy said as Yosaku took the fruit from him.

"What does it do?" Yosaku asked.

"It is a Paramecia type devil fruit that gives the user long, sharp nails that they can use to create slicing air blades," Luffy said causing their eyes to widen. "It is said that the wind created by this devil fruit is as sharp as a meito. It can tear a person limb from limb like its child's play," he said as he closed the c.h.e.s.t and lowered it back into the cloud.

"Eat it," Johnny said sounding slightly excited to see what happens when a person eats a devil fruit. Yosaku looked at both Johnny and Luffy before he began to bring the devil fruit up to his mouth.

"Be warned, devil fruits can have a..." Luffy said as he trailed off as he watches Yosaku bite down onto the fruit. "...bad taste," he finished. Just as he said that Yosaku's face took on a sour look causing Johnny and Luffy to cringe slightly. He bared the horrible taste that was currently in his mouth and swallowed the fruit before letting out a breath of relief. Luffy quickly refilled his glass with whiskey before handing it to him so he can get the taste out of his mouth.

"Well, how do you feel," Johnny asked as he didn't see any changes in his partner.

"No different actually," Yosaku said as he began to examine himself.

"Maybe you should finish the entire fruit," Johnny suggested.

"If you don't mind me asking, why?" Yosaku asked cautiously.

"We won't we selling drugs to everyday civilians," he said surprising them. "We will be selling it to the rich and powerful. The nobles, the Kings and Queens of a country. They tend to buy a larger quantity than everyday people," he said causing them to nod their heads showing that they understood. "I do not want to risk selling it a nobleman in the East and have them distribute it to their people," he said.

"Oh, I understand now," Johnny said while nodding.

"Yeah, I do too," Yosaku added.

"Good," Luffy said as he stood up and the cloud began to slow down. "We're here," he said causing the two former bounty hunters to stand u as well. The cloud came to a full stop just above the cafe before it began to descend to the surface. When it was about 4 ft above the ground Luffy and his two new leaders of the East Blue operation hopped off the cloud and began making their way inside the cafe with Luffy leading the way. When they entered the spider's cafe, they saw that everyone inside the cafe was split into two groups. On Luffy's right was Gem and rest of the former Baroque Works agents who had already joined him. On the left were the former agents who Luffy's crew took care of. The two groups didn't even notice that Luffy had entered the cafe, they were too busy staring at each other.

"There seems to be a lot of tension in here," Luffy said getting everyone's attention. When everyone looked over and saw Luffy standing there with two of his crew members the group of now former Baroque Works agents immediately stood up and placed their guards up while the other group remained seated, but their posture could be visibly seen relaxed.

"You!" Mr. 1 said in anger. "I thought the boss would have killed you!" he said causing Luffy to chuckle.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it is Crocodile who lost the fight," Luffy said as he began walking to the clear leader of the group. "But by all means, if you wish to avenge your boss, go right ahead," he said as he stared at Mr. 1. "I will gladly show an insignificant little insect-like you, your place in this world," he added coldly causing Mr. 1 to growl. Much to Luffy's disappointment he backs off and went back over to the group. "That's more like it," Luffy said coldly ad eyed the former Baroque Works agent.

"Oh my," came the voice of Ms. Double finger as he walked over to Luffy with an extra sway in her h.i.p.s. "Such a strong man," he said as he rubbed up against Luffy's arms. "Why don't you and I go in the back and have some fun," she said seductively into Luffy's ear.

"What business?" Ms. Merry Christmas asked quickly.

"I have a job offer for all of you," Luffy said with a smile as he looked at everyone. It was at that moment where he was looking at everyone, he noticed someone sitting amongst the former agents who his crew took care of. "Who are you?" he asked as his smiles disappeared from his face.

"That's Mr. 11," Gem answered getting Luffy's attention. "Apparently he followed us here," he added causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow.

"How come I didn't see him here earlier?" Luffy asked.

"He was hiding outside. He didn't show himself to us till after you had already left," Gem said causing Luffy to sigh.

"Whatever," Luffy said as he took a sip of his drink. "As I was saying, I have a job offer for all of you," he said as he placed the smile back on his face.

"What makes you think we would want to work for you anyway?" Mr. 1 asked as he folded his arm.

"Well, it's either that or I hand you over to the marines," Luffy replied with a smirk.

"What's the job you're offering?" Ms. Doublefinger asked changing the subject of the marines.

"It's quite similar to the ones you previously had," he said as he took a sip of his drink. "I am going to be creating an organization that operates in both the underworld and the legal one," he said piquing their curiosity.

"What do you mean by both?" Mr. 2 asked with curiosity ever so present in his voice.

"I mean the organization will produce, buy, and sell both legal and illegal items," Luffy said causing their eyes to widen slightly.

"So, you are going to be dipping your hands in two pots instead of one," Ms. Doublefinger said with a chuckle. Before anyone else could ask any more questions Mr. 11 stood up and spoke.

"No!" Mr. 11 yelled out getting everyone's attention. "I'm not going to be a part of this," he said as he began walking towards the door

"Why not?" Luffy asked genuine curious as to why he was refusing to do illegal dealing when he was already a criminal.

"I've heard stories about the black market," he said in a voice filled with fear causing to Luffy to understand why he refused. "Those are people who I do not want to get involved in!" he said causing Luffy to nod.

"Very well," Luff said before he took a sip of his drink. "You are free to leave," he added as the smile disappeared from his face. Mr. 11 then turned around and began walking towards the door. As he took three steps towards the door, two gunshots could be heard before Mr. 11 dropped face-first to the ground with two holes in the back of his knees. Everyone's eyes widen in shock and quickly sprang to their feet thinking that they were under attack. When they looked over at Luffy they all saw him sitting there holding a smoking gun.

"W-why did you shoot him?" Mr. 2 asked sounding slightly scared. Luffy just stood up and chuckled maniacally as he began walking towards the downed Mr. 11 with each of his footsteps echoing throughout the cafe.

"You didn't really expect me to tell you that I'm about to start a crime syndicate and then just let you walk out of here with your lives intact," Luffy said coldly before he stooped down in front of Mr. 11. He then grabbed a fist full of the crying man's hair and raised his head up so he can look into his eye. "You should have never followed my people here," Luffy said coldly before letting go of his hair causing his head to fall back on the floor. Luffy then stood up and pointed his pistol down at Mr. 11's head.

"No! Please no!" Mr. 11 begged as he stared up at the gun.

"Sorry," Luffy said in an emotionless tone. "It's nothing personal. It's just business," he said before he pulled the trigger two times sending two small bolts of lightning into Mr. 11's head. He then holstered his gun and made his way back to the counter where he left his drink.

"So, when you said you were going to hand us over to the marines you were lying," Mr. 2 said as he watched Luffy sit down.

"No, that was just before I told you what I was going to do," Luffy said before he smirked. "Now that you all know what I am going to be doing there is no way you are turning down my offer and walking out of here alive," he said with a chuckle causing their eyes to widen while the agents who were already working for Luffy smirked.

"So devious," Ms. Doublefinger said as she licked her lips. "Me like," she said as she winked at Luffy causing him to chuckle.

"So, who's in?" Luffy asked as he looked at them.

"I'm in," Mr. 2 said as he did a twirl. "Plus, I quite like your crew. They're a merry bunch," he added causing Luffy to chuckle.

"We're in, right Mr. 4? Right? Right?" Ms. Merry Christmas asked while looking at Mr. 4 and hopping up and down.

"Sure," Mr. 4 said rather slowly.

"Well, you already know I'm in, handsome," Ms. Doublefinger said with a wink. Luffy then turned and looked at Mr. 1 who was looking at him through narrowed eyes.

"Fine, I'll join you," he said causing Luffy smirk.

"Good, now sit down let me explain to you al what we will be doing," he said as he stood up while everyone else took their seats. "The name of the organization is Hell's Company. There will be two main branches in the company, the Hino Branch for information gathering and the Kiten Branch will be the black-market dealers," he said as he looked around at each of them.

"What sort of information will the Hino branch be gathering?" Ms. Doublefinger asked liking that branch of the organization more.

"All sorts of information like world news, shady deals, blackmailing information, and needs," he said confusing them with the last thing he listed.

"Needs?" Marianne asked with a confused look on her face.

"Yes needs," Luffy replied with a smirk. "Information on the needs of people, the things they need like weapons, jewels, drugs, anything that is in high demand," he said causing them to understand what he meant. "The Hino Branch will not only gather information but also distribute it. They will spread the word of our company to the low lives and the wealthy nobles of this world," he said before he walked over to Ms. Doublefinger. "And you Ms. Doublefinger," he said as he stroked her cheek.

"Please, call me Paula," she said as she looked up at him.

"And you, Paula," Luffy said with a smirk. "Are going to be in charge of the entire Hino Branch," he said causing everyone's eyes to widen the size of dinner plates.

"Me?" She asked with a bewildered look on her face. "Why me?" she asked.

"Ms. All Sunday told me you have a knack for gathering Information," Luffy said causing her nod slowly. "You all work in pairs and each pair will be sent to a separate ocean. You will be temporarily in charge of my operations in that ocean. You will pick someone from your crews to be the head of the Hino Branch in that ocean. They will collect all the information from their subordinates and send it to Paula over here who will sort through it and send it to me, and I will tell her what to do with it from that point!" Luffy commanded as he raised his voice slightly.

"What do you mean by temporarily in charge?" Mikita asked causing Luffy to look over at her.

"Just as it sounds, you are only holding the position of boss in that ocean until I find someone stronger who can protect my people and my merchandise," Luffy said surprising them.

"Who said we need protection?" Mr. 1 asked causing Luffy to chuckle and walk back over to the counter.

"Trust me," he said with a smile. "You are nowhere near strong enough to deal with the people who we are going to be dealing with," he said as he took a sip of his drink. "The only exception to this is those two over there of course," he added while pointing at Johnny and Yosaku. "But that is mainly because they're going to the East Blue," he finished.

"If the Hino Branch is all about the gathering and distribution of information," Jiro said while looking at Luffy. "What is the other branch all about?" he asked.

"The other branch is called The Kiten Branch. The people in this branch will be dealing with the buying and selling of merchandise the legal way and on the black market," Luffy said causing everyone to nod understanding the plan.

"What are we selling exactly?" Ms. Merry Christmas asked earning a chuckle from Luffy.

"We are going to be selling anything that can fetch a hefty price, like weapons, medicine, drugs, high-end artifacts like paintings, sculptures, and antiques," he said as he took a sip of his whiskey. "Along with some other hard to find merchandise like Devil Fruits," he added causing their eyes to widen in surprise.

"We will be selling devil fruits?" Mr. 2 asked in a surprised voice.

"That is right," Luffy said as he sat down. "I will have all the devil fruits of course. All you need to do is find a buyer and I'll bring them to you," he said causing to nod their heads. "Now stuff like medicine and the high-end artifacts, those can be sold legally but everything else has to be sold on the black market," Luffy said in a serious voice. "For those of you who are going to be in the Kiten Branch, you are about to be introduced to a whole new world that you didn't even know exist. A secret society with its own rules and customs that everyday people have no idea about," Luffy said piquing their curiosity.

"How do we get into this society?" Paula asked.

"When the Hino branch spread the word and the Kiten Branch make a few black markets transactions, they will be invited to certain events that only take place in the underworld, like auctions and special viewings. It is at those places where you see the underworld society," he said before looking around at their faces to see their reactions. He was surprised what saw that all of them even the stoic Mr. 1 had an excited gleam in their eyes.

"That sounds fun," Jiro said with an excited smirk.

"It is there that each of you will make new contacts and meet future clients," Luffy said before refilling his glass. "But there is only one rule in the underworld," he said seriously getting all their attention. "You NEVER reveal what see, do, or hear to anyone while you're there," he said causing all of them to nod. "Well, except for me," he added.

"I take it that is where my branch will be operating for the most part?" Paula asked.

"Correct," Luffy replied with a nod. Luffy was about to continue explaining about the company but before he could Mr. 2 spoke up.

"I have a question," he said earning everyone's attention. "You said we will be selling all these things, but where are we going to get them from?" he asked causing everyone else to look at Luffy to hear the answer to the question that they too were wondering about.

"Oh right," Luffy said before he stood up and walked over to the door before summoning his thundercloud. "I almost forgot," he said as the cloud arrived. Luffy then stuck his hand into the cloud and felt around. He then pulled out a black treasure c.h.e.s.t, one that Johnny and Yosaku never saw before. "Before I answer your question, I need to all of you your partners and your ocean of operation," he said as he flipped the c.h.e.s.t open and looked at everyone.

"Sounds good to me," Gem said while everyone else agreed.\

"Okay, Johnny and Yosaku you're going to East Blue," Luffy said he looked at Gem and spoke. "Gem, give him the location of the sh.i.p.s that are set to head to the East," Luffy said causing Gem walk over to the two former bounty hunters and hand them a paper with a location written on it.

"Got it, captain!" Johnny said with a salute.

"Mr. 1 you will operate by yourself here in the Grand Line as part of the Kiten Branch," Luffy said causing Mr. 1 to nod while Gem walked over to him with a piece of paper "Paula, you and Marianne will also be here in the Grand Line but as part of the Hino Branch," Luffy said while looking at the two of them. The two women nodded before Marianne walk over and sat down with Paula while Gem took the paper with the location of their men to them.

"Got it," Paula said.

"Mr. 4 you and Ms. Merry Christmas will head to the North Blue," Luffy said causing them to nod and collect the paper from Gem.

"Okay," Mr. 4 said slowly.

"Mr. 2, you and Jiro over there will head to the West Blue," Luffy said before taking a sip of his drink.

"Righty oh, Bossman!" Mr. 2 said as he twirled around while Jiro collected the paper from Gem and moved over to Mr. 2.

"And finally Gem, you and Mikita will head to the South Blue," Luffy said causing the two of them to nod.

"Got it," they said at the same time as they sat next to each other.

"All of you are free to decide who does what for what branch or if both of you want to do everything together," Luffy said while they nodded in agreement. "Good, now the next thing that I need to give you are these," Luffy said as he reached into the c.h.e.s.t and pulled out a stack of address books all tied together. He untied the stack of books before he passed one out to each person there. "Inside of these books are the names and numbers of people who have sworn their loyalties to me," he said causing everyone to look at the names in the books with a lot of interest.

"I don't get it," Ms. Merry Christmas said getting Luffy's attention. "What do these people have to do with us?" she asked.

"As I said, these people swore their loyalties to me a few years ago. They're the one who will be supplying you with a lot of the merchandises that you will be selling," he said surprising everyone there especially Johnny and Yosaku. "Inside of that book, you have the names of everyone from arms dealers to weapon manufacturers, from scientists to drug lords," he said as he took a seat. "Whatever it is you need; you get it from the people inside of that book. You call them and make an order for the product and they will tell you when and where to pick it up. Seeing as how all of them are in the Grand Line, you will need to send a ship here to collect it and take back to the client, understood?" he asked as he looked around making sure everyone was with the program.

"How long have they been working for you?" Johnny asked being this is the first time he heard of this

"About two and a half years now," Luffy replied before taking a sip of his drink. "All of them have been stockpiling product for the past two years. All they are waiting for is for you to place the order for the product," he said causing Johnny to nod his head.

"I get it," Mr. 2 said as he flipped through the address book. "You are your own supplier and distributor," he said causing Luffy to nod his head in agreement.

"There are names in here for everything," Mikita said in amazement as she flipped through the first three pages of the book.

"As you may have noticed by now, only the first three pages of that book has contact information written there while the rest of the book is blank. It is your job to find new contacts and add them to that book, understood?" he asked causing all of them to nod their head in agreement. "Good, now for the next thing I have to give you," Luffy said as he reached in the c.h.e.s.t and pulled out multiple stacks of paper. "These are the company's logo. You are to put this on every box, crate, and package that you ship," he said as he handed two stacks of the labels to each pair. When everyone got the stacks of labels the first, they did was look at it to see what their new logo would be. When they looked at it, they saw it was just a flaming skull.

"Isn't this too close to a pirate flag?" Paula asked as she held up one of the labels.

"According to the Navy, as long as it does not have the crossbones it is not a pirate flag," Luffy said with a shrug.

"Isn't there already an organization like this one in the underworld?" Jiro asked while looking at Luffy.

"There is, but like you said. It is only in the underworld," Luffy said as he took a sip of his drink. "There is no other organization that is double-dipping in both worlds," he added with a smirk.

"How much money are we looking to make here?" Gem asked as he placed the stack of labels down on the table next to him.

"A whole lot of money," Luffy replied vaguely. "Considering that a simple paramecia devil fruit can go for a minimum of 100 million berries depending on the fruit while logias can go from anywhere between 800 million to 1.5 billion berries," he added causing all their eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates.

"That's a lot of money," Paula whispered out casing Luffy to smirk.

"That is nowhere close to what we are set to make," Luffy said once more surprising them even more. Mr. 2 and Jiro immediately jumped to their feet and shouted.

"What the hell are we still doing here!?" both asked. "Let's go make some money!" they yelled out.

"Okay, slow down there, boys," Luffy said calming them down. "There is one more thing I need all explain to all of you," he said in a serious tone calming everyone down.

"What is it?" Mr. 1 asked in a calm voice.

"Rules," Luffy said confusing them. "There are some rules that each of you must follow. Break them and it will be the end your life as you know it," he said calmly scaring everyone in the cafe. "Rule #1, If it is alive, we do not touch it," he said as he looked around making sure they all heard him. "I am not getting involved in slavery. If you see a slave trader's ship you are to kill everyone on board and set the slaves free, understood!?" He asked raising his voice slightly.

"Aye!" everyone replied with a nod.

"What if it's dead?" Mr. 1 asked causing Luffy to sigh.

"You mean like organs," Luffy said causing him to nod. "I'm on the fence about that. On one hand, they fetch a good amount of money, but on the other hand, it's creepy as f.u.c.k," Luffy said with a sigh. "There is a name of an organ harvester in your address books. He doesn't work for me; I just know him. Don't call him. For now, we are not touching the dead," he said causing all of them to nod.

"Cool," Mr. 1 replied with a nod.

"Rule #2, You are to only sell drugs to the rich and powerful, like the nobles," Luffy said confusing all of them.

"Why?" Paula asked. "Isn't that reducing the amounts of money we make?" she asked causing Luffy to shake his head.

"No, it's not," he said as he picked up his glass. "The rich always buy large amounts of drugs and they always tend to overpay for it. As opposed to the poor who buy small amounts and who always know the exact price value for that which they are buying," he said causing all of them to understand.

"That makes sense," Mr. 2 said with a nod. "But what about the drug we are going to be selling, aren't there establish drug dealers who are going to see it cheaper?" he asked causing a smirk to creep up on Luffy's face.

"There are drug dealers selling drugs in the world, but not one of them is going to be selling the drugs you're selling," he said surprising them. "The drug you guys are going to be selling is one originally created by a scientist who works for me and will only be sold by you," he added with a proud smile.

"Man, you really thought of everything," Mikita said causing Luffy to chuckle.

"Rule #3, you are to never use my real name when it comes to this organization. Like Crocodile, you will all call me by my code name which is Asura," he said causing them to nod.

"Does that mean we too need code names?" Marianne asked causing Luffy to shake his head.

"No, you can use your real names if you wish. I am the only one who is going to need a code name because I am a pirate and people tend to try and avoid doing business with pirates, especially the Navy and nobles," he said causing them to understand.

"The mysterious Asura," Paula said seductively. "Sounds s.e.xy," she said in a whispered while winking at Luffy. Luffy just ignored her and spoke again.

"That's about it," Luffy said as he investigated the c.h.e.s.t once more before he reaches in and pulled out a set of transponder snails. "The number to these are all on a piece of paper taped to the snail, take one and exchange the numbers with each other before heading out to your turfs," Luffy said as he closed the c.h.e.s.t and placed it back into the cloud while everyone went over and picked up a transponder snail. "Okay then, if any of you run into any problems just give me a call," Luffy said.

"But we don't have your number," Mikita said causing Luffy to smirk.

"It is the first number in your address books," Luffy said causing all of them to look inside their address books. When they looked in, they all saw the first number there wasn't under 'Luffy' but under Asura. "Now that we got that settled, I'll be off," he said as he turned around and began walking out of the cafe with his thunder cloud following right behind him. He stepped over the dead body of Mr. 11 and walked outside into the pouring rain. As he was about to hop onto his cloud the deep voice of a man stopped him in his tracks.

"You're letting your guard down too easy, Lu," the man said causing Luffy's eyes to widen. He slowly turned his head around and looked behind him to see who it was. When he turned around, he saw a tall man about the same height of Luffy with shoulder-length white hair and hazel eyes. He wore a black and white checkered dress shirt with only the bottom three buttons buttoned along with black cargo pants and a pair of black steel-tipped shoes with a red and gold captain's coat dr.a.p.ed over his shoulders in a similar faction to Luffy's. Strapped to his side was a claymore with a golden hilt and a pair of black angel wings acting as the guard.

"Isaac," Luffy said as he turned and looked at the man through narrowed eyes. By now all the occupants who were inside the cafe came outside to see who Luffy was talking to. When they got outside, they saw Luffy standing 20 ft away from a man, who was obviously a pirate. "What are you doing in Paradise?" Luffy asked.

"A lot of people are looking for you, Lu" the man named Isaac replied with a smile. "The stunt you pulled in Logue Town made world news and cause of that a lot of pirates are looking for you," he said causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow. "There are some who want to kill you and some who want to join you," he added causing an amused look to creep up onto Luffy's face before he spoke.

"And which are you here for exactly?" Luffy asked as he stared down Isaac.

"Well, if you manage to still be alive after I'm done with you, I will have no problem whatsoever serving under your flag," Isaac said. As he said that black angel wings sprouted out from his back causing Luffy to smirk while the people watching on the sidelines to gape in shock. The wings were immense with a grey sheen. Along the bottom of the wings, one can see sharp metal blades in the place of feathers. "I can't after all serve under someone weaker than me," he said his own smirk as he flexed his wings.

"I thought we settled who was stronger two years ago," Luffy replied as the rain clouds overhead began to swirl.

"A lot has changed since then," Isaac replied confidently. Luffy was about to say something but before he could, the voice of Yosaku interrupted him.

"Big bro Luffy," Yosaku said getting Luffy's attention. "Who is that?" he asked while pointing at Isaac.

"That is the Angel of Death, Franklin D. Isaac," Luffy said with an excited smile. "He ate a mythical Zoan type devil fruit. The Human-Human Fruit, Model: Archangel," he said surprising them.

"Are you done stalling for your damn clouds to form," Isaac said causing Luffy to chuckle.

"Well, if It's you I'm fighting I'm going to have to take this seriously," he said as lightning flashed across the sky causing Isaac to unsheathe his sword.

"Second Gear!" Luffy shouted out.

**Back at the Palace**

The entire crew along with Vivi and a few servants were still in the medical wing of the palace. Vivi had offered them their own room but all of them declined, wanting to stay together. The king and Vivi had returned from addressing the people in the plaza a few minutes ago and were surprised to see that Luffy was still not back.

"Are you guys sure Luffy is going to be fine?" Vivi asked in a worried voice.

"Relax Vivi," Nami said with a smile as she laid down on one of the beds. "Luffy is more than okay. I doubt there is anyone in this world who can beat him," she said confidently.

"Yeah, the guy is a monster in human flesh," Usopp added as he laid in a bed covered while covered in bandages.

"Yeah, have a little faith in the captain. He is-" Nojiko said but before she could finish her sentence an extremely loud thunder boomed throughout the country of Alabasta causing an earthquake to rock the entire island. The straw hats along with everyone else in the country had to hold on for dear life to avoid falling over.

"What the hell is going on!?" Vivi yelled/asked as she held onto one of the beds. After 30 seconds of shaking everything was once again still.

"That was Luffy," Zoro said as he helped Chopper pick Usopp up from off the floor.

"Wonder what he is doing," Vivi said as he looked out at the window at the rain.

"It is either one of two things," Zoro said getting all their attention. "Either someone really pissed him off, or he is fighting someone much stronger than Crocodile," he said causing all of them to become slightly worried for their captain. Nami quickly shook the thoughts of her captain losing from her head before she spoke up.

"No!" She said firmly as she raised her voice. "Regardless of how strong they may bey, Luffy would never lose!" she said causing the entire crew's faith in their captain to strengthen.

"Nami's right," Sanji said as he lit up another cigarette. "We all know Luffy and he is not someone who will lose a fight," he said while everyone else just nodded along. Vivi along with her father and a few royal aids who were watching the crew from around the corner could not believe just how much faith this crew had in their captain.

"They truly are loyal to their captain," the king whispered to himself.

**Back with Luffy**

Luffy currently had a satisfied smirk on his face as he looked at the scene before him. He was currently standing on the edge of a giant 30ft wide crate that was sliced right down the middle. It was honestly like someone supernatural deity took a knife and sliced a part of the desert. Standing on the sidelines were Luffy's new subordinates trying to process what they just witnessed. The cafe that all of them were previously in was now a pile of wood behind them. It had collapsed into itself due to the earthquake Luffy caused.

"It seems that you're not the only one who learned some new tricks, Isaac," Luffy said as he stared at the person laying on their back on the other side of the crater on some blood-soaked sand. Isaac chuckled and coughed up some blood at the same time before he replied to Luffy.

"Yeah, I guess I was getting ahead of myself...again," he said before he coughed up some blood. Luffy just chuckled and shook his head before he began making his way over to Isaac.

"You always were a stubborn idiot," Luffy said jokingly as he walked over. When he reached Isaac, he stretched out his hand and Isaac grabbed on to it before he pulled him up to his feet. As he stood up, Isaac retracted his wings before he spoke to Luffy.

"Damn, you're still the monster I remember," he said causing Luffy to chuckle.

"Do you need me to grab a first aid kit?" he asked as he looked at the deep cut across Isaac's c.h.e.s.t.

"No," Isaac replied before he held up his right palm over the wound. "I can handle it," he said as he palms glowed yellow and he waved it over his wound causing it to heal instantly not even leaving behind a scar. "One of the perks of being an angel I guess," he said as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Very well then," Luffy said with a smile. The two of their faces then took on a serious look before they began speaking softly so that no one else could hear.

"So, what exactly are you going to have me do," Isaac said low enough so only Luffy could hear.

"I can have you be in charge of my operations in one of the Blues," Luffy replied in an equally low voice.

"I like the sound of that," Isaac replied with a smile. "And what am I going to have to do while I'm there?" he asked.

"Just be in charge of everything I have going on there and keep my people and my merchandise safe," Luffy replied with a shrug. "And recruit more people to work under you," he added with a smirk.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say your building an army to try and take over the world," Isaac said causing Luffy to chuckle.

"One day we D's are going to have to come out of hiding and when I find the one piece this world will be thrown into a war the likes of which they've never seen before," Luffy said grimily.

"Sounds fun," the Angel of Death replied with an excited smirk.

"You'll be one of the commanders in my fleet," Luffy said changing the subject. "The only people who outrank you is my first mate and me," he said causing Isaac to nod his head. Luffy then turned to his new subordinates and spoke. "Jiro! Bon Clay!" Luffy yelled out getting their attention. "He is now in charge of the West Blue. The two of you answer to him and he answers to me. Understood?" he said causing the two of them to nod their heads.

"Aye, Sir!" both shouted out.

"Good, now just add a straw hat to your flag and lead your new subordinates to the West Blue," Luffy said to Isaac.

"Sounds like a plan," he replied with a smirk.

"Those two will fill you in on what I told them," Luffy said while pointing to Jiro and Bon Clay.

"Cool," Isaac replied. Luffy then turned and began walking towards his thundercloud.

"It was good seeing you again, Isaac," Luffy said with a wave of his right hand as he walked towards the cloud.

"You're only saying that because you won!" Isaac shouted back causing Luffy to chuckle. He then hopped on the cloud and gave one final wave before the cloud took off to the sky at blinding speed. The cloud ascended into the sky at a faster rate than when he was with Johnny and Yosaku due to Luffy alone being on the cloud. Right now, he didn't have to worry about someone losing falling off the cloud or getting blown away, it was just him traveling at about 200mph at about 1000 ft in the air. It took him 5 minutes to reach Alubarna with the palace insight. When he entered Alubarna the cloud began to slow down before he finally came to a full stop just above the palace. Luffy then stood up and teleported down to the main doors of the palace where two royal guards were standing guards.

The two guards were started when a bolt of lightning struck down in front of them suddenly. The bolt of lightning destroyed the concrete in front of them a bit and kicked some dust causing them to shield their eyes. When the dust settled, and they removed their hands from their eyes they saw the man who apparently defeated Crocodile and stopped the war. Of course, they didn't know if it was him since they weren't there when he stopped the war but from all the rumors that they heard the man standing before them fit the description.

"Umm, my crew is inside the palace," Luffy said knocking them out of their thought. "Can I go in?" he asked while looking at the two guards with a bored expression on his face. "It's kind of wet out here," he added as he held up his arms showing his soaking wet clothes.

"Right, of course, sorry!" the guard on the right apologized as he bowed his head with the one on the left soon following him and bowing as well causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow at their reaction. The two guards then raised their heads and walked over to the giant door and pushed it open.

"Thanks," Luffy said before walking through the door. As Luffy walked through the door he took his wet captain's coat off and hung it across his left forearm before he began unbuttoned one of his top buttons showing off his lightning bolt-shaped necklace. As he was walking a royal aid came up to him and spoke.

"Mr. Luffy!" the young woman said with a bow once again causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow. "Please follow me, I will lead you to your crew," she said.

"Thanks," Luffy replied with a smile. "And it's just Luffy," he added not really liking the sound of 'Mr. Luffy.'

"Of course, my apologies!" the girl said with another bow before turning and walking towards the direction of the medical wing of the palace where Luffy's crew was. The two of them walked there in silence, however, Luffy could tell the girl admired him in some sort of way by the way she kept on glancing at hi every couple of seconds with a small blush on her face. Luffy just ignored it and continued walking in silence. When they got to the medical wing the girl pushed open two huge doors earning the attention of all does inside. When the doors open Luffy's entire crew saw one of the royal aids standing there with a slight blush on her face confusing all of them. She then stepped to the side and bowed her head as Luffy walked out of the corner with his coat hung over his hand and walked straight into the room.

"Thank you," Luffy said to the girl as he walked into the room. Before the young woman could reply to Luffy, the screams of Nami, Nojiko, and Vivi interrupted her.

"Luffy!" the three girls yelled out taking their captain by surprise before running towards him with a huge smile on their faces. Luffy was beyond confused at this point but before he had time to contemplate his confusion the three girls threw themselves at him and began hugging him.

"Umm, what is going on?" Luffy asked as he hugged the girls back. "I was only gone for a couple of hours," he added. While they were hugging Luffy, Sanji was hunched over on all fours in the background cursing Luffy's name and banging his fist into the ground.

"We heard that massive thunder and felt that giant earthquake," Vivi said with a few tears in her eyes.

"And then Zoro said you could be fighting someone stronger than Crocodile," Nojiko added.

"So, we were just kind of worried about you,' Nami added causing Luffy to nod his head slowly.

"I see," Luffy said as he tried to break free of their grip. "Nice to know you three have the utmost faith in me," he said sarcastically.

"They did a few moments ago," Zoro said as he walked up to his captain. "By the way, where are Johnny and Yosaku?" he asked causing the three girls to let go of him and looked behind him for the two former bounty hunters.

"They are on their way back to the East Blue," Luffy said surprising them.

"What do you mean heading back to the East Blue?" Usopp asked as he sat upon his bed.

"I needed someone I can trust to be in charge of my operations the East Blue because that Is where all of us are from," Luffy said as he began walking over to one of the empty beds while unbuttoning his shirt completely. "I trust those two, that is why I chose them," he added as he took his shirt off and hung it on the headboard of the bed.

"They could have at least said goodbye," Sanji said as he stood up. Luffy walked over to another empty bed and hung his captain's coat out to dry before he spoke.

"Relax," he said as he turned and looked at them. "It's not like you're never going to see them again. When I go to check up on things there, I'll take a few of you every now and then," he said with a smile causing them to brighten up a bit.

"So, who were you fighting?" Zoro asked as he folded his arms.

"An old friend from the New World," Luffy replied with a smile. "He is now in charge of my operations in the West Blue," he added.

"Ummm Luffy," Vivi said getting his attention. "Why are you shirtless," she said while looking down at her feet with a slight blush on her face trying not to stare at the shirtless Luffy.

"Cause I'm soaking wet," Luffy replied with a shrugged not really paying any attention to the blushing Princess.

"That's a nice necklace, Luffy," Nojiko said causing Luffy to look down the lightning bolt pendant around his neck before he replied.

"Yeah, it was a gift from a dear friend of mine," Luffy replied with a warm smile.

"Who is it?" Usopp asked only to earn a fist to the head courtesy of Nami.

"It is a girl from Amazon Lily. I met her 8 years ago on an island that no longer exists," Luffy said as he continued to stare at the necklace. "She gave me this necklace as a going-away present and I gave her a similar one," he said not taking his eyes off the necklace even once. He then realizes that he had been staring at it for a while and shook his head and looked up at his crew only to see all of them staring at him.

"If I am not mistaken, Amazon Lily is the legendary island where only women live," said the King from behind Luffy getting everyone's attention.

"The very same," Luffy said as he looked over his shoulder at the king.

"I must say Luffy, you continue to surprise me," The king said as he shook his head and walked towards Luffy.

"I get that a lot," Luffy replied with a smile. "How is the kingdom doing?" Luffy asked as he turned and looked at the king.

"There is a celebration going on nationwide," the king said with a joyful smile on his face. "News of you and your crew taking out Crocodile spread far and wide. A lot of reporters also want to interview you," he added causing Luffy to smirk.

'That sounds like it will piss the Navy off' Luffy thought with a smirk on his face.

"That sounds fun," Luffy said to the King with a smirk. "When can they be here?" he asked while his crew just looked on knowing very well Luffy was just doing the interview with an ulterior movement in mind.

"Well, they're already kind of here," the king said with a nervous chuckle.

"That was fast," Luffy replied with a nod.

"Well, there is a journalist in every city in Alabasta. So, the one for Alubarna is already here in the city, we only need to contact her," the king said causing Luffy to nod before he replied.

"Can we do it today?" Luffy asked while looking at the king. "That way we can have that feast of yours tomorrow," he added causing the king to smile.

"Of course, I will send someone to tell her," he said with a wide smile. Luffy nodded and walked over his shirt and picked it up to put it back on.

"Umm, captain?" Nojiko said getting his attention. "I don't think that your shirt has dried yet," she said causing Luffy to nod.

"Yeah, your right" Luffy said as he placed his hands through his sleeves. "However, I keep on forgetting that I can dry them instantaneously," he said as he walked over to his coat and dr.a.p.ed it over his shoulders. After that, his entire body was encased in lightning for two seconds before returning to normal. When the lightning disappeared, everyone saw Luffy standing there with his clothes perfectly dry and with steam coming off him. "There, perfectly dry," he said before he started buttoning his shirt leaving the top two buttons undone. Luffy then walked over to one of the beds and laid down before looking at his crew.

"So, what have all of you been up to while I was away?" he asked causing his crew to gather around him and began conversing with their captain.

**Two hours later**

It had been two hours since the King sent word to the reporter about the chance to interview Luffy. The entire crew had spent the past two hours lounging around with Vivi inside the medical wing telling stories of their adventure in the East Blue along with a few stories from Luffy about the New World. It was at this moment two hours later that a royal aid entered the medial wing and spoke to Luffy.

"Umm, excuse me," a young man said with a bow to the straw hats. "The journalist is here in the palace for the interview with Mr. Luffy," he said causing Luffy to sigh.

"Luffy, it's just Luffy," he said with a sigh before he got up and placed his straw hat on his head. "I'll be back," he said in a slightly tired voice as he followed the Royal aid out the room.

"Give them an earth-shaking news story, Mr. Luffy!" Nami yelled out causing Luffy's eyebrow to twitch while everyone else laughed as they watched their captain exit through the doors. Luffy followed the aid in silence the whole way there with an emotionless look on his face. The aid and Luffy ended up in front of another huge set of doors. When the aid pushed opened the doors Luffy saw a huge room with royal soldiers lining all four walls. In the center of the room were two chairs and in one of those chairs was a beautiful young woman sitting there with a notepad in her hand and her legs crossed.

She was is a slim young woman of below-average height. She has long, white hair which curls slightly at the ends, with two bangs framing her face and reaching down to her c.h.e.s.t. She wore a sleeveless, ankle-length maroon dress with a pleated skirt. The c.h.e.s.t is adorned by a large, pink bow, and similarly colored trimmings frame the rather ample neckline, acting as straps, and circle around the waist. Luffy couldn't help but admit it but she was beautiful.

"Hello, my name is Mirajane and I am a reporter for the World Economy News Paper, it is nice to meet you," She said as he stood up when Luffy entered the room. Luffy smiles at her and extended his hand for her to shake before he replied.

"It is indeed a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you," Luffy replied with a smirk and looked her up and down causing her to blush while a few of the royal guards smirked.

"Right, umm," she said slightly fl.u.s.tered. "Please, have a seat," she said as both her and Luffy sat down. "Thank you for doing this interview with me as well," she added.

"It is no problem at all," he replied with a smile. "Shall we begin," he said causing her to nod and open her notepad.

"So, tell me, Mr. Luffy, how does it feel being the hero of this country?" she asked.

"Two things," Luffy said as he held up two fingers. "Number 1, it's just Luffy. None of that 'mister' business," he said causing her to smile. "And number 2, I am not a hero. I'm a pirate and a pirate will always be a pirate. The people of this country once called a pirate their hero and look where that got them," he finished.

"Okay then," she said. "If you are not a hero, explain your selfless actions that helped save Alabasta and its people?" she asked causing Luffy to chuckle before he replied.

"Selfless?" he asked with a chuckle. "I did not do this out of the goodness of my heart. I'm a pirate, I made a deal with the princess to save her country and I got paid for what I did," he answered surprising everyone who was there.

"Princess Vivi?" Mirajane asked to which Luffy nodded. "How did a pirate and a princess meet?" she asked.

"I met the princess when she was a spy inside of Crocodile's organization Baroque Works," he said causing her to nod. "She tried to rob me and my crew while we were sleeping but failed. The Crocodile sent people to kill her because he found out she was a spy. I saved her and she asked me to help save her country and I named my price for my services," he finished.

"And what was that prince?" Mirajane asked.

"You'll find out later," Luffy said cryptically.

"Were you scared when fighting the former warlord?" she asked changing the subject. Luffy started laughing when he heard her question.

"Please, as if a mere warlord like Crocodile can think of posing a threat to me," Luffy laughed out. "He didn't land a single hit on me. By the end of the fight, he was on his knees begging for his life," Luffy said causing everyone's eyes to widen at the thought of overpowering a warlord that easily.

"You and your crew must bed really strong to have not only to defeat Crocodile but all of his subordinates," she complimented causing Luffy to smile.

"My crew may be small in numbers but they more than make up for it with their power and battle prowess," he said praising his crew. "However, I cannot sit here and take all of the credit. The marine captain 'White Chase' Smoker stopped a bomb from killing both the rebels and the royal army," he added.

"Was that the explosion that occurred in the sky above the plaza?" Mirajane asked.

"Yes," Luffy replied with a nod. "You see, Crocodile had planned on setting that bomb off in the plaza effectively wiping out both armies and making the country his, but before he could Smoker risked his life and saved all of them," he said surprising everyone.

"It is strange to hear a pirate complement a marine," she said causing Luffy to chuckle.

"Yeah well, Smoker is one Marine I can say earned my respect," Luffy said surprising them. "While the rest of the government and the Navy sat back and watched Crocodile tear this country apart, he acted and saved a lot of lives," he said before pulling out a glass and filling it with whiskey.

"What do you mean by the Navy and the government sitting back and letting Crocodile tear the country apart?" she asked with a curious look on her face causing Luffy to smirk internally.

"Oh, you don't know?" Luffy asked causing her to shake her head saying no. "The Navy constantly monitors every one of the Seven Warlords. They know where they are and what they are doing at all times," he said surprising her and every single one of the royal guards. "They knew he was here, and they knew what he was doing, yet they did nothing to stop him," he said before taking a sip of his drink. "And yet people say pirates are the evil ones," he added with a shake of the head.

"That's horrible," the reporter said in a horrified tone.

"Believe me, based off of some of the things I've seen the Navy done, this is nothing," Luffy said making everyone wonder what it is he saw. "But the people of this country can rest assured. Something like this will never happen again," Luffy said raising everyone's curiosity.

"What do you mean?" she asked while raising one of her eyebrows.

"From today onwards, Alabasta is under my protection!" he said strongly causing all their eyes to widen. "If any man, woman, or child dare to mess with this country or any of my territory, they will feel my wrath," Luffy said menacingly effectively sending chills down the spines of everyone there.

"And what are you getting in return for protection?" she asked with a curious look on her face.

"The King and I haven't worked out that part of the deal yet," he answered causing her to nod.

"You mentioned that you have other territories, what other places do you have under your protection?" she asked as he wrote something down in her notepad.

"The Drum Kingdom...or what was formerly known as the Drum Kingdom," he said causing her to raise an eyebrow. "They're planning on changing the name," he added causing her nod.

"Well then, Mr. Lu...sorry, Luffy," she corrected causing Luffy to smile. "That is all I wanted to ask you. Thank you for the opportunity of interviewing you and on behalf of the people of this country I thank you," she said as both stood up.

"It was a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e being interviewed by someone as gorgeous as you," Luffy said with a smirk causing her to blush.

"Well umm, thank you," she said as she wiped away a few strands of hair from her face. Luffy didn't allow her to say anything else nor did he reply her thanks. He simply turned around and walked away leaving the reporter to stare at his menacing jolly roger on the back of his coat. As Luffy exited the door he saw the same aid who brought him here was there waiting for him. He gave a nod to the aid letting him know that he was ready to go back to the medical wing. The bowed and began leading Luffy back to where the rest of the crew was. The two walked in silence all the way there, it gave Luffy a chance to admire the castle from the inside. There were multiple paintings of the previous kings and royal families hanging on either side of the corridor. When they arrived at the doors of the medical wing the aid pushed open the giant doors for Luffy.

Luffy gave the royal aid a slight nod before he walked through the giant doors of the medical wing. When he entered the medical wing, he looked around at each of his crew members who were scattered all over the room. Zoro was asleep in the corner with all three of his swords resting on his c.h.e.s.t, Usopp was laying down on one of the bed with Chopper checking his bandages, Nami, Nojiko, and Vivi was grouped together talking amongst themselves while Sanji was in another corner talking to someone wearing a chef's hat. As Luffy entered the room everyone except Zoro took notice of his presence and smiled at him. He gave a slight nod of acknowledgment before making his way over to one of the spare beds and laying down. He took off his straw hat and placed it over his face before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

**The Next Day**

Luffy slept through the entire night peacefully. When he woke up, he took his straw hat off his head and looked around only to find that the sun was bright in the sky and his entire crew was already awake. It slightly unnerved Luffy at the fact that he slept through the entire night and most of the day. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought he had been drugged.

"Morning, Luffy!" came the chipper voice of Vivi causing Luffy to look over to his left and see the princess standing beside his bed with a bright smile on her face.

"It's way too early for you to be that happy," Luffy replied in a groggy tone ad he rubbed his eyes. Vivi tilted her head to the side before he replied.

"Early? It's evening," she said causing Luffy's eyes to widen.

"What!" Luffy yelled as he jumped up to his feet. "I've never slept that long before," he said sounding slightly unnerved. "What did I miss while I was asleep?" he asked as he put the straw hat on his head.

"Well, the newspaper arrived," Nami said as he handed him the paper. "It has your interview in it," she added. Luffy collected the paper and turned to the front page. The front page of the paper had a large picture of him standing on Crocodile's back with both the rebels and royal army around him. Right above the picture was the headline in bold letters, it read: "Straw Hat Luffy Defeats Warlord and Saves Country!"

"Damn, why couldn't they add a more menacing headline," he complained. "Now people are going to be calling me a hero," he added with a sigh before flipping to the page with his interview, skipping over the article about Crocodile's organization and the civil war he caused.

"Why is that a bad thing?" Vivi asked not understanding what the big deal is.

"It's bad because I am not a hero, I'm a pirate," he said firmly before glancing down at the paper and saw that they indeed printed his full interview and didn't cut anything out. "But at least I get to piss off the Navy and Government," he added with a smile. Before anyone could say anything the doors of the medical wing burst open and a woman who looks a lot like Igaram entered through the door.

"I head the captain is awake!" she said with a smile causing everyone to look over at her. "Dinner will be prepared shortly, I hope you are all hungry," she said.

"Ummm, Igaram?" Luffy said in a confused tone.

"No Luffy," Vivi said as she shook her head. "That's Terracotta, she is Igaram's wife and head of the palace's servers," she said causing Everyone's eyes to widen.

'That is way too strange' Luffy thought.

"Thank you for helping Vivi and my husband," Terracotta said with her hand on her h.i.p.s. "I just came here to tell all of you that dinner will be served shortly. Vivi, will you be a dear and escort our guests to the dining room," she said to Vivi who smiled and nodded.

"Come on everyone, follow me," she said as she began leading the way.

"You guys go on ahead," Luffy said getting everyone' attention. "I need to fresh air first. I'll be there shortly," he said causing all of them to shrug their shoulders before nodding. As they began making their way to the dining room, Luffy began making his way to one of the doors that lead outside. When he got outside, he took a deep breath of fresh air before looking around. He could still see some leftover water from the rain that fell the previous day. The air was filled with the sounds of construction work as the people of the country began their repairs to their damaged homes.

Luffy took a glass out from inside his pocket and pulled out a bottle of whiskey before pouring himself a drink. He took one big sip of the drink and downed the entire thing before putting the bottle and glass away and began making his way back inside. He did not know the way to the dining room with his crew went so instead of asking someone to take him there, he used his observation haki to locate his crew. When he arrived at the location of the room, he saw two royal guards outside holding bisentos. Upon seeing Luffy, the two guards pushed open the doors for him to walk through. As he entered the room, he saw there were royal guards lined up of both the left and right sides of the room with a long dining table in the center with Luffy's entire crew along with Vivi and the King already there sitting down. The King was sitting at the head of the table with Luffy's crew on either side. There were two empty chairs at the table, one directly opposite the king on the other side of the table, and one directly to the left of the other seat. Luffy walked over and sat down on the one that was directly opposite of the king before he looked at the King in his eyes and spoke.

"Your majesty, I do not think we can begin until EVERY member of my crew is present," he said confusing his crew and causing the king to think.

"What do you mean, Luffy?" Vivi asked as she looked around. "Everyone is here," she said. Luffy did not respond instead he continued to stare at the king.

"Oh yes," the King said as realization flashed across his face. "I had already requested for her to be here," he said as he signaled one of the guards. The guard walked over to a door that was to the right of the table and opened it. As the doors opened Nico Robin walked through them dressed in the outfit she wore when she met the straw hats when they were leaving Whiskey Peak. When the Straw Hats saw who it was all of them sprang to their feet along with Vivi.

"What are you doing here!?" Vivi yelled/asked.

"Stand down," Luffy said in a commanding tone causing everyone to Look at him.

"But Luffy she-" Nami said but was interrupted by Luffy.

"I said, stand down," he said once more as he narrowed his eyes and looked at his crew causing all of them to slowly returned to their seat leaving only Vivi standing. Robin simply smiled and walked over to Luffy. "Have a seat, Robin," Luffy said as glanced at his new crew member.

"Thank you, captain," she replied as she sat down on to Luffy's left.

"She is our new crew member?" Zoro asked from Luffy's right.

"Yes," Luffy said as he watches the servants bring out the food.

"Luffy you cannot be serious!" Vivi yelled as she stared at Robin with pure hatred in her eyes.

"I totally am," Luffy replied in a bored tone as he nodded to the server who placed some food in front of him.

"How can you trust her after all she did!?" the princess yelled/ asked.

"The last time I check, Princess," Luffy said sounding slightly angry. "She did nothing to me or my crew. And I could frankly care less about your feelings towards her, but I am the captain of my ship and I decide who joins my crew and who doesn't," Luffy said coldly causing all of the royal guards in the room to look at Luffy with a disbelieving look on their face.

"Are you sure they're friends?" the king leaned over and whispered into Usopp's ear.

"Oh yea," Usopp replied in a whisper. "They're like this all the time," he said causing the king to nod and turn his attention back to the duo.

"But Luffy..." Vivi said as she slowly sat down.

"No buts," Luffy replied strongly. "My decision is final," he added before he turned to the king. "Sorry about that," he apologized.

"Oh no, it's totally fine. Let us dig in," he said causing the tension to disperse and everyone to begin eating. Luffy and the King began eating first while everyone else followed them. Five minutes into their meal the King looked at Luffy and spoke.

"So, Luffy," the king said getting the thunder demon's attention. "Your interview with the World Economy New Paper sure is causing a stir in the world," he said with a slightly worried expression on his face.

"That was the plan," Luffy said with a smile surprising the king.

"Are you not worried about what the Navy will do?" the king asked as he took a sip of the wine that was beside him. "You did paint the Navy and the Government in a bad light," he added.

"The Navy will probably send a few captains from headquarters to try and capture us, but I'm not all that worried about that," Luffy said with a shrug casually. "They did that to try and stop me from re-entering the Grand Line but look how that turned out," he added while his crew nodded along.

"Well, as long as you are not worried, I guess I shouldn't be," The king said causing Luffy to nod. "However, I cannot thank you enough for what you did for my country and for Vivi," he added causing Vivi to smile softly.

"Speaking on all that," Luffy said seriously causing everyone to quiet down and look at him. "Did you speak to you daughter about my price for saving your country?" he asked as he stared at the king.

"Yes, she told me about what you asked for in return for your assistance in stopping Crocodile," he said confusing the royal guards. They had read the papers this morning and knew Luffy didn't save them for free, but they didn't know what he had asked for.

"Then I take it you will meet the demands?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"As payment for you getting rid of Crocodile you wish for Alabasta to become your territory, correct?" the King asked to which Luffy nodded. "I don't know how the World Government will look upon that," he said causing Luffy to sigh.

"It doesn't matter what they think," Luffy said causing Cobra's eyes to widen slightly. "They're a lot of countries who are a part of the World Government and under a pirates protection. Take Fishman Island, for example, it is under Whitebeard's protection and they are still part of the World Government. So, this won't be any different from that," he said.

"I see," Cobra said as he rubbed his beard. "And what exactly are you getting in exchange for your protection?" he asked.

"Nothing much," Luffy said before taking a sip of the wine in the glass beside him. "All I require is that all of my sh.i.p.s get their supplies restocked for free and I would like a spot to build my own private port," he said surprising the king.

"That's it?" he asked in a surprised voice.

"Yeah," Luffy said with a nod.

"What do you need your own port for?" Vivi asked in a curious voice.

"I want to make Alabasta a hub for my organization," he said causing the King to raise an eyebrow.

"Organization?" he asked.

"Yeah, a shipping organization. If Alabasta has anything they wish to export my people can ship it," he said with a proud smile. "Also, you are going to get a chance to purchase what goods they bring into the country," he added.

"Sounds like a good trade," the king said with a smile.

"So, do we have a deal?" Luffy asked.

"Yes, we do," the king replied as he raised his glass.

"Great," Luffy said as he raised his glass as well. "Just hang my flag up around the country to ensure everyone knows not to mess with it," he added before both took a sip of their drink. Luffy was about to say something, but before he could a transponder snail inside his coat began to ring.

*purupurupuru* *purupurupuru*

Luffy reached into his pocket and pulled out a baby transponder snail with red hair and three scars over its left eye. Luffy smiled as he stared at the snail before his smile turned into a confused look as he realized what snail it was.

*purupurupuru* *purupurupuru* Chack!

"Yo," Luffy answered into the snail.

"LUFFY!" came the joyful shouts of multiple men through the snail.

"Well, nice to know all of you are drunk," Luffy replied with a smile as he took a sip of the wine.

"AHHHH How could we not be drunk on a special occasion like this! Hahahahah!" the voice of Shanks said through the snail.

"And what are you celebrating?" Luffy asked with a chuckle.

"Well you see," Shanks started in a cheerful voice. "I have this little protege and he just started his own crew a couple of months ago and then today I opened the paper and saw that not only did he defeat a warlord, but he also has his first territory," Shanks said causing Luffy to chuckle and shake his head while everyone just looked on in amus.e.m.e.nt.

"Whoever it is must be a total badass to do all that," Luffy added causing laughter to erupt on the other side of the line.

"No, he is actually a cry baby," Shanks said causing Luffy's eyes to widen in horror while his crew leaned in to hear where this conversation was going. "Oh, I can just remember how he used to cry for us to take him out to sea with us," Shanks said causing more laughter to erupt through the snail followed by laughs to erupt from Luffy's crew.

"Shut up, Shanks!" Luffy yelled into the snail in embarrassment.

"Okay, okay, I'm done," Shanks said with a chuckle.

"Where are you guys?" Luffy asked as the laughter died down in the dining room.

"We're on a winter island in the New World," he said in a casual tone. "I'm here waiting on Rockstar, I sent him with a message to Whitebeard," he said causing everyone in the room's eyes to widen.

"You know the old man is just going to tear that letter up," Luffy said as he leaned back in his chair.

"I know," Shanks said with a laugh causing Luffy to chuckle and shake his head. "But that is not why I called," he said causing Luffy to narrow his eyes because he could feel Shanks get serious on the other side of the line.

And what exactly did you call for?" Luffy said in a serious tone.

"How's that plan of yours coming along?" Shanks asked.

"I put it into action yesterday," Luffy replied. "Speaking of which, I had a visitor yesterday," he added said.

"Oh, who?" Shanks asked.

"The Angel of Death," Luffy said confusing most of his crew but also causing the Zoro, Robin, and the King's eye to widen at the mention of Isaac's epithet.

"Isaac?" Shanks said in a surprised tone. "What did he want?' he asked.

"He wanted to join me but didn't want to serve under someone weaker than him," Luffy said causing Shanks to chuckle.

"So long story short, you kick his a.s.s," he said causing Luffy to chuckle.

"Yeah, now he sails under my flag," Luffy said surprising everyone.

"Well then, I clearly am not drinking enough," Shanks said causing Luffy to chuckle.

"But I seriously doubt you just called me to talk about my little plan," Luffy said causing Shanks to go silent for a minute before he replied.

"You're right, I did call for something else," he said in a serious voice. "How about we form an alliance," he said causing everyone including Luffy's eyes to widen in surprise.

"You don't form alliances with anybody," Luffy stated.

"You're not just anybody," Shanks replied causing Luffy to smirk.

"I recall me telling you before I left that I don't plan on ever sailing under someone else flag," Luffy said.

"I am not talking about an alliance where one party is superior to the other," Shanks said causing Luffy to raise an eyebrow. "I am talking about an alliance...between equals," he said causing a huge smirk to appear on Luffy's face while his crew and everyone else in the room was in a state of shock. A few of the royal guards even dropped their weapons in shock as everyone had their eyes locked on Luffy.

"You do know what line you called me on right?" Luffy asked.

"I do," Shanks replied causing Luffy to chuckle.

"The government isn't going to just sit back and let us form an alliance," Luffy said.

"The government is no threat to either you or me," Shanks replied causing Luffy to nod in agreement. "So, what is it going to be Luffy?" he asked.

"You got your sake there?" Luffy asked with a smile causing cheering to erupt through the transponder snail.

"Right here, got your whiskey?" Shanks asked causing Luffy to chuckle and pull out a sealed bottle of whiskey from his coat along with a glass that looked as if it was made from diamonds.

"Right here," he said as he placed the glass in front of him and filled it with whiskey.

"To the alliance!" both said at the same time before tossing back their drinks.

**Chapter End!**

Recap:

Luffy's organization's name: Hells Company

Luffy's Alias: Asura

Hino Branch: Information gathering and distributing. Leader: Paula... (Hino, the Thunder Bird, birds getting around everywhere, watching, but not really noticed.)

Kiten Branch: Black market dealings. (Kiten, the Thunder Beast, dogs, wolves, fetching and bringing back various items to their masters.)

East Blue: Johnny and Yosaku

West Blue: Franklin D. Isaac (Leader), Mr. 2, Jiro.

North Blue: Ms. Merry Christmas and Mr. 4.

South Blue: Gem (Mr. 5) and Mikita (Ms. Valentine).

Grand Line: Mr. 1 (Kiten Branch)...{Paula (Ms. Double finger) and Marianne (Ms. Goldenweek)}- Hino Branch.