Disclaimer… I don't own One Piece.

Actions

"Thoughts"

"Dialogue"

This story reached 20,000 views at 1:05 a.m on November 22, 2018. Thanks to everyone who has supported this story up to this point. When I first started to write The Guardian of Their Dreams, I doubted it would find anywhere near as much success as it has. I want and plan to continue as far as possible…

On a random Island in the New World…

A pirate ran through the tropical island towards his officers, as he burst into a clearing, he fell to his knees and yelled, "Captain! Captain!"

An officer with blond dreadlocks and a star-patterned cape placed a mug full of West Blue booze before the man and the calm voice of the Captain said, "Calm down and catch your breath." After a few seconds, the pirate finished the mug and looked up to his captain, who was hidden under the shade of a palm tree. The Captain then asked, "Now, what is the problem?"

The pirate pointed behind him and yelled, "Hawkeye… He's he-" The pirate couldn't finish because he felt an aura of death loom behind him, causing him to instinctively dive out of the way of the swordsman.

The Captain then grabbed the hilt of his blade on his right side and asked, "To what do I owe the pleasure, Dracule Mihawk? Are you here for another duel? I'm not feeling the greatest at the moment, but if I remember correctly, I still hold the winning record."

Mihawk waved his hand in a dismissive fashion, as he replied, "I'm uninterested in another spar with a one-armed man. However, I took a stroll through the East Blue some weeks ago… There I met two very interesting youths. One with green hair who wields three swords and another with a familiar Straw Hat. He reminded me of a story you once told me about a child in an unassuming village..." Mihawk finished by unrolling two wanted posters and presented them to the pirates.

Benn Beckman then quietly said with a smile, "Luffy…"

Lucky Roo added, "He finally started?"

Yasopp walked over to Mihawk and stated, "Gimme that." As he grabbed the poster from Mihawk's hand. While looking over the poster, he saw a mop of curly hair and a long nose poking out from the side, "Hahaha I know that head anywhere! Luffy recruited Usopp!" After a few seconds, Yasopp looked at the other poster and asked, "Who's the other one?"

Mihawk glanced at the marksman and replied, "His first mate, Roronoa Zoro I believe. He left a very strong impression during our duel." As Mihawk finished, he ever so slightly twitched his cheek, which now sported a small scar through part of his beard. This did not go unnoticed with the pirates.

Shanks grinned and stated in an amused voice, "Hoho, I surprised. He must be very capable." Shanks looked over to Yasopp and ordered, "Bring those posters to me for a second."

Shanks grabbed the wanted posters from Yasopp's hand and laid them on the ground before him. While studying them intently, he said, "Fifty Million… I didn't think that was possible in the East Blue." Shanks then looked up to Mihawk and stated, "You know, I can't let you leave now that you've told me this…" The mood changed around Mihawk, who quickly guarded himself, only to hear, "Without a drink first!" The mood relaxed as Shanks looked around at his crew and yelled, "Everyone, let's drink! This calls for a party!"

Shanks pulled Mihawk over to a open barrel of booze. While looking into the barrel as Shanks was looking for a mug, Mihawk asked, "Weren't you grumbling over a hangover just now?"

Shanks filled the mug and pushed it into his chest as he replied, "Eh, who cares! This calls for a celebration, now drink. Drink!"

The training garden of Marine Headquarters, The Grand Line…

Two cabin boys could be seen picking weeds while listening to the officers behind them talk about the new bounties. "Straw Hat Luffy, the man who took out Buggy the Clown, Foul Play Krieg, Arlong the Saw and I even heard he clashed with Dracule Mihawk."

Another Marine replied, "He is a pirate that should be taken seriously and exterminated immediately."

Koby looked to Helmeppo and whispered, "I can't believe they talk about Luffy like that… He may be a pirate, but he's a respectable man."

Helmeppo covered Koby's mouth and said, "Shut up Koby. Do you want to be kicked out of the Marines?!"

Koby smacked his hand away and answered, "I don't care. He's the man who saved my life and became my friend even after he knew my dream of becoming a Admiral. He's a good man and shouldn't be disrespected like that."

A gruff voice suddenly yelled behind the two, "What the hell do you think you two are doing!?"

The two jumped away from the voice and turned around to see a marine wearing a dog mask sitting on the walkway behind them. They both yelled, "Vice-Admiral Garp!"

Helmeppo then tried to answer, "W-We were just talking about that dangerous criminal, Straw Hat Luffy."

Garp lowered his voice as he replied, "I heard that much. But, I also heard this one," Garp motioned to Koby, "Say that he was friends with a pirate. It sounded pretty interesting." Garp then ordered, "Come with me."

As Garp led the two to an isolated beach, he stated, "You two are lucky I was the only one to hear you." He turned around and continued, "If anyone else heard, you'd either be executed or fired. Now, what was it you were saying about Straw Hat Luffy?"

Koby stood before the legendary Vice-Admiral with no fear and replied, "That man saved my life and gave me the courage to follow my dreams, I will always respect him. Even if we're fighting each other and stand on opposite sides of the law."

Garp then looked to the blond and asked, "Are you also friends with Straw Hat?"

Koby quickly answered, "He isn't. Helmeppo has nothing to do with Luff-" Helmeppo cut off Koby and told Garp, "I am!"

Koby stared at Helmeppo with wide eyes and asked, "What are you doing!?"

"This isn't the type of person who'd listen to any of that, Joint Responsibility, remember? We're in this together."

Garp then asked, "Do you two want to be Marines?"

They answered, "We do!"

"Then fight me! You must survive to stay."

The two stared at the Vice-Admiral for a moment, before throwing off their shirts and bandanas, then charging at the Vice-Admiral together.

On the deck of the Going Merry…

"Can you remind me why I have to be hit with a stick again?"

With a heavy sigh, Luffy replied, "This is how I was taught Observation. If there was another way to obtain it, we'd be doing it."

"But we've been doing this for weeks already and haven't gotten anywhere."

"Nami, do you see Sanji or Usopp complaining?" Luffy asked as he looked up from the blinded Usopp.

Nami looked at the two, noticing the bruises and lumps, but neither said a word in protest as they continued to be smacked around… She looked back to Luffy and asked, "Then can you at least give us some tips?"

Luffy then walked away from Usopp, who started to take off his blindfold and announced, "Your ears are just as important as your eyes." Luffy then turned around and continued, "Listen to my footsteps, my heartbeat, my breath. Listen to the air from my swings, then find the pattern in the strikes. Once you find that pattern, imagine yourself in my place. Also, everyone and everything alive has a voice, once you hear this voice, you'll have obtained Observation Haki. Observation is what is beyond imagination, so you must utilize it to achieve it. Lastly and most important for Observation is composure. Keeping your composure is essential and without it, the ability is as useless as a devil fruit user in water."

He then looked around the Merry and declared, "That's much more than I was given. You guys should be able to figure it out from there, but it'll take months of training at least."

Nami gazed at Luffy with wide eyes and asked, "Is that how you figured it out?"

"It is, but remember... We're all different, so just use what I've told you as a guideline." Luffy then announced, "Alright, Usopp and Sanji, you two are done for today. You've already trained for four hours and I want some lunch. After we eat, Nami and Zoro will start training."

Luffy was already halfway up the stairs when Zoro yelled, "Why the hell do I have to do this training?!"

Luffy turned around and replied, "Just because it's harder for you to learn it, doesn't mean you can't. Besides, we don't need you getting lost at an important time."

"But why can't I work on Armament again instead?" Zoro asked while following Luffy into the kitchen.

"Because you and Sanji already destroyed the last of our boulders yesterday and we don't have any more training dummies… Well…besides me."

"Then I don't see a problem. You should be the best dummy for the job."

Luffy smirked as he sat down and replied, "Dumbass. Who's going to navigate while Nami is training? You? We'd probably end up in the West Blue."

Zoro scowled at him for a couple seconds before sighing and grabbing a bottle of sake. As he sat back down at the bench, Nami burst into the kitchen and yelled, "Everyone get ready, I can see Whisky Peak!"

Luffy jumped up from the bench and ran out onto the deck, before jumping to his special seat. As he looked out onto the neverending sea, he saw four mountain sized Cacti in the distance. When the Straw Hats gathered around him, Luffy announced, "Whiskey Peak… Our first stop in the Grand Line!"

It took almost an hour to see the town under the massive cacti mountains, but as the Merry neared the port, it was obvious they were expected. Almost a hundred and twenty people greeted the Straw Hats arrival, shouting, "Welcome to Whiskey Peak! Welcome to the Grand Line, brave warriors of the Sea!"

Luffy watched the confusing sight before him and ordered to his crew, "Be careful on this Island… I've never heard of a town that welcomes pirates."

Sanji yelled with hearts for eyes, "Who the hell cares! Look at all the beautiful ladies!"

Usopp added, "I agree with Sanji, this town just seems to greet pirates as heroes."

Zoro then asked, "I wonder why this place is called Whiskey Peak?"

Nami replied, "Maybe they have great liquor." She then turned to the other Straw Hats and stated," "Luffy brings up a good point though and besides this is where that dangerous organization is that Crocus was talking about."

The Straw Hats brought the Merry to a stop and as they anchored, a man with long curly hair and a saxophone announced, "Ma Ma Ma~ Welcome, my name is Igarappoi, the Mayor of Whiskey Peak. This town is known for its liquor, hospitality, and music. I humbly invite you all to a banquet in your honor, where you will find an ocean's worth of fine liquor and food. I hope you will join us."

Sanji and Usopp nearly screamed, "Gladly!" While the other Straw Hats just nodded and followed.

Nami then asked the tall man, "How long does it take for the Island's log to be recorded?"

The mayor turned to Nami and replied, "Please, don't concern yourselves with such trivial things and take a rest from your long journey." He grabbed Nami by the shoulder and escorted the pirates to the bar.

Later that night…

The banquet raged into the night and the Straw Hats quickly became the life of the party. Usopp told his 'stories' to anyone who would listen and had most of the room on their toes. Sanji was surrounded by women, who were constantly giving him drinks. Luffy, Nami, and Zoro drank with anyone who asked and out drank them all. Massive amounts of food were passed around and everyone ate their fill. After almost five hours straight of drinking, eating, and sharing stories…the Straw Hats passed out one by one.

A few minutes later…

"So what of the pirates, Mr. 8?" Mr. 9 asked as he approached the curly haired man with Miss Wednesday.

"They're asleep."

"Why the hell did we have to waste such good booze on them? We should have just crushed them at the harbor." A massive pink haired woman asked as she tore off her habit.

Mr. 8 looked to the woman and replied, "We shouldn't underestimate them, Miss Monday."

"And why the hell not! They look weak as shit and they ate most of our food. I say we go in there now and finish them."

Mr. 8 brought out two wanted posters and said, "Miss Monday, calm down. You all should see who we're dealing with." He then held out the wanted posters for his colleagues to see.

Dead or Alive

-Straw Hat Luffy-

-50 Million Berri-

Dead or Alive

-The Wandering Demon-

-25 Million Berri-

"50 Million Berri! H-He is worth 50 Million! How's that possible!"

"Hey! Could you shut up the hell up. We are all tired from the journey." A voice yelled from a rooftop.

The four looked up and saw two silhouettes against the full moon sitting on the roof above them. Mr. 8 then said in disbelief, "They were supposed to be incapacitated! How's this possible?!"

"A true swordsman, never allows alcohol to control himself."

"You really think we'd pass out from a little booze? You guys are just lucky we didn't drink you dry." The man in the Straw Hat announced. Almost a minute later, the street below the two was filled to the brim with bounty hunters. Luffy looked over to Zoro and asked, "There's more than a hundred of 'em. You up for a workout?"

Zoro stood up and replied, "Yeah. I've been cramped on the ship for too long and I have been meaning to test out my new blades." Zoro finished by unsheathing Hisuitsubame and looking at the golden hilt glimmering in the moonlight.

Zoro then looked down and announced, "I hope this isn't all Baroque Works has to offer. Otherwise, I'd be embarrassed to have been scouted by them."

"How the hell do you know the name of our Organization?!" Mr. 9 yelled in confusion.

Zoro slowly unsheathed his Kitetsu as he answered, "When was wandering my way through the East Blue. I was offered a job by your boss multiple times, I refused of course. A organization whose members don't know a thing about anyone and must refer to each other by codenames…how boring."

Mr. 8 announced to the bounty hunters around him, "A new tombstone must be added tonight." He then pointed at Zoro, "Kill him!"

As soon as Mr. 8 yelled, only one silhouette remained. Everyone then heard, "Damn, the moon is pretty tonight."

Everyone jumped away from the green-haired swordsman as he watched their reactions with a grin. Zoro quickly announced, "Now… Shall we get started?"

Before anyone could blink, the bounty hunters around Zoro exploded in blood from multiple non-fatal slashes. Mr. 8 yelled, "Just kill him! He's just one swordsm-" The curly headed man was stopped by a blade beside his eye.

He then heard, "You are going to need more than one tombstone."

Suddenly every gun around was pointed at Mr. 8. He quickly shrieked, "STOP! DON'T SHOOT ME!" Mr. 8 brought his sax to his mouth, as bullets exploded from his hair.

Zoro watched from behind a building as twenty men were hit by numerous bullets. Zoro looked down at Sandai Kitetsu and thought, "I need to be careful with this blade…I accidentally killed two people back there. The guy said this thing was cursed, but a masterwork blade should only cut what his master wishes." Zoro then looked to Hisuitsubame with a smile, "The old guy said this blade is also cursed… But it feels better even than Wado Ichimonji. What a great katana…"

As Zoro was absorbed by his swords, he heard someone above him yell, "I found him!"

As soon a Zoro heard a gun cock, he flung himself into the house behind him and flipped over a table to hide. Bullets riddled the table, but as the bounty hunters reloaded, Zoro sliced the table in half and seemed to fly out of the house, leaving a trail of cut up bodies.

Luffy watched as the bounty hunter below him ran around like headless chickens looking for Zoro. They had already lost almost forty men and the others were just running to their demise. Luffy closed his eyes and used Observation to check on his crew, but noticed that the only one awake was Nami. She seemed to quickly go through each house searching for something. Luffy jumped from rooftop to rooftop towards the house she's raiding.

Luffy jumped down from the roof and walked through the door to find Nami looting the place. The way she rummaged through the drawers and cabinets, it was obvious Nami had a method to the madness. Luffy watched her for a few more seconds before asking, "You find anything interesting?"

Nami didn't stop or look up as she answered, "Nothing. This is the fourth house and I've found nothing of value." Nami closed the drawer she was sifting through and asked, "What's all the commotion on the other side of town?"

"Zoro is testing out his new swords and playing with the bounty hunters."

"I s-" The sounds of explosions interrupted the conversation. Nami then yelled, "What the hell does he think he's doing?!"

Luffy quickly checked the area with his Observation, sensing two devil fruit users and dying auras around them. "That wasn't Zoro." Luffy quickly dashed out of the house and jumped into the air, only to leave a afterimage.

It took less than ten seconds for Luffy to reach Zoro, who didn't even seem surprised to see him appear out of thin air. Luffy looked at the two before him, then looked behind to see the bluenette from earlier riding a man-sized duck. He looked to Zoro and asked, "So… What's going on here?"

Zoro looked back at the two agents with bodies littered around them and answered, "I followed the explosions and overheard that those two ass wipes have orders to kill everyone here, including us."

Luffy looked at the two as the man with sunglasses pulled out his pistol and declared, "Everyone on this island will die tonight, isn't that right, Miss Valentine?"

"Kyahaha, that's correct, Mr. 5. It's even better that it's impossible to flee for their lives!" Miss Valentine then looked at Mr. 5 and asked, "Can I kill Princess Vivi? I've always wanted to kill the long lost princess of Alabasta." The woman looked back toward the bluenette and released a small, but steady amount of killing intent.

Mr. 5 shrugged as he replied, "That's fine, but first we need to kill those who protect her." The woman frowned but slowly started to float into the sky, steadily going higher and higher.

Luffy looked back to the woman on the duck and asked, "Hey princess, what will you give us if we protect you?" She looked at him with fearful eyes and was unable to formulate a sentence. Luffy then waved her off while saying, "We'll talk about it after this is finished."

Luffy turned back around to the man walking leisurely towards them. He then heard someone high above him yell, "Ten Thousand Kilogram Press!" Zoro quickly dove out of the way of the woman, while Luffy watched her plummet towards him. He then pulled his arm back and declared, "She has too much confidence in her devil fruit." As the woman's foot collided with his blackened hand, she let out a deafening scream.

Mr. 5 watched as his partner crumpled to the ground and started sobbing while holding her shattered foot. Before Mr. 5 could help her, he saw a flash of green to his right making him instinctively bring his pistol to his face and say, "Breeze Breath Bomb." The building exploded, but before he could bring the pistol away from his face, the pistol along with his finger were sliced in half. Just as Mr. 5 felt the pain from his missing finger, he was stabbed by the butt of a blade, then kicked into the house to his left, breaking a few of his ribs and knocking him unconscious on impact.

Zoro sheathed Hisuitsubame and walked back to his captain, who quickly knocked out the screaming woman with another single punch. As the two walked towards the princess, they noticed she still had her weapon in her hands. Luffy held up his hands and stated, "Don't worry, we aren't going to hurt you. But, it looks like you did something to piss of Baroque Works and I doubt they will stop hunting you. Why are they trying to kill you?"

The princess lowered her weapon and answered, "That will take a while to explain…"

"We have time." Zoro replied.

The bluenette sighed as she dismounted the duck and walked over to the side of a house. She then sat on a barrel and started, "I guess I should start at the beginning. My name is Nefertari Vivi, Princess of The Alabasta Kingdom. I left my home a few years ago when I heard of a criminal organization called Baroque Works. I infiltrated the organization to spy on their plans and whereabouts. But most of all, I joined to learn the secret identity of their leader, Mr. 0."

Luffy quickly interjected, "That was brave of you and also extremely foolish. Besides, what does any of this have to do with The Alabasta Kingdom?"

"It's not like I did this alone!" Vivi bit back with irritation. "The Captain of the Royal Guard, Ingram or as he was referred to in Baroque Works, Mr. 8, went with me. As for how this relates to Alabasta, Baroque Works framed my father, The King, and caused a civil war to erupt. I infiltrated this terrible organization to find the mastermind behind the plot and prove my father's innocence."

"How did they frame your father?" Luffy questioned.

"Alabasta is a desert island and has frequent droughts, however, the current drought is the longest in history… It's been years since most of the country has had rain, except for the capital, Alubarna. Which had regular rain showers, but we soon learned it was caused by a substance named, 'Dance Powder'. The next day, Dance Powder was planted in the royal palace and as soon as word spread, it sparked a rebellion."

Zoro looked at Luffy, "Controlling the weather… Didn't you say Logia users are capable of that?"

Luffy nodded, he then looked at Vivi, but before he could ask his question, Nami rounded the corner and questioned, "What's this I'm hearing about conspiracies and rebellions?"

Vivi looked at Nami with wide eyes full of fear, while Luffy just replied, "Oh, Nami." He then gestured to Vivi, "This is the Princess of The Alabasta Kingdom, Nefertari Vivi. I was thinking of helping her get home."

"We aren't doing that without getting paid! We're pirates, not good Samaritans." Nami set her eyes on Vivi and asked, "What is our reward for helping you get home, Princess?"

Vivi stared at Nami for a few seconds before replying, "We aren't the wealthiest Kingdom, but I'll pay anything for your help."

Nami's eyes turned to berris as she thought of the possibilities, Zoro then interjected, "Is that a Vulture and a rat?" The two were perched on the neighboring rooftop and the rat was drawing something on a piece of paper. Vivi whipped her head around and yelled, "The Unluckies!"

Luffy watched as the otter showed the four their drawings, then it jumped on the back of the vulture and flew off. He looked on for another moment before knocking the two out with a wave of haki. The four watched as they fell from the sky and crashed into a house. Luffy asked, "Zoro, can you go take care of them? We don't want extra attention."

Zoro just nodded as he walked away, but Vivi gazed at Luffy with wide eyes, she then asked, "What…what did you just do?"

"Don't worry about it," Nami answered for him. With a greedy smile, she looked back at Vivi and declared, "Now about our reward… We will require a billion berri fee."

Vivi's eyes widened astronomically, "A billion?! That's outrageous! Alabasta will have nothing to fund the rebuilds after the civil war!"

Luffy looked at Nami and said, "Come on Nami, that's too much. Let's worry about rewards when we finish this." Nami glared at Luffy but met his challenging gaze. It lasted almost thirty seconds, but Nami relented. She then turned back to Vivi and said, "We'll help you, but it won't be free."

Before she could reply, Zoro came around the corner while cleaning his Kitetsu with part of the polka dot onesie the otter wore. He then threw the rag in the sea and declared, "I'm dying to hear who Mr. 0 is."

Vivi stiffened slightly before answering, "Mr. 0, the mastermind and ringleader of Baroque Works is none other than the Shichibukai Crocodile!" Vivi expected a little more emotion in the pirate's expressions, only Nami reacted how she expected. She wide eyes and gasped, but when she looked at Luffy, she quickly recovered. Only Luffy and Zoro's eyes announced their emotion, which was a slight confusion. Luffy then replied, "A Shichibukai, well I guess that could be expected… They are still pirates after all."

"But he's contracted by the World Government. Why would he want to overthrow a country allied with them?" Vivi asked, visibly confused.

"Vivi, you must understand that the Shichibukai are still pirates. They just have more freedom than most pirates, besides the Yonko." Zoro then added, "As for why he's taking over Alabasta, I'd assume it has to do with his devil fruit. If his environment matches his powers… That will amplify his abilities."

Luffy looked at Nami and asked, "Did you find anything of value?" Nami looked away from her captain and answered, "Nothing much, just about two hundred thousand berri." Luffy nodded as he stood up and said, "That's fine. Go and wake up the other two. We need to leave soon." Luffy then looked back to Vivi and declared, "Welcome to the Straw Hat Pirates."

AN: Again, I sincerely thank everyone who has supported the story. I also apologize for the long wait for this chapter… I originally wanted to update this story on the 30th, but family problems and classes prevented that… I did have a small case of writer's block for this story, but I chalk that up to laziness. I also just published a Highschool Dxd story called The VoidWalker and I am also working on a Halo story so look out for that.