Chapter 5 – [Childhood : Part 3]

============================[o Author's Notes o]==============================

Okay, I've had this debate with myself countless times. If I'm following One Piece Logic, than you're probably right. I've decided on this. At an inexperienced state, all water will hinder electricity-generation greatly. As Luffy becomes more experienced, it will hinder him less and less. I haven't decided if he can still use the Logia defense while wet. It seems odd to me but I'll come to a decision sometime, by the time Luffy gets to the point of transforming into electricity though that won't be for awhile.

A note on pairings: Luffy will not be paired with Ana. Luffy will not be paired with anybody. I know romances make some stories, but I think that any pairing will ruin THIS story since this isn't a romance. This is a story that is trying to explore Luffy having a more powerful fruit with some inventive ideas and without overpowering him, what it would be like if Luffy ate the Goro Goro no Mi. On top of that, I really can't see Luffy falling in love with anybody. I know this is fanfiction and if you look at my favorite stories, I enjoy reading some romance stories, but this story isn't for romance.

(Arc 1) Childhood

BANG! - [Sound]

"Perhaps I should've..." - [Thought/Thinking]

============================[o End of Author's Note o]=========================

The devastation caused by the large blast was immense. The destruction continued into the forest where the blast had cleared a small path of broken trees a few meters in. Luffy's hand and body continued to radiate random sparks around him as the discharge started to dissipate. Lying face-down on the road a few feet from Luffy however were the burnt bodies of Porchemy and the 3 thugs.

Ana and Sabo stared from behind the bushes at the mess that the blast had caused with their mouths agape, slowly moving their gazes back and forth between Luffy and the large mess in front of him. Both were too shocked to say anything.

Luffy held his sparking hand out and turned around toward where Sabo and Ana crouched. Luffy smiled and began waving his hand at the two

"HEY..ANA!" Luffy started to sprint towards the bushes where Ana and Sabo were crouched before stopping abruptly as a new voice was soon heard just outside the forest entrance. Both Ana and Sabo snapped out of their stunned stupor to listen carefully.

"Hurry up! I saw it this way." a loud deep voice was yelled loudly, seemingly ushering along others with him. "Alright already, we're coming!" a deep and obviously irritated voice responded. "Man Gall, Are you sure you saw something all the way out here!"

"YEH, I'm syure!" The man slurred a little.

"Not Good, lets go." Sabo said, rapidly fleeing back into the jungle, followed by Luffy and Ana. They ran for several miles, traipsing over rocks and wilderness. Luffy always struggled behind them, but Ana and Sabo kept running through the maze of trees and vines.

They reached a river a few miles in, having run at a fast enough pace to even wind both Sabo and Ana for a second. Luffy lied collapsed on his back, panting heavily. Ana and Sabo only paused a moment to breath.

"Alright, we should be safe here." Both Ana and Sabo nodded their heads agreeably, before shifting their heads to the side where Luffy laid panting on the ground. Exhausted from the long run, Luffy continued to pant for a few more moments. When the feeling of exhaustion passed, Luffy opened his eyes to see Ana and Sabo standing over him, both of them with their arms crossed over their chests. Luffy blinked for a second, confused.

"Alright, spill the beans now." Sabo said commandingly. Luffy sat up and crossed his legs. "Huh?" Luffy sighed.

"Don't play games Luffy." Ana interjected as Luffy stared up at them. Both hadn't expected the spectacle that Luffy had just delivered.

Still more than a little peeved, Sabo looked to Ana.

" Did you know about this Ana?" Sabo asked accusingly. "Of course not! I'm as surprised as you are! Although..." Ana stopped to think for a second, "I was wondering how he got out of that valley of wolves I tossed him into a few months ago without a scratch." Ana remembered back to the night that Luffy had come back to Dadan's house with not a single injury on him. "And there was also that incident where I led him into a snake pit and also when he..." Ana trailed off.

"Wasn't it obvious enough for someone like Luffy to come out of all those incidents unscathed?" Sabo blanched as he spoke. "I just thought it was dumb luck! Forgive me if I don't immediately suspect something like this!" Ana angrily shouted at Sabo, who sweat-dropped before giving in.

"Alright Alright, I see your point." Sabo passively answered, before turning back to the quiet Luffy.

"Still...I didn't expect that Luffy had eaten a Devil Fruit. There are plenty of myths about them, but I didn't expect that they were real or that I'd find someone who'd eaten one so soon, especially one that can blow off that much power. Which fruit did you eat anyways?" Sabo asked to the patiently sitting Luffy. Both leveled their gaze once more to him. Luffy just stared straight up at the both of them with his usual smile on, apparently happy that he'd done something to gain as much attention from them.

"The Goro Goro no Mi." Luffy answered happily. Luffy bounced up and held out his hand. A few sparks appeared and began to dance around Luffy's hand, "I can make that really cool beam come out and make sparks." Luffy said, showing the dancing sparks emit from his palm. Ana and Sabo both studied the sparks with intensity and awe.

"So its an electricity-generating fruit?" Sabo asked to which Luffy promptly responded, "Yeah".

"Ahhh..." Both Sabo and Ana mouthed with awe, "That's cool!" Luffy turned his head toward Sabo. "That's REALLY REALLY Cool!" Sabo exclaimed. Luffy grinned at the attention while Sabo continued to praise Luffy and Ana sat up against a tree silently. "Can you do anything else?" Sabo asked.

Luffy's smile disappeared, "I'm not sure. Maybe, but that's all I've figured out so far." Luffy answered but than quickly spoke again, "Hey Ana, does this mean that I can I hang out with you guys than?" Luffy asked, causing both Sabo and Ana to pause for a second. Both turned their heads to the other.

In their minds, Ana and Sabo contemplated it in silence for a few seconds, there eyes meeting each other in deep thought as Luffy looked on eagerly. After a few seconds, both Ana and Sabo discreetly nodded their heads albeit Ana did so with some hesitance.

Fine than, you can hang with us." said Sabo. Luffy joyously rose his arms over his head in happiness before Sabo continued. "On one condition." Sabo continued on, leaving Ana to finish the rest of the sentence, "You must NEVER EVER tell anyone about our pirate savings." Ana said sternly. Luffy replied happily, "Don't worry, I won't." Luffy responded happily.

Sabo and Ana continued to stare at Luffy with indiscernible emotions on their faces. "Can we really trust you to keep this a secret than?" Sabo questioned almost sarcastically. Ana continued to gaze emptily at Luffy.

"I don't know Sabo. This means that if he does tell... than we can't do anything to stop him." Ana stated. Sabo glanced at Ana and nodded his head. It was the hard truth, no matter how they looked at it.

"I promise I won't tell anyone." Luffy whined, attempting to convince Ana and Sabo. Despite his efforts, Ana and Sabo both remained more than a little unconvinced. Sabo moved to speak, but was stopped when Ana finally rose from her seated position at the base of the tree.

"Perhaps I might have an idea" Ana lowered her hand and turned away from the now grinning Luffy.

"First off, we need to move the treasure. Do you mind watching him here Sabo?" Ana asked, annoying Sabo greatly. "Heh? Why can't you watch him while I move the treasure?" Sabo questioned with a small amount of annoyance at being relegated to such a medial job.

"Because I have..." Ana began before stopping and rushing quickly into the forest. "Hey! Wait a minute!" Sabo cried out but could only stop and deflate as Ana vanished further and further away.

Within seconds, only Sabo and Luffy stood at the edge of the forest, the sound of the rushing stream the only sound between them. With not much else to do, Sabo sat down in front of Luffy. For a minute or two, both sat in silence, until Luffy broke the silence.

"Hey Sabo." Luffy asked, causing Sabo to raise his head, "What is it, Luffy?" Sabo responded. A loud grumble noise sounded between them. "I'm hungry." Luffy groaned a little, which caused Sabo to chuckle lightly. "Don't worry, we'll eat as soon as we can." Sabo said happily. For a few more seconds, everything was awkwardly silent before Sabo spoke again. "Hey...Luffy, why are you here anyways? Where are your parents?" Sabo asked curiously.

Luffy paused for a second before answering Sabo, "I don't know who my parents are. Jii-chan is all I have right now." Luffy answered sadly. Sabo lowered his gaze, "I'm sorry about that." Sabo drifted off as a rift of silence was invoked between them. A few moments passed with the both of them just sitting on the ground and staring at their feet. Wanting to find something to do, Sabo looked up at Luffy, keeping his expression stern and serious.

As much as he hated to admit it, Luffy did look a little trustworthy, albeit more than a bit dim. He still had a question he wanted to ask however. "So Luffy, where did you find it .. the fruit I mean?"

"I found it on a beach at the edge of the forest." Luffy answered. . "Just like that, on the edge of a beach?" Sabo raised an eyebrow at Luffy in disbelief. "It wasn't guarded by thieves, pirates, or the marines?" Sabo spurted out, but Luffy only shook his head. "Nope, it was just lying there on the sand when I stumbled out of the forest."

Sabo pouted, "Man, of all the places to find a devil fruit in all of East Blue, how did you end up getting lucky finding a fruit like that just sitting on a beach. Few people in all of East Blue would probably even believe they exist. I didn't think to , let alone right on this island.." Luffy scratched the back of his head sheepishly and grinned at Sabo's supposed envy. "I was just hungry. I would've eaten anything really." At that moment, Luffy and Sabo both burst into a short stint of mirthful laughter, canceling out the tense silence from before..

"So Sabo, do you think I can hang out with you guys!" Luffy said excitedly. "Maybe." Sabo responded promptly, earning a short groan from Luffy. Sabo though, was still going over things in his head.

Ana returned a short time afterward. "Alright than, The treasure is safe. Not even Bluejam would be able to find it now." Sabo sighed and walked over once Ana finished, "Alright than, where did you hide it this time."

Both of them spared a quick glance at Luffy to ensure he was still far away before continuing. Ana leaned in and whispered into Sabo's ear. "I cut open a crevice in the ground and hid it with a log not too far from here. I'll show you where in a little while." Ana than took a second to glance again at Luffy for a second with a sly twinkle in her eye that slightly creeped out Sabo

Luffy on the other hand, was still sitting anxiously on the ground, waiting for Ana and Sabo to stop whispering to one another in secret. He only turned to face up when the both of them split up and started walking towards him.

Luffy remained silent as they approached him, only staring up at them from his spot on the ground. "We've decided to trust you." Luffy's face instantly lit up. "However.." Ana interjected, "We need you to do something for us. A little something to show you won't turn your back on us." Without Luffy noticing it, Ana walked toward him until they were almost nose to nose.

Suddenly uncomfortable, Luffy lurched backwards to put some space between them, only for Ana to close the gap, her smirk slowly growing in size. Ana stared at Luffy for a second and then turned to point at a nearby tree where a brown sack laid at the base.

"I want you to go to town now and fill that bag up. I don't care how you do it, but fill it all the way to the top with money and treasure and than get right back here." Ana astutely directed.

Luffy looked at Ana strangely until Ana barked again, "If you don't can't do it in 6 hours, than I'm not letting you join us". Getting the message, Luffy jumped up and sprinted haphazardly over to the bag and quickly ran through the nearest thicket toward the Gray terminal.

For a moment, Ana and Sabo stood in the empty clearing in complete silence. Snapping out of it after a second or two, Sabo swiveled his head towards Ana.

"Why six hours? You and I could do that in about half the time?" Ana's face than turned from a serious frown into a playful smile, causing a little unease to settle in Sabo's gut. Ana than turned in the opposite direction and break into a full run. "I'll be back in about and hour-and-a-half Sabo."

And than she was gone, vanished beyond the trees before Sabo could voice the obvious question.

Meanwhile, Luffy was jumping over rocks and trees on his way to town. He stumbled here and there as the jungle terrain shifted, but continued racing through the jungle the way they'd originally came. In no time, Luffy arrived at a cliff overlooking the city. Panting from the long run but still able to let out a slight chuckle of joy to himself, Luffy jumped off the cliff with sack in hand and headed towards the Gray Terminal, with the city of Goa lying just beyond.

"Hmmm, where do I start off at?"

Luffy pondered to himself as he popped up and down over the mountains of trash. He glanced at a few scavengers on the ground that were usually around here, but ignored them and focused on the city where he was more likely to find more valuable things that would impress Ana.

The city of Goa was a small marvel in East Blue and Luffy imagined plenty of things left hidden and stolen away. All he had to do was search hard enough and he would find exactly what he was looking for. Maybe even grab something to eat from one of the restaurants once he was finished. Luffy's lips moistened at the thought as he rushed headlong through the busy gate, in-between a large crowd of people.

Luffy scoured the city, running rampant through the streets of Town Center and Edge Town districts while grabbing everything that he could get within arms reach. He snatched up various jewels, wares from merchants, and various other goods. He was chased by the local law enforcers halfway through his heist, but managed to elude them in the his usual way; by jumping into a trash can stashed along a side alley. With his bag half-full and only about 1 ½ hours into his spree, Luffy giggled at how easily the spree was as he rummaged through the various assets he'd accumulated. Most of it was jewelry or just simple stacks of money to make up for the lack of anything valuable.

With a chuckle, Luffy picked up his sack and headed towards the last district he'd had yet to rob; High Town.

As he ran recklessly through the streets of High Town, he ran into quite a bit of trouble. Nobles REALLY didn't like having their things stolen by a young 7-year old boy running through the streets. As soon as he managed to slip by the guards and began stealing, he ran into a whole host of problems. Just as he stopped to rest in an alley after finishing ¾ of his errand, he heard a loud voice yell from just outside of the alley.

"Look! There he is!"

Before he knew it, Luffy was cornered in the alley by a small blockade of men. He quickly slipped away through a convenient door on the far side of an building and got away for a little while, until he stopped to rest again. No matter where he went, the police were only a minute behind. He retreated through the back alleys to a seemingly deserted plaza... before it was quickly occupied by a dozen or so law enforcers. He fled over the roof tops, jumping from one store to the next, only to be cornered once again.

At last, Luffy arrived at a place on the far side of the High Town that gave him a moment's reprieve. Like any child who was chased nonstop, he dropped the heavy sack on the ground than plopped onto his back, panting heavily from exertion. He was in a very large garden behind what looked to be a pretty expensive mansion

"Man, Why won't they just leave me alone"

Luffy's eyes closed and he nearly passed out if a voice hadn't brought him back. "What are you doing down there?"

Luffy's eyes shot open to the sight of a small ponytail girl dressed in a yellow blouse standing over him, obscuring the sun from view. Luffy blinked a few times to bring his eyes back into focus, she was about as old as he was, if not a little younger. "Who're you?"

The girl's mouth twisted into an evil sneer. "You tell me first, then I decide if I tell you." She glanced over at the sack Luffy had dropped, filled with money and other goods of value. "Unless you want me to scream and have the guards come and take you away for all that cash you got over here."

At that, Luffy panicked for a second. He was too tired to run away once again from a horde of police. "I'm Luffy." he answered simply.

"Alright than Luppy, I want you to clean the doghouse." She pointed to what looked like a large wooden house that could fit a regular person inside it. It was designed like a regular doghouse, except the door was designed for normal people.

Luffy stared emptily at it for a moment. "If you don't clean it, then I'll call the police on you for stealing." the girl said arrogantly in a typical noble-like manner.

For a second, Luffy stared at the doghouse and then at his sack of money that he'd spent 1 ½ hours collecting. He couldn't tell time, but he was pretty sure that with all the running around he'd been doing, about half of his time had elapsed.

"No." Luffy said sharply. The girl's eyes widened. "You can clean your own doghouse, I don't have time. I need to get back. Ana and Sabo are probably waiting for me now." Luffy then quickly grabbed his sack and hoisted it over his shoulder before running down the nearest alley.

The girl, shocked at Luffy's refusal, scowled as she watched him turn away before releasing a loud and eerie scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream could be heard for miles, bringing every law enforcer in the district running immediately. In no time, Luffy was cornered in an alley yet again with no escape this time. He came to a dead-end with a large wall blocking his way at the end of the alley. Luffy stood before the tall structure, sweating as he found his last escape completely blocked.

"End of the line kid." A large imposing man walked up behind him. Luffy turned to face him, gritting his teeth at the idea that he'd been caught. The man smiled evilly as he walked up with his beat stick at the ready to relieve the kid of all the stolen goods.

Luffy, with his back up against the wall, looked at his options. Around him, the alley was spacious enough to allow for free movement though nothing to climb and nothing to escape through. On his left though, Luffy could see a fancy wall that was a different color than the stony wall of the right.

Behind the police officers, Luffy saw the cocky little girl looking on with a smile on her face that looked more than a little unnatural on the face of a child. No matter where he looked, Luffy saw no way to escape from this trap however. The fat police officer stepped up to the boy and offered an outstretched hand.

"Give me the bag and come along now. Be a good little boy now." the man's voice carried a slight tone of mocking. Luffy though, backed away from the man until his back met the wall. The man continued to advance on Luffy, still holding his hand out.

"C'mon Rufus! Enough with the niceties already! Just beat the kid with the stick and get on with it! We didn't get hired here to play around with petty thieves!"

Rufus turned his head to snarl briefly at the man for telling him what to do, but he decided now wasn't the time to argue. Taking his thick stick in his right hand, Rufus advanced on the kid and rose it over his head, ready to strike.

Luffy though, looked back and forth, searching for a way out, until something clicked in his brain. He wouldn't want to kill the men in front of him but... He looked to his right hand and made a few sparks appear and an idea welled up in his head as he did so.

The man named Rufus began to bring the thick beat stick down on the boy's head, when something happened that he didn't expect at all. The boy turned to his right with his right hand outstretched while his left hand clutched the bag. Ordinary at first, but than something else happened.

Suddenly a big "beam" of blue light shot from the kid's hand. His hand stopped in mid-air as it appeared from out of seemingly nowhere and struck the wall. The wall that he'd struck though, happened to belong to one of the noble families situated in the district.

The girl, the police officers, and the housemaids inside the said home, all face-faulted in shock as the beam of light tore through the wall and house. It didn't stop there though, it tore through the opposing wall of the house, melting a round-shaped hole in the wall and scorching the wall behind it. When it was done, the kitchen of the home had a gaping hole going through it and a scorched wall just outside where the blast had stopped outside the kitchen.

As everyone stood in stunned silence, Luffy made his escape. He ran through the hole in the house, grabbing whatever he could that was scattered in the wreckage from the blast. A few priceless vases had fallen over from the shock and were impossible to salvage but a few of the pieces were still intact and he happily scooped those up.

When he cleared the kitchen through the gaping holes he'd created, Luffy quickly scanned around the next room where he spotted a maid who was frozen still with her hands clutching a newly opened window. Smiling, Luffy took a running jump through the window before the maid could recover herself and took off.

Meanwhile, once the police had recovered from the shock, they stood transfixed at the wreckage. The more experienced officers shook to regain themselves and then started to chase the boy all over again.

"One boy...One boy... did all this!" one officer said in a state of incredulity as they observed the kitchen. A more disciplined officer was prompt to respond to him. "Don't get shook up! He has some kind of ability! Be careful where you corner him!" the same officer than saw Luffy turning into another alley. "STOP HIM! He's getting away!"

While the officers sped onwards, the little girl from before, stared at the gaping hole in her once pristine mansion. The servant girls too were stunned beyond all words. The door burst open and in came the girl's noble father. At first, he couldn't believe his eyes. He was almost positive he was hallucinating since he was sure no one would dare destroy a noble's property, let alone open a gaping hole through five houses in a row. There it was though, in front of him. The walls looked a little bit like they'd been melted and caved in. A few of them still emitted sparks from the edges.

There was lots of yelling and chaos was running rampant as each of the nobles who'd had their houses destroyed were now out for blood. The girl from before, Rebecca, still stood with her mouth agape. The noble, seeing his daughter in complete and utter shock, turned to her with an angry expression.

"Rebecca, do you know who did this...!" the man's face was turning beet red from the anger he was sustaining. At her father's sudden angry words, Rebecca snapped out of her stupor. "It was Luppy daddy! Luppy stole all the things from the nobles and ran off!" Rebecca pointed at the entrance where Luffy had made his escape.

"Luppy? How in hell did he make this hole here!" the angry noble shouted irately.

"He made a big beam come out of his hand! The police were about to arrest him but then he just shot it from out of nowhere!"

At that declaration from his daughter, the noble didn't know how to respond to it. Imagination? His daughter wasn't the type to make up imaginary tales. Still, he would need more input. "Did any of you other maids see this "giant beam?"" the noble questioned to the other maids.

All of them nodded their heads for fear of angering the noble even further. "Did anyone else see this "Luppy" my daughter speaks of?"

A few raised their hands, but couldn't remember much of a physical description from the shock. Two of the maids remembered seeing a child wearing a straw hat run through the home soon after the beam came through but nothing else. The noble sighed. "Alright then. Rebecca, come with me. I need you to tell me what this "Luppy" looks like." The noble man than went to turn around when he detected a very feint footstep a few feet away where the door was wide open.

"I don't think that will be necessary... father" said a tall young girl standing in the doorway.

Meanwhile, Luffy was tearing hell through the annals of High town to make up for his loss of time. He snatched up everything that had any kind of value in sight without regard to subtlety as the crowd of police chased him through the streets. They were more wary of him though, not cornering him but instead bumbling over ideas of how to catch the straw hatted child. Luffy just sped through the town, ignoring both the police and passersby, filling his bag as he went. As soon as the bag was full to bursting, he ran out of High town and made his way to the outskirts of the Gray Terminal and into the forest where everybody hesitated to follow him.

He sped through the streets towards the Gray Terminal and then into the forest. The landscape changed before his eyes until he arrived at the clearing where Ana and Sabo had told him to meet them at. Luffy sighed in relief as he panted in the clearing. It had probably been a little over 5 ½ hours since he'd left. Luffy looked around the clearing, spotting neither Sabo nor Ana in the area.

"SABO! ANA!" Luffy called out but to no response

"Hmmm where could they have gone?" He was starting to worry that he'd gone over the time limit that Ana had set for him. The thought that Ana and Sabo would ditch him just because he made them wait too long started to unnerve him. Until he heard something. The rustling of a bush and a muffled cry.

Startled, Luffy turned around towards the source of the noise. Standing a few meters away from him was a large bearded man with a red bandanna strapped around his head. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt with a skull-and-crossbones in the middle of it. He was quite pudgy in the stomach area and his legs seemed too small to support the massive body he had. Clutched in his two large palms though, was Ana and Sabo, both gagged and muffled by white cloth and bound by ropes.

Sabo was bound at the wrists by what looked to be a very sloppy and hastily done knot while Ana's binding was much more "intricate". She had ropes running around her shoulders, arms, and legs that ended with the ropes running between her legs and tied at her waist.

"Is this what you're looking for, boy?" the man hoisted Ana and Sabo up until they were at face-height with him. Sabo twisted a little at being put in an uncomfortable position while Ana made only a few indistinct noises from her mouth. Her eyes also seemed to be rolling up until they looked like they were going to recede inside her head.

Luffy looked on with stifled fear at seeing his two newest friends now captured and held up like a trophy. The man gave an eerie smile that irritated Luffy even more. "Well? Aren't these the two that you were yelling so loud about just a minute ago?" the man egged on. Luffy clenched his teeth, angry now at having to acknowledge the man. "What are you doing with them! Let them go!" Luffy growled.

"I'm just here to do a little collecting." The man's tone became even more eerie then his smile. "I overheard you three talking about this little "treasure stash" you got going somewhere in this forest. The man then pulled a long saber from his back and placed it at Sabo's throat.

"Lay down that big sack you got there or I'll cut this boy's throat."

Luffy gritted his teeth at the threat, but begrudgingly dropped the bag on the ground. The various assortments of beri and goods tumbled out of the bag, making the large man grin even more. "Good... now bring the sack over here."

Luffy obliged, taking the sack and dropping it at the feet of the man who hoisted over his shoulder with his left hand. "Leehehehe!" the man chuckled with joy. "Goood boy. Now then, all three of you are coming with me. Let's see just how much you've been hiding from me."

They walked a little way into the forest until the man stopped at a small slope where a tree log leaned downhill against a large tree stump. The man carefully treaded down the slope until he got a good foothold on the log. Luffy just watched with angst while he continued to dangle Sabo and Ana from their ropes. The man reached down, seemingly to grab something before freezing.

"Hey, Boy, how would you like to work for me?" the man asked, much to Luffy's shock. "I heard plenty about the treasure these two have stored in this area, so I'm willing to part with some of it. You can also have this bag of treasure that you worked so hard to collect." The man held the large bag of treasure up over his head. "So, what do you say?"

Luffy paused for a moment, his eyes being overshadowed somewhat for a second or two.

"No."

The man's expression changed dramatically to a look of shock. "I don't want ANY of the treasure and I certainly don't wanna work for you!" Luffy began shouting.

Luffy saw the angry expression of the man and watched the bag of treasure drop to the cold ground. The man reached for the saber he had strung around his back, preparing to threaten the boy once again, only for Luffy to jump off the edge and hit him right in the face with his full weight.

The man was sent tumbling down the slope, slamming into the tree at the bottom before rolling off to the side and missing Luffy's full drop. Ana and Sabo were both sent careening to the bottom as well, though Sabo landed first on the tree and was soon met by Ana's slight form. Luffy rushed over and quickly began untying the knot around Sabo's wrist and then Ana's series of bound ropes.

Luckily, neither of them was seriously injured. Luffy breathed a sigh of relief at having the both of them alive and unharmed. Ana struggle to relieve the effects of being bound, though a few tears still showed on her face, which for some reason, seemed to visibly unnerve Sabo as he stretched his muscles.

Meanwhile, the large bearded man rolled away until he came to the bottom of the slope. He dusted himself off, cursing a little as he did so.

"Man, such troublesome children." the man chided to himself. He was interrupted by the sound of a heavy bag dropping somewhere nearby. He turned around and saw it hanging from a bent branch.

The man quickly grabbed the bag to check the contents. To his relief, everything that the girl had stolen was there. He sighed with relief. It would've been a disaster if anyone else had gotten their hands on his most precious belongings.

With a heave, he took the bag and started walking off toward the Gray Terminal. He couldn't help but feel sad at not grabbing the bag of treasure that the boy had collected, but getting his stuff back had taken priority over profits, plus if his plan worked out well, he would make double what that kid had and anything that the kids could pay him from their so called "imaginary treasure hunt" the girl had gone on about.

Seriously though, that was the last time he would ever attempt to seduce a 10-year old.

By the time Ana and Sabo looked like they were completely recovered, Luffy could no longer see the large man, but that was the least of his worries at the moment. Right now, he just wanted to take a break. He still felt a little exhausted from having to run all over creation in search of valuable treasure to fill the bag. As soon as the sweating stopped, Ana and Sabo both stood beside him, smiling happily as they counted the amount of treasure that Luffy had brought back.

In a far off place, alongside the outskirts of the forest by the Gray Terminal, a certain brown-skinned man with several missing teeth was looking over the time that he'd been waiting for his subordinates to return. It had been almost a whole day, but yet no one had returned or sent word to him.

His eyebrows furled deeply when he heard the door to his personal cabin open and let in a small man who proceeded to sit in the chair opposite him and nonchalantly begin speaking.

"Sir, we have yet to find Porchemy or anyone that went with him. It's most likely that they failed to retrieve the money that was stolen or they've fled." the small man said in a very business-like manner. The man known as Blue Jam, picked up a sharp knife and toyed a little with the edge of the blade.

"So it would seem." he coldly replied. "What should we do sir?"

"Find the people who stole the money and deliver them to me." Blue Jam icily replied.

Ana, Sabo, and Luffy all walked back to Dadan's place, with Sabo deciding to hide out at Dadan's place for awhile just to be safe. He could hardly forget what had transpired that day and he didn't want to be far away from Luffy if Blue Jam somehow got a clue about who had barbecued his subordinates via lightning.

As Luffy jumped up and down happily at having finally earned Ana's and Sabo's trust, both of them lagged behind from exhaustion. Sabo though, had a few questions to ask Ana.

"Say Ana, how did you find that guy and persuade him to help you"

"That's a secret." Ana said with a playful smile.

Sabo pouted a little at that, but decided it was better not to push it... at least not now. He still had other things to ask.

"Why wasn't the treasure at the slope? Wasn't that where you told me it would be?" Ana's playful smile didn't diminish.

"I lied. It was the best way to make sure you played along with me. I had to make it believe-able, and in case the man got greedy and tried to take the treasure for real, I had a back-up plan.

"He also tied you up really... erotically. Why?"

"Sabo." Ana's playful smile suddenly started to become really creepy in Sabo's eyes. "Does it really matter what my methods are?" Sabo felt himself step back an inch or two away from Ana. "So long as they work, what does it matter how I accomplish it?" Sabo just shook his head and smiled away until Ana's attention returned to the forest hike.

Sabo though, couldn't help but turn away and gaze back into the forest for a second,

Alright everyone, I deeply apologize for the 10 month long wait. The colloquial excuse for this would be "writer's block" but that's not what happened in my case.

What happened to me was probably the worst thing that could happen to a writer: I became doubtful. I began to doubt that this story had a future, with Luffy mastering haki and all that, it is going to make him severely overpowered IF I make it that far. Even if I don't, Arlong and the other East Blue Villains are going to prove a challenge since they have little hope to fight evenly with Luffy. I did/do have a plan to deal with this and I'm hoping it goes over well when we get to that point. I'm going to have to change the game up a bit (which I have started to do with this chapter). Outside of that, I kept getting distracted whenever I tried to write this chapter.

Skyrim and Mass Effect 3 played a considerable role in this along with watching Detective Conan which I've become hooked on.

I wanted to write another story and have it on my computer but never got around to publishing it. Perhaps I'll do that too before my internet goes off.

I still had my plans, but I wondered if they would be received well or if they would slowly start to become too convoluted. I wrote my ideas out on paper and I started to wonder "How much do I plan to change this story?"

I changed Ace to Ana in order to give myself a little more control over outcomes. I felt I could have more fun with this story if I invented a new personality, rather then sticking with Ace. This means I can change it up a little bit and make something fresh. I like Ace as much as most people, but I'm aiming for something new here. Something innovative, though I think I'll do something with "Ace" later on.

I'm back though, and here to stay this time. I will try to keep coming out with chapters as often as I can. I finally have a job now and I'm moving in a week so I can't come out with a chapter next week, but the week after is a definite. Once I settle down, expect more chapters once again. I deeply apologize once again and plan to fully compensate everyone for the wait with more chapters once I can get going again.

Unfortunately, this isn't the end of the childhood segment, not yet. I shortened it because it was turning out to be too long.