Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nami was exhausted, lost and confused. They’d made it through reverse mountain, barely, just to get swallowed up by a giant whale. How was there a sky still? How was she supposed to navigate them out of a stomach?

Then, finally, there was a tiny island in front of them, with two figures lounging on deck chairs, seemingly chatting with each other.

As the island got closer, their captain, suddenly, got very excited out of seemingly nowhere.

“RAI!”

…and he was gone, shot off like a slingshot.

At the very least, it looked like one of the figures had caught him.

As the rest of the crew finally got onto the tiny island, Luffy was clinging to one of the other men, excitedly blabbering about all that had happened since he’d left his home.

The man just nodded along and didn’t interrupt Luffy when the others joined them, so Nami took her time to look him over.

He had silver, almost white hair in a short mohawk that looked ruffled and kind of as if it was standing on its own, and he was pierced, with two rings on his lip and multiple rings and spikes on both his ears. There were two tattoos she could see, a bolt of black lightning that went from his right fingertips to at least his shoulder, and the tattoo just barely peeking out underneath the clean bandages he had tied on his left arm.

He was wearing relatively simple clothes, likely to balance out all of the spikes on his leather cuffs and belt. He had an off-white poet shirt with short sleeves tucked into a silvery sash with a fade into black ends that matched his hair, loose greenish-black pants tucked into leather boots that had long, sharp looking spikes straight out the front.

There was a deep black captain’s coat with golden ornaments hung lazily over the deck chair the man had been lounging in, joined by a tricorne hat made of leather in the same colour.

He was armed with a pistol, a wakizashi and a sabre, both fixed to his belt at his left hip, nothing else visible for weaponry. Judging by the few visible scars and the sheer confidence he exuded, the man knew how to hold his own in a fight.

All that was without even mentioning his height. He had to be seven feet tall at the least, most likely even taller. Not as tall as some of the fishmen she’d seen, but definitely taller than must humans she’d ever met.

All in all, he looked dangerous. Nami had a feeling she recognised him, and if she was right about it, it made it even worse. She’d seen what he was capable of, and that had been nine years ago. He was strong, an unknown, and Nami was, rightfully so, scared and confused.

Was this someone Luffy knew? Was he a pirate as well like his clothes suggested or just travelling? She really didn’t want a confrontation here, especially not with all of them being worn from the ride up the mountain.

“Hey Rai, join my crew!”

“Come on squirt, we’ve been over this. I’ve got shit to do, and I’ve got my own crew to take care of.”

That just made the situation even more confusing.

Then Zoro just had to open his mouth and confirm Nami’s fears.

“You’re Silvers Raizou. The Thunderbolt.”

The man paused, sighed, then proceeded to pry Luffy off of him with an ease that spoke of experience.

“That’s what they call me.”

“What is one of the seven Warlords doing at the entrance to the Grand Line?”

“Waiting for my little brother to see how he’s been doing.”

“EH? Rai, you’re a Warlord?” Luffy shouted out, obviously surprised.

“The hell kind of paperwork do you think I’ve been complaining about all this time, brat? You’ve literally met most of my crew, too! Including Mererid and Skarlex! You know, the ones that do all the normal paperwork, so I don’t have to?”

At that Luffy, of course, just stuck his finger up his nose and looked away.

The man just sighed again and turned to face them.

“Hi there. I’m Raizou, this brat’s older brother, nice to meet you.” Delivered with a grin so wide that the relation could actually be true.

That statement took Nami a good while to process, before finally, all that she got out was an eloquent “Huh?”

Raizou was having a moment right now. He finally got to see his little brother again, after not having seen him in over a year. He’d been visiting Crocus for a few days now, just exchanging stories, both old and new. His first mate had called him this morning and reported that everything was going great. It was turning out to be a great week so far.

Not to even mention the absolutely baffled little crew in front of him right now.

That right there? Absolute Gold, capital G and all. He’d know, just trust him on this.

He’d been spending the last few days imagining what the crew he still remembered from the story he’d read all those years ago would do upon meeting him like this, but nothing even came close to the sight he was being treated to right now.

Four teenagers, all freshly pirates, looking absolutely baffled at the idea that him and Luffy were related.

He just grinned.

“We’re sworn brothers, not actually related by blood. Not that it matters, really.”

“Yeah! Rai’s my brother and he’s really strong and-“

“Luffy. Please. I’m not joining your crew, but I would like to tag along with you guys for a while. There’s time. Chill. The fuck. Out.”

Then he turned back to the crew that were slowly getting their bearings.

“I know who you all are, but an introduction would still be nice, yeah? Anyone want to go first?”

And he was met with silence, again. They all looked… were they scared of him? Fucking hell, there went his moment. Reasoning people out of fear was annoying and difficult, not to mention a fucking pain in his ass. This was Shadow’s job for a damn reason.

“Seas, calm down people. Is this because Mihawk was an asshole and he’s the only frame of reference you have for Warlords?” He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Alright then, let me lay it out for you. Yes, I’m a notorious pirate. Yes, I’m a Warlord like Mihawk is. Yes, I could most definitely wipe the floor with all of you. Yes, I’ve made my dealings with the marines. That’s the scary parts done, you all with me so far?”

They all nodded, with a mixture between wariness and outright fear still on their faces.

“Good, because now comes the important part. No, I don’t have to bring you in just because you guys have bounties. No, I don’t plan on doing so, either. No, I won’t start a fight with you for no good reason. No, I am not as much of an asshole as most of my fellow Warlords seem to be.”

They all still seemed doubtful, but some relief was starting to show.

“Let me summarise. Luffy is my little brother and you’re his Nakama. Unless you personally give me a reason to fight you, I have no plans of attacking you. This is not a trap or anything of the sort, I just wanted to spend some time with my little brother. So, will you please just treat me like a normal fucking person?”

Usopp still seemed absolutely terrified and was trying his best to hide behind the others, Sanji looked sceptical at his words, Nami was in a similar position and still attempting to regain the composure she seemed to have lost. Zoro, though, was something else entirely.

“Who’s stronger, you or Hawkeye?”

Just as expected, he had balls, Raizou could respect that. Naturally, that meant he was now going to fuck with him, just a little.

“Depends on how much either of us are holding back that day. He is the better swordsman though.”

“Fight me, then.” Never mind that respect, this was just pure arrogance right now.

“No. You lost to Mihawk using a toothpick of a knife, I am not fighting you until you can at the very least use Haki on your swords. I do not want to accidentally kill one of my little brother’s crewmembers just because you don’t know your limits.”

“Ne, Rai, what’s that? Hack-ee?”

“Luffy. What the fuck do you mean “What’s Haki?”, I literally taught you how to use it. Years ago.”

Luffy just made a face that translated to ‘nope, never heard of that in my life’.

“You fucking dumbass, you’re so lucky I love you. Remember that power that makes you sense stuff and makes you able to make your hits harder? That? That’s Haki.”

“No, that’s just the mystery power.”

Raizou groaned. “I give up. Zoro?”

The swordsman made a grunt that sounded vaguely like a “Yes?”

“Introduce yourself and I’ll teach you how to fight Devil Fruit users that normally can’t be cut or hit.” Raizou looked at the three that were still looking anywhere from terrified to wary. “That offer goes for you three as well, by the way. Haki will become a necessity down the line, might as well learn now.”

All of them took a second to consider his offer.

“Roronoa Zoro. First mate. I will become the World’s Greatest Swordsman.” Raizou nodded in acknowledgement.

That was all it took to get the rest of the crew more comfortable. Nami shook herself and went next.

“Hi, I’m Nami, the navigator of this crew!”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Nami. Luffy has had only the best to say about you, and I’m pleased to make such a talented young woman’s acquaintance.”

Sanji glared at him, probably for getting the girl’s attention. “I’m the cook, Sanji. And you better stay away from Nami-swan!”

Raizou chuckled. “No worries there. Not into women, no matter how lovely they might be. Nice to make your acquaintance, as well.”

Then Usopp finally got his courage up. “Well, only fitting that I should go last! I’m the great Captain Ussop, and I-“

Yeah no, that wasn’t going to fly. Raizou had seen cases like this play out, and he really didn’t want another one of them on Luffy’s crew. Not to even mention that this bordered on actual mutiny, and was absolutely against the code.

“Stop. Why are you even on this crew? If you pulled this kind of shit on my ship, you’d be thrown overboard immediately.”

All of the Strawhats just looked confused, and Usopp looked mildly terrified again.

“You do realise what you’re doing when you say shit like that, right? Because all I’m getting from it is that you don’t respect Luffy as your captain, and that shit’s not gonna fly with me. I may not be part of your crew, but I’m your captain’s older brother and a captain in my own right, so let me tell you something, just this once.”

Usopp gulped, now very much trembling before Raizou, who wasn’t even putting a lot of effort into looking pissed. He just was.

“All that you’re doing by disrespecting your captain like this is showing others that he is weak for allowing it. You’re making yourself seem disloyal and your captain like a fool. I’m only telling you this once, and only because it seems like you don’t know what kind of damage you’re causing. You are his subordinate. He is your superior. What you are doing is bordering on mutiny and is also against the code. You will follow his orders and properly respect his authority, or you will leave his crew. Am I understood?”

The teenager nodded, and he looked like he was about to pass out from the stress. Well, now that he had given his lecture, Raizou would let him try again.

“Good. Now that we’ve been over that, introduce yourself, properly, once you’ve calmed down enough. Maybe talk to your crew on what your role actually is, just in case you had something confused.”

Wait, did these kids even know what the code was? It was common enough on the Line, but since the start of the great pirate era things had gotten muddled in the Blues. “Actually, I’ve got another one for all of you. Study up on the code and make sure you know that shit word for word. a lit of things might have flown in the East Blue, but on the Grand Line going against it can actually get you killed or worse. How many of you know what the code is?”

Luffy and Sanji raised their hands. He didn’t trust Luffy to actually teach anything to anyone except unconditional love and batshit insane chaos, and he didn’t know how much of the code Sanji knew. “Well, guess we’re doing that before anything else. Any objections?”

Luffy, of course, had something to ask. “Ne, Rai, can you tell the story of how we became brothers? It’s been too long since one of your Storytimes and I want my crew to know you!”

Well, no way for him to say no to that, he supposed. Hopefully that would get rid of some of the leftover tension, as well. “Sure kiddo.”

Chapter Text

Getting to Dawn Island from the island in the Calm Belt Raizou had stopped at was pretty much just a straight shot north. With the Flash, an electrically powered version of the Striker – sue him, it was a good idea and useful as fuck – that had taken him no time at all, compared to normal sailing speeds.

In the comparatively gentle waters of the East Blue, the journey had taken just over a week, with no storm too big to dodge slowing him down. Now, especially after the stressful few months he’d had since he’d set sail, he was looking forward to the meeting that was about to take place.

He was about to see his big brother again, not to forget that he was about to meet Monkey D. Luffy. He’d been waiting years for this day, and now that it had come, he couldn’t find it in himself to be nervous. The novelty of being in another world had never really existed for him, not after he’d already lived years before remembering his last life. All these people were just that, people. Still, meeting the successor of the Pirate King would be an experience, he was sure.

Soon, Foosha Village and Shanks’s ship at its docks came into view. Time to get to port and make an entrance.

Docking and checking all his knots took him little time, and just to be a dramatic bitch about it, Raizou took out his cloak and put his hood on. He wasn’t about to half-assedly surprise Shanks after it had been years since last seeing him.

Keeping his Haki signature tampered down enough that Shanks’s Haki wouldn’t immediately pin him as a strong presence, Raizou made his way into the village. It was all very simple, but he saw a comfort in it. True to his suspicion, he could hear familiar laughter spilling out of the only bar in town.

All in on the dramatics, Raizou swung the door open with a little more force than necessary and let go of his tight hold on his presence. He was lucky that his face was shadowed enough to hide the grin he couldn’t stop from spreading.

All the pirates in the bar stilled. Shanks looked up from his cards, intrigued.

Raizou forced his voice into an authoritative drawl. “Akagami.”

Shanks straightened. “That would be me. What is your business here?”

“A visit, nothing more.” The atmosphere in the bar got tense.

“Who do I have the pleasure of meeting, then?”

Raizou couldn’t hold it anymore. He started snickering, soon transitioning into a full-blown laugh. With his head already thrown back, he tore his hood off.

“Miss me? Seas, you guys should have seen your faces, holy shit that was a sight.”

“Raizou?” Shanks grinned, and the tension diffused in an instant.

“In the flesh.”

“Come here, you son of a bitch.”

Raizou stepped over and pulled Shanks out of his seat. The hug was glorious. After four years, finally. Raizou also noticed something he would be holding over his brother’s head for quite a while.

“I’m taller than you.”

“No you’re not.”

“Yeah I am. By a whole inch or so.”

They let go of the hug to look each other in the face.

“Shut it, kiddo. You’ve got boots on. What the hell are those spikes, by the way?”

“Sorry, two inches minus one for shoe difference. Already calculated in. Also these spikes are cool, and you know it, not to mention they’ve got a purpose.”

“That purpose being?”

“I like to fight with kicks, dumbass. They’re sharpened on the underside, that way it’s like I have claws on my feet.”

“Congrats, you’re even more terrifying than I thought you’d turn out at this age.”

Raizou grinned. “You don’t even know the half of it.”

Shanks looked curious. “Really? After three years to get your Haki under control I’d sure hope so.”

“Oh, I was done enough with my Haki to get back to Sabaody in two weeks actually. This is what made it take so long.” At that, Raizou let lightning spark over his hand.

Shanks’s eyes sparkled at the new mystery. “Green lightning? The fuck is that colour? Also, what type is it?”

“It’s a Logia. Lightning through clouds is that colour, so it’s probably normal.”

“And how’d you know what colour lightning gets inside the clouds?”

Raizou’s grin grew a little bit wider. “Got a reckless bird Zoan to confirm it for me.”

Shanks shrugged. “Alright, weirdly coloured lightning Logia it is. Why the three years?”

“Control. You have no idea how many times I accidentally gave the old man a literal shock.”

“Raizou, the child prodigy, who used Haki at the age of three, had to take three years to get control of a Logia fruit of all things?” Oh for fuck’s sake, why was he getting that shit-eating grin now of all times?

“Don’t think I won’t zap you.”, Raizou deadpanned.

“Oh, little baby brother, of all- OW! Fuck that actually hurts, what the hell?”

“I did warn you.” Now it was his turn to grin.

“Fair enough. Why are you here?”

“Just paying a visit. You know me, just moving about on a whim.”

“Yeah right. Any other bullshit you want to dish me up? Go for a swim recently?”

“There might be another reason. One of my feelings, maybe. Not quite sure about it yet.”

“So? Go on, tell me about it!”

“Let’s sit, this is a conversation for a meal.”

After sitting down and ordering a drink and a meal from Makino, Raizou readied himself. This wasn’t going to be an easy conversation. It wasn’t an easy topic, and it still stung nine years after the fact. For the both of them.

“I think I know where Garp is hiding Ace. I’m looking for him.”

“Here? On Dawn, his home? Really?”

“It’s one of the few places nobody would think to check, and I’ve got a feeling. You know, like I did when I was five, or seven? Those feelings, which turned out correct?”

Shanks took a moment to close his eyes and lean back. Raizou could feel how much this was affecting him, even though he hid it well.

“How sure are you?”

“Dead certain. I’ll find him. I might not be able to bring him home, but I’ll find him.”

“You know that he has to stay hidden.”

“That’s why I’m not flying a jolly roger. I’ll find him, get to know him, and stay long enough that he knows I’ll come back to visit.”

“You sure he’ll have that brand of issues? Garp can’t possibly be that bad at raising kids.”

“He raised Dragon.”

“Point.”

“So, you wanna come visit too once I’ve found him?”

Before Shanks could answer, a storm tore through the bar. A storm in the form of a small, grinning child. “SHANKS! You won’t believe what-“ Luffy paused and looked at Shanks, sitting opposite to Raizou.

“Who is that?”

Raizou waited for a moment and sent a look at Shanks.

“Ah, this right here is my little brother, Raizou!”

“He’s as big as you, though.”

“Yeah, that’s because I’m younger than him, and I used to be smaller. What’s your name, kiddo?”

“I’m Monkey D. Luffy, and I’m gonna be a pirate!”

And Raizou felt it. Just barely there, but noticeable if you knew what to look for. In the stream of sensations coming in through his Haki, he could hear a faint sound of drums. Could feel a faint warmth and light, like a sun not yet ready to rise. Echoes of what Luffy had the potential to become.

Raizou grinned. “Well, nice to meet you then, future pirate.”

The smile that he got back was blinding. “See, Shanks, your brother thinks I can do it!”

Shanks got this look that he’d get back when they were kids, the one that told you he was just arguing with you to not tell you the real reason why he was against something. “Just wait until he finds out you can’t swim, little Anchor!”

Luffy looked devastated for a moment, until Raizou started cackling.

Through the laughter, he turned to his brother. “Shanks, at least the kid can still learn. You might want to think about the fact that I’m a hammer now, yeah? I’m still sailing around.”

“Oh yeah, where’s your crew, by the way?”

“Nah, I’m here on my own.”

“Catch a ride then? Doesn’t sound like you.”

“Because I didn’t. I’ve got a beauty tied at the docks, and she got me here all on my own.”

“And to where in the East Blue did ya catch a ride then?”

“Shanks. I’m telling you I didn’t catch a ride. I got here from Sabaody. Through the Calm Belt. With my absolute beauty of a ship that only I can properly use. Electricity works wonders, you know?”

“Huh?”

“I made a stop at Water Seven, and I got myself a custom-built ship that works with me powering her up. Named her the Flash. Converts my lightning into power and goes at insane speeds, if I dare say so myself.”

“Now I’m curious, define insane speeds.”

“From Sabaody to here in like, what, ten days-ish? I think it was ten days, yeah.”

Shanks, joined by quite a few of his crew members, made a noise of surprise. “Damn.”

Raizou grinned. “Keep in mind that I did sleep during the nights.”

Building Snake whistled. “Damn that’s fast.”

“Yeah, she is. Anyway, enough about me and my lady, what did you want to tell Shanks here, kiddo?”

With that, Luffy started rambling about all the cool bugs he’d seen today, and all the adventures he’d had in the last few days. He was such a happy kid, and Raizou could feel his heart warm at the sight. Seemed like the charisma of the future had been there all along.

Before he knew it, Raizou had been pulled into the conversation again, with a hyperactive ball of energy asking for his own stories. Most of what he’d done in the last few months, probably years actually, were better kept secret, so he resorted to a tale from before all that. Highly censored of course.

After he’d finished telling the story of how he and his two sworn brothers, Shanks and Buggy, had decided to exchange sake cups and swear their brotherhood before the sea, Luffy was basically vibrating out of his seat with excitement.

After some rambling on how awesome such a promise was, the kid finally asked a question. “But why do both? The cups and the promise to the sea?”

“The sake for ourselves, to remember that we’re brothers no matter our blood.” Shanks began.

“The oath for the world, to declare ourselves before the vastness of the sea.” Raizou continued.

“Brothers in spirit, recognised by the world and ourselves.”, they both substituted for Buggy.

You could literally see the sparkles in Luffy’s eyes at that point.

“I’ll find myself brothers just like that, just you wait! And we’ll be even stronger than you are!”

Shanks shook his head, but Raizou just couldn’t help but smile. “I’m sure you will, kid. Just make sure you wait until the world is ready for you to take it by storm, yeah?”

The afternoon continued just like that, with Luffy pestering both Shanks and Raizou for stories, interrupted periodically by the two actually catching up. In the evening, Raizou agreed to spend the night on Shanks’s ship before continuing his search the next day. He was definitely looking forward to sleeping in an actual hammock or bed again instead of the mat he used on the Flash. Fast and practical as she may be, comfortable for long trips, she was not.

Throughout the night, Raizou found it difficult to rest. Tomorrow would be the day he’d waited nine years for. He wasn’t sure if he was ready, but neither would Ace be, so that was alright. He just hoped he wouldn’t mess things up in the first few minutes.

Chapter Text

Raizou was back on Dawn Island for a few weeks, and he was currently showing off to Ace and Sabo, using his Haki to avoid all of their attacks, while blindfolded, as they both came at him. They had both called bullshit when he’d explained what Haki could do, so this was him proving them wrong. It wasn’t his fault that it was so fun to hear the noises of frustration at him dodging yet another swing that he was cackling all the while, and it was definitely not his fault that said laughter was only spurring the two boys on even further.

Then, he heard it. With him being so immersed in his observational Haki, the voices of the world came easier. And now, it was one similar to the one he’d heard back when he’d been twelve. The voice of a Devil Fruit.

It was shouting in joy, proclaiming elation at its proximity to its next chosen one. It was coming closer and closer to Dawn, and he knew that it was time.

He caught the next two strikes in his hands, effectively stilling the assault he was under. “Let’s stop that for today. I have a feeling that one of my sworn brothers will be stopping by at Foosha today, and I want to introduce you two to him.”

He let go of the boys and took off his blindfold in time to still catch the surprise and hesitation on Ace’s face. That wouldn’t do. Raizou dropped into a crouch and looked the kid in the eyes.

“What’s wrong, kiddo?”

Ace looked away, and after a long pause, he spoke up. “What if he doesn’t like me?”

Raizou melted, as he so often did when faced with the kid in front of him. He laid a hand on Ace’s shoulder, prompting him to look back at him. “I promise that he will. I know for a fact that he’s been dying to meet you, and the only reason that he hasn’t is because he wanted to give us time to get to know each other first. We didn’t want to overwhelm you, it’s for the same reason that the third of us will be stopping by at another time too.”

Then, Raizou looked at Sabo, who looked uncomfortable, as if intruding on a private moment. “You too, Sabo. You’re pretty much family already, and I have a feeling that you’ll fit right in.”

As both of the boys nodded and proceeded to explode into questions on the brother they were about to meet, Raizou stood again and started to usher them down the mountain, promising to answer all their questions on the way.

As they finally arrived at Foosha village, Raizou breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t yet run out of stories, not by a long shot, but digging up all the memories of his time on the Oro Jackson always brought back that familiar ache in his chest. Before he let the boys loose, he had a few things to say still.

“Alright you two, you know the rules. Foosha is off limits for your shenanigans, exploring is on the table, stealing, robbing and brawling are not, as soon as you notice a pirate ship coming in, you come and meet me at the docks. If you need anything else, I’ll be at Party’s Bar talking with Makino. Go and have some fun, yeah?”

The chorused “Yeah!” that answered him was immediately followed by the two boys dashing off, excited to run around in a village they hadn’t fully explored yet.

Raizou just leisurely made his way over to Makino’s, content with some peace and quiet before the ruckus that was about to take place.

When Shanks’s ship docked, Raizou was waiting at the docks alone, but he could feel that Ace and Sabo were on their way as well. Shanks didn’t even wait for his crew to finish docking, he just jumped down to Raizou as soon as he was close enough.

“Come to welcome me, have you?”

“Not only that, I’ve brought gifts as well, brother dearest.” Raizou grinned.

“Oooh what is it?” Shanks, the absolute child of a man, was immediately hooked.

“Give it a sec. Should be in sight riiight about now.”

Just like that, Ace and Sabo came stumbling out of an alley and onto the main street, then instantly turned to race toward the docks.

Shanks’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me that’s…”

Raizou answered the silent question. “That’s the kid, plus his best friend that I’m pretty damn sure he’ll swear brotherhood to someday.”

“Holy shit. He’s so damn tiny, looks so much like both mom and dad, holy shit, he’s actually alive.” The man was staring to cry, and neither of them cared to mention it.

“Yeah, he is. Real spitfire, too, just like mom. Has a fight in him just like dad did, too.” Raizou smiled, tears welling up in him as well at the memories.

Their moment was rudely interrupted by Ace, who had no sense of emotional moments and when not to break into conversations. “Hey, Raizou, are you done talking to the old man, where’s this guy you wanted us to meet?”

Raizou broke out in laughter, fuelled by his older brother’s incredulous expression. After collecting himself, which took a bit, he finally answered the kid.

“Ace, Sabo. This here-“ he gestured at Shanks, who waved, “is Shanks, my older brother. Shanks, this is Sabo, Ace’s friend. And this is Ace, mom and dad’s spawn, in all of his glory.”

Shanks and the kids greeted each other, and Sabo was striking up some Smalltalk like the saviour he was, when suddenly Shanks got that grin. Raizou knew that grin, and he did not like where it was going. That was the redhead’s grin when he was about to stir shit up just for the hell of it, usually for some childish revenge or need for chaos.

“Heya kid, did Raizou ever tell you how you got your name?”

Ace looked confused. “My mom gave it to me?”

Shanks’s grin got wider. He turned to Raizou, grin still in place, then pointed at his sword. Raizou knew what exactly Shanks was doing and let some of the tension fall. It could have been worse. “That used to be dad’s, right?”

“You were literally there when he gave her to me. Of fucking course she’s dad’s. I’d be a damn moron to own a supreme grade sword and not use her.”

Shanks turned back to Ace, still fucking grinning. “Ask him what her name is.”

With a look of distrust, Ace did as he’d been told. “Rai, what’s your sword called?”

Raizou sighed. “Shanks, I hope you know I hate you right now. Kiddo, her name’s Ace. She already had the name when dad got her, and I don’t know what possessed mom to go along with it, but he’d apparently had the plan to name his kid after her for over a decade before you came along.”

The shouted “WHAT!?” that came after Ace had processed the information was loud enough to really hurt Raizou’s ears.

Point to Shanks, though, Ace’s face was absolutely hilarious.

“SHAAAANKS! YOU’RE BACK!” It seemed like Luffy had also noticed the docking ship and was now sprinting towards them. Well, no time like the present to acquaint the future brothers with each other.

“Anchor!” “Kiddo!”, came the answering shouts from Shanks and Raizou, both equally happy to see the kid.

After a good, long talk of confirmation that yes, the kid that was very much attached to Shanks was a good egg and no, Raizou didn’t love Ace any less just because he held other people dear, all of them were now situated in Party’s bar. All of the kids were currently hounding the crew for stories of their adventures, and both Shanks and Raizou made sure to slip in stories of their “old captain”.

Everything was going well until the bandits arrived. Knowing what was about to go down, Raizou pulled the three little menaces aside, making sure they could still watch but wouldn’t interfere and get themselves into trouble.

The presence of thee more people than there had been in the story didn’t change much, not even the tantrum that Luffy threw before storming off. It seemed like Ace and Sabo had already learned at least part of the lesson that not every battle was one to be fought.

The next few days until Shanks and his crew took off again went similar to the usual, with even Luffy going back to his normal, excited self soon enough. A day after the crew had taken off, Raizou left as well, feeling the call of the sea again. The pleas for souvenirs from the three little terrors on the island had nothing to do with it, not at all. He wasn’t planning on staying away long this time, just enough satiate his longing for the winds and waters of the free waters.

Seeing Shanks sail off again about a month later, this time without his straw hat, made something settle in Raizou. He’d planned on what he was about to do for a while, but this moment made him sure of his resolution.

He was going to train these three boys, no matter what Garp had to say about it.

Not even a week later, the marine hero was back on his home island.

When Garp walked into Party’s bar and saw Raizou sitting and talking with Makino, there was a shift in the air. “What do you think you’re doing here?”

Raizou turned to face the man and steeled himself. “Visiting family. You did a good job hiding him, and I’m not about to compromise it. I’ve been discrete enough, if you didn’t even know I’d be here.”

Anger was replaced by still very much visible disgruntlement, but no further comment on him not being supposed to even know Ace was here was spoken aloud. “What are you going to do now?”

“Stop by every now and then, whenever I can do so without being noticed, and train him so he’ll survive no matter what life throws at him.”

“Filling his head with nonsense about piracy, no doubt.”

Raizou scoffed at the notion. “No way in hell. I’m not even a pirate, and I sure as hell will tell him to keep himself safe and happy. I just want him in a state to be able to protect himself if things do go wrong.” Well, he was going to build himself a crew eventually, but Garp didn’t need to know that.

Garp looked at him, long and considering. “Fine by me.”

Raizou let the conversation stall there for a moment before making his offer. “I’ll train your grandkid too, if you want. Now that he’s eaten a devil fruit, no doubt that’s why you’re here, you’ll likely want to hide him there as well.”

“People like you don’t do things for free. What’s your angle?” Suspicion was clear in the older man’s voice.

“Making sure that those kids don’t feel abandoned, making sure that they’ll be strong, making sure they’ll be happy and alive. Keeping an eye on things so word about their fathers doesn’t get out.”

At the wording of that, mentioning both of the boy’s fathers, Garp stiffened up. With a deadly stare, damn he knew how to be terrifying, he kept eye contact with Raizou. “What’s your price, brat?”

Well, if he was offering, Raizou wouldn’t object. “Teach me Rokushiki.”

“No.”

“Come on, I already managed to teach myself Geppo, you’d just be speeding up the process. Maybe I’ll even join the marines if I like your training well enough. Helping people is a good way of life in my opinion.” Alright, he was laying it on thick, but actually getting taught this shit instead of having to reverse-engineer it would be a massive time-save on his part.

“I’m taking my grandson up tomorrow. Show me what you taught yourself and I’ll consider it.”

Raizou almost pumped his fist, but he held himself back. “Thanks, you won’t regret it.”

Mission accomplished. A pass to actually come around and train the kids, plus some training for himself, jackpot.

This was going to be some long ten years.

Chapter Text

For all the grand things Raizou had once imagined about sailing with the Strawhats, up until Drum Island not a lot had really happened.

He’d been fetching the Flash while the confrontation with The Barouque Works agents had happened, he’d stood back and watched Luffy’s showdown with Laboon, had only stepped in to make sure the Merry wouldn’t be missing her main mast.

He wasn’t here to actively participate, he was here to watch and supervise a little. Luffy’s adventure was his own, and Raizou didn’t intend on doing more than a little nudging. Not right now, anyway. He worked well behind the scenes, he’d made dozens of little changes already, but the future pirate king and his crew needed to grow strong on their own.

While Raizou had been along for the trip to Whiskey peak, he’d opted to stay behind on the Merry to guard her. His face was too well known and there were very few drugs that even worked on him, so joining the party had been out of the question. The following beatdown had also not been his place, the crew needed their first glance of the power levels on these waters.

He'd made sure not to get noticed by Nico Robin, he didn’t need Crocodile thinking he was going against him. Warlords couldn’t openly fight amongst each other without ample punishment from the marines, they had to present a somewhat united front. Especially now, Raizou couldn’t afford to risk his status.

Fate was a creature of spite, and as much as he’d done to prevent some things, it liked to bend back into shape if he wasn’t actively looking. Outcomes of incidents could vary in details so long as the overall end results were the same, that was easy. Something as monumental as he intended to do, something that had the potential to derail the story as much as his plan would, was almost impossible to achieve without all the pieces in the right places. He’d have to fistfight fate for what he wanted, and he would have to sacrifice something still.

All in all, he was just a guest sailing along and not really doing much. He’d even asked Luffy if he wanted help multiple times, but his little brother had simply confirmed what he’d already assumed. It was Luffy’s adventure, Luffy’s fight, and Raizou wasn’t one of his crew. The only thing he had openly allowed him to do was save them if there really was no other option.

There were things going on that needed to happen, and a Warlord being present wasn’t going to be conductive to any of it. The dinosaurs had been really cool to see in person, though. And the crew had warmed up to him a tad. Usopp had even managed to get over his fears and introduced himself again, this time as master sniper and craftsman. Still not quite right, but good enough, especially in the way that it wasn’t bordering on mutiny.

Just after the big mess on Drum Island, Raizou got a call from Skarlex. Slate had gotten wind of a New World crew that had sailed back to Paradise just to hunt the son of the Dark King, and even though his crew were strong, this fight would be one they’d need him for.

He let the Flash down from where she’d been tied like a lifeboat, threw his bag that he’d brought onto the Merry in his storage, then hollered for his brother. “OI LUFFY!!”

The other captain – oh god his cute littlest baby brother was a captain in his own right now, it was still a novel thought – didn’t come over but still turned his head from where he was fishing. “Yeah?”

“My crew just called for backup, I’ll try to make it back so we can both meet up with Ace as planned, see ya!” With his parting words said, he jumped down to his boat and untied the last line. He had an estimated week to get to his crew, and it would be a tight squeeze even if he continued to book it during two or three nights.

In the end, Raizou had made it to help out his crew just barely on time. There had been less than an hour to spare, and the following battle had been harsh. Almost two days of fighting out on the open sea, all while already exhausted from his travelling. He’d taken a day to rest afterwards and then booked it right back in the direction of the Strawhats.

He’d wanted to make it back in time to meet up with both Luffy and Ace, but there had been no way for him to be fast enough for that. Just after meeting up with Luffy for a few hours, Ace had had to travel on, technically on a mission for his own crew and under a time limit as well.

Now, the Strawhats were likely sailing on and he intended to at least make it in time to meet up before they took the knock-up stream. He was on a mission to fetch as many dials as he could fit on the Flash, since Milas was about to run out of her stash and needed more to tinker with.

A day or two past Jaya – at least for normal ships that weren’t speedboats powered by a Devil Fruit – Luffy’s vivre card finally started pointing in a slightly different angle. Within another two hours, Raizou was close enough to see the Merry.

One last spurt of speed had him in shouting range, and a line was thrown soon after his call. He caught it and soon enough, the Flash was strung up like a lifeboat again.

Chopper, who he’d only met shortly before his departure, looked nervous at his arrival. Robin was as well, even though she was doing her best to hide it. Had Raizou not been able to hear her Voice, he’d have believed her act.

Introductions were made, he had to promise Luffy not to explain why their Log Pose was pointing at the sky unless specifically asked to by him, and after most of the bustle around his arrival had died down, he nodded at Robin to follow him before heading to the galley.

On a ship as small as the Going Merry, the galley doubled as many things. It was the meeting room, the general space during storms, and whatever else was needed at the moment. Currently, with the weather being as good as it was and it being outside of mealtime, it was empty save for Raizou and Robin.

She sat across from him, and seemed in no hurry to start the conversation, so Raizou took the initiative. “Let’s cleat the air a little, shall we? I don’t have a problem with you being on my little brother’s crew, far from it actually. You have nothing to worry about from me unless you intentionally hurt him or break the code. This crew is in desperate need of some adult supervision, and you seem competent enough. I don’t care what lies the government has spread about you, and I don’t care what opinion you have of yourself. I can see this crew being good for you and you good for the crew in return, as long as you’ll let it.”

Robin couldn’t quite hide her surprise at the direction Raizou was taking the conversation. “What do you want, then? I can’t imagine any of the crew had a private interview done by you.”

Raizou almost laughed. “This isn’t an interview. I’m telling you that you have my support in this, and that I’ll help you out if you ask for it. But really, I’m here to ask something of you. Something you have full rights to decline, something I won’t ever bring up again if you wish it.”

Now, she looked intrigued. “And what may that something be, I wonder?”

“I would ask you to teach me how to read the ancient texts. I’ve stumbled upon a poneglyph that shouldn’t exist, and I believe I need to learn what’s written on it.”

Robin’s Voice turned a mixture of terrified and disgusted. “No. I will not have my knowledge used to uproot weapons that should stay lost.”

“I’m not looking for a weapon. I’ll swear it on the sea, or anything else you’d want me to. So long as you can assure me that the story won’t make it to anyone’s ears but yours, I am willing to tell you how I found it and what I know about them.”

All the answer he got was a “Go on, then.”

Raizou steeled himself. This could backfire on him, immensely so, but he needed to know what was on that stone.

“I was raised on the Oro Jackson, the Pirate King’s ship. We sailed to find the true last island, and the key was hidden on four of the Poneglyphs, the Road Poneglyphs. They’re red in colour instead of the usual blue. One of ours, Kozuki Oden, was a direct descendant of the ones who built them, and he knew how to read them. He led us to our destination, but he didn’t share his knowledge. I was barely five years old when the crew disbanded, so I never had a chance to learn. We never heard from him again, so we can only assume he is no longer amongst the living.”

So far, so good. Most of this was already somewhat known to the government but would already be enough to put him in danger. Now for the worse part.

“Roger and Oden shared an ability called the Voice of All Things, that helped them to find the stones. Roger couldn’t read them, but their Voice would give him an idea of what was written on the stones. One time, they both heard one on an island but were unable to find it anywhere. The crew assumed it to have been a fluke and sailed on, and they did eventually find all of the thirty that Oden claimed existed.”

Raizou had one last moment to hesitate but didn’t. He had an unknown variable in a world where knowledge was power, and he couldn’t leave it as such.

“On that same island, when I was twelve, I found my devil fruit, together with an unusually coloured Poneglyh. I share the same ability as Roger and Oden did, although it isn’t as refined as theirs was. I believe there’s a correlation between the stone and my fruit, and it has a high chance to personally affect me. That is why I ask you to teach me.”

Robin seemed like she understood, but he could feel the hesitance. “That knowledge kills people.”

“My mere existence, being who I am, has put me in enough danger for it to make no difference. If the nature of my fruit or my full parentage were to be revealed, I would be in more danger than this could ever put me.”

Robin smiled. “Your mother must have been quite the woman.”

Raizou smiled back. “Will you teach me or not?”

A long moment of hesitation later, he had his answer. “I suppose I can.”

The next day found Raizou laughing hysterically in the galley, unable to restrain himself.

Robin, as well as Nami who was drawing a map close by, looked startled by his outbreak. Robin raised an eyebrow as if judging him. “What, pray tell, about a simple sentence is so amusing?”

In midst of his cackling, Raizou wheezed his answer, followed by even more hysterical laughter. “I know the language! The script’s fucking insane, but I know the language, kahahahaha!”

“Where and when would you have learned such a language?” Those eyes were scary when she was properly curious, damn.

Raizou didn’t even pause. He was used to deflecting these kinds of questions. Confusing people with the truth taken entirely out of context was his favourite way to do so. With the most shit-eating grin he could muster, paired with direct eye contact, he delivered his answer. “Almost forty years ago. It’s called Latin, by the way.”

Right after, he devolved into cackles again.

“Kahahaha, it’s almost like fucking wingdings, too! It’s just a new set of letters and fucking Latin, kahahahaha!”

No matter what else Robin asked about it, no matter how she phrased her question, that was all she got from him.

Chapter Text

Jaya was, well, Jaya. The less said about it, the better, and Raizou only left the Merry to go check up on Slate’s informants that resided on the island. They were technically his informants, ever since the elusive Mr. Jack had joined his crew, but most of the work and with it the credit for said work went to Slate. Ergo, Slate’s network. Still, Jaya fucking sucked when you had actual standards, even if you had a reason to be there.

He was very happy once they set sail towards the knock-up stream.

His crate of dirt he had on the Flash was about to be worth a shipload of dials and he technically had enough money on him to pay his own toll and take off to fuck about until he was needed. Which was sounding very tempting now that Robin had been trying to figure out more about what was actually his six years of Latin lessons back when he was in school during his first time around.

So, yeah, he probably would fuck off to trade for dials for a bit, but there was no way he’d pass his chance at witnessing the absolute smackdown of a false god.

He still expected Teach to show up, somehow, even though the man had been in hiding for quite some time now. One of the less pleasant results of his meddling was the fact that he had no idea when and where to expect the bastard, even though Thatch surviving had definitely outweighed that.

Not to forget having that damned Devil Fruit in better hands. Brad was having the time of his life with it, enough that Beck had actually agreed to Raizou’s offer of getting him one as well.

That should be happening on this trip as well, so it felt a bit like a big errand. Dials, Treasure, Devil Fruit, presents for the entire extended family, groceries, everything. Not actually, but still. As Captain, he should not have to deal with shit like this, but he was a dumbass with a habit of meddling.

Alas, Teach was nowhere to find in all of Jaya, and he sure as hell didn’t show up to try and fight the Strawhats either. Just as they were about to sail into the whirlpool that would form the knock-up stream, Raizou finalised his decision.

“Heya Luffy!”

He heard the call from over where his little brother was. “Yuh?”

“Imma split off and do some of my own stuff once we’re up, but I’ll help out if you need me to, that alright?”

Luffy just called back “No spoilers!”, as if that was the main concern here. Raizou was pretty damn sure that that kid knew much more than he was letting on.

“Kiddo, it’s been over twenty years since I was up there, I don’t remember shit!” Raizou lied, mainly to keep up pretences with Luffy’s crew. But, seeing as there were no complaints other than Usopp looking ready to beg him to stay with them as a tour guide, he was sure that this was the right decision.

After pretending to be unable to fight off Wyper – Luffy had after all asked him not to interfere – and Gan Fall’s departure, Raizou laughed out loud, startling all the Strawhats. “Oh this is rich, telling me of all people about altitude sickness! Kahahaha!”

No matter which of the crew tried to get him to elaborate, or how they did – Nami even tried to bribe him, funny that – he didn’t say a thing about why it was so funny. They’d find out sooner or later, but it was still one of his best kept secrets. No need to jump the gun on an inevitability.

The old lady that told the Strawhats and him about the toll was surprised to see him get off the Merry and jump onto the Flash, even more so when he actually paid his toll and didn’t rejoin Luffy and his crew.

“You’re just leaving them by themselves?”

Raizou shrugged and looked at the Merry sailing off into the white sea. “They can take care of themselves, I’m just a tagalong here to trade for dials. I kind of need to be here legally to do that.”

Amazon grimaced, as if she knew to expect something he didn’t. “If you’re sure…”

“Not the first time I’ve been up here, won’t be the last either. The last god was a much more agreeable man, but things change as they always do. Those kids might not always know what they’re doing, but they sure as hell always walk out of it alive. I won’t worry about things that will turn out fine regardless. Now, which way did you say your market was?”

Trading and bartering was easy. Raizou had grown up learning everything about sailing, and port stops had been part of that. He knew how to get the best prices, knew how to sell what he had for more than it was worth, knew how to walk away from a trade victorious.

But this was just ridiculous. The moment he brought up that he meant to trade dials for vearth – plain old fucking dirt – he had offers from over half the vendors, begging him to take their entire stock.

Not just those selling dials, either. Everything this market had to offer was being thrown at him.

As he’d already said, fucking ridiculous.

He walked out of that market one crate of dirt lighter, with more dials to his name than he could fit on the Flash. Well, the Strawhats would appreciate the gift, once all of this had blown over.

Just as Sanji was about to take a lightning strike meant for Nami, he was shoved out of the way as well. Raizou stood in front of him and didn’t even flinch when he got hit in his place.

Nami was so fucking over this shit. What the hell was up with those brothers? Luffy being rubber and tanking those made some sense, but what the hell was up with the older one?

Enel was made of lightning because of a Devil Fruit, and those didn’t have duplicates as far as anyone knew. Raizou couldn’t be made of lighning too, and there were only so many other nonconductive things he could have been instead.

And where the hell did his Epithet come from, while she was at it? He obviously, as established, couldn’t be lightning, so what the actual fuck was going on with him?

Nami was looking so confused and done with him, Raizou almost had to laugh again. But he had a false god to keep busy, so he kept it in.

“Get the hell out of here and find Luffy. Tell him to hurry his bitchass up before I take care of his fight.”

With his message taken care of, he turned to face a stunned Enel. He could feel the Haki signatures of the three retreat, one under deck to presumably fuck with the engines, one to the bottom of the ship and wait for extraction, one off to find Luffy.

Raizou let lightning spark off his shoulders as he usually did to show off his powers, and just to be petty called down a bolt of lightning of his own making to strike Enel. The false god took the attack the best way he could, with his jaw on the fucking floor.

“How? What kind of abomination are you?”

Raizou grinned, well aware of his bloodlust showing. “I’m the better version of you, powers wise.”

Enel flinched back, even more taken aback than before. He was obviously trying to collect himself, but being faced with something you had thought an impossibility

“I am a god, and you are nothing!” Came as a shout when he finally regained his bearings enough to put up his act again.

Raizou took a step closer. “Really? I’m made of lightning just as you are, I am a thunderstorm where you are just a bolt of electricity, I can use Mantra just as you can, better than you can, in more forms than you could ever hope to, and you’re supposed to be superior?”

“I AM A GOD!!!”

“And you are lucky I promised someone not to fight his battles for him. I’m just here to stall and then enjoy the show.”

Raizou closed the rest of the distance and threw a fist at Enel, charged with just enough Haki to connect but not really damage. “You better hope I don’t get bored halfway and finish the job myself, so try and give me a good spar at least.”

Keeping Enel busy until Luffy arrived meant a few things. One, Enel hadn’t been raining lightning down on the land. Two, the ship they were on had been damaged by Sanji, but he’d left with Usopp before breaking enough to fully bring it down. Three, Raizou would be there to absorb any lightning attacks not aimed at Luffy, including Enel’s ultimate technique. Four, due to Enel not getting off a Raigo, Angel Island wouldn’t be destroyed.

Five, Raizou actually had to keep his newest stress ball alive and in a state to continue fighting. That one was the annoying part, really. He had to restrain his Haki carefully, had to keep to his fists for weapons, had to hold almost all of his strength. In the end, all of the thinking needed to restrain himself enough to keep Enel up and running had the time until Luffy made his way up the beanstalk pass by pretty quickly.

Once Luffy had arrived, fist first and delivering a good old punch to the jaw to Enel, Raizou was finally able to let the concentration go. He got out of the way of their fight but stayed close enough to keep control of any lightning Enel would try to use. “Heya Luff?”

“Yuh?” Came the response, the brat looking over at him in the middle of his fight.

Raizou couldn’t help the bittersweet smile that crawled up on his face. He’d been waiting for this moment, finally getting to hear the bell, since he’d been three years old in this world, longer than he’d even had his old memories. “Ring that bell soon, yeah?”

With a blinding grin, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, Luffy answered him with a “Of course!”, followed by him continuing the smackdown of the false god.

Raizou couldn’t wait to hear that bell, much less to finally be in front of it again.

Enel on his broken ship hadn’t expected to be found, much less by the man that had declared himself his better and proceeded to hand him off to the other man that could touch him. he felt humiliated, beaten, and wanted to reach the Fairy Vearth more than he wanted revenge.

Raizou, with a single fruit in tow, didn’t really care about that.

Finding a fresh loquat had been a hassle, especially on a halfway-to-slum island like Jaya, especially on rather short notice. He’d managed, regardless.

He’d asked Beck if he wanted a Devil Fruit to compliment Brad’s, and he’d gotten the answer that it would be funny as fuck for one of his crewmembers to have the fruit most people assumed he himself had. He’d laughed at the thought, but he’d still made the effort to contemplate it.

He’d come to the conclusion that at this point in time, Luffy’s fight was already done with. As well as the conclusion that now Enel wasn’t important enough to stop him from just taking his fruit.

Enel looked terrified, when he noticed the bloodlust that was now rolling off of Raizou in waves.

Raizou had a fruit to collect and a false god to spite.

“How does it feel, meeting a real god and being beaten by him?”

That seemed to shock Enel out of his terror enough to answer. “You are no god.”

Raizou couldn’t help but grin, yet again. “Never said I meant myself, did I?”

Just as realisation struck, Raizou did too.

Enel’s head on the ground and a Devil Fruit in his pocket, Raizou left in direction of the party.

The party had been a fucking riot, and Raizou had enjoyed it like he always did. He wasn’t Shanks’s brother for nothing, and parties were a point they could always agree on. Now, though, he was nervous.

He was about to stand before the one Poneglyph that the first Pirate King had left a message with, and now that he could hear the voices of the world he wasn’t sure if he was ready. He’d only known the man for five years, all of them without having regained his memories, but there was still a lot of motion attached to the man.

He’d been one of the people who’d raised him, way back then, after all.

As he got closer, he could already hear the hum that Poneglyphs tended to emit to those who would listen. He heard the song of Poseidon, heard the tale of her rebirth, of her next iteration.

All of that paled in the face of the smaller song he heard. Laughter like thunder, faith in those coming after, determination so strong he could almost choke on it. It was so familiar it hurt, even after over twenty-two years.

He stayed long enough to decipher the stone and message almost entirely on his own, happy with his progress on the new alphabet, glad that the languages of his first life had never faded away.

Right after he finished, he turned to leave. He’d been out of contact long enough, unreachable by both newscoos and den-den, and it was time for him to get back to the blue seas. His present was already on the Merry, his own dials were on the Flash, and he had never really been all that big on goodbyes.

Still, he should say something. He called over his shoulder to Robin, who was either still translating the script or giving him time to leave. “Tell my brother that I’m going on ahead, will you? I’ve been out of contact with my crew for long enough, and I’ve tagged along for long enough, so I’ll just meet him sometime in the future! You too, see you around, it was nice to meet you, ya hear?”

He didn’t wait for a response, he just went. He’d have to find one of those octopi still, and he really wanted to be able to call Skarlex to pick him up.

Not even three days of downtime with his crew later, Raizou had been ordered to Marineford. A briefing and some military preparation, the letter had said. Gearing up for the execution of the decade, Raizou thought.

A call to his firecracker of a brother amplified his fears. A call to the Moby Dick basically confirmed them. Nobody had heard from Ace in a few days, and Jinbei had been unreachable for almost the same amount of time.

The briefing went fine, all things considered. Raizou didn’t lose his shit at the mention of his brother being in Impel Down and waiting on his execution, not that the marines knew that they were brothers at all.

They just knew that he was the Warlord that had been trained in part by Garp the Fist, the Warlord that had the name of one of their boogeymen, the Warlord that had had a bounty of well over two billion berries before he’d gotten the title.

He was a weapon to them, and he gave no indication that he intended on being anything else.

When the briefing was over and he had his orders to remain close to Marineford and report in at least two days before the event. He made his way back to his crew, and he shut himself in his room with the white den-den that he was not supposed to own. Dragon was a very useful contact, and Slate had gotten more than one white snail off the man.

Raizou made quite a few calls that day, and all of them started the same.

“I’m going to lose my Warlord title.”

Chapter Text

Raizou was fucking pissed. He had thought that his information network was reliable enough for shit like this not to happen. He was late to the party, by an entire year. The marine report had been purposefully delayed this long, and none of Mr. Jack’s informants had thought to check themselves.

This was not supposed to happen, but it had, so now here he was, storming through Orange Town. The townsfolk gave him a wide berth, seeing the electricity arcing off of his shoulders.

He didn’t need directions to where he was going, he could already feel the gathering of presences that felt jagged enough to do something like this.

When he arrived, he didn’t waste any time in asking for entrance. Raizou raised his fist, coated in armament Haki, and swung at the closed gates in front of him. With a loud bang, they shattered under the power of his punch. It was kind of satisfying, seeing the prelude of the destruction he was about to bring.

After waiting a moment to let the dust settle, Raizou shouted out, Haki coating his words, piercing through the silence that had followed the crash.

“ARLONG!”

The fishman stood from where he’d been lounging and gave his best look of intimidation in Raizou’s direction.

“Filthy human, you dare disturb me! You come here, attack my gates, and dare demand my presence?”

If Raizou had been raised in the blues, the threat might have worked. But he hadn’t been, and he was strong enough to prove it. Arlong was nothing to him. Without moving an inch, Raizou stared the man down. He might be smaller than the tyrant, but he wasn’t short, either. Having inherited the height of his father, Raizou stood at just over seven feet tall now that he was eighteen.

“I have come to take you down, and to free the lives you’ve attempted to enslave.”

“Do you know who you’re talking to, human?”

“I am talking to a tyrant, Arlong the Saw, a man who sailed under one of the greatest men to ever live, a man who abandoned everything that Fisher Tiger stood for. I am talking to the next victim of my sword.”

Arlong scoffed and shifted his stance. Raizou braced himself. The conversation was over, and now they would fight.

While he knew himself to be stronger than Luffy had been when he’d defeated Arlong, Raizou didn’t let his guard down. Arlong had spent a single year in the blue seas after sailing in the Grand Line for years, and he wouldn’t be as dulled down as he’d be in another nine years.

This had the potential to become one hell of a fight, and only one of them had an issue with this island being razed to the ground.

So, Raizou took care to block and counter the blows coming at him in a never-ending flurry, instead of just dodging like he would usually. The both of them were clashing with their strength and Haki, fists and blade, Raizou keeping his lightning as an ace.

Arlong punched and clawed at him, Haki covering his sharp nails and fists, and Raizou kept on countering. He had Ace in both of his hands, slashing away and using his armament Haki to enhance his strikes.

Arlong slashed his eyebrow though, Raizou got a good slice at his shoulder.

Raizou went for Arlong’s side and struck, getting hit in the gut for his efforts.

They were fighting and matching each other, and while he knew that this battle had the potential to draw out over multiple days, Raizou wouldn’t let it.

He took his right hand off his blade and gathered lightning, just enough to hurt, then lashed out with it. It wasn’t enough to do serious damage, but it didn’t need to, it wasn’t intended for it. Arlong was momentarily stunned, and that was enough.

After taking a leap back to prepare for his decisive attack, he let his will pool into his blade, coating it in both armament and conqueror’s Haki, and did his best to imitate that move.

He knew it wasn’t strong enough for him to call it by its name yet, so he didn’t title his attack.

Arlong lunged at him, front left wide open in favour of attacking.

He slashed his sword from hip to shoulder, and the fishman’s eyes went wide. In a last move of desperation, likely triggered by his own observation Haki, Raizou’s opponent threw his right arm up to block the devastating blow.

The shockwave still sent him sliding back, and neither of the fighters moved for a moment.

Then Arlong’s right hand hit the floor. Raizou had cut it off just below the wrist, and his left shoulder wasn’t faring much better, cut down to and into the bone.

Without a pause, Raizou took the chance and let his Haki flow loose, bringing all of the pressure of his two lives, his forty-two years combined, down on the spectators. He let it crash onto their shoulders, taking care to just barely leave them conscious. They needed to hear this.

“You have become the same as those you despise so much. You have become the oppressors you wished to destroy. This was not about either fishmen or humans being better, this was you wanting to wield power over someone else. You will leave this island, you will not attempt to overpower anyone else this way, or I will finish what I started here today. Are we clear?”

He got a bunch of terrified agreements, but nothing from Arlong himself. He took a step closer and watched Arlong fall to his knees before him, clutching his new stump.

“I said, ARE WE CLEAR!?”

The captain nodded, gritting his teeth through the pain. Raizou let the pressure fall and came closer until he was standing right in front of the man he had just fought.

“Do you want me to heal that or leave it as a reminder?”

The fishman’s expression darkened. “You are a monster.”

Raizou grinned, all teeth and viciousness. “That I may be, but you are a tyrant, and that is something even a monster such as I cannot forgive. Now, do you want your hand back or not?”

Arlong’s expression exploded into rage once more. “Have you not humiliated me enough!?”

Raizou sighed, then took a step back. As he turned, he gave his goodbye. “Don’t forget that I offered. I’ll be back in three days, and I’ll tear down this park, including anyone still in it. Collect your belongings and leave in that time, and I shall leave you be unless you break our agreement.”

Three days later, an abandoned Arlong Park was reduced to rubble by successive strikes of lightning covered fists, all in front of the newly freed villagers. The treasure left behind in the Arlong Pirate’s haste was given to them, and Raizou left the island behind again.

Not even a day later, the newspaper reported the events, and a reward was put out for any information on the mysterious saviour, suspected to be allied with the Revolutionary Army.

When he was twenty-two, Raizou’s next excuse to mess with people arrived in the newspaper. Captain Kuro had supposedly been arrested and executed, and Raizou couldn’t wait to see the man’s face when the realisation that his plan had failed hit him.

He stepped out of his captain’s quarters and went to find Zasha. “Oi, Z! Chart a course for Syrup Village, would you? We’ve got a pirate and some marines to mess with!”

His navigator sighed. “Not going alone this time, captain?”

Raizou just grinned. “Figured it was due time I took the crew along on another one of my mystery trips. Y’all will have to draw lots on who gets to come to the actual fun part with me, though. Don’t wanna leave the ship unguarded while his crew of bastards is still around.”

“You told the crew yet?”

“Nah, I’m waiting till lunch. Don’t spoil anything, yeah?”

“… fine. Now buzz off, I have a course to set.”

“Yeah, yeah. See ya at lunch, then.”

When his crew had gathered in the galley of the Lightning Strike, Raizou made his announcement.

“Everyone!”

He instantly had all of their attention, though Slate and Skarlex were eyeing him with suspicion. They had probably noticed the way that he’d been waiting for the newspapers for weeks now.

“It’s time to mess with both a pirate crew and the marines, so we’re heading to Syrup Village! Get your winnings or concede your losses, because this is the mystery trip you’ve all been betting on, and it’s due time I took you all with me on one of them again!”

Cheers erupted, especially from Beck and Brad. The two had joined soon after the last time the crew had come along on one, and they had been waiting to see if the tales they had been told held any weight. Jay, too, seemed intrigued, but her calmer demeanour shone though once again. Or maybe the crew just hadn’t had time to corrupt him yet, it hadn’t been all that long since they’d joined after all.

Once the cheers had died down and money had been exchanged, Raizou elaborated on his announcement.

“We’ll be setting a course for Syrup Village, and we’ll be sticking around until we find a certain someone who got it into his head to hide there. The man’s an absolute piece of shit who’d go against the code in a heartbeat, so I want to see him bleed, you all got that?”

Noises of agreement answered him.

“This will be our last long stop before we head back into Paradise, so get your kicks messing with inhabitants of the Blues in while you still can. I want the codebreaker alive for the time being, no matter what he’s done. Fuck with the inhabitants all you like, but I better not hear of any property damage or injuries. Now that that’s done, get back to work!”

Sailing to Syrup Village didn’t take long at all. The winds had been favourable, and the Lightning Strike had been built to weather even the storms of the New World, so the small storms in the South Blue were no issue at all. The Thunderstorm Pirate’s ship arrived at the main port of the village, and soon enough Raizou could hear the shouts of a child ringing out.

“Pirates! There’s pirates at the docks!”

It was good to hear that the future sniper had already started his shenanigans. Maybe it would even give them enough time to stock up their ship before the villagers realised that they were actually pirates.

The group that Raizou had chosen to take with him on his errand was a smal one. Most of his crew had their own jobs around the village, he preferred to stock up on smaller islands, and this would be their last stop before Lougetown to do so. Smoker might not have taken over the marine base yet, but every stop close to a base was a risk. Raizou had learned that lesson the hard way, three years ago.

He and the twins were heading out of the village and towards the mansion at a relaxed pace, and he made sure to drill them on what they were doing once again.

“Alright, one more time. I have good reason to suspect that Kuro faked his death and is now hiding here, probably for a plan of his. We’re looking for him in the likely spots first, rich households and other opportunities for him to get a ton of money, then moving on to a search of the whole island if we have to. I know he’s broken the code, so I’m putting the fear of God in him and then we’re dropping him off at the base in Lougetown before we bolt. If one of you finds him first you can rough him up a little, but I need him conscious after. All clear?”

The “Yes, Captain!” that answered him sounded more than a bit exasperated, but he’d seen what happened when Brad and Beck got loose without restrictions. He just wanted to be sure.

When they reached the mansion, he hissed one last warning to his company to be on their best behaviour. They were dealing with rich people, and they wanted to do this as peacefully as possible.

Of course that all went out of the window the moment Kuro himself opened the door. In a flash, Raizou had his sword up to block the sword-glove that was being aimed at him.

Still parrying the attacks coming at him with his sword in one hand, Raizou put all the sarcasm he could manage into his greeting. “What a coincidence to run into you here.”

“You! How did you find me here?!”, his adversary whisper-shouted.

Maybe mocking Kuro that one time he’d run into the man had left an impression, then. Good, that meant goading him into admitting his plan would be easier. He grinned condescendingly. “Don’t pretend you haven’t heard the rumours about me, Kuro. Always in the know about too many things, movements almost unpredictable, absolute menace when I want to be?”

“Even your informants should have no knowledge of this! Only my crew was in the know!”

Raizou almost laughed at that. As if something like that would stop Slate. The man had, after over a year of badgering, finally joined the crew and consequently shared his network and its profits. That had actually only helped his reach, and now there was little that went on in any of the Blues and most of Paradise without Slate knowing.

He was really glad that Mr. Jack had become Slate to him, even more so since the man still had his anonymity. His name and face were unknown to the marines after almost two years of sailing with the crew, however he had managed that, and having someone that could just stroll around unnoticed was a godsend at times.

Still, no matter how good Slate’s network was, this almost had worked, if it hadn’t been for Raizou knowing too much.

“You think my spymaster is the only reason I know things? Cute. So, what exactly was the plan here, codebreaker?”

“Screw you and your thrice-damned code! I am above such frivolities! I will kill you and continue to do as I planned!” he was getting louder, good. Their conversation should be heard by the family in the mansion, even over all the noise his sword and Kuro’s gloves made.

“You really think that, huh? What’s so great here that you would go to such lengths to keep your place?”

And just like that, Kuro went off on a monologue about his grand retirement plan. All the while he was still trying and failing to hit Raizou, to no avail. Still, it was almost impressive. A plan, with numbered steps and contingencies, well thought out all in all. If only the execution of it all hadn’t snagged on the little fact that Raizou liked to stick his nose into things.

At the end of his monologue, Kuro roared in anger. “You, bastard, why can’t I hit you? Stay still!”

Raizou, of course, did not stay still. He did take this as his cue to start being a shit, though. He remembered back to the last time he’d run into the man and used his words back then against him. “What, can’t hit a simple pirate captain that hasn’t even been sailing for half the time you have? Retirement has to be hell on you, to fall this low, surely. No other option, after all. I couldn’t possibly be stronger than you, I’m much too young for that, aren’t I?”

That seemed to be the breaking point. Kuro started swaying, and Raizou had to do his hardest not to laugh at how ridiculous the Soru imitation looked. Well, it was well past time to take this seriously anyways.

With a scream that was all rage, Kuro came at him. he had gotten faster, yes, but Raizou had been able to use Soru for years now. In what seemed like a teleporting move to the bystanders that had by now come out of their mansion, he was behind Kuro and had broken his blades, hands held behind his back and sword held to his throat.

He had said he would put the fear of God in the man, so he infused his voice with Haki before he spoke, right next to Kuro’s ear. “That’s enough.”

As the man continued to struggle until Ace was almost drawing blood from the increased pressure, Raizou doubled down. He let his Haki fall just enough to make it feel like a physical weight and continued, just barely loud enough for Kuro to hear him. “You’ve broken the code, and the sea comes for those who do. No one will help you, now. Even if you get out of custody, you will forever be marked as a codebreaker by my hand. I hope your delusions were worth it.”

Before Kuro could even think to struggle again, one of the twins had finally made his way over with the shackles they’d brought with them. Now that he wasn’t holding the man’s wrists in his own hand anymore, Raizou could take the now freed hand and called up his lightning.

“At least be grateful I’m not doing this the slow way.”

He formed the shape and mirrored it to have one for each hand, then pressed the lightning into Kuro’s hands until he was sure that the two crossed out circles would remain as scarring. He didn’t particularly like branding anyone, no matter how or why, but there was a good reason that codebreakers were marked. He was no more or less free for it, but others would be warned. That was the justification Raizou gave himself every time he did this.

Him and his stupid moments of misplaced morality, sometimes. Killing and maiming didn’t bother him, not anymore, but branding always hit that little spot that had kept the same mindset as he’d had his first life.

And he stopped himself. The code was the way it was for good reason, and it didn’t work if no one did the dirty parts.

Two weeks after hauling ass out of Lougetown, the news coo dropped a heavy letter on Raizou’s head.

A letter with the seal of the Fleet Admiral on it.

What the actual fuck.

He took the thing and made his way into his quarters in a quick stride. No time to waste, this shit had to be either important or a really bad prank.

He opened it, lamp on his desk lit and anticipating the worst.

After he read the first sentence, he had to pinch himself and read it again, four times.

He was being offered a Warlord position, in exchange for the bounties of all his crew being revoked.

Holy shit. So much for keeping a low profile for the next while. No matter what he did now, they’d become a well-known crew. Either for his refusal or his acceptance, it literally didn’t matter.

His first reflex was to just ignore the letter, or to tell the marines and government to stuff it. Raizou wanted no part in their schemes.

His first actual thought was that, if it came down to it, this could be insanely useful. Access to marine resources to some degree, diplomatic immunity, an excuse to be at Marineford if all his attempts to prevent that tragedy failed him.

Well, his crew sure wouldn’t like it, but the promise of it lasting at maximum five years before the contract ran out of use would reassure them. He’d be as honest as he could afford to about his reasons, they deserved that much.

Life as a privateer, not something he’d ever envisioned for himself.

He hoped it would be worth the trouble.

Chapter Text

This was it, the reason Raizou had even taken the offer to become a warlord five years ago. He was standing in Marineford, at the very front of the marine’s forces, next to the other warlords. The spare keys in his pocket jingled when he patted his side to reassure himself of their presence, settling his mind.

Getting his hand on those had been an exercise in stealth, with the highest stakes yet. He’d taken care to build up a rapport with the marines of a loyal and trusted ally, ready to pounce on their command and able to strut around their bases without anyone batting an eye.

The amount of records he’d smuggled out to the revolutionaries the same way was something that never ceased to amuse him. All that security, just for someone they thought a tamed and leashed dog to come and abuse their system.

All it had taken was him walking in and making some small talk, bluffing about some meeting with the Fleet Admiral, and some observation about the guard shifts, and he’d slipped into their storerooms easily.

Spare keys were a risk, but a necessary one. With the whims of the sea and the human possibility of mistakes, all cuffs were labelled and had at least three sets of keys. Raizou had just swiped one of the spare sets for the Impel Down transfer cuffs, as well as the set for Marineford internal detainees, just in case. He was about ninety-five percent sure that Ace would be in either of those, and in the worst case he could always drag his brother out cuffed and deal with it later.

Still, what he was about to do would make him one of the most wanted pirates alive. He should probably have been nervous, anxious even, but he was calm. This betrayal had been years in the making, and he’d thoroughly set up for it.

He was ready, his Haki was buzzing in anticipation, his lightning was ready to go, his swords were freshly sharpened sang for blood, his pistol was fully loaded with seastone bullets and freshly equipped with and impact dial for harder shots. There was nothing more he could do to prepare.

His crew was waiting to surface right along the Moby Dick, his island in the Calm Belt had been stocked up for them to lie low for a while, he had contingency plans upon contingency plans that his crew and allies had been drilled on.

Slate had tagged along with the revolutionary team responsible for the broadcast, Alexandria, Finn, Eddie and Namu had been loaned to the Red-haired Pirates to help fight off Kaido, and Milas had gone to help kit out the Whitebeards with some nasty surprises.

He had warned Whitebeard and his commanders of the execution and the plan to go through with it ahead of schedule days before the newspaper had announced it, he had gotten the revs to sabotage the walls and Pacifistas, he had even gotten Rayleigh to tag along on the Lightning Strike to make sure that Luffy would be held back until he realised how outmatched he was on this battlefield.

Both of the old men had been furious at the news, Newgate at the threat to his son, the warning that Blackbeard would likely also be there and the sheer audacity of the move Sengoku was making, and Rayleigh at the fact that it was a reason to come out of his retirement for even just a moment, not to forget that they were coming after Roger’s son for his blood instead of his actual crimes.

Shanks and his crew would still need to hold off Kaido and his forces before heading to Marineford, but with the loan of some of Raizou’s crew they’d hopefully be done faster.

The Heart Pirates were among the fleet waiting to surface and would be providing mostly medical support, Law had basically jumped at the chance once Raizou had explained why exactly he was asking his crew for help. The opportunity to fight Doflamingo or at least scare him off with an adequate display of power was a bonus, too.

Plan A was to take over the broadcast before too much could be revealed, then get Ace out as quickly as possible. Plan B involved a lot more shock value, in case that they were too late to stop the reveal of Ace’s parentage. Adding on to that initial reveal by presenting a more threatening target would hopefully make enough of a mess for the focus to shift off of Ace. Plan C, in case they couldn’t get through at all, would be to literally steal the den-den from Sengoku and shift the focus that way.

Raizou hadn’t been allowed to visit Ace in Impel Down to try and fill him in, most likely out of fear that seeing Jinbei there as well would make him flip his shit. It was either that or his semi-regular visits to the Moby, but seeing as he’d already agreed to fight for them that should have been a minor concern.

Whether Ace was up to speed or not, one of these main plans would have to work. There was a list of ways to get Ace out, from dragging to flying to literally teleporting him out via shambles, and there were enough ships that at least one would have to be able to get away. Raizou was ready to reveal his whole hand to make sure of that.

Right now, all he was waiting for was his signal to get up on the execution platform and play his part.

Raizou had exchanged his usual poet shirt to a tank top, revealing his arms, including the bandages on his left biceps. He’d already gotten several looks at his scars, especially the one encircling his left arm right above the bandaged section.

He’d said nothing and answered none of the questions on his scar or bandages, everyone would see the reason soon enough anyway.

There were just over three hours left until the publicly announced time that his little brother would be executed, and all present were anticipating the fight that was sure to come. He could feel the nervous anticipation in their voices and Haki signatures, even the admirals.

He could feel the internal conflict in Garp, even all this way from the platform. The old man was seriously considering turning his back on the marines, and that knowledge pacified Raizou a little. He knew that in the end, Garp would choose his duty over his family, but at least he’d agonised over the choice.

It was better than nothing, but it still didn’t fully clear the fury that Raizou felt towards the old man. Family came before duty, before ideals, before morals. At least it should, in his opinion. He would still attempt to beat the life out of the old man the next time their paths crossed, not just for the principle of it, but he’d leave him alive, maybe even heal him up a little afterwards. He

A heavier spike of guilt from Garp’s presence brought Raizou back to full alert. The signatures of the crews that were on their way underwater were coming close enough that Raizou could actually feel them beyond a muddled blob of something in that direction.

Sengoku stepped up next to Ace on the platform, den-den in hand.

Raizou was as prepared as he could be, and he still didn’t feel ready. His part of the broadcast – the one that they’d play once they highjacked it from the marines – was already recorded ahead of time. All he had to do now was wait for the fight to break out.

Sengoku’s speech was hard to bear. All of it was carefully rehearsed propaganda and seeing how much all that shit still affected his little brother made Raizou want to cringe. He knew that the rev team in charge of actually overtaking the broadcast were doing their best possible job during the circumstances, but he was internally cursing them out for taking so long.

They weren’t fast enough to stop the reveal of Ace’s parentage. Damn it.

Then, static warping Sengoku’s voice. The screen went black. The static overtook the audio signal before quieting. Up on the platform, Sengoku was obviously shouting for the tech to be fixed immediately.

A chuckle from the broadcast. That dramatic little shit, at least some of that flair for theatrics must have come from Raizou adopting the brat.

“Well, enough of all that propaganda for now. I have some choice words for all those responsible for this mess today, but for now I’ll refrain and impart a few facts on my audience instead.”

The darkness cleared, and a shot of what could have only been the inside of Sengoku’s office came into view. Sitting at the desk, lounging in the chair like he belonged there, was Sabo. He had a pure white mask on that covered his entire face, his hair was either dyed brown or covered by a wig, and his clothes were half-covered by a cloak. Nobody outside those that knew his voice would have recognised him.

“This broadcast has been taken over by the Revolutionary Army, with the additional help of one Mr. Jack, and I, as second in command and chief of staff, have the pleasure of addressing the world right now. Who I am wouldn’t usually matter, except for one little thing. My name is Sabo, and almost exactly ten years ago, Portgas D. Ace became my brother by oath. Now, what all have me and my team been up to during this mission to prove that blood carries no sins?”

Sabo leaned forward and put his elbows on the desk, then rested his head on his clasped hands.

“This is a battlefield intended to force an end to an era. We’ve sabotaged both your walls and androids, your tools to turn this battle into a bloodbath. Reinforcements are on their way, ready to fight the war you’ve brought to your own doorsteps. We’ll be pulling all the stops to ensure that you will not get the results you wanted. This broadcast will keep on going, and we’ll show the entire world what happens when the marines take a leap too far into the territory of us outlaws, pirate, revolutionary or otherwise. But I think that’s enough from me. I’ll let my associate have the floor.”

Static took over the screen once again, and then a cloaked figure was standing in front of a white backdrop.

Chapter Text

It had been a good while now since Luffy had joined Ace and Sabo up in the mountains, and once Raizou had come back to visit, they had all announced that they were brothers now. Luffy had even bragged that they’d sworn their brotherhood the same way that he and Shanks had told him they’d done it. the little shit had even managed to remember the entire wording, and Raizou couldn’t help but smile at the way that the brothers repeated their oath.

“The sake for ourselves, to remember that we’re brothers no matter our blood. The oath for the world, to declare ourselves before the vastness of the sea. Brothers in spirit, recognised by the world and ourselves.” It was such a heavy promise, especially to make in front of the ocean, and that was what made it beautiful.

Of course, he couldn’t help but declare that it meant that they were all his little brothers now. Family, his, to be protected and cared for. Not that he said all that out loud, but he made sure that they knew it by his actions.

Some days later, Raizou made it a point to talk to Sabo about his parents. He had a plan for the near future, and he needed to know what Sabo wanted to do in the future.

“Hey, Sabo.”

The blonde turned his head. “Yeah?”

“Can I talk to you for a second?” Raizou asked and nodded a bit to the side, indicating that it was a talk just for the two of them.

Now Sabo looked a bit apprehensive but nodded. “Sure.”

When they were a bit off to the side, Raizou sat down at the foot of a tree and motioned for the kid to join him. As soon as they were both sat down and more or less at eye level, Raizou got right into it.

“So. Your biological parents are nobles. I can tell that you want nothing to do with that sort of life and that’s not the issue. I just noticed that your ideals go along with those of a group I know of, and I wanted to know if you were set on being a pirate or if you wanted an in for that life.”

Right off the bat, Sabo clammed up defensively. “I’m not leaving.”

Raizou shook his head. “That’s not what I meant, don’t worry. You ever heard of the Revolutionary Army?”

“Some rumours around the Terminal, not really anything to go off of.” The defensive tone lessened, but some tension was still present in Raizou’s little brother.

“Right. Basically, they directly oppose the world government. They’re working on abolishing the system that gives nobles all their power, and they’re doing it by sabotaging the marines and the illegal operations run by or for nobles. From what I’ve gathered, you’d still see the world and have adventures to write about, just not as a pirate.”

Sabo just looked on questioningly, not sure where Raizou was going with this.

“I think you’d have a good shot at life with them, and I think you’d be good at the stealth part, unlike those two meatheads. The only thing I want to know is if you’d consider it. If you would like me to, I could get you into contact with them when you’re older, instead of you setting sail as a pirate at seventeen. This is entirely your choice, I just want you to be aware of the option.”

“That’s… I need to think about this.”

“No problem kiddo, take all the time you need.”

“I think I’d like it, but I don’t know if- We agreed to be pirates, is all.”

So that was the problem. Raizou smiled his best assuring smile. “I’m sure they’d be good with it as long as you’re happy. I know I would. Go talk to them, figure out what you want, there’s no pressure.”

Sabo stood up, mind made up. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Thanks, Raizou.”

“No problem.”

The day that the dragon’s visit was announced, Raizou almost had an entire freakout. Until he remembered that there was a relatively easy solution. Not even a day later, he had the boys down in Foosha under Makino’s care, with the excuse that they all needed to learn manners.

Convincing them of that had been as easy as mentioning that getting their future crewmembers to join would be easier if they were polite about it.

Of course he’d told them the reason that he wanted them away from Goa, he wasn’t stupid. He’d told them what a risk it would be with the increased marine presence, how unpredictably cruel Celestial Dragons acted, and that he was worried something would happen to them he couldn’t protect them from.

There had been protests of course, but eventually he’d gotten his point across.

Now, with the boys safe and hidden away, he had things to do. He’d heard the story of the boys’ encounter with Sabo’s sperm donor, so he couldn’t ignore the problem that the Bluejam pirates posed anymore.

So he’d called Garp and told him that he’d be taking out some trash, with a request for the man to vouch for him if the marines thought this was anything but a trainee of a marine testing his skills. Connections really paid off in the end, and Raizou wasn’t above using everything he had to his advantage.

Hunting down an entire pirate crew on his own would be a challenge, but these were still East Blue nobodies, and he was still trained well enough to pass for a New World pirate. Especially now that he had Soru down to almost perfection, with Rankyaku finally starting to work on some of his attempts.

Just to be a bastard about his undertaking, he resolved himself to use only his fists and Rokushiki, keeping his swords, pistol, Haki and devil fruit as a last resort. Those scumbags had no idea what was in store for them.

When he made it into the Grey Terminal with only a small bag in tow, he could already see some of the preparations for the planned fire being placed. Well, first order of things would be to start some rumours or make one of the pirates admit to what was going on.

He stopped by for a drink in most of the bars on his way, glad that his lightning would burn out the alcohol faster than he could drink it, and told every bartender that he’d heard some noble asshole gloating about some plan that involved cleaning up the trash heap by burning it down. At least some of them were sure to catch on and warn some others, so that was part one done.

An opportunity for part two, catch a pirate and make a scene, was harder to come by. In the time he’d spent to plant his rumours, all of the pirates had retreated back to their hideout. Well, he’d be waiting around for the revolutionaries anyways, so he just resolved to pass the time until then by making a mess of said hideout.

The guards were the first he got to, and in a flash of movement they were both on the floor, necks snapped. It wasn’t the first lives Raizou had taken, and they wouldn’t be the last. Luffy might have his ideals about killing and that was fine, but Raizou had drawn his lines differently. Torturing kids, especially those he considered his, was an absolute no-go in his opinion.

Laughing at kids being tortured, purposefully killing others on the orders of nobles, not to even mention all the other vile shit that crew got up to in the terminal. None of them deserved another chance to hurt another of his brothers, or anyone else at that matter. None of them were getting out of this alive, not today.

They had messed with his family, and they were going to pay. It wouldn’t be pretty, not with the way his instincts were basically screaming at him.

It would be a fucking massacre, and he would be glad to be the one delivering it.

Raizou threw the makeshift door that had been guarded open with enough force to throw it halfway across the hideout.

The bustling noise that had been filling the space grew silent.

Without a word, Raizou moved. In a flash, he was on his next victim. Soru was really useful in terrifying normal humans, judging by the screams that started up as the first body hit the floor.

Well, not that he cared. No matter what they were asking of him, he wasn’t about to answer. There was no arguing with rabid animals, after all.

After Raizou was done with his second errand of the day, and after he’d changed out his bloodied clothes with the ones he’d brought with him for this exact reason, he was waiting close to the port of the terminal. His cloak he’d worn when robbing a marine base some time ago was on his shoulders, hood covering his head. Some time had passed, and it was now dark, with some time left before the fire would start.

The revolutionaries were here.

Raizou got up from his resting spot and headed toward the cloaked figures, ignoring all that weren’t who he wanted to talk to right now.

Facing the revolutionary leader, he stood right in his way. “I dealt with the ones that were supposed to start the fire. Don’t know if there’s a backup plan. I’ll still need a word, though.”

If Raizou wasn’t so attuned to people’s reactions with his voice of all things and Haki, he would have missed the surprise that went through Dragon.

“Talk.”

“You probably know I snuck into a marine base a while ago. Got some documents, if you want them. Free of charge for now, with maybe a favour in a few years.”

“What kind.” Man, this guy sure didn’t like to talk, huh?

“Depending on a few things, I’ll need you to pick up a recruit trained by me in a few years. And I’d like some intel on smaller slaving rings, give you a hand or two sometime. That’s all.”

“Why in a few years?”

“Kid deserves a childhood. No matter how well you do, an army’s not a place to grow up.”

“Fine. We’ll contact you to establish a line.”

Raizou grinned. “Great. Here you go, that’s the paperwork, have a nice one.”

Without another word from either of them, Raizou turned and left.

That had gone relatively well, all things considered. Dragon was a difficult person to get used to, especially when he didn’t trust you yet. But hey, Raizou had a soon-to-be contact with the revs and an in for Sabo, who’d decided he did want to give the revs a shot in the future.

Chapter Text

Raizou, like so many others, had his eyes more on the screen than the sea to watch out for the incoming pirates. His lightning was buzzing so closely under his skin that he really should have been glowing, but other than his severe expression he looked the same as ever. His nerves were getting to him.

The cloaked figure didn’t move, and for a moment it seemed like it was just an image being shown. Their face was fully shadowed, their cloak was slightly fluttering in what looked like a soft breeze, and finally, a small twitch of movement started off the next performance.

A voice came through the speakers. It was obvious that the audio had been tampered with to obscure the identity of the person, but it was clear enough that it was a man speaking.

“Now that the Fleet Commander has already had his chance to recount a tale, let me tell you another story, another series of lives.”

The entirety of Marineford was silent. None of the marines stationed on the soon-to-be battlefield knew what to do other than wait for the ones responsible to stop the broadcast.

“Almost eighty years ago, a girl from Wano was captured and then sold by slavers. Her name was Kiyoko, and she was just fifteen years old. She wasn’t from any clan or influential family, but from a simple farmer’s family, nothing could have drawn enough ire onto her to see her receive such a fate.

“The only thing that had led to her capture was that she was beautiful and had gotten unlucky enough to catch the eye of one of her captors. She was kidnapped, branded and chained, locked up like an animal. It took the ship she was kept on half a year to reach Sabaody Archipelago. Kiyoko was then sold on to an auction house, where she didn’t remain for long.”

A pause in the man’s story, as if he was preparing himself for the next part.

“At the age of just barely sixteen, Kiyoko was bought by a man she only ever referred to in her retellings as Saint Shepherd. Which member of the family exactly it was I do not know, but I do not believe that it makes a difference. What exactly she endured I can only imagine, as neither I, nor the ones who recounted her history to me, ever learned the entirety of it all. What I do know is that at the age of twenty-three, Kiyoko learned that she was pregnant. Even knowing that she was carrying the child of the man that had dehumanised and abused her, she still chose to risk everything she had on the future of her child.”

A collective breath went through almost all of the people present. The implications of what had been said was clear. This was the story of an escaped slave.

Sengoku was on his den-den again, shouting at someone on the other end of the line to “Finally get this clusterfuck back under control, goddammit!”, before running off towards the main building. The cloaked man didn’t pause for long this time.

“She had already ‘earned’ the reward of having her collar switched out for a cuff on her dominant hand by then, and she got lucky. Before the symptoms of her pregnancy could get noticed, Kiyoko was brought along on a trip to the very Archipelago that she had once been ferried to. At the cost of her right hand, she was able to escape. Of course, there were only so many places that would tolerate, let alone employ one like her. An escaped slave, pregnant and missing a hand, abused enough to leave lasting damage to her health.

“She found both help and work at a brothel in one of the groves, getting housed and fed in exchange for cleaning, washing clothes and bedsheets and staying out of sight. Shortly after she turned twenty-four, her child was born. A daughter, with the hair of her father and the looks of her mother. Her name was Asami.”

Nobody even moved when the fleet of pirate ships surfaced. It was a mixture of the battle having not started yet since nobody had made the first move, and the distraction doing its job. Not even the more aggressive marines – Akainu – were able to make a move yet, since the first attack would have to be made by the pirates to avoid a political disaster. The pirates, who had all been informed of the plan beforehand, knew not to interrupt this either. It was, after all, taking the focus off of Ace, the one they had all come to rescue.

“Asami grew up in that very same brothel. She was raised by her mother, with the help of the other residents. At ten years old, she started helping out at the bar at the front of the same establishment. After she’d turned twelve, Kiyoko begun telling her parts of her story, enough for her to truly understand the danger of her mother’s past. Not even two years later, Kiyoko passed from health complications due to the harsh treatment she had suffered during her seven years of enslavement. Asami never learned who exactly her father was.

“When she was in her early thirties, Asami met a sailor, one that she found a strong friendship in. They did sleep with each other almost every time the sailor made a stop at Sabaody, but nothing romantic ever developed between them. Over time, things continued this way without much change. After a few years, she made the acquaintance of another woman, one who had been saved by the very same crew her sailor belonged to. They became fast friends, and she told her own story as well as her mother’s to that friend and her sailor.

“Neither of them judged her for her blood, as it was clear to them that she had done nothing to deserve such scrutiny. Her father’s family did not even know of her existence, and Asami herself had no desire to change that. They remained her friends, became almost close enough to be called family. Nothing changed, because nothing had to.”

The cloaked man paused again, almost hesitant to continue. Raizou made sure that nobody was watching him all too closely and started moving towards the platform. Only the normal guards and Garp were left standing next to Ace, and both them and Garp wouldn’t be too much of a challenge to take out suddenly. Garp only because he would allow it, but that wouldn’t change the outcome.

“Twenty-eight years ago, that balance changed again. Asami seemed to fall ill, and it wasn’t long until she, just like her mother before her, discovered that she had accidentally become pregnant. There was only one man she had been with recently enough, and that was her sailor. Unlike her mother, she didn’t even have to consider if she wanted to keep her child or not. She informed both her friend of what was happening, and all she got was support.

“At first, the father was reluctant, but Asami fully intended to raise her child herself, with only sparse visits from her sailor. With that hesitance lifted, she carried her child to term. One night, in the heaviest thunderstorm that Sabaody Archipelago had seen in decades, her son was born. A child with the hair of his mother and the looks of his father. She gave him the name of his father’s family, well aware that it was dangerous, though at the time less so than her own father’s name that she carried in secret.

“Four months after giving birth to her son, Asami fell gravely ill. Giving birth at forty-three years old took its toll on her body, and she was weakened enough to fall victim to a cold that quickly developed into pneumonia. She did not live to see her son become five months old.

“When the news reached the sailor, he and his crew hurried to see Asami one last time. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by her best friend, holding a child in her arms and telling them that they had arrived too late. Upon thorough discussion with both his crew and Asami’s best friend, it was decided that the boy would be raised on the sailor’s ship.”

It looked like the man took a deep breath before going on, but no sound accompanied the motion.

“The boy was raised on that very same ship for five years, until the captain of the crew had to retire due to an incurable illness. The crew was dissolved and the boy that had been raised by the entire crew, along with the two other cabin boys of the ship, were left in the custody of the first mate and his wife. When the boy was seven, both of his brothers took off on their own adventures.

“At the age of twelve, the boy unlocked a dangerous ability and had to stay in hiding for three years. During his exile, he discovered and ate a devil fruit. He trained until he was wholly in control of his powers, then finally managed to return home. After his sixteenth birthday, the boy left the nest as well and sailed off to find his own adventures. Today, he is twenty-seven years old and carries the blood of both the descendant of a god and a wanted man.”

The man stopped briefly, and a faint headshake could be seen. Raizou had a minute left to get to where he needed to be next.

“And so, the story that I had to tell is almost over. I will spare you the details of the boy’s voyages, and I will instead come to the point that all of this has led up to. For you to understand, I must first clear something up.

“The sailor that was a dear friend to Asami, the sailor that had gone on to raise their child until his crew disbanded five years later, was a pirate. The child he fathered and raised, the child with dangerous blood, the child that had to stay hidden in plain sight, the child that was taken in by and lent the name of another of the crew, is me.”

Shocked exclamations went through the crowd. Only a handful of people, even among the pirates, had been told what was about to be revealed. Raizou adjusted his cloak’s hood and took out the den-den he had been carrying and prepared to take over live once the final sentence of the recording fell.

The voice filter was gone, and Raizou could hear his own voice clearly now.

“The name of that pirate, the name of my father, was Gol D. Roger.”

The outrage that exploded from all the present marines was loud. Loud and hectic enough that nobody noticed Raizou leaping up to the platform and immediately throwing both the guards down. Garp spared them one long look of resignation before raising his fists in a faked show of resistance but let Raizou easily kick him off to the far end of the cleared area.

Static flickered across the screen again, and it went back to a live view of the execution platform. Without a moment’s hesitation, he picked up the call to establish the connection for the audio.

“Now that we’re live again, I’m not quite done.”

The speed with which the outrage quieted down was impressive. Well, it saved Raizou some precious time at least. Through the silence, a loud shout from Akainu made it all the way to Raizou.

“Show yourself, you impertinent coward!”

Raizou couldn’t help but grin. “Well, Admiral Magmutt, if that is your demand, I shall answer.”

After another moment of silence, because Sabo definitely didn’t come by all those dramatics on his own, said little brother’s voice came through the speakers.

“Get on with it, you dramatic bastard! You’ve got the whole world on their toes right now!”

This time, the chuckle even made it through the connection. “Fine.”

“I am the only son of Shepherd Asami, the firstborn son of Gol D. Roger, and I have come to take my little brother back where he belongs. My name-“

The audience was quite loud yet again.

“SILENCE!!”

Raizou waited until even the slightest protests had quieted.

“My name is Gol D. Raizou, and I REFUSE TO BE CONDEMNED FOR THE IDENTITY OF MY FATHER!!”

Chapter Text

Sometimes, all it takes is a small spark.

Sometimes, a bolt of lightning is needed.

Sometimes, lightning needs to strike more than once.

On a stormy night, in a small apartment on Sabaody Archipelago, a child with a shock of silvery, almost white hair was born. Just as the mother was asked for a name, three roars of thunder rocked through the air.

“Raizou.” She smiled. “His name is Raizou.”

Gol D. Raizou was a peculiar child. He was too mature at times and showed a deeper understanding of the world than most kids his age. He started walking and talking much earlier than anyone could have predicted. He was three years old when he used Haki for the first time to dodge the hand of his godfather that always tried to ruffle his already unruly hair. The first time he witnessed his father cough up blood, he just smiled sadly, as if he understood what it meant.

His father taught him how to hold a sword, and he learned like he’d wielded one before. His uncle taught him how to hold a gun, and he hit four out of five targets on his first go. His brothers taught him how to roughhouse, and he grappled like he’d been doing it for years. His godfather explained to him how Haki worked and not a day later Raizou triumphantly held up a hand with a blackened patch of skin.

Raizou himself knew that something was off, knew that there was more to all of it than talent or genius, but he couldn’t tell what was missing from his puzzle. He’d always been that way, a little too fast on the uptake, a little too experienced at new things, a little too aware of his own Haki.

He was a little more than he should be, always.

No matter his oddities, the off-putting air that tended to surround children that acted much older than they were, the way that he was known to be intense, Raizou knew he was loved. He knew that his first mother loved him very much but had to go to the stars too soon. He was loved by his father and his new mother, just as he loved them both. He was loved by his godfather and all his uncles and aunts that belonged to his father’s crew. He was loved by his two brothers, even if they still denied that they were also his father’s sons.

All in all, Raizou was as happy as a child could be, growing up on the sea with a crew of rowdy pirates. He grew up learning how to sail, walked his first steps on a ship, felt more secure with waves under his feet. He knew how to fight without stumbling in a storm, he could dance along with the rough, swaying waves of the Grand Line.

He may have been born on an island, but he was a child of the sea forevermore. The firstborn son of the Pirate King, born to Shepherd Asami, born in the harshest storm of the decade.

Gol D. Raizou was a child of the sea, a son of the storm, and he grew up happy.

Until the day that his mother came to his father with the best news she could bring him, things remained that way. Then she told him that he would be a big brother, and his world began to shatter.

Raizou knew that his father would not let himself succumb to his illness, that he would go out in a blaze of glory, had always known this, but it still hurt.

He knew, understood, that it was for their safety, he did, but he was still a child, and he still wanted to know his father, didn’t want to have to remember him instead.

The crew reacted much the same when they were told, and it was obvious in the fluctuations of their Haki that nobody on the ship was ready for this. Nobody except Roger, that was. The Pirate King knew that he had just a few months left, had known he would die for years. He was ready to make his final stand, ready to meet Death on his own terms.

Gol D. Roger was ready to pave the way for the next generation.

The Oro Jackson made her last trip, and she was left at the final island, as a last piece of proof that they’d been here, had all bore witness to the end of a pirate’s journey. They sailed back on a borrowed vessel, leaving their ship, Raizou’s home, behind in a place he may not ever see again.

On the way back, they only stopped to resupply, never more than a few hours. One by one, the crew were dropped off at their chosen locations, saying their goodbyes to their family that they may never meet again.

In barely any time at all, they arrived at Sabaody Archipelago, their final stop. All that was left were Raizou, his mother, his brothers, and his godfather. They returned the borrowed ship, and Rayleigh introduced the boys to his partner, who owned a bar on the island. After one last night that they all cuddled together, Roger said his goodbyes.

He left his hat with Shanks, who hid his tears under the brim of it. He left Ace – his sabre – with Raizou, with a promise to learn to wield it like a true pirate. He left his sash with Buggy, who gripped it tightly, as if it might fade away. He threaded his wedding ring on a silver necklace and left it with Rouge, who slipped it on with the knowledge that this was the end. He left Rayleigh his journal, knowing that he would keep it safe.

He told them that he would make a deal with Monkey D. Garp, one of the few honourable marines there were. He said that he would name the man godfather of his unborn child if he could, to put them under his protection. He asked Rouge to go with the man for protection before the child was born, to make sure that nobody associated them both with him.

He asked them to name the child Ann or Ace, to tell them that no matter what, he would always love them. He asked Rayleigh to lend his firstborn son his name to protect him, to make sure that no marine broke the deal he would make for his family.

He bundled the boys up in one last firm hug, called them all his sons, and told them to live freely, no matter what. He kissed his wife for the last time, with all the love in his heart. He hugged his best friend and first mate and asked him to please take care of his boys.

His grin never faltered, and he didn’t apologise for what he was about to do. He stepped onto the merchant ship, hidden under his cloak, and left without another glance.

If it hadn’t been for the fluctuations in his Haki, all of them would have believed his act. But they felt it, Raizou felt it, and he knew that his father was grieving with them, was grieving the future that they would never get to have together.

Just a few days later, the dreaded newspaper arrived. Raizou’s father had been caught by Monkey D. Garp, now the legendary marine hero. His execution would take place in just two months.

A week after that, the newly named hero came to them in Shakky’s bar. He came to tell them that he would be taking Rouge with him, that he would make sure she was safe. Raizou hugged his mother, the only mother he had ever known, and told her that he would see her again. He didn’t know how he knew, but he knew that he wouldn’t.

Not two weeks after saying goodbye to his father, Raizou said goodbye to his mother.

Two months after his capture, Gol D. Roger was executed.

Raizou and his brothers snuck on a trade ship not long after the execution was announced, so they made it to Lougetown just the day before. They all knew that they had only made it there because Rayleigh let them, because this was something they had to do.

They knew that their captain, their father, had made a deal for all of the crew’s safety with the marines, so they felt safe enough with just cloaks and hoods to conceal them. They were on the plaza at sunrise, waiting as the crowd slowly but surely grew.

After a wait that may as well have been an eternity, the man that the entire world had been waiting for was walked up to the platform.

The Prate King’s crimes were read, a kind man with a dream and a drive was turned into a monster to the public.

His grin never faltered.

A viewer shouted out, asking after his treasure.

Roger’s grin grew even wider, and he shouted his infamous final words.

“My wealth and treasure? If you want it, you can have it! Search for it! I left everything I gathered in one place!”

And Raizou’s world imploded.

When he woke up two weeks later, back on Sabaody Archipelago, something was different.

Raizou remembered.

He remembered living another life, in a world so different from this one, yet so similar. He remembered being a student, a soldier, an engineer. He remembered having another name, living for twenty-four years before succumbing to an incurable illness.

He remembered reading and watching this world’s story play out, one tragedy after the other.

No matter how confusing it may have seemed, he was who he had always been. It was just that he remembered now, what he had forgotten before. He had found the final piece to his puzzle, and he had found a goal.

He had been someone else, now he was Raizou. He was an anomaly in this story, and he would fight tooth and nail to protect his little brother from the world. He would protect those precious to him, those important to this world, if it was the last thing he did.

Raizou was who he had always been, yet he was so much more. He knew what he had to do.

After waking up and remembering what he had forgotten after being reborn – that sentence would take a while yet to get used to – Raizou trained. He bothered his godfather and brothers for days until they gave in and agreed to train him.

He continued to learn how to wield a sword, to someday be able to wield his father’s sabre. He practised his shooting, not wanting to be reliant on close combat. He trained his hand to hand, not wanting to be reliant on weapons. He experimented with his Haki, wanting to be aware of his limits.

He knew now why he had always been so sensitive to his own Haki. It was a foreign feeling to him, like a new limb, after 24 years without it. Being so aware of his own energy made precision easier but force harder. Too much observation was overwhelming, too much armament felt like it was burning him.

Maybe that was just because Haki wasn’t supposed to be active in such a young body, especially the Haki of a soldier with now almost thirty years of life experience, but still. It was a major pain.

Raizou had the exact opposite problem that everyone faced when learning to use Haki. He had the precision, knew how to get the effects he wanted, even had the necessary power to pull it off. But it hurt him, he had too little tolerance for his own power. He had to restrain himself strictly, had to slowly train his capacity to a point where he could reliably use his own strength.

For fifteen months, they fell into a comfortable routine. They trained, they ate, they slept, they helped Ray and Shakky to run the bar. It was comfortable, it was reliable, it was what they needed to begin to heal.

Until Garp came. With a small package in hand and a frown on his face, the marine hero stepped into the bar once more. He was ushered to a back room by Rayleigh and Raizou listened in, hoping not to confirm what he knew had happened.

“Rouge is dead. She kept the child in her for far longer than she should have, and she died just after naming him. I will be taking Ace with me, hiding him in a safe place. I am here to deliver this to you, and to ask you to stay away from the boy for his safety. I’m sorry to bring you these news, but it is what has to be done.”

Without another word, the marine left the bar behind for good.

That same day, Rayleigh handed Raizou a necklace he recognised. A simple silver chain with two gold rings on it. It was wrapped in another of Roger’s sashes, the same one he’d gifted to Rouge some years ago.

Raizou was seven years old, and he was an orphan, with no way to contact his baby brother.

Raizou was seven years old, and just weeks after they’d heard of Rouge’s death, both Shanks and Buggy set off to make their own way, leaving with a promise to come by every now and then.

Chapter Text

After stepping off the ship he’d spent the night on and saying his temporary goodbyes to Shanks and his crew, as well as a disappointed Luffy, Raizou shouldered his bag and started the trek towards the mountain he would find his little brother on. He was prepared with copies of the few pictures he had kept, as well as something that he was sure Ace would appreciate. Rouge’s wedding ring, on a brand-new silver chain, matching the one he himself wore Roger’s ring on.

Stretching out his field of observation Haki, Raizou quickly pinpointed a gathering of presences, almost all the way up the mountain. Some distance away, there were two smaller ones, already moving about. Those were most likely who he was looking for.

The way up took some time, almost until noon, but wasn’t exhausting. Raizou was taking it easy and not hurrying too much, he had days, weeks even, to do what he wanted still. Even if something in him screamed at him to hurry, that it had been much too long already, he knew that those few minutes he’d gain wouldn’t make a difference anymore.

Soon enough, he was coming up on a small clearing with a treehouse, two boys sparring with each other. He leaned against one of the trees in full view and waited, content to just observe for now.

After a few more minutes, one of the boys, Sabo, finally noticed him. “Hey! Who are you and what do you want!”

“Name’s Raizou. I’m looking for a kid named Ace.” Raizou answered, short but calm.

Ace stepped forward, looking grim. “And what would you want with him, huh?”

Raizou decided to play along. “I’m looking for him cause he’s my half-brother. I was forbidden from looking for him but I’m finally old enough to set out on my own, so now I’m checking off the locations I think he could be at.”

“Why look for him now, you don’t even know him!” Ace looked conflicted underneath the shield of anger he hid behind.

“Because I’d like to know my brother. Because no kid deserves to grow up as alone as I think the man he was left with would leave him. Because I’ve already failed him for the last nine years. Because I need to know he’s doing alright, because I loved the kid from the moment I knew mom was pregnant.”

Both of the boys were stunned silent. After a bit, Ace found his voice again and, in a shaky tone, asked his age-old question. “What would you say if the Pirate King had a son?”

Raizou smiled. “I’d find the kid and hug the shit out of my little brother.”

Ace and Sabo looked at him wide-eyed. “You…”

“I think I should re-introduce myself, yes? I go by Silvers Raizou, so I won’t be hunted by those propaganda-spewing fools that made my loving father into the devil incarnate, but my real name is Gol D. Raizou. Nice to meet you two.”

Ace, with tears glistening in his eyes, turned around and stomped off. Sabo looked conflicted on what to do. Ace’s presence was still near, listening in on the two still left in the clearing.

“Go after him. He seems like he needs someone familiar right now, not someone that just turned his worldview upside-down. I’ll catch some food and wait here, and if you two want me to leave, I’ll leave. I won’t force myself into his life, but I won’t leave unless he tells me he wants me to and means it.”

Hunting on Dawn Island turned out to be far easier than hunting on the island Raizou had spent years training at, so getting enough food for two D’s and a child that could somewhat match them wasn’t a problem for him. Cooking all the meat took a while, but it was so ingrained in him that he could spend his time thinking.

Or, as he actually did, sensing. He kept his range up far enough to keep the two kids under his observation, not that they knew it. He could feel the storm of emotions that was going on in one of the two signatures, and the helplessness the other felt.

Sometime later, almost in the evening, the two made their way back to their treehouse. As soon as they got into a range where they could smell the food that Raizou had made, their tempo increased.

Just as the two broke into the clearing and eyed the stack of food, Raizou called out. “You can have all that, I already had my share!”

At the weary, suspicious looks both of them gave him, he put his hands up as he stood from his resting spot. “I haven’t messed with it, and I’ll leave you be until you actually come to talk. I’m going to head somewhere to sleep now, I’ll be back tomorrow. See ya!”

And he turned and ran left. He now knew he wasn’t ready, but he would have to be, no matter what tomorrow would bring.

The next day came without fanfare. After convincing (read: threatening) the mountain bandits into sheltering him for a while, Raizou had had a fitful sleep, yet again. Still, he had something to do.

A quick hunt for a boar later, he was walking towards the treehouse again. His prey was thrown over his shoulder, and he was trying not to stall by catching more. He was nervous as to how his brother would react to him now that he’d had some time to think, but there was only one way to find out.

At his destination, Ace was already waiting for him with crossed arms.

“Why didn’t you come here earlier?”

“I came as soon as I was able to both sail on my own and visit without putting both of us in danger. I know it’s not an excuse, but it’s the reason.”

“Explain.”

“I was raised on dad’s ship until I was five years old. My existence is known to the marines and the only reason I haven’t been killed for carrying his blood is that Silvers Rayleigh, his first mate, is pretending to be my father. You aren’t known to the world, and thanks to mom pulling off something impossible, you’re too young to be considered as a potential child of his. Not even the remnants of our family were told where you were or where mom was hiding while she was pregnant. For all anyone knows, you’re just Garp’s grandkid.”

Raizou paused for a moment, looking if his brother was following what he was saying.

“Now, the reasons, with more context. One, I am sixteen years old now. Just barely old enough to sail around on my own, any younger and old man Ray would have dragged me back in a day. Two, people like dad’s old crew get noticed. Rayleigh and the other adults still get recognised for their old bounties even though most of them are retired by now. Bringing that attention here would have brought focus on this island and could have led to you being discovered and taken or killed. Three, even though I am known as Silvers Raizou, only very few marines know what I actually look like now.”

“All in all, I was looking for you since the moment I was able to. I hope you can forgive me for taking so long to finally meet you, and I beg you to let me be part of your family once we get to know each other.”

Ace looked like he was going to cry. Seemed like the fact that he had family that wanted him was starting to sink in. “Anything else?”

There would be no better moment for this, Raizou knew. He pulled off one of the chains from his neck and palmed it for what would likely be the last time.

“I have mom and dad’s wedding rings, and I would like you to have mom’s. If you want it.”

Ace, obviously not trusting his voice, held out his hand. Raizou gave it to him, without a moment’s hesitation. He may want to keep a reminder of his mom, but Ace definitely needed it more right now. As soon as the necklace was in the boy’s hand, it was being put over his own head, shoulders starting to tremble.

After some silence, Raizou had one last thing to add. “I’m staying, for at least another few weeks. I won’t be able to be around all the time, but I swear on my life that I’ll be here at least two months a year. If you want me to, I’ll tell you about them. If you don’t want to hear about them, we can talk about anything else. I want to be here for you, if you’ll let me.”

Ace was now rubbing his eyes, trying to will his tears away. “Why? Why do all that for me?”

Raizou felt his heart melt. He’d known before that he’d go to unknown lengths for his little brother, but this just solidified it. “Oh kiddo. Because you deserve good things. Because I think you deserve the world, and I want to do my best to give it to you. Because I want you to be able to live, with all the joys that come with life. Because you’re my little brother, and I’ve loved you since the moment I knew you would be born.”

The kid was shaking now, still trying to hide that he was tearing up. Raizou decided to give him an excuse and held out a handkerchief. “Seasonal allergies, huh? Here, you can keep this if you want.”

The offered item was ripped from his hand and Ace was furiously wiping at his face. Raizou took this chance to give his brother some space again. He walked over to the campfire he’d built yesterday and started stacking new wood into it. “I’ll cook this up for breakfast, should be enough for us three, and you can do as you like until it’s done, yeah? If you want or need anything, you know where to find me.”

Then he ignited the fire with a controlled zap, and all of a sudden all the emotions on his little brother’s face were replaced with wonder. “How’d you do that?”

Raizou grinned. “I ate a Devil Fruit, and it gave me lightning powers! Wanna see?”

“Hell yeah! Can you fight with that? Can you hit people with lightning? Are you strong?”

“Okay, one by one. Yeah I can fight with it, I can kind of hit people with lightning if it counts that it comes from me and not the sky, and yes, I’d like to think that I’m strong, at least compared to people here.”

“Show me!”

“Yeah, show us!” Ah, Sabo had come out of the treehouse as well now.

“No problem but keep some distance so I don’t accidentally hit you, please.”

With those words, Raizou summoned a cloak of lightning to surround his body. Then focussed it into his hands and pulled them apart so the lightning would arc in between them. After he pulled all of the electricity currently coursing over him into just his right hand, he drew his sword Ace – seriously, did his dad really have to name his brother after his sword? – and hovered his right hand across it to coat it in the lightning he’d been holding. With a slash skywards, he expelled the energy into the air and let it diffuse before it alerted someone.

Turning back to the two boys that had sparkles in their eyes, he took a deep bow as he sheathed his sword again. “Hope that was demonstrative enough.”

Following his admittedly impressive display, the two boys had wasted no time to talk him into training the both of them. Raizou had of course played around with the possibility of this happening eventually, but he hadn’t dared to hope for it so soon. With the two months he had planned on staying before setting out again, much would be achieved.

Especially in the healing department, it seemed. After Ace had gotten over the shock that he was wanted – just thinking about that made Raizou want to punch Garp – things had progressed smoothly between them. They’d exchanges stories on how they’d grown up or still were growing up in Ace and Sabo’s cases, and Raizou had made it a tradition to tell a story about either Roger or Rouge every evening.

Outwardly, there wasn’t much of a difference to how Ace had seemed before, but his signature felt lighter, in a way. He was still just as standoffish as he’d been before, still as headstrong, but it felt like something had finally clicked into place for him. Raizou knew that this recovery wouldn’t be linear, that there would of course be setbacks, but that didn’t stop him from delighting in the new lightness to his brother’s smile.

Something that had also changed a few days into Raizou’s stay was the way that the bandits treated the kids. The first time he’d heard one of them cussing out his brother in front of him, he’d had to hold himself back from just outright beating the man halfway to death. With a liberal application of Conqueror’s Haki and some destruction of nearby trees, the message had come across, though.

No one messed with his family, especially not right in front of him.

Speaking of, Raizou had also made his way into High Town one single time. He’d nabbed a den-den for the kids, a bunch of wallets from the residents, and some really good food from a restaurant that was stupid enough to put some tables outside where anyone could just run off. When he’d come back and promised his brother to pick up his calls no matter what, the kid had hidden his tears once again.

Now though, two months later, the sea was calling him again. Raizou had decided the day he woke up and remembered that he would be as free was he could, and now it was time to set sail again. It had a lot to do with the fact that Garp would be coming to Dawn again soon, but mostly it was just the fact that Raizou had spent far too long on a single island again.

He’d always been restless after staying at one place for some time, and not even the presence of his brother could change that.

“I’ll be back. I promise you, I’ll come back to see you. And I’ll stay again, for at least a few weeks. But right now, the sea is calling me.”

“Then take us with you!” Ace was crying openly, shouting at his brother while he was packing up the last of his things.

“I can’t right now. I’m too weak to protect you from everything out there, not to mention that Garp would hunt me down for taking you. I’ll bring you back something from every place I visit, and I’ll call at least every three days, but I can’t take you with me.”

“I don’t need to be protected!”

Raizou was stunned for a second. Then he got angry. Angry at the world, at himself, at Garp, at everyone that’d had a hand in his little brother’s disregard for his own safety and wellbeing.

“Of course you need to be protected, dumbass! I want you to be happy and healthy, and you won’t be that if I let you get hurt because I’m too weak to keep you safe! Do you have any idea how I would feel if you got hurt while I was the one responsible for preventing it? I’m not leaving you here because I want to, I’m doing it because I have to! I can’t stay here with Garp coming, and you can’t come with me yet, so I’m leaving and then coming back! Get it into your head that you matter, too! Heading out into the world right now would most likely end in your death, and I can’t handle that, especially not having that fault on my own shoulders! You matter to me Ace, don’t just disregard that at the first opportunity!”

Then, finally done with the tirade that Ace’s words had triggered, Raizou pulled his brother into a tight hug. “I love you and I don’t want to lose you. Please, remember that. I’ll say it as many times as you need, so please don’t think I’m leaving you behind. I’ll be back before you know it, and I’ll have new stories for you.”

Ace sobbed into his shoulder. With a muffled voice, he asked the damning question. “But what if you forget, or what if you decide that I’m not worth it anymore?”

“I won’t.”

“You can’t know that!”

“What if I leave something with you, then? Something you know I’ll come back for. Then I’ll come back no matter what, and even if I decide something stupid, you can just show me it to remind me why I’m back here.”

“How would you know then?”

“I’ll leave you a very special feather. I’m the only one who knows how to get them, and I’ve only ever given ones to people I consider family. You can put it into your hair or on a necklace or on a hat, and I’ll always know that you’re important. Sound good?”

Raizou could feel Ace nod. “Yeah.”, came the still muffled reply.

With some digging behind his back, Raizou got out a feather. Black with a green sheen to it, obviously not belonging to any bird most people had ever seen. “Here you go. Want me to carry you down so you can see me off?”

Another nod.

“Alright. Come on, you’ll finally get to see my lady!”

Chapter Text

Chaos. The silence that Raizou had commanded fell into a roar of outrage. He didn’t know what exactly the marines must have been feeling now, but they sure were loud about it.

In the wake of the successfully distracted forces, the Whitebeard Pirates took to the field. Raizou used the short time he was alone with Ace on the platform to pull out the keys from his pocket. Ace’s cuffs hadn’t been switched from the transfer ones, and Raizou found the right key fast enough.

Raizou freed Ace and hauled him to his feet, then pulled him right into a hug. Before any protest could be uttered, Raizou spoke.

“You have no idea how glad I am that you’re still alive for me to save. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Sengoku’s presence was approaching fast, and his fury was a bright flare in Raizou’s senses. He reluctantly let Ace out of the hug but didn’t fully let him go. It was obvious enough that his little brother was by far not in the best shape, and they needed to be fast.

The first plan was to get Ace out per Soru and Geppo. Raizou had him on the Moby’s deck to be looked over by the doctors on standby within seconds. He covered him with his cloak to at least help with the shivering that could have originated from a myriad of reasons.

Ace tried to protest, but the nurses had his attitude well in hand. His little brother was in no shape for a battle right now, no matter how badly he wanted to be.

Well, the rescue was most of the way to being a success. Now, it was time to show the marines just how far they had overreached.

For the memory that would never leave his mind, no matter if it had happened in this timeline or not, Akainu and Blackbeard were going down.

Raizou took to the battlefield. The whitebeard commanders were caught up dealing with the Warlords and Vice-Admirals that had been stationed right at the front, as were most of his own crew. He dove further in and only came down from his skywalk when he was in front of the Admirals.

Kizaru was already engaged in a hectic back-and-forth with Marco, so Aokiji and Akainu were rushing through the masses to get in on the action. Raizou ignored Aokiji for now and delivered a spike-assisted kick right into the magma users face.

His kick was blocked with an arm, and Raizou focussed his observation Haki on the man in front of him. He was coming at Raizou with a fury and semi-coherent insults, without care for their surroundings.

Great, now Raizou also had to make sure that the foot soldiers around them weren’t being taken down by their stray shots.

Akainu almost screeched, as much as it was possible with his voice anyway. “YOU! I will take you down, MONSTER!!” Well, at least he didn’t have to worry about keeping the man’s attention on himself.

Instead of going for his sword, Raizou kept to his kicks and punches for now. His sword fighting relied on Haki a lot more than his devil fruit when fighting logia users, and he needed to last long enough to get out of today alive. His stamina with his fruit was a lot better than with his Haki, a drawback from his intense training with only one of the two. He really needed to correct that sometime soon.

Lightning and minimal Haki use meant that he was fighting Akainu on relatively equal grounds. The small marine presence in the New World was mostly due to the few proper Haki users in their forces, and it showed enough that even one of their strongest barely had the basics of it down himself.

Raizou’s attacks weren’t being repelled by armament, and only few of his hits were dodged with the race that came with observation. Even though he was almost a hundred percent sure that Akainu didn’t have conqueror’s, he didn’t want to jinx himself.

The main advantage that he had right now was his speed, and his higher mobility overall. The six powers, or at least the three of them that he was capable of, gave him much-needed options to move out of the way and strike from above, and with Rankyaku his kicks hit that little bit harder that he needed to damage the tank of a man he was fighting.

Raizou cursed himself. For all the training he’d thrown himself into, nothing worked as well as actual battle to grow strength. He had given his crew the time to grow stronger before throwing them into the chaos that was the New World, and now the few serious fights he’d had in Paradise were really starting to show.

He had a feeling that he would have to stop holding back on his Devil fruit abilities soon enough, but he really didn’t want an even bigger target on himself than he’d already put there not even an hour ago.

His clash with Akainu was by far the most destructive one going on right now, and luckily the small fry around them had gotten the memo to get the fuck out of the way by now.

Another magma fist came flying at him, and the splatters that went in his direction even after blocking it burned him faster than he could pull up his armament further. The bandages on his upper arm that he had all but forgotten about burned, and he tore them off. Concealing his arm really didn’t matter anymore, now.

The tattoo that was unveiled would have garnered at least some measure of shock from most of the marines on the field, but Akainu almost didn’t stop, and then he only got more furious.

Well, seeing as it was the jolly roger of the Roger Pirates now visible right under the jagged scar that encircled Raizou’s left arm, what else could he have expected from the rabid man that detested everything to do with Gol D. Roger.

With renewed rage, Akainu let his entire form shift to magma. Raizou swiftly created distance with a rushed Soru, just in time to hear the man scream his frustrations.

“Stay still, pirate scum! Your bloodline is a curse upon this world, and I will make sure to ERADICATE IT!!”

Raizou couldn’t help but respond in kind. “I am not my father, so why don’t you judge me by my own sins instead, Admiral MAGMUTT!?”

Too enraptured by his own wrath, Akainu lost the words in his shouts and resorted back to exaggeratedly loud shouts accompanying his attacks.

To keep up with the even harder hits, Raizou let his hold on his lightning go a little more, making it rise to the surface and covering his hands and feet entirely. His speed improved enough to dodge most of what the admiral threw at him, and he stopped using Rankyaku to instead bring down his lighting covered boots fully.

This was a battle of attrition, and Raizou needed to still be able to keep on fighting after taking his opponent down, so he couldn’t afford to use more than what he was.

With the admiral now fully transformed into magma came quite a few problems. Raizu had to use Haki, even if just a little, to actually land hits. Stone, and therefore magma as well, were shit at conducting electricity, so similarly to Luffy and Enel’s fight, he wasn’t achieving much without Haki. The same way, normal hits didn’t mean dogshit against logia users, so Haki it was.

His lightning was as much a part of himself as any other bodypart, so with his use of armament, the green bolts turned almost entirely black. His hits now did damage again, but he could feel his Haki draining faster than he could afford it to. This had to end, and if he wanted to be able to take Teach down as well, it had to end quick.

By now, his instincts were screaming to let loose, and he was seriously considering it if something didn’t turn the scales in his favour soon enough.

As Raizou was just about to create some distance again, he felt a presence swooping into the little area he had focused his observation on.

Marco came down transformed into his halfway state just in time to drive his talons into Akainu’s side. Seemed like Kizaru was either down or being dealt with by someone else, and Raizou was glad for the assistance.

Raizou rushed back in, glad that he and Marco knew how to fight alongside each other. He switched back to a more aerial approach again, and with two opponents coming down from above and below interchangeably, Akainu was starting to be pushed back.

Marco, the little shit that he was, just had to start with his quips. As Raizou was close enough for a moment, he pulled out a casual tone that almost didn’t betray how focused he was on the fight. “Long time no see-yoi.”

Another few kicks later, the both of them were close enough for Raizou to respond, in a similar tone. “Long time no see indeed, Marco.”

Before another word could be said, Raizou shot back to try and sweep Akainu’s feet out from under him. it didn’t work, but it made him stumble just enough for Marco to land a good kick, and his talons shredded his target of the man’s shoulder. Not enough to fully take out the arm attached, but more than enough to make half of Akainu’s punches considerably weaker.

Instead of looking for another chance to pretend to be all casual, Marco raised his volume enough to be heard even over the commotion that was all of Marineford around them.

“I see you’re still good to kick ass-yoi!”

Raizou couldn’t help but grin. He liked Marco, he really did, and his occasional sass was one of the main reasons for it.

“I see you’re still good in the air! Thanks for swooping in, by the way! You wanna do the thing we did that one time?”

Marco grinned back at him, as much as he could while they were both fighting the same guy.

“You got my back-yoi?”

“As long as you have mine!”

Just like that, Raizou grabbed on to Marco’s wing and whirled him straight up as hard as he could. Akainu didn’t look up, he was much too busy with the sudden barrage of punches and kicks suddenly being aimed at his face exclusively by Raizou.

Raizou himself kept close attention on Marco with his Haki, and just in time he deviated from the pattern of hits to the face he had set and hooked one of his spiked feet behind one of Akainu’s knees. It was a cheap shot, but it made the admiral stumble backwards enough for Marco to hit his face with the force of a full dive from however far up Raizou had thrown him.

Marco kept his grip on Akainu’s face and managed to make him stumble even more, and with the man’s hands going up to attempt to get his head free, Raizou delivered a barrage of fast kicks against the same knee that he had already yanked out from under the man.

It was a dirty tactic, but what else was to be expected from pirates, really?

With Akainu’s scream of pain at his sadly not quite shattered knee, Marco let go of his face and got back in the air for a moment.

Raizou took his own distance just in time for an eruption of magma to start, and he quickly tore off his now burning shirt. At least his other clothes – and accessories – were more or less fireproof.

He was really glad now that he and Marco worked so well in tandem, but that was a given for how long they’d known each other. Especially since he and the Whitebeards had been allied for quite a while now.

Even so, this needed to end, soon.

Chapter Text

Raizou’s crew were nervous. This wasn’t the first time he was taking them to meet Whitebeard on the Moby Dick, but the news that had triggered this visit were making them worry.

Ace had joined the Whitebeard pirates. Raizou’s little brother now had a new man to call father, and their captain had shown no visible response yet. Either he was waiting for something, still processing, absolutely furious, or a mixture of any of said options.

All in all, they were dreading a very possible confrontation between their captain and the emperor.

At least, that was what Raizou assumed they were thinking, based off their attitudes as they pulled up next to the bigger ship. They hadn’t yet seen the extra barrels of sake he’d snuck onto the Lightning Strike for this very occasion.

In one swift move, he used Geppo to jump up onto the yard of one of their sails, just high up enough to be on the same level as the main deck of the Moby.

In a booming voice, loud enough to be heard by everyone on both decks, he made his first move. “Permission to board?”

Whitebeard’s laugh answered him. “Gurararara! Come aboard brat!”

Without wasting a moment, Raizou jumped over. Borrowing a page from Shanks’s book, he let out a burst of Haki, tough he left it at an intensity that wouldn’t knock out the less experienced crew members.

“Good to see you, old man! I’ve heard you’ve picked someone up recently!”

The tension rose. Raizou could feel his own crew growing more and more nervous by the second.

When he couldn’t keep up the ruse any longer, Raizou had to laugh as well. “Kahahaha, so, where is that little firecracker?”

With those words, he finally dropped the pressure. He could feel Ace in the crowd that had formed on deck, still anxious enough to try and hide. Well, time to embarrass his little brother, Raizou supposed.

“Ace! Get over here or I’ll start with the sentimental stories!”

That seemed to have worked to alleviate the kid’s worries, because the next moment, Ace was pushing through the masses. Raizou went towards him and pulled him into a hug as soon as he could reach.

“You’re not mad?” came in a whisper, quiet enough to be heard by only him.

“Mad that you’ve found a place to belong? Never. Mad that you didn’t think to give me a call and instead let me find out through your wanted poster? A little. But don’t worry, I’m not here to chew you out.”

They pulled apart, and Raizou bellowed out the real reason for his visit.

“Newgate! You’ve taken my little brother, so you know what this calls for!”

Whitebeard just laughed again. “Gurarararara!”

“It’s time for a party!”

Both crews erupted in cheers.

Not long after, the deck of the Moby was bustling with activity once more. There were shanties being bellowed out, entirely out of tune, there were tables of card games and bags of berries switching hands, there was a giant buffet that was being almost constantly restocked.

The crews were intermingling nicely, as well.

The barrels of sake that Raizou had brought up after the initial exclamation of a party being held were already over halfway empty, and it wasn’t even dusk yet.

It was a sight to see, truly.

Skarlex and Namu were chatting away with Namur, the commander of the eighth division. Raizou would bet that Namu was begging both the fishmen for stories of Fishman Island again.

Jay and Alexandria were bothering Izou about the kimono he was wearing. Chances were that both of them would be hunting down his supplier soon enough.

Black had corralled Mererid and five whitebeards into smoking with him. Excepting Mererid who was already used to Black’s very own strand, every single one of those poor bastards were in for a surprise.

Beck, Brad and Slate were locked in a drinking contest with most of the other commanders, including Ace, and it currently looked like Slate was winning, as usual. Seas only knew how that man managed to outdrink men thrice his size on the regular.

Zascha was happily refereeing a sharpshooting contest between Shadow and some poor fool that was about to lose all the money he had bet, with a look of glee on their face. There was probably some shiny jewellery involved in the bet too, then.

Sunny and Maia were at the buffet distracting Thatch, and from their expressions alone, Raizou could tell that Maia was ribbing his cook about his inability to mix drinks, yet again.

Finn had disappeared in the direction of the infirmary, no doubt to ask the nurses if they had any medical books they would part with.

Over by the railing, out of the noise, Raizou couldn’t help but smile. It was rowdy, loud and disorganised. It was a moment of freedom, so similar to the times back on the Oro.

A voice jolted him out of his reminiscing.

“Still not one for parties-yoi?”

Raizou sighed and swirled the remnants of his drink around in his bottle. "Drinking is useless with me, anyway, don't wanna waste any more of the sake."

Now Marco looked intrigued. "What do you mean by useless-yoi?"

"It's a… thing with my devil fruit." Raizou offered, not willing to divulge more than that.

"Really-yoi?" Came the sceptical response.

"Same reason you don't look like you're a day over 22 even though I know you’re what, 41? It’s not a coincidence I looked for and brought Jay into my crew, ya know."

He was most definitely oversharing, but he knew the burden that Marco had to have been feeling for almost twenty years now. If he could make sure the other knew that he wasn’t as alone as he had thought, that would be his good deed for the month.

"Thanks for the compliment, but how in the hell do you even know about that-yoi?"

"You're a damn phoenix, you're interesting enough to look into."

"Fair point-yoi."

A comfortable silence passed between them, until Marco spoke up again.

"So, which fruit have you really got-yoi?"

"Go read my damn bounty poster or something." Was Raizou’s response, grumbled into his bottle.

"That thing doesn't even have your real name on it-yoi." Seemed like all the secrecy was getting to the man more than he was willing to admit.

Raizou felt a small grin form on his face. "Caught on to that, did you?"

"So, you gonna answer my question-yoi?" Oooh, someone was getting impatient.

"Not in a mood to get hunted by the world government any time soon, thank you." Delivered with a growing smile and jolly demeanour, the hard truth.

"Fine, if you don't want to spill just say so-yoi."

Raizou let the easy-going attitude slip off. "I’m being serious. They've been looking for my fruit for 800 years. It’s not even in the encyclopaedias because they don’t know what it looks like and don’t want to spread word it even exists, there’s only accounts of two previous users, the second of which was hunted down and erased within a year of revealing themselves. I’m keeping this as close to the chest as possible until I’ve got a damn good reason not to."

Marco looked startled. It wasn’t often that something managed to catch him this off-guard, but it was still in the realm of the possible.

"New topic?" Raizou offered.

"New topic-yoi." Marco accepted.

Raizou thought for a moment, then an idea hit him. “Wanna spar for a bit tomorrow? It’s been a while.”

The flat look Marco levelled at him was one for the books. He did not think anyone could match Shakky on that front, but here they were. Must have come from dealing with drunk idiots all the time. “There isn’t an island anywhere close enough. We’re not wrecking a ship-yoi.”

“I’m confident in my ability to stay in the air.”

“I’m not catching you if you fall-yoi.”

On the one-year anniversary of Ace’s acceptance into Whitebeard’s crew, Raizou was once again visiting. He’d left his crew behind on his island and taken the Flash to visit his brother, and for a good reason.

He’d been waiting for a good excuse to throw Eddie into some proper training ever since the teenager had joined his crew, and now that Brad had eaten a Devil fruit and needed to train in secret was the perfect chance.

He knew that Skarlex would put the entire crew through their paces until he got back, so he wasn’t in a big hurry.

He was busy catching up with Ace and some of the crew, Whitebeard was currently getting a checkup below deck, and someone asked why he’d left his crew behind this time, especially when there would be a party.

Raizou just laughed. “One of mine ate a Devil Fruit, and I took the opportunity to order training. They can always use it, and I’ve got a new one that I haven’t gotten up to standard yet. Business as usual, in a way.”

For a few years now it had been a well-known fact that the Thunderstorm Pirates were a crew of close-knit powerhouses, each and every one with their own specialisation. Not necessarily all heavy hitters in the purest sense, but every one of them could and would hold their own, Raizou had made sure of that. Ever since that brutal reminder that one powerful fighter was not enough, he’d made sure none of his crew would become a liability in battle.

He was strong, but he could only reasonably fight so many enemies on his own, especially while watching out for others. So his crew had to be able to somewhat match him.

“Oh? Care to share what kind of fruit?” That fucker Teach, always poking his nose where it did not belong.

Well, Raizou’s search had finally yielded its results, and it was the reason he was here on his own after all. “Ah, a logia type.”

Now, of course, Ace was curious. “Really? What element? Do they need tips? There isn’t a lot of logias around, so just gimme a call if you want, yeah?” Curious and very much ready to be the teacher instead of student for once, it seemed.

Raizou almost played it safe, then he remembered that he really didn’t care. He wouldn’t get caught off-guard like his older brother had been, he was well aware of the destruction Teach could wreak.

“It’s darkness. The Yami Yami no Mi, it’s called. It’s a bit weird for a logia, but Devil Fruits are mostly instinctual, anyway. Thanks for the offer though, I’ll make sure to pass it on.”

He had been waiting for the strike, and his Haki flared to life as a bullet was fired directly at his heart. He didn’t think it would be a seastone bullet, so he just moved slightly to let it hit the right side of his chest instead and let the area turn to lightning. When the bullet actually hit and didn’t pass through, he knew he had miscalculated.

Teach stood behind him, smoking gun in his hand, and everything was silent.

Even with his chest a bleeding mess and a bullet in his lungs, Raizou turned to the man who had just shot him in front of a ton of witnesses. “You better fucking run if you value your life. I don’t care if the old man still wants you alive once the news get to him, once I get this bullet out of me your days are numbered.”

Teach fucking bolted, and Raizou collapsed. The seastone was draining him and the rapid bloodloss was not helping things, there wasn’t much else he could do right now. The pirates around him were panicking, and no one was doing anything productive.

“Someone get this damn thing out of me, I’ll be fine.” Raizou wheezed, a trail of blood spilling over his lips.

Damn him and his assumptions. One would think he of all people should know not to gamble with fate, especially concerning that conniving bastard. Hopefully he’d slip up so Raizou could get to him sooner rather than later.

Chapter Text

When the veritable fountain of lava that Akainu had let loose finally stopped, Raizou and Marco got right back to it. Most devil fruit users had an insanely quick recovery time, logia users especially so. Even if Akainu was likely still injured, most of his bleeding should have stopped by now.

As the back and forth continued, interspersed with lots of dirty shots from both sides, the exhaustion was starting to show in all three of them. Most of all in the marine admiral who by now had considerably slowed down, but both Raizou and Marco were by now thoroughly singed and only doing better because they were fighting two on one.

If there was one thing the marine training regimen was good for, it was insane stamina.

Still, Marco and Raizou were gaining the upper hand, bit by bit.

When another hard strike to Akainu’s already damaged leg finally brought him down to his knees, Raizou didn’t hesitate. He pushed more Haki than he had been using into the spikes on his boot and rammed them through the man’s jaw. The sharp almost-claws were long enough to ensure a kill shot. The sheer power behind his kick almost tore Akainu’s jaw off, but he pulled back once he was sure that his opponent was dead and gone.

Panting, Raizou stood across from Marco, both with severe expressions. Neither of them killed when they could avoid it, but this man really was better off dead to them.

After a moment of silence that they both used to regain their breath, Raizou grinned again, entirely feral. “Next Admiral? Aokiji’s still up, dunno what you did with Kizaru.”

Marco answered with a grin of his own. “Turns out Jozu’s an excellent counter to a light-based power-yoi. Turned into diamond and just reflected the bastard out of here at lightspeed-yoi.”

Raizou couldn’t help but laugh. “Brilliant. Aokiji it is. You with me?”

“As long as you can keep up-yoi.”

“You’re on.”

They both sped through the air, Marco with his wings and Raizou with his Skywalk, set on reaching the harbour where Aokiji had been wreaking havoc. By Raizou’s estimate, it was just about time for the Impel Down escapees to arrive.

And arrive they did, as spectacularly as expected. The stolen marine vessel crashed into the ice, and a flood of reinforcements came rushing out. Luffy was at the front of them, joined by Crocodile.

Jinbei and Rayleigh would hold the two back, so Raizou didn’t spare them another look. He went straight for Aokiji, Marco right beside him. “This one we should leave alive, I think! Even if he moves further up, there’s some reasoning to be had with him!”

Marco would have stopped in place had he not been flying through the air. “You managed to get blackmail on HIM-YOI?!”

Well, if there was one thing all of Raizou’s knowledge was good for, it was this. “You know me, right? I just know shit, and Slate’s good at what he does too!”

Marco’s mutter of “You damn maniac-yoi” was lost to the winds.

Marco started out their fight with the ice user by diving in on him. His approach was blocked, similarly to Raizou’s own first punch. It seemed that Aokiji’s calmer manner made for much more consistent observation Haki.

Right off the bat, Raizou covered his fists and boots in lightning again. Impure water, and therefore ice as well, made for a much better conductor than stone or lava did. Marco’s fire was much better served here as well, and it showed.

Sadly, Aokiji’s tutelage under Garp showed as well. His Haki was actually developed quite well, and Raizou could see traces of Garp’s style all throughout their clash. He was a much trickier opponent than Akainu had been, and this promised to be a more difficult fight.

Hopefully, their teamwork would make up for that.

Whereas their last fight had been more about endurance, this one was about speed. It didn’t matter how good Aokiji’s observation was if they came at him fast enough that he would need to choose which attack to take and which to dodge.

There was no blocking Raizou’s hits, not with how well Aokiji conducted electricity.

Raizou didn’t let up for even a second. He left it to Marco to create openings and divide the admiral’s attention, and instead did his best to keep up the barrage of lightning-reinforced attacks that sometimes did manage to hit.

There was one big problem.

They were fighting Aokiji on the ice. The entire field was his domain, and even though he was under constant attack, the both of them had to constantly make sure not to get impaled by the spikes that shot up from the ground around them constantly.

They either had to somehow get him off the ice, or they had to deal with him fast. At least the spikes weren’t reinforced by armament Haki, but they weren’t exactly logia users. As quickly as their wounds healed after being pierced, it still took a toll on them. Healing took precious stamina, stamina that they couldn’t afford to lose lest it slowed them down too much to land anymore hits.

And that just wouldn’t do. Raizou’s crew were scattered across the battlefield or giving ranged support from the Lightning Strike, so the only one close to them was Skarlex, who wouldn’t be able to do much with his water-based fishman kata. The whitebeard commanders had all fought their way further inland by now, so there was no help to be expected from that front either.

By now, some more marines were starting to close in. Marco and him had their hands full with the admiral they were fighting, and they really couldn’t afford to look out for other combatants around them.

Raizou’s instincts were screaming at him. He had to last until Blackbeard showed up, and then he would still have to wait for Shanks to arrive. He couldn’t afford to let this fight drain him to exhaustion.

There wasn’t really a choice to be had anymore. Raizou needed to keep going, no matter what.

He was going to put one of his last cards on the table. Publicly. Fuck.

Not stopping his assault on the ice user, he called out to Marco. “Hey Marco, remember that conversation we had during the party for Ace?”

It was a testament to their experience fighting in tandem that Marco’s short pause didn’t get either of them impaled by an icicle. “What, the one when you told me it wasn't time for you to tell me why alcohol doesn't work on you-yoi?"

Aokiji was obviously wary now, but it had zero effect on his ability to keep on fighting.

Raizou, dodging under a punch just to spring back up with a kick that actually hit his opponent in the chest, answered with a shout. “Bingo!”

Marco dove in from above with his talons, only to be dodged at the last moment. “Didn’t you say the answer would have you hunted-yoi?!”

If Raizou would have had the time to shrug, he’d have done it. As it was, he was occupied enough to let his accent slip. “Well, ’cept for Haki an’ shooting my stamina to hell, I’m outta cards to play! Seems like it’s time to show my hand, ain’t it?”

The response came at the same time as Raizou caught an ice spear through the side. “WHAT-YOI?!”

Raizou broke the ice off and tore it out of his body, and if the fight hadn’t been so hectic he would have looked to make sure that the wound shut properly. “Just outed myself as the firstborn of the Pirate King, hunting’s gonna happen either way!”

At this point, Marco would probably have shrugged as well. Instead, his talons found their target in Aokiji’s side, mirroring the hit Raizou had just taken. “Fair point-yoi. You sure about this?”

Raizou couldn’t help his grin. Now that he was about to let loose, his instincts stopped screaming and instead fell into harmony with him. "Don't worry about me! Just don't let the shock throw you off, I fight the same way no matter how I look!"

And Raizou let go of the hold on his devil fruit.

Almost instantly, the sky seemed darker, as if it was starting to cloud over. Rumbling thunder could be heard.

With a crack of thunder, Raizou was struck by a bolt of lightning that came out of the still clear skies. And he started changing. The hole through his side crackled with even more electricity than before, and all of his open wounds started to close rapidly, accompanied by the same distinct crackle of power.

Lightning enveloped his body, and the crackling at his shoulders finally peeled off his body to form wings. His feet transformed into sharp talons, making the claw-spikes on his boots seem like feeble mockeries of the original. His mohawk turned feathery, and he could hear the screeching and crackling of electricity all the more clearly. There were feathers along his arms that showed how they could and would turn into another pair of wings in a heartbeat, and the coat of lightning that had enveloped his hands and feet before spready thinly over his entire body.

The thunderbird was out for the first time in years, and Raizou’s instincts were singing.

With the speed that came along with his transformation, Raizou dove right back in. Aokiji was still reeling from the realisation that he was now fighting two mythical birds, and with the shock started to slow.

For a moment, Raizou took some distance and let Marco take advantage of the staggering admiral. He used Soru to make quick work of the marines that had by now come dangerously close, kicking and punching them back with enough electricity and force to stun them for a few minutes at the least. He probably overestimated a few of his hits, and for one kick he was pretty sure that he had felt some ribs crack, but right now he didn’t have the leeway to care about whether or not he had killed some foot soldier.

Back to assist Marco now that the field was cleared, Raizou flew up and angled his dive so that his talons would strike Aokiji in the back. The brunt of his assault was dodged, but with his new reach he still managed to claw up the white marine coat and rip it off.

Marco, now that they were back to handling their opponent together, let his own shock be heard. “RAIZOU WHAT THE FUCK-YOI?!”

Raizou laughed as he diverted a punch coming at him. "Fight now, ask later! At least we now match in both fighting style and looks, don't you think?"

Marco still wasn’t happy with the whole revelation, and it was audible in his voice. At least his frustration was being physically taken out on someone other than Raizou. "You better have trained in that form and aren't just showing off, jackass-yoi!"

Raizou almost winced at the ferocity that now tinted Marco’s kicks. "I developed my fighting style like this and then adapted it to work without, you pineapple!"

The improved speed and power behind Raizou’s hits, combined with Marco’s increased motivation, whether that be due to lifted morale or anger at Raizou, was really helping them out.

Now, almost every third, if not second, one of their attacks hit Aokiji, and they were slowly but surely managing to wear him down. Marco had gotten a really good hit in on his shoulders, and Raizou’s electrically charged hits were starting to add up. The ice user must have been mostly numb in his limbs by now, and the slight shaking that now accompanied his movements were a good sign that he was about to run out of stamina.

For being a paragon of lazy justice, he was really putting in a ton of effort.

Raizou dodged and almost bodied Marco, then had an idea. “Wanna do the thing again?”

Without answering, Marco transformed one of his wings back and grabbed Raizou’s arm, and then Raizou was up in the air. He shot up far enough to get a good look of the battlefield, and at the apex of his ascent immediately flipped to minimize air resistance. One strong beat of his wings, and he was diving at Aokiji head on.

At the last possible moment, he flipped around to aim his talons at his target, armament Haki flaring up, and this time Aokiji wasn’t fast enough to dodge him. His left leg got ripped off under his knee, just as Raizou had aimed to do.

To the man’s credit, he immediately replaced the limb with ice. Still, the actual flesh and blood appendage was gone. With the improvised prosthetic, his movement was now junkier than it had been, and that was what fully tilted the scales.

Within another few minutes, Aokiji would be beaten.