"There's so much to do once we land on Alabasta… It feels like it's been forever since I was there. We haven't even been together long but it feels like a lifetime," Robin muttered.
Rosan's eyes seemed to glow a little brighter at that and a wry smile made its way on his face as he dragged her into what had to have been the millionth hug since they met.
She easily returned it because no matter how many times they hugged, each one felt as good as the last.
"It has hasn't it? We'll make every moment count from here on out," Rosan assured, humming a gentle tune as the two just relaxed in each others presence.
The redhead stopped humming for a bit. "Speaking of which, since we're so close, you shouldn't show your face so freely. Let's stay in the shadows for a bit."
"That sounds good. I imagine Crocodile would immediately attack me if he heard I was alive and well so we'll lie low and I can wear a disguise."
"Alright, I'll give you red hair and purple eyes this time."
Robin and Rosan, along with Mod and Ram were in the man's mindscape and discussing their course of action for when they eventually landed on Alabasta.
They came in here every night to view Rosan's memories and discuss many things.
Due to there only being two rooms on the ship (and Rosan not wanting to invade on the other girl's privacy… and neither wanting to sleep separately from each other), they chose to sleep inside of his pocket dimension.
Robin quite liked having a castle to sleep in so she didn't mind. It was spacious and well designed, had a training ground that they (along with Zoro and Luffy) used, a luxurious shower and many other things that enhanced comfort.
It also had a fantastic color scheme. Black and purple? It was a great choice from her closest companion and one she heavily approved of. She didn't often see black walls, but they truly gave a unique and pleasant spin on the interior.
The Devil Child idly pat the silver head of the woman resting said head on her lap, who let out a sigh of bliss, and contemplated what they were going to do on Alabasta.
Robin had a good idea of just how strong Luffy and Rosan were from training and they were strong. It was humbling to see those two let loose a little in a spar.
If the two teamed up to fight Crocodile and utilized his weakness, it would not be a difficult battle and they'd quickly overwhelm him, regardless of his help or advantages in the desert.
Unfortunately, the three brothers (and Maro) had a strong rivalry going on and if they didn't have to team up, they wouldn't.
Any form of teaming up, was honestly reported between them all (they never lied to each other) and resulted in relentless teasing.
Rosan was very keen on avoiding that.
"Luffy has dibs. If he loses, I'll intervene but we at least want to gauge his strength before jumping to such catastrophic measures like teaming up," Rosan informed her.
Robin withheld a sigh.
Boys (and Maro).
"Boys and Maro," Mod agreed, nodding sagely. She was so glad that the sensible Robin was back so that they could readily agree on topics.
Nami was another good one but she wasn't permanently linked to Rosan, and likely never would be, so there was that.
Rosan shrugged. "We aren't arrogant enough to completely refuse help if needed. Maro and I were a team at one point but this way makes it more fun and helps with our competitive streak. Especially Luffy, who won't take fights serious for the life of him."
Robin snorted at that. Little Luffy was adorable and to see how much he had grown, brought a smile onto her face. He was no longer as helpless as before and had become quite the force over the years, all due to desperately wanting to catch up to his much stronger brothers.
"Our crew should be able to handle those agents as well… I've already picked out Zoro's opponent. Do you want to read the Poneglyph in Alabasta?" Rosan suddenly asked.
Robin blinked. "It's not easily accessible but I wouldn't mind reading about it. Why? Are you interested in Pluton?"
Unlike Crocodile, she wouldn't mind telling Rosan where the ancient weapon was located. She truly didn't care about them but if Rosan did, she knew it'd be best in his hands (which would never turn on her)
"No," Rosan replied bluntly. "I just know how much you enjoy finding and reading Poneglyphs. This is solely for your indulgence because the three ancient weapons don't mean anything to me."
She blinked at his words before rolling her eyes with a slight flush. "In that case… Yes, I do want to read it."
Rosan snorted while Mod and Ram laughed, making her flush just a little more at the clear amusement in their eyes.
They were so annoying but they were always putting her wants first… Rosan was so unbelievable sometimes in the best ways.
----------------------------------------
Rosan's eyes narrowed slightly and he held out a hand to prevent Robin from leaving the room they just transported to, much to her surprise.
"Someone unfamiliar is on the ship right now, tell me if you recognize them."
Someone unfamiliar? Robin nodded her head. Perhaps she'd be able to recognize them.
"Modification: Stream."
Watching from the screen that projected out of Rosan's hand, it didn't take Robin long to instantly identify who the "unfamiliar" person was.
"That's Mr. 2," she informed the redhead, watching as the okama shamelessly displayed his abilities to the Straw Hats.
"So he just needs one touch and he can completely mimic someone's face and physique?" Rosan muttered, interest clear in his eyes.
That was incredibly useful and far easier then Rosan painstakingly modifying his appearance, which would still probably net some errors unless he fully studied that person.
"If Crocodile were aware of this, he'd probably have Mr. 2 killed for showing off his abilities so readily," Robin snorted. He wasn't the brightest of agents but he was certainly effective.
The duo watched as he quickly made friends with the idiots of the ship, while flashing Nami's body to them in the process and getting everyone assaulted for staring at her boobs.
Eventually, his original ship came to retrieve him and it was only at that moment, when they referred to him as "Mr. 2, Bon Clay!", did his crew realize he was an officer agent.
"Vivi is pretty stupid," Rosan commented idly, getting Robin to giggle.
With his exit, the two finally chose to reveal themselves and entered the crew's vision with short waves.
They all groaned at realizing the redhead saw the entire thing and stayed hidden.
It wouldn't kill them to be just a little more wary.
"Seems like you two had fun meeting an officer agent who now has all your faces," Rosan greeted.
"I'm surprised you didn't recognize him, Vivi. His appearance is no secret and he's rather easily noticeable," Robin chided, staring at the dumbstruck straw hats with amusement.
Vivi for her part, just held her head in shame at her oversight. She had always been bad at figuring out the identity of people...
"He transformed into my father as well…"
The straw hats quickly sobered at that detail.
He had Vivi's Father's face?!
"Nothing good can come out of an enemy having the face of your country's king," Zoro grunted.
He also had the crew as well… It would be bad if he used it against them. They'd need an insurance to make sure they weren't fooled.
"A fake Luffy would never be able to trick me. I know him too well and I can confidently say, no one is stupid enough to properly mimic him," Rosan grunted, getting a grin out of the rubber boy.
He had known his little brother for too long and had raised him for more than half his life.
They all sweat drop at that truthful statement from their scout and nodded in agreement. Luffy would be easy to spot but as for the rest of them…
"I've got an idea," Nami said, grabbing some bandages for them all and enacting her plan.
"We don't need this. Mr. 2 doesn't have Rosan and I's face," Robin told her, accepting the bandages without complaint despite what she said.
"If you ever see me without my accessories, it's not me. I will never take them off," Rosan added, also accepting the bandages on his right hand (his left was already wrapped up in the armband).
Nami beamed at the two adults. "That's true but it gives us a type of unity between us!"
Rosan raised a brow at that but sighed with a small smile. "You're such a kid," he insulted, much to her annoyance.
Nami was about to respond, but smiled smugly instead. "I could say the same to you, considering you were actually a kid… But then again, I don't think I could ever call that woman you transformed into, a child. Seriously, you sure are stacked, Rosan. I couldn't believe how effortlessly sexy you were."
"..."
Robin couldn't help the chuckle that erupted from her body, at seeing Rosan open then close his mouth, unable to muster up a response due to being caught off guard by her statement.
"Sorry Nami... me laughing means you're in trouble now," Robin sent out a short prayer to their poor navigator.
"P-Please don't mention that transformation," a strained Sanji bit out. His mind was still stuck on the part where Robin shamelessly groped the—
The blonde let out a gurgle as his mind fried once more.
"I… I agree," Vivi squeaked, face turning red instantly at the memory. Robin made it abundantly clear that the female version of Rosan was blessed...
The redhead himself was gazing at his annoying little sister figure with a serene expression.
"Well played, Nami," Rosan said, much to her joy. "You actually got a win over me… but remember…"
The orange haired woman let out a startled shriek at seeing him suddenly appear directly in front of her.
"...I never make anyone feel good about beating me. Such is the nature of a vindictive person."
Rosan smiled and honestly it might have been the most terrifying expression she saw on his face yet.
The crew watched in confusion, as the redhead grabbed their struggling navigator's hand and hoisted her up.
"You seem to be overly smug about witnessing my female form and I don't think that's very fair so how about I return the favor?" Rosan offered.
Nami's eyes widened in horror. "You… You wouldn't."
Rosan smiled and she would never be able to piece together how such a handsome face could look so demonic with such a gentle smile.
"Oh Nami… we've known each other long enough now. You know I absolutely would."
She knew that. She just hoped he had at least a little mercy.
With that, Rosan uttered the dreaded words and Nami went white.
"Modification: Swap."
"Still as big of a demon as ever, Rosan," Robin said, taking a step back to ensure he didn't have any funny ideas with her. She had been the reason they all saw the transformation in the first place after all.
"Remind me to never get on Rosan's bad side," Usopp whispered to Chopper.
"He really is a monster," the reindeer replied, gawking in fear.
"I think I can actually agree with you two for once," a sweating Zoro joined.
Once the process fully finished, every single straw hat dropped their jaw in disbelief and took a step back
Rosan released Nami's hand and stepped back, satisfied with what he had done. "Wow, you're rather good looking regardless of gender too aren't you, Nami?" He questioned with a raised brow.
Their navigator in question, had shut her eyes at the strange sensation and when she opened them, her jaw dropped to the floor.
Well, his.
A collapse on the floor, signified Sanji fainting again and Vivi's eyes went wide in disbelief, keeping one eye on the new figure in horrored fascination while making sure the chef was alright.
Nami was taller now, having grown 4 inches and standing at a 5'10, with a lot more muscle that translated from years of working under Arlong (that didn't seem to be on her female figure).
The man's chin length hair had grown shaggier and looked more unkempt then when a woman. His features sharpened and became more masculine in nature, giving off a rugged and handsome appearance.
"W-Wha," the man stammered. Their voice had gotten deeper and Rosan mercifully changed her outfit as well because there was no way the shirt and short skirt combo were going to fit this one.
"You… I can't believe you," Nami hissed, torn between glaring heatedly at Rosan and balking at the changes to her body.
Wait, was that a —
She went white.
"Well, at least he was right. You are rather good looking," Robin supplied helpfully, making a reminder to herself to not push Rosan's buttons too much, lest he direct this ire towards her.
It was a small mercy he never thought to do this when they were kids, too annoyed by the first time to ever attempt or hone the technique again.
"I don't see the big idea," Rosan shrugged, tilting his head to the side. "It was so funny when I did it but I guess you can't handle the same heat," he finished, looking incredibly infuriating despite having that neutral expression.
"He did this to me too!" Luffy laughed, looking completely unbothered by the memory.
"Don't worry. I have other ways to get you all besides Swap, just don't make fun of me for transforming into a woman when I can do the same to you all," he warned, looking at the crew now.
They all, barring Sanji, nodded fearfully, inching away from the demonic redhead.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Nami apologized.
There was no way she was going to stay like this.
Rosan snorted at the man. "I don't see the problem. You don't look bad but if you insist."
With a touch, Nami was back in her original form and she quickly checked to see that everything was back in place, sighing in relief when she found no issues.
"You're an ass, Rosan," she groused, glaring at the redhead with contempt.
"To your credit, it was a good retort. I just never make victories feel good for people and you made a comment on my female form to boot," he countered as he pat her on the head.
She grumbled in defeat and slapped his hand away. That was fair, she kinda deserved it.
"Now… is anyone gonna help Vivi in waking Sanji up? He's been rather unresponsive since I used that technique on Nami."
Zoro grinned viciously.
The following brawl that ensued, due to their swordsman pummeling Sanji awake with the butt of his pommel, left them all sighing in exasperation.
----------------------------------------
"FOOOOOOOOOOOD!" Luffy roared, sprinting off the ship without any hesitation and disappearing into the crowd of people.
"Don't worry, Robin and I will find him eventually. We just need to change," Rosan assured the crew yelling for their captain to wait.
He grabbed an expensive bag and handed it off to Nami.
"If you buy anything or see something nice, just place it in that bag and it'll go to my dimension for me to sort it later. You can keep it too," he informed her, dragging Robin off. "Come, we don't need anyone to recognize you just yet so you'll be my little sister today."
"I am four years older than you," Robin replied flatly, staring unamused at the redhead.
"Can you beat me in a fight?"
"That has nothing to do with anything!"
"Sure it does, little sister."
"No it doesn't and stop dragging me!"
Rosan hoisted her up instead and slung the tall woman over his shoulder instead, much to her displeasure and she began struggling unsuccessfully in his grip.
"Honestly, you and Mod-chan should have learned by now what you can and can't say around me."
"You are a bully. I hate you."
"You'd be #1209 to say that."
"Only an egomaniac like you would remember the number."
Nami looked at the bag and her eyes gleamed at the potential behind it. If Rosan was just giving this to her… Oh there were a lot of things she could do with that.
"P-Please keep in mind that this is my country," Vivi stuttered, not liking the unsavory gleam in the navigator's eyes.
"Don't worry, he gave me money too!" Nami grinned eagerly.
Rosan was so incredibly useful! He had been doing a lot for her lately based on her requests and she needed to think of a way to repay him.
Hopefully she could find useful things to steal for him... it had been quite a while since she had committed large scale acts of theft.
"I can't believe I still don't know what his Devil Fruit is," Vivi muttered.
"You haven't actually asked him what it is and he's the type to not tell you things unless you do," Nami replied.
Vivi blinked. Surely it wasn't that easy, right?
----------------------------------------
It was that easy.
Vivi tentatively asked the redhead what his abilities were and, after telling her not to tell anyone about it, he explained Modification to her.
It was incredible. Vivi didn't think a more resourceful Devil Fruit could exist. The ability to modify seemed like such a boon to have and it explained why Rosan was capable of doing so much!
"Y-You trust me enough to tell me about it…?" The princess couldn't help but ask.
Robin and Rosan both raised a brow at her.
"Despite getting shot in the arm, you fought hard for me to get treated by a doctor and without you, I'd probably still be sick," Rosan said softly.
"You sacrificed your pride for someone who didn't even want to sacrifice their own. You are a good person, Vivi so of course we trust you," Robin added, adjusting the hat on her head a bit.
The princess' eyes turned a bit foggy at their statements and she stared at the two in awe.
Despite treating each other with so much animosity… their relationship had managed to evolve into this? Even after Vivi refused to trust them herself and continuously tried to throw suspicion on them?
"Y-You guys are the best!" Vivi sobbed, hugging the two tightly, much to their surprise.
She could now see that these two meant her no harm from the start. She acted aggressive to a redhead that just got reunited with his best friend so of course he wouldn't care about how she felt...
If she just waited a bit, Vivi was sure she would have gotten some answers without this hostility...
"She's such a kid," Rosan snorted, patting the princess' hair gently. "Sorry for choking you out."
"I agree but it's a little endearing," Robin smiled, returning the hug slightly. "And I'm sorry for allying myself with Crocodile."
"It's okay! You didn't have much of a choice and now you're helping! With you two and the rest of the crew, Alabasta can be saved," Vivi smiled determinedly.
Rosan and Robin both nodded. "We'll do our best to help."
With that, Vivi dashed off the ship to go catch up to the rest of the crew, leaving Robin and Rosan as the sole inhabitants.
Under Ram's, incredibly unsubtle but still somehow too subtle for her parents, insistence (whining), Rosan discarded the idea of the sibling disguises and they were now pretending to be a couple.
"Yes! Now I'm satisfied," Ram preened. She had no clue how anyone could be so oblivious but Auntie Angel had to have inherited it from someone...
"You are so unbelievably spoiled," Mod chuckled, watching the twin looks of exasperation on her children.
"Maybe I should have been more strict during your upbringing," Rosan muttered.
He should have been strict to all of his family honestly... or at least the girls. Maro, Ram and Angel were all brats that used his perks religiously.
The redhead grabbed a strand of Robin's black hair and glanced at it. "Color?"
"White," Robin replied after a moment, amused to see a flash of displeasure appear on Rosan's face.
"Like Olvia," he grunted, doing it regardless of his desire not to. With a quick flash of his eyes, her hair swiftly turned into the color of his desire.
"He's gotten so much faster at doing that," she mused.
In fact, Rosan seemed to use Modification in general much faster. When he was younger it would take him much longer but now it looked as easy as breathing for some techniques.
"You still hate my mother? You know I don't so you don't have to," Robin chided, looking at the white strands. Right now, she looked almost exactly like the woman who birthed her, barring that single red strand in her hair.
Rosan shook his head immediately much to her amusement. "That's because you're too passive. You don't typically get angry with people you should be angry with so I'll do it for you. I'll hate Nico Olvia in your stead because she's a bitch."
The parents in this world were far too selfish for their own good and Nico Olvia was a prime example. It was even worse because she went to the trouble of giving birth to Robin and still abandoned his companion to a life of misery.
She was oh so lucky she was dead because if Rosan ever met her... he'd show her enough anger to make up for the lack of anger on Robin's part.
Robin couldn't help the abrupt snort at hearing Rosan call her mother a bitch right in front of her.
Even as a child, Rosan made his displeasure for her mother very known and had never complimented her even once besides saying she was the reason the Devil Child was so pretty (much to her embarrassment). As far as he was concerned, she was in the same boat as Roger.
The Devil Child truly didn't have a problem with Olvia... but she couldn't find it in herself to truly dissuade Rosan from thinking like that because he raised a very fair point. At the very least, Robin knew she desired no children until her journey was over because no one deserved to be abandoned by their parent.
Why Olvia had her in the first place despite not accomplishing her goals? Robin would never know. She didn't even know who her father was so perhaps it was an accident and the Devil Child was unplanned.
She shrugged. It was a bleak look at things but Robin was jaded anyways and she had Rosan so none of that mattered to her.
Speaking of which...
"Is that why you're angry at yourself? Because I refuse to be?" She asked with a raised brow.
"…" Rosan said nothing, releasing the strand of hair and staring at her.
"Rosan," Robin pressed insistently.
He was right, she was passive almost to a fault but her first friend also knew that when it came to him, that same passiveness flew out the window.
The redhead raked a hand through his hair and tugged at his bun.
"I'm getting better but yes. You guys have an insane habit of not staying mad at me when it's deserved," he sighed, leaping off the ship with Robin behind so they could track down Luffy.
"We'll get mad at you when you genuinely deserve it," Mod assured.
"I was incredibly upset when I realized you were alive after all this time, believe me. But, once the situation was revealed to me, how could you ever expect me to stay mad at you?" Robin sighed, holding the redhead's hand as they walked to keep up appearances.
Because Rosan held his loved ones on such a high pedestal, he was incredibly self critical and this was a trait of his he had at even four.
"Could you at least hit me? When you guys hardly react to things like this, it makes me feel even worse," he sighed, turning a corner with the woman before pausing slightly.
Luffy's save point was moving very quickly so that meant his brother was running from something.
"I hit you all the time when our arguments devolve into a brawl. I won't hit you because you were tortured and led astray," Robin admonished.
What was the commotion all about?
"You should... just one punch to the face. It made me feel much better when Ace punched me in the nose. Come, let's speed up. Someone is chasing Luffy."
"Act more like a couple!" Ram barked.
Robin easily kept pace with him as she grasped his hand. "Well I don't fancy punching and I definitely won't punch you so just understand that we aren't mad at you and stop being so self critical, dear."
Rosan glanced at her and planted a mocking kiss on the hand he was holding.
"I'm trying so bare with me, darling."
"That's all we can ask for," an amused Mod said, eyeing the beaming Ram with exasperation.
Maybe she needed to teach the girl a few things about subtlety.
As they got closer to the commotion, Rosan saw billowing smoke and black shackles flying out and tutted his teeth.
"That smoke man really followed us all the way here? Unable to leave Loguetown to deal with troublesome pirates but incredibly willing to leave to an entirely new sea just to stroke his own ego…"
Rosan didn't like this Marine already. That Smoker better hope he didn't find an answer to his smoke, else he wouldn't be leaving this island alive.
Robin hummed at that. A Marine that Rosan didn't like? That didn't bode well for this Smoker at all.
That poor man. It didn't matter if he was a Logia, Rosan could always target other things.
He explained who Smoker was to Robin, who in turn explained that the black shackles had come from a Marine named Hina. She had a Devil Fruit called the Ori Ori no mi that had helped give her the epithet, Black Cage Hina and was the one in charge of patrolling Alabasta.
"That fruit is no problem to me," Rosan grunted, causing Robin to roll her eyes.
Modification was such a nonsense Devil Fruit that was made absurd in the hands of the perfect wielder and Rosan just so happened to be its perfect wielder.
"I take offense to that young lady," Mod glared.
Robin steadfastly ignored her, unwilling to incite her wrath any further.
"D-Don't ignore me!" The woman glared harder but Robin refused to comply, knowing that this was one of those things where there was no right thing she could say.
Ah, she was definitely going to get a piece of the woman tonight in the mindscape. Maybe she could use Rosan to shield her... the redhead had gotten very good at bullying them all especially with that height of his.
Her very own bodyguard... it was a nice thought.
It didn't take them long to see what was happening and Rosan was already on the move once he took full stock of the situation.
Smoker and Hina were, in tandem, trying to cut off all of Luffy's exits with a combination of their devil fruits.
The rubber boy in question, was dodging the smoke and chains to the best of his abilities (and his mouth full) but there was too much to account for and soon, a ring of black and smoke converged on his position.
"Our crew is over there, go with them for a bit," Rosan ordered, vanishing from his spot in a burst of speed.
"Right," Robin nodded. She swiftly spotted the crew and made her way over to them.
Smoker and Hina's victorious glint, turned into confusion at watching a wall erect under Straw Hat, pushing him well out of range of the double attack, along with a redhead who stared at them with an unimpressed gaze.
"Rosan!" Luffy beamed.
Smoker snarled in annoyance. There was no way they were getting away so soon.
"White Fist!"
Rosan prepared to neutralize the attack with one of his own but stopped as a flash of orange appeared from the corner of his eye.
"Heat Haze!"
The collision course of the smoke, was intercepted by a burst of flames that made the onlookers scream in confusion.
Once it settled, Rosan felt a rare surge pulse through his body and his eyes glowed brighter.
"!" Mod let out a noise of joy and her face split into a wide grin, eyes glowing even brighter then Rosan's.
"Oh!" Robin gasped in genuine surprise, a happiness flitting through her at such a long awaited meeting.
Was he really here? What was he doing on Alabasta? She wasn't aware of his presence so did he just arrive?
"You know that guy?!" The crew asked Robin in confusion, looking at the great blaze of flames in apprehension.
Those flames were huge reminiscent of the fires Rosan casually spat out but looking a more natural hue then the red of their scout.
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He was a tall muscular young man with curly black hair and freckles. He had on no shirt, showing off a terrifyingly familiar tattoo on his back and another on his arm that they couldn't quite make out, but looked like a name.
"Still having Rosan clean up your mess, Luffy?" The man grinned, turning to face the duo with a happy glint in his eyes.
The rubber boy's eyes bugged before a massive grin made its way onto his face.
The straw hat's eyes bugged watching the tiny grin make its way onto Rosan's face.
He was capable of doing that?! They never saw his teeth when he opted to smile!
"After all that talk about Devil Fruits and listening to me complaining nonstop about them, you went and ate a Logia of all things. Guess you realized how cool it was to have a Devil Fruit and tried to one up me," Rosan mused, eyes glowing a bit in pride.
"It's way better then yours!" Ace barked back, amusement clear in his eyes.
"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Mod shouted, mouth formed into a scowl that did nothing to hide the happy gleam in her eyes.
"Ace?! You ate a Devil Fruit?!" Luffy gaped in surprise.
Ace's grin widened at seeing the looks on both his brother's faces.
He was damn happy to see his brothers but for now…
"We have a lot to catch up on but you guys run while I hold them off!" The freckled man said, shooing them off.
"Right, let's go!" Luffy ordered to them all, dashing off to their ship.
"There's things I need to discuss with you as well," Rosan murmured, getting a curious nod out of his freckled brother.
With that, he vanished off the rock construct to meet up with his crew, leaving Ace alone with the squad of Marines.
"Wait! How do you to know him?!" Nami asked in confusion, as they all ran away.
Who was that guy to make Rosan of all people grin?!
Also that tattoo on his back... was that who she thought it was?! Did these two actually know someone from the legendary Whitebeard Pirates?!
"Is he an acquaintance of yours?" Vivi asked curiously.
"Yeah!" Luffy grinned, laughing all the while as he jumped in excitement.
"He's our middle brother, Portgas D. Ace," Rosan replied fondly.
…
There was a brief silence that was broken up by Robin's quiet giggles as she witnessed their jaws slowly fall to the floor.
"WHAAAAAT?! YOU TWO HAVE ANOTHER BROTHER?!"
----------------------------------------
A lone raft pulled up to land and on it, a top hat wearing figure glanced into the distance with a curious gaze.
"My outfit might not be the best for this place," Sabo muttered, adjusting his top hat and getting up with a light stretch.
Eh, he suffered worse. If it got bad he'd just start removing clothing.
"So I'm looking for Straw Hat Luffy and a redhead in his crew named Rosan, while observing what's going on in Alabasta and making sure it doesn't spiral out of control… Should be easy enough."
He said that last part sarcastically, considering this kingdom was fucking massive.
Where the hell was he even supposed to start? He couldn't even use his Observation to pinpoint the specific people because he didn't know how they felt.
It seemed like luck was on his side because after about 20 minutes of walking, a bird landed on his shoulder and began chirping, jumping up and down excitedly.
Sabo raised a brow at the little blue guy and accepted the note that it was holding.
"If you are reading this, you're probably who I'm looking for but I won't reveal your identity for obvious reasons in case I'm somehow wrong (I'm not). Follow my bird until it stops moving then I'll retrieve you."
This must have been Rosan. How insightful of him to already have a note and messenger prepared for him.
He was also very confident in himself. What a neat guy.
"Lead the way then," Sabo told the bird, who rubbed his body against the blonde's cheek and chirped happily, flying off.
The blonde idly rubbed his cheek before shaking his head and following after the admittedly adorable bird.
Links to his past… he had a strange sense of anticipation at the thought of meeting two people who claimed to be his brother.
----------------------------------------
"So that's where I recognized your name," Nami muttered in shock.
When Rosan had introduced himself as Portgas D. Rosan, she could have sworn the name sounded familiar but she had written it off as him just having one of those names.
But no, the reason it sounded familiar was because Rosan and Luffy were literally the brother's of Portgas D. Ace, a pirate who was worth 650 million!
That was ridiculous... what was wrong with their family? Were all of them complete monsters?!
Not only that, he was apart of Whitebeard's crew, the world's strongest pirate! These three were all monsters...
The crew was still running from the battle and were headed straight to the ship while they discussed the relationship between the three.
"That's right. Rouge was Ace's biological mother but she raised me like I was her own," Rosan explained. "He's three years older than Luffy and four years younger than me."
"I didn't expect him to have eaten a Devil Fruit though!" Luffy awed.
He always talked about how stupid Luffy's own fruit was and how he liked swimming.
(Luffy didn't realize that Ace just thought his Devil Fruit was useless, their middle brother never once insulted the Mod Mod no mi)
"And it's a Logia too," Rosan sighed. "There goes my win streak if we ever fight."
Eating a Logia and spending that long in the Grand Line? His brother had certainly earned that 650 million. A fight between them would put Rosan on the backburner for once.
"Win streak?" Usopp asked in wonder.
Surely Rosan didn't have some sort of win streak against that monster right? He was apart of Whitebeard's crew for crying out loud!
Luffy nodded eagerly. "We used to fight all the time! I never beat Ace or Rosan or Maro in a one on one."
"Ace and Maro never beat me as well," Rosan added calmly.
They gawked at the admittance, staring at the redhead in disbelief. That was nuts! How strong was he?!
Robin sighed fondly. "That reminds me of when we used to spar, Rosan. I used to enjoy destroying you until you adapted to me."
"If it makes you feel better, our score was much more even then with the others. Your Devil Fruit is really not fair to fight when you can spawn it on top of a person," Rosan smiled in return.
Their eyes bugged. "YOU TWO USED TO FIGHT TOO?!"
Robin nodded, smile making its way onto her face. "Outside of our arguments, yes. It's not as obvious now but Rosan is an adrenaline junkie and he forced me to spar with him all the time so we could get stronger. That boy loves nothing more then a good fight that gets his blood pumping."
"I plan to get us back up to snuff too," he muttered. He already had a good regimen going for Robin and after Alabasta they'd begin in earnest.
"Your training is already hellish and you have more?" Robin didn't whine. She was much to dignified for that.
"You're telling me," Zoro grunted. The redhead was a psycho.
They looked at the redhead who opted to stay out of fights unless dragged into it, in disbelief. "Him? Really?!"
"I probably don't have to say this… but I am a very different person with my emotions," Rosan said dryly, getting nods of agreement out of Luffy and Robin.
They distinctively remembered the version they saw at Syrup Village and both Nami and Usopp couldn't stop the chill from crawling down their spine as they remembered that terrifyingly dangerous redhead.
That version of Rosan... doing what this version was capable of doing.
Wow, new fear unlocked.
The group, led by Nami, continued to dash towards their ship until they reached a crossroad.
"Turn left right here!" The navigator ordered.
The crew chimed in unison and followed after her.
Robin and Rosan lagged behind in case anything happened... so they got to watch in amusement, as Luffy, who was still watching the battle unfold between Smoker and Ace, went the complete wrong way from the crew, separating himself from them unknowingly.
They decided to follow the rubber boy, knowing he'd get lost if they didn't and would spend more time looking for him.
"Hm? Where is everyone?" Luffy muttered in confusion, tilting his head to the side as he cupped his chin.
Did they get lost? His crew could be so stupid sometimes...
"You ran the wrong way," Robin supplied helpfully.
"You need to pay more attention," Rosan chided his little brother who was sitting on a barrel.
"Oh, Rosan!" Luffy grinned, waving cheerfully at his brother. "I knew you'd find me!"
Of course he did... Rosan didn't know when Luffy became the most spoiled but it happened.
Privilege as the youngest he supposed. Everyone in the family spoiled the future Pirate King.
"One of these days, you're gonna stop relying on Rosan so much, Luffy!"
The three looked up and Luffy's grin widened.
"Ace!" He cheered.
His older brother grinned back and jumped down from his perch on the roof, landing neatly in front of the three.
Ace's eyes roamed over his two brother's for a moment, taking in all the changes with a fond grin before landing on Robin. His eyes widened in surprise, instantly recognizing her from his older brother's memories and he grinned a little wider.
"You're—"
Whatever he was about to say, was interrupted by the rubbery arms grabbing both Ace and Rosan in a group hug.
He struggled for a bit but there was a large smile on his face and he eventually returned the hug.
"I missed you guys, all of you," Ace said warmly. In his time gone, it seemed like some life returned to Rosan's eyes.
It must have been because of Robin here. He was glad the two managed to meet up... Ace actually wanted to look for her because Rosan mentioned that he wanted to find her but she was in the Grand Line and he already agreed to set sail with Luffy.
Good to know that they met up already and managed to make up by the looks of it. He was more happy then he would admit to his insufferable older brother, that there was a slight glow in his eyes that signified his emotions slowly returning to him.
"Look at you… joining another person's crew and eating a Logia. You shoulda just came with Luffy and I. It would have been fun if all three of us traveled together," Rosan chided, mussing up his brother's hair, much to his chagrin.
He shoved the hand away and glowered at his older brother. "Fuck off, I'm 20 now so stop harassing me!" Ace barked, rubbing his hair with a glare.
"You could be 50 and I'd do the same thing, little brother," Rosan muttered smugly, eyes glowing in mirth.
"Also, you really think I'd ever join my kid brother's crew? Things got complicated during my journey... I didn't join Pops crew by choice at first but it kinda ended up good for me," Ace said sheepishly.
"Pops, huh?" Rosan repeated, a true smile making its way to his face.
It sounded like Ace managed to push Roger out of his mind, if even a little. If he was so willingly calling Whitebeard Pops... the man had taken up place as his little brothers father.
"I'll have to meet this Whitebeard and thank him... both for holding the title of strongest for little me and for helping you," Rosan decided.
Ace sweatdropped at that. His brother was so twisted.
"Oh by the way, I ate this fruit by accident..." he grinned sheepishly.
Robin, Rosan and Luffy all smiled knowingly at the freckled man, much to his confusion.
"Ace... we ate our fruits by accident as children," Rosan informed him. "I was 4, Robin was 6 and Luffy was 7... How did you accidentally eat a Devil Fruit at 17 years old?"
Neither of the, then children, realized what they were eating was a Devil Fruit.
Robin was hungry due to her cruel aunt.
Rosan thought it looked good.
Luffy was a gluttonous idiot.
"So that makes you stupid!" Luffy laughed cheerfully, getting a snort out of both Robin and Rosan.
Ace felt a tick forming. "IT'S BEEN 20 MINUTES! WHY DO I ALREADY WANT TO KILL YOU BOTH?!" He roared at his insufferably stupid brothers.
"That's just our brotherly bond," Rosan retorted. The redhead looked far too smug right about now.
Out of the three, it was always easiest to rile Ace up and it was something both he and Luffy, as the youngest and oldest respectively, abused religiously.
The amount of brawls that broke out between the three of them might have played a big part in why they were so strong now...
"Still, I didn't think you'd eat a fruit! You liked swimming and making fun of my fruit!" Luffy exclaimed.
I didn't think I was ever going to eat a Devil Fruit... but eating one has opened my eyes to a lot of possibilities," Ace admitted. He could now see why Rosan and Luffy both didn't mind not being able to swim at all.
A Devil Fruit wasn't just a power... Ace was quite literally fire, in the same way that Luffy was rubber or Rosan was a computer.
It was eye opening. Devil Fruits were their own type of world to explore.
"Besides, being a Logia is awesome because now I get to hear you bitch and moan about how the world is unfair and you just want a way to hit them," Ace grinned.
He was never planning on eating a Devil Fruit but he'd never turn down a useful one. He just thought Luffy's was useless. Offer him Rosan's and he'd take it in a heartbeat.
"Tch," Rosan scoffed, refusing to admit that he would bitch about Ace being a Logia.
Robin placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and shot him a sympathetic smile.
"Hey don't worry about it. Remember how you kept pondering to us how there has to be a way to hit them?" Ace asked curiously, getting a nod out of his brother. "Well, I found out how. I'll tell you about it later."
Rosan and Robin's eyes glinted in clear interest at that. A reliable way to hit Logias? That sounded too good to be true.
"I'm not moaning, by the way," Rosan grunted.
"Can't hear you over all the moaning your doing right now," Ace replied, a shit eating grin on his face.
"I'd love to hear you guys catch up more but I have to ask, what are you doing in these parts of the ocean, Ace?" Robin interrupted politely.
The two stopped and glanced at Robin. Ace's smile turned into a more easy going one as he regarded the woman.
"I'm looking for a traitor in the crew that killed a member then jumped ship," Ace explained easily. "Robin, right? You have white hair but I'm pretty sure Rosan just modified it. It's nice to finally meet you! Rosan never shuts up about you."
"What are you on about?" Rosan questioned with a raised brow, only to be completely ignored.
So he mentioned Robin a lot of times... was it that bad? Ace was the person besides Mod he confided in the most so maybe it was...
Ram's grin turned feral at Ace's assistance. Somehow he already knew the mission and that was absolutely perfect!
He could say whatever he wanted, freckles was just as infected by their chaos as anyone else!
"I could say the same to you," Robin smiled, bowing in return. "You should have seen how much times I had to make this guilt ridden child understand that he wasn't put in a reasonable situation."
"Tell me about it. I told this dumbass over and over again I don't blame him for what he felt like he had to do and when I saw the memory, I felt terrible for even blaming him," Ace sighed, grinning fondly.
Robin nodded quickly, smile growing. "I was the same way! Can you believe that he tried to take all the blame and pin it on himself? He was fully intending on making me hate him!" She exclaimed.
"You too?!" Ace gaped. "This guy told me he hated me and didn't mention that it was right after seeing Mom die... and it was for half a second!"
"He's ridiculous! I don't know why he feels the need to omit such important details! I've never met such a confident person, who is also so self critical and harsh," Robin sighed.
"You and me both," Ace nodded sagely. "It's a good thing he has Mod. She's way smarter then him."
"I agree," Robin nodded along. She very much liked Ace. These two had such similar experiences when it came to Rosan.
"It's true. Without me, Rosan would be the most isolated person on the planet," Mod said, grinning happily at seeing the little boy all grown up.
"Mod, Ram! How have you two been?" Ace asked, grinning at the duo. Man there was so much people he had to catch up too and it made him feel a bit stupid for waiting so long to visit his family.
"What's up Mr. Big Shot Pirate?" Ram greeted cheekily. "You wanna hear a funny story?!"
"Hit me," Ace nodded easily and he watched as the ring transformed into his... niece?
They never did figure that out.
The silver haired woman easily engulfed the taller man in a hug, grinning all the while and stepped back to tell her story.
"So we were at Loguetown... and we ran into this lady, right? Her name was Alvida and we met her a while ago before running into her again. She was a huge whale!" Ram exclaimed, holding her hands out to emphasize her point.
Luffy, Ace and Robin listened with blatant interest, especially after hearing Rosan sigh.
"But she ate a Devil Fruit... and it turned her from fat and ugly to skinny and hot. Father was the one who beat her ass so she gained a crush on him!"
Robin raised a brow. "A crush? From losing a fight?"
Ram's eyes widened a little nervously. "Y-Yeah but don't worry! Father wasn't even remotely interested in her!"
"Why would I be worried?" Robin tilted her head to the side.
Ace's eyes glittered in mirth. Was Ram trying to play matchmaker? Her? She was as big of a dumbass as Rosan was.
"Keep going" Luffy demanded, caught up in the tale.
Ram nodded eagerly. "So after we ran into her again... we didn't recognize her because she looked really different but she was talking and flirting really hard with Father like they already met. Even despite that, Father couldn't tell who the hell she was..."
The ring's grin turned shit eating. "When Father gave up on finding out who she was, she mentioned losing freckles and that made him freeze right in his tracks."
Ace's grin was immediately wiped off his face at that detail.
There was no fucking way...
"Rosan..." Ace said, voice set in a warning tone as Robin tried her hardest to stifle the laugh that wanted to escape her.
"Kahahaha! She had a cowboy hat on too!" Ram added, clutching her stomach as she keeled over.
"Rosan..." Ace hissed, glaring at his oldest brother.
"F-Father turned around a-and with the most serious face ever... he asked if she was Ace! Kahahahaha!" The ring finished and she howled in laughter at the memory.
Robin could contain it no longer. The woman let out her own laugh. "Fufufufu! Rosan, are you serious?!"
"Shishishi!" Luffy burst out laughing as he collapsed on the floor right next to Ram.
"ROSAN!" Ace roared, tackling his brother with a scowl that looked terribly similar to when he was 10.
"I thought you got cursed," Rosan replied, face neutral even as his brother tried to strangle the life out of him. "I was just as mortified as you. After all, I thought my little brother had become my little sister and was trying to commit questionable acts with me."
"ROSAN SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ace roared, face red in embarrassment as he began throttling his older brother. He was seconds away from burning the raging dumbass!
Everyone began laughing even more.
Finally, Robin mercifully pulled the fuming Ace off of Rosan and the redhead simply dusted himself off.
"I hate you," Ace said flatly.
"...Yeah that's my bad... I already know how you look as the opposite gender," Rosan muttered.
The freckled boy gained a tick at that.
Damn stupid brother of his and that nonsense Devil Fruit.
"You look happy, Ace," Mod said softly, face flushed from how much he laughed.
Ace blinked before a small smile made its way to his face.
"…Yeah, I am happy. I found out a lot of the answers I was looking for while sailing the seas," he replied eventually.
He found another family in the Whitebeard pirates, his first family still accepted and were proud of him and after finding and beating the shit outta Teach, Ace would go back to his normal life of being a commander and make sure to integrate his original family in that because dammit he missed them way more then he thought.
"I'm so happy to hear that... Oh I just feel myself growing so sappy right now!"
Without hesitation, Mod took over Rosan's body and rushed the commander, hugging him fiercely with a proud smile.
"Look at how much one of my little boys have grown. I'm so proud of you," Mod said, eyes brimming with tears.
To think their relationship had evolved so much over the years... From her threatening Ace, to her seeing him as just another one of her problematic children.
Ace smiled at her and easily returned the hug, engulfing the woman with a warmness reserved only for a mother (he would hug Dadan like this too). "I'm just trying to live a life with no regrets."
It was a good thing he was so much taller then her now... he was still embarrassed about that time she nearly crushed him in her boobs.
Eventually, the woman stepped back and allowed herself to transform with a small wave, returning back into a thoughtful Rosan.
"You mentioned a traitor?" Rosan prodded, eyes narrowed in contemplation. "What are the details and do you need help?"
"Nah, I got it," Ace replied confidently. "His name's Marshall D. Teach or Blackbeard… He killed the commander of our 4th division, Thatch, one night and fled."
Luffy and Rosan's gaze darkened.
For Luffy, this Teach had committed the greatest sin a pirate could do. He had killed a nakama.
For Rosan, just the act of betrayal was enough to irritate him.
"Any reason why?" The redhead prodded.
Ace's gaze darkened as he thought about it. "The only thing that makes sense is for the Devil Fruit he found… we didn't recognize it but Teach might have and he killed him as a result."
To kill one of your family for a Devil Fruit... Teach was no better then if Ace chose to kill Rosan for his own.
"He would go as far as to kill a commander of Whitebeard's crew for one Devil Fruit?" Mod questioned in disbelief.
That meant… that Devil Fruit had to have been exceptionally dangerous.
"Ace, please tell me you remember how it looks? Can you describe it to us? Though some fruits are not documented in the encyclopedia, I will still probably be able to identify it."
Ace nodded, recalling the odd shaped fruit. "It was purple and round and it looked like it was made up of a bunch tear drops. It kind of reminded me of a bunch of grapes," he finished.
Rosan's eyes were closed in contemplation as he formed a mental imagine of the fruit, before suddenly snapping open.
While Ace's description wasn't the most detailed, there was only one fruit with a description like that, that would make someone risk attacking a Whitebeard Commander.
After all, it would need to be a fruit on the same calibre of the best of Devil Fruits.
Moving with an urgency they didn't expect, he grabbed a nearby rock and picked it up. Then he began to carefully mold what he was thinking of and applied it to the rock.
"Modify: Appearance."
Dragging the image from his mind, Rosan quickly applied it to the rock and showed them all the finished product.
"Ace… did the Devil Fruit look like this?" He asked softly, presenting the Devil Fruit that he thought it was.
It didn't take Ace more than a second to verify and that was alarming in itself to the Whitebeard Commander.
Rosan, as a wielder of one of the best fruits Ace had seen period (it was hard to think it was just a Paramecia), didn't really concern himself over other fruits unless they were Logia or Mythical so the fact that he had been able to identify and pinpoint the exact fruit Ace was talking about, with just that brief description, was bad news.
"Yeah, that's it. You know what it is?"
Rosan nodded gravely. "It's the —"
"Yami Yami no mi," Mod finished quietly.
Everyone straightened at the two's tone.
What did they know about that Devil Fruit?
Rosan was the expert on Devil Fruits, not Robin so she raised a brow and said, "Yami Yami no mi? Darkness?"
The redhead nodded with a look of displeasure.
"That Devil Fruit… it's the one Rosan and I are most wary of," she admitted. "It's a Logia, considered the most evil to exist and… it has the ability to control darkness… and negate another's Devil Fruit ability."
Their eyes widened. A Devil Fruit that could negate abilities and it was a Logia?
"It should be the Devil Fruit that counters me the hardest," Rosan admitted with a frown. "Not because it completely nullifies Modification, but because it would forcefully cut my connection to Mod-chan."
Rosan and Mod had only ever been forcefully cut off from each other once and it had lead to the redhead having a mental breakdown. That had been around 16 years ago and the two only became more intertwined as time passed.
Separating the two of them… it wasn't the smartest idea and if you couldn't put them down afterwards, Rosan would do everything to bring hell upon them.
"You need to be careful, Ace. You're more than strong enough without your Devil Fruit, considering you've had no ability for a majority of your life but this Teach is not to be underestimated," Rosan advised.
"Kick his ass!" Luffy growled, eyes smoldering just at the thought of killing your own friend.
Ace had a contemplative expression on his face but nodded.
It was still the greatest treason someone could do, but it put it into perspective why he did it.
"How long did you plan on staying?" Rosan asked. "I know you've gotta continue hunting this Teach but… there's something important I need to tell you and Luffy."
Robin gazed knowingly at that. It would be a lot to take but they deserved to know.
Both his brother's stared at him, puzzled. "Something for the both of us?" Ace pondered, raising a brow. What could that possibly be?
"I wasn't planning on staying for too long but I'll always hear you guys out," Ace said eventually. "We should probably go find your crew while we're at it."
Rosan nodded. "Good. If I told Angel I encountered you and you didn't want to visit them, she'd kill me and then you."
Ace sweatdropped at that. "You're right… I definitely should pay them a visit before leaving."
"Good. I'd hate to have to restrain you. I don't want to die yet."
"Surely Angel wouldn't kill you?" Robin said in amusement.
"Ace is her favorite brother besides Demon. I don't know when it happened, I don't know how it happened but it happened. She would be mad at me for days after failing to kill me," Rosan replied.
Ace shrugged. "When Luffy and Maro are up to something stupid, it's up to us to go stop them and we just bonded from there. We actually have a lot in common!"
Ace and Angel got along fantastic. It must have been because they were both so headstrong and stubborn (and instinctively hated everyone at a glance). Those two never had anything nice to say to a person they were seeing the first time and were by far the most antisocial...
They got better though. Makino gave them both lessons when Angel realized Ace was taking them and thought it was a perfect opportunity to be more presentable as a Queen... huh that's probably why they did get along so well. Those two probably had to moan and groan about how hard it was to be polite and nice and not rude to everyone.
Whatever it may be, Angel adored her younger, freckled, brother and spoiled him rotten. They did have a lot in common, like how utterly overprotective of their family they were.
If she found out that they had met up…
Well, his sister would go to the Grand Line and begin hunting Ace down herself.
----------------------------------------
"Haki?" Rosan muttered.
"Yeah, it's a technique that any pirate who wants to survive in the New World should know," Ace replied to the three listening.
They were currently walking back to the ship and Ace took that time to explain to them all, the most important source of power to have in the second half of the Grand Line.
As Rosan learned more about Haki, things that didn't make sense, suddenly did and his mind was already thinking of greedy ways to implement this into his style.
How Judge was able to dodge and tank their attacks (he truly did rely on his suit too much if he still lost that battle... the man needed to train more), how Shanks was able to find Luffy in the sea or him on the tree, how Garp casually stomped them into the ground every single time...
"Vegapunk explained many things to me… but this one wasn't one of them," Mod frowned.
She knew why. The scientists didn't believe handing out answers was the solution to everything and wanted her to find the right wielder to learn with.
Guess things went exactly how the genius planned it... What exactly was his plan? What did he intend for her...? They were stationed in the New World yet she never once heard about Haki...
"There's three different types of Haki. Observation, Armament, and Conquerors," Ace explained to the trio. "Everyone can learn the first two but only a select can learn the last."
Armament was the one Rosan desperately needed. It allowed him to harness his spiritual energy and use it offensively, bypassing the immunity some Devil Fruit's granted, like a Logia's intangibility or Luffy's rubber body.
Not only that, it allowed them to put an invisible armor over themselves, so to say, that allowed them to block damage...
"That's how Garp manages to hurt Luffy and come out completely unscathed by my attacks," Rosan said in realization.
"Yeah, Gramps was cheating," Ace nodded sagely, holding out a hand and pinching Luffy to show them.
"O-Ow!" The rubber boy exclaimed in surprise. So that's what Gramps did? He was such a cheater!
"Armament sounds incredibly useful," Robin mused. "Rosan, considering Modification gives you so much control over your inner body, this might be the easiest one for you to learn as well."
"I think so too," Ace nodded in agreement. Rosan was a master of his body so if he did manage to learn it, Ace wouldn't be surprised if it became the one he mastered the quickest.
That was true… but he doubted it would be that easy.
"I'll try my best to make it easier on you. We'll figure this out together," Mod assured.
"The best way to unlock it is in the heat of battle but it's still pretty difficult," Ace informed them. "Intense training and high stress situations. I'll give you guys methods to try and learn at least armament and observation."
Looks like he would need to begin training in earnest again. He'd drag Luffy into it more often as well because he was already sparring frequently with Zoro and Robin.
Armament would be incredibly useful for Robin's Devil Fruit too. Her fruit was already quite strong considering it was impossible to dodge, so that just left resisting it... and if her armament was good, it'd be impossible for her to do that...
He wanted her to learn it.
Robin smiled at his resolve to make sure she learned it. "I'll put my all into training then. I would like to learn it as well."
With that settled, they quickly moved on to the next one.
Observation allowed users to have a sixth sense that allowed them to sense the presence, strength, and emotions of others, as well as gain limited precognitive abilities.
It worked best when calm, which was good for Robin and Rosan but Ace still thought this would be the most difficult one for the redhead to learn.
"You're active, Rosan... I think Luffy and Robin will have an easier time learning it then you," Ace explained, demonstrating the ability to them by dodging precise swings from Rosan with his eyes closed. "Your mind is almost always moving, no matter what and you have three voices up there."
His brother, even without his emotions couldn't stop thinking for a second and that wasn't including the fact that he had both Mod and Ram up there too. Observation would be absurdly difficult for him to learn but then again, his brother was also a prodigy.
"Your calmness is also relatively artificial," Robin added. "It's more so related to the fact that you have no emotions at the moment. You're like an actual computer, one that's never in rest mode and with emotions, your mind doesn't stop for even a second."
That… made sense in theory but Rosan was stubborn and so, he'd need to actually try it himself.
"I don't like being told that we'll struggle with something," Ram grunted, crossing her arms in disdain.
"Knowing that it's my abilities fault too rubs it in even worse," Mod agreed, pouting in slight discontent.
Rosan had also seen observation in action before. Judge and Garp utilized both forms of haki against him… but those were the only ones he noticed.
What was Conqueror's?
"Conqueror's should be the easiest and the hardest for you to learn," Ace said, glancing at his older brother. "I don't know if Robin and Luffy have it, but you and I do."
Rosan raised a brow. How did he already have Conqueror —
Oh.
Conqueror Haki allowed a person to exert their own willpower over others. Doing this could lead to dominating their psyche or incapacitating someone.
It sounded exactly like —
"Pressure," Rosan whispered in realization, actually stopping in surprise.
His pressure technique… was Haki? Wait, he had unlocked such an overpowered technique since he was 9 and never paid it any mind beyond saturating the air with it?
He knew the technique wasn't unique to him but he only ever saw a 10 year old Ace do it, while utilizing a different version as well.
Rosan's pressure was only used as a way to root and overwhelm people. He had never knocked anyone unconscious with it and it had gotten so much weaker after Meiko died, that he hardly used it anymore.
But that made sense... not once did Rosan ever use the technique with his full emotions. His first use of it was after the castle formed so by then... it should have already lost power.
"You mentioned it being the easiest and the hardest for me," Rosan said. "It's the easiest because I already have it unlocked but it's the hardest because my emotions are still locked away, right?"
Ace blinked before scowling lightly.
Right, he forgot how smart his older brother was.
"Yeah that's right. Conquerors manifests your willpower and we all know how much you're lacking in that... if you reach your old ambitions, it'll be really strong though," he informed the group. "If you want to get proficient in all of them, you'll need your emotions back."
Extra motivation… Well he had even more of a reason to get them back now.
"Oh, I see the ship!" Luffy beamed, waving at the Going Merry in the distance.
"You three go ahead, I need to get my raft," Ace said, already walking off to do that. "I'll catch up soon!"
The three nodded in unison, before Rosan grabbed Robin and Luffy. His wings burst out of his back and he quickly soared over to the ship, landing in front of his resigned crew.
"At least Rosan noticed you went missing," Nami sighed miserably. She knew damn well that Robin and the redhead wouldn't randomly go missing without telling them, so they probably noticed that Luffy did and followed accordingly to save them the headache.
"We got lost and talked to Ace!" Luffy beamed, completely unbothered by their annoyance.
"We?" Robin raised a brow. "Luffy, you were the only one who got lost," she chided the rubber boy.
The straw hats sweatdropped at that.
Zoro jumped into the conversation with a raised brow. "Rosan, you mentioned having siblings named Angel and Demon but you never mentioned an Ace or the fact that he was the second commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."
"I don't mention random facts about my life," Rosan retorted. "If asked, I might answer but I won't bring it up on my own volition."
The crew sighed at his very typical Rosan answer.
"You sound like as much of a handful as always," Ace snorted, landing on the railing and staring at his crew with a polite smile. "I feel bad for your crewmates having to deal with you and Luffy at the same time."
"They get used to it. I believe making your intentions clear from the start helps people with understanding... so they understand that I am like this," Rosan hummed.
They groaned. "We still hate you for it."
Ace let out a hearty laugh."Sorry for any trouble my two brother's caused. They can be a bit much and cause me a lot of worry... when I don't want to strangle them to death," the middle brother bowed to the crew.
"Oh, don't mention it," they all said in unison, waving him off.
...
"He's so polite!" Zoro gaped. Luffy was anything but and Rosan was even ruder then their captain! He only spoke polite to subvert expectations!
"He's caring too," Sanji's jaw dropped comically. Why couldn't Rosan and Luffy be this considerate to them? The two just did whatever they wanted!
"This sensible man can't possibly be Rosan and Luffy's brother," Nami decided right then and there. There was just no way. Rosan and Luffy were walking headaches and never failed to give her a migraine.
This polite brother of theirs was anything but. He was polite, caring and didn't demean her any chance he got.
Rosan listened to them with a raised brow.
His crew thought he was as bad as Luffy and worse than Ace? If only they knew the boy when he was younger.
"I would have expected him to be almost as reckless as Luffy and nearly as cruel as Rosan. Like a middle ground," Usopp whispered in surprise.
That made Rosan snort. Rather loudly.
"Ace? Not as reckless as Luffy? You must be joking," the redhead scoffed. "The only thing stopping my little idiot brother from being on the same level as my littlest brother, is the fact that my littlest idiot brother doesn't think and my little brother thinks slightly more."
They watched in surprise as Ace glared over at his older brother in indignation.
"I'm not as reckless as I was when we were kids and I think way more then Luffy! Don't do that to me!" Ace barked in annoyance.
"I'll believe you when Maro and Angel divorce," Rosan grunted, causing the freckled boy to splutter. "How many fights have you backed down from since setting sail?"
"…I don't see what that has to do with anything," the commander muttered.
"Shishishi! Ace still never backs down from fights?! He's so stupid!" Luffy cackled, eyes shining with mirth as the middle brother began spluttering at the two.
"Right?" Rosan nodded, looking smug with his neutral expression. "Speaking of which… That treasure I gave you at the start of your journey. What did you do with it?"
"I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T NEED THAT!" His freckled brother roared, remembering how much he had been given.
Rosan literally waited for him to be well out of sight before making Maro drop the illusion! What a scummy tactic to make sure he didn't return it!
"You refused to let me modify your ship so I decided to give you another gift," Rosan shrugged.
"I said keep it! I lost it and you got it so it was yours!" Ace growled.
"What type of brother would I be if I didn't give you a farewell gift? What did you do with it?" He pressed, knowing Ace couldn't lie to him.
Ace glared at the floor. "You know I can't turn away gifts from you idiots. It helped me secure food and a ship."
Rosan smiled at that. "Good... but you aren't even wearing your pink Mama's Boy shirt."
"I OUTGREW THAT SHIRT 7 YEARS AGO BUT YOU KEPT MODIFYING IT!" Ace shouted, before sobering up with a guilty expression. "And I accidentally burned it after eating my Devil Fruit... sorry about that."
"Accidentally?" The redhead repeated.
"You know I'd never get rid of any of you guys gifts! No matter how much I hate them!" The Whitebeard pirate retorted. "I even still have that stupid rock Luffy gave me."
"THAT ROCKS NOT STUPID! YOU'RE STUPID! ROSAN LIKED MY ROCK!" Luffy roared. He went through a lot of pain getting that rock!
"It was a good rock and I am honest with my feelings," Rosan nodded sagely. Perfect smoothness with no cracks. Truly a nice rock.
"Honest with your feelings?! I am being honest. It was a stupid rock!"
They watched in awe as the three began bickering with each other.
"They really are brothers..." the crew thought in disbelief. Those three were really going at it and it looked like a brawl was only seconds away from breaking out.
"Hey wait, you didn't give me a gift when I set sail!" Luffy pointed out in shock.
"I am the gift," Rosan replied, much to Luffy's satisfaction.
"Oh, right!" The rubber boy laughed.
Everyone face planted at that blunt and serious statement.
"You are an egomaniac, Rosan," Robin giggled.
Ace snorted in agreement. "You're right about that. He tries to mask it behind that cool and collected mask of his but he's way too arrogant for his own good."
"He gets jealous if we think anyone is better then him too!" Luffy nodded sagely, traitorous little captain that he was.
"They have a point. Sometimes, you really do act like your the best thing to happen to a person's life," Mod added with a teasing smile.
"I will not tolerate this slander, no matter how true, against Father!" Ram barked, unintentionally going against him as well.
The straw hats watched all of them pile up on Rosan with amused expressions, not expecting that to happen to the infallible wall of their ship but it was awesome.
He was always so composed and, besides the time he got sick, it was rare to see him be at the receiving end of something like this because he always had a response...
It was awesome. Screw Rosan!
Rosan cupped his chin in contemplation at their words. "I could say you all have a point… but I'd rather dish out revenge on you guys for ganging up on me."
"W-Wait, I'm sorry! Please don't tickle me!" Mod pleaded, eyes going wide in horror.
"Don't you even think about swapping me," Ace barked, lower half already turning into flames so he could take off.
There was no way he was letting Rosan transform him into a girl again.
"That's a great idea, idiots," Rosan decided, taking a step forward to dish it out on the three who thought it was funny.
Robin had already managed to position herself behind the crew, completely aware of how he'd react, and was using Sanji as a shield (to his mixed glee and horror).
Luffy blinked before his expression turned into one of horror as he realized he was the closest to his oldest brother.
Mod and Ram never stood a chance, they lived inside of him after all. He'd go after them later tonight and no apologizing would stop.
Before Rosan could mass swap the 3 idiots, the crew was interrupted by the sight of 5 ships appearing to block them off from sailing any further.
"WE'RE HERE TO COLLECT YOUR BOUNTY, FIRE FIST ACE!"
"WE'VE GOT FIVE SHIPS, JUST TRY TO ESCAPE!"
"I'll clean them up," Ace offered with a small shrug.
"Don't worry, I can do it. They interrupted me," Rosan said calmly, much to the shock of the crew.
Rosan... He was offering to do something?! Seriously?! The one who would let them sink for fun was offering to clean up 5 ships?!
These guys must have really riled him up!
"Spoiled as ever. No wonder Ram's so bad," Ace laughed.
"Fuck off! Father's just offering because he knows he can do it faster and he wants to punish us all as soon as possible!" Ram barked, despite her fear at being tickled.
The second division commander paused at that. "Faster?" He said incredulously, raising a brow.
Now it was Rosan's turn to raise a brow, ignoring the 5 ships taking aim at them momentarily. "Why do you sound so surprised? You don't actually think you can do it faster than me, right?"
"Wait, you think you can?" Ace challenged gazing at his brother in disbelief.
"Oh dear, look at what you've gone and done, Ram," Mod sighed.
The years had done nothing, these two were still the most competitive by a mile.
Ace must have gotten so strong over the years because he wanted to deliver sweet retribution to his brother who he never defeated.
"Your flames probably don't even burn hotter than mine," Rosan taunted, fangs sharpening dramatically as a reptilian tail slow snaked out from behind him. "You've only had them for about 3 years compared to my 16."
"But I can still do more things then you could ever dream of," Ace retorted, lighting his body up with an eager grin. "Don't think those flames compare to me. The only thing your fires are good for, are giving me inspiration for some of my techniques!"
"Wanna bet?" Rosan challenged, eyes transforming into slits.
Ace's response was to leap clean off of the Going Merry onto his ship, Striker, and fire off. "YOU'RE ON!"
Without wasting a second, Rosan leapt once on the railing, and rocketed off, draconic wings bursting out of his back immediately as he soared through the air.
"They're so competitive," Nami gawked in disbelief. Just like that... these two were going to make a game out of 5 ships...
That was insane. What was wrong with this family.
"Yup! Ace and Rosan get in the most competitions," Luffy beamed.
"Followed by Maro and then Luffy," Robin finished, smiling at the story. "It all started when Ace and Maro teaming up, couldn't beat Rosan and Luffy. Luffy bragged so much despite Rosan doing everything, that it sparked all of their competitive auras to unreal levels."
That day was rather funny to witness. Luffy had contributed nothing, besides being a general pest to Ace, who tried to tip the favors in Maro's scale. His annoying presence was enough to distract Ace long enough for Rosan to eventually deal with the Dokkaebi, then he focused his attention on Ace.
Him allowing Luffy to get the final hit, is probably what made their competitiveness flare so strongly. The little boy did not care whatsoever about the details, he just knew he hit Ace to win the match and that had pissed Ace off something fierce.
Ever since, their competitive streaks slowly rose higher and higher until they turned nearly everything into a competition!
Somehow, learning that Luffy had been the one to make them all so competitive, while being the least competitive in the process, sounded exactly like him.
"Our captain is so hopeless," they sighed in unison.
Ace rocketed towards the ship with a cocky grin on his face, hands in his pocket as Striker got closer and closer to the ship.
Once it got close enough he leapt off of it with enough force to send it underwater.
As he soared to the opposite side of the ships, his flaming figure caught a black and red one floating in midair, standing parallel to where he was about to land.
That damn cocky son of a—
The flame man landed on his resurfaced Striker and took aim at the five ships, cocking his fist back. If he was right, his brother was about to do the same thing.
Rosan stared at the five ships as he gathered the necessary energy in his serrated maw.
Gathering the flames, he condensed it until it was razor sharp in nature and turned the fire into something much more lethal and sharp.
"Fire Fist!"
"Raze."
A fiery orange fist launched from Ace at the same time a massive red laser launched out of Rosan's mouth.
The second commander's attack crushed two ships in its path, while Rosan's attack ruthlessly razed through two more.
Then, both attacks collided on the 5th ship in the middle, obliterating the poor boat at the moment of contact and causing a massive explosion to take place.
The straw hats watched the explosion in terrified awe.
"Those two just destroyed 5 giant ships for the sake of a competition?" Vivi gaped, taking a step back in terror at the two monsters claiming to be Luffy's older brothers.
The rest of the straw hats, sans Robin and Luffy (who were smiling), were just as surprised, if their open mouths were any indication. They began sweating at the casual destruction displayed by the two.
"I have to wonder… Why didn't Rosan just become his own captain?" Sanji said, least surprised out of all the surprised ones there.
He knew that the man was Reaper, displays like this were expected and he was well aware that the redhead was holding back often.
He was a lot more destructive then the clinical Reaper though. The Angel of Death fought very differently from Rosan...
Reaper fought like an Angel and well, Rosan fought like a Demon.
"Rosan has no interest in leading a group of people," Robin replied to the chef. "That's why just the two of us traveled with each other. That boy is incredibly selfish and doesn't want anyone to overly rely on him."
She smiled fondly as she explained.
Personally, Robin enjoyed that part of him. It made them feel like true equals and Rosan hated following people as much as leading them so he never forced her to be the leader. Sure there were times where she felt like the leader, but with his outgoing and natural personality, Rosan felt more like the leader to her at times.
Whenever one was in a vulnerable position, the other had no problem taking charge. When they were both fine, they had no problem bouncing off ideas or following the others lead.
It was a healthy, equal, relationship, one that Robin very much liked and missed and she was glad things hadn't changed. Rosan still listened to her as much as she listened to him.
Besides, if anything, Mod-chan was their leader. That woman helped them with everything and put the final stamp on if it was a good idea or not.
"Ace is also his brother… why did he choose Luffy? No offense," Usopp questioned. If those two were apart of the same crew… hell they'd be absolutely terrifying.
Imagine if all three of them joined under one banner...
It was scary to think about!
"I asked Rosan first and he said yes," Luffy beamed, flashing them all a thumbs up.
"Translation: Luffy asked Rosan to be his first friend, Rosan said no, Luffy refused to accept that as his answer, Rosan said yes, Rosan saying yes meant that he was somehow apart of his crew, Rosan joined the crew, Rosan is now a Straw Hat," Robin translated, smiling gently at the grinning rubber boy.
They sweatdropped.
Yeah, that sounded just like Luffy.