I don't own One Piece and I'm not a money hungry whore.
I don't know where this journey will end, but I know where it starts.
Chapter 1: Awakening
It reeked of blood. Blood and Death.
The sight of blood oozing from his wounds made him almost faint. But the mind numbing pain held him to this reality long enough for him to run. The excessive adrenaline pumping through his veins gave him a shot at survival.
'I don't want to feel this pain. It hurts so goddamn much. I don't want to die. Not now. Not like this' Luffy's thoughts raced through his mind.
He kept on running, afraid, of his own mortality. He had never felt so helpless, so terrified before.
It all started in East Wind, when Luffy asked Makino (The Inn keep) if he could have some boar meat. "Sorry, Luffy-chan, I don't have any meat right now. The hunters aren't back with fresh supplies yet. You'll have to wait till tomorrow."
Luffy's brain then shifted Boar meat to priority number one. So he decided to go hunt for one himself despite his ineptitude to do so. All he could think about was how he could get his fix today. When he finally found a bunch of them, he decided to wait until the smallest one separated from the herd and then knock him out with a rock. But as soon as he leapt out to put his carefully thought out plan to execution, Mama Boar caught scent of him and rushed to protect her child from this ridiculous ape. She impaled him with her tusks and his abdomen got ripped open and blood flowed profusely. His immediate instinct of survival forced him to run as fast as possible back towards East wind.
"Heeeeelp me, I'm scaaaaared" he shouted. But he was all alone for miles. No one heard his desperate plea for help.
He kept on running until his legs gave out from underneath him. Mama Boar picked up on the fact that he was done for and moved in for the kill. Luffy locked eyes with her and he could feel her fury, malevolence and intent to kill. He realised, in that instant, that these were to be his last thoughts.
"I want to live. To be free again. I WANT TO LIVE!"
And then everything changed.
A voice arose from within him, a voice so terribly powerful that it shook the skies and proclaimed
"LIVE ON! EMBLAZON THE WORLD WITH THE WILL OF D"
And from that moment on he was able to feel the world around him as he never felt it before. He felt as if he was the very ground he was standing on, the very air that he was breathing, the very space in which he existed. And when he focused on the boar, he became one with it, conscious of every feeling of Mama Boar's mind and the very beat of her heart. He sensed fear, naked and pure. But not for her life but for her child's. And then a feeling of motherly love overcame him as he realised his mistake. He reached out to her consciousness to apologise and when she sensed his feelings she was overcome with relief. She understood that he grieved over his actions. And then Luffy instructed her to carry her to East Wind so that he could be treated. But he felt more alive than ever. His pain subsided when the Bliss of oneness with the universe swept over him. And then he closed his eyes.
Makino was tending to her customers when she saw a boar roaming the streets with a child on its back. At that moment she realised it was Luffy, and she was overcome with terror. For a moment she stood frozen to the ground, only to realise that he was in urgent need of help and rushed forward to save him. She could see that he was gravely injured and if it had not been for that boar, he might have died. She quickly took him to the Inn, and cleaned his wound and bandaged him. By that time he had a terrible fever and had lost consciousness. She kept on crying as she nursed him, for she was like a mother to him and to lose him would mean losing a part of her.
"Please get better, Luffy" she prayed as she wept. Her tears started to wet his bandages and she had to redo them all over again. She kept praying and praying and praying until the break of dawn.
Luffy opened his eyes, only to find someone towering over him, grinning widely. He had long hair, a free flowing moustache and a Straw hat.
"Shishishishi, Nice to finally meet you Monkey D. Luffy. I am Gol."
Luffy felt a deep sense of attachment to this man, as if he had known him all this while. He felt like he could trust him with his life and know for a fact that he would take care of him.
"Nice to meet you too, Gol. Except for that moustache. That is creeping me out."
Gol's jaw dropped.
"Well, Luffy you're just a child. This moustache is a big turn on for women" he snorted as his self-esteem took a beating.
"But you must be wondering, why I am here to meet you and where we are currently"
"Yeah, now that I think of it, I was chasing a boar and got hurt but then someone spoke from inside of me and then I felt as if I had become…..everything. Was it you who spoke?" Luffy asked.
"It was indeed me who saved your life Luffy. I gave you a glimpse of your destiny and I can teach you how to control it. That's why I have brought you here, inside your own consciousness so that we can talk, without interruptions. But first, I need to ask you something. Think carefully and only then answer. What do you wish for the most, in this world?"
Luffy was puzzled. He felt incredibly hungry and wanted to say food. But from within him arose, his deepest desires. And he felt that he could share it with him.
"To experience freedom and friendship. To not be afraid anymore. To not be alone anymore".
Gol felt immense happiness and he said" Shishishishishi, The Will is strong in you Luffy. I am really happy that you have inherited the Legacy of D. I shall help you achieve complete freedom and experience true friendship. I shall help you become the next PIRATE KING"
"You have unlocked the consciousness of D. Now you need to go back because people who care about you, are worried sick. Just, don't tell them about me or what we talked about. You need to keep it a secret. Do you promise?"
"Ok. I wouldn't have mentioned seeing a funny looking guy with a creepy moustache anyway."
Gol sweat-dropped.
"Hey, my moustache is super cool. It is cooler than you'll ever be." His self-esteem lowered as he realised that he was insulting a 6 year old.
"Remember that you are the only one who can see or hear me. I'll explain everything later today and this will all make sense to you then. And I'll help you realise your dreams, kid."
"It'll be fun, shishishishi. Thanks Gol". For the first time, in a long time, he felt not alone.
And then he woke up.
He found Makino and the Mayor watching over him as he opened his eyes. Makino's eyes were red and puffed up from crying and not sleeping.
"Don't worry Makino. I'm feeling much better now. I'm sorry for making you worry like this. I promise I won't let it happen again."
"Luffy you must never put yourself in danger like this again. What if you had died" Makino cried.
"That's why I told you kid, adventuring in the jungle is dangerous" said the Mayor.
He tried to get up but the pain came surging back. So he stayed put. Makino brought him food in his bed and started nursing him back to health. After they had left him, Gol materialised from nowhere and sat in the air.
"Cooool. You can flyy!" Luffy exclaimed with stars in his eyes.
"So now you begin to respect me boy. Though walking on air is a technique I can teach you too."
"You can! That's awesome."
"Yup. Because I'm Gol D. Roger. The previous pirate king."
It was Luffy's turn to jaw drop. His eyes bulged out as he realised who he was talking to.
"But weren't you supposed to be dead?" Luffy asked.
"I am a spirit, Luffy. But I'll come to that in a moment. This is where my explanation begins, Luffy. Sit tight. Have you ever wondered what the D. in your name means? Did anyone ever tell you?"
"All I know is that gramps has the same middle name. And he never told me anything about it."
"Garps has always been an idiot. He and I were rivals back in the day. Though I always kicked his ass" boasted Roger.
"But Grandpa always said that you were an amateur compared to him and that he kicked your butt every time and you ran away like a little b**ch."
"GARPS SAID THAT! The world knows how I owned him in every single one of our encounters and yet he dare defile innocent minds with his bullshit. But I'll deal with him when he comes here, in the Spirit world."
"Anyway, what he should have told you is that you are not an ordinary child. The 'D' in your name means that it is your destiny to change the world."
" Long ago, in a time known as the Void century, we, who carry the will of 'D' were emperors. We were born to rule for we did not lust after power but only to experience freedom and help the people we care about. We had the consciousness of 'D' that helped us empathise with the world, helped us to be one with it. But we were betrayed by our closest advisors ,The Gorosei, and our legacy was forgotten. We cared for freedom while they lusted for power and thus the world was thrown into chaos. The Gorosei and a few filthy marines have corrupted this world. And that is where you come in , Luffy. You are the one who has unlocked the Consciousness of 'D' after me. You can be one with this world. Use that power for good, Just as you value your freedom above all else, you need to help other people become free from this tyranny."
"The consciousness of 'D' will enable you to merge your consciousness with your surroundings and call upon the help of all the Legends of 'D' like me, whenever you want. But you need to train a lot to control this power. You must have immense mental fortitude to not lose yourself in that power."
" Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
Luffy exhaled deeply and focused " Today when I was about to die, I felt absolutely helpless. My freedom was taken from me. It felt so suffocating. I'll never allow someone to do the same to me again or to anyone that I care about. I'll defeat anyone who tries. For that freedom, I'll become 'The next Pirate King'"
Roger was taken aback by the resolve and unwavering determination of this 6 year old. But this was to be expected from someone who possessed the Will of D.
Roger said "I'll help you become my successor, Luffy. Get ready for the greatest adventure of your life."
AUTHOR'S NOTES
This is my first ever fanfic. Hope you guys like it. I know Roger dominated this first chapter but that's to be expected of The Pirate King and I needed to set the plot. Luffy,at the end, has now become more determined,serious than before and baddass Luffy is gonna come up in the next chapter when the training begins. Looking forward to your reviews.