So, before I start this off, here are the two changes I've made to continuity before this event. First, Luffy never ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi (Gum-Gum Fruit), and second, when the boys were making their tree-fort, they found something in the tree they chose for said tree-fort.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. I honestly don't know why we have to do this every time we post anything, but, I guess we do. Although it seems highly unlikely that Oda is going to pop down from his 20-story skyscraper, look at any specific piece of fanfic, and go, "You damn plagiarist!" But since we can't risk that, I own nothing.
Speech – "I'm going to be the Pirate King!"
Thoughts – 'I'm going to be the Pirate King!'
Technique – "Gomu Gomu no…Mushi!" (Gum-Gum Whip)
Letters/Notes/Anything written – 'Welcome to Saobody Archipelago!'
If I come up with any other specific bold/italic combinations for some other crap, I'll post it before the chapter I use it.
Anyway, this is going to be a sort of prologue, so, let's get on with the show! Oh, and before I forget, I'm going to start this 10 years before the start of the series, then we timeskip to the start. Kay? Kay. Ikimashou! Or "Allons-y!" as the Doctor would say. Speaking of which, anybody else hoping for Charles Dance as the new Master?
Zoro: Oi, get on with the story!
Right, right. Welcome to the prologue of…Gods of War!
Luffy sat on a thick branch and gazed curiously at the tree hollow, wondering who had gone to the trouble of climbing so high up just to deposit a note and some fruit.
"Oi, Ace, Sabo! C'mere, I found something weird!" he called down to his toiling brothers.
Ace and Sabo shared a glance, before Sabo shrugged and began to climb the tall oak, Ace following his lead while muttering about lazy, stupid younger brothers.
"What did you find?" Ace asked wearily, having reached Luffy and Sabo "And is it really important enough to distract us from our work?"
Luffy stuck his tongue out. "There's a letter in here, and some strange fruit! Do you think they're tasty? I'm hungry. Let's get lunch!"
Sabo lightly bopped the Straw hat clad boy on the head, before reaching out and taking the note. "Let's read the note; maybe it'll have some info on what these weird fruit are."
Ace signified agreement with a defeated sigh, and the three mischief-makers settled down on the branch to read the mysterious note.
"Dear reader or readers,
If you have found this letter, then you must've surely found the three Akuma no Mi (Devil Fruits) that have been hidden along with it."
Here, the three brothers simultaneously turned to look at the three fruits, as understanding dawned on Sabo and Ace.
"Hey, what's a Devil Fruit?" the youngest of the trio asked.
"It's a very powerful fruit that gives whoever consumes it power, in exchange for taking away their ability to swim." Sabo explained to his sibling.
"Oh. How does it work? And why does it take away the ability to swim?" Luffy asked.
"If we knew that, don't you think we would've made our own or something by now?" a slightly irate Ace replied, wanting to read the rest of the letter.
"Oh. So it's a mystery fruit!" Luffy stated, with an air of one who has achieved divine knowledge.
"…Sure, let's go with that." Sabo agreed, turning to read the note.
"These fruits were used by my brothers and I to sail through almost all of the Grand Line, but now we face our greatest battle, against the mightiest enemy we have ever come across – all three Admirals at once, along with seven Vice Admirals. We do not expect to come out of this battle alive, so I write this letter on the eve of our doom so as to instruct the future wielders of our Akuma no Mi in the basics of their power. I have entrusted this note to my First Mate, Monkey D. Zernier, who will collect our Akuma no Mi once we have died and take them along with this missive back to his homeland to hide."
Ace and Sabo stopped reading to look at Luffy, who was innocently picking his nose.
"What?" he asked in confusion.
"Why didn't you tell us your ancestor was a pirate?!" the older brothers screamed in tandem, as they concurrently smashed their dumber brother in the head, almost causing him to fall off the branch they were sitting on.
"Owowowowowow!" the boy screamed in pain. "I didn't know! I didn't even know I had an ancestor named Zernier!"
The response mollified Sabo, while Ace just threw another dirty look in Luffy's direction, this time disgusted that the boy didn't even know his own ancestry.
"To those who are reading this, I will now explain the basics of these three most dangerous fruits. These are Mythical Zoan types, and their names are Hito Hito no Mi: Moderu Susanōo (Human-Human Fruit: Model Susanōo), Hito Hito no Mi: Moderu Kagutsuchi (Human-Human Fruit: Model Kagutsuchi), and Hito Hito no Mi: Moderu Tsukuyomi (Human-Human Fruit: Model Tsukuyomi). Together, they are unofficially called the Bujin no Mi (Fruit of the War Gods), because separately, they have the power to destroy an entire island, while together, they have the potential to destroy the world."
By this point, the three brothers' eyes were taking up half of their faces.
"So cool!" Luffy whispered, before breaking the moment with his usual stupidity. "What's a Zoan?"
Sabo shook his head in amusement at his younger brothers' ignorance, before explaining.
"There are three main types of Akuma no Mi (Devil Fruits). The first is Paramecia, which alters the body in some slight way. Usually, it gives an ability to affect the environment, affect the user, or produce some substance without turning into said substance or without actually transforming. The second is Zoan – it gives the ability to transform into animals or other beasts. Finally, there's Logia, which is considered the most powerful. It allows the user to transform and create a certain element, like fire," At this Ace perked up, "Or lightning." At that Luffy's eyes widened in curiosity.
"Wait, these are Zoans though, right?" Luffy asked in dejection, as he thought that he wouldn't be getting cool lightning powers. Oh how wrong he would be…
"Yeah, but these are MYTHICAL Zoans. They're really rare – rarer than Logias, and considered at least as powerful, because they let you change into creatures of myth, not just cats or dogs or whatever." Ace explained.
Luffy sat up straighter. "Then get to reading! I wanna know what else this dude has to say!"
Sabo lightly bopped Luffy on the head, but did as requested.
"Now, these fruits work slightly differently form other Zoans. First, they allow you to transform body parts separate from a complete transformation. Second, when you enter the complete transformation, it is still not the final form that you can enter. After entering the final transformation, the user of the Bujin no Mi can then summon the weapons of this transformation. Summoning all of the weapons gives the user a power comparable to that of the gods, which are whose forms these fruits give, at least, according to my research. Susanōo is the fruit of the Storm God – Susanoo-no-Mikoto. The consumer of this fruit will grant the user control over storms, and to a certain extent, the weather, including lightning and wind. Kagutsuchi is the fruit of the Fire God – Hinokagutsuchi. Its consumer gains the power to create and control fire, magma, and heat. Finally, Tsukuyomi is the fruit of Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, the Moon God. The realm of this fruit is most mysterious – it grants power over the Moon, meaning, to a certain degree, the tides, magic, light and purification.
I leave these fruits along with this note to whoever finds it. I pray that the three who do are siblings and eternal allies, for a true battle between two of these monsters would be cataclysmic. Heed this, my final warning. Should you enter the final form, and summon all of the weapons to become a god, do not stay too long in that form, for the longer you stay, the more the god manifests. Maintain it for too long, and you will lose control over yourself, and become a mindless god forever, bent only on destruction and chaos.
Signed, Wyvern D. Gord, Captain of the Wyvern Pirates"
The three boys sat still, as they processed what they had just finished reading. Luffy was the first to break the silence.
"I call the Storm fruit!" he shouted.
"Idiot!" Sabo and Ace yelled simultaneously, bonking their younger brother on the head.
"What?" Luffy whined. "I've always like lightning, and I know Ace isn't interested in it, he like fire. Wait…Sabo, do you want it?"
Sabo shook his head. "It wouldn't matter if I did anyway. Rules of pirate salvage – whoever finds the treasure gets first pick. Since you found it, you get to pick the fruit that you want to eat first."
Luffy eagerly shook his head in agreement, happy to find some official reason to justify his greed.
"Sabo, do you mind if I get the Fire God fruit? It's just…I've always liked fire, and if I were to ever eat a Devil Fruit, I'd want one that has to do with it." Ace asked gruffly, silently hoping that the blond boy would agree – he didn't want to have to fight him.
"Sure. 'Sides, I like the idea of being able to control the moon. Plus, imagine me shooting beams of light from my hands! Pew, pew!" Sabo laughed.
"Awesome!" Luffy yelled. "Now, let's eat!"
As one, the three brothers picked up their chosen fruits and bit into them.
Time Skip to the day that Sabo gets kidnapped
"Let me go! Let me go you asshole! I'll beat the crap out of you!" Sabo screamed, trying to wiggle out of Bluejam's grip.
"Sure you will kid. You may be able to fight worthless grunts, but I'm a pirate captain! Now, shut up and stop squirming! Your dad may have wanted you unharmed, but he can't stop me from breaking a few limbs!" Bluejam threatened the blond-haired boy. "Ah, here he is now!"
Sabo's father was a man of medium height and build, but unlike the boy his hair was black, and he constantly wore an expression on his face as if he had smelled something disgusting. He walked up to Bluejam, and took a good look at Sabo.
"You have him then? Good. Now, Sabo come with me. I've had enough of your foolishness. We are going home, and you are going to attend to your studies and be a good little boy." Outlook III said in his quiet tone of voice.
"No! I'll never do that, and you can't make me!" Sabo screamed in defiance.
"Really? Are you sure about that? I'm a nobleman Sabo, I'm rich and powerful, and I can have your little friends taken care of at will. Now, you will obey me!" the nobleman threatened.
Sabo was silent, before he began to chuckle. Low, quiet, it grew louder and louder before blooming into a full-belly laugh. The contrast of the manic laughter against the silence unnerved the pirates and the corrupt nobleman, and they stared in mild fear and confusion at the little boy. Finally, Outlook III had had enough.
Slap!
The nobleman's palm connected with the cheek of his son, throwing the boy to the ground, and yet the laughter did not stop.
"What's so goddamned funny?!" the man screamed at the prone boy.
Sabo slowly got to his feet with his head bowed, his top hat causing a shadow to fall across his face.
"You know, I let myself get captured to see if you were any different from what you used to be like, but I was wrong. So now, you're going to let me go, or we're going to have a problem," the boy said softly.
"Sabo, if you don't stop acting like this, you're going to regret it!" Outlook III screamed in a rage tinted slightly with madness.
"No, no I won't. Oi, Bluejam." Sabo turned his attention to the pirate captain. "Doesn't the moon seem really pretty?"
The confused villain turned to look at the celestial object, and was too distracted to hear Sabo.
"Tsuki…no Eikyō (Effect of the Moon)." Sabo whispered. Bluejam's eyes became completely white, and he turned to look at the nobleman and his son.
"Bluejam…hit my father with your pistol." Sabo ordered. Wordlessly, Bluejam drew his firearm, and angled his arm.
"Oi, Bluejam, what the hell are you doing? I'm a nobleman, how dare you…!" Outlook III's words were cut short by the butt of Bluejam's gun slamming into his head, causing the nobleman to fall to the ground. Sabo knelt down to stare his father in the face.
"If you ever threaten me or my brothers again, I swear, I don't care if you're my father or Kami himself, I'll kill you. Got that?" Sabo said quietly. Outlook III could do nothing but nod his head silently. "Good. Now, allow me to assist you on your way home."
Sabo stood up straight and raised his right hand, his index finger extended.
"Mangetsu…Hari! (Full Moon Beam)" he intoned, causing a ball of pure white light to form at the tip of his finger and suddenly extend into a beam, striking his father in the chest and causing him to fly towards the gate leading into Goa.
"As for you, Bluejam…" Sabo turned back to look at the pirate captain, whose eyes had by then returned to their natural color. Bluejam took a step back, and tripped over a lying figure. Turning to look around, he saw Ace and Luffy standing a few meters away, with the rest of his pirate crew lying on the ground motionless. With matching evil grins, the three brothers launched themselves at the captain…
That's a wrap! The next chapter will be skipping to the time when Luffy first set sail and the beginning of the Romance Dawn Arc. It should take maybe 2 chapters at max, but I will try to make it interesting, and not just a rehash of the anime arc, but the main differences will be the fight scenes, because with a different Devil Fruit Luffy's fighting style is obviously very different. Final note: I haven't fully finished the ability lists for Luffy, Sabo, and Ace, so if anyone has any ideas, send them my way. If I haven't used them already, and if I like them, I'll include them in the story at some point. I'll try to make most chapters between 3000-5000 words, so this is a bit short for me usually. But that's all for now, see ya guys latah!