An women in her late fifties stood in front of a massive gave sight, the first two that she noticed was her brothers and the man he had called his father, thinking over to all the memories that she had of him, of them of the trio of siblings that caused so much trouble for Goa Kingdom when they were little.
So many years ago, such a long time, so long go…
Her aged eyes that used to hold so much will, so much happiness had turned wise, cold and utterly empty, there wasn't any will left inside of her, just an empty heart, too much hardships on her weathered shoulders.
Luffy walked passed them, more like hobbled passed the two larger graves and took in the others, the many other graves of the old Whitebeard pirates, the first of the Whitebeard pirates, the commanders bodies were lined up next to the captains and Ace's, then the rest of the crew.
Behind all of them facing the West of the island was another crew, the red haired pirates, Shanks's crew, Shanks's grave rested under a tree that his crew had planted for him, she had been to his funereal, had been to the rest of his crews funerals as well.
All of them saying the same thing, they wanted to be with their captain, they wanted to party in the afterlife with him.
Going further up the island, facing north was everyone's families, their siblings, their husbands or wives, their kids, and her own, along with marine friends that had died beside them all.
Then turning around to face the East Luffy saw her crews graves, one by one they had left her after they had completed their massive dreams to live out little dreams that they held…but being that they were the second pirate kings crew they were hunted down…they had all gone back to Luffy and they fought for the freedom that they felt had been yank away from them, their families joining them.
Luffy moved to where the eight graves were evenly spaced out, Luffy's worn out body sat down heavily on the ground, her grey hair blew in the wind, wrapping it around her face, straw hat held in her hand, her body wasn't what it used to be, her heart wasn't what it used to be, she had tried hard to form new connections, but there was nothing more for her.
Everyone either too scared of her to befriend her, always trying to cut her head off, become the next king that way.
She was avoiding fights, why she didn't know, it must be because she doesn't want the person to take over as being a king to someone that didn't achieve it, but why hadn't she searched out a successor?
Luffy stared at the graves a few more times than laid down on the grass like she used to do on the Sunny, cloud watching, listening to the waves.
Her peace was interrupted by footsteps, not many people came to this island, as far as Luffy knew she was the only one that bothered.
"WOW LOOK AT ALL THESE GRAVES!" An existed voice called out, reminding her of well, herself, it brought a faint smile to her face as days with her crew flashed through her mind. "OI THERE'S AN OLD LADY OVER THERE!"
"Captain, you might want to be careful, you don't know who she is." Luffy stared blankly up at the sky, her body far too aged and damaged to let her move enough to see who they were, a face popped up into her sight, a deep frowning face stared down at her, the young man had dark purple hair, and sparkling eyes.
"Yo, you alive?" He asked, only to receive a knock over the head, Luffy didn't answer just took them all in, they were so young, so full of life…
Luffy's eyes glazed over, she could feel her body breaking down on the inside, old and dry rubber, she was dying. She could hear things that she couldn't see, something about them made her think, such familiar voices that she hadn't heard in such a long time…
Voices to faces she can barely hold on to in her mind.
Luffy sat up slowly, waving off the help that one of the young boys friends had offered, her eyes travelled over them all once again, this time a large grin that hadn't been shown in years took over her face.
"Brat, what's your name?" She asked stranding up, she radiated power and they all tensed up when they felt it.
"Juno D. Isaac." He said proudly, Luffy let out a laugh, it has been a long time since she had heard someone else say they have a D in their name, and Robin had even found out what it stands for…someone that Luffy wished no one else would have to bare.
"You kinda small…" Luffy said rather bluntly, crackling up as she wobbled passed all her friends, Isaac snapped in anger at the old women, something that she found even more funny, then Luffy sent him a smirk and pointed down at his feet. "Boy, do you know whose grave you are standing on?"
He looked down shocked to see that he really was standing on someone, Luffy let out a laugh at his expression, laughing, something she hasn't heard from herself in years.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry dead dude!" He screamed out bowing to it, but not for very long, Luffy was smiling, she would have done something like that when she was younger…
"It's a dead female." She corrected him, her hands fondly going over the stone, fingers tracing the engraving on the corner of it.
"Sorry dead female!" Luffy laughed, as more of her insides started to crumble, the voices were a little clearer but she still couldn't make out what they were saying.
"Shishishishi, if she was here now you would have been struck by lightning."
"Eh? A devil fruit user?"
"No, the best navigator in the world." This got one of the people's eyes to widen.
"What are you boy? Pirate, marine, rebel or just a traveller?"
"We are rebels." Luffy laughed loudly, her age of pirates was ending, nobody knew what it meant to be free any more, she had started the age of dreams but the marines had gained control of the next era when they built that weapon of theirs.
"Rebels then…do you have dreams?"
"I'm going to fight for freedom!"
"I want to find the maps of Cat Burglar and make my own."
"I would like to find read about the past."
"I'm looking for my brother."
"I'm going to become the best cook in the world by tasting every kind of edible thing out there."
"I'm going to save everyone's lives."
"I'll become the strongest person…second strongest person in the world."Luffy laughed loud and long, to the point that she coughed up blood, the doctor of the group rushed forwards, hoping to help but Luffy waved him off.
"I'm old, I'm dying, and you can't stop old age." Standing up and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand Luffy began to walk back over to the edge of the island. "Do you know who these people are?"
"You said before that the world's greatest navigator is there…so wouldn't that be the second pirate kings graves?" Luffy laughed again, her eyes were moist with unshed tears.
"These great people are my crew." Shocked reaction and some of them went for their weapons, Luffy only laughed. "Each one of them saw their dreams, each one of them live life with no regrets…most of the time, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, and Brook, all of them are under the ground that we are standing in front of. Their last dreams are all inside of me…"
Luffy stopped to cough once again, this time chunks of rubber came out mixed in with her blood.
"What were their last dreams?" One of them whispered, they had changed, before they didn't care much about whose graves these were but now they held respect.
"You are, all of you are…they wanted amazing successors." Shock caused over them once again. "This island is my families resting place, all of them dying doing or protecting those they loved, strong and powerful and weak and small, innocent or otherwise, everyone resting under these graves have a story and you will find it, you will accomplish what you have set out to do, do not follow directly in our footsteps but back your own and walk further then we have."
"You're the pirate king...?"
"Yes I am, Monkey D. 'Straw Hat' Luffia." Luffy said while she got her ragged breathing under control.
"Everyone said you were dead, this pirate crew said that they had defeated you, he even had your hat on his head."
"Shishishi, there are a lot of straw hats in the world with a red band around them now…mine is a tiny bit different from his…mine was handed to me from Shanks, who had gotten it from his captain…the first pirate king. This hat is the only treasure that remains…and I'm going to send it down to the one that will hopefully be the right person to succeed in what I haven't been able to do." With that she placed the hat over dark purple hair, Isaac's mouth dropped open, eyes shooting up to look into Luffy's eyes. "Take good care of that hat for me…it's an important treasure and when you have done what you have set out to do…you'll know what to do with it."
Laughing Luffy moved back to where she had been standing frowning down at the ground, they could only watch as she bent down black fingers going into the earth, then she stood up holding a large about of earth in her hand, she place it on the side of the hole and got in…
"YOU JUST MADE YOUR OWN GRAVE!?"
"SHISHSISHI…"Luffy's body cut her off as her hands began to crumble, even tho it must hurt like hell she didn't show any form of pain or discomfort. "Haki is the best thing to master, find someone to teach it to you."
"What about you?"
"I've already got my foot in the grave." Luffy laid down eyes staring up at the sky. "You'll find everything you need in that place, ONE PIECE IS REAL!"
Everyone paused awkwardly as they looked down at Luffy, they couldn't tell if she was dead or not and they didn't want to place the large slab of earth on her if she was alive.
"You…you dead?"
"Shishishishi…" Luffy laughed grin spreading over her face as she closed her eyes, those that watched her die watched as her body broke apart like aged old rubber, the last thing they heard of her laughter.
"Luffy."
"Lu."
"Luffy-sis!"
"Captain!"
"Oi Luffy!"
"Open your eyes!" Luffy opened them and found herself looking at her family and friends once again, all of them on the island only there wasn't any graves, and there were ships anchored around it.
"Man you took a while to die." A freckle faced man said, a large grin over his face, Luffy's face lit up, she got up and tackled her older brother down to the ground causing him to whine out in pain, this got laughter from everyone.
"Oi Anchor, you gave away my hat? You never gave it back to me." A red haired man with two arms shouted, Luffy laughed, looking around at her family, feeling free once again.
"I didn't know captain's body would crumble down like that." Robin said, staring at something, Luffy turned her head in time to see that group of young people push the slab of each into the hole she had made.
"So I'm dead now…huh?" Luffy said rubbing her chin, eyes gazing over everyone, they stared at her, and even if she was dead she's still a powerful being. "How the hell are all of you so young looking?"
"BAHAHAHAHA!" Laughter ran out of a few people while others sweat dropped.
"Captain, if we want to look younger then we can." Robin explained, turning herself into a child then back again, Luffy looked at her.
"So it's a mystery?" Even as she said this, her old wrinkled skin flattened out and turned smooth, making her look twenty four. "OI BROOK!"
"Yes captain?"
"PLAY BINKS SAKE! SANJI COOK SOME FOOD, FRANKY, USOPP FIREWORKS, LETS GET THIS PARTY GOING!"
