Chapter 1:

It had been almost two years since Luffy came to the past. He and Ace had discussed some ideas as to how it happened, but the best they could think of was either a devil fruit or his dead nakama. Both seemed a bit unlikely, but they weren't going to rule out the ideas. The whole situation was weird, why not have weird theories, too?

Ace was almost seventeen now.

"Only a few more days", Luffy mused aloud.

"Yep", Ace replied, both excited and reluctant. Excited, because he could be free, unlike his late brother who had passed before getting a taste of freedom. And he felt reluctant, because Luffy didn't seem very emotionally stable and he was alone for a very long time. Luffy tried to assure him several times over that he'd be just fine, but Ace was Ace, ever the worrywort. Though, admittedly, Luffy wasn't much better in that regard.

Two days later, the two decided to have a huge feast before Ace left the next day. They would have a blast hunting together again and having a party. Parties were always great, no matter the time, to them and their bandit family. Dadan was almost in tears most of the time. She refused to cry, though, but Luffy knew she'd be crying her eyes out once Ace left. He also knew a big party would cheer everyone up.

And that's what they did. The bandits' hideout was one big party from that morning to the next afternoon, shortly before Ace would set sail. It was a grand departure, in Luffy's opinion, and they'd have it no other way. A grand pirate needs just as grand a send off, no?

Luffy laughed as he waved to his brother's slowly disappearing form. It'd be three years before they saw each other again. He just hoped nothing too drastic changed and they wouldn't meet at all. It was a terrifying thought, but not impossible.

Well, there was no use dwelling on it too long. He still had three years worth of training to do. Idly, he wondered how his haki would be now compared to before. Not that he hadn't used it at all, just not very often as there wasn't much need for it.

He focused on his surroundings. Observation was the one he had used most out of the three, but using it on instinct was a bit different than focusing. He noticed the slight decrease in range. That would need work.

Armament. Not as strong anymore. Damn.

Conqueror's. It was basically the same as before. He wouldn't fully know until he went into an all out battle, of course. He couldn't just go and try to knock out everyone on the island.

His overall strength had definitely decreased with his haki. He had his work cut out for him with training. He wanted to get to it immediately, which was exactly what he did. He trained almost non-stop for those three years.

He saw Ace's bounty after a few months, it hadn't changed, but he was still excited to see his big brother's poster again.

"Ace, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna make sure everyone survives this time. Maybe we can fight over being the Pirate King? Shishishi, na, Ace? Sabo?" Luffy breathed a sigh as he smiled slightly, remembering his brothers and himself fighting over who'd get the position of Captain on their ship.

Three years had passed by and Luffy noticed the difference in his strength between then and now. It was a pretty big change, but one he was glad for. He just hoped it wouldn't be too little strength to save his brothers and his crew. He wouldn't let it be, he decided. Luffy would train as often as possible. Maybe he could get Zoro to teach him some stuff? Swords were cool, but not his dominant style. Actually, he couldn't use a sword to save his life. Or anyone's for that matter, which was why he wanted to learn.

If the information wouldn't just pass through one ear and out the other, that is. He was determined to try, though.

"Na, Dadan, I'm going off now. You sure you're not coming?"

"Yes, Luffy, I'm sure. Now get out of here, ya damn brat!" Luffy laughed and then gained a thoughtful look on his face. He remembered saying something funny to her, but... Oh! That was it!

"Oh, yeah, Dadan!"

"What, brat?!"

"I hate mountain bandits!"

"Shut up and go already!"

"But I like you guys!" Dadan was almost on the floor in tears after hearing that, blubbering out obscenities she didn't mean and that he should go already. Luffy laughed and made his way to Windmill Village. It had been so long since he last saw his home. Well over twenty years now, even if you don't include the time between. It would be nice to see everyone again. Makino and Mayor Woop Slap had visited every now and again, but he hadn't seen the rest of the villagers in a very, very long time.

He was right, it was nice to see everyone again, even though Woop Slap wasn't happy that another criminal was coming from their small, out-of-the-way village. That just made Luffy laugh, though. Everyone in the village, including Woop Slap to some extent and the bandits that were hiding behind a house, was excited for Luffy. He was going to "start" his journey and become King of the Pirates. They all believed in him, too.

Luffy stood in his small boat, happy with his simple begining, and denying the offer of a better boat. How would he get any stronger if he started out with something easy, after all?

He stared at the sky for a moment as he felt a large aura approach from beneath the waves. The eel seaking that ate Shanks' arm was back. Luffy sent it flying, even without his haki. It felt nice to punch that seaking again, he admitted to himself.

"Ace. Sabo. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna make sure everyone lives this time."

"What are you mumbling to yourself, Luffy? A good luck charm", one villager asked with a good natured laugh.

"Nah, it's just a promise I intend to keep!" Luffy smiled wide at his old home one last time. Then, he set off, ready to find his friends and brothers once again. He was ready to start over.

His boat was nearing a large whirlpool, he had a vague idea of where he was, but he only thought of the fact that he'd be seeing Coby again soon. It would be great to see him again. Luffy knew he'd become a great marine in the future and he'd be damned if he didn't make sure that happened again.

He also felt a bit sorry that he'd be putting Coby through Gramps' training again. Though, he couldn't exactly help that one. Some things were just out of his control. He laughed to himself a bit as he finished the last apple in the barrel and jumped in. That was how Coby found him, right? In a barrel in the sea? Details were never his strong point, so he just decided to let the barrel take him where he needed to be. He was getting tired of rowing anyway.

He soon awoke to the feeling of rolling and hitting a... staircase? It sure felt like one. Good thing he was rubber! The rolling continued until he finally hit something and stopped. The rolling made him a bit dizzy, but it didn't last long. Soon after, he felt someone quietly walk in. They were scared, but he knew that would change soon.

Coby looked around the storage room, wary of what might be in there. He didn't think he could survive anymore torment from Alvida's cronies. Maybe they wouldn't find him here.

He soon noticed a large barrel that seemed pretty out of place in a room that housed much smaller barrels. He didn't pay much heed to the difference and figured it was probably beer or something. Maybe if he threw the contents out and jumped in he could escape? The thought of Alvida finding out and chasing him terrified him. He didn't want to be her slave, but he still wanted to live.

Three of said whale's cronies came in, seeing Coby rolling a giant barrel towards the door. They stopped him and decided to break it open. Coby thought it was stupid how they planned on opening the barrel with their fists.

Before the burly cronie had a chance to bring his arm down, a person came flying out of the barrel, shocking all who were present. The burly man was knocked unconscious by the teen's head whacking him in the chin as he stood.

"Who the hell are you", the other two cried in shock and anger.

"Man! That was a weird dream!"

"Don't just ignore us!"

"Eh? Who're you?"

"We asked first! Now, quit messing with us and tell us who you are!"

"Oh, me, I'm Monkey D. Luffy. Nice ta meet ya", Luffy said with a wave. It wasn't really all that nice to meet them, they smelled terrible. Probably worse than when he first met Zoro. Though, Luffy tried being a bit more polite, since he didn't remember meeting them before. Maybe he did and they were just forgettable people? Oh well. The two came at him with swords, but he pushed a bit of Conqueror's on them and they fled with the unconscious one.

"What's with them? It wasn't even that much haki", he mumbled. Coby stared at the strawhatted teen, awe and fear on his face. Luffy noticed he was still standing there and waved his hand in Coby's face.

Coby blinked and wasn't entirely sure what to say. "Th-that was... amazing!"

"Ah, thanks, I guess, Coby." The moment it came out of his mouth, Luffy realized his mistake.

"H-how do you know my name?" And the fear was back on his face.

"I... I heard those guys say your name before I jumped out." It wasn't false, he had heard them, but he didn't think Coby would believe that too easily. Coby looked a bit suspicious, but took the answer none the less, which Luffy was grateful for.

Luffy smelled food and, hearing his stomach rumble, decided to follow the scent. Coby followed, not to sure what else he should do at that moment. Luffy's nose lead them to the pantry. It... was filled with mostly apples. Why so many apples?

Luffy decided he didn't care too much, because it was still food. He started digging in right away, happy to have something to eat.

"So... Luffy, right?" Luffy nodded, popping another apple in his mouth. "Why are you out at sea?"

"Ah, I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"

"What?! So you're looking for the legendary One piece?!" A nod. "Impossible! Impossible! Impossible! There are tons of other pirates out there stronger than you and they're looking for the same thing!"

Luffy frowned. He knew Coby was pessimistic at the best of times, but he forgot just how bad it was. At first, then Coby started to really believe he could accomplish his dream.

"Coby, it's not about if I can do it. I'm doing this because I want to. It's my dream." And because he made a promise, but that was a promise he wanted to keep anyway. Coby looked at the teen not much older than him (physically, at least), shock and realization on his face.

"Do-do you think I could do it? That I could achieve my dream if I tried? That I could be a marine?"

"I think you'll be a great marine, Coby!"

"Yeah! I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna be a marine and catch bad guys like Alvida!" Luffy smiled brightly. Coby found his determination.

The whale Coby said he'd catch came bursting through the ceiling. It freaked Coby out and Luffy wondered how she knew where they were. Did she have observation haki? Nah, if that were the case she would've come around a while ago, or at least noticed that he was sleeping on the ship they were raiding. Luffy shrugged, it didn't really matter anyway. He planned on kicking her fat ass right off the ship again whether she had haki or not.

"Who do you plan on catching, Coby?" She must have pretty good ears, though. "Planning treason with a bounty hunter are we?" Maybe not so good of ears then. "You must be Roronoa Zoro, right? Have you come to take my head? No, you don't have three swords. Who the hell are you?"

"Just someone who plans on kicking your fat ass, whale-hag." Luffy laughed as he brought Coby up to the deck, avoiding the sloppy attack from Alvida. He decided to show off a bit and practically destroyed Alvida's crew. At least, in the sense where they were now unwilling to fight some monstrous demon with stretchy limbs. All of the crew members were lying face down on the deck. The ones who weren't beaten unconscious in one hit were lying there in fear that he'd get them, too. Luffy found it pretty funny how they practically gave up trying to fight him, but was disappointed at the lack of a challenge.

"L-Luffy? What are you", Coby asked, scared of his new friend.

"I'm a rubber man", he exclaimed, pulling his cheek out to an inhuman length.

"Rubber... man?" Coby thought that that kind of thing was just a myth, but Luffy just showed him otherwise.

"So, you've eaten one of the mythical devil fruits, huh?"

"Look, whale-lady," A tick mark appeared over her brow. ", devil fruits aren't a myth. I'm pretty sure I just showed you that." Luffy stretched his cheek out to unusual lengths once again, showing her that, yes, devil fruits are real. "They're pretty awesome sometimes!" He remembered the one devil fruit that really wasn't "awesome". The pet-pet fruit. It gave the user the ability to enslave their captives and have them come to their every beck and call, obey every order. It was torture to Luffy. He'd prefer having his freedom, thank you very much. He remembered some of the animals under the weirdo's control trying to break free with no luck. It was a sad thing to think of, so he thought of what was happening in front of him instead.

Alvida swung her mace down and Luffy covered his head and hat in haki on instict. The mace shattered on impact. Alvida was completely taken off-guard and Luffy took advantage of that, punching her in the face, breaking her nose and cheeks in the process, and throwing her into the sea, far away.

Coby stared in awe and felt a bit weak. His nightmare had been defeated in one shot by his new friend. He was, by all means, free. It was a nice feeling.

"You." Luffy pointed at a random crew member. "Get Coby a boat. He's leaving and becoming a marine." Coby thought he'd cry. No one had ever been so nice to him before. He really hoped that Luffy thought they were friends, too.

The marines showed up as they jumped into their small life-boat. Luffy noticed someone next to them. In a boat just a few feet away was Nami. Luffy's eyes were wide, both shock and joy were in them as he saw Nami row away. He had almost forgotten that she was headed to Shells Town, too. What a coincidence. Luffy laughed to himself a bit.

"So, Luffy, where are we going now", Coby asked, not scared of the rubber teen sitting near him any longer.

"To where Zoro is."

"What?! The pirate hunter?! Why would you wanna see him?!"

"I'm gonna see if I can get him to join my crew!"

"Luffy, he's a pirate hunter. I don't think he's gonna just join a pirate crew."

"Nah, he's gonna join."

Coby stared at him, confused for a moment, until he realized there would be no point trying to tell Luffy otherwise. He was too stubborn. "Whatever you say, Luffy..."

The two sat in the boat, goofing around and having a generally good time. They'd be in Shells Town and separating soon, but Luffy didn't mind. Coby was strong. Or would be strong, he should say. Gramps would make sure of that.

It wasn't long before they reached the Marine Base's city.

Hi, I know I said I wanted to post when I was finished making all the chapters, but I felt bad not doing anything at all, so I'm gonna do a chapter every month (instead of the 31st like today, it's gonna be the 1st) until it's done. When it's done, I'm gonna post every week. So, see you guys next month!

LongPastMidnight: I'm glad you think so! I really hope it does, too. I also ope you enjoy this one! ^u^

Question before I go: What enemies/friends would you guys like to have remember? I only wanna put one extra friend and around two or three enemies, maybe less.