Based on One Piece Chapters 843, 844, and 845.

This will be a tragedy. You have been warned. Also, Character Death. Again, warnings now.


"Luffy-san. What do you think you'll do after you become the Pirate King?" Brook asked curiously.

It wasn't really a topic they'd ever thought about or broached before. What happens after the adventure ends.

Luffy hums in amusement and doesn't even take much time to consider it. "I'm going to visit Ace's grave!" He announces cheerfully, startling them all. That name was still a taboo on this ship, for fear that saying too much might break their fragile captain while he was still getting over everything that had happened. Hearing Luffy say it was a bit shocking. He, of course, didn't notice their hesitation or concern. He just laughs and continues on with what he'll do. Of course he would have thought about what comes next, when this ends. "I'm going to tell him about all the adventures we went on, all the fun we had, and make him proud that I did it! Just like he said, I became the pirate king~" He grins and chuckles some more. "And then, I'll probably go on another adventure! I'm not sure what yet but it'll be grand, I know it!"

His eyes glow with confidence and contentment, if not fully at peace with Ace's death, at least at peace with himself. It's hard to tell what his feelings are, in regards to his brother, and with it being a taboo topic, the rest of the crew is usually too afraid to bring it up, to question it too much.

"You want to go on more adventures after you become the Pirate King?" Brook prompts. It shouldn't be so surprising, and yet, it hadn't occurred to him that he might not be done once everything was over.

Luffy laughs again. "Shi shi shi shi! Yeah! I don't know if I'll go with you guys or not, but the whole reason I want to do this is because being the Pirate King means I get to have the most freedom on the seas! Plus, I made a promise to Shanks!"

That line made them start, not sure what to make of the first part of his statement. "What do you mean, you don't know if you'll go with us or not?!" Zoro demands harshly.

Luffy blinks at him and then grins. "Well, yeah. I mean, your dream is to become the strongest swordsman in the world, right?" He laughs, turning his eyes on Nami even as his eyes crinkle in delight. "And you want to draw a map of the whole world." Sanji. "You're going to find the All Blue!" Usopp. "You're going to be a great warrior of the sea!" Chopper. "You want to be the very best doctor you can be." Franky. "You want to sail on the ship that you built!" Robin. "You want to find the world's history." Brook. "You're waiting to be reunited with Laboon."

He laughs again, arms naturally coming to rest behind his head. "Once you guys achieve your dream, just like when I become the Pirate King, it's going to be up to you if you want to continue or not, you know?"

He won't force them. They all know that. Luffy values freedom above all else. He firmly believes in everyone making their own choices. Sometimes he doesn't agree with those choices; he can be stubborn and selfish and hardheaded and try to bully them into changing their choices but he won't force them. Never would he actually force them. Sanji is a prime example of that. When they first met, he all but demanded that Sanji be the cook on his ship but after the battle, he was willing to leave without Sanji by his side. It had to be Sanji's choice; he'd been adamant about that. When the other cooks tried to force Sanji out and get Luffy to bring him along by force, he'd refused. And this last time as well, when Sanji beat him up, he refused to believe that Sanji would turn against him and stubbornly went on a hunger fast. He didn't force Sanji to come back with him, though; again, it had to be his choice. He'd been this way all along, with every crew member, at some point or another. They all knew this side of him very well.

"I, for one, would be honored to continue my adventures with you after I meet up with Laboon." Brook replied, bowing humbly.

Luffy laughs again. "Shi shi shi shi! I would love that!"

One by one, they all sign up for more adventures with Luffy. Yeah. Yeah. He was their captain. Their stupid, lovable, screw-loose captain and if he wanted to go on more adventures, they would all be delighted to spoil him with even more of their time and company. It wasn't so easy as to let him go completely.