Disclaimer: I do NOT own One Piece, that means characters or plots.

Important: This chapter and maybe the next one are basically prologues.

Chapter 1: A Fateful Encounter

It had been three years. Years of absolute hell for Luffy, as everyday was the same. He wasn't living, just surviving; rather poorly at that.

He'd wake up at an ungodly hour, due to graphic nightmares. He started everyday by washing his face to rid himself of the images of the past that play with his mind when he sleeps. Afterwards he'd go out into the forest, on the island he isolated himself too, and hunt for his breakfast.

Dragging whatever beast he killed back to camp, he'd start a fire before he started to skin the animal. Cause why let any part of it go to waste, right? He'd turn the skin into a blanket, or making more clothing out of it. Luffy had even carved a rather long bone to resemble a katana and practice with it.

After he ate, Luffy took time to read books and expand his knowledge. He wasn't even sure why he bothered, but it helped to occupy his mind with other thoughts. He read books about navigation, history, cooking, and swordsmanship skills…at least the books he could salvage from his own ship.

After lunch he'd spend an hour meditating. The young man thought it might help with his nightmares, so he did this twice a day. Once after lunch and again before he tried to go to sleep. It also helped him focus for his next task: training. He spent an hour on training his haki, primarily observation and armament. Once done with that, he takes a fifteen minute break. Then he spends almost two hours going through katas of his own style in swordsmanship.

Then dinner time rolls around for the, now, twenty-two year old. During this time he relaxes, giving his muscles time to recover a bit. When he finishes his meal, the young man goes to wash up in a nearby stream. During his bath, he runs through his day, and sometimes he could swear he seen the faces of his crew, all smiling at him encouragingly.

'I swear, if I was ever given the opportunity to go back…' Luffy ended that line of thought. He knew that, unless a devil fruit for time travel existed, it wasn't possible.

"Well…I'm as clean as I can get," he let out a sigh while stepping out of the water and grabbing a towel. "Time to prepare for what little sleep I'll get."

He quickly dried off, got dressed, and made his way over to his makeshift bed. Luffy slowly sat down in a lotus position next to his bed. When he reopened his eyes, it had felt like only a minute had passed. He let a small genuine smile cross his lips. Then he climbed into his bed and closed his eyes, and like a light he was out.

That's when things got worse, because his subconscious mind wasn't restricted.

(Inside Luffy's dream)

He was standing on the frozen waters of Marineford, knowing all to well what was coming. Luffy looked up and saw a platform, but even more shocking was the person on the platform.

"Ace," Luffy whispered to himself. His eyes were wide and a little watery. He stared for what seemed like an eternity, when he finally noticed something was…off? Standing behind Ace was the form of a see through man with a wide grin.

'You can still save him,' the figure mouthed to Luffy. That's when the scene changed. Luffy recognized it immediately, as it was his second hell.

He could see every member of his crew fighting the Marine's and the one man, or dog, he didn't regret ripping apart. However, something was completely different. It's as if the scene was frozen. Not one person, except Luffy could move.

That was until the man from before, the man behind Ace in his dream, walked up and stood next to him.

Luffy looked at the man inquisitively, as if he was trying to decipher a code. He knew he'd seen this man before he just couldn't place from where though.

"Who are you?" Luffy asked after a moment, growing tired of the silence.

The man, instead of answering his question, said, "You can save them ya know?"

That threw Luffy off completely. He just stood there staring with his jaw hanging open. How was he supposed to reply to that? This man shows up and tells him he can save them?

"Well…maybe not in this timeline," the stranger amended his previous statement. The smile on his face growing a bit more somber.

Regaining his wits, Luffy narrowed his eyes. The world had made him skeptic, maybe even pessimistic. "How, and what's the catch?"

"Ah, if that isn't the question," the man smiled before answering the original question. "I'm Gol D. Roger, and being dead has it's perks."

Luffy simply nodded, now recognizing the man, or ghost? He wasn't sure what was happening entirely. "That answers my first question…BUT it doesn't tell me how or what the catch is."

"Good point so let me explain," Roger replied grinning slightly. "I can send you back to a significant time in your life, and you do have many. Now here's where things get a little tricky…"

Upon pausing, Luffy jumped in, "Whatever it is I'm sure I can handle it, so just…please tell me."

"Alright, let's say I send you all the way back to the time Shanks visited your village. Not everything will be the same," Roger paused for a moment to thing of an example when it hit him. "Your gum gum fruit. I send you back you could end up with the gum gum fruit again or a completely different one. I can't say for sure."

"Hmm," Luffy hummed in thought. "That could be for the better of for the worst. Who knows, but even still things are bound to change if you did send me back in time like you say you can."

"Oh I can, and you make a good point. I guess some perks would be you retain your knowledge of events, all of your current abilities minus your fruit powers. Only because we're messing with time it could change things up," The ethereal from of Roger said with a contemplative look on his face.

"I may like my fruit but gaining a different, hopefully better," Luffy paused and shot a glare out in the distance at one man, "fruit ability wouldn't be a bad thing."

"In other words you want to go back?" Roger asked, his grin widening ever so slightly when Luffy nodded. "I'd expect nothing less from my true successor!"

"So how are we going to do this? Cause I'm sure it can't be done from in my dream." Luffy stated bluntly.

"When you wake up go to the south edge of the island, I'll explain how it works there." Roger stated before he disappeared from Luffy's dream.

(Real World)

Looking at the sleeping form of Luffy, you could tell he wasn't tossing and turning as per usual. When the sun started to rise, Luffy slowly opened his eyes and realized that was the best he'd slept in years. Then he recalled his dream.

He quickly shot out of his bed, and used his observation haki to search the island for a presence. Low and behold there was someone, or something, other than him and the animals on the island. Without wasting a second his entered gear second and dashed off to the south end of the island.

"Good you're here," Roger said pleasantly. "You ready for a second chance?"

"More than you could ever know," Luffy replied without any doubt laced into his voice.

"So here's how this is going to work. You pick a time with significant meaning to you, and I can open a…gateway of sorts. The bad news," here Roger paused unsure of how to explain it delicately. "You'll have to jump into it."

"How is that bad news? You can open it on the ground of the island right?" Luffy asked thinking logically, even with a rubber brain.

"Not exactly," Roger looked down at the water. "It has to be opened over water, and before you ask…I don't know why."

"Oh," Luffy said with a sweat drop. However he had already made up his mind. "Send me back to the time right before Shanks docked in my village. I'd hate to go back to the time I set out just to find out I have a different fruit."

"Fair enough," turning his attention to the water and concentrating. "Now when I tell you to jump, don't hesitate."

"Don't worry about that, I'm not passing up on this opportunity," The twenty-two year old said with confidence.

"Keep in mind you will essentially be merging with a younger you, though that may be a good thing," Roger said with a smile before his senses picked up on something.

Apparently Luffy's did as well because the second he sensed it he jumped. This sent Roger into a round of a laughing fit. "I was right about him. He is my successor as the Pirate King!"

(Time Flow)

The second Luffy disappeared into the time portal, images from his laugh flashed before him. Only they were in reverse. He chalked this up to the time flow moving backwards for him as he was going back to the time Shanks visited his village.

Though it felt like eternity, only about a minute passed before he landed in the Party's Bar. Inwardly he cursed, Roger was slightly off on the timing he wanted. However it wasn't all bad, younger Luffy hasn't eaten the devil fruit…yet.

At the time he arrived though is when his younger self started freaking out, "What's going on? Why isn't anyone moving? Shanks, can you hear m-"

"Stop with the questions Luffy," the twenty-two year old said, and felt kind of odd scolding himself. "I can answer them for you."

"Alright, but first…who are you?" seven year old Luffy asked with his pinky in his nose.

"I'm you, only from the future," older Luffy said with a smirk when he seen the stars in his younger self's eyes.

"That's so cool, but why would you come back in time? And why can no one else move right now?" the kid shot off with two quick questions.

"To make a long story short. I lost everything, and you'll understand that soon," the King's successor stated before taking a brief pause. "As for why no one else can move, I imagine it's because I'm still here."

"Oh…what happens when you disappear then?" the younger Luffy asked kind of dejectedly. He thought meeting his future self was cool an all.

"It's like merging. You'll get my memories, skills, knowledge and some other things," he said before placing a hand on his younger counterparts shoulder. "Use everything I know to change the way things are, the world can be cruel and harsh, don't let it push you around. Change what I couldn't for the better."

With those words, the older Luffy slowly faded away. As the younger one gripped his head as he was assaulted with images, his body started to ache as his muscles grew slightly and an X scar covered his chest.

When things settled down, time picked up where it left off. However things were different for the seven year old. He took what his counterpart said to heart. He sat there quietly, filtering through memory after memory.

This worried some people as Luffy in all the time, no matter how short or long, they knew him. He was never this quiet.

"Hey Luffy," Shanks said gaining the boys attention. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. Just thinking is all," the boy answered. This gave pause to everyone in the bar as they stared at Luffy. Not long after all but Ben and Makino bust into a roar of laughter.

"Gahahaha, Luffy…thinking…" Shanks managed to say through his fit of laughter.

"HEY," Luffy screamed with shark teeth. "Stop laughing before I kick your Yonko ass!"

This once again gave pause to everyone in the bar. Everyone, excluding Makino, had their jaws on the ground. Not only was he thinking but he also knew Shanks was a Yonko.

They all had the same thought, but Shanks was the only one to verbally ask. "H-how did you know I was a Yonko? Let alone what a Yonko is?"

"Ha," Luffy let out a humourless laugh. "I doubt you'd believe me even if I told you."

Before the Yonko could reply, his first mate, Ben Beckman covered his captain's mouth before saying, "Try us."

"Alright but don't say I didn't warn you…" the boy answered before releasing a breath of air. "I'm me but also not me. I merged with myself…from fifteen years in the future."

Another pirate on Shanks crew stepped up. He had dreads with a head band that read 'Yassop'. "Do you have any proof? Can you tell us anything about what happened and why you wanted to come back?"

"Sure but I'll have to swear everyone here to secrecy…don't need those bastards catching wind of this," Luffy stated, mumbling the last part but everyone could hear him. They all cocked an eyebrow but nodded none the less.

So Luffy told them the story from the beginning. How they'd visited his village in his timeline, Shanks losing his left arm and the reason. How he'd eaten their devil fruit, but neglected to tell them what it was cause it could be different now. When he finally set sail, and all his adventures.

When he got to the part about Marineford he was rudely interrupted by none other than Higuma and his bandits.

"I'm the bandit Higuma, I'm not here to wreck the place," he stated but his smile indicated otherwise. "I only want some sake…lets say ten barrels would do."

"Oi, if you know what's good for you…" Luffy started, his head down with his hair covering his eyes. "you'll leave now."

He slowly looked up after giving his warning. There was a glint in his eyes, yet only the Red-hair pirates noticed it.

"What was that you worthless brat? I'm Higuma the bandit worth eight million berry," the cocky bandit stated with a glare. His ignorance was about to cost him though.

"I did warn you," Luffy said as he got up and walked towards the bandit. His arm turning obsidian black in color half way to the man. The bandit tried putting the boy in his place by drawing his sword and swinging it wildly at Luffy. However each swipe was dodged easily as Luffy closed the gap and gave one swift punch, with enough force to send him flying, to the mans stomach. After quickly dispatching the moron he turned to the other bandits and let a controlled wave of conquers haki wash over the other weakling.

"Now that that's taken care of, where was I?" Luffy asked only to turn around and be met with gobsmacked expressions. "What?"

Lucky Roo was the first to regain his composure. "Well if that isn't proof enough, I don't know what is." he said as he picked up another piece of meat and started eating again. This luckily broke the others out of their dazed states.

"I believe you got to Marineford before being rudely interrupted," Ben stated after coughing into his hand.

"Oh yeah," the boy said as he resumed his story. Telling them about Blackbeard, a.k.a Marshall D. Teach, Turning Ace into the Marines. What happened during the War of the Best. His training Under Rayleigh, and about his final battle with the Marines where he ultimately lost everything and disappeared. His self isolation, and how an ethereal form of Gol D. Roger offered him a kind of second chance.

"Wow…just wow…" Yassop said after the story was over.

Shanks however could see the look in Luffy's eyes. There was barely a spark there. He didn't notice it before, but now it was obvious. "Well Luffy, you get a chance to make things right. So far you're off to a good start…I mean I get to keep my left arm."

"Yeah, thank you Shanks," the boy let a genuine smile cross his features. "Oh by the way, do you mind if I eat the devil fruit you have?"

"Well considering everything I know, you made good use of it before," Shanks grabbed the small chest, opened it and handed the fruit to Luffy. Without hesitation he ate it whole.

'Hmm, so Roger wasn't wrong…some things are going to change,' Luffy thought as the effect of the fruit was immediate.

"Well at least we know what class this fruit falls under now," Lucky Roo said with a mouthful.

Shanks eyed Luffy curiously before asking, "What was the fruit you previously had?"

"Suppose you aren't a Yonko for nothing," Luffy laughed. "Last time it was the Gum Gum fruit, a paramecia."

"Guess this is an upgrade then, but don't rely on being intangible." Ben warned.

"I know, Akainu learned that in his final moments…" Luffy muttered.

"We can stick around for a little while and help you train your new ability," the crew all offered at once.

"Thanks guys, and shanks can help me with my swordsmanship," Luffy smirked as they all started walking into the jungle.

A/N: Yes Luffy is a bit different, he may be portrayed as "Dark" but that is not my end goal (NO SPOILERS sorry). He will be more, realistic I wanna say. As for the new DF it'll be mentioned in the next chapter. As for why I did that, I've read a lot of different time travel fan fictions and I want to be original in an idea. That said I haven't seen anyone use this idea before. Before anyone makes any suggestions, I already know what fruit I want to give him.

This will have an expanded crew and I know two people I want to add to the crew. I want your opinions though.

-Kaya

-Johnny & Yosaku (they come as a pair)

-Gin

-Nojiko

-Tashigi

-Perona

I do have ideas on how to work each in, and you can always vote for someone I didn't mention.

I'll try to update at least once a week, but I make no promises. Being an essential worker and all.