Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

Chapter 2: Luffy's 2 years

Shanks was having a good time, in his favorite little bar on his favorite little island in the East Blue, drinking to his heart's content while flirting with this beautiful bartender and teasing the loud mouthed kid with dreams of going out to sea. Did I mention drinking? Yeah, lots of drinking.

Then comes in this snob bandit, thinking he's a big fish and bragging about a bounty of a measly 8 million belly. Well, that's fine too, he won't kick up a fuss and be violent about someone that pathetic, no reason to let the drink sour, yeah? So he pretended to be OK with that little stunt he pulled by spilling a perfectly fine bottle on him. Shanks was thinking something along the lines of, 'Yeah he'll leave in minute and we can go back to partying. Nothing can ruin the mood.'

Well, looks like something can. Suddenly a flash of light goes off. One second everyone's blinded, the next it's gone. From the source stood a young man in a torn kimono and bandages covering most of him. Once Shanks got a good look at him, a lot of alarms sounded in his head.

Firstly, he was strong. New World pirate captain strong. Next was that he was standing next to Luffy's seat, and Luffy was nowhere in sight. In his hand was the devil fruit that they found recently. Lastly and most disturbingly, on his head was a straw hat, his straw hat. How? Yes, the boy came from nowhere and he didn't sense him, but there is no way he was so drunk he didn't notice someone approaching him and taking his hat, no matter how fast he was. Moreover, it didn't look out of place on his head, on the contrary, it fit him well, like it was there for years. He even looked and felt familiar somehow.

The stranger swept his gaze across the bar, ignoring the shocked pirates and the bartender, his gaze stopped at the bandits. Suddenly, a focused wave of Conquerors Haki swept through them, knocking them down like puppets with their strings cut. Shanks got ready to fight when the stranger looked at him again, but he was caught off guard by a grin so wide and familiar it took half his face, "Shanks!" he shouted in a high pitched voice before he tackled the red haired captain to the ground, laughing all the while.

All the conscious occupants of the bar were stunned once more. Some guy appears after a flash of light, knocks the bandits unconscious and greets their captain like they were long lost friends. "Wait, who are you? Where's Luffy?" Shanks asks him, pushing him off.

The kid stopped laughing, and looked at him strangely, confused. Then realization sunk in and his eyes took on a determined look, erasing any traces of the happy kid who was laughing just a second ago. He looked around at the pirates, then at his injured body. "Everyone out, only Benn, Lucky, Yasopp and Makino stay," he ordered in a tone that left no discussion.

The whole crew glared as one at him, then looked at their captain. He nodded to them and they complied.

If Shanks was honest, the impassive face he had on was a little fake. Something about the kid was familiar and it put him off. He glanced at his hat and the young man noticed, he gave him a small smile and put his free hand on the top of the hat, holding it carefully, then he gently pulled it off and laid it on the counter in between them. When the pirates cleared the bar, taking and tying the bandits together, the stranger ran a hand through his hair and started,

"So hey guys, I'm Monkey D. Luffy. I'm 19 years old and I'm from the future."

Benn narrowed his eyes in suspicion, Lucky stopped eating, Yasopp had his mouth agape and Makino had a look that Shanks never saw on her beautiful face before, she was angry at the stranger. She was about to shout at him and demand the truth but Shanks stopped her. Of all the people present, Shanks was the only one that can even begin to believe, because he knew of someone who can travel through time, though he never heard Lady Toki say she can send people back in time, just forward.

He closed his eyes and sighed, "How?"

"Kozuki Hiyori, eater of the Time Time fruit."

Shanks put his face in his hands. This was a headache. This also meant that Lady Toki was dead. "What about Oden?" he asked, already guessing the answer.

"Kaido killed him, after allying with the new shogun." Shanks reached for a left over bottle and downed it all.

"I believe you," he breathed out tiredly. Luffy's smile returned full force and he launched into his story, from the moment he ate the fruit till the moment he came back. Needless to say, they were all quite shocked. Defeating three Warlords, going to a sky island, Enies Lobby, Impel Down, even Marineford, punching a celestial dragon, infiltrating Big Mom's territory and even destroying her Tea Party. Although they lost, the battle against Kaido was damn impressive for someone who only knew Haki for two years.

After he was done there was silence, until Shanks decided to ask about something, "So, Luffy, god it's so weird calling you that, you were a squirt last night, why not eat the fruit?"

Luffy was contemplating something, and decided to voice it, "When we were at Sabaody, Rayleigh was holding back Kizaru with just a sword, I need to be strong like that. He didn't have anything special, just a sword and he was fighting an Admiral even after 22 years of retirement, no powers, no machines, no tricks and no backup, nothing. And he was just the first mate of the pirate king. If I can't even compare to him, then what the hell was I doing. I'm going to hold off a little on that. I'll train a lot and get stronger and stronger and stronger and stronger, then I'll eat this fruit or another one, I can't decide yet. But either way I need this one, because the other fruit I'm thinking about is the Rumble Rumble fruit, so my Gum Gum fruit is a natural enemy, if I decide to eat it I can't let anyone have the Gum Gum fruit, can I keep it?" he asked Shanks at the end.

"Yes, Luffy, you can," he stood up and looked at the hat, he could see traces of tears and thread from sewing it a lot, this wasn't his hat anymore, he picked it up and put it on Luffy's head, "You can keep this too." Luffy smiled brighter than the sun and his eyes started watering a little, remembering how it happened in his time.

He wiped his eyes and spoke, "You guys can't leave until I'm healed and you teach me how to swim, also I need a chest with a lock for the fruit. Oh, and tell me how to train, because I was rubber my whole life I always trained my powers, now tell me how to train my body. And when you leave you have to go see Usopp and his mom, alright?"

"You have a deal kiddo."

…

The following month went by in a flash. It took Luffy one week to heal, after which he had a spar with Shanks. Luffy was unfortunately hit by the reality that without his fruit, his fighting style and power disappeared. He couldn't stretch, couldn't use his Gears and definitely couldn't shrug off blunt damage like it was nothing. He wasn't by any means weak, but he wouldn't be able to beat Katakuri or Doflamingo like this, the ones in his time at least. The spar with Shanks sobered him up to his level, as he is now, he wouldn't survive the New World.

Not to mention how he needed to adapt to being human again and not rubber. No more crazy flexibility, no more bouncing around on his own, and definitely no immunity to collisions. He then learned how to swim, it took him a week to learn the basics and he practiced every day from then. He decided to use a pole arm as a weapon again, upon his declaration Shanks brought him a spear they found in the New World from his ship's armory.

It was an old Yari standing at 230 cm. The wooden pole was 190 cm long and 3 cm thick that had some carvings on it, a silver shaft 5 cm high, 3 cm thick and it's width started from the pole at 3 cm and increase to 7 cm (A/N: Like a 3D trapezium). It held carvings similar to the pole and a 35 cm long, 7 cm wide double edged blade. The blade had no Tomoe and was straight until the last 5 cm converge sharply to form the tip. (A/N: If you can't really picture it google 'Onidachi', basically the same just different shaft, and the blade is not as thick and is actually sharp)

It was in good condition, but the weapon wasn't high quality and would probably need to be replaced. Even though Luffy thought it was cool, "Like the giant old man's weapon," he said, referring to Whitebeard.

Shanks wouldn't normally give someone a weapon that they cannot use, but after two weeks since coming back Luffy grew a whole centimeter. He didn't really understand the explanation but Luffy was happy that he was going to get taller from now on. Over the course of the month, he taught Luffy how to take care of the weapon and blade, polishing, sharpening, etc.

Also, Makino told Whoop Slap that Luffy ate a devil fruit and it made his body like this, so he relayed that scam to the villagers who then reprimanded the pirates for leaving devil fruits lying around.

A week after arriving, it was apparent that Garp didn't educate Luffy quite correctly the first time, so Benn took a portion of money from Luffy's savings (Higuma's bounty) and bought him a few (a lot) of books and spent three hours every night teaching Luffy a lot of things but mainly biology, history and math. Surprisingly for everyone, and especially Luffy, thinking didn't hurt as much anymore. Certainly he was not smart, still as idiotic and foolish as ever, but there was a difference between being wise and thinking crazy things through, with some difficulty, before doing them anyways. Ergo, his teaching lessons with Benn weren't totally fruitless, that is after promising the reward of meat of course.

Benn taught Luffy about biology extensively in particular for a number of reasons. The first being the vitals of the human body, where to aim and hit to damage what. Secondly and more importantly, Luffy unknowingly used his rubber body to further his speed and strength using his Gears, so Benn explained each Gear to him scientifically in hopes that understanding the process would mean better application or expansion for Luffy. Thirdly, in the event that he eats the Rumble Rumble fruit, he explained the role of electricity in the body, how he could use it to affect people's nervous systems and even his own if he found a way.

Therefore, Luffy's three weeks after recovery were spent swimming at dawn, sparring hand to hand in the morning, working out till afternoon, weapons sparring, with a metal staff he can use in the meantime, till sunset and tutelage at night. Maybe Luffy's physical condition and his fighting style weren't up to scratch yet, but his Haki really impressed the Red Hair pirates. If Luffy wasn't so sloppy, he might have given Shanks a run for his money.

...

He was now standing at the docks, bidding farewell to his favorite pirate crew apart from his own. Standing at a 176 cm, 2 cm taller than rubber man Luffy, sporting a white unbuttoned shirt showing his toned muscles along with his scar, black pants and black ankle boots, he dropped the sandals after learning the hard way how painful it is kicking with them.

He held his metal staff against his shoulder, much like how Law holds his nodachi, waving with his other hand a huge smile on his face. Behind him the whole town were waving less enthusiastically to the rowdy pirates. When they were a dot on the horizon, he turned around and headed for Party's Bar to have breakfast. Then he started training again. Swimming around the island several times and then running laps around the island, pushups, sit ups, pull ups and squats all while carrying a boulder.

Day in and day out he would work on his fighting style and his weapon mastery until he was adequate, all for the inevitable day his gramps, Monkey D. Garp, returns.

…

Three months after Shanks left, the now 180 cm tall Luffy was at Party's Bar having lunch when he first sensed him approaching the island. Luffy had always known how strong his grandfather was, but he never truly appreciated it until he sensed him that day with Observation Haki. His aura was big, strong and unwavering. He understood now how big a deal Garp the Fist really was. He also reminded himself that he was 10 years younger.

He wasn't going to do anything differently though, after all, he was still shitty gramps.

He told Makino to give him a bottle of whiskey and whatever sake the shitty geezer drinks and headed out to the docks.

He waited for half an hour until the ship docked and Garp got off, heading towards Party's Bar with his signature grin on his face. Luffy called out to him to get his attention, "Vice Admiral Garp!"

It should be mentioned that since coming back four months ago, Luffy's voice got a little deeper so it resembled a young man in his late teens rather than a child. Garp stopped and turned in his direction, grin still in place, "What do you want brat? I'm on vacation!"

"Well, it's about your grandsons." Suddenly the man's whole demeanor changed. He cast an eye over Luffy once more, taking in his every detail. He momentarily stopped at the scar on his chest then looked at him again.

"Go on." It was more of an order, his voice carrying less warmth and more authority. Luffy couldn't fault the man, he might be old and carefree, but he wouldn't miss the difference between grandson single and grandsons plural.

Luffy smiled a cheeky smile and said, "Not here, old man. Keep up!" Luffy used Soru to travel to the forest, he felt Garp following him, and stopped in a clearing, Garp stopped in front of him a moment after that. He wasn't pleased though, a Marine secret technique used in the East Blue and executed perfectly is bound to do that.

"Who are you?" Garp asked darkly, a frown replacing his smile.

Luffy smiled his signature grin, "Me? I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'm going to be king of the pirates!"

Garp hesitated but a moment in charging the crazy kid spouting nonsense, though Luffy was already using future sight Haki. He dodged a punch and threw his own Haki infused punch. It was dodged too, but the old man countered with a mean barrage of black fists that could take down a sea king's nest.

If Luffy had normal, or even top tier, Observation Haki, he couldn't have dodged or blocked them all with his current strength and speed, so he thanked his lucky stars as he dodged the man's attacks. In the middle of the barrage, Luffy swung his now black staff into the Vice Admiral's black fist, creating a shockwave that scared away every living creature in the forest.

They stepped back from each other, Luffy was panting while Garp stood unaffected physically, but you could tell he was angry.

"I know who Ace's father is," Luffy said after catching his breath. Garp's eyes widened and he was about to shout but Luffy spoke again, "And Luffy's father too, my father."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the old man denied looking more angry than scared, but scared still.

"Yes you do, Portgas D. Ace is living with Dadan and her bandit family, his birth name is Gol D. Ace, and Monkey D. Dragon is my father. I'm sure Whoop Slap already told you the story we told the village, 'Luffy ate a devil fruit and hurt himself but the pirates are helping him control it'."

"If you are Luffy then why are you so old?"

"I traveled 12 years back in time, I am 19 now. How? Using the Time Time fruit." When Garp didn't respond he took out the bottles and gave it to him, he then told him his story, much like with Shanks, but far less details this time. He only gave full accounts of the War of the Best and how Ace died, and the reason he came back in time.

Garp was totally silent, shell shocked from these revelations, from the idea that he caused his grandsons such pain and allowed one of them to die in the other's arms while he stood watching that rabid dog Sakazuki make a hole in his grandson's freaking body. Monkey D. Garp, for the first time in his life, felt ashamed. Never had he felt this feeling before, he experienced regret when his own son started his organization, but never shame.

"That's why I want you to train me," is what snapped him out of his pity party. He looked up to meet his grandson's determined eyes, eyes he saw on people with something to protect. "I will be setting out in a year and eight months, train me for a year and a half, please gramps," Luffy pleaded.

Garp looked down on his hands and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and exhaled, he raised his head, eyes now open and resembling his grandson's, he nodded with clenched fists, "Okay Luffy, I'll train you and your brothers."

Luffy's sunny grin was on his face as he stood up and cheered, one second later he shivered and felt the temperature drop. He risked a glance at his new teacher and saw something that can only be called 'Demon Mode'. Garp had this purple aura swirling around him with one eye shaded, "Get ready brat! I won't be pulling my punches!" the demonic man said. Luffy started shivering in earnest.

'What have I done?! Ace, Sabo, I'm so sorry!'

Not so far away, two 10 year olds scouring a trash heap shivered for reasons they didn't know yet.

…

The next Morning, Luffy packed all his the new clothes Makino bought him along with the books he unfortunately promised Benn he would read. He hugged Makino and told her he would visit along with his brothers. Lastly he took his spear with him and started hiking up the Mt. Colubo with his grandfather. As they neared the bandits' shack, Luffy spoke up, "I need you to give me a month to befriend and train them a little, and you can sort out your Marine business until then. I also want you to bring me any spear style manuals or guide books you can, I want to master using it before I leave." Luffy couldn't believe he was asking for more books, but Benn had proved to him they were good inspiration even if he didn't follow the manual's exact instructions.

Garp nodded, and Luffy decided to ask about something he thought about from time to time, "Hey, gramps, do you know anything about the flamingo pirates?"

Garp had a confused look on his face for a moment, then answered, "You mean the Donquixote pirates?"

"Yeah, any news about them at all?"

"Oh, it was Tsuru's case so I don't really know everything, but the captain, Doflamingo, was found gravely injured along with his crew about a year ago, they're all in Impel Down now. The attacker is unknown and hasn't been seen, though Tsuru says there was some kind of white cage and then a blue dome appeared inside it and then the cage fell down. It has been confirmed that whoever he is he has the Ope Ope fruit."

He didn't notice Luffy's wide grin as he raised his fist and knocked on the crappy shack's door. Aggressively.

"Who the he-" the lady stopped after she saw who it was knocking on her door and started sweating, "G-G-Garp! Wh-what are you doing here? What do you want? And who's he?!" she pointed at Luffy.

"This is Luffy, my grandson, he'll stay here with you for about two years. You don't need to do anything but feed him." He looked inside and saw a little boy and smiled, "Ace my boy, come here and say hi to your big brother," the boy scowled and walked past both Monkeys and spit on the ground then ran into the forest. Luffy and Garp's eyes met and Luffy set his things aside and followed after him.

"Seeya in a month gramps!" he entered the forest ignoring Dadan's angry shouting and his grandfather's laughter.

…

Luffy frowned. He had understood that Ace had issues last time, but this was just over the top, even for him. Luffy has no doubts that if he wasn't lucky enough to eat his devil fruit, he would have most certainly died. He wouldn't have given up on Ace, he was as stubborn as they come, but if he had died he would have not met his Nakama and saved them, and probably add on more issue to this troubled boy's list.

He smashed what should have been the eighth rolling obstacle that was supposed to crush him. He kept calling out to Ace but he just kept throwing things at him. Luffy sighed and attempted the not-so-hard-anymore trial. Thinking. How to make Ace interested in him? 'Ace doesn't like crybabies, and like's strong people and MEAT!'

He nodded to himself, then began thinking again, how can he prove his strength and get meat? Luffy put his hand on his chin and kept his pose for five minutes straight until his head turned red. He shook his head and sighed. Rubber brain or not, thinking was hard dammit!

Then he heard a growl next to him. He blinked then looked to his right, where a boar was snarling at him, ready to pounce. Luffy smiled as a hypothetical light bulb lit over his head. Now what to bring him? Crocodile, obviously.

He wiped off his drool and shook himself out of his meat dreams. He has training to do. After knocking out the boar, he scoured the forest for a boulder and got to work. After he finished his three hour warm up, he was hungry.

He made his way to the river, getting familiar with the forest once again. Once he arrived he saw a group of seven giant crocodiles close to him. He made quick work of them and carried them in a pile on one arm and searched for Ace's aura. When he found him in Grey Terminal he walked leisurely towards the spot where he knew Ace and Sabo would meet after they rob idiots blind for the day.

He arrived just as Sabo and Ace did. When they saw him entering the clearing with a tower of crocodiles they gaped at him, Sabo even dropped his pipe. He looked at them and then spoke, "Ah, there you are, wanna have some meat Ace?"

Ace's jaw hung even lower, if that was possible. This guy chases after him through the forest while he sets obstacles loose on him to kill him, but then three hours later he returns with seven crocodiles for lunch completely unharmed, from both his attacks and the crocodiles.

Ace nodded his head, drool coming out of his open mouth as he imagined eating all that. Luffy decided to address Sabo, "Hey, wanna join us?" he asked with a smile.

Sabo collected his jaw then stuttered, "Uh, um, yes I would love to. My name is Sabo, uh, sir." Luffy just stared at him blankly, which freaked out Sabo a little until he broke out laughing.

"Hi, my name is Monkey D. Luffy, I'm Ace's big brother, and I'm gonna be the Pirate King."

Suddenly, both boys had stars in their eyes, "You wanna be a pirate too?!" Ace asked excitedly.

Sabo was vibrating next to him, "We're gonna be the freest pirates in the world!" he said with no small amount of conviction.

"I'm not your brother!" Ace shouted belatedly, blushing.

Luffy laughed heartily, remembering his brothers' dreams, he was going to help them achieve them this time. He started skinning a crocodile while Ace skinned the other and Sabo started a fire. They had a silent meal mostly, Luffy tried to 'get to know' the boys but Ace kept ignoring him, while Sabo gave him awkward and vague answers.

It was late afternoon when they were done, Luffy got up and started lifting the rest of his catch, "I'll return these to the shack, we should be good for dinner and all day tomorrow, and go train. See you boys later." They traded glances as he started heading off, having a silent conversation which ended in Sabo sighing.

"Wait!" Ace called out.

Luffy turned around, "Yea, little bro?"

Ace's eyes widened a little at his moniker, he blushed and shouted, "Who are you calling little bro?!" he only received laughter in return so he stood up angrily and shouted, "Fight me!" Luffy abruptly stopped laughing and looked at him with a blank look that Sabo mirrored perfectly. When he didn't receive an answer, Ace shouted again, "I said fight me!"

Luffy was just picking his nose with his pinky, still holding the meat pile, "Why should I? You're weak," he deadpanned.

Ace's face got red with rage, he grabbed his pipe and charged, ignoring Sabo's attempt to stop him. He leapt at the straw-hatted teen bringing his pipe down as hard as he could. He smirked when Luffy didn't move to dodge but gaped when he simply took his pinky out of his nose, flicked a bugger, and stopped his attack with his pinky, bored expression in place. "That your worst?" Luffy asked.

Ace jumped back and then lunged, battle cry included, and threw a punch to Luffy's face. Luffy tilted his head to the side and flicked him in the middle of his forehead in Sabo's direction. The blond did his best to stop his friend's momentum but got swept off his feet too. "Wow, your weaker than I thought. Both of you. How do you survive in this forest?" he riled them up.

He was met with twin scowls as the boys got up and charged him together, only to yield the same results. By the time Luffy left, both boys were on the ground covered in dirt, bruised all over their bodies, sweating puddles and panting like oxygen was on demand.

Sabo groaned and managed to flip around so he can lie back to the ground instead of face, "What kind of monster is he," he said in between breaths, "He was holding that load with one hand and beating us up with the other. He didn't even move from his spot. What kind of monster are you related to?" When Sabo finished he started panting again because he spoke too much.

"I'll kill him! No, we'll kill him! We'll beat him up so bad he's gonna die!" Ace shouted, "And we're not related!" Ace wouldn't admit it, but he was excited at the prospect of living with someone as strong as Luffy, 'Just, why is he so cheerful?' he frowned at the thought.

That carefree smile just got on his nerves, like the world was all flowers and sunshine.

They both decided to meet in front of the shack early in the morning and stalk him and ambush him the first opportunity they got.

…

The following weeks, the boys never went to Grey Terminal unless when Sabo returned to sleep. Luffy would deliberately wake up early and start reading until he felt Sabo arrive and meet up with Ace. He then would take a stroll in the forest with his spear, he named it 'Hurricane' with Benn's help, and wait for them to 'ambush' him, beat them up and then go train.

He would go to an empty shore and swim at full speed for two hours. Then work on mastering his weapon using his natural instincts and the two manuals Benn bought him, establishing his style and work on creating wind-inducing long range attacks, 'Wind Strikes' he wanted to call it, using Franky's air cannons and Zoro's wind slashes as inspirations. He was successful in creating gusts of wind, he did have the power required, but he lacked finesse greatly.

He would then go hunt, eat, get ambushed again, and return to the shore for weight training. Since he came back, Luffy managed to successfully master Geppo and Shigan, so to further them he would perform Geppo with a boulder in each hand until he couldn't anymore, then do the same with one-fingered pushups on each finger. Even if he knew he wouldn't use Shigan in his fighting, he remembered Lucci's Rokuogan and that you had to be a master of all the techniques to perform it, and Luffy wanted such a powerful technique in his arsenal.

After he rests Luffy goes in the ocean fishing for a snack, after he eats, he would try to do the second stage of armament but with his spear instead of his hand, but he wasn't making too much headway in that regard.

At sunset, he would make his way back to the shack and get ambushed for the final time of the day before eating, meditating and sleeping.

A week into the routine, he was reading a biology book that was listing and describing the ways and effects of hitting pressure points. He thought it was so cool so he took the book with him and tried it out on Ace and Sabo, he stopped both of the boys' shoulders and had big laugh about it. He didn't repeat it though because he understood that it wouldn't benefit his fighting style, and upon request, gave the book to Sabo, now living with them, who was really enthusiastic about it.

10 days before Garp's return and after 54 failed ambush attempts, Ace swallowed his pride at Sabo's insistence, and both boys asked Luffy to train them. Luffy beamed at them and said, "Of course, you guys are my brothers!" The unbelieving eyes he received in return hurt him inside even if he didn't show it. When Luffy was younger he truly didn't want anyone's affection except his brothers' and he knew his brothers felt the same, but seeing how the little boys in front of him were so unused to receiving love, he thanked god that he met them and healed their broken hearts in the previous timeline and promised to do the same in this one.

The next 10 days, Luffy continued his routine while making his little brothers carry loads they never would or could have thought possible, all while shattering the word impossible for them. He showed them how to fly, move so fast you disappear, poke a rock and break it, not to mention the fighting moves he told them he wanted to create or that devil fruits were real.

The boys lived for 10 years and had ascertained a line between the possible and impossible but that all went out the window in only 10 days, because apparently, if you're strong enough, you can do anything.

So Luffy grilled them hard, in hopes of making them at least 1% ready to face the hell his grandfather promised.

The day Garp came back finally came. Luffy waited for him at the docks and was happy to say that he was acting more like himself since the burdensome revelations he dropped on him last time.

He approached Luffy with a suit case in hand, a Monkey family grin on his face, "I'm off for 18 months, I hope you're ready for what's coming brat, cause I'm not sure you know what you signed up for, BWAHAHAHA!"

Luffy smiled and hugged Garp thanking him, "Thanks, gramps! Shishishi."

Garp laughed his signature laugh once more before he gave him his 'Fist of Love', and thus began hell for two boys and their big brother.

…

Three months into the training, Ace and Sabo were really close to Luffy, he was their role model in strength, they even told him about their heritage and were happy when he accepted them. They decided to do a ritual for all of them to share sake cups and become brothers. Luffy decided then to tell them the truth about his age and the time travel. He didn't go into specifics except when he told them how they thought Sabo was dead for 12 years and how he became a Revolutionary. He also said that when his crew arrives in a year and four months, he will be setting out, they then decided to honor the original promise and set sail themselves when they turn 17.

He also made a deal with them, that they had to stop stealing and focus on training and he would provide them with enough money to start their own crew or crews.

…

Luffy, now 187 cm tall, was watching the trash heap from the forest six months since he started training under Garp, spear in hand and resting on his shoulder. The Celestial Dragon was two days away from arriving, and the Blue Jam Pirates just started leaving the explosive crates all around Grey Terminal. Sabo had told him in the previous timeline that Dragon saved the survivors from the fire, so he made a plan based on that. Garp was leaving for a week to escort the World Noble, so he decided to keep him out of the loop, the old man won't like the second part of his plan. He convinced Ace and Sabo to stay away from Grey Terminal the past few weeks, thus avoiding a confrontation with Sabo's father who may not know that Sabo was even alive.

As soon as they put one of the crates and move on, Luffy appears and evacuates people in the area to the shore. The plan was to make the nobles think the people were dead, while they all leave with his father and Blue Jam and his crew burn in the fire. He had a plan for the nobles, but that was another time.

Luffy evacuated everyone, forcefully if he had to, and the people of the Grey Terminal were all currently on the shore some shouting at him, others silent and scared of the fire, but most thought it was a scam. He picked up the crate for this area threw it in the ocean far away. It exploded just before hitting the water, successfully shutting everyone up. They turned around to the sound of more explosions, only to find their home ablaze.

They huddled closer to each other, now terrified at the not so imaginary fire. "Calm down, it's okay, help is on the way," Luffy comforted them, feeling a ship approaching the shore, "A ship is coming to take you, don't worry," they actually listened and calmed down a little, even if there was an inferno just meters away, this was the man who saved them after all, why lie to them now?

And surely, minutes later they could see a ship approaching. When it arrived at the shore, a gust of wind blew all the approaching fire away, and they could see silhouettes on the bow of the ship. One of them raised a fist in the air and shouted, "Those who would fight for freedom, get on board!"

Luffy jumped to the bow of the ship as the people started to board it, he took a look around and could see lots of cloaked people on deck. He only recognized Iva and bear-guy, but the person at the head of the group, the one who shouted for the people of Grey Terminal, was unmistakably his father. His face was as impassive as the photo he saw of him on the newspaper. "Are you the one who saved these people?" he gruffly asked. Luffy nodded and reached behind his back to put his hat on his head. Dragon's eyes lingered a little on it then he looked back at him, "You have my thanks…"

"Luffy," he said, Dragon's eyes widened a fraction in disbelief. "Let's talk on the shore," he said before jumping off the ship. Dragon followed after him.

"How?" Dragon ask.

"Time travel," Luffy answered.

"I'm guessing this is the first time we meet?" Dragon said, quite sadly. "I apolo-" he began but Luffy cut him off.

"Don't. I don't hold it against you. I want to be a pirate for freedom, so it would be dumb if I got mad at you for fighting for it. I didn't meet you because of that, I want something from you," Luffy said, much to Dragon's surprise.

"What is it?"

…

It's been a month since Garp left, 13 since he saw his father and 24 since he came back. Luffy was dragging his brothers down the hill, grinning like an idiot, practically vibrating with excitement.

Ace and Sabo didn't know why, but they didn't care because he was happy. They haven't seen Luffy that happy since he returned to them the night of the fire and when they asked him about it, he started ranting and saying things about his crew and they didn't understand a thing.

He told them that today he would deliver on his promise of money, but then he started heading to Fusha Village. They didn't really understand but they came anyway.

There was a crowd in the middle of the village with two people in the middle that were shouting at each other, standing out in the normally quiet village. Luffy jumped over the crowd, falling on both outsiders, all the while laughing like a madman.

"LUFFY!" they shouted.

-END