This actually started out as one plot line, and then completely morphed into another. Like what seems to happen so often when writing, especially when you don't really plan out your stories... I've never been able to write following a plan or outline. But, whatever. I think I like how it turned out better than when I started.
Ever since Luffy was little, he'd always been able to judge a person's character. He'd always been able to feel how strong a person was, and he was always able to tell where everybody was and exactly what they were doing at the time, even if they were on the other end of the island. Around his home village, and later with the bandits, it was well known that it was impossible to sneak up on Luffy. A few of the adults were scared and bitter because of this ability, the rest put it off to being a strange quirk of his family and left it at that.
After all, with a grandfather like Garp and a father like Dragon, a kid who somehow knows where everybody on the island is all at once without looking, somehow is to be expected.
Ace and Sabo came to know that he was a good judge of character, and quickly learned to rely on his instincts about other people, although he'd made a few mistakes when he was younger with reading people... but he got better with experience. This helped them stay away from the worst of the criminals in the Trash Heap, as well as the Bluejam Pirates. Most of these thugs they could beat up easily, they avoided the ones Luffy knew they couldn't, somehow (Ace didn't make it easy). (It also helped them avoid another problem like the one the day Sabo first met Luffy, when Ace accidentally stole from the Bluejam pirates and they came looking for him, only to catch Luffy instead.)
He was probably the only person to know Sabo was still alive and had been taken away by the strong person who stopped the fire, but nobody would listen when he tried to tell them that. They said he was just in denial, or something. He didn't know why they couldn't feel he was still alive, couldn't they sense other people too? His Grandpa could do it, maybe only certain people could do it?
Ah, it was a mystery!
Oh well, it wasn't important, anyway. So, he never mentioned it beyond telling people that he knew Sabo was alive.
Not long after Sabo left, it was quickly discovered that people tended to have sleep attacks when Luffy got really angry. It had only happened twice, but it was enough that Ace was worried enough to tell Garp the next time the boys saw him, but if he knew anything about it, he didn't say. Instead, he just told them to work on making sure Luffy didn't get that angry, and to help him control his temper when it started to get away from him. Neither boy told him that Ace had done the same thing during the fire when they were cornered by Bluejam.
(Ace did overhear him telling Dadan that he knew what it was, but he didn't know how to teach Luffy to control it, because he himself didn't have the ability, and the only ones who could teach him were pirates or the boys father. Not the kind of people the old Marine wanted near his grandsons, not when he was determined that his grandsons were going to be Marines).
Zoro
The moment he came within sight of the island, he could feel a strong presence. It was wild and feral, like the animals back home. But also sharp and focused. It was strange. He'd never felt anything like it, not even when Ace was younger. He was more angry than anything else.
The personality he could feel behind that strength was rough, and harsh. It reminded him of the lone-wolf back home, who lived in the far end of the ravine. But it was also kind and fun-loving. There was a loneliness to it, as well, and a drive to succeed.
There was nothing about it to suggest it belonged to a Marine, either. Marine presences were dull, and rigid. (He'd met enough Marines when he was younger, he should know) They had to follow all kinds of rules, and they were never allowed to do what they wanted or make their own choices, or express themselves. The Marines presences on the island didn't feel quite right, though. No, the Marine presences on the island felt subdued and scared. Even the most powerful Marine presence seemed scared, while another presence oozed arrogance.
He was already interested, and the interest only increased when Coby mentioned both Zoro's and the Base captain's name, only for the townspeople to completely freak out. They didn't seem to really be scared of Zoro, though. They were terrified of the Marine captain, but when Zoro was mentioned, they felt nothing but... respect? Respect and fear for Luffy and Coby. Why would they fear for Luffy and Coby, though? Strange people.
Huh, now he really wanted Zoro on his crew. When he climbed the wall, he wasn't surprised to see that the strong, wild presence belonged to the green haired man tied to the execution stake. He was even less surprised when Coby said that he was Zoro.
When the little girl climbed over the wall and tried to feed Zoro, only for him to threaten her, Luffy could feel that he would never actually hurt her, he was just scared for her. He wanted her to leave, before somebody found her there, she probably shouldn't have been there. She didn't listen, though, she only wanted to help. He could feel her sorrow and anger. None of it was directed at Zoro, it was directed elsewhere.
When the slimy presence finally arrived and identified itself as the base Captain's son, Luffy's eyes narrowed. A weak coward who hid behind somebody else. Even his voice made Luffy's skin crawl. Ah, and this was where part of the girls anger was directed towards. That's nice to know. His cruelty towards the little girl made his blood boil, and he had to tamp a lid on his temper before he made everybody sleep.
Later, when the girl, Rika, told him and Coby why Zoro was tied up like that, Luffy wanted to free Zoro then and there, and destroy this base and everybody in it. He didn't, though. The captain's son wouldn't keep his promise, he wasn't the type. Zoro, on the other hand, was the type to keep his promises and honor his word. Luffy would respect that, and wait until the Marines dishonored their side of the bargain. When he heard the captain's son say that he was bored, so he was going to execute Zoro the next day, he almost lost his temper.
After dealing with the idiot, he stormed to the Base to get his first crewmate, whether the swordsman knew it yet or not. Liked it, or not.
Meeting the base captain, he knew that his Grandpa would love to meet this guy, might even punch him on the head a few times. Not the Fist of Love, though. This guy wasn't important enough for that. After getting Zoro his swords back, he was pleased to see that he could still stand and fight, even though he hadn't eaten in a few weeks and was tied up outside with no way to move around. He had to be stiff and sore, not to mention starving! Coby really surprised him, though. He supposed that the courage he felt buried in his personality made an appearance after all.
He didn't think he could be happier as he sailed away with his new crewmate. Now, all he needed was a ship, and a musician! Oh, and he supposed a Navigator, but he could always find their way by sensing for people.
Buggy the Clown
He felt... somewhat strong. He almost felt like that old pirate guy who knew Ace's dad back on Dawn, the guy who they helped build a ship. Like he used to be stronger, but the strength was no longer there.
He also felt greedy, and slimy. And cowardly. This guy was even more of a coward than Coby, but at least Coby had the strength to face his fears and change his life.
At least Nami only felt greedy, but there was something else there... a deep sadness, pain, desperation... a desire for freedom. There was also a deep kindness to her, he knew that her greed was only a small part, and it seemed to be fueled by her desperation. He would figure it out later. Once he could no longer feel the towns people's desperation and fear. It clogged his senses like the dam back home that Dadan built over the creek that almost flooded their hut.
As he listened to Buggy's story, he only grew angrier and angrier. Shanks had nothing but nice things to say about his old crewmate, and here he was, blaming Shanks for something that was his own fault while he turned tail like a coward and refused to face his past. Sending him flying wasn't satisfying enough, but it would have to do. He would find somebody else to take it out on later. However, he learned something interesting.
The ability to make people fall asleep when he was angry was called 'Conquerors Haki', huh? He wondered if he could do more with it, or at least control it.
He didn't want to hurt his Nakama!
He stopped thinking about what to do when he started to get a headache. He'd figure it out, he was sure.
Captain Kuro
The moment the island came in sight, something felt... off. Dark, heavy, and slimy. Somebody was here, somebody that shouldn't be. He put it out of his mind, though, when he met Usopp, the son of Yasopp.
He was funny, and there was a hidden courage, it was hidden deep, but it was there. And Luffy didn't feel 8,000 men, this island only had roughly 500 people on it, maybe they were hiding on another island? At least Usopp knew a good place to get some good food, but his mind was still on that dark presence. It felt evil, and it was everywhere, but at the same time it seemed to come from the big house that Usopp wanted them to stay away from. Was Usopp trying to hide something from them? Did Usopp know who this was, or work for them? He didn't feel any of that taint on Usopp, though...
He could feel other presences at that house, one was very weak, and seemed almost smothered by the evil one. Was that one being held hostage by the evil one? When the kids told them about Miss Kaya and her parents, Luffy forgot all about it and decided that she might be able to help them get a ship. They needed one, the two boats they had right now were way too small, they couldn't store enough meat!
Looking at Kaya, he really couldn't understand why she was laying around like that. He could feel her sadness, but there was no reason for her to be so weak. She had a strong character, and there was nothing physically wrong with her, so why was she so weak?
When the butler came along, he sat back and watched how Kaya and Usopp acted towards him. They didn't know about his darkness. They couldn't sense it, could they?
He was not surprised to overhear the plans the butler (Kuro) had for Kaya and her home village. He could tell that Usopp was shocked, so he stood up and tried to confront them. That... didn't go quite how he planned... which was saying something since he didn't have a plan, he was just yelling at him just because.
When he woke up, he wasn't happy to see that Usopp had been shot, or feel the unrest in the village and the mansion. When Usopp sent the three kids away and then explained to him what happened to his arm (and why the villagers were so riled up), he was even angrier. Only some of his anger disappeared when he felt Usopp's fear change into determination and he claimed that he was going to protect his home, no matter what... and then of course the situation caught up to him and his fear came back. He didn't lose his determination, though.
He liked that.
When they were getting the slope ready for the pirates to come up it, he sensed them on the other side of the island, but said nothing. He wanted to see how Usopp could handle it, he was going to take him with them, after all. He wanted to see how he fought. So, even though he arrived at the Northern Slope long before Usopp and Nami, he waited to see what they did. He was ready to jump in any time he felt like the two were actually in any danger at all, and so far they weren't.
He joined in the fight when Zoro finally arrived, happy that his two crewmembers could take care of themselves for the most part.
He wasn't sure how he ended up on the bottom of the slope, underneath the ships figurehead... or how it even got removed from the ship. It was a mystery!
He got his mind back on the fight when he realized Kuro was there, and Kaya was coming as well. Frowning, he sensed out the mansion, and was surprised to feel that the only presence there was weak, in a 'freshly injured, almost didn't get help in time', kind of way. Well... that couldn't be good.
He shook his head when Zoro and Usopp ran after the weird guy after he chased Kaya and Usopp's friends into the trees, and turned his attention to beating Kuro to a pulp. Behind him, he could sense Nami moving through the pirates ship, and hoped she had the sense to stay up there until he was done.
He was confused when Kuro started swaying back and forth like a drunk, what was he doing? Not even Dogra or Magra swayed like this when they really started drinking, and he couldn't smell any alcohol on him, so what? His eyes widened in disgust and horror when Kuro disappeared from his eyesight, although he had no problem tracking the washout's presence, and started attacking everything around him, including his own men. He was so angry, he lost control of his (what did Buffy call it again? Oh, yeah!) Conquerors Haki, and all the pirates except Kuro went to sleep.
He could sense Nami on the ship, watching, and he heard her own exclamations of disgust, as well as her confusion about why the pirates were suddenly asleep. He didn't pay her any mind, though, instead he focused on tracking and catching the disgusting excuse of a pirate.
In the end, this fight wasn't any more satisfying than the one with Boogy. As soon as the pirates were gone, he flopped down half-way up the slope and sighed.
Now he was really hungry...
Going Merry
He laughed happily at the sight of their new ship, it looked awesome!
He barely paused when he felt the ship's presence, she felt young, not nearly as old as the Red Force's presence, anyway. Now that ship had some interesting stories to tell him! He put his hand on the mast and silently promised his new Nakama lots and lots of fun and adventure.
Don Krieg and Hawkeye
Luffy sighed, he knew that the others were getting impatient and ready to set sail again, and he was too. However, he also knew that he couldn't just leave without repaying some of the damage he caused. He knew that most would call him strange for it, since he was a pirate and all, especially if they knew his past and what he got up to with his brothers when he was younger, but... he didn't really know his reasons himself.
It was a mystery!
What wasn't a mystery, was that he had found his cook, and he wasn't leaving without him. He would say 'yes' eventually. He just had to make sure it was before the others got tired of it and left on their own. He'd promised an adventure, and that they could follow their dreams with him, after all. They couldn't do that while docked to a sea restaurant.
After a second, he turned around and frowned. Somebody was coming. Somebody strong.
Later on, when he looked at Gin's captain, his frown deepened. This wasn't the source of the strength he felt earlier, in fact, Gin felt stronger. And not just because Gin had a decent meal recently. This guy was weak, weak and slimy. Every word that came out of his mouth made his skin crawl.
He could feel that the source was still coming, slowly. He had the vague impression of a hunter, stalking their prey, like he had done countless times while hunting with his brother. Actually, make that a bored hunter, one who just seemed to have found something to interest it for a short time. He only hoped that Nami took advantage of the coming confusion and took the Merry with her when she left to do what she needed to, the Merry had already been asked to keep her safe, although the Merry wasn't quite old or experienced enough to do much.
Luffy didn't know what was wrong, but he knew that she wasn't going to stick around for much longer, and that he would need to chase after her to get both her and his ship back. But that was alright. He was used to chasing after people that he wanted, he would get what he wanted in the end. No matter who he had to beat up first.
After all, Ace was his older brother, wasn't he?
After Nami finally left, he frowned at Zoro's reaction to his orders about going after her. He would probably be more angry about it, too, if he hadn't known she had to go take care of some personal business. But he also wanted Zoro to leave before the person that felt so strong actually got there. He didn't want the rest of his crew getting caught up in this if he could help it, and they didn't have time for them to get caught up, anyway. Not if they wanted to catch up with Nami.
As Zoro's bounty hunter friends brought their boat closer, he knew it was too late. When he looked at the man with the giant cross on his back and the green candles on his boat, he knew. This man was the source of strength he'd been feeling for a while, now. If it came down to it, he wasn't sure if he could beat him, the man felt almost as strong as Shanks when he last saw him.
He didn't understand why Zoro was so eager to fight this weird guy, couldn't he feel the difference in their strength? Luffy knew he was strong, but not that strong! This guy may be the reason Zoro set out, and beating him may be Zoro's end goal, but couldn't he tell that he wasn't at that point yet?
It would be a while before he was strong enough to take this guy on, just like he doubted he would ever be able to take on his Grandpa.
He didn't interfere, though. This was part of Zoro's dream, he couldn't interfere. He didn't feel any kind of killing intent coming from Hawky, though, so he was content enough to let it continue.
He was caught off guard, then, when Zoro turned around and held out his arms with a grin after sheathing his remaining sword and got cut down. He didn't sense any kind of intent to kill, so why?! He was so caught up in his panic and anger over his crewmate and friends death that he didn't even sense that he was still alive until after Hawky told him he would live.
Hawkeye hummed and glanced around at the fallen pirates around them. This boy was strong... he'd barely been able to stand up under the pressure of his Haki. However, he was also untrained in it's use and control. Luffy frowned and crossed his arms petulantly when Hawky scolded him on not keeping control of himself, and the reminder that he could hurt somebody he was close to if he wasn't careful. He already knew that! And he thought he did a pretty good job keeping a lid on it, all things considered.
"I don't even know what it is, how am I supposed to know how to control it?" He muttered. He knew what Buffy had called it, but he still didn't know what it was.
Hawk-eye frowned. That wasn't good... an untrained Conqueror could cause a lot of damage and chaos without meaning to. Maybe he should send somebody the boys way. He didn't have Conquerors himself, but he did know a few people that could teach him. Abruptly, he grabbed the boys hand and broke off a longer section of his nail, being careful not to pull it off the nail bed itself. That was painful, and he wasn't one for causing unneeded pain, not for such a flimsy reason. It was difficult to do, the boy's nails weren't very long, they looked like they were constantly being bitten down.
When Luffy protested, he silenced him with a glare and informed him that he would send somebody who could teach him. Luffy blinked in surprise, but Hawky felt sincere, so he didn't question it, instead thanking him brightly. His attention turned back towards Zoro, who had just been fished out of the water. Luffy grinned in relief, his aura showed how much pain he was in, and his resolve to keep the new promise he'd just made.
He could feel Hawky's approval, as well, and grinned when he heard the challenge the older swordsman made. When Hawky left their sight, (although Luffy could sense him nearby, watching), he turned his attention back to Krieg, and proceeded to beat him up, just like he promised.
Arlong
He wasn't paying attention at first, he was having too much fun with Mo-Moo. The Sea cow gave him a lot of information about what they would find, so he tied him to their boat and asked him to pull them along. After that, he was having too much fun to notice anything, even when Zoro was right in front of them until they were already running him over.
Hehe, oops.
Once the excitement from finding Zoro and landing had died down, he sensed out the island and picked out Nami, surrounded by strong presences near where that strange tower thing he'd seen earlier had been. Usopp was over there, too, and so were those two friends of Zoro's.
He got angry when Johnny and Yosaku tried to tell him that Usopp was dead and Nami was the one who killed him. "He's not dead!" He insisted, and reached out with his senses for Usopp's now-familiar presence. "He'll be here soon." And he refused to budge on that opinion, even when Nami herself came to try and get them to leave, telling them herself that she'd killed Usopp. Luffy merely tilted his head and pointed out that her hand was freshly bleeding, where did that come from? He asked and she refused to answer. Instead, she told them to leave again.
But... what her mouth was saying and what her aura and eyes were saying screamed three different things. Her eyes were cold, but filled with grief and pain, as well as a plea for help. Her mouth screamed at them to leave, and when they refused she screamed for them to just go ahead and die for all she cared. Her aura screamed and fought against it. She wanted them here, she wanted them to save her, but she was terrified. She didn't want them to die, and she knew that if they stayed, they were going to die.
Which is why, "Nami!" Luffy called after her retreating form. "I'm not going to die to some pathetic Grandline dropout!" That was all Arbong was, wasn't he? After all, Fishmen were supposed to be from the Grandline, that's what Sabo said, anyway. Why would he be here if he couldn't cut it in the Grandline? Somehow, his statement didn't seem to soothe her fears...
Huh.
When her sister showed up, he had no interest in learning her past. If she wanted him to know, she would tell him herself. Until then, he knew all he needed to know about her. Instead, he followed his senses to the village, where there was a lot of turmoil.
Watching her as she broke down and started destroying her arm, and the tattoo with it... feeling the absolute despair and heartbreak as her friends and neighbors charged past her, heading straight for Arlong and their deaths... it was all he could do to control his anger and rage.
The only thing keeping him from hunting down Arlong right now, was Nami. Until she asked for help, he wasn't going to interfere. He couldn't interfere. This thing with Arlong, this was Nami's fight. Until she asked for help, there was nothing he could do. He'd been raised with the belief that a person had to fight their own battles, that they couldn't rely on somebody coming in and saving them. (Asking for help from a friend was completely different.)
When she asked for help, he felt relieved. Finally, he could do whatever he could to save his friend, his Nakama. Finally, he could show why it was a bad idea to mess with one of his. He gave her his Hat, trusting her to keep it safe, and turned to the men of his crew, knowing that they'd arrived not long after the villagers left and hung back to wait for his orders.
He had a fish to take care of.
He'd been purposely ignoring it the entire time he'd been here, but now he was letting himself focus on the fishmen's auras. His lip curled, they felt exactly like the Nobles in High Town, and that guy that shot Sabo's boat down all those years ago. He'd heard Gramps telling Ace that that guy was known as a Celestial Dragon, also known as a World Noble. They were at the top of the World Government, and they thought so highly of themselves, they didn't even leave their city without wearing completely insulated suits, meaning they didn't even want to be breathing the same air as the 'peasants'.
Attitudes like that reminded him of Sabo's father, and it just ticked him off even more. If he hadn't been ignoring it, he would have gone over and destroyed the place regardless of what Nami wanted at the time.
Amazingly enough, just listening to him talk made his rage grow even more, and some of his (what was it called again?) Conqueror's slipped out of his control, which he had clamped down tightly ever since the incident with Hawky. A few of the fishmen that were farther away, and stayed unaffected, muttered about him being a Conqueror, and a couple others mentioned how they hadn't felt anything this strong since the last time they saw Whitebeard, which was on one of his visits to Fishman Island. (Some rookies had decided to be stupid and cause trouble right when the Whitebeard's and the Sun Pirates were nearby...they regretted their life choices quickly.)
Arlong dismissed what his men were saying, after all, no mere human could possibly match the physical power of a fishman, no matter if they were Conqueror.
Arlong's presence was strong, he supposed. Ace felt stronger the last time Luffy saw him three years, though. He was pretty sure that the bandits could at least do some serious damage if they were persistent enough.
Seeing Nami's room, well... that just wasn't forgivable.
Arlong would pay for that. And he would pay dearly.
The tower crumbling around him was icing on the very large meat pie.
Captain Smoker
Reaching Louge Town was bittersweet. This was where Ace's dad died, but it was also where his journey would truly begin.
As they got within his sensing range, he was excited to feel two familiar presences.
Sabo was here. And so was that person that took him away from Dawn Island.
He was torn between his desire to see his brother again, and to see the platform. In the end, he rocketed himself straight towards the presence of his older brother, who he hadn't seen in ten years, and who everyone else thought was dead.
The reunion... didn't go as he'd hoped it would. At least now he knew why Sabo stayed away, he honestly didn't remember anything. He hadn't even remembered his own name when he woke up. If he hadn't told the man with him his name when they met in High Town before the fire... He was able to have a good conversation with him, though, and he was pretty sure he had Sabo convinced he was telling the truth by the end of it. Sabo at least admitted that it explained a lot about some of his ingrained behaviors and muscle memory. He promised to go find Ace, too, and let their older brother know he was alive.
After that, he went on his way to the platform, but he got lost most of the time. He finally found a guy smoking a few cigars who helped him, but then he got lost again! Oh well, he met a really nice old guy who told some neat stories about Ace's dad. He almost snickered when he felt Buffy wandering around town trying to find him, and decided to find him and mess with him some later on.
When he finally reached the platform, he allowed himself to listen to its story, and he became even more determined to find the One Piece and become the next King.
The cigar guy came back, and he allowed himself to really sense him this time. He wasn't the typical Marine. Most Marines were dull, lifeless. He was strong and had a strong sense of duty. He felt kind of like Zoro, a lone-wolf type, but that feeling wasn't quite as strong as it was in Zoro. The guy felt strong, too, but he was sure he could take him. Until he turned into smoke and Luffy couldn't even hit him! Flying through the air by accident wasn't nearly as fun as doing it on purpose.
At least he found Zoro, though! Not that Zoro was ever lost... he knew where all of his crew were. Although why Zoro was laying in the middle of the street, was strange. It was fun tricking Buffy into paying for his and Zoro's lunch, though.
When he found his way back to the platform, he wasn't happy to be snuck up on. That hadn't happened in a long time, and he promised himself that it wouldn't happen again. He still couldn't remember that woman, though, but he figured there was something familiar about her presence. Ah, whatever.
He felt Smoky nearby, along with a bunch of Marines, but they didn't do anything to help him! Grumbling, he started trying to figure out how to get out of this. He could use that Conqueror's stuff... but he didn't know how. It only ever happened when he really lost his temper, and he wasn't that angry right now. In the end, he decided that there was nothing he could do but wait for his crew to come and save him. Zoro and Sanji were almost to the Town Square where the platform was, they would be here soon.
Only, they weren't there soon. They had to fight through all of Buggy's men, and they did a good job at slowing the two Strawhat Pirates down, even though none of them were very strong, especially not compared to Zoro and Sanji.
He was annoyed when he felt Sabo and the old man nearby, but they weren't doing anything, either. Not that he could sense, anyway.
With a sigh, he accepted his apparent fate, and apologized to his crew for such a brief journey.
The lightning strike came out of nowhere, but he wasn't about to complain. It gave him another chance to travel with his crew and enjoy his freedoms. He also knew now, that the stranger with Sabo wasn't just standing back and doing nothing, and neither was Sabo.
He could feel the trust Sabo held for the man, and the mans power, even though it was carefully hidden. He promised to himself that he would find Sabo again, and they would have another conversation. For now, though, he had to get away from Smoky!
That smoke ability of his was very, very annoying. The strangers intervention wasn't really welcomed, but needed if he wanted to get back to his ship so they could get ahead of this storm. The storm that he strongly suspected was started by this man that Sabo followed.
AN
I tried not to make Luffy seem overpowered, his fights pretty much went how they did in canon, with the exception of his Haki outbursts that he can't quite control just yet.
