A/N: SO I ASKED GODA SENSEI BUT HE OWNS ONE PIECE I DON'T! IT IS AN EARLY UPDATE BECAUSE I AM FREE FOR FEW DAYS BEFORE MY COLLEGE STARTS !! ITS MY FIRST STORY SO I CAN'T PROMISE TO MEET EVERY EXPECTATION BUT I TRY MY BEST. AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON ADDING MORE CREWMEMBERS? SHOULD I DO IT ? OR WILL THE STRAW HATS BECOME TOO OP THEN? AND ABOUT ROMANCE ? KEEP IN MIND THERE WON'T BE MARRIAGE OR ANYTHING BUT WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW .THANK YOU FOR READING THIS.
Luffy ran as fast as he could. He was tired,sweaty and slightly sluggish from exhaustion which was creeping deep in his bones rattling them and in his muscles which were screaming at him to rest but he couldn't stop. He couldn't or he could get eaten.
He could only think about how had never felt this exhausted ever in his life and that this thought was what he thought every day from when his training had begun. It would have sent lesser men running away from the crazy island which changed seasons every week and the crazy animals that lived in it BUT... the lesser men would never know that these beasts and the island paled in comparison to the REAL MONSTER that was Silvers Rayleigh. The Former first mate of The Pirate King GOL D. ROGER and Luffy's mentor and the one responsible for his current situation.
The DARK KING had shown Luffy why he had gotten his epithet when he had started his training.
Rayleigh had seen many new Logia fruit users depend too much on the ability of their seeming Invincible nature broken down when confronted with what any survivor from the New World referred to as NEW WORLD GRADE BULLSHIT or more commonly known as HAKI. So with that in mind he had procured from somewhere (which nobody wanted to know where from after seeing his expression) a set of Seastone Handcuffs which he had cuffed Luffy with. When Luffy had whined and asked about it he had recieved an answer that this was to develop his body and fighting ability without his devil fruit so he didn't rely on it which was...understandable. But the major kicker was that Luffy had to fight the Beasts of the island while wearing said Handcuffs and wearing weights on his legs which were also given to him by Rayleigh to strengthen his legs.
Luffy had actually been very proud after he had recovered from his fight with Enel. He had gotten so much stronger in just one day. His Observation was better and he could control his Conqueror's to a degree. He had eaten a Devil fruit which was a very powerful Logia that could one day help him become as strong as an Admiral.
So he was on Cloud Nine and it had been very transparent for everyone, that actually was only Rayleigh here on the Island, to see. It showed that the rumor that most Logias were arrogant due to their fruit itself was not a myth.
Eating a devil fruit and gaining any ability frequently lead to experimentation by the user to see how far they could take their abilities.This inevitably leads an ability user to think that they're invincible, a god, until they get a reality check, somehow, that reminds them that they are Human. The message doesn't sink in as well for some as it does for others, but it happens to every Paramecia, it happens to every Zoan...But not Logia.
Logias… never dissuade themselves of that notion and they go their whole lives thinking of themselves as gods.
Until someone with New World Grade Bullshit FORCES a reality check on them, Until someone reminds them that they're still as normal and human as anyone else.
So to prevent Luffy from falling in that deep pit of hell which would have had him burned ,roasted and spit out like yesterday's trash in the New World Rayleigh had devised a crazy but admittedly clever idea to train his body and bring up his Armament Haki to the Level of his Observation and Conquerors so that Luffy would be able to master all of them when he faced New World level foes instead of only mastering two of them or one of them.
After hearing about Enel's powerful Mantra and how he heard everything in Skypiea Rayleigh had correctly deduced that Enel used his Devil Fruit in conjunction with his Mantra or Observation to be able to get that incredible range. So he had also asked Luffy to use his new DF with his Haki to sense the beasts attacking him . This was his plan for the next 6 months and after that he would allow Luffy to focus on developing his Devil Fruit abilities.
He knew Luffy wouldn't be able to evolve his Haki as he had due to his fight during his training.
So this was the only way to get his Armament to the Level he needed. He will tell Luffy about its advance form but he doubted Luffy could access it now. Even after defeating Enel's Mantra Luffy still couldn't access Future sight Observation which meant unless Luffy desperately needed it he wouldn't be able to manifest it. Same was true for the advance Armament as Luffy wouldn't need it here he couldn't develop it. He knew that if Luffy hadn't fought Enel he would have been balanced a bit more So now he had to train harder to not leave Armament behind or he wouldn't be able to become as strong as he could . Even if this fight has resulted in such progress and gaining the Almost Invincible of the Logia fruit powers it wasn't without cost. Nothing Worthwhile is... Rayleigh thought while looking at Luffy's exhausted from.
6 Months Later...
Luffy had learned a lot in the last six months. Before his fight with Enel he had been following a basic training regimen as most would call it which was lifting weights and fighting animals while listening to advice of his Mentor. It helped him but there was no challenge and it had become somewhat boring for him even if he endured it using his willpower. So even if the new and improved plan Rayleigh had implemented left him exhausted and on the brink of unconsciousness every day, it still excited him because even if he had changed he was still Monkey D. Luffy the most fearless rookie and THE adrenaline junkie after Gol D. Roger that the world has ever known.
It had taken him 5 months to be able to combat the beasts and not just Run or dodge. In the first month he wasn't able to even run due to how much weaker he became due to Seastone but he had slowly built up his resistance to it which was a very useful thing and would literally shock anyone if they tried it on him. He laughed thinking about it "Shishishishi".
Rayleigh had also started his personal training. Which actually included getting beaten up and learning from doing things as he was a kinesthetic learner. In every 2 or 3 days Rayleigh would take off his cuffs and have a spar with him without them and proceed to show how outclassed he was compared to the Old generation. It had increased the fear he had of his Gramps even as he got stronger every time as Rayleigh had said that his Grandpa was maybe Stronger than even Rayleigh himself.
But He wasn't going to give up.
He would try with all his willpower to become as Strong as he could to protect his crew and NEVER have to be in the position he was with Ace again.
2 years after the Paramount War
The Island of Rukusuina was a special one as it had new climate every week , Nobody knew why was that and no researcher had ever come to this island alive as it was in the most dangerous waters on the planet ,THE CALM BELT.
Thats right, The Grand Line wasn't actually the most dangerous stretch of the seas of the world, The Calm Belt was.
The Calm Belt was not ocean but a sea. It'd take weeks, hell, maybe even months for anyone to row their way through and they'd almost certainly die of dehydration before making it through. Besides the seas like to toss one or two tsunamis which most wouldn't have a chance of outrunning. No winds blows and barely any currents flows, and of those just about none go all the way through. That wasn't even the main reason behind the extreme danger of Calm Belt which was that they were the breeding ground of particularly large sea kings. All of these facts were the reason that Inter Blue travel was so restricted.
IF you weren't Silvers Rayleigh that is, the former first mate of Roger Pirates could swim through these waters as he was even more of a monster than the Sea Kings who lived there.
He didn't even need his Conqueror's Haki to scare them. Most Sea Kings instincts warned them of the danger he represented and the ones who attacked him were usually taken out in a single blow.
AND NOW The Sea Kings were having the same thought about his apprentice.
Luffy obviously couldn't swim as he was a devil fruit user, Logia or not , but he had discovered a truly astounding ability of the Rumble Rumble fruit, which was flying...granted he couldn't fly indefinitely and it was more like he could teleport in the radius of 16 Kms by traveling as a bolt of lightning but he had figured out a way in which he converted his lower body into lightning and could fly in the radius of 16 Kms from the Spot he started on.
When he had started practicing he had teleported near the coast where a Sea king had attacked him but as he was a Logia so that beast had instead gotten deep fried. It had tasted delicious. But even if he had eaten that beast and it had tasted delicious Luffy still hadn't forgiven that beast for the idea it had given to his Monster of a Mentor. Rayleigh had suggested that he fight a Sea King while flying with his Devil Fruit Power but do not use his Devil Fruit in actual fighting. He had done exactly that as disobeying his mentor usually resulted in a spar which always curbed whatever excess pride he took in his fighting abilities and filled him with determination that he had a long way to go. Rayleigh had actually left the Island 3 Months back but he still had spent 3 months more with Luffy than he had first expected which was all due to Luffy's New Devil Fruit.
Luffy was an extremely creative person when it came to Combat. He had taken a mostly useless Paramecia Gum Gum fruit to ridiculous heights and had he not lost it he would have taken it even further. But He had 10 years to get used to the Rubber body while he had been a Lightning Man for not even 2 years in which about half a year he had trained with his powers locked so to help him use his powers Rayleigh had stayed an extra 3 months with him. Luffy's experience of Logia fighters included Smoker, Crocodile, Enel ,Blackbeard, The 3 Admirals and the closest he had seen a Logia fight was his Brother Ace during The War.
Rayleigh had already hammered into him the importance of not relying on his Devil fruit so he wouldn't. But he had remembered something Crocodile said to him during their first fight about how he had trained his Devil fruit abilities to great extent so he had also strove to do that. He also remembered that Ace only had his Devil fruit for less than 3 years and even exhausted and tortured he could fight Aokiji and Akainu in the War.
Luffy broke out of his thoughts as his Observation picked up Marguerite and his 3 animal companions readying themselves for a fight. He grinned and there was a blue flash.
He appeared near his hat and grinned widely and put it on his head. It fit perfectly on his head. Like a Crown fit for the King.
A lightning bolt struck near the tree the Kujas were standing causing all of them to jump except Hancock who was swooning seeing the Man who walked out from the smoke the bolt had caused.
After two years of intense training, a few things have changed. Luffy now wears a pair of long, black jeans, fastened tightly around his waist with a thick dark leather belt. He also wore a thick, heavy dark blue jacket with red lining, leaving it unfastened at the front and with no sleeves to reveal the vivid scars on his arms proudly.
There was also an X shaped scar on his chest which he recieved from Admiral Akainu.
He was sick of his sandals, so Luffy borrowed a pair of Rayleigh's old boots instead. He looked like a different person. He looked older, more mature than he had been before.
His harsh training with Rayleigh has bore fruit and his hard earned muscles were proof of that. His muscles were well toned with marvellously sculpted abs.
Rayleigh had done the best he could to soothe the burns with the help of doctors of Amazon Lily, but the electricity still scorched vivid burns running across Luffy's right arm and shoulder. They were called Lichtenberg figures which were common among those who got struck by lightning strike, if they lived. They looked like red tattoos under his skin, jagged and swirling around like lightning.
"Luffy! We have prepared the ship for you and I have packed everything you will need just like a good wife should" Hancock said while blushing as she took in the form of her husband (in her opinion) walking towards her.
"I am not interested in marriage but thank you Hancock" Luffy replied grinning at her with his signature grin.
Luffy had also started to appreciate women in the last two years and wasn't as oblivious as before. He acknowledged that Hancock was beautiful and had even told her so when she had come to see him after Rayleigh was gone which had caused her to collapse in his arms and him to panic but he had no intention of marrying as he valued freedom over everything else and when he became The Pirate King whoever will be his wife would be hunted down and if he had a kid they would be too.
That lesson was the one he had engraved in his mind due to the fact of how it had affected Ace.
Ace cursed his father to his death and never forgave him.
He had asked Rayleigh his thoughts on the War and then he had learned the whole reason behind the War. So he wouldn't marry even if he liked Hancock a lot due to all the help she had given him.
He was very excited right now as he would be meeting his Crew, the most important treasure he now had, even more than his hat .
I can't wait... He thought excitedly.
A bartender passed information to a girl that had just arrived, informing people was so rewarding in his opinion. As he served her a drink over the counter, he asked a question. "Did you know the marines moved their headquarters?"
"It's right near here at Marineford isn't it?" the lady asked.
The bartender pointed on the map. "They switched it with their G1 branch on the other side of the red line… this was the decision of the new fleet admiral who replaced Sengoku, this way their HQ is in the New World same as those monstrous Emperors. Thanks to that, the lawless areas have increased here and many pirates have started coming here."
She was stunningly beautiful, her hair reached her lower back in waves, she only wore a revealing green bikini with intricate white designs, proudly showing her grown curves, her breasts were round and full, moreover she had a tight low-rider jeans that exposed a bit of her hip and her ass, orange high-heeled sandals and a pair of pearl-like earrings, she also sported a belt with the berry symbol and she also had pieces of her sorcery Clima-tact on her right side.
Nami sighed internally as she witnessed the fool who was imitating her mock her. She stopped listening from the fake and was about to floor them with her new techniques she had learnt in Weatheria until…
"Sure Kill Green star — Devil." A man shouted as a green carnivorous plant grabbed the 'Nami' by the mouth and captured her. The plant moved and attacked the fake straw hats causing them to panic.
"Hey young lady! Would you like a drink?"
Nami looked at her side where the voice had come from and almost did a double take at seeing the guy who looked like Usopp but much more muscular.
She grinned happily "Usopp!! Its been a long time. Look at how you have grown" She hugged him tightly accidentally pressing her breasts in his face.
Usopp has a new pair of goggles around his neck and has some headphones or ear protectors on. He also has a little goatee along with a new white sun cap he wears on his head. He also has a new pair of rolled-up yellow pants with red suspenders, and a pair of boots his trademark yellow satchel has been replaced with a red one, but he still had his blue and white striped wrist band on his left arm. He had grown much more muscular too with toned abs and a lean frame.
Usopp sweatdropped as he took in Nami's enthusiastic greeting. He controlled his small blush from getting a close view of her bust ."You have grown too Nami!"
Usopp freed himself from Nami's defining feature and explained her about his new weapons The Pop Greens and about how now he had graduated from the Cowardly trio and was a true warrior of the sea now.
"Hey you will pay for this!!! Free us arrghh!!" Shouted the fake Sogeking.
Then he freaked out seeing the fake versions of his crew and showed that for all his talk of being a real brave warrior of the sea he still had a way to go.
"Lets go to another bar Usopp. I have got a favor to ask and did you hear about..." Nami said dragging Usopp away from here who was looking at the Fake Luffy who was shouting at them to get back here when suddenly the whole bar lit up and from what looked like black clouds he and the fakes were electrocuted
Meanwhile, Sanji had arrived with the okamas back to earth from the hell he had been and had finally met real ladies in 2 years causing him to noodle around.
He now covers his right eye, shows his left eye, and has grown his hair just slightly longer. He also sports a dark anchor style facial hair, and stubble on his upper lip. Both his left and right eyebrow are curled to the right. Sanji's neck has gotten thicker as well. He has grown taller, and remains nearly the exact same height as Zoro. He wears a black double breasted suit with golden buttons and a yellow dress shirt together with a brown tie.
He listened to Duval and Shakky and was pretty excited to see the lovely Nami-san and Robin-chan again. I wonder how they have grown... Finally I will get to see them after spending 2 years in hell...
Rayleigh and Shakky sweatdropped seeing Sanji go from lovestruck to depressed state from remembering something which they thought they were better off not knowing. When a thing gives even the Dark King pause you should stay the hell away from it.
"I am surprised that you trained Luffy though...He must be super strong by now."
Sanji had indeed been surprised and every member who had come and talked with Rayleigh had been.
Worse was when each one had learned about what had happened from Rayleigh they have felt even worse then when they had learned about Ace's Death. Thats why everyone wanted to see Luffy as soon as possible to see him alive for themselves.They couldn't believe they had almost lost Luffy and not even know about it. The Only ones who didn't know now were Brook and Robin.
Rayleigh had saw fit to inform Luffy's crewmates because it was better for the crew that they learned beforehand that Luffy had changed drastically to avoid any future problems . He still hadn't told them about Luffy's new devil fruit as he wanted to surprise them.
Luffy still didn't have forethought of thinking far ahead that Rayleigh would be meeting his crewmates earlier than himself but that may also be due to his excitement at seeing everyone again but Rayleigh doubted it.
Luffy may have matured a great deal but he was still Luffy.
Sanji was concerned about Luffy but he had faith in his shitty captain otherwise he wouldn't have followed him.But the major problem was that mosshead who had come first which meant nothing good and now instead of waiting he was wandering around. They would be late in going towards heaven if that mosshead got lost again. He couldn't allow that. He wanted to see all the beauties that were waiting for him at Fishmen Island.
"I've spotted Nico Robin." An agent reported.
"Don't kill her, bring her back alive!" The transponder snail answered.
In an alleyway, a woman stood after evading the agents view. "Did I manage to shake them?" she whispered.
She was an incredibly voluptuous woman. Robin's black hair has grown longer, down to her lower back and is pulled back, revealing more of her forehead and ears. Her outfit after the two years now consisted of a long salmon sari-like skirt with a partially-zipped navy blue leather vest with a V-neck line and a periwinkle rose printed on the left breast near the shoulder that exposed her stomach, sunglasses, pink high heeled pumps, and a pink backpack, she had an hourglass body and her skirt was low so it exposed a bit of her hip and ass.
After being confused over Soul King, Robin arrived near the Thousand Sunny and smiled seeing their beloved ship after so much time.
A Man interrupted her by calling her name and she looked to see who it was and smiled recognizing him.
The man had blue short hair, wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt and a black speedo, His shoulders, torso, and arms were also much bigger than before, and with studded hands that look almost robotic in appearance ,He now appeared to be wearing metal rigged suspenders. He had replaced his elbows with large, light blue hinges, his shoulders with a large red ball and socket joint with 'BF-37' written on them, and his forearms with large, light blue cubes, with his trademark star tattoo being split by an edge. He was definitely Franky giving her his signature SUPER pose.
"You haven't changed Franky!" She said happy to see her family member.
They both talked some more exchanging light hearted jokes but then Franky got serious and told her what he had heard from Rayleigh.
Robin had been running since she was 8, from the government and from the many many bounty hunters who wanted an easy way to earn money and didn't care about exploiting a young girl. She had always thought her existence was cursed and it had remained the same until she had met her family.
The Straw Hats were different than all other groups she had been part of. As she never went into New World Robin hadn't known about the close camaraderie of Whitebeard pirates and Red Haired Shanks, who had become a Yonko 6 years ago when she had started working for Crocodile.
She had known of them but mostly through others cursing them and so the Straw Hats had shattered her expectations when they had invaded Enies Lobby just to save her. They hadn't cared about anything and even burned the flag of her greatest tormentors.
Luffy had even defeated the strongest human she had ever seen ,The Soldier of Dark Justice, Rob Lucci and she had decided to never doubt him again.
Then Luffy's pedigree had been revealed to them by his grandfather who himself was a famous man most knew of and she decided whatever happens will happen and she wouldn't be shocked by it anymore so she didn't fear abnormal things like Nami Usopp or Chopper. But The War and the reason for it had still shocked her.
Ace being the son of the Pirate King so he was executed was the thing she had thought would have happened to her and even Luffy now everyone knew he was the son of Dragon the Revolutionary .How he died in Luffy's arms had saddened her beyond belief as she couldn't be there for her Captain but it had also told her why Luffy had seen through her mask and decided to help her.
It was because he had already experience dealing with it in the form of Ace. She hadn't expected to know so much about Luffy's childhood with the Revolutionary army as Luffy hadn't even known who his dad was but the other brother had told her everything when she had asked after learning about him.
And now learning that Luffy would have been taken away from them without them knowing she vowed that she would make the World Government pay one day.
She Would find the Rio Poneglyph and discover what the World Government wanted to hide so much and tell the world. Nobody messed with her family.
Franky shivered seeing Robin go into creepy mode like she was plotting someone's demise. He liked Robin and she was SUPER cool and had won his sympathy and trust after he had learned about her home being destroyed by that bastard Spanda's father.
He wasn't crying dammit!!!
But seeing that expression reminded him that she was also the same woman that had persuaded him to become their Shipwright in a way that he or any citizen of Water 7 wouldn't forget anytime soon.
But He could understand where she was coming from. He too was SUPER angry and had to hold back otherwise he would have gone to show his SUPER upgrades to the new Marine Fleet Admiral. Rayleigh had told him not to worry and just wait for everyone to come and talk to Luffy so they could set sail into New World.
He was angry but he would wait for Luffy to hear from him instead. He would sure have gotten much stronger.
He thought doing his signature pose.Can't wait to see his reaction to my SUPER BADASS BODY!!
Sanji was annoyed not having found mosshead by now and then hearing he got on a different ship from the fisherman.The stupid swordsman was going to make them late in their dive towards his paradise where beautiful mellorines were waiting for him.
Suddenly the water started bubbling up and churning away , it looked like a whirlpool would form there or a massive wave would come but none of this happened instead a Galleon had risen from the ocean perfectly cut in half.
People were panicking, wondering what had happened.
Most were saying that the coating had been defective and it had capsized but it looked like it had been cut by a giant knife.
But Sanji knew who was responsible for this.
Sheesh what was he thinking...mosshead causing a scene.
Suddenly a voice got his attention... " Dammit!! How dare you??...You've ruined our dreams of the New World "
It was the Captain of the Ship shouting at a strange man sitting on the broken mast of the ship.
A deep voice replied "That's just how the dice rolls. Blame Fate for abandoning your ship to the gods of misfortune "
"LOOK!!! THERE'S SOMEONE ON BOARD!!!" Someone shouted.
Indeed there was a man on board.
His frame was large, showing incredible muscle mass and his hair was shaggy while slicked back. He wore a long, open dark-green coat closed on his waist and is held by a red sash, in which his three swords are now tucked into, and his black bandana is tied around his left forearm. His coat exposed his bare chest, revealing his green belly-warmer underneath the coat. He was very tall , he also had a new scar running down over his left eye, it was now always closed.
"Blgh...I Got...ON THE WRONG SHIP!" Zoro declared
Sanji resisted the urge to facepalm... not that he cared about mosshead or anything...
Meanwhile Chopper had also arrived with the help of his bird friends.
Chopper now wears a blue cap that has a ring of dots around the circle, while the cap has buckles hanging from it. He wears this over his old pink hat. He also wears a white and yellow vertical-striped tank top and an orange pair of shorts.
Aside from being slightly slimmer and having his fur changing from dark brown into a light brown color, Chopper's Brain Point form has not changed.His Walk Point (reindeer) form has grown considerably, now being roughly as tall asUsopp. His horns are larger, he has more muscle, and his fur is longer.
He had been eating cotton candy and had met the fake Straw Hats believing them to be his friends. He had been angry that everyone had changed so much that no one tried to help Robin but soon he had met Real Nami and Usopp and had been angry because it wasn't like they were celebrities idiots...Yeah he was fairly happy...
Nami had been fawning over him as his fur was so softer and he had become even cuter if that was possible.
But he had been worried too much about Luffy's condition when he heard that Luffy had died from Nami and Usopp and he hadn't been there to patch him up again. But he had learnt a lot of new things in the Bird Kingdom and now he would once again be the doctor of the Straw hat pirates.
Slowly all the Straw hats had started to gather near their Ship.
Franky and Robin had been waiting for others and Usopp Nami and Chopper had arrived together.
Usopp and Chopper were with Franky as showed them his new body like it was a mecha toy having stars in their eyes. Franky was having fun showing his SUPER ARMORED Body.
Nami meanwhile had recieved the instructions on how to navigate the ship from Rayleigh and the transponder snail from Shakky to call Zoro and Sanji.
Brook had announced the future's Pirate King return to his voyage in his last concert as Soul King. He had been the one looking most forward to the reunion of Straw hats as he didn't want to be alone again.
He had been alone for FIFTY YEARS already and had to live with the corpses of his crew while losing his flesh and living as a skeleton trapped in the horror that was Florian Triangle.
Even Robin had said that his pain was greater than hers had been. And Now after returning he had learnt of Luffy's death.
He hadn't felt such terror since the death of his old crewmates.
He KNEW what dying felt like and didn't wanted the man who saved him to die. Everyone of his Crewmates felt the same and Rayleigh's assurance that Luffy was fine and stronger than ever had been good enough for them to wait for Luffy but not good enough to not worry and so Brook put his crewmates out of worry by playing a song because there was one thing he was certain about that His Captain was the Man who will become the Pirate King and wouldn't die before achieving his dream.
Many would say that Luffy should give more appreciation to his crewmates and talk to them more...But they didn't know Luffy. Luffy didn't know how to do that. He wasn't a scholar or something. He was the finest example of the saying that Actions speak louder than Words and that was why so many people came to respect Luffy .He was honest to a fault and didn't hide anything and would do anything for his crewmates and the people he loved. That was what made him dangerous and that was why strong people like Zoro and Sanji followed him.
Well Zoro did...Sanji mostly had followed because of his beautiful Nami-swan but he was Weird like that.
And Zoro hadn't known why he had followed Luffy at first but slowly he had come to realize it.
It was because they both had some things in common.
First off, he was stubborn to a fault. Even if he knew he was wrong, even if he knew the odds against him were hopeless, he'd still pursue his given course of action to the death. His persistence hadn't become quite so hazardous to his health until he'd joined the crew, but it had always been there. In arguments, in daily life, in drinking contests, Zoro refused to back down. This inability to yield, in a world of compromise, marked him as a freak. And since people didn't want to admit that this kind of integrity to his beliefs was a strength they envied, they denounced it as a foolish flaw.
Second, he was simple. No, not slow, just simple. He didn't needlessly complicate his life. Who needed to know all the minutiae of politics and the balance of power? Why break down everything into ever smaller, more technical parts? What good did philosophic debate or agonizing over ethical conundrums ever do anyone? Zoro had no need for any of that. The sun rose and set. Seasons changed. Alcohol was the gateway to paradise. And a man only needed two things: his balls and his word. Other than how to swing a sword, that was basically all Zoro needed to know in life. So whenever Zoro heard and saw people all but losing their heads over pointless abstract ideas like 'government' or 'economy' , he could only shake his head at how much stress and worry they went through for no reason.
And Luffy was also like that.
Simple and with endless conviction just like Zoro.
It had taken some time for Zoro to consciously realize that. His instincts had already recognized it but he hadn't till after Alabasta. Thats why he had been prepared to Sacrifice himself for his Captain at Thriller Bark. It was why he had swallowed his pride and asked Mihawk to train him.
Unfortunately this similarity also caused other people to think he was as Stupid as Luffy.
Sanji had first seen both of their strength when they had fought Mihawk and Krieg at Baratie and didn't hesitate even at sign of death. He didn't envy their strength as he himself was quite strong but he didn't have endless conviction that they both seem to instinctively possess. He had developed his willpower and conviction after he had left Baratie. and he had then been introduced to Luffy's stupidity so he had lumped Zoro as that stupid and over the months they had been on crew they had developed quite the rivalry.
So thats why now he and Zoro were ready for a fight after 2 years of training.
Just as they raised their legs and sword to fight his transponder snail started ringing and he answered it.After mooning over Nami swan and hearing the news about Marines converging he turned to mosshead and explained his underdeveloped mind what they had to do which promptly started another argument between them and people around to look at them astonished. They made their way towards the groove arguing like always.
They were about to reach the groove where all that noise was coming from when their instincts and Observation Haki screamed at them to stop and get out of the way which they promptly did.
They stopped and prepared themselves for a fight, unerringly in sync, and then saw the state everyone was there and forced down their shock andbecame even more focused.
Their observation alerted them of a massive power coming at them fast.
Just as they started attacking they heard the voice of who was coming their way causing them to freeze "Zoro!!Sanji!! Its been so long!! I have missed you guys!!" was all they heard before a guy, their Captain , appeared between them like lightning . grinning widely and hugged them tightly causing them all to crash.
"Luffy!!!" Both shouted annoyed but smiling nonetheless happy to finally see their captain grinning and most importantly alive and both had the same thought Rayleigh wasn't kidding
Because while the man before them was unmistakably their captain and friend Monkey D Luffy , he looked different.
With his new Look and the power they could feel from him he looked much more mature, more dangerous .
He looks like Ace ...Both the swordsman and chef thought the same thing.
Indeed Luffy had become as muscular as Ace was and due to only a sleeveless jacket he wore his body was visible for the world to see. They both raised an eyebrow in surprise as they saw the scars marring their Captain's arms looking more like tattoos than anything else.
The only thing they knew wasn't new was the rusty old Straw hat that sat on Luffy's head.
After taking a good look at this captain Sanji asked the imminent question "What happened here?..."
Luffy looked at two of his friends ,happy and almost bursting with excitement and said "Well...
SOME TIME BEFORE ZORO AND SANJI'S ARRIVAL, GROOVE #46 Sabaody Archipelago
Luffy had arrived at the Island with Hancock and had wanted to directly fly where he sensed his friends but Hancock had warned him about the marines and made him promise her that he wouldn't cause trouble till he set sail but he had encountered the fake straw hat crew on his way and had knocked them down with his Conqueror's Haki when they had attacked him.
He knew which direction he had to go due to his phenomenal range of Observation Haki which now could cover the entire Archipelago.
So when the Fake Sanji and Zoro had come to him he had recognized that they were lying due to their voices which were very very weak compared to what he thought Zoro and Sanji's strength should be and he had refused them. Immediately they had tried attacking him and got electrocuted for their efforts.
After pissing themselves ,full of fear ,both had told him what was going on when he had asked.
So he had come to see who was impersonating him which had led to this mayhem that was happening due to him not concealing himself well enough.
He had been recognized by that Robot Kuma from where he had been hiding listening to the fakes and thus this mayhem had happen.
I really shouldn't have come here... He thought tiredly
"Why are they calling you Straw Hat?" The words came from a calm looking, incredibly large man. He looked much like a sumo wrestler, with a pretty feminine-looking face and white eyes. He had a large scar on the side of his face, from eye to lip. His red shirt resembled a giant bib. It was secured around him with a large, red-and-white rope. Finishing the look off was a large Marine cape hanging from his shoulders, and the absolutely massive two-headed battle axe he was carrying. He was staring at the smaller – though that was relative – man on his butt in front of him, and he was visibly unhappy.
The man was large and stocky – much like him, though less round. He was just fat. He wore a red shirt that was stretched taut around his obese figure, and he was incapable of closing it. His blue jeans went down to his shins, and his straw hat was frayed and unkept. "Oi oi oi oi oi! Bastard!" The Fake Luffy stammered and blustered, "Don't you know who I am?" He was sweating buckets, "Get out of my way or I'll kill you and dig out your entrails!" He yelled with a dopey look on his face.
The larger man did not look impressed, so he got to his feet, "I'm the Revolutionary Dragon's son, and Vice-Admiral Garp's grandson!" The last was yelled with a visible bit of snot hanging from his nose as well as increased sweating, "I wreaked havoc during the War of the Best! I'm the man with the 400 million Beli bounty, Straw Hat Lu-" With every word he took a step forward, his face turning increasingly ridiculous.
But with the last statement, the larger man with the axe had enough, "STRAW-HAT ISN'T SCUM LIKE YOU!" He roared as he smashed his axe's flat right on top of the fake Straw Hat's head. The fake's eyes popped out of his head, even as blood spewed from his puffed out lips. Every other pirate and Marine there could only stare in abject shock.
"WHAT!" Every pirate there roared, "Boss Straw Hat!" The weaker pirates trembled in horror.
"I see." The unimpressed looking axe-wielder – a man named Sentomaru – commented. "So all of these pirates were tricked and became a part of this guy's crew. I'd feel bad, but if you were stupid enough to fall forthis guy's trick, then you damn well deserve to be captured." He turned slightly, addressing the largest man in the entire clearing, "PX-5, who is this guy?"
The Huge man stepped forward, and the beeping coming from him suddenly made it clear that I was not, in fact, a human. In his digital vision, it zoomed in on the fake's face and calculated, "Pirate: 'Triple-Tongued' Demaro Black. Bounty of 26 million Beli." Even his voice sounded fake and robotic.
"26 MILLION!" The pirates yelled in horror, "That can only mean…he's an IMPOSTER!" The fake in question mumbled and huffed unconsciously, blood leaking from the massive lump on his head onto his face.
"THEY FOUND OUT!" Yelled the rest of the panicking fake's crew, before they all turned tail and ran with a visible smoke trail leading from them.
One angry pirate yelled, "What is this shit! He posed as Straw Hat and tricked us!"
Another roared, "Damn it! I can't believe I almost got ripped off by some asshole with a 26 million bounty!"
"The real Straw Hat must be dead!" Yet another groaned.
Meanwhile Luffy thought Better get out of here then before it's too late…He turned, bringing his absolutely massive backpack with him.
Sentomaru smirked lightly, "So, you were all tricked huh? That's just too bad. The one who tried to fool you all was an idiot, but you're all just as unlucky!" He said strongly, "Under my authority, you are all under arrest! You all have to come with us!" The massive cyborg behind him took one step forward, literally shaking the ground. The pirates all stepped back in horror, "And I don't know why, but the real Straw Hat is here too!" The pirate's eyes all widened, "PX-5 locked onto him as soon as we arrived! Shoot at him, PX-5!"
The massive cyborg took another step, before his eyes started blinking as his targeter observed the entire area in search for Straw Hat Luffy. Finally, he acquired a signal, and opened his massive mouth. A yellow beam shot out, flying faster than the eye could see at his target.
But Luffy was prepared as his Observation warned him of the impending danger. He had already hopped away long before the beam hit and exploded the area he had occupied. He spun through the air, before landing on the massive raised platform in the area. His overcoat had fallen off, landing beside him.
It revealed him looking vastly different than Sentomaru remembered though his face was almost the same. Instead of rubbery cheeks he now had normal cheeks with sharp face like Ace had causing him to look older .
He found out..." Hey!! Watch it you almost hit my precious lunchboxes!!" He yelled at the sumo-guy .
One pirate was trembling, with a piece of paper held loosely in his shaking fists, "H-here's his poster!" It fell to the ground, revealing a face that looked only a little different one looking down at them, "IT'S THE SAME!" The terrified screams rang through the air!
While the small time pirates were panicking and the new Super rookies were watching with interest Sentomaru herad some murmur about setting sail from Straw hat and yelled "Don't worry you aren't setting sail. Unlike two years ago, I'm a full-fledged Marine now! I'm catching you here! PX-5!"
The huge cyborg opened his mouth as he hunched over. Yellow light was shining from his insides, even as an increasingly loud and rapid beeping sounded from him. The being trembled for a few seconds, before three beams of light shot forward. Luffy, who had been crouching, stood up. In the time it took to blink, he had inclined his head in three different ways, easily avoiding the three beams. His hat was shadowing his eyes, "Too slow." The giant mangrove tree behind him exploded, and a second later the shockwave ruffled his hat and hair.
"What!" Sentomaru gaped, his eye twitching momentarily in shock.
Then Luffy muttered "Gear Second "
Instead of steam appearing from Luffy's form as used to happen when he had a Rubber body now an electric blue armor like aura came to life around his body.
As Luffy had been aphysical fighter for most of his life he had developed a form which lets him use his powers with his old fighting style.
This was his new Gear Second he had developed from his Rumble Rumble fruit for protection and physical boost raising his speed to inhuman levels, even faster than his previous Gear second.
He disappeared entirely and in the time it took Sentomaru to blink he had punched PX-5 and decimated it with a single punch.
In another moment it took to blink PX-6 exploded burnt with lightning and Sentomaru snapped out of his stupor.
He took out his axe and prepared himself to fight while the Marines continued fighting pirates in the Background.
"PX-7 attack Straw-hat!!!!" He yelled and also launched himself towards his target.
But Luffy's Observation told him exactly where he was and where he was coming from.
Just as Sentomaru's Haki covered Axe were about to hit Luffy his speed increased even further and he vanished only to appear above PX-7's head and he muttered " Lightning Horizontal chop"
The circuits and the machinery inside the Robot fell apart causing the artificial being to drop like a puppet with his strings cut.
Sentomaru looked on in shock at Luffy How is he using lightning? Did ...he...die and was brought back to life by a miracle after the War ? Does that mean Dr. Vegapunk's theory that a user could die but recover in time would lose his devil fruit? Which fruit does he have now?...
Questions flew through his head at Rapid pace.
Being the former bodyguard of the greatest mind in the world meant that you learnt at least something about him and to pass time he had read some of the more outlandish theories Vegapunk had but he hadn't believed it possible...until now.
As Sentomaru was lost in thoughts, Luffy got annoyed of the time they were wasting and quickly covered the distance between them. Sentomaru's Armament may be strong but his Observation was sub par at best and shitty at worst .
The last thing Sentomaru saw before blacking out was a Haki covered fist coming at fast speed towards his face. So he can use Haki now too...
Seeing Sentomaru being defeated the Marine Captain shouted " This is outrageous!! Not only did he defeat 3 Pacifistas but Sentomaru as well! I won't let you go Straw-hat!!"
He and a large number of marines charged towards Luffy who was now very much annoyed .
Luffy took a deep breath and said " Well so much for being quiet and sneaky"
He raised his hand towards the horde charging towards him and grinned. It was a maniacal grin equally terrifying and filled with childish excitement .
Then He yelled "Lightning Beam" and a massive beam of lightning not unlike Enel's El thor attack came pouring out of it before electrocuting every Marine and Pirate in line.
He laughed heartily "Shishishishi its still so cool"
Seeing his power the rest of pirates and marines were like snot nosed brats shaking in terror and as he looked towards them with his childish grin most of them started running while some started attacking him in hopes to bringing him down.
It was a futile effort.
Zoro and Sanji were shocked to say the least as their Captain casually revealed that he now had the powers of that false God they had encountered on Sky Island.
"How did you get that power Luffy? " Zoro asked
Luffy's enthusiastic mood dimmed a little but he told them " I will tell you everything when we are all together"
Just as he said that more battalion of marines started pouring in the area and the three of them looked ready to fight but Sanji reminded them that they shouldn't waste much time here.
A single Pacifista has escaped Luffy's notice as it had been held back on the ship but seeing the rest defeated a Marine Captain had activated it and it was now coming towards the unofficial Monster Trio of the straw hats who weren't fighting just going back to their ship so to not waste time.
Both Zoro and Sanji grew serious. Sanji span quickly, his legs igniting in what seemed like flames. He looked as if he was wearing molten lava on his legs. Zoro merely drew all three of his swords. They vanished, and a moment later the Pacifista was going down, Sanji's molten leg in his head and Zoro behind him with sparking cuts torn into it.
"I sliced him!" Zoro called out.
"No! I broke his neck!" Sanji roared back.
The Marines were panicking.
Their leader had been defeated.
The Pacifistas were taken out in single hits and the three pirates were either laughing or arguing as if they were a joke.
Meanwhile Luffy was thinking about grabbing Zoro and Snaji and flying to the ship when he sensed someone and stopped.
Zoro and Sanji were startled as Luffy stopped suddenly .
"Huh? Luffy?"
Luffy merely grinned as he stared off over the hill, where an old man was sitting calmly. Zoro and Sanji watched with smiles of their own as Luffy set the huge bag on his shoulders down, "RAYLEIGH!" Everyone other than the three Straw Hats stared in abject shock and horror now, at the old man. He had long white hair and a funny, striped beard that ended in a puff just below his chin. He wore glasses and a worn-looking hoodie.
He chuckled, "I came here to have a look, but it looks like you're doing just fine, Luffy. You've gotten much stronger since I last saw you. Hurry up and get going! Go see your friends!"
"Right!" Luffy called back. He had a massive grin, "Rayleigh! Thank you for everything these past two years!"
Rayleigh laughed, "Get going! This isn't like you!" He had a smile all the same at Luffy's good-bye.
"I'm going to do it Rayleigh!" Rayleigh quirked an eyebrow in confusion, "I'm going to become the Pirate King!" Luffy had his arms thrown into the air, fists pumped out. Rayleigh only smiled, a single tear in his eye.
The Marines finally got their wits about them, and resumed their headlong charge at Luffy and his crewmates. Rayleigh didn't like that very much, as his student ran with his crewmates. He drew his sword and slashed the air. In front of the Marines, a small gash opened up in the earth, forcing them to halt. Rayleigh was standing in front of the coughing Marines.
"Now then my apprentice is setting sail. I would appreciate if you didn't interfere"
He had an easy going smile on his face.
Luffy had been about to use his new flying powers to get them back to the ship after the Perona lady had informed them of the Marine battleships approaching the Island. He had almost asked her to join his crew but had stopped at the last moment as she didn't feel like someone who had a dream or a goal.
As for the Marine battleships...well one of the he reasons Logias were feared so much were due to their high scale capacity when causing mass destruction. It may be time for him to test it out.
Chopper had arrived on the back of the giant bird and after marveling at Luffy's new look they were going back to their beloved ship the Thousand Sunny and he was very much excited.
Finally they arrived and Luffy called out, "HEY! EVERYONE!"
Instantly, all of the people on the ship below him sprang to their feet, "LUFFY!" Everyone looked excited and happy. Usopp even was tearing up a little bit.
"Looks like you've gotten kinda manly!" Franky said
"Luffy! You guys!" Nami waved her arms back and forth above her head.
Sanji instantly locked on to the two beautiful women of his crew. First he looked at Nami's bust, then Robins'. He closed his eyes and took a deep drag of his smoke. " SA...NJI!!!!" Chopper yelled. Blood spewed in massive quantities from his nostrils and he rocketed up and off the bird. He would have landed in the water, if Luffy hadn't appeared under him and then on the ship with him in his arms. Sanji was blue, and still leaking blood.
Usopp cradled his head in his arms, "Sanji!!!!! Chopper! Stop the bleeding!"
Meanwhile Nami had given Luffy an earful about his not-death and now was hugging him for all she was worth, sobbing into his chest. Robin wrapped her arms around him, and idly mused that he was almost as tall as she was now. "Hey, none of that. I'm still here." He rubbed their backs. He grinned, "I can't die without becoming the Pirate King, remember?"
Nami choked out a laugh, "You damn idiot." She finally let go of him, and backed away slightly, wiping her watery eyes. "I don't care about that…I'm just glad you're okay."
Robin backed away and smiled at him "Hey, at least you can learn to swim now, right?" She made one of her kinda-morbid jokes.
Luffy chuckled, "Not exactly." But before they could ask him what that meant, a cannonball struck the water close to their ship.
"Ah, Marines!" Nami yelled, thoughts of Luffy's not-death and possible new power chased away momentarily, "Crap! There are three ships!"
Luffy grinned, "I got this." He walked forward confidently, "We'll be setting sail in a moment guys! I suggest you hold onto something."
"Hold on to…Luffy what?" Nami asked in surprise.
But Luffy didn't answer her, he merely raised his arm in front of his chest, before clenching his fist. He smirked at her and said "Don't worry Nami ! I will handle it!"
After all his crew was with him and some Marines Battleships weren't going to stop him because after 2 years
THE STRAW HAT PIRATES HAVE RETURNED !!!
A/N: LEAVING IT AT HERE . I THINK IT WAS A GOOD ENDING BUT YOU GUYS LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS AND I AM NEW AT THIS SO SOME OF THE CONTENT WILL BE SIMILAR TO OTHER STORIES YOU MAY HAVE READ AS THEY ARE MY INSPIRATIONS .THANK YOU FOR READING .PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW.