Luffy was acting strange. Everyone could tell. They just didn't know what was wrong. After they defeated Kaido and Luffy had become a Yonko, X Drake had told them that he's actually a marine. Obviously, the Straw-Hats were alarmed, especially with their captain still resting after finally defeating Kaido, but X Drake hadn't wanted to fight.
"I just have a message" he had told them.
"Let him say it" Luffy ordered. Some of the crew had argued, but Luffy just smiled and said, "he's a good guy". They swore that attitude of his was going to get them killed someday, but they obeyed their captain.
"Thank you. A colleague of mine, Koby, asked me to tell you these news" X Drake started. At the sound of the name, the Straw-Hats, sans Franky, Brook, Jinbe and the newest addition, Yamato, smiled. "He asked me to tell you that the Shichibukai system has been disbanded. All of the previous Shichibukai suffered a surprise attack from the Marines. That's what he wanted me to tell you" X Drake told them, and then quickly turned tail. The Straw-Hats were shocked about this turn of events but hadn't understood why Koby wanted to tell them this. But when they looked at Luffy, it was clear that Koby knew something they didn't. Their captain, their fearless, brave and strong captain was showing something in his eyes that none of them, apart from Jinbe, had ever seen there: fear.
"What's wrong, Luffy?" Zoro had asked. Luffy looked at him, as if realizing that they were all there, and shook his head.
"Guys, we need to leave Wano right now" he ordered. Again, they were shocked. They had already had their celebrations and were about to leave anyways, but the urgency in which he said it and the way his voice wavered was so 'un-Luffy' that they couldn't help but worry.
Which led them to this moment. Luffy is in the Sunny's figurehead, looking at the sea. They all took notice that he was trying to look strong, trying to act normal these past few days, but they knew him better. He wasn't shining like he usually does. Still isn't. That and the fact that he's been reading the news every single day. Even the news about Sabo hadn't shaken him as bad as the news about the Shichibukai. "Sabo can take care of himself", he had told them when they saw those news.
"I think I may know what is wrong" Jinbe said, when they gathered around to talk about it.
"Really?" Nami asked, hopeful. Jinbe nodded.
"When Ace was arrested" the fishman started, everyone's face going grim. He continued none the less "Luffy was trying his hardest to save him. He broke into Impel Down, the impenetrable prison, and then stormed Marineford. He actually freed Ace, but Ace jumped in front of him to save his life. All of you already know this, but there are some things that only those who were there know. Do you guys have any idea of how he actually broke into Impel Down?" Jinbe asked. They all shook their heads.
"He must've had help. Knowing Luffy, he would just try and punch his way through the doors" Usopp concluded. The rest nodded.
"Yes. That same day, someone visited Ace and told him Luffy was going to try and rescue him. Before the prison was alerted that Luffy was there. The Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock. A member of the Shichibukai" Jinbe told them. The crew's eyes widened. "She also allowed him to recover in Amazon Lily, her island, after the war. The place where Rayleigh trained him was also under Amazon Lily's protection" Jinbe informed.
"He must be worried about her…" Chopper said.
"I remember Luffy telling us he made friends with everyone in the maiden island before we left for fishman island…" Robin said.
"That's right!" Brook remembered. Yamato, being new to the crew and from the closed place of Wano, wasn't understanding anything.
"Why don't we just ask him" the newest member offered.
"I got it" Zoro said. However, as soon as he said that. Luffy stood up from the figurehead and walked to them, a letter in hand.
"I know you guys are worried about me, but you don't know what it's about" Luffy started.
"It's about Boa Hancock, isn't it?" Usopp asked. Luffy looked surprised as he looked at his crew but laughed. He felt stupid, of course his crew would know. He looked at the letter in his hand, then took a deep breath.
"That's right. Hancock… she helped me in a time where I needed help. She put so much in danger just to help me… and now she's the one who needs help. I know we are so close to Raftel right now… but I want to go back and help her" he said. His crew smiled.
"All you have to do is give the order, captain" Zoro said. He grinned.
"To Amazon Lily!" he ordered. Nami, who luckily had kept an Eternal Pose to Sabaody, gave the orders as the Straw-Hats did their jobs on the ship.
(XXX)
Arriving in Sabaody, Luffy had a smile on his face as he went to see Rayleigh. His crew stayed on the Sunny, in case something happened. They had sailed by Dressrosa, but their visit was a quick supply only visit. Luffy talked to Rebecca for about 10 minutes, as she told him how the Reverie went, and then they left. Same thing at fishman island, Luffy talked quickly to Shirahoshi as Jinbe talked to Neptune, but they left as fast as they had come, promising to talk to them more when they went back to the New World.
The Marines were startled, since they didn't know what the hell the Straw-Hats were doing. Akainu was livid once he found out the Straw-Hats were so close but escaped his grasp once again, but no one in the Marines could predict where Luffy and his crew were going. A Yonko going back to Paradise was a massive problem, especially since New Marineford was in the New World.
Luffy opened the door to Shakky's bar, meeting a wide-eyed Rayleigh.
"Hey, Rayleigh" he said. Rayleigh, getting over his initial shock, greeted him back.
"Luffy! What are you doing here?" the older man asked.
"I wanted to see if you know how I can get to Amazon Lily" he said, surprising Rayleigh again. Then, Roger's first mate started laughing.
"I see. So, you coming back to Paradise is about Hancock. Finally given in to her charms?" he teased. Luffy, however, tilted his head.
"Charms?" he asked. Rayleigh sighed.
"I should've spent some time teaching you about this stuff, but it seems as we don't have time. Just tell me, Luffy, how do you feel about Hancock?".
"I'm worried".
"That's not what I mean. When you think about her, what do you feel?". Luffy stopped to think about it. Since he usually didn't think at all, he never thought about this.
"It's a mystery feeling. I don't understand it, but it's like my heart starts beating really fast. Like I'm fighting, but at the same time it makes me scared. And I'm not scared when I fight. I just… agh, my head hurts!" Luffy said, giving up. Rayleigh chuckled.
"It's okay, I understand. What you feel is love".
"Love? But I also love Sabo, and I don't feel like that?" Luffy asked. Rayleigh shook his head.
"Not that kind of love. The love you're feeling for Hancock is different. You want her to be your partner for the rest of your life" Rayleigh explained. Luffy nodded.
"That's it! That's how I feel! I want her for the rest of my life!". Rayleigh chuckled at his enthusiasm.
"All right, then, when you see her, the first thing you have to do is…".
(XXX)
After returning to the Sunny, the crew again noticed that something about Luffy was different, however this seemed like a good change. They chalked it up to him seeing Rayleigh again and left it at that. He gave the Eternal Pose to Nami and made their way towards Amazon Lily. When they got closer Luffy noticed a ton of Marine ships. Luffy flung himself towards the island, flying above the Marine fleet. The others sighed.
"He's going straight towards the centre of the city. Let's take some Marines while he's at it" Zoro said, then jumped towards the closest ship. Seconds later, it was no longer 1 ship, but 2 halves.
"That goddamned marimo is as bad as our shitty captain" Sanji complained, then jumped towards another ship, which was burning seconds later. The rest of the crew chuckled as they also started attacking random Marines.
When they effectively and rather quickly destroyed the fleet, they all met close to the beach.
"All right, let's head towards the city. Luffy's probably going to be there. I sense he's fighting someone quite strong" Jinbe said. The others nodded as Nami scolded Zoro for going the wrong way. Twice. Eventually, they reached the island. Luffy was indeed fighting someone strong: Kizaru. Their fight seemed to be close to the end, a Gear Fourth Luffy panting and bleeding, as well as the admiral.
"Leave this place. You have no chance against me and my crew. And tell the Marines never to set foot in this island again! This is MY TERRITORY!" Luffy screamed, letting out his King's Haki. Kizaru's eyes widened, then he looked behind him to see all the Straw-Hats there. He sighed, then bolted away from them. "Thanks guys. This was going to take me a while" he said. The others nodded as they walked towards the island. Upon arrival, they were instantly shot arrows at by the Kuja.
"It's me! Luffy!" he exclaimed. The arrows stopped as Margaret poked her head out from the wall they had built. Her eyes widened in recognition.
"Call Hebihime-sama! Luffy is here! Open the gates!" she screamed. As they entered the city, Sanji immediately went to swoon the girls as Brook asked them to show their panties. Surprisingly enough, they did, and he fell to the floor. After about 3 minutes of this commotion, Boa Hancock showed up, running in their direction. Luffy's grin widened as he saw she was all right. Sanji immediately turned to stone when she showed up.
"Luffy!" she screamed. He ran towards her and gave her a big hug.
"Hancock, you're okay!" he said. She immediately lost it as he hugged her. Then, surprising literally everyone there, he captured her lips. Her eyes widened but she quickly returned the kiss. When they were done, he looked into her eyes.
"I'm so glad you're okay" he said, so low only she heard him. Then, she fainted. He picked her up and laughed. His crew, still wide-eyed, looked at him.
"Luffy… what did you just do?" Nami got out. Sanji, upon hearing Nami's voice, tried to kick Luffy, but was held down, surprisingly, by Robin.
"Let's hear him out, Sanji-kun".
"Yes, Robin-swan!". After that initial commotion, Hancock woke up.
"I'm not dreaming, am I?" she asked. Luffy shook his head.
"Of course not! Shishishishi" he answered.
"Wait, Luffy! Explain!" Usopp said.
"Explain what?" he asked.
"Why did you just kiss her?!" Usopp answered.
"Oh. Rayleigh said that if someone gives me the feeling, I should do that!" he said.
"T-the feeling?" Hancock asked.
"Yeah! The feeling where my heart goes really fast and stuff. He said it's love, but a mystery love! That I only feel to you!" he told Hancock. She once again fainted as his crew tried to process this information.
"L-let me get this right… Luffy, you love Hancock?" Nami asked, to be sure.
"Yeah! But it's different than you guys! I love you guys too! But I don't wanna kiss you guys… umm… it's hard to explain" he said.
"It's okay, captain. We understand" Robin said. The others nodded. Hancock, who had woken up to hear his 'confession', if you can call it that, smiled.
"So, does that mean we can get married?" she asked, hopeful.
"EEEEEEHH? YOU MEAN YOU LOVE HIM TOO?" half the crew asked, surprised.
"Of course. What's not to love?" she answered, no hesitation.
"No! We can't get married!" he said. Her smile fell.
"Why?".
"Well, to be married we'd have to live together, right? But we can't do that! I'm going to be the king of the pirates, and you have this kingdom to run" he said. His crew nodded, surprised that Luffy actually said something smart.
"But Luffy…" she said. Luffy, however, interrupted her with a kiss.
"I have an idea! When I become pirate king, let's get married!" he said. Her eyes turned into hearts.
"Yes, of course!" she said. He smiled and kissed her again. The crew smiled as well, sans Sanji who was depressed since 'the most beautiful woman in the world is now taken', according to him.
The Straw-Hats stayed in Amazon Lily for about 3 days, before returning to their journey. Luffy explained to Hancock that he's now a Yonko, and that he put Amazon Lily under his protection. She was very grateful to him and told him she was awaiting his quick return.
(XXX)
1 year after the events in Amazon Lily, Luffy was crowned pirate king. He defeated Black Beard in an insane war, taking the crown and reaching Raftel.
Luffy was, ironically, the last of the crew to fulfill his dream. Usopp was arguably the first one, since he became a brave warrior of the sea during the journey, a long time before he went to Wano. There was never really a turning point. Then, Yamato, since Momonosuke opened the ports of Wano after the war with Kaido. The third one was Brook, since after Amazon Lily the Straw-Hats took the time to go and see his companion Laboon, filling their hearts with joy.
After those 2, they went back to the New World, where Sanji finally found the All Blue. Turns out it was in a secluded cave in the Red Line that Jinbe found. Since it was in the Red Line, fish from the four blues, as well as the New World and Paradise went there.
After that, they suddenly ran into Mihawk, and after 4 days of a long battle, Zoro defeated him, turning himself into the greatest swordsman in the world. While they were heading to Raftel, Luffy got extremely sick, so Chopper had to work overtime to cure his sickness. Because of that, Chopper found a way to cure all of the diseases of the world. He made a genetically modified pill that contained a special bacteria that he made. This bacteria analyzed your entire body and, after it, cured everything that was wrong.
After that, they got word from Neptune that Fishman Island was being transported to the surface and Jinbe promised to go visit as soon as possible with his crew. And lastly, when they reached Raftel, Franky and Nami's dreams of seeing the Sunny reach the ends of the world and mapping the entire world became true, as they had reached Raftel and there was finally a map that could lead there.
That left Luffy and Robin. The latter got her dream fulfilled when she read the Poneglyph that contained the entire history of the void century, located in Raftel. Then, Luffy had a war with Whitebeards and the Marines. This war was, by far, the biggest war the world had ever seen. Bigger than Marineford, even. Allies Luffy never thought he had, as well as some he loved fought for him. The remainder of the Whitebeard Pirates, the Straw-Hat Grand Armada, the Kuja, Crocodile, Buggy, Shanks, Law, Kidd, his brother and the rest of the revolutionaries, Smoker, Tashigi, Aokiji, Fujitora, Koby, Garp (all of these marines were pissed at the World Government after learning the history of the world) and even Katakuri fought by his side.
On the side of the Marines they had the remaining admirals, Kizaru and Ryokugyu, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki and some vice-admirals, but that was not enough. So, grudgingly, Akainu had accepted an alliance with Blackbeard. Weevil had also joined their side, wanting to defeat Luffy. The last battle was an all-out brawl between Luffy, Akainu, who disbanded the alliance in hopes of killing both problem pirates and claiming absolute victory, and Blackbeard. At the end, Luffy poetically killed Akainu with a Red Hawk to the chest, then Blackbeard was defeated in a clash of the 2 strongest pirates, thrown in the water. Zoro and Sanji each also took 1 admiral and 1 Blackbeard.
After the Straw-Hats won the fight, Luffy was recognized as king of the pirates. The world went crazy as the revolutionaries took over the world government, disbanding the Gorosei and ending the Tenryuubito's rule. After everything was settled, Luffy returned to Amazon Lily. His friends all stayed together to do some important things, then went their own way.
Sanji returned to Whole Cake and concluded his marriage with Pudding. All of the Straw-Hats attended, even Zoro, and then Sanji and his wife went to the cave where they had found the All Blue and made a restaurant there, the best restaurant of the world.
Zoro and Yamato returned to Wano. Zoro had surprisingly tied the knot with Hiyori in a massive wedding, after all the princess of Wano was getting married. After the wedding, the Straw-Hats surprisingly caught Zoro and Sanji sharing stories and smiling. Seems like they were going to miss each other after all.
Nami returned to Cocoyashi, after proudly displaying all of her stories in a journal that contained, of course, the map of the world at the final page. Since Luffy hadn't left any treasure behind, Raftel became a tourist destination.
Chopper returned to Drum, or rather Sakura, to spend Doctorine's last years with her. When she died, 5 years after they conquered the Grand Line, all the Straw-Hats were present for their friend, and Chopper was truly grateful for them.
Usopp also returned to his home island, marrying Kaya upon arrival. Luffy congratulated him and apologized to Kaya for the Merry, but told her the ship was still alive in the Sunny. Kaya opened up a hospital where she could help people, and Chopper joined them after he left Sakura, as well as Marco a couple of years after.
Robin opened up her own school, where she would teach world history to anybody who showed up. After a while, her school became so big she had to eventually branch out to other islands and hire new people. She had to say that the funniest day of her life was when Luffy attended to one of her classes.
Franky returned to Water 7, the Franky Family receiving him with open arms, as well as his brother Iceburg.
Brook had returned to Laboon, deciding to spend the rest of his life beside his oldest companion. He took over Crocus' tent since the old man had died of age a few weeks before he arrived.
Jinbe returned to his homeland, now in the surface, just to learn he had become an idol. So, he took his time trying to teach the younger generation not to hate humans, and he trusted the humans were being taught the same, especially since after the revolutionaries took over, slavery ended.
And Luffy? He returned to Amazon Lily, holding up his end of the promise. Hancock was waiting, and when he arrived, she threw a massive party. All people who were important to Luffy were there at his wedding. His family, which consisted of his crew and their respective partners, Sabo, Dragon, Garp, Makino, Shanks. Also, his friends, Vivi, Rebecca, the leaders of the Armada. Even Law and Kidd had attended, surprisingly.
60 years after, the world had become a completely different place. But perhaps the biggest difference was the fact that the Pirate King was no more. He had finally died, the first one of his crew to do so. It made sense since he always destroyed his body, but that didn't make it hurt any less. The world stopped, and they grieved. A holiday was created for him. Pirate or not, everyone recognized he was a good human, perhaps the best human to have ever lived. So, his familiars held a small funeral, only family members and the crew going. Boa could not stop crying, sad that her beloved had left her. Since she's much older than him, she always thought she was going to die first, but she was proved wrong. She would be all right though, especially since she had 7 kids to take care of her. Luffy was quite the greedy fella, after all.