Chapter One : Mystery

"Why do we need to study anyway?" Ace scoffed, not liking his brother's suggestion.

"Because Luffy obviously needs it. He can write but his spelling needs a little bit of improvement." Sabo explained in a much calmer tone.

Sabo has known Ace for five years. They were the brains and brawn that terrorized the Gray Terminal. But Ace's brawn was too much. Not once since Sabo known him he has seen Ace read or touch a book. It doesn't mean that his brother didn't know how to read and write, he knows how. It's just that Ace lacked the pushed to study harder, considering he was raised by bandits, that explained a lot.

"Reading is important, Ace. One day, when we set out to the sea, don't you want to read the news they have written about you?" Sabo implored, eyebrows raised. He smirked a little, knowing that his brother cannot debunk a logic like that.

Ace narrowed his eyes. With a heavy sigh, he said, "How can we even convince Luffy to study? I bet that before five minutes, he'll stop and throw the book out."

Sabo laughed, already thinking of the same thing. Between the three of them, Luffy's attention span was the worst. But Sabo had already thought of a plan. "We can always give him more meat if he ever agreed. Right, Luffy?"

"Luffy?" Ace echoed, turning his head back.

Sabo followed his suit. "Damn."

Sabo silently cursed himself. It was silent, too silent for their liking. Luffy has always been loud and whiny, always wanting to be the center of attention. But that wasn't the case now. There was no boy seen yelling how he's tired and hungry. The two older brothers were too busy talking to notice that something was amiss.

Their younger brother, Luffy, was gone.

"Where the hell is he?" Ace gritted his teeth, voice was harsh yet full of worry.

"I don't know, too." Sabo grimaced, staring at him straight in the eye.

Ace started shouting. "Luffy!"

Ace ran back deeper in the forest. Sabo was not far behind him. This was Luffy they were talking about. Wherever the rubbery boy was, he was known to be followed by trouble. They were his older brother's now. Someone has to keep him on his feet. Sabo knew Luffy could handle himself but the anxiety he was feeling didn't seize, it only grew ten times fold each second passing by.

The forest was full of dangerous creatures. Whether its bears, tigers, or snakes, one wrong move and you're dead. Some even more fiercer than the others. It wasn't a place for children but they weren't exactly what you'd call normal especially Luffy. Their little brother has a Devil Fruit that could helped him for a while, not if he was near a body of water though.

"I swear one of these days. I'm gonna put a leash on him." Ace snarled as he stopped. He put his hands on his knees and started panting. "What if a bear or even a tiger got him?"

Sabo shook his head. He bit his lips before answering. "Let's not assume the worst."

They continue to run while shouting their younger brother's name.

Roger stared at the young boy who introduced himself as Luffy with a new profound interest. That was why he looked familiar. Those black eyes of his was nostalgic to looked at.

But the thing that caught Roger's attention the most, was the straw hat hanging on Luffy's nape. Roger couldn't be wrong about it, it used to be his. The straw hat he left as a momento to his former cabin boy was now in the hands of a boy he randomly met. But the real question was how and why did it ended up to Luffy in the first place.

"Pirate King? That's a good dream you've got there." Roger let out a long laugh.

"I will do it! Just wait and see!" Luffy continue his declaration. His smile didn't falter, determined to achieve his dream.

Roger did not want to ridicule the boy. Everyone has a dream they wanted to fulfill. But you don't actually meet a boy everyday that wanted to be the King of the Pirates, of all things to choose at. With Luffy's smile and voice, Roger could see his willpower and stubbornness. After all, those are part of the qualities of a true D.

It took Roger decades before being crowned as one. It was hard but he manage with the help of people he met along his decades of odyssey. After all, he has the best crew that made him reach the last island.

A loud cackle escaped from his lips, already feeling that he's going to like this boy. "That's a good straw hat you've got there." .

"You think so?" Luffy asked, blinking. He removed the straw hat from his nape and held it closed to his heart. "Shanks gave this to me!"

"Shanks, huh?" Roger echoed. He smiled widely. Of all people Roger expected Luffy to say during their conversation, he did not expect it to be his former apprentice. He gave that hat to Shanks years ago, too long for him to remember. And ever since then, Shanks held the hat proudly and did everything to protect it. This boy might had left a strong impression to Shanks if that was the case.

"I'm holding it for him! I'll give it back once I'm a strong pirate. This is my treasure." Luffy explained enthusiastically as he put the hat back in his head.

"So you're name is Monkey. Are you Garp's brat?" Roger asked casually.

"You know Jiichan, Ossan?" Luffy's eyes widened for a moment, a new flare of curiosity was evident on his face upon hearing his grandfather's name.

"So he's your grandfather. I'm assuming your father is Dragon." Roger grinned. He remembered meeting Garp's son one time. Months before his execution, Dragon came forward to him, talking about his dream of overthrowing the government. It seemed like their family has a habit of talking about dreams during a first meeting.

"Dragon? Dragon's are cool! They breath fire and stuff. They can also fly! Shihihihi."

Roger stared at him for a long time, eyebrows raised. He silently concluded that the boy in front of him do not know his own father. It was not Roger's business to intervene with Dragon's decision. He decided to dropped the subject.

"Can I ask where am I?" Roger mouthed, clearing his dry throat.

Luffy answered. "In the beach!"

"I mean, the location. Where's this island?"

"Um..." Luffy's eyebrows furrowed together, looking up in the sky. He scratched his head as he tiptoed. "Dan? Down? Don Island?"

"Dawn Island?" Roger finished helpfully.

Luffy laughed again. "Yeah! That's it!"

Roger reminisced his times with Garp. It was during one of the their most peaceful conversation that Roger learned of Garp's hometown. If he remembered his opponent's words correctly, he was born on this island. No doubt about it that Luffy here was really his grandson. And besides, the boy didn't seemed to be the type of person to lie.

Roger snorted, thinking about how Luffy's dream was to be the Pirate King. It was Garp's grandson of all people to say something like that. Roger wondered how his former nemesis reacted over that one, probably by using his fists.

"So I am in East Blue," Roger concluded with a snap.

"Yup," Luffy nodded, grinning. "Hey, Ossan. Why are you here?"

Roger let out a lone chuckle. He was just as confused as him. "I don't know. Last thing I remembered, I was executed."

"Executed? What's that? That sounded painful." Luffy said, frowning slightly.

"If you only know, lad." Roger replied. He didn't want to explain that word to a young innocent kid. He need to figure it out on his own when he got older.

"You don't know why you're here?" Luffy mouthed.

"Right,"

"It's a mystery then!" Luffy exclaimed, cheerfully, clenching his fists.

Roger breathed out heavily, nodding. There was no point investigating it. He will just have a headache when he does. This world after all was strange and weird that some things were unsolvable and uncomprehending to the human mind.

"Ah! It's getting late. I wonder where Sabo and Ace are..."

"Ace?" Roger echoed, unconsciously. He quickly snapped out of it, thinking it was just a coincidence.

"Yeah, Ace and Sabo. They are my brothers." Luffy gave him a proud grin. "But I left them though. They're gonna be mad at me..."

"How old are you?"

"Seven."

"And your brothers?"

"They are ten but I'll be stronger than them once I also turned ten!"

"I see, so this Ace and Sabo you're talking about are your real brothers?"

"Nope. We became brothers by drinking a cup of sake. We're not related by blood but who cares." Luffy explained, shrugging his shoulders.

Roger's lips formed into a soft smile. He heard about those ceremonies before. They were tales made a long time ago, mostly by pirates who roamed the seas. He never really have done it with anyone. The way Luffy had said those words, he proclaimed it with such happiness.

He sighed loudly. His headache was stronger than ever as he tried to put logic in his situation. Too bad though, it did not worked. He has experienced a lot of weird things before but this one was probably the weirdest. Just what happened that got him transferred from an island hundreds of kilometers away from Loguetown? He tried recalling but his memories were all blank, unaware of what had transpired.

This was not the afterlife, he concluded. It was far from it. He already have things that might explain this event but he did not want to settle into one. Not now anyway since he was not sure about what was happening.

And then Luffy's straw hat was blown away with the wind.

"Hat!" Luffy called out as he ran towards it. He put his hands on the air as he tried catching the hat but it was too far away.

Roger stood up with difficulty. His legs was numb after sitting for too long. He rubbed the remaining sands in his pants. He sprinted after the young boy. He did not mind the pain his body was feeling. That straw hat has been his once. He didn't want anything bad happening to it.

The straw hat flew towards the sea. Luffy submerged into it without second thoughts. Roger did not know whether the boy know how to swim or not. Luffy was doing fine until half of his body was in the water. That was when the boy became unresponsive.

"Luffy!" Roger called out but to no avail.

Roger was quick to react. He immediately dive into the sea and grabbed the young boy to the shore. Luffy was not moving at all, skin getting paler. Roger let out curses, noticing big wave coming through their way. Roger tightened his hold of Luffy, not wanting the small boy to be swept away. The waves hit them head on but the good thing was, the straw hat was with it. Roger grabbed the hat as they were pushed back into the sands.

Roger's worry was quickly eased when he heard Luffy's coughing. He was gasping for air once he was out of the sea. Luffy threw up the seawater he swallowed, drool was trickling down from his mouth. He rubbed it before looking up at Roger.

"O-Ossan, my hat!" Luffy whined, tone was still groggy.

"Here," Roger put the hat back in his head. "You ate a Devil Fruit?"

Luffy blinked before responding. "Oh yeah! I ate the Gomu Gomu no mi! I am a rubber boy!" As a demonstration, he pulled his cheeks. And true enough, it stretched far that was not normal for a human.

"Why don't we find your brothers? I'm sure they are worried about you wandering alone, lad." Roger suggested as he wring out the excess water in his coat.

"Okay." Luffy nodded. He removed his shirt and also wring it also before putting it back.

The two started walking towards the forest side by side. Roger eyed the place with interest. He was carefree most of the time. But right now, he did not know what was his situation. His senses were heightened, cautiousness rose upon him. Roger had only known Luffy for an hour at most but he almost let him die.

They swept upwards towards the mountains. Roger lifted his eyes and stared at his surroundings. It was the same as the normal places he had been. Nothing different or out of ordinary. From the trees that were tall and wide to the different animals and insects living here, there's no threat incoming.

"Luffy!"

Roger heard a boy's cry in the distance. He turned back to the source of the voice. It was muffled yet they could still here the anxiety in it. The source was probably fifty meters away from them.

"That's Sabo. C'mon, Ossan!" Luffy's eyes lit up, hearing the familiar yell.

The young boy ran towards the voice. A huge grin was plastered in his happy and relieved face. Roger has no choice but to ran after him. The path they took was not an easy one for a young boy but Luffy has managed to evade all the rocks and bushes in the area.

"Oi, Sabo!" Luffy exclaimed. He started waving his hands in the air, trying to get their attention.

The boy who Luffy called as Sabo has blond hair and blue eyes. It seemed that the boy's motiff was blue. From his jacket up to his shorts, that was the color. Roger noticed how Sabo's eyes showed relief in a matter of second just seeing his little brother safe and sound. Luffy ran towards him, embracing him in his rubbery arms.

"Where were you? Ace and I were finding you for thirty minutes now!" Sabo gawked, tone concerned yet relieved.

"I saw a beetle. It was really cool and awesome, ya know? It is gold in color! Beetles don't just have that color so I chase after it!"

"Next time, Luffy. Try telling either me or Ace when you wander, okay? We can any beetle for you." Sabo heave a heavy sigh, letting Luffy break away from his grasp. "You scared us..."

"Ne, Sabo. Where's Ace?" Luffy's eyes roamed, trying to find his other brother.

"He's also looking for you. Don't worry, he'll probably be here any moment." Sabo explained. A small smile finally forming in his lips.

"Which is now." Another voice said, appearing between the bushes. If Sabo's face was full of worry, this boy's was full of anger. His eyebrows were lowered and was closer together, eying Luffy in an irritated way.

"Hi, Ace!" Luffy greeted casually.

With a snarl, Ace immediately crossed the distance between him and his younger brother. He clenched his fist and hit Luffy's head hard enough to make Luffy crouched down in the ground because of the pain.

"Owe! What's that for?" Luffy started rubbing the area as he stood up.

"For being an idiot!" Ace screamed angrily. "Don't do it again!"

"Okay." Luffy agreed, laughing.

Once the three boys were done with their little quarrel, all of their eyes were turned towards Roger. The two older boys were more cautious around him. Their eyes showed wariness, ready to strike the man if he did something suspicious. Roger offered a small smile, trying to convince that he was harmless. But Ace and Sabo were having none of it, knowing how people can be dangerous.

"Ossan, this is Ace and Sabo! My brothers!" Luffy introduced enthusiastically, unaware of the atmosphere going on.

"You shouldn't wander around with strangers, Luffy." Sabo whispered to him but Roger still heard it loud and clear.

"Who the hell are you?" Ace hissed. Distrust was obvious from his features. He put Luffy on his back trying to shield the boy away from Roger.

Roger stared at Ace for a long time. The boy has a black hair and gray eyes. He was currently wearing an orange shirt and holding a pipe tube in his small hands. But his freckles stood up the most. The tiny spots that was sprinkled around his face. He remembered the days when he used to stare at those for hours. Because those freckles was definitely hers.

"My name is Roger."

Roger watched as Ace's face twitched, eyes started widening as he heard the name.

Roger was not the smartest person out there. Usually, it was his first mate, Rayleigh, who gave him advice and explanation about certain things. Too bad for him, Rayleigh was not here. Roger was on this alone. But he have come into a definite conclusion.

Somehow, he traveled into the future.

And Ace here is his son.

A/N: Roger in this chapter be like: I've only had Luffy for five minutes but if anything happens to him, I will kill everyone and then myself.

It's kinda hard portraying Roger. He doesn't have enough screen time for a character analysis. A lot of characters in OP compared him to Luffy. Garp also said that Ace also had his father's traits. So in conclusion, Roger's personality is a combination of Luffy and Ace. He's kinda like the mature but still goofy version of Luffy.

See you next update~!

EDITED: 26/09/21