Hi!
Before you start reading, please know that this is my first story. I'm not a native English speaker, so it's possible to find some mistakes there. I was trying to be very diligent though, so hopefully not much. Also if you want to point something out or encourage me, then comments are higly appreciated!
P.S. Warning GORE, I want it to feel more realistic. But I read more explicit fics, so I guess It's not that bad.
(What to expect? LuffyCentered! TimeTravel! BossLuffy! Friend Bonding! Angst! Reveals! SecretIdentities! NewSecretOrganization! Underworld! DiversionFromCanon! NoRomance!) I won't say more, you just have to read it and find out on your own.
[Edit In process- I'm editing the chapter, so it's more 'readable'. Y'know, the feeling when you look at your art etc. and you feel like setting it on fire and throwing it out of window? Yeah, that's how I feel like right now that I read it at least 35x times. Before I published it, I rewrote the whole thing about four times and it still wasn't good enough, but I couldn't wait to write more so I was quite hasty. I guess that's normal when you write your first story... Well, let's see how I can help it, at least a tad bit]
Chapter one: Killed by the world
*Grrr
Mauve lightning brightened the sky as gruff sonorous thunder rumbled warningly together with low growl.
An ominous silhouette appeared from the misty gloom.
*RAAWRRR
An earsplitting roar cut through the sky as a serpent-like body of a dragon emerged from the dark clouds. Although he was bleeding and weary, it was still one hundred years too early for those pathetic rookies to think of bringing him down with only a few thousand soldiers and one obnoxious nonstop screaming brat. The endless azure above was now burning in golden colours as if heavens itself were set aflame with his hot breath.
Kaido menacingly loomed over the bloodied battlefield with his sharp fangs glistening in moonlight as he observed the foolish prey. When he accepted Strawhat's challenge, he expected at least a somewhat exciting battle. But this was a huge disappointment. He defeated the brat in no less than a few minutes. Well, at least he lasted longer than last time.
Even that pink witch Linlin was long gone. Her beat-up, half-dead children took her away after phoenix wounded her head. They escaped smoothly through the mirror without throwing a single hit at anyone, evidently not wanting to engage in the bloodbath anymore.
How unexpected of them.
They ran away.
What a cowards.
Well, whatever.
"Worororo!"
To hell with those damn sweet snack-bastards
The fools were dealt with, well, at least for now.
He has grown tired of watching the meaningless fight and decided to abandon it.
Kaido ordered his most trusted subordinates to prepare for a voyage. He needed to hurry up. After all, Poseidon was waiting for him ten thousand meters below the sea surface. He won't anyone else have it.
The war raged on. The bodies of fallen were stacking up, and the blood-soaked ground was becoming too slippery to fight on.
Chaos erupted when white beasts went out of control, slaying enemies and allies alike. They became nothing more but feral unthinking animals driven only by their instincts.
The best weapon alliance had turned on them.
Minks kept on mercilessly killing.
The war cries slowly quieted down. People ran and fought for their lives. One after another fell. Only agonizing shrieks and the repulsive metallic smell od death persisted.
Strawhats were left alone with only a few clear-headed allies standing.
They needed to escape. However with the beasts in the way, their captain beaten to a bloody pulp and everyone heavily injured, they were going to have a hard time to do so.
A woman stepped forward. She wasn't extremely strong or brave, but she knew that she was the only one that could stop the minks from butchering them all.
"Catch!"
she yelled, flicking one shiny beri towards the boy in ragged cardigan.
"There! You own me now! You have to give it back later, together with ten more captain~!"
She gave him a big bright smile, but only fear resided in her wide brown eyes.
Was she afraid?
Yeah, downright scared shittless.
Did it matter right now and then?
Of course not. Her friends were in danger! How could she just be still and do nothing?!
She wasn't just some wimp anymore.
The girl standing there was a proud navigator of the strawhat pirates!
She knew the risk it entailed. Despite it, she mustered up her courage and ran off, heading for the roof.
Before anyone could process what was happening and stop her, she was already in the middle of a battlefield, dodging deadly slashes coming from all sides.
Luffy twiched.
The urgent desire to throw his powerless body into action, run and grab her by the shoulders and scream into her face was overwhelming. He could only extend his broken hand in her direction and stare in despair as she ran to the cold embrace of death.
"Nami…Nami…" Luffy mumbled through the dull pain of his bruised cheek.
The navigator managed to climb up to the roof. She steadied her trembling legs and swung her clima tact, summoning a massive amount of fluffy clouds. The cloudy vortex rose to the sky and successfully obscured the full moon.
She did it!
Now minks could transform back.
Wow, .. she actually did it!
She was able to protect them. Her friends are safe.
Her face split into a victorious smile and sent the crew thumbs up. They returned her relieved grins.
"Nami-swaaan! You're the best!" Sanji called out passionately.
"Tsk. Oi, Ero-cook! Tone down your perviness. It hurts to look at you."
"Huuh~?! Marrrimo, are you sure the pain's not from those serious wounds you got thanks to you're incompetence in fight?"
"Don't you provoke me. I can still move to slice you apart in a mere second." Zoro snarled while leaning on his katanas.
"What a shitty joke, from even more shitty Marimo." Sanji said and puffed out smoke.
"Who're you calling Marimo, Nosebleed-prince?!"
"A Nosebleed-prince?! Now you've done it!"
"What? You prefer a princess instead?" Zoro taunted and unsheated Wado ichimonji.
"YOU KNOW NOTHING OF MY SUFFERING IN THAT HELL! And you-you call me a pri-princ-uuugh, eat my foot, dickhead!"
Nami giggled at their anticts...
...as her arm was suddenly ripped off by strong jaws of a lion.
.
.
.
.
.
An unearthly scream tore through her throat as she was ripped apart by bloodthirsty animals. The crew could only watch in horror.
Swordsman reached out to his captain.
Minks started to change back. However, they used their Sulong forms for too long. Therefore most of them dropped to the ground already dead and the rest heavily injured.
Luffy struggled his way out of Zoro's hold as his heartbreaking scream resonated across the battlefield.
"NAMIIIIII!"
Sanji and Usopp dropped on their knees in disbelief. Chopper started bawling his eyes out, yelling Nami's name and clinging onto Zoro's leg. Robin didn't even try to suppres her pained cries as she threw herself into cyborg's arms. Franky hugged her and cried together with her. Brook just stood there, shocked and unable to move. He started to remember the first time someone dear died in front of him. Bitter tears fell from his hollow sockets.
'No, not again. Please. I don't want to lose anyone else anymore.'
Zoro had to restrain his captain, who was still screaming. He himself was pretty out of it. He almost let him go.
"Zehahaha! I guess you aren't in a mood for a fight right now, eh? Strawhat?"
Their attention caught a certain pirate sitting on a pile of dead bodies.
He had a Kaido's head in his hand.
After the Shock wore off, the crew answered to his taunting with silent glares that were brimming with hate.
"Ah, not that I blame ya! This devil fruit sure is a scary one." Blackbeard admitted as his right hand transformed into dragon claw and crushed Kaido's skull "I too wouldn't want to fight the dragon twice in a row"
The monster that had the power of three devil fruits now locked eyes with the battered rubber-man and grinned wickedly.
" RUN "
The only word that captain of the strawhat pirates managed to utter before falling into the oblivion. And crew obligated.
Catarina Devon blocked their path to freedom, changing into their deceased beloved navigator, mocking them with her muffled laughter.
Jimbei had enough.
He rushed towards Devon and sent her flying through the wall.
"I'm going to hold them off for a bit, then join you later…Now run for it!"
Others protested, begged him to just run with them, but fishman already made his decision.
"Truly. Some beings of this world are rotten right to their core. But I don't care. No one passes through me! Be it crazed marines, the worst pirates alive, murderous monsters, or God himself! Luffy-kun is going to be a king of the pirates one day, and that's why I am here to make sure he escapes today!"
The first one to move was the swordsman.
"We can't stay here, let's go or we all end up dead! Jimbei, you better get back to us!" he yelled as he grabed unconscious Luffy.
They were on their way to the Sunny when...
Rob Lucci appeared from thin air. Grabbed Usopp by his neck and disappeared without a trace.
"What the-"
"USOPP!"
Zoro bit his lip so hard it started bleeding.
"We can find him later! Now concentrate on getting to the ship!" he gritted out.
They escaped that day only thanks to the fishman.
They waited for him. But he never returned.
And neither the sniper.
Two fell. Eight remain?
The ambush was abrupt and quick. The same 'attack and grab' action that CP-0 pulled on them earlier. Only this time it was Big Mom pirates. Injured strawhats did what they could, but they still couldn't stop them from kidnapping Sanji. the best chef on the planet, together with his big heart and violent tendencies.
He was cook first and foremost, so he used his legs to fight. His hands were his life. They knew that very well.
And yet…
It was as if someone continuously pierced their hearts with stout jagged needles.
The pain was excruciating.
They blamed themselves, writhed in self-hate.
They knew it wasn't going to bring them back, but the feeling of guilt was just too heavy to ignore. Especially for Luffy. He was the captain. It was his responsibility to protect his crew.
What kind of captain was he if he let a few broken bones, bruises, and ruptured veins stop him from saving his friends?
A shitty one.
Hah, that's what Sanji would've said if he was here.
If…he was here.
He wanted to give a chase. Go and retrieve his stolen friends. It was his cook, his sniper. He wanted to do it so much…No, he couldn't. At least not until they healed up a bit. He couldn't allow them to risk their lives like that ever again. His recklessness already caused enough problems.
He was disgusted by his helplessness.
They were sitting on cold stone ground in impenetrable blackness of the cave while listening to the sound of dripping water. Scared. Drained of all energy. Famished and nervous. Huddled together to warm each other around the fire.
Only Luffy was more in back, alone, playing with Sanji's golden lighter.
At first innocent urge to fiddle with something became a quite dangerous habit.
Luffy loved watching the fire. It was so warm and comforting. It reminded him of his brother's loving hugs. The warmth...He missed it. The fire's cracking was somehow similar to Ace's cackling at his weak punches...
He did it whenever he was nervous. But the heat was never enough for him. He needed to feel its hotness directly on his skin.
He became obsessed with it. That's why he wasn't allowed near it by the crew. Because then he would always come too close and burn himself.
Nobody found out yet, but he started to burn his hands with lighter. He would always wrap some bandages around them and dodge questions about it.
Who would've thought that dodging the question is much more easier than lying outright.
The burning sensation made him feel like he was hugging one of his friends that he couldn't hug anymore. He discovered this strange feeling while training on Ruskania. Back then, it was like he was hugging Ace, but decided not to pursue it. But now…Desperate situations called for desperate measures. Now he projected the feeling on every friend he lost.
The foul odor of fishes and dirt mixed together with stench of blood and disinfection. It made everyone dizzy.
They thought nobody could find them there.
And yet…
There it was.
The News Coo, innocently scuttling from side to side with…package and newspaper in its beak. The gull tossed it to them and flew away.
Everyone surrounded the mysterious yet suspicious package and wondered what it was. They were eager and horrified at the same time. Maybe it was food? Or water? Painkillers perhaps?...Or a trap?
Swordsman carefully opened it and peeked inside. Cyborg flashed some light so they could see the contents. At the bottom of the box was a jar and a letter. He grabbed the jar and looked more closely.
The sound of the glass shattering echoed throught the cavern.
Severed fingeres.
Without nails, broken and some even skinned.
All twenty of them.
A disgusting smell lingered from the spilled contents.
They couldn't breath. A sinister feeling of predicament appeared in their minds.
Musician shrilled in horror as he showed them the envelope.
"Riddle time! Who's are these? Do you know?"
was written on it in pink ink, decorated with mocking swirls and hearts.
They became pale as sheets of paper. Chills going down their spines. Seeing black spots before their eyes.
Of course they knew.
Brook opened it. The photo he took out was absolutely horrifying. There was Sanji's severed head. It was in the box with a red bow. His eyes were rolled back, and he had all kinds of cuts across his face. The 'present' was …addressed to Zeff.
They lost Sanji.
.
.
.
They cried and lamented poor cook's death.
A little did they know... That the sniper was also living out his worst nightmare, right above them in the marine base.
Unaware of the fact, they remained mourning their friends.
.
.
.
Sniper's suffering was nearing the end.
He finally became the brave warrior of the sea, though!
He didn't tell them anything!
.
.
.
Usopp took his last breath as his disfigured bloody body slumped against the cold moisty wall of the cell.
And the worst was yet to come…
Four fell. Six remain?
Hours went by in painful, profound silence. Well, at least until Robin couldn't help herself anymore. She had to occupy her mind with something else. Newspaper? Either that or the dark scenarios that swirled in her head, so why the heck not?
Maybe that was a mistake.
Her hold of the paper tightened as she read the first title.
The biggest criminal of this era revealed! Meet Strawhat Monkey D. Luffy, the ruler of the underworld!
Robin's eyes widened. She read the title out loud to get the crew's attention. Some of them grimaced in disgust and others in sheer confusion.
One of our journalists obtained very valuable information that made us question reasons not only of recent events but also of major events that took place two years ago. And what we discovered is seriously shocking!
On the day of the massacre on a fishman island, where Navy and Blackbeard clashed, Blackbeard made an interesting statement.
After emerging victorious in the battle and obtaining one of the ancient weapons, he was asked a simple question by an injured marine captain:"Why are you doing this?" Nobody expected emperor to answer. His response shocked everyone present
"How should I know? I'm just following orders from my boss Monkey D. Luffy. I don't know what he is going to do with it. Zehahaha"
We immediately started the investigation. Pieces came together, and we reached our conclusion. Pirate Monkey D. Luffy was the one behind the Paramount war and assassination of the Nefertari family. Rumor has it that he goes around pillaging and destroying islands these days. So he's finally showing his true colors. Can you believe it? He was hiding his brilliance and brutality behind the carefree dumb persona this whole time!
They looked at each other with perplexed faces, but let Robin continue reading. Only she registered Vivi's family name.
As a man who strives for the title of the pirate king, he had to get rid of the competition first, which was the four emperors. His first target became Whitebeard. He sent his loyal subordinate Portgas D. Ace, who acted as his brother, to join Whitebeard's crew to collect more information. Ace discovered that the captain cares deeply for his crew, and decided to take advantage of it. Ace also recruited Marshall D. Teach now known as a Blackbeard, and they set their plan into the motion. Teach turned Ace in. Then they just had to wait for Navy to make a move. They knew that Fire fist was going to be given a public execution and thus provoking Whitebeard. The plan went perfectly. Marines weakened Whitebeard and Teach finished him off while also taking his devil fruit. But that was not was one more step to the plan.
The elimination of Fire fist Ace. His heritage posed a threat to Luffy's dream.
The former captain of Spade pirates sacrificed himself for Luffy. That is an undeniable fact. Perhaps he really saw him as his little brother. Is the captain of the Strawhat pirates so twisted that he can play weak just to get Ace to sacrifice himself for him while looking innocent? He just used his brother's love to kill him.
At this point, the whole crew was boiling with anger. How could someone suggest something so ridiculous?! Did they really think people would believe such shit? And that bastard Blackbeard!
"What's next? Them claiming that kid Luffy intentionally got Shanks to sacriface his arm for him, as to weaken future yonko at the time?!" zoro barked.
Luffy, vexed beyond belief, punched the nearby wall with extreme force. There was a dangerous gleam in his eyes, promising nothing good to the one who wrote that abomination.
Unfortunately, that was not the end of the article.
But Fire fist wasn't the only one that claimed to be Luffy's brother. Sabo, the chief of staff of the revolutionary army, did so too. He trusted the devil with straw hat and paid for it. On the fourth day of the Reverie, as we informed you last week, a murder took place. Sabo assassinated Nefertari Cobra, the king of the Alabasta and tried to kill his daughter Nefertari Vivi. The princess's location is unknown at the murderer was captured and executed for his misdeeds.
Luffy tore the newspaper from Robin, who's hands trembled uncontrollably.
"That's a lie! That's a big. fat. fucking. lie!" he screamed in rage.
"Why is this happening?" he sobbed.
We speculate that Luffy heard rumors about the ancient weapon being somewhere in Alabasta and attempted to take over the kingdom. Like a former warlord, Sir Crocodile tried. It's also interesting that strawhats were in the country when he did.
Not only Navy is out for his blood, but also Big Mom because of the stunt he pulled on her daughter's wedding a few months ago.
The hunt is on! Tremble with fear Strawhat! Because we are coming!
They made him a scapegoat for all wrongdoings happening in the world. He was used as a diversion for Blackbeard, an excuse for government's great cleansing, and a cover fo underworld bosses. They were hunted like animals, sneered at, glared at with murderous hatred and disgust by everyone. They had nowhere to go.
Luffy was caressing Robin's head in his lab. They were alone. Everyone else was…gone. They only had each other. Luffy didn't care about what people thought about him, but when they attacked them, he was enraged. He didn't kill them but hurt them a lot so they won't try again. He usually breaks a limb or two... Or every one of them.
But y'know, people are so dumb
They just don't get it.
No one touches Robin.
.
.
.
He only wants to protect his last friend.
"I knew it. I was never supposed to be happy. I destroyed the crew. You should've just left me to die back then in Alabasta."
... Boy craddles her head anyway and gently stroked her hair.
"Luffy…I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I brought you down with me, back to my old life."
Robin was apologizing while gasping for air and crying.
"You know that's not true. It was because I was too weak... I-I can't forgive myself…"
.
.
.
They were sitting in dark alley, resting their beaten bodies, hidden from the public eye. They should've guessed he would still find them there. They should've just kept on running.
" Zehahaha! What a nice surprise to find you here, boss! Wanna grab something to eat?" Blackbeard mocked.
Their linked hands trembled.
"What about you just go fuck yourself you son of b-mmmph!" Luffy barked.
Robin shook her head in fear, trying to shut Luffy up with her hand.
"What does Blackbeard-san needs from us? There's not much we can offer." She inquired.
"Oh, I like your attitude Nico Robin. Much more, than your captain's. I require your knowledge. If you decode these, I will let you go. After all, I am not that much of a scum. So what do ya think?"
Robin grabbed the papers without hesitation. She would do anything for her captain's safety. Luffy only nervously observed.
When she finished, she stood up and made her way toward him.
"Here"
"Why thank you dearie" he grinned.
When she turned around, he pulled out a gun.
"NO, WAIT!"
*BANG
"Otototo, haha sorry sorry, but I don't wanna you going after One Piece too. See ya around Strawhat! Zehahaha!"
Luffy pressed Robin's dead body to him. Her warm blood was flowing down his shoulder. He let it happen again. Then, something in him cracked.
He felt unbelievable rage.
It was nothing like he ever felt before.
The bloodlust was born within him.
Nine fell. One remains.
"We're here Luffy"
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*silence
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"Oi oi oi, don't tell me you're still sleeping-yoi"
.
*heavy breathing
.
"You were the one that kept on pestering me to let you know when the island comes into sight y'know"
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"Hey Luffy!"
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*SNOOOOOOOOORE
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" Now you're just fucking with me ain't ya, Luffy?"
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"I wanna m- mumble ... I'm hung-zzzzzz"
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"You're unbeliavable"
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"Wake the hell up-yoi!" Marco yelled out and took a sharp dive down towards the island.
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*WZOOOM
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"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"