The surrounding area was a flat, barren thing, depressing in its scarcity of life. Sand, rock, cacti, more sand. Kuzan lazily panned his gaze across it all, before finally looking back at the heap of flesh currently struggling for breath beside him.

Kuzan sighed, looking at the body not unlike one would at a pet one was considering putting down.

"Garm, every moment I spend with you is one I wish for you to cease disappointing me. Every moment, that wish disappoints me further."

The body- Garm, recoiled and shivered upon hearing the remark.

After reconciling with his family, Garm had excitedly pestered Kuzan to join him on a trip out to oversee his training. Though reluctant, Kuzan was a man of his words, and followed along without putting up too much of a fight.

They had been out for about an hour.

An apt amount to time for a harsh reality check.

If Kuzan were to compare his physical ability, he would liken it to the gang members he smacked around in the bar. Considerable put side to side with a normal human, but nothing close enough to be called an actual combatant in this insane world.

Though, looking at Garm's face, unbidden tears of frustration running down his cheeks, Kuzan had to admit the earlier comment was over the top. Though annoying, Kuzan felt he let it affect himself to an unreasonable degree, often of no fault of the teen. Was he projecting?

Hmm.

Garm muttered something, coughing while his cracked lips moved as if possessed, barely no more than a whisper. "W-water…"

Suddenly feeling a bit sorry, Kuzan wordlessly handed over a bottle of chilled water.

Garm watched the offering, hesitating, before timidly receiving it.

"Thanks," Garm said, taking a sip.

Kuzan's eyes squinted in annoyance, at himself, this time.

"…Don't mention it," Kuzan petered off.

Kuzan started to think he should approach this differently. Was he really such a petty person?

A speech from Kuzan's old teacher, Zephyr, quickly sprung to the forefront of his mind. It was something so firmly implanted and integral to the person named Kuzan that it withstood the strange fragmentation and decay which had plagued the majority of his other original memories the last few weeks.

"Garm," Kuzan exhaled. "There comes a time in a man's life, where he has to make a decision of whether he just aims to survive, merely getting by, or wants to thrive, and win.

"As is, you're doing just enough to make some meager gains, nothing substantial enough to deter the enemies eyeing you and your loved ones. You're lying to yourself if you think this is enough, and I would be lying to you if I let you get away with it.

"Crying in pain today, or crying in anguish in an uncertain tomorrow, surrounded by the fractured and destroyed visage of what you hold dear. Which do you prefer? Do you want to cry tomorrow?

"Your current state is the one best fit to break your limits, don't rest. Your body will not betray your efforts. Trust it, if not me."

Kuzan wasn't sure if his words registered, but he hoped his words would reignite some of the boy's spirit.

Sure enough, Garm rose on unsteady feet, rigged and stiff movements marred by painful gasps of air.

Garm faced Kuzan, and was surprised to see the man smiling at him, as if in approval.

It was the first he'd gotten from him.

…Garm liked seeing that smile.

Not the unconditional and selfless one which he so often received from his father, but affirmation and respect originating from an outsider with a negative disposition towards him, commending him for his efforts in spite of it.

He wanted to see it more often.

And so, roaring in defiance against his battered and bloody flesh, Garm fought on.


Sitting on one of the many wooden barrels scattered around the multiple docs of Water 7, Luffy's eyes scanned the black ocean ahead of him, which mirrored the clear night sky. The sloshing of waves against the shoreline the only sound present, Luffy felt himself untensing.

It was nice to get away once in a while.

Gave him space to think too, which he belatedly realized he had been doing a frightening amount of lately.

Luffy liked to imagine himself a jolly person. Sociable too! Strong, caring, fun and fair. These were the words Luffy had long liked to describe himself as.

His sense of self had been challenged recently though.

Starting from when his crew met… him, he could feel everything starting to fall apart.

Nami's eyes and voiced had long ago turned into a hollow and lifeless mockery of their former shine and passion. Luffy had accompanied her shopping some time ago, and nearly fell over in shock when she bought everything at set price, without even mentioning the possibility of haggling. A small thing for most people, but Luffy knew Nami well, and because of it felt the absurdity of the situation. At least Luffy liked to believe he did.

However, this proved only to be the start of the abnormalities within his crew.

Chopper did his work as a doctor perfectly, yet it was clear that he carried himself in a manner much more solemn. The childish naivety Luffy always associated with the young reindeer had died.

Sanji…

It wasn't good.

His vice-captain Zoro had been a rare sight the last few weeks. Ever since the.. incident, he had been constantly going into isolated training sessions. It was a rare occurrence to catch the swordsman in-between his seemingly never-ending workouts. Luffy had followed him the other day, both out of worry and curiosity.

Luffy liked to imagine he took his workouts pretty seriously, but the intensity and doggedness in which Zoro executed his exercises left even him in awe. As aforementioned, Luffy worried over it. But no matter the method in which his crewmates wanted to vent and deal with their feelings, Luffy would allow.

Truth be said, he was no better state himself, after all.

This had a lot to do with another c- previous, crew member. Or, two previous crew members he supposed. Though one hurt substantially more than the other.

Usopp.

Luffy felt a surge of anger and frustration swell up inside him even just thinking of the name.

After it was made evident that the Going Merry wouldn't be able to follow them along further on their journey, Luffy had made the heart wrenching decision of abandoning it. He likened the feeling of leaving it to losing a crew member, a feeling he was growing depressingly familiar with other the past few weeks.

And then, Usopp had the gall to tell him he didn't care for it.

Usopp challenged Luffy to a duel, then and there, for the right to possess the ship.

Even at the time, Luffy knew that trying to talk it out would be the best. Attempting to make Usopp understand the futility of using a ship destined to fall apart.

He didn't, however.

Luffy was no saint, he was well aware of this.

No, he was, in fact, a man striving to become the King of Pirates. Albeit he liked going around without causing other people too much trouble, he was hardly the perfect picture of patience.

And so, Luffy and Usopp fought, under the dispirited and exhausted gaze of this other crew members.

Let it be known that Luffy massively enjoyed his role in his crew. Both the official one as captain, and the informal one shaped by his own personal flair. Both came extremely natural to him, as if it was something he was born to excel unnaturally at. Elevating the mood at every opportunity, creating the harmonious and fun atmosphere he had imagined having in his crew for most of his life.

However, during their fight, Luffy felt something… darker, take helm.

Luffy won, of course.

But.

Truth be told, he hit much harder than necessary.

If questioned, Luffy would deny taking any enjoyment out of the ordeal. However, silently, to himself, he would admit that it allowed him to quench some of the bubbling and growing stress and sense of wrongness that had formed during the tail end of their journey.

Ever since… that, the beginning of the end, everything- every movement felt… wrong.

WRONG.
WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.

It plagued him even now, sitting by his lonesome trying to gather his thoughts. Like an endless barrage of ants crawling beneath his skin. Luffy felt that he should be somewhere else, doing something else. It was what found him this peaceful part of the city in the first place; his fruitless search for the right thing to do- the right place to be.

He briefly ventured through a place which was called home by a rag-tag bunch of people who called themselves the Franky Family. Though he felt some sort of connection to the place, as if it was a place where he had a purpose at, he ended up leaving not long after arriving after finding the Franky Family disagreeable at best of times.

This wasn't the state things were supposed to be. He knew that, he felt it down to his every bone.

Should he go back? It beat lounging around doing nothing, he supposed.

It was his only lead, if nothing else.

Luffy was broken out of his stupor, as he suddenly heard the shrill cry of Nami calling his name.

"-uffy! Luffy! Luffy! Luffy!"

It contained much more energy than he could recall Nami showing these past few weeks, which gladdened him. However, the desperate and hysterical tone which it carried quickly turned him apprehensive.

Regardless, his next course of action was clear.

Donning his trademark smile, he hauled himself to his feet. His face somewhat pale he stepped into Nami's view.

"Nami!" Luffy called out. "What's up?"

Upon seeing him, Nami's face ended up going through a multitude of emotions.

Relief, at finding him.

Exhaustion, at the time it took.

Hesitation, for what she was about to do.

Resolution, realizing the necessity.

Luffy, naturally, witnessed the emotional roller-coaster his navigator and dear friend underwent. His meager happiness at hearing her energetic calls dwindled further, while the pit in his stomach painfully grew.

"..Nami?" Luffy called out in confusion.

Wordlessly, Nami handed over a newspaper, which Luffy only just now realized was on her person.

Nonplussed, Luffy received it reflexively.

Though he was not academically inclined, Luffy nonetheless knew how to read.

This piece of paper made him wish he did not.

Re-reading the headline plastered upon the paper, Luffy shakily looked back towards Nami, finding her eyes. It was a silent request for confirmation, the content on the page too cruel for Luffy to dare believe.

Luffy wanted to hear her deny it, more than anything else in the world right now. He wanted her to start laughing and confirm it was naught but a mere joke. Albeit it would be a bad joke- terrible, even, he much preferred that to the possibility of the words written on paper being real.

Nami gave him no such solace, averting her eyes in lieu of an answer.

Luffy had no barrier to block the sudden sense of dread and unease developing.

His stomach seemed to drop even further, something he didn't think possible considering the turmoil it had underwent these last few weeks.

He was beginning to question if it would ever recover.


Slowly walking back from the training, day had long ago turned to dusk.

Garm was slumped over my shoulder, exhausted beyond understanding, the slow rise and fall of his chest the only indication he was alive.

Images flashed in my mind, of past, present and potential future accomplishment which Garm could achieve. The boy who left his house today was almost unrecognizable to the one returning home.

I had wanted to motivate him to improve, light his fire, if you will.

It was hard for me to accept the results, even now.

Garm's rapid increase in strength after his breakdown beggared belief.

Though not enough to be qualified as 'superhuman' in this world yet, he wasn't too far off it.

Something which just shouldn't have been possible.

It made me begin to seriously question the laws which ruled this world. As of now, they seemed a little extreme and oddly rewarding for specific actions.

I had a hunch I had nailed one of them down.

Though it was only a speculation, I had attributed and justified Garm's increase through connecting it with the act of thoroughly 'surpassing one's limits'. It was something thematically common in the series, and if it was actually a force of the world, some of the characters' progression suddenly started making a lot more sense.

Coby's sudden rise to power quickly came to mind.

It wouldn't surprise me if Garp repeatedly put Coby through several such gruelling experiences, taking advantage- knowingly or not, of the laws of the world to turn him from a wimpy nobody to a respectable marine officer.

Though, even if that should be the case, it didn't matter that much in the end.

I didn't mind Garm benefitting from our deal more than I had originally intended. I had started to respect the teen.

He was an alright lad. Not perfect, but who was?

Not me, that's for sure.

Ha.

I continued walking, quelling any useless thoughts.

Not before long, I found myself a few hundred meters away from the house.

I was about to continue closing the distance, but halted my step when I realized the picture painted by my form. The bloodied and almost motionless body of Garm slung over my shoulder…

Well, I suppose there was no getting around it.

I continued my stride over to the quaint but homely house.

Sometime along the way, the door of the house flung open with considerable force, upon which the visage of Thorpe, Garm's father, sprinted at a speed not commonly seen in a man his age.

He originally held on to a piece of paper, a newspaper, my mind absentmindedly supplied, but he lost his grip of it during his reckless charge.

"Garm! Garm! Ao!? What!?" Thorpe shouted while running, struggling to form a coherent sentence.

Stopping right in front of me Thorpe worriedly scanned the bloodied form of Garm.

I saw it as much as I felt it.

The winding of the arm, the tensing of the fists, and the surprising surge of killing intent spilling out in waves.

As if in preparation to punch me.

There was something to be said about a parents love here.

I hurriedly raised my arms and explained the circumstances, slowly laying Garm on the ground in the process.

Thorpe still looked uncertain, but calmed down upon finding his sons pulse flowing without issue.

"So, it was like that…" Thorpe muttered, tired, once more looking his age.

As if called on, Garm seemed to wake because of the commotion. A weak smile present on his face, Thorpe finally managed to calm down.

Most likely also woken by the noise, Sofia soon too joined the gathering.

It turned quite wholesome. It made a nice picture.

One whose frame I didn't fit in.

Silently removing myself from the scene, I made to move to the house, intent on sleeping.

On my way, I stumbled into the newspaper Thorpe dropped on his way out.

I picked it up without much thought.

I had made a habit of keeping up with the news since my arrival. Though it was monopolized by the news co and no doubt had a bunch of government aligned propaganda within, it nonetheless allowed be to keep up with much of the happenings of the world. Also, given my knowledge of the government's involvement, it allowed me to filter out the most obvious of the articles.

I usually read through the papers without much thought, nor emotion.

The headline of this edition made that impossible.

It made me pause. For a long time.

The more things change, the more they stay the same…

Or something like that?

This world was beyond a doubt, utterly bizarre and mad.

But I was still alive.

Somewhere along the line… I had begun doubting if this was a positive thing.

"FIRE FIST ACE APPREHENDED. PUBLIC EXECUTION TO BE HELD AT MARINE HEADQUARTERS; MARINEFORD."


Not sure how the reception will be on this one. Honestly. I had always imagined this fic to present an unravelling and shakeup of the plot, where small waves coalesce to form real impactful changes. Humour was always intended to be served alongside this grimmer new reality though. Not sure how well I managed that this chapter. Did anyone laugh? Ha.

Concerning the developments of the Straw Hats, it is something I view as realistic, if not an excessively grim take on how the consequences of chapter one would evolve. Without Robin's capture acting as a unifying force, coupled together with the heightened negative emotions and meta/story dictating world I'm trying to convey, I find it reasonable enough. It's open for debate, of course, but for the purpose of the story I have in mind it's feasible, and I'm personally happy with the chapter, sans the departing element of humour.

Regardless, thank you for reading. Rate and review.