Authors Note: A year into "Temporal Swashbuckeler" and I'm still blown away by the great reception this fic has gotten. I never could have imagined how popular it would become when I started to plot it out just over a year ago.

Thanks for the great support and reviews and I hope you continue to enjoy "Temporal Swashbuckeler" over the next year!

-Dying Grin


Monkey D. Luffy was content.

Not that this was rare in itself, he often was content, but for the sure lack of other emotions. His contentedness was usually mixed in with some other emotion: happiness, excitement, laughter.

A byproduct of having such a lively crew.

But currently, as he scratched at his bloated stomach, he was purely content. HIs first proper island of the Grand Line and it was great. Okay, so maybe it had been lacking slightly in the adventure department but the people more than made up for it. They loved pirates! And if on some deeper level he found that suspicious, he squashed it down. He had resolved not to ruin the festive atmosphere with hostility and suspicion.

He had chosen to believe in the basic goodness of people. And it had paid off!

There had been a feast! With so much food that he couldn't not stuff himself with the contents. It would be hereditary. Wait...no, that didn't sound correct. Horrendous?

Heresy.

That was it.

It would have been heresy to refuse the vast amount of food. And so, here he was. Stretched out in the backroom of a bar. A dopey smile on his greasy face.

Content.

A blood curdling scream shattered the silence.

Luffy was instantly on his feet, eyes narrowed and hands curling into fists. A normal person might've shakily laughed it off and gone to bed, dismissing it as their imaginations. Besides, they were guests and nothing more. It would be the height of social rudeness to go off galavanting, would it not?

But Luffy wasn't a so-called normal person. He was a pirate and a pirate was no way bound to social regulations. Hell, they laughed at them. Laughed in their faces

The rubber teen started to make for the door but paused, a puzzled frown on his face. Said frown was directed at his enlarged belly. What had Zoro said again? Be prepared for any situation?

He hastily did some squats, his legs pumping furiously. With a satisfying pop, his grotesque stomach returned to its normal lean size and Luffy grinned. Cracking his knuckles, he ran out the door.

He never noticed the sudden traces of steam in the room or the way his skin seemed to softly glow pink for a moment as he left the bar.

He stood in the unnaturally still and empty street, the moonlight bathing him in its glow, and took in a deep breath. Slowly, he activated his new and inexperienced Observation Haki. For a second he thought it had failed but then the maelstrom of emotions smashed into him, it felt like standing in the eye of a tornado. Pain and fear whizzing around him. And there in the distance, was him. A blinding beacon of destruction.

Roronoa Zoro.

He was like a god amongst ants, and as if to prove that point several small life's around him were snuffed out at that moment, and Luffy froze. He knew, logically that there were people stronger than him. There had been no illusions of grandeur growing up about his strength level. He had been the bottom of the barrel compared to the company he had kept.

There had been his role model, Shanks. And through he had never seen the red-haired pirate go all out, the ease at which the had defeated mountain bandits left Luffy with no doubt of his strength. Then there was Gramps, who practically took pleasure in showing off how much weaker Luffy was compared to him. There was Ace with his thrice-damned three ages of experience over him, a fact he had often lorded over Luffy with. And there had been-

There had been Sabo.

And he really didn't want to think about his other brother right now. It would just make him sad.

But, aside from them, he had known that he was strong. As he entered his teens and began to gain control of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, he had began to think of himself as a big fish in a small pond.

And he had been certain no one on the crew was stronger than him. Sure Zoro had been wise and had known Haki but the green-haired man had also always deferred to him in decisions. Luffy was in charge so he was the strongest, made sense right?

Apparently, he had been wrong. Extremely so.

Because right now he was being completely engulfed by the sheer power that was Zoro. He felt like he could barely move, his limbs moving awkwardly and slowly like a fly trapped in honey. HIs breaths came in short, laboured gasps as he struggled to keep calm.

He cut off his Observation Haki and fell to the ground like a marionette whose strings had been cut, lifeless and pale. Sweat ran down his face as he took in the situation. His brain slowly and sluggishly refused to comprehend the situation. He slapped himself in the side of the face and the synapses seemed to take off, running a million miles an hour.

Roronoa Zoro was stronger than him and on a killing spree.

In another life, he would have looked at the carnage done to the people and felt nothing but anger. He would have charged off to face Zoro in combat, in his anger deaf to his friend's pleas. But that was not this life.

Shell-shocked, a sliver of doubt wriggled into his mind. What if these people weren't as nice as they seemed at first glance? What if is gut instinct, something he usually followed religiously, was right? What if these people had had bad intentions and Zoro had simply known that in the way Zoro knew everything and had taken them down?

Knowing he could spend all night pondering what-ifs, he stood up. Brushing down his shorts, he came to a decision. It was rather obvious realy. The only man with answers was Zoro so he would have to ask Zoro. Simple.

He shot out one arm and wrapped it securely around a nearby chimney, wincing at the brick's coldness. He landed on the tiled roof, his sandals gripping for purchase. A building exploded in the distance, reduced to rubble and dust. That'd be Zoro then. HIs hands snaked out and just about grabbed a tall building in the distance.

"Gomu Gomu no Rocket!

He shot off, the wind whistled in his ears. The streets below passed in a blur but his sharp eyes picked out the blood and bodies as he flew. An ugly frown formed on his face. Whether they were potentially bad people or not, this was too much.

But, at the same time, he noticed a lot of guns and swords. Far more than any civilian had any business having access to. But even then, the blood seemed to drown everything else out.

Zoro had a lot to answer for.

Unfortunately, as anyone who knew Luffy would tell you, the rubber boy was bad with debates

His forte was in the art of fighting.

Finally, he zipped over the tall building and for just a moment things seemed to stand still. He could see the aftermath of a fight stretched out below him. A bloody and unconscious bulky black woman, a fallen woman in a gaudy yellow dress, a bruised man in a red trenchcoat, a familiar orange-haired man in a tattered green suit, an unconscious man whom he recognised as the mayor and the girl they had picked up at Reverse Mountain. Thought she was only scared and not bleeding out, he'd give Zoro that much.

Zoro stood in the middle of the group, his three swords drawn and in position. Blood was sprinkled across his clothing like a painter would with paint. More disturbingly, while his eye was solemn, a faint grin was etched across his face.

Luffy bit his thumb.

"Zoro!"

And as the swordsman turned, the giant fist smashed into him.


The fist hit him at an angle, sending his body flip-flopping away into a nearby house. HIs back slammed into, and through, the cheap plaster in an instant. He sat up in what he dimly recognised as a living room. Cheap plaster rained down, shaken from the rafters, tinting his hair white.

Wincing, he stood up. He really should've used Haki to block the blow. He had forgotten how much of a punch Gear Third packed. Stretching his arms, he stepped outside. His eye scanning past Luffy and looking for his blades.

The pint-sized pirate glared up at him. "Hey, don't ignore me!"

The high pitch made Bushido wince. "DId you see where my swords landed?"

"Oi," Luffy growled, thought it came out more like a pout, "don't act so casual."

Ignoring Luffy, he walked over to Vivi. Alabasta's princess had caught one of his sword. His mouth opened, a crooked grin at its edge, and promptly shut. Vivi hadn't caught any sword. Oh no, she had caught Kuina's sword.

Wado Ichimonji.

The sword of memories.

The white hilt seemed to mock him maddeningly, glittering in the darkness. Vivi's face was a similar sickly white colour, her bright blue eyes impossibly wide. He noticed, with a jolt of alarm, that tears were leaking down from the baby blue edges.

What was the sword showing her?

"Vivi," he said, his mind running a hundred miles an hour. Flight or Fight was kicking in, his hand clenching and unclenching. "You okay?"

"Mr. Bushido," she murmured, "what's going on?"

And just like that, the desert princess started to cry.

Bushido knelt down to hug his old friend, unintelligible comforting noises coming out from his lips, when his ear pricked. HIs neck turned obsidian the second before Luffy's leg smashed into it from the side.

Luffy, now back to his original size, hissed and fall back. His sandal smoked and cracked in two, the parts falling to the ground with a clunk. "Luffy," he said, trying not to move his eye from the practically catatonic Vivi, "I'm sorry."

Luffy was expressionless. "For what?"

"I'm under no illusions, some of these people won't survive. I associate the Grand Line with stronger opponents and forgot that normal people are still a dime a dozen. Basically, I'm sorry."

And Bushido legitimately was. For the first time since he had arrived in this body he had gone to his full power, consequences thrown to the wind. He guessed he was around the level of his Dressrosa self: borderline Admiral level.

In his excitement, he had mowed through nearly every bounty hunter around. It was only Vivi's fearful face that had pulled him out of the euphoria he had been feeling.

A scowl. "I don't give a damn about that."

"You...don't?"

Luffy sighed, and in that moment seemed to appear far older than anyone his age had the right to be, and shook his head. "No, I don't," Luffy said, "when I hit you into that building, I made my decision. Who did I trust more? Zoro or some suspicious townsfolk we just met? I am annoyed that you killed people, yes, but not enough to hit you through a building for it."

Warmth blossomed in Bushido's chest. "Oh, thanks."

"What I am really angry about," Luffy continued, "is that you lied."

Oh. Oh shit.

"Luffy-"

Luffy had held up a hand, silencing Bushido. "You lied about your strength to me, to everyone. You're closer in strength to Gramps than me."

That made Bushido laugh, Garp was still far above his current power. Garp had the power of a Yonko. "I wouldn't be so sure of that, Luffy."

Luffy took a deep breath and the world seemed to freeze on its axle and tilt at the teen's words. "Fight me. Full strength. Captain's orders."

Bushido was still, his mind racing for a way out of the situation. But, really, there wasn't and he knew it. Captain's orders were absolute. "Fine," Bushido said, the words heavy on his tongue and tasting of ash and curdled milk, "but you fight at full strength too."

Luffy shot him a puzzled glare. "I'm not using that inflaty limb thing. The downside after would instantly make you win."

Bushido shook his head, his eye still trailing over to VIvi and the way she tightly gripped Wado Ichimonji. "Not that," he said, "put your right hand on the ground."

Slowly but surely, Luffy crouched down and stretched out his arm to touch the ground. The pose was deeply familiar to Bushido and would go on to become iconic to Luffy's enemies. "Now what?"

"Feel out your blood."

"What does that even mean?"

"Imagine the blood pumping through your veins," the swordsman instructed, "got it? Good. Now, imagine the veins and organ starting to contract, the openings for the blood to pass are narrowing and the blood is getting faster and faster. Pumping to godly speeds to power your body…" Bushido trailed off.

Luffy was glowing pink, his sweat turning to steam and releasing into the air. Luffy looked thunderstruck as he took in his warm limbs.

Gear Second.

Bushido walked over to Vivi, picking up Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri along the way, and held out his hand. "Vivi," he asked gently, noticing the thrall the blade held over his old friend, "my sword?"

A moment of hesitation. "Mr. Bushido," Vivi said, holding out the sword reverently, "you and me are going to have a long talk after this."

Despite himself, Bushido grinned. "It's a promise." He turned on his heel and marched back towards Luffy before Vivi could respond.

Luffy's eyes were brimming with curiosity but he didn't ask any questions. Instead, the rubber teen held out one palm. "Ready?"

Bushido nodded, slipping his swords into position. "Yeah, start whenever."

Denying to respond, Luffy simply flickered out of existence. The teen rushed towards him at speeds rivalling that of a proficient Suro user.

He moved faster than any natural animal could move, faster than any natural animal could perceive.

Faster than a person should be able to move.

Luffy moved far, far too slowly.

Bushido's chest felt heavy as he watched Luffy's progress, his swords came into position. He noticed Nami running towards them, her eyes wide and her mouth open in a silence scream.

"Rengoku Oni Giri!"


Things had not gone as planned, Robin reflected as she finished her observations. She cracked her neck and took one last long look around her from her precarious perch on one of Whiskey Peak's giant cacti before leaping off. One hand kept her purple cowboy hat in place as she landed, her legs absorbing the impact.

She strode off as soon as she gather her bearings, unwillinging to stay in the presence of Roronoa Zoro any longer than necessary. You didn't stay alive long in this business if you spent any time around the wildcards. And make no mistake, Roronoa Zoro was a wildcard.

She had read his files multiple times, a detailed dossier about his life: his personality, his quirks, his triggers, his skills, etc, all the way down to his favorite food.

And she was pretty sure everything in that folder was completely incorrect.

Roronoa Zoro was, to start, not a bounty hunter anymore. He was a member of a rookie pirate crew that had taken East Blue by storm. They had taken down both Don Krieg and Arlong, the so-called kings of East Blue.

The files were also very clear on his physical attributes, specifically his eyes. It was very clear that he had two fully functioning eyes, thank you very much. But, unless the eyepatch was a fashion accessory (which was always an option with pirates), then he clearly did not.

To give the files some credit, they hadn't been technically wrong when they called him the strongest and most skilled swordsman in East Blue. But it was like not being technically wrong when you said a Sea King was a fish.

Roronoa Zoro was, perhaps, the strongest person she had ever met. His overbearing presence that made her shiver from miles away, his mastery of the sword and his mastery of Haki.

Indeed, it would be fair to say that, in a straight up fight, Roronoa Zoro would easily defeat Crocodile.

This warranted some thinking.