Chapter 17: A Ray of Light amongst the Darkness
As the dead body of Akainu fell to the ground with a loud thud, all of the Whitebeard Pirates moved as one to protect their captain. Luffy and Sabo did the same. Blackbeard and his crew were trying to advance once more towards their objective and the Marines were desperate to accomplish what they had begun.
Marineford was in absolute chaos. Both sides didn't seem to want to give in. Ones were trying to protect their freedom and their family, the others their so-called Justice. And Luffy, who seemed to be out of place in this whole mess, just wanted to change what had happened back in his own time. He was hoping to succeed this time, because he didn't want to feel the uselessness he had experienced once.
As the Strawhat advanced through the battlefield, one of his memories came back to him.
It was a stormy day on the Sunny Go. Luffy was sprawled on one of the dinning chairs with his head resting on top of the table as he watched the raindrops hitting and sliding on the windows. He hated these kind of days, since they made him feel all gloomy and reminded him of the deep depression he fell into right after the Battle of the Best.
A long sigh escaped the rubber-man's lips as he shifted to a slightly more comfortable position and as he was about to jump off the chair and scream his frustration, the door to the kitchen opened to let a drenched navigator who held a crumpled newspaper in hand. As the captain looked up to her face, something dropped to his stomach.
"Something wrong, Nami?" he asked. The concern in his voice was so uncharacteristic in him that even Sanji spun around from his ministrations in front of the stove.
The woman pursed her lips and with two strides she was before the kitchen table and with a loud 'bam' placed the paper on top of the wooden surface so the dark-haired young man could see what the title page carried.
Sanji and Luffy bend onto it and the Strawhat captain held his breath before rage began to bubble deep inside of him. In big, bold, capital letters he read: 'BLOODSHED AFTER THE SHICHIBUKAI HAS BEEN ABOLISHED'. But, worst to all of that was the picture of Amazon Lily being burnt down to ashes.
Both the cook and the navigator exchanged looks. Luffy's fist crashed into the table, breaking it, not giving a damn if he damaged anything else. His eyes were fixated on the small article bellow those bold letters where he found out about Hancock and her sisters' demise in the hands of Sakazuki.
"What's all the ruckus?" they heard as the door opened to let in Franky, followed by the rest of the crew.
"I'm going to fucking erase him," Luffy snarled.
"My…" Robin whispered, no trace of humor in her voice. No one dared to say anything else. They could understand how their captain felt. He just wanted to be free, he had begun all this adventure to be the Pirate King, in hopes that this would make him the freest person in the world, and also because he loved to have adventures, didn't matter if they were dangerous. Risk was part of being a pirate, after all.
But with the kind of person Akainu was, running havoc throughout the seas, no one could really be absolutely safe.
After that, they went to rescue as many Kuja pirates as they possibly could, letting them on another island and Luffy declaring that one island under his protection. He had that right since he had already become the Pirate King, and he knew no one would be stupid enough to mess with it, unless they were Marines, of course. He had made Usopp create, once more, the Strawhat Jolly Roger and had planted it in a place where it would be visible from anywhere from the sea.
But, right now, Akainu was dead. He wouldn't cause the Kuja Pirate's any harm in the future and he felt satisfied. Sure, it wasn't like him to kill, but he had made a huge exception with the Admiral.
Whitebeard's voice could be heard throughout the battlefield as yet another ship emerged from the sea, this time it was the real Moby Dick. "Every of my children, board the ship, we're leaving!" Luffy knew, despite his lack of knowledge when it came to medicine, that the old man's wounds were severe. Probably even life-threatening. He didn't know much about him but just by the looks on the Whitebeard's crew, he knew he wasn't in the best of health.
Just when they were heading towards the ship, something caught his attention from the corner of his eyes. A ship. One that he could've recognized anywhere.
"Shanks?!" the black-haired young man tried to turn around but Sabo shoved him forward.
"There's no time for this!" he heard him hiss. He knew that, but he couldn't help the flip-flop his stomach made when seeing that Jolly Roger. A ray of light almost hit him as he saw Kizaru trying to reach them and in the same moment that happened, a submarine emerged from the frosty waters and swung open. Trafalgar Law looked directly towards him and Luffy's legs suddenly gave in, feeling weak and tired in that precise moment.
"C-crap…" he grunted as his body decided that, right then, was the best moment to fail him.
"Luffy-dono!" Jimbe yelled, as him and Ivankov advanced towards him as the fishman grabbed him so he wouldn't fall flat on his face, even though that wouldn't have hurt him as he was made of rubber, but he felt thankful anyways.
"Here!" Law yelled as he stepped out of the way to let the four of them inside. The Strawhat's consciousness was almost immediately turned off, as if someone had pushed the switch of it to disconnect him.
"Trafalgar!" the mentioned turned around in time to grab the straw hat that the Red-Hair pirate had thrown towards him. "Give it back to its owner," he said with a serious expression despite the small smile tugging at the corner of the man's mouth. The pirate-doctor nodded once before he disappeared inside and gave the order to submerge.
Both the Moby Dick and Law's ships began to move to escape Marineford. When the Marines made an attempt to stop that from happening, Shanks let his haki run wild, making everyone stop.
"That's enough!" he said loudly, firmly. "The war's over. You've lost. Attend to your wounded. That, right now, is far more important than a bunch of pirates. Or do you prefer to let the ones that can still be saved die right in front of your eyes?" His tone was polite and full of truth. Yes, there was no point in trying to pursue the pirates, not right now when a lot of people were in need to be treated.
"Who are you to give the Marines orders?!" someone yelled.
"That's right, you filthy pirate!" another one said.
"If you still want to go, we'll be your opponents!" Red-Hair retorted as his crew stood behind him. "What do you say, Teach? Or is it Blackbeard now?" the man said as he turned towards the other man who was grinding his teeth. He didn't get what he had wanted from this war. He had come to steal Whitebeard's Devil Fruit and that Strawhat Luffy had got in his way. He should've killed him when he had the opportunity back in Impel Down. But facing Red-Hair Shanks? No, he didn't have enough power for that yet and with his plans down the drain, he'd have to wait way longer than what he had expected to take over a position as a Yonko.
"Nah, I'll pass," he answered. "Let's get outta here, men," he said as they turned around ready to leave the premises of Marineford.
As the Marines tried to stir things even further, Sengoku's voice overlapped theirs. "Stop! The war is over!" he said firmly, his voice full of regret and humiliation. He had been defeated in the worst way. Not only had they failed to execute Ace, but that was prevented by the biggest headache they'd faced up until that moment. Monkey D. Luffy. Maybe it was time for him to step down as Fleet Admiral, it had come to the time where someone younger… someone with new blood, took over as head of the Marines. His retirement awaited.
The news of the Marine Headquarters defeat spread like gunpowder. Everywhere, people talked about what had happened. Still, a lot of people were wondering what had happened to Whitebeard and Strawhat Luffy. There had been no news about the two pirates that were key in the rescue of Portgas D. Ace. Or was it Gol D. Ace now that the truth had been revealed?
In the Calm Belt, at the coastline of Amazon Lily's island, the Moby Dick and Trafalgar Law's boats were kept docked. Law had had to assist Luffy. His wounds were a bit serious but not life-threatening. Ace and Sabo had been beside their foster brother, looking over him as the boy slept his exhaustion away.
The both of them hadn't actually talked. The conversation had been postponed until their little brother came about again. Sabo knew that he owed Ace an explanation since he knew Luffy already knew after the Strawhat crew had told him after he had left Dressrosa in their time. Now, they had two things to explain to the Second Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. The blond, from his side, how he had survived and the both of them had to tell him about their strange time-travel from the future to the past.
Author's notes:
I know I've been MIA for a long while. To be honest, I had no humor to write this story but I decided that it was about time to get over the author's block and get something out for all of you.
I keep receiving a lot of negative comments about how much the previous chapters were too close to the original canon and I'll say that as many times as I need to: I did it because, in my opinion, Haki has SOMETHING physical in it. And after the recent chapters on the manga it has, somehow, confirmed my theory. You can't dominate something just by knowing that you have it. Haki is something you have to TRAIN, knowledge can make a slight difference, but when Luffy has gone to the past not in the body he had after the two year time-skip but in the body he had before, he wouldn't be able to control the Haki, let alone do the things he did after being trained by Rayleigh. So, yeah. Deal with it. Is my story and I've already explained my reasons far enough for anyone to understand.
Other than that, I've also received a good amount of good feedback, which in all honesty I appreciate. Thank you!
Now to answer those of you who have left their reviews:
GreenDragon03:Thank you! Here's the next chapter!
Shin Ryecchan: Why, thank you! Yeah, and after the recent chapters of the manga, I'm more positive that Haki has some kind of physical innuendo to it. Thanks for understanding and agreeing! Hope you keep reading and liking it!
Ileinko: Here's the new chapter! To your question, this chapter may be your answer. Don't wanna spoil that for you, you'll find out soon. Definitely, Sabo and Luffy have some things to explain, don't they? I'll make them give the explanation in the impending chapters.
Kiki1770: Well, sorry if that wasn't what you expected… I know all of you anticipated things going another way but I've already given the reasons for it. I didn't want to put in all of Sabaondy either!
EquinePianist: Probably *giggles*
Chamsin: I think I've sent you a PM about this, but well, I'll say it in case I didn't (my memory is kind of selective with these things).
To be honest, for me, this fruit works just like any other Devil Fruit. It has the same weaknesses as the others do. Sabo CAN'T swim, he becomes a hammer like any other Devil Fruit User. So, yeah. Here's the next chapter.
Fortue: Hmm… Good point there. I guess, I let myself be swept away with the original plot. I'll have it in mind in the future if I ever try something like that again. Thanks for your advice!
That I will do from now on. I'll reveal more things about those future years in between him getting out of Marineford until he'd obtained the Pirate King title. Is not too late yet to do so, or is it? *wink*
Of course not! Any bit of advice and opinion count for me. I know now that I've let myself lack in a lot of points and I thank you for pointing those out, it really helped! Probably, once I've finished it, I'll re-write it and add the things you've pointed out. Do not worry!
Illumi Senri: There was no need for that. Some of you might have wanted to kill me if I wounded Ace like that just when they had managed to save him *giggle* But I did need something so here's what I've done. Thanks for your support and I hope you keep on reading!
Guest: Probably my fingers slipped! Oops!
Funmom: Thank you! More will come soon!
Zulqar95: LOL. Nah. I still need Blackbeard, but trust me, the temptation to get rid of that bas*ard was great. Can I still get some cookies? *puppy eyes*
Smfan: Well, I've repeated myself for various chapters on this matter. I know I could've probably done more but, to be honest, I needed to let Luffy go through with the Magellan-poison attack as not to change that in the future since Luffy probably will need his immunity to poison. Remember what happened in Punk Hazard.
Oh, you are forgiven! I wasn't expecting everyone to fully read those things through and there were very small changes into the original plot.
Sagar Hussain: I've already explained those reasons *wink* Oh, trust me, those repercussions WILL be interesting.
Fancyunicorn: Why, thank you! Here's the next one. Sorry for the delay!
OregonDucks: Uh. Well, your opinion is pretty much plausible.
NikZkinE: Lol. Thanks! That was my intention. I know some chapters will be and are short, try to deal with me and that also a lot of them are pretty much close or the same as the canon. Yup, I add things into the plot that the original didn't. You don't even know how MUCH I enjoyed the scene of Sabo and Luffy's fight against Akainu and the final blow the Strawhat gave him. I still shiver all over! Here's the update!
: Uh. I did change a lot of things, though.
GJMEGA: Neither did I. Manga logic? Lol. Well, most of the translations of manga/anime DO NOT TRANSLATE THE ATTACKS and pretty much EVERYONE who reads/watches One Piece already KNOW about those things. Not my fault if you don't pay much attention to those things. Not necessarily true. Ok, most people who have created that fruit in particular have fallen into the mistake to overpower it and make it invincible. Not in my case. I've got plenty of experience when it comes to write and fill in plot-holes. If I decided to use this one fruit, doesn't mean I will freaking OVERPOWER it and take down YEARS of Oda's explanations and evolution of Devil Fruits. That for one. Two, I used the poll as a means to know HOW many people would agree on Sabo getting a Devil Fruit. I didn't spit on anyone's eye. Thank you very much. And you don't need to be rude! Third: He DOESN'T have Haki, he KNOWS about it, which are two different things completely. Besides, remember Punk Hazard? Remember what happened? Yeah? Well, there you have your answer as to why I didn't change that fact. And just so you know, I did change some things along those fifteen chapters. But, oh, well… I won't bother with your rude attitude.
An: Oh, don't worry, he have people around him who will definitely make him avoid that.
Sachin6291: Nah. What's the point in that? It wouldn't be Luffy anymore, in my opinion. You've seen what I've done for their escape from Marineford, I hope it doesn't disappoint you, though.
Guest (2): Why, thank you! Yes, that was necessary! I also hate Akainu and Blackbeard with a passion! They're at fault for what happened to Ace!
GR: Mostly.
Anime Fan: Most likely, yes *wink*
ArturiusRex8: Probably me being silly and forgetting! And yet another mistake from my side! Sorry!
Ob1292: Thank you! Here's another chapter!
Ninuhuju: Oh, yes! *giggles*
Ashlielle: Why, thank you! *nom-nom-nom*
Crazzyredhead: Here's the answer to your question! Oh, no, not Akainu's, but Whitebeard's even though he fails. Besides, when Blackbeard appears, Akainu's already dead so his Devil Fruit has, probably, respawned.
OnePieceHobbitLOTR: I wonder too *wink* I have, sort of, got over it, not completely though, sadly.
Alexandria Ackerman: Here's the update!
A Brilliant Loser: Nah, I don't think it will. Or will it? *wink-wink*
Blazin'Blue: Why, thanks a lot! LOL Not yet! Be patient! His time will come, and it won't be a fast-pleasurable death, I assure you.
JoshRand1982: Not really a plan as of yet, but I mostly know what to do and since Oda has explained about Sabo… yeah. On the next chapter I'll put up the spoilers alert since not everyone reads the manga.
Sess18: Here's the update! Enjoy!
Chrisfragger: LOL. When I wrote that, I hadn't read about the Gear Fourth yet!
Thanks a lot to everyone who reads me! I know I lack a lot in previous chapters, but bear with it! I'll improve, eventually!
Until the next chapter!