Quick update, since it was mostly done already!
Looks like the story might be a little slow going, but I bought a million motivators with my tax return *coughs* hopefully this perfectAce figurine will keep me inspired until he comes into the story C:
Chapter One: "No holding back"
When Luffy opened his eyes it was to a cramped space and little to no light. He didn't know how he hadn't noticed the weakness in his limbs last time he did this, but with the difference even bigger than before, there was no way he could miss it. He was a fraction of his power, even if he had the experience, Haki, and knowledge of someone much stronger. His body had no muscle memory, and his rubbery limbs wouldn't be able to stand the stress of anything more than a few minutes of Gear Second. He'd have to work his way up between islands
Distracted as he tested flexing his limbs in this cramped space, Luffy forgot all about where he was and what he did the last two times. There were murmurs outside, before the roof came crashing down on the boy.
Not having bothered with Observation Haki - no one in the East Blue was strong enough to hurt him with blunt objects anyways - the fist that broke through the top of the barrel was halted when it met with the crown of his head. It didn't hurt, but so used to New World fighters, Luffy reflexively grunted in pain, though he didn't move more than an inch.
Exclamations of shock rose in the men surrounding what they thought was a wine barrel as Luffy stood, brows furrowed in thought and arms crossed. Where was he again? Twice wasn't enough for him to remember something from so long ago! When had he been in a barrel?
The Pirate swept his round eyed gaze over the men around him, a few of them starting to draw their swords while they waited for him to answer whatever they'd asked him.
"Who're you?" He blinked at them, ignoring their outraged responses as he caught sight of one of his closest friends outside of his crew. Brave little Coby, cowering at the everything around him. It would never not be weird seeing him anything but the courageous Marine he would grow up to be.
Seeing the blades coming, Luffy sidestepped them, smiling. He hadn't been to the East Blue in ages; he'd almost forgotten how weak people were outside of the New World. Swiftly, the Pirate knocked the men out with heavy blows to the back of the head or neck when they stumbled past, smile widening at Coby's shocked expression.
As though taking a cue, the now-teen's stomach growled, and Luffy grasped his empty stomach. He hadn't eaten until right after he'd set sail, if he was remembering right, and that was… quite a while ago? He was pretty sure?
"Hey, there any food around?"
Coby looked around wildly, before pointing to himself. "M-m-me?!"
The fear on his friend's face made the Pirate King frown briefly, before that shining grin came over his face. "Yup, you! So… Food?"
Seeming to fear for his life, Coby quickly led Luffy to the ship's food stores, seeming to calm as he saw how carefree the man who effortlessly defeated three of Alvida's men was. "Who are you?" He'd asked once Luffy settled down with a barrel of apples. It wasn't meat, but it would do for now.
"Monkey D Luffy! Nice to meet you." He chuckled, stuffing a bright red apple between his teeth.
"Th-that was amazing back there. How strong are you…?" Apparently the friendly tone had softened Coby's anxiety, though now he was glancing at the walls like they could be attacked at any moment. Luffy briefly wondered what he was thinking.
"Hmmmmm… Well stronger anyone on this ship, at least." Coby thought it was a bluff, after all, how could Luffy know that Iron Mace Alvida was currently invading this ship?
He decided to tell the young man exactly that. Maybe he'd be able to leave without getting killed if he knew the threat. "This cruise ship is being raided by the pirate Lady Alvida. When those guys wake up you'll be in trouble if you don't go soon."
"Whatever." The Pirate responded with a sigh. "I'll just kick her ass like I did those guys earlier!" He bellowed out a loud laugh, reaching out to ruffle that pink hair. He couldn't help it! He was practically an old man by now, and his friend was so young and naive. Believing Alvida was so strong? Had Coby never seen any other wanted poster before?
"Y-you can't! Lady Alvida is-
"An ugly old hag." The ex-king cut in, nodding to himself. "Why are you with a sea witch like her anyways?" He asked, remembering bits of Coby's story, but wanting to make sure he'd heard it this timeline. He hadn't last time, and his friendship with Coby had suffered - at the start at least.
Tuning out Coby, Luffy wondered what he would do this time. He'd talked about it with Sabo quite a bit before they actually went through with it, but they'd both admitted that he was better going in without a plan that he was going in with one. He was going to gather his crew again, no doubt about that, but what else would he do to change things? Train them all, no doubt. No holding back. Contact his brothers more often; he'd wanted to go back far enough to enjoy his childhood with them again, but both he and Sabo agreed that he would probably forget some important things before he set sail. Was there anything else he could do without changing too much?
Zoro was an easy recruitment, mostly because no matter how much of a show he put on, Piracy didn't bother him so long as it didn't hold him back. It was part of the reason why they'd been such a good team, even early on when the man didn't have much faith in him as a captain.
Usopp was also an easy one, as long as he let their antagonist hit shore. All they needed to do was test the boy's courage and show him their strength. He was the easiest in the crew to pick up, other than Zoro.
Sanji was a hard case, but Luffy figured that so long as he showed his will to the head chef - the Pirate couldn't quite remember the old man's name at the moment - Sanji would get kicked out onto his crew. Everyone wanted him to follow his dream after all, He just needed an extra push to let go of his debt to the geezer. Maybe he should tell him about Shanks?
Nami was an especially hard one though. He didn't want her to go through the pain that caused her to tear apart her shoulder again, and all he really wanted to do was knock a few fishman skulls. He'd have to show her how Pirates should be to the best of his ability, and then convince her to allow him to kick Arlong's ass.
Blinking, Luffy realized that Coby had finished talking and seemed to be expecting some sort of response.
Not entirely sure where the boy left off, he decided to go for a safe response that could be either a clarification or an assumption. "You want to be a Marine?"
By the surprised look on his face, Luffy figured it would be taken as the latter. "Yes! It's my dream to be a Marine and catch bad guys! Do you... think I can do it, Luffy?" He asked hesitatingly, his excitement over his declaration fading quickly.
"If you can work up the nerve to get off this ship, I'm sure you'll be an Admiral by the time I make Pirate King!" The man stated with a loud, bellowing laugh as he remembered how close to exactly that Coby was before he found One Piece.
Of course, Coby reacted the same way he had to so many things Luffy said in the past. "I-Impossible! You don't really think I could- Pirate King!? You're a Pirate, Luffy?" He looked a little betrayed, but shockingly unsurprised.
"Yeah; gonna go back to the Grand Line and be the king of them all!" The Strawhat captain grinned, tossing an apple rhythmically. He didn't want to show off, but he was a little tired of people fearing Grand Line so much. People had bad luck and too little skill if they were terrified of Paradise of all things. The New World deserved that fear, but most of the Blues didn't even seem to realize that the Grand Line was separated into two parts.
"It's my dream." Luffy told the soon-to-be Marine, popping the apple, core and all, into his mouth. "I'm not afraid to die getting there." He was only afraid of everyone else dying along the way.
Coby gaped at the confident boy- Man? - in front of him. He'd never met anyone so driven towards an impossible goal. Most in small villages gave up once they realized the terrors outside of, and even inside of, their own islands. If local bandits gave you trouble, it was hopeless at sea. He'd known that, and he'd thought someday he might have given up on being a Marine for being so weak, but just looking at Luffy…
"Do you really think I could make Admiral someday, Luffy?" He doubted it, but Luffy's enthusiastic nod gave him courage. "I know it would make us enemies, but do you- Do you think I could capture Pirates like Lady Alvida someday?"
"Coby, I really really think you can do anything if you stand up for your dream." He himself had beaten odds he shouldn't have been capable of at the time, all because of Shanks' hat's weight against his back or his Nakama at his side. Heck, he was here, wasn't he?
"I'll do it! I'll escape and join the Marines! Then Lady Alvid- no, I'll catch Alvida first!"
Just like he remembered, as thought she was listening to the whole damn thing, the center of the ceiling broke under the heavy weight of an Iron Mace. Luffy had to backstep away from where he'd still been munching away at the fruit, if only to avoid revealing his trump cards.
In order to retrain his body for battle, he didn't plan on using any Haki, or his Devil Fruit outside of emergency, until they reached the Croc. He'd exercise his elasticity on the ship.
A voice that could have been pretty if she pulled her tone from her gut rather than her nose/throat bellowed through the room, dust starting to settle as it revealed the large form of the vain Pirate Alvida. "Who are you going to catch!? COBY!"
The pink haired boy cowered from the towering woman, and Luffy put his hand on his head, trying to calm his old friend down. He really hated seeing him like this, now that he'd seen what he'd become. All of the trauma from abuse on this ship had been easy to rid him of in the end, but it didn't change the fact that no one should be this terrified of their captain.
"What kind of captain are you?" He asked her, a dark scowl on his face. "He wouldn't want to leave and catch you so bad if you were a halfway decent captain."
An incredulous noise came out of her mouth, before she raised her weapon high above her head. "Who are you to say that to me, huh!?"
Luffy grabbed Coby around the shoulders as he screamed, leaping backwards out of her range. "What happens today is up to you, Coby. Are you ready to decide?" He asked, putting the boy down on his own feet.
Luffy didn't spare him a glance as he watched Alvida come out from the dust again. What space was left was cramped, but all the better for him; he didn't need as much room as she did, even when protecting someone else.
At least Coby was small enough to toss around if he needed to.
"Coby!" Alvida called out, making the boy flinch and Luffy to get ready to strike. "Who is the most beautiful woman on the sea?" Her demand was met by stutters, and Luffy looked back to hear what Coby had to say. Would he stand up for himself, or would he need another push like the last two times?
"Th-that is, of course, y-y-you! Lady Al-"
Luffy sighed internally. One more push then. "That's Boa Hancock, of course!" He cut in with an unapologetic grin. "Everyone knows that!" Heck, it was practically her default title, considering how many times he'd heard people say it before. "What, you think an fat old hag like you can compete? Shishishi!"
Her face was turning purple as jaws hit the floor, Luffy's laughter covering up all of the "EH!?"s in the room. Blood vessels in Alvida's face pulsed angrily as she yelled incoherently before going in for another attack. Luffy grabbed Coby again, by the collar of his shirt, leaping up and out of the storage room, through the hole she'd made earlier.
Quickly, Luffy knocked out the Pirate crew as they attacked, extremely disappointed in their level. Why carry a sword if you don't know how to use it? The Pirate King knew he'd have to train extensively on his own to keep from getting rusty, if this was some of the best East Blue had to offer.
Coby sat on the sidelines, watching in awe as this young man made short work of the crew that had kept him captive for so long. He made it look so easy!
"How strong are you, Luffy?" He asked as the Pirate came to a stop beside him. "How…?"
"I've been training longer than you've been alive, Coby!" Luffy answered with a bellowing laugh, realizing that this was probably true even in his first run of this lifetime. He'd been 'training' with Garp since he could walk, basically. "It'd be hard to find a match for me on this Blue."
As what seemed to be a trend, a loud crashing noise announced Alvida had caught up to them. Coby quickly moved to cower behind Luffy, not entirely sure still if Luffy was strong enough to take on the captain.
"You seem pretty strong." The woman stated, looking at all of her downed men with a tick in her brow. "Are you some sort of bounty hunter?"
Luffy could admit, with the temper she'd shown just moments ago, she was showing considerable restraint in order to learn about her opponent. He should fix that. "Nah~ Who'd want a Bounty as low as yours anyway? Shishishi!" Even those two friends of Zoro's wouldn't go after someone like her, he liked to think.
"You-!" The woman growled lowly, turning to Coby, who froze where he stood. "Tell this brat who I am!"
Yes, because it was so much more impressive when you hear it from a terrified teenager.
Coby started stuttering the flattering reply the Pirate wanted, but at Luffy's gaze, disappointment coming through, he paused. The 'Future Pirate King' was expecting more of him than a mindless follower. And he was going to be a Marine, damnit! He was going to be an Admiral someday! He couldn't take orders from a Pirate Captain!
"Lady Alvida…. Alvida is an ugly old sea witch!" The boy's shout resonated through the two ships, silence meeting his brave declaration. Sweat poured down Coby's neck as he waited for a response.
Loud and proud, Luffy's bellowing laughter was the first reply the pink haired boy received, and somehow the careless noise gave him courage. It withered, but didn't fade, when Alvida rose her mace in her rage.
"Good job, Coby!" Luffy praised, relieved that any behaviour change he'd had didn't change the courage hiding in the soon to be Marine. "Leave this to me!"
Suddenly, Coby found himself shoved out of range of the attack, and the skinny young man was on top of the spiked weapon, using his extra weight to force it down harder. The mace hit the deck, breaking the floor and in the process, got stuck in the wood under his surprisingly considerable weight. With a grin, a little less friendly, and a little more challenging, Luffy kicked the underside of her jaw while she struggled with her weapon, before smashing the heel of the same foot against her upturned face.
It was a quick knockout, and Luffy found himself extremely disappointed. Where were the new world pirates when he really needed them? Wanting a real fight was a 'need', right? He wanted to hurry up and fight the Croc.
Turning to an awestruck Coby - he couldn't wait for him to stop being surprised by powerful people - Luffy waved him over. "Wanna turn in your first Pirate? I hear there's a Marine base nearby!"
Coby was quick to gather some rope, however, once the woman was tied securely, he caught sight of a Marine ship in the distance. For a moment he was torn. Depending on how it went, he would either get arrested, or have a chance to enlist, and for a moment, that sounded good enough for him. Then he looked at Luffy.
The young man - a pirate - was already watching the Marine ship with a thoughtful look, head tilted in what Coby thought might be worry. If they got here, and Luffy was still on the ship, not only would Coby risk himself being arrested, but Luffy himself would undoubtedly be jailed.
"We've got to get out of here, Luffy!" The pink haired boy yelled, running off to find the cruise ship's dinghy. "They'll arrest us if we're caught here-!"
Luffy laughed, ignoring what the boy was saying. He never really understood why he had avoided the Marines so much when he hadn't made a name for himself. He wasn't a wanted man, and he hadn't yet done anything to warrant arrest. He just had to avoid telling them he was a Pirate. Maybe he could even name-drop his Grandfather…
Oh yeah, that was probably why he avoided the Marines so much. His Grandfather could have been anywhere behind him once he found out Luffy left to be a Pirate. It hadn't been that long yet, however. Looking at Coby, the Pirate King grinned; he could name drop once or twice here.
"No worries, Coby! I'm not officially a Pirate until I get my First Mate, and we've got the invading captain right here. We'll just turn her in, they'll take us to the nearest island, and you can enlist in the Marines." He laughed at Coby's baffled expression, ignoring the cannon balls as they crashed into the ocean around them.
If you see any mistakes, please tell me!
Also, ScarletRoofs, I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MUCH I WANTED TO START WITH SHANKS AND ASL'S CHILDHOOD BUT
BUT... SabO'S NOT DUMB ENOUGH TO THINK LUFFY'S MEMORY IS THAT GOOD