~3 years and 9 months ago, Red Line~
Luffy watched as the Red Port slowly became smaller as the Bondola rose further into the sky and headed for Mariejois. Standing a few steps behind her are the Fleet Admiral and a platoon of Mariejois soldiers, the latter were eyeing the girl that had garnered the attention of the Gorosei that they even had to protect her, while the former was scowling slightly with how emotionless the girl is right now, quite opposite of her emotion earlier that, where she was glaring at her Grandfather and staring longingly to the sea.
The Hito Hito no Mi narrowed his eyes as he wondered what truly this girl was capable of. The Granddaughter of Monkey D. Garp and the hidden child of Monkey D. Dragon, (a secret that only a few people know), a bearer of an unknown fruit that could be possibly a danger to the world, and sister to the two rookie pirates, who are giving him a huge headache, though if anyone asks, Sengoku won't admit it but she's one a rare gem (weapon) that needs to be used properly.
A few minutes later, they were stepping out of the Bondola, the Fleet Admiral at the front, Luffy behind him, and the guards positioned themselves into a semi-circle behind them. They were on the travelators when Luffy paused, eyes on the rocks, pressing her lips together.
"What are you stopping for, brat?" Sengoku nearly snarled as he turned to look at Luffy, who continued to eye the floor she was stepping on, mindlessly reaching for the pole that was being reached out to her and grabbing it loosely. After a minute of silence, she turned and looked at the Fleet Admiral then at the guards, before walking towards the road without any hesitation, fully intending to not use the Travelator.
"Halt!" One of the guards stated, blocking her from stepping away further by holding out the spear in front of her. The Young Monkey D glanced at it, then at him. "What are you doing?"
"..." Luffy pursed her lips before nudging the spear away.
"Monkey D. Luffy!" Sengoku shouted and this made her stop once more and sighed in annoyance. She then turned to look at him and glared, ignoring the fact that he was the superior of her grandfather.
"You can use it if you want to... however, I will not use this machine which is using inhumane methods."
"Inhumane," The Leader of the Marine muttered and glanced down at his feet, then back at the young girl.
"You can't tell me that you never felt them." She stated. "That's quite ignorant of you."
"We have no idea what you are talking about young miss." One of the guards stated, slightly sweating as he looked at the young girl.
"...Enough," Sengoku said, before grabbing Luffy and then carrying her in his arms. "Let's go!"
"Let me go!" Luffy shouted struggling to escape from him only to flinch when his grip tightened with a hint of Busoshoku Haki "Ouch!"
She then snarled and tried to hit him but she was ignored as the travelator began to work and everyone's eyes, excluding hers, were up ahead. Though in the back of his mind, Sengoku couldn't help but wonder what she was talking about.
~A few minutes later, Pangea Castle~
Luffy didn't stop growling, even when she was put down already by the Fleet Admiral, and continued walking towards the castle. Sengoku ignored the growling kid, even as they headed further deep into the castle, however when they were right in front of the door where he knew the Gorosei were waiting, he grabbed Luffy's shoulder and gripped it tightly, that if Luffy was an ordinary girl, her shoulder bone will be fractured.
'Doesn't he know how to control his strength?' Luffy thought, her growling stopped as she looked at the Hito Hito no Mi user rather warily. Said Devil Fruit user narrowing his eyes at her.
"I've already tolerated enough of your attitude earlier." He said. "However, once we're inside, I won't tolerate it anymore, so you better behave, brat."
"...Don't expect that from me," Luffy answered, smirking rather condescendingly and this made him growl in anger before letting go of her shoulder rather harshly, nearly throwing her away in fact.
"Your son would be disappointed in you," Luffy stated as f it was a fact. Sengoku paused and then turned to look at her rather angrily, but she ignored that anger and instead was staring directly into his soul, which unnerved him but he ignored it.
"What are you babbling about?" But his question was unanswered.
"Be Brave young one... be brave..."
"Tsk. Tsk. Rosinante would be disappointed in him."
"That kid is a lot more honorable than this man" The Voices stated, talking to one another and doing their best to calm Luffy's anxiety, as well as theirs meanwhile spilling a few secrets.
"Hush! The Young D doesn't need to hear this right now."
Sengoku growled at the fact that he was ignored by Garp's Grandaughter but he then went ahead and knocked on the door, opening it upon receiving a confirmation then dragging Luffy inside when she did nothing but stare blankly at the wall, which then snapped Luffy out from her thoughts.
She glanced at the hand that was holding her arm and dragging her away before looking up and felt a shiver run down her spine when she saw five intimidating men, all looking at her rather disgustingly. Luffy tried to make it look like she wasn't affected at all but the way one of the Gorosei smirked made her feel like she failed.
"Is she the one?" One of the elders asked.
"Yes., however..." Sengoku glanced at her, eyes narrowing in slight anger. "I'm having a hard time making her use her Devil Fruit."
"She's not cooperating?" Elder Saturn asked.
"Yes." was the response and they all glanced at Luffy again, who was looking at each one of the Gorosei, staring at their eyes when they decided to meet hers. One of the Elders nodded at Sengoku's response before they gestured for her to go near them. The Pre-teen girl didn't move, not even when it seemed to annoy the Elders, she only went closer to them when the Fleet Admiral grabbed her arms and pulled her towards them.
"What's your name?" The Third Elder, the blond-haired one, asked gently, and Luffy would feel comfortable with answering his question if he wasn't looking down at her. The way they all had their heads up and it was only their eyes that were looking down at her, made her and devil fruit side bristle in anger.
"I see..." The same elder stated when he didn't receive any response and when Sengoku was about to answer, the bald, haori-wearing elder, stood up, brandishing out his sword, stopping it near her neck. Sengoku froze at the sight, before gazing out through the window when it suddenly rattled, showing nothing but winds blowing, however, this didn't deter the Gorosei at all, for they were focused on the young girl, who wasn't afraid of them at all.
"Answer us." The sword-wielding Elder demanded, Luffy eyed them and opened her mouth.
"Considering that you buster called my island, it means that you know me already, so I don't need to answer your question."
"...Cheeky brat." One of the elders mumbled before putting the sword away and then...
SLAP!
Luffy's eyes shook, her head facing the right, her cheeks swelling and slowly turning red, a result of the slap given to her by the elder with a large nevus flammeus, who she didn't notice went towards her at all. She closed her eyes tightly for a second before opening them and they were no longer shaking and slowly turned to look at the Gorosei, ignoring the brewing storm happening outside, as well as the shocked expression of the Fleet Admiral.
"You will answer all of our questions," He demanded and showed her a dark grin. "Unless you want more people to be harmed... let's say... your brothers." Luffy froze at that before growling in slight anger.
"You bastards better leave my brothers alone!'" She shouted only to be slapped once more.
"Watch your mouth." Luffy breathed heavily through her nose, bits her lip before straightening once more, and looked at them in the eyes. The Gorosei grinned sensing a familiar feeling coming from her, not bothered by the disdain she held in her eyes. "Now... what's your name?"
"... Luffy... Monkey D. Luffy." The Gorosei nodded.
"Do you know who Monkey D. Dragon is?"
"... I don't know who that person is." Luffy lied and this made their grins widen, thinking that if she didn't know Dragon, it meant he didn't care about his daughter and wouldn't do anything at all.
"What do you know about your Devil fruit?" That question made her freeze but she continued to answer their question, stating the same explanation she gave to her grandfather.
"What do you think?" Sengoku asked once she was done explaining, the Gorosei narrowed their eyes once more at Luffy, before looking at each other. It was quiet between all of them when suddenly, the third elder grabbed Luffy's hand rather tightly and pulled it close to him. The young girl jerked along with her hand and struggled when he was being pulled towards the other Elders.
"Let me go! Let me go!" She shouted when Saturn grabbed her shoulder and made her stay in place as her arm was stretched out. Sengoku frowned in slight confusion before downing in horror when the Samurai Elder unsheathed his sword and raised the tip above her arm.
"Wait!"
"NOOO!" Sengoku and Luffy shouted, respectively, at the same time when the weapon was brought down but it didn't cut off her whole arm as they thought, instead, they cut her skin so deeply that it was bleeding heavily. Luffy paled as she rather instinctively activated her fruit and a white flame burst out and then slowly healed the wound, at that moment, the wielder of the sword cut into his palm and immediately touched her wound, directly above the flame.
Luffy fearfully moved her eyes from the wound to the Gorosei while Sengoku blinked when the flame disappeared and showed no injuries or even scars on her arm or the Elder's palm. The Elders grinned darkly as fearful brown eyes slowly glared at them, ignoring the gawking of the Fleet Admiral.
"It's a miracle," Saturn said, standing up. "To think that the long lost fruit has come back to us."
"Sir?"
"It is that devil fruit." The thin and long-bearded elder said. "The devil fruit that can bring destruction to the world or save it..."
"My devil fruit cannot bring destruction!" Luffy protested but was ignored.
"The mythological fruit, Tori Tori no Mi — " When Sengoku heard the name of the fruit, he froze before glancing at Luffy.
"How can that fruit bring destruction?" He asked, slightly fearing the answer.
"Because if fully awakened, she can control her element and should she desire it, use that control to wreak havoc on the world," Saturn stated.
"It's difficult to awaken a devil fruit," Sengoku stated.
"That is true." The thin Elder said, sliding his hand up and down on his beard. "But not this fruit... we have records that the user of this fruit can awaken the fruit in a desperate situation, unlike other devil fruits where you need to master their ability and make sure to have your body and mind keep up with it."
The Fleet Admiral merely nodded at the information, before slightly glaring at the young girl, who gritted her teeth as she further listened to the voice.
"What lies they're spouting!"
"Run! Run Little D!"
"Don't listen to them, your devil fruit doesn't do that."
"What actions shall we take?" The Gorosei eyed Luffy, who was slowly backing away from them.
"Train her." Saturn declared. "It would be better if we have that devil fruit under our hands rather than running freely."
"Understood."
"And once she can control her fruit, have her come back here... we will have her join the Marines." Luffy gaped in shock, especially when Sengoku didn't question their order and immediately dragged her away.
"NO! Let me go! I won't join the Marines! Let me go!" She shouted and was merely ignored by everyone, the only time she stopped shouting was after receiving a slap from Sengoku at the ship and from that point onward, she was silent for days as the Fleet Admiral met up with the Vice-Admirals and Admirals to discuss on who would train her. It took three days for them to decide and when her training was about to begin, Luffy met the three Admirals.
~Three days later, Marineford Training Ground~
Luffy blankly looked at the three tallest beings that she had ever seen standing in front of her. One was looking at her with boredom, the other was looking at her distastefully, not hiding his sneer, and the last one was looking at her with pity yet it was mixed with pride. Sengoku was standing beside her, holding her left shoulder in a tight grip, Tsuru on her other side, while her Grandpa was nowhere to be found (not a strange occurrence, because ever since she came back from Mariejois, she didn't see Garp anywhere which is fine, because she cannot guarantee that she'll be calm when seeing him again).
"So this is the brat." Akainu sneered, ignoring the slight glare that Sengoku gave him. "Worthless."
"Hmm... well... it's hard to believe that she bears a fruit like that..." Borsalino stated.
"Quiet," Sengoku said. "The only people who know about her Devil Fruit are us, we won't speak about her fruit outside my office."
The Admirals, aside from Akianu, nodded in agreement. The Red Dog eyed Luffy once more, before turning to leave and soon after, Kizaru followed him. The Young D eyed their backs, before turning to look at the remaining Admiral.
"..." Sengoku eyed them, eyebrows furrowing at the staring match that was happening between the two before the Lazy Admiral spoke.
"I'm Admiral Aokiji. I'll be teaching you how to control your Devil Fruit, weapons, and the basics of Haki, so you need to call me Sensei. It's sudden but your lesson will begin now and your first task is to fight me with your weapon of choice so that I can know what needs to be taught and improved." Aokiji glanced at the side and pointed. "You can take your time choosing your weapon over there."
"Understood," Luffy muttered and headed toward the direction where the weapon stands were located, ignoring the stare she was receiving, and immediately grabbed one of the wooden bo staff there. After a couple of twirls and tests on the staff, she headed back to her previous position and the moment she stood in front of Kuzan, she looked him in the eyes and stared into his soul. The Admiral's eyes widen, seeing warm brown eyes staring into his as if searching for something, he even felt his breath getting knocked out of his lungs when she was done and instead bowed slightly.
"I'll be in your care." She mumbled and straightened and waited for him to regain his bearings, ignoring the slight shock and confused expression Sengoku was giving her. Aokiji panted for a bit, eyes narrowing, before straightening up and then staring at the young girl. Seeing how young she is, the Admiral couldn't help but feel pity at what happened to her (which then reminded him of Nico Robin), as well as relief that he would be the one teaching her and not his fellow Admirals, who would either beat her up (Akainu), leave her be (Kizaru) or kill her (Akainu again, whether staged or not). He can't help but wonder what she can do for the Marines since he can sense she has a lot of potential.
'...Having no restrictions, chains, or shackles, probably suit her best.' He thought before nodding and gesturing for Luffy to ready herself. The Fleet Admiral frowned, feeling ignored but then he went and left the room, having no intention to see the young girl getting beat up, a young girl, who deemed it her mission to silently remind him of Rosinante. Tsuru eyed the retreating Fleet Admiral, before looking back at the teacher and student standing in the middle of the training ground before turning and sitting down on one of the benches available there.
Aokiji glanced in her direction, before ignoring the Vice-Admiral and instead focusing on his newly acquired student, knowing that the bearer of Clean Justice was merely observing his teaching and would interfere should he go too much or forget to teach the brat something important. Luffy knew that she should focus on her surroundings, especially with the Admiral in front of her, however, her mind kept on drifting to the plans that she created in the past days. A plan formed because of the voice's insistent... a voice that tells her to RUN!
'...I don't know what to do... help me...'
~Nearly Seven months later, Marineford Training Ground~
Luffy played with the white flames that she summoned to her palm, letting them twirl around her fingers, before closing her finger when the flames landed in her palms once more. She glanced to the side where she could see her Sensei talking to the Fleet Admiral in a hushed tone, glancing at her once in a while and meeting her eyes nearly all the time.
She then glanced at her bo staff, which went from the wooden one she chose on her first day to a collapsible staff, and then twirled it around, flames slowly appeared at both tips, making it look like she was spinning a wheel of fire. It wasn't long before the two Marine Superiors finished their talk and were separated, with Sengoku going back inside the building and Aokiji heading towards her. She stops twirling her staff and puts it down, eyeing her teacher, who stops right in front of her.
"Sensei..." She mumbled softly and Aokiji gave out a soft genuine smile. "Thank you for teaching me."
"... I hate the fact that you're a genius when it comes to combat," Aokiji stated, patting her head. "I would like to teach you a little longer."
"...You could lie and say that I'm still uncontrollable." Luffy teased but Aokiji scoffed and they all looked over his shoulder where they could see a shadow watching them.
"Unfortunately, I'm not the one reporting to the Fleet Admiral."
"I know..." Luffy muttered. "What did the Fleet Admiral say?"
"...Your presence was requested at the Mariejois a few days ago, but it was postponed, so after this lesson of ours, you'll be heading to the Fleet Admiral's office.'"
"Why was my presence requested and then postponed?" Luffy frowned heavily and Aokiji paused before looking her directly in the eyes and said.
"...When we were told to train you, we were informed that your devil fruit is something dangerous and I know you have a promise, a dream, and a freedom... " He started, completely ignoring her questions, kneeling to meet her eyes directly. "And you are your own person, so what I say doesn't matter at all and there were a lot of protests but... I would like you to join the Marines."
Aokiji could hear Luffy's bo staff creaking as her hand clenched in a tight grip. She continued to stare at the Admiral's eyes, who were looking at her with a smile and slight understanding.
"'Sensei... you know exactly why I don't want to," Luffy stated and Kuzan nodded.
"I do, and as I said, whatever I say won't, shouldn't, matter for you are your own person."
"It's the Fleet Admiral and the Gorosei, who want me to be a marine," Luffy stated and Aokiji nodded.
"That's right and I believe that is what you will be talking about in his office first, before heading to Mariejois." Her Teacher then stood up. "You're my favorite student, so I decided to warn you."
"I'm your only student," Luffy said, smiling at Aokiji, who smirked before the both of them went to a battle stance at the same with Luffy turned into the hybrid version of her fruit. they stared at each other for a long while before they began their last spar as Teacher and Student, Aokiji made sure to avoid the collapsible bo staff Luffy had, while the student made sure to dodge her teacher's attack.
What seemed like hours was over in just a few minutes, with Aokiji winning by a long shot. Luffy panted and eyed her teacher, who was smirking at her rather proudly before they straightened.
"Thank you, Sensei," Luffy mumbled, bowing slightly at him before moving from the platform and into the door that leads directly to the building where she knew an ensign was waiting and guarding her as they headed to the Fleet Admiral's office. Aokiji watched the back of his student and couldn't help but sigh in dismay.
'Such a waste that she won't be a marine...' he thought before moving away and heading in the opposite direction from where Luffy was going.
Clicking sounds echoed through the hall as Luffy walked through the halls of Marinesfod, eyes closed as she braced herself as she got closer and closer to the office of the fleet admiral. It didn't take them that long to arrive in front of the door that leads to the office, to which she immediately entered, not even bothering to wait for the ensign to knock or the permission to come in.
Sengoku glanced from the papers he was looking at before looking back down again, the ensign nearly gaped more so when Luffy went further into the room, then frowned before closing the door and leaving her alone with the fleet admiral.
"I'm not going to join your organization." She immediately snarled and Sengoku ignored her for a few more minutes, signing the papers before standing up and going towards where Luffy is and tried to intimidate her with his height but when Luffy didn't budge, not even once, he frowned at her.
"Unfortunately, that is not something for you to decide." He stated. "The Gorosei want you to be one of us because of your fruit, and we will ensure you'll be one."
She snarled and was about to deny him once more when the Hito Hito ni Mi user added something that made her freeze. "Even if it means using any means necessary.'"
"What?"
"..." Sengoku stayed quiet before heading towards the door. "We're going to the Gorosei, now." Luffy clenched her hands into a fist before gulping and then turned around, before following after him. They were nearly out of the building when suddenly, the person that Luffy hadn't seen for nearly five months had decided to show up.
"Garp," Sengoku stated, eyeing the dark eye bags that had formed underneath Garp's eyes, his ghost-like skin, a little thinner body, and the slight dullness of his eyes. "Your mission was supposed to end nearly two months ago."
"Oh Shut up, Senny." Garp then eyed Luffy, nearly flinching at the sight of nearly emotionless eyes staring at him. "I would like to speak with my Granddaughter... just the two of us." The Fleet Admiral narrowed his eyes at that and glanced back and forth at the present members of the Monkey Family before snorting and saying.
"Alright, but you better hurry up." He then watched as the Garp nodded before reaching a hand out towards Luffy, who stepped back, shocking them both marines at the action, but the oldest Monkey D merely lowered his hand, hid it behind his cloak, clenching it into a fist once out of sight, and then moved away from Sengoku heading towards the docks. Luffy waited for a bit and then followed when Garp was a few steps away, it didn't take long for the two of them to arrive at the dock where no ships were stationed. Luffy went and sat down at the edge of the platform, swung her legs, and waited for Garp to speak.
"Are you not going to talk to me?" Her Grandfather started but Luffy merely eyed the sea, which made him sigh. " I went back to the island, hoping that there was a survivor but... the Dawn Island itself had vanished already."
"..."
"No one knew about that island anymore... your brothers won't know about what happened months ago since there's no news about it. The only time they will know is if they head back home."
"What do you want me to say, Grandpa?" Luffy muttered, not even looking at him. "I already knew that Dawn doesn't exist anymore... you taught me what a buster call is, and what happens if it's called. I don't need you telling me about this."
"Right..." Garp muttered. "...I heard that you're given a chance to be a Marine."
"..." Luffy looked at him at that statement, eyes narrowing in slight anger. "I was. I have no reason to accept it."
Luffy looked away from her grandfather, who merely sighed and went to sit beside her.
"Luffy," Garp started. "Be a Marine Luffy."
His statement made his granddaughter snap her head towards him, eyes wide in disbelief.
"You want me to become a marine? A marine who destroyed Dawn and killed everyone I know? You must be out of your mind, Gramps!
"..." Garp closed his eyes as if in pain before opening them again and looking at her straight in the eyes. "That's exactly why I want you to be a Marine..."
"..."
"Once you're promoted to a high rank, you can change the organization! You can prevent this from happening! You can save lives!"
"Prevent?" Luffy scoffed, shaking her head. "You didn't do anything to prevent the buster call at Dawn... you just beat the shit out of the ex-captain!"
"Listen to me you brat!" Garp shouted, grabbing her shoulders so suddenly that Luffy froze, his grip tightening the further he spoke. "I know I didn't do anything! But if you become an Admiral, a FLEET ADMIRAL, then you change things! There are a lot of things that you can do as an Admiral, sure it will take a while but you can change a lot of things! It's the only way to prevent this from happening again!"
"You're delusional if you think that becoming an Admiral will change anything... as if an Admiral had the option to change the initiative of the buster call... and Like I said before, Grandpa..." Luffy stated after a few moments of silence. "You're so desperate for me to be a marine that you would risk the lives of many..."
Garp remained silent and after a while, Luffy shrugged off his hold on her and stood up, before turning around and walking away.
"Luffy!" Garp shouted, standing up. "Be a marine, Luffy!"
'I hate you, gramps...' Luffy thought, ignoring the burning stare of her Grandfather. 'I hate you so much.'
She was about to pass over an arch that would lead her back to the Main Building of Marineford when she saw the silhouette of Sengoku leaning against the wall. She's not sure if he heard their conversation, but it didn't matter, Luffy won't change her mind about becoming a marine, she'll fight tooth and nail just to maintain her freedom. The two of them eyed each other before Sengoku sighed and then walked away, the young Monkey followed after him, but not once did she turn and look at her grandfather, not even a glimpse.
~ A few hours later~
Luffy eyed the Five Elders in front of her, nearly snarling at their gazes, not liking it even a bit. She's been standing near the wall for a few minutes, waiting in silence as the Fleet Admiral and the Goosei talk to one another. When it looked like they were about to finish, with the Fleet Admiral moving away from their cluster, the young Devil Fruit user perked up and was hoping to leave the place when she was ordered to go near them.
This made her growl before following as they ordered and felt a chill running around her body when the Fleet Admiral went and left them alone. She eyed the door, then the windows, before her gaze landed back on the Elders.
"We were told that you're denying to become a Marine, even though we trained and told you to become one," Saturn stated and Luffy said in response.
"You can train me all you want, but you can't make a soldier of yours. Not even if it means dying to gain my freedom." Nearly all of the Elders glared at her response, finding her attitude slightly familiar but they merely ignored it and the thin Elder snorted and gave her a condensing smirk.
"Can't make a soldier out of you, you say..." He started before standing up and went to the table that was in the room and took a couple of papers from it before heading back towards Luffy, who straightened and eyed him.
"Not even ... if it means the life of your brothers?" Luffy froze, her eyes on the papers that are thrown to her feet, and realized that it was no ordinary papers but the Wanted Posters of her brothers, their photos had changed but it still showed her how they enjoyed their freedom and that they were doing well. The young girl slowly looked up and glared at the five men standing in front of her, her hands clenched in tight fists, creating nail marks while doing so, realizing what they were hinting at.
"Leave, my brothers out of this." She nearly snarled. "I told your Captain back then to Leave them alone!"
"No." The Third Elder denied it, smirking in amusement. "He informed us that you said that you would do anything as long as we stayed away from your village and brothers."
Luffy felt her heart clenching in pain, before frowning heavily. "And it was already broken not even 15 minutes later! You destroyed my island!"
"Does that mean that your brothers' lives mean nothing?" The young D felt her breath hitched and could only listen as the Wind and Sky raged at the threat that was being spewed out. "They are getting more annoying as the days pass... it's easy for us to order all of our marine forces to attack and kill them and their crew."
'Bastards!' Luffy screamed in her mind as the Elders watched in amusement.
"Well? Do you want us to create some sort of document to prove to you that we won't touch your brothers?"
"..." Luffy closed her eyes and the faces of those she holds dear flashed in her mind, before opening them and showing cold blue eyes. The Gorosei's eyes widen at the sudden change of eye color before grinning in delight at her response. "Yes. Create a document that will specifically say that my people, especially my brothers, won't be harmed by you or your underlings... that you will leave them alone and in return, I will obey and do what you wish."
One of the elders tilts his head to the side, hinting something, and even though it pains the young girl dearly, she continues. "I will become a marine as you desire."
"Marvelous!" The Third Elder stated, standing up as the thin bearded Elder went to the table and grabbed a pile of blank paper and pen before writing something on them. The young-looking elder laid his hand on Luffy's shoulder and gripped it tightly. "We have plenty of plans for you... young Monkey."
Luffy kept quiet and watched as they all gathered around the table and seemed to write their signatures on the paper, she was the last one and when she signed it, she was given a copy and could only watch as they locked their copy at the drawers. She looked at the paper she was holding and her hands could only tremble at the sight of it, knowing that her fate was sealed.
'It's for my brothers.' She thought, closing her eyes and a tear slid down from her eyes. 'It's for them.'
'Take care, Ace, Sabo... I love you.'
"Now then... shall we tell you your true purpose?"
~Three days later~
Luffy glared at her wrist, biting her lips as she was led by two marine soldiers on each of her sides, guns strapped across their chests. She's been staying in Marineford for 7 months, nearly 8 months, and her experience in this place is anything but fun and adventure (aside from the time that she's being taught by her Sensei). She already met the Elders, the Fleet Admiral, and the Three Admirals during her first week in this place. The first time she met the former two, they confessed what they truly wanted from her, her devil fruit, one of the reasons why they were letting her live. The very reason they willingly overlooked her lineage as the Daughter of Dragon.
And now that she has full control over her Devil Fruit (not like she didn't have control over it before), with an additional weapon and hand-to-hand training, it was time for the next part, the next reason for her being alive, to begin or so that's what they say. She is currently walking down to the hidden building posted behind the main base of Marineford, deep in the forest, glaring at her wrist, as the guards beside her focus on the path before them.
Luffy exhaled softly, bracing herself on what was about to come to her, and mentally added this to her schedule. Since she had mastered her Devil Fruit, she had to start training her haki, mastering them together with her weapon and hand-to-hand. She blinked before mentally adding sea stone training resistance to that list, while it wasn't mentioned by her Sensei, Luffy can suggest it to him and have him approve it.
"Halt." One of the Marine guards said, blocking Luffy's path by putting an arm across her. This made the young teenage girl look up and saw a simple wooden cabin and when they opened the door, it was bare. Not a single piece of furniture and it seems that it hasn't been used for months. Though Luffy narrowed her keen eyes, the door that was directly across her looked new, with no signs of any dust. They then went towards it, the guard on her right pressing something on the wall, which then lifted and showed a hand scanner. Meanwhile, the guard on her left opened the door, revealing nothing, and when the former guard pressed his hand on the scanner, the floor in front of her slid to the right revealing metal stairs and walls.
Luffy exhaled softly before taking a step forward the stairs and walking down, her escort following behind her. It was when she reached the bottom of the stairs that she saw other people, doctors, lining in front of her, wearing lab coats. The raven-haired girl looked around and merely saw metal hallways around her. One of the doctors walks towards her and lifts her chin.
"So this is the one..." He mumbled, tilting Luffy's head left and right. Said girl gritted her teeth and pulled away from the grip as the doctor grinned. "She looks cute..."
"She's still in puberty?" He asked glancing at the guards, who nodded.
"She seems to be a slow bloomer." One of them answered as the doctor clapped his hands.
"Marvelous! If she did have that devil fruit, and she's still in puberty... she's perfect for it!" He gleefully stated.
"Then we will tell the Fleet Admiral and Elder this." They both bowed and turned around to leave, but not before handing something to the doctor and then saying something to Luffy to secure her to stay and behave.
"Remember..." They started. "Do what the orders were given to you and we will leave them alone. It's their lives or your freedom." Not waiting for any reply, the guards left, and Luffy glanced at them over her shoulder before looking at the people in front of her, who looked excited. She released a soft, shaky breath as the same doctor who talked to the guard, grabbed her shoulder rather tightly.
"Shall we begin, milady?" The doctor grinned at her and this made Luffy growl but she relented and allowed the doctors to drag her away, she eyed everyone and everything that she passed by, eyes sometimes narrowing but every time she tried to focus on the voices, she was being tugged by the doctors. Soon enough they arrive in a room that is filled with medical equipment and the smell of anesthesia, when Luffy looks around, she notices at the very corner of the room are cylinder tubes filled with an unknown liquid, and floating inside it is a devil fruit.
She can't clearly see its appearance however the color is unlike with her devil fruit and the Gomu Gomu no Mi, where the colors are either only one or had multiple colors with specific patterns seem to be swirling around as if the color itself alive and couldn't stay still in one place. Unknowingly, the doctors had stopped pulling the young D and merely watched as she slowly but surely went closer and closer to the fruit, and only when she was standing in front of it did Luffy realize her action.
But since she was already there, she decided to eye the fruit before she was dragged away and couldn't help but tilt her head in slightly bewildered, the fruit itself had a similar appearance to a Dragon Fruit where the layer-like skin seemed to shape into a tail, the colors where more than two, she couldn't identify them with how they seeming swirled around the fruit.
Luffy tried to listen to the voice of the fruit but she heard nothing and this made her frown because she was told that everything had 'voices'. This made her think that something was blocking the fruit. She blinked before looking behind her and noticing the creepy eyes that were given to her and this made her gulp in slight fear before she stepped away from the fruit and headed back to the doctor.
They didn't bother to grab her shoulders again, instead, they merely gestured to a chair with straps on the side. She blinked and merely stood there, not willing to take a step further to the chair but it seemed it made the doctors annoyed since they all grabbed her arms at the same time and then forcedly dragged her towards the chair, which then resulted in Luffy to struggle against their hold but one of the doctors suddenly injected something to her neck and the effect was immediate, for she immediately slumped against their hold but still awake.
Soon enough, Luffy was seated on the chair, bound by the straps that were hanging on the side of the chair earlier. As the doctors began to attach wire after wire to Luffy's body, said girl growled at them, her eyes changing color but then they put some sort of metal helmet on top of her head, blocking her sight. The scary thing about the helmet is that it seems attached to some machinery and the doctors only took a step back after they attached an IV line to Luffy's arms.
'What?' Luffy thought, trying to peek through the edge of the metal attached to her head but she couldn't see anything at all, for she could only hear and feel what was going on around her, and right now, she was hearing the shuffling of papers and footsteps going back and forth. And lastly... she can feel herself weakening further as if she's submerged by the sea and that is when it registered to her that what she was wearing on top of her head is not only made of metal but of sea stone as well.
"Alright then." One of the doctors muttered, standing beside machinery while the others readied their papers and pens, as well as other equipment just in case something went wrong. "Let's begin the test."
"Yes, sir!"
"Devil Concord, Test Subject Monkey D. Luffy, day one, first phase... hit the button."
"Haa...haa...haa..." Luffy panted heavily and then she screamed.
~3 weeks later~
Luffy panted heavily, dripping wet, her hand that was holding on against the chair she was strapped on, tightened. She could hear the doctors writing something down and this made her look at them from the corner of her eyes but everything was blurry, either from her tears or from the water that was slowly dripping down from her hair. Deciding to ignore them, she eyed the sea water she was submerged waist down, though she knew that it was a lot deeper than that, considering they continuously pushed her down there.
"Again!" A doctor, who Luffy knew was the leader of the group, shouted and Luffy flinched before bracing herself then the chair was pushed to the water only stopping when she was a head or two below the surface. The youngest D tried to not struggle but she was running out of breath and accidentally opening her mouth, which then resulted in bubbles escaping through. Luffy struggled but then she slowly began to lose consciousness and slump against the chair, but before she could fully join the darkness, she was dragged up again and when she broke through the surface, she was panting slowly, yet heavily.
"Doctor Solomon, she lasted 45 seconds." A female doctor said, and this made the Doctor grin.
"How long have we been doing this particular phase?" He asked.
"Just an hour sir." She answered, eyeing Luffy coldly. "But it seems that she'll lose consciousness if we continue this phase."
"...That's true," Solomon stated, rubbing his chin as he eyed Luffy. "We did just finish the first phase earlier... to think her brain can survive being electrified nearly every day."
"We only did that for 12 hours and gave her time to recuperate..."
"The other test subjects were given the same treatment, devil fruit or no devil fruit, and she still managed to survive, the longest one at that."
"It is a miracle." The doctors, who were listening to their conversation, nodded before they all separated and began to pull Luffy up from the water tank. Once she was out and the straps were removed from her, the young girl was shivering from the cold, there were obvious signs of bruises and needle pinches seen on her pale skin. Her lips were chap and if look closely, you could also see signs of strangulation on Luffy's neck as well as needle marks.
A warm coat was given to the shivering girl, but soon she was being dragged from her spot, her bare feet were making a slapping noise as she went. Blood slowly dripped down from her hairline and soon enough she was brought into a fully enclosed room, with nothing but a bed and a spare of clothes. Without any hesitation, Luffy was thrown inside, which made her land on the floor with a slight grunt and then they closed the door, unbothered by how her wounds slowly opened from the impact.
The young raven-haired girl grunted as she struggled to raise herself, her hands trembling and then she was leaning against the bed. She breathed in and out before struggling again to lift herself from the floor and to the bed, where she could use her devil fruit since the whole place is made out of sea stone. The moment she laid down on the bed, Luffy felt her devil fruit bursting to life, healing the wounds that she acquired that day, and as the wounds healed, the young D could feel tears slowly sliding down from her eyes.
She cried silently, blaming herself for being weak, blaming her Grandfather, blaming the Gorosei, blaming the marines but not once did she blame her brothers nor her Father and Shanks, though she wondered what they were doing at the moment. It took a long time but Luffy's wounds soon healed and this made her sigh in relief, especially when she no longer felt any pain, though she still felt the phantom pains all around her body. The young girl closed her eyes, hoping to catch a few minutes of sleep.
But then suddenly she woke up just as a loud banging sound rang out in the room, she tried to sit up but she fell from her bed instead and immediately became weak. As Luffy struggled to stand, she bit her lip so hard that blood came out, once she was on her hands and knees, she slowly lifted her head and growled at the sight of the doctors looking at her amusedly. She knew that they wouldn't help her at all, no matter how pathetic she looked, and Luffy wouldn't ask them for help at all. It took a couple of minutes for the young D to be able to stand up and the moment she was standing, the doctors who were watching her immediately grabbed her arms, slapped sea stone shackles on her wrist, and immediately dragged her out.
This wasn't new to Luffy, every time the sun began to set, they would bring her out of the cabin and hand her over to the marine soldiers who would be waiting for her before bringing her back to the HQ where she would be sent to her room, a meal already waiting for her and then the process would begin again the next day.
Luffy wondered how long this was still going to continue but then she closed her eyes in defeat. 'I'm stupid.'
~One week later~
Luffy panted water dripping down from her hair, hearing nothing but muffled sound, however, she knew that the doctors were happy, after all... she managed to last long under the seawater for a good amount of 10 minutes and that was when she was strapped down. Currently, the chair that she was seated on was off the tank and surrounded by doctors.
'Is it done? Is it done?' Luffy panted and flinched when multiple hands grabbed her arms and removed the straps from her body before they lifted her up. The young girl eyed them through her fringes and then she felt hands holding her ankle which made her struggle and kick the person that was holding her down. However, with how weak she was at the moment, it didn't do anything and soon enough she felt something wrapped around her ankle.
When she looked down, her eyes widened at the sight of a shackle connected to a metal ball tied around her ankle. With fear in her eyes, she slowly glanced at the doctor standing in front of her and nearly flinched at their dark and greedy expression.
"No..." She muttered, but they didn't hesitate to pick her up and the ball. "No... No!"
SPLASH!
~ Four days later~
Luffy cried silently, her tears mixing with the water that was dripping down her face, her ankle all twisted, bruised, and bleeding. Just like a couple of days ago, the doctors were chattering excitedly with one another, sounds muffled but she knew they were happy because she lasted 5 minutes with this test of theirs. She wondered why they bothered strapping her against a chair and then chaining her ankle with a ball before submerging her under. As she thought about what they had done to her for the past few days, she knew that what they wanted was to last long at the sea should she fall from the ship.
'At least now, I knew not to struggle too much when sinking.' She thought mindlessly. Dazedly, the young D knew that they were dragging her away from the labs and to her room, soon enough Luffy felt the cold floor of her cell and heard the door getting slammed close. She blinked at the sight of her bed but with how tired Luffy was, she fell asleep on the floor.
~A week later~
Luffy blankly stared at the ceiling, her hand clenching the edges of the metal table she was strapped on rather tightly. Her body was twitching uncontrollably and when she looked at the people that were surrounding her from the corner of her eyes, she knew that they were preparing for something big.
"Raise the voltage!"
.
.
.
.
.
.
"AAAHHHH!"
~Two weeks later~
Luffy was lifelessly looking at her bare feet, hearing nothing but the buzzes as if a bee was near her. The voices tried to communicate with her but she felt nothing but pain whenever she tried to, so she stopped. Soon a pair of black shoes appeared in her vision, and then her head was lifted, showing her the person standing in front of her. Dr. Solomon, a mid 40 years old man, with grizzly black hair and wearing glasses was eyeing her, and in one of his hands was a syringe filled with an unknown substance.
"Shall we begin the new test today, milady?"
"..."
"Don't worry too much, this is merely something that will improve your health."
'Liar...' Luffy thought, blankly watching the needle piercing through her skin. 'Liar.'
And then... Luffy felt something burning within her skin, which made her struggle against the straps wanting nothing but to claw out the itch that was running in her very blood. She leaned forward against the straps trying to escape by brute force but the things holding her stood strong and then she felt pain. Luffy, who had experienced nothing but pain for the past few days, couldn't scream anymore, her voice was sore and she was tired.
She couldn't do anything but struggle against the straps. She opens her mouth though no voice would come out, instead, her saliva is dripping out of her mouth, and slowly tears begin to appear then run down from her eyes. Breathing heavily through her nose, Luffy closed her mouth, grinding her teeth together and closing her hands in tight fists, just like what she'd been doing for the past experiments, with nail marks appearing and disappearing from her palm.
'I just want everything to be over.'
~One Month later~
Luffy coldly eyed the fruit that was laid down in front of her, she then took a look at the people that were surrounding her and stated.
"Two devil fruits cannot co-exist in one user."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Solomon waved a finger in front of her. "Ahh... but that's where you wrong... after all... what do you think those experiments are for?"
"...Then this is nothing but another one of your experiments... as I said, Two Devil Fruits cannot co-exist in one user, there's no record!"
"Then you will be the first one!" Luffy's hands turned into a fist, as she looked back at the fruit. When she didn't reach out to it, Solomon sighed in disappointment, before leaning down next to her ear and whispering. "I was told by the Gorosei, that the reason why you are being kept alive, despite your brothers' being pirates, is because for this very reason... they want to combine the devil fruit that you already have with this fruit we created."
"Created... you mean to say this devil fruit in front of me is an artificial fruit?"
"Of course!" Solomon moved away from her. "Natural devil fruit is already rare as it is and the annoying fact about them is that those fruits don't give us the ability that we desire..." The doctor then glanced at the fruit. "Artificials, however, we can control and create the ability that we want. Of course, it took us a while to create Artificial Devil Fruits, but we did succeed through trial and error."
He then went back to Luffy and once more gripped her shoulder. "This fruit is the one we treasured out of all the fruit... with your current devil fruit abilities and this fruit's, no one can stop the World Government."
"...Devil Fruits can't co-exist in one user," Luffy mumbled, eyeing the fruit, and quite shockingly hearing a muffled voice coming from it. Solomon sighed in annoyance and then snapped his fingers together, immediately the surrounding doctors, who were listening and eyeing Luffy, were holding her arms and feet. One doctor was holding her head steady, while another was holding her jaw. "No! No! Let me go!"
"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." Solomon tsk-ed as one doctor handed him a knife, which he immediately used to cut the fruit into biteable sizes. "If only you weren't stubborn about eating them, we won't force you like this."
"No!" Luffy struggled once more, closing her mouth tightly, but the grips that were holding her down tightened as well, and the one from her jaw was slowly bruising her skin, soon enough her mouth was forced open and the head Doctor didn't hesitate in putting at least two pieces inside her mouth. Once they were inside, the hands began to cover her mouth, closing them to ensure that she wouldn't spit them out.
The young D tried to remove them, but then they also decided to cover her nose. Luffy knew it was futile to struggle, but she still did it. The doctors were getting annoyed with her struggling but it didn't matter, because nearly 8 minutes later (another result of their experimentation), Luffy swallowed the fruit, successfully removing the hands from her mouth and head.
"Ahahahaha!" Solomon laughed in delight. "Now... it's time to see the full results of our test."
"Of course doctor." An assistant said and then all eyes were back on Luffy, who was panting and still had hands holding her down.
"Grk!" Luffy grunted and then tried to lift her body from the chair but it was pointless. "Make it stop. Make it stop! Make it stop!"
She shouted as she felt the same pain she experienced for the past weeks once more, this time double the amount. She knew they didn't inject something in her, that the thing that was bringing her pain was the devil fruit that she was forced to consume. But with how tired she was, with what she experienced for the last months, her mind was slowly breaking, she didn't know which was which anymore.
She just... wants... everything... to stop.
Stop...
Stop...
STOP!
*Boom!*
Muffled shouts resounded around Luffy but she did nothing even when they were no longer holding her down. She was slowly falling into the darkness but the young D felt a warmth that only came from her fruit. What Luffy didn't know was that she was floating with multi-colored translucent flames covering her whole body, and sparks of lightning were seen surrounding her as well.
What's more, apart from the translucent flames and the lightning that's surrounding her is another layer of protection, another layer of flames is covering and this one is more opaque and thicker than the first layer of flames. The flames are white with a few yellow and red flames igniting around them, and whenever a doctor or two heads closer to Luffy's body, either by accident or intentionally, a tendril made of flame would snap out and hit them, causing burns on the area.
Solomon watched everything with wide eyes and then a dark greedy grin slowly spread out on his mouth, ignoring the screams of his subordinates, especially those who got burned by the flames. His eyes were stuck on Luffy, who was slowly curling into a fetal position while the protection that was covering her seemed to be fighting with one another.
"How beautiful..." He gasped out, ignoring the chaos around especially when the flames grew bigger and the translucent flames went more opaque as they competed with the white flames, bolt of electricity began to spread out. And whether it's conscious or not, it began to hit the machinery around the young girl and it didn't disregard the doctors as well as if knowing exactly who and what brought her pain.
One lightning bolt went towards Solomon, who froze for a second before dodging it by crouching on the ground and merely watching when it hit another one of his subordinates. He glared at Luffy as if it would make her stop, but instead what he saw made him gape in terror.
Loud explosions began to ring out in the entire room, and slowly Solomon was trembling in fear as his uninjured subordinates began to huddle in fear behind him, all of them trembling and cowering at what they were seeing. The burnt doctors were still on the ground trembling and screaming in pain, not noticing that flames were heading in their direction in the form of a wave as if the flames and lightning bolts were the sea themselves. Soon, the wave-like flames came down, crashing over the fallen people, resulting in screams resonating once more, soon enough those who weren't injured could hear their fallen colleagues getting beaten up and then the smell of burning skin began to fill the room.
Those who were 'eaten' by the flames were nothing but ashes. But no one could do anything, for they feared that a single movement from them, even an inch of movement, was enough for the two monsters that were standing in front of them to attack. No one could fully explain what they were seeing, for the creatures in question didn't have any physical bodies instead they were made out of flames, though one of them had lightning surrounding it as well. The flames didn't show what type of monsters they were, as they seemed to be struggling in trying to maintain their desired form., however, one thing can be seen clearly and it's the two sets of cold blue eyes looking straight at their soul as if they were being judged.
Solomon himself felt captivated, he couldn't look away from the eyes that were staring at him, he was enchanted, and frozen with fear at the same time. The twin flames went closer to the cowering doctors, a wall of flame encircling everyone, the room's temperature began to rise up, the machinery was exploding one by one, and the doctors couldn't take it anymore... so they ran... well, tried to run. The moment one of them separated from the group, a pair of cold blue eyes would follow them and then soon they were devoured by flames, resulting in ashes.
"My creation..." Solomon muttered and then the monster-like flames were looking back at him. Slowly the flames grew bigger and bigger the longer they looked at the doctors and then... everything exploded. The explosion was so loud that it was even heard by everyone staying at the Marine base, specifically Sengoku, Tsuru, Garp, and Aokiji. During this whole time, Luffy was surrounded by nothing but warmth and silence. For the first time in months, she can hear the voices peacefully, reassuring her, and protecting her from the destruction caused by the devil fruits that are in her.
The whole building crumbled but the young D was safe in her barrier, despite the rubbles and debris that tried to bury her. And then the next second, she was on the forest floor, sleeping peacefully, rain falling gently to her bruised skin as if they were washing any dirt away, and then marines slowly arrived at the area. The moment they arrived and saw the young girl with the injuries and marks she gained in the past months, they froze. Some even eyed the building that was smoking in front of them, but the people who were affected by Luffy's poor appearance were none other than her Grandfather, Tsuru, and Aokiji, the three of them running towards her, screaming her name.
Meanwhile, Sengoku was frozen in shock, eyeing the injured girl and then the collapsed building in front of them, when he looked back at Luffy, it was like a bucket of cold water was poured on top of him, for he suddenly felt regret and began to think... what have they done?
~Three days later~
*Beep... beep... beep*
Sullen blue eyes were eyeing the comatose body lying down on the hospital bed, covered with bandages, with pale and sunken skin. Monkey D. Garp, clenches his hand tightly, feeling nothing but guilt as he finally finds out why his granddaughter is always tired and won't bother looking at him, he found out the reason why she was in the forest that day covered with injuries that her devil fruit couldn't heal immediately.
She was experimented on. His granddaughter was turned into a lab rat, needle marks were around her body, and now her devil fruit isn't healing completely as a result of the experiments. And he couldn't get any answers to his questions, for aside from Luffy, there were no other survivors, everything was burned to ashes, from papers to the bodies. And whatever caused the building to explode tried to burn and destroy everything but it seemed to fail as those who were scrouging the building still found the remnants of the awful things that were done to Luffy.
They saw her burned room, and the devil fruit users could feel the sea stone around the area, they saw the skeletal frame of the tank Luffy was dunked on multiple times, the melted chair where she was strapped on, the burnt things that were holding her down such as the shackles. There were also multiple broken glasses on the floor, but what concerned Garp the most, was a cylinder tube glass tank that was big enough for Luffy to fit into. It was the only thing that wasn't damaged and it was filled with an unknown liquid, together with oxygen masked. Sengoku had ordered a sample of the water but when they tried to open the tank, it exploded, the water evaporated and nothing was left behind.
Fortunately, no one was injured from that incident, but it made Garp wonder... what had they done to his granddaughter?
"Garp." Tsuru's voice resonated, and when the Vice-Admiral looked at her over his shoulder, he flinched at the disappointed face that she was showing her. The bearer of Clean Justice walked further into the room, locking the door for privacy, and then sat on the other side of Luffy's bed, facing the gloomy grandfather. "You need to contact her father. He can help her escape from here."
"Puwah! That brat doesn't care about his daughter!" Garp growled.
"You know that's not true." Tsuru frowned at him.
"Oh please Tsuru, he gave up Luffy to me when she was nothing but a mere toddler, do you think he cares about her?"
"..." Tsuru frowned deeply, she may not be the person who raised Dragon, but she trained him when he was a marine, and she knew that Dragon loves children, that he's a lot more caring and careful when handling them than his father. If Garp doesn't want to contact his son, despite seeing the situation his granddaughter is in, then it could mean one thing. "Looks like your granddaughter was correct."
Garp looks up at her in confusion. "What?"
"You care more about your duty than family." Her statement made the Vice-Admiral freeze before glaring in slight anger.
"That's not true! I care about my family!"
"If you do then you should have called your son already!" Tsuru hissed out. "If I had a way to contact Dragon, I would have immediately told him about his daughter!"
"Dragon won't care about Luffy!"
"Oh shut up! Dragon cares more about family than you ever will! His mother raised him and she's more amazing than you are!" Tsuru then stood up and walked away from the bed and towards the door. "I have no idea why Dragon left his child to you, but I'm sure he regretted it... heck... your wife might have regretted marrying you."
Bam!
Garp stayed frozen, his eyes not moving from the chair Tsuru vacated, it took a couple of minutes but then he was back to eyeing his granddaughter. His fellow Vice-Admiral's words rang in his mind but he did nothing to contact Dragon, thinking that his Granddaughter would be safe with him, thinking that she would be safe as a marine despite what she's been through. Garp had no idea, that while he does care for his family, thinking that they will be safe as marines, he is showing that he cares more about duty than family.
For if he's strong, then his family is strong and if they can serve together with him, then the Marines will be stronger than they will ever be and he can protect his family a lot better if they're together than not... he didn't know that his way of thinking is nothing but a pretense for his duty to the very people who harmed his kin.
~With Luffy~
In Luffy's mind, she was peaceful, everything was quiet and for the first time in months, she could finally rest as much as she wanted. She didn't know how many days had passed since she had eaten her second devil fruit but it was fine, what mattered was that she could finally rest, despite being surrounded by darkness and seemingly alone. But the young D knew that she was not alone, somewhere in the depths of the darkness that surrounded her, there was something that protected her, making sure she was safe and keeping her company.
So she slept and slept some more, and she wanted to sleep a few more but something began to tickle the corner of her mind. Slowly, she began to hear the voices again, and Luffy smiled, it was the sea telling her stories, and the sky was rebutting it, while the island was humming, and then it spoke. The voice of all voices, it whispered soft things, promises of adventures, promises of family... family... her family was Tou-san, Shanks and his crew... Makino, Dadan, and the bandits... her brothers Ace and Sabo.
'Will I see them again?'
"You will."
'Really?'
"Yes... just rest and wake up."
'But if I woke up then...no... they're waiting for me...'
"No... they are no longer waiting... the doctors are gone."
'Not them... the Gorosei, they will threaten me again and my brothers.'
"...Yes they will..."
'Then it's pointless... I want to rest.'
"No... you need to wake up my king... rest and wake up... family and adventures are waiting."
'I'm tired though...'
"You will overcome every hurdle standing in your way, for you are a D. the bringer of Dawn... and they are with you now."
'Who?'
"Yes... they are with you."
'Who are you talking about?'
"Rest and wake up."
And then everything was quiet, and Luffy slept again, but this sleep wasn't that long, because suddenly, the darkness that was surrounding her slowly disappeared and light began to appear right in front of her. The young girl wanted to sleep some more, but with how bright it was, she slowly opened her eyes and looked direction of where the light was coming from. She hovered in the darkness for quite a while before looking behind her and wanted to take go with them, but then when she looked back at the light, she felt the warmth that protected her days ago when the building exploded.
"Master..." Luffy's eyes widened, she knew that voice, that voice grew together with her, that voice was helping her this whole time. Thus, she didn't hesitate in taking a step forward to the light, abandoning the darkness behind her and when she took another step closer, her breath hitched, for the light was suddenly gone and instead, it replaced the cliff of Dawn Island, the cliff where she and her brothers had their last picnic together.
She can see two figures standing there as well, she wanted to think that it was her brothers but her brothers were tall, but the figures in front of her were not. No, they were the same height as her and when Luffy took a step closer she realized one thing, the figures that were standing in front of her were no other than her, the only difference was their hair. One had white, wavy hair with a hint of yellow and red, and the other one had multiple hair colors, with orange covering the majority of it.
"Master..." The white-haired Luffy spoke and this made the original Luffy blink before smiling in realization.
"You're my devil fruit! The one from Shanks! You're —-"
"That's right, Master... and I represent your freedom." The white-haired girl bowed at Luffy, who beamed once more before looking at the multiple hair color Luffy, who was fidgeting as if she was nervous. The first devil fruit saw this and thus she sighed before nudging her twin with her elbow. "Master won't be mad."
"You don't know that..." Third-Luffy mumbled and this made the original blink before smiling at her.
"You're my newest devil fruit." Said Devil Fruit flinched and looked at Luffy before inhaling deeply and bowed as well.
"That's right, I'm the devil fruit that you were forced to consume. And like your first devil fruit, I am also a mythological fruit, despite being an artificial one, I'm Inu Inu no Mi, Model: —-... and I represent your creativity."
"Awesome! I'll call you —- then!" hearing that, Luffy's artificial fruit snapped her head up and looked at her with slight confusion and shock. "You don't like it?"
"I-it's not that I don't like it..." The Multi-colored hair Luffy stuttered before looking shyly at her master. "Are you not mad?"
"Mad, why?" Luffy asked and she took a step closer to her devil fruit, the white-haired one was smiling brightly at her before slowly floating towards her master and beginning to hover around her.
"I hurt you... you were in pain because of me days ago."
"It's not your fault silly!" Luffy giggled and raised her towards her hovering devil fruit, who beamed as if she knew what exactly her master wanted, and she did, for she immediately turned into a marble-sized ball of flames to which Luffy began to play with her fingers. "The people who hurt me are the doctors... they said they're gone."
"Yes... we made sure they won't harm you again." The artificial fruit said, her eyes gaining a dark color as the fruit that Luffy was playing with grew hot for a second before calming down. "Still, you're in pain right now."
"I am?" Luffy asked, pausing to play with her original devil fruit, which then left her hand and went to stand beside the other fruit.
"Right now, master... I'm keeping you alive."
"Two devil fruits, despite being artificial cannot co-exist..."
"But it's possible with my abilities. And with your master's permission, we can all co-exist together!"
"I highly advise rejecting me."
"Geez... we talk about this already!"
"..." Luffy kept quiet, she knew exactly what her devil fruits were telling her, she was not that dumb. Right now, the only reason she's alive and not feeling anything despite having two devil fruits is because of her first devil fruit and the other devil fruit is healing her as well. And she knew that she needed to remove the unknown fruit inside her but... well... having two fruits is awesome! She doesn't need to remove one, she can just keep both of them! "Okay! —- go ahead and do it!
"Yes!"
"You're letting me stay?!" Luffy blinks at that before smiling softly and grabbing hold of each of her devil fruits' hands and leaning their foreheads together.
"Silly devil fruit... you're already a part of me... of course, you'll be staying... I am you and you are me. All of you made me Luffy." The artificial fruit began to sniffle and cry. "We're together now... no more rejection. We protect one another... we protect our family as well."
"We're your devil fruits, master." The white-haired luffy said and then the black-haired luffy nodded.
"That's right, you mine... just I am your master."
"We won't let you down..." the multi-colored hair Luffy said and soon they were surrounded with light, blinding the eyes if there was someone else other than them. And Luffy felt warmth and peace once more... and then she slept again.
~A week later, Luffy's room~
Tsuru sighed in slight frustration, she just tried to convince Garp to contact his son again but he wouldn't budge, in fact, he immediately left the room the moment she tried to bring it up. When will that idiot get it that it would be better for Luffy to recover with her father, rather than at the place that brought her nothing but pain? Garp just has to be a stubborn idiot. If she only had a way to contact Dragon, she wouldn't hesitate in reuniting Luffy with her father, but she has no way to contact them and she can't just act irrationally, like searching for Revolutionary spy or the base itself, because then Sengoku would know and the chances of luffy getting away from this place will be slim to zero.
The Vice-Admiral sighed again and looked at the young girl before freezing. Her eyes might be playing tricks on her but she was pretty sure that Luffy's hair was black, with very few noticeable silver highlights starting at the tips to the middle. However, as she looked at the young girl now, there were more silver highlights and something that was quite noticeable. She stood up, glancing at Luffy's hand, breath hitching upon seeing it twitch and then... Luffy opened her eyes.
~Present, Whitebeard Pirates~
"Damn!" Ace cursed, eyeing the map that Marco was working on days ago and had laid down in front of them. "I can't believe that the bastard who captured Marco was on the island we passed by two months ago!"
"Should have raided that bastard," Sabo mumbled,
"..." Marco glanced at him and then at the rest of the commanders, before looking at his Captain, who was eyeing the map rather heavily, before sighing in defeat. "To be fair, yoi... I was stuck in Mariejois, until a couple of weeks back... so even if you raided this island, you can't find me there."
Marco's ship brothers sighed in slight defeat and annoyance, which made him shake his head before looking back at his Captain, who was grinning darkly.
"Gurarararara! It doesn't matter! They will regret the day they took and caged my son from me!" He declared and this made Marco smirk while the rest roared in agreement. In just two days, they will be at Jason's island, and although he's the reason Marco met Luffy, he did leave him to die... besides... he's not stopping his family from reducing the bloodthirst they are craving. Marco just hopes that Luffy is far enough to respond to the distress signal should the Former Saint ask for help. Wait, speaking of help... the First Division Commander glanced down at his map again, and then frowned.
"What's wrong, Marco?" Haruta asked the person who caught the slight change in their First Mate's expression.
"...We have a Marine base around the area, yoi... do you think they'll be a problem, Oyaji?"
"Since when do we have trouble handling Marines?" Whitebeard asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's Smoker, yoi." Marco sighed, and everyone paused, before groaning. Smoker is not a bad Marine, he and his crew are good, they're the Marines who are willing to pursue justice correctly and don't have the mindset that all pirates are bad and Marines are good. It's just that his Devil fruit ability is annoying and sometimes... well... sometimes... if they encounter by chance at an island, he ignores them, though if he encounters Ace and Sabo, he would get a weird look in his eyes as if he wanted to say something before deciding to ignore them.
"Damn," Thatch cursed, shaking his head. "His devil fruit is annoying as heck."
"True... not even Ace's devil fruit could defeat him." Sabo nodded, ignoring the slight exclamation his sworn brother created.
"..." Vista hummed before stating. "Smoker is not a fan of Celestial Dragons... wouldn't he ignore the distress signal if he found out that's it coming from one of them?"
"He might... we never really know with Marines." Izo tsk-ed, and this made Marco sigh.
"Gurarararara!" Whitebeard suddenly laughed. "We'll just have to see what will happen next, but we will make sure that the bastard who imprisoned Marco will pay for his sin."
"Aye, sir!"
"Yoi... you are all bloodthirsty."
"Hahaha!"
"Gurararara!"