Flames of the Sun God
A One Piece Fanfic by GreyNimbus
Author's Note:
So sorry for the delay! And, sorry that this chapter isn't very long. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've been procrastinating too much.
I've had this idea in my head for a while, but I never had that much skill with writing original material. And, since some of you have been calling out to me for the next chapter, I've decided to post it the way it is now.
ALSO, I'M IN THE MARKET FOR AN EDITOR.
IF ANYONE WITH EXPERIENCE WANTS TO VOLUNTEER, YOU'D REALLY BE DOING ME A HUGE FAVOR.
GreyNimbus out!
OP/Luffy, Mature/Luffy, EarlyDFAwaken/Luffy, NoPairing
Disclaimer:
One Piece is owned by Eiichiro Oda. I do NOT own anything One Piece related. Obviously(!)
Chapter 8 — Two and a Half Legends
After the climactic showdown against the World Pirates, Luffy and Rayleigh were safely dropped back off on Luscaina by the Kuja Pirates, where they can continue their training.
During the boat ride back, Rayleigh asked Luffy to report what transpired while he was on board the Groseade. The Rubber-Man explained every detail that was requested of him, much to his annoyance. He recalled how his first fight with World was an eye-opener for his recklessness. Using too much Haki at once burned through more energy than his body could provide.
A lesson that Luffy quickly took to heart.
Rayleigh reassured Luffy that he was planning on teaching him that lesson further on since multitasking wasn't Luffy's forte. With the awakening of Internal Destruction, their next lesson was to completely master that power.
Before they said their farewells to the Kuja Pirates, Luffy couldn't help but ask Hancock why her dress from earlier was torn apart. Assuming he wanted to bond more intimately with her, Hancock gleefully explained how she fought the doctor of the World Pirates, Nightin, a short, elderly woman with light purple hair. She wore pink eyeliner and a pair of swirly-designed glasses, a lab coat, a pink dress, and pink high heels. During the fight, she was able to overcome Hancock's beauty by consuming a variety of medicinal herbs which, due to their immense bitterness, allowed her to resist Hancock's charms to a certain extent. After drinking a rejuvenating mixed beverage, her body changed from a short 80-year-old hag, back to her prime as a young, tall, attractive woman with no wrinkles.
Nightin's style of combat was known as Kanpo Kenpo, where her vast knowledge of herbalism was adapted into a fighting style. The strange concoctions that Nightin used on her opponent included a powder that dissolved the fabric on Hancock's dress, tearing it up to the point where it was barely hanging onto its wearer. But, with enough teasing and innocent acting, Hancock was able to break Nightin out of her spell, until she ultimately defeated the doctor.
In the end, Hancock's charms were too much for her opponent.
Luffy didn't know what kind of answer he was expecting, but he wasn't really satisfied with it. He thought the Pirate Empress was just trying to seduce him again.
Thanks to Rayleigh, Luffy started opening his eyes to women but chose not to think about it until his training was over. Getting stronger was his top priority.
By the time they arrived back in Luscaina, its Winter Season was already setting in with blankets on thick snow covering the entire landscape.
After being dropped off, the teacher and student said their goodbyes to their Amazonian friends before making their way back to their campsite, where reignited the campfire to cook the game that they caught on their way back. It was currently dusk, so the two decided to continue their training tomorrow.
As the large chunk of meat on a bone continues to cook like a spit, Luffy and Rayleigh sat around the fire on logs that they used as makeshift seats and, sometimes, hard pillows. They both wore thick pelts wrapped around them for warmth. The former was deep in thought, recounting the recent events.
Rayleigh, who was enjoying his drink, spoke up first,
"So, let's review; you seemed to have gotten a grip on Observation Haki, that's good. Make sure you keep practicing this talent. Those who master it to the fullest can even glimpse into the future.
"Really?!" Luffy responded, "That's amazing!"
"What are you going to do when you come across someone who can do that? Think you can take them on? Even after you're training is over, you might not be able to make the cut, you know. It'll be really tough even if you're pushing yourself even harder."
"I guess… it'll just depend on what the person is like."
"Hmm?" Rayleigh raised an eyebrow at that, "You mean their personality? Why does that matter? I never thought of it that way."
"Well, of course, it matters! If I can get a good read on my opponent before a fight, maybe I can find out what makes them tick. When I was a little kid, Grandpa once told me that anger makes you stupid."
Rayleigh chuckled at that last statement, "Haahahaha! Well, your Grandfather's not wrong."
The old man was expecting Luffy to laugh along with him but got a frown out of the boy instead.
"Still holding a grudge against your old man?" Rayleigh asked.
"Yeah," Luffy answered begrudgingly, "When I was little, he nearly killed me over and over again, calling it training."
"What did he do?" Rayleigh asked curiously.
"He threw me into a ravine, left me in the jungle at night, tied me to a bunch of balloons then sent me flying, and punched me more times than I could count. If I didn't eat my Devil Fruit before all that, I would've died ages ago."
"Hmm…" Rayleigh pondered, "Sounds like your Grandpa was trying to toughen you up."
"It was torture!" Luffy cried out, "He said he did it to make me into a man, so I could become a Marine. But I told him a million times that I wanted to be a pirate!"
The befuddled grandson slammed his knuckles into his palm in frustration,
"I swear, if I ever see him again, I'm gonna give him a 'Fist of Love'! See how he likes it!"
Rayleigh put a hand on his student's shoulder to try and soothe his rage, "Parents have their own special ways of expressing their love for their children. You may think he was trying to control you, but maybe he didn't want you to know how he truly felt."
"Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore…" Luffy pouted.
"How about we change the subject?" Rayleigh suggested, "You said that you were able to remove the Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs with your bare hands, right? Tell me how you did it."
Luffy raises his right hand, staring into his palm,
"I felt my Haki flowing through my fist, and then my whole body started to tingle. When I saw those red cherry blossoms, I felt a new sort of power flowing through me like I could do anything. Maybe I can even grab lightning."
Rayleigh laughed at that remark, "Maybe you can, Luffy. Maybe you can."
Luffy smiled.
"By the way, I had another look at Vegapunk's encyclopedia about your Devil Fruit, and I saw something I probably should've reminded you about."
Luffy looked up at his teacher curiously, "Yeah? What's that?"
"After you Awaken your powers, the encyclopedia mentioned that it would give your stretchy powers more freedom and creativity. That's what we should focus on when we get to that stage of your training. You need to jailbreak your Devil Fruit by stretching more than you ever have before. I can even give you some ideas if you'd like."
"Anyway, I'll get the next lesson underway I'll give you an hour to rest, so you'd better eat fast. There are some tough times ahead, so you'd better be ready."
"Got it," Luffy replied, "Thanks."
(One Week Later…)
"Fourth Gear!"
Luffy coated his arm in Armament Haki and bit into it, blowing air into his body and inflating his muscles. His size and proportions become much larger and warped. His arms, torso, and legs were coated with flaming tattoo-like Haki. His shoulders were also wrapped around with a thin, wispy, white cloud of thick steam, like a floating scarf. His hair turned sharper and billowing like a flame.
"Bounce-Man!"
In this form, the added emphasis on Luffy's upper body makes it hard for him to keep his balance, so he has to bounce on the spot constantly.
"Hmm…" Rayleigh stood a fair distance away from Luffy, with a few of the large native animals watching from the back, "You're getting rather creative with your Armament Haki. You've hardened your skin, but your elasticity has improved a lot as well, hasn't it?"
"That's only the start!" Luffy said as he jumped high into the air.
The transformed Rubber-Man compressed his legs into his body before quickly thrusting them out simultaneously and pulling them back in. He repeated this process until the pressure generated by his legs made him airborne.
As Luffy was now gliding in the air, his teacher from below was amazed at the way his student was applying his rubbery powers.
"Hmm! You're filling yourself with air and using compression to fly!" Rayleigh commented, "But what about your offensive abilities?!"
"Stand back and check this out!"
Luffy bit into his arm again and filled it with even more air, growing it to the size of a giant's. Flying towards a nearby mountain, he begins compressing the enlarged fist into his forearm.
"Gum-Gum… King Kong Gun!"
Reaching his target, he unleashes a colossal short-range punch with devastating power at the mountainside, completely reducing the rocky pillar into pebbles and dust.
The spectators watching from the sidelines were amazed at the display of power. The giant animals were getting wary of Luffy after witnessing the destruction he just caused. Now, the beasts knew they had to stay on Luffy's good side.
"Wow! That's very clever!" Rayleigh praised as Luffy landed back down, "By filling even more air into your fist and compressing it into your arm, you can throw a split-second punch at point-blank range, like a giant piston."
"Yep!"
"Bounce-Man, huh? That name certainly gets to the point," Rayleigh then smirks at Luffy, "Not bad."
Luffy flinched, knowing that his teacher was about to test him in a spar.
"Let's put it through a more rigorous test, shall we?" Rayleigh suggested with a devious smile.
"'Pain can be a very effective teacher', right?" Luffy reminded himself.
"Good, you remembered."
In the blink of an eye, Rayleigh suddenly appeared in front of Luffy before delivering a punch into the Bounce-Man's gut, sending him crashing into the nearby trees and into the base of the recently destroyed mountain.
It didn't hurt Luffy that much, but the shockwave from the impact was powerful enough to shake anyone.
"What's wrong?! That was only one punch!" Rayleigh called out playfully.
In the wake of Rayleigh's attack, Luffy was left bouncing on his back in the rubble of stone.
"Dammit…" Luffy complained as he recovered.
Rayleigh came charging at him again, "If you have time to complain, then fight back!"
Luffy quickly compressed his legs again for a high jump, allowing him to dodge Rayleigh's punch. Once he was at a safe distance, Luffy compressed both his arms before rocketing back toward his sparring partner.
"Gum-Gum…!"
He unleashes a point-blank double punch…
"...Leo Bazooka!"
…but misses, and instead destroys more of the rubble.
"Where'd he go?!" Luffy looked around frantically through the dust.
He turns to a laughing Rayleigh who was standing behind him, who was standing in a calm and mocking pose.
"Try hitting me this time!" the old man taunted.
'If I charge at him again, he'll just dodge it,' Luffy thought with a growl, 'I need to be faster than I am now.'
"Then let's see if you can keep up with this!"
Taking a deep breath, let out some of the air in his muscles through his mouth, shrinking himself until he was at least half the size he was as Bounce-Man. What also changed was that his hair was now sticking up and flame-shaped, like his Haki. The scarf-like gaseous substance around his shoulders became longer and thicker, as it now appeared to be a mix of steam and fire.
"Snake-Man!"
"Fancy," Rayleigh commented.
"Hunt him down, Python! Gum-Gum…!"
Luffy extended his knuckles into a leopard fist before compressing it. He unleashed a long-range attack at even greater speeds.
"...Jet Culverin!"
The attack came barreling towards Rayleigh so fast that he had trouble keeping up with its speed, even when using Observation Haki.
"Whoa!" Rayleigh explained in surprise, "You were able to gain more speed and mobility by deflating yourself to the point where your body can compensate for the...huh?!"
Rayleigh suddenly sensed a hardened fist flying toward his face from the side. Pulling his head back, he barely dodges the speeding leopard knuckle.
At that moment, Luffy's arm retracted before he regurgitated all the added air that he stockpiled in his muscles, deactivating Fourth Gear. Once the air was out, Luffy collapsed on his back, both completely exhausted and immobilized.
Rayleigh, processing what just happened with his student, walked over to Luffy's depleted form.
"You're putting your body through more strain than you can handle." the old man said, shaking his head in disappointment, "We'll put the practical tests on hold until your body can cope."
Rayleigh bent down to pick up his helpless student before leaning him over his shoulder.
"Let's get you patched up, kid," Rayleigh said.
"Hold it right there, Dark King!"
The old man flinched at the rough sudden voice nearby. Turning to the edge of the jungle, he saw someone emerge from the foliage.
It was a tall, tanned, broad-chested, and muscular old man with a beard and a stitched scar over his left eye. He wore a red tropical shirt, light-colored shorts, and sandals. In his hand, he held a large, brown duffel bag.
Despite his exhaustion, Luffy flinched before looking up at the source of the all-too-familiar voice.
"G…Grandpa…?" he said weakly.
"Thought you could get away from me, did ya, Luffy?" said Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp.
"Well, this isn't good," said Rayleigh, "How did the Navy find us?"
"A week ago, we received an anonymous tip from one of the Seven Warlords," Garp answered, "They said they saw Straw Hat Luffy escaping from the ship of the World Pirates before sailing away with the Kuja Pirates."
Luffy's anger was beginning to rise, both from seeing his detestable grandfather again and hearing the news that someone reported to the Navy about his sighting.
'Someone sold me out?! And it was one of the Warlords? But who?! The only Warlord who was there was Hancock, but she wouldn't do something like that!' Luffy thought.
Luffy got Rayleigh to put him down but barely had the energy to stand up straight.
"Who was it!?" Luffy demanded, glaring furiously at his old, old man.
Garp raised an eyebrow in annoyance, shocked that his grandson still wouldn't respect his elders.
"The point of an anonymous tip is not knowing where it came from, you little dumbass!" Garp shouted back.
Luffy snapped.
"DON'T SCREW WITH ME, YOU BASTARD! IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT I HAVE TO LOOK AT YOUR STUPID FACE AGAIN AFTER YOU LET ACE DIE!"
Garp's eyes widened in shock. He had never seen his grandson so angry before in his life. But he couldn't really blame him, since all he did was sit there and watch instead of doing anything to prevent Ace's public execution after he was captured and turned in by Blackbeard. However, Garp did pay Ace a visit at Impel Down and discussed family issues, such as Ace and Luffy turning to a life of piracy instead of becoming Marine officers like he wanted.
But, deep down, Garp knew that his plans for his grandchildren were destined to fail from the beginning.
The Hero of the Marines sighed, "You're still broken up about that, huh?"
"I'm gonna kick your ass for what youuuaaagh…!" Luffy tried running towards Garp in anger but collapsed to the ground after a few wobbly steps.
Before he could finish his sentence, Luffy's depleted energy finally took its effect, causing him to black out.
(Later that day…)
After Luffy passed out from exhaustion, Garp calmly explained the situation to Rayleigh, who was skeptical at first but decided to listen to what he had to say. He carried his student back to their campsite where he began to tend to Luffy's injuries of the day.
While patching up his student, Rayleigh asked the Navy Hero what he was doing on Luscaina.
"Since the Pirate Empress lives so close to here, I figured she must be hiding Luffy someplace less conspicuous. So, I scouted around Amazon Lily's neighboring islands. After a week of searching, I eventually ended up here when I noticed one of the mountains on this island getting completely destroyed."
"That was Luffy's doing," Rayleigh clarified, causing Garp to laugh hysterically.
"Bwahahahaha! That's my grandson!"
"Are you here by yourself?" Rayleigh asked seriously.
Garp sighed, pushing out the giggles, "Yeah, it's just me. I was hopping from island to island after I officially took time off from work."
Rayleigh raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but he knew that Garp knew how to use Moon Walk, one of the Six Powers.
"So, you're not here on the Navy's orders, then?"
"If I was, don't you think I'd be in uniform?" Garp smirked.
Rayleigh was not amused at his sass.
"...Then, why are you here?"
Garp immediately switched to serious mode. He sat down on the log that Luffy was lying against, before looking down at his grandson.
He knew he had a lot to prove before he can even begin to ask Luffy for forgiveness. He was too lazy to supervise him and Ace when they were kids, but, at least, now, he has the chance to make up for lost time and do something with his remaining grandson that he wished he could do all along.
And that was being there for his family.
"I'm here to help train Luffy…" he paused, "...for the New World."